She didn’t say she loved me. She just said,“me too.”
Maya
I wake up with my face pressed against Colin’s chest, and the feeling pulls an unguarded smile from my lips. I’ve spent so many nights wishing for this, missing the simple comfort of curling into his arms after he falls asleep.
I catch myself hoping that soon it won’t always be me reaching for him. I want him to be the one who draws me in, who pulls me against his chest before we drift off.
From the moment he arrived yesterday, I knew something was off. He was distracted, a silent storm simmering just beneath the surface. Even after we had sex in the living room, he remained impenetrable, his mind clearly miles away. It wasn't until I overheard his phone conversation that everything clicked. So, his family is gone. It’s a shame they’re only away for the weekend, but I’ll take what I can get.
I let him have his way with me last night—fucking me in every way possible, letting him use me to bleed off whatever frustration had been building inside him. When he finally slipped into an exhausted sleep not long after, I felt on top of the world.
I did that. I’m the one who gives him the release he needs. I’m the one who can make him forget.
Trying not to disturb him, I quietly get out of bed. I head to the guest bathroom to take a shower, leaving him to sleep a little longer in the silence of my room.
I’m finishing the table when Colin walks into the kitchen. After my shower, I’d slipped out to the bakery downstairs to grab the specific breads and pastries I remember him eating back at the hotel in Miami. I set the bowl of chopped fruit down and go to him, standing on my tiptoes to press a kiss to his mouth.
"Good morning," I say, unable to keep the smile off my face.
"Good morning."
His voice is level, but then I notice he’s already back in the clothes he arrived in yesterday, and I frown. We sit down to eat, and I find myself watching him the entire time. It could always be like this. The two of us, sharing coffee in the silence of the morning after a night of intense, earth-shattering sex.
"Do you have plans for today?" I ask, an idea starting to take root.
He watches me impassively. "Why?"
“It’s the wedding anniversary of the aunt and uncle who raised me this weekend,” I say, my voice softening. “I was thinking of stopping by a winery not far from here to pick out something special for them.”
I look at him from beneath my lashes, letting the invitation linger. “You know so much more about wine than I do. I thought you might come with me and help me choose.”
He frowns. "You were raised by your aunt and uncle? What happened to your parents?"
"They passed away," I answer simply, keeping my expression neutral. "My mother died a little over a year after my dad. People say it was from a broken heart."
"You never mentioned that."
"You never asked," I retort, a small edge to my voice. "I don't know anything about your parents, either."
He shrugs the comment off and stands up. "I can't go with you. I can give you some recommendations if you’d like, but I’m going to the office to get a few things done."
Disappointment clenches in my stomach like a fist. I stand quickly, following him into the living room as he pulls on his jacket and gathers his things from the couch. "I can go with you," I offer. "I can help."
"I'll see you tomorrow at the office," he says. It’s a dismissal. He barely grazes my lips with a kiss before he’s out the door, leaving my apartment as quickly as he can.
I stand there in the silence he left behind.
You can keep running, Colin, but you always come back.
Colin
I’m stopped at a red light just after leaving Maya’s building when Ceci sends me photos and two short videos. Alicia is practicing ballet movements in the sand, and Ethan is chasing after her after she’s pushed him into the water, clothes and all.
I find myself laughing alone in the car.
I should’ve been there with them. But Ceci didn’t want me there. That’s a bitter pill to swallow.
I get to Montgomery Clifford a little before ten.
