I look down at myself. “Jeans I’ve been wearing for two days. A T-shirt that’s seen better decades. I haven’t shaved since I left Miami, so I’m rocking what can generously be called ‘scruff’ and realistically called ‘homeless chic.’”
“Hot.”
“Really?”
“I mean, I’m picturing it, and yeah. It’s kind of working for me. Is that weird to find your disheveled exhaustion attractive?”
“Concerning, maybe, but flattering.”
We fall into easy silence again. I can hear her breathing, soft and steady, and I close my eyes and pretend she’s here—curled up on the couch beside me, her head on my shoulder, both of us too tired to move but too content to care.
“Taio?”
“Hmm?”
“When you come back…” She trails off, and I hear a shift in her voice. A new vulnerability. “I want all of it. With you.”
“Sex?”
“That too. Butall of it.Is your heart available, too?”
“For you it is.” I smile into the phone, the tension in my jaw releasing for the first time all day, the corners of my mouth lifting so wide they almost hurt. The screen grows warm against my cheek as I listen to her breathe. “We can try. You mean exclusive, right?”
She’s quiet.
“Tweety, if you’re nodding, I can’t see you.”
“Oh,” she squeaks. “Yes, exclusive. Is that even possible? Can you stay with me for the tour instead of going back to?—”
“Escorting?”
“Yeah. Just while we’re dating. Which hopefully isn’t short, but also?—”
“Charlie, just ask for what you want.”
She lets out a deep breath. “You to myself. I want you to myself.”
“So you don’t want your boyfriend sleeping with his clients?” I suck the air in between my teeth. “Tricky, tricky.”
“Yeah. Faithfulness would be preferable,” she deadpans.
“Coming from the girl who’s actually dating another man.”
“Fake dating,” she says in a tone that makes me picture Forrest’s daughter, Koda, in the middle of an indignant tantrum. “He’s coming to the Tampa show, by the way.”
“Oh good. Can’t wait to meet him,” I say dryly.
“It’s just for the tour, Taio. It’ll be over soon.”
“Right.” I nod along, jaw clenched so tight I can feel a muscle twitching beneath my skin. Every cell in my body rejects the idea of her with another man, even for show. My fingers grip the phone until they ache. But I swallow the jealousy burning like acid in my throat because Charlie’s peace matters more than the primal voice inside screaming that she’s mine.
“I guess it’s not fair of me to ask you to quit your job when I still have to do mine.”
“You don’t have to ask, Charlie. I’ve been thinking about other things I can do. Actually, I’ve been thinking about asking Forrest a little more about the publishing industry. I have a minor in literature, believe it or not. He’s on the agent side which isn’t for me, but I was thinking I could get into editing. I read hisgirlfriend’s Sora’s early drafts and she says it’s really helpful. I don’t know if there’s a lot of money in it, but there’s a lot of joy.”
“Taio…that’s amazing. And such a good fit for you. How long have you been thinking about that?”
“Unofficially, since Forrest fell in love and moved out. More officially since we met.”
