Except Jake had promised this exact same thing last time they had slept together and the time before that. She was trying not to get grumpy about these things, but it was hard not to sometimes. She knew Jake worked hard. She couldn’t even begin to imagine how tough his job was. In many ways, she was lucky he was up for any sex at all.
She just wished sometimes she could get something more from him.
She rested her head on his chest and allowed her thoughts to drift and swirl. Around them, she could hear the sounds of the apartment as it began to settle. The slow whir of the air conditioning, the hum of the fridge. Above them was the soft thud of footsteps from the professional couple that lived upstairs (and always seemed to be up late). Outside was the hum of traffic, and even further afield the distant sound of music.
There was always noise here, always signs of people being active and on the move. This city certainly never slept. Willow remembered how quiet it had been growing up. How the only sound at night had been owls and the chirping of crickets. When she first moved here, she had to get earplugs because it had been so loud, she thought she would never cope, but in time she had adjusted.
Except now the noise seemed to be louder than ever. It was keeping her awake.
She rolled off Jake, suddenly hot and uncomfortable. He moaned softly.
‘Jake …’
‘Mmmm?’
‘Do you know where my earplugs are?’
Jake rubbed his eyes. ‘You haven’t needed those in ages.’
‘I know – but I kind of need them tonight. It seems really noisy in here.’
‘It really isn’t.’
‘Well … it is to me.’
Jake groaned and rolled over. ‘I probably threw them out, babe. You weren’t using them.’
Willow frowned. Jake liked keeping the place neat and minimal, but this often meant he would have major purgeswithout even consulting her. He had gotten rid of so much of her stuff without asking.
‘I really need them. I can’t sleep.’
‘There’s not much I can do,’ Jake replied. ‘Why is this bothering you now? Is there something on your mind?’
Willow pulled herself up to sitting position. ‘I dunno – maybe …’
‘Is it work?’ Jake still sounded half asleep. ‘You know you don’t need to worry about that. Your marketing brain will soon snap into place, and you’ll figure it all out.’
‘Yeah maybe,’ she breathed softly. ‘I hope so anyway.’
‘We all have rough patches, baby. This is just your one.’
‘You think?’
‘Sure?’ Jake yawned. ‘That business with Esmae rattled you a bit, that’s all. No one is going to cancel you. Or me. We are both fine. More than fine.’
Willow smiled softly. She had always loved Jake’s confidence. It was one of the first things that had attracted her to him when they first met.
‘Do you ever miss it?’ she asked softly.
‘What?’
‘Home. Honey Springs.’
Jake shifted on the bed, moving up onto his elbow. ‘Huh? What brought that up?’
‘I dunno. I was just thinking …’ She paused. ‘But do you miss it?’
He laughed softly. ‘What is there to miss, Willow? It’s just some deadbeat town in the mountains. It has nothing going for it. Nothing at all. Everything we need is right here.’
