Page 106 of Breathe Like Hell

He was showering now while I sat on his bed, doing my makeup in a small mirror. Yesterday had been productive enough in terms of my homework, but I had a shift at the gas station today. Micah was going to drop me off once he’d finished getting ready.

He and Nick were working in the lab for most of the day today, and I was grateful to have an excuse not to be there. I didn’t have a problem with Nick, but I didn’t have the strength to pretend to feel nothing for Micah today. I needed him like a pathetic baby, and it sucked when I had to act like I didn’t for so many hours in a row.

When I heard the shower turn off, I got off the bed and padded around to the bathroom in my socks, then knocked on the door.

Micah opened it wearing just a towel around his hips, steamy air billowing out.

“I need to pee,” I said. He stepped to the side and let me pass him.

I unbuttoned my jeans, then tugged them down with my underwear and sat on the toilet, looking over at Micah’s razor on the counter. He had a safety razor, the type with a single blade, which always made me nervous. I didn’t understand the name whatsoever. But it did fit into his sophisticated lifestyle.

“Are you going to be bothered if I shave my face now?” he teased.

“No. I just don’t know why anyone would think that’s safer than a regular razor.”

“Thankfully, that’s not really something I need to worry about.” He rubbed shave gel on his jaw.

“Doesn’t it hurt, though? If you cut yourself?”

“Yeah. But it heals so fast it hardly matters.”

“I still think you’re weird for using that type.” I looked away as he brought the razor to his cheek. Micah laughed.

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

“I mean, what if you cut the fuck out of your chin?”

“Then I cut the fuck out of my chin and it’s fine a few minutes later.”

“Okay…” I sighed and stood up, then squeezed next to Micah at the sink to wash my hands. “Will you be ready soon?”

“Give me five minutes.”

I left the bathroom, did the last few steps of my makeup routine in the mirror over the dresser, then packed up my stuff and went downstairs to fill my water bottle. Micah joined me shortly, and we went out to his truck together. It was chilly outside, but not quite cold enough for my big coat yet.

At the gas station, Micah kissed my forehead, then slapped my ass as I got out of the truck. I gave him a dirty look through the windshield while walking around the hood of the truck towards the glass door covered in advertisements.

Eric appeared grateful at my arrival. “Hey!”

“Hi, Eric,” I said and punched in. “Busy?”

“Nope. Pretty chill today. Do you need anything from me before I head back into the office?”

“All good. See you in a bit.” I smiled, then took my seat on the stool behind the register, taking my phone out of my pocket and powering it on. There was already a notification from Mason waiting for me.

Mason

I’m sorry. I’ll talk to you

The message should’ve made me feel better. It was what I wanted. But everything was getting harder to navigate while simultaneously never slowing down. We were hurtling down a very specific path, one that narrowed and narrowed towards a single point, and I couldn’t really stop it.

Me

It’s too late for that

My phone started vibrating with an incoming call from Mason; I declined it. His typing bubble instantly popped back up and I squeezed my phone tighter.

Mason