A Long Way Home

Morning Sunshine

His mouth was full of toothpaste so he gestured for Mia to take the toothbrush. When she got up she made sure not to have any part of her body touch is as she crossed the bathroom doorway. She ached to be close to him but they were about to have a serious talk. This was not the time or place to be thinking about what he could do to her in bed.

The bathroom was well-designed but certainly not meant for two people to be in there at the same time. Mia took the place in front of the sink and Drew leaned back against the wall behind her. When it came time to rinse, he took his free hand and wrapped it around her hip bone. It was such an effortless movement but it felt sacred. She had never had someone touch her that gently before. His hand seemed to say, 'here I've got you' And she felt her shoulders relax with the feeling of his touch.

Mia stepped aside to let him rinse out the toothpaste and when he was done he pulled her back in front of the vanity and planted a kiss on her shoulder blade. She had never felt him be so affectionate. She wasn't sure what to do. She watched as Drew left the bathroom, leaving her to face her own reflection. She looked like hell. Her eyes had deep circles under them from a sleepless night and her already wild hair floated around her head like a halo of the worst kind. The only thing she had going for her was the soft glow that came from great sex. She felt lighter.

When she was done brushing her teeth she came back out and found Drew walking towards the bed with two coffee cups. In all her experiences she'd never had this happen. Often she would either sneak out of a guy's place when first dawn broke. Or she would come out of the bathroom to find them sitting on the edge of the bed texting. In both scenarios, she was an afterthought.

She climbed back under the covers and gratefully accepted the steaming hot cup of coffee. Once Drew had settled in, she felt the air in her lungs cease to exist. This was going to be terrible.

"So about last night..." He started off and Mia immediately jumped in.

"We shouldn't have done it. It was such a bad choice. We drank too much and you have Casey and I completely ruined your relationship and I don't know what we were thinking. I think it was the martinis mixed with the wine. I feel so horrible." She gulped down some coffee, sputtering at the heat as it burned her esophagus.

"Is that how you feel?" Drew looked crestfallen. Of course he would be upset. They had mutually ruined his relationship.

"Um. Yes. I mean I don't feel great participating with you and making you a cheater." She stalled. What she really wanted to say was that she had no regrets about it. She didn't feel an ounce of remorse and she hated herself for that more than she did for helping Drew cheat.

"Mia you didn't. I told you Casey and I haven't been together in a bit." Mia's mind swam. He literally had mentioned talking to Casey only last week.

"What are you talking about? You guys have been together for four years. You said so yourself in the kitchen two days ago." Drew looked just as confused as Mia did.

"Did I not tell you we broke up?" Mia looked astounded. This had to be a trick. This was a cruel joke that would come back to bite her in the ass if she bought into it.

"No you didn't. You waxed poetic about how you wanted kids and she didn't. How Casey didn't want this house. How you wanted me to convince her for you. You literally talked about it incessantly."

"Okay, incessantly seems a little far-fetched. But I talked about Casey in the past tense. I thought Max would have told you. We broke up a year ago."

"What?" Now Mia's mind was struggling to keep up. Max knew this whole time?

"Yea, we broke up last year. It was pretty amicable actually. I spoke to her last week because she called to tell me she's getting married. To that guy Kevin from her work. Turns out he wants to travel the world for the rest of his thirties which is Casey's ideal. They're getting married in Lake Como. Casey was literally calling to ask if I'd like to come to the wedding with a date."