Thursday, March 12th, 2015
Micah was not jealous. He was a twenty-seven-year-old adult for goodness sake. Jealousy and other adolescent emotions were long behind him, abandoned when he'd been confronted by the realities of the world. The tightening in his chest had nothing to do with his inability to focus on the screen in front of him, or his clenched jaw or the mild anxiety that settled over his thoughts like a net. And none of it had to do with the slimy sleazebag who had picked Hayes up for a dinner date five hours ago.
Jude. Who named their kid Jude? The man had been smarmy and too coiffed with his gelled hair and manicured hands. The city was full of men who took care of their appearances so that by itself wouldn't have been an issue, but he hadn't even been nervous. He'd just waltzed in like a suave dipshit and dropped a few lines about how nice the place was and how great Hayes looked, wearing a simpering smile the whole time. She'd been nervous of course, because people were supposed to be nervous before a first date, and she obviously liked the guy. That was the only thing that had kept Micah's clenched fists at his side when Jude had unabashedly ran his eyes over her the moment she'd turned her back like he was assessing a piece of meat, and then had caught Micah glaring and had the audacity to wink at him as though they were sharing some joke.
Keys jingled and Hayes let herself into the dim apartment. Only one lamp in the living room was on, illuminating Micah's little work area. He'd been trying to transcribe handwritten notes he'd taken during a meeting and had only made it through two pages of the five he had taken.
"You're still up?" she asked in a hushed tone.
"Of course," he replied, glancing at her and then quickly back down at his laptop when he saw her mussed hair. His throat constricted.
"Why? It's after midnight, you have to be up in a few hours," she said. She kicked off her shoes and collapsed on the couch next to him. From this close he could smell the spearmint gum she was chewing and her flowery perfume under that.
"I just wanted to make sure you got home alright. The guy seemed a little sleazy," he explained.
She laughed. "I appreciate your concern but I can handle myself."
"I know."
"And you're not my brother. You don't have to take care of me."
This made him look up again and meet her eyes. "I know."
They stared at each other for a long moment. Her eyes dropped to his mouth for half a second before she caught herself and closed them, shaking her head as though to rid it of unbidden thoughts. He looked back at his laptop. Hayes cleared her throat. "Make sure you get some sleep tonight. The nation needs you well rested for tomorrow."
"The nation will be fine if I don't get a full night of sleep once," he replied.
"Okay, well, goodnight, Micah. And thank you. For caring," she said. Before he could respond she leaned forward and kissed him on the cheek, lips soft and warm and still swollen from kissing another man. She withdrew, collected her shoes, and left him alone in the living room, laughing to herself under her breath as she disappeared from view.
Micah leaned his head back against the top of the couch. Shit.