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Shit, she must have asked me something. I’m already blowing this.
“Yeah?”
“I asked you how long you’ve lived here. I’m impressed. It’s well furnished.” Her eyes were busy traveling around my space.
I took a minute to look around and see what she was seeing. Sleek black granite countertops in the kitchen, with stainless-steel appliances that I’d hoped to get more use out of than I currently was. In the living room sat large cushy navy couches that all pointed to a flatscreen TV. A room off to the right of the living room could be converted to a darkroom, should I live here long enough to make that happen. I wanted to stick around, but sometimes my work required a lot of travel. I wasn’t sure what my path was yet. As soon as I started helping out Mia’s company, I put a freeze on traveling with my agent. She was less than pleased, but the guy that I was working with at Mia’s was thrilled, thus thrilling her.
“I’m not really sure how long I’ll be here. Right now, I’m not planning on traveling anywhere. I want to hang around here. Maybe put down some roots,” I admitted. Her expression changed from curious to shocked. I smiled at her. “What’s the matter, Mia? Weren’t you expecting that answer?”
“No, I wasn’t.” She took her eyes away from me and gazed around my apartment some more. It wasn’t your typical bachelor pad. I’d made sure of that. I detested the leather couches and typical football memorabilia that hung in the homes of some guys I knew. No, this was my space, and I was an artist. I collected art and made sure to display it in my home.
“What do you think?” I knew the answer to this question, but I wanted to hear her praise. It meant something to me.
“Really?” she asked before letting out a giggle. Mia was nothing if not perceptive. She knew I was fishing for compliments. But she was still going to give it to me. “I like it. It’s stunning.”
“Thanks.” I rocked on my heels. Time to take her to the roof. “Want to see my view?”
Her eyes widened.
“You mean the view from the windows?” Mia began making her way toward the large windows that had a nice view of the city below.
“No, Mia. That’s a nice one, but that’s not the one I mean. Let’s go to the roof, shall we?” I shot her a wink and began making my way to the small door that led to my own private entrance to the roof. It was brilliantly placed in the kitchen. I looked behind me, seeing that she was on my heels.
“Sure.” Her voice was small, but she was following me. I would take it.
I led her up the winding black staircase and opened the door at the top that led to the roof. Out into the warm LA night we went. The sky was lit up with the lights from buildings all around us, the noise of the LA traffic still buzzing below us. The city was alive.
This was my favorite thing about this place, and I could tell Mia liked it too. Her mouth was agape in awe. I took her in—eyes wide in surprise, unfocused, flittering about like she was unsure where to look next.
“You like?”
“Uh, yeah.” Mia laughed. Her tone said No shit. “It’s beautiful.”
“Thank you.”
I made my way over to the double chase lounge I had purchased for moments like this. I had hoped to use it with Mia. Perhaps it was presumptions of me to buy this with her in mind, but it was all working in my favor, so I tried not to give it too much thought.
“Let’s star gaze.”
Her face lit up like the stars above us, and in that moment, I would have done anything to keep her smiling.
“Sure.”
We lay side by side on our backs, looking up at the stars and gazing out over the edge of the roof. Our position gave us a pretty view of the city below and the sky above. I loved it. I could stay here forever. Looking over at her, seeing the butterfly tattoo peek out from the top of her yoga pants. She noticed me looking at her and I smiled. She smiled back, her cheeks slightly heating. Mia pulled the hem of her shirt down to hide the tattoo from my eyes.
“You still have this?” I asked her, lifting her shirt to get another look.
“Of course I do. Why wouldn't I?”
“I don’t know. So much has changed about you. I just figured after I left, this tattoo would too.”
“Are you kidding me? It took me how long to work up the nerve to get it? And you think I’d get it removed just like that?” she asked, her tone playful as she snapped her fingers. “Just because you up and left me doesn’t mean I erased you from my past entirely. This wasn’t for you, it was for me.”
“I just thought it might be another reminder that you didn’t need.” With that, I reached over and traced her tattoo with my fingertips.
“Not that much has changed. It just feels that way on the surface. Go ahead,” she said with a wicked smile. “Ask me anything. I’m still me.”
I smiled at the invitation to know her better. Whether or not she wanted to admit it to me, something had changed her. Something had caused a shift in her, a clink in her armor that had made her more reserved and more cautious than I’d ever seen her.
