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Me: You scared to introduce me to your dad?
Mia Miller: Maybe a little.
Me: Me too.
Mia Miller: How about we give it to the end of the semester? If we still feel the same, then you’ll meet my parents and brother and grandma.
Me: That sounds fair.
I didn’t add that I was absolutely sure I’d be feeling the same then as I did now. The only thing that could change would be her feelings toward me, and I was trying to prepare myself for that possibility.
Mia Miller: Ok. Until then, we explore this.
Me: Good. When do you get home so I can explore you a little more?
I smiled down at my phone for a moment, then made my way out of the library and toward my office in the English building.
My day went on as it usually did. Classes, homework, sitting at my desk and tangibly missing the girl who’d buried herself in my heart weeks ago. Nights had been lonely, and not just because she’d been missing from my bed. My desk felt empty without her taking up too much room on the other side, and my office at school and at home had felt barren without her.
By dinnertime, when she usually spent evenings marking papers in my office, I started to feel the loss of her too sharply, so I started packing up so I could at least feel lonely in the comfort of my home.
A soft knock came from the door and I lifted my eyes to the sky, praying briefly that it wasn’t a co-worker trying to invite me out to ‘the bar’ again.
The big difference between LA and the south? At least in LA people didn’t like each other and it was evident in their dealings. In the south, people were unbearably polite and friendly, and it made me feel like a total asshole if I didn’t return the sentiment.
As I stood to open the door to whatever intruder stood there on the other side, it actually opened. A pretty face popped through the crack with long, dark hair and a twinkling smile.
“Sorry I’m late, boss,” Mia said, letting herself in.
I plopped back into my seat in shock, but was out of it quick as a flash to engulf her in my arms.
“I fucking missed you,” I breathed, squeezing her maybe a little too tightly.
She giggled, hugging me back with all her strength. It was endearingly soft.
“I was only gone a day,” she whispered into my gray sweater.
“It felt like eternity.”
“Yeah it did…”
We stood there like crazy people for a good ten minutes, just embracing. I took in the smell of her shampoo, floral and sweet and delicious.
“Will you come home with me tonight?” I asked her, murmuring into her hair.
She sighed contentedly, but shook her head.
“I need to head to my dorm. All I left was a vague note for Clea that I’m going home for a couple days. She’s probably worried about me.”
“Yeah, sure, I get it,” I said, letting her go.
She gave me a small, fragile smile as she backed away, clasping her hands in front of her like she didn’t know what to do with herself.
“Well,” I offered, pointing toward the desk. “We’ve got a backup of tests and that pesky midterm is still waiting to be finished up.”
She flashed me a bright smile before heading to the desk and flopping down into her seat.
Fuck, it was nice to see her where she was meant to be. The whole physical relationship between us had changed things in our working relationship, but I’d realized that I had to keep a cap on my passions while we were working to keep things just-so at school. At home, we could do whatever we wanted. Here? We needed to keep it professional, for both our sakes.
