Page 83 of Love Unspoken

"Hey. How were your meetings?"

"Good. How was your presentation?"

"Really good. Everyone was impressed. Eva came and told me that she was so glad I was at InnoWare." It had only been a few weeks, but I was already very happy with my decision to change companies—especially now that, for some strange reason, Amias and I were dating.

We were in our own cocoon. We spent time with one another. If we went to a restaurant, it was just us. We spent our evenings at my place with me working on the sofa and Amias on his laptop at my dining table. I knew he'd be more comfortable at his apartment, where he had a home office, but he never complained.

"She should be. She stole you from Midas," he grumbled and then added, "I'm so fucking proud of you, Little Warrior."

He'd started calling me that, and every time he did, I felt something warm and amazing run through me, which tasted a lot like love and freedom all tangled into one another. I was falling in love with Amias. I couldn't imagine how I'd hold his interest in the long run and worried that he'd start to miss his life with a busy social calendar and want me to go to parties with him…or worse, wouldn't want me to go with him because he was embarrassed about me.

These feelings were unfair because he had not once suggested I change one thing about myself except that I stop saying cruel things to me about me.

"Would you look at someone else's scars and say, wow, those are hideous like Kara did to you?"

"No."

"Then why the fuck would you say it to yourself? Cut this shit out, okay? It's pissing me off."

But every time he got annoyed about it, hope bloomed inside me that this relationship was real, that we were a real couple. But I knew the cocoon would burst—his friends, his family, someone would enter, and then what? Would we be over? Would he then see how unsuitable I was for him?

"I miss you," I pouted.

He smiled, and I could see he was tired. He worked relentlessly as always. But he had started to take more time for himself, he told me, by spending it with me. However, when he was traveling like right now, he worked long hours "so I can come back home to you soon."

"I miss you too, Little Warrior. I'm back tomorrow, and I wanted to ask if you'd like to have dinner with Hayes and Darren at my place this Saturday."

All the joy drained out of me. He was missing other people. Of course he was. He wasn't an introvert like me.

"Stop it," he said sharply.

"What?" I tried to sound nonchalant.

"Hayes accused me of hiding you and said he had a right to spend time with my girl, especially since he likes you. According to him, I have a lot to make up for because he'd had to spend time with Ann, who he, in his words, fucking couldn't stand. And I thought it would be nice to let Darren see that he doesn't need to beat the shit out of me, which he tells me every week when I come to the institute."

Amias had started to pick me up and drop me off everywhere; telling me that as soon as the weather got better he'd let me bicycle again. He also dropped me off at work in the morning and picked me up as well. He tried to buy me a car, and that didn't go well. We fought. I yelled. He yelled. We had very good makeup sex.

"At your place?"

"Yes, Naya. Please? I want you to get comfortable in my apartment."

"Okay."

"Any restaurant you want to order food from for that dinner?"

"No," I protested. "I'll cook. No need to waste money on⁠—"

"Naya," he cut me off.

"I like to cook," I offered apologetically.

Money was still a sore subject between us. He wanted to spend some on me, and I was determined to not let him. It felt wrong. The women he'd dated in the past had their own money, but I knew that Amias bought them things: jewelry, expensive vacations, spa days…whatever. Maybe it was okay for him to do that for them because they could return the favor. I knew he had diamond cufflinks that Ann bought him and expensive ties. I couldn't afford that. I couldn't take from him what I couldn't give.

He'd put his foot down when it came to going to restaurants, and I let him because I knew he loved homemade food, and I cooked most nights when we were together.

"But we both go grocery shopping, and you don't pay," he countered.

"Deal," I agreed.