I put on a pair of boxers, brushed my teeth and went downstairs to get some water. My mouth felt dry and dehydrated. I made it a habit to have at least two bottles of water after I sang, but last night I’d skipped that. I’d had a more pressing matter, namely, having Emily.
I took a few sips and sighed. It was already almost mid-April. Not even seven weeks remained before I had to go to Dallas, and I didn’t want to leave Emily behind. Would it be too early to ask her to consider coming with me? I hadn’t seen her hang out with anybody or mention any close friends in town. So maybe she’d be okay with it.
On the other hand, what if she had a specific reason for being in Kingstree and couldn’t go to Dallas?
Long distance was an option, but not a great one. We’d be too busy, and I didn’t want to waste time traveling back and forth between Dallas and Kingstree when we could just be in the same city.
And…Emily could write in Dallas just as well as she could in Kingstree, couldn’t she? If the logistics or cost were a problem, I’d pay for all the expenses and arrange for movers. All she’d have to do is grab her laptop. I’d make sure it’d be as easy and seamless as possible.
The door to the house opened with a quiet creak. Mir walked in, still in her dress. Her face was cleaned of makeup, her hair messy and uncombed. Shit, I thought with a small sigh. I was hoping Mir would stay with Yve a little longer. Until lunchtime at least, catching up and doing what best friends did when they had a sleepover.
“Hey,” she said, walking in. “Got some coffee?”
“Not yet.”
She gave me a weird look. “What happened to you? No coffee in the morning?”
“I just got up.”
“Wow. You slept in.”
Mir and I were both early risers.
“It was a late night,” I said, feeling slightly pleased about the reason.
Grunting, she went over to grab the TV remote.
“Hey, don’t turn on the TV,” I said.
“Why not?”
“Emily’s sleeping.”
She blinked slowly once, then put both hands over her mouth. “You slept with her?”
I gave her a look reserved for a particularly dim child. “Yesss. Both of us consenting adults consented to sex.”
Mir covered her eyes. “Oh my God. I so do not want to hear about your sex life.”
“Hey, now it’s your favorite author’s sex life, too.”
Her face scrunched even worse. “That doesn’t make it better! But wait… Does this mean I get to read her books before other people?”
“I make no promises. She hasn’t let me read her latest book either,” I said, not wanting Mir to bug Emily about that. I honestly had no idea what Emily’s process was, but she shouldn’t have to show her stories to anybody until she was ready. And part of me wanted to be the first to read her new books, except maybe for her editor.
“Oh. Well. I’ll figure out an angle. I got time…” Mir suddenly studied me, her gaze flinty. “Did you tell her you don’t live here? That you have to leave soon? You have both of your expectations about this relationship clear, right?”
“Jesus, Mir. It’s not a job position.”
“I’m pretty sure I know what kind of position it is.”
I had to laugh. “You’re acting like I took advantage of some high school girl or something. Emily’s a romance author, for God’s sake! She knows what we’re doing.”
“But you figured out how not to break her heart, right? I mean, she isn’t one of your groupies.”
“Thanks for the vote of confidence.” And for making me sound like an asshole. Breaking hearts was what Dev did, not me. I resented Mir’s narrow-eyed gaze. Just whose sister was she? She wasn’t getting any more backstage passes, damn it.
“It’s important. One of my favorite romance writers never finished her series because her husband left her. I don’t want that to happen to Emma Grant. I mean, Emily.”