Page 21 of Between the Paragraphs

I love watching the rise and fall of her chest, the way her face is perfectly relaxed in sleep, and how her hair is fanned out on the pillow. There really is something about this woman that makes it damn hard to look away. I’m not sure how long I watch her before I see the shift, alerting me she’s about to wake. Her eyes flutter, and then open.

“Good morning,” I say, my voice a little rough since I haven’t used it yet today.

She blinks at me, momentarily confused, then quickly remembers where she is. “Morning,” she mumbles. She then sits up as if she’s on fire. “I need a shower.”

I want to tell her that she doesn’t since she took a super long one the night before, but I figure she needs to orient herself. I also want to let her know I’m not leaving. She isn’t going to get to run away from me again and avoid this conversation. There’s too much between us to let this fall apart over a stupid misunderstanding. I’m certainly not letting Sabrina the adult witch be the cause of Maria and I falling apart.

“Go ahead. I’ll order breakfast.” She doesn’t turn as she rushes back to the bathroom. Maybe that’s her safety zone. I quickly jump from the bed, order breakfast, find her hotel room key, then rush out to go to my room.

I take the world’s quickest shower, and change. The hot water does wonders to wake me up and make me look like less of a hot mess. My workout clothes are comfortable, and I practically run down the hall to get back to Maria’s room. I’m glad we aren’t too far apart. Luckily, it’s early in the morning and there aren’t many people out, so no delays.

I get back just in time to see Maria step from the bathroom wrapped in a towel. There goes my sanity in a heartbeat. She seems a little mortified to see me standing here, and quickly rushes back into her room. She thought I was gone. I smile as I wait for the knock on the door which comes in a couple of minutes.

I set up our breakfast and have it all lined out by the time she comes out again. I’ve gotten my body somewhat in control again. I’ve gone without sex before, but not while being this close to a beautiful woman I want this badly. I’ve certainly never spent my first night in bed with a woman . . . platonically. I’m not sure how I feel about this. One thing’s for sure, and that’s me being drawn in even more.

I grin as Maria comes back out, wearing workout clothes that have me drooling over her incredible body, her hair in a ponytail, and her cheeks flushed without an ounce of makeup on. She’s even more beautiful than she was the night before, and that’s saying something. This woman’s a natural beauty that has everything to do with how she takes care of herself, and how alive her eyes are.

“Breakfast is served,” I tell her as I hold out a chair. She’s having a hard time looking me in the eyes. We have to talk. I can’t stand this tension.

“I’m starving,” she says. “I didn’t eat last night.” Maria loves to eat, so that’s saying something. It makes me feel terrible about the night before. I should’ve realized how badly she was feeling and should’ve fixed it.

She sits, and I join her, the aroma of fresh coffee, pastries, and savory dishes surrounding us. My stomach growls. I didn’t eat more than a few appetizers myself. Once I knew she was upset I didn’t have much of an appetite. This is strange for me as well. I’ve had plenty of women upset with me, and I’ve never cared before. Hell, when Chelsea abandoned me I went out and partied with Miles. But now, I do care. I care when it comes to Maria.

She sips on her coffee, then looks up at me. “I might’ve overreacted last night. I apologize.” It looks like the words are ripped out of her.

I shake my head. “I’m the one who needs to apologize. I should’ve noticed you were uncomfortable. I should’ve pulled you aside. I really am sorry about that. I could’ve handled things a whole lot better.”

She grimaces. “This is so strange. I was . . . jealous. I’m not used to feeling that emotion.” Her cheeks flush more at this statement. It makes me grin, though that’s the last thing I should be doing at the moment.

“Maybe because this thing between us isn’t fake,” I tell her. “It’s not for me.” I don’t remember ever having a conversation like this with another woman, not even the one I was going to ask to marry me. We’d been young when we got together, and it was just natural for us to keep going. I haven’t been serious with anyone since her.

“Maybe it’s not,” she admits. “Can we just pretend it didn’t happen and go back to normal. I hate fights and I hate reliving them, and then talking for hours, and then feeling bad. You know, on and on and on?”

I throw my head back and laugh. “We’re meant to be together, because I feel exactly the same way. It’s a new day, and I say we start fresh. Last night didn’t happen. That woman means nothing. In the future, screw my reputation, I’ll throw her over the balcony.”

This makes her laugh. Before she can say something, though, Nikki’s door bursts open. She has a big smile on her lips as she skips into the room.

“What a nice surprise to see you here, Mason,” she says as she drops down into a chair and immediately reaches for a bagel and the strawberry cream cheese. “I hope I’m not interrupting.” She clearly doesn’t mind at all.

“You could never interrupt,” Maria tells her bestie.

“It’s like a ray of sunshine has just entered the room,” I smartly say. Nikki beams at me.

“So, how was your night?” Both Maria and I wince. “That good, huh?

“We’ve had better nights, but it’s a new day,” I say.

“That’s what I like to hear. It wasn’t all that bad if you’ve already moved on to breakfast,” Nikki says with a wink. I love the blush in Maria’s cheeks again. She’s easily rattled at times, and so strong at others. It’s highly entertaining. “What’s on the agenda for today?”

“I need a good workout today to sweat out the tequila I consumed last night,” Maria tells her.

“Me too,” I add. She hasn’t invited me, but she’s stuck with me now.

“It’s not a good day if we don’t start out with a hard sweat,” Nikki says. “I’m going to gorge first so I can puke, then let’s do it.”

“Sounds like a plan,” Maria says.

We finish up our breakfast, then head down to the gym together. I like working out alone, but find I have a great time with the two women who have a great routine and know what each other are going to do before they do it. The view isn’t too bad, either. A few people come in, but with me there, leave the girls alone, which they appreciate.

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