Page 15 of Breathe Again

We hadn’t had a night alone in a few weeks, a long stretch for us when we were used to Willa taking Olivia weekly or bi-weekly. A charcuterie board, wine, and a movie were the plan, and hopefully, hopefully, we’d make love, or, if I were really lucky, play.

I had wrestled with my thoughts all day, teetering between hope and despair, planning for a good night, then mentally flogging myself for throwing myself at him. By the time he walked in the door from work, neither side had won.

“Hi, gorgeous.”

I smiled, always happy when Friday rolled around, and I had him with me for two days. I watched him, appreciating his long legs and his rolling gait as he loped toward me, tugging at his tie to loosen it. He stopped in front of me in the kitchen, leaning forward to drop a quick, hard kiss on my lips. He was staring over my head, his eyes scanning and restless while I longed for connection.

Please see me.

“Where’s Olivia?” he asked, meeting my eyes momentarily.

“She’s at Willa’s tonight.”

“Oh, yeah, I forgot about that.” He pulled his tie through his collar and turned. “I’m going to get changed. Be right back.”

He forgot.

He forgot, and I’d thought of little else.

That’s okay, I dismissed my disappointment. He’d been incredibly busy. I set out the charcuterie board, the wine, and our plates on the coffee table. We’d eat on the couch, cozied up. I lit the candles on the side tables and opened Spotify. I had the soft throws off the blanket ladder and draped across the couch in case we needed them.

Changed into tracks and a tee, he looked adorably rumpled, and perfect for cuddling, as well as other, better, things.

He hit the living room, saw the setup, and his face lit up. “This looks great!”

Snatching up the converter, Spotify was off and the tv on before his ass hit the cushion.

“Um, I thought maybe we’d leave the tv off?”

His eyes on the tv, he replied without looking at me, “I just want to get caught up on a few things.” He eyed the plates. “Can I start?”

“Sure, go ahead.” I sighed, deflated.

I poured two glasses of wine and filled my own plate. Half an hour later, we had demolished our romantic dinner, the tv was still on, we hadn’t said more than three words to each other, and I was back in the kitchen, cleaning up. I wasn’t done trying though, because, obviously, I didn’t know when to call it a day.

“Want to watch a movie? Netflix released some good ones that we haven’t seen.”

“Hmm?” Eyes still on the tv.

“Zale!” I snapped, and he swung around to look at me, irritated.

“What?” he clipped.

I softened my tone. “Do you want to watch a movie? There are new movies out on Netflix, good ones, ones we haven’t seen yet.”

“Oh.” His frown eased, and an apology took its place. “I don’t think I’ll be able to stay awake.”

I felt my shoulders slump. “Okay, no problem, then what do you want to do?”

He shrugged. “Just going to watch a bit of tv and then call it a night.”

I gritted my back teeth together and wiped my face clear of expression. It was a wasted effort. He never glanced my way.

Finishing in the kitchen, I grabbed my book and joined him on the couch. He opened his arm to invite me to cuddle against him. I moved over, he encircled me with his long arm, pulling me tight to his side, his hand clamping down on my hip.

He dropped his lips to the top of my head. “I love you, Mara.”

“I love you, too.”

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