by H P Tune
“Absolutely, there’s no fucking question about that. What time is it anyway?”
“Ah,” Mia mumbled. “Umm, oh, microwave.” She gazed at it. “Twelve thirty.”
“We had an awesome sleep-in.”
“I don’t think we were in bed early…” Mia said, pouring two tall tumblers of water and bringing them back to the bed. She placed one next to Juliet, leaning in to kiss her forehead, the back of her fingers trailing briefly over her cheek. “Okay. Bacon, eggs, tomatoes, umm…” As Mia slowly opened the fridge door, Juliet smirked at the memory of gripping the top of the fridge with her legs hooked behind Mia’s back. “Is toasted Turkish bread okay? Hang on, let me check the basket. That’s right, muffins and croissants, yum.”
“That all sounds good. Whatever you like. God, I’m hungry all of a sudden.”
“I can’t believe we have a whole week of this. This was the best idea you’ve ever had.”
“Ever?”
“That and the shower head thing last night. That was definitely one of your bests.”
Juliet covered her face with her hands. “Nothing like going from zero to a hundred in one night, huh?”
“Hell, I’m not complaining!” Mia whisked some eggs in a bowl and set the pan on the stove. “It’s been a long time since I had a night of what, three orgasms? Four? I lost count. Let’s just say a number of times.”
“A number of good times,” Juliet said, blowing a kiss when Mia glanced over at her.
“God, you’re cute…And does this mean I don’t have to keep my hands to myself now? I’ve been trying to be well behaved.”
Juliet threw her palms into the air. “You didn’t have to be well behaved, Mia, I’m no prude. Nor an angel, as you now know.”
“It’s not that. I just wanted you to get to choose, to pace things. I didn’t want to be all smothering.”
Her narrowed eyes locked onto Mia. “Has anyone ever told you that you’re too nice?”
“I’m far too hung-over for this conversation.”
Juliet giggled. “Well, if it makes you feel any better, you can put your hands on me whenever you like. Hands, fingers, tongue…”
“Oh, stop!” Mia placed some bacon in the pan that sizzled loudly, sending a delicious aroma throughout the room. She leant over the bench, flopping down on the countertop with a hefty whimper. “We need some recovery time, and words like that are not about recovery.”
Juliet shook her head and laughed, taking a number of long gulps of water. How had she ever hesitated about Mia?
* * *
“Hey, Juliet?” Mia said, waking Juliet from her nap.
The day was incredible, with blue skies and soft clouds in the distance, the sun on full display. They had rugged up in thick hoodies and jeans with woollen socks pulled over their feet and ventured outside to lie on two recliners on the wide patio, crocheted blankets tucked up under their chins.
“Mmm?” Just one of Juliet’s eyes opened. She held a book limply against her chest.
“You sleepin’?”
“Nooooo.”
“You did ask me not to let you snooze.” Mia held her fingers up in the air in playful air quotes. “And I quote: Otherwise I will never sleep tonight.”
“Clearly, I was joking.” Juliet leaned into Mia’s palm with her eyes closed as Mia tenderly stroked her forehead and hair.
Mia couldn’t believe how the days had passed in a blur. It felt like their week had been a haze of long nights, bottles of wine, and countless hours of amorous foreplay and long, drawn-out climaxes. Even if she tried, Mia couldn’t have figured out the sequence of days and activities. She would miss the mornings, where they slept for as long as possible, tangled together until one of them slowly roused into consciousness.
Afternoons were a mix of slow walks, hand in hand, loud chatter, and good coffee down at the café. Juliet had befriended the owner, talking about various contemporary authors and engaging in some polite debate about where the reviews had positioned her and how she viewed her own writing. Critics, she explained one afternoon to Mia, she enjoyed. She loved an educated discussion with someone in the field. She hadn’t had that since she worked in an office with her editor. It elicited a similar sparkle in her eyes as when Mia spontaneously kissed her temple and the same blush of energy in her cheeks as when Mia discovered her spot.
“You want me to do another coffee run? I can bring them up here.”
Juliet shrugged sleepily, squirming. She took Mia’s hand and entwined their fingers. “I’m good. You?”
“Not as sleepy as you.”
Juliet tugged on Mia’s arm. “Come join me, I’ll help you get sleepy.”
“That sounded kind of seductive, but not quite right.”
“Come on,” Juliet insisted, creating space for Mia to lie next to her. “It wasn’t meant to be a dodgy invitation. I was after hugs.” She grinned, and Mia melted. Those dimples would be the death of her. “Sleepy cuddles,” Juliet said childishly, voice like a toddler.
Mia eagerly conformed, slipping out from under her blanket and carefully moving until Juliet wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her hastily into her body. Juliet inhaled slowly, nose buried in Mia’s loose hair before breathing out a rush of warm air against Mia’s neck. She kissed the curve of her ear. “I really don’t want to go home tomorrow,” Mia said, sorting the throw over them and covering Juliet’s arm around her waist.
“Ack, I know. Back to reality.”
“Yeah, I guess. Back to decision-making time.”
“About study?”
“Mmm, not really. I think I know what I want. There’s really nothing to lose, and it was always my dream. So I should, don’t you think?”
Juliet nodded slowly, chin moving over Mia’s shoulder. “I think that your dreams are the most important thing in the world, and you should do whatever it takes to make them happen.”
Mia hesitated for a moment. Juliet had slowly been making Mia believe that what she wanted should be a priority, that she shouldn’t be spending her life putting everyone else first, that she was important. It was a new concept, delightfully new. “You’re not the most important,” Juliet had told her, “but equally important.”
“I used to think that I was giving up something by being…you know, all in. But I’m not,” Juliet said. “I haven’t, I’ve only gained. So, your dream, Mia? That’s awesome, and I’m right beside you, because my dream is both of us being happy.”
Juliet’s lips worked tiny patterns against the nape of Mia’s neck, blowing hair out of the way and soothing her skin. It sent Mia’s breath racing and elevated her pulse.
“I might be fucking up this moment, but I’ve spent ages trying to find the right time to ask. I’m not even sure why I need to know, but I do.”
Breathing in and out three times, Juliet nodded. “I’m sorry you’re scared of me,” she whispered, “of asking me something. That’s not what I want, so please ask anything and I’ll answer.”
Mia shakily released a long breath that she wasn’t even sure why she was holding.
“It’s okay,” Juliet soothed, and Mia tipped her head back to determine if Juliet’s expression was matching her words.
“It’s just about your book—the first one.”
“Yeah?”
“It’s all built around the character, right? From that catalyst where she disappeared?”
Juliet smiled. At least Mia had interpreted her storyline as intended; many hadn’t. “That’s right. That’s what I was going for.”
“She walked out on her wedding day. She got up in the morning and checked out of the hotel and never came back.”
“Ah-huh.”
“Was that you?”
Juliet released an odd sound from her mouth. “Would it change things if it was?” she eventually asked.
Mia sighed. “So it was?”
Visibly swallowing, Juliet nodded just once. “Yes.”
“Shit.”
Juliet clicked her
tongue. “Yep.”
“It doesn’t change things,” Mia said softly. “Sometimes I wish I had done it before or even on my wedding day. Everything was already crap, and then everything I touched turned more to shit.”
Sighing, Juliet relaxed a little, taut muscles physically releasing against Mia. “I left a trail of destruction, and I should never have done it. As you would have read, there’s a lot of truth in that book. I should have had the guts to say what I felt a long time before that day. No one really deserves that.”
“Maybe it was better than marrying someone you didn’t love.”
“Mmm, maybe. I loved her, though—just not enough for me or for her.”
Mia drew in a shaky breath. “I didn’t love him.”
“It’s hard when you look back, but I’m guessing you did a little. Or you thought you did. It doesn’t matter so much now, does it?”
“Hindsight’s a bitch.”
“Yep, surely is,” Juliet said quietly. “Come here,” Mia smiled, resting her face on the inside curve of Juliet’s shoulder and draping a leg over hers. “So I have a snooze, and you go all reflective and sad, huh?” Juliet snuck her fingers inside Mia’s hoodie, warm fingers rubbing soothingly against the back of her neck and between her shoulder blades.
“Whoops,” Mia said.
“Any more questions for me?”
Mia shook her head, but swallowed against the burn in her throat, a brazen tear quickly absorbed by Juliet’s clothing. Slowly, Juliet sustained a soft, even flow of touch over Mia’s back and arms and through her hair. She assumed that Mia had more to add and that the question about her was just a subtle segue.
After a few minutes filled only with the odd bird chirp and distant sounds of people talking, Juliet asked, “Is today something, Mia? That I don’t know about or haven’t remembered?”
“No,” Mia answered quickly, sighing, “not at all. I just…Can you be all super calm for me? ’Cause I’m not feeling super calm, and I really, really need you to be.”
“Look at me. I’m a picture of serenity.”
Mia tearfully laughed. “I’m sorry.”
“For?”
“For having my crazy backpack on today.”
Juliet didn’t quite stifle the laugh as she lowered her face and pursed her lips into Mia’s hair. “You’ll need a bigger pack to be competitive with my crazy, you know.”
“Okay, I know. I’m catastrophising.” Mia took a deep breath. “All right, okay. I had another message on my phone today. Actually, I had two.”
“Ohhhh,” Juliet said. “From Stephen, hey?”
Mia nodded. “Yeah. Am I that obvious?”
“Just explains the freak-out. It’s okay, and I’m good. So what did the asshole say?”
The easy way it rolled off Juliet’s tongue was perfect, and Mia felt the first semblance of relief. “Two assholes: one was my dad and the other Stephen. Or the asshole.”
“Asshole One and Asshole Two. Got it.”
“Yep. So the asshole is apparently landing on our doorstep in a few days. He seems to think he has some belongings left at the house. Reckon he got tired of waiting for my call back, so he contacted my dad.”
“What?”
“I know, fucked up,” Mia said, her throat burning again. “Anyway, it’s a long story, but Dad has managed to get a set of house keys that I keep in a security box in the States and has given them to Stephen.”
“What?” Juliet’s mouth was agape.
“I know.”
“What?” Juliet repeated yet again, voice much higher pitched than usual.
“It’s not even the keys…” Mia squeezed her eyes shut. “It’s the fact that he just backed Stephen. It’s not enough that my family ignore me? They wrote me off, but they actually helped him. Why the fuck would they do that?”
“I have no idea.” Juliet softened, shaking her head. “That doesn’t make sense to me.”
“They’re insane, aren’t they? Normal people don’t screw over their own kids. They stand up and they back them. They look after them, and they hate…they hate the people who hurt them. Why? Why can’t I have family like that?”
“I wish I knew the answer to that one.” Juliet continued her calming movements.
“And now he’s just going to show up whenever he likes, Juliet. He’s got a key. He doesn’t have to call or make sure we’re home or that someone’s home. And he didn’t say when on the phone. He’s just coming whenever the fuck he likes, like the controlling prick that he is. Just one bit more power.”
“I know, it’s…it’s just so typical.” With her thumb, she brushed at Mia’s cheeks, which were half-hidden in her hoodie. “Honey, I’ll be there, and we’ll have Martin and Janet, maybe. We won’t let him fuck around with you, okay? We won’t let him. And we’ll change the locks.”
“I just don’t want to see him.” Mia bit at her lower lip. She wasn’t scared of him. He wasn’t violent or aggressive, but she had put so much time into managing her emotions towards him, containing it all. She just didn’t want to see him; she didn’t want to have that twisting of her stomach, the nervousness, the anxiety. “There’s nothing there that’s his anyway. There’s nothing.”
“Then he’ll see that, and we’ll send him on his way.” Juliet paused. “After we make a small incision in his fuel line…”
Mia laughed loudly, a cry catching as she did so. Shaking her head, she lifted herself up and shuffled over a bit before slumping against Juliet again, half lying on top of her and burying her face in Juliet’s neck. “Can we do that?”
Juliet pulled her arms tight around Mia’s back. “Absolutely.”
* * *
Following Mia with her eyes as she paced the length of the lounge room, Juliet rubbed at the bridge of her nose. A few muttered phrases of Spanish sporadically emitted from Mia’s mouth, which Juliet had come to learn were distinct curses. Even though Juliet didn’t know the words, Mia’s body language left no room for misinterpretation. Who needed to know Spanish when Mia was as expressive as she was?
“Okay,” Juliet said calmly, standing up and halting Mia’s path. “You really need to take a breath. Martin has given us the heads-up, so you just need to try and relax.”
“He’s only a few minutes away, Juliet. I don’t want to do this.”
“Yeah, I get that,” Juliet said, rubbing Mia’s arms, “but you don’t really have a choice.”
“And that isn’t working out so well for me right now. Gah.”
Cupping her face, Juliet stepped in and pressed a chaste kiss to Mia’s lips. “Just stop and breathe.”
“I know. I really do.”
“Shush.”
Mia smirked, taking Juliet’s hands from her face. She held their arms down between the two of them and met Juliet’s eyes, matching her breaths as well.
A slow smile spread over Juliet’s lips. “Good,” she said softly.
Nodding, Mia ran her thumb over Juliet’s knuckles. “Stay with me, okay?”
Juliet tried to portray a look of disbelief. Mia would have to give her a swift kick to get her away; she didn’t trust this man one little bit.
“Just making sure,” Mia said quickly, closing her eyes at the sound of the car approaching.
“You’re fine, and you’re in control,” Juliet said, though it didn’t matter if Mia was in charge or if she was; there was no chance the asshole was going to be.
“I am?” Mia asked.
“You are.”
“Right.”
“You ready?” Juliet asked. An engine stilled outside, and she heard a door slamming.
“Maldito bastardo.”
“Yeah, Mia, yep. He is.” Juliet’s hands tightly gripped Mia’s until the doorbell chimed. Mia whimpered before drawing in a long breath and hardening her features.
“Perfect,” Juliet observed, dropping one hand and leading Mia to the entrance.
Opening the door, Juliet stood firmly beside Mia, proud as Mia contained the tremble in he
r hand. Juliet wasn’t sure what she expected, but Stephen looked perfectly normal and somewhat dissatisfied, arms crossed defensively at his chest. The suit he wore was clearly worth more than Juliet had earned in a year during college, and a pair of unnecessary sunglasses sat on his head, protection from the dismal weather, Juliet sarcastically guessed.
She stifled a smirk at her initial impression, aware suddenly that neither Mia nor Stephen had muttered a word, and they were all still standing on the doorstep.
He cast his eyes from top to toe over both of them in a sweeping expression of obvious disgust. Juliet squeezed Mia’s hand.
“What do you want?” Mia said through gritted teeth.
He grinned, although it didn’t even go close to reaching his eyes. “Mia, it’s been a long time.”
Mia shook her head. “Not long enough.”
“You look well.” His gaze flickered to Juliet. “And I’ve heard quite a bit about you.”
Juliet raised her eyes, and he coughed away an arrogant-sounding laugh. “My condolences for your father,” he said to Juliet. “I do hope your mother is doing better.”
With an immediate step backward, Mia shook her head before Juliet could react to his bait. “Get out.” Her voice had gone low and gruff. “Get out.” Reaching for the door, she gave it a hefty shove, and Juliet braced for the sound of heavy slam that didn’t come.
Foot in the doorway, Stephen pushed the door back open and rolled his eyes. “No,” he said sternly. “Not until I get what I came for.”
Fuming, they all stood stuck in the doorway and waited.
So it’s a standoff, then, Juliet thought.
CHAPTER 23
Mia and her ex-husband stood face to face, staring just over each other’s shoulder, waiting, she supposed, for the other to make the first move. Juliet considered being the one to do it, considered saying anything that would break the bizarre power struggle playing out in front of her. No one wins these kinds of games, she thought.
