“He carried me back to his bed, and we made out for a while. Then he… ah… went down on me.” And damn if her face didn’t flush with that memory. Cam Hartson had more than football skills. “After that, I had to leave to meet the boys at the field.” Mia leaned her head back on the bedframe. “Oh, he did dry my hair for me. I couldn’t turn up at pee wee practice with wet hair in October. I was going to just towel dry it, but he made me sit on a chair and he dried it for me.” She swallowed hard, remembering how gentle his fingers were as he aimed the dryer at her long hair. How good they’d felt as he raked them against her scalp. It had felt strangely intimate – more intimate than the act of sex.
And yeah, she’d liked it a bit too much.
“He dried your hair?” Jo’s voice was full of disbelief. “Seriously? And now I’m swooning. Do you think he has a thing about hair? Not that yours isn’t gorgeous, but no guy’s ever done something like that for me.”
“I think I did something to my shoulder when we were in the shower,” Mia confessed. “When I lifted the dryer up my muscles did a weird ping and I groaned a little.” Or a lot. She never was great with pain. “So he took it from me and told me to hold still.”
“Have you heard from him since?”
“Just a text this evening to ask how my shoulder was.” Today had been too busy to even think about him. “After practice, we went out to lunch with Josh’s friend’s family, and then they insisted on taking us to the local farm that’s just opened their pumpkin patch. Even Michael enjoyed it, I think. They have an older son, too. A junior at Michael’s high school, and the two of them get along pretty well. Which meant fitting all our chores into about two hours this evening.”
“So the boys are settling in. That must be a relief.”
Mia blew out a mouthful of air. “You have no idea how much. I’ve been wondering if I made the right decision coming here, but today it really feels like I have.”
“That’s because you got some.”
“Stop it.” Mia laughed. “It has nothing to do with that.” Okay, maybe it had a little something to do with her good mood. She had a good time with Cam this morning, and from the way he kissed her before she left, he did, too.
There were no regrets, and she was determined not to second guess herself. She’d done that for too long. As he’d said, they were two single adults having sex. It was nobody’s business but theirs.
And it was over. Done. She’d gotten back on the horse and she knew her body still worked. If one day she went on a date, maybe she’d have that extra bit of confidence.
“So what did you say when he texted you?” Joanna wasn’t giving up.
“I haven’t replied. I haven’t had time.”
“Don’t bullshit me. You always reply to messages. Even when I send you stupid memes of cats licking their own genetalia. The fact you haven’t replied to him tells me volumes.”
“It tells you I’m not interested in anything long term with him. It was a polite enquiry. He probably doe
sn’t even expect a reply.”
“Mmhmm.”
Mia shook her head. “You know I hate it when you do that. It reminds me of Grandma Maisie. She used to sound exactly like that when I told her I hadn’t stolen the last cookie from the jar.”
“Yeah, well Grandma Maisie would be saying the same thing as me. You can lie to yourself but don’t lie to me. If you’d have said you replied to tell him your shoulder was feeling better, I’d have known you weren’t interested in anything more. But the fact you didn’t reply… girl, you need to ask yourself why you’re not following the Mia Devlin rulebook of polite texting etiquette. But don’t bother telling me, because I already know the answer.”
“Which is?” Mia didn’t know why she was playing the game with Jo. But they’d been so close for as long as she could remember. More like sisters than cousins.
“That you want more of that big footballer d—“
“Okay! I get it. And in another life, sure I’d like to see him again. He’s funny, sweet, and great in the shower.” Not to mention his skills out of the shower. “But not in this life. I’m too busy with work and the boys to think about a relationship with anybody. And he’s leaving town soon. I’d rather not risk my children’s happiness for a booty call. Not after all they’ve been through.”
Joanna sighed. “Ah, but what a waste. If I lived any closer I’d be jumping on the guy like a shot.”
The sound of flushing came from the bathroom. One of the boys must have gotten up to use it. “I have to go,” Mia whispered. “I’ll talk to you soon, okay?”
“Okay. Take it easy, sweets. Rest that shoulder up.”
“I will.”
When she ended the call, Mia stared at the fading screen, her brows knitting together as she thought about Cam’s message. Her cousin was right, it was rude not to reply. If she was a suave, sophisticated woman of the world, she’d reply without a second thought. She was going to see him every Friday at football, after all.
The shoulder is still a little achy. I’m thinking of suing you for $10,000. Do you have good insurance? ;) M xx
She swallowed as she saw two green ticks appear.