15
Mysti
The sun was barelyover the horizon when Trenton left the bed to go surfing. I waited all of five minutes after he was gone before I was up and getting ready for the day. There was so much to do, and only so many hours to squeeze everything into. I needed every spare minute I could get.
After dressing for work and grabbing one of the protein bars we made over the weekend, I grabbed my gym bag and rushed to my car. Miller’s house was closer to the gym than to Whitman’s, and while I hated backtracking, this was the only way I could get things to work out. He was waiting for me at the front door when I arrived, and his smile grew as I rushed up the driveway and inside.
“Do you think he suspects anything?” he asked the minute I’d set my bag down and kicked off my shoes.
Sucking in a sharp breath, I spun and faced him. “I sure hope not.” I pulled my hair off my neck and held it in a tight grip. “Why does this have to be so hard?”
“Hey.” Miller pulled me into a hug, but the light swaying of his body wasn’t enough to soothe my frayed nerves. “It’s going to be okay. We’ll be fine.”
“But what if it’s not? What if he finds out?”
Miller edged back, putting his hands on either side of my neck and holding my focus on him. “We’ll be okay. I promise.” He pressed a kiss to my forehead, and when he pulled back, he had a wide smile on his face. “Now, come on. I made coffee.”
“You did?”
He grabbed my hand and dragged me to the sofa, where two glorious cups of coffee awaited us. “I figured you’d need it.”
“You don’t know how right you are. All this sneaking around is wearing me out.”
“Are you okay? What can I do?”
The coffee was a little too hot, so I blew on the liquid and leaned against the back of the couch. “I don’t know. Be there for me?”
Miller set his mug aside and grabbed my foot, swinging it up into his lap and nearly spilling my drink down my shirt. A squeal pulled from my chest as I struggled to keep upright, to keep from spilling.
“Hey!” Any other retort was silenced the minute his thumb dug into the arch of my foot. “Oh, good gracious. Please don’t stop.”
He chuckled, and a smirk tugged at his lips. “That’s what she said.”
“Psh.” There was no stopping my eye roll. I would have slapped him with the back of my hand if I didn’t have my coffee to worry about. Instead, I enjoyed my drink—perfect, just the way I liked it—and let Miller pamper me. The knitted brow he wore only became more pronounced as he focused on rubbing my foot, and I broached the subject I was sure he’d rather ignore.
“How are you doing?”
Miller looked up from his fingers, his face a full grimace. “Not great?”
I set my mug aside and stole my foot from his grasp. “What’s going on?”
He let me take his hand, let me slide my fingers between his. But he wouldn’t look at me. “It’s a lot. I don’t know what I’m doing half the time.”
“Oh, sweetie.” I pulled him into a hug, wishing I could take away the pain that was so clear in his voice. “Have you talked to Carson?”
For a moment, Miller didn’t answer. He tightened his hold around me, his thoughts so loud I could almost hear them. “I did. But I’m just kinda terrified, you know? This is a huge secret to keep. I mean, how are we supposed to act normal when we have to be around each other at the campground with everyone there?”
“Remember, it’s just one weekend, and it’s just our friends from the gym. We can do this.” I squeezed his hand. “We’ll make it work. We always do. And the next thing you know, everything will be back to the way it is.”
Some of his uncertainty seemed to melt away, and the quiet smile he gave warmed my heart. “What would I do without you?”
“I’m pretty sure you’d get a hell of a lot more sleep.”
His laughter shook his shoulders, and as he threw his head back against the cushion of the couch, I joined in too. Then I grabbed my coffee mug and took a long sip before setting it down and grabbing his hand. “Come on. Let’s get busy before I have to go to work.”
Miller’s face lit up, and he hopped off the couch. “Sounds like a plan.”
* * *