CHAPTER TWENTY
MIA
For the next couple of weeks, I’d been extremely busy with school, studies, and tutoring. I hadn’t had much time for anything else. Literally nothing else, not even Marcus. God, I missed him so much. The separation was killing me. He was just as busy with the firm and with all of the jobs lately, so I wasn’t sure when we’d have time for just us, until he texted me last night.
Do you think I can buy some time to spend with my girl? Maybe dinner tomorrow night?
It made me smile and feel guilty at the same time. I knew that if we actually lived together, it would be easier on both of us. What the hell was wrong with me? It was just at that moment when I realized that nothing else mattered as long as I had him close by me always.
I quickly glanced at the bedroom door when I heard a light knock, and Megan poked her head through. “Hey, Mia.”
“Megan, hi! Come in.”
She padded her way over to my bed and slumped down beside me, tossing her head back onto a pillow. I quickly grabbed some of the notes I’d written from beneath her and secured them under my textbook. My bed had become my fort for the last few days. If I wasn’t in the library with my tutor or in class, I was in my bedroom. It was also a mess.
“I feel as if, even though you live here, you’ve been so absent.”
“Yeah, I’m sorry. This class is kicking my ass. With only a few weeks left, I’m really focused and determined to get it over with.”
“Yeah, I can see that.” She glared at the pile of textbooks, my laptop, and documents spread along my comforter.
“I’m sorry.”
“It’s okay. Hey, do you want to have a spa day today? You could use a day off from all of this.”
“I have dinner plans with Marcus tonight.”
She shrugged. “It’s only noon, and we’ll be back before then. What time is he expected?”
“I believe eight.”
She jumped up and grabbed my arm with both hands, pleading with her eyes. “See, we have plenty of time. Please! I miss you.”
With an eye roll, I tossed the highlighter in my hand on the bed and agreed. “Fine.”
“Yay!” she squealed.
“What’s this spa thing I’m hearing about?” Jeremy trudged into the room with a bowl of cereal in his hand. His curly blond hair was tossed in all sorts of directions as his blue sleepy eyes scanned my bed.
“We’re getting massages,” Megan said with a nod.
Jeremy scrunched his nose and shook his head before dipping the spoon into the bowl of flakes and shoved it in his mouth. After a few chews, he asked, “You like massages?”
“Who doesn’t?” Megan shot back.
“I don’t.” He made another face.
“Had a bad experience before, Jeremy?” I asked, laughing at his face expression.
“Nope, never got one.”
Megan arched a brow in confusion. “Then why are you so against it?”
“It puts you in a completely relaxed state.”
Both Megan and I were beyond confused, but curious as to what he’d come up with. “Okay, that’s kind of the point, Jeremy.” I chimed in.
“Exactly.” Megan followed.
Jeremy rolled his eyes, “Exactly, my point. Just imagine: your lying there, completely relaxed. Every single muscle has never been so stress-free. Then you have someone pressing down on each part of your body. It feels great, right? But,” he held a finger up with wide eyes, “eventually when they push down on your back, you’re bound to let one loose.”
“What?” I burst out laughing. He was too much. I couldn’t take it. My head fell back as I held my stomach trying to control the ache from laughing so hard.
“A fart, Jeremy! Really? That’s why you don’t like massages!” Megan stood with a hand on her hip as she rolled her eyes. “You’re unbelievable!”
He gave a slight shrug. “Don’t believe me? Wait and see.” He turned on the heels of his bare feet and left the room.
Megan shot me a look when I couldn’t control my breathing. “Are you going or not?” She asked with slight annoyance.
“Okay, phew. Okay. I’m going.” I calmed myself.
***
Megan and I sat in a small room wrapped in oversized robes as we sipped champagne. The lights were dimmed as soft music played in the background. The scent of lavender filled the room, making it feel like a sanctuary. I was happy that had Megan invited me along. I needed that moment to get away from it all. Deep down, I still felt guilty because I could have been using that time for my studies, but I’d been working my butt off for the past couple of weeks. A few hours wouldn’t kill me.
“Ladies, whenever you’re ready.” A very good-looking man exited one of the rooms. Megan wiggled her brows at me as we both stood and made our way over to him. As we entered the room, there were two massage beds beside each other. It was even darker in that room than it had been in the waiting room. “I’ll give you five minutes to get yourselves together. Each of you will lie on the bed face down. Please remove everything except for your underwear.” He smiled and left Megan and me alone.
Megan stripped off the robe and lay on the bed to the left. I took the one on the right and nestled in. “This is going to be awesome,” she said in a loud whisper.
“I’m glad you talked me into this. I really needed it.”
“Of course, now relax and enjoy it.” There was a knock at the door, and this time, the man brought a woman with him. She was my masseuse while he worked on Megan.
I wasn’t sure how long it was into our massages, because I was in such a daze, when Megan called out for me. It felt amazing as my masseuse worked out all the kinks in my aching and stressed muscles. “Mia,” she whispered again.
“Yes,” I moaned as the masseuse continued to work her magic.
“Um, I think Jeremy was right.”
Oh my God. I snorted, causing both of us to erupt into full-blown laughs. It was so bad that we had to stop the massages early. We couldn’t stop laughing.
***
I couldn’t control the impulse that came over me. Once I saw Marcus leaning against his car, looking every bit as sexy as he was, I exited the apartment building, and a squeal escaped me as I ran and jumped into Marcus’s arms. Nearly knocking him over, I landed wet kisses all over his face. How I had missed that handsome face. He held me tightly against his chest with a smile. “Whoa, is it safe to say that someone missed me?” He flashed a crooked, adorable grin.