Mia Knows Best

Dear Hunter: From, Your Newly Discovered Heart

I’m in heaven. Or at least my version of it. Mia’s stretched out on top of me, her warm weight grounding me as she threads her fingers into my hair and kisses me slowly. Our legs are tangled together and my arms are holding her tight as my hands slowly map their way up and down her body. We’re still fully clothed and there’s no urgency to our long, deep kisses, and I don’t think I’ve ever felt so content in my entire life.

This is my happy place. With each passing day I spend with Mia, my heart feels a little fuller.

She pulls her lips away from mine and I pout at the loss of contact. Rolling her eyes, she lets out a breathy laugh and says, “Your phone’s ringing.”

I vaguely register the sound of buzzing coming from above my head, where my phone is laying on Mia’s couch side table. I cup her cheeks and pull her lips to back to where they belong, speaking against her mouth. “Ignore it.”

She glances at my phone and then smiles into the next kiss and it’s my favorite feeling in the world, like she’s radiating her warmth and happiness into me with each press of her lips. “It’s Bennett.”

It’s gonna take more than that to pull me out of this dreamland. I kiss her again, determined to revel in the time we have together for as long as I can. “I’ll call him back later.”

With one more kiss to my lips, she pulls back and reaches over my head to grab my phone, holding it out towards me. “From what you told me about him, my guess is that he’s not going to stop until you answer.”

“Fine,” I sigh, as I sit up. She shifts off my lap to sit cross legged on the couch beside me and I immediately miss the warmth of her body as I hit the accept button. “What?”

“Just checking in,” Bennett says, sounding suspiciously nonchalant.

“Really?” I grouse, finding his timing far too convenient. I have no problem with Bennett knowing where I am and who I’m with in a general sense, but when he uses that information to his own advantage, I’m not going to be happy about it. “You couldn’t check in when I wasn’t trying to spend some quality time with my girl.”

“You’re with Mia?” He asks, though he doesn’t sound the least bit surprised. “Great. She’s coming to the party, right?”

And there it is. The real reason he called.

It’s so easy to forget sometimes, how all of this started. We’d only been dating for a few months, but we talked every day, and I’d met her parents, and I felt a deeper connection to her than I had to anyone before.

So, sometimes I forgot. That I hadn’t acted singularly when I’d sought Mia out on New Year’s Day. How was I supposed to know that kissing a pretty girl as the clock struck midnight would somehow lead to the most meaningful romantic relationship I’d ever had?

But just because I’d been nudged along a little in the beginning didn’t mean that my feelings weren’t real. Because they were. And they grew stronger every single day, to the point that sometimes I couldn’t believe that I was actually this happy.

Which is why I actively avoided Bennett when I had the option. Because he always reminded me that my initials intentions hadn’t exactly been noble.

Sighing, I say, “I’ll ask if she wants to.”

“Make sure she’s there, Hunter.” He’s using his strict voice, the one he thinks will make me do whatever he wants.

“I’ll ask.” I roll my eyes, ready for this call to be over. “Is that all?”

“Yep.”

“Bye, Bennett.” I glare at my phone as I end the call a little more aggressively than necessary, setting my phone back on the side table before turning my attention back to Mia.

“Everything alright?” she asks. She’s sitting cross legged on the couch beside me and reaches out a hand to squeeze my shoulder and rest her chin on top of it and the gesture makes my entire body warm. We’ve been dating for three months now, so it’s not like showing affection is unheard of. We kiss all the time and we hold hands when we’re out and we have s*x, but there’s something so domestic about such a simple touch and I realize that if this is how I feel about my life fifty years from now, I’ll have done something right.

“Yeah, baby, I’m fine,” I assure her, pressing a kiss to her forehead. “Bennett’s just got me on a short leash.”

A small smile stretches her lips. “Ah, because of your reputation.”

“What do you know about my reputation?” I narrow my eyes.

“From what I hear,” her smile grows, her chin still resting firmly on my shoulder, “you’re kind of a bad boy.”

I laugh, returning her grin. “You think?”

“Nah.” She wrinkles her nose and shakes her head. “I think it’s all an image and you’re actually a huge softy.”

“That’s probably more accurate,” I agree, pressing another soft kiss to her lips and wondering if I’ll ever get used to the feeling of complete contentment I feel just being near her.

I nudge her with my knee and she gives me enough space to lie down again, before wedging herself between me and the back of the couch. Once she’s folded herself over so her head is resting on my chest and one of her legs is tangled between mine, she asks “What did he want?”

“He was just reminding me about this party our label is throwing for their twentieth anniversary.” I’d actually love to have her beside me but knowing that Bennett wants her there for publicity reasons sours the asking process and I find myself avoiding the question.

“Well that’s exciting, right?” She traces circles onto my stomach, her voice soft and sweet.

“Yeah, it’s cool,” I admit with a frustrated sigh, “but it’s a lot of schmoozing with record execs to make sure our album contracts get extended and I kinda hate it.”

“I see.” There’s a pause and then she says, “Would it help if I came?”

The weight in my chest lightens considerably. “Would you?”

I’m surprised she made the offer at all. Not that I think Mia wouldn’t support me if I asked, but she’s not really the mix and mingle and party type. So the fact that she’s offering to put herself in that situation for me means more than she realizes.

“If you want me to.” She tilts her head back to look me in the eyes. “Of course.”

“I definitely want you to,” I reply immediately, leaning down to give her a quick kiss of gratitude. “But baby, you don’t have to. I don’t want you to feel obligated. There’ll be a lot of paparazzi there and it can get a little overwhelming.”

“That’s okay,” she assures me with a soft smile. “I want to. I want to support you.”

I stroke her hair gently. “You sure?”

“Absolutely.” She grins.

Returning her smile, I kiss her again, letting this one linger and whispering against her lips, “Thanks, baby.”

She kisses me slow and deep and so tender before laying her cheek back on my chest. “Do you still get nervous?”

“Nah, I’m kind of used to it by now,” I reply. When we were first started getting invited to high profile events as a band, I’d get so nervous I’d sometimes get sick beforehand, but now we’ve gone to so many of these parties that it’s almost routine for me. But that doesn’t mean it won’t be an overwhelming experience for her. “Are you freaked out?”

“A little,” she replies quietly, and I pull her closer. “I don’t know…it’s just a little scary, I guess. I mean, I know everyone already knows we’re dating, but this is us voluntarily showing up as a couple.”

She’s right. This is the first time we’ll be making the first move. Over the course of the past few months, there’s been paparazzi shots of us in magazines and online pretty much any time we’re together in public, but we’ve always tried our best to just go on with our lives and pretend the cameras aren’t there.

This time we’ll be facing down those cameras willingly and the thought is a little nerve wrecking.

“We don’t have to,” I find myself saying. “I can do the red carpet by myself and you can just meet me inside if you want.”

Honestly, just having her there would be enough for me. I don’t need to parade her in front of the press unnecessarily.

“It’s okay,” she says, smoothing her hand down my chest and turning her head to press a kiss to my heart. “I want to be with you.”

I know she’s just talking about the party, but her words make my heart soar. Because I want to be with her too. For as long as I possibly can.

“Okay,” I reply, squeezing her into my side and kissing the top of her head. “I’ll be with you the entire time, okay? You got nothing to worry about, baby.”

She sighs contently, her eyes fluttering closed as she snuggles up against my chest. “I know.”

Her complete faith in me is exhilarating, but as I listen to her steady breathing and bask in the warmth and completeness I feel with her body pressed to mine, a knot tightens in the pit of my stomach. Because as much as I love that she trusts me so much, I feel like it’s just a matter of time until I break both of our hearts.