Page 30 of She’ll Steal Your Heart
“Did she?” Mia couldn’t help asking.
Lauren nodded. “I bet she’d give you her number if you asked.”
“I don’t know.” She gave her head a quick shake. Her cheeks were uncomfortably warm, and she didn’t even know why. “I did think about asking her out, but I’m just…I’m horribly out of practice.”
Lauren grinned. “Mia, you’re gorgeous, you’re successful, and you’re good company too. I’m sure she’d be thrilled to go out with you.”
“I haven’t been on a first date in eighteen years. The whole concept is completely intimidating, to be honest,” she admitted.
“I can imagine,” Lauren said.
“I need to dip my toes back in the water, though, but do you think I should start with someone from a dating app instead of a regular from the café?”
“Either-or,” Lauren said. “I bet it’ll be easier than you think.”
“I hope so.”
They fell to lighter topics as they finished cleaning up. Lauren headed out, and Mia went upstairs. She needed to go to the gym. Generally, she went every morning before work, but she’d skipped yesterday because of her migraine and again this morning because she’d needed to be at the café early to work with Chaos and Mayhem.
With a sigh, she rubbed her forehead. She was too tired to go tonight. She’d make up for it tomorrow. Instead, she stared morosely at her empty kitchen. Dammit. She really should have gone shopping before she came upstairs. Lola trotted over, meowing, and at least there were still a few cans of cat food in the pantry.
Mia fed her, poured herself a glass of water, and then went into the bedroom to change. Once she was dressed in lounge pants and a comfortable T-shirt, she settled on the couch and picked up her phone. The Google doc Lauren had sent her last night was still there, waiting for Mia to read it. A smile touched her lips as she saw the title.
Kiss Me Slowly
Mia curled her feet underneath herself as she began to read. The fic picked up right where the season finale left off, with Sam and Claire kissing passionately in the alley behind the bar, although they quickly came to their senses. Sam was still rattled from her panic attack, so Claire offered to drive her home, and then she insisted on seeing Sam inside.
I stumble toward the kitchen for a glass of water, my pulse beating like a wild thing in my ears. I kissed Claire. I kissed Claire, and it was one of the hottest kisses of my life. Even now, my body feels alive, electricity snapping through my veins, sparking under my skin, a live wire waiting to be touched.
And Claire does. She touches my shoulder, a touch that seems to reach all the way to my soul. I turn, and my mouth crashes into Claire’s, tasting her, claiming her,devouringher. I’ve never felt so wild, so overwhelmed with need for another person. Claire’s hand slides beneath my shirt, skating over my bare skin and drawing a moan from my throat.
Mia gasped when Claire pushed up Sam’s skirt right there in the kitchen. Holy shit, that was hot. A warm ache grew between Mia’s thighs as she read, and she shifted in her seat. Sam and Claire ended up on the floor, claiming each other in one of the sexiest scenes Mia had ever read. She was so turned on just reading it that she was seriously considering going into the bedroom for her vibrator.
But…in the back of her mind, she saw Lauren writing those words, the words that had turned Mia on. And now she felt more uncomfortable than aroused. This was the first time she’d read something Lauren had written since they’d met in person. Maybe that was the difference? Or maybe Mia just really,reallyneeded to get laid. Probably, it was a combination of the two.
Irritated with herself, Mia’s instinct was to put down her phone and change the subject in her sex-starved brain all together, but she’d promised to send Lauren notes on the fic. Mia reached under the coffee table for her laptop and booted it up. She could type so much faster on a real keyboard. Hopefully, if she read through the fic with a clinical eye, looking for typos and awkward sentences, she wouldn’t get as caught up in the emotion of it this time.
Even as she was critiquing Lauren’s words, Mia was blown away by the quality of her writing. Lauren really did have talent, and Mia hoped she was able to realize her dream of becoming a published author. It was beyond impressive that she’d written this entire fic on her phone last night after she left Mia’s apartment.
Mia entered her notes and then sent Lauren a quick message to let her know how much she’d enjoyed the fic. Of course, the minute she’d sent the text, she was second-guessing her wording. Obviously, Lauren would have no idea just what kind of enjoyment Mia had gotten out of it, but good God, she needed to get a grip!
Huffing in frustration, she stood and went into the kitchen, hoping there was another prepackaged meal in her freezer. She tried not to let herself remember how nice it had been when Lauren was here last night, that grilled cheese she’d made out of the pathetic contents of Mia’s pantry. Nope. She wasn’t going to think about Lauren again tonight, not in any context.
9
For the next few weeks, Lauren threw herself full force into getting her life back on track. She worked several afternoons a week at the café, mostly helping out in the cat enclosure, but sometimes Mia put her to work behind the counter too. And Lauren got another part-time job, stocking shelves at a market not far from the café. That job came with a very convenient employee discount, which was the best perk a girl on a budget could hope for.
Lauren’s main concern now was housing. The hostel on 7th didn’t allow people to stay for more than two weeks at a time, so she’d moved into a different hostel, but this one was a little bit more expensive and a whole lot louder. She wasn’t sleeping well, and her bank account was dwindling, but she still hadn’t been able to find anyone willing to rent to her with a felony charge hanging over her head.
She was increasingly anxious about her court date, which was only two days away. As much as she couldn’t wait to get it over with, she was so scared something would go wrong and she’d wind up in jail after all. She took full responsibility for her crime, and she was willing to accept whatever happened, but she was finally getting back on her feet, dammit. Going to jail would be a huge setback. Thank God Mia would be there with her in court.
She and Mia were spending more time together than ever. Their friendship was strengthening, and so was Lauren’s infatuation, but she was determined to push it to the back of her mind. She’d been attracted to friends before, and with time, it would pass. Lauren couldn’t even think about getting involved with anyone until she’d found an apartment. Right now, she was essentially homeless, bouncing between hostels.
Not to mention, Mia didn’t seem to return Lauren’s interest. Mia had flirted with Beth a few more times when she came into the café, but so far, nothing had come of it. Overall, Mia seemed flustered and uncertain when it came to dating.
As Lauren pushed through the café’s front door that afternoon, she was so lost in her thoughts, she almost ran straight into Mia, who was standing just inside the door with a strand of orange lights shaped like leaves in her hands.
“Sorry,” Lauren said as she dodged to the side. “Halloween decorations already?” It was only mid-September, but she’d already started to see pumpkins on doorsteps.
