Fireworks 1 and 2

Chapter Fifty-Two

    Mia was the first to break away from the kiss. She pushed at one of Drake's arms and walked away from him, putting several feet of space between them. She avoided his eyes, knowing that if she looked into them, she'd probably give in to whatever he wanted. "Performing took more out of me than I thought," she said. "I should get to bed."

    "You can sleep in here tonight, if you want," he told her.

    She kept her gaze focused on the floor. "I need my own space tonight."

    He stared at her for a moment. Then he said, "Okay."

    She turned and walked towards the door.

    "Mia?"

    She halted her footsteps but didn't turn around. "Yes?"

    He didn't respond, forcing her to turn around.

    Well played, she thought as she turned to face him.

    "You were great tonight," he said. "I just...I just wanted to tell you that."

    "Thank you. Goodnight, Aubrey."

    "Goodnight, Mia."

                                                                         ~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    Seeing Bri off at the airport the following week was tougher than Mia had expected. It was a breezy Tuesday morning. The sun was blasting full force, and the airport was pure chaos. Bri hugged her. Mia hadn't wanted to let go. The past week had been intense. She'd cooled things off with Aubrey. She stopped returning his flirtation. She continued to help him with the writing and made music the focus. She was cordial with him and still joked around with him; she was just trying to keep things on a friendly level.

    Trevor texted her again when she hadn't responded to his first message. She saved his number in her phone, again. He asked her out on a official date, and she still hadn't given him an answer. She wanted to say yes. She wanted to get out of Drake's house, where the atmosphere was tense and awkward. Where she felt like she had to walk on eggshells around him.

    As the dark, tinted-windowed SUV pulled away from the airport, Mia already felt like Bri was worlds away.

    "You'll see her again soon," Drake said softly, seeing her distress.

    She offered a small smile. "I know. I'm just going to miss her."

    He smiled back.

    She took a deep breath. "There's...something that I have to tell you."

    His brows furrowed. "Sounds serious."

    "Trevor asked me out on a date," she told him. "I haven't responded to him yet, but I'm going to tell him yes."

    He looked away from her. "When is the date?" he asked.

    "Tonight," she answered.

    He nodded. "Okay."

    "Okay?" she repeated.

    "I overreacted the night of our performance," he said. "I realize that. Deleting his number from your phone, that was petty. Childish. I don't have the right to be possessive of you. I understand that."

    Relief washed over her. "Thank you."

    For the rest of the way home, they sat in silence.

                                                                              ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~