Mia smiled in gratitude. Allie was a miracle worker. If only she could control the weather, then she would be an official goddess. “Thanks again, Allie. Talk to you soon!”
She ended the call and then pulled up her weather app, needing to see this winter storm for herself. When she saw it, she swore—the storm was huge! It had just entered Indiana and it extended back all the way to Iowa and Minnesota.
Stupid storm, she thought bitterly. Ruining her holiday plans and keeping her from her fiancé.
Mia closed her eyes to keep the tears from coming. She missed Ethan so much and now she wouldn’t see him until probably sometime in March when the tour stopped in Chicago, maybe sooner if he didn’t get to the post-season.
“Miss, we’re here,” the driver announced, pulling to a stop outside of the hotel. She paid him the fare, grabbed her bags and hurried into the hotel. As predicted, Allie was able to extend her stay. That girl deserved a huge bonus!
Mia opened the door to the suite she left just three hours ago. The stunning views of Central Park did nothing to soothe her anger, her disappointment.
“Fuck!” Mia screamed in frustration as she flopped down on the plush deep gray sofa. “This is not fair!” she moaned into the cushion. She felt like a seven year-old, pouting when she didn’t get her way. She controlled the urge to flail her arms and legs in a full-blown temper tantrum, but just barely.
Her phone ringing in her pocket pulled Mia out of her little pity party. She didn’t want to answer it because she knew it was Ethan and she would break down at the sound of his voice. She didn’t want him to hear her so weak but, at the same time, she needed to hear his voice to calm her down.
She grabbed the phone. “Hi,” she answered, the tears already welling in her eyes and she hadn’t even heard him speak.
“Hi,” he said in a low, tormented voice. His pain was the final straw. A hot tear rolled down her cheek, followed by another, then quickly multiplying in number as she gave into the sadness of being without Ethan. He remained silent. She imagined his arms around her as she cried, which only caused her to sob harder because it wasn’t the real thing and she wouldn’t have his strong arms around her for months.
Everything was catching up to her—being away from him, her lack of sleep, the grueling schedule, and all the damn travel. It weakened her. She didn’t want any of it. All she wanted was to be in his arms.
“Are you done?” he asked, sympathy lacing his voice, as she sniffled against her hand.
“Maybe,” she sighed, pulling a tissue from the box and dabbing at her eyes. “Now this really sucks.”
“You got that right,” he agreed solemnly.
“So, when is the next for sure time we will be able to see each other?” Mia asked, even though she feared his answer. She knew it wasn’t going to be until she came back from Australia in February.
“The week of your Indy shows.”
“Which is in?”
“March,” Ethan said miserably.
“Goddamn it!” she swore loudly. Even though she had thought that was probably the case, the confirmation crushed her. Ten weeks, seven countries, and over thirty shows until she saw him again, until his arms held her, his lips kissed her.
“It could be earlier. It all depends on the playoffs.”
Even after he said it, she knew it wouldn’t happen. Ethan would be in the playoffs. He needed to be there to prove his bad start was just a fluke. To prove he was a champion. “And you plan on being there, right?”
“Yeah.”
Right again.
“I think I may cry. At least two more months. It’s already been over two since the last time. I need you, Ethan,” she wailed desperately.
“I need you too, suga,” he echoed despondently.
She swallowed hard and bit back more tears, hearing his sad voice. “Can we Skype later?”
“Yeah, of course.”
“Okay, I need to hang up now,” she said, trying to get off the phone before the tears came again and he heard her breakdown for a second time.
“Wait! Why?”
“I need to cry some more,” she admitted miserably.
“Mia,” he said sadly.
“I’m warning you now. I’m probably going to be very drunk the next few days,” she advised. She heard his low deep chuckle. He didn’t believe her. He had yet to see her seriously drunk. It had been a long time since she felt the need to do so, but this was definitely one of those times. “I’m serious, Ethan.”
“I love you, suga.”
“Still getting drunk.”
He laughed a little more. “Please stay in if you’re going to get drunk.”
“Hotel bar is as far as I’ll go. I promise.”
“Okay.”
This seriously was the worst day she’d had in a very long time. She just wanted to curl up on his lap, his arms wrapped around her, his warm lips against her forehead. Was that too much to ask?
“I love you, Ethan.”
“I love you, Mia.”
“Normal time?” she asked, fighting the tears.
He sighed. “Yeah,” he replied, his voice thick with emotion.
“Bye.”
“Bye, suga.”
Mia ended the call and crawled on the freshly made bed, burrowing her head in the crisp white linens. She wrapped the chunky throw around her and let the sad tears flow.
Her tears had sapped all her strength and Mia fell into a deep sleep. When she finally woke, the room was dark and with a quick check of her watch, she saw it was close to seven o’clock. Her first thought after the time was going to the bar.
She re-did the makeup on her tear-stained face and headed down to the hotel lobby. The bar was pretty empty. She picked a stool at the far end so she could be all by herself to wallow in her pain—for a few hours anyway. When the bartender asked for her order, she decided to start with a Jack and Coke and also ordered herself some much needed food. Her last meal consisted of a blueberry muffin and a coffee she got from the hotel before heading to the airport. She quickly finished her drink and motioned for another. This one she nursed until her food arrived.
As she chewed her first bite, Mia heard her name being called from across the room. Her eyes widened in surprise at seeing Marty and Todd making their way towards her. Yay! She wasn’t alone!
She smiled at them as they took a stool on either side of her. “Hey guys! Fancy meeting you like this! Flights get canceled, too?”
“Yeah,” Marty said, motioning for the bartender. “Lucky Clark got out because he was off to Miami.”
“What can I get you?” the bartender asked when he arrived.
“We need some Christmas cheer. What kinds of holiday drinks do you know how to make?”
“One of my favorites is the Polar Bear, great mix of peppermint and chocolate,” the bartender offered.
“Three of them,” he started then looked at Todd who pointed his finger higher. “Okay, six of them.”
“Oh, you’re including me in this?” Mia snickered.
“Hell, yeah! We’re getting pissed tonight!” Todd exclaimed.
“This is why we mesh so well together. We think alike!” she said, finishing off her second Jack and Coke. She took a couple more bites of her food while she waited. Todd and Marty, as usual, snuck food from her plate and before she knew it her meal was gone.
The bartender made their shooters and delivered two to each of them. Marty picked up his shot, raising it in the air. Mia and Todd quickly followed his example.
“To the suckiest Christmas ever! Cheers!” he said and then slammed back the drink.
Mia did the same, her eyes opening wide. The bartender was right. “Oh my God! This is like candy!” she exclaimed, grabbing the next drink and swiftly finishing it off.
She lost track of how many shots they had over the course of the evening. It was a lot. In between sets of shots, she sampled the meals Todd and Marty ordered. After their food, the trio drank more—lots of vodka and teq
uila. At some point, Mia had the vague thought that she would not like waking up the next morning. Right now, she really had to go to the bathroom badly. She raised her hand and said, “Check, please!”
When he bartender handed her the bill, she stared in frustration at it. She slid it over to Marty. “I’m too drunk to do math. Just tell me what I owe.”
He chuckled at her and took care of the bill.
“All these shots did nothing to drown anything out,” Todd said sullenly, finishing his last drink.
“What will?” Mia asked, staring into her empty glass.
“I plan on searching for that tomorrow!” he said excitedly.
“Oh yeah?” Marty and Mia said in unison, both interested in what he had to say.
“Enough for all?” Todd asked.
“Yes, please!” Mia said, feeling a wee bit excited. She was going to get high tomorrow!
“Alright, I’m going to make some calls. See you all tomorrow!” Todd said, leaving them to their drinks.
“It’s been awhile,” Marty said thoughtfully.
“The fall before the record deal for me.”
“Really? That’s what? Two and a half years ago.”
She nodded. “What about you?”
“Last tour.”
They were silent, lost in their own thoughts. This long lull between drug use was not normal for them. It used to be every single weekend—for years.
Now that she and Marty had romantic partners, their drug use had decreased significantly. She hadn’t thought about drugs at all while with Ethan. Alcohol, a different story entirely, but the thought of a little pot to take the edge off her pain was a welcomed development.
Wait …
“He’s getting pot, right?” Mia thought to ask.
Marty laughed at her. “Probably.”
“Good,” she said. That will make her nice and happy, not weepy and sad.
“If you want something else, better tell him now.”
“That’s all I’ve ever done,” she admitted, feeling a little inexperienced. She knew Marc did a lot of different drugs and assumed the same of Todd, but she had only ever smoked pot. Well, she was about seventy percent sure of that. Who knew what she did when she was so high or drunk she couldn’t remember?
“Really?”
“Stop saying really!” she said, exasperated.
He laughed, rubbing his cheek. “What are your plans tonight?”
She looked over at him. “Skype.”
“Me too,” he said with a frown.
“This is what we get for falling in love with non-musicians.”
“Bekah said she’s going to come down to Rio,” he said with a smile. Marty had been dating Dr. Rebekah Monahan for over three years now. The two met at the grand opening of her brother’s new restaurant.
“That’s awesome,” she said, happy for him, yet jealous. Marty would be with Bekah during all his free time. One less person for her to be with, Mia thought sadly. “I have been praying that Ethan doesn’t make it to the playoffs so I can see him sooner. Shh!” she said, putting her index finger to her lips.
“When will be the next time you get to see him?”
“When we are in Indy … in March,” she said, feeling the pain in her chest as she spoke the words. Three months. One full season without seeing her fiancé.
“Oh crap! That’s harsh.”
“At least we’ll be where it’s warm and beautiful soon,” Mia offered, trying to envision the beaches of Rio and Australia, but instead all she saw were Ethan’s blood-shot eyes during their last Skype conversation. She wanted to hug and comfort him so badly. Both of them were in so much pain and she was scared that they weren’t going to make it through this.
“There is that,” he said, finishing off his drink.
“Are we going to be okay, Marty?” she asked, finally giving a voice to her fear. She knew he would understand.
He leaned down and kissed her head. “I sure hope so, Mia.”
Ethan
Ethan smiled when the Skype call came from Mia. He navigated the track pad to answer and watched as the screen changed to show the video. His eyes widened in shock when he saw her pulling off her top, leaving her in only a flimsy black bra. Did he mention how sexy it was? The kind of bra where he could easily make out her erect nipples.
Why does she pick this moment to not be his Skype prude?
Luke’s low whistle set him into action. “We can’t have that kind of call now, suga,” he said in a somewhat composed voice. Damn, he wanted his fiancée.
“Why not?” she pouted perfectly and he felt another twinge of desire for her. Thankfully, Luke decided that was the moment to show his best friend that he was there with Ethan.
“Hi, Mia!” Luke said excitedly. “Looking good, sweets!”
“Thanks,” she said, showing off.
Why the fuck is she torturing me?
“What are you doing there?” she asked, looking a little confused.
“Well, kind of here to surprise you.”
Mia tilted her head to the side and the beautiful, dopey smile she got when happy covered her face. “Aww, that’s so sweet!”
As the two of them caught up, Ethan continued to stare at her chest, imagining himself kissing her lush breasts through the fabric, nipping on those hardened nipples. Torture. He couldn’t stand it any longer. “Uh, suga,” Ethan interrupted, gesturing at his shirt.
“Oh yeah. Let me get another shirt.”
“A new shirt?” Ethan asked, a little curious as to why a new one was needed.
“Yeah, I, uh, spilled a drink on my other one. Ick!”
“You really meant it when you said you were going to get drunk?” he said in disbelief. He really hadn’t believed her. Now that he lifted his gaze from her breasts and focused on her eyes, he saw they were glossy and blood-shot. She was pretty damn drunk.
“I always mean what I say, suga,” she said warmly. “I was drinking—a lot!”
“Mia, shirt,” Luke piped in.
“Okay, okay!” she groaned and off screen she went. The rustle of clothing filled the room. She finally came back with a very loose-fitting baby blue sweater. It hung low, showing off her beautiful cleavage. At least her nipples were covered now and Ethan could make it through this call without a hard-on.
“Better?” she asked.
“Much,” Ethan agreed.
“So you went and got trashed, Mia?” Luke jested. “High five!”
“Thanks, buddy! Marty and Todd can’t keep up with me!”
“Lightweights!” he exclaimed.
“I know!”
”You’re really drunk,” Luke observed.
“Pfft,” she scoffed with a wave of her hand which unbalanced her. Eventually, she righted herself and smiled. “I am not.”
“How many shots did you do?” he asked. It surprised Ethan that Luke knew that’s what she’d be drinking. Ethan had really only seen her drink wine or beer with her meals.
“Like five … no, maybe eight. Yeah, eight. Or, was it more? I don’t really know. Bill was over three hundred dollars.”
“Seriously?” Ethan shouted in shock. He did the math. Between the three of them, they knocked back a lot of booze. How the hell did she handle all that liquor?
“Plus a couple of cocktails to start out the night,” she continued. Ethan didn’t think he could hold that much liquor. A six pack of beer. A bottle of wine. A couple scotches. Never really more than that.
“Good job at drowning those sorrows,” Luke said in mock congratulations.
“Don’t encourage her,” Ethan groaned.
Mia tilted her head back and smiled. “I feel good, guys,” she announced then looked at Ethan and her smile changed. “Hey, Ethan, how you doin’?” she said, imitating Joey from Friends. Ethan shook his head and smiled because despite her being drunk, he saw her happiness in this moment. She had scared him earlier in the day. He had never heard her be so emotional, so heartbroken … so sad. All he w
anted to do was take away that pain. So he called in the reserves—Luke.
“Stop! You’re flustering him, Mia!” Luke jumped in.
He watched her laugh with Luke. Their humor was so vulgar at times, like that of teenage siblings. She needed this tonight, he could tell.
“So, Ethan said I went overboard with my presents for Kaitlyn,” she tattled.
To which Luke replied, “You probably did. You always do.”
“Which you’re cool with, right?”
“Totally,” he agreed.
“See,” she directed at Ethan, her tongue sticking out. God, he had an insane desire to suck on that tongue of hers.
“What did you get me?” Luke asked.
“A collection of porn from all over the country!”
“Nice!” Luke said smugly.
“Wait! What?” Ethan interjected. Did he hear that correctly? His confusion must have shown because Mia cracked up laughing, rolling on her bed. “Oh, whoa!” came the sudden whimper from her.
“What?” Luke and Ethan asked together. She was off-screen and he could only see the dark wood headboard of her hotel bed.
“Ugh, head spinning. Give me a sec,” she replied quietly.
“Are you gonna hurl?” Luke asked meanly.
Her long middle finger, the nail painted a deep sexy red, made an appearance on his laptop monitor and Ethan couldn’t help but laugh. Luke glared at him.
“You okay, suga?” Ethan asked, a little concerned.
“Yeah,” she replied, sitting back up, a goofy smile on her face. “I love you two.”
“Love you too, sweets,” Luke said in return.
Then the smile was gone, replaced by tears glistening in her sad dark eyes.
“I might just cry right now. I’m crushed that I’m missing this Christmas with Kaitlyn. This will be the first one I’ve missed.”
“It’ll be alright,” Luke said somberly. “Don’t let those tears fall, okay?”
She laughed as if sincerely amused but the tears fell anyway.
“Ass, you made my fiancée cry,” Ethan said, lightly punching Luke on the arm, which caused her to laugh. He’d even let Luke punch him back if needed. Anything to have her laughing instead of crying.
Mia held his eyes and mouthed, ‘thank you.’ He pressed his fingers to his lips, kissed them and blew her a kiss. She returned the gesture though she struggled with her smile but fought the sadness that threatened to encompass her. He breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that her beautiful smile had won.
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