Composing Love

It felt good. Like, maybe, this was who she was too.

She sighed beneath him, and he kissed her before getting up to take care of the condom. She loved watching him walk around naked. He was a gorgeous, incredible—

Ring ring!

The harsh sound of her phone cut through the silence.

God. Who could that be? What a crappy time to call.

At least they didn’t call ten minutes ago. That would have ruined your orgasm

She giggled to herself and got up to get her phone. But when she saw who it was, her heart sank.

She’d forgotten to call her parents. She answered the phone, feeling preemptively guilty, because she knew that Dad would ask what she was doing.

And she knew she’d have to lie.

“He-hello?” She headed into the living room to take the call, hoping that her parents wouldn’t hear Chris in the background. How would she explain him to them? Would they be disappointed with her for getting involved with an unconventional guy that she was working for?

“Minh?”

“Oh, Mom! Hi. How are you?”

“I’m well. I wanted to see if you were okay.”

“Yep! Just fine!” She knew she was probably coming across as way too hyper, but she was feeling nervous.

“You didn’t call at the usual time. I was worried.”

Suddenly, Minh hated that creature of habit she’d always been. But she forced herself to sound nonchalant. “I’m sorry, Mom. I was, uh, that is the people I’m working with now were helping to move my recording equipment.”

“Oh, I see. That was nice of them to help you.”

Chris came out of the bathroom then, still naked, and winked at her as he walked into the bedroom. Minh blushed. “Yep. Definitely nice.”

“Oh, wait. Dad wants to talk to you.” There was the sound of fumbling on the other end, and then her father’s voice came booming through the phone.

“Minnie! We were worried. You doing okay?”

She couldn’t help rolling her eyes. Is this what happened when you tried to be responsible? For the first time, instead of feeling safe, she felt…trapped. Constricted. She swallowed her growl of frustration, though. “Yep, just fine.”

“Where are you?”

She looked through the doorway to the bedroom, where she could see Chris pulling on a pair of shorts. He wouldn’t care if she fibbed a bit, would he? It’s not like they were in a real relationship. “Uh, I’m on my way home from the studio.”

But he paused, ever so slightly, when he heard her words, and she could see his brows drawing together. Oh, shit. He didn’t seem to like what he’d heard. The dark look on his face, and his shoulders were tight and hunched…

He disappeared from view, then, further into the bedroom, and she heard a drawer open.

It surprised her. Not just his reaction, but the way she felt too, like she’d disappointed him for not owning up to where she was.

“Listen, Dad. Can I talk to you and Mom later? Sorry for not calling. Crazy day.”

“Sure thing, sweetheart. We just wanted to be sure you’re okay.”

Minh’s heart clenched. She felt bad for worrying them, and even worse for being annoyed by their call. They already had so much to fret about with Kieu. They didn’t deserve her frustration.

“I am. Thanks for calling. I love you.”

“I love you too.”

The call ended and she stood there for a second, still naked, in Chris’s living room. All of a sudden, she felt very vulnerable.

Chris came out of his room, fully dressed.

“Should I take you home?”

His expression was blank, but his jaw was tight. Had she misread what was going on between them? Goodness, why did she keep messing up today?

“Chris, I’m sorry, about that—”

He held up a hand. “Hey, no need to explain. You don’t need to complicate things.”

So she was just a complication? Was that why he’d been upset? Maybe he was having second thoughts about getting involved with an employee, and her talking about the studio had reminded him of that.

It stung, but she guessed she deserved it.

And at least now she knew that he wasn’t really serious about this attraction. And she wasn’t going to cut off her nose to spite her face.

“So. You need a ride?”

She looked at him this time. Really looked. And in his eyes, she saw…hurt? Was that right?

She tried for a smile. “Hey. If it’s okay with you, maybe we can hang out a bit. I’d like to.” She shrugged. “If it’s okay.”

His shoulders tensed, but a second later he dropped them and nodded. “Cool.” And then, with a smile, he added, “I’d like that too.”



“So, what’s up between you and Minh?”

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