The two friends stared at each other for a long moment, and both could be incredibly stubborn in their own right. She’d be the one to cave this time, though, because she wanted to talk to Mia about Graham. It was half the reason she was so happy Noah had taken him out and left her and Mia to hang out tonight.
“Can we order dinner first? I’m starving.”
Mia rolled her eyes good-naturedly. “I guess. You’re milking that measly twelve-hour shift for all it’s worth, aren’t you?”
“Yep. I’m in the mood for tacos, sound good?”
“Sure.”
Claire found a nearby restaurant available for delivery and placed their order. The second she set her phone on the coffee table she felt Mia’s eyes on her.
Her friend wagged her eyebrows. “Spill.”
Scrunching her nose, Claire picked at her fingernail. “I might have taken your advice.”
Mia’s sudden squeal startled Gertrude, who leaped off the couch with a glare in Mia’s direction and slowly made her way to Graham’s room. “I knew it!”
“Yes. We had the sex.”
“And?” Mia’s eyes were wide as she leaned forward, nearly tipping off the chair.
A slow smile crept in, along with a flush of heat as she thought about last Saturday night. And again on Sunday. “It was very, very good.” How had she described him after their first kiss? Thorough.
Well. He’d certainly earned that badge of honor.
Thorough, attentive, consuming.
“Can’t say I’m surprised.”
“Mia!”
“What?” Mia shrugged. “You know I’m madly in love with Noah, but Graham’s a good-looking guy, and if his body is like Noah’s from all that climbing they do…” She fanned herself.
“You’ll hear no complaints from me,” Claire agreed.
“Not even with his cast?” Mia’s cheeks flushed, which was more her style. “How did that work, exactly?”
“I was on top.”
“Is there even another option?”
“I don’t know… I don’t think so. I can tell it bothers him, though. He feels like he’s being lazy.” She laughed, remembering what he’d said on Sunday when they were gearing up for round two. “He asked if this was how women felt all the time, just lying there while sweaty men grunt on top of them.”
Mia gasped. “He compared you to a sweaty, grunting man?”
“Right? You know I didn’t let that slide. He backtracked and…made it up to me in quite spectacular fashion.” And how. “And I don’t mind for now. I sort of like being in control.”
“Why doesn’t that surprise me?”
“I have no idea.”
Mia grinned and twirled a piece of long, dark hair around one finger. “So you did it and it was good. How are you feeling about it?”
Claire tucked her hands underneath her legs. “That’s a loaded question.”
The thinly veiled avoidance attempt fooled no one.
“Okay, how about this: Has the change in your relationship with Graham also changed your feelings for him?”
This was a topic Claire hadn’t let herself marinate on for long, and she wasn’t about to start now. “I think about him more, but I’ve also been around him a lot lately. For the first week after his accident I was worried about him and constantly thinking about his next dose of medicine or if he would fall when he was in the bathroom. Now, I think about how much fun he is in bed, and I wonder how different it might be once he’s recovered. I’ll admit I look forward to seeing him, and I don’t want to stop what we’re doing.”
“What would you do if he wanted to date you? For real?”
Feeling her shoulders tense, Claire shook her head. “I couldn’t. It’s not an option.”
“Why not?”
“I can’t live like my mom did. I want to have kids someday, and I won’t subject them to the possibility of what I went through. As much as I like Graham, and even though we’re having fun for the time being, he’s just not the right guy for me long-term. Remember what happened after that firefighter got injured a few weeks ago? Seeing Graham, my friend, come through on that stretcher was a thousand times worse. The thought of facing that with a partner… I just can’t do it.”
“Does he know you feel that way?”
“Yeah, I told him about my dad.”
Mia didn’t try to hide her surprise. As a rule, Claire didn’t discuss that topic often. “Really?”