“Are you ready, flower?”
Mia pulled up her hair into a messy bun, ready to put on one of her wigs for her date. “Are you sure about this? Wouldn’t you rather spend time with the baby and Tammy?”
Cyrus went over wrapping his arms around Mia and looked at her through the mirror. “I’m sure. You came on this trip to have fun. It’s been nothing but a nightmare.”
Mia smiled back at him with a blush. “Not everything.”
Cyrus kissed her cheek. “No. Not everything. I just want to take you on a real date, and we need some time alone. Everyone has gone back to work and we have a week to relax and be with Tammy and Eli. The nurse is here. It’ll be fine.”
Mia looked a little uncomfortable when he mentioned Tammy’s name. “It’s sort of awkward. She’s nice to me and all, but it’s just… strange.”
“I know. None of this is normal. I appreciate all you are doing for me.”
“For Eli, too. He’s so precious.”
“He is.” Cyrus smiled. “I can’t believe I’m going to be a dad.”
“Who are you telling? I just thought I was coming to a birthday weekend bash, not starting a family.”
“You can back out at any time. I won’t pressure you. It’s only been a couple of months since we first started talking online. We just met a couple of weeks ago. I know I pressured you at first, but I was just excited.”
Mia turned to him, taking his face in her hands. Cyrus leaned his forehead on hers and closed his eyes, feeling her soft touch.
“I’m okay. I’ll get used to it. Now that I have spent a little time with Tammy, I see she needs our help. She doesn’t have a family to turn to. She’s worried for her son, and rightfully so. That being said -- she made mistakes and I can’t overlook that just yet. She hurt you, but I know she still cares.”
Cyrus nodded in agreement. “I know. We talked about how both of us made a lot of mistakes in our marriage. I think I’ve made peace with that. We were just not meant for each other. Meeting you was the eye-opener I needed because I see now what matters. I was trying so hard to be everyone’s protector. With you, I can be that emotionally and don’t have to be too smothering. I know you can stand up for yourself and you show it over and over.”
“I still need you, Cyrus. Just not to be my protector. I need you to be my partner. 50/50. The way it should be. We both need each other and that’s part of being in a relationship. Being able to lean on someone you trust is what makes it special. We can lean on one another and still be strong individuals too.”
“Exactly. Now. Let’s get to that date. I need to be with my girl alone tonight.”
“Gage told me a secret.” Mia turned back to the mirror to work on her makeup.
Cyrus sighed, running his hand over his face. “Shit. What did he do?”
“You have a kink. My naughty little love muffin has a kinky little secret he’s been hiding from me.”
Cyrus’s eyes got wide. “Waa.. what? Kink?”
“A kink. A fetish. So… Here is what we are going to do. I’m going to make you leave this room. Anastasia Wild will meet you at the restaurant bar in an hour.”
“Anastasia…Your stage name?”
“Um-hum. She has a thing for meeting strange guys in bars. It’s always been a fantasy of hers but never played it out. She’s a lady, you know. She especially likes big, strong, wrestlers and I thought you should meet her.”
“Are you saying you want to role… umm…” Cyrus gulped down a nervous tightness in this throat. He blushed to the tips of his ears, glancing around the room awkwardly.
“Roleplay, sweetie? Yes.” Mia went over and grabbed his tie with a sly smirk. “Is that okay with you?”
Cyrus just nodded as he looked down at Mia with a goofy half-grin. His lip curled up on one side as his face went beet red.
“You’re so cute when you blush. Such a big strong man, and so dang adorable.” Mia kissed the tip of his nose. “I thought you’d like that. You’ve been under so much pressure I thought we could have some fun. Now scoot. I must get ready. Anastasia will have a red dress on tonight. I told her it’s your favorite color.”
“Ah-huh. Red.” Cyrus was speechless as he walked backward out the door, looking over his girl. She was like a dream come true.
“Oh… Cyrus.”
“Uh-huh?”
“I love you.”
“Love. Yes. You.”
Mia giggled as he closed the door with his goofy grin plastered across his face. She had made his day.