your hand forever’s all I want {private}

Mia froze as she listened to everything, mind going over the words. It was her , he was in love with her. And it wasn’t like she couldn’t believe him - things said when drunk were unabashedly true. His gaze was boring into her and she had to look away for a moment to take it in. Then she sighed and looked back, reaching over to touch his face, gently running her thumb along his cheek. “I shouldn’t have pressed you while you were intoxicated, I’m sorry” she said. “But we should talk about this tomorrow, we both should get some rest,” Mia seemed calm but inside everywhere was a mess with taking in the news. She’d beeen denying her feelings for so long, but maybe...tomorrow they’d talk.

Mia felt like crying for some reason. Not that she herself was sad, but because her heart went out to him. He wanted her to forget it because he didn’t think she felt the same way. “Louis I-“ she paused and sighed, putting the bottle of wine on the coffee table so he wouldn’t keep doing this to himself. “I refuse to tell you if I do or do not feel anything when you’re like this. Whether or not you remember tomorrow we are talking about this,” she then stood up, holding out her hands. “Come on, I’m not leaving you out here like this for your daughter to stumble upon you in the morning so, let’s go. Off to bed,”

Mia gave him a frustrated look. “I’m not taking care of you because I feel bad! I’m taking care of you because I actually care about you and I’m worried,” she reached out when he stood up, a little wobbly. Thankfully he managed to keep himself upright. Mia stayed in case he wanted someone to lean on for balance as he returned to his room. However, Louis wasn’t done talking to her. She gave him a confused look at his mini speech. It all moved too fast after that - his hands on her face, and then his kiss. Mia’s brain forgot how to function properly, and she got lost in the kiss. Her heart was nearly pounding out of her chest and she was so overwhelmed with emotion. She never got the chance to react, or move in to kiss him back because he pulled away. They stared at each other for a moment, and then he released her and left. Mia immediately crashed back onto the couch, her knees too weak to stand. She quickly buried her face in her hands, groaning at herself. It took her a few minutes to return to normal and she got up again, turning off the radio. She grabbed the bottle and wine glass left where they were, put those back in the kitchen, and she slunk off to bed. The only thing on her mind was that kiss and what on earth she was going to do about it tomorrow.

Mia barely slept that night, she kept waking up every two hours. And then she ended up getting up before the sun did, and gathered a light jacket and headed out to go walk on the beach. She stayed out there for another hour, walking and watching the sun come over the water. She made the trek back to the beach house, planning on slipping back into bed and try to go back to sleep. She felt a little more clear headed then. But as soon as she walked back into the house, and the kitchen, Louis was in there searching the fridge. She froze, standing there watching him, unsure what to say. Mia had gone through a bunch of different speeches for her head in the morning but all of them were gone. Looking at him, she just wanted him to kiss her again. But Mia was so scared to make that kind of leap, it was part of why she hesitated the night prior. And because she really wanted to confirm what he felt when his mind wasn’t flooded with alcohol.

When he noticed her presence, Mia searched his face for signs of recognition of what happened the night prior. But ...he seemed like his normal self, and Mia felt like he would not be as friendly or chipper if he recalled the events. Some disappointment washed over her, but now this was all on her to bring to the surface. Just, not yet. She couldn’t talk about it yet. “Um. No thanks. I don’t have much of an appetite,” which was true. She felt sick to her stomach, the thought of eating disgusted her. “Do you want me to go see if Naomi isn’t awake or let her sleep?” she asked.

Mia nodded and then dropped her shoes off by the door before shuffling over to the kitchen to lean against the counter while he cooked himself food. “How are you feeling?” she asked. “You uh, kinda nearly downed an entire bottle of wine last night, I’d be surprised if you didn’t have a hangover,” she joked quietly, and let out a chuckle. “Do you..do you remember anything from last night?” she asked casually, though it was hard to ask that without him probably thinking there was more to the question.

Mia shrugged. “I don’t drink often so excuse me for not knowing typical hangover foods,” she teased with a laugh, staring down at her feet while she stood there leaning against the counter. She felt her cheeks start to burn with heat, feeling a bit flustered. “No, nothing stupid,” she shook her head. “You...” She started to tell him but she couldn’t get the words out. “Maybe we can talk about it later,” she blurted quickly and spun around, leaving to her room to grab a pair of clothes, then she locked herself in the bathroom to shower.

Mia ended up taking a long shower, probably close to forty minutes. She stayed in there until the hot water started to get more on the lukewarm side. When she got out she changed into the clothes she brought into the bathroom with her, and then headed off to the room she was staying in to brush and blow dry her hair. Her room was farther from Naomi’s room than the bathroom, so less noise. After she did all that Mia laid on the bed, a little scared of going back out there to Louis. She wanted to bring everything up but it felt like a bad time.

Mia sighed and decided she needed to just act normal, remain as things were before. So she gathered herself and exited the room, bringing a book she took along with her on the trip and shuffled back into the main area of the house. She almost went over to sit on the couch, but it brought back last night so she settled in the arm chair instead comfortable, flipping the book open to where she left off, and resumed reading.

Mia peeked up from her book to look at him. He...was happy. Humming, content. She couldn’t say he was like this on a regular basis, normally he was quiet and kept to himself. “You’re...sure you don’t remember anything?” she called softly, setting her bookmark in place and closing her book. She tapped her fingers on the cover, nervous