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pillow, I pray for sleep to take me, but it’s another hour before I
     start to doze off, only to wake up to the keys being tossed onto the granite countertops
     in the kitchen.
    A few moments later, the water in the shower is running and the sound of Skylar’s
     clothes hitting the floor in the bathroom echoes through the quiet apartment. Exactly what has he been doing that a shower is required before getting into bed? When the water stops and the bed dips with his weight, I lie perfectly still, pretending to be asleep.
    My vision quickly adjusts to the dark setting and I’m able to see Skylar, on his back,
     staring at the ceiling. As if his brain’s emitting signals that he’s got a lot on
     his mind, I can hear the hamster wheel squeaking in his head.
    Whatever he’s been doing, or who he’s been doing—I don’t think I have enough strength to start asking those questions.
     I’d rather enjoy this engagement while it lasts, before the other shoe drops and I’m
     left broken and alone with no safety net of any kind.

CHAPTER FOUR
    Skylar
    At this point, I’m not sure what to do. Mira’s a terrible liar, wanting me to believe
     she’s sleeping, but I can feel her eyes burning holes straight through me as I try
     to fall asleep.
    “Mira?” A small whimper comes from her side of the bed.
    “Mira, come on. I know you’re awake.” She’s still ignoring me and I clench my jaw
     so I don’t say something stupid. “Wanna talk about it?”
    “No.” That’s it. Just no.
    She shifts awkwardly, elbowing me in the stomach, possibly intentionally, and rolls
     over … away from me. Trying to close the distance, I grab her waist and pull her
     away from the edge. Mira’s soft hand cradles mine, and my body relaxes, less rigid
     now with the soothing feeling of her touch. The short reprieve is quickly gone when
     she lifts my arm, resting it behind her, and scoots back to her original position.
    “No. Not tonight. It’s late as hell and you’re just crawling in bed. Not too sure
     what you thought would change with this ring on my hand, but it one hundred percent
     doesn’t mean that you get to wander in at three in the morning wanting to talk about it .”
    Rocking softly, Mira pushes her arm under the pillow and rolls onto her stomach as
     I shift to my back, reacquainting myself with the ceiling. Mira and I don’t fight
     often, but when we do, I always feel rejected and fear that she’ll realize I’m too
     much work for her and go back to Danny. I’ve always been a pretty confident guy,
     but when someone like me finally gets someone like her, the thought of her running
     away, leaving me powerless … it’s terrifying.
    I’m a pretty intelligent guy. I’m no rocket scientist, but common sense is a field
     where I’m well versed. Christ, I waited in the wings for years because I couldn’t
     hurt my friend—destroy a relationship I’ve had almost all my life because of my feelings
     for a girl. I weighed every possibility before jumping head first into my engagement
     with Mira.
    This whole part of a club as well as being in a relationship—I knew it wouldn’t be
     easy, let alone trying to keep those two things separate. It’s going to be damn hard,
     but I didn’t prepare myself for this. What can I do, though? There are things I don’t want touching Mira and I really doubt
     that she’d get it, even if I tried to explain.
    “Goodnight,” I whisper, wanting to respect her wishes, but extend some type of olive
     branch, too.
    “Night,” she responds. At least I’m not getting the cold shoulder. I should count
     my blessings where I have them?
    “Love you.” I push my luck. It’s corny and lame but we’ve yet to go to bed since
     living together and not say something peaceful before bed. Ever since Mira painted
     a very vivid picture of a nightmare she had where I died in my sleep, I’d promised
     her we’d never go to bed angry with one another. She told me that night when she