Sweet Sofie by Elizabeth Reyes

movie and munching on pizza, they ended up naked on the living room floor. Eric worked on catching his breath when Sofia sat up. “God I miss this. I’m so glad summer is almost here. I’m s n="0els Erick of going days without you.” She kissed his neck. “I want this every day.”
Eric took a deep breath. “We need to talk, babe.”
Sofia stopped kissing his neck and looked at him. “About what?”
“This summer.”
She pulled away from him. “What about it?”
“I’m gonna be gone. But I’ll be home on the weekends.”
Sofia stared at him. “Why?”
    “My dad got me an internship with his company in L.A. It’s for the whole summer, Monday through Friday.” He caressed her face. “It’s a dream internship, Sof. My dad pulled a lot of strings to get it for me.”
“You asked him to?”
“No.”
“I thought we we’re taking a vacation?”
    “I know.” He kissed her. “I was looking forward to it, too. But my dad says this is something I really need to do, and I have to agree, Sof. I’d be stupid to pass this up.”
    Sofia looked so sad it killed him. “The whole summer?”
    He pulled her against him. “I promise, we’ll make the most outta every weekend. Okay?” He kissed her nose. “You mad?”
    She took a deep breath, her expression completely heartrending. “Are you going to miss me?”
    Eric sat up and cupped her face in his hands. “Of course I am—every minute of every day. You’re all I think of, Sofie. It’s almost embarrassing.”
    Her face crumbled. “I miss you already.”
    For a moment, he hated his dad, and he choked up, hugging her tight. “No, Sofie.” He took a deep breath, trying to hold it together. “We’ll talk every day. I promise.”
    They held each other for a while, then Sofia asked, “Are you sure you didn’t ask your dad to take you away this summer—from me?”
    Eric pulled himself up and leaned on his elbow. “Why would you even ask me that?”
    She lay there, looking at the ceiling. “You’re not bored with me are you?”
    Eric turned her chin gently to look at him. He gulped, trying to hold in the anger that question filled him with. “Don’t ever ask me that again. I can’t believe you would even think it.”
    She stared at him, then in an instant, she wrapped her arms around him. “Maybe I could go out and stay with you a few times.”
    Eric squeezed his eyes shut. He had a feeling she’d suggest that. But his dad had told him he’d be putting in some long hours. There’s no way he’d have time for her.
    “We’ll see,” was all he’d commit to.
    She pulled away, eyes pinched. “Or not.”
    Eric pulled her to him. “Sof, I’ve only stayed with my mom a few times my whole life. I’m not even sure if this is gonna work out. I’m just saying, let’s wait and see what happens.”
    Even though he knew how disappointed Sofia was, he was glad he’d finally told her. They’d been through so much already. They could get through this.

    ***

    Eric had only been gone a few days, and Sofia was feeling it. She tried so hard to put up a front when he left, but she couldn’t help feeling like somehow he wanted to be away from her. It felt wrong. She should be happy for him. Even her brothers had agreed this was an awesome opportunity for him, but she couldn’t help it.
    Weeks later, even after Eric had come home and two weekends in a row they’d spent most of their time together in a hotel room, she tried pushing it to the back of her mind. Sofia had only signed up for two classes over the summer. She regretted it now, because it gave her too much time to think.
    She used her writing as therapy, spending hours with her laptop. For the most part, it worked. She’d been writing for hours when her phone rang. It was Eric. She answered eagerly.
“Hi, baby.”
“How’s my girl?” He sounded tired.
“Okay, but God, I miss you.” She had to stop telling him that. He was going to get tired of hearing it.
“I miss you, too. Just two more days