“Um…yeah,” she replied.
Mia,
Please come back.
Aiden
“Who’s Aiden? And why does he want you back?” I asked, feeling jealousy beginning to boil in the pit of my stomach. I didn’t even know who the guy was, but I didn’t like him. He wanted Mia to leave?
“Oh, um…Aiden was my boss. He really misses me and wants me to come back. He’s trying anything to get me return to my old job. It’s crazy really,” she answered with a hesitant laugh.
I eyed her suspiciously for a moment as she began to arrange the flowers in a vase.
What was she hiding? And why didn’t she trust me enough to tell me?
Like all mysterious things Mia had done these days, I let it go.
It shouldn’t be my problem.
We’d agreed on one night, and regardless of what my mom had thought, there were some things even love couldn’t forgive. Despite my best efforts to stay away, I couldn’t. Mia had a pull on me that was undeniable, but I would control how far it went.
Leaving the flower subject alone, I walked to the kitchen counter and helped with the groceries.
“What are we making?” she asked.
“Nothing fancy. I just picked up stuff for spaghetti and salad.”
“Okay, sounds great. Let me get the pot for the pasta.”
That was when my torture began.
She bent forward, wiggling, as she strained to pull out the correct pot from her tiny cupboard wedged in the corner of her ancient kitchen. I should have saved myself and looked away, but I couldn’t. My eyes were glued to her.
Did she know her ass was practically hanging out of her shorts?
“Found it!” she exclaimed.
I turned to adjust the hard-on I was now sporting.
“Oh, we’re going to need a colander, too! That’s up here!” she said, pointing to one of the higher cabinets.
She rose on her tiptoes and began reaching and struggling to grab it. Her shirt rode up, and I caught a glimpse of that honey-colored skin I’d spent hours licking and sucking.
“You know, let’s go out!” I said suddenly.
She lowered back down to her feet and turned. “What?”
“We always eat in when I come over. Let’s just go out for a change.” Otherwise, I’m going to die.
***
Twenty minutes later, we were seated at a local place a couple of blocks down from Mia’s house. It was one of the many perks of where she lived. She could literally walk to almost anything. Of course, the thought of her walking alone didn’t settle well with me.
The waiter came and took our order, and then he scurried away to let us enjoy our drinks. She slowly sipped on her wine and played with the rim of the glass.
“Why didn’t you become a teacher?” I asked. I needed to know how the girl I had known became the woman before me.
“After…after everything that happened, I didn’t think I was worthy.”
Her honest answer shocked me, and I remained quiet for a long time, trying to gather my thoughts.
Had she really been punishing herself this entire time?
“The children of the world deserve great teachers, Mia,” I finally said.
She nodded. “They do. I’m just not sure I’m one of them.”
Giving her a half-grin, I replied, “How do you know until you try?”
I took a swig of my beer and grabbed a roll from the basket the waiter had brought over. She watched as I pulled it apart and buttered it. I smiled as I set half of it on her plate and the other half on mine.
She reached for it and asked, “What about you? Why aren’t you out doing what you love?”
Because I would have to have a working heart left for that, I wanted to reply.
“I tried after school, but there weren’t any opportunities, so my pretty face landed me a job in sales.” I flashed a wolfish grin in her direction.
She rolled her eyes at me. “Well, what about now?”
I didn’t have an answer for that, but before I had a chance to make one up, we were interrupted.
“Mia?”
She turned her head at the same time I did, and we both found ourselves facing Brent Malcolm. She smiled brightly and politely rose out of her seat to give him a hug. He held her a bit too tightly for my liking, and I had to resist the childish urge to throw a roll at him.
“It’s so good to see you,” Mia said, returning to her seat.
“It’s been too long. Can you believe our high school reunion is just around the corner?” he said, flashing a white toothy grin.
I f**king hate this guy.
“I haven’t really thought about it, but I guess you’re right!” she replied.
“And, Garrett!” he said. “So good to see you, man!”
I nodded, and we shook hands.
“Well, I guess I really missed my opportunity back then, huh? I can’t believe you guys are still together,” he said, obviously fishing for information as he glanced down at Mia’s ringless finger.
“He’s harmless, Garrett. He’s just a flirt. He flirts with all the girls,” Mia said.
“I don’t buy it, Mia. He pays special attention to you, and I don’t like it.”
“Just let it go, babe. I belong to you and no one else.”
Two weeks later, I’d put my fist to Brent’s face after hearing him talk about Mia in the locker room. Mia hadn’t talked to me for two days, thinking I’d overreacted. I never told her about the locker room, not wanting her to know what he’d said, but he’d deserved it, every goddamn bit.
“Oh, um…actually, we aren’t together anymore. We’re just friends now,” Mia said sheepishly.
Brent’s eyes perked up, and he met my hard stare and smiled. My fists tightened under the table as his pearly white smile turned toward Mia.
“Well, how about that?” he said.
He looked around. For what, I didn’t know. Probably his wife, knowing him.
“I’d love to catch up some more, but I’m out celebrating with a few of my buddies. I just finished my MBA,” he said with a grin.
Smug bastard.
“Let me give you my phone number, Mia, so we can get together later and catch up privately.”
“Oh, um…sure,” Mia said before giving a polite smile as her eyes met mine.
Just friends?
No, we were definitely not just friends.
Mia was mine.
~Mia~
Garrett’s eyes had barely left the piece of paper with Brent’s phone number since he’d walked away. The waiter had come with our food, and I didn’t think Garrett had done more than shovel a few angry bites of chicken parmesan into his mouth. He’d just pushed the rest around his plate.