She nodded. “I’d like that. Thank you for a nice evening.”
He nodded in return and then turned and walked down the hall and she closed her apartment door and went to her room. She didn’t let herself cry until her bedroom door was closed, and then she wept long and hard, crying out all of the pain, anger, guilt, and regret that she had built up in her. She cried until there were no more tears to cry, and then she washed her face, dressed for bed, and crawled into the sheets, wrapping herself up in them snugly as she buried her head into the pillow.
In her dreams, Alexander made love to her again, long and slow, and she couldn’t be sure, but somewhere in the softest whisper, she heard him say that he wanted everything about her.
Chapter10
Mia stared at her drink as Ava, Maddie, and Liam all chatted about their latest love conquests, and hum of conversation stopped and it grew quiet for a moment. She looked up and saw that all of their eyes were on her.
She blinked and looked around the table at them. “I’m sorry, I didn’t hear that last part. What was it?” she asked, feeling bad.
Maddie frowned and reached a hand out to touch her arm. “I said I wonder what it is that has you so down today. You’ve hardly been here and we’ve been talking for twenty minutes. Where is your brain? What is it that has you all tied up?”
Mia shrugged. “It’s nothing new. It’s Alexander.”
Ava sat up a bit straighter and looked at her curiously. “Is there something new?” she asked. “You were making progress before, you were getting over him. You were going to date other guys. What happened?” she asked, her eyes kind and loving for her friend.
Mia sighed. “Well, I went out to dinner with Logan Parker, and he asked me where I wanted to go. I just… I was so stupid. I was thinking of Alexander, which I have been trying not to do, and Alexander told me about his favorite restaurant; Hastings, and he said he was going to take me there, but he never did.”
Maddie nodded and whistled. “Oh… I love Hastings. Great place.”
Mia nodded back and continued. “It is a great place, except I never should have chosen it; but it was the first thing that popped into my head when Logan asked. All I could think of was Alexander, and that’s what came out, so we went there.”
Ava smiled encouragingly. “So, how was it?” she asked brightly.
Mia closed her eyes for a moment and shook her head before looking back at all of them. “Well, it probably would have been just fine, except that when we walked in the door Alexander was standing there with a gorgeous date.” She felt her stomach tighten at the memory and she swallowed the lump in her throat.
Her friends all groaned around her and their faces contorted with sympathy. “Oh no…” Ava said quietly, looking at her with a little pout.
“Yeah. Alexander was there and there was no way to avoid talking to him, so I had to introduce him to Logan, and I had to meet his date, Emily. That was so hard.” Her friends nodded in commiseration.
“So, they seated us and of course they seated us right where we would have to see each other. Thank god we were far enough away that we couldn’t hear each other. Anyway, I kept looking at him and he kept looking at me all through dinner, and Logan is sweet, but he’s not very bright. He didn’t really catch on to it, thankfully, and by the time dinner was over, I was a wreck, so I went to the bathroom, and when I came out, Alexander was right outside of the door waiting for me. I walked right into him.”
Liam stared at her. They were all staring at her. She took a deep breath and continued. “Well, we got into a fight. He was mad that I was there, he was mad that I was with Logan, he was mad about what happened, and I was mad that he was mad, and we just kind of fought with each other, and then all of a sudden he just grabbed me and kissed me. Hard.”
All three of her friends gaped at her, and Liam gasped. Ava whispered, “He kissed you?”
Mia pursed her lips and gave her head a nod. “He did. He kissed me better than he’s ever kissed me. I thought he was going to set me on fire right there, and that’s not all. He got fresh with me and then he just backed off and let go completely and turned around and left me standing there. He went back to his date and they left the restaurant and I was stuck there with Logan. I had Logan take me home and I told him I couldn’t date him anymore, so we’re just going to keep it business.”
Maddie and Liam shook their heads, and Ava just stared at her. “My god…” she whispered.
Mia hated recounting it, but it was much better for her that she didn’t have to keep it locked up in her chest any longer. She didn’t think she could stand to hold it in; it had been hurting her since it happened.