Chapter 11 - Confessions

Leo and Mia headed towards the garage, hand in hand. Leo couldn't seem to let go of it all day. They had been playing with Sofia and Nico when Leo called Omar to pick up Mia's purse. He had said he was leaving his apartment in about an hour so they needed to hurry up. Mia didn't necessarily want to leave Leo's beautiful home and family behind, but then again she did want her purse back. She needed to have her phone, keys, and credit cards to be able to function. Especially her phone. Usually she couldn't stand more than 15 minutes without wanting to check it, but lately she wasn't feeling so addicted to it anymore.

Leo motioned towards a swanky SUV in the garage and went to open the passenger door for her.

"What happened to your other car?" she asked as he got in.

Leo shrugged. "I don't know. I was feeling in a jeep kind of mood today," he said, sticking the key in the ignition.

"Oh yeah, I get that all the time. I just wake up in the morning and think to myself 'I'm in a jeep kind of mood'."

He dropped his hand from the key and looked at her surprised. "Are you mocking me little lady?"

"Yo? No, para nada."

"You know, I really don't need to drive you to pick up your purse. Maybe someone else could do it," he said seemingly offended.

"C'mon Leo. I was just messing around. It's just some aspects of your life are so unreal sometimes, and I was simply pointing it out."

Leo sighed. "You're right. I should thank you for keeping me grounded. Plus, I can never stay mad at you for more than ten seconds. I think it's starting to turn into a curse."

"I think it's starting to turn into a blessing," Mia smiled.

"Either way, you're going to be the end of me." Leo stepped on the gas and drove out of the garage.

She looked out the window and continued smiling. Something had changed between them last night. She tried to go over the events of the night in her mind, but there were too many. Besides, her thoughts kept on racing back to the man sitting next to her.

How he had rescued her once again, helped her every step of the way, worried about her continuously. He had been so gentle with her and reassuring. And when they showered he was ridiculously tender. It was serene. She had been completely vulnerable and he had kept his composure. He had kept the promise even she had wanted to break.

"I'm starting to figure out you get quiet during car rides," Leo said.

She turned around to look at him. "I guess I do. I just like to take in the scenery and get lost in my thoughts."

"I hate to say this, but sometimes you think too much, Mia." As if making a point, he reached for her hand and brought it to his lips, kissing it. He returned it back to rest on her lap and laced their fingers together.

Mia sighed, looking at their hands interlocked. "I know."

"It's not a bad thing. You just need to get out of your head more. Do what you really want to do and not think about it. You should try it. Take a walk on the wild side."

"Is that an open invitation?" she asked.

"Of course. Go crazy. Wreck the car for all I care," he dared.

"Well, what I really want to do right now, is this." She reached out for the car's stereo and turned it on. She quickly scanned through the stations, until she heard the latest Rihanna hit play on the radio. Perfect, she thought, as she pumped up the volume until it blasted throughout the car.

She looked up and pressed the button for the jeep's skylight. Once it was open, she quickly took off her seatbelt and without even looking at Leo, stood up on the seat and popped out of the sunroof.

She instantly felt the strong breeze of the wind brush against her face. She lifted up her arms, letting the airstream push back her hands, and howled at the top of her lungs. She heard Leo laugh from within the car, and then felt his hand on her calf, holding her in place.

She closed her eyes and concentrated on the wind blowing through her hair and the sun caressing her cheeks. It was heavenly, almost like a dream.

She felt the car slowly speed down and come to a halt. She opened her eyes and noticed they were in front of a stoplight. She was about to go back down, when she felt Leo grab her by the waist and push her to the side to make room for himself outside the sunroof.

"That's my girl!" Leo said proudly. He looked shocked for a moment, but then shrugged it off. "It is kind of nice up here," he added, casually looking around the street.

If felt...odd being referred to as his. Then again, so much had happened between them. Leo's girl. It sounded kind of...nice.

She leaned in to kiss him on the cheek. "So you like your girls insane?" she asked, playfully.

"I like you insane," he replied. "Only you, Mia."

She felt her heart stop. His beautiful blue eyes glistened and his expression turned very serious. He opened his mouth to say something, but closed it shut. God, he was so handsome. If only...

The sound of a horn pierced through her thoughts. She turned to see that the light had turned green and a long file of cars were stuck behind them.

"We better go," Leo said, looking at her wistfully.

The car honked loudly again and she nodded, slipping back into her seat. Leo quickly followed. He reached over and buckled her seat belt, before buckling his own, and turning down the music. He put the gear to drive, and quickly sped off, neither of them saying another word for the rest of the ride.

*****

"Hey guys," Omar greeted Leo and Mia as he appeared next to the SUV. They had been parked outside his apartment, silently waiting for him to come out. He pulled out Mia's purse and handed it over to her. "I believe you've been looking for this?"

"Yes, thank you so much for rescuing it Omar. I would have died without it."

Omar shrugged. "It was the least I could do after what that asshole did to you. How are you holding up?"

Mia saw Leo cringe and shoot him a look. "I'm doing better," she said.

"Good to hear. Well I gotta run to a group meeting, you know how it is. I'll see you two later," Omar spoke quickly before walking away.

Mia looked over at Leo. "Guess it's the moment of truth." She opened up the bag and was relieved to find everything was in place. She took out her IDs and credit cards just to double check.

"Can I see that ID?" Leo looked over her shoulder curiously.

Mia covered her hands over it. "No way. The picture's too embarrassing."

"Oh c'mon. I'm sure it's fine. You can see mine. I promise my picture is even more embarrassing."

"Okay, that I need to see," Mia responded.

Leo reached for his wallet and pulled out a card before handing it over to Mia.

"Your hair! It's so long. When was this taken?"

"About five years ago. Everyone always bothers me about it. I guess I had a hippie phase going on back then."

Mia laughed and handed it back over before sneaking a peek at his birth date. Hmmm. Then she hesitantly handed over her own. She immediately started to explain, "I was really mad that day. I had to wait over two hours in line and it was already the second time I'd been there because they didn't accept my social security card and had to get a new one."

"Well, you definitely look pissed off. You should probably get mad more often. I think it kind of suits you."

"I don't know about that," she said trying to get her card back from him.

"Hold on a minute...you're 23? No wait...you just turned 24?"

"Don't you know it's inappropriate to ask a girl's age?"

"You look incredibly younger. I swore you were 21 or 22 max. I thought you had just graduated from college."

"No, I was already working for a few years...joined the job force and all."

"Interesting. You know what this means, right?" he asked grinning.

"Oh please, we're practically the same age," she pointed out, already knowing where his mind was heading.

"Ah, so you took notice of my birth date, too."

"Maybe..." she said a bit embarrassed.

"You're so cute sometimes. Don't worry, I have nothing against older women," he said smiling widely.

"It's only by two months, Leo!"

"It still counts. Plus, you're like from a totally different year," he joked.

"Just because I was born in November and you were born in January. Big deal."

"Well, at least we agree on something," he teased.

"You're impossible sometimes. You're loving this aren't you?"

"Very much so. I love seeing you get all fired up," he said kissing her forehead.

Mia sighed into him. He definitely brought it out in her. She usually wasn't like that. Maybe it was a good thing?

"Can I have that back now?" she pleaded.

"Not done yet," he smirked. He looked more intently at the card and noted the address on it. "East 16th Street. I guess you really live in New York, huh?"

"Guilty as charged. Last seven years. And another seven before that when I was a child."

"Must be why you're so strong. You have a backbone most girls don't have."

Mia thought about that statement, but couldn't come to agree with it. There were so many times when she hadn't been strong.

One time in particular. The memory that kept haunting at her, that touched the deepest recesses of her heart. An image of a hospital bed flashed before her eyes.

No, she couldn't let it out now. She had to hold it back.

Trying to distract herself, she decided to check her phone. She found several emails, text messages, and missed calls. That had to be a record! Or maybe it was because she was finally checking her phone like a normal person should. She quickly scrolled through them.

From her mom: "Por qué no contestas mis mensajes? Hope all is well and please communicate more often! No te desaparezcas."

From Teresa, her sister: "So what's happened with that Leo guy? Talk to me lady!"

From Victoria: "Mia, estás bien? Please tell me you finally hooked up with Leo. I'm expecting details!"

That last message made her laugh. What was it with boy gossip?

"What's so funny?" Leo asked.

Mia had forgotten he was sitting right next to her! He could definitely not see what she was reading. "Nothing, my mom and sister freaking out about me as usual."

"Is that all?" Leo asked suspiciously.

Mia shrugged. "Pretty much."

"Liar."

Her eyes widened. What? Had he seen the message? "It's not...your concern."

"I think it is if the message has my name on it," he teased.

Oh, no. "But it's my phone! It's private," she protested.

Before she could say anything else, Leo swiped the phone out of her hands.

"Leo, don't!" Mia cried. But it was too late, he had already read it. Suddenly feeling completely overwhelmed, she stepped out the car and slammed the door behind her. She started walking away contemplating her next move when he stopped in front her.

"Let me go," she said.

"I'm not holding you back," Leo pointed out.

"Well, you're hovering."

Leo stepped back and ran his fingers roughly through his hair. "Mia, I'm sorry okay? I saw my name in the text and then you were laughing and I just couldn't resist. I know it was wrong. I shouldn't have done that. It was stupid of me."

"You weren't supposed to read that," she accused.

"I know. But was it really that bad?"

"Yes!" She began to turn away from him. This was too embarrassing.

"Mia please, let's talk about this," he said, reaching for her arm.

"There's nothing to talk about."

"I think it's pretty obvious there is. Especially after last night."

"You won't even tell me about what happened!" She was still curious about that. Why wouldn't he just tell her?

Leo contemplated something for a moment. "Fine, I'll tell you about it. Can you please just get back in the car?"

Mia huffed and turned around. She opened the car door and slammed it shut again after getting in.

*****

Leo looked over at Mia, his face torn with emotion and his eyes reflecting his internal grief. There wasn't going to be an easy way to tell her. He had already given it a lot of thought and he had no other choice. He would have to tell her exactly what happened.

"It was my fault," Leo confessed.

"What?"

"It was my own fault that Johan hurt you. I hurt you."

"No you didn't. You helped me. Leo, what are you saying?" Mia asked in bewilderment.

He sighed painfully. This was going to be difficult.

"It's okay, Leo. You can tell me," she said placing her hand on his.

The simple act reassured him enough to let it out. "About a week ago we had lunch together and the guys started asking me about you. I told them we were just friends and Johan got all wired up for some reason saying that he wanted to uh...sleep with you, to put it nicely. I kind of snapped and threatened him not to go near you. So it was my fault that you got hurt."

"How is that your fault? The guy is a complete prick."

"Don't you see? I provoked him! He would have never touched you if it wasn't for me." Leo shook his head as if trying to get rid of the image.

"Leo, you shouldn't be taking the blame for what happened. I wouldn't be sitting here if it wasn't for you."

"I just feel responsible. If I hadn't said anything, you wouldn't have gotten hurt."

"You don't know that. The guy is capable of anything. Who's to say he wouldn't do the same thing to someone else?"

Mia paused abruptly, a flash of recollection lighting in her eyes. Their conversation about Johan seemed to trigger something in her brain.

"I...remember now," Mia began to say softly.

Leo looked at her, but she dropped her head and shook it.

"Tell me, sweetness."

She wavered before answering. "I don't think you want to know. He's your friend and I don't want to..."

"That bloke is dead to me," he said grimly. "Please, it's been killing me, Mia."

She sighed heavily. "He said that you were using me. That you just wanted to...sleep with me, to put it nicely, and would dump me afterwards like you did with every girl."

Leo was astounded. "Mia...you have to know that isn't true. I would never do that to you. The last thing I would ever want is to hurt you. Please believe me."

She simply nodded.

Leo took her hand, and grabbed it tighter. More. There was more he needed to tell her, more he needed her to know.

"I was so scared last night. For a moment, I thought I had lost you. And I kept thinking I would never be able to survive if anything ever happened to you."

She peeked up at him through her lashes and met his eyes.

The words just started pouring out now. "All I could think of was wanting to protect you, wanting to be with you. I realized how much I care about you. And the way I feel about you...it's so strong. I've never felt like this before."

He slowly leaned into her and brushed his face in her hair, taking in her scent. He reached up to touch her face by the temple and let his fingers trickle down her cheek to lift her chin.

"I want you, Mia," he breathed. "So much. No sabes cuánto, preciosa."

He brought his lips slowly towards hers and pressed a soft kiss against them, then another and yet another followed. He pulled away slightly to gauge her reaction, and this time she kissed him back. The feather touch of her lips was everything he had dreamed of and more.

He opened his mouth slightly and brushed his tongue against her lips back and forth. So soft, so sweet. She was delicious. More than he had ever imagined. She parted her lips and he searched for her tongue inside. When their tongues finally met, she let out a soft moan and he was in paradise. It was all he ever wanted.

Their mouths moved in unison and Leo felt her fingers wrap around his neck and clench in his hair. The sensation flooded memories of the previous night and reverberated through his body. A sense of urgency started building inside him as he grabbed her face with both of his hands and pressed her harder against him.

He wanted to stretch out the enormity of the moment, make it last for as long as he possibly could, but knew he would soon have to stop. But for now it was enough, it had filled him, and he could die a happy man. He had obtained a taste of Mia. A small piece of heaven.