Chapter 7 - Case of the Mondays

Monday morning. Why did Mondays always seem so cruel? Mia was back at her usual bus stop, waiting for the forsaken bus that took her to school. Memories of the weekend flashed before her eyes. The concert had been an incredible experience; she couldn't remember the last time she had just let herself go like that. But that fleeting moment had ended all too abruptly, and the rest of her weekend had been spent in group meetings cramming for all the papers and presentations due for the week.

Was it really necessary to have ten different classes at once? Half the time she felt like she was scrambling just to keep up. And this week was going to be hell. She had something due every day, not to mention two presentations she was already dreading.

Public speaking was definitely not her thing. Despite all the training she had received since she was little, and the classes she had forced herself to take through college, she always felt extremely nervous when she had to give a presentation and couldn't even sleep the night before. Guess some things never change.

For one of the first times ever, Mia arrived early to class. She had a good five minutes to kill, so decided to go fill her water bottle at the water fountain outside. She could use the extra hydration. She pressed the button and noticed the water pressure was extremely low. Great, this is going to take forever, she thought.

"Hey, beautiful."

Mia didn't need to turn around to know who it was. She would now recognize that sexy British accent anywhere.

"Hey, yourself." She glanced back at Leo and smiled.

"God, I'm so thirsty. Are you almost done there?"

His abrupt question caught Mia a bit off guard. How about, 'How are you? How was the rest of your weekend?' she thought.

"Rough night? This thing is taking forever for some reason." Mia noticed her bottle was about half full.

Leo sighed. "Something like that." He playfully pushed Mia's elbow forward and water splashed out from her bottle. "You done yet?" he teased.

"Hey! Stop that," Mia laughed.

Leo smirked and repeated the same motion from before. "How about now?" More water splashed before her.

"Seriously, you're not helping the situation Leo."

"What's the hold up? C'mon I'm dying over here."

"I hope you're really enjoying...oh my God." Leo had pushed her elbow again, but this time Mia had been already turning around and water splashed all over his face.

Mia instantly burst out in laughter. "Leo, I am so sorry. But that was totally your own fault."

He tried to brush the remaining drops of water from his face and opened his eyes. "Oh was it? I beg to differ." An evil grin spread across his face as he snatched the water bottle out of her hands.

"Um...what do you think you're doing?" But she already knew what was coming and began to back away.

"Getting even, of course."

She let out a soft shriek and dashed down the hallway. Leo chased after her and was just a few paces behind her. "Don't think you're getting out of this so easily, Mia."

She scrambled behind other students, trying to stay clear of his path. She caught the looks of several people and couldn't help but laugh at the situation. They must have thought she was losing her mind.

"Can't we just talk about this like adults?" Mia yelled before entering an empty study room.

"No way." They started to circle around the conference table. She tried to bluff her direction out of the room, but he was too quick. "Face it Mia, you're stuck with me."

"Never," she chuckled. At that moment, Leo managed to grab a hold of her and playfully pinned her against the wall.

"Now...I think there was something you wanted to say to me." He dramatically took a long sip out of the water bottle and then held it above her head in a threatening gesture.

"Please, don't do it!"

"Wrong answer," Leo chuckled. "Try again." He began tipping the bottle over this time.

"No lo hagas, Leo," she tried pleading again.

"You just said the same thing. It's going to take a lot more convincing than that sweet little Mexican accent of yours," he challenged.

Out of all things, an episode from Seinfeld came to Mia's mind. Something about Kramer repeating a mantra that would keep him calm under stress. She lifted up her hands and looked up to the sky. "Serenity...Serenity Now!"

Leo burst out laughing and dropped the water bottle to his side. "Are you serious? God Mia, you're so fucking cute."

He leaned in closer and she could feel the weight of his body over her. He touched his forehead to hers and held the side of her face with his free hand. Her vision dropped to his mouth and suddenly all she could think about was what it would be like to kiss him. Surely he was a good kisser...no, an incredible one. He had to be. If his simple touch was any indication of what it would be like, then she was in deep trouble.

Her lips parted involuntarily and all of a sudden he was a millimeter away. Oh, no. This shouldn't be happening. She shouldn't have let her thoughts travel there. She was just beginning to inhale his scent, when he stepped back all of a sudden.

"I'm sorry, Mia. I...should go." His words were barely a whisper.

She felt her cheeks flush and looked down to contain her embarrassment. When she looked up again he was out of sight. She sighed painfully and checked her watch. 8:59am. Since when did things like that happen so early? On a Monday, no less. Manic Monday. Yup, it sure was going to be a hell of a week.

*****

Leo walked back to class, kicking himself every step of the way. He slumped into his chair and completely tuned out from class so he could focus on his thoughts.

You idiot, you're letting this get way out of hand, he scolded inwardly.He had been two seconds away from kissing her! And that was not what she wanted. She had made it very clear to him when they had gone to dinner. She didn't want to get involved with anyone, much less have a relationship with him. What had she said? Not wanting to be played again?

Wait a minute... Relationship? Since when did he want to have a relationship?

Yes, it was definitely beginning to be too much, he thought, shaking his head. But Mia was all he could think about. How she treated him like any other guy, it all just seemed so genuine - like she was actually interested in him. Could it be?

Leo thought about the way she smiled at him behind those incredibly long lashes and those delicious lips just constantly begging to be kissed. Just then he had let himself imagine she had wanted him to kiss her, but then she had flinched when he got too close. She was one hell of an intriguing yet frustrating female. She would be his downfall if he wasn't careful.

No. He had to put some distance between them. He knew that now. There simply was no other way.

"Mr. Durant? Would you care to answer the question?" Startled, Leo looked up and noticed the entire class staring at him in anticipation.

"I'm sorry professor, could you repeat the question?"

"I asked what you thought about the alternative of selling the company?"

What company? Leo scrambled to collect his thoughts. Better say something at this point. "I uh...think it's a great idea. I mean it's always a good thing to acquire cash flow and have liquid assets right?" Oh, boy.

"Mr. Durant, I have to say I'm really disappointed in you. Next time, I suggest you read the case before coming to class. It's always a good start."

He simply nodded but couldn't help thinking about the irony in that statement. He had read the case.

After class ended, Leo headed straight outside of the school building. Sitting in his car and blasting some music seemed like just what he needed.

"Yo! Leo, wait up bro."

He turned around to see his friend Johan catching up to him. They had hung out several times since school started and he turned out to be a complete party animal and womanizer. Leo didn't necessarily have a problem with that at the beginning, but lately he suspected Johan only wanted to hang out with him because he thought he could get more girls that way. If he only knew he never cared about any of it. Leo never actively pursued women, that is until Mia, and that would not be happening any longer. They always just seemed to be available to him. It all seemed so ridiculous to him now.

"What gives?" Johan said.

"Nothing man, just have a lot on my mind."

"Yeah I can see that. I'm gonna go catch a bite with some of the guys. You should come with, you know clear your head a bit."

Leo didn't need much convincing. He followed Johan into a café and sat down with two other guys from class, Omar and Michael, after grabbing some sandwiches. Omar was from Lebanon and Michael from Poland. The guys were in a heated discussion over Real Madrid vs. Barcelona, but Leo didn't pay much attention to it.

"So, what's going on man? What's up with that Mia chick, huh?" Michael asked Leo suddenly.

The question caused him to pause. How does he know about Mia? Have I been that obvious?

Leo shrugged. "I don't know, just started talking to her recently. Just friends, I guess."

"She doesn't talk to anybody. She's practically untouchable. Of course, she would leave out that exception only to you," Omar added.

"She talks to other people," he immediately contradicted. Didn't she? "She's a nice girl," he added, in what was probably the biggest understatement he ever said. For some reason, he didn't want other people really knowing about her.

"C'mon man. That is some serious ass. You're telling me you don't want to fuck her?" Johan asked.

Leo felt a jolt of anger build inside him and his jaw clenched. "No dude, it's not like that. She just got out of a crazy relationship and is sort of taking a break."

"Are you retarded? Even better! Listen if you're not gonna bang her then move over, cuz I sure as hell would love to tap that tight little body," Johan said.

"J... I'm not playing. Watch your tone. Right. Now."

Johan completely ignored him. "I bet she likes it rough and gets real loud too. It's always the quiet ones. I can almost hear her screaming my name. By the time I'm done with her, she'll be begging me for more."

Johan lifted his hand to high five with Michael and Omar. "Am I right or what?" He nudged Leo in the shoulder.

Something inside of Leo snapped. He jumped out of his seat and grabbed Johan by the neck, slamming him against the wall. "Don't you ever fucking talk about her like that again. I swear if I even see you try to lay a finger on her, I'll break your face and make you suck down your food through a fucking straw for the rest of your miserable existence."

"What the fuck, Leo? Get your fucking hands off of me!" Johan said gasping for air.

"No one fucking touches her. No one!" Leo yelled.

"Dude, chill. We're just talking." Omar got up to push Leo back, but he shoved his hand away. He slowly loosened his grip on Johan and backed out of the table, knocking down his chair in the process.

"I really don't know why I hang out with you assholes," Leo said before walking away and storming out of the café.

Michael looked at Omar and then at Johan who was fuming and rubbing his neck. "Poor kid's lost his mind."