Mia held up her wine glass and motioned for Sarah to fill it. She’d had a long week and was looking forward to a night in front of the TV watching trashy movies with her new housemate. They heard Willow shout goodbye as she left for her surprise date with Robert, the front door slamming after her.
“Everyone is so loved up,” Sarah moaned, filling both the glasses and plonking herself down on the couch next to Mia. “You and Willow both have great guys…”
She didn’t manage to finish the sentence because Mia’s phone started ringing, and Mia looked suddenly distracted, hesitating before answering in her best I’m-coming-down-with-an-awful-cold voice
“Hi John. Yeah I’m not feeling crash hot. Think I’m just going to head to bed tonight. Alone.”
“What was that all about?” said Sarah, amazed. John was great – he was funny and gorgeous and had a cute british accent. She thought Mia really liked him.
“I just want a night off,” Mia said breezily, taking a gulp of her wine.
Sarah frowned. “You sure that’s all it is?”
Mia flashed her most brilliant smile. “Of course.”
They sat and stared at the movie in silence, finishing off the bottle of red and opening another one. Mia wasn’t even sure what the film was because she couldn’t focus for more than a couple of minutes at a time. She felt like all the pent up energy and frustration she had was affecting her ability to function as a human being.
“The thing is,” Mia began, then stopped.
“Yes?” Sarah said, when she didn’t continue.
“The thing is, well, I’m just not sure I like him that much,” Mia said, blushing.
“Who?” Sarah said, slightly confused. “John?”
Mia nodded.
“Oh,” said Sarah, surprised.
“I think I’m in love with someone else,” Mia suddenly blurted out.
She proceeded to tell Sarah everything that had happened between her and Johnny since that fateful first kiss. The story was told in conjunction with the consumption of another bottle of wine and by the time she had finished, Mia was very tipsy and rosy cheeked. Sarah didn’t say anything and looked at Mia thoughtfully.
“You should go and see him,” she said slowly, a smile spreading over her face. “You have to tell him how you feel.”
“What? No way,” Mia exclaimed.
“You have to,” Sarah said calmly. “You’ll regret it forever if you don’t.”
“So, you’re saying that I should just go over to his house tomorrow and tell him,” Mia said, incredulously.
“Nope,” Sarah said, her smile widening.
“No?” Mia was confused. “But I thought you just said…”
“You have to go tonight,” Sarah said, cutting her off. “Right now.”
***
And so it was that Mia found herself standing outside Johnny’s front door, shifting nervously from foot to foot and biting her fingernails, a habit that she had managed to kick years earlier and had now suddenly taken up again. She took a deep breath and rang the doorbell. Her heart was hammering and she almost turned around and ran away. She heard footsteps coming down the stairs and the door swung open.
The surprise on Johnny’s face was almost comical. “What are you doing here?” he said, when she didn’t offer up any explanation.
Mia gulped. Here goes nothing, she thought. She reached forward and pulled Johnny towards her, kissing him deeply. He didn’t react at first, but after a few seconds he kissed her back hungrily, running his hands over her body and through her hair. The spark between them was as potent as ever and soon they were clawing at each other, trying to get their bodies closer together.
“You should invite me in,” Mia said breathlessly, in between kisses. She ran her hand slowly underneath his shirt, over his smooth stomach and started to work her fingers into the top of his trousers.
Johnny gently pushed her hand away and looked at her curiously. He couldn’t understand what had come over Mia. She’d never been this… forward before.
“Are you drunk?” he said. He’d been dreaming of this for as long as he could remember but didn’t want it to be a drunken fumble that she’d regret later. He’d been involved in enough of those over his lifetime.
“No. Yes. I don’t know,” Mia said, laughing.
“Come in and I’ll make you some coffee,” he said smiling and kissing her gently on the tip of her nose.
***
“Do you want me to call you a taxi?” Johnny said after she’d finished her coffee and a few glasses of water.
She looked up into his gorgeous, sparkling eyes and shook her head.
“You don’t want me to call you a taxi?” Johnny said, a smile creeping into the corners of his mouth.
Mia nodded.
“Do you want to…” Johnny hesitated. “You could stay here if you wanted to.”
Mia smiled at him and nodded her head again slowly. She could feel her pulse quickening again.
Johnny walked around the other side of the counter to where she was sitting and ran his hands through her hair.
“Forever, if you want to,” he whispered.
He took her hand and led her to the bedroom, where he undressed her slowly, kissing every inch of her body. They made love for hours, until the sun came up.
***
“Afternoon.” Johnny leant over and kissed Mia on the lips.
She momentarily forgot where she was, blinking as the bright sunlight peeking through the blinds obscured her vision.
“Afternoon?” she said, her voice thick from sleep.
“You’ve been asleep for most of the day,” he said, stroking her hair.
“Sorry,” she mumbled. “I should go…”
“No, no,” he said quickly. “Stay. I made you some afternoon tea.”
Mia looked at the bed to see a tray laid out with coffee and some baked good that smelled delicious.
“I made banana muffins,” said Johnny.
“You made these?” Mia said, amazed. “Just now?”
Johnny grinned proudly and sat on the edge of the bed, rubbing Mia’s foot under the covers and slowly running his hand up her leg.
It looked as though the muffins might have been momentarily forgotten, but a knock on the door startled them.
“I’ll be back in a sec,” he said, annoyed that someone was disturbing his perfect day.
Mia heard him bounding down the stairs, two at a time and smiled to herself, wriggling her toes in pleasure. Sarah was a freaking genius.
She noticed her bag on the floor by the bed and reached on to check her phone, frowning when she saw missed calls from Ana, Sarah and Willow. She was about to ring them back, but froze when she heard Johnny’s voice followed by the sound of a woman crying. Mia slipped out of bed and put on one of Johnny’s shirts she found flung over the back of a chair. She tip-toed to the top of the stairs and peered over the railing. She could see the back of a girl with long chestnut hair and a lithe body, very clearly on display in skin-tight black jeans and a jumper that fell casually off one shoulder. Mia frowned. The girl looked vaguely familiar.
“I have to talk to you,” the girl said, crying softly. It was the sort of crying a child does to get attention when they’re not really hurt, but knows that it is going to elicit some kind of sympathy. Johnny looked uncomfortable and was doing his best to get her to keep her voice down.
“I don’t know what to do,” she said, crying louder this time.
Suddenly it clicked. Mia recognised the girl as someone who Johnny had flirted with one night when she had the misfortune of being taken on a date to his restaurant. This girl was gorgeous and young and Johnny had done everything except make out with her in front of Mia. She felt a stab of jealousy and clenched her fists.
“Do about what?” Johnny whispered, trying to push her away.
“Oh Johnny,” the girl sobbed. “I’m pregnant.”
Mia saw Johnny freeze. The girl stopped crying and wiped her tears delicately.
“Why are you telling me?” he said slowly.
“Silly Johnny,” she said, a smattering of laughter tinkling from her now smiling mouth. “It’s yours, of course.”
Mia must have gasped involuntarily as they both looked up at the same time and saw her standing there. Mia turned and fled back into the bedroom, closing the door behind her.
“Who is that?” the chestnut haired visitor demand.
“Mia, wait,” Johnny shouted, running up the stairs. “I can explain.”
Mia pulled on her clothes with shaking hands, her mouth set in a firm line. No, she thought. No you can’t.
