Mara or Miara
Mara or Miara
"Come on girl, you need to smile." He said to her and turned to pinch her cheeks but she frowned even more.
"It's not funny" She said with a frown.
"Really? It's not? I thought it was. With the way you were bragging earlier, one would think you were going to beat me in dancing" He said smugly.
"Don't flatter yourself. It was my first time dancing in a dance mat and it seemed like you are already used to it. I promise you I'll beat you the next time." She said as she raised her chin challengingly.
"Really?" He asked with a look of amusement.
"I'm really looking forward to you beating me the next time."
"Leo!" Someone called him from behind before Mia could answer him.
When they both turned to look at the person, Mia recognized him as Leo's friend. There was a pretty young lady beside him clinging onto his arm.
"I'm surprised to— Oh!" Richard exclaimed in surprise when he recognized the lady beside Leo as Mia.
There was a sudden glint in his eyes as he turned to look at Leo. "You're on a date?" He asked with a smile that made Mia begin to feel uncomfortable. Thankfully, her phone began to vibrate in her pocket at that moment.
"Excuse me." She said to them before moving away.
It was a call from Mira and it suddenly reminded her she was to meet up with Mira that day.
The call ended and her eyes widened in surprise when she saw about six missed calls from Mira and two text messages. She then looked at the time and was even more shocked.
"Past six?" She gasped as her phone began to ring again.
"I am so sorry Mira. I totally forgot." Mia said immediately she took the call.
"God, you scared me. For a moment I thought something was wrong with you. Where are you and where did you leave your phone?"
"I... well I..."
"You're obviously not at home with those noises in the background. Did you go out?" Mira asked.
"Mia!" Leo called from behind her and Mia tried to cover the speaker of her phone but it was too late. Mira already heard his voice.
Mia turned to see Richard and his lady had already left Leo so she pointed at her phone to let him know she was on a call and he nodded.
''You are out with Leo?" Mira asked in a surprised voice.
"We just..."
"You are on a date with him?" Mira asked again.
This time, Mia could hear the excitement in her voice.
"We are just hanging out."
"Shut up! You are both on a date and you didn't tell me about it. No wonder you didn't take your calls.
"How is it going?" Mira asked curiously.
"Can we talk later?" Mia asked.
"Of course! We are going to have a long talk darling. And you are not going to leave a thing out of it. I need to know what has been happening."
Mia rolled her eyes. Mira was always like that. It was expected. "Bye."
"Bye darling. Make sure you have fun and say Hello to that adonis beside you for me." Mira said with a laugh before hanging up.
"It was Mira. She said hello to you." Mia said when she met Leo beside his car.
"Cool. Been a while since I saw her. Hope she's good?" He asked as he opened the door for her.
"She's great."
Mia was very exhausted and immediately he began to drive, she dozed off.
Leo looked at her for a bit as she slept. She looked really peaceful.
He was also tired from everything they had done that day and needed rest. He couldn't remember the last time he had so much fun. They've been out since morning and now it was already approaching 7 in the evening.
He made a mental note to order takeouts for the both of them immediately they got home. He was famished!
When the car pulled over in front of his apartment, Mia was still sleeping and he considered waking her up or just allow her sleep.
He turned off the car's engine and turned to look at her sleeping face which was resting on the door.
He inched closer and helped brush out some loose strands from her face and her face wrinkled in a frown making him smile at how cute she looked.
"Mia?" He called as he touched her arm. She groaned sleepily but still didn't wake up.
Having no other choice, he got down from the car and moved over to her side.
He gently unbuckled her seatbelt as he tried not to wake her up.
Slowly, he carried her in his arms. It was a bit challenging for him especially with the fact that she was moving a lot as she tried to find comfort.
He kicked the door with his leg to close it but he had kicked it too hard causing the door to bang and her body jumped in shock.
He paused to look at her, pretty sure she was going to open her eyes soon and yea, her eyes began to flutter open.
She looked into his eyes in a sleepy daze and after a few seconds, her brain began to function properly and she looked at him in surprise.
"What–"
"Shhhhh" Leo interrupted and carefully began to carry her inside.
"Put me down. I can walk." She said with an embarrassed flush as her hands wrapped around his neck to keep herself from falling.
"Just keep sleeping. Sleeping beauty." He said with a teasing smile without looking at her.
"I'm so embarrassed." She said under her breath as she hide her face on his chest.
"Hold unto me unless you want to fall."
She held unto him tightly as he inputted the code for the apartment and the familiar sound let her know the door was opened.
"We're finally here." He said as he pressed his back to the door to close it.
"You can... put me down now." She said in a low voice. Being pressed to him like that, the only thing her brain could register was his scent and she wanted to get away.
This time, he complied. He put her down and smiled when he saw her trying to hide her face
"Why is your face so red? Are you sick?" He asked in a teasing voice as he arched his back to meet her height. When he tried to turn her face so she could look at him, she quickly turned around and dashed towards her room.
Leo chuckled before he turned towards his room.
Immediately he entered, Tara's barks and hops welcomed him.
"I missed you too baby. Sorry I left you the whole day." He said as he bent down to pat her head.
"Hope you remembered to eat your food and drink your milk?"
Tara barked in response and he patted her head again. "Good girl. Now daddy needs to bathe and rest okay? I'll play with you later." He said before he began to strip nd Tara scurried away so she wouldn't see his body.
Leo couldn't help but laugh. Tara and Mia behaved alike. If Tara was a person, she could have easily passed for Mia's twin. He probably should start calling Tara Mara or Miara from now.
"Something is definitely up. I can sense it." Richard had said to him when he tired to deny taking Mia out on a date. According to Leo, they were just hanging out.
"You're just imagining things." Leo said defensively.
"Good luck just 'hanging out' with her." Richard had said with a wink before leaving with his lady.
*************
Mia heard the door bell ring immediately she came out of the shower and wondered who it was at that time. It was almost 8:30 pm if not past already. Maybe it was Richard, Chloe or Louis. She said to herself and began to dress up.
She always liked to sleep in her underwear but since she started living here, she wasn't sure it was a good idea. She threw in a tank top and small short before getting into bed with her hair tied in a messy bun.
She was hungry but she tried to sleep since she couldn't start making something to eat by that time. She needed to sleep. She also didn't bother to read because she knew she was going to doze off especially with the way her stomach had been growling.
Immediately she turned off the lights and closed her eyes, there was a knock on the door and her eyes shot open immediately.
What did he want again?
She stood up and dragged her feet to the door before she opened it slightly and stuck out only her head.
"I ordered Pizza." He said as he raised the box which was in his hand.
He watched her face intently thinking she was going to say no, but she broke into a smile and came out of the room.