There was an awkward silence first after Nico made his statement. Mia was trying to process the whole thing in her head.
“Really?” Her eyes widened when she heard him speak. Nico had always been nice to her, but he had never wanted to pick her up before or showed interest in her. It was always him and Betty. At one point, she thought they were an item. Though she still suspected them.
“Yes, it's been a long time we hung out together, alone, without Betty. Or have we even had time to ourselves? We are never alone, haha.” He itched his head and stopped talking the moment he saw she wasn't really getting what he was trying to say.
Nico could hardly get enough sleep last night. He kept sighing and twirling on the bed due to the thought on his mind. A big smile plastered on his lips and he couldn't stop rubbing the cheek where Mia had pecked him and how she kept laughing in a drunken state. So, he made up his mind to spend some alone time with her, so she could, at least, open up her feelings to him. He felt maybe she had feelings for him the same way, he was crushing too.
“Yeah, so pick up your bag and let's go!” He held her by both shoulders to snap her back to reality.
“Sure. Let me get my things.” she smiled, rushing to the dinning to get her bag. Seeing the small piece of her sandwich, she put the whole thing in her mouth and after cross-checking everything in the house, they stepped out the door and locked it before leaving.
The car ride was one anyone would love to imagine. Nico was delighted, and so was Mia. They sang to their favorite songs played on the radio, told each other jokes and laughed about awkward moments together. It was one anybody would want to replay again.
“Just take a look at that man standing over there.” Nico pointed and Mia leaned closer to see. Her body was so near that it made Nico swallow hard.
“Where?” Mia moved even closer, and she didn't notice it, as her mind was on whatever Nico wanted to show her.
“Never mind. We've passed him.” Nico answered and Mia shifted back to her position.
“Tell me what you saw.” She was still curious.
“I think he was drinking water from the fountain.” Nico muttered and Mia laughed like he cracked a joke. He was amused to see how she was laughing at that, “Mia, thank you.” added.
“For what?” She paused, panting continuously as she stared at him. They had laughed so hard that she couldn't breathe properly.
“For being my friend,” he replied, gazing at her sweetly.
The driver had already packed the car, and Nico still wanted to have a real conversation with her.
Mia, on the other hand, wasn't understanding what he was saying. She didn't know what she did to get this special treatment from Nico. She knew he was always nice, but today's kindness was on another level.
“I enjoyed your company, I really did.” he spoke and Mia giggled.
“Same here.” she didn't know a drive to her workplace could be this fun with Nico.
However, what Nico didn't know was that Mia didn't remember anything from that night where she pecked him and while he was trying to speak up about the matter, Mia gazed at her wristwatch and panicked?
“What is it?” He asked as he noticed her facial expression.
“I'm late!” She replied, gazing at him with a pale face, “I've got to go.” she said with a pleading stare.
“Yeah! Late. Right.” he said, and just as she tried to walk away, her money fell down. He offered to help her pick it and just when she was saying goodbye to him, the gate of the compound was opened and they both stopped to look.
“Oh no, that's my boss.” she instantly recognized his black car and her heart skipped a beat as she was almost panicking.
“Bye…. I have to go now.” she ran away from Nico, rushing to the car to get into the building when her boss immediately lowered the window.
Mia had to do that because she saw how her boss packed his car, and she was sure that he had many questions pending for her.
“Mia, you're late.” he spoke, gazing at her even when he was still wearing dark shade glasses.
“Yes, I'm sorry sir, it was an emergency,” she lied, blowing air through her mouth to calm down.
“I can clearly see that,” he muttered under his breath as he looked over to the other side where she was standing before, only to see a man waiting.
“Eunice would be coming home early today, you know what to do, make sure she does her homework, and please don't forget about her classes, she usually has home classes with some tutors that I have selected specifically.”
“Yes sir.” Mia was still shaking in her bones, she hoped this was not a strike for her to be fired by her boss.
“Also, make sure Eunice eats before going for her lesson. It's important for her.” he replies and when he looked away from her.
As she was about going away, he called her back and Mia shook in fear.
“Yes sir.” She answered and turned to face him.
“Who is that man over there?” He asked with a suspicious stare.
Her chest tightened, and she didn't know what more to say.
“Ermm… Sir, we're just friends.” she said before thinking.
Like, what is his concern if they are simply friends. All she could say was that? She wanted to slap herself, but before she would say something else to defend, Mark exclaimed.
“Hmmm.” He nodded before whinnying up the glass and drove off to work or wherever he was headed to. It wasn't clear to him why it affected him so much, but he seemed to be interested in knowing who that person was.
Once Mark was gone, Mia finally heaved a sigh of relief. She didn't waste time rushing back to where Nico was waiting.
“Did I get you in trouble?” He asked the moment she was close enough. He looked anxious.
“No, but I can't take chances, I merely escaped.” she explained, wiping off the tears that were on her forehead.
“Then, I shouldn't delay you any further… This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, you shouldn't joke with it.” he advised with a smile on his face.
“Yes, I know that. I came here to say a proper goodbye,” she waved her hands to him with a smile.
“Okay then, catch you later.” he replied, watching her leave his side until she entered the compound of her employers.
Nico stared at the gate for a while and after, he turned away to where he could get breakfast. And also was hoping that one day, Mia could warm up to him about her feelings.
Mia strolled into the good-looking compound and her thoughts were occupied by plenty of things. She didn't know if her boss was going to talk to her about what she did later, but she hoped she was going to escape his wrath later on.
Eunice had gone to school and every other staff of the house was busy with one thing or the other.
She moved to the dinning, where the butler served her a glass of juice, so she could relax. Most of the days, she spent time reading but today, she was in thought.
She didn't know what was happening with Nico because his attitude today felt weird, but she knew she had a crush on him. She had liked him for a very long time, but she couldn't let her feeling out because she wasn't his class.