XANDER

Mia stumbled into the booth, almost spilling the beer all over the table. Xander glanced at her revealing shirt and held in a breath. He tried to keep cool, but he hadn't seen her in a while. And the last time he did, his hands were all over her. Every rational thought slipped out of his head when he watched her move and imagined her body in his arms.

"Your turn!" Mia's voice snapped him out of his fantasy and he found her smiling face inches away from his. She leaned back and waved with the cards. He grabbed one.

"Hmm, let's see, the worst sex?" He asked, waiting for embarrassment to appear on Mia's face, but none did.

"See-through Tim from high school. He was see-through, but some parts of him were actually invisible." Mia chuckled. Xander was surprised by how casually she talked about it and he had to laugh. "Retrospectively," Mia added, "I think that's why I broke up with him."

"Poor guy." Xander murmured.

"Oh, no, it wasn't just that, I left him for other reasons, too." Mia explained.

"Oh, okay, now I feel less sorry for him." Xander smiled. He tried to think of questions that didn't involve sex, because if he started talking to her about it, this night would finish a lot sooner. Mia took another card.

"He's very rich now, no need to feel sorry for him. Spades, drink!" Mia did a little dance with her shoulders in the booth and Xander swallowed his beer, and his nerves.

He was aware that her saying she broke up with Jeff wasn't the real breakup, they needed their closure. But any guilt he might feel disappeared just like that and now, he simply wanted her. Everything that stood in their way was becoming very easy to ignore.

The problem with the game was becoming apparent, he wanted to ask so many things but none seemed appropriate and would cloud the fun evening with seriousness pretty soon. Xander guessed he would have to continue with the sex questions.

"You know what? I'm taking your card, you're taking too long!" Mia snapped the card out of his hand and Xander looked at her wide-eyed.

"You can't do that!"

"I just did. Let's see, hearts. How many girls have you slept with Xander boy?" She smiled mischievously, her eyes gleaming with curiosity.

"That's not something you ask a lady." Xander answered, mimicking her smile.

"I feel like you had a phase. I'm right, aren't I?" Mia asked.

"I had a phase in college. It wasn't a huge number of girls, but I messed around with two or three around the same time." Xander felt his cheeks lifting. It sounded fun, but it really wasn't, especially after they found out. "But we weren't exclusive!"

"Yeah, I was just gonna say how virtuous you claimed to be when we met." Mia smiled and began to impersonate him. "Oh, I'm Xander, I'm really not the one to cheat. Yeah, right."

"Mean. And those weren't real relationships, mostly random hook-ups." Xander laughed out loud. "But since we're backlashing me for my sex life, let's see how virtuous you are. Have you had a phase?"

"A girl never tells." Mia put her finger on her lips and the only thing Xander could think about was how much he wanted to be that finger.

"You totally had a phase, you're blushing." Xander noticed. Mia covered her face with her hands, but a giggle managed to escape. Her face was red, but the spark in her eyes was joyous.

"I could tell you, but I won't. I want you to wonder all your life." The way she said it made Xander feel all range of emotions he didn't dare delve into.

"What's your favourite feeling in the world?" Xander asked when he took the card. He might have set them up a little, but Mia didn't seem to care. She thought about the question for a moment.

"Orgasm doesn't count, right?" She asked.

"Emotional feeling, Mia."

"What? It's an emotional feeling." She defended herself. "Alright, let's see. Favourite feeling in the world." A small smile appeared on her lips, reserved for herself only. "When nobody knows where I am. I love going off the radar, shutting everyone out. Something about being unreachable just turns me on."

Xander arched his eyebrow and smile. That was not the answer he was expecting.

"Maybe that's why I liked spending time with you," Mia continued, "you offered an escape that I rarely got, because well, you couldn't tell anyone we were together."

"You know," Xander began, tasting the words on his tongue, "if we were together, I'd take you camping. I'd find a place where you can escape, where the world doesn't exist. I'd give you booze and weed and I'd let you take thousands of pictures. If that would make you happy." The entire vibe of the evening switched, creating tension.

"And you could hang from the mountains like a caveman." Mia smiled, breaking the tension a little, but it still clung above them like a cloud.

"I'm a sophisticated caveman. And you can be my cavewoman lady, we can both hang from the mountain." Xander said.

"And hit each other with clubs, eat each other's hair..."

"Okay, enough." Xander laughed.

"All jokes aside, I didn't take you for a romantic, Xander." Mia offered a gentle smile, making Xander's heart race. He wondered whether she was aware of the effect she had on him, just like he wondered the first time they met.

"Well, I didn't get the chance to be one."

They locked eyes, multiple questions passing between them. What would happen if they just gave it a shot? Would it work? Would it fail? Would it stop existing the moment it got created?

"What do you regret the most about this entire thing?" Mia asked the only question Xander knew the answer to.

"Not sleeping with you."

"Okay, wasn't expecting that." Mia's cheeks turned bright red and she smiled nervously, her eyes gleaming with something that worked like a charm on Xander.

"Would any of it be any different if we slept together?" Perhaps he was being too blunt, but he enjoyed seeing her nervous because of it, the way she suddenly became aware of her entire body.

"Probably more guilt and more hurt feelings." Mia said, but it seemed like she didn't even believe in her words. Guilt on her face was apparent to Xander, he's seen so much of it since he met her. But there was no guilt tonight.

"My cost-benefit analysis tells me it would be worth it."

Mia went for her beer immediately, instantly letting Xander know what his words did to her. She played with the silver bracelet on her wrist.

"I'm gonna subtly change the subject and ask: you know what we should do?" She leaned forward. Xander kept his eyes locked with hers, because otherwise, he would be staring straight down her cleavage. The task was harder than anticipated.

"What should we do?" Xander asked slowly, making her blush again.

"We should go dance." The flirtatious smile on her lips did not slip under Xander's radar.

"There's a bar near my house, it has a karaoke night." He said instantaneously. Saying that proximity to his house was not the most important thing about this bar, would be lying. Mia figured that out and smiled, self-satisfied.

"I hope you're not still living with Annie." Mia got out of the booth and gathered her stuff. Not realising she meant they should go now, Xander downed his drink.

"No, I broke up with Annie." Xander debated whether he should leave Fred another hundred dollars for the tip, just because the bar really seemed to be magical. But he realised he had one beautiful woman, that could drink a lot of scotch, on his arm tonight. Xander left a twenty.

"I know you two broke up, X." Hearing her call him by his nickname turned Xander on.

"How do you know that?" Xander ordered an Uber, not wanting to waste any time.

"Because you said you would and also, Jeff said you looked bummed out." Mia shrugged her shoulders. She had her tights, a plain shirt on, and a face free of makeup. And she didn't care one bit, she was beautiful and she knew it.

"What else did Jeff say?" Xander asked, remembering his words that day. In the moment, he thought he could say anything because he would never see Mia again. But now she was here, and she knew. They entered the cab.

"Good evening." The cab driver said and they both murmured their 'good evenings' in response. The driver immediately started the ride.

"Oh, you know, that you manipulated me into kissing you." She lowered her voice, not wanting the driver to hear. Xander expected something like that, there was no surprise in being painted as the bad guy in this story.

Mia was quiet while Xander struggled for words. He didn't want to be mean towards Jeff, because he knew that no matter what, Mia still cared about him. But Xander still cared more about Mia's feelings than Jeff's.

"He's a piece of shit." Xander said eventually, making Mia laugh slightly. For the rest of the short right she was quiet. Xander also didn't want to talk about it in the cab.

Once they reached their destination, Xander paid the cab and they stumbled out of it, finding themselves in front of another bar. The music from the inside already reached them.

"He said something else." Mia stopped Xander on the way to the door.

"What?" Xander's heart picked up the pace, but Mia's expression wasn't smug, it was nervous, bordering on sad. For a moment, she seemed to rethink whether she should say.

"Did you tell him you wanted to fuck me?" She asked quietly. It dawned on Xander that Jeff would obviously twist his words.

"I wouldn't say that." His words were true, he believed in much more elegant seducing.

"I thought so." Mia nodded and Xander came closer to her, feeling the heat around them. He lifted her chin and locked eyes with hers.

"There is only one situation when I would say that." He took a moment. "And that is to you. In bed."

They stared at each other, their lips inches apart, a burst of electricity running through Xander's body, ending up in each spot of his body that nearly touched her. Maybe they should just skip the damn karaoke.

"Let's go!" Mia moved away from him and skipped to the bar. Xander stayed in place for a moment, cherishing the scent of her perfume still in his nostrils and the cloud of heat around his body. He turned around and followed her to the bar.

It was more industrial than Fred's bar, the music was louder and the chairs were metallic. The walls were covered in posters of rock and roll legends. In the back, above all the tables, was the stage, where a girl dressed in black sang I wanna be sedated by The Ramones. The bar was pretty crowded, some people sat and drank, while others gathered around the stage and danced.

"Can anybody sing?" Mia asked once they found the table. Under the fluorescent light, it was easier to escape to a different world, one where nothing but her existed.

"Yes!" Xander half-shouted. The loud music gave them nothing better to do than drink and dance.

"We should sing!" She shouted back and basically ran to the stage. Xander still sat dumbstruck while Mia talked to the man in the DJ booth. She returned with a sheet of music.

"You seriously want to go and sing?" Xander asked while she scanned the sheet. He didn't think she would do it, but she seemed to be thrilled about the idea. Hell, he would go on the stage and make a fool out of himself, if it made her happy.

"Yes! Come on, choose a song!" She turned the sheet towards him. Hundreds of different songs flashed in front of his eyes, varying from rock to pop to country.

"I know!" Mia took the sheet back. "Look, they have it!"

"Streams of whiskey by The Pogues?" Xander squinted, surprised by the choice.

"Yes, come on!"

"Are you sure you don't want to sing something more romantic?"

"No, I want Streams of whiskey!" She ran to the stage again, but this time Xander followed her through the crowd. A thought appeared in Xander's mind, a wish that they met when they were both single. Then, he could take her to Europe with him. Mia climbed onto the stage. Under the light of the reflections, she was somehow even more beautiful.

"To hell with it." Xander murmured into his chin and climbed onto the stage after her. Two microphones were waiting for them as the music began. The crowd danced to the tune.

He thought Mia would be more embarrassed, but she sang the lyrics without a care in the world, which drew Xander to do the same. None of them knew the entire text, so they mumbled along, laughing in between choruses. The crowd helped move the attention off their terrible voices.

"I am goooing, I am going, any which way the wind may be blowing!" Mia shouted into the mice. Fortunately, the music was so loud that no one heard the missed tones.

"....Where streams of whiskey are flowing!!"

The rest of the song went by in a blur and Xander only had eyes for her, forgetting his lines, forgetting to dance at times. Her energy was enough to lift the spirits of the entire bar, they cheered on her mildly bad performance. But Xander didn't hear anything, one thought ran through his head. So, this was what she looked like when she was happy.