It took Mia by surprise but she didn't pull away. Instead she parted her lips gaining him entrance. She kissed him back while Ryan dominated the intense passionate kiss. What seemed to last forever finally slowed down, their kiss became much more slower and steady. They broke apart, panting and catching their breath.

   She chuckled lightly... "What was that all about?" Mia stared into his dreamy eyes.

    "I've been wanting to do that. You look so beautiful and alluring." He caressed her cheek. "I'm a jealous man Mia, I don't take things likely when someone is trying to steal what's mine." He told her while stroking her cheek. 
    
   "Is this about David?" Mia asked him.

    "What do you think?"

  "If this is about David, you don't have to worry." Mia gave him an assuring smile. "We're just friends, like you and I."

    "No. I wouldn't let him kiss you because you're mine. He's not coming near you, do you understand?" Ryan frowned. "You said it yourself, friends don't kiss on the lips."

   "Then what are we?" Mia asked, gliding her hands around his neck. 

    "More than friends." Ryan said, crashing his lips again on hers. Mia tilted her head, pulling him closer to enable better kissing. "I love you." He said between his kisses.

     She needed his kisses badly as her hand traveled up his hair. Mia had forgotten everything, she was lost in the moment of lust.
.....................................................

    "So where do you wanna go next?" Ryan asked Mia while interlocking their arms.

    Mia looked around. "Aren't you tired? We've been to so many places already."

    "These times are precious." Ryan smiled at her. "I wanna prove to you how much I'm serious about you. It's not a hidden fact that I love you, is it?"

    Mia scoffed, unlocking her arm... "Why is it so easy for you to say those words? You don't even know me. Don't you think those words are pathetic?"

    "You love your mom, is that pathetic?" He asked her.

    "That's a different kind of love. The kind of love I'm talking about makes you do stupid things, it makes you crazy." Mia faced him. "Ryan you don't love me, it's infatuation."

     Ryan shook his head in disagreement.

    "Why do you love me? Is it because you think I'm just a pretty face?"

     "You're smart, you're independent, you're simple, you're arrogant, you're sweet, you're open minded, you're fun to be with, you're a whole lot of crazy, you don't hide what you feel, you're stubborn, you're a spitfire, you're strong-willed, you're an amazing lady, you're not very trusting, you're extremely judgmental." He held her arms. "There are so many beautiful things about you. Everything draws me to you, good or bad– Apart from the obvious part that you're beauteous, attractive, hot, gorgeous." Ryan meant every word. Making sure he said her flaws and also making her know he accepts her just the way she is.

     Mia remained speechless for a while, just staring into his icy, bright eyes.

     "I love your eyes." Her voice was more of a whisper.

    "Thank you." Ryan smiled boyishly, leaning in to kiss her lips.

    "PDA." She whispered against his lips. "Aren't you afraid we'll get caught on camera?" She asked wrapping her arms around his torso.

    "It's not like I'm a popular celebrity." He chuckled. "I'm not Alex, and honestly, I don't like public attention."

    "Have you ever played a game called pretense?" Mia asked, looking up at him.

    "Pretense? No. How is it played?"

     "We pretend to be something we're not. I can pretend to be a princess and you can be my right hand." Mia grinned sheeply.

     "Is that a real thing?" Ryan frowned at her.

     "Yes! Mom and I play it back home."

    "Why'd you wanna play it out of the blues?" He asked her.

     "I wanna go for shopping, there's just a little problem. When I go shopping, I buy a whole lot of things and—"

     "You want me to swipe my card?" Ryan nodded slowly.

     "What? No! What do you think of me, some charity case?" Mia took an offence, pulling away before slapping his arm. "I don't need your money." Mia glared at him.

    "I'm sorry, I didn't mean it the wrong way." Ryan apologized quickly. "I'm sorry." He placed his hands on her cheeks. "Forgive me, it wasn't my intention to upset you."

     "Why do you think I want your money? Ryan, you don't need to spend on me because you feel it's necessary. Don't buy gifts for me because I won't accept them." Mia told him her mind.

    Ryan sighed. She reminded him so much of Sophie, like the same thing Sophie would have said. "Okay." He nodded, pulling her closer.

    "I wanted you to accompany me to the mall so that you could help me with the bags." Mia said to him.

    "Sure. I can do that." Ryan smiled.

     Mia gave him a small smile. "I'll tell you about the game pretense."

     "I'm all ears." Ryan pulled her to his side, throwing his arm around her shoulders before walking back to the car.

    "I'm gonna be the spoilt princess and you're gonna be my ever ready sidekick. If you back out, you're gonna pay me one thousand dollars."

     "Really? Do we have turns to play?" Ryan asked.

    "We do. But I get to play pretense for the whole day." Mia told him. "Are you ready?" Mia grinned.

    "Okay." He nodded. Although he didn't fully get the meaning of the whole pretense game but he wanted to try it.

    Mia cleared her throat... "Come along, there's no time to lose." She was able to blend in a thick British accent.

    "Wow. Impressive!"

     "Thank you." She said in the accent before laughing.
✴✴✴✴✴

     She was right! He was exhausted after the whole shopping they did. She bought almost everything she laid her hands on her, yet, she didn't max her credit card. Ryan noticed that she seemed comfortable buying irrelevant bags for way expensive prices. Bags that can barely fit in anything... Girls.

     "Are we done?" Ryan asked, struggling to hold on to the numerous shopping bags he carried.

    Mia was busy at the counter paying for a some item she bought. "Yes." She turned to Ryan, seeing him struggling to keep his balance. "Are you okay?" She asked, walking up to him with her hands full of shopping bags.

       "I'll manage." He managed to smile.

   "I did buy a lot, didn't I?" She chuckled awkwardly.

    "I'm your right hand man, I'm bound to help you." He gave her a reassuring smile.

     "Let's go then." She fixed up her accent once more.

  He nodded, following her lead.....

     Ryan and Mia drove, not being chatty.

     "Did you enjoy your shopping?" Ryan decided to break the silence.

    "I did thank you. Thanks for helping out, I hope I wasn't being too hard on you." Mia kept her eyes on the dashboard.

     "I haven't accompanied someone for a private shopping in a long time. I must say it's exhausting." Ryan told her the truth.

     "Sorry. Really sorry." Mia looked at him and bit her lip. "I um, I just wanna say thanks a lot. I had so much fun, it's been a while."

    Ryan glanced at her before turning to the road. "I had fun too. We could hang out some other time, what do you say?"

     "I-I don't know." Mia sighed. She felt an overwhelming guilt in her heart, her conscience was pricking her. "Are we doing the right thing? Because I'm not comfortable knowing that I kissed someone else's boyfriend, I'm not that kind of person. I'm not happy, and I feel bad because of what I feel for you." Mia liked Ryan a lot more than she thought, and spending more time with him just made her develop more feelings for him.

     "Ryan I really wanna stop nurturing these feelings for you, I'm gonna get hurt in the end." Mia was always opened to what she felt, a part of her was telling her to stop.

   He understood her perfectly. He really wanted them to work out, then again, what if Layla came back, how was he gonna break the news to her? He hadn't thought about that.

     "I'm never going to hurt you." He said to her. 

    "You don't know that yet." She had to make up her mind. In other to forget Ryan, she needed to leave. That was the only way.

     Dammit! Her life just got complicated.

    Just then her phone vibrates in her bag. She pulled it from her bag placing it over her ear.

    "Hey mom, how are you?" Mia greeted casually.

      "Good, good. You?"

    "Never been better."

    "Good to hear. Seems like you've been having fun huh?  You spent a lot, I saw the account. Mind explaning young lady?"

   Mia laughed nervously, glancing at Ryan who's eyes were on the road. "Well, I just went for a little shopping with a friend. Oh come on mom, it's not that bad."

    "You spent close to a hundred thousand."

     "Really?" Mia looked alarmed. "Shit! I didn't know it almost got to a hundred."

     "It did."

   Her mom didn't make any fuss when Mia spent money on shopping since Mia never spends money on another things apart from bags, shoes, dresses. It's not like they weren't able to provide whatever they needed.

  "Anyway, when are you coming home?"

    "Home?" Mia frowned.

    "Yeah, home. Italy. I'm missing you badly."

    "Soon. Sooner than you know." She had her corner eyes looking at Ryan.

......................................................
    Ryan helped her carry her things to the apartment, luckily, Andrew was home so he helped out.

    "Thank you." Mia said, giving Ryan a friendly hug.

    "Don't mention it." He smiled before taking his leave.

    "So," Andrew stressed the SO. "How was lunch? I assume it went well?" He followed her into her room, holding a mug in his hand.

     "It went well." She nodded, kicking off her shoes in a corner.

     "Wanna talk about it? And what's with all the shopping bags, your closet is overflowing with clothes." Andrew asked her.

    "I'm restocking. I'm giving the ones I hardly wear out, so I could have space for new ones." She pulled her jacket.

     "Why did you go for shopping? Did Ryan pay for everything?"

    "You know I buy my things with my money." She peeled away the rubber band holding up her hair, allowing it to fall freely on her back.

    "Okay. Now talk to me, how did your lunch go? Seeing you're exhausted and your timing is late, what did you guys do?" Andrew asked her.

     "After lunch, we went around exploring the city, then shopping, then home." She sat on her bed. "We also kissed a few times." Mia said quietly..

    "You did? What kind of kiss?" He smirked at her.

    "You know the kind of kiss I'm talking about." She frowned...

    "Shouldn't you be happy? You finally like someone and he likes you too."

      "How can I be happy? He belongs to someone else, I just have him now because his girlfriend is away. What will happen when she comes back?" Mia sighed sadly.

     "Have you both talked about it?"

     "I bring it up most times but he claims that his relationship with his so-called girlfriend is just a mutual agreement."

     "You mean sex and all?" Andrew frowned.

    "Something like that. That's another thing I'm afraid of, what if he's only seeing me as a substitute. God! It's the first time I'm feeling this way about any guy, I'm so lost." Mia buried her face in her palm. "It sucks."

     "Have you seen his girlfriend? Maybe pictures?" He asked.

   Mia looked at him. "No, I only know her name as Layla that's all."

    "Here's what! I'll ask from my sources and dig into a Layla, when I find out who she is, I'll let you know."

    "O-okay. But then after that, what else ?" Mia furrowed her brows in confusion.

     "You're gonna know who the bitch is and what you're up against." Andrew said to her.

    "What?" Mia blinked. "Excuse me?"

     "For once in your life, if this guy is what you want, go after him. Why would fate lead you to him if it would just be thrown at your face?"

     Mia laughed at him... "I might like Ryan doesn't mean I'm crazy enough to fight over him with some girl? I'm not in love with him, so I can't act that crazy. For now, let's drop the topic. Find out what you can on Layla, that's all." Mia nodded at him.

     "Jeez, I was looking forward to drama." Andrew said while leaving her room.

     "I don't need drama, I need peace of mind." Mia said, crawling up her bed.

    She heaved out loud, laying on her belly before closing her eyes.

    "Why can't I forget about you Ryan?" She mumbled to herself. Seconds later, she fell into a dreamless sleep.
✴✴✴✴✴✴

       It's been a month since she met Ryan and he turned her life upside down, more like her heart upside down.

   They had finally completed the project. Hopefully, Mia was set to leave America soon without informing Ryan.

       "What are you thinking about?" David asked Mia who sat beside him.

    "No-nothing." She smiled half way. "Are you done? Can we leave?" Mia asked him.

     She'd agreed to go on a date with David in other to forget about Ryan as he has been away for sometime.

     "Are you in a rush? Do you have somewhere to be?" David asked her.

     "I'm leaving for Washington, to be precise, Seattle." Mia placed her cutleries on the plate.

    "Isn't that like in two days?" David arched his brow. "For the past one week, you've been somber. What's wrong?" He asked her.

     She didn't look at him. "I'm fine. I've been burdened with a lot of work lately." Mia hadn't been herself ever since, she and Ryan hanging around.

     She missed him, she couldn't wait for him to kiss her, she felt happy when she was with him. The only reason she had agreed to go out with David was because she thought David could help her forget about Ryan now that he was away.

      "I noticed each time we're together you wanna get rid of me. Did I do something wrong? Don't you like my company anymore?" David's heart felt heavy. It's like she changed, like she didn't want to be around him anymore.

   Mia looked at him. "Oh David. Is that what you think? I'm so sorry. I'm sorry." She felt sorry for him.

    "Tell me what I'm doing wrong my love." He played with the waves of her hair. "Tell me what I have to do to gain your heart."

     "You've done enough. Honestly, you're a great person and I really want us to work. But—"

     "I'm ready to leave my past behind Mia." Now he was being serious as ever. "I've never felt like this for any woman before, just you. I'm willing to go through any length to win you over. Or... Is there someone else?"

   Mia swallowed down, she knew she had to lie. "N-no."

     "Then what's wrong? I know you see me as a playboy and someone who isn't ready for a serious relationship or commitment, but I'm changed. I want to start over, start over with you." David said to her, staring into her grey eyes.

    She had seen that he was trying to prove himself a few times to her but she didn't feel the same attraction she felt for Ryan.

         "Let's take it one step at a time." Mia gave a small smile.

     "Okay." David smiled at her, leaning in to place a kiss on her cheek.

     Mia stood at her doorway when she took out her phone only to see a few massages from Ryan.

    From pervert dude: Tried calling but you weren't answering. 10:30am.

   From pervert dude: I know you don't like gifts, but I got a surprise for you. I can't wait till you see it. 1:00pm.

   From pervert dude: You're still not answering your phone universe. What are you doing? 1:30pm.

   From pervert dude: I miss you like crazy, can you call so I would know what you're doing? 2:00pm.

     From pervert dude: Just got out of the most boring meeting ever. Don't worry, I'll tell you all about it when I get back. 4:50pm.

    From pervert dude: How come you're not replying to any of my texts? Say something, I need to know you're okay. 6:00pm.

     From pervert dude: Universe, you're not making concentration easy for me in. As it is, I'm texting you while in a meeting. 6:15pm.

   Mia had a small smile plastered on her face, but she couldn't text back. Her plan to forget Ryan before he came back from his business trip was set in motion, replying him would only make her eager for his return.

    She opened the door to her apartment and saw Andrew working on his laptop.

     "Hey." She smiled, walking past him.

    "Hey pretty lady, how was your date with David?" He asked her.

    "Thankfully, it went well." She nodded moving towards her room.

    "You might wanna come over here. Just got some info on Ryan's girlfriend." Andrew said to her.

   Immediately, Mia froze. She'd totally forgotten that Andrew wanted to find out about Layla.