Teaching Mia

Chapter 24 - Jet Lag

They arrived at Barajas Airport Saturday evening and got into a taxi together once they went through immigration and picked up their luggage. Mia was already feeling separation anxiety at the thought of being away from Leo. She wanted to spend more time with him alone. They had spent an amazing night together in Shanghai, but would it still be the same now that they were back in Madrid? She felt vulnerable after everything they had shared together during the last 24 hours, especially what she had told him during the plane ride.

The taxi arrived at her apartment and she drearily got out. Leo followed after her and she was taken aback when she saw him remove both of their suitcases from the trunk.

"Don't you need to go home?" Mia asked.

"Nope. I have somewhere else far more important I need to be," Leo said grinning.

Mia smiled excitedly as Leo paid the taxi driver. They stepped into the building and she hoped her apartment was in a decent condition. She never expected she would have a visitor at her home after the Shanghai trip, let alone Leo. In fact, only a few people had ever been in her apartment.

As they walked in, Leo set down their suitcases and immediately began looking around her apartment, as if it was his first time there.

"It's been a while," Leo said, looking nostalgic.

"I promise everything is in its same place. Hasn't changed much," Mia said.

Leo sighed and went to sit down at the couch.

"Well, I certainly remember having a particularly nice study session right about here," Leo grinned at her.

Mia blushed. "Back when we were naïve and innocent," she noted.

"Come here, sweetness. You're too far away," Leo said all of sudden.

Mia had been standing near the dining table and went to sit next to him on the couch. He wrapped his arm around her and grabbed her legs to pull them over his.

"Mmm. That's so much better," he said.

She sighed into his chest. "Leo? Did you never really think of me as a friend, in the beginning?"

He looked at her surprised. "Of course I did. What made you think I didn't?"

"That night we fought...you said we were never friends," she explained.

"I meant we weren't friends in the traditional sense. We pretended to be, but we were always so much more than that," he said tucking a strand of her hair behind her ear.

"Oh. I thought you meant you never considered me a friend at all. Like someone you could talk to and confide in."

"Mia, how could you think that? The only reason I brought it up is because I thought you were demeaning what we had to simple friendship."

"No, I never meant to do that. I'm sorry if it came out that way. You always meant so much to me and I thought you were saying you didn't care about having me as friend."

"No, baby. You were and are my friend. Best friend, girlfriend, partner in crime, lover...you're all those things to me."

She kissed him on the lips. "You're all those things to me, too. Except swap girlfriend to boyfriend," she said giggling.

"I would certainly hope so." He laughed and kissed her forehead. "Do you still want to take that trip together? Just you and me?" he asked, bringing up an earlier conversation they had on the couch.

"Just tell me when and where and I'm there," Mia said, repeating the same answer she had given him before.

He leaned in to give her a kiss. "I love being with you, Mia. You're like my anchor."