The Love of My Life

Mia was going to be late and there were few things she hated as much as not being on time. She looked at the clock again. 10:43 a.m. She was supposed to be meeting Val at a coffee shop in exactly seventeen minutes. Not only did she need to find something to wear, but she didn’t even know where the coffee shop was! Well, she knew where it was supposed to be, but she wasn’t sure how to get there. With her luck she would probably go the wrong way and end up at the wrong place. Yeah, she was definitely going to be late.

She let out a frustrated groan as she started going through the huge pile of clothes that was on her bed. Why had she thrown everything out from the neatly packed suitcase yesterday and then just left it all laying on the bed? Then she thought, because just leaving it all there hadn’t been the plan… She had planned on unpacking everything after the barbecue, but then the whole thing with Michelle had gone down. After that, she hadn’t felt like being alone and because she hadn’t spent the night in her bed, she hadn’t fixed her clothing mess.

She immediately got a smile on her face as she thought of Zacky. About half-way through Pulp Fiction they had both gotten hungry so they ordered Chinese food which they then ate while being all cuddled up in his bed and quoting lines from the movie to each other. He had managed to completely keep her mind off of everything that had happened with Michelle the previous day and she was so grateful for that. After the movie, they had lain in bed just talking for about an hour until she fell asleep in his arms with him ensuring her that everything was going to be fine. She had believed him and now, the next morning, she still did.

She finally found the pair of jeans she wanted and pulled them on before she proceeded to once again rummage through the clothing. Now she just had to find something to wear on top and then get to the coffee shop, somehow managing to do this in twelve minutes.

”Damn it, where is it?” she mumbled.

”I’m right here.”

She turned around at the sound of his voice and found him leaning against the doorway. ”Were you just standing there watching me?”

He raised an eyebrow. ”Maybe. Why? Am I not allowed to?”

”You definitely are. I just, god, I’m so going to be late!”

”Well, although I’d definitely prefer if you stayed here looking like that,” he looked at her barely covered upper body, ”I can help if you tell me what we’re looking for.”

She smiled and shook her head. ”Don’t tempt me. We’re looking for… oh hey, here it is.” She pulled on a black top and looked at him, waiting for his reaction. ”Maybe this works too? If I have to wear something, I mean.”

He put his hands on her hips as he looked her over, taking pride in the ”I heart VU” that was printed across her chest. ”Baby, I think I’ve told you before that I fuckin’ love when you wear my clothes.”

”Hm… It does sound kind of familiar.” She put her arms around him. ”What’s the time?”

Zacky looked over at the alarm clock on the bedside table. ”You’ve got eight minutes.”

”If I’m going to be late any way, what’s another minute here or there,” she whispered before her lips made contact with his.

***

”Sorry, sorry, sorry!” Mia rushed into the coffee shop, spotted Val, gave her a quick hug and sat down. Then she took a deep breath. ”Sorry, ” she said again with a smile.

”No worries. I got your text and it’s only,” Val looked at the time, ”seven minutes. Could be worse. Did you have trouble finding this place?”

Mia smiled sheepishly. ”No, I had trouble leaving.”

”Oh…” Val smiled in return. ”I take it things are going well then? Even after yesterday’s drama?”

Before Mia had time to respond, a waitress showed up carrying two mugs.

”I ordered already, I hope you don’t mind. It’s White Chocolate Mocha; trust me, you will fall in love with it and want to have it every day from now on.”

”Sounds dangerous,” Mia said with a smile before taking a sip. ”Dangerous and absolutely amazing! Oh my god.” She took another sip.

Val smiled. ”I told you so.” She too took a sip. ”Holy shit, it’s hot! How are you drinking it?”

”It’s too good, I can’t wait.”

”You’re crazy,” she replied with a laugh. ”Okay, so back to what we were talking about, or what I was trying to talk about. Last night…”

Mia put down the mug and got a more somber look on her face. ”Yeah, last night…”

”Bet it wasn’t quite what you hoped for?”

”There’s the understatement of the year. Honestly Val, I don’t even know what happened. I don’t get why Michelle hates me. Did I do something wrong?”

Val shook her head. ”No, you didn’t do anything wrong.”

”Then why-”

”And Michelle doesn’t hate you,” she continued.

”I know she’s your sister, so please don’t take this the wrong way, but she was a bitch! The things she said… you don’t say that to someone unless you’re trying to hurt them.”

Val sighed as she looked away. ”I know. I’m sorry she did that; I really am. And so is she.” She looked at Mia. ”I know it sounds like I’m sticking up for her only because she’s my family, but that’s not why. I talked to her last night and she felt really bad about everything. You might not believe this, and I don’t blame you, but you’re not the problem here. She just happened to blow up last night and you happened to be on the receiving end of it, but it wasn’t about you. She truly does not have anything against you.”

”I’m having a hard time believing that…” Mia said quietly as she looked down.

”I understand, but she did say that she wanted to apologize to you so you should be prepared for her calling you. Hopefully, you’ll believe her when you talk to her. But if not, that’s okay. And if you don’t want to forgive her, that’s okay too. You’re still going to be my friend, no matter what.”

Mia smiled. ”Thanks, Val.”

An hour and a half later they were deep into conversation when someone interrupted them. Mia knew right away who she was. She had seen her picture online when she had looked up Zacky after their first meeting.

”Val, hi! How are you?”

Val stood up to give her a hug. ”Gena! Hey! God, I haven’t seen you in forever. How are you doing?”

”I’m good, really good! I’m actually on a date. Sort of. He hasn’t shown up yet. I hope he’s not standing me up,” she said as she laughed.

She had a really pretty laugh, Mia thought to herself, feeling a little jealous. Everything about Gena seemed to be perfection. Her hair, her eyes, her mouth, her clothes, her make-up. She was gorgeous from top to bottom.

”Oh please, like anyone would ever stand you up,” Val said with a smile. ”Oh, this is Mia by the way, she’s-”

”A new friend. Hi, nice to meet you.” Mia said as she shook Gena’s hand.

”Nice to meet you too. You have really nice hair. Which isn’t at all as weird as it sounds! I work as a hair stylist so it’s like a job thing, I’m always noticing people’s hair. Sorry, I probably sound like a freak,” she laughed. ”Truthfully, I’m a little nervous right now. It’s my first date since the break-up.”

Val gave Mia a quick glance and then turned back to Gena. ”I’m sure you’ll be fine. Hey, is that him over there?” All three turned to look at the very handsome man who had just entered the coffee shop.

”Yeah, that’s him. I’m going to go, I think we’ll just grab a table outside. Mia, really nice to meet you. Val, we should go for drinks or coffee or something real soon. I’ve missed you and the girls. Okay, wish me luck. Bye!” she said with a huge smile.

Val said goodbye while Mia smiled and waved. Okay, so not only was she beautiful but she seemed really sweet too. She let out a sigh.

”You okay?” Val said as she reached across the table and patted Mia’s hand.

”Sure. Just met my boyfriend’s supermodel ex-girlfriend, but other than that, I’m just peachy,” she replied in an obviously fake cheerful tone.

”Come on! Sure, Gena is great, but so are you. And besides, you’re the one he’s with. You’re the one he’s calling his girlfriend, not her.”

”Yeah, for now. Until he realizes that he’s already had perfection and everything else is trading down and decides to go back to her.”

”Okay, now you’re just being dramatic and I refuse to encourage that.”

”I know,” Mia said with another sigh. ”But seriously, how am I supposed to measure up to that? No matter what I try-”

”But that’s the point!” Val said, interrupting her. ”You’re not supposed to try, you’re supposed to be you and that’s all it will take. He likes you for you and pretty soon, he’s going to love you for you. It has nothing to do with anyone else.”

Mia instantly got a smile on her face as she heard the magic word. Val noticed, of course, she noticed everything.

”What’s with that smiley thing you’ve got going on all of a sudden? Something to do with love perhaps? Did he say that he’s in love with you?” Mia’s smile grew a little wider. ”Oh my god, he totally did! And you were whining about what two seconds ago? You clearly have nothing to worry about!”

”I kind of know that, but I can’t help that I get a little insecure. And no, he didn’t say that he’s in love with me, but he said that he thinks he’s falling in love with me.”

”That’s pretty much the same thing; it’s just a safer way to put it in case you didn’t feel the same way. But you do. You told him that you do, didn’t you?”

”Of course I did!”

Val clapped her hands in excitement. ”I’m such a great matchmaker! You know, I should start a business!”

Mia laughed. ”Let’s not get ahead of ourselves.”

”You’re such a cute couple too. I can’t wait until it’s time to plan the wedding! I love weddings. You know, I had Matt’s and mine all planned out in my head when I was sixteen. Of course, it took a while for him to even ask me, but I knew that we were getting there eventually, so I wasn’t worried. You and Zacky are so going to get married one day, I know it.”

”Did I not just say that we, and by we I mean you, shouldn’t get ahead of ourselves? We’re only boyfriend and girlfriend and even that is a status we haven’t had for very long.”

”True. Hey, speaking of, why did you tell Gena that you were just a friend?” Val asked, leaning back in her chair.

”Because I am your friend?” Mia responded, knowing full well what Val meant.

Val rolled her eyes. ”Yes, you’re my friend. But why didn’t you tell her that you’re Zacky’s girlfriend?”

Mia looked away as she thought about how to best answer this question. It wasn’t something she had given a lot of thought as she did it. Her first reaction had simply been to introduce herself as a friend.

”I don’t know. It didn’t- it didn’t seem right. She’s his ex and we only just got together and… I don’t know. Don’t you think it would be better if she heard it from him? Or someone else in your circle of friends? I didn’t feel like it was my place to be the one to tell her. Besides, she said that this was her first date since the break-up. Don’t you think it would hurt her to hear that he already has a new girlfriend? And what if she had started asking questions and found out that I’m currently living in his house? I wouldn’t want to find out that way.”

Val nodded. ”I guess I understand that. But I don’t think she would have been hurt if you had said something. Their break-up was so amicable, I even think she would have been happy for him finding someone. And I think he would be happy for her too. That’s the kind of people they are.”

***

It wasn’t a very happy guy who opened his front door to find his best friend and said friend’s girlfriend standing outside. He really hoped that title now had an ex in front of it.

Zacky didn’t say anything as he glared at the pair, wondering why they were here together. Brian had said the night before that he was going to come over and apologize, but Zacky had also gotten the impression that he was going to break up with Michelle. If that had happened, he doubted that they would be here together.

”Can we come in?” Brian finally asked.

”Sure, come on in, Brian,” Zacky replied, putting emphasis on the last word as a way to show that there was only one person who was welcome. He turned and headed straight into the living room, knowing that there were two people walking behind him. He sat down and was quiet.

”So, is Mia here?” Brian asked as he and Michelle sat down on another couch.

”Nope.”

”Any idea when she’s coming back?”

”Nope,” Zacky responded once again.

Brian sighed and looked at Michelle. This wasn’t off to the best start, he thought.

”Zacky, we’re here, I’m here, because I want to apologize to her,” she said.

Zacky didn’t say anything.

Brian was about to say something when Michelle put her hand on his arm and shook her head.

”And I wanted to apologize to you too for how I acted last night. I’m really sorry if I hurt Mia or if I hurt you. It wasn’t my intention at all. I was drinking and I was mad at Brian and… I’m sorry. Can you forgive me?”

She was met by silence.

”She’s trying to apologize, dude!” Brian said. ”The least you could do is acknowledge that.”

Zacky glared at her. ”I don’t owe her shit.”

”Oh, grow up! This isn’t even about you! She didn’t do anything to you, so you don’t have a right to-”

”Brian, stop,” Michelle said which only seemed to make Zacky angrier.

”Shut up, this is all your fuckin’ fault!” he yelled at her.

”Excuse me?” Michelle said, taken aback by the anger in his voice.

He stood up, feeling like it was impossible for him to sit still for another second. ”You heard me! Everything is your fault. It’s your fault that Mia was fuckin’ crying last night and it’s your fault that she wanted to leave. It’s your fault that I feel like punching Bri in the face right now and all of it is just your fuckin’ fault!”

Brian too stood up. ”Don’t talk to her like that! You don’t know the full story!”

”I don’t give a shit!” Zacky yelled back, putting emphasis on every word. ”There’s no excuse for her being a fuckin’ bitch and I want her out of my house. Now!”

”Calm the fuck down! She’s here to say that she’s sorry!”

”Guys… What’s going on?” Mia looked around the room. Michelle was sitting on the couch and looking pretty miserable. Mia couldn’t help but feel like she deserved that. Brian and Zacky were standing up and they were clearly arguing. They were both red in the face and she had heard their voices before she even opened the front door.

She walked up to Zacky and put her hands on his cheeks, forcing him to look at her. ”Hey. What’s going on here?”

He took a couple of deep breaths, trying to calm himself. ”Nothing. They were just leaving.” His voice made it clear that he was anything but calm.

”Okay,” she whispered, ”just take it easy.” She turned around. ”Brian?”

”Mia, we’re here to-” he started saying but got interrupted.

”Let me, Bri, it was my mistake.” She looked at Mia with an apologetic smile. ”Do you think we could talk for a minute?”

Mia didn’t know what to do. She looked from Michelle to Brian to Zacky and then back to Michelle. ”Uh…”

”I want to explain. Please?”

Mia nodded slowly. ”Alright, we can go out on the patio for a minute.” She walked and Michelle followed. Just as Mia was about to close the patio doors, she looked at the guys who were still fuming and said, ”Try not to kill each other”. Then she took a deep breath and sat down by the table that was outside. Michelle sat down opposite her.

”So… First off, I’m so sorry. You have no idea how bad I feel. Yesterday wasn’t about you at all and I’m so sorry that I took it out on you. You didn’t deserve that at all. I had been drinking and I was mad at Brian and I… exploded. On the wrong person.”

”Okay…” Mia said hesitantly, not quite feeling like that was enough of an explanation.

”I think I’ve been going a little insane lately,” Michelle continued with a tiny smile on her lips. ”Brian and I, we haven’t been doing that well for the past year or so. He cheats on me, not all the time, but sometimes when we’ve been fighting. I always forgive him and he says that it’s not going to happen again, but it does. Ever since he came home, I’ve been having this feeling that it’s happened again and not that long ago and I think that constantly thinking about it made me drink a bit too much and… well, you know what happened then.”

”Oh.” Mia couldn’t help but feel bad for her, especially when she knew that Michelle’s suspicions were true and her best friend was the reason for that... This was the part that Nikki didn’t get. She slept with these guys who were in relationships and never seemed to give a second thought to the fact that there was always someone who was getting hurt by it. Even if the girlfriend or wife didn’t find out, it was still wrong. Mia sympathized with Michelle, she really did.

”My ex cheated on me. I left him as soon as I found out,” she said, wanting to show Michelle that she could kind of understand where she was coming from.

”I thought about it. The first couple of times it happened. I never thought that I would be the girl who stays with a cheating guy, but it’s not that simple. I love him, I really love him and I know he loves me too. When everything is going great, it’s really great. It’s just that when it’s not…” Michelle looked away, a sad smile on her face.

”Love makes us do crazy things sometimes,” Mia replied with what she hoped was a comforting smile.

”Yeah, Zacky seems to know all about that.”

”What do you mean?” Mia asked.

”Didn’t you see how mad at me he is? I think he wants to kill me for hurting you. No one would do that for someone they didn’t really care about.” This time, unlike the previous night, Michelle’s smile seemed truly genuine.

Mia wasn’t sure how she should respond to that so she just smiled instead.

”As for the job… It’s yours if you still want it.”

”Honestly, I don’t know. I don’t want to get in the middle of everything that’s going on,” Mia replied, wondering if she was doing the right thing right now or completely messing it all up. It sounded like a great job, it did, and she did need to work if she was going to stay here with Zacky. But she didn’t trust Michelle and her relationship with Brian seemed to be a lot of drama. It was something Mia would prefer to stay out of and working for the two of them would probably not be the best way to accomplish that.

Michelle nodded. ”I understand. How about if you take some time and think about it?”

”I will. And thank you for coming here and saying that you’re sorry. I really appreciate it.”

”Thanks for being willing to listen to me. Should we go see if the guys are still alive?”

Mia laughed, ”Yeah, that’s probably a good idea.”

When the girls came inside, Zacky and Brian were sitting on separate couches and staring into thin air. And the air definitely seemed a bit chilly.