3 Chap 3: Coincidence

Mia

I picked up my phone sleepily, "Hi sweetheart?" I heard a voice in a lullaby tone.

"Ma?" I replied groggily,

"You still asleep?" Mom sounded unsure

"Yeah, I will call you at 9" I replied in a hurry to cut the phone and get back to sleep

"Sweetheart, it's 9:31, don't you need to go to the store?" I instantly opened my eyes and took out my mobile from under the pillow.

"I will call you soon." I cut the phone in a haste and did my morning routine, got ready and marched off to the store, where I worked part-time, without breakfast. While I walked down I called up mom,

"Mia" she sounded anxious,

"thanks for waking me up," I said with gratitude and I heard her sigh

"You slept in late?" She inquired.

"Yeah. I went out with Ariel and a few of her friends so I slept in late." I replied and remembered the last night's dinner.

"Oh, so how was it?" she sounded excited.

"It was fine!"

"Fine?why?" I told her everything about last night with Ryan, Ariel, and Emily. My relationship with my parents was good, I could share all my secrets with them. My parents were my strength and I couldn't spend any day without talking to them.

"Sweetheart you can't feel bad. It's not your fault for how he treated Ariel" she said with empathy

"Yes, Mommy!" I smiled,

"So where's Dad and Alex?"

"Dad went off to sleep and Alex has gone out for dinner with his friends"

"You go slow and be careful on your way!"

"Yup"

"Will call you tomorrow "

"Okie, Bye Ma. Love you"

"Love you too" I felt better after I spoke with her. She exactly knew how to make me feel better. Our talks were always short and but we made sure to talk every single day. We talked every day at 9:30 am on weekends and at 11pm on weekdays. Since we had a time difference of 12 hours these timings worked for both of us. On weekdays, my business admin classes would start at 8 am and would get over by 1 pm. After classes, we would all have lunch in the mess and take a small nap after lunch. At 2:30 pm I would make my way down to the store, which was 3 miles away from my college. I normally put a minimum of 5 hours in the store. On weekends I would be at work by 10 am and put more than the minimum so that I could get paid more. HappyC, one-stop store was where I worked, it covered items from A to Z. Shelly, the owner, and 7 more including me were the assistants in HappyC. Weekends were always busy because they were crowded and loaded with requests from customers. Initially, it was a challenge to work here and I wanted to quit but I always thought about the loans I had to pay off.

After a crazy day at work, I reached my room and saw Ariel and Emily all ready to go out. Emily had messaged me about the dinner plan and I declined the offer.

"You sure you don't want to come?" Ariel asked as soon as I entered.

"Yup, had a long day," I replied and hopped on my bed.

"Will miss you," Emily said before they made their way out of the room.

"have fun and be safe," I said

"We will, Bye," Ariel said and shut the door. I got up from the bed and went to the washroom, took a bath, changed into a night dress, and went to the mess to have dinner. After I had a quiet dinner, I watched an anime series and went off to sleep.

On Sunday when I got up I saw Emily and Ariel asleep, I did my morning routine and walked towards the store while I spoke to my mum. I worked on Sundays too because paying off my loan was more important to me than taking an off. After hectic work, when I reached my room, Emily had a date with some guy named Jason who she met last night at the bar. Tonight he planned to take her out for dinner to a restaurant. So Ariel and I decided to accompany her but from a far distance. When we reached the restaurant, Emily took a seat next to Jason, while we took a table away from theirs. When Jason saw her he flashed a huge grin like he had won something very precious. Jason was of 6'0 height, bald, had light golden-brown eyes, big fuller lips, good physique, dark-skinned, and got dimples when he smiled. He wore a beige color suit with a light blue shirt and had teamed his attire with black shoes. Ariel filled me in with Jason's detail, she mentioned he did his graduation from Yale and worked in a start-up with a friend.

"Wow, he is good," I said and sipped my black drink.

"Yea. He is the epitome of perfection." Ariel replied with a content smile while we looked at them. "I wish I could get a guy like him,"

"John" I said and looked at her with confidence.

"What! no! way" she was taken aback with my statement. Did she not see how he looked at her and how much he did for her.

"What? don't you know?"

"I don't want to go there" she said and looked away from me. She didn't like the topic so I decided to give it a rest, like Emily said, if she is meant to fall in love with John then she will sooner or later. We ordered our dinner and talked about our assignments and a few topics that I wasn't comfortable about.

"So..how's Noah?" She sounded curious and looked at me like she already knew the answer.

"He is good," I said and concentrated more on my food.

"Has he called you?"

"I haven't spoken to him for a couple of days" I replied. I wanted this conversation to end but I knew she wouldn't let this go so I continued to eat my food.

"You know in the last 4 months you guys have spoken only twice, sorry! not spoken but fought," Ariel said with distaste. I knew she disliked Noah for a lot of reasons and she always made her point clear about how he didn't deserve me but I knew what Noah was and I disliked the way she talked about him.

"So?" I replied and still gave my attention to the food on my plate.

"He seems distant. Don't you think?" she looked concerned for me and I should feel happy about it but it only made me agitated. I looked at her with an irritated look,

"Yea he is distant because he is super busy and work is important for him"

"Okay...girl" She immediately looked away from me and gave her attention to her mobile. We didn't talk much after. We soon finished our dinner and decided to head home. Ariel let Emily knew about it through a message.

"Seems like Jason and Emily are having a lot of fun," Ariel said while we took a cab to our dorm.

"He seemed really into her," I said. Jason looked at Emily like she was the only one for him. They both had their eyes only for each other. It made me nostalgic and think about my time with Noah. I missed him so I shot a message but I knew he wouldn't reply because of work. It was 11 when we reached our rooms, we got changed and slept for the night.

The next day when Ariel and I got up for our 8 am class, we didn't see Emily in the room. We did our morning routine and head out for breakfast to our mess.

"She spent the night with him, don't you think it was way too quick?" I said in a panic. Not to see her in the morning threw me out of my place. I was worried about her because and she didn't reply to any of the messages we had sent her when we got up.

"She is Emily, she knows what she is doing?" Ariel said and looked calm and poised.

"Yea but I am still worried"

"She is smart. Don't worry" Ariel said, with not a single drop of concern on her face. She was confident of Emily's abilities, I liked that but I was still scared. We sat at the table and had our cereals and scotch egg for breakfast. After breakfast we headed to our dorm, got our books for the 8am class. When we reached our eco class Emily was seated at our desk with all smiles plastered on her face. I had a sigh of relief and hurriedly walked towards her,

"Wow! what's with you?" Ariel looked surprised but so was I. I had never seen Emily look so dreamy and happy

"Nothing," Emily said and looked into space with a huge grin

"That's not nothing," Ariel said to me and at her. As we both took our seat next to Emily "Guys he is so amazing! Like super amazing!" She said with all smiles.

"Auhuh, I guess we can see that," I said.

"Are you talking about your bed experience or in general?" Ariel said. Emily immediately expressed her shock to Ariel.

"We didn't have sex, Ariel. We just spent the whole night at a beach. We talked and talked and later we crashed the night in his car."

"Does he not have a house?" Ariel mocked the situation and Emily showed her displeasure.

"He has but we got so comfy looking at the moon and stars that we both dozed off"

"Oh. So you haven't used the washroom before coming?" Ariel inquired and gave a disgusted look at Emily.

"No, why?" Emily was confused.

"No wonder your mouth smells disgusting. I just hope he didn't kiss you?" Ariel taunted but in an innocuous manner.

"He kissed me and we are meeting today evening," Emily said proudly.

"Gosh Emily, Stop talking! you haven't had a bath and your mouth smells like garbage." Ariel said while she wrinkled her nose. She moved her hand left-right in front of her face to show that Emily did smell.

"Take this" Emily took it confidently and blew air from her mouth on Ariel's face. At this moment I felt so happy and relief to have such beautiful friends, I knew I could always count on them.

"Class, open page 71" in a loud and clear voice, Mrs. Browning, our Economic professor announced when she entered the class.

After the classes got over, we were in the mess for lunch and Emily told us everything about her night with Jason. Their dinner date only made me miss Noah even more. While we were together, he was good to me, we hardly ever fought and did things for each other. Emily and Ariel headed back to the dorm and I headed to HappyC. On Mondays, we always saw less turn-out of customers, so work always sailed smooth. It was 8pm and I decided to head home with some Chinese takeout and watch Anime series all by myself. Emily was out with Jason and Ariel was out for dinner with only John because both Keith and Ryan were out of town.

"I am going. See you tomorrow" I said to Shelly, who stood near the billing counter at the entrance.

"Bye sweetheart" She looked up from her mobile and replied with a smile. The moment I came out from the exit door, I saw him, 10 feet away from me. He stood with both hands in his front pocket and looked intently at me.

"Hi," I said and was taken aback. "What are you doing here?"

"Hi" Ryan replied with a smile. His handsome stubble face, messy hair, sultry voice, and his blaze stare made me feel weak in the knees. He wore a white shirt with a peacock blue tie, light grey pants with black shoes, and a black belt. He didn't look surprise, it felt as if he knew that I worked here. But I was confused because he was supposed to be out of town, at least that's what Ariel mentioned.

"I was going home when I saw this store on the way," he said and took a few steps towards me. "so I decided to come and get a quick pickup of few items,"

"Oh..Ohk. I thought you were out of town" I responded

"Just came back," he said with confidence and stood 2 feet away from me.

"Oh," I replied in a meek tone, I wasn't sure what to say to him. "Do you mind accompanying me?" He said in a soft voice. He had the power to melt any girl in seconds but I couldn't be that girl.

"I have to get back to my hostel. I don't think I would be able to accompany you. Sorry" I lied in a haste and before I could take a step towards my hostel, he blocked me "I will just take 5 mins," he said while he stood inches away from me. I could smell a faint peppermint musky cologne. From up close, he looked tired, had dark circles and eyes red. He looked sleep-deprived. "Come on let's not waste time." he held my wrist and took me inside the store. Shelly and Tate (one of my colleagues) witnessed everything,

"Where is the cat and dog section?" he asked.

"It's straight on the left" I replied. How did he know I worked here? He still held my wrist and walked in front of me. When we reached the counter, he saw a few cat food boxes. He left my wrist and took a box of cat food and began to read it silently.

"How do you know I work here?" I asked and gave him a suspicious look.

"Ariel," He said in confidence while he still read the instructions on the cat box.

"Ariel?"

"Yea. She told John and John told me" he looked at the ingredients on the cat food package.

Just after two minutes, he had two different packets each of cat and dog food, two bowls, and one leash. At the billing counter, Tate made his bill and smiled sheepishly at me.

"I recently adopted a dog and a cat," He said and looked at me like he did something that I wanted him to do. "Wow, that's nice, I have always wanted a dog and a cat" I replied with a smile and ignored Tate's impressive look when she handed over the bags to him.

"Max is the dog and Joy is the cat" as we walked towards the exit,

"Cute"

After we reached Ryan's car, he opened the back seat door and put the packets inside.

"Would you like to see them?" he asked and looked at me with hope.

"I would love to but not now, next time for sure," I said and took a step away from the car. I wanted to end our conversation.

"I will drop you back home?"

"That's ok. It's just 3 miles" I ignored his offer with a smile and began to walk towards my hostel,

"I don't want you walking alone at this hour" and he blocked my way again.

"That's fine. I walk every day at this hour. It's safe" I said with confidence but he looked irritated with my response.

"Danger doesn't knock on your door. It just comes unknowingly and surprisingly" he looked at me like I was a fool. "So either I walk with you or you come with me in my car, Your pick," He sounded authoritative. He wanted me to agree with him because he knew I didn't have any option that had no Ryan ride. "Let me drop you, Please!" he requested and waited for my reply. The please word did change my decision but in reality I had no choice but to agree with him. Ryan smiled and rushed to open the car door for me. After we both got in he started the car and we drove in silence. Within mins, we reached my hostel.

"Thanks, fo..."

"Will you have dinner with me tomorrow night?" I was about to thank him but he asked something that I didn't foresee. He looked eager for my answer and searched my face for a positive response.

"I am sorry, I don't think I can. Have a lot of work and exams are coming up so..." Which was true. I had assignment submission next week and exams in the next two weeks.

"How about breakfast or lunch. I am sure you got to make time for your meals." He tried to reason with me and hoped that I could change my answer.

"Fine. Let me ask Ariel and Emily if they are available"

"I want you," he said immediately with confidence and I just felt my heart stop "I just want to have one meal with you," He said with seriousness in his eyes and voice. I was flabbergasted, why me? It took me minutes to relax my heart and clear my mind

"Why?" I tried to maintain my calm and questioned him with curiosity. He smiled while he continued to look into my eye,

"I want to know you," he said with confidence and my poised heartbeat soared up high again. The intensity in Ryan's serious eyes was a lot louder than the words he spoke. His eyes bored into mine and made me uneven. But I had to be strong, I had to get myself together. I couldn't let him affect me,

"I don't think that's a good idea," I said with courage, he looked disappointed, but I didn't care "I have to get back but thank you for dropping and have a goodnight," I said in a haste and left as soon as I could. I didn't want to have any more conversations with him. Emily was right about Ryan that he would meet me. But she never said that he would affect me. Ryan was too much for me, he did something to me and my heart just pitter-pattered around him. If I stayed any longer I was sure I would have said yes to him.

Ryan

I have always been familiar with the things I wanted and the things I could have. I have always been a clear-minded person. If something was beyond my reach and wasn't much of importance I would drop it. But Mia, she was different, even though I knew she couldn't be mine, I still wanted her around. Those two days, in a different country, made me restless and annoyed, I wanted to see her, talk to her, touch her, but I couldn't. I distracted myself with work, drinks, exercise, video games, swimming but nothing happened. I knew this couldn't go on and it had to be stopped so I decided to befriend her. After my last business meeting, I immediately took a flight and went to where Mia worked. The moment I saw her from afar while I sat in my car, I felt at peace. There was an intense emotion to run towards her and hug her with all my strength but I couldnt. She wore a light color orange T-shirt, blue jeans, and white shoes. She had a high ponytail and looked beautiful. I wanted to talk to her but I didn't know what to talk about. Finally, I saw a lady outside the store with two packets of dog food. I immediately shot a message to Greg that I wanted a cat and a dog either from a shelter or from the street. I knew Mia, wanted to adopt a cat and a dog so I did exactly what she wanted. For almost 40 mins, I just sat in the car and waited for Greg's reply. Finally, when I got the message that the deed had been done. I took this opportunity to meet her. The moment she came out she looked shocked but adorable. She changed from her work clothes to her own baby pink loose top and jeans. Gosh, how could a simple girl get such a hold of me? I worked my courage to ask her to accompany me to which she hesitated but I didnt give up this opportunity. After I dropped her I wanted to know if she could have dinner with me but she declined and just left. Her actions made me realize that she did not want me to get close to her. The pain I felt when she just ran was intense. I knew this would happen, and it would happen even more if I continued to approach her.