4 Chap 4: Dinner

Ryan

It's been three months since I last saw Mia. I thought about her every second of every single day. I could see her face every time I looked at anyone or even talked to anyone. She messed up with my clarity of thoughts, my emotions. For the first time in my life I wanted to get close to someone, I wanted to know the person, be with , talk and care. But when she walked away the abandoned feeling just crawled up and engulfed me in flames. My nightmares haunted me aggressively. It ignited the same fear, pain, loss and with more intensity. So I decided to forget her and call Sarai. But I couldn't look at Sarai and it was no brainer that Mia had turned me into a maniac. I tried a lot of methods to get her out of my system, but I couldn't and soon I started to lose my cool on every small thing which didn't escape John, Keith, AO, and Chloe. My work got affected, people around me were agitated. Finally, John had enough of me and he made plans with Ariel. He thought if I met Mia, it would help me relieve my frustration but only I knew that she was the real reason for this mess. Ariel and Emily agreed to come for the dinner, which meant Mia would come too.

Ryan

My phone rang and I saw the name flash on the screen so I immediately picked it up.

"Hey," I said with a smile, while I sent out an important mail to my overseas client.

"Ryan, are you coming for dinner tonight?" Chloe, my sweet elder sister, asked in a hurry

"No, I am going out for dinner with John and Keith" I replied and believed that she would be happy for me that I finally chose my friends over her but she made a dissatisfied sound.

"What happened?" I asked, I was confused, didn't expect this reaction

"So what time are you guys meeting?"

"Around 7:30, why?"

"Listen I got to go. I will call you soon. Love you" and she cut the phone in a haste. It was an unusual conversation but with Chloe everything was weird. After a long restless day, it was finally 7:30 pm, and I was nervous and anxious to see Mia. In a hurry, I got inside my car and before I could start I received a call from Chloe.

"Yea?" I said.

"Listen, I am sorry but there is this girl I would like you to meet," she said and it enraged me within seconds.

"Chloe!!!" I yelled, What the hell!

"Ryan, you are not getting any younger." She bellowed

"Thanks for your generosity Mother Theresa, but I don't want to settle," I said in rage. I hated this about her.

"Everyone should have someone whom they can confide in. You can't be spending every min of your life with me." She said with a ladylike attitude

"I am not spending it with you," I replied, infuriated at her.

" you are at our place every weekend so technically you do," she said and it was true.

"What do you want?" I replied curtly.

"So there is this girl I want you to meet. Caroline, a very good friend of mine," she confessed. I exhaled and inhaled my breath at a slow pace just to calm myself down from the situation Chloe had put me in.

"Where do I meet her," I asked with displeasure. I never liked Chloe to arrange surprise dinners for me. She had done this twice and every time I warned her not to but it didn't matter. She knew I could do anything for her. Chloe messaged me the address of the restaurant and mentioned that Coraline, blond hair, wore a maroon color dress. I cut the phone and immediately called up John to let him know about the development

"What?" John replied after I told him about how Chloe managed to ruin my evening.

"And Mia.!?" he asked. He knew I wanted to meet Mia

"I will finish it quick "

"Fine," he sounded displeased and I cut the phone and drove off. I entered the restaurant and saw a blond hair girl in a maroon dress seated at a circular table. Her back was towards me.

"Caroline?" I asked and she nodded

"Ryan?" She addressed me with a big smile as if she won some lottery. I sat opposite her and she checked with me about my preference for the dinner.

I tried a lot to pay attention to her but I couldn't I was lost in my own world filled with Mia. Was she happy not to see me at dinner? Or was she disappointed? The moment we finished with our main meal I decided to call the steward for the bill.

"Would you like to have some dessert?" She asked.

Mia

Emily tried to persuade me to come for the dinner and Ariel seemed happy with my decision because she knew Ryan would be there too. Even though I had not seen Ryan for three months I did think of him and a lot. The reminder of that evening when he asked me to have dinner, alone and how I ran away from him made me regret my behavior. I marveled at why he was interested in me? I couldn't figure out why such a handsome guy wanted to have dinner with a normal girl like me. Ariel, definitely was more beautiful and sophisticated than me. Even though I wanted to catch a glimpse of him but I knew to see him would do no good for either of us. So I did not go for dinner but I decided to pamper myself after my work shift. I called up an Italian restaurant to book a reservation and decided to wear something nice. I reached the restaurant by 9 and took a window seat at one corner of the room. I ordered a pizza, extra-large, and soon became oblivious to my surroundings because of my phone. When my order arrived, I put the phone away, and from my left corner, I could see someone's eyes on me from behind, on my diagonal left. I looked behind and saw Ryan, suddenly the air around me got thin, my heartbeat increased and my mind went hysterical 'Oh my god! Wasn't he supposed to be with Ariel at the dinner? And why was he with a girl?' I looked away and switched my phone. I pretended that I was busy with it and hadn't noticed Ryan. When my pizza arrived, I devoured it nice and slowly and hoped not to see Ryan.

Ryan

Mia looked so beautiful, she wore a thin strap teal color dress and it had magenta strips all over. She wore high heel black ankle straps and teamed her attire with black hoop earrings. She tied her hair up in a ponytail and applied black eyeliner and pink lipstick. The moment I saw her, I instantly felt alive. My heart, my soul felt insanely happy. I hadn't seen her for months and an unexpected event in a restaurant ignited the adrenaline in me me to push everyone out of my way and hug her tightly. She was the only girl who took my breath away.

"Ryan?" Caroline called out and I immediately looked at her.

"Yeah, let's have the dessert," I said and looked at Mia. Caroline ordered some dessert and she started to talk about some experience. But my eyes were glued on to Mia and she looked busy with her phone. After she gave the order, Mia looked around and suddenly looked towards me. The moment our eyes met, I felt a spark in my body and her eyes went huge. She was shocked and immediately looked away. Thereafter, Mia ignored me and pretended to look busy with her phone. The moment I and Caroline finished with our dessert we headed towards Caroline's home.

"Do you mind if we walk in the park?" Caroline asked as we walked towards my car. But I was in a hurry to drop her off home.

"I am dropping you home," I said as I opened my car door for her to get inside. She looked dissapointed but I didn't care and I drove as fast as I could. The moment we arrived, I opened the door of Caroline's side wished her Goodnight, and before she could say anything I closed the door and sped to the restaurant.

Mia

After dinner, I got up from my seat to leave and was sure Ryan that had left with his girl when I didn't see them. I felt relaxed and I walked out from the exit door. I stood on the pavement to book a cab ride when a car pulled up next to me. The owner of the car rolled the window down and told me to hop in. I saw him and I declined his invitation but he opened the car door and motioned me to sit in with a stern face.

"Hi" I whimpered when I got in.

"Hi," Ryan replied and gave a small smile. He started his car and we drove off to my hostel. He smelled amazing and looked so beautiful even with his stubble, eyes red and big dark circles. He wore a dark brown suit with a light peach collar shirt and a cream color tie. His suit accentuated his hazel eyes and made him look more handsome than he already was.

"Handsome enough?" He asked and gave an arrogant smile, I blushed and immediately looked away from him. I hadn't realise that I stared at him all this time.

"I thought you were with Ariel and Emily??" He sounded confused

"I thought Ariel would be seeing you tonight" I replied. I did not look at him but I could feel he didn't like the Ariel comment.

"Well, I had some last-minute commitments, What about you.?"

"I had a long day at work" I replied and there was complete silence until we reached the entrance of my hostel. He parked his car in front of my hostel and looked at me with seriousness.

"Have dinner with me." he sounded desperate while he bored his eyes into mine. I regretted the way I rejected his same offer when he asked three months ago. That scene had replayed in my head the whole time and how it made me feel horrible and guilty. But I knew I had to say no to him. I looked away and decided to say no in a polite way.

"It's just dinner," he said softly "Please" he added. My earlier behavior and to hear his request made it more difficult. I didn't have the heart to say no to him even though my mind wanted to.

"Ok," I said as I looked at him. He looked deliriously happy with my response. I decided to agree with him because I had to let him know about my personal details.

"Tomorrow night?" he asked.

"Yes," I said. I remained neutral.

"Can I pick you up at 6:30 pm?"

"Ok"

I got off the car and wished him goodnight. I closed the door and didn't look at him until I stood at the foot of the staircase, which was inside my hostel. The moment I saw him, he waved goodbye and drove off with a huge smile.

Ryan

My initial plan was to see her, drive her back home, and leave. But I couldn't. I couldn't stop myself and I asked her for dinner again and with more desperation. At first, she was about to refuse me but I persisted and pleaded. Which I had never done to anyone in my life. I lost my dignity but it was worth it and finally to my surprise, she agreed. After she reached inside her hostel I waved goodbye to her and left. I knew this dinner was my only chance to know her and spend time with her. When I reached home, I checked my phone and saw Chloe's continuous messages.

'How was it?"

'isn't she beautiful?'

'Why aren't you replying'

'Wow. It seems you like her'

'Call me once you are free'

I didn't want to disappoint Chloe so I decided to reply a little later. For now, I was more interested in Mia. I planned for our dinner based on her preference and the information I had. I wanted to give her the best experience she has ever experienced.