Ice To Meet You

Oh, Balls! He has a she

She moves her gaze from her son, who she clearly is obsessed with and looks at me. A smile constantly plastered on her face, she is the unicorn and rainbow cheerful and we already have nothing in common.

I think she is waiting for Will to introduce us, just like I am but he is looking ahead for something or someone. Before it gets awkward, I smile back at her, trying my best to match her enthusiasm. Why do I suck with small talk?

She takes it as an invitation and cocoons me in her arms. I hug her back, taking in her woody perfume. It is oddly comforting and I close my eyes for a second to take it all in. I get overwhelmed easily.

I open my eyes and find Will looking at me with eyes that I don't recognize. I need to learn to read his eyes better.

"No, you don't. Stay in your lane Mia!" The inner voice says. 

The cheerful lady lets me go and I can feel her sizing me up. Oh no-no, does she think I am dating her son?

"Hello, I am Martha, Liam's mother."

"Hi, I am Mia," I say awkwardly, what do people say next?

"It's so nice to finally meet you. I've heard a lot about you," she says and looks up at Will with a smile that touches her eyes. He shrugs her off and wraps his arms around my waist. What the fucking fuck is going on here? Heard about me? I met her kid less than 24 hrs. ago. Oh! My is he the oversharing mama's boy who still needs his mom to pick his nighttime clothes out? I gulp a little too loudly and don't bother hiding it.

"I think you're confusing me with somebody else Mrs. Kent," I say, hoping to the lord I am right. I would really like to not be the girl he was discussing with his mother after the first meeting.

"Actually, she is not, I told her about your views on breast cancer and events like these. She's been waiting to discuss them further with you." He says and caresses my arm, sensing my anxiety and doing his best to make it disappear. Oh my, can he get any more impeccable?

"Mother Mia has pretty strong opinions on these types of events. I hope we can change some of them tonight," he slyly says, as I shift away from him. I don't want him to touch an inch of me. He is intentionally trying to embarrass me. He senses my uneasiness and takes a step towards me, trying to bridge the gap between us. I don't let him, pompous arrogant swine. 

"Liam is just being cheeky," his mother chimes in. She is really making an effort here and she wants to like me. I hope she's not offended by god knows what William has shared with her about me.

"That is why you should zip your lips, Mia!" The inner voice says and I agree. I do have a panache for playing with fire. 

"I wasn't trying to disregard your efforts here Mrs. Kent," I plead, trying to save my face somehow... 

"Please call me Martha and we respect people who speak their mind here. I think Liam grudgingly even wants people to disagree with him. The things you said were refreshing and I can't wait to discuss them with you after the evening is over," she says so motherly that I want to hug her, tightly, again. I smile at her, the kind of toothy smile I save for people I genuinely adore. Her warmth is rubbing off on me. 

Will places his hands on my shoulder and gently squeezes it. I like the warmth of that intimate gesture. 

"William," a leggy blonde in sparkly pink dress whispers from behind his mother. She is gorgeous, in a traditional tiny waist, blue-eyes and full plump lips way that I am not. She could do commercials for Kylie Jenner's lip kits, that is how juicy her shocking pink lips look. I have never seen a woman look so flawless without a filter.

William removes his hands from my shoulder and giver her a hug. She kisses his neck possessively and leaves a pink mark there, claiming her territory. This is not a casual hug, I know because if he was mine, I would do the same. Her blue eyes meet my brown ones and I can see the warning flashing brightly in neon. She flashes her pearly white teeth to reaffirm her place. This is a silent yet powerful gesture I fully acknowledge. 

I don't want to feel bad but I can't help the tsunami of emotions I am sinking under. The smile I had just a minute ago now feels forced. Of course, he has a woman proportionately perfect to him in his life. I just don't understand why he was wasting so much time on me?

"Mia this is Sophia," he says, taking a step closer to me. I smile courteously at her, hoping she can't see the lack of sincerity underneath it.

"Hey Mia," she says in a raspy voice and lightly hugs me, kissing the air instead of my cheeks both the times. It is so obviously fake that I am about to gag. 

"Nice to meet you, Sophia," I lie. She is all my insecurities magnified in a woman and she is standing with my dream man. Can it get any worse? 

She loops her dainty arm around his and I know for a fact now that it can. It was a rhetorical question, I want to yell back to the universe. 

"Get a grip, Mia! Don't show any signs of weakness or disappointment. You are better than this." The inner voice counsels me and I let her take the lead. Clearly, she has been right about everything all along.

I plaster a feign smile on my face, the night just got longer 

Thank you for reading, if you've made it this far and are still with me on this journey, we better become friends now.  You read my work and it is only fair that I know a little bit about you too. After every chapter, I will post a question and hopefully we can get closer by the end of the book :)

What is your favorite drink? 

I love mint hot chocolate. 

Also, what do you guys think of the new cover? 

*If you enjoy reading my work, don't forget to vote on it. If you want to give me any feedback/ constructive criticism, comment down below. I update regularly, so make sure you are following me to keep up with the story.