Maria swayed to the beat of the pop song that Becca and Priya were singing on stage. She, Mitch, Emma, Shawn, Tom and Prae sat on a bench-style seat in the busy bar that opened onto the sidewalk for more seating. Some people in the crowd sang with the women. As Mitch stretched and slipped his arm around Maria's shoulders, she raised an eyebrow at him. Nothing he'd told her pointed to them having their relationship yet.
"I did this when we were friends," he said nonchalantly.
"You were also trying to get in my pants."
Shawn chuckled beside them. "She's not wrong."
Mitch laughed and whispered in her ear, "We're not there yet, but therapy went well yesterday. We're getting closer."
"That's good. And you better sing karaoke with me." Maria grinned.
"Oh, you're going to sing this time?" he teased and sipped on his pop.
"I have better influences in my life now." Maria smiled around the table at Emma, Shawn, Tom, and Prae. "So, what are we singing?"
Emma leaned toward Maria and Prae with a grin. "I want to belt out some Wilson Phillips with you lovely ladies.
Prae's eyelids shimmered with the bolder makeup Emma had helped apply. "I'm not familiar with that one."
Emma pulled out her phone, brought up the song and passed it to Prae. "Wilson Phillips is the group, and here's the song."
Prae held the speaker up to her ear, nodding along with the beat and smiling at the words that seemed to encapsulate their heartbreak journeys this year. As the lyrics 'Things'll go your way if you hold on for one more day' came on, Prae grinned at Tom, who pecked her on the cheek. After her melancholy last month, it thrilled Maria that her friend got the relationship she wanted and deserved.
"I think Whitney is perfect for you two." Emma winked at Maria and whispered, "I wanna dance with someone."
Maria glanced at Mitch, memories of Samet flooding back as they spent the entire night dancing together. They'd blurred the lines of their friendship, but it had also marked her celebration of ridding herself of Adrian. A milestone she'd never backpedalled from since. Mitch smiled at her with tenderness, and his fingertips traced circles on her shoulders that sent pleasant tingles down her spine.
"You down?" Maria asked.
"Whatever makes you happy."
She took his free hand under the table and squeezed it.
The music finished on stage, and Becca and Priya returned to the table. Tom tapped a plastic spoon from the margarita pitcher against his glass. "Prae and I have a few announcements."
"Not more babies," Shawn muttered. "We just completed staffing."
"Dude, Prae's had like four shots already. She's not knocked up," Emma whispered. "How many have you had?"
He shrugged and filled himself another shot glass.
Tom held up his cup and waited until all eyes were on him. "I accepted a P4 position at our school for next year."
A chorus of cheers followed his announcement. Maria's jaw dropped, and she turned to Prae, who was beaming. No wonder they were positively beaming tonight. Maria looked at Tom. "Congratulations! I knew you'd find something. The team's lucky to have you."
"Thank you. Prae, would you like to share the rest?"
She nodded and beamed. "Tom asked me to be his girlfriend last night, so we are official."
Emma raised her glass. "Cheers to the lovebirds."
Prae's cheeks reddened, and she whispered something to Tom. Soon, everyone raised their glasses and indulged in the icy margarita shots, except Mitch, who was drinking a Coke. Tom leaned in to kiss Prae on the lips, eliciting a catcall from Emma. Prae pulled away with a red face but tucked her head on Tom's shoulder.
"You have to see Tom's photos of the hotel. They're amazing," Becca gushed to Priya and Shawn.
Tom pulled out his phone and scrolled through the photos. Prae graced nearly every single one, from her smiles to her storybook gown and hair Maria had helped do to the couple's pose with Tom in a suit. While Maria was happy Tom had moved on, her heart ached with her and Mitch keeping their distance. She had a man who wanted to be with her, but they weren't free to celebrate it yet, and it had been almost a month. He had said close, but that could mean anything from weeks to months.
As if he read her mind, he squeezed her knee under the table. "Want to go for a walk?"
Did he have news, or was he helping her save face? Maria nodded as she welcomed either option.
He studied her with a neutral expression as the street grew quieter and more residential. Cicadas replaced the hum of traffic. "It's hard to watch them be happy when we have to wait. You're not having second thoughts about this or me, are you? It's okay if you are."
"No, it's the right choice, and you're the only person I'd want to share that with."
Mitch smiled and fished into his pocket. "I was going to save this surprise for later, but you may need this pick-me-up. You might be a little mad, and I should have asked, but I can always change it if you're against it." He drew out his phone and swiped into his e-mail. An airline carrier's name appeared, and soon he'd opened a PDF of a ticket from Bangkok to...
"Edmonton?" Maria exclaimed in a high-pitched tone. It listed her first name and her slew of Biblical middle names as the passenger.
"For Sun and Dan's baby shower. I know you're dying to go, and nothing we do here would compare. So we can visit them, you'll see your family again, and maybe we explore the Rockies, or the coast, or whatever you decide. You can say no, or yes, or anything." He stared at her with wide eyes.
"I... I..." Was this real? Would she see her family in a few weeks, attend the shower, and have Mitch at her side? The man who had advocated for hookups and broken up with Becca over a family dinner a few months ago? He had changed so much.
Maria wrapped her arms around him instead to show her appreciation. "I won't be able to pay you back for a while."
"It's a gift, Maria."
"That's far too much."
"The school paid for one, so it's like I only paid for mine. Plus, I got a generous signing bonus for staying on another year and accepting the keystage position. It would be wrong to show up without you, and I miss Dan and Sun too much to stay here. If anything, you're doing me the favour by accompanying me."
Maria stared up into his blue eyes then at his full lips. "I know I'm not supposed to say it, but I want to kiss you so badly right now."
Mitch's smile didn't quite match his sad gaze. "About that, my therapist said... hey, don't make that face. You haven't heard her advice."
She crossed her arms. "None of your therapist's advice has advanced our not-yet relationship." It wasn't bad advice. She was just growing restless.
The smile remained on his lips and grew. "You might like this more."
Maria stepped closer. "I'm listening."
"She said while focusing on myself has been helping that my plan to jump from friends to an all-in relationship may be a difficult shock."
Maria's heart sank. "You said I'd like this plan."
"You will. She recommended approaching this like we're casually dating. For a day a week, or every couple of weeks, I focus on you to help us transition to being a couple. If any issues come up, we'll have our time apart so I can figure them out with her without worrying I've messed up or that I'm ignoring you."
"That sounds alright. How does that work for our trip?"
"I'll stay at a hotel with Shawn, and we'll act like friends, especially around your family. In the future, when I can be the boyfriend you deserve, we'll tell them."
"So, when does our casual dating start?"
He raised a hand and stroked her cheek. "If you like, tonight?"
"And you let me agree to these karaoke plans instead of spending time alone."
Mitch laughed. "I wanted to see how it felt to be out with our friends, and she suggested easing into it and not using sex to gloss over difficult topics or my insecurities."
"What does she know?"
He chuckled a leaned in closer. "I'm as heartbroken as you are, my stunning firecracker, and I promise you I will more than make up for it in the future. But for tonight, kissing is first-date territory."
"Is it?" she teased and bit her lip. "This is our first date?"
"Let's call it a warm-up date." With that, he brushed his lips against her cheek, which set her skin on fire. "How do you always smell so good?"
She could ask him the same thing. "I could tell you or kiss you. Take your pick."
Mitch grinned and remained leaned at her height, tickling her upper lip with his breath. "I call your bluff."
She chuckled. "Fine, I've wanted to do this again since we danced together in Samet."
"Me too."
Instead of rushing to close the ever-shrinking gap between them, he smiled at her with affection. Her breath hitched as the heat from his exhalation mixed with hers. She threaded her fingers through his hair to ground herself before she pressed her lips against his. The sensation was dizzying as months of longing rushed over her. The kiss differed from their first—months ago—slower as they both savoured the closeness like a plentiful creamy curry in no danger of disappearing. Each taste deepened her appreciation for this man's commitment to and adoration for her. It also stirred her need to be closer to him, which wasn't possible right now.
She reluctantly pulled away. "I don't think anyone's ever kissed me like that." Or she'd never felt this affected after kissing anyone.
He kissed her again with a passion that was both soft and intense, deepening the sensation with his tongue.
As he pulled back, he panted. "Good, because I wouldn't kiss just anyone like that."
Her heart was ready to burst because, despite his past, everything he'd done recently proved his words: opening up to her, attending therapy, and buying them tickets to her home. "I still can't believe you're flying us to Edmonton. My family is going to freak out when I tell them."
Mitch smiled. "Sunny knows, as I had to run it by her first."
"My mom will gush over you. Tina almost likes you from social media, which is saying a lot."
"I can't wait to meet them."
"I can't wait either." She held her head on his shoulder and looked into his eyes again. Her heart was beating overtime, and she knew she should take things slow, but she couldn't help but whisper, "I love you."
He stroked her cheek with a grin overtaking his face. "That's a relief. I've been in love with you for months."
"Like when you told me you loved the new Maria?"
Mitch bit his lip and nodded. "I was hoping you missed that."
"I'm glad I didn't."
"Let me say it properly this time." He took her hands in his. "Maria Tomas, I love your gorgeous spirit, your kind heart, your adventurous side, and that you will go to the end of the world and back for the people you love. It makes me happier than you could ever imagine knowing I'm one of those people."
As Maria's heart filled to the brim, she could only hope that her kisses conveyed half her love. When they both surfaced for air, breathless, she figured she'd succeeded.
"I suspected I was in love with you, but I knew after spending the night in your arms. I was just scared it was one-sided," she whispered.
"So was I. We were both wrong." He kissed her, lingering before he pulled away. "I'll plan a better real first date, I promise."
"Better?" Maria chuckled. "You surprised me with tickets to see Sunshine and my niece and told me you loved me. That'll be hard to top."
He grinned at her like she was the only thing that mattered to him. "I have a few things in mind for my incredible foodie date: my favourite secret restaurant, one of your favourite desserts, and dancing, definitely dancing." He took her hand and spun her around twice, then pulled her close to his chest.
She beamed. "I can't wait."
After wrapping her arms around his neck, she pressed her chest into his, grasping at any closeness with him. While waiting was hard with how attracted she was to him, it also reassured her. She'd rushed in her both of her other relationships. With Mitch, they didn't have to, as their love was strong and lasting enough to make it past this obstacle and whichever others might challenge it down the road.
***
Thank you so much for reading and supporting the story with your votes, comments, and reading list adds. It means so much that you've kept up with Maria, Mitch, Tom, Prae, Emma and Shawn throughout this series.
I hope you enjoyed reading the story as much as I enjoyed writing it. Your comments and help with the story are amazing and make the writing process a lot of fun. I can't thank you enough for that. You've been so supportive and wonderful, showing what a great place wattpad is to write.
We've reached the end of book 2! I haven't decided if I will tackle a third book in the series yet. If I did, it would be exploring their trip to Canada. Would there be any characters you'd be wanting to hear more from or about?