"Hello, Miss Johnson." I hear a familiar masculine voice call out in British accent.
Jace....
I'm sitting on the bench under a tree reading a book.
My favorite under-tree spot...
Spring break is over so we're back in campus.
"Hello, Mr. Harris. How may I help you?" I ask in British accent with a smile.
"May I sit with you?" Jace asks playfully in British accent.
"Of course." I say, adjusting for Jace to sit.
"How are you doing today, Miss Johnson?" Jace asks in British accent after he sits beside me.
"I am well. What about you, Mr. Harris?" I ask in British accent.
"I am well too. I come bearing good news infact." Jace says in British accent.
"Whatever is the good news?" I ask in British accent.
"Okay.....can we now drop the accent?" Jace asks in American accent.
"You started it and now you wanna give up?" I ask with my normal accent.
"I'm only letting you win." Jace says.
"Win? This isn't a game, is it?" I ask.
"It could be fun if it is.....especially now that you get to go out with me." Jace says.
"What does that mean?" I ask.
"I did it, Mia. I nailed the tests!" Jace says in excitement.
"Oh my gosh! Are you serious?" I ask in excitement.
"Yeah, I'm one hundred percent serious." Jace says.
"What did you get?" I ask curiously.
"I got B in all!" Jace yells in excitement.
"What!! Oh my God!! Congrats!!" I yell in excitement.
I could hug Jace right now. I'm not only proud of him, I'm also proud of myself for doing a good job. I checked
on Rose earlier and she did well in history.
I'm a great tutor!
Yes, you're.
"Thank you so much, Mia. I don't think I would've done this without you." Jace says.
"It's okay. I don't think I would've done so without your attentiveness. So thank you so much too." I say.
"You're welcome." Jace says, staring into my eyes.
I get nervous when he does that.
Why are you nervous, Mia???
That I don't know.
"So.....I see you've won this one. I'm gonna go out with you like you wish." I say.
"Yes! But you know it's not just once." Jace says.
"What do you mean?" I ask.
"I mean your going out with me isn't gonna be a one time thing." Jace says.
"What? You never said it isn't gonna be a one time thing." I say.
"Neither did I say it's gonna be a one time thing. I only asked if you'd go out with me and then you placed the condition of me nailing the tests." Jace says.
"That's cheating." I say.
"No, it's not." Jace says.
"Yes, it is. You know I also deserve a reward for being a good tutor." I say.
"Do you?" Jace asks.
"Of course I do. So what are you gonna reward me with?" I ask.
"I'm gonna reward you with more attentiveness." Jace says with a chuckle.
"Seriously? More attentiveness? Is that even a reward?" I ask.
"Says the one who said she's gonna reward me with more knowledge." Jace says.
"Did I say that?" I ask.
"Of course you did and you know that." Jace says.
"I know nothing." I say with a chuckle.
Jace chuckles too.
"What do you want?" Jace asks.
"What?" I ask.
"What do you want as a reward then?" Jace asks.
"Wait....you don't think I'm serious about you giving a reward 'cause I'm not." I say.
"I know" Jace says.
"Okay" I say.
"But just to keep the joke going, what do you want?" Jace asks.
"Well, I don't know what I want." I say.
"Oh come on, how can you not know that?" Jace asks.
"I don't know that either." I say.
"You've got to be kidding me." Jace says.
"How about you just choose what to reward me?" I ask.
"Huh? How am I supposed to do that if I don't even know what you'd like?" Jace asks.
"I don't know.....just....surprise me." I say.
"Surprise you? Do you even like surprises?" Jace asks.
"Not really, but I could." I say.
"Okay, if you say so. So...when are we gonna start going out?" Jace asks.
"When we've the time. Break's over so we're gonna get busy again. Speaking of that, session starts on Thursday." I say.
"Why not tomorrow?" Jace asks.
"Umm.....'cause tomorrow is Wednesday." I say.
"Oh....right. I see you're still working with your schedule." Jace says.
"Yeah. It helps me manage my time better." I say.
"Oh....okay." Jace says.
"Yeah" I say.
"So, what are you gonna do later..... after you leave here?" Jace asks.
"Well....I'm gonna find my friends.... wherever they're and we're gonna go home." I say.
"Just that?" Jace asks.
"Yeah. What else are we gonna do, it's 3:47pm." I say.
"You know we're supposed to have our session today." Jace says.
"I know. I'm leaving out today 'cause we just got back from the spring break. Didn't you see today was more about the tests results?" I ask rhetorically.
"Doesn't mean we can't still have our session." Jace says.
"We don't have much time again. Our session is supposed to start more than thirty minutes ago." I say.
"We could still do something with the little time left." Jace says.
"Go home, Jace. I told you I'm supposed to find my friends." I say.
"Why not let them find you? It's not like it's your duty to find them." Jace says.
"I know it's not my duty to find them but I wanna find them." I say.
"Okay then....let's go find them." Jace says.
"I'm sorry "let's"?" I ask.
"Yeah. Let's go. I wanna come with you." Jace says.
"Why?" I ask.
" 'Cause I wanna spend more time with you." Jace says.
What did he just say????
Spend more time with me???
He's gotta be kidding me.
"Seriously?" I ask.
"Yeah"
"Jace, go home." I say.
"What....are you pushing me away?" Jace asks.
"No, I'm not pushing you away.....I just...I don't know." I say.
"Okay.....what if I ask if you can go out with me tonight." Jace says.
"Huh?"
"We didn't have our session, we should at least have our first "going out"." Jace says.
"Jace...."
Jace interrupts me.
"I'm not taking no for an answer."
"If I say yes, are you gonna change your mind about following me to look for my friends?" I ask.
"I don't know." Jace says.
"Jace, come on." I say.
"Okay, fine." Jace says.
"Where are we gonna meet and when?" I ask.
"I'll pick you up in front of your place, 7:30pm." Jace says.
"Okay then." I say putting my book into my bag.
I stand from the bench. So did Jace.
"See you at 7:30pm." I say.
"See you at 7:30pm." Jace says.
I start walking away to find Michelle and Amber.
*************
Jace's POV......
One of my wishes has come through. I'm gonna be going out with Mia.
I'm really happy about that. I think it's a start. I'm gonna try anything I can to get Mia to be mine. I just gotta take one step at a time and this is my first step.
I really hope I don't blow things off.
************************************
Mia's POV......
"Jace asked you out??" Amber asks.
I've just told Amber and Michelle about my going out with Jace.
We're in the kitchen, each of us sitting on a stool.
"You didn't tell us you were asked out on a date." Michelle says.
"It's not a date, Michelle." I say.
"Technically, it is." Amber says.
"It's not. He only said I should go out with him as a reward for being a good student and I told him I'll agree only if he performs well in the tests which he did." I say.
"Hold on....Mia.....you said he told you to reward him for being a good student...." Amber says.
"Yes..." I say.
"And then you asked him what he wanted as a reward..." Amber says.
"Kinda" I reply.
"And he said you should go out with him" Amber says.
"Sort of" I say.
"Girl....."
Amber interrupts Michelle.
"Calm down, Michelle.....I got this one."
"Okay" Michelle says.
"So....Mia......you said he insisted on you going out with him even though you said no?" Amber asks.
"That's not really how it happened but yeah." I say.
"Girl, he indirectly asked you on a date." Amber says.
"No!" I yell.
"You know.....I would've called you naive but you're not. You're only annoyingly clueless." Michelle says.
"What's that supposed to mean?" I ask.
"Mia, I've seen the way Jace looks at you, I know he must've a crush on you....a massive one....plus it doesn't seem like he's dating anyone now." Michelle says.
"Michelle, Jace doesn't have a crush on me." I say.
"And how would you know that?" Amber asks.
"I....I just know.....look, I don't know what you guys saw or are seeing. Jace and I are simply getting closer to each other." I say.
"Really closer that he asked you out on a date." Michelle says.
"It's not a.....freaking date!" I say with my voice a little higher than normal.
"We'll find out about that." Michelle says.
"Okay, suit yourself." I say.
I hear my phone ring and it's a call from Jace.
"Speak of the devil...." Amber says.
I pick up the call.
"Hey Jace" I say.
"Hey Mia, are you ready?" Jace asks.
"Umm......not really....no" I say.
"Oh....what do I do now? I'm already outside your apartment." Jace says.
"Are you serious?" I ask.
"You know you can always look out your window if you're in doubt." Jace says.
I quickly move to the closest window and open the curtain. I see Jace standing right outside like he said. He's putting on a red long sleeved body hug top, black jeans and a pair of white Nike sneakers.
He's looking really good tonight.
"Damn! He's hot." Michelle says.
"He is. Ohh...it's suddenly hot in here...why is it suddenly hot in here?" Amber asks rhetorically.
Jace turns towards the window I'm seeing him from and smiles at me.
"Gosh! That smile is killing me. I think I'm gonna faint....someone please hold me." Michelle says.
"I know right." Amber says.
"Guys!!! You do realize I'm still on phone with him?" I ask rhetorically.
"So?" Michelle asks.
I roll my eyes.
He's got a charming smile though.
Of course....
Shut up....
I thought.
"I'll be out soon. Give me some minutes." I say to Jace over the phone.
"Okay, I'll be happy to wait." Jace says.
"I'll be as quick as I can." I say.
"Sure" Jace says.
I hang up the call and leave the window.
"Why not tell him to come inside and wait?" Michelle asks.
"If he wanted to come inside here, he would've simply knocked on the door or asked me if he could come in." I say.
"Mia's got a date tonight! Mia's got a date tonight!" Amber sings as I proceed to my room to dress up.
They're following me to my room.
"Come on, it's not a date. How long am I gonna keep saying it?" I ask rhetorically.
"Honey, you can say that a billion times if you want but we're gonna keep calling it a date. We better pick an outfit for you." Michelle says.
"There's no need for that." I say.
"Aww....come on. Don't you wanna look cute like your boyfriend?" Michelle teases.
"Don't call him my boyfriend and I don't need you to pick a "cute" outfit for me. I can pick an outfit myself." I say.
"Okay.....Michelle let's give her some privacy to dress up." Amber says.
"Alright......better be quick so not to keep your boyfriend waiting." Michelle says.
Here we go again....
I roll my eyes at Michelle.
I think my eyes may fall off soon 'cause I've been rolling them so much.
I reach my room, enter and close the door.
I proceed to my closet to find something to wear.
*************
Jace's POV.......
I'm in front of Mia's apartment, waiting for her to come out so we can go out.
I hear the front door open and close then turn to see......
Gosh!
I see Mia in a pair of blue jeans and a black top tucked into the jeans. Her white sneakers perfectly fitting the outfit.
Damn! She's looking nice.
"Someone's being an early bird." Mia says, approaching me.
"Early bird? It's 7:28pm." I say.
"We agreed on 7:30pm and you came here 7:05pm." Mia says.
"Don't you like to fact that I'm early?" I ask.
"Well....it's not bad to be early sometimes." Mia says.
"Yeah....you're looking really beautiful tonight." I say.
"Jace, this is like my everyday look." Mia says.
"Mia, just take the compliment." I say.
"Okay, thanks for the compliment." Mia says.
"You're welcome." I say.
"By the way, you're looking really good too." Mia says.
One of the things I wanna hear from Mia.
Finally!
"Thanks for the compliment." I say with a smile.
"You're welcome....so where are we going now?" Mia asks.
"Uh...I don't really know.....where do you wanna go?" I ask.
"I'll go where you wanna go. It's your reward after all." Mia says.
"Really? What if I wanna go to a slaughter house?" I playfully asks.
"You wouldn't dare." Mia says.
"I could" I say.
"You can't" Mia says.
"Okay, if you say so. How about we walk to a playground in the neighborhood and play a little...maybe we'll think of somewhere else to go before we're done playing." I suggest.
"Yeah....that's not a bad idea." Mia says.
"Okay then, shall we?" I ask stretching out my hand for Mia to take. I immediately took it back into my jeans pocket.
I seem to have forgotten that I'm not with her....yet. I should have boundaries.
"It's okay. We can hold hands. It's no big of a deal, right?" Mia asks.
Is it just me or are my ears deceiving me???
She said we could hold hands???
Nice one!
Dude, quit talking and grab the hand.
Yeah?
Yeah.....
I thought.
"Are....are you sure? You're not gonna feel awkward? I don't want you to feel awkward." I say.
"Why would I feel awkward? We're friends after all. I think we're close enough to hold hands." Mia says.
....and she just friend zoned me.
Calm down, Jace....it's one step at a time, isn't it?
Yeah, it is.
Just take her hand already before she changes her mind.
Right.....
"That's right....you're right." I say. I reluctantly take Mia's left hand into my right hand. Her hand is so soft and smooth.
"Let's go then." Mia says.
"Yeah....let's go." I say and we start walking.
You guys have no idea how nervous and happy I am right now. I'm holding Mia's hand!
I'm so happy that I'm not even thinking of the part where she friend zoned me.
Of course you're thinking it...
I'm not...
You're, that's why you talked about it at the first place.
Could be true....
Yeah....
Pardon my mind conversations. I can't seem to control it in cases like this.
Cases when I'm with Mia.
-------------
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Hope y'all enjoy reading this book so far.
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See ya.
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