Page 31 of Spark

“Aurelio, do you want to come over?” she asked, her brain not letting her regret a single syllable.

“Oh, beautiful. I would if I could,” he sighed. “I have to finish this job tonight.” She could hear the regret in his voice, the desire to drop it all and be with her. “If I could, I would already be there.” She could tell he was upset. This connection was too deep, too fast. It was scary.

“Hey, no. That's fine,” she said quickly. “I don't know why I would think otherwise. You're busy.” She was scrambling to backtrack.

“No, it's not like that,” he assured. “Not at all.”

“Honestly, it’s okay.” Her eyes went wide as she realized all that had happened. “I mean, tomorrow I have to wake up and go to school.” She sighed, half laughing. “This has been fun, and I don't want to keep you.”

“No, don't hang up like this.” Aurelio’s voice stopped her from hitting the red button. “So help me, Mia. I will come find you.” The words were a threat, but his voice betrayed the emotion behind it. She was unsure what to do.

“I don't want to be a wrench in your plans, Aurelio,” she finally said softly. She wasn't sure he heard her. “You have so much going on. Do you really need some college geek fucking it up?” Her shoulders sagged as her fears were laid bare. “Theres a lot about me that you don’t know.” She could feel the fear of her past rising behind her. She could hear the heavy breathing on the other side of the phone, but the silence stretched on for a long moment.

“Theres so much about you I cant wait to learn.” He said after a moment.

“What if I just cause you more problems.” She felt a tear fall from her eye, but Aurelio’s voice filled the space before fear could take root.

“No, just listen,” he urged. “Please don't make a choice right now, okay? Sleep, rest, refuel.”

She smiled at the little car joke. “Funny guy.”

“I try.” She heard his smile. “Text me in the morning if you want. Or call anytime. I am at your disposal.”

“I get up way early,” she cautioned. “Like five-thirty early.”

“Funny,” he said. “That's when I go for my morning jog.”

“Oh my god.” She rolled her eyes. “Then call me when you get up.”

“Oh no, that's way too early for you, beautiful. Just call when you can. I will be waiting.” His voice was still rough, but calmer. “Can you do that for me?”

“Yeah, I think so,” she agreed, nodding. Her hands slid her shorts off. “If you do something for me.”

“What's that?”

“One more picture.” Her voice was heavy with need, her fingers itching to touch. “To really convince me.”

“You are a dirty girl, huh?” His chuckle was deep, seductive. “I think I have one I can send your way. Let me know if it does the job.”

“Will do, boss.” She laughed, but there was silence on the other end. “Aurelio?” she asked, thinking she had dropped the call. “Are you there?”

“Don't call me boss.” His reply was clipped and harsh.

“Oh, okay. I'm sorry.” Mia swallowed as silence persisted for another minute.

“No.” She could hear him shake himself out of it. “I'm sorry. That was uncalled for. I just don't like being called that. Please.”

“Yeah, okay.” The chill from earlier was seeping into her skin again. “Not a problem.”

“Hey, I'm sending you that photo,” he said, his voice back to light and happy. “Remember, I need to know if it works.”

Mia smiled. “I bet it will work wonders tonight.”

“Good.”

“Wonders I'm sure you could work much better if you were here,” she added.

“Oh, I need to hang up now,” he said quickly. “It’s hard to drive, well, hard.”

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