Page 58 of Spark

Mia nodded sadly, letting her eyes fall to the floor as if she felt ashamed. “Well, you know I punched him, but did he tell you that he was on the stairs waiting for me when I did?” She raised her head, meeting his eyes, seeing the answer before he spoke.

“No.” His voice held a bit of anger in it. “He did not.”

“That's not the only time,” Mia added. Detective Daniels' brows furrowed as she continued, “He called me twice one night, leaving voicemails. The first one was fine, asking to meet up totalk about how he overreacted when I said I had a date.” She let the words sink in.

“And the second one?” he asked after a moment. Mia pulled her phone from her pocket and played the voicemail for him. After hearing Oliver's message, Detective Daniels crossed his arms, sighing deeply. “Well, I will speak with him and tell him he needs to back off. If he bothers you, call me. You have my number.”

Mia nodded and gave him a smile as he patted her arm reassuringly.

“Thank you so much. I just want to be neighbors.” She wrapped her arms around her body, holding herself.

Detective Daniels nodded. “Of course.” He turned back towards the counter. “Have a great day, Mia.”

She waved once more to Mac and Amy as she walked out the door to the Bug, reaching into her bag for the keys. That’s when she realized Aurelio never gave them back to her. “Shit!” she said loudly, stomping her foot. She moved to the driver's door and found them in the lock.

Aurelio must have slipped them in as he got into Mac's car. She hadn't seen him do it, but the car was parked in a way that no one inside would have. She felt relieved and turned the key. It didn't budge. She thought for sure he would have fixed that, but no. She tapped the key, sliding it in a little further, and it turned easily. She laughed; he had kept that for her. It was sweet. She climbed in, settling into the seat. The interior was clean, really clean. Like he had detailed every stitch in the leather. She turned the car on, and the engine quietly came to life with no hiccups. She started to head home, wanting to call Aurelio but needing space from the whole situation at the diner. On the highway, her mind wandered, so uncertain of what was happening with Aurelio.

As she thought about him, she spotted a grey Challenger in her rearview mirror. It pulled up next to her, and Aurelio leaned out slightly with a big smile to blow her a kiss. She laughed, relief flooding her as she pressed the pedal. The speed began to climb, sixty, sixty-five, seventy. The old girl had never gone that fast. She pushed it a little more, topping out at eighty-eight before the wheel almost shook off. Aurelio drove right beside her the whole time, his face bright with excitement. She could feel the adrenaline in her blood, her body tingled with it. The feeling took over, making her feel alive.

The car slowed to a stop in her usual parking space on the second floor of the parking garage. Aurelio took the one next to her; the Challenger's engine roared for a moment before there was utter silence. Before she even unbuckled, he was at the door, opening it for her. She smiled at him as the seat buckle slid across her chest slowly.

“Oh, how I envy that seatbelt,” he muttered as her hand slid into his. She kissed him, her hands wrapping around his neck, giddy with excitement and love.

“But the seatbelt only gets a brief moment with me,” Mia said, eyes darkening. “You can have as long as you want.” She kissed him again, loving the feel of his hands on her body.

“Mmhhhmm,” he moaned against her lips. “Okay, I feel better now.” He smiled, planting a kiss on her neck.

“Come on, let’s go inside.” She pulled him with her.

“Okay, okay. Eager, are we?” he laughed as they reached the bottom of the stairs and froze. “Shit.” He yanked Mia behind him, his hand holding her back so the concrete wall blocked her view of the building.

“What's wrong?” A minute passed. “Aurelio?” She tugged his hand impatiently.

“Hold on, please.” He did not look at her, eyes fixed on the road across from them toward the open cafe. Sighing, she sat on the steps, not knowing what else to do. After a few minutes, Aurelio relaxed a little, his shoulders settling, and his grip on her hand less urgent.

“Okay. We’re good,” he said, finally looking at her.

She glared at him, clearly upset with the turn of events. “What was that about?”

“One of the other heads in my… business was sniffing around the building. I caught sight of him; he didn't see us,” Aurelio said, his eyes betraying his nerves.

“Why are they here?” Mia asked, placing a hand on his chest, trying to calm him.

“Well, he probably heard that I have been hanging out around here and wanted to see why. If he can determine what I find so fascinating, he can try and take it from me.” She could tell he was still on high alert. “If they find you, figure out what you mean to me… Boss would pay big bucks to find something to keep me in the game.” Aurelio's gaze met hers.

“I won’t let you be put in danger.”

“And I won’t let myself be used as leverage.” She was furious at the very notion. “I'm not some scared little princess, Aurelio.”

He chuckled at her, nodding. “You're not, huh?” He gently put an arm around her, leading them across the street and into her building. Together, they climbed the stairs. Mia waited for the call or text that would pull him away from her. By the time they arrived at her door, she was practically shaking with nerves.

“You okay, beautiful?”

Mia nodded, rushing into the loft and setting everything down before gently sliding off her shoes. Aurelio was taking in the apartment. When he had been there earlier in the day, he was distracted. This time around, he walked around, carefully taking it all in. She felt like he was studying her, but instead of feeling uncomfortable like she had when Oliver did the same thing, she felt like she was opening up to him. She was letting him see the parts no one else got to see. Aurelio moved around the island, hands gently moving books as he read their titles, noting the scribbled pages sticking out of them. She held her breath, apprehensive of whether or not she would pass this inspection. He moved back towards the door, analyzing all the photos and notes she posted on it. His face shined with fascination as he examined it, reading the notes and connecting the pieces in his mind like she had when she added them to the board. The tattoos told his story; hers was on the door.

“Mia,” he said, still looking at the wall, gently touching picture after picture. His fingers rested on a photo. The picture wasn't anything special; it was just her dad and her working on the Bug when Mia was fifteen. Her dad was lying on a creeper, and Mia was handing him a tool. One of her brothers had snapped the candid, telling Mia to smile right before clicking the button. She looked awful; her skinny teen body lacked any curves, and her hair was in a messy bun wrapped in a red bandana. She had on a hand-me-down mechanic jumper from one of her brothers, the blue material covered with grease stains. She had turned just in time to see the camera with a large smile on her face. She remembered that day so well. She had been smiling the whole time. Her dad said the Bug was almost finished; they just had to give her a quick tune-up, and then she was all hers.

“Is that your dad?” Aurelio asked, finger hovering above the happy, smiling man. Mia's eyes filled with tears. She nodded, stepping closer. Over the last few years, she had avoided looking at that photo as much as possible. The loss of her first love was still too great. Her dad was a skinny guy, fit from all the work he had done in the scrap yard, with long, shaggy grey hair. He had been tall, maybe even taller than Aurelio.

---