Page 27 of Spark

He paused, a tense filled space between them, and looked Mia in the eyes. She could feel the pull, the spark between them sharp in the air. Taking in a deep breath she waited. Aurelio stepped closer, the smell of him hitting her as he spoke.

“Marcus,” he announced, his gruff voice sounding exactly like what she heard over the phone.

“What?” Was this not Aurelio? Mia looked at him, confused.

He laughed, a deep chuckle that erupted from his full lips, stepping closer. “My middle name is Marcus.” He reached out a hand as if to shake hers but dropped it quickly. He rubbed his palms on his pants, his nerves clear. Mia felt a laugh of her own erupt out of her and before she knew it she was stepping into his space.

Throwing her arms around him in a quick hug, he was still for a moment. Her gesture had obviously surprised him, but he quickly overcame the shock and matched her embrace. He laughed softly as he hugged her back. Her curves pressed into his hard body as his strong arms held her firm but not too tight. She stepped back, breaking the hug as her nerves settled a little. They smiled at each other as Aurelio's hand held hers. She did not know when he had grabbed it or if she had grabbed him, but she squeezed their interlocked fingers, nonetheless.

Meeting his gaze, she finally said, “Hi.”

“Nice to meet you, beautiful,” he replied, returning the squeeze.

Mia let him pull her towards the cars, but her eyes remained locked on his rugged features. She traced the line of his jaw, his stubble-covered chin, and his mouth as his full, pink lips moved. She thought of them pressing against hers andthe kisses he would place upon her skin. Shaking her head she reminded herself that she was mad at him.

“I'm so glad you agreed to come out,” Aurelio said, pulling Mia's thoughts back to the moment. “I know it couldn’t have been an easy choice.” He continued to hold her hand tight, his eyes avoiding hers.

“Yeah,” Mia agreed, clearing her throat softly. “|It was actually Tony who sent the yes at first.” Aurelio stopped mid stride and turned to her. His eyes were hard as he stepped back, closing the gap between them

“Tony?” He said, voice laced with jealousy.

“Yes, Tony.” She said, eyes rolling involuntarily. “My very best, very gay, friend who owns the café in my building?” she gave him a hard look and it seemed to snap Aurelio back to reality.

“Oh, right.” He said, an easy smile returning to his lips.

“Yeah, if things work out, you owe him a big box of chocolates.” Mia said, her own smile growing.

“Well, I will be sure to buy the biggest one I see.” He gave her fingers a light kiss and began walking them towards the cars again.

“Are you hungry?” He gestured to the vendors.

“No, not really.” In truth, her nerves would never let her eat. “I would love to see the cars, though,” she admitted, smiling. Mia could feel herself falling into this, matching his step and energy as there fingers laced together.

Aurelio's face lit up like a kid on Christmas. “Just what I wanted to hear!” he led her to the front, showing each one off like a proud dad. She soaked it in, soaked him in. Every word he spoke filled her heart as his passion kept her attention focusedon just him. Mia's smile couldn't get any wider as she let him lead her by the hand, telling her all he could about each car.

“What do you think?” he asked as he led her to the last car, a red BMW.

“Where's yours?” Just then, she realized she hadn't seen anything yellow.

“Oh.” His smile dropped slightly. “I don't bring my baby here.”

“Why not? You said people would kill to drive it.” Mia stepped closer to him. His scent was intoxicating; he smelled like a new car. Leather, mixed with grease and pine. She took a deep breath.

“Yeah, too many people here,” he commented.

Mia's brows furrowed a little. “Are you hiding it?” Aurelio took a step away from her as she dropped his hand. “Why would you be hiding 'The most beautiful car in the city?'” she quoted.

His hand ran through his black hair.

“Mia, I need to explain, but not here.” He looked around. “Lets go somewhere private. Please. Let me explain. Can we go sit by the dock?” He motioned to the park's exit.

“If you promise to start talking as we walk, ill listen.” Aurelio gave a her a big smile. Mia raised the finger on her free hand. “But when we reach the bench, if you haven’t given me a good enough reason to sit, I will keep walking right out and to my car.” Pulling her hand free of his, she crossed her arms over her chest; the night had suddenly colder. Aurelio looked from where they were to the dock, about a two minute walk.

“Deal,” he agreed and put his hand out for her to grab once more. Mia obliged, her body giving a shiver as she felt his warm hand in hers.

Seeing her shiver, he extricated his fingers from hers and threw an arm over her shoulders. She wanted to shrug him off, but he was warm. She felt herself snuggle into his side as he began to talk.

“I mentioned a job I was doing,” he started. Mia nodded, eyes focused on how quickly the bench was approaching. “Well, my work is... unconventional.”

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