Chapter 13 - "Studying"

Mia looked up from the case study she was pretending to read for the last half an hour. Immediately, Leo looked up and followed her gaze, locking eyes with her and giving her his trademark side grin.

"What?" Mia asked.

"Can't concentrate?" he asked playfully.

"No, it's this stupid case study. It's full of numbers I have to analyze. I have to calculate all these different scenarios and I really couldn't care less whether Colgate should sell their toothpaste as brand x or brand z. I don't even know where to begin. I swear these cases are beginning to give me grey hairs!" Mia shouted exasperated.

"Tell me how you really feel," Leo responded jokingly.

"Leo! Don't start with me...I'm seriously about to throw this course packet out the window!" Mia said as she buried her head in her arms on the table.

Leo immediately stood up and kneeled by her side. "Sweetness, it's gonna be alright. I can help you figure it out," he said disentangling her arms.

Mia's head perked up at that statement. "Says the English major?" she asked incredulously. "No offense," she quickly added, thinking he might get mad.

Leo smiled instead. "How did you know?"

Mia blushed. "I may have been paying attention during orientation," she admitted.

"Somehow I find that very comforting. I guess I should say I already knew you were a Psych major before we first went to dinner. You did cause quite an impression on me that day," he smiled widely.

"Should have known. And there I was pouring my soul out to you."

Leo kissed her forehead. "And I'm thankful every day for that."

"Anyway, that's Mr. English major to you. And yes, believe it or not I know a thing or two about finance."

Mia simply raised an eyebrow at him.

Chucking, Leo explained. "I was supposed to be a Finance major. Took classes for almost two years in college before I couldn't take it anymore and switched my major. Needless to say, daddy dearest wasn't happy about that one," he said rather sullenly.

Mia laughed. "If it makes you feel better, my dad didn't find out about my major until after I graduated. He thought I was studying Economics the whole time."

"You sneaky little thing. I think I could learn a thing or two from you."

Mia shrugged. "So I'm assuming you didn't like finance?"

"Hated every second of it. Ironically, I was actually really good at it and got mostly A's in my classes. My dad just couldn't understand why I would want to switch when I was doing so well."

"Your heart wasn't in it," Mia said understanding.

"Exactly. I guess it would have been easiest to just continue but I knew it would just make me miserable in the end."

"And yet here you are taking finance courses all over again."

"I guess the joke's on me now, huh?"

"Definitely not! I can't believe you never told me about this! Do you know how many hours of tears and heartbreak you could have saved me?"

"Heartbreak? So Finance broke your heart? Wait until I get my hands on the bastard and teach him a lesson!"

Mia grinned. "You know what I mean."

"Well, I almost did tell you once upon time," Leo admitted.

Mia thought about that for a second. "That time in the study room," she said when the memory came to her.

"Yeah. I remember you looked so adorable trying to study. I wanted to offer to help you but I chickened out."

"Really? I thought I had made a fool of myself with my scintillating Facebook conversation."

"Come with me," Leo said all of a sudden, pulling on her hand.

"Where are we going?"

"To relax."

"What about the case study?"

"Later," he said pulling her towards the couch. "You need this right now."

He sat down on the couch and the image of him sitting down in it seemed almost comical, as if he were out of place.

He pulled her head down to rest on his lap.

"Leo, this is ridiculous. I don't have time for this right now."

"Yes, you do."

She opened her mouth to argue when Leo started playing with her hair. She immediately closed it and relaxed into him.

"See? Is this so bad?"

Mia sighed. "I suppose a few minutes can't hurt."

Leo chuckled and soon began inspecting her apartment, as if he were suddenly aware of it. For some reason, she began to feel self-conscious at the act.

"Your place is great, Mia," Leo said eventually. "I really like it."

"I guess I lucked out. I've heard a lot of horror stories of people not even having windows in their apartments. I don't know how they do it, having natural light is essential to me."

"That must be so depressing. Well, you got a very nice view of the courtyard."

"Yeah, I enjoy looking out at it. It lights up pretty nicely during the nighttime too."

He started playing with some evil eye adornments she had lying on the arm rests of the couch.

"Where did you get these?" he asked.

"In Turkey. I went a few years ago with my family."

"And the white elephants?"

"India. They're supposed to be good luck. That's why I like hanging them in the doorway."

"Is there anywhere you haven't been?"

"Of course. Lots of places."

"So where are you missing that you would like to go?"

"Hmmm. That's a good question. Probably Cambodia or South Africa. Definitely something remote and non-touristy."

"Maybe we could plan a trip together sometime soon. Just the two of us."

"Just tell me when and where and I'm there." Mia said smiling.

Leo chuckled and continued stroking her hair in a slow rhythm. Mia couldn't remember the last time she felt this relaxed. She was about to tell Leo when the sound of her own slow breathing lulled her to sleep.

*******

Mia didn't wake up until the sun was almost setting. Normally, this would have caused her to wake up in a panic but Leo's sleeping body wrapped around her soothed her completely. His legs entangled with hers and his arms were wrapped tightly around her waist. Her head was pressed between his chest and the nook of his neck.

It was the first time she had ever woken up like this. She had fallen asleep with previous boyfriends but they always seemed to end up on opposite sides when they woke.

A brilliant orange ray of light from the sunset slowly drifted into the room and over them onto the couch. Her attention fixed on the airborne particles scattering from the beam. It was such a peaceful image. Mia snuggled deeper into Leo and basked in his warmth. It delighted her. It scared her.

Not really paying attention to what she was doing, she kissed Leo's neck. And then kissed it again. Soon she was trailing little kisses towards his jaw line.

That's when Leo stirred. "I must be having the best dream ever," he whispered.

Mia giggled and continued her assault of kisses around his neck.

"God, I love that sound. And what you're doing to me, of course." Leo angled his face so he could look into her eyes. "Hi."

"Hi," Mia answered shyly.

"Are you more relaxed now?"

Mia smiled contentedly at him. "Can't you tell?"

"Don't know why I didn't think of this earlier," he said kissing her lips.

Mia didn't hesitate to kiss him back and then deepened the kiss.

"I love kissing you. I could do it all day," Leo said.

"Mmm, same here," Mia responded between kisses. "Don't stop."

"Don't say that because I won't. There were so many times I've wanted to kiss you. It's all I could think about," Leo said, grabbing her neck and pulling her even closer.

"When?"

"In your study room, the school bathroom, my car, the concert..." he said kissing her between his words. "Second study room, when we danced, my shower, my bed...should I go on?"

"Hmm. So which one would you have picked, if you could choose one?" she asked, curious.

"My shower. Definitely my shower," he responded immediately, assaulting her mouth.

The image he instilled in her memory riled her up. Their kiss soon became more urgent and Mia found herself completely immersed in it. The taste and smell of him rattled her senses. Her breath became increasingly labored and all rational thought left her mind.

"Mia," she heard somewhere against her skin, bringing her back to some form of consciousness.

She realized her hands were trailing up and down Leo's smooth chest when she heard a soft moan escape his throat.

I should stop this, Mia thought. Instead she found herself lifting up his shirt over his head and gawking at his glorious half-naked body.

Leo's eyes widened at first, but then turned smoldering hot. The man staring back at her was filled with need and longing. It was the sexiest look she had ever seen and it caused her insides to melt. It made her feel wanted. It made her want him. Now.

No, you shouldn't be feeling this way, Mia thought.

Scared that her feelings would betray her, she moved to sit up in order to put some distance between them. The problem was she was now straddling him and could feel him hard beneath her. From that position, it was painfully obvious how much he wanted her.

A traitorous moan escaped her, and Leo immediately sat up and continued kissing her just as passionately before.

Just as she was about to push him back, he moved his lips to her neck and whispered in her ear.

"Goddess..."

That single word was her undoing.

Her hips moved against him, almost on their own volition, and her hands ran up the back of his neck and pulled on his hair.

She felt Leo's hands steady on her hips and then slowly move to her waist, his fingers trailing up her sides. Once she realized he was tugging on her shirt, it was already half way over her head.

When she managed to look back up and peered at Leo, his wistful expression caused her to pause. She met a pair of blue eyes that seemed to devour her, both physically and emotionally. She felt a blush coming on when he interrupted her thoughts of embarrassment.

"God, you're so sexy. Absolutely gorgeous, Mia."

He reached out to her and tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear.  His fingers trailed across her cheek and then ran his thumb across her bottom lip, causing her lips to part. He then proceeded to give her the most tender kiss she had ever received.

She felt his fingers begin to play with the straps of her bra.

"Are you always covered in lace, or is this just for me?" he asked huskily.

Of course she had to be wearing a cute baby pink number. Not to mention the last time he saw her wearing similar lingerie in the shower, but that time it had been black. Not knowing what to say, Leo responded for her.

"No, don't answer that," he said, cupping her face.

He trailed kisses down her jaw line, continuing against her neck and ending down her shoulder. He mumbled something against her collarbone, but she was too lost in the moment to understand it.

Molten lava. That's what his trail of kisses left behind. She was being turned into putty by the second.

Mia cried out what she thought sounded like a sigh. It wasn't long afterwards when she felt herself being flipped over and was lying back against the couch with Leo's hard length pressed against her soft body.

"Leo," she whispered.

"Mia? Is this okay?" he said as he ran his fingers down her body, stopping at her hip and clutching it towards him.

No, Mia thought.

"Yes," she replied instead. "Leo, please."

She didn't even know what she was asking for. To stop? To continue? Whatever it was, she needed it desperately.

"What, baby? Tell me what you want."

He lowered himself on top of her and began pressing kisses on her stomach, sending shivers throughout her body.

"I..." she couldn't even form a sentence and whimpered instead.

Leo leaned back up to kiss her softly on the lips. "Easy, baby girl," he whispered against her neck.

You can't do this Mia, she heard her conscience tell her.

That's when she felt Leo unbuttoning her jeans. No...yes...no. His fingers ran back and forth against the top seam of her panties and she gasped.

"Can't," she managed to squeak.

Leo's heated eyes flew back up to her. "Do you want to...stop?" he asked with difficulty.

Mia bit her lip and shook her head. Well, at least she was being honest.

Leo hesitated and then brought his hand back up to her face and caressed her check.

"But you think we shouldn't," he said as a statement rather than a question.

This time she nodded. Leo let out a long sigh and pressed his forehead against hers. He stayed that way for a few moments attempting for their erratic breathing and heartbeats to even out.

When their chests began to rise and fall more slowly, he whispered, "You're right. Just give me a minute."

He dropped his body off of the couch, and sat against it. He put his hands over his head and rested his arms against his knees.

Mia sat up on the couch and mimicked Leo's same position, but covering her face in her hands.

Without turning around, Leo handed Mia her shirt that had fell to the floor. "Here, for both our sakes," he whispered.

Mia took it and quickly put it back on. "I'm sorry, Leo."

"No, I'm sorry. I should be the one apologizing."

"I'm the one who started it," she insisted.

"And you were right to stop it. I'm going to regret saying this later, but we should wait.  Don't get me wrong, that was amazing, but I want our first time to be special."

"Leo..." she started, her face paling and her voice full of emotion.

He turned around and sat next to her. He leaned in for a quick kiss. "I should go."

"Where are you going?"

"Home...to take an ice cold shower," he said sheepishly.

"I should probably do the same," Mia sulked.

"Sorry for acting like a horny teenager."

Mia bit her lip. "I should say the same."

Leo laughed. "God Mia, what you do to me. I'll pick you up tomorrow, okay? I promise I'll behave."

He leaned in to give her one final kiss. "I haven't forgotten about the case either. Maybe we can find a better study area next time...some place that doesn't involve a couch?" he smiled wickedly.

"Yeah, good idea," Mia whispered.

"See you tomorrow, beautiful," he whispered back.

She watched Leo put his shirt back on and pick up his things in silence. He turned to look at her one last time before shaking his head in amusement and walking out the door.

The apartment became deafly silent as soon as he left. Mia could only sit there frozen to the couch, thinking about Leo's hot kisses lingering on her lips. Thinking about what almost happened, or rather, what almost didn't happen. Thinking she had been ten seconds away from lying completely naked underneath him. Thinking Leo was dangerously attractive for her own good and her control was slipping away from her way too easily. Thinking he made her feel things she never thought were possible. And thinking she didn't deserve any of it.