Chapter 21 - Music is the Answer

The students decided to go to karaoke for their last night in Shanghai. It felt like an appropriate setting for the occasion. Mia definitely didn't have the best singing voice in the world, but a night out at karaoke was always fun. Her roommate in college was Korean and throughout the years she had consistently taken her to the best karaoke bars in New York.

They had gotten a private room that had a small stage area in the front. Mia sang all of her favorite karaoke songs with her girl friends including Cyndi Lauper's Girls Just Want To Have Fun, and Journey's Don't Stop Believing. Even Leo had sung Backstreet Boy's I Want It That Way, and Bon Jovi's Wanted Dead or Alive with the guys.

After having a few shots of sake with her study group to celebrate their presentation, she sat down next to Leo on a black leather couch. She was really glad she was able to spend some time with him in Shanghai, even if it had only been the last day. The night had been winding down and in the back of her mind she kept on thinking she still hadn't told him how she really felt. She was running out of time.

Somehow it was really difficult for her and didn't know how to bring it up. She had always been such a rational person, hardly ever letting her emotions dictate her decisions. She just didn't know how to say the words.

Mia picked up the songbook and began flipping through it. She had turned through several pages and was about to set it back down, when a particular song in the book caught her eye. A silly idea took over and she immediately punched in the song's number code into the remote and tossed the book on the table.

"What song are you singing next?" Leo asked.

"You'll see," she responded. Mia settled back into the couch and waited. Am I really going to do this? It felt so cheesy, but decided there was no other way.

After what seemed like forever, her song finally came up. "This is me," she said to Leo. She kissed him swiftly on the cheek, and then trickled her fingers down the front of his face and stood up. She risked a glance back at him to gauge his reaction, and his eyes were traveling down her body in awe. She decided to take that as a good sign.

Lady Antebellum's Need You Now started playing and she took the microphone by herself on stage. Leo was now looking back at her with a confused look on his face. Taking a deep breath, she started singing the lyrics and locked her eyes directly at him. She certainly was no fat lady, but it was her time to sing.

The rest of the room disappeared and all she could see was him. She had never felt so completely exposed in her life. The final presentation she had given earlier that day didn't even come close to this, or any other public speaking event for that matter.

Leo's confused look turned serious and he held that expression for a while. Mia continued on to the chorus, but was already beginning to regret her decision based on Leo's reaction. The enormity of the moment took over. She felt her heartbeat accelerate and her eyes glistened with tears she desperately tried to hold back.

Just as she was beginning to lose hope, Leo's next move completely shocked her. He stood up and grabbed an extra microphone that was lying on the table. He then joined her on stage and started singing the second verse. He looked right back at her and didn't drop his gaze for a second. He didn't miss a beat.

They sang the next part of the chorus together. Leo grabbed her hand and begun to have fun with the song. He started moving around her, twirled her around, before dipping her to the floor and slowly pulling her back up again by the waist. Someone handed him a shot of whiskey and he took it without hesitation.

Mia couldn't believe it. She was smiling so much it soon began to hurt her cheeks. The sadness of the song had been completely stripped away. The lyrics came to an end and he locked eyes with her again. Before she knew it Leo tossed his microphone, cupped her face and kissed her.

She had forgotten about the audience until she heard the sounds of people hooting and howling in the background. Regardless, Leo continued to kiss her as if no one was there. All too soon, he gently pulled back.

"Sorry sweetness, I just couldn't resist," he whispered against her ear. He took her hand and raised it before bowing down to the crowd in front of them, as if it had been a performance on Broadway. He then motioned towards Mia and the cheers got louder. She felt like she would die of embarrassment and practically dragged Leo towards the door to exit the room.

*****

"Oh my God, that was so embarrassing," Mia laughed as they reached the hallway.

Leo cornered her, placing his hands against the wall beside her, and kissed her again. "You're the one that started it," he said in between kisses. "I simply gave in."

Mia stared into his eyes. "I wanted to tell you how I feel but I didn't know how. It seemed like the easiest way at the time. I suppose a private conversation would have been better?"

"I'll take it any way," he said smiling. It soon faded though and he turned serious. "Do you really...need me?"

"Yes, I do. I meant it Leo, all of it," she confessed.

He searched her eyes, trying to find some sort of lie in them. He didn't find one.

"God Mia, you disarm me. What am I going to do with you? Me desarmas completamente." He ran his fingers against her face and trailed them down her neck. He continued down her shoulder and arm, stopping slightly to smooth her wrists until finally clutching her hand. "Is it too cliché if I say, let's get out of here?"

She looked back at him and fluttered her eyes. "Absolutely," she smiled.

"Let's get out of here then," he grinned.

They rushed into a taxi and he continued kissing her the entire way, this time more urgently. Months of pent up angst surfaced and he couldn't stop. He didn't want to stop, afraid that she would suddenly change her mind if he let her think.

He fought to compose himself, but his body told him otherwise. He finally had Mia in his arms again and it was all he had desperately dreamed of. She was his and he wanted to take her right then and there.

Leo finally caught his breath. "I missed you, Mia. All this time, you were all I could think about."

"I missed you too, Leo. So much. I...thought you had moved on," she admitted.

"No, I never did. I couldn't do it. Believe me, I tried. I couldn't forget you, it only made me want you more."

"You never returned any of my messages. I thought you didn't want me anymore."

"I'm sorry, Mia. I wanted to, I wanted to call you so many times, show up at your doorstep. I couldn't. You said you didn't want me, and it hurt so much. I was afraid to go near you because I knew I would want to touch you, be with you, and you wouldn't feel the same."

"Leo..."

"I wanted you so much, despite everything, and I hated you for that. I hated myself. I'm so sorry...for even thinking that way. I just knew I would end up getting even more hurt than before."

Mia paused for a heartbeat. "But I thought that...you were with someone else."

Leo sighed knowing exactly what she was referring to.

"My parents set me up with this girl from school. I was such a mess they didn't know what else to do. I would've said no, but I had a feeling they were about to kick me out of the house, so I agreed only to show them I was sane. We only went out a few times but that was the extent of it."

He told her the complete truth, as he didn't want any baggage getting in the way.

"I saw you with her once. You were arriving to school together. That wasn't a fun day."

Leo frowned. "I'm sorry you had to see that, Mia. I swear it didn't mean anything. I never meant to hurt you. Please, forgive me."

"You don't have to apologize. We weren't together, you had every right to go out with other people."

Leo really didn't like the sound of that.

"It still felt wrong. Especially since I was thinking about you the entire time, comparing every little detail to you. In my mind, it wasn't over between us and I couldn't let you go. God, I must have been such a bore. Actually I know I was, Max constantly made a point of it," he shrugged.

"So what ended up happening with her?"

"Well, what happened was...she wasn't you," he said pulling her close against him.

"You were the one I was worried about. I kept fearing someone else would steal you away from me, and I would you lose you for good," he added, kissing her temple.

"How would that even happen?" she asked confused.

"Are you kidding? Mia, I still can't believe you don't know just how desirable you are. Have you not noticed your long list of admirers?"

"Who, Johan? The big jerk hardly counts as an admirer. He goes after anything that moves," she said scrunching her face.

"Don't worry about Johan. I took care of him...again. There's also Charles and a few others I don't even want to mention."

"What do you mean you took care of him again?" Mia asked in shock.

"Oh, like I wouldn't find about that. Plus, I was kind of...sort of keeping tabs on you."

"You were? But I didn't tell anyone about that. Actually, I only told Melissa because she kept on asking me about it."

"Melissa told Omar, and he told me. News travels fast, remember?"

"I can't believe it. She promised she wouldn't say anything."

"Well, I for one am really glad she did. It was extremely...satisfying," he said smiling.

"Leo, you can't keep getting into fights with people! You're going to get in trouble."

"How else am I supposed to defend what's rightfully mine?" he said, pointing to his chest.

She smiled delightfully at his choice of words. "Oh, is that so? I don't think I got the memo on that one."

Leo grinned wickedly and leaned in to give her a hot kiss on the mouth, showing her exactly what he meant by his words.

"You're mine, baby girl. All mine," he whispered.

*****

When they reached the hotel, Leo pulled Mia towards the bar in the lobby. She wondered why he possibly wanted a drink after he had made his intentions very clear in the taxi. Why was he stalling all of sudden?

"What would you like?" Leo asked.

"Hmm...I guess I'll have a White Russian. It's my go-to late night drink."

"Mia, you're constantly surprising me," he said. "Make that two," he told the bartender. "I'll be right back, okay? I have to go figure out something at reception."

"Now?" Mia asked incredulously.

"Um...yeah. I'd rather do it sooner than later." He gave her a quick kiss on the forehead and left in a hurry.

Boy is he acting strange, she thought. She took a few sips of her drink and looked back towards the reception area. She could see Leo discussing something with one of the managers. She took another sip and looked around the bar. A white Steinway grand piano stood elegantly in the corner, and she went towards it.

After observing it for a few minutes, she sat down on the bench and idly trailed her fingers against the keys. Ever since she could remember, she had wanted to learn how to play the piano, but had somehow never gotten to it. She had been more into sports when she was younger and then took up tennis as her hobby throughout the years.

"Do you play?"

Leo had returned and was looking down at her.

"Unfortunately no, I always wanted to though. Do you?"

Leo nodded and her face lit up.

"Really? Would you mind playing something?" she asked eagerly.

"For you? Anything."

Leo sat down next to her. She scooted to the side to give him space. He centered himself on the bench and then grabbed her by the waist and pulled her up to his side. He positioned his hands on the keys.

"Place your hand on top of mine," he instructed.

She gently placed her right hand on top of his left, trying not to exert too much pressure. Leo took a breath and began to press his fingers down on the keys and she immediately recognized it was Debussy's Clair de Lune. Mia was amazed to see how her hand moved together with his and it almost felt like she was playing the piano herself.

About two minutes into the piece, Leo turned around to give her a kiss on the cheek. "I'm going to need my hand back for the next part, sweetness."

Mia retracted her hand and his fingers gracefully started to fly across the keyboard as the melody progressed. She stared down at the display evolving in front of her in complete awe. Looking at Leo was even more fascinating. Seeing him concentrate on the movement of his hands and the heartfelt expression as he played was so emotional. She felt a deep sense of admiration towards him...and even pride. The piece came to an end and he dropped his hands onto his lap before looking back at her.

"Leo, that was absolutely beautiful," she said.

"I'll teach you some time. I'm sure you'll be able to pick it up quickly."

Mia sighed. "So what else can you do with those fingers?" she asked seductively.

Leo pushed her hair out of her face. "More than you can ever imagine," he grinned while he clutched her hand and pulled her away from the piano.

They walked back to the lobby, and Leo hit one of the top buttons in the elevator as they stepped inside.

"Um...I think you pressed the wrong button, Leo," Mia said.

Leo looked back at the button. "Nope, that's the floor we're going to." He pulled out a key card from the hotel and showed her the number. "Would you like me to press another button?" Leo teased grabbing her by the waist.

Mia swatted him in the shoulder. "Is that your room? I thought we were all on the same floors," she said confused.

"It's our room," Leo said and looked at his watch. "As of 15 minutes ago to be exact."

"Leo, you didn't!" Mia exclaimed when she finally understood.

"Oh, yes I did. I want to spend the rest of the night with you. No interruptions whatsoever." One corner of Leo's mouth curled up. He took her hand and they exited the elevator.

"Do you always get what you want?" Mia protested innocently.

"No, I don't. You of all people should know that by now. But this time, I will. You're staying with me tonight so don't even try to argue your way out of it," Leo said as a demand.

"You know this is unnecessary," Mia said as they walked down the hallway and reached the room, although she would willingly comply.

"I have to disagree. It's completely necessary." Leo swiped the key to open the door and picked her up, cradling her in his arms. "After what I'm planning on doing to you, that is."

Mia giggled as the door shut behind them.