Loving Mia

Mia was grateful they let her go and didn't try to push the issue. She had time to get herself together on the bus ride. At work, she was even more grateful that her office furniture had arrived and she spent most of the day getting her new office in order. The guys were busy with their work, clients, and meetings to pay her much attention which she was happy about.

She went to lunch by herself and thought about the situation she was in with Aidan and Kale. How could she ever face them again after that embarrassing incident? She was mortified. Her phone began to ring. She answered it thinking it was one of the guys, instead Jasmine's angry voice yelled at her on the phone.

"What type of friend are you?"

"Jasmine!"

"I've been waiting since yesterday to hear your apology for your man's behavior and I get nothing!"

"I'm so sorry, Jasmine, I've been so busy. I wanted to call you, but didn't get a chance to do it. So, much has been going on here. How is your boyfriend?"

"He's not my boyfriend and after the other day, he's thinking about suing Kale."

"Oh no..."

"Don't worry I talked him out of it," Jasmine said.

"Thank you so much Jasmine. How can I make this up to you?" Regardless of how Kale and Aidan felt about Jasmine, Mia still wanted her friendship.

"Well now that you ask, you could treat me out to dinner at my favorite seafood restaurant."

"Done," Mia said, "but you'll have to pick me up after work. I don't have my car today."

"Fine and make sure you have plenty of money on you. I plan on ordering the most expensive items on the menu." Jasmine hung up the phone.

Mia sighed. She knew Kale would never apologize for hitting Jasmine' s friend and now she had to pay for his bad temper in order to stay on good terms with Jasmine. It wasn't that she was naive to the type of person Jasmine was, but Mia thought maybe she could help her become a better person by hanging around her. Maybe she could have a good influence on her. Jasmine was so young, it wasn't too late for her to change. She could go back to college, get a good job and stop depending on a bunch of men who cared nothing for her.

When she got back to her office, there was a huge bouquet of flowers laying on her desk with a card attached to it. She read it.

Mia, we had to leave the office to inspect some houses today. Great job with the presentations, our clients were very impressed. Your office looks wonderful. We always knew you had great taste when it came to decorating. We'll come by your apartment tonight to see how you're doing. Please do not avoid us. We still love you very much and there's nothing to be embarrassed about.

Love,

Aidan and Kale.

P.S. You have a body to die for...

Mia blushed at the last sentence. She sat the note down and sighed with relief. Perfect timing. She didn't have to find ways to avoid them for the rest of the day and wouldn't have to explain to them that Jasmine was picking her up for dinner. She had a feeling they would give her a hard time about hanging out with Jasmine, but who were they to tell her who to be friends with? She was a grown woman after all.

Jasmine was waiting for her at 5:00pm sharp, but she wasn't alone. She'd brought another "friend" with her. Mia looked at them in confusion as a young black man got out of the passenger seat and opened the door for her.

"Mia, this is Eric Williams, a friend from the neighborhood," Jasmine said.

Eric smiled at her and shook her hand. "Wassup, nice to finally meet you, Jasmine told me a lot about you."

"Good things, I hope," Mia responded back and returned his smile.

Mia was surprised as she shook his hand. Eric was handsome with dark skin like hers and dark brown eyes that twinkled warmly at her. His hair was styled into twists that complimented his face. Judging by the way he was dressed, in jeans and a leather jacket and black shirt, he wasn't someone Jasmine usually dated. His clothes were plain which meant he didn't have a lot of money for Jasmine to like him.

"All good," Eric said, his brown eyes running down her body and up again as Mia got into the car. He closed the door and climbed in the backseat.

Mia gave Jasmine a "what the hell?" look.

Jasmine ignored her and began to drive. "I told Eric I was going out with you today and he wanted to meet you. He's paying for dinner instead. Isn't that nice of him?"

"Oh, I'm sorry, I just thought it was going to me and Jasmine tonight," Mia said. "I was going to pay for dinner."

"I can't let you do that," Eric said. "I didn't mean to intrude, but I wanted to meet the famous southern girl that came all the way to California by herself. That's some brave shit, little momma."

Mia shrugged. "Couldn't miss out on a once in a lifetime opportunity."

"Neither can I," Eric said softly.

Mia paused and turned around to look at him. Was he flirting with her? He winked and grinned.

"Eric is an artist. He designed most of the murals on some of the buildings in Bayview. You like the artsy type don't you, Mia?"

Mia couldn't say she wasn't impressed. She'd admired the drawings that displayed black and latino women holding their babies close to their hearts while crime took place in the background. The message was clear and heart touching.

"I love your drawings," Mia told him. "It was the first thing I noticed when I moved here."

"Thanks," Eric said. "It's my way of trying to send a message across that we need to stop with all the crap against each other and start working together. Every mother has high hopes for their children when they're born and yet crime keeps taking them away."

"That's so true," Mia said nodding.

She noticed the smile on Jasmine's lips and it suddenly hit her that Jasmine was trying to set her up! She had planned the entire thing. Mia was steaming inside. She couldn't wait until she got her alone, but that never happened.

Once they were in the restaurant, Jasmine did not want to visit the little ladies room with Mia so she could yell at her, and Eric kept Mia busy by talking about himself and wanting to know everything about her. When Jasmine did leave to visit the ladies room, Eric stopped Mia from going with her by holding her hand in his and telling her how attractive he found her. Mia glanced at her watch after twenty minutes and wondered what was keeping Jasmine so long.

"Maybe I need to go check on her," she told Eric as she stood.

"Mia, please sit down. Jasmine left," Eric said.

"What?" Mia looked at him in shock.

"Sorry, we sort of planned this together after she called you earlier," Eric gave her a sheepish grin.

"Why?" Mia wanted to know. Her phone began to ring. "One moment," she told him and answered it.

"Mia, where are you? We're at your place," Kale said.

"Oh, oh gosh..." Mia realized the situation she was in. She looked at Eric sitting across from her watching her curiously.

"Mia?" It was Aidan's voice. "What's all that noise in the background?"

They were on the speakerphone, great....

"Would you like a refill, miss?" A waiter chose that moment to ask her.

"No thank you," Mia said quickly.

"What about you, sir?" He asked Eric. "I would like a bottle of your best wine," Eric said causing Mia to wince at his deep masculine voice. She knew Kale and Aidan heard him.

"Mia, are you on a date?" Aidan asked in a cold quiet voice that let Mia know he was pissed.

"No, not really, it's not what you think," Mia ran her fingers through her hair and glanced at Eric. She did not want Kale and Aidan to get the wrong understanding. The last thing she needed was the two men she cared so much about to think she was two-timing them. She decided to come clean. "I took Jasmine out for dinner to make up for the other day and she set me up with her guy friend instead."

"Where are you?" Kale asked his voice harsh.

"Now Kale, if you're going to come here with the intensions of punching out another guy, I don't think I'll tell you."

"Is Jasmine still there with you?" Aidan asked.

"No, she snuck out," Mia said.

"So then you're stuck at a restaurant with a strange man you don't know anything about right?" Aidan asked again, his voice sounding strained, as if he was holding back from exploding.

"Well, I got to know him while I'm here..." Mia really didn't know what to say.

"WHERE THE FUCK ARE YOU?" Kale exploded so furiously the phone vibrated in her hand.

"Red Lobster in Bayview," Mia said quickly.

"Bayview?!" Aidan sputtered.

The phone suddenly hung up.

"Oh boy," Mia said quietly. "Eric, I think you better go."

"Why?"

"I have two friends who would be very upset to find us together when they get here."

"You mean the white guys?" Eric asked dryly.

"How much did Jasmine tell you about me?"

"Enough," Eric said. "Seems to me those guys are bullying you into something you don't want."

"That's none of your business," Mia snapped.

Eric held up both hands. "Hey, don't shoot a brother down. You can't blame me for wanting a sister to come back to her side of the track. A beautiful black woman that's intelligent, independent, and hard working deserves a strong black brother in her life. We lose too many of our women as it is to the "white" man. "

Mia raised an eyebrow at him. "I see. Look Eric, I don't know what you and Jasmine have up your sleeves, but maybe its best you leave."

"I'm not going anywhere; I'm paying for the dinner. Admit it, you were having a good time until they called," Eric pointed out.

"Look you're a nice guy, really, but I'm not interested okay?"

"Why don't you give a brother a chance?" Eric persisted. "From what I've been told, you and your "friends" aren't official. What? They don't allow you to date?"

"I can date whoever I want," Mia snapped.

"Then why don't you enjoy dinner with me and relax."

"First of all, I may have ended up liking you a lot more, Eric, had you not been so manipulative with Jasmine. Second, you are very arrogant and presumptuous. You're trying to make me feel guilty for being with Kale and Aidan just because they're white."

"And there's two of them," Eric pointed out, "I mean come on, who dates two men at once?"

"If you want me to like you, then you're going about it the wrong way," Mia glared at him coldly.

"Then please tell me, beautiful, sexy Mia how I can get you to go out with me on a real date," Eric raised her hand to his lips and kissed it.

"You can't," Mia said pulling her hand away from his. "You don't even know me..."

"Like I said, I know enough," Eric gave her a confident smile and winked.

Mia sighed and pulled her hand away. "Where did you suddenly pop up anyway? I lived in Bayview for a year and Jasmine never introduced me to you."

"I was in a relationship at the time," Eric shrugged.

"What happened?"

"She cheated on me with my best friend. Cliché isn't it?"

"Sorry," Mia told him. She glanced at the clock on the wall. "I better go outside and wait for Kale and Aidan. The last thing I need is for them to come in here and cause a scene."

"Wow, they really have you on a leash don't they?" Eric remarked. "You know I could understand if you were actually their girlfriend, but from what I've heard you're still just friends."

Mia stood up and leaned over the table. "Look you; forget whatever Jasmine told you about my relationship with Aidan and Kale. It's none of your business so back off."

"Sassy and fiery, I like that in a woman," Eric grinned.

Mia let out a frustrated sighed and walked away. She was going to kill Jasmine the next time she saw her. She stood outside the restaurant and waited quietly.

Eric appeared beside her after ten minutes. He smiled at her and stuffed his hands in his pockets.

"What are you doing?" Mia rubbed her arms to keep warm. It was cold outside and she hadn't brought a jacket.

"I want to meet my competition," Eric took off his jacket and wrapped it around her shoulders before Mia could stop him.

"There is no competition," Mia said firmly.

"I don't give up so easily, until you decide you want to be with those guys, you're fair game."

Mia stared up at him, really looked at him for the first time. She had to admit, if she had met him before she met Aidan and Kale, she would have dated him. He was the type of guy she liked before she moved to California, but it was too late now. Her heart belonged to two other men and no one could compare to them.

She thought about Kale and Aidan and wondered why she was fighting so hard against them. After meeting Eric and hearing, what he had to say about her relationship with her two favorite men, she realized that maybe she was being cautious for no reason. She should give them a chance and go with the flow. After all, her feelings for them were the same as their feelings for her, at least they had been brave enough to tell her; she was still running away and denying everything like a coward.

"I think Jasmine did me a favor by bringing you here, talking to you put everything in perspective."

Eric looked at her cautiously. "What do you mean?"

"Hearing you say I haven't decided about Kale and Aidan made me really think about why I haven't made a decision, yet. Kale and Aidan are wonderful men who have never hurt me. They have always been there for me and I've known them for years. I was just so scared of people reactions from dating two guys instead of one, and there was the racial difference too."

"You wouldn't have those issues if you dated me, Mia. Wouldn't it be easier on you?" Eric asked hopefully. "Jasmine thought it would be and so do I. I know we just met, but I really do like you. "

"It would be easier," Mia said. "You would be my perfect escape into a world that's secure and familiar. You would be the person everyone expects me to be with: society, my mother and family members, heck even myself."

"So what's stopping you?" Eric asked.

"My heart..."

"So you're in love with them?"

"Yes, I am," Mia smiled at her acknowledgement. It felt good to admit her true feelings, although she was telling them to the wrong person. "Thanks for the offer, but I've made up my mind. I do want to be with them."

"It won't last, you know. Interracial relationships never last, they always go back to their own race in the end. You'll be back, Mia. They'll have their fun with you and dump you and I'll be here waiting for you."

Mia glared at him. "You got a lot nerves saying that to me."

Eric shrugged, "I'm just telling you the truth."

Mia took his coat off and shoved it against him. "Here take your coat and leave. I prefer not to be in your company anymore."

Eric held his coat and stared at her. "Like I said, I want to meet my competition."

"Dude, did you not just here me say, I love them. That means you don't have a chance in hell with me. Go away!"

"I'm curious to what they look like," Eric said.

"If you don't leave Kale with wipe the ground with your ass. I'm trying to spare you some embarrassment."

Mia looked at him in disbelief when he stubbornly stood beside her. Fine, if he wouldn't leave. She would.

"Where are you going?" He asked when she started to walk away.

"Anywhere away from you," Mia said.

He began to follow her. "Come back here, it's dark and cold."

"Stop following me," Mia told him, shivering. She would wear short sleeves of all days, but she hadn't known she'd be in this predicament.

"You know, you women are all alike. You say you want an educated brother, but end up going to the white man. You're just like my ex!"

Mia glanced behind her. He was still following her! She began to walk faster.

"Do you know that my ex cheated on me with my best friend who was white? What the hell do you bitches want? I can only do so much! I'm tired of watching our women go to the other side!"

Oh my gosh, Mia thought. He was a total psycho who obviously hadn't gotten over his ex yet. She was going to kill Jasmine.

"Fine, walk away into the night, see if I care!" Mia slowed down when she heard his footsteps fade away. She stopped and turned around to make sure he was gone and sighed a breath of relief when she didn't see him. Then, she realized she'd walked quite far from the restaurant. It was very dark and deserted. She started to run back when someone suddenly stepped in front of her.

"What do we have here?" The tall man said. Mia couldn't see his face.

"Hey sexy, what you got in that purse?" Someone said behind her.

Crack heads, Mia thought. Now she was getting pissed. First, she get tricked into a blind date, get stalked by her supposedly date and now two crackheads were trying to rob her. Could this night get any worse?

The one in front tried to snatch her purse from her, but Mia held on to it tightly. "Get the fuck away from me, before I mace your asses!" She yelled at them.

"Oh she got mace? We better run," the one behind her laughed.

Oh that was it! Mia elbowed the one behind her catching him off guard. He groaned in pain and fell to the ground. She swung her purse and slammed it into the face of the one in front of her before he could react knocking him to ground.

"You want it, you got it, satisfied?" She yelled and took off running back to the restaurant.

"You fucking bitch, we're going to kill you," one of them yelled. She didn't turn around to see which one was chasing after her. She pulled out her mace and squirted it behind her as she continued to run.

Someone screamed and began to cough and gag. She thought she was going to make it until one jumped on her back. She hit the ground hard; luckily, she broke the fall when she stretched out her hands to keep from falling on her face. The nut was still after her purse! He grabbed it and began to drag her on her knees across the sidewalk.

"Let go of the purse before I shoot your brains out!"

"You do and people will hear the gun shot and come running!" Mia told them holding on to her purse as if her life depended on it.

A car suddenly pulled up with tires screeching and lights glaring in her direction. The two men ran away, running footsteps followed behind them. Mia found herself lifted in two strong arms.

"Kale come back, their gone!" Aidan's voice called out to Kale who had chased after the two criminals. He stared down at Mia. She couldn't see his face because of the headlights. "Mia, are you okay? Are you hurt?" His voice was filled anxiety.

"No," Mia said. "Just my pride..."

"Mia! What the fuck were you thinking holding on to your purse? Those guys could have killed you!" Kale was livid. He grabbed her by the arms and shook her slightly.

"Kale! Stop shaking her! Get a hold of yourself, she could be seriously hurt!" Aidan pulled her away from Kale and walked to the car. He gently sat her down in the back seat and moved in beside her. "Let's just take her home, we'll handle things later."

Mia wondered what he meant by that.

Kale got into the car and drove away. "We saw them attack you. Why the hell did you leave the restaurant?" He yelled at her as he drove.

"Eric was following me; I wanted to get away from him." Mia answered as Aidan examined her. His eyes and hands ran over her face and arms, then her hands and finally her legs.

"Oh baby, you're bleeding!" He sounded like it actually hurt him to see the blood running down her legs.

Kale went on a rampage after hearing that. Mia listened to him as he yelled at her and realized this was just like the time he'd rescued her from the guy who had made advances on her. All the way home, he yelled at her for leaving with Jasmine when they clearly told her not to hang out with her anymore, for leaving the safety of the restaurant, for walking around the neighborhood in the dark by herself, for not giving her purse to the thieves when they demanded it and for risking her life over something so stupid.

Meanwhile Aidan had pulled her into his lap and was trying to warm her the best he could by holding her tightly and rubbing her bare arms as Mia shivered. He was quiet. Mia wondered what he was thinking as Kale went on and on. She suppose Kale had said enough for the both of them.

They took her to her apartment. Aidan wouldn't let her walk, he carried her in, and sat her down on the couch. Kale hauled her up into his lap as Aidan got a wet towel to wipe the blood from her legs.

"Can't we leave you alone for a few hours without you getting into trouble?" Kale asked. He seemed to have calmed down now that he was holding her. "What the hell is wrong with you fighting those bastards?"

"Hey, you don't survive in Bayview or the town I grew up in without learning how to fight," Mia said then winced in pain as Aidan cleaned her tattered knees.

"Mia, I can't stop thinking that this could have been so much worse than it was," Aidan kneeled in front of her staring up at her worriedly with those sky blue eyes. "Do you have any idea how much you mean to us? If anything had happened to you..." he stopped when Mia gently caressed the side of his face.

"I love you," she said softly. He leaned back completely shocked.

She turned to Kale's stunned face. "And you, I know that you yell at me because you love me, I'm sorry for scaring you so badly, I should yell at you too for chasing after those guys, they could have had a gun. I love you, Kale. I love everything about you, even your surly attitude."

She looked down at Aidan, "And I love your gentleness and sensitivity. Not too many men are like you Aidan." Aidan stood up and flopped down on the couch beside them as if his body suddenly went weak.

"Believe it or not, talking to Eric made me realize how much I cared about you and how silly it was for me to make you wait in the first place when it was so obvious how we felt about each other. After everything that's happened today, I realized I don't want to keep pushing you away. You're the best thing that's happened to me since I've been here. If you were brave enough to tell me how you felt, then I should brave enough to give this a try."

"Mia, what are you saying?" Aidan asked hoarsely as if he couldn't believe what she was telling them and needed confirmation.

Mia looked at both of them. "I want to be in a relationship with you, I want to be your significant other, if you'll still have me after what I put you through."

Kale was the first to kiss her. One second she was looking shyly at them and the next Kale's sensuous lips were on hers. He kissed her deeply, passionately, completely astounding her. Mia barely caught her breath when he let her go before Aidan pulled her into his arms and kissed her so lovingly and tenderly her heart started aching. She realized she was sitting in his lap when he finally pulled away.

"Wow!" She mumbled in a daze. She had just shared her first kiss with two of the hottest men of her fantasies. Dreams did come true!

"She's ours," she heard Kale say. She looked up to see them staring at her. The stark possessive look in their eyes mixed with the intense amount of love for her caused Mia to blush heavily.

"She's got the softest lips, sweetest lips, they're made for kissing," Aidan said running his fingers over her cheeks.

"Thick and luscious, I could suck on those lips all day," Kale said.

They looked like they wanted to kiss her again. Mia didn't know if she could handle another kiss from both without passing out. She begin to fan herself and take in deep breaths.

Aidan frowned in concern. "Mia, are you okay. What's wrong, baby?"

"Feeling a little faint," she said.

Neither one of them understood it was their kisses that caused her blood pressure to go up.

"Must be a delayed reaction to what happened," Kale said. "It's okay, baby you're safe with us." Once again she was hauled into his lap. He held her like a child and rocked back and forth.

"I need to clean and bandage her knees. They're skinned pretty badly. It's going to hurt to walk," Aidan said. He got up and kissed Mia's forehead. "Don't worry, honey, we're always going to take care of you."

Aidan fixed her a cup of her favorite tea to relax her and then started to disinfect and bandage her knees. Mia felt like a little girl, especially with the way Kale was holding her in his lap and kissing her cheek every few minutes. She could tell he was happy; he was quiet and peaceful as Aidan tended to her.

She sat her cup down and turn to look into his dark eyes. He stared into hers with so much tenderness that her heart skipped a beat. Then those dark eyes slid down to her lips and lit up with desire. Oh gosh, here we go again, Mia thought as he leaned down to kiss her.

The kiss was slow and sweet as he took his time to sample her. Mia moaned softly when he sucked gently on her bottom lip.

"Damn you taste good. If you weren't hurt, I'd be taking you to the bedroom to ravish you by now," he whispered hotly in her ear.

Mia shivered.

"All done," Aidan said staring up at them. He didn't seem bothered at all by Kale kissing her. "I'm giving you the day off Mia, so you can relax and heal."

"You don't have to..."

Aidan gave her a look that said he didn't want to hear any arguments.

Mia smiled. "Okay."

"Mia do you know how happy you've made us?" He asked still on his knees smiling up at her.

She slowly shook her head. Aidan laughed. "Then we'll be showing you every day."

"In more ways than one," Kale said looking at her with pure lust.

Aidan frowned at Kale. "She's just agreed to be ours, Kale and all you can think about is jumping into bed with her."

"What else is there to think about?" Kale asked winking at Mia.

She blushed.

Aidan pulled her away from him giving him a look to behave and lifted her in his arms. He took her to her bedroom. "We'll spend the night in case you need us."

"Okay," Mia said yawning from the tea she'd drunk.

Aidan put her to bed, but before he left, he asked her about Eric. "Mia, why was "Eric" following you?"

"He wanted to go out with me and wouldn't take no for an answer. I asked him to leave me alone, but he wouldn't."

"So he was harassing you?" Aidan asked softly.

"He just kept going on and on about losing black women to white men and about his ex," Mia yawned again and snuggled under the covers. "Don't worry about it, he was just annoying."

Aidan leaned down and kissed her gently on the lips. "Good night, Mia. I love you, baby."

Mia held her breath. "Love you too," she felt so strange saying that out loud.

She didn't see the harsh look on Aidan's face when he got up and closed the door softly behind him. He walked into the living room. Kale was waiting for him.

"Didn't you tell me she was smart about being safe?" Kale looked at him dryly.

"Apparently, I was wrong," Aidan said.

"What was she thinking, holding on to that stupid purse? Ugh," Kale hit the counter with his fist. "That's it I'm putting her on lock down until she learns to have some common sense."

"When I saw them dragging her like that, I wanted to kill them, but I also wanted to make sure she was okay," Aidan turned to Kale his eyes flashing with hidden fury.

Kale's dark eyes flashed violently. "They hurt our baby," he said.

Aidan put his hands in his pockets as he walked to the door. "What are we going to do about it?" he asked coldly.

Kale followed him out.