4. Theo
4
THEO
I walk up to Leo’s Tiki Bar and lean against the counter. I’m a regular, especially on a weekend, so Leo nods to me as he continues mixing up a drink for an older couple on the other side of the bar.
My eyes drift to the menu even though I don’t need to look to know what I want to order. Dark and Stormy is my go-to.
I watch as Leo hands over the drink, accepts a tip, and starts fixing another drink immediately. I’m familiar enough with the drink to know he’s started making my gin mix without me even having to order it.
As I stand there, waiting for Leo to finish, my eyes drink across the crowd of tourists crowding the place. It’s still early May, so real tourist season hasn’t begun, but this place is packed.
That’s when I see her. Mia is sitting with a group of other women. She’s staring at a blonde like nothing else in the world matters. I like getting under Mia’s skin, and I don’t quite know why. All I know is that I want to continue doing it.
I imagine myself walking over there and acting like I don’t know she’s back in town. I could wave and ask if she remembers me. I imagine Mia giving me that dark look, her bright blue eyes framed by her black hair. She would try to stab me with her eyes.
Then, the idea is too tempting to resist.
When Leo hands over my drink, I let him know I’ll be back, and then I swagger on over to the group of women, my eyes fixed directly on Mia. When I reach the table, Mia looks up and spots me a moment before the other women do. I see something like panic in her eyes, but I just smile and sip calmly at my drink.
That’s when the other women turn around and see me.
I pull my drink back from my mouth, smiling like a snake that has just spotted its dinner. “Well, well, well, look who we have here. Mia Phillips, is that you?”
Mia’s friends give her curious glances, clearly wondering who I am and why Mia looks so flustered. Mia narrows her eyes at me, and I can tell she’s trying to keep her cool.
She’s gritting her teeth as she stares back at me. The message in her eyes is clear. She wants me to turn and head in the opposite direction. Except I don’t. I like testing the boundaries, and Mia has laid out a clear challenge. “Hi, Theo. Yes, it’s me. I would think you would recognize me since?—”
“Wait, are you Theo?” the blue-haired one asks. She leans forward, studying every detail of me. I glance at her.
“Theo Roberts?” the blonde-haired one echoes. She twists in her chair a little more to see me better.
“Yes, it’s Theo Roberts,” Mia replies, as though someone has asked her a question. “We go way back, don’t we? Imagine seeing you here.”
The blonde’s eyes widen in recognition. That’s when I recognize her, too. She was Mia’s friend back in high school. She dated the quarterback of the football team throughout high school and was altogether unattainable. “Oh my God, Theo! You’ve changed so much!”
“That’s what happens when you grow up. Mind if I join you lovely ladies? Wouldn’t this be a good chance to catch up?”
Before anyone can respond, I pull up an extra chair and sit down, putting my drink on the table. Mia looks like she’s about to explode, but she’s trying to hold it together. This table is not meant for six chairs, and everyone has to scoot around a little to make it work. There is an awkward moment of chair shuffling before everyone gets settled again. I’m right across from Mia, which gives me the best view possible.
I can tell she’s trying to avoid looking at me, but I’m making it pretty impossible right now.
“I didn’t realize you were back in town, Mia. Must be nice, coming back home after so long. Where have you been these past few years?”
The blue-haired woman seems all too happy to fill me in when Mia doesn’t answer. “She’s been in Raleigh. She had a cool position as a designer for… What was it, Mia?”
“Your Home Your Way,” Mia replies through gritted teeth.
I continue to smile congenially like talking with Mia is my favorite pastime. Actually, I wouldn’t mind it so much if she weren’t trying to be so controlling by not selling the property, but I’m not here to talk about that.
Now if one of her friends brings it up, I am happy to present my numbers again, but for right now, the plan is to just continue annoying her.
Mia stands up abruptly, her chair scraping against the boards of the pier. “Theo, can I talk to you for a second? Alone?”
“Sure, Mia. Why not?”
The other women start whispering, and I can hear the blazing curiosity in their voices. They are dying to know exactly what’s going on, and I’ll be honest. I’m just as curious about what Mia has to say to me. Is this all it takes to convince her to sell? Knowing that I’ll be a thorn in her side until she does can be pretty motivating.
Once we’ve taken a few steps down toward the end of the pier, Mia spins around to face me, her eyes blazing. “What the hell are you doing here? Are you trying to make my life miserable?”
I feign innocence. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. I’m just here having a drink. I can bet you that I come to Leo’s more often than you do.”
“Cut the crap, Theo. What you did last night, making all this noise, is harassment. You can’t force me to sell my grandmother’s house. What kind of person does that? Just accept that I’m not interested and move on with your life.”
I shrug, taking a sip of my drink. I can tell that the fact I’m acting so casual is annoying Mia even more. “I’m just a businessman, Mia. I own five properties on this island, and I do what I can to make them as profitable as possible. It’s nothing personal. But if you want to make it personal…”
Mia’s face flushes with anger. “You’re unbe liev able. My friends deserve to know what kind of person you are. Everyone deserves to know. I bet if people knew what a jerk you are in real life, they wouldn’t want to come to your ‘resort.’”
Before I can respond, Mia turns back to the table, her voice rising to project the few feet between us and her friends. “Hey, everyone, you should know what Theo’s been up to. He’s been trying to buy my grandmother’s house and making my life a living hell because I won’t sell. Apparently, this guy doesn’t know how to accept ‘no’ from a woman.”
Her friends lean forward. I’m not sure if it’s because they’re getting protective of Mia or because their daily lives are so boring that they want any drama Mia has to offer.
The blue-haired woman screws her whole face up at me. “Theo, didn’t your mommy teach you how to play fair?”
I give a nonchalant shrug. “It’s just business. Nothing personal.”
“Mia, maybe you should come sit down,” the dark-haired one suggests.
“No, I don’t think it’s fair that he gets to treat me like this. We’re going to be neighbors. We’re going to have to deal with each other for I don’t know how long. The least he can do is apologize for being a jerk.”
She turns back to me and crosses her arms. She’s staring at me, waiting for some sort of apology, I guess. But I’m not planning to apologize. And now that her arms are under her breasts, they’ve been lifted just enough to give me a better view of them through the V-neck of her dress.
They’re making my mouth go dry as I remember my fantasy from last night. Now, we’re surrounded by people. Eyes are on us, thanks to Mia’s loud declaration. I can’t get hard right now. I can’t allow anyone to know how taunting her body is to me.
So, I force my eyes back to her friends. “Hey, I brought up the topic once. I haven’t brought it up again, though if you are willing to sell, you just let me know. The ball’s in your court.”
“Theo, you can’t pretend like you’re just letting me make my own decisions. You’re clearly trying to push me to sell by making me uncomfortable on my own property.”
I see the blue-haired woman flash a mischievous grin at her friends. “Well, it sounds like you’ve both had an argument, and it hasn’t ended well. I think there’s only one way to fix it.”
“By Mia selling?” I suggest.
“By Theo moving,” Mia replies darkly.
“No, by you two kissing. It’s time to kiss and make up. Right, ladies?” She tries to get encouragement from everyone else, by looking around the table and making eye contact with the other women.
Two of the other women start chanting, “Kiss! Kiss! Kiss!”
The fourth woman, a woman with dark hair and glasses, blinks quickly but doesn’t join in.
I raise an eyebrow at Mia, wiggling my eyebrows playfully. “You heard them, Mia. What do you say? Should we kiss and make up? No hard feelings?”
Mia looks like she wants to murder me, but there’s a spark of something else in her eyes. She steps closer, and I can feel the heat between us.
“You’re insane,” she mutters, but there’s a challenge in her voice.
Without giving her a chance to back out, I lean in and press my lips to hers. Her lips don’t yield at first, but then I can feel her giving in. Her lips become softer. They part slightly, and the air around us suddenly feels very hot. I can barely breathe as I taste Mia’s kiss on my lips and feel her body pressed against mine.
I pull away slightly, so she won’t feel my erection pressing against her. I don’t want her to know how hard she makes me.
Her friends’ cheers and laughter seem distant as we kiss. Mia’s hands find their way to my shoulders, and I want to slip my hand up her shirt. But I don’t. I find some bit of self-control in me and stop myself.
Just as quickly as it started, Mia pushes me away, her breath coming in short gasps. “That was… You’re still a jerk.”
I grin, wiping a smudge of lipstick from the corner of my mouth. “Maybe so, but you can’t deny the chemistry.”
Mia rolls her eyes, but there’s a hint of a smile tugging at her lips. “Don’t think this changes anything, Theo. I’m still not selling.”
I back away so a good amount of space is between us. My body needs to cool down, and standing close to her won’t allow that to happen. “Fair enough. But maybe we can talk about it over another drink sometime. You know where to find me.”
I walk back to the bar, feeling the eyes of Mia and her friends on me. Leo raises an eyebrow as I sit down on a recently vacated bar stool, but he doesn’t say anything. He just slides another drink my way.
I take a long sip, savoring the taste. This battle with Mia is far from over, but it just got a lot more interesting. The fact that I could see her inviting me into her house and us exploring each other’s bodies makes it hard to focus on the business aspect of things. I can’t lose sight of my goal here. I have to remain firm.