MIMI

Suddenly hearing a commotion behind her, Mimi looked over only to see Tobias standing in the entrance of the café, looking at her with a dark, brooding expression. She stifled a giggle and waved her hand over. She noticed he took a deep breath before walking over to her table.

Sitting down across from her, he was silent. Mimi blinked back at him with a beaming smile.

"I"m hungry." She said.

He frowned but hummed deeply. Mimi continued looking at the man with a calm smile on her face, her eyes bright.

"Shall we order?"

Tobias was a little stunned by her calm att.i.tude. After a while, he sighed in defeat.

"Okay." He said, his firm mouth tilting into the beginning of a smile.

Mimi noticed the softening in Tobias"s eyes only because she was watching him so very closely, though she tried to be discreet about it. When the two ordered their food, they simply spoke in light conversation and enjoyed the view.

After they had finished eating, they left the café.

"Hmm, I"m still hungry."

"You"ve just eaten."

"But I want more food," Mimi muttered.

Tobias studied her pleading expression and sighed.

"What else do you want to eat?"

Mimi hummed silently to herself and suddenly thought of something, her eyes lighting up. "A food truck next to my apartment complex sells meat buns. Can we go there?"

He looked at her, an eyebrow lifting on his handsome face. He looked too amused. Reaching for his keys, he unlocked the door and grabbed a bottle of water from his car.

"I brought water in case this happened. Drink that on our way. If you"re still hungry, we"ll get more food."

Mimi replied with a smile, more comfortable with his teasing. Teasing she could handle. Anything else would be too much with this man.

Determined to keep the evening light and nonthreatening, Mimi kept up a brisk, airy conversation as Tobias drove her to their destination. She didn"t give him much chance to contribute anything more than an occasional comment or question.

Not that he would have said much more, anyway. He seemed content just to listen to her talk.

As expected, when they arrived, she was still hungry. With a deep sigh, Tobias walked her to the food cart where the two ordered a bag of meat buns. Resting in a nearby park, Mimi chewed on the meat buns while Tobias sat silently beside her.

She observed Tobias out of the corner of her eyes as he stared at the ground. She noted his mouth tightened almost imperceptibly at the corners – as though he was nervous.

Swallowing her food, Mimi reached for a meat bun and pa.s.sed it to Tobias.

"Here, it"s still warm."

Looking at the meat bun in the girl"s hand, a glimpse of reminiscence pa.s.sed within his eyes.

He couldn"t stop watching her. From the moment he entered the café to meet her, he"d felt as though someone kicked him square in the chest, and he still hadn"t quite caught his breath.

It was only three days since he last saw her, but her features always caught him by surprise.

At the same time, Mimi saw something flash within Tobias"s eyes. A glimpse of genuine, strained emotion that just might have been deep, masculine desire. But almost as quickly as she"d seen it, he pulled down those emotional shutters.

However, she was certain she saw it.

"Ah, you don"t like meat buns right?" A tremulous smile appeared on her face as she put the meat bun back in the bag and stood up from the bench. "Hey Tobias, I"m getting a little tired. Why don"t we head back?"

Just as she took a few steps forward, she felt a tight hold on her arm. Stiffening, Mimi slowly turned her head to look at Tobias. At this point, he was standing, his jet-black eyes looking down at her with intense emotions.

The man took a deep breath and closed his eyes. Then when he opened them again, there was a genuine pain in them as they stared at her in awe.

"I love you." His voice was deep, just a little gravelly.

Mimi froze, startled by his sudden declaration. Her heart tightened.

"Tobias..."

With dark eyes, Tobias smiles sadly. "I know."

Cold, dreary silence engulfed the two.

"Can"t..." Mimi"s voice shakes a little. "Can"t we just go back to how we use to be? Let"s just forget this and go back."

Tobias could hear the pleading in her trembling voice. His fists tightened as he looked at her. He couldn"t help but reveal a bitter smile. Sometimes he couldn"t help but find the girl to be cruel.

"We can"t."

"But why?" She asked without thinking.

"Because I don"t want to forget. I don"t want things to go back to normal."

"But I do!" Mimi suddenly raised her voice. "I...I want things to go back. Because if they do then..."

Mimi stopped midway as her eyes hardened.

Tobias stares at the fragile girl before him with gentle, sad eyes. He knew she was scared. Scared he"d leave her.

"You"re not going to lose me. I"ll always be by your side."

Hearing those words, Mimi"s hands trembled. Unable to bear with it, she looked away from his gaze. Suddenly, she felt Tobias draw closer. Feeling the heat of his body at her back, she stood ridged.

Her heart suddenly stopped when Tobias moves to stroke her arm. The touch was gentle, feather-light as he moved his hand down along her arm.

His touch stopped at her hand where he gently played with her fingertips before carefully, he pushed them forward, fingers intertwined with her own.

"Mimi, if you want, I"ll stop." His deep, hoa.r.s.e voice whispered her softly. "I"m willing...to let you go if you truly don"t feel anything for me. I"m willing to move past it and continue being friends."

He exhaled a long breath against her hair and rested his forehead against the back of her head.

"You can ignore me and try to treat me as a friend, but none of that will erase the fact that I think about kissing you every second I"m awake. And it sure as h.e.l.l won"t erase that I"m terrified by how much I love you." His voice darkened, his breath fanning against her ear, tickling her.

"I"m not willing to give up if you"re unsure of your feelings. I don"t want you to brush aside your feelings and mine..." His head buried in her hair and cut off his words. He inhaled, and Mimi"s heart pounded in her chest. "Don"t take the easy way out."

Mimi remained silent. Had it been before, she would have easily said she felt nothing for Tobias, and that she wanted to continue being friends - even if it wasn"t true.

However, hearing the man"s pleading words, her heart hesitated.

In the next second, Mimi felt the warmth of his body leave as he stepped back. She carefully looked back to see him giving her a half-smile.

"It"s late. I"ll drive you home."

Quietly, Mimi nods her head and stands up to follow Tobias to his car - precisely walking three feet away from him.

During the car ride, neither said a word. Both sitting in silence.

Arriving in front of her apartment, Mimi turned to open the car door, when she suddenly felt a gentle touch on her hand. Slowly, Mimi turns to look at Tobias with a lowered gaze.

"Please think about it. Don"t bury your emotions." Tobias pleads softly, his warm breath fanning her face as he inches closer. "The good and the bad, the ugly and the beautiful, the fearful and the brave, and even the broken, I will always love you."

Tobias"s forehead gently rested on Mimi"s, his eyes staring intently at her lowered lashes covering those violet pupils.

"Don"t pull away from me." He whispered huskily.

Finally, a light flickered in Mimi"s eyes. Noticing their heads resting together, she raised her eyes. Sensing her stare, Tobias"s eyes opened to gaze back.

She tried to glance away, but she couldn"t seem to manage. She felt a flutter that became a tightening in her belly. Her heart stopped, skipped a few beats, and then started up again in a frantic rhythm as he just kept watching her. Emotions she couldn"t name swelled in her chest.

Feeling her mouth go dry, Mimi licks her suddenly dry lips, opens her mouth a few times before she speaks.

"I...I will try."

Just those few words were enough to ease Tobias"s heart. He knew, since they first met, she was a person of her words.

He knew she would try.

"Thank you," Tobias inhaled deeply before pulling away.

Mimi nodded before she unlocked the car door and left - her body gradually disappearing into the building complex.

Tobias watched the girls parting figure with warm eyes. Once she was out of sight, he started his car and drove away.