Chapter 10

10 - Apollo Castiello

"I feel better when you're around."

- One day

I spent the night awake, just as I had predicted. I lay there, feeling my body heat up, thinking I was burning in fever, as the cold night air outside was chilling enough.

A lot different from that morning. The sun shone high and strong in the blue sky, the snow was melting, but, like every European winter, the cold was still present. And it was this coldness outside the window that caught my attention. Well, at least it was what I wanted to focus on.

I had thought about Mia all through the night, and I didn't want those thoughts to return. But they were like quicksand in my mind.

"Don't do this," I heard my brain reprimanding me when I grabbed my phone.

Ignoring all my rational senses, I searched through my contacts. She could have saved her number when she picked up my phone. I went through contact after contact, hoping to see her name, but it wasn’t there. Damn! Of course, it wasn’t. She was married and wouldn’t put her number in a guy’s phone she barely knew.

I groaned and kicked my shoes on the floor before putting them back on. I needed to distract myself. I texted my only friend—I needed to find her.

When I left my room, my father was sitting on the sofa in the living room, reading glasses on his eyes.

"Apollo?" I heard his deep voice calling me.

I walked in circles looking for my car keys.

"Apollo!" My father’s deep voice called me again.

"Father." I finally replied and forced myself to breathe again.

"You’re hyped." He observed. "What happened?"

Nothing. Nothing had happened, and nothing was going to.

"Father, have you seen my car keys?" I asked, still looking around.

My father raised an eyebrow and shook his head, smiling.

"Raise your left hand." He exhaled and smiled, going back to his reading.

And then, miraculously, the car keys were in my hand.

"I’m going to see Kay." I said as I bent down to kiss his hair. "I’ll be back soon, I... I need to..."

"I know." My father interrupted me. "I remember the last time I saw you like this. Be careful, Apollo." His voice was serious.

"No chance."

I grabbed my car, and within five minutes, I reached my friend's workplace. She was attending a table when I sat at one of those small, hidden tables in the diner. Moments later, she left her bartender uniform and sat across from me.

"I know that look," was the first thing she said before sitting down and snatching my phone from my hands. "I have tons of questions for you, but I think you need to talk first."

I sighed, rubbed my hands over my face, and stared into Kay's blue eyes.

"I need to have sex," were the first words that came out of my mouth.

My friend held back a laugh and nodded slightly.

"Go on!"

"I'm serious." I ruffled my hair. "I can’t stop thinking about a woman, so I need to get her out of my mind. I need to fuck." I felt like trash admitting this out loud.

Kay grinned wide, and my head was full enough that I couldn’t care.

"And why do you think this will stop if you stick your dick in anyone out there?" Her deep honesty had just arrived.

I drummed my fingers on the table. Groaned. Covered my face.

"Because that’s how it works." I answered without a smart reply. "It makes no sense, Kay."

"If you keep banging on this table, I’m going to flip it over your head," she warned. "You really need to have sex." She agreed with me. "However..." her phone started ringing. "This just gets better." She said to herself before answering the call.

"Hey, Lauren..." she spoke cheerfully.

I remained restless, unable to be rational. Damn, I really was hyped.

"Oh, my shift just ended, but I'm still here at the diner," Kay resumed talking on the phone. "Oh, come! I’m waiting for you at one of the back tables." And she hung up.

Kay smiled and clapped her hands on the table, celebrating something I didn’t know about.

"What happened?" I asked. "Who was it?"

Kay slouched in her chair and ordered a glass of wine from one of the waitresses.

"You were talking to me," she raised an eyebrow. "About your sexual abstinence."

I groaned. My fingers began drumming on the table at the same moment.

"Kay? Damn, I forgot to tell you," I was still uncomfortable, but I didn’t want to think about it anymore, about... her. "NewScene called me yesterday. They want me for the lead role in their new movie."

"Oh my God!" Her eyes widened. "Oh my God, Apollo! This is it!"

Happiness and pride seemed to drain from her when she hugged me.

"Kayla?" A soft, deep voice called my friend.

Kay moved away from me, and that voice...

"Apollo!"

"Mia!"

My heart thumped erratically. My eyes wavered. My mouth went dry.

She was even more beautiful in the light of day. The sunlight reflecting through the window hit her skin, and she seemed to glow. Her hair was loose, cascading over her shoulders. She wore a simple, tight, gray and black plaid dress. She took off her coat while her eyes were still locked on mine.

And all that restlessness disappeared. My breathing returned to normal, my fingers were still. Her scent was getting stuck in my mind.

"Since when do you two know each other?" Kay’s playful voice pulled me out of the trance her eyes had put me in.

Mia exhaled and sat next to us.

"I’d ask you the same thing," Mia spoke to Kay.

I was still surprised by her arrival; I was still admiring her.

"Okay." Kay resumed the conversation. "I met Apollo here at the diner many years ago, our parents were friends since we were kids." She explained, looking at Mia, then at me. "I met Lauren at my sister’s high school graduation."

Mia and I stayed silent, but Kay raised an eyebrow, wanting an explanation.

"I met Apollo yesterday," Mia said softly, almost shyly. "We’re going to act together."

"Yeah," I agreed.

Kay smiled, as though she had already expected this.

"I want to see this get fiery," she smiled and got up.

"Where are you going?" Mia grabbed her arm.

Kay flung her blue hair back and tilted her nose up, forcing a fake seriousness.

"I’m going to do social work." She shrugged. "Take care, Lauren. And Apollo, give up on that thing. You’re screwed." Kay grinned and left.

Mia continued to watch our friend disappear through the diner doors.

"I don’t think she understood I came here to talk to her," Mia made a playful face and turned back to me. "Why are you looking at me like that?" Her voice was suspicious.

I shifted my eyes, smiling as I realized I was still looking at her.

"You’re just really beautiful." I finally said.

Mia opened her mouth, blinked rapidly, and shook her head lightly.

"Hey, where’s Kayla?" The waitress from whom Kay had ordered the wine stopped at our side.

Then, before I could answer anything, Mia grabbed the wine glass from the tray and took a single sip from her lips.

The waitress smiled and walked away immediately.

I watched Mia’s skin turn a rosy tone, and I smiled to myself.

"What were you saying?" She wanted to know, but without looking at me.

I felt like the luckiest guy in the world, knowing that I had caused that reaction in her. I felt happy to know that I wasn’t the only one who felt vulnerable.

"Nothing, Hudson." I answered finally, watching the reactions on her face transform as she became irritated.

Her jaw tightened on the left side. Her lips formed a thin line, and the dimple above her eyebrow appeared.

"Apollo, my social name is Mia Lauren." She looked at me with her huge blue eyes. "So, I’d really appreciate it if you ignored my married name."

Then, the smile I had been hiding escaped. I loved knowing that she avoided Bradley’s name. I loved knowing she was sitting at a diner table with me.

"God, you’re annoying." Mia rolled her eyes while I kept smiling, and made a move to grab her purse and coat.

"Wait." I held her hand.

Mia’s eyes went straight to my hand holding hers. I noticed her breath catch, and I also noticed I had trouble breathing. Her body was warm, too.

"Listen, Mia." I said her name, and her expression softened. "I’m going to annoy you a lot still. You have to get used to it. But I promise I won’t hurt you." I said quickly enough as I watched her eyes widen.

Strangely, I saw something sparkle in her eyes. Actually, her eyes were sparkling with every passing moment.

"Okay." She gave in. "But I hope you know this may have consequences." Mia smiled mysteriously.

Every part of my body burned in that moment.

"You have no idea how I handle consequences." I said softly, grinning sideways.

Mia’s face turned red, and then she noticed I was still holding her hand.

"Okay." She pulled away, a little flustered.

And at that moment, I had never been so anxious for the consequences that would come from this.

From the sweetest to the harshest consequence, I was ready to face it.