Tattooed On You

XIV: Dates and Drinks

"Oh my God, I missed you!" Mia's arms wrap around me and her body crashes against mine, and a huge feeling of relief rushes through me. I thought I was going to be the only emotional one.

"I've missed you too," I tell her, matching her tone. I'm aware that it's ridiculous, but we haven't seen each other in almost two weeks while we normally saw each other every day, so yeah, it's intense.

"I have so much to tell you!" Mia excitedly says while pulling me through the doors of our favorite restaurant. We've made reservations, and after giving our names, we're escorted to a nice table near the windows.

It's not a super fancy restaurant, but it's fancier than the average pub. They have amazing risotto though, and that's why Mia and I always come back here. Since it's Friday now, it's quite busy; several people at the entrance are told to come back in an hour or two to see if there's a table free then.

"We're taking a bottle, right?" Mia asks when we're both sitting at the table.

I look at her while raising my eyebrow. "Is that even a question?" I giggle, and Mia joins me while shaking her head.

"Not really, just wanted to be sure." She shrugs and then goes for the menu. "I don't even know why I bother because..." She looks at me knowingly, and I nod my head in agreement.

"Risotto," we say at the same time before she makes a show of throwing the menu on the table again. We are predictable.

"So, tell me everything about Cooper and his parents and the Costwolds and how perfect your life is." I jump right into it, and it's because I'm truly curious and interested. What I miss most about living with Mia, is the talks. The talks that I've only ever had with her. The talks that you only ever have with your best friend.

"Oh, perfect..?" She waves her hand as if she doesn't agree, but after thinking it over, starts to giggle. "Okay, it's pretty damn perfect I must admit."

I snort and roll my eyes, and right at that moment, the waiter shows up next to me to take our order. He smirks, a boyish smirk I might add, and after his eyes slide over my cleavage for a very short moment, he asks if we want something to drink.

For some reason, his action -the lingering eye one- annoys me. Why is it that, as a woman, you can't wear a top or blouse with a cleavage lower than a button-up because men think it's an invitation to look? It's not. I wear this for me, not for you.

"A bottle of your best red and two risotto," Mia answers, sensing my annoyance perfectly and making sure to be as curt as possible. And thankfully, he gets the hint because, after a polite nod, he leaves.

"Well, tell me everything!" I continue. "How was the Costwolds? Are his parents nice?"

"Okay, we come there, and his parent's house is massive. Like, I was shaking," Mia starts, leaning back on her seat which tells me she's not planning on leaving out any detail. "They have a huge garden, and we were in the guestroom with an en-suite with a bubble bath. I mean, Coop told me their house was nice but Jesus."

I giggle, wondering if what made the trip so awesome was the house or also the people. "So the best thing was the house?"

At this, her features soften, almost making me fear she'll cry. "No," she then sighs as if she's in heaven. "The best thing was hands down Cooper. He's the sweetest, most caring person I've ever met, Jo. I've never met someone that introduced me with so much pride as he did when he introduced me to his parents. I was nervous, but he was there, and he pulled me through it in a way that makes me believe he'll be there always. I don't know how to explain it, but he's the definition of ride or die. I'm just..." She swallows heavily, shaking her head in disbelief. "I'm so in love with him. And it scares me because he's just as in love with me too."