Oblivion {James Rodriguez} {Book ONE}

no, it's not stalking...

Mia's POV

"He's what?" I nearly shouted at Melissa. "What did you just say?" I gushed.

Melissa looked like she completely expected my reaction. "I said, James is back in town." She repeated slowly.

The only sound I could hear was the rhythmic throbbing of my heart. A million thoughts raced through my mind all at once, dizzying me. When did he come back? Where is he now? Is he still mad?

"I shouldn't have told you..." Melissa admitted quietly after she's taken in my troubled expression.

"No, no," I rushed to object. "Thanks for the heads up." Los Angeles is a massive city, and the chances of me running into him are very scarce.

"I have an idea!" Melissa lit up, as she attempted to divert the sullen mood. "Let's invite Lucia over!"

I contemplated the offer for a second. After that brunch with her, we hung out separately on some occasions. I've really gotten to know her well, which was great considering that she was like a breath of fresh air. I wouldn't mind spending a Thursday afternoon with her.

"Sure," I replied.

Without hesitation, Melissa reached for her phone and dialed a number. She waited for about 6 seconds before the line opened.

"Hey!" Melissa said in her trademark cheerful voice.

"Nothing much, really. Just hanging at Mia's house with absolutely nothing to do. Want to come over?" She asked enthusiastically.

Lucia replied with something that sounded much longer than a simple 'sure.'

"Oh..." Melissa's expression deflated.

"It's alright, no worries. Maybe next week?" She suggested. "Sure, that's great. Bye!"

"What?" I asked as soon as Melissa locked her phone.

"She said she has some business to take care of."

__________________________

"What do we do, we're such losers," Melissa exclaimed dramatically, flinging the pillow to the side. It hit me in the face, which woke me up from my little nap that I decided to take once Melissa wouldn't stop whining.

"I can't believe Lucia just shut us down like that," Melissa said in a serious tone. "She's a tourist in this city, what kind of business could it possibly be?"

"Melissa, I think that it's none of our business. If she wanted to, she would have told us." I reminded her.

"Do you think she's a stripper?" Melissa inquired eagerly.

I cringed. "Why would you even..."

"No, think about it, really. She's tan, Spanish, tall, young, strikingly beautiful, extremely fit..."If Melissa went just a little more, I would have thought she was a lesbian.

"Not all pretty girls are strippers, Melissa. I love your logic." I rolled my eyes at her.

"You're still not focusing with me," She pressed on. "It's Los Angeles. You know what this city is all about."

I understood where her views were coming from, but her argument is invalid. Besides, it was rude to think that a person as sweet and innocent as Lucia would have anything to do with that kind of business. She just doesn't fit the moral criteria.

"Let's ask Lola about this." Melissa demanded as she grabbed her phone and dialed Lola's number, putting the call on speaker.

"What now, Melissa?" Was the first thing Lola jokingly said when the line opened.

"What exactly does Lucia do?" Melissa cut straight to the point.

"I don't know, I'm not some weird type of stalker. She's here for a visit only." Lola simply replied.

"Geez, you're helpful." Melissa slumped back into the sofa.

"You guys are that jobless to stalk my friend." Lola dead-panned.

"Our friend," Melissa and I both corrected at the same time.

"Alright then. Have fun with whatever you losers are doing. Gym tomorrow, 8 AM. I'm going to kill the both of you if I'm the only one there. Good night babes!"