My Crazy Housemate

3The only gifts Mia ever received in her life from people who weren't her family were from Mira and James during her birthdays.      2

It was her first time receiving so many gifts at the same time, and from one person. She didn't know how to feel about it.     

A part of her scolded her for accepting it while the other part told her she hadn't begged him for them. He had done it by himself and imposed it on her so why was she killing herself over it?     

She looked from the gowns, to big tee shirts to girly shirts to trousers to cosmetics to footwears and then to her phone.     

"I feel weird." She said shaking her head. What was she supposed to do with all of this?      

Why was he doing all this? Did he really like her that way and was trying to impress her with his money?      

'But why would he want to impress a girl like me?' A voice asked in her head.      

She was poor, in debt, a college student who didn't have her life already set or mapped out and she was even living inside his house and eating his food. It wasn't possible he liked her. Maybe it was as he said the other time, he was sexually attracted to her. But she didn't think he was doing all of this because of his sexual attraction to her.     

"Ah! I'm going to go mad if I keep thinking." She said as she looked at everything on the bed.      

Seeing things like these suddenly reminded her of the way she used to live back then when her father was still around.      

Although she didn't like fancy things nor wore make ups, she had good clothes to wear which they had sold off after her father disappeared and business went down.      

She held her new phone and smiled. She had wanted to buy a phone the other time but couldn't because it was too expensive. She finally had a good phone now whose ringtone wasn't going to cause people to frown or Tara to bark or birds fly away in fear.     

She didn't think she would be able to set up the device and because she was scared about doing the wrong thing, she decided to take it to Mira to help her with it. She was too embarrassed to ask Leo to do it for her.     

      **********     

Looking at his phone which was lying on the bed now, Leo could guess he must have received a hundred calls already.      

He had switched off his phone during his drive back home and had refused to take any calls from neither his mother, Richard, or any other family member including his Aunt Deborah. She was the same sick lady who had mistook him for Louis back then in the amusement park and had forcefully asked him to save 'Mickey' which happened to be Mia.      

It seemed like that had happened a really long time ago when it was just a few weeks back.      

He heard Mia's room's door open and left his room to go see her. He knew she was leaving the house for her dance rehearsals and as much as he hated the idea of her dancing like that with a guy, he didn't think he had any right to tell her what to do and what she wasn't supposed to do.      

When he came out of his room, they both locked eyes.      

He smiled immediately seeing her back to her 'normal' self without make up. But she still looked different.      

Her hair color which had been turned to a brown ombre was tied in a neat ponytail and although her face was rid of make up, he could tell she wore lipgloss.     

'God! It's so tempting.' He exclaimed in his head as he looked at her slightly parted lips which was shining.      

She wasn't in her usual all black outfit. This time, she wore a red crop top and skinny jean with black sneakers.     

Seeing her belly which was slightly exposed made him frown. Why did Alicia include this? He asked himself with a frown.     

He had concluded there was nothing he was ever going to do to stop Mia frown exposing her great body to the eyes of the perverted men in the world. He felt like wrapping her with a bedsheet and letting her walk down the streets like that.     

She looked beautiful and he just couldn't pretend like he wasn't affected by her beauty seeing her standing right there.      

Mia suppressed a smile seeing the way Leo was looking at her. Everything she was wearing from her head down to her toes were all bought with his money after all. 'Go on and look all you want!' She screamed in her head but kept a calm face.     

"I am sorry, but I have to hurry out now." Benjamin had called to remind her that they were both supposed to rehearse before the time for the main rehearsals so she had to be at the studio earlier but firstly, she was going to pay Mira and James a visit.      

"If there is anyway I can help in regards to you know... your family stuff, let me know." She said awkwardly before her eye fell on Tara who was looking at her with her little head cocked to the side as if she was trying to make up her mind whether that was actually Mia or someone else so she could go on and bark at the person.      

"Why..." She gulped nervously. "Why is she looking at me like that?" Mia asked with her eyes never leaving Tara.      

Maybe it was easy for most people to overcome their fear for dogs after carrying them once or petting them, she just couldn't seem to get over the incident many years ago.      

"She thinks you look pretty and doesn't want you to leave the house wearing that top" Leo said shamelessly as he carried Tara from the ground to ruffle her hair.      

"Wow! That's a really great interpretation." Mia said as she sighed in relief seeing Leo had carried her.      

"But unfortunately, I really have to leave now." She said and began to head towards the door.      

"Wait!" Leo called stopping her in her track.      

She turned to look at him with a raised brow wondering what he wanted to say.      

"Where is your studio? I.. probably should just drop you off."     

"You do not need to. I'll be dropping by to see Mira first. And I am already so grateful for today. I can't ask or accept anything more. Thanks Leo King." She said with a smile and waved at him before leaving the house.      

     ********     

*knock knock*     

"Come in." Chloe said with her gaze fixed to her computer.      

She knew it was Jeremy. He was the only one who had the effrontery— before he was given the permission to come to her office.      

No other staff disturbed her and if they needed anything urgently, the told it to her PA who called her first before coming in.      

"What is it?" Chloe asked raising her head to look at him.      

"I brought you something to eat. You've been in here since you arrived." Jeremy said as he placed a small nylon which belonged to the company in front of her.      

She looked at it and up at him. Why wouldn't he just get the point that she wasn't interested and let her be?     

"Have you eaten?" She asked him casually.      

"Nope."      

"Then eat it." She said before returning her attention to her computer.      

"Hell no! I can't use those many bucks to buy a snack for myself! I'll die!" He exclaimed in horror.      

"What is it?" She raised her head to look at him with a confused frown.      

"All of these cost a hundred and twenty bucks. I cannot eat it. It's for you."      

"How can you place someone else as a priority before your own self?" She asked with a frown.      

"You are comfortable buying it for me for such amount but you can't get it for yourself?"      

"That's exactly what I meant." He said nodding his head making her sigh in defeat.     

"You better start giving up now. These things won't make me like you." She said eyeing him.      

Jeremy chuckled.      

"I don't mind. I just want you to eat and keep being pretty until I am ready to take the next step with you and—"     

"Take the next step with who? Are you out of your mind?" She blew up at him throwing some pieces of paper at him. She hadn't met anyone with so much guts like him and it frustrated her that she was going to be stuck with him.     

"Hey, hey! Why are you raising your voice?" He asked as he tried to calm her down.      

"Do you think it is easy to like a girl like you? I am already emotionally strained liking you so the least you could do for me is try to be nice, because you are also putting me through a lot." He said sadly.     

"W...what?" She asked in disbelief. He was blaming her for liking her? She couldn't believe it!     

"I know you feel sorry right now so I am not going to make this any difficult for you. Just eat the snacks and call me if you need anything else."      

"Get out before I lose my temper." She said through gritted teeth.     

"Oh, I forgot to tell you earlier when we were coming. Ellie said to say hello and asked if you would come sleep over again tonight." He asked as he tried to suppress a grin.     

"Oh really? I'd love to." Chloe said with a smile.      

"Really?" He asked with bulging eyes. "You are really going to come? For real?" He asked in surprise. He hadn't thought she was going to easily agree to that.     

"Of course, I am joking you bastard now get lost!" She yelled at him before throwing more papers at him while he ran away with his hand on his chest.      

"Such a nasty temper. Tsk tsk." He said as he tried to catch his breath outside.