They took turns driving every five hours so neither of them would get too tired. The next day at 9:00 a.m., they arrived at their destination. They'd bought a cheap (for Martin) single-family house in the suburbs. They had a big house, their own garage, and a garden. Mia parked the car in front of the garage.
"You're not parking it in the garage?
" "No, because I have to go somewhere soon.
" "Where?
" "It's a secret, but I need some money. Can you lend it to me?
" "What do you need it for?
" "Come on, give it to me. It's a surprise!" Martin looked at the girl uncertainly, then reached into his pants pocket. He pulled out his wallet. "How much do you need?" Mia thought for a moment. "Hmm... about a hundred thousand?" The boy stopped dead in his tracks, only to regain his composure after a moment. "Did I hear you right? A hundred thousand?"
"You heard me right." Mia made an innocent face. "Is that too much?
" "A hundred thousand! A hundred thousand! Is that too much! Why do you need that much money!?
" "I already said, surprise. You have that much money, don't you?" Martin looked at Mia for a moment, then reached for the phone and dialed a number. He walked a little further away so the girl wouldn't overhear the conversation, then returned to her.
"Who were you talking to?
" "The bank. First, you'll go to the bank and pick up the money." The boy took out a piece of paper and a pen, wrote something down, and handed it to the girl. "All you have to do is give me these details." Mia was so happy she threw her arms around Martin's neck. "Thanks a lot! I'll be on my way.
" "When will you be back?"
"Afternoon or evening.
" "I'll make us dinner.
" "I hope you're a good cook?
" "Sure," the man smiled.
"But it has to be cleaned up too." Mia smiled, and he smiled too. They both recalled the situation at Willis's house, when Willis had cleaned his apartment because it was a huge mess and she couldn't concentrate on the conversation.
"Can't you clean it up again?"
"No. Learn to clean," she said, getting into the car, turning the key, and driving away. Martin stood in front of the house until he lost sight of the red car. Then he entered the house and looked around. He'd forgotten one thing—the furniture. He thought for a moment, then decided to head to the store. He quickly made his way there, the movers helped him carry the furniture in and set it up in the apartment. When they left, he sat on the couch. For a moment, he thought about everything that had happened for a long time. Suddenly, he realized he was supposed to make dinner. He quickly went to the kitchen and started preparing dinner. It was 4:00 p.m., and she still hadn't arrived. Sure, she'd told him she might be home in the evening, but he was worried about her. Now he realized he treated Mia like his best friend. He knew a lot about her, maybe almost everything? And she did too. However, he couldn't forget that she was a woman. They say men and women can't be friends, but he insisted otherwise. Yes, he remembered that moment in "Butterfly," when he'd accused Mia of being jealous and dressing poorly. He'd gladly turn back time to prevent it from happening. But maybe he'd been right then? Maybe he'd been sending her the wrong signals? Maybe she'd taken it as a flirtation? From now on, Martin decided to be careful what he said and did. He didn't want Mia to accidentally have her heart broken because of him. The clock struck another hour, then another, another, and another. It was already 8:00 PM when suddenly someone knocked on the door. He went to answer the door, and a delighted Mia was waiting outside.
"Where have you been all this time!? I was worried about you!
" "I said I'd be back either this afternoon or this evening. I had a lot to take care of. Is dinner ready?
" "What did you have to take care of?
" "You know, it's the surprise.
" "What's the surprise? Can you finally tell me?
" "Yes, it's in front of the garage." It took me a while; I couldn't decide. Martin took a step to see what was in front of the garage. He was stunned. A motorcycle stood in front of the garage, brand new, red and yellow. But she wasn't joking, he thought. "So how do you like it?
" "How much did you pay for it?
" "Seventy-five thousand, or something like that. There was a sale." Mia smiled at Martin. This time he didn't return the smile. The girl stopped smiling. After a moment, the boy spoke up.
"Have YOU completely lost your mind! I'm not going to ride that! I'm not going to kidnap the bride at the altar!
" "Relax. I'll teach you to ride it.
" "I don't want to!"
"Martin!" Mia was furious, the boy shut up. The first time he'd seen her like this was when he and Alex didn't accept her project. He looked at her for a moment and realized, however, that he'd never seen her like this before.
"Okay. I'll ride him. Better?" The girl still had her previous expression on her face, but it quickly changed.
"I feel better. Now we're going to dinner, and tomorrow we'll start training. You have two weeks to learn how to ride, and then another two to learn our plan.
" "And after that?
" "We're going to the wedding," Mia smiled. "I know when he's getting married.
" "Where?
" "I have some contacts here. You don't have to be rich to have them.
" "Sure," Martin smiled back. They headed out for dinner together. The boy made spaghetti, which the girl really enjoyed. While they ate, they both recounted their day. The girl laughed at Martin for having to buy all the furniture. After dinner, Mia went to put the bike in the garage. Meanwhile, Martin cleaned up after dinner. Then they each went to their bedroom for bed. The boy lay on his back and looked at the ceiling. He thought about what it would look like, how he would get on his bike and ride towards the rug, how he would take Ashley from the altar. They'd ride off into the sunset together. He didn't have time to think any further because he fell asleep. He dreamed of riding his motorcycle, seeing Ashley, taking her on his bike, and the two of them riding into the sunset.
CHAPTER 7
It was 7:00 a.m. when his alarm clock went off. Martin really didn't want to get up. Today was the day he was supposed to start riding a motorcycle. He was afraid. He wasn't sure if Mia could teach him. And if not, what would he do? Suddenly he heard a knock on the door. He barely managed to say, "Come in," Mia entered the room. She was already dressed. She was wearing the same red dress again.
"Where did you get it from? It was ruined.
" "This is where I bought my last one. So I bought a new one now. Besides, I bought you something too. Oh, here's your blouse and pants, only much cheaper.
" "Where did you get the money? You always ask me for it?
" "Remember when you gave me a hundred thousand?" There's still a lot of money left, and I borrowed it. You're not mad at me?" Martin looked at her with his still-not-fully-conscious eyes and just shook his head. "Good, now get up. Time for breakfast. It's already on the table, get up." The girl walked over to the bed and pulled the covers off the boy.
"It's cold!
" "Oh my! Get up, we still have training later.
" "Mmmm."
"No, mmmm, just get up.
" "Can't we get up at 10:00?
" "I'm already up. Go ahead, get moving.
" "What if I don't?
" "I'll pour cold water on you.
" "Exactly," Martin laughed. Mia left the room. "Finally, she left me alone." The boy smiled to himself. Suddenly, he heard a splash, and in a moment, his face was wet. The girl wasn't joking; she was now standing in front of Martin's bed, holding an empty glass that had just held water.
"You couldn't have at least used warm water!"
"She said I'd pour cold water on you, not hot. I'm not joking, I'm serious. Remember that for the future, or get up earlier, it won't be a problem." The woman turned and headed for the hallway. Then he heard her footsteps coming down the stairs, heading to the kitchen. Martin couldn't believe what she had done. However, he didn't want to take any chances, quickly put on new clothes, and went downstairs to the kitchen for breakfast. Mia was already there, waiting for him at the table. The smell of fresh pancakes filled the room. He sat down in his seat, the girl looked at him, and then began eating. Martin did the same. No one said a word during breakfast.
"Okay, now we can go practice.
" "I just ate.
" "Don't be so gentle. Nothing will happen to you.
" "Do you really know how to ride a motorcycle? Or were you just kidding?
" "Try saying I'm lying again, and I'll strangle you.
" "Okay. So let's go?" They both headed out into the yard; the street was quiet. Mia pulled out her motorcycle. She began showing Martin the moves one by one, and then he had to repeat them. He made a few mistakes, but it worked out. And that's how the first week passed. By the second week, Martin was already riding around town. By the third week, he'd shaved and put on his suit, which he'd bought especially for the occasion. He left the house and was now waiting by the motorcycle for Mia; she was supposed to play Ashley. His task was to ride fast, brake quickly, pick up the bride without explanation, and ride off with her on the motorcycle. Mia was similarly built, so it was even better. A girl emerged in front of the house, and the man stood like an oak tree. Mia was wearing a long, beautiful white dress.
"What are you staring at, huh?
" "You look beautiful.
" "Don't try to suck up to me, because if you fail, you'll be practicing until the evening anyway.
" "I don't try to suck up to you." I like you in that dress," Martin smiled at the woman, two red blushes visible on her cheeks. "So shall we begin?"
"Of course, I'm ready."
They practiced everything until evening, and the next four days as well. Martin mastered it all to perfection, even practicing jumping over cars as if someone were chasing them and trying to block the road. The next evening, the man invited Mia to dinner at the nearest restaurant. He dressed in his suit again. Mia was wearing her white dress. He waited for her downstairs, then they headed to the car together. This time, Martin was the driver, opened the second door, and gestured for them to take a seat. They drove toward the restaurant. The sky above them was black, sprinkled with golden stars. There was no wind at all, and all they could hear was the sound of crickets somewhere in the grass. There were almost no cars on the street. After half an hour, they reached the restaurant. They had booked a table and ordered their meals.
"So how do you like it?" the boy finally said.
"Great. I've never been to a four-star restaurant.
" "If there was a five-star restaurant here, I'd take you there, but unfortunately, there's only one. Besides, you have to get used to places like that; you'll be famous soon.
" "Sure.
" "I'm not kidding." The waiter approached the table and handed them their food and champagne in a bucket of ice. "Thank you.
" "Should I open the champagne?" the waiter asked.
"No, thank you, I'll do it myself." The waiter walked away.
"Are you going to drive drunk?
" "Come on," Martin said, pouring champagne into glasses. "We'll be fine.
" "Like when you were in the hospital?
" "It was an accident then.
" "Wouldn't it be now?
" "Yes, but then I fell asleep at the wheel from exhaustion and drove alone. Now I'm going with you.
" "Don't be so smart," Mia smiled.
They were eating dinner. A little further down was the dance floor, and music was playing. A slow song had just started.
"Shall we dance?" Martin extended his hand to the woman.
"With pleasure." Mia smiled again and offered the man her hand. He swayed her. He danced wonderfully. The girl melted in his arms. Only now did she notice how gentle his hands were. The song ended, they had to go back to the table, and she desperately wanted this moment to never end. She felt so safe in his embrace, as safe as ever.
"Shall we sit down?
" "How about another dance?" The woman looked at the man, who just smiled and nodded. They danced like that for a long time, until it was time to go home. They both got into the car.
"You see, because we danced like that, I didn't manage to drink much anyway.
" "But if they catch us, they'll detect alcohol.
" "Oh well, hardly anyone drives here." Unfortunately, this time the boy was wrong. The police were driving behind them with their sirens blaring. Martin pulled over, but the police only drove past them. "Strange, shouldn't she have stopped us?"
"Yeah... Maybe something happened and she just happened to pass us?
" "Maybe we were lucky."
They headed home. They were going pretty slow for Martin. Sixty kilometers an hour. Suddenly, someone jumped in front of the car.
"Stop!" Mia shouted, but it was too late. They hit a man. They both quickly got out of the car. The man was about Martin's age, dressed all in black, his auburn hair slightly bloodied. The boy himself was unconscious. "What did we do!? We need to take him to the hospital.
" "No."
"Martin! Are you crazy? Something could have happened to him!"
"We'll take him home, he'll rest in my bed. We'll tell him we found him hit. Besides, the hospital's a long way off.
" "But if he's in more serious condition than we think, we'll take him to the hospital. Right?" The girl looked at Martin.
"Yes... Now let's get him out of here." Martin lifted the man onto his back with great difficulty and threw him, literally threw him, into the backseat.
"Are you crazy!? Do you want to break something more?"
"Come on, he'll be fine, get in, let's go."
They drove in silence. They reached the house. Martin lifted the man onto his back and, out of sight, they entered the house. He laid the boy on the bed.
"He's so heavy!
" "Don't complain, if you hadn't hit him, we wouldn't have him here.
" "If he hadn't jumped in front of me, he wouldn't be here, don't you think?"
"Okay, both sides are at fault. I'm going to bed. Good night."
"Where am I supposed to sleep?
" "On the couch downstairs. Good night." She turned and left.
"Good night," he said dully, looking at the stranger. He remembered his accident. Then he went downstairs.
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