MICKEY
1817 Words
CHAPTER 4
MICKEY
Mahalia feels a little happy growing in the back of her mind and she is utterly surprised that he still remembers her even though they just met once.
“Y-You remember me?” She asks bashfully.
The man nods and with that head nodding makes Mahalia feel a little giddy deep down inside, “Of course I do.” He answers her. “You’re that lovely waitress from that Filipino restaurant who served me pork humba.”
She smiles happily as soon as she finds out that he remembers her clearly. Not many people remember little details but this man does and it makes her surprisingly glad. She couldn’t even help but chuckle under throat as she feels shy being called lovely.
“You jog too?” He asks, making the conversation calmer as he feels her a little tensed.
Mahalia nods, “Yeah… I… I don’t often do it but… I…Well, I needed it.”
The man nods, “You wanted to get your mind off of things?” He is inquisitive.
Mahalia takes a pause and finally nods, “Sort of like that.”
“I do that too.” He admits with a handsome smile that makes Mahalia feel like her underwear is being eaten by her ass. “You look exhausted. You want to grab some refreshment? It’s good to keep yourself hydrated after a jog.”
Mahalia blushes at his offer as she thinks to herself that there was nowhere on earth that a handsome man like him would ask her to grab something to drink. “Oh! Um, it would be nice…” She trails as she thinks to herself that she did not have any money with her. “I was planning to go back home and make something for myself.”
He nods, “That would be nice too but… It would be much better and more fun if you’re with me.” He winks at her with his cheeky smile.
He freaking winked. She thought to herself as she bites her inner cheek.
“Umm… I… Well…” She was too embarrassed to say she did not have any money with her because she does not want him to think that she is just trying to get advantage. “It’s really nice of you but--”
“Come on.” He cuts her off in a friendly manner. “I would be hurt if you would say no because you’re the first one to decline me.”
Mahalia feels a little pressured to turn this handsome man down but then she does not even know him so she does not need to feel obligated to go with him.
“It’s on me. Come on.” He encourages more with a smile.
Mahalia eventually gives in as they walk along the streets together while they head to the man’s favorite place to get refreshments. She was hoping that he would not take her to his place and r**e her. She knows she was having a lot of different thoughts about him even though he is good looking but she also knows she does not need to put her guard down just because he looks like a God.
As they continue to walk, Mahalia listens to the man who continues to talk about how Cape Town is so different from his own hometown. He tells her casually that he feels more free here and that he was here because he needed to look after someone. As they kept their conversation in a friendly way, Mahalia felt at ease.
“We’re here.” The man hollers.
Mahalia stares at the two-storey restaurant in front of her and instant worry fills her head since she does not want to feel a little indebted to this man who took her to a fancy looking restaurant called as Michele’s which was written in cursive. “W-What are we doing here?” She croaked.
The man smiles at Mahalia, “They have the best refreshments in town. C’mon.”
“But--” restaurant
The man cuts her off and grabs her wrist gently, “Let’s go.”
She thinks to herself that this was a bad bad idea to be here but then she shyly follows the man inside. They walk together as Mahalia begins to worry even more about taking further steps inside since she has never been in such a fancy restaurant before in this town. They were welcomed by a smiling waiter who led them to a vacant table where they were then served with the menu.
Mahalia looks around and finds that the restaurant had a lot of aesthetic and modern interior design which made the entire place look a little more expensive than she thought it was. She finds all of it amazing to her eyes because she has never been in such a fancy place before even when she was still in the Philippines, she was that poor.
“What about you?” Her attention turns to the man. “What do you want to drink?” The man asks her as soon as he ordered for himself.
Mahalia looked back at him sitting across her as he was smiling tight-lipped. “I recommend the Fresh Strawberry Mint Lemonade.” He tells her.
“Oh umm…” She trails off and stares at the menu anxiously. The prices made her feel uneasy on her seat since a single drink’s price was far too expensive.
“Or the strawberry basil margarita mocktail.” He adds.
“Can I just have water?” She asks politely.
He laughs at her, “Come on, you can order anything you want to.”
“I… I will just have service water.”
“You’re breaking my heart.”
She exhales, “Okay. Ummm…Is that an alcoholic beverage?” She asks.
“I think it’s only 5% alcohol but you can add more to it if you want to.”
“Oh, I am not much of a drinker.” She shyly smiles at him.
He nods, “So should we order the first one?”
“I would love to have the latter. Thank you.”
He nods again as he turns his attention to the waiter, “5%.” He instructs as the waiter nods with a respectful smile. “You can give the other order a little later.”
“Yes, sir.”
As soon as the waiter left, the man turns her attention to Mahalia, the woman who got her attention the moment he saw her earlier. “I guess we have not really exchanged names, haven’t we?” He asks her.
She realizes too, “Oh, yeah. I didn’t even notice.”
He smiles as he extends his hand, “I’m Mickey.”
“Like the mouse?” She asks which causes Mickey to laugh aloud.
“Oh God no one has ever asked me that.” He chuckles deeply under her breath.
“Sorry.” She shies away as soon as she realizes what she just said. She just compared this handsome man to a talking mouse.
“Oh no, don’t worry about it. But yeah, like that talking mouse.” He smiles at her still laughing at the joke she pulled off.
She accepts his hand anyways and as soon as she did, she was starstruck with his handsome face and infectiously handsome smile, “I’m Ali.”
“Ah.” He commented with a cheeky, “Like the boxer?”
Mahalia realizes who he meant and both of them ended up laughing as soon as she got his joke. “Muhammad Ali, quite but not close. Good one though.” She tells her.
He chuckles at his stupid joke, “Right back at ya.”
She smiles.
“It’s nice to meet you Ali.”
She pulls back her hand, “Y-You too.”
“Does Ali stand for anything? Allison?”
“No, very far from your guess.”
“Oh, do enlighten me.”
“Mahalia.” She tells Mickey.
His brows raised, “Mahalia.” He says her name and it sends shivers down her spine as she stares into his lips and how he said. “That’s a very nice and unique name.”
She nods, “It is kind of unique.”
“Does it mean anything?”
“My mom said she read it in a book and it meant tenderness. Actually, back where I came from, Mahal means love. At first I thought it meant that way but I guess it was not even close to it.”
He nods, “It sounds like a nice name.”
“Thank you.” She answers shyly and thinks differently as soon as she compliments her name that she never liked to begin with.
“So does that mean you are not from here?”
She nods her head subtly, “Yeah, I just arrived a couple of months ago, trying to fit in.”
He chuckles, “Me too.”
“You just arrived here as well?”
He shakes his head while chuckling, “No. I mean, I am trying to fit in here too.”
“Oh.” The word escaped her mouth.
Handsome, the word that never left her mind the more she stares into him.
“I see. I thought you were a local.” She answers.
He smiles weakly, “No. I used to live way far from here. Although it is beginning to feel like home.”
She nods.
“Where are you from Ali?” He questions.
“The Philippines.”
His brows raised, “Oh nice! I have heard so many things about the Philippines. One of the best beaches in the world and it makes me want to go when I talk to my friends who have been there.”
She smiles as he hears Mickey praise the land where she was from because most people would say a lot of bad things about the Philippines due to significant differences.
“I would love to travel there someday.” He adds.
“You should. You’ll love it. People are humble and very hospitable. The sea foods are amazing and everything else is simple especially when you’re living in the countryside.”
He nods, “Shy too.” He gestures his hand, “Like you.”
“Oh..” She feels a little shy. “I… I am sorry.”
Mickey smiles, “No worries. Just ease up a little. I am just a normal guy trying to make conversation with you.”
She nods and smiles shyly while their drinks are served. “So tell me about yourself Ali. I would love to know.” He says politely.
Why? She mentally asked herself and tried to tell her conscience not to even fall for this man’s handsome face.
- Writer
