"Okay, the last one," I said as I picked up the small shot glass filled with tequila.

I downed it in one go, scrunching my face as the bitter liquid went down my throat. As soon as the glass was empty, a lime wedge was shoved in my mouth.

I groaned when the bitter and sour danced together on my tongue, there was something oddly satisfying about tequila and the more I drank, the higher I felt.

"Atta girl!" Mitchell cheered from beside me. He grinned and brought his thumb to the corner of my lip, wiping away the lime juice dribble.

"You guys are wild," Owen who was seated next to Faith opposite from us, muttered in bewilderment.

"Or you're just boring." Mitchell threw his way before picking up a shot and downing it in no time. I returned the favor and brought a lime wedge to his lips when he was done.

He squinted his eyes and pulled his face as he sucked on the lime.

"Ah," He groaned under his breath before removing the wedge.

I smirked at him and placed my hand on his thigh, "How do you look so hot even when you're making an ugly face?"

Mitchell looked amused, his eyes were bloodshot and slightly droopy. The place was hot so the part of his chest which was exposed by the undone buttons on his shirt glistened in the dim-lit room. His cologne enveloped me as I leaned into him and maybe it was the alcohol speaking but Mitchell looks so damn sexy dressed all in black, his hair was messy and after all the lime licking, his lips looked extra pink and full.

"Oh yeah?" He smirked down at me.

I nodded, "It's almost as sexy as the face you make when you're on top of me and about to reach that euphoric finish-line."

Owen started coughing from across the table, Faith who wasn't fazed by our flirting anymore rolled her eyes and tapped Owen's back.

Ignoring them and everyone else around us, Mitchell's smirk grew wider and he leaned into me. He placed his large hand over my exposed upper thigh and gently caressed it, his eyes fell to my boobs, down to my legs and then up to my lips and eventually back to my eyes.

"Hmm, in that case," He hummed as his fingers moved around from the surface of my thigh to the inside, "Bonitas piernas, ¿A qué hora abren?"

If I had to widen my eyes any more, I was sure it would fall off. Mitchell speaking Spanish was hot but the words he said were hot and funny – at least my drunken brain thought so.

"Oh my God," Faith face palmed herself and I couldn't help but laugh at what he just said.

Owen looked confused at everyone, "What did he say?"

"You don't want to know," Faith replied.

"He said," I slowed down from my laughter, "I have nice legs and then he asked what time they open."

Mitchell removed his hand off my thigh and relaxed back on his seat, his eyes fell to me, "And you still haven't answered."

"Para ti, Guapo," I made a kissy face, "En cualquier momento."

"Vamanos!" Mitchell enthusiastically exclaimed, resulting in my laughter once more.

Owen looked like he was going to faint, I couldn't understand why he still reacted that way when he knew it was how Mitchell and I rolled.

"Do I even want to know what they said now?" He hesitantly asked, before taking a sip from his bourbon.

Faith sighed, "She just said, for you, handsome, anytime," Faith was so done with Owen's reaction which made it even funnier, "And then Mitchell said let's go."

"Dude, relax," Mitchell did his best not to laugh, "It's all good fun."

Owen was sulking once more, "Yeah well you'd understand how I feel if you were the one who had to hold Mila back from ripping your hair off."

Fair point, Owen was clearly still getting over the trauma from the many fights Mitchell and I had. It was obvious, we traumatized the poor guy.

"Do you prefer we go back to ripping each other's hair off?" Mitchell raised a brow, he then turned to me and added with a wink, "Because I can confidently say it's more fun ripping each other's clothes off."

Owen appeared to be having an asthma attack, I made a mental note to tell Faith to carry an inhaler in her purse whenever we went out together.

"Alright guys," Faith scolded us and leaned into Owen, "Stop it or you're going to be the death of my fiancé."

"Fine but I just want to say one thing," I said, trying my best to be serious, "You're lucky this table separates us because you did not want to see what Mitchell's hands were doing a few minutes ago."

"Mila!" Faith scolded and Mitchell and I burst out into laughter. It was so much fun to mess with Owen and we went overboard on purpose around him.

Just then a song I liked by Ricky Martin came on, people around us were running off to the dance floor.

I looked doe-eyed at Mitchell; we were both drunk enough to dance together so I hoped he wouldn't say no.

Mitchell picked up another shot, downed it, and then offered me his hand. I grinned triumphantly at him before placing my hand in his.

Owen and Faith followed us to the crowded dance floor of the club, couples were dancing around us, and my hips already started moving to the Latina beat.

Mitchell spun me around and both of us were smiling and laughing as we danced together.

'I feel a premonition that girl's gonna make me fall

She's into new sensations new kicks in the candlelight

She's got a new addiction for every day and night...'

Mitchell placed his hands on my waist and pulled me closer, we both moved our hips in perfect synchronization to the beat. I threw my one arm in the air and the other hand sat around his neck.

"She'll make you take your clothes off and go dancing in the rain," I sang loudly while I danced.

"She'll make you live her crazy life, but she'll take away your pain," Mitchell sang loudly.

"Like a bullet to your brain," We sang together and laughed while we danced.

"Upside, inside out she's living la vida loca, she'll push and pull you down, living la vida loca," We sang in unison at the top of our lungs. We were having so much fun, dancing, singing, and throwing our heads back in laughter.

Mitchell let go of my waist and spun me around a few times until my back was to his front. He brought his lips to my ears and sang, "She will wear you out living la vida loca,"

He let out a laugh and wrapped one arm around my neck while moving his hips against my butt.

"Do you know what I just realized?" He said loudly in my ear so I could hear him over the music.

"What?" I yelled back, curious about his spontaneous revelation.

"This song is like a Mila anthem," He chuckled, "It suits you so well."

I couldn't disagree with that, some of the lyrics did match me – at least the way I lived my life over the last couple of weeks with Mitchell.

"Oh yeah?" I was amused, "Are you implying I'm making you live my crazy life?"

He placed his free hand on my hips when he said, in an attempted sexy tone, "Not sure about that but the way you're moving your hips right now is driving me insane."

Before I could respond he added, "I'm having an amazing time and it's thanks to you," He then placed a long, slightly wet kiss on my cheek before he spun me around to face him. With a lot of smiles and laughter, we carried on dancing, forgetting everyone and everything around us.

***

'I can't believe I miss this.'

I read the message which was sent underneath the video attachment. My heart felt like it had been sinking, slowly and gradually as if someone was constantly using it as a punching bag.

I opened the video attachment once more and watched the two minutes clip again for what felt like the hundredth time since I received it.

I watched as Mitchell spun me around and danced perfectly with me to the rhythm, the smiles on our faces never left. A faint smile grew on my face when I watched him place a kiss on my cheek as if it were a normal affair before we went back to dancing. The clip then stopped, with my neck tilted up facing Mitchell, my hands around his neck, and my eyes closed from laughing. Mitchell gazed down at me with a smile, his hands on my waist and, his dimple fully visible in the dim lighting.

I recalled that night, we went out with Faith and Owen to a club, it was a week before Macy's wedding. Mitchell and I were so drunk that we slept in the entire next day, not even the Clarke remedy helped my headache. But it was worth it because we had such a good time, we spent ninety-nine percent of the night laughing.

I didn't even realize that we were being recorded by Faith until she sent over the video thirty minutes ago, we were randomly texting when she forwarded it and said she missed me and the many nights we spent together over the last couple of weeks.

'Owen even misses M&M moments!'

I read over the next text, and sadness erupted in my heart, Owen and Faith had no idea about how downhill everything went in a matter of a day. When I received the video, I couldn't help but reminisce about that night, from the tequila shots to the dirty talk and dancing. It seemed like such a long time ago, but in reality, it was only a week ago.

I hated what happened between Mitchell and me, it had only been a day since our fight, but each second felt like days. I was angry at him for not hearing me out properly and for not understanding my point, but I also understood how he felt. However, all of that didn't change the fact that I missed him, I missed being in his company, messing with him, annoying him, laughing with him, and mostly just being near him.

I glanced at the image of the video which stopped playing and felt a pang in my heart, I wished things were different because, for the first time, I opened up to someone and was left disappointed. It bloody stung, I was trying to erase everything from my mind and put up the walls I let down for him, but it was a lot harder than I thought.

It was a little after two-pm and I was lounging on the couch in the living room, my legs were sprawled out in front of me while I scrolled through my phone. I exhaled and closed the video, deciding to text Faith back later.

I opened my social media in hopes to distract my brain from thinking of Bitchell but as soon as the app opened, curiosity got the better of me and I went through my posts, searching for a few specific ones.

I wanted to see if he eventually deleted the comments I left on my pictures on his behalf, I scrolled through the other comments until I spotted his username. An involuntary smile grew onto my lips as I read over the comments, I recalled how much he insisted on deleting them, yet he kept them despite the road trip being over.

I then clicked on his username and it immediately took me to his profile, I had never really looked at his page before but here I was, like some adolescent stalking her crush – not that I had a crush on Mitchell.

I scrolled past the top three pictures, one was of him and his mom which was recently taken, another of Barry the Jaguar, and the third was a very handsome picture of himself. I scrolled further down until I reached the first few pictures he ever posted and at least five of them were of a much younger Mitchell and Liza.

'He couldn't bring himself to delete the pictures.'

I couldn't deny that they looked good together, almost perfect. A beardless Mitchell wore a wide grin and his eyes sparkled with happiness in all the pictures. Liza commented on all of them with hearts and that caused a weird churning in my stomach.

'Are you seriously making the mistake of comparing what I shared with Liza over our summer rendezvous?'

His words flashed in my mind over and over like an annoying flickering light and no matter how many times I tried to turn it off, it never went away. He called what we shared summer rendezvous. Which meant that it didn't mean anything to him, I was just a distraction – a rebound to take his mind and heart off Liza.

The sadness I felt was replaced with anger, I refused to be used by anyone. I thought he enjoyed my company, that we were having a great summer but no, to him I was the perfect muse to fix his broken heart.

At least I accepted I was a hypocrite but he blindly refused to accept I was only his distraction, which made him a big fat ugly liar.

To think I sacrificed time I could've spent with my mother to be with him, to be his date to a stupid wedding where all he did was mope and whine, all to make him feel better. I thought he considered me a friend but boy was I wrong.

"He's cute," My thoughts were put to a halt by Mandy, "But who's the pretty blonde?"

I immediately exited the page and mumbled, "Not me."

I could feel Mandy's gaze on me for a long while and I could imagine what was going through her mind.

"Do you want it to be you?" She asked softly.

I turned my neck and shook my head, "Nope, I'm out of his league."

Mandy let out a small laugh, "That you are but," She said seriously, "Is he the Clarke boy?"

"Mitchell," I clarified, "It sounds so weird when you and dad call him that. But yes, that's him."

"From your sullen mood all day, I take it your talk with him didn't go well yesterday?" Mandy asked and I frowned, how did she find out I went to see Mitchell?

It then struck me, only one person couldn't keep a secret, at that moment I understood why David got mad at his brother; Eric couldn't keep a secret for the life of him.

"Eric," I muttered bitterly under my breath.

"It's not his fault, it just slipped out," Mandy defended him, "But I promise, I didn't mention it to your father and I assure you, Eric won't either."

I looked at her gratefully, I knew I could trust Mandy because if there was anyone who could understand and handle my dad's paranoia, it was her.

I took in a breath, "Mitchell isn't my boyfriend, he's just a friend."

'At least, he was a friend.'

I began to tell Mandy how we ended up going on a road trip, I explained that we were on our way to stop Faith and Owen from getting married and then went on to tell her how a weird bond was created between us.

I then went on to tell her how I ended up staying back, I left out the part about my mom's Alzheimer's because that was something, I knew she would tell my father. But I did tell her about Liza and how she was the reason I stayed on for an additional two weeks.

"So, despite spending all that time together, you two are still just friends?" Mandy questioned once I was done explaining.

"Well, we were," I honestly said, "But we had a fallout and now... well I don't know what we are now."

Mandy pursed her lips and seemed to be in deep thoughts for a while until she broke the silence, "And his ex, Liza is it?" I nodded and she continued, "Are they in contact since the wedding?"

I shrugged, I honestly had no idea because after the wedding Mitchell got wasted and passed out and then the next day, everything went downhill quickly. However, Mandy raised a good question, I didn't think about it but there was a high possibility Mitchell was in contact with her again. After all, he was texting her nonstop during the road trip, and then after Moab he stopped, but nothing stopped him from starting to talk to her once more.

I felt bitter, for his sake, I hoped he didn't give in to her need for attention from him, he made some progress at the wedding but then again, ninety-percent of that was because of me.

I didn't even know why I was thinking it over so much, it was his life and if he wanted to be an idiot, there was nothing I could do about it.

"I don't know," I answered Mandy, "And honestly, I don't care."

Mandy seemed to be scrutinizing my features before she asked, "Are you sure?"

What a stupid thing to ask, "Of course I'm sure," I stated, "Mitchell is – was just a friend."

Mandy offered me a small smile, "I'm glad to hear that and not for the same reasons as your father but," She paused and seemed to think over her words carefully before she continued, "I want you to fall hopelessly in love with someone who will love you wholeheartedly, I want you to have a love story that will sweep you off your feet. I want you to know how it feels to be the best thing to someone, for someone to look at you like you're their entire world."

She reached for my hand, "If anyone deserves that, it's you."

I scrunched my face, "Ew!"

Mandy rolled her eyes, "Pull your face as much as you want but deep down you know you want that too."

I shook my head, "I really don't." And I meant it, my life was too complex, and I was too afraid of opening myself and my heart to someone like that. By giving someone else my heart, I was giving them a key to completely make or break me, and I always liked to be in the driver's seat of my life, I didn't want anyone else to have such a hold on me.

"It's not all that bad you know," Mandy said, "To have your person to share every little joy and sorrow with, to be able to cry and laugh in front of them without any hesitation and to be unconditionally loved by them."

"Are you talking about Dad?" I asked because if she were, I was finding it very hard to believe my father could do all of those things.

A sad smile spread across her face and I immediately regretted asking her that, I opened my mouth to tell her that she didn't need to answer, but she beat me to speak.

"Your father loves me, I don't doubt it for a second but," She paused, "I believe when a person falls deeply, madly in love for someone, they never truly let go of them. They can move on, but a piece of their heart will always belong to that one person who once consumed them with love."

Mitchell told me something very similar, he always spoke about one true love and now it made sense, all those times he said that he was speaking about his feelings for Liza. That's why despite everything she put him through, he always forgave her and loved her no matter what. I supposed that's what loving some unconditionally meant – to love with no limit or reservation.

"And a piece of Damien's heart will always belong to Carly," She forced a smile and I felt awful for her. Mandy was one of the best people I knew, she was kind, warm, affectionate, and understanding – she deserved the kind of love story she wished for me.

"Which is why I want you to be the true love of someone's life, I want you to own their entire heart and not a percent less," She said sincerely, "Because I know how hard it can sometimes be to love a broken man."

"Why do you put up with him?" I blurted. I knew I was stepping over a line because it was none of my business, but I knew Mandy was too good for my father.

"Because he has my whole heart," She smiled, "Don't get me wrong, he makes me very happy and he gives me as much of himself as possible, but I guess I'm a romantic and always wished for the perfect fairy-tale love story."

"Which fairy tale are you two talking about?" Our conversation was interrupted by the devil himself.

I looked up to see my dad standing in front of me, with his hands in his pockets observing us closely behind his frameless glasses. For a brood, my dad was still handsome and didn't look his age. He was a bit of a fitness and health freak so he regularly worked out and always ate healthy to keep fit and to stay in shape, his hair was dark apart