Page 42 of King of Omen

The glimpse of Mia with a lover, so close, so intimate, was a brutal awakening.

A slap of reality that shattered the fantasy I had clung to for so long.

I turned my face away, gazing with wooden coldness to the other side of the street, unable to stomach the sight.

‘Boss?’ Mauri rasped.

‘Get me the hell out of here.’

MIA

Tony’s kiss came as an utter surprise.

One second, we were laughing about some famous comedian’s joke; the next, he was crushing his mouth on mine.

I was so surprised I didn’t know how to react.

His lips were warm and soft, and his heavy cologne enveloped me.

For a moment, I was suspended in time, and then Tony pulled away, his eyes glistening with desire.

‘You okay?’ he muttered.

I took a deep breath, trying to gather my thoughts.

‘Yeah, I’m fine,’ I whispered.

But I knew I wasn’t. I was shaken, caught unawares.

We stood for a few more moments, our bodies close, mine locked in shock mode.

Tony stared at me with longing, waiting for my response.

‘I need you to know that while you’re a great guy, I don’t see you that way,’ I uttered at last.

At that moment, I thought I picked up on the purr of an engine starting.

I squinted into the shadowed road and spotted a car pull out a few hundred metres away, make a U-turn and disappear.

For some strange reason, I fixated on the receding red tail lights, swamped with a sense of bereftness so profound that I could scarcely breathe; I almost teared up.

‘You alright?’ Tony asked, concern etched on his face.

I took a deep breath and nodded, trying to regain my composure.

‘Yeah, I’m fine,’ I said again, my voice a whisper. ‘Just a little overwhelmed, I guess.’

Tony’s hand clasped mine, offering comfort and support.

‘It’s okay,’ he muttered. ‘I get it.’

I saw that he did not and gave him a sad smile. ‘I think we’re best off as friends.’

His face blanched. ‘Scusa, if I offended you.’

‘Oh no, it’s not you, it’s -.’

I had no words to describe what I was experiencing.

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