"Did you get tired?" Erik asked Mia when they were inside his car.
The young lady smiled at that question although she still couldn't stop herself from laughing.
Erik's question was meaningful. And when she glanced at the young man, she saw the same message of emotion in his eyes.
"W-What kind of question is that Enrique?" she said as she couldn't stop giggling later on.
The car Erik was driving was already on the way to her house. Because they have to go there first for the documents she needed for their marriage.
The smile still didn't disappear from Erik's lips when he grabbed her hand and kissed it. Because of that, Mia just stared at her lover's face, whose eyes were focused on the road.
"You're not tired, are you?" Erik asked again, glancing at her for a moment and then winking mischievously.
Mia gasped violently because she hadn't prepared for the young man's move. And because of her reaction, she heard the weak laugh released by her boyfriend.
"Why are you laughing at me?" she asked slightly annoyed then tried to take the young man's hand back but she couldn't. Erik's grip tightened when he felt her attempt.
"I'm not making fun of you," he replied.
When Mia said that, she turned to Erik, who glanced at her exactly.
"Really? I just heard that you laughed at me," she insisted, laughing softly later.
At that point, Erik stopped the car on the side of the road. That's not for any other reason. That was because they were opposite her house.
"I just can't stop being amused by you," Erik said, facing her and then slightly pinching her left cheek.
Mia's eyebrows immediately met because of what she heard. "What?" she asked still confused.
That's when Erik grabbed both her shoulders and carefully turned her towards him. When their eyes met, his mouth twitched to explain to her.
“I can't help feeling amused by you. Because even if something has happened to us several times and we are about to get married, but with just a simple gesture like a wink, it makes you breathe deeply and blush," he gently explained to her.
Because of what she heard, Mia bit her bottom lip. She also stopped smiling but she failed.
"Do I really have that much of an effect on you?" Erik asked in a teasing tone.
Mia shook her head and jokingly slapped Erik's shoulder. "Stop it!" she said she still couldn't stop giggling.
Erik stared at her intently for a while after that. "Well, when I look at you, I still can't believe that we're getting married. It's like I can't believe that what our teachers used to pair us up has paid off."
Warm feelings caressed Mia's heart because of Erik's words. Then she opened her mouth to speak with a smile.
"I couldn't believe how many women were obsessed with you before. In the long list of your girlfriends, you ended up with me as well," she said followed by a gentle laugh.
That's when Erik bent down and kissed her on the forehead. "Thank you, Mia," he whispered.
Mia closed her eyes not only because of Erik's warm lips that touched her forehead again after he said those words. Even more than the fact that it was as if a warm hand touched her heart and gently caressed it. That's why in the end, she couldn't stop herself from hugging her boyfriend tightly.
For a few moments, they remained in that order. Until Mia thought of resigning because they needed to act.
"Yes, by the way, bring the dress that mother gave you," Erik said when they entered the house.
She stared at the young man with questions in her eyes. She was about to open her mouth to ask but before she could, Erik was already in front of her.
"Do me a favor this time, okay?" he said smiling.
She just nodded and returned a sweet smile to the young man. Mia didn't even ask. Because in the tone of Erik's speech, it seems like he wants to say, 'no more questions,'. That's why she did just that.
Just like what they had discussed before. She just took the documents she needed, and they left.
"Sorry if we have to go through all this. Because I don't know any judge. You know that I spent a lot of time in another country, don't you?"
That's what Erik said when the two of them were eating at a fast food restaurant near the municipality where they took care of what they needed for their wedding.
The tasks are not too difficult after all. They just need to attend counseling before getting married. For Mia, there is no problem with all that. What is important to her is that what she has been dreaming about for a long time will come true. And that was to be with Erik for life.
"Don't worry about that," she said with a soft laugh.
"But, Mia, I want to give you a church wedding," the young man sighed afterward.
Mia smiled again at what she heard. "It's okay even if not," she said grabbing Erik's hand and squeezing it gently. "You can't measure how much we love each other. What's important to me is being with you. And to be your wife is the most important achievement I got in my whole life," she said truthfully.
"Yeah, I understand, and I feel the same way. But you don't know how much I want to give you a grand wedding," Erik explained.
Mia felt secretly happy to hear what the man she was going to marry said. But if anything, he doesn't feel good right now. As his girlfriend, she knew she had an obligation to explain it. She had to find a way to ease Erik's mood.
"I'm just a simple person, Erik. You know that from childhood, don't you? I am happy with the simplest thing you can give. What's important to me is that I'm with you and we'll never be apart."
When she said that, the young man shook his head one after another. “Mia, you don't understand me. I can give you a grand wedding, you know that, don't you? But because our time is limited because of Bernie's trouble and threats to you, I can't do that," he explained to her.
Mia bent down and sighed. At that moment, emotions were mixed with her feelings.
"Y-You don't know how much you made me happy because of what you said, Erik," she said raising her head and then meeting the young man's gaze on her.
Smiling, Erik reached for her left cheek and caressed it carefully with his hand.
"I will marry you in the church. This civil wedding, it's just an assurance that no one can take you away from me," he said in a tone that exudes firmness.
Mia nodded then bit her bottom lip to prevent the complete loss of her repressed emotions.
“Anywhere, Erik. What's important to me is being with you. That's all I want. Nothing else," she replied.
And that's because the table they occupy is not that big. It wasn't hard for Erik to reach out to her for a simple kiss on the lips.
After all, that fast food restaurant was full of people eating. But that didn't stop her boyfriend from kissing her. And even though shyness is natural to Mia. At that moment she felt different. That was the first time Erik kissed her in a public place. So maybe the feeling that she's so beautiful is something she can't deny.