EMBARRASSING MOMENTS OF MARIA
‘Maria Papantoniou, you’ve really done it this time’ Maria muttered under her breath.
Her eyes stayed glued to the ground as she fiddled with her fingers. This definitely topped the list of the most embarrassing things that had ever happened to her in her lifetime of 24 years. She had never wished to be hauled out of existence more desperately than she wished now. They had both heard it, the ripping of her gown right when she bent down to pick up her purse. So maybe wearing a fitted gown wasn’t exactly the best idea.
The gown ripped vertically, right where her natal cleft was and no doubt, her pink panties were probably showcasing themselves proudly since the color was a contrast to the silvery-white gown. She hoped Reid didn’t notice but unfortunately, he did. If the questioning look he gave her when the sound of her dress ripping wasn’t enough proof then his goofy stare definitely was. She couldn’t stand it. She couldn’t even move a step, literally as that would pull more attention.
They both went motionless for a dragged-out minute when Reid casually walked towards her and pulled her out from in between the door. He stood behind her in the process so nobody would see anything. He pushed her gently against a wall when they walked a few steps away from the doors and took two steps back after the action. The scary thought that he was leaving her to deal with her shame alone crossed her mind but she didn’t dare look into his eyes.
“I’ll be back soon,” He tapped her shoulders softly and Maria nodded, still looking down.
Reid pulled out his car keys and briskly walked towards where she remembered the car was. Through the corner of her eyes, she saw him go into his car that was parked outside. A while after, he came in with a black sweater hung on his arm, her eyes widened slightly. She wondered if Reid was going to help without teasing at all.
He stood behind her and bent slightly to tie the grey sweater around her waist firmly. For the first time since the incident happened, she looked up at him, however, perplexed at his action.
“It happens, nothing to be embarrassed about,” He said in a low tone as he looked down at her. His arms were at both sides of her and his figure hunched over. People around them probably thought they were having a romantic conversation.
“You don’t even want to know half of my embarrassing experiences, I promise you,” Reid looked away for a brief second with a pained expression as if reminiscing about his past experiences put him at so much discomfort.
“What? You? Do you ever have embarrassing experiences?” Maria couldn’t help but let out a little laughter. It was funny to imagine Reid in his expensive suits and tall stance embarrassing himself in public.
“You’d be surprised,” He tilted his head slightly while maintaining eye contact. His lips wobbled a bit, threatening a breathtaking smile. “Come on, let’s head back to the car and get you to a clothing store.”
Maria nodded and followed him back to the car, relieved that Reid was not being his usual self today. Not only did he talk to her about her snarl, but he also didn’t tease her about this either. Today was indeed a good day for Reid, she concluded. But then again,
Maria wondered, was Reid ever his usual self with her? She didn’t notice a hint of the attitude he gave her when he talked with Athina.
“Relax, it’s not that bad,” Reid’s voice invaded her thoughts soothingly. She distinctly noticed that his voice wasn’t filled with malice as it usually was. Maria hadn’t noticed as she was lost in thought and he probably thought she was still embarrassed.
“Once,” He started. His jaw was clenched tightly and his eyes wandered around the road as if he was uncomfortable. “My father walked in on me helping myself in the bathroom.” He completed, this time his eyes were glued completely on the road and his neck was a slightly deeper shade than usual.
“Helping yourself as in-” Maria gaped at him, eyes widened, mouth agape. She was doing all she could not burst into laughter.
“In my defense, I was a teenager.” Reid looked at her then, making defensive gestures but the sides of his eyes crinkled slightly, and his lips wobbled now and then.
Maria couldn’t hold it in much longer, she released peals of laughter which eventually led to a slight cough that meant she was choking on her laughter. She clutched the car door as she tried to contain the laughter. It didn’t help that Reid was all red with embarrassment. There was no way in hell she would let him live this down.
“So much for making you feel better,” Reid tutted and shook his head at her. “Who would think someone so prim-looking would have such a loud way of laughing,” Reid commented lowly but she caught it.
Maria recalled when Athina would tell her she laughed like a hyena. It was no joke, her laughter was hilarious and it didn’t fit her personality.
“Okay pinky, we’re here,” Reid announced shortly before the car came to a halt in front of a clothing store nearby.
“Pinky?” Maria gasped, “That’s not fair!” But Reid had already gotten down from the car and began walking to the clothing store, the hint of a smile playing on his lips.
Maria scurried after him and they both walked into the large clothing store together. The place wasn’t too crowded thankfully. Before they could take another step in the direction of the Jeans Section, a representative appeared in front of them wearing a bright smile. She was dressed in a white button-up shirt and black office pants.
“Good day, what might you be purchasing from Penny’s clothing store today?” She chirped and Maria internally cringed at her high-pitched voice, she was so bubbly. A little too bubbly.
“I’d like to get sweatpants,” Maria piped right before Reid could reply to the question. She decided it was best if she wore something a little free this time, she had tons of jeans anyway.
“Exactly, I was going to suggest that. You have a little too much hip action going on,” Reid said in his usual way of saying things that meant just to her hearing. The smile on the employee’s face dimmed a bit as she looked between the both of them for a brief second. She hadn’t caught what Reid said and probably thought he was flirting.
“Shut up,” Maria retorted and nodded at the employee to lead them.
“Right this way please,” She said I’m a sing-song way and led them to the departments that had sweatpants. While Maria started the selection process to pick her favorite, she saw the employee walk up to Reid and they seemed to be having a conversation. However, from her body language, Maria could tell it wasn’t a flirty one.
“No,” Reid said in a finalized tone, when Maria looked at him, he looked like he was bored of the conversation. His eyes were on his phone as he leaned against a pillar. Their gazes caught and he subtly tilted his head in the direction of the door as if to say ‘we should start heading out.
Maria picked up the pink sweatpants that had caught her fancy, matching them with a black plain top before they headed to pay for it. When they were done, she went to the restroom to change into the new sweatpants and put her torn gown in a polythene bag.
They headed out immediately and he started driving towards Colton and Athina’s.
“What was that about?” Maria hesitantly asked.
“She wanted me to give official good reviews about the store. I don’t see the need to. Their customer service is poor, they only gave us that special treatment because they know who I am, nothing more. They don’t deserve it, every customer should be treated specially,” He explained, one hand on the steering wheel, the other casually laying on his right thigh.
“That makes sense,” Maria agreed with him, nodding along.
“So I’ve always wanted to ask, why did you dye your hair?” Reid had a confused look on his face as he glanced at her briefly before concentrating on the road once more.
“It’s my natural hair color, got it from my dad,” Maria said proudly, if there was anything she took pride in, it was the fact that her hair color was rare. Reid’s eyebrows shot up in surprise.
“For real?” His right hand delved into her hair and he took a piece in his hands, taking it down to the tips. Maria froze in her chair, which felt so good that she couldn’t stop an aggressive blush from taking over her face. “Soft,” Reid whispered before retracting his hands. The car went silent for some seconds as Maria tried to regain her composure.
“Why does Athina call you Minnie?” He asked out of the blue, it was almost like he had been storing these questions for when he’d finally have a conversation with her.
“The story behind that is not all that, I promise you.” Maria waved her hands dismissively, a chuckle escaped her lips.
“You got to hear one of my embarrassing stories, I get to hear one of yours. It’s a new rule now,” He said adamantly.
“Fine,” Maria huffed “I was obsessed with bows when I was in high school. Bows on my hair, bag, shoes, everything. And they were all in bright pink, some had glitter on it.”
“So you were one of those girls huh?”
“Sadly,” Maria sighed.
“Seems you got over it in college. Except you still have bright pink glittered panties with bows on them,” Ge said nonchalantly but a gasp escaped her lips. She had one on presently and earned her the name pinky.
Reid seemed to observe her reaction because a mischievous smile framed his lips.
“So you still are one of those girls,” He voiced. “Cute.”