A/N- Long time no update. Sorry guys, but I just felt the flow going for my other stories...I'm feeling really guilty right now. And schwartzibrow, I'm honored you're reading this story, trust me! Anyways, you know the drill. Starts out with Mia's POV, then switches to Michael whenever you see the little line thingy and vice versa. So, I'll stop yapping, sorry.

Chapter 5: Equestrian Lessons

I woke up the next morning to a harassed-looking Julia. "Mia! Wake up! You're thirty minutes behind schedule!"

"Shit," I muttered as I stumbled out of bed quickly and ran into the bathroom to put in my contacts and vigorously brush my teeth.

"Hurry up!" Julia cried from the other side of my bathroom door. "You know what Paolo's like when he's behind schedule."

Unfortunately I knew only too well.

I swished some Listerine around in my mouth for a little while, spit it out, and ran into the chair in front of my dresser. Immediately, Paolo came in giving me a scowl of irritated disapproval.

While he vindictively pulled a comb through my hair, I contemplated the night before.

The moments I remembered most vividly were when I gazed into Michael's eyes. He had just shown me the waterfall in the gardens and his eyes twinkled happily. He snaked his arms around my waist and pulled me gently closer to him. "Mia…" He murmured as his face got closer and closer.

At that moment, alarms went off in the back of my head. I pulled away gently and smiled. "Thank you, Michael," I whispered softly. And I turned around and ran back into the palace before my treacherous feet had the chance to run back to him.

I sighed. That was way too close.

I can't get too close to Michael again.

Not until I sort out through my feelings.

And, I have to explore other options. I mean, come on, I'm surrounded by fifteen hot guys who think I'm the coolest thing since sliced bread. This kind of opportunity doesn't normally come around everyday for me.

Julia walked into my room and put my outfit for the day on my bed. A pair of comfortable jeans, a snug white t-shirt, and designer sneakers. "Where am I going and who with?"

She looked down at the clipboard that seemed to be attached to her bosom. "Uh…Alex, Dennis, Vincent, and you're going riding. Oops, don't need the sneakers then." She took them to my closet and came back with my riding boots.

I pushed away all thoughts of Michael and focused on my dates today. I was especially interested in getting to know more about Dennis. He was intriguing, with his soft, wavy blonde hair and his piercing green stare. It didn't have quite the effect that Michael's did on me, but it came closer than anyone else's.

After Paolo was done, I changed my clothes and pinned the little microphone on, waiting for Julia and her crew to get situated for my interview.

"So, Mia, how was last night's dinner with Michael?"

I could almost feel my eyes glaze over as I reminisced. "It was beautiful," I breathed. "We had a nice dinner conversation, then he took me into the gardens and led me to the most romantic sight of my life."

"Did it bring back fond memories?"

"Yes. It did."

"Are you excited about today's lineup?"

"Yes, I am. I've actually been looking forward to getting to know Dennis more. He's really interesting and really attractive."

She raised her eyebrows. "So…you're not just focusing on Michael?"

I shook my head firmly. "No. I have to be open to other options. We went out before, but I still like the idea of different people. I have to get over him sooner or later."

I slowly sat up and groggily blinked. As my eyes focused, I found Dennis pulling on a blue t-shirt and a pair of jeans. "You're today, huh?"

He nodded. "Yep."

I smirked and leaned back with my hands behind my head. "You better make this one count, my friend. She's not forgetting me anytime soon."

He grimaced at me as he tied his sneakers. "Yeah, don't worry. I'll knock all thoughts of you out of her head soon enough."

"Where are you going?"

"Horseback riding."

"You might want to put on a pair of boots instead."

"Well seeing as I don't have any, that's going to be kind of difficult."

"You'll regret it later, my friend."

He raised his eyebrows. "Since when did you become the expert on riding?"

"My mom and dad forced me to take equestrian lessons. After the first one on sneakers, I begged my parents to by me boots."

After a short silence, he asked, "How was your date with Mia, anyway?"

I grinned as flashes of her smile floated around in front of my mind's eye. "It was great."

"Care to be more detailed?"

"Not really."

"Alright then."

I got up and walked into the bathroom as he was on his way out. "Have a good time, dude. And good luck."

He grinned at me. "Thanks." And with that, he shut the door behind him.

I shook my head as I grabbed a towel off the rack. "You're gonna need it."

I walked down the winding marble staircase to find the boys already waiting for me in the foyer. "Hello," I greeted.

"Hello," They replied as they flashed their pretty boy smiles.

"Are you boys ready for a tough day of riding?"

They nodded. Dennis offered me his arm and I graciously accepted. Not to be outdone, Trevor opened the door for me. By the look on Alex's face, he could have beaten himself up for not thinking of this sooner.

I led them to the stables and the hands working there brought out my favorite horse, Midnight, and three others. I watched amusedly as Trevor and Alex struggled to mount rides. Dennis however, seemed like he knew his way around a horse, and mounted his easily.

As soon as they were situated, we set off in the back fields of the palace at a leisurely trot as Alex started telling us about his job as a record company producer. He bragged about all the celebrities he met, all the talent he's discovered and how many of his records had been in the top 100. "Have you ever heard of JoJo?" he asked us.

Slightly fed up with his bragging, I replied sweetly, "Why, no I haven't. But I really like Skinner Box. Have you ever heard of them?"

Inwardly I smiled as I watched his pupils contract. "Yeah. They're an awesome band."

Trevor and Dennis smiled appreciatively.

We trotted into an open clearing and I smiled at them mischievously while pointing to a tree about a hundred yards away. "I'll race you guys to that big olive tree over there."

They shook their heads firmly. "No, we just learned how to ride!" Trevor protested.

"Yeah, it's taking all my leg muscles just to stay on the freaking horse!" Alex complained.

"Oh come on you guys!" I winked at them. "Don't you boys like a little challenge?"

"What're the terms?" Dennis asked in a sexy rumbling voice.

"If I win you have to walk around naked for the rest of the day." I declared.

"And what if one of us wins?" Dennis countered.

I gave him a cheeky smile. "I'll give them a kiss."

Alex and Trevor immediately began protesting. "That's no fair!" Trevor cried out.

"Yeah, you make us go around naked when all we get out of it is a kiss!" Alex added.

God, these two were already getting on my nerves. "No one's making you compete, you know. You don't have to do this."

"I will." Dennis said as he directed his horse with ease next to me.

Hmm…this guy might actually be a challenge. "Okay. One of you guys, start us off."

We lined up. "On your mark," Trevor called out.

We readied our horses.

"Get set…"

I tightened my hold of Midnight's reins.

"Go!"

I took off. I kept my focus on the tree and continued to urge Midnight faster. I had practiced racing many a time with Rene and after I while, I started to get better. Now it had gotten to the point where even the most hardened riders couldn't beat me and Midnight. So basically, there was no doubt in my mind that Dennis was going to be walking around the palace naked.

That is, until I felt a sudden rush of air and realized that while I was only five yards away, Dennis had already reached the tree.

Holy shit.

Someone beat me.

I urged Midnight to the tree and pulled her reigns for a stop. I looked at Dennis in awe. "You—you beat me."

He smirked. "Why, is that so hard to believe?"

"Well…yeah. I haven't been beaten in two years."

"Like you, princess, I am full of surprises." He gave a mysterious smile.

At that moment, I felt my heart stop like it had with Michael. His intense, green eyed stare and glinting gold hair nearly blinded me.

"Now, I do recall you promising the victor of this competition a kiss, fair maiden," He said in a perfect, mock British accent.

I snapped out of my daze and edged Midnight closer to him. I smiled and said, "I did, good sir. And I am a lady of my word." And I leaned over for a quick peck on the cheek, but he turned his head at that moment and I came in full contact with his mouth.

Wow.

Keep in mind, I haven't been kissed in five years. And Rene kissing me that one time when he was drunk during a New Year's Party Grandmère was throwing doesn't count, considering I ran upstairs to my bathroom and up chucked my dinner immediately afterwards.

I couldn't remember any of the kisses that Michael had given me in the past. I had worked for so long to try and forget them and the pain that they brought that I could no longer remember what they felt like.

All I knew now was that this kiss with Dennis was amazing.

He leaned in more to deepen the kiss until he was kissing me like I was water, and he was a thirsty man stranded in a desert. This was amazing.

But in the back of my mind, I couldn't help wishing it was Michael kissing me instead of Dennis.

I knew he kissed her. He told me gloatingly as he entered the room, saying no matter what there was between Mia and me, he had this competition in the bag. So I wasn't surprised when Lori told me right before she rolled cameras for an individual interview.

Of course, that didn't stop me from being pissed as hell.

"So, how do you feel about Mia kissing Dennis?"

"Truthfully? I feel like stabbing something. Preferably Dennis' genitals."

Lori chuckled. "Do you feel threatened?"

I carefully considered this question. "A little," I admitted. "But I feel more protective of Mia. I don't want any other guy kissing her but me."

"Are you going to step this competition up a little?"

I glared into the camera angrily. "Look, Mia isn't some trophy that you can stick on a mantle and show off. She's a person with feelings, feelings that I happen to respect. Dennis is just an asshole that doesn't realize that. He thinks this is some kind of sick game with a big payoff, no matter what the expense of winning may be."

Lori looked slightly taken aback. "So what are you going to do?"

"I'm going to try my damned hardest to get Mia to fall in love with me again," I ejaculated firmly.

"Cut!" She cried.

I felt so guilty. I asked Paolo to make me look as pretty as possible. "What do you think I've been trying to do for the past three days?" He cried.

I don't know why I feel like this. I mean, I shouldn't have to. I have options. Michael knew that going into this. He knew that it he was open to heartbreak if he happened to start to like the girl.

Oh who the hell am I kidding?

I feel like some cheap ass whore that you see coming on shows like Jerry Springer and Maury Povich.

You know, I was the one who brought this on myself. I shouldn't have suggested that stupid race, or the kissing thing. Granted, I didn't think that Dennis would beat me and I was just planning to kiss him on the cheek, but still. I should have known that this would happen. This is a romance reality TV show for crying out loud.

I started to tear and Paolo went crazy. "You're ruining your makeup!"

When I was finally done up, I couldn't help feeling like those display gifts in the windows of department stores. They were made up all pretty on the outside, but in the inside they were empty, because they were just for show.

After I answered all of Lori's questions with monosyllabic replies, she cut cameras and looked at me carefully. "Mia, are you alright? You don't seem like yourself."

"I'm fine," I lied.

She didn't seem convinced, but she herded me downstairs to the dining room anyway.

I found Michael in a pair of khakis and a black button down dress shirt with the cuffs rolled to his elbows. I felt the familiar falling sensation in my stomach, but mixed with my guilt, I just felt nauseous.

After he pulled out my chair for me, he sat down and gave me a sincere smile that made me want to burst into tears. "So…how was your day?"

I could tell something was wrong.

She didn't ramble like she normally did. She didn't smile as much as she would have. She just looked down at her plate and picked at her food with her fork.

During the main course, I put down my fork and gazed at her intently. "Mia, what's wrong?"

"Nothing," She replied quietly as she swirled the mixed vegetables around her plate.

"Don't give me that. I know you too well."

She gave a small sigh and said, "You wouldn't understand, Michael. I don't understand it myself. I can't explain it to you because I don't know how."

Being the oldest son of two successful psychoanalysts, I knew how to go about this tactfully. "I know that Dennis kissed you," I began carefully.

She didn't look up. In fact, she pushed her head down even farther and tightened her grip on her fork.

I continued. "I know that you kissed him back."

At that I could practically feel Mia shaking.

"So you're probably feeling…regret?" I asked.

I heard her sobbing. Immediately, I abandoned protocol and got up from my chair and held her tightly. "Mia, you shouldn't regret anything. This is a romance reality TV show. You're supposed to kiss people.."

"No, Michael, it's not that I regret it for myself," She cried. "I regret it because I feel guilty. Like I betrayed your trust."

I felt my heart soar. "Mia, you did what you had to do."

"I didn't even want to kiss him on the mouth!" She continued. "I was just planning on kissing him on the cheek! But he just turned his head and—"

"Mia, don't cause yourself any more distress," I interrupted gently. "How about we go for a walk around to clear your head."

She looked up at me, with a pleading look in her bright, gray eyes. "You're not angry at me?"

"I'm not angry at you. I'm angry at Dennis, I'm just not angry at you."

"You won't hurt him, will you?"

"Not unless you tell me to."

She gave me a small smile and slipped her hand into mine. "Thank you."

He doesn't hold anything against me.

He understands.

That's why I fell in love with him so many years ago. He understood…and he wasn't quick to judge. He was so fair.

We abandoned our dinner and strolled around the gardens hand in hand, letting the twinkling lights lead the path.

When we got the waterfall, I turned to him and gazed intently in his peat bog eyes. "Isn't Dennis your roommate?"

I saw a faint grimace as the lights from the waterfall made his face glow. "Yes. The guy's a neat freak, OCD like nothing else. Not to mention he's way overconfident."

"I know."

And I got up on my tiptoes and touched my lips to his.

And let me tell you, Dennis' was nothing compared to this.

Michael's kiss didn't say, "dying man needing water!" His kiss said, "I'll wait for you. I promise." It was sweet and gentle, not harsh and demanding.

And I suddenly remembered the kisses from five years ago. The memories came flooding back and I leaned closer to him, snaking my arms around his shoulders.

"Mia," He whispered against my lips.

"Don't," I replied and kissed him again.

A/N- AH! The long awaited chapter, the kissy scene! This was a nightmare to write, I swear.

Anyway, yes, Dennis is slowly, but surely, finding a way into Mia's heart. It's a two steps forward, one step back sorta deal. What will happen? Dun dun dun...review and find out!