The Secret of Ella and Micha(20)

She conceals her hand over my mouth. "I'll go in with you, but only if you stop talking about stuff that makes me uncomfortable."

"Wait. What about my car?" Lila scoots forward and fixes her hair using the rearview mirror. "It's getting late. Won't the shop be closed soon?"

I move Ella's hand away from my lips and entwine her fingers with mine. "We'll make it back in time. I promise."

Ella hesitates, staring at the coffeehouse like she's a mouse about to walk into a lion's den.

I squeeze her hand. "Come on, let's go in. You'll be okay."

She looks at our hands, and then her gaze lifts, giving a fleeting glance at my lips before resolving on my eyes. "Is everyone still hanging out here?"

"Kelly and Mike do and Renee and Ethan," I say. "Grantford doesn't really come around here anymore, though."

Her plump lips curl to a grin. "Because you punched him in the face."

"That might be part of it." I return her smile and let go of her hand to climb out of the car. It feels like I might be getting somewhere with her.

She hops out and stretches, arching her back and sticking out her chest. It makes me want to rip off her shirt, pull her in the backseat, and do things to her I've never done with anyone I've cared about before.

"What are you looking at?" She pulls the bottom of her tank top back over her stomach.

She really has no idea how beautiful she is. She never has. Even back in her punk/goth faze, she rocked the look.

I shake my head, unable to take my eyes off her. "Nothing. Just thinkin'."

She slams the door and we head across the packed parking lot. I rest my hand on her lower back, but she wiggles away and sidesteps around Lila, putting her between us.

I frown. Maybe I'm not doing as well as I thought.

Ella

If he keeps looking at me that way, my restraint is going to melt into a puddle of hot, steamy liquid. Micha has the most piercing eyes in the world, aqua blue, like the sea, waved with equal intensity. He's flirty with me, which he used to do jokingly all the time, and I'd play along.

But this is different somehow, more intense and real. It's like he's throwing his heart into the open, which isn't how he used to be. At least with me. Except for the day I left.

The coffeehouse is cramped with people, even for a Saturday afternoon. Every booth and table is occupied and there's a guy with floppy brown hair playing the keyboard on stage, his voice a little off-key. The baristas are working hard on the long line that extends all the way to the door and in the corner, people are working on their laptops.

"Where are we going to sit?" Lila scans the room. "There's no empty tables."

Micha spots Ethan and Renee at a corner table and waves at them. "Seat situation solved," he says, taking my hand and leading the way to them.

Renee is a short girl that wears heavy eyeliner and has dark red hair. Her hazel eyes zone in on Micha's hand tangled with mine. I attempt to pull my hand away, but Micha strengthens his grasp.

"Hey, Ella." She fakes a smile with her dark red lips. "What ya been up to?"

"Nothing much," I keep it simple, because simple is always better with Renee.

"And so we meet again." Ethan flashes a dimpled grin at Lila and pulls out a chair for her. "You decided to stick around here for a while."

Lila looks up at him as she takes a seat. "Thank you. I kind of had to since my car was trashed last night."

Micha drops down in the last empty chair at the table and starts to pull me down to sit on his lap. My eyes sweep the room in search of an extra chair, but it's so packed that people have to stand near the walls.

"I don't bite, Ella May." There is a challenge in Micha's eyes. "Unless you ask me to."

Everyone at the table is watching me. Not wanting to make a scene, I sink down on his lap. Ethan targets Micha with a bewildered look, which Micha ignores and steals a scone out of a basket in the middle of the table.

He pops it into his mouth. "So what time's Open Mic?"

Ethan's dark eyebrows plunge together. "Why? Are you thinking about playing again? Cause' all I can say is it's about freakin' time."

"What do you mean again?" I ask, grabbing a scone myself. "Why hasn't he been playing?"

Ethan shoves up the sleeves of his shirt, crosses his arms on the table, and directs Micha with their secret-code look I have never been able to crack. I revolve my body to look at Micha, but instantly regret it. His eyes are too intense and I'm thrown out of my element for a second.

"You stopped playing?" I ask him. "Why would you do that? Isn't it your dream still?"

He shrugs, snaking his arms around my waist. "It's not the same without you here watching me."

"There were times I didn't watch you play." I put my hands on his shoulders. "Even when I lived here."

He shakes his head and wisps of his blonde hair fall across his forehead. "That's not true. You never missed one."

I think back, knowing he's right. "I don't want you to stop living your life because I'm not here anymore."

"And I don't want you to be anywhere but here." He squeezes my hip and I instinctively jump at the tingling heat that spirals down between my legs.