The Secret of Ella and Micha(39)

Her blue eyes twinkle with mischievousness. "One where you feel her up in the car?"

"It feels like you're trying to start some trouble," I say, liking the girl even more.

"Maybe I am." She leans over the fence to the side of me so she can get a better view of the inside of the garage. "Is that Ethan in there?"

I step back so she can get a better look. "Yep, he's working on the car."

"I think I'll go give him some help." A grin spans across her face and she hops over the fence, squealing as her shoe gets caught in the wire.

Trying not to laugh at her, I unhook her shoe and she walks into the garage, surprising Ethan. The door to Ella's house opens and my attention centers on her as she steps out into the sunlight.

She's wearing a tight, black and purple plaid dress, and knee high lace-up boots, but her hair is curled up neatly. It's like a mix of her old look and her new one. Her face is guarded as she ambles across the driveway, with this strange look in her eyes, like she's terrified yet excited at the same time.

"Did Lila come out here?" She bites her lip and I want to lean over and bite it for her; taste her and feel her like I did last night.

Without taking my eyes off her, I nod my head at the garage. "She's in there with Ethan. I think she might have a thing for him."

"I think you're right." She pauses. "I think I might have freaked her out a little, just barely."

"You mean you and Dean might have freaked her out a little?"

"She told you I was talking to Dean?"

"She mentioned it." I extend my hand to her. "Why don't you come over and join the party on this side of the fence?"

"A party of four?" she asks, trying not to grin and looking as cute as hell.

I snag her by the hip, jerk her toward me playfully, and dip my lips to her ear. "It can be a party of two. Just say the word."

She shivers from the feel of my breath on her neck. "I think we better keep it a foursome."

I press my fingers into the curve of her hips. "I didn't know you liked it kinky."

She swats my shoulder and I laugh, my dad problems feeling less heavy. "Relax, I was just kidding, even though you're the one who brought it up first."

"I was joking."

"I know... I think I am going to have a party tonight."

"Don't you have one of those every night?"

I cock my eyebrow. "Besides the night you showed up, have you seen one going on?"

She wrinkles her forehead. "No." She sits down on the fence, swinging her legs over to my side. "Micha, what have you been doing for the last eight months?"

"Pinning for you." I avoid the truth. That I haven't been doing much of anything besides looking for her and helping my mom take care of things.

She tucks her dress underneath her legs and I get a small glimpse of the black lacy panties she has on. "Where do you work?"

Against her protest, I spread her legs apart and put myself between them. "I work at the shop with Ethan a lot, but it's not going to be forever. I have plans. I'm still working on getting everything lined up."

She places her hands on my chest, holding me back. "I think the lines between our friendship are getting a little blurred."

"That happened a long time ago," I tell her, gliding my palms up the sides of her bare legs. "At least for me it did."

Her jaw tightens. "It's things like that which make them blurry and things last night... and things like in the car."

"There seems to be a lot of things, which I think might be a hint that you and I belong together."

Her eyes snap wide and I back off to try another tactic. She needs to smile and let those stressed lips free. I pinch her side and she squeals.

"Don't do that," she says, holding back a laugh. "You know I hate being tickled."

I graze my fingers across her other side and she squirms, before falling over the fence and landing on her back in the grass. I leap over the fence easily as she scrambles to her feet. She narrows her eyes, backing toward her back door. I run up to the side of her and she skitters out of my reach. She glances at the door and then at the front yard, which is closer to her.

"Micha, seriously," she warns. "We're too old for this."

I spread my arms out to the side innocently. "I'm not doing anything."

Her eyes flick to her house one last time and then shaking her head, she spins around and runs for the front yard. I give her a head start before I sprint off after her. When I round the house, she's up on the front porch, jiggling the door knob.

I laugh at her. "Is it locked?"

She heaves a frustrated sigh and hops over the railing, slipping on the grass. "Dammit Micha! I'm so going to kick your ass for this."

"I'm planning on holding you to that threat." I jog after her across the neighbor's yard.

She races across the grass, her hair falling out of a clip. She leaps over the brick fence into the next yard and smashes a row of flowers. Without using my hands, I hop onto the fence, but trip during my dismount and fall on my knees.

She freezes in the middle of the lawn and starts to laugh at me. "You so deserved that."

I get to my feet, dusting the dirt off my knees, and a dark smile rises on my face. "You think that's funny?"