He sighs and drags his fingers through his hair. "You're killing me, you know that?"
"I'm sorry." I pout.
He laughs and directs me back over to the table. "Go meet up with Lila and I'll be there in a bit, okay."
"Why? Where are you going?" I ask.
He rubs his hand across his face and lets out a breathy laugh. "I have to go take care of some business."
We part ways and I go back to the kitchen like he told me. Lila's eyes are accusing as I sit down at the table. I try not to smile, but I'm too intoxicated to care.
"Look at you," Lila says. "All smiley."
I start to say something, but spot Micha talking to Naomi in the middle of the crowd. She laughs at something he says and then the two of them head toward the hall where his bedroom is.
I guess that was the business he had to take care of. I get up from the table and without another word I run outside into the rain.
Micha
Ella is killing me tonight. I've got a hard on so bad, it's probably going to take an hour in an ice-cold shower to calm me down and she's drunk, so I can't take it any further. I head back to my room, to take care of the problem myself, when Naomi meets up with me.
She waves her finger at me and then laughs. "You and I need to talk."
"I still haven't decided!" I shout over the music.
She takes me by the arm and tugs me down the hall, bumping people out of the way until we reach my room. She shuts the door and flips on the light. "Alright, please explain to me why it's so hard to make the decision about something you've always wanted to do?"
"I'd rather not."
She throws her hands in the air, exasperatedly. "I don't get you. All you used to talk about in high school was playing in a band on the road."
"I still do," I say. "But I'm not sure if I can leave people behind.
Her face relaxes and her hands fall to her side. "I actually get that. I was worried to leave my dad alone, but I talked to him and explained why and you know what? He understood."
"Mine's more complicated, Naomi." I sit down on the bed, wishing she'd leave. "It's not just my mom I'm worried about."
She sits down on the bed beside me and crosses her legs. "It's because of Ella."
"Fuck, am I that obvious," I say. "Because I always thought I was subtle."
She snorts a laugh. "You've never been subtle. And it's not just you. It's both of you. But you know what, you can't center you're life around one girl. You gotta move on and live life the way you want to."
She doesn't get it. "Yeah, let's not talk about this."
"Alright." She holds her hands up. "Sorry, I'll let you be. I just wanted to give you something to think about."
She pats me on the knee before heading out into the hall. Once the door shuts, I fall back onto my bed. Maybe she's right. Maybe it is time to let go of her.
"Fuck." I need resolution.
My eyes wander toward Ella's house. It is dark, except for one light. The bathroom where her mother died. That light hasn't been on for eight months. Why is it on now?
Chapter 15
8 months earlier...
Ella
"You're not seriously going to climb up that tree, are you?" Micha frowns at me through the dark. He's dressed in a pair of sexy jeans that make his butt look good and his black t-shirt fits him perfectly. "You're gonna break your neck."
I rub my hands together and give him a devious look. "You know how much I love a challenge."
From behind him, the moon shines from the sky and his blonde hair nearly glows. "Yeah, but you're a little out of it right now and I don't think you should be climbing up any trees."
"I'll be fine." I wave him off, pushing the sleeves of my leather jacket up. He always worries about me. I like that he does, but it doesn't mean I always listen to him. "Besides, if my dad catches me coming in, and he happens to be sober, I'm going to get chewed out for sneaking out and being drunk, especially because I was supposed to be on mom duty tonight."
Gripping a branch, I attempt to wedge my foot up in the tree. But it falls to the ground and I grunt with frustration. Micha laughs, shaking his head as he walks around behind me.
"If you break your neck, pretty girl," he says. "It's not my fault."
"You know your nickname for me is not fitting." I grab the branch again. "You need to think of a new one."
He sweeps my hair to the side and puts his lips beside my ear. "It's completely fitting. You're the most beautiful girl I know, Ella May."
Through my foggy brain, I try to process what he's saying. "Are you trying to be funny?"
He shakes his head. "I'm being completely serious. But there's no need to panic. I'm sure you'll forget all about it by the time morning rolls around."
I bob my head up and down. "You're probably right."
He laughs again and his warm breath tickles my ear, sending a shiver through my body. I almost turn around, rip open his shirt, and thrust my tongue into his mouth, but I don't want to ruin our friendship. He's all I have at the moment and I need him more than air. So I bottle my feelings up the best I can.
He spreads his fingers across my waist where my shirt rides up, making the situation a little awkward. "Okay, on the count of three I'm going to boost you into the tree. Be Careful. One... Two... Three..." He lifts me up into the tree and I swing my legs up. The bark scratches at the back of my legs a little and the palms of Micha's hands cup my ass as he pushes me up the rest of the way. It makes me giggle.
Once I'm up, he climbs up himself. His hands reunite with my waist and he assists me up the tree and into my window. I tumble through it and onto the floor with his quiet laughter surrounding me.
"You're going to regret this in the morning," he says with laughter in his voice. "You're going to have a headache from hell."
I kneel beside the window as he steps back out onto the branch. "Hey, Micha." I crook my finger at him and he rolls his eyes, but tolerates me and returns to the windowsill. I throw my arms around his neck. "You're my hero. You know that?" I kiss his cheek. His skin is so soft. I start to move away when his head turns toward me and our lips connect briefly. When he pulls back, I can't read him at all.
"Sweet dreams, pretty girl." He grins and climbs back down the tree.
My head becomes even foggier as I shut the window. Did he kiss me on purpose? I shake the thought away and wrestle my arms out of my jacket. The house is silent, except for the sound of flowing water coming from the bathroom. I head out into the hall, figuring my mom's left the bath running again. She does that sometimes when she's distracted. The door is locked, so I knock on it.