“You two get in here before you freeze.” Mike’s mom shooed us inside and shut the door. “I just made some hot chocolate. I’ll grab some mugs and blankets.” She left us in the foyer.
“Mike, what are you doing?” I hissed as I peeled myself out of my wet coat and pulled off my boots. I embraced the blast of heat from the radiator but my body shook anyway. Mike wrapped his hands around my shoulder and began rubbing warmth into my arms and shoulders. “Why are we at your parents’ house?”
"Number Six: Meet New People, but with a twist. I've been telling you about my family for three years, and I've been telling them about you for three years. You, sort of, already know each other, but you haven't met. It's like playing Call of Duty with cheat codes, and you already know Steph." He bopped my nose with his finger. "Damn, Stella, you are freezing. Come on." He slipped my hand into his, and I tried to ignore how right it felt as he led me into his family's large kitchen. I was failing miserably.
"There she is," a male voice boomed, and I turned to see what looked like Mike's older and more distinguished twin stirring a pot of sauce. "We were starting to think you were a figment of Mikey's imagination."
“Ha. Ha,” Mike deadpanned. “Jane, this is my dad, Chris. Dad, this is my very real friend, Jane.” I shook his dad’s hand. “And you’ve met my mom, Anna.” She beamed a smile at us while filling five steaming mugs. “And somewhere around here is Stephanie.”
Mike’s younger sister chose that moment to come strolling into the kitchen. She was wearing purple leggings and the Nude Party concert t-shirt she got the night I met her over the summer.
“See? I told you she was real.” She laughed and pulled me into a hug. “Jesus Christ, girl, you are soaked. Mike, you asshole.” She punched him in the bicep.
“Hey! Language, young lady,” Anna warned her.
“Mike, you asswipe,” Steph corrected herself.
"Much better." Anna nodded her approval, and we all laughed.
Steph turned to me. “Come with me. I’ll get you something dry to put on. I think we’re the same size.”
When we got to her room, she handed me a stack of warm, dry clothes and pointed me to her bathroom where I took a quick but soothing shower, got dressed, and rejoined Mike's family in the kitchen, but Mike was nowhere to be seen.
I slid onto a barstool at the counter and wrapped my hands around the mug Anna set in front of me.
“Extra marshmallows, right?” She smiled. I nodded, feeling myself flush slightly. How much had Mike told them about me? “I have to say it is so nice to put a face to the name. Mikey talks about you all the time.”
“He talks about you guys all the time, too.”
“All good things, I hope,” his dad chuckled.
“Yup,” Mike’s voice called from behind me as he reentered the kitchen. “But it’s all lies. I didn’t want to scare her.” His fingers grazed my back, giving me shivers that had nothing to do with being cold, as he passed me to settle himself on the stool beside me. The smell of soap, cedar, and sandalwood filled my nose and I knew Mike must have taken a shower too.
“Feel better?” He smiled at me.
“I’m still sore, but yeah.”
He leaned into me and whispered, “Yeah, you’re usually sore after your first time, but trust me, it gets better the more you practice.”
After eating the amazing lunch his parents cooked, Mike’s family and I played a few rounds of Scrabble and watched Planes, Trains, and Automobiles, during which Mike put his arm around me, and I fell asleep on his shoulder.
“I thought we already checked off two resolutions today.”
We were back in Mike’s truck but apparently not on our way to the city.
“Not quite, Stella, and you wrote meet new people, plural. You're a teacher. You should know better.” He winked as he pulled into the parking lot of another strip mall and parked in front of a pub.
“Ugh. A crowded bar? I don’t know if I’m up to this.”
"Trust me. You're gonna have fun and the instant you're not, just say the word, and we bail. Deal?" He wore the same expression he had on the ice as he was leading me around by my hips, and I knew I could trust him.
“Deal.”
We walked towards the bar, and when I was close enough to read the sign, I stopped short and turned to Mike, my face split with an excited grin. He hit me with his I told you so face.
"Welcome to Wednesday Night Trivia at O'Malley's!" the host bellowed into a microphone as we grabbed an answer sheet and squeezed into a nearby table.
“What should our team name be?” His lips grazed the shell of my ear as he leaned in close to whisper. Was he flirting with me or was I reading too much into this? Whatever it was, I liked it, so I chose to ignore the nagging feeling in my belly. I reached up, cupped the sides of his face to pull him down to me so I could whisper my reply, and he laughed. “Perfect.”
As expected, Mike and I dominated trivia night. He covered the music and sports categories. I swept the history and literature rounds. We both shredded the pop culture and general knowledge questions. I even managed to strike up a couple of conversations with actual strangers and met another elementary school teacher. We traded contact information and planned to meet for lunch in the city next week.
Three hours after we walked into O’Malley’s, The Knights Who Say Ni were crowned Trivia Night Champions and Mike celebrated by buying shots for everyone in the bar except himself. I turned to face him. I felt my eyes prickling with tears, and I couldn’t stop grinning. My eyes searched his as I tried to find words to express how much this day meant to me, but I was speechless. He brushed my cheek with his thumb, and as if he was reading my mind again, he said, "You're welcome."
It was almost midnight when we got back to Mike's parents’ house where we agreed it was too late to drive back to the city. Stephanie lent me some pajamas. Anna gave me a toothbrush and put me in a guest room. I washed my face and brushed my teeth before climbing into the giant plushy bed and snuggling under the covers. I didn't want to seem ungrateful for Mike's generosity, but the more time I spent with him like this, the more it hurt. I'd missed my chance to be with him, and though I hoped we'd always be friends, I knew it would never be enough for me.
“Hey, Sweet Dreams. You okay?” Mike was leaning on the doorjamb, filling the doorway and my inappropriate thoughts, with his arms crossed, wearing a t-shirt and a pair of shorts. “I came to check on you. You good?”
“Yeah. This bed is so comfortable.” I chuckled and fluffed the goose down duvet.
“Really?” He pushed himself off the doorframe and walked into the room, seating himself on the edge of the bed and bouncing. “Nice.” He stretched out the word and nodded appreciatively. “I think my parents like you more than they like me because my bed does not feel like this.”
"Well, I've had a good day, and I'm feeling generous." I peeled back the duvet and patted the spot next to me on the king-sized mattress.
Mike raised his eyebrows and looked at me. “Are you sure?”
My inner voice told me this was a bad idea, but I told her to mind her own business. This was a day full of touches and stolen moments. Mike and I hadn’t crossed a line, not physically at least. I couldn’t stop thinking about how good it felt to hold his hand in the truck, to be led around the lake with Mike’s hands on my waist, and falling asleep in his arms in front of the TV. What was one more thing to feel guilty about?
“Yes, doofus. It won’t be the first time we’ve slept in the same bed.” There have been many times, usually when one or both of us had too much to drink and never when one of us was in a relationship. This was the first time I felt nervous. “Will your parents get offended?”
"No, they'd be okay with it." He slid under the covers next to me and covered us with the blanket. "Nice," he repeated. I turned onto my side with my back to his chest, and he slid an arm around my waist and pulled me into him. I tensed up. Being squeezed into Mike’s chest and being caressed by his warm breath sent shimmers of electricity to every inch of flesh and settled between my thighs.
This was too much, right?
We definitely shouldn’t be spooning.
I should tell Mike we shouldn’t be spooning when he has a girlfriend.
"Is this okay?" he whispered, his lips grazing the shell of my ear again. It felt more than okay. I took a deep breath to tell him how I felt about us sleep-cuddling but instead I nodded. "Very nice," he whispered.
“Your dad is really good at Scrabble,” I said trying to ease the tension.
“He’s an English professor. Why do you think I brought a teacher home?” He snuggled closer. “You were our only hope.”
“I only beat him once.” I laughed.
“No one else has ever beaten him. We’re gonna rub this in his face for years.” He laughed and hugged me even tighter, grazing my neck and shoulder with his nose. “Why do you always smell so good, Jane?”
"Um, shampoo?" I giggled nervously, and he chuckled.
"Mike?"
“Yeah?”
“Do you have a banana in your pocket?”
He burst out laughing, and I giggled. "No, I'm just happy to see you. Do you want me to move? I could put a pillow between us, or you could be the big spoon…"
"If I said no, would you promise not to judge me for being a sex-starved pervert and still be my friend?" I haven't been with anyone since I broke up with Rob a year and a half ago. Being held like this felt amazing, but being held by Mike like this felt like an actual dream.
“How long has it been?” he asked.
“A while,” I answered.
“Well, you can’t get rid of me that easily and you know I'm a big fan of perverts, but please try to behave yourself. I don’t want to wake up in the middle of the night to find you taking advantage of me.”
“I’ll be good. I promise.” I laughed.
“Damn,” he said in mock disappointment.
“Good night, you old horny degenerate.”
“Good night, you little sexual deviant.