#cmhh2

It hadn’t been all that bad, and you knew you had had a shit attitude the whole time, but you couldn’t help it. You had just wanted to drop everything and go, damned be the consequences. But you were trying to build a professional reputation, and leaving a major firm high and dry would not have helped you if anyone heard about it.

Your landlord though, he could go fuck himself.

“I just can’t believe he gave me such a hard time. Did I tell you he’s keeping my security deposit because he hasn’t found anyone to take over the lease?”

You dragged the packing tape across the top of the box you had in front of you, your phone precariously balanced between your shoulder and your cheek.

“That is such a dick move. I can’t believe that’s even legal.” your friend replied.

“I know!”

“Hiiiiiiiii!!!!”

Your phone dropped from it’s spot and clanked on your no longer rugged floor. You cursed as you scrambled to pick it up.

“Sorry!” Daniel’s voice was much further away from your friend’s phone but just as loud.

“Jesus, he never is not on 100, is he?”

“Nope.” your friend laughed, “Sorry about that, he’s just getting impatient cause we’re supposed to go to your man’s apartment tonight for dinner, and someone,” she teased, “hasn’t gotten any attention cause I’ve been on the phone with you.”

The high pitched, dramatic puppy whine in the background made you shudder.

“Okay, weirdos, I get it. I’ll talk to you later, okay?”

“Oh, are you sure?” your friend quickly asked, “I was teasing him, not you. I’ll stay on the phone for another hour.”

You took a deep breath as you surveyed what was left of your living room, “Nah, I better go.” There was still a fair amount of boxes that laid on the floor half opened, “I have to tape all these suckers closed for the movers.”

“Ooooooooo!!” Your friend’s excitement felt contagious, “When are they picking your stuff up?”

“Tomorrow!” you replied happily.

“Oh, I am so excited for you to come home.”

“Me too, me too.”

-

Michael sighed as he watched Blake take over the stove top, “You know I hosted dinner this time so I could actually cook, right?”

“Mhmm.” Blake hummed as he flipped the steaks again.

So much for that, Michael thought amusedly. Usually him, Blake and Daniel would get together for dinners once or twice a month. The only catch to them was that one of them had to actually cook, and while they’d all sworn to play their part, more often than not, Blake ended up with the short end of the stick. But he does fucking love it, Michael shrugged to himself as he went to check the table again.

“Did you see the new plates I got?” Michael called to Blake, only to instantly regret it when he heard the cackle that followed.

“Yeah, mate.”

He walked the short distance back into the kitchen area, “What’s so funny?”

Blake shot him a look over his shoulder, “You’re just soooooo...” Michael widened his eyes as he waited for Blake to find his words, “Domestic.”

A smile grew on Blake’s face as he watched a blush erupt across Michael’s face. They all knew, don’t know why the fuck I told them, that you were coming home. You weren’t here yet but you hung in the air around Michael for the past few weeks, and the boys couldn’t help but pick fun at it when they could.

Blake’s smile widened, “So, is she-”

The doorbell made Michael laugh as Blake grumbled to himself, “Oh no, gotta get that.”

Daniel’s girlfriend, your best friend, came along this time. It only slightly put Michael on edge. He knew how she had felt about him in the past, and while he wanted to change her perspective on him he understood that it would take time. Didn’t mean she didn’t make him nervous.

“Hi.” Daniel grinned from across the table where him and his girl had sat, directly across from him.

“You don’t think you should sit across from Blake?” Michael questioned, motioning to their friend who was seamlessly tuning them out as he plated food for everyone, “Poor guy is staring at the wall.”

“Better than his face.” Blake mumbled.

“Hey!” Daniel squeaked, “You think I have a nice face, right?” he asked his girlfriend bashfully.

She nodded in agreement and said something Michael couldn’t hear. He watched with a slight pressure in his chest as she laid her head on Daniel’s shoulder and pressed a kiss to his cheek. When Daniel turned his head, he caught her lips with his own, kissing her only semi inappropriately at the dinner table.

“Hey!” Michael called to them.

“See? Wouldn’t you rather have the wall now?” Blake deadpanned as he cut into his food.

“We’re all going to have to face the wall when his girlfriend” Daniel dragged the word out like a child would, “comes home. Probably going to fuck on the table during dinner.”

Michael felt his dick harden a bit at the prospect.

“Mate, are you fucking kidding me.”

Michael looked up, “What?”

“Why did it look like you were considering it?” Daniel groaned, “Oh my god, we’re never eating here ever again. Who knows what surfaces they’ve defaced.”

“Wow, big word.” Blake commented.

“Shut up.”

Michael motioned to your friend, “Did you teach him that one?”

“I think I used it last week.”

The boys erupted in laughter at your friend’s willingness to chuck Daniel under the bus. Daniel sat there, muffling his own laughter through the ugliest, most dramatic pout Michael had ever seen.

“Oh, man. I do like you.” Michael nodded at her.

“Yeah? I haven’t decided on you.”

Michael looked quickly down at his plate, feeling the heat that had landed on Daniel redirect to himself. Daniel laughed, and quickly lifted the mood.

“Yeah, isn’t your girl coming home?”

Michael grinned, “Yeah, mate. Few days now.”

“Oooooooo,” Daniel teased, “he’s got that big smile, look at him all in love.”

His girlfriend shoved him, “I think it’s cute,” she turned to look at Michael, “and you seem like you won’t be an asshole and fuck it up this time.”  

“I won’t.” Michael nodded at her.

Blake took over the conversation from there. Michael couldn’t tell whether Daniel dating your best friend made Blake more nervous than it did him. Your friend was very nice, but fuck, she could be ruthless. Michael stole glances at her while they ate and talked about their work grievances.

“I swear, it’s like they’ve gone color blind sometimes.” Daniel droned on and on about a mistaken paint job as Michael zoned out.

He could imagine you here at the dinner with him so easily. A small smile tugged at his mouth as he imagined you sat beside him. It would be a little tight, but with his bench seats, he’d happily eat with one hand if it meant his arm could be curled around you.

Could sit her in my lap.

He dismissed that thought as quickly as it came.

He meant it when he said he was going to work on your relationship. Cause that’s what you had now, it wasn’t about being physical, it was about more because that’s what you had. That’s what had always been there.

“Oi!” Michael looked up at Daniel before he realized his phone was ringing on the table, “You gonna answer it?”

All it took was a glance at his screen before he was up out of his seat and headed towards his room to answer your call. The chorus of teases over his shoulder followed him the whole way but nothing could ever ruin a call from you.

“Hello my darling.” He happily chirped.

Your giggle was magic to him, like a shot of espresso straight into his blood stream, “Hi there, dinner didn’t start yet, did it?”

He hummed, “Yeah, but I don’t care.”

“Oh, shit. I’m sorry, I’ll call you later.”

“Uh, no.” Michael quickly spoke to avoid you hanging up on him, “I’m here, all yours, honestly they were torturing me anyways so you’re a really welcome distraction.”

You laughed, “I just wanted to hear your voice.”

Michael smiled and rubbed his sweaty palm over his pants, "I've been thinking-"

"Uh-oh"

“When are you coming home?” He blurted out.

“Two days.”

“Fuck, wasn’t it two days like yesterday?”

“So impatient.” you teased before adding, “I miss you.”

“I miss you,” he answered, “and I really can’t wait for you to be home. I already got something planned for your first night back-” he rushed the words out quickly.

You laughed, “First night back? Have you already forgotten our rules?”

“No, no, you’re telling me and yet you have your mind in the gutter-”

“Me?” you laughed.

“I’ll have you know I have plans that fall perfectly within our relationship building rules.”

You scoffed, “Well, I’m glad you remember them.”

"Remember them? They’re seared into my brain, sweetheart.” Michael snickered, “We just broke up for the third time, and you know, third time’s the charm."

“So we should stay broken up?” you quipped.

“No!” he groaned, “This means we’re done breaking up, and your handy rules are going to make sure of it.”

You paused for a moment, and braced yourself for the dread that never came. Instead, a kind of soft stillness spread down your spine and curled into your gut.

“Okay.” There was another brief pause, and you could almost imagine Michael in your head. Him and his goofy smile, your easy agreement never failed to melt him, “Pick me up at the airport?”

“Of course.”

-

True to his word, Michael didn’t try anything when you got home. It was still a bit of a shock that you had a boyfriend. A boyfriend to pick you up and spin you around in the airport, a boyfriend to drive you to your new apartment and leave you at the curb with the promise of picking you up for a date later.

A boyfriend who had opened half of your boxes and taken out essentials for you and put your larger furniture where you would have struggled to put them.

All on his own.

Cause he wanted to.

Cause he wanted to for you.  

After you got over your initial shock, you worked to get the rest of your clothes out and back into your dresser and closets. You chose the most mundane, brain melting chores just to make the day go faster, to get back to him.

You were so fucked.

You caught yourself constantly laughing at yourself because you’d catch your smile in the reflection of your kitchen countertops, or in the mirror as you put on bit of makeup for your date. The excitement that bubbled up from your tummy was totally different than what you’d experienced in the past.

Any doubt that what you felt was purely physical was completely out the window by now.

Especially when he took your hand in his as he drove, and you practically melted into the car seat.

“Annndddddd, we’re here.”

You looked around at the dock and narrowed your eyes at him, “Is this the part where you kill me?”

“Ha, ha.” he said dryly, removing his seat belt, “Come on.”

You met him in front of the car and raised your arms to drape over his shoulders, “Where are we going?”

He nodded over your shoulder, "Come find out?"

"Only if you hold my hand." You dropped your arms in front of you, a smile stretched across your face when he easily grabbed your hand in his own and pulled you alongside him. You laughed when you saw his boat at the end of the dock, "So what is the date part? Cause I’ve been on this yacht... a few times."

Michael snorted at the way you so delicately worded all your trysts on his boat, "It's a surprise."

"I hope the surprise involves food."

“I always feed you, don’t I?” He stepped over the dock and held his hand out to you.

“I mean actual food, not your dick.” You quipped as you stepped on to the deck.

“Well excuse me, aren’t you usually hungry for both?”

You actually tripped at how effortlessly he joked about something so dirty but true. He was so casual. You hated the way he could say something so absurd but still get your heart racing, just as much as you loved it.  

“I’m just playing.” you almost jumped at how close he was to you, his breath brushed against your cheek before his lips pressed to your skin in a soft kiss, “None of that now, huh?”

“Uh huh.”

You whined as he laughed at how breathless you sounded. The moment sobered in seconds as he pressed his hand to your hip and turned you. He caught your lips against his and wasted no time, parting his lips to playfully press his tongue against your bottom lip. Meeting him, you softly moaned as you both rubbed tongues.

All too quickly, the heat rose like the waves the yacht was riding. There was no more soft touches, his hands gripped your waist as he squeezed you against him, your whole body pressed to the front of his as you breathlessly and loudly kissed. The wet sound of you sucking on his tongue and his resounding groan into your mouth filled the air around you while excitement pooled in your gut at the hardened pressure against your stomach.

In an immaculate show of self control, Michael’s arms loosened around you and he dropped his head back. He blew air into the midnight sky above you.

“Come on, we need to get out there.”

You nodded and let him go, letting him go to the captain’s deck to direct the crew to wherever you were off to.

When he returned, he fulfilled his promise to feed you food, and you both had some wine on the deck. The boat had been moving for about an hour when you’d finished, as did the movement of the boat.

“Oh, are we here?” You asked, looking out into the darkness around you. There was nothing but open water around you.

“Mhmmm.” Michael hummed as he wrapped his arms around your middle and pressed himself to your back. He placed a kiss on your shoulder, “We’re here.”

You turned in his arms and kissed him softly, “What are we doing here?”

“You’ll see.” He answered before he dropped his head back to look up at the sky.

You looked up for a moment, nothing visible but the glow from the bright lights on the deck. When you looked back down in front of you, you felt your self control loosen. While Michael had showed restraint, you watched the cords of his neck tighten and loosen. Leaning forward, you raked your teeth down the front of his neck.

“Fuck!” Michael groaned as he quickly fisted your hair and yanked your head back so you couldn’t even see him. All you could see were the damned lights above the deck.

And suddenly those went out too.

You squeezed your eyes shut as you struggled momentarily to adjust to the sudden darkness. But when your vision returned to you, your mouth fell open.

“Beautiful, isn’t it?” Michael rasped.

You ignored the slight edge to his tone, and the heat between you, in favor of the sparkling sky above you. It was breathtaking.

“Is this-”

“Yup,” he nodded in your peripheral vision before he gently untangled himself from you and took your hand, “come here.”

The floor of the deck softly glowed blue so you could see where you were going without the large spotlights that had been on. You let yourself be led to the couches in the center of the deck and sat down in the comfiest spot. Your cheeks colored as he winked at you, no doubt remembering the first time he tasted you in the exact same spot.

“Nah,” he warned, even though you weren’t sure if he meant it more for you or himself, “come.” He shook his finger at you as he pulled you down beside him and guided your legs over his lap.

Curled into his side, your hand and head on his chest and your legs bent snugly in his lap, you couldn’t imagine a better place to be. You hummed happily as he stroked your back with one hand while the other held your hand.

“Michael,” you softly got his attention, feeling your eyes tear up, “You really believe we’re endgame?”

“All the effort I’m putting in, you better be.”

You scoffed and smacked his chest, “You’re so sure.” you stated softly.

“I mean, how many more times can you fuck it up?”

“Oh, please!” you scrunched your face at him, “Pretty sure it’s your turn to fuck it up this time.”

“Oooo,” Michael blew air into your ear like a jerk, “better start brainstorming now.”

“I’ll kill you.” you deadpanned.

Michael laughed hard and gripped his chest with one hand before sobering, "If there was ever anybody meant for me, it's you."

“Booooo!” You groaned.

“You make me feel alive.” He wrapped his arms around you, "You give me a reason to be better, to do better.”

The way he looked at you, so earnestly and wholeheartedly, melted your heart and made you shift your behavior. You couldn’t play off his affection forever, and you needed him to know how you really felt.

This is how it starts, and keeps going.

You reached for him and gently placed your hand on his cheek. You smiled at him as you felt him lean into your palm. You looked down for a moment before you worked up the courage to look into his eyes and open your mouth.

"All I've ever wanted was a place to belong.” You started, “Somewhere I could call home.” you bit your lip as he saw you, “And for the longest time, I thought it was anywhere but here. I thought I’d have to escape this place, go out of Monaco, find a home, a real home.” You took a steadying breath, “I never once thought home wouldn’t be a place, but a person.” Michael kissed your palm gently, and never looked away from you, “You gave me that, you gave me a home. Michael, you are my home."

Michael blindly reached across your lap and squeezed your other hand in one of his as he turned his whole body toward you.

“And I was never into this, never into relationships. I thought they were a lie, a balm for how much life could suck, and even then, how long would it last? What was the point in forever? I never bought into it. Until you.” Your words flowed like water now, "I thought I had the worst luck, until I met you." You were breathless, and struggled to put your racing thoughts into coherent sentences.

Michael gently shushed you as your cheeks heated, your words caught up with your mind. You resisted the urge to throw yourself off the boat.

This is how it starts, and keeps going, you reminded yourself again.

Instead of judging you, Michael wiggled his eyebrows as his finger hooked on the chain of your necklace, “Am I your royal flush?”

You laughed, all the anxiety in you drained away, “Fuck, what am I doing committing to enduring these cheesy lines?” You whined.

“You’re committing?”

“Michael.”

“Wowwwwwwwwwwww.”

You huffed, “So, what’s the plan?”

Michael kept the adorable look of confusion on his face, “There’s supposed to be a plan?” His eyes widened, “Please tell me there hasn’t been a manual for you all this time and you’re only just mentioning it.”

You rolled your eyes, “You couldn’t handle me even if i came with instructions.”

“I don’t want to handle you,” his voice softened, “I just wanna be with you.”

“Is that the plan?” you asked.

He nodded, “Stay.” he spoke barely above a whisper, but his eyes were intense, and you felt more full than you ever had in your life.

“Wow, so you really told her everything?” 

Your best friend’s face took up your laptop screen. You knew exactly which couch she was laid on as she carefully held her phone over herself so you could see her. 

It comforted you to see her, even if it was digitally.

You lifted your hand before dropping it, “Yeah, I mean, we’d never been close, but she has put in a lot of effort to be friendly with me and” you snuggled back into the cocoon of blankets you’d created on your bed, careful not to jostle your laptop, “it felt good, just to be honest and get that outside opinion, especially since she’s probably right.”

You wiped your tears nonchalantly. Crying was to be expected with how fried your emotions were, but at least you’d stopped sobbing loud and ugly all over the place. Now you wore your tear tracks like the latest trend. You were almost used to them being on your face at this point.

“About him being a wreck too?” She asked softly. 

"Yeah,” you looked away and pulled at the little frayed edges of the tag that hung off your weighted blanket, “I've never felt this way before, and it fucking scares me. And I know that if that’s the way I feel, that has to be the way he feels too.” You swallowed hard, but couldn’t stop the blush that crept on to your face, “But, the idea of never trying scares me even more. I wasn't even sure what- what it really felt like until I met him."

“So you can recite poetry to me but you can’t call him up and explain that you wanted to ask him to come to Germany with you?” 

You whimpered and laughed, “Do you know how stupid I would sound?” You groaned, “Just calling him like ‘hey, it’s me- remember how you flipped? Well, the thing i was trying to tell you was that i wanted you to go with me.’ Can you imagine? I already feel stupid.” 

“Daniel says Michael feels the same.” 

That caught your attention, “You’ve talked about it? With Daniel?”

She nodded, “Of course, I actually raged to him about Michael being a dick, and he tried to rage to me about you leaving again, but I shut that down real quick.” 

You laughed at the image of your darling friend scaring Daniel with her temper and stubborn, loyal attitude. 

“I deserve it.” you sobered. 

“No, you don’t.” She replied, “Look, we all do stupid shit. It’s how we fix the stupid shit that counts. You can stay an asshole, or you can have a redemption arc.” 

“And what would my redemption arc look like?”

“Well,” she dramatically paused, making you laugh, “I’m partial, but it may look like you coming back home for a week.” 

“A week or forever?” you narrowed your eyes playfully before you dropped your shoulders, not surprised she was taking advantage of the situation to sucker you into another visit home, “Well, I am working remote for the rest of this week.”

“See? It’s a sign!” 

Against your better judgement, you played around with the idea in your head. Your heart definitely skipped a beat at the idea of going back, but it soured quickly as time went on. There was a horrible echo in the back of your head, telling you that this was hopeless, that there was no way you could go back.

Michael would laugh.

How could you go from not knowing what you want, not being fully committed, being unable to one week, but the next week show up like something in you had fundamentally shifted? What had you done in the past week to cause that kind of change? Cry? 

But you do know what you want, and you were fully in it, but he just didn’t fucking give you a chance to speak!

Doesn’t mean that Michael would believe you, and that alone was the single thought to chill your bones. You weren’t sure you could take another rejection from him. 

“I have to think about it.” you told her softly.

“Oh, wait, wait-” your friend’s words came rushed, “you can come home and not see him, you don’t even have to, last time was really- it was me and Danny, seriously- there’s cheap tickets too- you don’t have to worry, you can come home an-”

“I know.” you interrupted her to reassure her, “I just don’t know if it’s fair to come back when I’ll be working.” 

Your friend looked faraway for a moment, “At least you’d be here.” she said softly, “I miss you.”

“I miss you too.” 

You could feel your split in your heart sink that much deeper. 

-

Michael had pretty much convinced himself he was having a heart attack. A slow one, one that was probably earned for the way he’d acted lately. 

His heart had started it’s pattering pace when he’d logged on to the travel website to book his ticket, had begun to skip during the car ride to the airport, and had only increased rhythm as the plane took off and soared to Germany.

To you.

He’d fought himself the whole flight, and reminded himself that it was way too late to have any second thoughts. There was no way in hell he could tuck tail and jump back on a flight back to Monaco after all the impulsive work he had put into getting there in the first place. 

There is no turning back. Only moving forward, he took a deep breath as he waited for the rush of passengers who were way too eager to get off the flight get off.  

It wasn’t until he’d retrieved his bag from the carousel and stood directly across from the ‘Germany’ mural on the airport wall that it hit him that he was actually there. He’d done it. Impulsively and quickly, but done it all the same. And it was his first time in Germany.

Cool.

His heart jackhammered in his chest as he hailed a cab and gave them the address that your best friend had given Danny.  

“If your friend fucks with my friend, I am done fucking with you- do you understand?” Michael hadn’t been sure whether to be entertained or insulted by the look of trepidation on Danny’s face before his best friend had given the address over to him. 

He leaned over the center console and smiled nervously at the driver as he read the man’s phone screen where it was perched above the vents. The amount of minutes left in the ride made the screen glow a bright red, and that was when it really hit him.

He was really going to see you. 

He was really here.

What the fuck am I gonna say? 

Michael groaned as his eyes slipped shut and he leaned back against the headrest. His hand slid down his face before his fingers pinched the bridge of his nose. He’d really gone all in on the impulsivity of it all. He hadn’t the slightest what he should say to you, what he wanted to say to you. 

His uglier, doubtful side saw it’s opportunity and dove into the forefront of his mind. His own inner voice questioned him relentlessly. It made him wonder whether you were even home, if you were alone (which made his stomach twist), if you would even answer the door if you saw him through the peephole, and fuck, what if you didn’t even have a peephole?

What if he couldn’t even get into your apartment building without buzzing you? He really didn’t want to pour his yet to be conceived thoughts that would string into (hopefully) poetic truths that would make you let him in into a buzzer on the side of a street. 

“Are you okay back there?” The cab driver raised his voice, “Do I need to pull over?” 

Michael realized he was panting, and properly freaked out his driver, “Yes!” he blurted out, “M’okay.” he quickly followed with, “if you could bring me to the closest hotel, I’d be good with that.”

“So not to your current destination?” The driver questioned as he pulled over on to a side street and put his car in park, “You need to change the destination yourself, man.”

“Oh!” Michael grabbed his phone off the seat beside him, “I got it, sorry.” 

He started to sweat as his nerves deep fried inside his body. He could feel the driver staring at him through the rear view mirror as he nervously navigated Google Maps to find the closest hotel before he haphazardly copied and pasted the address listed into his ride share app. 

He needed to get it together before he showed up on your doorstep.

-

The apartment was quiet. 

You scrolled through the flights listed for Monaco and let your mind wander. Your conversation with your best friend hadn’t stopped echoing through your head since you’d hung up. Doubled with the embarrassment you would no doubt feel whenever you stepped foot back at work, going home seemed to be more and more likely. 

But would that be a failure then? What, like when those kids from school swore they’d be better than the other kids at school, went off on their own just to return to Monaco with their tails between their legs? Like kicked dogs that had been hit with the reality stick. 

Failure tasted bitter on your tongue.

The saddest part for you to comprehend was how this had all gone awry because of a man. Because of Michael. 

Unexpectedly, in a way that hadn’t struck in years, you heard your mother’s voice in your head.

“Sometimes when things go really bad, you just have to trust that it’s fate getting a bit more aggressive.” Her voice was soft as she held you as a child by the docks, “Everyone likes to think that the waves out there push you to shore, but they don’t. And who knows where they lead.” She whispered into your ear, “But what we do know is that the only ones who’ve run into trouble are those who tried to fight that tide.” You’d looked at her with pure shock, your young mind too young to fully memorize every curve of her face, making it a bit obstructed in the memory, but you could see the upturn of her lips, “Don’t make it push you, let it guide you.”

You swallowed hard, and wiped your tears as your mind came back to the present. Such a sudden flashback hadn’t happened to you in years, but now you couldn’t help but feel that it was her- telling you, reassuring you, reminding you that you couldn’t fight the tide. 

I have to go back to Monaco.

You shut your laptop and stood up straight, suddenly full of energy. You weren’t even sure what you were going to do, but getting to your feet felt right. You looked around the room doubtfully, and began quickly gathering all the dishes and mugs that littered the space. 

After they were cleaned, you set to throwing out all the papers and tissues that were around the place. It had always been easier for you to think, to feel more in control, in a clean space. By the time you were finished, your apartment was back to its simplistic, minimalist way, with the furniture cleared and floors vacuumed. 

You almost felt like you should apologize to the space that had housed you. It had really been occupied by a ghost, not warming it in any way, not breaking it in or filling it with photo frames or momentos. A space that was promised to be permanent but was nothing more than temporary.

You took a deep breath, and jumped when you heard the door bell. 

“Who the fuck...” 

You took a few steps to your door, the hallway just outside of the living room, and moved yourself against the door so you could look out the peek hole. You held your breath as you prayed for it to be a delivery person, your landlord, anyone but anyone you knew here. 

Your heart skipped a beat as you stared through the little peephole in disabelief. You staggered back before you flipped the lock off and pulled the chain from it’s place in the door. Wrenching the door open, you came face to face with Michael.  

“Hi.” he waved awkwardly. 

“What,” you struggled with words as your gaze followed his body up and down, “what are you doing here?”

“Um,” he rubbed his hands together and looked up at the ceiling before he looked back at you, “I came here, uh, for you.”

"You came all the way here for me?" You spoke breathlessly as you stared at him in your doorway.

It was surreal seeing him. He hadn’t been to Germany, only in your dreams. You didn’t even think he’d been here before ever. And now, here he was. Stood in your hallway in his dark jeans and his stupid navy blue boots and that stupid white cable knit sweater that made him look somewhat less pale than he was.

You hated him. You hated him so much you wanted to cry. You hated how much you’d missed his face.

“Are you going to let me in?” He asked, taking a step forward from his place in the center of the hallway.

“I’m trying to decide whether you’re really here or not.”

Michael laughed dryly before his hand reached for you. Out of instinct, you backed up, but tried to play it off as you going to lean against the doorframe. From the drop of his slight smile, you knew he could read you like an open book.

Everything stung between the both of you.

“Why are you here?” you asked.

Michael looked down the hall, “Can I come in?” 

“Why are you here?” you desperately repeated.

“Why do you think?” He answered sarcastically, but instantly looked remorseful when he caught the way you looked at him, “I’m here for you.” he replied softly.

“Come.” you said sharply, pulling the door open and taking steps further back to hold it open for him.

You felt childish, and stiff, as you held your breath as he passed you and crossed the darkened hallway into the much better lit living room. It was overwhelming the way your breath caught, they way your heartbeat hummed underneath your skin in a mix of excitement and anger. You felt like all your shards were being super glued back together, but that didn’t mean you still didn’t count as broken. 

“Hey.” he turned towards you in the middle of room, “I’m here for you.” He said clearer, louder, as if you needed to hear it again.

“Yeah,” you nodded, still not looking up past his chest, “you already said that.”

“Well, I mean it.” he said softly, simply, like it was such a given.

“Why?” 

His hands pressed to his own hips as he rested his hands on his sides and sighed deeply, “I couldn’t stand the way we’d ended things... again.” He scoffed, “We just keep falling apart and expecting the other to fix things, and I decided, well-”

“You wouldn’t be the one to fuck this up? What? So you can blame it all on me?” You crossed your arms. 

“No!” he answered instantly. “I want to fix this, darling.” your head tilted as the caress of the familiar pet name washed over you like a balm, “You just have to let me. Please, let me.” 

Michael’s boots were no more than two feet from your own bare feet. You still hadn’t lifted your head, instead keeping your gaze further and further down. You would’ve laughed at the idea of him talking to the part in your hair if you weren’t so terrified. 

“What do you-”

“How?” you interrupted with a whisper, your voice wavered as you slowly dragged your eyes up his figure, “How do we,” you shrugged as you forced yourself to finally look above his shoulders, and look into his brown eyes, “How do we fix this?”

A small smile pulled at his mouth as he looked at you in front of him. His hands still fidgeted at his sides, like he needed to keep them occupied. He looked energized, like he was ready and eager to tackle this head on. But you didn’t know how one tackled a fuck up a relationship like yours. 

“Just let it out.” He sighed, “We need to let it all out so we can start again. Start right.”

“What?”

“Let it out.” he repeated as he took a step forward and pulled at your arms until they loosened around each other and dropped to the space between you two, “Scream at me, curse at me, get it out so the burden is ours, not just yours or mine. Let’s just rip it all open so it can be put back together right this time.” 

You pulled your arms away from him and looked back down to the floor as you took a step back. Your breathing picked up as your mind followed his instructions, and all the emotions were ripped up from under the scar tissue you’d convinced yourself had sufficiently healed. Your chest heaved as you rocked back and forth on your heels. You refused to cry, but you couldn’t help the way your emotions bubbled up your throat and escaped in a desperate way.

“You weren’t there for me!” Your head snapped up so you could look him in the eye. 

“When?” He asked softly.

“When I told you I was leaving,” you gasped for a breath as you tried not to cry, “you pushed me away, you pushed me away like I didn’t matter,” you weren’t yelling, but you weren’t speaking very low either, “I needed you-you made me feel like I mattered to you and then you just weren't there!”

“You made me leave without saying goodbye.” Michael said evenly, crossing his arms before quickly dropping them back to his sides. 

“I had to find you,” you growled, “I had to find you just to get to you that night.” 

A smile pulled at his lips as he looked up at the ceiling, “Yeah,” he chuckled, “I still can’t believe you did that.” 

When you stayed quiet he continued.

“What you always do.” he gestured, genuinely confused by the confusion on your face, “The way you can just show up,” he took a step towards you and shoved his hands in his pockets and kept his eyes on the floor “and it doesn’t matter who was or is around, all I see,” he looked up, “is you. And you know what,” a soft chuckle rumbled in the air between you, “I kept telling myself it was a bad thing, that the distance would help, which it didn’t, but now- it’s more than okay for me.” 

You turned on your heel as the tears fell, your back to Michael. A soft sob broke through your sealed lips as his warmth enveloped you from behind. His solid chest pressed to your back as he curled around you, his arms tight around your waist. His cheek pressed to the side of your head.

"You don't have to hide your tears from me." He whispered in your ear as he kissed your hair, “I’m here. I’m here for you.”

You wouldn’t turn in his arms and let yourself fall apart. Not yet. His grip was gentle but strong on your shaking frame as you whimpered through every grievance, every less than nice feeling or thought he’d caused in your mind until you’d calmed and he’d added a few of his own. You both even laughed a few times, you both had truly made a mess of a masterpiece.

When you felt a lull in the conversation, you took a step forward and pushed his arms off of you. You didn’t want to self destruct, but you knew now was the time to speak. You wouldn’t be you if you didn’t voice your hold ups. 

You faced him much braver than before, “How do we know this is going to work?” 

“How do you know it won’t?” He challenged.

“You’re selfish.” You whined, “And so am I.’

“So?” Michael shrugged, “I want you. All of you, and not just half-assed, but completely. And maybe that does make me selfish, but I don’t care.” He took a pause before he continued, “Because all I care about is you.” You wiped the tears that stained your cheeks as he took your hand in his, “I would give up everything for the chance to hear your laugh. To see you smile. To see you happy- and I know I can make you smile, I know we make each other happy.”

Your voice shook as you answered him, “You want to be happy with me?”

“Darling,” Michael chuckled under his breath as he lifted your hand to press a quick kiss to your knuckle, "I don’t think I can be happy with anyone else.”

His eyes bored into yours as you swallowed another sob. Words you’d never spoken before shined in his eyes and danced on the tip of your tongue, but he continued before you worked up the courage to finally just say it.

“No matter how much time we've spent apart, I don’t think I’ll ever stop loving you the way I do." Michael cupped your face so you couldn’t look away, “No matter how many times you try to break my heart.”

“I’m s-sorry.” you cried as you surged forward and wrapped your arms around his middle and buried your head in his chest, “I’m s-so sorry for hurting you, f-for pu-pu-pushing you away, for being a hor-horrible, horrible person. For trying to make you give up, for making it look like I gave up.”

Michael kissed the top of your head, "For what it's worth, we’re both horrible,” you choked on a laugh before you fell silent. His lips brushed against your ear as he whispered, “but I never gave up on you."

“That’s a lie,” you laugh wetly as your fingers pressed into his forearms, “and you know it.”

“I never gave up on you in my heart.” he corrected you softly.

You playfully pushed his chest as you choked on a sob before asking in a high pitched, strained voice, “Where are you getting these fucking lines from?”

Michael laughed hard as he pulled you back, a soft hum rumbled from his chest as he pressed his cheek to the top of your head. You melted into the soft material of his sweater and sighed, your tears ceasing. 

“Were you really going to just stay here?” He asked softly, still holding you firmly.

“I was going to take you with me. I never wanted to come back here alone.” 

Michael pulled away suddenly, almost making you fall forward as he held your arms to keep you a foot away as he searched your face, “Really?” He asked breathlessly, “You were going to ask me to come here?”

You nodded, “I was trying to work up the courage for it all night, I was so worried about ruining such a great night, cause it was so great,” your eyes filled with tears all over again, “and before I could- you saw my ticket and-”

“M’sorry.” Michael pulled you back to him, and spoke into your hair, “M’sorry I reacted like that.”

“I’m sorry I was a coward.” 

“Come home.” He said softly before he gently look your face in his hands and looked at you, “Please.” 

You didn’t even hesitate, “Okay.” you nodded.

“Okay?” Michael asked, suddenly laughing happily as he wiped your cheeks with his thumbs.

“Okay!” you repeated, laughing with him wetly, “Fuck,” you choked on a leftover sob as he smiled widely at you, “you make me crazy.” 

Michael leaned forward and whispered, “Wanna go quit your job?”

“You are the bad influence between us.” you teased, “Wait,” you peeked around him, “did you come just as you are-”

“Stuff is at the hotel.”

“Hotel?” you asked unimpressed, “Go get your stuff and come back here.” you ordered, before doubling back, “If you want to!”

“Yes ma’am.” Michael leaned forward and rubbed his nose against yours before taking a step away and moving towards the door, “I’ll be back.”

“You better be, or I’m gonna wake up from this dream and cry for three days straight.”

He shook his head as he pulled the door shut behind him, leaving you behind in your apartment with the promise to come back. 

You stood in the front of your apartment and took in how different you felt. How full of energy you felt. You could feel every bit of yourself inside and out, from your head to your feet for the first time in a while. 

He is what you want. 

You grabbed your laptop and opened it back up, before pressing on your work email tab. Pulling up a new message, you addressed it to your boss.

Good evening, you typed.

I want to thank you for giving me the time to clear my head. I do apologize for how my performance has been as of late, and want to emphasize how thankful I am for the opportunity to work for your company. It has been a dream realized.

I was hoping you would have some time to meet with me tomorrow so we could discuss my employment. Please let me know what time, and if not tomorrow- what day as well, would be best for you.

Thank you.

You shook your hands out before you stabbed the scroll pad to send the email out, then you grabbed a pillow and screamed into it. 

This was it, you were going home. You giggled in a bit of a hysterical way as you realized that your mind was quiet. There was nothing left to do but watch for a response, and for Michael. 

-

Michael had kept his promise and ventured back to your place no more than a hour after he’d left your place. It had been horribly awkward at first, as he stopped in your apartment with his bag and sat on your couch. You’d pulled out a puzzle and pushed through the awkwardness so at least you weren’t sitting in the same room, quiet and doing nothing. 

From there, you’d fallen into an easy silence as you both worked on piecing the puzzle together, together. 

You’d truly hated it, the silence, the lack of conversation, no matter how comfortable it had become, until it opened your eyes to the real conversation you should have been having.

“We need to talk.” you broke the silence, “About us.”

He turned his body towards you. Tucking your feet under you, you sat in a pretzel facing him while he leaned back into the corner of the curved couch and waited for you to continue. 

“If this is going to work, we need to come up with some ground rules, a way to rebuild this right.”

“I agree.” 

“So, like-”

“Talking.” he answered instantly, before looking more sheepish as you tilted your head at him, “We should talk about how we feel to each other. Like when we like something or don’t like something, and the other has to listen.” 

You smiled and scrunched your nose as you nodded, “Okay, yes. I would like that.”

“Just time for us.” He nodded down at the cushion between you both, before he leaned forward and placed the piece in his hand on the board, perfectly snapping it into place, “Time for us to be with each other, get to listen to each other so nothing builds up or gets buried.”

The sentiment hit you like a brick.

“No sex.” you said confidently and clearly.

“None?” He asked, his head turned towards you before he quickly added, “I don’t mind, I’m not with you for that- but, we’re kinda, like, are you sure?”

“Yes.” you nodded as you giggled, “We got the sex part of this,” your finger waved back and forth between the two of you, “down pat, we need to get the rest of us straight too.”

“TLC.” Michael agreed.

“Exactly.”

Michael looked down at the puzzle and kept his eyes on the pieces as he added, “Dates. We should go on dates.” 

“Yeah.” you couldn’t fight the smile then as you leaned forward to peek at his flushed face, “I agree!” you teased. 

“And maybe pick a date?”

“Like what to do?” you asked.

Michael’s face reddened further as he thumbed through all the pieces that didn’t have a home yet, “No, like a date to keep as a starting point, a we-got-together-on-this-day date.”

“I knew you were romantic.” 

“Shut up.” He answered, “Or no dates- the going out kind.”

“But the actual date offers still stands?” Michael rolled his eyes as you laughed, “I appreciate it,” you leaned forward and pressed a kiss to his cheek, “and you.” you whispered into his shoulder as you leaned against it.

You felt all the previous emotions that filled the room evaporate as he wound his arm around your waist and kept at the puzzle. 

-

When you woke, the first thing you saw was the clock that rested on your bookshelf. It was 2am, and the softly moving heat under your cheek, coupled with the slight weight on the top of your head told you exactly how you’d ended up. 

You weren’t sure how late it had been when you’d both given up on the puzzle, the table scattered with pieces in front of you. But you did remember turning on the tv, which explained why there was a soft glow coming from behind you. 

You filled with a sleepy, easy warmth as you snuggled and melted into Michael’s arms. Your leg was between his, his arms were around you, and you’d never felt safer. You closed your eyes to go back to sleep, but couldn’t. He was just so close to you and it felt so right, and as much as it embarrassed you, the affection you’d woken up to in the middle of the night (morning?) went straight to your pussy. 

And really, the last thing you wanted was to jump him, especially when you’d both agreed not to give in. You needed a real relationship, again- you’d had the sex part, now the real side needed the TLC. You rolled your eyes at yourself as you realized how you squirmed and rubbed your cunt against his thigh. 

Just put a bit of distance between you, you horny bitch. 

But when you went to shift, you froze as your knee brushed against something very familiar. 

Glancing down, careful not to move your head too much since Michael rested his chin on top of it, you licked your lips. Michael was very hard. His length was clearly visible under the black joggers he had changed into, the curve of the rim of his cock head had your mouth watering. 

Absentmindedly, your cunt dragged across Michael’s thigh again, his even breathing against your hair revealed he was still asleep. Unable to help yourself, you lifted your knee until you could feel the heat that emitted from between his legs. When you’d barely brushed against the heavy length that desperately strained the fabric it was constricted by, you saw him twitch in his pants. 

A heavy inhale made your body freeze.

“Baby?” He whispered, his deep, gorgeous Australian drawl made you shiver. 

His hands felt like irons against your skin. They heavily dragged up and down your back and arm, impatient, demanding but lazy. 

You tilted your head up and came face to face with the sexiest sight. Michael, half asleep, with his blown out pupils under half lidded eyes and swollen lips, framed by the full beard on his face. His tongue darted out to lick his lips, and your eyes quickly caught the movement. You held eye contact with him as you began to move. Your hand dipped under his shirt and dragged up his stomach to his chest, and he rumbled against you as he enjoyed your touch. He leaned down and you pressed on his chest so you could lean up, and your mouths met halfway. 

You both moaned as you kissed and rubbed your tongues together. 

“One more time?” Michael rasped against your mouth with a sinful smirk.

“Just until we’re back in Monaco.”

You threw your leg over his hip, your lips brushed against his as you shook your head. His chest vibrated as he growled slightly, his large hands grasped your ass and tugged you up so you sat right on his hardened length. You began rocking your hips as you both moaned, dry humping each other. 

“Bed?” Michael asked before he pressed his lips to your jaw. 

“Yes.” you sighed, “Please.” 

Michael shot up off the couch, easily supported your weight as he walked through your apartment. You pressed your lips to his jaw, the stubbles scratch spurring you on as your teeth joined your tease. His hand snuck into your hair and lightly pulled it.

“Gonna take you against the wall if you don’t behave.” He rasped into your ear.

You whimpered, “Promise?”

His touch roughened as he yanked you back from his neck and ravaged your mouth with his own. He licked between your lips as you moaned into his mouth. You hadn’t even realized he had stopped walking until his hands had pulled you back and gently caressed your face. Your fingers pressed into his shoulders as you realized you held on to his body with just your legs around his waist. One of Michael’s hands dropped to your waist when your hold seemed to falter.

“Are you sure?” He searched your eyes for any discomfort, anything that could twist into regret tomorrow, “We can just sleep.”

You pulled the neck of his sweater and pressed your fingers beneath it to touch his skin. With your watchful eye, you witnessed how his body heated, how he felt the same jolt you did when you touched. It was in the slight lift of the corner of his mouth, and the way his fingers pressed almost rhythmically into you where they touched you.

“I’m sure,” you nodded, “if you’ll have me.”

Michael grinned, his cocky demeanor snapped into place, “As many times as you want.”

“Oh, he thinks he can keep up.” You teased.

Michael dropped you on to the bed as you giggled and pulled his shirt over his head, “I got these,” he pressed a chaste kiss to your neck that made you squeal, “these,” he stood up on the side of the bed, between your legs and held up his hand to spread his large fingers out, “and,” he pulled the joggers down with two quick yanks, “this.” You stared at the bulge between his legs, outlined so nicely by his underwear and bit your lip, “I think I can keep you up all night long, darling.”

You pressed your feet to his chest as you pulled your leggings down under your ass. Michael’s hand shot forward and pushed yours away, a breathless gasp leaving your lips as he grabbed your ankles with his other hand and folded your legs against your chest. Your leggings were shoved just under your ass, and the cooler air in the room brushed against your lower lips. The thud of his knees hitting the ground made you whimper. You couldn’t see him from the way your knees pressed into your own chest, pinning you in place, but you felt his hot breath on you. It was the only warning you got before he pressed his mouth to you.

You groaned as he sucked on your clit before rubbing his tongue all over it, flicking it with the strong tip as you cried out. You could feel and hear him moaning into your sensitive flesh. The erotic feeling of his drool dribbling down your seam to your tightened entrance made you ache. But as usual, Michael knew exactly what to do.

“Oh my god,” you groaned as one of his large fingers sunk into your heat before a second followed, “fuck, another, please.” 

Your hips jerked as another sunk into you, and then the two pushed away from each other, and he scissored you open. You sucked in the air as he pulled off your clit with a wet suck before leaning down and flickering his tongue in and out of your pussy between his spread fingers. 

“Another, another, another.” you chanted, your voice barely loud enough, but you knew he heard you when you felt the brush of air to your hypersensitive lips.

Michael kissed your entrance before he pushed his fingers apart harder, stretching you enough so he could spit into your hot hole. 

“Michael!” you yelped as he pressed his fingers together as he slipped the third in alongside the other two. 

“That’s it, darling, scream my name.” his voice was hoarse, and slurred as he encouraged you, “So tight, you want another?” 

You whimpered as you struggled to catch your breath, the hot stretch between your legs was so overwhelming. It didn’t hurt, but it felt like almost too much. But like most things with Michael, you craved more. You wanted him so deep, you wanted him so bad. 

“Yes, yes.” 

Michael took his free hand off of your ankles and grabbed the leggings that had bound your legs together. He peeled them off of you until they hung off one ankle stubbornly. But neither of you cared, and you threw your newly freed legs open. Hooking your hands under your soft thighs, you pulled yourself open for Michael’s eyes. 

“Pretty,” Michael pulled his three fingers out and slapped your spread open cunt, “stuffed,” he shoved his three fingers back inside you and rapidly fucked you on his fingers before pulling them back out just as abruptly, “pussy.” he spanked it again.

This time you screamed and your legs shook as your cunt took four of Michael’s large fingers. Your hips shook as you rode his hand, and your cries continued as he stood between your legs, his bottom half bare to your needy gaze as his thumb pressed on your clit and his hand shook inside of you. You cried, moaned and shook on the bed as you looked down at his twitching cock. It was so thick and heavy between his legs, and the sight of it only made your blood burn hotter. 

“Yes, yes, yes, y-yes, yes!” you chanted louder and cried as you rode his hand to your peak, until he yanked his hand from your soaked center, “No!”

You whimpered as Michael obscenely licked your cream off his hand, and licked the bit that had splashed on to his forearm. He kept eye contact with you as he licked himself clean and lazily stroked his prick. Your cunt spasmed from its missed orgasm, and your hips ached from the way they’d been spread for nothing. 

“Shhh,” he held a spit slick finger to his lips, “m’not done with you.” 

He grinned as he slapped your thigh before pushing you. Taking the hint, you shuffled up the bed as he crawled up over you. He smirked when you opened your legs for him to slot in between. When he reached down and traced the rim of your pussy entrance, you felt like you could barely breathe.

“This where you want me?” He teased, “Or do you need a break?”

“Fuck you.” you chuckled as you struggled to catch your breath.

Michael chuckled before he flicked your clit, making you cry out before you were silenced by the intoxicating pressure of his cock pressing into your depths. When you reached down to play with yourself, he grabbed your hands and pinned them above you. Your eyes rolled back as he popped past the ring of muscles and sunk into your cunt. Your pussy convulsed around him, eager as you were to feel his cum inside of you. He spread you open from the inside out, making you feel so thoroughly claimed, until he suddenly stopped. 

Your eyes opened as you looked up at him before you peeked down and noticed he was only half way inside of you. 

“Beg.” he said evenly, looking down at you as his hands kept yours pinned to the bed, “Beg for me.”

“Mich-”

“Beg.” he commanded. 

His cock pulsed inside of you, the hilt practically jolted in the air between your bodies. You wanted all of him, not half of him, and you wanted it all.

“Have me,” you whisper as you gently pulled your hands out from under his so you could reach up to cradle his face, “I’m yours.” 

Michael melted over your body, the gentle and slow joining of your bodies were heightened by the way he sunk into your cunt. You shuddered and gasped when his bare body pressed down on yours, when he planted himself inside of you. You felt your eyes pricked with tears, but ignored them as you gently kissed him. 

He spread his legs, forcing your legs to hook over his thighs. The position made you whimper as he sunk deeper into your spread heat, the weight of him sealed his cock in you as your pussy eagerly held on to his impressive length. The heat of Michael’s chest and stomach pressed to yours was nothing compared to his pelvis and inner thighs pressed to your own. That was a whole different kind of heat. 

The loud, wet squelch as he rocked into you sung your arousal as he breathed you in. His hot breath hit the crook of your neck where his lips brushed against your pulse. Flashes of what was supposed to be your last night together flew through your mind so fast you had to widen your eyes to see you were in your apartment in Germany, not your empty home. 

While it was similar, it was not the same. And that realization made you hold him tighter.

You wrapped your arms around his middle and kissed his shoulder. Your fingers caressed his spine as you turned your head so your sweet nothings could be heard in his ear.

“M’never leaving you.”

“Only ever want you.”

“M’yours.” 

Michael’s breath stuttered against your skin as he leaned up on his arms so could look at you, his hips pressed forward and back, rocking like the tide that your story together had started on.

“We’re each other’s.” He clarified before he pressed his lips to yours. 

You kissed each other over and over, chaste presses of lips over and over. Your legs curled over his own so you could hold him to you. When your arms wrapped around him, he kissed your cheek before he let you wrap him up in your limbs. His arms wrapped around you as his weight began to ease over you, the gentle rocking of himself inside of you made you whimper low in the back of your throat.

His fingers curled over your shoulder as he held you to him. His thumb gently rubbed back and forth over your bone as he rolled his hips into yours. Every inch of him was electrified against you, and the gentle gasps in your neck assured you that you both would meet your end together just as you were.

Your eyes closed as you focused on the feel of him, inside and outside of your body. Heat swelled in your chest and between your legs, and your body had melted to weightlessness. Your toes curled as a wave of pleasure rolled over your body. The tightening of your thighs made Michael’s thumb stop it’s movement.

He pulled away from you, and shushed you as you whimpered from the loss of his hold. Pushing himself up on his forearms, he pressed his forehead to your own and looked into your eyes as his hips pressed a bit firmer into yours. Your arms lifted from his shoulders to cup his face.

You both breathed each other in, each of you closing your eyes when a moment of spiked pleasure hit you. Your cunt squeezed him tighter every few thrusts, exciting the both of you as the delicious anticipation of cumming crept up your spines.

When your orgasm rushed over you, you made a strangled sound, a cross between a cry and a moan as your eyes slipped shut. The hot, wet lick of Michael’s tongue on your lip made you jolt, making him groan as he spilled inside of you. The hot streams of cum that warmed your pussy made your hips rock. You never felt as good as this moment.

He rested half of his body on yours as you both caught your breath. You could feel your hearts beating against each other.

A moment of truth sprung up in you and you turned your head so you could whisper into his ear, “You’re the only person I’ve let have me like this.”

Michael let out a small whimper as his spent cock throbbed inside of you. You smiled into his heated skin as you felt how much he liked that fact. The heat of him around himself must have also felt especially warm in that moment. 

When Michael kissed your collarbones and made to move off of you, you pulled him back to you, “Stay for a bit longer,” you mumbled shyly, “stay here. Like the way you feel.”

Michael’s chest rumbled softly as he melted back into your embrace.

-

Michael’s eyes snapped open and his whole body jerked from the shock of the dream he’d been having. He jumped again when he felt something brush his arm. Looking down, he blinked hard as he realized it was your hair brushing his arm as you grumbled and snuggled into him. He must’ve jostled you when he woke.

“Go back t’sleep.” you whispered without opening your eyes, your breathing evening out again moments after you spoke.

Michael looked at you and exhaled all the stress from the dream. Careful not to wake you again, he kissed your forehead and scooted closer to you. Closing his eyes, he drifted off into an uninterrupted sleep.

At a more appropriate rising time, you woke before him. 

You slowly came to, the sun lit room shining through your eyelids as you squeezed them shut. You could feel a featherlight touch brushing your cheek, making your skin twitch. You inhaled heavily and exhaled, and didn’t open your eyes until you felt the familiar warmth of a large hand curve around your jaw. Opening your eyes, you came face to face with a very happy man.

“G’mornin.” you slurred sleepily before you closed your eyes again and leaned your forehead against his chest.

His lips pressed to the top of your head, “Good morning.”

You mumbled into his skin, “What time is it?” 

“9am.” 

“Shit,” you lifted your head, “I have to check my laptop.” You had to see if your boss had answered, “Let go of me, please?” you asked sweetly, looking up into Michael’s eyes.

He squeezed you tightly for a moment before letting you go. But when you went to move, you cringed. He looked at you as you whined and gingerly slid off the bed.

“We never cleaned up last night,” you groaned at the side of the bed, “oh this is horrible.” your cheeks heated as you felt your thighs unstick to each other as Michael laughed. 

“Look away,” you whined as Michael laughed and shook his head, “look away!” you laughed as you yelled at him, your body bent over the bed so he couldn’t see your lower half. 

Michael laughed as he watched your face heat up as you refused to get up until he looked away. Still laughing, he crossed his arm over his eyes as he laid back, looking away as you wished. He laughed at the sickened groans and whines you let out as your uneven steps padded across the room. He didn’t move his arm until he heard the water running in the bathroom. 

Looking at the rumpled bed, Michael lifted the sheets and cringed. You both really hadn’t cleaned up when you should’ve and the crispiness in some spots of the sheets chided him for being so careless. His softened cock twitched in interest as he remembered how good it had felt to just sit inside of you. Honestly, how could he blamed for not moving to clean up? It had been good.

The swelling between his legs reigned in his thoughts and he began thinking of work related things, of blueprints and contracts until he was flaccid again. With a huff of breath, he sat up and pulled the sheets with, stripping the bed and shoving them into the hamper beside your closet. Venturing into your walk in closet, he easily spotted the shelf where more bedding was folded up on. 

Carefully and with more care than his own bed had ever experienced, he remade the bed. He stuffed the sheets under the mattress to keep them flat and secure before he spread the quilt over the top. By the time he was finished, the water had stopped. 

Turning towards the bathroom, he walked nude into the room, not bothering to knock as he sauntered into the room bare. He winked at you when your eyes raked up and down him appreciatively before you turned towards the mirror and dropped your own towel as you combed your hair.

Tempting little darling.

Michael let himself get pulled in by your bait and pressed himself behind you, making you gasp as his colder skin hit your heated body, and his hands came up to cup your breasts as his lips pressed to your shoulder. 

“Get out of here,” you pushed your hand back at him, “you’re dirty.”

“You like me dirty.” he growled into your skin before he reached down and slapped his cock into your ass cheek.

“Stop it, I just showered, I have work stuff to do.” You looked at him seriously through the mirror before you both broke into naughty little grins. 

“I’ll just take care of myself in the shower,” he groaned, “all by myself,” he stroked himself as he dragged himself towards the shower, “with no one but me.”

“Don’t leave streaks on the wall.” you yelled over your shoulder as you walked out of the bathroom.

Michael was dumbfounded as he stared at the doorway, “She actually left.” he told himself in disbelief. 

TLC, not sex, this relationship needs TLC, he reminded himself.

Didn’t stop him from jerking off in your shower though. 

-

You may have put on a good face, but you hadn’t felt much different than Michael. You had been tempted, by his gorgeous face, his tall stature, and delicious endowment. It had taken some time to calm yourself down and ignore the yearning inside of you.

We don’t need sex, you reminded yourself as you pulled a sweater over your head. 

You hummed to yourself and put all your focus on the sound you were making to silence the want inside of yourself as you trailed into the kitchen. You pulled out two mugs and turned on your coffee machine, and switched your focus to the task at hand instead. 

As the coffee brewed, you pulled up your laptop and checked for the message. Your palms tingled when you saw you had one response. Checking it, you could hear Michael’s foot falls as he wandered into the kitchen and kissed your cheek. He leaned against you as he read over your shoulder.

“2pm, huh?” 

“Uh huh.” you agreed.

“It’s gonna be fine.” he rubbed your arms before he stepped behind you and worked on your coffees. 

You nodded to yourself as you leaned away from the corner and quickly responded to the email confirming your meeting. 

“Shit,” you sighed, “I wish she’d chosen the morning, that way I didn’t have to sit with all of this, like, nervousness for a few hours.” 

Michael handed you your mug, “Don’t worry about it.”

You made a sound as you took a sip.

“You’re leaving, the most you can do is be polite, that’s all.” he assured you softly.

You looked at him and froze, “What did you tell your job?” Michael froze like a deer in the headlights as you sucked in a breath and laughed, “Please, please tell me you said something to someone.”

Michael dropped his head back and winced as his head hit the cabinet behind him, “Fuck,” he groaned, “I only told Daniel.”

“Daniel doesn’t work with you.” you laughed.

“I know that, thank you.” he grumbled as he grabbed his phone from his back pocket, “Ah, fuck.”

“What?”

Michael showed you his phone screen with the numerous texts and missed call notifications. You covered your mouth to stifle your laughter as he grumbled and began reading everything he missed.

“Fuck,” he breathed out, “I have to make a call.” 

You rubbed his arm as he walked past you and lifted his phone to his ear. You didn’t move to the hallway with him, but you could hear his tone even if you couldn’t make out the words. They got more and more clipped as his conversation went on, and then there was silence. You quickly looked away from the door when he stepped back through.

“Bad?” you asked as you looked down into the swirling contents of your mug. 

“Yeah, kinda,” he sighed, “I just basically didn’t show up for work, so there’s that.” he choked on his own laugh for a moment, “I have to go back.” 

You nodded and took another sip of coffee. Didn’t matter now, since you were going back too. 

“This afternoon.” 

“Oh,” you breathed out, “Okay, yeah. I can drive you.” 

There was a pull in your chest at the idea of either one of you leaving the other again, especially when you’d had less than 24 hours together. But this wasn’t forever, and that fact soothed you in a way that made the separation feel more bearable. 

“You sure?” Michael asked as he came to you and hugged you against him, “I wish I could stay until you were ready, but-”

“It’ll only be a few days,” you told him, and yourself, “and this goodbye is the first one we’ve had that’s only temporary.”

He tilted his head as he fixed a look at you, “Well, the others were temporary too.”

“But we didn’t know that.” you sassed. 

“Yeah, yeah, yeah.” He grumbled, “I’ll get something before noon so that you have time to prepare for your work too.”

He let go of you and walked around the counter to plop himself down on your couch. Focused on his phone screen, you had no doubt he was searching for flights. The nagging feeling in your chest calmed, but stayed persistent. 

True to his word, Michael did find a flight before noon leaving Germany to Monaco, and true to your word, you gave him a ride. While the ride was shared in comfortable silence, you did feel a rush of panic as the airport came into view. Following Michael in had been like second nature, your hand firmly in his all the way until the point where you had to let him go.

He looked down at you, “This is where I leave you.”

“Temporarily.” you reminded him.

“Temporarily.” he repeated back.

You gently pressed your lips to Michael’s, the soft brush of lips barely enough to hold you over. You settled for it and leaned your forehead against his. When you pulled away a few inches, you both looked at each other. Searching his eyes, but not quite sure of what you saw in them, you opened your mouth.

“I’m crazy about you.”

Michael shrugged, “I think you’re just crazy, but yeah, same.”

You both snickered as you pinched his thick bicep. The stress dripped out of you. You pressed your lips together in a happy smile as you looked up at him. Your fingers rubbed his arm as you leaned in and pressed your forehead to his. When you saw the way the corners of his lips tugged downwards, you realized you had a shared fear.

"I'll come back to you, I promise." you whispered. 

“You better,” he growled before he chuckled playfully, “or I’ll find you.”

You laughed, “Ah, pretty sure I’m regretting this already.”

“Really?” 

“No.” you laughed, “Just hope these days go fast.”

Michael was spiraling.

Daniel couldn’t think of any other way to describe it, and he could count on one hand how many times Michael had let himself get to this point in their long shared friendship.

Michael looked unhinged, tired, and muttered to himself in person. He paced the kitchen back and forth, and looked like an open flame with the barely contained anxiety and rage in his heavy eyes. It was much worse than Michael had made it sound over text. When he’d ask Daniel to come by this morning, the text had been quick and concise. ‘I’m home come by’ Daniel had been alarmed to get a text from anyone at 6am, much less Michael. 

Michael, who loved to sleep, and as of late, loved going to work. This Michael looked like he’d been physically chasing sleep all night, and didn’t have the mental capacity to even dress properly. So, yeah, Daniel was stressed by his friend’s state, and the fact that he wasn’t with you the morning after what was supposed to be your first real date.

A first real date that Michael had been very excited about.

And he had no idea what the fuck happened between then and now.

“Did you sleep at all?” Daniel asked gently, looking up at the clock that read ‘8:14 AM’.

“No!” Michael snapped, “She’s doing this shit again, and I- I didn’t do anything this time either.” His voice was ragged, mournful as he scraped his palms down his face, “I told her to choose whether she goes or stays.”

“You guys fought?” 

“Yes!” Michael answered impatiently, “The flight tickets, they were on her phone and I saw it and I couldn’t let that shit go- so, yeah. I told her off, told her not t-to fucking bother, to get lost until she could make a decision.” 

Daniel nodded carefully, “That was good.” he assured him.

Michael turned sharply on his heel and leaned his elbows on the kitchen counter. A heavy sigh made his spine curve, his body bent into himself. He felt dizzy from all the pacing, and he blinked a couple times, desperate to get the hazy film over his vision gone. He wasn’t sure why his eyes stung, but settled for trying to calm himself by staring at the swirled patterns of color in the marble, too lost in his own thoughts to look at Daniel.

“What if she’s gone?” He whispered.

Daniel looked away from his best friend and bit his lip. Seeing Michael so dejected, so hollow while overwhelmed with exactly his own emotions- it hurt. Dan could practically taste the rejection in the air.

“There’s only one way to know.” 

Daniel reached for the forgotten iPhone on his end of the counter and slowly pushed it, the empty lock screen glowed as it moved across the table top. Michael looked at it like it would burn him, and in that moment, Daniel wasn’t sure which of them hated you more. 

“You gotta find out, mate.” 

Michael nodded wordlessly and picked it up. His hands moved frantically, scrolling through his contacts. He clicked on the name of the hotel that had been his childhood getaway and walked away from the delicate cutlery of the kitchen into the more spacious living room. He pinched his eyes shut before he spoke up to the receptionist who answered.

“Yes, hi, this is Michael Italiano, I wanted to call and check the status of a guest.”

Daniel could hear the friendly chirp on the other side as Michael spoke your name before the rhythmic sound of a wait signal sang from the other end. Still trying to give him space, Daniel walked over to the couch to sit so he wouldn’t crowd Michael. The other Aussie didn’t seem to notice Daniel at all, and sunk to the ground as the music continued. Michael leaned against the wall, his knees to his chest as his free hand rubbed his forehead. His other hand didn’t move, just kept his phone firmly to his ear. When the music Daniel could overhear suddenly stopped, he held his breath as he waited for the answer that would make or break Michael.

Daniel looked down at the floor the second Michael started nodding his head and rushed off the phone. Before he could even figure out a soft way to prod his friend as to which way the call had gone, Michael exploded and leapt to his feet.

“Fuck!” 

Michael flung his phone across the apartment where it ricocheted off the wall and slid across the floor where neither one of them could see it. Daniel’s eyes widened. The force that the phone had been flung with had created a deafening crack through the air. When he looked back at Michael, he had his fingers together behind his head. He leaned his back against the wall and curled his body so he was leaned forward.

“Why’s she keep leaving me?” Michael choked out.

Daniel immediately pushed himself to his feet in front of his friend and pulled him into a hug. Michael didn’t reciprocate it, but Dan knew it was only because he didn’t want to fall apart in front of him. Daniel had only witnessed Michael fall apart a handful of times in their lifelong friendship, and each time had been more brutal than the last.

“I don’t know, mate.” He told Michael truthfully, “I don’t know.”

-

This sucks. 

You stared at the blank screen in front of you. You’d tried unsuccessfully for two days to start your latest project, to no avail. You weren’t sure why you bothered coming in, why you thought you could do this, just show up to work and go about your day as normal.

Nothing felt normal anymore, nothing felt possible anymore. 

You fucked up everything, why would your ‘dream job’ be any different?

“Hey, hey.” You jumped as you felt a hand touch your shoulder. “You wanna go for a walk?” You looked at your coworker who held her hand up peacefully, “Let’s go for a walk.” She motioned for you to get up, and reached for your iPad, locking the screen, “Yeah, you don’t need to stare at that any longer.” 

You reached for your iPad, “No, I need-”

She pulled it away from you and slid it into her own messenger bag, “No, no, come on.” she kept her voice low, but you caught the way her eyes flashed around the room.

Following her line of sight, you felt even more humiliated. People in the open office stared. Not in an obnoxious way, but in a ‘I’m going to conveniently place myself in your direction and make not so subtle looks at you’ way. They must have anticipated some kind of grand explosion from your riled up energy. 

You had a hard time looking away from them all as you rose to your feet with your coworker’s gentle hand on your arm. 

“I- what about-”

“Shhhhh,” she gently turned your shoulders away from the room and towards her as she passed you your coat, “don’t worry about that. I think it’s best we get some air.”

She gave you a reassuring smile, but the way she kept messing with her hair as she trailed ahead of you on the staircase gave away her uneasiness. She was gentle, but cautious. She held the door for you, and while you knew she had mentioned the coffee shop, you didn’t think you could stomach it. Instead, you turned sharply in the opposite direction. Instead, you headed towards the small park North of the office. 

“Where- okay.”

Her hurried steps caught up to you until she fell into stride next to you. You could see the stone wall of the entrance coming up, and even though there was a chill in the air, you felt like you deserved it. You deserved every bit of discomfort you felt. 

“So, you got back the other day.” Your coworker started, “How was it being home?” 

You hated how concerned she sounded, how she didn’t sound a lick like her usual, gossipy self. Like she really, actually cared. 

You took a deep breath, what’s the point in lying to her, “It was horrible.”

“I’m sorry,” she sighed, “I can’t imagine it was easy going back for you.”

You hummed as you came up on a tall stone fountain that you had walked to before. It was too cold for the water to be on, so it was nothing other than a weathered piece of half completed architecture. Before you could think any better of it, you turned yourself to lean against it, and squared your shoulders to your coworker. 

“Does everyone think I’m a baby in the office?” You asked bitterly, “The weird girl from Monaco who can’t just grow up?”

You were so mad, all the irritation just seeped from your pores. More than that, you were disappointed in yourself. Disappointed in the way you talked to someone who just wanted to help. Lash out, lash out, lash out, that’s all you know how to do.

She shook her head as she closed the space you’d created, “No, no.” Her voice rose as she reached out to gently squeeze your arm before she leaned her hip on the edges of the fountain beside you, “Everyone’s just a bit worried.”

“I could tell.” you chuckled bitterly. 

“Oh, sweetheart, no.” She assured you again, “Everyone’s just concerned. You know, when you first got here, you were a little sad, but you were friendly. And it seemed to get better, but now- you, you just seem- you’re sad and unfocused, tired. Or mad.” She stumbled over her words and struggled to express herself without insulting you, “I’m not sure, but we all know it can’t be healthy, and you’ve been back for what, a few days? I mean, is it just being home and having to leave again? Like you felt bad leaving?”

“I don’t sleep.” you mumbled. 

“Look,” she continued, “I know this move was a lot for you, but you know- going home, it just made it a bit more bitter just for now. This’ll pass and you’ll see Germany as your-”

“His name is Michael.” you breathed out, the smothered warmth in your chest flickered for a moment in the chill you felt under your sweater.

“Who?” she asked gently.

“The one who did a number on me,” you reminded her, “the one I’m hung up on,” you continued, “the one who’s ruined fucking everything for me.” you growled.

“Did you go back to him?”

You shook your head and squeezed your eyes shut for a moment. The last thing you wanted to do was cry in front of her.

“What happened?”

“I happened.” you exclaimed mournfully, “I did what I usually do. I fucked things up, and I didn’t bother to fix them, I just made them worse. And now we’re back not on speaking terms and he- he doesn’t even want me- God, I fucked up so bad.”

She shushed you gently, “What’s going on?”

“I feel like I’m falling apart.” you choked out, “I feel like everything I’ve worked for has unraveled, like at any moment I’m going to take a step and just fall off a cliff.” 

“I’m so sorry.” she reached for your hand and you let her comfort you with the small gesture, “If this man lov-”

“No!” you yelped, “God, fuck- I can’t even bear to hear that word.” you started to cry, “I wish I was brave,” you sobbed, “I wish I hadn’t been so scared.” 

“Sweetheart, breathe.” 

You suddenly realized she stood in front of you, and held both your hands. You could hear your jagged breaths, and felt the way your chest heaved for air. There was a wetness on your cheeks, but you couldn’t move your arms to wipe your face, your arms were too tensed, fists clenched at your sides. The echo of her voice vibrated in the air as she spoke to you, but she felt a million miles away. It felt like an out of body experience, until she squeezed your shoulders and redirected your focus to her.

“Breathe with me, okay?” She told you as she started breathing very exaggerated.

You mimicked the rise and fall of her chest and synced your breath to hers until it was perfected, all the while her hands anchored you in place as they held your shoulders. You could feel the cold stone you were leaned on, the sound of the trees moving in the wind. You looked into your coworker’s eyes and took a deep breath all on your own. She rubbed your shoulders.

“There you are,” she smiled softly, “it’s okay. You’re okay.”

“I’m-”

“No, no.” she shrugged as she let go of you and stuffed her hands back in her jacket pockets, “Don’t worry about it. That was probably good for you.”

You cracked a smile and shook your head, “Falling apart at the seams.” You wiped your face with the tissue she offered you from her pocket. 

“Who? You?”

“No, you,” you scoffed, “who just had the meltdown in- oh, a fucking park.” you groaned, suddenly very aware of how public the past few minutes had been. 

She laughed, “Oh please, you think you’re the only one to have a meltdown in public? Been there, done that. Something spicy for the locals.” She joked. 

You groaned and rubbed your forehead. When you looked back at her, you felt a bit lighter. That glint you were so used to was back in her eyes. She looked sly, and you couldn’t help but chuckle. 

“So?” She tilted her head, “Are you finally going to tell me about Michael?”

And you did. 

Without hesitation, you opened your mouth and finally told her the complete truth. From beginning to end, you told her your and Michael’s shared timeline. How you got together, how you fell apart, how the falling apart didn’t stick, only for you both to fall back together before splitting apart again. 

It was raw, and you struggled to describe your fights, the disconnect as he pulled away from you when you were getting ready to leave the first time, but laughed when you remembered all the silly ways Michael would act to capture your attention when it was just the two of you. You blushed as you explained you had to play girlfriend just to smack the smug look off his bastard father’s face. You credited it as the spark, the moment that you began to allow yourselves to look at each other that bit differently that pushed the boundaries of what you’d created together. 

You stuttered more and more as you arrived to the latest memories, but when you finished with your own thoughts, you were able to annunciate every word clearly. Cause you meant them. 

“It was my fault,” you admitted, “I kept putting it off, telling him I was coming back,” you waved your hand around the park around you, “and I should’ve. It would’ve been better.”

“How?” She asked. 

“Well, for starters-” you chuckled dryly and shook your head, “I was planning on asking him to come with me.”

“Ohhhhhh,” she groaned in pity, “and he had no idea. He just thought you were flat leaving again.” 

You nodded. 

“Well, why don’t you call him?” 

“Because!” you snapped, “He said not to bother him until I knew what I wanted, until I was ready to be full in a- our,  our rela- our thing!” 

“You were planning on asking him to come with you, that sounds pretty figured out to me.” 

“But, I didn’t. I dragged my feet. I-”

She nodded knowingly, “You can’t even call it a relationship.”

“I’m, I know I want- but it’s like, it’s so confusing! If I wanted to be with him, wouldn’t I have just ripped that bandaid off?” you moaned, “I want to be sure, but also how do I know he’s sure about me? How do I know I won’t just be left hanging?”

“Well,” she shrugged, “that’s the point isn’t it? You have to trust each other in order to build trust. And-” she nudged your shoulder, “if you both didn’t care, would you both be such a wreck?” 

You pushed air out from between your lips as you rolled your eyes, “Yeah, I’m sure he’s a real mess right now.” 

“Oh, yes, because it sounds like he was doing great between the time you left Monaco and returned. Honestly, did you even listen to yourself during any of it?” 

You froze as you realized exactly what she meant.

-

It had been three days since ‘Breakup #2′ (as Daniel dubbed it), before Daniel had ventured back to Michael’s place. To his complete lack of surprise, he came face to face with the same Michael as the first day. 

He looked exhausted, blue crests under his eyes from lack of sleep. His clothes were rumpled, probably from fidgeting in bed or maybe just from keeping his hands busy and tangled in the material that hung off his body. He didn’t look like him, and while Daniel felt the urge to hug him, he knew he had to stop babying him. 

“Hey!” he greeted him as he would any other day and stepped around him, waltzing into Michael’s home like it was his own.

He heard Michael scoff behind him as he followed Daniel to the couches. When Daniel fell back on the longer couch, Michael curled into the loveseat. Daniel studied the way that he seemed to pull his knees up, his feet on the couch under him.

“What?” Michael challenged, “Don’t like the way I’m sitting?” he teased.

“It’s your couch to ruin.” Daniel smiled.

“Ah, fuck off.” Michael muttered as he leaned back into the cushions. 

“Soooooo,” Daniel dragged, “how are you today?”

“Peachy.”

“Mike,” he pulled himself up into a seated position and looked at him expectantly, “how are you today?” He took a deep breath and stood up straighter.

Michael froze as he took in Daniel’s stance. He realized with some more shock that Daniel was in jeans, not some weird kind of work out shorts or ripped jeans, but regular dark jeans, and a soft looking button up. He looked like he was at a business meeting, not sitting to commiserate with Michael. The Aussie narrowed his eyes at him before he leaned further back into the couch. He squeezed the pillow in his lap before he zeroed in on the strings along the edges. They were frayed, picked apart, and threatened to unravel the whole cushion. 

“You can’t ignore me in your own house, that’s rude.” Daniel told him, a little bit of frustration seeped into his tone.

Daniel would never tell Michael this, but he had spoken to your friend, and she had a lot to say about Michael breaking her friend’s heart again. It reminded Daniel that there were two sides to every coin, every situation, every fight. And while the bare bones of the story she told him matched with what Mike told him, there were two very different point of views.

So unlike the other day, Daniel had come here thinking you were both idiots. 

It’s not that he didn’t want to support Michael, but Michael was a man of action. And all the inaction he’d been taking with this relationship, the way he seemed content to sit back but point the finger every time something came out wrong, frustrated the hell out of Daniel. 

Michael finally shrugged, "I'm just tired of being tired."

“Don’t give me that, mate.” Daniel answered frustratingly, “Don’t lie to me.”

“I’ll be fine.” 

“You broke your phone.” Daniel reminded Michael, “That was a very not fine moment.” 

The Aussie lifted his iPhone out of his pocket so Daniel could see how the screen was not only just cracked, but some of the screen had simply fallen off. He shook his head at Michael. 

“I can’t even see the fucking- ugh.” Michael growled impatiently as he stabbed his thumb on to the cracked screen, unable to get it to respond to his touch. 

“Alright,” Dan clapped his hands together, “I let you be sad, now it’s time to not be sad.”

“M’not sad.” Michael pouted.

Daniel shook his head, “It’s solution time, let’s go. Come on.”

“Daniel, please-”

“Nope. Tell me.” He cleared his throat and put on his best ‘serious Michael face’, “Tell me what you can control in this situation.”

“Nothing.” Michael rolled his eyes. 

“Nope. Try again.”

“I can’t control her.” He deadpanned.

“I’m not talking about her.” Daniel tried to help, “M’talking about you.”

“Jesus Christ, Daniel,” He pushed himself forward, his feet planted on the floor as the pillow he’d been holding fell to the floor, “I can’t, I’m exhausted mate.” 

Daniel sighed and leaned forward on the couch, his elbows rested on his knees, “Why?” 

“Why, what?” Michael groaned as he snatched the pillow off the ground and covered his face with it. 

Daniel instantly snatched it from him.

“Why are you feeling the way you’re feeling?” Daniel could see the way Michael fidgeted, so out of character for him, so close to the surface, “What are you feeling that’s got you so tired?”

“I’m so fucking over it!” Michael finally screamed, “I told her, I told her she’d come to me when she was ready but I’m so sick of her dragging her feet and doing everything she can to sabotage us.”

“So what do you want to do?” Daniel leaned forward.

Michael was quiet for a moment, lost in his own thoughts. The minutes seemed to drag by, and Daniel was pretty close to breaking the silence when Michael looked him in the eye and told him confidently:

“I’m going to Germany.”

“Yes!” Daniel cheered excitedly, “Let’s go get you packed.” He leaned forward and pulled Michael’s laptop off the coffee table and slid it in front of Michael, “Find a flight, let’s go.”

Michael entered the password to unlock the Mac as Daniel stood to his feet and disappeared into the side hallway, “Where are you going?” He called.

“Mmm, stop.” 

“Stop it.”

“Darling, please.”

You grinned at the way Michael’s lip twitched every time you hovered your fingertip over his beard. It was cute, and if it got you to hear more of that sleepy, sexy rasp of his at the ungodly hour it was, all the better.

After he kissed you stupid the first time you woke up, you’d snuggled down for another few hours. Now, it was still way too early in your opinion, but you couldn’t resist when you saw the way his lip had curled when you had attempted to gently trace his cheek bones. 

You pouted when he grabbed your hand and brought your fingertips to his lips for some soft kisses. His eyes were shut but he had a smirk on his face. 

Rubbing the side of your face against his chest, you whined low as he held your hand in front of your face in his own, and the other around your waist squeezed you once before his grip relaxed. 

“You’re restless.” he commented.

“You make me restless.” you whispered into his collarbone. 

When he stayed silent, you tilted your head to look up at his peaceful, yet softly smiling face. Truly letting your restlessness get to you, you shoved his hand away, which made him open his eyes just as you climbed on top of him. He hummed as he leaned his head back, eyes closed again, as he hands stroked the skin of your sides. 

Your nipples hardened in the cold air of the morning, and you lifted your hands to play with your tits. Your hot core pressed to his abs, you moved your hips. 

That caught Michael’s attention.

“You gonna get my stomach all wet?” He chuckled.

You huffed and leaned over him, letting the hardened peaks of your nipples brush against his own chest as his fingers spread over your ass, “I remember when you wanted me to get your dick wet.” you teased.

Michael grinned, and dragged his hands up to your hips before he abruptly shoved you back so his morning wood poked against your lips, “Be a good girl,” he said lazily, “and sit in Daddy’s lap.” 

You rolled your eyes as you lifted your hips and reached behind you. Playfully, you tugged on his balls before you wrapped your hand around his thickened hilt. You looked back down at Michael and saw the way his lips had parted, and had lost its grin. Knowing you had him, you lifted your hips more, and he held your waist as you slowly sunk down every inch of him.

You hissed and sucked in a breath as your puffy, swollen entrance spread for him. You bit your lip when you felt his cock get slicked by what was no doubt his leftover cum from just a few hours ago. At that sensation, the smug smile returned to his face. You slapped his chest lightly, but didn’t say anything to him. 

Instead, you pushed your hips forward and then lowered them before you pulled them back and lifted them. The hot drag of you riding him, moving forward and back as you lifted and dropped your hips made you feel every ridge around his cock as your pussy gripped him. 

Michael’s breath was shaky as you rode him like that. Your swollen walls held him so tightly you could feel the rim of the head of his cock getting rubbed and squeezed as it got near and away from your entrance. 

With his eyes shut, you took the opportunity to drop your head back, and let your hands wander. They went the same route they usually went when you were alone. You skimmed your collarbones with your fingertips and heavy exhaled as you dragged your own touch down your sternum, between your tits. 

Pushing your hips down, you circled your hips as you kept him buried inside of you. He filled you so well, you could feel exactly how hot and how hard he was between your walls. You fit him like a glove, and every time you pushed down a bit harder, you felt his cock kiss the deepest part of you. The bit of pain it gave you had you twisting your nipples. Needing more, you licked your fingertips wet and rubbed the tips of the engorged flesh. 

Lifting your hips, you slowly lifted yourself an inch before bearing back down on him. Your fingertips dragged around the curve of your breasts before one hand closed around your tit. Before your other could make it down your clit, a much larger hand pressed to your pelvis. 

“God, you’re gorgeous.” Michael rasped. 

Your eyes snapped open and you brushed your hair back as you blushed. 

“No, no, darling,” Michael softly cooed, one of his hands lifted to your cheek, “let me watch.”

He pressed his thumb to your lower lip and lightly pulled on it. Ignoring it, you turned your head and kissed his palm. Looking down at him with his palm against your jaw, you kept riding him slowly and thoroughly as he looked up at you in complete peace and awe. His hand circled your lower stomach, right above where your slit was split with him.

“Let me watch.” he repeated. 

Looking away from him, cheeks blazing and your skin on fire from his gaze, you touched yourself. 

“Baby,” you sighed as your finger tip touched your engorged clit and rolled it as his fingers stroked the sensitive skin between your thigh and pelvis, “oh, I feel it.” you whispered. 

A pressure had built towards the top of your cunt, and you could feel a twin sensation right behind your clit too. The more Michael’s cock pressed to it, the more sensitive it became and the harder you rocked against it.

Michael moaned lowly, “I feel it, darling,” he said softly as his hands went to your hips, “take what you need.”

Your head dropped back as you whimpered and kept grinding in his lap. The pressure point he was pressing inside of you swelled with your pleasure, a fact that made your moans louder. The touch of his tip against it must have felt otherworldly to Michael was well, because he started to get a little restless underneath you.

His fingers flexed against your waist as you pressed on your clit. Lifting one hand, your whole body jolted when he cupped one of your tits and squeezed it. Your cunt contracted around him and you both moaned loudly. With your knees on each side of his waist, you controlled the pace. 

But Michael could still control the position.

You gasped loudly when he suddenly sat up so you were chest to chest, and his knees spread and bent underneath you. The change in position made you sink down until he was pressed firmly to your g-spot. Every movement of your hips made you gasp and moan while your body shook. 

Michael panted against your neck as his arms wrapped around your waist and across your back to cradle the back of your head. He couldn’t stop moving as he held you close and rocked with you in his lap. He kissed your collarbones as he muttered into your skin. 

“My heavenly girl.”

“M’sorry, I couldn’t take it, darling, barely can now.” 

“So beautiful.” 

“Made for me.”

You whimpered at his soft words as your eyes teared up. The pressure and the praise inside of you felt shaken bottle ready to explode. When Michael felt your body tremble in his arms, he cooed at you through your release.

“Just let go, baby.”

“I got you, m’here.”

“Let go for me.”

You whimpered as he gently sucked on one of your nipples, but quickly released it with a loud hiss when you tightened around him hard. Your fingers gripped his shoulders and dug into the crevices between his sculpted muscles as your orgasm was dragged out.

“There you are, love.” 

He sighed when he felt the gentle burst of your g-spot finally letting you cum. You both felt the way the pressure inside of you dissipated as your cum leaked down Michael’s shaft and balls. Instead of the hard gushing your wilder sex made you squirt like, this was a slow, gentle flow that had you holding Michael closer to you as you were eased into bliss. You could feel yourself shaking as your whole body tensed. 

“Shhh,” he cooed as he lowered himself back on to the mattress, “you’re so good.” 

Michael kissed your forehead as you snuggled under his chin. Partially on top of him, he stayed inside of you. At the feeling of his rigid, hard cock filling your fluttering walls, you tried to move, but found his firm grip around you stopped you from moving. 

“No, darling, no,” he softy told you as he kissed your temple, “It’ll still be here when you wake.” he teased softly.

With an amused huff, you let your heavy eyes roll shut as you drifted back to sleep.

-

Something was rocking. 

You inhaled sharply when you felt the movement of the bed and a pressure between your legs. Your eyes snapped open as you woke and realized Michael was behind you, his arm curved under your side and his hand splayed on your tummy. A glance down at yourself made you realize the red tip of his cock peeked out from between your thighs. The tip glistened with his precum and left streaks between your thighs. 

“Oh fuck, you’re awake, finally.” he groaned as he roughly bit the skin behind your ear.

“Michael!” you yelped as the hand that curved under your side squeezed one of your tits and the other on top of you pulled your knee up to your ribs. 

He made a satisfied sound as he hooked his arm underneath your knee to keep you open. You shivered as the sheets were kicked away and the cool air in the room brushed against your exposed, sloppy pussy. You could feel how covered in cum you were, and how you were still pretty wet. 

“Been waiting,” he grumbled as he moved his hips impatiently, his swollen tip catching on your entrance a few times before it pushed off your mound, “put me inside, baby.” he beckoned you.

You panted and shivered as you reached for his cock and pushed it against your entrance. It took two thrusts, but he finally sunk into you and filled you with strong, choppy thrusts. You weren’t sure how long he’d been so horny, but it had been long enough for him to lose his patience and composure.  

“You still half asleep, darling?” He growled into your skin as he pushed into you, “Delirious on my dick?”

You giggled dreamily as you felt lightheaded from being shook and overstimulated when half asleep. 

“How long-”

“Long,” Michael groaned as he pushed himself inside of you and moved his hips, grinding into your sex, “woke up still in this sweet cunt,” at his sharp thrust, you squealed, “was fucking you all nice, had you moaning in your sleep,” he gasped as he licked your neck and told you about what he’d done to you, “but then you rolled off of me and rolled over.” 

You licked your lips as he impatiently fucked you.

“Had me between your thighs like a teenager who couldn’t find your hole.”

You chuckled, until he slapped your tit.

“Ooh, fuck, I like the way that looked.” he said into your ear and slapped your swollen boob again. 

You leaned your head back against his collarbone, letting him fuck you sideways, literally, his balls slapping against your ass and thighs while his hand slapped at your tits. A chorus of moans slipped past your swollen lips as he continued using your body to give you both pleasure. 

It felt like your pussy hadn’t recovered at all from last night, and before you knew it, you right at the edge again. You could feel the electricity coursing through you, pure arousal that promised to steer you to pleasure if your man kept it up. 

Which you knew he would. 

“Need- uh, fuck.” Michael’s hips snapped against your ass, but he growled frustrated, “Need deeper.”

You giggled at his horny brain dead rage until you were suddenly pulled on top of Michael. Your back still to his front, he shoved your legs open, making you yelp as he filled you deeper from the position. But that wasn’t the deepest he could go.

“Down, down,” he grumbled as he shoved his legs between your knees and pushed them open as he shoved your back forward to have you sit up on his cock backwards, “hands here.”

Michael groaned as he grabbed your arms and shoved them behind you so you gripped the bed post behind you. With your feet barely planted on either side of hips, your body was shaking, but your hands gripped the bed post firmly to anchor you. He was so deep, your body was slanted with him deeply inside of you. 

“Ohhh!” you screeched as his hips snapped up into yours.

Your mouth dropped open as a chorus of curses and gasps left your lips. You could feel your tits bouncing as your hands began to cramp from how hard and awkwardly you held the bed post. With every creak and shake of the bed, your knuckles rubbed against the wall. Your thighs shook uncontrollably as Michael held your hips up all on his own. You were barely squatted over him anymore, your legs straightened from pleasure that made your muscles tighten as he held up your weight and his knees kept your own spread. 

You’d never been so thankful to have such a fit lover. 

“Come on,” he growled, “give it to me, cum on me.” 

You gasped as the dam inside of you broke, and you fell forward on to your hands between Michael’s legs as you came. Falling forward, your legs tensed and bent a bit, lifting you off of Michael’s cock almost painfully as your pussy tensed around nothing. You cried out as you squirted, much harder and wilder than just a few hours before. Your partially straightened legs shook and you cried out again when Michael slapped them. Looking between your arms and legs, you could see how his abs and cock glistened from your ejaculation.

“Fu-ah!” you cried out as you were unexpectedly turned on to your back, “Oh!”

You screeched and pulled Michael’s hair as his groaning mouth latched on to your cunt and savagely sucked on your dripping lips. 

“Oh! No, no, no.” you chanted and whined. 

Michael pulled off your pussy with a ‘pop’ and shoved two fingers inside of you and curled them. Shallowly thrusting and waving his fingers back and forth inside of you, you screamed as your gushing came back full force and you squirted all over your lover and the bed again. Your body thrashed on the sheets, your legs spread in the air on each side of your body, shaking. You sobbed as your back arched. 

“Perfect little pussy.” Michael growled as he pulled his fingers out of you and slapped your pussy hard before he pushed his body between your legs, “Cum on me, I cum on you.”

The hot sound of his cum covered hand jerking his big dick off made you look down and you whimpered at the sight. His cock was impossibly thick and hard in his hand, it didn’t change direction at all as he rapidly stroked himself between your legs. The hot red tip seemed to pulse with the heartbeat that must’ve fallen into his cock the first time you squirted that morning. Watching as the slit on his tip opened, you looked up at him and opened your mouth as you pushed yourself up on your elbows, curling your body in. 

“Ohhhhh, yes.” Michael groaned as his cum shot out on to your body.

The hot splashes of his cum covered you in ribbons of white across your chest and tummy, but some still managed to reach your mouth and you moaned as the dollops of cum settled on your cum. 

“Look so good covered in me.” Michael growled as his eyes rolled back and his hand tightened around the hilt of his cock. 

He panted as he leaned back on his knees. With your legs still spread, you pushed yourself up on to your hands from your elbows, and showed him as you played with his cum in your mouth.

He chuckled darkly and stroked his spent cock, “Dirty little bitch.” 

You swallowed him and grinned. 

“Come here.” Michael laughed, wrapping his arms around your waist to hoist you up as he kneeled across the bed and climbed off of it, “Let’s go clean up.”

“Round three?” you asked as you nipped his earlobe and ignored the tremble in your limbs wrapped around him.

“Round three.” he agreed as he carried you to the bathroom.

-

“Ohhhhhhhhhh.” you groaned for the first time not due to sex.

You laid on the couch and stared at the ceiling for almost an hour while Michael answered some sort of phone call, probably with work. You really just wanted your entertainment. The soreness between your legs felt good, but your hips ached a bit still from the way he’d held you open in the bathroom. Now, you were just restless and bored. 

“I thought I was coming out to a much different scene.” Michael joked as he walked into the room and lifted your legs so he could have them across his lap as he sat. 

“No, just being whiney.” You muttered.

You looked at Michael as he petted your leg absentmindedly. He sat there, like he didn’t look delicious in his long sleeve white sweater and dark wash jeans. It was so unfair how effortlessly he seemed to exist as living temptation. 

Michael nonchalantly reached for your hand and held it in his as he scrolled through his phone. 

You didn’t want to jump him just yet. You kinda liked ‘Michael watching’, as you dubbed it, now that you were devoted to actually knowing him. You guessed you could openly gawk now. Pulling at the large hoodie you had on, you realized something.

“Are we going out?” you asked. 

Michael looked at you and shook his head, “Well, yes, duh.”

“No, like are we physically going anywhere today, stupid.” you laughed, “Like out to eat or anything?” 

“Yeah, later.” he answered quietly.

You tilted your head as you took him in suspiciously, “Why you say it like that?” 

“Like what?” he grumbled.

“Like that.” you pushed your foot against his chest as you giggled at the guilty look on his face.

“I don’t-”

“Ooooooo,” you cooed, “is Michael Italiano taking me, little old me, on a date?” You giggled as your own cheeks flushed, “I’m finally gonna get wined and dined?” 

“Oh, shut up.” he laughed, “You didn’t wanna be wined and dined when we first met, remember? I remember you being very one track minded, in fact.”

“Shhhhh,” you closed your eyes so seeing him wouldn’t make you laugh, “I remember none of that.” 

“Yeah, yeah, yeah.” he pulled on your fingers as you jokingly pulled your hand from his, “If you must know, yes, I have a date planned.” 

Your eyes opened and you swung yourself up into a seated position and looked at him. You both took each other in as you started nervously giggling. 

“Well then,” you swung your legs off of his lap and stood up, “I need clothes, like real clothes, my clothes.”

“Says who?”

“Says me, mister.” you sassed, “And I think I want a ride. I’m not feeling up to the walk of shame.” 

“But it’s fun watching the scandalized faces of the people as they pass you on the street.”

“They’ve seen much worse,” you sighed, “who hasn’t in this city?” 

Michael laughed before he stood with you. You thought he was going to walk towards the door, but instead he just pulled you to him. 

“Yes, they have.” he said softly as he looked at you, “But you don’t have to worry cause the date is at your hotel room.”

“Oh,” you nodded, “it’s that kind of date.”

“No it’s not.” Michael exasperatedly answered you and dropped his hands from your waist, “You’re ruining it.”

“We’re not even on the date!” 

“Still ruining it.” he called over his shoulder as he grabbed his keys. 

The ride to the hotel was short, but it was nice that you easily went down to the lower level, got in his car and hit the road. The car was sleek, and the tints were dark. That was a tidbit of info that you tucked away for a later date. 

Can’t put out on the first date, you thought to yourself jokingly. 

Before you knew it, you were in another underground garage, but this one was for the hotel. You passed the gold and green sign for the hotel at the main entrance and bit your lip when you saw Michael’s last name across the bottom of it. 

Michael was unfazed next to you, he easily drove and parked the car with one hand. His other hand held yours. You spied at look at your connected hands before quickly looking away. It felt so childish, the way your stomach turned into a snow globe all shaken up. 

I could get used to it, you teased yourself, it’s not so bad, lo- feeling this way... 

You looked at Michael as he pulled into the parking spot, his attention completely away from you at the moment. It gave you the chance to finally, consciously, accept that he felt the same way you did. 

“What?” He asked as he caught you staring. 

“Nothing.” 

“What?” He laughed as he put the car in park and grabbed your chin with his fingers, “Tell me, please.”

You melted into the gentle touch of his fingertips and smiled softly at him, “I like the way you say please.” 

Michael’s eyes darkened before he seemed to think better of it, and instead rolled his eyes and pushed the car door open, “Shut up.” 

“Wait, do I get manners from you now? For real?” You yelled so he could hear you as you scrambled to open your own door. 

“Occasionally.” He told you as he reached for your hand. 

“Occasionally? Like how occasional?” 

Michael looked at you and chuckled before he lifted your hand and kissed your knuckles. He dropped your hand and wrapped his arm around your shoulders, “Come on, silly.” 

-

When you got to your door, you looked at the key card entrance and reached into the small pocket of the hoodie over the breast. Teasingly, because Michael stood between you and where you’d just walked from the elevator, you lifted the hoodie to reach into the oversized hoodie pocket. Your key card was deep in the pocket, so your whole ass was out in the hallway. 

“Babe-” he hissed as he took a step closer to you and looked over his shoulder.

“Relax.” you giggled as you let the material of the hoodie drop from your grip and his hands tugged the material back down into place.

When you were about to push the card into the reader, the door opened, taking you off guard.

“Good morning,” A man around your age greeted you, dressed in the hotel uniform, “can I help you?”

“Uh, yeah- this is my room.” 

He smiled at you and chuckled, “Right, it is.” You ignored the quick scan up and down he gave you, “Apologies Miss, but we have been instructed to not allow you to see the set up, so please feel free to come back later.”

“That’s alright,” Michael spoke from behind you, “she’s just going to grab some of her own clothes from the suitcase.” 

Your cheeks heated as Michael called attention to the way you were dressed, completely in his clothes. Stupid alpha male possessiveness, you grumbled to yourself internally. The worker didn’t meet your eye, and instead just nodded briskly before he turned on his heel. You shot a look at Michael before you walked into the room. 

“Here you are, miss.” the hotel worker placed your suitcase on the table in the parlor room before quickly walking into the main part of the suite and shut the door behind him. 

You raised an eyebrow as you took in the way the curtains were drawn across the French doors to the rest of the suite and the small door at the other end of the parlor that led to the balcony. 

“No peeking, you.” Michael teased as he watched you look around. 

You turned your body towards your suitcase but looked sideways at Michael, who leaned against the corridor wall on the edge of the room. Holding his gaze, you pulled his hoodie up and over your head. You watched as his lips parted before he chuckled and shook his head. 

You watched him slowly check out your body, before you looked back at your suitcase and unzipped it. You flipped the top off, still in nothing but your panties as Michael watched. Reaching in, you pulled out a satin bra and pushed the straps up your arms. Cupping the cups, you pushed up your tits in them and looked innocently back at Michael. 

“Do you mind?” You tilted your head and motioned to the straps that hung off your sides in the back, unclipped. 

He said nothing, but obediently closed the distance between you. You resisted the urge to lean back against him when the warmth of his body could be felt so close to your own. His finger tips ghosted up your lower back, raising goosebumps in their wake. He pulled on the edges of your bra opening before pulling them together, the soft click of the hooks locking together making you let out a breath you didn’t know you were holding. You almost shivered when the cold of the room settled around you when he stepped back to where he was standing before. 

You didn’t look back at him after that, and instead focused entirely on actually getting dressed under his gaze. Grabbing a lacy baby pink romper, you stepped into it and pulled it up your body, finally covering yourself up. When you turned towards him and dropped your sandals to the ground in front of you, he didn’t even flinch at the loud clap. 

He didn’t even look like he’d looked away at all. 

You stepped into your sandals and almost tripped, making him chuckle. You stuck your tongue out at him as you cursed yourself in your head for breaking the moment. Even though it threatened to get heavy, and you really couldn’t indulge at the moment with hotel workers on the other side of a window and some curtains, but it still felt good and dangerous. 

“Come.” he said softly, and held out his hand to you, “I know where we can go in the meantime.”

You took his hand and let him lead you out of your suite and back into the hallway. At first, you thought he was taking you to the elevator, but knew you guessed wrong when he passed it and kept walking.

“Where-”

“You’ll see.” he teased.

“Oh, I get it,” you squeezed his hand, “you know all the secret spots here, don’t you?” 

He nodded, silent for a moment before he shared with you, “It was my favorite as a kid, this hotel.” he nodded as you looked at him, “This was the first building we had acquired, so it was my father’s sole focus for some time.” He looked around the hallway for a moment, “Spent a lot of time here.”

“I didn’t even realize that this was yours until- Oh, wow.” 

Michael had brought you into a dreamy, completely empty, cafe. It was similar to the lobby, in that it was encased in windows, giving a gorgeous view of the city below. There were plants everywhere, giving it a hidden garden feel. You let go of Michael’s hand as you stepped inside and looked around. Jokingly, you spun and giggled at him as he followed you in. But then you spun around for real, as you realized there was a mural on the sole wall of a garden. The whole set up was whimsical. 

“It’s beautiful.” 

“Yeah,” he agreed as you sat at an intricate picnic table towards the corner of the room, “and no one seems to ever find it, or at least they never did when I came here.”

“I thought there was just more rooms on the other side of the floor.” You looked around in awe again, “I love all the floral stuff.”

“Well, that’s good,” he sighed as he sat across from you, “now you know the secret room.”

You giggled when he winked at you. 

“So, you spent a lot of time at your father’s properties?” 

Michael thought for a moment before diving head first into the many memories he had as a child, following his father from property to property. You quickly realized that he didn’t sound too old, nor too young in any of them. It seemed that he was a bit older, almost a teenager when they moved to Monaco. That realization struck you.

“That must’ve been hard.” you bit your lip as you spoke out loud, cutting him off. 

“What?” He asked, his head tilted confusedly. 

“Being that age and starting over in a place like this.” you shrugged, and leaned your chin on your hand, “I was born here, and sometimes I feel like I don’t belong.” 

Michael looked at you for a moment before he shrugged, “Yeah, nah, I mean, it wasn’t, like a cake walk, or anything like that. But staying in Australia myself didn’t sound any more fun.”

When he didn’t laugh or smile, your brain put two and two together, “He gave you that option?” 

“Yeah,” this time he laughed as he nodded, the bitter enraged you, “he told me I could come with him or I could stay there, the choice was entirely up to me.” 

You schooled your face, you didn’t need to rage and point out how much of an asshole his father was. You both already knew. 

“So, he’s got a whole childhood to make up for.” You spoke carefully, “And now he is?” 

“Yeah,” he nodded, “he is trying. I got to be fair to him, he is.” He scratched his beard as he collected his thoughts, “I kinda freaked on him after you left. I was fed up, and just- yeah, it was a bad night. 

Michael looked at you and you relentlessly teased him as you noticed the blush on his cheeks. He took it in stride, and instead of banter, he made your heart melt. 

“M’proud of you.” you added shyly. 

“M’better because of you.” he replied softly, looking out the wall of windows, “You make me better.”

You grinned and nodded, “Well, for what it’s worth, you’ve always been good to me.”

“Oh, I know.” he gloated as you rolled your eyes. 

“Thank you,” you remembered what you’d been wanting to acknowledge, “thank you by the way, for the room, and the stay.”

Michael’s face scrunched, “What?”

You looked at him as you elaborated, “My friend, she was here and pretended to be me to get a key, great security by the way,” Michael scoffed, “and she said that the receptionist told her that Mr. Italiano was footing the bill.”

Michael sucked his teeth, “When I called, they said that you wouldn’t allow anyone to cover your bill and that they wouldn’t put your room under my card.”

Your mouth dropped open, “Did your father dupe us both?” 

Michael nodded, “Sounds like it.”

“Oh my god,” you dramatically groaned, “does this mean I have his approval?” Michael laughed, “Like I’m in.”

“I’ve been in.” 

You boo’d at his weak joke, “Shut up, seriously, I was such a bitch to him, and he still, like- wait.” you paused, “Did he tell you? We ran into each other-”

“Yeah,” he nodded and looked down, away from you, “he called me right after he ran into you in the lobby. When you first got back.”  

The silence and stillness that flooded the room as he gave you that look took all the wind in your sails. That dread that you had felt when you first arrived reared it’s ugly head, but this time, you could do something about it. 

You reached across the table and put your hand over his, “I’m sorry that’s the way you found out I was home. I wish I’d been less cowardly and told you myself.” 

In a move that was becoming the norm, Michael lifted your knuckles to his lips, “All that matters is that you’re here now.”

“Oh,” you drawled, “well, actually, I wanted to just tell you-”

Michael’s ring tone cut through the cozy air between you, taking away your moment. You leaned back in your chair as he answered. The call was short.

“Come on, you.” He stood and held his hand out to you, “You ready to go?”

“M’ready.” You grinned as you took his hand, “Are you ready?” you pulled your hand away playfully and stepped around him to lead him back to the room. 

He grinned and smacked your ass as you walked around him.

-

Walking into the suite, you weren’t sure what to expect. Your steps faltered as you took in the room that was basically the same way you left it.

“Outside.” Michael sighed as his hands went to your lower back to scoot you along to the balcony doors.

You teasingly leaned forward to peek out, and your breath was stolen from you. You were speechless.

The hotel staff, and Michael, had completely transformed your balcony from a normal, spacious stone balcony to a botanical oasis.

There were arrangements of flowers everywhere, but all in places that made sense. They lined the edges of the balcony like a curtain, and hung from the ceiling of the pergola, a long, flat bouquet covered the center of the table. It was a lot, but so tastefully done that it made the balcony look like something out of an enchanted forest, rather than a florist shop explosion.

You took a few steps out, and eyed the food on the table. It was all light, snack foods and all the ones that you loved. You couldn’t even recall when you’d shared your favorites with him, but you could recall numerous snack times at your apartment between… bonding sessions.

Your cheeks heated as you turned towards him, “Michael,” you gently gushed, trying not to look at him too intensely with your glassy eyes, “this is so beautiful.”

“Like it?” He asked shyly as he leaned away from you.

You shook your head and reached for his hand, pulling him against you. With your fingers intertwined in one hand, you reached up and cupped his cheek with the other. You looked up at him with a smile as you got close enough to whisper to him.

“I love it.”

Kissing Michael was something you would never tire of, and the way he held your waist, you knew it was different for him too. You poured your gratitude into where your lips met and gently pressed against his. It was a light, soft kiss, that filled you with warmth and made you want to shake all the nerves in your body out.

It was peaceful.

You both sat at the table and talked as you picked at the dishes on the table. You moaned from the taste until Michael shot you a warning look, and you quickly swore up and down that you hadn’t meant it like that. You both laughed at each other as you shared actual conversation.

Michael was funny. 

Not just in the banter he shared with you, but in his everyday life. It felt your chest expanded with each laugh he stole from you and every tidbit and memory he shared with you. 

Time passed so easily. It wasn’t until the sky darkened dramatically that either one of you felt interrupted. Words died off your lips as you both looked out towards the uncovered the part of the balcony. You both watched as the sky opened and the rain started. 

You laughed as you looked at the rain that splashed on the part of the deck that wasn’t covered. Your scenic view was getting washed away faster than you could enjoy it, and it was hilarious to you that Michael would make things perfect, just for the universe to fuck it up. 

“This is very on brand for us.” You laughed as he looked incredulously at the rain that was falling so hard and fast that you could barely see it, “Do you not see how funny this is?” 

“I blame you,” he shook his head with a smile on his face, “this is your fault.”

“What!” You squeaked, “How?” 

“I don’t know, just is.” He shrugged.

You waved your hand at him, and looked down at the puddles forming on the balcony, “I think we’re about to be washed away.”

“Yeah.” Michael nodded, “Let me move some stuff inside.” 

Grabbing some trays, Michael looked shockingly domestic. You sat there with your knees up and your feet on the edge of your seat as he picked things up and disappeared into the suite. A sense of warmth filled you at how normal this show of affection felt, how deserved. How it all just fit. 

Sighing at the empty table, you finally rose to your feet and went towards the door of the balcony. Swinging yourself around it, you came face to face with Michael on the far side of the suite with your phone in his hand. 

“What the fuck is this?” 

You froze at Michael’s tone and felt your heart stop at the lit up screen of your phone in his hand. Even from across the room, you recognized the colors of the airline you had planned to use. Your boarding pass was on the screen. 

This wasn’t how it was supposed to be.

“Michael-”

“What the fuck is this?” He raised his voice at you, breaking you from your stupor.

“It’s a boarding pass.” you answered sarcastically, walking towards him, “But-”

“That’s all you have to say? I find this on your phone and that’s it? It’s a boarding pass?” He hissed and looked at you like you were an idiot.

You felt the rage build inside of you, “Were you looking through my phone?” You stalked forward and swiped your phone from his hand.

“No!” he erupted, “I went to check the time and the notification for your ‘upcoming departure’ was on the screen.”

“So you just clicked on a screen that wasn’t yours? How did you even-” you gasped, “you know my password?”

“You’ve literally been in my arms when you’ve answered texts, duh, I’ve seen you unlock it.”

“Michael!”

“That’s what you’re upset about?” Michael pushed himself to his feet and paced back and forth in front of the table, babbling to himself, “Unbelievable, so unbelievable, so fucking ridiculous...”

“How-”

“You’re fucking leaving, again! and you want to talk about me looking at a plane ticket on your phone?” He paced towards the door, putting space between you both, “Why do I even fucking bother?”

“I’m-” You huffed and crossed your arms, leaned against a bannister you took in the growing space between you both, “Oh, that’s great, you’re just gonna leave?”

“Me?” Michael’s eyes widened as he suddenly turned toward you, “That’s what you want to ask me right now?” 

“It’s a ticket, Michael, it’s not that fucking serious, I can’t-” you groaned before you continued, “I’m not, I wasn’t-” 

“YOU’RE the one who went to another fucking country!” 

He finally snapped and you recoiled before you rose to his tone. This had been a long time coming. 

“You didn’t ask me to stay!” You screamed back. 

“You didn’t want to stay! You, never once, never once did you tell me you wanted to stay, and you didn’t call, you didn’t text, you didn’t visit!” he threw his arms out to gesture to everything around you, to all his efforts, “So what am I supposed to do? Yeah, sure, I’ll fuck off, I’ll wait another few months for you to have another meltdown and come home?”

“You never even told me you wanted me! You still haven’t.” you yelled back, “Do you know how unfair that is? Yeah, so you give me a date,” you gestured around the balcony for him, “but what have you truly given me?”

“I’ve given myself to you, you fucking moron.” he gestured with his hands before burying his face in them. 

“But you never say that unless it’s mean!” You yelled as tears filled your eyes, “You’re so quick to think the worse of me, to not even give me a chance. Even now-”

“You take your chances away.” He clarified to you, “Not me, you. You run and you run, and you never fucking think of who you’re hurting.”

All the hurt opened up inside of you. How could he not give you a moment to explain?

“That’s rich,” you scoffed, “That’s so wonderful coming from you, asshole extraordinaire who fell for his fuck buddy.” You shook your head, “Everything about you is a fucking cliche.” 

“Oh, don’t even- so are you! Little miss girlboss who needs to follow her dreams and leave the only good thing she fucking had-”

“Fuck you!”

“Fuck you!” 

“I wish I’d never met you!” you yelled before you collapsed back into a chair with your head in your hands. 

Michael squared his shoulders and lowered his voice, “What would you do if I walked out that door?”

“I-”

“What would you do?”

Run after you, tell you the flip side, tell you how much you mean to me, hug you, just hold you.

Even with all those thoughts, you shrugged and sucked your teeth, “Go back to Germany.” you bit out with as much venom as you could. 

“Ugh!” Michael went instantly back to rage, “You are so fucking selfish!”

“Me?” you screeched, “What are you?”

“I’m trying my fucking best!” Michael yelled back, “And you just want to ruin it all, again, and for what? For what? What the fuck was all of this? This was really just a vacation for you, huh?”

“You, you’re- You can’t seriously think that.” you scoffed.

“I don’t know anything when it comes to you and me!”

“Yes you do!” you took a breath before carefully placing your hands on his crossed arms, “Yes you do,” you repeated more gently as you pulled on them, “you know how I feel about you.”

“Then why run?”

“M’not running, Michael, I’m just-”

“Fucking running!” he finished your sentence as he exploded again and pulled away from you, “Why don’t you want me? How can you-”

“You really are so wrapped up in your own head, you won’t even let me-”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah,” he waved his hand at you dismissively, “m’the one reading the fucking boarding pass wrong, got it.”

“Your communication is shit! You never listen, and you never let me just talk.”

“Okay, so let’s talk!” Michael spread his arms and dropped them with a harsh slap against his own sides, “Tell me you don’t want me.” you backed up as Michael walked toward you. “Tell me you don’t want this,” he gestured between the two of you, “if you’re gonna spend the night arguing bullshit with me, you might as well make it a good lie.”

You wiped a stray tear that ran down your cheek, Michael chuckled.

“Baby,” he cooed condescendingly, “I don’t want your crocodile tears.”

“What do you want?”

“You.” He told you instantly, “I just want you. And I want you to stop making this so fucking difficult.”

“I’m not-“

“Do you want me?” He cut you off as he put his hands on his hips and leaned forward to look at you on your eye level.

You let out a short sob before you finally looked up at him determined, “I’ve never wanted anything more.”

“There’s my girl.” He breathed out as he pulled you towards him and pressed his forehead to yours.

In a moment of weakness, you hopped up and kissed him with everything you had. His hands held you up as you wrapped yourself around him. He tried to pull away, but when his lips pulled from yours and a soft sob left your swollen lips, his mouth was instantly back against yours. He swallowed your whimpers as he kissed you. 

Holding you tightly against himself, he walked you backwards, and you already knew what was going to happen. You felt your toes curl as your thighs teasingly squeezed him. You moaned when he pulled your hair to get access to your neck and moaned louder when he lifted a leg and pressed his knee to your pussy as he crawled on to the bed. 

With the soft cushioning of the bed under you, you smiled as you shimmied up the bed, your lips touching but not kissing as you teased each other. When you reached the pillows, he grabbed your jaw and kissed you hard.

Reaching down, you pulled his shirt up so you could slide your palm against his solid, defined abs and slip your hand right into his pants. Wrapping a hand around him, you felt your eyebrows furrow as you realized how soft he was. 

Opening your eyes, you saw him looking at you, and with a single stroke of your cheek, he backed away. Your hand was pulled from out of his pants and fell to the bed as you stared at him wide eyed as he climbed off the bed. 

A chill ran down your spine. What is that? You didn’t know rejection, not from Michael, never from Michael.

He took a few steps back and leaned against the wall, looking down at his feet. “Are we gonna fuck every time we have a problem?”

“Michael-” you swallowed.

“Would I have even woken up next to you?” He huffed a laugh, but you could see the way his eyes shined, “You can’t expect that to work every time.”

“I didn’t. Michael,” you crawled closer to the edge of the bed, “the flight-”

“Are you cancelling it?”

“Michael-“

He bitterly chuckled as he shook his head, “You know what, do what you want.”

Your head tilted to look up at him, slightly shocked that he wasn’t fighting you. But that shock morphed to dread as he suddenly turned his back to you and moved towards the doorway of the parlor. You scrambled off the bed on shaky legs to stop him. But he was still so mad, you could see it in the way his shoulders were squared and his back straight. 

You hadn’t even caught your breath yet, “Michael,” you sighed, “plea-”

“I don’t wanna do this anymore,” He told you, “I’m not gonna keep following you. We’re endgame, baby-” he turned towards you, eyes still to the ground as he gestures between the two of you, “no country borders or anything you think or do or try is going to end that. I think you’re smart enough to know that.”

“Michael, just-”

“Shut up.”

Your breath caught as your world slowed.

“Here’s what’s gonna happen.” Michael paused and ran his hand through his hair, his body turned sideways away from you, “I’m going to leave this hotel room,” you pursed your lips, and told yourself not to cry, “and you’re gonna run off to Germany or wherever the fuck you lie to yourself, and when you’re ready for this- until you’re ready for this- I want you to stay the fuck away. Don’t call me.” He put his hands on his hips, as his head hung heavily forward, “I mean it, don’t come back to Monaco. I don’t want you like this.”

Your heart sank in your chest at his words. The sunken dread in your bones bubbled back up, and you couldn’t conjure a single word to say to him as he stood in front of you, telling you how he was going to be the one leaving this time.

Just tell him, tell him the truth. 

“You can run from me, but you can’t escape us. I know you know that.” He took nodded at the ground before turning his back to you, “And I mean it, don’t come to me before. Just fuck off.” he called over his shoulder.

Your eyes widened as he walked towards the door, stopping just shy off the short hallway to it. Your heart cracked in two as he finally looked over his shoulder to look at you one last time before turning back towards the door.

“I’ll see you.” 

It was heavenly being pressed to Michael again. You had knew you were stressed, but you hadn’t realized the physical toll it had taken on your body until you could feel every inch of you unwinding with each gentle press of his lips against yours.

You smiled against his mouth. His hand behind you pressed to your lower back, making you sit up more. With both his hands against your skin, his touch getting stronger, you should’ve known how fast you both would fall into each other.

You nipped his lower lip, taking the reddened skin just lightly between your teeth and tugged it playfully before letting it slip away from between your teeth.

There was a slight moment between you two where you were a breath away from each other, and then you were on each other. You pressed your mouth to Michael’s and swiped the tip of your tongue against his lip, your breath hitching when his tongue brushed against yours. The hand on your back slid up your back and grasped the back of your neck, making you moan.

When his hands crept into your hair and pulled it to tilt your head back, you moaned much louder, the heat in your belly almost unbearable.

You pushed yourself up, bending yourself in half as you stood on your feet between his legs. Both your hands held Michael’s face, as his held yours. You both couldn’t get enough. Throwing your leg over his left hip and then his right, you pushed your hands down on his shoulders and followed his lips as you shoved him back against the cushion. Head tilted down, you kissed him over and over, the wet glide of his tongue against yours spurred you on to grind into his lap. You whimpered into his mouth as his hands roughly gripped your ass and dragged you forward and back on his lap before he spanked you.

Your thumb pressed under his jaw, tilting his head back as you leaned over him to kiss him. His mouth was so soft, tongue so wet, kisses so hot and his beard rubbed against your cheek and face- making you feel crazed as you got overwhelmed entirely by him.

He moaned into your mouth as your fingers slipped under his shirt, his chuckle confirming that he knew where this was going. Where it always went with the two of you.

You playfully dug your nails into the deep curves of his adonis belt, and felt your brows furrow as much harder, thicker skin ran beneath your wandering finger tips. Pushing his hands off of you, you pushed them up before you grabbed the ends of his shirt and tugged up. He helped you and tossed his shirt over the back of his shoulder before he pulled you to him. Arms wrapped around your middle, you whimpered at the feel of his skin so close to yours.

You choked for a second as his hand suddenly slid down the back of your skirt and gripped your ass cheek as the other between the opening on the side of your wrapped dress to grip the side where your bra stretched across your ribs.

Michael kissed your neck before he froze. Panting into your neck, he seemed to be trying to catch his breath. You hadn’t realized how out of breath you were either. Your chest heaved against his as his grip stayed tight on your body. Your fingertips danced up and down the sides of his neck.

“No...” He mumbled.

You felt your blood run cold for a moment, “What?”

He suddenly stood, your legs instinctually wrapped around his waist as he held you up with a handful of your ass. You looked him in the eye as he moved you both through the dark apartment. A soft sliding sound made the lights of the room glow to a soft burning shade. Happy to finally be able to see each other, you pressed soft kisses to his cheek until you were suddenly lowered onto the bed. Leaning back and melting into the soft material, you breathed in his scent as you settled on his sheets.

He turned your jaw with one hand and leaned back down to nip on your neck as his other hand found the tie on the side of your dress. You grabbed his hand with your own and helped him pull the tie free. With the loop loose, your dress loosened, but he didn’t make a move.

Taking the initiative, you leaned up and kissed him. Lips locked, you pushed your dress open like a robe and pulled it off your shoulders, pressing your bra to his chest as you arched your back to pull the dress out from under you. You both groaned as your skin brushed each other’s for the first time in months. Every brush felt like exploded firecrackers.

“Let me take care of you,” he whispered against your lips as he pressed his palms down on your hips and pulled himself away from you.

Sitting up between your legs, his fingers traced circles into your skin as he slowly hooked his fingers in your panties and tugged them down your legs. As he rid your lower half, you reached behind yourself and rid yourself of your bra.

Bare in front of him, you finally felt it all melt away. All the anxiety, all the dread, everything that kept you shackled to Germany. You realized that there was no catch in this return home, no punishment or shame. This is what it was.

Coming home.

“You’re so pretty.” He said dreamily, like he was a stupor looking down at you.

“And you’re still clothed.”

Michael snorted and immediately unbuttoned the pants he had on. The sound of his zipper being pulled made your lips part. Your eyes dragged up his body, suddenly very aware of his half nakedness.

He was so cut, much more defined than you remembered. His arms and shoulders moved, the very soft lighting in the room really emphasized every curve and shadow that his muscles made. It was unfair, how built and sexy he was. But it also was fair, cause he was all yours.

“You’re pretty too.” you whispered.

Michael hummed as he stepped off the bed and peeled his clothes off, “I know.”

You giggled as he winked at you, your focus on his body gone even as he climbed back on to the bed and top of you. You wrapped your arms around his shoulders. He leaned over you, as bare as you were. Held up on all fours, you blushed when you felt the weight of his cock poke your hip.

The both of you softly smiled at each other, searching each other’s faces for anything other than the bliss that had settled over you both.

“Are you sure?” He asked you.

You nodded, “Come here.”

When he pressed his body to yours, you both moaned and curled around each other. Your arms and legs wrapped around him as every inch of you pressed to him.

“Ohhhh.”

“I know.” he panted.

Your skin vibrated with the familiar touch you’d been longing for. And with his head buried in the crook of your neck, his arms gripping you tightly, you bit your lip as you squeezed your eyes shut so you wouldn’t cry.

“Missed you.”

He whispered into your neck before you felt the gentle press of his lips on your pulse. You said it back, nuzzling his shoulder when he pressed himself into you firmer after you told him.  

“Do I have to let you go?” You asked, desperate between the need to have him inside of you and the need to feel all of him without missing an inch.

“Never.”

He kissed your cheek as he lifted your left leg high on his hip, until it was practically over his shoulder. His upper bicep pinned the back of your thigh so he could reach under your ass and between your bodies to grab himself. When his fingers brushed against your sex, you shivered against him and captured his lips with yours.

The kiss was hot and messy, a mess of tongue and teeth as he struggled and fidgeted on top of you to get himself properly in place without climbing off of you.

When the blunt end of his cock, so familiar in the velvety feel, the heavy weight, the hot, hot temperature of his throbbing length made your breath quicken. You heard Michael take a quick breath in before slowly breathing out as he pushed his length between your lips and began sliding into you. You groaned from the initial stretch, it had been months since you’d had sex. Since you’d had Michael.

“Fuck,” Michael growled into your ear, “Darling, y-you gotta-”

He made a frustrated sound as he let go of his length, half sunken into your heat, and grabbed the ankle of the leg pinned and bent between you. With a rough pull, he extended the leg straight out to the side and pushed it against the bed. The second your leg extended, he slid home.

You both contracted in on each other.

Your back arched, and your arms and legs squeezed his body against yours. Michael’s body seemed to move on instinct, and pushed you into the mattress as he leaned his body weight on his hips to make sure every inch of him that could be in you, was. His beefy arm curled around the one he had stretched and hooked it over his forearm while the other shook as he held himself partially up.

“Have you-”

“No.” you shook your head, “Have-”

“No.”

You both leaned your heads back and gave each other mischievous smiles.

“Welcome home.” Michael told you before he rolled his hips and kissed you.

Michael’s body was suddenly heavier as you both lost the ability to control yourselves. Your eyes rolled back as you closed around him faster than he could sink into. Michael’s groans were pornographic in your ear and your fingers clutched him, one on his ribs and the other his shoulder. You could feel his body strained and tense under your touch.

His pelvis skimmed your own, and his lower body weight pushed against your own as he let his hips collapse against yours. You gasped as your breath was punched out of you with each thrust. His nose pressed to your collarbone, and when you turned your head, you could see how tense his shoulders were and how his muscles rippled down his back.

You both moaned as the movement pushed him deeper inside of you. His hips froze for a moment before they roughly snapped forward, the tip of him stabbed a well cushioned spot in your walls and you choked on air.

You gasped as he did it again, “Michael, please.”

“What baby?” He grinned as he looked down at how easily you unraveled for him.

“Michael...” you whined.

“I know, darling,” he whispered as his shoulders tensed and he pushed himself up on both hands, “I know.”

You caressed his sides, even as your head shook from side to side. It was all too much and not enough. You felt so hot but wanted him closer, so full but you wanted him deeper. Michael continued to watch you and thrust himself deeper and deeper into your pussy.

He’d never felt so good, especially not in recent months. But of course, he was a glutton for punishment, and finding heaven in between the legs of who could’ve caused his demise just months ago sounded exactly like something that would happen to him. But he wouldn’t trade you for the world, and he knew it. He just hoped you could feel it.

You both pushed the more serious things you wanted to slip out to the back of your heads so you could focus on the moment.

His hips bumped and pushed against your own as he buried himself into and pulled himself from your body. The rhythmic motion had you rambling underneath him, barely formed incoherent sentences traded between you like your own secret language. You melted into each other as your sexes pulsed.

Michael looked into your eyes, “No one else.” he told you as he grunted.

“No one.” you choked out, your voice barely above a whisper.

You whimpered as his thrusts picked up and you began to meet his thrusts half way, “Baby,” you whimpered louder, “I can’t-”

“Look at me.” He gruffly commanded, tilting your chin up with his finger, “Can I?”

You nodded at him frantically and locked your ankles together over the slight swell of his ass. You intertwined your fingers behind his neck, your palms pressed flat to his skin. Pressed forehead to forehead, you breathed each other’s air as his hips rolled against yours and his cock swelled inside of you. You whimpered as a tear rolled down your cheek from the oversensitivity.

With a gasp, you tightened around Michael and came.

He heaved for air against your collarbone as he came inside of you, painting your walls with his cum. You moaned as you felt each strong, thick shot of his orgasm fill you. You whimpered as he pulsed more than his usual amount of times, and you could feel his balls tensed against your hole where they had drawn up from cumming so hard.

Your chest rose and fell with each breath you desperately filled your lungs with as Michael collapsed on top of you. He groaned into your collarbone as his cock continued to pulse inside of you, but you couldn’t feel yourself being pumped full anymore.

“Finished?” you tried to playfully ask, instead it just came out breathless and wanton.

“For now.” he huffed.

You held his shoulders under your hands and squeezed them. You huffed and pressed your smiling mouth into his skin. He rubbed his nose against your jaw at the sound.

“What’s so funny?”

“Are,” you giggled now that you had the moment to actually ask, “are you bigger?”

Michael choked on a laugh, “Dunno,” he rasped in your ear, “am I?”

He leaned his hips forward and pressed himself just a bit deeper inside of you. You shivered against him and opened your mouth to nip the cord of muscle that stretched over his collarbones and wrapped over the top of his shoulder.

“Brat.” you muttered as he laughed softly, “You know what I meant.”

You turned your head so you could press your cheek against the side of his head, getting comfortable with him still inside and on top of you. You treasured the closeness and from the way that Michael seemed to hold you so firm, he did too.

He sighed and pressed his lips to your neck before he spoke just below your ear, “Couldn’t sleep.”

You rubbed your nails across his shoulder blade and stayed silent so he knew he could talk to you.

“Started a week after you left,” he mumbled, “the dreams.” He squeezed you to him again, and you exhaled as he laid all his body weight on you and turned you slightly so you were both almost on your sides, “Nasty little reminders of you.”

You pressed a soft kiss to his temple.

“I’d-” he huffed before he started again, “I’d dream of waking up in the middle of the night, and you’d be right here,” he squeezed his arms around you, “just like this, telling me to go back to sleep.” You pressed your forehead to his as his hand came up to stroke your cheek, “Some nights you’d tell me you’d see me in the morning.” You flinched, “But I always woke up alone.”

“Michael-”

“They were dreams.” He emphasized, “I knew what they were. But I couldn’t-”

“They couldn’t not hurt.”

“Right.”

You laid there in silence for a few minutes. You bit your lip and composed yourself before you were the one to break it.

“Well, I didn’t miss you at all.” You shrugged.

A sharp yelp left your mouth as Michael bit sharply into your shoulder, “Terrible lies and jokes.” He grumbled.  

You grabbed his jaw and tilted his head so he could look you in the eyes, “I used to read our old texts,” you told him softly, “and... I’d try to imagine all the conversations we could have if I were brave enough to send a message.”

Michael looked down at your bare bodies, “Think we got the answer to that.”

“Why do you ruin all our romantic moments?”

“Cause that’s how we are, babe.”

Your face scrunched at the ‘we’, and Michael nodded at you before he leaned forward and pressed kisses incessantly all over your face.

“Us, we, you and I.” he repeated between kisses.

“I think you like me, Michael Italiano.”

“I think so too.” He told you with a small smile.

You playfully snapped at his finger when he poked the tip of your nose. The snapping motion made your body tensed and you let out an embarrassing whimper as you tightened around him. He was still so hard inside of you, you were kind of shocked.

But you should’ve known better to school your face during such thoughts cause when you focused on the man in front of you, he was smirking.

“Shut-”

“Mmmmm, come on.” Michael whispered into your skin, tapping the side of your hip where your leg was lifted on his hip, “You want me out?” he asked teasingly.

You frowned, “Not really.”

Michael’s head snapped back so he could look at you.

“I mean,” you corrected yourself bashfully, “you could just let me, you know, cockwarm you.”

“Jesus Christ, I missed you.” he laughed with you, “Oh, darling,” he sighed as he kissed your cheek, “I love the sound of your laugh,” you blushed, “and how it makes your little pussy all tight.”

You gasped and slapped his shoulder. He smiled at you and lifted a hand to cup your jaw, meeting your lips and kissing you sweetly.

“Come on,” he spoke against your lips, “let me clean up.”

You groaned but huffed out a ‘fine’ as he gently pulled himself from you and stepped out of bed. On the far side of the room, he disappeared behind a door. You could hear running water, and felt safe to assume it was his bathroom.

When he returned with a damp rag, you knew you were right.

“It’s warm, I promise.” he told you as he pulled your knees open.

You threw your arm over your eyes as you allowed him to wipe your pussy clean as he dripped from you.

“Funny thing,” he broke the silence, “you being shy when my cum is dripping from you.”

“Shut up.”

He chuckled as he gently wiped your lips and your messy hole. When he finally began to shuffle back, you looked at him and got a good laugh yourself.

“You enjoyed that way too much,” you laughed at his reddened face.

“Shut up.”

You stretched your leg out and rubbed his cock with your foot. You gasped when his cock jerked against the side of your foot where you’d grazed it teasingly.

“Stop it.” He warned as he threw the rag into the bathroom and returned to bed, pulling his sheets back to join you.

You crawled under the covers and rolled closer to him. Michael softly smiled at you before he leaned in and rubbed his nose against yours. Settling into his arms, you pressed your palm to his belly you kissed his chin and happily sighed, absentmindedly running your fingers up and down. You closed your eyes and gently ran your finger down his stomach, slowing your touch even more when you felt the hair on his pelvis. You traced the length of his cock with the tip of your finger at a maddening pace that had Michael vibrating next to you.

“M’warning you.” he growled into your ear, “M’already ready to take you again, you won’t be able to walk by the time I’m done with you.”

The sound of his voice, the smell of sex and him, the softness of the sheets and the solid of his body just instantly snapped your mindset back in place, and you were breathless in a moment.

“Promise?”

“Fuck you.” he hissed before kissing you.

You giggled against his mouth and moaned loudly as he climbed on top of you again and settled between your legs. You could never get tired of the press of his skin to yours. You crossed your ankles over the swell of his ass and rocked your hips upward until his cock leaked precum all over your stomach.

“Oh,” he groaned your name as he reached between your bodies and sunk back into your heat.

“I’m right here.”

“You’re with me?” He pressed to you a bit firmer, “You’re gonna be with me?”

“Yes.” you whispered against his mouth as he leaned down but didn’t kiss you.

“You’re mine.” he said simply, not a hint of possession, or jealousy, just stated as a fact.

Tears prickled your eyes as you squeezed them shut. Instead of saying anything, you wrapped your arms around him and held him tight as he began to rock into you.

“Yes.”

He squeezed you in his arms and rolled back on to his knees, sitting up with you in his lap. Your legs wrapped around his waist while he held your neck in one hand and your ass in the other. Your sexes connected you both as you rocked against each other. Foreheads pressed together, you moaned and looked into each other’s eyes.

This round went quicker than the last, your bodies too eager to fill each other after going so long without the other. But it was just as satisfying, still as bone deeply pleasurable as your thighs shook and his hands gripped your flesh as he filled you again.

It was like being caught in a foggy dream, and you barely could feel the bedsheets being pulled back over you as Michael tucked you in. It was so unfair, how quickly he seemed to reign in his control, and although his member still bobbed under the sheets, he chastely kissed you before he gave you space.

Your breathing evened out as his fingers traced your spine. When you could feel your heart rate lowering, you opened your eyes and met his. He looked at you tenderly again.

“Stay the night?” He asked softly.  

You nodded.

“Stay with me?”

“Who else would I go to?”

He smiled and reached up, tracing the swell of your cheek before his thumb played with your lip.

“My baby,” he whispered lowly, his cheeks blazed before he spoke a bit louder, “How had you been?”

You were both instantly transported mentally back to the night that started this reconnection.

“Not good.” You swallowed and looked down at where your hand was pressed to his sternum, “But I’m here.”

“Home?”

“Yeah.” you nodded, still not able to meet his eyes.

He leaned forward and pressed his lips to your forehead, “Come here.”

It was the first time the words had been spoken by him that night, and they settled in you like an anchor. You threw yourself forward into his chest and breathed in his scent as you silently wept against his skin. It wasn’t so much sadness as relief. Relief to finally feel something close to alright, to finally feel Michael again.

You didn’t have to explain a thing to him, the way he held you and gently cooed at you told you he already knew.

-

Michael woke up a few hours later, and stretched one of his legs, the other was asleep from the pressure on it- his eyes snapped open and turned to the side. 

With the dim light still on in the room, he saw your sweet face next to him.  Your expression twisted in response to his sudden movement against you. He couldn’t help but smile as it sunk in that you were there, and you cutely rubbed your forehead against his side, your eyes still shut.

“Go back t’sleep.” You slurred sleepily.

Michael felt his whole body freeze. He carefully turned on to his side and held you closer. Still mostly asleep, your face relaxed. 

“I’ll see you in the morning?” He asked softly.

“Mhhhmmmm.” you hummed before the space between your eyebrows smoothed out with your breathing.  

He believed you, and fell back asleep with a smile on his face.

-

“Wake up.” Michael spoke into your ear as you groaned, “It’s breakfast time, darling.”

You groaned into the mattress and let out a frustrated sound when the sheets were ripped from your body. A shiver ran down your spine as your bare body chilled in the air.

“Oh my god,” you groaned, “is this why we never stayed the night?” You rolled over and rubbed your eyes, “Cause you’re annoying in the morning?”

Michael’s eyes softened at how relaxed your body was in his bed, even if you were grumpy and cold. He reached for your ankle and dragged you to the edge of the bed. When he pulled you to sit up, you tilted your head back and pouted up at him.

“No, you never stayed the night because we were convinced this was just an arrangement of convenience.” Michael laughed at you as you blushed, “Arms up.”

Your arms crossed instinctually over your chest when you realized, now awake, that you were naked while he stood clothed in front of you. When he held up a large hoodie in front of him, you relented and raised them. You studied Michael curiously as he led you by the hand out of his room and towards the kitchen.

He was attentive, and sweet. He always had been, even if you had denied it to yourself for months.

But this was different.

He was happy, almost excited, almost bouncing with each step. He looked like the smug boy you’d met, but without the asshole air around him. He was happy, and you had no other choices but to believe it was thanks to you.

When you climbed on to one of the stools, you watched him plate some food as you did a quick self reflection. Well, quick really didn’t even cover it. You knew how you felt, you knew how he felt.

“What are you thinking about?”

You focused back on Michael, and nervously laughed when you realized that you had been staring at him for the whole time, “Oh, uh, last night.” When Michael winked at you, you blushed hard, “No- not that, I-”

“You’re cute like this.”

You squeaked and looked down at your plate, deciding the best course of action was to eat instead of speak.

“I have to go into work,” he told you as you ate, “but-”

“That’s okay,” you suddenly remembered, “I actually should find my friend since we ditched-”

“I didn’t ditch.”

“Yes, you did.” When Michael shook his head, you snapped at him, “You left with me!”

“I left after you, technically.” You rolled your eyes at him, “She’s your friend, I was really just there to run into you, and you ran from me. I just chased you out.”

“You’re a real sprinter.” You grumbled.

“Olympian.” he joked.

You both looked at each other and laughed.

“So,” he drawled, “that’s what you’ll do while I’m at work? Find your friend?”

You nodded as you chewed on your food, “It was her birthday.” you grimaced.

“I feel like you’re forgetting the high possibility that Dan and her planned this.” He gestured to his apartment and the two of you, “I doubt either one of them are mad. Trust me, Daniel keeps people occupied.”

You smiled at the exasperated tone of his voice, “He’s a handful, huh?”

“Ugh,” Michael groaned, “love the guy, but he’s like a hamster on speed.”

You broke out laughing as your mind instantly put the image of Daniel next to a hamster.

Michael nodded, “Really, though, like this one time...”

-

Michael folded the sleeves of his shirt up his forearms when you emerged from his room looking exactly the way you had entered it. Just this time, you had his backpack slung over your shoulder.

“You need a whole backpack for your dress and your phone?”

“Well, duh.” You told him as you walked up to him and looked him up and down appreciatively before continuing, “I’m not doing the walk of shame down the street barefoot and holding my dress in my hand.”

Michael laughed as you brushed past him, “You’re not wearing anything but a hoodie.”

You shushed him, “It’s not like people will know that, your clothes are huge on me.”

Michael hummed as his eyes scanned your figure appreciatively. He really did enjoy how you looked in his clothing. “People can think they know.”

You rolled your eyes, “Honestly, it’s like you want the neighborhood to gossip about us.”

“Never, darling.” he told you as he followed you to the door.

He reached around you and pulled it open, startled by the sound you made as you faced the hallway.

“Oh my god!” you yelled.

Your slip on heels sat perfectly lined up for you to step into right on his door mat.

Daniel, Michael thought fondly.

“This is perfect,” Michael instantly took your hand when you lifted it in his direction, steadying you as you stepped into the long forgotten shoes, “good thing it’s easy to dress these down and up.”

Michael looked you up and down and held his tongue.

“Stop it.” You growled.

“What?”

“I can feel you disagreeing.”

“I haven’t the slightest what you’re on about.” he mumbled as you reached up and pulled him forward.

Your lips pressed together in a deep but publicly appropriate kiss that curled Michael’s toes in his shoes, “Have a good day at work.” you told him before you kissed him again.

He nodded at you and let you laugh at his blush this time.

“If you go out on to the balcony, you can watch me walk.” you whispered to him.

“Go on then.” He encouraged, kissing your knuckles as you pulled away from him and walked down the hallway.

Padding back into his place, Michael grabbed his coffee and headed straight for the balcony. He bit his lip as he leaned his back against his balcony over looking the road, occasionally peeking over his back to spot you getting further and further away. It irked him to watch you leave him even if it was just to your hotel room. He felt the need to keep glancing back over his shoulder.

Don’t be paranoid, she’s not going anywhere.

You got all the way to the hotel elevator before you kicked off your shoes and carried them in your hands. Barefoot in the hallway of your hotel floor, you hadn’t felt so weightless in months. Your humming echoed in your ears a soft melody that gentle carried along the pristine white walls, and whereas you probably should have and would have been distracted by your own disgust in your lack of shoes in a public place, you were still in your own world and happily dragged your feet against the corridor’s plush carpet. 

The memory of waking up in Michael’s arms filled the space in the front of your mind. It was as though your eyes glazed over, the sensations of your body dulled to the sleepy droll you remembered rising in. The warmth of his skin pressed to yours, the gentle brush of his breath against your shoulder blade, the beat of his chest against your spine. 

This whole time you’d been convinced that the feeling that haunted you was dread, but it wasn’t. It was want. It was the gentle spark that you had felt inside every time you had been with Michael. It had done nothing but grow inside of you, and no matter what you had tried to smother it with, it roared like a forest fire inside you now. 

It was pure want. 

But not the want you were used to. This was not a primal want, a want that could be satiated between your legs. This was a want that was met with the feeling of Michael’s fingers laced through yours, a want that was met with the gentle aura he exuded when he was just as content as you were. 

A want to hold on to your happiness. 

I should’ve just stayed, you pouted. He was the boss, after all, you joked in your head as you fished through his backpack for your keycard, he could definitely get out of a day of work.

You shook your head as you waited for the beep to push the door open, and floated into your suite. You’d gotten halfway down the small corridor that connected the doorway with the rest of the living area when you saw a shadow move in front of you. 

“Jesus Christ!” You yelped, clutching your chest as you came face to face with your best friend, “How the fuck...”

Your friend sat very posh in all white at the small table in the parlor room. She looked at you over her glass of champagne, unbothered by your outburst. Her lips pursed around the rim of the glass as the bubbles disappeared between them. In front of her sat a plate of a half eaten burger on very fine China.

“Oh, should I have called?” She mocked you, “I did, you know, but clearly you were elsewhere.” She made a point to look you up and down. 

You felt your face scrunch, “How did you get in?”

“Told the front desk I was you and I lost my key.”

You rolled your eyes and dropped the backpack beside the wall. What the fuck is security for in this goddamn city?

You ignored her laughter as you settled into your temporary home. You pressed your hand to your hip as you leaned on it and nodded towards her little set up, “Made yourself comfy, huh?” It was hard not to laugh at the way she looked sitting there eating her post birthday night meal.

“The room service is excellent.” She gushed as she bit into her burger, “I actually had to ask for the burger to be a bit greasy.” 

You pulled the chair across from her out from under the table and plopped down. Your hands quickly fell to your lap so you could pull down Michael’s sweatshirt from where it had ridden up. 

“I’ve finally figured it out, you’ve just been using me for my food.” you teased. 

“Not like you’re paying.” She shrugged.

“What?”

“Receptionist,” she paused as she took another bite, “said the whole stay is courtesy of Mr. Italiano.” she winked at you, “Don’t know which one, but yeah.”

Your jaw dropped, “You’re not serious.” 

“I am so serious.” 

You groaned before you dropped your hands and faced your whole body toward her, “As serious as your perfectly executed plan from last night?”

“What plan?” She asked innocently as she grabbed her glass off the table.

“You having Michael just-so-happen to show up.”

“Oh,” she nodded as she drank, “that was Danny’s idea, not mine.”

You studied her as she looked away from you. Your eyes narrowed as her gaze stayed fixed on the table, but her cheeks glowed a pretty pink.

“How did that happen?” You leaned forward on to the table, placing your head in your palm as you rested your elbow on the table.

“What?”

You called your friend by name as she avoided your look.

“What?” She repeated.

You sighed her name and leaned back to cross your arms over your chest.

“We met at a bar, a few weeks after you left.” She finally admitted, speaking so quickly you almost missed what she’d said.

Your eyes bulged out of your head, but before you could open your mouth, she held up her hand.

“Yes, yes, yes. I know. To be fair, it took us a while to realize how we were connected. And even then, it took Daniel like an hour to spit out this mystery question one day. Big mystery question that ended up being him asking if a picture I had on Instagram was indeed with you. You were fucking tagged in it, this man- I swear...” She took a breath as she refocused herself, “I mean, at that point, the big reveal kinda just had us accepting that we were just pawns to this big old game of fate and we both agreed to get your asses locked in a room together.”

Your mouth dropped open, “So this has been-”

“Months in the making, yup.” She giggled, “It’s been a good few months.” she nodded to herself as she poured more champagne.

“Wait-” you look at her before you gasp and a huge smile stretched across your face, “you’re fucking him!”

“Duh,” she laughed, “you made Aussies sound like quite fun, I wanted to try one out for myself.”

You both laughed together for a few minutes, each of you spurring the other back into hysterics when the other finally caught their breath.

“Is it good?” you whispered loudly.

“So good.” she gushed, “I get it. I totally get it now.” You laughed as she made the sign of the cross on herself, “So satisfying,” she grinned, “he has energy, like, all the time.”

You howled with laughter, “You horny teens.” you joked.

“Oh please,” she scoffed, “you and Michael literally can’t be in the same room without fucking.”

You laughed and covered your eyes with your hands as your cheeks heated.  

“I am really sorry I left!” you yelled through your laughter, “Can I make it up to you?”

“I’m telling you, Daniel made up for everything.” she winked at you, “Buttttt, since you’re offering, there was a cool new club that opened while you’ve been gone.” You flinched at the way she expressed your move, “We could go there.” 

You nodded and shook away the ugly feeling that Germany made you develop, “Yeah, yeah, let’s go.”

“Alright.” she clapped her hands together, “It’ll be even more fun than last night!” she happily added. 

Last night... 

You felt yourself frown, but forced yourself to clear your throat to get your friend’s attention, “Look, about last night-“

“Nope.” She held her hand up as she cut you off with her mouth full.

“But-“

“Nah uh.” She wiped her chin when some juice dripped down it.

You threw your hand up in the air, “I’m-“

“No!”

“sorry!” You yelled over her. 

She dropped the quarter left of her burger back on to the plate and wiped her mouth with the huge linen napkin she had been given, “Fuck’s sake.” she mumbled. 

Even with the heavy roll of her eyes, you could see the faint smile on her face. She may have never asked for it, and maybe she really didn’t feel she needed it, but you felt she deserved the apology.  Her tactics to soften your heavy conscious didn’t make you feel any lighter, but they were cute and appreciated. 

“I abandoned you on your birthday.” You quietly admitted, “Everyone was there for you, and I was supposed to be too.”

“Babe, did you see how many people were there? All the stuff you added to the party on such last minute, you think I didn’t notice it all?” She scoffed, “I was well entertained and now I want to be entertained this morning so you better tell me all about the epic makeup sex you two finally had to have had.”

You looked up at the ceiling and gave into the smile that had been awkwardly pulling at your face all morning.

“Maybe.”

There was a beat of silence before she pushed, “So you fucked.”

You snorted before you shook your head. There was no point in denying it. Sex was a pretty fundamental pillar in your relationship with Michael, after all. Really, you had sex to thank for having him in your life.

“You fucked, finally,” your friend groaned before she leaned forward with a bit of a mean, teasing smile, “was it like coming home, was-”

“Yes.” you instantly responded.

“What?”

“Yeah,” you blinked your watery eyes still at the ceiling, “it was everything I’ve missed.”

Your friend reached across the table and took your hand in hers. Squeezing it, a genuine smile graced her features, “M’so happy for you.”

You laughed before softly mumbling, “Me too.” Placing your hand over hers so her hand was between your own, you gently explained, “I still feel terrible about it though. It was selfish to leave and I should’ve been an adult.” 

“Babe,” she pushed her plate aside, “with everything you’ve put yourself through, it is what it is.” she paused for a moment before she added, “If I were you, I don’t know if I would’ve came back at all.”

“I ran out of there like an idiot.” You let go of her hand and sunk into your seat.

“You were scared.” She softly replied, “I would’ve been too. I mean, obviously the two of you have a long way to go, but I’m glad you’re at least mending each other.”

“But-” you groaned in frustration, “I was supposed to mend myself in Germany.”

“Maybe that’s the problem,” she countered, “you were mending half of yourself shut, and telling yourself you were whole.”

You dropped your chin to look at her. She was tracing lines into the table cloth, deep in thought. When she finally did share her thought, she didn’t look at you once. 

“You know, when I was in college, I took this class on classical mythology, and I don’t think I ever told you this, but I wrote my final paper on soulmates.” 

You were shocked. You had thought she’d hated her schooling- she was always late with assignments and had to be given prompts for papers if there were any hope of them getting given in on time, or at all. 

“There was this belief,” she continued, “that in the beginning of time, soulmates were created as a single body, but the power of two souls united in every way was threatening to the Gods, so Zeus split them. Thee god of gods damned us all into scouring the Earth looking for our other halves.

I wrote the second part of the paper about how that makes so much sense, how literature across the times have proven how we all search so tirelessly, some of us for our whole lives, for someone who gets us. For someone who we don’t need or want, but someone who just exists with us, completes us. 

And our loneliness, that’s just scar tissue- subconscious proof to us all that there’s an end to that pain, that theirs someone whose scars fit perfectly with our own, that there’s someone for us, just waiting for us to find them.

And- well, there was a lot more in between but the ending was about how that drives our will, our power, our lives, and how we can’t give up our search.”

You wiped your eyes before you weakly asked, “Did you get an A?”

Your friend chuckled, “The teacher gave me a C+ and wrote ‘Naive!’ across the last page.”

“What a dick.” The both of you smiled tearfully at each other, “Thank you.” you whispered across the table.

-

Michael had been in a good mood all morning, so it hadn’t surprised him in the least when he’d realized by midday how far ahead schedule he was, how he was basically prepping for a year down the road. He’d actually gotten work that he had been denied a permit for applying too early. 

Which led to a serious reflection on just how he had been working for the past few months, and that all led to a strong feeling of disgust and a shrug as he grabbed his shit and left to go home. 

When he’d stepped outside his door, his assistant had raised her head and looked at him over the top of her screen.

“Can I help you, Michael?” 

“No, no,” Michael waved his hand at her, “I’m gonna head home for the day.”

She nodded, but didn’t add anything. In the silence, Michael stepped forward to recapture her attention.

“If you want, you can head out too,” the shock on her face gave Michael conflicted feelings, “Have a good weekend.”

She mumbled a reply, and by the time Michael closed the door behind him, he could hear the frantic rummaging of his assistant looking to escape just as quickly as he had. 

That was another thing he was putting hard work in for: building his professional relationships.

For so long, he’d ran in and out of the office and never spoke to anyone. It had been a dreadful and anxiety inducing walk through the building to his office. He figured all his coworkers knew who they thought he was, and in his petulant way, figured that if they wanted to know the real him they’d come around.

They never had.

He was just the person at work that everyone ignored when they did see him. And it had remained an unspoken thing, but then you had picked up on it immediately and instantly pushed about the unfairness of it.

After you had left, the words you’d spoken that night rattled around in his head. He’s not sure if he’d ever tell you but they did.

“There’s no man like him.”

“He always says what he means, and does what he feels.”

“He’s authentic, and truthful, and funny.”

“You have a very charming and genuine son, and anyone who thinks otherwise is wrong.” 

If he had to pinpoint any night as the night his feelings and thoughts about you shifted to an emotional land of no return, it would be that night.

But, of course, those weren’t the only words of yours that took up space in his brain. There was the whole thing about being spoon fed by his family since birth. So he’d thrown himself into work, into proving to everyone, and the memory of you, that he was just as good as all the accomplishments and reputation his family had, and better than any of the bad.

Judging by the fact that there was a handful of people who had acknowledged him on the way out of the building, his efforts weren’t wasted.

Things are going well for once.

He took a deep breath of the crisp air as he finally looked up at the blue sky and started his work home. With how beautiful a day it was, he was regretful that he hadn’t left sooner, or came in at all this morning.

This morning, fuck, I should’ve just stayed home, he thought, could’ve stayed with her. He bit his lip as he regretted the decision to even go to work. He definitely could’ve skipped. 

He shook his head at himself as he unlocked his front door and entered his home. Making a beeline for his bedroom, he quickly shucked off his clothes and changed into comfier, everyday clothes. It always felt so much better than his suits. 

Getting comfortable on the couch, Michael scrolled to the phone number of the one person who owed him a conversation.

“Hello?” Daniel’s timid voice almost made him laugh.

“Hey mate,” he answered enthusiastically, “what’s going on, what are you doing?”

“I’m at the garage.” He answered plainly, lulling them into a silence that dragged for a beat or two.

Michael snickered, “Wanna come over and have a chat then?”

“It’s not to move a dead body?”

“What?”

“Nothing, coming, coming.” Daniel rushed off the phone.

Michael chuckled to himself and wiped his eyes as he leaned back against the soft cushions. Daniel was a strange one, but he was his best friend.

Pushing himself off the couch, he walked to his balcony door and slid the glass open. He left it open, thinking there was a good chance he’d hear Daniel when he knocked.

He could always just call, Michael thought as he lounged in the sun and put his sunglasses on.

-

This is why I love this city, you thought as you smoothed your dress down your body.

Your friend had shared the brilliant idea of shopping after she had called out of work. “It’s my best friend’s final days home,” she’d cooed, “I gotta enjoy it.”

You rolled your eyes, but didn’t say anything as she dragged you into town after you’d had a quick nap while she finished her meal. You’d ended up going to a small boutique not far from your hotel. You already owned multiple dresses from there, but they were all sitting in a box in your apartment in Germany. 

The dressing room was spacious, and there was a counter to put your things on as you shimmied the dress you’d chosen up your body. You watched your body in the mirror, the way it moved as the dress glided up it. Michael hadn’t left a mark on you, but just looking at yourself, knowing that he’d been all over every inch you saw in your reflection made you stand up just a bit taller.

“Wow,” your friends jaw dropped when you pushed the curtain aside, “that dress looks amazing on you.”

You looked down at yourself, the dark gold of the geometrically cut and designed dress hugged your body and made you glitter in the light. It was a sparkly, yet simple dress. You figured you could probably easily dress it up or down. A perfect clubbing dress for tonight.

“Thanks!” You chirped as you looked down at your heels that were strappy but not too tall, “This is good for the place you have in mind?” 

She nodded her head at you, “Oh yeah, it is.” she looked you up and down, “Is Michael the jealous type?”

“Kinda,” you laughed, “he’s not exactly the sharing type.”

“You don’t say.” She joked, “Bet he’d love that dress,” she wiggled her eyebrows at you, “and all the men that are gonna ogle you in it.”

“Tonight’s not for him, it’s for us.” you told her as you looked at your reflection again, “Besides, I don’t want to relive how he was last time a guy got too friendly at a party.”

“Bet you’d like to relive the after.” She looked up from her phone and grinned at your heated face, “Maybe it can be a night for both of us.” When you tilted your head at her, she grinned and leaned back against the cushions, “I don’t think you should invite him,” she clarified, “but, I think it’s about time he does some of the chasing. Don’t you?”

Your lips twisted as she deviously smiled at you and wiggled her eyebrows.

“This is definitely just so you can get Daniel.” you deadpanned.

“Maybe,” she shrugged, “but if I wanted him I’d just text him myself.”

“You’re the one talking about men doing the chasing.”

She didn’t look up from her phone, “Do your bestie a favor and tell your dick to bring my dick tonight, thank you.”

You both looked at each other and laughed. 

-

When Michael woke up, he felt like he’d stepped into an alternate universe. He hadn’t realized how tired he felt until he started catching up on his sleep lately. Checking his phone, he cursed as he noticed missed texts and calls from Daniel. He’d slept for only an hour, but he hadn’t meant to at all.

When he stepped into his kitchen, he heard a muffled melody and followed it to his door. When he pulled it open, he came face to face with Daniel sitting in the hallway listening to music.

“Oh, hey! Finally decide to let me in, huh?” Daniel pushed himself to his feet and ignored Michael’s apology as he brushed past him and into the apartment, “You’re lucky a new album was let out last night and I hadn’t heard it yet.”

“You listened to a whole album?”

“It’s been like an hour or two, yeah.”

Michael sighed, “You didn’t have to wait.”

“Figured I’d owed you.” That nervous smile of Daniel’s crept on to his face, “Figured we’d have this conversation on your time. Garage can manage without me.” He giggled, “Probably manages better with just Blake there.”

Michael shook his head as he pushed a beer across the table to Daniel. They sat across from each other and took a swig before they visibly leveled with each other. 

“So?” 

“So what are you two gonna do from here?” Daniel grinned, reversing the conversation around on Michael.

“What did you do last night?” 

“What did you do last night?” Daniel countered again.

“We’re back together,” Michael replied before he took another sip of his beer, “for now.”

“Good for you, cheers.” 

“Yeah, thanks.” Michael downplayed his own happiness, but the blush on his cheeks gave him away.

“You happy? You gonna keep her this time?” 

Picking his phone back up from the table, Michael opened up his thread with you and texted you.

what are you doing tonight?

Babe: going out with friends

He chuckled and looked down at his screen, thinking up a response when Daniel interrupted.

“Hello?”

“I’m gonna try my best to keep her.” Michael told him simply, “I let her get away before, not this time. I know how she feels, and she knows how I feel.” 

“How do you feel?” Daniel pressed as Michael stayed silent as Daniel smiled across from him, “You love her.”

“Shut up.” He growled as he answered your text. 

without me?

Babe: without you yup too bad

don’t be cruel baby

“Ohhhhh,” he cooed, “you are in love.”

“Love is for children.” He scoffed, hating how he could feel his cheeks burning, “What about you and her friend!”

“Oh, she’s a blast, let me tell you- but right now, you and love, mate, wow, oh wow.” 

“Get out of my house.”

“It’s an apartment.” 

“I’ll chuck you off the balcony myself.”

Daniel scoffed, “We both know I’m faster than you.”

He squealed when Michael swiped for him, but the smaller Australian easily moved out of the way and skipped backwards away from Michael.

“So, are you gonna tell her?” Daniel hummed and wiggled his eyebrows, “Oh, Mikey boy, you’re all grown up.” He spurred Michael on as the two men began to circle each other. 

“Fuck off.” Michael laughed.

Just as the two men were sizing each other up and were about to tackle each other, Michael’s phone rang.

“That her?” Daniel grinned.

“I don’t know.” Michael bit out, hoping it was.

-

You’d changed back into your own street clothes and left the boutique with your new dress folded into a bad that dangled from your arm.

“Go on.” your friend encouraged as she leaned against the fence of one of the nearby stores.

You looked away and moved down the side street while you lifted your phone and found Michael’s number. As you waited for the ringer to pick up, the annoying yet exciting sensation of butterflies filled your tummy. They seemed to be multiplying these days, and while it should’ve grossed you out- it didn’t. 

Not one bit.

“Hello?”

A smile pulled at your lips at the sound of his voice, “Hey you.”

You bit your lip as you waited to hear Michael’s voice. There was a bit of ruffling on the other end before he answered.

“Hi.”

You squinted for a moment at the odd tone in his voice, “I-“ you paused your thought at the sound of a lot of movement, “Are you alright?”

“Yeah, m’here.” Michael mumbled, slightly out of breath.

“What are you-“

Then you heard it, the extremely obvious sound of smacking lips, a sound you hadn’t heard since grade school.

“Come on, Daniel!” Michael groaned as a crash was heard, Daniel’s maniacal laughter and blame heard clear as day.

“Ah, I see.”

You covered your mouth with your hand to muffle your own giggles. With crossed your arms, you listened to the men scuffle on the other side. It sounded like Michael was being chased, or Daniel. You weren’t sure. But it was entertaining to listen to, and the mental image of Daniel chasing Michael making kissing faces like a child was hilarious.

“Do you want me to call back later?” You offered.

“No, hold on- can you shut the fuck up, mate?”

You laughed out loud at the way Michael chastised Daniel.

“Hamster on speed.” You reiterated as you laughed to yourself, your laughter only getting louder when you heard Daniel squawk ‘what!’ from the other side of the line.

All the sudden, there was a flurry of sounds until a loud slam silenced it all, followed by the click of a lock.

Michael heavily sighed, “Okay, what were you saying?”

“What the fuck was that?” you laughed. 

“Vermin problem, I’m tending to it.” He joked, “Where are you?” 

You crossed one of your legs in front of the other, leaning your weight on your hip, “Ah just out and about,”

“Alone?”

“No, but right now I am. I was thinking about some of the things we talked about.”

“Like what?”

“Like us,” you paused before adding, “you and me, us.”

Michael chuckled, “Is that an invitation to come over?” 

“Not tonight.” you replied, pressing your lips together to stop a laugh when you heard the sound he made, “I told you, I have a thing with my friends, you know, the friends you dragged me-”

“You ran.”

“that you dragged me from, we’re going out tonight to make up for it.”

“Where?”

“Oh no, no, no.” you grinned as you teased him, he was falling into your trap beautifully, “You are not popping up on me.”

“Oh, darling,” Michael purred, “you gonna make me come find you?”

“If you can.” 

“You know I like a challenge.”

“I’m counting on it.” You told him as you leaned against the brick wall in the alley. 

Michael’s voice lowered and almost made you tremble had you not been in public, “Do you wanna know what I’m gonna do when I catch you?”

“Whatever you want.”

You could hear the way Michael was almost panting like you were, and pulled your phone from your ear so you could quickly press the red button on your screen. 

You huffed a laugh when his reaction popped up in your imagination. Pressing your phone to your chest, you felt the patter of your heartbeat and took a deep breath. You leaned your head back gently so not to bump it, before you let out one last deep breath and checked your Lock Screen.

Michael: See you soon

“Ohhh,” your friend cooed from her place as you emerged from the side street, “you are getting fucked tonight.”

You barked a laugh, “Do you want me to tell him to bring Daniel?”

She rolled her eyes, before looking back at you, “Fine.”

You laughed harder at her reaction, but quieted down when you noticed the way she was looking at you.

She seemed to contemplate her question before finally spitting it out, “Have you told him about your flight?”

You motioned for her to follow you down the street as you pulled the door to the coffee shop closed behind you. “Not yet,” you admitted, “gotta tell him in a way that isn’t gonna make him freak out.”

Please bring Daniel with you

Michael: For your friend?

For my friend :)

“Just tell him you’re going back to tie up loose ends.” 

“Haven’t really gotten around to it.” you laughed, “But it’ll be fine, I’ll tell him when I see him.”

You both chatted on line, about where you were going and all the fun moments your friend had had without you. It turned your stomach, but you told yourself not to get jealousy, not to feel left out. 

How could you be left out when you were in another country? 

Pushing your own feelings aside, you watched as your friend typed a caption for her story about going to the club tonight, complete with a picture of the bags of your purchases. You leaned your on her shoulder happily, but then gasped when you saw how she tagged you and the location you were going to. 

“I can’t believe you’d do that after I just dared Michael to try and find us.” You whined.

“If they even notice it,” Your friend laughed, “I’m just giving them some help.”

“Daniel or Michael?” you narrowed your eyes.

“Both?” 

-

The club was amazing, and huge. 

The lights were bright, and made the room glow. It was different in that you could actually see the faces around you easily. There were lights that shined from under the tile floor, and the strobe lights that glowed across the room were different colors. 

It lit up the whole room into an ethereal funhouse. 

“This place is so cool!” you yelled over the music to your friend.

She happily nodded as she danced with you, her face relaxed and giddy from the shots you’d watch her take. You had only had one drink, and preferred to keep it that way if you were going to give Michael a run for his money. 

She giggled and pointed over your head, obnoxiously but playfully aiming for whatever was behind you. When you glanced over your head, you saw Daniel on a balcony, looking down from the lower level. He was pointing back at her, the two of them in a funny imaginary stand off. You turned back to your friend as she jokingly dropped her arm. 

“Alright, my turn to ditch you, babe.” she kissed you on the cheek as she put her arms around you in a sloppy hug. 

“Use protection!” you yelled as she let go of you. 

As she parted the crowd, you giggled as you felt the hair on the back of your neck stand up. You were being watched, you could feel it. Daniel had been alone on that balcony, but that didn’t mean he had been alone the whole time. You glanced around the upper level, but didn’t see anyone looking over the railing. 

Enjoying the music, you decided that maybe it would be more fun to just let yourself get caught. Throwing your hands over your head, you swayed to the music and let it lead you. You immersed yourself in your own little world and danced amongst the masses of people around you. 

You’d been so wound up that you yelped when a pair of hands squeezed your hips and tugged you back. You gasped as you thudded against a solid body, a body that you would’ve known anywhere.

“Fancy meeting you here.”

You giggled and melted back into the warm, wide chest of your lover as his arms wound around your waist. Michael kissed your shoulder as he held you against him. Shaking your shoulders, you squeezed his arms and snuggled back against him.

“Bad boy.” You purred over your shoulder, “Michael!” You yelped when the hot wet of his tongue swiped at your neck.

“Mmmm,” he grumbled into your ear as he switched his weight back and forth between his feet behind you, “love when you scream my name.”

You rolled your eyes as you felt your nipples harden under your dress. You were really regretting the dress you had worn, it was too tight and shiny for your nipples not to end up aching against the material. Michael’s hands dragged up to your ribs and you whimpered when they squeezed the flesh of your ribs under your breasts. You were a little disappointed and a lot surprised that he was behaving in public.

You turned your head as you reached behind, holding the back of his neck as you looked at him from over your shoulder, “Will you dance with me?”

Michael grabbed your arm and spun you around until you were flush against him. Tilting your head the way he wanted with a single hand on your chin, he kissed you so gently, the sound in the room seemed to melt away. 

She was definitely on to something with this idea of just fucking this night. I bet her and Dan are already gone.

You leaned back and stepped back from him, holding his hand in yours before you turned over your shoulder and disappeared into the crowd. 

You pressed between people and moved quickly. It was lucky that there were so many straps on the shoes you bought because they were definitely helping you balance so you could give Michael a chase he deserved. 

While you childishly ducked behind bars and pushed between people, you couldn’t see such a commotion going on behind you. Which both terrified and exhilarated you. Cause Michael was most definitely game, and was doing this to put you on edge. He didn’t want you to see him coming. 

No, Michael may not chase often, but when he chased- he did it as he wanted. 

You giggled to yourself as you snuck around a side booth and into a small hallway that read ‘EXIT’ in neon green over the entrance of it. 

Fuck it, you thought recklessly, and walked calmly down it. 

When you reached the door at the end, that glowed the same neon green around the frame as it was at the beginning of the hallway, you went to turn the circular knob and panicked. 

Cause it was locked, the stupid little old knob was locked and you were in a dead end hallway. 

You looked over your shoulder and squealed when you saw a familiar silhouette at the end. It was all very fun, and very creepy and you were so turned on. You desperately jingled the handle and tried pushing on the door. Your laughter got louder as the footfalls behind you got closer.

 With a loud growl, Michael spun you around and pinned you between his body and the door, When you lifted your head, you could see his face from the way the light reflected off of it. He was smiling, and a bit out of breath.

“Did I almost lose you?” you asked happily.

“I’ll always find you.”

You pressed your hands to his chest as you pushed up on him to touch your mouth to his. You followed the row of buttons down his chest teasingly. He moaned into your mouth, spurring you on. Hungrily, you held the sides of his neck and jaw between your hands, and pushed your body against his. His fists clenched the material of your dress as he pulled you tighter against him. You gasped into his mouth as he pressed his hips to yours, letting you feel how quickly he hardened for you.

“Lets get out of here.” you mumbled breathlessly against his lips. 

He nodded and pulled you behind him. Taking the door knob in his large hand, he twisted it as he pushed his shoulder against it. You desperately tried to not make a sound when the door easily gave and opened to the outside air with a ‘pop’. 

Pulling you out the door, you shivered at the feeling of the crisp air against your tights clad legs. All too quickly you were filled with the familiar warmth that came from Michael’s smile as he looked at you and pulled you closer. He walked backwards, kissing you as he pulled you away from the lights and into the darkness of the far corner of the buildings.

His hand rested on your cheek before it fell to your neck, gently holding it while his other hand dropped to your ass.

Too hot to do anything but focus on him, both of your hands went to his pants. Curling your fingers into his waistband, you popped open the button of his black jeans and pulled on his zipper.

“Needy girl.” He rasped as he pulled your hair to get to your throat.

You moaned high pitched and pretty for him as he brushed the soft skin of your neck with his teeth before sucking on it. He pulled on the skin as he sucked, locking the suction as his tongue lapped at the skin.

That’ll leave a mark.

You shoved his hands back and dropped to your knees, putting your tights covered knees on top of his blue suede shoes. The material was the perfect cushion, and he couldn’t escape your mouth if he was stuck under your knees.

Leaning forward a bit, Michael braced his hands against the brick wall behind you. He looked over his shoulder to make sure no one was around, but his sight was cut off when your naughty hand wrapped around his dick. Squeezing his eyes shut, his head snapped back forward and his chin dropped. He opened his eyes just as you grinned up at him like the cock drunk girl he knew.

“Pretty baby, suck it.”

You smiled at him before you leaned in and sucked your lips around the tip of him. You swirled your tongue around him wetly before taking a few more inches, filling your mouth with the warmth of his length as his heartbeat fell into it.

His member twitched and jerked against the roof of your mouth with every well placed lick and suck. You happily hummed when his tip reached the back of your throat, vibrating it.

“Fuck, that mouth.” Michael groaned over you.

You looked up at him, catching his gaze right as you leaned forward and back. Taking his expression seriously, you rocked yourself on your heels to let him fuck your mouth. He moaned and whimpered, a smile pulling at his lips as he leaned his head against the wall.

“So fucking perfect.” He growled before his hands found their way into your hair, “Can I, darling? Let me fuck your throat, nice and fast so you can get yours, just wanna cum down that pretty throat.” He was rambling, muttering through his pleasure.

You reached up and squeezed his wrists, halting your rocking as you planted yourself to the ground the way you had when you first went down.

“Fuck yes.” He groaned as he quickly fisted your hair and began snapping his hips forward.

He fucked your face as tears welled in your eyes, the abrupt feeling of his thick tip pushing in and out of your throat made it burn so good. You pressed your hands into his thighs, squeezing the muscles and making him moan louder. You could feel the muscles of his hips and thighs contracting as he fucked your face and reacted to the pleasure you gave him.

“You’re so good, darling.” He bit out, “Can I cum down your throat baby?”

You sat up straighter and tapped on his thigh enthusiastically as he pressed his hips up and sealed your lips around the hilt of him.

The pulse of his cum unloading from his cock vibrated along your lips as he came. You couldn’t taste him, but the feeling of him cumming down your throat made you rub your thighs together.

Above you, Michael was a mess. He leaned against the wall, panting as he looked around and twitched in your mouth.

“Fuck, fuck, fuck.” He muttered as he ran his hand through his hair, “Get up here, Princess.”

You happily responded to the new pet name and slowly removed him from your mouth, breaking the sweet suction that kept him inside of you gently. When you bounced to your feet, he leaned in and kissed you, his hands shoving himself back into his pants and buttoning them as he licked into your mouth. He chased the taste of himself and moaned when he got traces of it.

So possessive, you felt lightheaded but in a gorgeously delirious way.

Breaking your lip lock, he bopped the tip of his nose against yours, “This dress…” he mumbled as his hand slid down your side, “It’s pretty but it has to go.”

You both chuckled before melting into each other again. You pressed your body to his and whined into his mouth. You moaned when his hand slapped your ass and pulled you closer to his half hard lap.

Pushing on your hips, he pinned you to the wall and crowded you against it. You could only see him, the sensual smell of his cologne lingered in the air with the smell of his sex. You could’ve stuck your tongue out and tasted him.

“Touch me.” You whined.

He grinned as he groped your chest. His hands squeezed your tits before they dragged down your body. Rubbing over your hips, he squeezed your ass in the palms of his hand before bringing them back over the front of your thighs.

Michael’s breath brushed against your cheek as he spoke hushed and rushed, “M’gonna rip-“

His words died as his wandering hands finally hit skin. Without warning he pulled the skirt of your dress completely up and groaned as you whimpered from the cold air hitting your upper thighs that weren’t covered.

You loved thigh highs, and from the reaction from Michael, he did too.

“Fuck, always trying to kill me, aye?”

As usual, Michael surprised you by stepping back and letting your dress fall back into place. Holding his hand out to you, you took it without hesitation and let him pull you under his arm as he steered you both back to the street.

“Why-“

Michael shushed you and turned his head like he was looking behind you, his nose brushed against your hair, “Cause the things I wanna do to you aren’t fit for an alley way fuck.”

You grinned the whole way to your hotel.

-

The incessant buzzing near your head woke you the next morning. With a groan, you reached out and grabbed your phone. The warmth behind you moved, and you snuggled back with a happy, sleepy smile as Michael’s arms pulled you back into his arms. 

You pressed a hand to his forearm as he rumbled and pressed his lips to your shoulder. When his forehead pressed to the top of your shoulder where his lips had just been, his breathing evened back out.

Careful not to jostle your sleeping lover, you lifted your screen to a list of notifications that expanded when your Face ID kicked in. You ignored the Instagram notifications and opened your text thread with your bestie. Which had 14 text messages.

omg pls wake tf up

get off the dick for two minutes you will not be disappointed

GIRL HAVE U SEEN THIS

i am screaming these people are leeches

but you both look so hot together????

i thought you said that his dad blocks pictures? 

DOES THIS MEAN DAD APPROVES?

just click the link ffs

PLS WAKE UPPPPPP

You scrolled down the rest of the messages and clicked on first link she sent, and was brought to a tabloid site. Your whole body tightened as your mouth dropped open.

‘Back Again! Monaco’s hottest bachelor off the market as his love returns to stake her claim in a very public way.’

Underneath the headline was a slideshow of pictures from last night. They ranged from innocent, and cute looking, from the moment he found you, to much less innocent. They’d even gotten a picture of the two of you by the back door.

You zoomed so it took up your whole screen. Even in your heels, you were pushed on your toes, your arms around his neck as his hands pressed to each side of you, his arms wrapped around your waist.

Your mouths were pressed together. 

“That’s a nice one.” Michael grumbled from behind you, startling you, “But I prefer the real thing.”