A Match into Texas (Mike Fuentes Fanfic)

15

I woke up in bed, my bag on the floor next to Mike's. Mike sat on the floor, leaning against the bed and reading Sylvia Plath. I threw mypillow at him, and he grinned.

'Look who's awake!' He tossed the pillow back at me and I sat up and stretched.

'How's Sylvia treating you? I didn't know you had a copy of 'Ariel'. Its one of my favorites.' I pushed back the covers, and swung my legs over the side of the bed.

'It's James's copy, he kept talking about how great the poems are, and he convinced me to give them a try. I like 'Lady Lazarus' and 'The Jailor' so far. She's crazy, but she's cool.' Funnily enough, those were my two favorite poems by herer. 'Ariel' always seemed rather long winded to me.

'I'm going to rinse off, then we can head over to James's. I think Nyla is going to bring her brother's band to play for you. They're actually pretty good. They play classical pieces, but they make them metal. It's pretty cool.' he grinned.

'Sounds rad! You shower, I'm going to call Jaime just to confirm his flight plans.' I walked into the bathroom, and turned on the water, which splattered droplets of scalding liquid on my hands.

As I let the water wash the fatigue from my shoulders, I smiled in spite of myself, imagining Mike's reaction to the present I had for him. On our trip together, I noticed he had a particular fondness for Bruce Springsteen. In one of the towns before the current one, I had snuck off to a record shop that was owned by a former client of my aunt's. He had been falsely accused of assault and my aunt had gotten himoff, scot-free. I asked him if he had a setof Springsteen vinyl, and he had a set of all thelive concerts from 1975-85, that had been signed by the whole band.It cost an arm and a leg to get it, but he gave me a big discount. Plus, Mike had been paying for gas waymore than he should, so his present needed to be great. I really hoped that he liked it.

I wrapped a towel around my hair, and threw on a bra and panties. Mike was outside, on the phone with jaime, and I picked out a delicate black dress. It had a tight waist with silver designs stitched in, and was very simply cut. The sleeves were long and billowy, but buttoned at the wrists. Just the thing for a winter party. My cowboy boots would go perfectly. I pulled the dress on, and brushed on some mascara, along with a hint of lipstick, just to pretend I wasclassy for a night. Ipulled the vinyl set out of my duffel, just as Mike walked in the door.

'Jaime said he's landing in JFK at 10:30 tomorrow morning and that He'll meet us out front at 11.' He turned towards me, just after I hid the album behind my back. 'Wow, sweetheart, you look... Stunning. Like you stepped out of a dream.' I blushed, and he smiled. he tilted his head and wrinkled his brow. 'What's behind your back?'

I grinned and held up the set. 'Happy birthday, Mike. I hope you like it.' His eyes widened, and his mouth fell open. He practically jumped across the room towards me, and took the album, gawking at the signatures.

'Alex! Oh my god, how on earth did you manage to get this? Dude, thisis so rad, best present I've ever gotten!' He pulled me into a hug, and kissed my forehead. I laughed.

'Its not what you know, Mikey, it's who you know. I just happen to know a guy who had the perfect album for you.' He gently placed the album on the bed, and turned towards me. He took my face in his hands and kissed me hard, grinning through the contact. He broke the kiss and leaned his forehead against moe, our noses touching.

'How the hell did you get so perfect? And what the hell did I do to deserve you at all?' He was so earnest. I felt my eyes fill, and a tear rolled down my cheek. No one had ever thought I was perfect before. No one had ever thought they were lucky to have me, or that maybe i was worth more than i thought. His eyes changed from content to concerned in a second, and he brushed the teardrop away with his thumb.