Angie, a live-in-the-now singer-songwriter on the cusp of fame, sweeps Mike, a proper Mama's boy and a structural engineer by day, off his feet the moment they shake hands.
They can't deny the chemistry between them, so they start with a boom. What'...
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▪️Friday, January 22nd, 2018▪️
▪️Tuscon, AZ▪️
In the kitchenette, Mike takes up the opposite bench of the built-in. I could've squeezed in next to him, but this is a much better place to be. Under the table, my knees are between his. Is this my ideal morning? No, but for darned sure it's the best morning since the one I spent with Mike in Seattle. And that's two weeks' worth of crappy mornings.
"Poppy helped me plan the visit." Mike moves his head to my right, where the other reason this morning isn't ideal is sipping an espresso from a dainty cup. Poppy. She's the best, hands down, but I want Mike all to myself. I can tolerate her for a bit longer because I mean, what can I say? An off the charts surprise is hard to pull off, and I'm scared at how much I didn't suspect what these two have been planning. Has the entire group been in on it?
"Thank you," I say to Poppy and Mike. "How long have you been plotting this?"
"LA. I thought he might be the best present." How did I not know these two have exchanged phone numbers?
"So, it was Poppy's idea?" I narrow my eyes and employ my confess-now glare on Mike.
"Joint." Mike's knees squeeze mine and, who am I kidding, I don't care whose idea it was. "I could only come out on these days, while you're in transit. Poppy pulled some strings, and for two days I'm part of the tour."
"Thank you." I lean into Poppy's shoulder. "Mike is the best birthday present."
Mike and Poppy exchange a look that I wish I knew the meaning of. "You get him for one night. No hotel until tomorrow afternoon. Not going to make all your dreams come true." There's a glint in Poppy's eyes.
Late thirties or not, she's not kidding herself. Getting Mike naked and alone would've been even better, but Poppy's wrong. Today's dream came true and blew the other dreams out of the water. "I'll take what I can get." We arrive to Phoenix tomorrow morning, which means I just might get a couple of hours alone with Mike before he leaves. "When are you flying back?"
"Tomorrow evening at eight." Mike's eyes are apologizing. "That was the latest flight I could take that would still get me home in time for work."
"I'm spending thirty-six hours with you. That's thirty-six more than I was expecting. Let's celebrate."
"But your birthday is tomorrow."
"It's tomorrow somewhere in the world already. We're going to pretend we are there. I'm ready to get one year older a day earlier for you."
His knees are doing too good of a job massaging my thighs under the table. I lower my hand that's away from Poppy and begin some massaging of my own. Watching Mike's eyes dart back to mine with every kind of promise hidden in them wakes me up for good. He captures my hand between his knee and mine and doesn't let me explore any further.
