Finally (Mileven)

Chapter 2

New York also happened to be Jane's destination. Her dad lived there and she had taken some time off work to come visit. It'd been almost a year since she'd been back. Although she was excited to see him again, she wasn't quite ready to leave. She wasn't ready to let Mike go just yet. So when they asked if she knew somewhere good to grab a bite to eat, she smiled at them and said she knew just the place.

They hailed a couple of cabs and the group split between the two. Mike and Jane were in the back of one and, though they had the entire back seat to themselves, they sat right beside each other. Jane told the driver where they were going and sat back. She looked over at Mike and her eyes ran from his messy hair down to his shoes. They were touching from thigh to ankle. He had leaned forward and was saying something to Dustin, who was sitting up front, so she took advantage and snuggled in to him a little more. The feel of Mike against her body was delicious and left her feeling heady. So when he reached his hand back and put it on her thigh, pulling her even closer, she was literally left breathless. Mike finished talking with Dustin and leaned back, smiling at Jane as he settled in. His hand stayed on her leg as the cab made its way through the New York traffic.

Jane took the Party to a funky Mexican food restaurant with dinner specials and music that was louder than it needed to be. The group chose a table towards the back, away from the mariachi band, and settled into comfortable conversation.

The boys learned about Jane and her background. She was from Colorado, but her dad lived in New York. Her mom had died when she was 4, and her father was a policeman in New York City. She didn't have any brothers and sisters and the only aunt she had, on her mother's side, she'd never met. She did social work for the county, and they could tell by the way she talked about her work that she loved it. She took great pride in helping children and admitted to sometimes taking her work home with her; an "occupational hazard," she called it. Being a policeman's daughter, she'd heard about the less glamorous side of police work (was police work even glamorous to begin with?), and what had really stuck with her were the children that fell through the cracks. When she was just 14, she told him she wanted to be a social worker. He encouraged her and, when she was 16, he called in some favors and helped get her an intern position with the county. She'd started with filing and had moved up, becoming one of their best employees. When she turned 18, they offered her a position, and she accepted, never looking back.

Their food came out, and Mike didn't realize how hungry he was. He'd had a light breakfast but nothing for lunch, so when his meal was set down before him, he couldn't wait to dig in. When his eyes landed on the guacamole on the plate, however, he wrinkled his nose. He did not like guacamole, or avocadoes, in any form.

Lucas noticed him eyeballing the dip and laughed. "Whoops, someone messed up," he said.

Jane looked up and followed Lucas' eyes. She looked at the guacamole, then up at Mike. "Mike, you don't like guacamole?"

What he did like was the sound of his name on her lips. He may not like guacamole, but if Jane put it on her lips, he'd probably still kiss her.

Dustin spoke before Mike could. "No, Michael does not like guacamole. He doesn't even like it touching his other food. Quick, someone get it off of there! Hurry!" He jokes, making pointing motions at the dip with his knife.

Jane shrugged. "I'll take it." She reached over, meaning to scoop the offending condiment off Mike's plate. Her spoon hovered over it, and she looked at Mike for his ok.

Mike nodded. Their eyes lingered on one another. Jane made no move to get the guacamole. As they continued staring, her spoon started to quiver, threatening to drop from her fingers. Her lips parted and her eyes flicked down to his lips. They were parted as well. She looked back up. He took a breath in, and smiled. He placed his hand over her shaking one and helped her remove the guacamole and place it on her own plate, his eyes never leaving hers.