I Love You (Eu amo você) {MJ FANFICTION}

Chapter 8

"What is it?" she asked.

"Confidant? Hmm like...the person you trust enough to tell your deepest secrets to." He answered.

"Well...would you confidant to me?" she asked, the words rolling off of her tongue in her sweet accent, and a wide smile spread over his face in a way that completely melted her heart.

"Would you confide in me." He corrected her. "Yes, I would confide in you." He said simply.

"And what would you tell me?" she asked and Michael moved his eyes away from hers. A smaller smile arising on his face this time.

"Boy you sure know how to turn a question around." He chuckled a little and sunk his hands deep into the pockets of his shorts. "Oh boy...I'd probably let you know about my father you know...sometime he puts a lot of pressure on me and my brothers to do well." He nodded shrugging. "We make a lot of music back home, he wants us to be the best. We're a pretty big deal in America actually." He shrugged and ducked his head humbly. "That's why sometime I just love to come here to get away from it all. I used to come here with my mother when I was younger, do you remember that girl?" he asked licking his lips.

Lia nodded slowly.

"I remember your mother. She was a nice lady." She smiled but it quickly faded behind a screen of indifference. For Michael's mother as nice as she was, was not her mother and his glowing fond expression subtly reminded her of that.

"She liked to get away from him too. I guess in some ways it was a blessing that my uncle decided to move out here and uh..." He shrugged one shoulder indifferently. "mmm...I'm not really looking forward to going back, that's what I'd tell you." He finished. Her eyes squinted out at the shore.

Still Michaels piercing gaze was dissecting her closely.

"Well?" he said expectantly.

"What?"

"You have a confession?" He asked her.

"Maybe...one..." she said finally. Michael nodded with encouragement. "I...still don't know how to swim." She said. Michaels features softened and he took her by her hand.

"Girl, take them sandals off."

*

She'd found it odd even to herself that there hadn't been anywhere near as much resistance when learning to swim with Michael as opposed to Ramel. Half of her issue had been trusting Ramel enough to get in the water in the first place, the second layer of apprehension rested in the reality of being alone within the presence of a man, layered on top of the fear of being in the water at all. Lastly was her fear of looking stupid.

All of those phobias however, had been scooped lovingly into Michael's gentle embrace and nothing comforted her more than the silky feeling of his bare abs brushing against her arm as he held her up in the water. His voice had soothingly uttered away the self-doubt replacing them with kind instructions and the whole time he held her close, taking her under his wing with care and transparency and a giggle and a smile that could make the hardest of women crumble into a girlish pulp.

"I've got you." The words had soothed her senses while he held onto her, allowing her to float above the surface. "All you gotta do is trust me..." he'd said.

It had taken some time, maybe an hour or so before she finally let go of all of the tension she was experiencing and in the same second, her body became light and the water carried her upon it like a weightless leaf above the surface.

"I'm doing it!" She'd screamed with delight her eyes remained clenched shut as she gasped.

"See, I knew you could do it!" Michael encouraged her and when she got too excited to stay up in the water, he'd straightened up by placing his hands firmly on her waist while she held onto his neck for support. Lia smiled and opened one eye. His eyes in that moment seemed consumed by hers, and darted over her features at the speed of light.