*Michael's POV*
"I am not spending Christmas with your family!" I say to Nicole as I rush to get dinner out of the oven before it's burned to a crisp.
"Please, Michael! My Mom said my Dad has calmed down about everything: he might be coming around! " She's right on my heels in the kitchen, not helping to bring my stress level down at all.
I'll admit as annoying as she's being right now, it doesn't make her any less adorable to me.
She's lucky she's cute.
"No, I'm not going! Especially after what your dad said about me, I'm still so embarrassed!" I tell her.
"You're 'embarrassed'? He's the one who should be embarrassed after saying what he did!" she yells at me.
I'm too busy focusing on what she's saying to notice that I don't have oven mitts on when I pick up the baking sheet that's still sizzling from being fresh out of the oven with my bare hands.
"Fuck!" I yell before releasing the tray and watching it tumble to the floor and splattering our dinner everywhere.
"Oh my God!" Nicole yells before rushing over to turn the cold sink water on.
She quickly grabs me by the wrists and holds my hands under the cool stream giving me instant relief.
"Are you okay?" She asks me sounding genuinely concerned.
I nod. "Yeah, I'm fine. It just stung a little." I say blatantly lying to seem more manly.
It honestly felt like I had stuck my hands in Satan's ass.
"I'm sorry for being pushy." she says. "I just miss my family so much, and now that they're trying to make an effort, I don't want to feel like I have to choose them over you."
"No, I'm sorry." I say. "I should've thought more about how you felt. It's been kind of a culture shock for you these last few months... do you forgive me?"
"Well, that depends. Do you forgive me?" she asks.
I don't say anything. Instead, I lean down and kiss her lips: something I haven't done to her in nearly 4 months.
"There's your answer." I say with a smirk upon pulling away.
She laughs. "Hey, remember that night in the car?" She asks, obviously blushing.
Even though I know exactly what she's talking about, I decide to humor myself by acting like I don't.
"Um, no. I don't think I do." I say playfully while drying off my hands and making my way over to freezer to grab an ice pack for them.
Nicole follows close behind me. "Oh, stop playing, yes you do!"
I shake my head to disagree. "Nope can't say that I do. Why don't you refresh my memory?" I say while leaning against the countertop with my arms crossed.
She giggles. "Follow me." She says while taking my hand and leading me to the couch. She pushes me down so I'm sitting in the middle seat.
"I think it went a little something like this." she says as she mounts herself on my lap, identical to the way she did when we made out in the car that night.
She begins to kiss my lips with her mouth slightly open. I moan and lean back to give her easier access to me.
She moves from my mouth down to my neck planting wet, sloppy kisses all over it.
My breathing is becoming more choppy by the second. "N-Nicole? I thought you said you didn't want to do anything like this until we sorted everything out with your parents."
She smiles against my skin "Everything's working itself out Michael, don't worry."
I can't resist. A young girl like her can do miracles on a guy like me. I can tell because if it were anyone else, I wouldn't be feeling so helpless right now. Unfortunately, the problems I have with going all the way with her right now are the secrets I'm keeping from her. I can't entertain her sexual fantasies when I feel this much guilt inside.
She gives me one more light peck on the lips before pulling away to examine my face.
"Hey what's wrong?" She says taking my face in her hands. "Don't you want to do this?" she asks me.
"No, no, no! Of course I do," I pause for a moment. "I just don't want to rush it. We should wait until after Christmas with your parents to-"
She interrupts me. "Wait 'after'? 'After' like you're going to come with me?" she asks excitedly.
I sigh and roll my eyes playfully "I mean, I guess." I say sarcastically.
She squeals and takes my face in her hands again before giving me a huge kiss on the lips.