A/N: hey guys, I'm sorry for the wait but I was on vacation and I had job interviews so I didn't have much time to write! But here is chapter fifty three, I hope you'll love it!
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I
opened my eyes slowly, one after the other. The sun was coming through the curtains of the hotel suite, letting me know morning was here; the first morning of nineteen ninety two. My back was against Michael's chest, allowing me to feel his warmth against my body, and his arm was around me. I took his hand that was on my belly, and brought it to my mouth to lay a kiss on top of it before I hugged it against my chest.
A smile slowly appeared on my face as flashbacks of the before dawn hours played in my head. How Michael undressed me with his eyes before he actually did with his hands, how his eyes filled with desire when he laid eyes on my lingerie. I remembered the feeling of having Michael's hands on my naked body, how strong yet gentle his grip on my hips was. His eyes were candles in the night, and their light a spark of passion.
At first, I could feel he was holding back. His whole body seemed tensed, and he was obviously nervous.
"Look at me," I told him a bit out of breath, as he was hovering me. I cupped his face in my hands, and looked deep into his eyes. "Neither of us is new to this. This isn't something I haven't done before. I'm ready. Are you?"
"It's been a while since I have been there. I—I'm afraid I might do something wrong, and hurt you, or—"
"Shh," I hushed him, putting my finger over his lips while propping on my other elbow. "You're not going to hurt me. It's actually the opposite," I whispered, inching closer to his lips. I gently slid my hand all the way down to his belt and started unbuckling it. "Relax, it's going to be fine. It's just you and me," I tried to reassure him softly, as I threw his belt on the floor. I kissed the side of his neck sensually, as his breathing quickened at my love treatment.
"You know this part of my body... my vitiligo didn't spare it," he said in barely audible shameful voice.
"I know, and I don't care. You're still the sexiest man I've ever met," I told him, and through the not completely dark room, I caught sight of a little smile appearing on his face. I kissed his jaw and then found my way back to his mouth. "Now tell me, are you ready?" I asked before I gently bit his bottom lip.
"Yeah, I think I am," he answered in a more confident tone, before he pushed me back against the mattress gently.
I smiled as images and feelings of Michael and I making love came back within me. How every touch sent electricity through my whole body, how every tongue-laced kiss made my heart and stomach flutter with happiness and desire, and how every moan of pleasure became melody to my ears. Michael was always shy and insecure about his looks, but when I managed to show him that all I cared was him as a whole, a new man appeared in front of me: a confident one.
Careful not to wake Michael up, I turned around only to be face to face with him. He was peacefully sleeping, and his features were impeccable. His mouth was slightly agape and his eyeliner was partially gone, but he was still the most beautiful human being I had the chance to lay my eyes on. I touched his face mildly with the tip of my fingers, and examined every part of his flawless face. I couldn't help but beamed at the sight. He seemed at ease, and it motivated me even more to make his life the best possible. It is when I looked at him, when I was lucky enough to spend time with him that I knew I needed to protect him at all costs. He deserved the world, and I intended to give it to him.
I snuggled closer to Michael's bare chest and placed my ear over his beating heart for a few seconds. This sound alone was enough for me to feel reassured, because after what Hayden told me, I knew I was the one who was holding his life in my hands.
I placed a kiss in the crook of his neck, which made him stir a little. With a little smirk on, I continued and placed a trail of kisses on the side of his neck, all the way up to his perfect jawline. Soon enough, a bright smile appeared on my boyfriend's face, but his eyes remained closed as I kept on kissing the totality of his face and jaw.
"You were right," he said in this hoarse morning voice of his. "This is the best way to be awakened," he told me, and I giggled as Michael hugged my waist and pulled me closer to his. He finally opened his eyes lazily. "Good morning, gorgeous."
"Morning to you, babe," I greeted back, pulling back to look into his eyes. "How did you sleep?"
"I spent the best night of my life," he sincerely said, playing with a strand of my hair. "How about you?"
"Even though the night was short, it was perfect. Just like you," I added, kissing the cleft on his chin. He giggled a bit, shaking his head from side to side, and his eyes got lost in my body.
"How can you be so beautiful and sexy?" he asked, as he slid his hand from the small of my back to my hip.
"I could ask you the same question, sir," I told him, pointing my finger on his naked chest. I inched closer to his lips, and teased him by kissing his neck instead of his demanding lips.
In a split second, Michael reversed our position and was now hovering me and my legs automatically wrapped around his waist. I put my hands on his bare forearms, and slid them all the way up to his shoulders. I looked deep into his eyes, and slowly brought Michael's face towards mine. His body was pressed on mine, and the contact of his skin against my own made my insides warm. This was the effect he had on me: he could start a fire inside of me just my touching me.
"And what are you gonna do, now?" I asked him, as my lips were an inch away from his.
"This," he huskily answered before he covered my mouth with his in a fiery move.
As Michael's lips were working their magic, my hands worked their way around his body, feeling each line along his perfect physique. Michael matched my figure's form as he was lying on top of me. His hands explored every single curve of my almost naked body, as if he was discovering them for the very first time, while his mouth was still sealed with mine in a passionate kiss. With smoothness, he pulled the strap of my teddy with one finger while he placed a trail of small kisses up and down my neck and on my bare shoulder, before he worked his way back to my lips. As we kissed I rolled him over and lied on top of his slender body. I ran my lips up his neck and landed yet another loving and intense tongue-laced kiss on his mouth. The heat between us was obvious by now. My body was screaming his name, and I knew his was screaming mine. The burning desire and passion were obvious between us at that point.
"I love you," Michael whispered in my ear, his breathing was quick.
"Show me how much," I answered back before biting his ear lobe slightly.
I slid my hands down his chest to his stomach, and finally to the rim of his pajama pants. As I was slowly removing them from him, a knock was heard on the door, which made me stop right away. I looked down at Michael who was already looking up at me, and a smirk appeared on his face before he attacked my face with more kisses.
"M—Michael," I moaned under my breath, giggling slightly. "Are we really going to ignore that person behind the door?"
"It's probably the room service bringing breakfast, but I already have something to eat right here," he whispered with a deep chuckle, before he gently removed my lingerie from me.
"Ooo, you're nasty Mr. Jackson," I pointed out, and he rolled us over once again so that he was back on top of me. "And I kinda like this side of yours," I added, as I trailed kisses from his neck to down his chest, to his lower stomach. I finally got rid of his pants and covered his body with mine again.
"You have see nothing yet," he assured me in a deep voice. I felt his hands grip the back of my bare thighs as he sat up with my legs wrapped around his waist. I wrapped my arms around his neck and threw my head back, enjoying the feeling of Michael's smooth lips on my neck and bare chest.
Another knock was heard on the door, but we decided to ignore it completely this time, caught in the heat of the moment. At some point, the knocks became insistent.
"Michael, it's Bill. Open up," the head of security asked behind the door with some more knocks. Michael had stopped at the second he heard Bill's voice. He knew it was important.
Regretfully, I moved from my comfy position and directly went in the bathroom, grabbing Michael's shirt in the process. Once there, I fully removed my emerald teddy, and put on some regular underwear that I covered with the stolen black shirt. I reopened the bathroom's door and peeked outside to see if Michael was done talking to his bodyguard. It wasn't long after that he closed the suite's door with a huge tray of food in his hands.
"Bill brought breakfast?" I asked with a laugh as I walked in Michael's direction as he was putting the tray on the messy bed. "This is why he came up here? Because if that's the only reason, I'm gonna be mad at him for interrupting us."
Michael chuckled slightly, as he joined me on the bed. "I wish I could tell you we can continue where we left off, but sadly, I'll have to leave sooner than expected," he let me know as he stroked my hair gently, looking at me in the eyes. "Somehow, people found out I was staying here and now fans are starting to gather in front of the building."
"It's alright," I reassured with a smile, cupping his cheek. "Your safety comes first, honey. Yesterday was amazing, I'm the happiest person alive right now."
"I doubt that, because I am," he giggled, before he laid a kiss on my lips. "Eat something, I'll be in the shower."
***
Michael and I's secret getaways were probably what I loved the most about our relationship: it was exciting and romantic at the same time, and even a little dangerous. If him and I got caught together, I knew things would change for me: I would be a target to paparazzi and the press would be after me, which could become a major problem since I worked in a public space. But since the beginning of our relationship, we were pretty good at it, since not one single tabloid mentioned me.
With my eyes glued on the ceiling and a smile plastered on my face, I enjoyed this feeling of happiness I had in me as images of the moments Michael and I shared the night prior ran through my mind. From the fancy dinner, to the meeting with Diana and the romantic night of love making, everything seemed perfect. Michael managed to introduce me to his world carefully and slowly not to scare me away, and I was thankful for that. I couldn't dream of a better boyfriend: he was perfect.
Since Michael had to leave the building earlier than expected, I told him that I'd have Hayden pick me up, as we weren't far from Montecito. I would have called Alice, but I didn't want to disturb her in the middle of her new, I hoped, engaged woman life. I couldn't wait for her to tell me how everything went. If Carl and Alice were actually engaged by now, nineteen ninety two definitely started on the right foot for each and every one of us.
A knock was heard on the door, and I lazily stood up from the bed to go get it. On my way there, I ran a hand through my still damp mane, and opened the door with the other hand. Right away, an excited Andy hugged my legs, wishing me a happy new year.
"Well, happy new year to you too, cutie pie," I chuckled, rubbing his hair back as he wouldn't let go of my legs. "And happy new year to you too, big brother," I told Hayden, as I gave him a hug.
"Thank you, Hale," he smiled sincerely, and I welcomed the both of them in the room. "Are you ready to go?"
"I am, let me take my bags from the living room," I asked him, and went there to take my single hand bag and purse. I looked around to make sure I didn't forget anything, and went back to the front door. "I'm all set!"
"Let me take this for you," Hayden offered, taking the bag from my hands. "Your room is a mess. I'm sure you're tired from the night you had," he told me, and I could see he was trying not to laugh. I blushed hard without even speaking a word, which made Hayden snicker. "Alice is rubbing off on me."
"Clearly," I whined, as I closed the door behind us. Quickly and without asking, Andy grabbed my free hand, and I gladly held it in mine. "As we speak, she's probably enjoying her new life as Carl's fiancée."
"He proposed? That's amazing!" my brother enthusiastically said. "How did it go?"
"I have no idea, Carl told me he was going to propose yesterday, but I didn't hear from any of them ever since."
"Was he nervous? I remember how nervous I was before I proposed to Emma, it was ridiculous," he laughed at the memory.
"He was very nervous," I giggled. "But he was also concerned. He made me go through a head CT, because of the nose bleeding that happened on Christmas' Eve."
"They came out clean, didn't they?"
"You know it. I told him it was no use, but at least that proves him I'm fine," I shrugged, as the three of us came in the elevator's shaft. "How was your night, though? What did you guys do?"
"We went to Terry's, a family friend. He invited us and my mother for dinner, and Andy loves to go there because he has a boy who is the same age as him. Right, bud?" he asked down to his son.
"Yes, Noah and I are like best friends, just like you and Alice, auntie!" he excitedly said, and I laughed at his excitement.
"I'm glad you have such a precious friendship," I told him, pinching his cheek. "Did you have a good time?"
"Oh yes, it was great!"
"Did you?" I asked my brother, and he nodded his head. "Next year, we'll celebrate that together."
"I can't wait," he grinned, and the elevator dinged as we arrived in the lobby of the fancy hotel. "What about you? What did you guys do?"
"Oh, it was perfect," I dreamily said, as my stomach erupted with butterflies at the simple memory of our night. "We went to some french restaurant where the food was delicious. Michael privatized the whole place just for us, and it was amazing. We even danced in the middle of the room at some point," I laughed at the memory, shaking my head. "After that, he took me to a party. Not any party, though. He took me to Diana Ross's house, Haze. How crazy is that?"
"Wait, you met Diana Ross?"
"And Lionel Richie, yes," I giggled at his shocked demeanor. "So we spent a part of the night there, and then we came here. It was the greatest night ever. I can't even put it into words," I sighed as we walked to the car. "Michael is... He's one of a kind. He's full of surprises, caring and gentle and thoughtful... He is amazing."
"You're so in love with him," Hayden grinned when he he noticed how my face lit up with joy at the mention of my boyfriend. "You're glowing."
I smiled shyly in his direction as I helped Andy in the backseat. I didn't know what to answer, because I knew exactly what effect Michael had on me. He was able to make me smile like no other, and I knew my happiness showed whenever I got the opportunity to spend privileged times with him like the night prior. Being around him brought the best out of me.
The car ride was quite joyful, as it probably reflected my state of mind. Whenever I was around Hayden and Andy, I felt like I belonged there. Everything seemed to fall into place for me: I had a brand new family, a loving boyfriend, a great career ahead... I was definitely living a dream.
"By the way, I was wondering," Hayden told me in a soft voice, not to wake up the little angel that fell asleep in the backseat. "Would you like to... I don't know, meet my mother, someday? I know it's a lot to ask because she's the woman Rupert cheated on your mom with, and now I say that out loud I realize how crazy it is to even ask you this and—," he stopped and looked briefly in my direction. "Now you think I'm crazy for asking you this and you're totally right."
"I—I don't think you're crazy," I reassured him. "I just don't know if that's a good idea. Does she want to meet me, though?"
"She's the one who asked to meet you," he told me, and my eyes widened a bit. "I told her you were like me, and she's happy I'm not alone anymore in this. She also knows you never asked to be born in the middle of this mess. She's not going to take you responsible for the mistakes Rupert did."
"I—I don't know what to say," I stammered a bit, taken aback by my brother's words. "T—then yeah I think we can make that happen."
"She's gonna be thrilled! She asked me a lot about you and she realized that you and I had a lot in common—"
Hayden kept talking, but suddenly his voice started to fade away and became a sort of echo to me. I wanted to focus on what he was telling me, but I started to feel dizzy, as if I was about to faint right here and then. A sharp pain happened in my stomach, and I instinctively grabbed Hayden's arm.
"Stop the car," I told him, and he looked at me with widened eyes.
"Hale are you alright?" he asked, worry written all over his face.
"Please, stop the damn car," I reiterated, in a harsher tone this time.
Finally, seeing the pain on my face, Hayden stopped the car abruptly on the side of the road. Without thinking, I got out and took the fresh air in. The feeling was persistent, as if I was going to be sick at any minute. I put my hands on my knees and bent down to catch my breath and try to make the pain go away. Hayden joined me shorty after that, and put his hand on my back.
"Hale, you're scaring me! What's going on?" he asked with thick worry in his voice.
"I—I don't feel good. Something's wrong," I managed to tell him through the pain.
"Is this another vision? H—How can I help you, please tell me?" he almost begged, drawing circles with the palm of his hand on my back for comfort.
When the pain lessened a bit, I took a second to look around me. My surroundings looked familiar, a visceral feeling told me I had been there before, while I didn't remember any of it.
"Hayley, your nose," Hayden exclaimed with the same worry as before in his voice.
I instinctively brought my hand to my nose, and realized it was bleeding again. I wiped it with a tissue I had in my coat's pocket, and focused on the different buildings around us again. In the distance, a few meters away from where we were standing, I recognized a building, a tire shop. It was the same shop I saw in my vision. The place where Michael was going to meet with his accuser.
"T—That's it," I mumbled, straightening up. "That's the garage I saw in my vision," I said, walking in the direction of the building.
"What do you mean? Hale!" Hayden called after me, as he ran to catch up with me. "Is this the shop where—"
"Yes. Where Michael is going to meet with the family who's going to accuse him of child molestation," I told him, dead serious, as a chill ran down my spine.
"Hale, wait," my brother took my arm in his hand to prevent me from moving any further. "Are you sure that going there is a good idea? Have you thought about what you'll do when you meet them?"
I pondered for some long seconds, and realized he was right. I didn't have a plan, I didn't know what to do with them to make sure Michael would never have to meet this family.
I had no idea how I was supposed to protect him.
"I don't know," I whispered, rubbing my aching temples. "All I know is that this kid is a victim in all of that, too. He's not the one behind those allegations, his parents are. They're the greedy ones."
"How does this change anything?" Hayden asked, confused at that point.
"All I'm saying is that there's got to be a way for Michael to meet this kid and be there for him without the parents accusing him of such horrible things."
"What are you suggesting exactly?"
"I'm not suggesting anything, I'm just thinking out loud," I told him, rubbing the space between my eyes as I grimaced at the annoying feeling in my head and guts. "Go get the car, I'll be looking around the shop."
Hayden just nodded his head, and did as told. I crossed the road and walked to the garage I saw in my vision. Soon enough, I realized that the shop was closed, and I cursed myself internally for not figuring out it would be. It was the first of January, and the majority of shops and other facilities were closed on this day. I looked through the windows, but there was nobody inside, it was completely empty.
"It's closed, huh?" Hayden asked when he got back with the car. "We should have guessed it would be."
"I guess that's a good thing, it will leave me some time to come up with a plan. I'll come back when I get one."
"Talking about that," Hayden told me once I joined him by the car. "You said you wanted to protect the kid from his greedy parents, right?"
"Well, I want to protect Michael first, but yeah. He doesn't deserve to be in the middle of this. His father and his mother are the ones behind all of this, you have to believe me," I asked him, and Hayden took my elbow in his hand.
"I believe you, Hale, you don't have to convince me," he reassured, looking deep in my eyes. I knew he meant it, he knew the feeling oh too well. "I think I have a plan. Hop in the car."
I frowned in confusion, and hopped in the car as my brother asked me. He glanced over at Andy who was still sound asleep in the backseat, and looked back at me.
"You're a pediatrician, people trust you with their children. I think you could easily become friends with this family."
"Why would you want me to become friends with them? I don't want to take the risk to expose Michael to their fucked up asses," I told him, frowning even more. "This is too dangerous. I can't do that."
"Hale listen," Hayden asked, turning on his side to be face to face with me. "You need to infiltrate their crazy family so that you can understand what's wrong with them. As a doctor, you'll be able to take the kid away from them by calling the Child Protective Services on them. Something is wrong in this family, and it's not healthy for this kid to be in the middle of it."
"He has a little sister," I murmured, shaking my head. "They're going to put the both of them through some deep shit just because they're after money."
"Not if you prevent this from happening," my brother encouraged me, before he took my hand in his. "You can do this, Hale. I'll be there to help you every step of the way. At the end of the day, all that matters is that Michael will be safe."
"Michael will be safe," I repeated, nodding my head, determined. "Let's do this."