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Micah snorted and leaned in to kiss him softly. “That look in your eyes.”
“The caveman look?” He sighed against her mouth and then with the hand on her jaw, he pulled her in for a proper kiss. She tugged him closer as she slipped one hand into his hair, twisting the long strands around her fingers. “You’re mine, Mick,” he mumbled when he broke the kiss briefly, before diving back in, tongue sliding over hers.
She hummed and pulled on his hair, their lips parting as she used her other hand to trace his mouth. “You’re mine, Fletch.”
“Always been yours, love bug.”
Damn that nickname is growing on me.
Their mouths crashed into another kiss, arms winding around each other as heads tilted and lips fitted against the other. She had kissed him countless times, but every single time was better than the previous one.
And this kiss? Incinerated her underwear.
“Let’s take a br—break and come back to it later,” she forced the words out slowly, tears pricking the back of her eyes as she faked a smile for her client. Two days after her amazing night with Fletcher and she was a mess.
Micah felt breathless and her heart was racing so hard she thought she might pass out. Walking the client out of her office, she slowly thanked her for coming and then closed the door. With her back pressed to the wood, she slid down to the floor and finally let the tears spill out.
She was exhausted and on edge, result of a fight with her mother the day before. It had been a regular phone call at first, her parents laughing and talking with Emery. Then once her daughter had finished what she had to say, it was Micah’s turn. She would have preferred it be a regular phone call, but her parents insisted on FaceTime. Which meant she had to endure her mother’s expressions through the whole conversation. She wasn’t happy with how much makeup Emery was wearing, she had thoughts about how Emery spoke and then all of that turned into how Micah was dressed. One thing led to another and Micah was raising her voice and getting angry for everything her mother was criticizing her about.
This was exactly why Micah didn’t like spending too much time with them—they never had anything nice to say. And when they did, it was always laced with something else. Backhanded compliments were her mother’s speciality.
While she was usually good at powering through her exhausted days, she’d barely slept. And there was the beginning of a headache starting behind her eyes. The last time she’d struggled through her sessions, Micah had rescheduled her clients and spent the day alone and quietly. Unfortunately she’d booked another full day and that meant that she needed to take each session one at a time.
She wasn’t ashamed of her stutter, because it always helped her clients know that she wasn’t helping them for fun. To Micah, the stutter was painful. It hurt her in ways she couldn’t put into words. There was no fix for the stutter, but there were exercises and ways to learn how not to trip over words. Except, none of her usual tricks worked. It had been so long since it had happened, her tongue and mouth were not connecting with her brain to make everything come out right. And Micah fucking hated it.
It was also completely fucking up her mood, which was unfortunate because it was Fletcher’s birthday and she’d helped the kids plan a surprise for him after their music lesson. Trust him to not tell her that it was his birthday that week, after she’d spent every single day with him. Whether it was coffee in the morning or a quick lunch together or a really late dinner; they had been together as much as possible.
She was happy and it had been a long time since she’d allowed herself to feel that way. After Geoffrey, raising Emery while studying, getting certified and everything with her job had taken up so much time. The happiness she felt watching Emery grow up was different to the happy Fletcher made her feel, both were equally important to her. But she missed this kind of joy running through her veins—the constant excitement about seeing someone you liked, knowing that by the end of the day you’d get to hug and kiss them.
Except, she didn’t know how much of a happy person she would be that evening.
Using the fifteen minutes before her next session, Micah visited the restroom and reapplied her makeup. She worked through her exercises, sounding out words and repeating them when she had trouble. Blowing out a long breath, she formed the words without putting any sound into it and watched her mouth curve and stretch around the vowels, around the Rs and Ks. Once she was certain she could breathe through it, Micah returned to her office.
Four hours and two more meltdowns later, she changed out of her work clothes into something a little more dressy. While she’d never dressed for a man before, Micah wanted to wear something for Fletcher. Which included tight black high-waisted jeans that clung to every inch of her legs and a floral wrap top that flaunted her assets as well as a strip of her stomach. After all, it was his birthday and he’d kept the whole thing a secret. Which was partly why they were also keeping this a surprise, because he thought he could get away with it.
When Emery had crashed into the house earlier in the week announcing that it was Fletcher’s birthday, Micah had gotten into action. Thanks to her best friends being creative and quick, she enlisted them to put together Fletcher’s gift. Sadie sourced the mermaid costume from a previous photoshoot and Tatum blocked out one of her studios, allowing them to do exactly what she needed. It might have been early in their relationship for a boudoir photoshoot, but Micah didn’t care. She knew that Fletcher would appreciate it and honestly, that’s all that mattered.
While she was still exhausted, she was focused on Fletcher and celebrating him. She picked up the cake on her way to Big Waves, along with a large envelope that contained her gift for him.
The bell above the door chimed when she pushed into the store and Micah took a deep breath. She looked up at the balloons tucked against the ceiling and the confetti that would drop onto Fletcher. Being there, surrounded by things that made the man she loved, Micah felt better. She smiled as Benson came around the corner and handed the cake to him. A few minutes later, Emery and Nico raced around the corner, bumping into each other and laughing as they steadied themselves.
“Damn, Ms. George,” Nico said, holding up a thumb with a smile and released a whistle. Emery rolled her eyes and smacked her best friend, which made Micah chuckle. She knew that she looked good, but it was always comforting to have other people tell her the same thing.
“Thanks, Nico.” Micah gave the teenager’s shoulder a gentle squeeze as Fletcher appeared, eyebrows dipped in confusion until his eyes landed on her. She stuck a leg out and set a hand on her hip as Fletcher’s throat bobbed with a hard swallow, the sound audible in the suddenly quiet shop. She could feel everyone watching them, but Micah was too focused on the way Fletcher stared at her. His hungry gaze dragged from head to toe and back, chest heaving as his hands clenched and unclenched at his sides. When his eyes lifted to hers, Micah’s breath caught at the animalistic look present in the brown.
And all of a sudden, his gaze softened as he said, “You okay, Mick?”
Her chest ached at the question, because he could see that she wasn’t okay. Nodding, she swallowed back the truth, pasting on a steady smile. But Fletcher’s eyes narrowed, like he knew she was hiding something. They could talk about it later, she needed to celebrate him for a bit. Instead, she took him in—faded and well worn blue jeans hugged his thighs and a white T-shirt clung to his torso, putting all his tattoos on display. His hair was tied back in a topknot and his beard was showing more of the silver.
Seconds later, balloons fell down around them, shocking Fletcher. He jumped back slightly and watched her through the confetti with wide eyes before a laugh burst out of him. Emery, Nico and Benson started singing “Happy Birthday”, but Fletcher was still looking at her. Micah’s heart felt like it was going to explode with how much love lingered between them.
Then he was moving towards her, his hand sliding around the back of her head to pull her mouth to his. Micah stumbled slightly at the movement and her fingers found purchase in the belt loops of his jeans. Fletcher’s mouth slid along hers before their lips parted to fit together. She gasped softly into the kiss as his fingers twisted through her hair and Micah pulled him close, their hips pressed together. In that moment, she didn’t care that they had an audience and it definitely slipped her mind that her daughter didn’t know about this relationship before that moment.
A throat cleared and Micah yanked away from Fletcher, sucking in large gulps of air as they stared at each other. His hand moved from her hair to cup her face, eyes searching hers and she shook her head. Words were at the tip of her tongue, but she didn’t trust herself to speak without stumbling over them. Fletcher nodded, smiling softly before he pressed his mouth to her forehead for a lingering kiss.
“Oooookay, if you’re both done…” Emery’s voice broke through their little bubble and Micah huffed under her breath. She pulled away from Fletcher and smiled apologetically at her daughter, who was smiling so wide. “I knew you two were boning, but kudos on trying to keep it a secret.”
“We’re not…” Fletcher started, then shook his head. “How did you one, find out and two, pull this off?”
