It was Vic's birthday. I had been off work since three, and for the past two hours I've been sitting at Mike's house watching him and Casey try to get the house ready for tonight. Mia and I just sat at the counter laughing as the boys struggled.

"You know, it'd be nice if you would help," Mike bitched as him and Casey walked back from moving the couch upstairs.
"But you guys look so cute struggling," Mia cackled.
"Asshole," Casey muttered under his breath. "At least give us beers or something."
I walked into the living room and handed Casey a beer. Mike looked at me like I was stupid, "Where's mine?"
"Get it yourself," I smiled.
He pushed me out of the way and made his way to the fridge, grabbing one, "You're an ass."
"I know," I smiled. "What exactly would you like me to do?"
"Something other than looking pretty in my kitchen," he grunted. "Take this." He handed me his credit card and his keys. "Go to the store. Buy as much alcohol has you can get your hands on."
Mia laughed, "And when they ask why she has your credit card…"
"The guy still thinks I'm his sister, it's fine," I smiled. "Come on, Mi."
"Thanks bitch," Mike smiled as we walked out the door.

I hopped into the driver's side of his Escalade and backed out of the driveway.
"I swear to god, if you actually tried to, you and Mike would make the cutest couple," Mia laughed and rolled her window down and lit up a cigarette.
I rolled my eyes, "Mia, you should be happy that we're at least getting to the point of being good friends, let alone ever being a couple."
"Look at you moving up in the world! Before you would have been like… 'Ew… Date Mike? He's gross. He has AIDS. Are you fucking crazy?' I see a possibility!" She squealed.
"Keep dreaming," I snorted.
She laughed, "Think about it though. You'd be so precious. You guys kind of look alike. You have the same attitude. He flirts so hard with you."
"He always has, Mi. Nothing has changed there."
"Yeah but before he did it to piss you off! Now that you guys are good friends it's like he just does it naturally!" She giggled, "Think about it Rae… Maybe he likes you."
I groaned, "Mike doesn't like me. We're friends, Mia. That's it. That's all it's ever going to be. Mike has a thousand girls that drool over him. He doesn't want me. It's not high school anymore, times have changed. We've both grown up, he doesn't have feelings for me."
"Bullshit, Rae. Give me one reason why he wouldn't want you? You put up with his bullshit from age fifteen. That's six years, Rae! You're gorgeous. You get along with all the guys. You're a good girl. Think about drunk Mike over the years… what has he always done? Hit on you, try to make you jealous… he even kissed you that one night. He apologized to you drunk, and then sober, because shit got out of hand. He still talks to you after you slapped him across the face, and you became friends from it. He just called you pretty in front of us… he would have never said that in front of anyone, and if he did he would have added ugly to it. Please tell me the guy doesn't like you." Mia bitched. "You're just too blind to see it."
I rolled my eyes, "Can we drop this? Mike doesn't like me. He knows there will never be a Mike-and-Rae. Let's just go get some alcohol and get back to the house."
"Just deny it, Rae…" she shook her head and got out of the car when I cut the engine off.

We stocked the entire Escalade full of alcohol of every type and headed back to the boys house. It was about seven, and Mike and Casey were finally done clearing things that were breakable out of the way and setting up for the night. Mia and I walked in carrying as much as we possibly could and set it on the counter. I handed Mike his keys back and him and Casey helped us bring in all the alcohol. When we were done bringing it all in, Mia and Casey decided they were going to go back to Casey's for a little to eat and then get ready for the night. Everyone was going to be here around ten, and I had brought all my stuff to get ready to Mike's place. Vic would get here around ten-thirty.

"What do you want to eat?" Mike asked as he slung an arm around my shoulders.
"Surprise me," I smiled. "I'm going to hop in the shower, and when I get back down I want a nice little Mexican dinner."
He grinned, "I got you girl."

I peeled his arm off me and began to walk away, but not without Mike giving me a slap on the ass first. I then walked upstairs to his room and grabbed my bag to bring into the bathroom with me. I grabbed a towel from the linen closet and closed and locked the bathroom door behind me. I started up the shower, laughing when I saw what shampoo and conditioner was in here. Vic had a thing for the smell of the Herbal Essence in the orange bottle, and Mike was obsessed with the way Panteen made his hair feel. I shook my head as I pulled my loofa out of my bag as well as my razor. I stripped myself of my clothes and looked at my reflection in the mirror. What Mia had said to me in the car was still kind of darting around in my head. She feels like Mike has feelings for me, but I don't compare to ten percent of the girls he's been with. I looked at myself, all of me… my average, "small", B-cup boobs, my slightly bigger waist that only seems big because I have a small frame, my medium length boring brown hair, my stomach that wasn't exactly the most toned… Those girls that he dates and likes are tall, leggy, have slim waists, big boobs, long hair and huge asses. Mia was crazy. I shrugged as the mirror began to fog up, and took it as my que to get into the shower. I grabbed Mike's shampoo and washed my hair, then conditioned, and shaved. I then grabbed his body wash and washed my body. I was going to smell like a man, but that's nothing a little bit of perfume can't cover up. I then grabbed my face wash and washed all the make-up that was caked onto my face before turning the shower off and wrapping myself up in a fluffy towel, grabbing my bag, and exiting the bathroom and walking into Mike's room.

I slipped on a pair of shorts and grabbed one of Mike's t-shirts that he had laying around. There was no real reason for me to have on underwear or a bra, seeing as only the two of us were the ones at the house and it's not like I was going anywhere any time soon. I put some chapstick on and headed out of the room and down the steps.

"Mmm, smells good," I smiled entering the main level of the house. The smell of peppers filling my nostrils.
"Just steal my clothes, why don't ya?" Mike laughed. "Here, sit. I'll make you a plate." He set a plate with rice in front of me, and then placed a fajita on the plate and stacked a bunch of sautéed peppers on the top.
"This looks amazing," I drooled as my stomach growled at the smell.
"What are you waiting for? Eat woman," Mike laughed and made himself a plate.

He didn't have to ask twice, I devoured my meal quickly. I enjoyed every single bite.

"I can't tell who cooks better, you or Vic," I smiled as I bumped Mike's hip while putting my plate in the dishwasher.
"If you say me I'll give you something special tonight," Mike winked and grabbed my backside.
"You are such a horn dog," I laughed and wrapped my arms around him in a hug.
"You steal my shirts… you use my body wash… I really think you're trying to be me, Rae," he joked. "And you're totally not wearing a bra."
I shrugged, "Theyr'e so uncomfortable."
"So glad I'm a dude," he grinned. "Now let's go upstairs. I'm gonna hop in the shower, but you can use my bathroom to get ready I don't mind if you accidentally see Nessy."
I bursted into laughter and began walking up the stairs behind Mike, "You seriously did not just name your penis after the Lochness Monster…"
"I think I did," he smirked. "Why? What would you name it?"
"I don't know… something Mexican… Paco… Pablo… Jorge… Jose… Not Nessy."
"Racist," Mike shook his head and kissed my forehead. "Shower time."
"I'll be in there once I hear you get in," I smiled as he exited the room.

I grabbed my bag and laid my clothes out on Mike's bed for the evening. It's February, so if for some reason we're going to be outside, it's going to be a little chillier because it's night time and winter. Not that it is ever really cold here. But I had picked out a pair of dark wash high waist jeggings, as well as a tribal print crop top that was black and white, and I was going to be wearing black sandals. I grabbed my make-up bag, blow drier, and curler and headed into the bathroom when I heard the shower curtain close. I started to dry my hair while Mike sang a really shitty version of Makedamnsure by Taking Back Sunday. After drying my hair, I threw it up in a messy bun on the top of my head and started on my make-up. I was doing more dramatic make-up tonight. I decided on a black and silver smokey eye to match my shirt well, my eyeliner pulled out into a nice cat-eye. I had on thick fake eyelashes and I contoured my cheeks perfectly. I then filled my eyebrows in a little thicker, and my lips a little more full and applied a nude lipstick. Still by the end of me doing my make-up Mike was not out of the shower, nor was he done singing.

"Michael, what the hell is taking you so long?" I asked poking my head into the shower.
"I have to let the conditioner set in, duh." He replied in a dumb tone, "How do you think my hair stays so soft?"
"You're just as bad as Vic," I laughed and went back over to the mirror.
"Your make-up looks nice by the way," he chimed in. "What are you doing to your hair?"
"Curling it."
"CUTE!" He replied in a girly tone and then shut the water off, stepping out. "Look, all done and beautiful hair is ten minutes away," he smiled and wrapped a towel around his waist. He walked over to me and wrapped his arms around me as I waited for my curler to heat up.
"If you get my hair or my face wet I will kill you, Fuentes." I muttered.
"I just want a kiss," he pouted while looking at us in the mirror.
"I just did my lipstick," I groaned.
"YOU SUCK!" He grunted and kissed the top of my head before leaving the bathroom.

I finished getting ready around nine-thirty. Mike just laid on the bed watching television as I got dressed. Him making comments here and there. It was now nine forty-five, and I laid next to him on the bed, throwing my legs over his so my heels wouldn't touch his sheets.

"You look really good tonight," he smiled at me and puckered his lips for a kiss.
I gave him a quick peck and then smiled, "Mike, I have a question."
"Go for it." He replied shifting his position so he could look at me without bending his neck all weird.
"Are you like this with all the girls you sleep with regularly?"
"What do you mean?"
I sighed, "Like… you always want to kiss me, you're super nice to me, we spend a lot of time together, you cook for me… that kind of stuff."
He sighed and ran a hand through his hair, "I knew you were going to ask about this sooner or later. No. I don't act like this with my whores. I don't look at them the same way I look at you."
"Why? I do the same stuff as they did… I just don't understand…" I muttered and looked down confused.
Mike laughed to himself and smiled before extending a hand and lifting my chin up to meet his gaze, "I told you before, Rae. You're something special. You're not them. Don't compare yourself to them. I respect you. You're better than them."
I gave him a small smile, but inside my smile was huge, "Thanks Mike… I was just wondering. Like I was in the car today with Mia and she just started rambling about how she thinks that you have real feelings for me and stuff and I just want…"
"Mia told you she thinks I like you?" Mike cut me off. I nodded, "Fucking Casey… I wasn't ready for this conversation yet…"
"Then let's just drop it and act like I didn't say anything…"
He sighed, "No let me finish. I wasn't ready for this conversation with you, Rae. I didn't know how to approach the subject itself. We have a lot to talk about, so I'm going to have to sum this up as fast as I can in the next five minutes before everyone gets here." He laughed, "You know that day I stormed out of your apartment? I was pissed off because you were so against my compliment. I didn't see anything wrong with complimenting you, especially because of the position we're in with one another. But then I couldn't get my head around the reason why I was so pissed off that you felt it was weird, and then it clicked in my head. I have always had a thing for you, Rae. Why do you think I always picked on you? If you were any other girl, friends of my friends or not, when you denied me I would have just been like fuck you and gone on my own. But I've had a thing for you since I met you in high school. I always wanted to get in your pants, if it wasn't ever obvious. From the way I acted towards you when I was drunk and shit I think it's pretty obvious. But like when we started hanging out, sleeping together… I saw the girl that the guys see… Not the girl that denies me and likes to play games with me, but the girl who's fun and sweet and everything else. I didn't talk to you for weeks because I couldn't get my head around why I was so mad at you, and then I realized it's because I like you. I didn't want to have to deal with you getting the way you were that morning, so I avoided you. I only told Casey why I wasn't coming around you. When Vic approached me about knowing we slept together, he told me he could tell from the way I was acting about the situation that I obviously feel something for you. I didn't know how to approach you with this. We just became real friends like two months ago, and I know that you may not feel the same, but I like you Rae. You're beautiful, you're nice, you're everything a guy could want… and that's why I treat you the way I do… like I said… you are something special to me." Mike pulled at the hair by the nape of his neck and sighed after finishing speaking.

I was speechless. We heard the front door open and Jaime's voice fill the house. I didn't know what else to do. I didn't know what to say. I just stared at Mike who was staring at me. It was going to take me the entire night to wrap my head around this. I just grabbed the back of his head and pressed my lips firmly against his. I felt him smile and I pulled away and smiled at him.

"I really don't know what to say… I'm speechless, Mike…"
He smiled and stood up from the bed, "I'll give you time to think about what I said. Let's go party, gorgeous!"

Needless to say, Vic was COMPLETELY surprised by the entire party. He thought that the guys had all gone to the bar and were waiting for him, but he had to stop by the house first and get changed from what he had been doing all day. He was so happy, and it made me so happy to see him like that. See, Vic is like my big brother, and all I want is the world for him. He deserves it. He is honestly the nicest and most caring person I have ever met. Many bottles of alcohol and cans of beer later, it was 12:30 and everyone was proper drunk.

Vic and I were standing in the kitchen as Mike poured each of us shots of Jack.
"Here's to the best big brother I could ask for!" Mike shouted and held up his shot.
"I second that!" I smiled and we all took the shot.
More shots were poured.
"And here's to the best little bro I could ask for, and the best sister in law I'll ever have," Vic laughed and held his shot up. We all threw the shots back and Vic threw an arm around me. "What do they say? By the age of 16 most people find the person they're gonna marry?"
"Shut up," I laughed and smacked his arm. "Where the hell are the girls? I lost them and got stuck over here with you two." I smiled.
"Go be with them, you don't have to stick with us if you don't want to I guess," Mike pouted.
"You act like I'm gonna fall off the face of the earth," I laughed. "I will find ya'll soon, boys."

I ventured off to find the girls, who were outside sitting by the hookah talking it up.
"What's poppin!!!!" I yelled as I ran up to them.
"I LOST YOU!" Mia screeched. "I had no idea where you went!"
"Mike and Vic stole me," I laughed. "But now I am here. Safe and sound and sloshier than I should be!"
"THAT'S THE SPIRIT BITCH!" Steph yelled and took a sip of her beer. "No one's leaving Vic's 24th birthday sober unless you're a DD… other than that… GET SLOSHED!"
"Forever sloshed," I cackled and threw a piece sign up.
"I wish Alex was here that bitch," Mia groaned. "But no… she has to have a fucking psycho for a boyfriend."
"We should fucking go sneak her out of the house!" Steph yelled.
"We're all too sloshed for that. Someone would call the cops on us totally," Jess pointed out. "Sloshed probz."
"CAN'T FIT THROUGH THE WINDOW. FAT GIRL PROBZ. SLOSHED PROBZ AT THE SAME TIME. THE ONLY ONE FITTING THROUGH THAT WINDOW IS MIKE!!!" Mia yelled a memory from New Years two years ago.
"I might have to take my pants off for this!" Steph chimed in laughing. We all busted out laughing and Jess stared at us like we were crazy.
I shook my head, "Before you came around. We all decided that we were going to get super trashed on New Years. Vic bought us a bunch of alcohol because the rest of us were too young, and we went to the beach and got completely sloshed and shit faced and everything you could ever imagine. And well we walked back here because it was like three in the morning and the boys lost their keys and accidentally locked the door, forgetting that their keys had been missing. And well the only way to get in was through the front window… but the front window was broken and only opened a certain amount. And we had to find the skinniest person to go through the window."
"SO MIKE'S STUPID ASS WAS THE ONE THAT HAD TO GO THROUGH THE WINDOW… AND HE HAD TO TAKE HIS FUCKING JEANS OFF FOR IT BECAUSE THEY KEPT GETTING STUCK… AND THEN HE FELL ON HIS HEAD WHEN HE GOT INSIDE, AND ENDED UP BUSTING THE WINDOW OUT OF THE FRAME ANYWAY!" Mia finished my story.
Jess was now cracking up, "I can just picture that!"

We sat around for a little, smoking hookah and just talking about funny memories when the party started dying down and we decided that we should go in and have a few more shots with Vic before calling it a night.
"BIRTHDAY BOY! WHERE IN THE MOTHER FUCK ARE YOU!" Mia yelled as we walked inside.
Vic was seated on the couch with his head on Tony's shoulder. "Here…"
"Aww… someone's had way too much to drink. We wanted more birthday shots!" I whined.
"More like birthday puke if I have any more…" Vic slurred.
We all laughed, "I guess you didn't get the Wasty Gene…"
"Nah, that's only me," Mike's voice sounded and I felt arms wrap around my waist. "I've gotten to that point where I'm so drunk I want to just sleep."
I turned and smiled at him as he yawned, "Well head on up to bed, Mikes."
"I don't want to go without my princess," he whined and stuck his bottom lip out.
"I'll be up there soon," I smiled and poked his chest.
"Fineeeee," he whined in a baby voice and dipped his head down and kissed my cheek. "Night guys!" He yelled and then turned and stumbled his way up the steps. Everyone was too drunk and way too into Vic to have even noticed what just happened between Mike and I.
I turned my attention back to Vic, "Are you going to be able to get to bed without puking?" He nodded. "Alright, well I'm going to go up to sleep."
"You sure you don't want a ride back to your place?" Tony asked.
"Thanks Tone, but I'll be fine here. I feel like someone should be here 'cause god knows that if Vic needs someone to hold his hair back, Mike doesn't wake up for shit," I slurred out. "Everyone get home safe!" I gave everyone hugs. "Night Vicky. I'll be in Mike's room if you need me, alright?" He nodded and hugged me tight.
"Best sister in law ever," he laughed.
"Love you," I grinned.
"Love you too."

I slowly made my way up the stairs and into Mike's room. Closing the door behind me and kicking my shoes off. I peeled myself of my clothing except my underwear, and grabbed the shirt of his I had on earlier before crawling in bed next to him. He was still awake. Flipping through pictures on his phone.

"Whatcha doing?" I asked while throwing my hair up in a pony tail.
"We have no pictures together," he muttered. "Take one with me!"

I laughed and scooted closer to him as he turned his front camera on and we both took a picture smiling, then a picture of me kissing his cheek, and then a picture of us kissing… and for some reason he decided to take a picture of me when I was talking and I looked so drunk and a mess… but then again that's what we both were. He put his phone down on his bedside table and turned his light off. I snuggled into his shoulder and he sighed.

"What's on your mind?" He slurred.
"You," I giggled.
"Good things, I hope."
"Of course, Mikey."
"Good night, Rae Rae," he kissed my forehead.
"Night baby boy," I kissed his shoulder.

We drifted into sleep.

Notes

A LOT HAPPENED THIS CHAPTER!
What are you guys feelings about this?
Who thought Mike was going to come out about this?

What do you think is going to happen?

Thanks for the comments, guys.
Let me know all your thoughts!

xoxo