California

Mikey’s POV

“Mikey, mate, you listening?” James’s voice dragged me out of my stupor. I looked up from my beer to see him and Sam looking at me expectedly.

I shook my head. “I’m sorry, what?”

Sam rolled his eyes. “Still got your mind on Skylar then?”

I shrugged and took a sip of my drink, looking over the rim of the glass around the bar. Some girls in the corner were eyeing James and Sam and I smiled. “When am I not thinking of her?”

“Just think, you get to see her in two weeks. You’ve made it this far, mate,” James said and took his own sip of his liquor. I unlocked my phone to check the time and smiled at the picture of us. Her beauty continues to astound me every day.

“He’s like a lovesick puppy, he is,” Sam commented. I rolled my eyes and looked back up to see the girls walking towards our table. I nodded in their direction, making James and Sam look up.

“Looks like some birds have their eye on you, Jim Jam.”

“Hi,” the first girl spoke. She was tall, slim, and had blonde hair. Her dress was short and red, clinging to her body. The two others were both short and had dark hair, their dresses purple and blue. “I’m Quinn.”

The dark haired girl in the purple dress spoke next. “I’m Lucy and this is Amara.” I smirked at Sam’s reaction to Lucy. His jaw had hit the floor and his eyes were wide. James seemed to be interested in Amara, although he was much more gracious than Sam.

“I’m Sam, this is Mikey and James.” I nodded my head towards them in greeting and took another sip of my drink.

“Would you lot like to dance?” Amara spoke. James and Sam were eager to agree, but I shook my head. Amara and Lucy walked off with the boys, while Quinn stayed behind.

“Why don’t you want to dance?” she asked, leaning forward and obviously trying to make her breasts bigger.

I shrugged and looked away. “I don’t want to.” Trying to hide my displeasure when she slid into the booth next to me, I took another sip of my drink. She slid in close enough so that her thigh rubbed against mine. I slid away and she slid closer, resting her hand on my thigh.

“Pardon me, ma’am, but I’d appreciate if you didn’t do that,” I tried to be polite but she was quickly getting on my nerves. She propped her arm on the table and batted her eyelashes at me.

“Why?”

“If I must give you a reason for why I don’t want you touching me, though I don’t see why ‘no’ is not an adequate answer, then my reason is that I have a beautiful girlfriend that I love with my whole heart,” I looked up and saw Sam and James being photographed by a young girl. I furrowed my brow but shook it off, assuming she must be a fan.

“Well, is she here?” Quinn scooted closer to me once again. I clenched my jaw and looked into her eyes.

“No, but I don’t see how that has any relevance. I told you I don’t appreciate your advances and I told you I love my girlfriend. End of story. Why don’t you go find someone else who appreciates your flirting?” I forced a smile at her and she furrowed her brow at me. She scoffed before sliding out of the booth and walking away. I sighed in relief and swallowed the rest of my beer. I glanced up to see the girl who was taking pictures was now getting something signed by James and Sam. She looked up and saw me, quickly walking over.

“Excuse me, Mikey? I’m a huge fan, and I was wondering if I could get you to sign this?” she handed me a piece of paper. I smiled and stood up, wrapping her in a hug.

“What’s your name, darling?”

“Melissa.”

“Nice to meet you, Melissa. I’m glad you like our music,” I spoke as I signed the napkin James and Sam already signed. “I hope to see you at a show sometime soon.” I smiled at her as she walked away. I saw Sam and James were still chatting up the girls and didn’t look like they would be done anytime soon. I smiled and hoped those girls were nicer than their friend who had no boundaries. I threw some money down on the table and waved to them before heading out.

The chilly air hit my face and I immediately wrapped my arms around myself. I walked the block to the train and waited on the platform along with a woman who looked like she just came off a twelve hour shift. I smiled and insisted she take my seat, for which she was grateful. About five minutes later the train rolled in and I climbed on, taking a seat by the window. It was about a twenty minute ride back to my neighborhood, so I pulled out my phone to pass the time. I saw I had a message from Sky and my heart skipped a beat.

I opened the message and read that she had sent me a link along with ‘lmao what is this’. I furrowed my brow and clicked on the link. It brought me to Instagram, where someone had posted a picture of me sitting at the table with Quinn. The description read ‘I just met 3/5 of Mallory Knox! James and Sam, and then Mikey. I also got this picture of Mikey and his new girlfriend :-)’. I cringed at how bad that picture and description made me look. I looked at the tags and noticed that Melissa had tagged me in it, meaning it could have easily popped up on Sky’s feed.

I groaned and scrolled through my contacts, tapping on her name. I put the phone to my ear and waited while it rang. After the second ring, I heard her pick up, although she didn’t say anything.

“Sky?” I asked quietly.

“Who is that girl?”

I gulped at how upset she sounded and mentally cursed how intrusive fans could be sometimes. “Her name is Quinn. I was at the pub with James and Sam and some girls approached us. They went to dance and she tried to chat me up. I told her to leave me alone and she did.”

She was silent a moment before she whispered. “Is that it?”

“Baby, trust me. That’s the whole story. I would never do that to you,” I said as the train halted and I climbed off, heading in the direction of my flat.

She sighed. “See, and I know that! I know you’d never do that to me. This long distance thing is just…” she sighed again. “I’m sorry.”

I approached my door and jammed my key in the slot, opening the door to my dog. I leaned down and gave her a pat. “It’s okay. I know it’s difficult. And I don’t blame you, the picture did look bad.”

“I want you to know I trust you. I do. It’s just…” she sighed again.

“I know,” I replied softly as I climbed my stairs and fell onto my bed. “I love you, beautiful.”

“I love you too, handsome.”

I looked at the clock and cursed the fact that it was about the time I should be getting to bed. “I should go to bed.”

“Okay. Goodnight.”
“Wait!” I yelled before she could hang up. “Uh, could you stay on the phone with me until I fall asleep? It’s not easy without you next to me.” I felt kind of embarrassed that I asked, but it was true. I’d slept horribly since I’d gotten back home.

“Of course,” I heard her reply. I could hear her breathing softly and I sighed in content. Before too long, I drifted into a sleep full of dreams about her.

Notes