California

I awoke to the sound of hushed giggling and small pressure on my cheek. I groaned and slowly pried my right eye open, Mikey’s gleaming smile blinding me. I blinked several times at him, making him giggle enough harder.

“What?” I managed to get out, my voice hoarse.

“You have drool all over your face,” he giggled again and poked my cheek. I blushed and buried my face in my hands. “No, no, it’s cute!” he laughed and pulled my hands away. He connected our lips in a kiss and was in the process of climbing on top of me when I felt it. I hurriedly and pushed him away, making him furrow his brow in confusion.

“What’s wrong?” he asked as my face turned bright crimson, even though he hadn’t noticed yet.

“Um, can you…like…I’m hungry,” I said, sputtering my words out.

“Are you sure?”

“Yup,” I lied, desperate to get him out of the room. His chestnut eyes searched my face, not believing me for a second. He frowned at me, but started getting up anyway. I knew he felt it as well when he froze in the process. I felt a lump in my throat and buried my face in my hands again, feeling more embarrassed than I ever have before. He lifted up the comforter and I felt like crying at the sight he saw. Red blood had soaked onto his sheets. I tore my hands away from my face and immediately started apologizing. “Mikey, I am so sorry! I will buy you new sheets and I’ll wash everything, I promise. I am so, so sorry.”

Understanding washed over his face and he looked up at me sympathetically. I looked everywhere besides him, wanting nothing more than the Earth to swallow me up. “It’s okay, love,” he attempted to reassure me. I bit my lip and shook my head violently. “Look at me.” I hesitantly met his gaze. He smiled and leaned in, pressing his lips gently to my forehead.
“It’s okay. It doesn’t matter, not one bit.”

“I ruined your sheets!” I exclaimed.

“I have other sheets, babe. It’s not a big deal.”

“This is so embarrassing,” I muttered. Before he had a chance to open his mouth again, I groaned. “Why did this happen now? Of all possible times, it had to come the one week I actually get to spend with you!” I frowned at the wall behind his head, cursing the universe for her cruel ways.

“While I admit that it is horrible timing, that doesn’t mean our week is ruined. As long as I get to spend time with you, that’s all that matters.” He smirked at me. “We’ll just have to use the dice next time.”

I bit my lip. “Oh, you saw those, huh?”

“Oh yeah. They seem…interesting, to say the least.”

“This is so unfair!” I groaned in despair. He chuckled and stood up, pulling on some Pokémon pajama pants.

“You go get cleaned up, I’ll take care of this.”

“I’ll clean it up,” I protested as he handed me some of his clothes to wear. He shook his head and dug through my suitcase, producing clean underwear and a bra for me. I held back a smile at the fact that they were horribly mismatching, appreciating the gesture.

“Go get cleaned up. I will take care of it,” he smiled and handed the undergarments to me.

“You’re kind of amazing, you know that?” My lips twitched as I climbed out of the bed and he started stripping the bed of the stained sheets. He blew me a kiss and I rolled my eyes, exiting the room.

“You’re supposed to catch it!” he whined as I entered the bathroom. I smiled and set my clothes on the sink. I switched on the shower knobs and climbed in. As I quickly cleaned my body, I heard him start the washer that was on the other side of the wall from the bathroom.
I scrubbed as fast as I could, feeling silly that I was rushing a shower just so I would have more time to spend with him before the impending doom of me going back in a few days. I rinsed my hair and climbed out of the shower, grabbing my toiletry bag first thing. I grabbed the box of tampons that I always kept handy and opened it. I growled at the sight of only one purple wrapper. I tore it open and discarded the wrapper after I put it in. I threw the box in the trash forcefully and sighed in annoyance. I pulled on Mikey’s clothes, practically swimming in them when I heard his voice through the door. “Are you okay?”

I threw the door open and saw he’d put a shirt on, much to my disappointment. I frowned. “I’m out of tampons. And I don’t think you have any lying around?” He smiled and shook his head.

“I’ll go to the market and pick you up some.” I opened my mouth to speak. “And before you say anything, yes I am going to go get you some. And I’ll get some snacks, too. We’ll have a movie night and I’ll invite the guys over.”

“What did I do to deserve you?” I smiled and leaned up, pressing our lips together. He shrugged and kissed me again.

“I’ll be back in half an hour. Don’t get into any trouble while I’m gone,” he smirked as he headed downstairs, me following closely behind.

“Oh, hush. I love you, boyfriend,” I brought his hands to my lips. He did the same.

“I love you, girlfriend.” He beamed at me and slipped on his shoes before turning and heading out the door. I smiled after him and went back upstairs to retrieve my phone. I shot Alysha and Danielle a group message thanking them for talking me into buying the item that led so such much pleasure the night before. I decided to make Mikey some breakfast, since he was so kind about me ruining his sheets.

I walked into the kitchen and saw his pup near the door. I gave her a pat and let her out into the yard, smiling as she ran crazily in circles. I sifted through his fridge and settled upon some eggs with hash browns. I located a pan and coated it with oil before cracking five eggs into it. I put the hash browns in a separate skillet and put a kettle on, deciding to make him some tea as well.
I mixed the eggs as they cooked, adding some cheese for good measure. My phone started ringing and I turned the burners down. I sped into the living room and picked it up, seeing it was Mikey. “Hello?” I answered as I walked back into the kitchen to let the pup in.

“How are there so many brands?” his exasperated voice filled my ears.

I giggled. “They’re all different.”

“Which of them do you want? There’s about a hundred to choose from!”

“Tampax is fine, they’re in the purple and blue box.” I heard him shuffle around on the other end and then sigh.

“Alright, I’ll be back soon, love.” I blushed and hung up, starting to prepare the tea. I served the food on some plates and then set the mug of tea in front of his. I heard the door open and shut. I turned around to see Mikey grinning at the table. “Aw, you didn’t have to do this,” he smiled and gave me a kiss. He set the bag on the table and I burst out laughing. “What?” he asked, confused.

“You bought…so many boxes,” I laughed as I held my gut. He blushed and looked at the bag that held four boxes of tampons, along with snacks.

“I didn’t know how many you needed…” he trailed off and rubbed the back of his neck. I chuckled and cupped his cheeks with my hands, pulling him in for a kiss.

“I only needed one box. Thank you, though. You’re very sweet.”

“Well look at you, you are too! Thanks for this,” he smiled and gestured to the breakfast atop the counter.

“You’re welcome.” He pulled out the chair for me and then settled in across from me. I waited anxiously as he speared the eggs and hash browns with his fork. He popped them into his mouth and chewed thoughtfully.

He swallowed and grinned at me. “These taste amazing.”

“Glad you like them,” I smiled and started shoveling my own eggs into my mouth. He kicked me gently under the table and I looked up at him. He hummed quietly and looked around, playing innocent. I chuckled and kicked him back.

“You’re not very sneaky, Chapman,” I commented.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” he responded. He lifted the mug of hot tea to his lips and then nearly choked. He swallowed harshly and coughed a few times before looking up at me. He forced a smile. “The tea is good.”

“You’re a good actor.”

“No, I’m not acting. It really is good.”

“Take another drink then,” I challenged. When he looked at the mug, he couldn’t hide the distaste from making itself evident. “It’s okay. You don’t have to drink it. I guess us Americans should stick to making stuff we’re familiar with, huh?”

“The thought is what counts,” he smiled and leaned across the table to stroke my hand.

“What time are the guys coming over?” I asked as I cleared our plates.

“Around five. What do you want to do up until then?” he asked, slipping his arms around my waist as I washed the dishes off. I shrugged as I grabbed the olive hand towel on the counter.

“Nothing that we can do,” I smirked, referring to Mother Nature’s cruel sense of humor.

“Why would you try to torture me like that,” he groaned. I giggled and turned around, hugging him tightly. “We could go out if you want. Go to the beach or a movie.”

I shook my head. “I’m not really feeling the outside world today. Is it okay with you if we just stay here?”

“Whatever you want,” he murmured. I smiled and walked into the living room, falling into the couch cushions and sighing at how comfortable they were. I reached into my pocket and realized I didn’t have my phone.

“Babe? Can you bring me my phone?”

A few seconds later he entered, smirking at my phone. “I’m ‘a freak in the sack’?” he quoted the message I sent Alysha earlier. My cheeks heated up as he tossed me my phone and fell on the couch beside me. “A freak. Hmm…I like that,” his smirked widened. “And I assume you liked it as well?”

“Maybe a tad,” I grinned at him. He chuckled and laid down, pulling me with him so that were facing each other. “Do you want to play the question game? We haven’t done that in a while.”

“Sure, but you go first.”

I thought for a few moments. “What was the first thing you noticed about me?” He started blushing and piqued my interest.

“What?”

“I’m going to be honest here. It was your arse…I was kind of staring at you when you backed up into me.”

“What? Are you saying my camera broke because you were too busy staring at my ass to step out of the way?” I grinned.

He shrugged. “It’s a good arse.”

I laughed and rolled my eyes. “Your turn.”

“Have you ever been in love?”

“You mean besides with you?” I asked. He nodded. “No. Have you?”

“Yeah.”

“With the girl who cheated on you?” I immediately felt bad for bringing it up because a flash of pain shot through his eyes. He nodded slowly and I kissed his nose. “You deserved better than her, anyway.”

“And now I have it.” He reached out and tucked a piece of my hair behind my ear. “Your turn, love.”

“What’s your favorite tattoo?”

He mulled it over before running his hand over the upper left part of his arm. “This one because it’s my favorite place in the entire world. This is Milford Sound, New Zealand. If I do die, for the record, please put me in a box, burn me, put me in an envelope, and mail me to this location.”

“You are such a dork, oh my god,” I giggled. “No dying on my watch, Mr. Chapman.”

He grinned and kissed me before asking his next question. “What made you want to be a photographer?”

“I just enjoy it. I took photography in high school and from then on I was hooked.”

“Well it helps that you’re phenomenal at it,” he pointed out.

I smiled and thought about what to ask. “What’s the best piece of advice you ignored?”

He started chuckling. “I don’t really know. There’s so much, and I’ve made so many stupid mistakes in my life. Um…probably something along the lines of ‘don’t touch that’.” I started giggling. “Do you believe in love at first sight?”

“No, I think it is lust at first sight and then feelings develop. Do you?”

“Absolutely,” he winked at me.

I rolled my eyes. “When’s the last time you cried?”

“When I watched Schindler’s List a few months ago – on my own. And I don’t know why I thought it was a good idea. It was like four o’clock in the morning and it was like a little bit too much for me to handle.”

“That is a sad movie. I cannot believe you watched it alone, you knob.”

“I was bored!” he defended. “What’s the saddest movie you’ve ever seen?”

“Titanic, by far. That movie gets me every time.”

He nodded. “That is quite sad, but he could have fit on the debris.”

“No, he couldn’t have!” I raised my voice in disbelief. “He tried to get on and it tipped! He chose to die in order for her to live!”

“Alright, alright, I take it back,” he laughed. “Next question.”

“What’s the worst excuse you’ve ever used to break up with someone?”

He looked ashamed. “I would say that I was going away, and I didn’t. I just hid in my house for about two weeks, and then hopefully I’d thought she’d forget. She didn’t and it was really awkward.”

“That’s horrible!”

“I know, I know,” he groaned. “When is the last time that you…” he trailed off, making obscene hand gestures.

“Mikey,” I giggled.

“Well I didn’t want to say it! It’s a gross word.”

I rolled my eyes. “Like a few days ago.”

“Were you thinking about me?” he wiggled his eyebrows at me.

“No, actually, I was lusting after James,” I teased.

“Oh, you were not.” I smirked. My phone started buzzing and I picked it up, seeing Erin’s name flashing across my screen. “Go ahead, love,” Mikey said when I looked at him in question. I smiled and got off the couch, walking into the kitchen to answer.

“Hello?”

“Hey! I’m sorry to bother you when you’re with Mikey, but my curling iron broke and you’re the only person I know who has one. Please tell me you didn’t take it with you,” she pleaded.

I chuckled. “No, I didn’t. It’s in the left hand drawer in the dresser that’s in my closet. Do you know where the spare key is?”

“On top of the lantern by the door, I got it. How are things going with Mr. Freaky?” she giggled.

“Oh, god. I should never have told you guys anything, all I ever hear is inappropriate comments.”

“What else did you expect?”

“True. Anyway, things are going great. Besides the fact that Aunt Flo checked in early.”

“Seriously? That’s impeccable timing,” she laughed. “That’s got to suck. At least you got to get in one good romp, right?”

“Right. How are things back home?”

“They’re good. I’m missing Tony like crazy.”

“I know the feeling, believe me.”

“No doubt,” she laughed. “I’m going to let you spend time with your dude. Text me! Bye, Sky.”

“Bye, Erin.” I smiled and hung up. I propped my shoulder against the doorway and peered into the living room where Mikey was holding his puppy up like she was Simba. I giggled at the silly man that is all mine.

Notes