California

“I hate shopping,” I whined as Mikey dragged me into the Wal-Mart a few miles from the hotel. The night before we decided it was too late after the elevator incident to make dinner, so we decided to do it today. Unfortunately, that meant Mikey wanted to make something different and wanted me to go to the store with him.

“You don’t like shopping with me?” he pretended to pout and stuck his bottom lip out at me.

I giggled and kissed him. “Let’s just hurry and get what we need. Shopping is horrible torture.” He smiled and shook his head at me as we walked towards the pasta aisle. He was pushing the cart and I couldn’t deny he looked adorable. He began searching the shelves for what he wanted to make and I groaned. He playfully glared at me and grabbed a box. He tossed it in the cart and started looking for sauce next.

“You said your favorite food was fettuccine chicken alfredo, right?” he asked as he scanned the shelves. I stared at him and smiled. I had mentioned that days ago and only in passing. It felt nice to know he remembered the little things.

“Yeah, I did.”

My phone buzzed in my pocket and I pulled it out. I had texts from Dave and from Vic. “We need to pick up toilet paper, toothpaste, some cereal, and Vic needs new underwear.”

He grabbed a can of alfredo sauce and put it in the cart. “I didn’t agree to that.”

“This is why I don’t like going to the store! Everyone is so lazy and then what should be a ten minute trip turns into an hour,” I complained. He grinned at me and pushed the cart into another aisle. I grabbed a big package of toilet paper and set in the basket as we walked. “My feet hurt,” I complained.

He looked over to me and shook his head. “You’re like a little kid.”

“You’re the one who made me come. I told you I hate shopping,” I replied.

He sighed and moved stuff around in the cart. “Get in.” I looked at him like he was insane.

“Why?”

“Your feet hurt and I want to end my poor girlfriend’s suffering,” he stated simply. I smiled and gave him a kiss and hopped in the cart. As he pushed the cart into the toothpaste aisle, we got a few strange looks, but Mikey didn’t seem to care at all. “What kind of toothpaste?” he asked as he looked over the vast shelf.

“Colgate. Vic won’t use anything else, he’s so pampered,” I giggled. He put some toothpaste in the basket with me and we headed to where the cereal was.

“What are lucky charms?” he asked.

“Only the best cereal ever!”

He picked up a box and stared at the picture. “That can’t be a nutritious start to the day,” he stated as he handed it to me. He grabbed some Cheerios and Cocoa Puffs as well. He pushed me to the other end of the store where the men’s department was. “How are we supposed to know what kind of underwear he wants?”

“Fruit of the Loom boxer briefs,” I said simply. He raised an eyebrow at me. “He makes me buy him underwear all the time, he’s like a little kid.” He grinned and grabbed some, tossing in the cart with me.

We headed for self-checkout and he helped me out. “Oh, will you start ringing things up? I’ll be right back.”

I nodded and started scanning the items. I saw him head over to the right and wondered what he was up to. I had just scanned the last of the food when he walked back up. “You can head out to the cab, I’ll be right there.” I nodded and started walking away. After I was out of his line of sight I peeked around the corner. I saw a familiar Trojan box and felt my heart speed up. I hurried out of the store. I know he most likely wouldn’t pressure me, but I always thought that about Jack too. What if he got mad because I didn’t want to yet? I felt sick to my stomach as I climbed in the cab we had waiting for us. A few minutes later he came out and loaded the grocery bags into the trunk and then climbed in next to me.

***

Later that night we were in our hotel room’s kitchen. Mikey was standing at the stove stirring some pasta. I was still a little apprehensive about what would happen later, but I was trying to put it out of my mind. I was really enjoying cooking with him, since he was trying so hard to impress me with his cooking skills. I was boiling the sauce and he started singing under his breath and shaking his hips.

I giggled. “You’re so cute, Mikey Chapman.”

He looked over and grinned. “So are you, Skylar Morgan.” He gave me a quick kiss on the cheek and continued stirring the pasta. A few moments later it was ready and he made me sit down while he served me.

He put a plate in front of me and it looked like it came straight out of a restaurant kitchen. “Wow, this looks amazing.”

“I’m glad you think so. Taste it,” he encouraged while he sat down across from me. I swirled some around my fork and placed it into my mouth. He looked at me anxiously while I chewed I swallowed and looked at him.

“You never cease to amaze me.” He grinned and we ate in peaceful silence. Once we were done, he took my plate over to the sink and started slowly scraping the sauce off. I watched him for several painful moments before I got up and walked over.

“You take forever,” I said and took a sponge to clean it. He stared at me for a few seconds before he pulled hose out and sprayed me. I screeched and jumped back, staring at him. He was grinning at me innocently. I put my hands on my hips and smirked. I grabbed the pot of water that was now cold, and dumped in on his head before he could react.

He shook his head and water flipped off the ends of his gorgeous hair. “You’re going to pay for that.”

Before I could do anything, he threw me over his shoulder and started making his way to the bathroom. I was half laughing and half screeching as I pounded on his back and tried to grip the walls to stop him. He threw me into the tub, but I grabbed a handful of his shirt and pulled him down with me. He grabbed the shower hose and we fought over it, laughing the whole time as we soaked each other. I eventually won, spraying water all over his head while he yelled, “I surrender! I surrender!” I smiled and turned the hose off, throwing it to the side. We were still breathing heavily and he smiled at me. I looked at my soaked clothes and sighed.

I climbed out of the tub and offered my hand to him. We went into the bedroom and he took his shirt off, throwing it to the side. I stared at his chest, mesmerized by his beauty. He looked up and smirked. “Like what you see?” I stammered a response and he connected our lips heatedly. I wrapped my arms around his neck and felt a warmness in my belly until he started leading me towards the bed. He hovered over me and I finally grew enough courage. I placed my hand on his chest and pushed him away.

He pulled away and looked at me with concern in his eyes. “Is everything okay, Sky?” I gulped and shook my head violently. He climbed off of me and allowed me to sit up. I began fiddling with a stray string on my shirt and refused to meet his eyes. After a few moments he placed his hand over mine. “What’s wrong?”

“I-I’m not ready for that…yet. I’m not saying not ever, just right now because the last guy I slept with was a total douchebag and right now I’m just, I’m just, I don’t know,” I stumbled out.

“Did I do something wrong?” he asked quietly.

I finally met his eyes and shook my head. “No, no! I really like you. But I’m just not ready for that yet. Please don’t be mad at me,” I whispered. He was silent and so I looked up once more. He was staring at me with his mouth wide open.

“Mad at you? Why would I be mad at you?”

I shrugged. “The last guy I slept with…” I trailed off, reliving it. He scooted closer and placed his hand comfortingly on mine.

“You can tell me anything, Sky.”

I swallowed. “I thought I knew him. He seemed really sweet at first, but he started pressuring me to sleep with him. I-I told him no, and he got really angry at me and he-”

“He didn’t touch you, did he?” the anger in his voice made me flinch.

I shook my head. “No, but he made me feel so bad about saying no that I said yes and then after I slept with him he completely ignored me.”

He slumped down to get to my eye level, so I looked up. He tucked a piece of hair behind my ear. “I would never do that to you. That guy is a little fucker who didn’t deserve you. I will never pressure you to do something you don’t want to do. And don’t you ever feel bad about saying no to me or anybody else. Okay?”

It felt like a weight had been lifted from my shoulders. I sighed and placed my forehead against his. “Thank you. You’re amazing.”

He placed a kiss on my nose. “Are you okay?”

“I’m okay now,” I smiled.

He grinned back. “How about you go get changed and then we’ll watch a bunch of old horror movies?” I beamed at him and nodded, getting up to get some dry clothes from my suitcase.
How in the world did I get so lucky?

Notes