Stella rounded the corner of her apartment door, fumbling for the keys. She wasn't drunk, just tired. She had come from a late shift, some kid accidently set fire to his house's kitchen whilst trying to cook for his Mum's birthday.
She finally found the key that fitted the lock, and opened the door.
To find Michael standing in her entrance way, with an Apron and spatula in his hand.
He smirked, and laughed a little. And Stella covered her mouth in surprise and laughter. "Surprise, Stel! "
She went into her apartment to find Lawson, Dom, Shannon, Josh, Kerry and Leon in her kitchen/dining room, with party hats on and balloons and banners.
"HAPPY BIRTHDAY STELLA!" They yelled in chorus.
She laughed and felt some happy tears roll down her cheek. "You guys are too much."
Everyone clapped and sang "For she's a jolly good fellow", completely out of tune, of course, but adorable all the same.
Michael (still wearing Apron and Spatula in hand) had prepared dinner, which consisted of: A tomato soup for entrée, a Rustic Italian Pizza for the main and profiteroles for dessert. Kerry had bought her a bottle of wine, Josh bought her a book titled "Living in hell: A woman's life with the man of her "dreams" "which she laughed at and thanked him. Dom and Lawson bought her some fairy lights for her balcony, because she had been complaining about their not being enough light out there. They had even set them out. Shannon bought her a bottle of Red Jean perfume, which smelt delectable. And Michael bought her a red silk dress, which she had eyed once and tried on in a store on their lunch break. She pulled it out of the bag and gasped, and smiled at him thankfully. "I remembered how much you loved it, and to be perfectly honest, it is made for you. So I asked the lady what size you tried on and bought it."
She kissed him on the cheek affectionately, and blushed after she figured out what she had just done. The rest of them helped clean up most of the mess, but Michael told them all to go out and have some fun somewhere else. They cleared out pretty easily.
This just left Michael and Stella cleaning dishes in the kitchen.
They were making small talk, Stella still in her red dress, Michael still with his Apron on.
The CD changes to a love CD. Track 1: Near to you by A Fine Frenzy.
Stella sighs. "I just love this song."
Michael puts down the dish, smiles, and pulls her by the hand into the middle of her living room. He bows, and she laughs and curtseys. She puts his hands on the small of her back, his hands feeling the smoothness of the silk against his hands. She puts her own arms around his neck, and rests her head on his shoulder, rising on her toes. They moved calmly to the music, cuddling to each other's warmth and enjoying each other's company. Stella moved higher, closer to his face, and rest her nose on his cheek, breathing in his smell. Soap and Vanilla.
He whispered the words in her ears. She smiled.
"You know this song? "
He smirked, and nodded gently. "You showed it to me, remember? After Richard." His smile dropped.
She remembered this now. "Ah yes, I remember. A sad time for me, but you helped me pull through."
Michael looked down at her, and stopped dancing. "You know, that will never happen to you again Stella. Richard was a sick and silly man for doing that. I will promise you, it won't happen to you ever again."
"And how can you be so sure, Mr Sandrelli?" She teased.
He let his head fall back and laughed silently. "I have no idea, actually."
The song changed: Have you ever really loved a woman by Bryan Adams.
They laughed, and kept on dancing. He spun her around, and lifted her up so her legs were gripped around his waist. He yelled at her to let her arms go. She did, and he spun her around. They both, after a while started getting dizzy. They fell onto the edge of the bed, with Stella's legs still tangled around his waist. They laughed and rolled back onto the bed, lying next to each other. They both sighed, and laughed silently.
Michael propped his head up on his arm and looked at her. Finally, he said " I know what this guy is talking about exactly."
Stella laughed hard, and said in a mock voice. "Have you ever really loved a woman Michael?"
"Yeah." He looked into her eyes, and she understood.
She smiled, and without asking or hesitation, kissed him.
And their hearts burst open.
The only way Stella could explain the feeling was when you saw fireworks, and you felt so happy. You can feel the colours touching your face in the night's chill, and you feel your warm breath leave your lips with every gasp. Or when you pat your childhood pet when you snuck it into your bed, and it squirms in your bed and feels so warm. True love must feel like this.
Stella pulled off his shirt, and he was pulling off her dress. She had to get up to get the last bit off, and the candle- light hit her porcelain skin. Michael gazed at her beauty, her wondrous curves and her beautiful breasts. She leaned down on the bed, locked lips with him again and ended up with him on top. He kissed her everywhere possible, and she was arching her back into his pelvis. He knew what was coming next.
"Stella, wait. Are you sure? I mean- I am so sure, but I don't want you to rush anything and and an-"
She pulled him back into a kiss, this time more fiery and rough. He slowed it down, smiled at her, kissed her stomach and pushed himself into her. She pulled him back to her, kissing him. When she smiled, he knew she was ready.
He gently at first, pushed himself in further. He put his fingers in one hand through her hand, and the other one through her hair. She gripped his hair at the back of his neck, and deepened it. He slowly thrust backwards and forwards into her, and she started crying. He whispered to her, telling her he could stop if she wanted to. She shook her head against his back, so he continued. He sped up relatively soon, and they were both breaking sweat. She was gripping his neck tighter, and he could feel her muscles tighten. She was almost ready.
She was moaning loudly, and he could feel her tears roll down his back. He felt himself coming. And then it was over. They were both done.
He pulled out, and stayed on top of her though. He looked at her, trying to help her wipe her face.
"Stel, what's wrong? Did I do something that hurt?"
She quickly stopped him. "No, no that was fine. It's just-"She paused for a gasp "It had never meant anything before. I have never, well, loved the person before. It meant more this time. That's…all."
All he could do was try to hold back his tears as best he could, and keep her warm.