Tuesday night, Mike found sleep barely forthcoming. He kept running the scenario of blowing Harvey in his office over and over. The associate could imagine Harvey's hooded eyes when he woke to see Mike on his knees.
It had to be some kind of new torture that his over active brain had come up with. There wasn't any other logical conclusion.
The rest of night passed in fitful sleep and never ending sexual frustration that Mike only managed to hold off by the sheer exhaustion in his bones.
He awoke early, getting to the office before almost everyone else. Being incredibly sneaky, Ross put the speech (reprinted to disguise the crumble marks on the other copy) on Harvey's desk so that if he came in for it, the senior partner wouldn't have to search for it.
And after only a moment of guilty panic of being in Harvey's office without anyone else around, Mike found the rest of the day to pass smoothly. He turned in the paperwork to Jessica just after 4 pm, and she didn't feel the need to scare him with any more awkward conversation.
With only a few last minute things to go over, Mike found himself calling Luca at 7:17 exactly. The other side rang twice before Luca answered with:
"Wow, I thought I was going to have bribe Jessica to have you before nine."
"Nope, I got all my homework done on time," Mike teased, smiling.
Luca laughed, deeply, which sounded completely different from the times Ross had heard Harvey chuckle.
He frowned, that was not what he wanted to be thinking about. Of course, it didn't help that this was coupled with the thought that Harvey really needed to laugh more.
"So, are you ready for our date or do you need to slip by your place first?" Luca's question pulls Mike from his thoughts.
"Uh, no, as long as you aren't taking me somewhere that I need a tux or something, I'm fine in my suit," Mike said, leaning back in his chair.
"Hmmm, yes you are," Luca said, with a slight chuckle.
Before Mike could make a come back, he realized there was an echo in the phone and looked up to see Luca across the room.
"You ass," Mike says into the phone, before hanging up and standing.
This only makes Luca laugh harder. A few people look up, but they don't seem to care what is going on enough to pay attention.
Luca grasps Mike's upper arm in greeting when they get close enough. It's solid and Mike can see a look of affection in Luca's eyes when he does it. And for the moment, Mike loses all thought of Harvey.
Their date takes them first to a local dinner where Luca shares Mike's joy of burgers and they spend the time talking about where to find the best burgers in town or other good eats. The conversation lulls a bit when their food arrives, but picks back up when Luca offers his tomato and Mike flings his offending pickles onto his plate as a 'thank you'.
Dinner wraps after they are both too full to eat the last pitiful fries on the plate, most too small to be worth the groan of disapproval from their stomachs. Luca settles the bill when Mike goes to the bathroom, even though Mike had hoped to contribute. Luca waves off his attempt to help after the fact.
Instead, the more senior associate puts a long arm around the newbie and guides him to quote "the best bar this close to the office."
A loud rock band is filling the place with music when they get inside. Luca points to the bar and they spend several minutes wading through people to get there, but Luca has a firm grasp on Mike's hand and he hasn't had a single unwanted thought about his boss.
They get a couple of drinks, and listen to the music as Luca rests a hand on Mike's back, he has stripped from his jacket, so the hand is that much closer to his skin. Mike wonders briefly what it would be like to take Luca to bed, to feel him grasp his hips instead. It sends shivers down his back, and Luca glances to him with a creased forehead in concern.
Mike shakes his head, and takes a sip of his beer to calm his nerves.
The band is one of two that take the stage, though for the life of him, Mike didn't know either of their names and just as the second one started with their third song, Luca glanced at his watch.
"Shit," Luca leaned in close, "it is getting late, Mike. Don't you have court tomorrow?"
Nodding, Mike grabbed his jacket and bag, while Luca settled their tab. Mike tried to protest, but Luca just grinned at him.
They get outside and find it relatively empty, since the majority of the crowd is still inside. A few people are getting into the last cab, so Mike and Luca move to one side to wait.
"How do you think the case will go tomorrow?" Luca asks, looking up and down the street before resting his eyes on Mike.
"It's Jessica, I have no doubt we will win," Mike says, easily.
"Yeah, that's probably true," he laughs, smiling down at Mike.
"So we should-" Mike doesn't even have a chance to finish that thought because Luca moves in a bit and just leans forward capturing Mike's mouth with his own.
It lingers when Luca moves back a bit, before delving in a bit more thoroughly, as the taller man raises a hand to cup Ross' head.
Opening his mouth, Mike moans a bit when Luca crowds in, bringing the blonde fully into his arms. The kisses get rougher, heated, as their tongues meet. Luca feels firm over him, and the faint buzz of alcohol thrums pleasantly at the edges.
There isn't a rush or the flood of need that Mike expected to feel. If anything he's almost put off by the taste of Luca's scotch, which is strange since he normally doesn't care at all. It isn't bad but it's just...
It's nice, Ross realizes. He likes Luca, because he can like Luca, he know the policy that Louis tries to enforce, but he knows that they would just make them sign something saying, essentially, death before dishonoring the firm even if one of them screws around. Or at the very least Harvey would defend them.
And that draws Mike away from Luca's mouth, who leans forward a bit before Luca catches the hint and opens his eyes.
"You taste good, Mike," he grins happily, and Mike frowns a bit as he hears his name coming from Luca's mouth. It is just not the way Harvey says it at all. Luca emphasizes the 'e' and has a bit of a New Jersey accent which it is just wrong hearing it like this when all he wants is to hear it moaned from Harvey's mouth.
And shit! Mike thinks, because he can't even push it to the background anymore. He does want Harvey, and that bastard has to be one of the few things that are plain un-haveable for Mike. Shit.
"I'm sorry," Mike tells Luca, who nods a bit with a smile.
"I understand, Mike. He's a lucky man," Luca doesn't say anything else, and Mike barely has time to wonder if Luca really is psychic before the taller man has turned and is climbing in a cab that has just pulled up.
...
Mike spends the rest of Wednesday night on his couch thinking of all the way he is supremely fucked. The first being in love with a man who has the surprising ability to know generally everything Mike is thinking (and then considering Luca and Jessica, he thinks real lawyers must come equipped with this superpower, and then, Wow, Louis must not be a real lawyer because that man never has a fucking clue)
And the thoughts lead back to the fact that he is well and truly fucked because Harvey will figure it out and either do one of two things. 1) Mock Mike and then fire him or 2) Punch Mike and then fire him.
Mike finds Friday will be a lesson in keeping his big mouth shut and avoiding his boss to a maximum, even though Mike had to admit he did miss the bastard, and well that just seemed to make the whole goddamn thing worse.