A/N: OK so maybe this chapter is a little fluffy...but don't you think Roxy and Mike could use some fluff? Well...I like it. I hope you guys do too! And I am typing up the update for my Don story as soon as I'm done this, and we all know how much THAT story needs an update :S. ENJOY THE UPDATE!!
Mike knocked on her door, hoping she'd still be awake. He could hear music, which was both good and bad. Good, because she hadn't touched music since the attack, but bad because she wouldn't hear him knock. With a groan, he marched back to his car to rummage for the key she'd given him. He hadn't needed it for so long he'd almost forgotten where he'd put it. Finally, he found it under his seat. With a triumphant cry, he held it in the air and slammed the car door with his foot. When he turned, he found Roxy standing behind him, arms folded over her chest. Her body shook with contained giggles as she looked at him, lips clamped together to dam the laughter. Mike shoved his hands in his pockets and toed the gravel of her driveway.
"I heard your music and didn't think you'd hear me," he mumbled.
She smiled and wrapped her arms around him. "How did it go?"
"You're in your dance tights," he noted. "And listening to music. You already know how it went, don't you?"
"Um…" she started, looking down at the ground. "The radio was on while I was doing dishes. Honestly Mike, it never occurred to me."
"But…you hate your dance tights, and music has been out of your life for months," he observed, ignoring her answer.
She shrugged. "It's a reason worth dancing for."
He smiled, kissing her forehead. "So you're ok with dancing again?"
"Outside of Odessa, and with a female teacher," she stated. "And with an extreme amount of therapy."
"Have you actually talked to anyone about it? I don't want to push you, but you really should tell someone," he softly urged.
"I will. When I'm ready. I haven't had enough time to cope yet," she explained, walking towards her house.
"Don't rush yourself. When you're ready," he sighed, following her.
Once they were safely inside, she turned to him. "Congratulations on making the playoffs."
"Yeah on the great skill of coin tossing. It was great. You should have been there," he drawled, sarcastically.
She laughed as he put his arms around her waist. "Well now you can use your actual skills to wow the socks right off them."
Mike suddenly became very serious. "We'll play Dallas Carter if we win the playoffs."
"Is that bad? The only teams I know are the ones you've played," she stated.
"It's cute how oblivious you are to football," he teased. "Compared to us, they are giants."
"So? You've played big teams before."
"Alright Roxy honey, picture the biggest team we've played all season. Dallas Carter is three times bigger than them."
"Oh," she stated. "Well then it will be just that much sweeter when you beat them."
He smiled. "You have too much faith in us."
"You don't have enough," she shot back. "You never know. You could win state."
"There's a chance, yeah. But I don't want to talk about playoffs or state," he sighed, nuzzling her neck.
"Oh no?" she smirked, putting her arms around his waist and sliding her hands into his back pockets. "And what do you want to talk about?"
He smiled. "You; me; collectively known as us."
Roxy laughed. "I love you Mike."
"You do?" he teased, kissing her softly.
She shoved him back. "I do. And don't mock me because of my reaction to your quick draw response. I didn't see it coming."
"How could you not see it coming? Billingsley saw it and he doesn't even know what love is," Mike stated.
"That's not fair to Don. He's been through a lot in the love department," Roxy scolded. "I think he's still waiting for her to come back."
He sighed. "She's been gone for a long time Roxy."
"She could come back Mike," she said, dropping onto the couch.
"You're a hopeless romantic just like he is," he noted, dropping next to her.
"Even though you just said he doesn't know what love is?" she inquired.
He nodded. "Love and romance are two different things."
"No they aren't. You can't have romance without love," she countered.
"Oh yes you can. Girls, maybe not. But guys completely use romance to sucker girls into anything. They don't need love for that," he objected.
"You're actually serious?" He nodded again. "That's sick. Guys are horrible."
"Well, I still love you," he chuckled.
She turned to him. "Have you ever done that?"
"Never needed to, nor have I ever had the time," he replied.
"Would you?" she questioned.
"I don't need to Roxy. I have you and that's all I need," he answered.
She smirked. "That wouldn't be a romantic line would it?"
"You saw right through me," he laughed, kissing her cheek. "No Roxy. I know you aren't ready. I'll save my romance until you are, because when I bust it out, you won't be able to resist."
She rolled her eyes. "Please, spare me. Thank you though Mike."
"For what?"
"For not pressuring me," she whispered, snaking her arms around his waist and hugging him tight.
"I don't want to ruin this Roxy. I'm serious when I say that. I love you too much," he stated.
She blinked back tears. "No one's ever told me they loved me before."
"What about your parents? They must have said it."
"My parents didn't love me," she said flatly.
His own eyes stung with the bite of tears. "That's not right Roxy."
She shrugged. "I'm over it."
He lifted her chin so he could look into her eyes. "I love you Roxy. I hope you know that."
"I do know that," she nodded. "I just don't know why you would love someone whose parents didn't even want them."
"Roxy, look at me," he demanded, gripping her shoulders. "Fuck your parents."
"But-"
"No. Fuck them. They don't deserve to be parents. You are amazing," he stated.
"To who? To you, that's it," she mumbled.
"To me, to my mom…even Coach Gaines. Your parents ran out on you? My dad ran out on us when I was little to start a new family with some rich Yankee," he confessed.
"Really?" Mike nodded. "Why didn't you ever tell me that?"
"I wanted it to come up in a really big speech?"
She laughed as 'When I'm With You' came on the radio. "Dance with me, you big fool."
"But you don't dance with guys any more," he smiled, letting her pull him off the couch.
"For you I can make an exception," she stated, resting her cheek on his chest. "If I can't dance with you, why dance at all?"
He smiled and wrapped her in his arms, wishing she would stay there forever. She closed her eyes as the gently swayed with the music. The moment was too perfect for words and the sheer cheesiness almost made Roxy laugh, had she not realized how much she'd needed him. She'd needed to hear she was loved, despite her flaws and baggage. Mike, in turn, needed someone who wasn't afraid of a life outside of Odessa but would understand if he never left. Both teens let out quiet sighs of content at their thoughts. Mike hugged her tight and she looked up at him with a soft smile. Before either of them realized it had happened, they were sharing a kiss.
His hands wandered up her back and found themselves in her hair. Her tongue curiously pushed past his lips and ever so softly entered his mouth. One of his hands left the tangle of her hair and slid down her back, curving over the shape of her butt. His other hand moved to the base of her neck, allowing him to pull her tightly to his body. Roxy welcomed the closeness and arched her body just enough to touch her pelvis to his. It was an exciting warmth, one he acknowledged with a sharp inhale. The hem of his shirt had attracted the attention of her fingertips, which distractedly fiddled with the soft skin underneath the loose cotton. For his hands, the mission was not to fiddle with her shirt, but to get it off completely. When she offered him no protest, the shirt was removed with surprising ease and tossed carelessly on the floor. It was at that particular moment Mike regained his senses.
"No," he breathed, pulling back. "I don't want you to do this until you're ready."
"Until I'm…Mike, the last sexual encounter I had is not going to go away, as long as I live. But I refuse to let it actually BE the last sexual experience I ever have. I don't think about it when you're around," she stated.
"What do you think about when I'm around?" he inquired, sceptical of her response.
She lifted his shirt over his head and pressed her bare torso against his. "How amazing OUR sex will be."
He swallowed a lump in his throat and immediately found it in his pants. "Are you sure you want to…do this?"
"Are you?" He nodded. "Then stop trying to change my mind."
He nodded again and lifted her into his arms. Without another word, he carried her up the stairs to her room.