MIA
He walked me down the hall to his bedroom, where I had been a million times before. I knew we weren't going to do all that much because we both weren't ready to, so I wasn't nervous.
We sat at his desk and he showed me a new game he was making. But we both knew that we weren't interested in that at the moment. We could look at that in the morning. I sat on his bed while he shut down his computer.
I straightened out my hair. He came and laid down next to me. "Hey beautiful."
"Handsome," I replied with a smile.
"Think Lilly will notice if you aren't in her room tonight?"
I shook my head no.
"Good," he said as he leaned over to me for a kiss. MICHAEL:
She seemed a little nervous. I wasn't going to have sex with her or anything. I just wanted to be close to her tonight.
We kissed one another hungrily. I had my hand on her waist, my thumb underneath the bottom of her tank top. She seemed to shiver. I wasn't sure if it would be okay for me to raise my hand up higher than it already was.
We stopped kissing, "I love you Mia," I murmured.
"I love you too Michael," she answered, a hungry look in her eyes.
I took that as a sign that it was okay to raise my hand, her stomach stiffened. "Is this okay?" I whispered. I know I have soundproof walls and a bolt on my door, but I still wanted to be quiet.
She nodded with a smile. I placed my left hand on her upper back. Still wasn't quite at second base, but I wanted to go slowly into this.
I fumbled with her bra. God, who ever invented these devices should be shot. I mean, how do girls do it everyday? She smiled and let out a little giggle.
"What?" I said anxiously.
"Having some trouble there?"
"A little."
"It's okay, Michael. Take your time."
SUCCESS!
"Mia?" I said as I freed her chest.
"Yes?" she said softly.
"Are you sure you don't mind me...ya know, touching you there?"
I felt like a little twelve year old boy. Most guys my age had touched a woman's breast by the age of fifteen, and here I am, an eighteen year old man!
She nodded. "I am sure, Michael."
So I did. I had thought about it for so long and had been so confused about it. What do I do while I am touching her? Do I kiss her? Do I just sit back and watch me touching her? What?
But while I did I did what came naturally. I kissed her. Uh oh. My friend decided to make an appearance. MIA:
Michael ran out of the room. Great. He must have been thinking that up close my breasts would be bigger but nope. No way. They were as advertised. But maybe he...no, he didn't have a...well, I guess he could have...
He returned to a very confused me. He kissed me again. "What happened?" I asked nervously, biting my lower lip.
"You sure can make a man do bad things," he said. Quite sexy.
"I don't- I don't understand."
"Mia, for someone who is doing this you sure are naïve," he said with a laugh. "Sleepy?"
"Uhm, yeah."
He tossed me a pair of boxers. I put them on under my skirt and then just peeled the skirt off. "Michael?"
"Yeah?" he asked, pacing.
"Could you come to bed?"
"I just need a little bit of space for a second. I'll be there in a minute."
He came back to the bed, after a great deal of pacing, and lay down.
I took off my shirt, nervously.
His eyes widened. "Mia, what the hell are you doing?"
"I just...I just wanted to sleep with our skin touching, that's all," I said sheepishly. "I'll just put my top back on-"
"No, its fine," he said quickly.
We shared a laugh.
We got under the covers and cuddled. This wasn't like our old friendly cuddling. There a few scattered kisses here and there.
Right before I drifted off to sleep Michael said, "I need to work on my self control."
"Huh?" I asked, startled.
"I'm sorry Mia, I just don't want to push you, ya know?"
"You aren't. Michael, I wouldn't do anything with you that I didn't want to do-"
He stopped me with a sweet kiss. "Good night Princess."
It was nice waking up next to him. Not so nice that I had to wake up at nine AM for princess lessons. "Hey, Michael, can you move your arm?" I asked softly.
He mumbled a response. "Skip lessons. Stay."
I laughed. "I can't . How am I supposed to be the leader of Genovia if I can't even peel myself away from you for an afternoon?"
He made a face. "You'll be back later on?"
"Yes. Lilly and I are going to see you at the club tonight, remember?"
"Oh yeah. I'll see you before though, right?"
"Of course. Bye Michael."
"Shoulders BACK," Grandmere ordered. "Now, here is your schedule for Genovia. Which little friend are you bringing for the summer?" she asked.
"Well, Lilly is coming, but...I'm not going to be there for the entire summer am I?"
"Your father decided that just July will be acceptable. But what friend are you bringing? Only one, mind you."
"That was all I was planning on," I replied. "I'm bringing Lilly."
Grandmere grimaced. "Must you? What about that Tina? She is very cultured-"
"Grandmere, Lilly is my best friend. You won't let me bring Michael so at least let me bring her!"
"It is not I who says you cannot bring your little friend. It was your father. I suggested Michael because you will be needing an escort to many functions and you refuse to see anyone else."
I smiled. I hadn't imagined that Grandmere would be rooting for me and Michael.
"Really? Then let me bring him! You have pull over my mom and dad!"
"I shall see what I can do. Now, about your ball-"
My eyes widened, "My what?"
"Amelia!"
"Sorry Grandmere, my ball?"
"Every princess gets a ball for her sixteenth birthday."
"Since when?"
"Since your great, great, great grandmother. Since then."
"Okay," I replied simply.
"I have had a band booked-"
"What? What kind of band?" I asked.
"Classical, of course." She said this as if I asked what color was the sky.
"Very well."
"And now we shall go for your dress fitting."
We got to Sebastino's new store and went into the VIP area for my little dress show. Grandmere gave me a strange look when I tried on a strapless dress.
"What is it Grandmere?" I asked.
"What are those marks on your back?" she asked suspiciously.
I pretended to try to look. "What marks?"
Oh crap! In the heat of our passion Michael had left marks on me!
"That useless cat of yours has completely damaged your back!"
"Oh! Fat Louie did that the other night," I lied.
"I have told your mother time and time again to destroy that beast-"
"Grandmere..."
"If you could only see this. Let me get a closer look."
"No. I mean, it'll clear up, I'm sure. What do you think of this dress?" MICHAEL:
"Hey fat face, you have a phone call," Lilly said, knocking on my door for once.
"Thanks puggie."
"Hello?" I asked.
"Man, what is one thing that we have always wanted and never had?" the voice on the other end asked. It was Denis.
"Well, there's a lot of that. What are you referring to?" I asked.
"My folks are moving out of their apartment in August. They are giving it to me. Man, we'd be owners of the apartment."
My jaw dropped. "Wait, say that again. Why am I one of the owners?"
"They don't trust me with it. It's right near Columbia. You could have an apartment for free. Plus, you'll get some privacy with Mia."
DING DING DINGalarms went off in my head.
"I don't know man..."
"Did you get housing at the university?" he asked.
"Well, no."
"So come on. We will be able to rehearse any time we want and its right near the subway. It's close enough for Mia to visit and for you to visit her."
"Can I get back to you about it?" I asked.
"Fine. But don't let this chance go man. It'd be awesome."
"Most likely I am going to say yes. I just gotta clear it with the parental units. They were hoping I would be staying here next year and commuting."
"We'll talk about it tonight before the show."
"Okay, thanks again man."
"You are getting an apartment? With Denis?" Lilly said, running into my room.
"You were listening?" I snapped.
"Duh. This is great! I'll have this place virtually to myself! And now if Mia comes over I'll know it's to see me."
That was the one positive thing about not getting housing at the university. I would still get to see Mia everyday. Well, mostly everyday. "Think Mom and dad will flip out?"
"They'll psychoanalyze you, but nothing else."
"Think her parents will flip out?"
"You guys won't have anymore sleepover that's sure damn sure. What happened last night?"
"Nothing."
"Yeah right."
"No really, nothing happened."
"What are you doing for her birthday?"
"I'm still in the planning process."
"Michael...."
"Beauty and the Beast are involved," I started.
"And?"
"And I don't know."
"You should do a whole day of things for her."
"What do you mean?" I asked, putting on my computer.
"Like maybe waking her up at midnight on her birthday and...ohhh, we could have a party for her starting right at midnight. On Friday night I'll have her, Tina and Shameeka and some other girls from school. Then we'll pretend to be sleeping and then- wait, no nevermind."
"What?"
"You probably should do something on your own for once. I mean, after what she did to get back with you...you need to do something really cool for her."
She was right. I did need to think of something amazing for her. I had thought Beauty and the Beast would be okay, but I needed something else as well. Something she could keep with her. Great. I suck.
I walked out into the living room where my parents were discussing a common patient. "Hey Mom, Dad."
"Michael, is everything all right?"
"I wanted to talk to you guys about housing next year."
"Yes?" my father asked, leaning toward me.
"Well, you know Denis?"
"Denis Flaherty?"
"Yes."
"What about him?"
"He has an apartment, and asked me to live with him next year. His parents are giving him their apartment...they owned it and are just giving it to him. I mean, we'd have to pay for the utilities..."
"And how do you feel about this idea?" my mother asked me. "Is it because you feel the need to turn from the family?"
"No. I just want to be closer to the school and it'll be a good experience."
They looked at one another. "And Mia?"
"What about her?"
"What does she say about this new turn of events? You are not planning on having her there with you, are you?"
"Of course not. We do have our own lives you know."
"Michael, we have no objections to your new living arrangement. We just want you to understand that if you want this new apartment, make sure it is for the right reasons. Not a love nest-"
"Although, if you are to start exploring that side of your relationship, if you have not already, we beg of you to use protection and all of the precautions."
"Sexual intercourse is a very big deal," my mother warned.
"And I noticed that all of your pornographic materials have been destroyed. That is a very healthy step," my father said with a grin.
Oh dear God, if you are there, make them stop.
"Those magazines do not portray woman as they truly are. Have you...seen Mia like that? Do you understand what a real woman looks like?"
I prayed that it would end soon. That she wouldn't be taking out the blow up doll that they had used to teach me about sex when I was twelve. I prayed that Mia wouldn't be walking in at this moment.
"Have you?"
"Have I what?"
"Seen Mia."
I shook my head violently. I felt like a little kid now.
"Well, you possibly should. It'd be a healthy step-"
"They've only been dating for four months, Judy," my father interrupted.
"Jake, we made love after only two months."
"Okay, that's enough of this talk," I said jumping up from my seat. "I've heard way more than I ever wanted to from you guys. Later."
"Michael, we just want you to be careful!" my mom called after me.
Mia came over around four o'clock to help Lilly edit her tapes from that afternoon. She realized that Lilly wasn't in her room though, so she came to my room. "Hey you," she said, sneaking up behind me. She wrapped her arms around me.
"Hey Mia. Lilly went out to see some guy about a location or something. She'll be back in a little while. Want to keep me company?" I asked deviously. I went and shut the door. She plopped down on my bed.
"How was your day?" she asked.
"I got an apartment for next year," I replied casually.
"What?" she said excitedly.
"Me and Denis are going to live at his place because his folks are moving out."
"That's awesome! I'm so excited!"
"I mean, you and I won't see each other as much...."
"You will be like, ninety blocks away. That's not bad...when do you move in?"
"August."
"So I can help you get settled," she replied. "I'm gonna be back for August. Oh, and I didn't tell you. I was trying on dresses today for my sweet sixteen ball-"
"Your what?" I said with a laugh.
"My ball. It's something all the princesses get when they turn sixteen."
"What, did you and all the Disney Princesses convene and decide this?" I teased.
She rolled her eyes. "Yeah, that bitch Ariel was trying to get my location, I took care of her. In other news I had a lovely tuna sandwich today," she said with a laugh.
"Is it on your birthday?"
"It's the day after, why?"
"Just wondering."
"So anyways, Grandmere saw scratches you made on my back last night!"
"I scratched you?" I asked. I hadn't realized that.
"Well, a little I guess. It's not a big deal or anything."
I laid down next to her on the bed. "How about some more?" I teased.
"Oh Michael James, what am I going to do with you?"
"Love me. Kiss me...."
And she did, but she pulled away quickly. "I better go wait for Lilly in her room. I don't want to get carried away in here."
I agreed reluctantly. "I'll talk to you later Mia."
She kissed the top of my head and left. That night her, Lilly, and their friend Tina were right up in the front of the stage. Tina and Mia were dancing like, well, like goofballs, and Lilly danced uncomfortably. I couldn't help but to smile when I saw them. I noticed that Denis was acting very nervous before the show, but he was excited that we would be living together in the fall.
A bunch of us, that is, Lilly, Denis, Mia, me, Tina and Gabe, went out for pancakes after the show. It was a tradition now, every Saturday night. I sat next to Mia and across from Lilly.
I was oblivious to anything but Mia, but she motioned for me to look across the booth at my sister. Lilly was flirting with Denis. "Don't you feel like this is a triple date?" Mia whispered. Tina had broken up with Dave over two months ago and was flirting with Gabe, who liked the attention.
"Think they'd notice if we left?"
"Leave some money," she replied softly.
We snuck out as much as we could before Lars started following us. We didn't have a real location for us to go, but we just wanted to get lost in the city together.
This was one of my favorite pastimes with Mia. We could walk around the city for hours and never even once stop talking. Or if we did stop talking, it wasn't uncomfortable. We were in Times Square when it started raining.
I know what most girls would have done. Most girls would have gone under an awning and screamed. Not my girl though. She started laughing and dancing like a crazy person in the rain. I joined in with her. Lars got onto his cell phone to call for the limo to get us.
We grabbed hands and started skipping away from Lars. We were like little kids. What I love about our relationship is that we always do things that I would have NEVER done with anyone else. I would have never let anyone else see this side of me. No one. I took her in my arms and spun her around. I tried to be romantic, I really did. But we slipped and fell to the ground.
She laughed. Well, I did break her fall so she didn't feel any pain. I laughed anyways. She looked so happy. I'm sure Grandmere wouldn't like this at all. "I love you Mia Thermopolis."
"And I love you Michael Moscovitz."
We got back to my apartment and changed clothes. She went into Lilly's room and waited for her friends to get back. I played a game of solitaire on my computer. Time to think of what to get the perfect girl for her birthday.
MIA:
I waited to Lilly and Tina to come back from the pancake house. I could have easily spent the time making out with Michael, but I don't want to become like Lana and Josh and only have that part of our relationship. Plus, I didn't know what would happen if we were alone. In his room. With an empty apartment. But I didn't want to sit in Lilly's room all alone. I knocked on his door. "Let's go watch a movie in the living room."
"Mia, I'm kind of busy," he replied as he turned away from the computer. Then he looked at me in my pajamas and agreed.
"Why do you have to be so damn cute?" he asked. You know, before we started dating, I would have NEVER expected him to be like this with a girl. Never.
"No making out though," I warned.
"Gee, why not?" he teased as he brushed his index finger across the little bit of my belly that was exposed.
"Because we are not going to be slaves to our lustful drives," I explained simply, quoting Grandmere.
He burst out laughing. "Did you really just say that?"
"Yes."
"Mia, where the hell did that come from?" he said, still laughing
"Really, Michael. I don't want us to become a couple who only has making out in common."
"Trust me baby, we will not just have making out in common," he said with a twinkle in his eye.
"Michael! Get your mind out of the gutter!"
"Sorry Mia. I am after all, a hormonal teenage male."
"I guess I can make an exception for you then."
We walked into the living room and put on the Sci-fi channel.
"Is there anything in particular that you want for your birthday?" he asked me. Of course, this is while we are watching an alien sucking the blood out of a human woman.
"Michael, being with you is all that I really need," I replied, snuggling closer to him. For once, that was the truth. Usually when people ask me what I want I have a whole entire list of things I want, but not this year.
"Mia, that's a lie. I know you better than that."
I kissed him softly. "No it isn't. It's really all that I want."
Then Lilly and Tina stumbled in. "Hey guys," they said in unison.
"Hey."
"How'd you sneak out?" they asked as they plopped down on the floor in front of the couch.
"Because you two were too enamored with Denis and Gabe..." I replied with a sneaky smile. I would get the dirt later on.
"C'mon, let's go into my room," Lilly said pulling my ankle.
"Okay, night Michael," I said kissing his cheek. "Enjoy blood sucking aliens."
"Will do, Princess. Sweet dreams girls."
"Since you have started going out with him I have noticed a positive change in his attitude and behavior," Lilly said as she turned on her radio.
I smiled. "I tend to do that with people. Now, explain to me what was going on earlier."
Lilly smiled shyly. She is NEVER shy.
"Lilly?"
"Well, Remember that guy I was telling you about last night?"
"It was Denis?"
"Yeah."
"You could do worse. He's a nice guy, Lil. Are you guys...ya know, seeing each other now?"
She shrugged. "One can never know with the male species. Taking it slow I guess."
"Tina?"
She smiled and turned red. "He kissed me."
My eyes widened. Gabe was really hot, although Michael is much nicer and better looking. When did I become so attached to appearances?
"Well, he kissed me goodnight that's all. Nothing too much. But we're going to go out next Saturday. After they play...that's your birthday isn't it?" she asked.
I nodded. I figured Michael would come over my house afterwards. I didn't really expect anything spectacular. "Yeah, but I'll probably just go to the show anyways. Unless Mom has something planned, but I doubt it. She's going nutso with the baby."
"I bet."
"Oh, I forgot! Grandmere is throwing a ball for me on Sunday. We don't have school on Monday so you guys can come," I said suddenly remembering about the ball.
Tina laughed, "You know, like, six months ago if you said that I would not believe you."
"But you haven't really changed because of being a princess," Lilly stuck in. "But you have changed a lot. For the better that is."
"What do you mean?" I asked. I wasn't used to Lilly complimenting me. Maybe Denis had a good influence on her.
"You are much more assertive and seem to feel better about yourself."
"Well, that could be because my breasts are finally starting to grow," I said with a laugh. Thank goodness breasts can start growing out of no where, well, they grow from the chest but you know what I mean.
"Let's go catch a late movie," Tina suggested. It was nearly midnight at this point. I was definitely not tired at all.
"What's showing?"
"What a Girl Wants?" Tina said, looking at the newspaper.
"Oh come on guys! I refuse to watch that dribble."
I looked at her. "Two words. Oliver James."
She smiled. "Fine. But I am only going because you guys want to."
We waved to Michael as we walked out and he told us to be careful. He smiled sweetly to me. "Why don't you come then, Michael?" Lilly suggested. She wanted to torture him.
"See a chick flick?" he said with a laugh.
"Amanda Bynes," Lilly said.
He got up and threw his shirt on. "Gee, that's nice of you, Michael," I teased.
"Well, I don't want my girls walking around this dangerous city all alone."
There was a song in the movie that I absolutely adore. Oliver James sings it, and I have to give it to him. He is amazing. "Like that song?" Michael asked me when the movie was over. I was humming the song to myself.
"A little bit..."
"You look nice," he complimented.
"Michael, I am currently wearing my butterfly pajama pants and your sweatshirt. How do I possibly look nice?"
"Because you are wearing my sweatshirt."
"You are too good to me Michael."
"Not really, I could never be too good to you baby."
"Are you guys done cooing over one another?" Lilly asked. She was already at their apartment door.
"Good night, Michael."
"I love you Mia."
"You too."
He walked me down the hall to his bedroom, where I had been a million times before. I knew we weren't going to do all that much because we both weren't ready to, so I wasn't nervous.
We sat at his desk and he showed me a new game he was making. But we both knew that we weren't interested in that at the moment. We could look at that in the morning. I sat on his bed while he shut down his computer.
I straightened out my hair. He came and laid down next to me. "Hey beautiful."
"Handsome," I replied with a smile.
"Think Lilly will notice if you aren't in her room tonight?"
I shook my head no.
"Good," he said as he leaned over to me for a kiss. MICHAEL:
She seemed a little nervous. I wasn't going to have sex with her or anything. I just wanted to be close to her tonight.
We kissed one another hungrily. I had my hand on her waist, my thumb underneath the bottom of her tank top. She seemed to shiver. I wasn't sure if it would be okay for me to raise my hand up higher than it already was.
We stopped kissing, "I love you Mia," I murmured.
"I love you too Michael," she answered, a hungry look in her eyes.
I took that as a sign that it was okay to raise my hand, her stomach stiffened. "Is this okay?" I whispered. I know I have soundproof walls and a bolt on my door, but I still wanted to be quiet.
She nodded with a smile. I placed my left hand on her upper back. Still wasn't quite at second base, but I wanted to go slowly into this.
I fumbled with her bra. God, who ever invented these devices should be shot. I mean, how do girls do it everyday? She smiled and let out a little giggle.
"What?" I said anxiously.
"Having some trouble there?"
"A little."
"It's okay, Michael. Take your time."
SUCCESS!
"Mia?" I said as I freed her chest.
"Yes?" she said softly.
"Are you sure you don't mind me...ya know, touching you there?"
I felt like a little twelve year old boy. Most guys my age had touched a woman's breast by the age of fifteen, and here I am, an eighteen year old man!
She nodded. "I am sure, Michael."
So I did. I had thought about it for so long and had been so confused about it. What do I do while I am touching her? Do I kiss her? Do I just sit back and watch me touching her? What?
But while I did I did what came naturally. I kissed her. Uh oh. My friend decided to make an appearance. MIA:
Michael ran out of the room. Great. He must have been thinking that up close my breasts would be bigger but nope. No way. They were as advertised. But maybe he...no, he didn't have a...well, I guess he could have...
He returned to a very confused me. He kissed me again. "What happened?" I asked nervously, biting my lower lip.
"You sure can make a man do bad things," he said. Quite sexy.
"I don't- I don't understand."
"Mia, for someone who is doing this you sure are naïve," he said with a laugh. "Sleepy?"
"Uhm, yeah."
He tossed me a pair of boxers. I put them on under my skirt and then just peeled the skirt off. "Michael?"
"Yeah?" he asked, pacing.
"Could you come to bed?"
"I just need a little bit of space for a second. I'll be there in a minute."
He came back to the bed, after a great deal of pacing, and lay down.
I took off my shirt, nervously.
His eyes widened. "Mia, what the hell are you doing?"
"I just...I just wanted to sleep with our skin touching, that's all," I said sheepishly. "I'll just put my top back on-"
"No, its fine," he said quickly.
We shared a laugh.
We got under the covers and cuddled. This wasn't like our old friendly cuddling. There a few scattered kisses here and there.
Right before I drifted off to sleep Michael said, "I need to work on my self control."
"Huh?" I asked, startled.
"I'm sorry Mia, I just don't want to push you, ya know?"
"You aren't. Michael, I wouldn't do anything with you that I didn't want to do-"
He stopped me with a sweet kiss. "Good night Princess."
It was nice waking up next to him. Not so nice that I had to wake up at nine AM for princess lessons. "Hey, Michael, can you move your arm?" I asked softly.
He mumbled a response. "Skip lessons. Stay."
I laughed. "I can't . How am I supposed to be the leader of Genovia if I can't even peel myself away from you for an afternoon?"
He made a face. "You'll be back later on?"
"Yes. Lilly and I are going to see you at the club tonight, remember?"
"Oh yeah. I'll see you before though, right?"
"Of course. Bye Michael."
"Shoulders BACK," Grandmere ordered. "Now, here is your schedule for Genovia. Which little friend are you bringing for the summer?" she asked.
"Well, Lilly is coming, but...I'm not going to be there for the entire summer am I?"
"Your father decided that just July will be acceptable. But what friend are you bringing? Only one, mind you."
"That was all I was planning on," I replied. "I'm bringing Lilly."
Grandmere grimaced. "Must you? What about that Tina? She is very cultured-"
"Grandmere, Lilly is my best friend. You won't let me bring Michael so at least let me bring her!"
"It is not I who says you cannot bring your little friend. It was your father. I suggested Michael because you will be needing an escort to many functions and you refuse to see anyone else."
I smiled. I hadn't imagined that Grandmere would be rooting for me and Michael.
"Really? Then let me bring him! You have pull over my mom and dad!"
"I shall see what I can do. Now, about your ball-"
My eyes widened, "My what?"
"Amelia!"
"Sorry Grandmere, my ball?"
"Every princess gets a ball for her sixteenth birthday."
"Since when?"
"Since your great, great, great grandmother. Since then."
"Okay," I replied simply.
"I have had a band booked-"
"What? What kind of band?" I asked.
"Classical, of course." She said this as if I asked what color was the sky.
"Very well."
"And now we shall go for your dress fitting."
We got to Sebastino's new store and went into the VIP area for my little dress show. Grandmere gave me a strange look when I tried on a strapless dress.
"What is it Grandmere?" I asked.
"What are those marks on your back?" she asked suspiciously.
I pretended to try to look. "What marks?"
Oh crap! In the heat of our passion Michael had left marks on me!
"That useless cat of yours has completely damaged your back!"
"Oh! Fat Louie did that the other night," I lied.
"I have told your mother time and time again to destroy that beast-"
"Grandmere..."
"If you could only see this. Let me get a closer look."
"No. I mean, it'll clear up, I'm sure. What do you think of this dress?" MICHAEL:
"Hey fat face, you have a phone call," Lilly said, knocking on my door for once.
"Thanks puggie."
"Hello?" I asked.
"Man, what is one thing that we have always wanted and never had?" the voice on the other end asked. It was Denis.
"Well, there's a lot of that. What are you referring to?" I asked.
"My folks are moving out of their apartment in August. They are giving it to me. Man, we'd be owners of the apartment."
My jaw dropped. "Wait, say that again. Why am I one of the owners?"
"They don't trust me with it. It's right near Columbia. You could have an apartment for free. Plus, you'll get some privacy with Mia."
DING DING DINGalarms went off in my head.
"I don't know man..."
"Did you get housing at the university?" he asked.
"Well, no."
"So come on. We will be able to rehearse any time we want and its right near the subway. It's close enough for Mia to visit and for you to visit her."
"Can I get back to you about it?" I asked.
"Fine. But don't let this chance go man. It'd be awesome."
"Most likely I am going to say yes. I just gotta clear it with the parental units. They were hoping I would be staying here next year and commuting."
"We'll talk about it tonight before the show."
"Okay, thanks again man."
"You are getting an apartment? With Denis?" Lilly said, running into my room.
"You were listening?" I snapped.
"Duh. This is great! I'll have this place virtually to myself! And now if Mia comes over I'll know it's to see me."
That was the one positive thing about not getting housing at the university. I would still get to see Mia everyday. Well, mostly everyday. "Think Mom and dad will flip out?"
"They'll psychoanalyze you, but nothing else."
"Think her parents will flip out?"
"You guys won't have anymore sleepover that's sure damn sure. What happened last night?"
"Nothing."
"Yeah right."
"No really, nothing happened."
"What are you doing for her birthday?"
"I'm still in the planning process."
"Michael...."
"Beauty and the Beast are involved," I started.
"And?"
"And I don't know."
"You should do a whole day of things for her."
"What do you mean?" I asked, putting on my computer.
"Like maybe waking her up at midnight on her birthday and...ohhh, we could have a party for her starting right at midnight. On Friday night I'll have her, Tina and Shameeka and some other girls from school. Then we'll pretend to be sleeping and then- wait, no nevermind."
"What?"
"You probably should do something on your own for once. I mean, after what she did to get back with you...you need to do something really cool for her."
She was right. I did need to think of something amazing for her. I had thought Beauty and the Beast would be okay, but I needed something else as well. Something she could keep with her. Great. I suck.
I walked out into the living room where my parents were discussing a common patient. "Hey Mom, Dad."
"Michael, is everything all right?"
"I wanted to talk to you guys about housing next year."
"Yes?" my father asked, leaning toward me.
"Well, you know Denis?"
"Denis Flaherty?"
"Yes."
"What about him?"
"He has an apartment, and asked me to live with him next year. His parents are giving him their apartment...they owned it and are just giving it to him. I mean, we'd have to pay for the utilities..."
"And how do you feel about this idea?" my mother asked me. "Is it because you feel the need to turn from the family?"
"No. I just want to be closer to the school and it'll be a good experience."
They looked at one another. "And Mia?"
"What about her?"
"What does she say about this new turn of events? You are not planning on having her there with you, are you?"
"Of course not. We do have our own lives you know."
"Michael, we have no objections to your new living arrangement. We just want you to understand that if you want this new apartment, make sure it is for the right reasons. Not a love nest-"
"Although, if you are to start exploring that side of your relationship, if you have not already, we beg of you to use protection and all of the precautions."
"Sexual intercourse is a very big deal," my mother warned.
"And I noticed that all of your pornographic materials have been destroyed. That is a very healthy step," my father said with a grin.
Oh dear God, if you are there, make them stop.
"Those magazines do not portray woman as they truly are. Have you...seen Mia like that? Do you understand what a real woman looks like?"
I prayed that it would end soon. That she wouldn't be taking out the blow up doll that they had used to teach me about sex when I was twelve. I prayed that Mia wouldn't be walking in at this moment.
"Have you?"
"Have I what?"
"Seen Mia."
I shook my head violently. I felt like a little kid now.
"Well, you possibly should. It'd be a healthy step-"
"They've only been dating for four months, Judy," my father interrupted.
"Jake, we made love after only two months."
"Okay, that's enough of this talk," I said jumping up from my seat. "I've heard way more than I ever wanted to from you guys. Later."
"Michael, we just want you to be careful!" my mom called after me.
Mia came over around four o'clock to help Lilly edit her tapes from that afternoon. She realized that Lilly wasn't in her room though, so she came to my room. "Hey you," she said, sneaking up behind me. She wrapped her arms around me.
"Hey Mia. Lilly went out to see some guy about a location or something. She'll be back in a little while. Want to keep me company?" I asked deviously. I went and shut the door. She plopped down on my bed.
"How was your day?" she asked.
"I got an apartment for next year," I replied casually.
"What?" she said excitedly.
"Me and Denis are going to live at his place because his folks are moving out."
"That's awesome! I'm so excited!"
"I mean, you and I won't see each other as much...."
"You will be like, ninety blocks away. That's not bad...when do you move in?"
"August."
"So I can help you get settled," she replied. "I'm gonna be back for August. Oh, and I didn't tell you. I was trying on dresses today for my sweet sixteen ball-"
"Your what?" I said with a laugh.
"My ball. It's something all the princesses get when they turn sixteen."
"What, did you and all the Disney Princesses convene and decide this?" I teased.
She rolled her eyes. "Yeah, that bitch Ariel was trying to get my location, I took care of her. In other news I had a lovely tuna sandwich today," she said with a laugh.
"Is it on your birthday?"
"It's the day after, why?"
"Just wondering."
"So anyways, Grandmere saw scratches you made on my back last night!"
"I scratched you?" I asked. I hadn't realized that.
"Well, a little I guess. It's not a big deal or anything."
I laid down next to her on the bed. "How about some more?" I teased.
"Oh Michael James, what am I going to do with you?"
"Love me. Kiss me...."
And she did, but she pulled away quickly. "I better go wait for Lilly in her room. I don't want to get carried away in here."
I agreed reluctantly. "I'll talk to you later Mia."
She kissed the top of my head and left. That night her, Lilly, and their friend Tina were right up in the front of the stage. Tina and Mia were dancing like, well, like goofballs, and Lilly danced uncomfortably. I couldn't help but to smile when I saw them. I noticed that Denis was acting very nervous before the show, but he was excited that we would be living together in the fall.
A bunch of us, that is, Lilly, Denis, Mia, me, Tina and Gabe, went out for pancakes after the show. It was a tradition now, every Saturday night. I sat next to Mia and across from Lilly.
I was oblivious to anything but Mia, but she motioned for me to look across the booth at my sister. Lilly was flirting with Denis. "Don't you feel like this is a triple date?" Mia whispered. Tina had broken up with Dave over two months ago and was flirting with Gabe, who liked the attention.
"Think they'd notice if we left?"
"Leave some money," she replied softly.
We snuck out as much as we could before Lars started following us. We didn't have a real location for us to go, but we just wanted to get lost in the city together.
This was one of my favorite pastimes with Mia. We could walk around the city for hours and never even once stop talking. Or if we did stop talking, it wasn't uncomfortable. We were in Times Square when it started raining.
I know what most girls would have done. Most girls would have gone under an awning and screamed. Not my girl though. She started laughing and dancing like a crazy person in the rain. I joined in with her. Lars got onto his cell phone to call for the limo to get us.
We grabbed hands and started skipping away from Lars. We were like little kids. What I love about our relationship is that we always do things that I would have NEVER done with anyone else. I would have never let anyone else see this side of me. No one. I took her in my arms and spun her around. I tried to be romantic, I really did. But we slipped and fell to the ground.
She laughed. Well, I did break her fall so she didn't feel any pain. I laughed anyways. She looked so happy. I'm sure Grandmere wouldn't like this at all. "I love you Mia Thermopolis."
"And I love you Michael Moscovitz."
We got back to my apartment and changed clothes. She went into Lilly's room and waited for her friends to get back. I played a game of solitaire on my computer. Time to think of what to get the perfect girl for her birthday.
MIA:
I waited to Lilly and Tina to come back from the pancake house. I could have easily spent the time making out with Michael, but I don't want to become like Lana and Josh and only have that part of our relationship. Plus, I didn't know what would happen if we were alone. In his room. With an empty apartment. But I didn't want to sit in Lilly's room all alone. I knocked on his door. "Let's go watch a movie in the living room."
"Mia, I'm kind of busy," he replied as he turned away from the computer. Then he looked at me in my pajamas and agreed.
"Why do you have to be so damn cute?" he asked. You know, before we started dating, I would have NEVER expected him to be like this with a girl. Never.
"No making out though," I warned.
"Gee, why not?" he teased as he brushed his index finger across the little bit of my belly that was exposed.
"Because we are not going to be slaves to our lustful drives," I explained simply, quoting Grandmere.
He burst out laughing. "Did you really just say that?"
"Yes."
"Mia, where the hell did that come from?" he said, still laughing
"Really, Michael. I don't want us to become a couple who only has making out in common."
"Trust me baby, we will not just have making out in common," he said with a twinkle in his eye.
"Michael! Get your mind out of the gutter!"
"Sorry Mia. I am after all, a hormonal teenage male."
"I guess I can make an exception for you then."
We walked into the living room and put on the Sci-fi channel.
"Is there anything in particular that you want for your birthday?" he asked me. Of course, this is while we are watching an alien sucking the blood out of a human woman.
"Michael, being with you is all that I really need," I replied, snuggling closer to him. For once, that was the truth. Usually when people ask me what I want I have a whole entire list of things I want, but not this year.
"Mia, that's a lie. I know you better than that."
I kissed him softly. "No it isn't. It's really all that I want."
Then Lilly and Tina stumbled in. "Hey guys," they said in unison.
"Hey."
"How'd you sneak out?" they asked as they plopped down on the floor in front of the couch.
"Because you two were too enamored with Denis and Gabe..." I replied with a sneaky smile. I would get the dirt later on.
"C'mon, let's go into my room," Lilly said pulling my ankle.
"Okay, night Michael," I said kissing his cheek. "Enjoy blood sucking aliens."
"Will do, Princess. Sweet dreams girls."
"Since you have started going out with him I have noticed a positive change in his attitude and behavior," Lilly said as she turned on her radio.
I smiled. "I tend to do that with people. Now, explain to me what was going on earlier."
Lilly smiled shyly. She is NEVER shy.
"Lilly?"
"Well, Remember that guy I was telling you about last night?"
"It was Denis?"
"Yeah."
"You could do worse. He's a nice guy, Lil. Are you guys...ya know, seeing each other now?"
She shrugged. "One can never know with the male species. Taking it slow I guess."
"Tina?"
She smiled and turned red. "He kissed me."
My eyes widened. Gabe was really hot, although Michael is much nicer and better looking. When did I become so attached to appearances?
"Well, he kissed me goodnight that's all. Nothing too much. But we're going to go out next Saturday. After they play...that's your birthday isn't it?" she asked.
I nodded. I figured Michael would come over my house afterwards. I didn't really expect anything spectacular. "Yeah, but I'll probably just go to the show anyways. Unless Mom has something planned, but I doubt it. She's going nutso with the baby."
"I bet."
"Oh, I forgot! Grandmere is throwing a ball for me on Sunday. We don't have school on Monday so you guys can come," I said suddenly remembering about the ball.
Tina laughed, "You know, like, six months ago if you said that I would not believe you."
"But you haven't really changed because of being a princess," Lilly stuck in. "But you have changed a lot. For the better that is."
"What do you mean?" I asked. I wasn't used to Lilly complimenting me. Maybe Denis had a good influence on her.
"You are much more assertive and seem to feel better about yourself."
"Well, that could be because my breasts are finally starting to grow," I said with a laugh. Thank goodness breasts can start growing out of no where, well, they grow from the chest but you know what I mean.
"Let's go catch a late movie," Tina suggested. It was nearly midnight at this point. I was definitely not tired at all.
"What's showing?"
"What a Girl Wants?" Tina said, looking at the newspaper.
"Oh come on guys! I refuse to watch that dribble."
I looked at her. "Two words. Oliver James."
She smiled. "Fine. But I am only going because you guys want to."
We waved to Michael as we walked out and he told us to be careful. He smiled sweetly to me. "Why don't you come then, Michael?" Lilly suggested. She wanted to torture him.
"See a chick flick?" he said with a laugh.
"Amanda Bynes," Lilly said.
He got up and threw his shirt on. "Gee, that's nice of you, Michael," I teased.
"Well, I don't want my girls walking around this dangerous city all alone."
There was a song in the movie that I absolutely adore. Oliver James sings it, and I have to give it to him. He is amazing. "Like that song?" Michael asked me when the movie was over. I was humming the song to myself.
"A little bit..."
"You look nice," he complimented.
"Michael, I am currently wearing my butterfly pajama pants and your sweatshirt. How do I possibly look nice?"
"Because you are wearing my sweatshirt."
"You are too good to me Michael."
"Not really, I could never be too good to you baby."
"Are you guys done cooing over one another?" Lilly asked. She was already at their apartment door.
"Good night, Michael."
"I love you Mia."
"You too."