Ch. 17

My eyes were blurry with tears when I finally pushed through the front door. But they weren't clouded enough for me to miss what was happening in the kitchen: Olivia was reaching for the toaster with a butter knife.

My heart stopped beating altogether as I lunged for the knife. "Stop!" I cried dramatically.

She pulled the knife back, just inches from the toaster, and looked at me as though I were crazy. "My toast is stuck," she said plainly.

Relieved more than I could ever think I could be, I took the knife from her and then, without a word, I enveloped her in a hug.

"What is it, Mia?" she muffled, with her head against my chest. She tried to pull back, but I had her locked in a vice-like grip.

"Never," I said after taking a second to compose myself and letting her pull away slightly. "Never, ever ever put a metal object, like that knife, in the toaster. Okay, sweetie? You scared me."

She looked confused for a second. Then she just nodded her head slowly and muttered an apology.

"Shh, it's okay," I said, pulling her head back against my chest so I could run my fingers through her golden hair. Hair that could have been frazzled if I hadn't come in when I did. "Just so long as you're okay, it's all okay."

"What's going on?" Michael asked from the doorway. I turned around to see him looking at us with a confused look on his face.

"Oh," I said, pulling back completely from Olivia. "We just had an almost-accident, but it's all okay now."

"What happened?" Michael pounced, grabbing for Olivia, who looked both confused and panicked. "You didn't touch the stove, did you? I've warned you about the stove before!"

Olivia shrugged at him. "My toast got stuck."

"She tried to get it out of the toaster with a knife," I elaborated. "Obviously you missed the knife-in-the-toaster part of your dangerous-kitchen-things speech."

"A knife?" Michael asked, his voice catching in his throat. "Didn't I ever tell you never to put a knife in the toaster?"

Olivia shrugged again. "I forgot. And I was hungry."

"But you could have been electrocuted, Liv! What would I have done then? I can't lose you."

He hugged her close to him, looking at me with a grateful smile over her shoulder. I could only stare blankly back.

- - -

Later that night, when Olivia was safely tucked away in her bed, Michael and I were curled up on the couch together, watching Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.

I'd managed to calm down from the rather traumatic events of the day. Don't ask how. I mean, it's one thing for Michael to hit on me while he's drunk—but in the middle of the afternoon with no hint of intoxication?

Obviously…obviously, I like him. And it's becoming clear that he might return the same sort of feelings. But what do we do then? I mean, there's WAY too much history here to just rekindle whatever we may have had once upon a time.

It's not like I can just tap Michael on the shoulder and be all, "So should we make out or what?" No amount of years will change the fact that I AM NOT LANA WEINBERGER.

Thank God.

"Thank you," whispered Michael during a silent part.

"What for?" I asked genuinely, looking sideways at him. For not jumping your bones? Because I think I should be given some sort of medal for the amount of restraint I'm employing right now.

"For what you did with Olivia today. If you hadn't been there to stop her…" He paused to involuntarily shudder. "Who knows what would have happened."

My heart practically melted at the sight of his woebegone expression, complemented perfectly by those peat-bog eyes. It's hard to think of your raging hormones when the object can only worry about his daughter.

"Well, we don't have to think about that now, because I was there, so nothing happened." I reached out and rubbed his knee sympathetically with my hand.

He moved a little closer on the couch. "I know, and it's no thanks to me. I mean, at the time, I thought you were running off because you felt uncomfortable or something. But now I know it was because you felt a motherly connection with Olivia and you knew something was wrong with her. That's what it was, wasn't it?"

I gulped, feeling guilty. That wasn't what it was, not at all. I DID run off because I was feeling uncomfortable with where things were going with Michael. But I can't tell him that now, can I?

"Of course it was," I lied, rubbing my nose with the back of my hand so he couldn't see my nostrils flaring. I'm sure I told him about that back when we were together. "I can't explain it, but I knew something was wrong."

"So that's why I'm thanking you. And I'm also glad that you weren't freaked out with what I thought was happening on the beach..."

Of course I'm freaked out! He's Michael Moscovitz. Cute…sweet…adorable…those lips…

Ya know, it wouldn't be so bad to kiss Michael Moscovitz one more time. I mean, hejust happens to bethe best kisser I've ever experienced. So there's no harm in having a little fun, is there?

Especially when this doesn't seem so one-sided any more.

"Why would I be freaked out?" I asked coyly.

"That's what I was hoping you'd say," he said, grinning broadly before leaning towards me and pressing his lips softly against mine.

Just as the kiss was deepening, we both heard the squeak of Olivia's door and sat upright like two teenagers caught by their parents.

Startled, we both looked quickly towards the door to see it was shut firmly. I sighed, sure that Michael didn't need reminding that that door doesn't squeak until it's closing, not opening.

"Do you think she saw?" I asked, a little embarrassed.

Michael looked me straight in the eyes. "I'm sure she did."

"Do you think she'd be okay about it?" Please say yes, please say yes! I don't want to undo all the work I've made with Olivia just because of a half kiss.

"Well, she's never really been accepting of any woman I've dated, ever. In the end I just stopped trying to find one she'd be happy with, because I knew it wasn't going to happen until she was a little older. I'll go talk to her."

But…she'll be okay with this! She was teasing me about liking Michael! That doesn't sound like a kid who'd be easily upset by me getting a little closer to her dad.

He got up and left me all alone on the couch. I instantly felt cold without his body so close to mine. I didn't like the feeling.

The next chapter will definitely be longer. I'm just having trouble finding places to add stuff. The suggestion to put two chapters together has been employed before, but in some places it just doesn't work.

I'm going to New Orleans tomorrow, but I'll update when I return...if my inbox is filled with reviews. Because otherwise my computer doesn't let me get on this site.Those new-fangled virus types.