August:
"I'm in love," sighed Michaela softly, as she nestled further into the cushions.
"Oh please," grumbled Sully, glancing up from his magazine to cast a disdainful glance at the screen, "not the wet shirt thing again."
"Mr Darcy happens to be a deeply complex character," countered Michaela, without withdrawing her gaze, "The development of his relationship with Elizabeth is a literary masterpiece."
Sully just rolled his eyes, murmuring something that sounded very much like "girls" under his breath.
Due to an unfortunate turn of events, it had been seven long months before the friends had finally been reunited. Sully had come down with a nasty bout of the flu at the end of March and Michaela, unwilling to run the risk of being infected herself, had flat out refused to visit the site of the contagion. So Sully had spent the best part of spring break in bed, downing nytol and generally bemoaning his existence. Michaela had dismissed him as a total wimp and simply buried herself in her studies. She had emerged triumphantly at the end of June with the news that she had finished top in her class. Elizabeth had rewarded her efforts that evening with a return ticket to Colorado Springs.
"Why so touchy?" broached Michaela, hitting the pause button as the credits started to roll across the scene and turning to look at Sully, "is everything ok?"
"Sure," replied Sully, his expression suddenly uneasy.
"What is it?" she queried, her eyes widening in concern.
"Well, it's just that I have to go out for a bit, tonight," began Sully slowly, shifting uncomfortably in his seat and avoiding the gaze he could feel burning into his face.
"Ok," said Michaela quickly, "I'll come with you. Maybe we could go for ice cream…"
"No," interrupted Sully firmly, "you can't come with me."
"Why not?" retorted Michaela, her eyes narrowing as her temper started to rise, "is it like a boy's only thing?"
"No," growled Sully, scowling at her, "it's like a date thing."
"A date?" laughed Michaela suddenly, all traces of anger dissipating from her features, "well, you could have just said so."
"You're not mad?" breathed Sully in surprise.
"Mad that you didn't tell me you had a girlfriend or mad that I've lost my bet with Becky that you would remain celibate forever?"
"Very funny," replied Sully dryly, as his best friend cackled uncontrollably beside him.
"So who is she?" hiccupped Michaela, when she could finally breathe again, "anyone I know?"
"D'you remember Abby, Abby Bray from third period English?"
"Abby," repeated Michaela slowly, her brow furrowing in thought, "sat at the back, dark hair, kinda nerdy looking?"
"She's not nerdy looking," corrected Sully hotly before he registered Michaela's devilish expression and rolled his eyes.
"Besides you're not exactly in a position to talk, Geek-aela."
"I have fully embraced my geekiness," grinned Michaela, wrapping her arms around her knees. "So where are you taking her?"
"Movies," replied Sully, "maybe ice cream after."
"Bring me back a scoop of chocolate."
"Sure," conceded Sully with a grin.
"What about you," he queried, fixing Michaela with a speculative gaze, "anyone sniffing around?"
"Aside from Wolf?" grinned Michaela as the dog padded over from his basket and promptly thrust his nose into her side.
"No. And besides, seeing as I'm stuck in a convent," continued Michaela blandly, "dating at my school would involve a serious life choice."
"There are boys outside of school, you know," suggested Sully patiently, ignoring her jibes.
"I'm too busy for all that right now," replied Michaela briskly, "once I get into Harvard and make it through my internship, then I'll start worrying about dating."
"All the boys will be wrinkled and grey by then," joked Sully.
"I'm not averse to a few wrinkles," mused Michaela, "older men are more mature anyway, much easier to please."
"Not like that," she amended hastily as Sully made an odd choking noise beside her, "can't you keep your mind out of the gutter for five minutes together?"
"You said it," chuckled Sully, "not me."
"What a catch you are," retorted Michaela acidly, "does Abby know that's what you've got on your mind for tonight?"
With a satisfied smirk at Sully's stunned expression, she promptly lay back down on the cushions and pressed the play button, effectively ending any further conversation.
"What time do you call this?"
The deeply disapproving voice broke through the darkness and halted his steps as he tried to sneak up the stairs. The side lamp clicked on and he instantly recognised the tousled, brown hair. She had waited up for him.
"So, how did it go?," she queried, eyeing him owlishly from under the knitted blanket as he shoved Wolf unceremoniously off her feet and slumped down on the sofa beside her.
"Fine," replied Sully, yawning widely, "good."
"Fine?" teased Michaela, raising herself up on her elbow, "you were out til midnight. That's gotta be better than fine."
"I dropped Abby off early," explained Sully quietly, "I just needed to get some air."
"So, was it a perfect first date?" persisted Michaela, nudging his thigh with her toes. "Abby's great," conceded Sully with a small smile, "that's all you need to know."
"So did you kiss her goodnight this time?"
"Who are you," groaned Sully, "the Date Police?
"And yes," he added as she continued to stare expectantly at him, "I did kiss her goodnight."
"And?" pressed Michaela, sitting up fully now to monitor his expression, "how was it?"
"Minty," confessed Sully finally, with a sheepish grin, "think she overdid the mouth wash."
"Minty," broke out Michaela as she fought back a fit of giggles, "honestly Sully, you're hopeless."
"Hey," protested Sully, somewhat nettled, "it's not like these things come with an instruction manual.
"Maybe next time," he continued sarcastically, "I'll just practise on you before I leave and you can give me marks out of 10."
When several moments of silence followed this last comment, his eyes which had slid shut out of sheer frustration, flashed up curiously to observe Michaela, who was apparently lost in thought.
"I was kidding," offered Sully a tad contritely, "I didn't mean to…"
"I've made up my mind," interrupted Michaela suddenly.
"About what?" queried Sully slowly, shifting on the sofa and observing her face closely.
"I want you to kiss me," continued Michaela flatly, as though he hadn't spoken.
"What?" exclaimed Sully, his eyes widening in shock, "you can't be serious!"
"I'm dead serious," explained Michaela, shaking her hair back from her face and sitting up straighter in her seat.
"Since you didn't have the decency to buy me a present for my birthday this year, this is what I would like. I would like for you to kiss me. Now.
"Frankly," she continued, blithely ignoring the fact that Sully's mouth was now hanging open in sheer disbelief, "I just want to see what all the fuss is about. And I'd rather my first kiss be with my best friend than anyone else."
At this, she raised her gaze to Sully's, her hazel eyes burning into his with fierce determination.
Sully swallowed hard several times before beginning quietly, "Are you sure about this?"
"Absolutely," confirmed Michaela firmly, "and I won't breathe a word to Abby, if that's what you're worried about."
"Don't you think this might be a bit awkward," began Sully, trying to frame the complete disarray of thoughts racing through his head into coherent sentences, "I mean we're friends and if we kiss…"
"Of course it will be awkward," replied Michaela quickly. "All first kisses are a bit awkward aren't they? I mean, you just got your mouth blown apart by Abby's extreme mouth wash. There's no way there could be anything romantic about that."
"True," conceded Sully with a grin, "my tongue's still recovering."
"So," pressed Michaela, folding her hands purposefully into her lap, "will you kiss me or not?"
"Ok, fine," relented Sully finally, with a slight laugh, "you win."
Michaela smiled widely as Sully shuffled closer to her on the sofa until their knees were touching. He felt cold to her touch, even through the blanket, and the crisp smell of night clung to his skin and clothes.
"Here goes nothing," he whispered and leaned in to brush her lips gently with his.
He drew back almost instantly and took a deep breath in.
"Michaela?" he called uncertainly, when she remained silent, watching him steadily. Finally, her lips curved into a smile.
"Very good," she said calmly, "a solid 8/10."
"Only 8?!" probed Sully teasingly.
"Yep," replied Michaela promptly, "not quite at the swoon worthy stage yet but I'm sure you'll get there with practice."
"Great," retorted Sully with a grin, before getting to his feet, "I'll see you in the morning then.
"By the way," he added, as he reached the doorway, "I did get you something for your birthday."
"You did?" exclaimed Michaela, rising up to peer excitedly at him over the top of the sofa, "what is it?"
"Me," he chuckled and ran for the stairs before the expertly catapulted sofa pillows could find their mark.