Kings and Queens

I left Dustin and Langley in the kitchen to continue dry humping each other or make breakfast. My growling stomach hoped it was the latter.

Mike had to be awake if he wanted to get to the option skate they were having before getting on their flights for the first half of their two week long road trip. There was a lot that needed to be said and if the fuzzy memories flashing through my head were any indication of what the previous night had been like, the sooner I cleared things up, the better it would be for everyone.

I had changed out of my dress the minute I’d woken up, relieved to get the stiff fabric off of my body. I was in a pair of cut offs that rarely saw the world outside of our house and a hoodie I’d probably taken from a photoshoot. I picked up my phone and started to move towards the back door when something caught my eye.

In the hall mirror, a huge flash drew my attention. I was aware Mike had been the one to wrap the necklace onto me last night, but I hadn’t realized how big it was. The thick silver chain held a heart charm that fell just to my collar bone and upon further inspection, I gasped.

This was from Tiffany’s.

You don’t give the girl next door that you just so happen to want to fuck a Tiffany & Co. necklace. You just don’t.

Was Langley right? Did Mike really want something else?

That settled it. If Mike didn’t want to talk, well, then he would just have to suck it up. We were going to talk whether he wanted to or not.

*~*~*~*~*~*

“Mike!” I knocked on his back door. “I know you’re up! I can smell the coffee. We need to talk!”

I heard shuffling from inside the house and soon footfalls became louder. The doorknob twisted and the porch door swung open.

“People might be sleeping,” it wasn’t Mike. An obviously hung over Jeff Carter stood before me in rumpled sweats and not much else. “You should be more considerate.”

“Says the man who gave me a hotel room for my birthday,” I pushed past him and into the house. “Where’s Mike? I need to talk to him now.”

Jeff wandered into the kitchen and I followed. The set up of their condo was much the same as ours was, but I hadn’t been to their home nearly as much as they’d been to mind.

“Not sure,” he slid a mug of coffee down the counter to me. “But we could have a lot more fun.” Jeff wiggled his eyebrow suggestively.

I ignored the playful tone in his voice. “Just because you answer the door shirtless does not mean I’ll do anything with you, Jeff.” I set my mug down on the counter. “Now where is your boyfriend?”

“My boyfriend?” Jeff guffawed. “More like yours.”

“You know what? Fine,” I pushed myself back from the counter. “I’ll find him myself.”

I didn’t bother caring that it was probably rude of me to wander around someone’s home in search of them after inviting myself in. I was raised better certainly.

“Mike?” I peered down a hallway. “You up here? It’s Bridgette. We have to talk.”

I heard a television on behind a door and drawers opening and closing. Figures he wouldn’t be packed yet. Slowly, I reached for the knob and peered inside.

“Mike?”

He whipped around with wide eyes. When he met mine, his face relaxed.

“I didn’t hear you,” he lied.

“Yeah, because my yelling was so quiet and this room is totally sound proof,” I waited for a sexual quip that I had set him up for to come, but it never did.

He leaned against his dresser and crossed his arms. It was standoffish. It was uncertainty and nerves. “What’s up?”

“A lot of things,” I sighed. “Listen, thank you for last night. For everything. I couldn’t have asked for more, really. But I don’t know about you, but I’m feeling a little confused and-,”

But the minute I mentioned feelings, Mike was up and moving.

“Can we talk about this later maybe?” he attempted to zip his suitcase shut; only to have it packed to the brim. “I really need to get going if I want to make morning skate.”

“It’s optional,” I reminded him and perched on top of the suitcase so he could close it. “And we really need to talk. Now.”

“I gotta go!”

Mike was moving down the hall and downstairs with Arnold at his feet. I trailed after quickly, nearly pushing Jeff down the stairs.

“Mike, come on,” I followed him outside where he let Arnold out. “What is going on?”

“I’ll tell you what’s going on!” he threw his hands in the air like a drama queen. “I’m tired of not getting what I want.”

I stared at him for a minute. Definite drama queen. He must have thought so too, because he pinched the bridge of his nose with his eyes squeezed shut, deep in thought.

“That came out wrong,” Mike shook his head. “I’m tired… of having you playing hard to get. It was fun at first. I liked the challenge you gave me. But now, after watching you night after night and day after day play games with me, I just really want to win.”

“I’m not a prize, Richards,” I shook my head.

“I know,” he almost laughed. “Trust me, I know. It’s just, I tried really hard to be the gentleman you wanted last night. Fuck, I practically carried you to that hotel last night. The only thing that kept me from doing that is you.”

Suddenly, the silver chain felt a lot heavier. What did he mean?

“I knew that if I went to the hotel with you last night and let myself do what I wanted, I would never be able to look you in the eye,” Mike explained. “You were drunk off your ass and I knew that if that happened, I would never be able to give you the necklace and finally tell you that I won’t take no for an answer any more.”

“So this is it?” I asked. “If I say no again, you’re done?”

“I don’t think I could handle it much more,” he conceded.

I looked out at the rolling water. I liked Mike, I really did. And I remembered the pang in my chest I got whenever I saw Langley and Dustin being cute or how nice it felt on set when me and whatever love interest I had a seen with shared a moment, even though that was totally fake. I missed being wanted, as shallow as that may have sounded.

“Well okay then,” I looked up at Mike’s hopeful eyes. Slowly, I undid the clasp of my necklace and watched his face fall. As I placed it in his hand, I grasped his fingers. “Get ready to ask again.”

He looked a little confused, but he took a deep breath. “Give me a shot.”

It wasn’t a question and it wasn’t very smooth. Mike was going out on a limb and it was up to me to grab on.

Good thing I already was.

I smiled mischievously. “I really do like that necklace.”

Mike threw his head back and laughed before grabbing my face and bringing me up to kiss him. It was everything you would expect a first kiss with Mike Richards to be… and more.

He wound the chain back around my neck and clasped it again before resting his hands on my shoulders and looking at me, a happy and relieved smile on his lips.

Behind us, I heard cheers, both from my porch and from his doorway. Jeff stood near us, fist pumping the air, and doing a silent cheer. Langley had her phone out that surely had a picture on it already being tweeted while Dustin smiled knowingly before he let out a whistle.

“Now we can get new friends,” Mike said into my ear.

“Nah,” I shook my head. “I like ‘em.”