Sunshine

Mike was pulled from sleep the next morning by the static of hushed whispers. It was a moment before he recognized his surroundings: the soft mint green sheets, the tall mahogany book shelf, multiple articles of clothing thrown carelessly across the floor. This was definitely not his room.

Yawning and stretching himself into full consciousness, he began to listen in on the whispering in the hall. "Dee, what are you doing here?" That was Melanie? Maybe.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I thought I lived here. Just because you want to bring puppy eyed, lover boy back for a little tussle around your bed doesn't mean I can't come home in the morning." Mike didn’t have to see the woman’s face to know that she must have been smirking. Melanie groaned but didn’t say anything. “Why haven’t you kicked him out yet?”

“I don’t know,” Melanie mused. “I kinda like him, and he looked so cute asleep.”

“What are you gonna do? Have him help you pack and send him love letters from Philly?”

“No, I actually decided to spend the night with him because I figured I would never see him again. Anyway, when did you become some big cynic? I thought you were in love.”

“Actually,” there was a slight pause where neither woman spoke. “Stella proposed last night!” The last part came out as more of a squeal than a whisper. In the moments that followed, Mike could no longer make out coherent conversation. The only sounds from the hall were more squealing and screams.

Mike chose this moment to find his phone. He felt weird that he’d spent the night, and even weirder that he hadn’t realized this was typical one night stand business, only this time he’d been on the opposite side of the fence. Now, he just needed to find a subtle way to walk out, dignity and pride intact.

His efforts would have gone completely unnoticed by the two women in the hallway had his phone been about three inches closer to the bed than it was. When he didn’t see it on the night stand, he figured it was still in his jean pocket. The pants were heaped on the floor several feet from the bed. The lower half of his body still under Melanie’s comforter, Mike leaned off the bed, stretching his arm as far as he could to reach the pants. His fingertips were only centimeters from the fabric, so he inched closer to edge of the bed. Now they touched the jeans, barely, and he still couldn’t secure his grasp on them. He moved just a little further, but apparently he’d been closer to the edge of the bed than he thought.

He fell, much like a seesaw that has been tipped to its other side. With just a little too much weight hanging off the bed, his whole body came tumbling onto the floor, shoulders first, followed by his ass. Unfortunately, his feet had gotten tangled up in the sheets, so they were still up on the mattress. Even more unfortunate was what he saw when he looked up.

Startled by the thump of Mike’s body colliding with the floor, Melanie and her roommate had entered the room, and both of them stood in the doorway, staring right at Mike. Melanie attempted to hide her amusement, but it was etched in her face. Her roommate, standing slightly behind her, was visibly shaking with laughter. Mike was just thankful that at least he had boxers on. This would have been so much worse naked.

“You okay, Mike?” Melanie smirked, still standing in the doorway. Now she leaned against the dark wood of the door frame, her arms folded across her chest. She wore the same gray shorts Mike had seen her in yesterday. A navy blue hoodie covered her torso, and her hair was pulled up on the top of her head again.

“Just trying to reach my phone,” Mike tried to say it without sounding embarrassed, still determined to leave with a little of his dignity. He pulled his feet from the blankets, and stood up.

The roommate tilted her head, and studied him. He felt very exposed, standing in the middle of the room. “He is actually is kinda cute, ya know, if I was into that kinda thing,” She shrugged her shoulders. “I’ll leave you two alone.” The brunette left the room, and Melanie closed the door softly behind her.

A smile pulled at her lips.

“What?” Mike laughed, his annoyance seemingly floating away with a single glance.

“Nothing. Dee’s right. You’re cute.” She spanned the distance between them, kissing him square on the mouth, and placed her hands on his sides. “Sorry, if we woke you, but my roommate just got engaged. Screaming was in order.”

Mike waved it off. “No, I was up. It’s okay.”

Melanie nodded and went particularly silent. Mike thought she was probably wondering whether he’d heard their conversation. He glanced down at the phone in his hand, pretending to realize what time it was. “I should probably get going.” The redhead nodded again and retrieved Mike’s shirt for him while he pulled on his jeans.

He reached out to take it from her, but she yanked it away from his hand. “I’ll trade you,”
she offered mischievously.

“For what?” Mike questioned, eyebrows raised.

“Your jeans.”

“I think that would be slightly counterproductive.”

“Depends on what you’re trying to accomplishment,” She flirted with Mike. “So what’s it gonna be, Mikey? Do you accept my offer or are you leaving here shirtless?”

Mike mentally weighed his options. Melanie had said it herself; it’s not like they were ever going to see each other again. What difference did it make? Besides, leaving after morning sex had to hold more dignity that leaving after falling onto the floor in your underwear and getting laughed at.

“Deal,” Mike answered, grinning. “But if you want my jeans, you’re going to have to take them off yourself.”

She nodded, capturing his lips with hers while her hands fumbled with the button and then zipper of his jeans. She began to massage his growing erection through the material of his boxers. Mike pulled her hoodie over head to find her round breasts barely covered by a small spaghetti-strap tank top.

Without warning, Mike picked her up and placed her on the bed, pulling her shorts and underwear off at once, before stripping out of his own boxers. He wasted little time before easing into her, and they both released a moan as he did so.

The pace of their movements began slowly, and picked up quickly, as they effortlessly found their rhythm. Mike had never felt so in sync with a woman before, especially one that he barely knew. He had to mentally remind himself not to say something stupid, but the way Melanie’s eyes locked with his own told him everything he needed to know. She was thinking all of the same things.

His name escaped Melanie’s lips, as her back arched and she tightened around him. The sensation of her orgasm pushed Mike over the edge, and he emptied himself inside of her. He didn’t pull out of her immediately but kissed her once more, pouring as much sentiment into as he could muster.

When he lay down beside her, Melanie pulled the comforter up around their bodies, placing her head on Mike’s shoulder and wrapping an arm around his chest. Neither spoke nor showed any inclination to move for quite some time.

Eventually, Mike spoke ending the comfortable reverie. “So you’re really leaving tomorrow?”

“Yes, I’m sorry I didn’t really tell you the truth. I didn’t think it was going to matter.” Melanie said. “I’m going home to Philly.”

“Permanently?” Mike asked. It embarrassed him how much he wanted her to say no.

She hesitated for a second, letting out a heavy breath. “Yes. That’s the plan anyway. I graduated a couple weeks ago, and there’s no reason I can’t do my residency back home. There’s nothing for me here anymore, especially with Dee getting engaged. I won’t even have a roommate.”

“Makes sense,” Mike answered, absentmindedly gliding his fingers up and down her bare ribs.

“For the record, I wish I would have met you a year ago or something. Maybe we would have had a chance at this.” Her voice was quiet and honest.

“Everything happens for a reason,” Mike responded. It may have been cliché, but it was something he truly believed in. Winning the Stanley Cup the season after his devastating trade had made him a believer in a bigger plan. He thought that maybe that was ridiculous, but he still believed it. “We’ll have dinner the next time a road trip brings me that way. Dinner for real. I still owe you that.”

“Sounds good, Mikey.” He hated the nickname less every time she said it. “And hey, I’ll need a plus one for the wedding, whenever it happens.”

“It’s a date,” Mike smiled.

For the next two hours, neither bothered to get up, and they barely spoke. This girl was different. He knew it now, without any doubt. He knew this wasn't the last he was going to see of her. His heart was heavy with the disappointment that she was leaving, but a small something was nagging from his gut, telling him that this would work itself out.

Around one in the afternoon, Mike finally had to leave. He needed to go home to prepare for that night’s game. He gathered his clothing, successfully this time, and Melanie walked him out to the porch. As he got into his SUV, and began to pull away from the curb, his last glance at Melanie was her leaning against the railing of her steps, a small smile on her freckled face.

The tires of the car carried him smoothly down the road as the sun shone through the vehicle’s open windows. For the first time ever, Mike Richard’s simultaneously appreciated everything Philly had given him, and everything Los Angeles had yet to show him.