Ella

The next day is lighter somehow, like I've been buried in the sand and someone has finally dug me out. Micha seems happier too, although I can tell he's still hurting, so I work on keeping his mind distracted.

"So what did you do to it?" I ask Micha as I circle the back end of his car with my hands on my hips, taking in the scratches and dings in the black paint, which look worse in the sunlight.

"I took it for a very intense joy ride." A lazy grin stretches across his face as he puts his head beneath the hood to examine the engine.

I plant my butt on the edge where he's working and cross my leg over my knee. "At least tell me you won? And that the scratches and dings were totally worth it."

"Of course. They're always worth it," he says with a hidden meaning that only the two of us could ever understand.

Gripping the edge, I lean back over the engine and give him a peck on the cheek. He grins, tosses a greasy rag onto the ground, and pinches my ass. A squeak comes out of my mouth as I jump from the pinch and fall toward the engine. Pushing myself back up, I get grease all over my arms and backside. I hop off the hood, trying to clean the grease off with my hands, but it's only making a bigger mess.

Micha laughs at me as he retrieves a new tool box from the top shelf. "That's a good look for you."

I stick out my tongue and turn to leave.

"Where are you going?" he asks.

I hold up my greasy hands. "Thanks to you, I have to go take a shower and wash my clothes."

A wicked look dances in his eyes. "I have grease all over me to. I think I may need to come in there with you."

My stomach flips thinking about last night. I keep backing up toward my house with my eyes on him. "I'll tell you what. If you can catch me, you can shower with me."

His eyes scroll my body as he sucks his lip ring in between his teeth. "Is that a challenge, pretty girl?"

I try not to smile as I exit the garage into the sunlight, but it's too much and my lips turn upward. I take off toward my house and his footsteps head after me. I jump the fence gracefully, but by the time I reach the back door, his arms are circling my waist. He spins me around and picks me up effortlessly. Hooking my legs around his waist, he opens the door and gets us into the kitchen.

He glances around the room and cocks an eyebrow. "Is Lila here?"

I shake my head slowly. "She's with Ethan."

"What about your dad?"

"He went to work."

His aqua eyes darken and I can't help but kiss him. I feel him walking, traveling somewhere as our tongues entwine together. I run my fingers through his hair grabbing onto as much of him as possible, shutting my fear away and basking in the moment.

Without breaking his lips away from mine, he carries me into the downstairs bathroom. When I hear the shower water turn on, I pull my lips away from his. Before I can ask what he's doing, he sets me down underneath the warm water.

I let out a scream as my clothes are drenched.

"See, this way you're washing your clothes and taking a shower at the same time." He grins and tips the showerhead down so it hits more of me.

I seize the front of his T-shirt and yank him forward, so he stumbles into the running water. He braces his hands on the walls, and water sprays over his hair and drips down his face.

I smile at him innocently and allow the water to stream down my body. "Now you're all clean too."

He shakes his head, then shoves away from the wall and jumps all the way into the shower with me. He shuts the curtain and seals us inside the steam. His jeans and T-shirt are sopping wet and beads of water drip into his eyes. I run my hand across his forehead over a spot of grease and then through his hair. He aims the shower head down on me and I tip my head back into the flow. He combs his fingers through my hair sensually and his other hand comes down on the wall behind me as he gathers some of my hair into his hand. Pulling at the roots, he leads me toward him for a deep, watery kiss. Steam surrounds us and makes the passion inside my body ignite.

Panic starts screaming inside my head, but I tell it to shut up and suck the water off his lips as I find the bottom of his shirt to lift it over his head. He pulls back and helps me out, slipping it off and tossing it to the side, instantly reuniting his lips with mine. My fingers trace along the lines of his muscles and the pattern of the tattoo on his rib cage; the lyrics to the first song he ever wrote.

His hands explore my hips, my waist, then up my shirt. Finally, I just take it off for him and then he unhooks my bra. Our bare chests crash together as we continue to kiss underneath the hot water. Minutes later, the rest of our clothes are in a pile by our feet and I can hardly think straight. The way he touches me, kisses me - nothing has ever felt like this before.

He sucks on my breast and licks the water off my skin on my bare stomach, continuing to go down until his tongue finds the right spot. I fall back against the wall as a scream claws up my throat and I lose total control over my body.

This time I don't mind.

Micha

After Ella comes apart, I turn the water off and grab a towel off the hook. She raises her arms above her head, keeping her eyes on me as I wrap the towel around her.

"What?" I ask her, because I can tell she's thinking deeply about something.

"Nothing." She shrugs casually, but her cheeks turn a little pink. "It's just that if I would have known all along that it felt that good, I probably wouldn't have fought it so hard."

"Well, I'm glad you think I'm that good," I tease her snatching another towel and tying it around my waist.

She nibbles on her lip apprehensively as she crosses her arms and rests back against the wall.

"Alright, pretty girl," I demand. "What are you thinking about?"

She lets her lip pop free. "It just doesn't seem fair that I'm the one that gets to have all the fun."

I try not to get too excited, because let's face it, she's a runner. "I'm sure I'll have plenty of fun by myself later."

She reaches forward hesitantly and yanks the towel off my waist.

"That was smooth," I say, gripping the edge of the counter, fighting to stay calm.

Her eyes travel over my body. "I learned from the best." She runs her fingers softly along my swollen cock, making me harder than I already am.

"Fuck, Ella," I say, leaning back against the door and letting go.

Ella

I have no idea what the hell came over me and I'm not going to over analyze it. I can finally breathe again and that's all that matters. Letting things take their course might be exactly what we both need.

Micha wraps a towel around his waist looking happier than I've ever seen him. He kisses me, sucking my bottom lip gently into his mouth, before pulling away and staring into my eyes. "You're so beautiful."

Smiling, I stare down at our wet clothes balled up in the corner. "Now what do we do?"

He licks his lips and braces his hands on the wall, trapping my head between his arms. "We could do it again."

I swat his chest, pretending that he's being silly, even though I do want to do it again. "I mean how do we get out of here? Our clothes are soaking wet and I'm not putting mine back on."

He shrugs and leans away. "No one's home so keep the towel on you and run upstairs."

I eye over his lean chest. "Yeah, but what about you?"

"You can go get me some clothes after you get dressed... if you want to." His lips tug into a flirty grin.

I start to say something, but the back door slams shut and Lila and Ethan's voices float from the kitchen.

"Well, there goes that plan," Micha says with laughter in his tone.

I tighten the towel around me and we wait for them to leave, but after a while, it's clear they're not going anywhere.

"I'll go out there," Micha says and heads for the door.

I pull him back by the arm. "You're in a towel."

"Obviously."

"But they'll see you and know something was up."

He cocks his head to the side, his eyes scrutinizing me. "Is that a bad thing?"

I hug my arms around myself. "No, it's just that... what are we going to tell them we were doing?"

"I'm sure they'll figure it out," he says. "Why is this upsetting you?"

"It's not," I reply, deciding to just be honest. "It's just that... this is like the realest thing I've had in a long time and it scares me a bit."

He tucks a strand of my damp hair out of my eyes. "I know it does, but you'll be okay - we'll be okay."

I nod quickly and then move away from the wall, straightening my shoulders. "Are you coming back after you change?"

He plants a kiss on my forehead. "Where else would I go?"

I move out of his way and he walks out the door in his towel, like he's not embarrassed at all. He leaves the door cracked behind him and seconds later I hear the sound of Lila's shocked voice followed by the laughter of Ethan. A few seconds later footsteps head my way.

"Oh Ella," Lila says through the crack in the door. "Can I come in?"

Holding the towel on, I open the door about half way. "Could you go get me some clothes, please? Mine are soaking wet."

She covers her mouth, stifling her laughter. "Sure. I'll be right back."

She comes back with a pair of red shorts and a grey tank top. I get dressed and we meet Micha and Ethan out in the garage. Micha's wearing a pair of loose fitted jeans and his favorite Pink Floyd t-shirt, and he tries not to smirk when he sees me, but Ethan doesn't hold back.

"Have fun this morning?" he asks me and I punch him in the arm.

"Ow," he fakes hurt and then glances down at the engine. "Dude, you ripped this thing to shit. What the fuck did you do to it?"

"I took it down to Taylor Bay and drag raced it," he says with a shrug. "I guess I pushed it too hard."

"Then where'd the dents come from?" I question, peering underneath the hood.

"I had an unfortunate run in with another car," he says, with a twinkle in his eye as he captures my gaze. "But I still won."

Ethan sighs and slams the hood shut. "Get in and we'll take it to the shop."

We pile into the car and Micha drives it up on the grass to maneuver it around Ethan's truck parked in the center of the driveway. We drive down the road toward the shop holding hands over the console, listening to Lila and Ethan chat about their day, something so simple, but so meaningful.

When Micha pauses at a stop sign, Mikey's cherry red Camaro rolls up to the side of us. He points at Micha's car and then one of his friends mockingly waves.

"Fucking asshole," Ethan mutters from the backseat.

I roll down the window. "Is there a problem?"

Mikey laughs and aims a finger at the hood. "What'd ya do to that poor thing? It sounds like it's dying."

"It sounds a lot better than your piece of shit car on a good day," I retort, sitting up and sticking my head out the window.

"Ella," Lila says from the backseat, shocked.

"Let her go," Ethan says. "She's very entertaining when she gets this way."

Mikey's greasy black hair shines in the sun as he pokes his head out of the car. "You can keep talking, but it ain't going to do no good since you're both too chicken shit to race me. You guys proved that at the last race."

"Only because your small size was unimpressive," I say with an innocent bat of my eyelashes.

That pisses him off. He jumps out of the car and Micha pulls me back in and leans over the console, resting an arm around my shoulder protectively, knowing that Mikey's the kind of guy that would hit a girl. Mikey glances up the street before crouching down next to the door.

"If you two think you're so tough then prove it," he says with a venomous tone. "The Back Road, nine o'clock."

"I'm pretty sure she already explained to you that your car isn't worth our time," Micha says evenly. "So back the fuck off and get back in your car."

"The Back Road, nine o'clock," he repeats slowly before backing away and climbing into his car. "And I'm sure with the noises your car's making, it should be a pretty fair race."

He revs his engine, proving something, before speeding off through the intersection, leaving tire marks on the asphalt.

"What a jerk," Lila says from the backseat. "Getting in your face like that - who does that?"

I turn to Micha with a guilty face. "I'm sorry."

He delicately sketches his finger along my lips and sighs. "It's okay. We'll figure something out... Besides you can make it up to me later."

"We can't fix your car that fast, man." Ethan leans over the console, shoving the sleeves of his black shirt up to his elbows, revealing several tattoos on his arms. "It's nowhere close to being in racing condition."

"I know," Micha replies and starts driving again. "I guess we'll just have to go in there blind."

"It could fall apart if you push it too hard," Ethan cautions. "Then you'd be back to square one with it."

"Wait a minute." Lila holds up her hands in front of her. "You guys aren't seriously going to race him, are you?"

"We have to," Ethan and Micha say at the same time.

Lila glances at me for an explanation. "Why?"

Ethan slumps back in the seat and brings his knee up as he turns to Lila. "It's how things work around here. If we don't, then we'll get hounded for it for the rest of our lives."

"Okay..." Lila says jolting in the seat as the car hits a pothole. "What's wrong with that?"

Ethan rifles for a way to explain it to her, brushing his dark hair out of his eyes. "It'd be like getting picked on every day in school by everyone in the school."

Lila tucks her hands under her legs. "That doesn't sound very fun."

"Exactly, so you can understand why we have to race." He folds his arms and directs his attention back to Micha. "Go to the shop, man and we'll see what we can get fixed before it's time to go."

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