Chapter Twenty-SixMicah #2
I’m not sure if that is a compliment or a complaint. “Sorry?”
“Don’t be. I needed a jumpstart to my life. I was drowning before I met you. I’d forgotten how it felt to stop and smell the roses.”
“While I love a good metaphor as much as the next person, I’m not sure what this has to do with your parents.”
He pulls into the parking lot of my building and turns the car off, leaving us in a thick silence.
“Apparently my dad had a heart attack almost a year ago, and I had no idea,” he says quietly, shaking his head.
“He could have… He’s okay, though. My mom stayed by him while he recovered, and they figured out that they do actually love each other.
Today was like they were newly married, and I’d never seen them like…
What if he’d died?” He frowns. “What if he’d stayed healthy?
What if they spent their whole lives treating each other like coworkers? ”
I’m honestly amazed he’s kept this to himself all night, with the way it’s clearly bothering him now.
He keeps talking, even though I have so many things I want to say to him. “Before I met you, I was at rock bottom. Worse than that. My business partner, Miranda…” He sighs. “I thought I was in love with her.”
Oh, I don’t like that. Especially when her mature, businessy face pops into my head from my internet search. Of course he was in love with her. She’s exactly the sort of woman a guy like Fischer would go for. She’s very much not like me.
Fischer glances over at me and frowns even deeper.
“ Thought I was in love,” he repeats. He brushes a finger against my cheek.
“I was so wrong. You opened my eyes. It’s not that I’m not capable of love.
I just didn’t know what it looked like until it was staring me in the face with those alluring, forget-me-not blue eyes of yours.
” He pulls his eyebrows together and touches my cheekbone.
“I have never seen eyes like yours. You see me in a way no one ever has before, and…”
My heart leaps into my throat, blocking off my ability to speak. And stupid tears make it really hard for me to see the expression on his face even though I’ve never wanted to see anything more in my life.
“Micah,” he says.
“Kiss me,” I beg.
His mouth finds mine, soft and warm, as his fingers tuck around my neck and pull me closer.
His kiss is so simple, but everything inside me reacts like it’s anything but.
All the butterflies, sparks, fireworks—they’re all there doing a choreographed dance of celebration.
I’ve kissed plenty of men over the years, and many of those kisses were a lot more intense than this one.
But nothing—I repeat, nothing —compares to the way Fischer makes me feel.
He pulls away just enough to end the kiss, pressing his forehead to mine.
“I told you.” I can barely get the words out because he’s left me breathless. “It’s not possible for us to have a bad kiss.”
He laughs softly, brushing my cheek with his thumb. “You’re basing your theory off of one kiss? Though, I’ll admit, it was better than good.”
“Technically two kisses. But you’re right. I probably need more data.”
To my utter delight, he agrees, pressing his lips to mine once again. A shudder runs through me, and Fischer must take that as a sign that I’m cold because he slides his arm under my legs and lifts me up, pulling me into his lap and cradling me close as he continues to kiss me.
I don’t want to rush him, but the more I get, the more I want.
And the steering wheel at my back isn’t exactly my favorite thing.
“Fisch,” I say, hating myself for interrupting what was turning out to be an even more delightful kiss than the last. I glance around us at the cramped space we’re in. “Maybe you should walk me to my door.”
“I’m not going beyond your welcome mat,” he warns me.
“I don’t want you to.” Well, I do want him to.
I want to head to my couch and spend the rest of the night exploring this man’s mouth.
But we both have too much to do before Saturday night, and I have a feeling he needs to take this slowly.
After all, a few days ago he wasn’t sure he believed in love, and now he’s kissing me after basically declaring his feelings for me. He’s made a lot of big steps already.
Pushing open his door, he keeps me in his arms as he climbs out of the car and heads for my apartment. “For the record, I wasn’t planning on kissing you in the car. My moves were going to be a lot better than that.”
“You’re more than welcome to show me.”
He laughs, pauses halfway up the stairs to kiss me, and then continues forward. “I plan to. Within reason.”
“Why must you always be so reasonable? I give you permission to kiss me with reckless abandon.”
When we reach my door, he sets me on my feet and leans down to touch his forehead to mine again.
He’s a bit too tall for a doorstep kiss to be practical, but I am determined to make it work.
“You have no idea how much I want to,” he says, speaking the words airily, like he doesn’t have the strength to put any oomph in them.
As long as his kiss still has oomph , I’ll be happy.
“I never thought I could feel this way about anyone.”
I reach up, running my fingers along his cheek. His skin is scratchy with the beginnings of stubble, as subtly rough as his voice. “What kind of feelings are we talking about, here? Emotional, or physical?”
He chuckles, shaking his head. “How do you always know what I…?” He places his hand over mine, cradling it against his face.
“Anyone else, and this would have driven me crazy. But with you, I don’t want you to stop.
” He twists his head to kiss my palm. “I crave your touch, Micah. I crave your heart. I want to know every part of you, inside and out, and I want you to know every part of me. I don’t want to hide from you, and you have no idea what that means to me. ”
As he bends down and kisses me, I’m pretty sure I do have an idea. But boy, am I going to get a crick in my neck! He growls in frustration, clearly thinking the same thing as his hands wrap around my waist to try to pull me higher. “Why are you so tiny?”
Wrapping my arms around his neck, I lift myself up and tuck my legs around his waist. Thank goodness for weekend Pilates with my stepmom so I still have some cheerleading muscle. “Hi,” I say now that we’re closer to the same height.
He laughs, the sound echoing down the hall, and then he captures my mouth with his own and gives me the best kiss of my life.
I am never going to get enough of that.