Chapter 16
AVA
Childhood memories were the best ones to bask in.
There was something magical about them; it was as if they still carried the naivety with which we used to see the world.
Micah’s tree house was the perfect example of it.
These walls held the memories of a lonely boy who longed to fit in, his hopes and dreams, and the longing for his father to accept him.
I touched the wood and was surprised at how smooth it felt.
A great deal of love was put into this project.
The inside was still in pristine condition.
Micah held it close to his heart, and that made me ache for him in a way I hadn’t before.
Once again, I hated myself for letting this tragedy be the catalyst that got us together.
“It’s cozy up here,” I told Micah after a while.
He looked around the tree house with a bittersweet smile on his lips.
“It’s insulated. Guess my uncle knew I would want to keep coming in here…even in the winter.”
I instantly wrapped my arms around him. Micah had faced many tragedies in his younger years, and with the pressure his father put on him, I was in awe of the man he had become.
He needed a break, but he had the misfortune of being in this mess with the rest of us.
I knew what-ifs were pointless, but I couldn’t help but think that if Micah had been supported by his dad, he wouldn’t be living the nightmare we were.
He deserved to live peacefully, and it might make me a bitch, but I was happy that at least he was together in it with me—with us.
“I could get lost up here,” I told him. “It’s like the outside problems don’t matter in this place.”
I took a moment to lie down and noticed the ceiling was covered in stars.
My throat constricted at the thought of his uncle pouring the last bit of effort he had to give this world into this place, all for Micah.
It was tragic and sad that it got to that point, but at the same time, this tree house held beauty.
“That’s how I feel every time I come up here,” Micah admitted. “I would spend hours in here… I feel like I could have stayed here the whole night, and my father wouldn’t have cared.”
There was a sad little laugh at the end of Micah’s sentence. He felt the need to minimize the damage that was inflicted on him, but he made it seem like a joke.
I turned to my side and focused on Micah. He was still staring up at the stars, tracing each one with his eyes. I wondered if he had a memory for each constellation etched on the ceiling.
“Micah…” His name left my lips with a longing I had no idea had been burning through me. He turned to look at me, and the air in the small space shifted. I licked my lips, and I felt his gaze as I did so. “I care.”
He sucked in a breath. There was so much to unpack with those two words. It was a declaration that held so much more weight than they conveyed.
Micah leaned closer toward me, his chest rising and falling faster than before. In no time, our lips touched, and I could no longer deny the want that had been building between us.
The kiss was an inferno, something that consumed us. It was unrestrained, passionate, filled with the longing of something more…something better…something that could break us and remake us.
Micah’s hand wrapped around my waist as he pulled me closer to his body. I used the opportunity to straddle him.
The moment I could feel just how much he wanted me, all hell broke loose. I rolled my hips while Micah’s hands came to grip my waist.
“You’re so fucking beautiful,” he stated as he began to lift my blouse.
One second, I was straddling him, and the next, I was under him. We stared into each other’s eyes for about two seconds before we started to tear at each other’s clothes.
I kissed any bit of skin I came in contact with, and so did he. It was like we were in a race that we had been running toward for years.
I was down to my panties. Micah’s fingers hooked on either side of my hips when, with half-mast eyes, he looked down at me.
He looked like a fallen angel from my point of view.
His hair was messy from where my fingers had run through it, and beads of perspiration covered his forehead and neck.
From this angle, I could really appreciate his build—light-toned muscles in all the right places.
“Are you sure?” he asked in a husky tone.
My nod was slow but sure, and when I lifted my hips, he removed the last piece of clothing on my body.
It was different this time, being under him like this. There was no one else but the two of us. I wasn’t saying that what had happened between Cruz and us had been a mistake because it wasn’t. But this time, it was just between us… It was right, and it was time.
“Your turn,” I taunted breathlessly as I lay naked before him.
There was something so sexy about seeing the want Micah had for me reflected in his gaze. He didn’t take his eyes off me as he removed his boxers. I couldn’t say the same for me. The moment his dick sprang free, I couldn’t help but look at it.
He was long, thick, and leaking precum.
While I was checking him out, he was going through his wallet.
The grin he flashed me as he unwrapped the condom was cute, with a hint of boyish charm, and totally Micah.
I felt a sudden jolt of jealousy at the thought of him doing this with other girls, but I knew how irrational that was, so I quickly let it go from my mind.
Moments ago, we couldn’t wait to fuck each other, and now everything was moving in slow motion as Micah leaned over me. With one of his hands, he lifted my right leg as he positioned himself at my entrance. Anticipation was coursing through me.
“Fuck, Ava,” he groaned as he began to slide the tip in.
I couldn’t help the soft moan that escaped my lips. I was so fucking turned on, and he wasn’t even inside of me yet. A few kisses and months of longing, and I was more than ready for him.
I wrapped my arms around his shoulders as I leaned up to meet his lips, causing him to slip faster inside of me. It was as if he were punishing me for all the time I had kept him in the friend zone.
“Micah,” I groaned desperately.
“Hmm.”
I could feel his smile against my neck. It should have pissed me off, but it turned me on even more. I liked discovering this new, sexy, playful side to Micah. A side I now felt only belonged to me.
“It’s been a while… I need you so bad.”
That was all it took for him to break.