| PART 10 I’m in the kitchen making Michael his birthday breakfast. I couldn’t find anything worthy enough for him, but I do have some things for him. I just hope he likes them. Arms wrap around my waist. I smile and lean against his chest. “What are you doing?” he whispers seductively in my ear. I turn around and push him back into the bedroom. He smiles as I push him onto the bed. “This is more like it.” I smile and climb on top of him. He grabs my hips to pull me closer. I take his hands and restrain them above his head. I lean into him and trail my tongue over his neck. He moans. I gently bite his neck and slowly travel up to his ear. I swerve my tongue around his lobe lightly blowing in his ear. “Lay back and let me do all the work,” I say huskily. I take his lips with mine. I hear him growl as he tries to loosen his hands from mine. I pull away and shake my head. “Don’t even think about,” I say. I see his eyes fill with desire. I climb off of him and he asks, “And where do you think you’re going?” I smile mischievously and say, “To finish breakfast. I’m starving.” He flops back and groans, “You’re killing me.” I shrug my shoulders and reply, “I need my strength to finish what I started.” He’s about to jump out of bed but I stop him by saying, “Don’t. I want you to wait for me just like that.” He lies back down and says, “If you put it that way. Just hurry up.” I smile and shake my head. “I like it when it’s slow.” I hear him groan as I retreat to the kitchen to finish making breakfast. I take two plates full of Michael’s favorites. I place them on a tray and carry it into the bedroom. I place the tray over Michael’s lap and run back to retrieve the missing items. He gives me a look of surprise. “Why did you do this?” I smile and lightly touch my lips to his. I shrug; I don’t want to let on that I knew his birthday was today, at least until I give him his presents. Knowing him he will make it impossible for me to pamper him. “To show you how much I… I….” He strokes my cheek and says, “I know how you feel about me. I know when you’re ready you’ll tell me.” My eyes tear up and I say, “I’m sorry, I know how I feel. I don’t know why I can’t say it. I just want you to know how special you are to me.” He moves the tray to the night table and pulls me in his lap. “You show me how you feel every day, baby. I know you love me. I also know how much it scares you to express it through words.” I smile and kiss him softly at first and then it turns more intense. I pull away unwillingly and say, “Eat first, kiss later.” He nods and I crawl off his lap as he places the tray over his legs. He furrows his eyebrows as he looks for something. I smile holding up a bottle of Tabasco sauce and say, “Is this what you’re looking for?” He smirks and reaches for it. I tease him by pulling it out of his reach for a while until my stomach growls. He raises his eyebrow and says, “Hungry?” I roll my eyes, open the Tabasco, and pour some on his plate. He smiles, pick up his fork and takes a bite. “Oh my God, Liz. This is so good.” I smile. I’m glad he likes it; I never made crepes before so I was a little nervous. When we finish eating, I take the tray and tell Michael, “You stay because in a minute I’m about to keep my promise.” He nods and I head for the kitchen. I wash and put away the dishes. I take the chicken out of the freezer, season it and place it in the refrigerator so it can marinate. I make my way back to the bedroom. I softly laugh when I see Michael spraying whip cream and shaking Tabasco sauce in his mouth. He glances at me and shows me his mouth full of fluffy red cream. I shake my head and slowly saunter over to him. I grab the can of whipped cream and say, “I have other ideas for this.” His eyes sparkle at my remark. I shake the can and spray some over his chest. I lie beside him and run my tongue over his chest catching the cream before it melts. I spray some more on his stomach as I suck and lick until he’s clean. He growls and pulls me up to him kissing me with such force and love. He lifts my t-shirt over my head and I crash my lips to his. I push his boxers down as far as I can. He rolls us over and I help him push his boxers off the rest of the way with my feet. He takes my breast into his mouth and I lean into him. He slips my underwear off and returns to my mouth. I situate my hips until he is at my entrance. I wrap my legs around him and push him into me. We both groan at the initial contact. We move together slowly. I can feel the love pouring off of him. I wrap my arms around him and kiss him. I never want to lose him. We turn over so that I’m on top. I rotate my hips bringing pleasure to both of us. As I feel myself near the brink, I lean into him holding him close while we still move. As we both tumble over the edge, I whisper, “I love you.” My heart is beating fast. He looks into my eyes and says, “I love you too.” I roll off of him and lean against him. I can’t believe I said it. It feels like a burden has been lifted off my shoulders, but I’m scared at the same time. Michael scoots down and lays his head on my chest. I languidly run my fingers through his hair, every so often kissing the crown of his head. I can feel him sleeping. I have never seen anyone so peaceful. It’s hard to imagine that this is the same person who would wake up screaming from nightmares. I give up on fighting sleep and succumb to it. I wake up to the feeling of nausea. I gently move Michael and sprint to the bathroom. I rinse my mouth out and look at myself in the mirror. I smile. I turn to the bathtub, turn on the hot water, and stroll over to the bed. Michael opens one eye at me and says, “Come back to bed.” “You don’t want to sleep the whole day away now do you?” “Why not? We closed the Crashdown, so what else is there to do?” “If you have to ask that, then my feelings are hurt.” He pulls me to him and says, “You know what I mean.” I lean my head on his shoulder and sigh. “I know. Come on. Let’s take a bath.” He narrows his eyes at me and says, “I’m beginning to think you’re spoiling me.” I kiss him on his nose and say, “Do you have a problem with that?” He chuckles. “No, but I should be the one spoiling you.” I get off the bed and grab his hand. “You do everyday. Today is your day.” I lead him to the bathroom and turn the water off. I test it and say, “Is this temperature good for you?” He sticks his hand in the water and smiles. “Now it is.” I step in and offer my hand to him. He takes it and joins me in the tub. He sits down and I sit behind him. I take a washcloth and pour some soap on it. I sponge him down feeling the intimacy this simply act causes. Michael moans, “What did I do to deserve this kind of treatment?” I smile as I wet his hair and rub shampoo in my heads. I lather it into his hair gently massaging his scalp. I kiss his neck. “Nothing. I just felt you deserved a day just for you.” I rinse the soap off of him and step out of the tub. I grab a towel and wait for him to leave the tub. When he does I wrap the towel around him and slowly dry off every place on him. I dry myself off and take his hand. I lead him back to the room and dig out a pair of boxers for him and one of his t-shirts for me. I escort him into the living room and seat him on the couch. “I want you to watch TV while I cook dinner.” He is about to object but I say, “How many times am I going to have to say that this is your day. Enjoy it.” I walk into the kitchen and prepare dinner. When I finish, I stand in the doorway of the living room and say, “Dinner’s ready.” He looks up at me and smiles. “It smells great.” He stands up and I take his hand to usher him into the kitchen. He gasps and I smile at his reaction. I pull out a chair for him and he sits down. He stares at a blank envelope in front of him. “What is this?” I drag a chair next to him and sit down. “I have a confession to make.” He turns to me giving me a questioning look. “I know today is your birthday.” I place my index finger over his lips to stop him from speaking. “Let me talk first.” After I receive a nod from him I continue with, “I know you don’t celebrate your birthday, but I wanted today to be a special day for you. You made me look forward to my birthday and I want to return the favor. I couldn’t find anything deserving of you so I…” I pick up the envelope for him to open. He looks up at me and back down at the piece of paper. “You’ve brought life back into me and the Crashdown and I thought it would be fitting if you owned half of it. I never asked you how you paid off this place, but I appreciate what you did for me. I want to show you my thanks and how much I trust you. You’ve made me feel again, Michael, and I don’t think I’ll ever be able to repay you.” He pulls me to him and says, “You always seem to make me love you more everyday. Thank you.” I reluctantly disentangle myself from him and set the plates down on the table. I still have one more gift to give him, but I don’t know how he’ll react to it. I sit down close to him and take a bite of food. I wrinkle my nose because it tastes like something is missing. I watch him pour Tabasco over his food and scoop some into his mouth. “Mmmm, this is so good.” I smile and pick at my food. He must have noticed this because he asks, “What’s wrong?” I shrug and say, “I don’t know. It just tastes like something is missing.” I unconsciously poke my fork into Michael’s plate and put a piece of Tabasco soaked chicken in my mouth. I can’t believe how good that tastes. I grab the bottle and shake some on my own plate. I sigh as I finish eating. I notice Michael giving me a strange look and he asks, “Is there something you’re not telling me?” |