Paula Stokes - The Art of Lainey

Micah stops at the fence and turns to wait for me. “Come on. You can do it.”

I lengthen my stride. I don’t look back. I can’t. I keep plunging straight ahead, toward Micah. Toward freedom. He laces his fingers together and holds out his hands to give me a boost. I don’t think I need it but the gesture makes my heart tense up and then go weak. If Micah gets caught trespassing, he’ll be in violation of his probation. He risked everything to indulge me in some silly celebrity fantasy and now he’s risking everything again so I don’t get caught.

My right foot lands in Micah’s hands. I hear him grunt as I lift off and manage to grab the top of the fence. I twist my body around and fall to the ground on the other side. Micah’s halfway up the fence but the beefy guys have caught up to us. One of them has Micah by the ankle. He kicks out with his foot.

“Let him go!” I yell. I grab a stick from the edge of the trees and poke at No Neck Two who now has ahold of Micah’s jeans. The guy swears. Micah wriggles out of his grasp and falls to the ground beside me. We take off running, back through the trees and down the alley. All the way back to the parking lot of The Devil’s Doorstep where the Beast is parked.

I skid to a stop in front of the car. I’m hyperventilating, half from the run and half from the shock of almost getting caught.

“I thought we were going to get arrested,” Micah says. His hands are shaking so bad he can barely get the car doors open. We both slide into the Beast and press the door locks.

I slink down in my seat, even though the parking lot is still deserted. “I thought we were going to get pounded into a pulp! Those guys meant business.”

“Who the hell was calling you this early?”

“My mom, of course. We Mitchells have impeccable timing.”

“Is she going to be pissed that you didn’t answer?” he asks.

“Probably, but who cares? I saw Caleb freaking Waters. How cool is that?” I scroll through the photos on my phone. “And I’ve got pictures! Bianca is going to die when she sees these.”

“You two have issues,” Micah teases. “But I’m glad you enjoyed it since I almost had a heart attack.”

Smiling, I shush him just long enough to listen to my mom’s voice mail message.

“Lainey. Hi, I know you said you were at Kendall’s, and you probably just fell back to sleep, but I did a reading for you with my breakfast tea and the leaves indicated you might be in some kind of danger. I know you’re not a believer like me, but I just had to call once more and check on you. Please humor your mom and call me back when you get this.”

I quickly call her back.

“Lainey!” My mom sounds out of breath when she answers. “I’m so glad you’re all right. Are you still at Kendall’s?”

“Uh, I actually went by Denali and ran into Micah so we’re just talking right now.” I feel a twinge of guilt, even though technically everything I said was true. “I’ll be home soon.”

“Promise me you’ll be careful.”

“Promise. Love you.” I turn to Micah as I slide my phone back into my purse. “You will not believe this,” I say. “You know how my mom reads tea leaves? She just did a reading for me and it indicated I was in danger.”

His jaw drops a little. “That is creepy.” He slides the key into the ignition and turns the Lainey playlist back on. It’s one of the Bottlegrate songs we heard at the concert. The frantic drumbeat perfectly matches my pounding heart.

“I know. That dude had you by your jeans . . .” My mind starts replaying the whole adventure like I’m watching a movie. A really amazing movie, where the lead actor is neither tall nor tan, but is still an insanely hot hero guy. I turn toward Micah. “Thank you. I still can’t believe you did that for me. You could’ve gotten in so much trouble.”

He shrugs. “Hey, big risks, big rewards, you know?”

I can’t stop staring at how the rising sun back-lights his slender form, at how his mohawk casts a funny shadow on the dashboard. I reach out for him without thinking, running one finger across his pierced eyebrow and then the back of my hand along his jaw. “What sort of rewards were you hoping for?” I ask softly.

Micah reaches up and curls his hand around mine. “This is enough.” His voice catches. “Seeing you so excited.”

My whole body goes weak. “What if it’s not enough for me?” My other hand cups his chin, a hint of beard stubble prickling against my fingertips. I lean toward him, aligning my face with his. My chest caves with each breath.

His whole body is radiating heat. Even though I’ve been kissed hundreds of times by Jason, somehow this moment feels different, as if no one has ever touched me. I let my eyes flutter closed. I know exactly how far Micah is away from me. I know exactly how many seconds it will take for our lips to meet.

Our foreheads touch first. The song ends and a new one comes on. “Wake Up Dreaming”—the song Amber’s band was playing the night I first wanted this to happen.

Micah reaches out and turns the volume all the way down.

“Leave it on,” I say.

He turns it halfway back up. The violins meld with the guitar. My heart does a somersault in my chest.

“I have to tell you something.” His words mix with my breath.

“Yeah?” My eyes are still closed.

“I never got back together with Amber, okay? I thought about it, but I realized I was just thinking the same as you—like why fight the natural order of things?”

“Trinity told you about that little conversation, huh?” I slide my hand around to cradle the back of his neck. So close. The music starts to build.

“She’s my sister. She tells me all kinds of stuff.” His cheek grazes mine. Our noses brush. “And then I didn’t want to rush into a rebound thing.”

“Me neither.” The violins and guitars swell to a crescendo. Once again, every beat is punctuated with the image of Micah and me kissing.

“But then I realized I’m not rushing, if I’ve wanted this for weeks.”

My heart feels huge in my chest. “Me too,” I say. And then: “Shh.”

“Sorry, I just want to make sure I don’t mess this up.”

My eyes flick open for a second. I grip Micah’s neck and pretend to strangle him. “Just stop talking for five minutes, okay?” I let my eyelids fall shut again. Without waiting for an answer, I close the distance between us.

I can feel Micah smile as our lips finally meet. Soft. Warm. He squeezes my fingers gently. His other hand tangles itself in my hair. My whole body trembles. I exhale hard against his chin.

“Damn, girl,” he murmurs, tightening his hold on me. His tongue tastes my lips and then finds the inside of my mouth.

I press myself toward him, willing him to kiss me harder. And he does. The Beast’s gearshift threatens to poke a hole in my hip, but I don’t care. The car starts to fade away. The whole world goes hazy. Micah lifts me over the center console until I’m half in his lap. We stay locked together until we both run out of breath.

Then he kisses his way up my jawbone and flicks his tongue across my earlobe. “I hate to bring this up, but your mom’s not going to call the cops or anything if you don’t show up at home soon, is she?”

“Nah.” I wrap my arms around his neck and adjust myself so we’re both comfortable. “I figure I’ve got at least a couple hours before she starts worrying again.”

“Mmm.” He trails his lips down the other side of my neck. “I like the sound of that, as long as you’re sure you won’t get grounded.”

“Who cares?” I twine my fingers in his mohawk. “It’d totally be worth it.”

“You are the biggest rule-breaker ever.” Micah shakes his head and then pulls me close again. Our mouths move hot against each other as his hands explore my face and hair and back. I don’t know how long we kiss, but when we finally break apart, the music is over, the windows are white with fog and the soft drumbeats of a summer rainstorm pound the roof above our heads.