The Secret of Ella and Micha (The Secret 1)

"Micha, this is who I have to be otherwise I can't breathe. Please just leave it alone. That damn fire might exist, but I want it gone." I spin my back to him, praying he'll listen to me for once, because if he keeps it up, sooner or later I won't be able to resist.

But Micha has never backed down on a challenge in his life.

Chapter 6

Micha

The pain in her eyes nearly kills me. If it were possible, I'd go back in time and stop her from climbing down that tree that God awful night. Maybe then, I'd still have my best friend.

I decide to make a sporadic stop to try and get Ella out of her own head. I park the car in an open space in front of the small coffeehouse located in the heart of town, between the Stop n' Shop and Bubba's Sports Barn. I shut off the engine and wait patiently for her to scold me.

Her face reddens as she takes in where we are. "Micha, I'm really not in the mood for this right now. I have things to do and so does Lila."

"Come on, you haven't seen me play in ages," I coax, using my best seductive voice. "I'll just do one song. In and out and we're done."

"Sounds cool to me," Lila says from the backseat, finally relaxing a little now that we're far away from Grady's trailer. "I love hearing bands and lead singers are always sexy."

"Micha plays the guitar and sings by himself," Ella says with a flicker of possessiveness in her eyes. "He's not a lead singer. He's a solo singer."

"It's all the same to me." Lila pats Ella's head and in a way I think she's making a private joke with her. "Band or not, a guy who can sing and play is hot."

I grin charismatically and incline over the console. "Come on, pretty girl." I wind a strand of her hair around my finger. "You know you want to come in and watch me be all hot and sexy, singing up on the stage. You know you've missed it."

Her eyes narrow at me as she fights back a smile. "You know that voice doesn't work on me. I've seen you use it too many times on too many girls."

"I haven't used it on a girl since you left." I let the truth fall out. I used to come and go as I please with whoever I wanted, but once things started to change with our friendship, it became clear the void I was trying to fill was in her. "And I don't want to use it on anyone - "

She conceals her hand over my mouth. "I'll go in with you, but only if you stop talking about stuff that makes me uncomfortable."

"Wait. What about my car?" Lila scoots forward and fixes her hair using the rearview mirror. "It's getting late. Won't the shop be closed soon?"

I move Ella's hand away from my lips and entwine her fingers with mine. "We'll make it back in time. I promise."

Ella hesitates, staring at the coffeehouse like she's a mouse about to walk into a lion's den.

I squeeze her hand. "Come on, let's go in. You'll be okay."

She looks at our hands, and then her gaze lifts, giving a fleeting glance at my lips before resolving on my eyes. "Is everyone still hanging out here?"

"Kelly and Mike do and Renee and Ethan," I say. "Grantford doesn't really come around here anymore, though."

Her plump lips curl to a grin. "Because you punched him in the face."

"That might be part of it." I return her smile and let go of her hand to climb out of the car. It feels like I might be getting somewhere with her.

She hops out and stretches, arching her back and sticking out her chest. It makes me want to rip off her shirt, pull her in the backseat, and do things to her I've never done with anyone I've cared about before.

"What are you looking at?" She pulls the bottom of her tank top back over her stomach.

She really has no idea how beautiful she is. She never has. Even back in her punk/goth faze, she rocked the look.

I shake my head, unable to take my eyes off her. "Nothing. Just thinkin'."

She slams the door and we head across the packed parking lot. I rest my hand on her lower back, but she wiggles away and sidesteps around Lila, putting her between us.

I frown. Maybe I'm not doing as well as I thought.

Ella

If he keeps looking at me that way, my restraint is going to melt into a puddle of hot, steamy liquid. Micha has the most piercing eyes in the world, aqua blue, like the sea, waved with equal intensity. He's flirty with me, which he used to do jokingly all the time, and I'd play along.

But this is different somehow, more intense and real. It's like he's throwing his heart into the open, which isn't how he used to be. At least with me. Except for the day I left.

The coffeehouse is cramped with people, even for a Saturday afternoon. Every booth and table is occupied and there's a guy with floppy brown hair playing the keyboard on stage, his voice a little off-key. The baristas are working hard on the long line that extends all the way to the door and in the corner, people are working on their laptops.

"Where are we going to sit?" Lila scans the room. "There's no empty tables."

Micha spots Ethan and Renee at a corner table and waves at them. "Seat situation solved," he says, taking my hand and leading the way to them.

Renee is a short girl that wears heavy eyeliner and has dark red hair. Her hazel eyes zone in on Micha's hand tangled with mine. I attempt to pull my hand away, but Micha strengthens his grasp.

"Hey, Ella." She fakes a smile with her dark red lips. "What ya been up to?"

"Nothing much," I keep it simple, because simple is always better with Renee.

"And so we meet again." Ethan flashes a dimpled grin at Lila and pulls out a chair for her. "You decided to stick around here for a while."

Lila looks up at him as she takes a seat. "Thank you. I kind of had to since my car was trashed last night."

Micha drops down in the last empty chair at the table and starts to pull me down to sit on his lap. My eyes sweep the room in search of an extra chair, but it's so packed that people have to stand near the walls.

"I don't bite, Ella May." There is a challenge in Micha's eyes. "Unless you ask me to."

Everyone at the table is watching me. Not wanting to make a scene, I sink down on his lap. Ethan targets Micha with a bewildered look, which Micha ignores and steals a scone out of a basket in the middle of the table.

He pops it into his mouth. "So what time's Open Mic?"

Ethan's dark eyebrows plunge together. "Why? Are you thinking about playing again? Cause' all I can say is it's about freakin' time."

"What do you mean again?" I ask, grabbing a scone myself. "Why hasn't he been playing?"