The Secret of Ella and Micha (The Secret 1)

The lyrics and music of "Behind Blue Eyes" by The Who is blasting from the stereo in Micha's room next door. It's his sad mood song, the one he lets play over and over again when he's depressed.

The lights aren't on in the house, but the one in the garage shines brightly into the night. Sticking out of the open door is the back end of his Chevelle. There's a large dent in the bumper that wasn't there when he left and a scratch on the corner of the fender.

Walking down the steps the concrete is ice-cold against my bare feet. I spot him through the window of the garage, searching the shelf for something with a cigarette in his mouth. I watch him move, my pulse instantly speeding up, and I have to work to keep breathing.

As he pulls away from the shelf with a box in his hand, he turns his head toward the window, like he senses me out here. Our eyes lock and collide. He sets the box down and disappears out of my view.

A few seconds later he walks out of the garage. His jeans ride low on his hips and the porch light hits his chest, highlighting his well-defined muscles and the cursive font of the tattoo on his rib.

"When did you start smoking again?" I inquire from my driveway.

He takes the cigarette out of his mouth with his eyes on me. "I slipped up a few days ago... There's just too much going on, I guess."

I take a few small steps across the driveway and my heart thuds in my chest. "Is it because of your dad?"

Micha reaches the grass, just before the fence divides our houses. "How do you know about that?"

I stop just short of the fence and wrap my arms around myself to keep warm. "Ethan told me."

He shakes his head, annoyed. "He's worse than a girl."

"Hey." I feign offense, attempting to lighten his mood. "Not all girls are bad. I've always been an excellent secret keeper. You know that."

He places his hands on the fence and clutches at the links. "I don't know if that's true anymore." He gestures his hand at me. "Maybe this was who you always were. Maybe this place was just getting in the way of you."

He's upset and I need to get to the bottom of why. "You could have told me about your dad."

"Could I of?" The front of his thighs push against the fence. "I don't think you can handle it right now - you can barely handle your own problems."

I reduce the small gap left between the fence and myself. "Try me."

His eyes examine my face, looking for something deep within me. Then his head falls down, defeated, and he lets out a slow breath. "It was almost as painful as that day you ran off. I mean, he has a whole other f**king family...." His voice cracks and he clears his throat. "Like we weren't good enough or something."

The ache in his voice nearly kills me. I close my eyes and tell myself I can do this - that I'm the strong one at the moment. My eyes open and I put my finger under his chin, forcing him to look at me. His eyes are glassy, like he's about to cry, and he tries to look away. I place an unsteady hand on his cheek and maintain his gaze.

"I know it hurts right now," I say, grappling my voice even. "But it will get better. It'll just take some time and I'll be here for you this time. I promise."

He looks unconvinced. Not knowing what else to say, I stand on my tiptoes, lean over the fence, and lightly graze my lips across his. Heat caresses my mouth and skin.

"I need you right now," Micha murmurs against my lips with so much desire in his eyes that my knees buckle. "I need this right now."

His hand cups around the back of my neck, much gentler than the intensity in his voice, and he crashes my body against his. He tempts me with a soft brush of his lips and every ounce of sexual tension between us explodes. I can't help myself - I fall into him.

My lips part willingly, lost in the mind-numbing moment as he slips his tongue deep inside my mouth, devouring me thoroughly. He tastes like cigarettes mingled with mint and the scent of his cologne is intoxicating.

My hands trace up the front of his bare chest, and I loop my arms around his neck. The links of the fence dig into my skin as we crush it between our bodies, trying to bury ourselves into one another. Micha pulls away for a second and my lips falter in protest, but he lifts me up over the fence and encourages my legs around his waist. My inner thighs burn as they graze his hips. Every part of him touches me and it makes my body flame. I arch into him, moaning as his lips return to mine even more ravenously.

"Oh my God, this feels so good." He groans, before heading toward his house.

"What are you doing?" I whisper against his lips, knowing where he's going, but I'm not sure I'm ready for it yet.

"Shh..." His warm tongue slips deep inside my mouth and I forget about arguing.

His hands hold me up by the ass as he kicks the back door open and stumbles into his kitchen. He knocks over a lamp and bumps into the wall as he carries me blindly down the hall and into his room. Then we collapse on the bed, tangled together. The music is loud and he reaches over to the stereo and turns it down so it filters through the room softly.

"Ow," I squeal, squirming. "Something just poked me."

"I'm pretty sure that's supposed to happen," Micha jokes with feral eyes.

I swat his chest and reach underneath me, retrieving a drumstick. He snatches it from my hand, laughing softly as he chucks it over his shoulder and it lands somewhere in the dark.

His face turns serious as he smoothes my hair back, looking into my eyes so passionately, my nerves crack through. "Do you know I realized I loved you when we were like sixteen? But I didn't want to tell you because I was afraid you'd run away."

I prop up on my elbows, making our faces inches away. Strands of his hair hang in my face. "But I was normal back then. Or at least partly normal."

He lets his forehead rest against mine. "Yeah, but I thought that's how things were supposed to happen when people were in love."

I realize how bad I must have hurt him when I ran off after he tried to tell me he loved me. "Micha, I'm sorry."

His jaw spasms and he tips his head back up. When he kisses me again, it feels different somehow - more intimate. My apprehension starts to emerge, but I choke it down and let my head fall back against the pillow. His lips follow mine and he kisses all the fear out of me. My chest presses into his as my neck arches against his trail of kisses along my skin, sucking and nipping at it all the way down.

"Fuck," he groans when his mouth reaches the curve of my breast. The fabric of my tank top is thin and I don't have a bra on. Hesitantly, his tongue lightly slides between my br**sts. Instantly, my ni**les harden and an irrepressible moan escapes from my lips as desire takes over my body.