My Ten-Year Crush by Olivia Spring

Chapter Twenty-Four

Icollapsed on the bed. If we kept this up, I wouldn’t need that gym membership I’d been considering.

It was now Tuesday evening, and when Mike had arrived earlier, we’d lasted all of twenty seconds before crashing into the bedroom. There was something about seeing him dressed in his smart trousers and crisp white shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his arms and the top buttons undone that drove me wild.

After showering and cleaning up the kitchen, I’d returned to the bedroom and looked through my drawers for a T-shirt to sleep in. I spotted an old one at the back and giggled. I wondered if Mike would remember it. I pulled it out, ready to show him. The shower switched off and soon afterwards, Mike came in with a towel wrapped around his toned waist.

My eyes bulged and my whole body tingled. That sight would never get old. I walked over and tugged at the towel.

‘Oh, no, you don’t,’ Mike smirked, waving his finger. ‘No more sex for you tonight, young lady.’

‘What?’ I cried. ‘Why?’

‘Why?’ He climbed under the duvet, threw the towel onto a chair and casually put his hands behind his head. Didn’t he realise that seeing his bare chest and muscular arms like that wasn’t helping me fan the burning flames between my legs? ‘One, because I’ve got to teach tomorrow, so I’d either have to leave now or at the crack of dawn to get changed, and two, because as much as I want you, I don’t want this to just be all about sex. We don’t know how much time we have together, so when you think about me, I don’t want to be remembered only for the number of orgasms I gave you.’

‘Sounds like a pretty good way to be remembered if you ask me. Mike Jones: Giver Of Multiple Orgasms. Has a nice ring to it, don’t you think?’

Mike gave a half smile. His comment about us not knowing how much time we had together sounded a bit morbid, but because of what had happened to his friends, I knew he was all about creating memories and making the most of life, so I understood where he was coming from. From what he’d told me, I guessed that sometimes Mike’s grief struck him at odd times, so what he’d said was probably down to him reflecting in the shower.

‘Okay.’ I sat at the edge of the bed. ‘I promise to try not to objectify you and use you just as a sex object. Tell me what I can do to show you that I see you as more than just a piece of meat.’

‘First I need to know how you’re getting on with your assignments.’

‘Not too bad. After I got back from our extra lesson yesterday, I studied for about six hours, then during lunch today, and I crammed in two hours before you arrived this evening.’ I was surprised I even had the energy to go two rounds tonight.

‘Good. Don’t want you falling behind because of me. In that case, if you think you can handle taking a few hours off, let’s go on a proper date this week. We can dine somewhere al fresco and enjoy the weather. Have fun together outside of the bedroom.’

‘I thought we did that yesterday… in the classroom…’ I smirked.

‘Yeah, about yesterday…’ He paused. ‘I don’t normally do stuff like that. It was just… you do things to me, Bells. When I’m with you, sometimes I just lose my mind. All logic goes out the window.’

‘I know it was a heat-of-the-moment thing. I felt the same. Sensible Bella wouldn’t do anything like that either. Even kissing in public is a stretch for me.’ I blushed, thinking I didn’t even know who I was anymore. ‘And of course I’ll go on a date with you. I’m meeting Sophia for dinner tomorrow, but I’m free on Thursday if you are? Obviously it’ll be an absolute nightmare having to spend time with a smart, gorgeous hunk like you, but I’m up for the challenge.’ I grinned. Since coming out of the shower, Mike had become really serious, so I hoped my attempt at a joke would help lighten the mood.

The corner of his mouth twitched. It seemed like he was softening again, which was good. Hopefully showing him the T-shirt would make him break into a full smile.

‘Look what I found.’ I reached for the T-shirt and held it up.

‘No way!’ He beamed. ‘I can’t believe you’ve still got it!’

It was a Friends T-shirt that Mike had bought me for Christmas one year. He had the same one. I remembered the gift tag saying ‘Friends Forever’, which had made me happy and sad at the same time. Happy because I knew I did want to have Mike in my life forever, but sad because I knew I wanted him to be more than that.

Sounds cheesy now, but we used to wear the T-shirts every Friday night when we watched Friends. That half an hour was a little slice of precious Bella and Mike time. I used to hate when the credits rolled because I knew it meant that after we’d discussed our thoughts on what had happened in the episode, he’d get dressed and meet Rebecca or his mates and be gone all night. Sometimes Melody would drag me out or I’d meet Sophia, but usually I stayed at home, studied, read a book or tidied the house. Anything to try not to think about what Mike was doing or what I’d like him to do to me.

Finding this T-shirt today had a new significance, though, because Mike was back in my life and now we were more than friends, which was what I’d always wanted. It might have taken a long time for us to get to this point, but the fact that we had was all that mattered.

‘Of course I’ve still got it!’ I pulled it over my head. ‘And it still fits! What happened to yours?’

‘It’s probably at my dad’s. I saw it a few years ago when he summoned me to clear out my room because he was converting it into a gym. I attempted to try it on, and even though it didn’t fit me, I couldn’t bring myself to throw it away.’

That was no surprise. Mike had filled out a lot since then in the best possible way. His arms and chest had always been well defined, but now his muscles were even bigger, so that large T-shirt would definitely be a tight squeeze.

‘Hopefully your dad hasn’t chucked it out.’

‘He wouldn’t dare! Anyway, time for bed.’ He turned off the light. ‘Night, Bells.’

Going straight to sleep was definitely a good idea. Especially if I planned to go out two evenings in a row. Easier said than done, though.

Mike sleeping naked in my bed and not being able to do anything? Something told me my willpower was about to be tested.