FRIENDS

8

I woke up in the middle of the night, still on the couch with Michael's chest pressed against my back. I felt him stir and soon I knew he was awake.

"What time is it?" He mumbled, his lips close to the back of my neck. I thanked the heavens that it was dark in the basement; goosebumps had spread all across my skin and I had no way to explain if he noticed.

"Erm," I reached towards the coffee table for my cellphone and turned the screen on. "it's five in the morning." I groaned before tossing my phone onto the floor. The screen was too bright for my tired eyes.

Michael climbed over me and off of the couch, stretching for a moment. Before I knew it, he had picked me up bridal style and had started carrying me out of the basement. Normally, I would've shrieked and insisted on him putting me down, but I was too tired and it was too early for that type of reaction.

I held on tight as he climbed up the stairs, my head against his chest. I was truthfully terrified of him dropping me; he wasn't entirely awake and he'd been known for not having the best balance.

Before I knew it, he entered my bedroom and softly deposited me onto my bed, pulling the covers over my body. Part of me wanted to get out of bed and change out of my jeans, but I was just too damn tired to move.

He stood beside my bed for a moment, looking down on me as if he was debating something, possibly trying to decide if he was going to go crawl into his bed or crawl into my own. But soon, he stripped down to his black boxers and slid under the covers beside me, resting his head on my pillow.

"I like having someone I can be like this with." Mikey mumbled sleepily. He looked like he could fall asleep at any second, but he continued. "You're like my other half, y'know? You know me better than anyone else. I spend a lot of time scared that no one is going to like me for me but I know you do. You and me, it's so effortless. I'm so damn glad you're my best friend." He fell asleep almost instantly afterwards, as if speaking those words somehow granted him the ability. His head rested against my collarbone now, his arm tossed lazily over my midsection.

My heart cracked in my chest, thinking about his words. Why couldn't he see us as something more?

 

Mike had to wake up at eight to get ready for the interviews they had until that evening, so when I woke up around eleven, he was already gone. He'd sent me a text, though, saying that they'd be back for dinner and would probably bring home Indian food, very much against Luke's pleas for us to have something with a little bit less spice.

I knew that I didn't want to spend my day alone in the house, not when Los Angeles was this sunny and beautiful. I wanted to be outside doing something. I wanted out of the house until the boys came home.

I called Lacey, hoping she wasn't working. I wanted to go shopping or go see a movie, or do something other than lie by the pool or binge watch something on Netflix, even if I didn't have the service back in Sydney. I'd come to this city to see it, and I was damn well going to see it.

Lacey answered on the fourth ring and immediately was excited about the idea of going shopping. I had learned over the past few days that Lacey absolutely adored shopping. She loved spending money on clothes and shoes and accessories; it might have even been her fatal flaw.

She had only lived in Los Angeles for about six months and was still a little bit nervous about trying to go to new areas for shopping, so we decided to go somewhere that was familiar to her. We decided that she'd come get me at the house and then we'd take Uber to Hollywood & Highland, and maybe afterwards we'd go to the Grove. Michael had set up his Uber account on my phone, telling me to use it whenever I needed. He didn't want me to feel stranded ever again, not after he'd left me all alone.