Page 36 of Love Song, Take Two

Micah laughed softly, eating more of her ice cream as she watched her daughter. Emery’s crush on Nico started pretty early on in their friendship, but she hadn’t done a damn thing about it. Micah got it, though. Admitting to your best friend you liked them could go the wrong way and that would ruin everything.

“Are you excited about drama club auditions next year?” Micah asked, switching subjects because she knew there was no way Emery would talk about her crush.

“Yes! Only if they choose a really good play. I’m so tired of Romeo & Juliet and A Midsummer’s Night Dream. There are so many other great plays out there.”

Micah smiled at her excitement. Drama club was the other new thing in her daughter’s life—along with music lessons—and she was passionate about it.

“What would you pick?”

She brightened instantly and grinned. “Peter and the Starcatcher for sure. Even Pygmalion is a good one.”

“I think you should make a list and share it with the club, get ahead of their selection process.”

“Maybe. I don’t want to step on any toes.”

Micah leaned against Emery and kissed the side of her head. “Step on toes, Em, especially when you believe you’ve got something better to offer.”

Emery giggled and dropped her head to Micah’s shoulder as they continued eating their ice cream in silence. She was so proud of her kid and while she wanted to take credit for the way Emery turned out, a lot of it was her own doing. Emery was driven and passionate, she knew what she liked and didn’t like, she was opinionated and confident. Every day she got to watch her little girl grow up was another great day in Micah’s books.

After tossing their empty cups in the trash, Micah drove them to Big Waves. The plan was for Emery to spend the evening with Nico while Micah went out with the girls. Since it was a weekend, there were no issues with sleepovers and Nico’s parents adored Emery enough to never complain about her. Before she’d even put the car in park, Emery was out and rushing into the store. Micah checked her reflection, smoothing down her hair and dabbing on some tinted gloss before hopping out of the car. Walking into the store, she was greeted by Fletcher’s broad back encased in a black T-shirt with the sleeves pushed up to his elbows.

“Hey stranger,” she said, smiling when he turned around so fast he almost lost his balance. His face brightened as he grinned, adjusting his glasses and looked her over. She was dressed in faded jeans and a thin sweater that was two sizes too large, but felt so cozy and comfy against her skin. But by the way Fletcher was looking at her, it was like she was wearing nothing.

“Never get sick of seeing you, Mick.”

“Maybe don’t undress me with your eyes so blatantly next time.”

He laughed and looked over his shoulder before moving towards her. She arched an eyebrow, ready to ask him what was going on, but his mouth was pressed against hers. Gasping softly, she gripped the sides of his T-shirt, fingers curling into the soft material as she parted her lips to let his tongue in. A low moan fell from his lips as she licked into his mouth, their bodies pressing against each other like there were magnets in their pants.

She broke the kiss, her chin scraping against Fletcher’s beard and forced herself away from him. She might have laid down the conditions when it came to their relationship, but Micah knew she was the one who was going to completely fuck this up. Fletcher licked his lips and she blew out a frustrated breath, taking another step back.

“I should apologize, but I’m not sorry.” He smirked, pushing his glasses up. “Emery said you’re busy tonight, something about Slutty Saturdays?”

She snorted out a laugh. “My weekly night out with the girls. We go for drinks and get a little slutty.”

His eyebrows and mouth dipped slightly. “How slutty?”

“Are you jealous, Fletch?”

“How slutty, Mick?” he repeated, eyebrows practically touching.

Taking two small steps forward, she twisted her fingers into the front of his shirt and tugged gently. “I would usually get pretty slutty with the last person to buy me a drink. But, I recently met this guy and I kinda like him, so I might refrain from getting slutty.”

“Lucky guy,” he grumbled, eyes slipping shut as she patted his stomach.

“Nico’s Mom will pick the kids up later, so you don’t have to worry about her. Okay?”

He opened his eyes to search hers, nodding slowly. “Have fun with the girls.”

“I intend to,” she whispered and then pushed onto her toes, stealing a quick kiss before she backed away. He shook his head, a slight smile tugging at his lips and she laughed as she stepped out of the store.

“There are no cowboys or cowgirls, there aren’t even cows,” Sadie announced as she finished doing a 360-look around the bar.

“I don’t even want to know what you’d do if there were cows,” Tatum said with a snort.

“The cowboys would then show up to wrangle them, and me, home.”

Micah snorted at Sadie’s response, but her friend wasn’t wrong. A little eye candy wouldn’t hurt.

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