Page 21 of Inevitable

Nothing could even come close.

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The day Micah was due to come home, I was a mess of nerves and excitement. We had been doing much better after our weekly Facetime talks and begrudgingly, I had to admit the space did us some good. It seemed that all Micah needed was to get away for a little while and refresh in order to open up and allow me back in. I wasn't going to argue! I was just glad he was giving me the opportunity to make things right.

He texted me when he got back, and asked if I wanted to hang out that night and officially see his apartment. I had of course seen it the morning I showed up unannounced to grovel and apologize to him, but I hadn't really been in the right frame of mind to take it all in, and Micah didn't exactly give me the grand tour.

It didn't matter what we did tonight, as long as we spent it together.

He texted me a little while later saying that he had finally met his elusive roommate, Rhys. Evidently, they were getting along really well so far. My inner green monster conjured up an image of some muscular, hot jock who would be walking around Micah's apartment shirtless after practices or with just a towel on after his showers, and my stomach curdled at the vision. I had to give myself a mental slap to knock out of it because that was pure bullshit on my end. I had never been a jealous person in my life, no matter who my crush had been. Ihad a couple of girlfriends in high school, but they never lasted long and weren't really serious, so maybe that was the issue.

It doesn't mean anything. I'm just jealous because I don't like sharing Micah. That's it.

I couldn't even fucking lie to myself properly. I had shared Micah with his friends at UNT and never had a reaction like this. No, the only other time I had felt this way was with that dancing dickhead Lex at the party, the one who had kissed Micah. I knew in my bones that the only thing that would provoke this much jealousy were big, deep, messy feelings.

Fucking hell, how fast was I falling for my best friend?

I closed my eyes, took a couple of seconds to clear my head of the heavy thoughts, and texted Micah back saying that I would be there around five o'clock with pizza in hand. That was still a few hours away, and I was practically vibrating with anticipation while waiting. I couldn't fucking wait to have my M&M back.

When 5pm rolled around, I had picked up the pizzas and cheesy bread sticks, and headed over to his place. It took a concentrated effort not to race down the hall to his door. I had to rein in my embarrassing enthusiasm.

I knocked and waited with bated breath for him to open the door, reminding myself not to plow him down with a massive hug once he appeared. When the door opened though, it wasn't Micah on the other side.Ahh, must be the roommate. Let's see, shirt in place, no macho vibes, definitely not a jock…I can work with that.

“Hey man, I'm Bash. You must be Rhys,” I gave him a friendly smile, intent on making a good impression with him seeing as how he was Micah's roommate and they were already hitting it off.

Rhys was a good looking guy, but definitely not Micah's type, and I internally cheered. If it had been the macho tool in my head, I would have likely been arrested for attempted murder. Rhys and his pretty purple eyes were safe from me.

Rhys' face lit up with recognition that told me that Micah had at least mentioned me to him.Damn, why does that make me so happy to think about?

“It's awesome to meet you, Bash! I've heard a lot about you today, but I promise it's all good,” he lightly teased me.Somehow I doubt that, but I'm not about to argue that point with him.

Rhys ushered me inside and told me Micah was in the bathroom and would be right out. I set down the food and took a minute to look around the apartment. It no longer had the stack of Micah's moving boxes planted about, and the place had a warm, homey feel to it nowthat it held actual furniture and decor. What caught my eye the most was a framed picture on the side table in the living room.

It was a picture of me and Bash at our high school graduation. I had my arm around his shoulder, his around my waist, and whereas I was smiling at the camera mid-laugh, Micah was looking at me…and that one look displayed every true feeling he held for me.

How the fuck had I never noticed it before? I had seen this picture dozens of times at Micah's old dorm, and I had never thought much of it until now. Was it just because of his confession that I could now clearly see what was in his adoring gaze?He's looking at me like I hung the moon…Jesus, I had been fucking blind for so long.

I was pulled from my errant thoughts when I heard my name being called. I turned and there was Micah, dressed comfortably in a pair of his favorite gray joggers and a green UNT shirt that was a size too big and hung on his lithe frame. He looked perfect. My nerve endings came alive and my heart beat so hard in my chest, I was sure he would hear it across the room. It was like my body recognized his and was desperate to reunite with him, pulling me toward him as if we were magnetized.

Without a word, I crossed the room in three strides and scooped him up in my arms, twirling him around while I crushed him to me. Micah hugged me back with the same ferocity, burying his face in my neck. God, I could've fucking cried from how good it felt to have him in my arms again. I closed my eyes, breathing in his signature scent of citrus and sandalwood that was so comforting and familiar to me that it brought tears to my eyes.

“Goddamn, I missed you so much, M&M,” I whispered in his ear, very aware that we weren't alone. I felt him nuzzle further into my neck, his grip not loosening in the slightest.

“I missed you, Bash. So much it hurt,” he responded, so quiet that I would have missed it had I not been paying attention. The words healed a tiny part of my bruised heart, and I let out a deep breath in relief.

I set him down after a few more seconds, and met his eyes. He quirked up his lips in that half-smile that I was crazy about, and I smirked back in return. Nothing more needed to be said. We were good and all was right with the world.

“I'm really glad you're back, M. Next time, I'm chaining myself to your luggage and going with you, so make your peace with it,” I joked with him, falling back into our natural rhythm with each other as if no time had passed.

Micah snickered and nudged my arm, leading me back to the kitchen to grab some pizza. Rhys had a small smile on his face and wasregarding us knowingly, but I ignored it. I didn't want to delve into what he knew or thought he knew about our friendship right then.

We all piled food on our plates, and settled in withThe Megplaying on the TV.

The next couple of hours were spent with us laughing and making fun of the movie, and both Rhys and Micah arguing over how hot Jason Statham was (and that answered the question about what team Rhys was batting for), which I stayed out of because I had no skin in that race. Micah was the only man who had ever turned my head, and I didn't ever see that changing. He was tailor-made to wreak havoc on my judgment, heart, and hormones.

When the movie was over and we all fell into a comfortable conversation just shooting the shit, talking about each of their summers, Rhys piped up with a proposition.

“Hey! I don't know if you guys would be interested, but there's this amazing band playing at Cheer Up Charlies tomorrow night. It's a queer club, but it's very inclusive and their outdoor stage is so flipping cool!”

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