Damn, You're Cute (Michael Clifford)

Chapter 76

"They want me to babysit tonight...on a Friday night!" Michael huffed with disbelief once we were in his car heading home from school. He had just gotten a call from his aunt asking if he could look after Kate tonight. Being the good brother he is, he agreed despite the fact that he had band practice in a few hours. "I'm screwed. I'll have to call the guys and cancel-"

"I'll do it," I offered and Michael's eyebrows drew together.

We rolled up to a stop sign. "What?"

"I'll babysit Kate tonight," I said, but quickly realized I could be overstepping my boundaries. His aunt and uncle would probably never want Kate hanging around her brother's girlfriend, especially after Karen's incident, and Michael was pretty protective when he wanted to be. "I mean, if that's something you'd be okay with or even wanted me to do."

He couldn't help the dazzling smile that crept onto his lips. "You'd do that for me?"

"Of course I would," I smiled back as he turned into his neighborhood. "You can have time with the guys while Kate and I have a girls night."

"You're amazing," he grinned at me before braking in front of his house. Leaning across the divider, I melded my mouth onto his. The kiss was short, but sweet as the taste of him lingered on my lips.

"What time do I need to go get her?" I asked as we climbed out of the car and walked through his unlocked front door. The air conditioning hit me like a wave, crashing over my bare arms.

Michael shrugged as we headed up the stairs and into his room. "Probably around five."

"Okay," I nodded and pulled the books out of my backpack, sitting at the foot of Michael's bed. "I'm really happy for you, by the way. This gig, it could be huge."

"I know," Michael smiled before kicking off his converse. "It just depends on how much we can get done tonight. We need practice and lots of it."

"I'm sure it'll work out," I told him seriously before flipping open my math textbook. The homework load was light today, and although it was Friday, there was no harm in getting it done.

"I don't know," Michael sighed and ran his fingers through his colorful hair. "We're not prepared at all and Kyle said a lot of people go to this thing."

"Yes, you are. Don't stress about it," I advised him despite the fact that my thoughts were somewhere else completely. As I began scribbling down my first answer to the math problem, my mind wasn't on algebra or even the gig. I was wondering whether tonight would be weird. Kate was an intelligent girl for her age and I only hoped she would want to spend her time with me.

Michael must've noticed my brief distraction because he finally looked at me to notice the books in my lap.

"Are you doing homework?" Michael asked with an amused laugh, fumbling with something on his dresser. I cleared my head of nervous thoughts to look back at him.

"Maybe," I mumbled embarrassedly and played with the corner of my sheet of loose leaf paper. He smirked knowingly at me, lowering down to my level with his breath fanning across my face. Michael tugged the books out of my hands and tossed them aside without breaking eye contact.

"I have a better idea," he said lowly, moving me back on his bed by hooking his arm under my knees. Michael slowly kissed me until we were flush against the mattress, his legs on top of mine. My fingers played delicately with the front of his shirt while his combed lightly through my air, our mouths moving at a slow and patient pace. It was very different from our usual fast and hungry make outs and I found I liked it even more.

One of his hands moved to my hips, resting there as his mouth continued its sweet, yet leisurely torture on mine. I lazily smiled against him before finally pulling away. I couldn't let what happened last time happen again.