Jet Black Heart // Michael Clifford [AU]

2. Party Animal

"Why can't we just stay in tonight?" Michael asked, laying on the unmade bed. He had given up on finding a shirt to wear a little bit ago, so he only wore a pair of black skinny jeans. His eyes were glued to his wife, just like always. He could never look away, and no one could ever steal his attention. No other woman even came close to being as beautiful as her in his eyes.

Esther stood in front of her closet, a white, fluffy towel wrapped around her body while she tried to decide what to wear. She was wearing a bra and panties under her cloth shield, but the towel was soft and warm, so she'd kept it.

"It's Ashton's birthday!" Esther exclaimed, seeming appalled that her husband could suggest not going to his best friend's twenty-second birthday party. "He's one of your best friends, you're going. Besides, we have the rest of our lives to stay in."

"There's just going to be a bunch of drunk people and lights and probably strippers. Besides, he's my best friend, shouldn't I be the one to decide if we're going or not?" Esther normally wasn't the jelous type, but Michael mentioning strippers certainly didn't make her jump for joy.

"Strippers, huh?" Her back was turned to him, and she did her best to keep her tone neutral. She was testing him, acting like this was the most causal topic in the world.

"Yeah. And drunk people and loud music...Do you want to go to that? Personally, I'd rather stay in with you, but that's just me."

"So tell me," She turned to her husband, pleased with his response. "If you don't want to go to Ashton's party, what do you suggest we do with our evening?"

Michael grinned, standing up and walking over to his wife. He tucked his bottom lip between his teeth and bit down, glancing at the towel around her body and gently tugging on it, encouraging the material to pool around his wife's feet on the floor. It didn't.

"I could think of a way to keep you entertained, I'm sure."

Esther laughed, but shook her head slowly, her eyes looking down at her recently-polished tonails.

"In all honesty, I'm actually getting kind of sore," She admitted sheepishly. "It's been five days in a row now. I don't know how you do it."

"Damn, I'm sorry," He genuinely apologized. They had the rest of their lives together, he could wait a day or two for her to feel better. The last thing he wanted to do was make it worse. He lifted her left hand to his lips and kissed the back, then ran his fingers over her wedding ring that adorned her finger. She looked back up at him due to his soft, loving gesture. "I just can't seem to get enough of you, baby."

"I love you so much." She smiled in response, wrapping one of her arms around his neck, the other held her towel where it was. It was only the hundredth time she'd told him today, but she always got the same reply:

"I love you more."

It wasn't even possible, but she would pretend that it was, just to make him happy.

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"Michael! Esther! You're late! I was worried you weren't going to be able to make it," Ashton yelled over the music. He had decided to do the typical early-twenties celebration and gather a group of friends to go to a club for the night. Esther could feel the music's beat in her chest, her heart beating rapidly behind her ribs. She hadn't been to a place like this before, it was exciting. On the dance floor, everyone was moving along with the music, some having more fun with their partners than others. "What kept you?"

"You know how newlyweds are, Ash, do you even have to ask?" Calum answered the question that hadn't even been directed to him.

Esther blushed, gripping Michael's hand tightly, silently begging him to make Calum stop teasing them. Their sex life didn't concern others, and she didn't really appreciate comments about it.