The Secret of Ella and Micha (The Secret #1)(31)
Author: Jessica Sorensen

We work on it for a while, but it’s hot and I’m getting more pissed off at my dad by the second. Finally, I move back and throw the wrench down onto the concrete. Ethan doesn’t ask questions this time.

"We should have a party tonight," I announce, unable to hold still. "A big one, like the one we had on graduation night."

"You really want to relive that night?" Ethan backs out from under the hood. "Because I’m not sure I do."

I step outside into the sunlight, determined to get my mind off stuff. "What you can’t remember doesn’t hurt, right?"

"I don’t think you want to go there." Ethan walks next to me and we stare down the driveway at an old guy pushing a shopping cart. "There are plenty of times in my life I wish I could remember – that I’d give anything to remember – but I can’t. I lost like a year of my life. It’s better to stay within the boundaries of a semi-clear head. Besides, this doesn’t sound like you at all. What’s up?"

"Nothing’s up." I sigh, raking my fingers through my hair. "I’m just thinking out loud."

Ethan returns to the garage and starts working on the engine again. Around sophomore year, he started hanging out with these kids at school, who had really heavy views on the world and liked to sit around and get high while they talked about it. Ethan somehow ended up being friends with them, and within a month, he had dropped out of school and got into some pretty heavy shit.

A year later he made the decision to get some help. He cleaned up his life, cut the habits, and worked the hell out of himself to catch up in school. He was a grade behind, but managed to graduate with our year. Looking at him, you wouldn’t guess.

The side door of Ella’s house swings open and Lila steps out. She looks upset, although not as bad as she did last night. She glances up the driveway at the house across the street, where there’s a very loud game of tackle football going on in the front yard. Her eyes roam to my house and then widen when she sees that I’m watching her.

She gives a tentative wave from the top step. "Hey, Micha."

"What’s up?" I say with a nod of my chin. "Is Ella up yet?"

Shielding her blue eyes from the sun, she looks up at Ella’s window. "Yeah, she said she’d be out in a second. She’s just talking to her brother."

"He’s not being a dick, is he?"

"I’m not sure what constitutes as a brother being a dick, since I don’t have one." A smile cracks at her lips.

I walk toward the fence, pulling up my jeans that are riding low on my hips. "There’s no yelling going on?"

Lila shakes her head and meets me at the fence, plucking some of her blonde hair away from her mouth. "But Ella’s not much of a yeller, is she?"

I rest my arms on the top of the fence. "It depends on which one we’re talking about."

Her face falls. "How could I know her for eight freaking months and not know anything about her. It must say something about me, right?"

I feel bad for her. "I think Ella kind of made it her mission to keep who she was hidden from you. It’s not your fault."

She eyes me over with this suspicious look. "Honestly, it seems like she’s that way with everyone, except for you."

"We’ve known each other forever," I say. "We have a comfortable relationship."

Her blue eyes twinkle with mischievousness. "One where you feel her up in the car?"

"It feels like you’re trying to start some trouble," I say, liking the girl even more.

"Maybe I am." She leans over the fence to the side of me so she can get a better view of the inside of the garage. "Is that Ethan in there?"

I step back so she can get a better look. "Yep, he’s working on the car."

"I think I’ll go give him some help." A grin spans across her face and she hops over the fence, squealing as her shoe gets caught in the wire.

Trying not to laugh at her, I unhook her shoe and she walks into the garage, surprising Ethan. The door to Ella’s house opens and my attention centers on her as she steps out into the sunlight.

She’s wearing a tight, black and purple plaid dress, and knee high lace-up boots, but her hair is curled up neatly. It’s like a mix of her old look and her new one. Her face is guarded as she ambles across the driveway, with this strange look in her eyes, like she’s terrified yet excited at the same time.

"Did Lila come out here?" She bites her lip and I want to lean over and bite it for her; taste her and feel her like I did last night.

Without taking my eyes off her, I nod my head at the garage. "She’s in there with Ethan. I think she might have a thing for him."

"I think you’re right." She pauses. "I think I might have freaked her out a little, just barely."

"You mean you and Dean might have freaked her out a little?"

"She told you I was talking to Dean?"

"She mentioned it." I extend my hand to her. "Why don’t you come over and join the party on this side of the fence?"

"A party of four?" she asks, trying not to grin and looking as cute as hell.

I snag her by the hip, jerk her toward me playfully, and dip my lips to her ear. "It can be a party of two. Just say the word."

She shivers from the feel of my breath on her neck. "I think we better keep it a foursome."

I press my fingers into the curve of her hips. "I didn’t know you liked it kinky."

She swats my shoulder and I laugh, my dad problems feeling less heavy. "Relax, I was just kidding, even though you’re the one who brought it up first."

"I was joking."

"I know… I think I am going to have a party tonight."

"Don’t you have one of those every night?"

I c**k my eyebrow. "Besides the night you showed up, have you seen one going on?"

She wrinkles her forehead. "No." She sits down on the fence, swinging her legs over to my side. "Micha, what have you been doing for the last eight months?"

"Pinning for you." I avoid the truth. That I haven’t been doing much of anything besides looking for her and helping my mom take care of things.

She tucks her dress underneath her legs and I get a small glimpse of the black lacy panties she has on. "Where do you work?"

Against her protest, I spread her legs apart and put myself between them. "I work at the shop with Ethan a lot, but it’s not going to be forever. I have plans. I’m still working on getting everything lined up."

She places her hands on my chest, holding me back. "I think the lines between our friendship are getting a little blurred."