Misperception (Finnegan Brothers Book 3) (2 page)

“I’m off my for my morning run, I guess you wouldn't want to join me.”

Part of me did want to join him, but I knew I needed to work on making things better with Micah. “Not really in the mood today Blake, maybe another time.”

“Yeah maybe your new boyfriend can join us sometime.”

I shook my head. “I don't think that's going to happen, Blake.”

“Bye, Lena.” I could hear the smile in his voice. I couldn’t deny I loved hearing him happy. It was his care free sense of being that I missed the most.

“Bye.” The call ended and I looked down at my phone again to see if Micah had tried to call me or text me while I was on the phone with Blake, but there was still no response. I knew I had to make a grand gesture if I wanted things to work out between the two of us. I walked over to my laptop sitting on a desk by the window and looked outside, enjoying the summer sunshine touching my face. Blake was going to take care of Slade and now I was going to take care of Micah. For a moment in time everything was right in the world. I sat down at the desk and hopped online to see if there were any interesting dates that I could plan for Micah and myself. As I found a Happenings In Downtown site I noticed that there was an art gallery opening tomorrow night. That was something that was right up Micah’s alley. This was my chance. I picked up the phone and dialed his number. All that I got was his voicemail.

“Hi Micah— it's Lena. I know that shit was really ridiculous last night and I really am sorry. I have the perfect way to make it up to you. If you want to see, come meet me at 424 Richland Ave. I'll be the girl dressed in red. See you at seven.” I ended the call and was amazed by the amount of balls I had just had. The girl in red? Well shit, now I needed to find a red dress. I waited until McKenzie woke up but as soon as she did I started rooting through her closet.

“What the hell are you doing in here? It's only like ten AM!”

I smiled over my shoulder. “I need that dress. The red one that you wore to homecoming last year.”

She started to sit up, her blonde hair sticking out in all directions. “The red dress? I don't even know if I packed that. Besides, it's like two sizes too small for you.”

I searched through the closet. Mackenzie certainly had enough clothes that were two sizes too small for her. “That’s rich coming from you.” I pulled out a pair of cut off shorts and threw them at her before diving back in. Finally I found it at the back of her closet and I pulled it out, putting it across my body.

“See I told you, your ass is going to hang out of that.”

“That's exactly the point,” I said smugly.

She shook her head.

“Hey, no slut-shaming your sister. I could remind you of the time I walked in on you and Todd; if I remember correctly that was also in this dress. And those shorts are disgusting.”

“I forgot about Todd.” She said as she pulled the covers back over her head. “Now get out, I need my beauty sleep.”

I shook my head and left the room. I would need to steam the dress before I wore it that night.

Zoe called me and invited me out for lunch with her and Clara but I declined. I knew that they need a little bit of time to themselves, especially after they hadn't really gotten to spend much time together at the party last night.

After Slade fell off the roof people scattered. A couple headed to another house party while most went home or to a local bar. Nobody wanted to talk about the guy who had fallen off the roof, or the girl that he was trying to fall on top of. We were old news. I didn't really want to rehash it all with the two of them, as it would just make my great day fall apart. I spent most of the afternoon reading books with the window open and enjoying the fresh summer air. Mackenzie had finally made a friend and traipsed off with her for some ice cream in the evening. I was amazed that Charity let her drive the Jaguar, but I still hadn't mentioned that I borrowed it less than a week ago. I was trying to keep up the appearance that Mackenzie and I were actually good kids and not total disasters.

3

The next night I stood against a cold stone wall in the slutty red dress and red pumps. I had once again gone for my fuck me red lipstick and I was hoping that it would work for a second time. I checked my phone for the third time. Still no text or call from Micah. It was seven fifteen and I was starting to get worried. I didn't think he was going to show up. I told myself I would wait another five minutes, but as I saw a couple walking by hand-in-hand discussing the opening of the gallery, I couldn't take it anymore. I walked over to the street to hail a taxi when I heard a voice behind me. “That’s some dress you got there.”

I turned around and felt ecstatic as I saw Micah smiling at me. He looked me up and down and licked his lips. The slutty dress had totally done its job.

“You know some guys like to leave a little to the imagination.”

I couldn't tell if it was an insult or not.

He moved closer to me and whispered into my ear, “You're just lucky I'm not one of those guys.” I felt him slip a hand underneath my dress where he just touched the tops of the back of my thighs right under my ass. I tried to contain the heat spreading immediately from my pussy into my core. Suddenly I wanted to skip the art gallery and just go straight back to his apartment, but there was a part of me that also wanted to make him wait. He had been the tease on Saturday night, but I would be it tonight.

“Shall we go in?”

He pulled his hand out from underneath my legs and turned, extending an arm to me. I looped mine through his and we walked down the block into the gallery. It was one of those huge white spaces with benches in the middle and artwork around the edges. There was a sculpture between two white benches facing it without backs. I let go of Micah's arm as I examined it closely. It was copper, and it was ripped into shreds and made to look like a three-dimensional heart. Not like the one in your body, like the shape.

“See something you like already?”

“Yeah. It's like the heart is hard, protective somehow.”

Micah moved close to me so that our bodies just barely touched. “And how do you protect your heart, Lena?”

“I run away.”

“How does that protect you?” He slid a finger along the outside of my arm. It was a subtle touch that sent shivers down my spine.

“I don't know, running away from my problems is just something I'm good at. You know, like you're a great artist. I'm a great runner.”

He just looked at me.

“It's a skill, Micah. Protecting your heart is a skill everyone should learn.”

Suddenly he stepped back.
“Why? Why do you think that way?”

“Because in the end, everyone gets hurt. In the end, we all feel pain.”

“That’s a sad realization.”

I shrugged. “Maybe, but to me it’s true.” Thinking about it, I realized this stemmed from my parents’ relationship. I had thought their love life was perfect but it ended in heartache. Somewhere I had decided almost all good relationships did. That was sad.

We both looked at the statue for a while longer. People passed us by, assuming we were admiring the art. But really we were thinking about each other. Our tryst was hot and sensual, but were we protecting our hearts? I knew the answer for myself. I was falling for Micah, and I was going to let that happen regardless of the potential pain I would be in later.

He touched me on the small of my back and led me away from the sculpture towards a group of paintings. They were beautiful drawings of flowers, painted neon colors to set them apart from the typical landscape. I had seen kids do it when I was in college, where for a while I had hung out with the artsy crowd while I was playing piano. But I hadn't really looked at art since then. It was incredible to just take a moment and look at the brushstrokes, gentle touches on a hard canvas that made it into something completely unique. I imagined it blank, the vast of the whiteness just waiting to be fulfilled by the artist’s touch. It made me wonder about Micah's work. He said he liked lines and measurements, but I knew that there was more to it. “Why did you get into architecture?”

He looked at me like I had just shaken him out of a deep thought. “It just seemed like the right thing to do.”

“What you mean?”

He smiled. “So I suck at figure drawing, but I like to draw architecture. I sent my portfolio to the art school here and they liked what I had.”

“So you kind of draw landscapes?”

“Yeah, kind of. I studied old Victorian architecture up the coast for a while before I transferred here. Actually, I know the artist that did these paintings.” He pointed to a smaller group of paintings next to the flowers. They were all industrial buildings.

“These are cool, but a lot harsher than the landscapes.”

He nodded. “Yeah she has this really steely feeling about her art. She only likes edges and lines—there aren’t any soft strokes in her work.” The only thing I had understood in what he was saying was “her.” Clearly this was an ex of his.

“So how well do you know the artist?”

He put up his hands as if in surrender. “Not as well as I know you, Lena. We dated for a little while when I first moved here but things didn't work out.”

I cocked my head to the side. “And why's that?”

He set his lips into a thin line, “Easier to show you then to explain it to you.” He spun me around and pointed at two young girls drinking coffee near the small bar that had been set up for the event. “See the girl with the long black hair? That’s Emma. And see the girl that standing next to her? That's her new girlfriend.”

I turned back at him wide-eyed. “She's a lesbian?”

He laughed. “She's bisexual. But I'm pretty sure once we got close enough to a sexual encounter she realized she preferred girls to guys though.”

I smiled in spite of myself. He looked a little hurt but I couldn't help but find it funny. Micah, the artistically sexy guy in front of me had turned the girl into a lesbian. It's just too comical. “I'm sorry, I'm sorry,” I said as he looked pouty. “I just can't help it! To think that some girl would be turned off by you? It's a joke, really.”

He shrugged before turning back to look at the artwork some more. “Yeah, didn't feel like a joke at the time.”

“Micah.” I moved in front of him so that I blocked his view. “Does this look like a joke?” I took his hands and put it around me so that they laid perfectly on my ass. “Does this feel like a joke?” I tucked my head into his neck and sucked on the flesh carefully. When I brought my head back up so that our eyes would match, our breathing did also. I could feel the growing bulge in his pants pushed up against my pelvis. So I wasn't the only one that was ready for a good time.

“Let's get a drink. A little liquid courage.” I gave him a confused look—it was clear that I didn't need any more courage. He took my hand and led me over to the bar, giving a slight wave to Emma as we passed. He ordered us two shots of tequila and I was shocked to see that they had it. He raised a small glass in the air. “To us.”

I smiled at him. “To us.”

He sucked his down in a second, whereas it took me a little bit longer to get the fire down my throat and into my belly. As soon as I set the glass down he grabbed my hand and walked briskly through the art gallery to a sign that said EXIT. I was liking where this was going. He looked both ways before pulling me through the door and into a dark hallway. The only light that was available was a red blinking lights for emergencies. “I can't believe you just did that! You could've set off the alarm!”

He shook his head. “There is no sign on the door that said there was an alarm. I knew we would be safe.” I was about to start protesting again when he took both of my wrists in one hand and pinned me up against the exposed brick wall. He was kissing the inside of my neck and down my exposed chest. The dress was strapless and my breasts were just barely contained within it. I closed my eyes in ecstasy as his lips trailed down to my breasts, where he used his other hand to pull down the dress and expose a strapless black bra. When he saw what I was wearing, he knew that the dress wasn't just for show. He suckled his way back up to my lips and chewed on my lower lip for a moment, causing painful pleasure to travel through my mouth. “Why do you do these things to me, Lena?”

“Do what?” I breathed.

“Make me want to end it and then make me want to fuck you until you’re sore.”

He loosened the tie that he had been wearing. He took a step back to assess me but he kept my hands above my head. He pulled off the tie and wrapped it around my wrists. “You keep those there, you hear me?”

I could only nod. As my hands remained above my body he lifted up my dress and started drawing circles on my mound outside of the black silk panties I was wearing. “You've been a bad girl, Lena, leaving me for another guy. I guess I need to remind you why you shouldn't be thinking of anyone else but me.”

My breath caught in my chest. All that I wanted was for Micah to fuck me, and I knew it was coming—which made it even worse. He continued to draw circles along the outside of my underwear and occasionally he would put his hand on the inside of my thigh and rub between my legs. I felt exposed. If anyone should come through that door they would see my hands above my head and Micah pulling down my underwear to my knees. I had to admit being exposed turned me on. At any moment we could be caught. It was titillating.

As he bent down to pull them down to the floor he put his head up between my legs and gave me a quick lick. It was just enough to send heat through all of my veins. Micah made me feel like I was on fire. And he was the only one who could put it out. I stepped out of my underwear and he threw them to the side. He dragged his fingertips along the outside of my leg slowly and dutifully all the way up to my hip. He got close to my ear and whispered to me, “Do you want me to fuck you?”

I nodded. “Yes. Please fuck me.”

He undid his belt buckle and dropped his pants and his boxers. I heard the belt hit the ground with a clink. In echoed in the empty hallway. He pulled me just slightly away from the wall and lifted my legs up around him, putting his hands underneath my ass. I crossed my legs behind him and slid myself onto his cock. There was a pipe just above my reach, and when he pushed me up onto him I grabbed onto the pipe. He banged me against the wall, and using his pelvis he pushed deep into me. He rammed me again and again while I begged for more. “Harder, Micah, fuck me harder.”

Just as I was on the edge of coming he put my legs back down and slid out of me. I looked at him with wide eyes—was he not going to fulfill my need? He hadn’t come either. Why would he make either of us wait?

He rubbed his finger against my lips. He slipped his pointer finger in my mouth and I sucked on it, allowing my tongue to envelop it. Then he slipped his middle finger and pointer finger in my mouth, and again I sucked as hard as I could. When he pulled them back out he dragged them down my body and over my dress until he reached my pussy. He shoved the two figures in and I cried out. “Yes! Fuck me.”

But immediately he pulled his fingers back out and licked them himself. “You taste just as sweet as you did the other night.”

I could hardly breathe. I was so turned on I felt like I would explode at any second. He took my raised hands and pulled me away from the wall. The hallway was narrow and he pushed me so that my chest was against the opposite wall. He stood behind me and whispered, “Bend over. I want to see that ass shake.”

I did as I was told but I kept my arms above my head. He leaned against me and pushed his cock between my wet pussy lips. I arched my back and closed my eyes. He pulled all the way out and teased me more. When he pushed in again I knew I didn't have much time. “Please Micah, let me come.”

He pushed his dick back into me, this time more forcefully. He pulled out again but this time he didn't pull out all the way. He quickened his pace and as I sat on the edge of my orgasm as I let the ripples flow through me. There was a fierceness to Micah when it came to sex that I had never experienced before. I was all his and he wouldn't have it any other way. He pushed into my ass again and again and I could feel the slap of his skin against mine. Quickly I felt him come inside me, filling me with the hot sticky substance. I pushed my ass back against him one final time and my knees gave out as an orgasm shook through me. He put his arm underneath my stomach to hold me up against him and my legs shook with excitement. He pulled me up back against him and held most of my weight on his own. “That's for Saturday night.”

I could hardly breathe as I leaned back against him.

“Next time, don't choose someone else over me,” he whispered hotly in my ear.

I didn't speak. Mostly because I couldn't, but also because I didn't know what to say. Micah had claimed to me so quickly, but did my heart have any other choice in the matter? I wasn't going to think about it now. All that I was going to think about was Micah in this hallway and the blinking red light and the coma that followed our moment of pleasure.