The Forever of Ella and Micha

tight pair of jeans on and a black shirt short enough that there is a sliver of space between the top of her jeans and the bottom of her shirt. Her pale skin looks soft and I let my finger run along it gently, as if it’s accidental.
    She peers over her shoulder and the lights reflect in her eyes as she shouts over the noise, “This reminds me of senior year when we took that road trip to New Orleans!”
    “The one where you took your shirt off and flashed everyone.” I wink at her and she swats my arm.
    “That didn’t happen and you know it,” she says, forcing back a smile.
    “I know!” I yell over the loud music from a band playing in front of a gift shop. “But that night was much more intense than this!”
    The noise fades out as we walk into the restaurant. There’s a row of people waiting for a table, but it’s still much better than the other place. Lila heads up to the hostess standing at the front to put our names down on the waiting list.
    “That night was intense, but only because of you.” Ethan smirks maliciously. “If you could have just kept it in your pants, then we wouldn’t have had to run away from the club.”
    Lila returns and her eyes scan the three of us. “I’m so lost. Who couldn’t keep it in their pants?”
    “It’s a good thing that you’re lost, trust me.” I pat her arm as Ella and Ethan start to laugh. “These two are just trying to embarrass me with a drunken mistake of my past.”
    “ ‘But she looked so hot when we were dancing,’ ” Ella says mocking me in a deep voice. “ ‘And I swear she looked younger.’ ”
    Ethan busts up laughing, leaning in toward Ella, who’s laughing just as hard. Ethan told me about their little shake thing with Mikey and it seems like it kind of broke down a barrier between the two of them.
    I shove Ethan and he staggers into a tall blonde with a big rack and his hand ends up touching her boob. Ella whirls toward the wall laughing her ass off.
    “I’m sorry,” Ethan apologizes to the blonde with an amused grin. “I didn’t see you there, sweetheart.”
    She’s probably around the same age as us, maybe a little older. She narrows her eyes and stomps off toward the seating area with her arms crossed as she sinks down at the end of the bench.
    “Thanks for making me look like a perv.” Ethan scowls at me and then glances discretely at Lila.
    “You don’t need my help with that, man.” I notice that Ella is still facing the wall and her shoulders are shaking. “Oh pretty girl, are you alive over there?”
    Shaking her head, she turns around with her hand covering her mouth and tears streaming out of her eyes. “I’m sorry,” she says between laughs. “I just can’t stop picturing that lady in New Orleans and how you almost did her in the bathroom. And then we had to drag you out of the club as she chased after us.”
    “That’s what happened?” Lila starts to giggle and her legs almost buckle from under her as she hunches over, clutching at her stomach.
    “She wasn’t that old, like maybe thirty-five or forty,” I argue, moving aside as some people walk in through the door and let in a cool breeze. “And I was
drunk
.”
    Ethan pats my shoulder and gives me a sympathetic look. “It’s okay. We all love our cougars.”
    I punch him in the arm and Ella laughs so hard she can barely stand. I decide she needs to be punished too so I fix my gaze on her. She stops laughing and her lips shift to a frown.
    “You don’t scare me, Micha Scott.” She backs toward the corner. “I know you won’t hurt me.”
    “You’re right. I won’t ever hurt you.” I spread my hands out to the side, so she’s got no place to run. “But I did see a water fountain down the block.”
    “Please don’t,” she pleads with her hands out protectively in front of her. “It’s like fifty degrees outside.”
    “You deserve it.” I easily pick her up and throw her over my shoulder.
    “Micha.” She squirms as I push out the doors and onto the sidewalk. We turn heads as I march toward the fountain at the end of the street just in front of a park. When I reach the marble edge of it, I pause, deciding what to do. Jump in and toss her under the spraying water? Or just set her down in it?
    “What is it with you and water?” She elevates her head and brushes her hair out of her face to look me in the eyes. “Whether it’s sprinklers or showers—you’re always getting me wet.”
    Unable to help myself, I spread my