The Forever of Ella and Micha

the space on each side of him.
    “No flinging us out onto the ground,” I order, putting my glove on before winding my hands around the chains. “Last time I nearly broke my arm.”
    A devious look masks his face as he picks up his feet and soars us off into the sky. It’s cold as hell and there are dogs howling in the background as someone starts to shout, but I can still feel it—the lightness that comes with letting someone love you completely.

Chapter 18
Micha
    Early the next morning, Caroline called to ask Ella if she would mind doing the shopping for Christmas dinner. Ella agreed and Caroline gave her a list of stuff. I was kind of annoyed, since Ella used to have to take care of this shit all the time when we were growing up. Dean should have offered her a break. So after we cleared out all the alcohol from the house in preparation for the arrival of Ella’s father, we went to the local grocery store.
    “I have a confession,” I announce as we walk up the frozen-food aisle. The store is crowded and picked over since it’s Christmas day and everyone in the damn town has rushed to buy last-minute stuff.
    “I’m not sure I want to hear your confession,” she responds with a smile as she scans the list. She’s wearing a tight pair of jeans that hug at her hips, and every time she bends over to grab something off the bottom shelf, I get a nice view of her ass. “Things have been going so well.”
    “But it’s kind of important and it’s been bugging me since our game of truth yesterday, because it should have been said.” I pause. “I want you to know that I talked to this music producer down in San Diego.”
    Her eyes slowly lift from the paper. “When did this happen?”
    “It happened, like, a couple of days ago.” I inch the cart out of the way as an old woman nearly runs into the back of me. I have my hood over my head and she looks at me like I’m going to rob her, so I charm her with a smile, before returning my attention to Ella. “And it’s not really a big deal. Some guy came up to me and handed me his card when I was playing at The Hook Up. I don’t even recognize his name or anything, although I Googled him and he does work for a small studio.”
    “Did you call him?” She opens a freezer door to get a bag of frozen peas.
    I nod, taking the bag from her hand and tossing it into the cart. “Yeah, he wants me to come out for a meeting in, like, a couple of weeks.”
    She wraps her leather jacket tighter around her with a puzzled look on her face. “And what happens if it works out for you? Then you’ll move to California?”
    “Maybe… I don’t know,” I lie with hesitance. “I haven’t let myself think about the what-if’s too much.”
    She adds another bag of frozen peas to the cart and starts walking down the aisle. “But what if something happens? Because it could. You are amazing after all.”
    “Well, if something does happen…” I clear my throat, feeling like a total pussy over the fact that I’m nervous. “Then I was thinking that maybe you could move there with me. They have a couple colleges nearby that you could transfer to so you don’t have to give that up.”
    He eyes widen just like I anticipated. “And we would just, what? Live together?”
    “Well, I wasn’t thinking we’d move out there and live separately.”
    “Live together,” she repeats. “Like, with you?”
    “Calm down, okay? You don’t have to answer now.” I toss a bag of chips into the cart and push it forward. “Just think about it.”
    She scratches off an item on the list with the pen. “Okay… I’ll think about it.”
    I opt to end the conversation there, right on a good note, because it will keep me in a good mood all day.

Ella
    I unpack the groceries and read through the many past-due bills that were piling up in the mailbox. One in particular is a notice that the house is about to go into foreclosure. My chest tightens as I read it and the paper shakes in my unsteady hand.
    “What’s wrong?” Micha asks, coming up behind me.
    “It’s nothing.” I stuff the letter back into the envelope and set it down on the kitchen table. “Just bill stuff that I have no idea what to do with.”
    I head to take a shower. I’ve been frozen since we arrived and the hot water sounds great at the moment. Plus, I need a minute alone to mull over his declaration that he wants us to live together.
Live together
. My mind can barely grasp the idea of it.
    Micha trails after