The Forever of Ella and Micha

wrong way, but what are you doing here? Is something wrong?”
    “No, nothing’s wrong. Lila said I needed to come see you before you left.” I trace my fingers along the back of his neck and he shivers from my touch. “She said that she was sick of my bad attitude and that I needed to get you out of my system, at least for a day or so.”
    He bites at his lip, stifling a smile. “You know you could never get me out of your system. It’s not possible.”
    “I know, but I can try,” I tease. “In fact, I could try a lot.”
    A naughty look dances in his eyes. “I like the sound of that.”
    He moves in for another kiss, deliberately this time, but with equally as much passion as all our kisses. “I have two more songs to play and then you and I can leave.”
    I blink dazedly. “Where are we going?”
    He lets out a breathy laugh as he presses up against me. “First things first. We’re going to go back to the hotel and take care of some much needed business.”
    I try not to smile, but it’s impossible. “And then what are we going to do?”
    “Then we’ll go out and do something fun,” he promises, setting me back on the floor. He kisses my forehead, and then moves back through the crowd to the stage.
    I find Lila at the bar and plop down in a barstool next to her. My gaze locks on Micha on stage as he starts to play a cover of his sad-turned-happy song—our song, as he tells me all the time.
    “Oh thank God.” Lila stirs the red fruity drink in her hand. “You’re happy again.”
    Forcing my lips together, I suffocate my giddiness, but eventually it surfaces. It’s terrifying, feeling this way. I didn’t realize how down I was until now.

Micha
    It’s the first time I’ve ever been excited to be done performing. I can’t wait to get out of the club and take her back to the room. The entire time I’m singing, my eyes are fixed on her. Deep down, I’m singing only to her.
    When I finish, the band clears the stage. I hold up a finger at Ella, letting her know I’ll be a second, and then go into the room where our instruments are.
    “Someone got a nice surprise,” Naomi comments as she pulls her long, black hair up into a bun and glances at herself in the cracked mirror on the wall. “Looks like you won’t be going out with the band tonight.”
    “I think we’ll come out with you.” I put my guitar into the case and clip the locks. “But I’m going back to the hotel room first and you guys might want to steer clear of it for a while.”
    She rolls her eyes and Dylan, our drummer, lifts up his hand to give me a high-five. Dylan likes to call himself “The Ladies Man” and spends a lot of time bragging about his hookups while we’re on the road. It’s annoying as shit and I dismiss his high-five.
    “Take my guitar with you and I’ll text you later.” I hand Naomi the case and walk backward for the door. “Oh yeah, and would you mind if Ella’s friend hung out with you guys for a while?”
    She shrugs as she puts on some red lipstick. “I guess… but is it that blonde one? Because she doesn’t really look like she’ll be too happy hanging with us lowlifes.”
    I open the door. “She just looks stuck-up, but she’s cool.”
    When I walk back out into the club, Ella and Lila are at the bar. Ella’s drinking a beer, with her endless legs crossed, and Lila’s sipping on some girlie fruit drink. They’re talking about something and Ella’s got a huge smile on her face.
    Interrupting the conversation, I squeeze between them and press my lips to hers, giving her a deep kiss. When I draw back, her eyes are big and glassy and I love that I’m the one who put the look on her face.
    “Oh great, now the clothes are coming off.” Lila crosses her legs and laughs, exchanging a look with Ella.
    “What’s up?” Dragging a finger across her collarbone, I step up behind Ella and circle my arms around her waist.
    “It’s nothing.” Ella rests her head against my chest. “She’s just making an inside joke.”
    “Speaking of inside.” I take her hand and pull her to her feet. “We need to go.”
    She hauls me back toward the bar as I try to pull her through the crowd toward the exit. “What about Lila? We can’t just leave her here.”
    Lila finishes her drink and slides the empty glass onto the counter. “I can hang out in the car or something.”
    I shake my head. “That’s not a good idea. Not in this kind of neighborhood. But Naomi said you can hang out with her