"I spent last night, on the last flight to you..." Girls Like You, by Maroon 5
Tuesday, April 8th, 1980
Shit on a shingle, I'm going to be late! My legs carried me around my bedroom in a hurry as I gathered up dirty clothes and shoved them into the woven hamper on the other side of the room. The alarm clock that perched on my bedside table read 8:53 am, which meant I had to leave my house in half an hour if I wanted to make it to Olympia in time to pick up Michael.
He'd originally refused to having me pick him up, but I wore his resolve down over the phone with my girlish charm. Plus, that meant we'd be able to spend more time together seeing as the drive from Aberdeen to Olympia was a good 50 minutes long. His private flight was scheduled to touch down at 10:30 and here I am still in my pajamas, unshowered and looking like a mess. I made a face at myself in the mirror that hung opposite of my bed. Time for action, Briggs!
I hopped in the shower, scrubbing myself with fervor and shampooing my hair - having zero time for conditioner. I'll give myself a deep condition later tonight, if I find the time. My thoughts began to drift into dangerous territory while I finished up my shower... I shook my head. Nope, you don't have the time for that right now. Get your mind out of the gutter, Astoria.
I turned off the shower and climbed out, the tap dripped for a moment as I grabbed my towel. I didn't even stop to moisturize my face like I normally would, I simply barrelled into my bedroom again wrapping the towel around my head. Fingers crossed that I don't leave the house with a dripping head of hair... Naked, and cold I walked over to my closet - walk-in closet actually - and began rifling through the drawers.
"Old," I tossed a pair of underwear behind me, continuing to search. I made a face at the next pair I pulled out, "Why didn't these get thrown away? Eww!" I tossed that pair in a small rubbish bin I kept in the closet. I moved around the contents of my underwear drawer, trying to find something practical, but to no avail. Just thongs. Great. I pulled out a lacy, dark blue one. "This'll work, I guess. Damn you, Brinley..." I slipped it on, feeling more exposed than before. I grabbed a bra that didn't match, but wouldn't blatantly show from under my t-shirt and a pair of my favorite, worn jeans. Good.
One pair of socks and shoes later I stumbled into the kitchen, grabbing a bag of bread and the toaster. My eyes found the analogue clock on the wall, it said 9:21 am. How long did I take in the shower? My hands fumbled as I plugged the toaster in and slipped a slice of bread into one of the slots, two fingers pressed the plunger down. Now we wait. I made a face.
"Where's the jam? Crap!" I investigated the fridge. Top shelf: nothing. Middle shelf: nadda. Bottom shelf: milk, but no jam. Damn it all. I wanted to pull my hair out by their roots. "Do I have butter? Probably not..." I ran a hand down my face, realizing how badly I needed to go grocery shopping. I've been so busy creating songs and working with other producers that I've been slacking with trivial things like food in the pantry. The toaster popped and I grabbed the hot piece of freshly made toast with my bare hand, almost immediately regretting it.
Eyes brimming with tears of pain from my burnt hand, I took a forceful bite out of the plain toast and walked from the kitchen and into the garage. I'm glad I decided on a joining door... I grabbed the second pair of keys off the key hanger that was mounted against the wall next to the door, and hopped down the stairs to my new baby, a white Porsche 944. I'm in love with it. I must have a thing for small cars. The engine roared to life and I pressed a button to make the garage door rise so I could back out. The garage door closed by itself as I drove off through Aberdeen, Washington heading towards Olympia.
Maybe I need an assistant...
I made it to the Olympia Regional Airport with only three minutes to spare. The workers had been expecting me and let me drive my car out onto the tarmac, bless their souls. I saw a white plane come into view with cerulean decorations of numbers and stripes, that must be him... My heart fluttered, becoming excited.
A gentleman who worked at the airport had to escort me where ever I was on the tarmac, and we were safe from incoming landings for the record. He was tall, caucasian, and had a pair of classic aviators on even though it was overcast outside. He also wore a headset that had immediate connection to the flight tower, and he was currently wrapped up in conversation with those who resided in the tower. His head turned to me.
"Ma'am?" I gave him my attention. "Flight 243 is preparing to land now." He gave me a polite smile and looked back at the plane. That's his flight! My stomach started doing flips and turns like it was driving a racecar. Lord, help me act normal! I began messing with my fingernails and pushing the cuticles back as I watched the plane descend, bumping on the black top as it touched down. The employee next to me said a few more things into his headset, but it was all aviation lingo and therefore eluded me.
The plane landed completely and stopped somewhat near where the airport employee and I were standing with my car. I could hear the engines slowing dwindle in sound and after another worker pushed the portable stairwell to the entrance and exit of the plane, that's when I saw him. I ran like a maniac towards the stationary plane. A smile was plastered on my makeup-less face. Michael opened his arms after he quickly hustled down the steps, meeting me in an embrace. We held each other for a time, before loosening our embrace of each other so our lips could meet in a series of pecks. I pulled away, still grinning.
"You're here..." I said, feeling high. His teeth had a hold on his lower lip, but released it as he spoke.
"I'm here, and gosh did I miss you..." Both his hands were holding onto either side of my face as we gazed at each other longingly.
"They say absence makes the heart grow fonder." I teased, sticking the tip of my tongue out at him. He rolled his eyes and let go of my face.
"My heart is pretty fond already, thank you." His eyes looked me up and down, and he made a face.
"What?" He donned a sly grin.
"Is that my shirt?" He asked. I looked down at myself and realized I had put on Michael's shirt that I'd nicked from him before moving. Smooth... I knew I had become a healthy shade of pink at his words and looked down, shrugging.
"Uh, maybe." I whispered quietly. He crossed his arms.
"I didn't catch that, Ash. What did you just say?" Michael was clearly enjoying this too much, it was obvious. We're still standing at the bottom of the stairs next to the plane, and I didn't want to cause a scene yet here he was making me turn into a tomato face. I grabbed his arm, trying to get him to start walking towards my Porsche. It didn't work, damn him for standing his ground. I huffed audibly, and made direct eye contact with him looking perturbed.
"YES." He started giggling like a little girl, his abdomen clenching under his shirt. I grabbed his hand. "Now let's go, you goofball..." I all but dragged him halfway to my car with my keys in hand before he suddenly let go. I turned around.
"My stuff!" He exclaimed. I watched Michael run back to the stairs where a duffle bag sat, almost forgotten. He called out to one of the workers, who quickly brought over another, larger bag to my confusion. Michael gave he man a smile and said something I couldn't hear before making his way back to me across the tarmac.
"What's with the extra luggage?" I asked him. A million answers were running through my head because of Michael's expression as he put his stuff in the open trunk.
"Oh, that's right I haven't told you yet." My eyes got bigger.
"What haven't you told me?" I put a hand on my hip. "And stop grinning at me like you're the Cheshire Cat from Alice In Wonderland!" I gave his upper arm a smack.
"Ok, ok!" He held his hands up in the air. "I'm staying longer, gosh girl." My frustration vanished.
"Really? How long?"
"Six days!"
Michael's Perspective
Her eyes were huge, and they sparkled at me. I couldn't contain my glee at her reaction. I hope I surprised her enough... She jumped a little in place making her chest jiggle, and even though I knew I should have looked somewhere else, I couldn't. My shirt was tight across her chest—that shirt was tight on me when I wore it—she filled it out in all the right ways. It looked shorter on her torso though, I noticed as I let my eyes wander over her gorgeous figure. The shirt that I had to tuck in because of its length was bearing a slim amount of her midriff, that area of skin peaking out was driving me wild. My thoughts wandered without my permission.
Baby, the things I want to do to you right now should be illegal...
Someone snapped their fingers in front of my face just then.
"Michael?" It was my girlfriend, of course.
"Yeah?"
"You need to stop staring at me like that," She leaned in closer to me, whispering "People are giving us looks." She hissed.
I didn't care what anyone thought of us, quite frankly. Let them stare. I wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her body flush against mine. She makes me so confident, gosh. Last year even, I wouldn't be doing things like this. I'd still be blushing if someone mentioned anything somewhat sexual about a girl if hadn't found her. Thank you God, for such a fine lady. I leaned in slowly to kiss her passionately, thankful that I had her in front of me again. Her dainty hands rested against my chest and soon I heard a small sigh leave her as we kissed. I felt a stirring come from beneath my belt. Shit.
I pulled away, leaving her breathless. Hell, I'm breathless. I shot a cocky look at the flight attendant who had been standing with Astoria earlier. He thought I hadn't noticed him checking her out, but I did. It was hard not to notice, but she's my girl not his. Turning my attention back to her, I watched her eyelids flutter open again. Her face was gloriously flushed and words seemed to evade her as her now swollen lips opened and closed.
Rein it in, Jackson.
"Let's go, yeah?" I suggested. She nodded and I let her go, getting into the passenger seat of her new car. Buckled with an arm draped around her seat I watched her fiddling with the car —it's a stick, not an automatic. My girl knows how to drive! Why am I so proud of such trivial things?
We took off, leaving the airport and heading to her new place I assumed. I haven't yet seen her new house and admittedly, I'm rather excited to see an idea of hers come to fruition. She had always been on the phone talking to contractors, electricians, plumbers, and the like about how she'd visualized every detail. I knew it was considered a beachfront property right outside Aberdeen, Washington, but that was it.
The radio played softly in the vehicle as we drove down highway 12. We'd just drove through Elma, a very tiny town but the upcoming town was even smaller—if you could call it a town, that is. Astoria shifted the car down into third gear as the speed limit changed, I eyeballed her and moved my hand to her thigh smirking as I did so.
"Michael..." She said lowly. "I'm driving, babe."
"I know." I caressed her right thigh, rubbing my hand in slow circles. A moment passed.
"Michael, I will pull over this car. Stop." Her protest made me chuckle, but I continued my ministrations regardless. After another moment she sighed loudly, and shifted again. "We're halfway there, can't you wait?" She complained. I shook my head.
"I've been waiting for a long-ass time, Ash." My voice dropped, gaining her attention. She gave me a look and I stopped moving my hand, but I left it on her thigh.
I'd be lying if I said I hadn't been thinking about having sex recently, especially with this lovely lady right here. This trip was going to be a big step for the both of us. I'm not expecting to get lucky, but when I brought up the topic with Jackie he'd told me to bring protection anyway. You never know, Mike. Just make sure it's special for both of you. He's the only brother I felt fully comfortable to have that conversation with at the time, and I knew his advice would be genuine. So, because of that conversation there was one pocket in my suitcase that had been dedicated to nothing but various styles and sizes of condoms, as well as a couple different containers of lube. I really didn't know what we were going to need, or if we were going to need it in the first place.
Be prepared anyway.
"Michael?" Astoria's voice brought me out of my thoughts.
"Yes?"
"I was wondering if you'd feel comfortable..." She trailed off, hesitant. Is she asking me... what I think she's asking me? One of my eyebrows raised.
"Comfortable with what, baby?" I asked her, thoroughly intrigued. She grimaced before continuing, her eyes paying attention to the road.
"Do you feel comfortable going grocery shopping with me today?" My excitement dropped. That's not what I thought she was about to ask me.
"Uhh." I moved my hand off her thigh and scratched the back of my neck, thinking of an answer.
"It's alright if you're not. It's just, this morning when I was getting ready I noticed my fridge was quite empty. My pantry too—" I stopped her.
"Ash, it's good. Let's go grocery shopping!" I wanted to grimace at the thought of going to the grocery store, but it made her smile and that's all that matters to me. I had a hat and some shades with me, and I hoped and silently prayed that that would be enough for a quick run to the grocery store.
But it wasn't a 'quick run' to the grocery store.
We'd been here for a solid 45 minutes, if not more. Certains parts of this ordeal were tolerable, and then there were moments when Astoria couldn't reach something off of the top sheft... I'd watch her reach up on her tip-toes with one hand in the air, her shirt—my shirt—would ride up and show off more skin. Right as she'd waver, I'd come up behind her and grab the item she wanted.
"Michael, I can do it myself." She tell me in some new way every time I helped her, which was adorable. We'd already been through the middle section of the store, which took the longest and made me wonder just how long it had actually been since she'd gone shopping. Our cart was getting pretty full and I had no idea what else she needs, or I'd go off and grab it for her in order to get out of here quicker. I watched Astoria pull out a white piece of scribbled-on paper from her pocket and glance at it for the hundredth time. I held back a sigh.
"Is there anything else we need?" I asked, hoping the answer was 'no'. With her hands on the shopping cart rail, she turned to look at me.
"Yes, there is actually. Do you think you could take the cart to the front and get in line? I only need to grab one more thing, so I can meet you up there." My curiosity made me want to ask her what it was she could possibly still need, but a hunch told me that if it was important then she'd tell me. She let go of the cart as I nodded, smiling.
"Thank you! I'll only be a moment, I swear." And with that, her form hurried off and turned down one of the only aisles we hadn't gone down. I adjusted my sunglasses on my nose and started walking to the front. There was only two lanes open, it seemed slow for a Tuesday but I don't really go to grocery stores much, so what do I know. I decided to get in the line with more people in it, thinking it would be best. Seconds later someone pinched my butt, making me yelp out in surprise. The two of us were given a few looks, but were otherwise left alone.
"Astoria..." I ground out from under my breath. She shouldn't do such a thing, what if someone had recognized me! That's the last thing either one of us needed right now, but she was simply giggling at my reaction without a care in the world.
I guess it's not that big of a deal...
"Sorry, but it's not my fault you have a perky butt." I flushed, feeling unbelievably warm suddenly. We began putting groceries on the conveyer belt as space started to become available. I wondered if she could feel my glare from behind the sunglasses. I'm not really that angry, I just don't want anything to ruin our week together. "I know this isn't what you pictured us doing, but thank you for cooperating." She kissed my cheek, and my frustration fled from my being like a scared puppy.
"Nothing's too good for my girl." I cringed internally at my words. Cheese city, good lord.
With the cart empty and everything on the conveyor belt, we stood in line together and waited. I put an arm around her and she leaned her head on my shoulder. This is so nice, the normality of this excursion. Getting groceries, helping her with tiny things, being in public together... No one noticing who I am and screeching about it. I love all the fans, truly I do, but it's so wonderful to be able to do this for once. I'm surprised—
"Um, Ash?" I gulped and tried to remain calm. It's not that big of a deal. It's good. Everything's good.
"Yes?" Her voice reached my ear, but I was staring at the magazine on display to our left, sitting above our groceries that gradually moved across the belt. I heard her sharp intake of breath before she spoke again. "No big deal, we'll just turn it around. Like that." The magazine now showed a toothpaste ad to the watchful eye, instead of a picture of her and I with the headline reading: Michael Jackson's Mystery Girlfriend, Who is he dating? Find Out Inside! I'd bet some serious money they didn't know who she is. The picture they chose to use was taken as we'd exited a restaurant I'd taken her to on Valentine's Day earlier this year, and we'd been made aware of the paparazzi before leaving. You couldn't see her face because she had draped her scarf over her head—ingeniously, I might add.
With that fixed, we checked out without a single issue and left the store accordingly. Since we stopped at a grocery store in Aberdeen, the final leg of the drive to her place wasn't very long and we made it there in what felt like record time. Both of us carried in the groceries through the door that connected the garage to the kitchen.
"Where do you want it all?" I held four bags in each hand as I stood in her kitchen looking around.
"On the island." I grunted, and lifted the groceries up onto the island's white granite countertop. Officially done with bring all the groceries in from the car, I leaned against the counter and took in my surroundings.
Her house had an amazing amount of natural light in it, especially while bearing in mind that Washington had more cloudy and overcast days then sunny ones. The walls were painted pale colors, lighter than pastels. The wood chosen for everything looked like sun baked driftwood off the beach, grey but refined. There was a garden window above the ceramic farmhouse sink, and held a couple small plants that looked fairly new—she hadn't had them at the apartment that I'd noticed. A couple of the kitchen cabinets had stain-glass fronts made from holographic clear glass, giving the room some much deserved color along with the plants.
Thump!
I turned my head and saw the only person I wanted to see, with my duffle bag slung over one shoulder and my luggage bag standing at attention in front of
You are reading the story above: TeenFic.Net