Part IV
By Cin
Three days later
Micky had never been so exhausted in his life.
He was sprawled out on the chaise lounge after another late afternoon of exercising with Cady—every muscle in his body screamed with pain, and all he wanted to do was stretch out in his bed and sleep for days.
“Are you still sore?” Cady asked, kneeling beside him.
“Does Mike wear a wool hat?” he answered, heaving a sigh.
“I know something that’ll help,” she impulsively said. “Take off your shirt and lie on your stomach.”
“Why?” He eyed her suspiciously.
“I’m going to massage your back so it doesn’t hurt so badly.”
“But—“
“Just shut up and roll over, Dolenz.”
Too tired to argue with her, he laughed and did as she said, folding his arms under his chin to form a pillow.
Cady rose and placed one knee on either side of Micky’s legs, straddling him, then leaned forward and slowly dug her thumbs into the bunched-up muscles at the base of his neck. He let out an involuntary groan as the muscles loosened at her firm touch, and she began to knead her way down his back, her hands gentle yet unrelenting. His body relaxed underneath her ministrations, and a tingling sensation shot up his spine, energizing him. The feel of her fingers caressing his bare skin was surprisingly erotic, and to his complete shock, Micky found himself becoming aroused by the massage.
<This is Cady!> he frantically reminded himself. <The same girl you’ve known since she was in high school—your friend!>
His mind might have been able to make that distinction, but his body wasn’t, and he could feel himself hardening, straining against the restrictive material of his cut-off denim shorts. He shifted slightly, uncomfortably, but Cady’s weight was pressing him further into the lounge, and the movement only aroused him more. If he didn’t do something to stop her soon, he was only going to embarrass himself—and her as well.
<But what can I do?> he thought. <If I turn around or sit up, she’ll be able to tell what’s wrong!> And while Cady would probably react with nothing but understanding, he still didn’t want her to know. He was supposed to be in love with Brenda, after all! Suddenly an idea came to him. He closed his eyes, slowing his breathing and letting out the occasional snore.
Instantly she stopped the massage, leaning down until her face was nearly in his, her hair tickling his cheek and shoulder. “Mick? You asleep?”
He kept his eyes closed and continued to fake sleep, trying to think of complicated math problems and cold showers. He felt her weight rise off his body and heard her quiet footsteps creak across the floor in the direction of the front door. He didn’t open his eyes until he heard the door open and close, and even then it was a few minutes before he had sufficient control of himself to roll over and lie on his back, staring up at the ceiling as he muddled through the confusing thoughts racing through his brain.
Why had he never noticed how pretty Cady was before? He closed his eyes and pictured her face in his mind: wide, clear green eyes fringed with long, dark eyelashes; a straight Romanesque nose; and a full, sensual mouth with a smile that never failed to melt his heart. Her body was slender and compact, well-toned due to the fact that she was a member of her school’s volleyball team and loved to run in her spare time….
He jolted up from the chaise lounge as if he’d been stung by a bee.
He was thinking about Cady as if—as if…
As if he were in love with her.
But he wasn’t! He couldn’t be! Not after all the time and effort he’d put into pursuing Brenda, into improving himself so that Brenda would fall for him the same way he’d fallen for her…
And then it hit him.
His eyes grew wide and his mouth dropped open.
He hadn’t been in love with Brenda at all. He’d only been obsessed with her looks; he’d thought of her as a status symbol, a girlfriend that he could show off to the guys. He hadn’t even bothered to find out what she was really like, and not only that, but he’d wanted to change himself for her, believing that she would never be able to care for him the way he was.
But Cady—she knew him, all his annoying habits and insecurities, and she still cared about him, enough to help him win over Brenda even though she knew that Brenda was wrong for him. And she’d even been right about that, Micky saw now. All she’d wanted was his happiness, even if it meant sacrificing her own peace of mind and risking her friendship with him.
He deserved someone who loved him for himself, not someone for whom he had to change into something he wasn’t.
He deserved Cady.
There was an abrupt knock at the door, and before he could get up to answer it, Shah-Ku strolled in, looking as if he owned the place.
“What’re you doing here?” Micky asked, confused.
“I came by to check up on you, my dear boy—you were so weak the last time I saw you, and you never stopped by with the money for the program.” Shah-Ku gazed around the eclectically-decorated living room with obvious distaste. “It’s no wonder you’re in the shape you’re in, living in this sort of environment.”
Micky glared up at him. “Get out,” he firmly said, gesturing towards the door.
“You’re so delirious from your pathetic physical condition that you don’t know what you’re saying.” Shah-Ku haughtily sniffed, but there was a flicker of something—fear?—in his eyes that didn’t escape Micky.
“I’m not pathetic, and I’m not weak. I don’t need your bodybuilding program anymore. Now I mean it—get out!”
The forcefulness in Micky’s voice startled Shah-Ku, and without another word the little man turned and hustled out the door.
<Sheesh!> he thought. <Why was he so hell-bent on getting me to sign up for his program?>
Peter and Davy came in the verandah door, looking as excited as two small children on Christmas morning.
“Micky, since you’ve been in such good health and keeping up with your training and everything, we thought we’d get you a surprise,” Peter said with a wide grin.
Davy made a “ta-da” noise, and in walked Brenda, wearing a green mini-dress and a slight smile.
“The boys told me how well you’ve been following your…program,” she said with a hint of disdain. “Maybe we could see a movie tonight.”
Micky stared at her. He no longer felt the usual rush of excitement when he saw her—in fact, he felt nothing at all for her except for complete indifference. She might as well have been one of the little lawn elves that Peter had snuck out onto the lawn in Mike’s absence as far as he was concerned.
There was only one person he wanted to see, and he had a lot to make up to her.
“Sorry, Brenda, gotta go,” he brusquely said, leaping off the chaise lounge and darting out the front door.
Brenda stared after him, stunned, and so did Davy and Peter.
“What the hell’s going on around here?” Davy muttered.
“I don’t know, but I wish Mike were here,” Peter said.
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