chapter twelve - serious business
An hour passes, and Michael falls asleep on the couch. His mouth is wide open, and it's kind of cute in a boyish way. He seems so peaceful, so humble, and so...average. The way I look at him is so different from everyone else. Before I called him, I knew nothing about this eighth wonder of the world, but now, I'm slowly falling in love with a man I shouldn't have. We don't talk about swimming, his time at the past Olympics, and we don't really talk about anyone famous he has come in contact with. I see Mikey for who he really is, just a man with talent, but the talent stops at my door. He still needs to take off his shoes at the front door, he always puts down the toilet seat after using the bathroom, and he helps me clean up around the house. Michael Phelps is simply Mike to me.
I slowly move his heavy arm from around my shoulders and crawl on the ground to the bathroom around the corner. Once I reach the bathroom, I stand up and dig through the medicine cabinet for a brown bottle with a thick liquid inside. Snickering to myself, I open the bottle and tip toe back out to the living room to put the liquid on his face.
Twenty minutes later, he wakes with a shake of his head and then a groan. "It feels like I drooled all over myself," Michael wipes at his face with the back of his hand and almost screams when he looks at the green powder on his hand. "What the hell is this? Get this off of me."
I smile and take a warm cloth and wipe it off his face. "Chill out, Mikey, it's just a facial mask." While I wipe the remaining gunk from his face, my smile fades. "I've been thinking a lot about us, and I'm willing to give this a shot. However, there are some things we have to take care of before we even take that step off the ground."
"Nathaniel," Michael captures my thought. "I know, and I'm willing to wait, but I won't lie to you, Madison. I cannot wait forever. He has had almost six years to see if he wants to marry you or not, which, can also be seen as he had six years to see other girls, granted he was not with you at the time. He didn't want to take either of those steps until recently, and he did both. Who's at fault here? In my eyes, you're not doing anything wrong. You're not fully his yet, and by the looks of it, you haven't been for a really long time. You lost faith in yourself, and I just want you to get that back. I want you to be happy again. I want you to just smile without reason. He took all these privileges away from you, and I'm handing them back to you. You're not Madison Lee when you're with him. You're Nathaniel's fiancée." Michael yanks his head back as I wipe too hard on his cheek. "Sorry," I mutter and try to understand where he was coming from. Breaking me out of my mold after six years will be hard, but I am willing to sacrifice anything if it means I can be myself and be with someone who loves me.
I slowly move his heavy arm from around my shoulders and crawl on the ground to the bathroom around the corner. Once I reach the bathroom, I stand up and dig through the medicine cabinet for a brown bottle with a thick liquid inside. Snickering to myself, I open the bottle and tip toe back out to the living room to put the liquid on his face.
Twenty minutes later, he wakes with a shake of his head and then a groan. "It feels like I drooled all over myself," Michael wipes at his face with the back of his hand and almost screams when he looks at the green powder on his hand. "What the hell is this? Get this off of me."
I smile and take a warm cloth and wipe it off his face. "Chill out, Mikey, it's just a facial mask." While I wipe the remaining gunk from his face, my smile fades. "I've been thinking a lot about us, and I'm willing to give this a shot. However, there are some things we have to take care of before we even take that step off the ground."
"Nathaniel," Michael captures my thought. "I know, and I'm willing to wait, but I won't lie to you, Madison. I cannot wait forever. He has had almost six years to see if he wants to marry you or not, which, can also be seen as he had six years to see other girls, granted he was not with you at the time. He didn't want to take either of those steps until recently, and he did both. Who's at fault here? In my eyes, you're not doing anything wrong. You're not fully his yet, and by the looks of it, you haven't been for a really long time. You lost faith in yourself, and I just want you to get that back. I want you to be happy again. I want you to just smile without reason. He took all these privileges away from you, and I'm handing them back to you. You're not Madison Lee when you're with him. You're Nathaniel's fiancée." Michael yanks his head back as I wipe too hard on his cheek. "Sorry," I mutter and try to understand where he was coming from. Breaking me out of my mold after six years will be hard, but I am willing to sacrifice anything if it means I can be myself and be with someone who loves me.