Page 54 of Robbin’ the Rich

"I was not,” I said trying to fight the smile.

"If you say so."

Unfortunately, he was smiling when he said it, which made it difficult to be properly offended. The music shifted to another song, and Micah turned the volume up slightly. I'd already learned he had strong opinions about music.

"What is this one?" I asked.

His whole face lit up. It was ridiculous how quickly it happened. It was the same way he came alive talking about Star Trek, or teaching, or one of his students.

"This is Pearl Jam," he explained.

And just like that he was off. Talking about albums and lyrics and concerts he'd never gotten to see because he was born too late. Explaining why certain songs mattered and how music could capture a specific moment in time.

I found myself smiling as I listened. I didn’t understand half of what he was talking about, but he cared deeply about it. There was something intoxicating about watching someone talk about something they loved.

By the time we reached the pumpkin patch, he'd somehow connected grunge music to astronomy and Star Trek in a way that only made sense inside his own head, yet I hung on his every word. The parking lot was little more than a massive field packed with trucks, SUVs, and families hauling small children toward hayrides.

Micah finally found a spot near the edge and shut off the engine. The music died. The sudden quiet felt strangely intimate. Micah turned toward me. His blonde hair fell, slightly covering one of his ice blue eyes as a smile tugged at the edge of his mouth.

Before I could talk myself out of it, I grabbed the front of his hoodie and kissed him. His surprised laugh disappeared against my mouth. One arm slid around my waist as he kissed me back, pulling me closer across the center console. The angle was terrible. The gear shift was digging into my stomach and somewhere my elbow got trapped. None of that mattered.

I smiled against his mouth when he laughed softly and pulled me closer anyway.

"Hi," he murmured.

"Hi."

I kissed him again before he could keep teasing me. For one blissful moment, the entire world disappeared. Then someone smacked the hood of the car so hard both of us jumped.

"What the⁠—"

A familiar voice shouted from outside. "Get a room!"

I knew that voice. That was a voice I heard yell at me a couple times a week. I would recognize the dulcet tones of my captain any day.

Micah groaned and dropped his forehead against the steering wheel.

Outside the windshield, Mel stood with her wife, Becca, and their son Leo.

“I did not know they were coming.”

Micah finally looked back at me, still laughing despite himself.

"We should probably go."

"Yeah, they’ll only get worse."

His smile softened. For a second we simply looked at each other. And somehow that felt even more delicious than the kissing. Then we climbed out of the car and headed toward the pumpkin patch, joining the chaos that was already waiting for us.

“Please tell me this is just a little family outing and the whole team isn’t coming.”

“I could call them,” Mel said with an evil grin.

Her wife, being a good influence she was, just took Mel’s hand. “Oh, leave them alone. Alex and Eleanor are meeting us with Ava, but that’s it.”

A car drove by them kicking up dust. “In fact, I think that is them.”

Leo was already off running after the car.