Sienna was curled up on the couch, lounging in her pajamas. Light blue satin shorts showed off her curvy ass as a cream colored spaghetti strapped tank top clung to her full, rounded, 38C breasts. Her auburn hair was pulled back into a messy bun. Her light almond brown eyes were slightly drowsy with sleep, even though it was 4:30 in the afternoon.
Suddenly, she heard the back door slam. She jumped as she saw Mike's back pack come sailing through the air and hit the hallway floor with a thud. She heard Mike holler, "Fuckers! Those sons of bitches!"
Slowly, Sienna poked her head around the corner. She saw Mike leaning over the table, his head hanging. Sienna touched his hand, gently. Mike raised his smoky blue eyes to meet hers. He sighed as he curled his hand around hers. She placed a tender kiss on his cheek. "Bad day?" she asked.
Mike sighed and was obviously upset. "I hate the people I work with. They tease me about our relationship relentlessly. Yeah, they're favorite thing to mention is that when I'll be forty years old, you'll be thirty-two. They love to mentioned that eight year age difference."
There was a long pause before Sienna spoke. "So, you let them run your relationships?"
Mike sighed, "I wish just one person would be happy that I was with you."
Sienna was quite taken aback by his comment. Her light almond brown eyes began to well up with tears. Without saying a word, she turned and ran up the stairs, leaving Mike with a confused look on his face. "Sienna!" he called.
Racing up the stairs, he cleared them two at a time. He came into his bedroom to find her throwing her clothes, haphazardly, into one of her duffel bags with tears streaming down her face. Mike stopped her and asked, "What on earth is all this about?"
Sienna could barely speak as she choked back tears. She managed to ration, "You wish one person would be happy? I thought that YOU would be happy! Don't you count as one person? You let them run your relationships, Mike! Why do you need other people's approval to be with me?"
She managed to yank her bag away from him. Sienna slipped jeans over her light blue satin shorts. Slinging the bag over her shoulder, she pushed past Mike down the stairs.
Mike practically jumped down the flights of stairs after her. Sienna made it to his back porch before Mike could get to her. Grabbing her by the wrist without causing any pain to her, he stopped her in her tracks. "Sienna, please don't do this! Please don't leave," he begged, his voice quivering. She couldn't even look at him. Mike explained, "Sienna, they're idiots. They have no idea how happy I am with you. Most of the guys are miserable in their own relationships so they think no one else can be happy. I want to be with you, Sienna. You make me so happy. I feel alive with you. Well, what do you expect when I, a thirty-two year old date a twenty-three year old?" He cracked a slight smile.
Sienna sighed slightly. Mike continued, "Yes, baby, you're young. We talked about that; but you act so much older and mature than twenty-three. I like that we can have an intelligent, civil debate about -- say -- the death penalty, and then go and watch cartoons -- and laugh! I really like that about you. Sienna, please, come back in the house."
"Why?" she asked quietly.
"Because I ..." Mike stopped himself before he said it. The pause was awkward, but he recovered, "because I asked you to."
Sensing there was more to it than he was letting on, she allowed surrender to take hold and followed him back into his house.
She dropped her bag to the kitchen floor and practically collapsed into Mike's arms. He hugged her close to his chest. His heart fluttered, in a bad way, at the thought of almost losing her. A tear ran down his cheek as he sniffed back a sob. Mike tenderly cuddled her head to his broad chest, and ran his fingers through her auburn hair. Sienna rested her hands on his chest and inhaled the sporty scent of his cologne. "I guess I was hoping that my feelings for you would be enough of a validation."
Mike clenched his jaw and tried not to cry. He realized how much he had hurt her by letting the men at work get under his skin. He gripped her tighter. "Sienna, it does. Please believe me. Your feelings mean more than those guys ever will. Sienna I ..." Mike stopped and swallowed a lump in his throat as he looked into her misty almond brown eyes. "Sienna, I ... I ... L L L lost my wallet. Umm ... have you seen it?" Mike asked as he stepped away from her and rummaged through the "stuff" basket on his kitchen table.
Sienna could see her confused look in the kitchen window. She turned and stared at him. "What?" she asked, confused, not really expecting an answer.
"Maybe I left it upstairs," he said quietly as he made his way back up to his bedroom. As he turned, Sienna saw the outline of his wallet in the back pocket of his black dress pants. She crossed her arms over her chest in shock.
She bounded up the stairs after him and rounded the corner into his room. "You have some explaining to do, Michael Aidan O'Connor," she demanded. All three names got his attention! "You've been acting strange lately. I've noticed you leave the room to talk on the phone. We haven't gone to any movies lately. You insist on bringing your lunch to work instead of meeting me like usual. When Katrina and I were at the mall last week, we saw you in the jewelry store with another woman."
Mike swallowed a lump in his throat. He could hear his own heart beat pounding like a bass drum.
Sienna braced herself for her twenty-three year old heart to be shattered into a million pieces like safety glass. "Mike, if there's something you need to tell me now's the time to do it."
The silence in his bedroom was almost deafening. Breathing seemed as loud as crashing cymbals. Mike placed his hands on his hips and said, "I packed your bag." Sienna kept her composure. A thousand things raced through her mind: the first time they met; their first date; the night he confessed his fantasy about her being a belly dancer for him [His Little Belly Dancer]; the night she made that fantasy come true for him [His Little Belly Dancer Ch 2]; that same night having sex with him for the first time in their relationship.
In silence, they climbed into his pick up truck. Sienna stared out the passenger window, unable to look at him. She fought back tears as they rode in silence. Soon, country music replaced the hum of the tires. Mike could never ride in silence for too long. She "zoned out" as she blankly stared out the window.
After what correctly seemed like an hour, Sienna became confused. She looked around, not able to tell where they were. Winding dirt roads and identical rocks and pine trees began to confuse her even more. Suddenly, his truck slowed to a stop, and she looked intently out the windshield and saw a picture perfect log cabin with smoke puffing lightly out the chimney.
It was surrounded by tall, majestic pine trees and a wrap around deck. A wide, gentle rolling creek was winding behind the cabin, creating a soothing sound. The sun had begun to set in a fiery ball of orange, throwing pink and lavender shades into the cloudless sky. Sienna's mouth hung slightly open as she turned her mystified gaze towards Mike. He was looking down at his lap as he fidgeted with his truck keys.
