Michael or Mac Ep. 05

"Looks like Ron is changing jobs?"

"No, try again."

"Susan, haven't you got a life?"

"I'm not going to get a thing from you, am I?"

"I'm sure Kim has told you all you need to know anyhow."

"Olivia called me last night. It looks like someone has handed out another precious Macuddle."

"She didn't, did she?" I say, rolling my eyes. Not as though anyone can see. "You know, between the five of you, I don't seem to get much privacy."

"You know it's because we love ya," Susan says, punching my arm. "You off to Massachusetts next week, aren't you?" She asks as she gets back up to prepare for the impending hoards.

"Uhh, yes. I leave Monday morning," I answer as my phone buzzes in my pocket.

"Hey baby, don't forget we have to pick a song to do xx." my phone buzzes again, "And Donna wants to make your Friday concert a live event xx." For the second time in ten minutes, I find myself rolling my eyes. Then I get a third message, "Donna wants us to go with her and Mitch on Friday. What do you think? xxxxxx"

I reply, "okay, think of what you would like to sing." And, "Donna seems to want a lot. Any idea what we should dress up as?" I leave it and put my phone away as people start to walk in. I feel it vibrate but don't bother to look because the three ladies walk into class shortly after. Donna gives me her usual glare, Mia still glances but ignores me, and I get a beautiful smile from my girlfriend. I'm sure she is always behind the other two, so they don't see her.

I settled into my lesson because I have got a little behind of late. My life has got full since Emma returned to it. I am busy scribbling away when Miss Harper slides a paper towards me showing what they are doing next week. She knows that I'm away, so I automatically know what she's doing.

The morning went by really fast; I struggled a little swimming because I was still a little worn out from the busy weekend. So here I am at lunch, in my usual seat at my normal time. The girls are back in their regular place, and everything seems to be back to normal. I notice that Josh White still isn't back, which is a little strange. I finish my lunch quickly and make my way outside. I want to message Emma without being obvious, so find a quiet place in the sun.

The temperature is still up in the low seventies, so not too cold yet. I settle down under a tree and get my phone out. I chat away with Emma until the end of lunch. I find out that Josh White isn't coming back to school and make arrangements for Friday. The party is at one of the cheerleader's houses, and anyone who is anyone will be there.

That sort of thing doesn't bother me; I always consider myself fortunate to be in my position. I have followed the path set out for me and been happy with how I was raised. Both my parents and grandparent insisted that I go to state public school, which was against the family's wishes. I feel I have had a well-balanced upbringing that has given me values that other people in my position seem to lack. This, I believe, has given me the grounding needed to run the family business. I don't need to know how to make a micro-chip or what cut of meat is from where. The companies are run very well by people with much more experience than me, and that's how I plan to continue. I will get a business degree to make sure I understand what I am being told and give educated answers to any problem that might arise.

My phone beeping disrupts my train of thought. "Hey baby, I have been thinking about songs. xx"

"Not brown-eyed girl," I quickly message back.

"No, but I would like to do one that means something to both of us. How about, No One by Alicia keys?????? xxxxx."

"Big song, and we can do it acoustically on the piano. Want to try it tonight to see how it fits?"

"Oh yesssss, and the song xxx."

"Naughty. How are you feeling down there? x."

"Only with you, and still a little tender, but it feels better. xxxxxxxxxx."

No One was a song played a lot when Emma and I hung out, and we used to sing it together all the time. Emma doesn't know that this song helped me through some of my darkest moments. I would sing it, remembering happier times. This song gave me that light at the end of the tunnel.

The rest of the day seems to be in the way to me. All I want is to get home and spend time with my Em. It occurs to me that I'm getting addicted to the girl, and I don't care.

Finally, that last bell of the day goes, and we are set free. I make my usual leisurely way home, but Emma is already waiting for me when I get there. There she is, sat drinking ice tea with Paps, laughing about something they were talking about before I came in.

"Hey, baby," Emma says as I walk through the back door.

"Hi Em, Paps. Everyone okay?" I say as I walk over and give Emma a quick kiss.

"Yep, everything is good."

"What's so funny?"

"Oh, I was telling Paps about the two new hands at the Ranch panicking when you went in the field with Farrow."

"Yeah, he was a little bit more excited than usual." I agreed.

"Ahhh, that's not the first time you pulled that trick, Mac. That horse has always hated people it doesn't know."

"And some it does. He remembered Emma, though." I say, touching Emma's face lightly with my fingertips.

"That he does, and I did notice the little nod he gave her. That horse is the most intelligent horse I have seen."

"Anyway, Paps, we have a lot of work to get through tonight." Emma picks her ice tea up.

"I bet you do," Paps comments as he picks his paper back up. "Don't forget I'm out down the veterans club for the member's dinner tonight."

I glare at him as I pick my bag back up, and we make our way upstairs. "Em, have you had any thoughts about what costumes we are wearing Friday night?"

"It's going to be difficult baby, most of the shops have sold out of the good stuff."

"Well, I had an idea." Emma stops on the top step and looks back at me, waiting for me to tell her. "Bonnie and Clyde."

"There's some of my parent's old clothes up in the attic. In one suitcase, there is a vintage 30's style dress and gangsters outfit. I remember my parents going to a fancy dress party in them." My eyes drop as I realize what I am talking about sweeps over me.

Emma puts her arm around me, "they sound perfect, baby. Can you dig them out so we can see what they are like?" She has a great smile on her face and genuinely looks happy with that. I even get a kiss on the cheek as she turns and heads for the rec-room door.

I grab a bottle from my fridge and make my way to the closet. I fetch the keyboard and stand and put them together in the middle of the room. I then set two mics up and a sound recorder. I figure that it would be best to record us singing, and then we can play it back to hear if we sound any good.

Neither of us needs the lyrics, which is a good start. It means we don't need to learn them.

I look at Emma, "love, the first time, sing what part you want, and we can hear what we've got. If it suits our voices, then we can work on the arrangement."

"Okay, baby, give me a minute."

"Remember, Em; it's just me here, and if it helps sing like you did when we were nine years old." I smile at her and play the intro.

I start to sing, 'I just want you close'

'Where you can stay forever'

'You can be sure'

'That it will only get better'

Emma is watching me sing and not joining in yet. I smile at her and continue. 'You and me together' I'm sure I can see a tear in Emma's eyes.

'Through the days and nights'

'I don't worry 'cause'

'Everything's gonna be alright' Definitely a tear.

'People keep talking, they can say what they like'

'But all I know is everything's gonna be alright'

I stop and pat my knee. Emma quickly walks around; she throws her arms around me as she sits and starts to cry. I hold her, and I can't help starting to cry myself.

After a while, Emma lifts her head, "sorry baby, that song was one I used to sing when I was at my lowest." She notices that I have tears in my eyes, "you too?" I nod and pull her back for a cuddle.

We cuddle for about half-hour then Emma leans her forehead onto mine. I'm not sure why, but we simultaneously start to laugh. This moment has released so much emotion that being apart had bottled up. I guess we both needed each other; again, a twinge of guilt runs through me.

"Shall we try again, Em?" Emma nods and goes to get up. I stop her, "squeeze in next to me a minute, and we will ease into the song."

Emma sits next to me with one arm around me, freeing both my hands so I can easily reach the keyboard. There's just enough room on the bench seat for two. I start the intro again. This time Emma starts to sing the first line.

'I just want you close'

She looks at me for a bit of guidance. I smile at her and sing the second line.

'Where you can stay forever'

We carry on singing alternate lines until we get to the chorus. Then we harmonize,

'No one, no one, no one

Can get in the way of what I'm feeling

No one, no one, no one

Can get in the way of what I feel for you, you, you

Can get in the way of what I feel for you'

We are looking at each other as we sing, and the love we share is incredible. Both our faces show pure joy as we pause and kiss.

We take a break, and I playback the recording. Emma's face drops when she hears first herself and then us together. "Wow, we sound like that? Have you tweaked it or used anything to change our voices?"

"No, that's how people hear us."

We spend the next hour working out the arrangement but can't decide whether to sing alternate verses or lines. So we record both and listen to see what sounds the best. In the end, there isn't much in it, and we decide to sing alternate lines because Emma is more comfortable that way.

We had spent longer on the song than I had anticipated, but I feel we will need to do less later. "Em, you want to do your schoolwork here or at home?"

"Mom will be home soon, so we better do it there, babes." Emma gives me a big smile. "Have you got time to have a look for the costumes?"

"Yes, I know where I stored them, so it should only take five minutes." I hadn't had the chance to change from my school clothes, so I go into my bedroom to change. Emma follows me in and sits on the bed. I go into my closet, get out some jeans, a shirt, and put them on the bed next to Emma. I then go into the bathroom for a quick shower.

I return to the bedroom with just a towel around my waist. All the time, Emma sits quietly watching me. It's strange how quickly you get used to something because I undo the towel and start to dry myself without a second thought. It's not until I turn and see the look on Emma's face that it occurs to me that I am naked.

"I could get very used to this," she remarks.

"I've always felt comfortable with you," I reply.

She sits up on the edge of the bed, "baby, come here a minute."

I walk over thinking that she's seen something wrong, but she runs her hands over my chest and down over my abs. "Mmmmm, don't ever want to get used to this, though." Emma's eyes are fixed on my cock, and it senses the attention it's getting making it start to grow. "Looks like someone wants to play." She remarks, still not taking her eyes from it.

Emma holds her hand out for the towel, and once she has it, proceeds to dry me below my waist. She starts with my legs and works her way up. By the time she has reached my balls, I am fully erect. Emma stops for a moment and puts the towel down. She gently cradles my balls in her hand while she uses the other hand to touch my cock. I groan as the pleasure grows, and I close my eyes. I take a short sharp intake of breath when I feel her tongue touch the end of my cock, licking off a bead of precum. What I didn't expect was her to then take half my length straight into her mouth. She starts to whorl he tongue around, causing so much added sensation that I feel my cock jerking and pulsating between her lips. She adds some more suction and starts to move her head back and forth. I know that I'm not going to last long; it's just too much at once for me to control.

"Baby, I'm going to cum," I say, getting slightly breathless.

I expect her to pull her mouth away and finish me with her hand, but my words seem to make her intensify her efforts as I feel myself race past the point of no return.

My breath catches as I fire the first of what seems like many shots of cum into the back of Emma's mouth. While my orgasm shakes me, Emma stays still and has the head of my cock inside her mouth. I have both hands steadying myself on her shoulders, and I wonder how I am still standing after that.

Once my cock stops pulsating, she lets it slip from her mouth, and instead of swallowing straight away, she looks up at me and opens her mouth to show me her prize. The joy and love in her eyes is incredible to see as she closes her mouth and swallows her mouth-full in two gulps.

"Fuck," is all that I could say as a grin spreads across Emma's face. I bend down and give her a gentle kiss, and then go and get a pair of boxer briefs from my draws still in a daze.

Before we leave, I go up into the attic to recover a suitcase where all the clothes we need are stored. I remember Grammy going through it and telling me to keep them because of the story I told her about them.

We get to Emma's around six twenty, and Kim is in the kitchen with Susan.

"Hello, you two, what have you been up to?" Kim asks, then adds toward Susan, "dare I ask." Both ladies give each other a knowing smile.

"Mom?" Emma squeals and huffs as she does a U-turn and heads upstairs to change.

I walk in and sit down next to Susan, who leans towards me for a side hug. I tut but put my arm around her and squeezed gently. Satisfied, she smiles and looks across at Kim with a told you so look.

I continue the conversation as Kim gets up to get me an ice tea. "For your information, we have been working out what song to sing in this thanksgiving concert we are being forced to do."

"Oh, Mrs. Ellis seems to have high hopes for the both of you," Susan says, not looking so smug now. "What are you thinking of playing?"

"Well, in the end, we have a long list of one song. There is one song that means a lot to both Em and me. Once we found that out, there was no other choice."

"Yes, and what would that be?"

"No one by Alicia Keys," Emma says as she walks back into the kitchen.

"Wow, big song, are you sure that's not too much?" Kim asks.

"I think you have too little faith in your daughter's abilities," I say.

"Anyway, Mom, thanks for your confidence boost. There's something we need to ask."

"Oh no, what part of the world does Mac want to take you now?"

"It's not like that, it's just that Mac is away next week, and he wants to take me out for a meal on Saturday night. We wondered if it would be alright to make a night of it and book a hotel in the city center or something?"

Kim raises her eyebrows and looks at Susan. "On one condition, you two help me here Halloween itself on Sunday."

Emma looks at me, and I shrug. "Okay, you have a deal."

******

Tuesday, Emma and I are sat at the back of the Music class going through our song quietly. Morgan, one of the girls in our class, is showing off at the front and moaning that her little group has no music to sing along to.

The noise is quite loud, and Mrs. Ellis claps her hands to get people's attention, "right class, by now, you all should know what you are doing. If you are singing you should have at least one song and hopefully a backup if someone else is doing the song you have chosen. I need to know what you have decided, so shout what you are doing or what song you prefer when I call your group's name. If we have any conflict, we will sort that out later.

She goes through everyone's names; lastly, she calls Emma, "Emma, what are you and Michael doing?" There is an instant hush, and eyes go towards us.

"No one, Alishia Keys Mrs. Ellis." I hear some giggles and a couple of gasps.

"Okay.......Right, does anyone have anything to show us?" She walks up the stairs to me, "Michael, I know you like to be at the back, but I have a problem with no sound system at the moment. Can you do any of these songs?"

I nod, and then say, "If not, I can get the music off of the internet." We get up, make our way down to the front, sit behind the piano, and quietly wait. Emma sits in the front row, reading what we had scribbled down before Mrs. Ellis interrupted us.

"Right class, we have music in the shape of Michael, who has been good enough to help. So is anyone wanting to show their work in progress?"

Morgan gets up again and walks over to me, "do you know happy by Pharrell?" I nod my head and look across at Emma. She shrugs her shoulders in reply.

It takes around four attempts to get something out of Morgan's little group before finally, Mrs. Ellis has had enough. "Right, thank you, the three of you, that's a good start. Anyone else brave enough to show us what they've come up with. Michael, Emma, have you anything yet?"

I look across at Emma, and her eyes have doubled in size. I move my head to tell her to come over. She walks tentatively over to me, and I move over so she can sit next to me. Emma looks at all the faces looking our way, and a hush descends on the room. I start to play, and Emma turns to look at me as she starts to sing.

We go through the entire song for the first time. We sing alternate lines and harmonize the chorus and the line 'everything's gonna be alright.'

When we finish, the room is silent for a moment. First, Mrs. Ellis and the rest of the class start to clap, cheer, whistle, and stamp their feet. Well, I say everyone, but Morgan doesn't look best pleased that's she's not the center of attention. Emma has her hand over her mouth, and I can see a glistening tear forming in the corner of her eye. She leans over, "I wish I could kiss you right now."

"That would be almost worth the Entertainment value alone," I replied.

"Only almost?"

"It's close," I say with a smile. Emma gets back up and returns to the seat at the front.

"Right, next week I need to see something that resembles what you are doing, and hopefully, we will have some music." Mrs. Ellis then turns to me, "I know you're not here, Michael, but it looks like you and Emma have it down anyway. We have ten minutes left; any ideas?"

"Are we doing a song with all of us in Mrs. Ellis?" Someone asks.

"Oh, I hadn't thought of that. Does anyone have any ideas? I don't think we will have time to learn both, but we will see." She turns to me, "want to play for us?"

Just for a bit of fun, I started playing dance monkey. I see loads of faces light up, and some begin to sing. As we go through the song, more and more join in with those who don't know the lyric just joining in the chorus.

The bell rings, signaling the end of class, and people disappear quickly. Emma waves goodbye and leaves as I get up from behind the piano and make my way to the library. I have to make sure I am up to where I should be for my visit next week.

The rest of the day goes by in a blur, and I find myself in the traffic driving home. Paps isn't home when I get there, but he's left a note telling me that I need to be at the Johnsons house at six-thirty.

A half-hour later, Emma knocks at the front door, "Hey baby, have you been asked around mine for six-thirty?"

"Yeah, don't tell me it's not for dinner?"

"Oh yeah, it's dinner and a family meeting with Paps invited."

"A family meeting?"

"Yes, I think they're going to put the rules of our relationship in place."

"A bit late for that, isn't it?"

"Not those sorts of rules, the ones like when we are allowed to spend time together and where we can be intimate."

"Oh right, is that bad?"

"Not sure; guess we'll have to wait and find out."