by Fields, MJ
“And look around, there are hundreds of girls who are just as hot as Mila, who are just waiting for you to give them the time of day.”
He’s wrong. Seeing her again, it’s as clear as the sky is blue that she’s everything I never thought I would find. But he’s also right; I’m not real good at playing hard to get, and maybe Miller needs a bit of a challenge.
“One week, bro man. Play it cool.”
“She doesn’t come around in that amount of time, I’m gonna go even harder. I’m going to woo her, and then I’m gonna put a baby up in her.”
“Shut your damn mouth, man.” He looks around like he’s worried someone might have heard me. “You can’t just say shit like that.”
“Why? When you know you know.”
“The answer to why might be found in the threat of a restraining order. And, bro man, you may know, but she clearly doesn’t.”
“She’s pissed about shit. That was two years ago. She’ll get over it, and then she’ll be under me.”
“Steel, shut the fuck up.”
Pain In The Ass
Mila
“So, you and—”
“No. Just no,” I cut Lindsey off.
“Okay, fine, but what if he gets tetanus from Becky?”
“I’m sure he’s up to date on his shots. They are probably given with gold needles.”
“Well, what if he does, and then they come after you for serving a minor and knowing he got hurt in your truck and did nothing about it, and then they sue—”
“Dammit, Linds.” I roll over and push myself up.
She sits up all too eagerly and asks, “You want me to go talk to him?”
“No.” I grab the cardigan I wore earlier and head toward the door.
“Okay,” she calls after me.
I walk up the two flights of stairs to the fourth floor and push the door open. I don’t even have to search for his room; the door is open and a group of thirsties are gathered around it.
I stalk toward the door and push through the crowd. One of the girls has her foot in the door, holding it open. I push past her only to see Max’s bare ass and Boone holding his phone out, shining the light on it.
“Seriously?” I huff, and Max, who was just attempting to stare at his own ass over his shoulder, looks up and grins at me.
“What do you think, Blue?”
You’re perfect, stunning, a complete asshole. My freaking nipples are getting hard. Oh, and I hate you … all come to mind, but whatever. “I think you’ll live.”
“Can’t see if there’s anything else in there, bro man.”
“I volunteer to get a closer look,” someone purrs, like legit purrs after she says it.
“You can all go back to your damn rooms,” I snap.
“And who the hell do you think you are?” someone else huffs.
“She’s Mila.” Max grins. “She’s the only woman that will be seeing my ass.”
“God, you’re freaking annoying.” I step in, turn, and then shut the door in their faces.
* * *
Facedown, ass up, and of course the gown is open in the back, exposing his perfect backside. I stand beside one Max Steel in the damn ER because, as he said, he’s got a nice size “slice in his peach” and upon referring to WebMD, the decision was made that he needed to get a couple stitches and a shot, and I, ever the responsible one, was the only one sober and with wheels.
“Promise me something, Blue?” he says on a yawn.
“I was nice enough to bring you here.”
“I could have Ubered.”
“And if Boone didn’t make me feel like shit about Becky, I—”
“Wait,” he cuts me off. “Who’s Becky and what did you do to her?”
“My truck, but that’s not the point.”
“Wait—you named your truck?” he asks, amused.
“You are incredibly annoying and problematic.”
“Looks like she knows you well.”
I look behind me and see a familiar face. Then I quickly look back at him and whisper, “You called your sister?”
He sighs. “Bell, what the hell are you doing here?”
Bella, his sister, is even more beautiful in real life than on her reality show.
“It was either me or the parents. You’re welcome.” She walks around me and sits on the side of the bed, staring at his ass and trying hard not to laugh.
“I didn’t call anyone, Blue.” He rolls his eyes. “They just have me low-jacked.”
“Momma Carly worries—bad heart. We try to avoid any stressors. By we, I mean me and my sister, Kiki.”
“Mila knows Kiki. We all went to Seashore together,” Max tells her.
“Wait—is Mila Miller, the chick you called Amias about the other day?” Bella looks away from him and looks me over. “Hot.”
Okay, they’re all insane, and I am out. “Look, I’m going to head out. Hope your ass—”
“Sorry, Mila, I’ve got a … thing in the morning and have to head back.”
“But—”
She smacks his ass as she walks past him.
“The hell, Bell?” he grumbles.
“Be good to Maxie. Mila, I’m sure we’ll see you around.”
“I think you’ve got the wrong idea about me and your brother.”
She looks at him, holds out her phone, and takes a picture of his ass. “For Momma C.” Then she looks at me, smiles genuinely, and then looks back at him. “You better step up your game, Maximus. That smile alone isn’t gonna win this one over.”
She squeezes my shoulder. “He’s my favorite. Do him right, and he’ll do you the same.”
“Again, I think—”
“Some advice? Don’t think, just go with it,” she says as she walks out the door.
“Max, I am not—”
“Mr. Steel, I’m Dr. Lattimore, and we’re going to give you something for pain and—”
“I’m good, Doc. Just do what you have to do.”
“It’s going to be extremely uncomfortable,” she insists.
“It’s stitches, yeah?”
“Yes, five minimum.”
“I have tattoos and two piercings in my dick, I think I can handle five stitches in my ass.”
I cover my face and whisper, “Dear God, strike me down.”
“Not yet, Blue.” Max reaches out his hand. “I’m not done with you yet.”
I scowl down at it.
“Come on, Miller; be a friend and hold my hand.”
“What happened to I’m so cool, I don’t need anything for pain?”
He smiles with his eyes now. “Trying to get a girl to give me a second chance might make me make some stupid choices.”
“Would you like some pain meds, Mr. Steel,” the doctor asks again.
He says no, and I say yes.
“Which is it?” She seems to be getting a bit annoyed.
“Lady’s choice.” Max winks at me.
“Give him something.”
* * *
Leaning against the truck in the ER parking lot, he leans down and whispers, “I got high once on brownies and said some stupid shit, so forgive me if—”
“Once?” I half-laugh as I walk around to the driver’s side and get in.
He opens the passenger side. “Straight-up didn’t know they were of the special variety.”
I notice him wince as he sits down. “Hurt?”
He shakes his head. “Karma was getting at me for not opening the door for you. When you meet my mom, do me a favor and don’t mention that, yeah?”
“I’m not meeting your family, Max. I have my—”
“You did hear what Bell said, right?”
I start up Becky and shoot up prayers that she roars to life, totally ignoring his question.
“I know what I want, Mila, and I want you. Not afraid to do the work.”
“I know what I don’t want, and—”
“After the accident, I was messed up in a bad way. Everyone at Sucksh
ore thought I was drinking. Everyone thought I ruined Amias’s pro career. I knew I didn’t drink anything. My family knew but didn’t buy that I wasn’t using shit to get big like all of them. Things went kind of dark, Miller. I fucked up by not messaging you back, but I didn’t touch the phone except to message My and beg for fucking forgiveness, and he wasn’t messaging back.”
“I’m sorry that happened to you, Max, and I believe you, but—”
“After My forgave me, trusted me again, my Forever Steel kicked in hard. I wasn’t thinking about that girl who blocked me online, the one who moved her seat in our classes where I sat behind her and stared at that heart, legit whispered stupid shit in her ear just to smell her ’cause she smelled so fucking good. The girl who after I laid down with on a boat that wasn’t mine, knew straight-up I wanted more and had to beg her to go to that dance with me.”
Realizing I am getting lost in his words—always his words—and I haven’t even put the truck in drive, I finally do so.
“Blue, hold up.” He reaches in front of me, and I don’t tell him no. Hell, I don’t even try to stop him from whatever he is about to do. All I can manage is to close my eyes.
When I feel his arm brush across my chest, my back arches of its own accord, and then I feel the seat belt stretch across my body and hear the click.
He buckled my seat belt.
I rest my head against the back of the seat.
“You gonna buckle up so I can drive?” I ask, feeling stupid.
“Thanks for the reminder and the realization I’m on the right path to get where I wanna be with you.”
I put the truck in drive and mumble, “I’m not even gonna ask.”
“Don’t have to.” He winces and shifts in the seat. “As pissed off as you seem to be at me, you still have my back.”
“Seem to be?”
“I get you think I was into those girls, but what you don’t get is Marc Effisto fucked my cousin, Tris, up real bad, most of those girls were either hot for him, or he was hot for them. I wasn’t letting that shit happen to anyone else.”
“Very noble of you to ride in on your Steel horse and—”
“You wanted nothing to do with me, and straight-up, I was a bit beat to shit at that point and was going into unfriendly territory. But I’m not a boy anymore. My confidence is back. I’ve grown, changed, and damn, Miller, you have, too. I loved your sweetness and the way you didn’t give a shit about fitting in with any of those assholes back in high school. Add that to your confidence now and just … damn, babe. I am catching feels again about as quick as a stray dog catches fleas. And just so you’re aware, I know what I want in my life now.”
I roll up at a stoplight and consider blowing through it just to get back to school and get him the hell out of my truck before I do something stupid … again, I ask, “And what’s that?”
Shit, shit, shit.
“You, Blue. You.”
The light changes as I feel my stupid heart, the one I have kept in a deep freeze when it came to Max Steel, to ensure that, if we ever met again, I would not get caught up in all that he is and lose sight of the only thing important, begins to thaw.
When I press the accelerator, Max reaches over and jerks the steering wheel. I stomp on the brake, ready to rip him a new asshole, when a car that didn’t stop at the intersection flies by.
Heart hammering in my chest, my whole body shaking, unexpected emotions boil over and I begin crying.
He envelopes me in his arms and, as much as I want to stop him from hugging me, I miss hugs. I miss them, and I want them. So, right now, I’m allowing myself to be weak.
His body heat surrounding me, his scent its own kind of aphrodisiac, I look up at him, his blue eyes looking down at mine with concern, and then to my lips with lust, and back to my eyes with knowing and wanting. An unspoken promise, one of pleasure, one of escape from reality, one assuring just one more moment until we go back to hating each other … forever.
I close my eyes and tip my head back, giving him the unspoken permission to kiss me like he did before.
I feel his thumb run across my lower lip. “Already kicking myself in the ass for this, but we need to get out of the intersection, Blue.”
I pull away from him quickly. “I was freaked out. That meant nothing.”
“Not true. But you need to ditch this guy from home, this Sal, because I’m not gonna share a minute of your attention with any guy. I’m gonna be demanding as hell.”
What. The. Hell.
Becky and Chill
Max
Pulling into the parking lot, she’s white-knuckling the steering wheel.
“Much smoother turn than the last time you pulled in here.”
“Yeah, well, someone stows away in the back of your truck, like in all those Dateline shows, and that’s followed up by a near-death experience, that’ll happen.”
“Didn’t mean to scare you, Blue. I’m not gonna lie and say that I wouldn’t take another five stitches, though, if that’s what it takes to get you to look up at me like you did fifteen minutes ago. Because I would. But next time we’re alone in a vehicle, I’ll be driving, because you are as nervous as a short nun at a penguin shoot.”
“I do just fine.” She pulls into her designated parking spot and throws it in park.
“Just wanna point out that you wouldn’t have been if I didn’t grab the wheel.”
“You arrogant—”
“Aaaand I may have gotten lockjaw had I not gotten to the ER and got that shot. So, Mila, what I’m saying is we’re better together.”
She doesn’t say anything, but she yawns as she puts Becky in park.
“Do me another favor?”
She gives me a sideways glance.
“Kill the engine and just chill with me here. My ass is numb, as a matter of fact, so is my leg. If I get out and fall flat on my face, you’ll never look at me the same.”
She looks at the dashboard clock. It’s almost five in the morning, and again, she yawns before saying, “I’m heading home for the rest of the weekend, so do what you have to do to wake that leg so I can head out.”
“Not gonna try to get in your panties. Not yet, anyway. But, just so you know, that’s where this is heading.”
She turns her head and stares at me. I see her desire to argue, but exhaustion wins.
All I want to do is keep her talking. Hell, I want her to give me shit, because the more time she spends with me, the more I see the old Miller. The one who looked appalled when I passed her a dirty little note in English class, and by the end of the week was passing them back.
“Nothing to say?”
She shakes her head. “I need to go.” Then she yawns again.
“Not until you take a fifteen-minute power nap.”
“You don’t get t—”
She covers her mouth as a yawn interrupts her.
“Not a suggestion or request.”
Before she says anything, I cross my arms, close my eyes, and lean back in the seat of her Becky.
“Max, we’re not happening, so—”
“As a friend—”
She huffs, “We’re not friends.”
Opening my eyes, I roll my head to the side and look at her. “But we were friends before, and once a friend, always a friend.”
“That’s not always true.”
“In my world, it is.”
“Everyone you’ve ever been friends with is still your friend?”
I nod.
“Marcello Effisto?”
“We swim in the same school once in a while, and if he was broke down on the side of the road, I’d pull over and help him out.”
Her eyes get heavier, as she looks me over, like she’s trying to answer a question. Maybe more than one that’s swimming around in her head, yet she doesn’t.
She rests her head against the seat. “If I close my eyes for ten minutes, not fifteen, when I open them, you have to get out.”
“I can do that.”
“What the hell!”
Startled awake, I jump, and so does she, and our heads collide.
Groaning, she rubs her head. “I said ten minutes. Ten, Max! It’s—”
She grabs her keys from the dashboard where I set them after I watched her fall asleep then slowly slid sideways until her head rested on my shoulder.
“You were tired, Blue. You fell asleep. I must’ve followed suit.”
She turns the key, and the engine makes a ticking sound. She hits the dashboard. “No, no, no, no.”
“Pop the hood, and I’ll see—”
“Absolutely not. You and Becky have a history. And, in case you forgot, Sleeping Beauty, it’s not a good one.”
She grips the steering wheel and closes her eyes. “Please, please, pleeeease start. Please.” Mila turns the key, and the engine clicks then screeches, and that’s followed by a loud pop.
“This cannot be happening!” She throws her door open like a badass, and I scurry out of the passenger side like a little bitch. Not gonna lie, I’m not sure it’s because, right now, she’s scary hot and acting all badass. Or maybe it’s because she … Nope, that’s it in a nutshell—so fucking hot.
As she fidgets with the hood latch, the truck backfires again, and she jumps back, right into me. I grab her tight against me as black smoke starts billowing out from under Becky’s hood.
She struggles to get out of my arms, cursing like a sailor as I hold her back. She somehow manages to turn.
“You were supposed to last two more years, Becky.” She struggles In my hold as kicks at the truck. “Two fucking years is all I asked of you, ya heap of shit!” She continues kicking at it. “I hate you! You stupid son of a bitch! Motherfu—”
Holding her I step back “All right, Becky gets it. She’s just tired and a bit angry. She needs a nap. I’m sure she’ll be fine after a tune —up, yeah?”
She whips her head around and glares at me.
“Okay, maybe not.” I loosen my grip when she looks down.
“Please tell me that is not—”
“Nope, not my dick,” I cut her off as I reach into my pocket. “It’s my phone.”