by Grey , S. R.
“So am I,” he shared.
“Then take me, Noel. Fuck m—”
He slammed up into me, hard.
“Unh…”
I welcomed the intrusion as Noel pounded into me, meeting him with every forceful thrust.
It was better than I’d expected.
And my expectations had been high.
This, though, this was on a whole new level.
Being with Noel was nothing short of bliss, and I wanted it to never end.
Because of that, I decided to scrap my plan for coming clean.
Sure, I’d tell him the whole truth eventually, just…later.
Beyond All Expectations
I wanted to stay in Oslo forever.
No, I wanted to remain in the hotel room there forever—with Maisie, just loving her.
But we didn’t have forever.
Not even close.
We had only that one night.
But since neither of us could bear leaving early in the morning, I called down to the front desk and arranged for an extremely late checkout.
“As late as you can make it,” I told the employee.
Maisie and I were still in bed, having left only for bathroom breaks.
When I hung up, her head resting on my smooth chest, Maisie asked, “How long do we have?”
“Until five o’clock. But I told them if we run over to just charge an extra day.”
“Mmm, perfect.”
I thought then about Maisie’s desire to have a discussion, prompting me to ask, “Hey, what did you want to talk to me about yesterday?”
She looked confused at first, lifting her head and peering up at me with those deep indigo-blue eyes.
“What are you talking about?” she asked.
“Before we left the park, remember? You said you wanted to talk to me about something once we were back at the hotel.”
“Oh, that…”
Oddly, I felt her tense up.
“Yes, that,” I said.
“Ahh, it was nothing. I told you just to forget about it in the car, remember?”
“I remember. But are you sure?”
Maisie, nodding profusely, said, “Yes, uh-huh, I’m sure. I actually resolved it on my own, anyway. At least, I did for now.”
“That sure was cryptic,” I murmured.
Maisie did not reply.
Hmm, something was off. But I had no idea what it could be.
I would’ve pressed, but Maisie’s stomach growled, reminding me that neither of us had eaten anything—besides each other, hee hee—since yesterday afternoon.
“Are you hungry, babe?” I asked.
She teased, “Hungry for you? Always, yes.”
Her hand trailed down my abs, but before she could reach my cock, where we’d both lose control, I said, “Uh, I meant for real food.”
I was up, in more ways than one, for continuing what she was starting. But I knew she needed sustenance other than me.
I was kind of due for some food too. I didn’t want either of us passing out during one of our marathon sexual encounters.
Biting her lip contemplatively, Maisie replied, “Now that you mention it, I think I am a little hungry.”
“Say no more.” I reached over and grabbed the hotel phone with my free hand. “Let’s order room service.”
I proceeded to place an order for a breakfast of eggs, fruit, and an assortment of cheeses and croissants, big enough that we could share.
“How long did they say it’ll take for the food to get up here?” Maisie asked after I hung up the phone.
“About twenty minutes,” I told her.
“Then let me go, Noel.” She wiggled her still-trapped hand from mine. “There’s plenty of time for a little fun.”
I wasn’t about to argue with her on that one.
We somehow made it out of the room by five, but it was no easy task. After we had eaten, we were so refreshed we went for yet another round of sexing.
Shit, I wanted Maisie all the fucking time now. I’d created a monster—me.
But she was just as bad.
“Did you ever expect it to be so good with us?” Maisie asked on our drive back to Stockholm.
“Well…” I glanced over at her, smirking. “I had a feeling it’d be pretty damn fantastic. But you’re right, it was better than I expected. Being with you is fucking amazing.”
“I feel the same way, Noel. In fact”—she reached over—“I can’t stop freaking touching you.”
“Hey, I’m not complaining.”
Her hand trailed up my leg, and since I was wearing cargo shorts, my dick responded immediately.
“If you keep that up,” I warned, “I’m going to take the next exit and find some lonely road out in the forest where I can fuck your brains out.”
Laughing, she covered my cock with her hand and squeezed lightly.
“Is that a promise, Noel?”
“You bet your ass it is.”
“In that case…” Maisie undid the button on my shorts, tugged down the zipper, and raised her brow in invitation. “Do it,” she said.
When she licked her lips, I was done for.
We had just entered a heavily forested area, so there was no reason not to follow through.
I took the next exit.
And less than ten minutes later, Maisie and I were getting down and busy in the Swedish forest.
Flu Bug Blues
When we returned to Stockholm, our sexy times continued. It seemed Noel and I just couldn’t get enough of each other.
But everything ground to a screeching halt when I came down with a damn flu bug.
“Who gets sick in the middle of summer?” I lamented as I pressed my head back against a pile of pillows on Noel’s bed.
Noel had insisted I stay in his room for as long as I felt unwell. That way, he said, he could take good care of me.
He was doing a fine job of it too.
Not only did I have extra pillows, but he’d managed to bribe the softest down comforter from housekeeping.
Noel was also good at keeping on top of ordering copious amounts of chicken broth for me from room service.
That was fine since I had no appetite for any kind of solid food.
Noel was attentive in other ways too. He had sponged me off the night before, and then helped me into my pajamas when I felt too sick to move.
He’s such a sweetheart.
“Eh, it happens,” he said. “Getting sick in the summer, that is.”
He leaned forward and placed the back of his hand against my forehead.
“Yeah, I guess,” I replied glumly.
Suddenly, Noel exclaimed, “Damn it, Maisie, I think your fever’s up.”
“Is it?” I asked.
“Yes. And I don’t like that one bit. We better make sure it hasn’t gone up too far.”
Jumping up from the edge of the bed, Noel rushed over to the dresser to retrieve the overworked thermometer.
I was surprised it hadn’t conked out on us yet.
“Taking my temperature again?” I sighed. “I doubt it’s changed that much from the last time you took it. Seeing as that was, like, five minutes ago.”
If it hadn’t hurt so much, I would have rolled my eyes. But they were throbbing like crazy, along with pretty much the rest of me.
My exasperation was real, however. Noel had been checking to see if my fever had worsened almost continuously.
“We have to stay on top of this,” he stated somberly as he stuck the thermometer in my mouth, effectively shutting me up. “If your temperature goes one iota over 101, I’m taking you to the hospital.”
Yikes.
I absolutely did not want to go there. Noel would find out I had no insurance. Not to mention, I had no money to pay any medical bills.
So yeah, a hospital was a definite no-go.
I breathed a huge sigh of relief when it turned out my temperature was actually slightly below one hundred.
Phew!
>
“See.” I tried to muster some enthusiasm. “I told you I was getting better. That’s lower than the last reading.”
Noel was not impressed.
“Hmm, we’ll see about that. You’re not out of the woods yet. Even 99 is still too high for my liking.”
“Maybe you’re right,” I concurred, sinking back down into the pillows.
Despite trying to stay upbeat, I really did feel crappy.
“Do you want me to lie down next to you?” Noel asked when he saw how sad and pathetic I looked.
I absolutely did want him next to me, as it was comforting to have him close. But I had to decline for his sake.
“No, I don’t want you to get sick too.”
He laughed, and God, the little crinkles around his eyes that he got were so freaking cute.
Noel had on the same faded jeans he’d worn the day before, when I first fell ill and he started taking care of me. He’d changed his shirt, though, to a dark brown knit pullover. The material clung to his muscles, and the color contrasted nicely with his slicked-back blond hair.
“Maisie,” he said, shaking his head amusedly. “I’ve been taking care of you for the past twenty-four hours straight. I think the I-don’t-want-you-to-get-sick ship has sailed. I’ve been fully exposed to your germs.”
He was probably right, so I said, “I kind of would like you to lie here next to me.”
I patted the spot to my right.
Noel had slept on the sofa on the other side of the room the night before, but we were clearly both to the point of fuck it.
Noel lay down next to me, but he stayed on top of the covers. That was fine with me. I just wanted him near.
And I wanted to hear his voice.
So, curling up to him, I asked, “Can you tell me a story?”
The Story of Me
Maisie wanted a story?
Well, I could definitely give her one.
Kissing the top of her head, I said, “Okay, sweetheart. I’m not much of a storyteller, but I’ll give it a try.”
Letting out a contented hum, she murmured, “Mmm, any story will do.”
“Okay, so here goes nothing… Once upon a time there was this little boy who had a twin. The little boy’s name was Noel, and his sister was called Noelle. Their names were so similar because their crazy parents happened to be more into Christmas than most of the world.”
Maisie surmised, “Aw, this is story about you, isn’t it?”
“Yes, it is,” I confirmed.
“I like it already, then.”
“Cool. In that case, let’s continue.”
“I can’t wait, Noel.”
She was so amped it made me feel more into it.
“So,” I went on, clearing my throat, “little Noel’s parents liked to take him and his sister to the skating rink, one that was located in a park in Chicago, not far from their home. His sister liked the ice fine enough and she thought skating was fun, but little Noel freaking loved it. There was something about the feel of the ice beneath his skates, even the smell of the rink appealed to him. Maybe because, for the first time in his short life, he felt like he belonged somewhere.”
“You belonged on the ice even back then,” Maisie said.
Nodding thoughtfully, I agreed, “Yeah, I guess I did.”
She peered up at me, looking very sleepy.
Good, the story was working.
I urged her head back down to my chest. “Rest, sweetheart. Let me get back to my tale.”
“Okay.”
“Little Noel liked the ice so much also because he wasn’t that great at other things, like school. His sister had always been a natural in the classroom, excelling in pretty much every subject. Noelle was just so damn smart that it sometimes made Noel feel kind of lost.”
“Aw, Noel—”
“No, it’s okay.” I smoothed back her raven hair. “This is where the story gets really good.”
“Oh, go on.” Maisie smiled against my chest.
“So this little boy’s parents realized just how much their son liked ice skating. And that he was pretty good at it. They were supportive and let him go to the rink at every possible opportunity. They also enrolled him in peewee hockey. And the rest, as they say, is history.”
“Tell me more,” Maisie said.
“Okay. Well young Noel continued on to youth hockey. And that’s when his life really changed. He discovered he was better than just good. He was fucking great. And people began to notice.”
“Mmm,” Maisie hummed.
I continued stroking her hair as I spoke in a calm voice. “Young Noel continued to play hockey, and as he did his confidence grew and grew. His parents were approached by scouts who felt their now-teenage son should go to a special boarding school where he could fully focus on hockey. Can you believe it? I was that damn good.”
“I believe it, Noel.”
Aw, my girl was the best.
“Anyway, his parents wanted their son to live out his dream, so they mortgaged their home. All so he could go to the best hockey school in the country.”
Maisie asked, “So what happened next?”
“I went to that school.”
“Yeah, school…” Maisie was conking out, which was good, as she needed the rest.
I felt rather tired myself, so I shortened the story to its conclusion.
“The boy worked as hard as he could. He wanted to be the best defenseman he could be. And he succeeded. He was drafted in the first round that year. The first big paycheck teenage-Noel received, he started paying his parents back. It was the least he could do for all they had done for him. And as time wore on, he ended up paying off their mortgage entirely. He also started giving money to his sister so she could follow her dream, which was to go to college.”
Maisie had drifted off, so I lay there quietly.
But just as my eyes were closing, she suddenly asked, “Didn’t you mention once that your sister goes to school in Las Vegas?”
I rubbed my eyes. “Yes. She lives there too. That’s where she chose to go to college. She’s in graduate school now, working on her MBA.”
“Ah, got it.”
Maisie yawned, making me yawn, and then she asked, “Is there more to your story, Noel? Like, what’s the next chapter for you?”
Hmm, a really excellent question.
I’d devoted so much of my life to hockey, but things were different now. My story had taken a turn—a really good turn.
Something besides hockey was important to me, and that was Maisie.
When she asked again what my next chapter would be, I told her the truth. “I’m kind of working on that one right now. But I have to say it’s looking pretty promising, like the next one might be the best chapter yet.”
Confession, Take One
Well, that woke me up.
I peered up at Noel, and he smiled down at me.
Did he just say what I think he said?
Yes, stupid, his next chapter is about you.
Crap, I needed to get this right.
Sighing, I said, “You deserve a happy-ever-after, Noel.”
“As do you, sweetheart, as do you.”
Ah, if only that were true.
I lowered my head back down to his chest, and he wrapped his arms around me. We were quiet then, as both of us had a lot to think about.
I knew I sure did.
I’d become a part of Noel’s story, that much was clear. He said he was working on the next chapter, his next chapter.
But he’d become a part of my story too.
And that’s when I realized that, along the way, I had freaking fallen head-over-heels in love with Noel from Nevada. No more maybes, this was it.
Problem was, I wasn’t the Maisie from Arizona he thought me to be.
I was so much…less.
I knew then that I had to come clean. No more waiting or putting the “talk” on hold. If Noel cared for me in the same way I cared for him, then maybe, just maybe, he�
�d understand.
With my cheek pressed to his chest, I toyed with a loose thread on his pullover.
“Noel,” I whispered. “I do have something I need to talk to you about. It’s the same something I mentioned in Oslo.”
I blew out a breath. This was going to be hard.
“Anyway, if you hate me forever once I say what I have to say, even if you kick me out of your room, I’ll totally understand.”
It was weird he wasn’t saying anything. Maybe he was already mad just hearing that much.
Yikes.
Tentatively, my heart beating like a bird loose in my chest, I tilted my head back and ventured a peek up at him.
And that’s when I had to laugh.
It was either that or cry.
Despite the fact Noel was sitting up and leaned back against the pillows, he was out like a light.
I wrapped my arms around this most amazing man. And since I knew he was asleep, it was safe to say out loud what was bursting in my heart.
“I love you so damn much, Noel from Nevada.”
Just Do It, Man
I had this really wild dream. In it, Maisie told me she loved me. And it made me so damn happy that I woke up.
Why did hearing that she loved me please me so much, though?
Did I love her back?
Maisie had become important to me, yes, but was that because I loved her?
Shit, I think so.
I looked down at her.
No, wait, I know I do.
I’d known it for a while now too. I just hadn’t been ready to face it.
But I was now.
I chuckled with a sense of happy relief. I did so lightly, though, since Maisie was sprawled out over me, fast asleep.
I didn’t want to wake her.
Ugh, it sucked balls that she was still so ill. All I wanted to do was wake her up and tell her how I felt. Better yet, I could show her just how much I loved her.
I sighed.
All that would have to wait until she felt better. She needed rest, and I wasn’t about to interrupt her sleep.
When I glanced over at the nightstand by the bed, where my phone was charging, I noticed there was a text notification.