by Cathryn Fox
Ignoring me she continues. “Megan plans to bring her fiancé to the Christmas party. Perhaps she has a few single friends. I’ll ask her mother.”
“Please don’t.” Jesus, I hate the annual Christmas party. Hate Mom trying to set me up with one of her friends’ daughters. AKA the mean girls from my high school years, and I’m not interested in getting fixed up or hooking up with any of them.
“I ran into Chelsea the other day,” Mom continues. “She’s at Princeton, doing a literature degree. She’s a lovely girl, Christian.”
“Leave the boy alone,” Grandma says, and Mom stiffens. “He’ll get married when he’s ready and not a day before.” There’s a warning in Grandma’s voice and my mother’s face pales in response.
“More coffee?” Mom asks and stands.
I take a huge sip of mine. “I’m good.” My phone pings and my heart leaps, hoping it’s Maize. I leave it for now, because both Mom and Grandma hate phones at the table and I’d probably start smiling like the village idiot again. Grandma already suspects something as it is.
“Maybe you should get that,” Grandma says, taking me by surprise. My gaze flies to hers, but her face is expressionless, and I grin at her. She’s far too wise for any of us.
I tug my phone from my pocket, and it’s a message from Linc letting me know he gathered up some of the guys and they were all headed out to shoot some pool. I’m not sure why, but I have a feeling something is up with him. I’ve been so caught up in myself, I’ve been a shitty friend. “It’s Linc.”
“How is he?” Mom asks. “I do hope he’s coming to the party this year. He always has an open invitation, but never comes.”
“He’s busy with his own family.” I reach for another cookie, and turn the conversation around, asking Mom about her Thanksgiving weekend, and Grandma about all her clubs. Soon enough, it’s time for Grandma to head back home, and even though she’s in her late sixties, she’s still driving and still going strong.
I walk her to her car and give her a big hug, promising I’ll visit. She drives off and I check the time. My guess is the guys are still at the pub, and dammit I could use a drink or two right about now. I hurry back in the house, and Mom is sitting at the table, her day planner out.
“I’m going to head out and meet the guys.” I put my hands in my pockets. “Shoot some pool.”
She smiles up at me. “You aren’t staying for dinner?”
“No, I’ll grab something when I’m out.” When she looks like she’s going to protest, I add, “You’re right. I should catch up with the old crew.” Her smile widens, because she thinks the old crew means some of the girls she’s interested in setting me up with. It’s all for show with her, though. It doesn’t look good at the country club that her son is still playing the field, so to speak. I head to the cupboard, and take out a small plastic bag.
Mom’s eyes narrow, confusion all over her face, as I pack up a few cookies. “What on earth are you doing, Christian?”
“You know how much Linc loves Grandma’s cookies,” I fib, and honestly I don’t even know what I’m doing. My thoughts are so consumed with Maize it has me fucked up and acting out of character. My mother, who knows so little about me, is even picking up on my strange behavior. “I’ll catch up with you later. We’ll play some games, or maybe a puzzle.”
She smiles, happy with that. “Keep tomorrow evening free. We have dinner plans at La Fresca when your dad gets back.”
“Okay.” I drop a kiss onto her cheek, and her perfume gets on my skin. “Don’t wait up for me.”
I head back outside, jump into my Jeep and my insides are a twisted mess as I drive to our favorite pub. I try to get Maize out of my mind, and brush off the unease in my gut as I walk inside to find Linc and two of our buddies at the pool table. I gesture the server for a round of beer for us all, and make my way over.
“Hey bud, you made it,” Linc says and puts his hand on my shoulder, but there’s a new sadness about him. “How’s the fam?”
I laugh, not wanting to ask him right out what’s wrong in front of everyone. “Same old, same old. You’re invited to the Christmas party this year,” I tell him. “Please come and take some of the attention off me.”
He cringes and I don’t blame him. Mom’s parties are so goddamn pretentious and boring, the only thing I can do is drink copious amounts of tequila to get through them. For a moment, I picture Maize at the party. She’d hate everything about it, and while everyone on the guest list walks around with their noses in the air, Maize is the one who is too good for them all.
“I think I have surgery that day,” Linc says, with a grin that seems forced. Yeah, something is definitely off. “I have to have my spleen removed.”
I laugh and reach for a pool cue as Curtis and Finn come over and greet me. They were both on our high school football team and both now play for Georgia. They’re tight, like Linc and I are. “Dude, it’s been too long,” they both say and take turns shaking my hand and embracing me at the same time, the weird way guys do.
“What have you two been up to?” I ask, and lean against the wall as the server comes with our beers. She gives me a big smile, and while I would normally flirt back, I’m not much in the mood for it today.
She walks away and Finn whistles. “Now that’s some tight pussy.”
I shake my head, offended at his crude comment. “Come on, dude. That’s just wrong. Respect.”
Curtis takes a shot and glances at me. “What’s up your ass, Christian? Last year you said the same thing about our server.” I nod. He’s right, and I hate myself for it. Fuck, things have certainly changed a lot since our last pool game.
“You pussy-whipped or something? Like our man Linc?”
“Don’t be jealous that I’m getting it on a regular basis and you’re not,” Linc says with a grin that doesn’t reach his eyes. Shit, there must be something going on with him and Steph. I can feel it in my bones.
We all laugh, and I take another drink of my beer. “How’s the fam?” I ask him.
“Oh you know, putting their favorite son on a pedestal.”
“Did you hear Chelsea is having a party at the country club?” Finn says. “A reunion of sorts before we all graduate and move on.”
“No, never heard,” I say. “Can’t imagine I’ll be going.”
“One last blowout. Why not?” Curtis asks.
“I have plans,” I say and grin at Linc as Curtis sinks the last ball and wins. “Gallbladder removal.” I push off the wall and look at Linc. “Partners?”
For the next few hours we play, and shoot the shit and a few more of our buddies join us, and so do some of the girls I used to hang with. Linc orders some finger food for us all, and when Chelsea comes in, she gives me a big hug.
“Hey,” I say, as she lingers in front of me, and runs her finger down my chest. “I was talking to Fiona. She said she ran into you at the hospital.”
“Yeah, a friend got hurt.” I inch back, as she pushes against me.
“You’re friends with corn on the cob now, are you?”
Anger sears my blood and I work to keep my cool. “Don’t talk about her like that.”
She stares at me for a moment, and then laughs. “You can’t be serious, Christian.”
“Leave it,” I say and wonder why I ever went out with her, considering that stunt in the closet. She never paid any attention to me until I became a baller. I knew who she was and what she was about, and I guess my behavior says more about me and who I was. I’m not that guy anymore.
She runs her tongue over her bottom lip. “I thought we’d hang out, get to know each other again this Christmas.”
“I’m kind of busy,” I say and move to the other side of the table to take a shot. I don’t need to lift my head to know she’s pissed off and glaring at me. I don’t want to hurt her feelings or anything, I’m not about that, but I can’t be with her. I’m not a cheater, even though Maize isn’t mine. Yet.
I glance at my watch, and p
ut my cue back on the rack. “I have to run,” I say to Linc.
He nods. “Yeah, I do too.”
We say goodbye and walk outside together. “You okay?” I ask when we’re alone. “Did something happen with Steph?”
“Yeah, I gave her a diamond necklace for Christmas, and she gave me my walking papers.”
My heart lurches. “Fuck, man, I’m sorry.”
“I was totally fucking blindsided. Never saw it coming.” He gives a humorless laugh. “I guess you never do.”
My stomach clenches, because he’s right. No one ever sees a break-up coming. Shit, for all I know, this is the end for Maize and me. Christmas was our deadline, and I don’t want to stick to it. What does she want?
“How about you? You okay?” he asks.
I shrug. “I don’t know.”
He puts his hand on my back. “Why don’t you go see her?”
I stare at him. “You think?”
“I know.”
22
Maize
It’s late when I turn off my lamp and check my phone one last time before I crawl into bed. No calls or texts. Disappointment hits harder than that wayward football. Maybe I should just text him first. It’s the twenty-first century, for God’s sake. A girl can make the first move. I giggle at that thought, because I’ve been sleeping with Christian for months, living with him, and I’m debating on whether to send him a text or not.
I flop onto my pillow, deciding to do just that, when his message pops up.
Hey.
My heart races, and my fingers are a bit shaky as I text him back.
Hey yourself.
Busy?
Just getting ready for bed.
What are you wearing?
I laugh out loud and cover my mouth. Mom is still up and I don’t want her coming in here to check on me.
Oh, just a little something called lingerie.
It’s a lie, I’m in my pajama shorts and T-shirt.
You have any of those little white panties with you?
I chuckle. I have no idea why he’s so obsessed with my white cotton panties, but he is.
Maybe.
Go to your window.
My pulse jumps. Is Christian outside? I turn my lamp on, jump from my bed, and pull open my curtain, and a giddy sound catches in my throat when I find him standing beneath the streetlamp. I quietly open my window and in hushed words I say, “What are you doing here?” He waves and starts walking toward me, and I do love the way the man walks with such a sexy swagger.
“Hurry,” I say and glance over my shoulder to make sure Mom isn’t standing in my doorway, an admonishing look on her face. Up until this second, I’ve never had a hookup in this bedroom, never worried about my mother walking in on us. My freaking door doesn’t even have a lock on it. This is a bad idea. Such a bad idea.
Then why aren’t you stopping it, Maize?
He casually steps up to my window, and leans against the frame, looking so damn hot my ovaries clench. “I’m not catching you at a bad time, am I?”
I look past his shoulders, and down the street. “No, now get in here before someone sees you.”
“Embarrassed to be caught with me, Maize?”
I just don’t want the neighbors talking, or for my mother to get the wrong idea. He grabs the ledge and effortlessly hoists himself up. Two seconds later, he’s in my small, childhood bedroom, his presence overwhelming the space and me. He grins as he pushes his hair back and glances around.
He walks over to my dresser and drops something on it. I’m about to ask what he’s doing, but he turns and says, “So this is your room, huh?”
“This is it.”
“Looks like a high school girl still lives here.”
I laugh. “Mom hasn’t changed a thing.”
“Neither has mine. I still have a shelf above my bed displaying all my trophies.”
“I’d love to see that.”
He nods. “I’ll send you pictures tonight, after I get home.”
My heart sinks a little and it shouldn’t. I didn’t want him to meet my family, either.
“That would be fun to see, and it sounds like they are proud of you, Christian. If they keep all your trophies displayed.”
“There displayed in my room where no one goes. But my successes make them look good, Maize. That’s all. It’s all about image with them, associating with the right people, and putting a proper appearance out to the world. Honestly, I’ve always walked the straight and narrow, always followed the rules.”
My heart sinks. “Until me...until…”
Before I can say anything more, he steps up to me, wraps his arm around my waist and drags me to him. The smell of beer, mingling with perfume, hits me hard. I put my hand on his chest.
“Where were you?” Unease worms its way through my body. Was he out with the right people?
“Met the guys for a drink.”
“That’s why you smell like beer, but why do you smell like perfume?”
“If you’re wondering if I was with another girl, the answer is no. You’re the only girl I can think about. That’s why I’m here, Maize…” My insides flutter, and there is nothing on his face to suggest he’s been in someone else’s bed. “Tell me I can stay. I really need to put my cock in you.”
My legs quiver. “God, when you put it like that.”
He glances the length of me, takes in my shorts and T-shirt. “New pajamas?”
“No, I just didn’t take them to Kingston with me.”
“I’d ask you to put on your little white panties, but I’m going to have you out of these in a second anyway.” My body heats as he turns, and his face falls slightly as he glances at my unmade bed. “Did you sleep with Ryan in that bed?”
“No, we were in his…” He focuses back in on me. “I’ve…never slept with any guy in that bed.”
Catching me by surprise, he picks me up, and sets me on my bed. “How about we rectify that.”
“My door, it doesn’t lock,” I whisper.
“Then you’d better not scream too much, Maize.” He shrugs out of his coat, and reaches over his back to take off his T-shirt, and my gaze goes to his body. Even though I want to look at him, admire him, I reach over and turn out the light.
“You want me to feel my way around, do you?” he asks in the dark.
I chuckle. “Just in case Mom walks in.”
The bed creaks as he climbs in beside me, and I tug the blankets up to cover us up. A weird little giggle crawls out of my throat. “My God, this feels so…”
“Good.”
“Yeah, but risky…my mom.”
“Worried about getting caught can be half the fun.” I want to protest, but goddammit, I can’t, and when he presses his lips to mine, and spreads my legs as he positions himself in between them, my brain stops working.
“Yes,” I murmur, and run my hands through his hair as his lips leave mine to go to my neck. His mouth is hot, like fire on my skin and I writhe beneath him as I tug the blankets over us. He pushes his pelvis against mine, his rock-hard cock straining against his jeans. He slides to my side and puts his hand into my shorts. “Christian,” I moan, moving against his fingers as he circles my clit. I lift my hips, wanting him inside me.
“Need something, sweetness?” he asks.
“I need you.” He rewards me with a finger, and slides it deep inside me. He fucks me with it, and it’s insane how close I already am. He fills me with a second finger, and rubs the heel of his hand against my clit. My breathing changes, becomes labored, and under the covers, it’s hard to get air, but air is overrated anyway. Pleasure grips every nerve in my body and I put my hand over my mouth and bite down to stop from crying out. My body clenches, and my sex squeezes his probing fingers as my climax peaks. A keening sound rises in my throat as I ride out each powerful wave. My God, sex with Christian is amazing. I’m pretty certain by this point he’s ruined me for any other man.
He keeps his fingers inside me until I stop s
pasming, and then he takes my hand away from my mouth. Warm lips press against mine.
“You missed me, huh?” he teases.
“Apparently.”
He chuckles, and I give him a hard shove. He lets out a little oomph when I put my hand on his chest and pin him to my bed. I can’t see his face, but I’m sure he’s wondering what I’m up to. Grabbing the blankets, I pull them up until we’re both underneath and I kiss his bare chest. His moan curls around me and I go lower, until I reach his jeans. I pop the button, unzip them and tug them down to free his cock.
“Fuck yeah,” he groans as I take his hardness into my mouth, wanting to devour every inch, even though he’s too big for that. My lips stretch around his cock and I cup his balls for a soft massage and his hips lift, driving his cock a little deeper into my throat. I love how aroused he is, that it’s my bed he’s in—that it’s me he wants to be with.
Pre-cum drips from his crown, and I taste it with my tongue, savor his tangy flavor. His hands fist my hair and he tugs, but I’m not quite done with him yet. Yes, this is risky, and inappropriate with my mother in the other room, but it’s also kind of fun and exciting. I was never a teenager who snuck boys into her room, and I have to say, it’s something everyone should experience, sooner or later.
He swells even more in my mouth, and tugs on my hair, and while I’d like for him to come in my throat, I desperately need him inside me. I lift my head and in one quick movement, he has me on my back, pinned beneath him, my shorts at my ankles. He tosses them away and growls at me. God, I love when he does that.
“My cock, in you, now.”
The wild urgency in his voice sends heat charging through me. “Yes.” I open my legs, and he centers his cock and powers into me, going so deep it sends my head spinning and tilts my world on its axis.
“Christian,” I murmur, and bite his shoulder as he fills me, physically and emotionally. With my heart full, bursting with all the things I feel for this man, I rake my nails over his muscular back and move with him, meeting each blunt stroke, as he pounds into me. I’m not even sure I’ve ever seen this kind of intensity in him, this kind of hunger in his body.