by Steph Nuss
She sighed contently. “If we stopped taking it slow and had sex already?”
“Seriously?” I spit out, perking up like a dog begging for a treat. I was to the point where I would beg for it.
She turned around to face me and nodded. “I can’t wait any longer, Mav. Tonight, okay? When we get back to my place?”
“Oh, thank fuck!” I said, lifting her up onto the vanity. I wrapped her legs around my waist and kissed her hard. “I couldn’t wait another minute, baby.”
“Me either,” she groaned, pulling me closer.
I ran my hands under her dress, along her black leggings. “Please tell me you have lace on under here.”
She laughed into my neck and then traced my ear with her tongue. “It’s red.”
“Red? Are you trying to kill me?!”
“No,” she said seductively, pulling away from me. “I need you alive for the things I want you to do to me.”
“In that case, we’re leaving early tonight,” I said, helping her down from the counter. She righted her dress and looked in the mirror again. She looked amazing in her red dress and black leggings. She had legs that went on for days, and I couldn’t wait to have them wrapped around me as I buried myself inside of her.
“I wouldn’t mind leaving a little early,” she said with a wink. She led us out of the bathroom and into the living room where the women were discussing wedding crap.
“Hey!” Elly said, standing from the couch. “I didn’t know you were here!”
“Yeah, well, this guy caught me before anyone else could,” she said, tugging on my shirt.
I gave her quick peck on the cheek and nodded toward the kitchen. “I’m gonna grab a beer. What would you like?”
“I’ll take a beer,” she said, smiling back at me.
Just another thing I loved about her: she wasn’t picky. Lots of people were picky about every little thing, but not Harper. After fetching her a beer, I wandered back into the kitchen where the guys were hanging out around the booze and the food, away from all the wedding talk.
“Are you done with your boyfriend duties?” Cash joked, tapping his beer bottle against mine.
“It’s called being a gentleman. You should be taking notes,” I said, before taking a pull from my beer.
Carter and Justin busted out laughing, knowing all too well how Cash operated, while Fletcher mixed himself another Jack and Coke. I looked back into the living room and saw Harper laughing at something Tessa had said, and I couldn’t help but smile. As much pain as I was in below the belt, it was totally worth it for her. She fit in perfectly, and that made me happy. I wanted my friends to be her friends.
“So,” Carter said, pulling my attention back into the kitchen, “How are things going with my sister?”
“Yeah, have you hit that yet?” Fletcher asked, crudely.
“Not what I meant,” Carter said, pointing his beer at Fletcher and shaking his head. He smiled back at me and took a drink. “Things are good, though?”
“Yeah,” I said, nodding. “Things are going really well.” And they were only going to get better, I thought.
“Good to hear.” He fixed himself a plate of food and sat down on one of the barstools next to me. “H mentioned she was going to Paris for some movie premiere next week. Are you going with her? I can’t remember what movie she said it was.”
“It’s that new Marvel movie,” I said. “Her friend, Max, is in it.”
“Oh yeah, that’s right,” Carter said with a nod.
“That movie was awesome!” Cash interjected.
“I heard a sequel’s already in the works,” Justin said.
“Hey, Carter!” Elly shouted from the living room. “Come here! I need you to look at something!”
Carter groaned and rolled his eyes. “I’ll be so happy when all of this wedding crap’s over.”
I laughed and watched as he left the kitchen with a smile for Elly. Fletcher took the seat next to me and cleared his throat.
“Speaking of weddings, when’s yours?” Fletcher joked, smiling back at Justin and Cash.
“Give it a rest,” I said, rolling my eyes at them.
“No, really,” he said, stirring his drink. “Have you slept with her yet? How was she?”
I sighed and downed the rest of my beer. “No,” I said, glaring at him. “We haven’t slept together, and even when we do, I won’t be telling you about it.”
“Oh, come on!” Fletcher said, waving his hands in the air in disbelief. “You haven’t slept with her, and you’re letting her go to the city of love with another guy—a guy who plays a superhero in a movie?!”
“Wow, I didn’t even think the word “love” was in your vocabulary,” I laughed, patting him on the back. Cash and Justin laughed along with me while Fletcher shook his head and glared at us.
“All I’m saying is that if a girl like Harper isn’t having sex with you, she’s probably gettin’ it from someone else,” he said defensively, in a smart-ass tone. “Like a famous movie star who also happens to be her friend.”
I rolled my eyes again and shook my head. I knew he was just trying to be a good friend, but sometimes he had a shitty way of showing it. “I’m not worried about it. She told me they’re just friends.”
“Of course she told you that,” Fletcher said. “It’s not like she’s gonna straight up tell you she has a sex friend on the side.” He shook his head and tossed back the rest of his drink. “If you want, I could find a PI in France.”
“Jesus,” I griped, standing up from my seat. “I don’t need some dipshit spying on my girlfriend. I trust her. We’ve just been taking things slow, getting to know each other.”
“Yeah, yeah, yeah,” he said with a smirk. “I’d call you a pussy-whipped bastard, but you aren’t even getting any!”
The three of them broke out in more laughter at my expense, so I flipped them off and grabbed two more beers and a plate of food before heading back to my woman’s side.
Fuck them and their lonely, pathetic lives.
When I walked into the living room, Carter was surrounded by the women talking about more wedding stuff. I took a seat next to Harper on the couch and handed her a beer. She scooted closer to my side and picked a pretzel off of my plate and dragged it through the dip Elly had made.
“Ooh, you brought snacks,” she cooed, smiling up at me. “Thanks, babe.”
“No problem.” I laughed. I wiped a drop of dip off of her lip and licked it off my finger. “What are we talking about?”
She laughed and looked over at the girls. “Well, Elly had just asked us where we imagined our weddings taking place.”
“I see,” I said, smiling back at her.
“Okay,” Tessa said, grabbing everyone’s attention. “Paige, you go first. Where have you always pictured your wedding?”
Paige took a sip of her wine and smiled. “My family is Catholic, so I’ve always imagined getting married in the church I grew up in. It’s big and beautiful, and ever since I was a little girl, I’ve always imagined my dad walking me down the aisle there.”
The girls awed in unison and Carter and I exchanged a teasing eye roll.
“Okay, Tessa,” Elly said, smiling. “Your turn.”
Tessa took a deep breath and looked off into space for a moment. The smile on her face grew wider, and part of me had to hold back laughter at how goofy some women acted over weddings. She turned her attention back to the group and answered. “Since I don’t really have a lot of family and I love the beach, I’ve always thought a small beach wedding at sunset would be really pretty. Maybe in the Hamptons during the summer.”
“I could see you having a beach wedding,” Paige said, nodding.
“Me too,” Elly said. She turned her head toward Harper and smiled. “Your turn, Harper!”
Harper looked over at me hesitantly smiling and then faced the girls. “I’ve always wanted a small destination wedding with my immediate family and closest friends.”
“Where
at?” I asked, intrigued.
“Italy,” she replied, laying her head on my shoulder. “I’ve been there for work, and I just fell in love with the atmosphere and the food and the people. I would love to have my wedding there.”
“That would be so much fun!” Tessa said, and the others agreed.
Harper nodded and then looked over at Elly. “What about you, Elly? Is your wedding going to be how you imagined it?”
Tessa and Paige shot Elly a knowing smile as she gazed up at Carter with a goofy grin on her face. “No, I never really imagined my wedding day. I just knew who I wanted my groom to be.”
Carter gave her a quick peck on the cheek and whispered something in her ear that made her blush. Harper sighed contently beside me, and I wrapped my arm around her shoulders and kissed her on the top of her head. “Well, since nobody asked me how I imagined my wedding day, I’ll tell you anyway.” Harper laughed and turned her attention toward me, as did the rest of the room. “There are three things a man wants on his wedding day: free-flowing booze, preferably in the form of an open bar, so he can simmer his nerves with alcohol, a great meal that will have him talking about it for years because it was that good, and sex on his wedding night. That’s it. That’s what I want.”
Harper pulled away from me and looked at me in disbelief. “So, you don’t care about the dress or how your future wife looks as she’s walking down the aisle to you, preparing to give you her hand in marriage?”
“Of course I care, because she cares,” I answered with a shrug, lacing my fingers with hers. “But in my eyes, she’s beautiful no matter what she’s wearing or how her hair and makeup look.”
“Exactly!” Carter interjected, raising his beer bottle toward me. “Elly could come down the aisle in a pair of sweats, no makeup on and her hair a mess, and I’d still want to spend the rest of my life with her.”
Tessa smacked the back of Carter’s head and laughed. “Don’t give her any ideas!”
Elly laughed, shaking her head, and then looked over at Harper and me. “No, I’m pretty set on my dress and everything.”
“And you’ll look amazing on your day, as you should, since it’s a special day,” I said, taking another drink of my beer. “All I’m saying is, guys don’t think about it the way women do. We’re too busy thinking about the honeymoon.”
The room broke out in laughter, and Harper turned my face toward hers and pressed her lips to mine. “That’s sweet.”
“That’s the truth, baby,” I said, grinning proudly. “And any guy who actually insists on having a say on your dress or any other wedding details besides the alcohol, food, and sex, is either gay, or he doesn’t really love you.”
“Ohmigawd,” Harper laughed, turning her head into my shoulder.
“Why do you say that?” Tessa asked, furrowing her brows.
I pointed to Harper and rolled my eyes. “We watched some bridal show last night where the woman’s fiancé actually wanted to come watch her try on dresses. He insisted on helping her pick out her wedding dress,” I said, shaking my head. “No straight male who loves his fiancée would ever want to do that because, like I said, to him, it doesn’t matter what she’s wearing.”
Harper laughed. “Don’t mind, Mav, girls. He’s just a little upset over bride Friday.”
“What is bride Friday?” Elly asked.
“On Fridays, there are a bunch of bridal shows on TV, so it’s sometimes referred to as bride Friday,” Paige said.
Tessa nodded. “Yeah, I saw that episode with the fiancé last night. I thought it was a little weird he was there.”
“Exactly.”
Carter shook his head, downed the rest of his beer and then looked over at Elly. “I swear, if you ever make me watch bride Friday, I’ll divorce you.”
“If you ever see me watching bride Friday, shoot me,” Elly laughed.
“What were you doing watching that crap with her?” Carter asked me, nodding toward his sister.
I shrugged my shoulders, and then smiled back at Harper. “She watched basketball with me the night before, so I figured I could watch something she liked.”
“Oh, that’s so nice!” Tessa cooed, smiling over at us.
Harper’s smile widened and she gave me a kiss on the cheek.
Tessa refilled her wine glass and then sat back into her chair. “What about the ring?” She looked back and forth between Carter and me and smiled. “Women spend a lot of time thinking about what kind of engagement ring they want. Do you guys care about the ring?”
“Yeah,” we said, answering at the same time.
Carter cleared his throat and then ran his hand over Elly’s ring on her left hand. “I knew what kind of ring I was going to give Elly before I even went shopping for it. I wanted it to be a solitaire, since she likes things simple. I thought it was important to find a ring that fit her personality; something she’ll love wearing every day for the rest of her life.”
“That makes sense,” Tessa said.
“What about you, Mav?” Paige asked, raising her brows at me. “I mean, I know you guys have only been together for about a month now, but do you think you know what kind of ring Harper would want someday?”
Harper laughed lightly and turned her head toward me. “You don’t have to answer that.”
“Oh, come on!” Elly teased, waving her hand in the air. “Humor us, Mav. You watch bridal shows with your girlfriend. Take a guess at what kind of engagement ring she’d like!”
I smiled widely and let out a deep breath. “Okay.” Turning to Harper, I studied her for a moment.
“You know, it’s okay if you don’t get it right,” Harper said, her eyes dancing with excitement.
I shook my head and looked back at the group staring at us. “She’d want something classic but vintage, something you don’t see a lot of women wearing nowadays. Maybe even something with a black diamond in it, just to steer away from the infamous diamond ring every other woman dreams about. It definitely would be unique and beautiful because that’s who she is.”
The room grew silent as everyone stared at Harper, waiting for her response. I ran my finger over her ring finger and then pressed a gentle kiss to the top of her hand. “How’d I do?”
“Perfect,” she muttered, tears shimmering in her eyes. “That sounded absolutely perfect.”
Harper
Two hours later, Maverick and I were back at my place, stumbling into my bedroom as we tore at each other’s clothes. The time had finally come; we were finally going to have sex! Lying next to him almost every night for the past few weeks and only sleeping was a true testament to our self-control, but I was down to my last shred of willpower. I couldn’t think straight anymore. I kept having fantasies of Maverick coming home from the gym and ravishing me until we were both too tired to move. Now, it was finally coming true. I was minutes away from finding out whether or not he could give me the one thing that every other guy before him had failed to give: an orgasm. And that made me worry. I didn’t want to be disappointed. I didn’t want him to be disappointed.
When were both down to our underwear, he walked us over to the bed and we crawled under the covers, him covering my body with his. I lay back against the pillows and stretched out underneath him, allowing him to admire the lingerie I wore just for him.
“Jesus, you’re beautiful,” he breathed, running his hands down the length of my body. He made me feel beautiful. He looked at me like I was the only woman he’d every laid eyes on, which only added to my nerves.
What if I couldn’t get there?
What if I resorted to faking it?
Wait! No. More. Faking!
Especially not with Maverick. We’d been so honest with one another up until now, and I wanted things to continue that way. I wanted everything to be perfect, just the way it was in my fantasies.
The touch of his lips on my thighs escalated my need for him, and my breathing grew heavier. I tried to calm myself down by running my fingers through his soft, dark hair
, but I couldn’t. His mouth felt so good and hot against my skin, igniting an ache deep inside of me that begged for relief. He moved farther up my body, placing more kisses all over me, and I trailed my hands down his toned body, lifting my hips to meet his. His mouth captured mine, our tongues eagerly stroking over one another as he rolled his hips into me with precision, letting me feel just how aroused he was.
Breathless, we broke away for air, and he relaxed back and trailed his eyes over my body again, causing warmth to wash over me.
“I need to see you,” he said, his voice deep and fervent. He reached for my panties. “All of you.”
I nodded anxiously, giving him permission to take me further. He started to pull the lace down my thighs and I closed my eyes.
You’re about to have sex with your incredibly seductive boyfriend. You can do this. You will have an orgasm. You will cross the finish line this time! Just breathe and let go. No more faking it. You will not fake it with him. The past few weeks had been absolutely perfect with him—no problems whatsoever—but now, I was in the middle of a panic attack during foreplay over my inability to orgasm! Ohmigawd, get it to together, H! Breathe!
And that’s when I heard him say my name, and I opened my eyes and found him hovering over me.
“What’s wrong?” he asked, looking down at me with worry in his dark eyes.
“What?” I asked, feigning confusion. “Nothing’s wrong.”
“I started to take off your thong, and you tensed up and closed your eyes. That doesn’t exactly seem like nothing.”
I took a deep breath and let it go. “It’s just—remember how you said I should always be honest with you?”
“Yes,” he answered curiously, stroking my hair to comfort me. “You can tell me anything, you know.”
I sighed heavily and looked him in the eyes. “I’ve never …” I waved a hand in the air trying to find the right words. “I’ve never been able to have an orgasm. I’ve faked it my entire life. So, I was worried about us having sex because I didn’t want to fake it with you if I couldn’t … you know … get there. I’m so tired of faking it! And now I just ruined our first time by freaking out about it. I don’t know what’s wrong with me. I don’t want you to think I don’t want you because I do. I so do. I mean, look at you!”