by CJ Azevedo
“I hate Dahlia,” Macie said dejectedly.
Sam sighed loudly. “No you don’t. We’ll talk about her later, though. Right now, you need to get inside or I’m afraid Mr. I’m So Sexy But I Won’t Have Sex With You will be coming out here to collect his princess and then blame me for holding her hostage. That and I want to go back to the party. You pissed off Luca, and I think I can help him feel better.” She smiled and shot Macie a wink before turning back around in her seat.
“Love you, Sam. Thanks for the ride.”
“Love you too and welcome home. I missed the hell out of you.”
Macie walked up the walkway and through the open front door. The house was dark with the exception of the kitchen. Her mother had definitely been the one to recently decorate, she decided. Boys wouldn’t have a house that looked like this. The living room was traditionally decorated with brown microfiber sofas that actually matched. There were pictures on the walls and rugs on the floors and it smelled nice, like Macie’s house.
“You finally make it in, Butterfly?” Grey shouted from the other room as she closed the front door.
She followed his voice and found him standing at the stove in a pair of basketball shorts—that’s all, just the shorts. She stood there staring at him, images running through her mind of things she’d never done before but definitely wanted to do to him—with him—tonight, no matter her nerves.
Greyden smirked then chuckled when her wandering eyes finally made their ascent to his face. “Can you grab the strainer? It’s under the oven.” He turned back to his pot on the stove and continued stirring.
Macie went to the oven and squatted down fully aware that she’s wearing a short skirt and bending over would not be happening. “What are you making?”
“My world famous mac-n-cheese,” Greyden explained with his deliciously sculpted back to her. “Hungry?”
“Well, if it’s world famous, obviously I can’t miss out on that.” She placed the colander in the sink and kept a very straight face, sarcasm at its best. She pulled the milk and butter from the fridge as he strained the noodles. When she set them on the counter next to him, he surprised her by dropping the pot in the empty sink, abandoning the steaming noodles, and trapping her against the counter.
He took her mouth with pure possession. Her head fell back in bliss and her hands found his muscular, bare chest as he hovered over her small frame. Greyden wasn’t a tall guy, but his build was thick and made Macie feel even smaller than she already was. He continued kissing her, holding her close at the waist. Without releasing her lips, he lifted her on top of the counter.
Feeling self conscious and unsure, she pulled back, breathing heavily as she tried to keep her legs closed. Greyden brushed her hair back and leaned back in, gripping her thighs and pulling her closer. It was thrilling, but made her so nervous. She had no idea what she was doing.
“I have a skirt on.” She tried to inch it back down and keep the uneasiness at bay.
Greyden smirked slightly at her. “I won’t look.”
Macie sighed and her shoulders dropped dramatically as she covered her face in her hands and rested her head on his shoulder. “You make me sound so young.”
“You are so young.” He laughed, rubbing her back affectionately.
Macie popped up, feeling fiery about the whole situation. “Then why are you kissing me like that?”
He rubbed her shoulders up and down before kissing her sweetly. “Because I can’t seem to help myself when it comes to you. I can’t stay away, Butterfly.”
Macie lost her resolve. She knew she was mad about something just a minute ago but she couldn’t remember what that was now. Her body was humming with exhilaration. He wanted her, finally. She’d been waiting for this for what seemed like forever, but really for over three years, since he kissed her for the first time. She wouldn’t count the three years prior to that when she little girl crushed on him.
“Now what?” Macie asked, choosing to forget her nerves.
Greyden helped her off the counter and returned to his noodles in the sink. “Now we eat. I’m starving.”
“Greyden!” Macie swatted his back, marveling at the way his warm skin felt beneath her fingers.
He turned around, smiling at her as he dropped the drained noodles back in the pot and began mixing in the ingredients. “I don’t know, sweetheart. All I know is that I hated every minute you were away. And I’m sure you don’t want to hear this, but I think you need to.”
Macie had no idea where he was going to go with that and her nerves came back in full force as she leaned back against the counter for support.
“When you left, I tried to convince myself that you were off limits and we needed to keep things the way we had them. I went out partying with the guys and I hooked up with this girl.” Greyden peeked over his shoulder at her.
“You’re right. I don’t want to hear this. I mean, I know you do that sort of thing, but you don’t have to tell me about it, Greyden.” Macie found herself getting angry, which was something she rarely did, especially with him.
Greyden finished mixing everything together before turning around and wrapping her in his arms. He was too close right then. She didn’t want to smell how delicious he smelled or to feel how strong he felt. It was just all too much.
“Shhh.” He held his finger up to her lips even though she was no longer speaking. He was making a point, a point she received loud and clear. “Macie, since then I’ve only been able to kiss girls and even that was just faking it so the guys wouldn’t be asking questions.”
Macie shook her head in confusion. “I don’t understand.”
“I felt like I cheated on you, Butterfly,” he admitted bluntly. “I hated that feeling. Even though I knew I had done nothing wrong, it felt like I had. Even the kissing feels like cheating. Every time I close my eyes, it’s you I see, and then when I open them and it’s someone else, something inside me gets all twisted up and makes me feel like shit. I guess I’m just tired of fighting it.” He abandoned her—feeling weak and shaky, excited, over-joyed and most of all, still confused—to get two bowls from the cabinet for them.
They sat down on the couch and Grey put on a rerun of some old show. They didn’t talk anymore. Macie continued to process while she ate and obsessed over the feel of his hand running up and down her thigh in between bites. Greyden ate quickly and laughed at the show. Once he was done he wanted to know all about her trip. He already had the highlights about her host family and the friends she made, the homes she helped build and the community building she was helping to prepare before she came back early for his birthday, so she filled him in on the country of Ghana, where exactly she stayed, and some of her most memorable times. Reminiscing on her first Ghanaian foods was hilarious. She had already told him a little through email but tonight she described the first time she ordered grilled tilapia, thinking it was a safe choice. She was wrong. It was an entire fish, complete with a head and tail and scales, and there was no way she could force herself to eat it. Thankfully she had a very understanding host family that eased her into their cuisine after that and she found she was open to anything as long as she knew what to expect. She told him about the roadside vendors that dished up some of the most amazing meals, even delicatessens. It made her miss Ghana.
Greyden got up and collected their bowls. “Do you want to take a shower?”
“Yes,” she answered quickly. “I’ve been traveling for the last twenty-four hours. I could use a shower and a bed. Mom said to stay here tonight since they weren’t expecting me and are away at a conference.”
Greyden looked at her in amazement. “You’ve been traveling for twenty-four hours and you came out to my party instead of going straight to bed?”
“Of course I did. I couldn’t miss your birthday.” She wrapped her arms around his neck, for once feeling brave enough to make such a move.
He stared at her with contemplation in his eyes before a small smirk appeared. “Go take a showe
r in my bathroom. There are towels in the closet, then you’re sleeping in my bed. The guys aren’t coming home tonight.”
“Your bed. With you?” Macie got excited and nervous again all at once. Her emotions were on a rollercoaster ride and she was exhausted.
Grey leaned down and kissed her softly. “Yes. Just to sleep. I’m serious about you keeping your virginity until you’re eighteen, Mace. That’s not changing; it’s important. But now’s not the time to discuss this. Go get in the shower. I’ll put some clothes on the bed for you to sleep in.”
Macie spun out of his arms and started walking down the hall. “I don’t see how it’s any of your business!” she called. “It’s my body!”
“Wrong way, Butterfly,” Greyden said just loud enough so she could hear him over her tantrum.
She stopped abruptly and turned around slowly, re-collecting herself, then walked passed Grey with her head held high, as if he wasn’t standing there laughing at her.
Greyden waited to make sure she was all settled in bed before he brushed his teeth and joined her. Sleeping with her was going to be hell. There was no lying to himself about that, but he knew what he wanted for Macie, and her being sexually active at seventeen, even with him, had never been it.
“I don’t understand,” she whispered softly as she curled into his side and laid her head on his chest.
“You’re perfect, Butterfly, and you’re going to do big things with your life. I plan on being right there with you for them, but my plans don’t have kids in them for a while down the road. Plus, if for some reason you change your mind about me, you’ll be less likely to run off and sleep with some other guy if you’re still a virgin.” He squeezed her shoulder to make that last part sound like he was teasing, though neither of them were sure he was.
“I know you’re being serious.”
Greyden chuckled low in his throat, vibrating Macie’s face against his chest. “Here’s the deal. I know you want your perfect family, and I want to give you that eventually, but that doesn’t involve knocking you up in high school, or college even. Let’s try and do it the right way, yeah?”
Macie sighed before lifting her head and resting her chin on his chest so she could see his eyes. “You had to play the perfect family card?”
Greyden smiled his beaming smile, showcasing his dimples. “You are my Butterfly, and I’ll give you everything I can. That’s one thing I’m not budging on, though.”
“Okay. I promise to leave it alone.”
Greyden kissed her one more time before she readjusted and closed her very tired eyes, sleeping through the night next to the boy that captured her heart all those years ago.
Macie’s eyes felt like sand paper when she tried to open them. The room was dark and her body was stiff. She was exhausted. She gave up trying to regain consciousness and sank further into the comfy mattress. Just as she was sure the slumber was about to completely take back over, she realized what woke her in the first place. Voices. Loud, angry voices. Without opening her eyes, she reached over to feel for Greyden. “Grey?” her raspy voice questioned the silent and apparent abandoned room with the exception of herself.
Sitting up, she noticed the voices are still going at it. It’s definitely a heated conversation, but she can’t determine the players. On shaky legs, she made her way to the connected bathroom and washed her face, taking a depressing inventory of swollen eyes with dark bags under them, pale skin, and a freakishly wild hairdo. The hair went into a messy bun, the rest was left as-is.
She slipped her bra on underneath his t-shirt that swallowed her up and made sure his drawstring pants were drawn tight to her hips. As she reached the door, she noticed that the voices had leveled out some. When she opened it she knew exactly what was happening.
“It’s none of your business, that’s why. Just back the fuck off,” Greyden stated in an eerily calm voice.
The room went silent and Macie hovered in the middle of the hallway, afraid to break that silence when she entered.
“This isn’t going to end well for her. You’re our brother and we always have your back, but it’s our job to look out for her, Grey. If it’s not us, then who is it? And if it’s one of us hurting her…what the hell do we do then, huh? How the hell do we fix that shit?” Luca asked, sounding genuinely confused and concerned.
Macie still couldn’t see the scene she was eavesdropping on, but she sensed that Grey was at a loss. Luca made a point that he couldn’t refute and she was terrified that all the proclamations he made to her last night were going to go right out the window. Taking in a deep breath of bravery, she stepped out from the shadow of the hall and right into the testosterone-filled living room where four sets of eyes snapped up and locked onto her. She didn’t plan her speech—she should’ve. Now her mouth was dry and her mind was drawing a blank when she would prefer for it to be shooting off rapid fire.
Greyden stood and walked to her, getting close enough to her front that she could smell his body wash wafting off of him in sensual waves. Her right hand went automatically up to his chest as his went to caress her cheek with a gentle but concerned smile on his face. “You should still be sleeping,” he whispered. “You didn’t get enough rest yet.”
Macie’s eyes closed automatically when he leaned in and kissed her forehead. The stinging from her dry, tired eyes hurt so much, and she definitely wanted to go back to sleep, but she needed to fix this first. She rolled her eyes around behind her closed lids, moistening them before opening them back up. When she did, it was to Greyden scowling deeply at her. Did she take longer than she thought?
“Macie, you’re going back to bed right now. Your eyes are so bloodshot they’re more red than they are white,” he said in a low voice.
“I will, but you guys need to fix this, Grey. You can’t fight with them over me. You’ve been friends too long.”
Greyden smiled at her like she’s the cutest thing he’d ever seen and it irritated her. “We’re not fighting, Butterfly, it’s all good. C’mon, let’s go lie back down.” He tried to turn her around, but she fought him, getting angry, like she knew he was lying straight to her face.
“I heard you guys yelling, Greyden, you…bastard! Don’t f-fucking lie to me. I’m not a little girl. This is complete shit and you know it! I’m so tired of you treating me like f-fucking glass! This includes me, too, and I won’t just go back to bed. You’re fucking fixing this and you’re doing it now!” Macie felt like she was ready to shatter; her head was going to explode. Her heart was pounding throughout every pivotal point in her body, but all she could focus on was the extreme quietness of the room. Her eyes regained their focus enough to take notice that Grey stepped back and had utter devastation on his face. The other three guys were staring at her with their eyebrows raised in such a comical way that Macie wanted to slap them. Macie recounted the last few seconds and realized how much she had shocked them. She never got really angry. She usually cried. She never cussed and just now she released the gamut on Greyden. All in all, she just shocked the crap out of them.
Greyden turned around and swung one arm out towards Macie while addressing the guys siting in the living room, still watching them in silence. “Do you still think she needs you to protect her from me?” he asked.
Declan, Luca, and Keegan hesitated only for a few seconds before they threw their heads back in laughter. Keegan fell back on the couch, grabbing his stomach. “Hey Grey, maybe we should warn you off from Mace. She seems to have found her spark!” he cried, dissolving into another bout of laughter.
Greyden turned back around and grabbed Macie by the arm, leading her back to his room. She didn’t say a word. Overwhelmed by his sudden demanding presence, she followed in stunned silence, still reeling from her outburst.
When they reached the room, he motioned for her to go inside, pushing the door open without saying a word. He followed and closed the door quietly, the lock sounding incredibly loud in the silent room.
Greyden looked stressed as he che
wed on both of his lips and rubbed the back of his neck. Macie took a couple steps towards him, wanting to reach out and touch him, to smooth away the furrowed brow and kiss his lips that he continued to chew on, but he backed up until his back was against his armoire. He pointed to his bed. “Sit,” he said gravely.
Macie heard the seriousness in his voice and it scared her. She was afraid that she overstepped out there, that she pushed him too far. Instead of arguing, she listened to his silent request. She went and set on the end of his unmade bed, crossed her legs, folded her hands in her lap, and watched him even out his breathing while looking up at the ceiling.
“This—this here, between us, is not up for discussion anymore, Macie. They’re just going to have to learn to deal with it.” He blew out an agitated breath before looking back down at her. “And you’re right, this does involve you, but you and I already made our decision last night and that shit’s not changing. It doesn’t matter what they say, Mace, you’re mine now and you getting involved out there is just going to add feelings and emotions that don’t need to be messed with. Let me handle them.”
Macie nodded her agreement when he started towards her.
“Besides, I think that newfound mouth of yours may have given you the permission you needed to date me.” He reached out and cupped her jaw with both of his strong, warm hands and stared into her eyes intently.
“I’m sorry,” she whispered, averting her eyes. She felt terrible for yelling those awful words to him. She had no idea where they came from. Thoughts like that never even swam in her head, let alone spewed from her mouth, which clearly showed when she had a hard time spitting out the f-bombs. They kept getting caught up on her tongue, much to her frustration. She knew how angry she was and how her friends and the guys spoke when the they were angry, and it was like her brain and mouth were at war, the words came on their own but her mouth was determined to stop them. Eventually the words won, even if they were a bit distorted.