by Tabatha Kiss
I need to get out of here.
I find the ladies’ room and reach out to grip the door handle but the door flies open before I can react.
The handle collides with my fist and I wince. “Ow! Shit…”
Jackie halts in the doorway with her clutch in one hand and phone in the other. “Watch your language, young lady,” she quips. “This is a school.”
“Jackie…” I shake the pain out of my wrist. “What are you doing?”
She gawks at me. “What are you doing? Why aren’t you talking to Max?”
I sigh. “You mean why aren’t I voluntarily reliving years of emotional trauma at the hands of my tormentors?”
“What happened?”
I cross my arms and step back to lean against the nearest row of lockers. “We were all talking and it was fine but then I noticed that the cool clique was staring and laughing at us from across the room. Max and Thad were just… hell, I don’t know. Probably a stupid dare or something. Honestly, don’t care.”
“Jesus.” She scoffs. “How old are we?”
“Old enough to know that when a train is hurtling toward you, you step off the track. Can we please go now?”
“If you want to…” She tilts her head to look behind me. “Or we could wait and see how this plays out…”
I glance over my shoulder to see Max at the end of the hall. He starts in our direction at brisk, steady pace and my chest twists even tighter with dread.
“Talk to him,” Jackie whispers.
“No, I don’t want to,” I snap back. “I just want to—”
He interrupts me. “Phoebe…”
Jackie yanks my arm, forcing me to twist around and look at him.
“Yeah. Hey, Max,” I mutter at the floor.
“Listen, I…” He glances between us. “Can we talk for a minute?”
I hesitate. “Sure.”
“Privately?”
Jackie throws on a smile. “Okay, I’ll just go get the car warmed up—”
“It’s September in LA,” I point out. “It’s already warm—”
“And I know a security guard in desperate need of my phone number.”
“Jackie—”
“Bye!”
I lunge for her hand but she dodges me as she whips out her car keys.
Max waits for her to round the corner before speaking. “You guys leaving already?” he asks.
“Yeah…” I say, staring at the old, linoleum tiles. “Just a touch too much Memory Lane for one evening.”
“Look, Phoebe, I’m sorry if they made you feel uncomfortable in there. Some of them never quite grew up, you know?”
I scoff. Some of them? What about you?
I look up at him, ready to say it all out loud, but the kindness in his eyes holds me back.
“It seems that way,” I say instead.
He stands a little taller and smiles. “Hey, do you have other plans tonight?”
Movement catches my attention behind him as Jackie pokes her head out from around the corner. She stares at me with wide eyes, urging me to answer his question.
“Uh… maybe.”
Jackie throws up her hands and mouths silently at me. “What are you doing?”
“Why?” I ask him.
He pauses for a second, looking me up and down. “Wanna hang out?”
I stare at him. “Hang out?”
“Yeah.”
“You want to hang out with me and Jackie?”
“No, I want to hang out with you,” he says. “No offense to her but I’d rather continue the conversation we were having somewhere a little less… hectic.”
Jackie nods furiously at me and holds her hands in prayer. “Do it,” she mouths. “Do. It.”
I can’t stop the excitement building in my chest. Max Monahan is standing in front of me in a dim and lonely hallway, asking me to hang out with him… but what about what I just saw in there?
“I live nearby,” he says. “Just a few miles up the 405.”
I blink as Jackie nearly bites a hole through her bottom lip. “You want me to go back to your place?” I ask slowly.
He nods. “Yeah.”
“Alone?”
“Well, Thad will be there. He’s sleeping on my couch this weekend but I don’t think he’d mind the company.”
Alcohol tosses my senses into confusion but a little logic manages to slip through it. “You’re not going to murder me, are you?”
He laughs. “No. Honestly… and I’m sorry if this is too forward, but…” he leans in, lowering his voice, “I can’t stop wondering what it’d be like…” he drops to a much softer whisper, “to kiss you.”
My jaw hits the floor. “Huh?”
He raises one hand, slowly easing it up to rest below my sagging chin. With a careful nudge, he closes my mouth and holds it there. “Do you mind?” he asks.
“Hgnnph.”
“Is that a yes? Or a no?”
I clear my throat. “Uh…”
Max chuckles softly and leans over to connect his mouth with mine for one blissful second.
He’s kissing me. My lips. His lips. Max Monahan is kissing me.
I’m kissing Max freaking Monahan.
I slip backward, nearly crashing into the line of lockers beside me but Max grabs me before I fall over.
“Whoa—” He exhales a laugh, flexing and holding me in place. “You okay?”
“Yeah, totally. Why do you ask?” I say quickly.
He keeps his hands on me, smiling wide. I’m happy he does. There’s no possible way I could stand on my own right now. I’ve wanted this since I was fifteen years old…
“So, what do you say?” he asks, still whispering. “You wanna come back to my place with me, Phoebe Pink?”
I shiver as my name passes over his lips. “Okay,” I say, my voice as weak and wobbly as my knees.
Jackie emerges again, silently thrusting her fists into the air in victory but I ignore her.
Max’s eyes lock me in place again, blocking out and silencing everything.
Including that dread in my gut.
Seven
Thad
A bet is a bet.
I’ve never once backed out of one and I never will but that’s not what’s got me a little on-edge about this whole thing.
It’s Max.
What’s he seeing that I don’t?
Max sticks his key in the lock and opens the door to his condo. He pauses and turns to Phoebe with a wide gesture of his arm. “After you,” he tells her.
I stand back, watching that smile she’s had stuck on her face since the moment we left Belle as it digs a little bit deeper into her cheeks. Not gonna lie, it’s cute — really cute — but a cute smile has never been enough to turn Max into a damn gentleman.
“Wow…” Phoebe gasps as she walks in. “You have a really nice place.”
Max follows her in, leaving me in the hallway. At least he left the door open.
“Thanks,” he says.
“How long have you been here?”
“A few years…”
I step in and close the door behind me, listening to their voices as Phoebe walks around the living room. Max’s condo is my home away from the cockpit so it’s old news to me but as she wanders around, I get the feeling she’s way out of her element.
She ends up by the windows with the same wide-eyed expression. “This is an amazing view,” she says, eyes flicking from one skyscraper to the next. “I’ve lived in this city my entire life but I’ve never seen it from this angle before…”
“Yeah,” Max says, his gaze never leaving her face. “I know what you mean.”
Phoebe blushes. She looks down to try and hide it but it’s already too late.
Damn. That was smooth.
I rest my hands in my pockets and look at Phoebe Pink a little closer. Fiery hair, deep dimples, and a bright complexion. A far cry from the girl I barely remember, sure, but…
What am I missing here?
; Max lays a hand on her shoulder. “Would you like something to drink?” he asks. “Beer? Wine?”
“Wine is… fine,” she says, cringing at her own rhyme.
“Be right back.”
His hand slips off her skin as he passes. For one second, I see a shiver shoot down her spine. She presses her lips together, exhaling softly, and then we both realize that I’ve been staring at her for a little too long.
“Yo,” she says, giving me a wave.
“Howdy,” I say.
I shift and follow Max into the kitchen.
“Hey,” I say, dropping to a whisper. “So, what’s going on?”
He pulls a bottle of wine from his refrigerator door. “What do you mean?” he asks.
I blink. “One second she’s storming out of the gym and the next, you two are locked, loaded, and ready to go. What did you say to her?”
Max nods as he yanks the cork from the bottleneck. “Not much.”
“Then, how did you get her back here?”
“I kissed her.”
I stare at him while he fills two wineglasses. “You kissed her?”
“Did you want some of this?” he asks me. “If not, there’s beer.”
“You kissed her?” I repeat.
“Yes, I kissed her.”
I crane back to glance at Phoebe still gazing out the window. “What was it like?” I ask, trying and failing to picture it.
Max rolls his eyes. “It was a kiss, Thad.”
“Was it nice, though?”
“Yeah, it was nice. Adorable, actually. She…” He pauses, looking over at her with interest. “It’s been a while since I’ve gotten that kind of reaction.”
“What kind of reaction?”
“Like…” He picks up their wineglasses and turns. “Like it actually mattered to her.”
I stand still, letting it all sink in.
“Look, man,” he says, pausing in the doorway. “A bet’s a bet. If you’re out, then you’re out. Just don’t get in the way of what I’m doing.”
“Hey…” I hold up my hands. “I’m in — you know I am — but whatever happened to we’re just gonna talk to her?”
“Well, things change.” He smirks. “And Phoebe Pink… changed.”
I take another look across the condo at her. He’s not wrong about that. Again, the word cute comes to mind. Cute is good. I like cute. I can work with cute.
And I’d be lying if I weren’t mildly curious about everything else.
“Okay.” I nod. “She seems to like you, so what do you think? You make the first move, get things warmed up, and I walk in like I’m fixing the printer and ask if you need an extra hand?”
He holds back a laugh. “I think we can be smoother than that…”
“Me, too.” I snatch the wineglasses from his hands and pass by him into the living room. “Oh, Phoebe!”
She turns from the windows, flinching slightly at the sound of her name. “Yeah?”
I stop in front of her and offer her a glass. “So, tell me about this kiss.”
Her face turns white. “What?”
“Thad.” Max follows me in. “What are you doing?”
“Oh, come on. Let’s not act embarrassed here.” I hold her glass out a little further. “We’re adults! We can talk about a little peck on the cheek, right?”
Phoebe takes her glass as color slowly returns to her face. “Yeah,” she says. “I guess we can…”
“Did he do the tongue thing?”
“Tongue thing?”
I laugh. “I guess not.”
Max glares at me. “Thad…”
“Quite frankly, I’m shocked,” I say. “It’s his signature move.”
Her eyes shift. “I don’t think it lasted long enough for a signature move. Unless you count me flailing like an idiot…”
Max shakes his head. “You didn’t flail like an idiot.”
She chuckles and gulps down a healthy sip of wine. “If you say so.”
I grin. “Well, if you ask me, this kiss deserves a do-over.” I nudge Max’s arm. “Go ahead.”
They look at each other and Phoebe twitches.
“Oh, no…” She takes a quick step back and bumps the window. “No. That’s—”
“Why not?” I ask. “Max was just telling me how nice it was.”
She blushes. “You were?” she asks him.
He hesitates but follows my lead. “Yeah,” he says. “But that—”
“All the more reason to repeat the experience,” I say over him. “You want to, right, Pheebs?”
She doesn’t answer but her face says everything.
“Okay…” Max takes a step forward. “He’s not going to leave us alone until we do this, so…”
I nod. “He’s right. I’m a total dick.”
She laughs lightly and bites her lip. “It’s all right. I’ll do it.”
“That’s the spirit!” I set down my glass and point a finger. “I like you, Phoebe. You’re a good sport.”
Max flashes me a quick stare down and I shift a step backward to give them space. He can scold me all he wants but he can’t argue with my methods. She’s ready for him.
He clears his throat and looks at Phoebe’s quivering eyes. Her chin drops to her chest but Max nudges it back up with a smile that seems to calm her. “How about…” he leans closer, “this time we do this?”
She stiffens as he wraps an arm around her and rests his palm on the small of her back.
“Keep you from flailing through my window,” he jokes.
“Good idea.” She chuckles, cheeks burning bright as they linger mere inches away from each other.
Max goes for it. His head tilts to the side and he leans in to kiss Phoebe Pink.
I pause with my stunned, eager eyes locked on them. She lays one hand on his shoulder, the other hand floating up with that wineglass pinched between her fingers. I reach for it and she lets it slip free, seemingly unaware of my interference at all. She grabs his arm, fingers digging into his suit jacket.
Her mouth barely moves, held fast in shock and awe before finally pursing to kiss him back. He gives her another hard, closed-mouth peck before opening his mouth and tapping the tip of his tongue against her upper lip.
I watch the shiver take over her body and goosebumps gently twist up her spine. I’ve seen it before. The effect Max has on women is practically legendary but tonight this feels… different.
My cock pulses with need.
Her lips finally part and she takes Max’s tongue into her mouth. A jealous urge tickles at the back of my neck but I keep my shit together. Jealousy over Phoebe Pink.
Who fucking knew?
I set her glass down next to mine and shake my head. “That’s not the move,” I say.
Max pulls away, breaking their kiss. He gawks at me as her bewildered eyes flick between us. “What are you talking about? That was the move,” he argues.
“No, it wasn’t.”
“Yes, it was.”
“I don’t know what that was but it wasn’t the move. Here, let me show you.”
I cup Phoebe’s cheek with one hand, drawing her in fast, and Max releases his hold on her.
She begins a gasp, opening her mouth, and I fit my lips together with hers. In an instant, she falters and the tension in her jaw unravels. I lean into it, easing my tongue between her lips to get my own taste of her. She tastes like wine and vodka, but sweet and addictive as sugar.
It’s hard to pull away. I stay latched to her, inhaling deep as blood rushes toward my groin. She lays a hand on my wrist, fingers pressed into my skin, but she doesn’t try to push me away. She kisses me back instead, tongue twisting up with mine. A moan escapes the back of her throat and I feel it deep in my loins.
We break apart and open our eyes to each other. Phoebe Pink and her bright, gray irises.
I want more.
Before she can fill her lungs, Max guides her chin back in his direction. I lean away while they kiss and reach for a wineglass,
not remembering or caring whose is whose. I take a drink, coating my entire tongue with it before shifting behind her back. He slides to his right, dropping his kiss from her left cheek down to her throat, giving her a moment to breathe.
I touch her face with my fingertips, drawing a line beneath her right ear and she turns her head back to look at me. I kiss her again, sticking my wine-soaked tongue in her mouth and she sucks the flavor off while I pinch the zipper of her dress. It buzzes softly as I pull it down until it ends at the small of her back. I reach inside, placing my hand on her warm skin above the hump of her ass. I kiss her harder and faster as Max guides the dress downward over her wide hips, leaving nothing but flesh-colored panties and bra.
Her chest heaves up and down. I stare down into her deep cleavage as Max cups her with both hands.
We work together, easing her slowly into lust but she doesn’t fight it either. Every touch draws another sharp breath. Every stroke of our tongues strikes another match on her already burning skin. It’s almost easy. It’s definitely fun.
It’s undeniably sexy.
And we’re just getting started.
Eight
Phoebe
I wake up feeling crushed, lost in a haze of fuzzy memories.
My mouth is dry. My forehead is sweaty. It’s warm. Too warm. I can barely breathe. I try to shift onto my side but that crushed feeling overwhelms me.
Wait…
I lay a hand on my chest, instantly touching skin that’s not mine. It’s thick, muscled.
An arm?
I open my eyes to an unfamiliar ceiling. The curtains are closed, blocking most of the LA morning sunlight but I can still make out the shape of the man lying next to me.
No…
Make that men.
One on either side. Max lies to my right, face down with his closed eyes pointed in my direction. And Thad on my left. It’s his arm draped over me, his palm purposefully cupping my right breast.
“Oh, shit,” I whisper.
Max stirs and I bite my tongue as he gently kicks his foot in his sleep. He doesn’t wake up. Thank god.