by Daws, Amy
“What dicks,” I reply with a huff.
Sam just shakes his head. “Yeah, but it’s all a part of the fun, though.”
I nod and stare at Sam, waiting for him to show any signs of weirdness about the abrupt end to our evening. Surely he’s annoyed, right? I rushed back to the cabin so fast, I was changed and pretending to sleep on the couch before he even walked in the door. That had to frustrate him, right?
“How’d you sleep last night?” he asks while scooping the food onto a couple of plates.
“Great!” I exclaim a bit too forcefully. “That couch is really comfortable.”
He turns to eye me for a second before flipping the last few pieces of bacon. “Maybe we can trade tonight.”
“Forget it.”
He turns to look straight at me, sighing in exasperation. “You’re very stubborn, you know that?”
“My brother reminds me almost daily,” I reply, nabbing the piece of bacon he’s just set on a towel. Taking a deep breath, I add, “Hey, sorry I got kind of weird last night.”
He shakes his head and replies, “It’s okay, Maggie. I figured you changed your mind, and I’m all right with it. It’s probably for the best.”
My eyes fly wide. “Changed my mind about what?”
“About us hooking up or whatever. It’s no big deal.”
“I didn’t change my mind,” I exclaim, grabbing his meaty bicep so he turns to look at me.
His brow is furrowed as he stares down at my lips. “You didn’t?”
“No! What would make you think that?”
“Because you basically ran away from me in the hot springs last night. I might not be the most intuitive guy, but I am perceptive, and regret was written all over your face.”
My eyes slam shut in horror as I realize that Sam interpreted my mental breakdown completely wrong last night. “It wasn’t you…it was me.”
He huffs out a laugh. “Got it.”
“No…oh my god, I’m horrible at this.” I release his arm to hoist myself up on the kitchen counter as I attempt to form my words so I don’t sound like a total headcase. “I had a bad experience going down on a guy once. So bad, I never want to do it again, and I was worried that’s what you were expecting last night since we didn’t have condoms.”
Sam’s jaw drops. “You thought I wanted you to suck my cock?”
I shrug, flushing with embarrassment and feeling a little turned on at his casual use of such a dirty word. “Well, yeah. I mean, you’d just gone down on me, and I could tell your dick was like…majorly hard.” My face flames with heat as I stutter out, “Returning the favor would have been the appropriate thing to do.”
“Jesus Christ, Maggie…you’re really fucking nuts sometimes, you know that?” Sam barks, his tone gruff with chastisement.
“What?” I exclaim in confusion.
“Only assholes expect reciprocation. Men expect orgasms. You orgasmed, and that was my goal. End of story. What kind of douchebags have you dated anyway?”
My entire body recoils with mortification. If I told Sam that my bad experience was with Sterling, he’d never agree to keep helping me win him back. “I don’t know…one time a guy just got too excited I guess and he sort of gagged me until I threw up.”
Sam’s eyes close in anger at my words. “Goddamnit, I want to punch him.”
“You don’t even know him.”
“I still want to punch him.” Sam shakes his head sadly and reaches out to shut off the stove burners. He moves closer to me, and I flinch a little as he slides his hands up my legs, positioning himself between them. “I feel like I shouldn’t be teaching you how to snowboard. I should be teaching you how to know your worth.”
“What?” I ask, my eyes looking all over his rugged features for some sense of what he’s talking about.
“Maggie, you are smart, sweet, stubborn, and hilarious without even trying to be. You need to realize that a guy who doesn’t treat you right doesn’t deserve to be around you. Sex isn’t about being equal. It’s about being generous.”
“You didn’t say beautiful,” I blurt, my mouth speaking before my brain can stop it.
“What?”
I shrug. “You didn’t say beautiful. Most guys lead with that.”
Sam tilts his head and stares at me for a long moment. “If that’s all you’re worried about, then you need me even more than I thought.” He grabs my face in his hands and stares so deeply into my eyes, I find myself holding my breath for what might come next. “Your beauty is genetics, Maggie. You did nothing to earn it. All that other stuff I said is because you’re a badass.”
Belly flips. Loads and loads of belly flips are happening inside me right now along with butterflies and dizziness and all those girlie feelings a girl feels when a guy doesn’t just call you beautiful, but so much more.
“Thank you,” I manage to squeak out because those words might just be the best thing a guy has ever said to me.
“Don’t mention it,” he replies with a shrug and releases my face to tend to the food again. “But just in case you need to hear it, you are the kind of beautiful that is unforgettable.”
My eyes tingle at his words because even though they are spoken so casually, they aren’t casual. Hardly anything Sam says is just words. I reach out and wrap my hand around Sam’s bicep, pull him toward me, and whisper into his ear, “You should still run to town for those condoms.”
He pulls back with that adorable shy smile that makes me weak in the knees. “Whatever you say, sparky.”
I Always Carry A Stiff Rod
Maggie is a terrible snowboarder. Like…honestly the fucking worst I’ve ever seen. I remember my sisters learning how to board—who I don’t consider the least bit athletic—and Maggie is still worse than all of them. She gets sprayed by asshole teenagers all damn day. And it’s hilarious because every time it happens, she calls them little twerps, and they flip her off.
“You’re only encouraging them,” I state with a laugh as I lift my goggles up to the top of my head and watch as the pack of boys takes off down the hill, laughing so hard, they can barely stand on their boards.
“I don’t care!” Maggie exclaims, her ass planted almost permanently on the ground as she flings her goggles off to wipe the snow off the front of them. Her blue eyes are like fire as she glares up at me. “They’re little shits! I wasn’t that horrible when I was a teenager.”
I do my best to conceal my amusement as I reply. “I know, but now you’ve made a game out of it for them.”
She shakes her head, and I unbuckle one of my feet to skate over and help her back up. We’ve been on the bunny hill all damn day, and she still hasn’t even mastered one-foot riding. My calves are killing me from toe sliding in front of her because when she picks up speed, she can’t stop herself. I have to give it to her, though. She isn’t giving up.
“Remember to dig the heel of your free foot in to slow yourself down. You get going too fast, and that’s why we keep crashing and burning.”
“Actually, I have a better idea,” She waggles her brows at me, a mischievous glint to her eye that has me somewhat terrified of what’s to come.
Fifteen minutes later, Maggie is on her butt again, and I’m on my knees beside her. My eyes land on the pack of little assholes that have been tormenting us all day, and a wide smile spreads across my face. “Okay, I see them now. They’re coming.”
Maggie’s eyes light up as she falls backward onto her back in a dramatic fashion with two snowballs clutched tightly in her hands. “Bring your A game, Sam. These little shits need to pay.”
I can’t help but laugh because of how seriously she’s taking all this. I look up and see the four kids approach as predictable as snow on mountaintops.
When they’re headed straight for us, chins dropped with determination, I shout, “Now!”
Maggie leaps up, turns on her knees, and the two of us begin hurling snowballs at the four of them. And not just any snowballs…ice snowballs. The kind
that fucking hurt. We have at least fifty perfectly sculpted death balls stashed behind her tipped board, and the boys crash into each other as they get pelted over and over again.
I quickly unclip my boots and grab more snowballs, continuing the assault as the four of them do their best to regain their balance and bail the hell out of here. When they start boarding down the hill away from us, Maggie yells to their backs, “Go home and cry to your mommies, you little shits!”
I laugh hard at her serious expression and then throw my arm around her in camaraderie. Maggie smiles and offers me her hand for a high five.
When we’ve both stopped laughing, she drops to the ground again. “I think it’s time to call it quits, Sam. How about some hot chocolate?”
“Sounds good.”
We make our way slowly down the hill and back to our cabin at last. The sun is setting over the mountains as I make my way out to the back of the property to enjoy the view. In my opinion, nothing is better than a mountain sunset.
“Oh my heck, it’s stunning out here!” Maggie exclaims, her feet crunching in the snow as she makes her way over to me holding two steaming mugs.
She’s ditched her snowsuit and is dressed in a pair of gray leggings, a sweater, and a thermal vest. In her little snow boots, she looks like she could actually be a ski bunny, but the reality of today has me knowing otherwise. She hands over a steaming mug of hot chocolate, and I take a small sip.
“Is this spiked?” I ask, feeling a faint burn down my throat.
She nods with a grin. “I found some Baileys in the cupboard. They won’t miss a couple of shots.”
I take another fortifying sip, the sweet liquid warming my insides as Maggie positions herself beside me to enjoy the sunset. Breathing a heavy sigh, she states sadly, “I’m afraid snowboarding isn’t in my future, Sam.”
I have to bite back my laughter because she’s asserting it as if I didn’t know. “Yeah, sparky…I have to say you weren’t exactly a natural out there today.”
She giggles around a sip. “But I tried. You can’t say I didn’t try.”
“You tried like hell,” I confirm. “Honestly, I can’t believe you wanted to go back out after lunch. I thought for sure you were going to quit on me.”
“I’m no quitter!” She furrows her brow seriously, and I can’t help but think of the fact that she’s most likely applying that same logic to her ex as well. “But maybe I should have quit earlier because my muscles are killing me.”
She moves to rub her shoulder, and I look past her at the hot tub nearby. “You know what feels great after a long day on the snow?”
She looks over her shoulder at where I’m looking and nods. “Good idea! I’ll go get my suit and some towels.” She turns to walk away but halts in her tracks when I call out her name.
“Maggie.” She looks over her shoulder at me. “I thought you were looking for adventure.”
“I am,” she replies with a frown.
I move past her, walking backward toward the hot tub to open the lid. Setting my mug down, I dip my hand in to test the temperature and then fling some water at her. “Then break some rules with me.”
In one swift motion, I tug my shirt off over my head and smile broadly at Maggie’s shocked expression. Her eyes fall to my chest, and I have to admit, I get a deep satisfaction over seeing a young, beautiful woman like her staring at me. I undo my boots and kick them off to the side and move to my jeans next.
“You’re nuts!” Maggie exclaims, turning around just as I push my pants and boxers down to the ground. “And apparently not at all shy.”
I hop over the edge of the hot tub and sink down into the warmth, letting the water soothe my sore muscles. It may not be the hot spring, but with this kind of view, I’m not mad at it.
I head over to the control panel and turn on the jets, then sit back in a corner spot and let the firm stream pound into my back muscles. Groaning loudly, I say, “It feels really good, sparky.”
Maggie turns to look back at me, her cheeks red and not just from the cold. She walks over and looks down into the water, dipping her finger in gingerly.
“Why are you acting all shy now?” I ask because her demeanor last night was anything but shy.
“I’m not,” she replies like a reflex. Her eyes cast off into the distance for a moment as if she’s thinking seriously about something.
I move closer to her. “Last night you propositioned me, this morning you told me to get condoms…and now tonight, you’re being shy? What gives?”
She bites her lip, her brows furrowed deep in thought as she stares down at me with an expression I can’t quite place. She’s most likely wondering how she can snap photos of herself naked in a hot tub and send them to her ex to make him jealous. Even though she forgot about her phone for a minute last night, today, I’ve caught her snapping selfies when she thought I wasn’t looking. I never called her out on it because it was the gut-check moment I needed to realize that even after I said all those things to Maggie in the kitchen, she’s no different than any other girl I’ve hooked up with before. She is temporary and fleeting, and all I want is to see her naked with me in this hot tub.
Without warning, I bolt over the edge of the hot tub and grab Maggie around the waist. Her hot chocolate goes falling to the snowy ground as I lift her over the side and into the steaming water still wearing her clothes and boots.
“You dick!” she cries and bats me away as she grapples to get her feet under her in the water. “What the heck do you think you’re doing?”
“Getting you out of your head!” I reply with a smile, and splash some water at her.
“I was going to get in…I was just going to go get us towels first.”
She splashes me back, and I can’t help but laugh at her angry little face. She looks like a wet puppy pouting in a bathtub as her clothes cling uncomfortably to her body. She manages to slip out of her now-soaked puffy vest and flings it over the edge.
“God, I still have my boots on,” she groans and reaches underwater to pull them off. She gets a hold of one, brings it to the surface, and dumps the water out right in front of my face. “These boots were expensive,” she states, glaring daggers at me.
“They’ll survive,” I reply, spreading my arms out wide on the sides of the hot tub to enjoy the show of her removing her clothing.
My amusement is immediately halted when Maggie glares straight at me, stands up, and peels her drenched shirt over her head to reveal her petite breasts covered in a black lace bra. She flings the wet fabric over the edge and locks eyes with me.
And just like that, she doesn’t look like an insecure twentysomething anymore. She doesn’t look like a drowning puppy. She has that same look of determination she had with me last night in the hot spring. Her hand goes to her back to unclasp her bra, and when it falls off her shoulders, she chucks it right at my face.
I’m pretty sure I have to roll my tongue back into my mouth as I get a glimpse of her perfect pink nipples through her bra that’s now draped over my face. I quickly peel the barrier of fabric preventing me from fully ogling Maggie, but she slips down into the protection of the bubbles from the jets before I get another glimpse.
She ditches her bottoms next, and now we are a couple of bobbing heads in a hot tub on the top of a mountain as the winter sun casts golden sparkles all over the snow.
“I can’t believe you spilled my hot chocolate,” she pouts, and it’s so cute, I get a little hard.
I reach over and grab mine that’s resting safely on the far edge of the tub. “You can have mine.”
She glares at my outstretched hand but takes the drink anyway. When our fingers brush during the pass, a frisson of electricity shoots all the way up my arm. The spark makes me wish my fingers were brushing another part of Maggie altogether.
“I don’t have that many clothes here with me, you know.”
My eyes dance with mirth. “You have your snowsuit.” Her jaw juts out angrily, but before she freaks o
ut on me again, I add, “And if you need clothes, you can borrow some of mine.”
She sets her mug down and swims over to the edge of the hot tub to watch the sun as it begins to disappear behind the mountains. I join her and absorb the scenery in comfortable silence as the orange sky turns pink and violet, and darkness begins to fall.
“This does feel pretty good,” Maggie states, turning around so the jets hit her back muscles.
“I tried to tell you,” I reply with a half-smile.
She exhales and lays her head back on the headrest. “Is this the kind of stuff you did growing up?”
“Get naked in hot tubs with girls? Yes,” I deadpan, my eyes glancing down at the swells of her breasts sticking out above the water.
She gives me a side-eye with a playful smirk. “I just mean, go on ski trips and hang out in cabins. I don’t know…you just seem so at ease with everything. Snowmobiling, climbing, snowboarding. You take risks like it’s just a normal day. You make it all look so easy.”
I shrug dismissively and spread my arms out on the edges of the hot tub. “Growing up in Boulder makes it easy, I guess. My buddies and I taught ourselves to climb and board. And I’m a gearhead, so I’ve always played with motorized toys.”
Maggie bites her lip, failing to hide a mischievous smirk on her face.
“I didn’t say battery-operated toys,” I state knowingly. “Jesus, get your mind out of the gutter.”
“What?” she replies with a laugh. “I didn’t say anything! It’s not my fault you can read my mind!”
I shake my head at her, blown away that a girl this beautiful can actually be this fun. Most of the girls I meet are either one or the other…never both. “You keep surprising me, sparky.”
“How so?” she asks, sliding deeper into the water.
“Last night was a surprise. Today was a surprise. Hell, watching you make it to the top of that silo was a surprise. You’re pretty amazing when you put your mind to it.”
She blushes under my compliments, and I feel genuine affection for her that I know I shouldn’t be feeling. This is casual. Nothing more. “So what’s your ex think of all your adventures so far?” I ask, trying to give myself a much-needed gut check. “You’ve achieved a lot in only a few weeks, I’d say. Is everything going according to plan?”