Next In Line

by Daws, Amy

  Maggie steps closer to me, the light from below casting a halo around her head as she places herself right in my space. “But once Margaret stops focusing on impressing her family and accepts what’s in her heart, she decides to stop baiting her hook.”

  I shake my head from side to side. “It’s hard to catch a fish without any bait.”

  She bites her lip. “It’s not, though, because Margaret figured out that the biggest catch wasn’t in that icy water…it was sitting right beside her all along.”

  I exhale heavily as Maggie reaches up and cups my face in her hands. I turn and press my lips to her cold palm, and murmur, “Let me guess, Sid is Sam?”

  She beams up at me. “Only if Margaret is Sparky.”

  I nod once, letting the sentiment of that story soothe the ache in my chest. “Are you sure you’re done chasing after that big fish?”

  She splays her hand on my chest. “I don’t even care about the catch. I just care about you. I love you, Sam.”

  My heart races in my chest as I lean down to kiss this stubborn, amazing girl in the snow, but she stops me just before we connect. “And it wasn’t love at first sight either. It was better…it was like a fish you have to be patient to catch because there’s no way you’re going to let it get away.”

  “God, these fishing puns are turning me on, sparky,” I murmur, and she laughs against my lips. I press my forehead to hers, and add, “You totally caught me hook, line, and sinker.”

  The prospect of ice fishing at night definitely intrigues me, but not as much as the prospect of being horizontal with Sam. We tear down his hut in record time and race back to his house like a couple who have been separated for weeks, not days.

  He parks his sled in front of his house, and we clumsily begin kissing in the snow as we make our way up the steps and into his cabin. The blast of warm air after a long ride in the dark is almost as great as the warmth building between my legs.

  We strip off our winter layers and are down to our underwear when Sam picks me up around the waist. My legs squeeze around his hips, pulling him as close as I can as our mouths fuse, and his tongue sweeps in to taste me.

  He turns to walk down the hallway and heads straight for his darkened bedroom. A security light from outside shines down on his delicious-looking bed. In another breath, he pulls the covers back, and I’m laid out on the sheets. He slowly removes my panties and bra, flinging them to the floor with his boxers. The bed dips as he positions himself over me, one hand on either side of my face as he looks down at me naked and trembling beneath him.

  “This is the first time I’ve ever done this with someone I love,” he says gently, his eyes full of care and concern. “I want to do this right.”

  I reach up and run my hands through his hair, sweeping down to his jaw as he turns to kiss my palm. “This already feels all kinds of right.”

  He smiles a satisfied smile, then his face grows serious. “I love you, Maggie.”

  “I love you too, Sam.” I reach down and guide him between my legs. With one firm thrust, he fills me, holding himself for a moment while his lips connect with mine.

  His back muscles tense and contract as he moves inside me, my body rolling up to meet his as we gyrate against each other, building in speed as we adjust to each other. The fullness of him inside the tightness of me provides the perfect amount of friction.

  He dips his head and pulls my nipple into his mouth hard and sharp. I cry out, my hands running through his hair and pulling on his short strands with delicious agony. “Sam, oh my god,” I groan out, my voice deep and overwhelmed as the sensation between my legs rolls through my entire body.

  “God, I love your noises,” he murmurs, pressing kisses up my neck until he reaches my lips. “I’ll never tire of them.”

  “Don’t stop,” I groan loudly because his voice and his movement inside me are all adding to the climb. To the delirious state of mind I currently find myself in. “Keep going, Sam.”

  He thrusts faster, the sounds of our hips slapping together echoing off the walls along with my cries. When he begins to whisper sweet nothings against my skin and then swipes his tongue over my tender, tingling flesh, I feel an unimaginable heaviness flowing between my legs.

  “You’re so sexy.” Kiss. “You’re so stubborn.” Kiss. “I’m going to love you forever.” That last one brings tears to my eyes as my dreams grow bigger and brighter and more clear than ever before. The dreams I have with this man—this sweet, honest, soulful man who tells me he isn’t a fairy tale, but he is real—are incredible dreams, but for once, the reality is so much better than the fairy tale.

  “God, I love you,” he groans, brushing a kiss along my clavicle.

  “More!” I cry, my desire shameless and needy.

  “I love you,” he whispers against my shoulder. “I love you,” he whispers on my neck. “I love you,” he whispers in my ear. The tears seeping from my eyes are beautiful and real and wonderful. And when he finishes peppering my entire body with his words, I realize that my dreams were nothing compared to this.

  We climax together. At the same time. With the same breath. Our hearts beating as one. I stare up into his eyes and feel as though no two souls could be more connected in the entire world than we are right now.

  After we clean up, we return to bed naked and beyond satiated. Sam wraps his arms around me and holds my back to his chest, his breath falling into rhythm with my own.

  “I hope you’re ready for all of this,” I state softly, staring out the windows from where my head is propped on a pillow.

  “All of what?” he asks, pressing a kiss to my bare shoulder.

  “All of me, all the time,” I reply with a sigh. “I’m a lot.”

  He tightens his grip around me. “I’m aware.”

  “And you know I like to dream,” I reiterate.

  His shoulders shake with silent laughter. “Yes, I do, sparky.”

  With a nod, I turn over to face him, his eyes glowing in the faint light from outside. “But do you realize you got the tamed down, recapped version of Maggie dreams? Full-on girlfriend dreams are a whole other thing to prepare for.”

  He narrows his eyes on me. “Give me your worst.”

  My brows lift. “My worst, most delusional, most fanciful dreams that sent the last guy running for the hills?”

  He nods stoically and kisses me on the lips quickly. “I can take it. Your crazy dream talk is one of the things I love about you, sparky.”

  A squeal of excitement shoots through my entire core as I roll onto my back and gaze up at the ceiling. “Oh my heck, you’re giving me full rein. I hope you’re prepared.”

  He kisses my shoulder. “Bring it.”

  I swallow hard and frown as I think for a moment. “Okay, here’s the love story of Maggie and Sam. So I’m going to move to Boulder, obviously. You have Tire Depot and plans with Miles to expand the business, and even though I want to strangle Kate a couple of times a day, she’s actually one of my favorite people in life…so Boulder is going to be our home.”

  “I like the start of this,” he says, and I can hear the smile in his voice.

  “I’m going to meet your mom at Sunday brunch, and she is going to love me.”

  “Full of yourself, are ya?” he asks, pinning me with surprised eyes.

  “Duh!” I exclaim, flicking my hands out in front of me. “She’s going to see me as the light to your dark, the sweet to your salty. All my goodness has completely brightened your soul.”

  “Mmm, I agree,” he murmurs, reaching over and squeezing my breast.

  I shove him off. “I’m musing here. This is our fairy-tale future, and I can’t lose focus.”

  “Sorry,” he says, sliding his hand down to wrap around my waist.

  “Your nieces and nephews will love me because I’ll read stories to them. But your sisters will be a little hateful because I’m taking you away from them. Eventually, they’ll warm to me, especially when we have kids because they’ll love seeing
their little brother become a daddy.”

  “Kids?” Sam asks, and I look over to see a surprised look on his face.

  “I was thinking two?” I state it in a question but then wave him off because these are my dreams, not his. “However, I could see us having a surprise third baby when our youngest is like ten years old because you’re such a horn ball, and you’ll refuse to get a vasectomy.”

  This makes Sam bark out a laugh. “God, your mind is incredible.” He pulls me to him and kisses my temple.

  “I haven’t even gotten to the good part yet,” I reply, elbowing him softly. “We’re going to have a boat. A pontoon boat for the family where all the grandkids will fit and take the most epic fishing trips ever.”

  I look over and see warmth and affection in Sam’s eyes that nearly takes my breath away. I expected shock and judgment, laughter, and loads of teasing. The worst-case scenario would be fear-stricken regret. What I didn’t expect was to be looking into the eyes of a man who’s just discovered the meaning of life, and I’m the one who showed it to him.

  Without a response, Sam pulls me to him, our naked bodies flush as he kisses me with so much tenderness, my eyes sting behind my closed lids. This is a dream come true reaction. This is the reaction that makes me feel like I really can be my truest self with this man, and he will accept me—crazy, optimistic love stories and all.

  We pull apart breathless, and I touch my fingers to his wrist. “How’s your pulse? You sure you’re not getting cold feet?” I slide my feet over and curl them around his legs.

  “I promise you, Maggie. I am toasty warm,” he says, his voice low as he hits me with that adorable smile that he fails to hide every single time.

  I grin against his lips. “So does this mean I’m not going to wake up tomorrow and find you gone?”

  “No way,” he replies and gets a serious look on his face. “I love our fictional story, and I hope it comes true.”

  Hook, Line, And Sinker

  A Few Months Later

  “Hey, Marv…how does one become a master baiter?” Maggie asks, pushing her sleeves up before she sweeps a net into a basin of fresh minnows.

  I look over at Marv standing beside Maggie behind the live bait counter with a clipboard in his hand. “What’s that you’re saying?”

  Maggie transports the bouncing minnows into her customer’s minnow bucket. “I was getting bait for a guy in here the other day, and he said I looked like a great master baiter. I said, I’ve only been working here a couple of months, and I didn’t even know being a master baiter was a thing.”

  The male customer standing in front of Maggie looks over at me with wide eyes that I return because seriously…what the hell?

  Marv’s face twists up in confusion. “I’ve heard of promaster fishermen. But not master baiters. Surely, I’m a master baiter. I’ve been doing it my whole life.”

  My hand flies up to cover my mouth as a sputter of laughter lands on my palm. The customer crosses his arms to stare at the floor and conceal his reaction to Maggie and Marv’s conversation.

  “You’re clearly a great master baiter,” Maggie replies with wide eyes. “But I wonder how much practice it’ll take for me to become one?”

  Marv removes his ball cap and scratches his head. “I think you’ve caught on quick here these past few weeks, so hell, I’ll give you the promotion right now if you want.”

  “You will?” Maggie exclaims.

  He shrugs, his feeble posture hunching over the countertop. “You pretty much gave yourself a promotion on your first day of work here, darlin’, so I don’t see the trouble with adding master baiter to it.”

  Maggie turns to me with a bright, beaming smile. “Did you hear that, Sam? I was just promoted!” She snaps the lid shut on the minnow bucket and sticks a sheet to it. “There you go, sir. Barb will ring you up in the tackle shop.”

  The guy nods his thanks and turns to leave, offering me a bemused shake of the head as he goes.

  Maggie props her elbows on the counter. “Maggie Hudson, Marv’s Bait and Tackle marketing director and master baiter. Has a good ring to it, right?”

  I can’t let this go on any further, right? I have to tell her, don’t I? She stands up quickly, bending down to grab her spring jacket. “You ready to head home?”

  I nod and pull my lips into my mouth to stop myself from replying, “Come on,” because the puns have already gone way too far.

  She waves goodbye to Marv and comes around the counter, stretching her hand out to mine. With a smile, I lace my fingers with hers, and we head out to my truck.

  It’s springtime in Boulder now, which means Maggie and I have been together for a few months. She went back to Utah after the big Sterling mess to tell her parents about their breakup. They were understanding and sympathetic and all the good things a family who truly loves each other would be. Then, without my knowing, she packed up the rest of her stuff and moved in with Miles and Kate so she could start looking for a job around Boulder.

  It wasn’t something she discussed with me aside from our fictional future musings that one night in bed. She said she wanted to make the decision on her own. She made the mistake of listening to a boyfriend’s ideas for her future once, and she wanted to take her own life in her hands this time. She also took it upon herself to become Marv’s new permanent employee of the month. They’re an odd pairing, but no more crazy than Maggie and me.

  “What do you want to do tonight?” Maggie asks, nudging me with her shoulder as I open the truck door for her.

  “Drink and have sex,” I reply as she hops up into the cab.

  “Weird, me too!” she exclaims with wide eyes. “But before we head to your place, we have to stop to check out this townhouse that Kate called me about. I guess it’s the same one that she and her ex bought together. He’s selling it, and it’s right next door to Lynsey. Lynsey is totally crazy, and I think she’d be a fun neighbor.”

  I nod and close the door to my truck, walking over to the driver’s side with my brow furrowed in thought. The idea of Maggie moving out of Miles’s house in Jamestown and closer to me in Boulder is a good thing. I should be happy because it’ll make seeing her every day that much easier. But this townhouse idea irritates me.

  A short while later, we pull up in front of Kate’s old place on the east side of Boulder. I’d been here once before for a party. It’s a secluded two-story townhouse with a great view of the Flatirons, but it’s no cabin in the woods.

  Maggie walks through with the realtor and makes comments about all the rustic finishes and how much she loves the natural lighting. And I can’t fault her for it because it’s a great space. But it’s not with me.

  And I would have thought after all that dreaming Maggie did early on, she’d be on the same page as me. Hell, I told Miles I would marry his sister before I even knew she loved me back. I’m all in, no question. So why isn’t she pushing for us to move in together?

  We end up in the kitchen, and the agent gives us some space to talk it over. Maggie’s eyes are wide and excited as she says, “This is perfect. It’s a little expensive for me because Marv doesn’t pay the greatest, but I could probably find a roommate. I need to make some more friends in Boulder anyway.”

  “You don’t need more friends,” I reply grumpily. “You’re with me all the time anyway. And besides, you’ve been hanging out with Kate, and Lynsey, and their friend, Dean, I thought.”

  She huffs out a laugh. “I know, but still. It’s nice to meet new people.”

  “If you have a roommate, then they’re going to hear everything we do,” I reply, feeling the childish pout on my face but not giving a fuck.

  She smiles a sexy smile that makes my dick thump with life. “We can do that stuff at your place. I think this space could really work for me. Not too far from Marv’s Bait and Tackle either, which is nice.”

  I pull my lower lip into my mouth, chewing it for a moment before I blurt out, “Or you could move in with me.”

  He
r eyes widen as the corners of her mouth curve up into a smile. “Move in with you?”

  I shrug like it’s no big deal, which just makes her smile grow even more. “Yeah, that’s what I said.”

  “Do you actually want me to move in with you, Sam?” she asks, crossing her arms under her beautiful water balloon breasts.

  I shrug again. “I mean…it makes sense.”

  She frowns. “That’s not very romantic.”

  “Jesus hell, Maggie,” I snap, rolling my eyes. “Not every moment has to be a scene from a romance novel.”

  “You’re right,” Maggie says, turning on her heels to take in the kitchen. “That’s why I should take this.”

  “What do you mean?” I bark out, my blood pressure spiking with annoyance.

  “Practically speaking, it’s probably too soon for us to move in together.” She glides her hand along the granite countertop and gives the house one more nod. “And since we’re not living in a romance novel, this townhouse is the right choice.”

  My jaw drops as she turns to walk out of the kitchen and make her way to the front door. Is she seriously turning me down because I didn’t ask her romantically enough? With a growl of frustration, I stomp through the house and out the front door to see Maggie on the small front deck.

  “What the hell, sparky?”

  She turns with wide, innocent eyes. “What?”

  “You’re telling me no?”

  She lifts her brows and shrugs, her lips twisting off to one side, showcasing that adorable dimple of hers.

  I press my hand to my forehead. “So wait a second…I love you. You love me. I’ve heard you dream about our future before. I tell you that you should move in with me, and you decide to buy a townhouse?”

  “Sam,” Maggie says, walking toward me with a playful glint in eyes. “I know you’re real-life romance, and I love you for it. But even real life deserves some moments of romance. When we decide to move in together, it’ll be because we’re excited about our next great adventure. Not because it makes logical sense.” She rises up on her tiptoes and presses a chaste kiss to my lips, then turns and makes her way down the steps toward my truck.