by NJ Cole
There was something there, though. I mean, she said she thought of me all the time, which was a good sign, but I couldn’t let myself entertain those kinds of fantasies. Taking a deep breath, I pushed the thoughts from my mind and focused on enjoying the holiday.
We had a wonderful Christmas, the three of us together. Carter even seemed willing to try the e-reader that Mackenzie had given him. He’d gotten her a leather attaché case, which he said she could use when she followed in his footsteps. After opening presents, the three of us sat around, talking and laughing. We watched A Christmas Story and Christmas Vacation, too. I loved listening to Mackenzie laugh throughout the day.
We only had a quick moment alone later in the kitchen when Carter had gone to freshen up before dinner. I slipped in and snuck up behind her. I wanted to shock her with my words and test out a thought I’d been having all afternoon.
“Mmmmm, Baby. You look so hot. I wanna just flip up that skirt and fuck that bare pussy right now.”
She groaned and wiggled her ass, pressing it against the bulge in my pants.
“Damn, Babygirl, we need to get you on the pill so I can feel that pussy on my cock.”
I had no idea what her reaction to my words would be. Would she even consider going on the pill? And if she did, would she want to have sex with me without a condom.
I don’t know what I thought she’d say. Maybe something like she’d think about it, or that she’d check into it when we got back to the States. Never in a million years did I expect her to turn around and whisper into my ear, “I’m already on birth control.”
She giggled and carried the dish she’d just been preparing over to the table, leaving me standing there with my jaw hanging open.
After dinner, Carter said he wanted to discuss the meeting he’d attended yesterday. He suggested that we go on a walk so he could burn off some of what he ate. As we grabbed our coats, he commented on my scarf, first asking if it was new, and then saying it smelled like Mackenzie. I laughed it off, informing him that it smelled like her because it was a gift from her, but I could tell she’d put some of her perfume on it. I loved that she wanted me to think of her.
Walking through the neighborhood, we went over our schedule for the next week. We had a meeting tomorrow afternoon back in London, and then back-to-back meetings the entire next day. After that, I had nothing until the New Year’s Eve party.
“You know, you look great today,” he said as we walked back toward the house. “I think the time off did a world of good for you.”
We walked in silence for awhile; the only sound was the melting snow dripping from the trees overhead.
“You know, I think you’re right.”
“Of course I am,” he laughed. “About what, though?”
I smiled. “About the time off being good for me. London is great, but I was thinking of getting away for a bit…maybe going to Paris.”
“I have a few meetings with people to organize things campaign-wise, but you don’t need to be there. I think that would be a great idea. With the schedule you have coming up, it might be your last chance for a while.”
I’d been thinking the same thing. I didn’t want to waste this opportunity with Mackenzie. “Good. I’ll just go for two nights.”
“Sounds great.”
We walked in silence a bit longer. My heart was pounding as I waited to mention the next part of my plan. I hated lying to him, but it wasn’t my place to tell—it was Mackenzie’s secret as much as my own. Besides, I didn’t want him to beat the piss out of me. There was no choice but to continue the lie. I took a breath, knowing it was now or never. “Hey, I was thinking. With you in all of those meetings, Mackenzie will probably be bored out of her mind. Do you think she’d want to come?”
He stopped and looked at me. “Are you serious?” I had no idea what he meant by his statement, so I just waited for him to continue, terrified he could hear the pounding of my heart. “She’s a girl…and it’s Paris. I’m sure she would love it.”
When we got back to the house, we were assaulted by the smell of cookies. “Great, all that exercise down the drain,” Carter laughed as we hung up our coats.
After the cookies, we played cards. Damn if Mackenzie wasn’t good at that, too. We laughed and played until two in the morning, just enjoying ourselves. Part of me would have preferred fucking her until two a.m., but the larger part enjoyed just talking to her and listening to her banter with Carter.
Later, after we’d called it a night and I was lying in bed, I considered sneaking into her room. After almost getting caught earlier, however, I decided to play it safe. That didn’t stop the raging erection, though, and just like nearly every night since my birthday, I stroked my cock while thinking of Mackenzie until I found my release, then fell into a dreamless sleep.
We left to head back to London just after breakfast. Carter had called the owner of the house to thank him for his hospitality. He informed Carter that they would be vacationing at the home until New Year’s and would love the tree.
Reaching up, I grabbed the angel holding the star. I had every intention of putting it on my tree next year.
I had thought that Carter and Mackenzie would ride in the car he’d rented and I would end up driving back alone. I sure as hell wasn’t going to have Mackenzie drive herself, and I didn’t see how I could tell Carter that I wanted to ride back with his daughter. I felt lucky enough that I would get two nights with her in Paris.
When we got outside, I noticed that my car was the only one there. “Where is your car?”
“I caught a ride from one of the members of Parliament who was headed this way. I knew I’d be able to get a ride back with you.”
The short trip back was great. Not only had we stopped off at a nice pub outside the city and shared an amazing lunch together, but the entire ride, Mackenzie was giving me a show. I was driving and Carter was sitting shotgun with Mackenzie in the back seat. She’d caught my eye in the rearview mirror and then proceeded to lick her lips seductively. I adjusted the mirror so that I could see her better, and she spent the rest of the ride teasing me by sliding her hands into her blouse or sucking on her finger. I was glad my coat was covering my pants, because I was sporting one hell of an erection by the time we’d pulled up to our hotel back in London.
“We have an hour before the meeting,” Carter reminded me. “Make sure to let the hotel know about your travel plans.”
He and Mackenzie headed up to the room while I stopped by the front desk.
By the time I’d finished up it was time for the meeting, and I still hadn’t talked to Mackenzie about Paris. I didn’t want her to feel obligated to go and be alone with me, because I knew how much she hated what I’d done over the Thanksgiving weekend.
When the meeting ended, I walked with Carter back to the suite he shared with Mackenzie. She was there, sitting on the terrace alone.
“I’m going to go talk to Mackenzie about Paris,” I said to Carter, hoping he would let me go alone.
“Fine. I’m going to change out of this suit and see if I can catch some of the game.”
I walked out onto the patio. Mackenzie didn’t turn when I closed the door behind me, and it was clear by her posture that something was wrong. It broke my heart to see her so different than she had been in the car just hours ago.
“Hey,” I said, sitting down on a chair next to her.
“Hey,” she replied in a gloomy voice.
“I wanted to talk to you about going away.”
“Yeah, my dad told me.”
I was a bit disappointed. It seemed pretty obvious that she thought I’d planned out a trip with the intent of deceiving her again. It had just happened so suddenly, I hadn’t had a chance to talk to her first. I needed to explain.
“I only decided to go this morning,” I started.
“Was it me? Something I did?” I looked at her in confusion. “Never mind,” she said, getting up from the chair. “Have fun on your trip.”
&nbs
p; I couldn’t let her walk away angry. It was alright if she didn’t want to go, but I at least wanted to explain. “I’m sorry, I just thought you would like it. It wasn’t like Thanksgiving. I just…I thought it would be nice to get away with you…”
“With me?” She turned, tears in her eyes.
“Yes, of course it would be with you. Well, I wanted to talk to you about it first, but I guess your dad beat me to it.”
“He said you were going out of town.”
“And that I wanted to take you,” I added.
She bit her lower lip. “He didn’t say that part. I just thought you were going to get away.”
Okay, I have to admit a bit of me was dancing a jig. She was teary-eyed because she thought I was going away? That had to mean that she liked having me around.
“Let me just start over, alright?”
She nodded and we both sat back down. “So today I realized that I had a few free days, and I thought that it might be nice to get away. I mentioned it to your dad and then suggested that you come with me so you weren’t bored. I didn’t want to just tell you that you had to go because I wanted you to decide. I’d love for you to accompany me. You as in you…Mackenzie, not little girl.”
Her eyes darkened. I hoped she wasn’t thinking that I planned for this to be a platonic trip. I most certainly did not. I couldn’t wait to be with her physically.
“That isn’t to say,” I continued, “that I don’t hope to spend some quality time with my little girl, but it’s more than that. I guess…I’m um…I guess I’m asking you out on a date.”
“A date to spend the night with you out of town?” Her eyes were wide as saucers.
“Two nights.”
She was quiet for a moment. “What do you mean a date?”
“Well, I know that we can’t really date, but I just wanted it to be your decision, and I wanted us to go as ourselves.”
Again she was silent, then a smile spread across her face. “So are we going back to the cottage?”
“Uh, no…as long as it’s alright with you, we’re going to Paris.”
“Paris? Really!” she squealed. “Oh wow! Yes! Yes, I want to go. Um, when do we leave?”
Her eyes sparkled and I loved that she was so happy.
“Not until the day after tomorrow. I still need to book flights, try to get us hotel rooms, make reservations.”
“Ok, so can I help?” The excitement in her voice made my heart race.
“Sure. Well, you can book the flight and the rooms.” I took out my wallet and handed her my platinum card.
“I can’t let you pay,” she said, looking at it.
“It’s a date, remember?”
She smiled and nodded finally as she took the card.
I walked back into the suite nearly shaking like a leaf. I wasn’t so naive as to believe that this was going anywhere—the obstacles were too high—but I wasn’t going to let any of that spoil the way I felt. I was going on a fucking date and I couldn’t remember being so excited or nervous in my life.
Chapter 14
Paris! I was going to Paris! And with Maxwell.
Christmas had been wonderful, but Paris was going to be different. It was two nights! And unlike Christmas, which had been a gift in itself, Paris was planned. The way he’d asked me was different, too. Not only had he used the word date, he’d said he wanted to go with me, and not just little girl.
If I were honest, that part made me nervous. I knew he liked his little girl. I mean...she was his fantasy. But me? Mackenzie? That was a different story. I was just some kid. The funny thing was, I never really fit in with people my age, and even though Maxwell was closer to the age of my parents, I seemed to connect with him the most. When we were together, I felt like we were the same age.
If his career had been different, I might have even tried to make a relationship work. I didn’t care about the age difference at all. In fact, I thought it was hot. I liked that he was older. He made me feel safe and protected. When I was sixteen and my crush for the Senator was in full swing, I’d asked my dad why Maxwell wasn’t married and didn’t have kids. He told me that Max was too busy with his career to settle down and then he laughed about him liking to play the field. I’d known exactly what he meant, too. It had hurt then, and it sure as hell stung now.
The thing was, as much as I wanted to be a wife and mother, I knew that if Maxwell wanted to be with me, I’d give up both of those dreams just to be his…even if being his meant we had to keep things a secret. Is that what he wanted, though? I decided not to focus on the what ifs and the what could bes, and focus on what was happening now; in two days, I was going to Paris with Maxwell Joseph!
Booking the tickets was easy. It was only an hour and fifteen minute flight, and there were tons of those. Finding a hotel was harder. I wanted to stay somewhere romantic, but I also knew I’d have to book two rooms. After all, Senator Joseph couldn’t go checking into a hotel room with me. I’d called several, and all they had were rooms on separate floors. I wanted them to be right next to each other—adjoining if at all possible.
I’d just about given up when my phone rang. Answering it, I was happy to learn it was a receptionist from a very romantic hotel. It had been my first call and by far my top choice.
“Bonjour, Mademoiselle,” she said in a heavy French accent. “I was calling about the rooms that you requested. We still don’t have two adjoining rooms, but a suite has become available. It has two bedrooms and a sitting area, and there is a balcony overlooking the Champs-Elysees with a view of the Arc de Triomphe.”
Just as she’d started speaking, my dad and Maxwell walked into the room. I thought they had a day of meetings planned and I hadn’t expected to see either of them. Maxwell had loosened his tie and the top three buttons of his shirt were undone, making me want to lick and kiss his neck.
“Mademoiselle?”
The woman on the other end of the line had stopped speaking and was clearly waiting for a response.
“Oh, yes, I’m sorry.” She’d mentioned a suite. It couldn’t be more perfect, but my dad would flip a lid...unless I played it right. “So all that you have available is a two room suite?”
“Yes, Mademoiselle. Would you like me to book it?”
“Please hold one moment,” I said into the phone. Then, looking up at Maxwell and my dad, “Um, all I can get on short notice is a two room suite. I guess I can try other hotels. It’s just that this is the one I wanted to stay at.”
My lower lip puffed out and I hoped to hell I wasn’t overdoing it.
“Honey, Max might want his privacy.”
“No, I don’t mind at all. If this is what you want, I say book it.”
My father looked at Maxwell quizzically and then just shrugged.
I went back to my conversation with the receptionist and gave her all the pertinent information. When I finally finished and looked up, my dad was poking at his e-reader and Maxwell was on the phone. I could have sat there and watched him all day, but he ended his call and walked over to me. “Show me this hotel that you want to stay at.” He sat down next to me and whispered softly, “Nicely done, Sweetheart.”
“This is it,” I said in a regular volume, and then more quietly, “Thank you. I’m so excited.”
“I’ve stayed here several times before,” Maxwell said when he saw the website. “It’s great.”
Just as he stood, he bent down and whispered in my ear. “The spa is waiting for you.”
It was, too. I went down to the hotel spa, only to find that ‘someone’ had gifted me a massage, facial, manicure and pedicure. It took hours, but it did make the afternoon go by more quickly.
When my father came back to the room in the evening, I tried to casually ask where Maxwell was. My dad told me that he had to meet with a few people tonight because he was going to miss a few meetings while he was away.
Earlier, while getting a pedicure, I’d heard about a shop just down the street from the hotel where you could
get teddy bears custom made. Other than going to the spa, I hadn’t left the suite all day and I wanted to at least get out a bit.
The shop was even better than the woman had described. They had dozens of different bears with hundreds of outfits and accessories. I chose a bear that had fur similar to my color hair with bright blue eyes. I dressed her in a plaid skirt and white top, then giggled as I slipped some black shoes on her feet that looked an awful lot like my Mary Jane’s. Although it didn’t have the snowflake charm, I found a silver bracelet and put it on her arm. Finding a bear to represent Maxwell was even more fun. His had even darker fur and rich brown eyes. I dressed him in a suit and was thrilled when I saw a small pocket watch accessory. When I was finished with both, I paid the cashier, who put them both into a cute box that looked like a house. If only it were that simple with Maxwell and me.
It was late and I could tell the streetlights had been on for quite some time as I headed back to the hotel. The lobby was nearly empty when I walked through it on my way to the bank of elevators. Soft music was coming from the hotel bar, though I didn’t pay it any attention until the sound of Maxwell’s laughter drifted through the air.
Moving closer, like a moth to a flame, I was able to see him better; I wished I hadn’t. He was on the dance floor with a very attractive woman. Her dark auburn hair was piled on top of her head and her skin was flawless. Her eyes sparkled when she talked to him. They were a similar color to Maxwell’s, and with the shadow and liner, they looked incredible.
She wore a silver sequined dress that clung to her body. It had a slit that went all the way from the floor to her waistline, revealing a toned leg that seemed longer than I was tall. She had one arm draped over his shoulder and the other rested on his chest. It was a very familiar pose and my heart dropped at the sight. She said something into his ear and he chuckled again.