“BAM!” He shouts, doing a victory dance in front of the door. “I win!”
I scoff at his win, fighting back a laugh at his celebratory reaction. “Yeah, well, I was impaled by glass a few weeks ago. If not for that I would’ve won by a fucking landslide.”
“Bullshit.” He laughs, holding the door open for me. I shoulder bump him on my way in.
“Don’t worry, Max. I won’t tell your girl I almost outran you. Wouldn’t want her to know she’s about to marry a slow ass loser.”
“I beat you.” He pointed out on his way to the counter.
“Yeah. But like I said,” I gesture to my stomach where my new scar itches underneath my shirt. “I was impaled. You had the advantage and you still barely beat me. I wouldn’t exactly call that a win.”
He laughs and shoves me out of his way good naturedly so he can order his omelet. Egg whites, tomatoes and mushrooms.
He was such a die hard with this diet shit. I add cheese and bacon to mine this time and surprisingly he doesn’t comment on it.
See what I mean? Babying me.
☠ Chapter Sixteen ☠
Natalie
Well Damn. I was in love with Chris. All it took was one kiss to have my head spinning. And the hundreds of kisses since then just solidified the fact. It grew clearer with each heated stare. With each time he checked me out when he thought I wasn’t looking.
I love him.
Truth be told, I probably had been in love with him for a while but I had been able to deny it. Ignore it. Hearing him call me baby and feeling his lips touch mine for the first time was all it took to shift my foundation.
To change my life.
Everything shifted the moment our lips touched for the first time, just as I knew it would. There was no way the two of us could test the waters without falling into each other head first. We had danced around our feelings for far too long and now that they were out in the open I was eager to bask in the glow.
The two of us managed to peel our lips apart long enough to run a few wedding errands with Max and Lacey. We help them pick the perfect spot on the beach for the ceremony. The view is amazing and there’s a covered area not far away for the reception.
The sun sets gorgeously right on the horizon behind the ocean and will make for amazing wedding photos.
They want a small gathering for their wedding with just a handful of close friends and family. The fact that Lacey wants me to be part of her big day makes me giddy with happiness and excitement.
Things were coming together and the wedding was only a few months away. The dresses were ordered, photographer was booked and invitations were sent out. All that was left to do was choose a wedding cake and buy last minute decorations.
Lacey wanted to make her own centerpieces and aisle runners. It would be a fun crafty project for the two of us while the guys were playing video games on the weekends. They would be done in no time and it would make it all the more special that we shared in the activity together.
We slip our shoes back on at the edge of the sand and pile into Max’s car. Lacey slides in the backseat next to me and we get busy looking up new beach wedding ideas on Pinterest while the guys talk in the front seat about bachelor parties.
Lacey rolls her eyes, knowing damn well Max isn’t going to encourage anything too wild. I wonder about Chris though considering he’s the best man. The bachelor party planning will be his responsibility and I’m curious to see what he does with that power.
If you asked me a week ago, I would have said he would plan the most scandalous, salacious party he possibly could to celebrate the funeral of Max’s bachelor days without a doubt in my mind.
Now?
I wasn’t so sure what the hell he would do. I wasn’t naïve enough to think kissing me changed his whole world the way it had mine. You can’t change a tiger’s stripes, right? He had always enjoyed the company of women and was never one to settle down with anyone in particular.
Before he would probably have ignored Max’s protests on strippers and splurged for the VIP experience at the nicest strip club in the city, using his title as best man to get him as much ass as humanly possible in one night not to mention a dozen numbers to keep his bed warm for weeks.
Was that still the case? Now that our lips had touched and we had connected on such a soul deep level would he still find thrills in a cheap experience of raunchiness? He hadn’t made any commitments to me and was free to do whatever he wanted.
My stomach knotted and I hated having to wonder what he would do. I keep listening to the guys talk, pretending not to eavesdrop as I scroll through Pinterest boards without purpose.
Chris is suggesting they spend a day at the fancy new golf course in town and I breathe a sigh of relief. I hate that it matters to me one way or the other but it really fucking does.
Glancing up at the rear view mirror, I catch him staring at me with a smirk. He winks when our eyes meet and looks back to his brother before anyone else notices our exchange.
He knew I was feeling insecure about it. Knew I would wonder what his plans entailed and he wanted to ease my anxiety about it. How did he always seem to read my mind and know exactly what I was thinking and feeling at any given moment?
Lacey shows me a pin of centerpiece ideas with starfishes and seashells blended into the flowers. It really is beautiful and doesn’t seem too hard to make. We’re no artists but I actually think we could pull that one off with some hot glue guns and store bought shells.
I try my best to focus on her and show her a couple more pins of cake designs. But my attention is divided, and not evenly might I add, because in the time we’ve spent talking in the backseat Chris has snaked a hand discreetly behind him and started rubbing my leg.
His arm is hidden by the seat, shielded from view. Only the two of us knew he was reaching back and he managed to continue his conversation with Max without interruption.
Sneaky ass.
His touch made it nearly impossible to think much less hold a conversation with my best friend about wedding décor and crafting plans. Who could focus on that when something much more thrilling was happening?
He gives my knee one last squeeze when we pull up to the shopping strip before climbing out of the car and reaching back to slide the front seat forward, allowing me to climb out of the back. Max does the same for Lacey and we all walk across the parking lot toward the cake shop, letting the future newlyweds lead the way.
Chris grabs my hand and laces our fingers as we follow closely behind them. As we get to the store Max opens the door letting Lacey inside and I loosen my grip, attempting to let go of Chris’s hand. He tightens his grip on my hand and squeezes twice before tugging me inside right past his brother. Clearly he wants to hold my hand and doesn’t give a shit who sees it.
Max looks down at our intertwined hands but doesn’t react the way I expect. Lacey smiles to herself but doesn’t comment, going up to the counter and letting the attendant know we have an appointment with the baker.
Surprised no one protested, namely Max in the form of shouting in the middle of the cake shop that he refuses to let his brother date a slut, I pull up a chair next to Lacey and wait for the baker to bring out cake samples.
Chris doesn’t let go of my hand and sits close enough to me that he doesn’t have to break the small physical connection. I look up at him and smile shyly, not used to public displays of affection but finding I quite like it.
An older man with a rounded belly carries a silver tray adorned with miniature cupcakes to our table.
“Good afternoon. You must be Lacey and Max.” The baker reaches for my hand and my eyes widen, darting between him and the real couple of the hour.
Lacey clears her throat and reaches out her hand. “Actually I’m Lacey and this is Max.” She gestures to him at her side and Max shakes his hand next. “This is my maid of honor, Natalie and future brother-in-law Chris.”
“Oh I’m sorry about that. I just thought…” He looks
down at our hands and I feel my cheeks heating. He thought we were engaged?
“Oh, no.” I shake my head emphatically. “It’s not like that.”
All eyes drift to me. Chris makes a face as if to say but isn’t it? Lacey grins knowingly as if she knows I’m lying my ass off. And Max shakes his head in amusement and steers the derailed conversation back on track.
“What flavors are we trying today?” He asks, checking out the tray with interest.
We haven’t had lunch yet and while I can’t speak for the rest of them I’m pretty damn hungry. And I have every intention of snacking on these cake bites to fill up until it’s time for a real meal.
“We have red velvet, German chocolate, vanilla cream, Italian cream, lemon, coconut, pink champagne and orange blossom.” He recites the flavors, ticking off each one with his fingers. “Which would you like to try first?”
“Oooh.” Lacey reaches for the tray on the middle of our table and I know which she’s going for before she even announces it. “Pink champagne!”
We all grab the matching cake to taste and cheers using our mini cupcakes in the middle of the table before stuffing them in our mouths. We try all the cake flavors, one by one, and Lacey and Max decide on a three layer cake with German chocolate, lemon and, you guessed it, pink champagne.
By the time we get out of the cake shop I’m on a sugar overload.
“How many miles are we going to have to run to burn off these calories, Max?” Chris jokes, grabbing my hand again as we walk to the car. “That was quite a bit of sugar for someone like you.”
“Shut up, asshat. I can have a cheat meal.”
“That was your cheat meal? Cake tasting? That’s weak, bro. Even for you.”
“What do your cheat meals consist of?” Max asks suspiciously, turning his gaze to me as if he doesn’t expect to get a truthful answer from his brother. He smirks and asks, “Natalie? What has he been eating behind my back?”
Chris pulls me into his chest and playfully covers my mouth with his hand to silence me. “Don’t you dare try to pump her for answers.”
I giggle under his hand and gently bite down on his fingers until he releases me.
“Nice try Max. I’m not talking.”
“Oh, come on. You’re going to let him lie to my face?” Max chuckles, shaking his head in mock disappointment.
“Who said I’m lying? I haven’t said shit.” Chris retorts. “Besides, Natalie would never turn on me.”
There’s a girl standing near the car when Max unlocks the doors on his key fob. The beep startles her and she looks away but not before I notice her intent focus on our group. She looks familiar but I can’t quite place where I’ve seen her before and that bothers the hell out of me.
Seeing her gives me an eerie feeling for some reason but I brush it off as Chris pushes his seat forward and urges me inside the car.
No one else notices my distraction and the spat over calories and sugar intake carries on around me without pause.
I pull my seatbelt on and smile to myself when I see Chris do the same. He watches Max from the corner of his eye, making sure he puts his on too before starting the car. After his accident he’s been a stickler for seatbelts.
“Well,” Max sighs. “My calorie intake for the day is already shot to hell. You guys want Mexican for lunch?”
☠ Chapter Seventeen ☠
Chris
“Why do our lives revolve around eating?” Nat groans, rolling to her back on the bed and making a face that showed just how miserable she felt.
She rubs her stomach as if she’s about to burst, and maybe she is. I feel the same. We stayed at the Mexican restaurant with Lacey and Chris long after we finished our lunch, munching on chips and salsa nonstop.
It was nice to be out with them, everyone getting along without any drama from the past looming over us. None of us were ready to part ways so soon. So we didn’t and now we were suffering the consequences of gorging on chips and salsa.
“We’re fat asses.” She goes on, reaching out to grab my hand.
There must be magnets in each of our hands, pulling them to each other whenever they were within a few feet of each other. That was the only explanation because we hadn’t seemed to let go of each other in weeks and weeks. Our lips too, come to think of it.
“You’re not fat.”
“It’s a figure of speech, Chris. We eat everything in sight, therefore we’re fat. We have fat spirits. My spirit animal is a fucking hippo.”
I chuckle and rub my stomach animatedly. “Thanks for not snitching about my eating habits today by the way.”
“Like you said,” She leans in close and gives me a peck on the lips. “I would never turn on you.”
I grasp the back of her head to hold her against my lips, deepening the kiss by dipping my tongue in her mouth. She tastes salty from the chips she ate earlier with hints of sweetness from all the cake. The combination is delicious and I find myself drawn in, unable to pull myself free of our kiss.
“You’re delicious.” I suck on her bottom lips and trail kisses down her jaw, to her throat. “So sweet. Sweeter than cake.”
Her pulse beats beneath my tongue as I lick across her soft skin.
“I’m not sweet.” She sighs, leaning her head back to give me better access for kissing. “You know just how not sweet I am.”
“I disagree.” I argue, peppering the other side of her neck with the same amount of attention. “You taste pretty sweet to me.”
A laugh of pleasure bubbles deep in her throat when I lick the right spot. After a few moments she pulls back to look at me. “I haven’t slept with anyone since we moved in here.”
I smile in masculine satisfaction. “I know.”
“And you?”
I swallow hard and answer honestly. “No. I haven’t. It’s been a long, long time.”
There was no way I could bring another woman into this apartment and fuck them with her just a few yard away in her room. I had done that exact thing in my father’s house but this was so much different. More intimate. There was no way I could go out and fuck another woman somewhere else either after we moved in here together.
I spent every waking moment with her and I liked it that way. Even before things shifted between us my interest in others had died off pretty swiftly. I would rather spend time with her watching documentaries and eating our weight in Rocky Road than having meaningless sex with a stranger I would never see again.
That shit had lost its appeal way before I knew what her kisses tasted like.
“I’m still not ready.” Her eyes widen slightly, lips part. It’s sexy as fuck but I shift my hips so that my hard on isn’t pressing against her core while she talks to me, begging for more attention. “I just want to take things slow for once.”
“You know what? I like the sound of that.”
“You do?” She sounds thoroughly surprised.
“Yeah. I do.”
“You don’t think you’ll get bored of waiting?”
“Not a chance.”
I dip my head down and gently kiss her lips again, hoping to express everything I’m feeling wordlessly. Loving the feel of her soft pout.
I channel all the emotions and feelings I have where she’s concerned, hoping like hell she can feel it. That she can recognize what’s happening inside of me and to know that it’s never come close to happening before with anyone else. This is something monumental. Rare.
A slow buildup sounds like the best idea I’ve ever heard. Slowly learning her body and what makes her tick is exciting. We’re going to build something real, something that can’t be broken or destroyed.
There’s nothing boring about that.
☠ Chapter Eighteen ☠
Natalie
The speakers quake the concrete floors in Blue’s, the bar where Lacey sings every weekend. The bass pulsates through the air and works its way through my entire body, gently rattling chairs and tables around me.
It was the
first night we came with Max to watch her perform. Chris and I had come to her shows, Max and Chris had come. But never the three of us and it symbolized the acceptance of our relationship.
The tequila shot I downed heated my belly and I let the sound of Lacey’s melodic voice take hold of me. I swayed to her song as she serenaded Max. The two exchanged heated looks from across the crowded bar as she sang about love and passion. He was completely enraptured by her and that left me and Chris to sneak touches under the table without being noticed.
Two songs into the show Chris excuses himself from our table to use the restroom and I push my way through the crowd to the bar. I need another drink but opt for a tequila sunrise this time, wanting something sweet and fruity.
Too many shots would not be a good idea. I didn’t want Chris to have to babysit me all night and carry my drunk ass out of here. It had been a long time since I drank regularly and knew I couldn’t handle my liquor as well as I once had. The Olive Garden incident was proof of that.
While I stand next to the crowded bar, waiting for the bartender to return with my drink I notice a girl. Or more specifically the mystery girl. The same one I saw last week in the parking lot after the cake tasting. And before that in the hospital when Chris had been in the accident.
Seeing her again here brought clarity and I pieced together all the strange sightings I had of her. I follow her eyes across the bar and find that she’s staring at Max. I mean staring him down.
We clearly have a stalker on our hands and she has her sights set firmly on Max. Just fucking brilliant. We couldn’t even enjoy a nice night out without drama unfolding.
The bartender returns with my drink and I slide him some cash. Last minute I think to order Chris another Sprite, proud of him for keeping control of his temptations in here to support Lacey. I hadn’t thought to get him anything initially and I blamed that on the creepy girl distracting me.
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