Always Mickie (Cruz Brothers Book 3)

by Melanie Munton

  When he pulled up in front of my dorm, I was so jittery I almost couldn’t open the door. I wasn’t sure what the protocol was here. I’d never gone out with a man like him before. Did he expect a kiss at the end of the night? More than a kiss?

  “Thanks for the ride,” I said softly.

  “You’re welcome,” he replied, the deep timbre of his voice flowing over me. “I’ll walk you to the door.”

  Luckily, it was a short walk.

  I don’t think I could have made it much farther before my legs gave out.

  I stopped in front of the door and turned to face him, trying to hide my shaking hands. “So, am I going to—”

  My question was interrupted…by a loud growling noise.

  Coming from my stomach.

  Oh, my God.

  I froze in place. I had never been more embarrassed in my entire life. Unable to even look at him, I kept my horrified expression focused toward the ground. Maybe it would open up and suck me in, so I wouldn’t have to face his reaction.

  Out of nowhere, he let out a loud, full-belly laugh. My head shot straight up. I was entranced by the ear-to-ear smile covering his face and the way it lit up his dark eyes.

  “Hungry?” he asked between breaths.

  I was still so mesmerized by his smile, my voice came out monotone. “I believe that’s the munchies talking. Weird. I always thought they were a myth.”

  He burst into another round of laughter, so I joined in. He so needed to laugh more often. It was a beautiful rumble that started from the base of his throat and was completely contagious.

  “The munchies?” he said after he caught his breath. “After only one hit?”

  All I could do was nod. “They sort of kicked in a while ago.”

  His smile instantly faded, confusing me. His expression turned back to brooding, and I wasn’t sure what I’d said. I wanted his laughter back.

  “You’ve been hungry all this time?” he asked, a lethal edge to his tone.

  I kept my voice light. “Sort of. It’s no big deal, though. I have plenty of snacks up in my room.”

  He took a step toward me, one that brought him flush against my chest.

  My heart rate picked up. Dramatically.

  “Next time, let me know when you want to eat,” he growled.

  Why did he seem so bothered by this? Then my attention caught on his actual words.

  “Next time?”

  He wanted to see me again?

  He leaned in closer, closing the distance between our mouths. “Yeah, Mickie,” he whispered. His eyes penetrated right through me. “Next time.”

  His mouth covered mine.

  He didn’t ease his way in. Instead, he dominated me with confident swipes of his tongue and insistent tugs on my lower lip with his teeth.

  Hell, he owned me with that kiss.

  The way his tongue slipped through my lips, the way he ate at my mouth… His actions were both impatient and urgent. And certainly with the way he backed me up against the wall of the building, that was straight desire right there.

  Lust.

  Not something I was very familiar with, though this wasn’t my first kiss by any means.

  But it was my first kiss like this.

  A kiss that wasn’t awkward or sloppy. There were no hints of inexperience or uncertainty on his part. And I definitely wasn’t waiting for it to be over. In fact, I arched into him, wrapped my arms around his neck, and pulled him in closer for more. All I could get.

  I knew I was going to have his taste on my lips for days.

  He branded me with his mouth.

  There wasn’t a snowball’s chance in hell that I would ever be able to forget a kiss like that. I knew it from the moment our lips touched. Dawson had just engraved himself into my memory, for all eternity.

  Too soon, he pulled away.

  And I had to mentally snatch my heart out of his hands before he had the chance to run off with it. Like a thief in the night.

  “You laughed,” was my brilliant response after I opened my eyes.

  The kiss to end all kisses, and those were the first words out of my mouth.

  “What?”

  “You laughed,” I repeated. “That was the first time I heard you laugh. And saw you smile.”

  His brow furrowed, as if the thought hadn’t even occurred to him. “Yeah,” he murmured. “I guess I did.”

  I smiled in satisfaction. “How about next time I go for a record two laughs?”

  His eyes crinkled and my heart warmed. “You’ve got your work cut out for you.”

  I bit my lip, tasting him there, and immediately wanted his mouth back on mine. “I’m not worried.”

  He leaned back in and whispered, “You’re on.”

  He gave me another kiss, though this time it was light and unhurried. There was no tongue, and I sensed he was holding back quite a bit of restrained energy. His hand took mine in a quick squeeze, his fingers caressing my own. Then I was soon without his touch altogether.

  He backed up, but didn’t take his eyes off me. “I’ll see you soon, Mickie.”

  It wasn’t until I was inside the door of the building that I realized he’d put something in my hand. It was a piece of paper with numbers scribbled across it.

  His phone number.

  Chapter Four

  Dawson

  Stop grabbing her ass.

  The guy working the zipline had a death wish.

  The harness he was hooking Mickie up to only had so many buckles and straps to fasten, and most of them were nowhere near her ass.

  If he grazed it one more time…

  “All right, you’re all set,” the guy said and finally backed off.

  She turned to me with a bright smile and excited eyes, and my chest tightened. This girl was doing things to me that nobody had ever been able to.

  “You ready for this?” she asked.

  Not really.

  “I’m always ready,” I replied, refusing to let her see any of my apprehension.

  Where I’d gotten the idea to go ziplining for our first official date, I had no fucking clue. Some guys had been talking about it at work, and it sounded like something she’d enjoy. After all, she’d mentioned wanting to try new things.

  So, naturally, I’d gone with ziplining.

  Off of a damn skyscraper.

  I believe they called it “extreme ziplining” or some such shit.

  I called it bat-shit crazy.

  But Mickie was practically jumping out of her skin, so I kept my mouth shut. It was my idea and as long as she had a good time, I would base-jump off the Empire State Building if she wanted me to. No matter how many lunches I had to lose in the process.

  She took in my black jeans, black T-shirt, the harness strapped around my body, and the helmet that was way too small for my head.

  “I’d say you were born ready,” she mused.

  I pinched her side, making her giggle. “Funny.”

  The guy led us to the railing at the edge of the building where we would take off. The wind whipped around us, the busy streets of Baltimore thrived below us, and the glowing city landscape sparkled like a huge beacon against the darkness of the night sky. The whole point of this particular zipline was to do it at night, so you got the full experience. The line ran through downtown Baltimore, right between all the buildings and skyscrapers of the metropolitan area.

  Which meant we started out a good three hundred feet in the air and slowly made our way to the ground.

  So, I didn’t peek over the edge.

  It wasn’t that I was afraid of heights.

  I just didn’t think vertigo was particularly fun.

  Which begged the question, what the hell had I been thinking?

  You were thinking, what would Mickie enjoy most?

  It was true. I never took women on dates because I didn’t date women. I slept with them, but that was the extent of my relationships. And I didn’t want Mickie thinking I wasn’t fun or that I didn’t
know what I was doing.

  Truthfully, I didn’t know what I was doing. Not in the least.

  But I couldn’t let her know that.

  “Okay, so I’m going to hook you on up here,” the guy explained, gesturing to the twin lines Mickie and I would ride down on together. “Keep your hands away from the line at all times as you’re riding down. Please don’t try to grab onto one another, either. You can extend your legs and spin around all you want. But when you get close to the ground, tuck your legs into your body, and be ready for my guy down at the bottom to catch you. Got it?”

  We both nodded and eased our way to the edge where he secured our harnesses to the lines. He hooked me up first, then worked on Mickie.

  “Be sure hers is tight.” The words were out of my mouth before I even realized what I was saying.

  But seeing Mickie dangling from a single line, hundreds of feet in the air, with nothing holding her up except a metal hook, gave me serious anxiety.

  She offered me a warm, comforting smile, while the guy smirked at me knowingly. “I got her, boss.”

  No, I’ve got her, asshole.

  Snap the fuck out of it.

  “We’re good,” he announced, stepping away. I tried not to focus on how high up we were. “Whenever you guys are ready, say the word and I’ll release you at the same time.”

  I looked over at her, and she looked at me. “Go for it,” I told her.

  She let out a short laugh, looked straight ahead, and shouted, “Now!”

  Hooooly shit.

  We were going faster than I’d thought we would. Lights were flickering past me, an array of sounds filled my ears, and powerful gusts of wind chilled my skin.

  Then I looked over at Mickie.

  And I couldn’t look away.

  Her arms were up, her legs were out, her head was thrown back, and she was bursting with laughter.

  I had been white knuckling my harness.

  But after seeing her letting go like that, being so free, I eased my grip…and eventually let go.

  Because around Mickie, I knew that I could let go.

  Chapter Five

  Mickie

  “Best idea ever,” I breathlessly told Dawson after we landed—safely—on the ground.

  “Yeah,” he said. His voice was lighter than it normally was. Not as dark and serious. “I have to say, I even impressed myself with this one.”

  I threw my hands up in the universal sign for stop. “Hold up. Did Dawson Cruz just make a joke?”

  He rolled his eyes. “You know, I don’t remember you being this sarcastic the other night.”

  I tossed him a sly grin. “And I don’t remember you making any jokes the other night. So, we’re even.”

  After we were released from our harnesses and returned our helmets, we made our over to the sidewalk and started to walk.

  “You want to go to dinner?” he asked.

  He’d said it like he was preparing himself for a rejection.

  Little did he know that I would have gone anywhere with him.

  “Let’s do it,” I replied. “I like anything. Although I challenge you to find a decent pizza place around here that can even compare to Fabrizio’s back in Jersey.”

  He sucked in a sharp breath. “Are you insane? Have you not heard of The Pie Guys?”

  I tutted my tongue. “Well, since I haven’t, they must not be very good.”

  He clutched his chest as if he were in pain. “You wound me, woman.”

  I chuckled. More jokes. It was nice to hear.

  Now, if I could just get him to wear something other than black.

  “Is your entire family full of non-pizza-converts, or is it just you?” he asked.

  We stopped at a crosswalk, waiting for the light to change. It gave me a chance to look up at him, which was apparently the same idea he had. He was already watching me with curious eyes.

  “My aunt and uncle are devout Fabrizio addicts. And my sister Margot has never lived outside of Jersey, so she doesn’t really know any different.”

  “What about your parents?”

  I had to clear my throat to work out the lump that was forming. Just when you think you’re over some things…

  “I wouldn’t know,” I said in a quieter voice. “I didn’t grow up with my parents. They’re both in prison.”

  There was a long silent pause that told me he had no idea how to respond to that.

  “Shit, I’m sorry,” he muttered. “That must have been tough, growing up like that.”

  The light changed, and we started walking again. Though I noticed he was standing closer to me now.

  “More for Margot than for me,” I replied. “She remembers them more than I do, so it affected her differently. She even visited them for the first few years they were inside, but she eventually stopped. I haven’t seen them since I was four.”

  “What did they get locked up for?”

  Being low-life scum.

  “They were career criminals, I guess you could say. They got caught for everything from bouncing checks, to counterfeiting money, to even robbing a bank.”

  “Jesus,” he said under his breath. “And I thought my family had problems.” Out of the corner of my eye, I saw his head whip around. “Sorry, I didn’t mean—”

  I waved him off. “No, don’t worry about it. That’s not even all of it. Maury isn’t Margot’s real dad. Margot’s dad got our mom pregnant and then bailed just before she met Maury. So, he’s the only dad Margot’s ever known. We’re technically half-sisters, not that it’s ever made a difference to us.”

  “And Margot wanted to stay in Jersey?” he asked.

  The smell of food wafting out the doors of the many restaurants we were passing was ramping up my hunger about ten levels. Please, stomach, don’t growl again. It was so loud last time, he probably thought I was anorexic, or something.

  “She didn’t have much of a choice back then,” I answered. “She got pregnant when she was in high school, and her boyfriend left her high and dry. She had to drop out of school and get her GED. So, she became a single mother at seventeen, living with our aunt and uncle, and now she’s just trying to work her butt off and get by.”

  His hand flew to my arm and abruptly shoved me to the side. “Careful,” he warned.

  I looked down and saw a manhole with the cover slightly askew. There was a long cord running out of the hole, so I assumed somebody was doing work on it.

  I almost stepped into that hole.

  And I would have had Dawson not stopped me.

  “Assholes,” he growled. “They didn’t even put any cones or tape up. I should report them.”

  I patted his arm reassuringly. “It’s okay. Thanks for that, though.”

  He grunted a response and we continued walking. “Sorry to interrupt you. I think we were to the part where you told me what brought you down here.”

  “Academic scholarship,” I said. “Our aunt and uncle basically drilled it into us that we shouldn’t want to wind up like our parents. That we needed to educate ourselves. Stay in school, study hard. And after Margot got pregnant, they put even more pressure on me to go out and make something of myself.”

  He bumped his shoulder against mine. “Looks like you’re doing it.”

  “I’m definitely trying to.”

  I was about to ask him about his family when a voice on a megaphone cut through my thoughts. “I need all the extras over here right now for the doomsday shot!”

  I peered down the street and saw what looked like an entire block cordoned off by traffic barriers. I could see wrecked cars and debris littering the ground and even a small fire.

  “What’s going on?” I asked.

  “Not sure.”

  “Let’s go see.” I took off and heard him follow seconds later.

  I neared the barriers and saw a large crowd of people facing the person standing on a platform with a megaphone. There was camera and lighting equipment on both sides of the street, and dozens of people
with black headsets around their necks.

  I tapped one of the people on the other side of the barrier on the shoulder. “Hey, what’s going on?”

  The man looked to be in his mid-forties, with glasses and a receding hairline. “We’re extras in some post-apocalyptic B-movie. We’re supposed to run down the street in a panic like the world is ending. Cool, huh?”

  “Really?” Intriguing. “What did you have to do to become an extra?”

  “I just filled out a form and they made of copy of my ID,” he said, smiling. “I’ve been off-Broadway, but I’m trying to make my transition to film. Everyone has to start somewhere, right?”

  With an idea forming in my head, I glanced around at the crowd. There were over a hundred extras, maybe close to two hundred. Surely, no one would notice if two extra people were suddenly running down the street with the rest of the crowd. Would they?

  Dawson leaned in to whisper in my ear. “Mickie, what are you doing?”

  I turned back to the guy with glasses. “What do you have to do in this shot?”

  He waved his arm toward the other end of the street. “We just have to run straight down the street and freak out like it’s the apocalypse. The director wants us to scream and flail our arms and act all terrified.” He leaned in close as if he were sharing a secret. “If you need motivation, I suggest pretending zombies are chasing you. Godzilla works, too.”

  I patted him on the back. “Thanks.”

  I turned to Dawson with an expectant smile to find him already shaking his head. “No way,” he said adamantly. “I am not doing that.”

  “Yes, you are,” I said firmly and grabbed his arm.

  I checked our surroundings to make sure none of the crew was watching. When I saw the coast was clear, I ducked under the barrier and pulled him along with me. Once on the other side, I stepped in front of a few people to ensure no one recognized us as unofficial cast members.

  “We can’t do this,” he hissed. “We’re not supposed to be here.”

  “Come on,” I chided. “Live a little. Ten years from now, don’t you want to be able to say you were in a movie?”

  “But—”