by K. T Fisher
I’m not fucking having this. I storm pass Leo and stop right in front of Maisy. I glare over at the guy who has stopped dancing. Smart man.
“Move,” I bark.
He goes to move, but Maisy places her hand on his wrist. “Max, what’s wrong?”
“Move,” I bark again.
“Max, look at me,” she asks, but I don’t take my eyes off him. “Max!”
I finally look at her, and I immediately feel like shit. She looks worried and upset. She shouldn’t look like that, it’s her birthday!
Without a word, I place a kiss on her forehead and walk away. I ignore Leo as I pass him and make my way straight up to my room. I dive on top of my bed and place my hands over my face. Shit!
I lie like this for I don’t know how long, but when I hear the music stop, I frown and then I hear the door open but don’t bother looking up. “Max?”
Oh fuck, she followed me up here. “Go back down and enjoy your party.”
“It’s finished, I told everyone to go home.”
I move my arms and look at her. “Why the fuck did you do that?”
She shrugs her shoulders. “It felt right. The guys are taking care of getting everyone out.”
She stands awkwardly at my door, and I hold my arms out to her. Maisy smiles and closes my bedroom door behind her before walking towards me. She settles beside me and rests her head on my arm, looking right at me.
“What was that all about?” I look behind her so I don’t have to look her in the eyes. “Max.”
At her warning, I look back at her. “I didn’t like him.”
She frowns. “You didn’t know him.”
“Did you?”
She pouts for a second, still looking right at me. “Touché.”
We stare at each other for a while. I don’t know what’s happening. I run my finger across her face and she closes her eyes. Her dark lashes standing out against her pale skin. God, I really want to kiss her right now. I move my finger up to her hairline, tucking a strand of her soft black hair behind her ear.
“If I ask you a question, will you tell me the truth?” Maisy asks, while her eyes are still closed.
“I’ll try,” I laugh.
Her eyes open, and my smile fades. “I’m serious, Max.”
“Ok, I promise.”
I feel her take in a deep breath. “Why did you really stop me dancing with that guy?”
Well, shit. “I didn’t like him making you laugh.” Her nose scrunches up, but I carry on. “I like to make you laugh, that’s my shit, Mase. I didn’t want him dancing with you, either, when we had just danced together.”
I see her eyes water as she looks at me; really looks at me. Her eyes search my face, and I try to tell her everything I need to with just my eyes.
She stays deadly quiet so I decide to ask a question of my own. “Now my question. Why did you run off when we were dancing?”
I feel her tense up. “I didn’t run off.”
“Mase,” I warn. “I told you the truth, it’s only fair.”
“Ok, fine.” She sighs. “I was feeling too much.”
“You were feeling too much?” What the fuck does that mean?
“Yeah.”
I have a feeling that’s all I’m going to get. Maisy shifts in my hold. “What are you doing?”
She sits up, running her fingers through her hair. “I better get going.”
“What?” I admit I panic a little. I don’t want her going home, on her alone especially on her birthday.
“I need to get home.”
“Stay here,” I offer. “I don’t want you on your own on your birthday.” Plus I’m enjoying having her lying in my arms.
I stand and make my way over to my drawers, pulling out a white shirt and holding it out towards her.
“Get ready for bed while I go and lock up.” I don’t give her a chance to refuse as I quickly leave the room to go and have a quick check of downstairs.
I make my way through the mess as I check the doors and windows, and I make sure there’re no extra people hanging around the house. I know there wouldn’t be, though. The guys would have made sure it was empty before leaving themselves.
When I’m satisfied, I leave the mess as it is and make my way back upstairs. Kendal has the cleaners booked for tomorrow, anyway, so I’m not worried about it. I open my bedroom door and freeze in the doorway.
Holy shit!
There stands Maisy, standing in the middle of my room, on her phone, in just my shirt. The shirt is white, and I can tell she has taken off her bra because I can see the outline of her nipples as she turns to face me. The shirt comes to her mid-thigh, and the sight of her legs makes my mouth dry.
“I didn’t want to get into bed without you.” She looks nervous as she twiddles her thumbs.
“Don’t be silly.” I fold back my bed covers and point to it. “Get in.”
She follows my orders, and I tuck her in. I walk away, and she suddenly sits up. “Are you not getting in?”
“Of course I am.” I laugh. “I need to get ready.”
Maisy
I watch as Max makes his way to the bathroom and try to steady my nerves. Why do I feel so damn nervous? This is Max, my best friend. I need to chill the fuck out but when Max walks back in, all my thoughts turn to nothing. He walks towards the bed in just his black boxers. Fuck me sideways! All of his delicious chest is on show, including every tattoo, muscle and that V that points down to his underwear. His thick thighs carry him over to the bed, and I can’t stop staring as he sits beside me and pulls the bed quilt over him. I feel his body heat immediately, and it, weirdly enough, calms me.
Max wraps his arm around me and pulls me closer. I don’t know what to say. We’ve never done this before, so we continue to just stare at each other. Until he surprises me and kisses me on the lips. My breath catches in my throat, as I open my mouth against his, letting his lips crush against mine. It starts off slow, asking permission, but then speeds up when I begin to move my mouth. This gives him the answer he needs as he picks up pace, using his hands to crush my body against his where I can feel exactly how much he is enjoying this. My body responds, and my nipples harden and rub against the material of the fabric of the shirt. My hands come up to his chest as his wrap around my waist and pull me on top of him. I moan against him and this seems to make him stop. My swollen lips miss his right away as he settles me back down on the bed.
“Sorry.” Max clears his throat. “I don’t know what happened.”
“It’s fine,” I reassure him. I feel like I need to, although I have no idea what the fuck just happened.
He gives me a smile as he smoothes my hair and kisses me on my forehead. Without another word, he rolls me around and spoons me from behind. His warm arms surround me and sooth my nerves. It’s no good, though, because the feel of his body is making mine come alive. I’m aware of him and I need him! I want him! He can’t kiss me like that and then just pull away! Even if he is my best friend.
“Night, Mase.” He kisses the back of my head.
“Night,” I answer back, but I know I will not be going to sleep tonight. My mind is running with too many thoughts that I couldn’t possibly get to sleep.
Chapter Eight
Maisy
I wake up with a fuzzy head and what feels like a heavy, warm arm wrapped over my waist. I open my eyes and take in the room around me. The flashbacks from last night come back to me: Max’s lips on mine, and the feel of his body as he lifted me on top of him. I can’t believe I slept in the same bed as him! And that kiss!
There have been nights where we’ve been drunk together, where we’ve been dancing, and the alcohol added with innocent flirting has turned into heated kisses, but that was on a sofa or in the corner of a darkened club - not in Max’s bed! That changed the whole level of kissing because it was more intimate, and it’s definitelydone weirdthings to my insides.
The feel of Max’s lips on the back of my neck startles me. I thought
he was asleep.
“Morning, gorgeous...” His voice is deep and husky, with that tired sleepy tone. Jesus, why does he sound so sexy? I clench my thighs together as my insides quiver.
“Good morning,” I reply, because I don’t know what else to say. This is a new experience! We don’t do this. Before, when we kissed, we laughed about it the next day, and then it was forgotten, but not this time.
I hear him sigh, and the heat from his body behind me disappears. I lean back and take a peek at him, one of his arms is over his eyes, but mine travel down as I see the bed sheet is just below waist level. His delicious stomach is on display as well as the V. I’m actually gutted that the sheet starts just where the top of his cock would be, and the thought shakes me to the core. I’ve never had these thoughts about Max before!
“Max?” I ask cautiously because I’m really nervous.
He sighs again, and his arms fall from his face and onto the bed. “Just leave it, Maisy, yeah?” He looks at me, and I hate the look in his eyes. “It’s just a bit of fun.”
I frown at him, my heart beating a million beats a minute. Why are his words scaring me? I should be relieved. “Wait, Max-“
But he cuts me off.
“I said, relax, Maisy.” He jumps out of bed, and drops his boxes. Oh my god! I can’t believe he just did that! My eyes widen as I watch him walk towards the bathroom, with a hand over his cock but I do get a view of that tight and surprisingly tattooed ass of his. I’m left shocked and lost for words in his bed, not moving at all. Max soon comes out dressed in some baggy trousers and walks towards the door. “I’m gonna make some breakfast. You can join me if you like, or you can go. It’s up to you.”
I watch as he walks out of the room, and he takes my happiness with him, leaving me an emotional mess. I don’t know what I’m feeling and why, but it scares the shit out of me. I feel like I just want to run home and hide away, but Max is also my best friend. If we don’t talk about this, it could ruin our friendship.
Max
I run down the stairs as fast as I can to get away from her. I just fucking knew this would happen!
When I offered for her to stay, I was being honest about not wanting her to be alone on the night of her birthday, but I also wanted to be with her. I wanted to spend some time alone with her, the fact that it was her birthday too, just made it that much sweeter.
As soon as I felt how tense her body was, and the edge to her voice, I knew her brain was working a thousand thoughts a second, and that she was regretting it. I bet she was wondering how she was going to get out of this mess, but for me, it was totally different. I couldn’t be happier seeing her lying beside me. I couldn’t help but think that this was what I wanted every morning, and I was more shocked by the fact that that thought didn’t scare me. It excited me.
However, I got the feeling from Maisy that she didn’t feel the same, so before I made an ass out of myself, I got out of there.
Maisy
I get dressed in last night’s dress, and I feel like shit the whole time. I take a quick trip to the bathroom. I need to wash my face and fix up my hair. As I look into the mirror, I notice there’s a shelf of drawers beside the counter. I find it odd that I didn’t spot it last night before bed because in Max’s black and white bathroom, these bright pink drawers stand out stupidly. Why the hell has Max got pink drawers in his bathroom? I open the top drawer and see it’s full of toothbrushes and the next has combs and fresh packets of hair-bands. As I go down, I find face wipes, painkillers and even pins and a small pad of paper with colourful pens. What the hell?! Is this a morning-after selection for Max’s girls?! It makes me feel sick!
Angrily, I use the comb and the hair band to put my hair in a high ponytail. I look at the rest in the fresh pack I just broke into and think, Fuck it, I’ll take the rest and take them with me! After brushing my teeth and making myself feel fresh enough, the smell of bacon wafts up to me, and my stomach rumbles.
I know what this is now: Max felt sorry for me last night. Poor Maisy Moo, all on her own for her birthday! So what did he do? He took matters into his own hands. I take the hair bands and shove them into my handbag, and then I zip it closed and look around the room before I leave. Suddenly, I think to myself, what are the pins, paper and pens for, so I go on a search for the reason. It doesn’t take me long. Behind the bathroom door is a corkboard full of paper. They’re about the size of post-it notes and are all written on, all in different handwriting. Some have hearts and some have kisses on them, but one thing they all have in common is that they all love Max and his talents.
Enjoyed the ride, Max. Call me – Susan
Thanks for a great night, handsome, call me – Tiffany
My first night with a rock star! Don’t make it my last – Nicky
They go on and on, and all have their phone numbers attached. Jesus, this is a fucking booty call memory board and it’s full! If that’s not enough, there’s another two below it exactly the same with the notes and I feel pissed. He brought me to the bed where he has shared the night with all these bitches who didn’t think twice about using his morning-after drawers and leaving a note to remember them by! I stomp out, making sure I knock over the pink drawers on my way out which I am not sorry about. They land with a loud bang, and I smirk to myself, as I dial a taxi to come and fetch me seeing as Tanya and Jess brought me over last night. I hang up as I make it into the kitchen and see Max, shirtless and serving breakfast. Fuck me, he looks good!
“Who was that?” He motions to my phone in my hand.
“Taxi.” I answer.
“I’ll take you home.” Max doesn’t look up from what he’s doing. I’m scared we’ve damaged our friendship.
“No need,” I quickly reply. “Look, I get that last night was just fun, and that you were feeling sorry for me. There’s no need to be awkward and act like a dick.”
“Act like a dick?” He stops what he’s doing to stare at me. “Why am I the dick? You’re the one who is acting like a bitch!”
“Fuck you, Max! Fuck you, and your pink drawers and post it notes for your bitches!” I turn around and slam the front door behind me, ignoring Max’s pleading behind me.
***
I storm into my house when I get out of the cab and breathe a huge sigh of relief. That was tough.
My phone rings again, and I ignore it, again. It’s Max but I won’t answer. Instead, I take a much-needed shower. The hot water calms me, but it doesn’t stop the strange feelings and emotions stirring inside of me. I’m scared that if it wasn’t for Max coming to his senses last night, I think we would have had sex and the scary part of that is I regret Max from stopping whatever was going to happen. But then the thought of his pink tramp drawers and the notes bring me back to reality, and I’m glad I’m not number 1000 or whatever number I would have been!
I wrap myself in a warm towel and walk to my bedroom, stopping when I see the red gift-wrapped box I still haven’t opened from Max. I slowly make myself go over to it and sit on my bed. Once I remove the paper, I see a blue box. I slowly open it, and what I see brings tears to my eyes. A white-gold necklace sits in red velvet, staring up at me. At the bottom sits a thick heart, outlined by sparkles, and in the middle is an infinity sign. Within the sign is mine and Max’s names entwined into the infinity symbol.
But that’s not all. There’s also a note. It’s small but it brings more tears to the surface. You’re my best friend, Maisy, and I love you. Happy Birthday.
What the fuck have I done?
Chapter Nine
Max
1 week later
I decide, after a week of Maisy ignoring me, I need to let off some steam. I can understand why she isn’t speaking to me because I was a dick on the morning after we kissed. It’s just that I knew she was over-thinking it and maybe regretting it. I’m sick of fighting against my feelings for her and getting nothing in return. Her knocking over my morning-after drawers was a surprise, though, and I’m hoping she didn’t see my
post-it board! Shit, that board is fun and those girls loved me, their messages proving that, but now I think it’s just a dick move on my part. I shouldn’t have that hanging there for everyone to see, and if Maisy has seen that, then it makes me feel embarrassed and slightly disgusted with myself.
This is why I have decided to go to the club tonight, and I’ve dragged James and Mark with me. Not that they’re complaining because tonight I have requested the V.I.P treatment. This exclusive area is raised higher than the dance floor but isn’t totally separated from the main dancing area. Hence, that’s why there are the desperate-looking women standing by the platform, trying to get my attention.
James and Mark love it all. “Fuck me, man, we need to go out together more often!” Mark grins.
“Fuck yeah!” James agrees, raising his drink in the air and looking down at the women eagerly.
My laughing stops when I spot Maisy standing at the bar with her sister, Lauren. They’re both wearing huge grins and are not alone. My hands almost break the bottle in my hand as I watch the man closest to Maisy wrap his arm around her and speak directly into her ear. I hope she’s disgusted and shoves him away. However, she laughs instead and bumps him sideways with her hip. Damn if that doesn’t drive me insanely jealous. I love her little juicy ass.
Lauren disappears with the man she was talking to and, seeing this, the man Maisy is with leads her out to the dance floor. I don’t take my eyes away from them as he dancers with her and I hate every fucking second. Why the fuck am I putting myself through this shit?
I tell myself that it’s because she’s my best friend and she means a lot to me, and that I just want the absolute best for her. That little shit she’s dancing with now isn’t what is best for Maisy. Nobody in this fucking club is right for her.
As I continue to watch her, I smell something sweet just before Lauren steps into my sight. “Hi,” she greets.
I look back to Mark and James and see them busy with women. “How did you get in here?”