by Joanne Ganci
We’re back to laying together, fully clothed, looking up at the night sky. Out here there aren’t any lights, and the blanket of stars, combined with nature’s song is just perfect. With her head resting on my chest and my arm wrapped around her, I couldn’t be happier than I am in this moment. She slips her hand up my shirt, swirling her fingers across my chest, as she absentmindedly plays with my chest hair.
Out of nowhere, she starts laughing. “What’s so funny, Blondie?”
“We missed the sunset.”
“That’s alright. It just means we’ll have to come out here again,” I tell her, leaning over to press a kiss to the top of her head.
She turns her head, laying a kiss right over my heart. “That sounds perfect. Hey, what are you doing tomorrow?”
“Tomorrow?”
“Yeah. It’s Memorial Day.”
“Right, the big Memorial Day Bash.” Midland loves an opportunity to throw a party.
“Mhmm. I was wondering if you wanted to go with me?”
“That depends.”
“What the hell do you mean by that, Maxwell?” She presses up onto her elbow. “I believe the answer you were looking for was: Yes. So much fucking yes, Blondie. I would absolutely love to take you to the Bash,” she says in a terrible imitation of my voice.
“Nah. I’m sticking with what I said.” I shrug, mentally preparing myself for the—oof! Yup, there’s the gut punch. “Aren’t you going to ask what it depends on?”
“Well…” she says, eyeing me expectantly.
“You going as my girl?”
Her face transforms from mild irritation to giddy amusement in an instant. “I think that can be arranged.”
“Then, yeah,” I brush some of her wayward hair behind her ear, leaning up to kiss her lips, “I’ll take you to the Bash, Blondie.”
Lydia
34
Sitting in a beach chair, next to Rachael, I watch on as my nieces run back and forth through the sprinklers, shrieking and giggling. I push my aviators up onto the top of my head and look over to her. “They act like they don’t know the water’s coming each time they run through.”
“I know, but it’s so adorable,” she says.
“True.”
Max walks up, three iced coffees and a ‘The Busy Bean’ bag in hand. “Mary wasn’t happy you lazy bitches—her words, not mine—sent me instead of coming yourselves.”
“She’s just mad she couldn’t get any of her employees to skip out on the Bash, so she could go,” Rachael points out, making grabby hands for the bag. That girl has a serious obsession with Mary’s scones.
“You’re not wrong. In between huffing about y’all sending me, she was staring longingly out the front window. When I turned around to say bye before leaving, she had her head in her hands, leaning up over the counter, just staring. Pretty sure she didn’t notice I said anything. She looked like a fucking puppy. It was adorable and sad,” Max says, making a puppy dog face.
Grabbing my iced coffee, I take a long sip. “Awww, poor Bubbles. We’ll have to stop in and hang out with her for a little bit before we leave. At least she’ll get to close up before the fireworks.”
“Wid-ee-uh! Way-suhl!” Cassidee comes bounding toward us, calling our names. I hold out my arms, and she jumps into my lap, giving me a soaking wet toddler squeeze.
“Are you having fun, sweet girl?” Rachael asks, leaning over to tickle her belly. She nods her head vigorously.
“Have you met Mr. Max, Cassidee?”
I point Max out to her, where he sits in the chair beside me, and to my surprise she scrambles off my lap, jumping into his. She’s bouncing up and down, happily shouting, “TEES!” over and over.
“That’s right, Princess Cheese. I gave you the cheese,” he says. He has a massive smile on his face, and his hand automatically goes to her back, to make sure she doesn’t tumble off his lap in her excitement.
And I’m pretty sure my ovaries just exploded.
Yup! There was a definite explosion down there.
Denise and Annabelle come ambling up a couple of minutes later. “Cassidee, you’re getting everyone all wet!” Cass beams up at her mother, with that adorable who me? look. Denise just shakes her head and apologizes to us.
“It’s no problem, Denise.” Max smiles up at her. Cassidee throws her hands up, motioning that she wants to be picked up and Denise scoops her out of his lap.
“When did y’all meet?”
“Oh, Brody and these wonderful ladies paid me a visit at the farmer’s market a while back.”
Cassidee shouts her version of cheese again, bouncing in her mom’s arms. “No baby, no cheese today. We’re having hot dogs. You love hot dogs.”
She nods her head again and starts squirming. Denise lets her down, and she takes off toward the sprinklers, Annabelle following in her wake. Belle might be older, but she’s so content to go with the flow when she’s not lost in her own little world. Where as Cass is this ball full of energy, charging her way through every situation, like she’s entering battle. They’re the most adorable children I’ve ever encountered, I’m so blessed to be able to watch them grow.
“Where are the guys?” Denise asks.
“They’re all reliving their youth, joining in on the Nerf gun battle Shirley set up,” I tell her, rolling my eyes.
Denise laughs, pulling up a chair on the other side of Max. “You didn’t want to be a kid again, Max?”
“Nah, I’m happy right where I am.” He reaches over, taking my hand in his. “Plus, I didn’t really play with Nerf guns as a kid. Occasionally, when I went over to Jesse’s, but we mostly just played on the farm equipment and with the animals before we got yelled at.”
“Aw, the girls would love that,” she says, turning to check on them. Spoiler: they’re running around like banshees, having the time of their lives.
“You should bring them by some time. We’ve got horses, cows, and chickens. And my dog Luke loves company.”
“Really? That would be amazing!”
“Of course. Mama would absolutely adore having the girls up at the farm.”
“Or if you wanted, we could take the girls one day. Give you and Brody a break,” I suggest.
“Oh, I couldn’t do that to y’all. They look sweet, but they’re a handful.”
Max squeezes my hand. “Nah, that sounds like a great idea. What about Sunday? Blondie has off, and Randy was asking if he could pick up a little extra work. I could have him work the booth with Jesse.”
She bites her lip, her gaze bouncing back and forth between us and the girls. “I mean, if you’re sure…”
“It’s not like I’ve never watched them before, D. Y’all could use an entire day to yourselves. How long has it been since the two of you have gone out to something that wasn’t a work function?”
“A realllly long time. Oh, God. I couldn’t even tell you when the last time was. With Brody’s promotion and me starting back up at the school this year, we’ve been so dang busy.”
“You’ve got family to lean on, D. We could always take the girls too, you know,” Rachael tells her.
“Thanks, Rach. I might just take you up on it. I better go get the girls and find Brody—” Annabelle starts crying, and she jumps up out of her chair. “Oh, lord. Thanks, guys. I really appreciate it. I’ll call you, Lyd,” she calls over her shoulder, rushing to Annabelle.
Once I’m sure Annabelle is okay, I put my sunglasses back on my face and lean back in my chair to relax.
After a while, Max picks our joined hands up, pressing a kiss to the back of mine. “You hungry, Blondie?”
“I could eat. Rachael?” When she doesn’t answer, I lean over and shove her arm.
“Dammit, Lydia! This is a really good part!” That’s my bestie, the biggest book nerd I’ve ever met. And as a librarian, that’s saying something!
“I asked if you were hungry, bitch.”
“Yes, but I just want to finish this chapter.”
�
�Everyone knows that’s not how it works, Rachael. Especially for you, one more chapter can— and usually does—lead to the rest of the book.”
“Ugh, whatever.”
“You don’t have to get up right now, Rach. If you want to keep reading that’s fine. Just don’t lie to yourself.” We both laugh, thinking about the lies I tell myself meme I sent her the other day.
“Yeah, I’m gonna do that. I’ll just catch up with y’all later.”
“K. Byeee.” I blow her a kiss and let Max pull me up out of my chair.
We tackle the long line to get a couple of hot dogs and sodas. There aren’t any free spots to sit at the tables they have set up, so we decide to take a walk.
“What was your favorite venue that you’ve played at?”
“That was random,” he says through a mouthful of food.
“I was just thinking about how we’ve spent so much time together, and we’ve talked a lot about me. We never really talk about your career, and I’m assuming that’s because you don’t want to bring up anything to upset me. If we’re going to be together, we need to be able to talk about all the things. I don’t begrudge you for having a career, Max. You’re such a gifted singer, and you deserved that opportunity.”
He takes a moment to take in what I just said. “Well, thank you. I appreciate that. And you’re right, I have tried to avoid anything about music and Nashville.”
“We can’t tiptoe around everything. And I’ve done a lot of thinking since you came home. I hate that I put this veil over your dream. Maggie said you never truly looked happy when you were away, and I know that’s my fault. I wish I could go back and do things differently.”
He grabs my hand, pulling me into him. “Blondie, we both made mistakes. I wish I could say that Mama was wrong, but she wasn’t. I was never really happy without you by my side. But that’s not something I have to worry about right now. Or ever again, if I have any say in it.”
I still can’t bring myself to make any solid future plans, so I just kiss him. I hope he knows that I’m not dismissing the idea, I’m just not there yet. Pulling away, he grabs my hand and starts us off walking again. “To answer your question, it was this little place in New Orleans. I had played my big stadium show, and we had a few days before the next show. I didn’t have anything else pressing going on, so I had invited Jesse over. We partied all over New Orleans for three days straight. On that last day we ended up at this dive bar, I don’t even remember the name of it. The bartender found out I was a singer—”
“Let me guess, Jesse?”
“Of course. He was so drunk and as per usual, flirting with the bartender. When he asked why he was in town, Jesse started going on and on about his best friend, the big country star. Well, long story short, the bartender happened to be a fan. He asked if I’d hop up on stage. I had been drinking, so I said, fuck it, why not?”
“That’s fucking awesome. Jesse’s big mouth finally did you some good.”
“Yeah, though his big mouth kinda did some good for me yesterday.” He holds his hand out for my empty soda can, throwing our trash into a nearby can.
“Uh, no. I was already planning on jumping your bones.”
“Oh, really now?” He takes hold of my waist, pulling me in, so my back is pressed against his chest.
“Mhmm.” I shove my hips back, grinding my ass against his hardening dick.
“Blondie,” he growls.
I tip my head up, looking at him through heavy lids, “Yes, cowboy?”
“We’re entirely too far from the truck to be doing this.”
“Mmm. Know what we’re not far from?” Turning around in his arms, I start kissing along his jaw.
“What?” he chokes out.
“The library.”
“And how in the hell does that—” He stops mid-sentence when he hears the rattle of my keys as I pull them out of my pocket. “Ohhh.”
“Wanna fuck me on my desk?”
“Uh, hell yeah I do!”
Lydia
35
We start walking toward the library, giggling and looking around like we’re still teenagers, and we’re going to get caught. He pulls me to a stop and ducks down in front of me. “Hop on, M’lady.”
“You can’t be serious?!”
“Piggyback rides are no joke, Blondie. Now hop on!”
Doing as the man says, I grab onto his shoulders and wrap my legs around him. When he stands up to his full height, he hoists me up a bit to make sure he’s got a good grip on me, making me shriek with laughter. “Oh, shit! Max, my dress.”
He slides his hands over my thighs, pulling my dress down, so I don’t flash the world my bare ass. “I got you, Blondie. I don’t want the world seeing that much of my girl.”
He doesn’t even know exactly how much they’d be able to see, but he will.
Draping my arms over his shoulders, I run my hands over his chest. “If you’d like to see that much of your girl, you better get movin’, Cowboy!”
“Yes, ma’am.”
Luckily everyone is over at the Bash, so there is no one around to witness us going into the library. I mean, I’m the fucking librarian, but I don’t think lying my way through a reason I’m taking Max here on Memorial Day would make for good foreplay.
I unlock the glass door, and slide it open. As soon as Max slips in, I shut and lock it. Quickly darting over to the beeping alarm, I disable it. The second I’m done, I’m being turned around and lifted up into Max’s arms. Goddamn. Those bulging biceps aren’t just pretty to look at. I’m no dainty little thing, but Max carries me over to the front desk, without breaking a sweat, even after carrying me on his back for several blocks.
He sets me down on the desk and whips my dress over my head. “Do you know how hard it was to focus when I had to grip these thighs the entire way here?” His big hands slide up my thighs, kneading closer and closer… “Then to top it off, you had these pressed into my back,” he groans, taking my full breasts into his hands.
“Hmm,” I reach down to cup his erection. “Looks like it was hard as fuck.” He makes this hungry sound in the back of his throat that drives me absolutely fucking wild. I slide my hands up his body, pulling his shirt up and over his head. “So fucking hot.”
“Mmm, I’ve got nothing on you, gorgeous.”
Our eyes lock, the storm meeting the ocean, just like us. When we come together, it’s a hurricane of passion, lust, and love. We’re drawn together like a force of nature, kissing and caressing. His hand goes into my hair, and he gently tugs, drawing my head back, so he can kiss down my neck. His lips, tongue, and teeth leaving a fiery trail that sends sparks straight down to my pussy. He kisses and bites his way down my body, stopping to give each of my breasts plenty of attention. When he continues his descent, his hands follow, pushing me down flat onto the desk.
His kisses detour to my thigh just before he reaches where I want him. He doesn’t tease me for long, though. Gripping my thighs he pulls me forward, just slightly, then spreads my legs wide.
“Blondie,” he growls. “You’re going to be the death of me, you know that?” His thumb swirls over my clit, making me cry out. “If I had known you weren’t wearing panties this whole fucking time…”
“Why don’t you shut up and take advantage of it now, Cowboy?”
He bites my thigh in response, while his deft fingers spread me wide. With a long, slow lick up the length of my pussy, he has me squeezing my eyes shut and my hands going to the back of his head. He starts licking and sucking on my clit, and I can’t help but pull him into me. Fuck, he’s good at this. Continuing his ministrations, he slides first one, then two fingers inside of me. He pushes and pulls them in and out of me in slow, upward curving strokes. “Oh fuck, Max.”
It seems he was waiting for a cue because as soon as his name leaves my mouth, he picks up the pace. Thrusting his fingers into me faster, while he sucks my clit into his mouth hard.
“Fuck, fuck, fuck!”
Oh, God
. A third finger. Instead of the fast-paced thrusting, he just focuses on curving them in a come hither motion, hitting my g-spot over and over. He’s doing this magical thing with his tongue, and I’m writhing beneath him. I grip the back of his head and start grinding my pussy over his now flattened tongue. “FUCK!” He sucks my clit into his mouth, and that’s the last straw. I come so fucking hard. I’m pretty sure I call out his name, but I’m just about as certain that I just saw Jesus, so who the fuck knows.
When I come to, he’s massaging my thighs and staring down at me with a satisfied grin on his face. Not sure if he meant it as one, but I’m definitely taking that as a fucking challenge. “Take your fucking pants off and go sit in the chair behind the desk.” His brow lifts, as he gives me a curious look. “You really want to question me right now, Cowboy?” I challenge.
He chuckles, but like a smart man, does exactly as I say. I watch as he rounds the desk, disposing of his pants on the way to the chair. Turning around on the desk, I slide off and slip down to my knees in front of his open legs. I swat away the hand that’s pumping his hard-on. “Nuh-uh. That’s my job.”
I wrap my hand around his cock, slowly stroking up and down, while licking my lips. “Mmm, I can’t fucking wait to have you down my throat.” I swirl my tongue around the thick head of his cock, catching a bit of the salty pre-cum leaking from his slit. “You’re already dripping for me.”
I tease him with swiping licks of my tongue, while still pumping up and down his shaft.
“Fuck, Blondie. More. I need you to take more of me.” Ignoring his pleading, I continue teasing him. His thighs tense and he hisses out my name. That’s when I dive in, taking as much of him as I can at once. “God, yes! Deeper. Oh, fuck.”
I bob my head up and down over him. With each downward stroke I take him in deeper, until I have all of him in my mouth, his head hitting the back of my throat. I pull him all the way out of my mouth, taking in a deep breath before shoving him right back in. His hips pump up, and he holds me on him for a couple of extra seconds.