He threw back his head and laughed and she dissolved into giggles in his arms.
A half hour later and two more rum punches later, they collected a drunk, dancing Kat and Alec and headed home. Kat rarely drank and in her drunk state, her mouth moved a mile a minute, interspersed with giggles. Max had no idea what she was talking about but he heard “Segway” and some other randomness and shook his head. Pure Kat.
He called to Alec in front of him, who gripped the hand of a rambling Kat so she didn’t wander off. “Dude, I want pancakes.”
“Seriously?” Lea looked at him like he was nuts. “It’s three
A.M
.”
He rubbed his stomach. “Your point? That’s the best time to eat pancakes.”
She rolled her eyes and Alec shot him a thumbs-up over his shoulder. “Onward to the Chipped Plate, my king!” he called, gripping Kat’s hand.
Max held his hand out in front of him like he held a sword. “Onward, my knight!”
Lea huffed beside him. “You two are so weird.”
Max opened his mouth to answer, when he spotted a spring rider standing alongside a house. It was one of those playground toys with a large coiled spring stuck in the ground and a metal purple unicorn sitting on top.
“Oh shit, I love those things!” He let go of Lea and jogged over. He knew the toy wasn’t made for his six-foot frame but he didn’t care. He sat on the metal saddle, which froze his ass through his thin swim trunks, and gripped the handlebars, propping his feet on the foot rests.
“Yee haw!” He yelled and pitched forward, then waited for the spring to throw him back.
But it didn’t. One shift of his weight and the whole thing gave way. He plunged face forward, slamming his chin into the cold ground, the horn of the stupid unicorn jammed into his groin. He rolled and watched as his three friends blinked at him in surprise.
He groaned. “The fucking unicorn bucked me off.”
They erupted. Alec roared with laughter, doubled over, clutching his stomach, and Lea and Kat clung to each other, giggling hysterically over his epic fail in the face of a metal unicorn.
He rose to all fours and glared at it. “That is not cool, putting this here without securing the spring into the ground. There’s probably a hidden camera around here somewhere. Preying on stupid drunk college students.”
“Like you!” Alec yelled, dissolving into another fit of laughter.
Max grumbled and he heard a snap. He looked up and Lea held her phone in front of her, eyes bright and wet.
“Did you just take my picture?”
She nodded, biting her lip, but her shoulders shook with restrained laughter.
He lunged toward her. She squealed but before she could take one step, he scooped her up and hauled her over his shoulder, smacking her grass-covered butt. “Let me down, Max!” she hollered but the laughed.
“Nope, I want pancakes.”
T
HEY SAT IN
the cafe at three
A.M.
Max crunched three strips of bacon on top of his stack of pancakes, covered it in a layer of syrup and then methodically devoured it. Lea ate a bagel with cream cheese while Kat and Alec shared an order of cheese fries and chocolate shakes.
Lea tongued the corner of her mouth, chasing an errant smear of cream cheese, and thought about Danica’s kiss.
When Danica had leaned in and said, “Let’s get Max hot. Give me a kiss,” Lea hadn’t had much time to react or brace before Danica’s lips were on hers. She’d never kissed a girl before and Danica’s lips were soft, her scent pleasing, her hands at the back of Lea’s head and on her knee tender.
But at the same time, Danica held back as much as Lea did. It was all for show. Both of them keeping the important pieces of themselves.
Lea missed the roughness of Max’s lips and stubble. The way he crowded her with his big shoulders, at the same time giving everything of himself to her.
Max didn’t hold back.
Lea reached over and wiped a smudge of dirt from Max’s chin. He grinned at her and then returned to his pancakes.
She’d never forget the sound of his voice on that stage, the way he moved his body to the music. He could have been a front man for a band, that’s how much charisma he’d shown. She hadn’t expected that.
And then his face when he’d fallen off that toy. All tonight, he’d shown a side of himself, more carefree and happy, than she’d ever seen him. Based on what he’d told her of himself on their date, she wondered how many carefree moments he’d had like that growing up.
The vision of his large, muscular body on that child’s toy before he fell off flashed in her head again. She giggled just thinking about it.
“What?” Max asked, licking syrup from his lips.
“You and that unicorn.”
Max narrowed his eyes. “Bruiser.”
“Huh?”
“That’s what I’m calling him.”
“You named the unicorn.”
“I named him because he nearly broke my ass.”
Lea leaned closer and lowered her voice. “I can check for bruises later.”
Max stopped mid-chew and turned his head slowly, meeting her eyes. “Are you propositioning me?”
Lea just smiled.
He leaned in. “You can check my bruises anytime you want. Hell, you can give me new ones.”
Lea laughed and Kat spoke up. “Alec and I are still here, you know?”
“Hey, I’ve had to listen to your lovey-dovey bullshit for months now,” Max protested, pointing his fork at Kat.
She pressed her lips together and didn’t protest.
Alec threw his arm around her shoulders and leaned back. “Tonight was awesome.”
Kat snuggled into the crook of his arm. “Very awesome.”
Alec grinned at Max. “Missed your singing, man. You were on top of your game tonight.”
When Max had held her in the closet of the rec room and sang, he’d pitched his voice high and it’d sounded awful. But tonight? He’d belted out that song in a deep, gravelly voice that did something to her insides. His voice was strong, notes in tune. It surprised her and turned her on a little.
Max reached over and squeezed her leg through her skirt and leggings. “Ready to go?”
She nodded.
Max paid and held her hand as they walked back to her apartment. Danica’s door was closed and Lea pressed her finger to her lips to keep Max quiet.
“You shushing me again, doll?” he teased.
She rolled her eyes and opened her bedroom door. Max walked in ahead of her and then as she shut the door, he turned around and pressed her against the door, his head bending to hers for a kiss. Max’s arousal was evident and pressed into her belly as they tumbled to the bed.
He rolled on top of her and she arched up with her hips. “As much as you drank, I’m honestly surprised you’re that hard.”
He raised his eyebrows, his beaming smile proving she’d just complimented his manhood. “Oh doll, a little liquor can’t knock me down. I’m always ready for you.”
He kissed her, starting out slow but gaining speed, and Lea could feel his excitement in the kiss. She squeezed her eyes shut, tamping down the anxiety of what she was about to do. But the kiss proved to her all along that Max trusted her. And it was time to repay him with her own trust. “Max,” she whispered, licking his bottom lip before pulling away a fraction. “Your turn.”
His eyebrows dipped. “What?”
She took a deep breath and raised her hands above her head, gripping the headboard. “Your turn.”
His eyes traveled up her arms, lingering on her hands where they white-knuckled the spindles before returning to her face. He trailed his fingers down the side of her neck, right over her carotid artery and her lips parted as his tongue followed the path of his fingers, igniting her blood.
He gripped the side of her neck, pressing his thumb into the indent at the base of her throat then he licked the spot.
He took his time touching her, paying extra attention to the rings in her nipples and the ink on her hips. He nipped her skin with his teeth and caressed her inner thighs, his thumbs moving in a circular pattern that drove her crazy. She wanted to tell him to get to it already, give in to what they both wanted.
But she’d given him control.
So she closed her eyes and gave in to the sensations of his talented tongue and hands and lips.
She opened her eyes when his weight settled full on her. His face was inches above hers and he nudged her nose with his own. “You drive me crazy,” he whispered, echoing the words he’d said earlier in the night.”
“You drive
me
crazy,” she whispered back.
His thumbs pressed into her neck, moving across her skin, leaving goose bumps behind. Every so often he added a scrape of a thumbnail and the sensation went straight to her toes.
“Been on campus over three years. Three fucking years. Took me this long to find you,” he mumbled and she didn’t know if he was talking to her or to himself.
“But we did now, so that’s all that matters, right?” her voice was faint, barely a tone as she concentrated on speaking the words over the rush of arousal spreading through her body like wildfire.
“Yeah,” he whispered.
Then his thumbs were gone, and he rolled on a condom and slowly, oh so slowly that she thought she’d come out of her skin, he entered her.
She released the headboard and wrapped all her limbs around him. He started out slowly, gliding in and out of her as he touched every inch of her face with his lips, whispered words like, “beautiful,” and “doll,” and “finally.”
But she wasn’t able to speak because her heart was beating and her ears were ringing and she worried she’d floated away, disconnected from her body.
Her orgasm hit her like a shot, and she slammed back into herself, crying out, clutching Max as hard as she could as he exhaled her name into her neck and came with a moan.
She didn’t let go of him for a long time, not until he pried her arms and legs from around him, pressing a kiss to her forehead as he crept to the bathroom and then back into her bed.
She lay with her head on his chest, their breaths mixing in the air above them. She trailed her fingers through the sparse hair on his chest, loving the strength and solidity of the body under hers.
“Max?”
“Yeah.”
“Thank you.”
His breath stuttered but he didn’t answer as he carded his fingers through her hair.
And she knew that while she might hold his heart, he held hers too. Like they both kept the other beating, the symbiotic relationship necessary for them both to survive.
She didn’t know when this happened, maybe it was seeing him singing in front of strangers. Maybe it was watching him eagerly climb onto a child’s toy. Maybe it was listening to the crunch of the bacon as he broke it into small pieces on top of his pancakes.
All she knew was that Max had burst his way into her heart with his warm eyes and big smile. She’d let herself trust, and she hoped this time it was right. That this was the time it didn’t backfire.
L
EA STOOD B
ESIDE
the TV with her hands on her hips. Danica and Monica cuddled on the couch watching
Kissing Jessica Stein
. The current on-screen kiss between two girls was kind of hot. And reminded Lea of her kiss with Danica. She ducked her head to hide her blush, hoping Monica wouldn’t see, because Danica’s girlfriend had only just forgiven her for kissing Lea. She hadn’t thought their “break” at the time was definite enough for Danica to go around in a bikini and lip-lock other girls.
But they’d made up, and Monica wasn’t glaring at Lea, so she figured all was well.
Lea turned away from the screen. “ So, I need help.”
Danica raised her eyebrows into the bangs of her pink wig. “What’s up?”
Lea shifted her weight from foot to foot. “I want to . . . bake something.”
“Okay . . .”
“Well, that’s not really my thing. My mom bakes. I don’t. But I want to surprise Max and take him something at the garage. I know he hates his job and . . .” she waved her hand, realizing Danica didn’t need to know all the details about Max’s life and probably didn’t care. “So can you help me?”
Danica cocked her head, studying Lea. It made her uncomfortable.
Monica clapped her hands and then gripped Danica’s thigh. “Snickernoodles. We can make snickerdoodles.”
Danica wrinkled her nose. “What are those?”
Monica’s mouth dropped open. “You bake and you don’t know what snickerdoodles are? Oh honey, we are definitely introducing you to these treats.” She turned to Lea. “Have you ever had them?”
Lea scrunched her lips to the side. “Aren’t they sugar cookies rolled in cinnamon and sugar?”
Monica nodded. “Pretty much.”
“I think my mom used to make them,” Lea said. “So good.”
Monica smiled and hopped to her feet, tugging on Danica’s arm. “Come on, let’s check to make sure we have the ingredients. I love to bake!”
“But I wanted to watch this movie,” Danica grumbled.
“We can watch it later. It’s not going anywhere. I own it.” Monica tugged again. Come on.”
Danica shot Lea a dark look, which made Lea smile, then followed her girlfriend into the kitchen.
Monica flitted about the kitchen on silent feet, her gauzy shirt flowing behind her, checking the cabinets for supplies while Danica listed them from a recipe she’d searched for on her phone.
Lea stood at the counter, enjoying watching the ease and happiness of her roommate together with her girlfriend. Lea was proud of Danica, because she’d finally got over herself and agreed to meet Monica’s parents.
Monica was good for Danica. She didn’t try to change her. She condoned Danica’s crazy looks every day and with every shift of her eyes in Danica’s direction, Lea could see affection.
Danica was the same, her cheeks rosy under her pale blush as she watched her girlfriend grab bowls out of a cabinet.
Lea thought Max would appreciate the cookies, since she knew he did most of the cooking for his dad and brothers. In the week since the beach party, he’d let her in a little more about “growing up Payton.” He talked about his brothers a lot, to the point she felt like she knew them. But he never mentioned introducing her to them. That dug under her skin like a splinter. While Danica moaned about meeting Monica’s parents, Lea was envious. Didn’t Max want her involved in every aspect of his life?
Well, she’d beat him to it and surprise him, armed with cookies. His brothers and dad would have to like her if she had cookies.
“Hey, Lea, get over here. You’re not getting out of helping,” Monica called her over with a wink.
Lea measured the sugar while Danica softened the butter in short bursts in the microwave.
After the first batch of cookies were in, Lea’s cell phone rang. She glanced at the caller ID. “Oh hey girls, it’s my dad. I gotta—”
Monica swallowed a hunk of batter and waved her off. “Go, we’ll make sure the cookies don’t burn for the grease-monkey love of your life.”
Lea shot her a thumbs-up and answered her phone. “Hey Dad.”
“La-la,” her dad’s husky voice came over the line. “How are you?”
“Good, how are you and Mom?”
“Better than good,” he said, his common answer making her smile. A clatter sounded from the kitchen, like a dropped cookie sheet, followed by a cackle of laughter.
“What was that?”
“I’m making cookies to take to Max at work and Danica and Monica are helping me bake them. I think they might have just ruined a batch.”
More laughing from the kitchen.
“Well, I’m calling for another reason, which is not happy.”
“Oh?” Lea sat up.
“I’m sure the university will be notifying the students soon, but I just heard on the news that there was another assault. And the witness reported seeing one of the assailants with a gun.”
Lea sucked in her breath as ice slid down her spine. “No. Why?”
“I don’t know. Some people don’t have motives for the things they do and . . .”
“But this is horrible, Dad. Assaults are bad enough, but a gun? What are they thinking?”
“I don’t know. But please warn your friends. No walking by yourself anytime, but especially at night.”
Lea wanted to cry. She hated the level of fear that had been pervasive on campus since the first reports of the assaults. Bowler campus was known for its fun, carefree atmosphere. No one wanted to watch their back in fear of landing in the hospital.
It wasn’t fair and it made her want to hurt someone. Preferably these jackasses. Armed jackasses.
“Thanks for letting me know, Dad. I’ll give everyone a heads-up. I’m sure the campus will be sending e-mails out soon.”
“I’m sure. Tell Danica hello for me and take care, sweetheart, okay?”
“I always do, Dad.”
Danica and Monica looked up from a lip lock as Lea entered the kitchen. Their smiles dropped off when they saw her face. Danica skirted the counter and walked right to Lea. “What’s wrong?” She grabbed Lea’s shoulders and looked into her eyes. Lea realized Danica didn’t have any contacts in today, and her gray eyes were clouded with concern.