Say You're Mine

by Alexis Winter

  “Isn’t she the one who came and picked you up that morning after we made love? The ugly one? God, are you really calling her your girlfriend?”

  Oh, hell no.

  “Bitch, who the fuck do you think you are?” Tori yells from behind me, clearly ready to throw down.

  But I don’t need Tori to fight this one for me. I don’t know if it’s the numerous drinks I’ve had tonight or some new sort of confidence that Maverick’s given me, but I will not let her talk about me when I’m standing right in front of her.

  “Tori, it’s okay,” I say to my sister, who is now taking off her earrings just in case she has to throw down. “This woman here clearly doesn’t understand what’s going on.”

  I step in front of Maverick, and he lets me, keeping a hand on the small of my back.

  “Yes, I’m the one who picked him up from your house. Yes, he’s calling me his girlfriend. In fact, he has so many names for me, I can’t keep them straight. Lover, friend, partner, roommate, girlfriend . . . which one do you like better? Because I’m pretty sure all he ever called you was easy.”

  Tori and Annabelle are in sync when I hear “oh shit!” in the background, but I’m fired up, and this will be the last time we’ll have to deal with this woman.

  “I saw you that morning, standing naked in your doorway. I felt bad for you. Sad for you. Besides the fact that whoever gave you those boobs made them crooked, why would you ever want to beg for a man? Fix your face, fix your tits, and you know what? Fix your life, and stay the hell out of ours.”

  I grab Maverick’s hand and we walk out of the bar.

  “Yeah! What she said!” Tori adds.

  As soon as I hit the sidewalk, my legs nearly give out. Never in my life have I spoken to anyone like that. Stood up for myself like that.

  And it felt good. Damn good.

  Maverick pulls me in, kissing the hell out of me without a care that we’re in a public parking lot. When he breaks the kiss, the fire in his eyes is like none I’ve ever seen.

  “Woman, we need to get home. Now.”

  34

  Maverick

  I’ve never hated living outside the city more than I do right now.

  Instead of being home in virtually five seconds to be able to fuck Scarlett properly, I’m having to agonize through 20 minutes of traffic before I can take her the way I want her.

  Which is completely and thoroughly. Because if I didn’t absolutely know it before, after tonight, there’s no doubt this woman is mine.

  As soon as I saw Amy, I knew something would go down. I just didn’t know when or how. But I never thought Scarlett would be the one to put her in her place.

  And it was hot as fuck.

  “Slow down. You’re going to get a ticket!” she says as I do 60 down residential streets.

  “I don’t care. I’ll tell the officer I have to fuck my hot-as-hell girlfriend and he’ll understand.”

  She giggles but stops quickly as my hand makes its way up her leg, cupping her pussy through her jeans. I can feel her heat through the material and it’s driving me fucking wild. My cock is hardening, which isn’t great considering I’m also in jeans and driving.

  Fuck it. I’m going 80.

  I swerve into the driveway and slam on the brakes. We exit the truck without a word and hurry for the door. As soon as we’re inside, I turn her and pin her against it, needing to kiss her like I need my next breath.

  “Maverick . . . wait . . . stop!” she says between kisses.

  “Can’t. Won’t. Now.”

  “Maverick . . . Sarah.”

  I stop and pray to whichever God is listening that the babysitter isn’t standing behind us watching us perform soft-core porn.

  I slowly turn around, and yup, right there, standing in the kitchen and looking slightly petrified, is Sarah.

  “Hey Sarah,” Scarlett says, pushing away from me, trying to fix her hair as she walks toward her. “How did everything go?”

  “Umm, he was . . . Grant’s great. Ate all of his dinner. Went to bed without a fuss.”

  “Great. Great. That’s great,” I say, walking over and fishing my wallet out of my pocket. “Here’s your money. I bet you were great and Grant loved you. Thanks again. We appreciate it. Now have a good night.”

  I walk to the front door and open it, waiting for this teenager to leave my house.

  “You gave me $100?” she says questioningly. “I thought we agreed to $60 for the night?”

  “I know. But you did great. Now, I bet you have plans tonight. Some party? Don’t let us keep you.”

  Scarlett comes over, placing a kiss on my cheek before turning to Sarah.

  “Thank you, sweetie. We will definitely be calling you again. Do you have everything?”

  Sarah nods, says ‘thank you’ and leaves the house, not daring to look back.

  “Did you think paying her $40 extra would cover up the fact that she saw us making out in the kitchen?” Scarlett teases, grabbing the hem of my shirt.

  “I hope so,” I say before leaning in to kiss my woman.

  Despite the heat that was growing between us in the car, I’m not in a hurry to claim her. To take her. Don’t get me wrong, I plan on fucking this woman six ways from Sunday tonight. But with Scarlett, it’s never truly fucking. Because what we have is so much more than that.

  We peek in on Grant, who is sound asleep, before we head to our room. He was excited when we told him he’d be sleeping upstairs, but he lost his shit when he saw the Lightning McQueen bed I got for him. Scarlett has spent every night with me after explaining to Grant that she’d be right across the hall.

  He just nodded and went about his day because, again, Lightning McQueen bed.

  Once we’re in our room—I still love calling it that—we strip out of our clothes and fall into bed, the mix of adrenaline and alcohol finally getting to us.

  Her back is to my front and my arms are around her, allowing me the freedom to touch her anywhere I want.

  “Do you know how sexy you are?” I whisper in her ear, playing with her breast that’s heavy in my hand.

  “Not as sexy as you,” she answers, rubbing her ass against my hardening cock.

  “How you stood up to Amy tonight? Baby, I was so proud of you. I’m sorry you even had to do that.”

  My lips find the back of her neck and travel along her shoulder, with my one hand still playing with her breast as my other one travels down to work her clit.

  “You don’t need to apologize,” she says, though as I give her nipple a squeeze, the last part comes out in a half-moan. “There’s no room for her in here.”

  I couldn’t have said it better myself. Loving the position we’re in, I let my fingers travel down further, inserting two, only to find her already wet and ready for me. I squeeze her nipple as I maneuver my fingers in and out of her, the sensations making her buck in my hold against my aching cock.

  Not able to take it anymore, I lift her leg over mine as I guide myself into her pussy. The new position is tight and perfect, and I work slowly, allowing time for her to adjust to the new feeling.

  “Mav, you feel . . . you feel so good.”

  “Baby, nothing has ever felt more perfect.”

  Now holding her leg, my thrusts become harder. She is on her back facing me, and the look in her eyes is one I hope she has for me forever. Love. Hunger. Want. Desire.

  I take one of her bouncing tits into my mouth, needing to give her as much pleasure as I can, wanting to give her everything.

  “Mav, I’m coming!”

  Before the words are out of her mouth, she explodes around me, nearly convulsing in her orgasm. And it’s then I realize why this feels so different.

  I forgot to put a condom on. Our eyes meet as we must have just realized it together.

  “Oh God, babe. I’m so sorry. I’ll get one.”

  I pull out of her and quickly roll toward the nightstand, grabbing a condom from my drawer and sheathing myself. I’ve never had sex wi
thout a condom before. I don’t know what came over me.

  When I look back at her, there’s no anger in her eyes. No worry. Just her arms open, welcoming me back to her body.

  “I’m sorry, baby. I love you. I love you so much,” I say.

  I don’t care that midway through sex isn’t the best time to tell someone for the first time that you love them. But I do. I just had to tell her.

  She cups my face, bringing me in for a kiss that I’ll never forget. I enter her again, feeling like I’m back home even though it was just moments ago I was inside her.

  “I love you too, Maverick. So much.”

  We spend the rest of the night, and early into the morning, showing each other how much we love each other.

  But I could spend thousands of nights with her and still don’t think it would ever be enough.

  35

  Scarlett

  I remember when I first walked into Maverick’s house and saw his kitchen. All I could think of was how many cookies I’d bake, and I wondered if maybe one day he’d let me use it to cook a full meal.

  Never in that fantasy was I cooking Thanksgiving dinner for 12 people, but here I am, putting the finishing touches on a 20-pound turkey.

  I might have grumbled a bit in the days leading up to this, but in reality, I’m over the moon I’m able to do this. And that Maverick is opening up his home so we can share this day with our family and friends. My parents are driving down from Wisconsin, hating that they weren’t able to make it for Grant’s birthday. The whole friend group is coming over, including Amanda and Ben, plus Kalum and Maverick’s mother, Shannon, will be joining us.

  I only panicked to Maverick three times about meeting his mother. It’s been years since I’ve met the parent of someone I’m dating. It’s not like Ryan was taking me home for Sunday dinners. And to be honest, I don’t even know if his parents are alive, or if they know they have a grandson.

  Then Maverick carefully reminded me that he’s meeting both of my parents and that he’ll likely have to explain to my father how he went from a friend trying to help me out to my live-in boyfriend.

  He wins.

  “What can we do to help?” Annabelle asks, walking into the kitchen with Tori, Amanda, and both mothers not far behind.

  “Do you really want to know or are you just trying to get away from the men and football?” I ask, checking the turkey for the 100th time today.

  “Is it wrong if we say both?” Shannon asks, sitting at the island and taking a piece of cheese from the charcuterie board Amanda brought over.

  “Definitely not, and I’m surprised you guys didn’t seek refuge sooner.”

  We laugh and talk as the women in my life help me finish off a meal I wasn’t sure I’d be able to handle on my own. But everyone chipped in with side dishes, appetizers, and desserts.

  “Are you doing okay?” my mom asks, setting a glass of wine in front of me. “You look tired.”

  “Well, yeah, no one tells you that if you cook for Thanksgiving, it needs to start at 6 a.m.”

  She studies me, taking a sip of her wine. “Are you sure? Have you been sleeping okay?”

  I’m not about to tell my mother that I’ve been exhausted all week. Everything is fine, but she’ll make it out to be an event. Finals are coming up and the doctor’s office was slammed this week with patients trying to get in before the holiday. It was just a busy week, but she won’t buy that.

  “I’m sure, mother. Now, quit picking me apart and go stir the gravy.”

  An hour later, we’re sitting around Maverick’s huge dining room table. As we were lying in bed last night, he admitted to me that, over the years, he never thought that table would ever be full. It broke my heart a little to realize he thought he only had one chance at having a family, and that it was taken from him.

  But selfishly, I’m so glad that the first time he was able to share his home with the ones he loves most, that I was a part of it.

  “I’d like to propose a toast,” Kalum says, standing from his seat.

  “This is gonna be good,” Jaxson digs.

  “Hush. I’m going to be serious here. Well, as serious as I can be.”

  Everyone turns their attention to Kalum, though I sneak a glance at Tori, who has nothing but love in her eyes for her fiancé.

  “To the outside world, we might look like a normal family gathered for a Thanksgiving meal. But inside these walls, we all know that isn’t exactly the case.”

  Maverick grabs my hand under the table, giving it a squeeze.

  “Our group is assembled thanks to the strangest of circumstances. If Jaxson hadn’t been a creeper, he likely wouldn’t have met Annabelle.”

  “Hey! I was just waiting for the right moment,” Jaxson says defensively as we all laugh. Annabelle doesn’t seem to care as she nuzzles into this side.

  “Anyway, Jaxson was a creeper and met Annabelle, who worked with Tori only because she answered a “help wanted” post. From there, she met Scarlett. Then, after Jaxson and Annabelle connected, our friend group was forged.”

  He takes a drink, looking down at Tori with love and mischief.

  “I made a bet with this one right here, and it ended up being the best thing I ever lost. Though I was a bit of an idiot, and almost lost her to this guy over here,” he takes his drink and points at Ben.

  “Tori, you still have a chance! It’s not too late!” We all laugh at Ben’s joke, knowing that he and Tori now basically have a weird brother-sister relationship thing going.

  “You shut up. You had your chance,” Kalum says. “Anyway, where was I? Oh right. Tori fell madly in love with me after that girl over there made me go undercover and risk my life for the greater good of Chicago.”

  “I don’t remember it being like that at all,” Amanda says.

  “Well, I do. Now, everyone quit interrupting me. We’re at the part about Scarlett and Maverick.”

  Kalum takes a breath and a sip of his wine. “I know that I basically forced Maverick to have Scarlett and Grant move in with him. I know he was pissed at me for a while because of it. But I’d do it all again if it got us here—today, being together on this day when we can give thanks for so much in our lives. You two are great together and I’m so happy you’ve found each other. So let’s raise our glasses to our first—hopefully of many—Thanksgivings spent together.”

  Maverick leans in and kisses my cheek, which is just one of many sentimental gestures being passed around this table.

  Kalum is right. We don’t have a normal story, but I’m glad it got all of us here.

  “Eat! Time eat!”

  “That’s right, buddy,” Tori says to Grant. “Here’s to Team Mavlett!”

  “Team Mavlett!”

  And just like that, our rare moment of sentimentality is broken up by Grant and his bottomless pit of a stomach, and Tori having to get in the last word.

  36

  Maverick

  Chaotic. Happy. Funny. Messy.

  Perfect.

  Those are the words I’d use to describe the first major holiday spent at my house. A house I used to regard as a prison, but now finally consider a home.

  I never thought happy memories could come from inside these walls, considering how the story began here. When I found out that Jenna was cheating on me, it was a punch to the gut I didn’t see coming. Though now I wish I could thank her. Her leaving me with this house eventually led to Scarlett and Grant coming to live with me. To allow me the time and space to fall in love with them. For them to help me truly make this house a home.

  As I look around my living room and see friends and family lounging, some taking naps, some watching the late football game, Grant passed out on his grandma’s lap, I know right here and now that I never want to have a Thanksgiving again that doesn’t end like this.

  “Quite a crew we got here,” Scarlett’s dad, Jack, says as he puts a hand on my shoulder.

  “Indeed we do, sir,” I say, not taking my eyes off of Scarlett, who
is sleeping on the recliner, exhausted from the day.

  We stand in silence for a few seconds, just looking at the group assembled in my living room, before Jack speaks again.

  “I need to thank you, Maverick.”

  “It was my pleasure, sir. I have plenty of space, and Scarlett was so excited by the thought of hosting Thanksgiving, I couldn’t tell her no.”

  “Well, for this too,” he says before nodding for me to follow him into the kitchen. “I need to thank you for stepping up and helping my babies.”

  Though I had a feeling that was what he was talking about, I didn’t want to assume. “You’re welcome, but there is no need to thank me.”

  We each grab a beer and take a seat at the island. “I figured you’d say that, but I do, Maverick. I’d never tell Scarlett this, because I don’t want to add more stress to her plate, but since she had Grant, we’ve been so worried about her. Not that we didn’t worry about her before, or Tori, but they were young women spreading their wings in the city. Their mother and I couldn’t blame them for that.”

  He takes a sip of his beer, reflecting for a minute before continuing. “Once she told us she was pregnant, we were equal parts happy and terrified for her. We knew she’d be doing it alone if she stayed here. We knew she wouldn’t want our help. But we prayed every night that someone would come and give her the help she never wanted to admit she needed. You’ve answered our prayers, Maverick. So again, thank you.”

  I take a pull of my beer because I need a minute after that speech.

  “Sir—”

  “Stop with that ‘sir’ shit. It’s Jack.”

  I smile. “Okay, Jack.” I honestly don’t know what I was going to say before, and I’m now having a hard time formulating words.

  “Now I need to ask you a question,” Jack says.

  “Sure. Fire away. But if the question is who taught your grandson to give people the middle finger, then you need to talk to your oldest daughter.”