by L. P. Maxa
I nodded, opening my eyes to watch him finish up and then walk to the other side of the mattress and lay down.
Cute little cock block.
***
Nicky and I had finished up our clients for the day. Hawk had finished his an hour earlier. The doors were locked with a sign that let people know that we couldn’t take any walk-ins today. It was insane the number of people who had tried to open that door while we’d been hiding in the back office.
“So, have you decided how you’re going to do it?”
Maykin and I had taken care of everything, but Nicky was on his own with the proposal. He was nervous because he wanted everything to be perfect for Evie. But like I’d told him two days ago when he was looking up proposals on the Internet, he was trying too hard.
He nodded, kicking his feet up on his desk. “I think I have it all figured out, man.”
“Well, let’s hear it, Casanova.” I crossed my arms over my chest, settling into my chair to hear about this epic moment in my friends’ lives.
“I’m going to bring Evie into the shop, tell her I want to tattoo myself real quick.” He pulled up his Henley and pointed to a small blank space on his forearm. “I’m going to ink the date we first met, the date we reconnected, and then today’s date.” He put his sleeve down, smiling like a fool. “And when she asks me what the third date is for, I’m going to get down on one knee and ask her to marry me.”
I pretended to wipe a tear from my eye. “That’s fucking beautiful, man.” And it was. It was perfectly Nicky. And Evie would be blown away by the gesture and the thought he put into it.
“While I’m being epically romantic, you’ll sneak in all of her family and get everything set up out front.”
I nodded, getting to my feet. “I am so on top of it, bro.” I pulled my checklist out of my pocket, laughing when I saw that at some point Maykin had added pull favorite girl into your workspace and bend her over your table. My “favorite girl” was really something else.
“Maykin is at the apartment right now, entertaining Evie’s family. The flowers have already been delivered, and the cupcakes should be there in the next hour.” I grabbed a pen from his desk and crossed out a few things. “Beau volunteered to set up the bar once we get everyone to the shop, and Cash and Crew are picking up ice on their way in from the airport.” Evie’s twin cousins had flown in for the occasion, although that wasn’t exactly difficult when your family owned a private jet.
“I couldn’t have done all this without you, man.”
I smiled, shoving my list back into my pocket and getting to my feet. “Of course you could have.” I shrugged. “It just wouldn’t have been this spectacular.”
He stood as well, coming around his desk and getting on one knee. “You’re my best friend, and life would really suck without you.” He took my hand in his. “Will you be my best man?”
I pulled him to his feet, and then into a manly hug. “Absolutely.”
Chapter Twenty-One
Bleu
It was go time. Beau was pretty much silently setting up the bar. The flowers were placed along the side with some votive candles that Maykin had pulled out of her ass at the last minute. The shop smelled like sugar and lilies, which were apparently Evie’s favorite. Neither Nicky nor I had known that, but Mayk to the rescue.
Evie’s nineteen family members were standing as still and quiet as they possibly could. The only wildcard was Landry and Brody’s son Wyatt. They’d had to give him one of the red velvet cupcakes to keep him from screaming like the three-year-old he was.
I looked across the room, meeting Maykin’s eye. She was talking to Dylan, Evie’s mom. Mayk was wearing this short black dress and tall gray boots. Her red hair was down, and she was fucking stunning. I wanted to pull her into my workroom, cross that thing she added off my list.
My phone vibrated in my pocket, alerting me that Nicky and Evie were about to come out. They’d been in there for over an hour. The tattoos he was doing on himself would take no more than fifteen minutes, which led me to believe they’d already had their own little celebration.
I waved my hands in the air, the signal we’d come up with to let everyone know that it was time. I heard the familiar sound of Nicky’s door opening, and it wasn’t too long before they came down the hall holding hands. As soon as her family saw them, they all shouted, “Congratulations!” Evie immediately started to cry, and Nicky looked so fucking happy I was afraid his face was going to crack in two.
***
The party was in full swing, and everyone was taking turns hugging Nick and Evie and checking out her ring. Maykin had been right on the money when she’d picked the unique Asher cut diamond. Evie had grown up surrounded by the best things life had to offer, but she wasn’t into sparkling gems.
“You did good, baby.” I wrapped my arm around Maykin’s waist, pulling her against my body.
“Am I too much of a girl if I admit that you calling me baby makes me want to jump you in front of everyone?”
I shook my head, smiling. “No.” I dipped down, kissing her deeper than was appropriate given the setting. “In fact, I was thinking about taking you into my workroom and—”
“I guess you two are next?” Evie’s Aunt Bryan and Aunt Lexi had come over while we’d been distracted.
I chuckled, lightly, afraid that their words were going to freak out Maykin. “One step at a time.” She’d been pliant and willing in my arms moments ago, and now her spine was stiff as a board.
Lexi waved her hand in the air. “Weddings are like an epidemic.” She gestured to Nicky and Evie with her champagne flute. “Take it from us, first one falls and then they all do.”
Bryan nodded. “It’s the truth.” She pointed to Dash, who was over by the bar with Jacks. “Dash met Lexi, and then within the year all of us were paired off and talking about forever.” She took another swig of her drink. “And now we’re surrounded by teenagers who are smarter and craftier than us.” Wyatt weaved between Lexi and Bryan. “And grandkids.”
Maykin was still silent beside me, her lips together in a tight smile. I guess I would need to carry this conversation then. “No need to talk about the future and get me all freaked out, ladies.” It was obvious that I wasn’t the one having a problem right now, but Maykin looked almost panicked. I reached down and grasped her hand. “I’m going to steal her away for a moment, we need more ice.”
I walked us away from the party, down the hallway that led to the private rooms. I turned to pull her into one of them and she stopped short. “I’m going to step outside for a minute.”
“Oh, okay, I’ll come with you.” I couldn’t blame her for needing a little break. The shop was crowded and she’d been entertaining over a dozen people for the better part of the day.
“I’ll, uh, I’ll be back.” She took her hand out of mine and headed toward the rear exit.
“Mayk, where are you going?”
“I need some air, you know? I’m going to take a walk.” Her hands were pushing open the door before I could move to stop her.
“Is this about what Evie’s aunts were saying? About us being next?” I chuckled, trying to make light of what was turning into a serious situation. “You can’t let shit like that get to you. We aren’t next, we aren’t anything we don’t want to be.”
“And what do you want to be, Bleu?” She turned to look at me, her face unreadable.
What the fuck was the right answer here? Tell her I wanted her, and only her? Tell her that sometimes I dreamed about little redheaded babies? She’d freaked at Lexi and Bryan’s comments. Telling her what I wanted right now would only scare her even more. So, instead I told her something safe. “I want us to be us. Nothing needs to change, we’re fine the way we are.”
She nodded, almost absentmindedly. “I’m going to take a walk.”
“Let me come with you.”
She shook her head. “No. I need some space. I need a minute to fucking breathe.”
I didn�
�t want to give her space. I never wanted there to be space between us. Now it was my turn to be scared, my turn to freak out. “Are you going to meet me at home later?
“At your apartment?” She sighed, defeated. “Yeah, I’ll meet you there.”
Your apartment. Was she separating us already? Was the damage already done? She’d never cared that I talked about my place like it was already our place. She’d been there constantly for months. Way before we ever started sleeping together, or dating, or whatever the fuck we were doing. I wanted to demand that she stay. I wanted to grab her and tell her that I was in love with her. But pulling her closer would only make her want to push me away. She felt confined and backed into a corner.
I knew Maykin, and if she wanted to take a walk, I needed to let her.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Maykin
It was cold outside, and the fact that I was shivering in my coat made me think of Bleu. He was always cold, always bundled up or searching for the nearest heater. This past week had felt like a fucking whirlwind. Things had changed so fast between Bleu and me. We were friends, and then we were dating. It was like it all happened in the blink of an eye.
Evie’s aunts had freaked me out with all their marriage talk. But not because I found the idea repulsive. It scared me because for the first time in my life it was something I could see myself wanting one day. Bleu had brushed them off, laughing like they were crazy. But had that been for my benefit? Or his?
“Mayk.” I turned when I heard Nicky call my name. “Hey, wait up.”
I wasn’t far from the shop. I’d only made it a block or two, but I was still surprised to see him. “What are you doing out here?”
“I saw you leave, and I saw Bleu walking around like someone stole his favorite toy.” He shoved his hands in his pockets, bracing against a gust of wind. “What happened?”
I felt terrible that he’d left his own engagement party because of me. I should have plastered a smile on my face and waited until everyone was gone before I made my getaway. “Nothing happened. I’m fine.” I smiled, trying to prove that I wasn’t lying. “Bleu and I are fine.”
“You’re a shit liar.”
I gasped. “I am not.” Although, I rarely lied so he was probably right. I was more of a “direct and honest truth even if it hurts” kind of girl.
“Bleu told me about Evie’s aunts and all their happily-ever-after is contagious stuff.”
I kicked at a pebble on the ground. “That’s not why I left.” I looked up as Nicky crossed his arms over his chest. His stance told me that he wasn’t going anywhere until I told him what was going on. “Everything with Bleu and I happened so fast.”
“No it didn’t.” He cocked his head to the side. “From where I’ve been sitting, you guys have been together for months now.” When I opened my mouth to protest, he held his hand up. “Just because you’ve only been sleeping together for the past week doesn’t mean that you haven’t been together this whole time.” He started ticking off points on his fingers. “You hang out all the time, you guys started spending time together as soon as he gave you your first tattoo. You text and talk nonstop, and you’ve spent more nights at his apartment over the past few months than you have at your own. You guys have been dating a hell of a lot longer than you think you have.”
“We were just friends and—”
“You were never just friends, Mayk.” He put his hands back in his pockets. “It’s always been leading to more. I’ve seen it, and so has Evie.” He sent me a sad smile. “To be honest, I didn’t want you guys to take things further because I was afraid that my boy would end up heartbroken.”
“Hurting Bleu is the last thing I’d ever want to do.” I wasn’t sure I’d spoken truer words in my entire life. Hurting him would crush me, completely.
“Bleu may act like some goofy fuckboy half the time, but that isn’t who he is.”
“I know that.” Bleu wasn’t the player he wanted the world to think he was, and I was almost positive he never had been.
Nicky took a deep breath, looking over his shoulder before continuing, “Bleu wants a future and a family one day. But he doesn’t want to lose you, and I know that he would sacrifice everything he’s ever wanted for himself in order to keep you in his life.”
Bleu and I talked a lot while we were on our way to being best friends. But we’d never talked about what we wanted out of life, or what we wanted in the future. And since things with us had turned physical, I’d been too scared to ask him. Too scared to ask myself. I’d spent so much time making sure that I didn’t become who my parents wanted me to be that I’d never really thought about who I wanted me to be.
I didn’t have all the answers, but I did know one thing for certain. “I don’t want to lose him either.”
“So don’t.” Nicky took a few steps backward, in the direction of the shop. “But please, for his sake, figure out what you want before this goes any further.” He walked away and I had the sudden urge to cry. Again. This wasn’t who I was. I wasn’t the girl who left the party to be sad and contemplate life. I was the one who turned things up a notch and started body shots at the bar. I was the life of the party, and Bleu was my partner in crime.
For his sake, figure out what you want.
What did I want?
I wanted Bleu.
I wanted to fall asleep in his arms and I wanted to wake up next to him.
I wanted to keep laughing with him, keep giving him shit. I wanted to see him covered in puppies and I wanted to steal his remote. I wanted everything that we already had, everything we’d had from the beginning.
Maybe Nicky was right. Maybe we’d been together from the start. Our relationship had morphed and evolved into what it was today. Which was something fucking amazing. What Bleu and I had was once in a lifetime. We could be ourselves, and we could joke around. We could come together over and over and still want more. I was pretty sure there wasn’t a second that went by when I didn’t crave him. I wanted to hold his hand as much as I wanted to feel him move inside me.
This thing between us wasn’t temporary, and I didn’t want it to be. I wasn’t ready to walk down the aisle, but I needed him to know that I would keep my word.
I needed him to know that I wasn’t going anywhere.
And I had the perfect way to show him.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Bleu
The party had been over for about an hour, and I’d walked into my apartment a few minutes ago. I’d stayed behind, helping clean up and waiting to see if Maykin was coming back. When she didn’t, I figured she be here at the apartment when I got home. But I’d entered an empty space, the silence making me want to rip my ears off.
I liked coming home to Maykin, and over time, I’d come to expect it. The fact that she hadn’t come back like she said she would made me feel like I had a huge open hole in my chest. How had things gotten so screwed up so fast? Did the thought of a future with me really fucking terrify her that bad?
I’d never pressure her. I’d never try to morph her into someone she wasn’t. I didn’t need a marriage license to be happy. And yeah, I wanted a kid or two. But we had time. We had a lot of time until that needed to happen. I pulled my phone out of my pocket, fully prepared to call her and beg her to come back. But the sound of the door opening made me pause, and my heart skipped a few dozen beats.
“Hey.”
Maykin walked in, tossing her keys on the island instead of the small table where they were supposed to go.
“Hey.” I wasn’t sure what else to say, I was afraid of letting the wrong thing spill from my mouth. I didn’t want to spook her, and I sure as fuck didn’t want her to turn around and walk back out.
The door was still open, like she wasn’t sure if she was going to actually stay, and my stomach was in knots. “I’m sorry I left the party like that.”
“I was worried about you.” And completely consumed with fear that she was about to end us. “Are you okay? Have you bee
n walking around in the cold this whole time?” She smiled at my mention of the cold weather, giving me a glimmer of hope.
“No I, uh, had an errand to run.” She stepped back into the hallway, coming back with a big cardboard box. She set it on the kitchen island next to her discarded keys. “I wanted to give you this.” Was this a good-bye present? Was she trying to soften the blow of our breakup? “I know that you said you didn’t have the time but—”
A small bark cut off her words and I bit my lips together to keep from grinning too big before I had all my facts straight. “Is that what I think it is?”
“Well, if you think it’s the word’s cutest puppy, then yes, it’s what you think it is.”
I crossed the room and opened the box. Our little foster puppy with the one floppy ear and the blue eyes popped up with his tail wagging. “You got me a puppy.”
She stepped up next to me, reaching out and scratching his ear. “No.” She picked him up out of the box and nuzzled the top of his head with her cheek. “I got us a puppy.”
“Us?”
She handed him to me, sighing as she put her hands on her hips. “I don’t know how to do this, Bleu. I don’t know how to talk about the things that scare me. I’m not used to having any fears in life. But tonight, I realized that I’d do about anything to keep you.”
I let my smile take over, my free hand wrapping around her back. “Including moving in with me and helping me raise this little guy?”
She nodded. “Including, but not limited to, moving in with you and helping you raise the puppy.”
I pulled her close, fusing my mouth against hers. I’d been terrified that she was going to walk in and put an end to everything between us. Instead, she’d given me the world.
I mean a hot-as-fuck girlfriend and an adorable puppy?
Life didn’t get much better than this.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Bleu, Six Months Later
I walked in the front door, tossing my keys on the little table. Our now giant dog, whom we’d named Miller after my cop friend who had sentenced me to community service at the animal shelter in the first place, came lumbering up to me. He skidded to a stop, knocking into my legs and almost making me fall on my ass in the process. “Hey, buddy, where’s your momma?”
