by Jena Wade
Just A Year
Jena Wade
Copyright © May 2018 by Jena Wade
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Published in the United States of America
This e-book is a work of fiction. While reference might be made to actual historical events or existing locations, the names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
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Table of Contents
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Other Titles by Jena Wade
Jena Wade
Just A Year
Just a year is too much time to spend apart from the man you love, but Seth has a carefully crafted plan for how to make it work. Taking an internship four hours away from Maddox may not have been the smartest choice Seth has ever made, but he is determined to make it work. Until life throws a wrench in his plans and turns his and Maddox’s world upside down.
Chapter One
May
Just a year. No more, no less. Three hundred sixty-five days. Five hundred, twenty-five thousand six hundred minutes.
Great, now I would have the Rent soundtrack playing in my head throughout the entire ceremony.
I took a deep breath and focused on the commencement speaker. After five long years, the last one and a half being the longest by far, I’d finished my degree. No more term papers, no more eight a.m. classes, no more all-nighters in the library so I could have a homework free weekend with my boyfriend.
Maddox.
He sat out there in the crowd with my parents. I felt his eyes on me, but I couldn’t see him. I’m not even sure which section they were in. The Breslin Center was filled to the brim with graduates and their families. All waiting for their individual name to be called so they could walk across the stage and collect a fake diploma. The real one wouldn’t arrive in the mail for a few weeks.
Just a year. That wasn’t that long, was it?
Maddox and I had survived the past year and a half getting to know each other over Skype and Facetime, chatting, Snapchatting, the works. Thank God for the digital age. On the rare occasions that we physically saw each other, well, I mean, I don’t really have to explain how those encounters went.
Jobs right out of college were hard to come by, everyone knew that. Maddox would understand.
Just a year.
“Seth Brown, Masters of Science in Marketing Research.”
I took a deep breath, walked across the stage, accepted my fake diploma from the university president, smiled for a picture and then I was done.
Five years, would have been six if I hadn’t busted my ass taking summer courses, done.
I smiled as I looked around the crowd, searching for Maddox. He’d make this whole thing worthwhile. It was his idea for me to walk at graduation. I was all set to skip it, but he insisted that I needed to do the traditional thing, and he and my parents would drive up for a nice visit.
Against the odds, I found him. His pink spiked hair stood out. How could it not? He grinned and waved frantically.
Worth it. Totally worth it. I would do anything to see that smile. To earn that smile.
Let’s hope it stayed in place after I told him about the job offer.
Just a year.
* * * *
Like every restaurant in East Lansing on graduation night, The State Room was packed. We waited forty-five minutes for our table. I desperately tried to keep my hands to myself. Maddox looked irresistible in his blue suit and pink hair. It almost made me think of cotton candy, and I had one hell of a sweet tooth.
But, alas, my parents were with us. There would be time for fun later.
Maddox and I were going to stay in town for the next week, packing up my belongings and then making the drive home to West Virginia together.
The hostess sat us near the window, giving us a view of the dorms I had lived in my freshmen year. Good ol’ Brody Hall.
“The commencement speaker did a nice job. Don’t you think, Seth?” My mom asked.
“Yeah, definitely.” I hadn’t been listening. Whoops. I should have known there would be a quiz.
Maddox snickered, and I stuck my tongue out at him from across the table.
We’d been in the same city for nearly five hours and I hadn’t gotten a chance to kiss him yet. I licked my lips just thinking of the taste of him. His gazed dropped from my eyes to my mouth, and I knew he could read my mind at that moment.
Check please. If only.
The waitress came around, taking our orders. I chose the seared sea scallops while Maddox went for the asparagus ravioli.
“Have you accepted a job yet? Maddox mentioned that you received offers from your two top picks.” Dad asked.
Oh, that was a subject I wanted to keep off limits. “Well, sort of. I mean—” I bit my lip and caught Maddox gaze. He shot me a puzzled look.
To hell with it. “I decided to go with the company in Pittsburgh.” I spoke quickly, wanting Maddox to understand my reasoning as soon as possible. “They’re a great company. If I can get a good recommendation from their VP of Marketing, then I can get a job anywhere. It’s just a year, then I plan to find a position closer to home.”
“You have a position closer to home. The company in Charleston sounded awesome, and it wouldn’t be a terrible commute,” Maddox said.
I wish we’d gotten a chance to discuss this before now. I hated that we had an audience. I could feel my parent’s eyes watching the two of us.
“I know, and I’ll keep that place in mind later, but for now I think this is the right career move for me.” I bit back discussing how it fit into my grand plan. Maddox would not want to hear that.
My mom looked at Maddox, then at me, then back to Maddox. “I’m sure it will all work out. Pittsburg isn’t too far of a drive.”
My dad patted Maddox on the shoulder. “We’ll keep you plenty busy around the store. You won’t even have time to miss Seth.” He smiled.
Maddox laughed. “You just want more time off, so you can fly that damn drone around.”
Mom rolled her eyes.
“Dad, you have a drone?” I hated missing so much being far away at school. Seemed like every other week Maddox and my dad were doing something fun and exciting. Last year Maddox had even convinced my dad to try out the skate park. Of course, that had resulted in a broken wrist, so maybe their antics weren’t always the best, but they’d always seemed like fun from five hundred miles away.
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“The company sent a demo drone to keep in the store, so people would order them. I had to try it out.”
“I call dibs on that as soon as I get home.”
Home. Who knew after five years of college and two degrees I would still be calling Milton, West Virginia my home.
It was though. Mostly because that’s where Maddox was, and he didn’t want to move.
I’d foolishly suggested that he move to Michigan while I attended college, but he’d shot that down. “Milton’s my home, Seth,” he’d said with so much conviction that I couldn’t argue. He loved living in Milton. Sometimes I thought he liked my parents more than I did.
Dinner continued onto another subject. I talked about my final classes, and the mini road trip Maddox and I planned to take. Nothing exciting really. We planned to pack up the last of my belongings and head out sometime in the next few days. My parents were leaving tomorrow, bright and early.
Maddox didn’t know that I’d planned a surprise trip to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cincinnati and a wicked cool skate park.
We finished dinner and said goodnight to my parents. I loved them, but damn, I was ready to be alone with my boyfriend. It had been, four months, no five months. I’d had to cut my winter vacation short because of my capstone project, and Maddox had been busy working at the store or the diner throughout the week and doing odd jobs during the weekends.
Late night skype sessions were as intimate as we had been in quite a while.
That would change tonight.
I drove to my apartment. Both roommates had already moved out, so we would be totally alone. As soon as I pulled into my parking spot, I cut the engine and hopped out.
Maddox wasn’t far behind. His hands landing on my shoulders, caressing, as I unlocked the door. Once we were safely inside, away from any prying eyes, I pounced.
I pushed Maddox against the closed door. My mouth locked on his, his hands roamed my body, slipping into my shirt. Sweet heaven, it had been too long. He brushed his fingertips over my nipples and I drew in a breath. I had almost forgotten what it felt like to have another person’s hands on me. We paused long enough to pull off our shirts, tossing them to the floor.
I followed him to the bedroom. I kicked off my shoes along the way, following his trail of discarded clothing.
In the bedroom, Maddox lay on the bed. He smiled wickedly. I knew what he had in mind. Usually he topped, but tonight I could see it in his eyes. My turn.
Most of my stuff was packed, but I’d left out the essentials. Right next to the bed, where they always were. I grabbed the lube, popped the cap and drizzled a bit on to my fingers. Maddox, on his back, pulled his knees to his chest. I placed myself between his legs, my slicked fingers circling his hole.
He winced at the cold, and I kissed him. Distraction worked best in this situation. We kissed, mouths molding together, tongues meeting.
I sunk two fingers in to his heat and he thrust his hips upward, driving my fingers deeper.
I chuckled. “Patience, baby.”
“Been too long.” He bit out the words between clenched teeth. His hand went to his hard, dripping cock. I pushed it away.
“I know.”
I licked his shaft, swirling my tongue around the head. He moaned. I knew it drove him crazy, that’s why I did it.
Three fingers now. My dick hardened even more and leaked like a sieve.
“Ready. Please.” He grabbed the condom from the nightstand and tossed it at me. “Now.”
“Pushy bottom.” I slipped the rubber on to my cock and lined up with his hole. I pushed and we both held our breath until I was balls deep.
Maddox rocked beneath me, but I held him still. I needed to savor this. I buried my face into his neck, breathing in his scent. He moaned and thrust his hips, his fingers dug into my back, pulling me deeper.
I got the message. I moved, pumping my hips. No matter the distance between us, Maddox and I always shared this connection. Love. The pure happiness we could always find in one another.
“Oh shit, not gonna last.” Maddox pinched his eyes closed and his hand went to his dick, jacking it to the rhythm of my hips.
I kissed him again, wanting that connection when we both came. I was just as close as he was. Maybe more so.
I thrust again, rubbing against his prostate. Warm spurts of cum hit my neck as Maddox tensed beneath me. More drops hit my chest and his stomach. It threw me over the edge. I came, hard, in to the condom with one last plunge into his tight heat.
I held myself up on shaky arms, not wanting to crush him. After a few deep breaths, I slipped out of him and rolled to his side. I held his hand.
“That was nice,” I said. Smooth. Thank God Maddox knew what I really meant. That was perfection, indescribable bliss.
He still breathed heavily against me, so instead of speaking he squeezed my hand.
After a long moment, I got up, disposed of the condom then cleaned myself. Maddox did the same.
We lay back on the bed together, our breath evening out so that we were in sync. Unspoken words filled the air, and I knew Maddox was thinking about the job I’d taken in Pittsburgh.
“I want—" He started, then broke off. He moved away from me on the bed until we weren’t touching anymore. I missed him immediately. Felt empty without him close to me. “I wish you had talked with me about the job. I understand how important it is, but I didn’t realize we were going to be so far apart again.”
Damn it. “I know. I’m sorry. I had to make a decision and the company in Pittsburgh will look better on my resume. It’s only a four-hour drive. That’s nothing compared to the seven hours it takes to get here from home.” As if that helped.
Maddox sighed, his face reflecting a sadness I felt down to my core. “It’s only a year.” I took a deep breath. “You could always come there with me you know.”
His gaze shot to my face, and he narrowed his eyes. “No. I can’t. I like Milton. It’s my home. And, honestly, I don’t think your dad can run the store without me anymore.”
I startled at that. “What?”
“I’ve been taking over more and more of the responsibilities lately, and he’s been slowing down quite a bit. I think he might want to retire soon. We’ve talked about me buying into the store as a partner.”
Now my mind spun out of control, the conversation turn giving me whiplash. “He can’t retire. He—You—. Do you even want to own the store? I mean, you don’t seem like—” I stopped myself. If there was one thing I’d learned from Maddox in the past year, it’s that you don’t judge a book by its cover.
He shrugged. “Maybe. I like the hardware. I like helping people and being a part of the community. I’m good at the bookwork.”
I yawned. The day’s events finally catching up with me. I tried to stifle the yawn, so Maddox didn’t see. I failed. We needed to discuss this, but I wasn’t even sure how to begin. The information about my dad threw me for a loop, and I hadn’t quite landed yet.
Maddox smiled and cuddled next to me. I felt complete again with our skin touching. “We can talk about all this another time. I don’t want to spoil the night with all this serious talk.” He kissed my cheek. “Congratulations on your graduation, babe.”
“Thanks.” My eyes drifted closed, no longer able to hold themselves open, and I drifted off to sleep.
Chapter Two
June
“You know, I really don’t think it will be too bad. I mean, the last year and a half has flown by. This next one will too,” Maddox said.
I nodded, keeping my eyes on the road. After staying a week at my apartment, Maddox and I had boxed up the last of my belongings, sold my furniture, and headed toward Milton. Crazy to think that I could still fit all my belongings in my car.
“And,” Maddox continued, “we’ve been on the road for four hours already, if I was visiting you in Pittsburgh, I’d already be there.”
He had been making these sorts of comments ever since I’d told him abo
ut the job. I knew he was still upset, and just trying to work through it in his head, but I didn’t know what to do about it. I’d accepted the job, and declined the other offer in Charleston, closer to home. The one within commuting distance of Milton. I couldn’t go back now. Though, in my heart of hearts, I desperately wanted to. Was I putting my career before my relationship with Maddox? Would I still have both of those things at the end of this year?
There wasn’t an edit, undo button for real life. Though, it would come in handy a lot.
God, please don’t let this blow up in my face.
I squeezed Maddox’s hand. “It’ll be fine. I promise. It’ll be fun to explore a new city together. I won’t have homework anymore, so my weekends will be free.” As long as I wasn’t working. “I can drive home to visit more.”
Maddox smiled, and my worries slipped away into the background. “Yeah, it’ll be great. Isn’t the Andy Warhol museum there, too? I would love to go.”
I glanced at Maddox out of the corner of my eye. “I had no idea you were such a museum geek. First, you dragged me to the Broad Art Museum, a building I’ve avoided all throughout college, then we had to go to the natural history museum, and now you want to go to the Andy Warhol museum?” I laughed at the memory of Maddox reading every placard related to each and every piece in the museum. He hadn’t missed a single detail. It had made for a long day, but we’d definitely gotten our money’s worth. Plus, I didn’t care where we were or what we did, as long as we were together.
“We would’ve gone to the children’s museum too if we’d had time.”
I snorted. “That would’ve been a sight. You, with your spiked hair, competing with the little kids for a look at… whatever they have there.”
“It was a hands-on science museum and it would have been awesome,” Maddox said.
I made a mental note to find one in Pittsburgh to go to. My fingers itched to grab my phone, so I could add it to my note app where I kept track of all my to-dos and reminders, but I refrained. Texting and driving didn’t mix.
