New Year, New Eve

by Ford, Hope

  With that, Maxwell wraps his hand around mine and we walk out the front door. Wow! I’ve never had someone defend me like that. And I tell him so.

  “Then you’re dating the wrong men.” He looks around the driveway of the plush hotel. “Did you drive here?”

  “Uh, no, I took an Uber,” I explain to him.

  “Great, my car is right over here.” We walk over to a black towncar and he opens the door for me. I hesitate briefly, wondering what in the world I am doing getting in a car with someone I don’t know, but then I take a deep breath. The fact that I’ve felt safer and better cared for in the last hour with him than the last four years with John makes me slide into the car.

  I look at the driver and he says, “Howdy, ma’am.”

  “Hello,” I offer to him, looking at his grandfatherly face in the rearview mirror. His eyes crinkle at the sides as he smiles back at me.

  Maxwell walks around the car and slides in next to me. He asks Tony, the driver, to take us to The Park Grove. It’s a fancy restaurant downtown, only a few blocks from here. I’ve been there a few times with my parents for lunch.

  I look over at Maxwell and see that he is looking down at my legs. I glance down and only then notice that the tops of my thigh-high tights are peeking out from my short skirt. Embarrassed of my thick thighs and not even knowing what I was showing, I slide my skirt back down to above my knees. “Sorry,” I mutter.

  “Oh, honey, there’s nothing to be sorry about,” he tells me with a husky voice. He puts his hand on the front of his pants and adjusts himself. I act like I don’t notice, but I can’t help but wonder what he’s thinking right now.

  The drive to the restaurant is quick and when we walk in, they usher us straight to the back and lead us to a room empty of other patrons. It’s only the hostess, Maxwell and me.

  Maxwell pulls out my seat and sits down next to me. I look at the menu briefly, but plan to order what I normally get here, the roasted chicken with potatoes. Maxwell orders a steak and then leans back, pulling his drink up to his lips.

  I watch him, when with all honesty, I’ve barely been able to take my eyes off him the whole night. He’s older than me. If I had to guess, I would say fifteen to twenty years older. His dark hair is cut short and has a few threads of gray at the sides. He has piercing blue eyes and a tall, massively built body. Although I would guess he spends most of his time in an office, he looks like someone that spends a lot of his time at the gym.

  “So… are you going to tell me why you were crying at the party?” he asks.

  I laugh. Nothing like putting it right out there. He’s a straight shooter for sure.

  “Uh, well, I broke up with my boyfriend of four years this past week. It’s messing up a few ‘family’ things and well, I guess I just got a little overwhelmed,” I tell him honestly.

  He looks at me for a minute, like he’s calculating what I said. “Why did you break up with him?”

  I clench my eyes tightly together and he offers, “If it’s too hard to talk about, you don’t have to tell me.”

  I shake my head. “No, it’s not that, not exactly. It’s embarrassing really. We started dating in high school and have been together ever since. But we were more pushed together than anything. Our families wanted us together. As a matter of fact, I’m pretty sure as soon as they find out we broke up, my family is going to freak out.”

  He turns his head to the side. “I don’t understand. Why would they care?”

  I take a sip of my water, wishing now that I hadn’t turned down the wine. “Well, his family owns Prestige Marketing. My family owns the sporting goods chain, The Great Outdoors. We’ve been in business together for as long as I can remember. John, my ex, is holding up the renewal for our contract. If that falls through, well, let’s just say, my dad will try to have me married off to him this weekend. It will be a double wedding, because my sister is getting married too.” I laugh at my joke, but only a part of me thinks it’s funny. If my dad thought he could get away with it, I would be marrying John this weekend.

  “The Great Outdoors is the number one sporting goods store in the nation, is it not?” He doesn’t even wait for me to answer. “It wouldn’t be very smart of his company to lose you as a client.”

  I’m about to ask him how he knows all that, when he asks me another question. “But none of that tells me why you broke it off with him.”

  I’m saved from answering when the server walks in and sets our plates down in front of us. He refills our drinks and walks out, all without saying a thing. I take a bite of the succulent chicken and barely contain the moan that escapes my lips. We eat in silence, enjoying our meals, when he asks me again, “So why? Why did you break it off with him?”

  I set my fork down. “Well, uh, it’s sort of hard to explain.”

  He grips his fork tighter. “Was he mean to you?”

  “No, no, nothing like that. He, well, he was embarrassed of me. We never went on dates, he never would take me hiking, which is something I used to love to do when I was younger, he didn’t want me to dress a certain way, he didn’t want me to act a certain way, he controlled everything and I let him. He didn’t love me, he was selfish, and oh my gosh, let’s just say I’ve never had an orgasm before.” I slap my hand to my mouth, not believing that I just said that out loud. I guess I was on a roll.

  I look down at my plate and suddenly I’m no longer hungry. Totally embarrassed now, I can’t even bring myself to look up at him. I’m thankful that we are in an empty room, or else I know other patrons would have heard my outburst.

  I finally lift my eyes. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. I shouldn’t have said that.”

  I expect to see pity on his face, but the look I get from him almost has me melting in my seat. The pure lust on his face is apparent and I can’t look away from him. “He sounds like a damn fool.”

  A slow smile forms on my face. “Thank you for that. But it’s a new year, which means a new Eve.”

  He shrugs. “I’m just saying it like it is. But I like your mantra.”

  “So, to change the subject, why are you single?” I quickly blink at him. “I mean, you’re single right? No girlfriend or wife at home?”

  “No, no girlfriend or wife. I was married years ago, but my wife passed away when our daughter was a baby.”

  “I’m so sorry, Maxwell.” I can see the pain that flickers across his face. He shrugs his shoulders and then further explains, “I remarried four years ago, but she cheated.”

  I start to apologize to him, but he stops me. “No, it’s fine. I’m definitely better off without her. I haven’t been in a relationship since and I don’t want to be.”

  I can hear the warning in his voice. So although we are at dinner together, I shouldn’t read any more into it. Note taken.

  I nod my head. “Yeah, I plan on being single for a while. Do the things I want to be doing.”

  He nods understandingly. We finish the rest of our meals in comfortable silence. He offers to take me home and I give him directions. When we pull into the parking lot of the condo I live in, he walks me to the door.

  “Do you want to come in?” I ask him.

  4

  Maxwell

  Do I want to come in? Fuck yeah, I want to come in. But if I do, I know the type of girl that Eve is, she’s going to read more into it even though I’ve told her that I don’t want a relationship. When I look at her right now, even I’m confused about what I want.

  The only thing that has been going through my mind since dinner is the fact that she’s never had an orgasm. How can any man not treat this woman the way she deserves to be treated? An idea flickers through my mind, and without questioning it, I nod and follow her into her home.

  I briefly glance around at the nicely decorated living room.

  She laces her hands around each other and lets them hang down in front of her. “Can I get you a drink?”

  “No. I don’t want a drink.”

  A chime rings in the
living room, and I glance over at the clock. It’s midnight.

  When I glance back at her, her pink tongue is poking out and she licks her lower lip. I crowd her then, just because I can’t stay back. I lean down and move my head close to hers, huskily whispering into her ear, “I know that neither one of us is looking for a relationship, but I still think that we can share a new year’s kiss.”

  She nods her head and I wrap my hand around the back of her neck, tilting her face to look up to me. She’s small compared to me and I bend down, capturing her lips with mine. What was meant to be a gentle peck on the lips has me opening farther and devouring her mouth with mine. With a sweep of my tongue, I taste her and she pushes into me. Her hands are stroking up my back and her body trembles against me. I lick and nibble her and when that’s not enough, I push her to the wall and hold her tightly against it. The hardness of my cock is buried against her soft stomach and I thrust against her, wanting her to feel, to know what she does to me.

  I pull back slightly. “Happy New Year,” I whisper to her and kiss her forehead, her cheek and her lips again.

  She smiles and I feel it under my lips. Her softly spoken “Happy New Year!” is lost in my mouth as I kiss her again.

  I slide my hand down the front of her dress and when I touch her bare thigh, I grip on to her flesh, moaning at the softness of her skin against my rough hand.

  I stroke across her belly before dipping my hand down the front of her lace panties. She gasps when my finger seeks and finds the wetness between her legs. I stroke through her slit, once, twice and then about lose it when she moans again against my mouth.

  With both hands, I crouch down, sliding her panties down her legs, and she steps out of them. Looking up at her, I see that desire has filled her face.

  Her eyes are wide, staring down at me, and I know she’s wondering what I’m going to do next. I lift her skirt again, and this time I’m eye level with her perfect, pink pussy. It’s glistening and I can already see the wetness coating her inner thighs.

  I stroke my finger through her soft curls, and I ask her, “Did I do that? Are you wet because of me?”

  I increase the pressure against her, and instead of answering me, she throws her head back, hitting the wall and moaning my name.

  I lean in and touch my lips to her swollen nub. Stroking it with my tongue, I have the urge to consume her completely. The taste of her is addictive and I push my face farther into her, taking everything she’s willing to give.

  “Oh, Maxwell, I can’t, I can’t,” she tells me.

  I pull back then, putting my fingers where my tongue was only a moment ago. “Do you want to come, Eve? Do you want me to make you come?”

  “God, yes. I do, but I can’t. I can’t.”

  “You can. Trust me, let me do this for you, give it to me, baby. I want you to come in my mouth. I want you on my tongue,” I tell her before latching back on to her.

  She thrusts her hips against me, riding my tongue. I grip her hips, pushing her against the wall and holding her there while I completely violate her with my mouth, my lips and my tongue. When she’s almost to the edge and her whole body tightens, I enter her with my fingers as I roll my tongue back and forth across her clit. She stands on her tiptoes, grabs the back of my head and holds me to her while she rides my face. I’ve never felt anything better than when a guttural moan leaves her mouth and her body spasms from the orgasm, bucking against me.

  Fuck yeah. I slide her underwear into the front pocket of my trousers. My hard cock is poking against my zipper and I adjust myself before getting off my knees and standing up. I tug her dress back down around her legs and grip her hips. I could stay here all night long and take her over and over and that would still not be enough. I know it… and that’s why I’m leaving.

  Her face is a bright red, and I’m sure when she invited me in and I asked for a New Year’s kiss, she never dreamed that she would be coming in my mouth. “Uh, so, uh what about you?” Her hand goes to my chest and rubs across it.

  I stop her ministrations, because the fact is, I’m barely hanging on.

  I cover her hand with mine and it’s ironically positioned right over my heart. I can feel the steady thud under her hand.

  “That was for you, honey. A new year, new Eve, right? What better way than to start it with your first orgasm?” I lean in and kiss her forehead before turning away from her. If I don’t leave now, I don’t think I’ll be able to.

  “Right! Well, thank you… for everything. The dancing, the dinner, well, everything.” She wraps her arms around herself and I can tell that she’s upset.

  I walk slowly toward the door, trying to figure out how to explain to her that I’m leaving without giving away too much. I want her… and if she was anyone else, I would have her for one night, walk away and never see her again. But one taste of her lips and I know that wouldn’t be the case with her. So what am I doing? I’m running.

  As I get to the door, I turn back to her. “You don’t have to thank me. Tonight, well tonight, Eve, was just as good for me.”

  She opens her mouth to say something, but then closes it again. I’m about to walk out the door when I stop myself.

  “Aren’t teachers on break right now?” I ask her, stroking the five o’clock shadow on my chin.

  Startled by the question, her eyes snap up to mine. “Yeah, I’m on break for another week.”

  “So, what about going hiking with me tomorrow?” I ask her.

  “Hiking?”

  I slide a piece of her hair behind her ear. “Yeah. Wasn’t that on your list of things you wanted to do?”

  She turns her head to the side. “Well, yes, but don’t you have to work?”

  I shrug my shoulders. “I own the company. I can take off when I want.”

  “What do you do anyway? I never did ask you.”

  I answer her briefly, “Marketing, public relations, advertising. I do a little bit of it all.”

  She nods her head. “Okay.”

  Smiling at her now, I repeat, “Okay? Okay you’ll go with me hiking?”

  She laughs. “Yes, I’d love to go hiking with you.”

  I don’t wait for a response. I lean in and kiss her forehead before telling her, “Great. I’ll pick you up at nine.”

  I look at her one last time, standing in her doorway watching me, when I pull out and drive down the road thinking how my New Year’s was so much different than I thought it would be.

  5

  Eve

  I barely slept a wink. All I could think about—heck, I even dreamt about it—was Maxwell. I know better than to get caught up in thinking that there may be something with him when he already made it clear he did not want to be in a relationship.

  I dry my hair and pull it up into a ponytail on the top of my head. I tug on my leggings, T-shirt and sweatshirt, and then lace up my tennis shoes. At right before nine, he rings my doorbell. I take a deep breath and open it.

  I thought he looked good last night in his suit and tie. Well, him in workout pants and a tight T-shirt about sets my loins on fire. He has to be the most handsome man I’ve ever seen. I stand there gawking at him and when I see the smirk on his face, I smile back and let him in.

  He walks past me and sets a cardboard box on the coffee table that has coffee and pastries in it.

  “What’s this?” I ask him.

  “Well, we need sustenance before we hike, right?”

  I lean over the box and inhale. The mixture of coffee and cinnamon rolls fills my nostrils. I moan before reaching in and taking everything out.

  He lays down a few pieces of paper with writing on them. “So I made a list of places to hike. I thought you should pick.”

  “Oh no, it’s fine, wherever you want to go,” I instantly tell him and wince at the automatic way I’m turning over complete control to a man again.

  “Nope. New year, new Eve, right? You are planning our day. Anything you want to do.”

  I look at him hesitantly, but
then quickly start going through his suggestions. Before long, he’s eaten all of his cinnamon roll and I have the whole day planned out.

  Once he looks at my list, I think for sure he’s going to turn me down, but surprisingly, he doesn’t. He simply nods and then watches me when I take a bite of the delicious cinnamon roll.

  It isn’t long before we are on the road and headed to Norris Park. We enjoy the city views, and the way he helps me up the steep paths or down the hills has my like for him growing even more. I have to keep telling myself, He’s unavailable. He doesn’t want a relationship. He’s just a friend. I figure if I keep thinking it, I’ll eventually force myself to believe it.

  I rocked the whole hiking thing. I’m honestly a little out of shape and was worried about embarrassing myself. But the whole hike was wonderful, better than I’d dreamed it would be. Afterwards, we went to the zoo and walked around, had lunch and then went down to the oceanfront amusement park, where we rode the Ferris wheel together. I know it’s crazy, but all of this, the whole day, are things I haven’t done in a long time. Things that I used to love to do. We’re sitting high in the sky, the view is gorgeous and I tell Maxwell.

  His hand slides over mine and he laces our fingers together. “Yes, it is. The view is breathtakingly beautiful.”

  I take my eyes off the skyline and turn to him. But he’s not looking at that; he’s staring at me. I look at him questioningly.

  “That’s right. I’m talking about you.” He puts his arm around my shoulder and pulls me against him. I rest my head on his chest and his lips touch my hair softly. We sit like that for a while and when it’s time for us to get off, Maxwell hands the man a fifty. “We’re staying on.”

  He pockets the money and tells him, “Stay as long as you want.”

  Maxwell sits back again, and I snuggle into him. We stay like that until the sun starts to fade.