“No, it’s all for you. I was working out before I got here and haven’t cooled down since.”
I glance at the muscles on his arms. “Yeah, I noticed you were looking a bit … bulkier than normal.” I smirk, but notice Max is staring at my lips.
Oh boy!
I quickly clear my throat. “So … um … got any plans this summer?” I take a sip of my beer, hoping that I can dissuade him from thinking of kissing me—if he even wants to kiss me that is.
Max reluctantly takes his eyes from my lips and glances up at me. “My dad was talking about going to Paris this summer.”
My eyes widen. “Wow! Really?”
He shrugs his shoulders. “I’m not really into that artsy stuff, but my mom loves it, so …” I nod my head, knowing exactly where he’s coming from. “What about you? Oh … don’t tell me … Montana.”
I gasp. “How did you know?” I laugh, making Max laugh along with me.
“Oh, I don’t know. Call it a hunch.”
We soon stop laughing and instead start swinging. It’s a clear night tonight, so the stars are out in abundance. I can clearly see them dancing across the Utah mountains in the distance. How peaceful it is out here compared to the ruckus I can hear inside. As I think this, I close my eyes for a fraction of a second and drown out the noise. I inhale deeply and the spring night air hits my nostrils, making me smile. I love the smell of spring. It’s my favorite time of year.
“So, got any plans for your eighteenth? It’s coming up soon, right?”
What is it with everyone and my birthday lately?
“I haven’t got any plans yet. Christine wants to throw a party.”
Max laughs. “Well, that’s not a surprise. But you’re not so keen?” I shake my head in admission. “Well, you know my brother owns a boat?” I had heard about that. He bought it last year when he made his first million in the stock market … with the help of my dad. I nod my head. “Well, he did mention that I could use it—as long as I’m careful of course. I think if he knows it’s for your eighteenth birthday, he won’t mind. He knows you, trusts you, and considering it was your dad who helped him out, he can hardly say no. It’ll be fun. What do you say? It will mean catching a flight out to California. My brother has it docked over in Newport Beach.”
It all sounds wonderful. Much better than these out-of-control parties Christine drags me to. I’m sure Christine wouldn’t say no to the idea either. “He would really do that for me?” Max nods his head with an eager smile. “I think that’s a great idea.”
“Really?” He actually looks surprised that I would say yes.
“Yes. It would mean fewer people.” I smirk back at him. He knows the drill.
As I say this, Max absentmindedly picks a lock of my hair up and starts playing with it between his fingers. He looks like he’s deep in thought. “What if,” he began, “we make a weekend of it? That way, we can invite just a handful of your favorite people.” He chuckles a little, setting me off. “If your parents would be okay with it, that is.”
I’m not sure if Max just wants me to himself and is therefore playing on the fact that I don’t want a big, lavish party or if he is genuinely trying to ease my suffering. I prefer the latter of course. I’ve already told Max that I just want to be friends with him. He has been fine with me ever since and hasn’t pushed the topic.
In the end, I nod my head. “I think that would be lovely. Thank you.” I lean over and kiss his cheek—careful not to linger too long. Max blushes a little, making my own cheeks heat up.
Okay, this is getting a little weird.
Max lingers at my lips again, and for a moment, I think he’s going to kiss me, but then he surprises me by saying, “I’m going to go grab a beer. Do you want another one?”
I look down at my nearly-empty cup and nod. “Yeah, that would be good. Thanks.”
Max takes my cup from me and smiles. “Okay. Be right back.”
He marches off, leaving me to enjoy the view a little longer. It’s so peaceful here. I could sit like this all night and not move until Cinderella has to leave.
“Lily!”
All chances of peace and quiet are gone when I see Christine practically sprinting towards me. “What are you doing out here?” She doesn’t give me a chance to respond. Instead, she pulls my arm up and starts tugging. “Come. You have to get inside. We’ll be playing Seven Minutes in Heaven in a moment.”
I stop her from tugging. “Oh, no… I’m not playing that.”
She shakes her golden locks at me and pulls an unamused look. “You have to. You knew Jerry would get back at you for the ten dollars you won from him. He’s been trying to find a way ever since. This is his way. He’s bet ten dollars that you won’t do it. Don’t disappoint me.”
Oh shit. She had to pull that on me. Christine knows I don’t ever forfeit dares or bets. It makes me wonder if she contrived this whole thing to begin with. “You didn’t tell him, did you?”
Christine turns her head towards me as she carries on tugging my arm. “Tell him what?” she frowns.
“About me never being able to forfeit a dare?” I give her a reproachful glare, but she looks somewhat offended that I would ask.
“Of course not. What do you take me for?” With that last word, she pulls me into the house and marches me up the stairs. People are watching, waiting, and smiling as we approach the top. Jerry is by a door and has this shit-eating grin on his face.
“Well, well, well, if it isn’t Ten Dollars.”
I shake my head with a snort. “You’re just a sore loser, Jerry.”
He folds his arms and leans against the doorframe. “You can call this a dare, but I’m willing to bet ten dollars that you won’t go in there.”
I look at the door briefly and then back at him. “And if I refuse?”
Jerry smirks and reaches his hand out to his friend, Tom. Tom then places a tin of lamb-chunk dog food in Jerry’s hand. “You have to eat five spoonfuls of this.” He holds it up for the world to see, and everyone either says yuck, eww, or sniggers.
I’m not in a laughing mood, but I’ll be damned if I’m going to let Jerry see me suffer. “It’s my least favorite as well.” I hear people laugh behind me, but Jerry looks full of himself.
“Are you saying you won’t do it?”
I motion to the door with my head. “Who’s in there anyway?”
Jerry, shaking his head, walks over to me and places an arm around my shoulder. “You know the rules, Lily.”
I look around, and I can’t see Max anywhere. Maybe it’s him. If I had to choose, then it would have to be Max. Despite the fact that I only want to be friends, Max would be the best choice out of everyone here. At least I could trust him not to do anything stupid.
With my mind made up, I inhale sharply. “Fine,” I say through gritted teeth. “This is so juvenile.” I look over my shoulder one last time and see Christine winking at me.
What is she up to?
“Okay, then. You have seven minutes.” Jerry holds up his phone and hovers his finger over the screen. “Starting … now!” Everyone cheers, and Jerry opens the door and pushes me through. Just for the fraction of a second when the light shines through, I can see that I’m in a bathroom, but I cannot see with whom.
The door quickly shuts behind me, and all is dark. My heart starts to accelerate as I wait for someone to emerge. “If someone’s hiding in here, it’s not funny.” As I say this, a figure appears from behind the shower curtain. I can’t see much of him, but I can tell he’s big. At first, I think it’s Max because whoever this is works out; I can see the outline of his broad chest and muscular arms. This guy, however, has at least another four inches in height on Max. It also looks like he may have patterns on his arms. As he gets closer, I notice his hair is kind of long. I can’t make out his face, but what I have observed so far seems to have made my belly suddenly dance.
Who is this guy?
“Lily,” he whispers softly, grabbing the back of my
neck. He leans in closer and the smell of him invades my senses. He’s like a mixture of pepper and mint. Just like the lily flowers.
It can’t be…
“Who are you?” I ask, swallowing hard. I should be scared, but instead, my senses are going into overdrive. His touch, his smell, and his sheer presence are all making my knees weak.
“Shh,” he utters, as he traces a line along my bottom lip with his thumb.
My God, that feels good. How does he do that?
I’m rigid, wondering how on earth I haven’t run yet. My feet can’t seem to move. It’s like they don’t want to move.
“Relax,” he whispers again, caressing my cheek. “I’m not going to hurt you.” Oh my God—that voice. It’s deep and assertive … husky even. It makes me shudder.
As if on command, my posture slackens, and he takes that as his cue to wrap one arm around my waist. I feel literally swept off my feet. Sure, I’ve had guys put their arms around me before, but not one of them made me feel this burning heat, permeating my entire body. Not one of them made me feel like there were fireworks going off in my head.
He tilts his head down toward my ear, and my body trembles as he guides my head forward. “I want to taste you, Lily.”
I gasp, unable to form words.
What’s wrong with me? Why can’t I move? Why can’t I demand to know who this guy is?
All I can think about right now is how much I want to taste him too, and this really isn’t like me.
He pulls his head back, leaving the lingering smell of spice to invade my nostrils. It makes them flare violently, trying to take in as much of him as possible. Once he does pull back, he lingers for a moment, and my heart beats rapidly against my chest. Can he feel it? Can he hear the “boom, boom, boom” sound thumping against my ribcage? It’s almost deafening to me.
“Trust me,” he says, leaning in to touch my lips with his. At first, he moves in slowly, coaxing my mouth open a little. I suck in his breath, taking in every morsel of his minty fragrance. I’m not sure why my body is reacting to his every move, but it’s almost as if it’s seeking something, and this something is this mysterious, patterned stranger standing in front of me, coaxing my mouth open to meet his.
As I think this, my hand instinctively lifts up to feel the contours of his head. I grab a few strands of his hair and marvel at how soft to the touch they are. As his lips tentatively touch mine, sparks fly. The room seems to crackle around us. I’m on fire from just this tiny connection to his mouth. As our lips mesh together, a sound escapes me. It rumbles through my chest, vibrating through my mouth into his. His lips feel warm, wet, and inviting… So inviting that my tongue feels left out. I gently push mine into his mouth, and he accepts me with enthusiasm, moaning and squeezing my waist.
My God, who is this man?
I say man, because that’s the only way to describe him. He’s all man … and then some.
What am I doing? This is not me! I’m sensible Lily. I don’t go to parties and get locked up with strangers who I let kiss me like I’ve never been kissed before!
I have kissed boys. I tried it once when I was fifteen with my next door neighbor, Daniel. He was good, but nothing compares to whoever has me spellbound right now.
I should be pushing him away. I should be fighting him off and running a mile to get away, but my body has other ideas. Instead, I tug at his head, fighting to get nearer to that delectable mouth of his. There is no possible way I could get any closer, but I’m desperately seeking more.
As he pushes me up against the bathroom wall, I feel his hardness digging into my stomach. Again, I should run. The sensible Lily would… But, again, I want more of him—much more. I grab at his back, noticing how strong and big his muscles are. It’s like coaxing my hands around steel. I run my fingernails down the length of his back and am gratified by the sounds he makes through his chest. I affect him, and that, in turn, is affecting me…
Big time.
As we carry on kissing, our hands explore everywhere—aside from all the places we shouldn’t. This thought scares me. I shouldn’t be like this. His hands are in my hair, grabbing my waist, and stroking my back, but I desperately want more. I need him to touch me.
As his hand dives under the hem my skirt and travels upward, I feel his fingers glide against my stomach when they reach their destination. At that last thought, he pulls away. Breathing heavily against my mouth, this mysterious stranger leans his forehead against mine. “I have to stop,” he admits. “Or else, I’ll want more.”
In a moment of weakness, I stutter, “pl–pl–please,” shocking myself.
This isn’t me speaking. Surely not?
With his breath blowing against my hair, the stranger cups my face in his hands. “I’m not taking advantage of you. Not like that. Not here and not today.”
“When?” I ask—again surprising myself.
“You want more?” I can hear the incredulity in his voice.
“Yes,” I admit.
“One day, then… One day soon.” He traces that same finger along my bottom lip. I shudder at his touch.
Who is this man?
“Who are you?” I finally manage to ask.
“I am a man who seeks to right the wrongs.”
I frown. “What is that supposed to mean?”
He leans in and kisses my lips tenderly before breaking away from me completely. “Time’s up, Beautiful.”
A bang at the door makes me jump. I cover my ever-beating heart and stare at the door. “Come on out, lovebirds. Your time is up.”
I take in a deep breath and walk towards the door. I will see whoever this guy is for myself soon enough. The door opens before I get to it, and I have to squint to see through the light. Jerry is standing outside, smirking along with Christine and a couple of others.
“Have fun with Max?” Jerry asks, raising an eyebrow.
What the fuck?
I try my hardest to hide my shock.
Maybe it was Max after all. He has longish hair, so it’s possible. It might be that he seemed taller because he was standing so close to me. But, how? How could he have felt so good, so right, so desirable, and so … proficient? That wasn’t the Max that I knew. He didn’t even sound like Max.
I hear laughter around me, but I can’t speak. My eyes wander to a figure which appears at the bottom of the stairs. It’s Max. He’s holding two plastic containers of beer, looking just as perplexed as I’m feeling.
When Jerry looks to where my eyes have wandered, he frowns. “What the fuck?” he says, looking down at Max. “How the fuck did you get down there so quickly?”
Max frowns. “What the hell are you talking about?
Jerry quickly brushes past me and opens the bathroom door with a bang. He flips the switch, but there’s no one there. The window, however, is open.
In a rush, Jerry bolts outside again. “How did you manage to get out the window, climb down the house, get into the kitchen, and grab two beers so quickly?”
The confusion on Max’s face is mirrored by the expression on my own. “Dude, I don’t know what the fuck you’re talking about. I went into the kitchen to grab two beers, but this girl started asking me questions. What’s going on?” He looks from Jerry to me, but I have no answers.
Jerry turns to face me. “Who was in there with you?” He points with a snarl. “Hold on a minute. You were stuck in there on your own, weren’t you?”
I look to Christine, not knowing what to say. She can see the panic in my face, and I know she wants to help, but doesn’t know how. I need to say something, though.
As my heart calms, so does my head. If I start denying that I was on my own, then it will only make the situation worse. I take a deep breath and crack a big smile. “You got me!” I shout, making almost everyone laugh. Christine, however, is not laughing.
Jerry points his oversized finger at me. “You owe me for this.”
I push his finger away. “I don’t owe you shit. You told me to go in t
he bathroom for seven minutes, and that’s exactly what I did. Deal is done. Bet lost.” I put my hand out. “Hand over the money.”
Jerry makes a stand at first, folding his arms. “This is seriously fucked up. I thought Max was in there.” He turns his head to Christine. “Did you have something to do with this?”
Her eyes widen. “Don’t accuse me. I went in search of Lily, remember?”
“I don’t care. I’m not paying.” He shakes his head from side to side.
I sigh. “I did as you requested, now hand over the money. We have witnesses to the fact.”
Jerry looks around like he’s seeking backup. Nobody offers to help him. He sighs out loud, digs into his pocket, and pulls out a ten dollar bill. He slams it into my hand. “Here’s your fucking ten dollars.”
I smirk. “You can call me ‘Twenty Dollars’ now.”
Jerry comes in close—pointing his finger at me—and says, “You haven’t heard the last of this,” before he storms off.
I breathe out, still in shock after what’s happened. People soon dissipate, but Christine quickly scurries toward me. “What really happened in there?” she whispers. She knows something happened. She can see it in my eyes.
“Someone was in there, but I don’t know who.”
Her eyes widen. “Shit! Did you make out?”
I bite my lip, wondering if I should tell her. “We kissed, yes.” Christine squeals, jumping up and down. “Shh. People will notice.”
“Sorry,” she whispers. “What was our mystery man like? Was he hot?” I nod, my cheeks flushing. Christine grabs my arm. “We must find him. What could you tell about him?” she asks, scanning the hallway down below.
“Well, he was tall—”
“How tall?” she interrupts.
“About this high.” I raise my hand about nine inches above me.
“Shit, that’s about six-foot-four. Okay, that eliminates a few. What else?”
I briefly think back to his longish hair and muscles. “His hair is about this long.” I place my hand flat against my cheek. “Maybe shorter. He’s really ripped too. I mean, really ripped. He must work out.” I frown. “I might be wrong, but it looked like he had tattoos.”
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