It All Falls Down

by M Dauphin

  “No. I got this.”

  Jesus I hope he does. Deig wasn’t thrilled when I approached him with this idea, but he eventually caved. I’d rather this not get fucked.

  “Don’t fuck it up.” I take the backpack and set it on the bench. A good amount of weed, a few grams of coke, some E… he’ll have a good time spreading this, that’s for sure.

  “Flakka in here?” he says, not making eye contact.

  “The fuck you think I am? That shit makes you fucking nuts, man.” No goddamned way am I bringing that shit to campus.

  “Right,” he says, nodding. “Well, thanks.” I watch him walk away before heading in the opposite direction.

  I feel ten times better that those drugs are out of my possession. Sure I still have a fuck ton at home I need to sell, but now there’s nothing in my car and nothing on my person.

  I’m clean, and as weird as that sounds, I actually like it. It means there’s nothing Nora can find out tonight.

  Deig’s mentioned backing off this shit for a while. Maybe it’s about time we do so.

  Jesus, though, it brings in good money.

  The entire drive to the boutique I can’t stop thinking about her. Hell, I haven’t stopped thinking about her all fucking day. The way her skin called to me today to reach out and caress it, the way her eyes begged me for one more kiss.

  Shit. This girl is going to break me if I’m not careful. That’s not in the plan at all.

  I park in the back and walk to the door that’s propped open.

  “Oh thank God,” Ava says, walking towards me. “The AC broke and we’re about to die in here. Please tell me you know a thing or two about cooling systems. The repairman can’t get here for two fucking days,” she growls, fanning herself. I grin wide.

  “So you’re saying you need me?”

  “We need it to not be death balls hot in here, Max,” she huffs.

  “You need me though,” I state, walking into the office to find Nora on the phone. She’s talking to a repairman from the sounds of it, but she doesn’t look happy.

  “Hey, princess,” I say, winking at her while I set my bag down. Jesus they weren’t joking. It’s sweltering in here.

  “I’m dying,” she groans, taking a drink of water. “The air-conditioning guy said he’s back logged and there’s no one else here the building operator wants us working with.”

  I smile and pull off my shirt, enjoying the attention as her eyes go straight for my abs.

  “Tell me you need me,” I say, smiling at her. Her eyes flit up to mine, her mouth parted softly and gaze full of lust.

  “Huh?”

  “Tell me you need me and I’ll get it fixed.” I raise an eyebrow at her, grinning.

  She can’t say no to this.

  Plus, she’s overheating this place. No one wants to shop when it’s this hot in here.

  “I need you to help fix the air conditioner, Max,” she whispers.

  “So you need me?”

  She narrows her eyes at me and growls. Growls!

  “No?” I ask, grabbing my shirt from my desk.

  “I need you, Max,” I hear her whisper, lowering her gaze.

  “Just what I needed to hear.” I lean down, so close I can feel her breath on my lips, and reach over to her glass of water. “I got it,” I say, finishing off her water and setting the cup back down. “Thanks.” I wink and head out back to the roof access.

  It’s been a while since I’ve done something like this, but I used to work with Aplexes Cooling and Heating over the summers doing this exact thing.

  What a coincidence.

  High noon in the middle of summer in Oklahoma is hot. Being on top of a roof in this heat is even hotter. The unit is off and apart in a matter of minutes, the longer I work with it, the more that comes back from my past with how to fix this. Once I get into the job it doesn’t take that long to figure out what’s going on with it. They’ve been running it a lot this summer so it needs to chill for a bit. It also needs a complete service. They’re going to need to talk to the landlord about keeping this unit up and running with regular servicing, this is ridiculous. After scrubbing some coils, replacing a few fuses and making sure everything is in working order, I turn it on and head back into the building.

  “All fixed,” I say, walking straight to the thermostat and kicking on the air.

  The sighs that come out of these two girls the minute the cold air starts flowing is so goddamned hot.

  “This is amazing,” Ava says, walking out to the front to close the front door so the cold doesn’t escape, singing on the way. I chuckle and grab my shirt to wipe the sweat off my face.

  “It’s fucking hot up there,” I growl, tossing my shirt back down.

  Then I see the look on Nora’s face and smile, making sure I’m flexing just enough so she can see the definition I’ve worked so hard for.

  “Like what you see?” I raise an eyebrow at her and grab her glass again, full of water, and chug it. She hums, then stands from her desk.

  “I do. But I have to finish some work before I need to head out and get ready for dinner tonight.”

  “That’s right,” I say, pretending like I forgot. I didn’t fucking forget. I can’t forget about her. Anything about her.

  “You’re not invited, Maxwell,” she huffs.

  “I am. I’m coming, Nora. And after it, you will be coming,” I whisper, leaning in to her. “Plenty of times.”

  I hear her breath hitch and grin, backing away.

  “I’m heading home to shower. I’ll be over to pick you up. Six?”

  “I’m driving myself, Max.”

  “So five? Four? How about I just get ready at your house.” I nod and smile. “Sounds good.”

  “God you’re impossible,” she grumbles. I don’t budge, arms crossed and smirk planted on my face.

  “Fine! Five thirty. Not a minute later.”

  I grin and lean in, pulling her to me and pressing my lips to hers gently. I can’t break this connection between us. She tastes exquisite. Her hands wrap around my neck slowly, her tongue pushing past mine, our bodies mesh together as we devour one another.

  Jesus, this girl.

  I lift her slowly and set her on the desk, my hands twisting into her hair as I take what’s mine. Pressed against me, she grinds on me as we make out like fucking teenagers.

  And I have no fucking complaints.

  “Hey, Nor,” Ava says through the door. “Nick’s here to see you.”

  The mention of his name stops us in our tracks.

  “You’re going to have to take care of that,” I whisper, letting my lips take on a mind of their own and start tasting her neck. Her collarbone.

  This tank she has on today has left me with a fuck ton of skin to explore. She hums and pushes her body against mine again.

  “Nora?” Ava knocks again, making us both pause.

  “Shit,” she huffs, taking a few deep breaths then pushing me away from her.

  I grin and adjust my pants, watching her eyes flick to my hard-on.

  “You’re going to have to take care of that,” she says, raising an eyebrow and grinning.

  “I have faith you will later tonight,” I say and wink. She smiles, biting her lip, and hops off the desk.

  I move ahead of her to open the door and walk out after her, making direct eye contact with Nick as we walk down the hall together. I grin and wink at him and watch his features fall the slightest, but he recovers quickly when she approaches him.

  I walk over to Ava and smile, leaning on the counter pretending to be talking to her, but really straining my hearing to listen to what Nick’s hushed whispers are all about.

  “You okay there, hot shot?” Ava asks, smiling as she leans against the back counter.

  “Perfect.” I smile, standing up straight. “See ya later.” I wink and she grins, then I turn and head over to Nora.

  “Hey,” I say as I approach. “I believe we’ve met before.” I nod at Nick and stretch my hand o
ut for a handshake, he returns it hesitantly. I smile and look at Nora who’s watching us with narrowed eyes. “I’ll see you in a few hours.” I wink and walk away, resisting the urge to pull her in for a kiss in front of this goon.

  The drive home is short, the entire time my mind is playing through different scenarios for tonight. I just need to make it through dinner with her family, then I can bring her back here and fuck her until neither of us can walk.

  Sounds like a flawless plan.

  The knock comes at the door at exactly 5:30pm. I’ve tried on about seventy-two different outfits and I think I’ve settled on one that’s going to drive him crazy the whole night, yet at the same time look casual enough that my grandma isn’t going to have a heart attack.

  I swing the door open, smiling, and take in the sight in front of me.

  The stark black or white t-shirt I’m so used to seeing him in has been changed out for a dark blue collared, button-down shirt. The rolled-up sleeves allow some of his exquisite ink to peek through and the dark jeans compliment it way too nicely.

  “Hi,” I whisper finally, letting my eyes make their way back up to his. He’s smiling widely and crosses his arms in front of him.

  “Hey,” he says. “Can I come in?” He raises an eyebrow at me and nods inside the apartment.

  “No,” I blurt. If he comes in now I won’t be able to stop myself from ripping those clothes off him and having my way with him, then we’d never get to dinner. Shit, dinner. I haven’t even considered the fact that I’m going to have to introduce him to my family. I don’t bring guests to dinner! And just a ‘friend’? They’re going to see past that instantly.

  “No?” He looks confused… poor thing.

  “No,” I state more firmly, fumbling over myself practically. “Late. We’re going to be late.” I reach to the table and grab my purse then slam the door behind me, trying to calm down. He walks close to me, our hands awkwardly grazing each other’s every few steps.

  Would it be weird if I just took it and held on to it for dear life?

  No?

  “Climb on up, princess,” he says, smiling wide as he opens the truck door for me.

  I calmly smile for him and look at the height on this truck then notice there’s no step to help me up.

  “And how do you suggest I do that?”

  “With a little help.” He winks and takes my hand, allowing me to place one foot up and in the truck, then grabs my ass and lifts. Jesus he’s strong. Like, those hands are mega strong and that body follows suit. I knew he was full of muscle, but honestly I never knew he was actually this strong.

  “I’m okay with you sitting here all night, princess,” I hear, then he squeezes my ass enough to make me jump straight into the truck.

  I smile down at him and pull the door closed.

  “Where to?” he asks, buckling his seatbelt. I start to talk as soon as he revs the engine, making him grin. “Sorry.” He chuckles.

  “Sure you are.” I pull up directions on my phone for him so I don’t have to navigate, and hand it to him.

  “Why thank you, Jeeves,” he says, smiling.

  My grandma lives in the house my mom lived in growing up. She’s lived here since her and my grandpa married over fifty years ago. I remember coming here as a kid and playing, but there’s no good memories here with my mom. My dad and grandma pretty much raised me. When we park under the big oak tree I take a moment to prepare myself mentally for what’s about to happen. Eyes closed, deep breaths… This is just a family dinner with a super-sexy friend that I really want to fuck. Nothing could go wrong tonight.

  “Hey, what’s that?” Max asks, looking out the window. I know exactly what he’s talking about without even asking.

  “My parents initials,” I answer as calmly as I can.

  I try not to think of the wedding they had here. Of course I wasn’t here for it, but I saw the pictures and was told the stories plenty of times. They were married right here on this front porch, in front of the white house and sprawling fields. The pictures were beautiful, my mom was beautiful, and from all accounts it was a beautiful day.

  The tree that holds their initials still stands, even though everything else about that relationship crumbled years ago.

  “That’s cute,” he says, smiling at me. It’s going to take a lot for me to tell Max what really happened with my mom. As it stands I’m not even certain he knows that she died… or that my parents aren’t together anymore. The last month I’ve spent trying to distance myself from him, and since then, each time we’ve seen each other we can’t keep our hands off each other.

  “Let’s go. My grandma just peeked out the window. We’ve been caught.” I chuckle, opening my door and attempting to get down from this monster without dying.

  Max comes around and grabs my hand, helping me down like a true gentleman; no ass squeezes this time.

  He walks half a step behind me to the door and smiles widely when my grandma swings it open.

  “Nora!” she exclaims, pulling me in for a hug, but eyeing the man standing behind me. I hug her back and smile, stepping aside to introduce Max.

  “Nan, this is Max. Max, this is my Nan.”

  “Oh so nice to meet you, Max,” she purrs, smiling and pulling him in for a hug. He chuckles and hugs her back, flicking his eyes to me as he tries to back away.

  “Okay, Nan. Time to let go,” I say laughing, pulling her off of him.

  Introductions to my father aren’t ever ‘easy’. I’m a cop’s daughter… he’s going to try to break Max tonight and I’m not ready for it.

  “Hey Dad.” We walk into the living room, the room suddenly feeling way smaller than it ever did growing up, with Max standing this close to me.

  “Nora, sweetheart. Thank you for coming tonight.” He hugs me then pulls away and turns to Max and extends his hand. “Captain Dave Avondale,” he says, shaking Max’s hand.

  “Maxwell Holzer, Sir. You can call me Max. It’s nice to meet you.” Max looks way too relaxed right now. Did he not just catch that my dad’s a cop!?

  I watch them exchange a look and my stomach drops. My dad won’t let go of his grip on Max’s hand and Max won’t break eye contact.

  Shit this was a bad idea.

  “Awesome,” my dad finally says. “Good guy… good guy,” he mumbles, backing away and over to Peggy.

  “Hey Peggy, how are you?” I smile and nod, not leaving Max’s side. Something about him makes me feel more comfortable here… in my family house. I always thought I was comfortable here.

  “Good, Nora. It’s just beautiful here, isn’t it?”

  “Sure is.” I smile and look at Max. “Come on. I want to show you some things.”

  I take his hand and walk him to the back bedroom and watch his eyes go wide as I open the door. I’m attempting not to die of laughter, but my grandma gave me this room as my own when I was four and my entire childhood is still in this room. Bright pink and purple walls still, from when I was twelve and wanted to paint it myself. The toys I used to play with still fill the toy boxes and shelves around the room. The girly bedspread. Down to the creepy Furby dolls that someone once gave to me, lining the top of the bookshelf. This room was mine even though I didn’t live here full-time.

  “You…. Wow.” He chuckles, walking over to the pictures on the wall. “Cute little girl.” He looks back at me. “I like you better now, however,” he growls then winks and I’m fairly certain that one wink has me already wet for him.

  “This was my home away from home,” I say, sitting on the bed. “I spent a lot of the first ten years of my life here.” I look around and don’t notice he’s walking over to me until he kneels down in front of me.

  “I love it. But I think the thing I love most is the idea of fucking you on your childhood bed,” he growls, slamming his lips to mine and pushing me back on the bed.

  “Some weird fantasy you have there, Holzer,” I whisper, then gasp when his lips connect with that spot on my neck that turns me to put
ty in his hands. “Mmm,” I groan. “No,” I pant, trying to slow down his assault on my neck, but fuck it feels good. “Max stop,” I whisper, wanting nothing more than to grind up on him and give my clit the necessary pressure it needs. His lips press to mine slowly and before he backs away, he lets out a low growl and rests his forehead to mine.

  “You’re going to be the end of me, woman.”

  I push him off me and sit up, feeling the wetness in my panties now.

  “I know the feeling, Mr. Holzer. You can’t attack me like that in my grandma’s house,” I huff, fixing my hair in the mirror.

  “I can do whatever the hell I see fit. Fucking you is always going to be on the top of the lists of things I see fit.” He adjusts himself and grins at me. “It’s fine. I’m not sure I can fuck you with twenty different Furby’s staring at me anyway. Just my fucking luck one of those bastards would start commenting halfway through and that’s a mood killer.” He nods to the shelf and I let out a sharp laugh.

  “Well good. Glad my cock-blocking room helped. Come on, I don’t want to be back here too long.” I wink at him and head out to the hallway, watching him close the door behind him then making our way to the kitchen.

  As I start to help my grandma complete dinner, I hear my dad call for Max to join him out on the porch and my nerves amp up. The salad I’m chopping suddenly sees a harsh death at the hand of my knife and my grandma starts laughing from the other side of the kitchen.

  “Oh girl did you not think about this when you brought him?” she asks. I don’t turn to look at her, however. My gaze is currently on the two men on the front porch talking about God knows what.

  “He’s a friend, Nan,” I huff, tossing the lettuce in the bowl before I turn it into tiny shreds.

  “Right. I’ve never seen a man friend look at someone like he looks at you, Nora. I think you’ve done made him fall in love with you.” She pats me on the back and I roll my eyes.

  “He doesn’t love me, grandma. He’s a friend.”

  “Okay, honey. Whatever you say. Come on, let’s get dinner on the table before your father eats him alive. Over twenty years in the police force has turned him into an exquisite detective. He’ll get everything he needs to know about Max before you can blink an eye.”