by Jodie Becker
“You think so?”
“I know so. I’m a guy.” Alex glanced over his shoulder at Max’s house. “So, you think he is the guy?”
Bridget frowned. “What do you mean?”
Alex slanted his head to the side. “Come on. A guy sleeping in your bed says something, don’t you think? Besides, I saw the way you looked at him.”
Bridget rolled her eyes. “How did I look at him? I’m just concerned.”
Alex laughed. “Sure you are. You looked at him like you wanted to ease all his pain.”
“What does that look even look like?”
Alex’s brows rose, his mouth drooping as a puppy-dog look entered his eyes.
“I didn’t look like that.”
“Well, it was pretty close.”
She folded her arms. “Fine. I like him. Happy?”
Alex shrugged.
The discussion switched to other, lighter topics with the promise to organize the cello section wrap party. As Alex drove away, Bridget contemplated going over to see Max. She hadn’t seen him since that night and thought it best to give him space. But now, after witnessing the misery on his face, she knew it was a mistake. She walked across his lawn and knocked on his door. The man who opened it wasn’t the same one she knew a week ago. His face bore the marks of strain, his eyes red-rimmed from lack of sleep.
“What?” he asked.
Bridget faltered, her heart hurting for him. “I came over to see how you’re doing.”
He sighed, a weary sound. “I’m fine.”
“I haven’t seen you for a few days. How is Bryce?”
His gaze cut to the floor and he swallowed hard. “Same.”
“How have you been sleeping?”
He huffed out a laugh that lacked humor. “A couple of hours here and there.” He raked a hand through his hair and pinned her with an impatient glare. “Is there anything else?”
“I just thought you might need company.”
He looked her up and down and leered at her. “The only company I want is someone who’s willing to spread her sweet thighs for me. Are you willing?”
Bridget hesitated.
“Didn’t think so.”
The door slammed in her face. Heart pounding, she stared for a moment. Bridget knew he was trying to push her away. What he needed was a friend and a place where he could just be, and she knew just the spot. Once inside her house, she hurried upstairs to change into something comfortable before snatching up a picnic satchel and filling it with items from her refrigerator. After chucking it in the backseat of her car, she marched to Max’s door and knocked.
It opened, Max’s leer firmly in place. “Changed your mind?”
“I want to take you somewhere.”
His eyes narrowed. “The only place I wanna be taken to is between a woman’s thighs. If that’s not what you’re offering, I’m not interested.”
“It’s better than that. Get your sneakers. I’m taking you out.”“
He eyed her shrewdly.
Bridget pouted. “Don’t make me beg.”
A ghost of a smile flickered over his face before it died under the weight of his somber mood. “You’re not going to let this go are you?”
“Nope.”
He heaved an aggrieved sigh. “All right. Give me a sec.”
He turned away, leaving the door open. Bridget hesitated, then stepped inside and tried to conceal her dismay. The times she’d been in the house, it was kept in pristine condition. White glistening in the light and everything set in its place. Now pizza boxes littered the tables and half-empty bottles stood in random places to reveal the depth of Max’s despair. She fingered an open box with a half-eaten pizza, the cheese glossy and hard. The scent of moldy bread and refuse surrounded her.
Footsteps trudged down the stairs, and she approached the base, pasting on a happy smile. She ignored Max’s sour countenance. “Ready?”
“Why are you so fucking cheery?”
She shrugged and reached for him. “No reason. Come on. We’re burning daylight.”
His lips thinned and she grabbed his hand, half dragging, half guiding him to her car. As he buckled in, she reversed out and navigated the peak-hour traffic toward a place where she always felt at peace. The silence in the car was swallowed by the oppressive misery prevalent on Max’s tight frame. His fist clenched over his knee, a muscle leapt in his jaw. He angled his attention out the window, closing all lines of communication as she drove. Bridget didn’t push and prayed the place she sought to take him would give him a moment in time without the worry on his shoulders.
“Where are we going?” he asked, his countenance stiff with suspicion.
She tipped her chin toward him, a small smile on her lips. “It’s a surprise. You’ll like it.”
He glowered out the window, arms folded, silence falling on them again. Concentrating on the traffic, she finally pulled off the road onto a dirt track and into a parking lot made of packed earth. The waning sun hit the trees to create long shadows along the ground. Stepping out, she slipped the bag over her shoulder and waited for Max to exit the car. The wind whispered through the branches, bringing with it the scent of nature and the rustle of leaves.
Max frowned at their surroundings and the signs pointing to various tracks. “Are we going hiking?”
“A nature walk. It’s not as strenuous as a hike.”
“I’d much rather fuck.”
Bridget ignored him, walking around the car and grasping his hand. “Come on.”
He followed after her, this time his steps less reluctant as she wandered up a track to take him to a private spot all their own. Dirt and stone crunched underfoot. Ten minutes turned into twenty. The sun had fast dropped below the horizon, casting orange fingers across the sky. Bridget peered upward, worrying they’d miss the sunset. Picking up the pace, she veered off the track at a misshapen tree. Max stopped and she paused, waving him forward. “This way.”
“I don’t think you’re allowed to walk off the path.”
She resisted the urge to roll her eyes. “Nothing will happen. It’s just a little way. You won’t regret it.”
He trudged down, rocks sliding underfoot, and he grabbed on to a tree for balance. She weaved through a couple of trees until they were just out of sight of the track and spread the blanket beside a trunk. Settling onto the wool, she sighed at the sunset spreading over the LA mountains. The blanket shifted as Max sat beside her, an arm hooked around his knee.
“What are we doing here?”
She pointed to the pinkened sky and the clouds spreading outward. “Enjoying the view.”
He turned his attention toward the terrain and for the first time, the silence that greeted them was void of sadness. Everything just was. After a while, she settled back onto her elbows, hooking one foot over her ankle. Max lay back and faced her, his head propped on his hand.
“I didn’t take you for a hiker.”
She smiled, facing him. “I’m not. I came up here once to do the tourist thing and just wandered. I like this. The privacy to enjoy the moment, rather than moving aside for people running by.”
Max scanned their surroundings. “I suppose it is relaxing.”
Turning onto her side, she rested her head on the underside of her arm, hand hooked behind her neck. “Sometimes we forget to take time for ourselves and here I feel like I can think. I can breathe.”
Max scanned her face, a softness in his eyes she’d never seen before making her heart swell. “I’ve been such an ass and you do this. I feel like I should say sorry.”
“Don’t. You have nothing to be sorry about. There is a lot on your mind and sometimes pushing people away seems like a way to protect yourself.”
He fingered a lock of hair and hooked it behind her ear, the move set tingles along her flesh. “So smart.”
“No, just experienced. When my grandmother died, it hit me hard. She was artistic. Like me. I felt she was the only one who understood me and when she passed, I f
elt alone.” She laughed as a memory emerged. “Nan used to have this garden gnome that took pride and position in her garden. It was pretty standard, but it was the first one she got from Pop. When he died, Nan said that she spoke to it all the time. The gnome apparently had the same bushy white brows and happy personality as Pop. It sounded weird to me, but when Nan passed, a gnome was the first thing I grabbed. Talking to a gnome felt like I was talking to her. You know?”
Max’s brows dropped. “Is that why you collect gnomes?”
Bridget thought about it. Her first gnome was a girl gnome with a daisy and white curls, like Nan. But P. Diddy was her first purchase toward a menagerie of gnomes. She didn’t talk to them like she used to, but she felt comforted by them. “I suppose.”
“Shit. Now I feel like a real dick.”
“Don’t. Looking back on it all, it is kind of funny,” she said with a small giggle.
Max smiled. “Yeah.”
Conversation ceased and they stared at each other. The small upturn to Max’s mouth lightened Bridget’s heart. His lashes fluttered downward a moment before he looked at her again. The smile slowly dissipated and was replaced with an intensity she couldn’t define.
“What?”
“You know, you’re the only one who makes me smile this much. You make me look forward to days in your company more than I do anyone else.”
Warmth shimmered inside and she reached for his hand that rested between them. “Me too. It’s weird how it all turned out, but I’m kinda glad I threw a gnome at you.”
He shifted closer. Her heart pounded as she waited for him to make a move. The tips of his fingers trailed over the apples of her cheeks. “Me too,” he whispered.
Air stalled in her lungs the moment his mouth dropped over hers. He tasted of mint and passion as he delved inside and teased her with the dance of his tongue. A whimper rose to her throat, a throb beginning in the apex of her thighs. She wrapped an arm around him, her fingers pressed into the curve of his back. Desired coiled inside. His tongue plundered her mouth, taking her senses prisoner. Drowning in his touch, she answered in kind, sealing their lips together. Desperate heat seared her flesh, wanting filling her until her pussy throbbed. He shifted, pushing forward until she lay back. His warm body settled over her in a comfortable weight.
His hand hooked behind her nape, his fingers spearing her hair. Bridget blinked up at him, the sunlight peeking through the branches to create a glow around his silhouette. His nostrils flared, lips parted as he scanned her face. Aroused and in need, she parted her legs until his erection pressed against the cusp of her sex. A shot of mercury rose within, combined with intense awareness. Max grunted, fingers clenched in her hair. Bridget hissed, lifting her hips to force him to move against her. Max dipped his head, dark hair covering his features. Her knees hitched and a jolt of pure wanting found her tender clit. Hooking her hand under the band of his jeans, she undulated. Pleasure rose and waned in a beautiful cadence.
Max cursed and rolled them both until she straddled him. Sitting up, he grabbed the hem of her shirt and pulled it over her head. He flung it aside, his focus on her breasts. Lips pinched, his eyes narrowed on the lacy bra. Unhooking the clasp, Bridget removed her bra, cool air touching her hot flesh. Max trembled, a ragged breath cutting through the air. Warm hands covered her breasts, and Bridget groaned as sweet delectation swamped her. He rolled each nipple with deft fingers, bringing them to peaking awareness. Nails scraped over the very tips, the sensual pain making her whimper. Her canal quivered with longing, the succulent tremble inside teased her and brought a deep yearning for him to fill her.
Max speared her with a look of hunger. As though she were the sustenance that would keep him alive. “You’re gorgeous.”
Bridget held on to his shoulders, nails digging into cotton as she rocked into him. Her lips hovered over his. “Shut up and kiss me.”
His mouth fell over hers. His kiss tasted of unadulterated passion—sweet, wet and decadent. His tongue danced with hers and demanded her subjugation. His fingers pressed over her ass, forcing her down onto his erection, her gasp swallowed by his voracious kiss. He nibbled at her lips, suckled her and stole all thought with one sweep of his tongue. Arms wrapped around his neck, she moved with him, her body drawn tight as delicious warmth filled her. Her pussy ached with every sweep over his hard cock. The denim kept him contained when she longed to have him inside her.
The world tipped and she opened her eyes to find herself on her back once more, this time with Max hovering over her. He exhaled, his lips wet from their kiss. He nibbled on her neck and she moaned, dropping her head back as tingles moved down the column and condensed in her breasts. Air shuddered from her as he suckled on her nipples, teeth scraping over the tender nubbins. He palmed her stomach, teasing her with every feathery sweep. The lips of her pussy slipped against each other, the friction delicious.
Fingers slipped under the band of her leggings to touch her sensitive clit. Electric need bolted through her and stole her ability to think as he strummed her wet bud. He rolled over it in tight circles, pulling juices from her entrance up to the bundle of nerves. Bridget parted her legs, mewling as insatiable want filled her. Restlessly, she rocked into his hand, wanting him to shove his fingers into her. To skip the foreplay and give her what she truly wanted. Max’s eyes narrowed, his nostrils flaring. A lock of hair drooped over his forehead. The purple haze of twilight surrounded them, trees rustling as silent witnesses.
“Please,” she whispered.
Max’s kiss devastated her. Like a thief, he raided her mouth and left no space untouched as he demanded she yield to him. She wrapped her arms around him as if he would disappear and leave her aching should she let him go. His hand hooked around the band of her pants and pulled. Cool air touched her backside and she kicked her sneakers off enough for him to remove one pant leg. Bridget almost wept as his fingers touched her again, delving between the lips of her vagina and thrusting into her moist canal. His thumb pressed against her clit, rolling the bud as he slowly rocked his fingers inside her.
Voluptuous waves of desire filled her with warmth. Heat surrounded her pussy and she opened for him, not wanting to give up a second of every delicious movement. He broke off the kiss, his eyes glazed as he watched with an intensity that should’ve embarrassed her. But instead she felt liberated. Free to show him how he affected her sexually. Powerful. He pressed his fingers deeper into her until he touched a place that exploded with fireworks of bliss. Her breath caught and she grasped his wrist.
“There. Oh my God, there.”
Max’s leer inflamed her, fanning her need for him. He focused on that sweet spot, making her body thrum with intense pleasure. Her skin flushed with fire as he scissored his fingers and pressed his thumb against her clit. Bridget’s skin blazed as a wave of beautifully delicious rapture shook her. Her fingers tightened around his wrist, legs tightening around his arm as though to hold him there and keep her climax going forever.
When it finally waned, Max kneeled over her, his pants shoved to his knees as he rolled a condom onto his erection. Air backed up in her lungs at the impressive length. It curved slightly upward out of a thatch of trimmed hair. The latex rolled down and he adjusted it at the base before pressing his hand over her shoulder.
Sweat beaded on his forehead, his lips pressed together as he hovered over her, indecision flashing over his features in a frown. Bridget grasped his cock and grinned at his curse as she brought him to the entrance of her sex. Max shoved home and Bridget moaned. Knees hooked on his hips, she opened herself farther as he grasped one leg and brought it over his shoulder. He thrust into her with a force that made her gasp with every downward thrust. An almost painful bliss condensed in her womb. Her channel clenched over his cock, making every thrust an exercise in ecstasy. The wet sound of sex and rustling leaves layered over panting. His fingers clenched over the soft flesh above her hips as he pummeled her.
He devoured her with his body and relieved
her of her inhibitions. Acute pleasure stirred deep inside her and she writhed, reaching for it. Max grunted, a muscle leaping in his jaw as he pushed into her. With every hard thrust, his trim hair pressed against her exposed clit, adding a new dimension to her pleasure. She hooked her hand over her thigh, holding herself open to him as he pushed her toward another release. White lights exploded behind her eyelids as she was scorched by voluptuous waves of rapture. It rolled over her with an intensity she hadn’t experienced. Her whole body hummed with euphoria and her limbs became listless. Max’s movements turned uneven moments before he thrust to the hilt, the bob of his penis and grunt telling her he too found his gratification.
Max collapsed onto her, his breath whistling in her ear. She fingered his wet locks, basking in the aftermath of their loving. The scent of fresh pine and sex surrounded her, the sky now a deep shade of indigo, concealing them in shadow.
Max shifted, his face moved toward her, his thoughts shielded by the night. She smiled up at him, hoping he didn’t feel disappointed for giving them both what they needed. Wanted. She caressed his cotton-covered shoulder, her thigh rubbing against his jeans. They’d been so desperate for each other they didn’t even undress completely. A laugh bubbled up her throat and she covered the giggle with her hand. Max frowned, then rolled off her. Bridget reached for him. “No, I wasn’t laughing at you. I was laughing at the fact we still have our clothes on.”
A grin curled one side of his mouth. “Yeah.”
A brisk breeze rustled through the branches and she shivered. Max stood and buttoned his jeans before reaching down for her. Accepting his hand, she allowed him to pull her to her feet before she dressed and watched him gather up the picnic blanket, adjusting the bag with their forgotten meal on his shoulder. “It’s getting a bit cold. Probably should head back,” he said.
Holding hands, she allowed him to lead her up the unmarked path to the track. The sun had since waned, the shadows now blended into the indigo landscape that surrounded them. As they walked down the track, Max caressed her hand with his thumb. The move caused warmth to bloom in her chest. The forest rustled as the wind moved through the branches, bringing with it a crisp breeze. Bridget memorized the angles of his muscular back, the images sending a shaft of liquid need down to her vagina. Dirt crunched and slipped underfoot, her steps becoming unsteady in the dissipating light. Max turned, his hand tightening over hers, and placed another on her hip. “Are you all right?”
