by Shealy James
During both of the breaks the band took, Parker came and pulled me into his lap while he drank his beer. I wasn’t sure if he was trying to stake his claim or if he just wanted to be close, but honestly I couldn’t have cared less. Sitting in Parker’s lap in public was always a reminder of how far we had come.
Not everyone was as thrilled about Parker’s affections as I was. Alexis pulled him to the side during the first break, and they talked for a minute before he waved her off and came to sit at the table. I was annoyed with her obvious attempt to get his attention, but Parker didn’t seem to think anything of it.
I hadn’t mentioned anything to Parker about Alexis’s comments because he was obviously happier spending time with me. Telling him would only make me look like the insecure girl he probably already knew I could be. Instead I mentally chided myself for being such a jealous harpy and tried to move on. Unfortunately I sometimes found it difficult to let go of those insecurities when I knew she and Parker used to have a “relationship.” I told myself just to focus on what Parker was doing because he was only paying attention to me.
The second break, he jumped off the front of the stage and grabbed me from the dance floor where Sarah and I were still laughing and messing around after their last song. He had me in his arms before anyone else had even put their instruments down. I showed my appreciation for him right there on the dance floor. Sarah shouted, “Get a room,” which led into catcalls and whistles from other bar patrons. Thanks Sarah!
Honestly, I didn’t care. I wanted to shout to the whole bar, “Yes girls! He’s mine. Keep your filthy claws away,” but I just wasn’t that kind of girl. Kissing my very sexy boyfriend on the lips after three beers was about as bold as I got. Oh, if my mother only knew…
We drank a few pitchers of beer throughout the night, so I was feeling really loose and apparently bold by the time we actually left. Alexis gave me our typical fake friends hug, but this time she whispered, “I see you didn’t take me seriously. Don’t worry he’ll get bored with you soon and be right back in my bed. You can have him for just as long as Brandi did.” Brandi was a waitress that Parker briefly had a fling with. It was nothing more than sex between the two of them, like all of Parker’s previous flings, but I couldn’t help but feel the stab of jealousy once more. Getting the post-whoring Parker was not all it was cracked up to be.
However, I guess I had finally had enough this time. I was out of patience for catty girls after years of being picked on in high school and never doing anything about it. Her verbal sparring coupled with my alcohol intake had pushed me too far. I stepped closer to her and spoke right in her face. “Or maybe he’s done with sluts.” I heard her gasp as I turned and walked out the door with Sarah. I was really proud of myself when I didn’t even have the urge to look back to see the look on her face.
Parker was talking to Grady and Billy as Sarah and I headed into the parking lot. Max and Becca had already left, but we had waited until the band was done and the bar shut down. While we waited by the car, I told Sarah what happened. We giggled wildly, and she hollered. “That a girl! I’m so proud.” We tried to give each other a five but we missed on all three tries making us giggle even more. She just hugged me in an overly friendly embrace that made us laugh even more.
“What is going on with you two?” Parker asked with a suspicious smile on his lips as he and Billy strode up to the car.
“Nothing,” I said and attempted to gather myself, which was surprisingly difficult considering I had tears in my eyes from laughing so hard. I didn’t want him to get involved in the petty girl drama. He still played with the band, and they didn’t need little ol’ me causing any tension.
“She stood up for herself. Our sweet Maggie is no longer a doormat!” Sarah announced excitedly while Billy tried to guide her to the car.
“Really?” Parker looked worried. “What happened?”
“Nothing.” I muttered trying to tell Sarah with my eyes to shut up.
She was either too drunk to notice or purposely ignoring me. “The bitch got crazy, and Maggie told her to shut the fuck up.”
“What?” Parker asked surprised. I could tell he was getting frustrated with Sarah’s hints at a situation and my denial of one.
“That’s not at all what happened. Don’t worry about it. And you,” I pointed to Sarah, “Shut up.” I rolled my eyes to show Parker she was being dramatic. I leaned close to Parker, so I could whisper in his ear. “Everything’s fine. Take me home. I may have had a lot to drink and would like my very sexy boyfriend to take advantage of me.” He looked startled and immediately dropped the conversation in favor of getting me in the car. My distraction worked. By the time we made it home, I was giggling while fumbling as I attempted to get Parker’s pants unbuttoned.
“Babe, let’s get upstairs before you start taking my clothes off.”
“I thought you were adventurous,” I giggled some more.
“Oh, I am, but I’m not having anyone see what I’m going to do to you once you get my pants off.”
I rubbed my hand down the front of his zipper. “I think you should be more concerned about them seeing what I’m going to do to you.”
“Upstairs, now!” Parker commanded and turned me towards the stairs. With a slap on my rear, he chased me up the stairs and into my bedroom. Once the door closed all giggling and teasing subsided and the night became unforgettable for a whole other reason.
Parker
When Valentine’s Day rolled around, I tried to plan something special. Good boyfriends did romantic things for their girlfriends on that day, right? I mean, I was no expert in the romance department, but, for Maggie, I was willing to do just about anything. Apparently the boyfriend of the year award was not meant for me though. Grady mentioned right in front of Maggie that he needed me to play at the Anti-Valentine’s Day party at the bar. I told him no, but when he flipped out about not being able to play that gig even though it was one of the band’s biggest money makers, Maggie told me to do it, practically insisted. Agreeing meant that we would be playing for a bunch of single, drunk people, and we would be spending our first Valentine’s Day with the band. Great.
Maggie just wrapped her arms around my waist and looked up at me after Grady happily walked away. “We always have fun at the party, and Sarah will be there too. We can do something on another day. It’s just a Hallmark holiday anyway. We don’t need a special day to tell each other how in love we are.”
I knew she was right, but I wasn’t letting it go this easily. “I know, baby,” I leaned down to kiss her sweet smile, “but this is our first Valentine’s. I just wanted it to be us since we haven’t had much time together lately. I’m not even an official member of the band, but it keeps taking time away from you.”
“Then let’s go and make up for lost time right now.” I had her in my car before she could even say goodbye to Sarah. I couldn’t get enough of my girl. What she was offering, I was buying every chance I could.
Since I couldn’t do any of the crap that guys do to impress their girlfriends on Valentine’s Day, I took a different route. The Saturday morning before the non-holiday I woke up early and brought her breakfast in bed along with a gift. I gave her a diamond pendant necklace that had been my mom’s. My dad had bought my mom a lot of jewelry and gave most of it to me when she passed. I have been waiting for the right girl, the girl I was going to marry, to pass on her jewelry. That necklace in particular was perfect for my Maggie. When I told Maggie it was my mom’s, she just started crying and made me put it on her. She climbed on top of me and hugged me tightly.
“So, you like it?” I asked already knowing the answer.
She looked at me like I was crazy. “I love it. I love you. Thank you.”
I held her close and tried to express with words how much I loved her. When words weren’t enough, I kissed her and showed her just what she meant to me. The breakfast turned cold from being ignored but what I was doing with Maggie heated rather quickly.
&nb
sp; Later that night we went to the stupid ‘I hate V-day’ party at the bar that we always go to, but this year I wasn’t feeling the usual songs. I told the band what I wanted to do, and they all seemed on board until Alexis walked into the bar. All we did was change the set up a little, and Alexis was giving me shit about it all night. Every break, before she would let me go down to Maggie, she would try to talk to me about one song or needing my help when I knew she had played the whole set a million times. She was being strangely needy with me, and it was really pissing me off.
Maggie either ignored my bad mood or was oblivious to it. She had obviously had a few drinks judging by how affectionate she was being. Usually her PDA was limited to hand holding and sitting on my lap but not that night.
I couldn’t complain. In fact I was more than happy to take advantage of her affections. For one thing it kept all the assholes away. I didn’t miss how guys were watching her dance while I was on stage. I couldn’t miss it. I had a bird’s eye view of the bar from the stage. If anyone so much as laid a finger on Maggie, I would have been off that stage before they even realized what had happened.
Sarah was a huge help keeping the drunken bastards away from my girl though. She and I had an understanding ever since that Colton guy tried to touch Maggie against her will last year. No one touches Maggie except me. Sarah had always been protective of our sweet, innocent Maggie, but she was even more protective of her now that we were together. Sarah once shared that she always wanted Maggie and me to get together and wasn’t going to let anyone get in between us if she could help it. Having Sarah and Max on my side was like carrying the best friend trump card every guy needed in his relationship.
Maggie seemed to have fun with Sarah at the party, so I didn’t feel as bad about not doing the whole romantic date thing. However what made my night was when we got home. Maggie gets ballsy when she’s drunk. Tipsy and horny was an excellent combination when it came to my girlfriend.
We could hardly keep our hands off each other on the ride home. I was glad we were in the backseat of her SUV away from Becca and Max’s prying eyes. By the time we made it to her bedroom, I was happy letting her call the shots. She had been getting more and more comfortable every time we messed around. We weren’t even having sex yet, and I felt more satisfied with our sex life than I ever had with any other girl. She would always lay there naked in my arms afterwards while we talked or fell asleep. I would have never even considered cuddling like that with another girl, but with Maggie it was my favorite time of the day.
It was during that time that we talked about the future. I used to only know the facts about my future: college, law school, job. Now I actually could picture a good life in my future, feel excitement and hope for what was to come. I could see Maggie as my wife, us with kids, the whole shebang. It wasn’t even that I could just see it. I wanted to make it happen for me and for Maggie.
“What if we don’t get into the same school?” She asked me one night when we were wrapped around each other once our heart rates had returned to normal. Neither of us could move, not that we wanted to anyway.
She brought up the one subject that I didn’t really want to think about anytime soon. “I don’t know. We’ll cross that bridge when we get there.”
“That doesn’t make me feel better, Parker,” she said with a huff. I kept moving my fingers up and down her back in an effort to keep both of us calm. Touching her kept my worries and fears at bay, and I knew being close to me did the same for her.
“I know, baby.” That was all I could say. The plan was to attend law school together and then go from there. We knew we wanted to be together. That was enough for me. It had felt good to finally admit my feelings to myself and to Maggie. Now I told her as often as I could how much I loved her. It was like I couldn’t keep it in anymore. Maybe talking about my feelings made me a pussy, but I was man enough to tell my girl how I felt about her any time I wanted. She deserved to hear it all the time.
“You know we both have a really good chance at getting into Emory, so focus on that,” I told her. “We’ll be together no matter what. I’m not giving you up,” and I meant it. That was what I wanted right then, to be with her forever no matter what I had to give up.
I felt her smile against my chest. “Well, that’s good to hear.”
“I love you, Maggie, more than words.”
She tilted her head up to look me in the eyes. “I love you, too.” She smiled sweetly and looked so beautiful. Her hair was messy and her lips were swollen from kissing me. Even her tired eyes were perfect. Sometimes it was hard to breathe when I thought about how lucky I was to have this amazing girl in my arms, but I remembered the long journey to this moment and wouldn’t trade anything for it.
When the following week rolled around Maggie and I both received our letters of admission to Emory Law School. We were both relieved to have been accepted into the same school. We didn’t have to apply anywhere else, and more importantly we didn’t have to worry about being apart. Thanks to Maggie’s dad, we could also live in the house for a couple more years.
Pops and Preston were thrilled that we were staying close by as well. We celebrated with them the night our letters arrived. I loved that my family had adopted Maggie. Her family was so different than mine, and I think she was exactly what we needed just as much as we were what she needed.
Maggie’s parents…well, Maggie’s dad showed his pride in his typical way. He threw some money at Maggie and tried to get her to talk to her mother. When that conversation didn’t go well, he reserved their beach house in Florida for us for Spring Break so we could celebrate with our friends. That’s how I found myself leaving for an eight-hour drive down to Florida at 5:00 the Saturday morning of Spring Break.
Chapter 3
Maggie
Max, Becca, Parker and I were on our way down to our beach house as soon as we were all in the car on Saturday morning. Sarah and Billy were coming on Sunday after the band played a gig on Saturday, but the four of us didn’t want to wait. We were going to have a week of drama-free fun, and I for one couldn’t wait. My iPod was playing 80’s rock the whole drive down, and we had a blast singing along, eating junk food, and playing silly car games.
When we arrived at the beach it was still sunny and warm. We rolled the windows down to smell the salty air from the ocean as we drove into town to get provisions for the house. By provisions I meant food, but the boys took that as a reason to buy cases of beer and margarita mix. It appeared that they planned to party while we were there, which was fine by me. It was our week of freedom to do whatever we wanted.
Not surprisingly, my phone was ringing just as we finished bringing all the stuff up the stairs to the house. “You have perfect timing, Daddy,” I answered as I stepped onto the porch overlooking our private beach and pool.
“Hey kid! I guess you made it there safe and sound.”
“We did. We already stopped by the grocery store and unloaded the car.”
“Good. Good. Walk around and check the house for me. It’s been a while since it’s been empty, and you know how renters can be.”
“I will. I’ll also lock all the doors and set the alarm like you said the last three times we talked.”
“Don’t give your old man a hard time, kid. It’s my job to worry about my little girl.”
“I know, Daddy. You don’t have to worry though. Parker and Max are here.”
“If you say so. You want to talk to your mom?”
Do I ever want to talk to my mother? “No. I want to go unpack and get out to the beach. I only have a couple hours of daylight left.”
“All right, darlin’. Go have fun and call if you need anything. Love you.”
“Love you, too. Bye Daddy.” I hung up and took a deep breath inhaling the fresh ocean air in. I loved the beach.
Strong arms wrapped around my waist and pulled me against a hard body. I could tell it was Parker by the hands, smell, and body pressing against me, as if anyone else would gra
b me like that though. In just a few months, my body had come to know his, and we still hadn’t even had sex yet. I was hoping that this beach trip would change that, and I packed accordingly. I would be in barely there bikinis the majority of the time, and I had been on birth control since January thanks to Sarah. She knew what I had been hoping for and made sure I was prepared. I was more than ready to have sex with my boyfriend. Now, I just had to let him know I was ready.
Parker pulled me closer to him and rested his chin on top of my head. “What’d your dad say?”
“Same thing. Check the house. Lock the doors. Be careful. Don’t disturb the neighbors. I think he wishes he was here with us.”
“Who can blame him? This place is beautiful. I didn’t think it would be warm enough, but we’re far enough south where I think we could even swim.”
“The pool is heated, so we can definitely swim in that. I don’t know about the ocean in March though. There’s always the hot tub though,” I offered as suggestively as I could.
“Hmm…I think we could find ways of enjoying the hot tub.” Parker nuzzled my neck just under my ear and ran his hands under the hem of my shirt. “Of course I think we could find ways to stay warm in the ocean as well.” His suggestion immediately made my core tingle, and I had to shift my legs to relieve some of the ache.
“Mr. Pryce, are you telling me that you’re actually an exhibitionist?” I flirted back.
“I’ll be whatever you want me to be, baby.”
“What if I wanted you to be in bed with me?” I knew my cheeks were red, but thankfully I was facing away from him.
“I think we could arrange that. What do you want to do when we get there?” He was taunting me. I never talked dirty. I couldn’t even say most things in front of Sarah, so I wasn’t sure how Parker expected me to be able to come up with the words to describe what I wanted him to do to me. Instead I just made coy suggestions and let him lead the way. This was his way of trying to get me to open up, but talking about it made me super uneasy and obnoxiously red.
