by Shealy James
“Nothing. I just take it things are better between you two.”
“What do you mean?”
She rolled her eyes like Sarah would have done. “Oh, come on. You haven’t watched him like that in weeks. I could tell something was going on, but you are so hush, hush about life that I didn’t want to ask and invade your privacy.”
I laughed. “Ok, I get it. And yes, things are a lot better.”
“Good. You two are a perfect fit. I’d hate to see something petty get in your way.”
I wouldn’t call my issues with Alexis petty, but I understood what she was saying. “Well, thanks for that. I think we have it all figured out. We just went through some growing pains. Things aren’t the same as they were in college, you know.”
“Oh, I get it. Believe me. Remember, I moved here because I needed a change. The change was that I needed to get away from my ex.”
“Bad news?” I asked.
“Umm…he’s the kind of guy your mom warns you about, but you can’t help yourself anyway. He just wasn’t for me.” She paused and looked around the room for a second before turning towards me. “Speaking of not for me, can I be a gossip for a second?”
“Sure,” I responded suspiciously.
“A couple of weeks ago I went out to dinner with Sophie and Tony. First of all, Tony is a total creeper. More importantly I met Sophie’s husband.”
“Oh yeah?” I was really interested to hear about the doctor Sophie talked about all the time.
“Well, let me just say he wasn’t what I expected. The night we went to the bar with you and Parker and drank way too much she told me all about him in the bedroom…in graphic detail, shit no one needs to know about anyone’s husband. Well, I was expecting McSteamy or at the very least McDreamy.” Her whisper became more frantic as she told the story, but, when she paused, the look on her face told me the man she met did not compare to McSteamy or McDreamy.
“What? Was he Doogie Howser? McUgly? What?” I asked impatiently.
“He was McOld. I mean the guy has years on my dad. Sophie’s so young and perky that I thought for sure this guy was a resident or something. Oh no! I would say he’s pushing sixty. He could have been Richard Gere’s twin.”
I burst out laughing. “No way!”
“Oh yes. It was shocking to say the least. When he sat down, I wondered who invited their dad, but his greeting was followed by a full open mouth kiss with tongue right there at the table. I felt like I was intruding on one of their bedroom moments by watching, but I couldn’t tear my eyes away. All I could think about was her telling me how he likes it when she grabs his ass. Now I know she meant he likes it when she grabs his wrinkled, saggy ass.”
I couldn’t control the giggling. Tears started escaping my eyes from laughing so hard. Suddenly I was so grateful for Ivy. I hadn’t laughed like that with a girlfriend since Sarah had left, and I hadn’t realized how cathartic a good laugh could be.
“Oh my…” was all I could say. Words would not form through the laughter.
“Can you imagine what she said when she introduced him to her parents? ‘Hey Mom and Dad, this is my boyfriend William. I know he’s older than you guys, but he’s amazing in bed.’ I mean, seriously!”
“Maybe he was a friend of her parents and thought they’d hit it off,” I suggested still giggling uncontrollably.
“I would laugh at my parents if they thought I would be even remotely interested in one of their friends.” She shrugged clearly amused by my reaction to her gossip. “I mean, don’t get me wrong. I don’t judge. Everybody has his or her thing. At least he was an attractive old dude, but he was so not my cup of tea. I’m into punk rockers who dye their hair wild colors and wear tight jeans and make-up. Who am I to judge someone for screwing an old man?”
Her words stopped my laughter and turned my attention on her love life. “You like punk rockers, huh?”
“Yeah,” she sighed dramatically. “Skinny guys with no muscle tone make me swoon. I know. I’m a weirdo.”
“What are you doing a week from Friday?”
“Hanging out with you apparently.”
“Yes, you are. I’m not a matchmaker, but I have someone you must meet.”
Just then Parker walked up to join us. He dropped our sandwiches and waters on the table before plopping down in his chair. We just stared at him.
“What?”
Ivy and I burst out laughing and then she filled Parker in on all the excitement. Just like that, we had another friend in our clan.
Chapter 11
Maggie
All of my newfound happiness was made even better because I was finally doing better in school. The asshole professor was even kind enough to stop me after class to tell me I did a good job that day before asking if I had thought about my plans for summer internships. I couldn’t believe it.
I had needed that little boost of confidence since we were headed to Savannah for the weekend. Max, Becca, Parker, and I piled in my car to make the three-hour trek to my parent’s mansion. While I was dreading seeing her, I didn’t think my mother could even kill my good mood from the great week I’d had.
Of course the second we walked in the door, she started on me. “Welcome Parker,” she said as she stood at the front door while Parker and I entered. We had dropped Max and Becca off at his house, so Parker was my only hope of deflecting my mother’s wrath. Since Daddy’s heart attack last year, she wasn’t holding back anymore.
“Mrs. Miller. How are you?”
“Fine,” she said before pressing her lips into a tight line and turning to me. “I hope no one saw you dressed like that. You look positively hideous, Margaret.”
“Thank you, Mother. Always a pleasure to see you as well,” I said sarcastically. “Where’s Daddy?”
“At the office still. Take your stuff upstairs and get cleaned up. He should be home soon for dinner soon. Everyone will be here by seven thirty, so you need to be ready. Change your clothes.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
She walked away with a clip clop of her high heels.
“Glad to see nothing has changed,” I mumbled to Parker as we carried our bags upstairs.
He just laughed when he wrapped his arms around my waist. “At least you can joke about it now.” I pulled away and started dressing for my mother’s expectations for dinner. I heard Parker huff when I pulled away, but I didn’t have time for a heart-to-heart right then. I had to somehow make myself invisible for dinner.
Dinner wasn’t much better than the initial welcome home, but Daddy was thrilled to have us all at his dinner table. My mother couldn’t really say anything with him sitting there. He wouldn’t stand for it. Of course he didn’t stop her from glaring at me or holding off on dessert because “some of us need to be watching our figures.” I was certain she wasn’t talking about anyone else at the table by the way she looked me up and down when she said it. I rolled my eyes. My mother was ridiculous.
Parker
It was Saturday night when we celebrated Maggie’s dad’s sixtieth birthday at the club. Maggie was perfect, staying on my arm the entire night looking beautiful in a green cocktail dress. After dinner we were standing out on the porch taking a break from the party when she wrapped her arms around me.
I pressed a quick kiss to her lips. “Have I told you how beautiful you look tonight?”
She pressed her body against mine. “Once or twice, but it never hurts to hear it again,” Maggie’s smile was sassy and full of promises to come. It was too bad we were staying under her parents’ roof again. I could have really used my fill of her promises that night.
Instead I bent down and kissed her cheek then I whispered, “You look beautiful tonight, Maggie.”
She smiled. “Too bad we’re staying at my parent’s house,” she said reading my thoughts.
I looked out over the lake and let out a deep breath knowing that night was going to haunt me forever. Then something occurred to me. “We can go to your spot on the golf co
urse tonight. That isn’t under their roof.”
Her cheeks turned a shade of red I hadn’t seen in a while. It was good to know the sweet, innocent Maggie was still there, and I hadn’t completely defiled her. “Or we could wait until we get home tomorrow. I’m not getting caught doing that on the golf course.”
I groaned. “I knew you would make me pay for that.”
She smiled wickedly then reached for my hand. “Come on. The sooner we sing happy birthday, the sooner we can leave.”
That was all she had to say. It was another hour before we were back in her room and I was unzipping her dress. We didn’t disrespect her parents, but Maggie was all smiles as she fell asleep on my chest that night.
Over the next few weeks, Maggie and I spent more time together. We were back to how it was when we first got together, just the two of us all the time. A few times she even came to listen to the band when we were recording. Pops helped put everything together since I was playing, and Grady ended up with a really impressive demo.
The guys loved having Maggie there. She brought them food and told them how great they were all the time. I thought I was going to have to give her an approved list of comments because the guys’ egos were getting out of control, particularly Grady. Giant egos or not, the band knew they had something amazing on their hands.
Friday night was their big night. They were playing live for some record executives and handing over the demo. Maggie, Max, Becca and I went to the bar even though Alexis was going to be there. Maggie seemed determined to go, so I did what my girl wanted. Had I known she was playing matchmaker with my best friend, I probably would have thought twice about going. Grady’s longest relationship was with his guitar. He was a loyal friend to the guys in the band and me. He was even loyal to Alexis, who was like a sister to him. However, Grady was not the kind of guy you set your friends up with. He was the worst kind of player; he made promises and broke them for sport. And Maggie wanted to introduce him to our study partner, Ivy. It was going to be a train wreck for sure.
Not surprisingly Ivy was immediately drawn to him. I had a feeling if I told her he was bad news, she would have only liked him more.
She saw him as soon as we walked in the front door. He was on stage plugging in his guitars looking as stressed as I expected. This was a huge night for the band, and he was their leader. It didn’t matter though. When he saw us come in, his eyes went from me to Maggie to Ivy, and that was where they remained. Intrigue was written all over his face. Train wreck…it was going to happen.
“That him?” Ivy asked with her eyes still locked on Grady.
Maggie smiled brightly. “That’s him. He’s getting ready, but I’ll introduce you after.”
I cleared my throat. “No need to wait. He’s coming to meet her.” I leaned down to whisper in Maggie’s ear. “You know this is a terrible idea, right?”
“Oh hush,” she said and elbowed me in the gut. “They are just looking for fun, not marriage. Give them a chance.”
I stood back up and didn’t say another word. Far be it for me to ruin Maggie’s fun.
“Parker,” Grady greeted. I nodded my head in return while he hugged Maggie. “And who are you?”
“Ivy,” she responded and held out her hand.
He took her hand and held it in both of his while keeping his eyes focused on hers. He was such a player. “Well Ivy, I must say I’m glad to meet you. How in the world did you hook up with these two?”
“School, you?”
“Park’s been playing with us for years. He’s our golden boy who won’t admit he should be playing instead of studying.”
“I never knew he was so talented.”
“He learned from the best, sweetheart. Let’s get you a drink and a seat at our table.” Grady kept her hand in his as they walked away.
Maggie just looked up at me and laughed at my expression.
“Disaster, Maggie.”
“He’s a smooth talker, isn’t he? I have never seen anything like what just happened.”
“Good.” I pulled her against me and wrapped my arms around her back. “A guy ever talks to you that way, and he won’t make it home that night.”
“You don’t have to worry, Parker. They can smell your scent from a mile away. You marked your territory long ago.”
I swear my chest puffed out on its own. Claiming Maggie brought out my inner caveman for sure. It sometimes blew my mind to think that two years ago I would have run from this.
Chapter 12
Parker
The next study group was the last before Thanksgiving. It was an interesting one to say the least. We hadn’t seen Ivy outside of class since she left with Grady after they performed. Things went well with the music execs, and apparently Grady wanted a private celebration with Ivy.
She was already there when we walked up to our table. I could tell Maggie was dying to ask her about Grady, but Maggie had a thing about being nosey. I, on the other hand, had no problem asking considering the last I heard from Grady was Friday night, and that never happened.
“So, how’d it go on Friday?”
“Friday?” Ivy asked. “Oh, you mean Friday, Saturday, Sunday, and yesterday. The boy won’t give up. I’m supposed to call him when I leave here.”
Maggie giggled and gave me her “I told you so” look. I wasn’t convinced. “You spent the weekend with him? Impressive. That might be his longest relationship ever.”
Maggie’s elbow came out of nowhere and left me with a stabbing sensation in my side. “So things are going well?” Maggie asked before giving me the stink eye.
“Yeah. We’re just having fun, so you don’t have to worry, Parker. I’m not about to tattoo his name on my ass or anything, but I’m going to see where it goes. He’s cool and interesting. That girl he lives with though…is she crazy?”
Maggie groaned and fell back in her chair with an eye roll. I laughed. “Something like that. Why?”
“Girlfriend has no boundaries. I don’t know. She just seems…off.”
Maggie sat up and started to get heated. “Oh, she’s off all right. She is the-”
“Maggie,” I snapped when she started getting loud in the middle of the library.
She stopped and looked at me then noticed everyone staring at her. Her cheeks turned bright red, so I put my hand on her leg reassuringly and spoke to Ivy. “Alexis can be a complete bitch, especially right now. She has shit going on, but she’s like a sister to Grady.”
“Hmm…figures,” Ivy shrugged.
It was then that everyone else joined the group, and we started on our work for the week. Unfortunately work seemed to be the last thing on our group’s mind. Tony seemed unusually interested in Maggie’s plans for the upcoming Thanksgiving break. Everyone was talking about the break, and then it led in a direction that almost earned him a fist to the face.
“My husband has to work, so we’re staying here. My family is planning to come into town the day of Thanksgiving though,” Sophie shared after Ivy asked what she was going to be up to the following week.
Ivy huffed, “I have to fly to Ohio on Wednesday. The airports are going to be crazy, but my mother won’t let me miss a holiday with the fam.”
Tony then turned to Maggie and said, “What about you, Mags? You staying in town?”
I looked up at him when he casually called her “Mags,” but Maggie put her hand on my leg instantly calming my ire. “No. Parker and I are celebrating Thanksgiving with my family on Thursday and coming back to celebrate with his family on Saturday.”
“Two Thanksgivings sound good to me,” Ivy smiled.
“So you spend holidays with each other’s families?” Tony asked with raised eyebrows.
“Yes,” I snapped and wrapped my hand around Maggie’s shoulders. He needed to wipe that surprised look off his face before I did it for him. Tony may be book smart, but he was definitely not smart enough not to mess with a guy who was feeling particularly possessive of his girl.
“You t
wo must be more serious than I thought,” Tony said to Maggie while purposely ignoring my glare. The other members of our study group looked at each other nervously as the tension at the table increased.
Maggie laughed. “Guess so. We’ve been serious since the moment we decided we wanted to be together. We were friends first.” I knew she was trying to ease the tension, but the moron wouldn’t let up.
“It is just surprising that a smart, beautiful girl like you would get involved with a guy like him. Maybe you aren’t as smart as you seem.” He winked playfully at her, and that was when I had enough.
I started to stand, but Maggie beat me to it. She flattened her hands against the table and leaned forward. “Yes Tony, Parker and I are very serious. We live together and have been together for almost a year. Your insults and lame attempts at flirting are nothing more than a joke between us. When we meet in the future maybe you could focus on our work and less on me.”
I leaned back in my chair with a wide smile on my face as I wrapped my arm back around my girl. I didn’t need to put this punk in his place. Maggie handled it just fine, and I couldn’t be prouder. Her slight blush and lack of eye contact told me she surprised herself, but I found this new, confident Maggie very sexy.
Maggie
It was Thanksgiving when Parker answered the call. We had just finished dinner and were settling down in the theater to watch a movie and enjoy our food comas. Everything had gone relatively well at dinner. By “going well” I mean my mother didn’t speak to me, acknowledge me, or even look in my direction for the entire two hours we had guests in the dining room. I was thrilled with the lack of attention.
Parker and I had just snuggled onto one of the couches when Grady started texting. Parker ignored them at first until Grady started calling. Finally he answered the phone and stepped out of the room. Max looked over at me with question, and I just shrugged because I honestly didn’t know what was going on. We were halfway through our movie before Parker returned. His hair was sticking out, and his easy-going expression had been replaced with stress and despair.
