by A. K. Evans
So even though we hadn’t yet taken things all the way, I didn’t care. Sex was important. Of course it was. But even if it ended up not being all that great with Max—which I didn’t think was going to be possible anyway—it wouldn’t matter. Because being able to laugh with him the way that I did brought me fulfillment I didn’t know I needed.
“Ella,” he whispered against my mouth.
And the way he said my name. That was everything.
Max was on top of me, his hips settled between my parted thighs, and I could feel how hard he was for me. I felt like I had wanted him so badly for so long, and I was finally going to get my wish. I was going to get him.
“Max,” I moaned. The need in my voice was unmistakable as I ran my hands through his thick, black hair.
He trailed his lips down my throat, mostly kissing but occasionally nipping the skin along the way. One of his hands was running up and down the side of my body from my thigh, up along my hip, until it reached my breast. He hadn’t yet touched me there. His hand made it to right where his thumb would just barely brush the underside of my breast before he’d move it away and back down my side.
“Please,” I begged.
“What, darling?” he asked when he’d brought his mouth to my ear. “What do you need?”
“You, Max. Please, I want you.”
He emitted a deep growl from the back of his throat as he lifted himself from my body and stood. Max took me with him, and the next thing I knew, we were living out his preferred method of travel with us being chest to chest. My legs were wrapped tightly around his waist as Max, with his hands on my bottom, carried me through the house toward the stairs. While he climbed the steps, I removed my shirt. By the time he made it to the second floor, my bra was gone.
With lightning-fast speed, Max had made it to his room and tossed me onto the bed. He stood beside it as he quickly stripped out of his clothes. I shoved my hands in my pants at my hips and pushed my bottoms off.
“Fuck, look at you, Ella,” he muttered. “Naked and gorgeous in the middle of my bed.”
With expert-like ease, Max rolled on a condom before he settled himself over me. He closed his mouth over my nipple while his fingers slipped through the moisture that had gathered between my legs.
I couldn’t stop the moan from escaping. When one of Max’s fingers pushed inside me, I cried out at the glorious sensation. Max slid a second finger inside, and I rode them hard. Months of wanting this man’s hands on me had me doing everything I could to relieve the ever-growing ache. I desperately needed to find relief from it.
But just when I was on the verge, Max pulled his fingers from my body and rasped, “I want you to come with me inside you, Ella.”
“Hurry,” I begged.
Max didn’t make me wait. Once he was buried inside me, he gave me about a half a second to adjust to his size before he pulled back and drove in harder. One of his hands was planted in the bed just beside my chest. The other hand was cupping my breast, his thumb stroking over my nipple. Every so often, he’d add a second finger and give it a gentle pinch before moving to the other side.
With each solid, deliberate thrust of his cock into me, Max was attempting to communicate something. I just didn’t know what it was. Not until he spoke with a voice so thick with emotion I nearly came on the spot.
“Christ, three months,” he muttered. “Three months I missed out on having this with you. Where have you been, Ella?”
It wasn’t a question that required an answer. His words had said it all.
Max’s pace increased. I worked my hips to match each of his thrusts. And within seconds, I was coming apart calling out his name. Very soon after I’d had my orgasm, Max found his.
A couple minutes later—after we’d both cleaned up and he disposed of the condom—Max and I were tangled up with each other in his bed. It was a place I’d dreamt of being for months, and now I was here, basking in the glory of just how magnificent it had been. It felt a bit surreal.
“Okay, I need to say something,” I announced after some silence had stretched between us.
“What is it?” he asked.
“I know I’ve been joking around with you the past few days, but there is nothing about what you just did that screams old man.”
Max rolled from his back to his side toward me. He did it laughing. When most of his laughter had died down, he reminded me, “I told you. And if you give me five minutes to recover, I’ll show you that stamina we were talking about yesterday.”
“Looking forward to it, big guy.”
Max and I stayed like that, happy and comfortable wrapped up in one another. Five minutes later, he showed me just how much stamina he had.
And when he held me close after our second round of lovemaking because that’s precisely what it was, I found it took me a little bit to find sleep. I was silently hoping and praying that when Max found out the truth about exactly who I was, he wouldn’t go running, taking my heart with him.
I was woken up the next morning by Max gently kissing the skin of my bare shoulder. I moaned because it was morning, I was warm, and Max’s lips were touching me. Wanting to tease him, I arched my back, sending my bottom right into his lap.
Max groaned and squeezed my hip. That hand then moved down over my belly and stopped right between my legs. One swipe through and Max learned how turned on I was. I lost his hand and the heat of him pressed against my back. Immediately, I shifted and turned in the bed to find him rolling on another condom.
At that point, it was safe to assume stamina was not an issue for Max.
Once the condom was situated, Max’s hand came around me and he urged, “Hop up, darling.”
I smiled at the use of words he’d said to me before he carried me back to my house yesterday morning. What I didn’t do was delay in accommodating his request for me to hop up.
Just under two hours after I’d been woken up by Max’s kisses on my shoulder, he was giving me a kiss on the lips. We’d had our breakfast and coffee together, but now he was going to be heading out for most of the day. He was starting at the beginning by plowing his driveway before heading out to see if any of the neighbors needed his help.
“What are you going to do?” he asked.
“I’m probably going to give my parents a call first,” I started. “Then, I’ll call my best friends, Steph and Maggie. After that, I’m going to get dinner in the crockpot before I try to get some work done. If I’m feeling good or you aren’t back yet, I might throw in a dessert to go with dinner.”
Seemingly pleased with my list, Max said, “Good. Stay busy. I’ll probably stop in very briefly so I can simply grab a quick bite to eat around lunchtime.”
“Okay,” I acknowledged. “I’ll be sure to be free at lunchtime, even if it’s going to be a quick one.”
Max smiled at me, gave me one last kiss, and turned to walk out into the cold.
Just as I told Max I would, I got down to business and stayed busy. First up, I changed the order of my list. I got dinner going in the crockpot because I didn’t want to think about that again until much later. I had every intention of baking desserts, but had too much in my brain that needed processing. So, I dashed upstairs to the guest bedroom and grabbed my phone. I pulled up my mom’s name in my list of recent calls and tapped on it.
“Hi, Nora,” my mom greeted me after a few rings.
“Hey. How’s it going there?” I returned.
“We’re perfectly fine,” she answered. “Your dad has been worried about you, though. He told me that I needed to find out how you’re doing. He’s concerned about your power being out and whether or not the snow has stopped. Is it still snowing or has it stopped? Did your power come back on?”
I loved my parents. Dad would always find a way to get Mom to ask all his pertinent questions that indicated just how much he worried about me. But if he was talking to me himself, he always spoke with such confidence. It was like he never wanted me to think he doubted my capabilities
.
“The snow has finally stopped,” I began. “But the power is not back on yet. From what I’ve seen on the news and what I’ve been told, that’s probably still quite a few days away. I think today is going to really be the first day that emergency personnel and road crews are going to be able to get out there and start the cleanup. Apparently, the freezing rain and ice that fell before the snow came is what made this storm as bad as it was. So many trees had fallen before the snow even started.”
“Yeah, we’ve been trying to keep our eyes on the news reports just to see what’s going on up there, but you just never know what it’s like in a specific place unless you hear it from someone who is there. All the reports are talking about the bigger cities, so we have no idea what it’s like for you,” she explained.
“I’ll take a few pictures today and send them over to you,” I offered. “There’s so much snow outside right now. More than I’ve ever seen in my life. I think they’re saying well over forty inches fell, but some spots are really bad because of the snowdrifts.”
Excitedly, my mom replied, “Oh, yes! You should definitely send some pictures. Your dad would love to see that.”
I had to laugh. I had no doubts my parents would sit there and marvel over the pictures I sent, but would ultimately go around showing all their friends those pictures of the snowstorm their daughter survived. They make me out to be some kind of superhero when the truth was that had it not been for Max I’m not sure I would have made it through this storm alive.
“Since the power isn’t back on, are you still staying with your neighbor?” she asked after my laughter had died down.
I took in a deep breath and blew it out before I answered, “Yes, I am. And Mom?”
“Yeah?” she replied, her curiosity evident.
“I think I’m falling in love with him,” I revealed.
Silence stretched between us as my mom hesitated to respond. Eventually, she spoke, but there was a bit of trepidation in her tone. “It’s only been a few days, Eleanor.”
I bit my lip to suppress my laughter. Mom had never been good at hiding anything. Whenever she was deciding whether or not she wanted to lecture me on something, she called me by my full name.
“I know,” I assured her. “It’s crazy, Mom. So absolutely crazy. But I know what I feel when I’m around him. And I know that has to mean something. Because what I feel reminds me of what you’ve always told me you felt when you and Dad met. Something about Max just feels different from anyone else I’ve ever dated. He’s the most generous man I’ve ever met. In fact, he’s outside plowing the snow in his driveway, which is even longer than mine, and then he’s going to go and assist the neighbors who need help with snow removal as well. He looks out for people and cares about them.”
“Okay, honey, those are all great qualities,” she admitted. “There’s no denying that, but are you sure what you’re feeling is love and not just admiration for a good soul? There’s a big difference, and I don’t want you ending up hurt.”
“He makes me laugh,” I swooned. “Mom, I laughed for hours yesterday. Hours. I can’t explain it, but something about this just feels right with him.”
There was a beat of silence before she replied, “Then I only have one question for you, Nora. I know how you are, so you know I have to ask. Have you told him the truth about who you are?”
“No,” I whispered, my throat tight as I struggled to get the single word out.
I heard her take in a deep breath. “You have to tell him, honey. If this is what you believe it is, you don’t want to start it by keeping secrets.”
“But I really like him a lot,” I confessed.
“All the more reason you need to tell him,” she insisted.
She was right. I knew she was right, but that still didn’t mean I wanted to share it and risk what I had with Max. “I’m afraid.”
“Of what?”
“Losing him,” I admitted. “I know it’s early, Mom. But I don’t want to lose this feeling. I don’t want to lose him.”
“If he’s who you believe he is, Nora, you won’t. But for your sake, please promise me that you’re going to tell him. The last thing you want to do is fall even harder for this man, make him fall for you, and then end up in a situation where you’re responsible for breaking both of your hearts. With you being so far away, Dad and I already worry about you. If you’re that far away with a broken heart, we couldn’t stand it.”
I didn’t respond.
“Nora?” Mom called.
“Yeah?” I answered.
“Promise me,” she pleaded.
I hesitated briefly, but ultimately replied, “I promise.”
“Before your heart gets involved and you can wind up heartbroken?” she clarified.
Taking in a deep breath, I held it and explained, “It’s already too late for that.”
There was a collective sigh between us. If Max turned out not to be the man I thought he was, there was not a doubt in my mind that I’d feel the loss of him. The thought was too painful to bear.
Realizing there wasn’t much else to say that would make the task ahead of me any easier, Mom and I shifted our conversation to other topics. We talked for a long time; that was just our way. But with more calls to make to Maggie and Steph, work-related tasks to complete, and dessert to be baked, I had to end our call.
Following my conversation with my mom, I took a break from the phone and pulled out my laptop. As quickly as I could, I got through my emails and solved the one tech-related problem I needed to handle. By that point, it was approaching lunchtime. I went downstairs so I could whip up something for Max when he came in from working out in the cold all morning.
With near-perfect timing, Max walked in the door just as I’d finished preparing the food. What he did next surprised me. Instead of taking a load off and diving in, he came right over to me and gave me a kiss on the lips.
I allowed the good feeling that gave me to sink in for just a moment. Then, I asked, “How’s it going out there, old man?”
Max smiled and said, “Believe it or not, I just got my driveway finished. With one of our usual storms and my driveway being so long, it typically takes me a while to clear it. But with the depth of the snow and the drifts we had, it took a lot longer this time.”
“Well then, you better eat up so you can get back out there and help your neighbors,” I advised him. “If they’re trying to do snow removal with shovels or snow blowers, you arriving with a plow will be a miraculous blessing.”
With that, Max wasted no time in downing his lunch. He was a man who had things to do, and this was not the time to drag his heels. Before he ventured back outside, Max thanked me for feeding him and gave me another kiss.
And the ease with which he did that melted my heart. I wanted something that simple and meaningful for the rest of my life. Just the simplicity of a passing kiss from Max while I stood at the kitchen counter preparing to bake dessert. I wanted that without the truth being withheld. I longed to find a man like Max for what seemed like forever. I just hoped when I gave him the truth, I’d be able to still have him and my successful professional life.
Eleanor
I was in Max’s bedroom, standing at the window that had a clear view to my house. My mind was whirling with a million thoughts about what to do.
After Max went back out to help the neighbors following lunch, I prepared dessert for after dinner tonight. Then, I called Steph and Maggie. Even though I’d already told my mom about Max and valued her opinion, I had promised my friends that I’d keep them updated.
Of course, they were thrilled to hear about how things had progressed between Max and me. But like my mom, they both urged me to be forthcoming with him insisting that it was not only something he deserved, but that I did as well.
I got it. In any other situation, I knew I’d never hide anything from Max…or any other partner for that matter. But this one thing seemed to be such a source of contention for me. The minute a
man learned of my success, he communicated less and less until, eventually, I stopped hearing from him altogether. Up until now, nobody I’d spent my time with made me feel the way Max did. The fact that he could possibly respond to the news the same way everyone else did was my sole reason for not sharing. I wasn’t ready to let him go.
Even still, I knew my mom, Steph, and Maggie were right. Max deserved the truth. More than that, I really didn’t need to get myself in deeper with someone who might not be able to stick it out with me because of pride or ego. There wasn’t a doubt in my mind that I deserved better than that.
But it was hard. Because even though I knew what I deserved, it didn’t make it any easier to come to terms with the fact that I might lose Max as a result. So, I was struggling with trying to figure out the best way to share the news with him.
As I stood there staring out the window while contemplating my options, something caught my eye. That’s when I noticed Max’s truck was in my driveway. He was plowing it for me. Seeing that did two things to me. First, it made me fall harder for him. I mean, the guy had been out all day, and he was taking the time to do my driveway as well. Second, I suddenly had the overwhelming urge to do something to help him. I looked out one of the other windows and saw just how I could do that.
So as quickly as I could, I got myself layered up and bundled up. Then, I sauntered out to Max’s garage. I found a shovel and a snow blower. Being from Florida, I hadn’t ever used a snow blower before. Given my lack of experience with one, I figured the shovel was the safest bet. Grabbing it off the hook, I walked out to the front walkway that led from the driveway to the front door of his house. It was still completely covered in snow.
I took in a deep breath, blew it out, and got down to business. I speared the snow with the shovel, scooped, and tossed it off to the side. I did it again and again. The snow was heavy, wet, and dense, so it was quite an undertaking. I didn’t know how much time had passed, but it felt like it had been hours. This wouldn’t have necessarily been a problem; however, I was freezing and I’d only managed to get about a third of Max’s walkway cleared. The snow was so deep that it took several shovelfuls of snow just to clear one small section. When I took that into consideration, I actually felt pretty proud of myself.
