Chapter 13 - Max
“So, how did you two meet?” My dad asks, sipping his decaf coffee. I glance at Naomi and try to smile. In a perfect world, we would have come up with a story and rehearsed it. I would have prepared her. I would have told her about my parents—what to expect, what to say, what not to say.
But now?
None of that. I can’t give her any warning. She looks like a deer in headlights, but she’s doing fairly well.
So, when my dad asks me where we met, I just tell the truth.
“Naomi is my physical therapist,” I explain. “I started going to her a few months ago, and I guess we just sort of clicked.”
“How does your boss feel about the relationship?” He says, turning to Naomi.
Naomi shrugs, smiling. “She was surprised, but she’s okay with it.”
There’s an awkward silence and I clear my throat.
“I wasn’t expecting you guys here so soon.”
“Well, we had to meet the woman who stole our son’s heart,” my mother says, turning her hawk-like eyes towards Naomi. I wish she wouldn’t do that. I reach over and put my hand on Naomi’s knee, feeling her tremble slightly. She must be so stressed.
Hell, I’m stressed, and I’m their son!
“I’m not used to the whole tabloid thing,” Naomi says. “That was a bit of a shock this morning.”
My mother waves a hand and leans back in her chair. “You’ll get used to it. If you lead a boring-enough life, they’ll leave you alone.”
“They haven’t left Max alone,” Naomi grins. “Maybe your life will finally be boring enough now.”
“It doesn’t feel boring,” I reply. Naomi’s eyes flash, and her grin widens. My shoulders relax slightly and I squeeze the hand on her thigh. She interlaces her fingers in mine, leaning back on the couch.
“How was the drive?” Naomi asks, and then frowns. “You… you drove here, right?” She tenses.
“Yes, of course, honey,” my mother says. “How else would we get here? There are hardly any flights from Sands Point to the city. Well,” she muses, staring out the window. “I guess you could take a sea plane.” She looks at Naomi again, smiling that thousand-megawatt smile of hers. “The drive was fine. We missed the traffic, so it was all smooth sailing. We’ve been meaning to come to the city for a while now, so this was the perfect opportunity.”
“Right.”
There’s a tense moment, and then my father starts asking me about work. I relax as we start talking about familiar, neutral territory, and Naomi’s tenseness dissipates. She leans into me, squeezing my hand.
Is it bad that I like this?
As awkward and horrifying as it was to have my parents walk in, I actually like sitting here, holding her hand. It feels almost natural.
Well, as natural as it could feel, under the circumstances.
After an hour of idle chit-chat, Naomi takes a deep breath.
“It’s been lovely to meet you, but I have to work early tomorrow morning. I’m going to have to leave you guys to catch up without me.”
Smooth.
She shoots me a glance as if to say, ‘you’re on your own’, and I can’t help but grin.
My father gets the hint, though, and he stands up. “We’ll be on our way, won’t we, Carol.”
“Of course.”
“Rudy, Carol,” Naomi says, giving them both a kiss. We say our goodbyes, leading them back through the front door. As soon as the door closes, Naomi turns to me with wide eyes.
“You bastard,” she says. “That was my worst nightmare!”
She’s laughing now, and I can’t help but join in. She leans against the kitchen counter, putting her hand against her forehead and laughing while she shakes her head. We laugh, leaning against the kitchen counter and letting out all the stress of the past hour. Tears are streaming down her face, and her emerald eyes are shining more than I’ve ever seen them.
I push myself off the counter and stand in front of her. I put my hands on her hips and pull her towards me, sinking my fingertips into her body and shaking my head.
“I’m so, so sorry about that. I was as shocked as you were.”
“That’s the only reason I’m still here,” she laughs. “I could tell it was as hard for you as it was for me.”
She puts her hands on my chest, curling her fingers into my shirt. My heart is racing. She’s so close.
“You were perfect,” I say. “They liked you.”
“I felt like a blundering idiot,” she says, shaking her head. “The mugs…”
“Don’t worry about the mugs,” I say in a hoarse whisper. She runs her fingers up to my shoulders, hooking her hands around my neck. I press my chest against hers, growling softly as I feel her body fitting into mine.
She stares at me and her eyes flick down to my lips. The fire in my stomach ignites, and my cock throbs between my legs.
Maybe it’s the stress of the day, or the tension of the evening with my parents. Maybe it’s the fact that Naomi has obviously had a stressful day, too.
Or, maybe it’s just that I’m holding a beautiful woman in my arms, and she’s looking at me with those bright, green eyes of hers and licking those perfectly kissable lips.
Whatever it is, my body feels like it’s on fire. I’m so tightly strung I feel like I could explode at any moment. Neither of us move. Her chest is pressed against mine, her fingers hooking into the nape of my neck. She twists her fingers into my hair, tilting her head to the side.
I wrap my arms around her, letting them drift down to her ass. I pull her into me and I can’t wait any longer. I dip my chin down and crush my mouth against hers. She parts her lips and kisses me fiercely, pulling me into her and gasping softly into my mouth as we melt into each other.
My whole body sings. My hands drift up her spine as she tangles hers into my hair. She kisses me, sliding her tongue into my mouth and moaning. Her lips taste like heaven.
This is more than a kiss. It’s more than a stress relief.
This is pure passion. It’s pure want. Pure longing.
Kissing Naomi feels better than I could ever have imagined, and when she pulls away from me, all I want to do is crush my lips against hers again.
My chest is heaving, and I rest my forehead against hers. We stay like that, eyes closed, holding each other, until Naomi lets out a single sigh.
“Wow,” she says. “You’re a good kisser.”