The woman shrieks, “Oh my God…Carl…get out here. Zack Grantham and Max Fournier are on our front porch.”
Kate snickers beside me and I watch with fascinated interest as the homeowners proceed to have a meltdown that two of the Carolina Cold Fury are at their house. Kate then snorts as we watch the poor kids holding their little plastic pumpkin buckets out for candy, but they’re being thoroughly ignored while the homeowners ask for pictures.
“Is it always like this?” I ask in a hushed voice as we stand at the end of the driveway while I witness yet again the oddness of celebrity.
“Not always,” she says with an amused voice. “But often.”
We’re currently at the end of our jaunt through Zack and Kate’s neighborhood. Max suggested taking the kids to trick-or-treat here with Ben, and then Kate had volunteered to host a slumber party for all of the kids after, and thus Max and I would have our date.
The thought makes my palms sweat, but in a good way.
Kate and Zack Grantham are an amazing couple. Max filled me in on a little of their background before we came over, I think because he wanted me to feel comfortable with the kids staying the night there. Kate had started out as Ben’s nanny after Ben’s mom had died in a tragic car accident. The simple story is they fell in love and got married just last month, and best of all, Kate adopted Ben, the finalization coming through just the week after they said their vows.
That was the basic story, but Kate filled me in more each time the guys would take the kids up to a house for treats. Kate told me with a fond smile that Zack was a real asshole to her at first, but she said that’s because he was all stuck inside his head after Ben’s mom died. She said he eventually came around after he lost her—although I didn’t press her for those details—and she’s been living the fairy tale ever since.
That made me take pause, because that’s sort of how I’ve been feeling. That Max is like the knight in shining armor that has come to rescue me. Although I’m not letting him fully rescue me, I have totally accepted his help and I’m not sure how I feel about that. On the one hand, I feel guilty, almost as if I’m using him, because I still can’t understand what he’s getting out of all this. But on the other hand, there’s something about Max and all he brings to my table that just seems right. It’s almost a feeling of fate or destiny…that I was given a terrible uphill battle with Melody dying and me taking on the kids, but that Max was put in my path for some higher purpose.
There’s a part of me I believe will always feel a little guilty for all he’s done for me so far, because I don’t know how I could ever truly repay him. I mean, I’ll totally repay the loan he’s given me, but how do you truly let someone know that what they’ve done for you is a life changer?
On top of the guilt, I’m also suffering under a bit of fear that all of this with Max may be too good to be true. Here’s a man that has the potential to be all I ever would need in this life, and I’m honestly afraid to believe in something that could actually be fleeting.
With pictures out of the way, the homeowners finally hand out candy and they go a little overboard in their enthusiasm, giving each kid a handful of full-size candy bars that barely fit inside their already stuffed buckets. Each of the kids grins, says “Thank you,” and the whole group comes trotting down the porch steps toward us.
And what a group they make. Ben, who’s only about six months older than Annabelle, is dressed as a little vampire. He’s got his hair all slicked back, pale makeup, and dark shading under his eyes. Those little plastic vampire teeth are way too cute. Annabelle wanted to go as Tinker Bell and I was able to find her the cutest green dress with a sparkly tulle skirt that came with little fairy wings that went across her back. Levy and Rocco weren’t so easily settled on their costumes, but after a lot of debate, hemming and hawing, Levy settled on wanting to be a ninja and Rocco on a fireman, and I had absolutely no qualms about spending the money on those costumes from the check that Max gave me a few weeks ago when his friend bought my paintings. My only slight regret was the plastic ninja sword that Levy swings a little too wildly, in my humble opinion.
“Look what I got,” Annabelle says as she reaches me, thrusting her bucket out for me to examine. “You can have some if you want.”
I ruffle her hair and tell her, “Oh…I so want.”
“I’ll give you some of mine too, Aunt Jules,” Rocco pipes in, his need for affirmation evident on his face.
“You are so generous, Rocco,” I tell him. “Thank you.”
Levy ignores all of us, pawing through his treasure trove of treats.
“Okay, looks like the kids’ buckets are full,” Max says as he claps his hands together, and then puts a hand to Levy and Rocco’s backs to urge them forward. “How about we get them back to Zack and Kate’s house and they can get started eating all of that rotten goodness.”
Kate elbows me slightly in the ribs, and when I look at her, she gives me a knowing grin.
It says, “Max cannot wait to get you alone. He’s so cute in his impatience.”
I grin back, and when I slide my gaze over to Max as he starts pushing the boys down the street, he shoots me an intense look over his shoulder that promises our alone time is going to be very good.
We make it back to Kate and Zack’s house, and Max and I hang around for about thirty minutes to make sure my crew is settled and they’re not going to wig out when I leave. Turns out, Annabelle, Levy, and Rocco are quite the independent little brood as they barely glanced at me twice when I reminded them that they were staying the night and I’d see them in the morning. I had to even prod them to stand up from the table where they were digging into their candy to give me a goodbye hug.
After farewells to everyone, Max and I walked out to his car hand in hand. He had laced his fingers with mine as we headed down their driveway to where he’d parked his car on the road. It felt natural and right, as if we’d been holding hands our entire lives.
After we both get settled in and buckled, Max turns to me in his seat before he starts the car. “Jules…I want you to know I have no real expectations of where tonight is going to go. It’s been four weeks since we first met, but tonight is really our first date.”
“I have no expectations either,” I tell him, and while that’s true, it doesn’t mean I haven’t thought about how far things might go. “I’m just happy to have a kid-free night and to share it with an amazing man.”
“And gorgeous too,” Max says with a grin. “I’m gorgeous, right?”
“Totally,” I agree with a laugh.
“All right,” he says as he starts the car. “Then my suggestion is that we have a quiet night. Take-out Thai would be my choice and then we go to your apartment or my house and just hang.”
“Thai sounds great and let’s do your house,” I tell him. “I’d like to see how the rich and famous but mostly bachelor Max Fournier lives. I’m going to stereotype here and say I’m expecting a sink full of dirty dishes in the kitchen and clothes all over the bedroom floor.”
“That’s awful forward, Miss Bradley,” Max says with a mock huff as he pulls away from the curb. “I’d never let a lady see my bedroom on a first date.”
I snort in response, but then I wonder…is he teasing me or being serious?
Max’s fingers brush against my temple and then sift through my hair. I shift my head as it lays on his right thigh, and I think to myself, nothing awkward about this. Again, my time with him is effortless. Conversation is engaging, silences are golden. He freely touches me and it feels natural.
The end credits roll on the screen of his sweet eighty-inch 4K TV that takes up an entire wall in his living room. Dinner was causal as we ate on the deck of his beautiful home. It’s what I expected and then it’s not. It’s large and in a well-to-do neighborhood, but it’s not ostentatious. The furnishings are comfortable; the colors are warm. It’s the type of house that you don’t worry about tracking mud into, but that has nothing to do with the house itself. It has everything to do with Max’s casual and easygoing nature.
After dinner he suggested a movie and I happily agreed. He’s right…neither of us have any expectations, and I can’t ever remember a first date being so spontaneous and fun. I can’t ever remember meeting anyone like Max and having just an innate feeling of comfort around someone.
That is not to say that there isn’t some sexual tension between us. No, rather, there’s quite a bit. Max and I haven’t had much time together the last few weeks since our first amazing kiss. I’ve still been working brutal hours since giving my notice at the gas station and Max is deep into regular season hockey. He’s playing phenomenally and I’ve learned quickly that to play at that level takes extreme dedication to your job. That means daily workouts, sometimes for two to three hours. Practices and team meetings. The games themselves. And let’s not forget about travel. A two-game trip out to California had him gone for a solid five days.
But that’s not to say we haven’t seen each other. Last weekend Max hung out with me and the kids one afternoon and we took them to a museum. And a few times Max came and kept me company at the convenience store, and yeah…there may have been a little making out at the end of my shift and before he put me safely in my car for my drive home. Each one of those make-out sessions got a little hotter and our hands tended to roam further and further on each other the more we tested boundaries. The last time he kissed me, which was three nights ago, his hand ended up between my legs and mine ended up on his crotch, but totally with the material of our jeans separating us. Still, it was intimate and thrilling and both of us groaned as we touched each other and kissed.
Max ended up tearing himself away from me and muttered something about “not wanting to fuck you for the first time in a parking lot.” Of course, that only guaranteed I’d fantasize about him fucking me in a dark parking lot, but I knew that wouldn’t be how we came together for the first time.
And there’s no doubt…we are going to have sex. It’s what both of us want. It’s the next logical step to take. I am wildly attracted to him, and it doesn’t have a damn thing to do with his muscled body or his near-perfect face. It has everything to do with the fact that Max Fournier is perhaps the best person I’ve ever known next to Melody, and I have no qualms about giving my body to him if he wants it.
The question is…does he want it tonight? Max has deliberately taken things slow with me, which I find refreshing and endearing. It’s frustrating too, and I’m thinking I might be the one who has to let him know it’s okay to move this to the next level.
I push up on the couch, dislodging Max’s fingers from my hair. He watches me as I come to my knees on the cushion beside him, my palms resting on my thighs. He’s so goddamn sexy, but unassuming, which makes him sexier in my mind.
“Want to watch another movie?” he asks.
I shake my head. “It’s getting late.”
“Want me to take you home?” he asks with a smile, his eyes warm and open, without a hint as to what he wants.
I shake my head again.
“What do you want to do?” he asks, and there…right there. I hear it. His voice is low and rumbling with need.
Still, I don’t want to assume anything.
“Want to make out?” I ask him with a grin.
“Fuck yeah,” he says with an answering grin and then his hands are on my wrists and he’s pulling me on top of him.
I willingly go, walking my knees across the small expanse of cushion, and then his hands go to my hips and he helps me maneuver onto his lap in a straddle. My hands go to his shoulders and I look down at him. His hazel eyes are darkening as he looks at me intensely, and there’s no mistaking the desire I see there.
I move my hands from his shoulders to his face, palms against each cheek, and I lower my mouth down to his. At the first touch of our lips, Max’s fingers press into my hips and I moan as I push my hands back and slip my fingers into his hair. Our heads tilt, the kiss deepens, and when his tongue slides against mine, a bolt of lust seizes my body and an ache starts between my legs.
Max slides one hand under my shirt and smooths his large palm up my spine. I press into him, my arms now wrapping around his neck, overlapping each other, and I lower myself down onto his lap.
Oh, wow. Onto his fully hard erection.
Max groans as I tilt my hips and rub against him, the friction igniting a fire low in my belly. This spurs me on and I rotate my hips, grinding against him while his mouth assaults mine.
But then Max’s hands are on my upper arms and he’s pushing back on me so the kiss breaks. His eyes are wild and his nostrils are flared as he sucks in oxygen, and my own heartbeat is racing away from me. I frown and try to lean back in for a kiss, wanting to take this connection further than we ever have before.
“Jules,” Max mutters as he holds me firmly in place. I focus my gaze on him and tilt my head to the side in question. “I didn’t bring you to my house for this.”
“I know,” I tell him softly. “You’d take me home right now if I asked you.”
“It’s our first date,” he explains. “We’ve got plenty of time to get there.”
I try to think how I should lay this out to him. While I appreciate his almost chivalrous attitude toward me, I also want him to know that I’m fairly forward-thinking when it comes to sex. I’ve never believed you have to be in love to do it, but I do believe you should have a measure of care for the person.
What I feel for Max is like nothing I’ve ever felt before. I’m not sure there’s anything I wouldn’t give him.
I don’t know how to adequately convey that, so I let my hands talk for me. I drop them in between us, scoot back on his lap a few inches and start to undo his belt. I’ve got the leather just cleared from the buckle when Max’s hands come to mine. They grip my fingers and halt my actions.
I look up to him.
“You get my jeans open,” he growls at me, “I’m not going to be able to stop. I’m not a saint, Jules.”
I smile at him, lean in and give him a light kiss. “You are a saint, Max. You’re an absolute saint. But right now…I’m completely fine with you sinning.”
Max takes just a millisecond to digest my words, then his lips peel apart in a bright grin. “So you want to sin with me, huh?”
“Oh, yeah,” I say with a responding grin.
I let out a surprised gasp as Max lunges off the couch, his arms coming under my ass to support me, and my arms flying to lock around his neck. He pushes past the coffee table, through the living room, and down a very short hall to what I’m guessing is the first-floor master bedroom.
I just hang on for the ride.