I HAD BEEN SERIOUS WHEN I said I needed to earn Maegan’s heart, but I was woefully uneducated about what people did on dates these days. Was going to the movies still a thing? There were so many streaming services out there, and although I had subscribed to a few, that wasn’t how I wanted to impress Maegan. I knew damn well that we wouldn’t get past the intro on whatever movie we picked on Netflix or Hulu because I’d be all over her. She deserved more from me than my horny groping.
I found a movie theater close by that had reclining loveseats and sold beer and wine. That sounded like a perfect setup to me. I took her out for dinner before we went to see the next biggest superhero movie. I tried really hard not to get jealous of her lusting over Superman by teasing her pretty pussy beneath the blanket she brought because theaters were “always cold.” I wanted her to think about me, not him. I noticed it was the same blanket I let her borrow the night we met. I started calling it my lucky blanket because I seemed to get lucky whenever it was near.
Maegan had picked the reclining loveseat in the farthest corner at the top of the movie theater and I was starting to get suspicious that she’d had ulterior ideas when she brought the blanket and picked a secluded seat. I was even more convinced when I slid my hands beneath the waistband of her yoga pants and found her completely bare. If that wasn’t enough, the sultry smile on her face would’ve told me that my lady had a filthy mind. God, I loved it.
After the movie, Maegan directed me to drive around and park behind a closed store then straddled my lap in the cab of my truck and rode me ten ways to Sunday. Let me tell you, it wasn’t that Henry guy’s name she was calling out when she came hard enough for her greedy pussy to put a chokehold on my cock. There was no sense in pretending that we weren’t hot for each other, when we couldn’t keep our hands off one another. That didn’t mean I couldn’t show her that she meant more to me than just sex.
Maegan had given me the most memorable birthday I’d ever had. She treated me to a delicious steak dinner on the Ohio river and a country music concert featuring my favorite bands. Instead of driving back to Blissville, we stayed at a hotel and Maegan gave every single part of her body to me.
I had flowers delivered weekly to her at Curious Things so that she’d know I was thinking about her. I took her dinner on nights she worked late. Maegan treated me to a French toast brunch every Wednesday before I went to work and sent me charming or sexy texts every day. My favorite nights were the ones where we stayed in. We had developed such a tranquil relationship in such a short time.
There were plenty of nights that Maegan read a book or took a bath while I watched television or tinkered with one of the clocks my grandfather was working on when he passed away. We were happy to be together, but didn’t need to be in each other’s faces all the time. I fell deeper and deeper in love with Maegan every single minute that I spent with her, yet I hadn’t found the courage to say the words yet.
Many times, I opened my mouth to tell her but no words came out. Maegan must’ve seen my struggle because she would brush her hands across my cheek or kiss my lips then say, “I don’t need the words, Elijah. I know how you feel.”
Maegan took me home to meet her family and they welcomed me with open arms. It was easy to see how Maegan and Milo turned out to be such great people. It also made me miss my family more than I had in years. Talking to my mom over the phone wasn’t enough, I wanted to hug her. I wasn’t sure that my dad and I would ever be the same, but I found myself wanting to try. I would never get over what my brother did to me, but I needed to stop hating him. I figured it was necessary for me to heal old wounds to be the best man I could for Maegan. I wasn’t sure when I’d reach out to my folks, but I knew that I would soon.
Valentine’s night rolled around and I wanted to do something special with her, but she and Milo had already arranged a special event at Books and Brew. She felt torn between her responsibilities to her work and me, so I joined her at the bookstore. They called it a Blind Date with a Book. They took several dozen books and wrapped them up in brown paper and tied them with twine. On the front, they wrote a few clues about the book on the paper in red marker, such as the era it was about, or if it was adventure, horror, or romance. They also drew hearts and flowers, or some other symbol associated with the book to jazz it up a bit.
One book had a martini glass and another had a skeleton key. I bought one that said: World War II and Action Adventure. They added a drawing of an old war plane used in that era. They put a lot of thought into the event and I ended up having a lot more fun than I anticipated. It might’ve had something to do with the coffee, hot chocolate, and cookies, but I was pretty sure it was the woman who radiated joy in that fiery red sweater dress and knee-high black leather boots.
You know very good and fucking well that I couldn’t wait to see what she wore beneath that sexy little number. I couldn’t wait to put her booted legs on my shoulders and make her mine over and over again. I decided to assist Milo with beverages while Maegan and the other employees helped ring up sales of blind book dates. I figured it was better to keep my mind busier on things that didn’t include getting naked.
My little wildcat had an entirely different idea. Once everyone left, she led me to her office and let me do all the filthy things to her that I wanted to the first time I visited her there. I thought for sure that antique desk was up to the task, but then it started groaning and straining beneath my wild thrusts. I carried her to the door and gave her a good wall-banging, hard fuck.
“Maegan, you’re making it really hard for me to prove that I’m not in this for the sex,” I told her, resting my forehead between her glorious breasts while I tried to catch my breath and wait for my heart to stop pounding.
“Are you saying you want us to abstain from sex?” she asked in a disbelieving tone.
“No, but I’m attempting to be a gentleman.”
“Elijah, who asked you to be a gentleman? I love how raw and real you are with me, and you have never disrespected me—not one time. I love looking at you and knowing that you want to be between my legs more than you want your next breath. No one has ever made me feel the way that you do. I love that you don’t try to change a single thing about me. You make me proud to be a sexual woman.” I lifted my head and looked at Maegan. Her luminous eyes and soft smile made my heart kick back up. “We learned just how fleeting life could be and how much it could all change in a blink of an eye. I was really lucky, Elijah.”
“We were lucky,” I corrected her because goddamn, I couldn’t imagine life without her in it.
“I love you, Elijah Markham. You might not be ready to say the words, but you’re going to hear them. I. Love. You. I want to make you as happy as you make me.”
The lady was a thief, plain and simple. She robbed me of my ability to think, stole my breath, and snagged the heart that I thought had been long gone. I madly loved her.
“I love you too, Freckles. I really do. No one has ever made me as happy as you do, and I thank my lucky stars every single night for you.”
She was brave, fearless, and more courageous than most men I’ve known in my life. And the lady is mine.