Not liking where my thoughts are going, I release her and smack her on the ass for good measure. “Movie’s waiting,” I call over my shoulder as I flee to the living room.

I settle into the couch, leaning toward the middle on my elbow, feet again propped up on the table. Kensington walks in holding the bowl filled with popcorn and two bottles of water. She hands me a bottle and sets the bowl in between us on the couch. I wait until she is sitting before hitting play on the remote.

We sit in comfortable silence, eating popcorn and watching the movie. She’s on one side and I’m on the other. I’m cautious to not reach for a handful at the same time as she does. My resolve is thin when it comes to touching her. I want her. My dick wants her. I will have her, just not today. I won’t take her until I can no longer see that fear in her eyes.

She’s timid, constantly fidgeting. She’s moved the pillow on her lap at least twenty times. Her breathing is accelerated and her leg is bouncing up and down with nerves.

It’s taking extreme effort to concentrate on the movie. We’ve almost made it to the end when I hear her sniff. At first, I don’t think much of it, until it happens again. I turn to look at her and see tears rolling down her cheeks. Without thinking, I reach over and wipe the tears away with my thumb. She gives me a watery smile. “I forgot how it ended. I never would have agreed to watch it with you if I had remembered.” She chuckles at herself.

Something in my chest tightens at seeing her tears. No man likes to see a woman cry in his presence, but this is different. I feel… protective of her. Like I could kick Ben and Bruce’s ass for making her cry. Now I want to kick my own ass for even thinking it.

I watch as she offers me another smile through her tears. “Don’t hold it against me,” she says, chuckling.

I have something I would like to hold against her, in her, whatever.

I don’t get the chance to respond as the door to her apartment flies open. In walks Nicole and Bright. Fuck! This is not what I need. This is going to go down one of two ways. He’s going to be pissed that I pursued her or he’s never going to let me live it down that she’s gotten under my skin.

“Hey, you two,” Nicole chirps as if seeing Kensington and I laying around watching television is an everyday occurrence.

“How was the movie?” Kens asks them.

“We didn’t end up watching one. There wasn’t anything we really wanted to see, so we grabbed some ice cream and went to the park.”

I catch Bright’s attention and raise my eyebrows at him in question. He shrugs and grins. He’s so far gone for her.

Bright sits down on the loveseat and pulls Nicole down beside him. “What did you two get into?” he asks.

“Not much. I thought I would keep Kens company while she got caught up on her laundry.” As if we needed the proof, the dryer buzzes. I smirk at Bright. I could tell he didn’t believe me, as he shouldn’t. That’s not why I’m here. Well, it’s not why I came here. Now… well, I’m not sure. All I know is that once I was here in her space, I couldn’t make myself leave.

“DUTY CALLS.” I jump to my feet and head to the laundry room. Saved by the buzzer. I take my time folding and starting a new load. I even put the first load away, stalling as long as possible. Finally, with nothing left but to sit and wait, I join them back in the living room.

As I walk into the room, I hear Brighton ask Max what his plans are for the rest of the day. I take my seat on the couch beside him and he turns to look at me. “How much more laundry do you have to do?” he asks me.

“Uh, I just have one more load and I’m caught up,” I say slowly. Why is he asking me that? Brighton asked him, not me.

I get my answer when he turns to Brighton. “Just gonna hang out here, man. You?”

What the…? Did I just hear him right? He’s just going to spend the day here so I can get my laundry done. Seriously? Does he really think hanging around the house is going to get him access to my bed? Okay, yes, there was a moment earlier, but I came to my senses.

“You guys don’t have to hang around on my account,” I try to convince them. It doesn’t really matter because my words fall on deaf ears.

“Let’s order in. You all up for another movie?” This brilliant idea is from my best friend. What the hell is she doing? I try to give her the look, but I fail miserably. She just smiles at me as she pulls out her phone and orders a ton of pizza, breadsticks, and wings for delivery.

“I’m going to go get plates and stuff ready,” I mumble, rising to my feet and fleeing to the kitchen. I’m gathering plates and napkins when Nicole walks in.

“So it sounds like you’ve had an interesting day.” She cuts right to the chase.

“I guess so. He just showed up out of the blue.”

“I would say having a guy who looks like Max show up to hang out so you could do laundry definitely qualifies for an interesting day,” she quips.

“I’m not falling for it. He’s trying to lure me into bed and it’s not going to happen. The sooner he realizes the better.”

Nicole studies me for a long time before answering. “He may want to sleep with you, but he can have anyone he wants. Yet, he’s here with you. Think about that.” She turns and walks out of the room.

I take a seat at the table and rest my head in my hands. I’m fighting an internal battle. I know if Nicole knew the entire story, she would understand why I am like I am. Why I fight so hard against trusting anyone with my heart.

As I battle with myself, I feel a warm hand on my back. I know it’s Maxton without looking up. He kneels down next to me as he continues to stroke my back soothingly. “Kensi, are you all right?” he asks softly. I can hear the concern in his voice. This does nothing to confirm his image of the badass player that he tries to portray.

I lift my head and we’re staring eye to eye. “I don’t know,” I tell him honestly. Neither one of us breaks eye contact. The pull he has on me is too strong. I can’t look away.

Max tucks a loose piece of hair behind my ear, resting his hand on the back of my neck. “What’s going on in that pretty head of yours?” he questions.

“Pizza’s here!” Nicole yells. Maxton continues to hold onto me, waiting patiently.

“We better go eat,” I whisper.

He nods and stands to his full height, pulling me up with him. His arms are around me in an instant and he’s giving me a hug. He drops a kiss on the top of my head right before he releases me. I follow as he leads us back to our friends.

Just like that, Maxton Cooper has once again made me question who he really is. Is he this sweet tender guy that he has shown me so many times? Is he the playboy who will say and do anything to get into my bed? The more time I spend with him, the more I want to know. I want to piece his puzzle together until all the pieces are in their rightful place. I need to see the finished product. He’s the first guy who has ever made me want to invest the effort to find out. There’s just something about Maxton Cooper that reels me in.

We dig into the food like none of us have eaten for days. The guys more so, but what else could one expect from these two. They are both huge with muscled arms and defined abs. Their shirts look as though they are bursting at the seams. Brighton is slightly shorter than Maxton, but both are well over six-feet tall. Clean up is easy as we used paper plates and napkins. Nicole and I take care of that while the guys search Netflix for the movie. I’m prepared for Nicole to ask questions, but she doesn’t. I’m relieved even though I know it won’t last long. As soon as the guys leave, she will pounce. I know my best friend.

The guys have Ocean’s Eleven pulled up and ask us if it’s okay. Nicole blurts out, “Have you seen the cast? Yeah, we’re good.” She winks at me and I smile at her. One, because she’s right, and two, because I know what she’s doing. She’s effectively getting under their skin. It’s a macho thing.