My chest swells with an emotion I can’t name. I’m humbled that this gorgeous girl wants me to touch her. I’ve thought about this moment since I first laid eyes on her. I’ve wanted her every second since then, fantasized about what it would be like. Never did the fantasy include me needing her to breathe. That’s how I feel, like I need to touch her, kiss her, and just be with her in order to breathe.

“Maxton.”

No time to think about what it all means. My fingers seek her entrance. I find her bare and, as I slip between her folds, wet. Hot, wet, and fucking sexy as hell. My lips return to lavish her breasts while I gently stroke one finger then two inside of her. Her breathing accelerates and I know she’s close. I add the ministration of my thumb while I nip and suck each peak. I feel her start to pulse around my fingers. Releasing her hard nipple, I capture her lips with mine just as her release hits her, swallowing her cries.

I continue to run my fingers through her folds, enjoying the feel of her release, silky smooth against my fingers. Kensington breaks our kiss and lays back on the pillow. Her face is flushed, her hair a mess, her chest rapidly rising, trying to recover from her release. I’ve never seen anything more beautiful than her in this moment on the heels of the hottest fucking sexual experience of my life.

My girl.

“I HAVEN’T SEEN much of you this week,” Nicole states. It’s Friday night and she’s getting ready to head to the bar to see Bright.

“I’ve been busy. I need to find a local business for my externship.” It’s not a complete lie. I do need to find a local business and I did look, sort of. I also spent a ton of time in the library avoiding this very conversation and others. When Max and I walked out of my room on Sunday, Nic and Bright were already up. They both regarded us, but neither said anything. Bright convinced Nicole to go back to their place, so I was given a pass.

I wouldn’t say things were awkward necessarily with Max, just off. I’m embarrassed at how I threw myself at him, begging for him to touch me. I go back and forth from thinking it was totally worth the end result to being ashamed of my actions. He’s texted me every day this week. Always friendly, asking about my day, sending funny one-liners, but saying nothing about what happened between us. I’m surprised he’s texting at all. Max isn’t really the type of guy to stick around.

“Kens! Are you even listening to me right now?” Nicole accuses.

Shit! “Sorry, what were you saying?”

“What happened last weekend? I’ve been dying to talk to you about it all damn week but you’ve been MIA,” she scolds me.

Double shit! “You and Bright seem to be getting along well,” I deflect.

“Yes and don’t change the subject.”

I throw myself down on her bed and take a deep breath. Taking the plunge, I start talking. I tell her about my run-ins with Max, doing laundry, the night they brought us home from the bar. She was shocked to find out Max slept with me that night, well, held me, yet nothing happened. I told her about trail riding and the night after. I told her about Sunday and how he set my body on fire. By the time I finish, she has abandoned her make-up bag and is sitting on the bed next to me, hanging on every word.

“Wow. That’s a lot to take in. Why haven’t you said anything?”

“I don’t know, because I was fighting it. He’s not at all what I expected.” As if he knows I’m talking about him, my phone chirps with a text.

Maxton: Hey! Are you coming with Nicole tonight?

“Is that him?” Nicole leans over to see the screen.

“Yeah. He wants to know if I’m coming with you tonight.”

Me: No, staying in. I have homework to catch up on.

Still reading over my shoulder, she says, “How could you possibly have homework to catch up on?” She’s onto me.

“I have a business plan to finish for my admin class.” I do have to finish it, but it’s not due for another month. I leave that part out. My phone chirps.

Maxton: I miss you

My eyes are glued to the screen. I blink a few times to make sure I read his words correctly. He misses me? I thought… well, I’m not sure exactly. Yes he’s texted all week talking about being up to his neck in paperwork, but I figured it was just an excuse. He misses me.

“He’s into you. Bright even says so. Says he’s never seen him act the way he does around you,” Nicole informs me.

“What do you mean?”

“Bright says Max doesn’t spend the night with anyone, never has. He also couldn’t care less if another guy talked to a girl he was with. That’s so not the case when it comes to you.”

“He’s just being nice. Besides, he didn’t really seal the deal so to speak. It’s all a part of the game.” I cringe as I say the words, I don’t really believe that. The way he looks at me and touches me… that’s not a game.

“Right,” Nicole laughs. “You just keep telling yourself that.” She climbs off the bed. “I have to finish getting ready. I told Bright I would be there at eight. You sure you don’t want to come with me?”

“Positive. Tell them I said hi.” I leave her to finish getting ready. I set up camp in the living room, my laptop and books spread around me on the couch. I might as well make good use of my time. Grabbing my phone, I read his last message sent twelve minutes ago.

I miss you.

Me: I miss you, too

I type out the message and hit send before I can talk myself out of it.

“All right, I’m heading out. I’ll be back in a little while.”

“Have fun, tell everyone I said hello.” She waves and walks out the door. I check my phone to see if there is a reply from Max. Nothing. Forcing him out of my mind, I open my laptop and begin working on my business plan.

My grumbling stomach alerts me that I missed dinner. I check the time on my laptop and see I’ve been at it for almost two hours.

Time for a break.

As I head into the kitchen, there’s a knock at the door. I’m not expecting company. Ever cautious of who could be waiting on the other side, I peer through the peephole before answering. Maxton. He raises his hand to knock again, but I open the door before he has the chance.

He grins at me. “I brought dinner,” he motions to the pizza box in his hand, “and work.” He motions to his side where a messenger bag hangs. “I figured since you had work to do and I’ve been up to my eyeballs all week, then at least we could have dinner together and just… be together while we work.”

Is that a blush I see? Could it be possible? Maxton Cooper blushing? Who would have thought? More so, how can I send him away when he looks like that? My stomach growls and he smiles.

“Come on in.” I step back, letting him through the door. “We might as well sit in here. I’ll grab some plates and drinks.” I clear off the coffee table then head to the kitchen. I grab paper plates, napkins, and two bottles of beer.

Max is sitting on the floor leaning against the couch. I hand him the plates and he works on serving us while I open our beers. “Thank you for dinner,” I say before taking my first bite of the cheesy pepperoni goodness.

“You’re welcome. So what are you working on?” He motions behind him to my laptop and stack of books.

I finish chewing the huge bite I just took and wipe my mouth. “I have a business plan as a final project that’s due at the end of the semester.” I realize my mistake. I’m sure he’s going to ask me what business and I’m going to be busted.