Jayded (35 page)

“
Be there in 15.
”

Yup. She just made my day. I rip my soaking, sweaty clothes off and jump into the shower. By the time I get out and throw some sweats on, she
’
s already here. I buzz her in. She
’
s also in her sweats. They
’
re kind of sexy on her. The word
“
Pink
”
is written on the ass of her sweats. I can
’
t stop trying to read it. She turns, trying to hide herself.

I grab her in a big hug, placing my hands right over the word on her backside. Her ass is perfect
—
firm but still squeezable. I sniff her hair.
“
Mmm, you smell so good,
”
I tell her, still breathing her in.

She sniffs me back.
“
Ditto.
”

I bend my head down and reach my lips down to hers for a smooch. She tastes like strawberry ChapStick.
“
Yum,
”
I say, licking my lips. She giggles. I graze her cheek with the back of my fingers and touch my lips to hers again. She
’
s highly addictive. I just can
’
t get enough.

I lead her to my unmade bed, bring her down with me, and snuggle up behind her, tangling my legs with hers. Everything just feels so right. Nothing could be any better than this moment. I feel
—
happy.

Is this what people die to have? Is this what a real relationship is about? If so, why would I ever want to put a name on it? Names, titles, and papers always have a way of tainting things. I don
’
t know why, but I
’
ve seen it a million times. Of course, my parents are the exception to this.

“
You
’
re so warm and comfy,
”
she tells me, inching her butt closer to me. I
’
m not so sure if that
’
s a good idea.
“
Uh-oh,
”
she says, looking back at me with a smile.

I chuckle.
“
I can
’
t help it. Just seeing you and touching you drives me insane,
”
I admit as I kiss the nape of her neck. She smells like her normal flower-and-cucumber-melon scent. It
’
s a sweet, intoxicating mix. I can
’
t get enough.

God, I think I
’
m going insane. Maybe I just need a couple of days without her to regain my sanity. Where the hell am I? What did I do with my pimp-daddy bachelor side? What
’
s crazy is that I have fallen into this casual comfort with Max, and I don
’
t even miss being alone or being free. What I miss now is her when she
’
s not around.

We both close our eyes, breathing slowly until well fall into a deep sleep.

CHAPTER THIRTY TWO

Max

I wake up with arms around me. It takes me a moment to figure out where I am. Kyle rustles next to me, holding on to me tighter. I roll over to face him. He smirks cutely without even opening his eyes.

 
“
Hey,
”
I say.

“
Hey,
”
he replies.
“
What time is it?
”

I look up at the alarm clock next to his side of the bed.

“
It
’
s three thirty. I have to get going. Your mom invited Kinsey and I for dinner. Will you be there?
”

“
Yeah, she told Junior and I to come also. This is going to be interesting.
”

I chuckle because he
’
s right. The last dinner didn
’
t end so great, and that was in a restaurant, so I can
’
t imagine what will possibly go down in their family home. Maybe it won
’
t be too bad since Kinsey will be there. Hopefully Junior can show some manners.

“
Well, I
’
ll warn Kinsey beforehand so it won
’
t be such a shock if things go down,
”
I tell him.

He shakes his head.
“
Thanks, babe.
”

“
I
’
m gonna head out.
”
I give him a soft kiss on the cheek, but he doesn
’
t accept that. He runs his hand through my hair and brings me back to him. He plunges his tongue deep into my mouth with hunger and raw desire. I can
’
t help but follow. Every stroke and every caress I feel from his tongue invokes a fire from deep within. I have to ease off or we
’
ll never get to dinner on time.

He whines as I push off of him.
“
Do we have to go?
”

“
Um, yes, this was your mother
’
s invite. She
’
ll definitely think something
’
s up if we show up late again and without Kinsey.
”

He smashes his head into the pillows.
“
Ugh! Okay, you
’
re right.
”

I blow him a kiss and head out the door. This euphoric feeling comes over me. It
’
s calming. I don
’
t feel panicked or suffocated. I feel
…
happy. That
’
s really the only way to explain it. I have to admit, it
’
s sort of strange to feel so okay with all of this.

I get back to the hotel and jump into the shower. Kinsey is already dressed and headed downstairs for some coffee. By the time I
’
m dressed and ready to go, it
’
s nearly five o
’
clock.

“
So, what are these boss-people like?
”
she asks. It
’
s a fair question when going to someone
’
s house you don
’
t know.

“
Well, Connie is great. She
’
s very carefree and tolerates no bullshit. She is extremely good at keeping everything together at the agency. I really don
’
t know how she does it with such a big clientele. You
’
ll be working with her a lot, so get acquainted.

“
Greg, on the other hand, I haven
’
t spent much time with him other than the meetings and the one family dinner I attended, but he
’
s a good guy. He treats his employees very well, and they all seem pretty happy in their jobs. He
’
s not the biggest people person, but he likes to help out when needed,
”
I explain.

Kinsey watches out the window.
“
So, you said Kyle also has a brother. Where does he come into play? Does he also work at the agency?
”
she asks, getting the lay of the land.

Oh boy! Good thing she asked. I almost forgot about him.
“
Yes, Junior works at the agency. He deals with mostly the non-fiction clients. He
’
s very direct and to-the-point. He kind of takes life a little too seriously. Oh, he and Kyle absolutely do not get along. So, I
’
m just warning you now. They have gotten into it multiple times in public areas in the last two weeks, so I
’
m not so sure what
’
s going to happen in closed, private quarters,
”
I warn.

Kinsey
’
s face lights up. She
’
s so evil.
“
Oh, this is going to be fun! I am in need of this. My life
’
s been too drama-free lately. I need to spice it up. Is this Junior brother cute?
”

I shake my head. She
’
s too predictable.
“
Yes, but he
’
s off limits! We all work together, so we need to keep the relationships completely platonic. We don
’
t need a messy office,
”
I instruct her.

I look over at her; she has her arms crossed against her chest.
“
Oh, okay. You mean keep it platonic like you and Kyle are doing?
”
she jabs back.
“
Maxine Leigh Daniels! Don
’
t you dare think I
’
m stupid! I saw the way you two looked at each other, and I
saw
that special spark between two people who have fallen in love!
”

I snap my neck back and gasp.
“
What the hell are you talking about?! We are not in love! Okay, yes, we may be involved more than we should be, but that
’
s it. He
’
s twenty-four for Christ
’
s sake! What the hell am I going to do with a twenty-four-year-old?
”

She gives me the stank face and makes a disgusted sound.
“
Um, you
’
re going to do exactly what you
’
ve been doing
—
fuck the shit out of him. Are you seriously that concerned about his age? It sounds to me you got over it the moment you had your tongue down his throat. Stop lying to yourself, Max. You have more feelings than you
’
re willing to admit. I don
’
t know what he did in such a short amount of time, but he obviously does it well,
”
she says, gleaming with satisfaction.

I still have my mouth hanging open. I
’
m still in shock over the
“
in love
”
comment. Kinsey always says it how she sees it, but she
’
s got to be off on this one. Wouldn
’
t I obviously be the first to know? I mean, they
’
re my own emotions for goodness sake! She
’
s just blowing this way out of proportion.

We pull up to the Saunders
’
house. I would have to say it
’
s pretty massive. A little too grand for no longer having any children in it. If I was them, I would definitely downsize. This house most likely requires a huge upkeep.

I turn to Kinsey quickly before the front door opens.
“
Keep your mouth shut about the car ride here, okay?
”

She zips her lips and throws away the key just as Kyle usually does. Connie opens the door to greet us.

“
Hello ladies! Please come in!
”
she says in a very warm and welcoming tone. Seeing Connie in this setting makes me sad that I never had a mother like this. I
’
m a little envious.

“
Connie, this is Kinsey.
”

I notice Kyle sitting on the kitchen barstool in the background.

Connie envelops Kinsey in a huge hug. It must be the casual non-office environment.
“
It
’
s great to finally meet you. I hope your flight in was okay,
”
she says to Kinsey. Oh man! Here we go. I just hope Kinsey can keep her mouth closed.

“
Yes, it was fine,
”
she responds. Thank God! She finally listened.

Connie leads us into the kitchen where Kyle and Junior are managing to sit together in harmony for the time being.

She waves at Kyle, and I introduce her to Junior.
“
Junior, this is my assistant Kinsey. She will be working close with you this week, so work her hard for me!
”
I tell him jokingly.

He smiles in her direction.
“
Will do. You better be ready to learn, so come to work with your
‘
A
’
game! I don
’
t like stragglers,
”
he informs Kinsey.