Chapter 6
My arms were secured around Maze’s hard body as the vibration of his bike comforted me. I had missed this more than I could have ever imagined. My dreams and fantasies were nothing in comparison to having the real deal back in my life. I felt like I was living in a never-ending dream. I rested my head on Amaze’s back as I considered his offer to find a new place for us.
I knew the place that I bought for Anthony and I was temporary. I figured it would work to help us start over. It had been an amazing change of direction, being able to live without constant security or cameras all over the place. It was still close enough to Anthony’s school that I could make sure he got there every day.
If I was being honest, a large part of me had kept the faith that Amaze would come back for us. I didn’t feel right living in one place and knowing that he was alive and well in another. It didn’t sit well with me, and it never would. I needed to be near my husband. The only thing that gave me pause was our son.
There had been so many changes to our lives lately that I just wanted to keep some level of normalcy for his sake. I couldn’t just rip him out of his school and change his whole life. At the same time, I knew it wasn’t exactly safe staying when there was no doubt that Zachariah knew where we were. It was time to have a conversation with my son. For now, though, I just wanted to relish in the pleasure of Maze’s company. There would be time to make a decision soon.
With my head resting on his back, I almost fell asleep until we turned and started riding on the grass. I lifted my head so that I could look around and see where we were. My brows knitted, but my face lit up with intrigue as we drove closer and closer to a field full of hot air balloons.
Amaze didn’t stop driving until we were right in front of the field. He parked his bike and helped me get off before removing his helmet.
“This is crazy, right?” he asked, smiling like a big kid.
“Yeah. I had no idea this place was out here. I wonder how often they do this.”
“Let’s go talk to them,” he suggested.
After taking off my helmet, I watched as he walked from the paved parking area onto the grass. I followed apprehensively until Amaze slowed down and extended his hand to me. I sped up and slipped my hand into his.
Maze had never been the nosy one. That was always me. I was curious about how things worked and how often the company brought the hot air balloons here. Although I didn’t want to disturb these folks with a whole bunch of questions, I knew for a fact that Maze didn’t mind doing that.
“They’re so pretty,” I commented as we got closer.
I tilted my head back as one of the balloons rose above ground. It was amazing to see up close as it floated into the sky. Maybe one day I would get up the courage to go for a ride.
“Hey! How can I help you guys?” one of the men working out there asked.
“I’m Amaze Johnson,” Maze informed him, reaching out to shake his hand.
“Good afternoon, Mr. Johnson. It looks like you’re right on time.”
“On time for what?” I frowned as I looked between Maze and the hot air balloon guy.
“For our ride, love,” Amaze said before he winked at me and turned back to the man.
“Right this way,” the man instructed.
Tugging my hand to get me to move, Amaze followed the man toward a pink, purple, and white balloon.
“Amaze, do not tell me that you think I’m about to get on one of these death contraptions,” I fussed.
“It’s not a death trap, baby. You were just saying how amazing they were.”
“I was saying how amazing you were too before you drug me out here to die.”
“I’m still amazing, love. It’s in my name.”
“Sir, I’m sorry. My husband and I are not going to be able to ride in your balloon today,” I said, shaking my head and trying my best to wriggle my hand out of Maze’s firm grasp.
He stopped in his tracks and turned to face me. Holding both sides of my face, he leaned in and kissed my forehead. When his eyes dropped down to mine, I rolled them. The laugh that came from Amaze was expected, but that didn’t mean it didn’t piss me off.
“I’m not doing this, Maze.” I shook my head.
“Wes, I understand that you’re nervous, but this is completely safe.”
“You can’t say that.”
“I can. It’s pretty much a parachute in the sky.”
“Well excuse me, but I’ve never jumped out of an airplane either.”
“I have, and this is child’s play compared to that.”
“When the hell did you jump out of an airplane?”
“I’ll tell you about it one day. Today, we have plans in the sky.”
“Maze,” I whined.
“I would never put you in danger, love. You know that. I just want to show you a good time. I promise it’s going to be fine.”
“You can’t promise me that, Maze.”
“You think I would risk losing you again, Wesley?” he asked, lifting his brows into his hairline.
“No,” I mumbled, dropping my eyes to the ground.
“Look at me.” He lowered his head, dipping down until our eyes met, then stood as I looked up at him. “It’s going to be fun, Wes. I wouldn’t have set this up if I knew you wouldn’t enjoy it.”
“OK, but if we die, I’m killing you,” I warned him.
“I’ll hold you to that.”
I made Amaze keep quiet and pay close attention while the guy walked us through the process. In my opinion, he was talking way too fast. Thankfully, he was driving the gigantic balloon. Having an expert onboard made me feel just a little better. My heart pounded as Amaze held my hand and helped me step through the little door on the side.
“Relax, baby,” Maze urged as he stepped into the basket.
“I’m having a hard time with that one.” I laughed softly.
“How about we sit until we get in the air? You’re not going to want to miss the view when we get up there.”
“OK.” I nodded, figuring sitting down would at least disguise the fact that we were going up in the air.
He helped me to sit before getting comfortable beside me. After kissing the side of my head, he leaned over and opened the basket on the floor. I burst out laughing when I saw that there was a bottle of champagne and a covered platter.
“I’m not going to ask if you want some champagne. I need you to drink this first glass real quick to start settling your nerves, baby,” Amaze instructed as he filled a flute with champagne.
As soon as he passed me the drink, I threw it back and passed the glass back to him. He laughed like hell but refilled my glass. I took a sip but decided not to chug. Once he filled his own glass, he removed the cover from the platter and revealed a tray of chocolate covered strawberries.
“Even though my nerves are shot, this is so sweet, Maze.” I grinned.
“Anything to make you smile, Wesley.”
“You’re doing a great job.”
“How are these?” he asked, picking up a strawberry and holding it to my lips.
I took a bite and was happily surprised at how sweet the berries were.
“They’re really good. They used some good berries.”
I gasped as the balloon lifted from the ground with a jerk.
“Look at me, Wes. Just focus on me, OK.” I nodded and kept my eyes on Maze as he fed me the rest of the strawberry.
“Let me taste,” he said, moving closer before he crashed his lips into mine. He held the back of my head to deepen the kiss. I got lost in the moment as we kissed as if our lives depended on it. “I’m never letting anything happen to you again, Wes. You hear me?”
“I hear you, baby.”
“I can’t take being away from you again. If we die in this balloon, at least we’ll be together.” He winked.
“Not funny!”
“I had to try to make you laugh.”
“If you guys want to take a look, we are at altitude,” the pilot announced.
“What do you think, Wes? You ready to look around?” Amaze asked me.
“Let me get a little tipsier first,” I suggested.
“Sure.” Maze shrugged.
I drank the rest of my champagne quickly, and he didn’t seem to waste any time drinking his either. He held the bottle up to see if I wanted more champagne, and of course, I did. He filled my glass halfway before placing the bottle back in the basket and putting the platter down. My heart pounded as he moved to stand to his feet.
“Careful, baby,” I warned.
“Babe, you have to see this. It’s gorgeous,” he raved.
“What do you see?” I quizzed.
“Words are not going to do it justice, Wes.”
He reached for my hand, and I released all the air from my lungs in an exasperated sigh before I finally put my hand in his. He pulled me to my feet and held me close as he gave me a soft kiss on the lips.
“We are going to do this real slow, OK? Whenever you’re ready, turn around. I’ll be right here,” Amaze assured me.
“OK.”
I decided not to prolong things. There was no use in me wasting time. Maze had gone through all of the trouble of setting up this ride to surprise me. We even had chocolate covered strawberries and champagne. The least I could do was look out at the view.
Carefully, I turned around. Maze kept his hands on my shoulders the whole time. When I saw the view, my jaw dropped. Everything was so beautiful and tiny from this angle. You could see right down into the woods. I giggled when I saw some deer running through the woods.
“Oh my God, Maze. This is breathtaking,” I said, turning to face him.
My breathing stopped, and I opened my mouth to speak, but no words came out. I hadn’t even noticed that his hands were no longer on my shoulders until I found him down on one knee.
“Wesley, we’ve been given a second chance to love each other. We’ve been blessed to resurrect something that we thought was dead and gone. From this day until my last, I will love and cherish you with everything in me. I love you with every single beat of my heart. I’ll never stop working to show you how much I love you. Will you marry me again?”
“Yes!” I laughed through the tears prickling my eyes.
My heart soared as I held my hand out to let Amaze put the ring on my finger. Although we had been married for years, having that ring on my hand seemed to solidify our bond. I had been feeling like something was missing. Now I knew what it was. My empty ring finger symbolized the lack of a husband. Now we were locked in.
Case’s “Happily Ever After” played from Maze’s phone as he pulled me into his arms and peppered my face with kisses. We slow danced as if we weren’t three thousand feet in the air, according to the pilot.
Maze was right. If we died today, at least we were together. Thankfully, by the time the song ended, we were back on the ground. I could have kissed the ground when Maze opened the door to let me out. If it weren’t for my son sitting on the hood of his car right in front of me, I probably would have.
“Anthony, what are you doing out here?”
“What did she say, Dad?” Ant asked Maze, completely ignoring my question.
“Oh, so you were in on this?” I asked him.
“She said yes, my guy.” Maze grinned. “Did you ever doubt me?”
“It was looking a little shaky when you said you were taking her up in a balloon. I just knew she wasn’t going for it.”
“I almost didn’t,” I added.
“But you knew your man would never let anything happen to you. I already made that mistake once.”
“Maze, don’t say that.” I shook my head.
“It’s true, but the last time was the last time. I promise.”
“Just like you promised that you were going to break my ankles on the court?” Anthony asked.
“Oh, that’s still happening.”
“I’m about to shut that down, old man.”
“Old man? Baby, did this boy just call your man old?” Maze asked me.
“That’s what I heard.” I smiled.
“Now when I beat his young behind on this basketball court, don’t try to comfort him. Wanna call me old.”
“Don’t let him get to you, baby. You still got it,” I teased.
“Oh, I’m about to show both of y’all how much I still got it,” Amaze threatened.
“So do I get to plan a wedding?” Maze’s mom asked, popping out of the driver’s seat of the car.
“She said yes, Ma, but no wedding unless Wes wants one.”
“I didn’t get to come to the first one. We are having a wedding.”
“That’s between the two of you.” Maze shrugged as he headed to occupy the driver’s seat.
“Dang, I never get to drive my own car.” Anthony complained as he joined his grandmother in the back seat.
“You can drive back from the balloon field. I have to pick up my bike.”
“I see what’s going on. You want to let him drive when you’re not in the car.”
“Bingo.” Maze laughed as he started the engine.
“Both of y’all are some haters,” Anthony added from the backseat.
After spending the rest of the day watching Maze and Ant play basketball while listening to his mom’s plan for an intimate but extravagant wedding, we ended the night at Maze’s house. Honestly, if it weren’t for the size, I would have loved to just move in there with him. Ant didn’t mind sleeping on the couch, but it wasn’t something that I wanted him to do long term. He could sleep anywhere and through anything.
In fact, he knocked out in the middle of the movie Maze and he picked. As I stood in the doorway of the bedroom, it warmed me to the core to watch Maze remove Anthony’s shoes and cover him with a blanket.
“It’s so precious seeing the two of you interact. I love how you take care of his big, overgrown behind.”
“Are you ready for me to take care of you?” Amaze asked with a smirk as he closed the door behind him.
“Always.” I allowed a soft smile to shine through.
“Well, come here and give me that pussy,” he commanded, backing me into the bed.
He yanked at the hem of my shirt, lifting it over my head. I pushed my pants down over my hips, and he picked me up and moved me to the center of the bed. I grinned and bit down on my bottom lip playfully as he used his tongue to trace his way down my stomach.
He tugged my panties under my ass, not stopping until he was pulling them over my feet. Amaze crawled back up my body, and with my legs around his waist, he snuggled himself into my pussy. My jaw was slack as he filled me, pushing deeper and deeper. I gripped his shoulders, moaning into his neck when he took my ass in both hands and slowly grinded into me with long, deep strokes.
“Wesley, baby. You’re so wet for me. You wanted me?”
I nodded my head but kept my arms around him, holding on as if he would disappear at any minute. Having him inside me after all this time was heavenly.
“Why didn’t you say anything? I would have sat you on this dick while we were up in the air.”
Why would this fool make me laugh at a time like this?
“Shut up, Maze,” I said, fighting the urge to giggle like a little girl.
“You know how many nights I dreamed about being with you like this?”
“I missed it too.” I smiled up at him.
“That means I’m not missing a chance to get all up in this muthatfucka.”
The evil grin on his face only meant one thing. His eyes darkened as he pressed my legs back until my thighs were in my stomach. “Fuck, Maze!”
My moans grew louder every time he plunged into me. I pulled him closer as my hands roamed over his body. Now and then, he peppered kisses on my face before burying his face in my neck. The sounds of wetness between us as he sank into my depths caused my stomach to tighten. My eyes drifted close.
“Shit, Amaze! Amaze, baby.” I cried as I pulled his lips down to mine.
Pulling away, he rolled onto his back and pulled me on top of him, holding on to my ass to keep us connected. Slowly, I started to grind my hips, relishing in the sense of fullness he gave me. Picking up the pace, I tossed my head back and started to bounce.
“That’s right, baby. Fuck your husband.”
Bolts of electricity hit me every time his dick pushed against my cervix. Amaze slapped my ass, sending a sting all over my body each time our bodies crashed into each other.
“Shit,” I hissed again.
Holding the back of my neck, he pulled me down, cupping my ass in one hand. Without restraint, he drilled into me from below. The sound of my moans and cries echoed throughout the room. I felt so good I didn’t know if I could take it anymore.
“Cum on this dick, Wes,” he demanded.
On his command, my essence seeped out onto his thighs. My thighs quaked, and my body tingled as I soared higher. I fell forward, crashing on his chest and fighting to catch my breath. Amaze stroked my face and kissed my forehead as I rode the high of my orgasm.
“Damn.” I panted as I started to come back to reality.
Sex with Amaze had never been short of amazing. I always wondered if my youth and inexperience made it seem better than it was. After all these years, it was even better than I remembered. Lying on his chest right where I belonged, I fell asleep.