16. Mac #2
Her skin is so soft, and she smells of strawberries and sunshine, a heady scent that is driving me wild.
I slide my hand down her leg, gripping her thigh and then positioning us so that she’s lying beneath me on the couch.
Grinding my now-hard cock into her, she moans loudly.
She breaks away from me and looks over her shoulder toward the front garage doors. “Are we gonna get caught?”
“No, the garage is closed for the storm. Doors are locked. No one’s walking in here.
” She smiles and then hooks her arms around my neck, pulling my lips back down to hers.
I slide my hand up her leg, underneath her shirt and up her torso slowly, growling against her lips when I realize she’s not wearing a bra.
As I palm her breast—more than a handful and perfect—she moans softly.
I nip at her bottom lip, then kiss her jaw, neck, and then back up to her lips while kneading her breast.
“Mac, please.”
“Please what?”
“I need . . . more.” She lifts her pelvis, grinding my cock against her. I slide my hand off her breast and down her torso, slipping it under the waistband of her jeans. She’s panting and writhing but not using her words.
“What do you need?” I whisper, sliding my hand down over her jeans to cup her pussy. It’s warm and her jeans are damp. Fuck. Me .
“Rub my clit. Mac, please.” There it is.
Choppy, breathy, and perfect. I kiss her deeply, rewarding her for using her words, and then pop the button on her jeans.
Lowering her zipper, I tug her jeans down her legs, leaving her in nothing but her T-shirt and pink panties.
Slipping my hand under the waistband, the soaked material is cool against the backside of my hand.
I slide a finger through her wet heat, and she moans softly, encouraging me.
Reaching her entrance, I gather her arousal and then bring it up to her clit, pressing down and rubbing slow, languid circles.
“Oh, my god, yes.”
I kiss her deeply, continuing to rub her clit until she’s bucking her hips. Slowing the pace, I whisper, “Not yet baby.”
She half-groans, half-moans as I move my finger back to her entrance, sliding it in slowly.
Twisting my hand, I place my thumb over her clit, not rubbing but giving her the friction I know she needs.
She moans again, so responsive my cock is throbbing beneath me.
I can’t help but grind into the couch to get some relief.
Slipping a second finger, I pump my hand to match the tempo of her bucking hips. Her wetness coats my fingers as she moans and chants my name. “Yes, Mac. Mac, yes.” I capture her moans with a kiss and continue to finger-fuck her. Her walls flutter around my fingers. She’s so close.
“Come for me.” I press my thumb harder onto her clit, rubbing small circles while pumping her with my fingers, and she detonates.
Her release covers my fingers, and she moans so loud I’m glad there’s a storm and no one’s walking by outside.
I slowly slide my fingers out of her, stroking her clit through her orgasm as her legs shake underneath me.
I grind my cock into the couch once mo re and groan.
Slowly, I pull my hand out of her panties and bring my fingers to my lips.
“Good fucking girl,” I growl before tasting her release.
Fucking strawberries and cream. My girl is a dream.
She surprises me when she grabs me by the neck and pulls my mouth down to hers, tasting herself and moaning.
She slides her hand down to the button on my jeans, but I reach down and grab her hand.
“Mac, I want to.”
“No, I’m good.”
“You can’t be good. I can see the outline of your cock in your jeans.” She slides her hand over the bulge in my jeans and I hiss. “You’re rock solid.”
I lean in and kiss her again. “I promise I’m good.
As much as I want you, I want to take things slow.
” Take things slow? Where the fuck did that come from?
I want to do things right with her, and fucking her on the couch in the garage is definitely not what she deserves, especially for our first time.
“Alright. If you’re sure?” she asks. I nod and slide her jeans back up her legs, redoing the zipper and button. “Can I, um, freshen up?” she asks.
I chuckle. “Yeah, baby. Upstairs in the loft, you can use my bathroom.”
She kisses me again and then scurries up the stairs.
I take a moment to breathe and think about something—anything—to will my cock to chill the fuck out.
Grabbing my phone off the coffee table, I scroll through my notifications.
There’s a post in the town Facebook group reminding everyone about the Fourth of July parade coming up next week, which reminds me I need to tune up t he Thunderbird before taking it out.
I’m sure more work will come in, but I’m hoping I can swing more time with MJ this week.
An idea hits me. I open up the Dream Team chat and send a text out.
July 1
The weekend flies by and Monday comes too quickly.
I’m thankful for the time I spent with MJ and our friends at the creek on Saturday.
It was our first outing as an official couple.
MJ was nervous as fuck, but everything went fine.
Our friends kept saying “it’s about time” and “finally” to her and I think that calmed her down. It was an enjoyable evening.
I didn’t see my girl at all on Sunday, so excitement buzzes through me while she sits on the loveseat throughout the meeting—that thrill amplified every time she blushes.
When reviewing what I’ll say on the stand, she shares she helped her dad prepare the script and I’m so impressed.
She’s so fucking smart. I try to keep my glances to a minimum after getting caught a few times by Mr. Lawrence.
Thanking Mr. Lawrence, I follow MJ out of his office.
My eyebrows raise when she reaches down and tugs on my hand, pulling me into the kitchen where her mom is humming away.
Mr. L had set our meeting for mid-afternoon today and since most of the town will be closed for the week, I’m not surprised to see her home.
She looks up from the sink, her eyes sliding from our faces down to our hands.
MJ drops my hand and my heart dro ps for a second.
Obviously, her parents still don’t know.
“Oh, Emmalynn.” Mrs. Lawrence swats the air with her wet, soapy hand, making bubbles fly in front of her face.
“You hold that boy’s hand if you want to.
” She gives me a warm smile and I link my pinky with MJ’s.
Mrs. Lawrence winks at MJ and whispers, “Our secret for now.” We sit down on the barstools at the island where Mrs. Lawrence is washing dishes.
“What are you two up to today?” she asks as she rinses the casserole dish. MJ looks at me and intertwines her fingers with mine, squeezing my hand. I squeeze back three times and let her answer her mother.
“I’m not sure, Mom. What about you?”
“Well, I need to go out to Cedar Bend to get a few more things for the barbecue on Thursday, but I really don’t feel like making that drive.” She wipes her brow with her hands after drying them with a nearby dishtowel.
“We can go Mrs. Lawrence,” I say, squeezing MJ’s hand again when she whips her eyes to me.
“Please, call me Laurie.” Mrs. Lawrence swats the air. “Are you sure?”
I nod. “Yeah, it’s not a problem. We can take my car if you want, MJ? It has more trunk space. Just give us the list Mrs.—” Mrs. Lawrence raises her eyebrow. “ Laurie .”
“Well, that is very sweet of you. I have the list right over here. It’s not much, but definitely things we’ll need for Thursday.
We’ve already got the tents set up, so this is just the last-minute things for cooking and such.
” Tents already set up, hmm? That gives me an idea for later I ’ll have to talk to the guys about.
Laurie continues, “Are you sure you don’t mind?
” She floats over to the side counter and picks up a piece of paper and hands it to MJ.
“You don’t have to work?” MJ asks quietly.
I lean into her and kiss her forehead. “It can wait.”
After eating a late lunch with Mrs. Lawrence, we hop into my car and roll through Oakridge and onto the freeway toward Cedar Bend with her list in hand. The afternoon sun streams through the windshield, and I turn the air conditioner up to combat the heat. Nudging the aux cord toward MJ, I smirk.
“Put on whatever you want.”
She smiles sweetly, plugs her phone in and hits us with—no surprise here—Taylor Swift.
“This okay?” she asks shyly.
“Yeah, it’s fine,” I say with a chuckle. We drive for a few minutes before I turn the volume down, earning me a withering look from MJ. “Sorry, I just thought we could talk too?”
She laughs and nods. “Yeah, about what?”
“Have you figured out anything more about school?”
Besides the trial coming up, this has been weighing on my mind. Are we going to have one summer and then she’s gonna leave? Long distance never works, and I wouldn’t want to tie her down anyway.
“Um, I’ve been looking up alternatives. I’m not sure.” She pauses, and I nod for her to continue. “I’m not sure I want to go to law school.” Feeling her eyes on me, I school my expression. The surprise and hope mixing in my gut are threatening to bubble up.
“Alternatives?”
“Yeah. Shannon gave me the idea, actually. And it makes perfect sense when you think about it.”
The rest of the drive, I hear the excitement in her voice and see her face light up as she tells me all about social media marketing. The sweet feeling of hope overrides the tangy surprise filling my chest. She might be staying. This might work.
We pull into the parking lot of the Walmart in Cedar Bend, figuring we can get the majority, if not all, of Mrs. Lawrence’s list here. We’re in the seasonal aisle grabbing sparklers, Pop-Its, and smoke bombs when MJ nudges me with her elbow.
“Isn’t that your brother?”
I look to where her gaze has landed. An employee crouched down, pulling the product up toward the front of the shelf. He’s a few inches taller than me, two years older, but we share our mother’s eyes and our father’s nose. When he turns toward us, it’s confirmed.
“It is! Hey, Jake!” MJ walks up to him and gets pulled into a hug once he rises.
Although he’s gotten into a lot of trouble over the years, he’s always had a soft spot for MJ.
My brother nods at me in greeting as I push the shopping cart closer to him and off to the side.
He claps my h and and pulls me into a hug as well.
“Whatcha guys doing here?” he asks.
“Grabbing some stuff for my mom for Thursday,” MJ replies.
“Oh, right on.” Jake runs his hand through his hair, his eyes darting around.
“Well, you’re obviously working, so we won’t keep you,” I break the awkward silence.
“Thanks, bro. Hey, uh, do you have a few to talk? I can take a break and meet you out front in ten?”
I shake my head as MJ chirps, “Sure.” Damn it .
“Cool, I’ll see you soon.”
We grab the last few items on the list and check out. On our way out, we see Jake leaning against the wall, smoking a cigarette.
“Baby, why don’t you take the keys and get loaded up? This should only take a few minutes,” I offer.
“Oh, are you sure?” she asks. I lean in and kiss her forehead.
“Yeah, I’ll be there in a few.” I keep my eyes on her as she pushes the cart toward my car and loads the bags into the trunk. “What’s up?” I greet my brother as I approach him.
“Just wanted to check in. We haven’t talked in a while.”
“Alright, well, I’m fine. Just busting my ass at the shop like usual,” I reply tersely.
Jake blows out a breath of smoke. “Isn’t the hearing coming up soon?”
“Yeah, two weeks from today.”
“Think you’ll get off? ”
“MJ’s dad is pushing for community service. I don’t really want to entertain the alternative right now.”
“Look man, I just want to . . .” I glance behind me and see MJ putting the cart into the return stall and turning toward us.
“It’s cool. We’re cool. Just stay clean, yeah?” I nod to my older brother, hoping he understands what I’m asking of him.
“Yeah, I’m doing good, man. The house I’m at is nice. This job is pretty easy, and it’s decent money. And I’m sober.” The sweet and tangy mix of surprise and hope bubbles up again, but I tamp it down, reaching out to shake my brother’s hand and turn back to my girl.
“Good, stay that way,” I say, heading toward MJ, who is just a few steps away now.
“I plan on it. And thanks again bro, I owe you!” he yells. I try to hide my wince, burying my face into MJ’s hair and kissing her neck as I wrap my arm over her shoulders.
The wind whips MJ’s hair around as we zoom down the highway back to Oakridge.
The sky is a beautiful palette of pinks and purples as the sun dips below the mountains.
It’s quiet in the car, both of us lost in our own thoughts.
MJ rolls up her window and turns to face me.
“So, are you going to tell me what Jake was talking about back there?” And there it is. She’s always so observant.
My jaw ticks as I grip the steering wheel. “It's just Jake. Probably doing some twelve steps or something and handing out long overdue thank-yous.”
“Then why have you been bouncing your leg since we ran into him? And I’m pretty sure you will not have any skin left on your bottom lip from biting it so much.
” She huffs, crossing her arms across her chest. It takes effort to stop my leg from bobbing and to release my lip from my teeth.
I hadn’t even realized I was doing either of those things.
MJ seems to take the change as confirmation when she adds, “Yeah, come on. If we’re in this relationship, we’re in it. Tell me what’s going on.”
Relationship? My heart does backflips, banging against my ribs.
We’re going to have to come back to that, though.
She’s hurt and I don’t think I can continue avoiding this anymore.
I see a familiar exit sign and pull off the highway, taking a well-worn dirt road for a few minutes.
I park the car and grab my sweatshirt from the back seat before running around helping MJ out of the car.
Taking her hand, I lead her into the open field still filled with wildflowers.
I lay down my sweatshirt and sit next to it.
She sits down next to me, her eyes filled with uncertainty and questions.
I sigh, leaning into her. Kissing her forehead, I take her hand and pray to whatever god will listen that this conversation goes okay.