Handlebar of Shame
Maisie
Disheveled and breathless, I shoved through the door to the front room just in time to hear a familiar voice shouting through the glass.
It was Tessa, whose question carried loud and clear. "What have you done to Maisie?"
I froze.
What had he done to me?
He'd kissed me senseless. He'd short-circuited my brain. He'd given me so many orgasms, I'd lost count somewhere in the middle.
And apparently, he had also made me forget how shirts work – because mine felt weird, like I'd put it on backwards and maybe inside-out.
Of course, I hadn't taken the time to check for sure, much less fix it. And why? It was because it had taken me a solid thirty seconds just to find the darn thing, thanks to the aftermath of last night's clothing tornado, which had flung half of our wardrobe across the back room.
I still hadn't found my bra, not that I'd made it a priority – not when Griff was out here facing some unidentified door-pounder on his own.
But now I knew.
The pounder was Tessa.
And judging from her face, she had just realized something big. Last night, I had been the poundee.
Meanwhile, Griff stood motionless, facing the front window, barefoot and shirtless, with his hands low on his hips and his back all broad and chiseled under the overhead lights.
For a brief, insane moment, I just stared. Even from the back, he looked like sin and salvation – defending the door like he hadn't just rocked my world six ways from Sunday.
Damn it.
Focus, Maisie.
I returned my gaze to the window, where Tessa was still staring like she'd just walked in on her parents making baby-number-three.
That snapped me out of it, and I rushed forward, bypassing Griff to unlock the deadbolt and yank open the door.
I expected Tessa to rush inside.
She didn't. Even when I peeked my head out through the open doorway, she didn't budge from the window – or turn to face me.
So, barefoot or not, I stepped out onto the damp sidewalk as Tessa continued to stare through the glass. Without looking at me, she asked, "Is that a tent?"
Oh, crap. Had I forgotten to close the connecting door?
But of course I had.
Then again, did it really matter? I mean, with Griff standing there shirtless, it's not like I could claim to be here working. On impulse, I joined Tessa at the window and peered through the glass, seeing what she saw.
Oh, yeah. It was bad.
There was the tent, sitting wide open in the back room. And there was Griff, standing in the same spot as before, eyeing both of us with an expression that I couldn't quite decipher.
Unfortunately, he looked very good doing it. And against all good judgment, my gaze dipped to his chest and lower still to his abs.
Last night, I'd grazed my fingers across that six-pack, and yeah, some mild licking might've been involved. And now, he looked dangerously hot, like Mister July in my favorite firefighter calendar from college.
Next to me, Tessa murmured, "Is that your bra?"
I squinted through the glass. "Where?"
She pointed. "On that handlebar."
I looked toward the back room. Sure enough, my bra was dangling off the handlebar of a bright yellow bike – one that Griff had been fixing long before he had fixed me.
I blinked long and hard. There was no salvaging this – not the scene, not my dignity, and definitely not my bra.
I mean, how on Earth would I ever wear it again without blushing? In reply to Tessa's question, I mumbled, "Uh…yeah. I think so."
Who was I kidding? I knew the bra was mine – just like I knew that I couldn't stand at the window forever, because for one thing, my feet had gotten wet from the sidewalk and were absolutely freezing. I looked back to Tessa. "We should probably go inside."
She gave a hard shake of her head. "No, I'm good." She hesitated. "But thanks. I think I'll just…um…head back home." She turned away, as if to leave on foot.
"Wait!" I said. "You can't walk back alone."
She turned back. "Why not?"
"Because it's the middle of the night." Even as I said it, I felt a little silly. Oh sure, I meant what I said, but it wasn't lost on me that Griff had said pretty much the same thing to me when I'd wanted to answer the door.
Tessa gave a breezy wave of her hand. "Nah, don't worry. It's fine. I mean, I made it here okay, didn't I?"
"Speaking of which…why did you come out?"
She looked at me like I was the crazy one. "Because I was worried." She lowered her voice. "You know…because you didn't come home."
Right. I winced. "Yeah…sorry. I guess I should've called."
" Or …you could've answered when I called you ." Her lips twitched. "But I guess you were kind of busy, huh?"
Oh, boy was I ever. "You called?"
"Yeah, like a million times. There was the storm, and you didn't come home, and, well…" Her voice softened. "I just wanted to make sure you were okay."
Warmth blossomed in my chest, only to spread to my face when she added on a snicker, "But it looks like you were in excellent hands."
Good golly. It wasn't just the hands.
Tessa cocked an eyebrow, clearly expecting some sort of retort. Instead, I just stood there like a deer in headlights, wondering if there was a graceful way to exit this moment with my dignity intact and my bra unclaimed.
From somewhere behind me, Griff asked, "You coming inside?"
With a little jump, I whirled to look. "Me? Why?"
He looked to my feet. "For starters, because you're wearing no shoes."
He wasn't either. And now, his feet were getting just as wet as mine. I bit my lip, not wanting to say what I must. "Yeah, but then I'm gonna walk Tessa home."
From behind me, Tessa spoke up. "No, it's fine. You stay. I'll go."
Feeling like a spectator at a tennis match, I whirled to face her. "Not by yourself."
She smiled. "Don't worry, it's fine."
"No, it's not."
From behind me, Griff said, "No kidding. That's why I'm walking both of you back."
I turned to face him. "You don't have to do that."
He crossed his arms, which of course, flexed every last muscle of his ridiculously sculpted chest. "You're not walking across the island in the middle of the night by yourselves."
It wasn't nearly that far, but I smiled just the same. His offer was really thoughtful. And if he walked us home, we'd have that much more time together – even if we would be a threesome.
Moving closer to join us, Tessa told him with a little laugh, "Oh come on. We're not helpless."
Griff frowned. "I never said you were."
"And besides," Tessa added, "Maisie's staying here ." She glanced away. "I mean…I didn't come here to interrupt."
I spoke up. "You didn't."
She gave me a look that suggested she knew better.
I smiled. "Seriously, we were just sleeping." It was true. Even so, my face burst into new flames as I considered all of the things we'd done before drifting off to sleep.
Next to me, Griff said, "A friend of mine lost a toe to frostbite."
Wait, what? Tessa and I turned to look. In unison, we both said, "Seriously?"
Griff chuckled. "No. But you should still get inside." He gave me a smile that melted my heart. "Grab your shoes, I'll walk you back." His gaze drifted to Tessa. "Both of you."
I glanced toward the window. "But what about the mess?" I lowered my voice. "You know…the tent and all that."
"I'll get it tomorrow."
"But what if we don't get back in time? Like, what if someone sees?"
He gave me a funny look. "Like who?"
This should've been obvious. "Like a customer."
"There won't be any."
Even for Griff, this was beyond pessimistic. "Why not?"
"Because tomorrow's Wednesday." He grinned. "We're closed, remember?"
Oh my God.
Of course. I ' d forgotten my own schedule, not to mention the fact that I was the one who'd first mentioned the Wednesday schedule – or rather, the lack thereof.
But in my own defense, this was before he'd sexed me silly. I fought a sudden urge to giggle like a madwoman. But I didn't. Instead, I let Griff lead me back into the shop as I dragged Tessa along for the ride.
Ten minutes later, everything was locked up, and we were just three figures walking down Main Street.
I was walking in the middle with Griff and Tessa on either side – a setup that didn't seem an accident, especially when Griff reached for my hand and held it all the way home as the three of us chatted about the storm.
The topic was safe and easy, unlike the guy walked next to me. He was the most dangerous guy in the world – not because of what he'd done in the tent, but because of what he might do outside of it.
Somewhere deep down, I just knew he'd break my heart – and probably any minute by making it clear this was just a seasonal fling.
But then he surprised me on my own front porch by pulling me close after Tessa disappeared inside. Into my hair, he whispered, "Got any plans for tomorrow?"
I'd been planning to spend the day on paperwork and getting things around the house – plus, obsessing over the sorry state of my finances. But at the moment, I couldn't care about any of that, so with hope in my heart, I whispered, "Not yet."
"Good," he said, nuzzling my neck. "Wanna spend the day with me?"
In the soft light of the porch, I couldn't help but smile. "Definitely."
And then, we sealed it with a kiss, the kind that had me melting into him as his mouth claimed mine like there was nowhere else he'd rather be.
The air was heavy, but my heart was light as I kissed him back like he was the only guy in the world. Funny, it felt that way, too, because already, he had spoiled me for anyone else.
Oh, yeah. I was a goner, alright.