Chapter 17
Belle
Maverick stopped by most nights after work.
We barely made it past the stairwell before he was kissing me.
One night, he'd simply bent me over the stairs and took me there.
Our physical connection was hot. I'd never experienced anything like this with anyone else.
And I was different with Maverick, freer and more easygoing.
I craved him when we weren't together. But we hadn't spent the night anywhere else besides my apartment, except for the one night at his place.
I knew he was busy, and nights at my place were a compromise. It was convenient to stay at my apartment when our work was here.
But I wasn't sure if we were building a relationship or just enjoying each other for now. I felt more confident about my body and my sexuality. He obviously found me irresistible. But I wanted more than just sex.
He held me close while we slept and took care of me in other ways, picking up groceries and making me dinner.
It was too early in our relationship to be thinking about long-term, but I couldn't help it. I wasn't a fling kind of girl. I had to know if this was going somewhere.
On Wednesday, the other shop owners were planning to meet in the bookstore, so Maverick was going home to do some much needed laundry and catch up on sleep. I hated that we wouldn't see each other for one night, but I needed some girl time.
Clara brought the wine, Reina brought leftover cupcakes, and Meg made a charcuterie board. We sat in the overstuffed leather chairs in front of the fire. I couldn't wait until we could meet outside on my new patio with the sounds of the fountain for ambiance.
I sipped my wine, knowing that I didn't have to worry about driving anywhere. I could relax and head upstairs when we were done.
Maverick: Was book club cancelled?
I laughed.
Belle: It's not a book club. The shop owners get together. We talk business and other things.
Maverick: What other things are we talking about?
"Who are you texting with that smile on your face?" Clara asked, pouring a glass of wine.
I sighed. "Maverick."
"Are you two seeing each other now?" Reina asked.
I wasn't sure how to describe it. He came over after work, we had sex, cleaned up in the shower, then grabbed something to eat before falling asleep. In the morning, we both went our separate ways to work where we watched each other from afar. "I don't know what to call it."
"Are you fucking each other's brains out?" Meg asked with a smirk.
My face instantly heated. "Meg!"
Meg smiled as she looked around the room. "That's usually the reason you can't put a label on something. Tell me it's hot and fun."
I bit my lip, wondering how I could explain it. "It is but—"
"You want more?" Clara asked with a knowing look.
"It's too soon to ask for that. But yes?" I said, feeling all mixed-up inside.
"You're worried that it's just sex and won't turn into anything else?" Clara continued.
"It feels intense. More than just sex. We almost never go out. He's so busy with this project, and I just opened. He's off on Sundays, but I work."
"What about Aspen? Have you officially asked her to work a few hours a week yet?" Clara asked.
"She has come in on Friday afternoons."
"Why don't you ask her to handle Sundays? Then you're both off on the same day." Meg asked.
"That's an idea." Assuming Maverick wanted to spend it with me. Maybe this was a convenient arrangement for him, and he didn't want to take me out. It would be a good test.
If I was free on Sundays, would he offer to do something else? Or would it be another day in bed? Not that I minded our one-on-one time together, but it was starting to feel like a concerning pattern I shouldn't ignore.
Clara plucked a grape off the stem and tossed it into her mouth. "I don't know if I'm ready to date again, but I'm a little jealous."
"It's not like I was looking. I've always had a crush on Maverick. When he started working on the patio, we couldn't avoid each other anymore." And I didn't want to.
"Talk to him then. You can't have a relationship without communication," Reina said.
"You're right." But he was new at relationships, and he warned me that he was bound to screw it up.
"The important thing is that the sex is great," Meg said.
Everyone laughed.
"If you don't have chemistry, you can't fix that," Meg continued.
"We have chemistry." I just wondered if it would lead to anything else. Can you have an intense physical relationship that turns into a real one? Or was it always just sex? It felt intense, but maybe that was the spark and not the beginning of feelings for each other.
I sipped more wine, hoping that it would help me relax and bring clarity to the situation.
Clara turned on some music, and we got up to dance. It felt good and freeing to be with these women. I didn't feel on guard like I did with my high-school friends.
If anyone saw us through the window, they'd think we were confident women who didn't mind letting lose and having fun.
I'd desperately wanted to be this person for a long time.
But something always held me back: the rules set by my parents and the constraints of my friend group who always worried about how they were perceived by others.
I was supposed to act a certain way. But now? I could be myself.
I couldn't help but think that Maverick was a big part of that. He'd helped me explore the passionate side of myself, the one I'd hid for so long. Or maybe I was only like this with him.
Either way, I wanted to see where this thing went with him. I was enjoying myself. Maybe I shouldn't worry about what it meant.
We ate and danced to the music, talking about dating and our businesses. After we'd eaten most of the food and drank the wine, everyone started going home.
I ushered everyone out, telling them that they didn't need to clean. After I disposed of the trash, I pulled out my phone. There was a string of messages from Maverick asking when I'd be done with girls' night.
The last one said he was on his way to see me.
There was a knock on the front door.
I unlocked the door to let him in. "What are you doing here?"
He locked the door and turned to face me. "I missed you."
I laughed in disbelief. "It was only one night."
"One night too many without you." He turned off the lights and swept me into his arms, carrying me through the door to my stairwell, making sure to lock it before taking me the rest of the way upstairs to my place. When he set me down, he cupped my cheeks. "I hope you don't mind that I dropped by."
I felt a little breathless. "You're always welcome here."
It might have been naive, but I liked that he'd showed up and surprised me. I loved that he couldn't get enough of me. I felt desirable.
"Good." Then he kissed me, stealing the breath from my lungs and dashing the worry from my brain.
I needed this. I needed him, the reassurance of his hands on my body, and his lips on my mouth. The truth was that I was falling for him, and I was worried it was one-sided.
I'd enjoy it for what it was now and see where it went. I didn't have to make rules for our relationship. If it became too much, I could walk away. That was the lie I told myself as he took off his shirt and unbuckled his jeans.
The fact that he wanted me more every day was reassuring. He lifted me onto the kitchen counter and stepped between my legs. "I can't get enough of you."
I smiled. "I seem to have the same problem."
He rested his forehead against mine. "I'm glad I'm not in this alone."
In moments like this, when he was tender and said things that I suspected he didn't say to anyone else, I was hopeful he just needed more time. Then he'd come to terms with what this meant. This wasn't a physical release. It was so much more.
Then he kissed me slowly, his hands moving under my shirt, unhooking my bra. He cupped my breasts, skimming over my nipples with his thumbs. I wanted him more with each passing second.
He shoved my top higher, and I helped him remove it. He sucked on one nipple, then the other. But I didn't want anything between us. I wiggled my shorts over my hips and down my legs.
He placed a hand on my chest, pressing me down onto the cool countertop. He maneuvered me so that my hips were on the edge of the counter. He licked and sucked, using his fingers to drive me impossibly higher.
When the orgasm shot through me, he gently removed his fingers, then lifted me off the counter and carried me toward the bedroom. He slowly lowered me to the comforter and shoved his pants down and off.
Then he was on top of me, holding his cock at my entrance. He moved slowly, easing inside me until I was full of him. This was what I wanted, him inside me, filling me up.
He lowered his body over mine, kissing me and keeping me close, just the way I loved. We had sex in a lot of different positions, but this made me feel cherished. It might have been only physical for him, but I was falling, tumbling head over heels for this man.
I just hoped he wasn't too far behind.
I could see through my windows that the patio was coming together. They'd finished the base and were installing the pavers. There were still a lot of other things to do, like the fountain and the four-seasons room. But I could see how the patio would look once it was completed.
It had been a quiet morning, especially after story time ended. A few families had lingered, but they'd left before lunch.
I flipped through my sketch book, wondering if the drawings were good enough to be framed. I could add more color to them. While I was contemplating how much color they'd need, the front door opened.
"Hello, dear."
My head popped up at my mother's voice. I slammed the sketch book closed. My mother hated when I "doodled," as she called it. I'd learned early on not to let her see my drawings. It would send her into a tirade about how I was wasting my time and the education she funded.
I stood, smoothing my hands over my skirt. "What are you doing here?"