Chapter 14 The Information
THE INFORMATION
ZEKE
I spent the rest of the day peppering Maggie with questions.
She probably thought I was grilling her for information like some kind of CIA interrogator, but I couldn’t help myself.
I found everything about her fascinating.
Any given answer would sprout another hundred questions in my mind until I wanted to give her a notebook and order her to write down her entire life’s journey for me to read and understand her.
Maybe she had a diary she’d allow me to look at?
Maggie was an obsession of which I could never grow bored.
Her mannerisms completely changed when I tried to bring up her family again, so I steered clear of that subject.
After how badly I screwed up when she mentioned the scars on my back, it only seemed fair, but I was dying to know what her mother had done that hurt Maggie so deeply.
The woman certainly made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up when I met her in River’s Run.
Yet I sensed what Maggie felt somehow ran deeper; there was an underlying pain there that fermented under the surface. I wanted to take it all away.
Without even realizing it, Maggie and I walked nearly four miles up the beach and back again.
Although I wanted to scrub my skin with the strongest disinfectant the human body could handle after walking through the ocean surf, I also didn’t want to break away from her long enough to do that.
Somehow as we walked, her hand slipped into mine, our fingers laced together, and I loved how complete and whole it looked for us to be joined together that way.
Taking her hand was as natural as breathing.
The sun started to set, sending long shadows dancing along the sand, which created a picturesque backdrop.
Most of the people on the beach had long since packed up to go to one of the many restaurants dotting the boardwalk.
Music called out to us from the open doors of all the bars while the crashing waves drowned out the lyrics.
She stopped short as we arrived back where our belongings waited, simply standing in the wet sand as the tide ebbed around our feet.
Our hands remained clasped between us as Maggie turned to face me, her eyes round with longing.
The rose gold hue of sunlight illuminated every feature on her face that I wanted to commit to memory.
Truly, I’d never seen anyone so gorgeous.
The wind threatened to pull her hair from the bun piled on her head all day, and despite the wide-brimmed hat Maggie wore when the sun sat directly overhead, I could already count the new freckles dotting her nose and cheeks.
We would both be sunburned, but I didn’t care.
An urge to release her hair and let it cascade around her became too much, and I tugged at the hairband.
Disheveled waves of dark hair whipped around us and my heart leapt in my throat.
I found myself staring at Maggie’s lips.
I would give anything to know if the powerful kiss we shared last night could be repeated, but I didn’t know how to ask.
“Zeke,” she whispered. My name sounded like a prayer from her mouth. “Will you kiss me again?”
I gulped. Had she read my mind or did she want to repeat the experience as much as I did? It wouldn’t surprise me that Maggie could read my thoughts; everything about her bewitched me anyway.
“I’m not very good at it,” I confessed quietly.
She shook her head, rejecting the idea. “Yes, you are. You’re perfect.”
Before I could answer her, Maggie leaned up on her tip toes.
I found myself bending down to meet her.
As soon as our lips touched, that same explosion rocketed through me as the night before.
Her mouth molded to mine, soft and pliable, yet I’d never been so grounded.
Her body was an anchor, the only thing preventing me from levitating into the clouds.
All the sounds around us faded away to the kind of silence I’d only managed to find in dreams.
What started off as a tentative kiss grew hot and desperate.
The angry animal inside roared in delight, and I possessively wrapped an arm around her waist so that there was no longer any space between us.
Her body fit perfectly against mine as though we were two pieces cut from the same cloth.
Both of her arms snaked around the back of my neck to hold me in place. As if I ever planned on leaving.
The muffled sound of a child laughing broke through the fog and I pulled away just enough to rest my forehead on hers. There were still a few stray people on the beach. I didn’t need an audience for the passion that grew between us.
“Wow,” Maggie muttered in a daze. Her fingers lazily rubbed the cropped hair on the back of my head, sending tiny shivers of pleasure down my spine. “Who the hell told you that you’re not good at this?”
I chuckled. “You’re my first kiss.”
Maggie stumbled backwards, blinking rapidly. Her alarmed state put me on edge. Had I said the wrong thing?
“You’ve never been kissed before?” she asked incredulously.
I shook my head.
Her eyes narrowed in suspicion. “How old are you, Zeke?”
“I turned twenty-one a few months ago. Is that okay?”
Maggie ignored my question, staring at me for several beats longer than was comfortable. I stood there awkwardly, fisted hands drumming on my hips.
“Are you…” Her voice trailed off as she glanced back towards the beach. The few people that remained weren’t paying us any attention. “Are you a virgin?” Maggie asked.
Maybe a giant whale would leap out of the ocean and swallow me whole.
Her opinion of me would probably change with my answer.
“No, I’m not a virgin.” Leggett always told me to keep my pants on, and although I didn’t read a lot of fiction, the classics I’d read seemed to place a lot of importance on saving oneself.
It never occurred to me that it mattered until now.
I couldn’t bear her rejection over my worthless experiences.
She sighed in obvious relief. “Thank god,” Maggie cried. “You had me worried there for a second!”
I frowned. “You don’t mind that I’m not a virgin?”
One of her golden laughs followed. “Of course not! I just don’t understand how you don’t have women falling at your feet,” she admitted.
Shrugging, I told her the truth. “Most people think I’m a freak.”
Maggie shook her head sadly, stepping closer so she could hold my face in her hands.
The forced eye contact made my heart rate spike, but I didn’t pull away.
“Most people are idiots,” she corrected me gently.
“But luckily for you, I’m not. Let’s get out of here, okay?
This is enough of the beach for one day. ”
If she meant to lift my spirits, Maggie more than succeeded. I no longer cared about all the names I’d been called or the way soldiers and classmates made me feel about myself. Maggie liked me, and that was enough.
Our drive back to River’s Run was quiet, but that was mostly because she kept her hand laced in mine on the center console between us. Even with the nasty ocean water and the sting of my newly formed sunburn, this was the perfect day. Probably my favorite day ever, if I were being honest.
I pulled into an open space in front of Marla’s apartment and killed the engine. Maggie shifted in her seat so that her body faced more towards me, but made no move to get out of the car.
“I’m not really ready for the day with you to end,” I admitted quietly, laughing at how ridiculous I sounded.
She smiled. “I don’t really want it to either. Do you want to come up? You must be starving. You haven’t eaten anything since breakfast.”
“Are you sure Marla would be okay with it?”
Maggie rolled her eyes. “I’m positive Marla will be okay with force-feeding you. It’s kind of her thing.”
Up in the apartment, we once again found Marla in the kitchen pulling a pie from the oven. Five more already sat on the kitchen island.
“Whoa,” Maggie commented. “What’s going on? What’s with all the baking?”
“When I get worked up, the only thing I can do is take it out on pie crust. You know that!” Marla sounded irritated to me, but Maggie didn’t flinch. Maybe this was just how Marla operated.
Maggie slipped onto one of the island barstools, gesturing for me to join her. “Anything we can do to help?”
“There’s just so much that needs to be done downstairs!” Marla snapped. “Rachel was the one who could organize projects and start a business! I don’t know why I thought I could. I don’t even know where to start!”
Maggie glanced at me, her eyebrows raised. I had to look just as bewildered.
“Well, you already got the location sorted out,” I offered. “That seems like a pretty good start to me.”
“Yeah! That’s a great start! And I can spend the whole day tomorrow helping you get it cleaned out. Then we can decide what you want the inside to look like.” Maggie shot me a grateful smile, rubbing a hand on my thigh.
My dick chose this inopportune time to respond to her touch.
I leaned forward, acting as if I were smelling one of the pies before me.
“You’re definitely gonna sell a lot of these!
” Inhaling deeply, I tried to imagine ice baths and a documentary on eye surgeries I once watched, but my erection would not go down.
Marla huffed out a laugh. “Clearly you’re new in town.”
Maggie giggled, too. “People go out of their way for a slice of Marla’s pie. It’s legendary. And she has this crazy gift for guessing people’s favorite.”
“Oh yeah?” I inquired. “What’s mine?”
If Marla’s shrewd assessment didn’t make my dick behave, nothing would. She surveyed me carefully for so long that my eyes began to water. I didn’t want to blink and somehow break the spell.
“You’re a coconut cream pie man,” she finally announced. Turning, she pulled a pie out of the refrigerator and found a knife to slice into it. Setting a slice on a plate in front of me, she nodded to it. “Go ahead—try it. Your life’s about to change,” Marla goaded me.
Like they had a mind of their own, my eyes flicked in Maggie’s direction. She watched me eagerly, Marla’s skill exciting her. “Yes, it is,” I breathed without thinking.
Maggie blushed and I grabbed a fork to shovel a large piece of pie into my mouth to prevent any other stupid phrase from popping out. At least the embarrassment made my dick deflate enough for me to sit comfortably.
I moaned as the flavor hit my tongue. Marla could bake me anything she liked if it tasted this good. I wasn’t one to eat a lot of desserts, but she might just convert me.
Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed Maggie chew on her bottom lip as she stared at my mouth. The heat of her gaze made my dick stand at attention again. I paused so that I could drink her in. She was so fucking beautiful it hurt.
“I’m happy to help too, ma’am,” I finally said to Marla. She watched us both with those shrewd brown eyes of hers.
“That’s so sweet of you!” Maggie cried. “Isn’t that nice, Marla? We could use the extra set of hands!”
Marla snorted. “I suppose it would make more sense for you to stay the night than to go back to your place.”
I shook my head, waving my hand in protest. “No, you don’t need to put me up anywhere. I can be here at whatever time you tell me.”
“And what if I tell you to be here as soon as the sun comes up?” she challenged, hands on her hips. “There’s a lot to do down there, young man.”
“Then you’ll see me with the sunrise.” Early mornings were nothing new, thanks to the Army. I shot Maggie a small smile. “I should probably be going.”
Wishing Marla a good night, I took a chance and grabbed Maggie’s hand for a quick squeeze.
Kissing her would have been better, but I didn’t want to do something that might make Marla think less of me.
I thought I caught a glimpse of disappointment line Maggie’s face, but the door shut on me before I could be certain.
The drive back to base passed in a blur.
I might have been driving on air. Although I went through the motions of showering and settling into bed, I was afraid to go to sleep, lest it all have been a dream.
My mind felt like it was on high alert like a deployment.
I couldn’t stop reliving all the moments of the day with Maggie.
For the first time in my life, I couldn’t wait for the morning.