9. Chapter 9
Chapter 9
Maisie
T he next day Mack came around again, in fact he came around for the next few days after that too. He wasn't just so damn pretty to look at, he was amazing company too.
Neither of us had to try too hard to be something we weren't, we'd both had life long experiences of never quite being good enough but I never felt that way with Mack, not since the very first time we met. There was a goodness deep rooted in his soul, and it shone out like a beacon.
Today when I left my small flat and trotted down the stairs, I was ready for our next adventure. Mack had told me to dress warm so I had on a pair of dark jeans, my cowboy boots, a thick jumper and a leather jacket on top. The leather jacket that I hadn't been the owner of until last night when I received a late night delivery.
The doorbell went at eight o'clock in the evening, usually I'd ignore it thinking that it was probably kids messing about but Mack had told me to answer it. There on the outside doorstep were two boxes, inside one box was a beautiful black leather jacket with dark red trim. The other box held a matching motorcycle helmet, along with tiny little flame stickers.
Little Flame.
Mack had taken to calling me little flame more often than not, I liked it. Usually I'm a massive hater of nicknames that poke fun at the colour of my hair, I expect lots of red heads would agree with me but there was something about 'Little Flame' that I liked.
When I asked him about it, he told me it was simple,
"Because you're tiny and fierce." He'd said it with a shy smirk, I was beginning to really love that smirk.
Anyway, I bounded down the stairs and out the front door, it was overcast today, a slight autumn chill now in the air. Mack's bike was parked at the side of the road and he was leaning against it, his helmet propped underneath his arm as he waited for me. As soon as he heard me coming, his eyes lifted to mine and his face lit up brighter than the sun.
"Hey muscles," I said as I skipped over and came to a stop just in front of him.
"Hey little flame, you look beautiful today," he reached forward and tugged on the thick braids that were laying across my chest.
"I like these," he muttered, stroking his thumb through the loose strands on the ends.
"Necessary," I told him, "There's no way this hair is fitting in that helmet without being restrained." I thought back to the last time I'd worn his motorcycle helmet, I had felt like I was suffocating in my own hair and when I'd removed it, I had very quickly attempted to wrangle it back into that messy bun.
He chuckled, I'd always had such a love hate relationship with my hair, essentially it was big, curly and ginger. It only got brighter in the summer and more wild in the winter. But Mack really seemed to love it, which made me love it. He was always running his fingers through it, without even realising it sometimes. Whenever we were close, I'd always feel him leaning in close to taking a big breath of me.
He was like the perfect book boyfriend, those men that don't really exist in real life. Well Mack was real, very very real.
Mack placed his own helmet on the ground before reaching for my own, he held it in his hands about to place it on the top of my head when he paused, his eyes flicked from mine to my lips and back again. He hesitated for only a second before allowing himself to be brave. He leaned forward and pressed a soft kiss on my cheek, so close to my lips that I could feel his breath fanning across them. He leaned back with a sweet smile, if he thought I was going to settle for that then he was very much mistaken. There had been lots of touches, caresses, hand holding but we hadn't kissed again since that night at Ace's. I was waiting for him to make the first move and I think this was his way of making it.
As he went to step back I reached forward and grabbed a handful of his jacket and hauled him back to my waiting mouth, the second we connected I was lost in him, the world around us ceased to exist as I took his lips with mine. His lips were soft, plump, warm and they opened for me immediately. I swept my tongue inside his mouth and savoured his taste. His big arms came around my back as he hauled me up to sit on his motorcycle.
He held my hips tightly as he came to stand between my open legs, helmets forgotten, road trip momentarily paused as we expressed ourselves with our bodies. My hands wrapped around his neck, resting on his nape and playing with his soft strands of hair. He ever so slightly flinched as I made contact. Our kiss was slow, unhurried and full of passion, I'd never been kissed so thoroughly in my life. It was as though every urge within him had finally been set free and he explored me with as much care as he could manage, as if he was searing the memory into his brain to replay again later.
After a long while, once our lips were swollen and our lungs were screaming for air, we came apart but only a little. Mack rested his forehead against mine, eyes closed, savouring our connection the same way I was. Before, collecting my helmet which had somehow found it's way to the pavement and pushing it down over my head. He was so gentle, so caring.
"Comfortable?" he asked, checking me over, moving my curls away from my eyes and settling my braids back into place.
"Perfect." I replied, I'd lost the ability to string together a sentence.
Mack placed his own helmet on, shifting his backpack around to his front like he did that first time I rode with him on his bike .
"Shift back just a tad little flame."
I did as I was told as he swept his leg over the bike and placed his feet on the ground to stabilize us as I moved into the same position. I wrapped my arms around his waist and rested my head against his back. I wish I could do it without the helmet, just for the opportunity to feel the way his heart was pumping frantically in his chest. Mine was the same, echoing the feelings that he felt. Instead, I spread a palm against his heart and soaked in the movement. His big glove covered hand rested over mine and gave me a soft squeeze before they found their place on his handle bars just as the motorbike roared to life beneath us.
I have no idea at what point he'd put those gloves on, I was in dreamland apparently, still reliving the last five minutes when he'd kissed the fuck out of me.
"You ready?" he shouted over the engine.
"I'm ready!" I shouted back.
He kicked out the kick stand, pausing to tighten my arms around him before taking control and making us soar forward.
The first time we'd ridden on his bike, we barely moved beyond a crawl but this time there was no holding back. My heart jumped in my chest and my stomach was left behind as we sprung forward and moved down the road. We probably weren't going that fast but my already increased adrenaline made it feel as though we were flying.
We drove out of town, through thickly wooded areas before we came out on the seafront and rode along adjacent to the sea, the sun was shining, the wind whipping around us and I couldn't have wiped the smile from my face if I'd tried.
I felt free.
I'd never felt such exhilaration as I did right now, the engine rumbling beneath me, Mack's warmth down the entire front of my body as I pressed myself impossibly closer. Mack had slowed down slightly, enabling us to appreciate the stunning views as we looked out towards the Isle Of Wight. The sea was a dark navy, white waves crashing against the shore as we cruised along the quiet roads .
Mack's hand came to rest on my knee, for just a second, giving me a soft squeeze as if reassuring me that this ride was evoking the same emotions in him. We hadn't known each other for very long at all but we connected, like two peas in a pod. An instant connection which thankfully we both felt, a connection I'd never felt towards another human being in my life.
I probably did as a child, with my parents before they were cruelly ripped away from me. A connection that I'd been searching for, craving, trying to find in the wrong places. I felt it now and it was beyond terrifying.
We rode for around forty minutes in total before coming to a stop in a beautiful picnic area in the middle of nowhere. We were surrounded by trees and wildflowers that were still blooming thanks to the warm weather we were having. There were three or four picnic benches in the middle of the area, all currently empty.
Mack came to a stop next to one of them and motioned for me to get off first, I swung my leg over the seat and almost fell to the ground, a wicked case of jelly legs hitting me as soon as my feet hit the floor. I could still feel the vibrations in my body even though the engine had stopped.
"You get used to it," Mack told me with a smile as he climbed off the bike and kicked out the stand, "You okay?"
"I'm great," I told him, "Jelly legs …" I smirked at him, knowing another scenario that would give me jelly legs. He caught on quickly and looked away with a shy smile.
Once we'd both removed our helmets and settled them on the floor next to the bike, Mack took me by the hand and walked me towards the picnic table where he opened up his bag and somehow produced an entire picnic. Hand made and carefully wrapped, he unpacked sandwiches, fruit, crisps, yoghurt and drinks. I had no idea how he managed to fit it all in but it was incredibly sweet. He placed everything in front of me, along with a can of fizzy cherry which he even cracked open for me. Such a gentleman, I'd never met one of those before.
He settled opposite me on the picnic bench and moved to unwrap his food .
"Bon Appetite." He told me, waiting until I started eating my sandwich before he even took a bite. We sat in silence, soaking in our surroundings, giving each other soft smiles and longing looks as we ate our lunch. It was delicious, even more delicious because it had been made for me.
"Thank you for lunch, for everything …" I trailed off as I began to help him pack up, throwing the rubbish in the bin. Next thing I know we're both laying on top of the picnic bench, fingers threaded together as we watched the clouds creeping slowly across the sky. Mack had brought a small portable speaker that he'd linked to his phone which was playing 00's R n B songs.
One thing I'd very quickly learnt about this man was that he's a huge fan of 90's and 00's pop and R n B. Usher, Neyo, Mario, even Mariah Carey and Rihanna. He loves them all, he sings them all, knows all the words too. He can even rap to Eminem. Seriously impressive, as if he needed to impress me any more than he already does.
We lay together, naming the different shapes of the clouds when all of a sudden he's up on his feet and pulling me with him. With a big smile on his face, he stands opposite me and sweeps down in a dramatic bow before holding out his hand for me to take, I can't help but giggle as I play along, bending down in a curtsey before wrapping my hand around his.
He pulls me close to his chest as we begin swaying to the music, NSYNC's This I Promise You plays in the background as he holds me tightly and moves along to the music. He knows all the words unsurprisingly as his mouth brushes my ear and he sings just for me, I can't take it. This swoony man is doing indescribable things to my insides and I may just keel over from being wooed so hard, I don't even think he's doing it on purpose to try and impress me, it's just him.
Mack Richards is … perfection. At least I hadn't found a fault yet, and I didn't think I ever would.
We swayed together through the entire song, my head resting on his chest as his big hands splay out on my hips. We rock back and forth in the middle of the woods, soaking each other in, tears burn the backs of my eyes as I realise I've never felt quite so cherished as I do in this moment. The song begins to slow, the emotions beginning to overwhelm me until the first few bars of the next song play and we both break into hysterics. Talk about flipping things around, although the sudden change did quickly bring me out of my melancholy.
I thought this would be the moment that Mack would sit back down, I've known him to be shy, quiet, reserved. But when Sisqo's Thong Song starts blaring from the speakers and Mack's hips move along with it I can't help but stare at him wide eyed, my jaw almost touching the floor as he bumps and grinds.
"Where the hell did you get moves like that?" I shout over the song.
He just grins at me, pulling me by the hand and turning me around so that my back is to his chest. His hands settle on my hips as he pulls me back into him, stopping just before my arse makes contact with his groin. I'm the one that moves us those last few inches as I rub myself against him, instantly feeling his hardness.
If this man is as huge and impressive down there as he is all over the rest of his body then I'm going to be praying to all the God's tonight that I get to experience it. He feels massive against my arse as we grind into each other. I haven't heard these songs for years and it takes me right back to my teenage years when I was trying to survive life.
"Seriously," I tell him breathlessly as I begin to lose control of my senses, "Where did you get these moves?" his body moving in perfect rhythm with me.
"When you spend your entire teenage life locked inside your bedroom with only yourself and your music, sometimes you have to keep yourself busy."
"And this is how you spent your time?" I asked.
"Music became my life, along with exercise, music has a way of burrowing into your soul."
"I know the feeling of something burrowing into your soul." I said barely above a whisper, surprised when he seemed to have heard me.
His chin came to rest on my shoulder, his lips found my neck as I moved my head to make more room for him. He peppered kisses up and down the side of my neck and across my shoulders, still grinding his hard dick into my arse until the song begins to slow and come to an end.
The sun was beginning to set, the chill in the air growing stronger. We had been here for hours, laughing, dancing, eating, getting to know each other better. We spoke about everything, our favourite music and movies, our hopes and dreams for the future. The only thing we both seemed to be in agreement on was that we didn't want to relive the past, not yet anyway. There would be a time for that and this was not it.
We packed away, climbed back on the bike and made our way back home.
He dropped me off at home, even walked me to the door before pushing me up against the doorframe and kissing the shit out of me. I walked up the stairs on cloud nine, my lips were puffy, my body tired but my heart happier than it had been for a very long time.
What a perfect day.