Chapter 32
brAXTON
“To Maddox, the Warriors, and their second-round victory!” Cooper cheers, lifting his beer bottle above the empty serving plates on the table. I tap the bottle with the belly of my wine glass before Maddox clinks it with his can of diet Coke.
“To my man taking home the Stanley Cup this year,” I say, looking over at him beside me. Our eyes meet, and his grin makes my heart skip.
Our chairs couldn’t be any closer together, but as he uses the arm he’s planted on my shoulders to give me a soft squeeze, I wish they could.
“Don’t get ahead of yourself, Curly. There’s still a lot of work left to do,” he says, but I know he’s just as excited about his second-round win as I am.
Cooper sets his beer down on the table and pats his stomach. The baby blue button-down he’s wearing is still as loose as ever over his slim figure, but the action makes me giggle regardless.
“It’s work you’re ready and willing to put in, Maddox.
Celebrate a little. I promise it won’t kill you.
” He drags the back of his fork over the rest of the mashed potatoes on his plate before licking it off.
“You keep playing how you’re playing, and I’ll keep coming over and eating Braxton’s cooking to celebrate. ”
“You can come over anytime. Celebrating or not,” Maddox replies.
“Yes. Please. I missed this,” I add.
Maddox flexes his fingers on my bare arm, and I lean into him. “When’s the last time we were all together like this?”
“Not since before the two of you graduated high school. Probably in the treehouse,” Cooper says.
I blow out a long breath. “That feels like a lifetime ago.”
“It’s been almost a decade.” Cooper takes a long drink of his beer and groans, “I feel really old now.”
“We’re getting there,” I note. “At least, that’s how it feels.”
“Being around Adalyn makes me feel ancient,” Maddox grunts. “How am I old enough to have an eighteen-year-old sister?”
I push out my bottom lip. “Oh, you poor baby.”
His eyes twinkle with amusement as he reaches over to flick me in the nose. “Keep teasing, sweetheart. Let’s see if you can keep it up when I have you bent over this tab—”
Cooper makes a loud choking noise, drawing our attention. I glance at him and notice his wide eyes, my cheeks heating.
“You know, one would think you’d have prepared yourself for this by now, Coop,” Maddox teases and then plants a big sloppy kiss on my hot cheek.
Cooper takes a long swig of his beer, finishing it off. “I don’t think anything could prepare me for hearing your god-awful dirty talk.”
“Terrible?” he asks with mock offense.
Cooper offers me a sympathetic smile. “I feel for poor Braxton.”
I giggle, the empty bottle of wine on the table suddenly catching my attention. Did I drink all of that?
“Don’t. It’s not that bad.” I wink at Maddox, but I might have closed both my eyes. The following deep laugh that kisses my shoulder makes me believe I did.
“Blink twice if he’s forcing you to say that,” Cooper whispers, his hands cupped around his mouth.
I make a show of not blinking.
Dox points at me and then at Cooper. “See? Don’t be jealous.”
“Jealous isn’t the word I would use.”
“Liar.”
“You’re ridiculous.”
“And you need a girlfriend. Maybe she could help teach you the art of dirty talk. For an artist, I expected you to be good at all art forms. Maybe I was wrong.”
Cooper narrows his eyes. “You did not just compare real art to dirty talk.”
“Oh, I did alright. What are you gonna do about it?”
I cover my mouth with the back of my hand to stifle my laugh. “Maddox, leave him alone.”
He looks at me innocently. “I’m just trying to help.”
Cooper snorts a laugh. “You just want me to find a woman so you have an excuse to go on double dates.”
“You make it sound like you wouldn’t enjoy being on a double date with us,” Maddox mutters.
This time, I don’t hold back my laugh. “You two still sound like an old married couple.”
“I’m the husband, right?” Maddox asks.
Cooper shakes his head. “No way. You’re definitely the wife.”
“Me? Not possible.”
“Well, it’s not me.”
“How is work going, Coop?” I ask, raising my voice so that I’m heard over their bickering. As adorable as it is, if I don’t move this conversation along, we’ll be here all night.
Cooper looks at me with a grin, his brown eyes bright. “Amazing. My students are incredibly talented. They’re excited about their end-of-the-year projects.”
Cooper is a high school art teacher, but his end goal is to be a university professor. It’s been his dream for as long as I can remember. It makes me happy to know he’s happy.
“What do you have them doing?” Maddox asks, tracing the top of his Coke can with his finger.
“My older kids are making ceramic Fabergé eggs, while the younger ones are doing self-portraits.”
“That’s cool, man.”
Cooper chuckles. “It is. They’re excited, which is the most important part. I’ve found that with the older kids, they genuinely want to be there, so it’s a lot easier to hold their attention than when I was with the mandatory students last year.”
“How long until you think you can start looking at the university route?” I ask.
His eyes burn even brighter at the mention of the next step in his career. “Hopefully, only a couple more years.”
“Professor Cooper has a nice ring to it.” I grin.
“It makes you sound fucking old,” Maddox blurts out and a second later starts to laugh.
Cooper flips him off, but his mouth twitches at the corners. “You’re an asshole.”
“Look at you talking dirty. Maybe you aren’t so bad after all.”
Dox softly kisses my jaw and takes a deep breath before slowly pulling away, as if he would rather stay with his face buried in my neck.
I wouldn’t mind that, but I think I would prefer it buried somewhere else. Suddenly, all I can think about is Maddox pushing my chair away from the table, dropping to his knees in front of me, and spreading my legs. I swallow, my throat suddenly dry.
“Curly?” I hear faintly.
With a sweaty hand, I palm the back of my neck and look at Maddox. He’s watching me curiously, but the ghost of a smirk is there, flirting with me, as if he knows exactly what I’ve been thinking about.
“You okay, baby?” he asks, voice low, soft.
“Mmhmm.”
“You look a bit flushed, B. Do you want a glass of water?” Cooper asks, already out of his seat and starting to collect the empty plates.
I clear my throat and nod. “That would be great. Let me grab the rest of this, and I’ll meet you in the kitchen.”
“No, you sit. I’ll bring it out to you before I start the dishes.”
“Thank you.” My smile is soft. Cooper returns it and kisses the top of my head before drifting off to the kitchen.
Maddox threads his fingers in the curls at the base of my skull and gently presses his fingertips into my scalp. My eyes roll back as I let out a soft moan.
“Give me a minute to be alone with you before I go help with the dishes, yeah?” he murmurs.
“Okay.”
The sound of water running in the kitchen is the only noise in the penthouse, and despite how awake I was just minutes ago, the soft sounds and wine have me feeling droopy.
His fingers continue to massage my scalp as I rest my head on his shoulder. Lips brush the tip of my ear before working down the length of it. I shiver.
“I want our kids to have your hair,” he breathes.
My lips part on a smile. I don’t feel any fear or anxiety after hearing his blunt statement, only excitement and something warm and cozy that fills my chest.
“The colour or the curls?” I ask.
“Both. And your eyes.”
“And what are they getting from their daddy?”
“Whatever you want them to.”
“That’s not how it works, honey.”
I can feel his grin when he kisses my cheek and hovers there. “That’s too damn bad.”
“How about they get my hair and eyes but your lips, talent, and heart?”
“Are you saying you think I have nice lips?”
“That would be all you took from that.” I laugh softly. “But yes, you have the best lips.”
To emphasize my point, I turn my head and press them to mine. The plush feeling of them elicits a whimper from me. My need for him is never-ending. A lifetime wouldn’t be near long enough.
He kisses me back with soft caresses of his mouth, keeping it slow. The care he offers me is enough to have my heart thrashing behind my rib cage. If I weren’t already sure it was us forever, this would have done it.
I don’t know how long we sit here kissing and exploring, but when Maddox finally pulls back, my body is tight with need. My skin is sensitive, every nerve primed and begging.
“I’m going to help Cooper before I take you to bed,” he rasps.
I nod shakily. “Go.”
Green eyes burn bright as they focus on me, making me feel like the only woman in the world. “I love you,” he says.
I fight the urge to rub at the soft spot in my chest as I whisper, “I love you too.”