Finding Us (Finding #2) (4 page)

“What are you waiting for, Parker?”

“What do you mean, babe?” I knew what she meant, but I was trying my best to avoid talking about it.

“I love everything we do together, but you know I want you. I’m done waiting…unless…” She hid her face in my shoulder when she said, “Do you not want to have sex with me?”

I shot straight up and lifted her, so I could see her face. “You don’t know how desperate I am to be with you like that, Maggie.”

Her brow furrowed in confusion. “Then what is it?” she asked.

I wiped the wrinkle from her brow with my thumbs then told her the truth. “I’m scared to death of hurting you. From what I know there’s no avoiding it, and you know that I’m no small member.”

She settled deeper on my lap and pressed her heat against me. “Mmm…definitely not small,” she hummed. “It’ll be ok though. I’m ready. I know the first time isn’t always great, but I love you and want to be with you.”

“Me too, baby.” Our lips found each other and the kiss deepened. I picked her up and felt her legs tighten around me.

“Where are we going?” She asked when she broke our kiss.

“I’m taking you to bed. Your first time isn’t going to be outside where anyone can see you. I want to be able to take my time with you.”

“That sounds nice.”

“Nice isn’t going to be the word to describe it, baby.”

In the bedroom I closed the door as Maggie stood on the other side of the room in front of the bed. I could tell she was nervous, but hell, so was I. This moment was important for her, for us, and I had to do this right.

“Parker,” she said as I walked over to her.

“Yeah baby?”

“I want this…with you.”

It was like she knew I needed the encouragement, the reminder that she wasn’t doing this for me. I knew she wanted this experience. I even knew she wanted it with me, but hearing it once more took some of the pressure off.

“That’s good baby because I want this with you more than you know,” I told her just before our lips connected. I gently guided her back to the bed and whispered how beautiful she was. I told her how much I loved her then I showed her over and over with gentle touches and kisses. The way her skin tasted was better than any dessert ever created. It was like she was made only for me.

She moaned and writhed beneath me as I pressed against her, and it was all I could do to keep myself from rushing to get her out of her clothes. With all the control I could muster, I slowly peeled each layer of clothing from her body punctuating each new trace of skin with the touch of my fingers and lips.

“Parker,” she breathed and my heart picked up the pace. Hearing my name from her lips still did something to me when we were like this. My heart pounded harder and felt full somehow. Maggie was everything I ever needed.

With that in mind I slowly climbed back up her body once all the layers were removed from between us and did everything I could to make her first time better than anything she could have ever imagined.

Maggie

I woke up the next morning pleasantly sore and happily pressed against Parker. I was no longer a virgin, officially. That had me smiling like the Cheshire cat. Parker was right. Nice wasn’t a strong enough word to describe what he did to me that night, what we did to each other, what we did together. Wonderful. Breathtaking. Romantic. Sensual. I needed a thesaurus to describe what we had done, and I needed a nap so we could do it again.

He was careful with me, but it still hurt a bit even though he did everything he could to make it good for me. He used his magic fingers and mind-blowing mouth to make me come before he even tried to enter me. He took his time, and I thought it was perfect. I knew it would only get better, but as far as first time experiences go, I was lucky. Not only was he patient and careful with my body, but I also shared my first time with someone that I was completely head over heels in love with. How many people can say that?

Afterwards, the way he held me was just as validating as the actual act. He pressed me close to his body and held me tightly as if he never wanted to let go. The words he whispered in my ear until I fell asleep were personal and everything I needed to hear. He was without a doubt the only many for me, and I kept thanking my lucky stars that there had never been anyone before him.

I felt Parker stir against my back, so I rolled over to face him with the wide smile on my face. “Good morning.”

He kissed my forehead sweetly. “Morning. How do you feel this morning?” His voice was scratchy from sleep, and he had a little stubble on his face. Parker was seriously sexy in the morning.

“Good. Great. A little sore,” I told him honestly as I snuggled closer to him.

“I’m going to have to leave you alone for a day or so. No tiny bikinis today.”

“I’m not making any promises. I wouldn’t mind a repeat performance.”

He groaned. “You need time to heal. Let’s go run and spend the day hanging out on the beach with Max and Becca. I can’t stay in bed with you talking like that knowing I can’t do anything about it after last night.”

I laughed as he pressed a kiss to my forehead and climbed out of bed. I watched him throw on some shorts and head to the bathroom. When he came out, I was still laying in bed completely naked.

“Come on babe. Get moving.”

“We’re on vacation!” I rolled over onto my belly and snuggled into my pillow.

“Since when do you take time off from running?”

“Since I would rather lay in bed with my incredibly hot boyfriend.”

Parker climbed back on the bed. “Incredibly hot, huh?” I nodded. He crawled up me like he was going to take advantage of my naked body, but moved quickly out of the way. I squealed when he popped me on my bum. “I won’t be incredibly hot if I stop working out, now will I? Get up before it gets too hot outside.”

“Ugh! Fine!” I climbed out of bed and headed to the bathroom. I felt his eyes follow my naked body from across the room, so I added a little wiggle to my walk before I closed the door.

I heard him groan before he yelled, “Hurry up!” and walked out of the bedroom.
Mission accomplished!

We went for our usual morning run and then came back to the house for breakfast. Max and Becca hadn’t come out of their room yet, so we ate, cleaned up, and swam in the pool alone until they joined us. While alone Parker and I found creative ways to entertain ourselves, which really meant we tortured each other with constant teasing and no relief. Once Max and Becca finally dragged themselves out of their cocoon, the four of us spent a perfect day hanging out on the beach playing bocce ball and other beach games that we had stored at the house. The boys tried body boarding and skim boarding while Becca and I sat under the large umbrella on lounge chairs reading romance novels.

“Things seem to be going well with you and Parker.” Becca said once the boys had left us for the water. Parker had kissed me soundly several times before he headed down to the water. Max on the other hand had simply squeezed his girlfriend’s shoulder then punched Parker to get him to hurry up.

I couldn’t help the ridiculous smile that I had on my face. “Things are great. I guess we were able to get to the good stuff quickly and skip all of that awkward first date stuff because we were friends first.”

“It’s sweet, you know? You two have always had chemistry, but the years of waiting just turned into foreplay. I think it’ll make the honeymoon period last longer.”

“You and Max aren’t in the honeymoon period anymore, huh?” I asked carefully. I never pried in Max and Becca’s relationship. It was hard to be friends with both of them separately and talk openly about their relationship. I always had to tread lightly when I spoke to Becca. She was dating my best friend.

“Not so much,” she sighed. “Don’t get me wrong. Things are really good, but everything is routine, you know?”

I laughed. “No, I don’t know. This is my first real relationship, remember?”

“Yeah, I know. Well, you’ll see. Eventually you and Parker will get busy and fall into a predictable routine. Nothing will be wrong, but it won’t be nearly as exciting as it is now. Everything is new right now, so enjoy it while you can.”

“Becca, that is the most depressing thing I have ever heard you say.”

“I know. Sorry,” she silently laughed. “We just had a really good morning, and I had forgotten how great things could be. I’m dreading going home because I don’t want to go back to reality. I want to live in one of these romance novels where there’s constantly drama and excitement.”

“You want chains and whips kind of excitement? I’m surprised. I always took you for a drama free kind of girl.” I said surprised.

“No! I just want to feel the angst and the excitement of a new relationship again. I want it all with Max though. I love him, and none of this is about him. It’s just how relationships are. I miss the anticipation of waiting for him to call. I miss getting dressed up just to go to dinner. Heck, I miss him going to the bathroom with the door closed,” she giggled.

“No more mystery there, huh?”

“Mystery? What’s that? Max and I are too comfortable with each other. We’re like an old married couple.”

“Enjoy this week then. We’re too young to be old married couples. Although when we are old married couples, I hope we still take trips together like this. I think we’ll all need just a few days to reconnect once we really let the real world in.”

“Don’t mention the real world. I’m on vacation,” Becca said with a smile as she leaned back on her lounger and slid her sunglasses back over her eyes.

Our quiet beach day ended up being one of the best days. Little did I know a dark cloud was on her way down to hover over our perfect break from reality.

That evening as we were putting the finishing touches on the Low Country Boil we made for dinner, Sarah and Billy came bounding into the house. I ran over to greet them but stopped cold when I saw they weren’t alone. Grady and Alexis had joined them.

“Hi…” I said too shocked to say anything else.

“We brought friends. You said there was an extra bedroom with twin beds, so Billy invited Grady,” Sarah said with raised eyebrows. Her tone gave nothing away, but her face let me know she knew this was a terrible idea. She knew how much I didn’t want Alexis anywhere near me...well, anywhere near Parker, really.

I kept my fake smile plastered on my face. “Oh! Well, the more the merrier.” I guess if my mother taught me nothing else, at least I could fake pleasantries.
Thank you, Mother for teaching me the art of faking. Most helpful life lesson ever!

She hugged me against her and quickly whispered in my ear. “I’m so sorry. I swear I had nothing to do with that one.”

“Come on in. I’ll show you to your rooms.” I guided everyone into the house. The boys were on the porch but came in just as everyone followed me into the living room. “Look who’s here!” I announced with false excitement. Max’s eyebrows shot up. He knew that tone.

Parker had a genuine smile on his face as he greeted his band mates. He hugged Billy and Grady and grabbed drinks for everyone. At least he didn’t hug the she-devil who had now joined our no-so-perfect-anymore vacation.

After showing everyone to their rooms, Becca, Sarah, and I finished in the kitchen as everyone else sat down at the outdoor table.

“What’s she doing here?” Becca asked when it was just the three of us.

Sarah rolled her eyes. “Billy invited Grady, and I guess Grady invited her. We don’t know. They just both showed up late this morning with bags in hand.”

“It’ll be fine,” I said even though I absolutely didn’t believe it.

Sarah didn’t believe me either. “I warned Billy. If she causes any drama, he’s responsible for getting her the hell out of here.”

“I’m not worried,” Becca said. “Parker hasn’t been able to take his eyes off Maggie yet. He probably wouldn’t even know Max and I were here had Max not made Parker try body boarding in the ocean again all day together.”

I smiled widely and blushed. He couldn’t take his eyes off of me because he was remembering what we did last night. Perhaps he was even planning tonight. That thought alone sent chills down my spine. We needed to hurry this dinner up, so Parker and I could be alone again.

“Oh. My. God!” Sarah squealed.

“What?” Becca and I asked at the same time.

“You,” she said and stared right at me.

“What?” I asked trying to play innocent.

“You did it!” Sarah whisper screamed.

“Did what?” Becca asked confused, but I knew what she meant and blushed a hideous shade of red at her accusation.

“You and Parker did the dirty, didn’t you?”

Becca and Sarah were staring at me waiting for me to respond. My still red cheeks prevented me from being able to brush it off. “Shh…” I tried to hush her as I dragged them further into the kitchen. Sarah didn’t drop her Sherlock Holmes stare, so I finally gave into her. “Yes. Last night.” They both started cheering wildly. “Shhh!! Stop it, you two!”

Max came inside right then. “What’s going on? I thought y’all said the food was ready.”

“It is! Go back outside.” Becca snapped. Max’s eyes widened at her tone. She was never anything but calm, so I am sure he didn’t know what to think. Heck, I was surprised, and I knew why she was snapping at him.

“What’s going on in here?” Max asked suspiciously.

Sarah grabbed the salad bowl. “Nothing. Quit being nosey, Max. Here. Take this outside.” She shoved the bowl in his hands, and we all waited silently while he walked back outside watching us the whole time. Sarah turned back to me once he was out the door. “So, how was it?”

“Let’s do this later. I don’t want to talk about this with them just outside the door.”

Sarah frowned then looked at the door and back at me. She gave me a pointed look and said, “Ok, but don’t think you’re getting away with that. We’ve all been waiting four years for this day!”

“Seriously! You’ve been waiting?” I scoffed sarcastically. The truth was I had been the one hoping for a night like last night with Parker since I met him on moving day. The moment I saw his shirt lift revealing a chiseled six-pack, I was done for. I knew I wanted him to be my first, but I never thought I would be lucky enough to get everything I wanted and more.

Throughout dinner Sarah managed to keep her knowing looks to a minimum, but I knew it was only a matter of time before the interrogation really began. Fortunately the evening was spent as a group, so I was able to avoid her questions for one night. After dinner we all sat around listening to Grady and Parker play dueling guitars. It was pretty fun especially when they started making up their own songs. We were all impressed with their creativity. I thought Parker won the battle, but I might have also been a little biased.

Unfortunately I had to wait even longer for alone time with Parker. After our sing along we all put on our bathing suits and climbed in the pool as the guys mixed drinks for everyone. Us girls all sat on the steps together, so we could talk. Even Alexis came over with us. Sarah happily climbed into the water careful not to get her hair wet before she said, “So, on the way in we saw that tomorrow night is Girl’s Night at The Swamp, that bar just down the road. I say we get all dolled up and go dancing tomorrow like we used to do.”

“Sounds good to me,” I agreed.

“Sounds fun. I’m sure the guys will agree to whatever we want,” Becca added.

“Does that sound fun to you Alexis?”

She shrugged in response then stared off to the side.
Ok then.

I continued to try to include Alexis in our girl talk, but she just wasn’t having it. I didn’t understand why she would want to come if she didn’t want to hang out with us. She already stood out like a sore thumb with her wildly colored hair and tiny body covered in colorful tattoos, so the least she could do was try to be friendly with us girls.

I’m not saying her hair color or tattoos were a bad thing, but it was just different. I mean we all looked different in one way or another. Sarah was the tall, model thin blond girl who looked like Malibu Barbie. Becca was a tiny little Asian girl with no curves whatsoever. Then there was me. I was all curves and toned muscle with the mess of brown hair. We were all plain compared to Alexis though. She was like a coral reef growing in a forest, except a lot less pleasant.