Kiss and Tell (2 page)

To those who weren’t around them enough, their laughs sounded the same, but Mak’s was huskier. Some would say they even walked the same. Addison could point both out in a crowd because Mak had a way of moving that was lithe and graceful like a big cat. Eli just sort of ambled about. Yeah, Addison knew
much
about the both of them but out of the two Eli was what she thought best suited her needs in a spouse. He was quiet but not anti-social. He was intelligent but not pompous. He could be playful but wasn’t annoyingly childish. He was safe and faithful.

Not to say Mak wasn’t amazing. He had a way of making her come out of her shell. Maikao was amazingly funny, surprisingly smart and incredibly intuitive, but there was something about him that left her feeling off-kilter. She never knew what she was going to get with him and that scared, and excited her; feelings she’d chosen not to examine too closely just minutes after meeting him. Addison wasn’t Maikao’s type, of that much she was sure.  The women he’d dated never acted or looked anything like her.

Now she’d come to the conclusion she wanted to pursue something deeper with Eli. She just needed to get him in the same frame of mind. They’d gotten to the point where he wasn’t seeing anyone and neither was she. He was spending more time with her alone and the habit of making their duo a trio with the inclusion of Mak was no longer there—even though sometimes it felt like something was missing when he wasn’t nearby. Addison could never understand that niggling in the back of her mind that said things weren’t complete unless she had the other man around. Sometimes it was awkwardly quiet or tense but she chalked that up to their still feeling each other out. They’d only been out together alone a few times. That meant something, right?

 Besides, her and Eli’s steps to a relationship were all falling into place. She just needed Maikao to stop being so goddamn stubborn and put in a good word for her. Sure, Addison hadn’t actually felt the same butterflies in her stomach from Eli that Maikao caused from just one look. Yes, she’d caught herself more often than not staring at Mak. She’d mentally pinpoint the small differences between him and his friend that made her smile; like the fact that he never really stopped smirking and that his eyes were a little brighter. If she were honest with herself—which she had no intentions of being—she could admit that on paper Eli was her guy, but Maikao...

“No can do, Addie.” Maikao retorted, shaking his head and effectively interrupting her train of thought. “See, I feel as though it is my
obligation
to make sure you get the perfect little friend...for
Carmen,
of course.”

Her lip curled. “And you wonder why I’ve always liked Eli better.”

There was that look again. Mak’s lip curled right back. “Trust me, I’m well aware of your feelings for my perfect,
perfect
friend.”

Snorting, Addison unconsciously put down the first rabbit she’d picked up and held onto the purple one. “You don’t know as much as you think you do.” When she turned around he was looming over her.

“Trust me when I say I know enough.”

She patted his chest. “Why don’t you take your bit of knowledge and skip off before I decide to acquaint my foot with your balls?”

His brows winged up. “All I heard was ‘Blah, blah, blah, Mak, I wanna see your balls, please.’”

Looking away, she gnawed at her bottom lip, determined not to give him the satisfaction of laughing. “I hate you.”

“You
adore
me.”

“You wish.”

“On a shooting star, sweetheart.”

Addison glanced up at him. “
Sure,
you look for shooting stars every night, just
hoping
I’ll finally notice you.”

He nodded with a solemn look on his face. “It’s right before I say my nightly prayers, then climb into bed with my favorite Superman underwear on.”

Addison blinked up at the
clearly
mentally defective male standing before her. “You really own a pair of Superman underwear don’t you?”

Maikao leaned in and whispered, “I also have Batman, Aquaman, and Spiderman. Wanna come over for a play-date and see?”

Rolling her eyes, she pushed past him. “There’s something wrong with you.”

Maikao watched Addison walk away and murmured, “Yes there
is
something wrong with me. A constantly hard cock and a woman who simply refuses to hear the needy cries of my prone form.”

Addison McClain was something else. The buxom beauty had spent too much time doing a song-and-dance to get Eli to notice her. Meanwhile, Maikao
was doing that
same
song-and-dance to get her to notice
him.
Oh, they were just the definition of a fucked-up trio, weren’t they?

It was tiring, it was frustrating, it was...
so
worth it.
She
was so worth it. For every day that went by where Addie bypassed and brushed off his not-so-subtle advances, Maikao tried
harder.
She was convinced Eli was a great match for her and she was wrong.

His best friend was great, he wouldn’t take away from that but Addie needed something different. There was a quiet reserve in Eli that Maikao didn’t have. He brought out the fun in people. And he wanted to bring more than just the fun out of Addison, but it was like running at a bulletproof wall. You could make an impact, but never penetrate.

Penetrate
was the wrong word to think while he was following closely behind her, watching her hips sway back and forth and staring at the toy in her hand. For Carmen? Maikao snorted. If she thought he believed that line of bullshit, she was in for a rude awakening. He was well aware that his little Addie had needs. He just wished she’d let him be the one to fulfill those needs. Rabbits were fun but what was an electronic bedside partner aside from a few minutes of pleasure just to be put away again?

Maikao had been strolling through the mall when he’d walked past the entrance of the store and saw Addison staring up at the wall full of toys. More than a bit curious, he’d snuck up behind her.

He had nothing against adult novelties; he just knew they could never be the substitution for a
real
lover. There was something about hearing the catch in a woman’s breath right before she crested on the edge of her pleasure. Seeing her eyes glaze over, her lips part on a silent cry. Watching her hands clench into fists and her chest rise and fall with rapid breaths just before she unleashed a litany of curses and moans.

Wait, Maikao was wrong. It wasn’t just
some
woman he wanted to witness all of those with. It was
Addison
, with her full curves and sweetly innocent smile. Her lush lips and catlike eyes. Her feline grace and velvety dark skin. Maikao wanted to be able to fist her curls while he rode her into oblivion. Then once she was sated with a small grin in place, chocolaty irises content and warm, he’d wrap her up in his arms and hold her. He’d whisper to her how perfect she was and how if he had his way, he’d never let her go.

Maikao would wake her with breakfast in bed and soft nuzzles to her throat, murmuring how beautiful her skin was when the first peeks of sunlight hit it. When those sleepy eyes finally opened and focused on him he’d let her know how happy he was that she was his.

Yes, these were all things he wanted to do. He just needed to figure out when, where, and how to do them with the difficult female who thought she’d be dating his best friend. From day one he’d been drawn to Addison and the light inside her. She wasn’t just a pretty face and fantasy body. No, she had layers that, once peeled back, had rocked the very foundation of Maikao’s soul. As cliché as it sounded, she made him reconsider what he wanted in a woman. Soon he figured out that he wanted
her.

Her sense of humor, her laugh, her intellect, her compassion and her dorky side all served to create what he
knew
was the woman for him. So how was he going to go about getting her to the point where she wanted him, too? Maybe suddenly coming up behind her and taking the toy from her hands before holding it above his head and watching her desperately jump for it calling him all kinds of names
wasn’t
the best way to go about it.

But he did have a purpose for it and he said as much. “I’ve been roped into another charity event and I want you as my date.”

This was the norm for him. As a well-known firefighter who’d been in several special calendars, had rescued too many kids to name and was up for promotion to become lieutenant of the Santa Fe fire department, these things were expected by now. As usual, he needed the one person there who he’d enjoy the dog and pony show with.  He needed Addison.

“Fuck you,” she snarled, still trying to get to the rabbit in his hand.

“But Addie,” Maikao intoned with a gasp. “We’re in a public place. Although,” he leered down at her. “We do have the tools we need.”

“I’m not coming.”

“Well then I guess Eli and I will just spend a night talking about what you love to do in the privacy of your home. I’m sure we can come up with a few ideas together. Great minds and all that.”

Those dark eyes narrowed on him. “You wouldn’t.”

“Saturday night, nine sharp. Be there in something that shows off your legs
or...”
He glanced at the toy suggestively.

Addison suddenly froze, then smiled. Maikao should’ve known what was coming next, but he didn’t have a chance to fend off the attack. She reached up and gripped his nipples through his T-shirt, twisting until his eyes watered and his arm dropped.

“Let go, let go, let go!”

“I’ll come,” Addie sneered. “But if you ever pull some shit like this again, I’ll have these as accessories with the rest of my fall collection from Macy’s at home. Understood?” She twisted harder.

“Ahhh...yes, got it. Plain English. Now could you please stop taking liberties with my highly sensitized parts?”

Letting go of the left one, she used her free hand to slap her other hand off the right one.

“Jesus!”

Addison snatched the toy from his grasp and quickly walked away from him but he distinctly heard the word, “Asshole.”

Maikao smiled even as he rubbed his aching parts. Because whether she knew it or not, Addie just gave him a foot in the door. He intended to move
all
the way in.

“You do realize you’ve spent the last hour lamenting about Maikao, right?”

Addison paused in her steps and looked over at her best friend, Carmen Sanchez. “Because he’s an asshole.”

Smirking, Carmen replied, “You know, I find it awfully funny that I’ve met Mak and hear about his antics
constantly,
but I have yet to be in the presence of the elusive Eli.”

“So...?”

“So...Eli’s the one who you have complete and total romantic interest in, yet Mak seems to hold your undivided attention.”

Addison shook her head. “
No.”

Carmen nodded. “
Yes.
Every time I talk to you, there’s some story you just
have
to tell me about Mak.”

“He’s my friend.”

“So is Eli, but I barely hear two words about him in a conversation.”

“You’re making something out of nothing,” Addison replied as they walked through the doors of a well-known gown shop.

“Am I?” Carmen stopped and turned to face her. “Tell me something and I want you to be completely honest with me here.”

“What?”

“Are you going for Eli because you
really
want him or are you doing it because he’s safe and you run the risk of being rejected if you pursue something more than friendship with Mak?”

“No.” She wasn’t, was she? At least she didn’t
think
she was. Fucking Carmen and her pysch degree!

Carmen’s lips twisted. “Hmm.” She kept walking.

Addison followed. “
Hmm?
What does
hmm
mean?”

“Nothing.”

“Oh it means something. You never
hmm
me unless it means something.”