here, just paper products.”
“Tissues!” Marnie looked up, and—yeah, she was in definite need of a wipe. “I’ll take them! What color boxes did you get, Uncle Nicky?”
“Um…regular boxes?”
“Noooo!” She howled in despair. “You have to at least get the ones with the flowers on them! There are even ones with princesses—”
“How many empty boxes of princess tissues do you need?” Hal asked her. “Stop whining at your uncle and grab the box.”
Five minutes later, noses were clean, the mac and cheese was in the oven, and we were all sitting down to watch Brave together on the couch. There wasn’t quite enough room for three grown men and two little girls, though, so Max grabbed a cushion and sat on the floor in front of me.
The bustle, the briskness, and the warmth of his body leaning against my shins made me wonder what I’d been so worried about. Max might not have come here for me, but that didn’t mean we couldn’t make something of it. We already had; we were…hopefully, we’d continue to. He hadn’t come for me, but I was going to enjoy the hell out of his presence anyway.
The mac and cheese was delicious, the rest of the movie was accompanied by milk and some of yesterday’s cookies, and then it was bedtime for the girls. I’d been resting one of my hands in Max’s hair for most of the evening, and from the small smile on his face, he didn’t seem to mind it. Hal took one look at us and said, “See you in the morning then, Max?”
“Yeah,” Max replied, sitting up and stretching languorously as he turned back to look at me. “If that’s okay with you.”
Was it okay…if he came home with me again…so we could…
“I don’t have to.” He spoke quietly, looking far from offended. “I get needing your space. I’d like to come over again at some point, though.” He grinned a little crookedly. “You might need backup if the raccoons seek revenge. And there’s still half your front room to insulate, after all.”
“Come with me,” I said before he could possibly mistake my surprise for unwillingness again. “I’d love it if you’d come with me.”
“Okay, great.” He got up and headed for the stairs. “I’ll bring some clothes with me this time, though, so you don’t have to wear my dirties.”
Oh right, I had his shirt on. “I liked it.”
His eyes darkened a little. “I like seeing it.”
“Get! A! Room!” Hal shouted from upstairs over the sound of the shower running.
“Mind! Your own! Business!” Max shouted back, and Steph, in the process of running down the hall wearing nothing but her birthday suit, giggled.
…
The drive was nothing, a blur of streetlamps and snow and little conversation. I was hard the whole way home, and I was pretty sure Max was, too, if the way he kept shifting in his seat was any indication. As soon as we got to my place and were inside—and whoa, it was actually a little warmer; the work we’d done yesterday was proving useful—I was in his arms and backed up against the door. Max kissed me like he might never get another chance.
I wanted to tell him that he would, that we could any time, but I was too busy kissing him back, already desperate for more. God, I wanted to go down on him this time; I wanted to get a chance to taste him. I ached for it. I ached for something else, too, something I wasn’t sure he liked to do, but…
“Fuck me tonight,” I mumbled against his lips.
Max pulled back, but only with his head. The rest of his body ground against mine, pinning me hard, letting me feel our lengths pressed together. “Yeah?”
I nodded. “Yeah. After I get my mouth on you.”
“You have the best ideas,” he said fervently then turned and pulled me back toward the bedroom.
It was easier to begin this time around, easier to get the room warm and get ourselves naked, easier for me to reach out and grab lube and condoms with an air of expectation instead of suggestion. Spreading Max out on my bed was almost enough to make me doubt reality. Was he really here, being mine? I got to have all this? His hands encouraged me down, soft against my head, and I took him into my mouth and nearly missed his groan, I was so caught up in the taste of him. It was so good, so fucking good. I