Page 211 of Just for the Cameras
“Good.”
Then I take off and head to the parking lot.
I jog up the steps to Maple’s apartment, a nauseous feeling in my stomachas I grow closer and closer to her. The entire drive over here,allI kept thinking about was what would happen if Gretchen scared her. What if she put negative thoughts in her head? What if Maple’s waiting in her apartment right now, trying to find the right words to end this?
End it when it just started.
When I reach her door, I give it a knock and then stick my hands in my pockets as I wait for her to open it.
It takes a few seconds, but when she does, my breath catches in my throat as I take in her fluffy pink robe, makeup-free face, and wet hair that is now braided.
“Hey,” I say, feeling awkward.
Then, to my surprise, she takes my hand in hers, tugs me into her apartment, and shuts the door. She stands on her toes, loops her arms around my neck, and pulls me down, crushing her mouth to mine.
The worries all fade away as I lift her by her ass, right into my arms, and walk her over to her couch, our mouths molding the entire time while I take a seat, situating her so she’s straddling my lap. My hands slide along her legs, up to her hips, where I find that she’s not wearing anything under this robe, at least on her bottom half.
She moans into my mouth, the sound so sweet, so goddamn perfect that I almost get lost in it…almost.
I pull away and attempt to catch my breath before saying, “We need to talk.”
As if I just slapped her, she pulls back, fear replacing the lust in her eyes.
“Shit, that came out wrong,” I backtrack, trying to gather my wits. “Sorry, I just…I was expecting a different greeting, and you kind of short-circuited my brain for a second.”
“What kind of greeting were you expecting?” she asks.
I run my palm over the back of my neck as I say, “Honestly, I thought that maybe you came back here, to your place, because of the conversation you had with Gretchen. And had Hank drive you because you were upset.”
“Oh…no. Not to make things gross, but I got into a situation at the exhibit today. I’ll spare you the details, but I was in desperate need of a shower and wanted to take one before I saw you. And I didn’t have Hank take me to your place because I don’t want him knowing where you live.” Her hands run up my chest. “Did Gretchen tell you about the conversation we had?”
I nod. “She did. She cornered me with my dad and coach as well. She told me what she made you sign.” I shake my head. “I need you to know, I knew nothing about that and—”
She places her finger over my lips, silencing me. “I know what Gretchen talked to me about today has nothing to do with you and everything to do with what she’s paid to do.”
Relief starts pushing through me. “You sure? I don’t want you doubting this…doubting us. We just got started. I would be…fuck, beautiful, I would be gutted if you backed away because of something they said.”
She leans in close to my ear and whispers, “It’s going to take a lot more than some stupid NDA to break me.” Then her lips kiss along my jaw, to the spot below my ear, and then to my neck, where she slides down my body and between my legs, kneeling on the floor.
Her hands find the waistband of my jeans, but before she can undo them, I say, “I need to make sure you’re okay, Maple.”
“I’m okay.” She offers up that soft smile of hers.
“Promise? You’re not second-guessing anything?”
She shakes her head. “Of course not. It’s you and me, right? Any outside noise doesn’t matter.”
God, she’s so fucking perfect.
So strong.
Everything I need in life, wrapped up into this beautiful human.
“Right,” I answer, rubbing my thumb over her cheek. “You and me. As long as we’re communicating, then everything will be okay.”
She nods, her eyes darting to my pants, but I grip her chin, forcing her to look at me. “Communication, Maple.”
She nods again and then undoes my pants, pulling them down along with my boxer briefs, taking my shoes and socks off at the same time. I reach behind my head and pull my shirt off as well while she drags her hands up my thighs, leading with her nails, scraping along my skin and turning me on faster than any other goddamn woman I’ve ever been with.
