Finally (7 page)

I kissed him back and then nodded. I couldn’t wait to spend the afternoon with him.

***

The next few days with Marcus were a whirlwind of fun, laughs, and lots of great sex. It was great for me to play tourist in my own city. I took him to places like Navy Pier and Shedd Aquarium and took him out for a real Chicago style pizza.

Saturday was a little bit low key, just walking around the city. We talked about everything. I learned he was an only child and grew up with just his dad as his mom had left them shortly after Marcus was born. I told him how I grew up in the all American family with parents that are still together after forty years. I also told him about the demise of my relationship with Kyle and how he’d cheated on me. There really wasn’t anything we didn’t talk about. I loved how comfortable we seemed to be growing with each other.

We ended the day by going out to dinner and then to see Amanda at work. A few of my other friends were going to be there. She’d told them all I was bringing Marcus and they didn’t want to miss it. I was nervous about them meeting him, but I was pretty sure they would love him like I did.

Marcus took my hand as we walked to the bar. I couldn’t help but smile at the simple gesture. I’d never intended it, but I was falling for Marcus. It was going to suck when he went home tomorrow.

“Ready to meet my crew?” I asked with a grin as we got to the door of the bar.

Marcus returned my grin as he opened the door for me. “Yep.”

I loved his confidence. Did anything scare him?

We no sooner walked into the bar then my friend Madison attacked me with a hug. Madison was about 5’1” with curly auburn hair and an infectious smile. “Hey girl!” she said when she released me. “It’s been forever!”

“Hey, Madison. Yes, it’s been too long,” I replied. Madison was another good friend of ours. She worked as a corporate lawyer not too far from my office. Despite her sexy curves and gorgeous looks, she hadn’t had the best luck in the men department. Part of that was her parents’ fault; her family was part of higher society in Chicago and she’d spent too much of her life trying to please them instead of following her happiness. Of course, it didn’t help that no man was ever good enough for them either.

“Yes, way too long. Work’s crazy though. Between that and all the functions my parents make me go to, there’s no time for fun,” she said, rolling her eyes and adjusting the bracelet on her wrist with a shrug. Even though she seemed to have no time, she was always dressed in the latest fashion, wearing the trendiest clothes and jewelry.

She suddenly eyed Marcus standing next to me and held out her hand for him to shake. “And this fine man must be Marcus,” she said with a sly smile. “I’m Madison.”

He took her hand with a wink and a smile. “Nice to meet you, Madison,” he said.

Madison looked over at me. “You were right, he
is
hot,” she muttered under her breath, and I felt my cheeks get warm with embarrassment.

Marcus slipped his arm around my waist and pulled me against him. “So you’ve been telling your friends I’m hot, huh,” he whispered, his lips on my ear.

“Oh sweetie, that’s not all she’s told us about you,” Madison said before I even had a chance to answer him.

“Thanks, Madison,” I said, rolling my eyes at her. “Now where is everyone else?”

“Over here.” She turned with a grin and headed to the bar. Marcus grabbed my hand still chuckling as we followed Madison over to the rest of my friends. I loved that he wasn’t afraid to show affection in front of my friends he’d never met before.

“Hey girlie!” Amanda said with a grin from behind the bar as we approached her. “You look good. See what a little sex can do for you?”

“Mandy!” I said, super nervous now at what else Amanda would say with Marcus there. Madison was tame compared to the some of the things my best friend could say. I motioned to Marcus. “Amanda, this is Marcus, Marcus, this is my best friend Amanda.”

He shook her hand from across the bar. “It’s nice to finally meet you,” he said. “I’ve heard lots about you.”

Amanda raised an eyebrow. “Likewise,” she said, looking over at me with a sly grin.

I introduced Marcus to the rest of my friends. I was happy to see my friend Charity there. She was going through a nasty divorce and I knew she needed some fun. My friend Isabel was also there with her husband Steve. They didn’t get to the city often and it was great, if not a little overwhelming, that they were all there to meet Marcus.

As I watched him talk sports with Steve, I couldn’t help but wonder what he was thinking. He seemed to fit in so well with my friends. Was he ok with meeting them all even though this was just a fling? And about that.
Was
this just a fling? I was kidding myself if still thought that. Did we try the long distance thing? How did I ask Marcus to just give up his life and move here? Or did I move there? Something like that was huge to bring up, especially after just a few days. Did I dare?

Just then Amanda nudged my arm. “You like him don’t you?” she leaned over and whispered into my ear. “I can tell by the way you look at him.”

I took a sip of my drink and nodded. Yes, I did. So now what?

Chapter Twelve – Marcus

As much as I had loved being alone with Lauren, I also enjoyed being with her friends. Like her, they were smart, funny and welcomed me to the group with open arms. Her friends were wonderful and I was happy she introduced me to them tonight.

“Be good to her, ok? Don’t break her heart,” Amanda said to me as she poured me another drink from behind the bar. Lauren was out on the dance floor with the rest of the girls and I had hung back to get another drink and talk to Steve.

“I’ll try not to,” I said quietly.

Amanda shook her head. “Don’t ‘try’. You can’t. Period. After Kyle, I don’t know if she could handle it. She took that ok cuz she’s strong, but I’m not so sure what would happen if another man hurt her. And she likes you. I know she thought this was going to be some sort of fling at first, but I can see it in her eyes when she looks at you and when she talks about you; she cares about you.”

I sighed and ran my hand through my hair, sitting down on a stool at the bar. “I care about her too,” I said. “I’ve been thinking all day about what I was going to do. I want to see where this goes. I don’t want it to be just a fling either.”

“Have you told her that?” Amanda asked me as she wiped down the bar. “Cuz if not, you need to.”

I shook my head. “No, I didn’t want to ruin the weekend. But now that I know she feels the same, I will. Tonight,” I said.

“You have to,” she said again as she leaned forward on the bar towards me. “If you hurt her, Marcus, you’ll have to answer to me. She’s my best friend, my family, and I won’t let anyone hurt her again.”

There was a small part of me that was just a little bit scared of Amanda right now. She certainly looked bad-ass with her tattoos and piercings and I could tell she meant business.

I was saved when Lauren came up next to me, breathless and laughing from dancing. Her eyes were twinkling and she had a huge smile on her face. “Whew! I haven’t done that in forever,” she said, looking from Marcus to Amanda. “You guys look too serious. Mandy, you were being nice to Marcus, weren’t you?” she asked as she gave her an accusing look, putting her hands on her hip.

“Yes, we were just chatting about Denver,” I said, brushing a piece of hair away from Lauren’s eyes.

Amanda gave me a brief smile of thanks. “Yep, Marcus was just telling me all about skiing in Denver,” she said, playing with her earring.

Lauren narrowed her eyes at both of us. I don’t think she believed us but I wasn’t going to tell her about our conversation. “I don’t think so, but, whatever,” she said with a wave of her hand. She placed a hand on my thigh and leaned into me. “Are you ready to go?”

I recognized that look of desire in her eyes even after just a few days together and felt a stirring between my legs. “Sure, if you are,” I said. I didn’t want to be the one to take her from her friends.

She nodded and licked her lips, her hand traveling dangerously high up my thigh. I reached over and took her face in my hands, kissing her lips firmly. My earlier conversation with Amanda was forgotten; all I could think about now was getting her naked.

Our kiss ended and we got up from the bar. We said our goodbyes to her friends. When I got to Amanda, she gave me a hug. “Tell her,” she whispered.

I nodded as I pulled away. “I will,” I said softly so Lauren didn’t hear.

She took my hand and led me out of the bar. Neither of us said anything as we walked back to her apartment. I couldn’t believe this was our last night together. My flight back to Denver was due to leave around ten the next morning, so we didn’t have much longer. It was already almost midnight. I had to tell Lauren how I felt before it was too late.

Chapter Thirteen – Lauren

We arrived at my apartment and neither of us had said a word the whole walk home. We continued up to my apartment in silence. I wanted to tell him I wanted to take this further than just a few days.

We entered the apartment and I walked to my tiny kitchen to get some water. Marcus sat at the counter, watching me. Before I turned around to face him, I took a deep breath. I was just going to have to say it and tell him what I wanted from him – from us.

My relationship with Kyle went on too long and got too ugly because I didn’t speak my mind and tell him what I wanted. I kept waiting for it to get better, for things to change. We’d both suffered in silence for too long, resulting in him cheating on me. I’d vowed that in any relationship I had going forward, communication would be most important.

“Marcus,” I said softly, turning around to face him across the counter.

He leaned back in the stool, his eyes intense as he looked at me. “Yes, Lauren?” he asked.

I took a quick sip of my water. I wasn’t drunk, but I was grateful for the liquid courage I’d consumed earlier at the bar. Tonight I was going to need every bit of it. “I don’t want this to be just a fling,” I said softly, my eyes searching his for some sort of reaction.

Marcus sighed and scrubbed his face with his hand. I felt my heart drop into my stomach. What if he didn’t feel the same way?

He stood up from the stool and came around the counter by me. He wrapped his arms around my waist and pulled me into him. “Lauren, I don’t want this to be just a fling either,” he almost whispered as his hand came up to touch my face as a smile broke out across his face.

I grinned up at him, feeling a weight lifted from my shoulders. I wrapped my arms around his neck and pulled him down for a kiss. This kiss was slow, not filled with any less passion than before, but as if we knew we had all the time in the world and that there would be many more kisses to come.

“Now what?” I asked, a little breathless from our kiss, my forehead pressed against his. We still had his departure tomorrow looming over us.

Marcus groaned. “I’m not sure, really. This is all new territory to me,” he said as he reached down and cupped my ass through my jeans. He squeezed it with his hands and pressed his hips into mine. “I haven’t really been in a relationship for a long time, much less one that’s long distance. We’ll have to figure it out as we go.”

I nodded. Maybe we were crazy to try this, but it felt right. And we wouldn’t know if we didn’t try.

Marcus gave me crooked smile. “For now? For now I’m going to take my
girlfriend
back to her bedroom and fuck her silly.”

He lifted me up and threw me over his shoulder. I let out a squeal as he smacked my ass and walked down the hall to my bedroom. I definitely loved it when Marcus got all cave man on me, taking ‘his’ woman.

We made love all night in every position imaginable and then some. I lost track of how many times he made me come. My neighbor was probably going to complain to our landlord about the noises that had come from my apartment all night.

He finally fell asleep around four AM, but I couldn’t sleep. Even though it’d been just a few nights, I was getting used to sleeping next to Marcus. My bed would be awfully empty without him.

I rolled to my side, studying his face as he slept on his back. His eyelashes were beautifully long. Most women would die for similar lashes. The rest of his features were like that of a Greek god, like they were carved out of stone. My heart swelled when I realized he was all
mine
.

Overcome with the need to touch him, I reached out, my fingers tracing lightly down his check, to his neck, moving over the defined muscles of his chest, and down his stomach. I was about to move down to his cock when he stirred, making a little noise deep in his throat.

He opened his eyes, squinting at me. “Hey you,” he said softly, reaching out to brush my hair from my cheek. His touch was so tender sometimes it made me melt.

“Hi,” I said, snuggling up to him, kissing his shoulder softly.

“Did I fall asleep?” he asked before turning his head to kiss my forehead.

I nodded against him, feeling a little sad he would be leaving me in a few short hours.

“I’m going to miss you,” he said, his voice husky.

I looked up at him with a small smile. I loved that he was so open and honest with his feelings. For someone that didn’t ‘do’ relationships, he was doing pretty well so far.

“I’m going to miss you too,” I said, swinging my leg over his waist, sliding on top of him.

He groaned and gripped my hips with his fingers. His cock grew hard as I straddled him, slowly moving over him, covering him with my wetness. His breathing was growing ragged now as I continued to tease him, sliding up and down across his now rock hard shaft. I watched his reaction as I circled my hips around him.

“You’re such a tease,” he said, his voice hoarse, his eyes hooded with lust.

“I know,” I grinned, reaching between us and guiding him inside me. He filled me completely and I sighed as he stretched me. He pulled me down onto his chest, kissing me hard as his hands moved to cup my breasts, teasing the nipples between his thumb and finger.