Hell. Maggie Jameson. My brain, body, and heart were not on the same page here. Maggie was one of my closest friends and had been for years. I mean, before she went to college, she’d firmly been in the little sister category. But in the past few years? Yeah, that had changed. When I looked ahead, I knew what I wanted with her, but I’d waited, wanting to be sure my business was chugging along and moderately successful. I didn’t want to move forward unless I was sure we were both ready to build something together.
I was close, so close I could taste it. My brewery partner, Jake Spencer, and I were even getting ready to expand the business into canning. I was at the precipice, ready to begin having a life again after the insane hours I’d worked as we got a small business off the ground over the better part of the past decade.
Ranger pulled me out of my thoughts as he dropped the ball again. I threw it, watching his legs eat up the distance. My lips still tingled from the contact with Maggie’s. I thought I might have to convince her to give us a try, but maybe I was wrong? That was a welcome miscalculation on my part. Hoped like hell I was reading her right.
I whistled for Ranger and watched him tear up the yard in my direction from the drive. He passed my truck, a black 1972 Chevrolet C10. It had been my grandpa’s. Hell, so had my house. Grandpa had been gone a while now. So had grandma. After they passed, my parents had let me buy the farm from them, and Grandpa’s truck came with it. I had damn good memories of driving with Grandpa to town, windows down, hand riding the waves in the air as he drove at the pace of a turtle. He’d look down the rows of the crops coming up, nodding with pride at the land he farmed. I’d had someone in town look the truck over when I got my hands on it, doing what needed to be updated. It was nothing fancy, but it would get me around.
The farmhouse was a different story. My grandparents had lived here for most of their married life. The single best thing about it was the porch that wrapped around the entire place. It wasn’t huge, which was perfect for me. Jake and I had done a few updates after I moved in, but honestly, I was outside as much as I could be anyway. Taking the ball from Ranger, I jogged up the steps to the kitchen door, wondering how to play things with Maggie.
Ranger and I got inside, and I turned to close the door, then locked it. My pup stood by his water bowl, looking from it to me, then back to it. “Yeah, yeah, I get your point.” I grabbed it to fill it up, listening for Maggie as I did so. There was a low hum of the TV coming from the living room. Since it was an older house, there wasn’t much of an open concept to speak of. The kitchen led to the dining room, and the dining room then opened in another direction to the living room. Thinking of the drinks Maggie had, I filled up a glass of water before heading off to find her. Ranger slurped up his water, making a hell of a mess. I glanced around the kitchen, grateful Jake had talked me into spending the cash to update it when I moved in. I tended to be more conservative with money, but the changes we’d made in this place had been well worth it. The white cabinets and dark quartz countertops of the kitchen changed this entire part of the house, making it feel like something of my own rather than a place I was just borrowing. I loved the memories this place and my truck held but also the knowledge that I was making memories of my own. I hoped the signals Maggie was giving me meant we’d be starting something new as well.
I stepped into the living room, and my eyes caught on the TV hanging on the far wall. I held back a laugh. Maggie had pickedThe Big Lebowski.Max and I loved this movie. I could remember when we first had Maggie and Emma watch it. I think they were freshman in college. Damn, it had to be at least a decade old by then. They thought it was absolutely ridiculous—which, to be fair, it was. Then we watched it again a year or so later, and they started to like it a bit more. Max and I could quote it line by line, and much to their dismay, we often did.
Looking down at my leather sectional, I noted that Maggie had not only made herself at home but was out cold. She’d pulled her long hair back into a ponytail, and the strawberry blonde waves were spread out over the toss pillows she and Emma had insisted I needed when I moved in. I noted that she also had pulled out one of the blankets they bought for me. I put the water glass down on the coffee table so she’d see it when she woke up.
My bedroom was just off the living room. I headed in there to find a T-shirt and lounge pants. Once I did, I glanced at my bed. There was no reason to sleep elsewhere, but then I thought of Maggie in the car, how she didn’t want to be alone tonight. Our moment at the door played back in my mind. Ranger sat in front of me, his tail slowly sweeping my floor as if he was waiting for me to figure my shit out.
“Fuck it.” I grabbed a pillow off my bed, then headed back into the living room. Carefully, I put the pillow near Maggie’s head and slid over her to lie between her stretched out body and the back of the couch. It was a tight squeeze, but also exactly where I wanted to be. Maggie immediately rolled into me, her head tucking into my neck and resting on my arm. I let out a breath, willing my body to calm down. Did I want more, hell yes? But she needed sleep. It would be better to begin that conversation tomorrow anyway.
I glanced up at the TV. The Dude and Lebowski were discussing the issue of his rug. I smiled as Maggie’s hand slipped around my waist as she moved closer to me. Leaning down, I brushed a kiss over her forehead. Yeah, our conversation could wait. We were swimming in time.
* * *
Maggie
The bass drum in my head woke me up, reminding me that all bad choices have consequences. Damn it all. Before I could even crack my eyes open, my heart began to race. Unless I was mistaken, there was an arm around my waist. And my pillow was certainly not my pillow but felt more like a biceps. Keeping my eyes closed, I slowly revisited the night before. I had flashes of the ride home and a conversation with Sully. Heat flooded my cheeks when I recalled asking him if I could spend the night. Loneliness welled up once again as I thought of Max and Emma, of leaving Highland. I snuggled closer to the heat at my back even while cursing myself for needing it.
Scanning my memories, I recalled starting the movie while Sully took Ranger out, but that was it. My heart skipped a beat as I remembered my decision to get my groove on and not only plan my move for next year but actually hit on Sully. Jesus. That had been a bit impulsive. I guess it wasn’t shocking that I’d fallen asleep. It had been a long week, capped off by more than a few beverages. But that didn’t explain the arm or man at my back. No fucking way. Was I really squeezed onto this couch with a sleeping Cole Sullivan? I slowly opened my eyes, then tipped my head back to lookup. The morning light from the living room windows lit a pair of gorgeous brown eyes looking back down at me with more than a bit of amusement. Well, damn. That’s that.
“Morning,” he whispered.
I brushed my hair back from my face as I stared up at him. Shit, this was going to be a hard one to explain to Emma. “Um, morning, Sully. Sorry. I guess I missed the movie?”
He smiled down at me. “Yeah, and that was a kick-ass choice too, Mags. I watched it, then just crashed out here with you. Didn’t seem like you were too keen to be alone.”
Embarrassment at being needy fought with the joy of lying against Cole Sullivan. Joy won. “That’s nice,” I whispered, “but did you need to sleep on the same part of the couch as me?”
“Well, it wasn’t all about being nice. Part of me was being greedy…” He trailed off, a corner of his mouth rising up.
Now I was confused, and I rolled over to face him, careful not to off onto the floor. “Why? What are you being greedy about?”
Sully looked at me, his eyes seeming to darken as one of his fingers lightly traced my lips before gently sliding under my chin, tipping it up toward him. “This.” He pressed his lips down on mine, his open and his tongue gently probing my lips until I parted them. Our tongues met while my brain short-circuited.
Seriously, I didn’t know a kiss could feel this good, so I leaned into it and took whatever I could get from him. If I was dreaming, I was going to be seriously pissed. My entire body felt like it was on fire. Tingles raced down from my head to my happiness wonderland where my legs met. Could I just throw all my clothes off and climb on top of him? Too much? Probably.Easy, Maggie.
Sully pulled back as I groaned over losing him. We panted, staring at each other. “Sorry, Maggie. That got hot fast. I didn’t mean we have to…,” he started.
Good Lord, stupid man. Like hell this was stopping now. I grabbed his head and pulled it to mine, kissing him for all I was worth. While I was drowning in all that was wonderful with Sully’s mouth, I let my hands run up his abs to his chest over his T-shirt. A rumble came from his chest that told me he was fully on board with these moves. Remembering the view last night in those worn jeans, I slowly ran my hands back down and around to squeeze his ass. Well, that felt better than imagined. Sully’s hips thrust up to meet me, his erection leaving no doubt how he was feeling. I let one hand leave his fabulous ass and slide over his length, which was obvious in his sweatpants. That should answer any questions he might have about where I wanted to take this. Sully moved to kiss my neck, stopping at the crook and kissing his way across my collarbone.
“Mags, need to make sure. You good with this?” He whispered against my skin.
“Hell yes. If anything, we’re wearing far too many clothes.”
Sully pulled back to look at me, nodded, and then it was almost a race to see who could be naked first as we both hopped up and started shedding clothes. Modesty? Hell, it must have flown out the window. Or maybe my sleep-addled brain just hadn’t caught up. Who knows? My God, I’d never acted like a hormone-crazed teenager, even when I was a teenager, but that was how I felt now.
“Here or the bed?” Sully asked, glancing to his room, then back at the couch.
I looked at his door. That was several steps we’d have to take. Looking back at Sully, our mouths met before I could answer him. His hands slid around my naked body, stopping right under my butt. I got with the program and jumped up, wrapping my legs around his waist as he moved us to his room, then came to a stop by the side of the bed.
