Page 32 of Maybe, Probably (Love Me, Maybe #1)

She takes a breath before she sits up, resting her hands on her knees.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to air any dirty laundry at dinner.

I just– I couldn’t just let her sit there and fling false accusations.

Making me seem like a crazy obsessed ex trying to get him back.

” Her eyes meet mine, and I can see the stress in them.

“I especially don’t want you to think I’m trying to get him back.

I do not want him back. I’d never trust him in that capacity again.

I know we aren't serious, and like, we have this common goal. I know this is for show. But I still like you as a person. You make me laugh, and you bring this calmness that just helps my anxiety—” She stops talking abruptly.

“And now, I’m rambling.” She stands up and goes to walk away, but I grab her wrist to stop her.

She turns to look at me, and I pull on her arm to bring her close to me.

When she’s close enough, I pull her into a hug.

She just seems like she needs physical contact.

She’s rigid for a second before her body melts, and she wraps her arms around my waist, tucking her head into my chest. I rub my arm up and down her back in a soothing pattern.

Eventually, she pulls back and tilts her head up to look at me.

Looking into her eyes, I can see that she’s no longer in her head.

She needs to take her mind off things and relax.

“Go get your bathing suit on.” I keep my voice firm, giving her no room to have a discussion.

She raises her brow in question.

“Let me handle things for the rest of the night, alright?”

She pauses for a second. “Okay.” Harper spins, walking out of the bathroom.

Shit. Now I’m stuck here while she’s in the other room getting changed into her bathing suit.

I try to keep myself busy for the appropriate amount of time.

I brush my teeth and use the washroom. I stand there for a couple more minutes before I make my way to the bathroom door, pausing before I open it.

I decide to put my hand over my eyes to be respectful. “Is it safe to come in?”

There’s a giggle from somewhere on my left. “Yes it’s safe– thank you for asking.”

I remove my hand from my eyes and she’s standing over by the bed.

She has her phone in her hand then shuts off the screen and puts it down.

She’s wearing this black one piece suit that accentuates her curves.

My hands itch to run over her hips and grab a handful of her ass as I pull her against me.

My mouth waters as she turns to face me fully.

The cross straps of the bathing suit pushes her breasts together in a way that makes me want to rest my head there and never move .

I walk toward the dresser with my clothes in them and grab my trunks. “I’ll be right back, and then I’ll take you to sit in the hot tub.” Her face splits open into a big smile.

“Really? I was wondering when I would get a chance to go there!” She claps her hands together a couple times. “Okay, I’ll let you get dressed. I’m just going to text Evie quickly to check on Winnie.”

I make my way back to the bathroom and close the door.

I take my shirt off quickly, tossing it into the corner of the bathroom.

My pants and boxers follow after. I grab my trunks, sticking one foot in, then the other, before pulling them up and tying the strings.

I move over to the closet, grabbing two of the world’s softest towels.

When I head back into the room, Harper is still in the same spot as when I left.

She smiles at me, quickly finishes her typing then crawls off the bed.

She reaches out, and I grab it with mine.

A blush crosses her face, and it’s then that I realize she was trying to grab one of the towels. Oh well.

I pull on her hand, leading her to the deck where the hot tub is.

Thankfully when we get out there, there’s no one else with us.

I didn’t want to run into my parents, or Chloe, at all for the rest of the night.

I especially didn’t want Chloe near Harper.

A roll of protective instincts kick in at the thought of Harper being spoken to like that again.

My grip on her hand tightens as we head toward the tub.

I put the towels off to the side where we will be able to grab them easily when we get out, and I lead her to the stairs attached to the hot tub.

I hold her hand as she steps in and submerges herself into the heat.

A groan of satisfaction leaves her lips, and I clench my jaw as my dick twitches hearing that sound come out of her. Focus. I just need to get into the hot tub so that my dick can be hidden in case it continues to have a mind of its own…especially if she keeps making those noises.

I lower myself quickly into the hot tub.

The heat working over my body and relaxing my muscles.

I look across the water and see the woman who has slowly been making me crazy.

I lost control in the kitchen earlier, and now that’s all I can think about as I sit here across from her.

It plays on a constant loop in my head. With her jet black hair in a messy bun on the top of her head and the steam of the hot tub clouding around her, it almost seems like I’m lost in a fever dream.

The emerald of her eyes are so captivating, and there’s a twinkle in her eyes as she looks back at me. “So,” she starts. She begins to trace her hands along the top of the water, moving them back and forth over the surface. “What are some of the things you like to do around here?”

I think about that for a minute. “I mean it’s been awhile since I was here last.” I lean back in the tub and spread my legs as I get comfortable.

“There’s this cute little village bakery I loved to visit.

The owners are this couple that have run the place for, like, forty years.

They have hands down the best chocolate croissants I’ve ever tasted in my life. ”

“Oh, those sound phenomenal. Can you take me to check it out?”

“Absolutely. We can make it the first thing we do once you’re done with your work week. How does that sound?”

“Perfect!” Her smile spreads wide, joy illuminating her face at the prospect of a decadent pastry. It makes a smile spread over my own face, and that warm feeling begins to start in my chest again. I find myself bringing my knuckles to my chest to rub.

Spreading my arms across the back of the hot tub, I take in the beauty before me.

Harper sits across from me, her eyes fixated on the movement of her hands moving through the water, soft smile on her face.

The calmness that she emanates settles something in me that I didn’t think I could feel again being here.

With her in this hot tub. Here in a place I haven’t been in years.

I thought that being back here would be suffocating.

That I would be thrown back to the pain and loss that happened so long ago.

I feel something on my knee, snapping me out of my swirling thoughts. My eyes snap to hers, and her head tilted to the side as she studies me.

“You alright?”

I shake my head before bringing my hand up from the water and wiping my face. “Yeah sorry, my mind just took off there for a moment.” Her foot is still on my knee. So I lean forward, hand grasping around her foot before I pull. A yelp leaves her lips as she slips forward slightly.

“Come over here,” I say with a chuckle. “I promise I won't bite. ”

She removes her foot from my lap and slides along the bench of the hot tub, inching closer.

Just then, she returns her feet to my lap, and I instinctively grab them.

I don’t hesitate to make her feel good, and a foot massage sounds like the perfect idea.

As I bring my thumb over the balls of her feet, I see her head drop back. A moan leaves her lips.

I pause in my movements, and take a deep breath. The sounds she’s making are testing my control. “Babydoll,” I warn.

“Hmm?” Her head lolls to the side as she opens her eyes. They’re hooded as I continue my motion on her feet.

“If you keep making sweet noises like that, I won’t be in control of what I might do.”

Her body straightens.

Shit. I went too far.

Then, I notice how her eyes are dilated. Keeping our gazes locked, I graze my hand up her calf, massaging her there. Her mouth opens, and a gasp falls into the air.

Her lids narrow, that stare of her becoming more lust-filled with each pass of my hand.

I feel her body soften, becoming pliant under the pads of my fingers.

Another breathless moan leaves her lips, and my hands tighten on instinct on her calf.

My cock is hard as a rock, straining against the front of my trunks.

Removing one hand, I try to readjust myself without her noticing, but that fails miserably as her eyes zero in on my movements under the bubbling jets.

I clench my jaw as she slowly takes her plump bottom lip between her teeth.

“Harper,” I say sternly.

“That’s not my name,” she breathes.

Oh.

A low growl releases from deep in my chest as I lean forward, my hands trailing up the outside of her thighs. “Babydoll. My restraint is barely more than a thin string. Be very careful what you say next.”

A breathless laugh leaves her lips before she pushes up on her arms to lean into me, bringing her lips to nearly touch my own. The mixture of mischief and lust swirling in her eyes tells me exactly what she’s going to do next.

She pulls back just painfully enough, and lets out a moan. Fuck it.

My lips crashing onto hers, swallowing the sound as my hands move to cup the backside of her thighs.

I drag her to me, placing her legs on the outside of my thighs, forcing her to straddle my lap.

Her arms have wrapped around my neck as she intensifies the kiss.

Her tongue grazes across my lips before I open, allowing her access.

Our tongues tangle together, as my hands skim her curves.

Her hips rock into me, grazing over my hard cock. I grab hold of her, pulling her down as I thrust up. Her hands grip the back of my hair tightly as another moan slips from her lips, and her forehead resting up against mine. “Fuck,” she whispers. “That feels so good.”

I continue to thrust up into her. The friction is intoxicating, and the lust swirls between us as the pleasure builds. Harper has taken over grinding her core over me, and she picks up the pace.

“That’s it” I huff. “Grind that greedy little pussy over my cock. Make yourself come for me, babydoll. Use me.” Harper’s breathing has started to pick up as her hips begin to falter.

I can tell she’s close. The way her bathing suit is designed, I can’t gain access to her breasts the way I want to, but I’ll make it work.

I lean forward, taking her covered nipple into my mouth and suck hard.

“Oh, fuck.” She moans, her hands on the back of my head holding me in place.

“Don’t stop. Please,” she whines. I need her to come, and I need her to come now, because the way her pussy feels?

Even with the layers between us?. I’m going to come in my swim trunks.

I bite down on her nipple, and she detonates.

She tugs the back of my head, and as I release her swollen nipple, she crashes her mouth onto mine.

My orgasm rushes through me. I keep thrusting up into her to prolong our pleasure as long as I can.

Her body begins to relax as her orgasm finishes.

Our kissing has slowed to a casual pace.

My hands run up and down her back as her hands play with my hair.

When she pulls back, her eyes bounce back and forth between mine, and my mind starts to clear from its foggy lust filled haze.

I follow her, pressing my lips to hers in a soft kiss.

“Let’s get out of here, and get ready for bed.”

She nods her head as she starts to climb off of me. I watch her step out of the hot tub, my eyes following the sway of her hips before she wraps her towel around her body. I grab my towel and wrap it around my waist before coming up behind her, placing my hand on her lower back as we head inside.

We make our way up to the bedroom and take our turns getting ready for bed. I let her go first and take the moment to quickly check my work email, making sure everything’s in order for my absence before plugging my phone in the nightstand.

Harper steps out of the bathroom in a beige two piece pajama set. Her dark hair is falling around her face as she makes her way to the other side of the bed. I grab my pajama pants and shirt before I take my turn in the bathroom.

As I come back to the bedroom, Harper is sitting up on the left side of the bed, the bedding pooled around her waist, and her laptop sits on her lap.

Her brows furrowed in concentration as she reads.

I love to see how concentrated she is when she’s fully consumed in her work.

I walk up to the right side of the bed, and only when do I pull back the covers, does she notice I’ve come out of the bathroom.

“Oh, sorry. I just thought I’d get a head start on editing one of these manuscripts. I tend to do this sometimes before bed. It just helps me wind down. I hope you don’t mind? If you do, I can put it away.” She goes to close her laptop when I shake my head.

“No, that's fine. If this helps you wind down for bed, I won’t interrupt you. I can usually fall asleep under any conditions.” I chuckle as I climb into the bed and lay on my side facing her, watching her do her thing.

Occasionally she highlights something and begins typing rapidly, before she continues on .

The calming notes of her working away and the sound of her typing are the last things I hear before sleep takes me.