Page 30

Connor

My phone buzzed on my desk, instantly pulling me from the computer screen.

The notification flashed Max’s name, causing that dumb ass goofy grin to appear whenever she crossed my mind as I grabbed it immediately.

Work is killing me, and I’m pretty sure I’m coming down with something *sick face emoji*. Save me.

I smiled like a fucking idiot, quickly typing back:

Can’t.

Your ass needs to suffer like the rest of us mere mortals

She responded instantly:

I take back everything nice I ever said about you!

I laughed, shaking my head.

Fuck, I loved her sarcasm.

I leaned back in my chair, glancing around my office, smiling to myself.

Ever since Max crashed into my life—or should I say, since I crashed into hers—nothing had been the same.

Every mundane aspect of my routine had transformed into something I actually enjoyed.

Our morning coffees at Melinda’s, our late-nights that always kept me awake longer than I planned, our days spent together that always ended up in laughter and mind-blowing sex.

But it wasn’t just the sex—though fuck me, that was phenomenal.

It was her.

The way her laughter felt like hearing the most incredible of symphonies, how her dark eyes sparkled whenever she teased me, the way she would curl up to me after mind-blowing sex, softly tracing lazy circles over my chest.

Life before her now just felt empty, a greyscale monotony of work and shallow interactions with women that could never even compare to her.

Now, every day held a splash of vibrant colour that I didn’t even know existed before her.

Life stopped being about being alive, and became about living.

My phone vibrated again:

Only one hour left, then freedom!!!!

Meet me at Melinda’s? I miss you already.

I responded, watching the little text bubbles as she wrote her reply:

You’re getting soft, stalker.

I chuckled, shaking my head:

Only for you, sweetheart.

She sent back a single black heart emoji, and I tucked my phone back into my pocket, eager to see her.

But then, a sudden thought struck me—when was the last time I did something nice for her without a reason? The penthouse date had been amazing, but fuck, she deserved more sporadic romance.

And she was also coming down with something according to her, which meant she needed some extra TLC.

Half an hour later, I found myself standing in the middle of the grocery store aisle, panic surging through me like a tidal wave.

My basket was practically empty aside from a random selection of snacks I wasn’t even sure she fucking liked.

What kind of stalker was I? I had spent weeks upon weeks watching her every move, yet I had no idea what kind of snacks she preferred? Bad stalker.

Did she prefer salty or sweet? Chocolate or chips? Cookies or cake? Jesus Christ I was pathetic.

An elderly lady glanced sideways at me as I muttered to myself, eyebrows knitting together as I stared helplessly at the options before me.

“Excuse me,”

I smiled nervously at her, holding up a bag of pretzels in one hand, cookies in the other.

“If you were a beautiful, sarcastic, slightly terrifying woman, who could possibly kick my ass, which snack would you want if you were feeling shitty?”

Her eyes widened a little, clearly startled by my question, but then she smiled warmly, amusement dancing in her gaze.

“Oh honey, get both.

Trust me, its safer.”

I exhaled, “Smart,”

I nodded, dropping both into the basket, adding about a dozen other snack options for good measure.

Better be safe than sorry.

I grabbed some medication for typical cold and flu symptoms, every flavour of juice I could find, and a bouquet of flowers I wasn’t entirely sure she’d even like.

I eyed the squishmallows, deciding against it as I walked past.

Nope, better safe than sorry.

I backtracked, grabbing one that looked like a fox and threw it in the basket.

I looked at the pile helplessly, I was truly failing at stalker 101, and for a moment, my existential dread made me want to laugh hysterically.

Here I was, a grown ass man, panicking in a grocery store, over snacks.

Christ what was she doing to me.

Max exited the door of her office building, surprise flickering across her beautiful face as she took me in, sitting on the hood of my car.

“Connor? What’s going on?”

“You said you needed saving, right?”

I asked, striding over to her, before picking her up into my arms.

She squealed, wrapping her arms around my neck as I carried her to the passenger side of my car.

I swung the door open, lowering her into the seat before pressing a kiss to her temple.

She giggled, fastening herself in as I climbed into the drivers seat.

Picking her up from work was stupidly risky, especially since I knew Joe was poking around, if he saw me, I could’ve ruined everything.

But my little fox was feeling under the weather, so a knight in shining armour must do what he must do.

I pulled up to her apartment building, nerves suddenly setting in, remembering all of the bags I’d dropped off at her apartment prior.

We headed upstairs, Max eying me suspiciously as I fidgeted with my hands.

“Connor… what’s wrong?”

“You said you weren’t feeling great,”

I explained sheepishly.

“I panicked.”

Her eyebrows shot up in amusement as she opened her apartment door, letting me in first.

“Panicked?”

“Yeah, because I realised,”

I sighed dramatically, signalling to the bags on the counter, “That I’m literally the worlds worst stalker.

I have no idea what your favourite snacks are, or what drinks you like—other than wine.

I was standing there in the middle of the store, having a fucking nervous breakdown, Max”

She laughed loudly, the sound music to my ears as she pulled me closer by my shirt.

“Connor, you absolute idiot.

This is ridiculous, you’re ridiculous.”

“Clearly,”

I said, smiling down at her.

“Help me out.

Favourite snack, go.”

She grinned, shaking her head as she peered into the bags.

“Chocolate-covered pretzels.

But honestly, you did pretty good for panic-buying.

I’m impressed.”

She pulled out the squishmallow, giggling as the looked over it, “Awwww, a squirrel squishmallow, cuteeeee.”

Squirrel? For fuck sake.

Close enough.

“Your turn,”

she said, grabbing the plain stupid fucking pretzels, placing one into her mouth.

“Sour gummy worms.

Favourite movie genre?”

I responded, stealing the pretzels away from her.

“HEY!”

She yelled, grabbing for the bag.

We ended up laying together on her couch, our legs tangled together as we played this ridiculous game back and forth, guessing each others favourite everything—from movies to colours, TV shows to embarrassing celebrity crushes.

Every answer she gave me felt like uncovering a new treasure, another piece of her puzzle clicking into place.

She cocked her head to the side suddenly, narrowing her eyes.

“Alright, Mr.

Perfect Stalker, favourite guilty pleasure.

You know, other than creeping on me.”

She winked.

I scoffed playfully, leaning in closer, whispering conspiratorially.

“Reality TV dating shows.

Love Island to be specific.”

Her laugher echoed through the apartment, “You have got to be fucking kidding me.

You, the brooding stalker with dark secrets, loves watching a bunch of twenty-somethings trying to find their true love on TV?”

“Hey,”

I said defensively, my cheeks flaming red, “There’s something about the drama. Sue me.”

She leaned forward, pressing a soft kiss to my lips, smiling gently.

“Well, Connor, that’s officially the cutest fucking thing you’ve ever said.

Please, continue embarrassing yourself.”

Hours passed in an easy haze of laughter and teasing, eating snacks and swapping embarrassingly honest truths about ourselves.

Eventually, Max’s exhaustion started catching up with her, her eyelids growing heavy.

“Alright, princess,”

I murmured gently, sweeping her up into my arms and carrying her toward the bathroom.

“Time for you to relax.”

Her protests were soft, half-hearted, melting away as I lowered her into the warm bubble bath.

I climbed in behind her, settling her between my legs.

Her head rested against my chest, eyes shutting in contentment as I washed her hair, slowly running my fingers through the silky strands.

“I’m utterly fucked, Max,”

I admitted quietly, pressing a gentle kiss to her head.

“You’ve completely ruined me for anything else.”

She smiled sleepily, leaning into me.

“Good, because I don’t plan on letting you go.”

After the bath, I wrapped her in a towel and guided her to the bedroom, handing her my favourite shirt that I had brought over, just for her to be comfy in.

She slipped it over her head, smiling sleepily at me as the soft fabric fell around her thighs.

Seeing her wearing my shirt, her hair wet, her face makeup free, had a feeling stirring deep in my chest.

This beautiful woman, even in her most natural state, was all mine.

I settled onto the bed, pulling her against my chest, breathing in her scent, feeling utterly at peace despite everything that was falling apart around me.

“Connor?”

Her voice was barely a whisper, heavy with exhaustion.

“Yes, sweetheart?”

“Thank you for today.

For everything.”

I pressed a kiss to her forehead, tightening my hold around her protectively.

“Always, Max.

You’re my entire fucking world.

Anything you need, I’ll give it to you.

No matter what.”

She smiled softly, eyes drifting closed, her voice a tender whisper as she slipped into sleep.

“I just need you.”

I closed my eyes, chest tightening as my heart swelled.

She had me, completely and wholly had me.

I would break apart this world and re-build it brick by fucking brick if she asked me to.