"Does that feel good?" I ask.
He groans. "Oh, God, baby. Feels so damn good."
I open my mouth, licking my lips, wanting to please him in some way after he's done so much pleasing all night. I begin to suck him and my whole body wakes up. My pussy is wet with want as I bob my head up and down. His cock is thick, hard, and it tastes so good. Salty, like a man. My man. I don't want to let him go. I suck him off and I feel him tense, and then he groans as his come fills my mouth, his seed down my throat. I swallow him up, nice and good, not wanting this to end, any of it.
"Maybe you can stay in Riverside with me," I tell him, crawling back up against him. He cradles me, kissing my head.
"I could do that," he says, "but there are some things I'd have to work out first."
"Things?" I ask.
He nods tightly. "Things."
"That's a little cryptic," I say.
"I know, but Marley," he shakes his head. "I've had a good time."
I tense. "A good time?"
"Look," he says, "I don't want to get your hopes up. Things with me, hell, you know my reputation. And I have a feeling the moment we get back into Riverside, there'll be some people asking questions about what a girl like you is doing with a man like me."
"But I'm a grownup," I tell him. "I can make my own decisions."
"I know you can, baby, but I don't want you to rush into any decisions because we had one night of fun. I don't want you to feel like you owe me anything."
"I see," I say, putting the pieces together. There is no reason for me to think that there is going to be some future with Maker. He's not the kind of guy who settles down. Nothing about him is permanent, and I know that. I'm not going to put him in a box, because that's not where he belongs. He belongs on the mountain, roaming free, wild, a man on his own without a woman to tie him down, hold him back.
"Are you upset with me?" he asks.
I shake my head, no. "I feel like I understand you, Maker, maybe in ways you don't understand yourself. It's probably time to get back home," I tell him, kissing him on the cheek, and then I stand from the bed, wondering where my clothes are.
The sheets are rumpled. The snacks from last night, the empty bottle of wine, spread out on the counter. I smile. I had the most perfect night of my life and I'm not going to let Maker pushing me away ruin it. So I choose not to start a fight by insisting on something he doesn't want.
I'll let last night be enough, because God, it sure felt like everything.
Maker
When we get to Riverside, Marley tells me she lives within walking distance of the marina.
"I didn't realize you lived right in town," I say.
"Yeah, my brothers and I live in my parents' place, the place we grew up. My dad was a fisherman — that’s why we live right down by the docks."
When we get to her house, a modest two-story with grey weather-worn shingles, we wind around the front to the backyard. I see her hesitate for a moment before pushing open the back door.
It's still early, not even 10:00 in the morning, and her brothers are in the kitchen already, looking for a fight. They're nursing mugs of black coffee, anger in their eyes. "Where the hell were you?" one of them growls at her, not even looking at me. “You were supposed to be home yesterday.”
"Jett, don't start in on me," Marley says, defensive. "I mean it. I'm safe. I'm fine."
A brother with long hair shakes his head, seething. "Not good enough, Marley. Dammit," he shouts. "You were supposed to be back yesterday afternoon. We've all been worried sick. You go for one night to that wedding with people we hardly know, and then you're out for two days. What were you thinking?"
"Gavin, I'm a grown woman. I can go where I want when I want. I don't answer to you."
A brother with a shaved head laughs. "Who the hell do you think you are, Marley? Were you with this guy?" he asks, pointing to me. "Because so help me if he laid a hand on you."
"Stop it, Dylan,” Marley says, lifting her own hands in defense. "This is Maker. He came here to introduce himself to you. He's my friend. That's all. He gave me a ride home and we've been tired because we stayed up late at the wedding and we thought it would be safer to sleep on his boat."
"You stayed with him on his boat?" the tallest brother asks, the man she called Jett. “Please tell me you didn’t sleep with him.”
Her eyes give her away, the pink on her cheeks. Flustered, she pushes back but they already know everything. "I'm not doing this," she says. "I'm not your property, so I can go where I want, when I want."
The brothers lean in, having a silent conversation. "Sure. Marley, you can do what you want," Gavin says, “and we're not going to stop you because we're not fucking assholes. We know you're a grown ass woman and you can do whatever you think is best. But that doesn't mean we can't deal with this piece of shit for taking your innocence." He glares at me.
"You want to take this outside?" I ask.
Marley shakes her head. "Maker, no, we're not fighting. Come on. All four of you."
But I'm looking for a fight. They think that they can tell Marley where she can be or threaten her with beating me up? Not on my watch.
“Marley, I have this,” I tell her.
Her eyes widen. "You have this?" she snaps back. "No, you don't."
But it's too late. The brothers and I are already
