Maci launched herself at me, and crushed her mouth to mine.
“Please tell me Amber won’t be at the bar tonight,” I begged against her lips.
“No, no. She got called into the hospital before you even got home.”
“Thank God,” I breathed and kissed her again, stopping when I finally noticed her body. “Why are you shaking, sweetheart?”
“I just—I thought—I . . . fuck,” she cried, and her head hit my bare chest as a sob tore from her throat.
“Maci, no . . . don’t cry. Please don’t cry.” Holding her close, I walked us over to my askew bed, and sat down with her in my lap.
“I thought they were going to find out. They can’t find out,” she said between strained sobs. “They’ll make us stop seeing each other.”
“No they won’t.” I didn’t even believe what I was saying.
“Yes they will, you know they will. You heard them just then, they wanted you to tell them if I brought someone home tonight. You’ve seen how they always act.”
“It’s not their decision if I see you or not. Just because that prick you were seeing would have listened to them doesn’t mean I will.”
“They’ll make you stop, Connor!”
I shook my head and grabbed her chin, waiting for her to look up at me. “There’s always a choice, Maci. They can tell me to stop, but like I said, that doesn’t mean I will.”
Her gray eyes stared at me as more tears fell down her face, and I brushed my thumb against her cheeks with the hand that wasn’t holding her to me. I hated seeing her cry, but something deep inside me was happy that she would get this upset over us not being together.
I turned and laid her down in my bed, and brushed my lips across her cheek as a lone tear slipped down. Bringing my hands to the pants she was wearing, I pulled them off her, and let them fall to the floor. Sliding my hands up her waist, and underneath my shirt, I unclasped her bra, and worked at getting it off through the shirt before leaving it on the floor as well. I kissed her gently and took my time looking at her like this in my bed. Nothing but my shirt and her underwear. Fucking perfect.
Walking over to my dresser, I took off my jeans and pulled on a pair of loose sweats before grabbing my comforter and crawling onto the bed. Once we were both covered, I turned her body so she was facing me, and pulled her close.
“I’m sorry,” she whispered. “I didn’t mean to start crying.”