Page 48 of Next in Line
“What?” I ask, my eyes looking all over his rugged features for some sense of what he’s talking about.
“Maggie, you are smart, sweet, stubborn, and hilarious without even trying to be. You need to realize that a guy who doesn’t treat you right doesn’t deserve to be around you. Sex isn’t about being equal. It’s about being generous.”
“You didn’t say beautiful,” I blurt, my mouth speaking before my brain can stop it.
“What?”
I shrug. “You didn’t say beautiful. Most guys lead with that.”
Sam tilts his head and stares at me for a long moment. “If that’s all you’re worried about, then you need me even more than I thought.” He grabs my face in his hands and stares so deeply into my eyes, I find myself holding my breath for what might come next. “Your beauty is genetics, Maggie. You did nothing to earn it. All that other stuff I said is because you’re a badass.”
Belly flips. Loads and loads of belly flips are happening inside me right now along with butterflies and dizziness and all those girlie feelings a girl feels when a guy doesn’t just call you beautiful, but so much more.
“Thank you,” I manage to squeak out because those words might just be the best thing a guy has ever said to me.
“Don’t mention it,” he replies with a shrug and releases my face to tend to the food again. “But just in case you need to hear it, you are the kind of beautiful that is unforgettable.”
My eyes tingle at his words because even though they are spoken so casually, they aren’t casual. Hardly anything Sam says is just words. I reach out and wrap my hand around Sam’s bicep, pull him toward me, and whisper into his ear, “You should still run to town for those condoms.”
He pulls back with that adorable shy smile that makes me weak in the knees. “Whatever you say, sparky.”
I Always Carry A Stiff Rod
Maggie is a terrible snowboarder. Like…honestly the fucking worst I’ve ever seen. I remember my sisters learning how to board—who I don’t consider the least bit athletic—and Maggie is still worse than all of them. She gets sprayed by asshole teenagers all damn day. And it’s hilarious because every time it happens, she calls them little twerps, and they flip her off.
“You’re only encouraging them,” I state with a laugh as I lift my goggles up to the top of my head and watch as the pack of boys takes off down the hill, laughing so hard, they can barely stand on their boards.
“I don’t care!” Maggie exclaims, her ass planted almost permanently on the ground as she flings her goggles off to wipe the snow off the front of them. Her blue eyes are like fire as she glares up at me. “They’re little shits! I wasn’t that horrible when I was a teenager.”
I do my best to conceal my amusement as I reply. “I know, but now you’ve made a game out of it for them.”
She shakes her head, and I unbuckle one of my feet to skate over and help her back up. We’ve been on the bunny hill all damn day, and she still hasn’t even mastered one-foot riding. My calves are killing me from toe sliding in front of her because when she picks up speed, she can’t stop herself. I have to give it to her, though. She isn’t giving up.
“Remember to dig the heel of your free foot in to slow yourself down. You get going too fast, and that’s why we keep crashing and burning.”
“Actually, I have a better idea,” She waggles her brows at me, a mischievous glint to her eye that has me somewhat terrified of what’s to come.
Fifteen minutes later, Maggie is on her butt again, and I’m on my knees beside her. My eyes land on the pack of little assholes that have been tormenting us all day, and a wide smile spreads across my face. “Okay, I see them now. They’re coming.”
Maggie’s eyes light up as she falls backward onto her back in a dramatic fashion with two snowballs clutched tightly in her hands. “Bring your A game, Sam. These little shits need to pay.”
I can’t help but laugh because of how seriously she’s taking all this. I look up and see the four kids approach as predictable as snow on mountaintops.
When they’re headed straight for us, chins dropped with determination, I shout, “Now!”
Maggie leaps up, turns on her knees, and the two of us begin hurling snowballs at the four of them. And not just any snowballs…ice snowballs. The kind that fucking hurt. We have at least fifty perfectly sculpted death balls stashed behind her tipped board, and the boys crash into each other as they get pelted over and over again.
I quickly unclip my boots and grab more snowballs, continuing the assault as the four of them do their best to regain their balance and bail the hell out of here. When they start boarding down the hill away from us, Maggie yells to their backs, “Go home and cry to your mommies, you little shits!”
I laugh hard at her serious expression and then throw my arm around her in camaraderie. Maggie smiles and offers me her hand for a high five.
When we’ve both stopped laughing, she drops to the ground again. “I think it’s time to call it quits, Sam. How about some hot chocolate?”
“Sounds good.”
We make our way slowly down the hill and back to our cabin at last. The sun is setting over the mountains as I make my way out to the back of the property to enjoy the view. In my opinion, nothing is better than a mountain sunset.
“Oh my heck, it’s stunning out here!” Maggie exclaims, her feet crunching in the snow as she makes her way over to me holding two steaming mugs.
