Page 20 of Sparks Fly
Stella had never gone to someone’s apartment for the explicit reason of having sex. She’d never gone to someone’s apartment for anything romantic, period. This was another first for her that she could check off the silly list in her head that would elevate her from inexperienced to a bona fide freak in the sheets.
“Stella?”
She blinked up to see Max staring at her. She looked around and realized that at some point they’d arrived in the bedroom. It was nice but plain. Along one side were the same floor-to-ceiling windows, but they took up the whole wall, giving Stella the scary feeling that they could fall right out into the dark night of the city. Still, the view made the fear almost worth it. She could see all of Central Park from here, and it looked beautiful, even with the trees missing their leaves.
“Are you okay?”
Max was looking at her with concern now, which was notgood. She needed to seem confident, sexy, and ready to take a roll in the hay, or whatever the kids were saying these days.
“Yes, I’m good. Just spaced for a second,” she said, turning her full attention on him. And then, before she could overthink it, she stepped into his arms, wrapping herself around his middle.
She had to lean back slightly to look up at him, he was so damn tall.
“You have condoms this time, right?”
Max smiled. “Yes.”
“And lube?”
Sometimes Stella hated how her brain worked, but if they were really going to do this, she figured they should be fully prepared this time, and she forgot to bring her own from home.
Max coughed out a laugh. “Um, yeah?”
“Okay, good,” Stella said.
Then she pushed up on her tiptoes, the height difference between them now extended due to her lack of shoes, and pressed her lips to his. She’d barely gotten to enjoy the feel of him kissing her back when all the lights went out.
Twelve
It took Max a moment to realize that the lights had gone out.
He was a bit distracted by Stella’s mouth on his and the press of her soft curves against him. She also smelled good, although he wasn’t sure what it was he was smelling. Something floral maybe? It didn’t matter. He just knew that he liked it and wanted to inhale more of it.
Unfortunately, she pulled away, breaking their kiss, and he groaned. That was when he noticed that his room was incredibly dark, only the city lights brightening the space enough so he could make out Stella’s outline in front of him.
“Did you, by chance, forget to pay your electric bill?” Stella asked.
“My bills are on autopay, so no,” he said dryly.
Stella gasped with so much dramatic effect he knew it was just for show.
“Autopay?” she said. “You got money.”
Max shook his head and kissed her again quickly before pulling away.
“I should probably figure out what’s going on,” he said. “It doesn’t look like it’s a citywide blackout, but it might be the whole building.”
“Okay. I guess I’ll just wait for you here?”
Max placed his hands on her hips, guiding her to his bed, until she plopped down on the edge.
“Yes, stay right here until I get back,” he said. “No running away again. I might not want to come find you this time.”
He wasn’t sure, because he could barely make out the features on her face, but it looked like she was frowning.
Max had meant the throwaway line as a joke, or at least he thought he had. Now, though, he was beginning to think her leaving the club the other night bothered him more than he originally thought, and perhaps they needed to address it.
Stella obviously agreed.
