Page 22 of Sparks Fly
Taking her hands in his, he lightly squeezed until she looked at him again.
“What if, for tonight, we just casually hang out on my couch and maybe fool around a little?” he said. “And if it leads to sex, cool, but if not, that’s also cool.”
Stella chewed her lip, considering, so Max pressed on.
“We don’t have to do everything tonight,” he said. “We’ve already passed what would be considered a one-night stand. If you’re just looking for something casual, I can do that. Whether that’s just for tonight or a few days or even, dare I say, a week.”
Stella rolled her eyes at his attempt at a joke, but he could see the corners of her mouth begin to tip up in the hint of a smile.
“So, will you Netflix and maybe chill with me?”
Stella blew out a breath. “Yes, I will Netflix and maybe chill with you.”
That was all Max needed to hear to let himself finally lean forward and press a kiss to her lips. Stella laughed in surprise at first and then gave in to the kiss, and it was a little whilebefore they came up for air and he was able to order them a pizza.
“I can’t believe you likeNew Girl,” Stella said.
Max watched as she pushed her empty plate onto the coffee table and pulled her legs up under her. He put his plate down as well and wrapped an arm around her middle, tugging her to him so her back was pressed against his front.
“Oh, hello,” she said, laughter warming her voice.
“Hi. You were too far away.”
“Oh.”
The pizza had taken a bit longer than usual to arrive, so he’d let Stella swipe through his various streaming services to find something to watch. She’d settled on the familiar sitcom and was delighted to hit play and discover that Max was already in the middle of a rewatch. So they’d just continued where he’d left off, and by the time the pizza finally arrived, they were on their third episode.
“You didn’t answer my question,” Stella said, shifting slightly so she could look up at him.
Max couldn’t resist moving closer, resting his lips on hers as he said, “I don’t think you actually asked me a question.”
Stella smiled and pressed up, kissing him quickly before pulling away again. He was happy that despite their little tiff earlier, they seemed to be back in step with each other.
“Fair point,” she said. “What I was trying to ask was why do you watchNew Girl? It just doesn’t seem like something you’d like.”
“And you already know what I like, do you?”
He brought a hand to rest over her stomach, slowly moving it higher until his thumb swiped along her bra.
“Is this okay?”
Stella only nodded, and Max continued his exploration. He pushed his thumb up under her bra, swiping the underside of her breast and causing her to lean farther back into him. Max grinned.
“Good?” he asked.
“Yes,” she breathed out on a sigh, her eyes shuttering closed as he slid the rest of his hand under her bra, pushing it up so he could cup her breast.
Max decided that crop tops were the best article of clothing ever made.
He stroked a thumb over her nipple, which was already hardening beneath his touch, and moved over to her other breast.
“You can just take it off, you know,” Stella said.
He looked down at her, and she blinked her eyes open to meet his gaze.
“My bra, I mean,” she said. “It’s in the way, isn’t it?”
“Are you sure?”
