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“Gotcha…” he whispered, leaning toward her as she struggled, laughing.
“Do not kiss me with that mouth, you’ll probably get Salmonella poisoning or something and… oh!” her words died as he leaned down and dropped featherlight kisses along the side of her throat. Just the feeling of his breath and his lips made her grateful that the wall was behind her – and within moments, he’d stopped.
“I love playing with you,” he breathed. “Can you finish the last piece of toast while I go brush my teeth?”
“Y-Yes…”
Her voice was hoarse, and she could hear the desire in that single word as he looked at her, nodded, and released her. Max disappeared a moment later in the bathroom, turning on the water and obviously brushing his teeth for her.
Together they had breakfast, spent the day talking together, and simply hanging out. She marveled at how much he liked touching her hands and insisted they sit close enough to cuddle. It was just nice having quiet, slow moments with no outside pressures or expectations. Work was a distant memory in her past and even he seemed to be happy to be there.
Only to hear Max’s cell phone chime loudly in the distance in the most annoying manner.
“What was that?”
“My brother texted.”
“How do you know?”
“The sound.”
“Really?”
“Yup. Reese’s song is ‘Burning Down the House’ by the Talking Heads. Eileen’s is ‘Come on Eileen’…” and Max hesitated, looking at her.
“Do I have a song?”
“Yeah.”
“What is it?”
“Can I just have this ‘one’ for me? I mean, you are gonna make wayyy too much out of it and…”
“What’s my song?” she laughed. “Do I need to get my phone – better yet – do you need to get your phone and see what your brother needs?”
“I probably should. We’re supposed to go to dinner with them tonight.”
“Oh shoot. I forgot,” Elana admitted, and the moment Max got up to go get his cell phone off the charger – she went straight for hers, dialing Max’s number and listened to see what he was hiding.
She wasn’t a music aficionado like he was, but there was no mistaking that song or the lyrics as she stood there, completely touched, as he walked out of the bedroom, holding his phone. It was still ringing in his hand as they stared at each other, and the sweet, sultry sounds of a woman’s voice filled the air.
“What’s the name of that song?” she whispered, feeling so rocked and afraid that she was reading too much into the words. The woman singing was crooning about falling in love.
Did that mean Max was falling for her?
“The First Time I Ever Saw Your Face by Roberta Flack,” he mumbled, looking away, embarrassed. “It’s just something mushy that made me think of you at that moment, you know? I was gonna put ‘Brick House’ by The Commodores, but I figured you’d probably maim me after being instructed not to ask a woman her size.”
“What other songs have you selected for people?” she breathed, needing to know if this was what she suspected.
“Other people?” Max asked, looking confused. “Um, well, I have a baseball ringtone for Outfield, ‘Don’t Fear the Reaper’ for Reaper, my boss – because I’m not scared of him. Paradox is ‘Take Me to Church’ by Hozier, and well, Valkyrie is ‘Larger than Life’ by the Backstreet Boys… um, Alpo is ‘Who Let The Dogs Out’ and honestly, it’s annoying as could be. That actually needs to change if they start texting all at once, it’s a madhouse in my pants pocket between barking and singing.”
“So the songs have… meaning?” she breathed emotionally – and could literally see it ‘click’ on his face what she was asking him.
“Call me again,” Max ordered hoarsely, not moving… and she dialed the number again as the words played and hung in the air between them. That sweet, slow, romantic song spoke to her soul, and his beautiful eyes softened even more if that was possible.
“The songs have meaning, kitten,” was all he said – and she nodded tearfully, unsure what to say or do. He’d mentioned friendship, talked about developing a relationship between them, and hinted at making it work together no matter what. This wasn’t a declaration of love, but it was close enough to make her heart skip a beat.
He took a step toward her, holding out his arms, and she hugged him immediately, pinching her eyes closed to keep from being emotional, only to hear The Talking Heads singing again.
