Deadly Infatuation

Chapter 25

Max

After Lily and I finish eating the lasagna I made for us, courtesy of one of the many recipe cards my mom insisted on giving me when I moved in, we head over to the couch with a half bottle of white wine. I pour us a glass each and then grab the remote off the glass table and put the TV on in the background. As I do this, Lily sits at one end of the couch and draws her legs up to her chest as she leans against the arm of the couch. I take a seat at the other end and we spend the next few hours learning more about each other. We take it in turns to share fond memories of our childhoods and I listen intently as Lily speaks lovingly of her mother and late father, describing how they would go camping every summer and spend hours hiking all the different trails Oregon offers. When she recounts how her dad would encourage her with her singing and would drive her to her music class every Friday, her whole face lights up.

Squeezing her hand, I tell her about my childhood and how I showed an early interest in working with my dad and how I would spend long hours in the vineyard picking the grapes off the vines with his employees in the days before my dad could afford to buy a harvester. I also share some funnier stories, which include Paige in and how far we would take our pranks against each other when we were growing up. I can tell Lily is enjoying them as she sprays wine everywhere when I tell her about the time I put blue food coloring on Paige's toothbrush so her mouth foamed with blue bubbles.

After a while, we move on to talking about our later years and I discover that while I was away at the University of Michigan studying business, Lily went to community college to study music simply for her own pleasure before deciding to work with her parents at the florist shop. She keenly asks me many questions about my role at my dad's company and when I proudly tell her I worked from the bottom up to get where I am today, Lily smiles and praises me for not taking the easier route and jumping straight into the role of Vice President.

When it turns dark outside, I turn the fireplace on and refill Lily's glass and then mine before resting back on the couch. She stretches her body out on the couch and rests her feet in my lap, and I massage them with my free hand as I sip my wine. She soon lets out a low purr and drops her head back as she enjoys my movements. I smirk and tell her if she gets any more relaxed, she'll drop the wine out of her hand. Giggling, she takes a large sip of her wine before setting it on the table. "Suzanne and Callie were having a lot of fun discussing you and I this morning," she says, changing the conversation.

My mouth tugs up and I place my wineglass next to Lily's so I can use both of my hands to massage her feet. "Oh yeah. What did they say?"

She lifts a shoulder. "Just that Suzanne said she could tell something was going on between us and kept teasing me every time I had a smile on my face."

"So I make you smile even when I'm not there."

She quickly removes one of her feet from my hands and gives me a playful jab at my side. "Don't flatter yourself. It was more the thought of getting to have shower sex than of you itself."

"Hmm. Yes, I promised you shower sex, didn't I?" I respond huskily.

"Yes, you did," she replies, biting her lower lip,"and I'm holding you to it." She laughs and my brow quirks.

"What's so funny?"

"Oh, it's nothing. I just remembered how Callie compared you to a 'Greek God' earlier," she snorts, lifting her hands up and doing an air quote. "She was envious that the best she was going to get tonight was with a guy she intended on picking up at the bar. If only she knew what you did to me when I walked in here."

I smirk at Callie's interpretation of me. "Greek God, huh? It's a nice comparison. And I'm not surprised she's envious, as she asked me out once."

Lily's eyes go wide and her feet fly out of my lap as she leans forward and whacks me on the arm. "What!? You never told me that!" she shrieks. "When did she ask you out?!"