Dolly (Part three-Max Mitchell series)

NINETEEN

They had room left for us, so we decided to stay at the Tree for one night, just so we could bum around town and see the city. Ben and Jenne would be meeting us for dinner later on, so we had a few hours to kill. We decided that just walking around the city was the best idea.

"I've got to get a coffee. This time change is killing me." I said, through a yawn.
"Right here, love." Tom said, as he directed us into a pub just off of the footpath by Iffley Lock. "I'm sure they've got something going in here."

The place was perfect, really. We sat at a table outside with a perfect view of the river. The temperature had jumped up into the seventies, so people were out and about, soaking up the sun, just like we were.

"Well I'll be damned, if it isn't Max Mitchell!"

I heard my name and shot upright like I'd been zapped with electricity. I'd recognize that kiwi accent anywhere. I spun around to find "Kez", one of my Oxford "Summer friends" right behind me.
"Kerry! Oh my god, it's you!" I grabbed her shoulders and gave her a big smooch on the cheek. Suddenly we were twenty again, squealing like teenagers, hugging and making a scene.
"I stopped at the Tree for lunch and Martha said you were in town! I didn't think I'd ever actually be able to find you!" She was her same old bubbly self, and she seemed to have transformed me into my younger, more carefree self.
"Kerry, this is my boyfriend, Tom. Tom, this is Kerry."
"Tom, huh? Yeah. I know you. I just saw your movie..." She waggled her eyebrows at him. "Loki, the Frost Giant."
"Eheheheh. Yeah, that's me."
"Lucky girl, you. I'd climb that man like a tree." She whispered in my ear, and I hoped to God Tom hadn't heard. He must have seen my blush though, because he smirked in return.
"Come sit with us, Kez. What are you up to today?"
"Just enjoying the day off. I've been teaching at the University these days and I welcome the free time."
"Writing, I hope." I added.
"You know me."

We spent the next couple hours, just sitting in the sun, relaxing and catching up. Kez regaled us with a constant stream of stories of our summers spent together, getting into trouble. I'd always admired her way with words, and she made me laugh harder than I had in a very long time.

"The first time we took this little bird out, It was her twenty first birthday, I'm sure--"
"We went to The Coven!" I chimed in.
"Yes. We missed most of the dancing because our gal here was outside tossing her cookies in the bushes."
Tom was in absolute stitches.
"We'd just assumed she could handle her alcohol. We were so very wrong."
"Oh I've witnessed Max after her fair share of shots. There wasn't any cookie tossing that night though."
"Thank god. It still wasn't pretty though, that night of the lemon drops." I said, and Tom grinned. I remembered the first night he came to the rescue and saved me from making a mess of myself. Right from the start, he was my guardian angel.

"I've gotta run. I cannot begin to tell you how happy I am to see you Max." she grabbed my hand and gave it a squeeze.
"Same here. I missed you."
"Don't stay away so long next time."

***

After a brief stop back at the hotel, we were all dressed up for dinner with Ben and Jenne. I was definitely excited to meet up with the both of them, but with how exhausted I was, I found myself wanting to get it over with quickly. I knew that the next day, meeting Diana, would be a big day and I wanted to be super prepared.

I spotted Ben's dark, curly mop before I noticed anything else. He and Jenne were seated in a booth at a local Thai restaurant. When they saw Tom and me, they both lit up and stood to greet us.
"Maxine, darling. You look lovely, how are you?" He gave me a big, all encompassing hug.
"I'm doing well. The dark hair is back, I see." I joked, as I ruffled it around with my hand a bit. He turned to Tom and they started in with their witty back and forth banter. They looked like Kez and I must've earlier...like a couple of silly teenagers. Ben brought the silly out in Tom, and it made me happy, deep down. That's what I loved most about Tom, his pure, unbridled joy and his ability to bring it out in others.

"How are you holding up?" Jenne asked, as she hugged me and the boys chattered amongst themselves. I was happy to have more time to talk to her one on one. I'd only ever been around her in larger groups.
"I'm doing pretty well...considering--"
"I heard about what happened, and just couldn't believe my ears. I wanted to hop a flight from LA and insist on treating you myself."
Jenne is a general surgeon, but told me she worked better in a "high stress" situation. Her preferred working environment was as an on call surgeon in the ER in a Los Angeles hospital.
"I probably wouldn't have known it was you there anyhow. I don't remember much after calling emergency." I said, with a nervous edge to my voice.
"Probably not. I'm sure your body just checked out for a bit, to keep itself alive."
"It's really amazing, to know how injured I was, and how much blood--"
I glanced over, and noticed that both Ben and Tom were stock still, wide eyed and paying close attention to what I was saying. Tom looked a little pale, and I wondered if I had struck a nerve.
"Is something the matter?" Jenne asked. The guys just shook their heads, and then Tom pulled me to him and simply kissed my temple.
"Nothing at all darlings. Just happy to have you here, Max."
"Amen to that." Ben said, and held up his glass, offering a toast. "Here's to health, peace and prosperity. May the flower of love never be nipped by the frost of disappointment, nor shadow of grief fall among your family and friends."

***

"I know I keep saying this, but I love you so much, and I don't know what I'd do without you." He said, as we settled into our room for the night.
"You'd still have a top notch apartment in London...but with no bad ass farm girl to protect you." I hiked up my long dress and straddled him.
"Oh screw the apartment." He grabbed my bum with both hands and scooted me closer. "Nothing else matters. Only you."
I grabbed two handfuls of his hair and kissed him urgently, my tongue tangling with his. I felt goosebumps cover every inch of my body as he slid down the shoulder straps of my dress to reveal both breasts. Expertly, he sucked a nipple into his mouth and turned it into a hard peak. I stood up, and let my dress fall to the floor, but suddenly, feeling self conscious I covered my scar with my forearm. Immediately, he grabbed my hand and put my arm at my side.
"Don't." he whispered "Every single part of you is beautiful."
I had no words, nothing could describe the way I felt. I felt like my heart was so full, it could burst and I would die happy..happy, loved, in love and more fortunate than I could have ever dreamed. There was nothing else for me, only Tom. He had given me more than I had ever imagined was possible.

"Come here." he said, and pulled me into his lap again, but first slid my underwear off and tossed them aside. I unbuttoned his shirt and pulled it off of him, taking time to let my hands memorize every muscle, every freckle and every movement that made his breath catch in anticipation. His head dipped down and his lips came to rest right in the spot where I had been put back together. Him, the one that had put my heart back together, kissing the spot where I'd nearly been ripped apart.

He laid me down on my back, and his mouth explored every inch of me, radiating electric currents through every fiber of my body. His hands splayed over each of my breasts as he pleasured me with his mouth, and I thought I'd fall over the edge, but he stopped just before I came. I pulled him up to meet my mouth with his and without a word, he pushed into me. I spread my legs wide and wrapped them around his back, pulling him as close as possible. What started quiet and passionate had evolved into hard and intense and he couldn't thrust fast enough. I bit his bottom lip and he groaned into my mouth and I could tell he was almost there.
"I fucking love you so much." I whispered, with ragged breath, into his ear. My nails raked his back and I grabbed his ass, pushing him in, all the way to the hilt. We came together, and just like every time before, my love for him expanded one hundred times over.

In a sweaty, breathless tangle, we drifted in and out of sleep. His finger drew circles on my stomach, rising and falling with breath. Now, I'm not sure if I was dreaming or not, but I could swear I heard him whisper,
"One day, I'll make you my wife Maxine Delilah."