Princess & the Player

eleven: birthday wish

a/n: a bit of steam. 

Marco's POV: 

Holy crap! I haven't come in my pants since I was kid having wet dreams.

But if Maggie rubbed me one more time, I was gonna lose it. For real.

"Princess," I pushed at her hips. "We gotta slow down. Now."

She rocked a bit and I started to shake. I could feel it, right there, tight in my balls.

"Off," I ordered. 

Something in my voice got through to her and she practically jumped to the other side of the cab. I popped open the driver's door and jumped out to the parking lot. 

I jogged through the freezing rain to the side door of the plaza. Still, I waited a few minutes under the awning until I felt like I could walk in without a massive obvious stiffy. 

At the little convenience store, I bought a hot coffee, some mints, and three boxes of condoms. The kid at the register blushed when he rang me up. I smirked back. Don't hate because you're jealous, dude.

Maggie was curled up under a towel when I got back. I stripped off my shirt and used another towel to dry myself off. As I pulled a fresh shirt over my head, I realized she was unusually quiet. "You OK?"

Her eyes were huge. For the first time since we met, she looked like a kid. 

I wrapped my arms around her and she began to cry. Soon, she was in hysterics. I had no clue what to do so I just kind of patted her back and said stupid shit like "there there". 

"Maggie, you're starting to scare me."

"I..." she hiccuped. "I don't know what's wrong with me."

"Right, uh, here," I held out the coffee to her and waved my hand. She obediently took a sip and then made a face. 

"Too hot?"

"No sugar."

"I don't actually like sweet things," I told her. 

She started crying again. F*ck. I jumped back out of the cab and back to the convenience store. Made coffee with like 10 sugars and, as an afterthought, grabbed like $40 of random stuff from the aisles. As I was checking out, I also grabbed a bottle of Midol - just in case. 

The rain had petered off by the time I got back. She was sitting exactly how I left her. I swapped out the coffee. "Better?"

She nodded and sipped. 

I drank mine and waited. 

I could see she was calming down. I exhaled with relief. 

"Do you have a girlfriend?"

"What?!" 

"Do you?"

"No. Funny time to ask, though."

"Girls like that one back there..."

"What about them?"

"They...but I've never..."

"What?"

"That."

I was confused. What that? We'd already established she was a virgin last time we'd tried this. "Uh, you've never..."

She blushed.

Oh. Shit. "Seriously? How is that possible? Did something...bad...happen?"

She shook her head again. "I've been on dates, sort of. Met guys at the mall or the movies. But it never went far. Plus, Mom's pretty much a nightmare. Laurie's got night terrors and Jeb slept on the floor of our room half the time. It just...never...I mean...I don't even know why I'm telling you all this..."

"Right."

Maggie blushed and finished her coffee. "But I want to," she said in a small voice.

"Yeah, I got that," I laughed. I reached out and she fell against me and I just held her. "Me, too," I kissed the top of her head. 

"Now?"

"No," Yes.

"But..." she squirmed. 

"We got time, princess. We got miles, yet. OK?" I kissed her lips, softly. 

She kissed me back. "OK." 

Night had truly fallen outside and the rain made everything shiny. I dug out a candle from the plastic bag and a cheap thing of mini-donuts and sang Maggie "Happy Birthday". She cried again, but not crazy like before. 

She licked the powdered sugar off her fingertips completely oblivious at how it turned me on again.

She was gorgeous. Her honey blond hair and pink lips and big eyes and long legs and the small of her back. Really. No make-up, nothing fake, just sassy and tough and horny and stubborn and funny. 

I shook off my thoughts and started up the truck. "So," I asked, throwing the engine into gear and getting us back on the highway. "What do you want for your birthday?"

It was a loaded question to throw at her considering all the shit going down. I could see her giving it real thought.

"Tell me," I meant it. I realized I wanted to do something - anything - for Maggie. Find her father's family, teach her to drive, mail her college applications, take her shopping, pull down a star from the sky. Anything.

"You," she said softly. "I want you for my birthday."

Damn. 

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Marco falling first was never the plan but these characters are kind of in charge. - bella