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Maelie
Maelie woke up the next morning with a smile on her face. Her steamy dreams about Sebastian Adams had reached epic proportions, and now that she knew just how sinfully delicious his mouth was, she feared she’d never dream of anything else.
After he’d dropped her off, she had sat awake on her couch until he sent her the text she had been waiting breathlessly for.
SEB: Home safe.
MAE: Thank you for letting me know.
SEB: Thank you for caring.
She had held the phone to her chest in the darkness as she pondered how much she did care. It felt like more than she should, but she convinced herself that anyone with an ounce of humanity would have worried about him getting home safe in the snow. With a deep breath, she answered him simply.
MAE: Good night.
SEB: Good night, Mae, sleep good.
It had made her smile, but she hadn’t slept all that well. She laid awake forever, her skin still hot from the thought of his mouth on hers, the memory of his fingers on her cheek. She flipped over at least a hundred times, and when she did finally slip away, it was to very hot dreams.
Regardless, she awoke with a smile and immediately grabbed for her phone with the ridiculous hope he had texted her. It was dumb and she knew it, but it didn’t stop her from being disappointed when the only text she saw was from Jess.
Jess: Did you make it home safe?
She fired back an affirmative text while her mind wandered to what Seb was doing. Had he dreamt about her? Did the thought of their lips together send his body into overdrive like hers?
She doubted it.
Before she could stop herself, she opened the search app on her phone and typed in his name. She held her breath with her thumb hovering over the search button. She shouldn’t be doing this again, nothing good would come of it. But the lure of seeing his smile again, even on her phone, was too much to overcome.
She hit search and didn’t breathe for several minutes.
The first few photos that popped up were the same professional headshots she’d seen a few days ago, and they were nice, but the ones of him playing on stage were what made her body curl with desire. He was an absolute fucking God when he played; it was no wonder he wanted to be back on stage as soon as he could.
After scrolling through all the yummy action shots, another one of which she saved to her photo album, she went further than before and ran headlong into photo after mind-numbing photo of Sebastian Adams arm-in-arm with hot women. Tall women, short women, blonde, brunette, most of them were famous; all of them were excruciatingly beautiful. Her face reddened and she felt the desire in her stomach turn green.
Feeling dejected, she threw the phone down on her bed and collapsed back onto her pillows. She chastised herself for feeling sad when she knew she shouldn’t have done that.
There was no way she could compete with those women. All of a sudden, the thought of Seb dreaming about her was ridiculous. If he dreamt of anyone, it was going to be about one of those stick-figured, ethereal creatures, not her.
But he kissed me last night, she thought, her chest rising with hope, not them. And he had walked her to her door and curated a personal jazz experience in the shadow of the Chicago skyline.
Listening to Louis Armstrong in the snow was something she would never forget. That meant something, right?
Highly doubtful.
“Ugh,” she groaned aloud, threw her covers off, and got out of bed. The late morning sun was bouncing off the drifted snow and streaming through her windows like lasers. It was a painful antithesis of the dreams she had been having.
One of these days she was going to get blackout curtains and make her room a cave, as she wanted. Morning was never her favorite.
She pulled on an oversized sweatshirt, flannel pants, giraffe slippers, and shuffled into the kitchen to make herself some coffee. She poured so much french vanilla creamer into it that it looked like vanilla pudding. Perfect.
Feeling especially cozy, she carried her coffee and settled onto the couch to watch romantic comedies. She had hours before she even had to think about going to work, and for once, she was going to relax.
Only she discovered she wasn’t very good at it. Especially when she felt the need to check her phone every five minutes for a text from Seb. There weren’t any.
And all the movies seemed to be good for was to give her more ways in which to imagine him kissing her. It was maddening.
Jessie made it home early afternoon, stomping all the snow from her pink boots and letting out a huge sigh as she peeled off her winter layers. “Oh my God, I’ve never been so happy to be home,” she breathed. “I mean, I love my niece and nephew, but I don’t usually have to see them for more than a few hours at a time. That is quality birth control, right there.”
Maelie laughed. “I’m sorry you got stuck. I’m watching rom-coms though. You can cuddle with me and veg for a bit.”
Jessie hung up her scarf and coat. “That actually sounds fantastic. I’m going to change, and I’ll be right back.”
She returned a few minutes later, her long hair pulled up in a messy bun, wearing a tie-dyed T-shirt and purple leggings. “That’s more like it.” She sighed, easing onto the sofa next to Maelie. “What are we watching?”
“Only one of the best B-list movies on the market,” she told her, tucking her feet up under her butt. “This one is about a successful single dad who just moved back to his small town with his son to run his ailing grandfather’s business.”
“Ooh, let me guess.” Jessie pressed her hands together. “He runs into the smart-talking, hard-working woman he dated in high school. Sparks fly but there’s a problem.” She pursed her lips. “I know, she is engaged to another man.”
Maelie’s mouth dropped open. Jessie had an uncanny ability to guess every movie plot ever. “Have you seen this one?”
“No.” She smiled. “But I can see the ring on her finger.” She nodded toward the television. “But enough of that, I’m way more interested in what happened last night with you and the sexy sax player.”
Maelie made a face to cover the butterflies that rose by the flock in her stomach. “Nothing really,” she lied terribly. “He just had me listen to some music and then drove me home.”
Jessie narrowed her eyes and lowered her voice. “Details. Now, Mae.”
“Ugh.” She sighed and fell back into the sofa cushions. She pulled her pink fleece blanket further up her neck as if it could shield her from Jess’s psychic powers. “Fine,” she could already feel herself blush. “He drove me to Lincoln Park Zoo so we could see the skyline and played me a live Louis Armstrong album.”
Jessie’s eyes widened, and when Maelie didn’t expound, she rolled her hand through the air. “And?”
She blew out a breath and shrugged. “It was nice; the city was gorgeous with the snow ... and the music was great and Seb was ...” She trailed off as she thought about the look he had had in his eyes right before he kissed her.
Jessie picked up on it so fast it made her head spin. “Oh my God, he kissed you, didn’t he?” Her hands flew to her mouth.
When Maelie reddened but didn’t answer, she let out a squeak.
“Oh my God, he did!” She reached out and grabbed Mae’s hands. “How was it? It was great, wasn’t it? I mean, how could it not be? He’s so sexy!”
God, why couldn’t she hide anything from this woman? It was so frustrating. But knowing she wouldn’t be able to back-peddle out of it, she let herself go with a dreamy sigh. “Yes. Jessie, it was so hot. I mean, it was just a kiss, but I felt it everywhere, you know?”
She squealed so loud Mae had to cover her ears. “You lucky girl! I’m so happy for you. What next? Are you going out again?”
And just like that, with one small question, her bubble of happiness popped. She could feel her heart descend slowly. “I don’t know,” she answered honestly, hoping her voice didn’t give away too much. “I gave him my number so he could tell me when he got home safe but that’s it. I’m in no man’s land.”
Jessie bit her lip and after a beat said, “I bet you anything he texts you before you go to bed tonight.”
She was instantly ashamed of the way her heart spun up out of her stomach with joy at the thought that he might. “Maybe,” she answered carefully, she didn’t want her hopes to get too high, especially now that she had seen the parade of beautiful women he had been with. “But I don’t think I’m really his type.”
“Oh, shut it,” she admonished. “You’re gorgeous, and there’s no way he’s not into you. No man works that hard just to get a girl to listen to some music with him.”
That made enough sense that she allowed herself to smile. Just a little. “You think so?”
“Absolutely.”
Why that made her so happy, she’d never know.
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Sebastian
Sebastian didn’t get out of bed until nearly noon. He had been up most of the night at his piano writing music. Something about the snow and Chicago and the taste of Maelie’s lips had inspired him to write so intensely, he didn’t even get into bed until nearly four a.m.
When he awoke, the first thing on his mind was her smile, and when the memory of their exceedingly hot kiss came back to him, he moaned and pulled his pillow over his head. The way his body reacted to a single kiss meant he was in big, BIG trouble.
Maybe it was because he hadn’t had a woman in a couple months, maybe he was actually losing his mind. He didn’t know, but it felt a lot like he wanted more of her. A lot more. No, all of her.
With a groan, he threw the pillow across the room and got out of bed. The wood floor was cold to his feet so he tip-toed quickly to his slippers, pulled on sweatpants, and made his way to the kitchen to start up the coffee pot. He wondered if Maelie liked coffee, and then scolded himself for thinking of her at all.
As he poured a giant bowl of sugar-filled cereal, he wondered what Maelie had eaten for breakfast. “Goddammit,” he growled out loud, shoving a spoonful in his mouth. He crunched loudly, hoping the noise would cancel out his thoughts.
It didn’t.
Instead, he found himself looking at his phone for messages and feeling his heart sink like a rock when the only messages were from his brothers. They began at eight a.m.
DOM: Up for another hang-out Friday night? I think Lu and Gabi are having a girl’s night.
MASON: Works for me, I’ve been jonesing for some wings.
Two hours later the conversation continued.
DOM: Do you think he’s still asleep?
MASON: Most definitely, dude sleeps til like noon every day.
DOM: Must be nice.
“Fuck you,” he said out loud to his phone. His brothers always made it seem as if he had such an easy life. He didn’t think they had a clue how hard it was to be on the road all the time, no sleep, bad hotels, and a schedule that would kill most people.
But he also knew they were purposely trying to wind him up, so he calmly answered.
SEB: Friday works for me.
MASON: He wakes!
DOM: And there’s still daylight, it’s a miracle!
SEB: Fuck off, both of you.
MASON: Difficult night?
He let out a sigh at the insinuation but knew he was just trying to be supportive.
SEB: Actually, no, for once.
DOM: Oh shit. What was her name?
Not willing to play their game, he set the phone down and finished his cereal. He was pretty proud of what he had written last night. He had finished the first piece and began a new one he titled “Snowfall.” It had been Maelie’s smile that had inspired him but the sparkling snow that made the moment so memorable.
After he rinsed his bowl out in the sink, he went back to his piano and played through his work from last night. He changed a few things, added a few dynamics, and kept right on composing.
He stopped a few hours later to make a sandwich. He was surprised to see it was already three. He had to be at the studio by 4:30—he had two new students starting today and several more throughout the week. He leaned against the kitchen counter as he ate and then remembered Maelie’s car was still at the studio.
Finally, he had a legitimate reason to text her. He had been wracking his brain all day trying to think of one.
He grabbed his phone, still chewing his last bite of sandwich, and started typing.
SEB: Hey, just wondering if you need a ride to the studio today.
He felt his heart quicken nervously as he sent it off, mostly hoping she would say yes so he could be close to her again. When she didn’t respond immediately, he swore and walked a circle around his cold living room.
The ding of her response made him jump a few minutes later, and he stopped his incessant pacing to read it.
MAELIE: Just picking Charlie up from the shop so I should be fine but thank you!
“Shit.” He felt disappointed.
SEB: What did they find?
MAELIE: Needed a new battery, a VERY expensive cold weather battery but he’s worth it.
He smiled; he found her relationship with her old, red, beat-down car charming. Though if she were his, he’d make sure she had something more reliable, especially in the unpredictable Chicago weather. When he realized where his thoughts were going, he froze. He had never considered such a thing in his entire life. Shit, shit, shit.
SEB: I’m glad Charlie is back to normal.
MAELIE: Me too, thank you!
He didn’t know what else to say, so he slid his phone into the pocket of his sweatpants and paced a few more laps around the coffee table. He was going to wear the floor down if he weren’t careful.
Eventually, he gave up trying to think of anything to text her and focused on the fact he was going to see her at the studio in a few hours. He jumped into the shower and had a much-needed shave. He even brushed his teeth extra-long, just in case he had the chance to kiss her again.
He smiled at himself in the mirror and made the sudden decision that he was going to do everything in his power to make sure he had the chance to kiss her. He was skilled at seduction; he had won over some of the coldest women in the world. Maelie wouldn’t know what hit her once he turned on the charm. Why keep himself away from something he so obviously wanted?
“Consider it on.” He buttoned up his shirt and tousled his hair. He left for work with the old confidence he used to feel coursing through his veins. He wanted Maelie. He had the power to have her. Fuck Phil, he was going to make it happen. Hopefully.