Amy Cousins - When the Lights Go Down

Slowly, cautiously, she raised her open hands in front of her.

No sudden movements.

Just as slowly, but without a hint of caution, he walked toward her, wiping the phone off on his pants and slipping it into a pocket. She retreated one step at a time until she ran into the hard edge of the table, which caught her just beneath her butt. She leaned even farther back from the hips, certain there wasn’t enough room in this box to escape him. He didn’t stop his approach until he was pressed hard against her thighs, hands braced on the table on either side of her.

Her elbows ached from leaning on them. Maybe hosing him down with club soda hadn’t been the best way to get his attention.

He lifted one hand and wrapped it around her throat.

She sucked in a breath and shivered as the liquid soaking him seeped into her jeans, her shirt. Excruciatingly aware of the hard wedge of thigh that was pressed against her crotch, she shifted slightly and saw an answering fire flare in his eyes. His voice was a growl that thrummed against her nerves and sent heat racing through her system.

“Do you know what I’m going to do to you?”

She surrendered. Hooked her ankles behind his waist and used his shoulders to pull herself up.

“If it doesn’t involve getting me naked on this table, I don’t want to know.” She wrapped her arms around his neck. His warm breath brushed her mouth as his face dipped toward hers, eyes half-shut in that slow burn of a smile.

“I’m so glad we agree.” The words slipped out between barely-there kisses. She tolerated that for a moment and then captured his bottom lip in her teeth and nipped, hard. Stay still and kiss me.

The sudden blaring of 80s hard rock from across the room was more of a shock than a turn-on, she had to admit.

“What the—” Nick was prevented from pulling away by her legs, which were still wrapped around him.

“Ignore it. They’ll call back later.” She didn’t normally approve of begging, but if that was what it took...

She ran her hands up his arms, across his shoulders and then cupped his face in her hands, pulling him back to her.

He came willingly, lifting her butt up onto the table behind her for leverage.

“If there’s some theater emergency that requires your immediate attention, I swear we’ll be right back to the part where I strangle you.”

He flexed his hands on her hips, drawing her tighter against him. The thick length of him against her made her groan. She slid her fingers around his neck to thread through his hair as she arched her back, increasing the pressure.

“Those calls get ‘Cabaret.’ Or, hmm, yessss—” His hands slid up her sides until his thumbs brushed the undersides of her breasts. Her mind went blank, but her lips kept forming the words as her head dropped back and she gave in to the need pounding through her body. “Or ‘Send in the Clowns,’ not GNR.”

GNR.

Guns N’ Roses.

The words registered.

“Sweet Child o’ Mine.”

Her eyes flew open as she snapped forward. Pain exploded as her head cracked into Nick’s. She clutched a hand to her brow as he did the same, a grimace on his face.

For a moment, she forgot the world and simply stared at him. How had she lost her head so completely around this man, and where the hell had Grace disappeared to anyway? That had to be the longest walk for a drink ever. Thank god. Because if Grace had walked in while she was trying to climb Nick like a tree, Maxie would be hearing about it forever.

“Sweet Child o’ Mine.”

The words crashed back into her brain and she jumped off the table and shoved Nick to the side, whooping as she slid over the back of the couch and dove for her bag.

“The babies! Where is my damn phone? One of my sisters has gotta be going into labor. They know better than to call us at the ballpark for anything other than life or death emergencies.”

It was ringing again, Guns N’ Roses was calling to her, but she couldn’t find her phone in her bag before the ringing stopped. She’d call back whichever family member was trying to reach them on the way to the hospital.

“Where the heck is Grace?”

Nick lifted the phone to his ear again as she danced in place and pulled up her call log. Her brother-in-law J.D.’s name topped the list. “Sarah’s baby!”

Damn Nick, didn’t he have any sense of urgency? A baby was on the way and he was just standing there making calls.

At the door, she reached for the knob and jumped back just in time to avoid a broken nose as it crashed open and Grace barreled through, laughing, shouting.

“Sarah’s having a baby! At last, damn,” Maxie said.

“Sarah? Spencer just called me to say that Addy’s on her way to the hospital.”

They stopped for a moment to stare at each other. Both babies?

“Damn. That stuff about women’s hormones syncing up if they spend a lot of time together is some powerful shit.” Maxie shrugged. However it had happened, the babies were on their way and they needed to hustle.

“I’m not in an E-Z Out lot,” Maxie said. “You?”

“I cabbed it. You won’t be able to get your truck out ’til the game ends.”

“I’ll leave it. Shit. They’re gonna tow it, aren’t they? Oh, well.”

“Maxie.” It was Nick.

“Don’t worry,” she said without looking back, tossing the words over her shoulder as she rummaged through her bag for cash to pay off their tab. Grace was shouting down the hall for their server, who’d disappeared—of course—after practically never leaving their side during the game. “Talk to Heitman,” she continued. “Get your mom to back him up and put a choke chain on Smith and everything will be fine. We aren’t even close to disaster.”

Grace reappeared without the server and shrugged. Turning to Nick, who was now standing behind her, she thrust out the money she’d gathered from purse.

He waved it off. “Ladies,” he said.

“Just take it, will you?” She shoved the fistful of bills at him, not sure why he wouldn’t stop talking and take it.

“Aunties.”

That caught both of their attention.

“Go two blocks east on Addison. At the corner of Fremont, on the south side of the street, my driver is waiting for you.” He nodded to Maxie. “You’ve seen Tommy. He’ll take you to the hospital. And if you give me your parking ticket, I’ll get your truck out of the lot.”

Maxie heart thumped an extra beat. She rubbed at the sore spot in her chest with the edge of her fist, telling herself it was the emotion of the moment, nothing more. She tried to say thank-you but couldn’t get the words out.

Grace didn’t hesitate. She threw her arms around Nick and smacked a loud kiss on his cheek.

“Nick Drake, I love you more than Kerry Wood.” Grace’s infatuation with the Cubs’ relief pitcher from the nineties was family legend.

“I’m flattered,” he said with a smile, giving her a kiss on the cheek, too. “Now, get out of here. Call me with the good news.”

Calling out their goodbyes and thanks, Grace tugged Maxie out the door. She broke free for just long enough to run back inside and say goodbye to Nick the way she really wanted to. She flung her arms around his neck, rose up on tiptoes and pressed her mouth to his.

“Thank you,” she said, and then gave a sharp yank on his tie. “And if you kiss my sister again, I’ll cut your heart out,” she whispered in his ear.

“Duly noted. Now go.” He smacked her ass. The sweet sting only made her laugh.

Sprinting through the crowds at Wrigley, Maxie and Grace elbowed and bumped their way down the long ramps to the ground-floor exits and then jogged down the sidewalk on Addison, both of them on their phones, trying to find out which sister was in labor.