Seven Years Since The Motel Ch. 06

"You didn't have to dress up, you know. It's just a bridge game at my parents' house between Gemma, Alessandro, you, and me."

Maisie flushed as she glanced down at her outfit. She'd tucked her fitted, dark blue jeans into a pair of saddle-brown boots, and thrown a short jacket over a sleeveless blouse. Carolina was right; she was completely overdressed for an evening with friends in rural Maine, no matter how much she hoped one of those friends would be more by the evening's end.

"Gemma was right about making a statement. I'm not doing any more farm work this weekend; this is my way of starting my real vacation." Maisie grimaced as Carolina's eyebrow quirked. She had a feeling her response wasn't terribly convincing. "Besides, it's nice to dress up once in a while," she added, forcing a smile.

Carolina's eyebrow went higher still before her lips curled into a smile.

"I'm just raggin' on you, Maisie. I wouldn't have cared if you'd shown up in a lime green tutu and snakeskin cowboy boots. I'm just psyched you finally have some free time to hang out with us." She stepped away from the door to the mudroom at the rear of her parents' house. "Come on in. It's humid as hell out there, and we're letting all that nastiness in."

"Thanks." Maisie stepped onto the gray slate floor of the mudroom. "Hold on a sec."

She sat on a long wooden bench to unzip her boots as Carolina locked the door. The puddles from the morning's storm had yet to evaporate, and she didn't want to track mud all over the house.

Besides, as Carolina had pointed out, her boots were ridiculous.

"Is that the jacket you got last spring when we went shopping together at Century 21?" Carolina asked, passing an appraising eye over the fitted leather.

"Yup." Maisie looked up and grinned at Carolina. "Do you know everything in my wardrobe?"

"Pretty much. We don't exactly live far away from each other, you know." Carolina winked. "Besides, you're one of the few friends who puts up with my obsession with that Financial District discount clothing madhouse. I always remember what you buy there."

"It's a madhouse all right." Maisie chuckled as she placed her boots in a neat line in the corner and hung her jacket on an iron peg.

"Come on." Carolina turned towards the main house and linked arms with Maisie. "It's finally time to play on this vacation of yours."

Maisie laughed as she and Carolina trooped, side by side, into the house that had been her second home as a child.

She'd visited the twins here a fair bit over the past several years, but as she and Carolina moved through the kitchen, it occurred to her that she'd separated the house into two distinct places in her mind: the one from her youth that featured childhood memories of Alessandro, and the one she'd visited infrequently in her college years and beyond that had borne no sign of her childhood friend, save for the occasional photograph.

The mental wall fell as they walked from room to room. The furniture and paintings on the walls fit with her memories of the twins' home, but small signs of Alessandro—an adult Alessandro, not the youthful Alessandro she always placed in this house whenever she thought of him—jumped out at her in every room. His running shoes lay haphazardly in the corner of the kitchen nearest the mudroom and a small pile of Euros he must have pulled from a pocket lay on the kitchen island, while a book on Japanese cinema sat on a small table in the hallway.

It was unnerving, but in a comforting sort of way, she thought as they passed a study featuring a navy hoodie draped across the back of a sofa. A warm, pleasant feeling settled over her as her imagination supplied a vision of Alessandro reading his book on the sofa while she curled against him, wrapped in his sweatshirt.

Her lips twitched and the warm feeling increased as she thought of other things they could do on that sofa.

Maisie stumbled as Carolina stopped without warning in the doorway of a small sitting room at the back of the house. Maisie glanced up; Alessandro sat sprawled across a worn leather couch, engrossed in his phone, while Gemma had curled herself against an embroidered pillow in the remaining space at the other end.

"I thought you said you were going to set up for the game, Gem. What gives?" Carolina said, sounding annoyed.

"Sorry." Gemma looked up and shrugged. "Must've slipped my mind."

"Too busy dropping stitches?" Carolina nodded towards the knitting on Gemma's lap. "Never mind. I'll go and get us some food if you help with drinks, OK? Less, mind getting the cards and everything set up? Maisie's here as our pampered guest tonight; she's informed me she's not doing any more work this week."

Carolina grinned as she brushed past her to return to the kitchen, and Maisie gave Gemma and Alessandro an awkward smile. She knew Carolina was just teasing her about being a "pampered guest," but relaxing while others worked around her was strange for someone so accustomed to helping out.

"I didn't know you were coming over tonight, Maisie," Alessandro said as he stood and put his phone in his pocket.

"Yeah." She glanced at Gemma. "You said you guys needed a fourth for bridge."

"Seeing as there're only three of us, we do." Gemma placed her needles and a large ball of yarn on the battered old trunk that served as a coffee table before turning to Alessandro. "Carolina and I decided it would be fun to play. Sorry. I've been having some trouble with my shawl, and must've forgotten to mention it to you."

"No problem." He strode to the side cabinet where the cards were kept, and after rummaging around for a few seconds, emerged with a set.

"Good. Well, what do you two want to drink? Wine, beer, soda, water? Something harder?"

"Water's fine," Maisie answered. Alcohol was the last thing she needed; it would either put her to sleep or make her stupid.

"I'll have a beer, Gem. Thanks."

A heavy silence settled in the room as Gemma left. Maisie fidgeted with the hem of her shirt as Alessandro reached out a hand and began to trace the carvings on the back of one of the card table's wooden chairs.

Her palms began to sweat and her stomach clenched. It had been easy to stand in her bedroom earlier this evening, promising herself that she'd ask him what kind of relationship he wanted. That confidence had fled the moment she found herself standing alone with him.

He cleared his throat. "I'd been thinking about coming over in a few minutes. You know, to see if you wanted to do something tonight."

"Oh."

"Yeah." His fingers continued to trace the wood, moving up and down along a ridged line in slow, lazy movements before curving around a small circle. "My mom wanted to go through a bunch of boxes, though, so I got stuck here."

"Boxes?"

"Yeah." His fingers stilled, and he shoved both hands in his pockets. "You wouldn't believe some of the crap I saved as a kid. There were something like ten boxes just from middle school."

"Right."

He nodded and looked away.

Maisie grimaced and dropped her gaze to the floor. Way to keep the conversation flowing, she scolded herself. It should have been easy to move the conversation along; all she had to do was ask about the boxes or tease him about being a packrat.

But his fingers . . . on the carvings . . . those fingers had given her sinful thoughts as they'd traced the lines of the wood, making her mind and body feel both heated and filled with a sultry languor as she imagined herself in the chair's place, its hard curves her soft flesh under his palms as he teased and toyed with her.

When combined with her inexplicable onset of nervousness, his erotic moves had been murder on her thought process.

She swallowed hard. Ask about the damn boxes and get your mind out of the gutter. Minutes before a bridge game is not the time to think about him that way.

Summoning her courage, Maisie glanced up. She'd been prepared to find him bored and looking at his phone again, but was surprised to find him staring at her. Or rather, at her cleavage.

She stood, shell-shocked, for what felt like several long minutes. His mouth was parted slightly, his eyelids were low over his eyes, and his chest rose and fell faster than it had moments before when they'd been talking.

He wanted her as much as she wanted him.

Her nervousness melted at the realization. Her earlier confidence had been based on her afternoon dream, and on feelings and emotions from years ago; though she had hoped for the best and dressed for success, she'd had no idea how he would react.

Seeing him stare at her was enough to eradicate her anxiety. She'd never understood the cliché of how feeling desired could make a woman feel confident and powerful, but now she did.

Her skin tingled as she envisioned his hands reaching out to caress her, pushing the material of her shirt below her breasts, forcing the cups of her bra down and suckling her nipples into his mouth. Her sex began to throb and she clenched her legs together, trying to stop her arousal from escalating as she imagined his hands moving lower and lower, his fingers exploring her just as they had the chair just moments ago. Her head began to spin as she imagined his fingers trailing down her navel, dipping into her wetness.

She realized she'd stopped breathing, and she sucked in a deep breath. Alessandro's eyes snapped up to her face, and their gazes caught. His eyes widened; it was as if he hadn't known he'd been staring at her, or hadn't expected to be caught. After the briefest of pauses, his lips curved into a smile and he tilted his head to the side. He winked, and her heart felt like it stopped and then raced to push the missing blood through her system.

"Geary's OK, Less?" Gemma's voice cut through their silent conversation. "Looks like we ran out of Shipyard."

Maisie jerked her head towards Gemma. She took her glass of water and lifted it, hands shaking, to her lips. That smile and wink were not the type of thing to experience when other people were around; she hoped the liquid would cool the heat rushing through her body.

"Geary's is fine, Gem. Thanks," Alessandro said, taking his beer.

The three of them stood in silence for several moments before Gemma sighed.

"What in the world is keeping Carolina?" she grumbled. "We won't be starting until midnight at this rate."

She turned and marched out of the room. Maisie stared after her, watching as she rounded the corner in the hallway before glancing towards the card table.

She'd expected to find Alessandro next to the wooden chair, but he wasn't there.

She gasped as she felt him brush her arm. He'd moved to stand only inches from her, just shy of shoulder-to-shoulder, as if admiring a painting that hung on the wall above the card table.

She turned towards the wall, searching for what had grabbed his attention, but had an impossible time concentrating when the warmth of his body was so close. So much for the water cooling me down, she thought.

"I'm glad you're here tonight."

His voice was low and smooth, and the confidence he'd built with his earlier admiration soared higher at his words. He was like a drug, she realized, washing over her senses, pulling her away from her incessant over-thinking and into a world with just the two of them.

She liked it. Especially when she thought of the two of them naked in that world.

"I'm glad to be here, too." She was surprised at how breathless she sounded.

"Good." Out of the corner of her eye she watched as his chest expanded in a long, slow inhale. "I should tell you, though: that's a very naughty shirt you're wearing, Margaret Barnes."

She replayed his words in her head, making sure she'd heard them correctly. "It is?" she asked, her heart racing.

"Mmmm. That ribbon, tied in a bow at the back? It begs to be tugged open."

His chest rose again before he let out a long, slow breath, and she found herself doing the same as she imagined him bending her over the card table and tugging at the offending ribbon with his teeth before divesting her of the garment, gripping her hips with his olive-skinned hands—

"I've seen you in it before, Maisie. You wore that shirt up from Boston."

Startled from her pornographic thoughts, she glanced up at him.

"You remember?"

"Are you kidding?" He raised an eyebrow as he glanced down at her, an incredulous smile forming on his lips. "Good thing you don't have those boots on right now. Lord knows I've thought about those a time or twelve this week."

She stared, mouth agape. He'd fantasized about her? All week?

Her heart jumped with joy as she stared into the brown depths of his eyes. They were searching her face, and she realized he was waiting not just for an answer, but for her reaction.

"Why do you think my feet are bare?" She winked and lifted her face to his, her voice just above a whisper, trying to send the images playing in her brain telepathically into his.

His eyes flared as he shifted towards her, his fingers brushing hers as he lowered his head. She tilted her face up, desperate to feel his lips on hers, desperate to take the first step towards making the images in her head a reality.

"OK," Carolina called from the hallway, and like schoolchildren caught misbehaving, they jumped apart. "We've got carrots, celery, zucchini, red peppers, and cherry tomatoes to go with some hummus. And I have some of my mom's famous mystery bars." Carolina placed the platters of food on the table as Gemma took a seat. "Would have been here sooner, but someone," she shot Gemma a dirty look, "said my zucchini and pepper slices were too big."

Gemma shrugged. "What can I say? I didn't want to interrupt our game with the Heimlich maneuver."

Maisie glanced at Alessandro and found him trying to catch her eye. His clean-shaven face was flushed, and she had a feeling her own matched the tomatoes and peppers. His lips quirked; "Wish she'd cut them even smaller," he mouthed.

She looked away and tried to hide her laughter behind her hand. Yes, she wished his sisters had stayed in the kitchen longer, too.

"Oh, no you don't." Alessandro jumped forward and nudged Carolina, who had just taken a seat across from Gemma. "Nice try, but you know the family rules: no playing with your twin as your partner."

Carolina gave him a mutinous glare as she moved to a seat next to Gemma. "Those rules are unfair."

"Unfair?" Alessandro spluttered. "It's unfair to the rest of us when you two play together. You have that . . . that . . . ." He waved his hand in the air as he sat down across from Carolina.

"That super-secret twin communication thing?" Maisie supplied with a grin.

"Exactly!" Alessandro slapped his hand down on the table. "And just for trying that sneaky move, Leena, you get stuck with me as your partner."

Carolina grumbled something unintelligible as Maisie sat in the remaining seat.

"So," Alessandro said as he took a card from the deck. "You've caught on to their mysterious telepathic powers, too?"

"Yup." Maisie reached for the deck. "Though they crushed everyone in our bridge group for three whole weeks before we did."

Alessandro chuckled as Gemma and Carolina picked cards. Carolina picked highest; she would deal after Gemma cut the deck.

They each returned their card to Carolina. Maisie's eyes drifted to Alessandro as the twins began to chat about the family members that would arrive tomorrow for their graduation party. Heavy-lidded eyes met hers, and she bit her lip as a slow, lazy sort of grin lifted the corner of his mouth.

She tried to smile back, but couldn't; all she could do was stare at his brown eyes, which seemed to twinkle under the lights.

She reached for her glass of water, nearly spilling it on the pile of cards accumulating on the table before her as she pulled it towards her mouth, desperate once again to cool her overheating body. She couldn't tear her eyes from his as she drank. His gaze lowered to watch her lips cradle the glass, and then lowered again to watch her throat work to swallow the liquid.

She placed the water back down on the table with a wobble. Her throat felt too tight to drink anymore, and the thought of him watching her throat . . . well, that just made her think of swallowing something other than water.

The seating arrangement and small table left them close. His eyes seemed to pull her closer, again making her feel like they were the only two people in the room. He was gorgeous, his broad shoulders stretching the t-shirt he wore, brown hair curling around his ears and shining under the room's chandelier, and eyes glinting with thoughts she wanted shown to her.

She took a deep breath, hoping no one else noticed as she leaned towards him a bit. He smelled good, like soap and aftershave, and she wondered if he'd showered after helping his mother go through his boxes in the hot, dusty barn.

"Maisie?" Gemma's voice seemed faint, as if she were speaking from across a foggy field, or at the very least, through a steamy bathroom featuring a hot and soapy Alessandro. "Maisie? You gonna pick up your cards?"

"Mmmm?"

"Cards, Maisie." Carolina's sharp voice reached her brain, and Maisie turned to find her friend pointing at the pile on the table. "Your cards."

"Right." She picked up her cards, but, just as it had earlier in the evening, Carolina's raised eyebrow seemed to require an explanation. "Sorry, I was just daydreaming."

She flushed and took another quick sip of water before sorting her cards. She tried not to look at Alessandro, but gave in and peeked over her cards at him. He wore a strained expression on his face, as if he were trying not to laugh.

She kicked him under the table, and, feeling satisfied when her revenge wiped the smirk off his face, she returned to her cards.

The bidding began, and before long Maisie found herself engrossed in the game. She'd met players who were able to play and carry on conversations simultaneously, but she'd never been able to; instead, she listened as Alessandro joked with his sisters, only saying something when someone—usually Gemma—drew her into the conversation.

She'd never played bridge with Alessandro; she hadn't learned how to play until college. As they played, it struck her that the two of them hadn't done anything social in years, since before they'd gone to high school. It was fun, listening to him laugh at his sisters, hearing their memories of events she'd never known.

Maisie was surprised to discover that Alessandro was one of the least competitive people she'd ever played with; she only now understood why he'd told Carolina it was a punishment to play with him.

"Alessandro!"

Maisie looked up as Carolina's annoyed voice cut across her musing. She and Gemma had just crushed Carolina and Alessandro in yet another hand; they'd won the first game in just two hands, and after these last two, they were within single digits of winning the second and final game.

"Huh?" Alessandro blinked as he looked across the table at his sister.

"Does Maisie have a piece of food in her hair?"

"What?" He pushed the cards across the table to Carolina to shuffle; they were beginning their fifth hand, so the deal fell back to her.

"I said, does Maisie have a piece of food in her hair?"

"Um." He glanced at Maisie before giving his sister a chagrined look. "No."

"Good. Then please stop staring at her hair when we're playing, and pay attention!" Carolina shook her head as she began to shuffle. "Alessandro, I swear to God, I'm going to toilet paper your room later tonight if you don't start paying attention."

"Empty threat, Leena." He laughed. "We both know I always won the practical joke wars in this house."

"Well, yeah, but that's because you always had Maisie on your side. Gemma and I always knew she was the brains of the operation. What are you going to do, force her to spend the night here so you two can sneak in at three in the morning?"