Reckless Love

6: The Wing Woman

~ MAIA’s POV ~

My heart was pounding as my eyes stared at the screen. I never knew a simple text message could have so much impact on me.

AJ: See you tonight.

AJ stands for Anthony Julian Fitz-Herbert. Yes, that Fitz-Herbert. His father was a British lord. And yes, I had been crushing on him ever since I saw some months ago at a horse race. He had the body of a Greek god and a face like an angel. He looked a lot like a young Johnny Depp, except tanner and more buff.

God, he’s so hot.

We couldn’t talk much during the horse race because technically I was Prince Charles’s date to the event. Still, it didn’t stop us from throwing flirty looks at each other. He would also purposefully touch my elbow when he passed by. He knew exactly just what to do to get my attention.

I saw him again a few days later. We met when I was on my way to my music academy. He invited me to get coffee and obviously I said yes. Like, who wouldn’t trade a violin lesson for a coffee date with young Johnny Depp?

Since then, whenever I left the house for music lessons, I was meeting him in secret instead. Dating was not an option for me, my parents had declared it a law. This was the closest thing to an actual relationship I could ever have and I couldn’t tell a soul about it. I couldn’t even tell Hunter. I knew I could trust him, but I was still scared that words might travel somehow. I didn’t want to risk it.

Anyway, AJ’s pretty much my first ever real boyfriend. We had our first kiss on that coffee date a month ago, and I was hoping that tonight would be our first night together.

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Tonight was the night of Marguerite’s house party. It was a special night because this would be the night where I could finally bang AJ Fitz-Herbert, and Hunter would lose his virginity to a beautiful French girl. I was looking forward to this day all summer long.

By 8 PM that night, I had finished curling my hair and I was wearing my new sexy-yet-elegant dress. I had told Bernard that I’m having sleepover at Marguerite’s house so he wouldn’t be waiting for me. Everything was going smoothly. By 9 PM, Hunter and I were sitting in the back of the car en route to the party. He wore the new shirt I got him and a pair of black slacks. And although he was trying to stay cool, he looked really nervous. He couldn’t stop playing with his fingers and giving me weird looks.

“Are you always this jittery?” I asked him.

“This is a little scary,” he replied. “I don’t know what I’m getting myself into,”

Hunter was a rare breed. He was never afraid to speak his mind, to be vulnerable and honest, and most guys would never do that.

“Oh darling, you’ll do just fine,” I said as I gave him a little pinch on the cheek.

He didn’t say anything and only gave me a half-smile.

“You wore the cologne I got you?” I asked him.

“Check,”

“You got condoms?”

“…Check,”

“You remember the five rules?”

“Don’t let a girl dance alone, listen to her body, listen hard, smile a lot, and be my darn self,” he listed my rules proficiently and I couldn’t be more proud.

“Ah, my baby boy has grown up so fast,” I pulled him in and ruffled his hair.

He looked at me uncomfortably.

“Oh, sorry. Didn’t mean to ruin the hair,” I stopped immediately and fixed his hair back.

Hunter was being so quiet. He had this look on his face that I couldn’t read. And suddenly, my phone chimed and I got a text from AJ asking me where I was. I told him I was on my way and he said he was there already, waiting for me. I was smiling for ear to ear, my excitement was overflowing. And then I noticed Hunter was looking at me the entire time.

“What? Why are you looking at me like that?” I asked as I put the phone away.

“No, nothing,” he paused for a moment before saying, “You look good,”

“Thank you. So do you,”

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After a solid ten minutes of awkward silent car ride, we finally pulled up to Marguerite’s driveway. Her family owned quite a large estate. Mostly, they made their money from exporting wine. A greeter opened my car door and I turned to Hunter to see if he was ready.

“Let’s get this party started, shall we?”

I got out of the car and Hunter followed suit. I linked my arms around his and we headed for the front door.

The huge double door opened and revealed the sea of people walking around, talking, dancing, and sipping champagne. As soon as we stepped inside, people immediately stared at us.

Maybe this dress was too slutty?

I tightened my grip around Hunter as we continued down the room. He was looking around at everyone and everything, taking it all in.

“You know, back where I’m from, you only need to wear a hoodie and some jeans to go to a house party,” he whispered to my ears as we continued walking.

It was normal for people to dress a little over the top at these parties sometimes. Hunter was probably in shock. I could only imagine the kind of parties that he’d go to in Upstate New York. But, before I could respond, two girls had appeared right in front of us, stopping our tracks.

“Maia, mon Cherie, congratulations on your debutante. So sorry I couldn’t make it, papa wanted the whole family at the estate for the horse show. You understand, right?” Clare spoke in that annoyingly high-pitched voice of hers.

“Sure, Clare, don’t worry about it,”

“Maia, darling, who is this?” Francine interjected.

Francine and Clare were like these weird Siamese twins. They always went everywhere together, color-coordinated their outfits, and finished each other’s sentences. It was kind of creepy.

“This is my friend, Hunter, he’s visiting from America,”

Hunter gave them a small smile. He was being shy. But that didn’t stop both Francine and Clare from checking him out.

“What ever happened to Prince Charles?” Clare asked.

“Is he not coming?” Francine followed.

“He’s in Stockholm. Family matters. Priorities. You understand, right?” I replied.

“Aw. C’est dommage,” Clare said.

“Aw, what a shame,” Francine translated. “You must not be very high on his priority list,” she added passive-aggressively.

“Apparently not,” I smiled cheekily. “Anyway, enjoy your night ladies,”

I couldn’t stand another second talking to these girls, so I pulled Hunter away with me as fast I could.

Hunter shook his head lightly and muttered, “Wow, these people are…”

“Annoying? Tell me about it,” I rolled my eyes in agreement.

We made it to the end of the living room area where there were less people. It seemed like a good place to set camp. A waiter carrying glasses of champagne stopped in front of us and we each took a glass.

“Hey, I’m glad I have you here with me,” I lifted my glass to him and said, “cheers, to new adventures,”

“Cheers,” we clinked our glasses and took a sip.

He took a huge sip and I did the opposite. Champagne always made me extra giddy, so I had to be careful. I wanted to make sure I wasn’t doing anything stupid to ruin tonight.

“Maia! Glad you can make it,” I turned around and found Marguerite standing behind us.

“Of course, I’d never miss your annual mid-summer party,” I said as we kissed each other’s cheeks.

“Oh, I’m sorry, I don’t believe we’ve met,” Marguerite said to Hunter.

“I hope you don’t mind I’m bringing an old family friend. This is Hunter and he’s visiting for the summer,”

“Of course, a friend of Maia is a friend of mine. Bonsoir, I’m Marguerite,”

Marguerite placed her hand out in front of Hunter, prompting Hunter to bow and kiss her hand. I gave him an approving nod, signaling that he was doing well. Hunter responded with a smile. He was putting those dimples to good use.

“Not much of a talker, is he?” Marguerite whispered to my ear.

“Yes, but there are other things that he can do with those lips… Great things,” I whispered back to her.

Her eyes widened instantly and she gulped. She was now staring at Hunter like a hungry predator. I gave Hunter a wink and he just stared at me, totally confused.

“You know, Hunter’s a huge fan of old jazz. Maybe you can show him the music room and listen to some records,” I said to Marguerite, but also loud enough for Hunter to hear.

“Sure,” Marguerite chirped happily.

Damn, I’m such a good wing woman.

I turned to my heels and left Marguerite to continue talking to Hunter. Hunter gave me a worried look as I walked away, but I gave him a reassuring smile.

Now it’s my turn.

I scanned around the room, looking for a familiar face. I walked as far as the outdoor area, but I still couldn’t find who I was looking for. I pulled out my phone and quickly texted him: “where are u”.

Within seconds, my phone chimed.

AJ: Second floor

AJ: Master bedroom

AJ: Come alone

I was making my way to the staircase, when Hunter suddenly appeared in front me, blocking my way.

“Maia, where are you going?” he asked.

“Upstairs,”

“You’re not gonna leave me alone with these people, are you?”

“Don’t worry, you’re in good hands. Marguerite is pretty much a done deal. And if you don’t like her, there’s still plenty of other fish in the sea,”

“No, it’s not that. Listen—“

“And also, I may have said some things about you to some people. Whatever they ask you, just say yes,”

“Maia—”

“Hunter, I’m sorry, but I’m kind of in a hurry. I have to go,” I cut him off quickly.

I was losing my patience. Hunter looked as if he wanted to say something else, but then he swallowed and nodded instead.

“Okay, I’ll just be right here,” he said finally.

“Enjoy the night,” I cupped his face and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek, before making my way up the stairs.

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When I reached the door to the master bedroom, I had to stop my tracks because I noticed my heart was beating too fast. I took a few deep breaths to calm myself and I fixed my hair and dress.

Am I ready for this?

Okay, I had only known for AJ a month, but we texted and talked almost everyday on the phone. We got an amazing chemistry and I just wanted to see how far this thing could go.

So, not to overthink anymore, I reached for the door handle and pushed the door open.  AJ was lying on the king-sized bed with his head against the headboard. He immediately got up as soon as he saw me. I closed the door shut and made my way to him. His grin grew wider with every step I took.

“There you are, love, I’ve been waiting for you all night,” he said, and immediately I noticed something was off.

I could smell this specific stench coming from him.

“Are you high?” I asked as I studied his eyes.

“What? No!” he quickly denied it, taking a step back and throwing his gaze down.

“AJ?” I demanded.

“Maybe, just a little bit,” he confessed finally.

“You know you were meeting me tonight. You know tonight’s supposed to be special. And you chose to get high?” I said as I crossed my arms disapprovingly.

“Babe, relax. I just had one hit. That’s all,” he said as he grabbed my arms and his fingers caressed my skin, comforting me.

“I’m totally sober,” he said again.

I wasn’t convinced, so I just stood there and narrowed my eyes at him.

“Come here, come on,” he coaxed as he pulled me in for a hug.

I sighed into his chest and he kissed the top of my head.

“I’ve missed you,” he whispered to my ears and all the anger that was in me melted away.

“I’ve missed you too,” I murmured as I uncrossed my arms and hugged him back.

He pulled away just a little, so he could lean down and found my face with his. I closed my eyes and felt his lips brushing mine gently. I couldn’t wait any longer, so I crashed my lips into his, causing him to groan.

Our lips danced for a while before his tongue grazed my bottom lip, asking for permission. I parted my lips and his tongue slammed right in, causing me to gasp. His hands then travelled to my hips and over to cup my ass.

“God, I’ve been waiting for this for so long,” he said as he gripped me harder.

His mouth now landed on my neck. Right on that spot that made my knees weak.

“I can’t… take my eyes… off of you… ever since… we met,” he said in between kisses.

I ran my fingers through his hair, signaling for him to keep going.

“Are you ready?” he said as his eyes met mine.

Stop thinking about things! Just do it!

I nodded and his eyes lit up like wildfire. He grabbed my legs and linked them around his waist, carrying me to the bed. Within seconds, my head had hit the pillow and he climbed on top of me, his large figure covering my entire body.

He was kissing my neck and his hands were reaching for my dress zipper when I noticed something on the corner of my eye. The closet door was half open and I saw a little red light blinking from the inside.

“Wait—“ I said as I pushed him away.

“What?” he asked.

“Is that a camera?” I crawled away from him to get a closer look.

I was right. I flung the closet door open to reveal a little camera on a tripod sitting inside.

“Okay, I can explain…“ he was smiling at me like this was funny.

“Are you f*****g kidding me?” I growled at him.

“Hey, come on, love. Don’t make a big deal out of it,”

Wow. I can’t believe I fell for this. I’m a f*****g moron.

“You’re a f*****g asshole,”

I quickly grabbed the camera and smashed it against the floor.

“b***h!” he yelled angrily and got up.

“What did you just call me?”

“I called you a b***h, okay?! Now run home and tell your fuckin’ daddy about it!”

He was only inches away, shouting profanities and towering over me. Meanwhile, I was trying my hardest not to let him see me break down. I stared at him, dead in the eyes, throwing away all my fear.

“Fúck this. No wonder no one ever wants to fúck your sorry ass,” he hissed before turning around and throwing himself back on the bed.

I couldn’t hold it anymore. I couldn’t stop the tears from running down my face.

“Go fúck yourself,” I croaked before leaving the room, slamming the door behind me.

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- - - - - To Be Continued - - - - -