Fantasized by You Read online

  “Yeah, but I can sleep on the plane,” I said, smiling up at him.

  He laughed and kissed me on the forehead. “And how long are you gonna be gone?”

  “Just a couple of days,” I said, trailing my hand over his abs. “I’ll be back Tuesday.”

  He nodded and continued stroking my back. The warmth of his touch was slowly making me sleepier. I’d spent most of my life wanting to cry myself to sleep after sex because I couldn’t perform, but that was no longer the case. Maverick had opened me up. He’d made me come alive with him, and I knew I’d never have to spend another night worried about sex.

  “Are you excited to see Paris?” he asked, yawning.

  “Eh,” I said with a shrug. “I am. It’s pretty and everything, but I’ve been there a lot for work so it’s really nothing new.”

  “I see.”

  “I mean, it’s a great city, but I’d be more excited if you were coming with me.”

  “Why’s that?”

  “Because,” I started, linking our fingers together. “It’s a romantic city—all of its beautiful architecture and scenery, and its quaint little shops and cafés on every street. The Champs-Élysées is my favorite part of Paris, though. The Eiffel Tower is breathtaking, especially at night when it’s all lit up, but the avenue is where all the shopping is.”

  “And women love shopping,” he mumbled, unenthusiastically.

  I laughed and gazed up at him, smiling. “Yep! And these big, strong arms of yours could hold lots of bags. That’s the real reason I wish you were coming with me.”

  “I’m sure it is!” he laughed, grabbing my ass playfully.

  “I’m kidding!” I squealed, wiggling under his touch. He tilted my chin up and gently caressed my cheek with his hand. “Seriously, though, if you’ve never been there, you and I should go some time.”

  His lips connected with mine for a brief, tender kiss. “I’d like that.”

  Chapter Ten

  Maverick

  Morning came too soon. It was still dark out, and Harper and I were in the back of her SUV on our way to the airport. She told me I didn’t have to come, since they were leaving so early, but I wanted to see her off. I also wanted to meet this Max guy. I wasn’t sure if I could trust him. I knew I could trust Harper because I knew she loved me. Even if we hadn’t told each other yet, I felt it in the way we came together last night. Being with her was fucking incredible—best sex of my life—and the connection between us, the perfect rhythm and ease, was something I’d never encountered with anyone else. She gave me all of herself last night, and I intended to keep it. I knew she wouldn’t do something behind my back. I just didn’t want Max Waters getting in my way. I wanted him to know she was mine.

  When we arrived at the airport, Harper’s private plane was all fueled up and ready for takeoff. I saw a guy around my age step out of a black car that was already here when we pulled up. He looked to be the same height as me, but he was physically smaller.

  “That’s Max,” Harper said, reaching for my hand. “Come on. I want him to meet you!”

  I followed her toward him. Surprise washed over his face as his eyes bounced back and forth between Harper and me. He obviously wasn’t expecting Harper to be with anyone.

  “Hey, Harper,” he said, looking at me.

  “Hey!” she said, elated, placing her free hand on my arm. “Max, I’d like you to meet Maverick Jones. We’ve been seeing each other for a few weeks now. He owns Jones Jym and the clinic where I’m mentoring.”

  He nodded and shook my hand. “It’s nice to meet you, Maverick.”

  “You too,” I said respectfully. “Congrats on the movie and everything.”

  “Thanks.” He nodded toward the plane and smiled at Harper. “I’m gonna go ahead and board.”

  “All right, I’ll just be a minute,” she said, turning toward me.

  I watched as Max walked away, glancing back over his shoulder. The look of envy on his face was clear as the morning sky, which only made the knot in my stomach tighten. He had feelings for her. I could see it in the way he watched us together, and I didn’t like it.

  Harper grabbed my face, and I turned my attention to her. “I’ll text you when we land. It should be sometime after lunch. Paris is six hours ahead of New York, so it’ll be evening there.”

  I nodded and brushed a piece of her hair behind her ear. “I don’t care about the time difference. Call or text me whenever you want. I’ll answer.”

  She wrapped her arms around my neck and I pulled her in at the waist and sealed my lips over hers for a long, deep kiss, loving the taste of my peppermint coffee on her breath.

  “Last night was perfect,” she said, hugging me tight.

  “Yeah, it was.” I kissed her again. “And when you get back, we’ll pick up right where we left off.”

  A sexy smirk tugged on her lips, remembering all the things we did in the shower earlier. “Then I’ll hurry home.”

  “You better,” I teased, before giving her one last kiss. “Okay, you better go before I throw you back in the car and take you home.”

  “Okay,” she sighed, pulling away from me. She had her arm stretched out, her hand still holding mine as she stepped away, but when she finally let go, she smiled and blew me a kiss. “Bye, baby!”

  “Bye.” I watched as she boarded the plane.

  Imani came over to me and held the keys to the SUV in the air. “Here are the keys. I swear, if you hurt my baby, I will hurt you.”

  I laughed and took the keys from her. “As long as you take care of mine, I’ll take care of yours.”

  “Deal!” she said, smiling back at me.

  *

  After work, when I received a text from Harper saying she was going to bed, I was relieved to hear from her and know she was safe. With some free time on my hands, I decided to go see my mom. I tried to visit every once in a while for dinner or just to hang out, but lately, I’d been slipping. I knew she was lonely, especially now that she lived by herself, and I felt bad for not visiting more often. The last time I saw her, she wasn’t her usual happy self.

  I walked into the brick home I’d grown up in and found her in the kitchen.

  “Hey!” she said, throwing the dishtowel over her shoulder. She looked and sounded ten times better than last time. Thank god. “You didn’t tell me you were coming over. Get over here!”

  She wrapped her arms around my neck for a hug like she always did when she saw me. “Hi, Mom.”

  “Have you eaten yet? There’s some meatloaf I could heat up.”

  “That sounds great.” I took a seat at the dining table and watched her happily heat up a meal for me. It made me glad to see her busying herself in the kitchen, even if she wasn’t the greatest cook. She seemed to be doing a lot better now on her own. “So, what have you been up to lately?”

  “Oh, well,” she said, grabbing a glass from the cabinet, “I started taking some of those classes you offer at your gym. Um, the Pilates and the spin classes. I’ve also been thinking about doing some water aerobics but I don’t know.”

  “What’s not to know? Water aerobics is a great way to keep in shape,” I said, smiling back at her. My mom was an athlete through and through, so for her to question exercise was odd.

  “Well, I don’t know if I’m old enough for water aerobics,” she said, taking my plate out of the microwave. She brought it over to me with a glass of water and a fork, then took a seat across from me. “I mean, all of the people in the class are ten to twenty years older than I am. I just feel like if I start pumping milk cartons full of water, my life is really over.”

  I laughed and shook my head. “There’s a younger water aerobics class, and they don’t lift milk jugs of water. It’s actually more like Pilates in the water. They use the exercise bands and the swim noodles. It’s a full body workout, and most of the people in the class are around your age. Hell, some of them are my age.”

  “Really? I didn’t know that,” she said. “I’ll have to
check that one out.”

  “I think it’s actually listed under ‘water Pilates’,” I said, cutting into the meatloaf. “You should do it. I think you’d really like it.”

  “I think I will,” she said with a nod.

  “Good.”

  She smiled and silently studied me for a moment as I ate. She tilted her head to the side, and her grin grew wider.

  “What?” I asked suspiciously.

  “Who is she?” she asked, setting her elbows on the table. She leaned in and clasped her hands together eagerly.

  I rolled my eyes. “Seriously?”

  “Yes!” She gave me her best mom look—the one that always got me to spill shit to her when I was a kid. “I’m your mom, and I want to know who it is that’s making my son so happy. You haven’t stopped smiling since you walked in the door.”

  Really?

  I sighed and wiped my mouth. I was smiling like an idiot just thinking about Harper. I missed her, and she hadn’t even been gone a whole day yet.

  “Her name is Harper Jennings, and—”

  “Wait, Jennings? Isn’t Elly’s guy a Jennings?”

  “Yes, they’re brother and sister,” I said.

  “Ooh, your children would be cousins!” she cheered, tapping her hand against the table. “Okay, so tell me more. Is she pretty? What does she do? Where is she? Why didn’t you bring her with you?”

  I pushed my plate away and relaxed back into the chair. “Well, first of all, yes, she’s very pretty, and she’s a fashion designer. She’s actually in Paris right now, that’s why she’s not here.”

  “A fashion designer,” she mused, raising her brows. “But I thought you hated the fashion industry.”

  I laughed and nodded. Apparently, Elly wasn’t the only one who thought my old feelings toward the industry were misplaced. “I know, I know, but Harper’s different. She’s mentoring at the clinic, too. She used to struggle with bulimia, but she went to rehab for it. Elly introduced us a few weeks ago, and now, we’re in a relationship.”

  “And I’m just now hearing about her?!” she asked, shaking her head at me.

  “Maybe once she gets back from Paris we can come over and I’ll introduce you,” I said, trying to make up for not telling her sooner.

  “Please, do! I’d love to meet my future daughter-in-law,” she teased.

  I stood from the table, shaking my head, and rinsed my plate in the sink. I joined her back at the table and she patted my cheek. “I’m so happy for you. You deserve to be with someone who makes you happy.”

  “Thanks, Mom. You deserve to be happy, too.”

  “You know what, I think I’m getting there,” she said, contently. “Keith asked if I’d go to Elly’s wedding with him. I was already planning on going, of course, since I’m helping with it, but it’s just nice to know I won’t have to travel alone or sit by myself during the ceremony or any of that. I’m excited for it.”

  “Me too.” She lit up when she talked about going with him, and it made me happy for her. I’d never seen her light up like that before, not even with Dad. Even if it was just a friendly gesture on Elly’s dad’s part, since he knew what it was like to be alone, it meant a lot that he thought to ask. Knowing she was happy, or getting there, made me less worried about her.

  Chapter Eleven

  Harper

  It was the Monday night after Max’s premiere, and we were eating dinner at the iconic L’Avenue. It was the hot spot for celebrity dining in Paris, so I tried to avoid it whenever I visited because the paparazzi practically lived there. But tonight was Max’s night, and if L’Avenue was where he wanted to celebrate, that’s where we’d celebrate. The food was good, so that was a plus.

  “So, what did you think of the movie?” he asked, sipping his wine.

  We were seated next to each other in a half-circle booth, and I could feel the workers and some of the other patrons whispering about us. I pushed their gossip to the back of my mind and smiled at my best friend. “I really loved it! You were so amazing! Did you do your own stunts?”

  “Not all of them,” he laughed. “I probably did forty percent of the stunts. The rest were done by a professional.”

  I nodded and took a sip of my cabernet. “What was it like kissing Megan Green? She’s so beautiful and sweet. She looked absolutely gorgeous on the red carpet tonight in that black Valentino dress.”

  “Let’s just say my character enjoyed kissing her more than I did,” he replied with a shrug.

  “What’s that supposed to mean?” I asked, intriguingly.

  “It means I couldn’t really enjoy making out with her knowing she’s married with two kids, but my character could since her character was single and hot.”

  He shot me his signature charming smirk and I smiled. “Well, I can’t wait for the sequel to come out. Have you received the script for it yet?”

  He shook his head. “No, not yet.”

  “Well, I’m sure it’ll be even better than the first,” I said. I turned toward him slightly. “I’m really proud of you, Max. I mean, you went from modeling and doing commercials to soap operas and TV shows, and now you’re on the big screen and topping the box office. That’s a huge accomplishment! I’m so happy for you.”

  “Thank you,” he said sincerely, “But I couldn’t have done it without you.” He reached over and brushed his knuckles against my cheek, and an unsettling knot twisted in my belly. “You’ve always believed in me, even when I wasn’t getting any callbacks for auditions; that really means a lot to me.”

  “Well, that’s what friends are for,” I said, widening my smile.

  He sighed and looked down, shaking his head. “You don’t get it.”

  “Get what?” I asked. What was there to get? His career had taken off, and I’d been a good friend over the years. What was I missing?

  He gazed at me, his blue eyes shifting from my eyes to my mouth and, in an instant, I had the answer. Max didn’t want my friendship; he wanted me.

  No, I thought, shaking my head. This can’t be happening. I’m with Maverick.

  Shocked by my sudden realization, I closed my eyes in an attempt to hold back my tears in public. I felt his lips brush over mine and my eyes flew open; I pushed him away, feeling as if I’d had the wind knocked out of me.

  “Harper,” he said, hope glimmering in his eyes, “I love you.”

  I wiped away a tear and swallowed hard. “I’m in love with Maverick.”

  “You’ve known him for what, a month?” he asked, furrowing his brows. “You’ve known me for ten years, and you can honestly sit there and tell me don’t have any feelings for me?”

  More tears threatened at the anger in his voice. I took a deep breath and let it out, trying to keep my composure. I hated that we were talking about this right now, in the middle of a very public restaurant. “I love you, I do, but not the way you want me to.”

  He sighed and rested his elbows up on the table. “Is it because of him? If I would’ve said something sooner, would you—”

  “No,” I said quickly, shaking my head.

  He leaned back in the booth and scoffed. “You know, I thought once I got a big movie role, you’d see me the way I’ve always seen you, but when I saw you with him—”

  “Maverick. He has a name,” I interjected.

  He rolled his eyes. “But when I saw you with Maverick, I saw the way you looked at him. I knew I had to make a move while we were here.”

  “You had to make a move?” I repeated, in disbelief as my shock quickly turned to anger. “No, you didn’t!” I grabbed my clutch and shook my head. “I’m leaving.”

  I moved out of the booth and made my way toward the exit ignoring Max, but when I got in Imani’s car waiting at the curb, he scooted in next to me.

  “To the hotel, Imani,” I said, meeting her gaze in the rearview mirror. She looked at me quizzically and I shook my head, and then faced Max. “Did you even think about any of the consequences of your move? No, of course not. You didn’
t think about how we were in a public place, or how any one of those people could’ve taken a picture of you kissing me and sold it for money. I swear to god, if I’m in the tabloids because of you and your stupid move, I’m going to come unglued, Max. You might be some hotshot celebrity who can buy whatever the hell he wants, but what you can’t buy is privacy.

  “You could’ve talked to me about this on the plane or at the hotel—somewhere people couldn’t overhear or see us. You know how much I hate the media and their gossip. You didn’t have to make a move while we were in there, but you did it anyway without even thinking of the repercussions.”

  “But isn’t any press good press?” he asked, timidly.

  Thankfully, Imani opened the door for me to get out of the car, or else I probably would’ve strangled him. We’d arrived at the hotel, and all I wanted was to get out of my dress and lie down. I didn’t want to talk to Max anymore. I didn’t even want to look at him I was so pissed. Isn’t any press good press? He knew the things that were said about me when my bulimia was made public. Not all press was good.

  When we got up to our suites, Imani opened my door and Max’s security guy opened his, and then we went our separate ways. I walked in and threw my clutch on the couch.

  “God, I’ve got to get out of this dress,” I complained, reaching around back for my zipper. “I can’t breathe in it.”

  “Here, let me get it,” Imani said, unzipping it.

  The dress loosened around my body, and I could finally breathe again. My anger toward Max only made my dress feel tighter. It was a relief to be getting out of it. I pushed it down over my hips and to the floor, and then stepped out of it and kicked off my heels. I threw on a pair of pajama pants and Maverick’s sweatshirt and then laid back on the bed.

  “So, I take it dinner didn’t go well,” Imani said, opening the mini-fridge. She grabbed all the bottles of liquor and two glasses.

  She made us each a drink as I told her about my evening with Max, and by the time I finished, I was in desperate need of alcohol.