“They’re elementary. They’re supposed to be tiny,” Maggie laughed, putting a hand out to stop one from running down the hall. “Hey, just because it’s at night, doesn’t mean you get to tear about like that.”
The little blonde haired boy gave her a mean look and stomped away. Kevin laughed, squeezing Maggie’s hand. She looked up at him, grinning.
“He’ll hate me when he gets older.”
“You are so mean,” he teased.
The Fall Festival was in full swing with music blaring from classrooms and the school overflowing with people. Maggie had her usual station of fishing. She loved it because no matter what, the kids always won something. The smiles, usually from snaggled-toothed first and second graders, lit up the room at each tug on the line and reeling in the catch.
“What’s that?” Kevin asked, sniffing the air. “Smells good.”
“Oh, that’s the concession area. Why don’t you go bob for apples and see if you can win a prize?”
He looked at her, one eye shut. “I don’t think so. Where do you need to be again?”
“Room 804. That’s the dumbest thing, we don’t have eight floors or eight hundred plus classrooms. There it is,” she told him, dragging him into the room.
A line of antsy kids was already there. Leah looked at her, gratitude in her eyes. “Thank goodness you’re here! I didn’t know how much longer I could deal with them by myself.”
“Where’s Elbert?” Maggie asked.
“Don’t call me that,” a voice from behind the partition said.
The children all went quiet at that. Maggie knew she shouldn’t, but couldn’t resist.
“That’s a big shark back there. He doesn’t think any of you can catch him. I know he’s wrong. He said if someone does catch him, they get the biggest prize of the evening. Who’s going to catch him?”
All the little hands went into the air, waving in excitement. Leah mouthed “I hate you” at Maggie as she helped the first child in line cast his string over the wall. Kevin, standing in the doorway, baseball cap pulled low on his face, laughed as she had to jump to get the line over.
“Oh, that’s funny, huh? You do it, then,” she dared him.
Kevin ambled over, waiting for the next fisher to cast. As he was helping, Maggie and Leah stepped back, watching. The little girl reeled in a grab bag. She tore into it, spreading the loot on a desk. Discarding the useless items: pencils, erasers, markers, anything school related, she squealed in excitement at finding a pin with a picture of the Backstreet Boys in the bag. All the little girls crowded around, jealous of her new treasure.
“Oh, let me see,” Maggie said, excited for the little girl.
Dammit, Kevin thought. Don’t give her that, he mentally willed to the child.
“Miss Martin?”
Maggie looked up just as she was about to take the button. Her warm smile faded to a fake one as she saw her boss and Mrs. Watkins at the door. She shrugged in answer to Leah’s inquisitive look.
“Yes?”
“Can we see you out here for a minute?”
Maggie stepped into the hall, wondering if she could be pink-slipped in the middle of a school fundraising event.
“I guess you didn’t get the memo yesterday,” her principal began, looking at the clipboard. “We had enough volunteers this year. Your help isn’t needed at this booth.”
“I always work this booth,” Maggie said calmly.
“Yes, but Maggie,” Mrs. Watkins told her, “this year, I’m going to work it. As co-director of the festival, I noticed that the prizes disbursed and the money taken in were grossly in contrast. More prizes were given than what should have been.”
“I didn’t take the money.”
“No, but perhaps you gave out extra prizes. We all know what a soft spot you have for hard-luck students. Why don’t you go and enjoy the festival as a participant this year?”
“Why don’t you,” Maggie began, then backed off. Now was not the time or the place.
Going back into the room, she told her best friend what had happened. Leah threw looks of daggers at her new assistant.
“Don’t worry, Mags. I’ll make sure she never wants to work our booth again,” Lean assured her, nodding her head in affirmation.
Kevin was laughing and carrying on with the kids and the “shark” when Maggie came up to him. “My time is up here,” she told him, hooking her purse around her shoulder. “We can go and look around now, if you want.”
“But what about fishing? I’m just now getting good at it.”
Maggie shook her head slowly, her lips tight together. Kevin looked across the room, seeing Leah with Mrs. Watkins.
“Oh. I see. Well, good luck. I hope you catch the big shark!” He called to the kids in line, banging on the partition at Bobby who responded by shaking the divider and tossing blue ribbon in the air.
“What was that about?” Kevin asked once they were in the hall. He held her hand, waiting for to answer.
“Honestly? I have no idea. I’m hungry. Come on, let’s get something to eat.”
***************
They were back at Maggie’s house by a respectable 8:30 p.m. The chandelier lights were off, replaced by the soft glow of a table lamp. The night air had turned chilly and Maggie couldn’t get her heating unit to kick on. She hit and kicked at it for a few minutes, then gave up, bringing one of her grandmother’s handmade quilts into the living room. She sat on the couch with Kevin, sharing the cover with him. He wrapped the quilt around them both, encircling her in his arms.
Without saying a word, he leaned in and softly kissed her lips. She responded by returning his kiss and tentatively brushing her tongue against his lips. She didn’t pull back as he reciprocated, pulling her close.
“Mmm,” Maggie said as Kevin slowly eased away.
“What’s that about?” He asked, softly brushing his lips against her forehead, inhaling the scent of her hair.
“You,” she answered, slightly smacking her lips, “taste like cotton candy and caramel apples.”
“I can’t wait to find out what you taste like,” he growled suggestively in her ear.
“You’re incorrigible,” she said, chills running over her body at the sound of his voice.
“Big words, I like that.”
His mouth was making its way down her neck. She shivered as he lightly flicked his tongue across the indentation behind her earlobe. Wrapping his hands in her hair, he breathed on her neck.
“Are you cold?”
“No,” she murmured, feeling his hands make their way down her sides.
“Really?” He sat back from her, hands now across her breasts, thumbs rubbing across her nipples. “I thought you must be. I can feel your…”
She kissed him, stopping his thought in mid-sentence. Breaking their contact, she stood up. Kevin looked up at Maggie, his eyes clouded with desire. Taking his hand, she wordlessly led him down the hall to her bedroom. Her small lamp on the nightstand illuminated the room just enough. He reached a hand to her, tracing the outline of her face. Slowly, he began to undress her.
Maggie knew she should feel some sort of embarrassment, but there was none. Taking his time, Kevin removed her sweater, covering her bare arms in kisses. He undid her bra, tossing it to the side. Every time a new piece of skin was exposed, he pressed his lips there. Taking her breasts in his hands, he resumed his earlier activities of rubbing his thumbs softly against the nipples. Feeling them grow erect beneath his touch, he let go only to remove his own shirt. Sitting on the bed, he pulled her into his lap, pressing her to him, feeling her bare breasts against his chest. He sighed heavily.
“Do you know how long I’ve waited to feel that?” He asked, almost breathless.
Without waiting for an answer, he placed her on the bed, quickly lying on top of her. He slid down, leaving a trail of kisses down her cleavage. Stopping at her belly, he kissed her all over as his hand worked its way up her leg. Sitting up, he quickly removed her boots and proceeded to pull her skirt and underwear off. She lifted her hips, helping the process. Kevin stood up, his arousal very evident. Eyeing her hungrily, he removed the rest of his clothes, tossing them across the room.
He got back on the bed, crawling like a panther stalking its prey. Lying down beside Maggie, he pulled her close, pressing his body against hers. She could feel the heat radiating from him as they looked into each other’s eyes. Kevin kissed the junction of her shoulder and neck, nipping slightly at it. Unconsciously, she began running her nails up and down his back. That was the last thing he could handle. Rolling her onto her back, he got on top of her. Running one of his exquisite hands down her thigh, he wrapped first one leg, then the other, around him. Never once taking his eyes off of her, he slowly eased his engorged erection into her awaiting silken enclosure.
Maggie gasped as she felt him enter her. Her eyes grew wide in surprise, then lowered in desire. He kissed her lips, his tongue thrusting slowly, mimicking elsewhere.
“Are you all right?” He whispered, taking her earlobe in his mouth.
Having only enough sense about her to nod, she kissed his shoulder, her hands running across his beautiful back. Moaning softly, she arched unconsciously against him. He could feel her beginning to tremble against him. Closing his eyes, he silently wished for it to wait, wanting this moment to last a bit longer. As she tightened her legs around him, he knew. Rocking and sliding against her, he made sure she would first. Her fingers started to clinch involuntarily against him, her nails slightly digging into his back.
“Kevin, I…” she began as the first wave started coursing through her body.
He held her tight he continued thrusting into her, feeling her orgasm pulse through her body and across him. Holding back as long as he could, when she moaned sweetly in his ear, he too found his release.
Later, holding her in his arms, he brushed an errant hair away from her face. That was the same twig that was always escaping from its place. He smiled, looking down at her.
Maggie sensed rather than saw him smile. She opened her eyes to find him gazing at her. He leaned his head to hers, capturing her lips again. Stretching languorously in the bed, she grinned shyly at him.
“I, um,” she began.
“I know,” he told her, putting a finger over her lips. “I kind of figured that out a while ago. Why did you say you had?”
“I don’t know. Well, I do know, but it was just embarrassing.”
“How? Maggie, you are so special. Do you know you are safe with me? I mean it, I will never hurt you or allow you to be hurt.”
“I know that. How did you know? You’re not going to say you could tell by the way I walked, are you?”
“Huh? Oh, no. There was just this quality about you. That and the fact that your friend tracked me down and threatened me if I did anything to damage your honor. Why didn’t you tell me what he was about to do to you when the police got there?”
Maggie shivered, causing Kevin to pull her closer.
“It was just stupid on my part as well as his. I thought the first time he shoved me it was an accident. I don’t mean an accident, but, oh, I don’t know. That night, everything happened so fast. I knew better than to go there when he had some of his friends over. He told me I was dressed provocatively. Well, he couldn’t even say that word, let alone know what it meant. But that was the general idea. He said he was going to show me what men thought I wanted when I dressed like that.”
“Oh, no, Maggie. It’s not like that at all. You know that, don’t you?”
“Yeah, I know that. I’m so glad Leah called my parents when she did.”
Kevin carefully wiped a tear away as it fell from her eye. He rubbed his thumb gently over her almost invisible scar. “Me, too. She really thinks of you as a sister.”
“I know. The best friends in the world are those you make when you’re five years old.”
“Maybe,” he said, thinking about his own best friends, realizing it was almost time to resume his “other” life.
“Maggie, I need to tell you something.”
Deep, even breathing was his response. Gently kissing her forehead, he whispered, “Sweetheart, do you know what you’ve gotten us into?”