Ache With Me

The curtains surrounded my bed snapped open and I stifled a shriek. “Jesus Christ Max!” I screeched, covering myself instinctively.

“Sorry, just passing through.” He said as he sauntered past me to get his cell phone. I had to wait as he picked it up, fiddled with it for a moment, and then took his own sweet time walking out. True, Max had seen me in various stages of undress, but this was different. In those times I was too hot and bothered to care about the fact that I had a little boy’s body. As much as he said he loved my body, I couldn’t quite shake the insecurities I’d carried with me since high school.

I finished picking my jewelry out for the evening and went to put on my dress, only to find that the zipper was stuck. I held the dress to my non-existent chest and headed to the bathroom. Max was fussing with his hair; we had decided to get ready for my office Christmas party together, since I was always late when he came to pick me up.

“Can you help me?” I asked, turning to present the zipper to him. He struggled with the zipper for a moment but managed to yank it all the way up.

“There you go.” He said, pressing a kiss to my exposed shoulder blade. He was already mostly dressed. I swear, he was the only man who could pull off a powder blue suit and not look like an ultimate douche bag.

“Thanks babe. I’ll be done in a minute.” I had already curled my hair and destroyed a layer of the atmosphere with hairspray. All I had to do was get my jacket and bag. I paused in front of my bedroom mirror, examining my reflection. This dress managed to create the illusion that I had a chest and hips, something I was very proud of. I met Max out in the living room just as he was pulling on his jacket. He looked both dapper and dangerous, a wonderful combination in my opinion.

“I’m going to have to beat men off of you with a stick.” Max said, opening his arms for me. I gave him a quick peck on the lips, not wanting to stain him with my lipstick too much.

“Your hair looks like you got fucked nine ways to Sunday.” I ran my fingers through his hair, messing it up even more.

“Well, we could always make it true.” He grinned down at me. I just rolled my eyes.

“Come on, I promised Zina I’d be there early.” Zina’s boyfriend Harry was out of town so she didn’t have a date. She’d asked me to come and hang out with her so she didn’t have to be alone.

“Then lead the way.” He helped me into my jacket and took my hand as we walked to the elevator. We’d decided to take a cab so we didn’t have to worry about having a drink at the party. Every year the newspaper threw a huge Christmas party for the whole staff at this beautiful hall downtown. It was usually a pretty great time and I was glad to be sharing it with Max this year. In the past few years I’d brought Eden but now I had a real date and she’d just gotten a full time job at the radio station so she was at their Christmas party.

We pulled up at the hall, following the crowd of people making their way into the party. The newspaper staff was huge, plus all their dates, and the owner and the board were all here. Early as we were, the hall was filling up quickly. I spotted Zina’s bright red bird’s nest and made my way over to her.

“Oh thank God.” She said, clinging to my free hand. “Thank you so much for sticking with me.”

“No worries boss lady.” I gave her a quick hug.

“Sorry for stealing your girlfriend.” Zina, who was only slightly taller than me, looked up at Max.

“On the contrary, I get to spend my time in the company of two beautiful women.” Max gave her a cheeky grin, resting his hand on the small of my back. “My lily of the valley and a little red headed elf. Couldn’t ask for better companions. Now, would you ladies like something to drink?” We told him what we wanted and he headed off into the crowd.

“If you weren’t already tapping that, I so would be.” Zina sighed. I just laughed.

“He’s wonderful. Thanks for assigning me to that interview.” If it hadn’t been for that article, I never would have met Max. Before she could say anything else, Max was returning with two glasses of champagne. One of them was mixed with orange juice; I couldn’t hide my smile when I realized Max remembered I didn’t like straight champagne. I took a sip of the Mimosa and then offered the glass to him. We had a habit of sharing drinks.

Zina, Max, and I hung out for most of the party. Some of the other editors came to talk to her, as well as the people in my department. It was a fun party, as always. We never did a sit down dinner, so waiters were constantly spinning by offering us hors d'oeuvres. About halfway through the night, Max nudged me and told me he was going out for a smoke break. Zina was in the middle of an animated discussion with Brian, so she just waved us off and kept talking.

We found a small balcony for Max to smoke on. It was blessedly quiet, if a bit chilly. Max lit up and smoked, careful to blow the smoke away from me. He knew I didn’t like it when he smoked and that I was worried about his health, but he was having trouble kicking the habit. He’d definitely cut back since we started dating, which was good enough for the moment.

“Have I mentioned how gorgeous you look tonight?” He asked, exhaling a long plume of smoke.

“Maybe.” I smiled. “Thank you.” He blew me a kiss and I pretended to catch it, clutching it to my chest. He stubbed out his cigarette and tossed it into the ashtray, before advancing towards me. My heart rate grew erratic when I saw the look in his eyes. That was usually the look he gave me before he started kissing me hard enough to make my head spin off.

Just as I suspected, he pinned me between his body and the wall, kissing me hungrily. I wound my fingers into his hair, tugging it as he started nipping and kissing his way down my neck. He pushed the velvet blazer off my shoulders, exposing my skin to him. He found the spot that made me moan and wiggle when he kissed it, then began sucking on it hard enough to bruise. He left several more love bites on my shoulders, and just when I thought my legs were going to give out, he pressed a kiss to the hollow of my throat and pulled my jacket back up to cover all the marks.

“You’re going to be the death of me.” I murmured, kissing him gently.

“I know.” He grinned. “Now let’s get you back inside, Zina’s probably lonely.” She was talking to a gray haired woman I vaguely recognized from the office. I wasn’t sure what department she was from though.

The night progressed happily. Unfortunately, Max and Zina kept handing me champagne and by the time we got home, I was so unsteady in my heels that I almost tripped in the lobby of my apartment building. Max, who was laughing so hard he could barely stand up straight, lifted me into his arms and carried me to the elevator and into my loft. When I took my blazer off, he stopped me from moving to run his fingers over my bruised flesh.

“I love seeing my mark on you.” He said, kissing each one. Then he helped me unzip my dress and got me into some warm pajamas. He’d brought his own so he didn’t have to sleep with “everything flopping about willy-nilly” and then we fell into bed, giggling and talking until we both fell asleep.