I stared at the suitcase on my bed and counted the items of clothing again.

T-shirt's, shorts, boxer shorts, socks. It was all there. I'd leave the toiletries for the morning.

My phone sat beside the suitcase, speaker phone on as I zipped up the bag.

"You sure that you packed all of it Bernie?"

Her loud and exasperated sigh came down the phone line. "Sí. I've been stealing her clothes for the last two weeks and stashing them in a bag underneath my bed. I think she's starting to notice though."

"I suppose that doesn't matter since we'll be leaving in the morning," I shoved my suitcase under the bed and picked up my phone. "And Elias said he'll drop it off on his way to Kiara's this afternoon? I have to meet her at the parlour at four so it'll have to be before then."

"Yes. Yes. Yes," she sounded as if she was one finger snap away from diva. "It's all covered. She has no idea. Dad is dropping off the suitcase and her passport. I'm single and no one is arranging surprise vacations to Spain for me."

I laughed and wandered out into the living room. "You're thirteen, Bernie."

"Irrelevant."

"Hey, I bought you that cloth mannequin for your birthday. That was nice, wasn't it?"

"Yeah, it was," she said and her excitement picked up. "Please attempt to get a video of Amalia finding out that she's going back to Barcelona. She's going to be so excited."

"Of cour—"

The door slammed shut. "What up motherfucker?!"

"Bernie, I have to go. Thanks for your help."

I hung up the phone and Lucas walked around the corner in a hoodie, a backwards cap and a pair of docs.

His hands were in his jean pockets and I flicked the kettle on.

I hadn't been expecting him but Lucas dropped in unannounced often enough that I wasn't surprised.

He threw his arms open. "You didn't come for Halloween cock breath. What the hell?"

"Oh. The dorm party thing, right? Sorry about that. Slipped my mind."

He walked into the kitchen and scoffed. "You didn't get my thirty three messages? Got a new girl and you dropped me. Slack bitch."

I stirred coffee and sugar into the mug and rolled my eyes. "I ignored those because you ignored mine. The one where I told you that Amalia's little sister was having a birthday dinner. It was a Day of the Dead theme. The girls wore super extravagant make up. It was cool."

"Yeah I got that text," Lucas hoisted himself up onto the countertop and chugged a bottled smoothie. "I chose to ignore it. You chose a thirteenth birthday party over Halloween with your brother. That's disappointing."

"Yeah," I felt sort of bad. But I had told him I wouldn't be able to come to Texas for Halloween weekend. And I'd seen his Instagram story. He had a good time. "It looked like a good time though. Mills made a good Ariel."

"What about my Prince Eric costume?"

"Yeah I wasn't sure about that black tousled wig, dude."

He smacked my arm as I lifted the mug, coffee spilled over the edges and I shot him a warning look.

"So Bernie," he pointed a finger me as he lifted the smoothie. "She's the account on Instagram, right? The one that occasionally leaves me a super hateful comment in Spanish. I mean, it's been a while. But still..."

I laughed, almost choking on my coffee. "I don't know about that. But I wouldn't be surprised."

"Hmm," he furrowed his brows, throat bopping as he drank.

"So what are you doing here anyway?"

"I dunno," he shrugged, his heels kicked at the cupboard beneath him. "No game this weekend. Thought I'd see what you're up to. Milly is here as well. She's down the road at a candy store or something. I dunno, she's been talking about it for a while."

"You remember when I said I was taking Amalia to Spain for her birthday, right?"

"Yeah, tomorrow?"

"Mhmm. I'm going to get her from work soon. She's going to spend the night so we can head off tomorrow."

"Oh," he jumped down from the countertop and adjusted his cap. "Well, what are you guys doing tonight? Should the four of us go out and do something?"

"Uh—"

"Lucas? Max?" Milly's call was followed by her slipping around the corner. Her red hair was down, long, hidden beneath a beanie. She smiled when she found us in the kitchen. She was holding a red and white paper bag. "I have enough lollies to feed the entire city. How's it going, Max?"

She put the bag down and unzipped her fitted leather jacket.

"I'm good. How are you?"

"Swell thanks mate. Luc, I got you some of those sour worms that you're obsessed with."

He grinned and wandered over to her side. "Thank you. I think we all know that you're the tastiest sour worm I know though."

She nudged him with her elbow and stared up at him with a scowl. "See," he kissed her. "Sour."

She gave him a small amused smile and rolled her eyes. "So, what are we doing tonight?"

"Double date?" Lucas asked.

It was stupid to feel a pang of insecurity but I couldn't help it. What if Amalia spent the night around Lucas and those old feelings stirred again?

What if he was the sort of person that she wanted? She'd just been hurt in the past? Girls had been choosing Lucas and ignoring me since we were pre teens.

And it never bothered me in the past. But this was different.

I looked at Lucas and Mills wrapped around each other. Their love for each other was obvious and I knew how Amalia felt.

She'd made it clear but tension turned my stomach and despite telling myself it didn't matter, it was fine and there were no exisiting feelings, my stomach still felt at unease.

I hated it.

"Yeah we could go out for dinner or something," I said and heard the front door being knocked on. "Come in! Dinner or a movie?"

"Ooh we should go to the museum of sex!" Milly suggested with excitement.

"No—"

"Hola," Elias appeared and our small group standing beside the kitchen put a pause to the conversation and looked at him, a big suitcase in tow. "As promised, one bag for my Amalia."

His stare became a little less friendly than usual and he looked at Lucas with discontent.

My brother, being undeterred at the hostile attitude, just grinned and gave him a small wave. "How's it going Mr D. It's been a while."

Elias turned his scowl into a smile. An overly polite smile that came across as forced more than genuine. "Eres un maldito descarado."

Lucas' grin faltered and for a moment I thought he knew what Elias said.

But then he shrugged, laughed and pointed at Elias as if they were exchanging pleasantries.

"Max," Elias gave me on the slap on the shoulder and I walked him to the door. "You will take care of her on this vacation, Sí?"

"With my life, sir," I promised him. "The offer is still there if you'd like to join us?"

He opened the door and shook his head with a light laugh. "No this will be a nice romantic vacation. I will return with her next time. Just make sure that she enjoys herself."

"Of course."

When I went and met Amalia at work, I left Milly and Lucas at the apartment. I wanted to warn her that my brother and his girlfriend were going to be with us for the evening.

Regardless of the history, those two needed a warning. They were insufferable at the best of times.

The parlour door jingled and a wall of warm air hit me as I stepped in out of the cold.

Jimmy was behind the desk, counting up the til for this evening.

It would have been weird to see him doing much else at this point. It was his every day afternoon chore which was when I came in most of the time.

"How's it going mate?" He nodded his blonde head but continued counting cash. "Mal. Max is here."

"Thanks, Jimmy."

The sound of her steps were quick and she appeared from behind the curtain with an infectious smile on her lips.

The way she made me feel whenever I saw her, was far more overwhelming than I could have prepared for.

Her hair was in a braid, wisps fell and framed her face. Her fitted hoodie was cropped and her jeans stuck to her like a second skin.

"Hey," she grinned and opened her arms, meeting my embrace. I kissed her before she tucked herself into my chest. "You look so good mi amado."

She'd started calling me that a few weeks ago and had never elaborated on its meaning.

So I'd searched it and found it to mean my life or my beloved. Whenever she used it, I felt as if I was on top of the world. My chin rested on her head and I smiled.

From behind the curtain, a woman walked out. I would have assumed she was the same age as us.

She had long blonde hair. She was tall too, an athletic build. She was almost the same size as me. Amalia stepped back and turned around to face her.

"Oh Max, this is Bec," she introduced us and Bec paused, her gaze moving over me as it lit up with excitement. "Bec this is my boyfriend Max."

"You never said you were dating a Lahey?!" Bec almost squealed but she didn't have a high pitched voice. Which was a blessing. "You said Max. Not this Max!"

"Bec and I went to school in Philadelphia together," Amalia explained, tucking herself into my side. "She's a huge fan of football. All sports really. Bec, don't you use Instagram? There are a ton of photos of Max and I on there."

Bec, who was still watching me, shook her head. "No I don't use Instagram. I should though. Wow. This is fantastic. I'm a huge fan of your Dad."

I shook her hand and winced. Strong hold. "Ah," I said. "Well Lucas is the one continuing tradition with the football thing. He might have been the favourable twin to meet."

"Oh for sure," she agreed and I felt Amalia tense beside me. "But this is still so amazing. I really can't believe you're dating a Lahey, Amalia."

"Well his name is Max," Amalia said. She hid the strain in her voice with a drawn out laugh but I could hear her frustration. "He's a lot more than his last name. I suppose we should get going?"

Bec stood beside the desk where Jimmy was tapping on his keyboard, uninterested in our conversation. She pulled a debit card from her pocket.  "I better pay for this fresh ink. You did so well Amalia. It's perfect."

"I was sorry to hear about your sister ending up in rehab," Bec said as she moved towards the door. "Drugs are awful. Tear families apart. No good."

"Bec—" Amalia basically growled at her.

"Please don't feed into the gossip columns," I was polite. As hard as it was not to tell her to shut the fuck up, I remained composed. "Not one of those stories is true."

Her brows furrowed and it was obvious that she was going to ask what the truth was.

"I'll call you Bec," Amalia waved. "Have a nice weekend."

After she was gone, Amalia dragged me into the sterile back room and stood in front of me with her head tipped back. "I am so sorry. Bec is. . . not always clued on. She's just a bla bla bla stick her foot in it sort of person. I hope she didn't upset you?"

I held her chin and smiled. The fluorescent lights reflected in her deep dark gaze. Her cheeks and nose were almost glowing. "I'm fine. I promise," I kissed her.

It was soft. Gentle. Barely there but it made me spin.

We heard Jimmy from the front of the parlour. "I'm off. Have a sick weekend mates. Catcha next week."

I was relieved he hadn't said anything about having a good vacation.

I'd had to arrange Amalia's time off with him in secret. He'd been all for it and personally arranged all of her appointments that needed to be rescheduled.

We heard the bell and then the door close.

"Before I forget," I winced and slid my hands into my pockets. If I was holding her, my brain wasn't working. "Lucas and Milly are at my apartment at the moment. I wasn't expecting them but they want the four of us to hang out. Do something. I don't know. We don't have to."

"Why wouldn't we?" She started wandering around the room, closing drawers, shutting cabinets. I sat down on the tattoo chair and crossed my legs at the ankles. "There's no bad blood between us. We can hang out. I'd be happy to."

"Okay."

She turned around and fixed me with a knowing smile.

I watched her walk towards me and then she slung a leg over my lap and straddled me in the chair.

My hands immediately rested behind her butt.

"I know you get anxious, Max. You overthink and worry. But please don't worry about your brother and I being around each other again," her hands cupped either side of my neck. Her thumbs circled my cheeks. "I am so— it's— how I feel about you is real. It's you. No one else."

She knew me better than anyone. How she could determine what was going on just at the sound of my voice, it made me feel safe.

I trusted her. More than anything. And she knew that. But the fact that she understood how anxious I could get and was patient about it, that was indescribable.

I wrapped a hand in her hair, pulled her in and kissed her as I tugged on her strands and messed with her braid.

She didn't complain. She pressed herself against me and shifted her hips forward. The friction felt so good that I groaned into her mouth and lifted my hips.

(A/N. Since y'all complained so much about no details last chapter. Lmao. Now ssh and don't say I never do anything for you. Y'all just got Momma Tay for a sec.)

The kiss picked up pace. Hands started moving faster. Her hips rolled and I lifted mine so she could feel what she did to me in such a short amount of time.

I grabbed a fistful of her hair and pulled her head back so I could kiss her throat. Her moan was loud and she held on to my shoulders as I sat forward and sucked on her neck, under her ear and down to her chest.

Her hoodie was getting in the way, so I lifted it and pulled it over her head to find she was wearing a tank top underneath it and no bra.

"Baby, why," I groaned and pushed her hips down again. Her breasts were so damn perfect. The perfect handful. I ripped her top down and palmed them.

She moaned and her head rolled as she pushed our mouths together again.

I flicked her nipples with my thumbs and felt her becoming restless and agitated in her movements.

She leaned back and started pushing my coat off my shoulders. So I helped her and within a few moments we were down to almost nothing.

She stood up and peeled off her jeans and I watched, heart pounding, everything else pounding.

Before she sat down again, I let myself out of my jeans but left them on. "You okay baby?" I asked as I reached for her hand, breathless. She nodded and I spun her around, sitting her down backwards.

"I wanna watch you ride me backwards baby," I murmured, nibbling on her ear as she tilted her head to the side.

"Mhmm," she moaned. I lifted her hips and lowered her onto me. Her gasp was breathless as I filled her.

She felt so good. So tight. I wrapped her braid around my fist and she started slamming her hips back and forth. I wasn't prepared for it to feel so fucking good.

"Fuck," I hissed, one hand grabbing her waist as I thrust upwards. "That's it baby. You feel so good."

She whimpered as I assisted her speed and pushed her back and forth.

Her body tensed and she gripped the arm rests beside her, knuckles turning white as I made her go so fast that she couldn't even moan.

It was breathless guttural panting and I tipped my head back in the seat, holding off a bust for as long as possible.

This position was so damn dangerous. It was too good. I couldn't last but I tried, waiting until she'd had her turn.

"Touch yourself baby." I told her.

I needed her to finish first.

I watched her hand disappear in front of her and her little whimpers picked up. I wanted to watch her giving herself that pleasure but I couldn't see her.

So I carried on, pushing her back and forth. Pumping up and down and watching her struggle to keep upright until she let out a loud moan and her shoulders sagged.

I let go as well, sitting forward and wrapping my arms around her front so that I could rest my chin on her shoulder.

Our breathless panting was frantic but I could hear her smile when she said, "you are such a man."

I let out a ragged laugh and kissed her shoulder blade. We were both a little damp but I hadn't slipped out of her yet.

Every time she giggled or moved in the slightest, I felt it and it was sensitive as hell.

There were words on the tip of my tongue. I wanted to let them out. They were pushing and needing to tell her that I loved her was getting harder and harder to hold off.