Page 24 of Fourth Wall

“Sorry, firecracker. You’ll have to lock the door if you're taking a shit.” He ran his hand through his stubble.

“That is not what I’m worried about. At least the toilet has a locking door. What if I’m in the shower, and you decide to walk in?”

“I would stand there and watch.” He chortled as I playfully hit his elbow.

“Perv,” I retorted. “What if you are in the shower and like, are…” I look down at his pants as if somehow that would complete my sentence.

“I’m doing what, firecracker?” The joyful look on his face told me everything I needed to know. He would make me say it, and he found enjoyment in making me say it.

“Like…touching yourself or something?” He closed the gap between us and looked down at my mouth.

“You worried about walking in to see me masturbating, firecracker?” God, he must have put the fucking heat on because I was on fire right now.

“I obviously don’t need to see your dick…Christian.” I accentuated his name to drive my point home.

“Obviously.” He laughed humorously and walked out of the room and down the stairs when I realized the doorbell had rung.

“Are we going to set some ground rules for the bathroom situation?” I cried behind him as I tried to keep up with his pace.

“Stop obsessing, Maeve. We are both adults. Plus, like you said, you don’t need to see my dick. I’m sure you’ll be careful about when you come in.” He gave me a quick wink before opening the door.

Tatum, Gianna, Elio, Julian, and my parents stood there. A gaggle of oohs and aahs as they all walked through the door. I looked behind them and realized there was a moving truck in the driveway too, and a few movers were already bringing boxes of clothes and toys in.

“What the—?” I looked at Christian, who only shrugged and walked back with Julian to show him some of the updates he had done.

“I knew he had bought this house and was redoing it, but girl, this is gooood.” Tatum gave me a quick hug before bounding up the stairs where my mom had just gone.

“Did you know about this, Dad?” I asked my father, whose jaw was probably as low as mine was when I first walked in.

“No idea. I was just talking to him this morning, and then movers came when you guys left and started to pack your stuff up.”

“Pat!” My mother started to shrill from the top of the stairs, where Tatum ran out and followed the same level of excitement. “He made rooms for the girls! You need to see this!” My dad was still not 100 percent convinced as he walked slowly up the stairs.

I just stood in the entryway of my new house, where a flurry of movers rushed around me, giggles and chatter came from my friends upstairs, and the guys talked in hushed tones past the kitchen. My kitchen.

The world around me was in chaos, but all I could do was focus on the one person who made this all possible in such a short time. He stood there with a cracked La Croix in his hand and listened to what Elio said. His face was the fierce, stoic, business-only vibe he usually portrayed to everyone else—the quiet, brooding one in the corner who was always just kind of there but never participated. I had the ability to truly see who he was, though. It was me that he let his guard down with, only me.

When he sensed I just stood there and stared at him, he turned his head slowly to lock eyes with mine. His deep blue eyes searched for something I couldn’t pinpoint, and just for me, he cracked that smile that felt like someone wrapped you in a warm blanket on a cold day.

Something inexplicable shifted inside me as if a veil had been lifted from my consciousness. The familiar chorus of self-doubt and belittlement that Tyler's words had planted within me suddenly faded into insignificance. In its place blossomed an overwhelming sense of confidence and resilience, transforming me into a person I had never anticipated. Someone independent and strong. What I did next was grossly and highly unexpected for me.

I walked over to where Christian stood in a circle with Elio and Julian. His eyes hadn’t left me, but the closer I got to him, the more surprise etched into his features.

“Excuse me,” I said to Julian and Elio before I grabbed Christian’s hand and took him behind the kitchen where he had shown me his office was.

“What are you—?” I practically shoved him into the room and slammed the door shut behind me.

“Have you lost your mind? I was just talking to—” I interrupted him by pushing his back up against the wooden desk.

“Maeve?” The way he continued to use my first name instead of the nickname he usually had for me unnerved me, but I was on a mission. I was filled with unexplained emotion, and something inside me was driving me. My usually swirling thoughts were so incredibly quiet, and I was acting on pure instinct.

I rubbed the outside of his arms, and he looked down at what I was doing. I had perched myself so I was in the middle of his thighs, and I felt them tighten around my waist, holding me there a little bit tighter.

My instincts kept driving me forward, though. No thoughts. No thinking. No. There was none of that. There was just doing. Right now, I was doing the one thing I had so badly wanted to do since we stepped into this house.

I ran my hands around his thick biceps and gave a very small squeeze right before moving them up toward his shoulders and then down his chest, where I could feel him contract underneath his plain black T-shirt. The cotton was thin enough that I could feel his pecs tighten as I ran my fingers down to his abs.

I leaned my head forward and could feel his heart beating from where I stood. It raced in anticipation. I looked up from my thick lashes and used one hand to lift his chin so his eyes lockedwith my own. I grazed his jawline with the same finger and could feel his breath hitch.

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