Page 78 of Ice Block

She drops her forehead to mine, cradling my cheeks in her hands. “Thank you. Thank you for trying. Thank you for arranging all of this. I don’t know how I can ever repay you.”

“There is nothing to repay. You are mine. Mylisichka. I will do anything for you.”

“I’m yours, huh? Don’t you know I’m my own badass, independent woman, Wolfie? You don’t own me.”

“Is that right?” I say, grinding my hard cock up into her. “You sure you don’t want to be owned by this?”

She places gentle kisses on my face. “I suppose,”kiss, “just this once,”kiss, “I could let you own me. Kinda.”

BANG! BANG! BANG!

A voice starts yelling from the other side of the locked door. “Are you guys gonna be smashing in there? If so, I’m gonna take off.”

Fucking Bougie.

My Magdalina breaks out into another fit of laughter, falling against me, before finally rolling to the side, grabbing her stomach unable to control herself.

“You think this is funny?” I say half-smiling as I glare at her.

“I forgot he was out there. It’ssofunny.”

I stand up, extending my hand to pull her up as well.

“We’ll have time for this later,lisichka. Let’s go let our friends know everything went well. They are waiting at Walt’s for us.”

She raises her brows at me, still trying to calm her laughter. “Wow…that’s very confident of you all to think I would just take you back like this. What if I said no?”

“You can’t resist me, Maggie fucking James.”

“Guess you’ve got me figured out, Wolfie. Come on. Let’s go tell them we’rekindatogether.”

53

maggie

Today’s the day. Even though I’ve been dreaming about this for a long time, I never actually thought the day would come. Thoughts have plagued me for a while now of what I’d wear and planning out exactly what I’ll say. I swallow hard, forcing all the nervous thoughts down. Because at the end of it all, one thought always remains at the forefront of my mind.

Fuck it.

“Hey Maggie,” Mike says as I walk in, plopping down in the chair across from his desk. “What’s up?”

“Hey. I’m sorry to do this, but I’m turning in my notice. I would say two weeks, and I’m happy to do that, but I’m starting my own company, so I know that makes me direct competition now, and I’m sure you’d rather me leave today,” I spit out the words in one breath, trying to smother my gasp for air afterward.

His mouth gapes open. “Wow, Happy Friday to you too. What took you so long? Were you planning out that speech?”

I can’t help but laugh. Mike is a really good guy, and I’ve enjoyed working with him all these years. He’s been a great mentorand boss, but he’s always known I’ve been eager to spread my wings and fly off like the fucking seagulls do in the winter.

“Maybe a little. Honestly, I kind of pictured it more like me getting asked to leave because I told Bill off, and I hadthatspeech planned out. Resigning like this is as much of a surprise to me as it is to you.”

“I can’t say you’re alone in wanting to stick it to Bill.” He chuckles, tapping my letter on his desk. “I’m sad to see you go, but congrats, Maggie. I know you’ve wanted to branch out on your own for a long time. I’m happy for you, and I know you’ll kill it. Which is why, as you mentioned, I do have to ask you pack your desk and leave.” He smiles as he extends his hand across the desk to shake mine.

“I figured as much. It’s been great working with you, Mike. I’ll pack up my desk and be out soon. Seriously, thanks for everything, all your mentorship and trust in my campaigns. Maybe we’ll find a time to work together in the future.”

“I’d like that,” he says as I stand to head out of his office. Walking through the cubicle farm back to my desk, I think back on the last ten years here. No more Chest Bush and his ridiculous requests, like when he would walk right past the copy machine to ask me to make himonecopy of one piece of paper.How hard is it to push a fucking green button?No more Emo Guy bringing in bagels in the morning or bolting to the kitchen when he arrives to snag the blueberry one. I grip the hem of my blouse, realizing this also means no more guaranteed paycheck or benefits either. But I use the techniques Vladi uses, taking deep breaths, counting five things I can see, finding four things I can touch…it’s become our new favorite game. For some crazy reason, finding four things on my body to touch and one to taste always calms him down.Who knew therapy would be so useful in the bedroom?

The last few months, we’ve started to figure things out and lifehas been nothing short of amazing. We’ve been swapping back and forth between our places when he’s home, and we’ve talked about me moving into his house when my lease is up. He still gives me endless shit for my coffee order, but dammit if he doesn’t stop and grab me one every time he passes by on his way home from practice. That man is the biggest grump on the outside but seeing his overflowing heart on display day in and day out is like the sunrise coming up over the lake. Sometimes his pain rears its ugly head, but now we deal with it together. Even when his darkness hits, the goodness inside him is always lingering, ready to light up the morning sky.And fuck if this man doesn’t light up my sky.

The season is in full swing now, which means he’s on the roada lot. I initially thought I’d be sad with him being gone all the time. But honestly? It works great for us. When he’s traveling, I have more time to pour into all my side gigs, which will now be my full-time gigs, and it gives him time to focus on his games.

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