Chapter 25
Chapter Twenty-Five
M ax
"Hey, you're not sleeping, are you?" I whisper into the phone when Lila answers. It's one o'clock in the morning and I haven't been able to get her out of my mind.
"I was kind of asleep," she says.
I chuckle. "What do you mean you were kind of asleep?"
"Well, I was watching a TV show and I guess I must've fallen asleep."
"You were watching TV?" I ask. "I don't remember seeing a TV in your apartment."
"I was watching a show on my laptop, goofy."
"Oh, okay. What show?"
"It's called Death in Paradise . It's a British murder mystery. Have you ever seen it?" she asks.
"No," I say. "I don't really watch that much TV. So what are you up to?" I ask her as I lay in bed.
"Well, I basically just told you I was watching a show and falling asleep. What are you up to?"
"I am just in bed thinking about you."
"Oh, really?" she says. "Is that your way of telling me you want a booty call?"
"No. I would never expect a booty call from you, sweet pea."
"Uh huh…sure you wouldn't."
"I wish I would've been able to come over this evening. Thank you for the invite," I say, smiling into the phone.
"So then why didn't you come?" she asks.
"Because I was busy with a couple of things." For some reason, I don't want to tell her about Marie and the craziness that is my family. I mean, I don't want her feeling sorry for me. It’s a little early to drop on her the fact that my father is a serial cheater and that my eighteen-year-old sister is coming to live with me because she’s devastated that both her parents are cheating on each other. Definitely not something that Lila needs to be made aware of at this point in time, if ever. "So, are you wanting to get off the phone?" I ask, not really sure what to say.
"I know you didn't call and wake me up to ask me if I want to get off the phone. What's going on, Max?"
"Nothing. I was just here lying in bed thinking about last night and how much fun I had with you and how I hope we get to do it again soon."
"You mean the cock warming part or the smoothie part? And do not say you mean the spinning part because I'm never taking another spin class again in my life."
"Oh, darn it," I say, joking. "I was hoping you'd take a spin class with me again."
"No, you weren't," she giggles.
"No, I wasn't, but I'd love to take you out, maybe to dinner or something."
"Are you sure about that? We wouldn't want people in the office to see us together or something."
"Oh my gosh. You're never going to let me live that down, are you?"
"I'm just saying… you're the one who doesn't want anyone to know. I just wanted to protect you from talk in the office."
"I don't give a shit who knows. Which, by the way, Kingston and Remy already know."
"What? You told them?"
"No, but they guessed. They saw us walking in together late this morning."
"But how would they know that?”
"I never arrive late to work." I say. "Not once in all the years we’ve been together."
"Oh my gosh. So you were late because of me?"
"No, I was late because I was having a life for once, and hey, I'd do it all over again if you let me."
"So I want to ask you a question, Max."
"Okay, go ahead."
"Do you have a middle name?"
"What sort of question is that? Are you trying to steal my password or something?"
"Is your password your middle name?
"I shouldn't be telling you this, but, no."
"So then tell me. Do you have a middle name?"
"I do."
"And what is it?"
"It's Theodore."
"Oh my gosh, that is so cute. Max Theodore Spector."
"It's actually Maxwell Theodore Spector. What about you? Do you have one?"
"Yeah, it's Elizabeth."
"Lila Elizabeth Havisham. It suits you."
"Really? I think it makes me sound like I'm from the olden days."
"Yeah, it's an old-fashioned name, but you're far from an old-fashioned woman."
"Oh yeah? Why do you say that?"
"Because I don't know if an old-fashioned woman would have phone sex with me."
"Are you asking me what I think you're asking me?"
"I would never ask you such a thing."
"Good, because I'm not doing that with you right now," she says, giggling.
I feel disappointed. "But why not? You're supposed to be wooing me and getting to know me better."
"I think I know you pretty well already, Lila. My cock was inside of you all of last night. I think it could describe every inch of your vagina walls if it had to."
"Max!" she squeals.
"What? I'm just saying. It was very warm and loving. Thank you for keeping my cock safe."
"You're stupid. You know that?"
"I do," I laugh. "And I should let you go."
"Really? You woke me up for like a five-minute conversation?"
"Well, we can chat if you want."
"I'd love to chat. What do you want to chat about?"
"Let's chat about our favorite books."
"Okay, but I don't want you to fall asleep. I don't know that I read anything that you would find interesting."
"I don't mind falling asleep on the phone with you," she says softly. “I mean, if you fell asleep with your cock inside of me, I think we can fall asleep on the phone together."
"That sounds good to me," I say, and she starts telling me about her favorite book. I smile as I listen to her, my eyes closing. She has a beautiful, melodious voice, and I know that I'm falling for her. I also know that this is probably the very worst timing.
"There you are, Marie," I say as I pick my sister up from the airport. She's standing there with two big suitcases and looks just as innocent and beautiful as I remember. She runs into my arms and gives me a big hug.
"Oh my gosh, Max, I've missed you so much."
"I've missed you too," I say. "Is everything okay?" I look at her face. "You have to tell me what's going on, okay? You've had me very nervous and I'm sure Dad and your mom are freaking out."
"I don't ever want to go back. I'm not going back. Promise me I don't have to go back."
"You're making me very nervous. What is going on?"
"I don't want you to judge me."
"Marie?"
"Please don't judge me." She starts crying and my heart immediately breaks.
"What is going on?" I press. I grab her hand and pull her to the side.
"Max?"
"Yes?"
"I'm pregnant."
"What?" I stare at her in shock and let go of her hand. "You’re what?" I stare at my little baby sister who is looking more and more like a woman than I've ever remembered. "Is this a joke? Is it April and I didn't realize?"
"It's not a joke. I'm pregnant." She looks at me nervously. "Are you disappointed?"
I let out a deep sigh? "Does my dad know? Does your mom know?"
"No. I didn't tell them. I don't know what they would do."
"And the father?"
"He wanted me to have an abortion, but I'm not having an abortion. I'm not doing that to my kid. Please, Max. Please help me."
"Oh my gosh. I just don't even know what to say right now, Marie. How could you have had unprotected sex? How could you have let this happen?"
"Don't tell me you've never had sex without a rubber, brother." She sounds as much like an adult as she looks, and as I stare at her, I realize what she's saying is true. I had not used a condom either time I'd been with Lila. I quickly grabbed my phone and text her.
" You're on birth control, right? "
Marie stares at me, a slight frown on her face. "Please tell me you're not texting Dad that I'm pregnant."
"No," I say, glaring at her. "It's not my place to tell him, but you're going to have to tell him eventually, especially if you want to stay here. Oh my gosh. We've got so much to figure out. I cannot believe this."
"You're not mad at me, are you? You don't think I'm a slut?"
"Marie, I love you. You're my sister. I will always be here for you. And if you're going to have a baby and you decide that that's what you want to do and you want to keep it, we'll figure something out. You're only eighteen though, and you still have to go to college and you?—"
"I don't want to talk about it right now," she says. "Can we just go back to your place and get pizza?"
"Yeah," I say, as I look down at my phone. Lila still hasn’t responded. I realize now that maybe I should have prefaced my text with something else, but I'll explain it to her later. "Come on, Marie," I say, grabbing her suitcases. "Let's go home."
"Thank you, Max. I knew I could count on you."
"I'll always be here for you, Marie. I love you. You know that."