16. Theo
16
THEO
I tried to focus on my mom as we danced, but my eyes kept getting drawn to the table where Max was surrounded by my family. I knew she could handle herself; I wasn’t worried about that at all.
I just wanted to watch her effortlessly charm everyone.
Jessica had gravitated over to the table and plopped herself in the spot between Max and Amanda, and the three of them were laughing like old friends. Everything felt so right that I had to keep reminding myself this was a performance.
“You can’t stop staring at her, can you?” my mom asked, giving me a gentle swat on the arm.
“Can you blame me?” I laughed.
She shook her head and followed my gaze. “She’s special, honey. I barely know her, but I can tell that there’s something about her. You know what I mean? Sometimes you meet someone and you can almost see into their heart. She’s a good one.”
I adjusted my grip on her and spun her around. “Mm-hmm.”
Frank stopped crooning and the DJ segued into the most awkward musical swap I’d ever heard.
“Oh, come on,” I groused as I heard the familiar opening notes. I pulled my mom toward our seats. “The Chicken Dance?”
“Tim won’t let Jess play it at the reception so she’s doing it now. Look!”
Jess was laughing her ass off, dragging Amanda and Max with her to the dance floor.
“That’s just like her,” I said, watching the three of them fall into line with their hands on their hips.
I refused to participate in the stupid tradition, but I had to admit that I absolutely loved watching Max wiggling and laughing. The women were all in gowns so the whole thing looked even more ridiculous than usual, but I guess that was half the fun.
The DJ played "The Electric Slide” next, and the three of them kept dancing. I grabbed us two glasses of champagne and sat down at the table right as the music switched again, to “Come Away with Me.”
“Honey, go get her,” my mom said. “This is a pretty song.”
I considered it as Max walked off the dance floor, still laughing with Jess and Amanda. Yeah, we needed to dance.
I slid through the tables and took her hand, catching her off guard. Her eyes went wide as I swept her into my arms.
“You’re dancing with me. Now.” I said as I adjusted her.
“Thanks for asking,” she said, the corner of her mouth turning up despite the furrow in her brows.
The one-two-three of a waltz always hit me like a heartbeat, and the long, gliding steps felt as natural as walking. It was no surprise that Max adjusted to my lead quickly, allowing me to sweep her around the floor in big, graceful turns. I wanted to explore this moment with only her, this new connection that was unfolding between us.
Because she fit with me, like we’d been dancing together forever. Her delicate hand cradled in mine, her strong arms pushing against me with just the right amount of resistance, so I could lead her through some pretty impressive moves. It just felt … right.
“You’re an amazing dancer,” she said, looking up at me with awe. “You’re making me look good.”
“And you’re making it easy to make you look good,” I replied. “A strong leader needs a perceptive follower.”
Her mouth quirked. “Or you could say a strong follower needs a perceptive leader.”
“Touché,” I laughed. “It goes both ways.”
The song ended and the vibe of the room shifted again as the DJ slowed things down even more with “At Last.”
“Another?” I asked.
“I’d be insulted if you didn’t ask me to dance to this one,” she said, moving closer to me. “And so would your fan club.”
She pointed to our table where my mom and aunt weren’t even bothering to pretend they weren’t staring avidly at us.
“I guess we need to make this good. No fancy steps, just lots of close contact and adoring looks.”
“I can do that,” Max said in a low voice, her eyes boring into mine. “Can you? C’mon, Theo, make me believe this is real. Sell it.”
She didn’t know what she was doing to me. Max was now pressed against my body with her arms around my neck. Her thumb made teasing circles just below my hairline. I was on fucking fire for her and she still wanted me to “sell it”?
I was in pain, trying not to get hard in front of my entire family. But she’d given me a challenge, and I never backed down in the face of adversity.
“How about this?” I asked in a low voice. I pulled her even closer, wrapping my arms around her shoulders so that she was tucked against me. Max made a contented noise and leaned her head against my chest. Our swaying got a little more rhythmic, moving in time together so perfectly that nearly every part of our bodies was touching. It felt like we were dancing out our longing for each other. The way she was pressed against me, so that I could feel every soft curve, set my senses on fire. The dress left her back totally exposed, so I dropped my hands to stroke her soft skin. Max arched against me, ticklish, and—I hoped—a little turned on as well.
She looked up at me. “It’s working,” Max whispered. “You’re totally selling it.”
I cleared my throat. “To whom? Them? Or you?”
“I’m sort of starting to believe it,” she said, still locked onto me and daring me to look away. “Are you?”
I didn’t know how honest I could be with the beautiful girl in my arms. We’d agreed to no complications, but what was rolling around inside of me sure felt tangled up—and I liked it.
“Yeah, I am,” I whispered.
I don’t know what came over me, but there was no doubt about what had to happen next. I dropped my lips to hover just over hers and was met by her soft, welcoming mouth rising up to press against mine.
Kissing wasn’t part of our agreement, but there was no way I wanted to miss the moment.
Our swaying slowed as we both gave in to the heat of the moment. I tried to keep the kiss appropriate for the family event, but Max made it damn near impossible. She was so responsive, arching against me, letting her tongue stray against mine. It was a kiss that promised so much more.
The song came to an end and the world’s worst DJ switched to “All the Single Ladies,” getting a roar from the women in the room. But Max and I were still lost in one another. We pulled away reluctantly, and I grazed my thumb along her cheek.
“I can’t get enough of you,” I leaned down and whispered against her ear. “Will you come home with me? Right now?”
“I thought you’d never ask,” Max whispered back. “Let’s go.”
She took my hand and we wove our way through the gathering crowd on the dance floor, nearly plowing into Jess.
“Hey you two, don’t go far!” Jess yelled over the music. “We’re doing the Nearly-Wed Game after this song, and you guys are up after me and Tim.”
My heart sank. All I could think about was finally getting Max naked, yet here was the guest of honor, asking us to stay.
In the boardroom, I had no problem telling people to fuck off. But when it came to my family, I turned into a total marshmallow.
“Okay, sure,” I grumbled as Jess ran off with a bridesmaid. “I guess we have no choice but to stick around, huh?”
I could feel Max slumping against my body, clearly just as disappointed as I was.
“Raincheck?” she asked me.
“Hell no. Consider this a quick layover, then I’m going to get you home.”
“Promise?” she asked with a wicked grin.
I slid my hand down her back and let it rest just shy of where I wanted it to go, given how much family there was surrounding us. “I guarantee it.”
Jess and Tim’s turn at the Nearly-Wed Game was predicably adorable, and the next thing I knew she was on the mic demanding that Max and I come up for our time in the hot seats. The hooting and clapping from my family made it clear they were more than ready to get the dirt on us.
“We’re going to be terrible at this,” Max whispered to me as we got into position on the high bar stools in front of the group. “We’re not ‘nearly wed’ we’re ‘never-going-to-be-wed.’”
Hearing her say it felt like a gut-punch, but it was the truth.
“It’s no big deal,” I said. “Just try to have fun.”
“Okay, folks, here we go with our next victims, I mean, contestants ,” the DJ crowed into the mic. “Max, you’re going to be telling us what Theo would say is the answer to each question, and both of you have to write your responses on the whiteboard. Ready you two?”
We nodded in unison.
“Okay, Max, first question: Who would Theo say is more likely to oversleep in the morning?”
A softball, given the first time we met. I took a guess and wrote Max’s name on my whiteboard as game show “thinking” music played. She grinned at me as she flipped hers face down on her lap.
“Show us your answers, kids!”
I bristled at the guy’s familiarity as I flipped my whiteboard.
“It’s a match! Max is the lazy bones in the relationship. Good job, lovebirds. Next question: Who is more likely to forget their keys or wallet when leaving the house?”
I thought back to that first fateful meeting. Even though she hadn’t technically forgotten her gear on my boat, I took a guess that it could happen and kept her name on the little whiteboard.
“Your answers?” the DJ prompted. He leaned over to look at our boards. “Max again, and it’s a match! You two are en fuego !”
I refrained from rolling my eyes.
“Now it’s time to get a little … nasty,” the DJ said in a low voice. “We’re all adults here, right?” He looked around the room as the crowd cheered.
I felt dread creeping along my spine. What now?
“Lovebirds …” he said, glancing between us. “Who kissed who first? Inquiring minds want to know!”
I tried not to spiral as I thought back to the first time we’d kissed, the way Max had shocked the hell out of me by the way she took charge. She was a spitfire and I liked it. I looked over at her and she gave me a slow wink with a naughty smile.
Damn it, I wanted her.
“Your answers please,” the DJ said. We flipped our boards, confident that we were sweeping the game despite the odds stacked against us. “Max again , you dirty little girl.”
I resisted the urge to punch him in the nose.
“Okay, final question you two … and this one is a doozy. Max, how many times a week does Theo like to get it on ?”
I shot a glance toward Mom’s table and shook my head. But Mom, damn her, was recording the whole thing on her phone, and Jess was laughing and clapping like she was enjoying every second of my torture, so I scrubbed the board clean and took a guess at what Max might say.
This time she refused to look at me.
“Okay, you crazy kids. Let’s see that magic number! How many times a week does Theo like to make love ?” His voice switched to an Elvis snarl as he said the last two words.
I flipped my board in unison with Max, and our eyes met the second after we read what the other had written.
“Seven?” the DJ shrieked, looking from board to board. “It’s a match at seven days a week, you jackrabbits!” Laughter echoed around us as the DJ walked over to Max. “So tell me, young lady… have you two ‘hit your quota’ for today?”
He thrust the mic out to her.
“You really want to know?” she said into it, looking out at the crowd.
The room broke into wild applause and cheering.
Max glanced at me, cool, appraising. The pause before she answered seemed to stretch on forever.
“No, we haven’t.”
The room erupted into boos and laughter.
“Yup, I think we can all agree that these two need to get to work!” the DJ hammed it up. “You’re done with your turn, get outta here and clock in. You’ve got some whoopie to make. Big round of applause for these two!”
I got off the stool and took Max’s hand, waving to everyone as I pulled her out of the room.
They might’ve thought it was all a big joke, playing on what the DJ had said, but I had every intention of making good on my promise to take her home.
We were leaving.
Now.