Chapter 7 Max
SEVEN
MAX
I’ve been living in a daze.
My feet are off the ground, and I can’t stop smiling.
Days have passed, but my head is still in the clouds.
I’ve run through my encounter with Hunter so many times, I have every single detail memorized: his burning gaze as he glanced up at me.
Large palms, a commanding voice. My foot on his shoulder and his desire to take care of me.
Repeatedly.
This is a new side of sex I’ve never seen before. The confirmation I needed that I’ve been sleeping with the wrong people up to this point.
He set the new gold standard and didn’t ask for anything in return.
So selfless, such a man.
I fall asleep thinking about him and wake up turned on, halfway to an orgasm and having to bury my face in my pillows so Skyler doesn’t hear me moaning from down the hall.
There was something magical about the way he touched me. Possessive, but gentle. Rough, but sweet. He knew he had the power to fully control me, but he didn’t. It was like he was being careful, treating me like I was important.
For as hot as the whole thing was, it was sweet, too, and butterflies flutter to life in my stomach.
I’m buzzing thinking about what other fantasies of mine he could help me live out given the chance. Wondering if he has any other masks he wears. If he’s chased anyone through the woods and if he’d be willing to do it with me.
“Hey.”
A knock on my classroom door pulls me from another replay of the night. I glance up and see my work best friend, Molly, leaning against the wall with a smile.
“Hi, Mols.” I take a sip of water, trying to cool myself down. My body has been electrified since I left Fright Nights over the weekend, and I match her smile. Maybe orgasms are the key to world peace. The answer to making everyone happier. “What’s up?”
“I’d ask if everything was okay, but it must be. You’re practically glowing.”
“Am I?” I touch my cheek. “Just distracted, I guess.”
“I bet I know why. I saw Brian hanging out in the parking lot when I took the kids to recess. Did he bring you surprise? Please tell me it’s chocolate or flowers.”
“What?” I frown and crane my neck, looking out the window behind my desk. I have a direct view of the visitors’ lot, but a quick scan of the spots doesn’t show my ex’s car anywhere. “No. Absolutely not. We broke up two months ago.”
“You did?” Molly sits in the small chair across from me. “I’m so sorry, Max. I had no idea.”
“It’s my fault for not telling you. I was… embarrassed, I guess, of how things ended. I thought our relationship was more serious than he did. We were together for ten months, so I figured that meant we were exclusive.” I snort and shake my head. “Joke is on me.”
“Unless there’s a conversation about a casual agreement, men should be giving you all of their attention.
God. Leave it to the person with a dick to assume they can have their cake and eat it too.
” Molly’s lips pull up into a smirk. “Okay, so it’s not him who has you smiling, but it’s someone.
Judging from how hard you were blushing when I tried to call your name, I’d say it’s someone bigger and better in every sense of the words. ”
“It’s nothing serious. It’s not anything at all, really. It was a two-time thing. Okay, more like a one-time thing. I don’t even know who he is.”
“A mysterious stranger? I love this for you. You’re leaving it up to the universe to decide your fate. If you run into each other, it means you’re destined to be together.”
“I’m not sure about that. You’re giving me a lot of credit, Mols, and making me feel more special than I actually am.
” I gesture up and down my paint-covered overalls and my untied shoe.
“I’m a teacher who spends her afternoons doing after school care, gets home at six, grades worksheets, barely has time to eat, then collapses in bed before getting up in the morning and doing it all again. I’m so boring.”
“Knock it off with that self-deprecation. All I see is career woman who puts other people first and cares about her students. Your kindness is special, Max.”
“Okay, well, now you’re being too nice. Thank you, my sweet friend.” I laugh and reach for her hand. My phone alarm chimes, letting me know I need to grab my kids from music class. “Come over this weekend? Skyler misses you, and I miss seeing you somewhere other than from across the cafeteria.”
“I would love that. Two months into the school year, and all my communication is with second graders and their parents. I need an adult conversation that doesn’t revolve around unplanned absences.”
“Sunday afternoon. We can watch movies on the couch after Skyler leaves for Fright Nights.” I stand and grab my school ID. “We’ll have fun.”
“Can’t wait.” Molly stands too, fixing her sweater. “If I see Brian again, do you want me to let you know?”
“That would be great.”
“You got it, babe. I’ll text you.”
Molly blows me a kiss and I look out the window one more time, searching for Brian’s blue BMW. Unease curls in my stomach when I can’t find anything out of the ordinary, and the hair on the back of my neck stands up.
I don’t like the feeling of being watched when I can’t see who is doing the watching.
**
Wednesdays are the only day of the week I don’t have any duties after school, and I’m grateful to pull into my driveway just past four p.m. A yawn sneaks out of me when I kick off my shoes in the foyer. I walk down the hall, flipping on the lights as I go.
“Sky?” I call out. “Are you here?”
“My room,” she answers, and I make my way to her bedroom. I nudge the door open and smile at her standing in front of her bathroom vanity with her makeup bag. “Hi, lovebug. How was school?”
“No vomit, no meltdowns, and we’re another day closer to fall break.
I’d say it was a success.” I point to her bed and she nods, stepping over to shove a duffle bag so there’s room for me.
I sit on her mattress and cross my feet at the ankles, happy when I grab her stuffed teddy bear and hold it close to my chest. “Something weird happened, though.”
“Did you match with a parent on a dating app? Wait. Please don’t tell me Tommy Dallworth’s dad actually asked you out in the pickup line.”
“No, and both of those things sound like a nightmare. I separate my personal and professional lives for a reason.”
“You have to admit his dad is hot, though. In a nerdy, accountant kind of way.”
“Because he is an accountant.”
“Who knew khakis could be sexy?” Skyler joins me on the bed and rests her head on my shoulder. “What happened today?”
“Molly came by while my kids were at music class and told me she saw Brian’s car at school today.”
“Brian? As in, your ex-boyfriend Brian?”
“That’s the one.” I frown. “I looked for his car in the parking lot, but I couldn’t find it.”
“Is she sure it was him?”
“I mean, I didn’t ask for proof. She’s met him and seen him drop off lunch for me in the past, so she’d know what he looks like. Knowing he was there creeps me out.”
“Hm.” Skyler drums her fingers on the sheets between us. “Any chance he’s seeing someone else at your school?”
“Unless it’s Phyllis, the librarian, chances are slim. The girl he cheated on me with is a bartender.”
“Definitely weird then. Was there anything on your car when you finished for the day? A note? Something you left at his place?”
“No.” My gut twists. I’m so confused, and that takes up residence in my stomach again. “We haven’t talked in weeks. Why is he hanging around?”
“I bet he’s trying to be a dick and intimidate you. Do you want me to come be your volunteer for the day tomorrow and keep an eye out for him?” she offers. “I’d be great as an undercover cop.”
“I appreciate it, but it’ll be okay. You have my location, so if things go off the rails and he kidnaps me, you’ll be able to track me down.”
“I would kick his ass if he touched you. I’d put my heel right through his chest. Maybe I’d step on his face.”
“See? This is why you’re my best friend. Because you’re a total badass.” I pat her hand. “Are you coming home tonight? Or are you meeting up with Dustin again?”
“Did he ask me to sleep over tonight? Maybe. Is it anything more than sex? Absolutely not.”
“Permission to say something you might not like?” I ask. “As your best friend?”
“Granted, but only for twenty seconds,” she answers, and I laugh.
“There’s nothing wrong with enjoying time with someone.
If men are allowed to sleep with half the city and not be slut-shamed for it, women should be able to do the same.
But you’re also allowed to have feelings for a guy, Sky.
It doesn’t mean you’re going to marry him.
Just… you know. Let him cook you breakfast in the morning and hold your hand. ”
“I think I might be broken, Max. Dustin is a great guy. He texts me and asks how my day is going. He bought me Taco Bell on the way home from Fright Nights the last time we hung out. He even made sure there was extra hot sauce in the bag because he knows how much I like it. On paper, he’s perfect.
A stable job? His own home? A bed with a headboard? ”
“Whoa. A whole ass headboard? Sweetie, you need to lock that down.”
“He has curtains, too.” Skyler giggles. “But then I think about being with the same person for the rest of my life, and I panic. We were cuddling after sex, and I felt like I needed to escape. It was… suffocating, almost. And I didn’t feel like I had a way out.”
“Have you talked to him about this?” I ask, and she’s quick to shake her head.
“God, no. A friends with benefits agreement means no feelings and no emotions. It’s just sex.
Bringing up things like that is a surefire way for this to either tread toward serious, which I don’t want, or disaster, which would mean not sleeping with him anymore.
And I like sleeping with him more than I like sleeping with other people, so I keep my mouth shut. ”
“I’m never going to tell you how to live your life, Sky. But I am going to tell you that you deserve the world. Someone who treats you right, however that might look to you.”
“True, but who needs a man when I have you?” Skyler leans over and kisses my cheek before hopping off the bed. “My best friend and ride or die.”
I should be sitting here telling her about Hunter instead of my douchey ex, but I can’t find the right way to mention I went back to the haunted house to see him.
No part of her would ever judge me. We’ve seen each other through so many highs and lows throughout our lives, and we’ve never had any secrets.
She’d be happy for me.
Hell, she probably knows exactly who he is, but it feels like the second I admit this thing actually happened, that will be it. It’ll give up the illusion I’ve created, and I want to keep the idea of maybe meeting him again somewhere down the road as a possibility for a little while longer.
I don’t need to hear his story. I don’t need to find out that he’s a playboy or a womanizer who picks a new victim every night. By keeping my mouth shut, I can pretend I’m one of a kind. I can pretend he’s somewhere thinking about me right now, even though I doubt he remembers my name.
“Right back at you, Sky.” I toss a T-shirt her way. “How are things going with your archnemesis? I don’t see you in a cast, which means he hasn’t dropped you during the show yet. That’s encouraging.”
“He’s as obnoxious as ever.” She huffs and pulls on the shirt, pivoting in front of the mirror. “He walks around like he’s god’s gift to the earth, and I just know he has the world’s smallest dick.”
“There’s an idea. Hate sex sounds like it would be a blast.”
“Don’t make me barf.” Skyler gags. “Speaking of the show, a lot of the people in entertainment are having a bash at one of the bars outside Adventure Oasis next Tuesday. There’s no Fright Nights, the drinks are free, and it’s going to be really fun. Want to be my plus one?”
Entertainment.
Hunter is in entertainment.
Will he be there?
My heart races, and I do my best to keep my cheeks from turning bright red.
“I’d love that. What’s the theme?” I ask. “I’ll try to pull something from my closet this weekend or make a run to the thrift store.”
“Sinners and devils,” she says. “Very dark, very kinky, and I already have my outfit picked out. It’s our last hoorah before Fright Nights gets too busy for the rest of the season. We go from five shows a night to six, and when I come home, I’m so depleted.”
“Remember last year when I had to get ice for your knees at three in the morning because you were so tired? You were curled up on the sofa in so much pain.”
“I refuse for that to happen again. I’ve been running six miles on the treadmill to build my stamina. I will not be defeated by a stunt show, even if my twenty-eight-year-old ass is starting to feel ancient.”
“At least you’re hot with a smoking body,” I say. “And almost late. Don’t you need to leave soon?”
“Shit. I should’ve left ten minutes ago.” Skyler dumps her makeup bag in her duffle and tosses in her hairbrush and a change of clothes. “I’ll see you in the morning, my sweet Max.”
“Tell Dustin I say hi. And don’t overthink things. You deserve it, remember?”
“I remember.” She flips her hair over her shoulder and slides on her sandals. “Love you.”
“Love you more,” I tell her, and but it doesn’t get rid of the anxiousness I’m feeling.