Chapter 20
Max
Carlos had been planning this dinner for a while now. I canceled each time. It never seemed like the right time. “Max, put your phone down, sweetie. It’s rude.” Annette leans onto the table, reaching for my hand.
I turn from her. “Where’s Carlos and the rest of them?”
The host seated me at the small table Carlos had reserved. Then Annette showed up. Xander was invited as well.
“They will show, but in the meantime, we should order.” Annette pulls out the menu.
Then waves at the waiter. We have been waiting for thirty minutes now for everyone to show up.
I’m still pissed off about the news article and the post made on my social media accounts.
“I would like a glass of wine. Surprise me with the finest wine you have. What do you want?” She looks over at me from the menu.
“Modelo,” I say dryly.
Carlos doesn’t pick up when I call or text.
Nessa’s phone goes straight to voicemail.
I watch the waitress approach, balancing our drinks on a black tray, her wrist cocked at an angle.
She sets Annette’s glass down first, then slides mine across the table.
The beer catches the dim light. I don’t hesitate—just grab it and throw it back, needing to feel something cold besides my anger.
“Are you ready to order?” the woman asks.
“Yes.” Annette closes her menu. “I’ll have the chicken salad.” She looks at me. “And for you, sweetie?”
I growl. The name “sweetie” coming from her lips makes me want to throw up. “I’ll wait,” I say sharply, and the woman flinches and leaves.
Annette scoots her chair close to me. “Stop being such a grouch. Let’s enjoy the night with or without them. It’s not like you have a girl waiting for you.” She looks at me with hearts in her eyes, and I can’t stand her.
“Who said I don’t have a girl?”
“Well, you two are not together, obviously. She wasn’t your date at the ball.” No, my girl wasn’t at the ball, as she should have been by my side. “Take me home tonight. Let me show how good we can be.”
Fucking disgusting.
My phone dings, and I check my messages.
Xander: Hey, no one told me about a dinner. Leo wasn’t invited. The only thing I can think of is they set you up a date with her. He has been saying you two look good together.
I clench my jaw. Of course, Carlos would do that. He thinks I need to get laid to help me with the anger and tension I carry. I’ve been a dick to everyone since we split up, and I’ve been so damn busy.
Me: Thanks, man. I’m out of here.
“Max, are you listening?” Her hand goes to my chest. “Let me show you. Take me to your bed.” Her seductive voice does nothing for me.
I grab her face, a little rougher than intended.
“Listen to me. I’m not attracted to you, nor do I want you in any way.
I’ve made myself clear several times.” She tries to speak, but I stop her.
“You’re desperate. I don’t like desperate women.
I have a woman, and I’ll go to the ends of this world for her.
” I slide my chair back. “Not for you or anyone… Solely for her. Now, fuck off.”
I get out of my chair, take a twenty-dollar bill, and slam it on the table. “For my drink. Keep the change. That’s all you’re worth.” Okay, I know that’s harsh, but fuck, I’m sick of her shit.
The hot air hits my face the second I’m out the door.
Carlos had asked us to meet for dinner after my fight, but then Rainey and I split, and after that, I kept rescheduling it.
My birthday is in two weeks. Carlos had planned a birthday celebration plus my winning.
I finally gave in just to get it over with. I didn’t think he was setting me up.
“There’s a crazy bitch smashing a window,” a guy says to another guy.
I hear it before I see it. When I go around the corner to where I’m parked, there is a woman mid-swing, both hands on a baseball bat. The window gives with a loud single clap. She is already raising it again. My feet are moving. “Hey, what the fuck are you doing?” I shout.
I flinch when I see her. I’ve seen her hair disheveled many times, but those were when she woke or after I fucked her, but never like this.
Ready to take anyone out in her path. Sol’s nostrils flare.
She glares at me, then the bat goes up. “Stop, what are you doi—” My words are cut off when the wooden bat strikes the passenger window.
“Should we call the police!?” a woman yells as she runs to her car.
“No, don’t.”
I run to the side she’s at.
“Don’t get close to me, Max, or I’ll break another window.”
I lift my hands up. “Cálmate.”
She laughs maniacally. “Calm down? You want me to calm down?” Another blow to the rear passenger window.
Shards of glass fly around us. I jump back.
In a flash, I run to her side and take the bat from her hand.
At this point, I don’t know what to do. I feel like shaking her.
I hadn’t even noticed the sunglasses she’s wearing. She must have planned it.
She’s heaving, and so am I. I’m pissed. My car!
“What the fuck, Soledad?”
She flinches at her full name. She once said that when her mom or dad got mad at her, they would scold her by using her full name.
Crimson beads dot her knuckles. Despite the summer heat that has everyone else in tank tops, she’s bundled in a trench that falls past her knees.
As I said, she didn’t just happen by. She showed up dressed for vandalism: a coat to protect from glass, sunglasses to protect her eyes.
She does keep that coat in her car for emergencies—she once said.
But still. She also had a baseball bat in her car.
For what? I don’t know. She looks ridiculous.
“You’re bleeding. Let me check you.” I reach for her, but she shoves back. This woman will be the death of me. “Come here.”
“No, fuck you.” Her eyes are dark as the night sky.
For the past few days, I’ve tried calling her, and there’s been no answer.
I went to her house twice, and she wasn’t home.
Johnny said she stayed at Lana’s house. I needed to talk to her in person about the damn newspaper.
Between meetings for my job, training, and my manager, it’s hard to get anything done.
It’s been three days since I last saw her on campus.
I planned to go to her place and demand that she open the door after this dinner, but here we are.
“This is where I draw the line,” she rasps, looking around. I turn to see what she’s looking at. A couple stands, watching, with their phones out, recording.
“Hey! Get the hell out of here! Nothing to see here. Put your damn phones away.” They stumble and rush back to the shopping center.
My shoes crunch under the broken glass. I toss the bat through the broken window before she breaks the rear one. As angry as I am, I attend to her needs first. I lift her in my arms to get her stubborn ass off the glass.
“Put me down.” She kicks.
I set her under the parking lot light pole. “Baby, the article you saw was not real. I knew nothing about it. Until Drake sent it to me.”
“You don’t need to lie to me. I saw you having dinner with her.”
Ahh, so this is why she’s unhinged. I’ll admit. I love my woman a little unhinged. “You wanted me to move on, and now you’re complaining?” Those words slip out of my mouth before I can stop them. I shake my head. “It wasn’t what it seemed.”
She laughs. “That’s what all men say.”
I scrub a hand down my face. “How about we go somewhere to talk after I call a tow truck to take my car?” In the light, glitter sparkles on her coat. “Take the jacket off. It has glass.”
She looks at her sleeves and then peels them off. She’s wearing a pretty dress, but immediately her hands go to her stomach. I don’t understand why she has become so insecure about her body. I love every part of her, even those parts she considers unlovable.
“I did tell you if you fall into a position to fall in love, don’t keep your walls high, but I didn’t know all this time, while you were with me, you secretly wanted her.” The last words are a soft whisper.
I take the required steps to cover the space between us.
Her chin is up, and she’s peering straight into my eyes.
“Tesoro, I didn’t go—” Before I can finish the sentence, she grips onto my shirt, pulls me to her, and Sol’s soft lips sink into mine.
Her mouth finds mine and possessively devours it.
Her tongue tangles with mine, leaving every drop of her poisonous venom in me.
All the anger I had. Gone. Just like that.
My fingers tangle in her hair, and I kiss her like I’ve craved for months.
I have the urge to moan in those pretty lips of hers, but before I can, she pulls away.
It feels as if life has been sucked back into me just by having her this close and tasting her.
I know it’s wrong to be this hard right now after she just shattered my windows.
Knowing jealousy drove her mad makes my dick hard.
All I can think about is sitting her on the trunk of my car, spreading her legs, and tasting her.
“Max,” she breathes heavily.
My heart ricochets through my chest. I run my fingers through my hair, keeping my hands busy. “What is it?” I ask, my tone light but my thoughts dark.
“What were you going to say?” She still looks crazed and unbelievably hot. She has that fire back in her eyes that I’ve always loved. It seems like she’s getting there a little at a time. I’ve missed her stubborn ass. Whatever she’s doing must be helping. Johnny did say she was going to therapy.
“That I…” Dammit, I lose my ability to think when she’s this close. For a second, it was just us and the mess we’d made and the fact that neither of us had moved to leave.
My phone has been vibrating in my pocket for the last five minutes. Mierda. Why does everyone have to call when I’m with her? I check to see who it is. It’s Xander.
A heavy sigh exhales from her. “Just answer it.”