Sadie
It's a Party
Racing out of my bedroom with my beach bag slung over my shoulder, I practically bowl her over as she stands with her face plastered to the window of our front door.
"He’s not my boyfriend, Mom." I slip my toes into my brown leather flip-flops. "He’s just a friend."
"With benefits? There better be benefits, or I have officially failed as a mother." She wiggles her eyebrows at me, and I groan.
Max is hot—it’s undeniable. And over the last couple of days, I decided to lean into this whole idea of having fun—to give it one-hundred-and-ten percent.
But the last thing I need is my mother thinking too hard about what we are doing.
My cheeks flush, and my heart races—the very same reaction I had when Bradley Bushnell took me to prom, and Dee Dee took it upon herself to hand him a box of condoms on the way out the door.
She’s always been great at discussing our sexuality—great at embarrassing us.
"I’m going now."
I use my hand to push her aside gently and open the door.
I’m too late. Max is standing with his fist raised, prepared to knock.
He’s dressed in low-slung black board shorts, a blue t-shirt with the sleeves cut off displaying a variety of tattoos, and a backward hat.
He looks like a sexy surfer, or one of those guys that makes thirst traps on the internet.
"Hey, Sade." He smirks at me, the adorable dimple in his cheek proudly on display. Max makes a big show of peering around me and waves at my mom. "Hi, Mrs. Wells. How are you doing today?"
Turning to look over my shoulder at her, the first thing that’s apparent is how rosy her cheeks are. I swear, women fall all over themselves when he speaks.
"Please call me Dee Dee." She smiles back at him, pushing her hair over one shoulder. "Do you have a minute to come in? I could make you two a coffee for the road."
She’s shameless as hell, trying to swindle him into our home so she can talk to him (translation: make this awkward).
"We’re in a hurry, Mom. I’ll see you later, though.
" Stepping out onto the porch quickly and closing the door behind me, I grab Max’s hand and pull him toward his truck.
His shoulders are shaking with the laugh he’s trying to hold in, and I can practically feel his body vibrating with each step we take.
Glad someone finds this hilarious.
We round the hydrangea bushes and approach Max’s truck.
It’s a big, black monstrosity, with tires so tall the tops of them are level with my boobs.
I’m short, but this is insane. I tighten my grip on my canvas beach bag, wondering how I’ll ever be able to make it into the car, let alone to the beach.
Max slips in front of me and pulls the handle on the passenger door. "You think you can get in, or do you need a boost?"
I scan the running board, trying to estimate how high I’d need to jump to reach it, and if I’m even coordinated enough to do so. "Can you maybe just give me directions? How do people usually get into vehicles made for giant people?" Max laughs. It’s full and bright.
"It’s really not that high off the ground, Sade. You just happen to be fun-sized." Max lifts his foot and sets it on the long piece of metal that stretches the length of the doors. "Just put your foot here and hoist yourself up."
Moving in front of him, I attempt what he said. But my legs are practically in a full split when I do. Thank God I wore shorts. This would be awkward in nothing more than a cover-up and swimsuit. A laugh bubbles out of me, and Max joins in.
"Okay, well maybe it is higher than I thought. How about I just lift you in?" He moves closer behind me, running his fingers under the strap of my bag, removing it and tossing it in the truck. "If you turn and face me, I can lift you straight up so all you have to do is sit back onto the seat."
"Yeah, let’s do that. And then we can talk about why anyone needs this type of vehicle."
Spinning, he cages me in with his arms. "Hi," he says, brushing a soft kiss on my cheek. "You look gorgeous." Max runs his fingers down the length of my flowy ponytail, and my heart beats so fast I think I might have some sort of arrhythmia.
We’re leaning in, Sadie. Letting fun control our life.
"Alright, lover boy… you look great too. But I would put fifty bucks down on the fact that Dee Dee is spying around the corner of the garage right now. Can we maybe do this somewhere else?"
Max twists his head, scanning the space for my mother’s prying eyes.
He chuckles when unsurprisingly, she waves from the edge of the bushes like a weirdo.
Hurriedly, Max places one hand on each side of my torso and lifts me into the truck.
Swinging my legs in, I grab my bag and situate it by my feet, then buckle my seat belt while Max closes my door and jumps in like it’s the easiest thing in the world.
"She’s like Mabel 2.0." He shakes his head, reaching over to give my buckle a tug as if he’s checking to make sure it’s secure. "Never thought I’d see the day that she had met her match."
Sliding my sunglasses off my head and onto my face, I grin at him. "You have no idea."
Max puts the truck in reverse, exits the driveway, and turns toward the beach. Music strums in the background, and my heart skips a beat when he reaches out for my hand, holding it while gently stroking his thumb over my bandage.
"I didn’t really think about the stitches. Is it okay to go to the beach today? We could do something else."
The thoughtfulness makes me feel warm and gooey inside. I’ve never been out with a man who so selflessly considers me—this should be bare minimum, but the bar is very low these days.
"Yeah, Vera put this second-skin stuff on it. I can get it wet and everything. I’ve just been keeping the bandage on as an extra layer of precaution, and because it’s kinda gross to look at."
His dimple pops, but his eyes stay trained on the road.
"Good. I want to swim in the ocean with you. When was the last time you did that?"
It takes me a minute to think as I slide my phone from my pocket and open my calendar. "Well, the last time I was here during the summer was four years ago. But I don’t remember coming to the beach."
"Jesus, Sade. Maybe your boss wasn’t over-exaggerating. When’s the last time you took a vacation?"
"Okay, let’s not get judgmental. It’s harder than you think to take time off. My job isn’t on the same schedule as the team. I work year-round, planning and preparing during the off-season."
Max squeezes my hand. "I wasn’t judging, just asking. And I’m kind of glad."
"What? Why?"
He pulls into a parking spot near the public beach access entrance. "Because it’ll be more fun doing this with you. Like experiencing it for the first time."
I unbuckle, biting my tongue so I don’t crack up.
"Hate to break it to ya, big guy. You don’t have to work so hard to get me to like you." I scoot closer, feeling bold. "This backwards hat, and these big brawny arms do it for you."
Leaning in, I press a quick kiss on his lips. I’ve never been overly affectionate like this, but something about seizing the moment, and knowing this has a deadline, makes me feel like I can just go for it. Or maybe it’s just easier with him.
Max wraps his hand around the back of my neck, pulling me close enough that our lips are almost touching.
"You’re making me feel like a piece of meat, Sade.
" He smiles against my mouth. "Keep it up, and we won’t actually see the beach.
" He slides his lips up and presses a kiss to the center of my forehead.
Holy hell, I’m in over my head.
Max pulls the handle on his door, exiting the truck and skirting around it before I can make it back to my side.
"Ready? It’s SOGO season."
Cocking my head to the side, I struggle to put together what the acronym means.
"Sun’s out, guns out." Max flexes before wrapping his hands around my ribs and lifting me down. He’s ridiculous in the best way.
"Remind me not to make your head bigger than it already is." I nudge him with my elbow when my feet are safely planted on the ground. "One teensy compliment, and I can already tell you’re going to remind me all day."
Max laughs, grabbing my bag from the truck and sliding it onto his shoulder over the two beach chairs already slung on his arm.
We walk side by side across a wooden plank pathway over a small sand dune.
Sea oats line both sides of the path, intermingled with flowers that perfume the salty air.
As the ocean comes into view, so do the waves lapping at the coast. There are large boulders intermixed with the cream-colored sand and a few patrons sprawled out on a rainbow of towels.
Max leads the way, heading left down the sand until he finds the perfect clearing. He drops my bag and the chairs, and I immediately grab two towels while he assembles our seats. It hits me that we seem to make a good team, with unspoken communication passing effortlessly between us.
Stepping to drape my red and white striped towel over the back of the chair, I do a double take. In the sand, about five feet behind my seat, are the words: Quite The Pair, Indeed. It’s as if the words are a response to my own thoughts, as if somehow the universe knows what I’m thinking.
"Um, Max. Do you see that?" I point toward the letters, but as soon as he spins to look, a gust of wind kicks up the sand, erasing any sign of them.
"See what? The sand?"
I shake my head. "No, I could swear something was just written there. Like, you know how people will draw their names and stuff." I cross my arms."It’s fine, nevermind."
Max places his towel on his chair and flops down as he pats mine, pulling my seat closer to his. "What did it say?"
"Quite the pair, indeed."
"That’s random as hell."
"I don’t think it is." My cheeks flush, and I pull my tank top out away from my chest where it’s starting to stick—probably from the heat, but also Max’s proximity. "I had just thought about how we make a good team, then I turned around and it was there. Like an agreement to my internal monologue."
He chews on his bottom lip, staring at the waves crashing. "I wish I could say that’s the most unbelievable thing I’ve heard, but it’s not. After Olive’s situation, I’m not sure much is out of the realm of possibility."
"What’s my situation?" A sweet voice drifts out from behind us, and Max turns in his seat.
"Ollie?" His eyes widen, and I turn to follow his gaze. "What are you doing here?"
His sister-in-law giggles, then tosses down her beach bag. "Well, someone may have leaked that you two were coming here—"
"Mabel," Max says, with a slight beat of annoyance in his tone.
"Actually, no," a gorgeous brunette that I recognize as Ariella Marino says as she steps up beside Olive. "Hey Sadie, you probably don’t remember me. I’m Ari."
"I know exactly who you are." I cross my arms. She’s been leading Howie on for years. I don’t know enough about her to dislike her, but I can’t foresee us being besties any time soon. Howard deserves the world, and from what I know, she isn’t giving it to him.
"Ice cold… I love you already," she coos before throwing a towel down beside my chair and getting comfortable.
"Who told you then?" Max demands.
His brother and Howie saunter up, schlepping a cooler and a couple of chairs. They’re followed by two other women and a man with neatly trimmed blond hair that’s carting a mini grill and some sort of net in a wagon.
"Aunt Dee Dee told me." Howie drops his side of the cooler and uses his foot to nudge Ariella out of the way so he can set up a chair.
Max looks at me, his eyes wide but apologetic, and all I can do is burst into a hearty laugh. Of course my mother would send a whole pack of people to our first official "hangout" to spy. Max follows my lead, leaning back in his chair while cracking up.
When I finally get it together, I manage to address the situation. "Okay, so let me get this straight. You’re all working adults?" A chorus of yes’s and nods rain down. "And you decided that coming to hang out with Max and me at the beach on a Wednesday was more important than going to said jobs?"
Again, they all nod or provide some form of agreement, and I remain baffled. I haven’t called out of work, maybe ever—and they all just did it like it’s no big deal. No wonder Max doesn’t have a girlfriend. He’s surrounded by the world's largest group of cockblockers.
He reaches out, squeezing my hand where it rests on my thigh. "Well, since you weirdos decided to come and make this a party, I guess I better make introductions."
Max runs through the list: there’s Olive and Sam, Ariella and Howie, which I already know, obviously. Then he introduces his sisters Bridget and Nora, and Nora’s boyfriend Thad. He winces a little when he says his name, and I make a mental note to ask him for more intel on that situation later.
The group scurries about, setting up a volleyball net, so many chairs, and the grill, which is promptly lit for burgers and hotdogs.
It’s not the day I thought I was going to have, but I find it amusing the way they are all so willing to meddle in Max’s life, the way they’re all so protective of him.