Chapter Thirty-Two Max
Chapter Thirty-Two
Max
Max’s alarm for practice sounded in the quiet the next morning. Keely moaned softly, burrowing her face deeper into his neck.
It was voluntary, but Max had already confirmed on Friday that he’d be there. He’d never viewed practice as optional before, but with Keely’s tiny body beside his, warm and naked, he couldn’t see any choice but staying put. He could run some laps later as penance, right?
He typed out a text: Sorry, Coach. Can’t make it this morning after all. He thought about adding an excuse, but Coach would see through anything Max tried.
He sent it, dropped it back on the nightstand, and woke Keely up. So much for that all-night-essay-a-thon.
They weren’t sure if Zoey was home, so Keely told him they had to be quiet.
Max fastidiously followed her rules—until he didn’t.
It was hard, especially when one of her knees was by her head, and the other was hugged to his hip.
He was in the middle, of course, pulling noises so deep from Keely’s throat that the only way to quiet her was with his mouth.
Which didn’t really help, either, especially when Keely smiled up at him and he came unexpectedly. He bit down on his back molars to stifle a groan. It was a chain reaction, and she climaxed seconds later, that smile still rounding out her cheeks.
Breathless, he grazed his thumb across her splotchy cheekbone. “Do you want a dog of your own one day?”
Keely laughed. “What?”
He shrugged, but his heart wouldn’t calm. Did he even want it to? “Figured you would. Maybe a laboratory retriever.”
She choked and pushed up to her elbow. “Did you—did you just make a science joke?”
“Dunno,” he murmured. “Was it funny to you?”
“Hilarious.” And though she moved to hide her smile in the crook of his neck, he still caught it.
Eventually, she tugged on his hoodie and her underwear and went in search of food. He trailed behind, yesterday’s sweats slung low on his hips. He sort of hoped Zoey wasn’t home.
The next time he checked his phone, there was one message on the screen.
Coach
If you find time to pull your head out of your ass, let me know.
· · · · ·
In one single day, Max’s priorities shifted.
Or maybe it was quicker. Maybe it’d happened in the instant Keely put her mouth on his. Her hands, smeared with colored ink from all her little pens.
Even her eyes undid him now.
Every time she looked at him, smiled at him, his heart took off in a sprint. Whenever her name popped up on his phone, his cheeks ached before he realized he was smiling.
Sunday, after he cancelled practice to feed Keely breakfast and watch Bones on her couch, they’d ridden together to the shelter, her sitting passenger in his car, their hands twined together over the center console.
When Keely walked into the back room, Farah Pawcett nearly chewed off his finger because he let his concentration slip.
At least the last few mornings’ sprinting sessions were productive. He told himself the faster he ran, harder he pushed, the sooner he’d get to see her again. Nolan stared at him with twin raised eyebrows during their cooldown, but otherwise, he kept his mouth shut. Smart guy.
Max hoped this appointment with Dr. Goff wrapped up quickly, too—the sooner it did, the sooner he could see Keely.
Part of him had wanted to cancel with the career counselor completely, but he needed to hear from someone else just how much—or how little—his grades had improved.
Other students lined the halls, desperate for a last-minute improvement to their grades or to find out if they would graduate.
Until this semester—until Keely—Max had never been among them. He’d been one of the ones who didn’t bother showing up at all.
But he had things to show up for now.
Someone rounded the corner, and his heart jumpstarted in his chest. Worth mentioning to his PT?
“Hey, Key.”
She blushed at the nickname and closed the gap between them.
Her flushed skin marked with pleasure. A bitten lip. Nail scrapes on his shoulders. Thighs wrapped around his waist, peppermint-scented sheets and skin. Whimpers for more, harder, there, right there Max—
He gritted his teeth. Now was not the time for his dick to get hard. “What are you doing here?”
At his rough tone, her eyes sparkled, and she bit her lip but her smile still slipped through. “I have an appointment with Dr. Goff.” She stepped over a student whose legs were stretched across the hallway and tacked on a quiet, “Excuse me.”
“Me too,” he said. “What time is yours?”
She checked her phone. “Five minutes.” She slid it back in the side pocket of her dove-gray bike shorts.
“Only five minutes early?” He nudged her shoulder, then slipped his hand to cup the back of her neck. “Cutting it close, aren’t you?”
She peered up at him, a vicious, delicious gleam in her cerulean eyes. “My routine was off. Someone disrupted my entire morning.”
He grinned. That was him, when he’d rushed to her place after AM practice, asking for five minutes and stealing a full ten, fifteen, twenty, threatening to keep her there forever, her skin sleep-warmed with little creases in her cheek. . .
Nope. Still not the time.
“Wait. . .” Max blinked, dropping his hand. “Did you say your appointment’s in five minutes?”
She nodded, then fixed the hair clip he’d nudged. “Why?”
“Because mine is, too.”
Her hands froze, her head tilting as the smooth skin between her brows wrinkled. “How is that—”
The door opened. Dr. Goff wore a linen set, clearly ready for the end of the semester two weeks away. This was the last full week of classes, and Monday and Tuesday next week were study days, followed by designated finals blocks.
“Hello,” Dr. Goff chimed. “How are my best students today?”
Best students? Keely, sure. Max wouldn’t go that far for himself.
“A little confused,” Keely said. “Are our appointments at the same time?”
Dr. Goff beckoned them in, her loose linen set billowing with the movement.
Dark smudges marred her undereyes, and her shoulders drooped.
“Just come in together. I don’t have another open slot this week.
” The end of the semester looming closer must be getting to her.
“Besides, I think you’ll both benefit from this.
If you don’t mind being in close quarters, that is. ”
Oh, he and Keely definitely didn’t mind close quarters.
“That’s fine,” Keely said, much more diplomatically than he would’ve.
How had he ever viewed her kindness as a flaw? It was one of the best things about her. Max’s heart squeezed in his chest. And something else, farther south, squeezed in his shorts. He gritted his teeth; he needed to get it together. He was twenty-two, not a quick-triggered teenager.
Once they were all settled, Dr. Goff inhaled deeply. It lasted long enough that Max glanced at Keely, who looked just as lost.
When their counselor’s eyes opened again, they were brighter, but no less tired. “Okay. How are you all doing?”
“Fine,” Max said, overlapping Keely’s own, “Great!”
Dr. Goff’s cough sounded suspiciously like a laugh. “Fantastic. Keely, I’ve got to say, your essay is nearly there. Adding how your reading to children has sparked your love of science again? Brilliant.”
“Thank you.” Keely beamed. “Ninth time’s the charm, I guess. Teaching has been. . .” She sighed dreamily. Max knew, because he’d heard that same sound this morning. “Really great. Seeing their excitement reminded me why we do it, you know?”
Something in Max’s chest twisted at her contagious joy.
“And Max.” Dr. Goff smiled at him. “Your grades have turned the corner. It’s nice to see the tutoring has paid off.”
“It has,” he confided. “I actually have a session later.”
In his periphery, Keely’s head whipped toward him.
“I’m planning to work very hard,” he continued, wetting his bottom lip. “All night long if I have to.”
Oblivious to his innuendo, Dr. Goff nodded, murmuring her approval.
Keely, on the other hand, fiddled with the hem of her shorts as a raspberry red color spread over her cheekbones.
She cleared her throat delicately and addressed their counselor.
“The last time we talked, you said you were hoping to gain insights into what the scholarship committee is looking for this year.”
Damn, that was smart. Why hadn’t he thought of that?
“Unfortunately, I still don’t know how they’ll swing.” Dr. Goff clasped her hands on the desk. “I know whichever of you wins will be totally deserving, and whoever loses won’t lose for lack of effort.”
“And there’s. . . there’s no chance the jury could be hung?” Keely pushed, and the desperation in her voice throbbed through his veins, too. “That we could tie?”
It was the first time someone acknowledged the elephant in the room: there would only be one winner. Extra money wasn’t hiding in the woodwork; another scholarship wouldn’t randomly appear.
Either Max would fulfill his dreams—his father’s dream—or Keely would fulfill hers.
His gut tugged in all directions. What did he want?
He wanted to win, wanted to have his hard work pay off when it never had before. He wanted his dad to see Max win worlds, or nationals. Wanted him to watch Max win gold at the Olympics.
He wanted his dad to be around, period.
But Max wanted Keely, too. As much as he wanted to achieve his dreams, he knew Keely wanted to achieve hers just as badly.
“No. There is only one spot left. One fund to be allocated. Their decision will be clear—and final,” Dr Goff clarified, and all remaining hope drained from the room.
Would Keely resent him if he won? Or, more likely, if she won, would he be jealous of her success?
He’d probably be too busy scrambling for another option to pay much attention to her.
And besides, it wasn’t like they were in a relationship.
They were graduating in weeks, and beyond the hazy refrain of Caltech, he had no idea what her plans were after they walked across the stage and collected their diplomas.
Whether they included him at all.