Chapter 14 #2
Max nodded, dark hair shifting with the movement. “Sorry, sometimes I get overwhelmed and then my default is to ignore it and pretend like it doesn’t exist and, well, I don’t really have the luxury of time—”
A clattering from the room off the kitchen drew their attention as Colleen and Senior pushed their way through the door connecting the house to the garage.
“Shit, they weren’t supposed to be home for another hour,” Annie mumbled, dropping Max’s hand, shifting around the stack of papers on the counter to conceal their contents.
“Annie,” her mom called before spotting them at the counter.
“Oh, hello Maxine. I didn’t realize you were coming over this afternoon,” Colleen said coolly, her assessing gaze scanning the room, and Max couldn’t help the way she bristled at the use of her full name. The words be good echoed in her mind.
“Max,” Senior said jovially. “Nice to see you again.” He waved as he moved towards the front hall and out of sight.
“I thought you guys were going to be out for a little longer. Max and I still have some, uh, things we need to go through.” Annie’s voice was more annoyed than panicked.
Colleen raised a skeptical eyebrow, clearly displeased with Annie’s response.
“You know,” she started, “we were having lunch with Bill and Allison Whitaker. Allison mentioned she’s seen you two around town together a few times now.
She asked me about it and put me in a little bit of an awkward position because I didn’t know what to tell her. ”
Max shot Annie a glance, unsure how to handle this interaction, but Annie didn’t even blink. “The easiest answer would have been to tell her we’re dating. What’s so hard about that?” she retorted.
Dating.
Max’s ears perked up at the sound of that word, a thrill shooting through her.
They had never really discussed putting a label on what they were doing but now that it was out there, Max was obsessed with it, obsessed with the idea that Annie was, by her own definition, her girlfriend. She tried to hide her smile.
Colleen huffed, placing a hand on her hip. “Well, how were we supposed to know that when you don’t tell us anything?”
But it was the ghost of a smile on Annie’s mother’s lips that perplexed Max.
If she were being honest, Max had never fully been able to tell how Annie’s mom felt about her in the handful of times they had interacted.
Sometimes she could have sworn Colleen harbored downright disdain for her, but then other times, like this moment, Max wasn’t so sure.
“I didn’t realize it was something I needed to announce to you, but now you know, and we’re going to pack things up here.
” Annie began piling the papers on top of her laptop, looking at Max.
“Can you help me bring these upstairs?” she asked, and Max nodded, grabbing the stack next to her, following closely as Annie’s pink skirt swished behind her.
Max stopped at the bottom of the stairs, hesitating before turning back towards Colleen. “Good to see you,” she said, smiling softly because this was Annie’s mom, and if they were—as Annie said—dating, she sure as hell was determined to make Colleen like her.
“Always a treat, Maxine,” Colleen called after them as she and Annie ascended the stairs.
“Dating?” Max asked smugly, a few moments after Annie had closed the bedroom door behind them.
A small smile settled on Annie’s full lips as she set the stack of papers on the dresser. “Was that okay to say?” She held her hand out to Max, taking the papers from her and adding them to the pile.
Max was already nodding. “Absolutely—I mean, yeah. It’s okay—it just caught me off guard a bit, but in a good way.” Her words were hurried as she tried to explain, not wanting Annie to think she didn’t want this.
“Okay then,” Annie said matter-of-factly. “It’s decided. We’re girlfriends.”
“Why does that always sound so silly to say out loud?” Max asked, taking a step closer to Annie.
“I don’t think it sounds silly.” Annie placed a hand softly on Max’s chest, fiddling with the collar of her shirt, smoothing it down. “Would you prefer partner? You know, for a more serious touch.”
Max thought about it for a moment. “No, you know what, let’s stick with girlfriend.”
Annie giggled into the kiss she was leaning in for, hands landing on Max’s hips, the pressure of her fingertips insistent as she guided Max back towards the bed, never breaking the moment between them.
Eager hands pushed her down as Annie climbed on top of her, mouth finding her neck as Max struggled not to give in to what she wanted most.
“Ann-ie.” She shuddered as Annie sucked on the sensitive area along the underside of her jaw.
Max blinked hard, opening her eyes to see an array of women looking down at her as Annie’s hands toyed with the hem of her shirt.
“Annie,” she hissed, gently wrapping her hands around her delicate wrists, stopping her movements in their tracks. “We can’t, not in your parents’ house—especially not when they’re home and the walls are thin.”
Annie ducked her head, grumbling into Max’s neck, “I live here too.”
“Yeah, you do, but I also kind of want your parents to like me, and I don’t think defiling their daughter in her childhood bedroom is going to win me brownie points.”
“Oh dear, heavens me.” Annie giggled, propping herself up on her forearms as she clutched at imaginary pearls. “Do you intend to sully my good name now?”
“Tarnish, stain, besmirch, mar—take your pick.”
Swatting at her playfully, Annie rolled off Max, positioning herself next to her on the bed, hand slipping into hers, intertwining their fingers as they both stared up at the collage of women fixed to the ceiling.
“I really need to get my own place.” She sighed, a hint of frustration in her words that had Max trying to guess the root cause.
Her body stilled, unsure if Annie’s statement was meant to be rhetorical or an invitation to an entirely different conversation, one Max wasn’t sure she was ready to have yet. Not because she was afraid of it, but because it felt way too early to have it.
Annie shifted, rolling onto her side. The fabric of her skirt draped over her hips, flowing over the edge of the bed. Max rolled over to face her, bringing a hand up to tuck a long strand of blond hair behind Annie’s ear as a curious question left her.
“What’s stopping you?”
Annie smiled, her words light. “A number of things.”
“Like what?”
Annie studied Max with a level of intensity only she could muster. “How honest do you want me to be with my answer?” she asked quietly.
Max’s pulse quickened; what kind of question was that? “Ideally, completely.”
Annie’s eyes darkened and she tilted her chin, almost as if she were still considering Max before she spoke.
“Okay, but remember, you asked for it.” She reached out, hand lazily stroking up and down Max’s side, fingertips ghosting along her arms. “I think I’ve been dragging my heels on finding an apartment because I wasn’t sure what was going on with you.
Your land. And with us. I don’t feel like I have enough information to make an informed decision.
Right now, I’m saving a ton of money living here.
I have enough in savings, but it’s been nice not to have to burn all of that on rent; however, it does mean accepting the tradeoff of having the world’s most annoying roommates.
” She played with the ends of Max’s dark hair.
“I also recognize that we are still very newly dating and talking about moving in together so soon is absolutely ludicrous. But it is something I want to do with you in some capacity at some point in the future when the time is right to have that conversation.”
Max listened as Annie rambled, following her weaving thoughts, documenting each of her fears raised and concerns uttered, and when she was done, she took her hand, lips brushing against the tops of her knuckles.
“Thank you for being honest with me,” she said with sincerity, looking intently into those deep blue eyes.
“And for the record, this conversation doesn’t scare me one bit.
I’d rather be able to be direct with each other than hold things in, too afraid to talk—that’s not a vibe I want in our relationship.
” She caught Annie’s grin at her words, the one that filled her with a specific warmth.
“But I don’t have an answer for you because I don’t really know what my plans are yet, and I hate that that’s putting you in limbo. ”
“You’re not putting me in limbo. I was already in limbo when we met. I can hang out here a little longer if it’s for a good cause.”
A quiet passed between them, Max’s mind spinning on what all of this meant.
“Hey Max.” Annie’s voice was soft, her hand soft against Max’s cheek. “Your dream in Michigan can one hundred percent be a reality. That’s what the audit revealed. It’s within your reach. You’re just going to need some investors to help you raise enough capital to get things going.”
Michigan. Investors. Capital. Max inhaled sharply, the words looping through her mind. “You really think so?” she asked, her question a hesitant utterance.
“I do, but you’re going to need one hell of a business plan.”
* * *
At the end of the week, Max pulled her car into the parking lot at a nature preserve in the next town over, the one with a path that wound its way along a scenic river that happened to have the most excellent birdwatching this side of Connecticut.
A silver sedan slid into the spot next to Max’s station wagon, Lynn waving from the driver’s seat before parking and hopping out. “Sorry I’m a little late, my belt ceremony ran a little longer than expected,” she explained, crouching down to lace up her sneakers.
“Belt ceremony?” Max questioned, running through her mind, trying to piece together what Lynn was talking about.
“Karate,” she said, as if that were enough of an explanation.
Max’s brow furrowed. “Since when?”