“Mara…Mara.”
Someone was calling my name. It sounded a lot like, Ashley. “What?” I squinted my eyes open. She was standing at the foot of the bed tapping on my foot. Then I remembered last night. Oh shit, Max was probably still here. The sunlight was streaming in through the window signaling the start of a new day. I quickly sat up and patted the empty spot beside me. “Where did he go?”
“Who?” Ashley looked confused by my question.
“Max. He was here last night; now he did his famous disappearing act.” I rolled out of the bed taking the sheet with me for a cover-up.
“The door was locked when I came in.” Ashley held up her room key. “Oh, what do we have here. Me, oh my…what happened here last night?” She tried to tug off the sheet.
I kept it tightly wound around me. “Ash, stop it. I have to get dressed and look for Max.” I grabbed my clothes off the floor and started to pull them on. Each piece that I put back on made me think back of how carefully Max had taken them off the night before. I noticed his clothes weren’t anywhere around, so he must be up and about already.
“There’s still a lot of people here. Maybe he’s out helping some of the guys clean up the yard.” Ashley tore off the shirt she was wearing and grabbed a big, comfy looking t-shirt. “I’ve been up all night. As soon as everything gets done and I see you safely off to home, I’m crashing for the rest of the day.”
I slipped on my shoes. “Did you see a guy out there with long, curly, dark brown hair?”
Ashley shook her head no.
“Ugh, help me find him.” I took her hand and pulled her out to the hallway.
It seemed only about half the people from last night had left. The house was still full of partiers, but it looked like a majority were moving around and helping to get everything back into order. I saw Katie was still with Elissa, so I knew that Max had to be around somewhere.
I nudged Ashley’s arm. “I’m going to look outside, okay? Let me know if you find him.”
She said that she would look around in all the rooms and ask around.
I walked outside and was shocked by the mess that was still littering the lawn. There were a few guys picking stuff up, but the way that they were moving along they would be there the rest of the day. I asked several of them if they knew a guy named Max, but they all shook their heads no that they didn’t. I was back to square one in finding him.
I walked up and down the street looking in parked cars and other people’s lawn, but I didn’t find him anywhere. Thirty minutes later, I walked back into the house. Some people were still lying on the floor, some were walking around in a zombie state of mind, and then there were the sorority sisters who were trying to clean up around everyone else.
“Any luck?” Ashley looked like she was about ready to fall over. She had dark circles under her eyes and looked like she could barely keep them open.
“No. Once again the famous, disappearing Max just vanishes.” I grabbed a garbage bag and began to help them clean. As many germs and filth that was on these cans and cups that I was picking up, I would have to wash my hands a few hundred times with sanitizer.
“Who did he come with?”
Now this was going to be the hard part to explain. “Katie.” Ashley gave me a look like she had no clue. “Elissa’s cousin.” The opened mouth look of recognition and awe surfaced.
“Are they together?” Ashley put down her bag and came closer to where I was working. Her eyes were wide with an excitement of maybe being in on some juicy gossip.
“Yes and no.” I mean according to her that question was a yes. If you ask Max, and especially with the way that he acts around me, then it’s a definite no.
“Let me guess, he says no while she says yes.”
I nodded my head that she was right.
“Mara, don’t let him fool you. Maybe they’re in a fight, and he’s looking to get even or something. I’ve been down that road before; guys are such pricks when they use girls like that.”
I couldn’t tell her that our whole affair had started while we were both in comas. It would be an instant of let’s take Mara to the psych ward on that one. Well, maybe not so much with Ashley since she believes in all that stuff, but anyone else would definitely try to commit me. I nodded my head in agreement with her. I just couldn’t and wouldn’t believe that Max would do that to me. We had this connection like I’ve never seen before, not even with my own parents.
“C’mon, we’ll find out where he’s at.” Ashley led me over to the opened front door. We saw Elissa walking Katie out to her car. “Katie.” Ashley called out to them before they got too far down the sidewalk. Both girls turned around to see why Ashley had yelled out. “Is Max riding with you?”
Katie’s expression seemed to fall. She looked confused about Ashley’s question. “No, why would he be?”
“Didn’t he come with you?”
“No, he’s not here.” Katie seemed to be irritated that we asked such a simple thing.
“Ash.” I tugged on her arm. “Just let it go. Maybe he followed her and didn't want her to know that he was here.”
“Okay, never mind.” Ashley waved her off. “Sorry, Mara.” She rubbed my back. “We didn’t find him.”
“I don’t know what his issue is? Like this morning, we spent all night together and then he just disappears.”
Ashely shook her finger at me. “You’re gonna have to explain all of this to me one of these days.”
“Yeah, as soon as I figure it out, I’ll let you know.” I checked my cell phone for the time. “Hey, I gotta get going. Walk me to my car.” I led her over to where my car sat.
“Make sure you text me when you get home.” Ashley gave me a big hug goodbye.
“I will. Thanks for the great night.”
“Yep. Anytime you want to romp around in my bed with some mystery guy; you’re more than welcome.” She knocked on my window as I pulled away. I waved goodbye to both her and Max, wherever he may be.
* * *
It's been almost two weeks since I’d last seen Max. I was going freakin’ insane with what had happened to him and why he hadn’t tried to get into contact with me. Mom was making me visit the college up in Massachusetts before I accepted their approval letter, which was fine with me. It meant that I would be closer to Max, and maybe, just maybe, he would somehow show back up. I just hope he’s not back with Katie. I mean I know they were a couple, but after everything he and I’d been through and shared, how could we not be together?
“Mara!” my mom was yelling down the hallway for me to get my ass in gear.
“I’m going.” I grabbed my overnight bag and went out to the living room.
“I just want you to drive slowly and get there safely.” Mom was always paranoid now when I drove. It didn’t matter if it was right down the street, to the store, or three hours away like today.
I gave her a quick hug. “I will do that for both. I’ll call when I get there.” I waved bye and went out to my car for another Mara adventure to Max land.
* * *
The campus was almost silent when I arrived. It certainly wasn’t like the university Ashley was going to, where it was one event after another all day and all night long. As soon as I saw this place, I knew I would fit in perfectly. It was quiet, peaceful, not a whole hell of a lot of bullshit going on, and it was close to Max, just the way I wanted it to be.
I checked in with registration, and they had a guide show me to my dorm room that I would be staying in for the night. She was quite pleasant and answered almost every question that I asked along the way. Only about fifty students came for this particular orientation, so we were all able to have our own room. I had liked the idea of having a roommate when I went to school, but now that Max was in the picture I think rooming alone would be the better option. I called mom to let her know that I’d made it safely and then decided to take a self-tour of the campus.
There was still about three hours of daylight left after I com
pleted my walk around. It was a small-town college, and I knew I was going to find my place here. The orientation didn’t start until the next morning, so I was free the rest of the evening. Hmm, what to do? Ah, I could always go to the cliffs. It’s not that far of a drive, and it would help to get rid of some lag time until group dinner in the cafeteria.
I drove over to the stone quarry and instantly felt a sense of tranquility wash over me. I only got that feeling when Max was around. So maybe, I would run into him and then find out what the hell his problem was for just up and leaving that morning from Ashley’s and then not calling me at all.
So far, I hadn’t encountered anyone along the trails. It was eerily silent with only the chirping or the birds and rustling around in the leaves from the squirrels that interrupted the solemnness.
Our cliff came into sight, and I felt that instant pull to the edge. The water looked so tranquil like it could put me to sleep at any moment. It seemed to be calling my name to join it. I knew better than to jump with no one around. It was the most dangerous jump spot here, and my likelihood of coming back up without any injury was almost impossible. It’s not like everyone who jumps here gets injured, but this particular spot was only for the experienced jumper and ones who didn’t care if they lived or died. Even though Max was an experienced cliff jumper, he still got hurt because of a freak accident.
“Do you always just stand here alone?”
How could I not know that voice? I turned around, and Max was standing two feet behind me. “Well, I wouldn’t be alone if people who live in this area would call me.”
Max ran his hand over his face and let out an enormous sigh. “I’m sorry.”
“So, you’re the love’em and leave’em type.” I needed to know the reason he was always running away from me.
“That will never be the case for you.” Max stood before me and opened up his arms.
As much as I wanted to be mad at him, I just couldn’t. I let him snuggle against my body, so there were no more spaces between us. It felt like home. Like this was the place that I needed to be. I felt my anger and irritation with him that I’d felt over the past few weeks just wash away. “Why does it seem that you always just leave without ever any goodbye?” I leaned back away from him and reveled in how perfect he was. His hair was always just right, messy but in a way that was suitable for him. His complexion was flawless, as was the rest of his body.
“I don’t do goodbyes. I won’t ever say goodbye to you, I can’t. So, it’s better if I just leave and not have to go through that turmoil of maybe never seeing you again.”
“That might be changing.”
“Why?” Max kissed me ever so softly on the lips.
“I got accepted to Massachusetts College. I’m going in for psychology.”
Max chuckled at my chosen profession. “That’s great.” He smiled, but I didn’t see the sparkle in his eyes that was normally there when I told him good news.
“What’s wrong?” Not only could I see some change in his attitude, but I could also pick up on his wavering emotions.
“Nothing why?” He tried once again to kiss me.
I held him back. He was always using that ploy to attempt to stop me from gaining answers. “Are you upset that I could be moving here? Does it have to do with, Katie?”
“First.” Max took hold of my hands and snuck in a kiss. “There is no more me and Katie. Second, I’m not upset that you are moving here. I’d applied to the same college before my accident, but I won’t be able to attend until I’m a hundred percent better.”
I knew he was telling the truth with both Katie and school issues. I felt more relieved knowing she was completely out of the picture and maybe next semester, he would be coming to school with me. “How have you been feeling?”
“Much better when I’m with you.”
“I think you could probably start college. I mean you look quite fine to me.” I held out our arms and looked him up and down from head to toe. My tongue darted out and took a long, slow, swipe of my lips.
Max groaned and pulled on the crotch of his jeans. “You’re gonna kill me if you keep looking at me like that.”
“Oh, yeah.” I moved closer to him and ran my hand down the front of his body. “I’m all alone in my dorm room tonight.” I started kissing his neck and caressing his ass through his jeans.
Max hissed in my ear. “Mara, I might not make it that long.”
I giggled and once again, stepped away from his reach. “I’m in the first building. I forget the name, but I’m in room 1030.” I checked my phone for the time and saw it was a lot later than I thought it was. Every time I was with Max the time flew by so quickly. “I gotta get back for this orientation dinner, but it all should be done around nine this evening.”
“I will be there. I promise.”
I went to give Max one last kiss, but he grabbed hold of me, so I couldn’t get away. His hands exploring my body gave me an inclination of what to expect later on, which I was so looking forward to. After several more minutes of caressing, kissing, and never wanting to let go, I managed to break our spell. “Okay.” I fixed my shirt and looked around to make sure no one had seen us. “I really got to get going.” I kissed him one last time then took off jogging down the pathway, so he couldn’t coerce me into any more scrumptious moments with him.
* * *
The dinner was great, and I met a lot of people that seemed to be nice. There were two other girls in our group that were also majoring in psychology and we agreed that we would all get together for late night study sessions once the semester began. I kept checking the time, and it seemed each minute was taking an hour to go by. I had fifteen minutes before Max was coming and I wanted to freshen up before he got there.
Finally, at eight fifty-five the group leaders called it a night. Some of the students wanted to hang out and talk amongst themselves, but I said I was sleepy from the drive and the long walk I took this afternoon. I told them all good night and that I would see them in the morning. I rushed back to my room and hurried to make myself more presentable before Max got there.
It was a little after nine when I got done in the bathroom. I walked back into the room and just about lost it all right there. Max lying on my bed scared the crap out of me. “How did you get in?” I know nice greeting, right?
“Through the door.” He gave me the obvious answer.
“But it was locked.” Or…at least I hope it was. I was in such a hurry to get back here that I’d probably forgotten to lock it when I rushed in.
“Well, Mara.” Max patted the spot beside him on the bed.
I hopped on and curled in beside him. He put his arm around me and lay my head on his chest. “You can’t just be leaving your door unlocked. Someday, there might be a guy who walks right in and seduces you.”
“Really?” I made my tone sound as if I was more excited than scared of that happening. “I might tend to like that, though.” I got up on my knees and threw one leg over him, so I was straddling him. Max put his hands on my back and pulled me closer to his chest. I started to grind my hips into his enlarged groin area.
Just like the time at the party, Max had both of us undressed in record time. I swear to God, it’s like he snaps his fingers and our clothes just disappear. Just like the times before, our lovemaking was unhurried as we both found comfort in each other’s touch. I was falling more and more in love with him, but just never knew how to say it. I’m sure he could tell that I loved him, so maybe words weren’t needed. When I read his emotions and thoughts, it seemed they were identical to mine. What we had found in each other was something that so very few people ever got to experience. We found our other halves that finally made us whole.
Chapter Fifteen
Two weeks later, I was saying my final goodbyes to my parents. They were all teary eyed about me moving away and going to college, but I was exuberant. I would be so close to Max that we would be able to meet up every day. I hadn’t seen or heard from him sin
ce that night in the dorm room, but I guess it had to with the therapy for his leg. He never really talked about it much, except that it was getting better, but from what I knew about recovery from an accident most likely he would need a lot of physical therapy in his case.
“I will, I will, and I do too,” I answered mom and dad’s demands and affections before they had the chance to say them.
Mom looked at me like she was confused about what I’d just said.
“I’ll be safe driving. I will call when I get there. And I love you too.” Oh God here goes the tears that she’d been holding back.
“My baby girl is leaving us.”
I could hardly understand what she was saying as she wrapped my tightly in a hug like she never wanted to let go.
“We better let her get going. I don’t want her to have to speed trying to make it there in time.” Dad patted mom’s back and gently pulled her back away from me.
I gave dad one last hug then jumped into my car before mom could grab at me again. I honked and waved as I drove out of the driveway, then screamed with exhilaration at the top of my lungs when I got onto the road away from the house. I was doing this. I was out on my own and going to be with the one guy who held my heart, body, and soul.
* * *
Five hours later, I was all set up in my room. Well, I had brought everything in from my car, but it still sat in bags and boxes on the floor. The room came complete with everything, and all I had to do was bring my personal belongings, which in my case was a lot. I didn’t want to leave anything behind, so I packed it all up, and now, I had no clue where I was going to put it all.
I could go down and start associating with the people that I would be going to school and living with for the next four years, or I could try to find a way to get in touch with Max. Yes, I remembered where his house was but showing up once again unexpected would probably be wrong. I picked up my cell phone and tossed it back and forth between my hands. I still had his number on my phone from when I had called my cell the day that I'd gotten lost.
Somewhere In-Between (Breathless #1) Page 11
