by Erin Bevan
“Yes. I never got his name.” Alex cringed.
That would explain the terms of endearment, but who was this person next to him? Not once had he ever been disappointed in Alex, but today…today started something new. And he didn’t like it.
“Never got his name, huh?” Unable to keep his emotions out of his voice, Max rubbed the back of his neck. That was something even he had never done.
“Are you…mad?” Alex raised an eyebrow. “Mad that I slept with someone?”
He rubbed her back to assure her. “What? No! Of course, I’m not mad.”
He wasn’t mad. He was livid. At himself. None of this should have happened, and if he hadn’t let his hormones dictate his life, none of it would have.
As her friend, he should encourage her to go on dates, meet people, but the truth was, he’d been ecstatic with Alex not having a boyfriend. Her one and only serious boyfriend, Chris, had developed a problem with their friendship, so he did what he had to do to keep Alex in his life. He became friends with the guy—as friendly as he could stomach anyway. In truth, Chris rubbed him the wrong way, and seeing him with Alex had been a constant twist to his gut. The Ass never deserved her, but Alex could never see it…until she’d walked in on him cheating with some other woman.
For the past month she’d wallowed in a depressed state over The Ass. Not something Max wanted to watch again, especially not over Mr. Don’t Know His Name.
“I’m just surprised. Alex, this isn’t you. Drinking, clubbing, having one-night stands. I expect that from Shelby.” And himself. Maybe that’s why he didn’t care for Shelby…they were too much alike. “But not you.”
“Don’t blame Shelby,” she said, rising to her friend’s defense while reaching for a napkin to wipe her nose. “I make my own decisions. I’m a big girl. And how dare you act disappointed in me. What about all the times you’ve called me for help with the same kind of situation?” Her nostrils flared and her cheeks brightened. “In fact, I’ll bet you were grateful I called. Rescuing me gave you a good excuse to ditch last night’s flavor.”
Grateful? How did this get turned around on him?
A couple sitting at a table to the left glanced over at them.
He turned toward her and placed his back toward the couple. “Alex, maybe you could try to keep your voice down?” he whispered.
She shot him a glare that would scare the coffee right out of the beans.
“Okay, okay.” Max held up his hands. “I’m sorry. You’re right. I have no right to judge you.”
“You’re dang right, I’m right.” Alex huffed as she straightened in her seat, her breasts rising in the process.
Max turned away, staring at the wall in front of him because Alexandra Mills was right about something else, too. She was no longer a girl. Their friendship had started when they were eight years old. Just kids. But now, she was all woman—a woman he couldn’t help but notice, no matter how close of friends they were, and he shouldn’t be staring at her breasts…because they were friends. Dammit.
Truth was, he’d noticed her for years, but boys from the wrong side of the tracks didn’t date good girls like Alexandra. Not until they made something of themselves first. Then Chris came along and messed everything up. But, now…now that she was single and he could act, it didn’t mean he should. She wasn’t ready. Her crying in her coffee proved it.
“All I’m saying is I should have been with you. I worry about you. I don’t want anything to happen to you.”
“I know you do, Max, but I called and asked if you wanted to come.”
He almost had gone, but when she’d said she was going out dancing—he didn’t think he could sit back and watch her get that close to other men.
But never in his wildest dreams did he think she would take one to bed, so soon after her breakup.
And something else definitely would have happened if he’d gone. Once he’d gotten a few drinks in him, he would’ve done something he would’ve regretted. No, that’s a lie. He would not have regretted one minute of what he’d often thought about doing with Alex, but what he wanted to do would take them way past the friendship mark into the orgasm-friends zone, and that wasn’t something either of them was ready for. Not yet. He wouldn’t push her, because if he did, he might lose her…and that terrified him the most.
Alex was the one person who’d always been a constant in his life. The one person who didn’t toss him aside like trash the way his biological parents had when he was a baby. Or the way his adopted father decided he wasn’t worth sticking around for. Even the women he slept with weren’t the type you bring home to momma.
But Alex was, and he couldn’t lose her.
Wouldn’t lose her.
So instead, he’d stayed home last night and buried his aggravation in Tawana, a teacher from a town over. Her hair was long, and her ass was tight, but unlike her unique name, her technique in the sheets was pretty damn forgettable.
Seems to be a lot of forgetting going around today.
But he’d never forget today. Picking Alex up after her walk of shame and the shame he felt knowing he should have been with her.
“I know you invited me, and I should have said yes. I was just—”
“Occupied with Kitty Cat, or Kitten, or Cougar. Which was it this time, Max?”
A fire lit in her blue eyes and glowed against her red rims. Alex…jealous? It was something he’d never seen before.
“Are you…jealous?” Max pushed his back into the booth seat. Never, in all their time as friends, did he ever think she’d be jealous of the other women in his life.
He watched her gaze dart from his mouth to his eyes as she licked her lips.
Finally! After all these years, were they on the same page?
You can’t go there, Max.
You haven’t proven yourself yet.
But he wanted to go there, and everywhere. He was only a man, after all.
One thing he was certain of—if Alex and he ever passed the point of being friends and moved into orgasm-friends territory, she would remember the way he made her feel, like she was the one woman on earth that had ever mattered, ever meant anything to him, past, present or future.
Her eyes were glassy with lust as she leaned in. Then, almost instantly something inside her snapped. She pulled back and shot him down with one quick word. “No.”
Reality must have set in for her. He wasn’t worth her time, and their moment was officially long gone…like his virginity.
“I’m not jealous of all the woman you play with and then toss to the side, Max. Besides, I know last night might have been unusual for me, but I need someone to settle down with, and you, Maximilian Buchanan, do not settle down. You play around.”
Ouch!
“Ever since your mom died it’s like…” Alex shook her head.
“Like what?”
“Like you’re looking for something, but you’re afraid to commit.”
Because everyone had left him.
“Not fair, Alex.” Max crossed his arms.
“I’m sorry. You’re right. It wasn’t. I miss her, too.”
His mom had loved Alex. She’d always said she’d prayed every day the two of them would end up together. He always wished he could have made his mother’s dream come true before she died, but he’d never bothered to change his ways. He’d never thought his mother would die so young either. Perhaps it was time for him to change.
“I could change, ya know?” He shrugged then pulled on the end of her hair in a playful manner, acting as if her words didn’t sting, and as if the tenseness of their conversation wasn’t really there.
Alex cocked her head to the side. “Old habits die hard, Max.”
Double Ouch.
“Perhaps, but I could prove it if I saw a reason worth proving it for.”
“Yeah? How’s the campaign going? Is that reason enough for you? You think your voters want a player in office? If you’re going to take your mayoral campaign seriously—“<
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“Not if. I am.” He let go of her hair, a sudden headache coming on. He didn’t need her nagging him. Time to change tactics.
“Then I suggest you learn to settle down.”
She had a point. He had goals, dreams, things to prove to himself and their town. There were initiatives he wanted to set in place for orphans like he’d been, and if he was ever going to convince anyone he was the right man for the job, he had to start with convincing Alex first. If his best friend didn’t even believe in him, then how would the rest of the town?
“I don’t really understand why you want to be Mayor anyway?”
“You know how I feel about Ryker.”
Ryker Reynolds had made his life a living hell growing up. Teasing him for being an orphan, for being adopted by a man who bailed, and for being poor. The town didn’t need a man like him in office.
“That was years ago, Max. He’s changed. He’s actually a nice guy.”
A nice guy? How could she think someone as deplorable as Reynolds was nice? Especially after the way the man had treated him growing up. “What, so you’re buddies with Reynolds now?”
He bit his lip the moment after he’d let the words fly. Bitterness wasn’t exactly the tactic he’d wanted to go with.
“What? No, Max. All I’m saying is, let the past go. You both aren’t the same people anymore.”
Damn right he wasn’t the same person. But who he’d been, and where he’d come from, was part of the reason he wanted to be mayor now. He could help—along with proving to Alex he wasn’t a total joke.
“Look. I’m—”
Alex’s phone rang inside her purse. “Oh.” She fumbled to open the clasp and gripped her device. “It’s Shelby.”
He shook his head, clearing his mind. He didn’t want to fight with Alex, and he didn’t care to sit there and listen to how poorly his best friend thought of him or how amazing she thought Ryker Reynolds was now, but perhaps the past should stay in the past.
If he ever wanted to win Alex or this election, he had to get his act together. Fast.
“So, you’re okay?” Alex said into the phone. “Max is here with me, so I’m going to ride home with him. I’ll see you later, okay?” She hung up. “Shelby says she thinks she found the one with Payton, the guy she’s with.” Alex rolled her eyes.
She had about as much faith in Shelby landing the one as she had in him settling down. He couldn’t say he blamed her.
“Didn’t she say that the last time about…Braxton or Braydon or whoever?”
“And the time before that, and the time before that.” Alex sighed. “I just hope she finds what she’s looking for, ya know?”
“Yeah. I do.” He hoped he’d find what he was looking for, too. A way to prove himself to Alex. He let out a heavy sigh before he slid over in the booth. “You ready for me to take you home?”
“Yes. But…Max.” Alex wiped some imaginary crumbs from her shirt. “Can I ask a favor?”
“Sure.” His shoulders tensed. Their conversation hadn’t ended on the happiest note. He had no idea what she was about to ask of him, but whatever it was, he prayed it went in line with his new mission. To prove to her he was a changed man. “What’s up?”
She pressed her lips together and looked him in the eye, before she cast her gaze back down to the table, her cheeks reddening. “Can we act like none of this ever happened? Please?”
Gladly.
Last thing he wanted to think about was her sleeping with some random guy, or face the truth about what she thought of him. That he wasn’t good enough for her.
He faked a smile. “Already forgotten. Come on. Let’s get you home.” He stood and wrapped his arm over her shoulder, leaning in to kiss the side of her head. “Anything for you.”
“Thanks, Max.”
She leaned her head on his shoulder as they walked to the door and for a second, with her next to him, all was right again.
“Oh, and I almost forgot.” He pulled a pack of pain relievers from his pocket. “I thought your head might be pounding.”
She took the package and stared at him like he’d bought new tablets for her classroom. “Thank you, Max. I love you. You’re my best friend.”
Not best orgasm-friend. Just best friend. That’s all he’d ever be to her.
Would he ever be enough?
“Back at you, babe.” He held the door open for her and directed her to his car.
3
Alex stared at her phone while taking her lunch break in the teacher’s lounge. It had been nearly a month since her drunken escapade, and she’d hardly spoken three words to Max since then. She couldn’t pinpoint what had changed between them, but something was off. Way off. If it was because she’d had a one-night stand, she was going to smack him into tomorrow. How many times had he done the same thing, yet they’d carried on and she’d kept her mouth shut? Not that she liked it, but he was a grown man. He could do anything and anyone he wanted, and so could she for that matter.
Just thinking about him and his ways caused her whole body to tense.
And speaking of one-night stands, she still couldn’t remember Stinky Halitosis Boy’s name. Not that she really wanted to, necessarily, but the idea of not knowing the guy she’d slept with hadn’t settled well with her. She should have looked at his driver’s license. Left her number maybe…something.
Alex sighed.
Who was she kidding? A “Hey, how are you?” from Stinky would have been weird. But if Breath Boy had remembered her name, he hadn’t made any attempts to get a hold of her through social media. That’s what stung the most: that she was so disposable.
What was so wrong with her that guys didn’t want her? Not even her best friend, who slept with everyone, wanted to have anything to do with her relationship-wise.
She plopped her phone back on the table and slid it away from her with a little more force than she’d meant to, making it slide onto the floor by her coworker’s feet.
“Who peed in your cheerios?” Rhonda, the senior English teacher, spread her short pudgy legs wide as she oh-so-slowly reached down to pick up Alex’s phone. The woman looked more like she was ready to punt a football than pick up a phone. As slow as she got down, she got back up and handed Alex her phone back.
“Thanks, Rhonda.” She stared at her screen saver. Edinburgh Castle. Chris had promised to take her someday, just like he’d promised to love her forever.
Look how well that promise had turned out. No Chris, and no Edinburgh.
Whatever. She didn’t need a man to take her to Edinburgh. She’d get there on her own. She slapped her phone down screen first on the Formica tabletop.
“What’s the matter?” Rhonda asked, her head deep in the refrigerator as she rummaged for her diet shake before she slammed the door shut with her robust hip then plopped down in the chair across from Alex. “Man troubles?”
“No.” Alex gave her coworker a pointed look. Every teacher in the small, private school where she taught knew she didn’t have a man. Not anymore. And thank God she’d had the good sense to have her illicit affair out of town, because Serendipity Falls Hope Christian School frowned on having sex out of wedlock. As in, they find out and you’re fired frowned upon.
“Not man troubles. Friend troubles.” Even though Max was a man.
Alex reached down to her giant, gray bag on the floor and pulled out her knitting. She wound the pink yarn around her wooden knitting needles. Ever since the incident, she’d busied herself with knitting hats. For the children’s hospital, for the seniors in the community, for Gus, the over talkative, overly nosy mailman…anyone she could think to knit for she did. The busier she kept, the less she had time to think about her mistake. At least, that had been the plan. However, it hadn’t really worked so well for her.
“I haven’t talked to Max in a while. Something’s up with him.”
“Now that one.” Rhonda pointed her pudgy, pink nailed, finger with a glazy-eyed smile on her face. “If I was about twenty y
ears younger, I’d date that one myself. I don’t know why you two don’t go out.”
Why indeed.
Max wasn’t a one-woman kind of guy. She couldn’t deal with any more guys like that. Chris had treated her as if she were a doormat while Stinky had treated her as if she were disposable—there was no way she could handle it if Max treated her in anyway like these two men had.
“Max isn’t my type.” Alex tugged on the yarn, knitting instead of purling.
“Not your type?” Rhonda curled her red painted top lip. “Rich and handsome isn’t your type?”
Alex tossed her knitting to the side. Rich. That’s all anyone ever saw—the Maximilian of today. The Hot Sauce King. The man who drove a fancy car and owned his own business and wanted to live up to his fancy sounding name.
No one knew the Max she knew, the one who had eaten half her lunch at school every day because he didn’t have enough to eat. The one who scraped by with almost nothing and made something of himself. The Max who, while a minimalist, hoarded everything he did purchase because he was afraid of having nothing again one day.
“There’s more to Max than just his looks and his money, Rhonda. Besides, he’s got…well, issues.”
“Ha!” Rhonda threw her head back, and laughed, her whole body jiggling in her seat. “Don’t we all, dear.” She pointed her finger at Alex, looking her straight on. “The key is finding the person whose issues you can stand.”
Yeah, but Max had one big issue she couldn’t stand, and she wanted a guy for keeps, not for right now.
“We’re friends. That’s all.”
“Friends with benefits?” Rhonda wiggled her brows suggestively.
Alex scowled and glanced past Rhonda toward the entrance to the break room. If anyone so much as heard them joking about sex outside of marriage, they’d both get a severe talking to by Mr. Wilkins, the school principal. Serendipity Falls Hope Christian paid their teachers well, and in return the board expected all the rules to be followed. Archaic or not.
