Chapter Sixteen

I heaved myself out of bed and stood in front of the mirror. I was really in no mood to go out especially when I looked like this. I took out the loose knot I had made and ran my fingers through my hair, thankful that I had straightened it earlier in the day. I threw on a pair of sweatpants with “PINK” emblazoned across the back and an old Maple Leafs t-shirt and made my way downstairs. I had just made it into the kitchen when I heard the low rumble of an engine in my driveway. I put the ice cream back in the freezer, rummaged through the pantry, then threw on my North Face before heading out to meet Max. I opened the passenger’s door and threw a box of Pop-Tarts into Max’s lap.

“Pop-Tarts?” he asked looking at me quizzically.”Who brings Pop-Tarts on 1 AM car rides?”

“Um, they are the perfect late night snack,” I retorted.

“Well, I have a bottle of tequila in the back to wash them down,” he said, smiling mischievously.

“Well who randomly has that in their car?” I asked as he eased out of the driveway.

“I’m always prepared,” he said turning off my block.

“Where are we going anyway?” I asked, rolling down my window and letting the night air fill the car.

“This place I know,” he replied speeding along steadily. We were silent for a moment until I had an idea. I climbed into the back and rolled down all the windows, then rolled down my own window, then leaned across Max’s lap and rolled down his window. “You know, I can’t really drive like this.” He looked down at me while I just shrugged and pressed the button to take the top down.

“That’s so much better!” I said, feeling my hair floating freely behind me. The full moon shining overhead gave me such a sense of relaxation that I didn’t even mind when Max reached across the center console for my hand. He took it tentatively, almost testing the waters and I could swear I heard a sigh of relief from him when I didn’t swat his hand away. We drove the remainder of the way in silence and finally he pulled up to the “place”. He had followed this gravel road to a clearing in a field of some sort. It actually looked pretty sketchy, but I guess once you got past that initial feeling, it had the potential to be cute. A brook babbled aimlessly down on one side.

“Well?” he got out of the car and waved his arms around.

“Well,” I repeated. “Is this where you take all your conquests?” I stood beside him as he looked over the field.

“You,” he began, “are not a conquest.” His expression was suddenly serious. I turned away from him and made my way back to the car.

“Where’s the tequila?” I asked going to the back seat.

“I thought you’d never ask,” he said coming over to help me. We both found a spot of comfort in his backseat. He with his feet perched on the center console and me on the opposite side with my feet in his lap. We talked about everything. It was so easy to be myself with Max. I didn’t have to try and impress him and he seemed genuinely interested in what I had to say.

“Who was your first love?” he asked breaking off a piece of Pop-Tart.

“Hmmm, this guy Brien. When I was sixteen,” I recalled. “What about you?”

“You,” he answered without hesitation.

“Stop!” I made a lame attempt at kicking him to which he just laughed. My alcohol intake didn’t help my already poor coordination.

“Alright, alright, my first love was this girl Tanya. When I was fifteen or sixteen,” he answered. “Now it’s your turn.”

“Why don’t you have a girlfriend?” I asked taking a swig from the bottle of tequila. Max was silent for a minute, thinking about how to answer.

“I’m waiting,” he began carefully.

“Waiting on what?” I pressed. I watched as Max closed his eyes as if preparing for a long answer.

“Waiting on someone who doesn’t want to be with me because of who I am. Waiting on someone who I can be myself around. Someone I can talk to about anything and trust completely. Someone who has a sense of humor and understands my sense of humor. Someone who I can laugh with but also be serious with. And to tell you the truth, I think I’ve found her. Actually, I know I have. We can’t be together just yet though, but I’m willing to wait. She’s worth it,” he looked down then back up at me. I suddenly felt all the tequila rushing to my head. I got up and crawled over to where he was seated.

“She’s very lucky,” I whispered letting my head fall on his chest.

“No, I am,” he corrected me and I felt his arms close around me and I relaxed into him. We stayed like that for a moment until I propped myself up and looked at him.

“Maxie,” I said looking into his eyes. I didn’t quite know what I was doing and I certainly wasn’t in the right frame of mind. Without thinking I attacked his mouth with my own. I didn’t expect to be pushed away either.

Max’s Point of View
I had no choice but to push Riley away. I couldn’t take advantage of her when she was like this even though every part of my body was screaming “Yes! Just do it!”. My mind won the battle. I watched a look of hurt play across her beautiful features, tears filling her eyes.

“Don’t you want me, Maxie?” she asked. There was that word. Maxie. She never called me that until tonight and I liked the way it sounded. It was endearing. I looked into her eyes and saw the glassy effect the liquor had on them. She had far more to drink than I did and it was showing.

“Of course I want you,” I began, taking her hands in mine, “but I can’t let you do this. You’ll regret it in the morning. It’s not what you want.” I hated how the words sounded.

“I do want you!” she half shouted at me and then she was back in my lap. “I want you Maxie. I really really do. I promise. I do. I want you.” I felt her nuzzling my neck and my body involuntarily arched towards her. “And you want me too.” Her mouth was back on mine and this time I gave in. I kissed her back like my life depended on it. She let herself fall in my arms and I tightened them around her in an attempt to keep her upright, but that’s not what she wanted. I felt her pushing me back, into a reclining position. Her weight on top of me was such a welcome feeling that I wanted to remember it forever. I reached up to stroke her face, but it was moist. I pulled back and squinted in the dim moonlight to see that she was crying. I abruptly got myself upright and positioned her next to me.

“Why are you crying?” I asked taking her face in my hands.

“I…I don’t know,” she looked down then back up at me. “I’m sorry, I ruined everything. And I had way too much to drink and I can’t even think straight and I want you and…I don’t know. It’s confusing.” She then placed her head on my shoulder and I wrapped my arms around her. I was actually glad that something had interrupted us. I certainly didn’t want to go any further with her if she wouldn’t remember it. Hell, she probably wasn’t even going to remember this.

“You didn’t ruin anything, okay? Listen, I’ll take you home and we can talk about this tomorrow….if you remember,” I added. She nodded and placed a fleeting kiss on my lips.

“Thank you, Maxie,” she said and laid down in the back seat. I hopped into the front seat and put the top back up. I left the windows rolled down though to afford Riley some fresh air. The ride back to her house was quick and by the time we arrived she was passed out in the back. I grabbed her keys out of her pocket, picked her up, then carried her inside. I had never been inside Riley’s place before and it seemed so her. I assumed that her bedroom was upstairs and I was right. I put her down on the bed, removed her shoes, and tucked her in. I really didn’t want to leave her, God forbid anything happened, so I drove back over to my place, grabbed my packed bag, came back to her house and slept next to her until I had to leave.