I peeked over at Max and squeezed his knee lightly. “Can we go out for ice cream?”
He looked back in the mirror to his daughter and winked. “Anything for my girls.”
At the very same time, Ceecee and I uttered excitedly, “Chunky Monkey!”
I turned and we both blinked at each other before I started to laugh. Ceecee giggled, and before I knew it, I was laughing so hard that tears streamed down my face.
I swiped at my eyes and spotted Max shaking his head at the both of us. But he did it smiling. “Knuckleheads.”
Chapter Thirty-Six
Helena
I make my way downstairs on a mission to find Max. That’s my main objective right now. The White Rabbit is jumping tonight. As the weather gets warmer, the more people decide making the trip out on a Saturday night is worth it. I glance over the crowd and spot him by the bar, talking to a couple of pretty ladies. His smile is warm and engaging, but I don’t care. The smiles they get doesn’t compare to the ones he gives me.
Moving through the crowd, my deep purple maxi dress swishing around my ankles, my strappy flat-covered feet tread lightly across the dance floor, only seeing him. How can I see anything else when Max is in the room? Warmth spreads through me. I’ve never met anyone like him before. He’s sincerely the most caring, thoughtful man I have ever had the pleasure of knowing.
At the end of the dance floor, I walk up the stairs towards him. When he spots me, he says a few words to the women before stepping closer to me, smiling wide. I beam at him, picking up my pace. My feet carry me faster and faster toward him. Finally, close enough, I leap into his arms. With no effort at all, he catches me easily.
I love you.
I press my mouth to his, hungry for his kisses, needing to show him how I feel.
I love you.
His mouth opens and I stroke his tongue with my own, snaking my arms around his neck, pulling him close.
I love you.
Pressing deeper into the kiss, I pull my lips away from Max’s to whisper against them, “I’m in love with you.”
When I try to kiss him again, he pulls back, hands tightly gripping my hips, looking down at me in confusion. “What did you just say?”
I’m done. I can’t play this game anymore. I’ve not been playing for a long time. This just got real. “I’m in love with you.” I smile warmly up at him and shrug. “I love you.” His eyes darken a shade before he crashes his mouth to mine, taking my lips in a fierce, animalistic kiss. His fingers dig into my skin, and although it hurts a little, I feel the passion radiating from him. Closing my eyes, I tangle my fingers into the hair at his nape and give as good as I get. Pulling back, I rest my forehead on his and breathe, “I love you, Max.”
Today, after Max took us ladies out for an ice cream, it was with a heavy heart I asked to be dropped off at home. When Ceecee asked me to come watch a movie with them, I declined, even though I wanted to more than I wanted to take my next breath. As I stepped out of the car, Ceecee asked, “Helena, can we go back to the park tomorrow morning?”
Max looked back at his daughter, then over to me. He shrugged. “We’re skipping breakfast anyways. I promised Nik I’d help him out with painting the girls’ rooms before Coney.”
I smiled back at her. A small part of me grinned knowing she likely wanted to see Sam again. “Sure thing. Same time?”
She nodded excitedly.
Max stated, “Then tonight, you’ll sleep at the house and take the van to the park while I’m at Nik’s. When you’re done, we’ll meet at home and head to Coney from there.” He made everything seem so easy. I agreed, and with tension in my gut, I left my two favorite people in the world.
Felicity came by, and with what was quickly becoming a routine, we got ready together and caught a cab to the club. B-Rock accepted our hugs and kisses before letting us inside, and when we approached the VIP section, Willa—dressed as a sexy Alice in Wonderland—waved us over with a huge smile. She hugged us and announced, “I’m doing it. Tonight.”
Felicity and I glanced at each other, confused. Flick asked, “Doing what exactly?”
A sweet smile crossed Willa’s face. “I’m going to kiss Whit tonight.”
My jaw dropped. I shook my head to clear it. “Have you been drinking?”
She giggled, and I hadn’t heard anything so sweet in my life. Covering her face with her hands, she uttered, “No, but he’s giving me all the signs, like you said. And I’m done with waiting for him to make a move.” She stood taller. “Tonight is the night.”
Felicity took her hands in her own and beamed, “You’ll have to find us and tell us how it went.”
I scoffed and touched her arm. “Girl, if he kisses you right, we won’t see you ‘til Monday. And you’ll be walking bowlegged.”
We made our way upstairs and found Nat, Lola, and Tina sitting at the usual booth. Tina lifted her swollen feet onto a stool, while Nat rubbed them. As I approached, I smiled down at her and patted her belly lovingly. “You taking care of my nieces or nephews?”
She smiled sweetly. “I am, but they’re not taking care of me. My back is killing me.”
“Why didn’t you stay home?”
Suddenly, Tina blurted out, “I needed to get away from my heathen children!” My brows hit my hairline. I’d never heard Tina say anything but good things about being a parent. She laughed. “Don’t misunderstand me. I love my babies to bits, but I need time away from them. You know? To talk to adults.”
Nat muttered, “And to get your fat feet rubbed,” then winked at Tina.
I looked down at her belly and asked, “How much longer?”
She shrugged. “I don’t know. The doctors say from next week it could be any day.” A serene look crossed Nat’s face and I knew deep inside me that she’d be a great mother. She couldn’t wait to hold her babies.
Lola looked up at me, squinting. “Aren’t you supposed to be in California?”
I bunched my nose. What kind of crack was Lola taking? “No. Why would I be?”
She shook her head, distracted. “I could’ve sworn I heard Trick say Max was taking you home for the day. Something about missing the beach.”
It was then that I remembered.
“I sort of…had something planned for you. A surprise.”
He wanted to take me home, to California, for the day, because I missed the beach? Sweet baby Jesus.