I had no idea how long I stumbled on, hands on the frame, mindless, streaming sweat; I only glanced up when the door banged open. Max froze when he spotted me, slumping against the doorframe. He looked like utter shit, dark circles under his eyes, two days of scruff on his jaw. His mouth was red and chapped, probably from hours of walking around, looking for me. Sorrow twisted into remorse when he rubbed a palm against his chest, as if finding me safe resulted in an actual physical ache.
I stopped moving, let the conveyer belt dump me off the end of the machine. I had no idea what to say when he was so ferociously quiet. “Hey.”
“You scared the shit out of me, you know that?”
“Sorry.” If I tried to explain, it would probably sound crazy. “You didn’t have to stay up searching. I can take care of myself. I wouldn’t do anything dangerous.”
“Yeah,” he bit out. “I did. I can’t lose my true north, Courtney. So I will always, always come and find you. No matter how long it takes.”
Now my chest hurt, too, different than saying goodbye to Eli. “I should have told you I was going to Nadia’s. I didn’t mean to keep you up.”
“Like I could sleep when I didn’t know where you were, if you were okay.”
“I will be.”
“What happened? Did someone fuck with you at the party?” By his grim expression, he was already planning to kick that person’s ass.
That won a faint smile. “No, it was fine. And I guess I owe you the truth, after worrying you so much. I’m sorry.” Quietly I summed things up for him, then added, “See, there’s only room for you in my heart and in my head. I wanted to be all yours. And now...I am.”
His throat worked. Finally he came up with “Holy shit.”
Then he came from the doorway in a rush, sweeping me into his arms and hugging me so hard it hurt. “You didn’t have to do that...but I’m not sorry you did. It ate at me sometimes to watch you check out, wondering if you wished—”
“I don’t. I’m with you, Max. All the way.” The tightness in my sternum gave way to sweetness, the warmth of him spreading through me.
“Will you please come to bed now? I hope you’re satisfied, by the way. I’m too fucking tired for sex.”
“Why would that satisfy me?”
“You’re the one who stayed on the treadmill until almost five in the morning.”
“Damn. I had no idea it was so late. Early? Yeah, let’s go.”
At home I showered quickly, quietly, using their bathroom so I didn’t bother Kia. Then I crept into Max’s bed, where he was already asleep, sprawled on my side of the bed. In the morning, I didn’t wake until almost noon, confirmed by the brightness streaming in the window and a quick look at my phone. There was a new lightness in my heart. For a few minutes, I just watched him sleep, stroking his hair.
I love you, I thought. Only you.
Shifting, Max kissed me without opening his eyes. “I like this.”
“Me, too.” Since I’d checked my email when I’d glanced at the time, I was bursting with news. “Guess what?”
He pretended to think, nuzzling kisses against my neck. “You want to be my love slave and live only for me?”
“Tempting. But no.”
An exaggerated sigh. “I’m sad now. Why must you crush my dreams?”
“Because I’m minoring in it. You want to guess again, or should I—”
“Just tell me.”
Propping up on my elbows, I beamed down at him. “Okay, I’ll tell you. Michael’s coming for Thanksgiving!”
Max’s expression was priceless.
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
A week later, I was knocking on Nadia’s door to request a favor.
I felt bad that I hadn’t spent much time with her since she’d moved out, but her life was different now. Not only did she work full-time, she was also juggling a serious relationship and a kid. Maybe it was wrong of me, but in some ways, it felt like she’d leveled out of my league. She’d probably tell me not to be stupid if I admitted it out loud, but there was no doubt that her problems were much different than mine.
She swung it open in a rush, hair up in a messy bun that she had the curls to pull off. I’d always admired her height, and she had fantastic legs. But personality-wise, she was too much of a type A to attract me. Which was good because sharing a room with her might’ve been awkward otherwise. I found relentlessly goal-oriented people exhausting.
“Hey,” she said, smiling. “Long time no see.”
“We’re right upstairs, you know. I’ve only seen you in passing and you haven’t texted me in a week and a half. Your silence is starting to hurt my feelings.” I was mostly joking, but there was a touch of truth to it.
She winced. “Sorry about that. I tend to focus on whatever’s in my immediate field of vision. I need to work on that.”
“I’m willing to let you make it up to me.”
“Yeah? Come on in. Ty’s in Sam’s room, helping him pack. We’re going to the zoological society in Ann Arbor later.”
I raised a brow. “The kid needs to pack for that?”
“You’d be surprised what a five-year-old thinks is mandatory for a day trip.”
“Probably.” I followed her into the apartment and sat down on the red L-shaped sectional. “So...I was wondering if you had Thanksgiving plans.”
Her smile dimmed. “Yeah, we do. We’ll be with Ty’s parents. They want us to spend the night because his sisters are both flying in. Did you plan to invite us over?”
“No, actually. I was hoping you wouldn’t mind hosting us. See, Max’s brother is coming to visit and our apartment isn’t wheelchair accessible.”
Her eyes widened to the point that it was comical. “Max has a brother? He never talks about his family. One of these days, I’m going to pick your brain and learn all his secrets.”
“That will never happen.” Though I was smiling, my tone was firm.
“Gotcha. Well, we won’t even be here on Thanksgiving, so if you want to eat here, it’s fine with me. I need to talk to Ty but when he finds out why, I’m sure he won’t have a problem with it. It would probably be easier on the guy’s pride than having to be carted around.”
I nodded. “That’s what I was thinking.”
“So what’s he like?”
“Max’s brother?”