Wilson Mooney Eighteen at Last (10 page)

“
Well, I’m serious. It’s
your day, Wilson.” Nancy tucked my hair behind my shoulders. I
could see where Max inherited his gorgeous, green eyes. I was
mesmerized by her. She was able to convince us to sit at the
butcher block-style island and finish our lunch.

“
No worries,” I mumbled.
How was I supposed to react to the situation? I hated
confrontation—so if there was any way to avoid it, I
would.

It wasn’t long before we inhaled our
lunch and Nancy was working to make everything perfect
again.

“
So, Maxi, what are your
plans for tonight?” Nancy asked as she plunged her hands under the
running faucet.

My breath broke from my lungs,
refusing to return. I gasped for a small morsel of air. Suddenly,
visions of us together in his sun-saturated bedroom crammed my
head—the soft silk of what I wore, how it felt as he kissed me and
caressed my skin. I felt the blood rush to my cheeks. I glanced
over at him, our eyes met, and a crooked smile that nourished his
eyes and pulled at my heart rose across his face.

“
Ahh, Ma, nothing much;
maybe we’ll have a little dinner before calling it a night. Wilson
and I are pretty tired.” Max looked over at me for validation. I
just gave a slight smile before I dropped my eyes to my empty
plate.

“
Oh, Maxi, now it isn’t
every day Wilson’s here. And for her birthday, no less. Don’t you
want to do something special for her? Maybe take her down to the
shops on South Galena Street?” Nancy pulled a black and white
checkered microfiber towel from the brass hook next to the sink to
dry her hands.

“
Ma, come on.”

“
Well, honey, just because
you don’t like to shop doesn’t mean Wilson feels the same way. She
might really enjoy going downtown. Besides, the Twelve Days of
Aspen is in full swing and it looks absolutely stunning down there
with all the lights,” Nancy pushed as her attempt to bring us all
back to
normal
was plastered across her face.

What she didn’t know was, I was never
one to go shopping; I knew when to call a spade a spade. Nothing
was going to change the fact that I didn’t have the unlimited
supply of funds that most girls at my school had. Ninety-nine
percent of the students at Wesley had their daddy’s credit cards or
access to an allowance that eclipsed my grandfather’s pension and
social security. And without fail, someone would always try and
make me out to be their charity case for the year.

Max just shook his head,
smiling.

“
Well if you don’t take
her, then I will. Right, Wilson?” Nancy pushed her hand between my
elbow and hip and locked her arm with mine.

“
Oh, Nancy…” I tried to
answer her before Max interrupted me.

“
Alright, Ma, geez, twist
my arm. Maybe after dinner we’ll cruise downtown.”

“
And
that’s
how I get my way,” Nancy
whispered into my ear before she let go of my arm and walked out of
the kitchen, adding, “My work here is done. Happy Birthday,
Wilson.”

Max wrapped his arms around my waist,
brought his nose to the back of my neck and whispered, “She’s
impossible.”

“
I heard that,” Nancy
sang.

Max giggled, tickling the back of my
neck. Chills hurried through my body, searching for the butterflies
Max cultivated.

“
I knew you would,” Max
hollered as he looked up at the ceiling.

“
Growing up with her
must’ve been amazing.” I turned around to him.

“
We had our moments,” Max
said before he stepped back from me and ran his hands down to mine.
He held my hand as he pushed under my chin. My head rose, our eyes
met, and I watched his expression constrict. “I’m sorry I didn’t
tell you right away about…” Max swallowed. I noticed her name
caught on the pain that swelled in his chest. “…Mallory,” he
managed.

“
Don’t apologize. I can
see why it was so hard to bring her up,” I whispered.

His eyes glossed with the
memories of Mallory. There was nothing anyone could do to change
the way I’d found out about this thing that was so personal and
still so raw to him. Maybe Camille telling me was the only way it
was going to come out. Who knew if he was ever
really
planning on telling me about
Mallory?

“
I just want to keep you—”
he started to say.

“
Safe?” I interrupted him,
“You can’t keep me safe from anything if I don’t feel in
danger.”

“
I was going to say ‘to
myself’.” He grabbed at the belt loops of my jeans and pulled me
closer. A smile slinked across his face.

“
Yeah, right; I bet those
words were just waiting to roll off your tongue,” I teased as he
leaned and swayed into me.

“
Don’t believe me? Taste
then.” He kissed me; our tongues tangled in truth as my stomach
twisted with excitement. His hands pressed at the curve of my lower
back, his palms scorched through my cashmere sweater. He slipped
his fingertips between the waist of my jeans and my skin. Believe
me, it didn’t take long to notice how much he wanted me all to
himself.

For a moment, nobody hampered our time
or interrupted our exploration. Time stood on our side and I could
feel how much we sought each other as every desire fluctuated
between us.

But then Camille came through the
door. “Oh, sorry didn’t know I was interrupting you.” She froze
before taking a couple steps back and turning toward the dining
room.

I pushed away from Max,
swirling embarrassment surging my entire body.
Oh. God! Did she just see where my hands were?
I lowered my head and totally avoided looking at
her. My cheeks burned as the muscles in my face tightened to
broadcast my humiliation.
SHIT—I don’t
want to be that type of girl.
I didn’t
want his family to think I was easy. I pushed my fingers up and
through my hair, and tucked it behind my ears.

Max let go of me and called to his
sister, “Camille! Hey, come here.” He sped to stop her from leaving
the room.

“
No, I’ll come back
later.”

“
Hey, now wait.” Max
caught her.

“
Dad wanted you and Wilson
to come play a game of pool. I’ll just tell him you’re busy. It
will give him an excuse to brag about how scared you are of getting
your butt kicked by him—yet again.” Camille plastered a smirk on
her face.

Max looked over at me. His face grew
red. I could tell this must be an ongoing dig between him and his
family. I shrugged my shoulders and gave him a ‘go kick some ass’
nod. He flashed a perfect grin.

Max turned back to his sister and
growled, “Tell Dad—game on.” And with that, Camille’s choice to
tell me about Mallory became something of the past between them.
Camille turned and sped out to the great room. Max came over to me,
wrapped his arm around my shoulder, and squeezed me tightly against
his body.

“
You ready to kick some
butt? I’m relying on you to help me get over my losing streak with
my dad and Camille.” Max grabbed my hand. Watching my reaction, he
pulled me out of the kitchen and sped through the dining room
backwards. I felt the muscles across my back tighten and knot at
the thought of going up against any one of the Goldsteins in
pool.
I hope Max isn’t serious about
winning with me as his partner.

“
Who was your partner
before?” I asked hesitantly.

“
Cal, but you’re
almost
guaranteed to be
better than him. He totally sucks,” he snickered as he leaned
toward me.

“
So you’re saying I’m just
a little better than sucky?” I pouted.

“
No, just inexperienced,
that’s all.” His eyes twinkled and a smile broke bright across his
face.
God, he is so sexy.

“
Like inexperience is a
good thing, huh? Just wait, maybe I’m better than you think.” I
punched at his stomach as I felt the innuendos of our conversation
fall into a pattern that meant so much more to me than a pool
game.

Max stopped walking and I ran into
him. My butterflies dropped really low in my gut.

“
It is a
great
thing because I
can’t
wait
to
feel
your inexperience. Besides, I get to
be partners with the most beautiful woman I’ve ever met. So no
matter what the outcome, I’ll win,” he growled in a sexy, low voice
as he slid his hands around my back and swayed his body close to
mine.

“
Oh, so you’re sure you’ll
get to score?” I teased.

“
Well, if history repeats
itself and I can get further than the last time we played pool, I
think I’ll score—big time,” he said.

I cherished the way he enticed me. The
way his words tickled and tangled with mine, and how we both knew
what we said revealed so many facets to the diamond buried in our
mountain of discovery.

Max snatched my hand and pulled me
into the great room. Frank and Camille were already there, choosing
their pool sticks. I watched as the sunlight poured from the
skylights and danced across the space in between their smiles, and
my familiar ache to belong.

“
Okay, you guys, you ready
to lose? I can feel it in my bones. This time I’m coming out on
top,” Max challenged as he clasped his hands and glanced at me with
a naughty smile before he rubbed them feverishly back and forth,
declaring, “I have a
new
partner and I’ve come up with a whole new
strategy; so prepare to go down!”

My body reacted when he smiled at me.
I couldn’t wait to be alone with him.

“
Yeah, right, how about
taking all that hot air and channeling it into choosing your cue?”
Frank snorted as he pointed to the rack of pool sticks on the
wall.

Camille laughed, “Oooh,
big words. Let’s just see how you are against me and Dad. See,
Wilson, Max and Calvin have
never
been able to beat us. One time they came close,
but they ended up scratching when they called the wrong pocket on
the eight ball.”

Suddenly I could feel the
weight of my realization as it crashed against me. I was a part of
something bigger than my own limited definition of a perfect
family.
Something I’ve been missing my
entire life.

I wish I could say it was totally
amazing watching Max and his sister banter back and forth with
their father. Instead, it made me ache to have one last moment with
my grandfather. God, I wish I could just curl up in that safe spot
within me that didn’t recognize what a father was supposed to be
like; but I couldn’t. I had to swallow the nasty taste that showed
up on the back of my tongue and push away the sadness that kept
surging within me. It was a relentless sadness that searched for
all the cracks in my façade.

“
Your turn, sweetheart,”
Max said as he pointed his stick to the table. “Wilson, hello…we
might have a chance here.” He waved his hand in front of my face. I
blinked hard before coming back to the room.

“
Sorry,” I mumbled. I
looked at the pool table and instantly forgot how I was supposed to
hold my stick. I couldn’t remember if it was supposed to be tight
across my chest or clutched in my hand, resting on the felt.
Confused, I looked at Max; he leaned against my back and wrapped
his arms around mine, showing me how to snap the pool stick against
the cue ball. I blushed. He felt so warm and smelled so delicious I
wanted to get lost in his perfection.
Why
can’t I find the right words that force me to live in the moment of
complete discovery? What has to happen to stop the deluge of all my
underestimated moments?

“
You okay?” Max whispered
against my ear. His breath was hot and his question
unhurried.

“
Yeah, just taking it all
in,” I breathed low.

Camille watched us, smiling, before
she busted in with a snide remark about team players having to make
their own shots. Max huffed at her and stepped back from me. The
rush of cool air waiting to replace him pressed before I bent over
the table, feeling the edge of my skin meet the chill in the air.
The next thing I knew, I cracked a shot, knocking the solid yellow
nine ball into the right corner pocket.

“
I knew it. Nice one!” Max
said before he turned to Camille and gave her a ‘take that’ scowl.
I couldn’t help but feel a swell of pride exploding inside
me.
Maybe this could be my game!
I strutted around the table, making sure everyone
knew I had another chance to knock one of those solid colored balls
into the braided leather baskets.
That’s
right, little ol’ me.
It was my job to
decide our immediate future and whether Max and I were going to be
contenders.

“
Looks like the birthday
girl gets to shoot again,” Nancy said as she walked in with a
couple of drinks. “Here you go, you thirsty?” She handed me a tall
glass of frothy lemonade.