Wilson Mooney Eighteen at Last (37 page)

“
He isn’t your mom, honey.
You have to stop waiting for Max to leave you.” Her words saturated
me to my core.

Suddenly I felt like I’d been stripped
down completely naked, tossed into a crowded intersection, and told
to find my way out. I had nothing to cling to, nothing to shield
myself from everyone seeing what I’ve been covering up my whole
life—I was vulnerable and it wasn’t comfortable.

Joanie’s face became skewed by the
tears that overcame my eyes. I drowned in the deluge streaming down
my cheeks. Joanie pulled me into her embrace and held me tight. My
heart pounded double-time as I became tangled in her
words.

“
It doesn’t matter who you
think you’ve become or what mistakes you’ve made. When you’re with
Max, you’re happy. Your spark for life becomes contagious. I’ve
never seen two people who are more perfect for one another. What
can I say? You belong together. Besides, you guys are my happily
ever after, damn it…so don’t screw it up for me!”

She was saving me from tumbling into
the boiling pit of abandonment. That was my past with Candi, but
that didn’t have to be my future with Max.

I heard the doorbell chime and every
ounce of strength and decisiveness vanished. Every thought of my
future with Max teetered on the opening of a door.

Max stood in the entry looking
broken—his skin lifeless and pale, his hair twisted and
disheveled—he looked like he hadn’t slept in days. His sunken,
listless, shadowy eyes scanned the room, vacant of any spark that
awakened my butterflies; he wasn’t the Max I knew. Joanie, Nick,
and I stared at him, not knowing what to say. Did he come to notify
me we were over for good? Rub salt in the wounds his family tore
through my chest so carelessly? Could he be returning my lost
butterflies? Or maybe he came to repossess the few I was able to
salvage.

Joanie stood next to me, her arm
wrapped tight around my chest, reminding me of my decision to stay
strong. She, more than anyone, knew just how much I loved him. Nick
slipped next to me, his chest barreled and shoulders
back—protective, as if he was telling Max that he was the one who’d
cared for me when Max couldn’t.

Max glared at the floor for a
postponed moment, then his eyes slowly raked up my body. My skin
burned and my vision blurred as my heartbeat bruised my lungs. It
was agonizing to watch him take me in, inch by inch. His expression
was tortured, his lips pulled in a severe line, and his shoulders
were rounded like the whole world was dumped onto them. He opened
his mouth and his nostrils flared as he began to speak words that
must have caught somewhere between his heart and the back of his
throat.

“
I need to talk to
you…alone,” he whispered as his eyes transferred from me to Nick
and back.

Nick spun to face me; jealousy swirled
in his eyes and his cheeks flushed crimson. “You want me to stay?”
he prodded. I noticed the muscles across his jaw
tighten.

“
I’m fine,” I reassured
Nick.

I glanced at Max and noticed he
adjusted his stance as his expression morphed to concern. I knew if
I was going to have any chance of saving what Max and I ever had, I
was going to have to get Nick to leave. I looked at Joanie, and
somehow, was able to silently plead with her to take Nick. Without
uttering a single word, Joanie was able to settle him down and
convince him to go with her.

Max kept his distance as he raked his
hair back off his face. An awkward moment lingered between us as
every expectation I had of him being angry dissolved. My mouth sped
dry, and I suddenly became aware of how badly I needed to
swallow.

“
I’m so sorry—I never
asked Camille to come here. She had no right to do that,” Max said.
His magnetic green eyes constricted, his feet cemented to the space
he stood, and his knees bent like he wanted to run to me. I stood,
waiting to hear if his words were going to bridge the empty space
between us or desecrate the moments we’d created. His fingertips
glowed white as he pressed them against his flannelled
chest.

“
I should never have let
you leave that morning—I shouldn’t have let Nick drive away with
you. I let you down, I’m sorry.” He took a step toward me as he
reached out.

I whispered softly as I looked down at
the floor between us. I didn’t want to see the pain in his face.
“Camille came here to convince me to come back to you. It took
everything I had—to leave. You were so—defeated. You’d just lost
your dad, your mom rejected us…and I got scared because of our lie,
Max.”

He took another step toward me. I kept
looking at the floor. He didn’t stop looking at me, like he was
studying every curve and bump of my existence. My heart thundered
in my chest.

“
Maybe your mom’s right,”
I continued, “You don’t need this right now; you have so much at
stake—your family, their reputation, and your career. I never
really considered the consequences of lying, especially to your
mom.” I threw out every word I could to stop him from coming closer
to me. I crossed my arms against my chest. I didn’t want any more
of my heart to pour out of the gaping hole created by our
mistakes.

“
None of that matters to
me,” Max said, taking another step closer; he was breathing
distance away. I could smell the faint residue of Aspen across his
clothes. Immediately, the scent made me think about what had
happened with Nick. He reached out to hold me; I took a step back.
I had to make this moment about him.

“
It should, Max. Your
family should be the most important thing in your life.” I looked
into his dark green eyes. I wanted him to know how serious I
was.

He shook his head and took another
step toward me. Every step I tried to take away from him, he filled
in with another step toward me, until he had me backed against the
wall. I pressed harder, trying to stay as solid as I
could.

He reached out to touch me, and
automatically, I pushed his hand away. I had to stay strong. I
couldn’t let him change what I thought was the right thing to
do.

“
No, Max, I won’t be the
one to come between you and your family. I can’t—please
understand,” I forced out the words that cut across the lining of
my throat.

I watched Max’s eyes flare with every
ounce of his essence as he drew in a long, aching, growl-filled
breath.

“
Don’t—do—this—not this
way. This isn’t about what anyone else wants. Wilson, you brought
me back from a very dark place. Can’t you see that?
I love you
,” his voice
broke to a whisper.

“
Max—”

“
Shhh, don’t—” he breathed
as his glossy green eyes read every unspoken word I struggled to
say.

His hands filled the air between us as
he brushed his palms against the damp sides of my face. His long
fingers cleared the loose curls from around my eyes before he
pressed his fingertips against the back of my neck. My skin, so hot
from his touch, responded as his eyes danced and tangled with mine
in the hope that he could convince me that we were worth fighting
for. I felt my butterflies cluster down in my stomach as time
swirled between us. Forever existed in that moment, and tortured me
into longing to taste him. The muscles in his jaw constricted as
his silken lips parted. His mouth tickled softly against my lips
before he pushed harder. Our tongues entwined and our desires
opened to what we’d missed for several days. He tasted every moment
I missed him, every second I longed to be with him again. My hands
clung to the sleeves of his flannel shirt. He drew away just enough
to smile before he rushed back. His kiss was refreshing; as good as
my favorite ice cream flavor. He caught my bottom lip between his
teeth as I licked at the curve of his mouth. I pressed back into
him and his flavor ignited sparks across my tongue. Every last one
of my butterflies migrated to every crevice of my body. Every bend,
turn and roundabout marked their flight pattern.

The tip of his nose traced across my
cheek as his words clung to my hair. His breath sent chills down my
spine.

“
I will never hurt you
ever again—I promise. I love you, Wilson,” Max cooed as he pressed
his lips to my temple; I shivered down to my toes.

“
I love you too,” I
whispered. I felt his arms tighten around my back as he kissed the
space between my collarbone and the bend of my neck. I felt rescued
in his embrace; like I’d finally made it home again. I’d missed him
like crazy. After everything he’d created for me, I truly knew he
was the one I wanted to spend the rest of my life with. I swam in
his arms as I warmed to his body temperature. I felt him exhale as
his lips rested against my temple.

When the front door slammed and I
heard Cindy call out to Nick, every muscle in my body grew rigid.
Reactively, I tried to push Max away.

“
Hey, where is—what the
hell is going on?” Cindy’s harsh voice scraped and scratched across
every wall and ceiling in the house, her eyes wicked and narrow as
she walked in on Max still holding me. Her expression was smarmy;
she finally had her proof that Wesley’s government teacher,
Maximillian Goldstein, was in love with her roommate.

“
I frickin’ knew it!
O.M.G., Wilson’s banging her government teacher. What a surprise!
Well, actually not really. Discretion doesn’t seem to be your
strong suit—but
wow
, Mr. Goldstein. And bravo, Wilson, I can’t believe you were
able to pull it off,” Cindy spouted as she walked toward us
clapping. “You are such a fucking piece of work,” she
screamed.

“
Hey that’s enough,
Cindy,” Max roared as he took a step in front of me.

“
Oh puh-leeze, get over
yourself. Did you really think I wasn’t fully aware that you two
were sleeping together? Who doesn’t know? Let me help you out.
Lesson one: delete text messages after you read them. Lesson two:
don’t leave your phone where people can get it. And lesson three:
learn to have a poker face when you’re accused of fucking your
government teacher. It’s written all over your face, Wilson,” Cindy
smirked. She cocked her head and examined her fingernails before
she tossed a nasty look at me.

“
You’ve crossed the line,”
Max growled.

“
Isn’t that brilliant
coming from you? Shall we talk about boundaries and crossing lines,
or do they not apply to you?” Cindy prodded Max. “I mean how
is
this
going to
go over with Dean McCallous when she finds out her prized
government teacher at Wesley Academy is screwing one of the
students?”

I felt Max’s arm loosen from my waist.
His body leaned forward.

“
Knock it off, Cindy,” I
snapped. I was geared up to fight for Max. Every tooth and nail
would be sacrificed if need be. Suddenly, without thinking, I
lunged at Cindy; she leapt back. I guess I was done playing nice.
The rest of my life was on the line and I wasn’t going to let this
spoiled bitch screw it up.

Max thrust his arms back, trapping me
behind him. He turned around and got in my face, his forest green
eyes fervently searching for my attention. “Wilson…look at me,” he
held my face between his hands, our eyes clinging to one another,
“All that matters is that…I love you, and nobody can take that
away,” he said as he pressed his scorching hand against my chest.
My heart beat spastically with his touch.

“
Max…” I whispered, my
eyes splashed with tears.

“
Listen, I came here this
evening to bring you home with me. Will you come with me?” he asked
as his fingers cleared the tears streaming down my
cheeks.

“
Oh my God,” Cindy
steamed.

I heard the door crash against the
wall and the three of us turned to see Joanie and Nick at the
door.

“
Cindy, come on, time to
leave,” Nick demanded, his breathing hurried like he’d run up a
flight of stairs.

Her eyes bounced between Nick, Max,
and me, her body heaving, as she answered Nick’s
request.

“
I’m not going anywhere,
this is my house.” Cindy pressed her pointer finger to her chest as
she jutted her hip out and forced her fist against it. I saw the
gears in her head spinning and noticed the look on her face as she
pieced together the fact that Max had no clue about Nick and me
kissing.

“
I think it’s best if you
and I leave. Come on,” Nick insisted as he walked over and
attempted to grab Cindy’s arm. I was praying that Nick was going to
be able to get Cindy to leave before she blurted out information
better left unsaid.

“
Let go of me. I can walk
out by myself. Just like our very own Wilson is walking out on you,
Nick,” Cindy snarled as she pulled her arm out of her brother’s
grasp.

I felt the weight of Max’s body pull
away from mine as he took a couple of steps toward them. “I’m
sorry, what did she just say?” he asked quizzically. Nick glared at
Cindy before his eyes met mine. My stomach turned inside out and
every belief I had in Max and me lasting beyond her words,
exploded.

“
Nothin’,” Cindy
spat.

“
No, that wasn’t
nothing—what did it mean?” Max demanded. He turned and looked at
Nick before he followed Nick’s stare to mine. Max’s earthy green
eyes were weighty under his dark, furrowed eyebrows as he looked at
me determinedly.