Whatever happened when Judd arrived, Max was determined to take it in his stride. As angry as he was with Channing in that moment, Max knew that sorting things out with Judd would go a long way to making both himself and Channing happy again.
But one thing remained unclear.
What did Juddreallywant?
And how far was he willing to go to get it?
* * *
‘Sorry, same again?’ the bartender enquired, noticing that an increasingly impatient Max was done with his beer and casting his eyes toward the bar’s entrance.
‘No, not right now,’ Max replied, his voice firm and even. ‘Maybe in a bit.’
‘Hey, no worries,’ the bartender said, smiling and walking over toward a large stack of empty glasses that needed putting into the large glass cleaner. ‘Just give me a shout when you’re ready.’
Max nodded.
It was nice to be in a bar with friendly but not overly-insistent bar staff. But Max wasn’t going to even contemplate having a good time until Judd had arrived. The fact that an hour had passed since Max messaged Judd wasn’t good.
Max felt on edge.
Each time theThe Lion's Roardoor swung open, Max reflexively went into business mode. Of course, Max figured that this was some kind of power play from Judd. By keeping Maxwaiting, Judd was probably trying to show just how in control of the situation he was.
Asshole.
The longer he keeps me waiting, the worse it will be.
Judd is about to learn a very harsh lesson…
Max took a quick glance at his cellphone. In part, in case Judd had messaged to cancel the meeting. But Max couldn’t deny that he was also checking to see whether or not Channing had been in contact.
Sadly, there was nothing from Channing.
Maybe this was a good thing. The last thing Max needed was to get involved in an emotional message exchange with Channing as he waited for Judd Trax to show up.
The longer the wait was, the more stressed Max became. So much so in fact, that Max found his mind wandering back to the day that he quit college.
There had been a very clear choice that day.
Max could have stuck around and fought to keep his place and improve his grades. The alternative was of course to walk away in search of unrestricted fun and adventure on the road.
Max chose the latter option, and the rest was history. But Max couldn’t help wondering how his life would have turned out had he stayed on campus, graduated, and stuck it out with Channing too.
Suddenly, the years of living simply for pleasure seemed like wasted years to Max.
Yes, the parties had been excellent.
And there had been a ton of very cute guys along the way.
But what did Max have to show for it now barring some increasingly hazy old memories?
My life was becoming a fucking mess.
Channing helped change that.
Why wasn’t I more patient with him back at the apartment?
With still no sign of Judd, Max was almost at the point of getting up and leaving. Max could leave Judd to play his silly games and instead get back to Channing… the boy he loved.
