Page 72 of WASP

But if Max wanted to say more, she didn’t. Instead, she kissed her again, soft and sweet, before stepping out of her arms. Annie hopped off the counter, the two of them reaching for their respective toothbrushes.

They eventually made their way into the kitchen, Max grabbing everything they would need to make yogurt bowls. Annie moved towards the dishwasher, the two of them shifting around each other comfortably in the little space.

“You’re still free on Thursday at two, right?” Max said offhandedly as she cut a banana into even slices.

Ah yes, the super-secret thing Max refused to tell her about. Annie slid a hand over Max’s hip, reaching around her to place a bowl in the cabinet above her. “Yup. Still would love to know what we’re doing…” Her voice was hopeful, the same way it was every time she had pressed her girlfriend for more details about the mystery. But Max, Annie had learned, was good at keeping a tight lip.

“Come and you’ll find out.” Max winked, layering the sliced bananas into the bowl.

Annie finished putting away the remaining dishes as Max topped off their bowls with blueberries, fresh homemade granola Lynn had dropped off yesterday, and a drizzle of honey.

“Want to eat outside? It’s not too muggy yet.” Max’s eyes twinkled in the sunlight pouring through the kitchen window. Annie nodded, following Max onto the landing of her steps outside her front door, where they had taken to hanging out in the mornings to have tea or talking late into the night to the sound of crickets.

They ate sitting shoulder to shoulder, the sound of their spoons clinking against ceramic bowls interrupting their conversation as they looked out over the sprawling green landscape. In the distance, Annie could make out the faint outline of the waterfront downtown area.

Max’s phone rang, her face scrunching up in confusion. “Oh shit, I need to take this,” she said, answering as she set her empty bowl aside. “Kit, hey, what’s up? Everything okay?” Max jumped to her feet, mouthing just a sec before stepping back inside.

Annie took her last bite of breakfast, savoring the crunchy-creamy texture of the yogurt-granola combo. She thought of texting Lynn to ask her for the granola recipe; it was definitely something she could whip up to have on hand. She could hear Max’s muffled voice through the door, but was unable to make out what she was saying.

Setting her bowl aside, Annie pulled her knees up to her chest. Letting her thoughts wander back into the bathroom and the way she had stopped herself from bringing up the Michigan of it all with Max. They had never really talked about what Michigan would mean for their relationship. Now that Annie was thinking about it, they had never really talked much about their relationship beyond the fact that they were indeed girlfriends, indeed exclusive, and indeed in love. Beyond that—Annie wasn’t sure.

She sighed, resting her chin on her knees, not loving the feeling of catching herself in the pattern of going through the motions when she would much rather know now whether she and Max were on the same page about where the future could take them. If Max was moving to Michigan to follow her winery dreams, Annie wanted to move with her, no matter how crazy that idea seemed.

The sound of the front door opening filled her ears as she wrestled with her indecision on whether or not she should just rip the bandage off and tell Max what she wanted. But she decided not to say anything as Max reappeared, fully dressed, her messenger bag in hand and her ear pressed to her shoulder where her phone was balanced.

Max spoke rapidly into the phone as she attempted to tame her hair into a ponytail. “Okay, getting in the car now, I’ll be there in thirty minutes.” She hung up the phone, looking at Annie apologetically. “I’m sorry, Kit needs me to come in ASAP. She and Dave want to talk to me about something,” she explained.

Annie popped to her feet, deciding that now was not the time to bring up Michigan, especially not with the anxious demeanor Max had returned with. “Oh okay, yeah, of course. I’ll walk to your car with you.”

They made their way down the flight of creaking exterior wooden steps, waving to Lynn who was on her front porch doing yoga.

“See,” Max said, a hint of flirtation in her words, “this is how I know you love me. That’s a lot of stairs to climb back up for the sake of saying goodbye.”

“I’ve come to love these stairs, just like I’ve come to love you.” Annie grinned playfully, trying to ease whatever anxiety Max was feeling.

Max scoffed, tossing her bag into the back seat.

“Did Kit say what she and Dave wanted to talk to you about?” Annie asked tentatively.

Max shook her head. “No, only that it was really important and I needed to come in ASAP before opening.” She paused for a moment, breathing deeply. “I don’t think I’m getting fired? I really can’t think of anything I would have done, and they love me…”

Annie stepped forward, her arms slipping around Max’s waist, squeezing her with reassurance. “I don’t think you’re getting fired. I’ll lock everything up when I leave to meet my mom for lunch. Key under the flower pot still?”

Max hugged her back. “Don’t worry about it. Hang on to that key; I had another one made so we don’t have to keep coordinating on where we hid it. How are you feeling about lunch today? I know you haven’t seen her since the party.”

Annie stilled because there it was again—the way Max casually slid that reveal in, mixed in with her thoughtfulness and care. Did Max making her a key mean what she wanted it to mean? Okay, yeah, that sealed the deal—they would definitely be having a conversation about all of this soon.

“I mean, I’m not excited, but it’s better to go and get it over with, you know?” She shrugged, sliding her hand into Max’s, threading their fingers together.

“I won’t be able to chat until later tonight, but I want to hear all about it, okay?” Max leaned forward, kissing her goodbye before reaching for the handle of the driver’s side door. “Text me when you head to your brother’s later?”

“Will do.” Annie said, waving goodbye as she stepped back up onto the grass. With a wave back, Max was off.

Annie climbed the stairs, running through her mental checklist for the day. She was so utterly lost in the rhythm of her footsteps on the wooden boards that she didn’t realize Lynn was calling out to her from her front porch until her voice cut sharply into her thoughts.

“Hey, Annie. You okay?” she asked, tilting her head in question, her long silver-streaked braid falling to the side.

“Oh, hey. Yeah, I’m good.” Annie’s eyes flicked across Lynn’s front porch and the light-purple yoga mat. “How was yoga?”