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My mouth is slack as I step through the door, spinning slowly in a circle as I take in his apartment. Walking slowly through the foyer, the heels of my sandals click against the neutral-colored ceramic tile. I stop in the living room, gazing at the huge, open space. A giant fireplace lines one wall beneath the enormous, flat screen TV. The huge, plush, light gray sectional sofa has two giant ottomans at both ends facing the TV. In front of it is an immense, sleek black coffee table, with two smaller matching end tables.
Max wraps an arm around my shoulders, pulling me against the side of his sinewy torso. The scent of his woodsy, musky smell reminds me of who I’m standing here with.It’s Max, who dresses in jeans and t-shirts. He has never given off any air of superiority in the short time you’ve known him.
“Talk to me, Irelynn. What are you thinking?” His hand moves to cup my face, and I lean into his warm touch.
I let out a long sigh. “I just… this is going to sound silly, but I feel… inadequate, standing here.”
His brows draw in, his expression quizzical. “Why, beautiful?” He glances around his living room, as though trying to see it from my perspective, then his gaze comes back to mine. “I’m still the same guy you met yesterday, Irelynn.Nothinghas changed.”
My face relaxes into a smile. “It’s just… this is all so… swanky. And I’m just… a broke college girl.”
He chuckles softly. “Swanky? It’s really not, Irelynn. Yeah, it looks nice, but I worked hard for everything you see in this room. And I really don’t care if you eat pizza on my couch. Hell, spill some wine on it. I have upholstery cleaner to take care of it and I promise, I’d never get angry, no matter the size of the stain.” He spins me around so I can see the furniture. “This is just stuff, Irelynn. Material things. Yeah, it’s nice, but…” He spins me gently toward him, his hand moving to the top of my head. “I care more about what is in here… and especially, there.” His hand rests over my heart, feeling it beat against his palm. His gaze assesses me frankly.
I can’t help the smile that lights up my face. Then my face grows serious again. “So, it doesn’t bother you that I don’t have money or any of… this?” I gesture toward the room behind me.
He shakes his head. “I could give two shits less. I like you just the way you are.” Sincerity is all over his face; his eyes imploring me to believe him.
For the first time since we pulled up outside his apartment, I relax. “Okay.”
“I felt just as comfortable at your apartment as I do here, Irelynn.” He pauses, his face full of joy. “I didn’t grow up wealthy. Not at all. I lived in a ranch house, three miles from my grandparents. I spent most of my time with my grandparents in a small house full of love and laughter. There was nothing swanky about them or anything inside their home. But it was the richest place in the world to me, full of love and laughter.”
Then his face changes, his expression clouding over, turning darker, like the sky turning darker and ominous before the storm hits. “My parents moved my brother and me to Florida, before the start of my senior year, for a job my dad accepted. It paid a lot and instantly, our lives changed. Andnotfor the better.” He steps back, pulling away from me, his hands going into his pockets. “All I wanted was to move back to Pennsylvania, to the house he’d sold. I hated the affluent lifestyle and all the problems associated with it.”
He pulls himself from his morose thoughts, his expression warming. “It’s why I don’t use that money. It’s also why I don’t tell anyone I have it.”
Nodding, I’m touched by everything he’s said, yet my heart aches for the guy who hated being ripped from his modest Pennsylvania home and thrust into the wealthy, elite world. Moving closer, I place my hand on his arm, squeezing gently. “I’m sorry, Max. For you being thrust into that world. Your face says how much you disliked it.”
He cocks his head, his eyes softening. “Thank you for understanding.” His muscles are still tense, veins popping beneath the skin on his arms.
“So, do you have a closet full of tuxedos or just casual clothes like this?” I change the subject, my eyes twinkling.
He throws his head back, laughing. “My closet is full of them. I sit around, watching football games in a tuxedo and bowtie. Also, the patio has a hot tub, and I regularly take my tea on the patio.” He sticks his pinkie out again and I shake my head, laughing.
A devilish gleam is in his eyes. “I get the impression you are trying to stall, to get out of answering my question outside. The one you told me you’d answer inside.”
Looking down at my red toenails in my sandals, I let out a sigh. My hand goes through my hair, and my eyes dart around his apartment rapidly, not meeting his. “Well, Max…” I pause and he leans closer, concern on his face. “I just—”
With a wicked gleam in my eye, I take off toward the stairs and start running up them, having no idea where I’m going. I know he’s going to tickle me if he gets his hands on me, so I sprint down his hallway in my heels, the thick carpet muffling the sound.
In the distance, I hear Max laughing, a light curse leaving his lips, his feet pounding up the stairs. Spotting an open door on the left, I quickly dart inside, my eyes scanning the room for a hiding spot. Spying a closet door, I pull it open and quietly creep inside, shutting it soundlessly behind me. I squat down, listening to his feet running down the hallway.
My hand covers my mouth, trying to quiet my breath. I sit on the floor, wrapping my hands around my knees. As the minutes tick by, I relax against the closet wall.
Suddenly, the door flies open, and Max leans in, arms grabbing me, lifting me from the closet floor. I’m wide-eyed and startled, having no idea he was even in the room.
“Max, what the hell? How did you—” Laughter erupts from me as he lays me on the bed, tickling the hell out of me. I squirm and wiggle, trying to escape his torturous fingers, but he won’t let me.
He pauses, giving me time to catch my breath, sitting beside me, observing the happiness that lights me up from the inside out.
My hand comes up to my face, wiping the tears from my eyes. “How in the hell did you get in here?”
Max chuckles. “I knew where you were. I just made noise and then snuck in here so I could shock you.”
“It worked. I nearly had a heart attack when you whipped the door open.” I laugh, looking down at…oh. The smile dies off my face as I realize my dress had ridden up when he tickled me.
Max follows my gaze, his gaze stopping on my legs. I should move my hands to the hem of my dress and tug, but there’s a part of me that doesn’t want to. His Adam’s apple bobs as he stares at my thighs… I squeeze my legs together, desire incinerating me.
I really want to kiss him, despite only knowing him for two days.What the hell am I thinking?
