AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Finn
Max has been unusually quietthe entire ride back to town. I was going to catch a ride with LT, but Max insisted I ride with him. After the way he reacted to finding out about our relationship, I didn’t give it a second thought.
He’s okay with this.
Happy even, it seems.
Why would I worry about being alone in a car with him for two hours?
The silence, that’s why.
I can tell there’s a storm brewing. His hands are clenched around the steering wheel. His breathing is deep and slow, as if he’s trying his best to keep himself calm. The closer we get to our loft, the more I start to get nervous about whatever is on his mind. And I keep circling back to me being with Willow. Without asking him for permission even though he made it sound like we’d had it all along.
We still live together.
He’s still my best friend.
If he’s not okay with me dating Willow, I want to talk it out. Hell, I’ll break out the boxing gloves and we can go a few rounds. Nothing is going to change my mind about being with her, though. I love her. Someday I plan to marry her. And when that day comes, since James is gone, I’ll ask Max for his blessing.
Chancing a glance in his direction, I watch as his hands twist against the leather of the steering wheel.
No time like the present to clear the air. At least he can’t hit me right now.
“What’s on your mind, Max? I can see there’s something.”
Please don’t let it be me and Willow.
“Just thinking.” His words are clipped, his anger evident.
“Anything you want to share?” My gut says to let it go, but I know the more Max let’s something simmer, the angrier he’ll be when he finally let’s go. If it’s the difference between dealing with an EF-0 tornado and an EF-5, I’ll take the zero any day. Lower chance of any casualties.
He seems to contemplate my offer before speaking. “How long have you really loved her?”
“Years,” I say without hesitation.
“You know, last summer, I tried to push you two together.”
Say what?
“I saw there was something there. Neither one of you could keep your eyes off the other. So that last party we had before school started, I thought, why not? Let’s see if this is the real deal or if they just need to get it out of their system. Not that I wanted you to fuck my sister and never talk to her again,” he clarifies. “And then the next morning, she was gone. I was so pissed. The way I saw it, you used her. You got what you wanted, and she did the walk of shame the next morning. Did I know for sure you slept together? No, but your face was laced with guilt.”
“It’s not what you think,” I try to explain, but he only shakes his head.
“I don’t want to know what happened. All I need to hear is that you two aren’t just a fling. That you’re going to take care of my sister, treat her right.”
“Of course I will, man. I’d never do anything to hurt her.” I hope he can hear the sincerity in my words. No matter what my relationship with Willow has been over the years—friends or lovers—I’ve always treated her with love.
“I know I said I was okay with this, but the more I think about it, the angrier I get,” he confesses.
No shit. Anger has been radiating off him in waves the last ninety minutes.
“Listen, I get that I might not be the man you’d pick for Willow—”
“That’s just it. You are. Since we were kids. You were the one I always thought would break our pact. The one I figured would take her virginity. I was convinced I was going to have to kill you for touching her. But you never did. Then I tried to push you together and that didn’t work out. Maybe I’m just pissed that it wasn’t on my terms. Or maybe I’m mad you kept it from me. I don’t know. I’m happy for you guys, but I’m also irate at the same time. Does that even make sense?”
He wanted us together. He would have picked me for her.
“Why?” It’s all I can focus on right now. “Why me? Why would you have let me date Willow but not the other guys?”
