AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Because,” Max answered, sitting down on the end of my bed and slipping off her shoes, “I actually went to parties in college and learned how to act sober.”
I flopped onto the bed facedown, unsuccessfully trying to kick of the high heels that had been slowly draining my will to live all night. The feeling in both small toes was long gone. Maxine grabbed one of my ankles and removed the dangling shoe, then repeated the process on the other foot.
“I went to parties in college too,” I said, the words muffled by the pillow my face was smashed into. Someone had to defend my college-aged self. She was cool. Sort of.
“Did all of those ragers you attended involve board games?” she retorted, followed by the sound of a zipper and drawers opening and closing.
“Board games are fun!” I yelled, turning my head slightly so the pillow wasn’t smothering my voice.
“Yes, they are,” she reassured me soothingly. “Will you roll onto your side, so I don’t have to worry about you suffocating in your sleep?”
Groaning, I rolled too far and ended up on my back instead, almost kicking Maxine in the head in the process.
“Do you know what the worst part is?” I said to the ceiling, afraid to close my eyes. I knew the room would start to spin as soon as I did.
“That you almost kicked me in the head with your freakishly big feet?”
“Hey! The average shoe size for a woman is a size eight.” Her answering grunt didn’t deter me. “As I was saying, the worst part is that I love him. I mean, how could I not? He’s nice and handsome and smart and he smells like those little cologne inserts that used to be in magazines. He’s just...just perfect. And...and...”
“And Macon’s marrying your sister, who is the actual devil,” Max reminded me unhelpfully. As if I could ever forget it.
“I know,” I whined, flopping one arm over my eyes dramatically. “We’re going to be family. You can’t date family, and he clearly thinks of me as a sister. I need serious help, Maxine. Call Phil. I need Phil.”
“I’m sorry, who is Phil?”
I rolled over on my side, looking at Maxine in disbelief.
“Uh, hello? Phil McGraw? Dr. Phil. America’s doctor. Ring any bells?”
“Oh, excuse me, I didn’t realize you were on a first-name basis.”
“It’s okay, I forgive you.” She rolled her eyes, shaking her head. “What am I going todo, Max?”
“Well, the first thing you’re going to do is go to sleep, and then you’re going to wake up with one hell of a hangover,” Maxine stated, but her pragmatism was lost on me. She reached under my dress and tugged at the waistline of my pantyhose, dragging them down my legs and off. My whole body exhaled in relief — I could take a deep breath for the first time all night.
I shot up so fast that I almost smacked heads with Maxine. She had reflexively stuck out her hand to prevent the collision but somehow ended up grabbing my boob instead. We both looked down at her hand.
“Do you know what I think, Maxine?” I managed through a sudden onset of sniffles. “I thinkyou’remy great love story.”
“Okay, what is happening right now? Are you having a coming-out moment or — ”
“No, no,” I interrupted. “I mean everyone always talks about romantic love as beingthelove, you know? The one that matters. The great love of everyone’s life is always a romantic partner. But I don’t think anyone could love me as much as you do, Max. Maybe we’re all missing the boat on the whole ‘love of our lives’ thing. Maybe therealloves of our lives are the friends who drive hours to attend a stupid party with you without being asked, because they know how much you need them. Or don’t judge you for having five guinea pigs.”
“Oh honey, Idojudge you for having five guinea pigs,” Max cooed, patting my knee. “That’s a lot of rodents in one small place.”
“They don’t like being called rodents. They’re my friends.”
“Yeah,” she drawled. “We’ll add that to the list of things to talk to Dr. Phil about.”
I threw myself back down with a dramatic sigh. “What do you think he would tell me to do about Holden?”
“Holden? What does Holden have to do with anything?”
“Haven’t you been listening to me? I’m in love with Holden.”
“Oh my God — thank you, Jesus. I thought you were talking about Macon this entire time.” She stood, walking to the bathroom and turning on the faucet.
“Macon?No. I’m not in love with Macon. I love you and Holden.”
