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“No, I’m at his apartment, Vanessa.”Shit. Why did I say that?I smack my hand over my forehead.
Max pushes off the wall, and my eyes travel down his form-fitting t-shirt to his…uh oh. He’s wearing gray fucking sweatpants. My version of male lingerie. He walks over to the couch, sinking onto the cushions, his body so close to me that I feel the heat from it. His eyes are locked on me as he leans over my phone. “Hi, Vanessa. You can call me Max. Only Irelynn can call me hot guy.” He drills me with his blue-eyed gaze.
Oh Fuck.I melt into the cushions, wishing the damned couch would swallow me. His dirty blond hair is still damp. I didn’t think he could get any hotter, but… damn, he looks so good I start to sweat.
Vanessa laughs. “Noted. Max it is. Irelynn, you can refer to him as HG and I’ll know it’s him.”
“Jesus, I hate you, V.” Sitting my phone on my lap, I put my head in my hands, wishing I had the courage to hang up on her. Max hasn’t stopped laughing since I laid eyes on him in the doorway. He’s watching me with keen interest when I peek up at him.
“I really have no idea who this strange woman is on the other end of the phone,” I jokingly say to Max, trying to cover my relentless embarrassment.
“Don’t believe her, Max,” Vanessa screeches through the phone. “I’ve known her since our freshmen year of college and can tell you tons of stories about her. Irelynn loves dancing, splashing in the rain, snow tubing, and reading erotic novels. If you take her ice skating, she’ll fall on her ass more than she’s on her feet. And her dream is to find a man who loves the song,Nights in White Satin, that will dance with her to it. She also loves red roses, sunflowers, dark chocolate, and frozen mocha coffees—”
“Vanessa!” I finally scream, embarrassed at the tirade she just launched into, especially when she said, “erotic novels” and Max’s eyebrow hitched upward on his face as his eyes locked on me like lasers. “Would you shut the hell up?”
If dying from embarrassment is possible, I’m seconds away from needing a casket.
“Max. If you want to know anything about Irelynn, just ask me.” Vanessa’s chipper voice comes through my phone.
I’m seriously wondering about my sanity and why I haven’t taken her off speaker yet.
“Thanks, Vanessa. I appreciate the offer.” His hand wraps around mine, squeezing gently. “But I’ll go directly to the source when I have questions. But I appreciate all the details you’ve provided today.”
I groan, shaking my head.These two are killing me right now.
“I’ve provided enough evidence to prove I’m her best friend, but I have more if you need it,” Vanessa yells through the phone.
Max holds up his hands in mock surrender, although she can’t see them. “I believe you, Vanessa.” He leans closer to me, his voice low, intended for my ears only. “I like her. She’s a great friend to you.”
“She’s the best,” I whisper back to him, a genuine smile lighting up my face. It makes me happy to hear Max and Vanessa getting along so well.
“Well, I’ll let you two have fun. And my family has returned with my milkshake.” Vanessa must be moving inside the house because we hear a door slam.
“It was nice talking to you, Vanessa,” Max leans over my shoulder into the phone.
“It was nice talking to you, Max. Take care of my girl.”
“I promise,” he says, his penetrating gaze probing mine.
Warmth fills my body as I stare at him. “Bye, V. Drive safely tomorrow,” I say, not breaking eye contact with Max.
“Bye, BBF.”
After I end the call, Max stares at me with a devilish grin on his face. “So… erotic books, huh? Tell me about them.”
My face heats all the way to the roots of my hair.I’m going to throttle Vanessa.
“Hell no,” I say with a laugh.
He laughs. “Was everything else she said true?”
My brow furrows as I reflect on Vanessa’s tirade. “I’m pretty sure, but she was on a roll and embarrassing the hell outta me, so I may or may not remember what she said correctly.”
Max laughs. “She didn’t say anything bad. Although you falling on your ass when you ice-skate is pretty hilarious.”
I can’t help laughing. I tell him about last winter when Vanessa and I went ice skating after I’d had a couple of glasses of wine. My tipsy ass thought the rink was a dance floor. I experienced the ultimate humiliation when I fell and busted my ass on the ice. Vanessa was laughing too hard to help me up, so my mom and dad skated out to help me to my feet and took me to the emergency room.
Max is laughing with me until I mention the emergency room. “Shit, Irelynn, did you break anything?”
