Max sipped at his beer. It was loud and crowded in the Goody. He hated it. Worse. He hated that he had to wait for Zoe. It was 8:00 p.m. She’d texted to say she was coming but was late.At least she told me.But once again he was left waiting for her, and it grated on his temper. It didn’t help that he had to wait over twenty-four hours before seeing her again. It was driving him crazy. To take the edge off, he’d treated himself to a few beers, it made it easier to deal with the noise in the pub and the number of people. He was used to a much quieter pub with only half a dozen people, not one with loud background top-forty music and standing almost shoulder to shoulder with a stranger. He drained his beer.
“Another?” he asked Marshall, a pig farmer who he’d caught up yearly with at the show, usually here at the Goody or at the Jumbuck.
“Yeah, thanks,” answered Marshall.
Max nodded, then pushed his way to the front bar and ignored anyone who had been waiting and ordered two more beers. He hoped Zoe would arrive soon. The amber liquid was easing the tension within him, to a degree. Not enough. And he knew he’d drunk more than enough, especially before seeing Zoe. He didn’t want to be too affected by alcohol when he was with her. The last time they’d met in his hotel room had been so much better, there was a familiarity building between them, something deeper than just casual sex. Even though he’d closed off his heart to any potential relationships in the future, with a sharp twist in his gut he knew it wasn’t the case with Zoe.
He wanted her.
To himself.
Exclusively.
He wanted to get to know her more, for her to live on the farm with him.Fuck.How the hell did he let her get under his skin like that?He tried desperately to push such emotions away as he went back to Marshall. There was no room for him to ever have a relationship again. Ever. No matter what. It wasn’t what he did anymore.
“Here you go.” Max handed a beer to Marshall. He raised his eyebrow seeing that his mate was talking to a rather hot young woman. Well, sort of talking. Marshall was the sort of guy who was utterly awkward around women in an annoying sort of way. Max could tell he was interested in the woman but was struggling to pick up on the cues she was giving him.
“I’m Max.” He smiled at her.
“Alice.”
“You know Marshall?”
She turned a little red and shook her head. Max could read the signs. She wanted Marshall.
“He’s a top bloke. Hey, Marshall, you scored all right to get some attention from Alice. Don’t blow it.”
Marshall just grinned.
“So what sort of farm do you have?” asked Alice.
Max’s moved his attention away from the conversation. His nerves were already on alert having to wait for Zoe, then being there in a loud and busy pub and the beer, all added to him snapping. He couldn’t bear to listen to the tongue-tied conversation anymore. Marshall was fucking it up big time. The least he could do was to help his mate get laid, Alice was so clearly offering that as a potential.
Max could see the signs. Hell, not that long ago he would’ve been the one talking up someone like her for some casual sex. He swallowed hard, realising that’s no longer what he wanted. He wanted Zoe, more and more, the last day had only revealed that to himself. Who gave a shit about them only just meeting, he knew how he was feeling, and he couldn’t deny such emotion. With a giddiness of feelings adding to his alcohol affected mind-set his usually blunt-talking approach escaped.
“Mate just get drunk and go upstairs to your room and fuck her. If it doesn’t work out well, then you can kick her out, and you don’t even have to wake up to her in the morning,” said Max.
Marshall laughed, nervously. Max took a deep breath ready to say something more, but the woman standing there had turned pale, her eyes widened. Max glanced at Marshall, who did nothing, just stood there.
Fuck. Everyone knew that Marshall lacked social skills, big time, and even though Max was trying to help out, what he’d said had actually made the situation worse. It was so obvious that they both wanted to have sex with each other.
Alice’s eyes filled with water then she turned and left.
Marshall stood there awkwardly, holding his beer, face blank as if he had no emotion in him. Perhaps if he were young now, he’d be diagnosed on the spectrum.Fuck it. Max knew he’d ballsed it up for his mate. He was about to tell Marshall to go after her when he felt a punch at his arm.
Max turned to see Zoe standing there, face angry as fucking hell.
“You’re a fucking dick.” Zoe spun around and left.
Bloody hell. Max stood there stunned for a moment. Then realised his tackless, demeaning comment might’ve just cost him a chance with a girl he couldn’t help thinking about a future with.
Max couldn’t believe he was actually chasing a woman. And he wasn’t sure when this casual thing had turned into something a little more. His mind raced. He had to get to her before it was too late.
“Wait, Zoe, it wasn’t what I meant,” Max called out from behind her.
Zoe spun around on her heels, her full skirt spinning outwards slightly, emphasising her anger. “Like fucking hell you did.” She stood there, anger burning through her body.
To think I could be falling for a fuckwit like that. She couldn’t believe it. The last day had been so hard to keep away from him, but she wanted to, just to make sure. It made the feelings seem more real. Not fucking now. There was no way she could be with a man like that. It ripped through her, squeezing at her heart.
