A young woman and man answered the door. It was the same girl that I had seen Max with at Baker’s. This was Melanie, with, I assumed, herhusband.
“Jack.” The first word out of Melanie’s mouth was disdainful, and the excited look on her face turned sour. She moved closer to her husband, wrapping her hand around his arm, more like she was protectinghim.
“Melanie.” The way Jack said her name almost reminded me of Max. His sweet voice entered the night air, like it was a promise of more to come. No wonder Max was angry with him. I could see the trouble coming from a mile away. Melanie turned toward me, and that spark came back to hereyes.
“Alexa!” She finally let go of her husband, grabbing me for a long embrace. “It’s so good to finally meet you. I’m just sad it’s right before Ileave.”
“Please don’t squeeze my girlfriend to death.” Melanie pulled away, as Max took her position, grabbing me by the waist and pulling me towards him. This wasn’t the first time Max had shown affection in front of our friends, but it never ceased to amaze me that he did. I didn’t blush anymore, but the smile that crept onto my face just never really went away. “You’ve met Melanie. This is her husband,Wade.”
The look on Melanie’s face when Max said her husband’s name could have lit an entire city. I had never seen so much love in one look. I heard a cough from my side to see Jack stifling a grumble as Greg elbowed him in theside.
“Why don’t we head inside.” Lilly took the lead to the back yard, where we found Erica and Chase already sitting on one of the couches. They were close, but not too close, and I thought back to seeing them together and wondered if something was happening that none of us knewabout.
Max led me away from where everyone else was headed, taking me towards an older couple who were over by the outside bar. His hand squeezed mine as we moved into view of who I assumed were his parents. He was the spitting image of his mother, even though they weren’t related, but had the complete build of hisfather.
“Mom. Dad.” They stopped their conversation mid-laugh.
“Oh!” Max’s mother arms came around me in a flash, causing me to be separated from Max. “You must beAlexa!”
“Lynn, don’t strangle the girl.” I giggled as I was put down, because the voice berating Max’s mother sounded just like Max’s, but I knew it wasn’t. I looked up to Max’s father, suddenly seeing so many similarities between him and hisson.
“Oh, shush.” She waved him away as she brought me in for anotherhug.
“Mom.”
I laughed again at Max trying to scold his mother, just like his father had. I was quickly released again, but the space was soon replaced with Max’s father. I was expecting another hug, but instead received a kiss on eachcheek.
“Luke!” Lynn’s voice echoed with a vivacious laugh as she scolded her husband. Max made sure to grab me as soon as his father let mego.
“Don’t mind them. They are just an old marriedcouple.”
“Old!” Lynn and Luke’s voice rang in sync with each other, and I tried to stifle another laugh, but my hand couldn’t hide it. I felt a pang in my heart because in a matter of seconds, I was falling in love with Max’sparents.
“You can just call us Mom and Dad.” Lynn winked at me. My mouth opened slightly to gape at her, but Max cut in, shutting it alldown.
“Mom.” I looked up at him, and the Max I knew disappeared. He was replaced by someone darker, someone I hadn’t seen yet, and it sent shivers down my spine. “Don’t.”
“You take all the fun out of everything.” She didn’t let Max’s words stop her. She turned towards me and winked again, grabbing her husband’s arm. “I think we’ll head inside for amoment.”
We watched as they departed the yard, and I couldn’t stop looking at them. They were the perfect couple. Max grabbed for my hand and brought it up to hislips.
“Would you like to dance?” It was then that I heard the faint music filling the backyard. Max took a remote out of his pocket and pressed one of the buttons, making the volume around us louder. He didn’t wait for an answer as he pulled me towards him. One hand went to my waist, and the other held my hand up in the air. It felt so formal, so I wasn’t sure what to do. I tried to follow Max’s lead but looked around to see no one else dancing; there were just many wide-eyed stares directed at us. More people had arrived at the party, many of whom I had never met before. I could feel the blush creep across my cheeks, and then the burn blazed when Max’s lips grazed mycheek.
“Relax.” And I did just that. I melted into Max’s arms as he led for the rest of the dance. Song after song melded together, and others soon joined us. Lilly and Jack moved into my eye line as they tried to see who could dance the weirdest. Greg was sitting off to the side with Chase, and Erica was dancing with Max’s father. There were a few other couples who I didn’t know, but I knew that this place felt like home. I never thought I would say that, but it was true. Max had said that this was a place he could see a family at, and I could see it,too.
“Move in with me.” It was only a whisper in my ear, but it stopped my whole world. I stood there, staring at Max as others danced around us. Max tried to pull me back towards him, filling the space that was growing between us. I let him hold me and move us back and forth, like we were dancing again, but we weren’t. I was a statue next to him. I had no idea what to say, and he knew it. “I know it’s crazy, but I want you in this house. I want us both in thishouse.”
I started to move with Max again. One arm was around my waist and his other hand was holding my face. I could see it in his eyes that he was waiting for an answer that I didn’t know how to give. It wasn’t that I didn’t want to move in with him, but I had just been thinking about how this house was meant for a family, and I wondered how he had read my mind. But the more I thought about it, the more I knew it would only ever be the two of us. There would never be a family here. I knew I needed to tell Max, but I didn’t know how to, so instead I gave him myanswer.
“Yes.” I leaned in to kiss him so I wouldn’t have to see the look on his face, but I could feel the smile pulling at his lips. I couldn’t help but let my mind get the best of me in this moment. I had given in to Max every step of the way. Going on dates with him, letting him tell me he loved me, moving in with him, but he still hadn’t acknowledged my love for him, and it almost broke my heart. So my curiosity bit me in the butt, because I just had to know what would happen if I told him again. “I loveyou.”
I expected Max to freeze up like he had last time, but he did the complete opposite. He pulled me closer, stopping our dance, and he held me there in front of everyone. I wrapped my arms around his waist as he kissed myhead.
“I was so scared the first time you said it last night. I thought I had misheard you.” I relaxed into his hold. “I thought if I ignored it that I could keep it locked away. I thought if I didn’t say anything, you wouldn’t realize that you had made a mistake. I just couldn’t chance it,Alexa.”
“Max…” I felt myself pleading for him, but I didn’t know what I was pleadingfor.
“Shush, babe.” Max’s finger came to my lips, quieting me. “I’m sosorry.”
I couldn’t move my lips to tell him that it was okay. That I wouldn’t take it back, because even in the short time we had known each other, I had fallen in love with him. I trusted Max with my whole world. Well, with most of it. I bit his finger to release my lips, which only sparked the fire in his eyes, and that wicked smirk I loved came back to life. I looked him straight in the eyes thistime.
“I love you.” The words slipped easily from my lips. They were true, deep in my heart, and I wanted Max to see that. He lifted me up, swinging me around, and his infectious laugh filled the air. I could see the blur of people stop dancing, just staring at us. He held me, not setting me back down on theground.
“I love you too, babe.” Max said it loud enough for everyone to hear. I knew no one would expect me to say it, because he had just declared a response to my admission. His lips came down to mine. Clapping filled the air, and I felt like we were being chanted on. I could hear someone in the crowd say “finally.”I giggled, looking up at Max, the love of my life, and I realized I didn’t know how I had gotten here. I moved to Georgia, got a job, met my bosses, and then from there it was almost like a blur. Like my mind was fast forwarding through all the bad to bring me right back to the good, and the good was where I wouldstay.
