“Suck it bitch! She said yes!” I shout triumphantly at Andy while typing out my reply.
Max:Just friends. I plomise.
Charlie:Was that typo on purpose?
It most definitely was.
Chapter 8
Charlie
This past week has flown by in a blur. It’s hard to believe that on this day last week I was a blubbering mess wondering why that stupid idiot Brad wouldn’t text me back. He’s sent a few more texts, and I have happily ignored all of them.
Brad:I don’t know where you went, but please call me. Let me explain.
Brad:This is fucking bullshit Charlie. You can’t just shut me out.
Brad:Please
He called once too, and I sent him straight to voicemail. Didn’t bother checking the voicemail before I swiped that away too. Ignoring someone has never felt so good.
Besides, I’ve been far too busy flirting with my sexy new boss to worry about my terrible old one. I can’t believe that Max is basically paying me to sit around and read all day. I swear everyone in this town already owns skates. I handed one pair out to a kid who forgot theirs for their lesson and that was IT.
Max is busy enough but always finds time to come and chat with me between the lessons. I’ve learned so much about him. He was born and raised right here in Twin Rivers, just like me. We went to the same high school, but he graduated the year before I started there. He also has adoring parents that he lovesdeeply who he insists I will never meet because they will fall in love with me, and we’ll have to get married. They will demand it.
I don’t know about marriage, but this whole week has just deepened my crush on Max. He’s probably one of the sweetest guys I have ever met. I must have spent a lot of time around total shitheads because I don’t think a man has ever treated me this … nicely. How messed up is it that basic human decency is a turn on for me?
There has also been this wave of rage sent through my brain with every new message from Brad. A rebound fuck would feel so amazing. Just to clear my head and get Brad out of my system for good. Max has given me no reason to believe that he wouldn’t be in to sleeping with me. But he seems like a serious dating only type of guy and that just won’t work with me going back down to Van in the spring.
But I suppose we’ll see soon enough. I drove myself home after work and Max said he’d pick me up in an hour. I couldn’t sleep last night so the outfit was already picked out and most of my time could be spent doing hair and makeup.
Maybe if Max doesn’t end up being able to help me out with my rebound, one of his friends that he mentioned would be into it. Max told me I could meet them but not until after we went out and wouldn’t elaborate further than that.
Andy, and I think his name was Ben, are childhood friends of Max. They all share a place and according to Max they are “Really great guys,” but also, “huge fucking dickheads.” I assume that is just loveable razzing, but I guess I will find out when I meet them.
Max also wouldn’t tell me exactly where we were going tonight. The options are very limited with the town only having one bar, and two restaurants that in rural communities would be considered nice. Nothing like the fancy ooh-la-la restaurants down south, but nice enough that they qualify as the two date night spots in town. I know Max said we were going for drinks too, but I am kind of hoping he doesn’t mean at the one bar in town. The last time I was there, it was so dirty and sketchy thatI'm surprised the place hasn’t been shut down permanently.
Not to mention, if I am going to run into anyone from high school, it will be there for sure. And it will be exactly the people that I don’t want to see. I’ve been very lucky in my first week back home. Other than Tony and a couple of my parents' friends, I haven’t run into anybody I knew from back then.
Let’s just hope that luck doesn’t run out.
I finish my hair and makeup just in time to hear Max ring the doorbell. I have decided to let my natural curls flow, keep the makeup mostly understated but with a bold red lip, and put on my tried-and-true little black dress. I added black tights to keep some of the cold off my legs, but my goal was to show the most amount of skin possible without freezing to death. If I am going to go back on my “friends only” insistence, I better make sure it’s crystal clear what I am after.
I open the door and there’s Max dressed in black jeans, black dress shirt, and a black plaid flannel jacket. Which honestly isn’t much different from what he usually wears but men wearing black on black has always done something for me.
Max’s eyes widen momentarily as he takes me in. He then closes them, groans, and runs his hand down his face before opening them and saying, “That’s what you wear to ‘just-friends’ drinks? You’re killing me, Charlie.”
I smirk. That was exactly the reaction I was going for. “It’s not often a girl gets taken out for a night on the town. I wanted to look nice.”
“Okay so one, you always look nice. And two, there is something distinctlynot niceabout this dress gorgeous,” Max continues to stare, taking a step inside.
Gorgeous.
“You think I'm gorgeous?” I ask, blushing.
“Since the moment I met you.” Max’s response is immediate.
He’s pushed himself fully into the entryway with me now and turns me around to the mirror on the wall.
