I curl my lips together to squash a smile. "A port, please. Stacey?"
The whites of Stacey's eyes are glowing. "Nothing," she squeaks.
Max walks off toward the kitchen, muttering, "You're in so much fucking trouble."
"Cassidy!" Stacey leans toward me. "I've seen girls get dragged out by the arm for less than that."
"I asked nicely. I think it's good for him."
She sits back. "Never do that in front of his dad... Oh my God, or Jimmy."
I shuffle back. "Iwouldn't."
She shakes her head in disbelief. "I'm not even sure what I just saw."
"What? Can’t I ask my boyfriend to get me a drink?"
She coughs. "Your boyfriend?"
I glance around nervously. "I didn't meanboyfriend."
Footsteps approach and Stacey's face becomes ashen.
"What did you mean then?" Max asks, taking long casual steps toward us.
I cover my face. "Oh my God. Stop it, Max."
"There are so many better things you could call me," he says. I peek out from behind my fingers and gaze up into his smirking face. "Your Highness." He hands me the port glass, but retracts it inches from my outstretched fingers. "Don't push it," he warns.
I stare at him with sultry eyes. "What should I call you? Like, a menace? Master?"
He presses his teeth together like he's imagining me between them. "Like,Oh My Max."
Stacey shoots up. "If this is your version of foreplay, I should go." Stacey smiles nervously and walks towards the door.
Max glowers at her, his eyes narrowed into slits. "Stacey!" His tone is authoritarian, and she stops mid-step. "Who the fuck do you think you are? Huh? Let me make myself perfectly clear, when I'm with Cassidy, you pretend you're deaf and blind."
Stacey swallows hard. "Sorry." It's meek, submissive, and so not like her. I wince on her behalf. Eyes downcast, Stacey hurries through the sliding door and disappears into the villa.
My back hits the cushion, and I crane my head as I frown up at Max. "What was that about? She made a joke."
He slides down beside me and lifts my thighs onto hislap. "She thought she could make a remark about our conversation."
"It was...ajoke."
"So?" He runs his tongue across his teeth and shrugs once. "I don't appreciate the commentary."
"Friends tease each other; that's what they do."
"She isn't my friend."
I touch his cheek. "Max."
He drapes his arm over the headrest. "How did you get into ballet?"
"Master of the?—"
"Subtle Transition."
