There’s a knock on the door and then Melanie calls hello in her high-pitched voice. Moments later both she and Max are visible at the edge of the dining room.
“Hope you don’t mind that we let ourselves in,” she says.
“Not at all! You’re always welcome,” Mom replies and gestures to Max. “What’s all this?”
Melanie glances fondly at him. He’s looking a bit helplesswhile holding two bulging grocery bags. “Oh, we brought some food for dinner. I figured it was only fair since you’re going to have a whole group of teenagers in the house. And Max insisted on supplies for nachos.”
I frown. He insisted on nachos?
“Do you need help getting it all ready?” Melanie asks him.
Max shakes his head. “Thanks, but we got it. Don’t worry.” His voice is so warm with his mom that I barely recognize it.
She kisses him on the cheek and gestures for my mom to come to her side. “Sounds like we have some time to get caught up, then.” They both laugh and wave before heading to the basement.
I expect Max to have a snarky comment about our moms sharing more secrets, but he doesn’t. He’s being weirdly silent and it’s freaking me out. After a moment, I scramble up and wave him toward the kitchen. He drops the bags onto the counter and pulls a family-sized bag of tortilla chips, a package of ground beef, and two kinds of shredded cheese from the first bag.
I lean against the counter and survey him. “Okay, what’s your deal?”
“I don’t have a deal. I’m just…on my best behavior.”
“Your best behavior is absolute silence?” I laugh. “Actually, I can work with that.”
He rolls his eyes and takes out more supplies, including salsa, sour cream, and an avocado. “I’m trying tonight.”
“And I appreciate it, but you’re so serious and quiet. Why don’t you try…” I pause to think. “Try channeling that thirteen-year-old version of yourself that used to eat half theshredded cheese out of the bag every time we’d make nachos here.”
His mouth drops in horror. “That Max was a total dork.”
“I’m not arguing.” I smile and dump the ground beef into a skillet. “But he was also fun and goofy, and that’s the goal. Although, if we can get through tonight without a full-blown fight, I’ll still take it as a success.”
“Is that a challenge?”
His eyes are glimmering with excitement, and it sends a jolt of heat shooting down my spine. I don’t know what to do with Max when he looks at me like this, with his arms crossed over his Radiohead shirt and the corner of this mouth twitching with amusement. It reminds me too much of the past and my old feelings for him.
“Everything is a challenge with us, but fine.” I put out my right hand to shake on it. “Whoever is the first to say something rude tonight loses.”
“You’re on.” His hand wraps around my own and flutters dance through my belly. “The loser has to bring food for the next game.”
There’s a knock at the door and I run over to find Li on the porch, shifting her weight and chewing on her hair.
“Hey, come in! And you don’t need to wait in the future, feel free to just walk into the house.” I usher her into the kitchen where Max is adding the taco seasoning to the beef. “So, obviously you two know each other, in a manner of speaking, but I don’t think you’ve ever been formally introduced. Li, this is Max. And Max, this is my friend and fellow color guard member, Li.”
Max smiles and waves. “Nice to officially meet you. And sorry about the vinegar.”
Her eyes dart to me and back to him. “Uh, hi.”
Just then the front door opens again. Nova walks into the kitchen, Felix trailing behind her. “We ran into each other as we were walking in.” She surveys the room. “So, the gang’s all here?”
“Yep.”
We stand in an awkward circle, glancing around at each other like we’re in a standoff and someone’s about to pull a weapon. I try smiling at Felix, but it probably looks like I’m grimacing in pain. Which is the truth because inside I’m wound up so tightly that my body is one big cramp. This is exactly what I was afraid of. Tonight is destined for disaster.
Nova catches my eye and lifts her eyebrows meaningfully.Right.I’m the Dungeon Master, so I guess it’s my duty to get us on course.
I clear my throat and step forward. “Clearly there’s some tension right now. And that’s understandable, but everyone should know that Max and I talked, and we’ve agreed on a full truce during D&D nights. No fighting, no competitions, no betting—”
“Except for our bet about no fighting—”
