Oh fuck.
I all but fall off the bed in my haste to chuck my clothes back on. My trousers are on, and my arms are through the arm holes of my t-shirt, but I’m yet to put my head through when I notice Max staring at me with a ridiculous smile on his face.
“What’s so funny?” I demand. “It must be nice not to have a care in the world about what others think. You might be okay with all of this. But I am not okay.”
“Baby, I promise I understand. It’s just that your clothes are inside out.”
I can tell he is fighting back laughter now, but he climbs off the bed and comes over to me. He helps to strip me back off and righten my clothes, all before helping me put them back on.
“You need to calm down. Everything is going to be fine. I’ll go out there and check that the coast is clear. Then you just need to go upstairs, okay?”
I nod my head, feeling a little overwhelmed at the stress. I have only just opened my eyeballs, for God’s sake.
Only a few minutes later, I have successfully made it out of the apartment undetected, and I’m already climbing the stairs to Max’s new place. Thank God I asked him for the door number, as he’s never actually shown me where it is. I wonder what it’s going to look like inside.
Knowing Max, he has either gone completely crazy and has all the colours of the rainbow, or he’s done something stupid like mimicking Tommy's place just to wind him up. Now that the adrenaline from my master escape has faded away, it’s been taken over by anticipation. My mind is running wild, coming up with all the different scenarios I could be walking into here.
Well, here goes nothing. I turn the key, opening the door slowly, smiling as I do. But the smile soon fades once I step inside, and awe takes over. My eyes are like saucers. Trying to take in everything I can see.
It is almost as if someone has gone into my mind and copied all my dreams for a home and pasted them in here. It’s so warm looking. All the walls and flooring are plain beige, but everything else is dark with little pops of colour. Dark wooden bookshelves filled with books, dark leather couches with the snuggest looking throws, even the rug in the centre of the room looks like heaven.
It kind of looks out of place to be in an apartment rather than a house. Yet for some reason, it works. Was this all Max’s idea? I always knew we were similar in taste, but this is another level. My fingers glide over anything in touching distance as I wander around the room. It’s fricking huge in here. Even with the dark furnishings, it doesn’t take away from the size.
I love it.
I’m torn between snooping in all the other rooms of the house or waiting until Max gets back. Surely, he won’t be much longer, but I just don’t think I have enough self-control to wait.
Giving in, I start to wander from room to room. First the kitchen, then the office, and there is even a laundry room! I come to the last door at the end of the hall, the only one that’s closed. Turning the handle, I step inside and gawk at what I see.
“Holy shit!”
