Page 6 of It's Not Home Without You

My eyes involuntarily searched for Freya. It was something I automatically did every day as soon as I walked into school. Tonight she looked real pretty standing in front of the fire, the bright flames making her face glow. I swore when she looked up at me with those big brown eyes and smiled at me, I felt like I lost a part of myself. Ever since I gave her a ride home, I couldn’t stop thinking about her. I noticed her before at school—what guy at our school didn’t? Freya was a prettylittle thing; she was wild and funny. Still, it was that same reputation that always made me keep my distance, but driving her home that night, something changed, and now whenever Freya saw me in the hallways, she said hello, and it made my mornings. I would be at my locker, and she would give my arm a squeeze as she passed by and say “Hey” or “Hello,” followed by a smile. Sometimes she would be with Russell and his friends and wave at me from across the hall.

Freya came and sat next to me on the bench. “Hello, Maximilian, why so lonely?” The smell of apples clung to her neck, and damn if I didn’t want to lick her to see if she tasted as good as she smelled.

“Just chilling.” I knew I sounded lame as soon as the words came out. “Does your grandfather know you’re here?” I grimaced after I spoke. Why did I bring him into the conversation? Prescott was right; I had zero game.

“I have meant to apologize for the way Grandpa treated you that night. As for tonight, he knows where I am. I had to fess up after he caught me sneaking out of my room.”

“How did that happen?”

“I was halfway out my window, my feet about to reach the ground, when he asked if I needed a hand. I almost pissed myself. Then he said I could go out as long as I gave him an honest answer about when I was getting home, and he forbade Rusty from drinking tonight. Grandpa also said my driving lessons start tomorrow. Can you believe it, Max? He’s teaching me how to drive in case Rusty ever gets too drunk to take me home.”

My stomach dropped when she turned and looked at Russell with her eyes glowing, and at that moment, I wanted to hate the guy, even though he was a good friend. I wanted her to look at me like that.

“You and Russell?” There was an edge to my voice I had never used before. I looked at Russell; he was with a few guys from the baseball team jumping over the fire. I was about to apologize and say it wasn’t any of my business when Freya threw her head back and laughed.

“Oh God no. I have standards, and dating Rust would be incestuous, like dating a brother.” She put her finger in her mouth and pretended to gag, and I’d never felt more relieved in my life. Shit, what was happeningto me?

“Maximilian.” She snapped her fingers in front of my face, and I felt myself go warm with embarrassment. I was staring at her and lost it.

“You can call me Max. My full name is a mouthful.” I wanted to pretend like she didn’t notice the way I got lost in her, but this was Freya Pratt, and judging by the wicked smile she gave me, she was more than aware.

“Max-i-mi-li-an—I like the way it rolls off my tongue, don’t you?” she said with a dramatic roll that made my blood boil. I looked down at where we were both sitting so close that if she moved a little more, she’d be in my lap. I opened my mouth to say something, anything, but I had no words.

“Max,” she prodded, tipping my chin so I could look at her. If I was at a loss for words before, I was completely mute now. “Are you going to kiss me?” Her voice dropped low.

This was it; she was giving me the okay to do what I’d been dying to do since I dropped her at her grandfather’s trailer, and I couldn’t move. She made the first move for me. Her hands were small, cool, and delicate against my cheeks. There was zero hesitation on her part when she guided my face to meet hers. When our lips finally made contact, I knew that nothing would ever be the same. All it took to snap me out of the trance she put in me in was for our lips to meet. My arm went around her tiny, little waist and pulled her closer, and even then, it still felt like she wasn’t close enough. That kiss wasn’t my first kiss, but it was the one I knew I would remember for the rest of my life. It was the kiss I knew I would hold as a standard from now on. Itshould have scared me, but for some insane reason, I wanted to run head-on to this new challenge.

“I’ve been dying to do that since I saw you stranded in the grass wondering if you had frostbite,” I said when she pulled away. A beautiful, rosy tint covered her cheeks. I didn’t think she could get more appealing, but she proved me wrong when she smiled, showing a hint of vulnerability.

“I’ve been dying for you to do that.” Her confession gave me confidence, making me brave, so I kissed her again and again until Russell came looking for her and almost caught us making out.

“Come on, let’s go jump.” She extended her hand to me. At that moment, I knew I would follow her anywhere, even to jump through burning flames, and not let myself think about how reckless it was.

CHAPTER FIVE

“This will not work out,”I said out loud when Victor showed up with a U-Haul containing all my belongings. I had successfully avoided going into town for the last three days, but my old driver derailed my mission to become a hermit by showing up unannounced at my grandpa’s trailer. Victor stood there smiling at me, and it was creepy. All I ever saw him wear washis classic black suit; him standing in our dirt driveway in jeans and a sweater was psyching me out.

“Mi niña, since you needed your stuff back, I told Mr. Hill I was taking my vacation early this year. I couldn’t bear to see it there in boxes...” Victor pointed at the massive truck in our driveway. He drove my stuff all the way from San Francisco just so I could have it back sooner. I wanted to say thank you, but I couldn’t do it with the golf ball stuck in my throat. I wanted to cry. Instead, I hugged the Cuban mantightly. When people did nice things for me, it was hard to accept. It always made me sentimental.

“You didn’t have to go through all this trouble, Victor,” I mumbled once I had composed myself.

“It’s the least I could do. So many times,mi niña,I wanted to tell you, but it wasn’t my place, and I couldn’t bear to break your heart. That Friday I decided not to pick you up, knowing you would find Mr. Hill with his mistress.”

That’s all it took for my resentment toward Vic to subside. I told him to give me a second while I changed. All I had packed to come here was my work clothes, which were a little too much for small-town errands. These past few days, I’d been chilling in my jammies since it wasn’t like I was going anywhere. When I walked into the trailer, I found my grandpa snooping through the kitchen window.

“Tell me that’s not the man you left behind,” he grumbled.

“Ew, he’s old. He could be my father.”

My Grandpa made a noise, completely ignoring my cringing. “Well, you never know. What do you call them—candy daddies?”

“You mean a sugar daddy? You should really go out more.” I pinched Gramps’s cheek before grabbing his hand to take him to meet Victor—you know, so he could make sure he wasn’t my “candy daddy.” When we made it to Victor, the back of the U-Haul was already open.

Holy crap.

The size of the truck should have been my first warning, but apparently, I wasn’t thinkingclearly.

“All this crap yours?” Grandpa asked while he looked at the truck in horror.

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