Page 95 of Crush

Don’t worry, I won’t.I shot back feeling childish but not being able to help myself. I was lying of course but I managed to leave it there and Max did not come back with anything else. We were at a standoff. Neither of us was the type to beg. Although, Ienjoyedthe effort he was making. It was like hewasfighting for me,for us, when so much shit was stacked against it.

Shaking off the mixed feelings racing through me, I packed a bag, called my father to tell him my plans and arranged for Dexter to take me to Mia’s.

When I got to her house, I unleashed my feelings and thoughts about Max and Mia did what any best friend does, shelistened. I kept Zander’s persistence to myself for the time being.

He would eventually get bored and move on. That’s what I told myself anyway.

At that point, I wasn’t aware of how wrong I was.

Seventeen

Max

Everything was going to shit again. Amber was at Mia’s and still pissed about the misunderstanding with Natalie and I was determined I wouldn’t be the one to break the radio silence first. Teenager-ish of me I know.

The hotel owners who had commissioned me to build their bar were getting pissy about the delays with the project. Rory Hopton my, ex-employee had also started shouting his mouth off about me with an agency I used for staffing. Luckily it hadn’t done any reputational damage, yet. But I knew I needed to send a message to the punk. So, I set Gabriel on his arse as my attorney.

To literally add insult to injury, I’d almost lost a fight in the ring. The guy I’d been pitched against was half my size but starting pulling some ninja shit; he led me a merry dance for several rounds before I’d KO’d the fucker.

Work was stressful. My foreman Wes was still off sick and I was sure I’d seen Alexander Harker parked outside the site. I’d walked towards the Land Rover Discovery that kept appearing, possibly waiting for Amber to appear, but it had always driven off. I’d taken a note of the license plate and sent it to Gabriel to ask if there was any way he could get it traced. He knew dodgy people go figure.

What was rich was that the guy who I thought was Harker parked in the same place each time. If he’d had anything to do with staking shit out during his criminal past, he sucked dick big time. I’d found out from Jonny that Harker had a dodgy backgroundbeforetaking Amber. Not that that would stop me frombeating him to death with my bare fucking hands if I had the chance. If it was Harker, he’d driven away like a complete pussy. Some hotshot criminal, heprobably had a background of nabbing handbags from old ladies, the cowardly cunt.

Talking of criminals, Gabe was still having issues with his father’s dodgy client Gerard Kinlan who was also pressuring him to join his dad’s business. On the night he’d dragged Leonie's arse out of Aquarius, someone had broken into Gabe’s apartment and he’d suspected it was something to do with the Kinlan’s. This had led to Leonie finding out Gabriel owned a gun which hadn’t gone down well.

Amber had stayed on at Mia’s for a few more days so Jonny had said and I left her to it. I missed her like mad but what could I do? I wasn’t one to beg, well, not yet anyway. At least I got to see her in my dreams and fuck me, they were becoming more and more vivid as each day without seeing her passed by.

It was Saturday night, my thirtieth birthday and I felt like an old fart. I would rather have spent the evening with Amber and was dying to WhatsApp her but I decided against it. I didn’t want to come across as desperate; she said she needed space so I had to honour that.

Felice’s was buzzing. All my friends were there when I arrived apart from Gabriel who turned up late as usual after I’d hounded him to death.

I spoke with Luca for most of the evening. I didspeak with Gabe but he was doing his active-listening thing and it pissed me off. Gabe was distracted, his eyes following Leonie around the restaurant like a puppy. She was working a shift that night and would join us for drinks when she got done. He still held his cards to his chest but I wasn’t stupid. I knew they were fucking. You could tell by her flushed face every time they spoke and that body language. Yep, he’d tapped that for sure. I would have said lucky bastard but I had started to view Leonie like a sister. I still flirted with her; it was far too entertaining watching the expression on Gabriel’s face when I did.

Having not heard from Amber, not even to say happy birthday, I sank my sorrows with weed and booze and got smashed. I’d managed to stay off the cigarettes for a few days as I knew Amber didn’t like me smoking.

Part of me wanted to jump in my car, drive to Mia’s and drag her back by the hair. I was a man of action rather than words but at that point, I was so drunk that I knew I wouldn’t go anywhere near my wheels.

When I got back to my apartment later that night, I picked up my mail and opened what looked like another birthday card. The envelope was pale pink. It was from Amber. I could smell her scent on the paper, almost like she’d squirted it with her perfume.

As was her brand of wit, the card took the piss out of me being an old bastard but the handwritten message made my blood race. She missed me. Relief pumped through my insides.

Happy Birthday. I miss you. Even your lumberjack shirts.

Yours truly, Amber (aka The Antichrist) x

P.S. You have your friend Gabriel to thank for ratting you out!

Gabriel had told Amber my old name for her, the meddling twat.

I traced my fingers over the girly handwriting and lifted the card to my face. That sweet scent lingered. The emotions churning through me spread like a lightning bolt to my brain. All I could think about was touching Amber’s skin, feeling her next to me or better yet,underme as our bodies united in the most intense sex either of us hadeverexperienced. It suddenly felt like there was a gaping hole in my chest, one that only she could fill.

I proudly displayed the card on my kitchen counter next to the ones from my parents, and friends, Luca’s having his perfect model face on it, the cock-end.

I then did something that wasn’t the best idea when smacked off your tits on alcohol; I pulled out my phone and called Amber.

Amber

“Do you think I should get my tits done?” Mia huffed, pushing her boobs forward as she stared into the mirror.

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