Page 33 of Maximum
“Yes.” Maximum gave a firm nod, “But if you start petting a wild lion, I’ll shit myself in fear that it’ll hurt you.”
I smiled. “We’ll see what happens.”
Walking back to the Wrangler, we got to work and activated the built-in roof tent.
Twilight was already upon us and by eight it was dark. With firewood provided by Mike, we built a fire and sat on small beach chairs watching the amazing show of stars above us.
“This is crazy. I would come here for the stars alone.” Maximum sighed.
“Yes, it’s beautiful.”
We sat in silence for a long time before he suddenly reached over and took my hand. “Thank you.”
“What for?”
“For letting me come and for not exposing me as a complete liar to your parents.”
“Oh, you mean the part about my period being late.”
“Yes.”
I didn’t pull my hand back. “I’m happy you’re here. I was planning to do this alone, but I like your company.”
There was a smile between us before we returned to look up at the stars.
“Look!” Maximum exclaimed and pointed up when a shooting star flew across the sky.
“Yes, I saw it.”
“Make a wish!”
I closed my eyes, and the first thing that popped up was an image of a cute baby.
My chest rose and fell in a deep intake. If only he hadn’t dug out that dream of mine by carelessly saying I was pregnant. There was no point in being angry with Maximum, but I could have done without the longing for a family of my own.
“What did you wish for?” he asked me.
“I can’t tell you or it won’t come true.”
To distract him, I asked about his times in Asia and we sat for a few hours getting to know each other better.
At eleven, the fire was reduced to embers and we brushed our teeth and crawled up to get comfortable on the rooftop mattress.
“It’s tight up here,” Maximum said. “If you wake up with me sprawled on top of you don’t get mad.”
“I might pull you on top of me if I’m cold. Nights get chilly here. It will go from twenty-six degrees during the day to ten degrees at night.”
I sat at the end of the bed, trying to get my bra off under the t-shirt I was sleeping in.
“You don’t have to do that. I can look away if you want me to.”
“It’s okay, I’ve got it.” I slipped my bra out of my right sleeve and placed it on top of my leggings, sweater, and socks, which lay neatly folded. Lying down beside him, I adjusted my pillow just right and pulled the duvet up while trying to ignore the flutter in my stomach. “Good night.”
“Good night.” Maximum’s arm reached out and turned off the lantern that had provided us with light.
As on our first night in Cape Town, my head was spinning withwhat ifscenarios. The more time I spent with Maximum, the more attractive he became to me. He was so different from Pierre, and there was an ease to his company with the way he didn’t have a need to fill the silence or tell me what to do. Several times tonight we’d laughed together; and the one time he’d lifted our joined hands and kissed mine, I’d felt a burst of butterflies in my stomach. Maximum was kind and the more I learned about his work with orphans and his love for his family, the more I liked him. Now that we were lying close after hours of talking under the stars, I felt silly about how adamant I’d been that nothing would ever happen between us. Would a night of passion with someone as sexy as Maximum be so bad?
“Max?”
“Mhmm?”
“That thing you said about donating your sperm...”
He was quietly waiting for me to finish my question, but I couldn’t. “Never mind.”
After a long moment, Maximum sighed and responded anyway. “I thought about it, Fleur, and I don’t think it would work. I want to be part of my child’s life and I’d like the mother of my child to love me as more than just a friend.”
“I understand.” My voice was soft as I whispered for the second time, “Good night, Maximum.”
“Good night, Fleur.”
