Page 52 of Invisible String
I want to say,sure, maybe if we stay together.The server sets the steamy, mouth-watering burgers on the table. My chair scrapes the floor when Max drags me closer to him, as if we’re not close enough. I won’t complain. I’d climb him here if I could. Our legs rub against each other. Then he takes a fry and feeds me.
He’s doing it again. It’s intimate for someone who doesn’t want more. “Good,” I say after swallowing the steamy fry burning my mouth.
Max devours his burger in just four bites, while I need a few more to finish mine. As we eat, the conversation turns to my parents. Mostly, I’m the one talking, and Max listens attentively. I share how my parents once had a wonderfully loving relationship, and then I reach the point in the story where my dad was unfaithful.
“What a dick. He took her to the house to have dinner with his family.” Max shakes his head. “Sorry to say this, but he’s no man. A real man has respect. He has no shame in what he did.”
I nod, wiping my mouth. “I agree. No matter how sorry he is, I can’t look at him the same. It has me wondering if this was the first time. Maybe my mom knows it’s not. And this is why she won’t give him a chance.” I pop another fry in my mouth. “Either way, if a man did that to me, I’d dump his ass.”
The server comes with two bottles of Modelo. She gives her boobs a little shake when she sets them down, reaching overMax to get the empty ones. I’m about to throw down with her when Max kisses my lips. The kiss is short and sweet. The anger boiling simmers.
“A man who cheats on you would be a dumbass.” He licks his lips, tasting the strawberry gloss on my lips.
I don’t bother to look toward the woman. She knows now he’s mine, even when he doesn’t.
A guy named Alonzo walks in with a group of friends I recognize from school. I worked with Alonzo on a project last semester. He always flirted with me, and I flirted back, all in humor.
“I’m going to the restroom, then I’ll pay.” Max saunters into the bathroom in the far corner of the bar.
While waiting, I drink the last stream from my beer. Two beers, and I still dislike it. I only got it because it was cheap. The bar fills with tourists and locals, everyone coming in for a one-dollar beer. The place has been around for a long time. It’s a cabin-style bar.
“Rainey, hey.” Alonzo’s smile widens. He’s wearing a ball cap, hiding the frizzy hair he always has. He pulls out the chair where Max was sitting and flops down.
“Hey, what brings you here?” My nerves skyrocket. All the play flirting is going to bite me in the butt. This is why you never joke around flirting if you’re not interested in more.
“Came to hang and party for a week, babe.” The chairs are close like how Max left them. “Man, you look sexy. What are you doing here alone? Come, hang with us. I’ll let you sit on my dick, I mean lap.” He laughs.
Of course, I’m wearing the most revealing outfit.
“The only dick she’ll be sitting on is mine. Get the fuck away from her.” Max’s tone thunders over the loud music, and the patrons around us turn.
“Bro, sorry, I didn’t know she was taken. We have a class together. She’s never mentioned you.”
Taken?
Max shoots me a look. “I’m not your bro.” With a firm grip, Max grabs the collar of Alonzo’s shirt and lifts him as if he weighs nothing. Alonzo walks off with his friends.
“Max,” I whisper softly, wrapping my arms tightly around his waist in an attempt to soothe him. He tightens his jaw, its sharp lines hard as stone, anger pulsing through every muscle. His hands go into fists.
Max steps back and pulls his wallet out. “Let’s go, Rainey,” he says, slapping the money on the table. “Keep the change,” he tells the server. Max takes my hand as we walk out.
We stay silent when he opens the door for me, and on the way home.
Finally, he shuts the engine off and turns to me. “Sorry.” He sighs. “Fuck, I’m not sorry.”
I bite my lip.
“Nothing pisses me off more than hearing a man talk to you like that when it’s me you’re sleeping with.” As he runs a hand across his jaw, his beautiful forest greens meet mine. “I lose control with you.”
I reach for his hand and place a kiss on his rough knuckles. “Don’t worry about it, Max. I understand. We just went over all this.”
He nods. “Yeah, I get territorial with you.”
“Same. How about we call it a night? I’m tired, and we both could use sleep.”
Max’s smile is always the best. A small dimple is visible. “As long as your head’s on my chest.”
I laugh as we get out of the car.
