Page 4 of Waiting for Her

“Orange juice isn’t junk food,” I mumble, my eyes cast down as Max sighs, lifting my chin so our gazes lock.

“Touché, but are you going to tell me anything else?”

When I still say nothing, he shakes his head, coming even closer, kissing my forehead. The slight brush of his lips against my skin causes every muscle in my body to lock on contact. He’s never touched me this much in all the years I’ve known him and yet in the past ten minutes, that’s all he seems to be doing.

“I’ll figure it out, but if you think of anything, you call me, okay?” He winks before backing away and heading back down the hall and out the front door.

What the fuck just happened?

Max

I’ve walked up these aisles seven or eight times now, trying to think of what Addison would want to eat and getting more and more confused the longer I’m here. I almost pray to see a pregnant woman walking by so I can ask her what she likes to eat just to get an idea. Because I never would have thought someone could want pickles and ice cream at the same time… and yet here we are. Addison isn’t a very hard nut to crack most days. She loves sports, romance novels, and the occasional action movie. She hates Channing Tatum, loves Robert Downey Jr., and despises peas. All of these things are the foundation of the Addison I’ve known since I was sixteen. But pregnant Addison? She’s a whole other animal and one I can’t wait to get to know.

I filter down the frozen food aisle one more time, stopping at the frozen pizzas and wondering if she still loves the meat lovers one, or if she still hates garlic bread as much as she hates reality TV. All of this information is logged into my brain and yet I have no idea what she wants to eat on a Wednesday night. I sigh loudly, garnering the stares of some people down the aisle as I take out my phone and call the one person I’ve avoided calling since I came up with this idea of moving in with Addison.

I didn’t set out to move in, at first, I just wanted to offer to stop by every day to help with anything she needed; laundry, dishes, or even cooking (even though I’m horrible and would probably burn her house to the ground), but I would try. I also never expected my feelings for her to escalate the way they did in that bathroom earlier. Standing behind her, watching as her entire body relaxed when I lifted her stomach was such an incredible moment that I wondered what my life would have been like if I had just been honest with her about how I feel.

“What do you want?” Drew mutters without so much as a hello.

Any other day I would give it right back to him, but my nerves about how he will react to me moving in with Addison is causing my usual sarcastic nature to take a breather.

“What are some of Addison’s favorite foods right now?” I ask, hoping he doesn’t read too much into it, but of course, I’m not that lucky and I hear that telltale sigh coming from his end of the call.

“What are you doing, Max?” he warns, causing me to still in the middle of the cereal aisle.

“I moved into Addison’s place,” I whisper, knowing it needs to be out in the open but terrified of what my best friend will think.

I hear a string of curses and I close my eyes, hoping I get out of this without getting the shit kicked out of me. Over the years, I thought I masked my feelings for Addison quite well, secretly watching her as she sat in her living room on Saturday nights and dreaming about our future. I thought I stayed quiet when she dated boys that I knew would never be good enough for her and bided my time until I knew I was ready to give her all of me. Yet from the tone in Drew’s voice, I have a feeling he knew this was coming.

“Please tell me this is a joke,” he mutters, picturing the way his fingers pinch the bridge of his nose when he’s annoyed. “Because if you’re fucking with my sister, I will kill you.”

I burst out laughing because the idea of me doing anything to hurt Addison is laughable.

“You’re fucking with me, right?” I say, picking up three different kinds of cereal and throwing them in the cart and hoping I got the right ones.

“Max, are you sure this is a good idea? Addi is pregnant with another man’s child and you’re hoping to smother her into falling for you?”

Annoyance creeps into my veins and I know that if I wasn’t on the phone with him right now, I would have thrown a punch for that comment.

“Drew, I’m in love with her.” My chest compresses as the words sink in for the first time. I’ve never said those words out loud, and yet they are true. I love her and have loved her since I was sixteen.

“I know,” Drew says as my steps falter. That was not the answer I was expecting.

“What?” I breathe out, surprised he could even hear me with how dry my mouth is.

“Come on, Max, you haven’t been subtle at all these past few years.”

I’m shell-shocked because all of this is news to me.

“And truth be told, I had a feeling you liked her in high school too.”

“Why didn’t you say anything?” I question, hating that I spent the last few years stopping myself from making a move because I was afraid Drew would be pissed.

“Because I knew the type of guy you were back then, and as much as I love you like a brother, you were not good boyfriend material.”

I growl, hating the truth in his words. Being a twin came with its perks and Mark and I took full advantage. That meant playing games with girls that deserved better and not giving a single fuck who we hurt. But that was then, and they weren’t Addison.

“Then why are you so calm right now?” I ask cautiously.

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