Page 8 of Bella And Her Secret Crush

Fifteenminutesafterseven,my doorbell finally rang. I steeled my expression before opening the door. Though he was very late, I told myself that I would do my very best on this date. I didn’t care for a love connection and knew that it wouldn’t happen, but that didn’t mean I couldn’t enjoy the company and the date. Besides, I needed to at least give dating a try again.

After an excruciating break-up, I was ruined for romance. Men sucked, and they genuinely didn’t care about women. Not the way that they should. To be honest, I never thought I would date again. Because the only man I needed in my life was my father, and I supposed, my best friend.

But the thought of him getting a serious girlfriend terrified me. It had always been "him and me" for such a long time, and I relied on him for everything. He was my unwavering support whenever I needed him most, and the thought of losing that connection terrified me.

So maybe I could give another relationship a try.

Max wasn’t off to the greatest start by being late, but I was ready to change my mind about him the second he opened the door.

Curly dark hair sat atop his head in that sexy I’m-not-trying way that seemingly only men could pull off. He had deep olive-toned skin and caramel eyes that glittered in the rays of the setting sun that peeked over the house. He was not as broad as Landon, but definitely broad enough. More than most men. He was wearing a dark grey t-shirt and dark jeans, paired with white sneakers. It was a casual outfit that made me wonder if I’d overdressed. His massive biceps strained against his shirt and I sent a mental thank you to Landon. He knew I was a sucker for good arms.

“Isabella?” He asked, grinning with a thousand-watt smile. I could actually swoon.

Maybe love at first sight was real…

“Hi! Max?” I asked, shoving my hand out between us because what else was I supposed to do when greeting a total stranger?

“Sorry I'm late, I got hung up at the gym and didn’t want to show up all sweaty,” he explained, giving the mental image of him in the gym, dripping in sweat. I wouldn’t have minded if he’d shown up like that.

I cleared my thoughts quickly, realizing that maybe it had been too long since I’d gone out with anyone. That was the only logical explanation as to why I was acting like he was the sexiest man alive.

“It’s no problem,” I answered, stepping out onto the front porch with him. The amber glow of the evening sun seemed to wrap a halo around his car, which was a sleek red Mustang.

With a hand on the small of my back, he led me down the steps and to the passenger door of his car, which he opened for me. Already, this man had points in my book just for doing that. The only man I’d even known to do that for me was Landon, not even my father. None of my past boyfriends ever opened doors for me.

Once we were both in the car, he backed out of the driveway quickly and zoomed off. I giggled nervously, enjoying the rush of going fast but also panicking because I only liked going this fast when I was the driver. I had a control issue in vehicles.

“Where are we going?” I asked as he launched the car onto the highway.

“Figured we could go to the pier and have dinner ocean-side.” He looked over at me, grinning. “You’re absolutely stunning.”

I blushed under his gaze, which flicked between me and the road. Boldly, he reached over and placed a hand on my knee. It didn’t bother me, but I definitely thought it was a little too early for the passenger princess treatment.

“Thank you,” I said timidly, biting my lip to prevent myself from full-blown grinning.

After squeezing my knee, he pulled his hand away and turned on the radio. Instantly, the staticky sound of sports announcers blared through the speakers before Max hurriedly turned it to a normal volume.

“Sorry,” He said. “You okay with listening to the game on our way?”

I raised my eyebrows, hearing the announcers talking about the play currently happening in some football game. I cringed internally.

“Sure,” I said, trying not to let my disdain show through in my voice. I hated ball sports. They were boring, and after dating my ex, who was a sports fanatic, I decided that I would never force myself to be a sports fan for someone else again.

The entire drive, Max and I didn’t speak. Instead, the car was filled with sounds of the game being broadcast, along with Max’s reactions to things happening. He even got so excited at one point that he whooped loudly, scaring me out of the zoned-out daze I’d been in.

Finally, we’d pulled up to the pier parking. I unbuckled, assuming that we’d get out and head to dinner. But nay, Max sat still and intently listened to the game. I took a slow, deep breath as I tried to rein in my emotions. Just because he was passionate about football didn’t mean he wasn’t a good guy.

“Yes!” He yelled, pumping his fist slightly before turning the car off. “Sorry, my favorite team is playing right now.” He gave me a meek smile, and it washed away my worries.

“It’s okay,” I said, smiling back as I got out of the car.

Before I was fully standing, Max was there, taking my hand and closing the car door behind me. The gesture made me blush again as he turned us and kept my hand in his. We walked towards the steps to the pier. He held my hand the entire walk to the local pub we walked into, McCully’s. Max told the hostess his last name, which was Arbor, and she led us to the outdoor seating that looked over the water. It was beautiful, even if I’d lived here and seen this view for years.

“I can’t believe Landon has been hiding you for all this time. I’ve known Landon since he started coming to Goldenrod a few years back. He tells me you two are best friends?”

“Yeah! We’ve known each other since college and have always been friends,” I responded, smiling at the waitress who approached the table.

“Do you like beer?” Max asked, and I nodded.

---