Making It Through by Erin Cristofoli

about that, I appreciate what you've done already.”
    “Come on, get up.”
    Max stood and I followed suit, pointing to my former spot. “Lie down on the couch, face down.”
    “You don’t have to...”
    “Would you just trust me, please?”
    He reluctantly took his place on the couch, and I bumped him with my hip so he would move a little further over. I sat beside him and applied more cream to my hands before digging into his lower back. He let out a long, throaty growl. “Damn, woman. You are amazing. I may have to make you my own personal masseuse for the rest of my days.”
    “Oh, stop.” I giggled. “Just think of this as a huge thank you for the help you've given, and will continue to give for the next little while, until I get back on track.”
    Max rolled over, sat up, and suddenly the space between us was considerably smaller; he ran his fingers down my cheek, and my breath hitched. “Mady, you don’t need to massage my back to thank me.” Then he smiled. “You can massage me anytime, because that was amazing, but you don’t owe me anything.”
    I swallowed the lump in my throat. Max was looking at me all smolder-y and my stomach was doing flips; I needed to nip this in the bud.
    “All done.” I patted his arm as I moved to the other side of the couch and grabbed one of my textbooks.
    “Jumpy, Mady?” He looked at me, knowingly.
    I tried to play it off, and failed miserably, I'm sure. “I just think it’s time to get to studying, since that’s what I came here to do.”
    “Uh huh. Okay, if that’s the way you want to play it.”
    Max stood to grab some books from his bag by the door, and my mind turned to mush. I couldn't help but watch his movements. Of course, on his way back, he caught me staring.
    “See something you like, sweetheart?”
    I scowled at him. “Couldn’t you put a shirt on or something?”
    “And why would I do that?” He winked at me, and my cheeks heated. It was so unfair how much his teasing affected me.
    “You are... distracting. Come on, shirt.”
    Max sighed and left the room, returning with a shirt in hand. He slid it over his head and down his torso. I was disappointed to see his perfectly chiseled muscles being hidden, but in the long run, it would be for the best, for both of us.
    ”All right, Mady, so show me what kind of notes you've taken over the last few days.”
    We poured over my notes and spent the next three hours with our noses to the books. Only when my eyes were beginning to hurt, did I break for a stretch.
    “You've done great tonight, Mady. Especially with those drills, I’m impressed.”
    I looked over at him and smiled. “Yeah, thanks to you.”
    He shook his head. “Nah, you’re a smart cookie, you just needed someone to help you get back to it. I’m glad I've been able to help.”
    “I was looking forward to our study session,” I admitted as I stared at the ceiling. “ I'm sure you have so many other things that you could be doing, rather than spending hours going over stuff you probably already know. Maybe only a couple of sessions more, and you can be rid of me.”
    Max turned to face me. “We don’t have to stop studying together, just because you get caught up. I enjoy having someone to work with, too.”
    I closed my books and put them away. “ I'm done for tonight. Okay?”
    I watched Max nod in agreement and thought about just how little I really knew about him.
    “You know so much about me, but I know almost nothing about you.”
    “What would you like to know?”
    I had to smile as we rolled in unison onto our stomachs, each of us taking up one side of the u couch.
    “Okay, how about we start with where you're from?”
    Max put up a finger to pause me. He hopped off the couch and went into the kitchen. I could hear rustling, cupboards shutting, and what might have been ice landing in a glass. After a couple minutes, he returned with a plate of goodies and two drinks with straws.
    “So you don’t have to get up,”