he said, pointing at the straw. “It seemed like a good time to reward ourselves for all our hard work tonight.”
One side of the plate was filled with sliced meat and cheese, the other side with brownies and mini butter tarts. My mouth began to water at the sight of it.
“Max, you didn’t have to go through all this trouble, but thank you.”
He raised his glass to me. “Here’s to you, Mady, a beautiful person inside and out. I'm glad I met you that day on the bridge.”
I returned the cheers. Whatever it was he had prepared for me was good... and strong. I settled back in the cushions for the little game of twenty questions that I had decided we were going to have.
“You never answered my question.”
“Ah, yes. Well, I'm from Toronto, actually. My parents live in an older neighborhood just north of here. Originally, my mom is from St. Lucia, and my dad is from St. Vincent. They met on the trip to Canada. Growing up, our household consisted of my mom, dad, and my four siblings.”
“Four siblings?”
Max laughed. “Yeah, and we all lived in a tiny, three bedroom house. But, it was my mom’s dream to have a white picket fence. My pops surprised her with her dream house just after they were married, and there was no way we would ever be able to convince her to move from it. My aunt, whom you've already met, lived next door to us with her four kids. In fact, she still lives there.”
His words were filled with such affection, it sounded wonderful. “Why did you move out?”
He wrinkled his brow at me. “Really? I love my family, I do, but as we all grew up, the house seemed to get smaller and smaller. I knew it was time to get out on my own. Besides, it’s hard to study in a house that is never quiet.”
“How did you find your roommates?”
“We've been friends since our first day of high school. When we all decided to go to the same school, it just seemed to make sense to live together.”
“Tell me more about you growing up. It’s nice to hear you speak so fondly about that time.”
“There really isn’t much to tell. We've always been all about family, so we had countless gatherings. Growing up with my cousins was fun. We played ball hockey in the street, and any other sport that we could get into, but my momma always made sure we had balance. I learned to play piano. And before you ask, I haven't played in a good many years, so I will not be putting on any concerts for you.”
I laughed; that had been exactly the next question on my tongue.
“You aren’t eating. What are you waiting for?”
“I've been eating, but I was trying to be a lady and not stuff my face.” I smiled.
“Bah, I like a woman who isn’t too shy or too afraid to enjoy food in front of a man. Such a waste of time being bashful.”
I grabbed a bite of something and was waiting to clear my mouth so I could ask my next question, but Max beat me to it. “So what about you? Tell me about your childhood.”
I shook my head. “Nope, not tonight. This has been a great evening, really the first one in a long while, and I don’t want to ruin it. So tonight is all about you.”
“Fair enough. So, more about me huh? All right. I loved school throughout and was, of course, thrilled to be accepted into university. I did one year in residence outside the city, but I missed my family, and the cost of living away from home was ridiculous, so I transferred.
“Which brings us to the present. I fill my days in class, at football practice, and at my games. I also tutor this beautiful girl, and boy, if you could see the gray in her gorgeous eyes. But she’s also stubborn.” I stuck out my tongue at him. “Yup, stubborn. I haven’t known her all that long, but I can tell she is a handful. The best thing about her, though, is that she's really intelligent, and I genuinely like spending time with her.”
I felt the blush sweep across my face. “No one could be that fabulous.”
“You'll have to take my word for
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