it.”
I sat up and polished off the rest of my drink. I could feel the dull buzz setting in.
Max had copied my movement and watched me with a smile on his face. “Are you all out of questions?”
I nodded. “For now. It’s getting late. I guess I should head home.”
“You could always stay tonight,” he suggested.
My eyes widened at his words. “I don’t think that would be a good idea.”
“Feeling too much temptation, Mady?”
“Ha, yeah, something like that,” I admitted, lowering my gaze to work on getting my books into my bag.
“Is that a bad thing?” Max asked, leaning closer to me.
“Yeah, it is.” Max leaned back immediately, looking hurt. Shit. How could I possibly make this better? “I did not mean for it to sound like that.”
“Don’t worry, I get it,” he muttered.
“No, you don’t. The thing is, I like you. I can tell you're a good guy, you're always so nice to me, and you're a great tutor. I already consider us to be friends. God, I’m rambling. Sorry. Anyway, the point is, I've been neglecting my best friends, and my last boyfriend dumped me because I was ignoring him. My moods are a constant roller coaster, and I don’t want to start anything until I can invest myself in it. So, it doesn’t matter that you have an incredibly sexy body. I feel there's a spark there, I’m not completely oblivious. I just don’t want to ruin a friendship by caving in for a night.”
“Mady, take a breath, babe. I get it. I’m fine, I promise. I was having fun flirting, and I guess I didn’t expect your initial response.”
“I’m sorry.”
Max stood and pulled me into a hug. “Don’t apologize anymore. I’m not going anywhere. I can understand where you're coming from. All right, so now that we're good again, you mentioned wanting to go home. Come on, let’s get going.”
I was going to protest, but Max gave me a silencing look.
There was nowhere to hide when divorce mediation began between my parents. Communication in our household had ceased almost entirely. I knew Mom and Sam had been looking for a place to move to. Dad still officially lived at home, though he had leased an apartment short-term, until this mess was all over. Unfortunately, Mom and Dad running into each other at the house happened often, and it was always painful.
One night, Dad and I found ourselves sitting in the living room during a rare, quiet moment in the house.
“How are things going with you Mady-Mae?” He examined me with poorly-masked concern on his face.
He looked tired. I gave him a small smile of reassurance.
“Things are going okay, Dad. You don’t need to worry about me, you know.”
“Sure, I do. How is school going?”
I sighed. “It’s been hard. I owe a lot to my assigned study partner. I’m still not sure I'll ever be completely caught up, but I am trying.”
“How are you coping with all the family stuff, honey?”
“Dad,” I started, “I worry about you more than anything. I know none of this can be easy for you.”
He nodded at me. “All right, I'm just checking in. We haven’t spoken much lately.”
I snuck over beside him and curled into his side. “I love you, Dad.”
“Likewise, kiddo.”
The doorbell broke our peaceful moment. I hopped up reluctantly and opened the door. Surprisingly, Max stood there with a huge grin on his face. “Hi,” he said.
“Hey, what are you doing here?” Had I forgotten I was supposed to meet him or something?
“Impromptu visit, don’t worry. I just had a little time and thought I would stop by.”
I heard Dad’s shoes click on the floor behind me. “Who do we have here, Mady?”
Why did this situation make me feel uncomfortable? “Dad, Max. Max, Dad.”
Max smacked on one of his megawatt smiles. “It’s nice to meet you, Sir.”
They shook hands. “Mady, why didn’t you tell me you had a new boyfriend?”
Oh no. “No, no, Max’s not my boyfriend, Dad. We're just friends. He's the study partner I
I sat up and polished off the rest of my drink. I could feel the dull buzz setting in.
Max had copied my movement and watched me with a smile on his face. “Are you all out of questions?”
I nodded. “For now. It’s getting late. I guess I should head home.”
“You could always stay tonight,” he suggested.
My eyes widened at his words. “I don’t think that would be a good idea.”
“Feeling too much temptation, Mady?”
“Ha, yeah, something like that,” I admitted, lowering my gaze to work on getting my books into my bag.
“Is that a bad thing?” Max asked, leaning closer to me.
“Yeah, it is.” Max leaned back immediately, looking hurt. Shit. How could I possibly make this better? “I did not mean for it to sound like that.”
“Don’t worry, I get it,” he muttered.
“No, you don’t. The thing is, I like you. I can tell you're a good guy, you're always so nice to me, and you're a great tutor. I already consider us to be friends. God, I’m rambling. Sorry. Anyway, the point is, I've been neglecting my best friends, and my last boyfriend dumped me because I was ignoring him. My moods are a constant roller coaster, and I don’t want to start anything until I can invest myself in it. So, it doesn’t matter that you have an incredibly sexy body. I feel there's a spark there, I’m not completely oblivious. I just don’t want to ruin a friendship by caving in for a night.”
“Mady, take a breath, babe. I get it. I’m fine, I promise. I was having fun flirting, and I guess I didn’t expect your initial response.”
“I’m sorry.”
Max stood and pulled me into a hug. “Don’t apologize anymore. I’m not going anywhere. I can understand where you're coming from. All right, so now that we're good again, you mentioned wanting to go home. Come on, let’s get going.”
I was going to protest, but Max gave me a silencing look.
There was nowhere to hide when divorce mediation began between my parents. Communication in our household had ceased almost entirely. I knew Mom and Sam had been looking for a place to move to. Dad still officially lived at home, though he had leased an apartment short-term, until this mess was all over. Unfortunately, Mom and Dad running into each other at the house happened often, and it was always painful.
One night, Dad and I found ourselves sitting in the living room during a rare, quiet moment in the house.
“How are things going with you Mady-Mae?” He examined me with poorly-masked concern on his face.
He looked tired. I gave him a small smile of reassurance.
“Things are going okay, Dad. You don’t need to worry about me, you know.”
“Sure, I do. How is school going?”
I sighed. “It’s been hard. I owe a lot to my assigned study partner. I’m still not sure I'll ever be completely caught up, but I am trying.”
“How are you coping with all the family stuff, honey?”
“Dad,” I started, “I worry about you more than anything. I know none of this can be easy for you.”
He nodded at me. “All right, I'm just checking in. We haven’t spoken much lately.”
I snuck over beside him and curled into his side. “I love you, Dad.”
“Likewise, kiddo.”
The doorbell broke our peaceful moment. I hopped up reluctantly and opened the door. Surprisingly, Max stood there with a huge grin on his face. “Hi,” he said.
“Hey, what are you doing here?” Had I forgotten I was supposed to meet him or something?
“Impromptu visit, don’t worry. I just had a little time and thought I would stop by.”
I heard Dad’s shoes click on the floor behind me. “Who do we have here, Mady?”
Why did this situation make me feel uncomfortable? “Dad, Max. Max, Dad.”
Max smacked on one of his megawatt smiles. “It’s nice to meet you, Sir.”
They shook hands. “Mady, why didn’t you tell me you had a new boyfriend?”
Oh no. “No, no, Max’s not my boyfriend, Dad. We're just friends. He's the study partner I
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