“Did he do it at the airport?” I ask. She’s taking too long with the story.
“No.”
“Afterward at dinner?”
“No.” She laughs and reaches over to take his hand. “You tell her, Max.”
“I sent an Uber driver to pick her up.”
“I was so shocked Max wasn’t there! I was upset, but then the driver gave me a note.”
“A scavenger hunt!” I gasp. “Max, you’re a romantic!”
Emma squealed. “He sent me to this place and that place, with little gifts that he had set aside for me, and then the last clue sent me to a restaurant, the one we had our first date at.”
“So he did do it afterward at dinner,” I say.
“Well, yes,” Emma admits. “After dessert. Everyone clapped, and I’m so happy. I couldn’t be happier.”
She beams at Max, and I sigh happily, clasping my hands to my chest. Maybe there is such a thing as love after all. Maybe it’s not always poisoned by darkness.
I won’t hope for that for myself, but still, for Max to have found it, maybe that’s enough for me.
* * *
That apartment has fallen through, but that’s all right. At lunch, I do more apartment hunting, and I find an even better place based on location. I’m thinking about Berkeley for college, and this apartment is about halfway between this school and the campus. Now, that means it’s a half hour from Elk Grove Academy, which sucks, but maybe then I can stay at the apartment throughout college.
If I get in.
And then if I get into its law school.
But seriously, things are looking up. I don’t think I’ll ask Max for that advance because I am worried he’s biting off more than he can chew, but that raise is definitely going to help me be able to move sooner than expected. Maybe in two weeks even.
Once school is done and everyone clears out, I head on up to my place. I need to gather a few things before I head to the library. I have a paper that’s due, and I should’ve done some of the research for it earlier when I went to the school library. I guess I could technically use the school library now… No. I’ll go to the public library.
I shove what I need into my backpack and go to stand when I hear footsteps on the stairs. Shit. Shit!
But then I see curly, longish hair. Tyler.
I put a hand to my chest. My heart is racing.
“You scared the crap out of me! How did you know I was up here?”
Tyler winks at me and crosses over to where I’m standing. He squeezes my shoulder and kisses my forehead, making me feel all warm and gooey inside before he licks my cheek playfully.
“Seriously?” I giggle as I wipe the lick off. “What was that for?”
“I wanted to make you smile.”
What is with it with the Mutineers licking me? It’s as if they want to all mark me as theirs, or at least two of them. And since when does Tyler kiss me?
Shit, shit, shit.
“Have you finished your paper yet?” he asks.
“No. You?”
“Yes.”