“Max, stop it!” I hiss, pressing my hands to his chest. “This is my psych professor!”
He narrows his eyes at me. “Oh, yeah? Do you have coffee dates with all your professors?”
“I’m not on a coffee date with him!”
“Yeah, she’s on a coffee date with me.” Sloane approaches the table with a handful of napkins and a cake pop, which she holds out to Max. “Looks like you need this more than I do.”
Max’s eyes glaze over and their fingers graze each other as he takes the sugary treat, all concerns of me cheating on Nico dissipating into the air like a fart in the wind. Huh. I bet my brother’s enemies would find that bit of insight useful. Trade your life for a cake pop?
“Max!” I raise my voice, and he blinks, breaking the spell Sloane unknowingly cast upon him.
He takes a bite of the pop. “What?”
“Apologize for acting like a complete lunatic.”
He chews the cake for a few seconds and eyes Professor Gary, whose face has drained of all color by now. “Sorry, man. I thought you were moving in on my best friend’s girl.”
I roll my eyes and look at my professor. “I really am sorry. My brother is loyal to a fault.”
Professor Gary backs away from the table with a nervous smile. “It’s fine. No harm done. Shaye, I’ll see you in class next week.” He bolts away from our table and makes it to the escalator in a hot second.
Oh, crap. I’m sure Max made an appearance in the journal. I remember two distinct entries…neither of which would leave someone with a warm and fuzzy feeling about him. I watch Professor Gary meander through the crowds on the escalator, almost as if he’s trying to put as much distance between us as possible, all while glancing behind him in our general direction. Jesus Christmas. At least I didn’t use any last names.
“Great.” I poke Max in the chest. “Are you crazy? Why would you assume I was cheating on Nico? And after what happened between you two, why would you even care?”
Max takes another bite of the cake pop, mellowing by the sugary second. “Okay, so first…I didn’t like how that guy was looking at you. I know guys, and I know the way they look at a girl when they want to fu…” He bites off another piece and chews it hard, leaving his unspoken word hanging in the air. His eyes dart over to Sloane and then back to me. “If you were cheating on Nico, at least it’d explain his fucking crazy ass mood lately. And second, yeah, we had it out, but he’s still my best friend. He just needs some time to pull his head out of his ass. You telling Dad about, um…Carlo’s accident…didn’t go over too well either.”
I furrow my brow, very aware, as is Max, that my best friend knows nothing of sex dens, mobsters, and murder. “I didn’t realize it was a secret.”
“That was a tough blow, losing one of his guys to a competing club.” He clears his throat. “Like that.”
“I need to get through to him,” I muse, tapping my fingertips on the table top.
“Look, Nico’s got a lot of shit on his plate right now with work. I get it. That’s why I’m laying low. I could have beaten the hell out of him when he came after me, but I didn’t because I’m a sensitive guy like that.” Max winks at Sloane and bites the last bit of the pop off the stick.
“You actually threw punches?” I let out a deep sigh and shake my head. This is getting out of control, and I have no idea how to stop it. Telling my dad about Carlo…why was that such a bad thing? I was so scared that night...of course, I’d call my father! And why won’t Nico talk to me and tell me why it was such a bad move, dammit? Why am I hearing about it from Max? “Do you really think he’s okay out there on his own?” Because I’m not very convinced right now. Not at all. I glance at Sloane, who is still watching Max. I doubt she’s even listening at this point. I think she’s more focused on what she’s doing to him in her lust-filled mind right at this moment. Or maybe what he’s doing to her.
Max pushes his hair back. “He’s a big boy, Shaye. And he’s got friends. Friends other than me. Friends with a lot of power. Do I think he knows what he’s doing? Fuck, no. But he’ll figure it out because he always does. And if he does manage to pull his head out of his ass, he knows he can call me. I’m always ready.”
I roll my eyes and take another sip of my hot chocolate “That’s so comforting.”
He shrugs. “You can’t help someone who doesn’t want it.”
Truer words were never spoken. “So, what now? You’re shopping to fill the hours?”
Max grins. “I need some new sneakers. I think I’m gonna take up running.”
“Something productive and healthy. What a nice change of pace for you.” I snicker and look up at Sloane. “Do you need a ride home? I think I’m going to head out now. I’ve had about as much mall excitement than I can handle today. I’m afraid of who else I may run into if I stay here any longer.”
She drags her eyes away from Max and looks at her watch. “It’s fine. I’ll just order an Uber. I still have a few stores to hit.”
“Want some company?”
My head jerks back over toward Max. Something is happening here. Or it already happened. I’m not sure, but I’m liking the direction.
A look of shock flits over her features, and she looks exactly the way I feel at this second. “Oh, um, yeah. Sure, that’d be great.”
He grins at me. “See ya later, sis.”
Sloane grabs her handbag, and I almost have to shield my eyes to protect them from the blinding light radiating off of her face when she faces me. Shocked, yes. Elated, most definitely. “I’ll call you later,” she murmurs, leaning in to give me a quick peck on the cheek.
“You’d better,” I whisper back, settling back against the extremely uncomfortable plastic chair. I watch them walk over to Foot Locker and the corners of my lips lift in amusement.
There really is a Prince Charming for everyone.
I just hope mine hasn’t disappeared forever.