“Bullshit,” Max whispers.
I sigh and shake my head. “Maybe another time. Show and tell is closed right now.”
Max pulls out his phone. “Well, on another subject, Patricia says she misses you. She knows you can’t call and give your location away, but she hopes that you’re ...” Max reaches into his pocket and pulls out reading glasses before focusing on his phone. “Yes, that you’re enjoying having three gorgeous men cater to you alone.”
I laugh and nod. “I am.”
He types it back, then puts his phone down. “Want to get out of here for a bit?”
“Doesn’t it defeat the whole ‘safe house’ idea if we leave?” I challenge.
“We could go to the lovely basement, I’m sure there’s a view of ... bricks there.”
“Actually, it’s a game room. I checked it out. There’s foosball, a game system, ping pong, and I think air hockey,” I say.
“What video games are we talking here? The classics or the new ones?” Max smiles.
“Want to find out?”
“I can’t think of anywhere safer than in a basement,” He says with a wink.
Max and I play through the different games. I end up having fun with ping pong, mostly because Charlie and Nolan eagerly wait to chase the ball when it bounces off the table. We end up including them in our game since it’s easier.
I teach him how to play Mario cart and he digs up an older game system and shows me Galaga. When we finish, I just kind of stare at the T.V. “Max ...”
“Yes, doll.”
“How can you say that we have more than ‘fun’ when we’re only just now starting to have serious conversations?”
“Because we do. I do. There’s a deeper connection there with me and you. Something that doesn’t even need to be said. And I know a treasure when I see one, Juliana. Flirting is easy for me, talking about my feelings, that’s not something I’ve ever been too good at.”
“Oh.”
“If I was good at that, do you think I’d be single at my age?” He asks.
“I figured you were on the rebound from a marriage or relationship,” I say.
“My longest relationship, honestly, has lasted six months. She wanted the ring, but there has just always been ...”
“A flag on the play?” I ask, remembering he’s active in fantasy football.
Max grins. “Something like that, doll. You just know when it’s right for forever. At least, I believe a person should know. And if you’re not certain, it’s not something to take lightly.”
“That makes sense.”
“I don’t want to be a guy who has three failed marriages behind him. Hope is a flimsy thing and once it’s gone, it’s a hell of a lot harder to get it back.”
“Hope is a thing with feathers,” I hum, remembering the poem.
Max pulls me close and kisses me. “Poetry on your tongue makes me want more.”
“I have some favorites.”
“Want to read to me?” He asks.
Using someone else’s words to talk about how I feel might be better. Because I can still feel a rock in my stomach. Knowing that I’m missing my mom the way I am. That I want nothing more than her here to guide me and tell me I have to choose a man.
I can practically hear her now: “A girl should never take home the first dress she tries on and she should never stop the search at the first man either.”