COLE

Max Around the Bend, Max’s band, played their hearts out. They had so much energy they carried the show for two whole hours. Thank god I sold out the pretzels thirty minutes after he’d taken his leave because I was loath to miss any part of his performance.

Yeah, he had bandmates, but there was no mistaking he made the band. He didn’t need theatrics. Just his guitar and the microphone. He sat and sometimes stood, but that was it. He captivated the entire park with the silky quality of his voice, crooning, then belting out a mixture of covers of popular country songs and originals.

How didn’t he know he was Hollywood good? I hadn’t been kidding that he could make it big. Sure, sometimes luck was involved, but Max never lacked in the luck department.

“OMG, you still like him.”

I glanced at Ashlee, who had calmed down when I explained about Max and me. After selling the customers what they needed.

“What? No.”

“Yes, you do.” She pointed from me to Max. “It’s in the way you watch him. You get that soft, goofy smile on your face. How the hell did I miss this?”

“I didn’t want you to know.”

“And you kept it a secret all this time. So how are you going to pull this off? I mean, you live in Atlanta, and he’s here.”

“There’s nothing to pull off, Ash. We’re just friends.”

“Just friends, my ass.” She shook her head. “You and Max, wow. And here I thought Evan and I were an odd match.”

“Wait, what? You and Evan are a thing? Since when?”

Her face turned crimson. “It was a temporary lapse in judgment right before I got married.”

“Is that why Eva looks like him? Eva? Evan? You totally named her after him.”

“It was subconsciously, and I know she does. I thought she was his, but it turned out she’s not.”

“Damn.”

“He adores her just the same. Anyway, I felt guilty I was hooking up with someone who hurt you badly. But all this time, you did the same thing.”

“I broke up with him after he started mistreating me.”

“And now? He’s a good guy, Cole. Hell, even Evan has changed. Not as much as Max. Ev still can be a little much, but Max, he’s a sweetheart. Do you know he brings meals to shut-ins and drives them around to do their errands?”

“He does?”

“Yes, and he coaches the little league team.”

“All right, Ash, you don’t need to extol his virtues anymore. I get it. He’s the all-American boy next door.”

“I wouldn’t say boy next door. He’s fucking hot.”

I scowled. “He’s gay.”

She laughed, wiggling her eyebrows. “Jealous?”

“I won’t even dignify that with a response.”

The band ended their last song, and I cheered along with the crowd scattered around the park. They’d given a professional-level performance.

“Oh shit, I should grab Eva and give my mom a break.” She kissed my cheek. “Don’t cut your nose off to spite your face, sweetie. If you want that man, go after him.”

Except with Max, I never had the guts to go after him. He’d always come on to me.

Max and his friends broke down their set. When they were done, he returned to his stall, carrying two plastic cups. He extended one to me. “You look thirsty.”

I couldn’t decide if his words had a double meaning. Shrugging, I accepted the drink and downed the apple cider. I would think of it as payment for him sticking me behind his stall.

“Thanks for taking my place,” he said. “The money goes to the rec center.”

When did he become such a Goody-Two-shoes? “No prob.”

“So what do you think?”

“Of what?”

He scowled and averted his head, but not before I caught a flash of hurt. “Nothing.”

He walked off, and I grabbed his shoulder. “Where are you going?”

“Do you care?” He spun around and glared at me. “You know, I wasn’t the only one all hot and bothered. It was your hand down my—”

I clamped my hand over his mouth. There were people all around us. I would rather not be fodder for gossip during my short time here.

“Not here.”

He removed my hand from his mouth. “Then let’s go.”

“Go where?”

“Our spot. Grab those containers for me. Don’t worry about the stall. Someone will break those down.”

Oh hell, what was I doing? I didn’t even know anymore. I helped him bring everything to his truck.

Then I got cold feet. “I should see if Gladys is all right.”

He circled my wrist. “Call her. I’m not letting you go.”

He wasn’t kidding. He held on to my wrist while I called Gladys to let her know I might be home a little later than planned. All the time, Max watched me, sending butterflies swarming into my stomach. Apparently, I still got off on him shamelessly acting like he couldn’t live without me.

We got into his truck, and he drove off so fast I had to clutch the dashboard. I gritted my teeth.

“I know you’re eager, but it won’t do us any good if we wind up dead. I’m not an expert on how sex works for ghosts.”

“Sorry.”

He slowed down—a bit—and before I knew it, he parked at our spot: the abandoned millhouse. I hopped out of the truck but had barely taken a step when he was in my face, stopping me with a hand on my chest.

“Now where were we?” he asked. “Ah, I remember. You’re acting like I was the only one into what we did. How can you touch me like that, then act indifferent, as if none of that meant something to you?”

“Because it can’t mean anything to me. To us. Our lives are too different. Your life is here. Mine is back in Atlanta.”

“But Gladys wants you to come back. She says you can do your job remotely. You work with computers and shit. It’ll be easy for you to return.”

“Come on, Maxxy. I’ve been away for ten years. I’ve built a life in Atlanta. You expect me to move back after being here for six days?”

He fell silent, his face turning red. “Fuck.”

“Hey.” I touched his shoulder. “That doesn’t mean we can’t enjoy my time here.”

He nodded but didn’t say anything. I took his face in my hands and kissed him. The way he kissed me back was full of malice and spite, barely giving me anything back. I withdrew just a little.

“It’s been a long time since I’ve had you on all fours, Maxxy. You telling me you don’t want that? Because I remember a time just a kiss would make you beg to be fucked.”

“Shut up.” He growled. “Meet me on top of the roof.”