MAX

“Fuck!” I kicked at the grass and paced the length of the bleachers. My chest was tight with inadequacy and humiliation. So what if I had never been outside of Minnesota? It wasn’t that I couldn’t. I just never had a reason to leave. But that asshole Kevin made it seem like I was no match for Cole, like he was out of my league or something.

But isn’t he true? Even Cole thinks so, or he would stay.

Kevin saying it wasn’t the worst thing, though. Nope, that was me believing his words. Hearing them out loud made them impossible to ignore.

“Max.” I stiffened, refusing to turn around. “Why’d you leave?”

“I’m not in the mood to talk.”

“Let’s sit, then. I swear the sky here is more beautiful than in Atlanta. It’s never this clear.”

“Then why don’t you fucking stay?” I snapped.

“I already told you why. My job’s there. My life’s there.”

His life was there. That meant he didn’t consider me a part of his life, and that sucked. Fuck me. I’d thought he was coming around since we’d spent the last four days together. Had our sex meant nothing to him?

No wonder he’d made that remark about me pursuing a career in music. Why would he want to date a mechanic?

“Then what are we doing?” I asked.

“I don’t know. It felt good between us. Like old times. No, better than old times. I…couldn’t stop touching you once I’d started.”

“But to what end? In five days, you’ll pick up and go back to Atlanta for another ten years before you visit again.”

“It doesn’t have to be that way.”

“Then what are you proposing?”

“I…I honestly don’t know.” He walked over to the bleachers and sat hard. “I wasn’t prepared for you, Maxxy.”

“Don’t sit there and fucking call me that when you’re breaking my heart all over again.”

“Now wait a minute. What happened before was all on you.”

“And you never gave me a chance to make it right. You just upped and left town without looking back. Was it really that easy for you to leave?”

“After the way you broke my heart? Damn straight. I didn’t owe you anything.”

I dropped to my knees at his feet and took his hands in mine. “There must be something.”

Anything.

Fuck, I’d see him in Atlanta as often as I could if that was what he wanted, but he needed to give me some sign he wanted this to work too. We lived in two different cities. Being together would be hard, but we could share the burden and meet in the middle. If he would tell me how he felt.

“I should go home,” he said.

“Just like that? You don’t want to talk things out.” Discuss what we could do to make us work.

“Yeah, the night isn’t working out so well after all, is it?”

Unbelievable.

“Let me ask you something, Cole.” I climbed to my feet and stared down at him. “Why have you been sleeping with me all this time? Was it to get back at me or something? You get off knowing how I beg you for it every time you get me naked? Is this some kind of punishment for what happened between us?”

“I’m not as manipulative as…”

“As me.” I took a step back, the word he hadn’t said punching me in the chest. Finally, I understood. “You still think of me the same, don’t you? You don’t believe I’ve changed.”

“What do you want me to say, Max? Yes, I like you. Way too much and every second I spend with you, I like you more. But we had our shot, and we messed it up for a reason. Why give history a chance to repeat itself?”

“But what if it doesn’t?”

“How can it not? Neither of us is in a position to be in a relationship together. It’s just bad timing and not anyone’s fault.”

“Really? Because I don’t think you care to even try.” I stalked off so he didn’t see the tears in my eyes. “Don't worry about me, Cole. I'm fine. I’ll take you home now.”