“I’ll have to pick up some extra shifts at the Dari Mart to cover the gas money, but you know what? I’d do anything for my baby sister.” She throws an arm around my neck and drags me close so she can kiss all over my face. I pretend to bat her away, but only pretend, because in reality, I like the attention.
“I’ll cover the gas money,” X offers, and my sister lets out this disgustingly contented sigh that has me sticking out my tongue. Gods, she really did find a good one, huh?
“You see why I like him?” she asks, beaming down at me. I glance his way and feel that strange fluttery feeling in my belly again, like butterflies are taking off in a place where they should most definitely not be.
“I see,” I tell her, crushing the silly winged insects of my emotions before they cause any trouble. Like I said, you can control your actions even if your thoughts and feelings are all over the place. It’s a perk of being human. “Thank you, Maxx.” I sigh and shake my head. “I mean X. It’s still weird that you guys have the same name.”
“Technically I’m Maxine, and he’s Maxim,” she clarifies, and I struggle to hold back a snort as X’s face gets this sly look to it, his eyes narrowing slightly as he studies me.
“Go ahead and say it,” he tells me, lifting his drink in salute. The shape of his mouth is criminal, a treat crafted of confidence, self-deprecation, and good humor. Crap. How shit-tastic. X’s mouth is most definitely a treat I shouldn’t be eating—even with my eyes. It’s too cringe, checking out your sister’s boyfriend. “I know what you're thinking.”
“You mean … that your name is the name of a men’s magazine?” I choke out, struggling to control a laugh. Maxine grins big beside me and leans back in her chair, her smile and her casual attitude doing much to put me at ease.
“It’s also a name of Latin origin that means ‘the greatest’,” Maxx tells me with this naturally cocky smile that probably wins him many a favor with his classmates. He really is handsome, and in a different way than Parrish. Parrish has that hot-cold, aloof, rich-boy artist thing going on. Maxx ‘X’ Wright has a down-to-earth confidence that Maxine could really use in her life.
“Bet you spend a lot of time practicing that retort in the mirror, huh?” I ask, noticing that his lips curl up at the edges in response. “Doesn’t change the fact that you’ve got a porn star name. Don’t apologize, just roll with it.”
“Oh, don’t worry,” X tells me, his smile growing even wider. “I never do. My parents picked my name off a ‘Top Ten Hot Guy Names’ list that they found online, kid you not. Guess it was a self-fulfilling prophecy, huh?”
“Wow, cocky much?” I retort, turning my attention to Maxine. “You have your hands full with this one, Maxie.”
She glances back at her boyfriend, and her face softens in that disgusting way that people in love do. Gross. While many people dream of looking like that one day, nobody else likes to look at them while they’re doing it. I barely stifle a snort, and Maxine elbows me in the side.
By the time I hug my sister goodbye and climb into a shiny new Jeep Gladiator with X, I’m feeling much better. Almost normal. But the closer we get to the house, and the gate with all the reporters? Those crappy feelings come rushing right back.
“This sucks ass,” I murmur, doing my best to bury my face in my hands. “If I ever wanted to be famous—and I don’t—I wouldn’t want to be famous for being stolen. Who wants that?” I glance over at X and find him chewing his lower lip in thought. It’s full and shiny, but with the slightest indent, like this is a common habit of his.
I force myself to turn back to the road. Focus on the lines, Kota. You can do this.
“What do you want to be when you grow up?” he asks me, seemingly at random. A quick glance over at me, a charming smile, and I’ve just forgotten my own name. I’m not usually this boy-crazy, swear on the future existence of Wi-Fi that I’m telling the truth. Maybe there’s something in the water here? Between Chasm, Maxx, and … well, I guess Parrish is physically attractive even if his personality is atrocious. I wish fervently that I could look past his tousled chocolate waves and gold-flecked eyes to the black and twisted soul that lies beneath.
GAH! Stop fixating, Kota! Why are you so obsessed with that douche? Who cares about him anyway?
“I toyed with the idea of starting an OnlyFans account,” I begin, waiting patiently for Maxx to laugh and then pause, and then silence. Silence …
“Seriously?” he asks after a moment, but not in a judgmental way, more like he expected a punchline to come after a joke. “I mean, I hear you can make big money …”
“You have an OnlyFans account?” I ask, pretending to be shocked. I once tried this joke on my grandma, but she doesn’t know that OnlyFans is an, erm, paywall porno site, so she didn’t get it. Also, it commoditizes women’s bodies, so I’m not into it. “You okay if I look you up?”
“You want to see me naked?” X asks, his voice pitched just a tad lower than it should. “I have to warn you: once you do, your expectations will be unfairly raised.”
“My expectations for what?” I counter back, just before we make the final turn onto the street that leads to Tess’ place, and my mood drops out from under me like an elevator intent on crashing into the bottom floor. “Shit.”
“Duck down and cover your head.” Max pauses just before the left turn that will take us toward the front gate, slipping off his jacket and passing it over to me. “Here.”
I take the red windbreaker from him, rubbing my thumb against the fabric as that fresh grass and aftershave smell washes over me again. I should ask him what fragrance he uses because damn, that’s nice. Quickly as I can, I take my seatbelt off and slide to the floor, following his instructions until we’re safely inside the gate.
Maxx pulls into the garage without a second thought, hitting a button on his own sun visor that closes it behind us.
Huh.
When he said that he and Parrish and Chas were friends, I guess I didn’t realize that he was as close to the family as Chasm is now. If he’s got their damn garage programmed into his car, then he must’ve been, right? Must still be.
I hop out of the car and toss his jacket back on the seat like it’s hot, scrambling away just in time to see the side door open. Parrish is there, barefoot and shirtless—his preferred style of loungewear despite his mother’s, err, Tess’ complaints. As soon as he sees me standing there, his eyes narrow and I can see by the look on his face that he knows.
“How on earth did you manage to wrangle this?” he hisses at me, just before Tess appears behind him, beaming from ear to ear. She gives me an odd look, like she can’t quite understand why I’ve rushed down to greet someone that I’m not supposed to know, but then brushes it aside in order to give Maxx a big smile.
I notice she doesn't hug him. Nobody in this family seems particularly interested in showing affection of any kind. They're the WASPiest people I’ve ever met in my life, and I’m from the East Coast. There are super WASPs up there, no doubt.
“We’ve missed you, Maxx,” she says, pushing open the door to the house to invite him in. She flicks a look at Parrish that he returns with a steely, brown-eyed stare. “I didn't know you were coming by today?” Tess turns it into a question, but I can tell by the way she stares at her stepson that he’s going to get it later.