My Life In Ruins

19. What Doesn't Kill You Makes You Stronger...Or Quite Possibly Maimed

Chapter 19

What Doesn’t Kill You Makes You Stronger…Or Quite Possibly Maimed

Surprise.

That’s what I felt when Max kissed me, my eyes wide open.  That, and his lips, of course.  I couldn’t even think straight.  I didn’t even hear the footsteps coming toward us anymore. 

And that’s when I guess my body took over.  Mine and his.

My hands tightened on the sleeves of his jacket as he pulled me more into him and his lips softened on mine.  Heart pounding, I kissed him back. 

“Well, well, what do we have here?” a voice said from behind Max. 

Edmund.

Max pulled back without even looking at me and looked at him. 

Edmund smiled as he looked at him, only one of his guys beside him.  “Isn’t this…unexpected,” he said.  His eyes went to me.  “Does your father know you’re…?”

“I don’t really see how it’s any of your concern,” Max said, taking my hand in his as we walked toward him.

Edmund sidestepped us, blocking our path around him.  “What were you doing up here anyway?” he asked.  “Everyone is downstairs at dinner.”

Max raised an eyebrow, challenging him.  “Then why are you up here?”

His eyes narrowed.  “Never mind that.”

“Exactly, so you don’t have the right to ask why we were,” he said, and pushed past the two of them, towing me along behind him.

You could say that I was still in a bit of a daze.

I mean, wouldn’t anyone who just had their first kiss and out of nowhere?  And with the guy that they’d been drooling over for the past few weeks?

I sure was.

“We need to get back downstairs before they start following us,” Max said as we headed for the stairs.  “Who knows what they were doing up there.  I don’t see how you, your dad, and Brielle put up with him for all these years, always finding out where you guys were going to be.  I’ve only met the guy twice and I already dislike him…”

Wait.  Why was he going on like that kiss never happened?  Was it that horrible that he already forgot?  I mean, give me a break!  It was my first – my first! – and I was unprepared!  Maybe next time…

Ha.  What was I thinking?  There wouldn’t be a next time!

Apparently, during my internal rant, we’d walked back down the stairs and toward Dad and Brielle, who were talking with a few older couples.  But when they saw us, they quickly excused themselves, putting the glasses of champagne on a waiter’s tray as they passed. 

“Everything went smoothly?” Dad asked, looking between the two of us. 

Everything went as smooth as Max’s lips…God, Callie!  Perv!

Max nodded.  “Everything was perfect.”

Everything everything?  Everything…including the kiss?  Maybe…hopefully…

Brielle was staring at me.  I knew before my eyes even shifted to her.  Apparently the surprised-slash-nervous-slash-ohmyfreakingGod expression was a little more obvious than I wanted it to be. 

“What happened?” she asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Edmund,” I said, maybe a little too quickly.  “He…uh…he surprised us.”