"You know what, I'll share with you, but! You have to strip for me."
"Really, that's how we're doing this?"
"You better start stripping," Jordan took another bite out of her Snickers.
"Fine, I'll do you one better," Max put the groceries on the porch, kicked off his shoes, and took off his socks.
"What are you -"
Jordan shouldn't have been surprised when Max ran out in the rain - but she was. Even though he had proven to be a daredevil, she was never prepared for whatever crazy thing he would do or say.
She could not contain her laughter as she watched Max strip off his clothes, moving his hips side to side confidently.
The pouring rain made it look like a scene right out of a movie.
"Oh my god," she covered her mouth.
It wasn't until he was down to his underwear that he paused.
Max pointed to his boxers, raising his eyebrows at her.
"You win!" Jordan yelled. "You don't have to - and there go his boxers," she shook her head.
Max stood in the rain, butt as naked, and not the least bit embarrassed. He pushed his wet hair out of his face and bowed.
"Woo!" Jordan applauded.
With his drenched clothes in his hands, Max ran back up the porch, a wet, panting mess.
"You're crazy," Jordan held the Snickers out to him.
He takes a bite, "you know I never pass up a challenge or a chance to make you smile."
"Aren't I lucky?" Jordan grins and kisses him.
______
After dinner, Jordan and Max decided to lit the fireplace, put some blankets on the floor, and spend time with one another. It was one of their favorite things to do together. Max would bring out his guitar, strums some tunes, and sing a mixture of songs that he liked or wrote.
With their dogs and Spot lying around them, Jordan would sit beside Max and listen to him sing attentively.
Max missed music. He never complained, but Jordan knew that he missed the road. It was unfortunate because he knew that, deep down, the lifestyle wasn't healthy for him.
Most would assume that just because he got over his addiction that he wouldn't fall back, but Max knew in his heart that it was too overwhelming.
As much as he loved music, traveling, his fans, and bandmates, he was right where he needed to be and where he wanted to be.
No amount of fame could compare to his life with Jordan. As much as she was anti-fame from her own experience. She had expressed that if music was something he wanted to pursue again, she would support him.
But this life that they built together and away from the world wasn't something worth ruining - not to Max anyway.
As Max was strumming, he noticed that Jordan kept looking at the coffee table where her parents' letter was.
"You want to open it?" he asked her. "I'll read it with you."
Jordan shook her head, "then I'd have to read the rest."
"You seem like you want to read it."
"No, it's not that. I mean, I kind of do, but at the same time, I don't. I've been thinking about other things lately, and if I decide to let my parents back into my life, I just feel like they could ruin that."
Eight||Part Two
Start from the beginning
