I sip my tea slowly as I lean against the kitchen counter. My head is pounding as I try to both forget and remember what happened last night.
Max slowly drags herself into the kitchen looking in worse shape than me.
"I'm never drinking again...." She groans moving over to the fridge pulling out a whole box of Hot Pockets that she only keeps for her hangovers.
"Did you have fun last night?" I poke, trying my best to cover up my ranging headache.
She shoves at least 2 Hot Pockets into the microwave, "You definitely had fun last night," She shoots back, my face goes red. I only remember small parts of last night and there's a certain detail that I'm not sure if I want to know or not.
"So what exactly..." I pause still not sure if I want the answer.
Max laughs, "I think you already know what happened if you're that nervous to hear it."
I groan and slide down to the floor of the kitchen, Max sits down with me.
"I'm just trying to remember the guys face because I swear that I know him but... " I pause, I don't know if I'm worried that it was Jack or if it wasn't him.
Max sighs, "As much as I hate to admit it I definitely think you know him..." I give Max a funny look.
"Why do you say it like that?"
"Well I know him too and he would not have let you do what you did if you were a stranger."
I put my hands over my face sighing, I ask, "His name is Jack isn't it?"
Max gives a small laugh, "Sure is, but Dawn how do you know him.." Max trails off with a bit of worry in her voice. Max is one of the strongest people I know, I don't think I have ever seen her be nervous.
"We went to high school together," I look at Max suspiciously, "He was one of my brothers' friends, how do you know him?"
"It looks like the two of you were good friends as well." She shots back raising her eyebrows making me blush even though I can tell that she is avoiding the conversation.
"Come on, how do you know Jack?" I push
Max sighs, "He's not from a good family and well... I guess neither am I but regardless our families don't get along." She pauses looking at me hoping that I will let the conversation die but I just continue to stare at her. "I meet him a couple of years ago before he was sent away, no one knew where he had gone but I guess it was to your school."
"But why would they send him away..." I wonder to myself than return to Max, "...and I know that your dad is strict, but I thought he was still a nice guy."
Max shakes her head, "There's a lot you don't know about both of them. The history between Jack's and my family is crazy and a lot of it is really bad." I try to hide my disappointment, knowing that I really never knew much about Jack at all, "But if it makes you feel better, I've always found Jack to be a good guy beside it all."
"It's just crazy how you think you can know someone so well but in reality, you are missing a huge piece of the picture." Max looks at me with a guilty look but tries to hide it. I have known since I moved in that there was a lot that Max hid from me and it was mostly about her past and family. I've never really pushed her to tell me because it's her business, but I was always aware that I was in the dark. With Jack he always made me feel like I was involved when I wasn't.
"In his defense, I think he really does care about you," I look at Max quizzingly, "I've never seen him immediately try and protect someone as he did for you last night."
I shrugged, "He's always been like that," I smile thinking back to when he stayed up all night looking for Kat and I when we ran away to the beach.
Max gives me a smirk like she knows something but doesn't say anything.
I stretch out my legs against the cold tile floor that we are sitting on. The light barely makes it into the windows since Max shut them tight. My tea warms my hands as I wonder why Jack always acts differently around me, I originally thought that it was because he liked me but after what happened between us, I have had no idea.
"Okay..." I begin, "Just tell me what happened exactly because I want to make sure my memory isn't completely failing me..."
Once Max smirks at me taking a bite of her Hot Pocket, "Well... it all started with you deciding that you were going to get yourself a man." I grab my tea tightly knowing this is going to make me cringe at my actions. "And of course, you decided to pick the group the guys are not only were not having fun but the one group of mob members in the entire bar...."
"Wait, wait mobsters?" I interrupt, "Why would you let me do that??" I look at her like she has two heads.
Max shoves the rest of her Hot Pocket in her mouth, "Trust me, I tried to stop you but by the time I found you. A random blonde girl and you were doing the fist bump.." Max does a small fist bump to intimate what I was doing. I place my forehead against the rim of my cup in embarrassment. Max laughs at my reaction, "Honestly I thought you were fine so I went to go get us some shots, and next thing I know you were all up and personal with your brother's friend." Max makes sure I know she says brothers friend very sarcastically.
"On come Max, you know that's not what I'm asking about..." I start
Crossing her arms, "Well I think you already know that you lip-locked with him but you want me to tell you didn't lay one on him, don't you?"
"Ooohh don't say it like that," I cringe at her words, "So what exactly happened after that because I don't remember all that much expect getting on the subway..." I pause in horror vaguely remembering using the subway pole to dance on. I look Max dead in the eyes, "Please tell me I didn't...."
"Wait a second..." Max grabs out her phone smiling really big, "I got pictures of it!"
"Are you serious?" I push myself across the cold tile floor to next to Max who is looking through her pictures from last night- all of which are very poorly taken obviously by a drunk person. Finally, she gets to the pictures of me in my sparkling party dress practically swinging off of the pole in the subway with my mouth wide open looking like I was just about to fall. "I look like I'm about to fall on my ass!" I laugh
"Don't worry I sure did," Max says laughing as the next two pictures are of me flat on the ground. And with Max taking a selfie with me on the ground with both of us still smiling at the camera. 'Speaking of this picture..." Max looks at me sheepishly.
"No... you didn't...", I start staring directly at a guilty Max.
"In my defense, I did it when I was drunk, so it wasn't on purpose!"
I slap her arm lightly knowing exactly what she did. Almost every time she goes out drinking drunk Max never fails to post some embarrassing picture of herself or one of her friends. Looks like it was the both of us last night.
"Maxine!" I yell at her my face turning red, "Let me see!" I say reaching for her phone to see her post. My face gets even more red at the comments and amount of likes on the photo... or photos as I swipe over to see the picture of me actually in the air swinging around the pole with a complete drunk face. "Noooo Max what have you done?" as I look through the comments which were mostly thirst comments mixed in with the other dancers from our company saying that they want to go out with us next time.
"At least all the comments are positive..." Max says sheepishly looking over my shoulder. I sigh just about to get over my embarrassment when I see one of the comments.
I turn the phone for Max to see, "What the actual..."
"Fuck...." Max finishes for me as she sees the comment from Jack.
"You have him on Instagram?" I say angrily at her.
Max gives me a small smile, "In my defense, I don't remember having him on there..." I groan in embarrassment at his comment saying 'Those dancing skills are 🔥'
"Just kill me now," I say as I hand her back her phone and rest my head on her shoulder. I only know his username because I checked- not stalked him to see if he had an Instagram. I swear I don't really care I was just curious
I push myself up off the floor knowing I need to start getting around. We both have dance tomorrow morning and we need to be recovered by tonight to be able to dance to our fullest tomorrow.
"Come on, let's go get breakfast." I hold my hand out to help Max up.
"I guess so, mom" She grabs my hand pulling herself up.
While Max puts her everyday clothes I wait for her by the door before we head out to get breakfast at our favorite diner a few blocks away. I pull out my phone and immediately regret it. "Come on!" I yell at the new notification on my phone of Jack requesting to follow me on Instagram.
Max comes down the hallway and laughs seeing me on my phone, "It's your new boy-toy isn't it?"
"Yes!" I say with frustration not even bothering to address the boy-toy comment, "He requested to follow me on Instagram."
"Let me see..." Max says as I show her my phone. She then reaches over and clicks accept.
"Max! Why did you do that?" I say horrified.
"Well, how was he going to slide into your DMs if you didn't have him on Instagram?" She gives me a laugh and started out the door, "Come on its time for breakfast!"
I sigh putting my phone away, today is not going to be my lucky day.
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Update this Friday- thank you all for reading book #2 Sending you lots of love