Chapter 43: Awkward. . .

As the sun shines into the bedroom, slowly rousing Maryanne, she groans. Stretching, the blanket shifts against her bare skin and causes a cold shiver to wrap around her body. Releasing a short breath, tension explodes in her chest when the memories from the night prior wash over her. She holds down a gasp lodged in her throat as she turns her head and see’s Max lying next to her. She tries to push herself to the edge of the bed, her mind racing with what to do. As she remembers each moment of their night together, a heat thickens in the pit of her abdomen, her body fighting against her mind.
Checking once more to make sure he is asleep, Maryanne slips from under the covers, pushing away the cold biting at her neck, and grabs a t-shirt from her closet. Once on, she grabs a clean pair of underwear and some sweatpants.
“Good morning.” As Max’s gravelly, half-asleep voice rumbles through the room and shakes Maryanne’s chest, she freezes.
Hiding her embarrassment, she tries to say confidently, “Oh, uh, morning.”
He pushes himself up on his elbows, “Did you sleep well?”
Maryanne tries not to notice how good he looks under her blankets. Or the way his fiery hair is sticking in all different directions because of her pillows. She gulps, “Yeah, I did. Did you?”
The lazy smile that forms on his swollen lips causes her heart to burst from her chest. “Yes, thank you.”
“I’m going to check on Riley,” Maryanne forces herself to fly to the door, unable to control herself if she were to stay in the room a minute longer.
“Wait, Maryanne,” Max throws the covers off, his bare and toned abdomen glinting in the light as he does. The blankets fall just shy of his thighs, leaving little to Maryanne’s imagination, especially as she remembers more from the night before than she wants to admit.
Gulping down the urge to go back to the bed, Maryanne tightens her grip on the doorknob and slips from the room, her heart pounding in her ears. She reaches Riley’s room quickly, but she takes a moment to compose herself. She waits until her vision is not blurry and her body ceases from swaying.
Opening the door, she grins down at the girl sitting in her bed with her Barbies, “Good morning Riley.”
The little girl squeaks out, “Morning!”
Maryanne dances into the room, heading over to Riley’s closet, “Are you hungry?”
Riley’s head bobs up and down, her eyes wide, “Yes!”
“Let’s go eat.”
After Maryanne helps Riley change, they exit the room and head back down the hall. Maryanne refuses to look near her door as they pass it. Even though it is closed, her heart races thinking that Max will walk out at any second.
They fumble down the stairs, Riley trying to jump along each step. Maryanne holds on to her arm so that she doesn’t fall.
“Riley, please stop. Walk correctly,” she sighs.
Once on the main floor, Riley pulls away from her and runs into the dining room where Maryanne can just catch a glimpse of Geneva wandering around.
“Maryanne,” Max jogs down the stairs behind her, his hair still a mess from her bed and his shirt only half buttoned.
“I’m sorry, Riley’s hungry. I’m going to bring her down to Jeff.” Maryanne points behind her towards the dining room.
Max leans to the side and glances through the open door. “Geneva is in there. She can take care of Riley.”
Without another excuse in mind, Maryanne just stands there, her teeth gritted as she tries to ignore his exposed skin.
After a moment of silence, Max runs his hand through his hair and asks, “Will you talk to me now?”
Not able to come up with a reason to bypass this conversation, Maryanne releases the breath she had been holding. “What do you want to talk about?”
With his brow cocked and his arms now folded, Max tilts his head to the side, “You know exactly what.”
“Max, I don’t know if that’s such a good idea.” She holds down her racing heart and refuses to look him in the eye. She isn’t sure she can hide her emotions if he is able to peer into her soul with just a look.
“Why not? I can sense that you’re uncomfortable, so it’s best to talk about it now.”
Maryanne just shrugs, waving her hands around at her sides, “I don’t even know what to say.”
“That’s fine, just listen.”
“Okay,” she says it hesitantly as she steals a small glance at his chest.
“I really enjoyed spending time together last night. It was the best night I’ve had in a long time.”
“Max,” the memories of the night before have Maryanne’s entire body heating up. Her face turns red.
Max scoffs, a laugh hinted at the end of his breath, “Not because of that, Maryanne. Because spending time with you is enough to ease my stress. I forget about work and just live.”
“I don’t do anything special.”
“That’s just it. You don’t ask for money. You aren’t doing this for the fame or attention. I know that you said last night wasn’t a date, but it really felt like one. It was very calming to be around you.”
As her emotions begin to build within her, Maryanne tries to deescalate the conversation, “Max, I don’t know if—”
“Maryanne, please. Let me get this out before I lose my courage.”
As the pleading thickens his voice, Maryanne’s surprise causes her to whip her head up and make eye contact. With the intensity of his stare and the pain in his gaze, she is frozen.
“I want to spend more time with you. I don’t want to lose you, even after this year is up. I want to spend every day and night with you. Waking up this morning to you in the same bed was like heaven. I want more of that. I want to be able to hold you on the cold nights and have Riley crawl into bed with us because she had a nightmare, or because she just wants to be closer to us. I want more of the family life we have. What I’m trying to say, Maryanne, is that I want you to go out with me.”