“I'll take you,” he offers, giving Maxine a long look. “That way, Tess won't see you with Maxie. And anyway, I was hoping to stop by and visit Parrish before the party. If you duck down when we pass through the gate, I bet you can get in and act like you never left before Tess even notices.”
It’s a good idea, actually, so I nod and pick up my coffee as my sister looks on helplessly.
“Stay,” she says, putting her hand over mine. “Just for a little while. I'll tell you all the bullshit gossip from campus, and you can complain about your sexy stepbrother—”
“Sexy?” X interjects, raising two dark brows.
We both ignore him.
“Please,” Maxine pleads, pouting out her lower lip in that way she knows that I can't resist.
“His sexiness doesn’t make up for his awful personality,” I grumble, dragging my coffee closer and pushing down the overwhelming urge to cry. What good will that do me? Sure, I’m a bit of an introvert, and I far prefer the great indoors to the great outdoors, but I’ve never been a sulker or a crier—not that there’s anything wrong with that. It just isn’t who I am. “Fine, I can stay, but not for too long. Otherwise, we won’t be able to do this next weekend.” I flash Maxine a pleading look of my own and she laughs.
“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.
