When Lily meets Max again at his sisters wedding, she still feels the crush she had on him when she was fifteen. However, even when things seem to be looking up for Lily when Max reciprocates his feelings for her, his ex fiance Sarah does not like t...
When I walk inside the Anchor with Max, I can see that it's already half full. It's not surprising, though, as it's one of the more popular bars in the area for its friendly atmosphere and love for sports. There's a huge plasma television on the sidewall which is on NBC Sports, and nearby are two pool tables which already have people playing with them.
As Max leads me to the tables at the back of the bar, we pass by people sitting on stools at the bar edge chatting among themselves, and grabbing the barman's attention for a drink. When we arrive at a table by the window, Max pulls out my chair for me, and I hold down my dress as I slide into the seat. He then rounds the table and takes his own seat before passing me the menu. "It all looks so good," I moan. "How am I going to choose?"
Max coughs out a laugh, and I look up at him in surprise. "You're doing it again," he explains.
My cheeks instantly go pink, as I know he's referring to the fact that I moan whenever it comes to food. "I can't help it," I murmur, dropping my head so that my hair hides my face. "It just happens."
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make you feel embarrassed." He leans forward over the table while his thumb traces circles on the back of my hand. "You know I love to hear your moans, and I'm sporting wood right now, thanks to them."
Oh, wow. "I guess I'll be the one going to the bar to order then," I giggle, seeing the funny side. "And it means that I can pay."
"No, I'll pay. I'm the one inviting you again. Remember?" he remarks with a gleam in his eye.
I shake my head slowly. "Uh-uh, it's on me." I bite my lip and look at the entrance door. "Or I'll leave right now and you won't be getting any sex tonight."
Max is deathly quiet for a few moments, his face scrunched up as he thinks over my ultimatum. "Fine," he grumbles, conceding.
My mouth transforms into a huge smile. "Great."
While Max waits for me to choose something off the menu, he continues to trace his finger against my hand, sending tingles through my body. "So how did your mom find it when she returned to the shop?" he murmurs. "You know, after the break-in."
I put down my menu and rest back in my seat. "Better than I expected. I think because she had a day to process it before she came over, she was more mentally prepared for it. Plus, the only bad thing she saw was the ruined door. I think if she had seen all the flowers strewn over the floor and the blood on the desk, then she would have cried."
"I'm glad she took in her stride."
"Me too. I'm pleased that the shop was full today. People kept coming up to me and telling me how awful it was. I'm sure some people came in to buy something just to be nice. There were a few that were only being nosy, but that's what you get for living in a place like this."
He turns his head to look out of the window. "People love a good talk around here."
I give him a sad smile, realizing that he's referring to what's happening with him and Sarah. I can't imagine it being easy for Max to have everyone talking about their broken engagement and having people witnessing her making a scene in front of him all the time.
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Once I finally decide on having the Texan chicken melt, I slide out of my chair and head for the bar to order our food and drinks, seeing as Max still can't stand up without showing off the bulge in his pants. Realizing that I won't be able to catch the barman's attention from this position of the bar, I walk further along until I spot a gap and dash for it before someone else takes it. Luckily, from waiting here, it isn't long until I'm noticed and I order our food and ask for two Budweisers.
When I've finished paying and the barman hands over my receipt, I grab the two cool bottles and make my way back to the table, though, with the bar getting fuller by the minute, I have to weave in and out of people and take the longer way round. After I squeeze between two large men, I accidentally bump into someone, causing the bottles to shake in my hand and a bit of foam to dribble down my hand. Once I rub the mess away, I look up to apologize to the person who I knocked into, but when I see their hard face, my whole body goes stiff.
"You!" she seethes, her eyes burning a hole into mine.
This is all I need. I try to move around her to get back to Max, but with the amount of people standing in my way, I'm boxed in.
"If it isn't the little bitch who cried wolf and went to the cops over me," she calls out loudly.
I notice a few heads turn in our direction and I cringe, not wanting to have an audience for this. "Please, Sarah. Let's not discuss this here."
"No, let's," she says even louder, crossing her arms across her chest. "Do you know they came to my workplace to ask me some questions? My boss now thinks I'm a lowlife criminal thanks to you," she snaps, poking me hard in the chest.
"I didn't know that they would go to your workplace to talk to you, Sarah," I say evenly, trying not to provoke her further.
"What the fuck did you think would happen when you gave them my name?"
"I-"
Before I have a chance to speak, Sarah shouts loudly for everyone to listen.
"See this bitch?" she shouts, pointing at me. "First she's taken my fiance and now she's trying to ruin my life."
"Sarah, stop," I plead.
More people are looking and a few give me a disgusted look, like I'm the one in the wrong. I try desperately to move past her, but she grabs my right arm and digs her manicured nails into me. "If I were you, I'd be very careful to not piss off anyone again, otherwise you may find your shop is just the beginning."
"Is that a threat?" I hear Max growl as he comes into view behind her.
Sarah immediately lets go of my arm and backs away from me as a worried look flashes across her face when she sees Max. A throbbing pain in my arm grabs my attention, and when I look down, I wince as I see that there are nail marks embedded in my skin.
"Max. I didn't realize you were here."
When I lift my head to look at him, I see his eyes are zoned in on my arm with a horrified look written across his face. "You've fucking marked her!"
"It was an accident."
"That's doubtful," he snarls. He cradles his arm around my waist and pulls me close to his side. "Are you okay?"
I give a stiff nod while Sarah glares at me. The phrase 'if looks could kill' comes to mind.
"Do you even know what she has done, Max?!" Sarah screeches, pointing a finger at me. "This bitch reported me to the police. They accused me of breaking into her shop, trying to steal money, and then trashing it!"
"No. I did," he responds quietly.
"What?" she gasps, her eyes going wide. "How could you?"
"Why do you think?"
She pulls on the ends of her hair and scowls. "You know what? Fuck you Max. And fuck you, you fiance stealing slut."
My jaw drops open in horror while Max shouts back in retaliation and tells her to leave.
"Don't worry, I'm going," she spits.
As she storms past me, she hits me with her shoulder, causing the liquid in the beers to slosh and spill onto my hand again. "Shit," I murmur.
While Max quietly fusses over me, my eyes dart around the bar again, and I notice that half the people in the room are watching us now. I can feel myself sweating and I use my free hand to pull on Max's arm. "Max, can we please go back to our table? People are staring."
"Are you sure you want to stay? We can go if you want to."
I shake my head. "No. Let's stay. We have done nothing wrong, so we shouldn't feel like we have to leave."
His lips quirk up and he kisses my forehead. "Okay. Come on," he replies before leading me away from the spectators and to the other end of the bar and back to the safety of our table.
