TANGLED PLANS

55

The evening has been quiet. I have been sitting in my room on my bed as the newest episodes of a reality show I'm watching comes on. I have been banned from watching these shows downstairs because my brother doesn't like them. I didn't know why I cared about his opinion enough to not watch it downstairs. I guess because I knew he would want to be downstairs in the living room.

It has been a week since I last told my brother about Max and his new problems. I hadn't meant to, but I did. For the last week, I have been trying to see if Max was angry at me. So far, he has been radio silent. My brother tells me that he didn't get to talk to Max because he would find a way to avoid it at all costs.

There is a knock on my door that causes me to pull away from the characters that were close to kissing. My eyes widen for a second in surprise when I find the familiar face of the guy whose privacy I had broken. "Max," I say to him, and I start to blurt out my apologies. He had come to see me, and I had a feeling he was going to address the situation that had occurred earlier.

"I'm sorry. Brayden had asked, and I had said I couldn't say it. And then he guilted me into saying it to me, and once I said something, it was hard not to spill the rest," I say in one rushed voice. Max only gives me a wry look, his eyes questioning as he walks into the room.

I sit up in my spot, and when my eyes glimpse at the fact that the couple were already acting in love, I get more stressed. I had missed what all the angst had led up to. "I didn't mean to tell, Brayden. Believe that.

Max only shoves the conversation away and says, "It's fine. You're good, Daisy."

"Oh," I say to him as I release the breath I had been seemingly holding for the last week. Max's hand trailed the length of my dresser as he walked closer to me. I studied his face; he didn't. I don't know. I couldn't read the expression on his face. He sighs and says, "I just...can I just sit here with you?"

"Here?" I practically squeak as I look around at the bed that I was lying in. Max only nods and says, "I could use the company."

I glance away from him in an attempt to tame my warming cheeks. There was no way I wouldn't be freaking out about Max casually asking if I was okay with him sitting on my bed. I look forward to my laptop and start to rewind the movie. "Sure, I'm just watching a show."

"I'll watch with you," he says with a little smile as I sneak a glance at him. I avert my gaze once he starts to make his way to me. I felt him moving toward the bed and slipping off his shoe before he lay beside me. So close that our arms touch, but I welcome it. It kind of felt good. I also liked how broad his shoulder felt against mine. I pinch my lips together so as to refocus my attention on the show.

Max is a silent watcher as the episode drags on. He didn't ask any questions about the show that I was watching. He only stayed quiet and laid beside me, his hand just so softly touching mine. Once the episode finishes, I feel him turn to his side, and when I glance to the side, his face is close to mine. Oh, I felt warm all over again.

"What's your version of a perfect date?" Max asks softly as he trains his eyes on my face. I almost choked at the question but managed to swallow. Training my eyes on my laptop screen as I press onto another show, I say, "Like a first date?"

"Yeah," Max whispers, and a lot of questions pop up in my head. Why was he asking me? What did it mean that he was choosing to ask a girl that he liked? He had told me he liked me romantically but hadn't made a move to ask me out. He wasn't going to ask me out, though; he told me that we couldn't work. He was too much of a mess for me. I didn't mind it, but he felt it would be too selfish of him for us to be in a relationship.

"Why?" I whisper.

Max only moves his eyes away from mine and says, "Just wondering what your version is."