TANGLED PLANS

62

Max places his hands on my waist to pick me up from the car. After I'm out of the car, I use my advantage to wrap my legs around his middle, where I lean in and press my lips to his. Max is surprised by my change of plans, but I only grin into the kiss as I tease him for more.

I hadn't known that kissing someone could feel this nice.

It feels nice to be basically held up by Max. I wrap my legs tighter and move myself up as I beg for more with my lips. Max pulls away slowly and says, "Daisy, we can't. We should probably get home."

"Or we can..." I say, trailing off by touching his soft lips with mine. The date had gone perfectly, as I didn't want it to end. I wanted to stay here and steal kisses from Max for the whole night. Max claimed to argue about kissing, but he did kiss me back. It's all lingering and soft, which makes me just want to smile against his lips. I love this. I love him.

"Max, I love you," I whisper to him against our lips, which makes Max freeze. I feel his hands holding me up lighten, and when I look up at him, his eyes are boring into mine.

"What?" he asks in disbelief.

I place a hand on his chest and say, "I love you." Max's eyes widen as he takes in my words. I only grin down at him; the feeling I just expressed is vast in my heart. Max nods. "Okay."

Okay?

Max notices what he just said and places his hand up. "Wait, wait."

I slip my hand under the collar of his shirt to move it up, and I laugh at his sudden nerves. "Max, this whole okay thing is going to be very problematic."

Max nods, a little bewildered in his eyes. I can sense that I caught him off guard with my confession. His hands go to the back of my thigh, where he gently pries my legs off his waist. "One second, Daisy. I can't think with you on me." I feign a frown as I take my hands off him and feel my feet flat against the floor. Once I'm standing in front of him, Max runs a hand through his hair.

"You love me?" Max asks with a questioning tone as if he didn't believe me, and I nod. I laugh softly and say, "I'm pretty sure, yeah."

"You love me," Max says again, as if he has to let himself believe that sentence. I only nod at him, and once he realizes that I said what I meant to say, he lets out a breath. "Daisy, oh," Max says, and then his mouth widens into the grin I love so much. His eyes are on mine when he says, "I love you too."

"Really?" I say this to him in disbelief once again, and he nods. I'm excited as I grab for his neck again, and as soon as I can, I meet my lips with his again. Max slips a hand under my jaw and pulls my face even closer to his. His kiss is soft as before but only deeper, as if he wants us to be as close as we can be.

"Are you sure you love me?" Max whispers against my lips as we pull away to get air. I nod, biting my already swollen bottom lip, and say, "I do. I'm pretty sure I've loved you for the longest time now."

"A year for me," Max whispers, his eyes catching mine with a glint. "Really? Since when?"

Max brushes his lips against mine and then pulls away again. "After Brayden told me that I couldn't take a liking to you, I naturally did. I tried to ignore you, but you were everywhere, and I was fascinated with you. I mean, Daisy, you're the nicest person here, and I couldn't help but be drawn to you. I've always known that I'd like you. There wasn't a situation where I wouldn't."

"If only you had told me earlier," I say to him after I have been able to digest his words. It took me a while. I mean, Max had just shared so much with me; of course it would take me a second. I move my hand up to his hair and say, "We'll get there soon."