Could It Be Us? | Maxley

➳ 15

I woke up this morning to a lot of comments on this story and I'll admit, I cried a bit. I'm glad everyone has been enjoying it so far, it means the world to me. To those specific people commenting, thank you! You are so much fun to respond to, your thoughts are always funny as well. I appreciate everyone, commenter or not, so enjoy this chapter! (:

CHAPTER 15

Max

We walked in, as expected, there were hundreds of people there. If Bradley and I were lucky, maybe his parents wouldn't find us. "What do we do at these," I asked weakly.

"I've only gone to a few. These kinds of party's aren't really my thing. But, we could get drinks." I followed behind him. Usually, he'd drag me by my hand but under these circumstances he wouldn't. My hand felt bare. I wanted his touch more than I probably should have. We reached the table that held the very expensive alcohol. I pondered the options. There were a lot, it seemed. "Malt Irish whiskey, Clase Azul Añejo, Dalmore, which would you like?"

"I don't know any of these," I admitted. "Choose your favorite and pour me some of that." Bradley looked at me with his blue eyes, smiled, and nodded his head. He brushed his hair back, and I was looking at his fingers. He was wearing rings that day.

"Sure, Max." I read the label of the bottle he picked up. Clase Azul Añejo. Fancy. He poured three glasses. I tilted my head. He glanced over and grinned softly. "Two for me. I have my parents to deal with later." Right. His parents.

— — —

Bradley and I were sitting on their (very comfortable) arm sofas when two older people joined us. Although they were older, they were very sophisticated and beautiful people. They looked a lot like Bradley. "Brad," the woman inquired. "Who may this be?" She looked at me with eyes that could kill a man. Was I scared? Yes.

Bradley looked at them then back at me. He took a deep breath. "His name is Max Goof. He's my," he paused. "Boyfriend."

I put two and two together, finally. These are his parents. His father stood up abruptly. "Boyfriend? I have a couple of faggots in my house?"His mother sat him back down although his face hardened with every glance of me. "Uppercrust have a reputation to hold, and yet you throw it away for him? He looks hideous, Brad, do you see those piercings?" Ouch.

"Baby, calm down, okay? But seriously, Brad. We are very disappointed."

Bradley looked down at his feet. I knew he was antsy. Should I have spoken? Did I have the right to in this situation? "Like your son said, I'm Max Goof. I know I'm not what you wanted for your son, but I am as capable of loving him as any woman."

His father stretched his frown. "Is that so?"

"It is, sir."

"Even so, boy, it's a stain on our reputation that I built up," he snarled. "Our Brad will not be marrying you, and he certainly won't be able to continue the legacy."

"You have other sons," I whispered. I shouldn't have, but I wanted to ruin Bradley's fathers face in a way that'd make him unrecognizable. It was dangerous thinking this way.

Considering how close Bradley and I were to each other, it went unnoticed when I snaked my arm around his waist to hold his hand. His fingers were trembling.

"Mr. and Mrs. Uppercrust, if we find a way for the people to accept our relationship, will you?" I looked at Bradley, who was looking at me with hooded eyes. I had to do it. "I'll end it if it doesn't work out."

He rubbed his chin. "I expect zero contact after your breakup."

His mother nodded in agreement. "Are we all in a mutual understanding? You two are to break up if our reputation comes even close to declining." She looked at me as she said that.

Bradley looked sadly at me. His mouth was parted open, tears were hidden behind his glassy eyes. "We're all in agreement." His mother clapped her hands together. I heard her whisper, perfect, but nothing about this was perfect. "We won't be able to convince the people that this is okay. Max, I can't fucking lose you." He was crying. I held his face in my palm, wiping his tears with my thumb.

"You won't lose me, darling. I promise."

He threw himself over my shoulder. "I don't want to be in front of all these people. I think for a while, I'll be in my room," he said quietly.

"I'll go with you, I'm not leaving you alone."

The both of us went upstairs. There were people in those hallways, too. I knew Bradley was scared, if only I was allowed to touch his hand. His bedroom was at the far end of the hallway. He walked in, and I snuck in behind him. No one caught me. I took a deep breath. Bradley was looking at me. Like, really looking at me, behind all the baggy clothes and piercings. I guess you could say he was looking at my soul. There was a passion in his eyes that I'd never seen from him before. What was this?

He wrapped his arms around my neck and kissed my lips. They were stained from his tears. "Bradley," I whispered. He kept kissing along my face. "Bradley," I repeated again.

He kissed my neck. "What?"

"Like you said earlier, we shouldn't do this while at your parents house. They might catch us, because we did suddenly disappear. Even if they didn't catch us, they'd be suspicious of it."

He groaned against my neck. His breath was cool. "Fine." he stammered to the bed and laid down.

Again, my foot started tapping harshly against the polished flooring. "Bradley, darling, I'm going to leave."

Bradley cocked his head. "What?" He stood up abruptly. "No, no, Max, don't go."

"I'll be back." I stepped towards him and put my hands carefully at his waist. "I won't be gone that long, okay? Wait for me here." Bradley's eyes wandered across my face. He touched my lip piercings.

"Okay, I trust you. For the record, I don't think your piercings are hideous, although my dad likes to think so." He kissed them. "I really like them." His face looked tired from crying. I'd fix that. "Please come back quickly, Max." I looked at the door. No one. I kissed him quickly.

"I promise that I'll be back quickly."