A Little Story About Love

Part 12

Chance

I saw the smile fade from Max's lips and immediately felt bad. "I'm sorry, Max," He looked away. I took his hand in mine, tilting his chin up with my other hand. "Max listen. I'm sorry. This is all new to me. Please, understand."

Max's lips twitched and a dimple appeared in his cheek, "I understand. I know exactly how hard it is," he looked down, "I know myself. It's not going to be easy for me either. I'm always going to think that maybe you're having second thoughts, no matter how true or untrue that is. But I will try to remember how hard this is for you and be patient," he looked deep into my eyes, searching for something unknown.

I rubbed my finger across his cheek and smiled, "thank you Max, every last bit of this is confusing to me."

"Come on, make yourself comfortable," he said, gesturing towards a gaudy, flower-patterned couch.

I sat down and leaned into the plush cushions. I breathed in a shaky breath and let the smile that had been hiding creep onto my face. I stared at the ceiling, looking at the patterns in the plaster. No decision had ever felt as right as this one did, but I was terrified senseless. Now that I realized how strong my attraction towards Max was I began to question every relationship I had had in the past. Was any of that even real? Or did I just like the idea of it? The more I thought about it, the more it seemed that I had never felt any attraction towards the girls I had dated.

"Coffee? Or maybe you'd prefer tea?" Max laughed, breaking into my thoughts. His laugh was like a child's, so full of joy and innocence. It made me smile again and I chuckled.

"Tea would be fantastic. I haven't had any in quite a while," I watched Max standing in his makeshift kitchen; a hot plate, microwave, and mini fridge. He set a kettle on the hot plate and put tea bags in two mugs. He looked up to see me watching and blushed a light shade of pink. He smiled and ran a hand through his hair, making a few pieces stick out at odd angles. He turned and gathered up a few dishes, piling them up by the bathroom sink.

The kettle hummed and Max poured the boiling water into the cups. He poured a bit of cream and sugar into each, and brought them over to the couch, handing me one as he sat down. I wrapped my arm around his shoulders and he curled into my embrace. My hand unconsciously played with his silky hair. We sat and sipped our tea for a while in silence. When we finished our tea, we started a movie.