𝑡𝑜 𝑛𝑒𝑤 𝑦𝑜𝑟𝑘 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑏𝑎𝑐𝑘, 𝗈𝗋𝗂𝗀𝗂𝗇𝖺𝗅.

chapter two (max)

Now, I'm a go-with-the-flow kind of guy. I like surprises, and I always like visiting new places. But most people can say that.

What a lot of people CAN'T say is that their parents threw them head first into a duo-family road trip just to please their youngest son.

Only problem...I'm not the youngest son. I was the first kid, and while that's great most of the time (mostly for the purpose of pulling that card on my younger brother, Jake) it is definitely uncool to be the oldest when everyone destroys your summer plans just for a younger sibling's birthday. Normally, I would be fine with something like this, but when they rope in Jake's best friend's family and Savannah's older brother...

Now, Savannah's a sweet kid. I like her. But, seriously, how about like...not having a brother my age? That'd be really cool. Thanks. Happy Birthday. Whatever.

But in reality, no matter what I did, there was nothing that could be done to change my parent's minds. And now, Savannah's family was coming over for dinner.

All of them. At my house. This was going to be fun...maybe. Probably not.

Anyway, it's six thirty, and they should be here any minute. I'm running around the house trying to busy myself and not be in the thick of things. But of course, no one wants a klutz in the kitchen, so I was stuck in the living room with Jake, waiting to answer the door. The bell rang. That meant that they were probably usually on time, which means that eventually, I would—

Max, stop. You're overthinking this. Come on. How bad can they be?

Answer: Not bad. At all. Like, the opposite of bad. Great. Well, let me just explain. Jake runs to open the door, and then there they are, smiling and entering the house and shaking hands with my parents...and then there's him.

Crap. Now, a disclaimer: I'm gay. And that was not working well for me right now. Why? Because, as it turns out, Savannah's brother is not just my age, but also insanely attractive. Like, you don't get it, guys. Unless you're the hopeless romantic gay guy who lives by the beach, you never will. Also, y'know, that's me.

Can we just start with his hair? Like his freaking hair. It's exactly the right shade of golden brown like how you want the sun to be but it's just too blinding. Which was not to say that this guy isn't blinding. Because, oh god, he is. We'll move on.

His skin is tan. And you better not think I'm leaving it there, like really. It's tan in the amazing natural way that models always try to get their fake tans, but never really can. It was like the sun leaned down and was like 'hey, I'm just going to hug you now', and there he is. Bro. BRO. Like, come on. This was not possible. I swear. But like, guys, we're not even done. Like, this was how you might expect the hot guy at anybody's school to look, not like much, but no. You cannot go there; because we are nowhere near done and there is no way that this is just some average guy.

His eyes are a glistening shade of hazel that compliments his skin perfectly, and wow. Wow. I'm standing almost five feet away, and I can see his eyelashes from here. I'm not exaggerating. Also, like, his jawline. Seriously, however defined you thought jawlines could be, his was more defined. Now, I need you to understand that I'm not trying to exaggerate anything here; I'm just the hopeless romantic who also happens to be gay and thinks that this guy is gorgeous.

The thing is, though...he's short. Like at least four inches shorter than me. But not in a bad way. Like, it's cool. You just keep being cute, dude, and I'll just keep staring and—

Is he staring at me? Me? Wait. Hold on. What? Yep, he's definitely staring at me. What are the chances of this guy also being gay? Slim. But like, the possibility. Also, we're spending the whole summer together and I think I might die. He's...still looking at me. Why? His mouth is sort of open in a way that is insanely adorable, but moving on...I don't get it. Is there something wrong? There must be something wrong. Do I have something on my face? I probably have something on my face.

Don't screw this up.

Just...smile at him. Whoa. Whoa. Was not prepared. This boy. I swear. He's smiling back, and I can't deal. But Max. Come on. Be a normal person for once. My parents push me forward, and suddenly, we're face to face. I feel the warmth spreading through my cheeks, and I can see him blushing too. But the thing is, it's only cute when he does it because he's actually tan. When I blush, I look more like an overripe tomato. But that's fine.

I have to say something. I don't know what to say. Honestly, how have I lived to be seventeen?

Then it hits me. I don't even know his name. I have to get his name. Come on, Max. Go for the gold. Wait...he's gold. No. Max, pull yourself together.

"Hi...I'm Max," I say, holding out my hand for him to shake, "Nice to meet you."