Tall, Dark & Obnoxious

Episode ELEVEN

Pat

It took her a few minutes to kick off the three-inch heels and throw a robe over the little black dress she'd been wearing for Max. Pat had actually considered not opening the door at all. But the photo of her young parents Charles held up for her as she peeked out the window changed her mind. It was the only reason she hadn't sent him on his way the moment she saw who it was at her door. Only after her conversation with Max earlier, Charles at her doorstep made her anxious now. Especially knowing Max would be calling any minute to tell her he was on his way.

"You're as beautiful as always."

You know what he's trying to do here, right?

Swallowing hard, she held her hand out for the box of photos. No, they were not worth ruining her relationship with Max. But she figured there was nothing she could do about Charles being there now. She may as well take them from him.

"Thank you," she said as he handed her the box. "I thought you'd be sending them."

"Well, I drove by and figured if there was only one car in the driveway it might be okay to just stop by and deliver them in person—as I'd always hoped to do."

"It's not okay, Charles. I told you my boyfriend feels really strongly about this. Plus," she added in her best bluffing voice, "he's on his way as we speak."

Charles smiled, but unlike Max's smug smiles, it was anything but sexy. Pat had since concluded her ego had taken a much bigger hit than her heart when it came to Charles's betrayal. For the longest time, she blamed her difficult personality for pushing him away. But her pride had never allowed her to admit it out loud. Her tears the day she'd broken down about it were tears of pride she'd held in for too long. In hindsight, she now knew he was just a selfish asshole.

This was the Charles she remembered—patronizing and arrogant. He'd always been able to see right through her. It was one of the things he'd coached her on often when she was practicing her cross-examination on him. You have to be more convincing than that. It was likely what he was thinking at that very moment.

"Patty, Patty, you really think I believe that, between the phone call Sunday morning just two weeks ago, when you never mentioned a boyfriend, and now, you're in this serious relationship all of sudden?" He tilted his head, smiling bigger. "I just wanted to apologize and bring you a peace offering." He picked up the wine bottle she hadn't even noticed he'd set down on the ground near his feet. "I put it down so I could hold up the picture. It's your favorite, and I made sure to chill—"

They both turned when Max's car skidded to a stop right in front of her house. Pat's stomach dropped as he jumped out of the car and stalked around it.

"Is this him?" he demanded as his long strides made it toward them.

Pat turned to Charles in a panic. "Charles, I think—"

She gasped as Max slammed Charles against the wall, the bottle of wine shattering loudly in the process. Grabbing his shirt all the way up to his neck, he spoke right in his face. "What part of no do you not understand, motherfucker?"

Charles lifted his hands at either side of him. "I just wanted to drop off the—"

"And bring her wine?" Max's grip seemed to go tighter and higher, making Charles grasp for his hand, as Pat stood there frozen. "I know what you want, asshole." Max slammed him against the wall again even harder this time as Manny and Romero pulled up and jumped out of their car. "But you're fucking nuts if you think I'm gonna let that happen."

The swift hook to Charles's stomach might've had him keeling over if Max didn't still have a death grip on his shirt. "Oh my God!" Pat gasped, even as Romero and Manny ran toward them.

Max landed one more to the gut before Romero and Manny were there pulling him off. The moment they were able to pull him off him, Romero turned to Charles who did keel over now that he was free to. They were still struggling to hold Max back.

"Get the fuck out of here," Romero barked at Charles. "Go!"

"I'll hunt you down, you piece of shit," Max yelled out as Charles stumbled back to his car, "if I find out your ass is sniffing around her in any way."

As soon as Charles was in his car, Max turned to Pat, the fire still in his eyes. "Did he just show up or did he call you first?"

"No," she said, holding her hand over her walloping heart. "He just showed up."

With Charles gone now, Romero and Manny finally let Max go. Romero shook his head, looking disgusted. "You two really doing this?"

"We really are," Max said, stepping closer to Pat and taking her hand. "But she doesn't want her sisters to know yet."

"Well, I wouldn't keep anything from Izzy anyway, but she already knows something's up. She saw the way you bolted out of there and why." He turned to Pat. "What did he want anyway?"

"You know what he fucking wanted." Max motioned to the smashed bottle of wine on her porch. "She told his ass she couldn't be getting together with him for shit now because of me and that fucker still showed up."

Pat almost told them why. That Charles hadn't believed her. But as fired up as Max still was, she was afraid he might think she was making excuses for Charles. Regardless of whether he believed her or not, it was still a shit move to just show up like that, assuming she'd not only be okay with it, but maybe he'd even get invited in for a drink. The smug asshole. As terrifying as it'd been to witness it firsthand, it'd been enjoyable to see Max put Charles in his place. She felt even stupider now for thinking even for a minute that Charles's intentions were in any way selfless.

She'd heard it earlier and she could hear it now. Her phone was ringing inside. "That better not be his ass calling you," Max said as he turned to her front door.

"It's probably Izzy," Romero said, turning to his car. "I left my phone in the car, but she wanted me to call her as soon as I knew what was going on."

Pat started through her front door to find her phone. Max didn't let go of her hand, and, as soon as they were inside, he tugged at it, pulling her to him. He searched her eyes the way he had the day he asked her if she was over Charles. "What'd he say to you?"