Chapter 4 Asking for Permission

I felt like jumping out the window and going back home without saying a single word to Zach.

I’d wanted to do that since last night, but the only thing I’d been able to do was lock myself in the room because I couldn’t bring myself to face Max.

He didn’t say anything to me when I ran out from under the cabinet and dashed back to my room. I struggled a bit with unlocking the bathroom door, but thank God I managed. And after that… there had been no conversation at all. Not a single word.

The problem was—it’s Monday, and I had to go to school. Otherwise, I’d miss a daily test. There were no make-up tests because my teacher was the strictest, most disciplined person on the planet. Anyone who missed today’s test would miss one of the most important evaluations of the semester. The only way to make up for it was to join a community service project—usually held in the city park, picking up trash with an environmental group. I had no idea why she replaced test grades with social work, but… that’s how it was.

“Zoe, you’ll be late if you don’t get up now. Come on, get ready. Your school’s farther than usual.”

I faintly heard Zach knocking on my door.

Truthfully, I’d been awake for a while. I knew I had to wake up earlier while staying here since this apartment was much farther from my school than home. But I didn’t have the courage to get out of bed and face the day.

Damn it. This situation was a mess.

“Zoe! Are you still asleep?”

I shut my eyes tightly and threw off the blanket. “Yeah, I’m up!”

“Can you open the door and go shower? It’s already pretty late, Zoe.”

I let out a long sigh. “Yeah, yeah. I’m up and I’m gonna shower. Satisfied now?!” I knew I shouldn’t have snapped at Zach over something so minor, but my mood was just awful this morning.

“Alright, just go shower, and I’ll make you breakfast.”

Instead of getting angry, Zach just smiled calmly and walked away.

Shit. How was I supposed to walk into that bathroom after what happened last night? The entire scene kept playing on repeat in my head.

Damn it, this was such a pain.

I needed Jack right now!

***

“Mom called me last night asking about you. Did you talk to her?”

I lazily looked up at Zach’s question.

It wasn’t that I was annoyed with Zach himself. I just didn’t want to look at the guy sitting next to him, calmly eating his sandwich like nothing ever happened.

Fucking Max.

Why did he have to join us for breakfast like he was part of the damn family?

“Yeah, I did,” I nodded briefly.

“Mom was really worried after I told her about the whole mess last night,” Zach muttered with a small scoff. “But she felt better knowing Max is staying here while I’m at work. At least you’re not alone in the apartment.”

I stared at him in disbelief.

How could my parents dislike Jack so much, accusing him of leading me into bad influences, and yet be totally okay with their daughter living with a stranger? Did they really think Max was a good guy?

Hell, that man saw me masturbating and had sex right in front of me!

“Give your sister some extra eggs, I think she likes eggs,” Max pushed a plate of extra omelets in Zach’s direction.

“You can grab some more if you want, Zoe,” Zach offered.

I looked down at my plate—it was already empty except for a few grapes.

Shit. I’d eaten way too fast, trying to avoid any conversation or eye contact with either of them. Now it probably looked weird.

“I’m full,” I said, pushing my plate away. “Let’s go, Zach.”

“Actually, there’s something I need to talk to you about,” Zach wiped the corner of his mouth and took a sip of milk. “I have to go to the hospital this morning and won’t be back until later. So I can’t drive you to school.”

I looked at him, irritated.

Normally, I’d throw a fit if Mom or Dad couldn’t drive me and told me to take a taxi. But this time, I couldn’t argue, which made me even more annoyed.

“Fine, I’ll—”

“You’ll go with Max. He has something to do near your school. He’ll drop you off first. I already talked to him about it,” Zach cut me off before I could finish my sentence.

My eyes widened in disbelief.

“What?” I muttered under my breath.

“Yeah, he’s meeting a client at a hotel near your school. So you can ride with him, since he’ll be working there all day. You’ll have to go home with him, too.”

I couldn’t believe Zach was just as insane as our parents.

“You heading out now?” Max chimed in, glancing at his watch. “I’m gonna go get ready. Don’t worry—you won’t be late. I’ll make sure you get there on time,” he said as he stood and walked into his room.

Shit. Seeing how shocked I was at Zach’s announcement, it was like he could read my mind, so he chose to leave the table and give us space to talk.

Fuck him. Honestly, I could’ve said this in front of him if he hadn’t walked away.

“I’ll go by myself!” I snapped quickly.

Zach paused mid-bite, frowning. “You don’t even have a driver’s license, do you?”

“Dad wouldn’t even let me learn how to drive!” I shot back instantly. “I’m not gonna drive—I’ll just take the bus!”

“Zoe,” Zach covered his eyes with his right hand and let out a long sigh.

“Are you seriously asking me to go with your friend?” I glared at him. “He may be your friend, but he’s not mine! Don’t force me to get along with him—I hate that.”

“Oh, God,” Zach didn’t seem angry at what I said, but I could see the confusion clearly in his eyes. “Alright, I’ll take you instead.”

“No need!” I stomped my foot in frustration.

I knew I was only making things harder for Zach by refusing to go along with his plan, but riding with Max? Hell no. I couldn’t even imagine being in the same car with him after what happened last night.

“I’ll go on my own!”

“Zoe, let’s go!”

In the middle of my frustration and rising panic, I heard Max’s door open, and there he was, grabbing his car keys from the hook near the apartment door.

“Just this once,” Zach whispered to me, looking at me pleadingly. I was sure Max didn’t hear him—Zach had intentionally lowered his voice. “I already asked him for the favor,” he added softly.

Shit. I had no other choice.

***

Well, I ended up sitting in a Ford Mustang GT500 with Max behind the wheel next to me.

Honestly, I was shocked to find out Max owned a cool car while still sharing an apartment with my brother.

Why didn’t he just rent his own place? Why share an apartment with someone else when he clearly had the money for luxury?

Of course, I didn’t ask him any of those questions. In fact, since the moment I got into the car, we hadn’t said a single word to each other.

“Why don’t you ever visit Zach? Your place is close to the apartment.”

I had just been hoping we wouldn’t talk at all—then suddenly, Max decided to strike up a conversation. And… I really wanted to ignore him.

“He’s busy, and so am I.”

“Could you be more specific about what busy means in your case?” Max glanced over and gave me an amused smile.

Shit. I could practically see the dirty thoughts flashing in his mind.

“I don’t want to talk to you. And I should’ve said this from the beginning. So don’t try to talk to me or even think about starting a conversation. I don’t like it.”

Screw it if he wanted to drop me off right then and there. I had enough cash to call a taxi to school. That would be far better than being stuck in the same car with him.

“You should be compensating me for last night, not snapping at me just because I’m trying to talk.”

I turned my head and raised an eyebrow. “What?”

“Well, you play the innocent girl in front of Zach, but don’t think you can pull that off with me.”

“Are you insane?”

“What if I told you I am insane—because of you?” He glanced at me for a second as the car stopped at a red light. “What can I say? You left me hanging—I was so close to climax.”

My eyes widened at his words.

We hadn’t said a word about what happened last night. I thought he understood there was no need to bring it up again.

The light changed, and Max drove forward, merging into the bustling morning traffic of New York. I started counting every skyscraper we passed just to keep my mind off how badly I wanted to get out of this damn car.

“So… you really have no intention of making it up to me?”

Max was certifiably insane.

Maybe I should tell Zach to consider kicking this psycho out of the apartment.

“Relax, Zoe. Your secret’s safe with me, and I’ll make sure Zach never finds out a thing about his sweet, innocent little sister.”

As if he could read my thoughts, he suddenly brought up Zach.

I narrowed my eyes at him suspiciously. “Are you trying to blackmail me?”

Honestly, I hated the fact that I was in this car with this asshole. I would’ve much rather taken a taxi or even a crowded, stinky bus. At least I wouldn’t be alone with someone I loathed.

“I like the idea of slipping my tongue into your mouth more.”

Shit. I could feel my blood rushing at his words.

I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t affected by everything that happened between us—we’d seen each other naked, I’d seen him have sex, and he’d seen me masturbating. All of it made me lose my mind whenever I faced him.

“I’m going to tell Zach about all of this,” I said as calmly as possible, trying to pretend I wasn’t shaken.

“Oh yeah?” Max leaned toward me. “You think I couldn’t do the same?”

I bowed my head when I realized that his lips were too close to my face, so close that I was afraid we would touch if I moved even slightly.

“Are you going to stir me up?”

“It depends on how good your lips are at making a deal with me,”

“I’m not responsible for what happened last night, damn it!” I wanted to push this man away from me, but I couldn’t do it because my hands would shake if I touched him.

Damn it. I don’t want to touch anything!

I don’t want to touch his chest and let my hands feel his hard body. I saw everything last night and I can confirm that this man does have a hard and… hot body.

“Oh yeah?” Max stared at me with his sharp eyes.

From the way he looked at me, everyone would immediately realize that this man was a womanizer. He was a playboy who could get any woman with his gaze and words.

Unfortunately, I was just a teenage girl who didn’t understand adult life very well. I felt… crazy just from his gaze!

“Yes!” I said it with a trembling voice. Even though the car was equipped with the darkest tinted windows, it was still possible that someone might notice the engine was still running while the passengers hadn’t gotten out yet. “And… you’ve also bothered me, so I guess we’re even!”

Max chuckled at my last sentence, “When were you playing with your fingers?”

“Damn it!” This time, I couldn’t hold back my curse.

“You could have something more enjoyable if you let me use my fingers and tongue, sweetheart.” He leaned closer, his lips near my ear, whispering softly, “There’s something even more enjoyable if you let me touch you.”

I closed my eyes as his breath brushed against my ear and the back of my neck.

Vaguely, I could feel his hand guiding mine to touch the hardened part of his thigh.

I was only 17 years old, but I knew what all this meant. I knew what was happening to this man, causing the part of his thigh to harden in my grip.

For God’s sake! I could feel my heart racing along with Max’s kiss on my neck, wet and cold, sending a pleasant sensation throughout my body.

Then the kiss moved down toward the edge of my neck and chest, while his hand was on my thigh, gently caressing it, making my blood rush.

I… couldn’t stop any of this.

My mind replayed the moment when Max touched his woman in the bathroom. And damn it… I craved the same touch.

“So, do you allow me, little girl?”