Chapter 8 - Glass is a liquid

NOAH 

"I have warned you to stay out of my way," Max says, pointing at my face. He lowers her hand and wraps his arms around her midsection.

“Scared that I would hit her back and maybe create a scar,” I taunted, and the girl, Nelly, looked at Max and me in surprise. It was the audacity for her.

"You better be," I said, turning away from them and walking into the school hallway. The other students kept their gazes fixed on me. It was obvious that no one had ever challenged Nelly before; talk more about Max.

"Do you know each other?" she asked from behind me, but Max dismissed the question.

Max's graduation is in two weeks, and since I fulfilled my end of the deal, he should do the same for mine. I could hardly wait for him to leave.

Taking my phone, I scrolled through the photos he had taken of us; it had recently become my latest addiction, and deep down I craved more of it. The kiss was unlike anything I had ever experienced before, and it made me smile.

Evans hasn't received any images yet; I didn't really think it was worth it at this moment. Keeping him in the dark and in beautiful silence was the best remedy for his infidelity. 

That would really get on his nerves; if he did not know the problem and why I drifted away, he would not know how to bring us back together ever again.

And I had one rule: never return to your ex-partners.

The classes ended in no time, and I was invited to the beach by Chloe.

Since she was not there yet, I sprayed some fabric on the sand and started applying sunscreen to my skin.

If there was one thing Max's world lacked, it was excitement. This was his gang’s event, and for sport they wanted to go surfing.

I was reading a book when my phone rang. It was an unknown caller, but I decided to answer it.

"Hello," I said, but there was no response from the receiver, just a noisy background.

"Hello," I asked again, but when there was no response the second time, I hung up the phone, shrugging my shoulders before returning to my book.

It's my favorite book, ‘Sheik’ by Connie Mason, and technically I have read it over ten times already. I still thought the book was fantastic, despite the Arabian duke and fiery princesses.

My hair is tied up at the nape, and my flowered bikini stands out against the backdrop of my bag. Everything looked perfect until I heard the familiar voice. His deep baritone could unknowingly cause a woman to drool.

As I am in the way, I get up to move to a different spot.

"Hey sis," Max says, holding his surfboard in one hand and his swim trunks in the other.

I fake a smile as his friends follow closely behind him. It is interesting how his two worlds collide, because none of his school friends are members of his gang, and it appears he was attempting to keep his bad boy image low-key.

"Do not go through my phone ever again," I replied, hurrying around to retrieve my crochet handbag.

“And don't go crashing my party.”

"You wish," I said as Chloe approached and we moved to a spot. "La la land," I exclaim in melodic harmony.

"It fits you," he says; he texted my mother that I was at Chloe's watching La La Land.

"Just ignore him," Chloe said as we were arranging things on the sand.

"It is fine; I can stand up for myself," I replied, pleased to have someone who clearly understands me.

As they say, one door closes and another opens. I lost one best friend, but I found another.

Chloe didn't attend the same school as I did, which was a pity, but I was sure to appreciate every moment with her.

"Bro, you missed the best part of the party," Nick said, and since we were not far away, we could clearly hear them.

“I know, man, I crashed,” I heard Max say. Nick was the guy from yesterday who savagely kissed Chloe. News tag: he was not only Chloe's boyfriend but also Max's best friend.

"Yes, I stayed up reading," Max admits, and his friends begin laughing. Typical Max would not miss a party for books, and they knew.

"Hey, do you know that glass is a liquid?" he says, and they laugh even harder. Glass is a liquid. This was a line I read in a book years back, and there was no way Max knew that.

“That is crazy, right?” he continued, but Nick hit him playfully in his chest.

"Bro, are you fucking with us?" Nick inquired.

"I am serious, the windshield you change in the garage," Max says, and I realize he is mocking me. Those were the words I said while drunk. Shame spreads across my cheeks. I thought we had agreed to stay out of each other's way.

"Pure liquid," Nick responds, and they laugh again.

"What are you smoking, bro?" the third member of the group asks, assuming Max is insane.

"Crystal," they say in unison, and at this point, I might as well enter the ground and be sealed inside.

As they remove their clothes and change into swim trunks, Max reminds them of some paperwork they needed to complete that night and suggests a time for it.

I look back, stunned by how perfectly shaped Max's buttocks are as he changes.

To Max, the change room was just an extra word added to the dictionary, and the same with his friends.Chloe's voice brings me out of my reverie.

"Perfect ass, right?" she says, and I curse because she caught me staring.

"You know, like bees to honey," she said, referring to some girls who walked up to Max, obviously upset about something.

"You did not invite us to your party," one of the girls complained.

"I saw you there," Max lied, not wanting to push the conversation further.

"Please let us come to the race tonight," the other begged with pleading eyes.

"A race?" I wondered to myself.

Max looked from the girls to me, and since I was staring blankly at him, clearly interested in the conversation, he changed the subject.

“I don't know what you are talking about,” he responded, leaving the girls stunned as they exchanged glances.

A race? I guess the golden boy had more secrets than I imagined.