Chapter 12

CHAPTER TWELVE

IVY

Max was unexpected in every single aspect.

He was kind and caring.

He was hard working and dedicated to his team.

He was a total gentleman who made my blood boil with desire.

I was going mad because no matter how many times I slipped my hand between my legs and touched myself imagining it was his fingers teasing me and made myself orgasm, it was never enough. That sizzling chemistry between us kept cracking.

Did he feel the same way, though?

I slept in his hoodie and imagined he was by my side.

And I wasn't.

I rubbed my eyes and blinked at the guy sleeping on the other side of the bed. Max discarded his T-shit sometime during the night complaining about the heat in the room. I wore his hoodie and shorts to sleep, but the body heat coming from him kept me hot.

Admiring his tanned and toned chest, I wished I could run a hand over his sculpted muscles. He wasn't bulky at all, and I wondered how it would feel to touch him.

"You're staring," Max mumbled, his face pushed into the pillow, messy hair falling over. "Gosh, your room feels like hell. No wonder Ander enjoyed being here."

Despite the mention of my ex, I chuckled, and Max glanced at me.

"Good morning, Blossom."

"Morning," I offered him a half-sleepy smile. This was our first time in my childhood home. But this wasn't the first time we shared a bed. We kept a pillow between us to divide the bed equally and avoid any touching. It was Max's idea.

Max kicked the thin sheet off him and stood. "I'm desperate for coffee. What do you want for breakfast?"

I watched his upper body stretch and his muscles tighten, when something else caught my eye. His boxers were strained.

I cleared my throat, my eyes focused on the beast he was taming in his boxers, as he swiftly adjusted himself. Images of us tangled up on the beach yesterday flashed in my mind and I could finally confirm what I felt was indeed real.

"Morning wood, don't worry about it," he muttered, embarrassment in his voice, and when I glanced up, I saw his cheeks flush. "I'm gonna go to the bathroom. You make coffee?"

I nodded, the throbbing between my legs intensifying. "Yep. Sounds good."

Max threw an uncertain look my way. "Don't' worry about it. I would never do anything to make you feel uncomfortable. I wouldn't…"

"I trust you," I blurted out to stop his gentlemanly speech, when all I wanted from him was to fuck me hard.

I was a slut.

He was here to help me with Ander and my insecurities, and all I could think about was getting laid.

It wasn't fair and I had to keep my shit together.

"Thank you, but I haven't earned your trust yet."

I wanted to scream at him to stop being so fucking perfect and saying the right thing all the time, but I remained silent.

The sizzling electricity was humming between us as our eyes connected and the world fell apart. Gone was the soft cricketing from the birds, gone was Daisy's rummaging through her room next door. Everything faded in the background as we held each other's eyes.

"I-I'll get the coffee going," I offered, returning to the safest topic. "You take care of yourself…"

"I'll just shower, I wouldn't…" He looked horrified by the idea of masturbating in my shower.

"Whatever you want," I shrugged, jumping off the bed and heading toward the main door. "I will be outside. See you in the living room… and don't forget your T-shirt."

Max grimaced and headed to the bathroom.

Guilt knotted my stomach as I listened to the shower turning on and I walked back to the bed, laying on my back. My heart throbbed in my chest as I listened to the noises of the bathroom. Faint rustling with clothes. Heavy footsteps. Creaking of the shower door.

Anticipation built inside me as I reached my hand under my sleeping shorts and my fingers found my clit with ease. Circling it, I pressed my finger over my clit, gasping with pleasure.

A muffled grunt came from the shower as a response to my silent moan, and I could see it all in front of me—Max leaning against the shower wall, palming his long and thick cock, and jerking off as the cold water beat down his sweaty and hot body.

I slipped two fingers inside and started pumping to the rhythm of the falling water and small groans. My desire coated my fingers, and it was embarrassing how wet I was just imagining him jerking off.

My climax came unexpectedly, and I quickly pushed my face into the nearby pillow as my body shook with its release. All my tensed muscles suddenly relaxed and my legs shook more than they did after my failed attempt of a half marathon.

I barely noticed the sound of the water stopping as I caught my breath and removed my hands from my panties.

"You're still here?" Max's voice filled the room, scaring me.

Water dripped from his hair and slid down his toned tanned chest as he was wearing his boxers again. Gosh, it was unfair how hot he looked.

He arched a brow as I ogled his body.

"Yeah," I muttered slowly. "Sorry, just saw a story from Daisy and I was having a mental breakdown," I came up with the stupidest excuse to explain my messy looks and why my face was buried in my pillow. Hopefully, he wasn't going to ask to see it.

"Oh," he acknowledged my struggles with a shrug, as he pulled out a white T-shirt and jeans from his duffle. "I'm starving. Shall we grab breakfast in that brunch place you rave about?"

"Yes! You'll love it." How endearing it is to finally have someone who listens to everything.

He flashed me a sweet smile as he got dressed. "I'll wait in the living room," he offered, zipping up his bag.

I nodded as he closed the door behind him and I buried my face back into the pillow, muffling a frustrated scream.

Why did I feel so guilty over masturbating? It just felt wrong. He was the sweetest person I'd ever met. Caring and kind. And it was wrong.

Yet, the little devil on my shoulder reminded me he was masturbating as well.

"Fuck this," I muttered as I turned back to stare at Max, who sat across me with an amused smile.

I wanted to be half as unbothered with life as he was. But I couldn't contain my frustration as I watched Daisy and Ander walk into the same coffee shop where we were. She only knew about this place because I showed it to her and Ander rarely wanted to come here with me when we visited. Something about brunch being stupid was his usual excuse. Yet, here he was, holding my sister's hand and smiling at her. I was sure it wasn't a coincidence.

Nausea hit my stomach, and I grimaced.

"They're heading our way," Max warned me as he grabbed my hand over the top of the table.

"Fancy seeing you guys here!" Daisy squeaked and threw her arms around me. All this hugging was still new to me. "I thought you might be having a much longer lay-in in the morning before the drive back. But I guess great minds think alike and we all wanted the same brunch."

I caught a glimpse of Max's annoyed face before her blonde hair obstructed my view. They were both still in the room when we went downstairs and my parents had some SPA appointment so we decided to have brunch before the drive back.

"Hey, Aarons," Ander greeted my fake boyfriend somewhere in the background and I couldn't resist peeking up to see Max standing up to shake Ander's hand. Talk about behind the bigger person.

"Sanchez."

Ander scoffed, and I haven't realized previously how often he's done it.

Daisy let go of me, moving next to her boyfriend. "We should all sit together. I haven't had the chance to grill Max about his intentions with my sister," she told us both.

The grin Max flashed her was not the comforting sweet one he used on me. It was feral with underlying tension in it.

"I'd love nothing more," he sweet-talked, but no one caught the slight sarcasm.

My sister batted her eyelashes at him, testing the ground. She was wearing a very familiar white puffy sleeved dress and high heels.

"Is that my dress?" I accused her with a gasp. "I've been looking for it everywhere…"

"You left it at my place," Ander replied calmly as they took a seat opposite of me and Max slid into the booth next to me. His arm rested behind me and his fingers brushed my exposed skin.

I felt underdressed, without makeup and wearing jean shorts and a tank top. It was supposed to be a casual brunch, yet it was turning into circus.

"I tried it on and loved it," Daisy shrugged. "It looks good on me, right?"

I swallowed hard on the bitter words that where ready to fly out my mouth and instead nodded.

"Your blue dress is much prettier," Max muttered in my ear, but made sure everyone heard it.

Daisy's cheeks flushed, and I felt bad that I was bringing her down. Yet, Max didn't make a negative comment at my sister. He was making an objective observation on the dress.

"Yeah, I love that one." I nodded, smiling at him. His palm rested on my shoulder and his fingers teased my skin, drawing small circles. "But it does look great on you. You can keep it, Daisy."

Ander's face mirrored pure disgust at our exchange, but thankfully, the waitress arrived to take our order.

Ander ordered pancakes with maple syrup and bacon; an acai bowl for Daisy. I ordered an avocado toast and milkshake, while Max picked the salmon and egg toast with a side of fries for us to share.

"Isn't that too much food?" Ander asked, glancing at me after I put in my order.

My chest tightened as anxiety raced through my veins and panic gripped my throat. "No… it's…" I started to defend myself, but Max gripped my shoulder tighter, stopping me from talking.

"You're right, we should share a pancake stack," he interrupted and waved at the waitress. "Chocolate and hazelnut to match your milkshake?" His dark eyes held my gaze and a calming wave washed over me as he drew me in.

"Sounds perfect," I said, my voice barely a whisper.

Ander scoffed. "You'll need to do a lot of cardio."

"You know what they say, sex is the best cardio," Max retorted with a deadly sweet smile. "And we can go for a run as well."

Daisy looked from Max to Ander and finally to me before she glanced back at Ander. Concern swam in her hooded gaze as she shifted next to him.

I placed my hand on Max's thighs and gripped it. We shouldn't be pushing Ander, not when Daisy looked that uncomfortable. Guilt knotted my stomach, and catching Max's eyes, I gave him a subtle shake of my head.

Food arrived, and we silently dug into our meals. Daisy devouring her acai bowl, as Max and I shared some sweet smiles and looks.

He stole my milkshake, wrapped his lips around my used straw and groaned with pleasure, before he dipped a fry in it and gave it to me to try it.

"I would have never tried that combination," I confessed as he fed me two more fries. "It actually tastes good."

"Were you questioning my taste?" He grinned, pleased with himself that he managed to pull me out of my head and put me at ease with my ex and sister across us.

"Gross." Daisy grimaced, pushing her bowl away from herself. "I would never eat that."

"You're missing out." I shrugged as I cut a piece of my avocado toast and offered it to Max.

He bit down on my fork and smiled. "I'll have to get that next time."

The words next time made my stomach flutter.

"I'll pay," Ander said as they cleared the plates. "My treat, Aarons."

Max chuckled, pulling me closed to his side. "Already got the bill, but appreciate it. We should get going, it was great to spend time with you two. We should do this again soon."

"Definitely," Ander clipped as we stood.

Max offered me his hand, helping me up, and we remained with our fingers interlaced as I waved bye to Daisy and made our exit.

Max's shoulders relaxed when we stepped outside into the sun and let out a long breath.

"I ate so freaking much," he muttered as he opened my car door.

"That's your conclusion?"

"Yep. Let's do something fun when we get back, we both need a distraction."

Nodding, I slumped against the window and stared back at the coffee shop watching Ander and Daisy. I couldn't shake the bad feeling wrapping its arms around me as I watched them. It felt like I have already seen that movie and I knew way too well how it ended.

MAX

"How did you beat me again?" Dex groaned, throwing the controller on the table. The glass on the tabletop rattled from the force, and Ivy grinned.

"I'm just better than you."

I wrapped my arm around her, giving her a small kiss on her cheeks. "Good job, Blossom."

She beamed, her cheeks where my lips touched her turning a shade of pink.

After the suffocating brunch, I decided to bring her back to our place and indulge her in some video games. I got beaten by both of them, which was why after the first round, I decided to just watch Ivy beat Dex over and over. It was great seeing him not thrive against someone. His ego needed that. Plus, pride filled my chest at how good Ivy was at these games.

That was my girl.

But it wasn't.

Not really.

Maddox, Andrew, and Oliver gathered in the living room, talking but watching the Mario Kart competition unfolding.

"One more," Dex said the same thing he was repeating the past couple of rounds.

Ivy laughed, and her carefree laughter wrapped around me like a warm hug. She needed this.

Glancing at my way, she silently asked for my permission, making me feel uncomfortable. "You can play as many rounds as you want," I muttered, ignoring the fact that I needed to do homework and maybe even hit the gym after all the breakfast I consumed to make a point with Ander.

But I knew I made the right call when she picked up her little wheel of a controller and hit start.

"Let me show you how it's done, Derek."

Ivy winked at me. My chest felt tight despite the heartwarming scene unfolding in front of me. I should have been happy my girlfriend was getting on with my best friend. However, she was not my girlfriend. Yet the way Ander looked at her today made my blood boil. I got angry, and I wanted to show him how he should have treated her right.

I've never felt anger like that. It consumed me, and I was usually a very calm person, who kept all his emotions in check. I never lost my cool. Not on the field and not off the field. And especially not over a chick I was fake dating.

But I couldn't deny that with every day spent with Ivy, she was slowly getting under my skin. Somehow, she got me, and that was a first.

We were both using each other, yet, it felt different.

I couldn't explain what I was feeling. Not quite yet, but it wasn't what I knew I was supposed to feel.

My phone vibrated and I stared at the name. Not who I wanted to talk to, but I knew I needed to get this conversation out of the way.

"I need to take this," I informed no one in particular, and planting a small kiss on Ivy's hand, I answered the call. "Hey, Coach McCarthy."

"Max, you're a hard player to track down." His voice sounded cheerful yet sincere.

"Sorry about that. Didn't mean to ditch your calls but school got busy and my weekend was packed," I omitted the truth, and he hummed.

"I know, I didn't have the university experience but I'm sure school didn't really get in your way that much." He was smiling based on how his words seemed prolonged. "Rumor has it you found yourself a girlfriend."

I swallowed hard. "Thought you are above rumors."

"I like to entertain them every once in a while," Sky said. "So, is it true."

"Yes… kind of," I muttered. It was embarrassing mentioning a girlfriend to my coach. Especially since it was all fake. "I mean… I know everyone is freaking out because of Thalia," I addressed the reason behind his question. "But Ivy is different."

"I'm sure she is, if you decided to jump into it," he replied after a short pause. "I just wanted to make sure you are keeping your head in the game. And to talk about that wanna-be goal pass you made."

I exhaled loudly. "Yeah, that was a bad judgment call."

"We, midfielders, go through this. Learning to draw the line between scoring and passing it on. You learn by making mistakes, and next time, you will recognize the right decision sooner. I know you are unhappy with your decision, but I know in the long run, it leads you to make better decisions. You grow as a player from making mistakes. No one is perfect."

Some of the weight from my chest lifted from his words, and I felt more at ease than at the start of the conversation. I needed to hear him say it. It wasn't enough Coach Parker said it, or my teammates, or Ivy. I needed to hear it from Coach McCarthy.

"Thanks," I muttered, swallowing the big lump in my throat. "I was upset over it."

"Don't be… you got an even score, you still lead in points. It's fine." He punctuated the last two words with such force I almost cracked a smile. "That being said, have you heard from the National Team?"

"Nope. Not yet. Have you heard anything?"

"Me neither. But I'll keep my ears open."

"Thank you." I sighed. "Are you coming down any time soon?"

"I'll be with you guys on Friday," he said, cheerfully. "We need to work on mashing that midfield a bit more, plus I'm bringing my son on a university tour."

"Shit, Eric's going to be a freshman next year." I grinned.

"Don't even remind me." He laughed. "I'll need you to keep an eye on him."

"You got it," I said, knowing that we were both fully aware I was the most mature out of all the players on the team. No matter their age.

"I'll see you next week, so until then, stay out of trouble."

"I always do."

Currently, trouble was sitting in my living room, hanging out with my team. I wasn't sure if it was going to blow up in our faces or not.