Chapter 8

CHAPTER EIGHT

IVY

Two months with him.

It was the perfect caption for the short video and intimate looking pictures I posted from our heated moment in the backyard. Technically, its been two months since the half marathon in July hence our anniversary and I wanted to stick to that story. I didn't expect to fuel the name calling, but after the post and Daisy's public tantrum walking on campus was painful.

Especially with Ander's watchful eyes following me wherever I went. He didn't dare approach me, but it didn't stop him from further straining my relationship with Daisy.

But all of it faded away when I looked at the photo of Max and I that I used as a screensaver, just to annoy everyone who came close enough to me to see it. It was one of the twenty Derek took, and the intensity of our stares made desire pool in my stomach. We had scorching chemistry. But I was curious to see how it would feel to kiss him.

My body ached just by thinking of him.

I shouldn't think about him in a sexual way or even in a remotely romantic way. It was strictly business. Nothing less, nothing more.

Yet, my body didn't get the memo.

My phone pinged with an incoming message from Max with a blue heart emoji, and I glanced at it as I twirled in my chair, enjoying the dim light of the computer science lab. Data Mining was one of my new classes and it was looking to be a tough one, but I welcomed the challenge.

Max

What are you doing?

My afternoon practice is cut short as we have a game this Friday.

In the past days, we had exchanged couple of texts and went on a coffee and a lunch date during school hours, but I hadn't slept over nor were we seen kissing. Max did however send flowers to my apartment making Kaia swoon over them and I even posted them on my socials. Tonight, was our first official date night, the one we planned to have every Thursday. Nerves knotted my stomach, and I quickly snatched my phone, opening his message.

Just finishing up my data mining homework.

Max

Data mining? I can't even find a mining emoji.

That's because you never use emojis.

Max

Now my most recent one is a green heart… thanks to what I needed to put next to your name.

I remembered the tantrum he threw when I told him I had to be called ‘Ivy' in his phone with an emoji. He ended up naming me Blossom and added a green heart, despite my suggestion to use the pink one. Baby steps. He was a psycho who had everyone saved under their full name, and only Dex and Maddox had their nicknames, along with his parents.

You'll survive. What's the plan for today?

Max

It's a date. It's supposed to be a surprise. Wear something comfortable and come whenever you are done. I'll be at home.

Giving my flowery dress and white Vans a once-over, I decided I'm dressed comfortably enough. I never would have dared wearing anything like this with Ander; he always encouraged very short shorts, skirts or dresses and crop tops.

I snapped a quick picture for Kaia and asked her opinion about my outfit.

K

No. No. No. Are you a granny? What is that knitted sweater? Absolutely not. Wear jeans and crop top.

I wore that on our coffee and lunch date. Literally that's all I've been wearing around him.

K

At least ditch the sweater. I'm sure he will warm you up if you get cold.

Two hours later, I walked into the home of the Titans.

"Hello, rival team's ex," Nico greeted me. I remembered his green eyes and the malice in them from the last time. "Long time, no see."

"Nico." I offered him a smile. I dated a bully for two years; I could surely handle one more. "Good to see you."

"Feeling's not mutual." He grinned lazily, leaning against the staircase, his arms crossed. "What brings you here?"

"I came to see my boyfriend ," I said, the word boyfriend feeling strange on my lips. "Have you seen him?"

"Upstairs." He nodded toward the next floor, his gaze lingering on me, challenging me to go past him.

I squared my shoulders, but before I could move, Max appeared on the top.

"Blossom." He looked at me with his sweetest smile. "I was just about to get you. I thought you needed eight minutes."

"No traffic." I smiled at him, and I hoped I didn't let on how creepy I found Nico.

"Great." He strolled down the stairs, throwing a passing glance at Nico.

My eyes drank him in, and I couldn't tear my gaze from him. He wore his signature jeans, with a simple white T-shirt and white Converse, but the way his eyes sparked with mischief sucked me in. "Hey, you," he greeted me again as we stood toe to toe. I was painfully aware of his presence and the way he towered over. He brushed his nose against mine and planted a small kiss in the corner of my mouth, barely brushing my lips.

I lost the ability to speak as his pine scent filled my nose.

Max grinned like he knew exactly the effect he had on me. He wrapped his arms around me and pulled me closer.

"I want to show you something in my room," he muttered, but the way Nico stood motionless on the stairs told me he was eavesdropping.

My hands fisted around his shirt, and I buried my face deep into his neck, finding the source of his divine smell.

"Very smooth." I chuckled.

"Come on." He tugged on my hand and took me upstairs. We passed the passive aggressive looking Nico.

"What do you want to show me?" I teased him as he guided me to his room, and we quickly slipped inside.

"I have a gift for you."

I gaped and looked around. "Do you want to do it outside in front of others?"

Max shook his head. "It's nothing crazy, don't worry. It's something that you will need and I promised you."

He dragged out a jersey from his bag. Max 8 . My throat closed up, and I swallowed slowly.

"Since you said you wanted to attend the game on Friday," he explained, handing me the jersey. "I think this color will suite you better anyway than the burgundy."

"This is yours?"

"Yes… no." Max shrugged. "I asked for an extra for you. I have never worn it."

Disappointed, I forced a nod. Of course. He wasn't going to give me his own shirt, the one that smelled like him. This was all a fa?ade, after all.

"I also got you a hoodie," he said and pulled out a blue hoodie and a white one as well. One had the team's name Titan's printed on it while the other had their logo. "So you can switch around."

I smiled. The sour taste of disappointment turned my stomach. Both hoodies were untouched.

"They are my size, so they should be oversize."

"Thank you."

He studied my face and pushed his hands in his pockets. "Everything okay?"

"Yes, of course. I really appreciate you got them for me… let me know how much I owe you…" I trailed off.

"Blossom, it's a gift."

"Thank you."

"Leave them here." Max motioned. "We can pick it up after our date."

"What is the plan?"

"Surprise, but I hope you will love it… I'm actually excited for it."

Arching a brow at him, I left the stuff on the bed and followed him outside. Our hands interwind automatically as we stepped on the corridor and made our way downstairs. "Now I'm intrigued. A date that you actually look forward do? Suspicious… are we going to play soccer or watch soccer?"

Max laughed, throwing his head back. "My goal today is to prove it to you I'm more than just my soccer."

"Good luck. You literally told me you don't have a hobby."

"I've been thinking about that," he said as we crossed the driveway toward his Range Rover. "I think running is a hobby, and look at the bright side, we both share a hobby. We must be a match made in heaven."

I couldn't help but smile, not when he was talking such non-sense in such a sweet way. He stopped by the passenger side and opened the door for me, helping me up the step to his car. Carefully, I climbed in, and Max waited until I settled in before closing the door.

It was strange, having the door opened for me, when there was no one to witness his move. But then I remembered that he told me his mother taught him to be respectful with women and this was him being his usual self. This wasn't him trying to impress me.

After buckling in, he handed me his phone. "You can pick the music, but I swear to God if you put on Taylor Swift, you are banned for life. Don't gamble away my blind trust."

"That's a tough job." I opened his Spotify and my eyes caught his neatly organized playlists. Running, Gym, Pre-Game, Post-Game, Travel, Party and Other. "Wow, you're a playlist guy."

"Why is everyone surprised? Everyone uses my phone for music and I have to have them split in categories. Most people dump them in the favorites. Like how am I supposed to find my music in one long list?"

"Makes sense… but… do you ever shuffle your playlist?" I teased him.

Max threw me a dark glance. "All the time actually. Otherwise, I would know the order. I like to live on the edge."

"Very dangerous." I laughed and settled on his Travel playlist. Surprisingly, I was met with an array of upbeat R&B and Pop music. "How long is the drive?"

"One hour if we don't hit traffic," he said, lifting his left leg to causally rest on the door pocket as he drove. "And no… still not telling you where we are going."

"You're unbelievable."

"Yep." Max popped the ‘p'. "This is our time to get to know each other. So, tell me, did you research me as you promised you would?"

He teased me about the message I sent him wanting to know more about his soccer past.

"You didn't change too much," I replied, thinking of his cute round face and curly hair. "What happened with your curls?"

"Outgrew them."

I pulled my legs under me, making myself comfortable for the journey. "You looked cuter with them, more innocent, but based on what you told me about yourself you are still quite innocent and sweet," I teased.

"I prefer the term nice or gentleman."

"You are like a golden retriever."

"I'm not blonde." He laughed. "Please don't tell me you're a romance reader and you know all these terms."

"Nope, I prefer movies. I guess, you would qualify more for a cinnamon roll hero."

"I think we need to have a conversation about your data mining class. It seems fascinating."

I leaned my head against the headrest and watched his profile—his sharp jawline and impossibly long lashes that fanned his chocolate eyes. "Data mining is fun, because it's actually about analyzing a large batch of data and finding patterns from them and making predictions."

Max blinked. "That sounds like us analyzing the other team's footage and trying to predict what their strategy will be and how to best prepare to beat them."

My jaw almost hit the floor at how quickly he got it and translated it down for himself to understand. There was no denying he was smart. "Something like that but with data."

"Data can be anything," he argued. "Depending on what you analyze."

"Damn." I grinned. "I wasn't used to guys having a brain."

"You mean, guys using their original brain?" He winked.

Heat flushed my cheeks, and I quickly shook my head. "How was your week?"

"Not too bad," he admitted and proceeded to give me a short rundown on all the things he had done in school, his classes and practice. We were still borderline of being friends yet strangers, trying to talk about regular things with enough detail.

Max drummed his fingers on the steering wheel and bobbed his head to the rhythm. My heart did a little happy dance in my chest, watching him relax that way in my presence and being fully himself. I didn't think twice before I lifted the phone and captured him in a short video.

"Give me your hand." His sudden voice almost caused me to drop the phone, but I obeyed and watched as he took my hand in his and instead of lacing our fingers or kissing it, he placed it on his thigh. Slowly pulling his hand away, he left mine pressed to his leg, muscles flexing under my fingers, and he laid his own on top of mine. It was always the guy who placed a hand on the girl's leg and everyone always took pictures like that. But this was new, different. Yet, it felt like us , albeit fake. "Now, you can take a video."

I was annoyed at how easily my body reacted to his. It wasn't an intimate position yet the way I could imagine his manhood being close to me, all I had to do was extend my fingers and I could graze him made me flush.

I was never sex crazy, but my body had its own mind when it came to Maximilian Aarons. I just had to keep reminding it that it was all my idea. I got us into this mess, and I had to be the one keeping the boundaries intact.

For both of our sakes.

"You've got to be kidding me," I squeaked as I looked around the huge arcade. A gaming arcade.

"Thought you might need to let out some steam. Plus, I heard you learn a lot about people when you see them lose."

"You think you will beat me? Not a chance, bro."

"Ouch." Max laughed. "I'm not your bro, Blossom."

That stupid nickname did something funny to my heart every time he said it.

"Let's set some ground rules… we alternate picking games, and whoever wins the most games in total pays for dinner."

"Thought this was a date… you should be paying dinner if this is a date."

"I thought you never lose." Max arched his brow. "If that's true, I'm paying dinner anyway."

I grimaced, but I couldn't stay angry at him for long, because this was the sweetest fake date idea ever. I loved going to the arcade, which Ander knew about during freshman year, but him being a soccer sensation, going to places like this was below him. He called this childish and stupid.

"Ladies first." He motioned to the big space in front of us. There were various video game machines lined up against the wall, couple sports ones mixed in between. A big pool table and air hockey took up the space at the front, and in the back, I saw some car racing, motorcycles and other interactive games. "There's bowling, dodgem and other stuff on the level below as well."

"We are starting with a classic." I grabbed his hand and bounced toward the back.

"You're joking…"

"Nope. Dance battle to warm up."

Max groaned. "Fine… I can still win."

"You think way too highly of yourself," I cooed as we cut through the crowd of teenagers and some fleeing college students our age to get to the dance battle machine.

Max supplied the coins for us to start the game, and leaning against the machine, he patiently waited as I picked a song.

"So, you like dancing, surfing, running and you are a total nerd," he summarized my main hobbies with a smirk.

"I'm full of surprises."

"And most likely shit… no one can be good at that many things."

I shrugged. "It's way better than putting yourself in a box and being just a soccer player."

He contemplated my words, but his response was interrupted as I decided on a song. Bruno Mars's "That's What I Like" started, and I raised my brows. "Ready?"

Max stepped on his box and focused his attention on the screen.

The arrows started lighting up. Soon enough, I realized by trying to pick an impossibly hard and quick song I wasn't familiar with was backfiring on me only. Max whistled through the song next to me and moved with such fluidity and ease like he'd been doing this his whole life.

Panting, I struggled keeping up or hitting the arrow with the right amount of force for it to register. By the time the song ended, I was sweating, and we ended up having similar points, but Max collected more of them.

"I think… I just wiped the floor with you, Blossom." He grinned, throwing an arm around my shoulders.

His condescending tone made me grimace, as he pointed at the Air Hockey. "Ready to get smashed?"

"You know… you are supposed to let me win… if this is a date," I muttered as he steered me toward the next game.

Max laughed, and the sound sent shivers down my spine.

He whispered in my ears in a raspy voice, "We are fake dating, Blossom. I don't need to let you win." He straightened and grinned. "Plus, letting you win would be an insult to you. And I respect you."

I shook my head as a part of me wished I have had met Max sooner and fell for him instead of Ander.

We tied in the end, and Max paid for our dinner of burgers, fries, chicken wings and milkshake. I haven't had this much fun in a while and I enjoyed spending time with him far from the craziness of our universities and getting to know a different side of him. Despite Max claiming he was only good at soccer, he was pretty good at all the games.

"One more picture," I muttered, staring at the selfie he took of us, but I didn't like how my hair looked.

Max made a silly face and leaned in again.

"Ugh, I look horrible," I complained as he snapped another one. "It's my face."

He pulled me to his chest, and my face met his neck. His pine scent filled my nose and my body immediately relaxed. His lips brushed my forehead, and I didn't even notice he was taking pictures of us as I explored the scent of his soap and cologne. "Do you approve of this?"

"That's cute."

"Hurray!" Max exhaled, his arm still holding me in place. "I'll post it this time."

"Look at you, becoming a social media guru," I teased him as I watched him enter the app, upload the picture and caption it a simple: Date night. "Emoji," I reminded him before he hit post. "And tag me."

"Okay, Instagram police," he teased me. "By the way, I loved the pictures you took of our practice," he went on, showing me the photo he posted yesterday of him shirtless, one foot resting on the ball. I went to watch their practice and he looked so hot in the setting sun I couldn't resist snapping some pics of him to post. "My agent is getting his hopes up that he can finally get me sponsorships and force me into posting stuff."

"You're welcome." I grinned. "If you get sponsorships, I promise to help you post. You know… put the marketing side of my degree to use."

He rolled his eyes. "But honestly, thanks. You revived my account and finally everyone stopped giving me shit."

I was glad to help out since this was meant to be a mutually beneficial arrangement.

"Don't be too generous with your thanks yet," I muttered. "It's my mom's birthday in two weeks. After your game. Will you… come home with me?"

"It was part of the deal." He nodded, his sweet smile lighting up his face. "Of course, I'll go. Are you nervous?"

"A bit," I admitted. "Haven't talked to Daisy since she found out about us and I have no idea where we stand. I mean, I know our relationship is nonexistent at this point, but still… she is still my sister. I love her, but at the same time, I want to protect her from Ander. It's just hard to do it."

"They always say that the road to hell was paved with good intentions… I guess she needs to learn this on her own." Max shrugged. "It must be hard watching her make the same mistakes you did, but think about it… would you have believed anyone two years ago if they told you the truth about Ander?"

I contemplated his words and shook my head. "No… I wouldn't have. He has this way… to make you believe whatever he wants."

"I figured. You just need to let it play out, and you can be there in the shadows watching over her. But you can't always protect the people you love from making mistakes. All you can do is be there for them afterwards."

Pushing away my milkshake, I turned to face him. "Do you think I'm making a mistake?"

"I told you the first day I think this is crazy. But hey, you sold me on it, and for my own selfish reasons, the answer is no. But I do understand your reasons as well. I just think… this is more of a revenge relationship I a saving Daisy one."

He was reading me like an open book.

"Hey, revenge is a dish best served hot." I laughed at his saying.

"Just because I don't believe in revenge doesn't mean your reasons and your feelings are not valid, Blossom. They are, and the only thing that matters is for you to be able to deal with the situation. I'm here for you."

I was dancing on the fine line of falling for him as he was being the perfect dreamy boyfriend even without trying to be. His actions spoke louder than his words. Yet, when he acknowledged my feelings and didn't discredit them, it did something to my heart. It mended the broken parts.

Perhaps, I was more broken than I thought if a couple of nice words and simple acknowledgment of my feelings made me emotional.

Ander did pull a number on me, and I was only scrapping the surface of all the damage he did.