40. MAX

Chapter forty

MAX

W e made love tenderly, beautifully. It was everything I could have wanted. Afterward, I lay on top of Eddie, my body pressed against his, our breaths meeting as my mouth lazily found his and put repeated pecks on his lips. The room was bathed in a soft, hazy evening light, casting long shadows across the space. We knew we didn't have long before Jared got back.

My heart was still pounding after sex, and I lavished in our intimacy in those moments afterward. Beads of sweat fell from my forehead onto his face, making him groan and laugh at once.

Eddie's arm moved up over my back and drew small circles along my spine. His touch felt so comforting. His legs were wrapped around mine.

I marveled at how close I felt to him, how entirely connected. In that quiet time after lovemaking, I found that the turmoil of our recent lives had vanished.

I was at peace.

Finally, I lifted myself above him more, though still lying on his body. Gazing into his eyes, I felt a surge of love for him, a profound sense of gratitude that we had found a way back to each other.

"Are you happy?" he asked me.

I shifted my body so that my weight fell completely on his, and he laughed as I pushed my hard stomach muscles out against his belly, as a joke, making him giggle.

"I'm very happy."

A soft, sweetly shy smile tugged at the corners of his lips. He lifted his fingers from my back, tracing delicate patterns until his hand swept over the back of my head, playing with my thick hair.

As we lay there a moment, I was thinking about all the change that was ahead, in my life: going to New York, living with Eddie, maybe film school, maybe a new career.

"Do you really think I should sell my grandma's house?" I asked.

He mulled it over.

"It's up to you. I mean, just rent it out for a couple of years if you want."

"How much do you think it's worth?" I asked.

"A few hundred grand, I guess," he replied.

I had no idea it was so much.

" What ?"

"Yeah, I looked at houses when I was wondering about what to do with Jared. Plus, isn't your area where all the hipsters live now?"

"So they say."

He laughed and kissed me briefly.

"That will get you through film school. And you know, I earn good money."

I gave a mock scandalized laugh.

"I can't live off you!"

I was teasing him. He knew it. Eddie paused.

"Just rent it out. You could get a couple of thousand bucks a month from it, maybe. That would pay for a lot of stuff. I'm sure we could cope with that."

Just then, the sound of a woman's voice echoed through the house.

"Eddie, where the hell are you?"

It was Julianne.

We both sprang up from the bed. We were both completely naked. My body was covered in sweat. The bedsheets were pulled and creased in every direction. In other words, it was very clear we were just having sex.

"Jeez, it's Julianne," he cried, racing to collect up his clothes.

"How did she get in?" I asked.

"She must have come round the back. The back door is still open. Jeez!" Eddie cried frantically. "You're stark naked. Put your shorts on!"

We scrambled to dress, our movements so hurried that they actually ended up becoming clumsy. The absurdity of the situation hit me, and I couldn't help but burst into laughter.

"Stop laughing!" he cried. "Stop laughing!" And something about ordering me to do that made him laugh, too.

She must have heard us.

" Eddie ?"

Seconds later, we could hear Julianne's footsteps on the stairs, her voice calling out for us. "Are you here?" she asked, just in time to appear at my bedroom door.

She stood there, her gaze sweeping over us. Eddie was clad only in a T-shirt, underwear, and one sock, and I was wearing nothing but my shorts and my body glazed with sweat.

I shifted uncomfortably under Julianne's stare. For a brief moment, a cold silence hung in the air.

"Hey, Julianne," Eddie said, his voice falsely cheery. "How are you doing?"

Her expression was all disbelief.

"What the hell is going on here?"

Eddie faltered. I could hear the words catching in his throat, so it was me who spoke.

"I'm in love with your cousin, Julianne," I said. "I love him more than I have ever loved anyone, and we were just having sex, and it was amazing."

Julianne's eyes grew wide. And then she began to smile.

" I knew it !" she exclaimed.