When I rolled over in my bed, Max was nowhere to be found. I headed to the kitchen when I heard dishes being moved around. The bedsheet was wrapped loosely around me as I made my way towards Max, who had his lips wrapped around the bottle of wine from last night.

“I didn’t know I drove you to drink so early.” I tried to make the remark playful, but I could tell something was up. I walked up to Max, taking the bottle from him. “Tell me what’s wrong.”

“I’ve been meaning to ask you something.” I could see the wheels turning in his head, which started mine. He leaned back against the counter, taking me with him. “Tonight is Melanie’s last night in town.”

“Okay.” I had no idea where he was going with this.

“I’m throwing a party at the house.” He was throwing a going away party for his sister. That was fine. But then my heart sank because it dawned on me that he was just bringing it up now. He hadn’t asked me to go with him. I tried to pull away, but Max kept me rooted against him.

“I’ve been trying to tell you all week, but I just didn’t know how to. My parents are in town for the party.” I froze in my struggle to get out of Max’s arms. His parents. “I want you to meet them.”

Meet his parents. He hadn’t responded to me last night when I told him that I loved him, but now he was asking me to meet his parents. I didn’t know how to react, but I knew this was something that was going to have to happen at some point in time.

“Is that okay?”

“Absolutely.” I made sure to settle my voice before answering him. This would be okay. I stopped struggling to get out of his arms.

“I’ll need to leave soon to be able to go set things up, but Lilly and Erica are invited as well. You could always get with them to come over.” I thought about what he said and considered that Lilly and Erica had already known about this, too, but no one had told me. I felt left out of the group, like they were trying to purposely keep me away, but that was crazy to think. Lilly wouldn’t do that to me.

“I’ll get with Lilly to figure it out.” This time when I went to leave Max’s arms, he let me. I went back to my room, wanting to get dressed for the day. I almost didn’t feel comfortable being just wrapped in a sheet next to him now. I wanted to cover up, put that barrier between us again.

I had started putting on my underwear when I became aware that Max was standing behind me. I could feel his eyes on my body, and it reignited the fire that was there last night. I peeked over my shoulder to see him leaning against the doorframe, his arms crossed over his chest. He was watching me so closely, I pulled on my thong slower as I stood up. I wiggled my ass in front of him and heard the growl that came from his core. I continued to dress in front of him, pulling on my shorts and shirt next, choosing to go braless. It was a risk, but I knew it would drive Max crazy, and he deserved it for keeping me in the dark about tonight.

When I turned around again, I realized that Max was fully dressed, he even had shoes on. He could have left and I wouldn’t have ever known, but he stayed. It was a silver lining to the darkness that was filling my mind.

“I have to go, babe.” I reveled in his word choice, almost forgiving him. I smiled to myself, trying to hide the blush that was creeping across my face. Max came to me first, wrapping a hand around my waist and tugging me towards him. His lips crushed to mine before I could tell him goodbye. “I’ll see you later.”

I hadn’t realized I was pulled off the ground until Max put me down, and I stood there, lightheaded. It happened almost every time he kissed me now. I didn’t know if it was because I was so drawn to him, or if my body was still thinking it was a dream. I heard the door open, but before it shut, all I could hear throughout the entire apartment was Max’s voice saying, “I love you.”

* * *

I was still lying on the couch when Lilly came barreling through the door. She was talking so fast that I couldn’t keep up. I sat up looking at her, not saying a word. When she saw my expression, she stopped.

“What’s wrong?” Genuine concern was traced across her face.

“Max told me about tonight.”

Her face fell instantly. “I wanted to tell you, but Max insisted that he do it in his own time.” She rushed over to the couch. “I wasn’t expecting him to wait till today. I kept telling Greg he needed to do it sooner.”

“It’s okay.” I tried to reassure her, but it was more for myself. “I think I’m just nervous.”

“About…?” Lilly probed.

“Meeting his parents.”

She sat back, almost shocked. “I didn’t know they were coming. They haven’t been to Georgia in years.”

“Well, Max said they would be there, and he wants me to meet them.” I still didn’t know how I felt about this. Meeting the parents. This was something I never thought I would have to do again. How did I make sure they liked me? Because knowing Max and his back story, it was so important for them to like me.

“They will love you.” I tried to listen to Lilly’s words, but they didn’t soothe me. I thought back to Adam’s parents and how they had been a little wary of me. I’m a loner at heart, so apparently it showed through the first time I met them. I always tried to brush it off, but their view of me never seemed to change, even once Adam and I were married. I tried to calm my brain, because even though Max was all I should be thinking about, Adam still crept into my mind. I never meant to think about him, but then again, Adam was the only other boyfriend I ever had. It hurt that the only person in my life I could compare Max to had hurt me, but I still couldn’t be sure that Max wouldn’t do the same to me. He had completely ignored my declaration of love to him. I looked up at Lilly, knowing that she could see just how scared I was, because I was terrified of what could happen. “We’ll make them love you.”

Lilly helped me get dressed that night. We found out that Erica would be arriving early since she needed to leave early in order to get to her parents’ house. Luckily Greg and Jack had offered to pick us up tonight, and I felt relieved knowing that it wouldn’t just be Lilly bringing me to this party, even if I wasn’t that close to Greg or Jack.

The drive to Max’s house wasn’t as peaceful as I would have wanted. Greg was arguing with Lilly about something, but I didn’t have the mind to pay attention to it. I stared out the window, watching the day turn to night in a matter of minutes. I loved watching the moon peek through the clouds when there were still blue and orange hues in the sky. I hadn’t realized that we had pulled up to the house until Jack was standing outside my door. He helped me out of the car, and when I turned around everything seemed to happen in slow motion. All of the feelings that arose the first night I was here came back. I was scared, nervous, and excited in ways that I never thought I would feel again.

Max was standing on the balcony with a few other people. I stopped my walk towards the house. He looked so in his element, and I tried to smooth down the royal-blue dress that Lilly had put me in. It was casual, but still dressy for a house party. Max was in a suit, though, and I didn’t see how I would even fit next to him. I could see the exact moment that he saw me standing there. His shoulders tensed, he stood up straight, and then searched the yard until his eyes collided with mine. A knowing smile lit his face. He excused himself from who he was talking to and entered the house. I continued my journey to the front door, where Lilly was still waiting for me with Greg and Jack.

A young woman and man answered the door. It was the same girl that I had seen Max with at Baker’s. This was Melanie, with, I assumed, her husband.

“Jack.” The first word out of Melanie’s mouth was disdainful, and the excited look on her face turned sour. She moved closer to her husband, wrapping her hand around his arm, more like she was protecting him.

“Melanie.” The way Jack said her name almost reminded me of Max. His sweet voice entered the night air, like it was a promise of more to come. No wonder Max was angry with him. I could see the trouble coming from a mile away. Melanie turned toward me, and that spark came back to her eyes.

“Alexa!” She finally let go of her husband, grabbing me for a long embrace. “It’s so good to finally meet you. I’m just sad it’s right before I leave.”

“Please don’t squeeze my girlfriend to death.” Melanie pulled away, as Max took her position, grabbing me by the waist and pulling me towards him. This wasn’t the first time Max had shown affection in front of our friends, but it never ceased to amaze me that he did. I didn’t blush anymore, but the smile that crept onto my face just never really went away. “You’ve met Melanie. This is her husband, Wade.”

The look on Melanie’s face when Max said her husband’s name could have lit an entire city. I had never seen so much love in one look. I heard a cough from my side to see Jack stifling a grumble as Greg elbowed him in the side.

“Why don’t we head inside.” Lilly took the lead to the back yard, where we found Erica and Chase already sitting on one of the couches. They were close, but not too close, and I thought back to seeing them together and wondered if something was happening that none of us knew about.

Max led me away from where everyone else was headed, taking me towards an older couple who were over by the outside bar. His hand squeezed mine as we moved into view of who I assumed were his parents. He was the spitting image of his mother, even though they weren’t related, but had the complete build of his father.

“Mom. Dad.” They stopped their conversation mid-laugh.

“Oh!” Max’s mother arms came around me in a flash, causing me to be separated from Max. “You must be Alexa!”

“Lynn, don’t strangle the girl.” I giggled as I was put down, because the voice berating Max’s mother sounded just like Max’s, but I knew it wasn’t. I looked up to Max’s father, suddenly seeing so many similarities between him and his son.

“Oh, shush.” She waved him away as she brought me in for another hug.

“Mom.”

I laughed again at Max trying to scold his mother, just like his father had. I was quickly released again, but the space was soon replaced with Max’s father. I was expecting another hug, but instead received a kiss on each cheek.

“Luke!” Lynn’s voice echoed with a vivacious laugh as she scolded her husband. Max made sure to grab me as soon as his father let me go.

“Don’t mind them. They are just an old married couple.”

“Old!” Lynn and Luke’s voice rang in sync with each other, and I tried to stifle another laugh, but my hand couldn’t hide it. I felt a pang in my heart because in a matter of seconds, I was falling in love with Max’s parents.

“You can just call us Mom and Dad.” Lynn winked at me. My mouth opened slightly to gape at her, but Max cut in, shutting it all down.

“Mom.” I looked up at him, and the Max I knew disappeared. He was replaced by someone darker, someone I hadn’t seen yet, and it sent shivers down my spine. “Don’t.”

“You take all the fun out of everything.” She didn’t let Max’s words stop her. She turned towards me and winked again, grabbing her husband’s arm. “I think we’ll head inside for a moment.”

We watched as they departed the yard, and I couldn’t stop looking at them. They were the perfect couple. Max grabbed for my hand and brought it up to his lips.

“Would you like to dance?” It was then that I heard the faint music filling the backyard. Max took a remote out of his pocket and pressed one of the buttons, making the volume around us louder. He didn’t wait for an answer as he pulled me towards him. One hand went to my waist, and the other held my hand up in the air. It felt so formal, so I wasn’t sure what to do. I tried to follow Max’s lead but looked around to see no one else dancing; there were just many wide-eyed stares directed at us. More people had arrived at the party, many of whom I had never met before. I could feel the blush creep across my cheeks, and then the burn blazed when Max’s lips grazed my cheek.

“Relax.” And I did just that. I melted into Max’s arms as he led for the rest of the dance. Song after song melded together, and others soon joined us. Lilly and Jack moved into my eye line as they tried to see who could dance the weirdest. Greg was sitting off to the side with Chase, and Erica was dancing with Max’s father. There were a few other couples who I didn’t know, but I knew that this place felt like home. I never thought I would say that, but it was true. Max had said that this was a place he could see a family at, and I could see it, too.

“Move in with me.” It was only a whisper in my ear, but it stopped my whole world. I stood there, staring at Max as others danced around us. Max tried to pull me back towards him, filling the space that was growing between us. I let him hold me and move us back and forth, like we were dancing again, but we weren’t. I was a statue next to him. I had no idea what to say, and he knew it. “I know it’s crazy, but I want you in this house. I want us both in this house.”

I started to move with Max again. One arm was around my waist and his other hand was holding my face. I could see it in his eyes that he was waiting for an answer that I didn’t know how to give. It wasn’t that I didn’t want to move in with him, but I had just been thinking about how this house was meant for a family, and I wondered how he had read my mind. But the more I thought about it, the more I knew it would only ever be the two of us. There would never be a family here. I knew I needed to tell Max, but I didn’t know how to, so instead I gave him my answer.

“Yes.” I leaned in to kiss him so I wouldn’t have to see the look on his face, but I could feel the smile pulling at his lips. I couldn’t help but let my mind get the best of me in this moment. I had given in to Max every step of the way. Going on dates with him, letting him tell me he loved me, moving in with him, but he still hadn’t acknowledged my love for him, and it almost broke my heart. So my curiosity bit me in the butt, because I just had to know what would happen if I told him again. “I love you.”

I expected Max to freeze up like he had last time, but he did the complete opposite. He pulled me closer, stopping our dance, and he held me there in front of everyone. I wrapped my arms around his waist as he kissed my head.

“I was so scared the first time you said it last night. I thought I had misheard you.” I relaxed into his hold. “I thought if I ignored it that I could keep it locked away. I thought if I didn’t say anything, you wouldn’t realize that you had made a mistake. I just couldn’t chance it, Alexa.”

“Max…” I felt myself pleading for him, but I didn’t know what I was pleading for.

“Shush, babe.” Max’s finger came to my lips, quieting me. “I’m so sorry.”

I couldn’t move my lips to tell him that it was okay. That I wouldn’t take it back, because even in the short time we had known each other, I had fallen in love with him. I trusted Max with my whole world. Well, with most of it. I bit his finger to release my lips, which only sparked the fire in his eyes, and that wicked smirk I loved came back to life. I looked him straight in the eyes this time.

“I love you.” The words slipped easily from my lips. They were true, deep in my heart, and I wanted Max to see that. He lifted me up, swinging me around, and his infectious laugh filled the air. I could see the blur of people stop dancing, just staring at us. He held me, not setting me back down on the ground.

“I love you too, babe.” Max said it loud enough for everyone to hear. I knew no one would expect me to say it, because he had just declared a response to my admission. His lips came down to mine. Clapping filled the air, and I felt like we were being chanted on. I could hear someone in the crowd say “finally.” I giggled, looking up at Max, the love of my life, and I realized I didn’t know how I had gotten here. I moved to Georgia, got a job, met my bosses, and then from there it was almost like a blur. Like my mind was fast forwarding through all the bad to bring me right back to the good, and the good was where I would stay.