Finding Us (Finding #2) (6 page)

Max

We had been waiting on the girls to get ready for almost an hour when Becca came into the game room looking very serious. She wasn’t dressed and her hair was still pulled back like she wears it when she is putting on her makeup. Her hands were clenched into fists and she looked like she might cry at any moment.

“Beck?” I said when she walked in the room. She didn’t answer. “Beck, What’s wrong?” I walked over and wrapped my arms around her.

She looked up at me and spoke quietly. “I think it’s time someone took Alexis home.”

I didn’t understand. “What? Why? What did she do?”

Before Becca could answer me, Sarah stormed in the room. Her cheeks were bright red, and I swear I could see smoke coming from her ears. “That fucking bitch has to go. NOW!”

Billy took that as his cue seeing as I was holding an upset Becca and Parker and Grady were looking between the girls with confusion and rage written all over their faces.

“Babe,” Billy said calmly, “What happened?”

“Alexis has to go! I’m not kidding, Billy. I told you it was a bad idea to bring her, but you said Grady would watch over her. No one was watching over her just now!”

“What happened?” Parker asked angrily and started clenching his fists.

Sarah looked at him and cocked her head. I swear, for a moment Sarah’s eyes turned red. I had never seen her this angry.
Parker was screwed. “Oh Parker. It isn’t what she did; it’s what you did together. Did you enjoy your threesome or fucking every part of her body? That thing you do with your tongue? Nice.” Sarah spoke quickly and her sarcasm dripped with disdain.

As Sarah spoke Parker’s face turned white, and I couldn’t tell if he was in shock or angry until I saw his fists clench so tightly that his knuckles turned white. Then he tried to dart out of the room. Thankfully Billy was by the door and was able to catch him otherwise I don’t think he would have cared that Alexis was a petite girl. He was ready to string her up by her ankles.

“Let me go, Billy!” Parker growled.

“Not until you calm down, man.”

“Let me go talk to Maggie.”

“Not while you’re both upset. You need to take a walk,” Billy gave him a little push towards the French doors that led to the beach. Parker backed away for a moment and started tugging on his hair.

Billy was probably the only one of us strong enough to hold Parker back. Grady slipped out of the room presumably to take care of Alexis just as Sarah started back up.

“I don’t know about you, Parker, but that would have been the last thing I wanted my girlfriend to know about me, especially when you have a girl as perfect as Maggie.”

“Enough Sarah!” Billy barked.

“Fine!” She snapped back. “I’m going to check on her, and
you
should do what Billy said and go for a walk.” Sarah stuck her finger in Billy’s face and said, “That slut better be gone by the time I get out of that room or your ass will never be able to pound on these drums again.”

Sarah stormed out of the room and Becca sullenly followed her back to Maggie. The three of us just stood there for a moment before Parker started pacing. He started alternating between rubbing his face and tugging on his hair. I couldn’t imagine being in his shoes, but at the moment I was a little more worried about Maggie. Parker was too because he stormed out of the room only to come back a minute or two later. I was guessing that the girls sent him away to give Maggie time to think.

He sunk down onto one of the wicker chairs and rested his elbows on his knees with his head hanging down. “What am I going to do, Max? She won’t talk to me. The girls won’t even let me near her right now.”

“Is it all true?” I reluctantly asked.

“Unfortunately. I told you I was out of control in high school. I was willing to try anything. It wasn’t personal; it was…experimental.”

“Give her time to think then tell her the truth. I would also keep Alexis as far away from both of you as possible. How would you feel if Maggie had an ex she used to experiment with? Would you want to hang out with him?”

With that I left the room to go check on my best friend who was probably beyond confused and in need of some space. I found all three girls on the floor of the bathroom. They would only open the door when I confirmed that I was in fact alone. After a few moments of being in the bathroom with three fuming women, I decided it would be best if Maggie didn’t continue to sit in that pit of despair any longer. I pulled Maggie up from the floor and led her out to the loungers on the beach. We used to lie there when we were kids and look at the stars. I knew she found it peaceful, and if I could give her a little bit of peace after an hour of chaos, then I had done my job. 

After a while Maggie turned to me. “I know it shouldn’t bother me because it’s in the past, but it does. What if that’s what he wants in a relationship? I’m not going to do those things.”

I looked at her and saw the worry in her sad eyes. Of course Maggie would turn this around so the problem was she wasn’t enough. I wondered if the words of her mother ever stop haunting her. I went with words of comfort rather than bringing up her mom again. “If he wanted what she had to offer, then he would be with Alexis or a girl like her. He doesn’t expect you to have threesomes or whatever else she said.”

“You would think, but we only started having sex the other day. What if he thought we would get there eventually?”

I was surprised. They had been sleeping in the same bed for months. I knew Maggie wouldn’t sleep with just anyone, but I was surprised to hear that Parker had waited so long. “Wait…your first time was here? What have y’all been doing all those other times you’ve been sleeping in the same bed?”

“Sleeping. Cuddling. Talking. Not having wild monkey sex with each other and whoever else wants to join in. What did you expect? Just because we were behind closed doors, I was giving it up? Come on. You know me better than that.”

“I do, but you mean to tell me that Parker Pryce, “sex god extraordinaire,” according to you girls, waited months to have sex with you? I think that alone is saying something, Maggie Anne.” I made quotations with my fingers when calling Parker a sex god to make sure it was clear that was not something that I would ever call him.

“Don’t call me by both names,” she frowned then sat up like a light bulb just went off in her head. “You think he was sleeping with someone else?” She asked surprised.

“No moron! I think he wants more with you. All he wanted from Alexis was sex, and had she held back, do you think he would have stuck around? No. With you he wants a life. It’s obvious to everyone how much he loves you. Don’t make him pay for making mistakes when he was seventeen years old.”

“That wasn’t that long ago, Max.”

              “No, but he was a different person then. He had just lost his mom. He stopped playing the piano. His dad was giving him a hard time. Alexis was available to take his mind off of it, and what seventeen year old guy would say no to an older girl willing to take her clothes off and do crazy things?”

Maggie looked at me disgusted. “Really? That’s all it takes?”

“Teenage years aren’t known as the responsible years. Beggars can’t be choosers and all that.”

“Gross.” I shrugged as I laughed, and Maggie smiled as she leaned against my shoulder and slid her hand in mine. “Thanks Max.”

“Anytime Maggie Anne. You ready to go inside?”

“No. I just want a few more minutes of peace, and don’t call me by both names.”

I rested my head on hers and whispered, “Ok.”

A moment later she said, “Max?”

“Yeah?”

“What’s gonna happen after graduation?”

“What do you mean?”

“What if you aren’t around anymore?”

I closed my eyes to fight the stabbing pain I felt in my chest. Maggie and I had never been apart, and suddenly there was a chance that we were going to have to survive the real world without each other. We knew this and talked about it, but the idea of not being there for her if something bad happened physically hurt me. For years it had been me and Maggie against the world, and I couldn’t get my brain to be ok with the fact that Maggie would have to face some problems on her own. I didn’t want her to ever have to do anything alone.

“Mags, we talked about this. I’ll always be here for you. I’m always going to be a phone call, car ride, or plane ride away, and you’ll always be here for me. If Becca’s the other half of my heart, then you’re the other half of my soul. Distance doesn’t break a soul.”

“Max,” she gasped. “That was the most romantic thing you have ever said!”

I groaned. “Don’t tell anyone. I don’t want anyone to know having a girlfriend has made me soft.”

“Aww…you’ve always been soft. I just let you think otherwise.”

She patted me like a puppy, so I squeezed her side making her squeal and squirm away. Once we settled back in our spots, I told her the one thing that would always be true, “I love you, Mags.”

Without hesitation she said, “I love you too, Max.”

Parker

I had been waiting all night to talk to Maggie, and she was still outside with Max well after midnight, making me wonder if she would ever come inside. I knew better than to interrupt their time. I just had to be patient and let Max work his magic.

Tonight had been a cluster fuck. I don’t know what Alexis was thinking, but if it hadn’t been for Billy and Grady getting her out of here, I think I would have snapped. She looked so pleased with herself until Sarah got a hold of her as she was walking out the door. Billy and Grady wouldn’t hold back either once they had her alone in the car.

I didn’t know what her goal was tonight, but if it was to get exiled from my life she went about it in all of the right ways. There wasn’t one person in this world I would pick over Maggie. She was it for me. Pops and Preston knew it. Max, Sarah, and Becca knew it. Billy and Grady knew it. The only person who had apparently missed the memo was Alexis.

My phone went off and I glanced down to find a text from Max.

Max: M

That was my signal. We devised it a long time ago when we needed relief from the girls. We loved the girls, but sometimes it was helpful to have the other one there, especially if alcohol was involved. We could text a single letter, any letter, without looking at our phones, so the girls never knew.

This time he wasn’t looking for help though. He was relieving me from my misery of waiting to see what my fate with Maggie would be. I had run all different scenarios in my head. I imagined her breaking up with me or stopping our sex life cold and even kneeing me in the balls for being such a dumbass. I would take the knee to the balls before the other two if I were telling the truth. I should just thank my lucky stars that Maggie didn’t still run to her dad when she was upset. If her dad knew any of the bullshit Alexis had spouted, I wouldn’t have to worry about him chopping off my nuts like he threatened when I first met him. He would kill me and dump my body in the Gulf Stream like Dexter does. Jim had a boat and knives. He could easily chop my body up into bits, wrap me up in trash bags and feed me to the fish.

My phone buzzed again.

Max: ?

I realized then that I was stalling. I was actually afraid to talk to Maggie. It had to be done though. I had to face the fact that my past might be too much for her to handle. Sweet, innocent Maggie didn’t need to be corrupted by my irresponsible past.

I walked out the French doors and headed to the beach. When I rounded the other side of the loungers, I found Maggie and Max snuggled together holding hands. Anger ran through me before I could stop it. It drove me crazy that she let Max comfort her and not me even when I was the one who caused the problem. I wanted to be everything to her, but I knew she would always need him. They had an unspeakable bond that only comes with years of unfailing support. When others would let them down, they were always there for the other, and time wasn’t something I could compete with. Normally I didn’t mind, but it threw me off seeing them curled up together after a night like tonight.

I took a deep breath and calmed down. “Hey,” I said.
I know, I know…clever opener, right?
Maggie’s eyes opened but didn’t meet mine.

“Hey,” Max responded. “Mags, you ready to talk to Parker?”

She nodded and released Max when she sat up straight. He climbed off the lounger and stopped beside me. “Thanks for coming. I’ve had to pee for an hour. Just tell her the truth.” He patted my back as he walked past me leaving us in desolate silence.

“Can I sit?”

She nodded and I sat down next to her, but we weren’t touching. She looked up at me with sad eyes.

“Baby, I don’t even really know what to say other than I’m sorry. I have been waiting all night to talk to you, and I’m sorry was the best I could come up with.”

She looked confused. “Sorry? For what?”

This was the problem. I didn’t know what she needed to hear. I exhaled with frustration. “I don’t know. Everything. For letting Alexis stay here. For letting her tell you things that you should never have to know. For those things happening in the first place. For her being in your life at all. For her being in my life. For every wrong thing I have ever done that has hurt you. For everything I did when I should have been waiting for you instead.”

“Oh, Parker,” she said as she moved to straddle my lap, so we were connected and facing each other. My arms automatically wrapped around her, and I instantly felt better having her touching me. “You act like today was your fault. Sure, I wish you hadn’t done some of those things, especially with a girl like Alexis who is so disrespectful she would share your personal history in a room full of people. That’s not why I’m upset though.”

I must have missed something. “Why are you upset then?” I asked out of genuine confusion.

“I don’t know. Part of me hates that you had all of that with someone else, but then I reap the benefits of all that practice, so I can’t complain too much.”

“Maggie!” I said surprised by her words and a little relieved if I was being honest. She somehow found a positive in this mess.

“What?” She asked with a smile. “I know a lot of girls’ first experiences are terrible. You knew what you were doing with my body and took care of me just like you have every time we have been together. You wouldn’t have been able to take such good care of me had you not had so much experience.”

“Ok. Well, I’m glad you found one good thing about my past, but what about the rest? Everyone knows I made some questionable choices, but you knowing just how…experimental I have been bothers me. I can’t imagine if I had just found that out about you. The thought alone makes me homicidal.” I pulled her closer to me trying to erase the thoughts of Maggie with anyone else.

“Good thing you don’t have to worry about that then,” she smirked before pausing. Exhaling loudly, I could see her face turn serious. “I think I was upset because I have always been worried about being enough for you. I don’t know that I’ll ever be the lady in the parlor, cook in the kitchen, and tiger in the bedroom kind of woman. I’m just worried that one day you’ll wake up and be disappointed. We are still so young, and you could have anyone-”

Frustration coursed through me again. No matter how much attention I have given her and how many times I have told her how I feel, she still felt insecure about us. I didn’t know how to make that uncertainty go away, but I wouldn’t stop trying as long as I had her in my arms.

“Just stop right there,” I interrupted her. “First of all you know you’re all that I want. I’m in love with you and only you, and for that reason alone, being with you is superior to any other experience I’ve had combined. It’s different for us because we connect on a deeper level. It’s the reason we were instant friends. It’s the same reason I would have never settled for being just friends with you. You’re everything to me, so you have nothing to worry about.”

She leaned forward and gently kissed me before she rested her head on my shoulder. “I guess her words just pushed me over the edge. Alexis has an uncanny way of making me feel like I’m not right for you because I can’t figure out how you could have liked her and me. We’re too different.”

“That’s easy, baby. I never liked her. She was convenient. That may be terrible of me to say, but she never minded until you came along. Alexis can get over it though. After today I don’t plan on hanging out with her again.” She lay down on my chest and tucked her head under my chin. This was her spot and my heaven. My hands snuck under her shirt and started rubbing her bare back. She was still in her clothes she was wearing while she was trying to get ready to go out, and her thin shirt did nothing to conceal the fact that she wasn’t wearing a bra.

“What about the band?” she asked distracting me before my hands could roam too far.

“What about them? Technically, I wasn’t in the band anyway.”

She sat up to look at me. I saw the disbelief in her eyes when she said, “I know, but you love playing with them.”

“You’re more important. Besides Grady and I can write songs without her. The guys will just come over to Pop’s house where we can record anyway.” She nodded, but she wasn’t completely appeased yet. “Babe, Grady has had some stuff going on with Lex anyway. He isn’t going to stop being my friend because I want to avoid her. Everything will be ok.”

We sat in silence for a moment when Maggie’s stomach took that opportunity to announce its displeasure with her lack of dinner that evening. I laughed, but the smile died on my face when I saw she was still unsure.

“Everything will be ok, huh?” she whispered.

“I’ll make sure of it,” I promised with a kiss.

“If you say so…”

“I say so. Now, let’s get you inside, fed, and to bed. I know you’re hungry and exhausted, and I want to wake up tomorrow in a better place.”

Maggie nodded and laid her head back on my shoulder as I stood from the lounger with her in my arms like a little monkey. I brought her inside the silent house and sat her on a barstool. Sarah, Max, and Becca were in bed and everyone else was gone. After eating sandwiches and giving her an “I’m sorry” penny that I had saved to be an “I love you” penny from earlier in the day, we went to bed and quickly fell asleep against each other. I knew this wasn’t the end of Maggie’s insecurities or of Alexis for that matter, but for now I took comfort in the fact that I had my girl wrapped around me.