She felt anything but worthless when Max looked at her.
She pulled on her underwear and fixed her clothes as best as she could. Max snickered behind his hand.
"Stop it," she chastised with a smirk, knowing that she would still look thoroughly humped no matter what she did. Not that she cared. If the bar patrons hadn't heard them, they'd been gone long enough for them all to figure it out. She sighed and crossed her arms over her chest, feeling the cold outside of Max's embrace. "What time do you leave in the morning?"
"Six." Max pushed his hands into his pockets and rocked on his heels. "I'm gonna head back to the boardinghouse, get some food, and call it a night."
Grace nodded. "Okay." She watched him carefully as he opened his mouth and then closed it again.
"You'll be okay getting home on your own tonight?"
He usually took her home when she worked late at the bar. She smiled and nodded. "Can I . . . while you're gone-can I text you?"
The side of Max's mouth lifted. "Sure. Call if you want."
"Okay."
"Okay," he echoed. "I . . ." He paused, uncharacteristically fidgety. He wiped a palm across his forehead and an uncertain laugh burst from him. "Shit, okay, I'm outta here." He half-turned away from her. "Are you sure it was all right that I, that we- You're fine?"
His rambling never ceased to endear him further to Grace. "It was very fine."
Max licked his lips. "Damn straight, girl." He grinned and turned fully. "Speak to you soon," he called as he took the cellar steps two at a time, only to be greeted by rapturous applause, cheers, and catcalls when he pushed his way through the door and back into the bar.
Knock, knock.
Who's there?
Adore.
Adore who?
Adore is between us. Open up!
Grace. Seriously.
Knock, knock.
Really?
Come on. Knock, knock.
Who's there!?
Harry.
Harry who?
Harry up, it's cold out here!
That's it, I'm blocking you.
You'd never.
You're probably right.
Grace grinned down at her phone before sliding it into the front pocket of her apron. She'd been abusing Max with her dad's old knock-knock jokes for two days and he was still humoring her, God bless him. It was Saturday and, after her run, Grace had locked herself in her darkroom to work on her gallery collection, the deadline for which was looming quietly.
She hummed and bobbed her head slowly to Marvin Gaye's Trouble Man, her favorite album for when she was developing photographs. She picked up one particular shot with her tweezers and let the developing solution run off it. It was a favorite of hers, taken of Max, unaware that she'd taken the picture. It was July Fourth while they were hanging by the lake. He was smiling, his eyes creasing in that adorable way of his, his laughter almost audible from the print. There was no hint of the pain or struggle that Max had endured. He looked truly peaceful, truly beautiful.
Grace fastened it to the line that hung from one corner of her darkroom to the other with a small clip and stood back, observing the shots she was to use in her collection as well as those she'd decided to hide and keep for herself. The latter were mostly of Max. That man had a face made for film.
Her phone buzzed in her pocket. Max.
Knock, knock!
Who's there?
Ivana.
Ivana who?
Ivana hump your brains out!
Grace snorted.
I wish you could. But you're not here. For now, I guess, I'll have to pleasure myself.
The three small gray dots on her cell screen flickered and then disappeared, as though he was typing then deleting repeatedly, before his reply finally came through: Damn. Are you really?
She laughed while typing: No. No time, although I may do that later. I have to get ready for my girls' night. Bet you wish you'd taken my panties now, don't you?
"Wow, Max, you look like you've seen a ghost. Everything all right?"
Max looked up from his cell phone to Josh, who was sitting across the table of the burger and grill place the team had chosen to eat. There were twelve of them at a long table in the center of the place, all of them talking and ravenous from the day's labor. Max ached in places he'd forgotten about since his gym sessions in rehab. It was no wonder he hurt, considering all the lifting and lugging he'd done over the past few days.
"What's up?" Josh asked, looking at the phone in Max's hand.
Max shoved his cell into the pocket of his jeans, which were a little snug thanks to Grace's message. Shit. He'd created a monster. "Just a text from Grace."
Josh raised an eyebrow. "Yeah, I can tell what kind of text, too. Ruby is a nightmare for that when I'm away and can't do anything about it."
Max grimaced. "Dude, that's my cousin."
"And my daughter," Vince called from three places down above the noise.