Beyond Eighteen(26)

“Okay,” I said as I pulled away from him to look in his eyes. Damn, he looked so tortured. His expression struck the chords that connected us; he looked like he wanted to be anywhere else but there. “Tell me, Max,” I murmured.

“Sit down, please,” Max said as he grabbed me by my biceps and eased me back. I lowered myself to sit on the edge of the bed. My eyes tracked down the front of him—from his broken expression down his white button-up dress shirt. I watched his shirt shift with each breath. He kneeled down and ran his fingers through his hair. I watched his expression change and his jaw tighten as he swallowed. His eyes vacillated between mine, back and forth as he spoke. He slipped his hand against the side of my face and I leaned into his touch.

“Wilson, I love you—more than anything,” Max whispered before he stood up and walked toward the door. My face went cold and my heart dropped into my stomach.

“Damn it,” he continued, “Why is he doing this to me? It’s not what I want. He knew I never wanted this.” He thrust his hands into his hair and bent forward. I could see tension through his shoulders and back.

“Who? Max, what are you talking about? Listen, I’m starting to get a little freaked out.” I got up and slid my hands around his waist as I pushed my lips against his spine, between his shoulder blades.

“My dad, Wilson.” Max spun around and caught my shoulders. “He’s made it so I can’t ever get away. I’ll be stuck—just like he was.”

“What are you talking about?” I asked as I held his face between my hands and made him look me in the eyes.

“Dan told me I’m going to be named the CEO of Goldstein Petroleum tomorrow—when we go over my father’s will.” Max’s words exited from his mouth like vomit; like if he said the words fast enough the poison they exuded wouldn’t penetrate his system and cause him to become the president of his dead father’s company.

“Whoa, slow down, Max. What does that mean?”

Max started shaking his head no. My hands dropped to my lap.

“Nothing. It means nothing, because I’m gonna find a way to get out of it. I’m not CEO material. Let Dan have it. Hell, let Cal take it. I don’t want that life,” Max spewed as he stood up and started pacing back and forth.

“Hey, Max, come on, babe. Just because your father wants you to be CEO doesn’t mean you have to do it.” My words were sharp with the intention piercing through his impenetrable fear of being any part of his father’s company.

Max stopped pacing, his eyes filled with the same pain I saw the day his father died. “No, he took care of that option too. If I don’t become CEO, GP will be sold off in pieces. Dad’s last twist of the knife to make sure I’d become the man he has always wanted me to be,” Max complained. “He knew I’d never do that to my mom,” he said under his breath.

“Well, then, you’ll do what you need to do,” I said as I slipped into his arms and pressed the side of my face against his chest as I listened to his heart break. It wasn’t perfect, it wasn’t what he wanted, but sometimes choices aren’t always the most comfortable thing in the world.

“What are you saying, Wilson? That I should forget about my life in California? Just leave you at Wesley, and come back here—alone? That isn’t an option for me.”

I felt his words tumble and mix with his breath as he spoke. His arms tightened around my back as I slid my face up, meeting his stare. He wasn’t going to accept my idea. And to be truthful, I was glad.

Pushing my lips to his, I swung my arm up around the back of his neck. I just wanted to kiss him forever. He opened his mouth, desperate to convince me I was the only thing that mattered in his life. His tongue mingled with mine. I wanted him to taste as sweet as butterscotch, but instead it was a twist of bitter sadness with a splash of salty regrets.

“Max, I’m not going anywhere. I’ll graduate in May. That’s only five months. What’s five months?”

“Longer than I want to be away from you, Wilson.”

“Well, I don’t want to be away from you either, but what’s our other option?”

“Let’s run away. Come on…we’ll sneak through the window. Nobody will know the difference.” Max pulled me up onto his chest and shuffled toward the bed. I was glad one of us broke the tension that was filling the room, because it was getting way too thick. He stopped carrying me, loosened his grip, and pushed me back against the bed. As my body hit the down comforter the cool air that swept between my skin and his bed was refreshing. I lay there for a moment, watching him stand above me, before I felt his leg push between my knees. My body warmed as he pressed me into the soft mattress and the space where the cold that occupied my skin became the heat I craved. I noticed his dress pants weren’t as loose as they’d been before. Pushing my hands behind my head I pulled my hair from under my shoulders. The cool kiss of the comforter against the back of my neck sent chills down my spine. He noticed.