He continued telling Danny about his eventful childhood as they ate their pasta. She asked questions, she giggled, she completely immersed herself in the stories. That was something about her that had not changed. She had always listened intently to his stories about his family. It was because she had never known what it was like to have both parents, siblings, a full happy home. Although Jake had tried to give her everything; that was one thing she had always yearned for.
“I hope I get to meet them soon,” she said.
“Christmas,” Max said with a nod. “We spend every Christmas at my folk’s house so you’ll meet them then.”
“But that’s another seven months,” she complained.
“Trust me, you’ll regret being so eager.”
Danny smiled as she twirled the pasta around her fork. “So do we come here often?” she asked, slipping the creamy pasta into her mouth.
“All the time. It started in college. Mama would keep this open ’til the early hours of the morning so we could study. And we still kept coming here after we graduated. I have had some of my happiest moments here.”
She smiled, intrigued. “Like what?”
“Like my birthday last year.” He grinned, trying to contain his excitement as he reflected on the events. “You and Amber got some girls together and did this whole flash mob.”
“What’s a flash mob?”
“I can’t really explain it, but you’ll get it once I’m done. So I’m sitting right here and you’re over there…” Max pointed to the front of the restaurant, near the payment counter. “…looking sexy as all hell, twirling your hair and chewing gum like a teeny-bopper. And all of a sudden, this song…Pretty fly for a white guy come blaring through the speakers and you start dancing. Then Amber comes out from there.” He pointed to the corner of the room, where the restrooms were situated. His voice boomed with excitement. “And she joins you in the front and starts dancing, too. And then girls just start popping out of nowhere. From behind the booths, behind the counter, coming through the door and they were like…all over me. Just…with these short schoolgirl skirts and tight tops…It was the single most rewarding experience of my entire existence.”
Danny laughed and he knew it was because he was blushing profusely. “I can’t believe I did that,” she said.
Rocko returned and placed a pitcher of iced tea on the table.
“You’ve always been pretty ostentatious.”
“So all good memories here?”
“Some not so good,” Rocko added. “Like—”
“Shut up, Rocko!” Max kept his smile intact so that Danny would not get suspicious, but his good mood had disappeared all too quickly.
Rocko took the hint and walked away without saying another word.
“What’s he talking about?” Danny asked, looking confused.
Max gritted his teeth and forced a smile. “Nothing.”
She fixed her hazel eyes on him and he could tell that she was not going to stop questioning. “Was it bad?”
“Drop it, Danny.”
“Max, I keep getting the feeling that you’re keeping something from me. I’m trying to rebuild my life and I can’t do it without all the pieces. So please tell me what happened. I can’t only know about the good stuff, I need to know the bad stuff, too. You don’t need to protect me from my own past.”
Max exhaled a loaded breath, realizing that he was going to go down the road he had barricaded in his mind years ago, a road that intersected with Anthony Townsend.
Anthony was Danny’s first real boyfriend. Max had only met Danny a few months before he came swooping into her life with his dazzling good looks and cocky attitude. She was smitten, completely taken in by his bad boy demeanor. But it was all fake. He pretended to be from the wrong side of the track with his tattoos and leather biker jacket, but actually he was just a spoilt rich kid who couldn’t take no for an answer.
Anthony was a fucking vulture, preying on the weak as cowards do, and Danny was an all too easy target. He exploited her, using her insecurities to draw her in, but in the end his efforts had been futile. Although Danny had always been loose with her heart, she was much more protective of her body and Anthony had not taken rejection well.
He got her drunk one night as an attempt to loosen her up and when he still didn’t get what he wanted, he left her stranded on the beach. Danny broke up with him the very next day and before lunch time, very graphic pictures of her began circulating around campus.
“How did he get the pictures?” Danny asked.
“He must have taken them while you passed out on the beach.”
“What a sicko!”
Max sat back and crossed his arms over his chest, trying to secure the agitation in the pit of his stomach. This story had never been easy for him. He felt bile rise up in his throat every time he thought about it. The pictures were disgusting, her unconscious and half-naked with his grimy fucking hands all over her body. He didn’t tell Danny about that. He didn’t want her to feel the shame she had felt that day.
One thing he was grateful for was that there were at least ten people at the beach that night. There was no telling what else that perverted asshole would have done to her had they been alone. This, too, he kept to himself.
“It wasn’t too long after that that the rumors started,” Max said softly. “And then one day he comes in here while we’re studying, tells his friends to get in on the action, that you don’t mind doing more than one at a time.” Max clenched his fists and gritted his teeth. “Fuck, I lost my shit. I didn’t think, I just attacked…but there were five of them and only one of me so…it didn’t end well.”
She reached out and touched his arm. “Max, I’m so sorry. It was because of me—”
“It’s not your fault. You just have a knack for dating the biggest jerks on the planet.”
She smiled. “That can’t be true,” she said. “I chose you, didn’t I?”
Suddenly every ugly feeling Anthony Townsend stirred up dissolved and was replaced by guilt. Again, he kept this from her. He couldn’t tell her that being with him had never been her choice.
* * *
Danny stepped into their apartment, her giddiness threatening to brim over. Every second she spent with Max made her like him more. He was goofy and funny and he had a warmth about him that made her feel relaxed. She would tell him her deepest, darkest secrets if she could remember what they were.
But there was something else, something she was beginning to notice the more time she spent with him. He had a temper, a rage brewing just beneath the surface. She had seen it earlier, but Anthony Townsend appeared to be merely the tip of the ice-berg. There was something much deeper that he was angry about and she couldn’t help but feel that she had a part to play in some of it. She chose not to bring it up for discussion. After tonight, she was sure he would also start opening up to her a bit more.
“So you watched Jerry Maguire?” he asked, closing the door behind him.
“Yeah. That guy…Tom Cruise…he’s amazing. I loved it!”
“You always did,” he said softly, reaching out to pluck lint off her blouse that might not have been there.
He had touched her more times than was necessary and every time he did, butterflies erupted in her stomach. Crushing on her boyfriend? How ridiculous!
He had flirted with her all night, not with words, but with his eyes. He had a way of looking at her. Even when she was right in front of him, there was still distance in his eyes, almost like he was admiring her from afar, like she was something out of his reach.
Their eyes met for a single, awkward moment and he quickly moved his hand and ran it through his hair. “Well…um…I guess I’d better let you…get to bed. Goodnight, Danny.” He turned and started heading to his bedroom.
“Max,” she whispered and he turned to face her again.
“Yeah.”
“Aren’t you…aren’t you going to kiss me goodnight?”
He froze for a few seconds and with uncertainty weighing down his every movement, he slowly made his way back to her. He lifted his hand to her neck, tilting her lips up towards his, and her eyes closed as he leaned closer. Nervous breaths warmed her skin. There were a few more hesitant ticks before his lips touched her. It was an awkward kiss, landing half on her lips and half on her cheek.
“Goodnight, Danny,” he whispered.
She opened her eyes only to see his back as he walked to his bedroom and shut the door. Tears stung her eyes, but she blinked them back. Amber had told her that she needed to make the first move and apart from throwing herself at him, she couldn’t have made it more obvious than that. It wasn’t easy to put herself out there and now she just felt embarrassed, rejected. Amber was so wrong. He didn’t want her.
Danny had wanted to believe that he was still attracted to her despite her scars, but realized that she had misread everything tonight. He made it very clear that he was not interested.
She walked to her bedroom and quietly closed the door. Pulling the woolen cap off her head, she slowly traced the fingers across her scar. Her hair was growing back, but it was barely half an inch, still too short to cover the scar. For the first time she felt the true impact of the accident. Not only had it transformed her appearance, it had done the same thing to her relationship with Max. And neither of these transformations were for the better.