Page 24 of WASP

She smiled at Jack’s message and how he had started signing them with a love you. The sentiment spread through her. She wasn’t someone who vocalized those types of things. Heavy emotional stuff like that had never been her forte. Instead, Max chose to show the feeling quietly through actions. Jack, however, was a total bleeding heart. But that’s what Max liked so much about him. He challenged her in the best ways.

Max reentered the dining room. “The boys are having some people over for a bonfire tonight. Want to come?” she asked, setting her phone down and sliding back into her seat.

Lynn didn’t look up as she responded, her focus on the tiny loaves of bread she was placing one by one into a miniature display case, never breaking her movements. “I’m going to pass tonight, but I’ll send you with some cookies.”

“Oh fuck yes. The lavender shortbread ones?” she asked excitedly.

It hadn’t taken long into their friendship to learn that Lynn loved to bake. Which, as Lynn’s upstairs tenant (and now friend), worked out great for Max because there suspiciously always seemed to be an excess of whatever concoction Lynn happened to be whipping up every Sunday.

She reached for her phone again, fingers typing out a response to Jack.

Max 1:35 PM

I’m in. Lynn’s a no, but she’s sending me with cookies. Can I bring a friend?

She fired off the text, the impulsive question still hanging open and a very specific blonde she couldn’t help but be intrigued by on the top of her mind. A moment later, Jack responded with a simple sure. Max grinned, bringing up her text thread with Annie.

Max 1:36 PM

I know this is kind of a last-minute shot in the dark, but do you have plans tonight? If not, a friend of mine is having a bonfire at his house if you want something to do.

“What’s got you smiling like that? Or should I ask who?” Lynn asked, glancing at Max from across the table.

Max couldn’t help the excitement that slipped into her words. “Well, since you didn’t want to come with me tonight, I asked Annie.”

Lynn’s eyes shot up to meet hers, a small flash of panic registering before disappearing completely, which was…weird? Max didn’t know how else to categorize it. “Do you think that’s a good idea? I mean, inviting Annie. Does she, uh, know anyone who will be there?”

Okay, yeah, Lynn was being weird. “No, but she seems like a well-adjusted enough person who can handle hanging out with some people she doesn’t know for a few hours,” Max joked.

Lynn smiled, or was it a grimace, before returning to her work. Max was about to say more when her phone lit up on the table with a new text message.

Annie 1:38 PM

I live with my parents—of course I’m free tonight. Bonfire sounds like fun, but I do have one embarrassing ask. Would you be able to pick me up? My dumb-ass brother never went to get my car from the winery today.

Excitement flared in her chest reading Annie’s message, a grin firmly in place as she responded.

Max 1:39 PM

What’s this? A damsel in distress? Who am I to refuse such a request? I’ll pick you up at six with one condition: you must bring your own snack.

Annie 1:40 PM

Done. See you later.

* * *

At two minutes to six, Max maneuvered her car into the driveway of the large blue colonial-style home at the end of Jacob’s Lane. Annie waved from her perch on the front steps, looking absolutely adorable in a camel-colored knee-length pea coat, dark jeans, and a gray hoodie. She approached the car and Max shifted around the pile of unopened mail she had dumped in the passenger seat making room for Annie to sit down.

“Hi. Thanks for being willing to pick me up. Sorry about that,” Annie said, sliding into the front seat with a flurry of crisp December air and brassy blond hair flitting around her face. “I also wasn’t sure what the vibe of tonight was, so I hope what I’m wearing is okay.” She looked down at her jeans, then back to Max, who still hadn’t taken her eyes off of Annie; how could she when she was such a natural focal point?

“Hi,” Max said dumbly, remembering that usually in conversation, it was customary to say more than a greeting, especially when asked a question. “You’re great. I mean, you look good—um, what you’re wearing is perfect.” She stumbled her way through her sentence, enjoying the way Annie pressed her lips together in an attempt to hide her smile at Max’s flustered state.

Get it together. You don’t even know each other, Max reminded herself. And anyway, the last thing Annie needed right now was Max. Not when she was in the middle of getting over having her heart ripped out. But then what about all the flirting?

The click of Annie’s seatbelt snapped Max’s attention back to the car. “All set?” she asked, putting the car in reverse. Annie nodded, and Max carefully backed out of the driveway.

“How was your day?” Annie asked politely.