His End Game (MMG #1) (3 page)

Back off of what? I hadn’t done anything
.

He said that Jennifer and her senior friends were a bunch of man eating bitches and could really cause me problems. This, too, was not news to me as I had already been warned to keep my eyes to myself, which I found greatly amusing. First of all, I only glanced at Max for a moment. Second, he was way out of
my league. That they would find me, a mere nobody, remotely threatening…was funny. I found it ironic that a guy like Max was dating a cheerleader. He seemed the type to fall for a musician or an artist. A rah-rah cheerleader?

Not so much
.

Piper was worried about me, but instead of criticizing, she just told me to be careful and to make sure I took care of myself and my heart. She was good like that. She would charge in and get her heart shattered into a million pieces, but would do anything and everything to protect mine.

I was well aware of Max before the gas station incident. After all, he was my fantasy guy. I couldn’t help but pay attention to what he was wearing or who he was with when he passed by my locker. Watching Max and his trail of girls was fun and passed the time.

After running into him that day at the gas station, however, something felt… different. It was as if he was now aware of
me
. He suddenly seemed to be everywhere. Had he always been everywhere and I just didn’t realize it or was this new? I could tell that I was now on his radar, whereas before, I didn’t exist. I knew this because I could now
feel
his eyes on me. Every now and then I would catch him watching me. Whenever this happened, his eyes would soften and his mouth would quirk, like we shared a secret. It always happened so fast that it made me wonder if I had imagined it. Piper said that it was probably gas pains because everyone knew that Max didn’t do soft and definitely didn’t do innocent.

I wouldn’t call myself completely innocent per se, as I
had
kissed my fair share of boys. I was, however, still ‘intact’ but only because I had not found the right guy…yet. Yes, I was aware
that I was probably the only eleventh grade virgin alive, but because my mom had given it up so easily which had resulted in such extreme consequences, I was extra careful. Plus, I knew that every time I walked out the door my aunt held her breath wondering if this was going to be the moment that, like my dad, I screwed it all up. Piper was no help whatsoever. She had a very liberal view about sex and, therefore, had been pressuring me to give up my virginity since what seemed like kindergarten. The truth was that I was afraid to disappoint or be disappointed. I didn’t want to experience the walk of shame or to hear how I rated on a scale of one to ten the next day. I wanted to be loved like the women in my favorite books. I decided the best thing for me to do was to wait and hope that the right guy would someday come along.

The beginning of February Piper called and told me she was coming home for the weekend to celebrate her oldest brother Rex’s twenty-first birthday. I couldn’t wait. I hadn’t seen her since Christmas and, because of school and work, had only talked to her a handful of times. To have her home for two days was just what I needed.

She flew in on a Friday afternoon and dropped by school early to surprise me and catch up with her old teachers and friends. Within the first half hour, she managed to get us invited to a coveted senior party happening that night. I wondered if Max would be there.

After school Joss drove us over to Piper’s house to get ready. We spent about an hour lying on her bed, comparing high-school stories and talking about boys. Piper was in the middle of telling us about some twenty-two year old guy that she had to kiss in order to score free tickets to some concert when I spotted her
iPod sticking out of her purse. Grabbing it, I scanned her play list for the song I wanted. Then, placing it on her iPod dock, I pushed play and Amy Lee of Evanescence started singing.
Bring Me to Life
was a hauntingly beautiful song and I loved it.

“I want to talk to you about something,” Piper said, turning Amy down.

“Hey,” I complained.

“Do you hear me?”

“Yes,” I dramatically sighed, causing Joss to snort with humor.

“Don’t you think that you have taken this whole virginity thing a little too far?”

“What virginity thing?” Joss raised an eyebrow in question.

“Mine,” I informed her.

“You are still a virgin?” She was clearly shocked by this.

“Yep.”

“Ellison,” Piper said in her most sympathetic voice, one I had heard a thousand times before. “I keep telling you to just get it over with. Yes, it hurts the first time, but that sets you up for all of the great times after.”

“Gee, Piper, you sound like you’re doing a PSA. Try it. It’s painful as hell, you’ll bleed for a day and won’t sit down for a week, but in the end…it’s all worth it!” Joss spouted.

“Good one Joss,” I high fived her. “And you know why I don’t sleep around, Piper.”

It took me a year to trust Piper enough to tell her about my family dynamic, or lack thereof. She, of all people, knew why I was still a virgin.

“What exactly are you waiting for?” Joss asked.

“Max,” Piper mumbled.

I wish
.

“Not Max,” I clarified. “Plus, we all know that would
never
happen because he is way out of my league. He goes for
cheerleaders and girls with experience and, since I am neither of those….. Look, you both know what happened between my parents. I refuse to end up like my mom.”

“Hey,” Joss said, squeezing my hand. “You are so much better than that or any of those girls which, by the way, makes you way too good for the likes of Max McLellan, okay? I say, no matter what, do what’s best for you. The right guy will come along.”

“I have one word for you,” Piper chimed in, “Con-dom.”

Whatever
.

When we arrived at Matt’s house that night, I could tell by the number of cars down the street that the party had been going on for a while. It was unseasonably cool weather for mid-September in Charlotte. I was glad I had on my raspberry jewel necked velour sweater and my black jeans. I was going to wear a jean skirt but decided at the last second not to. Piper, who was wearing a short sleeved top and short skirt, was already complaining about frost bite.

We could hear Maroon 5’s
She Will be Loved
blaring from halfway down the block where we parked the car. A tall, attractive guy was standing at the front door greeting everyone.

“Hi Matt! Thanks for inviting us. These are my friends Ellie and Joss,” Piper said.

“Come on in.” He handed us each a beer and then proceeded to show us around the house. It was an amazing spread with six bedrooms and a huge kitchen that opened up into an enormous great room. I noticed that there was even a large fire pit blazing out back.

“Holy shit this house is amazing,” Piper whispered after we lost Matt to the doorbell.

Nodding in agreement, I couldn’t help but feel a bit claustrophobic. I hated big crowds and it was wall to wall people from one end of the house to the other. Joss, who had come through
the door with us, had already disappeared into the sweaty mess of people.

“I’m going to look for Joss. Want to come with?” Piper asked.

Eyeballing the mass of bodies gyrating to the music, I said, “No, I think I’ll hang here in the kitchen and then maybe go look at the fire in a few.” There was no way in hell that I was going back out into
that
. It was bad enough the first time.

“Okay,” she hesitated, looking at me strangely. “You okay? I’ll come find you in a bit and you can introduce me to all of the hot guys.”

“Sure thing,” I assured her, rolling my eyes. “I’ll be fine right here.”

So, off she went and there I stayed. After saying hello to a few people I recognized, I refilled my beer and headed outside to the pit. I should have known who I would find there. Standing across the fire, reflected in the light, stood Max with four of his friends and a flock of girls,
of course
.

Dressed in all black, the boy was simply mesmerizing. His head was down and he seemed to be listening intently to something the guy next to him was saying. As if sensing someone watching him, he glanced up. Our eyes met and I was completely and utterly captured. A palpable tension surged between us, an instant connection. From the way his eyes roamed over me, I was certain he felt it too.

Jennifer, who was suctioned to his side, had on a cream colored see through blouse. This wouldn’t have been so bad except for the black push up bra underneath. Her mini skirt was so tight that I was surprised she could move in it and, by the look of the heels on her feet, she was in for a rough night. Eyes on me, Max leaned forward and said something in her ear.

Throwing her head back, she dramatically jumped up and down while making a noise that sounded like the squeal of a
dying pig. The pained expression on Max’s face when she did this was priceless. Trying not to laugh, I turned my back to the fire and counted to ten. After gathering myself, I turned back around. Max was still watching me and, by the look of it, he knew exactly what I was thinking.

Crap!

Dropping my eyes to my feet, I tried not to smile. When I looked back up, Jennifer had him by the hand and was steering him toward the house,
probably to have sex in a coat closet
. When they passed by me, I caught his scent and shivered.

Leather and spice
.

Feeling disappointed, I decided it was time to leave. I was hoofing it to the back gate, hoping it would lead me to the car, when Piper appeared.

Double crap!

“E, what’s wrong?” she grabbed my sleeve to slow me down.

“I think I should leave,” I told her.

“Why? What happened?”

“Max was out here at the fire and…Oh, never mind,” I said, shaking my head. There’s no way that I could make her understand what I was feeling, so why bother?

“Well, honey, they
are
together,” she murmured, as if telling me something I didn’t already know.

“I know, but did you
see
her tonight? Why would he want someone like
that
?”

“Probably because all the guys say that even though she’s a bitch and dresses like a ho, she is super limber and puts out in a variety of ways. Look,” she pulled me in, giving me a big hug, “he is not worth you being upset over. He is just an incredibly gorgeous asshole and you are way too beautiful to want someone who would treat you like that. Now, it’s high time that you forget about Max. You need to have some fun, quit acting like
Debbie Downer and stop taking everything so damn seriously. We are juniors,
in high-school
, for Pete’s sake!”

“I was thinking that I’m pretty much done here,” I told her.

“Okay, but first, let’s get some more liquid courage and then we’ll re-evaluate the scene after.”

Maybe she was right. Maybe it was time to let my childish fantasy of Max go. Maybe it was time to embrace my reality, whatever that may bring…..
maybe
.

After several beers too many, Piper pointed to a guy who was standing across the room from us. “That’s Carter Andrews,” she half slurred. I kind of recognized him but, unlike Piper, I was not personally acquainted with all of the males in the entire high-school. “He’s cute and supposedly wild in bed,” she informed. As soon as the words left her mouth, Carter’s head shot up and his eyes landed on both of us.

“Nice Jedi mind trick,” I whispered.

She giggled. “I know, right?” We watched him approach.

“Piper,” he purred, “Where have you been?”

“Away,” she nonchalantly replied. “Carter, this is my best friend Ellie. Ellie, this is Carter.”

Carter was no Max, by all means, but with my beer goggles securely fastened, he was looking pretty good.

Fun with no strings Ellie. You can do this
.

Carter toothily smiled. “Ellie, nice to meet you. You are looking hot tonight.”

I noticed that his left eye was wildly twitching and was about to ask him if he had something in it, when it hit me.

He’s winking at me
.