Maxed Steel

by Fields, MJ

  He plays with his phone for a minute then hands it back to me. “Fixed. All others are saved, but if they don’t work for you, it’s MAXED1. I want you to jump in my DMs and delete or deny anyone who’s not family. If there are pics, delete them. I care about one set of tits only.”

  “I’m not going to invade your privacy like that.”

  “I’m asking you to. Took a screenshot of my schedule, too; would love to compare ours to see where we can sneak in some study time.” He smirks.

  * * *

  Sitting on my bed, eating a big fat helping of mac and cheese—comfort food—that Lindsey, who’s in the shower, brought me from the café, I look down at the phone and feel kind of sick to my stomach. I believe that, right now, Max wants all that he says he does, and I know, if I allowed myself to, I would fall so deep and so hard for him. Hell, I already did once.

  Four days from being with him and you’re right back there again.

  “Why are you crying? Did the mac and cheese not work?” Lindsey asks, walking toward me as she towel dries her hair.

  “I am so scared to love him, Linds. So scared.” I set the dish on the nightstand and hug my knees. “And I’m so tired of hiding because I’m terrified that, before I even have time to give her a nice home, a nice life, Saylor is going to become a ping pong ball, and that she’ll someday chose money over me. I am so tired of my life being a constant struggle.”

  “Then stop fighting the good that comes your way.”

  I cry more, and Lindsey holds me … again.

  Once I can’t cry anymore, I sit back. “I left all our stuff in Bayside. Friendship fail.”

  “We have a closet full; it’s fine. Did we get a lot of good things for the poor people?”

  I can’t help but laugh. “Yeah, Lindsey.”

  Her eyes widen and brighten all at the same time. “So, now that you’re not keeping Saylor a secret, can I come to the projects with you?”

  I can’t help but laugh as I wipe my face with my comforter. “It’s not Disneyland.”

  “But I wanna see.”

  “Sure. Anytime.”

  “We have a long weekend.” She grins. “No parties either, but that’s a story for a different day.”

  “Okay.”

  “Yeah?” She claps her hands.

  I roll my eyes as I scoot to the edge of the bed. “I’m going to shower.”

  She holds up Max’s phone. “Want me to do the dirty work?”

  “Sure. But I don’t want to know if anyone I hang with sent Max nasty pictures. And don’t send any messages.”

  She’s already in his phone when I walk into the bathroom.

  * * *

  Getting out of the shower, I hear Lindsey’s muffled talking and laughter. I quickly throw on one of the tees I got for free on move-in day. It seems unreal to me that it was less than a week ago.

  I open one of the drawers in the plastic storage cart under the sink and grab a pair of sleep shorts. Then I look in the mirror quickly to see if my face is any less blotchy as I squeeze out the water from my hair before I run a brush through it then step out, toweling my hair.

  “She’s the best kind of person in the whole world. You’ll love her.”

  I freeze when I see her holding Max’s phone up as she talks into the screen.

  “And here she is now.” She smiles as she hops off my bed and hops to me.

  “It’s Carly, Kiki, and Bella.” She grins like this is a good thing until she sees that I clearly don’t. “Um. Here?” She hands me the phone.

  I look down at the screen and see three smiling faces.

  “She takes a minute to warm up,” Bella tells them.

  “Sorry. I, um, wasn’t expecting this.”

  “It’s like Steel Survivor.” Kiki, who I remember from school and my miserable days of social media stalking Max, laughs. “Expect the unexpected.”

  They all laugh, and I force myself to smile.

  “I’m gonna, um … let you have some privacy,” Lindsey says as she makes her escape.

  I shake my head. “She shouldn’t have answered his phone. I shouldn’t even have his phone. This is—”

  “She explained everything.” Carly smiles, and seeing her do so brings immediate tears to my eyes.

  “Oh, dear. We’re a bit much, aren’t we?” she says with all the sincerity in the world.

  I shake my head.

  “Miller,” Carly Steel says.

  “Mom, it’s Mila,” Kiki corrects her.

  “Right.” She giggles. “Miller was what Max called her in the notes they passed, and I—” She clamps her mouth shut.

  Kiki covers her face with her hand. “Real smooth, Mom. Next, you’ll tell her you’ve been putting them all into a Word document because you think she and Max should write smut.”

  “Real smooth, Katherine Ann,” Carly says, her face turning red as she looks back at me. “I apologize in advance, but they were delightful.”

  “She’s going to hang up, and I wouldn’t blame her,” Bella scolds them both. She looks at the screen. “Mom loves herself some Mommy Porn.”

  “It’s racy romance, and yes, I absolutely do.” She smiles at me. “I was going through Max’s room and found a box of memorabilia. Imagine my surprise when I found those folded-up notes with a blue heart and the name Miller on them. They were the only thing that survived when Max was victimized by—”

  “Roofied, Mom. Seriously, you just made him sound like a rape victim.”

  She crosses her arms. “He very well could have been.”

  “You three wanna hand me the phone before she leaves town or get to the point?” A man’s voice comes from off screen.

  When he comes into view, I close my eyes and shake my head.

  “Mila, we can still see you, girl.” Jase Steel laughs.

  “I’m aware.”

  He chuckles. “Right now, are you feeling more like smashing the phone or just hanging up?”

  I open my eyes and look at them all. “I deserve this, so let me have it.”

  “It’s not at all like that, kiddo.” Jase laughs. “I’m just happy that Miller carries an X chromosome.”

  “Jase!” Carly scolds him.

  Looking down at her as he stands behind her, she tilts her head back, her eyes narrowed.

  He does the chin nod thing and asks, “What’s up, C?” And there is where Max gets the smolder.

  Carly tries not to smile as she looks at him. “If Max were gay—”

  “We’d be chill with it. But, as you and I have discussed, no one wants their kid to go through the shit that they just get through.” He quirks a brow. “Arguments lead to—”

  “Stooop,” Kiki cuts him off. “We’re supposed to make her like us, not run the fuck away.”

  “Nice mouth, Katy girl. You kiss your son with that?” he says sternly.

  “Oh, please.” She laughs. “Where do you think I get it from?”

  Bella pipes in, “Ask her what else she does with that mouth.”

  “Enough!” Carly yells out, her tone amused.

  “Momma has spoken.” Jase leans down and kisses her cheek. “I’ll leave you girls to talk.” He looks at the screen and winks. “See you this weekend, Miller.”

  Bella groans. “Spoiler alert, Mila: we’d love to have you and Saylor come chill this weekend with the fam.”

  “Aunt Pam and your sister, Valencia, already accepted, if it’s okay with you.” Carly nods once.

  I shift my gaze to Bella, who holds her hands up. “Shit slips around here when they’re all scheming on how to get Max what he wants. You should know he’s Mom’s favorite, so use that to your advantage.”

  “He is not.” Carly laughs.

  “Totally is,” Kiki agrees. “Max reminds her of Dad.”

  Finally finding my voice, I say, “His smile is Carly’s; the vibe is definitely his father’s.”

  They all laugh and, somehow, in the most awkward conversation in my life, at my most vulnerable, in front of a
screen full of strangers, I smile, too.

  “So, now that we’re better acquainted, the invitation … Friday will be just us.”

  “Just us is still a lot, as you can see,” Kiki sighs as she sits back. “But it’ll be like dipping your toes in the water before the rest of the crew gets here on Saturday and Sunday.”

  “The rest of the crew?”

  “You went to school with them all. Except Tris’s husband, Matteo, if he’s feeling up to it, and Brisa’s hubs, Ranger,” Bella explains.

  I shake my head. “I’m not sure that—”

  Kiki leans forward. “Satan won’t be here. If he shows up, Brand will drown him if I ask.”

  “I have plans to bring my roommate home with me. So, I don’t think—”

  “She’s already been invited, too,” Carly interrupts.

  “She what?” I reply and probably too quickly.

  “If you’re all still here when Brand’s brothers show up Sunday night, or Monday before the big picnic, she’ll be more than entertained,” Kiki assures me.

  “I’d like to thank you for the invitation, but I kind of want to talk to my aunt.”

  “We had a really nice talk,” Carly says sweetly. “We were young and—”

  “I know. But …” I stop when the door opens and look up.

  Max steps in, all smiles and wet.

  “Red out?” he asks, shutting the door behind him then kicking off his sneakers and pulling off a sock.

  “What are you doing?” I ask.

  “You may think of me as just a dumb surfer, Blue”—he opens the door and tosses his stupid sock as he continues talking, giving me no room whatsoever to interrupt—“but you also know I’m multitalented as fuck. Baseball is another game I know a hell of a lot about, and you’re in luck. Tonight’s what we call a double header.”

  “Oh my God, shut up.” I toss his phone, and they all bust up laughing.

  “What the hell are you watching?”

  “A fucking satire, apparently.”

  “Now see what you’ve done, Katy girl; you’ve already corrupted poor Mila.”

  Max stops dead in his tracks, board shorts down to his knees. “Is that my fucking father?”

  I fly off the bed and grab my phone as I head to the door. “You all have fun. I’m calling home.”

  “Blue, come on; don’t be like that.”

  “It’s a lot, Max. A. Lot.”

  Hand on the door, I hear a muffled Carly yell, “Wait, Mila, please!”

  Family

  Max

  I watch her stop, her head and shoulders falling like she’s been defeated as she stands in front of the door and I yank my shorts up.

  “Blue, I’m sorry, babe. But, straight-up, I had no clue you had company.”

  “It’s fine,” she sighs out and turns around.

  I do a quick nip check just to see if she is even slightly turned on by my entry and …. nope, not in the least.

  As she turns to attempt to leave again, I walk over and turn her around, and she looks up. I expect her to be pissed, but when she looks up, she simply looks exhausted.

  “Come on; let’s just chill, yeah?”

  “You three want me to make popcorn, or do you wanna give them some privacy?” Dad says from somewhere on her bed.

  She walks over with me and grabs the phone, handing it to me. “Your family called.”

  “Yeah?” I ask, sitting on the bed and pulling her up with me.

  No fight, no nothing, she sits right between my legs, and it feels really good to have her there.

  Leaning back, I hold the phone up and look at the screen. In the background, I see Dad pull out the air popper and roll my eyes. “You three should think about enrolling. Dorm life is all it’s cracked up to be.”

  “Don’t give them any ideas, Maximus,” Dad warns.

  Worry is etched in my mom’s face as she says, “I didn’t want to hang up without apologizing. I’m sorry, Mila.” She looks up at me. “I’m sorry, Max.”

  Voice shaking, Mila says, “I appreciate that, but I just want to make sure my aunt is okay. I know you all have a past, but she is a good person and, because of her, we weren’t dumped in the foster system, and I am able to go to college so that I can take care of my fami—”

  The fuck? I think as I hug her a bit closer to me.

  Dad pipes in, “If it wasn’t for your aunt, I wouldn’t have even seen pictures of my daughter for the first seven years of her life. Things were messed up back then. All of us have owned up to our ends. Legit laughed about it together over lunch this afternoon. We buried all that in the past. As a matter of fact, future’s looking good, kiddo. Bella even brought the kids to see her again. And—”

  “Can I ask what the hell is going on?” I cut him off, finally having enough of being in the fucking dark.

  Ten minutes later, I know all about Bella’s birth mother’s, Charlee, best friend, who is also Blue’s Aunt Pam, who, apparently, bonded over the shared pain of losing Charlee, then Dad used his dick to fuck information from Aunt Pam, and Aunt Pam kind of used Bella to get good dick.

  Enter Carly and her magical smile, alluring clumsiness, naïveté, and that connection you feel when you found the one—that even two years later sticks with you—Dad not mentioning he had a kid because he thought she would think he was a d-bag for losing custody, and you get Jase and Carly’s story in a nut shell.

  Bet Mom would read that. Hell, if it wasn’t my parents’ story, I would, too.

  I mean, that’s not how the story was told, but pretty much sums it all up, if you leave out the angst. Being that I’m no fan of the angst, that’s exactly how I would summarize that shit.

  But here and now, I gotta man up, protect my woman, and give out a bit of an ass chewing—okay, a nibble, because they’re ladies and all—and set some boundaries.

  “Bella, not cool that you went to Mila without my permission. I’m a grown-ass man, doing grown-ass man things. And …”

  I stop when Kiki starts laughing.

  “Max is doing hot girl shit.”

  “You may want to snap your trap, Kiki, because you’re next.”

  “This is mild compared to the Thanksgiving dinner where Brand showed up and—”

  Thankfully, Mom cuts her off, because Mila might not find the humor in the fact that she lied about banging half the town and didn’t know who she got knocked up by because she didn’t want Brand, who she thought was into Bella, to know it was his kid. And straight-up, I don’t want Mila looking at Brand like he was a two-pump chump, because it would inevitably come out in conversation that he only lasted thirty seconds.

  That may make me sound like a good guy but, reality is, my picnic table game was way the fuck off, and I’m pretty sure I didn’t surpass Brand’s thirty seconds by much. Which was why I was needing that double header tonight, because I know my shit is magic, and Mila needs to know that, too.

  “One word. Boundaries. You all got to make your way without me interfering, I expect you let us do the same.”

  “Oh. Hell. No.” Bella shakes her head. “Any guy who ever came to the house was met by you and Dad giving them some kind of hell. Just because you’re a guy does not mean you skate.”

  “Fine, I won’t come,” I say matter-of-factly.

  “Oh, see? Now please don’t do that,” Mom says, sad as fuck.

  I’m two seconds from giving in when Mila says, “I’ll be there, but maybe not when everyone else is.”

  “Thank you, Mila.”

  “Max.” Dad shakes his head, disapproving.

  “I know, Dad, but she’s my Carly, so you know—”

  “She’s our Mila,” Dad says, crossing his arms. “Right, kiddo?”

  Mila sighs. “Yeah, I guess so.”

  He leans toward the camera and scowls at her. “A little more enthusiasm next time. We don’t let bad shit happen to ours, you feel me?”

  “Yeah.”

  He winks at her, smirks, and then steps back. “We didn�
��t step too far over the line. Didn’t ask for an intro to Saylor. Yet. Want that from you. Oh, and heads-up, the little ones love me.”

  He’s not wrong. The littles think he’s the shit, especially the girls.

  “Love ya, kids.” He leans in, finger up to end the call, and then steps back, pulls Mom, who looks betrayed as fuck in front of him, and they all say, “Goodnight.”

  Mila looks up and over her shoulder at me. I lean down to press a kiss to her lips, and she swerves.

  “You wanna call her back, don’t you?”

  “Fuck, Blue, I do, but—”

  “Call your mom.”

  “I promised you a round two.”

  “If you think I want you inside me when you’re thinking about your mom, you have—”

  “Oh, hell no, you did not just—”

  Laughing, she climbs over me and says, “Such a momma’s boy.”

  “Fuck, I am.” Total lie, I am absolutely a momma’s boy, but I set the phone on the nightstand and settle back.

  “Mmhmm. Make the call, Max.” She giggles softly. “Make the call.”

  “Makes me more a man that I love and respect the woman who gave birth to me,” I explain.

  “Mmhmm.”

  “In a bathtub with no drugs, I might add.”

  “Max, just call your mom.” She yawns.

  “And not like at some clinic or birthing center, or some shit like that, not Carly Steel. She did that like a fucking wilderness woman, on a damn farm.”

  The bed shakes from her silent laughter.

  “I’m not shitting you, Mila. She’s badass like that.”

  I grab my phone and realize it’s not mine.

  “What’s wrong?” she asks, still laughing. “Need your mommy to find your phone?”

  “Fed me from her body for a damn year. That’s some hardcore momming right there. Probably bit those things, too, ’cause I know I had teeth before I was one.”

  When Mila laughs, and then I hear a whole lot more laughter coming from that side of her bed, I grab her and flip her onto her back, and she drops the phone on her waist as she covers her mouth, still laughing.

  “Who the hell did you call?” I ask, picking up the phone.