Since Forever Ago

by Olivia Besse

  “Well, aren’t you the gentleman,” she sarcastically muttered in response to his unenthusiastic reaction. “Anyway, come on. I need a drink.”

  Max froze slightly, unsure of how to proceed. He didn’t want Riley marching around the house in her tiny dress, but it wasn’t like he could forbid her from doing so.

  Or could he?

  “Just stay here,” he instructed, picking the blanket off of the floor and wrapping it tightly around her once again. “I’ll go and get some for us,” he added, tucking the corner of the blanket back into itself, effectively entangling Riley in some sort of cotton burrito situation. “And don’t move!”

  “Max!” he heard her cry out in exasperation as he began walking away.

  As Max dragged his feet to the kitchen, he felt someone slap his back good-naturedly. Looking up, he saw that the perpetrator was none other than Jeremy, the house’s resident douchebag. Jeremy was the kind of guy who loved being in a fraternity, as it all but guaranteed promiscuous extracurricular activities with a different girl every night, especially for a guy as good-looking and charming as he. Flashing his blindingly white teeth at Max, Jeremy flipped his perfectly coiffed sandy blonde hair and leaned in close.

  “Max,” he began, a cocky smirk on his face as he glanced in the direction of the living room. “Who’s your friend?”

  An unsettling feeling filling his stomach, Max cleared his throat and tried to play it cool. “Who? Riley?”

  “Riley, huh?” Jeremy continued in a low voice, nodding in recognition at two giggling girls as they walked past. “Have I met her before?”

  Hell fucking no, Max thought to himself, trying not to roll his eyes in Jeremy’s face. Even if the two had met before, it’s not like Jeremy would have remembered. He probably didn’t even remember the name of his conquest from last night.

  “I don’t think so,” Max mumbled, avoiding Jeremy’s eyes as he grabbed two beers from the fridge. “She’s not in a sorority or anything.”

  Jeremy’s eyes lit up at the prospect of fresh meat being within his immediate reach. “So can you hook it up?”

  Max turned to him with an unamused expression, digging his nails into the palm of his hand as he tried his best not to sock Jeremy square in the jaw. “She’s not that type of girl.”

  “Bro, I never said I was going to try anything!” Jeremy cried in defense, letting out an obnoxious laugh as he slapped Max on the shoulder again. “I just want to make new friends. Expand my social circle beyond Greek life, you know?”

  You seemed perfectly content with Greek life until ten seconds ago, Max grumbled inwardly as he shot Jeremy a tired frown. “I don’t think so,” he muttered, pushing his way back towards the living room before Jeremy could respond.

  “There you are,” Riley groaned out as she looked up from her phone screen, the blanket nowhere in sight. “I thought you ditched me!”

  “Never,” Max quietly replied, shooting her a weak smile before handing over one of the beers in his hands.

  “Beer?” Riley whined out, staring at the bottle in her hand in distaste. “Don’t you guys have vodka? Or tequila, even?”

  “Tequila?” a voice rang out from behind them. “Sure, I’ve got tequila. Here, we can go get some together.”

  Max could see Riley’s eyes widen in interest before he turned around to glare viciously at Jeremy. Fuck, fuck, fuck, he silently screamed, closing his eyes tightly as he heard Jeremy introduce himself. He’s the worst possible person that Riley could meet right now. No, fuck that. He’s just the worst in general.

  As Jeremy complimented Riley on her dress, Max rolled his eyes so fiercely that, for a moment, he worried that he’d torn his extraocular muscles. When Riley proceeded to giggle like some sort of deranged woodland critter from an animated movie, Max found it difficult not to scoff too loudly. And, when Jeremy gestured for Riley to follow him into the kitchen so as to indulge in the aforementioned tequila, Max made sure that he was within arm’s reach of her with every step that she took.

  “Why didn’t you just introduce me to him from the beginning?” Riley hissed to him under her breath, staring ahead at the back of Jeremy’s head with what might as well have been cartoon hearts in her eyes.

  “No way,” Max dismissively replied. “Jeremy’s the last thing you need right now. He’s just going to try to get into your pants and then conveniently ‘lose’ your number the next day!”

  “That’s kind of exactly what I need right now, Max.”

  “What?” Max blurted out in surprise as they reached the kitchen counter.

  “I... well, um,” Riley mumbled, her cheeks turning pink. “I have... needs too, you know.”

  Before Max could respond, Jeremy had returned with the bottle of tequila he had promised. “And here we go,” he charmingly announced, presenting Riley with a shot glass as one would an engagement ring. “For the beautiful lady.”

  As Riley began to giggle like an idiot once again, Max could feel his face begin to harden. There was no way he was going to leave her alone with Jeremy, no matter how many looks of “get lost” or “go the fuck away” either of them shot in his direction. Max Fletcher had never been a fan of the delicate art of cockblocking, but he knew very well that today was the day that he would begin exercising his appreciation.

  “What about me?” Max asked in a flat voice, staring down at the glass in Riley’s hand before looking up at Jeremy again.

  “Uh, sure,” Jeremy replied, a puzzled frown forming on his face as he turned back around to fetch one for his intrusive friend.

  “What are you doing?” Riley asked as she wrinkled her nose in annoyance. “You hate tequila.”

  “What are you talking about?” Max replied with a scoff. “Who told you that?”

  “You did,” she stated, sharing a look with Jeremy as he returned.

  “You must’ve heard wrong,” Max began, eagerly holding his glass out so as if to make a point. “Because I just so happen to love tequila.”

  Fuck, I hate tequila, he groaned to himself once he had tossed back the stinging liquid, fighting back a gag as he did. I really fucking hate tequila.

  But as he saw Riley holding her glass out for another pour, he found that his hand followed suit, thrusting his own glass in Jeremy’s direction. Arm, what are you doing? You don’t want to be doing that, trust me.

  Despite the fact that Max wanted to curl up and die every time that the bitter fumes hit his nose, he matched Riley and Jeremy shot for shot until the three of them were very, very drunk. The things I do for you, he silently grumbled as he watched Riley laugh at Jeremy’s lame jokes. And you don’t even care.

  As Max continued on with his muted, one-sided conversation with an oblivious Riley, a high-pitched squeal could be heard, its owner headed in their direction like a heat-seeking missile.

  “Max!” April cried out, clinging to him like a baby koala would its mother. “I’ve been looking everywhere for you. Where’d you run off to earlier?”

  Max could hardly stand the girl when he was sober, and he was even less capable of being nice to her when he was drunk. Letting out a shaky breath, he turned to April with a tired frown. “Go away, April,” he mumbled out, though she merely giggled uproariously at his “joke”, slapping him on the arm with an overjoyed smile on her face.

  Jeremy’s eyes lit up at the ditzy girl’s arrival, excited by the prospect of someone having come along to drag Max away. “Yea, April, go away. And you know what? Take Max with you!”

  “Oh my God, Jeremy, shut up,” April scoffed in response, flipping her long hair over her shoulder in annoyance. “This is an A and B conversation, so you can C your way out.”

  “What is she? Twelve?” Riley muttered under her breath.

  “April, I’m not in the mood,” Max groaned out, shaking her hands off of his shoulder.

  “You’re never in the mood,” April said in a tiny voice, playfully pouting at him. “But I bet I can—”

  “Wait,” Max suddenly blurt
ed out, ignoring April’s flirting as he stared intently at Riley. “We totally forgot to do... that thing.”

  “What thing?” Riley asked, scrunching her nose in confusion.

  “You know... that thing!” Max cried out in exasperation, unable to come up with even a hint of a story. Slick, Fletcher, he groaned with a mental shake of his head. Really slick.

  “Huh?”

  “That... thing, remember? Uh, we need to hurry up and... come on,” he eventually choked out, grabbing Riley’s wrist and leading her away before he even realized what he was doing.

  “Max, what the fuck?” he heard Jeremy’s voice call out from behind him as he pulled Riley up the stairs. “Dude, did you see that? Fletcher’s fucking drunk off his ass.”

  “What are you doing?” Riley demanded in a hushed whisper, prying her wrist away from Max’s grip. “What ‘thing’ are you even talking about, anyway?”

  “Shhh!” Max drunkenly hushed her, glancing behind them to see if they had been followed.

  “You don’t get along very well with tequila, do you?” Riley asked, a bored look on her face as she watched him play secret agent.

  “And you do?” he whispered back, smirking at her in amusement.

  “Max?” April’s high-pitched voice rang out from around the corner, just as he had been expecting. “Maxie?”

  “Fuck!”

  A pained look on his face, Max brought his finger to his lips and motioned for Riley to follow him. Frantically looking around for an escape, he pushed past a loitering couple in the hallway and lunged for the door to his room, pulling Riley inside with him before quietly clicking it shut.

  “Maaaaax,” April’s voice drawled out as she stopped in front of their hiding spot. “Where aaaare you?”

  Riley held back a snort of laughter as April proceeded to jiggle the doorknob, causing Max to hold his breath in horror. “Max?” her voice called out from the other side of the door. “Are you in there? Let me in. I promise it’ll be worth it.”

  At this, Riley could hardly contain herself, and Max nervously placed his hand over her mouth to silence her giggles. Fuck! he cried to himself as April continued to whine from her post in the hallway. What was I thinking? Evan was right—never put your dick in crazy!

  After a few minutes, April eventually gave up and began making her way back to the party, her footsteps echoing throughout the hallway until they could no longer be heard. Once it became apparent that his stalker was no longer in the vicinity, Max let out a relieved sigh and glanced over to find Riley grinning brightly at him.

  “Maaax,” Riley teased in a whisper, prompting him to shoot her a peeved glare.

  “Fuck, she’s seriously crazy,” Max muttered under his breath. “How do I get myself into these situations?”

  “She must want the D,” Riley replied in a low voice before laughing hysterically at her own response.

  “You don’t have to talk like that with me, you know,” Max grumbled, an unamused look on his face. “You should save the charm for your dates.”

  “You mean my imminent date with Jeremy?” Riley gushed, dramatically clasping her hands to her chest as Max snarled in response.

  “Trust me, you don’t want to go on a date with Jeremy,” Max informed her. “His idea of a date is Snapchatting you a picture of his dick before asking you to come over in the middle of the night.”

  “A true romantic,” Riley said with a sigh. “What do you have against him, anyway?”

  “What do you see in him?” Max snapped back, hoping that she couldn’t see his reddening cheeks through the darkness.

  “I don’t know!” Riley blurted out, her shoulders slumping in defeat. “I just... I liked how he was giving me attention, I guess.”

  “I give you attention,” Max petulantly replied.

  “Not that kind of attention, though,” Riley whined, tucking her hair behind her ears as she prepared to explain what she meant. “Like guy attention.”

  “I’m a guy too, Riley,” Max whispered, his throat choking up as he did. “In case you haven’t noticed.”

  Fletcher, what the fuck are you doing? he screamed at himself. No, no, no, no, no! Stop fucking talking. Why the hell did you drink that tequila? Did you think that it would somehow be magically different this time? Tequila is not your friend, motherfucker.

  “Well, I mean, of course you’re a guy,” Riley said with a dismissive wave of her hand. “I’m just saying that it’s just nice to have a guy... I don’t know... want me.”

  “I...”

  “Ugh, that sounds so pathetic,” Riley continued, shaking her head in embarrassment. “But you’re right, I guess. I don’t know what I was thinking. I just thought that maybe he could teach me some stuff... like stuff that you can’t help me with.”

  “What kind of... stuff?” Max quietly asked despite knowing very well what she meant.

  “Don’t make me say it,” Riley groaned loudly, a pained smile on her face. “God, I’m so lame.”

  “I... I could teach you.”

  What. The. Fuck. Are. You. Doing.

  “What?”

  Are you really doing this right now? he demanded of himself as Riley looked up at him with a bewildered expression. Oh God, you’re really doing this right now.

  Fuck, why is she staring at me like that? Is she scared? Am I scaring her? Oh my God, I’m scaring her. No, wait, her face is softening. Hold up, does she actually want me to make a move? Is that a look of invitation? I’m pretty sure that her biting her lip means that you’re being given the green light...

  Or am I reading this all wrong?

  Okay, just go for it, Fletcher. But don’t fuck this up. For the love of all that is good and mighty, please do not fuck this up. I REPEAT, DO NOT FUCK THIS UP.

  Okay, man, you got this, he heard his inner voice soothingly continue. Riley’s not the first girl you’ve ever been with, so stop acting like such a pussy. She’s just a girl. She’s just like every other girl.

  ...Except that she’s not. She’s perfect and special and she’s better than every other girl you’ve ever been with. Oh God, you’re going to fuck this up. You’re going to fuck this up, I just know it.

  “Max...?” Riley asked, a tinge of uncertainty in her voice.

  Why is he looking at me like that? she wondered, staring up at him with widened eyes. What is happening right now? Oh my God, this is, like, really confusing. Wait, is Max hitting on me?

  No, there’s no way. Dammit, Riley, I told you not to drink fucking tequila. Now look what you’ve gone and done. You’re hallucinating! You are literally a crazy person.

  No, wait a minute. He’s reaching over. Why’s he reaching over? Holy shit, you’re not hallucinating. You’re not the crazy person here—he is!

  “Guys like it,” Max began in an almost inaudible whisper, his voice trembling as he pushed a strand of her blonde locks behind her ear. “They like it when a girl’s face isn’t covered by her hair.”

  “Oh?”

  This is real? Oh my God, oh my God, oh my God, what is he doing? What’s going on? I’m so confused, she whimpered to herself as she lifted her eyes to look into his. Why is this—

  Have his eyes always been that blue? she couldn’t help but notice as he held her gaze in the deafening silence. Like, I know they’re blue, but were they always so... blue? And why—

  Oh God, he’s going to touch me again. Why is Max touching me? Does he want to touch me? Where is this even coming from?

  “And they... they like it when her skin is as soft as a baby’s,” he continued, running his fingertips ever so lightly along her shoulder. As the pads of his fingertips grazed her skin, it felt as if tiny jolts of electricity were left in the wake of each touch. When he gently pushed the strap of her dress off of her shoulder, Riley could feel her stomach flutter in anticipation, her pulse quickening at the prospect of what was to happen next.

  What the hell? she frantically wondered as she continued to stare into Max’s slightly shaking eyes. I
s this really happening? Me? With Max? What would our parents think?

  Why the hell are you thinking of your parents right now, dumbass? Riley groaned inwardly as she tried her best to steady her breathing. Her skin tingled as he trailed his fingers along the length of her arm, and she could feel goosebumps popping up as a shiver ran down her spine. As Max nudged the strap off of her other shoulder and the fabric of her dress slowly slinked off of her body, she could hear him sharply intake his breath before pulling her closer.

  Hooooly shit, she thought to herself as his body was soon pressed up against her own. She could feel every cool gust of air leaving his nose on the side of her neck, and she could barely stop her knees from buckling as he gently traced the edge of her underwear with his finger. In fact, she was so caught up in the moment that she hadn’t noticed that she had been holding her breath the entire time.

  “They like it when the girl wants it as badly as they do,” he whispered, his hot breath tickling the tiny hairs inside her ear. Riley could feel her entire body tense up when Max brought his lips to the sensitive skin of her neck, letting out a tiny whimper as a wave of excitement flooded her body. Moving at an almost excruciatingly slow pace, he planted a trail of light kisses down to her collarbone before pulling away, and Riley could feel her body involuntarily shudder as he looked into her eyes once again.

  A tiny smirk formed on Max’s lips as he cupped the side of her face in one of his hands. “And I,” he quietly began as his face leaned in towards her own. “I like you.”

  Oh fuck, Riley panicked silently as his face inched closer and closer. Is this really fucking happening right now? He likes me? Since when has he liked me? He can’t possibly like like me, right? What is this? I mean, come on! Max? Is he even a guy? Does he even—

  Just as the soft skin of Max’s lips pressed against hers, however, all of the thoughts swirling through Riley’s brain vanished without a trace. Oh, he was definitely a guy.

  Am I really kissing Max right now? her inner voice shrieked, ruining what would have been a perfectly nice moment had she not been such an inebriated mess. His tongue is literally in my mouth. Oh my God, Max Fletcher’s tongue is in my mouth. Should I put my tongue in his mouth? Ugh, he tastes like tequila. Or is that me?