Last Kiss

Max’s car cost more than my college tuition…and after Governor Corbett cut the funding for the education programs in Pennsylvania, my college tuition cost a lot. I quickly found out that Max likes his cars the way he likes his wine—aged, expensive, and absolutely beautiful. His black classic ’67 Mustang ran like a dream, and I couldn’t help but let out an appreciative whistle as he led me out to the parking garage.

A smug grin quickly overtook his face as he lightly nudged me. “Like it?” he asked, watching my face for a reaction. Before I could express exactly how jealous I was, Max interrupted me. “Of course you like it. Who doesn’t like it?”

“It’s….awesome,” I finished lamely, a little annoyed that he was making assumptions for me. He didn’t notice my tone, however, as he walked to the passengers’ side door and, with one fluid motion, opened it.

“Well?” he asked, his eyebrows furrowing in impatience. “Are you going to stand around all night, or are you going to get in?” He quickly glanced down to his Rolex watch and began to tap his foot against the concrete. The sound echoed through the parking garage like the steady drip of water from a faucet in an abandoned house. It made me shudder, though I’m not sure why.

I bit my lip to keep a comeback from escaping, but I couldn’t keep my mind from screaming at Max in annoyance anyway. Who gave him the right to suddenly be rude to me? The thought of just leaving and walking back into the CEC fluttered briefly through my mind, but I quickly disregarded it. After all, Max had seemed decent up until this point. Plus, as vain as it sounded (even to myself), I was all dressed up and didn’t want to waste it. So why the hell not?

Lifting my chin slightly in pride, I walked over to the car and slid into the seat, flashing a bright grin up at Max. “Thanks for opening my door, Superstar,” I said with a wink.

A barking laugh burst from his lips, and I immediately frowned at his reaction. Still chuckling, Max shook his head and leaned down a little so that our faces were level. “Babe, I’m just opening your door so you don’t scratch my paint,” he said, his eyes gazing condescendingly upon me. “By the way, don’t you even DARE touch anything in here. I just spent a shit ton of money getting this thing made perfectly for me.”

Before my shocked visage could even begin to comprehend what he had said, let alone formulate a reply, Max shut the door with a click. Stunned, I watched his figure move gracefully around the hood of the car, gently open his own door, and slide in.

In fact, it took most of the absolutely silent car ride to Marc-Andre Fleury’s apartment before I was able to find my voice. Unfortunately, by that point, my thoughts were whirling angrily inside my head at a thousand miles per hour, and my frustration came out as three simple words.

“STOP. THIS. CAR.” I shrieked with fury, my hands clenching in my lap until my knuckles were white. My fingernails raked across my thigh, leaving angry red slashes, but my sheer annoyance masked the pain completely.

Talbot glanced over at me for a mere moment before training his eyes back on the road. An amused smirk adorned his face as he lightly sighed. “I just don’t think that’s possible,” he said, shaking his head from side to side. “You see, I need a date for this party. You’re smokin’ hot, Audrey. So you’ll be like one of a thousand girls who I’ve been with; we’ll go to the party, drink way too much, and then I’ll take you back to my place where the real party can start.”

His words sunk in slowly as my mouth gaped open at him. “WHAT?” I screeched, almost uncomprehendingly. “If you think I’m some cheap slut who is going to—”

“Look at you,” Talbot interrupted. “You’re wearing some short, tight red dress and heels. You’ve got your hair and makeup all done up. You’ve done nothing but flirt all evening, and you were clearly looking for some kind of Penguin when you snuck back to the kitchen area. Don’t try to deny it.”

“I look like this because I was at a formal dinner,” I fumed. “I went back to find some food because I was hungry. Don’t you even DARE to make assumptions about me, you little prick! You don’t—”

“Oh, yeah, sure,” Max quickly interrupted again, “but who are people going to believe: a stupid little college girl like you? Or a superstar like me?”

I stared at him blankly for a long moment before taking a deep breath and speaking softly. “The people who matter will believe me,” I said, calculating my words, “and that’s all that really matters.”

The next thing I knew, the car had stopped and Max put it into park. Apparently we had arrived at Fleury’s party. Turning towards me with a huge, obviously fake grin, he murmured, “Make me look bad at this party, and you’ll regret it.” With that, he pushed open his door and swung his legs to the concrete before walking around and opening my door once again.

I was conflicted. Obviously Max was a douche bag, but something about him radiated power, and his threat frightened me. Before I quite realized what I was doing, I placed my hand in his and let him haul me to my feet. I quickly used my free hand to straighten out my dress, a medley of emotions playing across my face.

Obviously Max saw my inner-dilemma, but before I could think properly, he began walking towards the door with me in tow.

Suddenly we were inside, and there was even less time for thinking as I met player after player and family member after family member. It seemed as though the whole team had shown up and brought at least one or two people with them. It made for an extremely crowded apartment, and I was glad for the noise and the music so that I didn’t have to talk to Max.

And, really, Max didn’t expect me to talk to anyone else, either. Whenever I tried to introduce myself, he would quickly interrupt. If someone asked me about college, he would quickly field the question. Truly, Max seemed only interested in having me hang off his arm to make himself look good.

While I felt demeaned, I still didn’t complain. It gave me time to think and finally get my thoughts together. And when I did, I quickly came up with the ultimate revenge plan.

When I finally had the chance to speak, I quickly excused myself to the bathroom, grinning like a fool. Unfortunately, Max apparently thought that I was going to ditch him, and that he would have to deal with his irrational fear of being alone. So, while I slipped into the tiny restroom, Max announced loudly that he would wait outside the door, “longing for my eventual return to his arms.” Gag.

Once inside, I quickly locked the door behind me and reformulated my plan. Obviously sneaking out through the door wouldn’t work, but I had a sneaking suspicion that the window in this bathroom would also be the access to a fire escape. With my fingers crossed, I hurriedly strode over to the window, pushing it open with a grunt.

My eyes immediately lit upon the old, rusted fire escape that lined the building. Luckily for me, Fleury only lived on the third floor, so it wouldn’t be a far climb down. Quite ungracefully, but with glee, I used my arms to push myself up and through the window, straddling it for a brief moment like a horse, then let my feet gently touch upon the metal. The climb to the ground was much easier, though my hands were bitten by the rust, leaving several small gashes in my palms. I quickly wiped them on some nearby grass and set off on my mission.

Women smarter than I would have simply fled. It would have been easy to call a cab, get in, and never look back. But I thrive on revenge, and I knew exactly how I would achieve it.

A long time ago, I was friends with a guy who loved to work on cars. He tried to teach me a few things, but I never really remembered anything he said. The only thing that I did remember was how to dismantle the security systems on cars. It wasn’t a very useful skill, seeing as how I had never used it and didn’t exactly condone grand theft auto. But, tonight it would come in handy.

I slowly tiptoed over to Max’s prized ’67 Mustang and pried open the hood. After a brief moment of recollection, I quickly pulled three copper wires and re-shut the hood. The alarm gone, a grin spread across my face as I picked up the biggest rock I could find. I knew I had to be fast, and I knew exactly what had to be done.

The rock slammed into the windshield of the car, quickly shattering it into a million tiny pieces. I was pleased to see some of the shards slicing open the leather interior, and I smiled at the amount of damage I had already caused. Picking up one of the shards, I quickly dug zigzagged lines into the hood, ruining both the paint and the metal underneath. Smiling with an almost crazy grin, I tossed the piece of glass back into the car and began my walk back to the apartment.

A saner person might have left. I, on the other hand, wanted to see Max’s reaction to the damage.

That’s when I saw the figure watching me. He or she was on the third floor, and I could easily guess that it was Fleury’s apartment. The figure stood silently, silhouetted by the bright lights of the party behind him or her. My insides flipped around, knowing I had been caught, and I froze in my tracks for a moment. The figure gracefully glided away, and I breathed a sigh of relief. Even if someone had seen the damage, it seemed unlikely that he or she would recognize me in the darkness.

Feeling the sudden urge to get back to the party, I quickly ascended the rusty ladder, washed my hands in the sink, and turned the doorknob to head back out into the hallway. I quickly looked around for Max, planning on feigning a nice, long pooping session, but he was nowhere to be seen. Frowning a little, I let my gaze continue the search around the room. What if he was the one who had seen me? My heart gave a little lurch of fear as I instantly regretted my actions. I didn’t have the money to pay for the repairs, and I instantly dreaded a lawsuit.

That’s when I finally spotted him. He had retreated to the couch on the far wall, a drink adorning his right hand. However, he was much more preoccupied with the tall brunette eating his face that his left hand was groping.

Turning away in a mixture of disgust and relief, I almost didn’t notice the male figure watching me. Actually, I probably wouldn’t have noticed him at all if I hadn’t taken a step backwards, effectively bumping into him.

“Sor—” I began to apologize, but I was stopped short by the cold look in his eyes.

“I saw what you did outside,” he said softly, looking around to make sure nobody else could hear. “We need to talk. Now.” He gestured to an unoccupied room across the hall and raised one eyebrow questioningly.

Taking a long, shuddering breath of fear, suddenly completely unsure of my actions, I nodded slowly and made my way into the room.