Textbook Romance

When we got to the club, I was grinning ear to ear. Max had slung his arm over my shoulder as I walked with the band and Brad. I glared at Max but didn't shove his tattooed arm away from me. There was a line waiting at the door and I thought that maybe we'd walk right in, but the guys led me off to the side.

"What are we doing?" I questioned, looking up to Max's green eyes.

He chuckled. "We're waiting for Brad to get ahold of a friend whose already inside the club."

I frowned but nodded my head. Craig and Brad ran off towards the door and the bouncer to search for the guy who was evidently coming out to find us. Max just chuckled as I hopped up and down anxiously, wanting to get in. Max wrapped his arms around my waist from behind, resting his chin on my shoulder. I heard him chuckle again as I froze, automatically.

"Max," I stated, "This is not friend behavior."

"Really?" Max asked, pretending to sound confused, "Craig and I stand like this all the time."

"I'm sure you do," I muttered sarcastically, "Now get off of me."

Max just chuckled and scooted a little bit closer to me. "You need to learn to relax," Max told me with a laugh in his voice.

"No Max," I growled, trying to slide out of his grasp, "I wanted to be treated like one of your friends. I know you're depending on me to help you right now but that doesn't mean you have to hang all over me-"

I was cut off as Max turned me around by my shoulders. "What-" I was cut off as Max's lips pressed against mine roughly, his silver lip rings making an impression on my bottom lip. For just a moment my eyes closed as he reached up and pulled my face ever closer to his, with his palms against my cheeks. But then my eyes shot open and I shoved Max away from me by his chest, causing him to stumble backwards a few steps.

"What do you think you're doing?" I shouted loudly, catching the attention of a few people in the line.

Max reached up and wiped the extra bit of lip gloss from his lips, a smirk on his face. He shrugged in reply.

I glared at him, wishing right then that I had never gotten into all of this with him. Max noticed the gears in my head turning and smoke coming out of my ears, so he replied.

"You said you wanted to be treated like a friend." He added a shrug.

"Friends don't kiss friends!" I screamed at him, shoving his chest away from me.

Max laughed at my outburst. "But I kiss Craig on stage."

I stared at him blankly, wondering how he ever found a way to get past the 'just friends' idea that he himself had put in my mind. I grunted and turned to walk away from Max, following after Monte and Robert as Craig called us over. I ran over to Craig and wrapped my arms around his waist, letting him lead me into the club.

When we entered there was loud music pumping through out the entire building. I grinned at Craig as he looked to my face, searching for my expression and grinning at my obvious excitement.

Craig nodded towards a roped off section. I let him lead me up a couple stairs and to a table where a group of two guys sat with Brad, talking loudly over the deafening music.

I sat down on one side of the table, scooting over in the booth so that Craig could slid in beside me, his arm over my shoulder. The rest of the guys, Max included, sat down in chairs around the table.

"Gabe, Angel, this is Ginny, she's a friend of ours," Craig introduced, pointing to each of the men sitting across from me.

I waved as I looked over the two men sitting there. One had short brown hair while the other had long hair. I stared at the one in the green shirt, wondering where I had seen him before. After a few minutes I gave up and brushed it off, hopping up.

"I'm going to dance," I claimed as I turned on my heel and hopped down the stairs, towards the giant crowd of dancing people.

When I got to the middle of the floor I starting dance by myself but soon after there was a blonde guy dancing behind me. I grinned as I turned around to dance with him, my arms going around his neck. His eyes were a murky brown color and his hair was dirty blonde and short. He was an athletic type. He was wearing a blue polo shirt and light colored jeans. His skin was sun-kissed and he was muscular. We danced for awhile, smiling and laughing with each other. I danced with people for a few hours, including the guys. I excused myself after a while so that I could go get a drink. I made my way over to the bar and leaned against it as I waited for the bartender.

"Can I get a Margarita, please?" I called out as he walked over towards me.

He looked me over once and then turned to make my drink. I reached out for it and then he pulled his hand back and set it on the bar. "Can I see an ID?" he questioned, looking to me with a knowing glance.

"I-" I started, but a voice cut me off.

"Can I get a Margarita and a beer?"

I looked over and rolled my eyes at Max.

"Just give me a water then," I growled to the bartender.

He handed me a bottle of water, I handed him a couple dollars, then turned and walked away, knowing that if the bartender were to know that Max and I know each other, he wouldn't serve Max any alcohol either and even though I was mad at him for kissing me, I still wanted my drink.

I went back up to the table and sat down on an empty chair. A few minutes later Max came walking up, joining in the conversation with the rest of the guys before he even sat down. He set my drink down in front of me and nodded for me to get up. I shook my head and took a sip of the drink. Max rolled his eyes and set his beer on the table. He pushed me out of the chair, the same one he was sitting in earlier, and sat down. I wasn't about to give in so I sat on his lap and crossed my legs.

One of Max's arms wrapped around my waist while the other held his beer. After a couple minutes of me smacking Max's hand away from my stomach, were he was trying to draw circles, I stood up, set my drink on the table and grabbed his wrist.

"I need to talk to you," I growled. He stood up on his own and followed me as I dragged him down the stairs. I decided that we'd have to go outside so that he could hear me. I pushed through one of the doors and Max followed behind me.

"Why do you keep doing that?" I yelled loudly as we stood behind the back of the building, "Why do you keep hanging on me, touching me, kissing me?" I screamed at him, tugging on the tips of my hair, a sort of annoying tick that I had acquired over the years.

Max shuffled uneasily, sticking his hands in the pockets of his jeans. Max's hair was falling in his face, the dark brown strands long and shiny, curving slightly. Then he looked up from the ground and tucked his hair behind his ears. His green eyes were shinning in the street lights, contrasting extensively with the red eyeliner around his eyes. "Maybe I'm not so good at just being friends with girls," Max murmured, looking into my eyes, "Maybe I like the way you look with your hair almost as dark as mine. Maybe I like the tattoos on your arms and the way you get mad when I try to get a little bit closer to you.

"Maybe I love the way you seem so fearless and how even though I'm a total ass, you still care enough to help me." Max sighed and ran his fingers through his outgrown hair, "Maybe I like you, Nev. Like the way you look, act, the way you smoke cigarettes and how, after I kissed you, you licked your lips and didn't freak out when you could taste the smokes on mine."

Max looked at me with a knowing look on his face. Knowing that I wouldn't say it back to him. That I knew he was too irrational to think straight, about to be overcome with pain, both mental and physical. About to deal with Withdrawal. He knew that he could say whatever he wanted and I wouldn't hold it against him because soon enough he'd wake up sweating and wanting something that I wouldn't let him have.

"Max..." I trailed off, "Don't do this. You know I have a boyfriend."

Max just smiled and walked over to me. He wrapped his tattooed arms around my waist and pulled me closer to him, not caring that I wasn't reacting to him. "It doesn't bother me," he murmured into my hair, his lips at my hair, "I still like you."

I rolled my eyes and braced my hands against his chest, ready to shove him away. But Max pulled me flush against him and attached his lips to my neck. "Max, no," I demanded, trying to push him off.

He kissed my neck and then look up to me. "Tell me you don't want me and I'll back off."

I looked into his eyes and said the words. "I don't want you like this, Max," I told him, pushing on him again.

Max looked at me for a minute and then held his hands up and backed off. "Sorry," he told me, turning and going back to the door that we came out of. Luckily he was smart enough to prop it open so now he walked back through it, not bothering to look back at me as I called after him.

"Max!" I called, running after him. I finally reached him and grabbed onto the back of the sweatshirt that I had brought, that he was now wearing. All at once Max turned around and pulled me into his arms.

He smirked at me as he held me. "I told you," he grinned, "If you didn't care about me you wouldn't have ran after me."

I scoffed and pushed him away. "You're such an ass!" I yelled as I walked away, towards the pounding music and the sounds of people chatting and drinking.

"But you love me!" Max yelled after me, a smirk in his voice and on his lips.