Choices We Make

“So you and Josh’s mate what’s his name?” Marisol winked at me.

We were sitting crossed legged on my bed gossiping about our nights like a couple of teenage girls.

“It’s Max, and no. I really like him, but just as a friend.” I rolled my eyes and clarified.

“Oh well I can tell he proper fancies you.” She giggled.

I really hoped Max didn’t feel differently than I did about him. He was nice, humorous and tremendously easy to get along with. He felt like a friend or even a brother, I had not a single romantic feeling for him in my body. Although I wish I did, liking Max would be a whole lot simpler.

“Well what about you and Josh? That was a quite the uh- embrace at the door there.” I said holding back a gag at the memory.

Marisol blushed and let out a fake obnoxious giggle.

“He’s so romantic! We went out to a super nice fancy restaurant and after we went back to his house and it got pretty heated and one thing led to another.” She paused thinking.

My insides coiled at the thought.

“Are you guys going steady then?” I mumbled out incomprehensibly.

Marisol squealed.

I took the loud gesture as a ‘yes.’

I smiled at Marisol attempting to be excited about her successful date but the jealously burning at the bottom of my stomach make it challenging.

I don’t like Josh, I don’t even know him.

Marisol danced around the room.

“Mar, I want to go to bed now.”

She frowned at me and looked at the alarm resting on my bed side table.

“It’s 10:00, you’re really going to bed? You’re so boring!”

“I have to open up shop tomorrow early.” I faked a yawn trying to be more realistic.

“Oh I get it now, you’re jealous aren’t you?”

I looked at her wide eyed and confused. She couldn’t possibly know that.

“N-no.” My voice cracked easily letting Marisol know she struck a nerve.

“It’s alright Audy! We’ll find you a perfect guy one day, maybe not as perfect as Josh, but someone more on your level.” She smiled at me like she thought she was doing me a favour.

I smiled back at her trying to not show her how deeply offended I really was.

“Night A, love you!” She kissed my forehead and pranced out of my room leaving me to my thoughts.

Marisol could be a bitch to people, but never to me. I considered everything she said to me to be constructive criticism, she only said it to help me. Lately however I almost felt as if her “constructive criticism” was turning harsh and definitely not helping to better myself.

I got up from my comfy position on my bed to close and lock the door behind Marisol, a habit I had started after the day of the hangover.

I arbitrarily put on pyjamas and let my hair down from the ponytail it was previously in.

I reclined back in bed and fell asleep almost immediately. The last though in my head before my mind let my body was the same person who had been running through my mind constantly throughout the last 4 days.

Josh.

---
My eyes opened instantly a couple hours later due to the feeling of a body crushing my own.

“Max?” I groaned my throat still dry.

He grinned down at me his face inches from mine.

It was 8:30 and yet he still looked bushy eyed and wide awake.

“How’d you get in?” I wrestled my arms out from under him and rubbed the sleep out of my eyes.

“Marisol.” He finished simply.

I let out a big growl and pulled my covers back over my head. I was not a morning person.

“Audrey!” Max whined. “Get up! We have plans today!”

I pulled the covers down over my face a crack and looked at Max through it.

“Plans?”

“We’re hanging with the boys! Well not Josh, he’s off with Marisol for some reason.” Max scoffed.

I giggled as Max pulled the blanket down showing my face and kissed my forehead.

“Get up Audrey, or I’m resorting to drastic measures!” He grinned down at me and straddled my waist.

“No!” I cried.

“If you’re not up by the count of three you’re going to meet the mean side of Max.”

I smirked at him and he responded with an evil smirk.

“You can’t hurt a fly.” I said accusingly

“1,2,”

“Max don’t!” I wailed.

“3!” He shouted ripping the blankets completely off of me and sat back down on my abdomen.

His hands reached from my sides tickling me.

“Max!” I shouted breathlessly between giggles.

“I’m not going to stop until you promise to hang out with me!” One of his hands snaked under my arm to my armpit as I tried to push him away.

“Stop it! Get off’re me!” I howled out.

“Say it Audrey!”

“Okay! I’ll hang out with you! Now stop!”

Max’s hands continued tickling me to the point of where it was beginning to hurt.

“You also have to say ‘Max is a sexy man and I want to lick his sexy face.’”

“Ah! Max is…a sexy… man… and I want to lick his face!” I yelled through laughs.

His hands stayed where they were at my sides but they stopped tickling. He moved his face closer to mine.

His breath smelled faintly of mint and was making me self-conscious of the morning breath I was sure I was sporting.

His chocolate brown eyes looked into my blue ones and he moved his face closer almost closing in the space between our lips.

“What is going on here?!” Marisol and Josh broke into the previously closed door.

Max pulled his body off of me but it was too late, Marisol was standing at the door with a smug look on her face and Josh radiated discomfort.

“We though Max was raping you in here, guess not.” Marisol smirked at me and Max’s flushed faces.

Josh reached his arm behind himself and rubbed his neck.

“I thought you guys left already?” Max said clearing his throat calmly.

“Marisol forgot her house keys.” Josh said not making eye contact with me or Max.

For a short moment the room was silent.

Marisol was looking at me in a way that said ‘I’m going to need the full story later,’ Josh was staring at a wall avoiding eye contact from everyone completely, Max was completely at ease and didn’t seem the slightest bit awkward at being found in such a provocative position, and I was sitting crossed legged on the bed looking up from my hands in my lap occasionally to see what Josh was doing.

Surprisingly it was Josh who broke the stillness.

“We should go then. You guys too, I’m sure Dan is wetting himself in excitement waiting for Audrey to come over.”

Josh grabbed Marisol’s hand and pulled her out of the room quickly.

Max looked over at me and smiled apologetically.

“Go get dressed, we’re leaving in half an hour.” He said serenely.