stomach twisted itself into knots and all I wanted to do was throw my arms around him and tell him how amazing he was.
A heart-breaking sob burst out of Max and I let him pull me closer to him. He held me tightly and cried into my shoulder.
‘Why would you even think that, Max? Of course you’re good enough! Just because she doesn’t think you are doesn’t mean anything at all. You’re a great guy; you can’t let this one experience put you off finding someone. You’ve got so much to offer a girl.’
‘Ava, I’m a university dropout with shitty self-esteem who cries when he gets hurt by a girl! Not exactly the best catch in the world am I? Sorry, I know this probably doesn’t look too cool!’ He drew away from me and wiped his eyes then slung his arms around my waist.
‘Don’t worry about it.’ I felt a sob rising in my throat. ‘You dropped out of uni to do something you love and I couldn’t be prouder of you. Oh, and crying’s cooler than you think, by the way. Women love a bloke with a feminine side.’
He cocked his head to the side and looked at me like I was the best thing in the whole world.
‘Your Mr Writer’s such a lucky bloke, you know that?’ Max reached out and tucked a piece of hair behind my ear.
‘Then why do I feel so scared about finding him?’
Admitting how scared I was felt like a weight being lifted off my shoulders. I’d been so busy focusing on the excitement of it all, the thrill of the chase, that I’d ignored the fears building up at the back of my mind.
‘You shouldn’t be,’ Max pulled me in so I could rest my head on his shoulder. ‘I know you’re worried he’s going to be disappointed in you or you might not be happy with him but don’t think like that. This is one of those things where you can just tell everything’s going to fall into place.’
He stroked my hair and I held him as tightly as I could. I felt him gently kiss the top of my head and sighed with contentment. There was something comforting about having Max’s arms around me. An unidentified emotion was brewing inside me, growing stronger and stronger by the second. I lifted my head up and my eyes locked with Max’s. He dropped his gaze to the floor then put it back to me. A silent question hung in the air:
what’s going to happen next
? It looked like it was going to remain tantalisingly unanswered until his head began to tilt towards mine…
Just then, a knock at the door shattered the moment. Max let out a low growl and took the plates through to the kitchen while I went to see who was there. My jaw almost dropped to the floor when I saw a sobbing Gwen standing in the hall.
‘Honey, what’s happened? Are you OK?’
I bundled her into my arms and she sobbed loudly into my T-shirt. Max came into the hall and his eyes widened when he saw Gwen.
‘What’s up?’ he asked softly.
I shrugged my shoulders and drew away from her so she could tell us what had happened to her.
‘Tom… he… he… Oh God!’ She wriggled away from me and threw her head into her hands.
Max put a comforting hand on Gwen’s shoulder and tilted her chin upwards to look at him.
‘Gwen… did Tom do something to you? Did he hurt you or something? If he has, you can tell us and we’ll sort it out.’
She let out a loud, gut-wrenching sob and wiped her eyes.
‘He’s married so I suppose you can say he
did
something! He screwed me over!’ she wept.
I stared at her open-mouthed for a second, trying to take in what she’d said.
‘He’s…he’s
married
? That can’t be true, he’s bloody daft about you!’
‘Oh believe me chick, it’s true! We were in bed together at his flat when his bloody wife turned up! She came in wearing nothing but a trench coat because she wanted to surprise him but she was the one who ended up getting a surprise! God she went mental! Not only that, he’s got two kids as well; Leah’s five and Joseph’s seven.’
The crying had stopped and we could see just how
A heart-breaking sob burst out of Max and I let him pull me closer to him. He held me tightly and cried into my shoulder.
‘Why would you even think that, Max? Of course you’re good enough! Just because she doesn’t think you are doesn’t mean anything at all. You’re a great guy; you can’t let this one experience put you off finding someone. You’ve got so much to offer a girl.’
‘Ava, I’m a university dropout with shitty self-esteem who cries when he gets hurt by a girl! Not exactly the best catch in the world am I? Sorry, I know this probably doesn’t look too cool!’ He drew away from me and wiped his eyes then slung his arms around my waist.
‘Don’t worry about it.’ I felt a sob rising in my throat. ‘You dropped out of uni to do something you love and I couldn’t be prouder of you. Oh, and crying’s cooler than you think, by the way. Women love a bloke with a feminine side.’
He cocked his head to the side and looked at me like I was the best thing in the whole world.
‘Your Mr Writer’s such a lucky bloke, you know that?’ Max reached out and tucked a piece of hair behind my ear.
‘Then why do I feel so scared about finding him?’
Admitting how scared I was felt like a weight being lifted off my shoulders. I’d been so busy focusing on the excitement of it all, the thrill of the chase, that I’d ignored the fears building up at the back of my mind.
‘You shouldn’t be,’ Max pulled me in so I could rest my head on his shoulder. ‘I know you’re worried he’s going to be disappointed in you or you might not be happy with him but don’t think like that. This is one of those things where you can just tell everything’s going to fall into place.’
He stroked my hair and I held him as tightly as I could. I felt him gently kiss the top of my head and sighed with contentment. There was something comforting about having Max’s arms around me. An unidentified emotion was brewing inside me, growing stronger and stronger by the second. I lifted my head up and my eyes locked with Max’s. He dropped his gaze to the floor then put it back to me. A silent question hung in the air:
what’s going to happen next
? It looked like it was going to remain tantalisingly unanswered until his head began to tilt towards mine…
Just then, a knock at the door shattered the moment. Max let out a low growl and took the plates through to the kitchen while I went to see who was there. My jaw almost dropped to the floor when I saw a sobbing Gwen standing in the hall.
‘Honey, what’s happened? Are you OK?’
I bundled her into my arms and she sobbed loudly into my T-shirt. Max came into the hall and his eyes widened when he saw Gwen.
‘What’s up?’ he asked softly.
I shrugged my shoulders and drew away from her so she could tell us what had happened to her.
‘Tom… he… he… Oh God!’ She wriggled away from me and threw her head into her hands.
Max put a comforting hand on Gwen’s shoulder and tilted her chin upwards to look at him.
‘Gwen… did Tom do something to you? Did he hurt you or something? If he has, you can tell us and we’ll sort it out.’
She let out a loud, gut-wrenching sob and wiped her eyes.
‘He’s married so I suppose you can say he
did
something! He screwed me over!’ she wept.
I stared at her open-mouthed for a second, trying to take in what she’d said.
‘He’s…he’s
married
? That can’t be true, he’s bloody daft about you!’
‘Oh believe me chick, it’s true! We were in bed together at his flat when his bloody wife turned up! She came in wearing nothing but a trench coat because she wanted to surprise him but she was the one who ended up getting a surprise! God she went mental! Not only that, he’s got two kids as well; Leah’s five and Joseph’s seven.’
The crying had stopped and we could see just how
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