“Congrats, by the way.” Max grins. “I didn’t get to say goodbye and congrats, but for good reason—I’m sure the guys have already told you, but I got Aaron alone last night.”
I raise an eyebrow as she plops down on the couch. Her hazel eyes glitter as she turns to face me, propping one bent leg up on the cushion.
“Remember how I told you I’d do a little digging? I’ve been getting some vibes from him, but last night was the first time he put out definite signals, so I decided not to waste my chance.”
“Okay.” I raise my eyebrows, setting my coffee down so I can give her my full attention. I was never a huge fan of this idea, mostly because I didn’t like the idea of Max putting herself in any potential danger. I’ve never gotten a rapey vibe from Aaron, but having seen who he hangs out with, I’m not really willing to give him the benefit of the doubt.
“Anyway, we got to talking and it was going well. So I asked him if he wanted to come back to my dorm for drinks,” she continues. “He said yes right away.”
“Of course.” I give her a look. “No surprise there.”
She blushes just slightly, and not for the first time, I wonder what’s really there between her and Aaron. She offered to put moves on him to try to find out embarrassing or damaging shit about Cliff, but I think maybe she’s starting to like Aaron more than she’s letting on.
“So we went back to my dorm and had a few drinks. And, you know, the booze sort of kicked in a little bit…” Her voice trails off and she flushes a little. “Stuff started happening, nothing too intense.”
“Nothing too intense?” I repeat, leaning back against the couch cushions as I narrow my eyes. “Come on, Max.”
“Just a little making out,” she says, then amends herself quickly. “Okay, a lot of making out, but that’s not the point. The point is, I got shit on Cliff.”
After waiting weeks to find anything we can use to shut Cliff down, I should be more excited, but instead, I can’t quite let go of the thought of Max and Aaron hooking up.
I know it was her choice to do this, and I know she wouldn’t have let it get farther than she was comfortable with, but… a part of me is starting to wonder if she was so willing to try this tactic because she wanted an excuse to get closer to Aaron.
Does she actually like him?
I want to press her for more details, to see if I’m right about my suspicion, but before I can say anything, Max leans forward, her eyes widening a little.
“Get this,” she says. “Cliff hired a hooker to pop his cherry. Someone to lose his virginity to.”
My eyebrows shoot up. “What the hell? Are you kidding?”
Max snorts. “Kidding about Cliff Montgomery’s sex life? Fuck, no. I would never joke about that.” Then her voice drops a little. “There’s more, and this is the stuff we can actually use against him. So, he hires the hooker to be his first, but then… shit gets weird.”
I grimace. God, I really wish I didn’t have to ask this. “Weird how?”
“I’m not entirely sure. All I know is that Cliff basically wouldn’t let her go. Like, he tried to kidnap her or something, or he thought he was in love with her? Sort of like how he got so obsessed with you. Aaron was a little vague there, but that could have been because—uh, never mind.”
She clears her throat, and I want to ask her if because means he was otherwise occupied by her, but I keep my mouth shut.
“Aaron didn?
??t really seem to know the details anyway,” she says. “This happened a few years ago. It was all covered up, and Cliff only told him about it one night when he got super drunk. But Aaron did know that Cliff’s dad had to come intervene with the situation, paying off the hooker to keep her quiet.”
“Shit. That’s messed up,” I say, turning the information over in my head. Then I grin viciously. “It’s fucking perfect.”
“I thought so too.” Max looks pleased with herself. “It’s just what we need. His dad already went out of his way to cover it up the first time, and there’s no fucking way he’s gonna revisit that mess or risk it being exposed. Even if Cliff doesn’t care about whatever fucked up thing he did to some poor hooker getting out, I’d bet anything his family won’t want their good name trashed like that.” She flips her dark hair over her shoulder. “Which means we have our bargaining chip. It just might be enough to keep you safe.”
“You’re fucking amazing.” I pick up my coffee again, my mind already buzzing with possibilities.
“I know.” She shrugs, grinning. Then her cheeks turn a little pink. “If you need me to get more from Aaron, I’m sure I could…”
I cock an eyebrow as I dig out my phone, which is trying to escape into the crack between the couch cushions. “You sure that offer doesn’t have more to do with the source than it does the information?”
She grimaces, looking a little guilty, and I pause with my fingertip hovering over the call button on my phone.
“Hey. What you do and who you do is your business,” I tell her. “I don’t judge. And you don’t need my permission to hook up with whoever you like. I just want to make sure you’re safe. I don’t know Aaron all that well, but if he hangs out with Cliff—”
“I know.” Max cuts me off, her face falling a little. She shakes her head. “The thing is, he doesn’t seem like Cliff at all. He seems like a pretty decent guy. Smart and funny. But you’re right—how could he be a good guy and be friends with someone who’s an asshole? I need to be smart and not get sucked into wishful thinking. It’s just… hard.” She chuckles lightly.