“I tried to tell her that, Mr. Graves, but she moves like a snail,” Max said, shooting me a mischievous grin.
“I’m sorry, Mr. Hanson needed to speak to me,” I said, glaring unsuccessfully at Max.
“I know, John told me he would be speaking to you after class,” Mr. Graves said, reassuring me. “He didn't say anythin
g about you however, Mr. Jones.”
“I had to walk milady back to class,” Max said in a deadpan English accent that made the class roar with laughter.
I blushed as he shot a wink my way.
“Oh please,” Mr. Graves said, trying to look stern.
I kept my eyes down, trying to control the heat that had crept up my neck. If there was any question about Max’s intent before, he just answered it in front of the whole class.
When the day ended, it seemed only natural to wait for Max before I headed out of the classroom.
“Here, I’ll take those,” he said, plucking the stack of books from my hands.
“Thanks.”
“So, can I give you a ride home?”
“Isn’t it out of your way?” I asked, trying to find an excuse.
“Nope, I work tonight, so it’s exactly on my way.”
“Well, I promised Kevin I would ride the bus with him,” I said, grasping at straws.
“No problem, he can ride with us,” he said, squelching the last of my protests.
“Um, okay.”
“Hey, don't worry, I'm a good driver,” he said, hearing my reluctance.
“That’s not it.”
“Then what is it?”
“It’s nothing,” I answered, trying to dodge the question.
“Katelyn,” he said, pulling on my hand so I would look at him. “Why don’t you want me to take you home?”
“I don’t want you to see where I live,” I said, mortified that he had gotten the truth out of me.
“Katelyn, I already know where you live. Have you seen the size of this town? Everyone knows everything. Come on, let’s go get Kevin,” he said, pulling me down the hallway.
I followed behind, wondering when my life had become an open book. Keeping secrets was my trademark, and within three days of meeting Max, all my secrets were out in the open.
Kevin was over the moon when he found out we weren’t riding the bus and practically crowed in delight when he saw Max’s SUV.
“Holy moly, this is like something Batman would drive,” he said, climbing onto the plush leather seats in the back.
I stifled a groan. “Sorry, Kevin is obsessed with superheroes.”
“That’s why I picked this one,” Max said, looking at Kevin through the rearview mirror.
“Really?” Kevin asked, awestruck.