Chapter 17: Abby
My life with Max went into cruise control. He showed up on my doorstep every evening at six o’clock to ravage and pillage my body. Sometimes it was sweet, like two lovers that just wanted to enjoy each other, and sometimes it was rough, like a savage caveman who had discovered pussy for the first time. I was too much of a coward to ask where it was going. I didn’t want him to tell me it was going nowhere and the end was around the corner. I enjoyed living in the moment with him—even if I did have to look back on him as Mr. Mistake before it was all done. He never stayed the full night, but he held me until I was asleep. It became so routine that several weeks passed in what felt like the blink of an eye.
“T HE FAIR IS HERE TOMORROW !” Mary-Katherine had clearly had too much coffee as she bounced around my kitchen with excitement.
“I know.” I stared at my laptop and looked over some final proofs for the Energy Enhanced launch. “We can’t go the first day though; there will be a million people there. We’ll go later in the week.”
“Why aren’t you more excited? Hey, do you think Max would want to do a double date with me and Rolando?” Mary-Katherine leaned against the counter. “I haven’t even met him yet.”
“I don’t think he’s really the type to go on dates—especially double dates.” My face twisted into a scowl and I shook my head.
“Maybe I’ll just show up here one night when you’re not expecting me and meet him then.” She grinned.
“Don’t you dare.” I looked at her and narrowed my eyes. “I’ll send Sebastian after you.”
“Sebastian loves me.” She giggled and looked at my laptop screen. “Isn’t that the company that made that kid in Ohio sick?”
“What?” I turned towards her quickly. “Energy Enhanced?”
“Yeah, I think...” She shrugged her shoulders. “Or maybe it was some other energy drink. I remember something about vitamins...”
“I think we would have heard about it...” I dismissed her concerns and closed my laptop. “Okay, I need to get to work.”
“Working on a Sunday? That’s no fun.” She tapped her fingers on the counter.
“The launch is tomorrow. I need to make sure things are in line.” I picked up my phone and saw I had a text message from Max.
Do you want to go to the Fair tonight?
“Are you sure the Fair starts tomorrow?” I looked over at Mary-Katherine who was gathering her things to leave.
“Yeah, I’ve been waiting a whole year.” She smiled and nodded enthusiastically. “Why?”
“No reason...” I shrugged and started typing.
I said goodbye to Mary-Katherine and got dressed in some fairly casual clothes for a Sunday visit at the office. I knew a few members of the team were working through the weekend, so I wanted to at least stop by. I sent a message to Max asking if he was serious about the Fair and he assured me that he was. When I suggested that it didn’t start until the following day, he told me I should just trust him and offered to send a car. His whole demeanor seemed to be off, but I had too much going on with the launch to focus on it, and I knew it was hard to read emotions through a text message. I finished my visit at the office and headed home to get ready for whatever the evening held.
“Mommy has a real date tonight, Sebastian.” I poured him some food after changing my outfit for the fourth time.
I really wasn’t sure what I should wear to the Fair. If it was a date, I wanted to look presentable, so I couldn’t just throw on a t-shirt and jeans like I normally did when I went with Mary-Katherine. I finally settled on a summer dress and a pair of shoes I could walk in. They didn’t perfectly match the dress, but none of the shoes that did would be appropriate for the Fair. I was still applying make-up when I heard the car outside. I rushed through the last bit of it and grabbed my purse. It was getting dark and I could see the last line of the sunset on the horizon. I climbed into the passenger seat and stared out the window as the driver carried me towards my destination.
When we got close to the Fair, I could see that all of the lights were on, but there were no cars in the large plots of land they normally used for parking. The driver took me to the gate and when I stepped out of the car, I saw Max standing by the entrance. He was dressed down from the suit he normally wore with a pair of dress slacks and a button down shirt that was opened at the top. He looked hot as hell and I walked over to him, wrapping my arms around his neck. He kissed me and I felt the same tingle I always did—a literal explosion of bliss that made me immediately desire something more than just his lips. When he finally pulled his lips from mine, he kept his hands around my waist.
“So, what did you do here?” I looked around the fairgrounds and saw a few workers checking equipment.
“I spoke with some local officials and convinced them—for a nice donation—that they should let me have the place to myself for the evening.” He released his grip around my waist and took my hands.
“Did you seriously do that for our date? I don’t mind going during business hours.” I tilted my head towards him.
“No, I have a bit of a confession and it’s a big one.” He let out a sigh. “I have a son.”
“A...” I stammered over my words. “A son?”
“His name is Benjamin and he’s five years old. I probab
ly should have told you sooner, but I’m very protective of my family and my personal life.” He squeezed my hand as I tried to absorb the news.
“Okay...” I looked down as I let that roll around in my head.