Where We Belong (A Touch of Fate 1)

Fuck.

Stepping into the lounge, I pull out my phone and dial Levi's number. He answers on the first ring.

"What's up, Ty?"

"You stupid fucker! You could've told me about Max,” I snap. The line goes silent. His lack of response is not what I anticipated.

"Levi?"

"Yeah, sorry. She told you about Max?" he asks inquisitively.

"No. But you should have the other night. Instead, I had to sit through a conversation between her and Laura about how handsome the bastard is."

"He's not a bastard!" Levi snaps. Whoa, what the fuck? I can hear him take a deep breath through the phone. "If I ever hear you talk about Max that way again, I swear to God that I will fucking strangle you." His voice is low and calm but lethal.

Damn, does everybody love Max? "Sorry," I respond flatly. Running my hand over my face, I lean down and rest my elbows on my knees, hanging my head in defeat. "I just...never mind. I gotta go."

"Wait!" Levi pleads. "You just what?"

"I didn't anticipate any competition. You could have warned me." Levi goes silent again, obviously mulling my words around in his head. He's probably wondering when I lost my balls and grew a fucking pussy.

"What exactly did Harley tell you about Max?" he asks cautiously.

I take a deep, cleansing breath. "Nothing,” I answer on an exhale. "Her friend, Laura, sat down and asked how he was, and then they started talking about how handsome he is and I bailed."

Levi's boisterous laugh rings through the phone. "This is fucking hilarious," he gasps. "I can't wait to tell Quinn." I pull the phone away from my ear and stare at it. Hitting ‘end,’ I sever our conversation and lean back in my chair. A minute later my phone beeps.

Levi: Sorry dude. Wasn't trying to laugh at you. You need to talk to Harley about Max. I promise that when you meet him, you'll love him. Just talk to Harley.

Ha! I doubt that I'll ever love him—he has what I want. I'm not even going to respond to that.

I look up when the door opens and Avery walks in. I watch her move about the room for a few seconds, allowing myself to admire her. She's a little bit thinner than I prefer and I really don't want to be with another blonde, but she's incredibly smart and really sweet. Maybe I should give her a chance after all. And it’s a long shot, but maybe if I'm with someone else, I'll be able to forget about Harley.

"HEY, DAD!" I SAY, slightly out of breath. I hold up my finger, gesturing for Max to give me a second as I sit down in the grass. "What's up?"

"Hi, sweetheart," I hear my mom say. These two crack me up. They always get on the phone together so that they can each hear what's going on. "Your dad and I were wondering what you and Max have planned for this weekend."

I watch Max climb his rock wall, stand tall, and bring his hand above his eyes, peering out into the yard. "Ahoy, Matey!" he yells at no one in particular.

"Oh, is that Maxy?" my mom croons. "Tell him Nana says hi."

I roll my eyes. I hate when she calls him Maxy. It makes me think of maxi-pads, but I never say anything because...well, because my parents are incredible and they help me out so much. So I just keep my mouth shut.

"Max!" I yell across the yard. "Nana and Papa say hi!"

"Aye!" he growls. "I'm not Max. I'm Captain Hook and you took my treasure." He points at me accusingly and looking as if he expects me to produce the ‘stolen’ goods.

"Alright...whatever," I murmur, waving my hand dismissively at him.

"Mom, Max is playing but I'm sure he says hello." I smile as I watch him take on a bad guy in a pretend sword fight. Holy hell, I want some of that energy. "Anyway, I don't think that Max and I have any plans for this weekend. Why, what's up?" I ask, lying back to enjoy the evening breeze. The sun is setting and it's at the perfect angle to light up the clouds in deep purples and reds. This is by far the best time of the year.

"Well—"

“Well, what?” I ask.

"We—" Mom and Dad answer at the same time, causing me to chuckle.

"Okay, you tell her," my mom says.