“Katelyn, neither have I,” he said, taking my hand into his. “I know things got a little intense there, but we can slow things down.”
“I just always said I'd wait,” I said too quietly for him to hear clearly.
“What?” he asked, rubbing the inside of my wrist with the pad of his thumb.
“I said I always planned to wait. I don’t want to turn out like my mom.”
“Katelyn, you're nothing like your mom,” he said forcibly.
I remained silent, knowing he was wrong on this point. Our out of control breathing and fogged up windows were all the proof I needed.
“So, we'll be careful not to let things go so far next time,” Max finally said, trying to ease my mind.
I gave a shaky laugh. “Like never being alone?” I said.
Max barked out a laugh. “Well, that might help for a while,” he said, pulling my hand up so he could kiss the sensitive skin of my wrist.
“Um, just so you know, that so doesn’t help the situation,” I said, giggling breathlessly.
“Slow then, we can do this,” he muttered to himself as he slowly backed the vehicle back up onto the main road.
“Slow,” I repeated, looking at him dubiously.
“Hey, you just wait, I'll become the king of slow,” he said, noting my doubt. “You might want to fix your hair, though,” he added, turning down a graveled driveway.
“Oh no, what did you do?” I complained, looking at the disheveled mess my hair had become. I had been so lost in the moment, I was unaware he had obviously sunk his hands through my hair sometime during his assault on my lips.
“Guess you'll just have to wear it down,” he said winking, implying he had done it purposely.
“You did this on purpose?” I asked.
“I'd rather see you wear your hair without ‘her’ help.”
I sighed, not needing to ask who he was talking about. I felt conflicting emotions over Max’s obvious distaste for Lucinda. His protectiveness over me was unlike anything I had ever experienced from anyone, but his dislike for Lucinda was a little unsettling. For all her faults, she was still my mom, and she and Kevin were the only family I had.
Max came around to open my door as I was running my fingers through my now wavy hair.
“Ugh, it’s a mess,” I complained, studying my reflection in the mirror.
“A mess?” he asked incredulously. “Are you looking at the same thing I am? You look great.”
“Are you sure?” I asked, still unsure as I smoothed out my dress.
“Absolutely,” he answered, tucking me in under the crook of his arm so I was firmly anchored to his side.
The party was in full gear by the time we approached the oversized barn where it was being held.
“This is amazing,” I said, taking in the hundreds of orange twinkling lights that had been draped over bales of hay that lined the walkway.
“Yeah, Alicia’s parents love Halloween,” he said, chuckling as he pointed out an old-fashioned looking cemetery off to the side of the barn.
“I guess so,” I said, admiring the endless rows of uniquely carved jack-o-lanterns that bordered the outside of the rustic building.
Max pulled the large door open, and we both stepped into the surprisingly warm building. The inside was decorated just as elaborately as the outside with sconce lighting fixtures on each pillar, holding flickering bulbs made to look like candlelight. Fake cobwebs and spiders covered the rafters, and fog machines created the illusion that we were in some creepy haunted house somewhere.
“This is incredible,” I said, trying to take in all the decorations at once.
He laughed. “Well, it should be. I know my mom and Alicia’s mom have been working on it for months,” he said, talking loudly so I could hear him over the loud music being pumped out of speakers spread throughout the massive space. The music stopped midway through his statement, making everyone suddenly focus on our arrival.