Chapter 89

I held Max a little longer and a little tighter in a goodbye embrace before leaving the the restaurant with Sidney. How was I supposed to tell my best friend that the girl he was obviously enamoured with was only using him to get to Sidney?

I barely noticed Sidney tracing circles on the back of my hand with his thumb while we were driving home.
"You're awfully quiet," he said after bringing my hand to his lips and kissing it gently.
"Is that a question or a statement?" I asked without looking at him.
He sighed deeply knowing by my tone that he was about to have a conversation he didn't want to have.
"Did I do something to make you angry?" he asked.
I didn't reply.
"Are you upset that I didn't tell Brittany that you're my girlfriend?"
"No," I said looking at him for the first time and giving him half a smile. I could hear him let out a sigh of relief. "No one is supposed to know about us."
"Do you wanna tell me what's going on in that pretty little head of yours?"
"Yes and no."
"This is about Brittany isn't it? You didn't like her did you?"
"No."
"Oh Bekah come on! She was nice and sweet and couldn't have made a better impression."
"Seriously?"
"Yes. I thought she was great. She wasn't phased by being around 'hockey players' and she was comfortable around us; not like most girls who only care about who we are and what we do and try so hard to impress us."
"I should have known you'd take her side," I huffed, folding my arms across my chest.
Sid laughed which only infuriated me even more.
"Sides? Since when has there been sides?" he squeaked out through his high pitched laugh.
"Since I decided I don't like her. She's not good enough for Max. She doesn't even like him!"
"Okay, it's official. You have lost your mind! She's crazy about him even I could see that!"
"Oh puh-lease!" I spat. "She didn't even know Max existed. She was too busy paying attention to you all night!"
"Oooooohhhhhh, I get it now! You're jealous!"
"What?" I screeched much to Sidney's amusement.
"You-are-jealous," he said giving me a little poke with each word. "You had to watch me talking to another girl and it made you jealous."
I gabbed his finger and twisted it slightly. "Do NOT poke me if you don't want your fingers broken."
"I love it when you're feisty," he snickered.
"For your information, I am not jealous of that bimbo. I know we've been over this before, but clearly you need to be reminded. In order for me to be jealous of her, she would have to have something that I want."
"She does...Max."
"Excuse me?" I said completely caught off guard.
"Bekah," he said softly while caressing my arm. "You are used to being the only girl in Max's life, the one he came to when he needed something, the one he would always talk to, the one he spent alot of his free time with; and now he has Brittany. It makes sense that you'd be afraid that she's going to 'replace' you."
"First of all, no one will replace me in Max's life. Second of all...oh just forget it."
"No, tell me what's bugging you."
I knew this was going to be pointless but...
"Don't you find it odd that she spent the whole night talking to you and ignoring Max and I? It's like we weren't even there."
"That's not true. We were all involved in the conversation."
"No, no we weren't. It was just you two. Max and I would smile an nod every once in a while when either of you acknowledged that we were still there."
"She was just trying to get to know me. That was the point of this evening wasn't it? Max's girlfriend getting to know his friends?"
"She didn't seem too interested in getting to know me now did she?"
Sidney didn't really reply.
"Did you ever stop to think that maybe she's not interested in Max and that maybe she's just using him to get to you?" I said calmly, finally putting it out there.
"Um, noooo. Beks, she didn't even know who I was. She didn't even know Max was a hockey player for Christ sakes."
"You are completely oblivious you know that? It's complete bullshit she didn't know who either of you were. You guys go in there alot, and I mean really Sid. She knew exactly how many times you'd been in her restaurant."
"I think you're being a little paranoid Beks," he said as he opened the car door for me. "If you could have heard Max when you guys were in the bathroom...he's crazy about this girl!"
"I heard enough when I was in the bathroom thanks," I mumbled.
"Pardon?"
"Just because he's crazy about her, doesn't mean she feels the same way. I think his judgement is a little clouded by his feelings for her. Trust me, he is not the one she wants. She wants you Sidney," I said flopping down on the couch utterly exhausted from this conversation.

He sat down next to me and pulled me towards him until I was leaning against his chest. He kissed my bare shoulder before moving to the sweet spot on my neck that made me weak. I melted into him, trying to forget about the bimbo and just enjoy the sensations I was feeling.

"I don't think you could be more wrong," he whispered in my ear. "But if you're not, I guess it's a good thing that you are the only one that I want isn't it" he said softly before taking my ear between those luscious lips of his. Damn you Sidney Crosby! How did he always know the right thing to say?

Max's POV

"So what did you think?" I asked her once we were both in the car.

"About what?"

"About my friends silly girl," I chuckled.

"Oh. They're nice," she replied simply.

"Nice? That's it?"

"Okay, Sidney's great! I loved getting to know him and hearing about growing up to be...what did you say they call him? The next great one? I can't believe someone that has so much weight on his shoulders is still so incredibly sweet and down to earth."

"That's Sid! What about Bekah? What did you thing about her? She's amazing isn't she?"

"Well..." she started, "she's...okay. Not very friendly really."

"You serious?" I asked in complete shock. I'd never even considered that Brittany wouldn't like my best friend.

"She was more concerned with grilling me than getting to know me. She's very intense."

I laughed. "That's my bijou! Bekah has had a rough life. She's very wary of people until she gets to know them. The third degree was just her way of getting to know you. She's also fiercely loyal and protective of her friends. I'm sure she was just trying to see how compatible we are."

"I'm pretty sure I failed that test! I don't think she liked me very much."

I gave her hand a reassuring squeeze.

"I'm sure it's just your imagination; in fact I know it is."

"Oh and how can you be so sure?" she asked in that flirty little voice that drove me crazy.

"Because she told me."

"What did she say?"

"I'm not going to tell you what she said, that would be like breaking the 'best friend code of conduct', but I can tell you that she liked you.

"Come on Maxie, tell me."

"I can't."

"Pwease," she said batting her eyelashes at me.

"Uhh, please don't look at me like that," I begged.

"Like what?" she asked all sweet and innocent in her little girl voice.

"Like that! When you bat those eyelashes at me, it drives me crazy. It's all I can do to stop myself from climbing across this car and..."

By now she had stretched over the centre console and was mere millimeters away from my ear. Her warm breath was sending shivers through my entire body. God I wanted her!

"And what stud," she said in a very sultry voice that was turning me on. "What are you going to do to me?" she whispered.

I opened my mouth to talk but nothing would come out. I wasn't used to this. It was usually me that was the one talking like that. This role reversal was definitely making me hot. I don't know how much longer I could wait; it's been over a month already! Thank god we were at her place already.

"Let me come up and I'll show you," I begged her with my eyes.

"Hmm. Tempting as that is hot stuff...can't. My roommates are home."

'Noooooooooooooooooooo!'

"Come back to my place."

"I'm sorry Maxie. I have to work in the morning and I'm sure you have some important hockey stuff to do or something."

"I don't have to be at the arena until noon, and you work at 11:00 so it's perfect! I can drop you off on my way to the arena."

"Max, I'm really tired. Tonight was emotionally exhausting trying to impress your friends. Besides, I have errands to run before work. Can we make it another time?"

As disappointed (and horny) as I was, I didn't want to push her.

"Of course."

"You're not mad at me are you?"

There were those puppy dog eyes again!

"No, I'm not mad," I assured her.

"Disappointed?"

"Of course disappointed, but nothing a cold shower won't cure," I said laughing.

"I promise, it'll happen soon."

"There's no rush Brittany. I can wait."

"Really?" she sounded surprised.

'Yeah, really? That was new!'

"Yes really."

"You are wonderful," she said leaning over and kissing me on the cheek before opening the car door. "I'll talk to you tomorrow," she said before shutting the door and running into her building.

'Cold shower it is' I thought to myself as I pulled back onto the street. 'I wonder if it's too late to call Beks? I'm dying to know what she thought about Brittany.' I looked at my watch and figured it wasn't too late to call her but...her and the kid were probably...busy. 'Oh well, at least one of us will be gettin' some. I'll call her in the morning.'

"Cold shower, here I come!"