Friends with Consequences Ch. 10-11

CHAPTER 10

Max looked around and was surprised to find Allie already sitting at a table. Wow, she's already here, he thought.

A cute little smile came over the brunette as she waved him over. "Over here, Max!"

"Hi, Allie!" Max joined her and sat his backpack down.

"Thanks for meeting with me. I know you offered to help me a while back. I have a calculus final coming up, so I finally decided to take your offer."

"No worries. I was actually surprised you accepted my help."

"John said it was a good idea to accept your help," she explained. "He said you helped him a lot in high school."

"Yeah, I remember that," Max replied with a chuckle. "We weren't even friends or anything. We just happened to sit by each other in class and I didn't mind helping him because I like math. I never really thought anything of it, but I guess he feels like he owes me after all these years."

"Yeah, that was really nice of you to help him. I think he really appreciates you for that. He's always saying positive things about you."

Max shook his head and chuckled to himself, thinking, What a good guy.

Before pulling out her stuff, Allie looked over and asked, "Do you like coffee?"

"Not really."

"I don't really like it either."

The young boy laughed, surprised. "I figured you did since you wanted to study at a coffee shop."

"I just really like this shop," the short petite woman explained. "It's a really good place to study when you want to get out of your room."

Max looked around, seeing what the coffee shop had to offer. "We should at least buy something if we're going to sit in here."

"Oh, I will," Allie assured. "They have really good muffins. You should try one!"

They studied together for a few hours. Max was impressed that the cute girl didn't need too much help. Unlike the people usually tutored, the sophomore had a good understanding of her material.

The boy wasn't the only one surprised from their first time being alone. Allie noticed he never once tried to put a move on her or even ask anything personal. It made her wonder if he was even interested at all.

As they finished up, she noticed he was about to leave without giving her a hug or even asking to meet up again. Curiosity finally got the best of her, and she asked, "Can I tell you something?"

Max stopped right in his tracks. "Yeah, sure."

"I had some reservations about hanging out with you," she admitted. "But I feel much better now. You never did anything creepy or even hit on me."

Max was a bit taken back. "Ummm... I don't think I'm that type of guy. I don't think I could hit on someone even if I wanted to."

The young boy's acceptance of his own awkwardness made Allie laugh. She could see how nervous he became when he was confronted. "Have you ever had a girlfriend?" she asked, daring to push the boundaries a little further.

Max scratched his head and avoided eye contact. "Ummm... Not really..."

"Not really? What does that mean?"

The boy shrugged his shoulders and responded, "I don't really like talking about it..."

Hearing that only made the young woman more curious. "Oh, come on! You can tell me."

"Well... I kind of thought I was dating someone..." he said, finally looking her in the eyes. "But... I wasn't. And... she's with someone else now."

Guilt filled the cute little sophomore as she sensed the pain in his eyes. "Max... I am sorry..."

The boy was hurt, but he tried to blow it off. "No, it's okay. It's not a big deal. But yeah... I'll see you later."

Before he could leave, Allie ran up to him, and he gave him a soft hug. "Yeah, I'll see you around. Thanks for helping me study."

As they went their separate ways, Allie continued to feel an enormous amount of guilt for pushing such a sensitive subject. She constantly shook her head, wondering, What was I thinking?

That night, she couldn't get it off her mind. He clearly didn't want to talk about it, she thought to herself. I should have taken the hint.

I guess I really misjudged him, she continued to ponder. I should make it up to him somehow... I'll think of a way!

****************************************

A few days later, Max walked into the same coffee shop to find the cute little sophomore waiting for him, once again.

"Max, I got us a table!" she said as she waved him over, just like last time.

As the young man put his backpack on the table, he noticed Allie didn't have any of her study material. "Where are your books?"

The cute little brunette just giggled. "I didn't invite you to study."

"You didn't?"

"I just wanted to hang out."

"You do?" Max asked, almost blushing. He couldn't believe a cute girl would want to hang out with him, expecting nothing in return.

"Yeah, I do," she responded with a smile. "And I also wanted to apologize for last time. I shouldn't have pushed you to tell me about your last relationship. You made it pretty clear that you didn't want to talk about it."

Hearing a sincere apology was a breath of fresh air for Max. "I wasn't upset at you. It's just a complicated story so I didn't feel like getting into it."

"It sounds pretty interesting..." Allie admitted. She patted him on the hand said, "You can tell me if you want, but you definitely don't have to. I'll be understanding either way."

With a warm heart, Max simply responded, "Thanks."

Allie left the table to place an order. When she came back, she brought a large frappuccino and a muffin to the table.

"I thought you didn't like coffee," Max said with a confused expression.

"I don't, but this isn't really coffee. It tastes more like a milkshake." The cute brunette then sucked on the drink through a straw before passing it to Max.

Max looked at her with a confused look on his face.

"Try it," she said.

"Okay..." He began opening the lid before he was stopped.

"Just drink it through the straw, silly!" Allie said, laughing. "We're not in elementary school. I don't have cooties!"

Max blushed as he slowly put his lips on the straw, knowing the cute brunette had already used it. Though it was obviously far from a kiss, it was the first time he swapped saliva with someone in a long time.

"How is it?" she asked.

"It's really good... I mean the drink is. I wasn't talking about your spit."

Allie made a confused face at the young boy but could see how nervous he was growing. Just as she suspected, he wasn't Mister Suave around women.

"It's not that your saliva didn't taste good," Max frantically tried to explain. "I didn't even really taste it. I meant to talk about the drink and nothing else, but it came off wrong."

The cute girl started to laugh before stopping him in his tracks. "It's okay, Max! I know what you meant."

Max had a sigh of relief and chuckled with his new friend. "Oh, sorry!"

"So, you like the drink?" she asked with a smile.

"Yeah, I do! Maybe I should go order one for myself."

"We can just keep sharing my drink," Allie said with a cute look. "If you're not afraid of my germs, that is."

The young boy laughed at her joke, feeling better about the situation. "That's really nice of you, but I don't want to have too much of your drink. You paid for it."

"That's okay. If we finish this one you can buy the next one."

"That sounds really nice."

*************************

"That sounds really nice."

"What does?" the frat guy asked.

"That you're taking me home again," Linda answered. "This time, maybe you can meet my parents?"

"I don't know," Jake replied, brushing the idea aside.

Linda shook her head and furrowed her eyebrows. "But why not? You didn't want to meet them when you dropped me off for Christmas because you were meeting some of your friends. Why can't you do it for summer vacation?"

"Eh, I don't know, Linda. They might not like me because I'm so much older than you. Maybe we should wait a bit before I meet them?"

"But how long?! I don't want to keep you a secret forever."

Jake put his hands on Linda's shoulders and started giving her a massage. Let's just play it by ear, like we do with everything." He then gave her a kiss on the neck.

"I'm not really in the mood today," Linda said as she gently moved the frat guy's hands off her. "Besides, I'm still on my period, so we can't have sex anyway."

Jake chuckled. "You can just give me head, then."

Linda immediately rolled her eyes at her boyfriend. "Why do you just assume I'll do that for you? You don't even ask anymore."

"I'm sorry... I thought that was kind of our thing. I mean, don't you like giving me head?"

"I do but..."

"Oh, I apologize," Jake said with a grin on his face. "I guess I shouldn't assume my girlfriend would want to do me sexual favors. That's too much to ask."

"It's not like that," Linda said with a sigh. "You know I love doing that stuff. I do it all the time! But sometimes I'm just not in the mood, especially when I'm on my period."

"No, no, no... It's fine. I do you all those favors, driving you around, buying you breakfast, letting you stay with me. You don't need to do me any sexual favors when you're not in the mood. That's totally fair, right?"

I can't deal with this right now, the young woman thought to herself. I'm too tired from my period and lack of sleep. I don't have the mental capacity to argue with him today.

She took a deep breath and just apologized, hoping to get past the situation. "Sorry..."

"I forgive you, Linda," Jake said with a big smile. "But I'd really appreciate it if you apologized in a different way, if you know what I mean."

Linda did her best not to roll her eyes as she got down on her knees and unzipped his pants. "Okay..."

********************************

Summer is a time

To mend broken hearts

Summer is a time

For endings and for starts

Summer came quick

Though the year felt long.

Summer was different this time

They both sang a different song

Through the good and bad

The highs and lows

They began as friends

But ended almost as foes

It was a crazy year

Neither hoped to live again

But now it was summer

Where their crazy story first began

*************************************

"Can you believe it's Summer already?!" Jesse exclaimed as she hugged her best friend.

"I can't believe I was away from you for a whole year!" Linda said, squeezing her back. "I wish we went to the same college!"

"So do I! I love my college friends but I get so lonely without you."

"Ugh! So do I," Linda responded, as she pretended to cry.

Jesse laughed at the cute antics. "At least you have Max. I don't have anyone from home."

Linda came to a complete stop. "Ummm... Max and I don't really talk anymore..." she admitted to her best friend.

"What? Why not?"

She cringed as she tried to come up with the explanation. "Well, Jake and I just decided it was best I not talk to him."

Jesse shook her head in confusion. "But I don't understand. Why can't you talk to him anymore?"

"Well... Jake thinks he's kind of a threat to our relationship."

"Like, he thinks you might leave him for Max?"

"No... He just didn't like that Max warned me about him."

"Warned about what?"

"I guess Max had a classmate that is in the same fraternity as him. He told Max that Jake goes around with a lot of women."

Jesse was almost afraid to interject because she wanted to be supportive of her best friend. "Err... So, did you and Jake come to this decision... or was it just Jake's decision."

Linda didn't like the feeling of lying to her friend. But this was much bigger than that. She wasn't just lying to Jesse; she was lying to herself. "It was our decision," she confirmed. "It's just better this way. I'm happy with Jake and I don't need Max anymore."

The explanation left Jesse frowning. "That really sucks. Too bad you guys were never more than just fuck-buddies. He seems like a really good guy."

The unconvincing smile quickly disappeared from Linda's face. "He is a really good guy... It's just complicated..."

Suddenly, Jesse's face lit up as her mind drifted elsewhere. "I have an idea!"

"Huh? What is it?"

"This might sound weird. I swear I'm not trying to copy you. But since you're done with Max, maybe he can be my fuck-buddy now?"

Linda did a double-take from the shocking statement. She couldn't believe her best friend would even suggest such an idea. "Jesse! Are you crazy?!"

"I've always thought he was kind of cute," her best friend explained. "If you're not having sex with him, then why can't I?"

"Because, Jesse!" Linda said as she clenched her fist. "It's like... girl code!"

"Girl code?"

"Yeah!" Linda became so mad she started to stutter. "Girl code says... you're not allowed... to sleep with your best friend's man!"

"I don't want to sleep with Jake," Jesse responded, with the confused look.

"I'm not talking about Jake! Linda yelled. "I'm talking about Max!"

"But... Max isn't your man..."

"Yeah, but he was! Err.. I mean... We were fucking! Ugh, whatever! You're not allowed to fuck him!"

They had arguments in the past, like all best friends do, but Jesse had never seen Linda become so emotional. She took a step back, surprised by the overall display of frustration. "I'm... sorry... I didn't think you would really care... since you're with Jake now."

Guilt came over Linda she realized how immature she looked in front of her best friend. She was suddenly caught stumbling over an explanation. "It's not that I care about Max... I'm happy with Jake! It's just... It would be weird if..."

"It's okay..." Jesse interrupted. "I think I understand..."

"I totally don't care about him!"

Jesse once again assured her best friend that she understood and gave her a big hug. She didn't know whether it was the right thing to do or not, but in that moment, she knew Linda just needed understanding and support.

*************************************************

Lee walked into the room late that night and dropped his bag on the floor as he approached his bed. Noticing the tired expression on his face, Max asked, "Is everything okay?"

"Everything's fantastic," the roommate answered sarcastically. "Another day, another dollar."

"That bad, huh?"

Lee let out a deep exhale as he sat on his bed, relieved to get off his feet for a moment. "It's not, but I work all day at night. I know the payoff will come someday but I just get tired sometimes."

"Want to smoke? I'll join you outside if you want," Max offered.

"I don't have the energy. I think I'm just going to take a shot of Jack and go to sleep."

The freshman looked a little weirded out. "You have alcohol?"

"Sometimes I have a bottle in my bag," Lee answered. "It helps me sleep after a long and stressful day. I'd offer you some but you're not old enough and you're still too much of a pussy to enjoy such a manly drink."

The insults no longer affected Max. He almost viewed his roommate like an older brother, picking on him as a sign of endearment, not hate.

"I noticed you don't have that shit attitude anymore," Lee pointed out.

"Yeah... sorry about that," Max responded as he looked at the floor. "I never really apologize about the way I was acting, but you really helped me out. So... thanks..."

Lee wanted to come up with another smart-ass comment, but all he could bring himself to say was "No problem, Bud..."

A little smile came to Max's face, as he was proud to tell his roommate about his day. "I kind of went on a date today."

"No shit? Wait... What do you mean, kind of?"

"Yeah, that girl Allie invited me to the coffee shop again.."

"Did anything happen?"

"Not really," Max answered with a smile. "But she did give me a goodbye hug."

Lee couldn't contain his laughter. "You know that's not a date, right?"

"I know but... It was kind of cool. She didn't even want to study. She just wanted to hang out."

Lee almost looked at Max with pride. "You know, Kid, I guess you're not as much of a pussy as I thought you were."

Max smiled and nodded back at his older roommate. "Thanks, Man. That means a lot."

As Lee was about to turn off the light and get some rest, something important popped was into his mind. "I forgot to tell you."

"Tell me what?"

"I'm about to finish my bachelor's but I decided on doing grad school. So, I'll actually still be attending school here next semester... Do you want to be my roommate again?"

Max didn't know why, but he couldn't stop smiling. "Yeah... I'd like that."

*******************************************

The scene felt familiar, but everything else was different. Max and Linda sat together at the dinner table with their families for a neighborly get together.

There was no sexual tension between the former friends-with-benefits. The only tension was from their non-existing friendship after not speaking to each other for months.

The young man felt a little nervous, seeing the woman who possessed his V-Card. However, his eyes weren't glued to her like they used to be. It's not that he was completely over her; she just didn't have the same glow that she used to have.

Suddenly, the tension was sliced through by Max's mother. "You two are awfully quiet. Is everything okay?"

"Huh? I'm okay," her son responded.

Linda took her eyes off her empty plate for the first time in several minutes. "Uhh... I'm okay too."

"Maybe things are a little awkward between them because Linda has a boyfriend now," the beautiful brunette's mother suggested.

Max's mother gasped before looking over at her son. "I didn't know she had a boyfriend! Did you know this?"

The boy made a blank face towards his mother and responded, "I did."

"So, what do you think of him?"

Max looked over at his former fuck-buddy and made eye contact with her for the first time in months. He could tell she was nervous about his answer from the way she fidgeted around. "I don't really know him, but if Linda likes him then I'm sure he's fine."

The cute neighbor did her best not to visually sigh in relief. She had forgotten how mature Max could be; a trait of his that impressed her now more than ever. Unfortunately, she couldn't look at him for much longer, so she put her face back down towards her plate.

Max's mother looked at her son with a bitter disappointment. Secretly, she had always hoped he would end up with the neighbor's pretty daughter.

"I'm glad you found a good guy," she said as she looked over at Linda. "Hopefully, Max can find himself a nice girl, someday."

Max could feel everyone's eyes on him, and his heart started to race. He took a deep breath before telling his mother, "I actually have a girlfriend."

Linda's eyes got big and she stared over at her former fuck-buddy. She could feel adrenaline rushing through her arms and legs. He has to be lying, she thought to herself. I didn't know he had a girlfriend.

Both of the mother's faces lit up when they heard the big news. The excitement caused them to squeal and ask for details about the mystery woman.

"Her name is Allie," Max explained. "We've been dating for about a month now."

Linda did her best not to make any facial reactions. I'm not supposed to care, she thought to herself. Anyway, he has to be lying. I can tell by how uncomfortable he is that he just made this up. Dating for a month? Give me a fucking break!

All the brunette's doubts came to a screeching halt as Max pulled out his phone to show the table a picture of his new girlfriend.

"That's her?!" the boy's mother exclaimed. "You two are so cute together!"

Even Max's father jumped in on the fun and said, "Good job, Son. I'm proud of you."

Linda tried her best not to look at Max's phone. However, deep down inside, she badly wanted to see this woman that was dating the man she lost her virginity to. Her eyebrows began to furrow as she caught a little glimpse.