Page 24 of Out Of Time

“For a donut?”

She leaned over and gave his massive thigh a playful pat. “For thebestdonut.”

She could feel the muscles in his leg tense under her touch, and for a second, she wondered if she had gotten this wrong. This thing between her and Max. Sure, he was shy, sure he was weird, and sure he was kind of awful at conversations, but she was almost positive she had felt somethingmorehappening between them on Halloween. Maybe it was the alcohol and wishful thinking, but the way he looked at her with his drunken smile that night felt like the prelude to an epic romance.

But thiswasMax Miller.

And hewasan enigma.

She pulled her hand away hesitantly.

“Hi, by the way,” she said, causing him to look over for just a split second to give her one of his soul-crushing shy boy smiles. “Thanks for coming with meandfor driving.”

“No problem. But I have to warn you, I drive slow at night,” he mentioned.

She noticed his tense hands on the wheel and smiled over at him, only he didn’t smile back. He kept his eyes intent on the road with a white-knuckle grip on the steering wheel.

Was he still nervous to be around her? Had they not gotten past that part? Or was he just an anxious driver?

“Thanks for coming with me after a long day, you must be exhausted,” she said.

“I’m fine. All I did was sit on a bench. Besides, you did say they were the best donuts.”

“Do you even like donuts?” she asked.

“I haven’t had one in a long time,” he admitted.

“Diet restrictions?”

He put his blinker on, and changed lanes very slowly, very cautiously, then he seemed to relax a bit. Resting his arm on the armrest between them felt like an invite to hold his hand, but she remembered the feeling of his leg tensing at her touch only moments ago, so she couldn’t be sure, and she was usually pretty damn sure about things. His hands were huge, with light freckles scattered across the tops of them. She desperately wanted to touch them, to run her fingers over each little dot just to say she had, just to know that she could.

“I never think to get donuts,” he said. “We weren't allowed food like that as kids, then growing up as an athlete I was always training, and that called for me to eat a restricted diet. So, I just don’t think to indulge often, it’s not part of my routine.”

“Do youeverindulge?”

“Sure. I’m doing it right now,” he said, and she didn't miss the smile on his face as he kept his eyes fixed on the road.

“So, you fly out to New York tomorrow?” she asked, despite already knowing the answer.

“Yes. East Coast road trip, then back home before the holiday break.”

“Any chance you'll get the start?”

“No,” he said with certainty. His answer was short and clipped.

It honestly felt like a hint for her to shut the fuck up about hockey, but she wasn’t done yet, and he was all out of passes. Itwas time to push, just a little. It was time to challenge Max, and ease him out of his comfort zone.

“With you not getting the start, do you think it will encourage you to go see a doctor sooner? You can get the help you need for whatever it is that’s going and get back to being in the starting lineup.”

He slowly hit the brakes as they rolled to a stop at a red light. Looking over at her, his eyes were pleading with her to understand. “Remi, if I go see a team doctor, it might be the end of the season for me.”

“Would that be so bad? You could take the time off, figure out what's wrong, and come back stronger than ever,” she offered, wishing she knew more about the situation, hoping that he might open up and tell her the details, so she could better understand how to help him.

He shook his head and looked away, bringing both hands up to grip the steering wheel tightly. “If I go out on a medical leave, there’s a good chance I’ll never be relevant again,” he said as the light turned green, “especially with the Condors having an amazing young backup goalie.”

“So, what are you going to do about it?” she pried.

“Eat donuts, of course,” he said, looking back over at her, and she knew it was a cop-out answer, but it was also so much more. The smile he gave her in that moment told her she wasn't crazy. Max felt something for her, and maybe it was just a friendship, but that smile hinted at it being something better, something she desperately wanted. It might be the start of him opening up and letting her in. And with Max, that felt like a rite of passage.

---