Page 14 of Broken
Chapter Seven
Izzy
I open my eyes and freeze.
I’m lying on top of Max. My leg is draped over his and my head is resting on his chest.
How the hell did this happen?
I slowly remove my body from his and pray that he doesn’t wake up and make this awkward.
“Thought you’d never wake up,” his sleepy voice whispers.
Damn.
“Sorry about that.” I get out of bed and offer him a smile. He’s staring at me. His piercing eyes rake over my body in pajamas shorts and a T-shirt of his. “I grabbed your shirt last night because I was out of clothes to sleep in. I just have the nice stuff that the girls got me yesterday.”
“Trust me when I say I’m definitely not mad about the way you look in my shirt.” He offers me a crooked smile. “Get dressed.” Max gets out of bed and starts to walk toward the bathroom.
“Are we going somewhere?” I ask, wringing my hands nervously.
“Yea, but if you don’t get my shirt off soon I might not be able to stop myself from taking it off for you.” The door closes behind him.
I can feel my cheeks getting red, which he does a lot to me. He’s so straightforward, and sometimes I just don’t know how to take it. I take off my pajamas and put on one of the outfits I got yesterday. Moving still hurts, but the soreness has definitely faded. As I pull my hair into a ponytail I remember how Max had pulled on it last night. The way he pressed himself so close to me and how foreign it felt, but completely right at the same time. My hand traces over the space on my neck where his lips were last night.
Considering I have no memories this was basically like my first kiss. It was everything that I think you could hope for. He was gentle, but I could feel the passion pouring out of him. When he told me that I was wrong and he wasn’t ashamed of me it quieted all the doubts in my head. I could barely focus on anything the rest of the night.
Max sat at the end of the bar and kept eye on me all night. A few guys had tried to pick me up, but nothing that I couldn’t handle the way Tracie taught me. I open the makeup bag the girls gave me and pull out a tube of lipstick. It’s a deep red and will compliment the tan I have. At least that’s what they told me. As I twist the tube and the red stick emerges it hits me.
Red.
A red bike racing toward a destination.
A sideways view of the bike as I’m lying on the cold ground.
I gasp as a jolt of pain hits my forehead.
The bathroom door opens and Max walks out. He grabs a new shirt and pulls the one he’s wearing off. I feel like I should tell him about what I remembered, but there really isn’t too much to tell. I saw a red bike. That could be a thousand different people. I decide for now to just keep it to myself. If I remember more than just a color I’ll tell him.
“You okay?” He eyes me cautiously.
“Yep, just having a moment.” I smile to try and ease his suspicions. My head still has a dull pain, but I try to push it away.
“All right, well, let’s go do this thing.”
“What thing?” I follow him toward the door.
“The whole me risking my patch just to take you on a date.” He holds the door open for me.
I stop in front of him. “I understood what you said last night. I don’t want you to chance not getting your patch because of me.”
“That right there. It’s the reason I’m willing to.” His hand finds my lower back and he urges me forward.
I’m a little confused as to what he means, but I walk with him. As I climb into the truck his hand stays on my back. He walks around, climbing in himself before pulling out of the parking lot. “Any clues as to where we are going?” I glance sideways at him.
“Gonna grab some lunch, but outside of town. I don’t need to make it blatantly obvious that I’m ignoring a direct order.” He shakes his head as he reaches over to turn on the radio.
I still can’t believe he was ordered not to touch me, and that he’s ignoring it. He just met me and he’s willing to risk something that’s important to him, for me. Not having any idea if I have family or people who love me is an overwhelming lonely feeling. When Max is around I don’t feel so alone. I feel like if I needed him all I would have to do is ask.
