Page 16 of Sparks Fly
“I just mean, we can keep our professional lives and our personal lives separate,” Max said. “For now. I won’t bring up Miles or my work again, and we can just be here as if…”
“We’re two strangers who met at a sex club?” she asked.
Max coughed, somehow choking on his own spit, and Cherry smiled innocently as she nudged his glass of water toward him.
“Uh, yes, that’s exactly what I mean,” Max said after taking a sip. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.” Her smile sobered a bit as she added,“And sure. Let’s just focus on…us, I guess. I don’t want to think about work right now anyway. Though if we’re just being ourselves, I should probably tell you my name isn’t Cherry.”
Max leaned back in his chair. “Oh?”
“Cherry’s my roommate’s online name,” Not Cherry explained. “She was the one who was invited to the masquerade party last night, but she bailed on me, so she told me to use her name to get in and get a drink at the bar. I never did get that drink actually.”
She seemed to be really ruminating on this last point, and Max had to reach over and tap her hand to bring her attention back.
“So, what is your name then?” he asked.
“Stella,” she said, holding out a hand to him. “Stella Renee Johnson.”
Max took her hand as he let her new, or rather real, name take shape in his mind.
Stella. It suited her.
“Maximo Martinez Williams,” he said as he shook her hand. “But everyone calls me Max.”
“Maximo and not Maxwell?”
“Nope,” Max said. “Common mistake, though. ButMaximomeans ‘great’ whereasMaxwellmeans ‘great stream,’ so I think I won in the name department.”
Stella laughed, and Max loved the sound. He smiled as the waitress returned with their drinks.
“Well,Stellajust means ‘star,’ ” Stella said as the waitress disappeared again. “My mom likes to say they gave me the name because they believed I’d be a star someday. I haven’texactly gotten there yet, though, but there’s still time I suppose.”
“What do you want to do?” Max asked. “To be a star, I mean?”
“Mm. I think answering that question taps into the work category,” she said. “But honestly, I’m not trying to be famous or anything like that. I just want to write about things that matter, whatever that means.”
“And you don’t think you do that now?”
Their food arrived, pausing their conversation for a moment.
“Not really,” Stella said once the waitress disappeared again. “But anyway, we’re not supposed to be talking about work. Let’s see how spicy these drunken noodles really are, shall we?”
Max knew he was the one who implemented the no-work-discussions policy for the evening, but he found himself wanting to know more. Stella clearly didn’t want to talk about it, though, so he followed her lead, digging into his noodles.
“Wow, okay, there is a kick,” Stella said, taking a sip of her cocktail.
Max grinned. “I told you so.”
“I didn’t say it was too spicy,” she said. “I’m just confirming there is a kick.”
“Sure,” he said, before taking another bite. “Feel free to order something else. I’ll take yours home for second dinner.”
“Second dinner? Are you a hobbit?”
“I think I’m too tall to be a hobbit, actually,” Max said.
Stella studied him as if checking to see if he was, in fact, too tall.
