Page 28 of Sparks Fly
That would be great! Just let me know time and place, and I’ll be there.
Max heart-reacted to her message, which meant nothing, so she shouldn’t feel any type of way about it, and she didn’t. The fluttering in her stomach was probably indigestion.
Believing the conversation was done, Stella decided that since she wasn’t going out tonight after all, it was time to shower, put on her comfiest PJs, and climb into bed.
She was halfway to the bathroom, which was to say she had one foot out of her room, when her phone vibrated on the nightstand.
Max
I’m not sure when I’ll be home tonight, but could I call you?
Like anyone who grew up with the ability to text, Stella’s phone anxiety kicked in and she had half a mind to say absolutely not. But if she couldn’t see Max tonight, hearing his voice was a nice close second.
God, maybe she was down bad.
Stella
Yeah, I’d like that.
Max
Okay cool, talk soon.
Stella hearted his message before hopping into the shower.
Max hadn’t been this excited to call a woman since he was sixteen years old and Misty Crenshaw gave him her cell phone number with the caveat to call after nine p.m. so it was free.
By the time he’d arrived home, showered, and stuffed his face with the last two slices of pizza in his fridge, it was close to eleven p.m. For a split second, he considered not calling. What if she’d already fallen asleep? He could text her, but sending a “U up?” text didn’t feel right either.
“Fuck it,” he muttered to himself as he pressed her number in his phone. The phone rang once before she picked up.
“Hey.”
Stella’s voice was low and slightly raspy, like she’d been using it all day.
“Hey,” Max said back. “I didn’t wake you, did I? I know it’s late.”
Stella snorted. “SNLhasn’t even come on yet. It’s not late.”
“My apologies, I didn’t realize we were using a comedy show to determine time,” Max teased. “I’ll keep that in mind going forward.”
Stella laughed, and it was the best sound he’d heard all day.
“Thank you, much appreciated,” Stella said. There was a quiet pause before she added, “How are you?”
“I’m good,” Max said. “Tired, but good.”
“What was it that you had to do today?”
Max sighed. “A conference.”
“That bad, huh?”
He could hear the hint of laughter still in her voice, and it made him smile.
“It wasn’t that bad,” he said. “It was just a lot. I did the opening keynote, which meant everyone thought I was important, so I was fielding conversations from people all day.”
“Aren’t you important?”
