Page 91 of Sparks Fly
“I’ve got my own copies,” Rashid said. “Let me know when you’re done. There’s some research in there that I found particularly fascinating. Like did you know that AI has significantly improved breast cancer detection? We could create something that actually saves lives.”
Max smiled at the genuine awe in Rashid’s voice. He felt the same way, and for the first time all day, he was excited to dive fully into his work.
The rest of Max’s day flew by, and other than checking his phone when he was leaving the office, he didn’t let himself think too much about Stella and how she hadn’t contacted him yet.
That was probably why it took him by such surprise to find her standing in the lobby of his building.
She was talking to the doorman so she didn’t notice him at first, but even from the back, he could recognize her right away. Max walked up to her, and Ernesto, his doorman, noticed him first.
“Mr. Williams,” Ernesto said in greeting.
Stella turned around so quickly she walked smack-dab into Max’s chest. He chuckled.
“This feels a little like déjà vu,” he said.
“Except less messy, thank God,” Stella said, taking a step back.
There was a hint of a smile playing on her lips, and Max decided to take that as a good sign.
“I’m happy to see you,” he said. “You should’ve told me you were coming.”
“I wasn’t sure if I was, honestly,” Stella said sheepishly. “I finally forced myself to leave the house this afternoon and see my parents, who somehow heard about everything going on despite neither of them ever fully understanding what Yellow Sparks was. Anyway, I figured it’d be easier to just explain it all in person, and then I kind of have to pass here to get back home, so when I got to your stop, I just got off.
“I figured I’d see if you were home, and if you weren’t, I’d call you later, but if you were…”
“If I was?”
“Well, honestly, I hadn’t really thought that far ahead, so here we are,” she finished. “Can we go upstairs?”
“Yes, of course.”
Instinctively he placed a hand on her lower back, steering her toward the elevators, but he quickly dropped his hand when he realized what he was doing. For the first time, he felt awkward around her. He wasn’t sure if he should, or could, touch her. He didn’t know where they stood.
The elevator ride up was quiet, and when they reached his floor, Max kept his hands to himself as they walked out of the elevator, down the hall, and into his apartment.
As soon as the door shut, Stella whirled on him.
“I love you!”
Her face looked just as surprised as he felt, but then she swallowed and kept talking.
“I love you,” she said again, a bit quieter this time. “I should’ve just said that yesterday, because I knew I did. Or do. It was just a lot, you know? I’ve never had anyone tell me they love me like that before, much less say they love me so much that they’ll choose me over their own family. It was daunting. And honestly, I wasn’t sure I deserve it.”
“You do,” Max said automatically.
“Right, except that I lied to you,” she said.
Instantly Max started going through every possible lie she could’ve told him, and the worry on his face must’ve been evident because Stella quickly rushed on.
“I think Chelsea maybe said this in her own roundabout way,” she said. “But I was a virgin when we met. And I didn’t tell you because I didn’t want to make things weird, and guys can get so weird about it, but I wanted to tell you because when I was at Red as Sin, I was ready to just get it over with and have sex with anyone willing. But I am so incredibly happy that that someone was you.”
The words flew out of Stella on seemingly one long breath, and when she was done, she was breathing hard. Max waited to see if there was more, but when she said nothing, he almost laughed with relief. He hadn’t been expecting this exactly, but he also wasn’t totally surprised. A lot of things started to make more sense, actually, and he felt kind of foolish for not realizing it sooner. Regardless, that didn’t matter to him.
Stepping forward, he took Stella’s face in his hands and told her as much.
“Stella, I’m sorry you felt like you couldn’t tell me thatbefore,” he said. “But just so we’re clear, I’m glad I got to be the person to share that with you, and make it a good experience I hope?”
Stella nodded, so Max pushed on.
