Page 24 of Pretty Broken Wings

I finally have friends.

I tell myself I can just have a few drinks, and then I’ll stop.

I look around the pool at the coworkers I’ve come to know over the past few months. Two of them are in the water, trying to drown each other in a drunken, sloppy way, and the rest are standing around the fire with me, cheeks flushed. I smell the scent of alcohol, and it makes my knee bounce. But then Max throws me a covert wink from across the fire, and immediately, everything feels okay again.

It’ll be fine. Right? For sure. I’m not my dad.

I lean into the party, the alcohol making me loose. I take a few more shots, riding the high of the buzz. Who knew drinking could be this fun? I feel relaxed… happy.

Eventually, people start leaving. I’m not sure why since I’m still having fun. At some point, Max drags me into the water. The crisp water crashes over my head, and as soon as I pop back up, I gasp. Max is beside me, sucking in a breath, and I splash him. “Hey!”

He throws his head back and laughs.

“Okay, lovebirds.” One of my older coworkers is suddenly at the edge of the pool. “We’re going inside. Don’t drown, yeah?”

I frown. Lovebirds? But the world is spinning, and Max just laughs. “Leaving already, ya old fuck?”

“Yeah, yeah.”

I grip the side of the pool, enjoying the way the water washes over me.

Max hangs on beside me, grinning at me. “You’re drunk.”

“No, I’m not!” Am I acting drunk? Sure, maybe I’m happier than normal, but I thought I was handling it well.

Max just laughs. “Okay, whatever you say, Magdalene.”

I splash him again.

For a while, we just sit there, listening to the thud of the music inside. The lapping of the water and the moving of the lights on the pool edges are mesmerizing, and I just stand at the edge of the pool, watching them. Everything feels so peaceful. I had no idea that alcohol could make things so… warm.

Suddenly, Max is in front of me. He is so close that his skin brushes up against my hand that’s gripping the edge of the pool. For a second, I’m frozen, staring at where we’re touching.

“You’re fun.”

I lift my gaze to Max, and he’s smiling, but it looks…different.

Confusion mixes in my gut.

“I’m so glad I got to train you.” Suddenly, Max moves and presses me against the wall of the pool.

I suck in a breath, feeling his hot skin all over mine.

“What–”

His hand lifts, dripping water down, and he traces it along my jaw.

I’m frozen again. This doesn’t feel right. The spark of the physical touch feels stolen.

I try to squeeze away, my back grinding against the pool’s edge. Max stops me, his arm blocking my movement, which makes me freeze up more.

He says nothing; he just looks into my eyes. His pupils are blown, and I hate the jump of attraction that I feel. He’s married. Why is he doing this?

I realize that his free hand has moved, and he’s tracing it down my neck.

“Max…” I try to push away again, but he just sticks to me, the water making it easy for him to glide with me.

“Raven.” His lips are so close I can feel his hot breath. Actually, my whole body feels hot, and I feel like the pool is floating along with me. I’m floating in the pool that’s floating, on the world that’s floating. And spinning. And it’s so, so hot.