I grip Max’s face with both of my hands and eagerly crush my lips to his as my fingers continue around the back of his neck, holding him to me as they lace together. My lips burn with heat as my body automatically arches to feel his as I experience my first taste of Max; it’s consuming and blinding, and more fulfilling than I could have possibly imagined.

A small groan climbs from the back of Max’s throat as I catch his lower lip with my teeth, encouraging me as I gently tug on it before lightly swiping my tongue over the same spot. I feel his arms press down on either side of my head as he begins to pull back from me, and my eyes flash open as the fear that I’ve just crossed a line that he didn’t want me to grips me. Before I can finish processing the thought, Max’s eyes open. They’re warm and heavy with lust as they search mine. The right corner of his lip quirks up in a half smile, and he reaches a hand to the back of my head, pulling my mouth to his, and takes over. There’s a silent demand behind his kiss that I instantly surrender to.

Max stands up, not breaking our kiss, as his hands run down my sides and over my hips. He clutches the bottom of my thighs in his hands, urging me to wrap my legs around his waist which I do without a second thought. He lifts me easily, pressing my body against his. My fingers run through his hair and over his neck, and I wrap my arms around him. I feel the wall at my back as Max’s left hand cradles my face, and his tongue slowly slides across my upper lip, making me feel half crazed. The urge to feel every inch of Max against every inch of my body consumes me. I ball my hands into his shirt, working to pull myself closer. His chin dips and his lips glide along the side of my neck, tracing the same path with the tip of his nose, before tightening his grip on my thighs and fusing his mouth back to mine.

“Ace!” Kendall’s voice carries down the stairs, startling us both and interrupting the most intense kiss of my life. Max lets out a deep breath, gently dropping his forehead to mine. His chest rises against mine in fast bursts. I can still taste his breath lingering on my lips, and I can’t stop my tongue from sliding out to savor it. My lips feel smoother and hyper sensitive, feeling his every breath and storing them each to memory.

Max takes in a deep breath as I reluctantly unwrap my legs from around his waist. His hands slowly lower me to the hardwood floors.

“We’re doing this,” he says, still keeping my body pinned against the wall, his eyes boring into mine. “No more excuses, it’s our turn.” Max dips his face catching my lips once more with his in a desperate kiss that has me wondering if Max is talking about sex here, or something more.

“Ace!” Kendall calls again, causing Max to take a step back as he sucks in a labored breath. The irony is not lost on me that if Kendall knew what we were actually doing down here she’d likely be barricading the stairwell.

“We should go. I don’t want your parents to ban me from your house,” Max says, running a hand over his hair.

I take a breath, still not able to speak after that kiss, and nod.

“I’ll follow you,” he says, taking another step back and gesturing toward the doorway.

“Don’t trust my self-control?” I tease, running a hand through my hair to ensure that it doesn’t reflect what just occurred.

My entire body tingles as his fingers graze the top of my cheekbone. My eyes lock onto his and I watch them shine brightly in the dim glow of the room. His fingers trail down my face, stopping when he reaches my jaw. He gently holds my chin and firmly presses his thumb to the center of my bottom lip, like he knows it’s burning. His eyes blaze with excitement, and rather than feeling relief from the coolness the pad of his thumb offers, the contrast sends an exhilarating current through me. How can one simple touch be so intimate? I try to focus on breathing when I hear Kendall yell my name once again, this time sounding more agitated. I take a deep breath as Max takes another step away from me, his hand slipping from my face as his eyes stay focused on mine.

“She’s going to come looking for you in a second.”

I nod, knowing he’s right and hating that fact. I take a few steps forward, slightly terrified to leave the safety of this room, fearing that once we step out of here the world will reappear and we will lose this moment, this attraction, and heat.

“Plus, this way I get a great view,” he says, lightly slapping my butt. Apparently Max isn’t too concerned.

“What’s taking you guys so long?” Kendall whines. She doesn’t look suspicious at all, just annoyed. I turn to face her, conjuring up my best look of innocence.

“Jameson says it’s either poker or twister.” Kendall dramatically closes her eyes. “There’s no way I’m playing Twister this sober, so we’re—” Kendall stops and tilts her head to the side looking from me to Max and then back to me again. Her chin angles a little further to the side as her eyes grow wide and her mouth forms into a look of shock and surprise.

“Oh my God, you guys finally—” Max’s hand wraps around my hip, pulling me against his side where he holds me tightly.

“Strip poker works for me too,” Jameson interrupts, rounding the corner with a deck of cards in his hand.

“They’re finally …” Kendall starts waving her hands in the air, making large gestures and then pressing them together. “I can’t believe it! That took so flipping long!”

Jameson’s eyes dance from Kendall to Max and me, the scar on his lower lip more pronounced from his giant smile.

Heat rises to my face as I try to return the smile when Max’s, Kendall’s, and Jameson’s phones all go off in a chorus of chimes and vibrations. I look over to Max as he fishes his phone out, and Kendall laughs, scrolling through her phone.

“Now we’re in trouble,” she says, holding her phone out to me. “Mom’s learning to text.”

I wince at the reality as I accept her phone. Our mother is technologically inept to the point it’s painful. Our Grandmother understands texting and computers better. My eyes scan over the message several times to interpret it through the spelling errors, and then I look at the picture she sent of the kitchen: a mess with food strewn across the table, chairs, and floor.

Mom: Sorry y’all missssed dinner we had one hell of a bottle tonihtg.

Their phones continue chiming as people start responding. The worst part of texts being sent to a group is everyone gets the replies as well.

“Who’s Tina?” Jameson asks, reading one of the messages. I look over to his phone, reading a reply from a California area code:

So glad ur texting, what did those girls do to the kitchen? Luv, Tina

“Probably someone she met at a grocery store five years ago,” I reply, only half joking.

“Why don’t we watch a movie? We’ll go to Max’s, no chick flicks tonight,” Jameson suggests, turning the volume on his phone down to silent as the messages continue to pour in.

I nod, glancing over to Max grinning, his fingers constricting as he pulls my back further into his side.

Once in Max’s basement, Kendall heads over to the stacks of movies and begins flipping through titles as Max goes on a quest for snacks, something that I’ve taught him is essential for vegging out. Though right now I don’t think I can eat anything. It feels like I’m going to take flight at any second from the swarms of butterflies in my stomach.

When Max returns with bags of processed sugar filled morsels, Kendall asks him to find some blankets. She stands beside me as Jameson gets the movie set up. I feel a little guilty that Landon is excluded, but Jameson assures us he’s content with a girl he met up in San Diego.