Seventeen

   The stars twinkled through the sunroof of the chariot he drove. Laying back in the seat Maxine felt so at ease. Life was turning out exactly how she had always dreamed. She looked at her prince and immediately began to smile. Hers eyes darted back to the stars when he went to return her gaze. He smiled knowingly as he pulled into a dark driveway. 

   A dark shadow in the short distance ahead appeared to be the silhouette of an enormous house. Even in darkness the massiveness of the house was apparent. Laughing, Max sat up in her seat. Her eyes widening with every inch the car moved. She stared at him in amazement. “Where the hell are we?” she whispered, as if their presence would sound alarm. 

“I told you, Maxie, Mike’s dad is loaded. Mike and his girlfriend are here don’t worry.” 

   After slamming the car into park, he walked as if he were prancing, and opened Max’s door hand outstretched for her to take. She laughed and lunged into his arms. He kissed her soft brown hair, and took in her clean floral scent. They swayed there for a moment in an embrace only new lovers have when- “Asswipe! Is that you?” 

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    Mike was an awkwardly tall man. He had a choppy chin length hairstyle- immediately Max was intimidated. One of the first things she noticed was the length of his fingernails-several inches from the tips of his fingers and well groomed. 

    “Welcome to my “apartment.” he said as he stretched his arm in the doorway to usher them in. Grabbing Doug’s hand immediately she stuck her face to his arm and let him lead the way. Inside was a dimly lit makeshift apartment, which had to be the basement of the mansion above. Max couldn't help but wonder why he lived in such a small space, when the house above he bragged had two wings.

     On the floor a small girlish woman, sat hand stitching red lace to a handful of red fabric. As if Mike’s startling appearance wasn't enough to set her uneasy; this character had obvious box colored black hair, with a pale face, bright red lipstick, and a patchwork circus looking mess of an outfit. Secretly Max admired her for her confidence to wear something so outlandish and original. “This is Nickie, my little housewife.” Snickered Mike. Just then Nickie kicked him in the shin, “You wish b*****d.” They giggled then kissed longer than  Max felt was appropriate in front of company, then offered them a seat on an old thrift store couch. 

    As Mike and Doug sat discussing the latest anime comics and movies,Max sat next to Nickie watching her carefully craft a costume. Trying to make small talk about her relationship with Mike and the college classes Nickie was taking, Max was met with short answers and awkward silence. Max casually stood to find a seat next to Doug whose eyes met hers the moment she stood. Concerned her pulled her in close but continues arguing with Mike about who the played Batman better ________ from the 19__ film or _________ from the latest version” _______”. 

    Max felt safe in his teddy bear arms and felt immediately at ease next to him. Always an awkward socially type person Max had trouble making friends. Meeting new people made her cringe, judgment was something she had always feared, yet she found herself doing that exact peeve to Mike and Nickie. It was her defense, picking apart people that made her feel judged. They were into things she wished she knew more about, they themselves were interesting and confident in who they were. In their early twenties, they had lived more than on their own than she had, but still they struck her as the type that were popular in the click of friends and leaders. She dreamed of leading and being an example for others, but never had been. 

   “Babe...” Doug nudged Max, knocking her from her deep trance of self-reflection. “Huh,” she looked up at him. “Do you want some hot chocolate?” Smiling, Nickie offering her a steaming foam cup. Max sheepishly smiled and thanked her taking her up on the offer. Finally, something to distract her from her depressing thoughts, the burn on her tongue was all she whined about in her mind for the next ten minutes. 

   After a seemingly endless night of anime video games and lame parody films, Mike had finally led them to their room upstairs on the third floor. Walking through the cold, lonely, abandoned upper levels of the home, Max became hopeful that their room wouldn't be so lifeless. 

  Mike opened the large ____ door to the best guest room in the house, or so he said. The walls were almost bare, but the furniture had an old romantic feel. The bed appeared to be made for ten, and the bathroom a dream come true for any girl- she began to drift again, wondering if Nickie found the bathrooms in the house as thrilling. Max turned and spun in front of the huge corner of mirrors by the walk in closet in the bathroom. She could hear the guys teasing one another back and forth about sex and the bed having clean sheets. Her cheeks flushed and burning, she walked to the other side of the bathroom to distract her from her embarrassment. When she heard the heavy door to their bedroom close, she slowly walked back into the dimly lit chamber. 

    Clasping her hands over her mouth Max laughed so loud, she was sure it echoed throughout the house. Doug laid promiscuously across the bed bare assed and his pinky in his mouth, eyebrows dancing at her, “Haaayyyy Baby! Come over here and help me find my mojo baybay!” he summoned her in the worst possible Austin Powers accent imaginable. Doug always had a way of making her contemplative seriousness fade and be forgotten-at least for a while. Laughter was her cure, and love making was his. 

    Max let go of her insecurities and stripped from her first layer and sexily walked toward him with silly seductive pursed lips and come and get me eyes. He grabbed her and lifted her onto the four-poster king size bed and brushed the hair from her face. For an instant his eyes were serious, and his thoughts completely understood from his eyes to hers, it was so rare he let his guard down to emotion, and she locked the moment in her heart to cherish. He then ravished her, seduced her, made love like only he knew how, and then held her watching her sleep- as he always did.

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   Some hours after they had made love, Max slipped from under her now sleeping boyfriend's arm. She made her way to the window seat and peered out at the open field and sparkling night sky. For a while she soaked in the beauty of the night, and dreamed of the future she wanted with Doug, and how perfect the night turned out to be. She wanted so badly, and for a moment was determined to, fit in with his friends. His friends were the trigger that set her mind in a tornado of doubts. She began thinking irrationally, and this thinking she did in the silence of night and all alone, was the worst kind. Self-destruction mode began to kick in and little did she know it was this newest revelation that would destroy her from the inside out for all of the foreseeable future. She stared at the unexpectant, vulnerable, snoring lump in front of her, and it began.