Wanting to Remember, Trying to Forget (Meet the Shepards #1) Page 5

  When the mains were served and eaten, the DJ began playing his beats, the first one being LMFAO, Party Rockers.

  Danny stood up immediately and pointed at Amber. “You and me. Right now!”

  Amber needed no further convincing. They rushed off to the dance floor. They were the first ones on and, just like in college, Danny already knew that they would be the last ones to leave. She cast a glance back to the table to look at Max. He sat there, smiling as he watched her with Amber. Danny waved her arm to call him to the dance floor, but he declined the invitation with a brief shake of his head.

  She knew by that simple gesture what mood his was in tonight. If she wanted him to join them, she would have to pull out the big guns. It was amazing what six years had done to them. They could communicate with talking, tell one word jokes that no-one else understood. She knew every form of Max; every mood, good and bad. She knew he was groggy when he didn’t get enough sleep. She knew he hated boy-bands and celebrity gossip, particularly any articles about the Kardashians. He loved Harry Potter, video games, and any food containing chicken. She had seen him at his best and his worst and everything in between. All of those little things culminated into a friendship so deep, she would be lost without him.

  She danced with Amber for two more songs before she walked to the DJ. She whispered her request into his ear, then moved to the podium where Lauren had addressed the crowd earlier. There were only ten or twelve people on the dance floor, which was perfect for what she had in mind.

  She tapped the microphone and the music stopped. “Maximillian Augustus Shepard.” Their eyes met across the room and a grin slowly formed on his face. “Yes, you, Max Shepard. Please report to the dance floor immediately. I have something special for you.”

  She watched as Max exhaled a heavy breath and stood up. He handed Charlie his phone and after saying a few words, he pulled off his jacket, loosening his bow tie as he strode to the dance floor. He knew exactly what was going to happen next.

  “Was it necessary to say my full name in front of all these people?” he asked as she approached him.

  “No, but that was payback for bringing Charlie.”

  His grin widened and simply seeing him smile was probably payback enough for bringing Charlie. Danny kicked off her heels and noticed that all eyes were on them. It was something she had never had a problem with and, thanks to her, Max now felt the same way.

  “Alright. Let’s do this,” he said, undoing the top two buttons of his white shirt. For some unknown reason, the movement made her breath hitch involuntarily in her throat.

  The DJ waited for them to walk to the middle of the dance floor and then the familiar beat of Timbaland and Keri Hilson, The Way I Are began to play.

  As soon as the bass dropped they began dancing. High Jump. Land with feet apart. Hip sway. Bounce. Bounce. Slide.

  The crowd started cheering. Five weeks of watching MTV and this was the choreography they had come up with.

  Big rotation of the arm ending with a fist pump.

  Max had not been much more than a nerdy, awkward teenager in college. He was always afraid that people were judging him, silently hating him. He refused to dance at parties, opting to rather be the wallflower who faded into the shadows so he would be safe from condemning eyes. After attending five parties with him, Danny had finally had enough. She had turned to him and said, “Who cares what anyone thinks, Max? People should like you just the way you are.”

  And that was when it hit her. She downloaded the single the following day and for the next five weeks they had practiced this routine in her dorm room.

  Snake to the left. Snake to the right. Two hops and a turn.

  Sure, it wasn’t the best choreography. They had to adapt some of the moves due to his lack of co-ordination and her two left feet. It would look completely dumb if either of them did it alone, but it worked when done in unison. Simple yet effective and a hellava lot of fun.

  Pop and lock with a slight turn to do the robot – That part was his idea.

  Danny looked over at him as he mouthed Timbaland’s lines and wondered when he had evolved from that nerdy teenager to the man in front of her. She knew he still had his insecurities. He was still shy around women, still afraid to make the first move, but he wasn’t ashamed of being himself anymore. He was a geek and now he owned that title.

  Running man. No dorky dance would be complete without the running man so that was thrown in for good measure.

  It was this very song, this very dance that had pulled him out of his shell. The first time they had done it in public, he had left the party with two girls’ numbers. The boost to his ego had done wonders, because here he was six years later, dancing in front of two hundred strangers without a care in the world.

  One more hop and a slide as the song came to an end and then he pulled her into his arms. He was the perfect snuggling height, tall enough to nestle her head against his chest right beneath his chin and that was exactly what she did. As she melted into his embrace, she noticed that she was drinking in his scent again. She took a deep breath, trying to lose herself in Max and this moment for just a few more seconds. He kissed the side of her head and her stomach clenched.

  The DJ slowed down the pace and played a love song. Danny knew she should step away, but instead she wrapped her arms around his neck and led him into step.

  “God, we were awesome,” she said, leaning her head back so she could look up at him.

  “We were more than awesome. If you weren’t here, women would be throwing their G-strings at me right now.”

  She coughed out a mocking laugh even though she knew he wasn’t lying. She had noticed some of the come hither looks thrown in Max’s direction, especially from Jen, who was still watching him attentively from the table in the front. But she didn’t want to think of Jen right now. “If I wasn’t here, you would have looked like an idiot doing that by yourself.”

  His hands slipped around her waist, pulling her a fraction closer. “You’re right. But…” He gave her a teasing grin. “…if you leave right now, I could still get my rain of underwear. At this moment, you are actually my biggest cock-block.”

  Despite his words, she felt his arms tighten around her, as if he was ensuring she did not take him too seriously.

  “So you think all these women are just waiting to jump you?”

  “Of course. Statistics don’t lie, Danny. They probably saw the one dimple and now they know what I’m packing beneath these well-tailored trousers.”

  Her one eyebrow shot up and her mouth dropped slightly. “That is still the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard.”

  He smiled the same way he did every time she said those words and once again, she felt her stomach tighten. Every now and then, he would look at her like that and everything would stop making sense. She didn’t want to question it, didn’t want to think too much about it. She didn’t want anything to distract from this moment, a moment of feeling sheer bliss in his arms.

  Charlie pressed a button on Max’s phone to stop recording. Another asshole idea. Max now had yet another video of the two of them together that he would obsess over. He slipped the phone into his pocket when he saw Amber strolling towards him. “Hey,” he said. “You wanna get some dessert?”

  “Sure.” She brushed her auburn hair out of face. “But if you try to grab my ass, I will slap the crap out of you.”

  “Deal.” He moved between two tables to get to the aisle and she walked with him to the dessert trays that were laid out in the front of the room. He looked to the dance floor, where Danny and Max were still giggling as they slow danced. “He’s got it bad for that girl. He’s so deep in the friend-zone, I don’t think he knows how to get back to the mainland. The saddest part about all of it is that she is never going to feel the same way.”

  Amber stopped walking to glance over at them as well. “See the way she’s looking at him?” She pulled her cell phone out and took a picture of the two of them before turning back to Charlie.
“She already feels it. She just hasn’t realized it yet.”

  * * *

  The phone rang and there was a knock at the door at the same time. Danny set down her magazine and went to the door, while Max ceased plugging in the video game console and answered the phone.

  “Hi, mom,” Max greeted.

  “Oh, it’s you,” Danny said glumly. She stepped aside and allowed Charlie to enter.

  “Well, it’s nice to see you, too,” Charlie replied with fake enthusiasm.

  Danny walked back to the sofa and resumed reading her fashion magazine.

  “So,” Charlie began, taking a seat on the opposite end of the sofa, “have you sacrificed any small children lately?”

  “Just the little innocent one I found lost and alone at the grocery store yesterday. You still downloading illegal porn, Charlie?” she asked idly, not lifting her head from the magazine.

  Charlie glanced at her with a look of sheer arrogance. “A guy like me doesn’t need porn when the real thing is so easily accessible.”

  Danny flipped over another page. “Yes, and I’m sure the biggest turn on for any woman you date is the fact that you still live with your mother. That’s extremely sexy, by any standard, and what makes you even sexier is how old you look. Women love sugar daddies. How old are you now anyway? Forty-five?” Danny tried her hardest to hold back a smile. The worst imaginable thing anyone could say to Charlie was to make a comment about his age. He hated the fact that he was turning gray prematurely.

  “I look mature,” he corrected firmly.

  “You look old.”

  “Mature!”

  “Old!”

  “Mature!”

  “Break it up, guys,” Max intervened, handing Danny the portable phone. “My mom wants to speak to you.”

  Danny stood up and took the phone. “Old,” she said before she lifted it to her ear. “Hey, Mommy Jess. How are you doing?”

  “I’m fine,” Max’s mom replied. “Is my boy taking care of you?”

  “Yes, he’s taking really good care of me.”

  “That’s good, and how’s work? Not too stressful, I hope.”

  “No. Lauren and I want to branch out and we’re looking into publishing self-help books and magazines, but it’s still in the pipeline. We’ve had some meetings and it looks like the idea is finally beginning to take shape.”

  “That’s great, Danny. I’m sure you’ll make it a success.”

  “And how are the grandkids?”

  “Keeping me busy,” Mommy Jess answered with an exhausted breath. “But five isn’t enough. Just waiting for Max’s little one now. So…” She dragged the word and Danny knew exactly what was coming next, “…will you two be engaged by the time you come up for Christmas this year?”

  Danny smiled. Max’s mother was under the absurd notion that they were going to get married one day. That question was asked at least once a month. She had spent the past six Christmases at the Shepard’s and had become well acquainted with his parents, three brothers and nutty sister Jordan.

  They were a loving family and were it not for the fact that she and Max were completely platonic, she would not mind at all marrying into his family. They had welcomed her and Jake so warmly into their home and being with them last year—the first year she had spent Christmas without Jake—had made all the difference in the world.

  “Well, Max hasn’t proposed yet,” Danny said, casting him a playful glance.

  “Is she hassling you again?” He leaned over her shoulder and shouted into the phone. “Would you give it up, Mom? Danny and I are just friends.”

  Danny tilted the receiver so they could both share in the conversation.

  “Oh, nonsense, Max,” his mom said. “Leo and Aries are very compatible in friendship and everything else.”

  He rolled his eyes. “You gotta stop obsessing over star signs, Ma.”

  “It’s the truth. I think you two are perfect for each other and besides, everyone knows how you feel—”

  Max ripped the receiver out of Danny’s hand before his mother finished her sentence, leaving her staring at him in bewilderment.

  “Mom,” Max said desperately from between clenched teeth, “just drop it.”

  He moved to the corner of the room and lowered his voice so he could not be overheard. Danny continued watching him and she was pretty sure that by the way his lips moved he mentioned something about Richard and then this look came over his face, as though the conversation had stirred a deep-rooted sadness within him. “It’s not up to me,” she heard him say softly. He was quiet for a while before he spoke again. “Okay. I love you, too. Bye.” He ended the call and looked at her. “I’m sorry about that.” He smiled, but the sadness was still encompassed in his eyes. “She’s crazy. I don’t think she’s ever gonna let up on that idea.”

  “Can we get on with it?” Charlie asked impatiently.

  Max returned to the console and plugged in the controls. Charlie took a purely supervisory role in this task and Danny returned to the sofa feeling very unsettled. She had the same weird feeling she had when Richard had made that comment about Max having a crush on her. She had blamed the butterflies in her tummy on Richard but Richard wasn’t here now. And he was supposed to be. He was over an hour late for the date they had planned.

  She wanted to be out with him right now, not watching two nerds battle it out without actual fists, not feeling all weird over what Mommy Jess had said. She wanted to be with the man she loved and then things would make sense again.

  She lifted the magazine and tried with great difficulty to focus on the article she was reading. Her eyes swept over the words, but her brain refused to interpret what she read. It seemed to be preoccupied with other things.

  She glanced up every few minutes to look at Max furiously thumbing the controls. He had a wide grin on his face—seemingly because he was kicking the crap out of Paul Phoenix using Jin Kazama—and that grin made the dimple on his left cheek more prominent. Just watching him as he nudged Charlie and watching him laugh made her feel…

  She didn’t know what it was, but it definitely made her feel uncomfortable. She needed to get out of there. She stood up and looked at them. “You guys want anything from the kitchen?”

  “Coke for me please,” Max said, his eyes never leaving the screen.

  “Age rejuvenation spritzer for you, Charlie?” she offered with fake sweetness.

  “Now what did I do to you?” Charlie tossed his controls on the floor and stood up. “I’m just trying to enjoy my Saturday, playing Tekken with my friend and you have to go and throw around comments like that.”

  “Calm down, Charlie,” Max said, tugging his arm so he would sit down again.

  “My friend,” Danny corrected. “He was my friend before he was yours.”

  Max snickered and shook his head. This was why he generally tried to avoid them mixing company.

  “Oh, that’s mature!” Charlie shouted. “That’s really mature. You know what? Why don’t you just toddle your little ass back to hell? Hitler’s missing you.”

  “You wanna talk about maturity, grandpa? Video games are—”

  “Grandpa? Grandpa!” Charlie’s breathing elevated and his face started turning red. “I have never sucker punched a woman in my life, but you are asking for it.”

  It was time to intervene. Max stood up and placed his hand on Charlie’s chest before he threw himself at her.

  “C’mon,” Danny taunted. “What are you waiting for? Scared you might pop a hip?”

  Charlie jerked forward.

  “Relax,” Max said calmly, pressing his hand more firmly against Charlie’s chest. “She didn’t mean it.”

  “Yes, I did.”

  “Danny,” Max turned to her and gave her a reprimanding look, “you didn’t mean it. Now can we all just try to get along?”

  He looked at one and then the other and neither of them showed any signs of giving in. The knock at the door was a welcomed distraction. Danny slowly star
ted backing away to answer it.

  “C’mon, Charlie,” Max said. “Let’s get back to the game.”

  “She went too far that time.”

  Max looked down at Charlie’s pitiful expression. He wanted to laugh but nodded sympathetically instead. “I know.”

  “Richard,” Danny said, “what took you so long?”

  Max quickly turned to see the Dick of the Year standing at the door. He only stopped staring when Richard stepped in and pulled Danny into his arms.

  “Sorry,” Max heard him say. “I got caught up.”

  He heard the smack of their lips, as if Richard was deliberately making it known that he had kissed her. He raked his hand through his hair and tried to keep his jealousy confined. He sat down and lifted the controls again as an attempt to keep his hands occupied, because they were ready to punch Richard in the face.

  “Stay cool,” Charlie whispered when they heard footsteps approaching.

  “Hello, Max,” Richard said smugly.

  Max gritted his teeth and looked back at them. “Hello, Richard. It’s nice to see you back in town.”

  Richard seemed to notice the lack of sincerity, but responded anyway. “It’s nice to be back.”

  “How long will you be staying…this time?”

  “Today’s my last day, I’m afraid.”

  “That’s a shame. Work must be really tough.”

  “Max,” Danny warned before turning to Richard. “I think we should get going.”

  Richard wrapped his arm around her shoulders and gave her another kiss. “I think that’s a great idea, sweetheart.” He gave Max a haughty smile as he took Danny’s hand and led her to the door.

  Max waited to hear the door close before he threw the controls on the floor. “That arrogant fucking prick! What does she see in him?” He stood up and began pacing the length of the room, shouting but not expecting anyone to hear. “How can she be so blind? This is the same guy who blew off the charity dinner last weekend because he probably had better things to do.”