This story takes place immediately after a previous story of mine titled Love. I tried to write this so you wouldn't have to read Love first, but I recommend it.

The second Andrea looked at me I knew what was coming. "Now about you and Max."

I looked around at the people still milling about my front yard. I had yelled at everyone to go home, but of course not everybody listened. I could see Troy and Max arguing over near Max's car. Taking Andrea's hand, I led her into my house and up into my bedroom. Even though my parents were on a date, I closed the door tight. No doubt my older brother would try and eavesdrop on us.

"Ok, spill," Andrea said the second the door was closed. She plopped onto my bed, waiting for a long story, but it wasn't that complicated.

I took a deep breath, my stomach rolling in nervous anticipation. "Max and I slept together," I blurted out before I could lose my courage.

Andrea groaned, falling back onto my bed. "I suspected, but I was hoping otherwise!" she moaned. "Why? Why would you do something so stupid!"

I glared at her, but she didn't bother apologizing. "I was drunk, ok? And you weren't there to save me."

"So this happened only last week?" she reasoned. We went to every party together, but she left last weekend's party early for some reason I never learned. I should have gone home with her, but I was having way too much fun. "Did you wear protection?"

I rubbed my face. "Yeah, but that doesn't make me feel any less of an idiot. He's the biggest playboy I know and a complete pervert and then he kissed you in front of the whole lunchroom—"

"And in front of his best friend," she interrupted with a scowl. Troy, Max's best friend, was her new boyfriend. And if Troy and Max made up, like I had a feeling they would, there was no avoiding Max.

I moved to the window and looked out. Sure enough, Max and Troy looked like they were laughing now instead of yelling. "Looks like they've made up," I said to Andrea, moving away from the window and falling into my computer chair in defeat. "Now I'm never going to get a break."

Andrea gave me a sympathetic look, understanding what I was saying.

"It's ok," I said before Andrea could start suggesting things like not hanging with Troy if Max was around. Andrea was always willing to sacrifice anything for me and I wasn't going to let her this time. I gave her a reassuring smile, although I don't know if it was as convincing as I wanted it to be. "I'll deal with him. I'm a lot tougher than he thinks."

Troy and Andrea were making me sick. I thought being around Max would be hard, but I didn't even take into account that Andrea has been lusting after Troy since their first class together years ago and therefore would not be able to keep her hands off of him. Same goes for him, apparently. They were kissing and touching any chance they could get. I was ready to push the table over on them for being so touchy feely around me. And in the library, no less!

Apparently Max couldn't handle it either.

"My eyes!" he yelled out and covered his face as the couple leaned in to kiss for the hundredth time.

Biting back a laugh, I punched him in the shoulder for my best friend's sake. And for my sake; for some reason punching Max made me feel tons better. The couple ignored us anyways.

Max rubbed his arm and glowered at me. "Don't tell me you actually like seeing this," he said sourly.

"No," I whispered in response to the librarian who was glaring at us. Max winked at her and I punched him again. "Just ignore them."

He scoffed. "Look at them, they're about to rip each other's clothes off."

I glanced at our friends and grimaced. He was right; things were getting a little carried away. I glanced at the librarian to see if she was looking and after seeing she was busy I picked up my pencil, aimed, and fired. Bullseye.

Troy and Andrea broke apart to glare toward us and my immediate response was to point at Max.

"Hey!" Max yelled, appalled. "It was her!"

"Who are you going to believe?" I asked. "Him, or me?"

"You," they said at the same time. They looked at each other and grinned, like saying the same thing at the same time meant they were soul mates. Please. If that were true, my brother would be my soul mate.

Max groaned and stood up. "Well, it was nice watching you two suck face, but the combination of books and PDA is killing me," he said and then walked away.

I immediately started to panic. There was no way I was going to stick around to be the third wheel. "I'm…um, my mom wants me to cook dinner tonight and I gotta go do that." Andrea would know that's a lie, but she was too busy giggling at something Troy whispered into her ear to hear me. I didn't waste any time and sped out of there.

"You're a pathetic liar," Max said as soon as I walked out of the library doors.

"Shut up," I snapped. "At least my best friend believes me." I shifted my book bag, getting ready for a long walk. I drove over with Andrea in her car which meant I had to walk the whole three miles home.

"She's blinded by love," he spat venomously.

I looked at him, surprised. I knew he had a thing against love, but I didn't know he disliked it that much. "What's your problem?" I asked. "Usually you would laugh something like this off in your own perverted way."

"My best friend got stolen from me," he snapped. "I knew this was going to happen, and I tried to prevent it, but love got in the way."

I rolled my eyes. "You're being a baby. Just be happy for him."

"How's that working for you?" he sneered. "You don't look too happy either."

"Look, I don't like the fact that they spend so much time together, but they're happy. Who am I to argue with that? Just deal with it, they'll stop with the touchy stuff soon."

"Not soon enough."

I sighed as we approached the parking lot. "Well, have fun being miserable," I said as he walked away.

He didn't bother replying and I started walking. I did want to get home before dark. But I didn't get very far before a car pulled over next to me.

"Get in, Laura," Max said from the driver's seat. I hesitated, but got in. I really didn't want to walk all the way home.

His radio was on a station that I hated, so I changed it without his permission. He glared and changed it back. So I turned it off.

"This is my car, you know," he said, turning it back on.

"Who cares?" I snapped, turning it back off.

"I do." It was turned back on.

I growled and threw up my hands giving up. He turned it up.

I turned to him, disbelieving. "You are…unbelievable!"

He smirked. "You love it."

"What was that you were saying about love earlier?" I shot back.

"I didn't say anything about love, I said your friend stole mine," he pointed out. "And it's not my fault if you fall for my charming ways."

I snorted. "Dream on, pervert."

"Every night, baby." He winked at me and I turned away, disgusted, but a little happy he was lightening up. A serious Max was a Max I couldn't deal with.

There was silence and I couldn't help but think about That Party.

Yeah, Andrea and I had it named.

Even though it'd been a few weeks, I couldn't get that night out of my mind. I couldn't believe I fell for Max's tricks and ended up in bed with him! It made me feel ill thinking about it. Max wasn't ugly; in fact, he's better looking than Troy, although Andrea would argue with me on that one. There's a reason he'd been able to sleep with so many girls so early in his life. I couldn't deny my attraction to him.

My problem was the fact that I had sex with someone who I wasn't in a relationship with. Did that make me a whore? Did it even mean anything to him? Not that I cared, I just, hated that I did something like that!

But it was so good.

Ok, we're not going there.

"We're here."

I looked at Max, startled. I was so lost in my thoughts, I forgot where I was.

"Oh, uh, thanks," I said, hurriedly unbuckling myself and opening my door.

Max chuckled. "Lost in your thoughts about that night?"

I blushed, but didn't reply as I slammed the car door and headed for my house. When I got to my door, I tried hard not to look back, but I couldn't help myself. Max was still sitting there, watching me with a smirk on his face.

I was sitting on my bed, trying to do my homework, but it was really hard when the person that was supposed to help me was giggling and texting her boyfriend.

"Andrea," I said, exasperatedly. "Can you please put your phone down and help me?"

"Hold on," she said, not even looking at me.

I sighed and looked down at my Physics homework. I had no idea why I took the class, I didn't even need it. Maybe because Andrea convinced me to take it with her. Too bad we ended up in different periods.

Her phone suddenly rang and her whole face lit up. I sighed, knowing exactly who it was.

Andrea looked at me. I could tell she was begging me to let her answer it and I waved my hand. "Fine, whatever, I'll just figure this out myself."

She smiled and without wasting another second, threw her phone open and answered with a breathless, "Hey there."

I groaned and buried my face in my textbook. I lay like that for a few seconds before deciding that I needed to get away from her. I never thought I would try to get away from my best friend so fast.

"Hey Mom," I said, walking through the kitchen. "I'm going for a walk. If Andrea asks where I am, tell her she can call my cell."

"Aren't you guys doing homework?" she asked.

I rolled my eyes. "Her precious boyfriend called."

She looked worried. "Just be careful, it's pretty late."

I nodded absently. "I will." And then I left the house in a hurry.

I didn't really know where I was going; all I knew was that I needed to get away. Maybe Max was right and they weren't going to get over their mushy phase. Maybe I should have helped him sabotage their relationship.

The second that thought entered my mind, I banished it. There was no way I was going to hurt my best friend like that. Even if I felt like she wasn't really my best friend anymore.

Someone pulled over, but I recognized the car immediately.

"Going somewhere?" Max asked.

I sighed. "What do you want?"

He pretended to be hurt by my words. "I'm just wondering if you want a lift to wherever you're going."

I started walking again. "I'm taking a walk, Max. That means that I walk, not ride."

He followed me slowly. "I think you ride pretty well."

I shot him a look, knowing exactly what he was insinuating. Even if he meant it as a compliment, I took it as an insult.

"Just leave me alone, Max," I said.

"Just get in the car, Laura."

I shot him a look. "Why are you trying so hard?"

He sighed. "Because I need some company. My best friend is preoccupied with someone else."

I glared at him. "You're not getting it from me."

"Oh, come on, I'm asking for your presence. Shouldn't that be enough to get you in my car?"

"Go away, Max."

"I'll buy you Dutch Chocolate Chip ice cream."

I froze. "With fudge?"

"With fudge."

I got in the car without another word. That was my favorite ice cream and anybody could get me to do anything for it.

"I can't believe that worked," Max mumbled once I was buckled in.

He still had his radio on that horrible station and I still tried to change it, but he just changed it back.

"I can't believe you knew that was my favorite," I said, turning the radio off.

He turned it back on. "You're not that hard to get to know, especially when you talk in your sleep."

I gasped and looked at him horrified, forgetting that I was just about to turn the radio off again. "I talk in my sleep?"

He gave me an amused look. "Yeah, at least you did when you fell asleep after we—"

"Ok," I interrupted. I turned the radio off. "Why did you force me into your car again?"

"I didn't force you," he said, turning it back on.

I gave up on the radio and turned all my attention to him. "Ok, why did you bribe me into your car again?"

"I'm lonely."

"You couldn't just go pay some hooker to remedy that for you?" I sneered.

"Because you're free," he shot back without missing a beat.

I bit my lip, offended, but said, "Technically, I cost a Dutch Chocolate Chip ice cream covered in fudge."

He smirked. "At least now I know you'll taste good."

"Pull over," I snapped.

"Why?" he asked, not even slowing down.

"I'm not going to play your stupid games," I said. "Pull over."

"Oh, come on, Laura—"

Since he wasn't going to pull over, I decided I would have to get out myself. So I opened the door. Luckily, we were still in a residential area at ten at night so there was no one that I had to worry about running me over.

"What the—"

And with that, I jumped.

It hurt. The movies made it look so easy, but even jumping out of a car going twenty miles an hour was harder than it sounds. All I did was fall onto the pavement, scraping myself up and knocking the wind out of myself. I laid there for a minute, trying to get my breath back. That gave Max time to stop the car, get out, and rush up to me.

"Are you ok?" he asked, looking me over. "Is anything broken? Are you alive?"

I groaned and rolled onto my back, staring at the street light above us. "That hurt."

He went silent for a second before I heard him laughing.

"Shut up," I snapped. "This isn't funny."

He laughed harder and I sat up, punching him in the arm, where I always punched him.

Instead of saying ow and holding his arm like usual, Max grabbed me and kissed me. I was surprised, but I couldn't resist kissing him back. Since that night, I'd always wondered if he really was as good a kisser as I remembered, or if I was just that drunk. I got my answer.

I was too drunk to remember just how good he really was.

I realized what I was doing when he touched my arm and it suddenly stung. I gasped and pushed him away.

"What was that for?" I demanded, holding my scraped arm and glaring at him.

He looked at my arm. "I didn't know it was hurt."

"Not my arm, you idiot," I said. "Why did you kiss me?"

"Oh." He grinned. "I couldn't help myself. That was freaking sexy."

I continued to glare at him. He just stared at me, expecting me to say something. Finally I punched him again.

"Ow," he said this time. "You're going to kill my arm someday."

"If you would stop being such an idiot, I wouldn't have to punch you," I said, assessing the damage on my arm. It wasn't too bad, just bleeding a lot. I put my hand over it and pressed. "This wouldn't have happened if you had just stopped the car."

His eyebrows rose. "So this is my fault? I didn't go all psycho and jump out of a moving vehicle!"

I stood up, wincing a little when I felt my body protest. It was going to be badly bruised for a while. "Shut up. What else was I supposed to do?"

He also stood up, throwing his hands in the air. "Oh, I don't know, wait until I stopped the car."

"But you wouldn't!" I argued.

"You didn't give me enough time!"

"I gave you plenty of time. All you had to do was slow down and pull over! In fact, you didn't even need to pull over, you could have just stopped in the middle of the road and I would have gotten out just fine!"

"Well, I didn't do it immediately because you got all crazy on me without any reason."

I stepped closer to him. "Without reason? You're playing me and I'm sick and tired of it! It's bad enough that I feel like crap after that stupid party, and now you're treating me like some call girl."

"You were the one that brought up the prostitute," he said, also stepping closer. "I just thought I would go along with what you were saying."

"Well, I'm sorry that the only language you speak is sex!"

He stopped and stared at me. "That doesn't even make sense."

"It makes perfect sense," I said sharply. "You—"

I didn't even get to finish what I was saying because Max was kissing me again. It felt good, but made me feel even more pissed off.

I pushed him away again. "Stop doing that!"

He kissed me again. "I can't help it," he said against my lips. "You're too hot."

I flushed at his words and made to push him away, but who was I kidding. I wanted him as much as he wanted me. So I let him kiss me, and I kissed him back. It felt so good. My pain was forgotten as we pretty much attacked each other. I couldn't get enough of him, I couldn't get close enough.

I don't know what would have happened if we weren't interrupted by a pair of headlights. We broke apart, startled. The car just honked and drove around us, but all I could think of was Max and his lips and hands all over me. It was suddenly very hot.

"I can't do this," I moaned and started pacing. "I can't do this." I stopped and pointed at him. "Stop doing that."

He watched me, a confused expression on his face. "Stop what? What can't you do?"

I growled. "I can't handle you and being just another easy lay. So stop kissing me."

Max shook his head. "Laura, you are so far from 'just another easy lay' I have no idea where you are."

I narrowed my eyes at him. "What do you mean?"

He sighed, ran a hand through his hair and said, "It means I don't know. You're…something else, Laura, and ever since that party, I haven't been able to get enough of you. It's freaking annoying, but I can't figure it out. I can't figure you out."

I let all that sink in. "Is that why you forced me into your car."

He rolled his eyes. "I didn't force you, but sort of, yeah."

"Clarify, please," I said.

He groaned. "Do you have any idea how hard this is?"

It was my turn to smirk. "No, I have no idea."

He stared at me in amazement before he just rolled his eyes again, grabbed me and kissed me again.

"I thought I told you to stop doing that," I snapped, pulling away.

"I want you, Laura," he responded.

"Are you asking me to be your girlfriend?" I asked. "Because you can't have me if I'm not your girlfriend."

He groaned. "Fine, I want you to be my girlfriend. But that means you can't see any other guys, right?"

I raised an eyebrow. "And you can't see any other girls."

He stared at my lips. "No problem."

He leaned in to kiss me again, but another car interrupted us. This one didn't go around us and decided to just honk and wait until we got out of the way.

"Come on," Max said, taking my hand. "Let's clean your arm, and then I owe you an ice cream."

We went back to his car and I saw him flip the other car off. They honked again.

The first thing I noticed when I got back into his car was the obnoxious music. So I changed the station.

"Stop doing that," Max said, changing it back.

I challenged him with my eyes and then turned it off. He turned it back on, but when I turned it off, the car behind us honked again. He cursed them out of his open window before driving off.

I laughed, feeling happier than I'd felt in weeks. And it had nothing to do with the fact that I finally won with the radio.

I wasn't sure I was going to write this story, but as I edited Love, I kept thinking about Laura and Max's relationship. And then it inadvertently became a bigger part that I imagined. So I went ahead and wrote this. All I knew when I started writing this was that Laura and Max had had a one-night stand that Laura was uncomfortable admitting. I had no idea she would end up jumping out of his car while it was still moving. And I didn't mean for Andrea and Troy's relationship to get so out of hand. I might have to fix that later.

I think I like how this ended. It's 2 in the morning, so we'll see what I say when I wake up later today, but for now I am satisfied. I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. Please let me know what you think.