“Do I taste better with or without chocolate?”

“If you tasted any better I’d be dead, and where’s the fun in a dead Max?”

“No fun at all,” Becca agreed.

“So . . .” I leaned back. “The last part of the date.”

“Is this where you kill me?”

“Damn it! I always give away the endings!”

“It’s okay; just do it fast.”

“Can’t.” I sighed. “I have a thing for slow torture.” I licked my lips and started inching my hands up her thighs. “It’s more . . . pleasurable that way.”

“They never warned us about Maxes in school.” Becca groaned as her eyes fluttered closed. My hands kept moving toward her hips, then slid to the sides, cupping her ass.

“Silly, of course they didn’t,” I murmured against her neck. “It’s rare to see one in the wild, even more rare to be able to catch it.”

“To see a Max in the wild.” Becca tilted her head toward the sky as an awe-filled expression crossed her features. “Must be a glorious thing.”

“Dangerously attractive,” I agreed. “Seductive, truly a feast for the eyes.”

Someone cleared his or her throat. I pulled back reluctantly and glared at the producer. Fine. I’d do the dance, then I was taking Becca into the hut.

“Becca, I want to keep you.” I said it in a no-shit voice and shook my head. A person would have to be blind not to know that. “Also, we’re sitting so conveniently by this hut, would you care to go inside and look around? You see it’s an overnight date.” I gasped and put my hands on my cheeks. The producer rolled his eyes. I’d only recently discovered that little tidbit during our confessional break. “And, well . . . I know you promised to save yourself for the right guy, and golly gosh, I think I may be him.”

“Shucks.” Becca snapped her fingers. “But my daddy always taught me never to go into a dark room with a man. He says they only got one thing on their minds.”

“Not I!” I stood. “I swear it!”

“Oh, Lord!” Becca stood and wrapped her arms around me. “I found a good one! Mama would be so proud!”

“Dude,” I whispered in her ear. “We would have killed at theater camp together. Literally slain them.”

I took her hand and led her to the door of the hut. Rex said he needed to film some of the scene, which was fine. But later tonight? She was all mine.

CHAPTER FIFTY-ONE

BECCA

I was a bit uncomfortable as Max led me into the hut. I mean, there was an entire camera crew following us. A bit weird? Yeah, a bit. I understood that it was a show, but I was thankful in that moment that Max and I had been able to sneak away so many times before. How embarrassing it would have been to actually have all those moments on tape.

Holy crap. I would officially have had my own sex tape! My parents would have killed me, and I’d never have been able to work at Starbucks again. I never saw anything about it in the training manual, but I was pretty positive sex tapes for Starbucks employees were frowned upon.

“So . . .” Max cleared his throat and held up his hands. “This is it.”

“Fancy.” I looked around the room and crossed my arms. A bottle of champagne was cooling on the table with more dessert. I pointed. “Are they trying to get you to seduce me?”

“Depends.” Max shrugged. “Are you seducible?”

“Guess you’ll have to find out.”

Max groaned and made his way over to the small couch and patted the cushion next to him. “I think not.”

“Not?”

“Seducible.” He sighed and then wrapped his arm around me when I sat down. “Want to know why?”

“Even if I said no, you’d tell me.”

“Truth.” He toyed with my hair. “You’re too pretty for the likes of me.”

“Is this where we part as friends?” I joked.

“Never. I could never kiss my friends the way I want to kiss you and I’m pretty sure I’d get arrested if I tried to kiss Pop-pop that way.”

“He’s dead.”

“See? You get me.” Max’s fingers continued combing through my hair. The rhythm was hypnotic. “Besides, I’m a Sagittarius.”

“What?” I yawned.

“Sleep,” Max whispered in my ear. “At least take a small nap and I’ll get them to leave.”

“Then what?” I whispered as low as I could so the camera crew couldn’t pick up on it.

“Oh, I thought you knew.” Max kissed the top of my head. “Then Max gets dessert.”

“Max won’t get anything if Max keeps referring to himself in the third person.”

“I feel you,” Max said in a serious tone. “Care to feel me too?”

“Had to add the last part.”

“I’m Max.”

I rolled my eyes and snuggled into his chest. Soon sleep overtook me.

The smell of chocolate woke me up . . . my eyelids felt heavy as I tried to open my eyes. A piece of dark chocolate was placed right in front of my face. I blinked a few more times and then opened my mouth.

Max dropped the piece of chocolate onto my tongue. The taste of dark chocolate mixed with salt exploded in my mouth. What a way to wake up.

“That was nice,” I whispered, still chewing.

“Well, I almost let Mighty Max wake you but I figured it would probably scare you. I know how girls are with big objects in the dark. I mean, what’s to say you didn’t mistake it for a snake? Or a bear!”