“Shhh.” I whispered as I placed my finger on his lips. “It’s okay. I’m stronger than you think.”

Max slipped my finger inside his mouth, teasing it with his tongue. “I’ve wanted to do this for so long, but you haven’t been biting your finger,” he mumbled in between suckling it.

If he continued, I would have no choice but to surrender and yank him inside with me. My self-control was non-existent around him. Pulling my finger away, I mouthed, “Max.” As tears welled up in my eyes, I gave him a quick peck on the lips and somehow managed to unlock the door.

“We’ll get through this. I love you, Jenna,” he said, turning me around, placing his forehead against mine.

I took a moment to take in his words, the words I only partially believed. What if we couldn’t get through this? I told myself I wouldn’t make a big deal of it, but I couldn’t help it. “Why didn’t you tell me?” My words came out soft, but he could tell how upset I was.

“I was going to tell you about the lawsuit after the New Year’s party. But instead, you ran into Crystal, of all people,” Max sighed heavily.

“Not just that. Why didn’t you tell me about the things you did with her before we met with your attorney? You should have told me.”

“I’m sorry. Yes, you’re right, but I really wasn’t thinking. I was worried about the lawsuit but I still should have spoken to you before I brought you to Thomas. That will never happen again. More importantly, I promise you, I did NOT do all those things Crystal has accused me of. You believe me, don’t you?”

“I want to, but part of me doesn’t.” I could not believe I just told him that. My anger got the best of me, and besides, I was hurting. The look on his face told me I had hurt him too, but I knew that what I was about to say would hurt him even more.

“You told me I could trust you, but yet you kept things from me. It’s because…you…don’t…trust…ME.” I emphasized “me.” “I have some thinking to do. I’ll talk to you later.” The words came out fast. I entered my apartment and shut the door behind me even faster.

Leaning my back against the door, the tears streamed down my face. Everything was happening so fast. So much had happened in the short time we’d been together, that I just needed a minute to de-stress. Max and I would get through this if we truly loved each other. Looking through the peephole, I could see Max’s hands planted on either side of the door and his head was down. I felt his pain, but it couldn’t possibly be the same degree as mine.

Seeing him hurt like that made me miserable, and I was almost certain he had heard me crying. My resolve was weakening, and I was just about to open the door when he started to walk away. Max walked away! The Max I thought I knew would’ve broken the door down to get to me. That made my heartache deeper. Tears ran even more as I slid down the door. Letting it all out, I sobbed until there was nothing left of me.

AS SOON AS I walked through the door of my home after leaving Jenna’s place, the air seemed colder. Though I’d been here alone many times before, it felt so empty without her, especially tonight. I’m not sure what part of our fight, if I could call it that, got me more worked up: me not telling her everything beforehand, her shutting the door on me, or the fact that she said I didn’t trust her. Which was worse, I didn’t know.

I headed for the bar, poured myself a drink, and then sat on the sofa. All the “should haves” popped into my mind. I was trying to protect her, but I ended up hurting her instead. I guess between our age difference and Jenna being as innocent as they come, I felt a great need to protect her. That was just the way I was.

After taking a sip of whiskey, feeling it burn down my throat, I took out my cell phone. I had missed calls from Matt, Dad, and Thomas. That was it. I re-read Jenna’s last flirty text, where she told me she would have something fun for me. Though my dirty mind thought of a few things, I couldn’t imagine her having the same thoughts.

Jenna was the most innocent woman I’d ever dated and if I could have it my way, she’d be the last, but we couldn’t get there if we didn’t get through this. I had expected her to call me to say goodnight at least. It was something that she had done every night, since she went to bed first, but as I sat and stared at the phone, it never rang.

I knew she was upset with me, but I didn’t know it was to this degree. I tried to put myself in her shoes, wanting to understand her, but it wasn’t working. All that went through my head was ‘Jenna didn’t call.’ Sure, I guess I could call her instead, but why? She practically slammed the door in my face, shutting me out, not willing to listen any further. She didn’t let me explain!

Maybe she was better off without me. She didn’t deserve all the trouble that surrounded my life, though I wasn’t sure I was capable of letting her go. Because I loved her so much, I would sacrifice my want for her happiness. I would do anything for her. Hell, if I had known she would walk into my life, I would never have dated Crystal.

Crystal was there to pass the time, not to mention the things she would do to me. I thought we were consenting adults with a mutual understanding that this relationship wasn’t long term. Who knew she would turn out to be a psycho bitch that was out to ruin me?

Looking at my phone, I checked again just in case I had missed Jenna’s call, but that would have been impossible since I had it in my hand. It was just my wishful thinking. Drowning in my sorrow, I only hoped I was overreacting, but ‘Jenna didn’t call’ echoed though my head again as I swallowed the last sip of my drink. Was this her way of saying she was letting me go?