Free His End Game (MMG #1) by R B Hilliard Page A

we had our first big fight. I know that couples fight. Hell, Piper fought with every guy she ever dated. I, however, had never had the pleasure of this experience. So to say I handled it poorly is putting it mildly.
    We were leaving Max’s house to take Sarah to the movies one evening when we ran across his dad. He was pulling in as we were walking out. Max had shared very little about his dad with me. I knew that he drank and was never there. When he was around, he slept a lot. I also knew that he could be kind of mean. Max’s aversion to talking about his dad bothered me. So, seeing him up close for the first time made me pause. I hoped that Max would stop and introduce us. For some reason, this just made him angry and caused him to practically frog march me the rest of the way to the car. He nodded his head to his dad as we drove away. I was confused and hurt by this.
    Why didn’t he introduce me? Is he ashamed of me? Does his dad even know he has a girlfriend? Maybe he has more than one girlfriend and is afraid that his dad will call me by the wrong name…Oh God, he could call me Jennifer!
    We were halfway down the street before I spoke up. “What
was
that, Max?” I asked, trying to get myself under control.
    “
That
was my jerk of a dad.”
    “Why didn’t you introduce me?”
    “Because.”
    “Because?”
    “Yeah, Ellison, because,” he firmly stated.
    “That’s all you’re going to say?”
    “Yep.”
    Now I was angry. I turned to the back seat and asked Sarah, “Do
you
know what that was about?” Smartly, she shrugged her shoulders and kept her mouth shut.
    This infuriated Max. “Ellison,” he warned through clinched teeth, “Don’t pull Sarah into our shit.”
    Is he for real
?
    “Into what…
shit
, Max? Me wanting to know why you won’t introduce me to your dad, me thinking that you won’t introduceme because I embarrass you, or me asking your sister to explain because you won’t?” I barely got the last one out.
    Max said nothing….nope….not a word.
    Normally, it took a lot to rile me up but his silent treatment infuriated me. My imagination was on hyper drive and I was seriously scaring myself. When he just sat there and ignored me, I was done. “Take me home,” I demanded.
    “What?”
    “I want to go home…
now.”
    “You have got to be shitting me!” he snapped.
    I was about to completely lose control and didn’t want his sister to see my melt down. I didn’t understand what had just happened and wasn’t really sure that I wanted to. Whatever was going on made me sick inside and I wanted away from it. “Take me home, please?” I pleaded.
    Max must have heard the tears in my voice because suddenly he slammed on the brakes, turned the car around and headed back in the direction of my house.
    “Is this what you want?” he asked, stopping in front of my house.
    Yes, no…I don’t know
.
    Instead of answering, I just stared out my window.
    Like me, silence evidently did not sit well with Max. “I don’t owe you shit, Ellison,” he said through clinched teeth. “I tell you things about me on
my
terms not because
you
decide you need to know. My family is
my
business and I’ll introduce you if and when
I
choose, not you. Are we clear?”
    “Crystal,” I said. Then, before saying anything else, I opened my door, slammed it behind me and took off for my house.
    I was determined not to cry in front of Max and was almost to my front door when I felt his hand on my arm. “What the fuck?” he growled.
    “Let me go,” I tearfully said, averting my eyes. “I can’t do this with you Max, not right now, maybe not at all.” I ripped my hand away from his, charged through the door and slammed it in his face. I watched through the curtains as he drove away. Ignoring my aunt’s questions, I stormed straight to my bedroom and turned off my cell. I lay on my bed, a sobbing pile of hurt and confusion.
    I was washing the tears off of my face when I heard a knock on my