Free New Forever by Yessi Smith Page A

her.
    “If you’ll stop teaching my daughter swear words, I’ll tell you what’s going on.”
    I impatiently motion with my hands for Adam to talk as I sit there silently, my mouth going wider with every word out of his mouth.
    Max left me, but he left me with almost every penny he had so he could continue to take care of me even when he wasn’t around. That beautiful, pigheaded, arrogant, thoughtful, dipshit. The last couple days haven’t been kind to him, and it’s all because he wants to protect me from himself.
    From him! He’s the one who’s going to need protection and it’s going to be from me. The Jackass.
    Rather than talking it out like normal human beings in a relationship, he runs away from me. I get running, I really do, but I’m not letting him run away from me anymore. I’m not letting him run away from us. Not ever again. We’re in this—whatever this is—together. I don’t understand what he wants to protect me from, but I’m hell bent on making him aware that I’m more than capable of taking care of myself and him. I want to take care of him—you know, after I beat him into oblivion for breaking my heart.
    After a quick goodbye that leaves Josie pouting, I get in my car and head to the address Adam gave me. I try to listen to music but my mind is buzzing so loudly, I can’t hear anything else. I hadn’t realized he’d given me all of his money, but I really shouldn’t be surprised. Feeling my eyes water and my mouth dry, I turn down the air conditioner, fully intending on blaming both on the cold air blowing in my face. I clear my throat and try to focus on the task at hand rather than the guilt I feel for letting Max push me away. Worry only leads to premature grey hairs, like I need them. Insomnia I can deal with, but not the damn greys.
    I clutch onto the steering wheel as my mind continues to reel at thoughts of Max. My Max, who is always thinking of ways to spoil me. Sometimes it seems like I’m his first and last thought and everything in between. I drive on autopilot and allow my mind to zone out to thoughts of Max.
    “You know you can take the blindfold off and I still won’t know where we’re going,” I complain although I secretly love the mystery behind our early morning drive.
    I hear Max laugh beside me and feel my heart warm when he takes my hand and squeezes it.
    “Almost there,” he says for the third time since we left our apartment.
    “A hint?” I say again, practically jumping in my seat on the passenger side of Max’s car. “Just one hint.”
    He sighs and I smile, knowing I’ve won this little battle. “You think you’ve seen the sunrise, but never quite like this.”
    “Okay, Riddler. That wasn’t helpful at all.” I pout while I mull over his words.
    We’re gonna see the sunrise, but in a different way. So, we’re not going to the beach. There are no mountains in South Florida. So what does that leave?
    “Scuba diving?” I ask and he lets out a loud bark of laughter as I feel the car stop. Does that mean we’re here or that he’s at another red light?
    “Yeah, Hay,” he agrees, brushing the hair away from my face so he can kiss the side of my mouth. “We’re gonna see the sunrise from twenty feet under water. The crepes you made might get a bit soggy, but it’s the latest thing.” I’d made crepes early this morning when Max told me he was taking me somewhere as a surprise the night before. God forbid I let either of our stomachs grow hungry and ruin whatever he has planned for us.
    I stick my tongue out at him and yelp when he bites it, but sink into his kiss, giving him my soul.
    “We’re here,” he says, after ending our kiss and already, I miss his breath on me.
    He gently takes off my blindfold and I blink several times to get my eyes accustomed to the predawn light, but I still don’t see much of anything. Unless a dark, open field is my big surprise.
    I look back at him curiously and smile when I imagine us making love on a