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“I want to, though…” he invited. “We could take our time getting to know each other better and work on this relationship between us.”
“We don’t have a relationship. We’ve been on two dates…”
“Two?” Jimmy paused and looked up. “You sure about this, buddy? You actually want her name on here?”
“Keep going,” Max ordered, not looking away from her. “I’m a hundred percent positive – even if she isn’t yet.”
“I’m not,” she whispered, not holding back and feeling almost guilty for admitting that aloud. “I’m not ready for any of this.”
“I know,” he murmured, not looking away. “That’s why we keep trying and building on this – together. I’m okay with getting your name tattooed on me because I’ll have a piece of you with me and these memories, when I am back overseas. To me, these few hours are priceless, and I will always remember watching you in action today on the courtroom floor. I’m so incredibly proud of you and what you’ve become over the years.”
Elana felt tears sting her eyes as she squeezed his hand, struggling. No one had ever said they were proud of her accomplishments. She came from a broken home where her parents had divorced, and she was passed back and forth between the two every few years because she was ‘too much.’ The idea of being in a committed relationship with someone far away seemed almost hopeless because most people couldn’t even maintain a marriage here together. She’d seen divorce cases, custody cases, and everything in between yet here was this man, this guy she once knew, praising her, wanting to spend time with her, and insisting that they were in a relationship.
“How’s this supposed to work when you go back to Afghanistan?” she asked hoarsely, fighting back a whopping case of bubbling anxiety. “We write letters or something?”
And saw his smile widen.
“I’ll call you, we can email every single day, and I can come visit you – or better yet – you can pick a location anywhere in the world, and we can meet there. It would be like a honeymoon every time I got to see you.”
“A honeymoon?” she laughed tearfully. “Ha! I already told you that I’m not sleeping with you, and the word ‘honeymoon’ implies marriage.”
“So marry me,” Max urged softly, his eyes searching hers. “I don’t have to sleep with you for me to know that this is right. Marry me on paper, be mine, and let’s continue down this path, holding hands like we are now. I would be proud to tell people my wife is some big baddie attorney back home…”
“You’re crazy,” she muttered, feeling almost like a broken record at this point because this was all insane. They’d been on two dates – two! Technically, this was their third date and they were getting tattoos. She never prompted him to put her name on his arm, and she realized she was considering this.
“This is insane.”
“Have I mentioned that I adore crazy?” he smiled tenderly – and winced, chuckling. “Ow, that was a tender spot.”
Elana let a small laugh slip as she wiped her eyes, marveling at this crazy man before her.
“People’s marriages fail all the time because…”
“Because they are not us,” Max interrupted, and she swallowed. “My parents got married and were the end result of a broken marriage – that they destroyed. I’m not proud to admit that my parents cheated together, but they did love each other.”
“We’re not in love,” she whispered almost in a hiss, pointing between the two of them. “We’ve been on two, maybe three, dates, and we are nowhere near saying that we are in love. Besides, my mother and father were in love and fought like cats and dogs. I don’t want a relationship like that – and I never want my child bounced from place to place, feeling unwanted.”
“Is that what happened?” Max breathed, his eyes widening in awareness, causing her to look away. “Hang on, Jimmy” and she felt him tug her hand as he moved, touching her face and turning her eyes back to him. “I’m not them, Elana, and you are right. I’m not in love, but I do honor and respect you tremendously. You are a wonder to me – and I’d like to see where this goes between us.”
“It’s going nowhere…” she choked out, but even to her – her voice sounded weak.
“It’s going somewhere,” he countered, unphased and looking at her. “If I told you that I loved you, we both know I’d be lying. I would rather always be honest with you – no matter what.”
“Can I finish this up?” Jimmy interrupted – and Max settled back in the chair, watching her.
“I would rather have a relationship full of friendship, respect, and admiration, than one built on lies or half-truths because that is what people think we are supposed to be doing with our lives,” Max paused, waiting. “I would rather do my own thing and live by my own rules, throwing society’s rules in their face,” he said openly.
“But marriage?”
“In name only until we are both ready to cross that line,” he offered again. “I want to be happy and live my life, not someone else's… and if you feel that way, then I’m your guy.”
Elana looked at his tender expression, then glanced at his arm before turning back to Max.
“We’d be friends in our marriage until later…”
“I promise,” he pledged softly. “We can travel the world together or spend time together here, in Ember Creek and get to know each other a bit better. Give me a chance to make you happy, Elana.”
She looked away nervously and then looked back at him.
