Hot Pickle - J.J. Knight Page 0,68
rearranged them?” Sherman asks.
“They want to see the different builds next to each other. It’s how they score points.”
Jason turns to me. “Max seems like a giant to me, but he looked smaller up there. Does he have a chance?”
“There’s always a chance. He wasn’t the biggest last week either.”
I warn the Pickles that the security guys might not let them all go backstage to see Max, but somehow Sherman manages to get through with the whole crew. Max is already back in his warm-ups and sitting on the floor next to Franklin.
I hesitate. I don’t know if it will stand out to my brother that I’m hanging out with Max’s family.
But Amy is there, too, and the introductions give me a moment to meet Max’s gaze and give him a thumbs up. When Franklin catches us standing too close, I quickly say, “When I was looking at the whole line, I felt like we should take you one shade darker. Would that be okay?”
Max nods. “Whatever you think will look good. You’re the pro.”
I step away to stand next to Amy. The Pickles are all jovial and friendly, and Anthony comes to talk to me again, catching the eye of his father. He smiles and nods, as if Anthony’s attention is exactly what he wants.
This is all really weird. The last thing I want is for Anthony to show interest in me.
As much as I want to go to lunch with Max’s family, I can’t. This is too complicated. And at some point, we might have to lie. And I don’t want to do that either.
Anthony turns to me as the family gathers together to head out. “Are you coming with us?”
Franklin’s head snaps up.
“No, I need to check on one of my other clients. You guys go on. But I’ll be here for the evening show.” Thank goodness for Camille.
Anthony’s smile is warm. “I look forward to that.”
Max catches on. “Should we go find one of those bodybuilder ladies you were gawking at? I might be able to hook you up.”
Anthony’s cheeks turn pink. “That’s okay. I live a long way from here.” He nods, his expression suggesting that he’s reconsidering everything. “Let’s go.”
I mouth I’m sorry at Max as they head out. He shrugs.
Franklin calms down as the Pickles leave. “I’ve got all the guys meeting me at a taco shop. I’ll see you at the evening show?”
“Yeah. We’ll be here,” I say.
“I guess it’s you and me,” Amy says. “Have you given any thought to what we talked about?”
I watch my brother walk across the room. I don’t want him to hear. It’s a tough decision, and I don’t need his interference.
I like Max. And I have a good job here. I like what I do. Maybe I have grown out of that dream of travel. Maybe I should stay put.
I turn to Amy. “I have to turn it down.”
She frowns. “Why? It doesn’t have to interfere with your work.”
“But I like my time off.”
“I think you could really make it. There’s no risk. You go do this thing, you come back and do your usual thing.” She hesitates. “What’s going on?”
I open my mouth, and then close it. My eyes flick back to the door.
“Wait a minute,” she says. “Is there something going on with you and Max? Franklin was acting all crazy earlier saying Max gave him a chocolate bar that was one you always gave him, and how did he know because Franklin never told him.”
I hesitate too long. Amy’s eyes go wide. “There is! You and Max are a thing!” Her face is all smiles. “Girl, I don’t blame you. Guys like Max don’t come along very often. I assume your brother doesn’t know.”
“Hell, no. I’m not gonna tell him.”
“Good call. Though, I don’t know how long you can keep a secret. If I figured it out, it’s only a matter of time until he does.”
“We plan to tell him after this competition. We don’t want to upset him on this big day.”
“That’s a good sister. But boy, I don’t want to be within a twenty-mile radius of that boy when he figures out what’s going on behind his back.”
Me neither.
31
Max
I wish Camryn could’ve come along on our family lunch. I had envisioned this giant outing with Franklin and all his buddies, maybe Amy, too, and taking over half a restaurant to make it easy for Camryn to be there and not set off any suspicions.
But in the end, it’s just us