Reborn in 1994: Internet Empire

28 Getting Closer

XMC Tech walked as a group to the same burger joint that they had celebrated when they inducted both Lina and Charlie to their team. At this point, it had become a staple hangout for them. Whenever they would be let out of class for their long breaks, they would go there just to spend time with each other and eat lunch. 

They were greeted by the staff since they were regular, and were led to their booth. It was further away from the rest of the crowd, and a little quieter, but near enough to the mini stage so they could line up for karaoke as well. Trae had his sights set on getting drunk and playing rap music at full blast as he attempted to match the bars that went at blistering speeds. Lina sat with Jules as they decided what kind of cocktails they would like to try. Max sat with Charlie still talking about work, but with an excited tone rather than stressed. 

The food arrived in thirty minutes, along with their large array of drinks. It felt as if time went in reverse, as their bottles clanged together again, the same as the last time. They all cheered for their success, and their hard work. As they drank down the cold alcohol, they got lost in the euphoria that was reaching a goal that until that point, they had thought would never work out. But finally, they had their foot in the door and everything was starting to unfold for the better.

The five students drank and partied into the night. Trae ended up completely drunk and rapped to his heart’s content while the audience cheered him on. He was the star of the show as far as everyone else was concerned. Lina also ended up a little tipsy, and let her inhibitions leave her as she started to complain to Charlie about all of her woes in the art department of the school. Charlie was just content to listen to her as he gave her his undivided attention. Meanwhile, Jules cozied up to Max as she leaned her head onto his shoulder. Even then the two of them wondered what they meant to each other, but seemed to be too embarrassed to bring it up to the other. Max knew this couldn’t go on, so he mustered up his courage and tried to bring it up casually.

“So… you seem real comfortable over there, Jules,” he said, referring to her leaning on his shoulder. 

“Oh yeah? You don’t like this?” she asked, her voice almost purring with a sly undertone. 

“You can keep saying stuff like that, I’ve already gotten used to it. You won’t get to me,” he said jokingly, trying not to give in to her feminine wiles. 

She giggled as she snuck her arm through the gap between his forearm and torso, and clung to his arm. Max was caught off guard, as he felt her press herself onto him. 

“So, you don’t like this either?” she asked, toying with him with her words. 

She sounded disappointed and sad, but he knew that she was trying to play with him even more. Clearly, it worked as he started to break a nervous sweat. In his mind, he was digging through his vocabulary, looking for the right words to say at this given moment. She didn’t let up with her teasing though, as she caught onto this almost immediately. 

“Cat got your tongue, Max?” she said, with a whisper into his ear. 

“Y-you… N-no! No, I’m totally fine with this!” 

Crap, he thought. He stuttered. Jules let out a light laugh, as she clung to him a little bit more. 

“You’re really cute Max… But honestly, I don’t mind this either,” she said in a more genuine tone. 

Maxi's heart started to beat even more vigorously, as he looked at her. But this time he knew that she was telling the truth. He tried to tell her the words that he really wanted to say. He tried to gather courage. But even then it was so embarrassing to say out loud. Rather, he was not really embarrassed to say it, but scared. He was scared that even if the cards seemed to be right, and the stars seemed to be aligned, he would still be rejected by her. His thoughts enveloped him, as they kept telling him things like “they wouldn’t work out” or “she is too good for you.” Suddenly at that moment, his thoughts drifted again. It went back to his life before this. Before Max. He remembered that he would grind every day and never worked on any kind of social, save for his relationships with Liam and Dev. The fact that he was here now, with the chance to relive his life the way he wanted, made him feel incredibly lucky. At this point, he looked at Jules who seemed to be enjoying watching Trae make a fool of himself. All he could think about now was how beautiful she looked, and how crazy it was that she was leaning on his shoulder now. He decided that he had had a gun to his back, and had his life threatened on several occasions as Matty. From this point of view, saying a couple of words was an easy thing. 

“Hey, Jules.”

“Mmm?”

“I like you.”

She immediately shot up and looked at him with a surprised expression on her face. He met her eyes with no fear in himself anymore. He was just happy that everything was finally working out for him, and that Jules gave him remotely any kind of attention. Even though the lights flashing in the restaurant, he could see that she was significantly redder in the face. Her lips started to move but it seemed that she couldn’t find the words to say. Oh, how the tables have turned, Max thought to himself. 

“Oh? Cat got your tongue?” Max said, mimicking her tone from earlier. 

She became even redder, as she pressed her face right into his chest, in an attempt to hide. It seems the alcohol took away Jules’ inhibitions as well. Suddenly, he sort of felt a buzzing sensation from his chest. He realized that Jules said something, without pulling away from his chest. He didn’t catch what he said the first time. 

“I’m sorry, what was that, Jules?”

“Mmmphrmmrhm”

“Jules, I can’t understand what you’re saying.”

“Mmmphrmmmrhm!”

“Jules, saying it louder isn’t helping.”

Jules out of frustration sat up and brought her face just next to his cheek by his ear until they were literally an inch apart. He could feel her breath on his neck, as she started to tremble slightly. Suddenly, her mumbling made sense.

“I like you too, Max.”

She leaned back and looked him in the eyes. This was one of the moments that he thought he didn’t need in life. He thought that this was something that only happened in movies, and was completely unrealistic. How wrong he was, he thought to himself. Not only did he think he didn’t need this, but he even thought that everything he saw in the movies was highly exaggerated. He was wrong there too. As he looked into the green eyes of the girl that he liked, it seemed like everything was moving in slow motion. She looked at him with the same expression he imagined that he was showing on his face. Her eyebrows sort of scrunched slightly, as if she was completely focused on looking into his eyes. She pursed her lips slightly, still kind of embarrassed at what she said. But he didn’t care about that, because she looked like the most stunning woman in this place, he thought. His eyes traveled down to her lips, which looked so soft as they glistened with her lipstick. She caught the hint. She moved her face towards his slowly, as she placed her hands on his shoulders. He briefly looked at her delicate hands fit just beside each side of his neck. He looked back up to her as she came closer. Their noses brushed against each other slightly, and their eyes started to close. They moved closer as the distance between their lips became smaller and smaller. 

“Hey! You two!” said a booming voice that stood just at the foot of their table. 

Jules jumped off of him and turned toward the man who was standing by their table with his arms crossed. He seemed impatient due to his tone. He was a big burly man wearing a black shirt. The two of them recognized the man as Brother Luke, the bouncer of the establishment. 

“Listen, Max, Jules, I know you guys are regulars and stuff, and we appreciate your patronage. But we got a policy here which says no one is allowed to show public displays of affection here,” he said with a stern voice. “I gotta give you guys a warning, alright?”

Immediately, both of them apologized to the bouncer, who looked like he had a long day. 

“I’m sorry Brother Luke, we got a little caught in the music,” Max said.

“What, you mean that garbage?” he said as he gestured to Trae who at this point was tearing up the karaoke stage. 

Brother Luke smiled at the two of them.

“Listen, kids, it’s just a policy. I’m happy for you both,” he said as he pats them both on the shoulder. 

Max and Jules smiled back at Brother Luke. 

“‘Specially since you both won me fifty bucks on a bet with the kitchen crew,” he said smiling proudly. 

Jules gasped as if her best friend had gossiped and told her something incredibly scandalous. Max began to laugh at the idea that these grown men must’ve been so bored to bet on the romance of college students. He didn’t say this out loud though. Brother Luke was a nice guy after all. 

“You guys bet on us?” Max asked, after containing his laughter. 

“Yeah, the kitchen guys bet that you’d get together with the red-haired girl,” he said as he gestured to the empty seat where Lina was supposed to be sitting. “Oh- where’d she go?”

Out of the corner of his eyes, he saw Charlie exit the building, probably to go after Lina.