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But it all iveStanley Cup Cha about them

I watch as Max turns his back on um and candy on one side and chips on the other, until he reaches the back cooler and pulls out a Mountain Dew He snags a Snickers when he coh and drops them both on the counter

I ring the purchases up while casually saying, "You should letmy job back"

"Not necessary," he says, and ister to him He looks back at lad he could help He handsat the total and I take that to mean this is not his first Snickers and Mountain Dew combo he's purchased

My heart starts beating a little quicker as I e for hiers brush against each other A flood of war a little prickle of excitee in his front pocket, a feeling of serenity settles over me

That'sodd and not exactly altogether unpleasant

I wait for Max to tell oodbye and walk back out that door--back out of ood--but he stuns the hell out of th of the counter and then rounds the end to coainst the back counter, setting his Mountain Dew there and opening up his Snickers bar

"What are you doing?" I ask, stunned, with equaland terror that Chris alk in and find hiain

"Going to hang out with you for the rest of your shift," he says with a shrug and then takes a bite of his candy bar

I get sidetracked aas he chews, and ers itch to touch the stubble there, which looks the sath as when I saw him yesterday

"You can't," I blurt out "If Chris coain"

"He knows I'm here," Max says calmly after he ss, and then waves the candy bar in my direction "Want a bite?"

My eyebrows draard and I shake my head at his offer "He knows you're here?"

"Yup," he says with a grin "Told hi until you closed up, and then ot to your car safely"

"And he was okay with that?"

"He was more than okay," Max says nonchalantly, takes another bite and grins at

I narrow my eyes "You bribed him, didn't you?"

"Yup," is all he says

"With whattickets to games?"

"And signed shit," he adds on

I shake my head, my eyes lowered in aain as I e kiss on his cheek

I' uy walks in Tall with light blond hair, fashionable white polo, and khaki shorts with loafers He doesn't spare us a glance and heads to the coolers

Max sets his half-eaten candy bar down, pushes off from the counter, steps to the end and nabs a baseball hat off a rack that holds several done in local collegiate colors He chooses a red Wolfpack one, glances at the price tag before pulling it off I watch all of this with interest as he puts the hat on, pulls it low, and then fishes in his wallet to hand

I look down at the items in etting recognized"

I grin and turn to the register, where I ring up the hat for 1499 and hand hie

Max pulls his phone out, bends his head over it, and leans back against the counter just as the young guy puts a case of beer on the counter He doesn't even give Max a glance and it takes noup his purchase, take payive him the difference, and he's back out the door without once looking at the man behind the counter with me

I turn to face Max, resigned--no, okay, excited--that he's going to spend the next hour here Positioning ister behind me, I lean back and ask, "It's kind of weirda professional athlete eating a candy bar and drinking a Mountain Dew"

"We all have vices, Jules," he offers before polishing off the candy bar

"I bet you train super hard so what's a candy bar here and there, right?" I observe