Tall, Dark & Obnoxious

Episode SEVEN

Max

Max stared at a very stunned-looking Patricia, who was now sitting up a little straighter—tenser. It'd be worth having to hear the shit he knew he was in for from his nephew if this got back to him. Moe's comment about her still not being over her ex was the only thing putting a slight damper on what was otherwise turning out to be another amusing-as-hell day with Patricia. If he had to sit here and listen to her refer to her ex as brilliant, then Max wasn't letting her off the hook.

"Romero told you this?" she asked, looking beyond annoyed. "How would he know—?"

"He said your sister worries that you might still be pining for the guy." He shrugged, and for the first time in . . . ever, he had to force a smirk. "But you can't tell her I told you. Moe wasn't gossiping."

She tilted her head, still looking very much annoyed. "Really? What else would you call it, Max?"

"Let's just say I got a little warning this morning about not getting any ideas about you." He brought one of his legs half up the sofa as he sat further back and made himself comfortable. "Are you over your ex?"

Her expression changed to a more quizzical one. "Why would he warn you? What did you tell him?"

"Nothing."

He explained quickly about that morning and how, after he reminded Moe that he didn't do relationships, his nephew jumped all over him and told him about Izzy's worries. "Thinks your vulnerable because of it. Are you?"

She was momentarily quiet until she shook her head, her expression morphing into an unfamiliar one. The fire he'd seen in her eyes earlier was gone, and for a second there, she seemed a little pensive—poignant. Swallowing hard as he waited for her response, Max tried in vain to understand why the answer and her reaction to this line of questioning mattered to him.

"Well, nothing could be further from the truth." She sat back again as Max continued to try and make sense of why this relieved him so. Still looking a little too pensive about this, she went on. "I hadn't heard from him in a long time, and he reached out a little over a month ago. I mentioned it to Bell, who I know wasn't thrilled I didn't hang up on the jerk. Without saying you said anything to me about it, I'll just have to make it a point to clarify how over him I really am."

"Why didn't you?"

"Why didn't I what?"

"Hang up on the asshole?"

Max made sure to emphasize that last part because, until Moe brought it up that morning, he'd forgotten about something he had no reason to remember before now—her ex had cheated on her. It's why they'd divorced. While Max didn't remember all the details of it because his nephew had told him and Manny about it a while back, the one thing he did remember was Moe saying the guy was a total douche. He wouldn't sit here and listen to her upgrade the guy to just a jerk.

Again, with that undiscernible expression, she was quiet for a moment before shrugging. "I stopped hating him years ago. I just . . ." She shook her head before finishing. "It was less energy to just take the call than get all melodramatic about it by being nasty and hanging up on him."

About to ask why'd she'd answered in the first place, Max was glad when his phone rang, keeping him from doing so. He still didn't understand why the fuck this would matter one way or another. If he kept up the inquisition and she posed the question, he'd have nothing for her.

"What's up, Moe?" Max smirked with anticipation, despite not really feeling it at the moment.

"Where are you?"