The next month was busy at work for Max, luckily. They worked long hours and got lots of overtime in on the weekends. This made for great paychecks, and as the money piled up, Max was able to get the essentials he needed; a cell phone, some clothes, typical toiletries and the big sum went towards a vehicle.
He was able to get himself a decent looking black Ford truck. It wasn't new by any means, but it ran and didn't need any work done right away. Even if it did, Max knew Greg would help him out, Max knew a little bit about cars too, from what Greg had taught him over the years when they were younger.
When Max hadn't been at work, he was at Greg and Amy's and Jenna was always there too. They had gotten to know one another a lot better over the past month. Jenna had spent Thanksgiving with Greg and Amy, and Max of course. They had more conversations; Max had lied about most of his past, family history, where he had been and what he'd been doing the past 5 years. What else was he supposed to do, he thought. He couldn't tell Jenna the truth about himself; she'd never want to speak to him again if he did. He knew he had to hide the truth; he was ashamed of his past. Greg caught on to Max's stories and went along, thankfully. Max had confided in Greg that he was interested in Jenna. But he did not tell him everything.
Max didn't disclose that almost every night he drove to her apartment, sitting outside in the lot, staring at her windows. Some nights he saw her through her open blinds watching TV, cleaning, grading papers or reading. She always went into the bathroom for about 20 minutes every night before bed. Max assumed she was talking her showers then. He imagined her naked, wet body lathered with soap. He wanted so badly to be in there with her, touching her. But for now he settled for jerking himself off in his truck.
Although they had gotten to know each other better, Max hadn't gotten the nerve to ask her out yet. He wasn't sure if she was interested. Sometimes she appeared to be; the way she would look at him, with a sparkle in her eye. Sometimes when he would make her laugh, she would touch his arm softly, sending chills up his arms. He loved to watch her laugh. She had a glowing smile that sucked you in, and her laughter filled the room with a bright positive feeling.
One afternoon through casual conversation Max found out that Amy had a key to Jenna's apartment. Jenna had given it to her in case of an emergency. That night around midnight he dug Amy's keys out of her purse, she left it on the kitchen counter every night, and drove to Jenna's. His heart was racing, he wasn't sure yet, exactly what he was going to do, but for now he just wanted to know which key fit her door.
When he got there he made his way up her small, paved walkway. She had Christmas decorations stuck in the snow; tall metal candy canes and iron snowmen and reindeer, and sparkly garland hanging from the small, fenced, sitting area in front of her apartment. They were just a few weeks away from the holiday. He wasn't sure yet if he would be spending it with Jenna, but he hoped so.
Her porch light was off, and no new snow had fallen recently. No one would know he had been there. He slowly opened her screen door and propped it on his left leg. He tried each key, until the right one slid in. He thought for a moment about his next move and decided to play it smart. He took out the key, and went back to his truck.
He turned on his overhead light so he could see which key it was, luckily for him; Jenna's key was the only silver one on the ring. He hoped if he took it for just one day, Amy wouldn't notice. He drove back and put Amy's keys back into her purse, minus the silver one. Max was able to go to the hardware store the next day and get the key replicated. He got the silver key back on Amy's ring the next night and she never even noticed.
That night Max laid in his bed, in his small room. His lamp light still on, he flipped the key over and over in between his fingers. He made up his plan for tomorrow. He smiled to himself, his stomach churning with excitement. He hated that he had to wait until tomorrow, but it was the only time. He set the key on his small side table next to his bed and shut off the light.
The next day before their normal lunch hour Max asked Greg if he could leave about a half hour earlier than usual for lunch, he lied about having some registration stuff he had to take care of for his truck. Greg told him it was fine and to come back when he was done. It was 11:30 when he drove off to Jenna's.
He knew she was at work, so he had nothing to worry about. He used his key and unlocked her door. His heart raced, and his hands were sweaty and shaking. He didn't know why he felt so nervous. Once he walked into her home and shut the door behind him, his jitters were gone. He stood still in her living room, looking around at everything.
Jenna had a smaller apartment, but it was a very nice one, by his standards. It was clean, well decorated and smelled very nice. That was one of his favorite things about Jenna. She always smelled so good. Even her home smelled good. It smelt like cinnamon and apple pie. He inhaled her homey scent and walked into the kitchen, glancing at her table; set with place mats, napkins in holders and a nice Christmas centerpiece in the middle of the table. He smiled to himself. He moved into the bathroom, and opened her mirror cabinet, looking at all her toiletries and makeup. Finally, he went to the bedroom.
He had been here before, in her apartment, even a few times after the night they all had dinner together. They had all come over a few more times to play board games, cards, watch a movie. But he hadn't ever been in her bedroom, this was his first time.
The reality of it made him dizzy. He looked around the room; she had owl décor on the walls, bright colored curtains, sheets, and furniture. It made the room bright and cheerful, just like she was. He walked over to her bed and sat on the edge of it. He breathed in her fresh scented air and lay back, placing his head on the pillow. He turned into the pillow, rubbing his face into it. Jenna's face rested on this pillow. He sniffed deeply, smelling flowers. Jenna always smells like flowers. He wasn't sure what perfume or lotion she wore, but he did know he loved her smell. And here it was, right here for him, surrounding him. He lay there for a few minutes just breathing it in.
He got up and made his way to her closet, it was a bigger size, you could walk into it and it held a dresser inside. He looked through her clothes and then began opening the dresser drawers. The top drawer had her socks, the second her bras, and the third had her panties. She had everything very neatly organized and folded nicely. She had mostly plain cotton, things that looked comfortable; a lot of white but also some bright colors. There were a few things though, that were very sexy.
