The next morning Kenny awoke to find Max's side of his bed empty, the sheets cool. She had been up for awhile. Kenny groaned and tossed an arm over his eyes to block out the intrusive sun. What had happened here? He knew what had happened; he just didn't want to think about it to thoroughly. Kenny never dreamed that he could have been with Maxine in that way, he never wanted to be with her in that way, not without telling her how he felt about her. Now he hadn't told her with words, he had finally told her with actions.
Kenny sat up on the side of the bed and quickly got out, "Max!" Kenny called, "Max, you here!"
There was no answer so Kenny knocked on the door to her room, "Maxine?" She still did not answer, so Kenny opened the door farther. Maxine's bed was made, but there was a slight rumple in the quilt which led him to believe that she had been sitting on it. A quick glance around the room revealed Maxine's uniform was gone, which meant she had left for work early.
He should have known. He had really screwed things up for them. Now Maxine thought she was just another one of his conquests, another notched in his belt, she still had no idea how he felt about her.
Kenny sighed and headed to the bathroom for a quick shower. It was on the bathroom mirror that a note in Max's handwriting caught his eye.
Kenny,
Sorry I left so early. I had planned to get coffee with Jill. See you at the shop.
Maxine
"Okay," thought Kenny, "okay. At least she didn't just disappear, she had a place to be, and she went there. They could talk about the disaster he made out of their relationship later, after work. Things would be pretty weird at work, but, after all this was Rome.
Meanwhile, in a little coffee shop ten minutes from the Sheriff's Department, Max and Jill Brock sat having coffee.
"So, things with you and Kenny, they're good?" Jill asked taking a bit of her scone.
"Why would you say that?" Max asked shocked at how Jill could know.
"Because I wanted to know how the roommates thing was working out," Jill told her, "why is there something that I should know about? Did you two have another disagreement?"
Maxine shook her head, "Exactly the opposite. Last night, Kenny and I went out to eat, we went to the Suds Bucket. It was nice."
"Like a date nice, or a Maxine and Kenny pizza night nice?" Jill poked.
"I don't know, Jill. I am so confused by all of this. I mean…Kenny said he had something to tell me, that he wanted to talk about us you know, and then…when we got home, we spent the whole night..."
"Talking?" Jill suggested hopefully.
"Jill, you cannot tell Jimmy, I mean it," Maxine warned.
"Ah, it's that good, hmm?" Jill winked at Maxine, "All right."
"Kenny and I…we danced to this great song, about some guy who gets love advice from a waitress and she tells him out there, there is somebody for him and it could be anybody, right. And then Kenny gets weird and practically pulls me out of there. And when we get home, he starts talking but he never finished. Instead he gives me the most incredible kiss I've even gotten in my entire life, which led to the most incredible…"Max dropped her voice to a whisper, "sex, I've had in my entire life."
"No," Jill's jaw dropped in shock.
"Yeah," Maxine nodded her head, "and now it's all weird between us, you know?"
"I know, that can happen. Jimmy and I were," she makes air quotes with her fingers, "friends, when we first were together like that. It can make things very awkward. Did you talk about it?"
Max shook her head, "I couldn't talk about it. It was too weird. How do you talk about that with the guy you did it with? I mean, Kenny and I talk about sex all the time, who it was with, where it was, how it was…but this is about sex with each other. I can't do the one to ten thing with him, you know, cause I automatically have to rate him a seven."
"A seven?" Jill asked, brows knitted.
"Yeah, a seven," Maxine replied.
"Why a seven?" Jill laughed.
"Because the best guy I ever rated to Kenny was a six, and even though I'd rate Kenny an eight or even a nine, I can't rate him that high to him because he'd think that I'm only doing that because it's him. Am I making any sense?"
Jill smiled, "Not really, but you aren't supposed to make sense sweetie. You've found it Maxine."
"Pardon?" Max didn't understand what Jill was getting at.
"You and Kenny, Maxine. Jimmy and I have always seen it, I'm glad you finally are," Jill smiled.
"Oh, Jill, I hope he doesn't think that. Jeremy, I'm moving in with Jeremy. Kenny and I it was a one time thing, a summation of our relationship. That's what I needed to fully commit to Jeremy. I had to get that out of the way with Kenny."
Jill sighed and felt her own heart break for Kenny and for Maxine. Maxine was so used to being lonely she didn't know how to be with someone good. And Kenny, from what Jimmy told her, he was ready to tell Maxine everything. He must think their coupling last night did it for him, "Maxine, before I change the subject, listen to me. Make sure you talk to Kenny about this. Make sure you are on the same page so it doesn't ruin your friendship."
"Thanks, Jill," Max agreed, "but I don't think Kenny sees this as anything other than what it was."
Jill nodded and said softly to herself, "I only hope you're right."
Kenny went into work early that morning, hoping to avoid talking to Maxine in the squad room. He wanted to talk to her about it in private, at lunch or back at the apartment, not there at work. It was early and things were still slow. In fact, Kenny was surprised to see Jimmy in the office.
"Hey, Kenny," Jimmy greeted, "how's things?"
"Not bad," Kenny replied, "listen, I'm not on for another hour. I have to talk to someone, and not on a professional level, if you get my meaning."
Jimmy nodded, "I get your meaning. Want to go to Weston's for coffee?"
Kenny nodded, "Yeah, great idea Jimmy thanks."
Kenny was quiet on the trip over to the coffee shop, speaking only when he saw Jill's car parked outside.
"Uh, Jimmy," Kenny pulled back on his friend's arm, "let's go somewhere else. Anywhere else."
"Why?" Jimmy asked, "Max and Jill are inside, ah, it's because Max and Jill are inside."
Kenny nodded and continued walking up the street. Jimmy followed him finally getting Kenny's strange behavior. Kenny stopped at the Chuck Wagon, a greasy spoon, and found a table in the back.
Jimmy asked Chuck, the owner for two coffees, then joined Kenny at the table, "So, what happened? I know it has something to do with you and Max, so spill."
Kenny sighed, "Off the sheriff's record," Kenny said. When Jimmy nodded he continued, "Well, I tried to take your advice last night, and tell Maxine how I feel about her."
"But," Jimmy supplied.
"But after we went out for ribs and danced together, when I felt it was the perfect time to…I couldn't get the right words out."
"Kenny, tell me you didn't say something really stupid, please," Jimmy asked.
"I didn't say anything," Kenny told him, "but I did something. I…Jimmy, I…you know, Max and I, we made love last night."
"I all ready knew that," Jimmy chuckled, "you have that look on your face. How did she react?"
"She didn't I woke up she wasn't there. She left a note saying she went to coffee with Jill. I'm not sure if she got it though."
"So you and she didn't talk about it, she just split," Jimmy repeated.
"Yeah, and now it's going to be weird between us at work, until we talk," Kenny said, "if only I got up earlier."
"Kenny at least it's all out. You and Max will have some stuff to work out, but at least she knows," Jimmy reasoned.
"What if she thinks it was a one time thing? You know, not about love, but about sex." That's what Kenny feared.
"Then you clarify it for her," Jimmy advised, "but Kenny, don't let her think, even for a minute, this was only sex for you."
Kenny nodded and squeezed the bridge of his nose between his thumb and forefinger, "Are you okay?"
Jimmy asked.
"I'm getting headache," Kenny replied evenly.
"Okay, you're stressing out way too much over this," Jimmy observed, "and stressed cops are careless. Go home, unwind, and wait for Maxine after work. But Kenny, please resolve this thing. Tonight."
Kenny nodded, "I will, Jimmy. Thanks for the advice."
Jimmy smiled and clapped the younger man on the back, "Anytime, Kenny."
Max arrived at work ten minutes late and was surprised Kenny wasn't all ready there. She needed to talk to him, tell him about her conclusions. She knew last night was right, but she knew Kenny he couldn't commit, or wouldn't commit. She knew he saw their coupling as a summation, a climax, of years of friendship and unresolved sexual tension. But still, it needed to be discussed, and a tiny part of her, hoped that in that discussion it would be revealed that Kenny felt for her as she felt for him.
"Max," Jimmy called, "Ride with Mercer. Kenny went home, he's not feeling well."
"What's wrong with him?" she asked concerned.
"Headache or something. I thought it best her be at home," Jimmy replied.
Max nodded and went to find Mercer. The sooner the day was over, the sooner she and Kenny could work things out.
At four o'clock exactly, Kenny who'd been rehearsing his speech to Max all day heard her call out softly, "Kenny, I'm home. You okay?"
Kenny came out of the kitchen and greeted her with a smile, "Yeah, fine. Headache is almost gone."
"Good," she smiled, "I brought Chinese."
"Great," Kenny smiled, "we should talk about…"
"Yeah," she agreed, "we should. While we eat?"
"Sure," Kenny agreed pouring drinks while she opened cartons, "You first," he said in deference to Max's obvious nerves. She was fidgeting with the wire on top of the carton.
"Well," she began "I had a lot of time to think about this today, and there really isn't much to discuss. What happened last night was the result of years of sexual tension and a weird restaurant called Suds Bucket. We were caught up in the moment, built up and it happened. It was a one time thing, no reason to get excited," she explained placing the Chinese food on the table and serving Kenny and herself.
Kenny felt his heart break in that instant, but he was too prideful to take Jimmy's advice and tell Maxine their tryst was a consummations of his love for her. If she believed it to be or wished it to be the result of too much beer, country music, and mutual sexual attraction then he'd let it be.
"Yeah, yeah," Kenny agreed, "No reason to get weird about it. I mean people have casual sex all the time, I know I do," Kenny shrugged.
"So, we're okay then, right. Friends, partner, roommates?" she asked.
"Yeah," Kenny sighed, "we're okay. Pass the kung pow chicken."
They shared their meal and recounted the events of their day. After dinner Max left to go over to Jeremy's while Kenny slumped on the couch with a pint of Ben and Jerry's. It wasn't supposed to turn out like this. Not for them, but he sighed, guy like him, weren't meant for the Maxine's of the world. Thy just were not.