For Max, the next few weeks passed by in a sweet, blissful blur.

Nina as a friend had been awesome.

Nina as a roommate had been better because he got to see her all the time.

But Nina as a live-in girlfriend felt like an absolute fucking dream.

It was weird. It was wonderful. Things between them were exactly unchanged and yet completely different at the same time.

Before?

Max had loved being able to talk to Nina pretty much whenever he wanted. He had loved teasing her pretty much whenever he wanted. He had loved being around her pretty much whenever he wanted.

Now?

As an added bonus, Max could pretty much snuggle Nina whenever he wanted.

Kiss her.

Touch her.

That—was a total gamechanger.

Seemingly overnight, the physical boundaries which had existed over the course of their friendship were tossed out the door. Suddenly, the red light turned green, the coast cleared, and neither Max nor Nina hesitated to make up for lost time.

To his Lower Brain's utter delight, Nina seemed to be down for almost anything. Missionary, doggy, cowgirl, reverse cowgirl. At times, Nina shocked Max, a self-professed ex-fuckboy who had seen it all and done it all, with her hidden layers of naughtiness. Not that he was complaining. If anything, he was elated. Max fucking adored this freaky side to Nina, especially when he was the one on the receiving end of all her sexy shenanigans.

Everything became fair game between them, and Max and Nina boinked like bunny rabbits to their hearts' content almost every day.

At night, Max started following Nina to her room like a lovesick pup. Her bed became his bed. Her shower became his shower. Max loved waking up beside Nina every day. Their new morning routine consisted of him rolling over to cuddle and spoon her, nuzzle her awake, and then smother her face and neck with kisses before she had to get up and go to work...

Now that Max no longer slept in his own room, he decided to turn the extra space into a makeshift home office and filming studio. During the day, while Nina was away, Max worked hard on creating content for his YouTube channel. His depression still lingered and flared up from time to time, so the progress he made was slow. Much slower than he would've liked. These setbacks sometimes sent him spiraling into a pit of self-loathing.

Fortunately, Nina was always around to pluck him from despair. She listened to him ramble on about his anxiety, his worries, his fears. Nina never judged him, and she had a way of poking fun at the situation without making him feel like shit. Oftentimes, Nina was able to help Max see his problems from a different perspective.

Nina's unwavering support meant the world to him. Max never felt alone with her around. Breaking down so monumentally in front of her last time had left him with a valuable lesson: It was okay to be not okay. Max used this idea as an anchor to calm his mind whenever his thoughts and emotions started going haywire.

You don't have to have it all figured out right now. That's why we're given a lifetime to sort through this shit.

Nina's words comforted him. They reminded him to take it easy. Take it slow. Take it one day at a time.

With this mantra constantly running through his head, Max finally managed to post his first video—the one where he baked a cake for his mom's birthday—on his new YouTube channel. The video went viral, receiving millions of views three days after Max posted the fucker. Its popularity was driven by his old fans, his haters, random trolls, brand new viewers, and, of course, the curious spectators who were still thirsty for tea regarding his "breakup" with Lexi.

Toward the end of the video, Max included a simple vlog-style clip to address some hot button issues with his fans and critics. Max sat by himself on Nina's ugly brown couch and talked to the internet as though he was pouring his heart out to an old friend.

"Yo, yo, yo! It's ya boy, Maxie! I bet y'all are a little curious as to why I fell off the face of the earth for the past few months. The truth of the matter is—I was depressed. In fact, I'm still depressed because it's not easy to be happy with yourself when you lived a life that was as destructive and toxic as mine. But I'm getting better now. I think I'm in a better place. And I'm trying to change myself from the inside out.

"I know there's one name that has been on everyone's minds. Lexi. Before you guys come at me—or Lexi—know that my depression has nothing to do with her. What happened between Lexi and me is a completely separate issue. Know that we both cared deeply for each other at one point in our lives and know we both hurt each other deeply at another point in our lives. Please don't ask me for details because you're not gonna get any. Periodt. That shit is personal, painful, and private, and I'm not here to play 'he said, she said' games with anyone. Assholes and idiots who try to overstep these boundaries will be ignored and blocked.

"Right now, I just want to own up to my past mistakes, learn from them, and move on. So... I'm sorry... for being a disappointment... to anyone who has ever supported me. And I'm sorry for taking such a long fucking time to realize how badly I needed to change. This new channel is going to be all about turning my fuck ups into something more meaningful. I want this channel to be about growth and trying new things and spreading positivity. I hope you'll subscribe for more fun, wholesome content like the cake disaster you saw today. If you hated it—that's okay, too—I'll send good vibes your way, anyway!"

To Max's complete and utter shock, the majority of the internet responded well to his heartfelt apology. It seemed as though they could sense his remorse and sincerity through their laptop and cell phone screens. His old fans came flocking back to subscribe to his new channel, Max Tries It. He gained some new fans along the way as well.

Max hit almost half a million new subscribers in that first week alone.

The success of his channel made him happy. But not as happy as the time he spent with Nina. She became Max's center, his safe place, his favorite place. Max couldn't remember the last time he had allowed himself to grow so attached to another person. His feelings for Nina shook him even while they soothed him.

On weekends, when they were free to lounge around in bed for an extra hour or two, Max made a point to slip his hands under Nina's sleepshirt, play with her boobs, and then dip his fingers between her thighs and tease and tease and tease until she begged him to fuck her.

He took her out on dates everywhere. To taquerias and fancy Michelin-starred restaurants and picnics at the park. Max spoiled the crap out of Nina at every opportunity. He bought her flowers, gifts, candy, anything that he thought might put a smile on her face.

He went to the store to buy her tampons without a word of complaint and readily gave her foot massages each evening after she had been standing in heels all day at work.

Nina seemed really happy with him, too, for the most part. She wasn't super comfortable yet with the idea of announcing their relationship to the world. This disappointed Max, but he didn't want to rush her. It probably wasn't easy for someone like Nina, who really valued her privacy, to date a YouTuber like him. For now, Max was happy in their little two-person haven. He didn't want to be greedy when things were already so good with Nina.

Although, life for them wasn't always sunshine and rainbows. Some days, Max couldn't help noticing that work appeared to drain Nina more than usual. Every time Max asked Nina about it, though, she would simply smile, shake her head, and shrug it off as though her feelings it wasn't a big deal. Max chose to believe her.

For the first time in a long time, everything in life felt so perfect that it scared him. Something had to give. The universe had never been this kind to him before.

As though on cue, the week after Max hit a million subscribers—something gave.

Nina sat him down and uttered five little words that sent chills down his spine. "Hey, Max? Can we talk?"

Her expression looked pensive and stressed out, and Max knew right away that the universe was done being kind to him.