A few days after Nina accepted Shanice's offer with United We Rise, she sent in her two weeks' notice at Ascension. That very weekend, Max and Nina flew out to Seattle to look for an apartment. Their plan was to find a safe but affordable place that wouldn't require a long-term lease in case things didn't work out with her new job.

It was Max's first time in Seattle. The skies were pouring when the plane landed, and rain continued to drizzle down in buckets for the rest of their stay. As a SoCal native, Max had never experienced anything quite this gray or wet or miserable. After a mad, rain-soaked dash to tour properties located across several different neighborhoods—Wallingford, Fremont, Downtown Seattle—Nina put down her deposit and signed a six-month lease for a 300-square-foot studio apartment in Columbia City.

Everything happened on such a hectic schedule that neither Max nor Nina seemed to fully process this monumental turn of events until they returned to their hotel later that night.

While they were cuddling in bed, Nina mumbled into the crook of Max's shoulder, "I can't believe I actually signed a lease. It feels so... official."

His heart sank at the thought of Nina moving away from him. This shit was getting so real. Max already missed her. His arms tightened around Nina. "I know, I guess this is definitely happening, huh? It didn't feel entirely real... until now."

She began using her forefinger to draw light, comforting swirls across his chest. "Max?"

Her touch felt nice and soothing on his skin. It was also distracting as fuck. His cock twitched a little inside his boxers. "Hmm?"

Her finger continued to trace sweet little spiraling circles around his heart. "I love you."

Max's eyes grew wide with shock. Happiness whipped through him. "What?"

Nina tilted her chin up to meet his gaze head-on. She repeated herself again. Simply, affectionately, and without any hesitation. "I love you, Max."

Joyous emotions imploded within him like blinding, neon-colored fireworks. Max felt so happy that he struggled to respond, "I, um..."

"It's okay," Nina assured him softly. "You don't have to say it back. I just... wanted you to know how I feel... because you're such an amazing person... and I'm so lucky to have you in my life. Thank you for always supporting me in everything I do. From learning how to skateboard. To letting me go after this new job of mine."

Her honey-brown eyes misted over as she continued, "When I first got to California, I didn't know quite what to make of you. But you never made me feel judged even though I judged you. I remember feeling really lost and broken over my grandpa's death. Over Ethan. You became my safe place, my happy place, to figure out all my shit... and I'm never more like myself than when I'm with you. I feel selfish right now, though. For not staying by your side. For coming to Seattle. I'm so sorry, Max. If you... if this long-distance thing ever gets to be too hard, please know that I'll choose you, always, over any job. I'll quit and go back to California in a heartbeat to fix whatever might be wrong between us, okay?"

Max's breath caught. His heart stood still. Time seemed to stop. The whole fucking hotel room froze in this very moment. Nina's confession was, quite possibly, the most wonderful, raw, and stirring thing anyone had ever said to him. Her words filled him with strength. Her promise fortified his resolve. Max didn't want to give Nina a reason to look back, or to worry, or to give up on her dreams. Max decided that he needed to step up, level up, and learn how to get his own shit in order.

He was going to focus on his channel.

He would spend more time with his mom.

He was determined to figure out how to be okay—and maybe even happy—without Nina, so that, once they reunited in a few months' time, he would be a ten out of ten version of himself.

With his heart in his eyes, Max cupped Nina's face between his palms and whispered, "I fucking love you, too, Nina. I fucking love you so much."

Nina started to cry happy tears. "Oh, God, Max1 I love you, I love you, I love you!"

Max laughed at her enthusiasm. He kissed her deeply. A moment later, Nina suddenly pulled away. Max glanced at her with a question in his eyes. She looked back at him like a naughty angel who was definitely up to no good. "Wait here, okay? I'll be right back."

It didn't take long for Max's Lower Brain to recognize his good fortune, and his dick immediately grew from a half-stiffy to a diamond-strength monster in all but 0.02 seconds.

"Oh, mami, por favor..." he breathed in anticipation.

He reached over to gather Nina's long, dark hair, coiling the soft, silky strands between his fingers to hold it for her over her head so that she could, ahem, focus on the task at hand without anything getting in the way.

Nina gave him an impish smirk. "Thank you, daddy."

"Just trying to be helpful," Max murmured innocently.

With a small, knowing smile, Nina began her downward descent. His dick pulsed with excitement. Max sucked in a breath, bit into his lower lip, and watched her movements through heavy-lidded, lust-drunk eyes as she kissed and teased her way across his toned chest, his defined abs, past his V-line until, at last, she made contact with his very eager and very desperate erection.

At the first touch of Nina's lips closing over his meaty head, Max bucked his hips involuntarily. He felt as though heaven itself had wrapped around his happy cock. Fisting her hair firmly in his hand, Max groaned in approval as she licked and swirled up and down his thick, throbbing shaft. She sucked on his balls. She teased the base and lapped at the sensitive underside of his cock head. His eyes rolled with pleasure. Max started panting hard as he mumbled words of encouragement—fuck, that's good—and gratitude—God, what did I ever do to deserve you—to Nina.

Gradually, though, gradually, her light teasing tongue and sweet, sinful lips turned him into an incoherent, babbling fool. Max couldn't quite fit his entire length into Nina's mouth, but her slick, sensual in-and-out motions were more than enough to send him hurtling towards a mind-blowing orgasm.

He moaned through gritted teeth, "Oh, fuck... you're good, mami, you're so fucking good... I'm coming!"

A few more pumps later, Max exploded inside Nina's mouth. He came in fulfilling, gratifying spurts. When he recovered enough to open his eyes again, he hoisted Nina back up to his chest and kissed her passionately.

He whispered, "This may be the best fucking day of my life. Thank you. I love you, mami. I-I—"

Max became so overwhelmed with happiness that he could no longer find the words to express his depth of emotion.

"I love you, too, Max," Nina chuckled softly, "but I hope today isn't the best fucking day of your life because I plan to spend a lot more time with you and give you a lot more blowjobs."

"I'd, uh, totally be down with that."

She grinned. "Good! The best has yet to come for us, okay?"

He grinned back. "Okay. Got it."

The powerful climax from moments ago had drained Max to the bone, but, even now, his cock was still semi-hard. His Lower Brain was ready to go again. Not only because his girlfriend was the hottest fucking thing he had ever laid eyes on but because Max simply could never get enough of Nina.

Never, ever, ever.

Max leaned over to kiss her again. In response, her arms wrapped around his shoulders. Then, Max settled between Nina's legs and pushed himself into her warm, welcoming body. He made love to her sweetly, slowly, absolutely.

There was no urgency in Max's lazy, measured strokes. He bent over to tongue her nipples. His fingers reached down to play with her clit. He whispered sweet nothings into Nina's ear until her cheeks flushed pink and her breaths came out short and clipped.

Max poured every ounce of himself into pleasuring his beautiful brown-eyed girl, emotionally and physically. When they both reached their climax, the soul-searing connection they shared felt almost spiritual to him. It was heady. It was potent. It was beautiful.

Afterward, Nina fell asleep with a contented sigh in his arms. Max laid awake for a few more minutes, contemplating this and that. He thought of the past, the present, the future.

Max realized, then, that his entire life had been built on fear. Fear of abandonment from his dad leaving. Fear of being outcast and bullied at school. Of being turned away by his peers. Fear of letting his followers see his true self, his pain, his insecurities. Fear of losing Nina. Fear of falling flat on his face again without her.

Maybe... it was time to let go of the fear?

Change was inevitable. Nothing could ever remain constant. Max knew this harsh truth better than anyone else. His life had been a pretty wild ride, jam-packed with the highest highs and the lowest lows. People came and went. His success came and went. His depression came and went. In fact, his mood swings were still ongoing and kind of relentless. Yet, through it all, every time Max had taken a fall, he had also found a way to get back up and keep going.

Maybe he hadn't always picked the wisest or the smartest ways to move forward, but he never stopped moving. He never stopped trying.

Maybe that was the key?

Movement and change went hand in hand. People weren't meant to be still or stagnant. Suddenly, Max no longer wished to resist whatever life had planned for him in the days, weeks, or years to come. For better or worse, at the risk of sounding like a pretentious, granola-eating, yoga-loving bastard, he wanted to be able to roll with the punches and learn how to go with the flow.

He also realized something else.

Everything that had hurt him up until this point also contributed to his growth. Pain and progress were, in many ways, two sides of the same coin. Max simply hadn't seen it until now. Without his dad or Ryan or all the haters online who tried to bring him down, Max would've never gone through the struggle, the misery, or the friction he needed to go through in order to suffer just enough to self-reflect, just enough to trigger the change—

To become the guy that Nina loved today.

With Nina in his life, Max felt invincible even though he harbored a sneaking suspicion that their best and worst days had yet to come. Max simply had a lot more faith now that he would be able to get through the highs and the lows, that him and his brown-eyed girl would be able to work through anything together.

Right as Max began to drift off to sleep, he decided to add one more item to his to-do list: He wanted to reach out to Lexi.

Her video, as toxic as it was, had been a blessing in disguise. Its release led to the pivotal turning point in Max's life that ultimately removed him from the Wilder house and placed him back in reality, forcing him to meet his demons without flinching.

Even now, Lexi hovered in the back of his mind like an uneasy shadow. Finally, it felt like the right time to make peace with his childhood friend. Other than his mom, for years, the girl had been the closest person to him. Even though they dated briefly in high school, he saw her more like a sister than anything else now, and he owed her an apology and an explanation for everything that had gone so terribly wrong between them. Whether or not their friendship could be salvaged didn't matter to Max.

He simply wanted to try because it felt like the right thing to do.