24. New rules

                                    

                                          
Larkin struggled to catch up with a briskly walking Maxime, who was too engrossed with mowing the lawn. He made longer strides through the meadow of dew covered grasses that swayed lightly to the gentle whistling wind and weaved itself together with broken twigs and clumps of moss. Taking in a sharp breath, Larkin wheezed out loudly when Maxime reached the barn. "Hey, can I talk to you for a second?"
                          
Maxime, dressed in a loose checkered shirt and his infamous smirk sticking to his lips, halted in his tracks. He had tied his obsidian black hair into a low ponytail, making him look like a low budget pirate. Larkin resisted rolling his eyes, when Maxime said. "No problem, man. How can I be of service?"
                          
Larkin rubbed his neck nervously. This wasn't something he was used to, and Maxime seemed to notice. "You're usually good with girls, right?" It felt so weird to even ask. Normally Larkin used to know what to do. He used to be good with girls. Hell, he had everyone falling at his feet. But now, this particular girl was immune to everything and he didn't know what to do. 
                          
Maxime took a moment to stare at him like he grew another head on his body, before finally settling into a grin. "Are you joking?" Larkin's eyebrows had drawn tightly, almost making Maxime laugh. "Okay, fine. I see that you're not. Jesus, you're like a wounded animal. Always on the defense. Sheesh."
                          
"This is so embarrassing. I'll just get going. Sorry I asked." He clicked his tongue gruffly. 
                          
Maxime stopped him before he could make his way out. "Slow down, man. I'm just surprised you're casually talking to me. But it's cool. I'm pretty good with girls. Don't let my complicated relationship with Leona make you think otherwise." With a wide grin on his lips, he added with sheer confidence. "Usually women find me pretty charming. It's my God given talent."
                          
An eye roll was thrown in Maxime's direction. "With an ego like that, who can blame them."
                          
"Thanks for your sarcasm, boss. It's liberating." Maxime nudged Larkin's arm with his elbow teasingly. "Are you really having girl trouble?" Larkin's silence was met with a throttling laughter. "What? A girl's willing to talk to you? What girl? Oh wait, you're talking to girls online? It has to be that. Good for you, man. You're finally going to get some. I always assumed you had your balls chopped off, since you've never had a girl over. But this is pure relief."
                          
Larkin snorted. He didn't care much about what people thought of him but somehow, hearing them from Callista made it a hard pill to swallow. It was better people didn't misunderstand his friendship with Callista, so he just went with whatever Maxime assumed. "Whatever. Yeah, a girl online. She's different from people and honest about herself to me. And that's not something I'm used to. So, I lashed out and messed things up. I said some things I wished I could take back. Things ver—"
                          
"So you were your usual grumpy ballbusting self?" 
                          
Larkin scowled at him. "I'm not grumpy."
                          
Stifling what looked like a grin, Maxime coughed out his words. "Continue your story."
                          
"Fine, just quit interrupting me." Maxime raised both hands in agreement, letting him talk. "My words got her angry and now she's ignoring me."
                          
Maxime whistled. "Damn, you got ghosted. That's deep. When did it happen?"
                          
"A couple of hours ago. Around lunch."
                          
Maxime nodded. "Good. Don't let it drag on for too long. Girls are like time bombs. The longer you wait for it to detonate, the closer you get to an explosion you can't avoid." Larkin raised an eyebrow, which made Maxime grin. "Just don't tell anyone I said so. It's one of my self-help expert secrets."
                          
Larkin bit back asking Maxime how much of an expert he was if he couldn't win Leona back. "Sure. Any other helpful tips?"
                          
Maxime had a serious look flashing over his face. "Apologize. That's the surest certified tool to ease a wom—"