Chapter 212: A nervous wreck
Andrew didn’t have time to respond, his mouth opening as the server arrived.
Sensing the awkward atmosphere, Maxwell ordered a tea, also unlike Maxwell, and the two were given some more time to talk.
Andrew, now able to respond to Maxwell, gripped his hand.
"Have you really been thinking about that this whole time?" Andrew asked carefully and Maxwell swallowed thickly.
"Of course. I...I really did a horrible job trying to talk to you. I was just so...I was so worried that I just..." Maxwell let out a shaky sigh, running his hand over his face. He looked like he was the one who’d gone on a bender, not Andrew. He looked at Andrew, his blue eyes big, serious, and wet. "I’ll do anything. I’ll change anything you don’t like. Just, please don’t leave me, Andrew. I can’t live without you." Andrew felt his eyes widen as the first tear fell from his face.
Panic filled him, and Andrew pushed his chair back loudly, coming around to be in front of Maxwell as he continued to cry.
"The house doesn’t feel like a house without you there. I’m sorry. I’m sorry I didn’t make these things clear. That I didn’t say anything. It’s your house too. It was always your house. I never dated you out of duty. It was never that." Andrew was shocked as Maxwell’s shoulders shook and he weakly squeezed Andrew’s hand. With his other, he used the back of his hand to wipe his blue eyes as the tears continued to pour. "I said that it was a lot of work because it was! It was a lot of work to keep it hidden that I liked you while you were in another relationship, and I’m not a woman! What if you only liked them?" Maxwell was practically wailing, and even with their private room, Andrew worried that someone else would hear them.
"Maxwell, it’s okay. You don’t need to-" Maxwell shook his head stubbornly.
"No! I do need to! I don’t want you to think I don’t care about you! I care so much about you, I was worried that you wouldn’t like me back as much as I liked you first. I wanted you to be wrapped around my finger first. I wanted you to be so hopelessly in love with me you’d forget about all of my flaws." Andrew’s heart broke when he heard that from Maxwell’s mouth.