"Well, no duh you're better than Jenny Gildenhorn," Max agreed quickly. "Like there's even a comparison." He wasn't sure if Dani thought so but Max knew that his friend was better than 99.999% of people on the planet. He can only explain the discrepancy in the thousandth percent to account for the the minute possibility that Elvis was still alive and the likelihood that another Ghandi or Mother Teresa was out in the world somewhere. But compared to Jenny Gildenhorn and, really, any girl he'd ever been interested in, Dani blew them clear out of the water.
Feeling Dani's hand sneak into his surprised Max; he hadn't been fishing for the physical contact but the fact that it was given freely made him feel happy and grateful and sort of lightheaded by the sheer exhilaration of it. He blushed fiercely, glad for the dim light in hopes it might hide how the flush started in his face and went clear down his neck and into his whole body. She was still talking; hopefully oblivious to the dopey grin on his face and the fact that he'd gone stock still as to not scare her away or remind her that she still held on. He found himself nodding at her and somehow managed to make out and understand the words coming out of her mouth despite his head being completely on cloud 9.
He knew he was expected to respond to her lovely memory but he forgot how to work his mouth. He just stared at their intertwined hands, feeling the weight of his silence become heavier and his fingers become clammier. Her hand felt small and slight in his but smooth but undeniably strong. Max's thumb rubbed over the smooth skin of her knuckle absently for a few quiet moments before he remembered himself; remembered who he was and who she was and why they were here.
"Oh, God, I'm sorry," Max said, fumbling over his words as he released Dani's hand. She was just trying to be nice and he'd made it weird with his feelings. "I was a million miles away. We should, uh, do the thing. TAKE CARE OF YOUR PHONE, I mean."
He raked a sweaty hand through his hair and offered her an apologetic grin. He wasn't usually this obvious. He'd always felt something more than friendship for Dani, ever since she'd been so kind as to show an interest in his mother's progress at the hospital. But he wasn't so dumb as to know how ridiculously out of his league she was so he was ecstatic and honored by her platonic leanings toward him. Max would never be so bold and so stupid as to jeopardize that for something more.
"I mean, there probably isn't any sort or tracer or anything in it right now," Max said, his dumb mouth somehow forming words despite his extreme embarrassment. "But I think it would give you, and frankly me, some peace of mind to know that no one can get to your private calls and texts. May I see your phone?"