“Wait.” Dani reached out with one hand and snagged Max’s sleeve before he could step toward the door. She’d listened to his confession without interrupting, mostly because she was more than a little taken aback by the sudden tearing away of the carefully-constructed pretense that had brought them together. Naturally the phone had never been the reason for meeting here -- or not the only reason, at any rate -- but it was easy to seize as an excuse, a shield of sorts.
Max’s embarrassment at his outpouring of sentiment was palpable. He'd probably be happier to let them both depart for their respective shelters, leaving things as they lay. Normally Dani did try to save him the distress of having to continue on a topic that he found uncomfortable, but he couldn’t just say all that and not expect her to want to reply. Not this time.
“You know I don't have qualms about speaking my mind. Locking down my phone might have been a handy excuse you chose to explain why you wanted to see me, but it wouldn’t be enough to get me to come here if I didn’t want to.” Realizing she still had hold of his arm, Dani dropped her hand back down to her side, but her gaze stayed on Max’s face, unwavering. How he could make sincerity look so easy, when she had to work for it, was a mystery. After a moment she shrugged, and folded her arms.
“I miss you too, and not just because you left the hospital.” The real reason lay unspoken between them, but there was no chance of misunderstanding there, so she left it that way. “There’s a lot about our friendship that needs to be rebuilt. It’s not going to be quick, or easy.” Trying to reconcile the Max who'd been her best friend with the Max before her now was a struggle, but Dani wanted it to work, wanted to wrap her head around it somehow. Even if it took another five months.
"But, in the meantime? Text. Or call. Even if it’s just to say hi. There’s no reason why you can’t. I would like it if you did." Taking a deep breath, and half a step back, Dani gestured toward the door again. “Okay, now you can go first.”