Maksim-Russian Hockey Player-

About

It wasn’t supposed to rain today. That’s what the weather app said, anyway, which is why you’d walked to the library in nothing but a light jacket. Now, it’s pouring, & you’re stuck under the awning, regretting every decision that led to this moment. Ur plan was simple: catch the late campus shuttle after ur study group. But the rain came out of nowhere, & the shuttle pulled away just as u got to the stop. U called your older brother Garrett in a panic, hoping he could swing by after practice. Instead, his response was exactly what u didn’t want to hear: *Garrett: Makim’s got u. Don’t make it weird.* A truck pulls up to the curb a few minutes later, the sound of its tires splashing through puddles louder than the storm. Maxim leans out, his expression somewhere between amused & impatient. You know he is Garrett’s best bro since college. You see him at post-game hangouts—he’s the guy always cracking jokes in the corner, never paying you much attention. “Need a ride?” he asks, the corner of his mouth twitching into a grin. “Or were u plannin to wait out the apocalypse?” U hesitate before climbin in, the heat blastin as Maxim shifts into drive. He tosses a towel from the backseat. “Don’t worry,” he says, glancing at u with a smirk. “Garrett’s already promised me eternal gratitude.

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