CHAPTER 10
Max and Liz sat next to each other at the dinner table across from Nancy. They occasionally looked at each other, sharing a secret smile about their professed love for each other. Nancy was not blind to it either.
“So, Max...” Nancy started as she cut into her chicken.
“Yes, ma’am.” He sat straight up in his chair, waiting for her to speak.
Nancy inwardly rolled her eyes at how he was trying to be a gentleman. “Why, Liz?”
The question was so direct that Max nearly choked on his drink. “Excuse me?”
“You’re Max Evans. You could have any girl on earth. Why my daughter?”
Max looked at Liz for help, but he could tell that she was wondering the same thing. “Umm...” he cleared his throat. He looked right at Liz, then, finding his answer in her eyes. “I meet a lot of girls all the time. And most, if not all of them, just want to be with me because I’m Max Evans. But Liz...” he took her hand under the table, not caring that Nancy could see it. “Liz doesn’t even see him when she looks at me.” His gaze softened on her, and Liz wanted to kiss him so badly right then.
Nancy couldn’t help the small smile on her lips. She still wasn’t sure that Max Evans was good for her baby girl, but with the way they were looking at each other, she could tell that they really felt for one another, and besides that, the boy was definitely good at making a girl swoon. “Max?” she called to him.
He turned to look at Liz’s mother then. “Yes?”
“That was a good answer.” Nancy smiled at him and he found himself smiling back. Dinner was going really well.
*******************
2005
“Your mother seemed to like him,” Alex remarked.
“He was such a charmer,” Liz said dreamily. Maria stuck her finger in her mouth and Michael tried not to laugh.
“So, that was one parent down, right?”
“Well, my mother was going to meet Liz soon enough, but it was still a little while before that would happen,” Max explained.
****************
June 1998
“Thank you for coming when I called.”
“I’d do anything for you.”
“I guess you have to go now,” Liz whispered into his chest as they leaned against his car.
“Yeah, my agent says this should be the one to finally put me on the A-list.” Max’s agent had called just as dinner at the Parkers was wrapping up. Max had been informed to get back to LA pronto for an audition for a new film.
“You’re not an A-lister yet?” Liz asked in disbelief.
“Not really,” he said. “I’m getting there. All my other stuff has been fun, but this new one is a drama, and if I do well, it could even be Oscar material.” Liz smiled, proud of him.
“You’ll do great,” she assured him.
Max smiled at her enthusiasm, leaning over for one more kiss. It was supposed to be short and sweet, but with the way her lips felt moving against his, and their feelings for one another now out in the open, that little kiss turned into more.
Standing in the driveway of Liz’s house, Max hands roamed her back, his fingers slipping up under the short t-shirt. His tongue snaked out to touch hers, unable to get close enough. His knee rose up between her thighs, feeling her shiver at their proximity.
Liz was enjoying this way too much to let him go yet. She knew he had to leave. This was a big opportunity for him. But she couldn’t seem to pull away just yet. She threaded her fingers through his hair, her thigh rubbing against his to release the tension in her belly. One of her hands came around to undo a couple buttons on his shirt. When her small hand finally touched the hot skin of his chest, he had to pull back. “God, I wish I could stay longer.”
Liz’s forehead leaned against his, trying to calm her own breathing. “When will I see you again?” Her voice was husky and desperate.
“If I suck in the audition, you’ll see me really soon.” They chuckled.
“And if you’re as good as I know you will be?” The disappointment on both their faces was palpable.
“I’ll call you as soon as I can.” He bent down to kiss her one more time, determined not to let her soft lips draw him too much further in. When he pulled back, he whispered against her lips, “I love you.”
Her smile was bittersweet, hating that he would soon be gone, but still unable to believe those words were coming out of his mouth. “I love you, too.”
Liz finally let him get into his car and drive away. Liz hated that after finally admitting their feelings for one another that they had to part so quickly. She wished he could stay longer so that they could explore those feelings a little more. She grinned as she thought of all the ways she would like to explore with him. But she supposed this was the life of the girlfriend of a big star.
****************
Maria came out of the school after the last bell rang, headed straight for her car. When she got there, she was surprised to see Michael. He appeared to be waiting for someone. “Michael!” she said as she approached him.
“Hey, Maria.”
“What’s up? What are you doing here?”
“Max left this morning in a hurry mumbling something about needing to see Liz. He didn’t even wait for me, so I took the next flight I could get to meet him.”
“Max picked up Liz this afternoon at lunch and I haven’t seen them since,” Maria explained.
“Great,” Michael huffed. “Do you know where they are now?”
“Not a clue,” Maria chuckled as Michael hung his head. “Let me call Liz’s house.” Maria didn’t want to leave him hanging if she could help.
“Hey, babe,” Maria said into the phone when she got a hold of Liz. “Is Max with you?” Maria listened as Liz was talking, and Michael waited impatiently for a response.
“Really?! That’s awesome! Are you okay? You need me to come over? Did you find out about the other thing? Alright, then, I’ll be there soon.” Michael briefly wondered what ‘the other thing’ was, but then Maria hung up and turned to him.
“Max just flew back to LA,” she said calmly.
“Get the fuck outta here!” Michael ran a hand through his spiky hair, pissed off that he had flown out here for nothing.
“No big deal, right?” Maria remarked. “Just call whoever it is you call and get another flight.”
“I’m not Max, sweetheart,” Michael bit out. “I don’t have those kind of connections.”
“So, then call Max, and don’t call me sweetheart,” she said.
“How am I supposed to call Max when he’s on an airplane, Blondie?” Michael was getting aggravated with this one.
“Well then get another plane ticket and don’t call me Blondie, either, Jackass!”
Michael put his head in his hands, trying to calm himself. He looked back at the girl who was slowly driving him out of his mind, and said curtly, “I need a ride.” Without asking permission, he hopped into the passenger side and waited for her to get in.
“Are you serious?!” She had her head through the car window. She got into the car as she continued to babble. “Listen, I don’t know where you came from, but here in small town, USA, we like to ask people nicely when we need something.”
“Then why are we already on the road?” Michael asked, sarcastically.
Maria looked to her front, and noticed that they had, in fact, begun to drive toward the airport without her even realizing it. When she could think of nothing else to say she muttered, “Shut up!” She did manage to catch Michael’s smirk out of the corner of her eye, and even though she didn’t do it, she felt like smiling herself.
*****************
After Michael had been put on a plane, Liz was in her bedroom, flipping through a magazine when Maria came through her door. “Okay, so Michael’s pissed.”
“Why?” Liz acknowledged her presence immediately.
“Max left LA rather abruptly and Michael came all the way out here to meet him, but by the time he got here, Max was gone.”
“Yeah, well Max had a really important audition to get to. Michael’s lucky you had detention and you were still at school.”
“I know, Mr. Seligman’s such an ass! Two days left until summer break and I get detention for being a little loud.”
“A little? Maria, you screamed rape at the top of your lungs in the middle of class.”
“Paulie shouldn’t have touched me,” Maria pointed out. Maria sat down on the bed next to Liz. “Okay, so I’m here. What happened with Max?” Liz’s guilty face was all Maria needed. “So, he did put that poor guy in a coma.”
“Poor?” Liz’s eyes bugged out. “He slipped me X!”
“Yes, and I’m sure he wanted to do all kinds of sensual things to you, but ta-da! Max saved the day. So, what was the point in almost killing him?”
“Max did the right thing,” Liz defended.
“Liz, this morning, you were all against this! Now, all of a sudden you’re...” Maria stopped. “What did Max say to you today?”
“Nothing,” Liz answered quickly, turning back to her magazine to avoid Maria’s gaze.
Maria stared at her best friend in disbelief. “Liz, I’ve known you all my life, and yet, right now, you’re acting like somebody I’ve never met. Max has totally turned you around!”
“Max hasn’t done anything but love me!” Liz put her eyes down when she realized just what she had said, and Maria’s mouth dropped onto the bed.
“So, now you’re in love with this psycho?”
“Don’t call him that! He’s gentle and sweet...”
“And he almost killed a guy with his bare hands!” Liz’s face was a block of stone, and Maria knew there was nothing more to be said. “Forget it, Liz.” Maria grabbed her bag, headed toward the door. “If and when you see my best friend, let her know that I’ll be waiting for her.” Maria walked out the door, leaving Liz feeling completely helpless.
******************
“Baby, what’s wrong?”
“Maria’s...she’s really mad and...she won’t talk to me,” Liz cried into the phone.
When Max had called her to tell her that he had gotten the part, he never imagined she’s be so broken up. “Ok, Liz, calm down. You guys are best friends. I’ll bet you get into fights all the time.” Max was trying to reason with her.
“This is different, Max. I don’t know if she’ll...”
Max could hear his agent calling him over and while he wanted to talk Liz through this, at least until she was no longer crying, he knew that he didn’t have time. “Hang on a second!” He shouted with his hand over the mouthpiece of the phone. “Baby, look I hate to do this, but I have to go. I wish I could talk longer.” He just heard Liz sniffle on the other end. “Just give her some time to cool off, I’m sure she’ll be back, Liz. Just give her a little time, okay?”
“Okay,” Liz agreed. “I love you.” She wanted to hear him say the words.
Max had no problem helping her with that. “I love you, too, Liz. I’ll call you back soon, okay?”
“Okay, bye.” Max hung up, staring at the phone a little while before hearing his agent call him again.
****************
One Month Later...
“How is everything?”
“Brutal, how about you?”
“Work sucks,” Max told his girlfriend.
Liz chuckled. “It can’t be as bad as being a waitress. We should totally switch for a day.”
“We’d have to cut your hair,” Max said, playing along. “But I’d really rather not.”
“Why not? Don’t think I’d look masculine enough for you?”
“Because I love your hair and I hope to god it never changes.”
“What about when it turns gray?”
“Oh, we’ve still got 50 years or so before I’ll have to wrap my head around that thought.” They smiled into the phone together. “How are things coming with Maria?”
“Things are strained. Working with her is slowly driving me crazy. She still won’t talk to me at all.”
“I’m sorry, baby. I wish I could be there for you.”
“I know. Don’t worry about me though, I’ll work it out.”
Max hated ending his conversations with her on sad notes, so he blurted out the words he knew would make her smile. “I love you.”
“I love you, too.” Max figured the mission was accomplished as he could practically see her smile on the other end of the line.
***********
2005
“So, what was going on with you, Maria?” Alex asked her with his nose buried in his notes.
“I was still pissed that she was willing to stay with a guy who had turned psycho in a fit of rage one day. I wanted her to see her mistake and apologize to me,” Maria offered.
“And I wanted an apology for her not listening to my side of the story before leaving me high and dry with no best friend,” Liz mentioned.
“Well, what happened after your conversation with Max?” Alex asked Liz.
“This is where things start to get a little rocky.”
*****************
August 1998
Max Evans is wasting no time getting to know his new co-star as we see them walking through LA together here. Sources claim they are just friends, but we still have to wonder what happened to the girl next door he has been reported to be seeing.
The tabloid Liz had picked up this morning had more information than she had wanted to know. Max and his female co-star, Heidi Blumdan seemed to be a lot closer than she had hoped. Liz couldn’t help thinking it was strange that such a hideous name could have been given to a total knockout. The girl had long blonde hair, legs that went on for miles, and a smile so bright it probably lit up an entire city. The tabloid seemed to imply that they were more than just friends. As much as Liz hated reading tabloids, knowing that a lot of it was blatant lies, it still hurt her more than she would like to admit.
Maria still wasn’t talking to her and Kyle was being relentless with asking her out. The tabloids had reported seeing Max and Heidi almost everywhere together. She hadn’t wanted to let them get to her. Max had claimed they were just friends and that if they wanted to do a good job on screen, they would have to get to know one another better.
This picture of them in a coffee shop together was the last straw for Liz. She was so fed up with everything that she grabbed her bag and headed over to the party Kyle had invited her to earlier today. She was so done being the lonely girlfriend waiting by the phone.
****************
2005
“What did you do, Liz?” Alex asked cryptically.
“I was so sick of everything happening around me. The photos of Max and that girl were getting to be too much. And with Maria still not talking to me, I needed to unwind a little bit. So, I decided to go to the party to blow off some steam and do something normal for once. And F.Y.I.,” she pointed out, “It’s more like what did we all do?”
**************
August 1998
“Liz, you made it,” Kyle said when he saw he walk through the door. “Where’s Maria?” Kyle couldn’t believe she had come all by herself. Liz and Maria were practically attached at the hip.
“Haven’t seen her,” Liz replied flippantly.
Kyle just nodded, figuring it was none of his business. “Where’s Max?”
Liz gave him a death look and said, “He’s working.”
*************
Maria came to the door when the knocking got louder. “What the hell?!”
“Max sent me,” Michael said as he walked into the living room. “You and Liz are having problems and I’m supposed to come here and talk to you about taking your friend for a little walk and overcoming those problems.”
“Well, thank you so much, Mr. Problem Solver,” Maria said as she closed the door behind him. “But, my problems with Liz are none of your business.”
“I know they have something to do with Max and I completely side with you.”
“Because if you’re here to just...” She trailed off as his last words became clear. “What?”
“What Max did was wrong.” Maria was blown away that Michael agreed with her. “But you gotta know that his heart was in the right place.” Maria was about to say something when his next words shocked her into silence. “I would have done the same thing for you.”
*****************
“Hey, Ms. Parker, can I talk to Liz, please?”
“She’s out, Max,” Nancy told him.
“Out?” Max asked in doubt.
“She went to a party with Kyle.”
“Kyle who?!” Max’s ears were turning red. Who the hell was Kyle and why the hell was Liz with him?! He thought.
“That’s all I know, Max.” Nancy hung up the phone, not really knowing what else to say to him. When Liz had blown past her this evening, mentioning a party, Nancy had asked whose house it was. Liz had said Kyle’s and Nancy knew the Sheriff very well, believing that his son was probably just as good a person as his father.
*****************
“Wanna beer?” Kyle finally asked Liz.
“Sounds great.” Liz planned on getting hammered tonight. Anything to help her forget about her life for a little while.
*****************
Max downed the bottle of Jack Daniels as fast as he could manage. He was extremely angry that his girlfriend, whom he thought loved him, was out on a date with some jerk. He was frustrated with work. His co-star was constantly trying to get into his pants no matter how many times he told her he had a girlfriend. Maybe tonight, he would stop fighting her.
The knock on his trailer door couldn’t have come at a more convenient time. He opened it to reveal the blonde who played his love interest in the new film. “Hey, Max. Just wanted to see what you were up to.” Her eyes roamed his shirtless upper torso, and Max just opened the door a crack more to let her in, his eyes completely vacant of emotion.
**************
Liz was feeling the effects of the alcohol slowly turning her problems off for the night. It felt so wonderful to be a normal teenage girl for once. No worries about a Hollywood boyfriend, or a feuding best friend. The problems were leaving and she was back to being a regular kid. She suddenly recognized the song playing in the background of the party. It was some old freestyle stuff. She started to move her hips in the rhythm to the song.
Baby, there’s something I think you should know
I don’t think I’ll be needing you anymore
It’s just one of those things
I’m sure you’ll understand
Kyle moved in behind Liz, mimicking her movements. His hands went around her waist, silently pleased that she was no longer pulling away from him. He assumed the alcohol she had been consuming could have been a factor in her reasoning, but he wasn’t complaining.
We’ve been together so long
I never meant to do you wrong
But I found someone new
There’s nothing you can say or do
To try and change my mind
Would be a waste of time
Lets go our separate ways
There’s nothing more to say
Maria was completely floored when she felt Michael’s lips touch hers. She hadn’t been prepared for his sweet assault, but she surrendered relentlessly, allowing him to move her to the couch, his hands feeling their way around her body.
Just try to ease your mind
Cuz I don’t mean to hurt you
It’s just he knows to treat me
Like a special lady
It’s time you look away
He knows just how to touch me
Maybe someday you’ll understand
Liz was tired of fighting for a love that Max was no longer fighting for. He was off with his gorgeous co-star right now, probably touching her with those amazing hands and fingers of his, kissing her with those sexy lips and dangerous tongue. The thoughts were too much for Liz to handle. Her buzz was taking hold when she put a hand in Kyle’s hair and dragged him to her lips.
Temptation is a part of life
It doesn’t matter if it’s wrong or right
Temptation is a part of life
It doesn’t matter if it’s wrong or right
Temptation is a part of life
It doesn’t matter if it’s wrong or right
It makes you do what you love
Michael didn’t know where his shirt had gone, but it was no longer on his body. Maria was kissing him like there was no tomorrow, her fingers touching his upper body deliberately. His hands wrapped themselves around her waist, pulling her lower body closer to his, a moan escaping both of them.
He knows I can’t resist, ooh
His perfect lips
When he looks into my eyes
I feel like I’ve been hypnotized
I’ve wanted him for so long
What I felt was oh so strong
Times, feelings change
Things were not the same
Max found himself on his small couch, this girl’s tongue lapping at his chest. His entire body was on fire, but not with want or need, he was in anguish. He tried not to allow the bile to rise up in his throat as he allowed this girl to take from him what she wanted.
Just try to ease your mind
'Cause I don't mean to hurt you
It's just he's knows to treat me like a special lady
It's time you look away
He's knows just how to touch me
Maybe someday you'll understand
Liz felt Kyle’s fingers touch the skin of her stomach. She kept thinking that everything he did was so much different from Max. His touch, his lips, everything was just different, and she wasn’t sure that she liked it different.
Temptation is a part of life
It doesn’t matter if it’s wrong or right
Temptation is a part of life
It doesn’t matter if it’s wrong or right
Temptation is a part of life
It doesn’t matter if it’s wrong or right
It makes you do what you love
Max pounded into the girl with anger and frustration. His throat burned with the sensation of the alcohol and his head was fuzzy with images of his Liz laughing and having a wonderful time with some guy who wasn’t him. His frustration was coming out in waves as the blonde beneath him took everything he had to give. He fell on top of her in a heap of exhaustion. He took a few deep breaths. “Get out,” was all he said when he finished. Her expression did its best to mask the hurt, but she complied.
Temptation...
Temptation...
Temptation...
Corina - Temptation
TBC...
I am really enjoying all the feedback and I hope everyone is enjoying the story. 
Not sure why I'm so afraid of her since she lives in another state, lol. 
But nonetheless, I am.