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Chapter 21
As the days turned into weeks, Max and Liz went out often. They have already become a couple officially and Max couldn’t be any happier.
Max recalled how it happened with a goofy grin on his face, as he, Liz and Zan were all seated in his SUV, coming home from their trip to the theme park.
He and Liz were out to dinner alone. He wanted to cook for her. Albeit he wasn’t that good a cook but he wanted to do this for her. He made a simple Italian meal consisting of Garlic Chicken Cushions with ricotta cheese, spinach and tomato sauce, Pasta and Tomato Salad, and for dessert, he bought a whole tiramisu from the nearby bakery.
He would never look at his mother the same way. Coming up with the perfect meal was hard work and being taught by Isabel made him appreciate his mother more. He literally did everything, from the peeling and the slicing to the tossing and baking, he did them all with his bare hands.
When he came to pick up Liz, he found Zan clinging to her neck not wanting to let go.
“Why can’t I go?” Zan whined.
“Because it’s late, baby.” he answered her and gently pulled her away from Liz. Having spent a lot of time getting to know the Parkers gave him the privilege to be this close to them and be able to call his little girl whatever he wanted, may it be baby or sweetheart or even princess.
Zan allowed Max to carry her. He sat her on the sofa and crouched down in front of her. Max brushed her soft brown hair away from her face and kissed her forehead.
“I’m sorry you can’t go this time, my little one. But I promise that you’ll come with us next time.” Max vowed.
Zan looked at him with eyes that reflected his own. “You pwomise?”
“I promise, baby.”
Zan nodded and yawned.
“Ok, let’s tuck you in, sweetheart.” Liz spoke and picked up a sleepy Zan.
“Max, come.” Zan said sleepily.
Max looked at Liz to ask for permission to which she replied with a nod.
He stepped slowly for the first time into his daughter’s room. It was in her favorite color, pink. Most of the things were pink, from the bed and pillows down to the little flower rug in the middle of the room. There was a bookshelf with children’s books, stuffed toys in one corner all piled up on a hammock, two small chairs and a small table with a coloring book and a box of crayons on top.
He saw the Care Bear Zan told him about the first time they went out. He picked it from the small chair and walked to the side of the bed where Liz sat.
“Snug as a bug?” Liz asked as she tucked her daughter under her pink blankie.
“Snug as a bug.” Zan replied and Liz kissed her goodnight.
“Don’t forget Love-a-lot.” Max handed the bear to Zan.
“Goodnight, Max.” Zan sighed as her eyes drifted close.
“Goodnight, princess.” Max whispered as he kissed his sleeping daughter.
A few minutes later after that, Max and Liz were back in his house.
”Max, this is…. Wow, you did this?” Liz asked.
Max nodded sheepishly. “It’s really easy. I mean, Isabel taught me so…”
Liz turned to kiss him as a sign of gratitude. But the kiss heated into something more. When they pulled apart, Max gave her one more peck on the lips.
“Let’s eat.”
Max seated Liz opposite him and the two enjoyed Max’s cooking.
“Oh my, I don’t think I can eat another bite.” Liz said.
“Does that mean you liked it?”
“Absolutely.”
“Do you still have room for dessert?”
“What is it?”
“Tiramisu.”
“You made tiramisu?” Liz asked wide-eyed.
“Uh, no, Isabel didn’t know how to make it. So I bought one from the bakery two blocks from here.”
“Oh. Well, maybe later?”
“Ok.” Max nodded. Then with the music playing in the background, he stood from his chair, pulled Liz close and they began to dance.
“I’ve never felt like this before, Liz.” Max whispered in her ear.
“Neither have I.”
“I know this is a little too forward but I just have to know. Where do you see us heading, Liz?”
“Uh, I don’t know. Where do you see us heading?”
“I only know the part I’m hoping for.”
“And what’s that?”
“You in my arms forever.”
Liz looked up at him and saw all the love Max had for her swimming in his eyes.
“I want that too, Max.”
Max smiled giddily and leaned in for another kiss. Without breaking apart, Max lifted Liz and carried her into his bedroom. The two never even broke the kiss as they began to undress each other slowly.
Max slowly laid her in bed and followed her, leaving kisses and nibbles on every inch of her skin.
This was a first for Liz. She had never gone this far before. When she was still studying, she devoted herself to her studies, then there was med school so she didn’t have time for boyfriends. And then when she became a doctor, she focused all her time on her patients. And then Zan came.
“Max.” Liz whispered.
“I know, baby.” Max was holding on to very little control as he gazed at Liz’s nudity.
“Max, wait.” Liz was starting to breathe hard.
“What? What is it? Did I do something wrong?” Max asked worriedly as he leaned back a little to look at her.
“It’s just…I’ve never…” Liz’s face was red with embarrassment.
“What do you mean you’ve never…oh…. So you’re…” Max’s face softened at the love he felt for the woman lying beneath him. “We don’t have to do anything, Liz. I’m sorry if I was rushing you to do something you’re not ready for.”
“No.” Liz shook her head, “It’s not that I’m not ready, I am. I want this. It’s just…I don’t know what to do.”
Max kissed her deep. “Just relax and let me love you.”
Max kissed her again, caressing her smooth skin, running his hands all over her body. Liz could only moan, whimper and writhe in response to Max’s touch.
When Max ran his hands down her trim stomach, her breathing became labored. Max placed soft kisses on her belly and placed his hand between her thighs. Liz slowly opened her legs for him and licked her lips in anticipation.
Max felt the heat of her core as his hand drifted to her center. He went up to Liz and whispered sweet nothings in her ear. Slowly he inserted one finger inside her. Liz hissed as she felt Max’s finger going in. Then she relaxed as she felt the tingling sensation begin. Max inserted another and started pumping slowly. Liz was beginning to get so wet and Max moved to kiss her, his tongue matching the pace of his fingers.
Liz was arching her back as a small orgasm began. She moaned against Max’s lips as it went through her body. Once she was relaxed, Max positioned himself above her.
“I don’t want to hurt you.” he told Liz.
“You won’t.” she replied.
Max slowly went in, inch by inch. Liz was hanging on to his shoulders, feeling the fullness of him going deep inside her. When Max reached her hymen, he stopped. He kissed Liz as he pushed in. Liz’s scream was muffled by their kiss, her grip on his shoulders tightening, her nails digging into his skin. Max stilled inside her, allowing her to adjust to him. It was Liz who gave him the go signal to proceed as she lifted her hips slightly.
Once he sheathed himself fully inside her, the flashes began.
**Max as a young boy emerging from the pod**
**Liz being born, her early years as a child showing her intelligence**
**Max playing on the shore with his sister**
**Liz playing dress up**
**Max sensing the other presence within him at the age of four**
**Liz studying, becoming valedictorian, going on to med school**
**Max in the high school varsity team, getting a basketball scholarship to college, getting drafted**
**Liz becoming a doctor**
**Max losing Erin and his baby, feeling the intense wave of sadness and guilt**
**Liz finding Zan, glimpses of her life with her baby**
**Max’s path to destruction as he suffered his loss, then picking his life back up through the help of family and friends **
**Liz’s grief over her parents dying, then living again for Zan**
** Max’s life with his friends**
** Liz giving up being a doctor and running her mother’s shop with Maria**
**Max as a basketball star**
**Liz having Zan checked by doctors then finally deciding to stop**
**Max meeting Zan on the plane, then Liz**
**Liz‘s feelings during the plane crash, the fear when she couldn’t get Zan out of her seat**
**Max finding Liz and Zan**
**Liz meeting Max**
Their bodies kept on going, grinding against each other, dancing the lover’s dance, getting more intense as the flashes continued. When the couple reached their climax, a flash of bright white light encased them without them even knowing it as they only stared into each other’s eyes, calling out each other’s name. Once they came out of their high, the light was gone.
Max looked down at Liz and brushed her hair back with his fingers, threading them through her silky locks.
“I love you, Liz.”
Liz loved the feeling of being in Max’s arms, like it was the right thing, the most natural thing in this world, so she hugged him even tighter, loving the warmth of his body above hers.
“I love you too, Max.”
The lovers kissed and drifted off to sleep, both in bliss knowing that the love one had for the other was returned with the same intensity.
That same night in another part of town, a little girl suddenly opened her eyes as she lied in bed. She looked out at the window and stared at a constellation in the night sky.
It was the constellation of her galaxy, the galaxy of her heritage. She was staring at the ‘V’ constellation of the Whirlwind Galaxy with the planet Antar right in the middle of it.
