Thanks for the fb guys. Now on with the new part.....
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Chapter 4</center>
Liz walked through the front door, just having come home from work at the hospital. The phone rang just as she kicked off her shoes. “I got it!!” Liz called through the apartment as she jogged towards the phone. “Hello?”
“Hey Lizzie?”
“Daddy!”
“How’s my favorite baby girl doing?”
Liz couldn’t help the wide smile that formed on her face then as she settled on her makeshift bed on the couch. No matter how old she got, she’d always loved it when her father called her “baby girl.” “I’m fine Dad. How are you and Mom? How’s the café?”
“Everything’s fine here. I just wanted to make sure you were dealing with everything okay. You don’t need me to come out there, do you?”
Liz rolled her eyes. She knew her family just wanted to watch out for her, but they acted as if they said the wrong thing around her, she’d dissolve into a ball of tears. No matter how many times she told them she was doing alright, they still tiptoed around her and it really irritated her.
“Dad, I’m fine. Even though I appreciate it, I really wish you and Alex would stop pestering me and threatening Erick’s life. And tell Mom to stop sending me those supposed inspirational emails. They don’t help.”
“What? They’re just tips on how to get rid of stress. With your divorce and school starting up in a few more months, I just want you to be okay.”
“I am Dad. Maria and Michael are being great and letting me stay with them until I figure out something out.”
He let out a long sigh on the other end, causing Liz to smile. “Okay. But promise me you’ll call if you need anything.”
“I promise.”
“Good. Now I have to go before this new cook we hired burns down my restaurant. Mom said she’ll call you later.”
“Okay. Bye Dad.”
“Love you.”
“Love you too.” Liz hung up and began flipping through the channels for something interesting to watch.
“Who was it Liz?” Maria asked when she emerged from the bedroom dressed in an elegant red gown. Her hair was done up in an intrigue pattern with a few of her curly locks falling around her face.
“My Dad. Why are you so dressed up?”
“Three year anniversary,” she answered with a bright smile. Michael trudged into the living room moments later, looking very uncomfortable, yet handsome in his suit.
“Let’s go so we can get back before the game comes on,” he griped.
“Oh we’re staying out all night hair boy. I deserve something for putting up with you for three years. Besides, that’s what VCRs are for.”
Michael rolled his eyes in response, and Liz giggled. Maria had him so whipped and as much as he acted like he didn’t care, Liz knew he did. It was obvious how much he loved Maria and she found herself jealous of their relationship regardless of the many arguments they had. True love is what they had and what Liz wanted.
“What are you up to tonight Liz?”
Liz shrugged, staring drearily at the T.V. “Probably watch a movie.” She caught the look exchanged between Maria and Michael and she knew what was coming next.
“Why don’t you come with us?” Michael offered.
Liz smiled, caught between being thankful that she had friends that cared about her and feeling like crap that her friends pitied her.
“No thanks. You guys go and have fun. It’s your night to be alone.” Maria shot her a sympathetic smile.
“You sure?” Maria queried.
“Yes. Go and have fun.” She watched them with a reassuring smile as they headed out the door.
Now alone and bored, Liz picked up the phone and called Alex, hoping that he was home.
“Hello?” he answered.
“Hey Alex, What are you up to tonight?”
“I have a date,” he said. She could just hear the excitement in his voice as if he were a kid on Christmas.
“Is this the same girl you were in the bathroom with at the club last week?”
“Yep. See, your big bro has some moves of his own.”
“Whatever,” she muttered.
“I gotta go. I’ll talk to you later.”
“Bye Alex.” Liz hung up, disappointed that she seemed to be the only one without anything to do.
She abruptly wondered what Max was doing. The thought of seeing Max made her giddy all of a sudden and she bounced to her suitcase in the corner of the room which was also her closet and changed clothes before she left the apartment. They had hung out a couple of times and had become good friends.
She pressed the button to summon the elevator and it didn’t take long for the doors to slide open. But when they did, she jumped back in horror when she witnessed Max and some woman huddled up in the corner of the elevator, wrapped up in a heated embrace. They jumped apart, but not fast enough for Liz not to get an eyeful of the couple.
“Liz!... Um… hi,” Max stuttered breathlessly.
“Hi…. Um, I was just coming up to see you,” her eyes flickered to the blonde woman who was now reapplying lip stick on the other side of the elevator. “I mean, to see if you wanted to go out to dinner or something.” She dropped her eyes to the floor, embarrassed at how awkward and lame she sounded. “I’ll uh… I’ll just go now.” Swiveling around, Liz hurried back to the apartment before she could burst into tears. Funny thing was, she didn’t even know why she was crying.
************
Liz opened the package of meat and placed it in the skillet, thankful that the sizzle drowned out the soft moans coming from in the bedroom. Liz had gotten used to Michael and Maria disappearing into their room at random times of the day, but today, they were extremely horny for some reason and if she had to sit here and listen to Maria screaming in pleasure one more time, she was going to go crazy.
Liz left the meat to cook and answered the knock on the door.
“Hey Liz,” Max greeted her. Liz stepped aside to let him in before she closed the door.
Liz had been avoiding Max after the incident in the elevator a few days ago. She had no idea what to say to him and she was too embarrassed to look him in the eye. She knew she would have to see him sooner or later, but she just hoped it was later.
“What brings you by?”
“I just wanted to see if you wanted to come out with me. But it looks like you’ve got dinner already started,” he said as he followed her into the kitchen.
“You can stay if you like. I’m making nachos,” she said as she checked the meat before she leaned against the counter.
Max opened his mouth to respond but was interrupted by a loud moan coming from the bedroom. “Please tell me they’re not doing what I think they’re doing,” Max said with a grimace.
“They’ve been at it all day,” Liz sighed.
Max moved beside her and leaned against the counter. “And you’ve been here listening to them? Why didn’t you come up to my place? We could’ve hung out.”
“I didn’t want to bother you,” she said as she bit her lip.
He reached out and brushed his hand against her arm. “You don’t bothered me. We could go see a movie after dinner if you want.”
“Yeah. I’d like that.” She smiled, glad that the uneasiness she felt when he first came in started to melt away. Liz turned to tend to the meat cooking in the skillet, and she added the sauce before she turned back to Max. She found him looking at her and he smiled before dropping his eyes.
“What do you want to see? I know you’re into comedies with the way you snorted when you laughed when we watched “There’s Something About Mary,” he laughed.
“Max I told you not to mention that again,” she laughed as she lightly pushed his arm.
“Don’t worry, it’ll be our little secret,” he said with a wink of his eye.
“I’d better stay that way. Just remember you told me some stories and I have dirt on you Evans.”
“Point taken,” he laughed. Liz laughed along with him, but then made the mistake of maintaining eye contact with him for too long. His eyes had a way of drawing her in and keeping her there until she was weak in the knees.
Apparently they had been staring longer than she thought because the next thing she knew, she was smelling smoke ad scrapping the burned food into the garbage.
“Well,” Max said as he waved away the smoke and ushered Liz out of the kitchen. “I guess this means we’re going out for dinner too, since the kitchen is now ablaze?”
Liz narrowed her eyes as she shoved on her shoes. “Are you making fun of me?”
“I’m not saying anything,” he chuckled. “Although I think you’d better open a window before you smoke out the whole apartment building.”
Liz stuck her tongue out at him and the two left the apartment. They took a cab to a restaurant a little ways from the apartment.
Liz was enjoying herself and her company. But her fun came to a screeching halt when she saw Erick and his date walking into the restaurant.
“You okay?” Max asked her with she stiffened. Liz tore her eyes from the door and glanced at Max. He turned to see what she was looking at.
“That guy that’s with that blonde girl… that’s Erick.”
“You wanna leave?”
She nodded frantically. “Please.” Liz wasn’t sure if the girl he was with was the same girl he was cheating with, but she couldn’t care less. She did not want to see him right now and she’d rather just leave.
Before Max could call for a check, Erick and his date walked passed their table.
“Liz! Oh my God! What a surprise!” he exclaimed as if they weren’t in a middle of a divorce and he hadn’t cheated on her.
Liz poured herself a glass of champagne and gulped it down. He made her feel so uncomfortable and she knew this was not going to be pleasant.
“You know Angel don’t you?”
“Hey, could you move along. We’re trying to have dinner here,” Max said, looking a little more that annoyed.
“Look, lover boy, I was talking to my wife!” Erick spat.
Max jumped to his feet and towered over the shorter man “Your ex-wife is with me now, so back off!” Max returned. Everyone in the restaurant was looking at them now and Liz filled her glass once more and again chugged it down as the situation quickly escalated.
“We’re not divorced yet. She’s still my wife. What she couldn’t wait to get rid of me to start whoring up the city.”
Liz saw Max’s fists tightening at his sides and she jumped in front of him before he could swing his heavy hand at Erick.
“Max, wait!” Max lowered his fist and looked down at her, his eyes burning in fury. “Just leave it alone, okay? Just let it go.”
“But Liz…”
“If I were you I’d take the little skank’s advice. It’d save you a lot of money in hospital bills,” Erick snickered behind her.
Liz spun around, her fist connecting with his jaw before any of them had a chance to blink. Her head spinning and her vision blurring, Liz stumbled back into Max and he caught her in his arms while Erick stumbled backwards, crashing into Angel and the two went tumbling to the floor.
Just then, the manager of the restaurant appeared at the scene. “What’s going on here? Is everything okay here Mr. Evans?”
“No Frank, it’s not. This man is disturbing me and my date and I’d appreciate it if he were escorted out,” Max answered in a very controlled tone as he pulled Liz away from Erick.
“Of course.” Liz watched as Frank grabbed Erick and his date and pulled them to their feet. He walked them to the door and Max pulled Liz back into their booth.
“Is your hand okay?” he asked as he took her small fist in his hands and examined it carefully.
“It’s a little sore.”
“Remind me not to piss you off,” Max chuckled. “And here you are trying to calm me down and you go and wail on him!! High-larious!!” he laughed. Liz didn’t return his laughter and soon he was wrapping his arms around her. “Hey, you okay.” He lifted her chin and by the softening of his eyes, she knew he’d seen the tears swimming in her eyes.
“I’m fine,” she mumbled. “I just scared myself. I’ve never been that angry before. It just sprung up on me all of a sudden.”
Max rubbed her arm as she shakily poured herself another glass of champagne. “You gonna be okay?”
“Yeah,” she mumbled into her glass. “What was with that manager guy calling you “Mr. Evans?”
“Did I forget to mention that my parents own this restaurant? Hence the name Isabella, named after my older sister. I swear she thinks she owns the world just because she has a restaurant named after her.” Liz giggled as she leaned deep in his embrace.
“Um… you wanna slow down on the champagne?” Max said as she gulped down the rest of her glass. “We haven’t even had dinner yet.”
“Sorry. I’m just a little shaken.” Max comforted her and tried to take her mind off of Erick.
By the end of their dinner, Liz had consumed enough champagne to get her pretty drunk. Barely able to stand on her own, she leaned against Max outside of the restaurant as he tried to hail a cab and keep her from wandering off at the same time.
“Dis is why I don drink,” she slurred. “Last time I got drunk was in my freshman year an I woke up with two new tattoos,” she giggled.
“Little Miss Elizabeth has tattoos?” Max chuckled.
Liz shrugged out of Max’s hold and pulled up her shirt, showing off her cleavage and a butterfly tattoo on her right breast.
“Liz!” Max hissed as he pulled down her shirt. Again, she shrugged out of his hold and turned around, lifting up her shirt again to show off the rose on her lower back.
Liz faintly realized that people were stopping to stare, but she didn’t care. Her head was spinning and her tongue was heavy and before she knew it, she was being shoved into a cab.
“As much as I would like to see that tattoo again and your… assets, I’d rather you not show it on the busy streets of New York,” he told her.
Liz giggled and leaned against him. She could tell that he was still talking to her, but her head hurt too much to figure out what he was saying. Instead, she breathed in his fresh scent, closed her eyes and drifted off, feeling safe in his arms.
***********
Waking up in Max’s arms as he carried her into the elevator was the next thing Liz remembered. Nuzzling her nose against the cool fabric of his shirt, she tightened her arms around his neck as a wave of nausea hit her.
She felt a dull pounding in her head and she moaned, causing Max to turn his attention to her. “Hey,” he said with a soft smile. “I got a little worried when you conked out in the cab,” he commented with a quiet laugh. He kept his voice low, seemingly fully aware of her pounding headache and for that she was thankful.
“I’ll never drink ‘gain,” she groaned, wincing at the loudness of her own voice. Her nausea increased once the elevator was set in motion and her stomach flipped.
“I take it you’re not a big drinker,” he chuckled.
Struggling to keep her eyes open and the vomit rising in her throat down, Liz slowly shook her head. “I’ma sloppy drunk. You think I’ma sloppy drunk?” she slurred looking up at him with clouded eyes.
“Yes,” he laughed. “But I must admit that I’m no better than you are. Just promise you’ll take care of me when I’m the one stumbling and making a fool of myself.”
“Only if you can get me to a bafroom before I puke all over your shirt.”
He smiled as the elevator doors opened and he stepped out. “Deal.”
Max got her to the bathroom in time. He pulled back her hair and she faintly felt him stroking her back. When she finished, he appeared at her side with a glass of water and she thankfully drunk it down.
Her stomach finally settled and she noticed that Michael and Maria’s bathroom didn’t look the same as it did before she left to go to dinner with Max. She also wondered how he got into their apartment without a key. Michael or Maria hadn’t let them in. Had they?
The pounding in her head intensified and she decided that thinking wasn’t the best thing to do right now.
“You okay?” he asked as he kneeled before her.
Liz started to nod, but thought better of it when the room began to spin and she couldn’t get it to stop. She leaned forward, pressing her face into Max’s chest. She felt his arms embrace her and she relaxed into him. He smelled like soap and his chest was hard against her cheek. Pulling away slightly, she stared at the two opened buttons on his shirt and wondered what he looked like without it on.
She lifted her tiny hands and rested them on his chest. His muscles jumped beneath her finger tips as she ran them down to his waist and back up again. Her eyes drifted to his well-built arms before dropping lower. Her gazed lingered on the tent in his jeans before moving to his powerful thighs she knew he had.
“See anything you like?” he whispered in her ear. Her eyes met his and she raised her hand to his cheek. Her gaze flickered to where her thumb rested on his lips and she wanted to kiss him. She wondered what his lips tasted like and that was her last thought before she passed out for the night.
***********
Her raging headache and the urgency to get to the bathroom was the first thing Liz noticed when she awoke the next morning. The next thing was that she wasn’t on the couch in Michael and Maria’s apartment and that Max’s handsome face was just inches from hers, his muscled arm resting beneath her cheek. He was sleeping on top of the covers and his shirt was gone, but he still sported the same jeans he wore last night.
She tried to remember what happened last night, but every time she got close to remembering, it got blurry and harder to put the pieces together of how she got from the restaurant to Max’s bed.
Liz studied his heavy arm that was thrown over her waist, before moving to his sculpted chest. Her eyes dropped once more to his jeans and she squirmed at the sight of his boxers peeking out from his jeans. Before she had the chance to drool at the sight of his body, he stirred and she quickly snapped her eyes back to his face, afraid of being caught staring.
“Morning,” she said as his eyes fluttered open.
“Hey,” he grunted sleepily as his arm tightened around her. “I meant to sleep on the couch, but I kind of nodded off before I made it,” he laughed.
“It’s okay,” she smiled, but it quickly dropped when she felt the bile rise in her throat and she scrambled to get out of bed. She made it to the bathroom just in time before she heaved into the toilet.
Max appeared next to her with a glass of water and she took it gratefully. “This is exactly why I don’t drink,” she groaned as Max carried her back to his bed. “What happened to my clothes?” she asked him when she noticed that the oversized shirt she was wearing obviously wasn’t hers.
“Oh… Um, I just thought you might want to be comfortable.” Liz blushed at the thought of Max seeing her that way.
“Thank you… you know for taking care of me,” she shyly as she burrowed under the covers. It smelled like Max and she took in a deep breath to breathe in his scent. “I don’t drink very often and when I do, it takes very little to pull me under.”
“After you flashed everyone on the street, I kinda figured that,” he laughed. Liz groaned in embarrassment as Max continued to laugh at her. “You remember punching Erick?”
It was fuzzy, but she did remember doing that. “I don’t understand it. Why didn’t I see the real him? I mean, am I that unattractive that he had to go out and get someone else?”
Max laid next to her and brushed a strand of her hair behind her ear. Liz easily leaned into his caress. “Liz, believe me, you are not unattractive.”
“Because I know for a fact that if you hadn’t of puked your guts out just a few minutes ago, I would be hitting on you so hard right now,” he said seriously. Liz laughed and playfully slapped his arm. And she spent the rest of the day in his comforting presence.
TBC……..
I'll be back Wednesday!
At least it's working. 
Anyway here's a brand new part and I'll be back Sunday with another one. I hope you enjoy!!