Now, I've been slacking on my writing... where the hell is Alex to keep me in shape when I need her?! *lol* But that doesn't mean that I don't have updates ready. I have at least 3 chapters after the one I'm posting finished, so you guys won't be left hanging.
It's great to be back and read all of your feedback. As for what the hell Isabel was thinking in the last chapter... Uhm... I'm really not sure. *LMAO* You'd think I'd have an answer to that, seeing as how I wrote it, but I didn't even think about it. Let's just blame it on the fact that it was her birthday, she was wrapped up in the craziness of her party, and had been drinking. Ok? Ok. *lol*
Ok, I'm shutting up. Thanks again for all the wonderful FB, I love it! Keep it coming, and I hope ya'll enjoy!!!
Chapter Ten
Liz slowly extracted herself from her comforter, which had tangled around her legs during the course of the night. She sat up and after a second or two, managed to pull herself out of bed. She made her way to the bathroom, turning briefly to check the time. The clock on the night stand read 11:48 AM. She groaned, chastising herself for sleeping so late when she had told herself that she would get up early and get some writing done.
She flipped on the bathroom light, mentally going over what she planned on writing today as she brushed her hair up into a ponytail and began brushing her teeth.
Yesterday had been her day to recover from the hangover she’d had after consuming way too many drinks at Isabel’s birthday party. She was told that she didn’t make a terrible impression on Max’s parents, but she couldn’t imagine that she’d made a particularly good impression either.
Max was supposed to be stopping by to hang out with her, hence the reason for wanting to get up early and get some work done. She didn’t understand how, no matter what time it was, Max always seemed to be awake, and full of energy. She mused that it may be due to the fact that he was often woken at odd hours to run into the hospital for a surgery or something.
She finished brushing her teeth and placed her toothbrush back in the holder. She thought briefly about jumping in the shower, but then decided against it. She wanted to go down to the study and get as much writing down as possible before she started doing anything else.
As she descended the stairs, she could hear Tyler, Tristan, and a video game making noises in the livingroom. She couldn’t, for the life of her, figure out what the hell those two would be doing up this early when it wasn’t necessary. She didn’t take the time to go into the livingroom and check it out. She simply went the other direction, towards her work.
“Hey! Be quiet in there, I’m gonna try to work!” She yelled down the hallway as she went into the study, closing the door behind her.
She made her way across the room, walking around her desk and dropping down into the leather chair on the other side. She began booting up her computer, and started her writing ritual.
She opened the bottom drawer of her desk, grabbing a lighter from underneath a stack of papers. She reached across her desk and grabbed the tart warmer that sat near the back of her desk, next to a picture of herself and the twins that she’d had taken two years ago.
After she lit the tea light candle that would warm the wax in the tart warmer, making the entire room smell of her favorite scent from Yankee Candle, she put the lighter back in the drawer and shuffled around the papers on her desk.
She glanced up at the computer screen as it finished booting up, opening her top computer drawer and pulling out her reading glasses. She hated them, and thankfully, she didn’t have to wear them all that often, but with all the staring at the screen that she did, it was necessary to wear them while she worked. Once they were in place, she opened her word document before pulling out her notes and setting them next to her on top of the desk. She stretched, popped her fingers and her neck, then poised her fingers over the keys as she consulted her notes again.
Just as her fingers were going to begin striking the keys, there was a knock at the door. She sighed, dropping back in her leather computer chair. “I’m trying to work.” She yelled in the general direction of the door.
She heard the doorknob turn and the squeaking and groaning of the door as it was pushed open. She tore her gaze away from the computer to glance at the door, then did a double take.
“Girls in glasses are very sexy.” Max smiled at her from where he was leaning against the doorjamb.
“What are you doing here?” Liz asked, getting up from her chair and crossing the room. She wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling his lips down to her.
“Mm.” Max managed as he pulled away, finally looking down at her. “I came to see you.” He pulled her against his chest, dropping a kiss on top of her head. “You weren’t awake when I got here, but the boys were. We’ve been playing video games for the past half hour.”
Liz laughed into his shirt, pulling back and looking up at him. “I wasn’t expecting you to come over until later. I haven’t showered, I haven’t gotten any work done...”
“Well, then, by all means...” Max released her from his grip, giving her a little nudge in the direction of the computer. “You work, I’ll just...” He glanced around the room. “Look around and find something to read.”
“Are you sure?” Liz hedged, even though she was already making her way back towards the desk.
“Yes, I’m sure.” Max assured her, looking through the books that filled the bookcases around the room. “I’ve already found something to read. I’m fine.”
Liz watched as he walked to the other side of the study, dropping down on the chaise lounge and opening the book in front of him. She shrugged, putting all her focus back on writing.
After a minute or two of staring from the screen, to her notes, with nothing really happening, she was hit with an idea. The smile stretched bigger across her lips as the idea became more solid. She grabbed the phone off the cradle next to her, silently cursing when the cord got all tanged in her haste to use the phone. She made a mental note to get a cordless phone for the study before finally untangling the cord, and dialing in the number.
She saw Max looking at her from over the top of his book as she cradled the phone between her ear and her shoulder and began working the mouse on her computer.
“Hello?” A chipper female voice met her on the other end of the line.
“Hello, this is Elizabeth Parker, I need to speak to Robert, please.” Liz said, leaning back in her chair and picking at her nails.
“Of course, Miss Parker. One moment please.” The women told her. Liz still wasn’t sure who the hell that was that always answered the phone. Girlfriend? Secretary? It was anyone’s guess at this point. Robert wasn’t one to talk about personal stuff, well, not his, anyway.
“Hey there, beautiful.” Roberts teasing voice came through.
Liz couldn’t help laughing. “Hey yourself, you sexy thang.” She could see Max’s head shoot up, she’d have to explain that one later. “I have a real quick question for you.”
“Ask away.” Robert said, his tone going back to professional. He always knew when playtime was done, and it was time to get down to business.
“Are you online?” Liz asked. She could practically see the confusion written all over his face. She had to admit, it was a rather random question, but he’d understand soon enough.
“Well, yeah...” He trailed off. “Why?”
“I’m going to shoot you an email real quick. I had an idea, and I was going to email it to you, but I wanted to make sure you were online to get it. I want to know what you think. As soon as you can, get your response back to me.” Liz sat up in her chair, and with a few clicks of the mouse, Robert’s email address was inserted into the email. All that was left was for her to actually type the email.
“I’ll be waiting for it.” He replied.
“Ok, talk to you later.” Liz said, before she placed the phone back on the cradle. Her attention immediately went to the email. She began typing out her idea, which happened to be the idea for a new book, and once she had explained that, she explained why she couldn’t just tell him over the phone.
“So... who was that?” Max asked, trying to sound nonchalant about the whole thing.
Liz’s fingers never stopped their quick, precise movement over the keys as she turned to answer him. “That was Robert, my agent. I had a new idea for a book, and I’m typing it out now and sending it over there. He’s been my agent since I started writing all those years ago, hence the playful banter.” She gave him a knowing smirk.
The tips of his ears gave away the tale-tell signs of his embarrassment over the whole thing, turning a light shade of red. He just nodded, going back to his reading.
Liz glanced back at the screen, reading over what she’d written. Once she was sure that she’d included everything, and that it all made sense, she sent it Roberts way. The only thing left to do now was wait.
She grabbed a piece of paper out of her desk, along with a pen and began making a rough outline of the idea she’d just proposed. If Robert liked it, he’d give her the go-ahead right away, and want to know some more details.
She began scribbling down notes, her writing such that it would make sense to no one else. She wasn’t doing it purposely to keep the story a secret, she just had so many ideas going on at once, she needed to get them out as soon as she could. She just hoped that when the time came, she could actually understand what she’d written.
Her heart did a little skip as her computer beeped, a pop-up appearing in the corner of the screen to let her know that she’d received an email from Robert. She quickly maneuvered the mouse around the screen and opened the email. The response only contained three words.
Love it. Go.
Robert always got right to the point. No one could argue that.
Liz opened a new document and rolled her neck, trying to decide exactly where to begin. She sent one last glance in Max’s direction before the words began taking shape on the page in front of her.
<center>****</center>
His eyes mesmerized her, hypnotized her. It was something about those eyes that had put a spell on her. They pierced into her own, looking straight into her soul. Her entire body hummed with an electric energy as she stared back, unable to look away.
His presence caused every cell in her body to begin buzzing. It was as if his aura had reached out, wrapping around her like a blanket. It warmed her, soothed her, comforted her. There was something about the man in front of her. She couldn’t put her finger on what it was, but the minute she’d laid eyes on him, she’d just known that he was special.
His hand was still encasing her own, radiating heat into her body. She wasn’t sure how long they’d been standing, simply staring at each other, their hands connected in front of them, but she didn’t care. She didn’t want to ever let go. She feared a time when his touch, his eyes, his presence would be gone. She knew it was inevitable that he would leave; They had just met, after all.
She took to scanning every detail of him into her brain. His dark hair, neatly trimmed in the back, and sticking up in the front suited him. His tanned skin made her wonder if he’d just returned from some wonderful vacation on a tropical island. He was taller than her, literally towering over her. It didn’t intimidate her, however. It made her feel safe. He had a wonderful, warm smile, and perfect, pearly white teeth. He was a walking, talking Greek God, and she was struck-dumb by everything about him.
“Liz?” Max’s voice penetrated her thoughts, causing her eyes to snap away from the computer screen and over to where he was still sitting on the lounge.
“Yeah?” She asked, pulling her glasses from their perch on her nose and moving them to sit on top of her head.
“I asked if you were about done.” Max repeated. He’d been calling her name for a good five minutes, but she was obviously enthralled in the world of fiction she’d created on the computer screen. “You’ve been working for nearly two hours.”
“It couldn’t be that long...” Liz trailed off, her eyes immediately zeroing in on the clock in the lower right corner of the computer screen. “Oh. I guess it has been that long.” She saved her work, then closed the program. “I’m sorry I took so long.” She apologized, taking her glasses all the way off and dropping them into the desk drawer.
“It’s ok.” Max smiled, standing from the lounge and stretching. “I just wanted to spend as much time with you today as I can before I leave tomorrow.”
It took a minute for Liz’s brain to fully comprehend his statement. “Wait a minute... you’re leaving tomorrow?”
Max nodded. “I told you that yesterday. I have to go back to Roswell and finish up my two weeks at the hospital and pack and all that before I move up here.”
“Well, I know you told me all that... I just missed the part where you’re leaving tomorrow.” She pouted. “If you would have told me that, I wouldn’t have worked today at all.”
“You have to work, Liz. You can’t drop everything just because of me.” He reasoned.
She stood from her chair, groaning as she realized how sore she was from sitting that long. Once she’d stretched properly, she made her way around the desk and into his open arms. She banded her arms around his waist, resting her head against his chest. “I could have put off working until tomorrow, it really wouldn’t have been a big deal.”
“Well, it’s too late to worry about that, now.” He kissed the top of her head. “Why don’t you run and jump in the shower and I’ll wait with the boys?”
“What are we gonna do?” She asked, pulling back enough to look up into his eyes. His eyes mesmerized her, hypnotized her. That particular line that she’d written flashed into her mind as his eyes looked down into her own. She had no doubt that she’d hit the nail on the head with that description.
“Well, I was actually talking to the boys about this earlier... and we were going to see if you wanted to go play putt-putt.” Max reached up, brushing a tendril of hair out of her face.
“You want to go play putt-putt with me, Tyler and Tristan?” Liz asked, a big smile spreading across her face.
Max shrugged slightly. “Well, yeah. What’s wrong with that?”
Her smile got even bigger as she stretched up on her toes and sealed her lips over his. He was momentarily caught off-guard, but immediately reciprocated the kiss. One of his hands remained on her lower back, holding her body against his as the other came up and cupped the back of her head.
One of her arms made its way up around his neck as she slanted her lips over his, not surprised when she didn’t have to do anything to get him to open his mouth to her. Her tongue snaked into his mouth, slowly, teasingly playing with his.
He couldn’t stop the low moan that escaped his throat. The feel of her body against his, the taste of her mouth, the smell of her perfume... everything about her turned him on.
Somehow, ten minutes passed, and they found themselves tanged in each other on the lounge chair. Max pulled his lips away from hers, looking down at her flushed features and hooded eyes. He glanced around, chuckling a little at where they’d ended up.
“I thought you were going to get ready.” He smirked at her.
She shrugged a little. “You’re distracting.” She told him.
“Well, so are you.” He threw back.
“You’re a very fun distraction though.” She whispered, raising her head from the chair to press her lips to his again.
“Ditto.” He whispered once they’d broke apart. He rested his forehead against hers, content to be near her and look at her. “What was that for?”
“Because you’re amazing.” She said, reaching up to play with the front of his hair. “The fact that you would even think to ask Tyler and Tristan to spend the day with us means more to me than you will ever know.”
He nodded. He’d always gotten the vibe from not only Liz, but the twins as well, that Derrick didn’t really do all that much stuff with them. He had no doubt that Michael and Alex had been there to take the boys out for baseball games, or whatever... but he knew that when Liz was dating someone, the guys were all about Liz. Max wanted to be different, and it appeared that he’d managed to do it.
“Go get ready.” He finally said, pushing himself off the lounge, then helping Liz up as well. “I’ll be in the livingroom with the boys.”
“Ok.” Liz smiled as she watched him go. She couldn’t stop herself from sneaking after him and peeking around the corner into the livingroom.
She watched as Max dropped down onto the floor in between the twins, immediately becoming absorbed into the video game. Tears welled up in her eyes as Tyler groaned, throwing his hands up in the air, obviously upset about what had just happened. Tristan and Max started laughing, both giving Tyler a light shove before Tristan scooped up the controller and he and Max bent their heads together, conspiring over the video game.
As she made her way upstairs, she sighed. She had no idea how she’d managed to get so lucky.
<center>****</center>
Liz dropped back onto the couch, her butt hitting the cushion, before her feet plopped onto the cushion next to her. She threw her arm over her eyes as she let out a sigh. She was absolutely exhausted. After three rounds of putt-putt, she felt like she could sleep forever.
“Tired?” Max asked, picking up her feet and sitting down in the spot they had previously occupied. He grabbed hold of the bottom of one of her sandals, pulling it off her foot and tossing it towards the wall before doing the same with the other, and placing her feet back in his lap.
“Exhausted.” She muttered.
“Well, just keep in mind that it was you that insisted on that third round of putt-putt.” He teased.
“Well, what else was I supposed to do? You’re the one that said that it should be you and me against the boys. We won the first one, then they insisted on a rematch. When they won the second round, they were all gloat-y. They challenged us. What was I supposed to do?” She rambled.
“Alright, you got a point.” Max conceded. “Besides, we won that third round, so it all worked out.”
“Yeah, except that I’m exhausted.” She whined.
“Don’t you have to clean tomorrow, too?” Max asked, running his fingers up and down her calf, which was exposed due to the shorts she’d worn to play golf.
She removed her arm from her eyes to regard him with a confused look. She had absolutely no clue what he was talking about, and couldn’t remember saying anything about cleaning tomorrow. Sure, she knew that it needed to be done, but had she said she was going to clean tomorrow? She was too tired to think straight.
“Mom, I just checked the answering machine...” Tristan began, coming into the livingroom. Liz turned her head against the arm of the sofa to look at him.
“Yeah, and?” She prompted.
“One message from Aunt Maria saying she’d be over bright and early to help you clean and set up.” He paused and shrugged “And another from Pop-Pop saying that he’d see us all tomorrow night for the party.” Tristan finished before turning and leaving the livingroom.
“Oh, God.” Liz groaned, finally realizing what the hell everyone was talking about. “Tomorrow’s the party, isn’t it?!”
Max let a small laugh escape him. “You forgot that tomorrow was your birthday?”
“Yes.” She whined, throwing her arm back over her eyes. “I’d blocked it out.” She let out a long sigh. “I don’t want to clean tomorrow. I don’t want a bunch of people over here. I don’t want to celebrate my birthday. I don’t...” She trailed off, removing her arm from her and eyes and pulling herself off the couch enough to prop up on her elbows and regard him with narrowed eyes. “Wait a minute...”
Max’s eyes grew a little wide as he looked back at her. “Why do I get the feeling that I’m about to be grounded?”
“Didn’t you tell me earlier today that today was your last day here?” Max nodded his head, a small frown appearing on his face. “You’re not going to be here for my birthday?”
“I’m sorry, honey. I have to get back to Roswell. They need me back at the hospital. With me gone, they’re understaffed, and they’ve been stretched really thin.”
“So what are they going to do now that you’re transferring? You won’t be able to run back down there every time they need you, because you’re going to be working up here.”
“They’ve already found someone to replace me, she just can’t make it there until next week.” Max reached out and cupped one of his cheeks in her palm. “I’m sorry. I really tried to extend my vacation another day when I realized...” He trailed off, dropping his head slightly. “I just couldn’t make it happen.”
Liz plastered on a happy face. “It’s ok.” She half shrugged. “Don’t worry about it. We can do something together when you get all settled in up here.”
“You’re not mad?” He questioned.
“No.” She gave him a small smile. “I don’t like my birthday, anyway.”
He grabbed her around the middle, pulling her into his lap and banding his arms around her body. He gave her a soft kiss on the forehead. “We’ll do something special when I get moved up here, ok?”
It took everything in her to withhold the disappointed sigh that desperately wanted to escape her body. She somehow managed to do it, simply nodding against his chest. “Ok.”
TBC...
See ya'll next Tuesday!
