As always, a longer chapter to make it up to you guys... I'll be back later to answer any FB, meanwhile... enjoy!
Time Changes Everything
Chapter 21
Liz clambered on the rock beside Max, leaning slightly into his chest, her eyes traveling from his face up toward the midnight sky. Glistening diamonds and a shadowless moon greeted her. Liz knew why Max had bought her here, the silent dazzling luminosity of the sky ricocheted against elemental sound of water, that came from the small stream beside them…the whole atmosphere was simply brilliant and serene. She remembered with a small tremor, that tonight wasn't unlike many nights she lay in his arms on her balcony.
“Here you go flu-face, personal slave at your call,” Max grinned as he passed a large cup of soup to Liz, but his smile quickly disappeared when he realized that she wasn’t reciprocating in any way. Her eyes were swollen, her breathing heavy and her color pale.
She grabbed the cup from him, whispered a small “Thanks, Max,” before collapsing under a huge blanket on her lounge chair.
“You’re welcome, Parker. Why is it you’re always so much more thankful when you’re ill?” His words may have been playful, but an underlying concern overtook them. There was something extremely disconcerting about seeing the normally crazily lively girl who he called his best friend, so frail and feeble.
Liz sniffed in a dignified manner, eyeing Max as he picked up the blanket and slid beside her easily, throwing one arm around her due to the lack of room, “because you’re so much more domesticated.”
Ah. There it was. The wry comeback that he had missed so much.
“You make me sound like a dog.” Max rolled his eyes, noticing the way she settled perfectly in his arms.
“No I don’t…” Liz answered, still sniffing, “… more wifely.”
Max laughed, nudging at her hair playfully, “Wifely, huh?”
“Yep. You are the best wife I’ve ever had,” Liz smiled.
It was the first time she had smiled all day. It had made all his tireless effort with her worth it. “As long as I’m the best,” Max retorted playfully.
“Yes, definitely the best.”
Liz let out a small yawn, and snuggling against Max’s hard and comforting chest. It was so warm and peaceful lying in his arms. Being with Max was a type of safeness that she had never felt with anyone else. It made her forget that she was ill. And that was quite something, since this was the worst cold that she had ever had.
He had slept in her room for the last two days, giving her medication and occasionally annoying the hell out of her, but the sweet gesture wasn't missed. Max was always so loving like that, Liz knew he would stay for a week if she didn’t tell him to go.
She coughed lightly, turning her head upward, toward Max, “Don’t you have that game tomorrow?”
“Yeah, I do.”
“You’ll catch my cold…”
There was a pause whilst Max obviously contemplated what she was trying to say. But the moment of contemplation was only short.
“I have a good immune system.”
Liz tried to cover the smile that had lit up her insides. Of course, he’d never leave her when she was ill.
“Well Max, don’t blame me when you keel over in that game,” Liz mumbled, “I’m all infectious, sore throaty and infectious…”
"Liz," Max said, softly stroking her cheek.
“What?”
“Shut up.”
Liz groaned, “You don’t have to do this-“
“Really, shut up. Plus, I like it out here.”
Liz paused in thought, relishing his presence and the midnight air that surrounded them. “It’s nice isn’t it? It’s like our own little world, just like that tree house.”
“Except your Mom didn’t tend to walk into that tree house”
Liz giggled. “Sorry about her, she doesn’t do well with the male sex in general.”
“Ouch.”
“It’s true, I think when my Mom was my age, she just expected to be screwed over and ten years later she was. It’s like you expect something so much… that it just happens.”
“Hm,” Max said biting his lip, “What about us?”
“What about us?”
“Do you ever wonder about us? …Where we’ll be in ten years? I mean you’re obviously going to be some kind of basketball champion, and I’ll be – I dunno a famous photographer… hey, don’t snort!”
Liz tried to hold at the bubbling laughter within her, “Okay, I’m sorry. Yeah, you’ll be a famous photographer, and we’ll have loads of famous photographs in our apartment-”
“Our apartment?” Max asked eyebrows raised.
“Yeah, why?”
“We won’t have an apartment. In ten years we’ll be residing in a house in South Africa.”
“What?” Liz asked skeptically.
“South Africa. It’d be a great place for landscape photography –Liz, you’re snorting again!”
Liz put her hands up in surrender, “Fine. I’m sure Africa is nice and all, but there’s no way I’m moving to South Africa.”
“Why the hell not?” Max asked stubbornly.
“Just ‘cause I say so.”
“That’s a stupid reason.”
“Don’t argue.”
“Seriously-“
“No arguing Max. I‘m ill.”
There was a hefty silence, where Liz thought Max was probably thinking of some counter argument, when his body relaxed and his arm gently threaded its self around her waist.
“Good night, Liz.”
Liz smiled as she snuggled against him, closing her eyes against his chest. She didn’t care where the hell she was in ten years time, as long as she was with him.
-----
Liz turned to look at Max, wondering if he was thinking the same thing. Half of their teenage lives had been spent on that balcony. But she didn’t bring it up, thinking of the past still caused a bitter sweet pang in her chest and frankly, she was enjoying this moment too much to want to re-live the heartache that had happened. It was a quiet moment, a moment full of peace and forgotten years.
Max was still staring upward and she elbowed him lightly to shake him from his thoughts. “I didn’t know you were into that stuff, Max.”
Max glanced at her shyly, “I had a lot of time to just stare up at the sky.”
Liz smiled, “And I thought you had a busy life?”
Max gave her a mock threatening look and Liz playfully moved away from him, before she broke out into laughter and fell back into him. Max leaned into her, taking in the smell of her hair and the familiarity of her presence.
“You can say, I've learned how to chew gum and walk at the same time.”
“Quite an achievement.”
Max rolled his eyes, noticing that her laughter alone was arousing to the senses. He had forgotten how distinctly genuine it was. There was nothing better to raise your spirits, than Liz’s laughter. How had he managed to live without this for so long? How had he managed to pass his evening without smelling her hair, or listening to her voice? Liz caught his eyes and raised her eyebrows at him in inquiry. However there was no answer to the unspoken question that she asked.
How could he tell her that his body was aching to touch her, taste her and feel her in his palms? How much he ached to breath her apple scent and run his hand through her hair, and do all that she had longed from him for so many years? Just sitting next to her was torture on its own. As was the fact that she belonged to someone else.
Liz was forbidden to him, and it was driving him absolutely crazy. To add to everything, the proximity and the positioning of her arm across his thigh wasn’t helping to the tension that was slicing his skin.
Max watched her carefully, “I hope you don’t mind me saying this… but I’m glad Kyle had to go.”
“And why is that?” Her smile faded, but it didn’t disappear completely. It was good that she was finally becoming open to him. Everything he said wasn’t being answered defensively anymore. She was responding to him like he had always remembered.
“He was getting in the way of me wanting to spend time with you,” Max said carefully, “I don’t think he was too happy with our proximity…” he trailed off knowing that he was testing extremely volatile waters.
Liz screwed her eyebrows in disagreement. “I don’t think so. No, he was fine.”
“Yet you look surprised.”
Liz shrugged, “I am… kind of,” she turned toward Max, meeting his curious amber eyes.
“Kyle’s always been pretty protective, but it’s a good thing, right? I mean its good that he’s being really sweet and after all, that’s all that c-counts,” Liz gulped, beginning to stutter at her explanation of Kyle's behavior, because Max had been looking at her this strange way all evening, causing a billion different emotions to bubble through her body.
She swallowed, forcing herself to continue, “It’s better than him being all jealous. I mean admittedly I don’t know if I could…”
….He wasn’t just looking. He was totally staring at her.
And it came back with a jolt of utmost fervency at how jittery that intense look of his made her feel. He looked like he was ready to eat her up alive.
“Um, Max?” Liz breathed, feeling warmth rise to her cheeks. Max wasn’t invading her in any way, yet that look was absolutely intrusive.
She gave him a small push on the shoulder to break him out of whatever world he disappeared into, but instead of coming back, Max did the strangest thing. Leaning forward, he stroked a stray hair away from her face and then like he did it every day, cupped her face in his hand.
“What are you doing?” She was surprised at how calm her voice was in comparison to the shaking that had overcome her body.
“Taking you in. I never thought I’d be able to see you like this again, and I’m imprinting you in my mind just in case you decide to go again.”
Liz opened her mouth and in shock, closed it again, when she spoke her voice was squeaky. “I uh, I don’t think that’s happening.”
“Is that a promise?”
Liz bit her lip in shy contemplation, “Well, there are no promises Max. But I wouldn’t think so. Our friendship has spent enough time apart.”
Max nodded, not missing the way she had emphasized that all they had, had was friendship. Yet, they both knew that it had been so much more than that. It was just that he had taken so long to realize and inadvertently caused a lot of heartache because of it. And now he was torn in two, what was Max to do? Continue living a lie and pretend that they had always been just friends, or take a risk that could ruin them both? He had made a lot of hard decisions in his life, but this was possibly the hardest of them all, because he knew how harsh the consequence could be.
However, now that Liz was sitting next to him, comfortable and smiling, he couldn’t help but probe further. It was impossible not to.
“So now that we’re becoming good friends again, can I ask you something?”
“Anything.”
Max paused, hoping that his risk would be worth it. “You know all these years have passed between the both of us. Our dynamic has changed. We’ve become more mature… you probably more than me, but all the same, we’ve experienced far more than high school.”
“Yep,” Liz agreed, hanging on to his words.
“Now lets just say our lives were slightly different, lets just say for example you were single and I was available as ever…would you ever consider--”
“No.”
Max straightened, feeling like he had been slapped around the face. She hadn’t even given him a chance to finish the question.
“No?”
“No, Max. I wouldn’t date you,” She paused briefly, her eyes flickering with something raw, “ I … I guess I could never forget that you chose someone else over me. I was always there, but you never noticed me. You never recognized me for who I was…so, no.”
Max stared. Liz had never been second best to him. How could he explain that he had been clouded and confused, and that he had always loved her with his whole heart?
“You always brushed me off, Liz. I think a guy eventually has to accept that his best friend just probably isn’t interested.”
Liz’s eyes were brilliant and wide, “That’s bullshit, Max and you know it. When did you ever even look at me as more than a friend?”
The air around them was growing thicker with tension, yet Max couldn’t help but retort back. The feelings from lost yesterdays enveloping him,
“The signs were subtle, Liz, like that night at the club… you were always so reluctant …and I didn’t want to jeopardize -”
“--so you went right ahead and fell in love with someone else right in front of me?”
He couldn’t help but reel at the pure hurt in her tone. Nor could he miss the way her eyes had started to swim with angry tears.
“Liz…”
God. He didn’t want this. He never wanted this. Please don’t cry, Liz. Don’t cry…
“You got her pregnant Max. You had a child together,” she accused like he had committed the biggest sin in the world.
She was right, perhaps he should have tried more with her, perhaps he should have pushed for more than friendship… but he had been young and scared, and when it came to Liz, he had always been so careful about their relationship. Then Serena had arrived and things had changed so drastically, that he hardly had time to process any of it.
Sorrow tugged at his heart strings as he watched her. He had single handedly caused her all this pain. He had broken past the barrier she had created between them and there was no way to stop what she was letting loose.
“I don’t even know why you’re asking me this,” Liz cried, “You won’t understand Max. You’ll never understand what it’s like to be utterly in love with someone and watch them be with someone else.”
Max softly touched her fingers, hoping to offer her some comfort, but it didn’t work. She continued to shake her head at herself, warding off emotions only known to her. He knew it then. It had been a bad idea to bring it all up. Liz wasn’t ready to recall the past, and nor was he. He hated the feeling of guilt that had overtaken his body, but mainly he just hated seeing her so sad.
“…you wouldn’t even understand one bit what it felt like to see you all over another girl, while I just yearned.”
“Liz, please,” Max coaxed, trying to find a way to make her stop.
God, What had he done? “Let’s just forget –“
“The jealousy and the rage is crazy… But mainly it’s the hurt. You wouldn’t understand what it’s like to feel that sad, you wouldn’t –“
“Stop saying that!”
Unexpectant words of fury flew from Max’s mouth. Why did she keep saying he didn’t get it? He was beginning to ‘get it’ completely and quite karmically it wasn’t the nicest feeling in the world. Perhaps he would never understand the sorrow that Liz had been through, but the pure rage of what he felt when she was with Kyle gave him a quite a front seat taste. In fact, seeing Liz love someone the way he wanted her to love him was probably the most heart wrenching thing that he had possibly experienced.
“But you don’t Max. That’s the problem. You don’t get it!” Liz screamed.
“I’m getting a damned good idea,” Max gritted angrily, turning away from her.
They both sat still. An unearthly silence, overhauled by the music of the lake beside them, realizations and dread dawning.
“Fuck,” Max groaned under his breath, suddenly breaking the silence. Max was well regarded for his well kept disposition, but right now he felt anything but calm. There seemed to be only two people in the world that could send him into an utter frenzy and that was his daughter and Liz.
Liz’s mouth had dropped to the ground and she was staring at him, brow changing from fury to gentle realization.
He heard her then. Her voice was trembling, “You’re what?”
Max climbed off the rock and nodded toward the opening that led back to their camp.
“Never mind. Let’s go.”
He had to get out of here, before he lost her all over again.
Max started walking. Only too aware of her eyes boring holes into his back. Maybe if he brushed everything off she wouldn’t think anything of it. Perhaps they could just go to sleep and in the morning she would have forgotten this little encounter, which was becoming more and more awkward by the second.
Realizing that the leaves were only scrunching under his own feet, he turned back. She was sitting in exactly the same place, unmoving.
“Liz, are you coming?”
Liz’s could hear her own breath. It was coming out heavy, like she had been running. And how she wanted to run, to just get away and pretend that she didn’t have to deal with this issue that had become so much a part of her life, that she couldn’t remember a day when it hadn’t clouded her thoughts.
“What if Max had loved me?” So many what ifs…
She also knew that doing what she was doing now was possibly the most dangerous thing to the world she had created without Max, but she asked anyway.
Liz slid off the rock,“Are you saying what I think you’re saying, Max?”
“Christ Liz, it doesn’t matter what I’m saying, okay? What I’m saying won’t help you.” He paused, hoping that somehow she might understand, yet she continued staring, questioningly, seeking answers.
Max spoke slowly, when she continued staring adamantly with those wide, shocked eyes of hers, “You’re happy… aren’t you?”
Liz didn’t reply, only too aware of how hard her heart was thumping in her chest. She could easily remain in blissful ignorance. Yet there was no question as to what she was going to do. “Max,” Liz gulped, tears stinging the back of her eyes, “are you saying… what I think you’re saying?” His face was reluctant, and even though she had pretty much figured it out, the shock sent her reeling.
“Yeah… I…Liz, I love you.”
There he had said it. He hadn’t planned to, but be it right or wrong, it was out in the open. On display to toy with it as much as she liked. Max was also aware that everything that happened after this was going to be in Liz’s hands and he had handed her his heart on an extremely fragile platter.
Max’s heart hurt at the way Liz’s eyes were pooling with tears. It’s not like he hadn’t made her cry enough, and he was doing it all over again. It almost made him want to turn, walk away and just disappear from her life, because all he seemed to do was cause her pain. But words were too hard to stop. They spilt from his mouth unreigned.
“I wasn’t going to say this, but I can’t seem to stop myself…you’re here…with me again… and you’re just so damned irresistible and god, I’ve missed you so much. You’re what makes me complete. Now that I’m with you I think of the years that I led without you and they seem so empty…”
Max took a deep breath, closing the small distance between them, “And if I was selfish I would ask you to leave Kyle and just be with me so I can kiss you, touch you and just…love you… but I can’t. I can’t because I’ve taken so much from you already, Liz. I can’t do it anymore. It wouldn’t be right. You asked me to give you space and I am… and now its up to you to decide if you still feel the same way.”
Oh, how he wished that she felt the same.
When Max finished, an uncomfortable silence filled the air around them. Liz was looking at him like he had suggested the most crazy thing, yet unstoppable tears continued to file down her cheeks one at a time.
Max groaned, wiping at her cheeks, “Oh god, baby. I didn’t mean to make you cry. All I seem to do is make you cry.”
Liz’s hiccupped; whole body was shaking in a crazy, unexplainable way. He was barely touching her, yet she was already become a whole mass of nothing. She took a deep gulp of forest air, as he stroked her cheeks, brushing at the tears that had just sprouted out of thin air.
God, she was such a moron. Why did she break so easily around him? What was it about Max that made her so weak?
His face was close to hers, his amber eyes drinking her in, searching her eyes, penetrating her soul, waiting. It was exactly what she had yearned for so many years. For Max to say these very words and look at her the way he was now and make her believe that her dreams were true…
It was too late now. She had another life. She had Kyle--
--but damn, he was so beautiful, and the way his thumb was subconsciously stroking her lower lip, wasn’t helping her turn him down any easier.
Liz took a tiny step forward, and noticed the way Max’s pupils dilated hungrily in response. It would be so easy to kiss him, especially now that all the desire and love that she had ever felt was reciprocated…It would take a mere second. One second of pure bliss that she would remember forever. Liz knew it was wrong, but she was too tempted with desire to pull away. Slowly, she placed her fingers over Max’s hand on her cheek, and tilted her face toward him.
Max took a deep breath, a little shocked that she was responding. He still remembered their first kiss, that night on the bleachers with utmost clarity. Back then she had been sad and crying too, but only now did he understand why he had ached so much when she had gone. He could almost taste the salty residue of her tears, and the soft velvet of her mouth and the softness of his cheek against his.
His free hand wondered into her soft, brilliant hair. There had been so many times that he had wanted to run his hands through it just as he was now. Wanted to feel if it really was as soft and silky as it looked, but it had always been so inappropriate. It had always seemed so wrong, and he had always been afraid that she wouldn’t respond the way she was. Max’s own body was responding at the way her heart shaped mouth had dropped open and her eyes had become darker in longing, he took a slight step forward, willing her to close the distance between them.
She didn’t.
An awkward silence overtook them and Max bent his head toward her in anticipation.
Liz shrugged her head and moved back abruptly, struggling a little as Max’s hand found its way out of her hair.
“I can’t. I’m sorry…” Liz wiped her damp cheek, turning to her side, an invisible wall of defense appearing between them.
Kicked down to reality, Max closed his eyes briefly, “I shouldn’t have bought it all up like that. I don’t quite know what happened.” He tried to explain at what had overcome him, but she was turning away from him and without another word Liz strolled past him, heading toward the opening of the campsite.
“You shouldn’t have, Max. You really shouldn’t have. It’s really wrong that you did.”
Max watched Liz’s back helplessly, a fragile silhouette holding herself in the dark.
He waited for her to speak, but nothing came. She didn’t move toward him, nor did she move away.
“So what now?” Max asked, walking toward her, stopping a few steps behind. He had crossed a line, he had told her how he felt, and she hadn’t responded well. It was a risk he had taken, knowing the consequences and now he had to bear the brunt of whatever happened. “I mean, what are you going to do?”
Liz spun around to face him, “What about me? So now you care?”
“Liz, please?” Why didn’t she get that this was hard on him too?
Liz eyes flew up to face him, and her voice was harsh when she said, “I don’t love you Max. Not anymore.”
Max coughed. Trying not to choke at the forthrightness of her words.
“Okay.”
“Okay? Is that it?” Liz bit viciously.
“What do you want me to say?”
You’ve broken me completely. I can hardly breathe. I feel like I’m going to choke, didn’t quite cut what he was feeling. But then again, perhaps he deserved it. He had done the same to her afterall.
Liz shook her head, “I’m sorry, I better go,” she turned on her heel and stumbled out of the opening. She needed to get away, go somewhere she could think things through. That’s if she could remember where the hell she was going. She was so damned confused!
“Liz?”
“This is all getting awkward,” Liz breathed tightly, “I guess we were aiming to high with the whole friendship thing.”
“I still want to be friends with you.”
She bit her lip, hesitantly. “Really?” After everything?
“Please let me have that if nothing else,” Max pleaded.
Liz wanted to be logical with what she did, but she was so overcome with emotion right now, that logical was the last thing on her mind. She sighed, “won’t it be weird for you, Max?”
“Is it for you?”
Max didn’t think ‘weird’ was the issue here. The issue was that both of them wanted the other in their life.
Liz swallowed, “No…I… I need time to think about this.”
“Sure,” Max nodded encouragingly, “We’ll work this out.”
Liz smiled weakly, feeling drained and bewildered out of her mind.
“I have to go Max.” Liz pointed toward her tent. If she didn’t go right now she was going to lose it completely.
“Goodnight.”
Liz nodded politely and was gone.
Max watched her disappear into her tent with a restraint that he didn’t know he had. He exhaled when she was gone, trying to control the way his head was spinning with uncountable thoughts. What the hell had just happened? All the words that had flown between them seemed to be mish-mashed into one sentence.
I don’t love you anymore.
I don’t love you anymore.
I don’t love you anymore…
It was his worst nightmare was coming to life. Placing his hands on his knees he took a deep breath and then another. He had screwed everything up, once again. Perhaps it was his fate to remain ever miserable, because of what he had caused in the past.
“And where do you think you’ve been for the last hour, mister?”
Max shot up at the familiar voice. “Tess?”
What on earth…
----
Time Changes Everything -(AU, M/L, Adult) Ch 28 07/24[WIP]
Moderators: Anniepoo98, ISLANDGIRL5, truelovepooh, Forum Moderators
Okay, I lied. My beta got back to me earlier than expected, so you can have the new part today instead.
Time Changes Everything
Chapter 22
Max blinked, a little unsure if he was really seeing his normally pristinely dressed and immaculately polished associate standing before him, now in a low cut shirt, jersey and grungy jeans, coupled with an extremely large smile on her lips; like she had just found him in a game of hide and seek. He couldn’t help the rather violent sounding words that came from his mouth.
“What are you doing here?”
What on earth was Tess doing here? How on Earth had she known where he was? He hadn’t remembered telling her the exact location of where he was going to be… just that he was going away with his daughter.
Not grimacing in the slightest, Tess moved forward and said brightly, “I missed you.”
“You- what?”
Okay. So his first thought had been that he was seeing things and his second thought had been that there had been some big screw-up at work. Max hadn’t been expecting this, however. She had turned up because she had missed him?
“Tess,” Max groaned.
He was in no mood to play these cat-mouse games with Tess. Liz had taken up too much of his energy earlier and his mind was too muddled with thoughts of her, to think further into what Tess was saying.
“Oh, sweetie, don’t look so damned shocked. It’s a Tuesday. I had the meeting with Pearson Coopers and they’ve accepted the deal. Now all that was left was paper work so I left David…”
“You left David? Tess, what about the meeting with the client from Singapore? And, David doesn’t know his ass from his elbow when it comes to writing up client reports, let alone –“
“Chill the hell out, Max! Jeez, what a way to treat a visitor!”
Max closed his eyes briefly in repulsion at himself. What the hell was wrong with him? He was normally so calm. “I- I’m sorry. It’s just that I’ve been…I’m…”
“--A little distressed, I know.” Tess shrugged her shoulders, looking him over appreciatively before moving forward to stroke his cheek. “Hey, don’t worry about it. I brought my very own personal remedy.”
“You did?”
“Yes.”
Max watched in curious silence as Tess fiddled inside her jersey and pulled out two small bottles of vodka and a bottle of Jack Daniels.
Max screwed his eyes, “You brought alcohol?” What the hell was she thinking?
“Yep.”
“To a school camping trip? …Tess you do realize that the majority of kids here are under age 10?”
Her eyes widened, “But we’re not.”
Max opened his mouth and then clamped it tight, unsure whether he should laugh at the ridiculousness of it all. Not only had Tess appeared at his daughters camping trip, leaving a mountain of work at the office that could easily lose them thousands, but she had also smuggled a huge amount of alcohol in her jersey, hoping that they could become intoxicated together.
Max watched her disbelievingly, as she giggled up at him and then stumbled slightly. He lurched forward, holding onto her arm, stopping her from falling flat on her ass.
She had to be kidding him! “Are you drunk?”
“A little…”
“Oh, Jesus, Tess.” Max groaned, pulling her into the woods, so no one else saw the show that she was about to make of herself… and him. “What the hell is wrong with you?”
******
Liz stared up at the bright blue ceiling of her tent, thinking of Max.
Of course it was easy to say. It was even easy to think. However, it wasn’t so easy to pretend that she didn’t want to have him in her life anymore. The last nine years had proved that Max was quite unforgettable. And no matter how much she didn’t want to believe it, Liz had already crossed a line. She had already invited Max back into her life. Their weakened emotional connection had already sprung back to life, and this time, with little shocks of electric, threatening to spark up and engulf them both.
Liz sighed, curling up on a ball on the pile of blankets she lay on top of.
It would simply be too hard to let that go. To go through all that pain again, simply because of her own stubbornness. And truth be told, she didn’t want to. It was definitely more difficult to let Max go altogether, than to work around the issue that was between them.
That was if Max agreed.
After all, Liz had experienced first hand what it was like to love someone and not have them reciprocate it. She wouldn’t be surprised in the least if Max outright rejected her offer of friendship. It was that hard…. Perhaps it would be too hard on Max ? Only time would tell.
She sat up suddenly, recalling the look on Max’s face when she had said she didn’t love him. She had been so angry, but God, she hoped she hadn’t broken him. He had laid his heart out for her, and she not only had rejected it, but stomped all over it in the process.
Liz combed back her hair and made her way out of her tent. She had to talk to him. Perhaps it would make him feel a little better if she told him that she wasn’t going to walk away without explanation…again.
Biting her lip, and hesitating only slightly Liz pulled open the flap and peered into the tent opposite. She was quite sure that he wouldn’t be sleeping. Waiting until her eyes adjusted, she moved in slightly.
“Max?” Liz whispered softly.
To her right she saw Miriam sleeping, snoring lightly. But her father’s sleeping bag was unruffled and empty. Backing out of the tent, Liz scanned the woodland the stretched on in front of her.
Where had he gone?
-----
“Don’t be so grouchy. I’ll sober up soon,” Tess giggled, as she walked slightly in front of Max, smelling the air as if it contained the freshness of the fountain of youth.
Max pulled at her jersey as she almost stepped over the bank and into the dark shimmering lake.
“Make it fast,” he said harshly, motioning for her to sit down. Tess plonked herself down at the river bank and Max joined her, holding onto the back of her jersey in case she decided to take a leap. There was no knowing with her.
Tess took the opportunity to lean into his chest. When he looked down she was pouting at him. “Let go, Max. You’re still young.”
“I have responsibilities.”
Tess moved away so she was facing him directly. “Don’t forget you’re still young though. You’re probably the youngest father here, right?”
Max shrugged, “I guess.”
“ Yes.” Tess nodded like her suspicions had been confirmed. “Don’t you ever think that we’ve both had to grow up so fast? You with your daughter and me when my parents got divorced? I mean, I’ve been living with my uncle since I was thirteen and he gave me this life…this career, and with what we do, we grow up. We have to, because we’re just so busy and everything is so full of responsibilities.”
Max nodded, not caring to admit that despite her parent’s separation, Tess’ life had been quite cushy. Both her parents had visited her frequently at her uncles, and it was Tess that had chosen to stay with him. Her uncle had always been ready to hand Tess everything on a silver platter, including her high flying career. Not everyone had been as lucky as she had.
“And sometimes you have to take a break. Have some fun,” Tess continued.
“I don’t want to ruin what I have now,” Max explained, “I’ve have so many past mistakes to repent for, that I simply don’t have the privilege of making any new ones.”
“Oh, Max.” Tess said her eyes darkening. “I feel bad for you… and me. I wish things were different. I wish that I had, had a good childhood.”
To Max’s shock, large tears began to roll down her cheeks.
“Tess?” Max said uncomfortably, wondering why any woman that he seemed to come across ended up in tears!
He had really lost his touch…
His wry smile, soon disappeared, when Tess’s slight tearing turned to huge sobs.
“I…don’t g-get i-it….why d-does everything happen to m-meeeeeeeee?”
Huh? What on Earth…
“Why?” she cried loudly, “WHY?”
“Hey, its okay, Tess… I’m here,” Max said soothingly, coaxing her to keep her voice down, stroking her hair as she buried herself into his chest and then moved toward him until she was almost sitting on his lap.
“I-I’m so glad, M-Max…s-so glad… you’re here.”
“It’s okay…I am here, shhh….”
Tess hiccupped as she held onto his hand tightly, as he used the under hand to stroke her to quietness. A small smile appeared in between her tears.
There. Perfect.
She had him right where she wanted him….
----
Liz watched silently from her spectator spot behind an array of trees. She had walked in on Max and the blonde woman that she didn’t recognize as anyone that was a part of the camping trip, in a rather awkward embrace. For a moment her heart had stopped, she had wondered if that woman was Max’s lover. It was quite an odd thought to have considering what had surpassed them both that evening, but doubts had clouded her mind all the same.
Then she had heard the woman crying. Max had been comforting her, and although Liz ached to talk to Max, and ask if he was okay, their moment looked much to intimate to interrupt.
Liz took steps back and then slowly turned around and walked away.
****
Miriam rubbed at her eyes, and stretched languidly as the noise of twirping birds jingled around her tent.
It was such a great day!
The last few days had been so good for her and Lucy. Her Dad and Miss Parker had been getting on so well, that they hadn’t even had to do anything at all. She had even overheard Rory’s Mom telling Lucinda’s Mom that she was sure there was something going on between ‘the teacher and the young father’.
Gosh, she had been extremely happy when she heard that. It was only a matter of time before she and Lucy would get to be bridesmaids at the most romantic wedding ever! She was already beginning to plan out what she would wear.
Someone shuffling outside caught her attention and she smiled as Lucy poked her head in.
“Hey, Miriam.” Lucy smiled, “You awake?”
“Yep,”
“Hey, guess what?” Lucy said excitedly, crawling next Miriam’s bedside, “I heard someone’s Mom say to my Dad, that Miss Parker and your Dad disappeared last evening, and that they were probably gone off in the woods to…” she trailed off suddenly becoming silent. Miriam looked at Lucy worriedly as she had gone really pale, and her mouth had dropped to the floor.
“Lucy? What is it?”
When her friend failed to speak, Miriam followed Lucy’s eyes, turned around and almost yelped in surprised.
“Oh my god! What is SHE doing here?”
****
Their bodies were close. His hand crept up her shirt and then he was fumbling with her bra strap…. The feeling was so arousing, and cozy and… wet.
Wet.
“Aghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!” Tess screamed as icy coolness seeped down her face and into her top. She sat up with a start, and came face to face with large green eyes.
“Whoops,” Miriam said candidly, handing the empty glass to Lucy, who was hiding her smile with her free hand.
“What the fuck!” Tess cried, sitting up with a jerk, brushing water off her damp blouse and running her hands through her wet hair. “What did you do?!” This was her best night blouse!
“Its only water,” Miriam said like it was no big deal. “Daddy told me to wake you because we’re going home in an hour and since there’s no room on the bus, you’ll have to hitch a ride home.”
“I’m all wet! How could you— what?” Tess’ eyes snapped up and looked at the two girls, dread etched in her features.
“Only kidding.” Miriam giggled, which was followed by loud chortling from her blonde friend.
Tess rolled her eyes. She detested that girl! “You’re funny,” Max’s daughter was such a brat. Once she had him all to herself, the first thing she was going to do was arrange a meeting with a boarding school.
“Oh, I know,” Miriam said brightly, like she hadn’t seen the utmost distaste on Tess’ face. “I like making up jokes. You want to hear one?”
“No.” Tess said harshly, peeking under her blankets for her makeup kit. Where the hell was that lip gloss?
“Knock knock?” Miriam said teasingly.
“Ugh,” Tess groaned. Shut up!
“Who’s there?” Lucy asked enthusiastically.
“Atonna.”
“Atonna who?”
“Atonna trouble!”
“Haaa!” Lucy squealed delightfully, like she couldn’t contain her laughter one second longer.
Tess rolled her eyes at the patheticness of the two brats that were laughing their heads off, like brat number one had told the best joke ever. It was sooo stupid and childish. She was just about to tell them that, when a deep voice reverberated from behind her.
“That you are,” Max smiled at his daughter, peeking his head through the tent opening. “What is going on here? I told you girls to wake Tess up, not to start a comedy show.”
“Tess said she likes my jokes,” Miriam giggled devilishly.
Max raised his eyebrows, “Really?”
Tess smiled distastefully. “I’m a sucker for knock-knock.”
Max cleared his throat disbelievingly. “That’s great, maybe you can tell her some more another time, Miriam. But right now, we have to go.”
“I’m ready,” Miriam said, grabbing her bag of goodies.
“Me too.” Lucy agreed, as they made their way around Max and exited out of the tent.
Max turned toward Tess questioningly.
“I just woke up!”
“The bus is waiting.”
“I won’t be long, Max. ” Tess cried, jumping off her covers and shooting around the tent, for her clothes.
“Well make sure you’re not, or you might just have to hitch a ride home,” Max gave her a wink before disappearing, causing Tess’ heart to leap into her mouth.
Oh, God. There was no way she was hitch-hiking!
****
Miriam crossed her arms over her chest as her father joined her in her walk toward the bus.
“Daddy, what is she doing here?”
“I don’t’ know sweetheart, she just turned up.”
Miriam shrugged off her bag and handed her father her backpack, who threw it into the luggage compartment of the bus. His hands crept through his hair and he looked around distractedly, his eyes seeking someone out. He seemed really preoccupied this morning.
“I really don’t like her.”
Max groaned, turning toward his daughter.“M, baby, don’t start.”
Miriam clamped her mouth shut. She could tell when something was grating on her Dad’s nerves and today was definitely one of those days. She also noticed the way her Dads eyes lingered on her teacher, who threw him an awkward smile as she walked past. Her father seemed to breathe a sigh of relief at Miss Parker’s response, and Miriam was glad that whatever sign he was looking for had been a positive one.
“Daddy, everything okay?”
Max nodded, “Better.”
As they climbed onto the bus, Miriam noticed that Miss Parker was sitting by herself.
“Daddy, I want to sit next to Lucy.”
“Oh?”
“Yep, there’s a spare seat next to Miss Parker- why don’t you --“
However before she could complete her sentence she was cut off, and pushed to the side.
“That’s great, Max can sit next to me!” Tess grabbed Max’s arm and pulled him toward the nearest free seats, “I’m bagging the window seat!”
Miriam glared at Tess. Fuming from the roots of her hair to the tips of her toes.
“I hate her!” Lucy whispered in her ear, as they found their seats.
“You have no idea.” Miriam grumbled.
*****
Liz walked briskly past an array of shops at the service station, ready to get back on the bus and start a headcount, when something caught her eye and she immediately halted in front of the clothes shop. It was full of dresses, from fancy evening wear to sophisticated day wear. Liz wasn’t normally much of a dress up girl and it wasn’t often that a dress caught her eye.
It was simple, knee-length, black garment that had caught her attention. Sleeveless with a high neck, however the reverse neck was swooped low, probably halfway down the back. It was an adoring combination of seductive and classy. Moving forward, Liz checked the tag, but her hand instantly dropped away when she saw the price. That was absolutely atrocious!
Sighing, and looking at it one more time longingly, she turned away and bumped into a hard chest.
Liz’s body instantly flushed as soon as her eyes met with amber ones.
“Max.” She said quickly, before she could stop herself.
“Hey,” He smiled at her and nodded toward the dress, “It would look beautiful on you.”
He had seen her staring at it. Liz shook her head, “It’s not really for me…”
“Are you kidding me?” Max rolled his eyes, “It could be made for you. Here let me.” In an instant he had unhooked the dress from its hanger and handed it to the store clerk, before following her to the counter.
It took a moment for Liz to register what was happening. He was buying her the dress. Oh god. She couldn’t take it… she shouldn’t take it…
“Max, no.” Liz jogged behind him. “Don’t buy it for me. I can’t take it from you.”
“Think of it as a birthday gift, Liz.” Max answered, softly, handing the store clerk his card. “I missed so many of them.”
“That’s stupid,” Liz protested, “ I missed so many of yours too.”
“Well let’s just say, I’ll forgive you, if you wear this dress for me.”
Liz opened her mouth to complain, but found herself blushing wildly at his comment. He wanted her to wear the dress for him. The thought itself was an intimate one, and she couldn’t help but feel a little flattered at the way his eyes scanned her body like he was imagining her in it too.
Liz bit her lip, “I can’t…”
However this time her protest was much weaker.
“Please, for me.” Max said, passing her the brown package.
Liz looked down at dress in her hand, shaking her head, however Max was already walking out of the shop before she could hand it back to him and protest further. Liz sighed helplessly at the store clerk, before following Max out of the store and to the bus.
She couldn’t take it… it just wouldn’t be right…
****
Liz could feel the back of her neck tingling and this time she knew why. Quickly she turned to look behind her, and this time their eyes met instantaneously. Max swiftly turned his head to right, pretending he was taking in the desert view. Liz turned back around and pushed her head against her seat.
What was it about a spoken confession, which made it so much more real?
She had never noticed Max staring at her like that before. She hadn’t noticed the way she had become all breathless because of it…neither had she noticed the amount she thought of him in an hourly basis.
And why was this the only thing she was thinking about?
There were so much chaos to still sort out. Like what to do about their relationship… and if Max would be okay, just remaining friends and who that girl on his shoulder was. However, all Liz had been thinking the whole trip was that he was lustfully staring at her again…
Max Evans was staring at her!
Liz groaned at herself as the bus halted to a stop outside the school. She had to stop this… and she had to return that dress.
Taking a deep breath, Liz sprung back into duty, ushering the children off, making chit-chat and saying goodbye to the parents. When the majority of families had disappeared, Liz walked around to the side of the bus to collect her own luggage.
There was a soft tap on her back and Liz turned to find Miriam smiling up at her.
“Hello, Miss Parker.”
“Hey, sweetie, I hope you enjoyed the trip.”
“Ten out of ten.”
“I’m glad it ranks so highly.”
“Of course it would. You’re the best,” Miriam stepped forward and Liz enveloped the little girl in her arms, giving her a warm hug.
“I’ll see you tomorrow, Miss Parker.”
“Bye, Darling.”
Liz watched in quiet adoration as Miriam skipped away, toward her father’s car.
“Hey, Liz.”
“Max,” Liz smiled, picking up a hiking bag that she recognized as his and handed it to him.
Liz bit her lip. Now was the time to return that dress.
Max took hold of the bag and put it down beside him. “Thanks.”
“You’re welcome.”
The dress, Liz. Return the dress!
“Um, thanks for the dress, Max.”
Huh? Damn it!
“Will you …“
Liz smiled softly at him. “I’ll definitely come and show you.”
Max’s eyes twinkled. “Looking forward to it.”
Liz brushed her hair behind her ear. “Okay, um, Max, we still need to talk about… about what happened….”
Max nodded. There was so much to talk about. “Yeah, of course, I’ll call you.”
Liz bit her lip. “Yeah.”
Max watched her a while, knowing that there was so much that she wanted to tell him. And he was simply bursting to know all of it. Of course, it hurt that she didn’t feel the same way anymore – but right now, it would just be enough to watch her, listen to her and have her by his side again.
“I’m Tess.”
Max blinked, suddenly broken out of her reverie of thought as Tess appeared beside him, and flung her hand in front of Liz’s face. Something overcame Liz’s features, but it was soon replaced by a polite smile.
“How rude of me,” Max said, “This is Tess Harding, we’re work colleagues.”
“Yep, work colleagues.” Tess agreed, with a hint of teasing in her tone.
Liz took Tess’ hand, feeling a little uncomfortable at the way that blonde woman was scrutinizing her from tip to toe.
She couldn’t help but be a little curious herself about Max’s ‘work colleague’. Why would Max ask his work colleague to come join him? She guessed that hoping the blonde was his long lost sister or cousin was a tad far-fetched.
“Nice to meet you, Tess.” Liz said formally.
Tess coughed, no hint of smile encountering her face. “Yes. You too. Max lets go… it’s getting late.”
“Yes, we better.” Max agreed, turning toward Liz, one final time and giving her a small nod.
Liz gave him a small wave, her eyes following him all the way back to his car, unable to help the pang of jealousy that sparked through her body as Tess got into the passenger seat.
****
“Well, here you go.” Max said, stopping to a halt outside Tess’ apartment building. “Home.”
“Thanks, sweetie.” Tess said leaning into him.
“No problem, Tess. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
She giggled flirtatiously at him, and then turned to glance briefly at the surly faced girl sitting on the back seat. “Goodbye…M.”
Miriam screwed her eyes at her, and Tess groaned inwardly, thinking: boarding school.
She lifted herself out of the car and closed the door behind her, waving Max’s car goodbye as it sped out of sight. As soon as it had turned the corner, she dug into her pocket and pulled out her cell with a small smile on her lips.
The phone was picked up from the other side after one ring, almost like the recipient had been waiting for her. “Hi, Tess. How was it?”
“Well, lets just say it was quite an interesting trip. I have so much to tell you.”
“I can meet you in an hour.”
“Good, gives me some time to have a shower and think through my plan of action.”
“See you soon.”
Snapping her phone closed, Tess pulled out her key and let herself into her apartment.
----
Time Changes Everything
Chapter 22
Max blinked, a little unsure if he was really seeing his normally pristinely dressed and immaculately polished associate standing before him, now in a low cut shirt, jersey and grungy jeans, coupled with an extremely large smile on her lips; like she had just found him in a game of hide and seek. He couldn’t help the rather violent sounding words that came from his mouth.
“What are you doing here?”
What on earth was Tess doing here? How on Earth had she known where he was? He hadn’t remembered telling her the exact location of where he was going to be… just that he was going away with his daughter.
Not grimacing in the slightest, Tess moved forward and said brightly, “I missed you.”
“You- what?”
Okay. So his first thought had been that he was seeing things and his second thought had been that there had been some big screw-up at work. Max hadn’t been expecting this, however. She had turned up because she had missed him?
“Tess,” Max groaned.
He was in no mood to play these cat-mouse games with Tess. Liz had taken up too much of his energy earlier and his mind was too muddled with thoughts of her, to think further into what Tess was saying.
“Oh, sweetie, don’t look so damned shocked. It’s a Tuesday. I had the meeting with Pearson Coopers and they’ve accepted the deal. Now all that was left was paper work so I left David…”
“You left David? Tess, what about the meeting with the client from Singapore? And, David doesn’t know his ass from his elbow when it comes to writing up client reports, let alone –“
“Chill the hell out, Max! Jeez, what a way to treat a visitor!”
Max closed his eyes briefly in repulsion at himself. What the hell was wrong with him? He was normally so calm. “I- I’m sorry. It’s just that I’ve been…I’m…”
“--A little distressed, I know.” Tess shrugged her shoulders, looking him over appreciatively before moving forward to stroke his cheek. “Hey, don’t worry about it. I brought my very own personal remedy.”
“You did?”
“Yes.”
Max watched in curious silence as Tess fiddled inside her jersey and pulled out two small bottles of vodka and a bottle of Jack Daniels.
Max screwed his eyes, “You brought alcohol?” What the hell was she thinking?
“Yep.”
“To a school camping trip? …Tess you do realize that the majority of kids here are under age 10?”
Her eyes widened, “But we’re not.”
Max opened his mouth and then clamped it tight, unsure whether he should laugh at the ridiculousness of it all. Not only had Tess appeared at his daughters camping trip, leaving a mountain of work at the office that could easily lose them thousands, but she had also smuggled a huge amount of alcohol in her jersey, hoping that they could become intoxicated together.
Max watched her disbelievingly, as she giggled up at him and then stumbled slightly. He lurched forward, holding onto her arm, stopping her from falling flat on her ass.
She had to be kidding him! “Are you drunk?”
“A little…”
“Oh, Jesus, Tess.” Max groaned, pulling her into the woods, so no one else saw the show that she was about to make of herself… and him. “What the hell is wrong with you?”
******
Liz stared up at the bright blue ceiling of her tent, thinking of Max.
Of course it was easy to say. It was even easy to think. However, it wasn’t so easy to pretend that she didn’t want to have him in her life anymore. The last nine years had proved that Max was quite unforgettable. And no matter how much she didn’t want to believe it, Liz had already crossed a line. She had already invited Max back into her life. Their weakened emotional connection had already sprung back to life, and this time, with little shocks of electric, threatening to spark up and engulf them both.
Liz sighed, curling up on a ball on the pile of blankets she lay on top of.
It would simply be too hard to let that go. To go through all that pain again, simply because of her own stubbornness. And truth be told, she didn’t want to. It was definitely more difficult to let Max go altogether, than to work around the issue that was between them.
That was if Max agreed.
After all, Liz had experienced first hand what it was like to love someone and not have them reciprocate it. She wouldn’t be surprised in the least if Max outright rejected her offer of friendship. It was that hard…. Perhaps it would be too hard on Max ? Only time would tell.
She sat up suddenly, recalling the look on Max’s face when she had said she didn’t love him. She had been so angry, but God, she hoped she hadn’t broken him. He had laid his heart out for her, and she not only had rejected it, but stomped all over it in the process.
Liz combed back her hair and made her way out of her tent. She had to talk to him. Perhaps it would make him feel a little better if she told him that she wasn’t going to walk away without explanation…again.
Biting her lip, and hesitating only slightly Liz pulled open the flap and peered into the tent opposite. She was quite sure that he wouldn’t be sleeping. Waiting until her eyes adjusted, she moved in slightly.
“Max?” Liz whispered softly.
To her right she saw Miriam sleeping, snoring lightly. But her father’s sleeping bag was unruffled and empty. Backing out of the tent, Liz scanned the woodland the stretched on in front of her.
Where had he gone?
-----
“Don’t be so grouchy. I’ll sober up soon,” Tess giggled, as she walked slightly in front of Max, smelling the air as if it contained the freshness of the fountain of youth.
Max pulled at her jersey as she almost stepped over the bank and into the dark shimmering lake.
“Make it fast,” he said harshly, motioning for her to sit down. Tess plonked herself down at the river bank and Max joined her, holding onto the back of her jersey in case she decided to take a leap. There was no knowing with her.
Tess took the opportunity to lean into his chest. When he looked down she was pouting at him. “Let go, Max. You’re still young.”
“I have responsibilities.”
Tess moved away so she was facing him directly. “Don’t forget you’re still young though. You’re probably the youngest father here, right?”
Max shrugged, “I guess.”
“ Yes.” Tess nodded like her suspicions had been confirmed. “Don’t you ever think that we’ve both had to grow up so fast? You with your daughter and me when my parents got divorced? I mean, I’ve been living with my uncle since I was thirteen and he gave me this life…this career, and with what we do, we grow up. We have to, because we’re just so busy and everything is so full of responsibilities.”
Max nodded, not caring to admit that despite her parent’s separation, Tess’ life had been quite cushy. Both her parents had visited her frequently at her uncles, and it was Tess that had chosen to stay with him. Her uncle had always been ready to hand Tess everything on a silver platter, including her high flying career. Not everyone had been as lucky as she had.
“And sometimes you have to take a break. Have some fun,” Tess continued.
“I don’t want to ruin what I have now,” Max explained, “I’ve have so many past mistakes to repent for, that I simply don’t have the privilege of making any new ones.”
“Oh, Max.” Tess said her eyes darkening. “I feel bad for you… and me. I wish things were different. I wish that I had, had a good childhood.”
To Max’s shock, large tears began to roll down her cheeks.
“Tess?” Max said uncomfortably, wondering why any woman that he seemed to come across ended up in tears!
He had really lost his touch…
His wry smile, soon disappeared, when Tess’s slight tearing turned to huge sobs.
“I…don’t g-get i-it….why d-does everything happen to m-meeeeeeeee?”
Huh? What on Earth…
“Why?” she cried loudly, “WHY?”
“Hey, its okay, Tess… I’m here,” Max said soothingly, coaxing her to keep her voice down, stroking her hair as she buried herself into his chest and then moved toward him until she was almost sitting on his lap.
“I-I’m so glad, M-Max…s-so glad… you’re here.”
“It’s okay…I am here, shhh….”
Tess hiccupped as she held onto his hand tightly, as he used the under hand to stroke her to quietness. A small smile appeared in between her tears.
There. Perfect.
She had him right where she wanted him….
----
Liz watched silently from her spectator spot behind an array of trees. She had walked in on Max and the blonde woman that she didn’t recognize as anyone that was a part of the camping trip, in a rather awkward embrace. For a moment her heart had stopped, she had wondered if that woman was Max’s lover. It was quite an odd thought to have considering what had surpassed them both that evening, but doubts had clouded her mind all the same.
Then she had heard the woman crying. Max had been comforting her, and although Liz ached to talk to Max, and ask if he was okay, their moment looked much to intimate to interrupt.
Liz took steps back and then slowly turned around and walked away.
****
Miriam rubbed at her eyes, and stretched languidly as the noise of twirping birds jingled around her tent.
It was such a great day!
The last few days had been so good for her and Lucy. Her Dad and Miss Parker had been getting on so well, that they hadn’t even had to do anything at all. She had even overheard Rory’s Mom telling Lucinda’s Mom that she was sure there was something going on between ‘the teacher and the young father’.
Gosh, she had been extremely happy when she heard that. It was only a matter of time before she and Lucy would get to be bridesmaids at the most romantic wedding ever! She was already beginning to plan out what she would wear.
Someone shuffling outside caught her attention and she smiled as Lucy poked her head in.
“Hey, Miriam.” Lucy smiled, “You awake?”
“Yep,”
“Hey, guess what?” Lucy said excitedly, crawling next Miriam’s bedside, “I heard someone’s Mom say to my Dad, that Miss Parker and your Dad disappeared last evening, and that they were probably gone off in the woods to…” she trailed off suddenly becoming silent. Miriam looked at Lucy worriedly as she had gone really pale, and her mouth had dropped to the floor.
“Lucy? What is it?”
When her friend failed to speak, Miriam followed Lucy’s eyes, turned around and almost yelped in surprised.
“Oh my god! What is SHE doing here?”
****
Their bodies were close. His hand crept up her shirt and then he was fumbling with her bra strap…. The feeling was so arousing, and cozy and… wet.
Wet.
“Aghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!” Tess screamed as icy coolness seeped down her face and into her top. She sat up with a start, and came face to face with large green eyes.
“Whoops,” Miriam said candidly, handing the empty glass to Lucy, who was hiding her smile with her free hand.
“What the fuck!” Tess cried, sitting up with a jerk, brushing water off her damp blouse and running her hands through her wet hair. “What did you do?!” This was her best night blouse!
“Its only water,” Miriam said like it was no big deal. “Daddy told me to wake you because we’re going home in an hour and since there’s no room on the bus, you’ll have to hitch a ride home.”
“I’m all wet! How could you— what?” Tess’ eyes snapped up and looked at the two girls, dread etched in her features.
“Only kidding.” Miriam giggled, which was followed by loud chortling from her blonde friend.
Tess rolled her eyes. She detested that girl! “You’re funny,” Max’s daughter was such a brat. Once she had him all to herself, the first thing she was going to do was arrange a meeting with a boarding school.
“Oh, I know,” Miriam said brightly, like she hadn’t seen the utmost distaste on Tess’ face. “I like making up jokes. You want to hear one?”
“No.” Tess said harshly, peeking under her blankets for her makeup kit. Where the hell was that lip gloss?
“Knock knock?” Miriam said teasingly.
“Ugh,” Tess groaned. Shut up!
“Who’s there?” Lucy asked enthusiastically.
“Atonna.”
“Atonna who?”
“Atonna trouble!”
“Haaa!” Lucy squealed delightfully, like she couldn’t contain her laughter one second longer.
Tess rolled her eyes at the patheticness of the two brats that were laughing their heads off, like brat number one had told the best joke ever. It was sooo stupid and childish. She was just about to tell them that, when a deep voice reverberated from behind her.
“That you are,” Max smiled at his daughter, peeking his head through the tent opening. “What is going on here? I told you girls to wake Tess up, not to start a comedy show.”
“Tess said she likes my jokes,” Miriam giggled devilishly.
Max raised his eyebrows, “Really?”
Tess smiled distastefully. “I’m a sucker for knock-knock.”
Max cleared his throat disbelievingly. “That’s great, maybe you can tell her some more another time, Miriam. But right now, we have to go.”
“I’m ready,” Miriam said, grabbing her bag of goodies.
“Me too.” Lucy agreed, as they made their way around Max and exited out of the tent.
Max turned toward Tess questioningly.
“I just woke up!”
“The bus is waiting.”
“I won’t be long, Max. ” Tess cried, jumping off her covers and shooting around the tent, for her clothes.
“Well make sure you’re not, or you might just have to hitch a ride home,” Max gave her a wink before disappearing, causing Tess’ heart to leap into her mouth.
Oh, God. There was no way she was hitch-hiking!
****
Miriam crossed her arms over her chest as her father joined her in her walk toward the bus.
“Daddy, what is she doing here?”
“I don’t’ know sweetheart, she just turned up.”
Miriam shrugged off her bag and handed her father her backpack, who threw it into the luggage compartment of the bus. His hands crept through his hair and he looked around distractedly, his eyes seeking someone out. He seemed really preoccupied this morning.
“I really don’t like her.”
Max groaned, turning toward his daughter.“M, baby, don’t start.”
Miriam clamped her mouth shut. She could tell when something was grating on her Dad’s nerves and today was definitely one of those days. She also noticed the way her Dads eyes lingered on her teacher, who threw him an awkward smile as she walked past. Her father seemed to breathe a sigh of relief at Miss Parker’s response, and Miriam was glad that whatever sign he was looking for had been a positive one.
“Daddy, everything okay?”
Max nodded, “Better.”
As they climbed onto the bus, Miriam noticed that Miss Parker was sitting by herself.
“Daddy, I want to sit next to Lucy.”
“Oh?”
“Yep, there’s a spare seat next to Miss Parker- why don’t you --“
However before she could complete her sentence she was cut off, and pushed to the side.
“That’s great, Max can sit next to me!” Tess grabbed Max’s arm and pulled him toward the nearest free seats, “I’m bagging the window seat!”
Miriam glared at Tess. Fuming from the roots of her hair to the tips of her toes.
“I hate her!” Lucy whispered in her ear, as they found their seats.
“You have no idea.” Miriam grumbled.
*****
Liz walked briskly past an array of shops at the service station, ready to get back on the bus and start a headcount, when something caught her eye and she immediately halted in front of the clothes shop. It was full of dresses, from fancy evening wear to sophisticated day wear. Liz wasn’t normally much of a dress up girl and it wasn’t often that a dress caught her eye.
It was simple, knee-length, black garment that had caught her attention. Sleeveless with a high neck, however the reverse neck was swooped low, probably halfway down the back. It was an adoring combination of seductive and classy. Moving forward, Liz checked the tag, but her hand instantly dropped away when she saw the price. That was absolutely atrocious!
Sighing, and looking at it one more time longingly, she turned away and bumped into a hard chest.
Liz’s body instantly flushed as soon as her eyes met with amber ones.
“Max.” She said quickly, before she could stop herself.
“Hey,” He smiled at her and nodded toward the dress, “It would look beautiful on you.”
He had seen her staring at it. Liz shook her head, “It’s not really for me…”
“Are you kidding me?” Max rolled his eyes, “It could be made for you. Here let me.” In an instant he had unhooked the dress from its hanger and handed it to the store clerk, before following her to the counter.
It took a moment for Liz to register what was happening. He was buying her the dress. Oh god. She couldn’t take it… she shouldn’t take it…
“Max, no.” Liz jogged behind him. “Don’t buy it for me. I can’t take it from you.”
“Think of it as a birthday gift, Liz.” Max answered, softly, handing the store clerk his card. “I missed so many of them.”
“That’s stupid,” Liz protested, “ I missed so many of yours too.”
“Well let’s just say, I’ll forgive you, if you wear this dress for me.”
Liz opened her mouth to complain, but found herself blushing wildly at his comment. He wanted her to wear the dress for him. The thought itself was an intimate one, and she couldn’t help but feel a little flattered at the way his eyes scanned her body like he was imagining her in it too.
Liz bit her lip, “I can’t…”
However this time her protest was much weaker.
“Please, for me.” Max said, passing her the brown package.
Liz looked down at dress in her hand, shaking her head, however Max was already walking out of the shop before she could hand it back to him and protest further. Liz sighed helplessly at the store clerk, before following Max out of the store and to the bus.
She couldn’t take it… it just wouldn’t be right…
****
Liz could feel the back of her neck tingling and this time she knew why. Quickly she turned to look behind her, and this time their eyes met instantaneously. Max swiftly turned his head to right, pretending he was taking in the desert view. Liz turned back around and pushed her head against her seat.
What was it about a spoken confession, which made it so much more real?
She had never noticed Max staring at her like that before. She hadn’t noticed the way she had become all breathless because of it…neither had she noticed the amount she thought of him in an hourly basis.
And why was this the only thing she was thinking about?
There were so much chaos to still sort out. Like what to do about their relationship… and if Max would be okay, just remaining friends and who that girl on his shoulder was. However, all Liz had been thinking the whole trip was that he was lustfully staring at her again…
Max Evans was staring at her!
Liz groaned at herself as the bus halted to a stop outside the school. She had to stop this… and she had to return that dress.
Taking a deep breath, Liz sprung back into duty, ushering the children off, making chit-chat and saying goodbye to the parents. When the majority of families had disappeared, Liz walked around to the side of the bus to collect her own luggage.
There was a soft tap on her back and Liz turned to find Miriam smiling up at her.
“Hello, Miss Parker.”
“Hey, sweetie, I hope you enjoyed the trip.”
“Ten out of ten.”
“I’m glad it ranks so highly.”
“Of course it would. You’re the best,” Miriam stepped forward and Liz enveloped the little girl in her arms, giving her a warm hug.
“I’ll see you tomorrow, Miss Parker.”
“Bye, Darling.”
Liz watched in quiet adoration as Miriam skipped away, toward her father’s car.
“Hey, Liz.”
“Max,” Liz smiled, picking up a hiking bag that she recognized as his and handed it to him.
Liz bit her lip. Now was the time to return that dress.
Max took hold of the bag and put it down beside him. “Thanks.”
“You’re welcome.”
The dress, Liz. Return the dress!
“Um, thanks for the dress, Max.”
Huh? Damn it!
“Will you …“
Liz smiled softly at him. “I’ll definitely come and show you.”
Max’s eyes twinkled. “Looking forward to it.”
Liz brushed her hair behind her ear. “Okay, um, Max, we still need to talk about… about what happened….”
Max nodded. There was so much to talk about. “Yeah, of course, I’ll call you.”
Liz bit her lip. “Yeah.”
Max watched her a while, knowing that there was so much that she wanted to tell him. And he was simply bursting to know all of it. Of course, it hurt that she didn’t feel the same way anymore – but right now, it would just be enough to watch her, listen to her and have her by his side again.
“I’m Tess.”
Max blinked, suddenly broken out of her reverie of thought as Tess appeared beside him, and flung her hand in front of Liz’s face. Something overcame Liz’s features, but it was soon replaced by a polite smile.
“How rude of me,” Max said, “This is Tess Harding, we’re work colleagues.”
“Yep, work colleagues.” Tess agreed, with a hint of teasing in her tone.
Liz took Tess’ hand, feeling a little uncomfortable at the way that blonde woman was scrutinizing her from tip to toe.
She couldn’t help but be a little curious herself about Max’s ‘work colleague’. Why would Max ask his work colleague to come join him? She guessed that hoping the blonde was his long lost sister or cousin was a tad far-fetched.
“Nice to meet you, Tess.” Liz said formally.
Tess coughed, no hint of smile encountering her face. “Yes. You too. Max lets go… it’s getting late.”
“Yes, we better.” Max agreed, turning toward Liz, one final time and giving her a small nod.
Liz gave him a small wave, her eyes following him all the way back to his car, unable to help the pang of jealousy that sparked through her body as Tess got into the passenger seat.
****
“Well, here you go.” Max said, stopping to a halt outside Tess’ apartment building. “Home.”
“Thanks, sweetie.” Tess said leaning into him.
“No problem, Tess. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
She giggled flirtatiously at him, and then turned to glance briefly at the surly faced girl sitting on the back seat. “Goodbye…M.”
Miriam screwed her eyes at her, and Tess groaned inwardly, thinking: boarding school.
She lifted herself out of the car and closed the door behind her, waving Max’s car goodbye as it sped out of sight. As soon as it had turned the corner, she dug into her pocket and pulled out her cell with a small smile on her lips.
The phone was picked up from the other side after one ring, almost like the recipient had been waiting for her. “Hi, Tess. How was it?”
“Well, lets just say it was quite an interesting trip. I have so much to tell you.”
“I can meet you in an hour.”
“Good, gives me some time to have a shower and think through my plan of action.”
“See you soon.”
Snapping her phone closed, Tess pulled out her key and let herself into her apartment.
----
Sorry for the wait, guys.
Time Changes Everything
Chapter 23
Tess watched lazily as Kyle poured some extra pinot noir into her glass. Throwing her head back, she quickly gulped it down and leaned lazily against the bar, knowing her Versace dress was one that left little to the imagination. She smiled knowingly up at Kyle as his eyes lingered on her bosom before he looked away. He was agitated and nervous. However, this was nothing new for her. Tess often made men feel a little on edge.
Pushing a stray curl away from her face, Tess calmed the bubbling laughter inside her. He was trying so hard to maintain his coolness. But that didn’t mean she couldn’t play around a little. It meant nothing. There was no harm in taking a small detour before she reached her destination. After all, they had already made the rules clear. Both Tess and Kyle were here for a similar purpose. Fate had pulled them together purely through business circumstances, or more like personal circumstances that had become business.
Kyle wiped his lip with a napkin, the blue glow from the bar shadowing his face. “So you say there was nothing suspect?” He queried, trying to make the question look casual.
Tess shrugged nonchalantly, “I’ve already told you, no.”
Kyle looked taken back by her affront attitude, so she continued in order to maintain his calm, “Max very obviously has a crush on Liz. But if you claim that Liz loves you as she does, I doubt very much that she would be led astray, so to say. Especially by a mere crush.”
They had spent the last hour discussing her ‘trip’ with Kyle. He had been worried that something would develop between Max and Liz when he went away, so Tess had stepped in a for a while. Truth be told, working in a team to reach the common goal was so much easier than going at it alone. Who would have known that the stranger she met, 3 months ago, at this very bar, would be checking up on his fiancée just the same way she liked to keep a check on Max. Not that she ever let him know about it. She was way cleverer than that.
Kyle was still looking at her questioningly.
“I will be keeping a close eye on them both.” Tess said in her comforting voice.
It wasn’t like Max’s crushes lasted too long. He hadn’t been in a long term relationship since his marriage. However, there was no harm in making absolutely sure that this fancy of Max’s didn’t pull him in too deep. That was where Kyle came in.
“Max will be mine, we’re meant to be together. He’s just taking his time to realize it,” She confirmed.
Kyle nodded, but Tess could still see the worry etched on his features. She sighed inwardly. “But something is clearly worrying you. Still.”
“Liz and Max—they were friends for a long time.”
“Friends, Kyle. They were friends, that’s the point. Never has Max mentioned yourfiancée to me.” She tossed her hair, “We’ve been friends for a long time too.”
There was no way Max was going to choose Liz over her. Sure, she was kind of cute, but she was far too straight for him. Max needed someone a little … well, crazy like herself. Someone that would allow him to let go and live the unrestrained life that he needed. The only thing keeping him bound was his mother and his daughter and now, Liz. They wouldn’t be hard to deal with once she had him all to herself.
His mother could be ignored, Miriam could be dealt with later, but Liz was a threat that needed to be surrounded and eliminated.
Kyle poured himself another glass. “I appreciate your help Tess. I really needed a way to keep an eye on Liz. There was no way I could do another police check. I just want to make sure …” he trailed off taking a healthy gulp of his glass.
“You don’t have to explain yourself to me. As long as I get Max, you can do what you want.”
Kyle nodded, “By the end of this we’ll both have people we want in our lives, and we’ll know for sure if they’re the ones for us.”
Tess snorted. “I don’t need to know, Kyle. I already know. Max is who I want.”
Kyle let out a small laugh. “You’re used to getting your way aren’t you, Tess?”
“I’m used to battling it out. After all… everything is fair in love and war.”
Kyle raised his nearly empty glass. “Amen to that.”
****
Max glanced at his watch nervously. Maybe it was too soon. Maybe stalking Liz on the school playground, and then asking her out on a date two days after confessing his undying love for her, whilst she had a fiancée none the less, had scared her away. Perhaps she had come to the conclusion that a ‘try’ at this so called friendship would never work out. Maybe she would stand him up just like she had before. Max tapped his fingers on the expensive linen cloth impatiently. If she didn’t turn up, her message would be loud and clear. But what would that mean for him? Would he let her go this time?... Could he?
Damn, just thinking about it was making his mouth as dry as paper.
He looked around for the waiter to get himself a drink, when his eyes caught a spray of red movement toward him. The movements were hesitant yet graceful and his eyes slowly traveled from her bare legs and up to her radiant face. She looked absolutely exquisite in the knee-length chiffon red dress with a small red frill around the bottom. Her hair was lightly curled and set loose, cascading down her shoulders, silky and untamed. Meeting his eyes, Liz gave him a shy wave, and all of a sudden, Max’s heart skipped a beat.
As she moved nearer Max jumped up and pulled out a seat for her. Close up, she looked even more elegant. “Liz, you look… wow” He stuttered.
“Thanks, Max.” Liz smiled, planting a stray hair behind her ear, her eyes dropping to the table. She had never felt so nervous in her entire life.
“Thanks for coming,” Max said seating himself and staring against his will.
Liz placed her purse on the table, throwing a glance around her. “This is a nice place.”
Max nodded dumbly, unable to take his eyes off her. How he was speaking, he didn’t know.
“I came here last year for a company dinner. I thought it was a cozy atmosphere. Plus, I get to see women in beautiful dresses.”
Liz giggled, releasing some of the nervous tension. “The real reason comes out, huh?”
She had very nearly not come. She had planned to spend an evening at home with Kyle. However Kyle had had an urgent phone call from the station and he had gone. Liz had been unable to help herself when there was nothing to distract her thoughts. Perhaps it was against all reason, but the thought of seeing Max, had simply made her giddy with happiness.
Max was smiling at her. “I must admit I was hoping that I coax you into wearing that dress I bought for you.”
“I very nearly did.”
Max leaned forward with interest. “What made you change your mind?”
“I don’t know.” Liz shrugged. She had put the dress on and removed it three times. However, Liz couldn’t put her finger on why she had decided not to wear it in the end. She just wasn’t ready.
“I’m still holding you to your promise.” Max grinned, not noticing her thoughtful look. “I want to see you in that dress.”
Liz raised her brows flirtatiously, “I didn’t know there was a time limit.”
“Oh, there’s not.” Max answered, nodding a thanks as the waiter passed them both a silver plated menu, “I do still want to have my own teeth, though.”
Liz threw her head back, and laughed heartily. “I promise I’ll think about it.”
“Dentures are tricky things, Liz.” Max answered, placing the menu in front of him, “Especially when your mouth hits the floor.”
Liz’s rolled her eyes at his blatant tactlessness. “Max!”
A second waiter arrived with their wine, and they both talked through the menu and ordered. Liz sighed inwardly with happiness, this was a lot easier than she thought it would be. Now it was time for the awkwardness.
In silent company, Max poured some alcohol into Liz’s glass. She was looking at him in contemplation. And he knew what was coming next before she said it, he paused and sat back, eyes questioning.
“Max, I wanted to apologize for my outburst… what I said in the woods that day…. It’s been playing on my mind since we got back. You had just confessed your heart to me, and I didn’t have a right to let it loose like that.”
Max shook his head, reaching across the table to clasp her hand lightly. “I shouldn’t have brought it up. You’re taken and it was wrong of me to do that, but…”
“….you couldn’t help yourself.” Liz finished for him, not pulling her hand away from him. His touch was always exceptionally warm.
“I couldn’t help myself.” Max echoed in agreement, “Liz, I like to believe I’m quite a logical man. But when you’re around all logic seems to fly out of the window. I don’t know what kind of charm you have on me…it’s always been like that.”
Liz’s found herself blushing and her voice came out weak when she asked, “So now it’s my fault?”
Max sat back. “Let’s just say, the first time I saw you in that school playground… wearing those horrendous flashing sneakers, I wanted to buy you a million more, against all reason.”
Liz found herself giggling again. Being with Max made her feel like the easily amused school girl, that she had always been with him. “I must admit they were quite awful.”
There was small pause of consideration and suddenly they were both laughing. Liz threw a napkin at Max as he raised his hands in question.
“Don’t laugh. I liked those sneakers!”
Max wiped tears from his eyes. “Clearly. You did wear them every single day. For two years in a row.”
“Hey, look whose talking. You used to wear that teenage mutant turtle jacket all the time.”
Max tilted his head, recalling times long lost. “Moments of madness, huh?”
“Yet, they’re so vivid.” Liz smiled. She smiled widely at him, raising her glass to her lips. “Did you ever forget, Max?”
Max’s eyes met Liz’s. Her tone had suddenly changed.
“Forget?”
“Forget what it used to be like.”
“I pushed thoughts of you to the back of my mind. I never thought I’d see you again”
Liz smile turned bittersweet. “Isn’t that as good as forgetting?”
“Sometimes remembering is the worst thing,” Max answered truthfully.
Liz hiccoughed at the look on his face. In that moment it all made sense. Without really saying anything, Max has explained everything. How much she meant to him and how he would prefer to forget…simply because it was easier. Liz looked to the ground, trying to stop the tears that were threatening to come.
How could the atmosphere change so suddenly?
Max touched the tip of his glass with discomfort. “This is uh…”
“Yeah. Intense.” What did she expect? It was Max.
“Yeah,” Max coughed. “Let’s change the subject.” He didn’t want to upset her again.
“Okay,” Liz nodded to herself. She took a deep breath and fiddled with her hair. “Who was that girl, if you don’t mind me asking?”
“Which girl?” Max asked, nodding toward the bottle. “More wine?”
“Please,” Liz pushed her glass toward him. “Blonde, big boobs, pretty. Tess, I think her name was”
“I told you, she’s a work colleague.”
“Ahh…”
Max looked at her. “I sense an undertone of cynicism.”
Liz shrugged. “I’m not quite sensing a just friend’s vibe.”
“Perceptive.” Max confronted, “ Tess is always clear with what she wants. However, I’ve told her I’m unwilling to mix work and play.”
Liz bit her lip and then prodded, “And she’s okay with that?”
“She doesn’t have a choice.”
“Oh,” Liz responded. Even though her response wasn’t much, she was glowing inside.
Max eyed her, thinking this night has much easier than he thought it would have been. He would have thought Liz would have been more angry and unwilling to forgive. Not that he would have given up. He wasn't ever going to give up on her again.
“So let’s start again. Right from the beginning.”
“Right from the beginning?” Liz asked, surprised.
“Yeah, before we managed to make a mess of it.”
Liz widened her eyes. “Which mess?”
“So very true,” Max laughed. “I meant the mess after the reunion.”
“Okay.” Liz nodded, “Shall I start?”
“Shoot.”
Liz cleared her throat and made a show of tossing her hair behind her head. She straightened and smiled widely, taking her time to assess Max. He had an unreal beauty about him as he sat with his usual array of messy hair and a suit waiting for her to speak.
“Hey, Max. It’s nice to see you again.”
“Hi, Liz. You’re looking mega hot tonight.”
“Oh… I… “ Liz snorted.
“What?”
“Max that’s ridiculous. You would not say that!”
“I so would.”
“I haven’t seen you for nine years and that’s the first thing you could come up with?”
“I couldn’t speak the first time I saw you after nine years!”
“I recall that.”
Max took deep breath of air. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Tell you…”
“The reason why you left,”
Max knew why Liz had left. It was because she had loved him. But he couldn’t comprehend why she hadn’t told him first. He wasn't sure how he survived. He guessed that everything happening at once meant that he was able to take one day at a time. One moment at a time. Whether it had been wondering about Liz, Serena's cancer or the birth of his daughter.
“You know I wondered everyday if I’d see you again. Then things happened with Serena and all that time… I… sorry we weren’t going to bring this up, right?”
“Right…. Liz said hoarsely. Sadly.
“I… the foods here.” Liz changed the topic. She would have been naïve to think that Max wouldn’t ask her. And if she was planning on continuing this so called friendship, she could bet her life that it would come up again. However, all Liz wanted to do right now was focus on the present. Living in the past was becoming far too painful. Perhaps, it was really time to move on.
****
Liz turned to Max as he pulled up outside her house. The glow from the street light behind him, shadowed his face into brilliant angles. The warm hum of the engine was the only sound between them, yet the silence wasn’t uncomfortable.
“I would ask you in, but...” God, why did this sound so much like a date?
“It’s fine. We are no longer sixteen and I guess that means that I can’t run into your room without knocking anymore.”
“….Right.”
“Plus, the whole fiancée thing.”
Liz laughed, “Yeah, that too.”
“Though I do have to say, if that wasn’t in the equation, I would have taken you home and ravished you.”
“Max!”
“Sorry,” Max smiled meekishly. “That was totally inappropriate.”
“Extremely.”
“Goodbye, Liz.”
“Bye, Max.”
There was an awkward silence before Liz turned toward the door. Max watched her as she got out of the car, a serene look about her. She gave him a small wave and started walking down the pathway to her home. Only when she had fumbled with the keys, gave him another wave and disappeared from sight, did he drive home, thinking of the evening they had spent together.
Liz opened the door with a smile on her lips. It was a strange feeling, but nothing could match up to what she had felt today. She could have spent all night in Max’s company. Whether it was talking, laughing or being absolutely silent, it felt like a lost part of her had been found again.
“Where were you?”
Liz blinked at the sudden intrusion to her thoughts. Kyle was standing in the hallway, sleeves rolled up. There was a faint smell of onion and chicken in the air. Had he been cooking?
Liz found color rising to her cheeks as she garbled for an excuse. “I went out… with a friend.”
“Max?”
“Yes.”
There was silence as a wave of understanding hit Kyle’s features. All of a sudden Liz felt hugely uncomfortable about something, however in seconds Kyle was smiling and she felt her discomfort ease.
“There’s pasta and chicken in the fridge.”
“I ate. I didn’t know you had cooked.”
“Actually its take out… and you look beautiful.”
“Oh, thanks.” Liz brightened, as Kyle moved forward to kiss her. Liz leaned into his arms, but immediately moved back as his kisses became needy and his fingers began to caress the zipper of her dress.
Kyle wasn’t indifferent to Liz’s reaction. “Something wrong?”
“No,” Liz shook her head, moving toward the staircase, “I’m just tired.”
“Right.”
“I think I’m going to take a shower and go to bed.”
“Sure.”
“See you in a sec.” Liz turned and rushed up the stairs.
Kyle turned away from her, trying to keep his emotions under check. Yet, he couldn’t help the way his fists scrunched into balls.
It seemed it was time to get his game face on.
Time Changes Everything
Chapter 23
Tess watched lazily as Kyle poured some extra pinot noir into her glass. Throwing her head back, she quickly gulped it down and leaned lazily against the bar, knowing her Versace dress was one that left little to the imagination. She smiled knowingly up at Kyle as his eyes lingered on her bosom before he looked away. He was agitated and nervous. However, this was nothing new for her. Tess often made men feel a little on edge.
Pushing a stray curl away from her face, Tess calmed the bubbling laughter inside her. He was trying so hard to maintain his coolness. But that didn’t mean she couldn’t play around a little. It meant nothing. There was no harm in taking a small detour before she reached her destination. After all, they had already made the rules clear. Both Tess and Kyle were here for a similar purpose. Fate had pulled them together purely through business circumstances, or more like personal circumstances that had become business.
Kyle wiped his lip with a napkin, the blue glow from the bar shadowing his face. “So you say there was nothing suspect?” He queried, trying to make the question look casual.
Tess shrugged nonchalantly, “I’ve already told you, no.”
Kyle looked taken back by her affront attitude, so she continued in order to maintain his calm, “Max very obviously has a crush on Liz. But if you claim that Liz loves you as she does, I doubt very much that she would be led astray, so to say. Especially by a mere crush.”
They had spent the last hour discussing her ‘trip’ with Kyle. He had been worried that something would develop between Max and Liz when he went away, so Tess had stepped in a for a while. Truth be told, working in a team to reach the common goal was so much easier than going at it alone. Who would have known that the stranger she met, 3 months ago, at this very bar, would be checking up on his fiancée just the same way she liked to keep a check on Max. Not that she ever let him know about it. She was way cleverer than that.
Kyle was still looking at her questioningly.
“I will be keeping a close eye on them both.” Tess said in her comforting voice.
It wasn’t like Max’s crushes lasted too long. He hadn’t been in a long term relationship since his marriage. However, there was no harm in making absolutely sure that this fancy of Max’s didn’t pull him in too deep. That was where Kyle came in.
“Max will be mine, we’re meant to be together. He’s just taking his time to realize it,” She confirmed.
Kyle nodded, but Tess could still see the worry etched on his features. She sighed inwardly. “But something is clearly worrying you. Still.”
“Liz and Max—they were friends for a long time.”
“Friends, Kyle. They were friends, that’s the point. Never has Max mentioned yourfiancée to me.” She tossed her hair, “We’ve been friends for a long time too.”
There was no way Max was going to choose Liz over her. Sure, she was kind of cute, but she was far too straight for him. Max needed someone a little … well, crazy like herself. Someone that would allow him to let go and live the unrestrained life that he needed. The only thing keeping him bound was his mother and his daughter and now, Liz. They wouldn’t be hard to deal with once she had him all to herself.
His mother could be ignored, Miriam could be dealt with later, but Liz was a threat that needed to be surrounded and eliminated.
Kyle poured himself another glass. “I appreciate your help Tess. I really needed a way to keep an eye on Liz. There was no way I could do another police check. I just want to make sure …” he trailed off taking a healthy gulp of his glass.
“You don’t have to explain yourself to me. As long as I get Max, you can do what you want.”
Kyle nodded, “By the end of this we’ll both have people we want in our lives, and we’ll know for sure if they’re the ones for us.”
Tess snorted. “I don’t need to know, Kyle. I already know. Max is who I want.”
Kyle let out a small laugh. “You’re used to getting your way aren’t you, Tess?”
“I’m used to battling it out. After all… everything is fair in love and war.”
Kyle raised his nearly empty glass. “Amen to that.”
****
Max glanced at his watch nervously. Maybe it was too soon. Maybe stalking Liz on the school playground, and then asking her out on a date two days after confessing his undying love for her, whilst she had a fiancée none the less, had scared her away. Perhaps she had come to the conclusion that a ‘try’ at this so called friendship would never work out. Maybe she would stand him up just like she had before. Max tapped his fingers on the expensive linen cloth impatiently. If she didn’t turn up, her message would be loud and clear. But what would that mean for him? Would he let her go this time?... Could he?
Damn, just thinking about it was making his mouth as dry as paper.
He looked around for the waiter to get himself a drink, when his eyes caught a spray of red movement toward him. The movements were hesitant yet graceful and his eyes slowly traveled from her bare legs and up to her radiant face. She looked absolutely exquisite in the knee-length chiffon red dress with a small red frill around the bottom. Her hair was lightly curled and set loose, cascading down her shoulders, silky and untamed. Meeting his eyes, Liz gave him a shy wave, and all of a sudden, Max’s heart skipped a beat.
As she moved nearer Max jumped up and pulled out a seat for her. Close up, she looked even more elegant. “Liz, you look… wow” He stuttered.
“Thanks, Max.” Liz smiled, planting a stray hair behind her ear, her eyes dropping to the table. She had never felt so nervous in her entire life.
“Thanks for coming,” Max said seating himself and staring against his will.
Liz placed her purse on the table, throwing a glance around her. “This is a nice place.”
Max nodded dumbly, unable to take his eyes off her. How he was speaking, he didn’t know.
“I came here last year for a company dinner. I thought it was a cozy atmosphere. Plus, I get to see women in beautiful dresses.”
Liz giggled, releasing some of the nervous tension. “The real reason comes out, huh?”
She had very nearly not come. She had planned to spend an evening at home with Kyle. However Kyle had had an urgent phone call from the station and he had gone. Liz had been unable to help herself when there was nothing to distract her thoughts. Perhaps it was against all reason, but the thought of seeing Max, had simply made her giddy with happiness.
Max was smiling at her. “I must admit I was hoping that I coax you into wearing that dress I bought for you.”
“I very nearly did.”
Max leaned forward with interest. “What made you change your mind?”
“I don’t know.” Liz shrugged. She had put the dress on and removed it three times. However, Liz couldn’t put her finger on why she had decided not to wear it in the end. She just wasn’t ready.
“I’m still holding you to your promise.” Max grinned, not noticing her thoughtful look. “I want to see you in that dress.”
Liz raised her brows flirtatiously, “I didn’t know there was a time limit.”
“Oh, there’s not.” Max answered, nodding a thanks as the waiter passed them both a silver plated menu, “I do still want to have my own teeth, though.”
Liz threw her head back, and laughed heartily. “I promise I’ll think about it.”
“Dentures are tricky things, Liz.” Max answered, placing the menu in front of him, “Especially when your mouth hits the floor.”
Liz’s rolled her eyes at his blatant tactlessness. “Max!”
A second waiter arrived with their wine, and they both talked through the menu and ordered. Liz sighed inwardly with happiness, this was a lot easier than she thought it would be. Now it was time for the awkwardness.
In silent company, Max poured some alcohol into Liz’s glass. She was looking at him in contemplation. And he knew what was coming next before she said it, he paused and sat back, eyes questioning.
“Max, I wanted to apologize for my outburst… what I said in the woods that day…. It’s been playing on my mind since we got back. You had just confessed your heart to me, and I didn’t have a right to let it loose like that.”
Max shook his head, reaching across the table to clasp her hand lightly. “I shouldn’t have brought it up. You’re taken and it was wrong of me to do that, but…”
“….you couldn’t help yourself.” Liz finished for him, not pulling her hand away from him. His touch was always exceptionally warm.
“I couldn’t help myself.” Max echoed in agreement, “Liz, I like to believe I’m quite a logical man. But when you’re around all logic seems to fly out of the window. I don’t know what kind of charm you have on me…it’s always been like that.”
Liz’s found herself blushing and her voice came out weak when she asked, “So now it’s my fault?”
Max sat back. “Let’s just say, the first time I saw you in that school playground… wearing those horrendous flashing sneakers, I wanted to buy you a million more, against all reason.”
Liz found herself giggling again. Being with Max made her feel like the easily amused school girl, that she had always been with him. “I must admit they were quite awful.”
There was small pause of consideration and suddenly they were both laughing. Liz threw a napkin at Max as he raised his hands in question.
“Don’t laugh. I liked those sneakers!”
Max wiped tears from his eyes. “Clearly. You did wear them every single day. For two years in a row.”
“Hey, look whose talking. You used to wear that teenage mutant turtle jacket all the time.”
Max tilted his head, recalling times long lost. “Moments of madness, huh?”
“Yet, they’re so vivid.” Liz smiled. She smiled widely at him, raising her glass to her lips. “Did you ever forget, Max?”
Max’s eyes met Liz’s. Her tone had suddenly changed.
“Forget?”
“Forget what it used to be like.”
“I pushed thoughts of you to the back of my mind. I never thought I’d see you again”
Liz smile turned bittersweet. “Isn’t that as good as forgetting?”
“Sometimes remembering is the worst thing,” Max answered truthfully.
Liz hiccoughed at the look on his face. In that moment it all made sense. Without really saying anything, Max has explained everything. How much she meant to him and how he would prefer to forget…simply because it was easier. Liz looked to the ground, trying to stop the tears that were threatening to come.
How could the atmosphere change so suddenly?
Max touched the tip of his glass with discomfort. “This is uh…”
“Yeah. Intense.” What did she expect? It was Max.
“Yeah,” Max coughed. “Let’s change the subject.” He didn’t want to upset her again.
“Okay,” Liz nodded to herself. She took a deep breath and fiddled with her hair. “Who was that girl, if you don’t mind me asking?”
“Which girl?” Max asked, nodding toward the bottle. “More wine?”
“Please,” Liz pushed her glass toward him. “Blonde, big boobs, pretty. Tess, I think her name was”
“I told you, she’s a work colleague.”
“Ahh…”
Max looked at her. “I sense an undertone of cynicism.”
Liz shrugged. “I’m not quite sensing a just friend’s vibe.”
“Perceptive.” Max confronted, “ Tess is always clear with what she wants. However, I’ve told her I’m unwilling to mix work and play.”
Liz bit her lip and then prodded, “And she’s okay with that?”
“She doesn’t have a choice.”
“Oh,” Liz responded. Even though her response wasn’t much, she was glowing inside.
Max eyed her, thinking this night has much easier than he thought it would have been. He would have thought Liz would have been more angry and unwilling to forgive. Not that he would have given up. He wasn't ever going to give up on her again.
“So let’s start again. Right from the beginning.”
“Right from the beginning?” Liz asked, surprised.
“Yeah, before we managed to make a mess of it.”
Liz widened her eyes. “Which mess?”
“So very true,” Max laughed. “I meant the mess after the reunion.”
“Okay.” Liz nodded, “Shall I start?”
“Shoot.”
Liz cleared her throat and made a show of tossing her hair behind her head. She straightened and smiled widely, taking her time to assess Max. He had an unreal beauty about him as he sat with his usual array of messy hair and a suit waiting for her to speak.
“Hey, Max. It’s nice to see you again.”
“Hi, Liz. You’re looking mega hot tonight.”
“Oh… I… “ Liz snorted.
“What?”
“Max that’s ridiculous. You would not say that!”
“I so would.”
“I haven’t seen you for nine years and that’s the first thing you could come up with?”
“I couldn’t speak the first time I saw you after nine years!”
“I recall that.”
Max took deep breath of air. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Tell you…”
“The reason why you left,”
Max knew why Liz had left. It was because she had loved him. But he couldn’t comprehend why she hadn’t told him first. He wasn't sure how he survived. He guessed that everything happening at once meant that he was able to take one day at a time. One moment at a time. Whether it had been wondering about Liz, Serena's cancer or the birth of his daughter.
“You know I wondered everyday if I’d see you again. Then things happened with Serena and all that time… I… sorry we weren’t going to bring this up, right?”
“Right…. Liz said hoarsely. Sadly.
“I… the foods here.” Liz changed the topic. She would have been naïve to think that Max wouldn’t ask her. And if she was planning on continuing this so called friendship, she could bet her life that it would come up again. However, all Liz wanted to do right now was focus on the present. Living in the past was becoming far too painful. Perhaps, it was really time to move on.
****
Liz turned to Max as he pulled up outside her house. The glow from the street light behind him, shadowed his face into brilliant angles. The warm hum of the engine was the only sound between them, yet the silence wasn’t uncomfortable.
“I would ask you in, but...” God, why did this sound so much like a date?
“It’s fine. We are no longer sixteen and I guess that means that I can’t run into your room without knocking anymore.”
“….Right.”
“Plus, the whole fiancée thing.”
Liz laughed, “Yeah, that too.”
“Though I do have to say, if that wasn’t in the equation, I would have taken you home and ravished you.”
“Max!”
“Sorry,” Max smiled meekishly. “That was totally inappropriate.”
“Extremely.”
“Goodbye, Liz.”
“Bye, Max.”
There was an awkward silence before Liz turned toward the door. Max watched her as she got out of the car, a serene look about her. She gave him a small wave and started walking down the pathway to her home. Only when she had fumbled with the keys, gave him another wave and disappeared from sight, did he drive home, thinking of the evening they had spent together.
Liz opened the door with a smile on her lips. It was a strange feeling, but nothing could match up to what she had felt today. She could have spent all night in Max’s company. Whether it was talking, laughing or being absolutely silent, it felt like a lost part of her had been found again.
“Where were you?”
Liz blinked at the sudden intrusion to her thoughts. Kyle was standing in the hallway, sleeves rolled up. There was a faint smell of onion and chicken in the air. Had he been cooking?
Liz found color rising to her cheeks as she garbled for an excuse. “I went out… with a friend.”
“Max?”
“Yes.”
There was silence as a wave of understanding hit Kyle’s features. All of a sudden Liz felt hugely uncomfortable about something, however in seconds Kyle was smiling and she felt her discomfort ease.
“There’s pasta and chicken in the fridge.”
“I ate. I didn’t know you had cooked.”
“Actually its take out… and you look beautiful.”
“Oh, thanks.” Liz brightened, as Kyle moved forward to kiss her. Liz leaned into his arms, but immediately moved back as his kisses became needy and his fingers began to caress the zipper of her dress.
Kyle wasn’t indifferent to Liz’s reaction. “Something wrong?”
“No,” Liz shook her head, moving toward the staircase, “I’m just tired.”
“Right.”
“I think I’m going to take a shower and go to bed.”
“Sure.”
“See you in a sec.” Liz turned and rushed up the stairs.
Kyle turned away from her, trying to keep his emotions under check. Yet, he couldn’t help the way his fists scrunched into balls.
It seemed it was time to get his game face on.
Time Changes Everything
Chapter 24
“I never knew Roswell was such a slum.”
Max threw his sister a look from the rear view mirror. “You lived your whole childhood here, Iz.”
Not that he should be surprised with Isabel’s thoughtless comments. They were often showered upon him like a coming thunderstorm.
“So?” she retorted, “doesn’t make it anymore less of a slum. There is totally no place to eat.”
“There are lots of places to eat,” Max answered, looking frustratedly between his daughter in the front seat and his sister in the back. “Now only if you two could decide.”
Getting the women in his family to reach a decision, was quite possibly the most difficult thing he had to do. Ever!
Isabel sighed, shifting in her seat. She had her hand over her growing belly, protectively cradling her sixth month bump. Max remembered how Serena would always lay her hand over her bump. It seemed to often comfort her. In fact, the actuality that Isabel was expecting her first child was probably the reason that had kept him from laying too hard into her. And boy, was it costing him.
“Oh. Oh. Daddy, that place!” Miriam screeched all of a sudden.
Max slowed down in front of the multi-colored flashing spaceship. A sign in green neon lights on top of it said, ‘Crashdown Café’.
Trust his daughter to pick the tackiest place in town. He remembered Liz, had gotten a holiday job at this place. He had teased her for a week because of the silver antennae she had to wear as a part of her uniform.
“I think you should ask your Aunt if this is okay. After all she is the guest.”
“It’ll do.” His sister retorted, not noticing the sarcasm in his tone. “I wonder if they’ve still got that apple and mango smoothie.”
After Max had parked up on the sidewalk, the three of them made their way into the small restaurant. Max sniffed the air and was amazed that it smelled exactly the same. A mixture of burned burgers and vanilla. They hadn’t hired a decorator since he had been away, either. The walls were the same green, with pale aliens tattooed over them. The paint had faded slightly over time. Or maybe the memories were all too vivid.
They took a booth, and Max had to refrain from chuckling at the antennae on the girls head, that served them. Something had changed after all. They were now a lime green.
“What’s funny, Daddy?” his daughter ask wide eyed.
“Nothing. I had an itch.”
“Funny itch you got there, bro.” Isabel teased, chewing on a nacho.
“So what are you planning on calling the baby?” Max asked changing the topic, and reaching for his vanilla milkshake.
“Hubert.”
Max coughed in his napkin. “Really?”
“No.”
“Alex must be splitting his sides with that humour of yours.”
“Yes. Stitches are a common thing in the Whitman household.”
Max glared at her straight faced.
Isabel raised her brow. “Comedy queen, huh?”
“I wish I had a brother or sister. Daddy what do you think? I really want a brother.”
Max and Isabel turned toward the owner of the rather random comment.
“No, you don’t, M.” Max retaliated. “Hey!” he yelled as he was rewarded with a sharp kick from his sister.
“You’re just like Dad, you know,” Isabel said stonily, “once I asked him for a truck, but he said I couldn’t have one because I was a girl!”
“I’m nothing like—what?” Max shook his head with confusion and turned toward his daughter. “Why do you say that, sweetheart?”
Miriam smiled up at him innocently. “You guys really love each other and I want someone I can love a lot.”
Max blinked. Well… he guessed that was true. Even if Isabel was quite possibly the most tactless person he knew, he still loved her. She was settled in New York and did his head in every time she flew down. However, he couldn’t help but feel a weird type of joy as she would emerge from the airport telling him exactly what was wrong with everyones lives. Besides, Max had quite a nice collection of ties at Alex’s expense. He guessed it was Alex’s thank you to him, for keeping his wife for a few days.
“I mean-” Miriam continued in a small voice, which Max noted didn’t bare much difference to the voice she often used in moments of blackmail or torture. “I bet you guys used to tell ghost stories to each other and stuff.”
Isabel chuckled, “Miriam does have a point, Max. I should never have left you to go away to college. It might have stopped you turning out this way. So when will you give Miriam a sibling?”
Max screwed his eyes at his sister. Just wait till she had her baby! “Miriam has a pony,” he said stiffly.
“Not anymore,” Miriam cried.
“That’s because you never looked after it, M. It was about to die from starvation.”
“Well, I’m not going to be feeding my brother am I?” Miriam smiled sweetly, “That’ll be your job…. and my new Mommy’s!”
Isabel threw her head back and laughed heartily, “God, Max, I love your daughter.”
“Please, Daddy?” Miriam said sweetly.
“M, please,” Max warned.
This whole conversation was getting silly. It resembled his Mom’s ‘when will you settle down for a second time?’ talks.
Miriam instantly quietened, and straightened in her chair
“Excuse me,” she said, haughtily scraping her chair back.
“ Where are you going?”
“Bathroom.” She tossed her head and was gone.
Max turned to the amused expression on his sisters face. “Look what you started. She’s started throwing tantrums and she isn’t even a teenager yet.”
“I’m sorry. Really, Max. I am. But I think she feels lonely a lot of the time.”
“What do you expect me to do, Iz?” Max asked in whispered tones, “Adopt? Do you think I have time-”
“That’s exactly it,” Isabel interrupted, her eyes brightening like she had been waiting to say this forever, “when are you going to stop working so hard?”
Max sat back in his chair.
“I work so I can feed my daughter.”
Isabel’s gaze was unwavering. “You have more than enough to feed her until she’s a Grandma. Really, why do you work so much?”
“I told you why I work so much.”
“Really, honey? You work 23 hours a day because your daughter needs it? Or because you do?”
Max opened his mouth and closed it again, a little unnerved at Isabel’s observation. He had never revealed to anyone that he had initially started working so much to take away the pain. However that had been a long time ago. He guessed working the way he did, had become habitual.
“I do spend time with my daughter,” Max said promptly. Sure, he was a little late at times. But there was no way Isabel could accuse him of not being there for Miriam.
“You’re a great father, Max,” Isabel reassured, “but don’t you think it’s all just a big schedule? When did you last spend time with Miriam that wasn’t scheduled? …I’m just saying that she loves spending time with you… just imagine if you had a little more for her. A little more time for yourself.”
Isabel sighed, not noticing the downcast expression on her brothers face. “When was the last time you actually let yourself, breathe? Or think?... I was thinking about how I would hate Alex to be constantly working and…”
“You might be six years older than me, Iz,” Max snapped, “but it’s about time you stopped telling me how to run my life.”
Isabel looked surprised for a moment, and Max saw her visibly stiffen before his eyes. She snapped her mouth shut. “Fine.”
Before Max could explain his sudden outburst, Miriam appeared from the bathroom with a smile on her lips. Max wondered, how her mood changed so fast. His daughter slowly pulled out a chair and took a seat. In seconds he knew exactly why her temper had calmed.
Miriam chewed her apple pie, thoughtfully, “Aunt, Iz. Do you know that Liz is here? And she’s my teacher?”
Isabel frowned. “Liz, who?”
“Parker.”
Isabel paused half way through a fry, her tired expression changing to one with raw enthusiasm, , “Liz Parker? THE Liz Parker?”
Max threw his head in his hands and groaned. He really needed to start hanging out with the guys.
****
Max woke up the next morning to the sound of chirping birds and the steady hum of traffic coming from his open window. Rubbing his eyes groggily, he sat up in bed in puzzlement. This was an odd way to wake up. Max always woke up to a glaring, red alarm clock at exactly 05: 15 am every morning. Yet, he could already see the trinkets of light escaping from the gaps in his curtains.
Was it light already?
Turning to his side, he saw that time was 06: 30 am. How on Earth had he slept through his alarm? Further on his bedside table, a red light was steadily flashing. It read six new messages on his answer machine. As per usual, work woke up much earlier than he did. In fact he doubted that work even went to sleep. Sometimes he doubted that he did too.
He stretched forward, knowing exactly what would be on that machine. Message number one would be from Tess. She would give him her usual wake up call and blather on about nothing. Second would be his secretary asking about his morning coffee. Third would be Jonathon Franklin, reconfirming his morning meeting arrangements with Deloitte. Fourth would be a possible cancellation. Fifth would be Tess wondering why he hadn’t called her back. Sixth could be a possible rescheduling… or maybe talks of another meeting.
Meeting after meeting after meeting.
When was the last time you actually let yourself, breathe? Or think?... How long has it been since you took some time to do what you really wanted?
Max pressed the button on the answering machine and long tone sounded.
“Good morning, Max!” Tess’s voice reverberated loudly around him. “You know, today I really didn’t feel like waking up. I had …”
“Welcome to the club,” Max croaked sleepily, before impulsively pressing number two for ‘delete all messages’.
Not stopping to think what the hell he was doing, because otherwise he probably wouldn’t be doing it, Max threw back his covers, pulled on a t-shirt, and padded across the carpeted floor, and through the hallway. He peeked into his daughter’s room and then made his way inside falling on top of the covers and breathing in her scent.
When did you spend time with her, that wasn’t scheduled?
The truth was never. Nothing had been unscheduled since he had been sixteen years old. For the last ten years, his life had been a huge, big, mega schedule. Max couldn’t remember a time when he had slept past six in the morning. Even on weekends he found himself rising by five thirty so he could work out at the gym or catch up with the news, before he spent the rest of the day with his daughter.
Max heard his cell ring from his bedroom, but instead closed his eyes. One day without him surely wouldn’t kill them.
“Daddy?” Max opened his eyes, to see his daughters pine eyes looking curiously up at him. “Don’t you have work?”
“Not today.”
“Oh,” she said disbelievingly.
“You know,” said Max facing her so that they were almost nose to nose. “Sometimes it takes someone to tell you something that is obvious to everyone, but yourself.”
His daughter was eyeing him carefully, “like Aunt Iz?”
Max pulled a sorrowful face, “even she can be right sometimes.”
Miriam smiled brightly. Max lovingly ran his palm over his daughter’s hair. Even though Isabel was annoying as hell, she had a certain way of telling it like it was. No matter how inappropriate.
“And sometimes all the time in the world is not enough,” he chuckled to himself, “that’s something I should know about… I was thinking that soon you’ll be a teen and I’ll be wondering how you grew up so fast...” Max paused in thought.
Miriam watched her father inquisitively, as his own realization’s dawned upon him.
“Hey, M?”
“Yep?”
“How about you skip school today too? We could spend more time together.”
Miriam paused and then started to giggle. “Dad it’s your day off, not mine.”
Max nodded, somberly. “I really shouldn’t be saying that should I?”
“Not really,” she shook her head.
“God, I am such a bad father.”
Miriam snuggled into his chest, “No, you’re the best.”
****
Liz smiled to herself as she sorted through the homework pile, placing it in an alphabetically listed folder. She was on ‘E’ at the moment. Miriam’s essay was called ‘My Life,’ and one paragraph in particular had made her heart twinge with a mixture of warmth, and sadness.
My Dad is alone, but I think he is quite cute for a Dad because all the girls like him. Most of them are annoying, but there is one dark haired lady that reminds me of Belle in Beauty and the Beast. My Dad really loves her. I don’t blame him because she really is beautiful. Even more than Belle. I hope that she and my Dad can get married and give me a baby brother or sister that I can play with. I won’t even mind the crying. Sometimes we could all go and play in the park, like I’ve seen lot’s of families do. That would be really fun. I’ve already picked out some names…
“I always wondered, what you were thinking when you smiled like that.”
Liz jumped up with a start, catching the folder just before the papers hit the floor and flew everywhere. Max was leaning against the doorframe, his arms crossed over his blue shirt. Liz used the excuse of shuffling papers and slowly placing them into the folder in front of her, to calm her racing heart.
Where on Earth had he come from?
“Max, Miriam went home with Lucy’s Mom. They were going to have dinner at her house tonight,” she said steadily.
“I know, I came to see you.”
She could hear him walking toward her, and when she looked up she also knew she was blushing wildly. He had caught her off guard, and it was awkward because she had spent the last three weeks thinking of him a lot more than one with a fiancée should. Thoughts of Max had increased with fervency every time they had met. She had even started dreaming about him. And those dreams definitely were not the way one should think of a friend! Although Max had taken to calling her spontaneously, this was the first time he had walked in on her from nowhere.
Liz pushed the folder into its slot and turned to face him, unable to help the breaking smile. Liz couldn’t help but feel she was enjoying his visits far too much.
“Day off work?” she asked.
“You could say that.”
“So, what brings you by?”
Max shrugged, as he perched himself on the desk. “First tell me, do you ever leave this classroom?”
Liz rolled her eyes. “I find the smell of crayons riveting.”
Max’s eyes crinkled into a smile as he watched her. Every time he saw her she seemed to glow even more. “If I didn’t know any better, I would say that you were fixated with your childhood.”
Liz screwed her eyes, as she walked around the desk to face him and said playfully, “Thank you Dr. Freud, but everything isn’t about Max.”
Max pulled a face, “Damn, you couldn’t even humour me.”
“You humour me enough for the both of us.”
Max stood up, and looked down at her. “Are you making fun of me?”
Liz tilted her chin, “Is that what you want?”
Max closed the small place between them. His breath was warm on her cheek, and he said huskily, “If I told you what I wanted, would you give it to me?”
Liz’s eyes widened and she moved back creating a space between them. Her heart had started hammering violently in her chest.
Max was flirting with her, and she couldn’t participate in it. Especially since she knew exactly how he felt her about her. She just couldn’t…. no matter how much she wanted to.
Max coughed, thinking he might have crossed a line. He had to stop doing that.
“Actually, Liz. I wanted to show you something.” He continued, when she stared at him silently. “Do you remember the yearly ice rink they put up in High Square?”
Liz’s expression changed, “Yes.”
“It’s up.”
“Really?”
She had loved that place, and had looked forward to it every year when she had been a child.
“I thought you might be interested,” Max said modestly.
“Oh, I am!” she cried, forgetting their awkwardness, “When are you free?”
“Now.”
Liz laughed, “Let me grab my keys.”
****
Liz watched as Max flew across the ice rink, dodging some kid and his family. He skidded to a halt beside her, just as she had finished tying her laces. He held out his hand, and Liz politely held onto it. She wrapped her arms around his for support, but he was going way to fast and she found herself stumbling.
“Whoa, wait up. I’m wearing a skirt!” she cried, as he raced ahead.
“You are always so difficult.” Max answered snidely, coming back beside her.
Liz shoved his back playfully. She looked upward, “I wonder if it will snow.” She loved when it snowed.
“It’s definitely getting colder.”
Liz nodded, still finding it incredibly difficult to keep up with Max. She finally gave up.
“I really can’t skate with this thing on.” She nodded down at her tight skirt.
Max sighed, “So what now?”
He eyed Liz as she skated toward the barrier and leant against it for support. Her hair covered her face as she bent down and then there was a sudden ripping noise, as she quite easily tore up the small cut at her knee.
Max’s eyes widened in surprise, “Liz, what are you doing?”
“I never liked this pencil skirt thing. It looks professional, but it is such a pain in the ass to walk in,” she smiled up at him lavishly, “or skate in.”
Max grinned, “Rip things often?”
“Only when I need to.”
Max smirked. Liz had an uncaring, free look about her and it reminded Max much of the crazy tomboy she used to be.
“I bet you can’t catch me now.”
Before Max had the chance to protest, Liz was whizzing past him. Not one to say no to a challenge, especially one presented by Liz, he found himself racing after her, barely missing an old granny. In and out of the crowd he weaved, he could see her mane of chestnut hair getting closer and closer as it flew wildly in a wind. Then all of a sudden she stopped. Unable to halt in time, Max found himself flying into her back. Liz screeched and in an awkward moment, both their arms and legs flew everywhere.
Breathless, Max found himself against the barrier on the edge of the ice-rink, with Liz leaning into him. Her face looked flushed and vibrant, and her hair was wavy and untamed.
Max smiled down at her. He pinched her nose between his thumb and finger. “Look, your nose is all red.”
Liz stretched and put her hand over Max’s ears. “your ears are red too,” she claimed, like it was a contest.
There was a small silence between them. The noise of the families surrounding them had become non existent. Liz’s breaths were coming out heavily, the heat from her mouth made wisps of clouds in the darkening air. Her hands left his ears and slid down his cheeks, almost as if she was waiting for something and Max couldn’t help but notice that dark shadow against her skin gave her a sensual, almost erotic look.
Max was the first one to speak again. His words were drenched in emotion, “Jesus, you are so beautiful. I just…I can’t…”
Max leaned over her, his hand resting on her cheek. When she didn’t make any move away from him, he moved forward, closing the small space between them.
To his surprise she didn’t push him away when he kissed her. In fact, she might have moved toward him. The coldness around them evaporated, as Max claimed her mouth as his own. His kiss was gentle, quick and a little bit hesitant. However, it was enough for him to feel how soft she still was, and smell her scent in this close way he had missed so much. It was something that had been building over the weeks and when he pulled back, he was anything but sated. Liz’s eyes were dark with some intense feeling. Max wasn’t sure if it was desire or anger.
“I’m sorry,” Max groaned, trying to comprehend what the hell he was going to do now. “Just, I can’t stop thinking about you. That’s all I’ve been doing for the last month… you’re gunna ban me from your life now aren’t you?...Liz?”
He expected that she would get angry. That she would say that they should split on amicable terms… that it just wasn’t working out. She was perfectly within her right to never want to speak to him again.
Instead she said, “It’s fine.”
Max’s mouth opened in shock, “What?”
Liz was looking up at him with a strange expression on her face.
“I said… it’s fine. Max, I know it’s difficult for you, so let’s pretend it didn’t happen, okay?”
Max breathed with relief, trying not to think about how strange her reaction was. He was just glad that she hadn’t lost it completely.
He nodded, “Okay.”
Liz smiled, “Just… you know, don’t let it happen again.” Yet Max didn’t think her voice was convincing in the slightest.
She was grabbing his hands in hers. It was weird type of closeness. Not friends, not lovers, but something else in between.
Isn’t that what it had always been?
Perhaps being this way was actually easy for them. Perhaps being friends or lovers would never work out.
As they skated hand in hand, their conversations flowing easily again, Max began to wonder if he could really live forever with their relationship being something that was just in between. It was forbidden to think it, but would she let him kiss her again, if he tried? Should… he try?
No it was wrong. It was unfair.
Liz laughed suddenly and Max’s attention shifted toward her. He was so engrossed with her laughter, her words, and her being there beside him, that he didn’t notice the familiar BMW parked on the left of the ice rink, where someone watched them, rage burning her heart.
Last edited by Blue*Soul on Sat Feb 10, 2007 7:44 am, edited 2 times in total.
Strawberry88: Tess? Stalkerish? Never! This part may surprise you… or not! 
begonia9508: Our little M knows how to get her way doesn’t she?
Evelynn: This soon enough? I’m still waiting for birdie to hunt me down with that whip tho, lol!
LairaBehr4: Hey Laira! : waves:
behrluv32: Hm… killing Tess has defo crossed my mind I must say. Many times…
FrenchDreamer: I enjoy your insight too. Thanks for reading!
FSU/MSW-94: Glad you enjoyed. Thanks for reading!
Bigears: I agree. Permission is so over rated anyway!
Alien614: I’m back!!
Natalie36: Lets just say I love a bit drama. Even the really obvious kind!
Emz80m: Yep, Liz is definitely weakening…
Cassie: And her resolve is breaking…
frenchkiss70: Aw, puppy dog eyes! Does that always work for you?
roswell3053: Thanks for reading. Heres more!
BehrObsession: Thanks for your insight! Hope you enjoy this part.
Earth2Mama: Thanks for reading. Here’s the new part!
Time Changes Everything
Chapter 25
Liz couldn’t believe that Max had kissed her.
She drew her index finger over her lips. She could still feel his passion, his love… his taste in every fibre of her being. However, what Liz couldn’t believe was why that kiss was having so much of an affect on her.
When she was a teen, she had waited for him to do this very thing for years. She had imagined that when Max kissed her, it would be the best day of her life. She had thought that when Max admitted his love for her, they would never look back…that marked moment would unfold a life full of events where they would date and get married, have children, perhaps even move to Africa. Now, Liz knew that none of those things would ever happen. So why was she so giddy with exhilaration that Max had kissed her?
Why couldn’t she stop thinking about how her heart had stopped, when his mouth had connected with hers? Or how she had leant into him for support because her legs had become pure jelly? There was no logic to it. The way she was reacting was putting her in a dilemma.
She really shouldn’t be with a friend that felt that way about her. She couldn’t be with a friend that made her have these types of feelings. It was that simple. It would destroy both their friendship and her relationship with Kyle. Even if she hadn’t responded, it was wrong, and terrible of her to have enjoyed Max’s kiss…especially since she had come back to her fiancée.
Kyle had kissed her too, and then, Liz had committed the greatest sin that a devoted girlfriend could. She had compared. She had wondered if anything would ever feel as good as the touch of Max’s lips on hers. She had wondered if any others man’s kiss would feel as if it had just ignited her soul and made her come alive again.
She was alive, she was intoxicated with happiness… and she was yearning.
Liz closed her eyes tight.
No. She was not yearning. She could not yearn for Max. She was with Kyle! This was wrong!
Liz grabbed a tumbler and poured some mineral water in to it.
Would Max be the passionate lover she had always thought he would be? He had this way of undressing you with his eyes, and it made her heart pump that little bit faster just thinking about the way he had started to look at her recently.
Liz shook her head and closed her eyes tight. No, Liz. Wrong. Wrong. Wrong!
Her eyes flew open at a sudden noise from the hallway, and she walked forward, peering around the kitchen door cautiously.
“Oh, god, Kyle,” Liz cried as Kyle sheepishly bent over and picked up the large book he had dropped. “You scared me!”
“Sorry.”
“You were so quiet. It’s like you’re sneaking up on me or something,” she said, laughing at the deer in headlights expression on his face.
Kyle placed the book on the dining table and nuzzled her neck playfully, “Like I would do that… you look beautiful by the way.”
Liz rolled her eyes playfully. “Thanks. So how was your day?” she moved away from him and opened the fridge, snooping for something to eat.
Kyle shrugged, “Same old station crap. I caught Tony and Steven having sex in the cupboard.”
“Hm, sounds gross.”
“Well, let’s just say that I’ll be thinking twice before opening any noisy cupboards.”
Liz pulled a disgusted face and held up a green can in her hand.
“Tuna?”
“No, I ate,” Kyle answered patting his stomach. “How was your day?”
He watched curiously as Liz’s eyes lit up. “I went ice skating.”
“Oh, Yeah?”
“The rink at High Square. Do you know they used to do that every year when I was young? I never knew it still went on.”
“I never knew you could skate.”
For a moment, Liz thought she saw Kyle’s eyes flash with something raw. Why would not knowing that she could skate, hurt him?
“I guess we never had the opportunity to go together. We should go Kyle. It’s so Christmassy, pretty and romantic…just so much fun…”
Kyle nodded, “who did you go with?”
Liz’s breath suddenly caught in her throat. For a moment she had forgotten the other reason why she had so much fun. Perhaps the reason she always loved ice skating was because she had always done it with Max. Perhaps the reason that Kyle didn’t know she could skate was because she had only ever been with Max.
Kyle eyed her interestedly and Liz found herself blushing. Max had kissed her. She had let him kiss her without any repercussion. Had she been unfaithful? Was this how people started affairs? She had never imagined that she would… that she could be one of them. These people that started affairs were awful, lying, betraying monsters… weren’t they?
Liz had always been faithful and honest with Kyle. There was no reason she shouldn’t be. She hadn’t done anything wrong. So why did she suddenly feel the need to lie?
Liz smiled at Kyle and tried to look as guilt free as possible.
“I went with Lisa. She teaches third grade.”
“Ah,” Kyle nodded in response, “ Is Lisa a good skater?”
“Um…,” Liz tapped the counter nervously, “Yeah, she’s okay.”
“Hm…” Kyle said, absent mindedly, placing an arm around her. “So what do you want to do tonight? Catch a movie?”
Liz breathed a sigh of relief, thanking the stars that he changed the subject so fast. She wasn’t exactly the best of liars. She smiled at her fiancée and placed the can of tuna on the counter.
“I’ll cook supper tonight. I’ll make it grand.”
It didn’t matter how tired she was. The guilt was too great.
Kyle smiled widely, “Suddenly I’m really hungry.”
***
Max poured himself a night cap and fell onto the black, leather couch, as he inattentively watched the midnight news at lowered volume. It was hardly loud enough for him to take it in, instead, he sat under the soft light of his living room, thinking of the day that had passed. It had quite possibly been one of the best days he’d had in a long while. Taking time out for himself, really worked for him. Perhaps he should actually start taking advice from Isabel.
Max chuckled to himself. Letting Isabel make his decisions would be like leaving the biggest chocolate lover alone in a chocolate factory. It would make her year. It was something she had been trying to do since he had hit adolescence and he wasn’t quite persuaded that he could let her loose yet.
As had been common in the last month, Max let his thoughts drift back to Liz. Her huge smile, flawless skin, and laughter that was pleasant and arousing at the same time. How had she managed to gain such a hold on him, without doing a thing? How did she manage to leave him frustrated and wanting every time he saw her? It was the type of desire that no one but Liz could relieve. Other women weren’t of interest to him anymore, not even for random flings. He couldn’t imagine even being remotely attracted to anyone, but Liz.
He probably knew more about Liz than he would know about anyone else throughout his entire life time. Yet she intrigued him like no other. There was nothing more interesting than when Liz would talk, or sigh, or rub her hand over her thighs.
Max stretched over the edge of the sofa and gritted his teeth. Her familiar scent was all over his clothes, surrounding him, molesting his senses. What he would give to kiss her again… to touch her in all the right places until she called his name again and again….He had been wrong to think their relationship hadn’t changed. It had. He had never been this turned on by Liz. He had never been this turned on by anyone.
Max gulped down the rest of his drink with one thrust and jumped up. It was time to take a cold shower. He placed his glass at the mini bar and was just about turn the lamp off, when a desperate knocking stopped him from going any further.
Wondering who the hell could be calling at this time, Max walked the pace of the living room and opened the door to reveal a rather unravelled looking Tess at his door step. For a second he almost didn’t recognise her. Her lips weren’t covered in lipstick, and her cheeks weren’t blushed a light pink. Her platinum hair had gone from bouncy ringlets to clumps of frizz that hung about in odd places and her eyes were shadowed… had she been crying?
“Hey, Max,” she coughed.
Max frowned, surprised at her state. “Hey, Tess, you okay?”
Almost like she hadn’t heard his question, she moved past him and made her way into his living room. Max watched as she stumbled around his sofa, trailing a finger over its leather in thought. Max was extremely disconcerted to see Tess in her uncombed state, reeking like she had one too many drinks. He wondered what the hell had happened, as he closed the door and joined her, in the middle of his living room.
Tess turned toward him and spoke suddenly. “We missed you at work.”
“I wasn’t feeling too well.”
Tess’s eyes flew up to meet his, and discomfort crept up his spine.
“Did something mess up at the office?” Max questioned.
Maybe he had been wrong in thinking that one day without him wouldn’t kill them. Tess looked …barely alive.
“Get me a martini will you?” she croaked falling onto the couch.
“What’s wrong, Tess?” he prompted further, ignoring her demand for alcohol. He didn’t want her collapsing on him.
She didn’t look at him. Instead there was a weird type of silence, which Max thought would never end. Tess made a jerky movement as she sized him up.
“You’re a fucking liar, that’s what’s wrong.”
“What?”
“You bullshitted us. Just like you always do. You bullshitted us! I saw you skating around High square, laughing and joking around.”
Max was taken aback by her heartfelt and out of proportion retort. Why was it such a big deal to her that he had taken the day off? Tess had done it many times.
“Okay, I lied,” he admitted, “I just needed time…”
“Time with Liz? Is that what you needed?” she snapped.
“Yeah, I guess. It was nice to spend the evening with my daughter too.”
“I knew it,” she cried, jumping up off the couch like a mad women. “Kyle was right all along… all along he was saying that you two--,”
“Kyle?”
Max stared at her. Kyle? Had Tess been talking to Kyle? What on Earth was going on?
Tess looked frightened for a second, she gasped, shook her head, then started mumbling quiet utterances to herself.
Max was awestruck at her behaviour. In all the time they had spent together, he had never seen her act this way.
Max moved toward her, “Tess?... Tess, what did Kyle say?”
When she didn’t come out of her thoughts, Max felt waves of tiredness hitting him.
“Is there a reason you’re here?” he tried again.
Tess made a sudden movement toward him, grabbing his white shirt in her fist, she bought her face close to him. Max turned his face to the side to avoid the alcoholic stench.
“The problem is… I love you. Don’t you get it? I fucking love you and you’re going around fucking stupid…whores like Liz!”
Max paused in between a strange moment of shock and laughter. Was she for real?
“Tess,” he said calmly as he could. Taking a light grasp of her wrist, Max pulled her off his shirt. “Listen,”
“Don’t Tess me,” she growled. “I’ve waited for you to love me for six whole years. Six years!”
Six years…and in love… what? Had she lost her mind completely?
“Look, I’m sorry. I’ve told you I don’t feel that way.”
“I do! Isn’t that what counts? I’m intelligent, attractive, what more do you want?”
Max took a deep breath, taking in the dishevelled girl in front of him with a morbid type of fascination. Her eyes were unsteady and her skin was becoming splotchy. He knew Tess found him attractive…but in love? That was totally ridiculous, especially since he had made it clear that he wasn’t interested in her in a romantic way many times. It’s not like he hadn’t had the opportunity. He could have slept with her if he wanted to. But he hadn’t, because he had wanted to save their professional relationship. And boy he was glad that he hadn’t.
Max watched the clock on the counter behind Tess, distractedly. This was beginning to grit on his nerves. SHE was beginning to grit on his nerves.
“Look, I know that it’s hard on you, but it won’t work out …,.“
He trailed off as Tess was now standing in front of him half naked. Her coat had fallen to the floor and she had unbuttoned her blouse. Her black bra was in full display and with a jerk she pulled open the rest of her blouse with wild abundance. Buttons flew everywhere.
“You can take me now, Max. I make a good lover. You never gave me a chance to prove myself.”
Max wondered whether to laugh. This was even worse than those cheap stalker movies that came out when he was a kid.
“No,” Max shook his head, trying his best to rationalize with her. “ You’re drunk. Go home. Let me drive you. Come on.”
She moved toward him. “No…”
“We’ll sort it out tomorrow. Whatever you need to talk about we’ll do it tomorrow.”
“NO!” she cried, grabbing his hand and placing it on her breast, “You don’t know what you’re missing. Come on, give it a go!”
“Stop it!” Max yelled, pulling away from her. Shaking his head, he bent down and picked her coat up. He placed it on her shoulders, before moving away from her.
The coat dropped back to the floor as she continued to move toward him like a predator hunting its prey. “Don’t you want me, Max?”
Max rolled his eyes. “My daughter is asleep. Stop this will you?”
Tess’s face changed, reddening with fury. “That’s all you care about. Your stupid brat of a daughter!”
Max’s felt extreme anger take hold of his insides at the ignorance of the girl in front of him. She was damned lucky that he hadn’t chucked her out of his place at the way she was behaving.
“Excuse me?”
“She’s got you wrapped around her little finger and you don’t even know it. She’s a manipulative little cow, Max. You’ll learn that when she gets older. You’ll thank me… hey! What are you doing?”
“That’s it. I’ve had enough. Get out.” Max grabbed her elbow and led her toward the door.
He never had been so angry in his entire life.
“Fuck you, Max!” Tess screamed enraged, “Just fuck you!”
“GET OUT!”
Pulling the front door open, he grabbed Tess’s elbow and shoved her outside. She made a few wobbly movements before, turning to face him, her eyes frantic and bra on full display. The look on Max’s face had scared her. He almost looked primal with anger.
“You’re disgusting, Tess. Get some damned self respect. Do you want the truth? Then yes, I love Liz. I always have loved her so I don’t want to hear any of that venom you’ve spat out about her."
"Max..."
"Shutup and hear me out. I know my daughter has me wrapped around her little finger, and I would give up my soul for that kid if I could. Are you happy now? …I doubt this is what you wanted to hear, but you’ve pushed me too far. Leave me alone, Tess. Leave my family alone.”
Breathing hard Max slammed the door shut on her shocked face. His fists continued to shake with rage. There, he had said it. Liz was a part of his family. He didn’t want this in between crap anymore. He wanted Liz as part of his life… forever.
***
Max redialled Liz’s number. He had tried all morning. However, she hadn’t answered. She was never this reluctant to answer. What had happened? He had so much to say. He wanted to talk to her about Tess’s little drama last night. How was Kyle involved? He wanted to tell her how he felt about her. He wanted to present her with the ring that caused a little bump in the right pocket of his jacket.
He knew she felt something for him too. Perhaps he was being selfish, but life without her was becoming unbearable. Maybe he could convince her… when he showed her the ring maybe she would change her mind…
“Hello?” Liz’s voice sounded tired.
“Liz, it’s me.”
“I know…Max I’m kind of in the middle of something.”
“I won’t be a sec, I need to talk to you.”
“Max, what is it?”
“I need to talk to you in private.”
“Oh okay.” She paused briefly. “I need to talk to you too.”
“Shall I pick you up? Say around eight?”
“Yes, sure.”
“See you later.”
Liz threw her phone on to the seat beside her with a strange type of dread in her heart. She would meet Max today. They needed to talk. It had been beyond great to have Max in her life, but she couldn’t let her friendship with him jeopardize her relationship with Kyle. She had thought that she’d be able to juggle both, but that was clearly impossible to do.
She’d have to choose.
begonia9508: Our little M knows how to get her way doesn’t she?
Evelynn: This soon enough? I’m still waiting for birdie to hunt me down with that whip tho, lol!
LairaBehr4: Hey Laira! : waves:
behrluv32: Hm… killing Tess has defo crossed my mind I must say. Many times…
FrenchDreamer: I enjoy your insight too. Thanks for reading!
FSU/MSW-94: Glad you enjoyed. Thanks for reading!
Bigears: I agree. Permission is so over rated anyway!
Alien614: I’m back!!
Natalie36: Lets just say I love a bit drama. Even the really obvious kind!
Emz80m: Yep, Liz is definitely weakening…
Cassie: And her resolve is breaking…
frenchkiss70: Aw, puppy dog eyes! Does that always work for you?
roswell3053: Thanks for reading. Heres more!
BehrObsession: Thanks for your insight! Hope you enjoy this part.
Earth2Mama: Thanks for reading. Here’s the new part!
Time Changes Everything
Chapter 25
Liz couldn’t believe that Max had kissed her.
She drew her index finger over her lips. She could still feel his passion, his love… his taste in every fibre of her being. However, what Liz couldn’t believe was why that kiss was having so much of an affect on her.
When she was a teen, she had waited for him to do this very thing for years. She had imagined that when Max kissed her, it would be the best day of her life. She had thought that when Max admitted his love for her, they would never look back…that marked moment would unfold a life full of events where they would date and get married, have children, perhaps even move to Africa. Now, Liz knew that none of those things would ever happen. So why was she so giddy with exhilaration that Max had kissed her?
Why couldn’t she stop thinking about how her heart had stopped, when his mouth had connected with hers? Or how she had leant into him for support because her legs had become pure jelly? There was no logic to it. The way she was reacting was putting her in a dilemma.
She really shouldn’t be with a friend that felt that way about her. She couldn’t be with a friend that made her have these types of feelings. It was that simple. It would destroy both their friendship and her relationship with Kyle. Even if she hadn’t responded, it was wrong, and terrible of her to have enjoyed Max’s kiss…especially since she had come back to her fiancée.
Kyle had kissed her too, and then, Liz had committed the greatest sin that a devoted girlfriend could. She had compared. She had wondered if anything would ever feel as good as the touch of Max’s lips on hers. She had wondered if any others man’s kiss would feel as if it had just ignited her soul and made her come alive again.
She was alive, she was intoxicated with happiness… and she was yearning.
Liz closed her eyes tight.
No. She was not yearning. She could not yearn for Max. She was with Kyle! This was wrong!
Liz grabbed a tumbler and poured some mineral water in to it.
Would Max be the passionate lover she had always thought he would be? He had this way of undressing you with his eyes, and it made her heart pump that little bit faster just thinking about the way he had started to look at her recently.
Liz shook her head and closed her eyes tight. No, Liz. Wrong. Wrong. Wrong!
Her eyes flew open at a sudden noise from the hallway, and she walked forward, peering around the kitchen door cautiously.
“Oh, god, Kyle,” Liz cried as Kyle sheepishly bent over and picked up the large book he had dropped. “You scared me!”
“Sorry.”
“You were so quiet. It’s like you’re sneaking up on me or something,” she said, laughing at the deer in headlights expression on his face.
Kyle placed the book on the dining table and nuzzled her neck playfully, “Like I would do that… you look beautiful by the way.”
Liz rolled her eyes playfully. “Thanks. So how was your day?” she moved away from him and opened the fridge, snooping for something to eat.
Kyle shrugged, “Same old station crap. I caught Tony and Steven having sex in the cupboard.”
“Hm, sounds gross.”
“Well, let’s just say that I’ll be thinking twice before opening any noisy cupboards.”
Liz pulled a disgusted face and held up a green can in her hand.
“Tuna?”
“No, I ate,” Kyle answered patting his stomach. “How was your day?”
He watched curiously as Liz’s eyes lit up. “I went ice skating.”
“Oh, Yeah?”
“The rink at High Square. Do you know they used to do that every year when I was young? I never knew it still went on.”
“I never knew you could skate.”
For a moment, Liz thought she saw Kyle’s eyes flash with something raw. Why would not knowing that she could skate, hurt him?
“I guess we never had the opportunity to go together. We should go Kyle. It’s so Christmassy, pretty and romantic…just so much fun…”
Kyle nodded, “who did you go with?”
Liz’s breath suddenly caught in her throat. For a moment she had forgotten the other reason why she had so much fun. Perhaps the reason she always loved ice skating was because she had always done it with Max. Perhaps the reason that Kyle didn’t know she could skate was because she had only ever been with Max.
Kyle eyed her interestedly and Liz found herself blushing. Max had kissed her. She had let him kiss her without any repercussion. Had she been unfaithful? Was this how people started affairs? She had never imagined that she would… that she could be one of them. These people that started affairs were awful, lying, betraying monsters… weren’t they?
Liz had always been faithful and honest with Kyle. There was no reason she shouldn’t be. She hadn’t done anything wrong. So why did she suddenly feel the need to lie?
Liz smiled at Kyle and tried to look as guilt free as possible.
“I went with Lisa. She teaches third grade.”
“Ah,” Kyle nodded in response, “ Is Lisa a good skater?”
“Um…,” Liz tapped the counter nervously, “Yeah, she’s okay.”
“Hm…” Kyle said, absent mindedly, placing an arm around her. “So what do you want to do tonight? Catch a movie?”
Liz breathed a sigh of relief, thanking the stars that he changed the subject so fast. She wasn’t exactly the best of liars. She smiled at her fiancée and placed the can of tuna on the counter.
“I’ll cook supper tonight. I’ll make it grand.”
It didn’t matter how tired she was. The guilt was too great.
Kyle smiled widely, “Suddenly I’m really hungry.”
***
Max poured himself a night cap and fell onto the black, leather couch, as he inattentively watched the midnight news at lowered volume. It was hardly loud enough for him to take it in, instead, he sat under the soft light of his living room, thinking of the day that had passed. It had quite possibly been one of the best days he’d had in a long while. Taking time out for himself, really worked for him. Perhaps he should actually start taking advice from Isabel.
Max chuckled to himself. Letting Isabel make his decisions would be like leaving the biggest chocolate lover alone in a chocolate factory. It would make her year. It was something she had been trying to do since he had hit adolescence and he wasn’t quite persuaded that he could let her loose yet.
As had been common in the last month, Max let his thoughts drift back to Liz. Her huge smile, flawless skin, and laughter that was pleasant and arousing at the same time. How had she managed to gain such a hold on him, without doing a thing? How did she manage to leave him frustrated and wanting every time he saw her? It was the type of desire that no one but Liz could relieve. Other women weren’t of interest to him anymore, not even for random flings. He couldn’t imagine even being remotely attracted to anyone, but Liz.
He probably knew more about Liz than he would know about anyone else throughout his entire life time. Yet she intrigued him like no other. There was nothing more interesting than when Liz would talk, or sigh, or rub her hand over her thighs.
Max stretched over the edge of the sofa and gritted his teeth. Her familiar scent was all over his clothes, surrounding him, molesting his senses. What he would give to kiss her again… to touch her in all the right places until she called his name again and again….He had been wrong to think their relationship hadn’t changed. It had. He had never been this turned on by Liz. He had never been this turned on by anyone.
Max gulped down the rest of his drink with one thrust and jumped up. It was time to take a cold shower. He placed his glass at the mini bar and was just about turn the lamp off, when a desperate knocking stopped him from going any further.
Wondering who the hell could be calling at this time, Max walked the pace of the living room and opened the door to reveal a rather unravelled looking Tess at his door step. For a second he almost didn’t recognise her. Her lips weren’t covered in lipstick, and her cheeks weren’t blushed a light pink. Her platinum hair had gone from bouncy ringlets to clumps of frizz that hung about in odd places and her eyes were shadowed… had she been crying?
“Hey, Max,” she coughed.
Max frowned, surprised at her state. “Hey, Tess, you okay?”
Almost like she hadn’t heard his question, she moved past him and made her way into his living room. Max watched as she stumbled around his sofa, trailing a finger over its leather in thought. Max was extremely disconcerted to see Tess in her uncombed state, reeking like she had one too many drinks. He wondered what the hell had happened, as he closed the door and joined her, in the middle of his living room.
Tess turned toward him and spoke suddenly. “We missed you at work.”
“I wasn’t feeling too well.”
Tess’s eyes flew up to meet his, and discomfort crept up his spine.
“Did something mess up at the office?” Max questioned.
Maybe he had been wrong in thinking that one day without him wouldn’t kill them. Tess looked …barely alive.
“Get me a martini will you?” she croaked falling onto the couch.
“What’s wrong, Tess?” he prompted further, ignoring her demand for alcohol. He didn’t want her collapsing on him.
She didn’t look at him. Instead there was a weird type of silence, which Max thought would never end. Tess made a jerky movement as she sized him up.
“You’re a fucking liar, that’s what’s wrong.”
“What?”
“You bullshitted us. Just like you always do. You bullshitted us! I saw you skating around High square, laughing and joking around.”
Max was taken aback by her heartfelt and out of proportion retort. Why was it such a big deal to her that he had taken the day off? Tess had done it many times.
“Okay, I lied,” he admitted, “I just needed time…”
“Time with Liz? Is that what you needed?” she snapped.
“Yeah, I guess. It was nice to spend the evening with my daughter too.”
“I knew it,” she cried, jumping up off the couch like a mad women. “Kyle was right all along… all along he was saying that you two--,”
“Kyle?”
Max stared at her. Kyle? Had Tess been talking to Kyle? What on Earth was going on?
Tess looked frightened for a second, she gasped, shook her head, then started mumbling quiet utterances to herself.
Max was awestruck at her behaviour. In all the time they had spent together, he had never seen her act this way.
Max moved toward her, “Tess?... Tess, what did Kyle say?”
When she didn’t come out of her thoughts, Max felt waves of tiredness hitting him.
“Is there a reason you’re here?” he tried again.
Tess made a sudden movement toward him, grabbing his white shirt in her fist, she bought her face close to him. Max turned his face to the side to avoid the alcoholic stench.
“The problem is… I love you. Don’t you get it? I fucking love you and you’re going around fucking stupid…whores like Liz!”
Max paused in between a strange moment of shock and laughter. Was she for real?
“Tess,” he said calmly as he could. Taking a light grasp of her wrist, Max pulled her off his shirt. “Listen,”
“Don’t Tess me,” she growled. “I’ve waited for you to love me for six whole years. Six years!”
Six years…and in love… what? Had she lost her mind completely?
“Look, I’m sorry. I’ve told you I don’t feel that way.”
“I do! Isn’t that what counts? I’m intelligent, attractive, what more do you want?”
Max took a deep breath, taking in the dishevelled girl in front of him with a morbid type of fascination. Her eyes were unsteady and her skin was becoming splotchy. He knew Tess found him attractive…but in love? That was totally ridiculous, especially since he had made it clear that he wasn’t interested in her in a romantic way many times. It’s not like he hadn’t had the opportunity. He could have slept with her if he wanted to. But he hadn’t, because he had wanted to save their professional relationship. And boy he was glad that he hadn’t.
Max watched the clock on the counter behind Tess, distractedly. This was beginning to grit on his nerves. SHE was beginning to grit on his nerves.
“Look, I know that it’s hard on you, but it won’t work out …,.“
He trailed off as Tess was now standing in front of him half naked. Her coat had fallen to the floor and she had unbuttoned her blouse. Her black bra was in full display and with a jerk she pulled open the rest of her blouse with wild abundance. Buttons flew everywhere.
“You can take me now, Max. I make a good lover. You never gave me a chance to prove myself.”
Max wondered whether to laugh. This was even worse than those cheap stalker movies that came out when he was a kid.
“No,” Max shook his head, trying his best to rationalize with her. “ You’re drunk. Go home. Let me drive you. Come on.”
She moved toward him. “No…”
“We’ll sort it out tomorrow. Whatever you need to talk about we’ll do it tomorrow.”
“NO!” she cried, grabbing his hand and placing it on her breast, “You don’t know what you’re missing. Come on, give it a go!”
“Stop it!” Max yelled, pulling away from her. Shaking his head, he bent down and picked her coat up. He placed it on her shoulders, before moving away from her.
The coat dropped back to the floor as she continued to move toward him like a predator hunting its prey. “Don’t you want me, Max?”
Max rolled his eyes. “My daughter is asleep. Stop this will you?”
Tess’s face changed, reddening with fury. “That’s all you care about. Your stupid brat of a daughter!”
Max’s felt extreme anger take hold of his insides at the ignorance of the girl in front of him. She was damned lucky that he hadn’t chucked her out of his place at the way she was behaving.
“Excuse me?”
“She’s got you wrapped around her little finger and you don’t even know it. She’s a manipulative little cow, Max. You’ll learn that when she gets older. You’ll thank me… hey! What are you doing?”
“That’s it. I’ve had enough. Get out.” Max grabbed her elbow and led her toward the door.
He never had been so angry in his entire life.
“Fuck you, Max!” Tess screamed enraged, “Just fuck you!”
“GET OUT!”
Pulling the front door open, he grabbed Tess’s elbow and shoved her outside. She made a few wobbly movements before, turning to face him, her eyes frantic and bra on full display. The look on Max’s face had scared her. He almost looked primal with anger.
“You’re disgusting, Tess. Get some damned self respect. Do you want the truth? Then yes, I love Liz. I always have loved her so I don’t want to hear any of that venom you’ve spat out about her."
"Max..."
"Shutup and hear me out. I know my daughter has me wrapped around her little finger, and I would give up my soul for that kid if I could. Are you happy now? …I doubt this is what you wanted to hear, but you’ve pushed me too far. Leave me alone, Tess. Leave my family alone.”
Breathing hard Max slammed the door shut on her shocked face. His fists continued to shake with rage. There, he had said it. Liz was a part of his family. He didn’t want this in between crap anymore. He wanted Liz as part of his life… forever.
***
Max redialled Liz’s number. He had tried all morning. However, she hadn’t answered. She was never this reluctant to answer. What had happened? He had so much to say. He wanted to talk to her about Tess’s little drama last night. How was Kyle involved? He wanted to tell her how he felt about her. He wanted to present her with the ring that caused a little bump in the right pocket of his jacket.
He knew she felt something for him too. Perhaps he was being selfish, but life without her was becoming unbearable. Maybe he could convince her… when he showed her the ring maybe she would change her mind…
“Hello?” Liz’s voice sounded tired.
“Liz, it’s me.”
“I know…Max I’m kind of in the middle of something.”
“I won’t be a sec, I need to talk to you.”
“Max, what is it?”
“I need to talk to you in private.”
“Oh okay.” She paused briefly. “I need to talk to you too.”
“Shall I pick you up? Say around eight?”
“Yes, sure.”
“See you later.”
Liz threw her phone on to the seat beside her with a strange type of dread in her heart. She would meet Max today. They needed to talk. It had been beyond great to have Max in her life, but she couldn’t let her friendship with him jeopardize her relationship with Kyle. She had thought that she’d be able to juggle both, but that was clearly impossible to do.
She’d have to choose.
Sorry for the huge delay peeps.
Times Changes Everything
Chapter 26
Liz observed Max’s living room nervously. This was the first time she had come to his home. She didn’t know if asking her to his home was a purposeful move on his part. It was as if little by little, he was unveiling himself to her. She was getting to know him more everyday, all over again. And she was just as curious as she had always been.
The décor was quite simple. A black leather couch, a flat screen TV, classy lighting and small bar to her left. It could easily have been a bachelor pad - but there were little hints which gave away that this wasn’t the case. Like the pink fluffy slippers peeking under the couch, the pony drawings stuck on the cooler at the bar, or the small rainbow umbrella next to the coat stand. Miriam’s things fit in to his place easily, giving Max’s home a colour and vibrancy that wouldn’t have been possible otherwise.
“The food will be ready shortly, thought we should start on this, though.”
Max appeared from the kitchen, holding a bottle of red wine and Liz broke from the surveillance of his home, to smile up at him. He was dressed casually in old jeans and a crinkly burgundy sweater and a type of easiness surrounded him. Liz wasn’t sure if this was because she was at his place or because their relationship had become a type of comfort to him – as it had to her.
“I feel way too over dressed.” Liz commented.
She had decided to go all out and wear the backless black dress that Max had bought her. After all, who was to say this wasn’t their final meeting? When she had put it on and looked at herself in the bedroom mirror, the dress had clung to her every curve, and fell off her hips like it had been tailored for her. She had thought the dress walked a fine line between classy and a little slutty. So she had dressed it down with a silk shawl. However, she hadn’t known that she was going to have such a hard time keeping the shawl on her shoulders.
“You look perfect.” Max gave her a look which made her shiver from head to foot. “I’m glad you wore that dress, Liz. It looks fantastic.” And then he smiled at her in the warm way that he normally did with her.
Liz’s heart quenched at what she was about to do to him. This wasn’t going to be easy on him. She knew exactly how much effort he put into building a new foundation for their relationship and telling him what she was about to, would hurt him a lot.
“I only want a little.” Liz said, as Max poured her a glass at the bar.
Max raised his eyebrows, “I’m not about to get you drunk and take advantage. I promise.”
Liz rolled her eyes playfully. “I’m driving, Max.”
“So stay here.”
When Liz didn’t return his teasing look. Max surveyed her as he passed Liz her glass.
“Something wrong?” he asked casually, though Liz caught the undertone of seriousness in his voice. It was going to be difficult to hide that something was wrong, for long.
However, now wasn’t the time to tell him about her plan. They’d relax, have dinner together, enjoy each others company. And maybe then she’d break it to Max that they’d need to ease off one another for a while. And if that wasn’t possible, then maybe it was better they never see each other again.
Thinking those words made Liz’s throat ache and she gulped down her wine to ease the pain. She looked at Max from underneath her lashes, “No….No, nothing’s wrong.”
Max shrugged and fell on the couch beside her. Liz smiled and moved toward him unknowingly. It was like a reflex action. The closer she sat to him, the more at ease she felt. Was it even possible for someone to sap away your worries just by being close?
Max smiled down at her. “I really like this. I enjoy spending time with you, Liz.”
Liz grinned back, “Likewise.”
Max put his arm over the back of the couch and turned toward her purposefully. Now was the time to discuss matters of importance. Liz was more open than she had ever been and they had begun to fit back into each others lives like a puzzle being put together. However, there was still something tugging at his mind, refusing to let go.
“I know we said we wouldn’t bring this up… but… I want to ask you this anyway. It’s been on my mind since ages and – “
“Would that have changed things?” Liz cut him off.
Max blinked in surprise. He forgot how good she was at reading his mind.
“…If I had come to you. If I had told you I loved you,” Liz continued, “would that really have changed what happened?”
Max sighed, running his hands through his hair, “I don’t know… maybe…”
Liz looked to the floor. “I loved you so much, Max. But the last thing I would have done was come to you. Call it crazy teenage stuff, but I didn’t feel it was within my power to stop what was going on.”
“I loved you too, Liz. I still do,” Max replied softly. He moved toward her and placed his thumb on her cheek. Liz sighed in satisfaction at his touch and Max was tempted within every inch of his being to kiss her again. The urge to taste her lips on his, was fast changing from a want to a need. He wasn’t sure how long his self control would last this time.
“I know,” Liz looked at him strangely, and said in confession, “You know, when I first saw you after so many years, I was so angry Max. I was so mad about what you had done to me…. what you had put me through when we were in High School. All the resentment came back… how could you have treated me that way? I was your best friend. I loved you.”
Liz’s eyes connected with Max’s, and she sighed gently as if she was battling something deep inside her, “…but the more I think about the past, the more my anger seems to fade. I can’t hold that resentment any longer because some things were meant to be. Like you were meant to be with Serena during that part of your life… you were meant to have Miriam… you know? ….If all that didn’t happen – Miriam would never have been. We wouldn’t have met like this again. Who’s to say we would have even spent the last few months of our lives together as we have now?”
Max nodded. She had a point. It was almost too dangerous to indulge in what if’s. A part of him felt guilty for being blind. For never having acknowledged Liz in the way that she had wanted him to, but another part of him felt guilty for ever imagining a life without his daughter.
“I’m glad we did, Liz. These last few months… I remember what it’s like to feel alive again.”
“Me too. It’s been… the best.”
Max ran his hand through his hair irately, “…God, Liz… this whole thing… you and I, It’s so damned difficult.”
Liz smiled, sweetly pinching his nose between her thumb and forefinger, “It always has been, Max.”
Max took her fingers in his hand, caressing them gently, “Then we should do something about it.”
“Our best times together were when we were ignorant. As long as we didn’t care to acknowledge what we had, it was good.”
“We can’t do that forever.” Max pressed.
Liz drew her brow together, confusion surpassing her features. “What do you mean?”
Max looked at Liz. The spur of the moment ring he had chosen to purchase, still sat in the drawer in his bedroom. He hadn’t changed his mind about presenting it to Liz. His feelings for her were stronger then ever, and growing at a rapid speed. He was stupid to never have recognized that he had loved her all along….this feeling of utter completeness only came about when she was around.
Max was ready to move away from the past. To start a future that was meant to be. He hoped Liz was ready too.
“Liz, you and I… we can’t just be friends.”
Liz nodded sadly, looking at the way her hand was folded into his. They fit, almost too perfectly, into his palm.
“I think we both knew that from the beginning.”
Max was right. They couldn’t just be friends. That was the problem. That is why she had come to talk to him today. It had to be done. Kyle was her fiancé.
“I think you’re right, Max.”
Max moved toward her, closing the gap between himself and Liz. She thought he was right. She thought their relationship should progress further. It was only natural.
With a renewed sense of confidence, Max said, “I can’t stop thinking about you. Somehow for the last ten years, I managed to allow myself to believe that you were wrong. That you left me because you weren’t as great as I thought you were. That nothing about you was ever special. That I didn’t need you as I thought I did…,”
Liz took in his words sadly. The time they had spent apart left profound anguish in her chest. Thinking of not being near him, was already causing that heavy feeling to come back. It was suffocating.
“--then I met you again and I realize that you’re even more special then I ever realized-,”
Liz bit her lip and pressed her finger softly against his mouth, shaking her head. “Max, just… shhh,”
She needed to make him stop speaking. Stop admitting how he felt about her… because she could feel every word pouring from his heart. If he continued, she wasn’t going to be able to do what she was here for.
Max watched her, as she gently brushed his cheek with the back of her palm. It was like she was discovering the feel of his skin against hers, for the first time.
“Our childhood was just the beginning. We have so much more to give to each other. Liz, I want to spend my days and nights with you, travel with you, talk with you, enjoy you. I want to love you.”
Liz stared, stunned. “Max, what are you saying?”
Liz listened with a type of morbid fascination as he took her hand from his cheek, and pressed a tiny kiss against her finger tips.
Her whole body shivered as he looked into her eyes and said, “I love you, Liz.”
Liz closed her eyes. “Max…no.”
She knew this. She could feel how much Max loved her. But she didn’t want to hear it. Hearing these words made her so scared. So unrestrained. So lacking in will power…
How could something feel so wrong and right at the same time?
Liz gasped, as his warm breath caressed her neck.
“Don’t you feel it too?”
“What…?”
“The magic. It’s all around us. Surrounds us. It’s a part of us.”
Liz opened her eyes and then answered truthfully, “I do…. that’s the problem. I feel it all the time.”
It was too damned hard to ignore.
“I’ve tried so hard to pretend and ignore and dismiss and it just doesn’t work,” she sighed, “Why doesn’t it work, Max. Why?”
Max looked at her intently, lovingly, and her soul shivered.
“Because… it’s real.”
A silence overtook their surroundings and the air began to prickle with an intensity known only to the two of them.
Liz scanned Max’s face. He had kissed her at the ice rink and she had felt guilty as hell. So, she wasn’t entirely sure what it was that made her kiss him. One minute she was staring at the flecking of gold around his pupils and the next, her mouth was on his begging for more.
Max took her mouth readily in his own. She kissed him softly at first, but when he responded, her kisses became more urgent, wanting, needy. Max’s arms embraced Liz’s small body. She fell into him easily as he leaned over her, dropping tender kisses on her neck, her cheeks, her eyes and the tip of her nose.
“Jeez… Liz,” Max breathed, “I feel like I’ve been waiting for this forever.”
She was so soft and pliant in his arms, almost like she was melting into him. As he continued to kiss all over her face, Max’s hand found its way into her hair. He gently massaged her scalp, enjoying the way she sighed with pleasure at his touch.
Liz welcomed his weight on top of her body as they lay with legs dangling off the couch. She was not unaware of how thin the material of her dress was, allowing her to feel each movement Max made, almost as if she was undressed.
Kissing Max was a mixture of extreme pleasure and mere desperation. It was like there was no fighting the want that had taken over her senses. It felt right in more ways than it felt wrong.
Max had travelled to her throat, caressing and molesting her with his lips. His fingers ran sensuously up her bare spine, caressing the bow at the back at her neck, which held her entire dress together.
“Max…,”
He looked up at her, and in a flurry of movement their mouths met again.
“Max, we can’t do this…,” Liz cried, between mouthfuls of breath.
Yet, she was kissing him. She was letting him touch her, explore her, hold her.
… And it felt so good.
Liz found herself holding his shoulders tightly as Max’s body became heavier, and he started to undo the bow of her dress.
She had always thought cheating was disgusting. She had promised herself that she would never cheat on Kyle…
Not even with Max.
Liz whimpered as Max kissed her under her chin, and her dress started to slide downward.
Max’s hands were on her hips, guiding her dress down her body and kissing every new piece of flesh that came into view. Liz let him kiss her. The kiss of his mouth on her skin felt so good, but it was wrong.
Wrong.
“Max, stop…”
This was going way too fast…
“Max… Max…stop it! I have a fiancé. Max!”
Liz shoved him off of her and sat up, crossing her hands over her chest, to stop her dress from falling off completely.
Max looked stunned for a second, and then looked at the ceiling and groaned, “Jesus. I know. I know. I just…”
“Look, I better go,” Liz turned away from him and tied up the back of her dress. She could feel his eye’s boring holes into the naked skin of her back.
Her whole body was burning with shame. She couldn’t believe what she had done… what she had almost done.
There was silence, and then Max spoke from behind her. “Liz, you don’t have to go.”
Liz paid no heed to the pleading in his tone. She turned back to face him. “I think I do,” she sighed, “Kyle is my fiancé, Max.”
She couldn't remember how many times she had repeated that. Kyle is my fiancé.
“Right.”
“I love him.”
Max watched, surprisingly calm and expressionless, as Liz grabbed her purse off the couch and turned to go.
“What about us, Liz?”
“There is no us. I’m sorry.”
With that, Liz turned on her heel and walked out of his house.
****
“I saw them kiss.”
Kyle looked toward the blonde that stood in his living room. Her arms were aggressively placed on her hips; she was here on a mission.
“You’re lying.”
Her words were too hard to process. Even though he had expected as much… Even though he had sent Tess to spy on Max and Liz, suspicious that something like this could be happening. The idea that Liz had cheated on him was like a slap around the face.
“Why the fuck would I lie, Kyle?” Tess yelled.
She had mulled her plan over with care. And she had come to the conclusion that she would tell Kyle what she had seen at the ice rink. She was sure that this would mean Kyle would have it out with Liz. Liz would feel guilty like crazy and stop seeing Max. Allowing Tess to move in once again.
They didn’t call her Miss Determination for nothing.
“It was Max, mainly, but Liz didn’t push him away.”
Kyle fell against the couch and closed his eyes
“You’re sure?”
“100 percent.”
*****
Liz wiped her eyes, for what seemed like the hundredth time. She couldn’t stop crying. Each time she pulled herself together and tried to get out of the car, blinding hot tears fell from the corner of her eyes again. She couldn’t believe she had left Max like that. She couldn’t believe that she had been so cruel. She couldn’t believe that by breaking Max’s heart, by default, she had broken her own…
She hadn’t looked at Max’s face when she had left, but his voice had been enough to tell her how desperate he had been. Liz put her head on the steering wheel and started to sob again.
God… why did this have to happen all over again? It wasn’t like it hadn’t been painful enough the first time around.
She tried to stop crying by holding her breath and putting her hand over her mouth. Her voice sounded so foreign to her, so painful…
Liz wiped her eyes harshly.
What the hell was wrong with her?
“What the hell is wrong with you?” Liz reprimanded, hoping she might be able to talk some sense into herself. She was no right to feel sorry for herself after what she had just done to both, Kyle and Max.
No right.
Dabbing her eyes with a tissue she pulled out of the glove department, Liz got out of the car. It was time to tell Kyle everything.
Liz opened the door to her apartment very quietly. However, she wasn’t quite expecting the sight that greeted her. Her living room was in shambles. All pictures had been thrown off the wall, the couch was upturned, and the curtains had been pulled off the rails. Her first thought was that she had been burgled but then her eyes landed on Kyle. He was standing in the middle of the mess. He had a large suitcase by his side, his eyes glittering in a way that made Liz’s skin crawl.
“Where were you?” he demanded.
In shock, Liz answered quickly, like a school girl being told off. “I went to see a friend.”
“The same friend you saw at the ice rink?”
Liz’s skin flushed from head to foot.
He knew.
She was shaking her head. Trying to explain away all her guilt. “It’s not like you think…”
“Tess saw everything. Don’t try and hide it, Liz. I’ve been following you. All the times that you’ve lied… I’ve known about it. I know everything.”
“What?” Liz’s heart had kick started into a sick type of thudding. “I told you to trust me, Kyle.”
“Trust you?” Kyle said, in a malice filled tone. “What the hell? When you’ve been cheating on me? Do you think I’m stupid?”
Liz took a step forward, hoping to placate him. “I… Kyle… listen to me.”
“It’s over.”
Liz’s stopped still. She had never seen him look more serious.
“Kyle, please. Listen to me. It’s not like you think…” she repeated in whispered tones, yet she knew she was flogging a dead horse.
There was no point.
There was no point to any of this…
Kyle grabbed her wrist painfully tight and hissed in her face, “LIAR!”
“Kyle!” Liz cried, shaking out of his grasp. She let out a screech when he snatched up a candle holder from the floor and threw it at the mirror behind her.
The mirror smashed into a million pieces and Liz couldn’t help but feel that is exactly how her life felt right now. Broken into emendable pieces. And it was all her own fault.
Liz looked at Kyle. She had never seen him so angry. Her head was aching with all the crying that she had been doing, yet she felt hot tears spill down her cheeks again.
“I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry…”
“Well I’m not,” Kyle said unforgivingly,” I’m glad this all came out in the open before I actually married you.”
“I made a mistake, Kyle. Please hear me out. I was going to come clean. I was going to tell you everything.”
Kyle laughed in a way that made Liz step back.
“We all make mistakes, Liz. Believe me I’ve made my fair share. I cheated on you once, too.”
Liz felt like someone had knocked her hard in the stomach. “What?”
“Let’s just say, I was drunk. It was the lack of attention you were paying me. I went off to drown my sorrows and I met Tess at a bar.”
“What?” Liz repeated, dumbfounded.
Kyle had cheated on her?
“Fate works strange like that.” Kyle continued, rage and malice spilling with every word he spoke. She knew that his only intent was to hurt her like she had hurt him. “It just so happened we were there for similar purposes.”
“How could you…” Liz began. But she couldn’t continue. She was too disgusted.
“Oh shut up, Liz. You clearly aren’t the virginal princess you claimed to be when you met me. Who knows how many times you’ve fucked that childhood best friend of yours behind my back?”
“Kyle, we didn’t… we haven’t…”
Kyle was in no mood to listen to her, as he continued with his own greulling story.
“We followed you. You were always so antsy when Max was around. I always suspected you had never been able to get over him. I wanted to make sure I was right,” he looked at her, eyebrows raised, “And guess what? I was.”
Liz listened to him numbly. This was all too much to take in at once. Kyle had cheated with the woman who he was working with to keep her and Max apart?
How crazy was that?
Liz fell to the floor and buried her hands in her face. She couldn’t bare to look at him anymore. She couldn’t bare to face his anger or his cheating face.
“Just go, Kyle,” she said weakly, “Get out.”
“Goodbye, Liz.”
Kyle left Liz weeping in the middle of the chaos, which had once been her home.
Times Changes Everything
Chapter 26
Liz observed Max’s living room nervously. This was the first time she had come to his home. She didn’t know if asking her to his home was a purposeful move on his part. It was as if little by little, he was unveiling himself to her. She was getting to know him more everyday, all over again. And she was just as curious as she had always been.
The décor was quite simple. A black leather couch, a flat screen TV, classy lighting and small bar to her left. It could easily have been a bachelor pad - but there were little hints which gave away that this wasn’t the case. Like the pink fluffy slippers peeking under the couch, the pony drawings stuck on the cooler at the bar, or the small rainbow umbrella next to the coat stand. Miriam’s things fit in to his place easily, giving Max’s home a colour and vibrancy that wouldn’t have been possible otherwise.
“The food will be ready shortly, thought we should start on this, though.”
Max appeared from the kitchen, holding a bottle of red wine and Liz broke from the surveillance of his home, to smile up at him. He was dressed casually in old jeans and a crinkly burgundy sweater and a type of easiness surrounded him. Liz wasn’t sure if this was because she was at his place or because their relationship had become a type of comfort to him – as it had to her.
“I feel way too over dressed.” Liz commented.
She had decided to go all out and wear the backless black dress that Max had bought her. After all, who was to say this wasn’t their final meeting? When she had put it on and looked at herself in the bedroom mirror, the dress had clung to her every curve, and fell off her hips like it had been tailored for her. She had thought the dress walked a fine line between classy and a little slutty. So she had dressed it down with a silk shawl. However, she hadn’t known that she was going to have such a hard time keeping the shawl on her shoulders.
“You look perfect.” Max gave her a look which made her shiver from head to foot. “I’m glad you wore that dress, Liz. It looks fantastic.” And then he smiled at her in the warm way that he normally did with her.
Liz’s heart quenched at what she was about to do to him. This wasn’t going to be easy on him. She knew exactly how much effort he put into building a new foundation for their relationship and telling him what she was about to, would hurt him a lot.
“I only want a little.” Liz said, as Max poured her a glass at the bar.
Max raised his eyebrows, “I’m not about to get you drunk and take advantage. I promise.”
Liz rolled her eyes playfully. “I’m driving, Max.”
“So stay here.”
When Liz didn’t return his teasing look. Max surveyed her as he passed Liz her glass.
“Something wrong?” he asked casually, though Liz caught the undertone of seriousness in his voice. It was going to be difficult to hide that something was wrong, for long.
However, now wasn’t the time to tell him about her plan. They’d relax, have dinner together, enjoy each others company. And maybe then she’d break it to Max that they’d need to ease off one another for a while. And if that wasn’t possible, then maybe it was better they never see each other again.
Thinking those words made Liz’s throat ache and she gulped down her wine to ease the pain. She looked at Max from underneath her lashes, “No….No, nothing’s wrong.”
Max shrugged and fell on the couch beside her. Liz smiled and moved toward him unknowingly. It was like a reflex action. The closer she sat to him, the more at ease she felt. Was it even possible for someone to sap away your worries just by being close?
Max smiled down at her. “I really like this. I enjoy spending time with you, Liz.”
Liz grinned back, “Likewise.”
Max put his arm over the back of the couch and turned toward her purposefully. Now was the time to discuss matters of importance. Liz was more open than she had ever been and they had begun to fit back into each others lives like a puzzle being put together. However, there was still something tugging at his mind, refusing to let go.
“I know we said we wouldn’t bring this up… but… I want to ask you this anyway. It’s been on my mind since ages and – “
“Would that have changed things?” Liz cut him off.
Max blinked in surprise. He forgot how good she was at reading his mind.
“…If I had come to you. If I had told you I loved you,” Liz continued, “would that really have changed what happened?”
Max sighed, running his hands through his hair, “I don’t know… maybe…”
Liz looked to the floor. “I loved you so much, Max. But the last thing I would have done was come to you. Call it crazy teenage stuff, but I didn’t feel it was within my power to stop what was going on.”
“I loved you too, Liz. I still do,” Max replied softly. He moved toward her and placed his thumb on her cheek. Liz sighed in satisfaction at his touch and Max was tempted within every inch of his being to kiss her again. The urge to taste her lips on his, was fast changing from a want to a need. He wasn’t sure how long his self control would last this time.
“I know,” Liz looked at him strangely, and said in confession, “You know, when I first saw you after so many years, I was so angry Max. I was so mad about what you had done to me…. what you had put me through when we were in High School. All the resentment came back… how could you have treated me that way? I was your best friend. I loved you.”
Liz’s eyes connected with Max’s, and she sighed gently as if she was battling something deep inside her, “…but the more I think about the past, the more my anger seems to fade. I can’t hold that resentment any longer because some things were meant to be. Like you were meant to be with Serena during that part of your life… you were meant to have Miriam… you know? ….If all that didn’t happen – Miriam would never have been. We wouldn’t have met like this again. Who’s to say we would have even spent the last few months of our lives together as we have now?”
Max nodded. She had a point. It was almost too dangerous to indulge in what if’s. A part of him felt guilty for being blind. For never having acknowledged Liz in the way that she had wanted him to, but another part of him felt guilty for ever imagining a life without his daughter.
“I’m glad we did, Liz. These last few months… I remember what it’s like to feel alive again.”
“Me too. It’s been… the best.”
Max ran his hand through his hair irately, “…God, Liz… this whole thing… you and I, It’s so damned difficult.”
Liz smiled, sweetly pinching his nose between her thumb and forefinger, “It always has been, Max.”
Max took her fingers in his hand, caressing them gently, “Then we should do something about it.”
“Our best times together were when we were ignorant. As long as we didn’t care to acknowledge what we had, it was good.”
“We can’t do that forever.” Max pressed.
Liz drew her brow together, confusion surpassing her features. “What do you mean?”
Max looked at Liz. The spur of the moment ring he had chosen to purchase, still sat in the drawer in his bedroom. He hadn’t changed his mind about presenting it to Liz. His feelings for her were stronger then ever, and growing at a rapid speed. He was stupid to never have recognized that he had loved her all along….this feeling of utter completeness only came about when she was around.
Max was ready to move away from the past. To start a future that was meant to be. He hoped Liz was ready too.
“Liz, you and I… we can’t just be friends.”
Liz nodded sadly, looking at the way her hand was folded into his. They fit, almost too perfectly, into his palm.
“I think we both knew that from the beginning.”
Max was right. They couldn’t just be friends. That was the problem. That is why she had come to talk to him today. It had to be done. Kyle was her fiancé.
“I think you’re right, Max.”
Max moved toward her, closing the gap between himself and Liz. She thought he was right. She thought their relationship should progress further. It was only natural.
With a renewed sense of confidence, Max said, “I can’t stop thinking about you. Somehow for the last ten years, I managed to allow myself to believe that you were wrong. That you left me because you weren’t as great as I thought you were. That nothing about you was ever special. That I didn’t need you as I thought I did…,”
Liz took in his words sadly. The time they had spent apart left profound anguish in her chest. Thinking of not being near him, was already causing that heavy feeling to come back. It was suffocating.
“--then I met you again and I realize that you’re even more special then I ever realized-,”
Liz bit her lip and pressed her finger softly against his mouth, shaking her head. “Max, just… shhh,”
She needed to make him stop speaking. Stop admitting how he felt about her… because she could feel every word pouring from his heart. If he continued, she wasn’t going to be able to do what she was here for.
Max watched her, as she gently brushed his cheek with the back of her palm. It was like she was discovering the feel of his skin against hers, for the first time.
“Our childhood was just the beginning. We have so much more to give to each other. Liz, I want to spend my days and nights with you, travel with you, talk with you, enjoy you. I want to love you.”
Liz stared, stunned. “Max, what are you saying?”
Liz listened with a type of morbid fascination as he took her hand from his cheek, and pressed a tiny kiss against her finger tips.
Her whole body shivered as he looked into her eyes and said, “I love you, Liz.”
Liz closed her eyes. “Max…no.”
She knew this. She could feel how much Max loved her. But she didn’t want to hear it. Hearing these words made her so scared. So unrestrained. So lacking in will power…
How could something feel so wrong and right at the same time?
Liz gasped, as his warm breath caressed her neck.
“Don’t you feel it too?”
“What…?”
“The magic. It’s all around us. Surrounds us. It’s a part of us.”
Liz opened her eyes and then answered truthfully, “I do…. that’s the problem. I feel it all the time.”
It was too damned hard to ignore.
“I’ve tried so hard to pretend and ignore and dismiss and it just doesn’t work,” she sighed, “Why doesn’t it work, Max. Why?”
Max looked at her intently, lovingly, and her soul shivered.
“Because… it’s real.”
A silence overtook their surroundings and the air began to prickle with an intensity known only to the two of them.
Liz scanned Max’s face. He had kissed her at the ice rink and she had felt guilty as hell. So, she wasn’t entirely sure what it was that made her kiss him. One minute she was staring at the flecking of gold around his pupils and the next, her mouth was on his begging for more.
Max took her mouth readily in his own. She kissed him softly at first, but when he responded, her kisses became more urgent, wanting, needy. Max’s arms embraced Liz’s small body. She fell into him easily as he leaned over her, dropping tender kisses on her neck, her cheeks, her eyes and the tip of her nose.
“Jeez… Liz,” Max breathed, “I feel like I’ve been waiting for this forever.”
She was so soft and pliant in his arms, almost like she was melting into him. As he continued to kiss all over her face, Max’s hand found its way into her hair. He gently massaged her scalp, enjoying the way she sighed with pleasure at his touch.
Liz welcomed his weight on top of her body as they lay with legs dangling off the couch. She was not unaware of how thin the material of her dress was, allowing her to feel each movement Max made, almost as if she was undressed.
Kissing Max was a mixture of extreme pleasure and mere desperation. It was like there was no fighting the want that had taken over her senses. It felt right in more ways than it felt wrong.
Max had travelled to her throat, caressing and molesting her with his lips. His fingers ran sensuously up her bare spine, caressing the bow at the back at her neck, which held her entire dress together.
“Max…,”
He looked up at her, and in a flurry of movement their mouths met again.
“Max, we can’t do this…,” Liz cried, between mouthfuls of breath.
Yet, she was kissing him. She was letting him touch her, explore her, hold her.
… And it felt so good.
Liz found herself holding his shoulders tightly as Max’s body became heavier, and he started to undo the bow of her dress.
She had always thought cheating was disgusting. She had promised herself that she would never cheat on Kyle…
Not even with Max.
Liz whimpered as Max kissed her under her chin, and her dress started to slide downward.
Max’s hands were on her hips, guiding her dress down her body and kissing every new piece of flesh that came into view. Liz let him kiss her. The kiss of his mouth on her skin felt so good, but it was wrong.
Wrong.
“Max, stop…”
This was going way too fast…
“Max… Max…stop it! I have a fiancé. Max!”
Liz shoved him off of her and sat up, crossing her hands over her chest, to stop her dress from falling off completely.
Max looked stunned for a second, and then looked at the ceiling and groaned, “Jesus. I know. I know. I just…”
“Look, I better go,” Liz turned away from him and tied up the back of her dress. She could feel his eye’s boring holes into the naked skin of her back.
Her whole body was burning with shame. She couldn’t believe what she had done… what she had almost done.
There was silence, and then Max spoke from behind her. “Liz, you don’t have to go.”
Liz paid no heed to the pleading in his tone. She turned back to face him. “I think I do,” she sighed, “Kyle is my fiancé, Max.”
She couldn't remember how many times she had repeated that. Kyle is my fiancé.
“Right.”
“I love him.”
Max watched, surprisingly calm and expressionless, as Liz grabbed her purse off the couch and turned to go.
“What about us, Liz?”
“There is no us. I’m sorry.”
With that, Liz turned on her heel and walked out of his house.
****
“I saw them kiss.”
Kyle looked toward the blonde that stood in his living room. Her arms were aggressively placed on her hips; she was here on a mission.
“You’re lying.”
Her words were too hard to process. Even though he had expected as much… Even though he had sent Tess to spy on Max and Liz, suspicious that something like this could be happening. The idea that Liz had cheated on him was like a slap around the face.
“Why the fuck would I lie, Kyle?” Tess yelled.
She had mulled her plan over with care. And she had come to the conclusion that she would tell Kyle what she had seen at the ice rink. She was sure that this would mean Kyle would have it out with Liz. Liz would feel guilty like crazy and stop seeing Max. Allowing Tess to move in once again.
They didn’t call her Miss Determination for nothing.
“It was Max, mainly, but Liz didn’t push him away.”
Kyle fell against the couch and closed his eyes
“You’re sure?”
“100 percent.”
*****
Liz wiped her eyes, for what seemed like the hundredth time. She couldn’t stop crying. Each time she pulled herself together and tried to get out of the car, blinding hot tears fell from the corner of her eyes again. She couldn’t believe she had left Max like that. She couldn’t believe that she had been so cruel. She couldn’t believe that by breaking Max’s heart, by default, she had broken her own…
She hadn’t looked at Max’s face when she had left, but his voice had been enough to tell her how desperate he had been. Liz put her head on the steering wheel and started to sob again.
God… why did this have to happen all over again? It wasn’t like it hadn’t been painful enough the first time around.
She tried to stop crying by holding her breath and putting her hand over her mouth. Her voice sounded so foreign to her, so painful…
Liz wiped her eyes harshly.
What the hell was wrong with her?
“What the hell is wrong with you?” Liz reprimanded, hoping she might be able to talk some sense into herself. She was no right to feel sorry for herself after what she had just done to both, Kyle and Max.
No right.
Dabbing her eyes with a tissue she pulled out of the glove department, Liz got out of the car. It was time to tell Kyle everything.
Liz opened the door to her apartment very quietly. However, she wasn’t quite expecting the sight that greeted her. Her living room was in shambles. All pictures had been thrown off the wall, the couch was upturned, and the curtains had been pulled off the rails. Her first thought was that she had been burgled but then her eyes landed on Kyle. He was standing in the middle of the mess. He had a large suitcase by his side, his eyes glittering in a way that made Liz’s skin crawl.
“Where were you?” he demanded.
In shock, Liz answered quickly, like a school girl being told off. “I went to see a friend.”
“The same friend you saw at the ice rink?”
Liz’s skin flushed from head to foot.
He knew.
She was shaking her head. Trying to explain away all her guilt. “It’s not like you think…”
“Tess saw everything. Don’t try and hide it, Liz. I’ve been following you. All the times that you’ve lied… I’ve known about it. I know everything.”
“What?” Liz’s heart had kick started into a sick type of thudding. “I told you to trust me, Kyle.”
“Trust you?” Kyle said, in a malice filled tone. “What the hell? When you’ve been cheating on me? Do you think I’m stupid?”
Liz took a step forward, hoping to placate him. “I… Kyle… listen to me.”
“It’s over.”
Liz’s stopped still. She had never seen him look more serious.
“Kyle, please. Listen to me. It’s not like you think…” she repeated in whispered tones, yet she knew she was flogging a dead horse.
There was no point.
There was no point to any of this…
Kyle grabbed her wrist painfully tight and hissed in her face, “LIAR!”
“Kyle!” Liz cried, shaking out of his grasp. She let out a screech when he snatched up a candle holder from the floor and threw it at the mirror behind her.
The mirror smashed into a million pieces and Liz couldn’t help but feel that is exactly how her life felt right now. Broken into emendable pieces. And it was all her own fault.
Liz looked at Kyle. She had never seen him so angry. Her head was aching with all the crying that she had been doing, yet she felt hot tears spill down her cheeks again.
“I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry…”
“Well I’m not,” Kyle said unforgivingly,” I’m glad this all came out in the open before I actually married you.”
“I made a mistake, Kyle. Please hear me out. I was going to come clean. I was going to tell you everything.”
Kyle laughed in a way that made Liz step back.
“We all make mistakes, Liz. Believe me I’ve made my fair share. I cheated on you once, too.”
Liz felt like someone had knocked her hard in the stomach. “What?”
“Let’s just say, I was drunk. It was the lack of attention you were paying me. I went off to drown my sorrows and I met Tess at a bar.”
“What?” Liz repeated, dumbfounded.
Kyle had cheated on her?
“Fate works strange like that.” Kyle continued, rage and malice spilling with every word he spoke. She knew that his only intent was to hurt her like she had hurt him. “It just so happened we were there for similar purposes.”
“How could you…” Liz began. But she couldn’t continue. She was too disgusted.
“Oh shut up, Liz. You clearly aren’t the virginal princess you claimed to be when you met me. Who knows how many times you’ve fucked that childhood best friend of yours behind my back?”
“Kyle, we didn’t… we haven’t…”
Kyle was in no mood to listen to her, as he continued with his own greulling story.
“We followed you. You were always so antsy when Max was around. I always suspected you had never been able to get over him. I wanted to make sure I was right,” he looked at her, eyebrows raised, “And guess what? I was.”
Liz listened to him numbly. This was all too much to take in at once. Kyle had cheated with the woman who he was working with to keep her and Max apart?
How crazy was that?
Liz fell to the floor and buried her hands in her face. She couldn’t bare to look at him anymore. She couldn’t bare to face his anger or his cheating face.
“Just go, Kyle,” she said weakly, “Get out.”
“Goodbye, Liz.”
Kyle left Liz weeping in the middle of the chaos, which had once been her home.
Last edited by Blue*Soul on Thu Apr 12, 2007 6:22 am, edited 1 time in total.
Besides the new obsession I have acquired (mainly revolving around Michael Scofield breaking out of prison) I have been a little over my head, so I apologise for the mucho waiting that you guys have had to ensue. I hope this part makes up for my absence somewhat. Oh, and it ventures into the NC-17 category a bit more then should be for an R rated fic. Thought I should warn you guys…
Time Changes Everything
Chapter 27
The world was very slowly spinning around Max. He couldn’t remember how much he had had to drink, but the vast array of empty bottles that lay around the bar gave precedence to the fact that it was quite a bit. He put his elbow on the bar and lay his head against his hand, downing another shot. He had been drinking since Liz had left. He was pretty sure that had been ages ago. What made his stomach churn the most was not the idea that she had left him, but the idea that he might never be able to see her again.
She had left him. She had told him that she loved someone else. She had made it clear that there was nothing between them.
But there was.
Max knew there was. Liz could deny it as much as she wanted. But the feelings were too strong. How could she ignore them?...Pretend they didn’t exist?
How could she just walk away without even as much as a glance back at him?
Loneliness ebbed his ribcage. His home felt bigger, more desolate than it normally was. He wished his daughter hadn’t been so adamant about that sleepover. Watching her sleep would have been some company at least.
He wished Liz hadn’t left him. He wished she hadn’t made it so clear that he was a fool for thinking anything could ever develop between them. He wished that this thing between them could have lasted longer.
The disappearance of hope was the worst feeling in the world. Max tumbled off the stool and reached for a bottle of Jack Daniels. It was a way to numb the feeling. But it didn’t seem to be working well. At all.
*****
Liz didn’t care that walking barefoot, along the streets of Roswell, at 2am in the morning, in an extremely slinky dress none the less, was an extremely bad idea. Especially with the muggings that’d been making the headlines recently. Liz, laughed sardonically as she shivered with cold. It’s not like they could take much more from her anyway. Apart from the dress that clung to her she had nothing else. Not even shoes.
She had left it all behind.
She had one destination in mind. And she had to get there. It was the only thing that would make her feel better. He was the only one that could put her soul at ease.
***
Max jumped up with a start. His head felt like it was being hammered open. The banging was so extreme that he could actually hear it. It took him a second to realise that that the banging was in an actual fact, coming from his front door.
Glancing at the clock, Max rubbed at his eyes and almost knocked over the empty bottles at his side as he stumbled through the living room and toward the door.
Seeing Liz was an instantly sobering experience. Though, he did for a few seconds expect that he might have consumed so much alcohol so much that he was imagining her.
“Liz?” Max asked. She looked upset.
“Max…,” Her voice was distressed and he instantly pushed open the door to let her in further.
Max glanced her over. “Are you okay?”
Liz shook her head.
“Kyle left me.”
Then she let out a dry sob that echoed around him.
All guards taken down, Max took one step toward her and Liz fell into his arms with the tiniest of whimpers.
Max held onto her tightly, closing the door behind her, stroking her hair. She seemed so tiny and frail. He wanted to sweep her up and cocoon her forever.
“I’ve been so stupid,” Liz mumbled against his neck. “He’s been following us. He cheated on me. He never trusted me.”
Max let her hold him. Her breathing was erratic and her body was so cold. And, where the hell were her shoes?
Liz pulled away slightly. “I don’t know what to do, Max. I don’t know where to go. My whole house is a mess. My whole life…I could only think of coming here…,” she shook her head, like all of a sudden she had realized something, “I’m sorry. This was a bad idea. I should go.”
“No.” Max held her arm as she turned away from him, and led her to his couch, “You did the right thing by coming here.”
“I don’t know why… he…” Liz trailed off, closing her eyes tight, like she wanted to rid herself of painful memories.
“Hey, it’s okay.” Max whispered, pulling her toward him.
Liz let herself fall onto his shoulder. She sighed and buried herself in his neck.
“I’m sorry, I should have told you,” Max said, “I was meaning to. Tess came to me earlier. She mentioned something about herself and Kyle. I should have said something. I should have figured it out sooner.“
“It’s okay,” Liz sighed, “it’s not like you really had the chance.”
Max stroked her arm comfortingly. “I’m glad you came to me.”
Liz managed to let out a small smile. Who else could she have possibly gone to?
****
When Liz woke up, she was lying on Max’s lap. She could smell his scent, and his fingers were drawing small circles in her hair. She shifted slightly and looked up. Max was smiling down at her. She wondered if he had slept at all.
“Hey,” Max smiled as his eyes met hers.
“Hey,” Liz smiled back, “What time is it?”
“Almost five in the morning. How are you feeling?”
“Shattered,” Liz admitted. Even though she was feeling less hysterical, she was emotionally and mentally shattered to the bone.
Max pushed her slightly with his knee. “You can sleep in my room.”
Liz sat up and rubbed at her arms, “No, I… couldn’t.”
Max was adamant as he jumped up and started walking toward the bedrooms. “Miriam’s at Lucy’s tonight. I’ll sleep in her room.”
“Thanks Max,” Liz said. It wasn’t going to take her much convincing. The last place she wanted to go back to was the house that she had left behind this morning. It was in absolute ruins, thanks to Kyle. And the idea of going back to that place that had once been her home was already making her feel jittery.
Liz followed Max into his bedroom. His bed looked so huge and comfortable, that she felt tired just looking at it. She stood modestly, arms wrapped around herself, as Max shuffled inside his wardrobe. She couldn’t help but feel that there was something extremely intimate about being in Max’s bedroom.
“Here,” Max handed her a shirt and Liz took it gratefully.
“Actually, do you mind if I take a shower?”
“Not at all,” Max nodded toward the bathroom. “There are spare towels on the shelf, on the wall to your right.”
Liz threw Max a thankful smile. “Be right back.”
In the shower, Liz closed her eyes and let the warm water run over her spine. She stood in one place, unmoving, as the spray devoured her with mist and heat, warming her body and relaxing the tension from her muscles. Then she put her fisted hands on the shower wall in front of her and cried. She wasn’t entirely sure why she was crying. Perhaps her body couldn’t take the mixture of tired, relieved and desire soaked emotions she was feeling at the same time.
Was she crying because of Kyle and all the heartache that had passed between them? Or perhaps it was because of her past with Max, and everything that could have been? Or maybe…she was crying with relief. She was finally free to admit to what she really felt, what she really needed. And he was just a step away from her, waiting for her in the very next room.
After letting the tears fall for what seemed like forever, and then sniffling a little while more, Liz stepped out of the shower and swiped at the full length mirror in the bathroom. She stared at her shrivelled and drenched body. Free from make-up and clothes, she looked young. Apart from her hair, which had grown a lot longer, she quite possibly hadn’t changed much at all since she had left Max’s life ten years ago. Even at 26, Liz could easily pass for someone who was in her teens. Her body was compact, and her eyes were large and young looking . Liz however, knew her appearance was deceptive. She had changed so much. Inside she had aged many times over. Yet, her feelings toward Max hadn’t. He made her feel young, and excited and vulnerable all over again. Max coaxed out parts of her that had been buried with her innocence. Parts of her that made her feel there was so much more to see, discover and breathe for.
Liz wiped herself down and pulled on the shirt that Max had given her. It was long and reached her knees. She wrapped a towel around her hair and stepped out of the bathroom and into Max’s bedroom. It was empty. She guessed he had left to give her some privacy.
Even though her body was heavy with fatigue she couldn’t help but a crack a smile and reminiscence that- back in the day, ‘privacy’ was the last thing she would ever have gotten from Max. But it made his unsaid gesture even more worth it.
She unravelled the towel from her head and wiped the moisture from her hair. Then she placed the towel on a chair nearby and she stood in the middle of Max’s room barefooted and waited. It wasn’t long before a light knock sounded on the door.
“Liz?” Max called from the doorway.
“Come in, Max.”
“Hey,” Max smiled as he peered around the door, taking in her appearance as she stood looking small and familiar in his shirt. He closed the door behind and stood against it. “Do you want something to eat or drink?”
“No,” she shook her head, “I don’t think anything will go down right now.”
Max nodded and walked toward the bed and pulled the cover down. “All yours. I’ll be across the hall if you need anything. Help yourself in the kitchen if you do get hungry. We don’t have a lot of food at the moment, but if you like custard-,”
Liz let out a sudden laugh, cutting Max off in the middle of his speech, and then stopped just as suddenly. Max looked at her questioningly. An intricate silence filled the air as she nodded to herself, almost like she was battling in her own head. Max couldn’t help but take in how exhausted she looked, but the fact that like always, she was holding it together, made her even more beautiful.
Then, without question, without warning, Liz turned toward him and buried herself in his arms again. Max wrapped himself around her and held her tight. He circled his arms around her soft body, stroked her back and gently kissed her forehead. She smelled of his soap and shampoo and felt so much warmer then she had when she had walked in from the street at 2am that morning.
“Liz,” Max looked down at her, gently pulling her head away from his chest he held her in his palm, “it will be okay. We’ll work something out.”
He knew they were probably just words right now, but he wanted to do something… anything to reassure her.
She smiled gently up at him. Nuzzling her nose against the softness of his jersey. “I know.”
Max nodded to the bed, “Sleep a little. It might help.”
Liz moved away from him, looked at the bed and bit her lip, perplexed. She glanced at him sideways from under her lashes. “Sleep by my side?”
Max paused. Unsure of how to respond, unsure of what she was asking of him. Yet his heart missed a beat anyway. “What? With you?”
Liz nodded, unwavering.
“I want you to hold me.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes. Just sleep with me.”
How could he deny a request like that? She wanted him to hold her. Jesus, he had been aching to hold her for so damned long. But he would never have gotten into the same bed as her if she hadn’t been as distressed as she was at this moment in time. Simply because he hadn’t been just aching to hold her, he also wanted her with an unnecessary type of need. The fact that his body had started to react with lust and hadn’t even gotten into bed, was a sure sign of his desire toward her.
The bed shifted as Liz slid under the duvet covers; Max pulled off his shoes and socks and followed her, being careful not to get too close. She had turned to sleep on her left. He watched her from the corner of his eyes, her back moving as she breathed. Her long, damp hair cascaded behind her, leaving a trail of moisture on the pillow. Max lay down and stared up at the ceiling, unsure of what to do. Did she want him to really hold her? Or just lie by her side and give her company? After all he hadn’t done this in a long time. Not with Liz, not with any woman.
He didn’t have to wonder too long, though. She grabbed his arm and placed it around her stomach and Max automatically spooned her, letting his entire body meld into hers. He let the energy and warmth seep from his body into hers and found himself burying his nose in her towel dried hair. The need to taste her became more pronounced as the smell of her hair and skin overpowered his senses. He closed his eyes tight, a wave of dizzying need sweeping over him. There was no way he was going to be able to sleep, when she was lying like this, next to him. His fingers played softly with the shirt she was wearing and he didn’t fail to notice the way her breath hitched in her throat.
Max hid the urge to groan with a sudden frustration. He had Liz lying beside him, pretty much half naked in his shirt, and extremely vulnerable. She had been through hell and back, all because of him. And yet instead of offering her comfort, all he could think about was how warm and welcoming her body seemed. How selfish was that?
Liz moved, and Max bit his lip forcing himself to cut off the sudden noise that might have escaped his lips, as her behind grazed her hardened groin area. Moving further away from her, so to create space, Max’s arm became still and he lay as stiffly as he could for what seemed like the most torturous minutes of his life.
It was the small movements underneath his arm which made him lift his head with curiosity. Liz turned toward him laughing.
“This is really … awkward.”
Max raised his brow, and then chuckled in relief, “You don’t say.”
Liz reached for his hand under the duvet and gently brushed her fingers against his. “Its okay Max, don’t be uncomfortable. I’m yours.”
Their eyes met in a look that sizzled the air around them and she turned back around taking his arm with her. Max’s throat dried as he took in her words.
I’m yours.
What did that mean?
She was his. Was that a simple slip of the tongue? A comment a friend made in passing? Perhaps now that Kyle was out of the picture, Max was the only one she had left? Or was she telling him that she had always been his… all the time that had passed hadn’t mattered, because in heart and mind she had always known she was his…
Unknowingly, he had started to create small circles at her stomach in thought. Liz grabbed his hand and stilled it. Then slowly lifted it to her breast.
Max’s thinking disappeared to utter blank.
“Liz?” Max questioned. What was she doing? This was taking teasing to another level.
Her voice came out small, yet clear. “I’ve wanted this as long as you have, Max. Longer.”
Max pulled out of her grasp and sat up with a sudden effort.
“We can’t. After everything that’s happened today… you’re confused, and sad, and I’d just be taking advantage of you.”
The bed heaved and he knew Liz had followed him up; gently she rested her head against the curve of his back. “I’m more clear minded today then I’ve ever been around you. I’ve always wanted you…always needed you, but I let time pass me by. Now’s the time Max.”
Max shifted and turned his neck to look at her.
Liz grinned at him. “Judging from all the bottles in your living room, if anyone would be taking advantage, it would be me.”
Max opened his mouth, but before he could speak Liz swooped toward him and closed the space between them. Max was caught off guard for only a second before he responded with just as much fervency as she required from him.
Max knew that this wasn’t the best timing. Perhaps he should have objected more. Perhaps he should have waited until Liz was a little less on edge. However as soon as her lips connected with his all sane thought flew out of the window. How could he ever refuse Liz anything? Max buried his hands in her tangled hair as their tongues met in a loll of rhythm, breathing and throaty sighs mingling as the kiss became more urgent.
“Max…,” Liz moaned. It was the first time, ever, that she allowed herself to surrender, to give in, and to just kiss him. There were no others involved this time. There was no one else looming in the background to make either of them feel guilty, and she felt liberated… free.
Liz pushed Max against the headboard of the bed, and eyeing him in a predatory daze, crawled toward him. She slid over his denim clad leg until she straddled it, letting it settle into her naked flesh beneath his shirt.
Grabbing his face she kissed him again, on his nose, his lips, his eyes, his neck. She kissed him with a wild abandon, like she had never kissed anyone before. And she didn’t care how crazy or desperate it made her look. She was probably far more desperate for Max then she had ever demonstrated. She had waited so long for this…for him.
When she was done she found herself face to face with Max. Both of them breathless with kisses, leaning into each other for support.
Max brushed his mouth against her nose, and then dropped two hard kisses on her lips, “Liz, are you sure you want to do this now?”
She sat back slightly, confusion etching her features, “Are you trying to talk me out of this?”
Max grabbed her hand, “No… no, just we could make it special, we have so much time now…”
“No. We don’t,” Liz shook her head and then pulled her shirt over head, flinging it behind her.
It happened so fast that Max didn’t have a chance to take heed to what she had just said. Liz’s naked body overpowered him, taking his breath away. His eyes swept over her creamy neck, her firm breasts where honey coloured nipples were straining for him to take them in his mouth, and the soft sweep of her hips which led to a triangle of dark, that rested on his thigh.
“God… Liz…,” Max groaned, tracing a finger down her cheek, her neck and the side of her breast. He paused slightly, moved across and carefully circled her nipple with his thumb. His movements against her breast were almost too soft to be there, but enough for Liz let out a small whimper, and arch toward Max. Like a starving woman seeking her last supper, Liz caught Max’s mouth again. Somewhere between kisses, sighs and longing caresses, Max’s shirt was thrown off and he found himself on top of Liz’s bronzed, welcoming body.
Liz watched as Max leaned up on his elbow and stroked her hair away from her face, and then tangled his fingers with hers. He smiled down at her as dropped a butterfly kiss on the palm of her hand causing white hot passion to flare through her soul.
“Not to sound too cliché, but god, you are really beautiful...more beautiful than I ever imagined.”
Liz bit her lip and smiled, she was sure she was blushing all over. Max’s eyes were enough to make anyone blush all over. She could feel his gaze tearing into every single part of her body, like he was memorizing it, imprinting it in his memory forever. It made her feel vulnerable, lust filled and sexy at the same time.
Liz watched in fascination as Max’s attention shifted. He dropped a single kiss on her palm again and then the kisses continued, all the way up her right arm, to her neck and back down the left arm. When he came back up to look at her, there wasn’t a part of her arms that his mouth hadn’t touched. And then he shifted his attention to her neck, right from the underside of her chin, and right down toward her chest. Liz mouthed a gasp as he kissed the underside of her breast and moved toward her left nipple.
Liz clenched her eyes tight, as Max took his sweet time to kiss every inch of the softness of her breast. She could feel the heat of his mouth searing her strained nipple. It drove her insane that he would move toward her and then move away again. When he finally took the tiny stub into his mouth, Liz’s body jerked forward like a sudden aftershock of electricity had enveloped her. Her hands pulled at lengths of his hair, as Max’s weight lay between her thighs, his tongue on her nipple, a mixture of soft and rough playing with her skin.
“Max, I need you,” Liz cried breathlessly, as he started his assault on her right nipple, paying it just as much attention as he had the previous one.
Max looked up at her. “Wait.”
And then he shifted. His kissing game continued. His lips covering every inch of her bare stomach, his tongue circling her navel and moving past it, starting on her outer thigh, her left leg, her feet and even her toes. Liz squirmed beneath him, her body becoming more and more flushed as her need became deeper. With a sudden revelation, Liz understood what he was doing. He wasn’t just making love to her, he was worshipping her.
By the time Max’s mouth reached her inner thigh, Liz was encased with pure, raw emotion and she was fighting her hardest not to cry. …So, this was what pure adoration felt like. He had touched every single part of visible skin with his mouth. He had reclaimed what had always been his in the most loving way that he could.
“Max,” Liz coaxed, she lifted her knees and wrapped her hands in his hair, “Come here...”
“I’m not finished yet,” Max said adamantly, peering up at her from between her legs.
God… seeing Liz like this was so much better than he had imagined in his fantasies. She was vulnerable, naked and begging from him to take her. The sight of her certainly wasn't helping the ache that was steadily expanding from his groin to his stomach.
His eye’s scanned the soft curves of her body and then landed on the soft centre between her thighs, glistening with her desire for him. He leaned forward and Liz let out a small wail, as his tongue touched the most sensitive and intimate part of her. Max used his fingers to tease her apart, as he played with her insides in a way, that made Liz thrash against the pillows and the blood rush to her ears.
“Max…” Liz moaned, as his mouth gently pulled at her clit, “I’m going to… I’m…ah…”
It didn’t take long before her walls clamped, and her body quivered in a frenzied release of lust. A rush of violent emotion swept over her, and Liz let out a cry as her body became limp.
When her body had calmed, and her heart had slowed, she grabbed at the muscles of Max’s back and pulled him toward her forcefully. His chest fell into hers and it was a type of comfort and frustration at the same time.
“Your jeans need to come off,” Liz said, with more authority than she meant.
Max raised his eyebrows and grinned, “I always knew you were going to be wild in bed.”
“Flattery isn’t getting you anywhere, you know.” Liz licked her lips in anticipation as he sat up and undid the button of his jeans and then her eyes followed his fingers as they worked their way down to his fly.
Max slid out of his jeans. “Um, I think it is.”
Laughing, Liz circled her arms around his neck as he fell on top of her again, her fingers traced the muscles of his toned back and came to land on his ass. She fingered the material and Max shifted and Liz slid the boxers past his legs, the only garment keeping their bodies from joining fully.
Liz eyes fell on the extremely male part of him. It jutted into her side as intimate proof of how much he truly wanted her. Max’s eyes connected with hers in a rush of pure desire and Liz managed a final nod of approval. That was all he needed.
Max’s fingers heated and pincered her skin in ways that it had yearned to be touched for years. When he began to move inside her, his rhythm was desperate, almost like he’d been waiting too long. Liz closed her eyes, surrendering to him, letting him go as fast and as hard as he wanted. After all, they had been waiting for so long. Too long. She gasped at every movement he made. Trying to keep her vocal noise levels in check, but the harder he thrust, the higher her cries became.
Sweat rolled off his body and onto hers, his brow coming together in exertion. Liz let her hands wander as he made love to her. She drew intimate patterns over the muscles of his biceps, his chest, his back, his butt. Liz let herself find him again. Touch him in ways that had been forbidden to her, yet one’s that she had dreamed of for so long.
This was perfect. This was where she belonged. This was what she deserved.
Max ground his teeth in fight for control. He knew he was going way too fast for this to last very long. Liz was already clamping around him and he was going to lose control soon. He pulled back from Liz’s neck as he continued to move inside her. She was biting her lip as she looked up at him, her eyes darkened with adoration and lust, and at that point all he wanted was for that moment to last.
With gentle exertion, Max slowed himself down. He made each thrust pleasurable for her, made the time between them endless, intent on making every minute count. He wanted to remember her face, her eyes… every single sigh, every single movement she made while he made love to her.
Liz climaxed, and only seconds later Max joined her. Liz held his trembling body tight to her chest and whispered loving words in his ears. They lay like that for a long time holding one another. Max’s head pressed against her neck and Liz’s arms circled around his hip.
Liz wasn’t sure how much time had passed when Max shifted, slipping out of her.
She pulled him back down. “”Where are you going?”
Max smiled at her sheepishly. “I thought I might be heavy, so I was going to move, so you could catch some sleep.”
Liz shook her head. “Why would I waste time doing that when we have so many precious moments to make up for?”
Max kissed her gently on the nose, and turned around, pulling her on top of him. His rough hands trailed over her dainty shoulders, the small of her back and smooth curve of her hips, before bringing her face toward his mouth and whispering, “I was hoping you would say something clever like that.”
Liz laughter echoed around his bedroom. It made his heart warm in a way that it hadn’t in a long time. She fluttered her lashes, “Well someone’s got to be the brains in this relationship.”
Max’s mouth quirked, “You know, for some reason I really don’t mind that you’re using me for my body.”
Liz’s giggle was cut off as Max’s mouth slammed against hers, and he spent the rest of the morning showing her exactly what he could do to her body.
Time Changes Everything
Chapter 27
The world was very slowly spinning around Max. He couldn’t remember how much he had had to drink, but the vast array of empty bottles that lay around the bar gave precedence to the fact that it was quite a bit. He put his elbow on the bar and lay his head against his hand, downing another shot. He had been drinking since Liz had left. He was pretty sure that had been ages ago. What made his stomach churn the most was not the idea that she had left him, but the idea that he might never be able to see her again.
She had left him. She had told him that she loved someone else. She had made it clear that there was nothing between them.
But there was.
Max knew there was. Liz could deny it as much as she wanted. But the feelings were too strong. How could she ignore them?...Pretend they didn’t exist?
How could she just walk away without even as much as a glance back at him?
Loneliness ebbed his ribcage. His home felt bigger, more desolate than it normally was. He wished his daughter hadn’t been so adamant about that sleepover. Watching her sleep would have been some company at least.
He wished Liz hadn’t left him. He wished she hadn’t made it so clear that he was a fool for thinking anything could ever develop between them. He wished that this thing between them could have lasted longer.
The disappearance of hope was the worst feeling in the world. Max tumbled off the stool and reached for a bottle of Jack Daniels. It was a way to numb the feeling. But it didn’t seem to be working well. At all.
*****
Liz didn’t care that walking barefoot, along the streets of Roswell, at 2am in the morning, in an extremely slinky dress none the less, was an extremely bad idea. Especially with the muggings that’d been making the headlines recently. Liz, laughed sardonically as she shivered with cold. It’s not like they could take much more from her anyway. Apart from the dress that clung to her she had nothing else. Not even shoes.
She had left it all behind.
She had one destination in mind. And she had to get there. It was the only thing that would make her feel better. He was the only one that could put her soul at ease.
***
Max jumped up with a start. His head felt like it was being hammered open. The banging was so extreme that he could actually hear it. It took him a second to realise that that the banging was in an actual fact, coming from his front door.
Glancing at the clock, Max rubbed at his eyes and almost knocked over the empty bottles at his side as he stumbled through the living room and toward the door.
Seeing Liz was an instantly sobering experience. Though, he did for a few seconds expect that he might have consumed so much alcohol so much that he was imagining her.
“Liz?” Max asked. She looked upset.
“Max…,” Her voice was distressed and he instantly pushed open the door to let her in further.
Max glanced her over. “Are you okay?”
Liz shook her head.
“Kyle left me.”
Then she let out a dry sob that echoed around him.
All guards taken down, Max took one step toward her and Liz fell into his arms with the tiniest of whimpers.
Max held onto her tightly, closing the door behind her, stroking her hair. She seemed so tiny and frail. He wanted to sweep her up and cocoon her forever.
“I’ve been so stupid,” Liz mumbled against his neck. “He’s been following us. He cheated on me. He never trusted me.”
Max let her hold him. Her breathing was erratic and her body was so cold. And, where the hell were her shoes?
Liz pulled away slightly. “I don’t know what to do, Max. I don’t know where to go. My whole house is a mess. My whole life…I could only think of coming here…,” she shook her head, like all of a sudden she had realized something, “I’m sorry. This was a bad idea. I should go.”
“No.” Max held her arm as she turned away from him, and led her to his couch, “You did the right thing by coming here.”
“I don’t know why… he…” Liz trailed off, closing her eyes tight, like she wanted to rid herself of painful memories.
“Hey, it’s okay.” Max whispered, pulling her toward him.
Liz let herself fall onto his shoulder. She sighed and buried herself in his neck.
“I’m sorry, I should have told you,” Max said, “I was meaning to. Tess came to me earlier. She mentioned something about herself and Kyle. I should have said something. I should have figured it out sooner.“
“It’s okay,” Liz sighed, “it’s not like you really had the chance.”
Max stroked her arm comfortingly. “I’m glad you came to me.”
Liz managed to let out a small smile. Who else could she have possibly gone to?
****
When Liz woke up, she was lying on Max’s lap. She could smell his scent, and his fingers were drawing small circles in her hair. She shifted slightly and looked up. Max was smiling down at her. She wondered if he had slept at all.
“Hey,” Max smiled as his eyes met hers.
“Hey,” Liz smiled back, “What time is it?”
“Almost five in the morning. How are you feeling?”
“Shattered,” Liz admitted. Even though she was feeling less hysterical, she was emotionally and mentally shattered to the bone.
Max pushed her slightly with his knee. “You can sleep in my room.”
Liz sat up and rubbed at her arms, “No, I… couldn’t.”
Max was adamant as he jumped up and started walking toward the bedrooms. “Miriam’s at Lucy’s tonight. I’ll sleep in her room.”
“Thanks Max,” Liz said. It wasn’t going to take her much convincing. The last place she wanted to go back to was the house that she had left behind this morning. It was in absolute ruins, thanks to Kyle. And the idea of going back to that place that had once been her home was already making her feel jittery.
Liz followed Max into his bedroom. His bed looked so huge and comfortable, that she felt tired just looking at it. She stood modestly, arms wrapped around herself, as Max shuffled inside his wardrobe. She couldn’t help but feel that there was something extremely intimate about being in Max’s bedroom.
“Here,” Max handed her a shirt and Liz took it gratefully.
“Actually, do you mind if I take a shower?”
“Not at all,” Max nodded toward the bathroom. “There are spare towels on the shelf, on the wall to your right.”
Liz threw Max a thankful smile. “Be right back.”
In the shower, Liz closed her eyes and let the warm water run over her spine. She stood in one place, unmoving, as the spray devoured her with mist and heat, warming her body and relaxing the tension from her muscles. Then she put her fisted hands on the shower wall in front of her and cried. She wasn’t entirely sure why she was crying. Perhaps her body couldn’t take the mixture of tired, relieved and desire soaked emotions she was feeling at the same time.
Was she crying because of Kyle and all the heartache that had passed between them? Or perhaps it was because of her past with Max, and everything that could have been? Or maybe…she was crying with relief. She was finally free to admit to what she really felt, what she really needed. And he was just a step away from her, waiting for her in the very next room.
After letting the tears fall for what seemed like forever, and then sniffling a little while more, Liz stepped out of the shower and swiped at the full length mirror in the bathroom. She stared at her shrivelled and drenched body. Free from make-up and clothes, she looked young. Apart from her hair, which had grown a lot longer, she quite possibly hadn’t changed much at all since she had left Max’s life ten years ago. Even at 26, Liz could easily pass for someone who was in her teens. Her body was compact, and her eyes were large and young looking . Liz however, knew her appearance was deceptive. She had changed so much. Inside she had aged many times over. Yet, her feelings toward Max hadn’t. He made her feel young, and excited and vulnerable all over again. Max coaxed out parts of her that had been buried with her innocence. Parts of her that made her feel there was so much more to see, discover and breathe for.
Liz wiped herself down and pulled on the shirt that Max had given her. It was long and reached her knees. She wrapped a towel around her hair and stepped out of the bathroom and into Max’s bedroom. It was empty. She guessed he had left to give her some privacy.
Even though her body was heavy with fatigue she couldn’t help but a crack a smile and reminiscence that- back in the day, ‘privacy’ was the last thing she would ever have gotten from Max. But it made his unsaid gesture even more worth it.
She unravelled the towel from her head and wiped the moisture from her hair. Then she placed the towel on a chair nearby and she stood in the middle of Max’s room barefooted and waited. It wasn’t long before a light knock sounded on the door.
“Liz?” Max called from the doorway.
“Come in, Max.”
“Hey,” Max smiled as he peered around the door, taking in her appearance as she stood looking small and familiar in his shirt. He closed the door behind and stood against it. “Do you want something to eat or drink?”
“No,” she shook her head, “I don’t think anything will go down right now.”
Max nodded and walked toward the bed and pulled the cover down. “All yours. I’ll be across the hall if you need anything. Help yourself in the kitchen if you do get hungry. We don’t have a lot of food at the moment, but if you like custard-,”
Liz let out a sudden laugh, cutting Max off in the middle of his speech, and then stopped just as suddenly. Max looked at her questioningly. An intricate silence filled the air as she nodded to herself, almost like she was battling in her own head. Max couldn’t help but take in how exhausted she looked, but the fact that like always, she was holding it together, made her even more beautiful.
Then, without question, without warning, Liz turned toward him and buried herself in his arms again. Max wrapped himself around her and held her tight. He circled his arms around her soft body, stroked her back and gently kissed her forehead. She smelled of his soap and shampoo and felt so much warmer then she had when she had walked in from the street at 2am that morning.
“Liz,” Max looked down at her, gently pulling her head away from his chest he held her in his palm, “it will be okay. We’ll work something out.”
He knew they were probably just words right now, but he wanted to do something… anything to reassure her.
She smiled gently up at him. Nuzzling her nose against the softness of his jersey. “I know.”
Max nodded to the bed, “Sleep a little. It might help.”
Liz moved away from him, looked at the bed and bit her lip, perplexed. She glanced at him sideways from under her lashes. “Sleep by my side?”
Max paused. Unsure of how to respond, unsure of what she was asking of him. Yet his heart missed a beat anyway. “What? With you?”
Liz nodded, unwavering.
“I want you to hold me.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes. Just sleep with me.”
How could he deny a request like that? She wanted him to hold her. Jesus, he had been aching to hold her for so damned long. But he would never have gotten into the same bed as her if she hadn’t been as distressed as she was at this moment in time. Simply because he hadn’t been just aching to hold her, he also wanted her with an unnecessary type of need. The fact that his body had started to react with lust and hadn’t even gotten into bed, was a sure sign of his desire toward her.
The bed shifted as Liz slid under the duvet covers; Max pulled off his shoes and socks and followed her, being careful not to get too close. She had turned to sleep on her left. He watched her from the corner of his eyes, her back moving as she breathed. Her long, damp hair cascaded behind her, leaving a trail of moisture on the pillow. Max lay down and stared up at the ceiling, unsure of what to do. Did she want him to really hold her? Or just lie by her side and give her company? After all he hadn’t done this in a long time. Not with Liz, not with any woman.
He didn’t have to wonder too long, though. She grabbed his arm and placed it around her stomach and Max automatically spooned her, letting his entire body meld into hers. He let the energy and warmth seep from his body into hers and found himself burying his nose in her towel dried hair. The need to taste her became more pronounced as the smell of her hair and skin overpowered his senses. He closed his eyes tight, a wave of dizzying need sweeping over him. There was no way he was going to be able to sleep, when she was lying like this, next to him. His fingers played softly with the shirt she was wearing and he didn’t fail to notice the way her breath hitched in her throat.
Max hid the urge to groan with a sudden frustration. He had Liz lying beside him, pretty much half naked in his shirt, and extremely vulnerable. She had been through hell and back, all because of him. And yet instead of offering her comfort, all he could think about was how warm and welcoming her body seemed. How selfish was that?
Liz moved, and Max bit his lip forcing himself to cut off the sudden noise that might have escaped his lips, as her behind grazed her hardened groin area. Moving further away from her, so to create space, Max’s arm became still and he lay as stiffly as he could for what seemed like the most torturous minutes of his life.
It was the small movements underneath his arm which made him lift his head with curiosity. Liz turned toward him laughing.
“This is really … awkward.”
Max raised his brow, and then chuckled in relief, “You don’t say.”
Liz reached for his hand under the duvet and gently brushed her fingers against his. “Its okay Max, don’t be uncomfortable. I’m yours.”
Their eyes met in a look that sizzled the air around them and she turned back around taking his arm with her. Max’s throat dried as he took in her words.
I’m yours.
What did that mean?
She was his. Was that a simple slip of the tongue? A comment a friend made in passing? Perhaps now that Kyle was out of the picture, Max was the only one she had left? Or was she telling him that she had always been his… all the time that had passed hadn’t mattered, because in heart and mind she had always known she was his…
Unknowingly, he had started to create small circles at her stomach in thought. Liz grabbed his hand and stilled it. Then slowly lifted it to her breast.
Max’s thinking disappeared to utter blank.
“Liz?” Max questioned. What was she doing? This was taking teasing to another level.
Her voice came out small, yet clear. “I’ve wanted this as long as you have, Max. Longer.”
Max pulled out of her grasp and sat up with a sudden effort.
“We can’t. After everything that’s happened today… you’re confused, and sad, and I’d just be taking advantage of you.”
The bed heaved and he knew Liz had followed him up; gently she rested her head against the curve of his back. “I’m more clear minded today then I’ve ever been around you. I’ve always wanted you…always needed you, but I let time pass me by. Now’s the time Max.”
Max shifted and turned his neck to look at her.
Liz grinned at him. “Judging from all the bottles in your living room, if anyone would be taking advantage, it would be me.”
Max opened his mouth, but before he could speak Liz swooped toward him and closed the space between them. Max was caught off guard for only a second before he responded with just as much fervency as she required from him.
Max knew that this wasn’t the best timing. Perhaps he should have objected more. Perhaps he should have waited until Liz was a little less on edge. However as soon as her lips connected with his all sane thought flew out of the window. How could he ever refuse Liz anything? Max buried his hands in her tangled hair as their tongues met in a loll of rhythm, breathing and throaty sighs mingling as the kiss became more urgent.
“Max…,” Liz moaned. It was the first time, ever, that she allowed herself to surrender, to give in, and to just kiss him. There were no others involved this time. There was no one else looming in the background to make either of them feel guilty, and she felt liberated… free.
Liz pushed Max against the headboard of the bed, and eyeing him in a predatory daze, crawled toward him. She slid over his denim clad leg until she straddled it, letting it settle into her naked flesh beneath his shirt.
Grabbing his face she kissed him again, on his nose, his lips, his eyes, his neck. She kissed him with a wild abandon, like she had never kissed anyone before. And she didn’t care how crazy or desperate it made her look. She was probably far more desperate for Max then she had ever demonstrated. She had waited so long for this…for him.
When she was done she found herself face to face with Max. Both of them breathless with kisses, leaning into each other for support.
Max brushed his mouth against her nose, and then dropped two hard kisses on her lips, “Liz, are you sure you want to do this now?”
She sat back slightly, confusion etching her features, “Are you trying to talk me out of this?”
Max grabbed her hand, “No… no, just we could make it special, we have so much time now…”
“No. We don’t,” Liz shook her head and then pulled her shirt over head, flinging it behind her.
It happened so fast that Max didn’t have a chance to take heed to what she had just said. Liz’s naked body overpowered him, taking his breath away. His eyes swept over her creamy neck, her firm breasts where honey coloured nipples were straining for him to take them in his mouth, and the soft sweep of her hips which led to a triangle of dark, that rested on his thigh.
“God… Liz…,” Max groaned, tracing a finger down her cheek, her neck and the side of her breast. He paused slightly, moved across and carefully circled her nipple with his thumb. His movements against her breast were almost too soft to be there, but enough for Liz let out a small whimper, and arch toward Max. Like a starving woman seeking her last supper, Liz caught Max’s mouth again. Somewhere between kisses, sighs and longing caresses, Max’s shirt was thrown off and he found himself on top of Liz’s bronzed, welcoming body.
Liz watched as Max leaned up on his elbow and stroked her hair away from her face, and then tangled his fingers with hers. He smiled down at her as dropped a butterfly kiss on the palm of her hand causing white hot passion to flare through her soul.
“Not to sound too cliché, but god, you are really beautiful...more beautiful than I ever imagined.”
Liz bit her lip and smiled, she was sure she was blushing all over. Max’s eyes were enough to make anyone blush all over. She could feel his gaze tearing into every single part of her body, like he was memorizing it, imprinting it in his memory forever. It made her feel vulnerable, lust filled and sexy at the same time.
Liz watched in fascination as Max’s attention shifted. He dropped a single kiss on her palm again and then the kisses continued, all the way up her right arm, to her neck and back down the left arm. When he came back up to look at her, there wasn’t a part of her arms that his mouth hadn’t touched. And then he shifted his attention to her neck, right from the underside of her chin, and right down toward her chest. Liz mouthed a gasp as he kissed the underside of her breast and moved toward her left nipple.
Liz clenched her eyes tight, as Max took his sweet time to kiss every inch of the softness of her breast. She could feel the heat of his mouth searing her strained nipple. It drove her insane that he would move toward her and then move away again. When he finally took the tiny stub into his mouth, Liz’s body jerked forward like a sudden aftershock of electricity had enveloped her. Her hands pulled at lengths of his hair, as Max’s weight lay between her thighs, his tongue on her nipple, a mixture of soft and rough playing with her skin.
“Max, I need you,” Liz cried breathlessly, as he started his assault on her right nipple, paying it just as much attention as he had the previous one.
Max looked up at her. “Wait.”
And then he shifted. His kissing game continued. His lips covering every inch of her bare stomach, his tongue circling her navel and moving past it, starting on her outer thigh, her left leg, her feet and even her toes. Liz squirmed beneath him, her body becoming more and more flushed as her need became deeper. With a sudden revelation, Liz understood what he was doing. He wasn’t just making love to her, he was worshipping her.
By the time Max’s mouth reached her inner thigh, Liz was encased with pure, raw emotion and she was fighting her hardest not to cry. …So, this was what pure adoration felt like. He had touched every single part of visible skin with his mouth. He had reclaimed what had always been his in the most loving way that he could.
“Max,” Liz coaxed, she lifted her knees and wrapped her hands in his hair, “Come here...”
“I’m not finished yet,” Max said adamantly, peering up at her from between her legs.
God… seeing Liz like this was so much better than he had imagined in his fantasies. She was vulnerable, naked and begging from him to take her. The sight of her certainly wasn't helping the ache that was steadily expanding from his groin to his stomach.
His eye’s scanned the soft curves of her body and then landed on the soft centre between her thighs, glistening with her desire for him. He leaned forward and Liz let out a small wail, as his tongue touched the most sensitive and intimate part of her. Max used his fingers to tease her apart, as he played with her insides in a way, that made Liz thrash against the pillows and the blood rush to her ears.
“Max…” Liz moaned, as his mouth gently pulled at her clit, “I’m going to… I’m…ah…”
It didn’t take long before her walls clamped, and her body quivered in a frenzied release of lust. A rush of violent emotion swept over her, and Liz let out a cry as her body became limp.
When her body had calmed, and her heart had slowed, she grabbed at the muscles of Max’s back and pulled him toward her forcefully. His chest fell into hers and it was a type of comfort and frustration at the same time.
“Your jeans need to come off,” Liz said, with more authority than she meant.
Max raised his eyebrows and grinned, “I always knew you were going to be wild in bed.”
“Flattery isn’t getting you anywhere, you know.” Liz licked her lips in anticipation as he sat up and undid the button of his jeans and then her eyes followed his fingers as they worked their way down to his fly.
Max slid out of his jeans. “Um, I think it is.”
Laughing, Liz circled her arms around his neck as he fell on top of her again, her fingers traced the muscles of his toned back and came to land on his ass. She fingered the material and Max shifted and Liz slid the boxers past his legs, the only garment keeping their bodies from joining fully.
Liz eyes fell on the extremely male part of him. It jutted into her side as intimate proof of how much he truly wanted her. Max’s eyes connected with hers in a rush of pure desire and Liz managed a final nod of approval. That was all he needed.
Max’s fingers heated and pincered her skin in ways that it had yearned to be touched for years. When he began to move inside her, his rhythm was desperate, almost like he’d been waiting too long. Liz closed her eyes, surrendering to him, letting him go as fast and as hard as he wanted. After all, they had been waiting for so long. Too long. She gasped at every movement he made. Trying to keep her vocal noise levels in check, but the harder he thrust, the higher her cries became.
Sweat rolled off his body and onto hers, his brow coming together in exertion. Liz let her hands wander as he made love to her. She drew intimate patterns over the muscles of his biceps, his chest, his back, his butt. Liz let herself find him again. Touch him in ways that had been forbidden to her, yet one’s that she had dreamed of for so long.
This was perfect. This was where she belonged. This was what she deserved.
Max ground his teeth in fight for control. He knew he was going way too fast for this to last very long. Liz was already clamping around him and he was going to lose control soon. He pulled back from Liz’s neck as he continued to move inside her. She was biting her lip as she looked up at him, her eyes darkened with adoration and lust, and at that point all he wanted was for that moment to last.
With gentle exertion, Max slowed himself down. He made each thrust pleasurable for her, made the time between them endless, intent on making every minute count. He wanted to remember her face, her eyes… every single sigh, every single movement she made while he made love to her.
Liz climaxed, and only seconds later Max joined her. Liz held his trembling body tight to her chest and whispered loving words in his ears. They lay like that for a long time holding one another. Max’s head pressed against her neck and Liz’s arms circled around his hip.
Liz wasn’t sure how much time had passed when Max shifted, slipping out of her.
She pulled him back down. “”Where are you going?”
Max smiled at her sheepishly. “I thought I might be heavy, so I was going to move, so you could catch some sleep.”
Liz shook her head. “Why would I waste time doing that when we have so many precious moments to make up for?”
Max kissed her gently on the nose, and turned around, pulling her on top of him. His rough hands trailed over her dainty shoulders, the small of her back and smooth curve of her hips, before bringing her face toward his mouth and whispering, “I was hoping you would say something clever like that.”
Liz laughter echoed around his bedroom. It made his heart warm in a way that it hadn’t in a long time. She fluttered her lashes, “Well someone’s got to be the brains in this relationship.”
Max’s mouth quirked, “You know, for some reason I really don’t mind that you’re using me for my body.”
Liz’s giggle was cut off as Max’s mouth slammed against hers, and he spent the rest of the morning showing her exactly what he could do to her body.
Many apologies for the mucho waiting. Here's the new part.
Time Changes Everything
Chapter 28
It took only a second for Liz to realise that she wasn’t at her own place. She didn’t even need to open her eyes. The mere smell of the room was enough for her to know that Kyle wouldn’t be lying next to her. Just as the feeling of utter dread hit her like a ton if bricks weighing down her gut, she opened her eyes, and the sweet flutter of bitter-sweetness and joy overtook her senses.
Max.
The thought alone made her heart squeeze almost too painfully.
He wasn’t lying next to her anymore, but just the remembrance of trailing her fingers over his bare, heated chest, the touch of his lips fevering her skin and the way that his breath had tickled her, made her shiver with happiness yet bought with it a peace she had never really experienced.
They hadn’t spoken much that morning, but Max had shown her many, many ways in which he could love her. He had made her promises of everything that was yet to come. He showed her hope for the future and apologised for all the years they had lost. He had made her feel vulnerable, seductive, afraid and passion filled all at the same time. He had made her want him even more than she already did – if it was even possible. And that was exactly the reason that Liz was angsting about what she was going to do to him. She felt guilty like nothing before, but right now, it was the only thing that she could do.
She needed to do.
Biting her lip, Liz trailed her hand over the softness of the duvet, recalling the moments of love that had passed between them earlier that morning. It was overwhelming and a little hard for her to believe that it had finally happened. She had made it happen. Moments of their early morning reunion would stick with her forever. Max was a part of her now, she could smell him on her skin and taste him on her body. This time together would forever linger in her memories.
“Morning.”
Broken from her thoughts, Liz sat up, straightening Max’s t-shirt down her body with a start and shoving her uncombed hair away from her face. Max was standing with a tray in the doorway. It was laden with breakfast delicacies- scrambled eggs, toast, salmon , fruit and juice.
Liz’s eyebrow quirked as he moved toward her and placed the tray in front of her. Her eyes connected with his as he sat down on the foot of the bed. Max was wearing a shirt and jeans and his hair was damp from the shower. Liz took a sip of her juice and smiled at him shyly. “I would say you shouldn’t have, but I’m famished.”
“And that’s exactly what I thought you’d say.” Max retorted back.
Liz reached for the food and ate steadily in silence. She didn’t care that Max was watching her like a hawk. She was hungry to the point of seeing black spots. When she was done she wiped her mouth with her hand and then her chin and her mouth again. He was still staring.
A steady blush began to rise to her cheeks as Liz realised that Max wasn’t looking at her in any old way. It was that look. It was the look.
“What?” She couldn’t help it. At least it broke the silence that was threatening to creep up her spine and take over.
“Nothing,” Max shrugged nonchalantly like it was all okay. Like nothing had changed between them. Like he wasn’t looking at her like she was his breakfast. “Shall I get you more food?”
“Um, food?”
Max smiled slyly, “Yes food. That stuff you were just eating.”
Liz licked her lips. The thought of being eaten by Max wasn’t a bad one at all.
“Liz?”
Liz shook her head quickly. “Only if you want me to vomit.”
“No. No vomiting.” Then he sat and just looked at her again.
Liz sighed and nudged him slightly on the shoulder, “You’re making me feel a little on edge.”
“Why?”
“I dunno. ‘Cause your staring. Intently.”
Not that Max didn’t look at her intently, normally. Max was a pretty intent looker. This was a different type of intent. It was intense intent. It was…
“….Liz…?”
Liz leaned forward in anticipation.
“Uh huh?”
Then as Liz waited in mixture of excited emotion and dread, Max leaned forward and placed her hair behind her ear. An effortless action that made Liz tingle from head to foot and made her stomach flip involuntarily. Maybe she would vomit anyway….
It was a simple gesture that had become intimate with meaning. Liz knew that when Max tucked her hair behind her ear now, it meant a completely different thing then when Max had tucked her hair behind her ear 10 years ago.
Max felt the tremor take over Liz’s body when he touched her, and he couldn’t help but be pleased by her reaction to him. It meant that his feelings were reciprocated, that she might have denied it in the past, but she truly did care for him. That, she wasn’t going to turn it all around and tell him that what had happened in the early hours of the morning was a mistake… he hoped.
Max wanted Liz. He had wanted her for such a long time now, in his life. Forever.
“How are you feeling?”
Liz paused a little and Max knew she was comprehending how to answer that question.
“I…” Liz bit her lip, “Good,” her shy smile was replaced by one filled with unknown innuendo, “good.” She looked around the room self consciously, “the food was good.”
Even though they had been friends for years, and had experienced everything together. This was one thing they had never shared. Sex was something that pushed the barriers, which crossed the line. That called a new meaning to the relationship that was Max and Liz. It was little surprise that Liz was finding words a little uncomfortable.
Max cleared his throat and Liz laughed, meeting his eyes.
“Oh come on, you’re not going to ask me how the sex was are you?”
Max was taken aback at her frankness for a second before he replied, “Not in vivid detail, no.”
“It was the right thing to do Max. I don’t regret it.”
Max almost let out a huge breath of relief that he hadn’t known he was holding. She didn’t regret it. That meant so much.
“I’m glad to hear that.”
Liz gazed at him as he picked up her palm and dropped a kiss on it. She smiled and coiled her hand away from him.
“Have you eaten?”
“I don’t eat in the mornings.”
“You don’t?”
“I guess there’s something you didn’t know about me.”
Liz pushed his tray to the side and leaned toward him. “When did this crazy habit come about?”
“Since I realised I love my bed way too much to eat breakfast in the mornings.”
“Though technically this isn’t breakfast.”
“Brunch then.”
“You don’t each lunch either?”
“I’m not afraid of food if that’s what you’re asking.”
“I didn’t …I don’t…. I was just enquiring.”
“Anything else you’d like to enquire?” Max asked dryly, raising an eyebrow.
Liz looked at him, a mock thoughtful expression covering her features. “I would like to enquire about every single intimate detail about your life. Though I won’t.”
Max couldn’t help the lazy smile that coiled his features when he said softly, “Not right now.”
Liz bit her lip in anticipation as he moved toward her and shrugged as carelessly as she could make herself. Although his proximity mixed with that hungry look he was throwing, was making it extremely hard to be nonchalant in any way. Biting her lip, she managed to echo his word, “Not right now.”
“We have time, Liz,”
“--Time. Sometimes I’m glad we have it. And sometimes I wish the world would just stand still.”
“Like now?”
Liz couldn’t help the gooey feeling that warmed her somewhere deep in her chest. Her eyes followed his lips as he came toward her and dropped a small kiss on the top bow of her mouth. He was so close that Liz could hear his breathing.
It was a little strange. And she could imagine getting used to this way too fast. There was stillness before she reciprocated by pressing her mouth hard against his. Then the world went silent for a bit as she let her breathing mingle with Max’s.
Max pulled back slightly. She was flushed and her pupils were pinpoints of lustrous black.
“I meant what I said yesterday, Liz. I want to erase the mistakes of our past, I want to spend forever with you.”
Liz slowly let go of his shirt, almost like she didn’t want to let him go at all. He took a deep breath and reached into the pocket of his jeans.
“I want you to marry me.”
There he had said it. He had waited, he had counted. He had thought it would never happen. And he had just said it.
The small box snapped open and within it sat a glistening diamond embedded in gold. For a second things blurred and Liz thought she might cry. However, at this point in time it seemed more appropriate to focus on her breathing. Fainting was probably more the problem than crying.
Liz breathed in, took in the ring in the box Max was holding, and then breathed out again.
Yes that’s it. Breathe. Breathe. In out.
Marry? .. Did he just ask her to marry him?
…OH MY GOD!!!
The thought of spending the rest of her life with the man that she had loved since she was a child was not only tempting, but right. However, here she was, sitting on his bed, after making every type of love possible to him and then shaking her head at his proposal. Perhaps she was mad.
She couldn’t…not right now.
“I can’t.”
It just…wouldn’t be right.
Max shrunk before her eyes like someone had just slapped him.
“I…uh….”
“Max, I’m sorry,” Liz shushed him before she managed to rub salt into wounds that were clearly displayed all over his face. “I can’t even think about marriage right now. After everything that’s happened. I mean Kyle, and I…I… I’m sorry….”
Liz trailed off. Her so called relationship with Kyle wasn’t the only problem here. She still had so much to figure out in her own head. She wasn’t even sure what the hell was going on between herself and Max. She had seen too many relationships turn sour because people loved the idea of them. Were she and Max even in relationship? If so… what kind? Was it the same relationship that she and Kyle had? If that was the case wouldn’t that be unfair on Max? She had jumped into this back forth thing with Max so fast after Kyle.
God… she was still dancing around the outside when there were so many questions flaming at the core. What did this all mean? Was this really forever? Was it the beginning of something really special, or the end of something that had always been much too fragile?
She needed time to herself. She needed time to think. She needed to sort out her head, her priorities. Her life.
Max’s eyes had dropped to the duvet and he was shaking his head mumbling to himself.
“Stupid…. Just stupid…”
“No, no…” Liz placed her hand on his. “It’s not you, Max. It’s me. I need time… time to recover from the mess that my life has become… time to recover from what happened. Time to recover from myself. Mrs Turners maternity leave is coming to an end. I need to move away –“
Max’s eyes snapped upward, “Move away?”
Liz gulped. Well, here goes nothing.
“Yes. Move away. I can’t be around you, Max. I need to be alone.”
“What are you saying?”
“It isn’t you.”
“….”
“It’s me.”
“Cut out the cliché crap.”
“Really.”
“I’m finding that a little hard to believe.”
Liz felt tears in her eyes spring to life at the disbelief on his face. It wasn’t anger, it was pure hurt. It was confusion, bitterness. Dread.
The image of leaving him at the airport, whilst he stared into holes into her back came back to her with an unpleasant jolt. It was like a memory that had just passed yesterday. The pain was just as raw.
“I’m doing this because I need to –,“
“---You need to? You need to leave? After what we shared?”
“Please understand…”
“I’m trying, Liz. But I don’t get it. I just don’t get why you would want to move after it took us so long to find each other again.”
“That’s precisely it, Max. I need to get over what ever relationship Kyle and I had. I need to find my place with you. Are we friends? Are we lovers? Can we be either without losing one another? Because if we can’t. Then I don’t want this.”
There was silence as Max took her in. Realization dawning his features. She needed space. He needed to give to her. It wasn’t that hard. Yet, it was the most difficult thing he had ever had to agree to.
Max sighed and launched his hand through his hair.
“So you might not be coming back?”
“Maybe, maybe not.”
“God…”
She clasped his hand with her own. “Max, please.”
His voice broke when he spoke. “Why would you do this… again?”
Liz felt like someone had just punched her in the gut. Hard.
“I’m sorry,” she whispered. Her own head spinning with a confusion she couldn’t understand. A confusion that only Max could bring about. And one that she needed to take control of before she jumped headlong into a relationship with him.
There was silence as Liz searched his torn face and Max refused to look at her at all. It seemed to carry on forever and with every second the burning in her gut intensified.
“Okay.”
“Okay?” Liz breathed.
“I’ll wait.”
“I don’t know how long I’ll be.”
“How long…,” Max swallowed. His throat was painfully dry, “how long do you think you’ll be?”
“Weeks, maybe months, maybe years…maybe forever.” Liz inhaled, not looking at his face when she said her last words, “Max, if you don’t wait, I’ll understand.”
Of course she wouldn’t. However, she was leaving him after all. For the second time. It seemed the appropriate thing to say.
He spoke before he even had time to process what she had said. “Don’t be stupid, Liz. You’re the only person I want. I’ll wait for you forever.”
He looked at her. She stared right back at him. Liz shrugged. Max’s fingers trailed up her arm. She moved toward him and Max took the force of her embrace gladly. He would give her all the time that she needed. He would wait forever. He just hoped that ‘forever’ wasn’t as long or as painful as it had been last time.
Time Changes Everything
Chapter 28
It took only a second for Liz to realise that she wasn’t at her own place. She didn’t even need to open her eyes. The mere smell of the room was enough for her to know that Kyle wouldn’t be lying next to her. Just as the feeling of utter dread hit her like a ton if bricks weighing down her gut, she opened her eyes, and the sweet flutter of bitter-sweetness and joy overtook her senses.
Max.
The thought alone made her heart squeeze almost too painfully.
He wasn’t lying next to her anymore, but just the remembrance of trailing her fingers over his bare, heated chest, the touch of his lips fevering her skin and the way that his breath had tickled her, made her shiver with happiness yet bought with it a peace she had never really experienced.
They hadn’t spoken much that morning, but Max had shown her many, many ways in which he could love her. He had made her promises of everything that was yet to come. He showed her hope for the future and apologised for all the years they had lost. He had made her feel vulnerable, seductive, afraid and passion filled all at the same time. He had made her want him even more than she already did – if it was even possible. And that was exactly the reason that Liz was angsting about what she was going to do to him. She felt guilty like nothing before, but right now, it was the only thing that she could do.
She needed to do.
Biting her lip, Liz trailed her hand over the softness of the duvet, recalling the moments of love that had passed between them earlier that morning. It was overwhelming and a little hard for her to believe that it had finally happened. She had made it happen. Moments of their early morning reunion would stick with her forever. Max was a part of her now, she could smell him on her skin and taste him on her body. This time together would forever linger in her memories.
“Morning.”
Broken from her thoughts, Liz sat up, straightening Max’s t-shirt down her body with a start and shoving her uncombed hair away from her face. Max was standing with a tray in the doorway. It was laden with breakfast delicacies- scrambled eggs, toast, salmon , fruit and juice.
Liz’s eyebrow quirked as he moved toward her and placed the tray in front of her. Her eyes connected with his as he sat down on the foot of the bed. Max was wearing a shirt and jeans and his hair was damp from the shower. Liz took a sip of her juice and smiled at him shyly. “I would say you shouldn’t have, but I’m famished.”
“And that’s exactly what I thought you’d say.” Max retorted back.
Liz reached for the food and ate steadily in silence. She didn’t care that Max was watching her like a hawk. She was hungry to the point of seeing black spots. When she was done she wiped her mouth with her hand and then her chin and her mouth again. He was still staring.
A steady blush began to rise to her cheeks as Liz realised that Max wasn’t looking at her in any old way. It was that look. It was the look.
“What?” She couldn’t help it. At least it broke the silence that was threatening to creep up her spine and take over.
“Nothing,” Max shrugged nonchalantly like it was all okay. Like nothing had changed between them. Like he wasn’t looking at her like she was his breakfast. “Shall I get you more food?”
“Um, food?”
Max smiled slyly, “Yes food. That stuff you were just eating.”
Liz licked her lips. The thought of being eaten by Max wasn’t a bad one at all.
“Liz?”
Liz shook her head quickly. “Only if you want me to vomit.”
“No. No vomiting.” Then he sat and just looked at her again.
Liz sighed and nudged him slightly on the shoulder, “You’re making me feel a little on edge.”
“Why?”
“I dunno. ‘Cause your staring. Intently.”
Not that Max didn’t look at her intently, normally. Max was a pretty intent looker. This was a different type of intent. It was intense intent. It was…
“….Liz…?”
Liz leaned forward in anticipation.
“Uh huh?”
Then as Liz waited in mixture of excited emotion and dread, Max leaned forward and placed her hair behind her ear. An effortless action that made Liz tingle from head to foot and made her stomach flip involuntarily. Maybe she would vomit anyway….
It was a simple gesture that had become intimate with meaning. Liz knew that when Max tucked her hair behind her ear now, it meant a completely different thing then when Max had tucked her hair behind her ear 10 years ago.
Max felt the tremor take over Liz’s body when he touched her, and he couldn’t help but be pleased by her reaction to him. It meant that his feelings were reciprocated, that she might have denied it in the past, but she truly did care for him. That, she wasn’t going to turn it all around and tell him that what had happened in the early hours of the morning was a mistake… he hoped.
Max wanted Liz. He had wanted her for such a long time now, in his life. Forever.
“How are you feeling?”
Liz paused a little and Max knew she was comprehending how to answer that question.
“I…” Liz bit her lip, “Good,” her shy smile was replaced by one filled with unknown innuendo, “good.” She looked around the room self consciously, “the food was good.”
Even though they had been friends for years, and had experienced everything together. This was one thing they had never shared. Sex was something that pushed the barriers, which crossed the line. That called a new meaning to the relationship that was Max and Liz. It was little surprise that Liz was finding words a little uncomfortable.
Max cleared his throat and Liz laughed, meeting his eyes.
“Oh come on, you’re not going to ask me how the sex was are you?”
Max was taken aback at her frankness for a second before he replied, “Not in vivid detail, no.”
“It was the right thing to do Max. I don’t regret it.”
Max almost let out a huge breath of relief that he hadn’t known he was holding. She didn’t regret it. That meant so much.
“I’m glad to hear that.”
Liz gazed at him as he picked up her palm and dropped a kiss on it. She smiled and coiled her hand away from him.
“Have you eaten?”
“I don’t eat in the mornings.”
“You don’t?”
“I guess there’s something you didn’t know about me.”
Liz pushed his tray to the side and leaned toward him. “When did this crazy habit come about?”
“Since I realised I love my bed way too much to eat breakfast in the mornings.”
“Though technically this isn’t breakfast.”
“Brunch then.”
“You don’t each lunch either?”
“I’m not afraid of food if that’s what you’re asking.”
“I didn’t …I don’t…. I was just enquiring.”
“Anything else you’d like to enquire?” Max asked dryly, raising an eyebrow.
Liz looked at him, a mock thoughtful expression covering her features. “I would like to enquire about every single intimate detail about your life. Though I won’t.”
Max couldn’t help the lazy smile that coiled his features when he said softly, “Not right now.”
Liz bit her lip in anticipation as he moved toward her and shrugged as carelessly as she could make herself. Although his proximity mixed with that hungry look he was throwing, was making it extremely hard to be nonchalant in any way. Biting her lip, she managed to echo his word, “Not right now.”
“We have time, Liz,”
“--Time. Sometimes I’m glad we have it. And sometimes I wish the world would just stand still.”
“Like now?”
Liz couldn’t help the gooey feeling that warmed her somewhere deep in her chest. Her eyes followed his lips as he came toward her and dropped a small kiss on the top bow of her mouth. He was so close that Liz could hear his breathing.
It was a little strange. And she could imagine getting used to this way too fast. There was stillness before she reciprocated by pressing her mouth hard against his. Then the world went silent for a bit as she let her breathing mingle with Max’s.
Max pulled back slightly. She was flushed and her pupils were pinpoints of lustrous black.
“I meant what I said yesterday, Liz. I want to erase the mistakes of our past, I want to spend forever with you.”
Liz slowly let go of his shirt, almost like she didn’t want to let him go at all. He took a deep breath and reached into the pocket of his jeans.
“I want you to marry me.”
There he had said it. He had waited, he had counted. He had thought it would never happen. And he had just said it.
The small box snapped open and within it sat a glistening diamond embedded in gold. For a second things blurred and Liz thought she might cry. However, at this point in time it seemed more appropriate to focus on her breathing. Fainting was probably more the problem than crying.
Liz breathed in, took in the ring in the box Max was holding, and then breathed out again.
Yes that’s it. Breathe. Breathe. In out.
Marry? .. Did he just ask her to marry him?
…OH MY GOD!!!
The thought of spending the rest of her life with the man that she had loved since she was a child was not only tempting, but right. However, here she was, sitting on his bed, after making every type of love possible to him and then shaking her head at his proposal. Perhaps she was mad.
She couldn’t…not right now.
“I can’t.”
It just…wouldn’t be right.
Max shrunk before her eyes like someone had just slapped him.
“I…uh….”
“Max, I’m sorry,” Liz shushed him before she managed to rub salt into wounds that were clearly displayed all over his face. “I can’t even think about marriage right now. After everything that’s happened. I mean Kyle, and I…I… I’m sorry….”
Liz trailed off. Her so called relationship with Kyle wasn’t the only problem here. She still had so much to figure out in her own head. She wasn’t even sure what the hell was going on between herself and Max. She had seen too many relationships turn sour because people loved the idea of them. Were she and Max even in relationship? If so… what kind? Was it the same relationship that she and Kyle had? If that was the case wouldn’t that be unfair on Max? She had jumped into this back forth thing with Max so fast after Kyle.
God… she was still dancing around the outside when there were so many questions flaming at the core. What did this all mean? Was this really forever? Was it the beginning of something really special, or the end of something that had always been much too fragile?
She needed time to herself. She needed time to think. She needed to sort out her head, her priorities. Her life.
Max’s eyes had dropped to the duvet and he was shaking his head mumbling to himself.
“Stupid…. Just stupid…”
“No, no…” Liz placed her hand on his. “It’s not you, Max. It’s me. I need time… time to recover from the mess that my life has become… time to recover from what happened. Time to recover from myself. Mrs Turners maternity leave is coming to an end. I need to move away –“
Max’s eyes snapped upward, “Move away?”
Liz gulped. Well, here goes nothing.
“Yes. Move away. I can’t be around you, Max. I need to be alone.”
“What are you saying?”
“It isn’t you.”
“….”
“It’s me.”
“Cut out the cliché crap.”
“Really.”
“I’m finding that a little hard to believe.”
Liz felt tears in her eyes spring to life at the disbelief on his face. It wasn’t anger, it was pure hurt. It was confusion, bitterness. Dread.
The image of leaving him at the airport, whilst he stared into holes into her back came back to her with an unpleasant jolt. It was like a memory that had just passed yesterday. The pain was just as raw.
“I’m doing this because I need to –,“
“---You need to? You need to leave? After what we shared?”
“Please understand…”
“I’m trying, Liz. But I don’t get it. I just don’t get why you would want to move after it took us so long to find each other again.”
“That’s precisely it, Max. I need to get over what ever relationship Kyle and I had. I need to find my place with you. Are we friends? Are we lovers? Can we be either without losing one another? Because if we can’t. Then I don’t want this.”
There was silence as Max took her in. Realization dawning his features. She needed space. He needed to give to her. It wasn’t that hard. Yet, it was the most difficult thing he had ever had to agree to.
Max sighed and launched his hand through his hair.
“So you might not be coming back?”
“Maybe, maybe not.”
“God…”
She clasped his hand with her own. “Max, please.”
His voice broke when he spoke. “Why would you do this… again?”
Liz felt like someone had just punched her in the gut. Hard.
“I’m sorry,” she whispered. Her own head spinning with a confusion she couldn’t understand. A confusion that only Max could bring about. And one that she needed to take control of before she jumped headlong into a relationship with him.
There was silence as Liz searched his torn face and Max refused to look at her at all. It seemed to carry on forever and with every second the burning in her gut intensified.
“Okay.”
“Okay?” Liz breathed.
“I’ll wait.”
“I don’t know how long I’ll be.”
“How long…,” Max swallowed. His throat was painfully dry, “how long do you think you’ll be?”
“Weeks, maybe months, maybe years…maybe forever.” Liz inhaled, not looking at his face when she said her last words, “Max, if you don’t wait, I’ll understand.”
Of course she wouldn’t. However, she was leaving him after all. For the second time. It seemed the appropriate thing to say.
He spoke before he even had time to process what she had said. “Don’t be stupid, Liz. You’re the only person I want. I’ll wait for you forever.”
He looked at her. She stared right back at him. Liz shrugged. Max’s fingers trailed up her arm. She moved toward him and Max took the force of her embrace gladly. He would give her all the time that she needed. He would wait forever. He just hoped that ‘forever’ wasn’t as long or as painful as it had been last time.
Last edited by Blue*Soul on Tue Jul 24, 2007 6:24 pm, edited 1 time in total.