The Ex Factor..(M/L, Mature) Part 43 7/9/09 Complete

[sweetbrowneyes]

Sorry everyone! I really didn't mean to make you wait. But I'm back with a new part.

clueless
RoninBehr
mezz
Emz80m
Tamashii
LairaBehr4
begonia9508
behrluv32
roswell3053
martine
keepsmiling7
Alien614
jake17
DreamerMaxBehrian

Thanks everyone!

Part 21

Max eagerly scanned the crowded terminal looking out for a head of curly blonde hair; at least he thought Tess was still blonde. He remembered when she called him because she had dyed her hair brown. She had been so excited and happy with her new color she called from the other side of the country to tell him about it.

He felt a tap on his shoulder and whirled around, a huge grin on his face. He frowned in bewilderment when he saw that no one was there. He could’ve sworn….

“I can’t believe you still fall for that,” Tess giggled from behind him.

“I guess I’ll never learn,” he chuckled despite himself. “Look at you! Com’ere girl!”

He pulled her into a bug bear hug, which she returned eagerly. “You’re all grown up!” she teased. “Still haven’t grown into your ears though…”

“I see you still haven’t gotten a better sense of humor,” he retorted. “Do you have all your bags?”

She gave him an incredulous look as they began to walk toward the baggage claim. “Do you know who you’re talking to? You really think I can pack for a three day trip in one bag?”

He held up his hands, as if to say, “I surrender” “Oh right. I totally forgot you’re incapable of packing efficiently. I mean, come on, one whole bag for your brushes and combs?”

“Hey, it takes work to make me look this beautiful.”

At the baggage claim, they watched the luggage revolve on the carousal and Max tried to guess which ones was hers.

“I’m really glad your job is transferring you back out here. I’ve missed having you knock down my self-confidence,” he teased.

“I don’t knock down your self-confidence.”

“You just said my ears were weird,” he argued.

“No,” she clarified, wagging her index finger. “I said you haven’t grown into them yet. And I was just stating the obvious and if you can’t accept that they’re gonna be weird for the rest of your life then you’ve got a problem.”

Max was laughing when she finally spotted her luggage.

“Where’s Kyle?” she asked when they made it out to his jeep. “You still have this thing? It’s time to move on up in the world where fish don’t fry in the kitchen…”

He added, “Beans don’t burn on the grill.”

“Took a whole lot a t’ry’in just to get up the hill.” They finished together before they burst into laughs. It was something about being around his friends from high school that made him act so silly.

“I love my car and as long as it’s running smoothly, there’s no point in getting something else.” He patted the dash affectionately before he continued. “And Kyle… I’m not supposed to tell you this, but I just think that you should be warned…”

“What?” Her eyes brightened, already loving his tone. She missed being around her guys.

“He’s at home baking you a welcome cake.”

She leaned her head back against the head rest and rolled her eyes heavenward. “Urg. Really?”

“Yeah and I just thought that you should be prepared to act as if you actually like his cooking.”

“Thanks for the heads up.”

“No problem.”

They arrived at Kyle’s apartment to find his kitchen in the mist of a flour storm. Clearly Kyle didn’t know what he was doing and he acted as if his kitchen wasn’t covered in chocolate icing and cake batter when he saw Tess and Max enter through the archway leading from the living room.

His eyes lit up when he saw her and Tess let out a squeal when he attempted to hug her. “Look at you! Come over here!”

“No, not with all that cake smeared over yourself. Why did you even attempt to cook? You know you suck.”

He gasped in mock offence. “I do not. I just thought I’d do something special. The old gang hasn’t been together for years…”

“Since when did we ever refer to ourselves as the ‘old gang’?” Max asked, laughing softly.

Kyle ignored him and Tess said, “Clearly, nothing is going to get cooked tonight in this kitchen so why don’t you two take me out to dinner. Your treat.” She grinned and jabbed Kyle in the stomach with her elbow. “Max I’ve been dying to meet your new girlfriend. Should I be prepared to be in overprotective mode?”

“Danni’s cool,” Kyle answered. “She and Max are practically the same person, they’re so alike.”

Max rolled his eyes. “They’re not though,” Kyle added. “The same person, that is.” He frowned, trying to imagine that. “That would be weird.”

Max and Tess exchanged glances. “Have you been drinking?” Max asked, amused.

“Sort of.”

Tess giggled. “That explains it.” Kyle produced a few more bottles of liquor while grinning cheekily.

Tess whooped in excitement as Max checked his watch. It was only seven thirty. But it was Kyle and Tess. Of course they wanted to party.
************

Liz lay naked, in bed with Chase for several moments before she managed to drag herself up. She had an early shift at Kevin’s for once which meant that she and Max would most likely miss each other.

She wasn’t too bent up about that, because things between them had been even more awkward after their spat a week earlier. They were polite to each other, almost to a fault where it would get unnerving.

She supposed she thought things between them would lighten up since she apologized to him because she knew no matter how much he denied it, what she did to him still weighed heavily on his shoulders.

And it had come out of no where. She hadn’t intended on apologizing, well she had always wanted to, but she didn’t believe that she would ever really do it. It just wasn’t something that she did, especially after he had spoken to her like he did. She had never been called fake before. How could she be fake?

She had been asking herself that same question for the passed week. She was just being herself. She was being the only way she knew how to be.

After much self-encouragement, she lifted herself out of bed. Chase, whose legs had been tangled with hers, protested softly at being disturbed and turned onto his back before settling back to sleep.

It was nearly ten in the morning and Liz took a few groggy steps toward the bathroom. They were out late last night and she was still feeling the affects of the alcohol that she’d had.

She refused to look at herself when she passed the bathroom mirror. She could already guess how horrible she looked; red, watery eyes, bed head, and so she so close to climbing back into bed and sleeping the day away.

After all, what use would she be in a restaurant in her condition? Wouldn’t it be better for everyone involved if she stayed home instead of showing up to work in a grumpy mood and upsetting the customers?

After convincing herself that calling off was a good idea, she did just that, grateful that Jacob was the one to answer the phone and not Max. Crawling back into bed, she curled up next to Chase who stirred with the movement.

“What time is it?” he asked as he slowly came awake.

She answered, feeling relieved that she wasn’t going to be going into work today, “Almost ten.”

Hr rolled over, trapping her beneath his arm. “Don’t you have to go into work?” Even as he knew he should let her get up, he couldn’t help but taste her neck and then her collarbone.

“I don’t have to go in today,” she said, her tone full of mirth.

He pulled her up so that she was lying on top of him, his large, muscled arms engulfing her completely. “What ever will we do with our free time now?”

She giggled in response before they engaged in an intense embrace.
**********

The next time she awoke, it was no better than the last. Her lingering headache from the night before seemed to intensify as her eyes adjusted to the afternoon sun streaming in through the large window.

Chase wasn’t beside her when she rolled over and she figured he was out golfing with his friends who were visiting town. They all were supposed to go out again tonight and she decided to use what little money she had left to get a new outfit to wear for the night.

She felt strange browsing the racks, studying the different styles alone. She had always gone shopping with her friends and they had always made a point to give their opinion on what she chose, good or bad. They had always influenced her on what to buy, told her what she looked good in, what color suited her, what was in style.

Now, as she stood in the middle of the store, rubbing her forehead with the palm of her hand, she realized she had no idea what the hell she wanted.

She convinced herself that maybe the reason she was so indecisive was because of the store she was in. She wasn’t that fond of the little bouquet she’d wandered into many times before. Down the block was a Gucci store and they were sure to have something that she would like.

She was disappointed quickly and found herself out on the sidewalk once more, headed to the next store. She felt so overwhelmed and unsure and nearly claustrophobic when a salesperson approached her and asked her if she needed help. She jumped and screamed at the woman before racing outside.

Now one store later, she stood in the dressing room, frowning at herself in the mirror. Determined to find something to buy, she had grabbed the first thing that caught her eye, a soft, green, form fitting dress that stopped mid-thigh with thin straps. She spun in a circle, not sure whether she liked what she saw or wanted to throw the dress back on the rack.

Hesitant on what to do, she waited until a salesperson walked by.

“Hey!” she called, poking her head out through the curtain covering the opening of the dressing stall.

“Can I help you?”

She hooked her finger, beckoning the young woman forward. Her heels clicked against the floor as she took one step toward. “What do you think of this dress on me?” she said, sliding the curtain open a little.

The woman studied her for a long moment, taking in the way the dress laid gently on her subtle curves.

“I think you look great. It’s a great color on you.”

Liz brightened and immediately informed the sales lady that she would take the dress. She walked out of the store with a slight smile on her face and nearly two hundred dollars poorer. She had just enough to grab something to eat to tide her over until tonight. Chase would take care of her until she got her check next week.

In a pizza eatery she knew she could afford, Liz scanned the room, attempting to decide if she should order to go or seat herself. It didn’t nearly bother her so much now to know she had to limit herself with money because she knew that she would have Chase to help her out. In fact, she didn’t know why she was even working at the diner with Max. She didn’t need to anymore.

Her parents had put her into an awkward situation and she had found a way out of it. She managed to get herself on her feet without their help and she was feeling pretty proud of herself.

Smiling now, she whirled around when she heard her name being called out. Max was sitting at a table not far from her, waving her over. Glancing around her, she cautiously moved across the room until she was standing over him.

“Hey. I didn’t know you ate here,” he said with a friendly smile.

“Yeah uh… I don’t come in here often.”

“Oh,” he said, still smiling. “Were you planning on eating here? Do you want to sit down?”

Again, she glanced around her warily. Why was he being so nice to her? She began to seriously think she was being set up. But not on her own accord, she found herself sliding into the chair across from him, highly curious about his apparent good mood.

He handed her his menu and then crossed his arms over the tabletop. “So, I heard you called off yesterday,” he said with a smirk, enjoying that she was squirming in her seat. “You don’t look like you’re sick.”

“It was one of those 24 hour bugs,” she explained quickly then frowned. “Did you ask me to sit down just so you could grill me? If you’re going to fire me, then you might as well do it now.”

“I wasn’t…”

“Cause I was thinking of quitting anyway…”

He held up his hand when she moved to stand. “Liz, I wasn’t going to fire you, I was just teasing. Everyone plays hooky once in awhile.”

“Then why did you ask me over here?”

He shrugged. “Because I saw you came in and you looked like you were looking for somewhere to sit. It wouldn’t have made any sense for you to sit somewhere else, taking up a whole other booth when we could just eat together.”

She narrowed her eyes and said, “Okay, but I thought we couldn’t stand each other. I’m holding up my end of the bargain but you… you’re breaking the rules by asking me to sit.”

“You didn’t have to sit down. You can get up and leave anytime you want. So clearly, whatever rules you’re speaking of, you’re breaking them too. And I guess the fact that I did ask you to join me would mean that I can tolerate you a little better than before.”

Her lips had the nerve to curve into a smile and she replied, “You like me. I don’t blame you,” she teased. “But what changed your mind?”

“For your information, I didn’t say that I liked you. I can just tolerate you now. Don’t get demoted.” One corner of his mouth lifted into a half smile. “You apologized. I mean, I’ve never known you to do that and that’s all I was looking for.”

“Really?”

“Okay, well an explanation would be nice… and a little groveling would be good but we can work our way up to that.”

She smiled and said, “Can you imagine me groveling?”

“Just an explanation then.” He had a feeling that Liz didn’t have an explanation yet and if she did, she didn’t realize it.

She ducked her head, partly in shame. “I’m really… you know, the ‘s’ word. And I think I tolerate you too.” Max laughed and then she asked, “Shouldn’t you be at work?”

He looked up from his drink. “Although I’m not too sure you’re one to ask that and judge, I’ll answer anyway,” he joked, “I’m on lunch break. I just needed a change of scenery.”

The waiter returned to the table with Max’s order and took Liz’s. The two chatted for awhile as they tucked into their meal, mostly bantering back and forth with harmless teasing. And by the time they parted ways, both were left reminded of better days past.

TBC…………

[sweetbrowneyes]

I hope everyone had an awesome Valentine's Day!

DreamerMaxBehrian
jake17
begonia9508
Emz80m
Tamashii
pookie76
RoninBehr
nitpick23
martine
roswell3053
clueless

Thanks for the feedback!

Part 22

Liz was feeling a bit uneasy. Drinks were flowing, the music was loud and everyone was dancing and letting go for the night. However, Liz looked about as green as her new dress and shot another glare at Taylor, Chase’s best friend when she felt his hand brush against her butt. Again.

The first couple of times, she knew it was a mistake. Everyone was dancing with everyone. It could have easily been an accident that he brushed up against her. But this was going on the sixth time and he held on, pinching her a bit.

She jumped away, her face burning red. “Clearly you don’t know how to keep your hands to yourself, so next time you touch me like that, I’m taking them from you.”

Taylor simply smiled; his teeth white and straight. He was handsome, brown hair, green eyes, toned in the right places. She walked away from him, towards their table where Lynn and Morgan were sitting. Unfortunately, some of Chase’s friends were friends with Lynn and Morgan and they had been forced to interact for a least a few moments.

And she thought that it would give them a chance to reunite and reestablish their friendship. But as soon as they looked at her and turned away with a laugh, saying something along the lines of ‘She looks like radioactive slim,’ referring to her dress, she knew it was a lost cause.

They got up as soon as she sat down. Staring straight ahead, she felt a lump settling in her throat and her heart rushing to her feet. But she would not cry there, in front of everyone so that they would have one more reason to laugh at her.

Chase slid into the space Lynn and Morgan just evacuated. “You doing okay?” he asked, slipping an arm around her shoulders.

She rested her head against his shoulder. “No, Taylor keeps grabbing me and if he does it one more time, I’m going to punch him. I’d advise you to talk to your friend.”

Chase looked out towards the dance floor where Taylor was preoccupied with gyrating with some random girl. “Yeah, I’ll talk to him. Now come on, dance with me.”

He pulled her out of her seat. She frowned, bewildered that he wasn’t as upset as she thought he would be. She would be angry if some girl were feeling him up. However, she followed him obediently but as time passed, she couldn’t shake the wan feeling that weighed down on her. Chase was just about the only person who would talk to her and as the night wore on, she felt uncomfortably hot, out of place, and insecure. She was ready to leave.

Chase pressed himself against her from behind, one hand gripped her hip and the other slid up her thigh. She leaned back against him as she said, “I’m ready to get out of here. I think I’m coming down with something.”

She could smell the liquor on his breath as he leaned down, his lips brushing against her neck. Turning in his arms, she noticed his eyes were glazed and he was indeed drunk. At least one of them was having fun, she thought.

Frowning, Chase placed his hand on her forehead. “You don’t feel hot.”

“Yeah, well I’m ready to go. Can we leave?”

His eyes swept over the crowded room before they landed back on her. His head dropped slightly so that he was looking at her through his eye lashes and his lips contorted into a small pout. “Seriously? It’s just getting good.”

Hot and irritated now, she spit out, “Have you noticed that I haven’t been having anything close to fun. Everyone hates me.”

He scuffed. “Everyone doesn’t…” He paused and then took another sweep of the room. “Taylor likes you.”

“Taylor!” Her face was red now. “Of course he likes me. He’s been molesting me all night!”

“Liz,” he said softly, stepping closer as he rubbed her arms. “Don’t you think you’re overreacting? I talked to Taylor, he’s just being friendly. He’s just playing around with you.”

Liz stared at him for a moment, unable to come up with a retort. Was she overreacting? But she did have a right to be angry, right?

Feeling hot and sickly, she retreated, let out a sore, “Fine,” and started to stalk off in the direction of the bathroom when Chase reached out and snagged her arm.

“Wait. I’m sorry. Don’t be mad.”

So, she huffed out a stiff, “I’m not mad.”

“You sure?”

She breathed out a sigh and said, “I’m fine.”

He scampered off towards his friends, but not before he kissed her cheek and gave her a wink, as if that somehow would make her feel any better.

She decided that standing in the long line leading to the bathroom was better than being ignored by everyone.

Standing in front of the mirror, she stared at herself for a good few minutes before she turned on the tap and splashed some cool water on her face. It was so refreshing against her hot skin that she splashed a few more handfuls of water on her face before she dried off.

She felt so sick she couldn’t stand the thought of going out there with the music blaring and the odor of the sweating bodies dancing. Now, she wasn’t sure why she even came.

She returned to the table and went in search of Chase’s keys. She rather lay down in the back seat of Chase’s trunk than watch everyone else have fun.

She found his keys in his jacket pocket and pulled them free. Along with it, she pulled out several small plastic sandwich bags. Its contents were small tablets and a white powder. Initially, she thought the tablets were some type of medication until she caught Chase watching her with a wide eyed look.

These were more than a bunch of aspirins. And the powder definitely wasn’t flour.

She pulled him aside. “Chase can I talk to you for a minute?”

He didn’t stop moving to the beat of the song, but he turned to face her and wrapped his big arms around her waist. “What is it babe?”

Stepping out of the ring of his arms, she held up the bags. “What’s this?”

His eyes widened briefly as his features took on a look of shock as if he hadn’t just seen her pull them out of his pocket. He schooled his expression to look almost passive. “Where did you get that? I didn’t know you kept this kind of stuff on you, Liz.” He attempted to take the object in question from her but she snatched it from his reach.

“Chase, seriously, where did you get these? Are you on drugs?”

“What?! No Liz….”

“Chase…” The way his eyes flickered around her instead of landing on her didn’t sit well with her. “What are you doing with this? What is it? Ecstasy? Dope.” she said, her voice rising as she shook the bags.

He tugged on her arm and said, “Let’s not do this here…” and before she could protest he was pulling her through the crowd of dancing bodies, toward the exit.

There was a cool breeze outside and it was a welcome relief when the air brushed against her overheated skin.

Chase had pulled her through a back exit, away from others and prying eyes. He leaned against the wall, sucking in deep breaths of air. But after minutes passed and he didn’t seem like he was going to talk, Liz grew impatient.

“Well? Are you going to tell me what’s going on? Are you on drugs?”

“No, I…” he shook his head slightly and his eyes fell to the concrete below his feet. “I don’t do them.”

“Then what?” She narrowed her eyes as she watched him, trying to get a read on what was going on in his head. The entire time she had known Chase, he had never given her a reason to believe that he was involved with drugs. And as she watched him, his jaw clenching and his brow furrowed in thought, she realized that she barely knew this man. Sleeping with someone doesn’t necessarily mean you know them.

When he looked up at her, she took a cautious step back.

It didn’t go unnoticed by Chase. “Don’t Liz,” he pleaded as he held his hand out to her. “I’m not going to hurt you. I just…there are some things that I’ve been keeping from you. I probably should have told you but um, yeah, I’m a drug dealer.”

His head was bowed as he said this and Liz was sure he was playing a prank on her. “Stop and be serious. Why was this in your jacket?”

“I’m not kidding. That’s ecstasy and meth and it’s for a customer actually, so I’m going to need that back.”

An extended spell of uncomfortable silence stretched between them and she stared at him in disbelief before she did one thing he was least expecting her to do. She laughed.

“What is this? This whole thing is a prank, right?” she sputtered through vigorous laughter that slowly died down when she realized that he wasn’t joining her.

She took a step back.

“You’re serious.” She could see it in his eyes. “I….” She couldn’t get a hold of her anger before it bubbled to the surface and spilled out for him to take. “You’re a fucking drug dealer and you didn’t think that this was something you needed to tell me? How… What were you thinking?”

“I didn’t think that it was important,” he argued weakly.

She let out an ironic chuckle. “You do realize how dangerous that is right? I mean someone could come after you,” she said. “Not only that, you could have been caught and I’m around this shit without even knowing… is it in the apartment?” At his nod, she turned her back to him, walked a few steps away and then turned back. “I can’t believe you. What if I had taken that ecstasy by mistake thinking it was asprin? What if someone had come after me? What if you’re caught and the police come after me.”

“I’d tell them you weren’t involved, Liz please, it’s not that big of a deal. I just do it as a hobby sort of.”

“A hobby! A hobby is stamp collecting or shopping or… or anything other than drug dealing! What’s wrong with you?”

He shrugged like a teen having just been caught sneaking in after a night of partying. And Liz opened her mouth to yell once more, but found she had nothing else to say and instead, yanked open the door and walked back into the club to retrieve her purse. To be honest, it wasn’t the drug dealing that made her so upset, though that was bad enough, it was the fact that she had been practically living with someone she didn’t even know. And apparently that person didn’t think enough of her to let her know that there were illegal drugs in the house.

Morgan and Lynn stared when she snatched her things and headed for the exit. She was headed home; her own home.
*********

Max whistled to himself as he checked the diner once more before he left. He made sure the back doors were locked and secured, the grill was cleaned and the trash was taken out.

He called Danni to let her know he was on his way home and to see if she needed him to pick up anything and then answered a text to Michael who was bragging about how great his vacation was.

They left two days ago for a romantic getaway to a private beach house Maria’s father owned. Max refused to acknowledge how jealous he was but he couldn’t deny how happy he was for Michael.

Max arrived home and was looking forward to a quite, relaxing evening in front of the TV until he stepped into his apartment and took in the scene Danni had created in his bedroom.

Illuminated in candles, the walls glimmered with a light orange color and some sweet fragrance wafted in the air. The room was otherwise dark. And when he dropped his keys on his dresser, she appeared, looking beautiful in a piece of lingerie he had never seen before.

“What’s all this?” he asked, his eyes darting around the room and then resting on her. He didn’t want to stare, but he couldn’t help it. But then again, that was the point of her attire, right?

“I just felt like lighting a few candles and everything.” She glided towards him and grabbed one hand and pulled his deeper in the room. “Did you eat already?”

He simply nodded, missing her smirk. “Good.”

He let her sit him the edge of his bed and she kneeled before him and began to take off his shoes. “Did I miss something important?” It couldn’t be any type of anniversary.

She giggled softly and said, “No. I just thought we could do something different.”

He whole-heartedly agreed when she continued to undress him and soon, the soft music she turned on before was heard by neither. And when it was over, the candles had build up a puddle of wax and he blew them out as she lay sated in bed, reaching over to turn off the stereo.

He drifted off knowing that he was satisfied for at least another night.
*************

He awoke hours later with a start, irritated immediately that his peaceful sleep was interrupted.

The source of the intruder was made known when his phone rang and he blindly reached over Danni for the headset.

Five minutes later, he was shaking Danni awake so that she’d be coherent enough to know that he had to leave.

“Who was on the phone?”

“The police, they said someone tried to break into the diner and the person is claiming to be one of my employees. I gotta go straighten this out.”

“You want me to go with you?” She was already sitting up, prepared to swing her legs over the side of the bed.

“No, you go back to sleep. I don’t know how long this’ll take.”

In his raggedy jeep, Max drove the few minutes to his diner. Chaos surrounded Kevin’s. There were three police cars with their lights blazing bright. Max pulled alongside them and headed for the group of huddled officers.

“What’s going on?”

“Who are you?”

“Max Evans.”

“The owner?”

“Yes,” he said, glancing around at the unfamiliar faces. He had never once had any trouble with someone trying to break into his place. “What happened?”

A female officer stepped forward and stuck out her hand. “I’m Officer West. Your alarm went off and when we got here we found that young woman trying to enter the premises.” Her hand swung in the direction of the flashing cars and she pointed to a hysterical woman in the backseat of the car.

Max was startled to find the woman staring back at him through the window. He squinted as he moved closer and it took him awhile before he recognized the outline of that familiar face.

“Liz?”

“She claims that she works here.”

Max pulled his eyes away from Liz’s tear soaked face to find Officer West waiting with her brow raised. “Oh! Yeah she works here.”

“We found her ‘round back. She had gotten in through the door back there and was headed into an office. Do you want to press charges?”

“What? No! She couldn’t have been…” Frowning, Max’s eyes slid back towards Liz. “Can you let her out? I want to talk to her.”

Officer West signaled to another officer standing beside her who let Liz out and she came to stand in front of him.

“What happened? What were you doing?”

She hiccupped through her sobs. “I needed a place to stay. I d-didn’t have anywhere else to go. And I remember you told me t-that you needed to get the lock on the back door fixed so…”

“What…” He noticed her squirming and realized that she was handcuffed. He turned to the officer. “I’m not going to press charges. You can let her go.”

Liz’s belongings were returned to her, her purse and an armful of clothes, and the police scattered thereafter. Still confused about what happened, Max unlocked the doors to the diner and gestured for Liz to enter.

Her sobs were gut wrenching, tears pouring down her cheeks as she attempted simultaneously to wipe them away and keep her clothes from dragging on the floor.

“You’re scaring me, Liz. What happened?”

She could only manage to cough out a gurgled, “I-I…” before a fresh set of tears overcame her.

Max stood an arm’s length away in the dark, save for a lamp outside the entrance. He didn’t know what to do for her. She looked a mess. Her hair was tangled, her clothes rumpled and hanging off her like rags. She looked as if she had been in a fight. Was she attacked? Raped? In all the years he had known Liz, he had never seen her look the way she did right now. She was always perfectly put together. Which was why he was way more concerned about her than the broken lock on his back door.

“Liz…”

Max didn’t know how long they stood there, Liz crying, swaying on her feet and Max at a lost of what to do for her.

Until she finally wailed, “I-I have n-no where else t-to go.”

Finally, he reached out to her, placing a comforting hand on her arm. He guided her to a stool at the counter and attempted to take her clothes from her. She held on to them with a strong grip, tightening her hold when Max tried to pry them away.

Max sensing that she wasn’t going to let her belongings go soon, he let her be and headed for the kitchen to get her a glass of water.

He turned on the lights and when he returned, he pushed the glass into her hands. He had to coach her into taking a drink while his hand absently stroked her back in gentle circles.

“What happened?” he asked when she appeared calm enough to speak.

In a tearful, strained tone, she told him what happened; her friends writing her off, Taylor coming on to her and later, Chase’s confession.

“And then I went to m-my apartment but all my stuff was sitting out on the front lawn of the building,” she cried. She attempted to stop a tearful hiccup before she continued. “Everything I own was just sitting there and s-some of my furniture had been taken. There was some guy there trying to take my brand new purse and we fought for awhile before he took off. Everything I had…”

She burst into a fresh set of tears.

She felt utterly lost, alone and hopeless.

“Right now all of my stuff, the only things I own in this world, are sitting in the street, most likely being picked through I…I was just evicted!”

“I’m homeless.” She broke out into sobs as she realized this for the first time. Of course she realized that she had been kicked out of her apartment, but she didn’t take into consideration of what that really meant.

She was homeless.

“I can’t believe this is happening,” she whispered. “How am I going to tell my parents? What are they going to think now? And Chase… he was the only one I could trust.”

Quietly, he reached for the napkin holder. He handed her some napkins, which she took timidly. He breathed deeply. At least she wasn’t raped like he had previously assumed.

“At least you’re okay. You could’ve been hurt fighting with that guy over a purse, Liz. You are hurt,” he said, noticing a few bruises on her arm.

“I’m fine.”

With a raised brow, not believing her one bit he said, “You sure?”

She quickly nodded. “I’m sorry,” she said. “You were probably sleeping, but I didn’t know where else to go. I was just going to sleep on the couch in your office. I’ll just go clean up and then be on my way.”

Max watched with a heavy heart as she stood, her clothes still clutched tightly in her grasp and headed towards the restrooms.

She returned looking exhausted and small. “So what are you going to do now? Why didn’t you call your parents?”

She shrugged, causing another wave of tears to bleed down her face. “They would be so disappointed. Their only daughter is a criminal.”

A faint smile curled on his lips. She was so dramatic. Of course she wasn’t a criminal.

“I think you should call them.”

“No, I-I’ll figure something out. I’ll go back to Chase’s if I have to,” though she dreaded that.

“No…” he sighed deeply and wondered how she managed to pull him in without even asking. “You can stay with me for the night. I think you should call your parents in the morning though.”

She was immediately shaking her head. “No. I couldn’t do that. I’ll just go back to Chase’s.”

“Liz, you know that you don’t want to and to be honest, I don’t want you over there knowing he has illegal drugs lying around. I don’t mind. I also have a very comfortable couch.” He smiled and though he realized that Liz Parker wouldn’t want to be sleeping on a couch, at least she’d be safe with a roof over his head. And he wouldn’t worry.

“No, Max.”

Max ignored her, and made his way to the back door. It wasn’t broken as he’d thought. She had managed to pick it, but he still needed to get it reinforced.

He turned off the lights motioned her out the door. “I’ll take you to get some of your stuff. You’re also not coming into work tomorrow because I think you need to straighten some stuff out with your parents.” At her groan, he chuckled and helped her up into his jeep.

He climbed into the driver’s seat and before he started the engine she asked, “Why are you being so nice to me, after everything I’ve done, past and present?”

He thought for a long moment. “We can tolerate each other now, remember? This is what people who tolerate each other do.” She was so tired, the explanation was sufficient for her and she cracked a small smile.

At her place, Liz picked through her things, choosing only to take the clothes she could find and the most personal stuff.

As he drove back to his place, he looked over at her, to find that she had fallen asleep, still clutching those clothes like they were her only link to the life she used to have. He hadn’t seen her looking so vulnerable in a long time and he couldn’t resist wanting to make everything right for her.

He just hoped that his decision to help her didn’t come back to bite him in the ass.
TBC………….

[sweetbrowneyes]

I'm so sorry about the wait everyone. But I'm back and next week I have no school so hopefully I'll be able to write and get the next part posted on time.

DreamerMaxBehrian
jake17
uw51
Emz80m
nitpick23
Tamashii
begonia9508
RoninBehr
kay_b
pookie76
Alien614
roswell3053
martine
keepsmiling7

Thank you all for your feedback. I really and truely appreciate it.

Enjoy!

Part 23

October 1998

Liz sunk deeper into the cushioned table as the smell of coconut and vanilla drifted to her nose and ignited her senses. She suppressed a low moan at the feel of hands rubbing foot, moving up her leg and then her thigh before making their way back down again. When he was done, he moved to her right leg, leaving her left lax and saturated with moisturizing coconut oil.

“Can you get my neck really good too? I’m feeling a knot,” she said.

The masseuse nodded, though while Liz was lying on her stomach, she couldn’t see him doing so. “Sure miss.”

Satisfied, Liz closed her eyes against the sun’s rays falling on her and continued to enjoy her massage. Outside in Lynn’s backyard, the five girls were being treated to a full afternoon of pampering before homecoming later that night.

Lynn, Trini, Trixi, and Tasha lay beside her, two on each side.

“So,” Lynn started, turning just her head to regard Liz. “You never told us what happened to you last night. I mean after half-time, you totally ditched us and we didn’t hear from you for the rest of the night.”

Liz wanted to roll her eyes, but she withheld. They hadn’t mentioned how they ridiculed her.

“Seth totally threw a party and was looking for you the entire night,” Trixi informed her. “Where’d you go?”

Shrugging, she said, “I was with Max.”

“Doing what?” Tasha snorted, as if Max was incapable of doing anything that would interest her. Liz felt a pang of offense in Max’s guard.

Still, Liz only shrugged and said, “Just hanging out,” as she thought about how him and his friends took her out for ice cream to cheer her up. After some initial awkwardness, they treated her as if she had been a part of their group for years, trashing the reputation of the rest of the cheerleading squad. They were Liz’s friends of course, but she couldn’t help laughing along because she realized that some of the things they said were true.

And it made it wonder what they said about her.

“So you skipped Seth’s party, where you two would have probably, finally hooked up, to hang out with some nerd,” Trini said.

“He’s not a nerd, Trini. He’s a good guy,” Liz began.

Trini snorted. “You’re defending that nerd now? What’s wrong with you?”

Lynn studied her best friend as she bantered back and forth with Trini until it finally dawned on her. “Oh my God, you like him.”

“Who?” Liz squeaked, knowing full well who she was talking about.

Trixi caught on. “That dork. You like him,” she laughed. “No wonder you’ve been acting so weird.”

“I don’t like him,” she denied strongly.

“Then why didn’t you just blow him off. You could’ve been with Seth by now,” Lynn pressed.

Liz pondered her excuse before she spoke. “I couldn’t just blow him off. He didn’t want to go to the party and it would’ve looked bad if I had just ditched him. Besides, I’m just playing with Seth now. He sees that I’m willing to skip one of his parties just to be with Max, he’ll want me even more. Guys want what they can’t have right?”

“Good thinking, Liz.”
“I was almost worried about you for a minute.”
“Oh he’ll definitely want you now.”

Thanking the heavens that they seemed to buy her excuse, Liz relaxed once more as the masseuse began to work her neck.
********

Max stood nervously before the Parkers’ front door as he waited for it to open. He saw a flash of light go off behind him and he rolled his eyes.

“Mom, will you put down the camera? Nothing’s happened yet.” Max turned to face his mom just as she was lowering the camera. “I mean really, what are you going to do with a picture of the back of my head?”

She shrugged sheepishly. “Just hush and let me do the photography.”

“Mom, please don’t embarrass me. You know I really like her.”

“I know you do, pumpkin,” she cooed, enticing a groan from him. “This is a really nice house. I wonder how much they paid for it.”

His eyes widened. “Don’t ask them that!”

Waving her hand at him, she said, “I’m not. I know my manners.”

Sighing, Max turned to face the door again. The only reason she tagged along was because she wanted to get pictures of Max and Liz together. And she also wanted to meet the parents of the girl that seemed to capture her son’s heart.

Twenty minutes later, Max and Liz nearly sprinted for the door after having to endure their parent’s cooing at them as if they had never seen them in any sort of formal wear before. Max could swear that he still saw the little sparks from the flashes of the cameras behind his eyes as he hurried around the stretch limo to open the door for Liz.

“I didn’t think we’d survive that,” he joked after he climbed in beside her.

“Your mom wasn’t as bad as mine was. Why does she always have to pull out the baby pictures?” she wailed, letting her head drop to her hands in embarrassment. Her mom had steadily shown the most embarrassing pictures to Diane and Max and then proceeded to get emotional while her father video taped her discomfiture for future reference.

“I don’t know,” Max smirked. “I think the one of you in the bathtub was kind of cute.”

“Oh my God!” she cried, mortified now. “What good parent takes pictures of their young child taking a bath?”

“Every parent that intends on embarrassing their kid,” Max offered.

The limo pulled out of the Parker’s winding driveway and onto the main street, intending on going toward the high school. It was Liz’s idea to get a limo for the night. Max could never afford one and was set on burrowing his mother’s Saturn for the night. But he knew that pulling up to an important school function in a nice limousine was something Liz wanted, so he couldn’t deny her. As long as he was going with her, he was happy.

The school gymnasium was already in full homecoming swing when they arrived. Max gulped, holding onto Liz’s hand tightly as they walked in through the entrance. Once the door was opened, they were assaulted with the loud, throbbing music inside.

Max handed his tickets over to Mrs. Freeman, a math teacher slash ticket keeper for the night, and the two entered the dance.

Immediately, Max went in search of his friends and dragged Liz along with him before she could have the chance to do the same.

“Max, Liz! You made it!” Tess squealed as soon as she spotted the two. “You look so pretty, Liz.”

Liz smiled and did a little twirl to show off her dress at Tess’ suggestion. The dress was simple, fuchsia, and stopped below her knees. It wrapped around her petite form and was held together by a diamond clasp at the small of her back. Even though she sparkled with the thin, diamond straps holding up the dress, Liz couldn’t stand how she looked in it. She would have preferred to get a shorter dress, in blue, her favorite color, because the longer one she wore made her look even shorter than she was.

But, her friends had insisted that this was the dress that looked the best on her and she trusted their judgment.

“Thanks Tess, you look good too.”

“Thanks.” Tess was still a little wary of Liz, but after they all went out the night before, she realized that she might not have a reason to be. She seemed like she was really interested in her friend.

Tess introduced her date and soon, Kyle, Jake and their dates joined them. The group stuck close together until Liz dragged Max over to her friends. Seth was with them.

“Liz, you look beautiful.” He breathed, not afraid or ashamed to let his eyes wander over her form, though he had clearly noticed the guy holding her hand. His eyes lingered on her, enjoying that he was causing her to squirm. He was sure she knew that he was interested.

Finally, he turned to Max. “Evans, right?”

“Yeah, Seth?” When Seth nodded, Max stuck out his hand. “Nice to meet you.” Max wasn’t blind. And if he was, he still would have noticed how this guy was looking at his girlfriend, right in front of him! He added extra pressure to his handshake.

Max stood aside as Liz chatted with her friends. He’d rather much hang with his friends, but whatever Liz wanted, he wanted to oblige. He was uncomfortable, seeing as Liz’s friends couldn’t help but flutter there lashes at him. He knew Liz noticed because suddenly, she was eager to pull him away and asked him to dance.

“How about we have some punch first?” he suggested instead.

“I’m not thirsty. Come on!” Ignoring his protests, she pulled him into the middle of the floor. Max stood awkwardly, arms hanging by his side as Liz shimmied to the beat in front of him. He supposed he looked like an idiot just standing there behind Liz as she shook her hips. Any other guy would readily grab onto her wiggling body and grind to the beat with her. And when Liz realized that Max wasn’t moving, she turned around to face him. He was sure the problem was evidently clear.

He didn’t know how to dance.

“I look like a loser,” he complained loudly over the music.

His pout, whether intentional or not was just so cute Liz couldn’t help but smile a little. “Loosen up a bit. You’re too stiff. Put your hands on my hips.”

Taking a deep breath, he did as he was told. “Now, just move with me. You’re a guy so you don’t really have to do much dancing.”

She began to bend at the knees first, bouncing to the rhythm and instructed Max to follow. Once he could keep with the beat, she moved her hips, swaying them from side to side. Meanwhile, Max was still stiffly bending his knees, bouncing with his hands on her hips. He was moving a bit off beat and Liz wanted to laugh but he looked so miserable.

“Why don’t you get me some punch?” He looked so relieved he kissed her cheek and practically ran off the dance floor.

Liz was giggling at his antics, shaking her head at his adorableness when a pair of hands slipped around her waist. She tensed.

“Hey Parker.”

Relaxing when she realized it was just Seth, she turned to face him. “Hi. Enjoying yourself?”

“I guess. I’d have a better time if I were here with you.”

She blushed, grateful when another student bumped into her, giving an excuse to move and step out of the circle of his arms. She wasn’t sure she was fine with the way he was looking at her earlier.

“That’s sweet. Um, maybe I’ll save a dance for you.”

He smiled his devastatingly gorgeous smile and his green eyes twinkled as he said, “Maybe?”

“Yes. I’ll think about it.” She hoped her smile came off flirtatiously as she turned on her heels and headed in the direction of Max’s friends.
************

After many unsuccessful attempts to get Max to return to the dance floor, Liz ended up dancing with Kyle, Jake and for a few moments, Seth. They were interrupted however, when Max joined them on the floor.

“Hey, do you want to get out of here?” he asked. He was tiring of the loud music and the gyrating, sweating bodies. He wanted to spend some alone time with Liz.

“Really?”

“Yeah. I was thinking that we could call for the limo and go somewhere and talk. Me and you.”

Thinking for a moment, Liz looked back at Seth, who had resumed dancing with his date, but was looking her way. Her friends were off somewhere else with their respective dates. She hadn’t quite forgiven them yet for flirting with Max in front of her. Though their relationship wasn’t technically real, it still didn’t mean she liked other girls flirting with her boyfriend. Especially not right in front of her.

“Sure,” she said, smiling softly at him. “But I’m pretty sure my dad paid the driver to keep an eye on us, so going anywhere private might not be the best thing.”

Max paused for a moment thinking over this recent dilemma before he excused himself. He returned with her purse and the keys to Kyle’s car. His best friend had been reluctant to hand over his car, but one promise to make it up to him and the fact that this meant a lot to Max persuaded him.

Outside, Max gently guided Liz to the borrowed Explorer. After helping Liz into her seat, he hopped into the driver’s side and started the engine.

“Where to, m’lady?” he asked, smiling, excited, anxious.

“Doesn’t matter.” she smiled back, happy, confused.

Max peeled out of the parking lot, just driving in any one direction. As they chatted softly over the song playing on the radio, Max found himself pulling onto his street. His parents’ car wasn’t in the driveway and he assumed they went out to dinner.

“Are you comfortable being here?” he asked even before he pulled in front of the house. “Because we could go somewhere else, go grab something to eat or something.”

Touched that he thought about how comfortable she would feel, she said, “No, we can go in. I trust you.” Satisfied, Max pulled along the curb in front of his house.

Once inside, they stood awkwardly in the living room. “Um… do you want anything to eat, drink?” he asked softly.

“No thanks. But can I use your bathroom?”

“Sure.” He pointed in the direction of the hallway and waited until she was out of the room before he collapsed onto the couch. He had no idea what he was doing. He just wanted to be alone with her and wondered if being in his empty home was being too forward.

The bathroom door creaked as it opened. Liz called out to him. “Yeah?”

“Where’s your room?” She asked, looking down the short hallway.

He felt a jolt straight to his heart and it pounded as he jumped up from the couch. “Um, it’s upstairs,” he squeaked.

She appeared in front of him, looking as lovely and soft and…everything as ever. The next thing he knew, they were climbing the stairs, making a left towards his room.

He hoped he picked up his underwear.

Poking his head in first, he assessed that his room didn’t look like total mess and allowed her to step in.

By his computer in the corner, he stood, shifting from foot to foot as she studied his room. She ran her fingers over his bookshelf, glanced over his TV, the screen embarrassingly dusty, before she studied his movie collection.

“Nice,” she murmured.

“You want…” he voice sounded like that of a ten year old. He cleared his throat and tried again. “You want to watch one?”

But she had already picked one out and was attempting to figure our how to start his DVD player.

Max decided that he would save her from the complication of turning on the appliance and gently pushed her aside. “You go sit down,” he said. “You want popcorn, or anything?”

She gave him a smile that melted his legs into wax. If he hadn’t been holding on to the TV stand, he would have surely collapsed.

“No, I’m good.”

Gulping hard, he started the movie with much difficultly and gingerly sat at the end of his bed. It didn’t help that Liz looked so comfortable, so right and beautiful sitting at the head of his bed, relaxed against his pillows. She had kicked her shoes off and tucked her tiny feet underneath her. He hoped his pillows were soaking up the scent of her so that when he slept at night, he would be surrounded by her.

The previews started. Max was too distracted to fast forward through them.

“Uh…. How’s your neck?” he said, turning to face her, but focusing on the space of bed in front of her.

She rubbed her neck. “Oh, it’s better. The girls and I got massages earlier.”

Last night, after they went out for ice cream to cheer Liz up, Jake insisted that they all go see a movie at the drive-in because he hadn’t been on so long. The group caved after many protests and piled into one car. Not even five minutes into the movie, Liz had fallen asleep, her head on his shoulder. This effectively prevented Max from paying attention to anything else. When she awoke, she had a horrible crick in her neck.

“Good. Um… yeah.” The previews ended and Max automatically pressed play. He wasn’t even sure which movie they were watching.

Staring at his stiff back and tense shoulders, Liz struggled not to laugh. “Max?” Touched by his shyness and confused about how warm and special he made her feel, she held out her hand to him. “Come up here. I’m not going to bite,” she giggled.

“Um… I’ve never had a girl in my room before. I’m glad my first is someone as beautiful as you.”

“That was corny,” she laughed.

“Hey, I’m trying here,” he joked softly.

When he reached her side he tensed when she curled against him but then relaxed when she put a gentle hand on his knee.

Something so innocent turned into something more and Max had no idea how it happened. He remembered kissing her temple, her forehead and then her cheek. Her skin looked so soft, he had to sample it. He might have moved down to her neck, sucking gently until she turned, her lips wanting the same attention. His hands might have moved from their innocent place on her waist, down to her hips before coming to a stop on her thighs where they squeezed, his fingers digging into her creamy flesh as their kiss went farther, deeper than either one had expected.

The movie went forgotten and her hands caressed the hardness of his chest through his dress shirt, over his heart and feeling the wild pounding. It excited her. Her fingers roamed up to his shoulders and attempted to pull off his suit jacket.

He shrugged it off and she curled her arms around his neck because she felt as if she was falling and she needed him to hold on to. Whimpering, the falling continued until her back hit the mattress and Max’s weight was on top of her and his lips were everywhere; on her chin, neck, collarbone, the swell of her breast and she took in a sharp breath when she felt him bite down there.

“Max.”

“Is this okay?” he mumbled against her neck praying she said it was. He didn’t know what he was doing, but he also didn’t want to stop. He really intended for them to come here and talk, just be together. He wasn’t complaining, but he felt clumsy and awkward. All he wanted to do was please her.

Her moan was her answer, her hands gripping, trying to pull his shirt over his head. She was in a fog. The things he was doing to her, the tender way he handled her fueled her desire to see all of him.

His shirt was gone, tossed somewhere on the floor. She had rolled on top, his chest against the thin material of her dress.

“Liz,” he whispered, breaking their kiss for just a moment. “We don’t have to do this if you’re uncomfortable.”

What they were about to do penetrated the haze of desire that held her conscious captive. She was a virgin and she’d never been this far with a guy before. And the fact that she wanted to “go all the way” with him, a guy she wasn’t even supposed to like, was a little unnerving.

Even more unnerving, she heard herself saying, “No, I think I really want to.”

He kissed her lips softly, warmed by the vulnerability in her tone and the tenderness in her eyes. This was the girl he always knew was there. And this was the girl he was in love with.

He had flipped them over, hovering over her, his eyes searching a spot to start kissing first. It all looked so delicious. He started behind her ear causing her to shudder, her fingers gripping his back. He lingered there a little longer because she seemed to like it before he moved on.

His lips trailed across her neck, then up to her lips. When she felt his hands on her thighs, pushing her dress up, intending to take it off, she spewed a tiny whimper. She had to stop this, but what he was doing to her, the feelings that he caused were getting in the way.

With her help, he pulled her dress up and over her head, disturbing her intricately styled hair. Now she laid beneath him, in only a white strapless bra and matching panties, hair loose and wild, biting her lip as if she expected him to point and laugh. She was a vision.

As he peppered kisses on the numerous beauty marks scattered across her skin, he whispered, “You’re so beautiful. My girl,” his warm breath tickled her flesh.

His lips drifted back towards hers like a magnet and he let himself drown in everything that was her as she pushed him back, and hovered over him. Staring down at him, her skin glowing against the flickering light from the television, he let out a contented sigh.

His gruff moan enveloped them when his now bare legs tangled with her and through his boxers, he rubbed against her softness.

“Liz, I need…. Do you have protection?” She was beneath him now, eyes closed, bottom lip between her teeth.

“No. You?”

He reached over to his nightstand and pulled free a pack of condoms. He bought them a while ago on the off chance that he would ever get to be with Liz in this way.

He dropped them on the mattress as he was overcome with an urge to taste the skin of his neck once more.

“Liz, this is crazy,” he breathed

“I know.”

They still wore their underwear and Max wasn’t sure if he would be able to turn back once they delved deeper, so he asked, “Are you sure?”

She lifted her hand to run her fingers over his forehead and then up into his hair. “Yes,” came her small reply.

She was shaking and so was he. “This is your first time?” She nodded meekly and he melted, kissed her fingertips. “Mine too.”

“You’re a virgin?”

“Yeah.” He smiled tenderly. The fact that they were going to get to share their first time with each other made it sweeter. “That’s my excuse if this is a little awkward,” he joked.

She smiled, but had stiffened significantly under him. What she could only describe as guilt washed over her. The girl Max thought she was didn’t exist and he was about to give his virginity to her.

Max hadn’t seemed to notice her turmoil as he was too giddy about the prospect of this happening.

“Max, wait.” Pushing at his chest, he immediately stopped, pausing in his attempt to unhook her bra.

“What’s wrong?”

“I… I don’t think we should do this. I don’t think I’m ready,” she lied.

Max watched her for a moment, shaking and small in his arms. He smiled and whispered a soft, ‘okay.’ A chaste kiss was given to her lips and he sat up, saying he needed a few minutes to get himself under control. When he disappeared into the bathroom, she realized she needed some time too.

He returned and suggested that they finish the movie. His actions made it that much more difficult to stop.

TBC…………….

[sweetbrowneyes]

Look at this, I'm on time!

jake17
LairaBehr4
pookie76
roswell3053
Tamashii
roswell4life
begonia9508
DreamerMaxBehrian
behrluv32
Emz80m
RoninBehr
Thanks for the feedback everyone! Enjoy

Part 24

A little after ten, Max tiptoed through the living room, maneuvering around bags and piles of clothes that lay haphazardly on the floor. He glanced at his guest, curled tightly under a light blanket and still asleep on his couch. He himself had just woken up, tired because of the excursion from the night before.

He was alone in bed when he got up and assumed Danni had already left to start her day. He was sure she saw Liz sleeping on his couch and he knew he would have some explaining to do.

Putting that aside for a moment when his stomach growled loudly, Max poked his head into his refrigerator and grabbed a carton of eggs, bacon and a bag of shredded potatoes for hash browns. He tried to keep the noise to the minimum but his pots and pans decided to all topple over when he attempted to pull his frying pan out of the cluttered mess he called a cabinet.

The loud clang of metal against metal reverberated against the walls and he scrunched up his shoulders as the majority of them fell to the floor. Once the noise was over, he cautiously glanced into the living room and saw that, unfortunately, the noise had woken Liz up.

She was sitting up with her hands in her tangled hair, her eyes squinting against the very few rays of sunlight peeking in through the closed blinds covering the glass doors to the patio. Her face registered confusion and to Max, she looked all like a little girl that he had to protect. It was in him and it always would be.

And maybe, he thought, that was why he was suddenly struck with anger rolling through him. He was always the one to reach out to her always trying to make her feel better, fix her problems, be there for her and all the while, she had done nothing to deserve it. He could clearly remember how much he loved her in high school and how long and difficult it had been just to muster up the strength just to get out of bed after she dumped him like he was nothing. Because of what she had done, it would be years before he even got close to trusting another woman with his heart.

Even after he thought she was out of his life for good, the effects she had caused still lingered with him.

“Max?” His head snapped up and he met the gaze of the woman who he held such fury and distrust towards but also one who could, without asking, coerce him into anything she damn will pleased.

Standing at his full height, he ran a hand through his sleep tousled hair. “I was about to make breakfast.”

“Yeah, I heard,” she joked dryly, causing Max to frown. “Um…”

“Uh… yeah, so feeling better?”

“Yeah…yes. Thanks for letting me stay here, I… I um, I can pay for the lock in the diner if…”

“No, don’t worry about it. You didn’t break it. I have to get it fixed though. I’m going to get someone down there today so…” He trailed off, figuring silence was better than his rambling.

“Oh, good,” she said, shifting nervously as she fidgeted with her fingers in front of her. She had lost everything the night before, her boyfriend, her belongings, her friends. Obviously they quit speaking to her weeks ago, but she always held out hope that maybe they could resolve things. But last night just solidified that they were no longer friends and now she really didn’t know who she was without them.

“So, what are you going to do now?” he asked. He rubbed his hands against his boxers, searching for pockets to put his hands. He found none, fidgeted a bit and then finally decided to cross his arms over his chest.

“Um, I think I’m going to have to call my parents So...”

“Oh. Good. I’m sure they’ll help you.”

The slight smile she wore fell as she shifted her weight uncomfortably. She felt so embarrassed. She had cried her eyes out to him and he took her in like she was just some random person he saw on the street, took pity on and taken in for the night. Now, as to what her next move was, she wasn’t sure. After Max had set up the couch for her to sleep on, she had laid awake trying to figure out how she had gotten from a beautiful apartment in the city, friends, luxury, money, to a friendless wreck who was sleeping on someone’s couch after being evicted.

The only thing she knew to do now was call her parents like she always did and hopefully they would see how much she was struggling and give her back her life, the one where she had money, food and shelter, friends… Lynn and Morgan. Why hadn’t she noticed how phony they had been? How could she have been so close to people who hadn’t really cared for her at all? And how could they? She couldn’t honestly say that she would’ve handled the situation differently if the roles were reversed. Maybe now, but not then. And why would she go back to them if she could?

Sighing, she rubbed her head, feeling a day long headache starting.

Max had long since turned his back to her and began to clean up the pots and pans before he started on breakfast. In a shaky tone she asked, “Can I use your shower?” her head was a mess, her muscles tense and she thought that maybe standing under scorching water would clear everything up for her.

“Sure,” he answered without turning. “Towels are in the hall closet.”

She scurried out of the room as fast as she could before she could burst into tears.
**********

Max was just setting the table when he heard a knock at his door. Liz was still in the bathroom, but he had heard the shower turn off a few moments earlier. He called out to her letting her know breakfast was ready but he received no response.

It was an anxious Kyle who rushed into the apartment. Max barely had time to step aside before Kyle rushed passed him.

“Max, oh my God! What am I going to do?”

“About what?” he said, taking in his friend’s fidgety form.

“I…. Tess and I slept together,” he blurted out as he paced the length of the living room. He suddenly slapped a hand to his forehead and sunk down onto the couch with a flourish. “We fucked… together.”

Max drew back, his eyes wide and a breathless, “Wow,” was about the only thing he could come up with to say.

“We slept together,” he repeated, this time he leaned forward, his head in his hand, elbows on his knees.

Max was more coherent this time around. “What…. How did it happen?”

Kyle paused as if he had to recall the memories that were surely running vividly bright through his mind’s eye. “We had a few drinks, but we weren’t drunk,” he frowned, and then added, “At least I wasn’t. It just happened. We started kissing, she tasted like watermelon. Did she taste like that when you two were dating?”

“What does that matter to the story?”

“Anyway, before I knew it, we were doing it. And doing it pretty well, I must add. She’s pretty good, you know. She makes this little noise and…”

“Kyle! I really don’t want all those extra details. That’s just eww and you and Tess? Are you…did you… You and Tess?” he laughed at his own speechlessness. They had always been at each other, bantering back and forth. He would have never thought they would hook up.

“And its not… I don’t think this was just a one night thing for me, man,” he confessed, looking helpless and fearful and happy. “Hence why I’m so freaked right now.”

Max sunk into the couch next to him. “Wow.”

“Yeah. I mean I don’t think I’m in love or anything. I’m not even sure what that feels like. But… after it happened, I was watching her and I just felt…”

Max frowned when he didn’t seem like he was going to continue. “What?”

“Mush.”

“Mush?”

“Mush,” he said, smiling.

“I’m not sure that’s a good thing. You think you might want to see a doctor about that?”

Kyle waved his hands as if to brush off his horrible description of his feelings. “No, not mush just a warm… I don’t know.”

“I can not believe I’m having this conversation with the most insensitive person in the world,” Max exclaimed laughingly.

“I know. Women,” he grunted almost kindly.

“Yeah.”

They sat in companionable silence, one man wearing a smile and the other the opposite.

Their peace was interrupted and Max got up to answer the sudden knock at the door. He had a pretty good idea who it was already.

“Tess.”

“Max! Oh my God, I…”

“You and Kyle slept together,” Max interrupted with a slight smirk.

Her eyes went wide and her mouth dropped open, moving in an attempt to speak.

“How did I know that?” he asked for her, casually leaning against the door frame. “Well I’ve always been intuitive. And I figured you two would get around to that sooner or later.”

“Max,” she growled, glaring at him in warning.

“And he kind of already beat you here.” He stepped aside as he said this, gesturing towards the living room where Kyle still sat, slumped on the couch.

“Oh.”

Kyle jumped to his feet when he noticed Tess standing at the door. She had her hair pulled back in a pony tail and was wearing simple jeans and a t-shirt and all he could think was how beautiful she looked. He remembered how soft and creamy her skin was, smelling and tasting of fruit.

He shook his head in an attempt to get rid of those thoughts. “Tess, hey.”

“Kyle. What are you doing here?” she said lamely and then blushed because she knew how lame she sounded and realized she couldn’t take those words back.

“Apparently the same thing as you.”

She nodded and then he nodded. Max watched them nod and felt like he should be nodding as well just because, but he had no idea what they were nodding at. Not for this long anyway.

“So this is awkward,” Max said. “Could you guys like chill out on the sexual tension? It’s making me uncomfortable.”

“Max, we saw each other naked,” Tess said, causing Max to cringe. “That’s a big deal.”

“First off, eww. Second, you two need to talk instead of standing here staring at each other.”

Tess nodded in agreement. “Right.”

Kyle sniffed, the smell of bacon reaching his nose. “You’re cooking breakfast? We shouldn’t talk on an empty stomach.”

“He’s got a point.” Kyle and Tess scampered off into the kitchen before Max could protest.

Max was just about to join them when Liz yelled out to him from the bathroom. He froze, wincing when she asked him if he had a blow dryer he could use. He had completely forgotten she was here or else he was sure he would have quickly kicked Kyle and Tess out. He didn’t need the drama of them finding out that he was letting Liz stay with him.

But they had clearly heard her yelling because he was standing just outside the kitchen and could hear her perfectly. He yelled back, telling her to look in the hall closet, hoping his friends had mistaken her voice for Danni’s.

Kyle’s frown destroyed that hope. “Tell me that’s not who I think it is.”

“That’s not who you think it is,” Max answered dryly.

“You liar!”

Startled at Kyle’s loud tone, Max hurried into the kitchen. “Shush! Yeah, it’s Liz, but…”

“Liz? Liz who?” At Kyle’s knowing stare, she remembered the face of the girl she had so much wanted to beat down. “Liz Parker?” Tess said with a frown forming slowly over her features. “That witch from high school? What is she doing here?”

“She needed a place to stay,” Max said, purposely omitting the fact that she broke into his diner looking for a place to sleep for the night. They hadn’t noticed her bags and clothes cluttering his hallway and he was pretty sure that wouldn’t go over well.

“She’s been working for him because her parents stopped treating her like the queen she never was,” Kyle said, earning a glare from Max and a snicker from Tess.

“Lay off her will you? She’s going through a hard time.”

Max’s justification only seemed to irritate Kyle even more. “Max what are you doing? Seriously, how are you getting sucked back into her shit?”

“I couldn’t very well leave her on the street and…”

“Desert her like she did you?” Kyle finished for him.

Max bowed his head and said quietly, “Yeah, like that,” because even as he tried to come up with an excuse, he knew he was thinking the same thing not too long before Kyle burst into his apartment, all hyper and anxious. He didn’t even know why he spent so much energy defending her when a great part of him was still hung up on how badly she had treated him.

But then there was another part of him that was just tired, from being angry over something that happened all the way back in high school and he just wanted to forgive her and start over. But then that other part kicked in, reminded him that even after he had gone to college, away from her and anything that resembled her, he still couldn’t break out of that place she put him in.

And now, years later, he knew he didn’t want to go back.

TBC……….

[sweetbrowneyes]

I'm back! Finally. lol Sorry about the wait everyone.

LairaBehr4
begonia9508
pookie76
Emz80m
roswell3053
RoninBehr
nitpick23
behrluv32
Tamashii
RiceKrispy
mirae01
clueless
mareli
keepsmiling7
martine
jake17
roswell4life

Thanks for the feedback! I really enjoy reading everyone's opinion on the situation. Enjoy

Part 25

October 1998

She had no idea how she ended up here. With him sitting so closely to her in the booth, with his arm around her, his hand resting lightly on her shoulder, with him gazing so longingly at her even though she’s sitting right here.

After homecoming, she had avoided him for a little less than two weeks because she couldn’t deal with the blossoming feelings she was getting whenever he was near. She had faked illness, excuses about her friends needing her, tiredness and problems leaving the house because of her parents all in the name of staying away from him. She just wanted the feelings to go away because she wasn’t supposed to like him. She didn’t want to.

But earlier in the day, he had made it impossible to stay away when he’d pulled her into a random supply closet, worry clearly written all over his face and she immediately felt guilty because she knew that he believed every lie she told him. He trusted her that much that anything she said was law.

He asked her if she was feeling better, how her friends were doing and if her parents were alright, speaking so sincerely. And the next thing she knew, he was kissing her, making her knees buckle and asking her out to dinner, his voice deep, light, soft and smooth all together against her ear.

He pulled away grinning, because apparently, she had said yes. And later that night she found herself frantically picking out outfits as she spewed one of the former excuses to her friends over the phone when they asked why she wasn’t going to a party to meet up with Seth.

She couldn’t help it.

Now she sat against him in a cozy little restaurant across town from their high school, laughing as he randomly made up back stories for the other couples sitting around them. What he said was so completely insane and mostly impossible and she was enjoying every minute of it.

After dinner, he helped her step up into his jeep before he rounded to the other side. “So, where to now?” he asked. He was just glad to be with her again. He had truly missed her when she was sick. And he knew she had a lot going on with her friends and family, but he just wanted to relieve that for her if just for one night.

“It doesn’t matter,” she replied. “I’m not really ready to go home yet.”

Max grinned, pleased that she wanted to stay with him for just a bit longer and said, “Me either.” Staring up the ignition, Max knew the perfect place for them to go. He stopped at a Walmart on the way, telling her he’d only be a second as he sprinted out of the jeep. He returned ten minutes later, carrying a bag and a grin.

“What are you up to?” she asked, her heart fluttering at how excited he seemed to be.

“You’ll see,” he replied cryptically.

Liz rarely liked surprises because she was very specific about what she liked. But the way he was smiling at her, his hands resting on her knee, eyes glittering, she couldn’t help but feel giddy too.

The giddiness dissipated a bit however when he pulled into the high school’s parking lot and drove all the way to the back.

He got out and grabbed the Walmart bag and then hiked around to her side of the jeep. “What are we doing here?” she asked when he opened her door.

Shrugging, Max held on to her hand and gently pulled her into the vast space of grass, between the football field and tennis courts; the place where they had their private lunches together. But instead of sitting under the cover of the large branches the tree provided like they would normally do, Max stopped a few yards away. Dropping her hand, he reached into the shopping bag and pulled free a large blanket, decorated with a cartoon looking version of the night sky, complete with a sleeping moon and dancing stars.

“Nice,” she said with a teasing smile.

Chuckling, he said, “I thought it’d fit the mood.”

After laying the blanket out in front of them, Max helped her settle down over it. She laid on her back, hands resting lightly over her stomach. Max mirrored her position and they both stared up at the dark sky. In silence they laid for a long moment. Crickets chirped, the breeze rustled the leaves of the trees and there was the occasional whoosh of a car driving by the school.

Finally, Max rolled his eyes away from the twinkling stars and faced her.

“I know bringing you to school on a weekend night probably wasn’t the beat idea,” he joked, “but I figured this was the best place to go to be alone.”

She faced him with a small frown. “Why would we need to be alone? What is it that we’d do alone that we couldn’t do with others around?”

He immediately began to stammer when he realized what she thought his intentions were and his blush could be seen even through the darkness. Stifling her giggle, she decided to push him a bit further because he was just too cute when he was embarrassed. “Are you trying to take advantage of me, Max?”

“NO! God, I… wow this isn’t going… no…” pausing, he caught the faint smirk over her lips and it dawned on him that she was teasing him. Feeling warm all over, he quietly added, “I was hoping you’d be the one taking advantage of me.”

She gasped, “What kind of girl do you take me for?”

“The kind that lured me out here to have her way with me,” he teased.

She playfully shoved his shoulder. “And I suppose I made you stop at Walmart too?”

“Naturally,” he grinned.

She laughed. “What am I going to do with you, Max Evans?”

“I’m sure you already know the answer to that, Liz Parker.”

“Oh my God! Stop it,” she giggled.

The more time he spent with her, the more in love he fell. And though he was young, he couldn’t help how he felt, couldn’t not realize it and acknowledge it.

He was sure it was written over his face every time he looked at her and that it had to be obvious to her. But she hadn’t acknowledged it or realize it and he was hesitant to let her know how he felt because he didn’t want to overwhelm her. And the last thing he wanted was to scare her away.

But whenever she was near… He brushed a lock of her hair behind her ear because he couldn’t help but touch her. His fingers trailed over her cheek, chin and then down her neck and back up again. When she closed her eyes, he scooted closer to her, his eyes roaming to her lips before he kissed her.

He meant for it to be a light peck, a quick show of affection. It always started out that way. But the moment she responded, let out a quiet purr against his mouth, he had to go deeper and the hand that was cupping her cheek, slid down and around her waist to rest at the small of her back. And as they delved deeper, he used that hand to press her body against his.

She wiggled against him and he felt himself growing which in turn caused him to pull way in embarrassment.

Liz’s confusion at his hesitance was short-lived when she saw the blush staining his cheeks. “I’m sorry,” he whispered, intending on pulling away from her completely. It wasn’t as if it hadn’t happened before, but he thought he had a little more control over himself. But then again, he was just a teenage boy.

She found it endearing that he was embarrassed instead of spurring forth a cocky response like some other guys would. She rolled over, pushing him onto his back as she did.

“Don’t,” she murmured as she hovering over him.

He looked stunned that she was so bold, but nonetheless held onto her waist firmly to keep her steady on top of him and responded immediately when she dipped her tongue out to meet his. In their heated embrace, their legs entangled, restless hands roaming and they both let out soft moans, neither imagining that it would be like this. So intense…

Eventually, Liz wandered away from his lips, down to his chin and then his neck and anywhere else she could reach at that moment. Max allowed her to drive him temporarily insane because just the feeling of her chest pressing against his, being able to actually feel her heart beat racing as hard and fast as his was enough to send him spiraling further and further from the realm of reality. He could feel himself falling quickly, spiraling down, and falling….falling…so fast.

“Max.”

His name on her lips was enough to send him over the edge. But he realized that she had stopped moving and was looking down at him with wide eyes. He took in her swollen, red lips and suppressed the urge to take them into his mouth.

“What?” he asked when she continued to stare expectantly.

“I was wondering if we could go somewhere more private.” Her eyes dropped timidly as if she had just asked him to do the most horrid task.

“For…?” Max had an idea of why she wanted to go somewhere even more private but his mind wouldn’t let his heart fully believe it. But the way her eyes stayed low as she softly bit down on her bottom lip, he had the sudden urge to bury her in his arms and then take her somewhere he could show her, albeit awkwardly and embarrassingly how much he loved her.

“Um, we can go back to my house. My parents might already be asleep and um… I could uh…”

She was nodding and he was blushing and before he could think, they were back in his car, headed toward his home, his heart pounding in his chest because he knew this time, it was really going to happen.

The kitchen light glowed brightly through the front window. And because it was still on, it meant that one or both of his parents were still up. And now the problem was how to get Liz into his room without his parents knowing. Wincing at the loud engine of his jeep, he pulled along the curb in front of his home.

“So, my parents are still up. We need to come with a strategy.”

Though she nodded in agreement, she had to bite her lip to keep herself from bursting into laughter. It was something in the way he said “strategy,” so serious and determined.

As she watched him frowning at the light shining in through his front window, she failed and let out a spurt of laughter. “Okay miss giggly, this dilemma is funny to you?” he teased.

“Miss giggly?” She laughed even harder.

“Don’t make fun of my nicknames.” But she continued to laugh and it was something about the way her eyes were lit up as she laughed and he leaned across the seat to whisper in her ear. “’Miss giggly’ was well thought out and humorous,” he said quietly against her neck where he just placed a kiss. “It’d be nice if you’d show a little appreciation.”

Her eyes slid shut, his lips moved up behind her ear and she attempted to come up with a witty retort. But he was good at being distracting and the only thing that came out of her mouth was a long sigh before her lips were covered with his.

It was when he realized he was nearly climbing over into her seat that he pulled away. It was so easy for him to get so caught up in her, but sitting in front of his house where his parents could see them was not so good.

Her hand was absently rubbing his knee as his was rubbing her hip, his fingers just beneath the band of her jeans. “We’ve got to get you up in that room,” he growled, then paused when he noted how he sounded. “To uh…you know, talk.”

“Yeah. Because we really need to talk,” she giggled.

After contemplating what they should do, the couple ended up in the backyard, staring up at his bedroom window, on the second floor.

Max scanned his backyard until his eyes fell on their wooden picnic table. Giving Liz an apprehensive smile, he dragged it over and then hopped on top.

“Hop on my shoulders and I’ll hoist you up. Grab onto the ledge and pull yourself up. I’ll let you in through the window,” he whispered. She immediately backed away, looking skeptical. “I won’t let you fall. I promise. You can chill out on the roof and I’ll get up there as quick as possible,” He said, holding out his hand for her to take.

“That’s the dumbest plan ever,” she said. But nonetheless she was stepping towards him cautiously moments later. She took his outstretched hand and he pulled her onto the table and up on his shoulders with ease. She was straddling his head and his hands were gripping her thighs to keep her in place. Even so, she began to lean backwards and she let out a soft squeal.

“Shh!” he chuckled.

“I’m going to die up here. You don’t know what you’re doing,” she accused laughingly.

“Me? You’re the cheerleader. You’ve been hoisted and thrown around before. You should know how to handle this. Besides, you’re like two inches from the ground.”

She rolled her eyes. “You’re unstable.”

“I’m unstable?” he said, running his hand along her thigh, traveling up, reaching her hip and finally her waist. His fingers dug into her flesh and she immediately squirmed in an attempt to escape his wiggling fingers.

“Stop! You are so going to get it Max Evans,” she warned.

Her threat only made him smile and he steadied himself as she began to reach for the ledge. And when she was safely on the roof, sitting outside his window, Max ran around front and tried to appear as calm as possible as he came in through the front door.

He encountered his mother just as she was turning out the kitchen light, headed to bed. She asked about Liz and smiled tiredly at him when he said Liz was fine. She then bid him goodnight before disappearing down the hall.

Max half jogged, half walked in the opposite direction, up in the stairs.

Out on the roof, Liz peered into Max’s room with a bubble of excitement expanding in her chest. They were close to this territory once before, and the reasons she stopped that time were still there. But she couldn’t fight what she was feeling anymore. She just wanted to feel how he made her feel for just a little while longer. And she wasn’t sure how far they were going to get tonight, but she was kind of hoping she would have her first time with him. For once, this was her choice.

Max was different. And it was the little things like the way he looked at her through his closed window as he unlocked it. How he took her hand and helped her hop into his room. It was how nervous he looked. How he asked if she was hungry, thirsty. If she was uncomfortable, if this was really what she wanted. If he could kiss her here and there.

Suddenly, he was on top of her, his tongue against hers, his bare chest hard against her. She steered him away from taking off her shirt. But underneath, he was working on the clasp of her bra but she guided his hands away and distracted him with her kisses.

Next his pants were gone and so were hers. She remembered how clumsily he’d unzipped her jeans and how obviously shaky his hands were. Her hands shook too and then he kissed her as if he were trying to absorb some of her nervousness to relieve her.

He had turned on his radio because even though his parents were on a different floor, on the other side of the house, he couldn’t be too careful. Some slow song she didn’t know was playing and the window was still open, a cool breeze blowing in and rustling his blinds. The room was dark and both were inexperienced. They were interrupted by the occasional yelp of pain when one pulled the other’s hair too hard or an elbow was poking another’s ribs. And there was a three minute pause when trying to figure out the condom while he attempted to continue kissing her.

Still, they managed to arrive, after Liz‘s whimper of pain and Max’s fear of continuing because he could never hurt her. They rocked unsteadily and ungracefully and it wasn’t until Liz instructed Max on what to do with his hands that she took him and enclosed his tightly. He came and she followed.

Afterwards, they lay face to face. Max traced the outline of her bra over her shirt she wouldn’t let him remove and let his eyes fall shut. Not because he was sated from the sex. No that could be improved. It was great that it was with Liz, but he wanted to get better for her.

Liz on the other hand, supposed she should feel guilty. And she did. The moment her heart stopped racing and she realized what she’d done, the guilt seemed to begin to crush her. But, she managed to push it aside because she just wanted this moment. This moment she chose to have, on her own. Together with him.

TBC………..

[sweetbrowneyes]

Sorry about the wait....again lol School, work blah blah blah...you know the drill lol

begonia9508
pookie76
jake17
LairaBehr4
roswell3053
clueless
nitpick23
Emz80m
hazz
Tamashii
mezz
bettylove8
keepsmiling7
roswell4life
mirae01
ythaler
dreamerfrvrp3
Mica

Thanks for the feedback. I hope you enjoy!

Part 26

She jumped back when the door flew open as she just barely finished knocking. He was grinning, clearly excited to see her. She gripped the tote bag and the small suit case she held.

“I’m sorry to just barge over here on such short notice.”

“No, I’m really glad to see you,” he said. His eyes measured down the length of her body and he gave a wistful smile. “You look really good.”

Timidly, she tucked a lock of her dark hair behind her ear. It was funny how just one confession could completely change the way one saw another person. Liz couldn’t figure out what way to act around Chase. He had shown compassion when she told him her financial situation. She’d witnessed first hand how caring he could be. But then he turned around and admitted that he sold drugs. As a “hobby”.

Not to say that a drug dealer couldn’t be compassionate or…or….her head was spinning and by the time she could suppress all of her wild thoughts, she realized Chase was watching her and she had yet to step into his apartment.

“Sorry, I’m just a little spacey,” she excused easily, looking around his foyer and peeking into the living room as if she had never been there before.

“It’s cool. I know you’ve been going through a tough time.”

She nodded, at a lost of what to say to him. The way he was standing there, his hair muffled and hands shoved deep into his pockets, he seemed like the Chase she thought she knew, but how could she be sure he was real? How could she be certain that he wasn’t just another Lynn and Megan, waiting to ditch her when she wasn’t needed?

He backed into the living room wearing a painless smile. Then, it was easy to see what she saw in him in the first place. But how could she trust her judgment? “Do you want anything to drink?”

“No, thank you,” she replied and took a seat on the couch after he’d offered it. “I really shouldn’t stay long. I just wanted to pick up my things and then I’ll get out of your hair.”

“Oh, please stay in my hair for as long as you want,” he teased, enticing a chuckle from Liz. But silence fell soon after, followed by a deep awkwardness. “So,” Chase started, “How much were you able to get before people started picking through your stuff.”

Shrugging, Liz fiddled with the string of her jacket before responding. “Just a few clothes here and there. Max piled everything in his trunk and it’s all just sitting in his apartment.”

“Max?”

“Oh, he’s a, a friend I’m staying with.” Her head was drooping with an onslaught of depression and she missed the brief flash of jealousy in Chase’s eyes. “I got a couple of pairs of shoes and I’m pretty sure I got all of my personal stuff. A lot of that was here…”

“That’s good.” He rested a hand on her thigh, intending for it to be comforting. But Liz pulled away nonetheless. He ignored that. “Hey, I know you lost a lot so why don’t I take you shopping.”

Her shoulders clearly un-slumped, her eyes sparkled and her depressed seemed to lighten and begin to fade. “Really?”

He grinned and moved closer to her. She didn’t pull away. In fact, she seemed to lean into him a little. “Sure. I’ll get you a whole new wardrobe.”

“That’d help me out a lot. I really have nothing.”

“I know. You know I’m always here for you, Liz.” He had moved in even closer and his eyes were gazing at her lips. “Anything you need.”

She didn’t have time to think. Everything was moving too fast and that spinning in her head had begun again. She was aware of her back hitting the cushions of the couch and Chase’s buff, heavy form draping over her. And then the spinning consumed her.

The next time she surfaced again, his shirt was gone and he had unhooked her bra but had yet to slide the straps down her arms. Alarms were blaring for her to stop and it took her a moment to gain the courage.

She pushed at his chest and he stopped immediately. “Chase. We can’t…”

He looked bewildered, concerned, or was it an act? Could she trust him? “What?”

He moved off her and she sat up so quickly it made her a little dizzy. She began to redress. “We can’t do this again.” She dressed quickly, her hands shaking, tears pricking her eyes.

She felt like a whore. She was going to sleep with him just because he’d offered to by her things. She was so close.

“Liz, if this is about what I do…”

She was shaking her head before he could finish speaking. She couldn’t believe what she was about to do and she just wanted get out of there as quick as possible but she couldn’t leave her stuff because she didn’t want to come back. “I just can’t be around that, Chase. I’m sure you know it too, but you shouldn’t either.”

He followed her into his bedroom and argued as he did. “But Liz, you don’t have to be around it. I won’t bring it near you.”

“No, Chase. I don’t… that’s still not something that I approve of even if I don’t see it. What you’re doing is illegal and dangerous and stupid and… it’s a hobby to you. You don’t need the money,” she finished, gesturing around his spacious room. She grabbed various objects of hers that were still littered around his room and stuffed them into her tote.

“But I miss you, Liz,” he argued softly.

“Are you willing to give it up?”

His eyes dropped and his hesitance was her answer. “So we can’t even talk about this? You’re just going to leave?” he asked desperately when she started to pull her clothes from his closet.

Sighing, Liz halted her frantic attempt to bolt out of there as fast as possible. “Look, I know this is…I’m going through a lot right now and what you’re involved in is something I don’t need in my life. Especially right now. You kept this huge secret from me and you’re expecting me to just accept it and keep going. The people I used to call friends made me look like an idiot for all these years…”

“Liz…”

She shook her head as she backed away. “Goodbye, Chase.”

She could feel him staring at her with sad eyes, but she refused to turn around.

Outside, the sun was just starting to set and the streets and sidewalks were full of hurried people making their way home. Everyone else had somewhere, someone to go to. Walking with her head down, her wheeled luggage trailing behind her, Liz attempted to restrain herself.

She knocked on Max’s door for nearly two minutes before he answered, tugging on his shirt as if he’d just put it on. Danni was in the kitchen, doing a horrible job of hiding a smile behind a thick mug.

“Hey. I thought you were going to be gone for a few hours,” he said.

“It took less time than expected,” she replied.

She wouldn’t meet his eyes and she looked as if she were about to cry. “Are you alright?”

“I’m fine. I’m just a little tired.”

Max smiled at her, not really believing her and then went into the kitchen. There was a burning behind Liz’s eyes and she dropped her bags on her way to the bathroom.

As she fought back tears, she tried not to dwell on what she was versus what she is. And what she had opposed to what she could have.
************

Max hung back and Tess and Kyle said their goodbyes. Clearly they had worked out whatever issues they had after sleeping together because they were clinging together like two opposite ends of a magnet. He felt as if he was intruding by watching them but he couldn’t look away. This chemistry or bond or….whatever one would call it between them seriously came out of no where. Though they were friends, they were closer to hating each other than getting in a relationship from Max’s view. But watching them hug goodbye…

“Where did this come from?” he asked himself quietly.

Soon, Max and Tess bid farewell and Tess was on her way back home to pack and get ready for her big move back here.

After watching her plane take off, Max and Kyle mulled around the airport for an hour because Michael and Maria’s plane was due in. In a strategically placed McDonalds, Max asked the question that had been bugging him for awhile.

“So, what happened between you two? Are you together now or what?”

Kyle’s lips curled into a smirk. “Jealous, Max?”

“Of course, who wouldn’t want to be with you, Kyle?” he teased easily.

“Get off my dick, Evans. Seriously. It’s unmanly,” Kyle retorted laughingly. “We decided to wait until she moves back here in a few weeks to see where we are. I mean it’s kind of weird to go from nearly twenty years of friendship to…whatever we are now.”

“Yeah. I think Tess could totally do better.”

“Your opinion doesn’t matter.”

Max laughed. “But I think you’re doing the right thing. I mean, what do you know about relationships? Your longest one was for three weeks.”

He took a bite out of his happy meal and said, “Well all the girls I date are weirdoes.”
*********

“Oh my God, that thing is huge!!”

“That’s what she said.”

“What a rock!”

“That’s what she said!!!”

“Kyle!”

“What?”

Alex and Kyle snickered. Max decided to ignore them.

Max examined the large ring happily sparkling on Maria’s finger. “Congratulations!”

“Thank you,” Maria said, beaming when she pulled out of Max’s congratulatory embrace. “Isn’t it gorgeous?” She showed off her ring once more. “Michael picked it out all by himself.”

“Apparently because he didn’t even tell his best friends he was planning on proposing,” Alex accused.

Michael entered the living room with a glass of wine for himself and Maria. After bringing them home, Max and Kyle hung around still in awe the couple was engaged. Alex and Isabel joined them not long ago.

“That’s because I didn’t plan it. I literally just walked into a jewelry store and picked it out a little while before our trip.”

“It’s beautiful, Maria. I’m so happy for you!” Isabel said.

“Thanks. And I’ve been meaning to ask you….we’ve gotten so close and…”

“Oh my God! I’m the maid of honor? Of course I’ll be the maid of honor! Oh my God, Maria!”

Both girls squealed excitedly as the guys looked on with a mixture of amusement and confusion.

“So…” Kyle started. The girls were still squealing as he turned to the men. “Who’s your best man Michael?”

Without thinking he answered, “I don’t know. Whoever beats the other two in a basketball tournament or something?”

Alex nodded in approval. “Sweet.”
************

“Maria, I know you’re about to be family since you’re marrying our best bud and all, but you’re going to have to do something about your cousin.”

Maria perked up from her position against her fiancé’s chest. Everyone had stayed over for dinner and a movie.

“Liz? Why? What happened?”

“Kyle,” Max warned.

“She’s practically moved herself into Max’s place.”

“Stop it, Kyle. I invited her to stay with me.” Kyle rolled his eyes. “She was evicted and didn’t have anywhere else to go,” he explained to Maria.

Maria was silent a moment before she spoke again. “How long ago was this? Danni’s okay with her there?”

“It’s been just two days and yes, Danni was cool about it.” In fact, Danni was great about everything which, for some odd, unexplainable reason upset him. He was expecting some type of blowup, or at least a little resistance to her finding out that another woman would be staying with him. But she was so understanding and so…unresponsive.

“What did her parents say?”

Max sighed. “She didn’t call them yet. I think she’s embarrassed about it.”

“You’re okay with her staying there? Cause I could…”

“It’s fine Maria. I know you’re cousins but you’re no closer to her than I am.” If they were there was no way Liz wouldn’t be staying with Maria. Liz would’ve never shown up at his diner, risking getting caught, which she did, looking for a place to stay.

“Are you sure?”

“I’m at work most of the time so…” And when he wasn’t, they didn’t speak. He kept going from hating her to feeling sorry for her. And he knew he needed to get over it. He’d tried. He wanted to. But sometimes his hurt and anger wouldn’t let him stray too far away.
***********

They hadn’t said anything for a while now. She could only imagine they were talking to each other away from the phone. Or they were so disappointed they were speechless.

“Mom? Dad?”

“We’re here. We just…. Damn it, Liz!”

Liz let her head fall into her hand as she held the phone loosely in the other. “I’m sorry.”

“Where are you now? Where are you staying?”

“With a friend. I didn’t have anywhere else to go.” Max had gone somewhere with his friends. Danni was in Max’s room, asleep because she had work in the morning.

“Why didn’t you call us?”

“Because of the way you’re speaking to me right now.”

“In what way are we speaking to you now that would’ve kept you from calling us?” he father asked.

She knew, but she still muttered, “I don’t know.” She sounded as if she were a child in trouble, who knew exactly why they were in trouble but didn’t want to acknowledge it out loud. Because then, the punishment came.

“Yes, we are disappointed, Liz because you clearly still don’t have your priorities straight. Obviously you were out buying whatever it is that you buy instead of paying your bills.” Her mother sighed in exasperation. She really thought her daughter was finally growing up, maybe taking on some responsibilities. “So what have you been doing all this time? You’ve clearly been lying.”

Liz let out a pitiful sniffle and told her parents about being fired from her first job. She confessed that she had been staying with Chase instead of her own place. She wasn’t surprised to find out her parents knew Chase’s parents.

She was crying when she finished and her father let out a heartbroken, “Lizzie” to grab her attention.

“Look, maybe some of this was our fault.” He admitted. “We never should have sprung this idea up on you and then pushed you out there to fend for yourself. Teens are usually weaned off their parents support.”

“That still doesn’t excuse why you completely disregarded your responsibilities, Liz.”

“I know, Mom,” she said, wiping her tears. “So what’s going to happen now?”

There was silence before her mother answered. “We’re going to figure something out. You’re so much better and smarter than this, honey.”

“I know,” she said, though she wasn’t sure she believed it.

TBC……..

[sweetbrowneyes]

I'm back, a little late, but I'm here lol. I wanted to make sure I posted this week causeI'm 80% I'm not going to be able to update next week because of finals. But I've got something to tide you over.

RiceKrispy
keepsmiling7
jake17
begonia9508
roswell3053
pookie76
bettylove8
Emz80m
nitpick23
confusedfool
sylvia37
ythaler
Tamashii

Thanks for the awesome feedback. Enjoy!

Part 27

November 1998

Max had waited for her. There was a chill in the air, enough to leave him shuddering every once in a while. But he would stand out here and wait for her. They had agreed to meet at their place for lunch, in between the football field and the tennis courts. They were in English class and he remembered because her hand was rubbing his thigh as she whispered her agreement in his ear.

Max didn’t claim to be an insatiable person by far, but he had to admit that he craved Liz Parker. And the fact that he’d had her only made him want her more because he knew what she could give, knew that he could drown in everything that is her. He fell so much deeper than he thought he could.

He folded his arms around himself when a short gust of wind picked up but then he saw Liz walking across the parking lot, headed his way. Standing, he forgot about the breeze and smiled in anticipation of being near her again.

It was when she was closer that he realized that she wasn’t looking as excited to see him as he was her. In fact, it didn’t look like her attention on him at all. She didn’t notice him yet as she was still half a parking lot away. His smile dimming, he stepped forward as she veered off to the right, towards a blue Mustang. Toward a grinning Seth who had been clearly waiting for her.

He embraced her when she reached him before he helped her into the passenger side of his car. A blue Mustang. They sped off before Max could even blink.

Max stood there long after they were gone, his heart not willing to see the logic his mind was trying to tell it because there must be some explanation.

As he tried to come up with a plausible, he blindly staggered through the deserted hallways towards the cafeteria. His seat at the table where his friends sat was vacant and waiting for him. He plopped down.

“What happened?” Tess asked, immediately sensing something was wrong, though it wasn’t hard to tell because Max’s face seemed colorless and devoid of any emotion.

“I thought you were having lunch with Liz,” Jake said with his mouth, as always, full with food.

“I was.”

“Then why are you here?” Kyle snickered, a little amused at his zombie like stare. “Shouldn’t you be with her?”

The little amusement Kyle held quickly dropped away when Max raised his eyes to meet his and he realized how near devastation he was. “She didn’t show up.”

“What?”

“What do you mean?”

“She just blew you off?!”

At his friends’ inquiring, he shook himself into denial. “She must have forgotten we were meeting. She and Seth were probably working on a project or something together?” Even as he spoke, he knew he was grasping at straws but he needed something to hang on to so that he wouldn’t break.

“Seth?”

“What’s she doing with him?”

“That prick!”

Max waved them and their concerns away. “Don’t get all worked up. It’s fine.”

“But Max…”

Max wouldn’t hear anymore of it and Kyle, Tess, and Jake knew exactly when not to push him. He refused to acknowledge any disparaging remarks about Liz and Seth and as stubborn as Max could be sometimes, they knew he needed to see evidence that Liz was playing him on his own.

As soon as lunch was over, Max bolted from the table in search of Liz. He spotted her by her locker fixing her lip gloss in the small mirror attached to the inside of the locker door.

She seemed to startle when she noticed him heading her way. But as he grew nearer, she plastered on a wide smile and greeted him cheerfully.

“Hey Max.”

“Hey,” he said breathlessly. “I thought we were going to meet for lunch. What happened?”

Turning back to her locker, she made a show of trying to decide which books she needed for her next class. “I’m so sorry. I forgot. I um…”

“I saw you with him,” he blurted out, his eyes dropping sadly, “Seth I mean. I saw you take off with him.”

Her face flashed red, her thoughts revisiting what she and Seth were doing during lunch while Max was somewhere wondering where she was. Seth claimed he wanted to talk, to get to know her better and buy her lunch. But he had stopped the car a little ways from school in a deserted parking lot. There was no talking, no lunch and the only additional knowledge Seth knew about her was that the spot behind her left ear was the most sensitive.

Liz was unable to look him in the eye and Max felt as if fire was being set to his insides. “We’re just friends. He wanted to hang out,” she said.

He reached for her arm and pulled her closer a little relieved when she came willingly. Max wasn’t naïve enough to believe that something wasn’t going on. He knew that if Seth wanted to “hang out” with someone, that phrase took on a whole new meaning. Who was he to compete with his all American looks, jock status, and blue Mustang?

But his feelings for her wanted to override his doubts. He had finally gotten a chance to be with her and had fallen so hard it made him want to believe her. He knew she didn’t feel for him as deeply as he did, but she would get there. And as she let him kiss her, standing in a crowded hallway, leaning her against her locker, he wanted to make her acknowledge what they could be. Wanted to make her forget Seth and anyone else who wanted to take her away from him.

She wound her arms around his neck and pressed herself more firmly against him. He was already planning a romantic evening for them. Maybe a candlelit dinner where he would finally tell her he loved her.

But he never got the chance. He had just pulled away from her and she rested her forehead against his and smiled. He was so sure she had been smiling. He knew because every time she did, his heart dangerously skipped several beats.

Smiling meant that she was just as happy as he was being together. She wanted him too. Right?

And since she had been smiling, and it meant that she wanted him too, it made no sense that she so willingly walked away with Seth moments later. It made no sense that Seth had saw them kissing, claimed that Liz was his now and was close to giving Max a black eye in front of everyone who happened to be in that hallway. It made no sense that Liz didn’t correct him.

He was left standing alone with a dull ache in his back from being shoved against the handle of a locker. And he couldn’t understand why because he was sure she smiled. And didn’t that mean she wanted him too?
*************

Max barely looked up from the mail in his hands when his front door opened. “Hey,” he said distractedly, knowing it was Danni before he saw her. He could hear intake a long breath of air before the click of the door closing followed by the muffled thump of her heels against the carpet.

She sat her purse on the coffee table and took a seat next to him. “Hey.”

“Liz’s parents sent me a letter.” He didn’t take his eyes off the letter but rattled it as if she wouldn’t be able to see what he was referring to.

…thank you again for being there for our daughter when she didn’t feel that she could come to us…. you have refused countless times, we insist on repaying you…a check that should cover the expenses to repair your broken lock…thanks again…sincerely Mr. and Mrs. Parker

Sure enough, inside the envelope was a check for one thousand dollars. It was more than enough needed to fix a raggedy lock. Before Liz had moved out and into a hotel two weeks ago, he had spoken to her parents over the phone and insisted that they needed not to pay him for anything. If he was looking for money in exchange for letting Liz stay with him, he would have asked for it beforehand.

Then again, since they had already sent it… “Fixing that lock shouldn’t cost more than one hundred bucks. Most likely, not even that.”

Flinging an arm around her shoulders, he added, “I’m taking you out to the most expensive restaurant in town tonight.”

He missed Danni’s flinch when he kissed her temple and untangled herself from his embrace. She put some distance between them and he noticed her uneasiness.

“Max.”

He frowned with dread already settling in his chest. She held a certain posture, back straight, chin up, and the tone to her voice was all too familiar to him. He hoped he was mistaken. “What?”

“I um… You know how much I like you right?”

He wasn’t mistaken because it always started out like that or some variation. He stood. “Don’t.”

She dropped her head, hating that she was hurting him and that was the last thing she wanted to do. Max deserved anything but. “You had to have known we were headed down this road. I mean do you honestly see us going any further than where we are right now?”

He still protested. He wasn’t ready to give her up. “I don’t want to break up, Danni.”

“Me either,” she sighed.

This enticed a smile out of him. “Then what are we doing? If neither one of us wants to break up…”

“Yes, I don’t want to break up because you’re an awesome boyfriend and so perfect but that’s just the thing. We’re so alike and I’m comfortable with you. Its almost like we’re too stable. There’s no passion, there’s no spice.”

“Do you want me to be more romantic? I can do that. Danni, I can…”

She was shaking her head and it was what stopped him mid sentence. She knew that he understood what she was talking about because she could tell that he felt the same way. If he really thought about it, he’d know she was doing the right thing and if she didn’t break it off now, he’d be the one to do it in the very near future.

“Don’t you think it’s kind of strange that I didn’t even flinch when you told me that Liz, a beautiful woman who you had been in love with, would be staying with you? I can tell you and her have more passion arguing when you come home and vent about her for something she’s done.”

Max reared back. “No, Danni…Liz and I are never… there is no way you and I have less…Liz is a barely an acquaintance.”

Max missed Danni shaking her head. Just by the mere fact that he was unable to complete a thought on the subject proved her point. But she didn’t point it out to him. She knew he needed to figure that out for himself. “Either way, I think you know I’m right about us.

His mouth opened, ready to spew forth another protest. But instead, he found himself collapsing beside her on the couch, deflated because he knew she was right. “I really wanted this to work, Danni,” he replied, resting a comforting hand on her knee because he knew this was just as hard for her as it was for him.

He knew they weren’t going to work a long time ago. There was just something always missing when they were together. But he hadn’t wanted to let her go because he liked having someone. And he always hoped that together they could shake off whatever it was that was missing.

“Me too. I just look at people like Michael and Maria and it’s so obvious how much in love they are. I don’t think that’s us.”

He couldn’t deny he had been thinking of that once before. So reluctantly agreeing, he helped her pack up her things: the drawer of hers in his dresser, a few dresses and shoes occupying his closet and her toothbrush and other toiletries that she kept in the bathroom.

As he walked her to the door, they decided he would drop by and pick up his things from her apartment later.

Now standing at the door, leaning against the door frame as she searched her purse for her car keys, he rocked on his heels, realizing that he was really going to miss her. He had to admit, they didn’t have quite the chemistry that a couple needed, but she was a great person and friend.

“I guess this is it huh?”

Finally she pulled her keys free and the small metal pieces clanged together harmoniously. There was nothing else keeping her here.

“Yeah. Um… I’m not really good at this part.”

He snickered. “You’ve broken a lot of hearts, have you?” he teased gently. When she blushed, it was like being pulled on a string, urging him toward her. His hands framed her face and their lips brushed ever so slightly. He hoped maybe it would ignite a spark between them.

Instead, he felt nothing.

“Goodbye, Max.”

“Bye, Danni.”
************

“Afternoon, Liz.”

Liz slowed her brisk walk through the lobby of the Comfort Stay hotel. She spotted the young receptionist at her desk and headed over. “Hey Pamela. Did you get any packing done?”

The young African-American girl scrunched her nose in disgust and waved a daintily manicured hand in front of her face. “Knowing me, I’ll be packing the night before we move.”

Liz giggled as she leaned over the tiled desk. “Wouldn’t that be a bit much?”

“Yeah. But I can always get Jonathan to do it for me,” she retorted.

Pamela was a pretty, young girl about to head off to college in Boston. She and her high school sweetheart, Jonathan, were going to be moving in together in a small apartment not far from campus.

Pamela had to be the cheeriest and most friendly person Liz had ever met. So much so that when Liz checked into the hotel nearly two weeks ago after having another depressing discussion with her parents about finding another drab apartment for her, Pamela had been able to cheer her up.

Liz hadn’t been the most pleasant person to her at first but even still, they had become friends by the end of her second day there. She was one of the few people who could so quickly break down her rude exterior.

“That’s what men are for,” Liz teased.

“I know right?” Pamela grinned widely, displaying her rainbow colored braces. “Oh! Hey, I know I wanted to tell you something. Since I’m going to be gone in a few weeks, they need a new receptionist here. I know this isn’t the best paying job but it’d be better than working under your ex and the people here are really nice. I could get you in.”

Liz frowned in contemplation. She had given Pamela bits and pieces of her back story, including that involving Max. “Can I think about it?”

“Sure. Let me know, okay?”

“I will. But I have to get going. I’m already late for work.”

Liz bid her goodbyes and raced off. Max was glaring at her, taping at his watch disapprovingly when she walked in ten minutes late but she simply shrugged in response and tied on her apron.

“Steer clear of the boss,” Sara, one of the older employees told her.

“What?” Liz replied as she tied her hair back into a pony tail and then adjusted her nametag.

“Max. He’s been in a grumpy mood. I think he and his girlfriend are having problems.”

Liz refused to appear as interested as she really was. “I’ve got enough things to worry about in my own life. I don’t really care who Max is and isn’t dating this week.”

Sara stood with her as Liz finished straightening her uniform. “Hmm. Well, what’s troubling you, honey?”

Sara had followed her out to the restaurant. She was a sweet lady, but she really talked too much sometimes. “I need to find an apartment,” she said briskly, hoping that’d satisfy her.

It didn’t. Moments later, she found herself in Sara’s grip as she tugged excitedly on her arm. “Really? A close family friend is a landlord of a building not too far from here.”

Liz yanked her arm of her grasp. Sara didn’t seem to notice. “I have an eviction on record.”

She seemed to think a moment before speaking. “I can pull some strings. I’m sure I can get you in there.”

Dumbfounded that she wasn’t affected by her rudeness, Liz said, “Um, thanks?”

“No problem, hun. You’ve got a good heart. You should let it shine through every once in awhile.”

The older woman walked away to tend to a large group that sat in her section. Liz stared after her for a moment, shook off her comment and after spotting the hard glare from Max, got to work.

TBC………

[sweetbrowneyes]

Sorry about the wait....again. But thanks for the feedback.

LairaBehr4
Mica: Thanks. The Office is awesome. I really can't wait for the season finale tonight! lol
jake17
keepsmiling7
roswell3053
DreamerMaxBehrian: Yes, NOW we're finally getting somewhere. lol I couldn't wait to get to these chapters myself lol
Emz80m
begonia9508
ythaler
RoninBehr
RiceKrispy: Yeah I was getting sick of whining Max as well
nitpick23
Tamashii
paper: Nice catch! I was waiting for someone to bring up that balcony scene. That was Max's apartment building.
hayley85
XYZ

I hope you enjoy!

Part 28

Silence was quickly becoming her worst enemy.

She had never been alone for long periods of time and as a result she and silence had never really been acquainted. She couldn’t stand being alone with her own thoughts. She had even begun to sleep with the television on in her hotel room, leaving the volume low just so she could fall asleep.

Even now as she swept the floors of Kevin’s, by herself, the silence was deafening to her.

She used to always have someone around her, not just for the company but to boost her confidence and ego whenever it deflated just the slightest. And though her friends were the very ones who would bring her down, there was always someone who was there.

She hated silence.

Sighing, she laid the broom against a table and went in search of a radio or something that could keep her thoughts occupied. In the break room, there was a portable radio on top of the lockers that looked like it hadn’t been used in ages. Se wondered why there was an unused radio in the break room but then quickly decided that she didn’t care. She just needed something to listen to other than silence.

She supposed she could go in search of Max and have some human interaction, something of which she was sorely lacking as of late. But he had been in the foulest of moods lately and she was in no frame of mind to make nice against his biting remarks.

Instead, she dragged over a chair, climbed on top and reached for the radio. Dust rained down on her and she let out a soft, “Ew” as she wiped the top of the radio clean. There was an outlet for a cord at the back of the radio but none was attached. Standing on her tip toes she could just barely see over the top of the lockers. She saw no cord.

She heard a soft chuckle and then, “Oh the inconveniences of being short.”

She yelped at the unexpected intrusion and whirled around causing her to teeter on the edge of the chair. Max stepped closer, his arms lifting a bit to catch her just in case she fell and for some reason that annoyed her.

Once she gained her footing, she growled, “Damn it! Don’t do that.”

He was smiling. For once. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you.”

“Well you did. Shit, I nearly jumped out of my skin.”

His temporary good mood deflated a bit at her tone. He sighed. “What are you doing?”

Liz hopped off the chair and pressed a hand to her heart as if that’d slow down the frantic beating. “I was looking for the cord to this so that I can play some music while I finish cleaning. Is that a problem?” she said, with a little more venom than she meant.

He seemed to eye the radio and Liz and then back to the radio before he spoke. “The cord is broken.”

She frowned when he didn’t offer any more explanation. “Then why is there a broken radio just sitting on top of the lockers?”

“It’s not broken. I just never remember to get batteries for it.”

He walked out without another word, leaving her standing with the dusty, out of commission, radio in her arms. She abandoned it on the nearest table and wandered out of the break room. She stopped outside of Max’s office and peered inside.

The door was slightly ajar and he was just settling back into his seat. He looked about as bad as she felt and she knocked gently on the door before entering.

“Hey,” she said.

“Hey,” he answered cautiously. Wasn’t she just growling at him a few moments ago? Now she wanted to play nice? Max wasn’t in the mood to cater to her mood swings and he was sure he hadn’t been the best company the last few days. He could feel an argument brewing already.

Liz had taken to studying the pictures that hung around his office. She had been in there before, sure, but never under the circumstances where she wanted to take notice of how it was decorated.

“Can I help you with something?” She shook her head before she flopped onto his overstuffed couch. “You do realize you’re supposed to be working right now?”

She placed her hands flat on the couch, on either sides of her legs and pushed so that she bounced up and down. “I know, but I’m bored.”

A little amused at her way of amusing herself and the fact that her feet didn’t touch the floor, Max leaned back in his seat with a smile. “So you choose to bounce on my couch instead?”

“Why do you have a couch in here?”

“Why does it matter?”

“I’m just wondering.”

“What are you doing now?”

She was untying her shoes. “Untying my shoes?”

Rolling his eyes he said, “Good, now can you tell me why?”

“Cause my feet hurt?”

“Are you telling me this or…”

“Come on, let me take a break. You know I’ve never worked this hard,” she cajoled, flittering her eye lashes.

“That is true. You’ve never done an honest days work in your life,” he teased.

“No, I haven’t.”

“Whatever. Just as long as you finish before I leave.”

Grinning, because she had gotten out of working for now and she had company, Liz stretched out along the couch.

“I don’t know how many other bosses are as lenient as I am. You all my must love me.”

Giggling, she rolled over onto her back. “You’re setting yourself up for an insult there. That’s just too easy.”

Just as she finished speaking, she was hit with something cool and soft. A pillow?

“Ah! Now I see what you’re always doing in here when you go missing for hours.”

He smiled as he attempted to get back to work. “Be quiet. You’re still on the clock. You’ve got fifteen minutes.”

She saluted. “Yes sir.”

“Who salutes anymore,” he mumbled.

“What was that?”

“Never you mind, Parker.”

Max finished the work schedule for the next week and signed off on the checks that were due out that Friday. He knew he needed to start on a budget for the next month, something he had been putting off. He worked diligently and was halfway done when he realized that he was way ahead for the month. He was in a surplus and could afford to give his employees a few more hours if they wanted and still have some profit left over.

He decided to call it a night. He would finish the budget tomorrow because he still needed to finish cleaning the kitchen.

Liz had just finished mopping when Max wandered into the kitchen. He came out with a large plate of French fries and a bottle of ketchup and settled at the counter.

“Aren’t you supposed to be working?” she said, in a bad imitation of him.

“Am I not allowed to have a break?”

She shrugged and took a seat next to him. “I just want to give you a hard time like you do me.”

“I don’t give you a hard time.”

“You have this past week.” He didn’t answer and she took a fry. “I heard about you and Danni.”

“I had a feeling it wasn’t going to work out.”

He really wanted Danni to be the one he could settle down with. She had been everything he was looking for and he was still trying to figure out why it hadn’t worked. Even still, he couldn’t deny that he missed her which was why he had been in such a foul mood.

“How did you know that? What made you think it wasn’t going to work?”

He didn’t answer for a long time as he swirled a fry in a large glob of ketchup. Finally, he shook his head. “I really don’t want to talk about it.”

She nodded, sadly understanding. “Reserved for those in the ‘friend’ category, huh?” she said lightly, but could hear a tinge of sadness in her tone and she hoped Max didn’t catch it. “What are we? Still acquaintances?”

Max let out a laugh which was nothing more than a puff of air out of his nose and a small smile. He was surprised to admit that he felt a bit guilty that he couldn’t tell her for that very reason. They weren’t friends. And they never would be unless he could fully forgive her. He needed to and he was ready to. But if he couldn’t, he needed to leave her alone because trying to be friendly with her wasn’t doing either of them any good.

“I um… In the back of my mind I knew we weren’t going to get serious. I haven’t been able to have a serious relationship since… since you and I were together.” His head was down, but he was looking at her from the corner of his eye, gauging her reaction.

“Um….” She shifted uncomfortably in her seat. She figured they would have to have this talk sooner or later, but she was a bit shocked at the timing. The last thing she thought he would want to do after ending a relationship with his girlfriend was talk about their ruined past.

“Part of it was my fault probably. We were so young and I was… I let myself just fall too fast and I knew you weren’t there. But I thought that since I felt so deeply for you, it had to be right and you’d eventually feel the same.”

She shifted again, suddenly thinking the silence wasn’t so bad.

“I mean, I was thinking of us together after high school…” he stopped to let of a bark of laughter to cover his embarrassment. “Man, I was … gone. I had this whole life dreamt up and I didn’t… when you… I never told you because I never wanted to scare you away. And at one point I thought that you found out and freaked and just…”

There came her weak protest, “No. It was nothing like that. It wasn’t your fault.”

“My relationships always ended before I could ever get that far again. And the one time it did, I sabotaged we could go any farther.”

“I-I really didn’t mean…” She stopped because that was a lie. She meant what she was doing. She knew what she was doing to him and how it would affect him even though she didn’t know how deeply he felt for her. “I had no idea it was that real to you.”

And maybe was what bothered him the most because how could she not know? It there was every time he touched her, spoke to her, looked at her. How could she not see it? He asked her this.

She could only shrug. “I was so caught up in our scheme I didn’t even consider that… I mean I knew you must have like me. But it never crossed my mind.”

He nodded. He could accept that. At least they were being honest. “And I’m kinda glad it didn’t. It was less humiliating that way.”

“I was just a stupid kid, Max. I didn’t know how to think or… or feel for myself. I still don’t. I’ve got to learn that. I know I’ve said this before, but, I’m sorry.”

“I think I know that now.”

“And I just wanted you to know that it was never you. Not everything was for show because I did have feelings for you. I just didn’t want to recognize them.”

Feeling shock and awe, confusion and sadness for what could’ve been, he could only let out a small, “Really?”

“Yeah. You’re a great guy, Max.”

“I think you’re shaping out to be pretty great yourself,” he said, smiling softly. He nudged the nearly empty plate of fries toward her. Suddenly he was full. “What do you say we start completely fresh? Wipe the slate clean.”

She smiled, felt something warm expand in her chest and said, “I’d really like that.”
************

“So why did you decide to call this place ‘Kevin’s?’”

Max looked up over their shared plate of onion rings. “I named it after my grandfather. He owned this place a long time ago, before I was born. But back then it was like a sports bar and business was good until he got mixed up with some accountants that screwed him over.”

“What happened?”

“They fixed his numbers and stole a bunch of his money. So he went bankrupt and had to sell the bar.”

“So how did you get ownership of it?”

“About five years ago, this building was being put up for sale again. I always wanted my own restaurant and I could sort of restore something my grandfather built.” He added with a teasing smile, “His name was Kevin by the way. Did you catch that?”

She rolled her eyes. “I think I got it. Thanks.”

Max finished his coke and got up for a refill. He pointed to Liz’s half empty cup. “You want a refill while I’m up?”

“No thanks,” she said, her mouth full. “But if there’re some more union rings in the back,” she paused to swallow, “then feel free to bring them out.”

He returned with a full glass of coke and the last batch of union rings in the kitchen. All of the diner’s meals were cooked fresh, but there was often leftover food. He hated throwing it away so he often found himself transporting it to a local homeless shelter.

“Well aren’t you just mister good will,” Liz had teased.

“If it makes me seem crueler, I usually take some leftovers for myself and then send the rest to the shelter.”

Liz shook her head in mock disappointment. “You are a horrible human being.”

“Thanks.”

Since their talk, Max and Liz closed the diner together four out of the last six days. What they had built within those short days was too fragile and superficial to call a friendship. But the tension between them had long since dissipated.

“Okay, seriously can I at least get two onion rings, Liz? You’ve been hogging them all.”

She blushed because she realized that she was stuffing her face and nudged the plate towards him. “I’m just happy to eat anything besides pizza. It’s all I’ve had since I moved into the hotel.”

“You haven’t found a place yet?”

“No. My parents are coming out tomorrow to look at the apartments with me. So hopefully I’ll be out of there soon.”

“That’s good. And will you thank them for the check they sent for me? They really didn’t have to.”

“I will. And um, also,” she started nervously, “I was offered another job.” She watched him closely, judging his reaction. She wasn’t sure what she was looking for, but what she got, she was a bit disappointed with.

With his eyebrows raised he said, “Doing what? Breaking dishes? You do a great job of that here.”

As he laughs, she rolls her eyes. “No. A friend at the Comfort Stay said she could get me in reception there.”

He chewed an onion ring thoughtfully. “Is it better pay?”

“Well yeah but…”

“I think you should take it,” he cut in. “I mean. You’re starting a new life. New apartment new responsibilities and a new job with better pay would help.”

“Yeah,” she agreed lamely. “I could use the extra money.”

Smiley genuinely he added, “I think it would be good for you. There’s nothing there for you to break and you won’t have a spiteful ex as your boss.”

“Cause you’re so evil and all,” she agreed teasingly.

“You can’t deny that this arrangement has been extremely awkward. I mean you’re starting a new life. Maybe it would be good to do it without people around you that are attached to your past.”

“So you think I should take it? Even though we’re such awesome acquaintances now?”

He laughed. “Liz it’s not like we’ll never see each other again. It’ll be good for you to stand on your own for awhile and find yourself a bit without the influence of someone else. I think you should take it.” The way he shrugged as if it were nothing made her frown.

“Yeah,” she said, pushing the plate of onion rings away from her, “maybe I will.”

TBC…………..

[sweetbrowneyes]

Sorry about the wait. This part was giving me trouble. I knew where I wanted to go, had everything planned in my head but couldn't get it typed. Anyway. I'm back with a new part.

A few of you asked about what Max meant by “It’s not like we’ll never see each other again.” You forget that one of Max’s good friends is Liz’s cousin: Maria. Though they don’t get along, they’re family and Max and Liz are bound to run into each other once in awhile.

LairaBehr4
Alien614
roswell3053
keepsmiling7: See above
jake17
begonia9508
Emz80m
XYZ
Tamashii
DreamerMaxBehrian: First off, see above. Secondly, I have never gotten such long feedback. I love it! lol You brought up some things, like Max bringing in the batteries, that I hadn't even thought of. And yes this is dreamer insured.
RoninBehr: Lol Who said they were ever going to be apart for awhile? lol
roswell4life
Tinkerbell_Luvs_Roswell: You're not the only one who feels that way. It would be good for them both.
paper
Mica

Hope you enjoy!

Part 29

She never had a balcony before. She had a window seat at her parent’s home when she was younger. And her penthouse apartment was bathed in sunlight from large floor to ceiling windows, but no balcony.

She leaned against the railing and squinted against the sun. She felt almost powerful, like she was hovering over the city. Or maybe she was feeling free. When the wind blew and tousled her hair, she could imagine she was flying.

Her mother called her back inside and she gave her approval to her parents, and Mrs. Bruner, the landlady.

“I think this is the one,” she said with a slight smile. Besides having a balcony, the apartment was slightly bigger than the one she was in before.

“Are you sure this is the one you want, Lizzie? Because this is it,” Nancy said. It was her nice way or saying ‘if you screw this up, we’re not doing this again for you.’ The last thing she wanted was to have her only child kicked out of another apartment, out in the streets searching for a place to live. But if that’s what it would take to make her realize she needs to take some responsibility, Nancy would have to deal with it.

Liz and her parents worked out a method to be used for the first few months Liz would be living in her new apartment. Her parents agreed to pay most of her bills at first giving her time to save and get the hang of paying one bill on her own, on time. She was responsible for her food, clothing, furniture, and anything else she might need or want.

The Parkers would relinquish responsibility of her bills to her little by little as she learned how to manage her money.

“I’m sure this time, Mom,” she replied as she looked around the place that she would soon call home.

Jeff smiled at Mrs. Bruner. “So, I’m pretty sure that means we’ll take it.”

Mrs. Bruner smiled happily. “Great! Let’s go sign some papers. Why don’t we meet at the main office?”

With everyone agreeing, Mrs. Bruner pivoted gracefully on her cane and limped to the door. She was an older woman with graying hair and kind eyes. She had just had surgery on her foot but refused to stay locked up in her home all day. She claimed it was stifling and would do her good to get some fresh air.

The Parkers followed the older woman out of the apartment and into the elevator. Her new apartment was the on the fifth floor, the uppermost floor of one of the four apartment buildings on the site. The buildings were lettered A through D. She was in building D and from her balcony, which looked out over the pool centered in the courtyard of the four buildings, she could see building A, where Max lived.

She had been surprised when Sara brought them to the apartments where he lived and she guaranteed that Mrs. Bruner would be kind enough to get her an apartment there. Liz wasn’t sure how it would work out living so close to him. But living in separate buildings, they could go without seeing each other.

He seemed adamant that she find another job away from him. She wondered if the one person she had that was the closest thing resembling a friend wanted to have anything to do with her.
********

With a charming smile, Max stepped up to the booth where the Parker trio was seated. Jeff and Nancy sitting close together, engaged in a quiet conversation on one side of the booth. Liz was busy rolling her eyes behind her dessert menu on the other side.

Finally, when her mother giggled loudly like someone her age might, Liz sighed loudly and slapped her hands against the table. “Oh my God! Seriously? Mom, Dad you can’t wait until you get back to your hotel room to grope each other? We have company. Would you chill out?”

Max snickered and Liz’s parents separated, smiling at Max unapologetically. They recently renewed their vows after twenty nine years of marriage. And it was times like these that the two didn’t like to be apart for too long.

“Mr. and Mrs. Parker it’s nice to see you again.”

Jeff swung an arm around his wife’s shoulders. “Likewise. It looks like you’re doing an excellent job of running this place here. I like a business man.”

Nancy admired the young man openly. “And you’re grown into such a handsome man,”

“Thank you,” Max said, unable to stop a blush.

“Mom.”

Nancy turned to her daughter with an oblivious smile. “What? He has.”

“Um, can I get you anything? And for the compliments, it’s on the house.”

“That’s very nice of you,” Jeff said. “Can we see a menu?”

“Oh. I’m sorry. I’ll be right back with those.”

Liz called out before he could get too far. “Max can you bring out my check too?”

He raised a brow. “So, is this your last check from me?”

“Do I detect a bit of sadness?”

“Oh, I’m not going to weep over your absence until I know for sure you’re gone,” he smiled.

She laughed. “I have an interview in three days. I went up there earlier today. It’s as good as mine.”

“I guess this means I’ll have to invest in some Kleenex then,” he teased. “I’ll be right back.”

He returned seconds later with their menus before he headed into the back for Liz’s check.

“I can’t believe that’s little Max Evans. Remember when you used to bring him by the house, Liz?”

Liz could guess there was about a seventy percent chance her mother was going to embarrass her today. She needed to prepare herself. “Yes mom. I remember.”

“You two were so cute.”

“Mom!”

“Nancy, leave her alone. You’re embarrassing her?”

Liz mumbled a quiet thank you to her father. “I’m not. I’m just recalling the obvious. Is he single, Liz?”

Sighing, she reluctantly answered, “Yes. But can you just let me focus on trying to keep my apartment before you try and set me up with anyone?”

Nancy toyed with the salt shaker as she replied innocently, “I’m not trying to set you up. I’m just saying…”

“Mom, I know that look. Just relax.”

“Fine. But he is cute.”

Her father laughed at his wife’s bluntness and Liz let out a screech, blushing. “Mom!”

Max came back with Liz’s check and took the family’s orders. “Max, do you have a minute to eat with us?” Jeff said. He liked Max. He always did. He hoped that if his daughter had to pick someone to be with, it would be someone like Max. He seemed like someone who would take care of his baby girl.

“Sure. Let me put your orders in and I’ll be right back.”

He returned with their drink orders and then slide into the booth beside Liz. “So, how did the apartment hunt go? Did you find anything you liked?”

“Yeah. Actually…I found an apartment very close to you.”

It took him a minute and everything went silent, at least it seemed that way to her as he blinked slowly. Finally, “The same place?”

“Yeah,” she said brusquely, a bit put off by his reaction. He didn’t seem too happy for her. Huffing, she folded her arms across her chest. “You’re not the only one who can live there, you know.”

“What?”

“You just don’t seem too happy that I’m moving there.”

“Liz!” her mother scolded.

“No,” Max quickly denied. “You just surprised me. That’s all. I’m happy for you.”

And he really was. He meant what he said when he told her that they should start over. It made no sense in holding a grudge over something that happened nearly a decade ago. She was trying to become a different person. And the person he had been in love with no longer or as far as he knew, never existed.

And he realized that he could never really move on with anyone if he didn’t let go of all that anger. Harboring it, he would never be in a trusting, stable relationship because he would always be waiting and looking for an excuse not to trust his mate.

So with his anger, he was beginning to let anything he may have felt for her slide off him and he honestly felt like he could breath a little bit better; that in his next relationship, whenever that time may come, he would be ready to invest his whole self into it.

“Really?”

“Yeah. It’ll be nice to have you as a neighbor. Are you in the same building?”

Liz let an easy smile light her face. “I’m in D. Not exactly neighbors. We could easily miss each other.”

Max looked at her with a teasing glint in his eye. “Are you planning on avoiding me?”

“Probably. I’ll be too busy living my new independent life.”

“Hallelujah!” Nancy shouted.

“Mom!”
**************

“So you two are moving in together.” His tone wasn’t questioning because the evidence was right in front of him: her bags spewed around the room, a few paintings she had brought from her old place and the key to the door she was dangling for all to see.

He was just trying to get it through his head.

Max looked back and forth between Kyle and Tess who were sitting close on the couch as if they hadn’t just made a huge decision.

Tess just moved back in town for good the day before and the last time Max had heard, she already had an apartment of her own lined up. But apparently her plans have changed.

“We just figured it didn’t make any sense for me to get another apartment when he has an extra room that he’s paying for and not using.”

Kyle smirked. “Though it’s still unused now that she’s here.”

“I am not moving into your room, Kyle. We are going to have separate rooms and be like traditional roommates.”

“Who have sex a lot.”

“Kyle!”

There was a knock at the door, most likely by Michael and Maria. Tess got up to answer it.

Max continued to talk some sense into Kyle. “So what if doesn’t work out between you two and Tess wants to start dating? Can you handle that? You think you’ll be able to live together without drama?”

Kyle lolled his head against the back of the couch and then rolled to his feet. He plopped onto the arm of the recliner Max was occupying. “Remember that mush that I told you about? It’s still here and since she’s been away…” He shook his head as if what he was about to say was too insane for him to even be thinking it. “You think it’s too early to tell if she’s the one?”

Max’s eyes went wide. Kyle smiled at his expression but he looked frightened and unsteady. “This is insane.”

Max didn’t have a chance to respond because Tess returned with Michael and Maria. Maria veered off after a quick hello into the kitchen.

“I’ve got pizza!” she yelled.

“And we are going old school tonight,” Michael announced, holding up a bag that contained his old Nintendo. “You’re playing for my friendship fellas!”

Kyle immediately took Tess under his arm when she sat back down. “I thought we were supposed to be playing basketball for a place as your best man.”

“Yeah well all of you suck at that…”

Both Kyle and Max yelled.

“Do not!”

“Take that back!”

“Winner gets to be the best man. Where’s Alex?”

Tess chuckled. “They’re on their way. He said that Isabel couldn’t find anything to wear.”

Alex and Isabel showed up less than ten minutes later and the Nintendo was hooked up. Four grown men whooped and hollered at the screen like junior high school boys and their female counterparts watched on in amazement, wonderment at how they could be reduced to bickering young boys.

In the end, Kyle won the place of Michael’s best man. He bragged and boosted until Tess had to practically tackle him down to the couch to get him to shut up.

Pizza was served once the excitement died a bit and the three couples sat close together. Max sat by himself, on the lone recliner.

He had noticed that he was the only one who wasn’t partnered up, but he didn’t dwell on it. He had just gotten out of a relationship. He needed a little time to himself before he started looking for another relationship.

But his friends had other ideas.

“Max, we need to get you laid.” This comment was from Alex and it earned him a slap on the arm from Isabel. “What? I think that’s just what you need.”

“Leave him alone. He just broke up with Danni... he…”

Maria was interrupted by Kyle. “Yeah but here we are, all coupled up and Max has no to hold him,” he said, pouting in Max’s direction. “Are you sad, Max? Do you need a hug? Would you like Michael to hold you?”

On cue, Michael stood, arms open wide and he strode towards Max. “Don’t touch me!” he wailed laughingly as he coward back into his seat.

“Oh, don’t be like that, honey. Is it because Maria is here? I told her… you know, about us.” Max didn’t know whether to laugh or be grossed out by the way he wagged his eyebrows.

As Michael retreated back to his seat, Max said, “All of you are dorks.”

“We’re just trying to help.”

“That’s not helping,” Isabel said, glaring at Alex. “But, there’s a girl who works for me. She’s not much younger than you. She’s got red hair, athletic…”

“Thanks, but no thanks, Isabel. I’m not looking to be set up. I’m fine being single right now. And when the right girl comes along then…it’ll be good. Right now, I’m good.”

And he was at least for that moment. When he went home to his empty apartment, he might be singing a different tune.

TBC……

[sweetbrowneyes]

Hey all. I come baring a new, pretty long part.

LairaBehr4
XYZ
begonia9508
pookie76
Emz80m
roswell4life
DreamerMaxBehrian: Nice! First off…happy belated b-day!! And I really don’t mind the long feedback. It keeps me in check and aware about whether I’ve written something absurd and unbelievable that needs to be changed.
No, Liz was never living in Max’s apartment building, or complex. The first time, she and her parents were doing apartment hunting and it just so happened that they looked at an apartment where Max lived. While they were touring the apartment, she just happened to look out the balcony and see him or he saw her rather. The first time, Liz refused to pick an apartment, so her parents picked for her. I probably should have made it clearer that they didn’t choose the one in his complex. They lived in separate buildings, separate complexes, separate everything lol.
And about Liz’s parents, they knew about Liz working for Max. Liz might not have told them from the get go, but they knew when Liz broke into Kevin’s looking for a place to sleep. When she called them and told them, they sent him a check to fix his broken lock.
I also envisioned the buildings in a square formation. A&D and B&C across from each other and the courtyard in the middle. I hope this helped. I'm not very good at feedback to feedback. lol
jake17
RoninBehr: I think I'm still gonna torture you. lol No, it'll be the good kind of torture...if that exists.
ythaler
lockheart: I agree. I think she needs to be complete by herself before getting involved with someone.
Christable: Welcome!
nitpick23
Mica
Tamashii
roswell3053

Thanks for your feedback everyone. I really appreciate it. Enjoy!

Part 30

A month and a half later

“We should have coffee sometime.”

It was what he said to her on her last day at Kevin’s, over a month ago. And it made her angry every time she sat in her empty apartment by herself. Because in the time since she had barely seen him.

“We should have coffee sometime.”

She wondered if it was like those people who jotted their phone number and an insincere K.I.T (keep in touch) in her year book but in reality, couldn’t care less if she called. She had written a number of K.I.T’s herself.

So maybe Max’s ‘we should have coffee sometime’ was like a K.I.T. Or maybe he was waiting for her to make the first move. Or maybe it didn’t matter to him either way. And that little bit of doubt was what kept her glaring at the door as if the peep hole was glaring back.

It was what kept her glaring at it for a month and a half.

It had been happening more frequently lately. She told herself she had the courage to go and see him and she would get dressed, fully intending on walking across the apartment’s campus to his building, or the short blocks to his diner. But across her empty living room, that damn peep hole frowned at her, almost mocking her because it knew she couldn’t do it. She wasn’t in the mood to be rejected.

Meanwhile, she hoped that she would run into him by accident. She found herself searching with a keen eye when she went grocery shopping where she the only thing she picked up was frozen dinners and junk food.

Maybe she could meet a whole new group of friends. But she needed to get out of the house in order to do that. And that required her to go out by herself, something she was not privy to doing. She wasn’t ready to run into her old friends.

She was lonely.

Nights when she didn’t have to work were obviously the worst. With her blanket spread out over the floor of her balcony, she would sit and watch the other tenants down at the pool, mingling, interacting. It was nights like these that she missed Morgan and Lynn, no matter how badly they put her down. It was nights like this that she felt as empty as her barren apartment. It was a dark night like this that she again wondered what reasons her parents had to put her through this.

She hated nights like these.

But she was doing it.

The only thing in her apartment besides her clothes was a mattress and sheets, a couple of lamps, a small radio and a 13 inch TV she just bought. She would be responsible for the cable bill in a few weeks. Her parents taught her how to withdraw from and deposit into her bank. She was learning how to save her money. She just wished she had someone to share her accomplishments with, however small they may be.

If she were to go to Max, would he laugh at her for doing something that he does everyday? She felt like the last kid on the block to become able to ride a bike without the training wheels.

And so she continued the staring match with her door.
**********

Max was tired. As the days got shorter, it seemed that everyone piled in for a last minute meal during the diner’s last operating hours. Sara who closed with him just left and any work that he needed to do could wait until tomorrow.

He was already annoyed that he wasn’t at home relaxing so the quiet knock on the front doors only seemed to irritated him further.

“We’re closed!” he yelled, only looking up briefly from the counter.

The face he saw was familiar and his features softened into a smile.

He waved at her like a dork and it made her smile. She stepped aside as he unlocked the door and swung it open.

“Hey stranger. It’s been a while.”

“Yeah. I’ve been waiting for that coffee invitation.” After debating with herself at home, she decided to just casually walk by Kevin’s, just to see if he was here. She hadn’t meant to knock but when she did, it was no turning back.

He laughed and gestured for her to enter. “I was waiting for an offer to take a tour of your place.”

“Yeah right.”

She took a seat at a booth and he slid in the seat across from her. There were shades pulled down, covering the windows and shielding them from any onlookers outside. “Yeah I thought you were busy getting used to everything.” And really, he wanted her to come to him. Of course he said and did let go and put their past behind him, but he couldn’t forget how he was the one always chasing her. It seemed like he was always desperate to be around her. He wasn’t that lovesick fool anymore.

She could come to him for once. If she was really serious about them repairing their relationship and becoming friends, he was going to make her do some work.

“Are you liking the place so far? Have you checked out the pool?”

“It’s okay. I don’t… really have a lot of furniture right now,” she said, dipping her head in embarrassment, “I basically have no furniture and at the moment, I don’t own a swimsuit. So going to the pool would be moot.”

He smiled and fingered the ketchup bottle he just refilled. “So you have like nothing? At all?”

“Well I have a radio and a TV, if that counts as furniture.” He was laughing at her and she didn’t know how to take that. Having someone laugh at her was the last thing she wanted right now.

“Oh man. I remember those days.” He smiled at her then, offered to get her something to drink. He returned with water for both of them. “After college, I moved out on my own. My parents were going to let me take my bed that was in my room at home, but it was a twin and I’m clearly not going to fit on that mattress. Not comfortably anyway.” He chuckled and took a sip of his water. “All I had was a raggedy chair with the left arm missing, a dresser, night stand and,” he furrowed his brow and tried to think, “and I think that was it. After a few days I took that twin bed though. A small mattress is better than no mattress.”

She laughed, sipped her water. It was nice. Talking to him again. Talking to someone that wasn’t her parents. “Yeah that’s pretty much how I am. You didn’t mind not having anything? I mean, my apartment is completely empty.”

He shrugged. “I kind of liked it. I felt like I was camping or something, roughing it. And gradually, I was able to buy things to put in my apartment and I liked seeing how everything came together. You’ll see.”

He winked at her causing her to blush, discomfited that she was practically dying in her apartment and he seemed to enjoy it back when he was in the same situation.

“So, how’s the new job? I’m better then your new boss right?”

“Well,” she drawled, rolling her eyes upward, thinking. “He’s a bit awesomer than you.”

“Awesomer? Really?”

“Yeah. Sorry.”

“He’s so great that you have to start making up words like awesomer?”

She giggled like she hadn’t in a long time. “Exactly.”

“That blows. His awesomeness is why I haven’t seen you in a month?”

“Partly. I’ve been busy and all… with the new place trying to get used to everything.” She failed to admit the nights she spent wallowing in her own self-pity.

He shook his head in mock disappointment. “Still, I gotta tell you, Liz. I’m pretty insulted. You haven’t invited me over for brunch or anything. My hurt is deep.”

“Do guys have brunch?”

“No. Not really.”

“Then that’s why I haven’t invited you over.”

“Touché.”

The chatted for awhile, caught up on the last month. Max stood during a break in the conversation and took their glasses to the back.

“I should get ready to close up,” he said.

“Oh, are you doing something tonight?”

“No. I’ve just been here all day.”

Max had disappeared into his office, presumably to gather his things. She stood from the booth and breathed deeply. In high school, she never had to worry about someone not wanting to be associated with her before.

She followed him and in an attempt to appear causal, she leaned against the door frame.

“I know you’re probably tired but if you’re not doing anything…” he looked up as he stuffed his keys in his pocket and it made her even more nervous, “um maybe you’d like to uh… maybe we could catch a movie or something? I mean, I’ve been dying to do something besides work so… if you’re free?”

His eyebrows raised, he stuffed his hands in his pockets. “Tonight?”

“Yeah. But if you’re busy it’s totally not a big deal. I mean I have an early shift tomorrow so I should probably head home and go to bed.”

A smile tugged at the corner of his lips. “Wow, you really have changed. Going to bed early and all that.”

She huffed out a breath that was meant to be laughter. “Yeah. So I guess I’ll see you around?”

She turned to flee. She had just made a fool out of herself. He must think she was some stupid girl, desperate for some human interaction, which she was. But she didn’t want to broadcast that.

“Hey wait! Where are you going?”

Reluctantly, she turned to face him again. He was smiling, eyes soft. She could only form a stupid sounding, “Huh?”

“Did you not what to see a movie?”

“Oh… right sure.”

“Cool.”

“Awesome.”

“Awesomer.”

“Ass.”

“What!? It’s your word. You brought it into this world and you can’t take it back.”
**********

He was already at a booth when she arrived, looking wide awake, hungry and happy. She was quite the opposite, minus the hungry part. When her shadow fell over the table he looked up and immediately smiled widely.

“Morning!” he said cheerfully. She groaned. She was starting to hate him. “Um… is your shirt supposed to be pink?”

“Shut up.”

It was too late because his laughter was already bubbling forth and he tried to conceal it by pulling his lips inward but when a few spurts escaped, everything boiled over.

She shook her head, her wild hair moving with it. “I really don’t like you anymore.”

“I’m sorry. It’s not that bad. It looks like… you know those yellow pit stains.”

“Ew!”

Again, his laughter couldn’t be contained. “Do you sweat pink, Liz?”

“I’m done with you.” She stood to leave. People were starting to look their way and she questioned her insanity for showing herself in public looking the way she did.

Max reached out to grab her wrist, but he was laughing so hard, he only grasped at air. “No, I’ll be good. I promise. Stay. Sit.”

Reluctantly, she lowered herself back into her seat, glaring at Max as he attempted to calm himself down. “Okay. I’m good,” he said, still chuckling.

“I don’t see what’s so funny.”

Max only smiled. Her hair was done in a messy bun, something he had never seen worn on Liz before. Multiple strands and wisps stuck out haphazardly, framing her face which was contorted in a frown. Her shirt was stained with patches of pink, an obvious sign at her attempt and failure at doing laundry.

He slid her coffee across the table with a sympathetic smile. He ordered it for her. “Bad day?”

“Obviously,” she growled, gesturing to her appearance. “My dumb blow-dryer broke, my back hurts from that stupid mattress, and it’s nine in the morning. I don’t know why I let you talk me into having breakfast this early. Oh! And I also had to walk here.”

“I would’ve picked you up. I told you that.”

She grunted in response. She didn’t know what she was thinking when she asked him if he wanted to meet somewhere to eat. It had been a couple of weeks since they had gone to the movies and she had to hype herself up again to get the courage to ask him.

Max laughed when she slid on a pair of large sunglasses to hide the bags under her eyes. “Would you rather go home and sleep more?”

She waved her hand in dismissal. “I’m up now, I might as well stay.”

A young waitress appeared at their booth, Liz cursed under her breath as Max ordered.

“I can’t afford this! Six dollars just for a pancake?!”

“It’s a whole meal, Liz.” He reached over the table to point at her selection. She lifted up her glasses, her eyes squinted as she read the menu. “Oh. Well I’ll have that then.”

“Hey,” she said suddenly. “Didn’t you used to wear glasses?”

“The wonders of contacts.”

She slipped her glasses back over her eyes. “Oh. Of course.”

“So,” he started after the waitress took their order, “I don’t think I’ve ever seen you like this before.”

“Yeah well…”

“I’m kinda enjoying it.”

She managed to crack a small smile. “Well I’m glad it’s amusing someone.”

Their breakfast was brought and their conversation lulled. Liz nearly moaned in delight when she tasted her food. She hadn’t had a real cooked meal in weeks.

It was her day off and she wasn’t prepared to spend to whole day locked in her apartment by herself. She asked Max what he was doing that night.

“We’re supposed to go get fitted for tuxes today. For Michael and Maria’s wedding.”

She poked at what was left of her pancakes. “Oh. Yeah I heard they were getting married.”

He couldn’t miss the sadness in her eyes and he couldn’t tell if it was because he was busy for the night and couldn’t hang out with her or because she hadn’t heard from Maria about the wedding. As far as Max knew, Liz hadn’t been invited yet.

“Uh, we’re all supposed to meet over Maria’s apartment afterwards to just hang out. Do you want to come?”

She shook her head, immediately protesting. “No. No I couldn’t. I don’t… I have plans tonight.” She wished Pamela was still in town. Unfortunately for Liz at least, she had gone off to college a few weeks ago.

Max knew she was lying, that was obvious. “Oh. Well if you change your mind, give me a call, okay?”

“Okay.”

He chuckled and she frowned. “What?”

“Oh. Nothing. I was just looking at your shirt. You didn’t have anything else to wear?”

He was laughing again. This time she couldn’t help but laugh with him.
********

Max was on his way over. Her hands were shaking, a lump of apprehension was settling deep in her chest, and she wondered for the millionth time why she told him she would go with him.

She no longer had plans, she told had him, and if it was okay, she would like to go with him to Maria’s place.

“So stupid!” she said to herself.

Maria probably couldn’t stand her and would kick her out of her home as soon as she saw her. She knew Kyle and Tess would be there and going on how much they disapproved that she stayed with Max, they weren’t going to be overjoyed to see her.

They all had a right to hate her.

It was 7:30. She was supposed to be waiting outside for Max and she ran to check herself in the bathroom mirror. She wondered if she could get away with faking illness and could coerce Max into staying with her.

Max was already waiting downstairs. With a supportive smile, he pulled off. He knew she was nervous and she was grateful for the affectionate pat on her knee from him. Although she was slightly disappointed when he returned his hand to the steering wheel she didn’t say anything.

“It’s going to be okay,” he said. “Maria’s not one to hold grudges.”

She thought it was a little strange that he knew that about her cousin and she didn’t. “She isn’t?”

“No. This’ll be good. I think you two should get to know each other. You can be good friends.”

She gave him a wary, sidelong glance. “And Kyle and Tess?”

“Uh they…um well. Just steer clear,” he chortled.

“This is going to be fun,” she said dryly. “Will you take me back home? I feel sick.”

They just pulled into Maria’s driveway. “Really?” He saw a look of fright cloud her face and he wanted to soothe that away. “Liz, it’s going to be okay. I told Maria you might be coming.”

“What did she say?”

“She said it was fine. I promise. I won’t leave you to the wolves.”

“The wolves being Kyle and Tess?”

He laughed. “Come on.”

Out of the safety of his jeep, Liz let Max guide her to Maria’s front door. Her apartment was still as beautiful as it was the last time she was here and her jealousy was no different.

With Max’s hand on the small of her back, Maria greeted them cheerfully. She shocked Liz when she was pulled into a hug. “I’m glad you decided to come,” she said in her ear.

Liz had no idea what to do so she patted Maria’s back like she had never been hugged before and let out an awkward, “Thanks.”

She received warm greetings from Michael, Alex and Isabel. Kyle and Tess were civil, Tess more so.

“It’s good to see you, Liz,” Tess said. Max told them about how she was trying to change and she seemed far from the girl Tess used to know. Though she was still wary of her, she figured it wasn’t quite fair to judge her on something that happened so long ago. And if Max could forgive her then she could too.

Kyle was a different story. He yelped when Tess elbowed him in the stomach. “Hi Liz,” he grumbled.

Liz answered politely, sticking close to Max’s side when they all gathered in the living room.

Alex patted his flat stomach. “What are we having for dinner? I’m starving.”

“The spaghetti is almost ready. I think Michael made some salad.” Maria turned to her fiancée for confirmation.

Michael smirked. “Remember. I was about to when you came in wearing that thing that…”

“Shut up, Michael! You don’t tell everyone that!”

There were whistles and catcalls and someone sung the melody of a stereotypical porn song.

“Whatever. I’m going to go check on it. Does anyone want anything to drink? We’ve got some wine, juc…”

There were shouts at once and a unanimous vote for wine before she could finish. “You’re all alcoholics,” she teased.

As she got up to go into the kitchen, Max bumped Liz with his shoulder. He jerked his head in the direction of the kitchen.

She frowned, clearly not understanding him.

He jerked his head again, this time more forcibly. Again she frowned. “Kitchen,” he finally mouthed.

“What about it?” she said, looking in that direction.

He sighed, shaking his head. “Go help her.”

“Ohhh.”

He rolled his eyes. “Yeah. Oh.”

“Shut up.”

“You’re so slow.”

She bumped him before she stood. “I can help you with that, Maria.”

Isabel stood up as well. “Yeah I can too.” She smacked Alex lightly as she stood, muttering, “Lazy ass. Letting the women do all the work.”

“I’m tired, babe,” was his excuse.

Maria turned around with a friendly smile. “Thanks ladies.”

The two women disappeared into the kitchen and as soon as they were out of earshot, Kyle pounced.

“What’s going on with…”

Max answered before he could finish. He knew it was coming. “Nothing, we’re just friends. We’re hanging out. I’ve forgiven her and you should too. And don’t ask me about it again.”

With Max’s steady gaze on him, Kyle backed out. “Fine,” he huffed.

“Huh, that was quick. Is the game on?” Michael said, effectively declaring that subject closed.

Tess blanched. “Oh no. We are not spending the night watching you Neanderthals watch some stupid game.”

And so, an argument over the remote ensued.
**********

“I’m really happy you came, Liz.”

Isabel hummed her agreement from where she was stirring the spaghetti sauce. Maria was trying to uncork the wine bottle.

She was struggling as she said. “How do you like your new place?”

“It’s okay. I don’t have much.”

“I know.”

“You know?”

The cork come loose finally and wine spilled over the top in white foam. Maria rushed over to the sink so that it wouldn’t spill on the floor.

“Your parents have been bragging about how well you’re doing to my parents and they tell me. They’re really proud of you, Liz. I am too.”

Her eye brows shot up. “Really?”

How can they be proud of her living in an apartment with next to no furniture, having a less than stellar job with no money what so ever?

“I remember when I first moved out on my own,” she said. She told a story not unlike her own, having nothing and struggling.

Isabel also chimed in. Again her story was similar. She struggled as well, especially when her clothing store just opened.

Liz listened with wonder.

“You’re not alone in this. Everyone struggles, it’s just life. It’s how you come out of it that matters. You’re going to do fine.”

Liz blushed, embarrassed by the tears that were shining in her eyes. She had never known someone who wasn’t her parents to be supportive of her. It was a different feeling and she decided she liked it.

Her voice cracked a bit with emotion when she spoke again. “Thank you, Maria. I… I’m not sure if…” she laughed slightly at her own speechlessness, “I just wanted to say I’m sorry, you know for everything basically. I had no reason to be so… I was just….jealous.” She nearly gagged at the word. She hoped Maria knew how hard apologizing was for her.

“Hey, it’s cool. We’re family. I mean, some of what you said hurt, but why don’t we start over like you and Max did, with a clean slate. I think we both deserve that so we can get to know each other.”

“I like that.”

“Oh you guys!” Isabel stopped tending to the spaghetti and pulled Maria and Liz into a group hug. “This is awesome.”

Maria rolled her eyes and Liz laughed at her. It was kind of awesome.
*********

There was a warm breeze blowing in from the opening balcony doors. The night went by smoothly. And unexpectedly, Liz found herself having fun. She was laughing at something Max said when the conversation turned to the wedding and the fittings they all had earlier in the day.

She stiffened beside Max. He continued the conversation, but his hand had drifted down to hers. His thumb rubbed the back of her hand. He understood his discomfort.

Maria noticed her stiffness as well. She bit her lip and Michael’s arm tightened around her shoulders. He knew what she was thinking of doing and he was with her on whatever she decided.

“Is everyone done eating? Liz, will you help me take the plates inside?”

“Sure.”

Max let go of her hand and she gathered everyone’s glasses for a refill while Maria took the empty plates.

Liz refilled the glasses and Maria set the dirty dishes in the sink. “Actually Liz, I wanted to ask you something in private. I know this is weird or whatever and if you don’t want to do it, I totally understand.”

“What?”

She hesitated, unsure of how Liz would react. “Well, I need another bridesmaid so… I was wondering if you…”

Maria was smiling hopefully and Liz’s jaw dropped. “Are you serious?”

“Yeah. I mean, you don’t have to if you don’t want to…”

Overwhelmed and unable to decipher her emotions, Liz could only nod her acceptance. Maria squealed in glee. “Great! We need to get together soon so we can get you fitted for a dress.”

“T-That sounds good.”

“Great.”

Smiling, the women took the full glasses out to the waiting group but Liz excused herself as soon as the drinks were served. Her eyes were stinging and she made it to the bathroom in time before a few tears escaped. It was strange for her to feel like she belonged with a group of people without feeling like it was because of what she had.

She had been so horrible to those people out there, especially Max and Maria and she was so lucky that they were able to forgive her because if they hadn’t, she would be still at home. Alone.

She bumped into Kyle on her way back. Their awkward silence stretched on for seconds which felt like minutes.

It startled her when he spoke. “I was really starting to like you, Liz.”

“Excuse me?”

“Back in high school, I was really starting to accept that you liked Max and you were gong to make him happy. I watched him pine a long time before you and suffer a long time after you. And when you betrayed Max, it felt like you betrayed all of us. And I know that sounds very cheesy and cliché, but that’s the only way I know how to describe it.”

“I’m sorry. I-I don’t know what else to say.”

“Just promise that it won’t happen again?”

“It won’t.”

“He says you two are friends. I believe him but you have that look. And I’m not sure it’s a good idea for you and him to…”

“Wait. What?”

He sighed. Or course she was going to play dumb. “Liz, I know that look. I’m a master at spotting that look. Max had that same look before. I know you can’t help who you love, but if you two get back together, don’t hurt him, Liz. I can’t even give one of those threats. You know the, ‘if you ever hurt him, I’ll…’ whatever.”

“I’m not… I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Fine. Act clueless. Just… he won’t survive a second time.”

TBC………..