I want to thank y'all for your continued support. I hope you continue to enjoy this little story of mine. Plenty more still to come!Part Eleven
Twice as much ain't twice as good
It was harder for Liz than she cared to admit to not react when Max’s thigh brushed against hers underneath the table. She tried to pretend that her breath didn’t hitch, or that heat didn’t flood to her groin, or that her fingers itched to reach out and touch his hair. But she pretended that it didn’t bother her; she had to. When she turned to him, she saw him chatting animatedly with Michael, his hands gesturing as words left his mouth but she could see the sly grin trying to spread across his lips whenever he stopped speaking. Twice as much ain't twice as good
She narrowed her eyes.
Soren had come back from Sweden and to celebrate, Maria had organised a nice quiet dinner amongst the group of friends and Liz had chosen not to interpret the half glare Maria had directed at her before she’d even thought of protesting. To be honest, Liz had been avoiding Maria for the past few days – since her encounter with Max in the shower. Maria was far too perceptive for her own good sometimes and Liz really needed her to be oblivious right now. She was doing a fairly good job of dealing with this on her own right now.
And then Soren had come back and she’d still not told him that Max was living with her and now they were out together and Max hadn’t toned down the way he acted at all. In a way, she was glad. If he toned it down, others might notice and think that something had happened. But at the same time, when he rested his hand on her thigh when he spoke to her she hoped no one would notice the quick intake of breath she’d take before gulping and turning away from him as quick as possible.
It was ridiculous – she and Max had played these games for years; why was she suddenly reacting to him like this? Oh, that’s right: she hadn’t had sex for almost two months and, better yet, Max had made her come with his mouth in her shower.
Fuuuuck.
“You all right, hon?” Serena asked from across the table and Liz bit back another groan. So much for not drawing attention to herself.
Both Soren and Max turned to her, their hands touching her shoulders and she almost laughed out loud at the irony. Either that or moan in pleasure at the thought of the both of them touching her elsewhere. She barely bit back her groan and managed a nod as she reached for her glass of wine, taking a large gulp. She winced at the bitter, dry taste and looked at the glass in disgust.
“Yeah, I’m fine.”
Maria narrowed her eyes but looked away, turning to Michael who seemed only too happy with the attention.
“You think we can get out of here soon?” Soren asked and Liz took in his dark rimmed eyes and the glazed look his eyes had taken on after his half glass of beer. She nodded and smiled tightly. “I’m sorry I’m just... I’m beat.”
She reached out and covered his hand with hers, smiling more genuinely.
“It’s fine. Just finish this course and we’ll go, okay?” He nodded and she turned back to her plate but Soren didn’t lift his fork and knife. He really did look beat and she suddenly felt that rush of guilt she’d managed to push aside for the last couple of days. The fork shook in her hand and she closed her eyes for a second too long and Maria turned on her.
“You sure you’re okay, Liz?”
She nodded but put the knife and fork down, closing her eyes again. This night was supposed to be fun. So much for that.
“Yeah, I’m kind of beat. I think the wine has given me a headache,” she murmured as she tried to smile reassuringly to her friends on the other side of the table. She could from the miniscule tightening around Maria’s eyes that she didn’t buy it; Liz only hoped her friend knew enough to leave it alone, for now.
“We’re going to go home,” Soren butted in and Liz smiled thankfully in his direction. “Sorry guys,” he said with a wince as he rose but the others didn’t protest.
They quickly said their goodbyes and Soren helped Liz into her jacket before palming fifty dollars to Michael. Liz slid the strap of her bag over her body and leaned down to Max, brushing her lips against his cheek as they said goodnight. She nodded to Maria, blowing her a kiss and waved to the others. She made it two paces away from the table before she felt a tug at the back of her jacket and she almost lost her balance as she swung around. Max thrust his arm out to hold her steady and she glared down at him for a moment before he smiled.
“Are you going home, home?” He asked, his eyes dark as he looked up to her and she frowned slightly before turning slightly to Soren, who was waiting for her by the door. She shook her head when she turned to Max and he smiled slightly, his eyes laughing as his fingers circled her wrist. “You’ve got the keys, sugar.”
Liz frowned for a moment then laughed lightly, nodding. She dug through her bag for the keys and handed them to him, lifting her eyebrow when a sly grin spread across his lips.
“And no strange men in my bed,” she warned lightly, glad for the banter.
He quirked a smirk and his eyes glittered. She hated when they did that.
“What about strange girls?”
“So long as they don’t try and take my place.”
Max’s posture stiffened slightly and he quirked a disbelieving eyebrow and Liz eye him curiously.
“Liz, honey, no one would even dare.”
As she walked away from him, Liz felt strangely buzzed by his words. Soren slid his arm around her waist and she snuggled closer into his loose embrace as they waited for the taxi to arrive. When it did, he slumped into the back seat and closed his eyes, not even bothering to question why she had given Max her house keys. Liz gave the driver his address, knowing she wouldn’t be getting any kind of release that night.
--
Liz yawned and stretched, feeling her stiff muscles clench at the motion. Sunlight streamed in the window and fell across their bodies and she smiled at the lines on Soren’s bare back. The light did wonderful things to his pale, almost translucent skin and she ran her fingers over the soft skin there. They had both fallen into a deep sleep the night before and she looked at the clock; they’d been asleep for eleven hours. She listened to his deep breaths and realised that he would not be rising anytime soon. She sighed and leaned down to press a kiss to the back of his neck and he snuffled.
She wrapped the robe around her body, feeling the chill of the room seep into her bones as she moved out into the hallway, silently closing the door behind her. In the kitchen, she turned on the coffee machine then realised there was no milk; she couldn’t take her coffee black so she turned it back off and took a bottle of water from the fridge. She checked her messages – all seven of them –, replying to the emails from work first before rifling through her text messages.
‘Bed just isn’t the same without you in it
x x x’She chortled a laugh at that, noting that it had been sent at half past one. He, thankfully, hadn’t gone out and had hopefully made it the interview he had at a local high school. She quickly replied, asking him just that and with a request that he please wash the sheets if there had been any unfortunate explosions on them. She chuckled to herself and shook her head, moving through the room in search of her laptop that she’d dropped off the night before they’d gone out to dinner. She would give Soren a couple hours more sleep during which time she could try and write; she’d been neglecting it and her editor had been emailing her for days for an update she hadn’t even started yet.
--
“So,” Soren said as he slouched back into the comfortable leather chair in the local Starbucks, the remains of his hastily eaten sandwich lingering on his shirt and she leaned over to brush the crumbs away. He caught her hand, cradling her wrist to his chest before lifting it to his lips and kissing her knuckles. “I missed you,” he murmured, his blue eyes piercing in the mid-afternoon sun. She smiled and licked her lips, pulling her hand back across the table as an elderly woman glared at her from across the cafe.
“I’ve missed you too,” she said and dipped her cookie into her now lukewarm cup of tea.
He quirked an eyebrow and she hated the look that passed over his face. It was a look that had once had almost permanent residence on his features when they’d first started dating back in college.
“You’ve had Max to keep you company.” Liz’s eyebrow rose and she tried to swallow her cookie quickly but he simply smirked and looked down, tapping his fingers on the edge of the table. “I called a couple of times and he answered.”
“He didn’t tell me,” Liz murmured, suddenly frustrated with Max.
“I think he was drunk.”
“Every time?” Soren lifted his eyebrow and Liz conceded with a nod. “You may be right.”
“And I figured that since it was like, two thirty in the morning, he was staying with you.”
Liz nodded. She knew she had to tell him at some point but she really hadn’t... thought about what she would say. What was there to say? She and Max had lived together when they’d been at college – Soren knew that, even though he’d had a problem with it at the time – and it was really no different than it was now. Right?
“Yeah, he and John broke up.” Soren nodded as though he wasn’t surprised. “He’s just staying until he can afford to move out.”
“You’re not his mother, Liz, you don’t have to look after him,” Soren commented but there was no resentment in his tone.
“I know,” Liz retorted and looked down to her tea, moving the scummy milk around with her wooden stirrer. “I want to; we’ve always taken care of each other. It’s not like I can toss him out on the street is it?”
Soren smiled and shook his head but his smile fell after a moment and Liz closed her eyes, letting her tongue sneak out and dab her bottom lip. She knew what was coming but she still wasn’t entirely prepared for it.
“You could at least make him sleep on the couch.” Before Liz could protest Soren held up his hands in surrender. “I have a solution, anyway.”
Liz smirked and lifted an inquisitive eyebrow.
“Really?” She murmured, amused.
Soren nodded, suddenly smug.
“Yep.” Liz motioned for him to continue and he was suddenly sheepish again. “You could move in with me.”
“Soren...”
“Why is it that you can live with him but not with me?”
“Soren-“ she began again but he cut her off, once more.
“I know, I know. I’m sorry; it’s just... being away from you – my grandma dying, everything... It’s just shown me how fragile and fleeting these things in life are and... I don’t want to miss any of this. Not with you.”
Liz sat back, astounded. She could feel her pulse rushing through her veins and could hear the thud-thud of her heart in her chest as adrenaline – fear? – pushed the blood faster and faster. She met his eyes and he looked terrified, fragile and she wanted to reach out and touch him, to comfort him but her hand was frozen in her lap.
“Soren what are you-“
“Just think about it.” She nodded, though she didn’t know what she was supposed to be thinking about. Had he just proposed to her? She didn’t think so but he had mentioned spending the rest of his life with her and Liz loved him but... was she there? Was she ready to spend her life with someone? She knew that the answer, actually, was yes. But was that person Soren? She wanted to say yes but there was a part of her that knew that that place in her life was already filled by someone. “What are your plans for the day?” He said, executing a perfect shift in topic and Liz was left with emotional whiplash.
She murmured something about the lab and he nodded, trying for casual small talk before giving up when Liz’s monosyllabic answers didn’t get longer or more literate as time went on. Eventually, he smiled and stood, telling her he was heading back to the apartment to get unpacked. She nodded dumbly, returning his quick kiss.
Minutes after he left, she picked up her cell and dialled Max’s number, hoping he was out of his interview.
He picked up after the third ring.
“I think Soren just proposed to me.”
