Hi Everyone!
The year is one quarter over. My eldest has returned to Uni to prepare for her year end exams and my youngest is currently revising for her AS levels that will give a good indication as to what A level results she might expect and help her decide whick Uni to look at.
keepsmiling7 - I think that Barry might have been less childish while things were going well. But now that his situation is rather... upside down, he is letting his petulance show.
MP - Do you think he senses the connection in an alien way? Cause right now, I would think that Liz has only shown hostility.
nitpick32 - A small clue as to how Liz anded up with Barry tonight. Look carefully
Barry is definately seeing the green eyed monster as Liz's success is greater than his. As for Alex... sometimes it's hard to give up your crush.
HypnotiqBlueEyes - Part of Alex accepts that, but he still lives in hope.
L-J-L 76 - I am sure that Maria has notices the bruise. And I am sure that she does not beleive Liz when she says how it was some stupid accident. As for Max and Liz meeting... soon.
begonia9508 - Remeber that Barry will find it difficult to 'play away' when he goes to Mexico. And these are professional ball players. I suspect that it's all talk just to mess up the new kids.
saori-1902 - Probably gets it from his father!
dreamon - Lol! Yes, we are. New parts soon.
eririn - There are clues, yes. They are a little vague but they are there.
Not a lot happening tonight. Kind of a transition.
Chapter 11
Sunday April 26th
“That’s it,” Barry threw the latest edition of Variety onto the breakfast table. “We’re not going.”
The front cover was another picture of Liz and Alex. The headline screamed ‘Who is Elizabeth’s Alex?” The stories inside speculated that Liz and Barry were not quite seeing eye to eye at the moment and they seem to be spending an inordinate amount of time away from one another. The main question was, had fame and success driven a wedge between Hollywood’s hottest couple?
“You mean that you don’t want to go to the party just because my film got such great reviews?” Liz asked in feigned innocence. “A cert for an Oscar nomination, they’re saying.”
“No, not because of that,” Barry sneered. “Because of those headlines!”
“You don’t have a say in this,” Liz shook her head. “I’m telling you this for the last time. Alex is just a friend. He’s also my new lawyer. I am not now, nor will I ever have an affair with Alex. Now tonight is Maria’s twenty-third birthday. I am not missing her party for you, for your team, for Variety or for the freaking President of the U.S.A! She’s my best friend and she is just too important to me.”
“More important than me?” he narrowed his eyes.
“Don’t you dare!” Liz hissed. “Don’t you dare make me choose.”
“But I don’t want to go!” Barry snapped.
“Then don’t!” Liz bit back. “Stay at home, see if I care. Variety will have a field day with that, won’t they? ’Cause I certainly won’t be alone. Alex is going to be there because Maria told me to invite him. Kyle will be there because everyone who is anyone will be attending. And Maria even told me that Max would be there.”
“Max?” he yelled. “Who the fuck is Max?”
“If you don’t come to the party,” Liz teased, “you’ll never know, will you? And you want to know who else is going to be there?”
“Who?” he growled.
“Maria’s cousin.”
* * *
Sunday April 26th
The security guard at the gate waved them in. Barry rolled his eyes at this.
“What?” Liz looked up, annoyed. “This isn’t like one of your college parties that you can just go and crash.”
“It’s all show,” he shook his head. He lowered his voice to try to mimic a woman’s voice. “Look at how much money I have.”
“Didn’t your Quarterback, John… uh, John…”
“Goldsmith,” Barry gave a resigned sigh of exasperation. “John Goldsmith.”
“Right,” Liz nodded. “And didn’t John Goldsmith throw a big party, just last Christmas?”
“You know he did,” Barry looked puzzled. “We were there.”
“I seem to recall that he had hired security guards, too.”
She also recalled that the famous John ‘Different Woman Every Month’ Goldsmith had made a pass at her. She had neglected to tell Barry though, he idolized the team captain.
“That was different,” Barry grumbled, looking away.
“Yeah,” Liz murmured. “What’s different is that Goldsmith is a big star in only one country. Maria is a big star across the whole world.”
The limo pulled up in front of Maria’s house in Malibu as the driver leapt out and hurried to the door. Barry stepped out through the opening first, and assisted his wife. With his arm around her, his mannerisms shouting loudly, ‘she’s mine’, they walked up the stairs to the door.
“Liz!” Maria greeted her best friend with a huge hug. “Look at you! You’re absolutely gorgeous!”
Liz was wearing a calf length, maroon cocktail dress that showed her figure to perfection. She again was wearing a matching pair of heels. Her hair was loose, in curls that poured over her shoulders. “Barry,” Maria nodded over Liz’s shoulder.
“Whatever,” Barry shrugged, completely blanking out her boyfriend, Michael who had just turned up to say hello.
Barry had decided that making an appearance together was what was needed, after all. People would talk; they would say that Barry and Elizabeth were at the party and everything was all right. He could not be the subject of ridicule in the locker room again. It was bad enough that people like Kyle Valenti thought she was fair game but when he heard some of his team mates suggesting that they would ‘do her’, he knew that steps had to be taken. He was going to make sure that these guys who assumed his wife was available, would be shown the error of their ways. Starting with Alex, and Kyle. And then this ‘Max’, whoever the fuck ‘he’ was. But if he so much as saw Sean DeLuca even look at Liz, then someone was going to be given a lesson in the fine art of skull cracking.
* * *
Sunday April 26th
“How’s it going?” Michael stepped up beside Maria and looked across the lawn where the party was in full flow.
She liked to stand on part of her raised patio where she could see most of the garden. Some waiters were circulating among the guests carrying trays of hors d’oeuvres. Some people were dancing in the marquee that Maria had designated as the dance floor, where a band she was giving a break to played a medley of well known songs, laced with songs of their own. Maria was definitely one to give up-and-coming new bands a chance. Most people were forming small groups, making polite conversation while they wondered how to make a play for the current object of their affections… or desire. Some were sampling the delight of Maria’s spectacular buffet table while others were having strange and obscure cocktails made for them by a trio of talented bartenders while they juggled with a cascade of bottles and tumblers.
“Good,” Maria nodded with a contented smile. “It’s going good. In fact, I would have to say better then good. On a scale of one to Maria, this party is Maria plus.”
“Not the party, Maria,” Michael shook his head. “I mean, that’s a given. What about Max and Liz?”
“Max is over there,” Maria pointed out the solitary figure standing by a palm tree with a glass of dark liquid clutched in his hand. If Maria knew Max, and Maria did know Max, that liquid was nothing more than cola. Aliens did not handle alcohol well. True, he could convert the alcohol back to sugar if he wanted, but sticking to alcohol free drinks was easier. “I don’t even think he’s seen her yet. And Liz, who I don’t think has noticed Max, is over there. Barry’s playing guard dog.”
Liz was standing with Barry, his arm protectively around her waist while she leaned her head against his chest. They were talking to a couple of producer’s from Maria’s studios.
“Well,” Michael breathed out his frustration. “If they’re connected, like we think, they’ll certainly be aware of one another. But whatever problems she might have been having with her husband, seems they worked them out. I don’t like the asshole, but if that ain’t the definition of love, I don’t know what is.”
“Yeah,” Maria nodded. “As much as I like Max, hell, I owe him my life, I’m not going to try to make anything happen between those two. I just couldn’t bear to see her hurt as well. And he does seem to be rather attentive to her, tonight. Maybe I’m just misreading her.”
“Well,” Michael shrugged in resignation. “We tried. I’ll go down and keep him company, before another of those bimbos you insisted on inviting scares him half to death.”
* * *
“You must be Kyle Valenti,” Barry stepped up to the smooth star when he found him momentarily alone at the bar.
“The one and the same,” Kyle winked, extending his hand. “Who might you be?”
“I might,” Barry smirked, taking Kyle’s hand and squeezing his hard, using all of his strength, “be the man who’s going to crush your hand right now. I might also be the man who will break your arms and your legs and your pretty face if you lay so much as a finger on my wife. Got it?”
“Ah,” Kyle was bent over almost double trying to escape the excruciating pain. “That would make you Elizabeth’s husband. Yeah, I recognize you, now.”
“Barry Drake,” he released Kyle’s hand, smirking more when the star tucked his hand under his shoulder, wincing in pain. “The one and the same. Any part of your anatomy touches Liz, I’ll rip it off. Stay the hell away from my wife.”
“You got it, big guy,” Kyle started to back away, nodding like crazy. “Off limits. Don’t touch. Understood.”
“Now where is Alex Whitman?” Barry started to look around.
* * *
“So,” Michael handed another glass of cold coke to his friend. “How you settling in?”
“How hard is it to settle in to one of the most expensive hotels in Los Angeles?” Max shrugged. “I’m more used to the cheap roadside motels, you know?”
Standing alone in his little corner, Max had been watching the party. He had known the instant Liz had arrived; he had felt her presence. He was trying his best to avoid her, in spite of the desire to satisfy the demand that was pulling him toward her.
“Maria insisted that you stay somewhere nice,” Michael laughed as he started to walk around the grounds, drawing Max with him. “She said that her lawyer is not staying in some fleabag motel. Whenever she needs a hotel, she always takes a room at the Fairmont Miramar Hotel. She says it’s the best. That’s why she’s put you up, there. Maybe we can head out during the week and look for an apartment for you. But, you know you can move in here anytime you want, right?”
“Thanks, Michael,” Max nodded, following his friend out of habit. “But you guys need your privacy. I know how often you two actually get to be alone. Having me around won’t help any. It won’t help me, either.”
“Well…” Michael looked up. “Tell me that you are at least going to try and let someone in. Even if it’s only casual. There are lots of women in LA who like to keep it that way while they wait for their big break. You know casual is good, right?”
“I don’t think I know how to do casual, Michael,” Max looked down.
“Hey, we should catch a game sometime,” Michael enthused. “Hockey season’s almost over but I can still get tickets. And baseball season is just around the corner. Maria has season tickets for a box at the Dodgers. She likes to take producers there. They don’t really listen to her and usually agree to anything she wants just to shut her up so they can enjoy the game.”
“Maria always did like to play by her rules,” Max chuckled.
“Yeah,” Michael smirked. “So it’s a good job I can still play by mine, huh?”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Max gave Michael a confused grin.
“Nothing,” he shrugged. “Oh, hey. Wait here a minute. I need to speak to someone. Don’t go away.”
“Huh?” Max blinked.
He watched Michael hurry up to someone that Max had never seen before. That was when he felt her. She was close. Very close. Without even thinking, he turned. She was standing right behind him, talking to someone else. At the same moment he had sensed her and turned, she too had turned to face him. Max and Liz stared at one another, neither one knowing what to say.
* * *
“What did you do?” Maria was watching from her vantage point on a raised balcony as Max and Liz were facing one another.
So far, neither one had moved, let alone spoken. Michael had just joined her.
“I didn’t do anything,” Michael grinned. “I talked to Max, we walked and I excused myself. Oh, look. He’s with Liz.”
“Oh, yeah. What a coincidence. Michael,” she sounded a little angry as she turned to face off with her boyfriend. “If this blows up… if I have to console an upset Liz, then I’ll…”
“Something’s happening!”
“What, what?” Maria turned to look again, just as Max started to walk away from her.
“No, Max,” Michael groaned. “Just talk to her.”
“He must have heard you,” Maria’s eyes widened. “He’s stopped. Okay. Is this a good sign? She’s going to him. They’re talking… talking… he just nodded to her… talking… Okay, they’re going some place a little more quiet. That’s a good thing, right? Talking… Liz is angry and Max looks surprised. Wait. That was more anger. I just felt Max’s Anger. Oh oh! Michael, do something…”
“Leave them alone, Maria,” Michael shook his head and pulled her way from her vantage point. “Max would never hurt her. Let’s leave the two of them to sort whatever problems they have between them and circulate.”
A short while later, Maria glanced over to see the pair were still in deep conversation. Her smile fell away, however, when she saw someone approaching them.
“Oh, oh,” Maria shook her head and pointed in the general direction of Max and Liz. “Trouble, with a capital ‘S’.”
* * *
“Alex,” Barry gave Alex Whitman a nod.
“Barry,” Alex nodded back, a wary look on his face. “Haven’t seen you in… ages.”
“Yeah,” Barry confirmed. “Ages. I was kind of liking it like that.”
“Oh,” was all Alex could muster. “You know, I’m going to go and…”
“I’m watching you,” Barry gave him a glare.
“Oh,” Alex shifted. “Uh, Barry. I hate to tell you this, but there’s no need. Liz just sees me as this big brother, you know?”
“The trouble is, Whitman,” Barry growled, crossing into Alex’s personal space, “you don’t see my wife as your little sister. I better not read anything else in Variety about you and Liz, ’cause if I do… let’s just say that me and a couple of the other linebackers will come and pay your offices a visit to see about you representing us. And while we’re there, we can teach you a little bit about blitzing. Do you understand?”
Alex nodded.
“Are we clear?”
“Crystal.”
“Let’s recap, shall we? What are we clear about?”
“That I should only see Liz as my little sister,” Alex confirmed with a hard swallow.
“Glad we’re on the same page, Whitman,” Barry growled as he walked away.
* * *
“Sorry,” Max remembered Liz’s angry outburst at him the other day in Alex’s office. He hadn’t had much of a chance to process anything from that day other than he had finally seen her again. And tonight, he could not get over how incredible she looked. It awoke feelings inside him that had long lain dormant. His whole heart ached. But, he didn’t want her to start a scene here. Not at Maria’s birthday party. “I didn’t know you would be here. I’ll leave before you have me thrown out.”
Liz watched, stunned, as he walked away. Seeing him like this brought back all the feelings that he had invoked in her during that one incredible drunken night of passion. And the sight of him in that expensive suit… She felt things, things that she had never felt with Barry – would never feel with Barry. For one thing, she would certainly not be needing any lubricant right now. But he was walking away, escaping before she created a scene that he must feel sure was coming.
“Mr. Evans, wait,” she called out, hoping that he would hear her. “I’m sorry. The other day in that office. When I saw you… and the memories came and… I reacted badly and I’m sorry.”
“That’s okay,” Max shrugged.
“No, it’s not okay,” Liz walked up to him. “When we started our careers, Maria and I made a promise. We promised that we would never use our position and our influence to get anyone fired. And I went and told Alex that I wouldn’t join his company if you were working there. Maria told me he fired you.”
“Probably for the best,” Max shrugged. “At least this way, I got to work for Maria.”
“Anyway,” Liz whispered. “I’m sorry. And I don’t want you to leave Maria’s party. She’s your friend, too, I understand.”
“Yeah,” Max gave her a nod. “I’ll uh, try to stay out of your way, okay?”
“Can I ask you something?” Liz blurted before he could turn away. She needed to know.
“Sure,” he gave a cautious nod.
Liz walked away from the crowds, closer to the palm tree where Max had been standing earlier. It was quieter there, away from listening ears. Max followed her.
“That morning,” she turned to face him, years of pent up anger rising. “After we, uh… Was it that I was that bad?”
“What?” Max gasped. “No, no. You don’t…”
“Why did you leave? I mean, it was your room and you bailed on me to let myself out. Do you have any idea how humiliated and used I felt when I woke up and found that you didn’t even have the decency to kick me out, face to face?”
“Leave?” Max blinked. “Kick you out?” His anger rose. “I left you a note! And when I came back, you were the one gone. So don’t give me that crap about how ‘you’ felt used and humiliated. If you only knew! If you only knew how…”
“Wait,” Liz frowned. “What note?”
“I left a note,” Max reigned his temper. “On the bed side table, against the clock. I woke up and realized what we had done. I suddenly realized that there was nothing in my room to eat. I didn’t even have any coffee to offer you. I wanted to at least be a good host and offer you breakfast while we… talked. So I ran to the local store, with, I might add, a killer hangover. When I got back, the note was on the floor and you were gone.”
“I didn’t read the note,” Liz shook her head and looked down at the ground. “I didn’t even see it. What did it say?”
“Just, that I had to go get something for breakfast. That I wanted you to stay because we needed to talk, how I regretted the way it had happened but not the fact that it did.”
“So…” she blinked. “It wasn’t ‘cause I wasn’t good enough for you. Or that you didn’t like the look of me or something.”
“Good enough for me?” Max blinked. “Not like the look of you? God, look at you. You’re Elizabeth Parker. Famous actress. Superstar. Please explain how that could ever be not good enough for anyone? You… you’re beautiful, Miss Parker. Gorgeous. And you have no idea how hard it was for me to take the fact that you regretted what happened and ran away. I mean, did you?”
“Regret what happened?” a kind of sorrow passed Liz’s eyes. “I don’t mean this the way it sounds, Mr. Evans. And the memory of what happened was something I will always cherish, but yeah. I kind of regret it. Because maybe if it hadn’t, I wouldn’t feel the way I feel and my marriage might actually be more… fulfilling. God, what am I saying? I’ve never even said that much to Maria. But what about you? Do you regret what we did?”
“I feel exactly the same way, Miss Parker,” Max indicated the two chairs and a table. Together, they sat down. “I was never fully able to connect with my wife and we… She’s been seeing someone else for the last six months and she’s just asked me for a divorce.”
“Maria told me,” Liz nodded. “I’m sorry.”
An awkward silence descended upon them.
“Did you enjoy that night?” Liz finally found something to say. “I mean… was I…?”
“It was the best night of my life, Miss. Parker,” Max murmured. “It still is. And you… you were… I can’t really make a comparison, because I’ve only been with two women… and Debra and I, we… we didn’t really… get physical too often. And when we did, we were just going through the motions. Oh, she tried to make it work. For a while. But it wasn’t working and it just died. I don’t blame her for cheating on me. I hope her new partner can make her happy because she is a lovely person. Kind and caring. She just wasn’t…” You, he wanted to add but he just hunched his shoulders instead.
“Apart from the cheating thing,” Liz gave a smile, “and the asking for a divorce… I guess I understand where you’re coming from.”
“Things not going well?”
Max knew then that the connection went both ways, that as well as his own life, he had screwed Elizabeth’s life, too.
“No,” Liz shook her head. “Well, it has its moments. I mean, I know he loves me… in his way. He just has a hard time understanding that I have my career, too. I think we would be having these difficulties even if you and I had never met.”
“Is that…” Max pointed to his own cheek and moved his finger up and down, “anything to do with…”
“Oh,” Liz smiled, touching her bruised cheek, hidden by her make-up. “No. No, I fell.”
“Right,” Max gave an understanding smile.
He knew otherwise. How many times had he heard that same claim? How many times in college had he read about this kind of behavior?
“How did you know it was there?” Liz frowned. “I thought I did a great job covering it up. No one else has noticed it.”
“I notice lots of things,” Max shrugged. “It’s what I do. Notice things.” And babble.
“So why didn’t you ever come and talk to me?” she wondered. “After we… I mean, you must have seen me on campus. I even saw you, once.
“I had no idea where to look,” Max gave a faint smile. “And the one time I did see you, I saw you with your boyfriend. You were looking a bit… off. And he said something to you and you were like… this whole new person. Smiling, nodding… God, you looked so happy. And had I known you had a boyfriend, that night… I would never have… Especially because you were a…”
“A virgin,” Liz nodded. “But he wasn’t my boyfr…”
It came back to Liz then. How Barry had been talking to her, trying to persuade her to go on a date with him. How she had suddenly seen Max coming her way with that statuesque blonde on his arm and how she found herself saying yes to Barry, if only to show the guy who had hurt her that she didn’t really care.
“I never saw you again,” Liz shook her head. “Were you deliberately avoiding me after that?”
“I would have to say yes,” Max nodded. “As soon as I realized that I had seduced another guy’s girlfriend, I transferred to Miami. I didn’t want you to feel awkward, seeing me as a reminder of…”
“Oh,” Liz dropped her head. “And that blonde you were with at the time? Was she…?”
“Blonde?” Max frowned. “Oh, you mean Isabel. My sister. She had flown in to visit with me.”
“Your sister?” Liz sounded stricken. The only reason she had accepted that date with Barry was because she thought this Max was already with some, someone far better than her.
“How do you know Maria,” Max interrupted the sad silence that had again descended between them.
“Maria’s been my best friend since forever,” Liz smiled, on safer ground now. “I used to live in Roswell.”
“No way,” Max narrowed his eyes in thought. “I would have remembered someone as beautiful as you.”
“Are you flirting with me?” Liz’s eyes widened.
“Do you want me to be?” Max raised an eyebrow.
“I wasn’t always good looking, Mr. Evans,” Liz looked away, a feeling of bashfulness coming over her. “So maybe you wouldn’t have even noticed me.”
“Who said I was talking about looks?” Max gave her an endearing smile. “There are lots of ways to be beautiful, Miss Parker. And it seems you have at least two of them. Probably even more.”
“Oh…” Liz blushed, not sure of what to say.
“Sorry,” Max scratched his ear while looking down at his feet. “I didn’t mean to embarrass you.”
“Liz!” someone called her, distracting her from her momentary embarrassment. “Doll face! How are you, babycakes?”
Max caught the flicker of annoyance that flashed across her face as a tall man with short, curly blond hair stepped right between them, blocking him from Liz. The newcomer pulled her up from her seat and into a tight embrace.
“Get off, Sean,” Liz squirmed, pushing against his chest, unable to escape the wet, sloppy kiss he placed on her cheek. He had been aiming for her lips.
“Long time no see,” the man refused to let go. “Let’s say we find an empty room and fuck like bunnies, just like the old days.”
Max stepped back, a little in shock and a lot in disappointment. But not awe. He knew who Sean was, of course. Sean DeLuca, the infamous lead singer of the heavy rock band, Steelicity. He was also Maria’s cousin although Max had never actually met him, before.
“Let’s say we don’t,” Liz managed to pull herself away from his grip. “Just like we never have.”
“I live in hope, babycakes,” he grinned.
“You live in a fantasy world,” Liz shook her head. “What are you doing here? I thought you were on tour.”
“Well,” he shrugged his shoulders, “being on tour ain’t no problem. Private jet and I can be home any time I want. I’m always coming home between gigs. And anyway, apart from the fact that it’s my cuz’s b-day, it’s been an age since I saw you. I miss you, Parker.”
“That’s Drake, Sean,” Liz rolled her eyes. “Married, remember?”
“Aw, babycakes,” Sean gave a rather dramatic roll with his head. “As if a piece of paper could ever come between what you and I have going.”
“And what’s that?” Liz leaned her head to one side.
“True love, hot stuff,” he gave a lecherous grin.
“Sean,” Liz shook her head. “There’s a world of difference between love and sex.”
“There is?” he blinked. “You could have fooled me. Then in that case, you and me can go and have hot sex.”
“You do know that Barry is around here, somewhere,” Liz looked around.
“All the more reason to sneak away, quick.”
“Tell you what,” Liz leaned close to Sean and spoke softly. “Meet me in the Red Room in fifteen minutes.”
“The Red Room,” he grinned. “I like your style. I’ll be waiting, babycakes.”
Sean was grinning as he moved away, his eyes fixed constantly on Liz. He pointed to his eye, then the middle of his chest followed by pointing at her.
“So,” Max spoke, doing his best – and failing – to hide the insecurity from his voice. “That was Sean DeLuca, huh?”
“Yeah,” she gave a slow nod. “That was Sean, alright. He, uh, pulls this, ah, stuff on me every time he sees me. Even before I was famous. He says that he fell in love with me the first time he saw me. When I was fifteen. I was visiting Maria in Roswell for the summer and he was there. He had just been released from Juvenile Hall, and okay, I admit that I was kind of attracted to his bad boy persona… But I also knew that I didn’t want to date him. And I just wish he would get that message. You would think that seven years of me saying no would give him a clue.”
“So you’re not…” Max hedged, “Uh, the Red Room?”
“Not in this lifetime,” Liz shook her head. “Or any other.”
“So you used to live in Roswell, huh?” Max raised an eyebrow, eager to escape Sean DeLuca as a topic of conversation.
“I moved away when I was eight,” Liz laughed. “And I sure don’t remember seeing you, either. I think I might have remembered you, too.”
“We didn’t start school till third grade,” Max remembered. “So that must have been just after you left.”
“That’s our story, then,” Liz lamented. “Ships passing in the night.”
“Not a good analogy when you consider that we had a collision one night,” Max started to laugh.
“Tell me something about your life, Mr. Evans,” Liz scooted forward in her seat. “Tell me something about the mysterious Max Evans that Maria has told me so much about.”
“Only if you tell me something about yours. Something about the real Elizabeth Parker and not the official web site blurb.”
“You’ve visited my web site?” Liz raised an eyebrow.
“I plead the fifth,” Max, too, leaned foreward. “And I flat out refuse to ever let you see my bookmarks.”
Liz gave a giggle.
“So, Mr. Evans?” she smiled.
“Well, for a start,” Max smiled at her. “How about you call me, Max?”
“Only if you call me, Liz.”
“I can do that,” Max smiled, extending his hand. “Hi. I’m Max.”
“Hi, yourself,” Liz grinned, shaking his hand. “I’m Liz.”
The two of them had forgotten about the party. To them the other people didn’t exist. They sat at that table and continued to talk long into the evening, oblivious to the looks that everyone else was giving them.
* * *
Kyle Valenti looked across to his co-star and the man she was talking to. He wondered how strong the man’s hands were, and if he would even be walking come the morning once her husband finished with him. He did consider giving the guy some friendly advice but rejected that out of hand. The guy was serious competition. He also wondered what this Johnny-come-lately had that he hadn’t, because he had managed to do what Kyle, and dozens of others had consistently failed at. Monopolize Elizabeth Parker.
Alex Whitman wondered why Liz would be demanding that he fire the young man one-minute and then spend the whole evening with him the next. He especially didn’t like the free and easy way she appeared to be relaxing around him, letting down the barriers that he had always seen up when she was with him… with anyone. As a big brother, he did not think that this guy was good enough for her. As someone who harbored hopes for himself, Alex was afraid that this guy was.
Barry was wondering just who the hell this guy thought he was, stepping all over his turf like that. The guy was disrespecting him, showing him up in front of all these people. This would not be tolerated. He knew that just as soon as he could get away from this Michael creep that was currently talking to him about the Chargers chances of the playoffs with and without him, he would get over there and let the guy know the penalty for being ‘offside’.
Maria was in a tentative mood. She could scarcely believe that the meeting between Max and Liz had gone so well. But she was afraid of how things might play out from here, because even though Maria could see that both of her friends were more alive than she had seen either of them in many years, Liz was still married, and would never ask Barry for a divorce. It was like watching an approaching train wreck. Someone was going to get hurt, big time. And she was so afraid that it would be both of her friends.
* * *
