Kate-I'm still debating with myself about when to reveal all to the friends, whether sooner or later. I've got a couple of scenarios rolling around in my head. They do already have their apartment. Earlier in the story, they refer to Max's uncle who owns rental property near Harvard.They do have to wait until the current tennant's lease is up at the end of August so they can move in. I have them scheduled to leave Roswell during the final week of August. Of course, until they leave, keeping all of this under wraps is of great importance. Thanks so much for all your great feedback! I hope you enjoy the next bit!
Natalie-Thanks so much! I hope you like the next chapter.
Alien_Friend-Of course, the truth is so wild, no one believes it!
Hunter-I guess I've kept you waiting long enough!
Eve-Aww, don't fret too much for Alex--everyone takes their turn at trying to dig up some dirt on Max and Liz. They aren't trying to be cruel to their friends--they are trying very hard to keep their relationship quiet until they leave for college as they have planned for years to be roommates. Particularly, Liz fears that her dad would try to insist on Liz living in the dorms if he discovered that Max and Liz had gone beyond best friend status. Of course, the nature of the work they are doing this week certainly sets the stage for fueling their intimacy once they are alone.
I hope you guys enjoy the next installment.
Author’s Note-For those of you familiar with
Delta of Venus and the selection I referred to in this chapter, please take it out of context and only consider what I quoted. The rest of that selection would certainly not apply to Max and Liz in this story. (And clearly, I don't own that work, either.)
~~~~~
“Good morning,” Ashley greeted Max and Liz as they were finishing up with Cameron. Liz wore a silky red nightshirt and panties while Max was bare-chested and in boxers.
“It looks like we just rolled out of bed,” Liz joked.
“Except you didn’t wear any clothes to bed,” Max teased wordlessly with a playful smirk.
“This should be a really easy shoot this morning. This fantasy concerns couples enjoying pornography together.”
Max and Liz both raised their eyebrows, wondering what they were going to be subjected to.
Ashley handed Liz a pair of reading glasses and a copy of Anais Nin’s
Delta of Venus.
“Sorry, no 'boom-chicka-wow-wow' this morning. I want you guys to pick a passage and read to each other in bed. I marked a few passages you might find interesting; some of the stuff in there is a bit sick and twisted,” Ashley pulled a shocked expression. “And that says a lot coming from me,” Ashley remarked, her eyebrows raised as she nodded once.
“Morning, all,” Nigel remarked as he strode into the room. “Ash, are the camera and lights ready?”
“Of course.”
“Ok, climb into bed and start reading. What did you give them, Ash?
Delta of Venus? That’s some wild shit there.”
“I already marked some passages, Nigel. Don’t worry,” Ashley looked up at the photographer.
Max and Liz sat up in the bed, shoulder to shoulder, heads leaning toward each other. Liz looked very studious in her glasses. They held the book between the two of them, flipping through the marked pages until they came upon an interesting passage. Liz started reading aloud to Max.
“They fell asleep together innocently. She did not betray the heat she felt between her legs as he lay near her. She actually slept. He remained awake sometimes, with the haunting sexual images of her naked body,” Liz finished the last lines with her glossy lips close to Max’s ear.
Max read to Liz from the next paragraph, smiling at the plight of the two lovers, “Once or twice in the middle of the night he awakened, and he drew his body close and breathlessly fondled her. Her body was limp and warm in sleep. He dared to lift her nightgown by the hem, to raise it high over her breasts and pass his hand over her body to feel the outline of it. She did not awaken. This gave him courage. He did nothing more than stroke her, softly feeling the curves of her body with care, every line of it, until he knew just where the skin grew softer, where the fullest flesh lay…
Liz picked up the reading, smiling at the result of the young man’s attentions, “What he did not know was that Martha was half awake and enjoying her caresses, but never moving for fear of frightening him,” Liz eyes flashed at Max, grateful that they were now completely open with each other, no longer keeping their feelings hidden from each other.
They skimmed through the book, reading about the adventures of the Mathilde, Lilith, Marianne, Elena and Bijou. They quickly passed over some of the more disturbing chapters.
“Well, we don’t have to wonder why we didn’t read this for AP English,” Liz remarked.
“I told you guys to stick to the chapters I marked,” Ashley jokingly chastised in a sing-song voice.
“Ok, I’ve got plenty here,” Nigel said as he raised up from the camera. “Liz, why don’t you practice a bit on the pole while Max makes an appointment for those extensions.”
Liz looked to the corner of the room where the pole had been temporarily installed. Ashley had covered the surrounding walls with dark cloth. After climbing out of the bed, Max walked over to the pole, studying it thoughtfully. His hand wrapped around the pole and Liz noticed a slight glow emanating from the place where Max was handling the pole.
She smiled at him with a silent smirk, lightly shaking her head, knowing that Max was using his alien powers to secure the temporary pole more strongly.
“Hey, I’ll fix it later. I don’t want to see this thing topple over with you on it, now do I?” Max asserted through their connection.
“Thank you, honey,” Liz replied sweetly, gratified at Max’s protectiveness.
“Why don’t you practice a bit, and I’ll go call for an appointment,” Max kissed Liz as he headed back to their hotel room.
“Liz, we’ll leave you to it, then. You don’t need to work up anything too fancy. Just make it sexy, love,” Nigel called as he headed out the door. “Don’t forget, I need you and Max back by 7:00 for that lap dance,” Nigel waggled his eyebrows at Liz, teasing her.
“Don’t hurt yourself on that thing,” Ashley grimaced as she jerked her head up toward that pole. Cam and I have some shopping to do for the rest of the week, but we’ll be back later for the lap dance,” Ashley turned to Cam and smiled widely.
“Oh, we wouldn’t miss that for the world,” Cam chimed in, laughing.
Liz shook her head laughing, “See you guys later,” Liz called out as she selected some U2 on the stereo for the routine she was planning.
Liz started with some simple spins from the beginner’s video she had watched the night before. She could easily put together a routine that would satisfy the requirements of the photo shoot, but Liz felt her confidence grow as she quickly mastered the beginning poses and turns. She had always been athletic and agile, but Liz found her strength and skill growing every day.
Ever since they were small, Max had always come to Liz’s rescue, even for the smallest injury or illness. Even before he realized what he was doing or who he was, Max was determined that Liz never suffer needlessly, so every childhood scrape, every bout with the flu, elicited Max’s healing power. Liz figured that by now, she could probably heal herself if given enough time, but she knew that healing her body or doing something as simple as drying her hair brought Max a great deal of satisfaction and pleasure, and she didn’t want to take that away from him.
Liz had also noticed that her powers had seemed to grow exponentially since they had made love a few days ago. They always had a very strong connection to each other, but even now, though several rooms away, she could see her exasperated boyfriend trying unsuccessfully to make the hair appointment required of him. She giggled slightly at his frustration as he turned his face in her direction and glared, knowing she was laughing at his aggravation.
“I’ll come help you in a few minutes, honey. Just relax,” Liz communicated to Max. She saw Max smile at her attentiveness as he sat back on the bed, tossing the small pile of business cards on the nightstand. He turned to TV on, killing time until she returned.
Liz turned her attention back to her task of practicing on the vertical pole. She climbed the pole, then inverted her body into a pencil position, upside down against the cold metal, her hands behind her back, grasping the pole. As she twisted round the pole, she spread her legs, performing a pencil split. After that she tried several of the other most difficult moves, the butterfly extension, the pole V, even the Superman move where she held her body aloft horizontally, supported only with the strength of a single hand.
Satisfied that she would be able to produce a routine worthy of the magazine layout, Liz headed back to their hotel room. No longer bothering with the key card, she found Max lying on the bed, napping. She crawled on top of him to kiss him awake.
“Hey, baby, ready to go get all shaggy?” Liz quipped.
Max awoke with a deep breath, surprised that he had fallen asleep. “Oh, hi, honey. Shaggy?” he questioned, then realized she meant the hair extensions.
“Actually, I haven’t been able to get an appointment. It seems that every stylist in Albuquerque is either booked up or not working today.”
Max picked up the envelope with several hundred dollar bills inside, grimacing at the thought that he failed at the task of procuring the hair extensions required for the rest of the shoot.
Liz studied the photo Ashley had given Max so the hairdresser could reproduce the style and length needed. Then she narrowed her eyes, appraising Max, raising her hands to his hair. Concentrating, Liz ran her fingers through the length of Max’s hair. As she focused on the image Ashley had provided, then back to Max, she coaxed his hair to lengthen, immediately growing out to a length that would have normally taken months. Growing confident, she even curled up the ends at the nape with her fingers. Her eyes alight with her developing powers, Liz passed her hands along Max’s jaw line, drawing out the stubble from under his skin.
Her eyes wide with amazement, Liz sat back on Max’s lap, facing him and biting her lip, smiling. She giggled at her accomplishment, hopping off Max excitedly, pulling him by the hand to their bathroom.
“Come on, come look!” Liz encouraged as Max rose to survey her handiwork.
“Wow, Liz! That’s incredible,” Max gazed in awe at the figure before him in the mirror. With the longer hair and scruff he looked more twenty-five than eighteen. It was then he understood why Ashley said he would play the “bad boy” for the remainder of the shoot.
He turned away from the mirror back to Liz who was still giddy over her success.
“Do you like it?” Liz questioned.
“Yeah, I just look so different,” Max seemed a bit shocked by these sudden changes. He took Liz’s hands in his own, and looked back to her eyes, concern over her rapidly developing powers written on his face.
Knowing exactly what Max was thinking, knowing that his concern for her safety was clouding his thoughts, Liz stopped him short, “Don’t,” she stated firmly with a raised eyebrow that soon melted into a loving smile. Fisting her hands through his hair, as he had so often done to her in the last week, she pulled him into a deep kiss, then in response to his worry for her, she smiled and whispered, “I wouldn’t change a thing.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“What are we going to do with the money Ashley gave us for extensions?” Max questioned, feeling a little guilt-ridden as the wind blew through his now-longer locks.
“Well, we can’t exactly give it back with you looking like you do,” Liz rationalized, “So, since I was your stylist today, maybe I could help pick what we spend it on,” Liz replied with a slightly smug smile.
“Ok, on what should we spend our little windfall?” Max countered.
Liz looked up, a mischievous expression crossing her features, “Silk sheets,” she smiled, her eyebrows waggling.
“I think that sounds like an excellent idea,” Max concurred.
After lunch at one of their favorite hole-in-the-wall Mexican restaurants, Max pulled the jeep into the mall parking lot, and he and Liz headed inside. Taking the escalator to the upper level, they walked past the central courtyard where there was a fashion show in progress. A tall blonde model in a bikini had just headed back behind the curtain, cheered by an enthusiastic whooping from the audience. A brunette in a one-piece suit and sarong followed, the announcer’s voice describing the outfit to the audience.
“Ah--right where we got our start all those years ago,” Liz smiled up at Max, playfully wistful.
“True,” Max commented as they continued along the upper walkway. “At least we’ll be able to pay for Harvard, this way,” Max replied, aware that modeling was not their career aspiration, but did serve as a means to an end.
“It has been particularly fun this week,” Liz smiled, snuggling up to Max’s side.
“Yes, I must say, I have never enjoyed a job as much as I have this one,” Max kissed the side of her head as they began their search for the perfect sheets.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“Isabel, you did a remarkable job. Thank you for taking the work on such short notice,” Janelle commented. “The mall called me just this morning since four of the models they had booked came down with some strange case of the hives,” Janelle shook her head. “But, anyway, here is your check and don’t forget you have that catalog shoot at the end of the month.”
“I remember, Janelle,” Isabel replied, Janelle knowing that reminding Isabel of anything was really unnecessary. “And, thanks,” Izzy noted, holding the check aloft, smiling at Alex who had stepped backstage from his chair in the front row.
“What are you going to spend today’s earnings on, my dear?” Alex queried.
“A comforter and sheets for my—dorm room,” Izzy said with a bit of a sneer, disappointed that she couldn’t rent an apartment freshman year at UNM. “At least I talked Dad into letting me get a single,” Izzy conceded.
“Mmm, that way I can sneak in whenever I want and won’t have to dodge some hideous roommate,” Alex wagged his eyebrows.
Janelle shook her head and smiled at Alex’s obvious intentions.
“You two have fun shopping,” Janelle suggested as she checked her Blackberry. “Oh, I guess I get to see all the Evans’ clan today. I’m going to your brother’s photo shoot this evening,” she off-handedly commented as she put the Blackberry back in her purse.
“Oh, yeah, where is the shoot going to be? We could drop by and see them on our way out of town,” Alex offered.
Recalling tonight was Max’s lap dance shoot, Janelle nervously covered as she hurriedly gathered her things, “You know, I’m not really sure if that shoot is tonight, or if they’re going to wait until tomorrow morning. I think it’s on location somewhere. I’m not really sure—gotta’ go,” Janelle blushed at her fib and quickly made her way out of the mall. “You two have a good time and be careful getting back to Roswell,” Janelle shouted over her shoulder as she sped away.
Izzy and Alex looked at each other quizzically.
“Anyway, what else do we need to do while we’re here?” Alex questioned.
“We already went by campus and paid the deposit on our rooms, so maybe a little shopping and something to eat?” Izzy thought.
“Sounds like a plan, honey,” Alex kissed Isabel. “Let’s go find you some sheets.”
Alex and Izzy walked toward the upper level entrance of Dillard’s department store and headed toward the bedding department.
“What do you think, Alex, silk?” Izzy questioned staring at the choices before her.
“Sweetheart, I don’t think they make silk sheets for dorm beds,” Alex commented dejectedly as he flipped through the silk sheet sets, not finding any for singles.
“I was afraid of that. Ugh, I can’t stand the fact that Dad won’t let me get an apartment this year. He thinks I’ll be safer in a dorm my freshman year,” Izzy commented sardonically. “I could just zap anyone who gives me trouble, but does he consider that? No, he doesn’t,” Izzy pouted.
“At least I’ll only be a couple of floors away,” Alex tried to cheer his girlfriend. “You know, if it weren’t for that ‘F’ in gym my freshman year, I might be going to Harvard with Max and Liz,” Alex’s eyes narrowed, seeking revenge for the injustice he suffered at fourteen. “If it weren’t for Kyle and Sean, I might have been willing to step foot in the locker room and actually attend class,” Alex heaved a heavy, theatrical sigh.
“Aww, honey, you want me to blast ‘em for you?” Izzy mockingly soothed, running her hand repeatedly down the back of Alex’s head.
“No, that’s ok. I’ll get over it, someday,” Alex looked up with those sad puppy-dog eyes that always brought a smile to Izzy’s face.
“Come on,” Izzy laughed and shook her head, leading Alex back further into the department.
~~~~~~~~~~~
“Let’s try one more store,” Liz begged, batting her long eyelashes at her boyfriend.
“Anything for you, honey,” Max laughed as Liz led him into the bedding department of Dillard’s.
“Hey, what size should we get? We haven’t even talked about what kind of bed we’re going to buy when we get to Cambridge,” Liz questioned, chewing her bottom lip as she flipped through the choices of sheets.
“Well, the king has been fun this week,” Max mused, “But, it would probably take up the entire bedroom. Maybe a queen?” Max recommended, glancing at Liz as she looked through the sheet sets.
“Mm-k,” Liz agreed as she considered the options. “Black, silver, red, so many choices… Ooh, come here, Max, they have a display bed with the matching black comforter.”
Max followed Liz to the next aisle over, checking out the silky bed coverings.
“Silk sheets, every night…” Liz grinned as she planned their new bedroom.
“It’ll be a wonder if we get any studying done at all,” Max growled as he bent down to kiss Liz’s neck.
“Liz?”
Max and Liz froze at the sound of a familiar voice calling from across the department.
“Where, did you say you they were, Alex? In the silk sheets?” Izzy questioned incredulously as she drew nearer.
Max threw Liz down on the display bed, hungrily kissing her, fisting his hands through her hair, turning it from straight and brown to a wavy cherry red. From the back, Max was practically unrecognizable due to his much longer-than-normal hairstyle.
As Alex and Izzy walked up to the display bed, they were taken aback at this very public display of affection.
“Never mind, I guess I only thought that I heard them. My mistake,” Alex looked in disbelief at the writhing couple whose faces were hidden from view.
“Those two should get a room,” Izzy commented as she and Alex made their way out of the department store, toting the sheets and comforters for their single beds at UNM.
Max and Liz came up for air once they were certain Alex and Izzy had left. Smiling, Max stroked her hair, changing it back to its normal style and color.
“I’ve come to a decision,” Max said profoundly, pulling up slightly to look at Liz.
“What?” Liz’s eyes went wide, wondering what life-altering plan Max had concocted.
Max smiled playfully and laughed, looking down at Liz, surrounded by the soft silk, “We should get the black ones.”
