It was around nine when Liz was just drifting off and was awoken by the bloody phone. It couldn’t have rung in the half an hour she was awake, could it?
“Hello?” she asked tiredly.
“Guess what I got today?”
Liz nearly died. “Max?”
“Yes,” he said. “Now you have to guess.”
She rubbed her eyes and then sat up, tucking her legs into her chest. “I have no idea.”
“You sound tired, I didn’t wake you did I? It’s only nine and I didn’t think—”
Liz, absolutely mortified, said, “no, no, of course not. I was just thinking about maybe going out.”
“Oh that’s good. Anyway,” he explained, “what has four wheels and goes brum brum?”
Liz laughed. “You got the car, that’s great. I’m so happy for you.”
“Thank you.” He paused for the shortest second and then said, “Come for a ride with me?”
“What? When?” Liz wanted to get up and dance around her room with happiness. When they hung up that’s exactly what she did, too.
“Right now,” he cried. “When else. I’ll be there in two minutes.”
The solid beep, beep, beep came next, signalling he was gone. She would not allow him to find her in her pyjamas so she quickly pulled on some pants and her cleanest black sweater—she really needed to do her laundry—and was just pulling on some boots when there was a knock on the door.
After pulling it open she said, “That was very quick.”
“I know and that’s only one of the perks my very cool new car has,” he grinned. “I know you’re impressed so I’m not going to ask and I know this because how could you not be?”
“You’re absolutely right,” Liz teased. “Where are we going?”
“I don’t know,” he said. “You see I got here so lightening fast I didn’t have time to even think.”
“Wow.”
“I know.”
Liz locked the door behind her and then walked around his fancy new company car in a few large strides. She knew it was an Audi, an older model, but she didn’t know much about cars so she just shrugged and smiled. It was black, her favourite car colour. “We could always drive to Poland and back.”
“Alright.” He held the passenger door open for her and she slithered inside, sinking back into the cushioned seats.
“This is nice,” she said.
He put the keys in the ignition and started it up. “Isn’t it though?” After he’d backed up onto the road he asked, “Well, where to?”
She said, “I thought we’d agreed on Poland?” and then smiled.
He glanced at her and laughed. “And what we do once we got there?” They ended up going to the beach and sitting on the sand for a while. Liz pulled her thighs up to her chest so she wouldn’t be cold—the air was very bitter.
They talked about how beautiful the sky was briefly and then Max asked if she would please tell him more about when her mother had died. She looked at him with disbelief, “What is your intention to make my depressed or even cry every time I see you?”
Max shook his head. “I’m sorry—I just feel like if I don’t try to get it out of you, who else will?”
Liz asked if he felt an obligation to look after her because he was a nice guy. She didn’t want the reason he was spending time with her to be because of that. He answered no and then told her that nothing to do with her was an obligation, he was just worried because he could see it in her eyes that she was sad. “That’s one thing that’s the same about you. Your eyes are like glass; your feelings are so obvious through them.”
Liz didn’t know if she was happy about that. He swallowed and then said, “It was very clear that there was more to you then you were letting on.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about, I’ve never been hiding anything,” Liz said.
“You’ve changed now haven’t you? I suppose you weren’t hiding this part of your personality then?” Neither of them wanted to be talking about this anymore. Max apologized for being so nosey.
Liz said it was okay and then went on to explain herself, “Max, when my mother died the reason I started drinking was because I realized I was exactly like her. I don’t want to tell you this because I’m not proud of it but I was a…tart. I was looking for all the wrong things, like a ticket out of here for one.” She paused and bit her lip. “The alcohol masked my fear that I’d never be able to change.”
Max was silent.
“You’re right, I was sad but I didn’t realize it at the time.” She stared off into the waves. “Do you know what it’s like to hate everything about yourself? It sends you to this insanely depressing state of mind that you can’t even imagine.”
Max could see that she had tears in her eyes. “Liz…” he mumbled.
“Hmm,” she cut him off. “I’m fine. I don’t feel so much like that anymore.”
He was studying her face. “You sound like you hated your mother a lot.”
“No I didn’t hate her,” she explained. “We hadn’t been so close once she moved me here—you see she’d been looking for a ticket too—out of the states. Anyway, I loved her but I hated everything she stood for and what little she’d accomplished. She’d died dissatisfied; I didn’t want to be like that.”
“You feel satisfied with your life right now? You finally saw that you didn’t have to live in the big cities to be happy?” Max asked.
“Something like that, yeah. And that there was more to life then the things I had thought were important.” She sniffled. “Can we stop talking about this now? Will you stop pestering me?”
He chuckled. “Do you feel better about getting it off your chest?”
She half laughed, half cried. “No.”
“Then, no, I won’t stop pestering you. And come here…don’t cry…” he wrapped his arms around her easily and gave her a soothing hug. She wrapped her arms around him too and rested her head on his shoulder. They both closed their eyes and reeled at how wonderful it felt to be holding each other. Liz had forgotten how nice it was to be touched. “Do you have a lot of trouble now, restraining yourself from…?”
“From drinking?” Liz didn’t let go of him or move away and he didn’t either. “Sometimes, sometimes I miss that senselessness.” She could feel him stroking her hair and buried her face deeper in his neck. “Max you seem to have such a light-hearted existence.”
“What makes you think that?” he asked, his breath on her neck. If he wanted to, he could press his mouth to her skin but he didn’t. “I just don’t dwell on things; I’m one of those people who like to move on to the next thing quickly.”
Liz inhaled deeply and in doing so got a large whiff of him up her nostrils. She nearly fainted. “I try to be like that.”
“Just be who you are Liz.”
They were silent for a long time, just holding each other in a tight embrace. It was Liz who finally let go; she couldn’t take the intensity of her feelings any longer. With a huff, she fell down onto her back, onto the sand. He followed suit, stretching out beside her and staring up at the sky. “Don’t you just hate the ocean?” she said.
“What?” he was surprised. “No, do you?”
“It’s horribly unsafe,” she explained. “But I admit that I love walking here in winter when all the tourists have gone.”
“I like picking mushrooms in the woods behind my house,” he said. “Sometimes Nicola comes with me.”
Liz smiled and rolled her head to the side so she could see him. “That’s nice. How often do you do that?”
“When it’s warmer.” They glanced at each other. “Do you want to go get dessert somewhere?”
“Now?” she asked. It was a few minutes away from ten.
“Yes now,” he got up and held his hand out for her. “I’ll buy you something delicious.”
They went to a small restaurant and had crêpes aux fraises and glace au café. Max told her some memories from Paris and told her all his favourite places. “There’s this theatre called Odéon-Théâtre de l’Europe, it’s really old and got red carpet staircases and so on, I went there a couple of times and Le Grand Rex, surely you’ve been there—it’s a movie theatre.”
Liz with her head on her hand would just smile. “I haven’t been there no.”
“God, how is that possible?” he asked. “My mother used to take us all on trips to Paris when we were younger. Sometimes she still goes with my sisters; they’d visit me when I was at school.”
“That’s nice.” Liz said. “And I know it’s crazy but I have been in Paris only for a few hours a couple of times, oh and when I waited for the train to bring me here. Those few hours were spent at the air port.”
Max put down his spoon and stared at her in disbelief. “You have lived in France for nine years!”
“I’ve had chances to go,” Liz shrugged. “Just…haven’t looked around properly before.”
“I will take you,” he said and picked up his spoon once more. “Sometime, you must go.”
“Okay, okay!” she laughed. “I will go.” Then after a long pause she added, “I think I’m full, I have eaten far too much.”
“No, you haven’t. Not nearly.” He smiled. “No wonder you’re so little. Do you want coffee?”
“No, thank you Max.”
They hung around until after eleven and then Max drove her home down the quiet streets. “Thank you for tonight,” Liz said as they pulled up.
“Liz, it was my pleasure,” he told her. “Anytime.”
She opened the door and then paused for a second before hopping out. “I had a really great time,” she said and then leaned across to give him a soft kiss on the corner of his mouth. She considered kissing him properly but at the last second pulled away. “See you later. Drive safe now.”
“I will,” he smiled.
She watched him drive away and then went into her house with her hand on her heart.
~*~
Late the next day, Max was helping his mom with dinner and she asked him where he had gone last night. He shrugged and replied, “Just around about, no where much.” He didn’t feel like going over the whole situation with Liz. That was between him and her and no one else. He wanted it to stay that way atleast for now.
His mom knew better then to prod so she just nodded and smiled. Though, eventually she said, “I saw Marie when I was shopping.”
“Yeah? That’s nice.” He knew what was coming.
“I just don’t understand why it didn’t work between you two.”
Max opened the cupboards and pulled out some plates to set the table. “It just didn’t okay?” he grumbled.
“Well is there anyone else you have in your sights?” Adèle followed him into the dinning room and told Nicola to take her pens and pencils off the table so they could set it.
“No,” Max lied. He didn’t know why she didn’t just come out and ask him about Liz, he knew she wanted to. It was clearly the only thing on her mind. “I’m going to London. There is no point in starting something now.”
“Yes, well, I suppose you’re right. It’s probably smart not the get involved.”
Max was no longer willing to discuss it any further. “Nicola, what’s that drawing off?”
She held it up. “It’s of your car, silly. Look there’s me and Isabelle in the windows.”
“Great. So you really like my car? I really like it too,” Max patted her curly hair. “You need a hair cut. Want to go for another drive after dinner?”
“No, not tonight,” Adèle intervened.
Nicola groaned. “Damn.”
While Max finished setting the table he thought about saying goodbye to Liz last night. He would have kissed her, but something had held him back. Maybe it was because they were both still hanging on to the pretence that they were just friends, even if they both knew better. He wanted her, God did he ever, he was like a moth to a flame with it came to her. Although, he was holding back for some reason and he couldn’t figure out why exactly. He guessed it could have had something to do with his leaving and maybe even because he was thinking of Marie’s feelings.
If he never got to have anything more with her then just seeing her daily would be enough for him. As long as he could lie his eyes on her for a few wonderful moments.
~*~
“Marie would you or would you not care if Max and I got together?” Liz finally asked.
Marie looked up at her, surprised. “Why? Were you thinking about it?”
“No, just curious,” Liz shrugged and looked away so she couldn’t see her eyes.
“You are!” Marie exclaimed. “Oh my God, you love him don’t you? I can see it in your face, you’re been smiling and skipping all day. You want him so bad.”
“Marie, no I don’t.” Liz’s face was red. “It was just a question, and is a person not allowed to be happy simply with life?”
“No,” Marie answered matter-of-factly. She wouldn’t tell Liz that something inside of her started to ache painfully when she realized it was finally going to happen, Max and Liz were going to get together.
Liz spoke, “You’re insane. It’s perfectly normal to be content with life.”
“Yes, but not as much as you are today,” Marie said. She didn’t answer Liz’s question, she didn’t know how she felt. To tell the truth she felt a little sickened by the idea.
Liz thought to herself, I’m not am I? I’m not in love, surely? “I think you should forget I ever asked.”
“Okay.”
~*~
There you go, hope you liked it.
Thanks Sarah for the bumps (in all my stories!!! I don't deserve your attention, you're too sweet) And of course, WELCOME BACK Zans Desire. Miss you heaps! 
Nicola