:LairaBehr4 - Thanks
.jbangelo - Thanks
. I know: shopping for bridesmaids dresses with Isabel and Maria - not a fun thought 
!Tamashii -Thanks
. I know, how on earth is Liz gonna find something they both like?!!maxnlizforever - I know, the dress shopping part could be fatal
. Liz's eating...um, nothing much is going on there, to be honest. She's only just recovered from the flu and I know from experience that it takes a couple of weeks to get back to normal (and that was just a cold - which I think I had when I wrote the part).clueless - Thanks
.Leigh - Liz is malnourished and excerising too much? Since when?!
Sorry, I just think you're reading a little too much into things here. Liz just hasn't gotten her appetite back yet after the flu, which she got over a few days ago - nothing deliberate, it's just that she's not as hungry as normal. Also, she said that Jack forced her to go to the gym with him - it's probably the only time she's actually been all year, hence the sore muscles and lightheadedness: she's out of practice! Also, as far as Liz is aware, there are no problems with her relationship. I was trying to go for some realism - Max is just a guy, therefore, Liz's guess that he was out drinking with his friends was probably not far off 
. dreamsatnight - Thanks
. I'm glad you're back - it's been a while .***
Part Fourteen
Max
Saturday February 18th 2006
“Hey, man,” greets John unenthusiastically from my doorway. I look up as he enters the room and flops down onto my bed.
“Hey,” I reply somewhat distractedly, as I rummage through a drawer full of clothes, searching for something suitable to wear this evening.
“So, what the hell am I supposed to be wearing tonight?” he questions, staring at the ceiling. “You know, I don’t really do ‘black tie.”
“I’m right there with you, man,” I tell him. “I hate all this formal stuff. You think I can go in a shirt and tie instead of a tux?”
“That’s what I’m doin’,” he mutters. “I don’t have anything else.”
Okay, well, that settles it then. Casual shirt and tie it is then (and maybe a jacket too).
“So, what’s this Sandra chick like then?” questions John a moment later.
Before I answer that, I think I’d better fill you in on what John is talking about. See, there’s this fundraising dinner for the children’s hospital on tonight, and Alex has asked (well, practically begged) me to be her ‘date’ for it. However, when she’d finally gotten me to agree, she also managed to rope John into accompanying her friend Sandra to the dinner as well (apparently, it’s a ‘couples only’ thing – kinda stupid, if you ask me).
“Well, I’ve only met her a couple of times, but she seemed alright,” I say with a shrug. “If you’re interested, she’s petite with dark blonde hair and seems pretty outgoing,” I add, already knowing that Sandra is exactly John’s type.
“Really?” he enquires with a grin, as he quickly sits up. “Maybe this thing won’t be so bad after all. You know, I think I might go see what I can rustle up for an outfit.”
I shake my head and chuckle as he practically jumps off the bed and disappears into the hallway towards his own room. With a sigh, I return to searching for the blue tie that I know is around somewhere. I eventually find it balled up inside some black shoes; the ones I’ll be wearing to the dinner, in fact (God knows why it was there, though). After I’ve laid the tie safely on the bed, I pull a grey shirt a pair of black dress pants out of my closet and place them on the bed too. Once I’m satisfied that I have everything I need, I start getting changed for the evening.
I’m just shrugging on a jacket when my cell phone goes off and a quick glance at the caller ID tells me that it’s Alex.
“’Lo?” I greet a little distractedly, as I straighten my tie.
“Hey, it’s Alex,” she chirps. I roll my eyes…like I didn’t already know that.
“Hey, what’s up?”
“Just calling to check you guys were ready,” she says. “You’re supposed to be picking us up in ten.”
“Yeah, yeah, we’re almost ready. We’ll leave the apartment in a couple of minutes,” I tell her, as I take a quick glance at the clock. She’s right, it six-fifty pm and we’re supposed to be at Alex’s at seven – I really hope John is ready to go, because I haven’t actually seen him since he left my room earlier.
“Okay, great,” she replies. “See you soon, then.”
“Okay, bye,” I say, before hanging up.
I take one last look in the mirror, making sure that my shirt is tucked in and my jacket looks alright, before heading towards John’s room and knocking on his door.
“Hey, man, you ready to go?”
“Yeah,” comes his voice, muffled through the door. “I’ll be right out.”
Six minutes later, we’re both seated in the jeep and on our way to pick up Sandra and Alex.
***
It seems that both girls have gone all out for the evening. They appeared from Alex’s apartment in long dresses, high heels and fitted coats (it’s still pretty cold here in New Mexico at night). I didn’t think much of it, however, until we arrived at the conference room where the dinner is being held and they checked their coats into the cloakroom. Both John and I were left open-mouthed as two smooth bare backs were revealed to our eyes. Only the deep-purple coloured criss-cross straps of Alex’s gown marred her otherwise flawless skin, whilst Sandra’s red dress was completely backless, therefore giving John a complete eyeful… and making him all the more interested in her.
The evening gets off to a fairly good start. We find our seats at one of the elaborately decorated circular tables in the conference room as Alex strikes up casual small talk between the four of us. With partly forced smiles, we have to endure the incredibly long-winded, but I guess necessary welcome speeches given by the founders and governors of the hospital, before being able to tuck into the meal. However, as we eat, I find myself becoming more than slightly distracted by the girls in their leave-nothing-to-the-imagination, figure-hugging dresses. However, every time I find my eyes wandering in either of their directions, I immediately feel guilty and look away. God, what kind of fiancé am I being to Liz if I’m sitting here ogling other women?!
Okay, so subconsciously I know it’s just a natural male reaction and is probably no different from finding movie stars attractive, but I still feel guilty about it, so I shake my head quickly and concentrate on the food on my plate instead. In fact, I become so focused on the meal, that I barely notice when the girls excuse themselves to visit the ladies room and only snap out of it when I hear a low, appreciative whistle come from John’s lips a few minutes later.
“Oh my God,” he breathes. “Will you look at her?”
I look up, slightly confused, and follow his gaze. Sandra is walking towards us, with Alex following just behind. I begin to roll my eyes at John’s reaction to Sandra, until she moves to the left slightly and I get a full view of Alex walking towards me gracefully. My breath catches in my throat and I feel my heartbeat speed up slightly at the sight of her. Geez, when did she get so beautiful? Has she always looked like that?
I find myself mesmerised by her… from her shiny blonde hair, falling around her face in soft curls, to her sparkling blue eyes and full red lips. Her purple dress hugs all the right curves, accentuating her ample breasts and small waist. Oh God. I swallow, feeling a telltale tightening in my groin. She smiles at me and I quickly shut my eyes when I realise what I’m doing. A wave of shame and guilt washes over me as Liz’s face pops into my mind. Shit, what am I doing? I’m not attracted to Alex; I never have been, so why am I feeling these things tonight?
I open my eyes and stare down at the plate in front of me, careful not to make eye contact with Alex as she sits down at the table again. When I’ve calmed myself down and finally find pluck up the courage to look up again, I find Alex watching me curiously. However, she quickly becomes involved in a conversation with Sandra, and I take the opportunity to chat to John about something other than dinner and the children’s hospital. Within a few minutes, everything seems to return to normal and the previous friendly atmosphere has returned to the table.
By the end of dinner, I come to the conclusion that my strange reaction to Alex earlier was due to the fact that she is all dressed up tonight and it was just a natural reaction to seeing a beautiful woman in a skimpy dress. Well, that and the fact that I haven’t had sex in over a month and pretty much anything will set me off right now.
After the meal has been cleared away and the band begins to play, John gives Sandra a grin and asks her to dance, leaving Alex and I still sitting at the table.
“So,” I say. “This has been a good evening so far.”
“Yeah, it has,” she smiles. “It looks like John and Sandra are getting on well.”
I glance over at them, laughing together as they attempt to dance with each other.
“Yeah, they are,” I agree.
“So, you wanna go join them on the dance floor?” she invites, holding out her hand.
“Uh, sure,” I say, figuring that I’d better get some dance practice in before the wedding.
We walk over to the dance area and assume a ballroom dance-like stance (because apparently ballroom music is the only thing the band can play) – I slide one hand around Alex’s waist, whilst she slips her right hand in my left and rests her left hand on my shoulder. After a few stiff, fumbling steps, we finally begin to get the hang of the rhythm. I relax slightly and allow myself to get into the rhythm.
The four of us remain on the dance floor for most of the evening, occasionally swapping partners so that I dance a couple of song with Sandra and John leads Alex around the floor, but for the most part, Alex and I dance together. At the end of the night, we drop the girls at Alex’s place; thank them for inviting us, and head back to our own apartment.
“What was up with you tonight?” demands John, cornering me pretty much the second we get in the door.
“What are you talking about?” I feign innocence, although my heart is thumping in my chest.
“You know what,” he states firmly. “I’m talking about Alex. You and Alex.”
“I’ve told you this before, Alex and I are friends. Just friends and nothing more,” I say, knowing full well that whatever it was that I felt towards Alex tonight was more than just friendship.
He shakes his head in disbelief.
“I don’t believe this, Max,” he snorts. “It’s like you can’t even see what’s going on right in front of your nose.”
“I said nothing’s going on, so what exactly are you seeing here?”
“Come on, man; don’t try to deny it. I saw the way you were looking at her tonight – you wanted to get in her pants.”
I let out a breath, already knowing that I’ve lost this argument. He’s right; I can’t deny what I felt earlier.
“Okay, so maybe I found Alex attractive tonight and maybe, for a brief moment, I thought about her being something more than just a friend; but my heart is with Liz, and I’m not planning on jeopardising our entire relationship just because I experienced a fleeting attraction for another girl,” I tell him firmly.
“If you say so, Max,” shrugs John.
“I mean it,” I assure him forcefully.
Before he can say anything else, my cell phone goes off and effectively puts an end to our somewhat heated discussion.
“Hey, you,” I murmur into the mouthpiece, my eyes still on my roommate. “It’s after midnight. What are you doing calling this late?”
“Hey, Max,” comes Liz’s soft voice from the other end. “I have exciting news and I couldn’t wait to share it!”
“Really, what news?” I smile at her chirpy tone as I make my way out of the living room, all the while conscious of John’s gaze on my back.
“We went shopping today and I picked out my wedding dress!” she exclaims.
“Really? What’s it like?” I enquire, intrigued.
“Duh, I can’t tell you,” she says, and I can just picture her rolling her eyes on the other end. “You’re not allowed to see it until the wedding.”
“I know that,” I retort with a grin.
She laughs and proceeds to describe the rest of her day. As she talks, sounding so happy and excited, I get this awful feeling of dread in my stomach. I close my eyes and shake my head slowly as the memories of the evening come flooding back. I feel like the worst person in the world right now. How could I have even entertained the idea of being with Alex, when I have such a gorgeous, wonderful woman, whom I’ll be marrying in just a few months time?
I’m scum; complete and utter scum.
TBC…
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