Roswell Fanatics

Title: The Double Date
Author: LttleMrmade
Rating: MATURE
Category: Mostly Max/Liz, Some Michael/Maria
Summary: Sequel to “The First Date” which is on the Repost Board. What happens when Max and Liz double date with their two best friends?
Disclaimer: The author of this fan fiction does not own any aspect of Roswell. Those rights belong to Melinda Metz, Jason Katims, WB, UPN, 20th Century Fox, etc. Disclaimer added by moderator.

Link to THE FIRST DATE


Chapter One

“Liz! Oh my God! There you are!” Maria tried sliding to a halt in front of me. The problem is that we are standing on tile and her shoes have no traction. So what she actually does is slide right past me. She scrambles to get her footing and rushes back towards me. “Where have you been? I’ve been looking all over for you!” Maria looks like she has been looking all over for me. She is out of breath, panting really, her clothes are a mess and her hair is completely coming out of its clip.

“So what did he say?”

“Maria, I haven’t seen him yet. I just arrived like 5 minutes ago.”

“Liiiiz” Maria whines, “ I HAVE to know if this is going to happen.”

“Maria, I know. Just let me get through today, ok? I’m so nervous! Don’t you know what today is?”

“It’s Friday?”

“Yes! It’s Friday. It’s Friday day and on Friday night I have to go over to Max’s house for dinner and meet his parents. Ahhhh!”

“Oh yeah. Hey, it will be ok. They will love you just like Max does.”

“Maria. Have you seen what a klutz I am? Have you not grown up with me and known me all your life? I will probably dump mash potatoes all over Max’s lap.”

“Ooooh. Kinky!” Maria says. I roll my eyes and huff. “Liz, think about it. You have been this klutzy in front of Max and he still wants to be with you. Have you forgotten your first date?”

I groan. Maria loves to bring up my first date with Max. After I told her about it, I think she laughed for a week. She still wants the “Some Kind of Wonderful” kiss too but the fact that I was involved in it while falling through the front door at my father’s feet she will never let me live down.

“Ok, Maria. I’ll ask Max. I just haven’t seen him yet. I’ll ask him as soon as I find him.”

“Yeah right. You guys will just play kissy face while I DIE wondering!”

“Maria! If I play kissy face with my boyfriend that’s my business. We don’t play kissy face ALL the time. It’s not like I am going to attack him and play kissy face with him as soon as he get h…….”

“Bummer. You’re not?” I hear from behind me. I turn around slowly and there is Max. Of course.

“Hey Max.”

“Hi beautiful.” I sigh. Max does that to me. He leans down to give me my good morning kiss.

Maria pulls us apart. “Hey! I told you that you would play kissy face as soon as he got here! No fair! Good morning Prince Charming. Well, I can’t stay. I have to get to my class and finish up the homework from yesterday” Maria starts to back away. “Oh and Liz has something important she needs to ask you, Max. Don’t you Liz?” Maria states while she holds my gaze. She then turns around and leaves. Thanks Maria!

“Ask me what?”

“Well, umm, I know we haven’t been going out that long.”

“Yeah, about a month.”

“Yeah, 27 days, 8 hours,” I say while staring off into space. All of a sudden I realize what I’ve just said. “Umm, not that I’m….counting….or anything.” I look up at Max and he is smiling. Of course, I am blushing now.

“I think it’s more like 27 days, 7 and a half hours.” Oh. My. God. Could this guy be any cuter?

I smile. “Ok. So we’ve only been dating for 27 days, 7 and a half hours and I was wondering…well, actually, Maria was wondering….ummm….”

“Liz, it’s ok. You can ask me anything.”

“Ok. Well, Maria thinks that Michael is kind of cute and well,….we were wondering if maybe we could all double date sometime.” Max looks shocked.

“Maria thinks Michael is cute?” He sputters. “Michael? My friend Michael? The rude one with spiky hair? THAT Michael?”

“Ummm, well, yeah. Why? Will that be a problem?”

“I don’t know. He really doesn’t like people he doesn’t know….” He says while knitting his brows.

“Well, that’s the point of a date, isn’t it? To get to know people?” I know I’m pushing but this is Maria we are talking about. If I don’t do everything in my power to make this happen I will have to deal with her. Between pushing Max or reporting bad news to Maria, I choose pushing Max. It’s better for my health.

“Yeah, I guess. I can ask him and see what he says. “

“That would be great! Thank you, thank you, thank you! Maria has been bugging me to ask you. I didn’t know how much more of her whining I could take!”

“Yeah, I could see that. So, this is kind of like a favor for you, right?” Max says with his fingers rubbing his chin.

“Yeah….why?” I ask suspiciously.

“Well,” he crosses his arms over his chest, “what are you going to do for me?”

My jaw drops. Are you kidding. ANYTHING! Doesn’t he know by now that I would do anything for him? You name it! Jump off a bridge. Dye my hair green. Dance naked on a table at the Crashdown during the dinner rush on a Friday night. Well, ok, maybe not anything.

“Liz?”

“Umm, well, what do you want?” I ask looking at him with confusion written all over my face.

“Well, this is kind of a big favor. You don’t know Michael. I might need an extra boost of confidence to talk to him.”

“A boost of confidence?” Ok. So now I am really confused. What would boost his confidence?

“Ok. Well, you look really nice today….” I say with a perplexed look on my face.

“Liz. That’s not the kind of boost I was looking for.” He says huskily.

A-HA! Now I get it! He is looking for some chalking action! What guy wouldn’t be? Sometimes they are too easy to figure out!

“I wasn’t finished yet Max,” Now I cross my arms in front of my chest. “As I was saying…you look nice today.” I say as my eyes wander slowly down his body and then back up again. “You have a great, ummm…. mind?…you’re really smart.”

Max sighs. He is now looking at the ground with his shoulders drooping. This is fun.

“You are very loyal to your friends. You are also a very honest person.” He’s looking even more depressed now. “But the best thing about you” I lean closer to his ear while holding onto his shoulders to whisper this last part, “has to be your lips.”

Max looks up shocked.

“They are what turn me on the most.”

“Liz…” he groans.

“When they touch mine, my heart races and my toes curl.” Max’s amber eyes have darkened and his head has turned toward mine.

”Is that a good enough confidence boost for you Max?” I say as I back away and then skip down the hall. Unfortunately, there was a freshman blocking my path so right as I turn around, I skip right into her. So much for making a graceful retreat. The poor girl didn’t see it coming. Her books go all over the floor. I try to help her up and Max comes over to help as well, laughing of course. All the while I am apologizing profusely. She stutters and heads off to her class. I think she was embarrassed. How often do you get bowled over be a senior and then helped up by the hottest guy in school? As soon as the freshman leaves, Max takes my hand and pulls me down the hall.

”Max! My first class is that way,” I say pointing behind me.

“But Liz. The Eraser Room is this way”. I stop. The Eraser Room? THE ERASER ROOM??? The ‘Make-out Room’ of West Roswell High? We’ve never been to the Eraser Room. I’ve heard of the Eraser Room. I’ve dreamed of being in the Eraser Room. With Max of course. But I’ve never been to the Eraser Room.

Max stops also. He must have seen my stunned expression. “I’m sorry Liz. We don’t have to go there if you don’t want to. I just thought it was private…. and…. well… I wasn’t going to do more than kiss you…and…”

Now it’s my turn to drag Max. I am running now. Running as fast as I can.
Max is yelling behind me “Are you sure you want to do this?”

“HELL YES!!” I scream. Now I have the attention of every single person in the halls. I glare at them and Max laughs as we slow down and walk quickly the rest of the way.

Once there, Max looks around and opens the door. He pulls me inside and immediately shuts the door and pins me to it. I sigh. This is where I always long to be. In Max’s arms. They were made for me. Of course, that’s just my assessment of them. I am still trying to figure out a way to get them surgical attached to me without him knowing. He swoops down and takes my lips with his. My God this guy can kiss. Just the first touch is amazing! We know we don’t have much time so we are taking advantage of every moment.

”Liz,” he says between kisses “did you bring your books for first class?”

I break away, ”What? Yeah, they are in my bag.” I say as my mouth makes my way down his neck.

“Good. I don’t want to lose time going back to your locker.” He says as his mouth moves to my ear. There are some wonderful things a mouth can do to one’s ears.

I take his face in between my hands with my palms on his cheeks, “Max, stop talking.” I say as I look into his eyes.

“Ok.” He brings his lips crashing down on mine. We are devouring each other. My hands are rubbing up and down his back and clutching at his shirt. My hands have managed to pull his shirt up a little bit and expose his skin right above his jeans (hmmm, how did that happen?). His skin is hot and he gasps at he feels my hands on his bare back.

“Liz…” he groans.

This is the first time we have touched skin to skin besides our hands. Max has been nothing but a gentleman with me and frankly, it’s getting pretty frustrating. A girl needs a confidence boost too.

“Max, please…” I moan.

As my hand caresses his back under his shirt, his hand cautiously makes its way to my stomach and rests there for a moment. “Liz…just tell me when..you…want me…to stop..” he says between kisses. His other hand has cupped my cheek while his lips are still devouring mine. I feel his hand slowly move upwards dragging the hem of my shirt with it. Each new piece of skin that he bares gets a brush of his hand. I swear to God, if I faint now I will be so disappointed in myself. We are still kissing passionately while his hand inches it’s way upwards. Right as his hand is just below my breast the warning bell goes off for first period. We break off the kiss and I start to bang my head backwards against the door. Damn, damn, damn! Max and I are both panting, trying to catch our breaths.

“I guess we should go, huh?” Max asks with his forehead leaning against the door.

“Yeah, I guess so.” He hasn’t removed his hand yet and this makes it hard for me to catch my breath. He slowly slides his hand back down my stomach and rests it on my hip.

Max lifts his head from the door. “Liz…I didn’t mean to let this…. get out of hand…..”

“Max. Don’t. I wanted this to get out of hand. I asked you, remember?”

“Yeah.” He breathes.

“Just promise me one thing.”

“Anything.”

“We’ll continue this later.” I look right into his eyes as I say this. Who would have believed it? Little Lizzie Parker making a bold move! I think I’ve rendered the boy speechless!

Max’s eyes widen and he opens and closes his mouth a few times. He finally gives up trying to speak and kisses me firmly on the lips one last time and nods his head.



Chapter Two

Max walks me to my first class and then squeezes my hand and leaves me at the door. For some reason, my whole class watches us whenever we show up. It’s really kind of funny to see them all leaning over in their seats to catch a glimpse of the door. I think they are all waiting for a repeat experience of me running into the doorjamb. One time a girl actually fell out of her seat from leaning too far. I think she’s a “Liz” in the making. We became instant friends after that. During class I start to panic about tonight’s dinner. What if Max’s parents don’t like me? What if I totally make a fool out of myself during dinner? What will Isabel say? What should I wear? What does Max’s room look like? Will we have some alone time?

Ok, I admit it. I have a one-track mind. For some reason, my thoughts always return to when Max and I can be alone. But hey, can you blame me? The guy looks like one of those men on the cover of a romance novel. Well, without the steroids and long hair. I wonder what Max would look like with long hair? I can just see him with his long hair blowing in the breeze; his rippling chest muscles displayed beneath is wide-open shirt as he straddles his mighty horse. Draped across his lap is me, of course, and he is leaning down to kiss me with an expression of total and complete lust…uh, I mean…..love….on his face and then….

“Liz?”

“What?” I jerk awake from my daydreaming of Max. Unfortunately, I jerk a little too hard and my elbow slides off the table. Since my chin was resting on my hand, my whole body starts falling out of my seat. Thank God I caught myself…. this time. I haven’t been so fortunate in the past. Now I am transported back to the present…..English class. Welcome back ladies and gentlemen. We hope you enjoyed your trip to Never Never Land. Please fasten your seatbelts and put your trays in their upright position as we coast you smoothly back into real life.

English is not my favorite of classes. I don’t mind it but I don’t enjoy it like I enjoy Biology. Hmm, could it be that there is no dark haired, amber-eyed, romance novel God in here? I’m sure that’s a big factor. The teacher has decided that today we have to read aloud from Romeo and Juliet. Romeo and Juliet? Come on. Thou doubteth thateth thou will useth this in real life evermore. Whyeth do we haveth to studyeth it then?

“Liz. I believe it’s your turn to be Juliet.” Groan. “And who shall be Romeo?”

“Max…” I sigh. Oh wait. Did I say that out loud? Yep. Everyone is looking at me and laughing. I blush and turn my gaze downwards. Hmmm. The top of this desk is sure interesting.

It is decided that Kyle gets to be my Romeo and the rest of the time in class is spent mangling lines from Shakespeare that make absolutely no sense. If I wanted to read Romeo and Juliet I would have taken Drama! Can you see me on stage? I shudder. I had that experience once in the seventh grade. Well, it’s not like I took drama voluntarily. Everyone was forced to take an elective. It was either drama or cooking. I like to think that I spared the school a few fires by choosing drama. That’s right! They owe me. The play we did practice was in fact none other than Romeo and Juliet. I was Juliet…. for about an hour. After falling from the “balcony” (i.e. plywood between two ladders), landing on Romeo (i.e. Alex) and dragging the backdrop with me, I was re-casted as “village person #4”. It will look great on my resume. Along with antenna wearing, short-skirted waitress at my parents restaurant. I’m surprised that talent scouts aren’t beating down my door!

I see Isabel Evans pass by the door glancing at me coolly. Isabel Evans. She is Max’s twin sister. She is very beautiful and very popular and since Max and I have been dating, the only thing she has ever said to me was “I hear you are dating my brother. Don’t hurt him”. And then she walked away. O-kay. I was so stunned that I never said a thing but I did salute her after her back was turned. The problem was that she decided to turn around right then so what she saw was me standing in the middle of the quad by myself saluting. In fact, that’s what everyone saw. Now, when people pass me in the halls, they salute. Max always asks why and I just tell him “I don’t know. People are weird.”

Over the course of my high school career, I have had a few classes with Isabel but we have never been friends. She is in the “In Crowd”. You know…the ones that everyone gossips about but they secretly all want to be invited to join. To be part of that group has been no particular wish of mine. Although Isabel has lots of popular friends, I see her hang out with Max, Tess and Michael a lot. I don’t think Max and Michael are considered part of that group but Tess definitely is. In fact, last I heard, she was interested in Max herself. I never liked her in the first place but that rumor alone made her number one on my “let’s glare at the popular people” list. I used to watch her at the Crashdown lightly touching Max’s arm or laughing at something he said while no one else at the table is laughing. I’ve also seen Max give pleading looks to Isabel or Michael to sit next to him so Tess wouldn’t. It was pretty funny to watch.

Of course, this all happened before Max and I were dating. I was really jealous of those moments. Didn’t she realize how lucky she was to just sit at the same table as him? Breathe the same air as him? Use the same napkin dispenser or ketchup bottle? I always thought Max might actually change his mind about her and go out with her. After all, she is part of the “In Crowd”. But he never did. Sometimes I used to think Tess became friends with Isabel just to be near Max. Damn. Now why didn’t I think of that? Isabel watches me cautiously but has never approached me again. According to Max, she is referred to as The Ice Princess by some but deep down she is really sweet. Well, I guess I’ll have to take his word for it.

As I sit in my second period class, I am still contemplating how dinner might go. Maria is in this class with me….unfortunately. Usually I love classes with my friends but I know Maria only wants to know about what Max said. I can see her trying to get my attention from the corner of my eye. I decide to let her sweat a little and pretend to be absorbed in the lecture. All of a sudden a crumpled ball of paper lands on my desk.

Oh no, I’ve gone too far! I quickly glance up at the teacher to see if he saw. I see he is engrossed in the wonderful world of the x and y axes and hasn’t see the note. This is NOT the class to pass notes in. Mr. Reed told us in the beginning of the school year that if he ever caught us passing notes, he would read them in front of the class and make us explain them. So far, only two people were bold enough to test this and he made them do exactly that. Since then, no one has tried again. It was pretty embarrassing, although we did find out that Pam Troy had a nose job and wasn’t absent due to mono.

I pick up the paper and open it slowly. On it is written “Well??? Did you ask him?”

I don’t want to write back. The longer we write, the better the chance of getting caught. Then I see the fine print. “If you don’t write back I will tell Max about your childhood obsession with Donny Osmond” Hey! We pinky swore on that secret. That can’t be used as blackmail.

Obviously, Maria is desperate. Oh no. That’s not good. Not good at all. Maria has no qualms whatsoever of embarrassing herself or me. So I write, “He said he will talk to him. I’ll have to let you know. He can’t believe you think he’s cute! Don’t write back!”

I crumple the paper back up and slyly pass it to Maria. She opens it, reads it, and then gives me thumb up sign. Phew! That was close!

Wait. What is she doing? She’s writing something on the paper. No, no, no. We are going to get caught! She crumples the paper and begins to toss is back when Mr. Reed turns around. We both scrambled to get the paper, which of course, causes even more attention towards us. Oh no! Here he comes. He sees the note. Oh crap! I was the one that managed to catch the paper so he stops at my desk and holds out his hand. I drop the paper in his hand, I hold my breath and wait while he gets back to the front of the room. He opens the note and I noticed that Maria is turning really red. What the hell did she write this last time???

“Well class. It seems as if Liz and Maria have decided to provide our boring lives with a little entertainment today.” The whole class is giggling.

“Maria, I see your handwriting is first. The note starts off with ‘Well? Did you ask him? If you don’t write back, I will tell Max about your childhood obsession with Donny Osmond’ Ok, Maria. Ask who what?”

“Ummm, I was just asking Liz if she…ummm…..asked her dad if the fry cook at the Crashdown can put….. ummm….pickles on the Galaxy Burger!” Good job Maria.

“And Liz? Donny Osmond? Interesting school girl crush.”

I am mortified! My face is fire truck red right now. I’m surprised the sirens aren’t going off.

“And then the note continues with Liz’s writing ‘He said he will talk to him. I’ll have to let you know. He can’t believe you think he’s cute!’ Don’t write back!’.
Ah, smart Liz. Too bad Maria didn’t take your advice. So Maria? You think the fry cook at the Crashdown is cute, huh? Isn’t that Jose?”

I hear Maria mumble, “I forgot about that part.” Mr. Reed seems to be waiting for her answer. A little louder Maria say “Well, yeah. I….I guess so? He’s a little hottie.” She states with a nod.

Mr. Reed continues with the note. “So Maria writes back. ‘Thanks for asking. I saw you walking to your first class with Max. See, I told you you’d play kissy face with him. The hickey on your neck is proof.’” Oh my God! Why didn’t she tell me that before class? I quickly lean my elbows on my desk and cover my neck with both hands. The whole class has now turned and is looking at my neck. I am so embarrassed. I try to glare at Maria but she has her head down on her desk.

Mr. Reed continues, “Well, Miss DeLuca. I think that was a little too much information for us. Miss Parker, I think Maria was trying to make you self-conscious. There is no hickey on your neck.” I still refuse to move my hands throughout the rest of class. Have you ever tried to turn the page of a book with your elbow? It’s not as easy as it looks! One by one during the next half hour, each member of the class has turned around to look and see if I have removed my hands. I glare at each one of them. As soon as class is over, I look over at Maria and she tells me that she was kidding and I have no hickey. Then she smiles and says in a sing song voice, “But if you think there was the possibility of one, then I know what you and Max were doing before school.” I lean my head down on my desk and groan. Ha, ha Maria.

Chapter Three

Lunchtime rolls around and I am sitting with Max, Maria and Alex on the grass in the quad. Who is Alex you ask? He is my other best friend. It has been Maria, him and me since kindergarten. The Three Musketeers. Alex is one of those friends that will always stand by you no matter what. Some people might label him as a geek because he is really smart and into computers but to me, he’s just Alex. I’m so glad both of my friends approve of Max and Max approves of them. It makes life much easier, don’t ya think?

Max leans over my bologna sandwich and gives me kiss. Maria falls backwards on the ground yelling “My eyes! My eyes! I’ve seen too much kissy face today!” We laugh. “Although if Liz was worried she had a hickey this morning, I guess you save the good stuff for private”. My jaw drops as I look at Maria who is sitting back up. I feel myself turn bright red and I look over at Max and he is flushed as well and also looks confused. I wonder if he’ll ever get used to Maria being so frank.

“What hickey?” He asks.

“Nothing” I mumble while Maria holds her hands over her neck, pretending to be turning the page of a book and starts laughing.

Right then we all hear a “Hey.” We look up and there’s Michael. Right next to Maria’s elbow which is still ‘turning pages’. Michael gives Maria a strange look but Maria refuses to look at Michael and has frozen in place once she heard his voice. She looks pretty funny sitting there with her elbows out in the air. Michael looks at Max and says, “You said you wanted to ask me something?”

“Umm, yeah. Can we talk after school?” I see Max look over at Maria whose eyes have turned into big saucers.

“No. I have a thing to do for my art class today after school. Can you just ask me now?”

Maria turns bright red. “Ummm, I’m just gonna…. go…. ahh…use the facilities.”

I also know what Max is about to ask. “Wait, Maria. We’ll go with you.” I drag a clueless Alex up off the ground pull him with us.

“No Way! I’m not going to the ladies room again!!!”

“Don’t worry Alex. You can be all manly and stand guard outside.”

“WHAT!” As I drag Alex away I notice Michael looking at Maria’s back. Good sign.


I leave Alex outside of the door to the ladies room and tell him to “Stay!”. I follow Maria inside where she begins to pace.

All of sudden one of the doors to the stalls opens and there is Pam Troy. Oh no. Ever since Max and I began dating she has been a thorn in my side. She spreads false rumors about me and has tried to break Max and I apart…. whatever she can do to get Max Evans. The best one so far has been about the party I went to and spent the whole time in the closet with Rich Muller. He happens to be a freshman who is in the Chess Club. She went a little too far with that one. It was so absurd that no one would believe her. Max just laughed when he heard it (from Pam of course) and then told her that he was off to see what I learned in the closet and if I would use him to practice on. She wasn’t very happy about that.

“Lizard.” I hear her say.

“Spam.” Maria retorts back.

I, for one, have never called Pam her infamous nickname to her face. As you can see, Maria has no problem doing it. As soon as Pam puts on her 5th coat of pink frosted lipstick she leaves but not before giving us her death glare. I roll my eyes and Maria resumes her pacing.

”Where is my cypress oil when I need it! I left it in my purse back in the quad.” She turns toward me, “Lizzie, is he asking him what I think he’s asking him?”

“I don’t know Maria. We’ll find out when we go back, ok? How much time do you think we should give them?”

“Well, scenario one: Max asks Michael, Michael runs screaming in the other direction, his arms waving wildly… 2 minutes. Scenario two: Max asks Michael, Michael faints, he hits his head on the concrete, they call the nurse, there is a crowd, they take him away in a stretcher …. 30 minutes….”

I put my hand on Maria’s arm to stop her pacing. “Or scenario three: Max asks Michael, Michael says yes. They talk for just a few minutes. Michael leaves. 5-10 minutes.”

“Do you think so?”

“I hope so.” I mumble almost to myself. We wait the 10 minutes and then go outside. We notice Alex still sitting where I left him.

”You guys wanna tell me what’s going on?” I look at Maria. She nods her head.
”Well, Max is proposing the idea to Michael that we should double date. You know, me, Max, Maria and Michael.”

“What? You are interested in Michael, ‘Ria?”

“Well, he is kind of cute.”

“Oh boy.”

“What Alex? I can’t be interested in Michael?”

“No, it’s just that if you both get boyfriends then I would have two people I would need to beat up if they ever hurt you. I guess I should brush up on my karate.” Alex says this as he jumps in the air and does a kick.

“Awwww, Alex!” Maria and I say at the same time. We start walking back to the quad and as we get closer all of a sudden Maria stops dead in her tracks.

“Liz,” she hisses, “What’s scenario four???

I look over and see Max still talking to Michael who is now sitting on the grass like he has no intention of leaving.

“WHAT’S SCENARIO FOUR???” Oh no. Maria is panicking. She begins waving her arms and she can’t catch her breath. Aha! Payback is a bitch!

“Maria calm down.” I say smirking, “Maybe Michael wants to look you over before he decides? You know? Check out the goods.”

“LIZ!” I start laughing.

“Sorry, Maria. I’m just trying to get you back for the hickey remark!”

We approach the two and Alex immediately sits down across from Max winking at me. This leaves two openings in the circle. One between Max and Alex. And one between Michael and Alex. Good boy Alex! I knew you were my friend for a reason. I swear I have the best friends in the world! Of course, the one next to Max is designated for me so Maria would have to sit next to Michael. What happens? Well, Maria sees this also so she runs towards the circle and plops down right next to Max. Yep! Right in MY spot. She doesn’t look like she’s moving either. I am flabbergasted. Ok, I now have only one best friend in the world. Maria has just lost her status. I wonder if Michael will notice if I kick her? Maybe I shouldn’t. Max looks at her while she looks at the ground and then looks at me. I shrug and take the place next to Michael. So much for more lunchtime kisses!

I’ve met Michael a few times and he seems pretty nice but definitely a man of few words. ”So Michael, how are you?”

“Fine.” He looks back at Max.

Oh-kaay.

Alex turns the conversation to the P.E. class that he, Michael and Max share. Apparently they are talking about the unfairness in one of the games they had to play today. I wouldn’t know. I’m not listening. The minute Alex mentioned P.E., all I can do is imagine Max in his little short and t-shirt outfit running around the track. My mouth starts watering. God, I’m hopeless.

Michael leaves soon after and says goodbye to everyone. His eyes linger on Maria but she wouldn’t know this since she is still staring at the ground. As soon as he leaves, I resume my position next to Max. Maria looks up at Max expectantly.

“Well???”

“He said yes.”

“He said yes?? What else did he say?”

“Nothing. Just yes.” Max takes another bite of his sandwich.

“Max. My dear, dear boy. I know you haven’t known me that long but you are going to have a quick lesson in Maria DeLuca 101, ok? I need to know exactly what you said, what he said, the tone of his voice, his facial expressions…”

“Ok, Maria. I said ‘Hey, would you be interested in going on a double date with Liz and I and her friend Maria tomorrow night. He said ‘Yes’. That’s all.”

“Max, did he say Yes like ‘I don’t have anything else planned yes’ or ‘It’s better than having my liver removed yes’ or ‘I’m really interested in Maria yes’?”

“Ummm….the third one?”

“YES!!! YES, YES, YES, YES, YES!” Maria is jumping up and down screaming. Finally! I am not the one drawing attention to us. I look over and see Michael about to enter one of the buildings when he notices the commotion. I see a shadow of a smile on his face. Maybe it really was the third one?



Chapter Four

It’s Friday afternoon at 5:30. I am seriously starting to freak out about dinner tonight. I left it up to Maria and Alex to pick out my outfit for tonight. Do you think that was wise? I don’t think I’m in the right frame of mind to make any big decisions but leaving it up to Alex and Maria could be disastrous. I could end up dressed in bell bottom pants with a puffy-sleeved shirt and a flowers in my hair. Did I tell you that Maria’s style tends to lean towards the 60’s? So what do I do? I have ultimate vetoing power. By the third outfit, they manage to come up with something I agree with. Their choice? Low khaki pants with a black sweater set. Nice but casual. Seriously. Nice for his parents. But casual enough for me and Max to make out in. Ha, ha. See, I’m always thinking. Be prepared. Scary that I was in girl scouts ten years ago but still live by that code!

Maria has made me lie on my bed while she and Alex “prepare” me for my date. Maria has already spread mud mask on my face. Alex is in the process of painting my toenails while Maria is now filing my nails and painting them.

”You guys are the greatest! Do you know that?”

“Well, yeah. Of course we know.” Alex states.

“So Liz, what should I wear on our double date tomorrow?”

“I don’t know Maria. Can we talk about that tomorrow? You saw what a mess I was today about tonight. I can’t focus on tomorrow yet. I need to get through tonight first.”

“But Liiiiizzzz….” Maria whines. Oh no. Here we go.

“Maria, I swear we will talk about tomorrow night all day while we are working tomorrow. And then I will come over to your house to get ready so I can help you. Ok?”

“Yeah, I guess.” She sighs.

“Hey Liz! Do you think you can get me a date with Isabel Evans sometime?”

“What do I look like? Cupid? You guys can get your own dates, you know! I want to concentrate on my relationship with Max.”

“Yeah, like you don’t concentrate on him ALL the time now?” Maria states, “Why do you want to go out with Isabel, Alex?” Maria turns towards him. “Won’t you be afraid of getting frostbite?”

“Ha, ha Maria. I have U.S. History with her and she seems pretty nice. Of course, none of her friends are in that class with her. I think she’s different when she’s around them.”

“I’m sorry Alex. Just because I am dating Max, it doesn’t mean Isabel and I are the greatest of friends. She doesn’t even talk to me. Sorry.”

“That’s ok. I knew it was a long shot. No harm in asking, right?”

I am dreamily thinking of Max while all this work is being done. I think Maria can tell what I am thinking about because of what she says next.

“You know Liz, you might want to tone it down on the kisses in front of Max’s parents. They might think you are ‘not the right kind of girl’ if you give them a display of what we see everyday.” Maria states.

“What? The kisses Max and I share in public are sweet. It’s not like we sit there and suck face for an hour.”

“Really? So what kind of kisses do you share in private?” Maria smirks.

I turn bright red. Maria laughs and says, “I see. And I have to disagree, you guys are always sucking face!” Alex is nodding his head furiously, which only makes me blush more.

“You guys! I thought you were supposed to be my friends.”

“We are Lizzie” Alex says. “That’s why we are giving you ‘friendly advice’.”

Maria gets up off the bed. “Well, nails are done. I have to go. My shift starts soon downstairs and I need to change and stuff. I’ll see you kids later!” Maria says.

“Yeah, I should go too. Wait Maria. I’ll walk down with you” Alex says as he starts to follow her.

“What! You’re leaving me! Wait! I’m not ready yet! What if they don’t like me? What if I spill food all over? What if they see how klutzy I am?” Ok. I think I need to sniff some of Maria’s cypress oil.

Alex turns back towards me. “Liz. You have nothing to worry about. They are going to love you. Just remember, they are just people and you are a great girl.”

“Yeah, just people. At the rate you guys are going, they may be your future in-laws!” Maria says. My eyes go really wide.

“MARIA!” Alex yells. “Stop making her nervous!”

“I can’t Alex. It’s just too easy!” They laugh as they both kiss my cheek and turn to leave. I thank them and they wave as they go out the door. Oh Lordy! I hope tonight goes well.


Here’s the plan. Max has to work today at the UFO Museum across the street. He is going to pick me up after work at 6:00 and then he will drive me to his house for dinner. I notice that it’s 5:45 and I haven’t gotten dressed yet. So I am scrambling to get dressed before Max comes over. Just as I am putting on my shoes, I hear the doorbell. I then hear my mom tell Max “to just go on back”. My parents have been really cool and they really like Max. He gives them no reason not to. I am hoping to have the same impression on his parents. How likely is that? Not very, I’m afraid! Max knocks once and I tell him to enter.

As he walks in he gives me this funny look and says, “Are you going like that?”

Oh no. What’s wrong? Is my outfit too slutty? Is my toenail polish too dark and seductive? Do these pants make me look fat?

“I was.” I say hesitantly, “Why? What’s wrong?”

He is peering closely at my face. “Is that new make-up?”

Oh My God! The mask! I am going to kill Maria for making me put that on. I look at myself in the mirror and notice the brown mask spread all over my face now all dry and crusty. I look horrendous! How did I forget I had that on? I am so glad Max picked me up instead of me meeting him there. I probably would have forgotten to take off the mask, driven over to his house and rung the doorbell looking as I am. What a nightmare!

”Give me two minutes!” I rush into the bathroom and scrub my face. I put a light dusting of powder on along with mascara and lipstick. There. I’m ready. Just to be sure I check myself over….. front and back…… in the full length mirror on the back of my bathroom door. I now have my back turned towards the mirror with my neck craned around to see. Just as I am adjusting the wedgie my underwear is giving me, Max peeks his head in the door.

He raises his eyebrows. “Are you ready?” My hand drops so quickly that I smack it on the bathroom counter.

“OWWWWW!!”

There is no way that he didn’t see what I was doing. I am just not that lucky!
“Are you ok, Liz?”

“Ummm…. y-yeah….just give me a minute.”

“Let me see.”

“No, it’s ok Max. It’ll be fine.” I say as tears prick my eyes and I am shaking my hand to relieve the pain.

Max takes my hand and put a kiss to the back of it.

“All better?”

“Much.” I sigh. “We should go. I don’t want to be late for dinner.”

“Don’t worry about it. Dinner is not until 7:00 anyway. My mom was giving us extra time in case I had to work late. But I have a better use for that extra time.” Sigh. He is so gosh-darn dreamy. He leans down and kisses my lips.

”I didn’t get to give you a hello kiss before.” He says against my lips. I part my lips to give him access and he slowly, and very thoroughly, possesses me. I’m melting again. I stumble back against the sink as my arms go around his neck. His hands have made their way into my hair as he holds me steady. Soon they graze over my shoulders and down my arms towards my hands and his fingers tangle with mine. The kiss heats up and our tongues are dueling with each other. Just as I think we are about to continue what we started in the Eraser Room this morning, Max stops.

He pulls back leaning his forehead on mine (he does that a lot), “You’re right. We’d better go. I only have so much control around you and I don’t want to make us late.” I close my eyes and try to regulate my breathing. Not easy to do when you’ve been kissed by one Mr. Max Evans.

I nod my head and mutely agree. After all, explaining to his mom and dad that the reason we are late is because Max had to relieve my sexual frustrations is not the impression I want to make on them. Do you think they would understand? Maybe if they were pot-smoking hippies holding signs that say “Free Love” on street corners. I haven’t seen too many of those around lately so I’m going to say …No!

The drive to Max’s house is uneventful. One of the best things about Max is that whenever we drive anywhere, the first thing he does is take my hand. And he holds my hand the whole way. Talk about feeling cherished! It reminds me of our first date. We get to Max’s house and my knees are trembling. I wonder if I am going to make it. A case of jello-knees can sometime be noticeable! His father hears us drive up so he opens the door for us.
“Hi. You must be Liz. I’m Max’s father, Phillip. We’ve been hearing lots of good things about you from Max and Isabel.”

Isabel? Why would Isabel be saying anything about me? Good things, huh? Ok. I’m reaching potential daughter-in-law status. This is good.

“Hi Mr. Evans. It’s nice to finally meet you.” I shake his hand while crossing the threshold. Unfortunately, my shoe gets caught and I stumble forward. Where do I land? Right in Mr. Evans’ arms. My arms have circled his body holding on for dear life. I look up from my position on his chest and see him looking down on me. Mayday! Mayday! I may have just lost the in-law status.

Mrs. Evans comes from the direction of what must be the kitchen. She sees me in Mr. Evans’ arms and raises her eyebrows. She takes off an apron and wipes her hands on a dishtowel as she heads toward us.

”Are you ok?” Mr. Evans says as he straightens me up.

I let go quickly “Yes. I’m f-f-fine. Th-thank you.” I can’t look at him. I know I must be as red as a beet right now. Max puts his arms around my shoulders and gives me his support.

“Hi, Liz? I’m Diane, Max’s mom. It’s so nice to finally meet you.”

“Umm, it’s nice to finally meet you too Mrs. Evans. Thank you for inviting me to dinner.” I say as I shake her hand.

I glance up at Max and he’s trying not to laugh. I can see the mirth in his eyes. I see a look pass between Max and his dad. Oh no! He didn’t tell them what a klutz I am, did he? Oh well. Not like it matters now. I already proved that point. At least they got a warning!


Max’s parents exclaim that they want to get to know me better before dinner so we all go into the living room and sit on the couch. Mr. and Mrs. Evans choose the couch which leave me and Max on the Love Seat directly across from them. Guess what? I am prepared for this! I had Alex and Maria fire questions at me earlier so I could practice what to say. We called it the “Lightning Round”. Wanna hear it? It goes like this:
“What do you like best in school?”
”SCIENCE!”
”Why?”
“IT’S SO LOGICAL!”
”What is your GPA?”
“3.9!”
“Where do you plan on going to college?”
”HARVARD!”
“What do your parents do?”
”THEY OWN THE CRASHDOWN CAFÉ!”
“Do you have any brothers or sisters?”
”NO!”
“What do you do for fun?”
”READ!”
”Do you do drugs or alcohol?”
”NO. JUST SAY NO!”
“How long have you known Max?”
”SINCE NINTH GRADE!”
“Why do you like our son?”
“HE’S THE BEST THING THAT EVER HAPPENED TO ME!” (this answer has improved since the first time it was asked when I blurted out that he was a great kisser. What? So I’m honest!)

My time? 1 minute, 35 seconds. I’m good. I just hope I remember not to yell out the answers to his parents. ‘Remember to use your indoor voice Liz!’ Mrs. Evans offers us all lemonade and I take a sip and almost choke. I think she forgot the sugar. I notice that Max and his dad both have avoided their drinks and are watching for my reaction. Great, use me as a guinea pig. As soon as they see me, they both put their drinks down. I try and swallow but it’s like I’m sucking on a lemon....peel and everything! I finally get the liquid down my throat and then set my drink on the table. I turn slightly and glare at Max. He just shrugs. He has told me about his mom’s culinary skills but I didn’t believe him….until now!

“So Liz….” Mr. Evans says. Ok. Here we go. Fire them at me! I’m ready. I feel like clapping my hands together and shaking them at the wrists while shifting back and forth on my feet. Instead, I just lean forward a little bit.

“I here you like Science and that you and Max are lab partners?”

”Yes. That’s correct.” Good, Liz. Good. Calm, collective answer said in a mild tone.

“That’s nice.”

“What kind of movies do you like?” This question comes from Mrs. Evans.

Oh My God. We didn’t practice that question. Is this a trick question? What kind of answer does she want?

”Ummm….ummm….I like a lot of things.” Ok. So far, not good.

“I always ask that question of someone I just met. I think you can tell a lot from a person from what kind of movies they like.”

“Ummm….well, I guess I like a lot of romantic comedies.”

“Really? Me too. ‘When Harry Met Sally’ is one of my all time favorites.” Score for Liz Parker.

“Yeah. I like that one.” This might not be so bad.

The rest of the questions are mostly what I’ve practiced. Yay Maria and Alex for coming up with the ‘Standard List that Every Potential In-Law Asks’.

Soon, dinner is ready and Mr. and Mrs. Evans lead the way into the dining room. I am a little worried about dinner after tasting the lemonade but as we follow his parents, Max must see my brow crinkling because he leans down and whispers, “Don’t’ worry. I told her your favorite was the same thing as mine and Isabel’s because she knows how to make that and doesn’t deviate from the recipe trying to be creative.” I breathe a sigh of relief. But wait…..what is Max’s favorite? I guess I will find out in a minute!

Chapter Five

We sit down in the dining room and I see that Mrs. Evans has gone all out on dinner and the whole spread is on the table. His parents sit at either end of the table while I am sitting next to Max (Thank God!) on one side of the table. Just as we are sitting down, Isabel walks into the room and sits across from us.

“Hi Liz.” She says with a smile. O-kay. What does she mean by that? Why is she smiling? Usually all I get is a frosty smile and a glare. Or is that my imagination?

“Hi Isabel.” I say unsurely. She smiles again and then turns to her parents and greets them and Max.

Max’s favorite dinner turns out to be fried chicken, baked potatoes (I’m glad they are not mashed potatoes since all I can think about is my comment about spilling them in Max’s lap), corn on the cob, peas, rolls….Wait! Peas? PEAS? Oh no! Ever since the incident when my mother made me eat split pea soup when I was sick and I ended up throwing it all back up, I haven’t touched peas. Max and I need to have a serious talk about his favorite dinner! I wonder if they will notice if I don’t take any peas. Very quickly I see that’s not going to work. Mrs. Evans has decided to “fix” me a plate. Think Liz, think! I am seated next to Max and I watch with dread as she piles on the peas.

“Everything looks delicious Mrs. Evans.” I choke.

“Thank you Liz. Dig in everyone.”

I look around the table. Everyone is eating his or her peas. Groan. Now what am I going to do. Well, I will just have to try something that I used to do as a kid. I carefully place my napkin in my lap. Everytime I take a forkful of peas, I inconspicuously dump them into the napkin. Good job Liz. No one is noticing. Well, what I don’t see is that there is one person noticing. Well, not one person…..one dog…Buster. Buster the St. Bernard. I guess he must see me putting the peas in my lap because the next thing I know he sitting right next to my chair with his tail wagging, waiting for some.

”Oh Liz. Buster must really like you. Don’t worry. He’s very friendly and gentle although he’s big.”

Right then Buster decides he’s waited long enough and starts to put his head in my lap to eat the peas. He is lapping up the peas with his tongue while I try to continue my part of the conversation going on around the table. I finally try to push Buster away with no one noticing but he is not budging until he gets his fill. Max turns to see what is going on and when he sees Buster in my lap, his eyes widen and he yells “Buster! No!” This of course causes me to jump in which the remainder of the peas bounce up and go spilling everywhere. Oh My Lord. This can’t be happening. Max is dragging Buster to put him in the garage (poor Buster!) while I am down on my knees picking up the peas.

“Liz? Are you ok?” Asks Mrs. Evans.

“Ummm…yeah…ummm…sorry about the peas…I….” before I could continue, Isabel interrupts me.

“Mom, I saw the whole thing. Some peas fell off Liz’s fork onto her lap and as she was about to pick them up, Buster went right for them,” she says, surprising me.

She looks over at me and winks. I grace her with my biggest smile of gratitude. Isabel is my new best friend! Whatever will I tell Maria and Alex? I sit down in my place again and Max returns.

“Well, here Liz. Let me get you some more peas.” Mrs. Evans says as she starts to stand up.

“NO!” I shout, Max and his parents turn their heads toward me startled while I see Isabel holding her napkin to her mouth, trying not to laugh. I lower my voice. “I mean…. thank you, but that’s ok. I’m already getting full. Thank you anyway though.”

“Ok. If you’re sure.”

“I am.” I say determinedly. “Please don’t trouble yourself.”



The rest of dinner goes off without another incident (much to my relief) and then Max’s parents go upstairs. I thank them profusely for dinner and they tell Max in front of me “She’s a keeper”. I blush as does Max but he also gives my hand an extra squeeze. Ahhh. Please keep me!!!!

Now that his parents have gone upstairs, that leaves Isabel, Max and I in the family room. Isabel surprises me again as she joins in our conversation. She is nothing like I’ve seen her at school. Her Ice Princess façade is completely gone and she is one of the sweetest people I know. She talks about school and her friends but not in a way that makes me feel inferior. I can tell that the brother-sister bond between her and Max is pretty tight. It would have been nice to have a brother or sister growing up. Well, maybe someday Isabel will be my sister? After the big grand garden wedding that Max and I have with all of our friends and family there and we return from our honeymoon in the Caribbean, Isabel and I could go shopping together, do our nails, have facials….

“Liz?”

“Hmm…Oh! What?” I say returning from La-la land.

“Are you ok?”

”Umm.. yeah, you know, I just spaced out there for a minute.”

“Ok. Are you sure?”

”Yeah. I’m just tired. Why?”

”Well, you have this big dreamy look on your face and Isabel has been asking you what you think of Pam Troy. I don’t think you think of Pam Troy in a dreamy way.”

I crinkle my nose. Are Isabel and her friends? Will she report what I say back to Spam…ummm, I mean …Pam?

“Well…”

”I was just telling her that you don’t get along with her that well and that Maria calls her Spam.”

I look at Max with my eyes wide. Holy Crap. He did not just say that, did he? Not to one of Pam’s friends!

“Don’t worry Liz. I’m not friends with Pam.” She laughs. “She may have some of the same friends as I do but I don’t like her so I stay away. Plus, I think she only talks to me thinking she will get close to Max that way. Tess does the same thing.” Wow. So she knows about that? “I can tolerate Tess a little better than Pam but still don’t like being used. At least Max has had sense enough to stay away from them both! It used to make them so angry when he would totally ignore them while he stared at you.” Max blushes at this statement and my eyes widen. My heart has seriously melted all the way into my toes. I won’t be able to walk because my feet are full of heart puddles.

“Yeah. Well, Pam and I aren’t the best of friends.”

“I can see why.” She says as she looks at Max. “She must have blown a gasket when she heard Max had a girlfriend.”

“Yeah, well she wasn’t too pleased.”

“You were there?” She exclaims. “I would have LOVED to have been there.”

“Yeah. Actually it was Max who put her in her place by kissing me in front of her. I’ve never seen so much steam come out of someone’s ears before.”

Isabel starts laughing and then turns to Max. “So, it’s true? You kissed Liz in front of Pam, called her sweetie and then dragged her away? I thought that was just a rumor going around. I love it!” Ok. Isabel is really now my new best friend.
“Is it true that she calls you Lizard?”

Max turns to me after Isabel says this. Oh crap. ”What?!? She calls you WHAT? Why didn’t you tell me?”

“Because Max, it’s no big deal. I just ignore her.”

“But…”

“Really, Max. I just ignore her. And Maria calls her Spam…to her face.” Isabel looks at me apologizing with her eyes. I guess she didn’t know I was keeping that little bit of information from Max. After about 5 more minutes of conversation, Isabel yawns and says she is going to bed also.
“Goodnight Isabel. It was nice talking to you.”

“’Night Liz. I’m glad you came over tonight.” She gets up and then winks at Max.

I see Max silently mouth the words “Thank you” to her. Somehow I get the feeling that this was planned. Thank God Max is not a spy. He’s not very good at undercover work. Especially if I see everything going on! What? Does he think I’m blind?

“’Night, Is.” Max says as she walks up the stairs.

“I see now what you were talking about how Isabel is really sweet once you get to know her.”

“Yeah. She’s a great sister.”

Max decides that we should watch a movie so he puts one in that he said he borrowed from Isabel. As the opening scene unfolds I gasp. Some Kind of Wonderful. Does this mean something? What’s going on? Does he know my secret obsession with the kiss between Eric Stoltz and Mary Stuart Masterson? I look at him and he grins.

“I overheard once that there is a kiss in here that’s really good.”

Groan. Oh My God. He must have heard Maria and I talking. How embarrassing.

“Jeez Max! You are breaking all our codes!” I flop back on the couch crossing my arms in front of me.

He starts laughing, “Well as long as the ‘SKOW’ kiss stays #2, I’m happy!” Oh My God. What else did he hear?

“You know, it took me a long time to figure out what SKOW was. I finally figured it out when I saw the video in your room last week.”

He leans back on the arm of the couch and gently pulls me down so I am lying on his chest. He is stretched out on the couch with me practically on top of him. I think I could stay here forever. We begin to watch the movie and I lay my cheek on Max’s chest. Underneath his abnormally firm chest muscles, I can hear his heartbeat. It should be a sin for someone to be this ‘cut’ and in shape. Feeling his muscles has only made my imagination run away with me about how he would look without his shirt on. Max is rubbing his hand up and down my back but I think he knows what I am thinking because I hear his heart start to race. Lord. So now the guy has telepathy? Ok. Let’s think about that later. Right now, my mind is busy with more important things.

Max catches the hem of my shirt with his hand and slowly inches it upwards a little bit. Ok. So now I am breathing heavily, totally aroused. I look up and see that Max is looking down at me and his eyes have darkened. I lean closer and press my lips against his. I adjust my weight so my arms are on each side of him while bracing my upper body. My hair is cascading around our faces as we exchange soft kisses. Have I told you today what a great kisser he is? Man, he’s good! And I don’t end up all wet after one of our make-out sessions.

His hands are still rubbing my back but now they’ve gone under my shirt. Oh My God. I am dying! I slowly begin to kiss his neck as my hands move to the bottom of his shirt. I push his shirt up as far as it will go without actually taking it off. I lean down and place small kisses on his stomach and chest. I can feel the affect this is having on Max since our lower bodies are still plastered together. Wow. Do I do this to him? Little ol’ me? I find my way to his mouth again and I lower my arms so that our bodies are flush from neck to toe. I feel Max suck in his breath and I do the same.

Our kisses start getting deeper and more passionate. We stay this way for a while not letting go….barely breathing. The more I kiss Max, the more I need to kiss him. I don’t think I will ever get enough. One of his hands continues its massage of the skin on my back while his other hand has made it into my hair as he holds me in place. My hands are in similar positions in which one of them is rubbing his bare side and the other is opened along his cheek. All of a sudden we hear Isabel as she goes running by.

“Don’t mind me. I’m just getting some water….really fast.” We jump apart and I look up and see her hurrying down the hall past the living room with her hand covering her eyes. I hurriedly pull Max’s shirt back down and run my fingers through my hair. It’s now that Maria’s comment comes back to me full force about being too affectionate with Max in front of his parents. This position is not what I want his parents to see right now if they come back down. I scramble to sit up and unfortunately elbow Max in the process. Max holds his side and looks at me confused.

“What? What’s the matter? Its just Isabel. She doesn’t care. Were you not comfortable?”

“No, it’s not that. I was very comfortable…almost too comfortable.” I mumble. “Umm….your parents are just upstairs and…”

“Liz, don’t worry. They never come back down after they are in bed. Plus, they think Isabel is watching the movie with us so they believe we are ‘chaperoned’. Please cuddle with me? I swear we’ll just cuddle and watch the movie!” He says this last part making puppy dog eyes at me.

My Lord this guy is so adorable. Who can resist being begged to cuddle? ‘Not I’ says the horny teenager!

I lay back down and. I realize that we’ve already missed about a half hour of the movie. Before I know it I’m yawning. It’s been a rough day. Worrying about meeting your boyfriend’s parents can take a lot out of a girl. The next thing I know is someone is shaking me awake.

“Liz? Max?” they whisper.

“Five more minutes, mom.” I mumble.

“Liz?” Wait. That doesn’t sound like my mom.

I open my eyes and there is Diane Evans right above me. I sit up really fast which makes me dizzy.

“Max. Wake up. You need to get Liz home before her parents worry.” I look down and there is Max fast asleep, snoring softly. How cute. And what is that on his chest? I peer at him closely trying to focus my eyes. Is that a wet spot on his shirt? I hurriedly wipe my chin. Yep. It came from me. Max wakes up and sees his mom and also sits up quickly.

“Mom, what’s going on?”

“Honey, you need to get Liz home. Doesn’t she have a curfew?”

“Oh yeah. We should get going.” He looks down at his shirt. “Why am I all wet?”

“Ummm. Well…. that would be from me. Sorry.” I say blushing.

He laughs. “It’s ok. You were tired. What time is it?”

“It’s 11:50 Max.” This is from Diane. Our eyes widen. 11:50? I have 10 minutes to get home, kiss as much as possible at the door and say goodbye! We scramble to get our jackets.

As Max is rushing me out the door I yell over my shoulder “Thanks for dinner Mrs. Evans. It was great!”

“No problem Liz. Come back soon.”

Max drives me home breaking almost every speeding law on the way there. He must thinking what I’m thinking…..valuable kissing time is being lost here!
We finally reach the Crashdown and Max hops out of the car, runs to my side, pulls me out and rushes me to the door. Once we get there, we both look at our watches. 11:56. We have four minutes! We look at each other and then grab each other for some serious making out! We are kissing furiously without breathing. We don’t have time for that! Who needs to breathe anyway? I could just live off of Max! We are still kissing when the infamous flashing of the porch light begins. No longer does my dad give us a five-minute warning. I got into the habit of ignoring them. So now when the porch light flashes, it’s time to go in. Why can’t my dad just go to bed and not wait up for me…just once! Technically, I’m home before curfew! Max releases his hold on me and kisses my forehead. I guess I have to go in.

I turn towards Max and say “I never got to see your room.” I think I am still half asleep since that is the first thing that pops into my mind.

“You want to see my room? Why?” Ok. What do I say here? Because I want to roll around in the bed where you sleep at night? Because I want to be surrounded by your smell? Because I want to see where the window is so I can hide in your bushes and stalk you?

“I don’t know. I just want to see it. You’ve already seen mine lots of times.”

“Ok. Maybe tomorrow after our double date if we have time, we can go to my house.” I smile.

“Ok.” One more day before I get to see Max’s room. I can’t wait!
I look at Max longingly and unlock the door. We wave goodbye and Max heads towards his car. I head to my room and get ready for bed. The quicker I go to bed, the quicker I can wake up and see Max tomorrow. Oh yeah, the double date. I almost forgot about that (not that Maria would let me!). Tomorrow should be an interesting day.



Chapter Six

It’s now 12:00 and the lunch rush is starting to show up. Thank God! If I hear Maria babbling on and on about her clothes selection for tonight anymore, she is not going to be alive for this date. The morning started off with 4 phone calls in a row from Maria before I even woke up.

“Liz. Do you think jeans are too casual for a first date?”

Next phone call: “I’ve just put my clothes out on my bed so you can see them when you come over tonight.”

Third phone call: “Oh My God Liz! I’m out of Clearasil! What happens if I get a pimple today??? I’m going to have to stop by the drugstore on the way to work.”

Last phone call: “Do you think Michael would like my toes painted Electric Blue or Purple Passion that has glitter in it?”

I see her at work at 11:00 and she has a list…..A LIST!….of more questions. My head is ready to explode. I’m so eager to help customers that I don’t even notice that they are C’s from H (Customers from Hell). I don’t care. Just get me away from Maria. I don’t think this day will ever end.

The highlight of my day is when Max comes in for lunch. I sit with him for a few minutes while he eats his sandwich and fries. Sigh. Max. My beacon of strength. My hero. My boyfriend who is big enough to hide me from Maria’s view if I angle my head just right. Unfortunately, Maria thinks this is the perfect time to grill Max about what Michael’s likes and dislikes every time she passes by so hiding is not an option.

“Does Michael like girls who wear their hair up or down?”

“What kind of food does Michael like?”

“Will Michael like me better if I was shy and demure or forward and aggressive?”

“What do you think Michael likes? More make-up or less?”

Max seems anxious to leave and finishes his sandwich quickly. Hmm…I wonder why? Max stops to kiss me at the door and then I see him glance beyond me with a look of panic on his face. Suddenly, he is breaking off the kiss and half way across the street before I even know what’s happening. As he is running away, Maria comes sliding to a halt next to me.

“Where did Max go? I wanted to ask him if Michael likes red lipstick or pink.”

“Sorry Maria. Max had to get back to work.” Ok. This is too much. Now her life is interrupting my smooching time with Max. That is positively unacceptable.

“I think Michael would like black.” I state sarcastically as I walk away.

“Really?” Maria ponders catching up with me to ask me more questions about Michael. I sigh. Max owes me big time for cutting his lunch hour short and leaving me stuck again all alone with the best friend from H.

We get to Maria’s house and she leads me to her room. I enter and the first thing I notice is that she has ALL her clothes on the bed. I thought she had narrowed down her choices for me to make the final pick. Not so. She has taken every single item out of her closet and laid them on the bed. This is going to be a lot of work! I ask Maria what she is leaning towards.

“I don’t know Liz!” She says in a panicked voice. “Why did I let you talk me into this? I hardly know the guy!”

“Wait! Let me….talk you….into this? What are you talking about? You are the one that begged me for this!”

“Nuh-ah, Liz. Don’t put this on me. I should have never agreed.” Maria is furiously sniffing her Cypress Oil. Oh no. This may take some finessing. Maria is losing it. L-O-S-I-N-G I-T!

“Maria. We can’t go back now so let’s just pick you out something nice to wear and start getting ready. Ok?” I say in my nice, calm ‘mom’ voice.

”Yeah. Ok.” Maria goes into her bathroom to take a shower. While she is there, I try to pick through the monster pile of clothes she has created on the bed. My outfit for tonight is a simple blue skirt with a white wrap around top. In Maria’s “pile” I find a denim skirt and a nice pink tank top that I know she looks good in. I pull out her leather boots from the closet to complete the outfit. She comes out of the shower with a mask on and leave-in conditioner in her hair.

“Just don’t forget to wash your face before we leave.” I say.

“What? Like I would forget. That would take a special kind of stupid, don’t you think?” Obviously, I didn’t tell her about my experience last night. Like I’m going to now!

Maria agrees with my choice of outfit and goes to put on her “cleavage bra” and “good underwear”. Just how lucky is Michael going to get tonight anyway? I can’t even get Max to second base and she is already wearing the good underwear. I’m just glad I brought mine! I’ve been wearing them a lot (just in case!) and having to wash them all the time just so I can turn around and wear them again. Pretty soon I will have to get a new pair. There is only so much washing ‘good underwear’ can take before it’s not so good anymore.

We are getting ready and Maria has been really calm. Almost too calm. I am starting to get worried.

“What did you do in the bathroom? Did you take some valium or something?”

“What? Liz, you know I don’t take drugs. Prescription or otherwise.”

“What’s up? You are WAY too calm.”

“Nothing’s up. I just decided that he’s either going to like me or not. I can’t worry about it.”

“Ooo-kaay.” Please don’t tell me she is harvesting it all inside for a MAJOR blowup. I glance at her again out of the corner of my eye and I see agitated movements. All of a sudden, she looks at me.

“Liz……Oh my God! Liz….I’m going out with Michael! OH MY GOD! I’m going out with Michael. I think I need to lie down.” She proceeds to lie down on the floor in her bra and ‘good’ underwear since the bed is too messy. So she was saving it up. I knew it! Oh no. This could be bad.

“Breathe Maria. Don’t get hysterical. Everything is going to be fine.”

“Liz. You don’t have to go through a first date tonight. You and Max have been on a bazillion dates. You will never have to have that first date again! You and Max will get married and have dozens of kids while I will be stuck an old maid living with her cats on top of a hill that kids are afraid to go up.”

I take her hands and sit her up. “No, you won’t Maria. You will find someone that will love you just for who you are. And you will also have dozens of kids that will play with my dozens of kids and they will all grow up to be best friends just like we did.”

“Do you really think so?”

“Of course. And just maybe Michael is that guy, huh? Who knows? You won’t know anything until you get dressed and go on your first date with him, will you? Besides, remember my first date, ‘Ria? No one could be as klutzy as me so you have nothing to worry about.”

“You do have a point there. What can be worse than falling at your father’s feet wrapped around a guy?”

Gee thanks. Let’s use my life to make you feel better. So glad it worked.



The ‘men’ picks us up at 6:00. Mrs. DeLuca leaves them in the living room while she comes to get us.

“Oh Maria. You look beautiful honey.”

“Thanks Mom.”

“You do too, Liz.”

“Thanks Amy.”

She looks back at Maria. “Wait…. what underwear are you wearing?” Sometimes it’s scary what Amy knows.

“Umm. I wore the really old ones with pink flowers on them today.” I don’t remember pink flowers. I thought they were red satin underwear, thong style. I look at Maria and she shakes her head slightly at me.

“Good. Well, the boys are here so stay here for five minutes while I do the parent thing and then come out.”

“Mom….” Maria whines.

“Don’t worry sweetie. And don’t you dare step out of this room for five minutes.” She shuts the door and Maria and I look at each other and immediately look at the clock to note the time.

“’Ria. I don’t remember pink underwear.”

“No. I’m wearing red.”

“You lied to your mom? You just made me a co-conspirator!”

“No. I did not lie to her. I did wear the pink ones today. I wore them earlier before my shower.” Ok. So we are getting technical here.
We creak the door open so we can listen to what is being said in the living room. We wouldn’t dare step foot over the threshold of the door but Amy said nothing about eavesdropping.

“So which one of you is Michael?” We hear.

“I am.”

“Hello, Michael. It’s nice to finally meet you. I’m Amy DeLuca, Maria’s mom.”

“It’s nice to meet you Ms. DeLuca.”

“You must be Max. I’ve heard lots of good things about you from Liz. It’s nice to finally meet you.”

“Thank you. It’s nice to meet you too.”

“So, Michael, why do you want to date my daughter?” Groan. And Max thought he had it bad with my dad.

“Umm. She seems really nice?”

“Good. You’d better keep her that way. What’s your favorite subject in school?”

“Well, mine is science….”

“I was talking to Michael, Max.”

”Art.”

“Art?”

”Art.”

“I see. You are not going out with my daughter hoping she will pose nude for you, are you?”

”No, ma’am.” I can hear Michael trying not to laugh.

“Do you think my daughter is pretty?”

”Oh my Lord” I hear Maria whisper next to me. I turn to look at her and she is very red. How much longer do we have to stay in here? I look at the clock “Two more minutes Maria” I whisper to her.

“Very.” I hear Michael say.

“Well, that’s good to hear. I wouldn’t want to hear you didn’t think she was pretty. Sometime guys only want one thing from ugly girls.”

“No, ma’am.”

“Good. Good. Where are you taking my daughter tonight?”

”Well, we thought we….”

”I was talking to Michael, Max.”

“Ummm….. we were thinking about dinner and then miniature golf.”

“Ok. What time will you have her home?”

”What time would you like her home, Ms. DeLuca?”

“Nine o’clock.”

“MOM!” Maria comes out with me close behind. “You know my curfew is twelve!”

Amy glances at Maria and then back at Michael.

”Ok. Fine. Twelve o’clock. But you’d better be home on time young lady! I’ll be watching for you.”

“Don’t worry, Ms. De Luca. She’ll be home on time.”

“Ok. Well you kids have a good time.”

“Thanks mom. Bye.” Maria grabs her sweater off the couch and rushes us out the door.

“Bye Ms. DeLuca.” We all say as we are being herded to the car.

Michael and Maria climb into the back while Max waits for me to get in so he can close the door for me. I notice a white rose on the dashboard for me. I look back and see Maria holding a pink rose. Awww. Did Michael do that? How sweet. Max climbs in the jeep, starts the car and grabs my hand. We head to the restaurant. So far, I haven’t heard Michael or Maria speak a single word to each other. This might be the longest double date ever.

Chapter 7

Max breaks the ice by talking about school and certain teachers that we all share. Michael and Maria timidly join in the conversation but still have yet to talk to each other. Max just shrugs his shoulders when I give him an inquiring look. Before I know it, we are at the restaurant. The guys have chosen Italian food, which turns out perfect since we all like it. The first thing I notice as we walk into the restaurant is that it’s very romantic. Hmmm…. maybe I could get Max to take me here again when we are alone. I don’t think Michael and Maria would like it if I tried to “be romantic” with my boyfriend while we are on a double date.

“Mmmm. Italian. My favorite.” Maria says.

“It is?” Michael says smiling.

“Oh yeah.”

“Good thing it’s Michael’s also.” Says Max. “He picked the restaurant.”

“Good choice, Michael.” I say.

Maria smiles at Michael and agrees. They hang behind while Max and I wait in line for the hostess to be put on the list.

I lean over to Max and whisper “Are you sure Michael wanted to come tonight? He doesn’t seem to be talking much.”

“Yeah. He seemed really excited about it earlier at the florist. I don’t know what’s gotten into him now. Maybe he just doesn’t know what to say.”

“Maybe. Did he pick out the rose for Maria?”

“Yeah. He insisted on pink because he thought she had a ‘rosy’ complexion.” Max says while tucking a strand of hair behind my ear. I sigh.

“Did I tell you that you look beautiful tonight?”

“No….” I blush. Ok. Here come the heart puddles. Wiggle the toes, Liz. Yep, there they are.

“Well. You do. You look amazing.”

“Thanks. You look very handsome too.” He does too. Max’s favorite color is black and let me tell you….it works for him. He looks amazing in dark green pants with a button down black shirt. I could just nibble him to death. He looks very yummy.

“Yummy.” I whisper while staring at his chest.

”What? Did you just say yummy?” Max says laughingly. I look up at him and he’s smiling.

I blush even deeper and say “Ummm….yeah….I was thinking about what I’m going to order.”

“I see.” Says Max grinning. Why do I even bother to try and cover up? I have a feeling Max knows exactly what I was thinking about. I should just shock the hell out of him and tell him I was talking about him.

“Actually Max. I was thinking you looked yummy.” I say huskily. I glance at him beneath my eyelashes and take in his shocked expression. “And if we weren’t on a double date right now, I would pay the hostess fifty bucks to put us in the darkest corner of the restaurant so I could show you exactly how yummy you are.” I say while running my hand down his chest.

Max starts coughing.

“May I help you?” The hostess says.

I put on my biggest innocent grin and turn to her. “Yes. A table for four please.” The hostess writes this down on her list while curiously glancing at Max who is still involved in his coughing fit.

“Are you ok, sir? Do you need some water?” Max shakes his head no.

I start to pat Max on the back. “Awww, honey. Are you sure you don’t want some ‘yummy’ water before we have our ‘yummy’ dinner?” I say coyly.

“No, I’m…fine…thank you.” Max wheezes.

“Ok then. It should be about 10-15 minutes.” She looks at me. “Your name miss?”

”You can just put the reservation under Yum-Yum Evans.” I say which causes Max to start coughing again. We walk back to Michael and Maria and I notice that they are having a conversation. Finally, Michael and Maria are talking to each other.

“What happened Max? Something caught in your throat?” Maria asks.

“No. I’m ok now.” Max says as he blushes.

“Ok.” Maria turns back to her conversation with Michael.

We sit down next to Maria and Michael to wait the 10-15 minutes and I lay my head on Max’s shoulders while he puts his arm around mine. Max is still shocked by what I admitted and keeps turning his head to look at me. Every time he does, I just smile. Not as innocent as you thought, eh Mr. Evans?

Every once in a while I glance over at Maria to make sure everything is going smoothly. We have a signal. If she ever needs to be rescued at any moment, she’s supposed to pull her earlobe. This is one code I know Max doesn’t know about. How do I know this? Because we just made it up at work today. And unless Max was hiding out underneath one of the tables (which I doubt after the way he hightailed it out of there after lunch) he doesn’t know about this code.

We are finally called to be seated so we follow the hostess to our table. We take our seats and order and then return to our separate conversations. Maria and Michael seem to be getting along pretty well. This works out for me since I can spend more time with Max.

A few minutes later I glance over at them and notice Maria’s brow furrowing. I look at Michael and notice he is scowling. However, there is no tugging on the earlobe…..yet. Oh no. What happened? I stop talking to Max and listen to their conversation thinking I might have to do some damage control.

“No way! Spiderman is so much quicker than Batman. He could totally take him on.”

They are talking about cartoon characters??? Are you kidding me?

“Listen, Spaceboy. Batman has all those fancy gadgets on his belt. What does Spiderman have? Just a web. He’s nothing against Batman.”

“Spaceboy? Spaceboy? Where did that come from, Blondie?”

“I don’t know. I just remember you saying you were into astrology at the Senior Social. You know? Where they made us all tell something about ourselves.”

“Yeah. And you were into aromatherapy.”

“You remember that?”

“You remembered mine. What’s the big deal?”

Ok. The big deal here is that Maria remembered that because she has had a small crush on Michael since the beginning of senior year even if she doesn’t want to admit it. I always teased her about it, but she would just blush and then deny it.

Maria starts smiling. Michael looks confused. Maria leans over and gives him a quick peck on the cheek. Michael actually blushes. How cute. Michael and Maria then start arguing about who was a better detective, Scooby Doo or the Hardy Boys. I think Maria has met her match.


We get our meals and start eating. Mmmmm. Spaghetti and Meatballs. One of my all time favorites. Max is feeding me small bits of his ravioli in exchange for one of my meatballs.

“So Max. I saw Pam Troy trying to talk to you again today.” Michael says.

Max just rolls his eyes. “Yeah. This time she said she needed tutoring in French. I told her no way.”

I just shake my head. I sympathize with Max. I really do. Pam just doesn’t give up. I honestly don’t blame her. It is Max after all. I would have a hard time giving up on him too. But if she doesn’t stop bothering my boyfriend, I may just have to break that pretty little nose she paid so much for.

“Boy, Spam is a piece of work.” Maria says while spearing her fettucine.

“Spam? You call her Spam? How funny. I wouldn’t let her hear it, if I were you.”

“Michael.” Maria says, exasperated. “I call her that to her face.” He looks at me and I nod.

Michael looks shocked but then you can see a new respect for Maria in his eyes. “You are definitely my kind of woman.” Maria blushes and then makes puppy eyes at him. Michael turns back and looks at Max.

”Max. You might get lucky. If a good gust of wind comes along, it might just carry her away considering how many floatation devices she has in her chest and all that air in her brain.” Michael says with a smile. Maria coughs and spits out her food as she starts laughing.

I am flabbergasted. Did Michael just say something funny? I’m so shocked that the meatball that was sitting on my fork has now rolled off back onto my plate. Unfortunately, it splattered sauce onto my shirt. Great. Just my luck. If I had known we were going to eat Italian, I would have never worn white.

Maria looks at me with sympathy once she stops laughing. “Come on Liz. We’d better go to the ladies room and see about that stain.” We get up and head towards the restrooms at the front of the restaurant.

“Oh My God Liz. I love this date! I am having so much fun.”

“I’m so glad Maria. Now aren’t you glad I ‘talked you into this’?”

“What are you talking about? I had to beg you for a month to get this date!”

What did I say…She is L-O-S-I-N-G it! I sigh. It’s not even worth it to argue with her on this point.

We soak some napkins with water and try to remove the stain. “It’s not working, Maria!” I’m panicking. I do not want to walk around for the rest of our date with red splatter marks all over my top.

”It’s ok Liz. We’ll get it. Why don’t you just take off your top and I’ll go get some club soda from the bar.”

“What? You want me to take off my top? Are you crazy? Here in a nice restaurant? No way.”

“Look. Liz. You can hide out in one of the stalls while I go get the club soda. It’s really hard to work on these stains while you are wearing the top.”

“Ok.” I say tentatively. “But hurry, ok?”

“I will. Don’t worry. Now go take off the top and throw it over the door. I’ll put water on the spots and let them soak while I go get the club soda.”

I do as Maria says but feel really awkward standing in the stall half naked. I hear Maria leave to go get the club soda. I wait and wait. It seems to be taking her forever. How long could it possibly take to get a small glass of club soda? About 10 minutes later I finally hear the door open. I’m so anxious that I open the stall to confront Maria.

“What the hell took you so lo….” Oops. It’s not Maria that has entered the bathroom. Oh no. Of course not. Instead, it’s other customers of the restaurant. Three nuns to be exact. Not just any nuns. Older nuns. Oh. My. Lord. How do I explain this one. I look down and see what they see. A young girl wearing nothing but a blue skirt and a nude-colored lacy bra.

“Umm….hi! I…ummm….I’m just…. waiting…. for my….ummm…. friend.”

“Hmmpff.” One of the nuns huffs. “Kids today. Listen here young lady. I may be old but I know exactly what you and your boyfriend were planning on doing in this restroom and you should just forget it. This is a public restroom and is no place for getting frisky.”

“My boyf….Oh no! You don’t understand. I was waiting for my girlfriend.” The nuns are even more shocked. I put my head down in my hands. That didn’t sound too good.

The door opens again and this time it’s Maria. “I’m so sorry Liz! They took forever with the…..” She stops suddenly when she sees me in my bra standing there in front of three nuns. She can’t help it. She busts up laughing. It’s a good thing we are in the restroom since I have a feeling she is going to need to use it soon. She is holding onto the door, bent at the waist and barely breathing, trying not to spill the club soda. Of course, she stopped so suddenly that she hasn’t closed the door all the way yet. What does the open doorway give me a view of? The hostess podium. Where a large party of about 20 people has just shown up and are now all staring curiously into the women’s bathroom. Can you blame them? A half naked brunette, three nuns and a hysterical blonde does peak some curiosity.

“Close the door Maria.” I hiss. She looks behind her and notices all the people gathering around peering in. Right then Max and Michael walk by, obviously coming to see what’s taking us so long. Max sees me and his eyes grow really wide.

“Whoa.” Michael says.

Max claps his hand over Michael’s eyes and stares at me for a moment. His gaze looks….hungry. Oh My Lord. All those things the nuns thought I was going to do? After that look I now want to try some of them! Max snaps out of it and then hurriedly ushers Michael back to the table before Michael sees anything else. Well at least the good bra came in handy today. If I would have known, I could have taken off my skirt so he could have seen the matching underwear too.

“Show’s over people.” Maria states as she closes the door. “Sorry, Liz.”

The nuns huff and leave the restroom. I manage to duck into the stall again before they open the door. By the way Maria is laughing again, I take it everyone is still looking in here. “I said show’s over.” I hear her say.

Maria works on removing the stains from my shirt and I refuse to leave the stall until she is done. She finally finishes and I put my top back on. I don’t even want to leave the restroom stall. I know I am acting childish but how can I help it?

“Maria. Just go on back to the table. I’ll only be a couple of minutes.”

”You promise, Liz?”

“Yeah.”

”Ok. If you are not out in five minutes, I’ll come looking for you and I’ll bring the nuns with me.” She says with a laugh. Ha, ha, Maria. Very funny.

I finally get the courage to leave and step out of the restroom only to find Max there waiting for me.

“Are you ok?”

”Yeah. I’m fine” I say. I can’t quite look Max in the eyes. What if he didn’t like what he saw? What if I’m ‘lacking’ in certain areas. What if……

Max puts my fears to rest by kissing me on the cheek and whispering. “You are so beautiful.” And you know what? It doesn’t matter that people are pointing and staring at me. It doesn’t matter that three nuns now think I’m a sex-crazed lesbian that has a thing for doing it in restaurant bathrooms. It doesn’t matter that I will never come back to this restaurant unless I wear a disguise. All that matters is that Max thinks I’m beautiful….even with my shirt off. I sigh and nuzzle my nose into his neck for a moment.

“Positively yummy” Max whispers and laughs quietly. If it’s even possible, my cheeks get redder. Well, he definitely turned the tables on me there!

“Come on.” He says as he leads me outside.

“But Max….we have to get back to dinner.”

“Just for a minute. Michael and Maria can wait. After that display in there you can’t possibly expect me to go another minute without kissing you properly, can you?”

He pulls me around the corner of the restaurant and leans down to kiss me. My back is against the side of the building while Max pressing himself against me keeps my front warm. He begins to nibble on my lips, asking for entrance when I part my mouth slightly. He slowly slips his tongue inside and starts to tangle it with mine. We close our eyes and we both sigh. This is what I have been waiting for all night. Max’s kisses make everything ok. His hands are resting on my waist and I can tell he is just as affected by the kiss by the way he is squeezing me. We exchange soft lazy kisses for another five minutes before we reluctantly agree that we should go back inside. Max runs his fingers through my hair, kisses my forehead and then leads me back into the restaurant and to our table.


What do you know! The party of 20? Well, they are seated right next to us. Lucky me. They are all pointing at me and I can imagine what they are saying. Max glares at them and so does Maria. We sit down and resume our dinner. Soon we are back to joking around and having fun. I am just hoping no one wants to order desert. I’m more than ready to leave!

“Why don’t we go miniature golfing and then we can get ice cream for desert afterwards?” Max says.

I look at Max gratefully. “Sounds good to me.”

“Yeah. Me too.” Maria says.

“I like ice cream.” Michael states. “Besides I’m too full right now to eat another bite. Let’s just get the check and go.”

“Ready to take me on in miniature golf, Spaceboy?” Maria says.

“Bring it on, Blondie!”





Chapter 8

We get to the miniature golf course and pay for our rounds.

“Nice club you got there Spaceboy.” Maria says.

I laugh while Maria blushes. You can tell she didn’t know what that was going to sound like. I can see she needs help.

“Yeah. You too, Max.” I say wiggling my eyebrows up and down. Max laughs and grabs my hand. Maria and Michael join in the laughter and the tension is lightened. The drive from the restaurant to here was much different than our initial drive. Michael and Maria seem to be very comfortable with each other now and I even saw Michael brush his hand up against Maria’s. Maria was ecstatic. You could see the stars in her eyes.

We get to the first hole and decide to make it a little more interesting by having teams. The girls against the guys. Hmmmm. This could get interesting. I might have to boost Max’s confidence again afterwards since he is going to LOSE! That’s right. What they don’t realize is that when you are a high school student that rarely dates, you go out with your best friend to miniature golf courses, so you get really good at it. Maria and I immediately agree to the bet, which is losers buy the ice cream afterwards. We play the first two holes and of course, Maria and I are winning. Ha, ha boys! The guys are shocked but then Max pulls Michael aside and whispers something to him. That’s ok. They obviously need a strategy if they have any chance at all. Maria and I can read each other’s minds and know we don’t need to talk at all about our strategy. The strategy is to WIN. W-I-N!

“Ready guys or do you need some more time?” I say smirking. Maria laughs and raises her eyebrows at them.

Max looks over at me and says, “Oh yeah. Sorry. I was just talking to Michael about the….. ummm…..hockey game on TV last night.” Hockey game? Since when is Max into hockey. I don’t think so buddy. Nice try.

I go to take a shot but right then Max brushes up against me. I feel his hand slightly graze my arm as he passes behind me. Shivers. That’s what’s running up and down my arm now. The ball that I just hit ends of jumping the curb instead of hitting the wall and turning. Oh crap. That’s not good. Maria glances over and gives a ‘what happened?’ look. I shrug my shoulders and then look over at Max. He is innocently standing next to Michael and whistling. What did just happen? Was that an accident? Oh well. Not like it’s going to help my ball anyway. The other three hit their balls and we continue the game. Of course, my average is off now but Maria did well so we are still in the lead. However, the boys are now closer by two shots.

The next hole involves water, which is Maria’s specialty. I hit my ball and go over to stand next to Max. He takes my hand and rubs his thumb against my palm. I am dreamily staring at him when I hear a shriek and I see Maria’s purple ball go flying and ….. plop…. land right into the water. What is going on? Maria has never missed that shot before. I look over at her and see that her face is all red. Michael is grinning from ear to ear and standing awfully close to her. Ok. Something’s up with these guys. I need to pay closer attention and stop mooning over Max. As Max takes his shot, Maria comes over and stands next to me.

“What happened?” I whisper.

”I don’t know. I felt something in my ear and I could have sworn Michael was blowing in it but it must have been the wind.” She looks at me confused. Ok. This is war. Obviously the boys are up to something.

“Maria, I don’t think it was the wind. I think they are trying to get us flustered so they can win.”

“WHAT?” She yells. Max and Michael look at us.

“Sorry.” Says Maria to them and then turns back to me. “What should we do?” She whispers.

“I say we give them a taste of their own medicine and do the same thing to them.”

Maria looks at me, looks at the boys and then looks back at me grinning and nodding her head. “Definitely.”

This is going to be so much fun.

We finish this hole with the boys only behind one shot now. They are gloating. Just you wait boys….. just you wait.

We get to the next hole and Max is up first. I stand near Max with my back to Michael and Maria. He looks up at me right before his shot and I wink and run my tongue over my lips seductively. Max’s jaw drops and he hits his ball a little too hard.

”Oh Bummer. That’s too bad, honey.” I say in a sugar sweet voice. I look over at Maria and she smiles. I’m next so I take my shot. Max must still be shocked because he does nothing to try and ruin it. Michael glares at Max and then lines up his club with his ball. I notice Maria get closer to him so I pull Max’s head down for a kiss to distract him. Just as Michael is taking his shot, Maria lets out a soft moan. Michael trips over his own feet and his ball stops about one foot from where it started. This is almost too easy. These two little horn dogs are going down!

“What was that?” Max asks.

“Oh nothing.” I say. “It was just me.” Maria and I exchange a look. Max sees this and his eyes narrow. Let the games begin.

The next holes continue like this with someone always missing a shot. We have gotten pretty creative with the coughs, sneezes, and moans. The best was when Maria started screaming “Yes! Yes! Yes!” like in the movie ‘When Harry Met Sally’. It took Michael 11 shots to get his ball in that hole. I think the other players around us must want to know where we ate before we came here.

At the second to the last hole, I concentrate really hard when it is my turn to putt. As I pull my club back, I feel something brush against my rear. Was that Max’s hand? On my butt? Just as I’m swinging my club, I look over and see that it’s not Max but Michael standing next to me. I lose all control and I hit the ball much higher than I intend to. It goes flying. It hits the miniature schoolhouse, breezes by the windmill, and lands behind the small church in a clump of tall bushes at the edge of the course. Oh My Lord. Max and Michael start laughing while Maria is throwing them eye darts. I begin to trudge toward the opposite end of the course to retrieve my ball.

“Wait, Liz. I’ll help you find it.” Max says still laughing.

“I can’t believe he did that!”

“I’m sure it was an accident.” He smiles. Sure it was.

“I’m such a klutz anyway.” I say.

“No, you’re not. You are perfect just the way you are.” He tucks a strand of hair behind my ear as he says this.

“Thanks, Max.” How can I stay mad at him after that? Not possible.

“Now let’s go get your ball.”



Ok. How hard is it to find a freakin’ hot pink ball in a bunch of green bushes? We have been in here for five minutes. It should totally stand out but it doesn’t. Max and I are ducking to avoid branches trying to find this ball.

“Do you see it?” I ask him.

“Not yet.” He replies.

All of a sudden Max grabs my hand and pulls me towards him.

“You know it’s kind of nice in here. Kind of like a forest.”

”Yeah…a miniature one. I feel like a giant.”

“It’s private.”

“Yeah…” Wait? Private? Private as I can jump Max with no one seeing? Private as I can kiss him senseless? Yay! Now I can ravish Max like I’ve wanted to all night. How long before Maria and Michael miss us? I jump towards Max, knocking him over. I straddled his waist while kissing him feverishly. He pulls my hair back and kisses me back. I gently rub the lower half of my body against his stomach. He groans. I’m not quite brave enough to go lower but he gets the picture. His hands have moved down my back and are starting to move up again underneath my shirt. FINALLY! He leisurely strokes my back with one hand while kissing me all over my face. We realize that we are in a public place with lots of families so our kisses begin to gentle. After all, how horny can you get when you are at a place where all the other people are here because they can’t get into a Rated R movie?

“Do you know how beautiful you are?” Max says. I feel like I’m the most precious thing in the world to him.

I smile and kiss him again. “How can we ditch Michael and Maria?” He asks while giving me a pointed look.

I laugh. “I don’t know if that’s possible. If we cut the date short, Maria would absolutely kill me.”

“Yeah, Michael too.”

“Really?”

”Yeah. I think he really likes Maria. You should have seen him before the date. He was a wreck.”

“Sounds familiar.” I say thinking of Maria and her meltdown.

“I think we should make this OUR forest.” I say as I roll off of him and snuggle up next to him. I lean into his chest and use his arm as a pillow. From our position on the ground we look up through the branches at the stars.

“Sounds good to me.” He answers.

Pretty soon, Michael and Maria come looking for us making sure they call our names extra loud. We see the bushes part above us and Michael and Maria’s faces appear.

“What are you two doing?” Maria says.

“Nothing.” I answer.

“Wanna join us?” Max says.

“Uhh, no. I don’t think so.”

“How did you find us?”

”Liz.” She says exasperated. “Your feet are totally sticking out of the bushes here.”

“It’s not bushes. It’s a forest.”

“I see.” Maria says while using her index finger to make circles in the air next to her head and looking at Michael. He starts laughing.

“Hey. I am not crazy.” I say while standing up and brushing off. Max follows suit and after we are done, he grabs my hand.

“Where’s your ball?” says Michael.

“Well, I never could find it. Do you see it anywhere?”

”Distracted, were we? No, I don’t see it. We only had one more hole anyway. Should we just go?”

“Yeah. I’m ready.” Maria says.

“Me too.” Says Max.

”Me three.” I say. “Wait. Who won?”

“I say we call it even.” Says Maria.

“Yeah.” Michael agrees.

“Definitely. We’ll buy the ice cream since Liz lost her ball.” He smiles at me.



We head over to Baskin Robbins, which is right across the street. Maria and I start looking at the new ice cream flavors. After about five minutes of looking, Maria asks me, ”What are you going to get Liz?”

“The usual. You?”

”The usual.”

“Max, we are going to grab a table before they’re all gone, ok?”

“Ok. What do you guys want?”

”The usual.” Maria and I say together. We look at each other and laugh.

”Maria will have Mint Chocolate Chip with Hot Fudge.” I say.

“And Liz will have Cookies n’ Cream with Strawberry topping.” Maria says.

The guys stay in line to order while Maria and I sit down.

“Are you still having fun Maria?”

”Oh my God, Liz. I am having the best time! I will probably get hit by a truck or something because this seems too good to be true.”

“I’m so happy for you! Well, not about the truck part but about the having fun part.”

”Yeah. And while we were waiting for you guys to find your ball, Michael asked me out again…..alone this time.” We both squeal and kick our feet. All the customers turn toward us and we start laughing.

“By the way, what did you do to Max earlier?” Maria asks. “He totally had a towel rack when he was coming out of the bushes!” The towel rack. That is when a guy….well, ummm…..let’s just say…..’stands at attention’? He now has a place to hang a towel.

”He did not ‘Ria.” I say blushing.

“Honey. He had a rack that could fit one of those extra large bath towels. You were just too starry eyed to notice.” I blush even more.

Right then, Max and Michael return with our ice cream. Thank God! I need something to cool me down.

”What were you guys talking about?” Max asks.

“Nothing.” I mumble.

“Oh, we were just talking about some extra big towels I saw on sale. You need any towels Max?” I choke on my ice cream and give Maria a death glare. She just laughs. Max and Michael look confused.
“Umm…..no, not that I know of.”

As we are eating, the subject gets changed to the fact that Maria has a new Xbox.

“No way.” Michael says.

“Yeah. It’s totally cool.” I think Michael likes Maria even more now if at all possible. “You wanna play sometime?”

“Really?” Michael looks like a kid in a candy store.

“Yeah. We can go now if you want.”

“Yeah. Let’s go. You guys want to come too.” Maria is pleading with me with her eyes to say no.

I look at Max and he looks at me. “Nah, that’s ok. We’ll drop you guys off at Maria’s and then I’ll take Liz home. Can you get home from Maria’s, Michael?”

“No problem, Max. I can drive him home when we are done.” Maria says.

“Ok. Let’s go.” Michael says.

We drop Michael and Maria off and say goodbye. I give Maria a hug and whisper “I want all the details tomorrow.”

“No problem.” She whispers back. “Same here. Especially if you go towel shopping.” She says giggling. I blush yet again. Isn’t there only so much blood in a person’s body? I swear I’ve used all mine today to blush.

Max opens the door to the jeep for me and then walks over to his side to get in.
“Should I take you home?” Max says.

“Well….” I say “It’s only 9:30….” I say. Inside I am pleading…’Please don’t take me home. Please don’t take me home. Please don’t take me home.’

”Yeah……do you still want to see my room?” He asks sheepishly.

“YES!” I yell. “I mean….sure. We have some time to kill.”

Max grins and starts the jeep and we head over to his house. I can hardly wait.

Chapter 9


Max calls home to tell them he is bringing me over so there are no surprises and ends up speaking to Isabel. His end of the conversation is a little confusing.

“Hi Isabel? It’s Max. Tell mom and dad I am coming home and bringing Liz over. What? Yeah, she’s right here.” He looks at me. “Ummm, no. Ummmm, a skirt.” I hear him whisper. What? What is she asking him and why? “Beautiful. Yes, as always. Yeah, we had fun. Yes, Michael behaved. I’m not going to tell you who won. What? No. Isabel I have to go. Just tell mom and dad we’re on our way. Ok. Bye.”

Max puts his cell phone away and grabs my hand again. I sigh.

“How is Isabel?”

“Good.” Ok. So is he going to tell me about his conversation or not?

“Why did she want to know what I was wearing?”

“Ummm…..what do you mean?”

“You told her I was wearing a skirt. Why does she care?”

“Umm. I don’t know.” Max won’t look at me and he is now very red.

“So do you think Maria had fun?” Max asks. Subject change! Obviously, I am not getting anymore out of Max. I think I am going to have to get some information from Isabel.

“Yeah. I think she had a blast. She has been begging me for weeks to get you to talk to Michael about a double date. I think she has liked him for a while now but wouldn’t admit to anything.”

“Yeah. I’ve caught Michael looking at her too. He had fun too, I think. Except at the end of the golf game.”

I blush. All I remember from the end of the golf game was Michael touching me where I only thought Max would ever be touching me.

“Yeah. I was pretty surprised he did that. I can’t believe you guys would do that to win.”

“What? You think he planned that?” Max looks over at me with his eyes wide.

“Well….”

”Liz. I told you that was an accident.”

“I thought you were being sarcastic.” I say.

“There is no way I would have just stood by as my best friend touches my girlfriend’s uhhh….. nether region….. if it hadn’t been an accident. You should have seen his face. He was more shocked then you were. The plan was for him to nudge you just a bit on your arm but you moved just as he was doing it. I was about to punch his lights out until I saw his face and how stunned he was.”

“I see.” I say relief washing over me knowing it wasn’t intentional. Thank God! I guess since it was an accident I can say that my butt is still untouched. I still have virgin butt cheeks. Yay for me! Now if only Max would devirginize them! That would be good.



When we get to Max’s house we see his mom first in the living room.
“Hi Liz. This is a surprise. I didn’t know you were coming over tonight.” Mrs. Evans says.

“Hi Mrs. Evans. Well, we got done with our date early and umm…..well…..”

“Isabel didn’t tell you I was bringing Liz over? I called twenty minutes ago.” Max says.

”No, she didn’t. She must have forgot. She’s been upstairs this whole time. What are you two going to do?”

“Ummm….I was just going to show Liz this…uhh….Biology website I’ve been telling her about and then we were just going to hang out.“

“Oh. Ok. Your dad and I are headed out to see the meteor shower that’s supposed to happen tonight but we should be back in a few hours. It was nice to see you again Liz.”

“You too Mrs. Evans. Have a good time.”

“Thanks honey. Don’t forget to get her home on time Max.”

”I won’t mom. Bye.” Max kisses his mom on the cheek. Awwww. How cute.
We go upstairs and adorned all along the stairwell are the cutest pictures. What are they? They are of a “young” Max and Isabel. Sigh. So he was always this cute. I knew it! I keep stopping and asking him how old he was in the pictures. Max is embarrassed and tries to push me along. Bummer. No picture of him naked on a bearskin rug? Maybe if I get to know his parents really well, I can get his mom to pull out all the secret family albums hidden away only for special guests.

As we get to the top of the stairs, Max says he’s going to wash his hands real quick and tells me to go ahead to his bedroom, which is the second door on the left. Wait. The second door on the left from the top of the stairs or from here? We’ve already passed one door. I figured he means from the top of the stairs. I get to the door and start to turn the doorknob. I enter his room with my eyes closed. I want to sense everything…. so I start with smell. I’m breathing deeply when I realize that what I smell is……. acetone. Acetone? What? Was Max doing chemistry experiments in here? I open my eyes slowly and see powder pink walls and girls clothes draped over a desk chair and there in the middle of the room painting her toenails is Isabel…. looking at me strangely. Oh. My. God. I’m in the wrong room! I’m in the wrong room! I entered the wrong room with my eyes closed. How in the hell do I explain that one?

“Ummm, Isabel! I’m so sorry to…umm…bother you! Ummm….. Max….. ummm… said I should say hi…. but I wasn’t sure if you were decent…. so I …. ummm…. closed my eyes.” Lame. Very lame.

“Why didn’t you just knock?” She asks. I can tell she is amused. At least she’s not turning me into an ice sculpture with one of her frosty glares.

I am crimson red by now. “Ummm….I…..”

“It’s ok Liz. I don’t bite.”

“I never thought you did!” Well, I have thought it a time or two but she doesn’t need to know that!

“Are you looking for Max’s room?”

“Uh, yeah.”

”It’s the next room down the hall.” She says with a twinkle in her eye.

“Ok. Thanks.“

“I like your skirt.”

“Oh. Thanks. Yeah about that……” I say. “I was wondering why you were asking Max what I was wearing when he called.”

“You heard that? What did Max say?”

”He said he didn’t know why.”

“Well….maybe I shouldn’t say anything then…..”

”Isabel. Please?”

”Ok. But you didn’t hear this from me. Well, Max has this thing for your legs.”

“My what? My legs? What’s wrong with them? Oh My God. I’m never wearing a skirt again!”

“What? No, Liz. You don’t understand. He likes them. A lot. He was always staring at them whenever you wore a skirt. Michael and I used to tease him all the time.”

“Really? That’s kind of weird.”

Isabel laughs. “That’s what we thought. Oh well. It’s his fetish. He is going to be so mad when he finds out you know.”

“Don’t worry. I won’t tell him that you told me.”

“Thanks. But he’ll figure it out.”

“Well, I should go find his room. I guess I’ll see you later.”

“Ok. Hey. Don’t forget to look under his pillow.” She leans down to finish her toes and I see her smiling. I wonder why? I don’t know if I’ve ever seen Isabel truly smile before. Look under Max’s pillow? What would I do that for? I guess since my plan is to roll round in his bed anyway, I could take a quick peek.



I go to the next door and decide I’d better enter this one with my eyes open. I open the door and my jaw drops and my eyes just about pop out of my head. I am shocked at what I see. There is a HUGE Backstreet Boys poster above the bed. Another one of N’Sync on the wall. The screen saver is flashing on his computer and it says I LOVE JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE on it. Spread out on the bed is a variety of Cosmo magazines and one magazine for Interior Decorating. There is a pink feather boa draped across his desk chair and a disco ball hanging from the light in the center of the ceiling. I would think I stepped into the wrong room again except I see his backpack on the bed and trust me; I know the backpack of Max Evans! So I only come to one conclusion….. The guy is GAY! I’m a front for a closeted gay guy in high school. Figures. I knew this was too good to be true. He doesn’t have a foot fetish. He didn’t play truth or dare. He’s gay. Will I still date him? Hell Yes! He can be whatever he likes as long as he’s MINE! I wonder how long I can keep him in the closet? Maybe after our third child? I am still standing in the doorway trying to take in what I am seeing when Max appears behind me.

“Liz? Why are you standing in the……What the…..? OH MY GOD! ISABEL!!! I am going to kill you! Get your posters and stuff out of my room!” Max is seething. He storms over to Isabel’s door and starts to bang on it.

I can hear her laughing in her room. I finally understand what’s happening and I can’t hold back and I join her in laughter. I start laughing like a hyena. Who would have thunk it? The Ice Princess has a sense of humor. Max looks over at me with his eyes wide. He is NOT happy. I am holding my sides trying not to snort but of course, I do nothing but snort. Isabel finally opens her door and she is also laughing hysterically. Max is dumbfounded and he shakes his head as he points determinedly to his room. Isabel skips to his room and starts to remove all her stuff.

”Thank God.” I finally gasp out. “I was getting worried there for a minute Max. Although it would seem to go along with my track record with guys if you turned out to be gay.” Isabel starts laughing again.

Max glares at me and I am still doubled over with laughter.

“Come on Max,” Isabel says trying to speak. “Lighten up. It was only a joke. This is the first time you’ve had a girl in your room so I had to do something!”

Wait. That statement ceases my laughter. This is the first time he’s brought a girl to his room? Max? Romance novel God? I look over at him and he’s blushing while looking at the ground and trying not to look at me.
Isabel must think it’s cute because she goes “Awwww. Doesn’t Liz know yet about your obsession with her?”

Max’s head snaps up and he rushes towards Isabel, grabbing her and pushing her towards her room. As they are struggling (with Max winning) Isabel yells over her shoulder “Since Freshman year!!!”

What? WHAT? WHAT!!!???!!! You mean all this time wasted when I could have had him? All that staring for nothing? All that making out we could have done?

Max returns from Isabel’s room and looks at me sheepishly. ”I guess it was a pretty good joke.” Ok. Obviously we are skirting around the issue of him liking me since Freshman Year. I’ll bite….for now!

“Oh yeah. One of the best I’ve seen. Your sister has a wicked sense of humor. I love it!”

“Yeah. I usually like it more when I’m not the object the joke is played on. So this is my room…. uhhh… without the feather boa, of course.”

“It’s nice.” Without all the ‘extras’ I focus on where Max spends his time. He has a queen size bed in the middle of the room with a navy blue bedspread. A small desk in the corner with his computer on top (which still says ‘I Love Justin Timberlake’) and a bookshelf on the other wall. All in all, it’s a typical teenage boys room. I wish I could stay here forever.

”So… did you really have a website that you wanted me to see?”

“Uh no. I know you wanted to see my room and I just wanted to be alone with you for a few minutes.” He looks at me and I sigh. This guy is too cute for words.

“Well, you have me alone. Now what do you want to do with me?” I start to sit down on his bed as I say this. The plan was to cross my legs and lean back on my hands while looking at Max coyly. Good plan, huh? Well, it doesn’t quite work out that way. I didn’t realize how close to the edge I was so I miss the bed and end up on the floor with a loud thump. Ok. Well, that was smooth. Yes, I am seduction at it’s finest!

Isabel knocks from the next room and yells through the wall “Knock the kinky stuff off you guys! I’m still here! Wait until I leave to do whatever it is you are doing!”

Max laughs and helps me up. As I sit down, he sits next to me holding my hand. “You know what Liz?” he says as he leans in for a kiss.

“What” I breathe, waiting for the kiss.

“What Isabel said was true.” He begins to nibble my lips. My brain is now fuzzy. What is he saying? I can’t quite make it out through the fog that has settled in. What Isabel said? ‘Knock it off’? Wasn’t that what she said?

“What?” I say breathlessly. I want him to stop nibbling and get to the good stuff.

“About liking you since Freshman Year.” He says while pressing kisses along my jaw.

“Hmmm…It’s true?” I say. Then what he says sinks into my foggy mind and all of a sudden, I am pushing him away.

“It’s TRUE???” I say a little louder glaring at him. I get up from the bed and start to pace. He looks startled.

“It’s true. He tells me it’s true.” I’m mumbling while pacing back and forth in his room. “Max Evans has liked me since the ninth grade. The romance novel hero God person has liked me! Little Lizzie Parker!” I’m ranting. I stop my pacing and look over at him “Do you know how long I’ve liked you Max? Do you? Do you realize that we could have been together these past FOUR years?” I say while holding up four of my fingers. “That’s how long I’ve liked you too. That’s how long I’ve pined away for you while you looked the other way. That’s how long I’ve been waiting for you to ask me out.” Max looks at me like he doesn’t know whether to say something or take me straight to the asylum. I’m not portraying the best side of me but at this point I don’t care.

“What about Kyle? You dated him.” If possible, I glare at him harder. Now I know he wants to take me to a mental institution.

My pacing has just doubled. “Yeah Max. Like TWICE. And only because you didn’t ask me! He knew I was in love with someone else the whole time.” I don’t even realize what I just said. I begin to mumble again about how life is unfair and how I was born under an unlucky star.

“In love?” He whispers.

I stop….dead. Oh my God! Did I just tell the guy of my dreams that I am in love with him. Hmmm, let me reflect. Yep. I sure did. Not the ideal setting. I mean… where’s the candlelight? Where are the roses? Why didn’t he say it first?

“Umm….well….what I meant was…..” Ok. There is no way out of this one. He already thinks I am insane so why not just bite the bullet and go for it? I nod my head slightly but I still can’t look at Max. What if I’m telling him too soon? What if this scares him away? What if……

“I love you too.” He says very softly. My eyes widen. Did he just say what I think he said? All of a sudden, I can’t breathe.

“Liz? Did you hear me? Liz?” I still can’t say anything and I still can’t breathe. Max begins to look worried. “Are you ok?” I let out my breath in one big huff and then I start breathing very shallow and very fast. “Liz? Oh my God. Sit down. Put your head between your legs. I’ll be right back.” I do what he says and he runs out of his room and returns a minute later with a paper bag in his hand. He pulls my head up by my hair and I yelp. The next thing I know he is shoving the bag over my mouth.

“Breathe, Liz. Just Breathe.” I finally stop hyperventilating and look over at Max who is looking very worried.

”Can you say that again?” I gasp with tears in my eyes.

He looks at me and can see that I am finally breathing normally. “I don’t know if I should. Will you promise that it won’t take your breath away?” He says with a smile.

“You know I can’t make that promise.” I say.

“I love you Liz.” He says while looking into my eyes, which are spilling over.

“I love you too.” And then I attack.



Chapter 10

I kiss Max long and hard while pushing him back onto his bed. My hands have a death grip on his hair. He gasps and then moans making me feel all the more aggressive. His hands have made their way into my hair as I straddle his body and rain kisses all over his face and neck. He pulls me up to his mouth again and holds me there for a minute. Our tongues are dueling while our hands begin to roam everywhere. I never knew two people could kiss with this much passion. We are seriously consuming each other. Max makes his way to the side of my shirt where the ties are holding it together.

“Liz?” He whispers while still trying to kiss me at the same time. “Let me know if you are uncomfortable at all, ok?”

“Ok.” I whisper back. ‘Shut up and keep kissing me’ my mind is screaming. He unties my shirt and then spreads the two sides apart. He looks down and his eyes darken while his finger runs along my collarbone.

“My God. You are so beautiful.” He says.

Until then I have had my eyes closed. I open them and stare at him and try to speak.

“Gumpaafaiaalaiel…..” I gargle out.

“What?” Max laughs.

I turn red. Let’s see if we can try that again, shall we? Take deep breaths first. Slow down and separate the syllables, Liz. “Umm…..take off your shirt…..please?” I say hesitantly while pulling at the hem of his shirt.

Max stares at me a moment longer and I think I have gone too far when he hurries to pull his t-shirt over his head. I think he was in too much of a hurry though because he tries to pull it over his head and through his arms at the same time and he gets stuck. He continues to struggle with his arms waving wildly as I begin to giggle. So much for Mr. Smooth Operator. He finally frees himself of the shirt mumbling something about it being a ‘devil shirt’ and my giggles cease as he lies back down. Holy Lord. I stare down at his chest in awe. Can I just tell you? This guy is HOT! He must work out every day and he must also have a tanning booth hidden under his bed. I’m going to be checking for it later. How did I get so lucky? I need to stop cursing God for being born under an unlucky star because He just made it all up to me at once! This one moment right here is worth any embarrassment and humiliation I’ve EVER had to suffer. I stare some more and then start to run my hands lightly along his ribs. Max closes his eyes and his nostrils start flaring. Good sign. I smile and then apply a little more pressure to his chest. His hands are clenched on my waist and I can see his knuckles turning white. I lean the top of my body down so I am lying on his chest with the ends of my hair grazing along his collarbone.

“Max?” I think a little teasing is in order.

His eyes pop open. “Yeah?” He squeaks.

“I was just wondering if you were falling asleep because you had your eyes closed. I thought maybe we could kiss some more.”

“Ummm, no.” He says breathlessly.

“No, we can’t kiss some more?” I say smiling.

“NO! Umm, I mean no, I’m not going to sleep.”

“Oh. Ok. Good.” I lean down for another kiss and his hands rub up and down my back. We kiss and kiss and kiss. Small sweet nibbles soon turn into overwhelming kisses of hunger and passion. I swear his lips were made to kiss. My lips on the other hand will be bruised for a week after this but I don’t care! I will gladly walk around school with ice packs attached to my mouth as long as Max doesn’t stop kissing me right now.

Max tries to roll me over so I am underneath him while continuing to kiss me passionately. Unfortunately, my hair gets stuck under his arm and we have to squirm and readjust before we can continue. Total amateurs. Honestly, just knowing Max is just as inexperienced as I am leaves me feeling all warm and tingly. Well, that’s what practicing is for, right? To gain experience? I’m hoping that Max and I will be doing a lot of ‘practicing’ on this. He is back to tracing my collarbone with trembling fingers while my hands have gone to exploring his back. He has muscles EVERYWHERE! His hand travels a little lower and I hold my breath waiting for him to touch my breast. I close my eyes and kiss him harder, encouraging him to move his hand further. Right when he’s at the side of my breast, I feel him hesitate. Oh no, not again! Please don’t make him go all Boy Scout on me now. So what do I do? I shift my body up so that his hand is now fully cupping my breast. I sigh into his mouth while he yelps into mine. This is what I have been waiting for Max to do. I think he is a little taken aback by my bold move but definitely not dumb enough to lose this opportunity. My hands are holding his head while I devour his mouth.

“God, Liz. You are so soft.” Max mumbles while kissing me. I move my hands down his neck and begin to knead his back while I kiss him back. I arch my body needing more. Max complies by applying a little more pressure with his hands and then starts kissing his way down my jaw. We both moan. Oh. My. God. Max is touching me. Max is touching my breasts. My boobs. My mounds of pleasure…….well, at least that’s what they feel like right now! He slowly makes his way down to the top of my bra and then kisses along the edge. Oh My God. This feels sooooooo good. He makes his way back to my mouth and then consumes me with another kiss. We continue this way for quite a while and then Max moves his hand back up to my face and I roll him over so I am on top again.

“Liz?”

“Mmmm-hmmm?” I say while kissing his ear and running my hands down his chest. Max’s hands are running from my neck down to my waist.

”We need to slow down.”

“Why?” I say confused.

“Why?” Max chokes. “Umm…..well…..”

As I shift on top of Max, I feel what this is doing to “little Max”. Wow. Did I do that to him? And how the hell was he able to hide that this whole time? Time to break out some more towels for the rack. “I see.” I say while blushing and rolling off of Max.

Before I can scoot off the bed, Max grabs my hand and anchors me to his side. “No. Don’t go.” He says. “Liz. I love you and….. I….I want you…… but I think we need to wait a while before we……. explore any more of the physical side of our relationship. I respect you too much to go too far too soon. Okay?”

“Okay.” I say. I look over at Max and he is looking down at me with love in his eyes. My hand is still grasped in his. “I love you too.”

“I’ll never tire of hearing that from you.”

I smile.

“Do you want something to drink?” He says.

“Yeah” I say and then I mumble “Something very cold.”

“What was that?”

”Umm….how about a cola?”

“Okay. I’ll be right back.” Max puts on his shirt and leaves the bedroom.


When Max leaves, I sigh and roll over on my stomach. Then what Max and I have been doing finally hits me. I squeal into his pillows and start kicking my feet on his bed. I notice that my shirt is still untied. Ok, dilemma! Do I retie it before he comes back or leave it as is so we can perhaps try all that again later??? In the end I decide I’d better retie it just in case Isabel comes in but I leave the knot loose. When I finish I figure I’d better get all my excitement out again before he comes back so I squeal into his pillows one more time.

When I finish, I am straightening out the bed when my hand feels something underneath the pillow. Wait. Didn’t Isabel say I should look under Max’s pillow? I guiltily glance at the door before pulling out the item. After all, Isabel did say I should look, right? So I technically have permission….just not from Max….but that doesn’t matter…..it’s permission. I slowly pull my hand out from underneath his pillow and notice that it’s an envelope, which is pretty crinkled like it’s been opened a lot. I open the envelope and see that it has pictures and a rubber band in there.

Pictures? I glance at the pictures and notice that they are all of me. Moi??? There is my freshman yearbook picture. Ok….yuck! Why in God’s name would he want that picture? Freshmen year was when bangs and short hair were the ‘in’ thing and the picture was taken before my braces were taken off. There are also my sophomore, junior and senior year pictures. We are getting better but still…..school pictures? Not my best. The last picture is one of Max and I together, which was taken (I think) about two weeks ago when we were sitting on the grass eating lunch. I have my head resting on his shoulder staring up at him and he is leaning down looking at me. I didn’t even know this picture was taken. I look at it closely again and realize that I am wearing a skirt with my legs stretched out in front of me. That must be why Max likes this picture so much.

As I am leafing through the pictures again, Max returns with our drinks. The rubber band has stumped me. I still haven’t figured that out. Maybe it used to hold the pictures together and he just forgot to put it on them the last time he looked at them?

“Ok Liz. One Coke for you….” I look up from the pictures and hold up the one of us together.

“Who took this picture?” Max is speechless. I’m actually surprised that he hasn’t dropped the sodas.

“Umm…..ummm…..where did you get those?”

“Max.” I say as I roll my eyes. ”Who took this picture?”

“Ummm…..Isabel. She said it was the first time I looked truly happy.” He says sheepishly. Awww. How cute.

“Can I get a copy?”

“Sure. Ummm…..where did you find those?”

“Under your pillow.” I say matter of factly. Max closes his eyes in mortification. I shrug my shoulders and look at the pictures again.

“Umm….well….Liz….you see…..”

”It’s ok, Max. I have ones of you under my pillow too. I just don’t have this one. I like this one.”

“Really?”

”Yeah.”

“Which ones do you have of me?”

“Well, great minds must think alike because I have all of your school pictures also. And one that Maria managed to take while at some school activity. It’s one of you last year laughing with Michael. I love that picture.” I say dreamily.
Max laughs.

“Why do you like this one Max?” I say slyly hoping to get him to admit the leg fetish.

“Ummmm…..well….I just like that we are together in it…..and we’re happy.”

Oh. My. God. Can this guy get any sweeter? “Awww….” I say. “I definitely want a copy now.”

“Ok. You have to show me the ones you keep too.”

”Ok.” I start to put the pictures back and then I remember the rubber band. “Do you use this to hold the pictures together.” I say while holding up the rubber band.

”Uhh…no…actually….it just ….uhhh… goes in the envelope.” Max has turn completely red now.

”Why?” I ask suspiciously.

“Ummmm……”

”Come on Max. Just tell me. It can’t be that bad.”

“It just reminds me of you.” He says and shrugs his shoulders.

“What? Why?” Now I am thoroughly confused. I am a rubber band? How in the heck am I a rubber band???

“It was the one that you shot me in the eye with. You know….freshman year? Do you remember?”

My eyes get really big. He still has that??? Oh my Lord. Do I remember? Do I remember??? Of course! It was the single most embarrassing moment in my life. I can’t help it. I attack again. I jump up, throw my body at Max, which in turn slams the door shut behind him and sloshes cola all over his carpet as he stretches his arms out trying not to drop the sodas on the floor. This causes another wall-knocking from Isabel.

“You are the best boyfriend ever!” I say as I rain kisses all over Max’s face.

“Wow.” Max says. “From now on, I am keeping every rubber band you ever touch!”



After hanging out with Max in his room for a while, we both realize that it’s time for me to go home. As Max is driving I keep crossing and uncrossing my legs. All of a sudden, Max pulls over to the side of the road and screeches the car to a stop.

“Isabel told you!”

”Isabel told me what?”

”About the leg thing!”

“Damn, you’re good. She told me you would figure it out but I didn’t think it would be this soon.”

”I can’t believe she told you.”

“Max. It’s not like she just blurted it out. I was hounding her after I heard you phone conversation earlier.”

“I still can’t believe she told you. Doesn’t a pinky swear mean anything anymore?” He mumbles.

“You pinky swear too?” I ask incredulously.

“We did all the time when we were kids. Now we do just when it’s necessary. Why? Do you?”

”Maria and I used to all the time. She doesn’t know the meaning of a true pinky swear either.”

”Let me guess. Donny Osmond?”

”Oh My God. You heard about that?”

“Liz. I think everyone heard about that. I think it’s kind of cute. Don’t worry I won’t tell anyone. I’ll even pinky swear to it.”

”Ha, ha. Nice promise since everyone already knows. Tell you what though.” I say slyly. “I’ll make you a deal. You don’t tell anyone about my bathroom experience this evening and I won’t tell anyone about your leg fetish.”

“Liiiiizz. It’s not a leg fetish. It’s not like I stare at everyone’s legs.” Then he mumbles but I still hear him. “Only yours.”

I smile “Awww Max. How sweet. Still, it’s great girl talk for Maria and Alex.”

Hi eyes widen. “Ok. I won’t tell.” Max says very quickly. We smile as we hold out our pinkies together and swear. He then pulls my hand towards him while our pinkies are still entwined and kisses my knuckle and then puts both our hands in his lap. I think I like this version of pinky swearing much better. As long as it’s with Max of course. I don’t think Maria would go for that.

I shiver and Max asks “Are you cold?”

“Ummmm….” Not really but I don’t want to tell him that his touch causes the shivering. “A little. I guess.”

“My jacket’s in the back if you want to wear it.”

Hmmm, let’s see. Wearing Max’s leather jacket and being surrounded by his smell or not? What a question! Of course I want to wear the jacket! I hurriedly put the jacket on before Max can change his mind. He must think I’m really cold now since I dove for the jacket.

“I’m sorry Liz. I didn’t realize you were that cold.”

“Ummm….no, that’s okay. I’m fine now.” The jacket makes me a little warm but there is no way in Hell I am giving this up.

I snuggle deeper into the jacket inhaling his scent. My God he smells good. I wonder if it tastes like him? I dart a glance and Max and see that he his watching the road intently. I stick out my tongue and taste the inside of his jacket. Fuzz. That’s all I encounter and now my tongue is full of it. I am hurriedly wiping my tongue off with my finger trying to get all the fuzz off that is now entwined around my taste buds and I notice that Max is looking at my curiously.

“Ummm…..I’m still hungry?” I say with a weak smile.

He raises his eyebrow, smiles and then looks back at the road. When we get to my house, Max helps me out of the car, takes my hand and walks me to the door. I put my other hand in the pocket of his jacket and notice that he has something in there. Hmmm. It’s round. It’s hard. What is it? I slowly remove my hand with the object in it and notice that it’s a hot pink golf ball. MY golf ball? From the game? Max notices that I have stopped in my tracks and looks to see what I’m doing. He sees the golf ball in my hand and blushes.

“Ummm…..Yeah….ummmm….I finally found it.”

“When?” I ask.

“When?” He squeaks.

“Was it after Maria and Michael found us?”

”Uhhh…..no….”

“Was it while we were lying there in our ‘forest’?”

”Ummmm…..no....”

“So when?”

“Ummm….well…..when we first got there. It was kind of hard to miss it.” He says sheepishly.

“Yeah. I thought I was going crazy for not seeing it. So you kept it just so we could spend some time together.”

”Well, yeah.”

“You are too cute.”

“Here give me the ball.”

”No, I want to keep it. You have the rubber band so I think I should get the golf ball.”

”I’ll give it right back.”

Max walks over to his car, opens the passenger door and is doing something with the ball. Unfortunately his back is to me so I can’t see what he is doing. He shuts the door and walks back to me.

“Here. You keep it.”

I look down at the ball and notice that he has written something on it. In Max’s neat handwriting are the words ‘Max Evans Loves Liz Parker’ and the date. I can’t help it. I attack again. I turn around and launch myself at Max again. Since Max wasn’t expecting this, he had moved to walk towards the porch. Since I was looking at the ball, I didn’t know this so what I actually launched myself at was thin air. I end up landing on my butt and Max turns around just as I do. He runs over to help me up.

“Are you ok?” He asks worriedly.

“Umm…yeah….” I’m fine I say while rubbing my rear.

Max starts rubbing the hurt away also. Yay! My cheeks are officially devirginized! Who cares that it’s not in a moment of passion. THIS ONE COUNTS!!! Because it’s Max.

I’m so excited that I jump up and wrap my arms around Max’s neck and start kissing him. I throw all that I am in the kiss and he responds. I don’t care that my bruised lips are now numb or that my hair is quickly becoming a mess. I don’t care that I’ve disheveled Max’s clothes and mine are just as bad. I care that Max knows exactly how I feel about him at exactly this moment. I think the point is getting across, don’t you?

Max has leaned me up against the railing while holding onto me for dear life. Our passion slows down and turns into gentle kisses of love. All the while we are murmuring how much the other means to us. Max eventually eases his body away from mine.

“I should go. Otherwise, I won’t be able to.”

”Ok.” I say while cupping his cheek. “Thank you for the best night of my life.” I say sincerely while looking into his eyes.

“Mine too.” He whispers. With one last lingering kiss, Max walks backwards to his car. I sigh and unlock the door and go into the house. I look at the clock and realize that it’s 12:30. I’m late and I didn’t get the flashing porch lights. My dad is so cool. I go to bed that night with sweet dreams of Max that soon turn into wild fantasies. Oh my. Can life get any better than this? I think not!

Chapter 11 (Epilogue)

I wake up Monday morning excited about heading to school. I only saw Max for a few minutes yesterday since we both had to work, him the day shift and me the evening shift. Maria was also busy visiting her grandmother in the next town which means that today I will get all the details about the rest of her date (or what she didn’t tell me on the phone Sunday morning in the two minutes before her mom dragged her away). Max and I made arrangements to meet in front of my first class so I’m busy getting my books out of my locker when Maria comes barreling down the hallway. Once again she is running as if her life depends on it. She stops at my locker grinning from ear to ear.

“Oh My GOD, Liz! I had the best time on Saturday night.”

”Yeah? I’m so glad! What did you guys do? What did Michael say? Did he have fun on the double date? Did you? How was playing XBox after we dropped you off?”

”Not much. Not much. Yes. Yes. And I totally kicked his ass.”

”You did? Wow.”

”Well, in one out of five games.”

“I see.” I say smiling. Have I told you that Maria has a tendency to exaggerate?

“Lizzie. We had so much fun. We talked and we played and then we talked some more. My mom pretty much left us alone but you could tell she was totally impressed that he had me home early. I took him home and…and….. guess what?” Now she is jumping up and down hardly containing herself. If she doesn’t get her news out soon I’m afraid she’s going to pee herself. She starts kissing her own hand while closing her eyes and making smacking noises. Gee, I wonder what happened? This has caught the attention of everyone passing us in the halls. I glare back at them hoping they don’t ruin Maria’s moment.

“He. Kissed. Me.” She says and then she squeals.

“Really?” I join her jumping up and down and we both start squealing. “How was it?” I ask.

“Oh. My. God. It was totally ‘Some Kind of Wonderful’”.

I smile. “I’m so glad Maria. You deserve it. And with Max and Michael being best friends and you and I being best friends, I’m sure we’ll be double dating all the time.”

“Yeah. But not all the time. I want some quality alone time with Michael. No offense, you and Max are fun and all but you too are so sweet together that it sometimes makes me sick.”

“What!”

Maria starts laughing. “I’m just kidding Liz. So how was your night?”

I feel myself blush as I think of how far Max and I went that night. Just thinking about it makes me all hot and tingly. I wonder if Max will have time to pull me into the Eraser Room today? Or maybe I should just pull him in there?

“Ummmmm…….”

”No way Liz! Spill. NOW!” Maria looks at me with her eyes wide. “You guys didn’t like…..do it…..did you?”

“Maaarrriiiaaa.” I whine. “That is totally private.”

“Oh My God! You did! And you weren’t going to tell me?”

“Maria. Calm down. We didn’t do it. Don’t get your panties in a bunch. I will not go into details about the private part of Max and my relationship but I will tell you one thing.” I pause.

“Well?” Maria asks.

“He did say something to me.” I turn again to my locker like I am finished with the conversation.

“No way, Liz. You are not leaving it there. What did he say? Did he ask you to prom?”

“No.”

“Come on Liz. You are killing me here! There is no way I can guess.”

“I’ll give you a hint. He said three words to me.”

I smile while Maria thinks really hard and then all of a sudden her eyes get really big and her jaw drops to the floor.

“He didn’t.” She whispers.

“He did.”

”He said he wanted to have sex with you???” Maria asks.

“What? First of all, that is like seven words Maria. And well, yes, actually he did say he wanted me but that’s not the three words I was talking about.”

”What then? What could be better than the man of your dreams telling you that he wants…..OH MY GOD!” I start to giggle while nodding my head furiously.

“OH MY GOD!!! I thought my night was the best ever. You just topped it! OH MY GOD. Max Evans told you he LOVED you?” I nod again, this time full out laughing. I am so giddy right now. It’s finally feeling real. This world that I thought was all a fantasy is starting to sink into reality.

”Wow.” Maria says. We look at each other and then start jumping up and down squealing again. Who cares that the students passing by are staring at us.
We calm down and I shut my locker and we begin to head for class.

Of course, right then, we see Pam Troy walking towards us and glaring. She gets an evil look in her eye and she stops and waits for us to get closer.

“Lizard.” She says. I ignore her.

“Go away Spam.” Maria says.

“Yeah. I’m in too good of a mood to let you spoil it.” I say as I continue to look down the hallway for Max. I am floating on cloud nine. Fluffy clouds. Fluffy clouds.

“I was just wondering if Lizard here knew where Max was yesterday.”

“He was at work and then home studying.” I say not even looking at Pam.

“Is that what he told you? Hmmm. Interesting.” I look over at Pam. “He looked really good in his black jeans and green shirt.”

Wait. That was what Max was wearing yesterday. He came by the Crashdown last night after work to say hi really quick. I have my hand outstretched as I am going for Pam’s throat when I hear a yell, “ HI LIZARD!” Ok, now who’s calling me that? This is insane! I turn around and notice that Max and Michael are coming towards us with Max waving his arm to get my attention. Did he just call me Lizard??? What is going on? Michael gives Max a weird look and then heads right for Maria and gives her a peck on the cheek. Awwww. I see Maria melting and I start to smile. Focus, Liz! Focus! Smiling right now while going after Pam is not right. My smile drops to a growl.
Max reaches me, turns me around and gives me a soul-stopping kiss. I’m still growling but now it’s for a different reason. He pulls away and then whispers the name again. “Lizard.”

I knit my brows at him and he shakes his head just a little. Not noticeable for anyone else to see but I guess I am not supposed to say anything.

“You call her Lizard too, Max? Classic!” Pam says while smirking at me.

“Yeah. Growing up here in the desert, I think they are so cute. Liz is also cute so I associate her with them. It’s my pet name for her. She loves it!” He says as he wraps his arm around my waist and hugs me close to his body.

Pam’s jaw drops and she starts fuming. I am trying not to laugh while nodding my head while Michael and Maria are leaning on each other laughing silently. Maria is crossing her legs so I know she will be in trouble soon. Pam opens up her mouth to say something and then thinks better of it and closes her jaw.

“Yeah Pam.” I say. “Every time you call me by that name, it just reminds me that Max likes it.” I stroke Max’s chest as I say this and then start to nibble on his neck. I can feel his pulse quicken beneath my lips. GOD, I love this man!
Pam glares at me again and then turns towards Max.

“Max. You don’t by any chance like Spam do you?” Maria says while holding onto Michael.

“Can’t stand the stuff. Why?” Max asks innocently.

“No reason.” Maria gasps out in between laughs. Pam’s face goes even redder and then I see her eyes narrow.

“Max.” She says seductively (at least I think she’s going for seduction. It actually sounds like whining). “Thank you so much for yesterday. I really appreciate it.”

What? What the hell is she talking about?

Max looks confused and then says “Oh. That? No problem.”

Pam smirks at me giving me this look that says, ‘See?’ Maria stops laughing and looks at me warily. I can do nothing but stare at the ground. My heart has just dropped to the floor. Did Max and Pam spend time together yesterday?

“You know Pam.” Max continues. “It’s no big deal. It’s my job. You could have asked anyone who works at the UFO center where the ladies room was.”

My heart finds it’s way back into my chest and I am so relieved. Maria can’t help it. She actually falls to the floor laughing. Michael is trying to help her stand up but Maria is too hysterical to be helped right now. Michael ends up sitting next to her on the floor while chuckling too and giving Maria a shoulder to lean on so she doesn’t end up lying on the floor.

Pam’s face has turned bright red while all her little friends behind her start laughing. Max chooses this moment to give me another kiss while pulling me up against him. One of his hands is cupping my cheek while the other is grazing against my butt. Ok. Now this one is intentional during a passionate moment and…….everyone can see! My cheeks are soooooo devirginized now!

Maria is sighing again while Michael is gives her a quick kiss before standing up and trying to pull Max off of me. As Michael pulls, I follow so Max and my lips are still attached. Michael lets out a frustrated sigh and I see him glance at Maria for help. She shrugs and pushes herself up from the floor. “Sorry chica. I know you don’t want to be late for class.” Maria pulls and Michael pulls and they finally manage to break the suction Max and I are creating.

“Bye Liz.” Max says hoarsely as Michael leads him away.

“Bye Max.” I sigh.

I stare in a daze at Max’s back as he walks away. As Max is about fifty feet away, he suddenly turns around and shouts at the top of his lungs, “I LOVE YOU LIZ PARKER ”, winks and then turns to head to class. Michael stares at me for a moment with his eyes wide and then follows Max.

Maria puts her hand on my shoulder and whispers “Oh My God. You have the life Liz!”

I am going to have to agree with her there. Pam’s face has gone deathly white and then she turns bright red and stalks away. I, on the other hand, manage to do something I haven’t done in a month. I promptly turn and run into the doorjamb. This one is going to leave a mark. My class sighs. They are finally satisfied. They have been waiting a month for this. The girl in the chair? Well, she manages to lose her balance and fall out of it again. I finally find my seat but know that I will not absorb any of the lecture for today. After all, wouldn’t you be just as dumbfounded if the guy of your dreams shouts his love for you across the hall? I think so.

THE END

AN: I really hope you enjoyed this story. Please leave feedback and let me know!