Chapter 12
Max slipped in and out of the common room downstairs as quickly as he could. There was a room a little off to the side from it with steps that lead down to the laundromat in the basement as well as a couple of vending machines. He decided to try two cans of soda and one of the extra large bags of doritos from two of the machines.
It didn’t seem like much; the meal he was assembling right now didn’t match how much he cared for her, but it was late at night, and right now something simple could do the trick. Besides, he and Liz had shared a lunch in the boat while they were over the lake earlier that afternoon.
He set a picnic basket in the boat that morning and she had been the one to discover it before he could really surprise her with it.
“What’s that?” she pointed to the straw basket peeking out from the bench he was sitting on, and he had frowned and then blushed; of course she had found it.
“It’s a little lunch,” he said, casually, trying to brush it off, but she had persisted.
“No, there’s something in there,” she said, smiling.
And he had given in…One look into her smiling brown eyes and suddenly whatever he had planned wasn’t worth it. He grinned, “Yeah, there is,” and he brought the basket out so she could see it properly.
It turned out she was just as happy to see it as she might have been had he presented it to her as a surprise. And it also happened to be perfect timing too because it was around when they were out in the middle of the lake that she discovered the basket, and it felt like the right place to stop.
The boat swayed over the lake water gently, and Max had control over the balance of the boat for most of the afternoon. He knew how to distribute the weight evenly and he had sat directly across from Liz with that in mind. The afternoon had been nice too, up until the boat tipped over. Even though the weather was still nippy, Max and Liz both felt like they were glowing inside out.
All it could take was one look in the other’s direction or the spark that was ignited each time their eyes held the other’s and they were instantly warmed. This didn’t feel like falling for someone by chance or a spring induced fever.
Max felt himself getting lost every time he looked into her eyes for there was so much that he wanted to do for her to make her happy. His only intention so far had been for her to be happy, and admittedly, he had wanted to be the one to make that happen.
It had affected him when he used to see her in the café. She had seemed sad and unhappy, but now when he looked at her, he saw something else entirely different in her eyes. She was happy now, and technically, everything he’d ever wanted for her had been met.
So why couldn’t he let go before he would hurt her? He’d been thinking that a lot recently; what if once he opened up to her, she shrank away from him? The only thing he didn’t want more than for that to happen was to let thinking about that prevent him from keeping her happy.
And when she had leaned forward to kiss his cheek, he had stayed still. She brushed her lips on his cheek and she even had her small hand curled around his neck while she did. She pulled away from him slowly, and he didn’t know what exactly had compelled him to make her stop. Her eyes had met his though and they had come back together like they were the night before.
As he was kissing her, she wrapped her arms around his waist just for the sake of being closer. It occurred to him then how well she fit into him, and how kissing her felt like the most natural thing he’d done in a while.
He wasn’t worried about the weight distribution in the boat either as he was kissing her. In fact, all logical thoughts that would have been first on his mind weren’t, and he was instead just as lost in the kiss as she was.
She was on the same side of the boat as he was, and her knee was pressed down on the seat he was sitting on. When they broke apart, he regained feeling for everything outside of Liz and he felt the boat tipping. He held her hand firmly, and he didn’t let go while they were under nor as they got back up. Instead he used his free hand to bring them back up to the surface.
And that’s what had brought them here. The afternoon hadn’t ended how he wanted it to, but as he was walking back to the dorm with two cans of soda and a bag of chips in hand, he didn’t feel regretful at all. Spending time with her was nice enough.
He bought some refreshments from the vending machine in the room near the common room downstairs. Again, since he wasn’t keen on running into too many people, he had slipped in and out as quickly as possible. A few of the guys called out to him when his back was to them and he was almost home free so Max just waved to them and kept going.
He opened his door and went inside, balancing the things he was carrying when he closed the door before he turned to face her and really see her. She was sitting now on the chair by the window, combing her fingers through her damp hair. As far as she could tell, Max didn’t have any of the combs and brushes she needed, so she decided to dry her hair without that extra step. She’d made a conscious decision to not turn on the lights too, and then the only light was the moonlight streaming in through the curtains.
Though her back was to him when he poked his head in, she glanced over her shoulder when she heard him.He brushed aside the feeling looking at her produced and he focused on the fact that she was still shivering, “Are you still cold?” he asked. Even in the soft light from the moon, he could see her clearly.
“Not so much anymore,” she said, and she shrugged a part of the blanket off of her shoulders to reveal her tank top underneath. She was shivering, but it wasn’t from the recent dip in the lake; Max’s gaze penetrated her past where just looking would have ended.
He handed her one of the Pepsis, and he split open the bag of chips, and offered it to her first. She reached in and took up one slice and the another, munching quietly.
“You were hungry?” he asked.
She was about to say that she wasn’t when his stomach chose that moment to reveal his hunger too, and she smiled, “I’m guessing you were too.”
After a thoughtful moment filled only by the sounds of the both of them eating and popping open the cans of their soda, Max interjected, “This didn’t turn out as planned,” he trailed off, and he felt his own breath caught suddenly in his throat when he looked into her eyes. However, he didn’t see the disappointment he had expected.
“Sorry?” she saw the woeful gaze he had, but she was almost just as determined for him to not feel insecure. She looked at him, her eyes shining, “The only thing you should be sorry for is trying to do two things at once.”
Max looked up when she said that, and he blushed when he got the double meaning to her words. He smiled, then started laughing along with her. It felt good to feel normal, and to look into the eyes of the girl he had a crush on and just laugh. It could really be that simple.
“But other than that,” she met his eyes again, a twinkle in them that sparkled, “This afternoon was perfect.”
He beamed when she said that and he was so pleased that his own smile matched hers.
They ate the rest of the chips and downed the rest of their drinks without saying much. Once or twice, their hands would brush as they reached into the bag at the same time, or when she playfully threw a chip at him that prompted him to throw one back at her, and miss of course, so much that an hour had passed when they were done.
“You want to watch something?” Max asked, gesturing at the television.
Liz gazed at it for a second, longingly almost, before she smiled ruefully, “No.”
He smiled too, “I guess you’re worn out from the movie marathon, right?”
“I am,” she admitted with a smile.
Max stood up and he threw away the remains of their post-dinner. He was about to reach for one of the wall switch to turn on the light when Liz interrupted him. She mentally rehearsed what she was about to ask Max for a few seconds and without preamble, she went with what sounded the most direct. “Max, would you mind if I stayed here tonight?”
She looked at him sidelong when she said that and she took his silence for him saying no. She turned to look at him and she found him standing, a sleeping blanket in his hands. He had it stored under his bed and Max stretched it out on the floor.
“I’ll take the floor,” he offered.
“You don’t have to; I could take the floor…”
“It’s okay,” he smiled. He went over to one of the dressers, got another blanket, and set it down on the bed. Then he sat on the floor and started taking off his shoes.
Liz bunched the blanket she had around her earlier to her chest and she went over to his bed. Max stretched out on the floor as she settled down on his bed. She turned onto her side so that she was somewhat facing him and she said, “Good night.”
A little while after, she whispered, “Max?”
“Hmm,” he sighed.
“It was a really good surprise,” and she reached her hand over the side of the bed to hold his.
*
“So you stayed the night?” Nicole asked incredulously. She couldn’t believe what she was hearing and when she saw Liz’s blush, that was an answer enough for her. She started pacing in front of Liz, walking from side to side, “and what did you guys do?”
“Nicole!” Liz exclaimed, “it was totally innocent.”
“Well you stayed the night, right?”
“Yes, I stayed the night sleeping on his bed and he was one foot away from me on the floor sleeping on the floor.”
“Oh,” Nicole said and she stopped walking around. Liz couldn’t hide her smile when she heard her obvious disappointment.
Nicole sat down on her bed and studied Liz carefully. “You’ve got it bad,” she stated, and Liz frowned, “No, not completely.”
She laughed. “It’s either you have it or you don’t…”
“Then,” Liz paused as she remembered that morning. He woke up after she did but she had taken a moment to lean over the side of her bed and observe him while he was sleeping. He looked so much at peace that she didn’t want to wake him up, but when he did, his eyes fluttered open and met hers. That’s probably what had surprised her the most; he hadn’t been taken aback that she had been openly watching him. He even seemed to like that she was watching him. He had a bemused expression on his face when he said, “Morning,” and smiling she’d said too, “Morning.”
Liz sighed and collapsed onto Nicole’s bedspread, “I have it bad.”
Nicole laughed softly, and she lay back too so she was side to side with Liz, “I could have told you that a long time ago.”
“He’s a good guy.”
“Yeah, he is,” Liz agreed. She closed her eyes, and a frown marred her face.
“What’s wrong though,” Nicole asked because she could tell Liz had something else on her mind.
“It’s like this push and pull between us though.”
Nicole turned her head to see her explain, “Yeah? What do you mean?”
Liz smiled, “Well, it’s like we’ll take one step forward and then without either of us noticing, we take half a step back.”
“Only half?” Nicole joked. Liz threw her a glare and she held up her hands, “Okay, elaborate please,” she added and she made an open gesture with her hands in the air.
“So this morning, we got up,” Liz started and she deliberately left out how when she woke up, seeing him inches away made her smile already. “And then we went to the café for breakfast.” She smiled as she remembered that, “and we kissed.”
“Yeah?” Nicole asked. “You guys are getting practice at this.”
“Then, we had one of those moments again. Whenever we get close, it’s like he’s taking a moment to think about something and then I am too, and we end up being so lost in thought that we’ve lost each other by the time we get back.”
“I’m sure it’s just getting used to each other,” Nicole said. “And obviously everything won’t come together right away, but you guys really have something special.”
Liz winced when Nicole said special, but she was smiling too, “Special, huh?”
“I see the way he looks at you, and I’m not even mentioning how you look at him.”
Liz nodded. “I’m sure that in time there won’t be those moments,” Nicole reassured her. “Relationships take time to build.”
“Yeah,” Liz said, agreeing. She nervously sat up because she realized she had said something else Nicole might pick up on.
“I have to get to class.”
“Yeah, me too,” Nicole agreed. She sat up too, and she got up off the bed and straightened the bedspread. Her back was to Liz and Liz was already putting her shoulder bag on. Just as she thought she was home free, Nicole interrupted, “Are you going to tell me later what you think about?”
Liz gave her a frown, and Nicole continued, “During your moments?”
Nicole was looking at her square in the eyes, but Liz faltered first and broke eye contact. She said quietly, “Soon.”
The Prettiest Thing (M/L, Teen/Mat.) CH 25-28 11/13
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Angie
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Dreamerlaure
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* * * *
Chapter 13
1 Month Later
“Max,” she said, her words getting swallowed into his own mouth so that he barely heard her. He did realize though that she wasn’t kissing him back and heady with the effect of kissing her, he pulled himself away from her slowly and smiled. “Yes.” He kissed her lips again, and he drifted from her lips to her cheek to the skin that was framed by her sideburns to the underside of her chin and lower.
She smiled and tilted her head back as he moved to her neck. “Where did you say we were going tomorrow?” she ventured tentatively.
She could feel his mouth move as he smiled against her neck. “I said it was a surprise. It’s a really nice place though, you’ll like it.”
“I was just wondering what I should wear,” she said slowly, and he stopped for a second. “It’s a nice place,” he told her.
“Any preference?” she asked with a smile. She really wanted to know what he liked.
“I really like the blue skirt,” he said, and she smiled even more as she remembered the first time she wore it. It was the night after Valentine’s Day and surprisingly, the campus had been relatively calm for the day. There were couples here and there that popped up in the weeks and days surrounding it, but overall it was taken pretty casually. Max and Liz had agreed to take it casually too and he took her to dinner on the 15th, the day after. She had been just as much at odds on what to wear then as she was tonight, and she finally settled on a three quarter sleeve light blue sweater with a navy knee length skirt with a split on one side.
When she opened her dorm room, Max was looking down, for whatever reason and she thought for a second that he wasn’t feeling the same way she was about the night. However, when he heard the door open he looked up and his eyes took in her appearance appreciatively and he managed, “You look great, Liz,” which had only prompted Liz to blush.
And later that night, when he took her home, she fingered her key in her hands while they were looped around his back in the tight embrace he held her in as he kissed her good night. Yeah, Max really did like that skirt.
She closed her eyes and leaned her head more to the right so he could have as much access to her neck as he wanted, which of course he took. He kissed a trail down her neck and he even reached the small curve of her shoulders that peeked out of the wide collar shirt she was wearing. What he was doing was slowly breaking every bit of will power she had. Liz said, “Maybe I’ll wear it.”
He stopped suddenly and she opened her eyes as he pulled away. One of his arms was wrapped around her, sandwiched between her waist and the bed. If her back pressing into his forearm hurt or if her weight was numbing him, Max wouldn’t have cared. All he was thinking about right then as he looked down at her was how much he wanted to resume. But he would only do so if she wanted to, and he raised his other arm to trace his finger along the side of her jaw. “Maybe’s a good answer,” he said softly.
“Yes,” she said, and she saw the intensity in his eyes, how much he wanted to continue. Liz reached up to curl her hand around his neck and she pressed her lips to his.
*
Eight months earlier
“And over here we have the living room,” he whispered into her hair and it made her shiver.
She smiled, and her eyes sparkled with merriment when she faced him and said, “Alex, I’ve been to your house before. I don’t need a tour.”
He nodded. “I know, but you’ve never seen it at night.”
She laughed, and she found his arms around her waist a moment later. He held her close to him, with her back pressed against his chest, and he swayed with her. There wasn’t any music playing and even though they had left the dance an hour earlier, they still wanted to dance. She was wearing heels, but he still towered over her and taking advantage of where she was and how she was, she nestled her head under his and lay her cheek on his chest. His suit felt crinkly and stiff, and she pulled back from for a second, “Is this a new suit?” she asked, and she fingered the lapel.
“Yeah, I bought it for tonight,” he smiled.
She met his eyes, “You did?”
He nodded and his smile widened as if he were remembering something. She saw and she pulled on his suit jacket, “What?”
“I’m just remembering,” he looked down at her. “My Dad took me to the store back in December,” he started.
“December?” she whispered, but he didn’t hear her.
“And he really took it as a father son bonding thing. I mean he wanted me to have a nice suit. We went all over town and we hit at least seven stores. We finally decided on one, one that we both liked and so the Whitman suit was born,” he laughed softly. Earlier that night she had affectionately named his suit the Whitman suit because it fit him so perfectly, but now that she was even closer to him than she had been in the limousine and on the dance floor, she could see how true that was. Alex’s shoulders, which normally looked small to her, were striking now, and tonight he even looked handsome.
“Did you know my parents went to the prom together too?” he asked, and this time he looked directly into her eyes.
She swallowed hard, “No, I didn’t.”
“He said it was a really special night for them and he wanted me to have the same thing too. Funny thing is prom’s always just been prom to me, you know?”
She nodded stiffy, but she didn’t directly respond; she was lost in her own thoughts.
He spun her around gently and then she found herself back in his arms again but facing him this time.
“Liz?” he asked. Her tears were sparkling now in the dim room and he saw it. He held her face in his hands and he looked straight into her eyes. “Lizzie,” he reverted back to his nickname for her. “Lizzie, what’s wrong?”
She breathed in and it helped to slow down the speed of her heart beating in her chest but it didn’t stop the tears that were falling now. He ran his thumb over her cheeks, brushing away her tears, and he pressed his forehead to hers. For a few seconds they breathed together, her breaths falling into the same tempo as his and she opened her eyes. Alex was looking into hers intently and she felt so happy he was there. For a second she forgot that this would probably mean the world to him. Why else would he buy a prom suit five months before the night of it? She forgot that last month they had agreed to break up because they were going to separate schools after all.
That hadn’t been the only reason looking back. She and Alex had been nice together, but that had been it. She didn’t feel her heart swell when she saw him coming and they hadn’t done much things other than kissing. Even that hadn’t been heated, and it had just happened.
And Liz also forgot the agreement they made when she asked him to take her to her prom. They had agreed to only go as friends and that’s what they did that night. He danced with her during the fast songs and held her arms length away during the slow songs.
So she threw all of that out of the window and decided that tonight could at least be worth it. It would mean so much to him, it had meant so much to him. She kept her eyes on his as she kissed his lips and she saw a mixture of shock and then something like passion in his as the kiss deepened.
He stumbled back with her to the couch and they never broke apart as they lowered together onto the couch.
*
This felt different. It might not have been fair to compare before, but she couldn’t help doing it. Things between Max and her were getting more and more intense and she wasn’t sure how much longer it would be before she was in the same situation as last year.
She continued to kiss him, and she tangled her legs with his. She regretted the first time, but something told her she might not this time when something new was starting up. As they deepened the kiss, Liz closed her eyes again and she wished things could stay just like they were right now. She didn’t mind this, but she wasn’t sure what she would do if she was faced with the same thing she had been last year with Alex. She wanted to believe it would be different, after all it was Max.
He moved away from her lips again and he went back to her neck and she moved automatically. It was so easy to know how to move with him. She closed her eyes again and when she did she could swear she saw the stars.
Chapter 13
1 Month Later
“Max,” she said, her words getting swallowed into his own mouth so that he barely heard her. He did realize though that she wasn’t kissing him back and heady with the effect of kissing her, he pulled himself away from her slowly and smiled. “Yes.” He kissed her lips again, and he drifted from her lips to her cheek to the skin that was framed by her sideburns to the underside of her chin and lower.
She smiled and tilted her head back as he moved to her neck. “Where did you say we were going tomorrow?” she ventured tentatively.
She could feel his mouth move as he smiled against her neck. “I said it was a surprise. It’s a really nice place though, you’ll like it.”
“I was just wondering what I should wear,” she said slowly, and he stopped for a second. “It’s a nice place,” he told her.
“Any preference?” she asked with a smile. She really wanted to know what he liked.
“I really like the blue skirt,” he said, and she smiled even more as she remembered the first time she wore it. It was the night after Valentine’s Day and surprisingly, the campus had been relatively calm for the day. There were couples here and there that popped up in the weeks and days surrounding it, but overall it was taken pretty casually. Max and Liz had agreed to take it casually too and he took her to dinner on the 15th, the day after. She had been just as much at odds on what to wear then as she was tonight, and she finally settled on a three quarter sleeve light blue sweater with a navy knee length skirt with a split on one side.
When she opened her dorm room, Max was looking down, for whatever reason and she thought for a second that he wasn’t feeling the same way she was about the night. However, when he heard the door open he looked up and his eyes took in her appearance appreciatively and he managed, “You look great, Liz,” which had only prompted Liz to blush.
And later that night, when he took her home, she fingered her key in her hands while they were looped around his back in the tight embrace he held her in as he kissed her good night. Yeah, Max really did like that skirt.
She closed her eyes and leaned her head more to the right so he could have as much access to her neck as he wanted, which of course he took. He kissed a trail down her neck and he even reached the small curve of her shoulders that peeked out of the wide collar shirt she was wearing. What he was doing was slowly breaking every bit of will power she had. Liz said, “Maybe I’ll wear it.”
He stopped suddenly and she opened her eyes as he pulled away. One of his arms was wrapped around her, sandwiched between her waist and the bed. If her back pressing into his forearm hurt or if her weight was numbing him, Max wouldn’t have cared. All he was thinking about right then as he looked down at her was how much he wanted to resume. But he would only do so if she wanted to, and he raised his other arm to trace his finger along the side of her jaw. “Maybe’s a good answer,” he said softly.
“Yes,” she said, and she saw the intensity in his eyes, how much he wanted to continue. Liz reached up to curl her hand around his neck and she pressed her lips to his.
*
Eight months earlier
“And over here we have the living room,” he whispered into her hair and it made her shiver.
She smiled, and her eyes sparkled with merriment when she faced him and said, “Alex, I’ve been to your house before. I don’t need a tour.”
He nodded. “I know, but you’ve never seen it at night.”
She laughed, and she found his arms around her waist a moment later. He held her close to him, with her back pressed against his chest, and he swayed with her. There wasn’t any music playing and even though they had left the dance an hour earlier, they still wanted to dance. She was wearing heels, but he still towered over her and taking advantage of where she was and how she was, she nestled her head under his and lay her cheek on his chest. His suit felt crinkly and stiff, and she pulled back from for a second, “Is this a new suit?” she asked, and she fingered the lapel.
“Yeah, I bought it for tonight,” he smiled.
She met his eyes, “You did?”
He nodded and his smile widened as if he were remembering something. She saw and she pulled on his suit jacket, “What?”
“I’m just remembering,” he looked down at her. “My Dad took me to the store back in December,” he started.
“December?” she whispered, but he didn’t hear her.
“And he really took it as a father son bonding thing. I mean he wanted me to have a nice suit. We went all over town and we hit at least seven stores. We finally decided on one, one that we both liked and so the Whitman suit was born,” he laughed softly. Earlier that night she had affectionately named his suit the Whitman suit because it fit him so perfectly, but now that she was even closer to him than she had been in the limousine and on the dance floor, she could see how true that was. Alex’s shoulders, which normally looked small to her, were striking now, and tonight he even looked handsome.
“Did you know my parents went to the prom together too?” he asked, and this time he looked directly into her eyes.
She swallowed hard, “No, I didn’t.”
“He said it was a really special night for them and he wanted me to have the same thing too. Funny thing is prom’s always just been prom to me, you know?”
She nodded stiffy, but she didn’t directly respond; she was lost in her own thoughts.
He spun her around gently and then she found herself back in his arms again but facing him this time.
“Liz?” he asked. Her tears were sparkling now in the dim room and he saw it. He held her face in his hands and he looked straight into her eyes. “Lizzie,” he reverted back to his nickname for her. “Lizzie, what’s wrong?”
She breathed in and it helped to slow down the speed of her heart beating in her chest but it didn’t stop the tears that were falling now. He ran his thumb over her cheeks, brushing away her tears, and he pressed his forehead to hers. For a few seconds they breathed together, her breaths falling into the same tempo as his and she opened her eyes. Alex was looking into hers intently and she felt so happy he was there. For a second she forgot that this would probably mean the world to him. Why else would he buy a prom suit five months before the night of it? She forgot that last month they had agreed to break up because they were going to separate schools after all.
That hadn’t been the only reason looking back. She and Alex had been nice together, but that had been it. She didn’t feel her heart swell when she saw him coming and they hadn’t done much things other than kissing. Even that hadn’t been heated, and it had just happened.
And Liz also forgot the agreement they made when she asked him to take her to her prom. They had agreed to only go as friends and that’s what they did that night. He danced with her during the fast songs and held her arms length away during the slow songs.
So she threw all of that out of the window and decided that tonight could at least be worth it. It would mean so much to him, it had meant so much to him. She kept her eyes on his as she kissed his lips and she saw a mixture of shock and then something like passion in his as the kiss deepened.
He stumbled back with her to the couch and they never broke apart as they lowered together onto the couch.
*
This felt different. It might not have been fair to compare before, but she couldn’t help doing it. Things between Max and her were getting more and more intense and she wasn’t sure how much longer it would be before she was in the same situation as last year.
She continued to kiss him, and she tangled her legs with his. She regretted the first time, but something told her she might not this time when something new was starting up. As they deepened the kiss, Liz closed her eyes again and she wished things could stay just like they were right now. She didn’t mind this, but she wasn’t sure what she would do if she was faced with the same thing she had been last year with Alex. She wanted to believe it would be different, after all it was Max.
He moved away from her lips again and he went back to her neck and she moved automatically. It was so easy to know how to move with him. She closed her eyes again and when she did she could swear she saw the stars.
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Dreamerlaure
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* * * * *
// = flashes
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Chapter 14
Liz blinked rapidly, trying to get the image of the stars out of her head because surely she must be dreaming. You don’t see stars while you’re kissing, no matter how good it gets.
Still she had to admit that where she was, nestled in Max’s embrace as he kissed her neck, was a great place to be. When she closed her eyes, she was back to seeing stars again, and this time it lasted longer.
The first sensation that she could claim was that she was inside of something, something moving very quickly. Outside, smaller white stars zoomed by. In front of them was a bright red planetary ring that held a bright white star in its center, and it grew wider as they headed towards the center recklessly.
The stars she was flying through fell apart when the feel of Max’s lips on hers brought her back to the present with startling precision. She exhaled sharply and Max felt her pull away from him.
She opened her eyes when he moved off her and she sat up from her waist. “Liz?” His presence was comforting, but she didn’t answer right away because she was trying to regroup her senses.
One minute she was in the stars and then she was back with Max. It puzzled her, but then she also realized she’d never been so relieved to leave something behind. Whatever that was scared her a little.
He asked gently, “What’s wrong?”
He looked at her uncertainly, but she wanted to put aside what she had seen, “It was nothing.”
She glanced at Max. His cheeks were flushed, his hair was mussed, and she knew that while he was kissing her neck, she had rumpled his shirt. She smiled when he watched her slowly lick her lips. He watched her tongue move from one corner of her lips to the other before he moved in to her and took her tongue in his mouth.
She kissed him softly at first then feverishly, picking up from where they had left off. Liz put one of her hands down on the sheets a little behind her back and she bent her elbow as she laid down. Her other hand tugged on his shirt collar as she went down so that not only his want to keep his lips on hers motivated him to follow her.
Then it happened again, when she was least expecting it. His hand was reaching up her shirt, and she felt her chest heat up as she realized what he was doing. Just as his hand was moving towards her back to unhook her clasp, she lost focus again.
//There were four recesses glowing from where they were lodged in the cave wall. There was a shiny filmy membrane over each recess and four faces were behind it.
A hand pushed out of one timidly, and though it did penetrate the membrane, the filmy substance stayed glued to the hand.
Once the hand was out, one knee poked out too and stretched out in the air before planting itself onto the cave floor.
The foot clawed for the ground uncertainly and the sticky layer it accumulated, as it broke free, perhaps protected it from the rocks that could cut into the skin.
Next, the head broke free, coming out as a head of brown hair coated with slime. The body that freed itself had the membrane all over it; it became a second skin.
The hallways of West Roswell were crowded in between classes but after a certain time, the kids did move on to their next class. And that’s what he was doing, or that’s what he was supposed to be doing. He was headed towards Algebra and he was moving down the hallway quickly.
That’s when he saw her.
She was laughing with her friends and he could see the sparkle in her eyes.
She looked so beautiful, and he stared at her as he passed her.
His eyes never left the face of his crush but as much as he wished she would, she never once looked his way.
He stared though, and he watched her, even at the risk of bumping into another student.
He decided right then that what he liked most about Liz Parker was the way her smile was like a part of who she was; she wore it like a second skin.//
Liz opened her eyes when the last vision melted away and she dodged Max’s next kiss by turning her face to look at the clock, expressing a sudden interest in what time it was.
“Time flies,” she smiled, and she fingered the top buttons of his shirt as she met his eyes, “I need to start getting ready.”
He was hovering over her and he moved away slowly when she said this so she could leave.
He made reservations at an Italian restaurant for them that night. She knew about the dinner and she had been looking forward to it and everything for the past week, but back then she hadn’t been falling ill.
It isn’t normal to see stars, she thought to herself, or to conjure up things that never happened. It was too fantastical to be true, but then she could also remember that the red flannel shirt with the white tank top from the last scene had been one of her favorite outfit combinations back in the ninth grade, and then that bracelet on her wrist was the one she lost only a few weeks later, during the summer.
Those things were tangible, and that made part of what she saw true, but it didn’t explain her first or second vision, if it could even be called that.
She raked her fingers through her hair exasperatedly, and scooted over to the edge of the bed.
“I’ll see you tonight, Liz?” he said, but there was a hint of a question in his voice.
She nodded as she went to the door but she didn’t look back at him or even kiss him before she left. She was lost in what she was feeling.
Max fell back on his bed and closed his eyes. That was so intense. He’d never felt that way before, and because of the agreement he, Michael, and Isabel had come to during high school, he had shied away from dating any girls. So he truly felt as if everything was new with Liz, and it wasn’t just kissing her because it even included the ache he got when he saw her go.
He didn’t want to let her go tonight either, but he sensed she needed it. At least the scent of her hair was still in his room and Max breathed in deep….it wasn’t enough though. He felt as if things were getting too intense.
It bothered, and even frustrated him that she didn't know everything about him, like what he was, and that was only accompanied by the fear that she wouldn't feel the same about him once she knew.
Once Liz was out of his room, she walked slowly and unsteadily towards the staircase. Whatever resolve she’d gathered to walk out of his room when she was feeling like jelly on the inside, fell away once she was there.
She leaned against the wall, and stilled herself for a minute; her heart was racing. “What the hell is happening to me?” she wondered aloud.
She thought sleeping might do her some good, but whatever wishes Liz had for an escape to her dreams to provide her didn’t work because she woke up two hours later even more disoriented. Her dreams were filled with thoughts of Max when her one goal while she slept was to not think about him.
She didn’t know what was happening to her; the strange visions that came to her that afternoon, and then this desire to have more of him…a smile danced across her lips when that thought entered her mind and she zipped up her skirt and turned to face herself in the mirror. The blush of her reflection said it all; any desires that had to do with Max lately were justified.
He made her feel beautiful. It was in the way he kissed her two mornings ago in the quad when so many other people were around. He came into her line of sight and she had started smiling. Then he leaned in and brushed his lips across hers and Nicole was the only one out of the other three girls that were seated there with Liz on the grass to not stare impolitely. Nicole had slipped her a little smile and winked at Max as he sat down beside Liz. She blushed when she saw how obvious her friend was being but to her surprise, Nicole didn’t put off Max. He smiled at her and then gave all of his attention to Liz.
Then there was the party two weekends ago that she hadn’t wanted to go to. Liz hated these parties. They were just an excuse for half of the freshmen to get beer from the upperclassmen and act drunk or for girls to saunter out of the dorm like Jennifer had, in a skimpy skirt and high heels when it was still February.
But Max had stopped by her room a half an hour after Jennifer left, just as she was diving into some of her psych homework. Lately, she worked on psych a lot. Her science courses were interesting and challenging too, but she always found herself turning to psych the most. He saw her books and half teased her for a few minutes about staying in, and she laughingly told him that parties weren’t her thing.
Then Max said he was going so she might as well come too. Liz smiled at him, but said she knew she wasn’t going to have a good time so why bother, and his comeback was a promise that she would have a half decent time if she went with him.
She’d been so unsure if she wanted to go; wouldn’t it just be the same party with the same happenings even if Max were there with her? And she had hesitated until his suggestion, but it turned out her preconceptions about the party had been so wrong.
It was a good party. He danced with her, talked with her, introduced her to some of the people in his dorm, and led her back to her dorm later that night, capping off the night with a kiss before he left. And the whole night whenever he went away from her side to get a drink or to listen to a friend’s story, his eyes had found their way back to her.
She liked how he touched her, and how he made her feel when he kissed her or even so much as looked at her. She’d never felt like this before. It was scary, new, and exciting, and she wanted it to happen just as much as he did, but then thoughts of last year with Alex would come to her at inopportune times.
She would think about him when she really shouldn’t, and though in her heart she knew whatever they had had was clearly not love and more than over, the combination of what she had with him and this new and exciting relationship mixed her up sometimes.
This afternoon had been all of those things, and though what she had seen was confusing to her, she wanted to try to put it aside and enjoy tonight.
He hesitated for a second before he knocked, as he always did, but then the door swung open and there she was, snapping one of her hoop earrings shut as she grinned at him. “Hey.”
“How much time do we have?” she asked innocently, a perfectly valid question but he stared at her for a second. He’d been thinking about that a lot lately. How much time did he have before he should tell her? Was there a period for it, and if he did, would she be hurt?
He could have told her not long after their first kiss, right before everything got so intense, or even during one of the silences that filled the nights she slept over. He could have confided in her then.
He could have told her on a night that was special. Max treasured their Valentine date last month more than anything they’d done, and he could have told her then. He could have clasped her hand in his and told her in a moment of complete honesty.
When they were walking back to her dorm after the date and they passed under one of the arches, he could have pulled her over to the bench and sat her down before he told her. He had a feeling that for something like this, she’d need to be sitting down. He wanted to believe that he could sit beside her, and just tell her. He imagined sometimes that he could even just show her.
Besides not knowing what the time frame for something like this was, Max could never complete any of his imaginings of telling Liz what he was because she was the deciding factor. Would she run? Would she cry? Would she leave? He had no answers to any of those questions and that realization made him ache to find out.
She tilted her head to her shoulder, turning away from him, as she pushed in her other earring. She looked back into his eyes after she was done, and that’s when he remembered what she’d asked him. “The reservation’s not until eight,” he said, “but we have time.”
She nodded and he looked at the long brown strands that fell freely by her ears. He admired the blue skirt she was wearing and even the cut of her sweater all in the time it took for her to close the other earring and then finally his eyes met hers again. Liz reached for her pea coat and while she looked down as she buttoned it, Max tried to get a hold on his emotions.
He simply had to stop letting himself feel for her so much. He wanted to, but then it was at times like when he looked into her eyes or so much as heard her voice that he forgot everything else. He would have to try harder though.
Max had his hand tucked into one of his coat pockets and between his elbow and his waist was a small space. Liz slipped her hand into that space and she smiled up at him, and he held his breath; it was going to be a long night.
// = flashes
* * * * *
Chapter 14
Liz blinked rapidly, trying to get the image of the stars out of her head because surely she must be dreaming. You don’t see stars while you’re kissing, no matter how good it gets.
Still she had to admit that where she was, nestled in Max’s embrace as he kissed her neck, was a great place to be. When she closed her eyes, she was back to seeing stars again, and this time it lasted longer.
The first sensation that she could claim was that she was inside of something, something moving very quickly. Outside, smaller white stars zoomed by. In front of them was a bright red planetary ring that held a bright white star in its center, and it grew wider as they headed towards the center recklessly.
The stars she was flying through fell apart when the feel of Max’s lips on hers brought her back to the present with startling precision. She exhaled sharply and Max felt her pull away from him.
She opened her eyes when he moved off her and she sat up from her waist. “Liz?” His presence was comforting, but she didn’t answer right away because she was trying to regroup her senses.
One minute she was in the stars and then she was back with Max. It puzzled her, but then she also realized she’d never been so relieved to leave something behind. Whatever that was scared her a little.
He asked gently, “What’s wrong?”
He looked at her uncertainly, but she wanted to put aside what she had seen, “It was nothing.”
She glanced at Max. His cheeks were flushed, his hair was mussed, and she knew that while he was kissing her neck, she had rumpled his shirt. She smiled when he watched her slowly lick her lips. He watched her tongue move from one corner of her lips to the other before he moved in to her and took her tongue in his mouth.
She kissed him softly at first then feverishly, picking up from where they had left off. Liz put one of her hands down on the sheets a little behind her back and she bent her elbow as she laid down. Her other hand tugged on his shirt collar as she went down so that not only his want to keep his lips on hers motivated him to follow her.
Then it happened again, when she was least expecting it. His hand was reaching up her shirt, and she felt her chest heat up as she realized what he was doing. Just as his hand was moving towards her back to unhook her clasp, she lost focus again.
//There were four recesses glowing from where they were lodged in the cave wall. There was a shiny filmy membrane over each recess and four faces were behind it.
A hand pushed out of one timidly, and though it did penetrate the membrane, the filmy substance stayed glued to the hand.
Once the hand was out, one knee poked out too and stretched out in the air before planting itself onto the cave floor.
The foot clawed for the ground uncertainly and the sticky layer it accumulated, as it broke free, perhaps protected it from the rocks that could cut into the skin.
Next, the head broke free, coming out as a head of brown hair coated with slime. The body that freed itself had the membrane all over it; it became a second skin.
The hallways of West Roswell were crowded in between classes but after a certain time, the kids did move on to their next class. And that’s what he was doing, or that’s what he was supposed to be doing. He was headed towards Algebra and he was moving down the hallway quickly.
That’s when he saw her.
She was laughing with her friends and he could see the sparkle in her eyes.
She looked so beautiful, and he stared at her as he passed her.
His eyes never left the face of his crush but as much as he wished she would, she never once looked his way.
He stared though, and he watched her, even at the risk of bumping into another student.
He decided right then that what he liked most about Liz Parker was the way her smile was like a part of who she was; she wore it like a second skin.//
Liz opened her eyes when the last vision melted away and she dodged Max’s next kiss by turning her face to look at the clock, expressing a sudden interest in what time it was.
“Time flies,” she smiled, and she fingered the top buttons of his shirt as she met his eyes, “I need to start getting ready.”
He was hovering over her and he moved away slowly when she said this so she could leave.
He made reservations at an Italian restaurant for them that night. She knew about the dinner and she had been looking forward to it and everything for the past week, but back then she hadn’t been falling ill.
It isn’t normal to see stars, she thought to herself, or to conjure up things that never happened. It was too fantastical to be true, but then she could also remember that the red flannel shirt with the white tank top from the last scene had been one of her favorite outfit combinations back in the ninth grade, and then that bracelet on her wrist was the one she lost only a few weeks later, during the summer.
Those things were tangible, and that made part of what she saw true, but it didn’t explain her first or second vision, if it could even be called that.
She raked her fingers through her hair exasperatedly, and scooted over to the edge of the bed.
“I’ll see you tonight, Liz?” he said, but there was a hint of a question in his voice.
She nodded as she went to the door but she didn’t look back at him or even kiss him before she left. She was lost in what she was feeling.
Max fell back on his bed and closed his eyes. That was so intense. He’d never felt that way before, and because of the agreement he, Michael, and Isabel had come to during high school, he had shied away from dating any girls. So he truly felt as if everything was new with Liz, and it wasn’t just kissing her because it even included the ache he got when he saw her go.
He didn’t want to let her go tonight either, but he sensed she needed it. At least the scent of her hair was still in his room and Max breathed in deep….it wasn’t enough though. He felt as if things were getting too intense.
It bothered, and even frustrated him that she didn't know everything about him, like what he was, and that was only accompanied by the fear that she wouldn't feel the same about him once she knew.
Once Liz was out of his room, she walked slowly and unsteadily towards the staircase. Whatever resolve she’d gathered to walk out of his room when she was feeling like jelly on the inside, fell away once she was there.
She leaned against the wall, and stilled herself for a minute; her heart was racing. “What the hell is happening to me?” she wondered aloud.
She thought sleeping might do her some good, but whatever wishes Liz had for an escape to her dreams to provide her didn’t work because she woke up two hours later even more disoriented. Her dreams were filled with thoughts of Max when her one goal while she slept was to not think about him.
She didn’t know what was happening to her; the strange visions that came to her that afternoon, and then this desire to have more of him…a smile danced across her lips when that thought entered her mind and she zipped up her skirt and turned to face herself in the mirror. The blush of her reflection said it all; any desires that had to do with Max lately were justified.
He made her feel beautiful. It was in the way he kissed her two mornings ago in the quad when so many other people were around. He came into her line of sight and she had started smiling. Then he leaned in and brushed his lips across hers and Nicole was the only one out of the other three girls that were seated there with Liz on the grass to not stare impolitely. Nicole had slipped her a little smile and winked at Max as he sat down beside Liz. She blushed when she saw how obvious her friend was being but to her surprise, Nicole didn’t put off Max. He smiled at her and then gave all of his attention to Liz.
Then there was the party two weekends ago that she hadn’t wanted to go to. Liz hated these parties. They were just an excuse for half of the freshmen to get beer from the upperclassmen and act drunk or for girls to saunter out of the dorm like Jennifer had, in a skimpy skirt and high heels when it was still February.
But Max had stopped by her room a half an hour after Jennifer left, just as she was diving into some of her psych homework. Lately, she worked on psych a lot. Her science courses were interesting and challenging too, but she always found herself turning to psych the most. He saw her books and half teased her for a few minutes about staying in, and she laughingly told him that parties weren’t her thing.
Then Max said he was going so she might as well come too. Liz smiled at him, but said she knew she wasn’t going to have a good time so why bother, and his comeback was a promise that she would have a half decent time if she went with him.
She’d been so unsure if she wanted to go; wouldn’t it just be the same party with the same happenings even if Max were there with her? And she had hesitated until his suggestion, but it turned out her preconceptions about the party had been so wrong.
It was a good party. He danced with her, talked with her, introduced her to some of the people in his dorm, and led her back to her dorm later that night, capping off the night with a kiss before he left. And the whole night whenever he went away from her side to get a drink or to listen to a friend’s story, his eyes had found their way back to her.
She liked how he touched her, and how he made her feel when he kissed her or even so much as looked at her. She’d never felt like this before. It was scary, new, and exciting, and she wanted it to happen just as much as he did, but then thoughts of last year with Alex would come to her at inopportune times.
She would think about him when she really shouldn’t, and though in her heart she knew whatever they had had was clearly not love and more than over, the combination of what she had with him and this new and exciting relationship mixed her up sometimes.
This afternoon had been all of those things, and though what she had seen was confusing to her, she wanted to try to put it aside and enjoy tonight.
He hesitated for a second before he knocked, as he always did, but then the door swung open and there she was, snapping one of her hoop earrings shut as she grinned at him. “Hey.”
“How much time do we have?” she asked innocently, a perfectly valid question but he stared at her for a second. He’d been thinking about that a lot lately. How much time did he have before he should tell her? Was there a period for it, and if he did, would she be hurt?
He could have told her not long after their first kiss, right before everything got so intense, or even during one of the silences that filled the nights she slept over. He could have confided in her then.
He could have told her on a night that was special. Max treasured their Valentine date last month more than anything they’d done, and he could have told her then. He could have clasped her hand in his and told her in a moment of complete honesty.
When they were walking back to her dorm after the date and they passed under one of the arches, he could have pulled her over to the bench and sat her down before he told her. He had a feeling that for something like this, she’d need to be sitting down. He wanted to believe that he could sit beside her, and just tell her. He imagined sometimes that he could even just show her.
Besides not knowing what the time frame for something like this was, Max could never complete any of his imaginings of telling Liz what he was because she was the deciding factor. Would she run? Would she cry? Would she leave? He had no answers to any of those questions and that realization made him ache to find out.
She tilted her head to her shoulder, turning away from him, as she pushed in her other earring. She looked back into his eyes after she was done, and that’s when he remembered what she’d asked him. “The reservation’s not until eight,” he said, “but we have time.”
She nodded and he looked at the long brown strands that fell freely by her ears. He admired the blue skirt she was wearing and even the cut of her sweater all in the time it took for her to close the other earring and then finally his eyes met hers again. Liz reached for her pea coat and while she looked down as she buttoned it, Max tried to get a hold on his emotions.
He simply had to stop letting himself feel for her so much. He wanted to, but then it was at times like when he looked into her eyes or so much as heard her voice that he forgot everything else. He would have to try harder though.
Max had his hand tucked into one of his coat pockets and between his elbow and his waist was a small space. Liz slipped her hand into that space and she smiled up at him, and he held his breath; it was going to be a long night.
-
Dreamerlaure
- Fan Fic Follower
- Posts: 51
- Joined: Sat Nov 11, 2006 5:12 pm
Chapter 15
Max is different tonight, she noticed. The maitre d’ was showing them to their table, and Max was holding her hand as he walked in front of her, two steps ahead. Her hand was lost in his, and it felt like the perfect fit. She couldn’t have asked for a better evening so far. After he came by her dorm to pick her up, they took her car to the restaurant. Max loved driving hers as much as she loved driving his and they traded driving the other all the time.
The car ride had left much to be imagined though, and admittedly, he hadn’t said much since he came to pick her up. She found something comforting in the silences though, as if just being around him were enough. Then he would reach over the stick shift and clasp hers in his, look at her when he thought she wasn’t looking, or play her favorite CD softly in the background, and she would be almost certain that nothing had changed. Deep down though, she felt as if something had changed since this afternoon and she couldn’t put her finger on what it was yet.
She glanced sidelong at him as he started to sit. Liz hoped they would talk more now that they were here. She placed her elbows on the table and inhaled peacefully. She surveyed the restaurant, her chin perched in her palms, and she liked the mood. It was a small off campus restaurant, but if each place that anyone went to eat had a theme and the sandwich store two streets away was just for necessity, then this restaurant promoted intimacy as much as it did the entrees.
There were tables and booths that weren’t too far apart from each other, yet each one seemed like its own island. The soft candle lighting from the wall scones and the ones on the tables gave the room a warm setting. She could hear hushed tones throughout the restaurant and Liz liked that she couldn’t distinguish between what the people from across the room were saying to the servers by the bar.
Across the table from her, Max wasn’t admiring just the restaurant. Somewhere between walking with her arm under his down the hallway to when he opened the car door for her, he had decided on something simple, and it was something he was going to stick to. It can’t be that hard, Max muttered under his breath quietly. Max was looking over the menu as she was taking in the restaurant. The menu he had propped up on the table muffled most of his words, but Liz heard his voice anyway and she looked up at him with that smile, and his reserve crumbled; he smiled back.
When she looked away, Max was back to fretting again. She cleared her throat softly in an attempt to get his attention and it worked. Max looked back at her and she smiled. “What are you having?”
Max looked away quickly, glancing back down at the menu. He picked the first thing his eyes picked up, “I’m going with the Spaghetti marinara.”
He closed his menu and put it face down on the table. Liz didn’t notice his abrupt moves. She was enjoying the night and trying to make it last; she wanted to remember it, and while she was enjoying it, Max was only a few inches away from her worried about how to handle being around her.
“Oh that sounds so good,” she enthused, picturing it in her mind and imagining the first bite. You could never go wrong with a plate of spaghetti.
She mused more about what she wanted as she went through the main course selections. Ideally she should order something quick and easy to transfer from her plate to her mouth. She had gone through enough splatters when she was younger with the red sauces and she didn’t mind the taste of the white ones like the Bolognese. Her Dad was an excellent cook, and while he did cover some of the Crashdown shifts in the kitchen, Liz treasured when he was in their kitchen upstairs. He ventured into the glossy pictures of his cookbooks at least once a month, and Liz and her Mom relished being his testers.
Still, spaghetti was not her favorite. She never felt graceful as she was eating it. She glanced over her menu at Max again and felt reassured again, by who she was with and the circumstances by which she was here. Max wouldn’t care, she thought to herself, and to be perfectly honest, she didn’t either. There was more to this night than just spaghetti and once she decided that, she closed her menu. “I’ll go with that too.”
“Waiter,” Max called out suddenly, a little louder than necessary.
The waiter was only one table away and a simple hand gesture could have done the trick. Liz looked up at him, confused by the change in his voice, but she didn’t say anything about it outright.
Max shook his napkin out and the silverware that was inside of it clattered onto his plate noisily. He put the napkin down and pushed the knife and fork over to his glass, and he looked back up, but not at Liz. He looked to the waiter first and said, “We’re going to go with two orders of the Spaghetti with marinara sauce.”
He looked to her when the waiter asked if they wanted Parmesan cheese, realizing that it was one thing he didn’t know for sure about her. She asked for it, too, and Max looked back at the waiter, and waited for him to go before picking another safe spot to look. Her knee brushed his under the table and he pulled away so quickly that he rattled the table a little.
He’s nervous, she realized, but she couldn’t place her finger on why. What she did know was what she’d sensed all night, that it all started with whatever reason he had for not holding eye contact with her for more than two seconds at a time.
*
“Max, what’s wrong?”
She finally voiced her curiosity to him when they were at the entrance to his room, and when he didn’t answer, she stepped past him and went into the darkened room. Max could tell she was going to stay a while, so he went in too, and turned on the light. Liz sat turned to face him, and she hugged her arms to her chest. “Did I do something?”
His eyes softened. “No. It isn’t you,” he insisted.
She bit her lip. Something had to be wrong, though. She knew they weren’t having the best night, and laughingly, she added to herself that tonight was the complete opposite of this afternoon. Still, when she kissed him good night at his door, the kiss had been quick.
She said softly, “Is it a bad thing?”
And Max closed his eyes. Liz thought he wouldn’t answer her so she leaned her head back against the wall and closed her eyes too when his soft reply came, “No.”
“Then why can’t you tell me?” she pointed out, and at first Max hesitated, wanting to agree with her. He weakly admitted a few seconds later, “Because I don’t want it to change how you’ll feel about me.”
She caught the breath in her throat, and exhaled quietly. Whatever it was she realized he was feeling vulnerable about it. Liz realized her next words could either make him shy away from telling her or give him the boost that he needed. She began the only way she knew how, honestly. “I don’t know what you’re scared of Max, but I know what I feel in my heart, and I don’t think anything could change that.” She squeezed his hand.
Max let go of her hand and sat up on the bed. Liz was in front of him, her small frame accentuated by the gorgeous blue skirt she was wearing and he silently admired how beautiful she looked for a second. Slowly her eyes leveled and met his. In her eyes was her support for him, and it was enough to give Max the courage to say what he did next.
He began quietly, “I’m not human,” and when he saw the question jump into her eyes before she could mask it, he clarified with, “I’m an alien.”
She stared at him and then she pursed her lips together briefly, wetting her lips. He stared at her lips then because right now it was easier to look there than in her eyes.
“My parents, the Evans, found Isabel and I wandering along the side of a highway road in 1989 and they adopted us into their family. Michael came back into our lives a few years later at West Roswell Elementary.”
Liz smiled faintly at the name of their school; she hadn’t thought about those years for a while now. “I was on the playground with Isabel and I don’t even think I was paying much attention to her,” Max paused to look at her and she nodded, a confused but encouraging expression on her face.
“I think I was looking out at something else, and I saw someone watching us from a few feet away. As soon as I saw him, it was as if I knew him. Then these memories came over me, like a flash of something I was unable to remember before. I saw he things that had happened between when we had been born to when the Evans found us, and even memories I hadn't witnessed of Michael's life. It shocked me. For one thing, it was so scary to find out that I was something else, and later we started to understand that there was someone else around who was like us. It’s always been the three of us.”
“But you recognized each other?” Liz asked and Max nodded, relieved that somehow, she understood.
“It was years before we finally understood all of our powers, our abilities, and what we could do.”
“And what can you do?” Liz asked curiously.
Max paused when she spoke, coming down from his temporary high. It had been so freeing seconds ago to let everything about him come out, finally. He looked back into her eyes and found her gaze supportive and patient. “I can heal things, like if someone is hurt, I can stop whatever it is before it’s too late.”
Max went on to explain that though it wasn’t something he had done very often, he knew what its limits were. He was certain that he could heal small wounds and even bone alignments because he had saved a baby bird when he was younger. Liz listened to his story earnestly and her face lit up in every part of the story that was hopeful and where Max had been brave. Once he was done, she told him that quietly and he had denied that he was brave. It struck him how she could see him like this when he didn’t feel like a real person at all. He also told her that he figured he could heal something bigger, but opportunities like that had luckily never happened.
“And I can manipulate the molecular structure of things.” Max saw the question flicker in her eyes and he looked for something he could change.
He eyed something on the top of his bookshelf, the white golf ball his father made a hole in one with last year during a business tournament. He got up off the bed and went to get it. When he came back to her, he sat down on the edge of the bed, and Liz crawled over to him on her knees. He heard the rustle of her tights on the sheets as she moved and then she was sitting beside him staring down at the ball that he held. Max closed his right hand over it, covering it, and out of the corner of his eye, he saw her part her lips, her curiosity swimming in her eyes. She gasped softly when a soft golden light came from out of his hand and flooded the golf ball. She tilted her head to see what it was but Max was quicker and he covered it with the back of his palm, wanting to suspend the surprise.
He looked at her, watching her face as he opened his palm. She bit her lip excitedly as his hands slowly parted. Her smile brightened when he revealed the bud of a white rose instead of a golf ball and she stuttered his name, unable to form anything else coherent. She was awestruck at what she had just seen and finally she said, “It’s beautiful.”
She reached out her index finger to touch the petals so gingerly that Max thought she believed it wasn’t real at first. When she touched the petal, sure enough, it was as soft as any other petal, and it felt silky and smooth under her fingertip. Then he presented the delicate flower to her completely, and she took it gently, cupping her hands around it like he had.
“You made this.” she stated, as she held it. She held it in her hand down in her lap and she took a moment to think this over privately. This was bigger than anything she had ever faced before, and while it was daunting and hard to fathom, she found herself coming back to Max with each question that entered her mind.
“This afternoon, while we were together, I saw something,” she said. “I think it was like a flash, like what you saw when you saw Michael for the first time. You made me see something.”
He couldn’t fight back the small smile, or his excitement, and he asked her what she saw. “I’m not even sure,” she said as she rubbed her fingers over the rose petals. “I think I saw the place you were born, and something that happened back in ninth grade.”
He smiled, and though he had so many questions running through his mind, he saw the faraway look on her face replace her thoughtful one.
“What else?” he prompted.
Her smile widened, “I-I think I saw the stars.”
Max smiled even more, and he said, “Yeah?” and she nodded. Once she said it, she realized it was possible then. It was entirely possible to see stars while you were kissing, so long as the boy you were with was an alien. She smiled at him, slipped her hand into his, and asked him her next question. “So what does this mean for you?”
At his hesitation, she continued, “If you’re different, what’s going to happen to you?”
“Nothing,” he said. He turned on the bed so he was facing her, and he held her other hand. “I’m still Max Evans,” he promised. “Who I am is only a part of me. We waited during high school to see if something more would come out of it, but it didn’t. You see, we always thought someone would come.
“We thought the FBI might come in, wanting to remove unwanted persons, or that someone from our home might come, asking us to go home. But nothing happened, and by the end of high school, we decided to start living normal lives.”
He met her eyes when he said this last part, wanting to indicate that she was a part of that, and while she did meet his gaze, her mind was elsewhere. First, her mind was swimming with the first thing he had mentioned, the FBI. It scared her that there were people out there that wanted to hurt Max, and she told him this. He reassured her with telling her what kind of careful life he’s had to lead.
“Is that why you were so quiet?” she blurted out, her mind chewing over the real Max Evans and finding that the one she thought she knew didn’t add up to the parts of who he was he was introducing to her. “Back then?” she clarified, and he nodded sadly.
They sat quietly again, and she remembered another alternative he mentioned. Her heart lurched at his last alternative, the possibility that he might go home someday and she tightened her grip on his hand. “Does that mean you might leave someday?” she asked, and he heard the tone in her voice.
“I don’t think so,” he told her and he rubbed her palm gently.
She nodded, but her mind was still swimming. In ten seconds, the boy she had known so well had changed. He wasn’t the same anymore.
He moved his hand to rest between them and she could see that he was waiting for her reaction and she suddenly let go of his hand. “Max, I know what I said ten minutes ago,” she gulped and swallowed hard….this was so hard to say. “How nothing could change that, but I’m so scared.”
“Don’t be.” He reached out to hold her but she moved to stand suddenly, taking her rose in her hand and her purse in the other. She bent down to push on her shoes.
“Liz,” he said softly, wishing she would come back and sit down next to him.
“Max, I’m scared because there’s this whole other part of you that’s just as important as the first part that walked up to me that day in the lectern hall,” and he looked into her eyes and saw that she was smiling as she said this so he smiled too. That December day felt like ages ago. He could have never imagined that one risk like that would have brought him here today. “And I don’t know him at all,” she breathed.
Max frowned and when looked at her, she wore a bittersweet smile. “I’m sorry,” he stuttered, softly, but she stepped back to him, “Don’t be. It’s not your fault…you became who you are because you were scared and cautious about letting someone in and I know how hard tonight was for you. I know I said whatever you told me wouldn’t change things, but it does.” She bit her lip thoughtfully before reaching out to cup his face. Max bent his head into her palm, into her loving caress and he trembled at the warmth her hand passed onto his face, “I want to know him,” she whispered, and he looked up into shiny eyes. She looked like she was ready to cry, and that was the last thing he wanted.
“Can we take a step back so I can?” she asked.
She felt the sway of his head in her hand as he nodded. Then she pressed her lips on his softly and then she left. He had a feeling he might not get the touch of her lips again for a while. He took off his clothes and settled into bed, and tried drifting off, but his dreams were quick and overwhelmingly bright with the colors dreams are made of. He dreamed of Liz Parker in his arms, kissing and loving him, and Max woke up abruptly a little into the morning realizing the one thing that had been evading him for months. He was in love with her.
As Liz slipped away into the night to return to her dorm, it crossed her mind that it would be strange not having him in her life in the same way. She started to realize what she would be missing and she added a silent add on to her question. She needed to know if from the way things had changed, her heart had taken the same cue and changed too because Liz was sure she had just fallen in love with an alien. She was scared because she wasn’t sure what it would mean for her hear. She went to bed that night even unhappy than when she had taken her nap that afternoon, and her dreams were of the all too few weeks she and Max had spent together.
TBC...I'll see you next week. :D
Max is different tonight, she noticed. The maitre d’ was showing them to their table, and Max was holding her hand as he walked in front of her, two steps ahead. Her hand was lost in his, and it felt like the perfect fit. She couldn’t have asked for a better evening so far. After he came by her dorm to pick her up, they took her car to the restaurant. Max loved driving hers as much as she loved driving his and they traded driving the other all the time.
The car ride had left much to be imagined though, and admittedly, he hadn’t said much since he came to pick her up. She found something comforting in the silences though, as if just being around him were enough. Then he would reach over the stick shift and clasp hers in his, look at her when he thought she wasn’t looking, or play her favorite CD softly in the background, and she would be almost certain that nothing had changed. Deep down though, she felt as if something had changed since this afternoon and she couldn’t put her finger on what it was yet.
She glanced sidelong at him as he started to sit. Liz hoped they would talk more now that they were here. She placed her elbows on the table and inhaled peacefully. She surveyed the restaurant, her chin perched in her palms, and she liked the mood. It was a small off campus restaurant, but if each place that anyone went to eat had a theme and the sandwich store two streets away was just for necessity, then this restaurant promoted intimacy as much as it did the entrees.
There were tables and booths that weren’t too far apart from each other, yet each one seemed like its own island. The soft candle lighting from the wall scones and the ones on the tables gave the room a warm setting. She could hear hushed tones throughout the restaurant and Liz liked that she couldn’t distinguish between what the people from across the room were saying to the servers by the bar.
Across the table from her, Max wasn’t admiring just the restaurant. Somewhere between walking with her arm under his down the hallway to when he opened the car door for her, he had decided on something simple, and it was something he was going to stick to. It can’t be that hard, Max muttered under his breath quietly. Max was looking over the menu as she was taking in the restaurant. The menu he had propped up on the table muffled most of his words, but Liz heard his voice anyway and she looked up at him with that smile, and his reserve crumbled; he smiled back.
When she looked away, Max was back to fretting again. She cleared her throat softly in an attempt to get his attention and it worked. Max looked back at her and she smiled. “What are you having?”
Max looked away quickly, glancing back down at the menu. He picked the first thing his eyes picked up, “I’m going with the Spaghetti marinara.”
He closed his menu and put it face down on the table. Liz didn’t notice his abrupt moves. She was enjoying the night and trying to make it last; she wanted to remember it, and while she was enjoying it, Max was only a few inches away from her worried about how to handle being around her.
“Oh that sounds so good,” she enthused, picturing it in her mind and imagining the first bite. You could never go wrong with a plate of spaghetti.
She mused more about what she wanted as she went through the main course selections. Ideally she should order something quick and easy to transfer from her plate to her mouth. She had gone through enough splatters when she was younger with the red sauces and she didn’t mind the taste of the white ones like the Bolognese. Her Dad was an excellent cook, and while he did cover some of the Crashdown shifts in the kitchen, Liz treasured when he was in their kitchen upstairs. He ventured into the glossy pictures of his cookbooks at least once a month, and Liz and her Mom relished being his testers.
Still, spaghetti was not her favorite. She never felt graceful as she was eating it. She glanced over her menu at Max again and felt reassured again, by who she was with and the circumstances by which she was here. Max wouldn’t care, she thought to herself, and to be perfectly honest, she didn’t either. There was more to this night than just spaghetti and once she decided that, she closed her menu. “I’ll go with that too.”
“Waiter,” Max called out suddenly, a little louder than necessary.
The waiter was only one table away and a simple hand gesture could have done the trick. Liz looked up at him, confused by the change in his voice, but she didn’t say anything about it outright.
Max shook his napkin out and the silverware that was inside of it clattered onto his plate noisily. He put the napkin down and pushed the knife and fork over to his glass, and he looked back up, but not at Liz. He looked to the waiter first and said, “We’re going to go with two orders of the Spaghetti with marinara sauce.”
He looked to her when the waiter asked if they wanted Parmesan cheese, realizing that it was one thing he didn’t know for sure about her. She asked for it, too, and Max looked back at the waiter, and waited for him to go before picking another safe spot to look. Her knee brushed his under the table and he pulled away so quickly that he rattled the table a little.
He’s nervous, she realized, but she couldn’t place her finger on why. What she did know was what she’d sensed all night, that it all started with whatever reason he had for not holding eye contact with her for more than two seconds at a time.
*
“Max, what’s wrong?”
She finally voiced her curiosity to him when they were at the entrance to his room, and when he didn’t answer, she stepped past him and went into the darkened room. Max could tell she was going to stay a while, so he went in too, and turned on the light. Liz sat turned to face him, and she hugged her arms to her chest. “Did I do something?”
His eyes softened. “No. It isn’t you,” he insisted.
She bit her lip. Something had to be wrong, though. She knew they weren’t having the best night, and laughingly, she added to herself that tonight was the complete opposite of this afternoon. Still, when she kissed him good night at his door, the kiss had been quick.
She said softly, “Is it a bad thing?”
And Max closed his eyes. Liz thought he wouldn’t answer her so she leaned her head back against the wall and closed her eyes too when his soft reply came, “No.”
“Then why can’t you tell me?” she pointed out, and at first Max hesitated, wanting to agree with her. He weakly admitted a few seconds later, “Because I don’t want it to change how you’ll feel about me.”
She caught the breath in her throat, and exhaled quietly. Whatever it was she realized he was feeling vulnerable about it. Liz realized her next words could either make him shy away from telling her or give him the boost that he needed. She began the only way she knew how, honestly. “I don’t know what you’re scared of Max, but I know what I feel in my heart, and I don’t think anything could change that.” She squeezed his hand.
Max let go of her hand and sat up on the bed. Liz was in front of him, her small frame accentuated by the gorgeous blue skirt she was wearing and he silently admired how beautiful she looked for a second. Slowly her eyes leveled and met his. In her eyes was her support for him, and it was enough to give Max the courage to say what he did next.
He began quietly, “I’m not human,” and when he saw the question jump into her eyes before she could mask it, he clarified with, “I’m an alien.”
She stared at him and then she pursed her lips together briefly, wetting her lips. He stared at her lips then because right now it was easier to look there than in her eyes.
“My parents, the Evans, found Isabel and I wandering along the side of a highway road in 1989 and they adopted us into their family. Michael came back into our lives a few years later at West Roswell Elementary.”
Liz smiled faintly at the name of their school; she hadn’t thought about those years for a while now. “I was on the playground with Isabel and I don’t even think I was paying much attention to her,” Max paused to look at her and she nodded, a confused but encouraging expression on her face.
“I think I was looking out at something else, and I saw someone watching us from a few feet away. As soon as I saw him, it was as if I knew him. Then these memories came over me, like a flash of something I was unable to remember before. I saw he things that had happened between when we had been born to when the Evans found us, and even memories I hadn't witnessed of Michael's life. It shocked me. For one thing, it was so scary to find out that I was something else, and later we started to understand that there was someone else around who was like us. It’s always been the three of us.”
“But you recognized each other?” Liz asked and Max nodded, relieved that somehow, she understood.
“It was years before we finally understood all of our powers, our abilities, and what we could do.”
“And what can you do?” Liz asked curiously.
Max paused when she spoke, coming down from his temporary high. It had been so freeing seconds ago to let everything about him come out, finally. He looked back into her eyes and found her gaze supportive and patient. “I can heal things, like if someone is hurt, I can stop whatever it is before it’s too late.”
Max went on to explain that though it wasn’t something he had done very often, he knew what its limits were. He was certain that he could heal small wounds and even bone alignments because he had saved a baby bird when he was younger. Liz listened to his story earnestly and her face lit up in every part of the story that was hopeful and where Max had been brave. Once he was done, she told him that quietly and he had denied that he was brave. It struck him how she could see him like this when he didn’t feel like a real person at all. He also told her that he figured he could heal something bigger, but opportunities like that had luckily never happened.
“And I can manipulate the molecular structure of things.” Max saw the question flicker in her eyes and he looked for something he could change.
He eyed something on the top of his bookshelf, the white golf ball his father made a hole in one with last year during a business tournament. He got up off the bed and went to get it. When he came back to her, he sat down on the edge of the bed, and Liz crawled over to him on her knees. He heard the rustle of her tights on the sheets as she moved and then she was sitting beside him staring down at the ball that he held. Max closed his right hand over it, covering it, and out of the corner of his eye, he saw her part her lips, her curiosity swimming in her eyes. She gasped softly when a soft golden light came from out of his hand and flooded the golf ball. She tilted her head to see what it was but Max was quicker and he covered it with the back of his palm, wanting to suspend the surprise.
He looked at her, watching her face as he opened his palm. She bit her lip excitedly as his hands slowly parted. Her smile brightened when he revealed the bud of a white rose instead of a golf ball and she stuttered his name, unable to form anything else coherent. She was awestruck at what she had just seen and finally she said, “It’s beautiful.”
She reached out her index finger to touch the petals so gingerly that Max thought she believed it wasn’t real at first. When she touched the petal, sure enough, it was as soft as any other petal, and it felt silky and smooth under her fingertip. Then he presented the delicate flower to her completely, and she took it gently, cupping her hands around it like he had.
“You made this.” she stated, as she held it. She held it in her hand down in her lap and she took a moment to think this over privately. This was bigger than anything she had ever faced before, and while it was daunting and hard to fathom, she found herself coming back to Max with each question that entered her mind.
“This afternoon, while we were together, I saw something,” she said. “I think it was like a flash, like what you saw when you saw Michael for the first time. You made me see something.”
He couldn’t fight back the small smile, or his excitement, and he asked her what she saw. “I’m not even sure,” she said as she rubbed her fingers over the rose petals. “I think I saw the place you were born, and something that happened back in ninth grade.”
He smiled, and though he had so many questions running through his mind, he saw the faraway look on her face replace her thoughtful one.
“What else?” he prompted.
Her smile widened, “I-I think I saw the stars.”
Max smiled even more, and he said, “Yeah?” and she nodded. Once she said it, she realized it was possible then. It was entirely possible to see stars while you were kissing, so long as the boy you were with was an alien. She smiled at him, slipped her hand into his, and asked him her next question. “So what does this mean for you?”
At his hesitation, she continued, “If you’re different, what’s going to happen to you?”
“Nothing,” he said. He turned on the bed so he was facing her, and he held her other hand. “I’m still Max Evans,” he promised. “Who I am is only a part of me. We waited during high school to see if something more would come out of it, but it didn’t. You see, we always thought someone would come.
“We thought the FBI might come in, wanting to remove unwanted persons, or that someone from our home might come, asking us to go home. But nothing happened, and by the end of high school, we decided to start living normal lives.”
He met her eyes when he said this last part, wanting to indicate that she was a part of that, and while she did meet his gaze, her mind was elsewhere. First, her mind was swimming with the first thing he had mentioned, the FBI. It scared her that there were people out there that wanted to hurt Max, and she told him this. He reassured her with telling her what kind of careful life he’s had to lead.
“Is that why you were so quiet?” she blurted out, her mind chewing over the real Max Evans and finding that the one she thought she knew didn’t add up to the parts of who he was he was introducing to her. “Back then?” she clarified, and he nodded sadly.
They sat quietly again, and she remembered another alternative he mentioned. Her heart lurched at his last alternative, the possibility that he might go home someday and she tightened her grip on his hand. “Does that mean you might leave someday?” she asked, and he heard the tone in her voice.
“I don’t think so,” he told her and he rubbed her palm gently.
She nodded, but her mind was still swimming. In ten seconds, the boy she had known so well had changed. He wasn’t the same anymore.
He moved his hand to rest between them and she could see that he was waiting for her reaction and she suddenly let go of his hand. “Max, I know what I said ten minutes ago,” she gulped and swallowed hard….this was so hard to say. “How nothing could change that, but I’m so scared.”
“Don’t be.” He reached out to hold her but she moved to stand suddenly, taking her rose in her hand and her purse in the other. She bent down to push on her shoes.
“Liz,” he said softly, wishing she would come back and sit down next to him.
“Max, I’m scared because there’s this whole other part of you that’s just as important as the first part that walked up to me that day in the lectern hall,” and he looked into her eyes and saw that she was smiling as she said this so he smiled too. That December day felt like ages ago. He could have never imagined that one risk like that would have brought him here today. “And I don’t know him at all,” she breathed.
Max frowned and when looked at her, she wore a bittersweet smile. “I’m sorry,” he stuttered, softly, but she stepped back to him, “Don’t be. It’s not your fault…you became who you are because you were scared and cautious about letting someone in and I know how hard tonight was for you. I know I said whatever you told me wouldn’t change things, but it does.” She bit her lip thoughtfully before reaching out to cup his face. Max bent his head into her palm, into her loving caress and he trembled at the warmth her hand passed onto his face, “I want to know him,” she whispered, and he looked up into shiny eyes. She looked like she was ready to cry, and that was the last thing he wanted.
“Can we take a step back so I can?” she asked.
She felt the sway of his head in her hand as he nodded. Then she pressed her lips on his softly and then she left. He had a feeling he might not get the touch of her lips again for a while. He took off his clothes and settled into bed, and tried drifting off, but his dreams were quick and overwhelmingly bright with the colors dreams are made of. He dreamed of Liz Parker in his arms, kissing and loving him, and Max woke up abruptly a little into the morning realizing the one thing that had been evading him for months. He was in love with her.
As Liz slipped away into the night to return to her dorm, it crossed her mind that it would be strange not having him in her life in the same way. She started to realize what she would be missing and she added a silent add on to her question. She needed to know if from the way things had changed, her heart had taken the same cue and changed too because Liz was sure she had just fallen in love with an alien. She was scared because she wasn’t sure what it would mean for her hear. She went to bed that night even unhappy than when she had taken her nap that afternoon, and her dreams were of the all too few weeks she and Max had spent together.
TBC...I'll see you next week. :D
-
Dreamerlaure
- Fan Fic Follower
- Posts: 51
- Joined: Sat Nov 11, 2006 5:12 pm
Chapter 16
It’s May 20th, and it’s been a while since I’ve written anything on these pages, but it’s only because during freshman year, my life became indescribable.
At the beginning of the year, I thought I would be able to analyze all of my feelings, and whatever was jumbled up in my heart by setting it down on paper. Then I met Max and my world was no longer the same. He changed me, and it’s not the conventional way where people leave something permanent on you. It was subtler.
He made me smile, laugh, and feel things I’d never allowed my heart to feel before. If my heart were a room, then Max added the paint to its walls. And as unreal as those months were, they were still some of the best months of my life.
“Liz?”
She put down her pen in exasperation and sighed. Of course. It was moving day and loosely translated, the day that everyone sought her out…could she really have expected ten minutes to herself to just write? The semester ended today and when she finished packing last night at eleven, Nicole dropped by her room and enlisted her help in sorting out her room. When Liz entered, the room was a disaster; there was so much that needed to be done that Liz hadn’t ended up in her own bed until two o’clock. To say she was tired would be an understatement. To say she was not looking forward to what Nicole would ask her next was putting it nicely.
She turned her head, and glanced through the window to the dorm and waited for Nicole to come around the corner. She was surprised when she saw Nicole struggling under a huge box, and she changed her mind. Liz jumped up and went through the door, rushing to Nicole’s side. “Wait!” she called out, and she pushed her hand under one side to help her lift it. Both girls struggled to take one step forward when suddenly the box was lifted effortlessly out of their hands and up into the air.
Nicole smiled up at him flirtatiously. “My hero has arrived.”
Max laughed. It still sent tickles down Liz’s back when she heard him. She bit her lip and looked up at him. He was tanned from lounging on the Green yesterday afternoon. The Green was a special part of the main campus that was flat and extended from the science buildings to the dorms. During the summer months, the students liked to tan on the green for a few hours, and unfortuanately for Liz, it was harder to avoid thinking about Max if he was there everyday. When she finished her her lab period at four, she saw him there and now she was appreciating the sun’s effect on him just as much as she had yesterday.
“I’m no hero,” he murmurred and Nicole insisted, “You are to me.”
When they were done, Nicole walked away and Max turned his head to look back at Liz but she had sauntered off too. She was sitting on the porch rail again, her body tensed over the small journal she was writing in. Max came come over when he heard Nicole call Liz’s name. He was moving around some of the things in her trunk, which seemed innocent enough to Liz when she chose the porch rail to write in her journal. She didn’t know he was watching her out of the corner of his eye. It was a good thing he came over; Nicole packed that box in particular with as much stuff as it could hold.
Once he had that box packed away too, he turned around and studied Liz She looked up at the sky for a second. He knew she was probably trying to think of a word, but he appreciated the way the sunlight shone down on her hair. It was funny that after all this time, that’s what he missed the most. Her kiss he could forget for a time being. He dreamed of kissing her sometimes, and to be honest, that was probably as good as it was going to get. He could get her laugh again. He was still her friend after all. Her smile he could get again too. The sparkle in her eyes he saw when she talked to other people, and it hurt him that he didn’t see it directed to him as much anymore. She was finally happy. When he saw her back in December, that’s all he’d ever wanted for her. But, now, rather belatedly he realized that he wanted to be the one to make her happy.
It was funny though how after all this time he still wanted to touch her hair and run his fingers through it and see if it was as soft as it looked. “Yeah,” Max muttered under his breath as he turned away from her. He could sense that she was about to look up, and he turned back to setting up Nicole’s car. “Funny.” He wasn’t supposed to be having these thoughts anymore. He was just her friend now.
I still have Max. He’s still my friend. I still see him close to everyday, and since we stepped back, I don’t think I have gone a day without seeing him. I expected things to really change after the step back. I thought I would miss being a part of his life, or even just miss him, but the thing is, seeing him everyday like this isn’t helping either. It’s just as bad. I miss him now because he’s so accessible…
She looked up just as Max ducked his head and she frowned. Was he looking at her? That couldn’t be possible. She and Max weren’t eyeing each other anymore. No, he did that with Nicole now, and Rebecca, and Mary, and well, almost every single red blooded female on campus. Liz hadn’t even thought of herself as pretty but apparently those girls had and now that she was no longer on his arm, they popped up everywhere. To Liz though, standing by his side was just as good as being on his arm and she scowled as much as possible. Telling her his secret made Max open up. They talked even more easily now, but his confidence extended to everyone he talked to. Max found the whole thing entertaining and he accepted numbers with ease and patience, but Liz, her patience could only last so long.
Liz watched his muscles flex as he bent down to put the box into the trunk of the car. Nicole was walking back to Liz and she dropped her mouth open in mock awe as she passed him. Liz rolled her eyes. Nicole was harmless. Liz smiled to herself; Nicole was also dating her lab partner, so all this attention she was giving was to try getting to Liz and make her crack.
When Liz told Nicole what happened, her voice sounded miserable and Nicole picked up on what Liz wasn’t going to admit. “Did you tell him how you felt?”
She pushed gently, and Liz hedged around the truth. “I told him I needed time to get to know him.”
She told Nicole that Max had been keeping a big part of himself from her and that the secret between them had preempted this step back. Nicole didn’t push the question again but over the last two months, the topic came up between them often. Each time it did, Liz pushed her feelings aside; she didn’t want to deal with that right now.
The last two months, she and Max had grown closer, but as friends. She knew everything about him, from the freckle he had behind his left ear to the scar he had on his wrist from when Michael accidentally blew up a vase on the kitchen table.
She held his hand as he recounted every memory with her. He shared some with her, too. Those were the most surreal moments during this whole ordeal. It was funny how even though she knew he was different and what his powers could do, the moments he shared memories with her were the most intense in her life. It wasn’t accidental anymore; if he was telling a story, he would ask her if he could show her. At first she wasn’t sure if she wanted this kind of storytelling. Her cheeks would flame if she remembered when the first cinematic experiences with Max happened. He reassured her though, “It’s just a connection,” and Liz knew as she nodded her head the first time that she was making a mistake. If only visions were just visions. They were anything but with Max, and when they were done, her breathing was labored if it was really intense and if what she saw was really wonderful, she reacted quickly. She was often so impressed with what she saw that for that briefest second after they finished connecting, Liz would forget everything else except to breathe.
Nicole came back over to Liz and she whispered in her ear as she passed her, “He’s hot,” and Liz nodded absent mindedly. Nicole walked back into the dorm to continue emptying her room and Liz looked up.
She was watching him rearrange the boxes in the trunk, and when he looked up too and met her eyes. Before she could disguise that she was looking at him, he started coming over to her. Max smiled and he was about to hug her when she scolded, “No, you’re all sweaty.” He grinned. “I’m not,” and he reached out his hands to envelope her. She laughed as he hugged her because sure enough he was. Surprisingly, the Max scent was still there.
But for all that I feel about Max and what’s happened to us, every day a part of me doubts every reason I had for asking him to step back. Now that we’re back, can we ever take a step forward again?
When she wasn’t looking, Max watched Liz Parker. Her head was bent over the journal in her lap and she looked absorbed in what she was writing. He watched her a little impatiently too. He wanted her to look up again so he could see her face properly. Finally she did look up, but it was to smile at a passing senior. Max slipped into Nicole’s room as quickly as possible, grabbing the first box he laid his eyes on. Then he made his way to the doors and swung them open with his foot, his hands occupied with holding the box. The box was a little large, and most of Max’s face was obscured as he approached her. The senior was walking away when Max neared Liz and he was shaking his head lightly.
“Bye, Parker,” he called back to her, and she smiled at him. Then she pressed her pen back into the paper.
I’ve found a really good balance in my life though. Since Max and I agreed to take a step back and try getting to know each other, we’ve become closer. Granted it’s not as close as we were before he opened up to me, but I’m content with being his friend. I really am…
Max smiled at Liz as he passed her again and he was rewarded with a smile back. She happened to look up as he got closer to her. He kept his eyes on her, not looking away until the last possible second and he nearly knocked into Nicole as she bounded out of the dorm.
He towered over her a little but she wasn’t the slightest bit intimidated. She smirked at him and he frowned but then she pointedly glanced at Liz who was bent back over her journal again, and Max sidestepped her. He wasn’t really up to one more speech from her on how to win Liz back. The thing is, he didn’t want to win her when he was already hers. His only wish was that he could let her know.
….and there’s nothing I would do to change that. We’re friends, nothing more, and that’s perfectly fine….He’s even going back to Roswell with me tomorrow morning, that’s how platonic our friendship is.
“Hey,” Max said as he came back around. Liz had spent some time crafting her last words and she was tapping the pen on the paper absent mindedly. Max was walking towards her when she looked up.
“Are you almost ready?” he asked.
She nodded. “I just have to finish this last part.” She hugged her journal to her chest and Max nodded.
Nicole came bounding out of the dorm excitedly. “I’m all packed!” she exclaimed, and Liz and Max exchanged a secret smile.
“No kidding,” she laughed. “My room is totally empty.” She reached out and hugged Liz, “and I couldn’t have done it without my best friend listening to me complain all the way,” Nicole squeezed Liz tightly. Then she looked up at Max and smiled brightly, “and my personal moving van,” to which everyone laughed.
Liz nodded. “Next time, don’t keep me up until two taping boxes.”
Nicole smiled, “I can do that.” Liz rolled her eyes. Those were Nicole’s famous last words.
It’s perfectly fine. It’s okay to just be his friend.
Yet, as I’m writing this, the knot in my stomach is not loosening. It’s a lie. I’ve never wanted anything more, but the thing is, I don’t have any idea how to get him back.
Nicole dragged Max to her side of the vehicle and as soon as he was there she gave him her best disapproving glare.
Max crumbled under her scrutiny, “What?” he asked exasperatedly. “Nicole, it’s clearly not meant to be,” he said using her words. Those exact words were on his mind lately, but still the words rolled off his tongue uncomfortably. Nicole felt that way, he reminded himself. He chanced another look back at Liz over his shoulder to see her just closing the dorm door. when he refaced Nicole she looked at him pointedly. “It is,” Nicole insisted. “I see how you two look at each other. I just wish you both weren’t so stupid as to not let something small come between you. Forget whatever it is and just give it a chance Max.”
“I can’t.” Max said weakly, and Nicole shrugged her shoulders. “Try, Max. There’s no such thing as what you can’t do, only what you haven’t done.”
She brushed her hair behind her ear and swung open her car door. Her little two door car was packed with all of her stuff from the semester, half of which she had bought while at school. She stretched her hands up and then slid into the car, and Max suppressed a laugh.
“Will you take my advice?” she asked disinterestedly, as she flipped open her compact and fixed her lipstick.
Max looked at the girl who was descending the porch stairs with a purse on her shoulders and a skirt he’d never seen before. “I lent that to her,” Nicole murmurred, and Max turned to her suddenly, “How did you – ”
“I have a nose for these sort of things.”
At that moment Liz came over to them and she stepped around Max and kissed Nicole’s cheek. “Call me when you get back to Vermont,” Liz insisted.
“Call me when you get to Roswell,” and when she saw Liz’s puzzled expression she quipped, “You’re not carrying your cell, right?”
“Oh,” Liz sighed, “That’s right, I’m not.” She smiled, “I’ll call you then.” She and Max were driving all the way back to Roswell, and Nicole was right, phone service was questionable.
Nicole nodded, “Okay, bye guys; see you in September,” she said cheerily as she revved up her car. “Have a great summer,” she added, and Liz smiled. The car rocked back for a second and both Max and Liz stifled back a giggle. Nicole’s face in the sideview mirror formed a perfect oh, as if she were shocked this was happening, and they smiled even more innocently when she glanced over at them curiously. After a few more tries, the car finally rocked forward and she pulled off. Max and Liz waved to her in her sideview mirror as she left and they watched the car go towards the main gate.
Max turned to Liz and smiled. “So, are you ready?”
She smiled up at him, “I am.” She started walking off to her car, which was just ahead of them, and he smiled as she opened the locks on the doors and he slipped in.
As the miles started to fall away and Liz was humming along to a pop song, Max found himself looking out at the landscape, remembering Nicole’s words, “only what hasn’t been done.”
He looked back at her; the wind was blowing through her hair, she was blowing a bubble from her chewing gum, and singing along with the music. He cringed when he heard one sour note. He was in love with his best friend, the person who knew everything about him now, the girl who could kiss him breathless.That she knew what he was, humbled him. That she hadn’t completely run away, relieved him. At least he still had a chance with her. He watched her and he waited…Only a second later, she turned her head to him. She felt him looking at her, and she always could but it hadn’t happened like this in a long time. Maybe the close proximity in the car was making this happen this time around.
Their eyes locked for a second before she looked away abruptly. Max watched her flustered expression and he was mildly amused. He hadn’t realized until then that he still affected her. In his mind, that was as good of a chance at getting her back.
It’s May 20th, and it’s been a while since I’ve written anything on these pages, but it’s only because during freshman year, my life became indescribable.
At the beginning of the year, I thought I would be able to analyze all of my feelings, and whatever was jumbled up in my heart by setting it down on paper. Then I met Max and my world was no longer the same. He changed me, and it’s not the conventional way where people leave something permanent on you. It was subtler.
He made me smile, laugh, and feel things I’d never allowed my heart to feel before. If my heart were a room, then Max added the paint to its walls. And as unreal as those months were, they were still some of the best months of my life.
“Liz?”
She put down her pen in exasperation and sighed. Of course. It was moving day and loosely translated, the day that everyone sought her out…could she really have expected ten minutes to herself to just write? The semester ended today and when she finished packing last night at eleven, Nicole dropped by her room and enlisted her help in sorting out her room. When Liz entered, the room was a disaster; there was so much that needed to be done that Liz hadn’t ended up in her own bed until two o’clock. To say she was tired would be an understatement. To say she was not looking forward to what Nicole would ask her next was putting it nicely.
She turned her head, and glanced through the window to the dorm and waited for Nicole to come around the corner. She was surprised when she saw Nicole struggling under a huge box, and she changed her mind. Liz jumped up and went through the door, rushing to Nicole’s side. “Wait!” she called out, and she pushed her hand under one side to help her lift it. Both girls struggled to take one step forward when suddenly the box was lifted effortlessly out of their hands and up into the air.
Nicole smiled up at him flirtatiously. “My hero has arrived.”
Max laughed. It still sent tickles down Liz’s back when she heard him. She bit her lip and looked up at him. He was tanned from lounging on the Green yesterday afternoon. The Green was a special part of the main campus that was flat and extended from the science buildings to the dorms. During the summer months, the students liked to tan on the green for a few hours, and unfortuanately for Liz, it was harder to avoid thinking about Max if he was there everyday. When she finished her her lab period at four, she saw him there and now she was appreciating the sun’s effect on him just as much as she had yesterday.
“I’m no hero,” he murmurred and Nicole insisted, “You are to me.”
When they were done, Nicole walked away and Max turned his head to look back at Liz but she had sauntered off too. She was sitting on the porch rail again, her body tensed over the small journal she was writing in. Max came come over when he heard Nicole call Liz’s name. He was moving around some of the things in her trunk, which seemed innocent enough to Liz when she chose the porch rail to write in her journal. She didn’t know he was watching her out of the corner of his eye. It was a good thing he came over; Nicole packed that box in particular with as much stuff as it could hold.
Once he had that box packed away too, he turned around and studied Liz She looked up at the sky for a second. He knew she was probably trying to think of a word, but he appreciated the way the sunlight shone down on her hair. It was funny that after all this time, that’s what he missed the most. Her kiss he could forget for a time being. He dreamed of kissing her sometimes, and to be honest, that was probably as good as it was going to get. He could get her laugh again. He was still her friend after all. Her smile he could get again too. The sparkle in her eyes he saw when she talked to other people, and it hurt him that he didn’t see it directed to him as much anymore. She was finally happy. When he saw her back in December, that’s all he’d ever wanted for her. But, now, rather belatedly he realized that he wanted to be the one to make her happy.
It was funny though how after all this time he still wanted to touch her hair and run his fingers through it and see if it was as soft as it looked. “Yeah,” Max muttered under his breath as he turned away from her. He could sense that she was about to look up, and he turned back to setting up Nicole’s car. “Funny.” He wasn’t supposed to be having these thoughts anymore. He was just her friend now.
I still have Max. He’s still my friend. I still see him close to everyday, and since we stepped back, I don’t think I have gone a day without seeing him. I expected things to really change after the step back. I thought I would miss being a part of his life, or even just miss him, but the thing is, seeing him everyday like this isn’t helping either. It’s just as bad. I miss him now because he’s so accessible…
She looked up just as Max ducked his head and she frowned. Was he looking at her? That couldn’t be possible. She and Max weren’t eyeing each other anymore. No, he did that with Nicole now, and Rebecca, and Mary, and well, almost every single red blooded female on campus. Liz hadn’t even thought of herself as pretty but apparently those girls had and now that she was no longer on his arm, they popped up everywhere. To Liz though, standing by his side was just as good as being on his arm and she scowled as much as possible. Telling her his secret made Max open up. They talked even more easily now, but his confidence extended to everyone he talked to. Max found the whole thing entertaining and he accepted numbers with ease and patience, but Liz, her patience could only last so long.
Liz watched his muscles flex as he bent down to put the box into the trunk of the car. Nicole was walking back to Liz and she dropped her mouth open in mock awe as she passed him. Liz rolled her eyes. Nicole was harmless. Liz smiled to herself; Nicole was also dating her lab partner, so all this attention she was giving was to try getting to Liz and make her crack.
When Liz told Nicole what happened, her voice sounded miserable and Nicole picked up on what Liz wasn’t going to admit. “Did you tell him how you felt?”
She pushed gently, and Liz hedged around the truth. “I told him I needed time to get to know him.”
She told Nicole that Max had been keeping a big part of himself from her and that the secret between them had preempted this step back. Nicole didn’t push the question again but over the last two months, the topic came up between them often. Each time it did, Liz pushed her feelings aside; she didn’t want to deal with that right now.
The last two months, she and Max had grown closer, but as friends. She knew everything about him, from the freckle he had behind his left ear to the scar he had on his wrist from when Michael accidentally blew up a vase on the kitchen table.
She held his hand as he recounted every memory with her. He shared some with her, too. Those were the most surreal moments during this whole ordeal. It was funny how even though she knew he was different and what his powers could do, the moments he shared memories with her were the most intense in her life. It wasn’t accidental anymore; if he was telling a story, he would ask her if he could show her. At first she wasn’t sure if she wanted this kind of storytelling. Her cheeks would flame if she remembered when the first cinematic experiences with Max happened. He reassured her though, “It’s just a connection,” and Liz knew as she nodded her head the first time that she was making a mistake. If only visions were just visions. They were anything but with Max, and when they were done, her breathing was labored if it was really intense and if what she saw was really wonderful, she reacted quickly. She was often so impressed with what she saw that for that briefest second after they finished connecting, Liz would forget everything else except to breathe.
Nicole came back over to Liz and she whispered in her ear as she passed her, “He’s hot,” and Liz nodded absent mindedly. Nicole walked back into the dorm to continue emptying her room and Liz looked up.
She was watching him rearrange the boxes in the trunk, and when he looked up too and met her eyes. Before she could disguise that she was looking at him, he started coming over to her. Max smiled and he was about to hug her when she scolded, “No, you’re all sweaty.” He grinned. “I’m not,” and he reached out his hands to envelope her. She laughed as he hugged her because sure enough he was. Surprisingly, the Max scent was still there.
But for all that I feel about Max and what’s happened to us, every day a part of me doubts every reason I had for asking him to step back. Now that we’re back, can we ever take a step forward again?
When she wasn’t looking, Max watched Liz Parker. Her head was bent over the journal in her lap and she looked absorbed in what she was writing. He watched her a little impatiently too. He wanted her to look up again so he could see her face properly. Finally she did look up, but it was to smile at a passing senior. Max slipped into Nicole’s room as quickly as possible, grabbing the first box he laid his eyes on. Then he made his way to the doors and swung them open with his foot, his hands occupied with holding the box. The box was a little large, and most of Max’s face was obscured as he approached her. The senior was walking away when Max neared Liz and he was shaking his head lightly.
“Bye, Parker,” he called back to her, and she smiled at him. Then she pressed her pen back into the paper.
I’ve found a really good balance in my life though. Since Max and I agreed to take a step back and try getting to know each other, we’ve become closer. Granted it’s not as close as we were before he opened up to me, but I’m content with being his friend. I really am…
Max smiled at Liz as he passed her again and he was rewarded with a smile back. She happened to look up as he got closer to her. He kept his eyes on her, not looking away until the last possible second and he nearly knocked into Nicole as she bounded out of the dorm.
He towered over her a little but she wasn’t the slightest bit intimidated. She smirked at him and he frowned but then she pointedly glanced at Liz who was bent back over her journal again, and Max sidestepped her. He wasn’t really up to one more speech from her on how to win Liz back. The thing is, he didn’t want to win her when he was already hers. His only wish was that he could let her know.
….and there’s nothing I would do to change that. We’re friends, nothing more, and that’s perfectly fine….He’s even going back to Roswell with me tomorrow morning, that’s how platonic our friendship is.
“Hey,” Max said as he came back around. Liz had spent some time crafting her last words and she was tapping the pen on the paper absent mindedly. Max was walking towards her when she looked up.
“Are you almost ready?” he asked.
She nodded. “I just have to finish this last part.” She hugged her journal to her chest and Max nodded.
Nicole came bounding out of the dorm excitedly. “I’m all packed!” she exclaimed, and Liz and Max exchanged a secret smile.
“No kidding,” she laughed. “My room is totally empty.” She reached out and hugged Liz, “and I couldn’t have done it without my best friend listening to me complain all the way,” Nicole squeezed Liz tightly. Then she looked up at Max and smiled brightly, “and my personal moving van,” to which everyone laughed.
Liz nodded. “Next time, don’t keep me up until two taping boxes.”
Nicole smiled, “I can do that.” Liz rolled her eyes. Those were Nicole’s famous last words.
It’s perfectly fine. It’s okay to just be his friend.
Yet, as I’m writing this, the knot in my stomach is not loosening. It’s a lie. I’ve never wanted anything more, but the thing is, I don’t have any idea how to get him back.
Nicole dragged Max to her side of the vehicle and as soon as he was there she gave him her best disapproving glare.
Max crumbled under her scrutiny, “What?” he asked exasperatedly. “Nicole, it’s clearly not meant to be,” he said using her words. Those exact words were on his mind lately, but still the words rolled off his tongue uncomfortably. Nicole felt that way, he reminded himself. He chanced another look back at Liz over his shoulder to see her just closing the dorm door. when he refaced Nicole she looked at him pointedly. “It is,” Nicole insisted. “I see how you two look at each other. I just wish you both weren’t so stupid as to not let something small come between you. Forget whatever it is and just give it a chance Max.”
“I can’t.” Max said weakly, and Nicole shrugged her shoulders. “Try, Max. There’s no such thing as what you can’t do, only what you haven’t done.”
She brushed her hair behind her ear and swung open her car door. Her little two door car was packed with all of her stuff from the semester, half of which she had bought while at school. She stretched her hands up and then slid into the car, and Max suppressed a laugh.
“Will you take my advice?” she asked disinterestedly, as she flipped open her compact and fixed her lipstick.
Max looked at the girl who was descending the porch stairs with a purse on her shoulders and a skirt he’d never seen before. “I lent that to her,” Nicole murmurred, and Max turned to her suddenly, “How did you – ”
“I have a nose for these sort of things.”
At that moment Liz came over to them and she stepped around Max and kissed Nicole’s cheek. “Call me when you get back to Vermont,” Liz insisted.
“Call me when you get to Roswell,” and when she saw Liz’s puzzled expression she quipped, “You’re not carrying your cell, right?”
“Oh,” Liz sighed, “That’s right, I’m not.” She smiled, “I’ll call you then.” She and Max were driving all the way back to Roswell, and Nicole was right, phone service was questionable.
Nicole nodded, “Okay, bye guys; see you in September,” she said cheerily as she revved up her car. “Have a great summer,” she added, and Liz smiled. The car rocked back for a second and both Max and Liz stifled back a giggle. Nicole’s face in the sideview mirror formed a perfect oh, as if she were shocked this was happening, and they smiled even more innocently when she glanced over at them curiously. After a few more tries, the car finally rocked forward and she pulled off. Max and Liz waved to her in her sideview mirror as she left and they watched the car go towards the main gate.
Max turned to Liz and smiled. “So, are you ready?”
She smiled up at him, “I am.” She started walking off to her car, which was just ahead of them, and he smiled as she opened the locks on the doors and he slipped in.
As the miles started to fall away and Liz was humming along to a pop song, Max found himself looking out at the landscape, remembering Nicole’s words, “only what hasn’t been done.”
He looked back at her; the wind was blowing through her hair, she was blowing a bubble from her chewing gum, and singing along with the music. He cringed when he heard one sour note. He was in love with his best friend, the person who knew everything about him now, the girl who could kiss him breathless.That she knew what he was, humbled him. That she hadn’t completely run away, relieved him. At least he still had a chance with her. He watched her and he waited…Only a second later, she turned her head to him. She felt him looking at her, and she always could but it hadn’t happened like this in a long time. Maybe the close proximity in the car was making this happen this time around.
Their eyes locked for a second before she looked away abruptly. Max watched her flustered expression and he was mildly amused. He hadn’t realized until then that he still affected her. In his mind, that was as good of a chance at getting her back.
-
Angie
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Dreamerlaure
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Angie Thanks! I hear you about finals - good luck with yours :D
Chapter 17
It was Max’s turn at the wheel when they were on the last highway stretch before Roswell. Liz closed her eyes no more than an hour after they switched, leaving Max to drive the distance alone. It was nearing nightfall, and the sky had a soft blue color that looked as if it had been evenly painted in one long brush stroke from one side of the desert landscape to the other.
After she had given in to her fatigue, he looked sideways at her. When he saw her shiver, he put his college sweatshirt over her shoulders and arms. In her sleep, she responded by moaning softly, and a sigh escaped her lips before she shifted so her back was to him. She pressed one sleeve of the blanket under her chin, because maybe it felt soft to her in her sleep. He could tell she was just leaning into the chair to get more comfortable. but her new position made it seem like she was giving him the cold shoulder. Secretly though he was thrilled that she wasn’t reject it.
They were entering Roswell hours earlier than they planned to. Max’s and Liz’s parents were expecting them the following morning, not this evening. Liz’s Mom and Dad knew more about Max than Max’s parents knew about her, but that was only because they had known him as one of their high school customers at the Crashdown.
It was true. Max had been watching Liz Parker from afar from then and admittedly, even earlier. He thought she was beautiful as he watched her going around the Crashdown to collect orders or saw her in passing during a school day between classes. He had few classes with her in high school, just biology in tenth grade and then advanced biology senior year. There was the odd pep rally when Liz and her friends were only a few feet away from him or a combined PE health class where Liz sat near him, but to have known Liz Parker during high school was his dream, and it was one that only materialized this year.
At first he worried that being with her couldn’t happen because of not only who he was, but what he was. She surprised him though on this subject just like she had on so many other things. For example, when he nibbled her neck she curled her hands around him even tighter, effectively bringing his body closer to hers and letting her playful side come out. It always surprised him if when he started something with her, she did something sudden like that. He remembered how the first time he traced his tongue over her lips, she sighed as she opened her mouth to let him in, and every time after that, he heard that sigh again.
She had surprised him with how readily she accepted who he was. She had gotten to know him, and maybe even more importantly, she had gotten to know his alien side. With knowing him, she strived to understand him and be a friend to him. He was lucky to have her friendship.
He wouldn’t deny though that after all these months, sexual frustration was setting in and he wanted her to surprise him in the ways he liked best. He missed her. Max glanced at her during the car ride as she slept often and if her shoulders ever shifted and the sweatshirt slid down her arms, he would reach out to fix it.
*
Max made a right turn smoothly, coming off the highway and entering Roswell. Liz stirred in her sleep as a stream of sunlight fell onto her face. She rolled over on her back, and dug her elbows into the chair as she eased herself up into a sitting position.
She didn’t say anything to Max, which he was used to. It wasn’t that they were having a fight or not speaking, but she was always quiet when she just woke up. He knew this from the nights she spent at his dorm during the year and during their trip.
She craned her neck to look out the window. Max glanced at her and saw she was holding his sweatshirt close to her chest before she stretched the sleeves out in front of her and pulled it on. He bit back a grin. When he saw her look at him, he thought she might wonder why he was smiling, but instead she was only stretching out her back and rubbing her eyes.
Max couldn’t decide if they should go to the Crashdown first or to his house. They were in her car, so it might be easier to go to his house first, take out his things, and part, letting Liz drive back to the Crashdown on her own. Then what? Max wondered. They hadn’t made any promises to see each other tomorrow or the next day. Max sensed she wanted space this summer, but the question he had was how much did she want and how much longer could he last.
He glanced at her to find her intently studying him. He smiled uneasily and she matched his smile, but more confidently. “Do you want to go to your house first,” she said, voicing what he’d been thinking. “It might be easier.”
“Good point,” he said and he drove further into town before turning off one of the side streets to head into a residential sections.
It was an early summer evening and his parents were probably home. He was anxious for her to meet them. They knew her from when he went to high school as one of her classmates, but his parents had heard about her this year during their phone calls. There was no doubt in his mind that his Mother would be curious as to why he had been talking about her a little less – it never failed to surprise him how perceptive she was, but he hoped she wouldn’t be in her usual chatty mood and let something slip that really shouldn’t be mentioned. He could take the twenty questions later, but he didn’t want it to happen while she was there.
He pulled into the driveway, and killed the engine. Liz moved to unbuckle her seatbelt at the same time he moved to do the same and their heads were only inches apart. Liz’s head was bent down and she saw her fumbling with her belt.
“Hey,” he touched her hand. “Are you nervous?” She met his gaze and smiled shyly. He added, “Because if you are, I can tell you, it’s nothing compared to how nervous I am,” which prompted her to giggle.
“It’s good to know I’m not alone,” she laughed.
She undid her seatbelt easily now and they got out of the car. Liz collapsed her hands onto the roof of the car and bent her head down, and she watched Max stretch his arms up.
He turned mid stretch and didn’t disguise his yawn. “Think I’ll get a good night’s sleep tonight?” she teased.
“You?” he asked, smiling at her over the top of the car. “You’ve slept already.”
“I don’t know,” she dragged. “I think I need to sleep a little more. All those nights in the motels must be catching up, finally.”
Liz felt the sweatshirt sleeves droop when she brought her wrists down to her side and she looked down at the oversized sweatshirt, finally acknowledging it. In her dreams, it’d been a blanket, and when she’d woken up, it was a sweatshirt. Now she could see it was Max’s and that it was at least five sizes too big for her. She’d never worn any of his sweatshirts before. This was a first, but then she’d expected wearing one of his articles of clothing for the first time to have come while they were dating.
She was yanking it over her head when Max crossed to her side of the car. The material was covering her face as he came beisde her. He held her wrist and said quietly, “Wait.”
He reached under the collar of the sweatshirt, his hands grazing her neck as his fingers reached for her ears. Her earrings had snagged in the material without her noticing it and he gently made space between the sweatshirt and her ears before pulling it over her head.
Both teens sprung apart when the front door to Max’s house swung open and the voices of Max’s parents carried to them. Max was facing the house and Liz was right in front of him, her back to them. She ducked her head, hiding her flushed cheeks, and stepped aside before looking up to see them. Max’s mother’s face lit up when she saw him and his father smiled widely too. Lzi didn’t want to intrude on the moment right then and she was also nervous about meeting them, so she stepped aside as his parents stepped forward to greet him and she leaned her hip against the car door.
“Max?” his mom said finally, as if she had been waiting months to say his name to him when he was in front of her. It had been months; he came home for Thanksgiving, Christmas, and then his parents had flown out to Illinois for two weeks during his Spring Break. He spent that break with them in Chicago, and that had only been a few weeks. Having an empty nest was an adjustment, one the Evans were slowly getting used to. She smiled at him with unshed tears in her eyes and hugged him.
Once he turned to his father, Diane Evans focused her attentions on the partner Max drove home with. She didn’t hesitate from stepping forward to her warmly. “Hi, you must be Liz.”
“Hi, Mrs. Evans,” Liz smiled.
“Honey,” Diane held both of her hands in hers, squeezing lightly. “You can call me, Diane,” and she smiled at her too. Philip and Max had finished also, and Philip smiled at the petite brunette Max was enamored with.
He saw the glances they were exchanging, and even more importantly, he saw the way his son looked at her when she wasn’t looking at him. To Philip, that moment was very important because he could see something deeper than just attraction there.
“Were you going out?” Max asked, curious.
She’d been caught up in the flurry of her son coming home, but she recovered, and explained, “Yes, there’s a lobster special at the Seafood restaurant and we’ve got reservations. If we knew you were coming home tonight, we wouldn’t have made plans, we would have stayed in.”
Max could see the wheels churning in her mind for the various meal courses she could try out on them tonight instead. He knew it was going to be a long summer, filled with experimental dinners because his Mother had a penchant for cooking books and exploring different meals.
“It’s so nice to have one kid home for the summer,” Philip put his arm around Diane and smiled at her meaningfully, knowing how much this meant to her. He missed the bewildered look Max threw his way until he looked up. “Didn’t you talk to Isabel?”
“Yeah,” Max sputtered. “I talked to her two weeks ago and she said she’d see me home.”
“Oh, she was here, but she left yesterday,” Diane explained. She looked up at her husband. Philip added, “A law firm down in Arizona I work with sometimes called asking if there were any local teenagers who were interested in this field of work. Isabel was really interested in doing it and so was your friend, Michael.”
“Michael was here?” Max said, staring at his parents. Something wasn’t adding up; first of all, he hadn’t heard from Michael since early into the first semester, and though Isabel had mentioned that she had nothing to do this summer, he was surprised at how quickly they had left. It puzzled him too that they hadn’t said anything to him before they left.
“Yeah, he came back into town a few weeks ago. I didn’t see him until Isabel came back, but then the opportunity came up on the same day and they both grabbed it.”
Philip was no longer paying attention to the myriad of thoughts that were running through Max’s head as he was moving to the car with Diane. Liz watched Max’s face during this exchange and she understood his concerns. She came over to him and slipped her hand in his. The slight pressure of her hand in his brought Max out of his thoughts and he looked down into her eyes.
It was incredible how looking into her brown eyes gave him the strength to do anything, including forget about the concerns that weighted down on him. She didn’t voice anything to him right then but held his hand and then her other hand reached up around his shoulders to make small circles on his back.
That comforted him and a moment later he pulled away from her and smiled. Diane watched the entire exchange thoughfully, and she was amused by how oblivious they were to their presence. The Max she sent off to college this summer would be incredibly embarassed if she witnessed him flirt with a lifeguard at the pool, which was exactly what had happened once at the pool.
When Max and Liz moved away from the parents to open the trunk together, from where she sat in the car, she exchanged a knowing smile with her husband. This was more than just a casual friend he had met at university. This was going to be an interesting summer.
Liz and Max lingered behind the open trunk back for a second, and Max asked, “This isn’t weird, right?”
She smiled up at him. “I’ll be okay. I wasn’t expecting it, but it’s really nice to meet your parents. They’re really nice.”
She turned away from him with a box in her hands so she missed his elated smile.
Max grabbed a box too, and he followed close behind her to the front door. He was just about to open the door when his Mom called out his name. The car was still in the driveway and it looked as if the Evans had been discussing something.
“Hey, why don’t you finish up here and then join us?” Diane suggested.
Max hesitated; he wasn’t sure how Liz would take to a dinner like this and he was fast formulating an excuse when Liz interrupted, “That would be great, Diane.” Liz smiled enthusiasically, and Max watched his Mom’s smile widen.
It appeared his Mom was becoming taken with Liz too. Though he hadn’t had a girlfriend during high school, he was surprised by the good start they were having. But, what did just happen, Max wondered. His parents waved at Max and Liz as they drove off, and Max turned onto Liz, smiling. “What just happened?” he asked.
“Nothing,” she said innocently, “but tell me you weren’t hungry. But, I think you could call that charming your parents.”
Max grinned, “It’s not that hard when it’s you.”
Liz was inches away from him and there were no boxes between them now; the moment from earlier was back. “Yeah?” she asked.
Max’s smile faded. “What’s wrong, Max?” Liz asked.
“It’s just weird that they’re not here. We’ve always been cautious in the past, and we’d never have done something like this before.”
She nodded. “I’m sure they’ll be back; we have all summer. Don’t worry about it,” and she squeezed his hand for extra good measure.
Chapter 17
It was Max’s turn at the wheel when they were on the last highway stretch before Roswell. Liz closed her eyes no more than an hour after they switched, leaving Max to drive the distance alone. It was nearing nightfall, and the sky had a soft blue color that looked as if it had been evenly painted in one long brush stroke from one side of the desert landscape to the other.
After she had given in to her fatigue, he looked sideways at her. When he saw her shiver, he put his college sweatshirt over her shoulders and arms. In her sleep, she responded by moaning softly, and a sigh escaped her lips before she shifted so her back was to him. She pressed one sleeve of the blanket under her chin, because maybe it felt soft to her in her sleep. He could tell she was just leaning into the chair to get more comfortable. but her new position made it seem like she was giving him the cold shoulder. Secretly though he was thrilled that she wasn’t reject it.
They were entering Roswell hours earlier than they planned to. Max’s and Liz’s parents were expecting them the following morning, not this evening. Liz’s Mom and Dad knew more about Max than Max’s parents knew about her, but that was only because they had known him as one of their high school customers at the Crashdown.
It was true. Max had been watching Liz Parker from afar from then and admittedly, even earlier. He thought she was beautiful as he watched her going around the Crashdown to collect orders or saw her in passing during a school day between classes. He had few classes with her in high school, just biology in tenth grade and then advanced biology senior year. There was the odd pep rally when Liz and her friends were only a few feet away from him or a combined PE health class where Liz sat near him, but to have known Liz Parker during high school was his dream, and it was one that only materialized this year.
At first he worried that being with her couldn’t happen because of not only who he was, but what he was. She surprised him though on this subject just like she had on so many other things. For example, when he nibbled her neck she curled her hands around him even tighter, effectively bringing his body closer to hers and letting her playful side come out. It always surprised him if when he started something with her, she did something sudden like that. He remembered how the first time he traced his tongue over her lips, she sighed as she opened her mouth to let him in, and every time after that, he heard that sigh again.
She had surprised him with how readily she accepted who he was. She had gotten to know him, and maybe even more importantly, she had gotten to know his alien side. With knowing him, she strived to understand him and be a friend to him. He was lucky to have her friendship.
He wouldn’t deny though that after all these months, sexual frustration was setting in and he wanted her to surprise him in the ways he liked best. He missed her. Max glanced at her during the car ride as she slept often and if her shoulders ever shifted and the sweatshirt slid down her arms, he would reach out to fix it.
*
Max made a right turn smoothly, coming off the highway and entering Roswell. Liz stirred in her sleep as a stream of sunlight fell onto her face. She rolled over on her back, and dug her elbows into the chair as she eased herself up into a sitting position.
She didn’t say anything to Max, which he was used to. It wasn’t that they were having a fight or not speaking, but she was always quiet when she just woke up. He knew this from the nights she spent at his dorm during the year and during their trip.
She craned her neck to look out the window. Max glanced at her and saw she was holding his sweatshirt close to her chest before she stretched the sleeves out in front of her and pulled it on. He bit back a grin. When he saw her look at him, he thought she might wonder why he was smiling, but instead she was only stretching out her back and rubbing her eyes.
Max couldn’t decide if they should go to the Crashdown first or to his house. They were in her car, so it might be easier to go to his house first, take out his things, and part, letting Liz drive back to the Crashdown on her own. Then what? Max wondered. They hadn’t made any promises to see each other tomorrow or the next day. Max sensed she wanted space this summer, but the question he had was how much did she want and how much longer could he last.
He glanced at her to find her intently studying him. He smiled uneasily and she matched his smile, but more confidently. “Do you want to go to your house first,” she said, voicing what he’d been thinking. “It might be easier.”
“Good point,” he said and he drove further into town before turning off one of the side streets to head into a residential sections.
It was an early summer evening and his parents were probably home. He was anxious for her to meet them. They knew her from when he went to high school as one of her classmates, but his parents had heard about her this year during their phone calls. There was no doubt in his mind that his Mother would be curious as to why he had been talking about her a little less – it never failed to surprise him how perceptive she was, but he hoped she wouldn’t be in her usual chatty mood and let something slip that really shouldn’t be mentioned. He could take the twenty questions later, but he didn’t want it to happen while she was there.
He pulled into the driveway, and killed the engine. Liz moved to unbuckle her seatbelt at the same time he moved to do the same and their heads were only inches apart. Liz’s head was bent down and she saw her fumbling with her belt.
“Hey,” he touched her hand. “Are you nervous?” She met his gaze and smiled shyly. He added, “Because if you are, I can tell you, it’s nothing compared to how nervous I am,” which prompted her to giggle.
“It’s good to know I’m not alone,” she laughed.
She undid her seatbelt easily now and they got out of the car. Liz collapsed her hands onto the roof of the car and bent her head down, and she watched Max stretch his arms up.
He turned mid stretch and didn’t disguise his yawn. “Think I’ll get a good night’s sleep tonight?” she teased.
“You?” he asked, smiling at her over the top of the car. “You’ve slept already.”
“I don’t know,” she dragged. “I think I need to sleep a little more. All those nights in the motels must be catching up, finally.”
Liz felt the sweatshirt sleeves droop when she brought her wrists down to her side and she looked down at the oversized sweatshirt, finally acknowledging it. In her dreams, it’d been a blanket, and when she’d woken up, it was a sweatshirt. Now she could see it was Max’s and that it was at least five sizes too big for her. She’d never worn any of his sweatshirts before. This was a first, but then she’d expected wearing one of his articles of clothing for the first time to have come while they were dating.
She was yanking it over her head when Max crossed to her side of the car. The material was covering her face as he came beisde her. He held her wrist and said quietly, “Wait.”
He reached under the collar of the sweatshirt, his hands grazing her neck as his fingers reached for her ears. Her earrings had snagged in the material without her noticing it and he gently made space between the sweatshirt and her ears before pulling it over her head.
Both teens sprung apart when the front door to Max’s house swung open and the voices of Max’s parents carried to them. Max was facing the house and Liz was right in front of him, her back to them. She ducked her head, hiding her flushed cheeks, and stepped aside before looking up to see them. Max’s mother’s face lit up when she saw him and his father smiled widely too. Lzi didn’t want to intrude on the moment right then and she was also nervous about meeting them, so she stepped aside as his parents stepped forward to greet him and she leaned her hip against the car door.
“Max?” his mom said finally, as if she had been waiting months to say his name to him when he was in front of her. It had been months; he came home for Thanksgiving, Christmas, and then his parents had flown out to Illinois for two weeks during his Spring Break. He spent that break with them in Chicago, and that had only been a few weeks. Having an empty nest was an adjustment, one the Evans were slowly getting used to. She smiled at him with unshed tears in her eyes and hugged him.
Once he turned to his father, Diane Evans focused her attentions on the partner Max drove home with. She didn’t hesitate from stepping forward to her warmly. “Hi, you must be Liz.”
“Hi, Mrs. Evans,” Liz smiled.
“Honey,” Diane held both of her hands in hers, squeezing lightly. “You can call me, Diane,” and she smiled at her too. Philip and Max had finished also, and Philip smiled at the petite brunette Max was enamored with.
He saw the glances they were exchanging, and even more importantly, he saw the way his son looked at her when she wasn’t looking at him. To Philip, that moment was very important because he could see something deeper than just attraction there.
“Were you going out?” Max asked, curious.
She’d been caught up in the flurry of her son coming home, but she recovered, and explained, “Yes, there’s a lobster special at the Seafood restaurant and we’ve got reservations. If we knew you were coming home tonight, we wouldn’t have made plans, we would have stayed in.”
Max could see the wheels churning in her mind for the various meal courses she could try out on them tonight instead. He knew it was going to be a long summer, filled with experimental dinners because his Mother had a penchant for cooking books and exploring different meals.
“It’s so nice to have one kid home for the summer,” Philip put his arm around Diane and smiled at her meaningfully, knowing how much this meant to her. He missed the bewildered look Max threw his way until he looked up. “Didn’t you talk to Isabel?”
“Yeah,” Max sputtered. “I talked to her two weeks ago and she said she’d see me home.”
“Oh, she was here, but she left yesterday,” Diane explained. She looked up at her husband. Philip added, “A law firm down in Arizona I work with sometimes called asking if there were any local teenagers who were interested in this field of work. Isabel was really interested in doing it and so was your friend, Michael.”
“Michael was here?” Max said, staring at his parents. Something wasn’t adding up; first of all, he hadn’t heard from Michael since early into the first semester, and though Isabel had mentioned that she had nothing to do this summer, he was surprised at how quickly they had left. It puzzled him too that they hadn’t said anything to him before they left.
“Yeah, he came back into town a few weeks ago. I didn’t see him until Isabel came back, but then the opportunity came up on the same day and they both grabbed it.”
Philip was no longer paying attention to the myriad of thoughts that were running through Max’s head as he was moving to the car with Diane. Liz watched Max’s face during this exchange and she understood his concerns. She came over to him and slipped her hand in his. The slight pressure of her hand in his brought Max out of his thoughts and he looked down into her eyes.
It was incredible how looking into her brown eyes gave him the strength to do anything, including forget about the concerns that weighted down on him. She didn’t voice anything to him right then but held his hand and then her other hand reached up around his shoulders to make small circles on his back.
That comforted him and a moment later he pulled away from her and smiled. Diane watched the entire exchange thoughfully, and she was amused by how oblivious they were to their presence. The Max she sent off to college this summer would be incredibly embarassed if she witnessed him flirt with a lifeguard at the pool, which was exactly what had happened once at the pool.
When Max and Liz moved away from the parents to open the trunk together, from where she sat in the car, she exchanged a knowing smile with her husband. This was more than just a casual friend he had met at university. This was going to be an interesting summer.
Liz and Max lingered behind the open trunk back for a second, and Max asked, “This isn’t weird, right?”
She smiled up at him. “I’ll be okay. I wasn’t expecting it, but it’s really nice to meet your parents. They’re really nice.”
She turned away from him with a box in her hands so she missed his elated smile.
Max grabbed a box too, and he followed close behind her to the front door. He was just about to open the door when his Mom called out his name. The car was still in the driveway and it looked as if the Evans had been discussing something.
“Hey, why don’t you finish up here and then join us?” Diane suggested.
Max hesitated; he wasn’t sure how Liz would take to a dinner like this and he was fast formulating an excuse when Liz interrupted, “That would be great, Diane.” Liz smiled enthusiasically, and Max watched his Mom’s smile widen.
It appeared his Mom was becoming taken with Liz too. Though he hadn’t had a girlfriend during high school, he was surprised by the good start they were having. But, what did just happen, Max wondered. His parents waved at Max and Liz as they drove off, and Max turned onto Liz, smiling. “What just happened?” he asked.
“Nothing,” she said innocently, “but tell me you weren’t hungry. But, I think you could call that charming your parents.”
Max grinned, “It’s not that hard when it’s you.”
Liz was inches away from him and there were no boxes between them now; the moment from earlier was back. “Yeah?” she asked.
Max’s smile faded. “What’s wrong, Max?” Liz asked.
“It’s just weird that they’re not here. We’ve always been cautious in the past, and we’d never have done something like this before.”
She nodded. “I’m sure they’ll be back; we have all summer. Don’t worry about it,” and she squeezed his hand for extra good measure.
-
Dreamerlaure
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Chapter 18
Chapter 18
When did I get so nervous? Liz mused as she spun around slowly. Her dress fit her just the same, as if a day had not passed since the last time she had worn it. Liz smoothed her hand over her curved apron and found her order book in one of the side pockets. She didn’t take it out yet for she had just wanted to make sure that it was still there. Her shoes still offered the amount of support that she knew would come in handy later when she was well into her shift, and once she was back in front of the mirror she pointed her feet in front of her, modeling the shoes. Then her eyes drifted back up to her own face. She had wound her hair into a ponytail easily in a matter of seconds, her efficiency from high school coming back to her when while she was at school this year she had been used to taking her time. Her face was makeup free, so her fatigue from the car trip still showed on her face.
As happy as Liz’s parents were to see her again, especially her father, they understood when she said she was tired. “I think I need a few hours,” Liz explained, “and then I’ll be back on my feet again.”
“Aren’t you hungry?” her mother asked curiously. It was almost ten when Liz came back home from the Evans’s, but her parents didn’t know that she had been there. They thought she was just coming into Roswell.
Liz quickly corrected them, explaining that she had driven with Max to his house and they’d been invited to the seafood restaurant with his parents. Her Dad told her that if she wanted food later, she could help herself to any of the leftovers that were in the fridge. Then he hugged her and said goodnight. When Jeff Parker was out of hearing range, Liz thought she was free to go off to her room right away, but her Mom stopped her.
“So Max,” she began, stopping Liz from walking away easily. Liz turned around to face her Mom and she said wearily, as if she’d been saying this a hundred times, “He’s just a friend, Mom.”
Nancy Parker’s smile didn’t fade. “I’m sure,” she said. “Good night, bee.” She hugged Liz too, and gently squeezed her daughter’s shoulders. Liz hadn’t heard the familiar nickname ‘bee’ in months, and for what was another moment out of many instances, she was happy to be back home.
The first and only time she asked her parents about the nickname, her Dad explained that she used to flit around the house when she was younger and like a bumblebee, she was always looking for something to do. Liz asked if that was a bad thing and they explained that it wasn’t because she always found something constructive to do, which they’d been thankful for. She would read to them from one of her books, or plant sunflowers for her mom, but the latter was usually her favorite thing to do. Once Liz saw that it was a positive thing, she didn’t find any reason to ask about it anymore. She loved being their bumblebee, and hearing her Mom call her by the name again now that she was home and all grown up, made her swell on the inside of her heart. It was good to be home.
One thing was missing, she realized. She turned to her right and when she spotted the sparkly headband sitting on the top of her dresser, she picked it up. The antennas started to rattle as soon as her fingers touched it, and she remembered fondly that its material was very flimsy. She tucked the ends of the headband behind her ear and slipped it into her ponytail before returning to the mirror for her last once over.
It was weird being back in uniform again, but it did feel like she was coming back to something very familiar. Liz came back home for Thanksgiving and Christmas, and while she was back, she’d done some waitressing. However, since she hadn’t been home since then, having been away from December to May, she felt rusty at this.
It wasn’t like she hadn’t grown up at the Crashdown, or been at this for years, but apparently taking a break from it made her not only miss it but feel foreign to it when she returned. For her knack for it to have faded was unusual. She’d been waitressing officially since she was fourteen, but it had started even before then. She was a spectator from an early age. It always looked interesting. Her mind was filled with other aspirations, in college, and the last thing she had wanted to do was work in a restaurant again. However, something always tugged on her heart when she saw people waitressing, and being back in it made her realize just how nostalgic for home she had been. When she was young, Liz’s dream of being a scientist was always the lighthouse up ahead, and her parents had instilled good work habits in her. It was expected too that one day she would work there also, and that’s what she had done.
When she was much younger, she would watch her mother work and that’s how she learned everything. Then after she turned fourteen, she picked up small shifts in the summer. At the same time that she was being brought into the job, her Mom was leaving it. Nancy took up a job as a teller at the First National Bank that year, and soon she stopped working there, while Liz continued working throughout high school, all the way up until she went away to college.
Last night when she came in, her parents were still up, sharing conversation over two slices of blueberry pie.
“Liz!” her Mom exclaimed when she saw her daughter pry open the door. Jeff turned around quickly, and his face was as bright as her Mom’s.
He got up and relieved Liz of the box she was holding. Liz came into the house a little more, and her Mom threw her arms around her. The hug was suffocating, but at that moment Liz didn’t care; she squeezed back just as hard. Her Dad’s turn was next and his hug was equally strong. When both parents let her go, they finally stepped back.
They asked about her ride over, how it had been, and what the scenery was like. As the questions started to dwindle, Liz’s parents started to really take her in, and that’s when both parents realized that she was more tired than she would admit. They knew she had driven over with a friend, and that it was a guy, but Liz wasn’t up to being pressed for more information on that front. She rushed over any parts in her story that had to do with him, and of course her parents noticed, but in different ways. Her father was pleased to know that she had a good friend. And, Nancy had other thoughts, but she was willing to sit back and see how this would play out. That didn’t stop her from mentioning it quickly to Liz before she sent her daughter off for the night, and she didn’t miss the guilty smile that Liz sported for the briefest second.
Liz’s Mom watched as Liz walked away and headed into her room, her lack of energy much more apparent now than before. She hoped that Liz would get some much needed rest, and the following morning, she didn’t mention anything about Liz’s car friend.
Liz stumbled into the kitchen before her shift started, clumsily, and she looked up at her Mom in exasperation. “What are all of these boxes doing here in the hallway?” she asked.
She had left all of her stuff in her car last night, so there was no way that could be hers. In fact, she had asked her parents if she could be the one to take them in, even if she overslept in the morning. Her frown got deeper as her eyes went from the boxes to her Mom’s guilty expression.
“Mom, what’s going on?” she asked.
Liz walked over to the counter and sat on one of the stools in front of her Mom. Now that she was more into the kitchen, she could see the apartment fully, and that’s when she noticed what she hadn’t the night before. Instead of the ceiling fan that was once suspended from the ceiling, there was a more modest light fixture. The apartment was still cool, and she realized they had probably got central air installed. The curtains over the window were a warmer hue of red, and the apartment’s decorations – the photographs, rugs, and artwork were arranged differently; the apartment itself was more modest.
“Did you redecorate?” Liz asked curiously.
Her Mom started to smile as she looked over Liz’s shoulder at the person who was coming in. “You could say that,” she began, her voice trailing off, and when Liz realized that her Mom was no longer looking at her but past her, she turned around too.
“Grandma Claudia?” Liz cried, and she nearly leaped off the stool to fall into her grandmother’s open arms for a huge hug.
*
Day one…and absolutely nothing to do. He could only drive around it for so long without it looking ridiculous. First, he left his house when he offered to pick up the hammer his father needed from the hardware store. He hadn’t even been a part of that conversation between his Mom and his Dad when they were discussing where they should hang the tapestry she bought at a flea market. Diane was sure that it was a hidden gem, and when she mentioned it the night before during dinner, she called it a “found” treasure, something she was sure would sell for a lot if she bided her time and waited a few years.
Max of course felt differently, and so did his Dad, as they both were well acquainted with Diane’s fondness for these sorts of treasures. Liz was the only one at the table that indulged her, saying that these sorts of things were always worth something.
Diane smiled proudly that Liz was on her side, and Philip said quickly, “I didn’t know that, but I’m sure that if anyone can tell you the tried and true way to find out, it’s my wife,” and then he smiled at her affectionately. Just the month before, she had found something else, and there would always be another thing the next month. They had been married for a long time though, and they weren’t just comfortable with each other; they knew each other inside out.
Liz rose her fork to her mouth for another bite of lobster and when she looked up, she noticed Max was staring at her intently. Philip got into a discussion with his wife about something at work, and the attention was off of Max and Liz again. Her cheeks turned pink, and then she met his eyes fully. “My grandmother likes to collect found artwork from different cities in the southwest for various book projects and newspaper aricles.” Liz paused and smiled confidentially, “Actually she’s even putting a book together right now, but she’s been doing the finding and searching her entire life, and she’s always told me that there’s something to be found everywhere.”
Max smiled at how candid she was being, and he told her honestly, “She sounds like a wonderful person.”
Their eyes stayed with each other for a little longer before the waiter cleared his throat softly. He was standing by Max, his sudden appearance jostling both Max and Liz to the present.Whatever Philip and Diane had been discussing was over now and while Philip was staring at Max in confusion, Diane’s expression was amused as she watched Max trip over, “Huh?” She had never seen her son act like this before, and secretly, she was thrilled to be a witness to it.
The waiter wasn’t as amused and he repeated, with a hint of impatience in his voice, “Would you like a refill of water?”
Max nodded, and as the waiter walked away, he looked his parents’s way to find that they weren’t looking at him at all. Maybe he had imagined that everyone was looking at him, because it had certainly felt that way, he thought to himself. Well, that had been true, only Diane and Philip had looked away once the waiter was done, jumping back into their conversation as effortlessly as if they had never stopped talking. Liz had looked down into her lap when the waiter asked Max what he wanted, and as Max took a sip of his water to regain his senses – he thought he was just tired – he saw her looking at him again over the rim of his glass.
When Max got up that morning, he had headed downstairs almost immediately after gettting dressed. He felt restless already, and the summer was just beginning. He had been coming down the stairs when he overheard his dad ask his mom where the hammer was, to which she replied, “I thought you had it.”
Max had a sudden bright idea that popped into his head and coming in on her words, he said, “I can head out to the hardware store and buy a new one.”
Before either Diane or Philip could say anything, Max had grabbed his Dad’s key and opened the front door.
Max circled South Main Street again with the hammer in a plastic bag of its own on the front seat passenger’s side. He only noticed a few customers in the Crashdown the first time he circled it, and one customer in particular, an older man, stood out, and as he passed the Crashdown a third time, he realized he was openly staring at him. That alone was enough for Max to stop, and realize that he should just go inside.
Max pulled his father’s car up to a parking space a few feet away and he got out. His parents could wait on a hammer, he justified wryly.
He walked towards the door purposefully, knowing what he wanted to say and ask her but when the doors chimed and he saw her look up, those thoughts were instantly gone.
Liz was smiling at a customer, and when she looked up, he thought the smile that was on her face was just lingering there because of whatever she had been talking about. That doubt evaporated when she not only continued to smile at him, but gave him a small wave.
He kept his eyes on hers as he stepped in further, and then he pointed to a booth to his right, and she nodded slowly. Max sat down, his back facing the windows, and he picked up the breakfast menu that was on the table.
“Is that your girl?”
A man’s voice intruded Max’s eye contact with Liz and he turned to look over his shoulder at the customer who had witnessed him circling the block not two minutes ago.
He seemed genuinely friendly, but Max was above all a private person, and he said, “Not really.”
For whatever reason, the customer found that funny, and started laughing, before he turned around even more, and swung his legs off of the booth. As Liz came over the older man stopped her mid stride and slipped a bill into her hand.
“Keep an eye on your customers; they’re all good ones,” he said meaningfully before he pushed his cane in front of him and started towards the door.
Liz wrinkled her nose as she came to stand in front of Max. “What was all that about?”
“I have no idea,” Max smiled. She smiled too and then for wanting to say it, she said shyly, “Hi.”
“Hey,” Max said. He cleared his throat officially in jest and returned his gaze to the menu in front of him.
“Do you know what you want?” she asked. Her fingers toyed with the edge of the table. They should get these replaced, the edges were starting to chip.
Max knit his eyebrows together as he looked at her playfully. “I haven’t decided yet.”
“Then I’ll wait,” she admonished. She was about to start walking away but Max’s next words stopped her.
“You can wait over here.”
He watched her face as two emotions flickered over it – guilt and undeniable want about doing exactly as he suggested.
“It’s snail hour,” he joked and she looked around the Crashdown with a smile. The other two customers had left also, as she was just settling the bill with them when Max came in. So, it was true; there was no one there right now at eight in the morning on a Saturday.
“I guess that’s our fault for being early birds.” She slid into the seat across from him and propped her elbows up on the table, putting her chin into her hands.
Max smiled and then he returned his attention to the menu. Liz didn’t move; she enjoyed looking at him like this, as he was thinking. His eyebrows were scrunched in the cutest way. She saw him frown at something and for a second, she witnessed the cutest dimple, one she had never noticed before and she smiled.
Max looked up over the menu at her and he kidded, “What are you smiling at, mister?”
She rolled her eyes, and let her gaze fall away from his face and down at the table before raising her eyes back and grinning, “Just thinking.”
Max looked at her wrist, and without thinking much about it, he reached out to touch her bracelet. “This is really beautiful.”
The cloth of the three stranded woven bracelet felt like silk in his fingertips, that’s how generous the material of the threads when brought together was. There were amethyst and amber beads spaced along the length of it and Max’s fingers went over those, impulsively seeking out if they were as glassy as they looked. They weren’t – they were much softer, and under his thumb he felt how soft her skin was, too, and he had forgotten about that for too long. He did remember how sensitive her wrists and her hands were, and when he looked up at her, her eyes were locked on his. The pad of his thumb explored her wrist more, the bracelet forgotten, and he was aware of how fast her pulse was racing under his fingertips.
Max laced his fingers with hers, finally. “My Grandmother gave it to me this morning…she came back last week while we were driving and that’s why we didn’t know that she was back…” Liz was stuttering over her words because he was affecting her and she blushed hotly before adding, “So that’s probably why you’ve never seen it before.”
“Probably,” he agreed.
The bell above the Crashdown door chimed again, and Agnes waltzed in. Max didn’t let go of Liz’s hand, but the both of them made a conscious decision to lower their clasped hands to the top of the table. Max made small circles in her palm as Agnes started to make her way over to the table.
“Liz, you’re back,” she stated blandly. It was no secret that she didn’t enjoy working here, and sometimes Liz wondered if the only reason she kept the job was for lack of anything better to do. And still, Liz wondered why she wouldn’t find something that could make her happy. The years rolled by however, and Agnes continued to work here with a sour demeanor and an uncampy attitude. “I think someone else’s coming in later today, and I know that her shift doesn’t start until nine, so I’m just going to – ”
“Actually,” Liz interrupted, she squeezed Max’s hand. “I’m on my break right now. We were just leaving.”
She stood and after Max put the menu down on the table and stood also, she slipped her hand into his again. “I’ll be back soon,” she said as they headed out of the door so quickly that it took Agnes a few seconds to recover with, “Whaaat…”
Apparently Liz had pulled her break trick, where you wrangle as many breaks as you can, effectively screwing over your coworkers.
Agnes put her pocketbook down on the counter by the order window as she walked towards the swinging doors. She muttered, “I need a cigarette,” and with that left the Crashdown Café. Liz and Max were out of the doors in the front side of it and the main part of the café was empty.
Liz didn’t have to lead Max to his car because the pace of his footsteps matched hers; he was just as eager to spend the day together as she was. When they were by his car door, he was still holding on to her hand. Before he let her go, he pressed, “This is crazy.”
“I know, but I have to admit, if you’re going to be here this summer, the moonside up eggs does become repetitive.”
He didn’t let go of her hand, but he frowned. “How did you know?” he sputtered.
“What?” she asked.
“That’s what I order,” he said.
She blushed as his eyes perused her face, and then he did the sweetest thing. His other hand reached for her waist and he moved his face closer to hers. “Thanks.” His breath fell softly on her cheek.
“For?”
“For noticing me,” he said. His face was facing hers, but his cheek was by hers, and she knew what was coming. So, instead of it being the sweetest thing, it became something else entirely as she suddenly let go of his hand and moved to his left, and out of his near embrace.
Max got into the car first. He wasn’t frustrated; no, she was definitely making him work for every inch, and he knew it might be a while before she would hold his hand like that again and for him to move so close to kissing her again. He noticed absently that she had taken off her headband and he looked longingly at the lower half of her long brown hair that spilled onto the head of the carseat as she sat down. She had a ponytail in, and even though he couldn’t see all of it, what he did see mesmerized him with thoughts of how wonderful it would feel to touch it.
She broke his thoughts when after pulling a plastic bag out from under her and gripping it so that she could feel its form, she giggled, “Max, what are you doing with a hammer in here.”
TBC…
When did I get so nervous? Liz mused as she spun around slowly. Her dress fit her just the same, as if a day had not passed since the last time she had worn it. Liz smoothed her hand over her curved apron and found her order book in one of the side pockets. She didn’t take it out yet for she had just wanted to make sure that it was still there. Her shoes still offered the amount of support that she knew would come in handy later when she was well into her shift, and once she was back in front of the mirror she pointed her feet in front of her, modeling the shoes. Then her eyes drifted back up to her own face. She had wound her hair into a ponytail easily in a matter of seconds, her efficiency from high school coming back to her when while she was at school this year she had been used to taking her time. Her face was makeup free, so her fatigue from the car trip still showed on her face.
As happy as Liz’s parents were to see her again, especially her father, they understood when she said she was tired. “I think I need a few hours,” Liz explained, “and then I’ll be back on my feet again.”
“Aren’t you hungry?” her mother asked curiously. It was almost ten when Liz came back home from the Evans’s, but her parents didn’t know that she had been there. They thought she was just coming into Roswell.
Liz quickly corrected them, explaining that she had driven with Max to his house and they’d been invited to the seafood restaurant with his parents. Her Dad told her that if she wanted food later, she could help herself to any of the leftovers that were in the fridge. Then he hugged her and said goodnight. When Jeff Parker was out of hearing range, Liz thought she was free to go off to her room right away, but her Mom stopped her.
“So Max,” she began, stopping Liz from walking away easily. Liz turned around to face her Mom and she said wearily, as if she’d been saying this a hundred times, “He’s just a friend, Mom.”
Nancy Parker’s smile didn’t fade. “I’m sure,” she said. “Good night, bee.” She hugged Liz too, and gently squeezed her daughter’s shoulders. Liz hadn’t heard the familiar nickname ‘bee’ in months, and for what was another moment out of many instances, she was happy to be back home.
The first and only time she asked her parents about the nickname, her Dad explained that she used to flit around the house when she was younger and like a bumblebee, she was always looking for something to do. Liz asked if that was a bad thing and they explained that it wasn’t because she always found something constructive to do, which they’d been thankful for. She would read to them from one of her books, or plant sunflowers for her mom, but the latter was usually her favorite thing to do. Once Liz saw that it was a positive thing, she didn’t find any reason to ask about it anymore. She loved being their bumblebee, and hearing her Mom call her by the name again now that she was home and all grown up, made her swell on the inside of her heart. It was good to be home.
One thing was missing, she realized. She turned to her right and when she spotted the sparkly headband sitting on the top of her dresser, she picked it up. The antennas started to rattle as soon as her fingers touched it, and she remembered fondly that its material was very flimsy. She tucked the ends of the headband behind her ear and slipped it into her ponytail before returning to the mirror for her last once over.
It was weird being back in uniform again, but it did feel like she was coming back to something very familiar. Liz came back home for Thanksgiving and Christmas, and while she was back, she’d done some waitressing. However, since she hadn’t been home since then, having been away from December to May, she felt rusty at this.
It wasn’t like she hadn’t grown up at the Crashdown, or been at this for years, but apparently taking a break from it made her not only miss it but feel foreign to it when she returned. For her knack for it to have faded was unusual. She’d been waitressing officially since she was fourteen, but it had started even before then. She was a spectator from an early age. It always looked interesting. Her mind was filled with other aspirations, in college, and the last thing she had wanted to do was work in a restaurant again. However, something always tugged on her heart when she saw people waitressing, and being back in it made her realize just how nostalgic for home she had been. When she was young, Liz’s dream of being a scientist was always the lighthouse up ahead, and her parents had instilled good work habits in her. It was expected too that one day she would work there also, and that’s what she had done.
When she was much younger, she would watch her mother work and that’s how she learned everything. Then after she turned fourteen, she picked up small shifts in the summer. At the same time that she was being brought into the job, her Mom was leaving it. Nancy took up a job as a teller at the First National Bank that year, and soon she stopped working there, while Liz continued working throughout high school, all the way up until she went away to college.
Last night when she came in, her parents were still up, sharing conversation over two slices of blueberry pie.
“Liz!” her Mom exclaimed when she saw her daughter pry open the door. Jeff turned around quickly, and his face was as bright as her Mom’s.
He got up and relieved Liz of the box she was holding. Liz came into the house a little more, and her Mom threw her arms around her. The hug was suffocating, but at that moment Liz didn’t care; she squeezed back just as hard. Her Dad’s turn was next and his hug was equally strong. When both parents let her go, they finally stepped back.
They asked about her ride over, how it had been, and what the scenery was like. As the questions started to dwindle, Liz’s parents started to really take her in, and that’s when both parents realized that she was more tired than she would admit. They knew she had driven over with a friend, and that it was a guy, but Liz wasn’t up to being pressed for more information on that front. She rushed over any parts in her story that had to do with him, and of course her parents noticed, but in different ways. Her father was pleased to know that she had a good friend. And, Nancy had other thoughts, but she was willing to sit back and see how this would play out. That didn’t stop her from mentioning it quickly to Liz before she sent her daughter off for the night, and she didn’t miss the guilty smile that Liz sported for the briefest second.
Liz’s Mom watched as Liz walked away and headed into her room, her lack of energy much more apparent now than before. She hoped that Liz would get some much needed rest, and the following morning, she didn’t mention anything about Liz’s car friend.
Liz stumbled into the kitchen before her shift started, clumsily, and she looked up at her Mom in exasperation. “What are all of these boxes doing here in the hallway?” she asked.
She had left all of her stuff in her car last night, so there was no way that could be hers. In fact, she had asked her parents if she could be the one to take them in, even if she overslept in the morning. Her frown got deeper as her eyes went from the boxes to her Mom’s guilty expression.
“Mom, what’s going on?” she asked.
Liz walked over to the counter and sat on one of the stools in front of her Mom. Now that she was more into the kitchen, she could see the apartment fully, and that’s when she noticed what she hadn’t the night before. Instead of the ceiling fan that was once suspended from the ceiling, there was a more modest light fixture. The apartment was still cool, and she realized they had probably got central air installed. The curtains over the window were a warmer hue of red, and the apartment’s decorations – the photographs, rugs, and artwork were arranged differently; the apartment itself was more modest.
“Did you redecorate?” Liz asked curiously.
Her Mom started to smile as she looked over Liz’s shoulder at the person who was coming in. “You could say that,” she began, her voice trailing off, and when Liz realized that her Mom was no longer looking at her but past her, she turned around too.
“Grandma Claudia?” Liz cried, and she nearly leaped off the stool to fall into her grandmother’s open arms for a huge hug.
*
Day one…and absolutely nothing to do. He could only drive around it for so long without it looking ridiculous. First, he left his house when he offered to pick up the hammer his father needed from the hardware store. He hadn’t even been a part of that conversation between his Mom and his Dad when they were discussing where they should hang the tapestry she bought at a flea market. Diane was sure that it was a hidden gem, and when she mentioned it the night before during dinner, she called it a “found” treasure, something she was sure would sell for a lot if she bided her time and waited a few years.
Max of course felt differently, and so did his Dad, as they both were well acquainted with Diane’s fondness for these sorts of treasures. Liz was the only one at the table that indulged her, saying that these sorts of things were always worth something.
Diane smiled proudly that Liz was on her side, and Philip said quickly, “I didn’t know that, but I’m sure that if anyone can tell you the tried and true way to find out, it’s my wife,” and then he smiled at her affectionately. Just the month before, she had found something else, and there would always be another thing the next month. They had been married for a long time though, and they weren’t just comfortable with each other; they knew each other inside out.
Liz rose her fork to her mouth for another bite of lobster and when she looked up, she noticed Max was staring at her intently. Philip got into a discussion with his wife about something at work, and the attention was off of Max and Liz again. Her cheeks turned pink, and then she met his eyes fully. “My grandmother likes to collect found artwork from different cities in the southwest for various book projects and newspaper aricles.” Liz paused and smiled confidentially, “Actually she’s even putting a book together right now, but she’s been doing the finding and searching her entire life, and she’s always told me that there’s something to be found everywhere.”
Max smiled at how candid she was being, and he told her honestly, “She sounds like a wonderful person.”
Their eyes stayed with each other for a little longer before the waiter cleared his throat softly. He was standing by Max, his sudden appearance jostling both Max and Liz to the present.Whatever Philip and Diane had been discussing was over now and while Philip was staring at Max in confusion, Diane’s expression was amused as she watched Max trip over, “Huh?” She had never seen her son act like this before, and secretly, she was thrilled to be a witness to it.
The waiter wasn’t as amused and he repeated, with a hint of impatience in his voice, “Would you like a refill of water?”
Max nodded, and as the waiter walked away, he looked his parents’s way to find that they weren’t looking at him at all. Maybe he had imagined that everyone was looking at him, because it had certainly felt that way, he thought to himself. Well, that had been true, only Diane and Philip had looked away once the waiter was done, jumping back into their conversation as effortlessly as if they had never stopped talking. Liz had looked down into her lap when the waiter asked Max what he wanted, and as Max took a sip of his water to regain his senses – he thought he was just tired – he saw her looking at him again over the rim of his glass.
When Max got up that morning, he had headed downstairs almost immediately after gettting dressed. He felt restless already, and the summer was just beginning. He had been coming down the stairs when he overheard his dad ask his mom where the hammer was, to which she replied, “I thought you had it.”
Max had a sudden bright idea that popped into his head and coming in on her words, he said, “I can head out to the hardware store and buy a new one.”
Before either Diane or Philip could say anything, Max had grabbed his Dad’s key and opened the front door.
Max circled South Main Street again with the hammer in a plastic bag of its own on the front seat passenger’s side. He only noticed a few customers in the Crashdown the first time he circled it, and one customer in particular, an older man, stood out, and as he passed the Crashdown a third time, he realized he was openly staring at him. That alone was enough for Max to stop, and realize that he should just go inside.
Max pulled his father’s car up to a parking space a few feet away and he got out. His parents could wait on a hammer, he justified wryly.
He walked towards the door purposefully, knowing what he wanted to say and ask her but when the doors chimed and he saw her look up, those thoughts were instantly gone.
Liz was smiling at a customer, and when she looked up, he thought the smile that was on her face was just lingering there because of whatever she had been talking about. That doubt evaporated when she not only continued to smile at him, but gave him a small wave.
He kept his eyes on hers as he stepped in further, and then he pointed to a booth to his right, and she nodded slowly. Max sat down, his back facing the windows, and he picked up the breakfast menu that was on the table.
“Is that your girl?”
A man’s voice intruded Max’s eye contact with Liz and he turned to look over his shoulder at the customer who had witnessed him circling the block not two minutes ago.
He seemed genuinely friendly, but Max was above all a private person, and he said, “Not really.”
For whatever reason, the customer found that funny, and started laughing, before he turned around even more, and swung his legs off of the booth. As Liz came over the older man stopped her mid stride and slipped a bill into her hand.
“Keep an eye on your customers; they’re all good ones,” he said meaningfully before he pushed his cane in front of him and started towards the door.
Liz wrinkled her nose as she came to stand in front of Max. “What was all that about?”
“I have no idea,” Max smiled. She smiled too and then for wanting to say it, she said shyly, “Hi.”
“Hey,” Max said. He cleared his throat officially in jest and returned his gaze to the menu in front of him.
“Do you know what you want?” she asked. Her fingers toyed with the edge of the table. They should get these replaced, the edges were starting to chip.
Max knit his eyebrows together as he looked at her playfully. “I haven’t decided yet.”
“Then I’ll wait,” she admonished. She was about to start walking away but Max’s next words stopped her.
“You can wait over here.”
He watched her face as two emotions flickered over it – guilt and undeniable want about doing exactly as he suggested.
“It’s snail hour,” he joked and she looked around the Crashdown with a smile. The other two customers had left also, as she was just settling the bill with them when Max came in. So, it was true; there was no one there right now at eight in the morning on a Saturday.
“I guess that’s our fault for being early birds.” She slid into the seat across from him and propped her elbows up on the table, putting her chin into her hands.
Max smiled and then he returned his attention to the menu. Liz didn’t move; she enjoyed looking at him like this, as he was thinking. His eyebrows were scrunched in the cutest way. She saw him frown at something and for a second, she witnessed the cutest dimple, one she had never noticed before and she smiled.
Max looked up over the menu at her and he kidded, “What are you smiling at, mister?”
She rolled her eyes, and let her gaze fall away from his face and down at the table before raising her eyes back and grinning, “Just thinking.”
Max looked at her wrist, and without thinking much about it, he reached out to touch her bracelet. “This is really beautiful.”
The cloth of the three stranded woven bracelet felt like silk in his fingertips, that’s how generous the material of the threads when brought together was. There were amethyst and amber beads spaced along the length of it and Max’s fingers went over those, impulsively seeking out if they were as glassy as they looked. They weren’t – they were much softer, and under his thumb he felt how soft her skin was, too, and he had forgotten about that for too long. He did remember how sensitive her wrists and her hands were, and when he looked up at her, her eyes were locked on his. The pad of his thumb explored her wrist more, the bracelet forgotten, and he was aware of how fast her pulse was racing under his fingertips.
Max laced his fingers with hers, finally. “My Grandmother gave it to me this morning…she came back last week while we were driving and that’s why we didn’t know that she was back…” Liz was stuttering over her words because he was affecting her and she blushed hotly before adding, “So that’s probably why you’ve never seen it before.”
“Probably,” he agreed.
The bell above the Crashdown door chimed again, and Agnes waltzed in. Max didn’t let go of Liz’s hand, but the both of them made a conscious decision to lower their clasped hands to the top of the table. Max made small circles in her palm as Agnes started to make her way over to the table.
“Liz, you’re back,” she stated blandly. It was no secret that she didn’t enjoy working here, and sometimes Liz wondered if the only reason she kept the job was for lack of anything better to do. And still, Liz wondered why she wouldn’t find something that could make her happy. The years rolled by however, and Agnes continued to work here with a sour demeanor and an uncampy attitude. “I think someone else’s coming in later today, and I know that her shift doesn’t start until nine, so I’m just going to – ”
“Actually,” Liz interrupted, she squeezed Max’s hand. “I’m on my break right now. We were just leaving.”
She stood and after Max put the menu down on the table and stood also, she slipped her hand into his again. “I’ll be back soon,” she said as they headed out of the door so quickly that it took Agnes a few seconds to recover with, “Whaaat…”
Apparently Liz had pulled her break trick, where you wrangle as many breaks as you can, effectively screwing over your coworkers.
Agnes put her pocketbook down on the counter by the order window as she walked towards the swinging doors. She muttered, “I need a cigarette,” and with that left the Crashdown Café. Liz and Max were out of the doors in the front side of it and the main part of the café was empty.
Liz didn’t have to lead Max to his car because the pace of his footsteps matched hers; he was just as eager to spend the day together as she was. When they were by his car door, he was still holding on to her hand. Before he let her go, he pressed, “This is crazy.”
“I know, but I have to admit, if you’re going to be here this summer, the moonside up eggs does become repetitive.”
He didn’t let go of her hand, but he frowned. “How did you know?” he sputtered.
“What?” she asked.
“That’s what I order,” he said.
She blushed as his eyes perused her face, and then he did the sweetest thing. His other hand reached for her waist and he moved his face closer to hers. “Thanks.” His breath fell softly on her cheek.
“For?”
“For noticing me,” he said. His face was facing hers, but his cheek was by hers, and she knew what was coming. So, instead of it being the sweetest thing, it became something else entirely as she suddenly let go of his hand and moved to his left, and out of his near embrace.
Max got into the car first. He wasn’t frustrated; no, she was definitely making him work for every inch, and he knew it might be a while before she would hold his hand like that again and for him to move so close to kissing her again. He noticed absently that she had taken off her headband and he looked longingly at the lower half of her long brown hair that spilled onto the head of the carseat as she sat down. She had a ponytail in, and even though he couldn’t see all of it, what he did see mesmerized him with thoughts of how wonderful it would feel to touch it.
She broke his thoughts when after pulling a plastic bag out from under her and gripping it so that she could feel its form, she giggled, “Max, what are you doing with a hammer in here.”
TBC…
-
Dreamerlaure
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Chapter 19
In order to be closer to Liz that summer, first Max ate at least two meals a day at the Crashdown. He ate breakfast so often there that he didn’t need to look at the menu anymore than she needed to ask him what he would like. The first few times he came to the Crashdown at the beginning of the summer, he wasn’t sure where to sit because he didn’t know what section she covered. So, first he had one of the other waitresses, and he would see Liz in passing. If it was a busy day though, she always managed to flash him a quick smile.
Then he found a booth in her section that he liked, and she teased that it was his booth. One day, when she interrupted him by finishing his order, she blushed, realizing that without necessarily intending to, she had memorized it.
“It’s Tuesday,” she blurted out. She picked up the menu and pressed the end of it on the top of the table.
His eyes met with hers. “I didn’t realize I was so predictable.”
“You aren’t,” she assured him.
There wasn’t much to do that summer in Roswell; the entire summer had a restless feel to it, like anything could happen at any moment. From where Max stood, nothing was happening. His parents were working, doing separate things, and they went away for the weekend three times that summer, twice to Albuquerque, and once to California. They had their twenty second anniversary that summer, and as they’d gotten married in Santa Barbara, they drove up there and stayed in a beachside house for almost an entire week. His father had a few cases scattered throughout the summer, nothing very time consuming, but it did fill his father with a sense of purpose. On the days that fell around his case schedules, they talked about the case at dinner, or at least as much as Philip could give away. He laughingly said one night, “Well, we can always talk about the moral implications,” and his mother would smile. Max knew they were trying, and he was trying too, but at least when this type of conversation came up at dinner last year, he could roll his eyes at Isabel. This summer he had to listen.
His mom was writing a recipe book with one of her Book Club friends. She was excited about the project, and Max and his father were always the lucky recipients of her sample meals. She was also collecting and buying antiques, a new hobby of hers, and she would drive to neighboring towns to visit stores she hadn’t been to yet. She was also on the mailing lists of her regular stores, and all of the owners who knew her, called her whenever they thought they had something she’d like.
Between everything that was going on with his parents that summer, Max didn’t think it was odd that whenever Isabel did call home, only one of his parents were in the house to receive the call, and that often enough, it was his mother who Isabel called.
But, the summer was just beginning. At first he spent most of his time at the Crashdown, and that continued throughout the summer. One afternoon, he noticed a man putting a sign up on the outside of the Convention Center across the street. Max hadn’t paid much attention to the place during high school. There were a few months in their junior year when all Michael could think about was finding the answers to everything, every single question he had about them. If there was anything to find, then Michael had taken the wrong fork in the road.
The Convention Center in town had been one of Michael’s first stops. For a few days, he’d read everything he could about stars, but when he tried to match up what he read with the pictures of so called evidence in one of the center’s galleries, nothing panned out.
As Max looked at the Convention Center that afternoon, he realized how frustrating it had been, how terrible to be faced with the reality that there were no answers. In some ways it had always been easier for both Isabel and Max because they had their families, but Max wished that for once, not only could he see and understand Michael, but that Michael could see and understand him. He was just as scared and worried; they all were, yet Michael seemed to think that he was on his own.
Max had the fleeting thought that maybe Michael was still looking for answers. Liz was two tables away and she was supposed to be taking down one of her customer’s orders but when she looked up, she smiled at Max instead.
No, he told himself. Michael couldn’t still be looking, and if he were, it would probably be just for knowing’s sake. How could he want more when they finally had the chance, for the first time in their lives, to be completely free? How could Max ever want more when he had a girl like Liz in his life?
She suddenly looked away and Max smiled; she was serving a family of six and one of the little boys was tugging on her apron. Liz turned all of her attention back to the family and continued taking down the rest of their order.
Max looked back out of the window again, and he saw that whoever was hanging the sign was done. He read it quickly, and impulsively, Max got up out of his booth and pushed open the door.
The sound of the bell made Liz look up as she closed her order notebook. She stared after Max as he dashed across the street. She smiled at the little boy who was grabbing for her again, and dodged his hand before he could close his fist around her apron again. His hands were sticky, and while Liz took down the last of their order, his mother worked at unfurling his hand.
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw him make another reach for her, and she dodged and offered a smile to his parents. “I’m going to put in your order,” she said, gesturing vaguely to the back vicinity of the café, before turning and going there.
She was halfway across the room when someone else said, “Excuse me,” and Liz had to fight the urge to roll her eyes. This felt like the longest shift she’d ever had.
Liz stuck the order for noisy table #6 on the tack by the order window before following the voice of the customer who was waiting on her now. As she neared the table, her smile widened.
“You know, you’ve worked here before; you can help yourself to the milkshakes…all those things aren’t off limit to family.”
“Then I wouldn’t have an excuse for you to come over,” Claudia smiled. She gestured to Liz to lean in closer and when she did, she whispered confidentially, “No one’s watching…sit down.”
Liz smiled as she sat, but as soon as she sat, she slumped in the booth and wearily put her chin in her hands. She did manage to sit somewhat upright as she studied her grandmother.
“You know, I haven’t worked here in close to twenty years.” Claudia looked up at the walls. “They used to have framed pictures up here, with newspaper clippings and pictures of some of the celebrities who’d been down here.” She looked up and saw Liz’s puzzlement. She added, “That was about fifteen years after the crash; people were still excited over it.”
“Really? It must have been interesting to see how all the theories that were coming out lined up,” Liz said.
Claudia laughed quietly. “Interesting? Well, at times, but mostly, wildly entertaining,” and the two shared a smile. Liz knew just as first hand as did Claudia about the wild theories that were hatched. Some of Claudia’s published articles were about them as she had spoken to some of the theorists for magazine assignments while she was a freelance writer. Liz had read everything her grandmother published, but admittedly, lately reading her collected articles on artifacts from the recent past were easier.
Liz wondered what her grandmother would think if her granddaughter was dating an alien. The statement sounded ridiculous in that context, and though that was what the situation was, in her heart he was so much more.
Liz corrected herself, no, she wasn’t dating him. She caught a glimpse of him coming back across the street through the glass doors at the front of the café.
She looked back at her grandmother, “What was your theory?” Claudia tilted her head, as if puzzling over the question for the first time in a long time. Liz added, “because your articles about it were pretty impartial.”
“Well, it was for an assignment,” Claudia began, and she sighed, “But there were never enough facts to know what was true and what wasn’t.”
That was all the time she had to say anything about it, though, because Max was coming over to the table then. Liz was on the side of the booth facing the front, but more importantly, she was facing him. Max slid into her side of the booth, and Claudia noticed that she moved to make room for him so naturally. Now Claudia also noticed that he could have sat apart from her so that she could see the fabric of the other side of the booth between them. They were sitting so close that their shoulders were touching. Claudia had met him during one of the first weeks of the summer, and she caught glimpses of him in the Crashdown every so often, but this, however, was the first time that she had ever observed them together.
Max’s eyes were only on Liz. “Guess what?”
She smiled at him, liking how boyish and excited he was at that instant. One of her hands was on the top of the table, but her other hand was in her lap. Max’s was also, and under the table, his hand closed over hers.
“Tell me,” she said, tilting her head to the side.
He grinned at her. “I got a job at the Convention Center.”
“The Convention Center,” she repeated. For a second, her eyes flashed with worry, but she could see how excited he was about this. It mustn’t be dangerous, she thought. When she asked him about it later, he explained to her that there wasn’t any concrete evidence there; it was just another dedicated collector.
At that moment, she went by pure instinct, knowing that if was this excited about it, it must be okay. “That’s great.” She smiled warmly at him.
“Yeah,” he nodded. The look in his eyes as he looked at her lips was anything but chaste. He tore his eyes away from her slowly.
Then as if he suddenly remembered he hadn’t said anything yet, he looked at Claudia and said, “Hello, Mrs. Parker.”
He wasn’t embarassed for looking at her granddaughter like that, she noticed. Her eyes had been dancing with amusement as she watched them. She could see this young man was clearly infatuated with her bumble bee. It was so wonderful to be witness to this.
“Hello, Max,” she smiled at him, too. “It’s great to have a job, huh?”
“Yeah,” he looked back at Liz. “I think my Mom’s getting tired of me asking for a raise on my allowance,” he joked, prompting Liz to laugh.
Claudia laughed too, but not quite as much. Liz tugged on Max’s arm, and nudged him to let her out of the booth. She had to get back to her shift.
Max looked at the glass of water on the table and gestured to it.
“I haven’t touched it, yet. Go ahead, it’s all yours,” Claudia said.
Max smiled gratefully at her, sipped some of the water and as he put it down, he looked up.
Claudia seemed to be waiting for him to finish so she could say something, and he was right.
“You care a lot for her, don’t you?” she asked.
Faced with such directness, Max answered with the truth, as best as he could vocalize. “I do…I - ”
Claudia sensed he was about to say something he hadn’t even said to her granddaughter yet, so she cut him off with, “She cares a lot for you, too.” She made eye contact with him, and then told him, “Max, a life with regrets isn’t worth living at all.”
Without saying anything else, she got up and went to the milkshake machine behind the counter, for the first time in many years, to fix herself a strawberry milkshake. After all, she’d been the one to add the recipe to the menu herself.
*
Her words left him reeling on the inside, and he knew there was a lot more to what she was saying. He even thought she was seeing something both he and Liz were blind to.
He looked up again, hoping to catch a glimpse of her, but she wasn’t around. He frowned, but when he looked over to the counter where Claudia was making something and chatting with a customer, her eyes flashed to him first, and then to the swinging double doors.
Getting up, he jostled the table as he stood.
He pushed open the double doors and stepped into the darkened backroom. In the main part of the room were several lockers, to his right were the restrooms, and to his left the kitchen. He heard the cook whistling a Bob Marley tune as he flipped burgers.
Max ducked into the shadows a bit, so he could pass the kitchen without being noticed and see if she was in there. It turned out she wasn’t.Instead she came bounding down the stairs behind him, and when Max turned around, he was just as surprised to see her as she was to see him.
Her cheeks were flushed. “I was looking for a hair tie. The uh, little boy out there, managed to get the one I had off of my wrist.”
He had noticed that her hair was down today. “It looks nice,” he told her gently. Max ran his fingers over her hair, from the sideburns by her face, to the ends that fanned out over her shoulder. “You could leave it down,” he suggested.
She was aware that he was still touching her, but she swallowed and said quietly, “What’s up?”
As soon as he was no longer touching her, she wriggled away from him, but not before teasing him, “You know, it’s employees only back here.”
When she turned around to face him again, her back was to the wall. She looked up into his eyes, which were shining, and to fill the quiet that seemed to have come down on them, “What are you doing back here?”
He came closer to her until she had to look up to see him. Her breathing slowed, as did his, and instead of questions, their breaths, soft and audible, filled the room. Liz’s body stilled, and then she reached out her hand to trace it down the front of his t-shirt. She could feel his chest under her hand. When she passed over his heart, it thumped wildly under her palm. Then she brought her hand back up to his chest when she felt his belt under her hands. She went back to his heart. She didn’t have any more questions, but she felt she had to tell him what they both knew. “Max, we can’t do this,” she whispered.
He chanced his whole friendship with her by listening to the obvious sensuality in her voice and responding to it. She closed her eyes when his hand brushed over her cheek. That was perhaps all it took because she dipped her head so that his palm cradled her head.
“Max,” she whispered, and he smiled when that’s all she said. It meant he was affecting her when she’d been hiding it all of these months. He threaded his fingers through her soft curls. Her hair felt really soft and warm in his hands and against his skin. Then he went over her face with his hands, until he reached her lips.
Her chest and her face moved softly with each breath that she took and finally she lifted her eyes to look at him. She knew she shouldn’t have because once she did, her eyes fell into the soft warmth of his and she felt the inside of her body curl and glow from the mutual connection – his eyes locked with hers, his hands on her, her hands on him; she thought she would never be this close to him again. He let his thumb go over her lower lip, pressing the pad of his finger against her mouth. He touched her mouth so softly, and then her lips gave under his touch. She started applying soft little kisses to his thumb. He said her name quietly in her ear. It wasn’t as if he needed any more permission from what he would do next because here he was still touching and holding her.
The first touch of their mouths was so soft and light; both could remember what it was like from before, but here they were again, tentative and uncertain. Then they let their lips get reacquainted, their kisses more exploring and generous.
They relished the contact of the other’s lips. It fel felt like forever as they pressed their lips together. At the same time, both were acutely aware that it was not enough since it had been so long since they’d opened their hearts to each other like this. When she parted her lips, he slipped his tongue into her mouth and found hers easily. Liz wrapped her hands around Max, so happy to feel him again. He pulled her closer to him, so that her heart was beating against his chest. The kiss deepened and they pulled away from each other at the same time moments later, heady with not breathing in oxygen. If she could though, Liz would try and live on Max alone; breathing him in felt so right. He still held her, and a second later, he cupped her face and applied her soft, wet kisses to her lips.
When they stopped again, she hugged him close. To both it felt like they had found their way back to each other.
TBC...
In order to be closer to Liz that summer, first Max ate at least two meals a day at the Crashdown. He ate breakfast so often there that he didn’t need to look at the menu anymore than she needed to ask him what he would like. The first few times he came to the Crashdown at the beginning of the summer, he wasn’t sure where to sit because he didn’t know what section she covered. So, first he had one of the other waitresses, and he would see Liz in passing. If it was a busy day though, she always managed to flash him a quick smile.
Then he found a booth in her section that he liked, and she teased that it was his booth. One day, when she interrupted him by finishing his order, she blushed, realizing that without necessarily intending to, she had memorized it.
“It’s Tuesday,” she blurted out. She picked up the menu and pressed the end of it on the top of the table.
His eyes met with hers. “I didn’t realize I was so predictable.”
“You aren’t,” she assured him.
There wasn’t much to do that summer in Roswell; the entire summer had a restless feel to it, like anything could happen at any moment. From where Max stood, nothing was happening. His parents were working, doing separate things, and they went away for the weekend three times that summer, twice to Albuquerque, and once to California. They had their twenty second anniversary that summer, and as they’d gotten married in Santa Barbara, they drove up there and stayed in a beachside house for almost an entire week. His father had a few cases scattered throughout the summer, nothing very time consuming, but it did fill his father with a sense of purpose. On the days that fell around his case schedules, they talked about the case at dinner, or at least as much as Philip could give away. He laughingly said one night, “Well, we can always talk about the moral implications,” and his mother would smile. Max knew they were trying, and he was trying too, but at least when this type of conversation came up at dinner last year, he could roll his eyes at Isabel. This summer he had to listen.
His mom was writing a recipe book with one of her Book Club friends. She was excited about the project, and Max and his father were always the lucky recipients of her sample meals. She was also collecting and buying antiques, a new hobby of hers, and she would drive to neighboring towns to visit stores she hadn’t been to yet. She was also on the mailing lists of her regular stores, and all of the owners who knew her, called her whenever they thought they had something she’d like.
Between everything that was going on with his parents that summer, Max didn’t think it was odd that whenever Isabel did call home, only one of his parents were in the house to receive the call, and that often enough, it was his mother who Isabel called.
But, the summer was just beginning. At first he spent most of his time at the Crashdown, and that continued throughout the summer. One afternoon, he noticed a man putting a sign up on the outside of the Convention Center across the street. Max hadn’t paid much attention to the place during high school. There were a few months in their junior year when all Michael could think about was finding the answers to everything, every single question he had about them. If there was anything to find, then Michael had taken the wrong fork in the road.
The Convention Center in town had been one of Michael’s first stops. For a few days, he’d read everything he could about stars, but when he tried to match up what he read with the pictures of so called evidence in one of the center’s galleries, nothing panned out.
As Max looked at the Convention Center that afternoon, he realized how frustrating it had been, how terrible to be faced with the reality that there were no answers. In some ways it had always been easier for both Isabel and Max because they had their families, but Max wished that for once, not only could he see and understand Michael, but that Michael could see and understand him. He was just as scared and worried; they all were, yet Michael seemed to think that he was on his own.
Max had the fleeting thought that maybe Michael was still looking for answers. Liz was two tables away and she was supposed to be taking down one of her customer’s orders but when she looked up, she smiled at Max instead.
No, he told himself. Michael couldn’t still be looking, and if he were, it would probably be just for knowing’s sake. How could he want more when they finally had the chance, for the first time in their lives, to be completely free? How could Max ever want more when he had a girl like Liz in his life?
She suddenly looked away and Max smiled; she was serving a family of six and one of the little boys was tugging on her apron. Liz turned all of her attention back to the family and continued taking down the rest of their order.
Max looked back out of the window again, and he saw that whoever was hanging the sign was done. He read it quickly, and impulsively, Max got up out of his booth and pushed open the door.
The sound of the bell made Liz look up as she closed her order notebook. She stared after Max as he dashed across the street. She smiled at the little boy who was grabbing for her again, and dodged his hand before he could close his fist around her apron again. His hands were sticky, and while Liz took down the last of their order, his mother worked at unfurling his hand.
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw him make another reach for her, and she dodged and offered a smile to his parents. “I’m going to put in your order,” she said, gesturing vaguely to the back vicinity of the café, before turning and going there.
She was halfway across the room when someone else said, “Excuse me,” and Liz had to fight the urge to roll her eyes. This felt like the longest shift she’d ever had.
Liz stuck the order for noisy table #6 on the tack by the order window before following the voice of the customer who was waiting on her now. As she neared the table, her smile widened.
“You know, you’ve worked here before; you can help yourself to the milkshakes…all those things aren’t off limit to family.”
“Then I wouldn’t have an excuse for you to come over,” Claudia smiled. She gestured to Liz to lean in closer and when she did, she whispered confidentially, “No one’s watching…sit down.”
Liz smiled as she sat, but as soon as she sat, she slumped in the booth and wearily put her chin in her hands. She did manage to sit somewhat upright as she studied her grandmother.
“You know, I haven’t worked here in close to twenty years.” Claudia looked up at the walls. “They used to have framed pictures up here, with newspaper clippings and pictures of some of the celebrities who’d been down here.” She looked up and saw Liz’s puzzlement. She added, “That was about fifteen years after the crash; people were still excited over it.”
“Really? It must have been interesting to see how all the theories that were coming out lined up,” Liz said.
Claudia laughed quietly. “Interesting? Well, at times, but mostly, wildly entertaining,” and the two shared a smile. Liz knew just as first hand as did Claudia about the wild theories that were hatched. Some of Claudia’s published articles were about them as she had spoken to some of the theorists for magazine assignments while she was a freelance writer. Liz had read everything her grandmother published, but admittedly, lately reading her collected articles on artifacts from the recent past were easier.
Liz wondered what her grandmother would think if her granddaughter was dating an alien. The statement sounded ridiculous in that context, and though that was what the situation was, in her heart he was so much more.
Liz corrected herself, no, she wasn’t dating him. She caught a glimpse of him coming back across the street through the glass doors at the front of the café.
She looked back at her grandmother, “What was your theory?” Claudia tilted her head, as if puzzling over the question for the first time in a long time. Liz added, “because your articles about it were pretty impartial.”
“Well, it was for an assignment,” Claudia began, and she sighed, “But there were never enough facts to know what was true and what wasn’t.”
That was all the time she had to say anything about it, though, because Max was coming over to the table then. Liz was on the side of the booth facing the front, but more importantly, she was facing him. Max slid into her side of the booth, and Claudia noticed that she moved to make room for him so naturally. Now Claudia also noticed that he could have sat apart from her so that she could see the fabric of the other side of the booth between them. They were sitting so close that their shoulders were touching. Claudia had met him during one of the first weeks of the summer, and she caught glimpses of him in the Crashdown every so often, but this, however, was the first time that she had ever observed them together.
Max’s eyes were only on Liz. “Guess what?”
She smiled at him, liking how boyish and excited he was at that instant. One of her hands was on the top of the table, but her other hand was in her lap. Max’s was also, and under the table, his hand closed over hers.
“Tell me,” she said, tilting her head to the side.
He grinned at her. “I got a job at the Convention Center.”
“The Convention Center,” she repeated. For a second, her eyes flashed with worry, but she could see how excited he was about this. It mustn’t be dangerous, she thought. When she asked him about it later, he explained to her that there wasn’t any concrete evidence there; it was just another dedicated collector.
At that moment, she went by pure instinct, knowing that if was this excited about it, it must be okay. “That’s great.” She smiled warmly at him.
“Yeah,” he nodded. The look in his eyes as he looked at her lips was anything but chaste. He tore his eyes away from her slowly.
Then as if he suddenly remembered he hadn’t said anything yet, he looked at Claudia and said, “Hello, Mrs. Parker.”
He wasn’t embarassed for looking at her granddaughter like that, she noticed. Her eyes had been dancing with amusement as she watched them. She could see this young man was clearly infatuated with her bumble bee. It was so wonderful to be witness to this.
“Hello, Max,” she smiled at him, too. “It’s great to have a job, huh?”
“Yeah,” he looked back at Liz. “I think my Mom’s getting tired of me asking for a raise on my allowance,” he joked, prompting Liz to laugh.
Claudia laughed too, but not quite as much. Liz tugged on Max’s arm, and nudged him to let her out of the booth. She had to get back to her shift.
Max looked at the glass of water on the table and gestured to it.
“I haven’t touched it, yet. Go ahead, it’s all yours,” Claudia said.
Max smiled gratefully at her, sipped some of the water and as he put it down, he looked up.
Claudia seemed to be waiting for him to finish so she could say something, and he was right.
“You care a lot for her, don’t you?” she asked.
Faced with such directness, Max answered with the truth, as best as he could vocalize. “I do…I - ”
Claudia sensed he was about to say something he hadn’t even said to her granddaughter yet, so she cut him off with, “She cares a lot for you, too.” She made eye contact with him, and then told him, “Max, a life with regrets isn’t worth living at all.”
Without saying anything else, she got up and went to the milkshake machine behind the counter, for the first time in many years, to fix herself a strawberry milkshake. After all, she’d been the one to add the recipe to the menu herself.
*
Her words left him reeling on the inside, and he knew there was a lot more to what she was saying. He even thought she was seeing something both he and Liz were blind to.
He looked up again, hoping to catch a glimpse of her, but she wasn’t around. He frowned, but when he looked over to the counter where Claudia was making something and chatting with a customer, her eyes flashed to him first, and then to the swinging double doors.
Getting up, he jostled the table as he stood.
He pushed open the double doors and stepped into the darkened backroom. In the main part of the room were several lockers, to his right were the restrooms, and to his left the kitchen. He heard the cook whistling a Bob Marley tune as he flipped burgers.
Max ducked into the shadows a bit, so he could pass the kitchen without being noticed and see if she was in there. It turned out she wasn’t.Instead she came bounding down the stairs behind him, and when Max turned around, he was just as surprised to see her as she was to see him.
Her cheeks were flushed. “I was looking for a hair tie. The uh, little boy out there, managed to get the one I had off of my wrist.”
He had noticed that her hair was down today. “It looks nice,” he told her gently. Max ran his fingers over her hair, from the sideburns by her face, to the ends that fanned out over her shoulder. “You could leave it down,” he suggested.
She was aware that he was still touching her, but she swallowed and said quietly, “What’s up?”
As soon as he was no longer touching her, she wriggled away from him, but not before teasing him, “You know, it’s employees only back here.”
When she turned around to face him again, her back was to the wall. She looked up into his eyes, which were shining, and to fill the quiet that seemed to have come down on them, “What are you doing back here?”
He came closer to her until she had to look up to see him. Her breathing slowed, as did his, and instead of questions, their breaths, soft and audible, filled the room. Liz’s body stilled, and then she reached out her hand to trace it down the front of his t-shirt. She could feel his chest under her hand. When she passed over his heart, it thumped wildly under her palm. Then she brought her hand back up to his chest when she felt his belt under her hands. She went back to his heart. She didn’t have any more questions, but she felt she had to tell him what they both knew. “Max, we can’t do this,” she whispered.
He chanced his whole friendship with her by listening to the obvious sensuality in her voice and responding to it. She closed her eyes when his hand brushed over her cheek. That was perhaps all it took because she dipped her head so that his palm cradled her head.
“Max,” she whispered, and he smiled when that’s all she said. It meant he was affecting her when she’d been hiding it all of these months. He threaded his fingers through her soft curls. Her hair felt really soft and warm in his hands and against his skin. Then he went over her face with his hands, until he reached her lips.
Her chest and her face moved softly with each breath that she took and finally she lifted her eyes to look at him. She knew she shouldn’t have because once she did, her eyes fell into the soft warmth of his and she felt the inside of her body curl and glow from the mutual connection – his eyes locked with hers, his hands on her, her hands on him; she thought she would never be this close to him again. He let his thumb go over her lower lip, pressing the pad of his finger against her mouth. He touched her mouth so softly, and then her lips gave under his touch. She started applying soft little kisses to his thumb. He said her name quietly in her ear. It wasn’t as if he needed any more permission from what he would do next because here he was still touching and holding her.
The first touch of their mouths was so soft and light; both could remember what it was like from before, but here they were again, tentative and uncertain. Then they let their lips get reacquainted, their kisses more exploring and generous.
They relished the contact of the other’s lips. It fel felt like forever as they pressed their lips together. At the same time, both were acutely aware that it was not enough since it had been so long since they’d opened their hearts to each other like this. When she parted her lips, he slipped his tongue into her mouth and found hers easily. Liz wrapped her hands around Max, so happy to feel him again. He pulled her closer to him, so that her heart was beating against his chest. The kiss deepened and they pulled away from each other at the same time moments later, heady with not breathing in oxygen. If she could though, Liz would try and live on Max alone; breathing him in felt so right. He still held her, and a second later, he cupped her face and applied her soft, wet kisses to her lips.
When they stopped again, she hugged him close. To both it felt like they had found their way back to each other.
TBC...
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Dreamerlaure
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- Joined: Sat Nov 11, 2006 5:12 pm
The Prettiest Thing
Chapter 20
Diane leaned on the frame of Max’s door, and watched her son. He was getting ready for a date with Liz, and even though she had pointed out that it wasn’t as if they hadn’t dated before, Max was still nervous about tonight. When he called her, she was ironing the dress she would wear later that evening. Not only was Max going out; so were Diane and Philip, and the house would be empty on the Saturday evening. She was tempted to mention a rule that Max was probably more than conscious of, that he couldn’t be alone in the house with her but seeing him get ready for this evening made her doubt that instinct. Max leaned in to the mirror for a second to get a closer shave under his chin, and she smiled. It had been hard for him to identify with their family as his own too when he was younger, and she still saw traces of Max’s reluctance to accept Philip and Diane as his parents.
Still, it was moments like these when an innocent gesture like trying to get the closest shave possible that Max reminded her of another Evans man from just that morning who had done the exact same thing. She wondered if Max realized how alike he and Philip were. He may not be his real father and she wasn’t his real mother, but it had always been her hope that he would accept them. She could see it in his eyes though that he thought there was more. At times that it hurt for her to realize that not only did he want more and that someday he might find it, but also that one day Diane and Philip would be replaced by his real parents.
What kind of parents would leave their two kids on the side of a road in the middle of the night in the middle of the nowhere? Where were they now? Why had they never tried to find their kids? Questions like these had haunted Diane those first few nights, but it all seemed to fade away much to her relief each time she saw her kids.
Max turned on the faucet and then put away the razor. He came out of the bathroom, slightly surprised that his mom was there already. He reached for two button down shirts that were laid out on his bed and held them up for her.
Diane smiled. “Max, is this what you asked me in here for?”
Max blushed, but then he managed, “I’m not sure which one to pick.”
Diane nodded, deciding to play along. “Yeah, it’s a difficult decision.”
Max looked between the two shirts, as if really contemplating it, and Diane added, “There’s so much to factor in, and, what with hunter green and navy blue being so different…”
Max frowned as he looked up. “Mom,” he sighed.
“Navy blue,” Diane said.
“What if she’s wearing jeans?” Max asked, suddenly thinking that it might be awful if he had broken some cardinal rule.
“What if she’s not,” Diane offered and Max visibly relaxed. “Not knowing what she’s going to wear is half the fun, and you’re supposed to wear what you want to wear.” Diane smiled because he still looked disbelieving, but she knew it was something he would have to come to terms with on his own. He would have to decide whether or not he would take her advice.
She was just turning to leave his room when he spoke up. “I’m going with white,” he said, sounding decisive. Diane saw him holding up a shirt he had probably narrowed out of the running a long time ago and she smiled. “Good choice.”
*
Liz reached for her mascara, humming the song she woke up to that morning on the radio under her breath. From her waist she leaned over so she could have an unobstructed view of the mirror. Then she held the wand under her eyes steadily and coated her eyelashes in a gentle up and down motion.
As she put down the mascara, her hand skimmed past the unlidded pot of the coconut scented lotion she liked to use during the summer and the entire thing spilled over. Sighing she reached for a towel to clean it up, and bit her lip in frustration. The towel could be washed later, but even after she turned over the lotion container, she realized that she couldn’t use any of it now. Most of it had spilled out, and what was left wasn’t nearly enough for her to use. Liz gingerly put the container back on the dresser before facing herself in the mirror. What was she going to do now?
She could hear Max pull up to the side of the Crashdown Café in the alley. The window in her bedroom was wide open, and even though Max’s jeep was fairly new, she knew the sound of it so well already. Max hadn’t brought the jeep up to the Northwestern campus with him, opting instead to take a flight out at the beginning of the year. His parents’ garage had housed his jeep for the better part of the year, and now that he was back in Roswell he was in it all the time. Most of the time she happened to be with him.
The first time he took her out was the day he came into the Crashdown and they had nearly kissed after she managed to get out of her shift. So many thoughts had been running through her mind as they stood inches apart, his fingers softly running over her skin. For the briefest second she had enjoyed their nearness, but when she felt his breath falling on the skin by her neck then by her ear, her intuition kicked back in and she remembered all the reasons why they couldn’t.
Then he fumbled with an excuse as to why he had a hammer in his car, and she had teased lightly that if he were considering becoming a lumberjack, he ought to tell her before he started packing. That first drive was nice. He drove them to the shopping boulevard that bordered the park on Third Street, and they had lunch at the sandwich shop.
As the sun was crawling down the New Mexico skyline heading to another part of the world, Max and Liz’s conversation started to dwindle, both realizing their afternoon was also coming to an end. When he dropped her off, Max drove the jeep into the alley. The Parker apartment that was over the Crashdown could be entered from the backroom of the café. When he pulled up to the back door, it appeared that neither Max nor Liz wanted the night to end right then. She had actually been the one to suggest that they do this again, and she had also been the one to initiate their hug.
Each time after they went driving, Max always dropped her off behind the Crashdown, and each night Max and Liz talked while they were parked there for a little bit longer. Liz’s parents thought they were dating, but it was only Claudia who was privy to the complete ins and outs of the relationship, whether by asking Liz directly or by observing them. Liz thought those weren’t dates, and she knew Max didn’t think of it like that either. Tonight was, and it felt like it marked something big for them.
Those other nights she hadn’t thought about what she was going to wear not only while she was standing in front of her closet but also while he had been asking. For about seven seconds while Max was telling her about his plans for Saturday and working up the nerve to ask her out, Liz had been thinking about what she was going to wear. Well, first she had picked up on how nervous he was.
They were parked outside of her house after yet another great evening. Their afternoons were starting to stretch into the nights, and they worked around his shifts and hers to find days that were the best for the both of them. On Mondays and Wednesdays when he worked until twelve, he would drive over to the Crashdown when he was done to pick her up. They ended Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays with ice cream at five, and he’d drop her off before her shift would start at seven. On Tuesdays and Thursdays, she worked in the mornings, and since he had those days off, that’s when they would spend the most time together. He started talking about the upcoming weekend and how his parents were going out to a friend’s house for dinner, and Liz just listened, already thinking about how her father was going to challenge her grandmother to another poker match.
“And I know we usually don’t hang out on Saturdays,” he said, after coming off of a long explanation about his parents being with the neighbor’s. She could tell from how long it took him to get to the heart of it that he was nervous, and when Saturday came out of his mouth, she knew what he was getting to. She started thinking about what it would mean if they started dating again. It was one thing to kiss him and lose herself in the kiss. That she could chalk up to being lost in the moment, and that had been happening a lot lately.
After that explosive kiss in the backroom of the café, Max and Liz spoke, but they skimmed over the surface. She hadn’t gotten much in edgewise that afternoon, what with him nibbling the underside of her jaw like he’d been deprived of it for so long (which was only three months!) He was addicted to her and she loved every minute of it.
He pressed her against the brick wall of the guitar shop two blocks away from the ice cream store the next morning when he was supposed to be doing something else entirely.Breathlessly in between kisses she whined, “You said there was ice cream on my face,” to which he responded, “It’s not gone yet.” He hadn’t untangled his fingers from her hair and she hadn’t loosened her grip on his t-shirt until ten minutes later. Then he had announced, “All done.”
And Max and Liz went around town in the weeks that followed, hiding in plain sight – behind stores, in his car, in the shade of big trees in the park – whenever they had to kiss the other. In truth, in the three weeks after their first kiss in months, whenever they hung out, it was different. While she was completely at ease with the situation, her heart would be racing in those moments before their lips met.
She never worried much about what she wore around him because Max was one of the guys her grandmother had always promised was out there; he was one of the guys who liked you for you, a rarity. Yet, she was already thinking about how many ways she could literally take his breath away on Saturday. She liked that he reacted to her so strongly.
“Liz, what I’m saying…” is what pulled Liz back out of her thoughts. She had his hand in hers and she vaguely realized that while he had been talking, she had been making small circles in his palm, probably making him even more nervous.
She smiled an alluring smile, one that was both gentle and flirtatious. “Yeah?”
Max knew that smile. He knew it all too well by now, and it wasn’t helping him at all this time. He nervously hedged, “If you’re not doing anything on Saturday, and I’m not, maybe we could go out…together.”
Liz knew there was no reason for either of them to be nervous, but she knew as much as he did that this time was different. “Max, are you asking me out on a date?”
He smiled. “I am,” he told her.
She fingered the button on his shirt before leaning in to kiss his neck. He had one hand around her waist and the other was sliding up her back.
“If it helps, I’m going to say yes.”
“W-w-would,” Max started, but he was finding it hard to speak much less breathe right now. Liz had found the lever with her one free hand and eased his seat back a few inches, making him fall back into his seat. Max jumped at the sudden motion, but he liked when she moved so she was sitting in his chair too. He wrapped his arms around her waist before making his voice more authoratitive. “Would you like to go out with me on Saturday night?”
“Mmm-hmm, I can’t.”
Max dodged when she brought her head away from his neck. “What? I thought you – ”
“I’m going out with this guy, but I’m not too sure if I like him yet.” She sat up on his lap upright now before smiling impishly at him, “but, I’ll let you know how it works out.”
On Saturday Liz blocked out an hour for going through her closet after her shower. She had barely begun when she found a sundress that had been long forgotten. The print wasn’t faded yet, but she could remember buying it when she was sixteen and that she had also never gotten around to wearing it. The fabric was light and colorful, and somehow she just knew it would be perfect for tonight. She paired it with red wedges and an open weave crocheted red sweater.
If only she could add coconut lotion, then she’d be all set for tonight. The doorbell rang as she moved to get her purse, and she could overhear her Dad answer it and welcome Max inside. As Liz was turning around to leave her room, she saw something else that had been forgotten over the years by the corner edge of her dresser. Without a moment’s hesitation, she pumped some of it into her hands, and dusted the lotion onto her legs, arms, and on one particular spot behind her ear.
*
“Hi, Mr. Parker,” Max said as soon as the door answered, barely allowing the door to swing open without the words tumbling out. Mr. Parker blinked twice at the young man, a little stunned by the rushed greeting. Max swallowed uncomfortably for when for a quiet five seconds he seemed to be appraising him warily.
“Come on in,” Mr. Parker finally said and he stepped aside so Max could come in.
Liz’s descriptions of Saturdays nights during the summer at her house fit what Max saw next perfectly. Her mother and her grandmother were seated at opposite ends of the table, and there was one empty chair back where Jeff had been sitting. Her mother laid her cards face down on the table and looked up at Max with a gentle smile. Liz’s grandmother’s smile was more genuine, but she never let her cards touch the table.
“Hey, Max. It’s so good to see you,” Claudia told him.
Max said, “It’s good to see you, too.”
“I think Liz is still in her room, I could go – ” Nancy, Liz’s mother, began to offer, just as Max was stepping forward.
Max produced a small cluster of sunflowers which he had been holding out of sight behind his back. “These are for you,” he said.
Her smile was admiring as she accepted them. “Thank you, Max.” She had a really good feeling about this boy also. She’d been unconvinced when Claudia told her about him, but she couldn’t also recall any conversation that hadn’t been pleasant with the Evans boy.
Jeff Parker, however, didn’t trust him. He was a teenage boy, and who knows where he’d be taking his daughter tonight.
It was on the tip of his tongue to ask where they were going when Claudia cleared her throat all the while glaring at him meaningfully. How did she do that? How did she always know what he was about to say? But Jeff followed her lead, biting his cheek, and asking nothing. Still…what exactly was a surprise?
That’s the only thing he had gotten out of his own daughter when she casually mentioned the date she had on ‘Saturday.’ Even the way she had said that made Jeff extremely wary. True she’d been growing up for years, but this summer, he was even more painfully aware of it. Every night that she went out with Max, he was concerned, especially once he found out that they were more than friends. He couldn’t honestly recall his daughter dating during high school, something he’d been more than thankful for at the time. Of course there had been Alex, but the expression in her eyes right before she went out with him didn’t hold a candle to what Jeff saw every night she had plans with Max. He almost regretted having to go through this now…This surprise though. It was really getting to Jeff. Once Liz mentioned she was going out on Saturday, he had instantly asked where they were going. His daughter had suddenly become evasive, a dreamy smile all of her own infecting not only her mouth but her eyes too as she said, “It’s a surprise.” Later that Saturday night when Liz doesn’t come home in time for her midnight curfew and Jeff is tipsy off of his Irish coffee, his wife will say that Liz can let herself in and that curfews don’t really count in the summer. When Nancy takes his cards out of his hands and gently guides him to their bedroom, that night Jeff will say, “What exactly is a surprise?”
He can’t ask her though. When his daughter told him that she was going out with Max Evans and that it was a surprise, Jeff had taken in that innocent and bright look on her face. He’d never seen it before. He didn’t know what to call it. Claudia was certain that it was love, and Nancy thought Liz was only falling, but what Jeff did know is that he was happy that she was happy. That was another reason that he didn’t nail Max to a two by four and demand where he was taking his daughter. He could let one night go.
As Liz stepped into the living room, a hush fell over the room. Nancy was smiling because Liz was wearing the sweater she knitted her five years ago. She always thought Liz didn’t like it because she’d never seen her wear it before. This was the same sweater Liz had just found in her closet, without remembering its story. So, first Liz smiled at her mother thinking her mom was possibly just as excited as she was.
Next Liz’s eyes fell on her grandmother’s smiling face. As she looked at her, she was remembering every conversation about love they’d ever had and how it always ended with, Follow your heart, wherever it may take you.
When she looked at her father, what she saw was a mix of pride and something Liz couldn’t name. She returned his smile easily though. He seemed happy, but of course, how can a daughter ever know the million of thoughts that are running through a father’s mind? There are ones that make him want to hug her and never let her leave the house, and there are others that make him want to question the guy who’s taking her out. But, what was going through Jeff’s mind at that instant were the rarest thoughts of all, that his daughter looked really happy. It’s the best present any parent can ever ask for.
When Liz’s eyes finally made their way to Max, who was a little obstructed by her father, her heart sped up as she watched his eyes travel from her eyes to her hips and back again. “You look beautiful, Liz,” he told her.
“Thank you,” she said shyly.
“Be safe,” Claudia said as the two made their way to the door, Liz’s hand entwined in his. Liz looked back at her family and smiled. It looked as if her father was about to say something else because he opened and closed his mouth twice before looking between Claudia and Liz. Finally, he settled on nodding his head jerkily. “Be safe,” he said too.
Max escorted Liz outside and into the hallway, and then down to the jeep. He helped her in first and then went around to the driver’s side. When he was sitting beside her, she smiled at him, ready for what the night would hold. She’d been expecting him to kiss her, but like almost every other time, this kiss was different. His breath lingered by her ear after he brushed his lips over hers and then over her cheek. She had her hands on his chest and she ran her hands down his chest slowly while he took in her nearness.
A few seconds later, he wasn’t moving away from her. Instead his breath was falling on the side of her face and on her neck. “What?” she asked when he started nuzzling her neck.
He brought his lips down on hers, the pressure light but demanding and she opened her mouth easily, their mouths speaking their own language, both of them knowing exactly what the other wanted. When they broke apart, panting, under the clear night sky, he told her, “You smell like strawberries.”
She smiled; she had put the strawberry scented lotion behind her ear as well, not knowing it would literally drive him wild. It was more out of habit, but from the ten watt smile that came onto her face at his words and from the way he leaned in to kiss her again, it seemed her mind was already made – this was definitely one habit she was going to keep.
*
Later that night, Liz didn’t let Max get away with just kissing her good night in the car. She held his hand and made him walk her all the way to her front door, a full hundred feet away.
“And that was so perfect,” she said, in between the quick kisses she delivered to his mouth.
“It seemed like a pretty cool convention,” he admitted. Max didn’t think that science would ever interest him again after the brief two weeks they had covered electricity in his physics class during high school. That had been interesting, but chemistry and biology, those had never been his subjects. But, he knew Liz liked it all, and when he read about an upcoming “Sciences of Tomorrow” convention that was being held in town all weekend, he also knew instinctively, that it was something that Liz would like. It turned out that she hadn’t heard about it yet, when he first passed her the newspaper with the article. She had gotten really excited about it and had started talking in depth about one of the visiting scientists. He had asked, subtly, if she was going to try and make the convention, but Liz had balked, saying the tickets were too expensive.
Opening night tickets were even more expensive, and Max had been worrying about the price while he was at work one afternoon just when Milton mentioned the Convention to him. Max had forgotten that ufology was a science too, and Milton had said something along the lines of how could he have forgotten that. Milton also mentioned that he had two extra tickets for opening night available for a really good employee. Max knew how much going to this would mean to Liz, and he accepted the tickets.
She loved it. All throughout the forum, to the presentations, she had been attentive and excited, grabbing his hand or leaning in conspiratorially to explain something to him. He’d barely been listening to her when she leaned in like that, but he listened to her voice. He liked how even though she was talking softly, her voice was so animated.
When the Science Convention ended, Max and Liz walked around the front yard, lingering by the fountain.
Liz looked into the fountain at the crowd of coins at the bottom. She turned to him impulsively. “Do you want to make a wish, Max?”
“I don’t have any coins,” he said, blushing slightly. Why didn’t he think to bring any coins?
Her smile dimmed momentarily, but then she held his hand in hers. “We can pretend, and make a wish anyway.”
She closed her eyes, and a few seconds later, she pretended to toss a coin over her shoulder. Then she turned to Max and smiled, “Your turn.”
“Aren’t you going to tell me what you wished for?”
“No, and you don’t have to tell me.”
Max nodded, this new information making him feel freer. He took a longer time than she did thinking about his wish, but once it was fully formed in his head, he pretended to throw a coin over his shoulder too.
They spent the rest of the evening spending time by the fountain talking, and when Max finally looked at his watch, he realized how late it was. It was already midnight, and he was supposed to have brought her back sooner.
When they were outside of her door, he held her waist as he gave her one more lingering kiss.
“You’re going to have to top this on the next date,” she teased.
“Oh, no. Really? I thought that was the third date.”
Liz scrunched her face in earnest concentration and then she smiled. “You’re probably right. Oh, well. I guess I can wait.”
They let each other go slowly piece by piece like they did every night. First they untangled their hands and then they put distance between each other. Max couldn’t resist touching her cheek once more before he left. “Good night,” he said finally, after a few seconds of just touching her. She felt the absence of his touch instantly, and though it ached she managed a smile as he left. Saying goodbye at the end of the night was getting harder and harder.
Chapter 20
Diane leaned on the frame of Max’s door, and watched her son. He was getting ready for a date with Liz, and even though she had pointed out that it wasn’t as if they hadn’t dated before, Max was still nervous about tonight. When he called her, she was ironing the dress she would wear later that evening. Not only was Max going out; so were Diane and Philip, and the house would be empty on the Saturday evening. She was tempted to mention a rule that Max was probably more than conscious of, that he couldn’t be alone in the house with her but seeing him get ready for this evening made her doubt that instinct. Max leaned in to the mirror for a second to get a closer shave under his chin, and she smiled. It had been hard for him to identify with their family as his own too when he was younger, and she still saw traces of Max’s reluctance to accept Philip and Diane as his parents.
Still, it was moments like these when an innocent gesture like trying to get the closest shave possible that Max reminded her of another Evans man from just that morning who had done the exact same thing. She wondered if Max realized how alike he and Philip were. He may not be his real father and she wasn’t his real mother, but it had always been her hope that he would accept them. She could see it in his eyes though that he thought there was more. At times that it hurt for her to realize that not only did he want more and that someday he might find it, but also that one day Diane and Philip would be replaced by his real parents.
What kind of parents would leave their two kids on the side of a road in the middle of the night in the middle of the nowhere? Where were they now? Why had they never tried to find their kids? Questions like these had haunted Diane those first few nights, but it all seemed to fade away much to her relief each time she saw her kids.
Max turned on the faucet and then put away the razor. He came out of the bathroom, slightly surprised that his mom was there already. He reached for two button down shirts that were laid out on his bed and held them up for her.
Diane smiled. “Max, is this what you asked me in here for?”
Max blushed, but then he managed, “I’m not sure which one to pick.”
Diane nodded, deciding to play along. “Yeah, it’s a difficult decision.”
Max looked between the two shirts, as if really contemplating it, and Diane added, “There’s so much to factor in, and, what with hunter green and navy blue being so different…”
Max frowned as he looked up. “Mom,” he sighed.
“Navy blue,” Diane said.
“What if she’s wearing jeans?” Max asked, suddenly thinking that it might be awful if he had broken some cardinal rule.
“What if she’s not,” Diane offered and Max visibly relaxed. “Not knowing what she’s going to wear is half the fun, and you’re supposed to wear what you want to wear.” Diane smiled because he still looked disbelieving, but she knew it was something he would have to come to terms with on his own. He would have to decide whether or not he would take her advice.
She was just turning to leave his room when he spoke up. “I’m going with white,” he said, sounding decisive. Diane saw him holding up a shirt he had probably narrowed out of the running a long time ago and she smiled. “Good choice.”
*
Liz reached for her mascara, humming the song she woke up to that morning on the radio under her breath. From her waist she leaned over so she could have an unobstructed view of the mirror. Then she held the wand under her eyes steadily and coated her eyelashes in a gentle up and down motion.
As she put down the mascara, her hand skimmed past the unlidded pot of the coconut scented lotion she liked to use during the summer and the entire thing spilled over. Sighing she reached for a towel to clean it up, and bit her lip in frustration. The towel could be washed later, but even after she turned over the lotion container, she realized that she couldn’t use any of it now. Most of it had spilled out, and what was left wasn’t nearly enough for her to use. Liz gingerly put the container back on the dresser before facing herself in the mirror. What was she going to do now?
She could hear Max pull up to the side of the Crashdown Café in the alley. The window in her bedroom was wide open, and even though Max’s jeep was fairly new, she knew the sound of it so well already. Max hadn’t brought the jeep up to the Northwestern campus with him, opting instead to take a flight out at the beginning of the year. His parents’ garage had housed his jeep for the better part of the year, and now that he was back in Roswell he was in it all the time. Most of the time she happened to be with him.
The first time he took her out was the day he came into the Crashdown and they had nearly kissed after she managed to get out of her shift. So many thoughts had been running through her mind as they stood inches apart, his fingers softly running over her skin. For the briefest second she had enjoyed their nearness, but when she felt his breath falling on the skin by her neck then by her ear, her intuition kicked back in and she remembered all the reasons why they couldn’t.
Then he fumbled with an excuse as to why he had a hammer in his car, and she had teased lightly that if he were considering becoming a lumberjack, he ought to tell her before he started packing. That first drive was nice. He drove them to the shopping boulevard that bordered the park on Third Street, and they had lunch at the sandwich shop.
As the sun was crawling down the New Mexico skyline heading to another part of the world, Max and Liz’s conversation started to dwindle, both realizing their afternoon was also coming to an end. When he dropped her off, Max drove the jeep into the alley. The Parker apartment that was over the Crashdown could be entered from the backroom of the café. When he pulled up to the back door, it appeared that neither Max nor Liz wanted the night to end right then. She had actually been the one to suggest that they do this again, and she had also been the one to initiate their hug.
Each time after they went driving, Max always dropped her off behind the Crashdown, and each night Max and Liz talked while they were parked there for a little bit longer. Liz’s parents thought they were dating, but it was only Claudia who was privy to the complete ins and outs of the relationship, whether by asking Liz directly or by observing them. Liz thought those weren’t dates, and she knew Max didn’t think of it like that either. Tonight was, and it felt like it marked something big for them.
Those other nights she hadn’t thought about what she was going to wear not only while she was standing in front of her closet but also while he had been asking. For about seven seconds while Max was telling her about his plans for Saturday and working up the nerve to ask her out, Liz had been thinking about what she was going to wear. Well, first she had picked up on how nervous he was.
They were parked outside of her house after yet another great evening. Their afternoons were starting to stretch into the nights, and they worked around his shifts and hers to find days that were the best for the both of them. On Mondays and Wednesdays when he worked until twelve, he would drive over to the Crashdown when he was done to pick her up. They ended Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays with ice cream at five, and he’d drop her off before her shift would start at seven. On Tuesdays and Thursdays, she worked in the mornings, and since he had those days off, that’s when they would spend the most time together. He started talking about the upcoming weekend and how his parents were going out to a friend’s house for dinner, and Liz just listened, already thinking about how her father was going to challenge her grandmother to another poker match.
“And I know we usually don’t hang out on Saturdays,” he said, after coming off of a long explanation about his parents being with the neighbor’s. She could tell from how long it took him to get to the heart of it that he was nervous, and when Saturday came out of his mouth, she knew what he was getting to. She started thinking about what it would mean if they started dating again. It was one thing to kiss him and lose herself in the kiss. That she could chalk up to being lost in the moment, and that had been happening a lot lately.
After that explosive kiss in the backroom of the café, Max and Liz spoke, but they skimmed over the surface. She hadn’t gotten much in edgewise that afternoon, what with him nibbling the underside of her jaw like he’d been deprived of it for so long (which was only three months!) He was addicted to her and she loved every minute of it.
He pressed her against the brick wall of the guitar shop two blocks away from the ice cream store the next morning when he was supposed to be doing something else entirely.Breathlessly in between kisses she whined, “You said there was ice cream on my face,” to which he responded, “It’s not gone yet.” He hadn’t untangled his fingers from her hair and she hadn’t loosened her grip on his t-shirt until ten minutes later. Then he had announced, “All done.”
And Max and Liz went around town in the weeks that followed, hiding in plain sight – behind stores, in his car, in the shade of big trees in the park – whenever they had to kiss the other. In truth, in the three weeks after their first kiss in months, whenever they hung out, it was different. While she was completely at ease with the situation, her heart would be racing in those moments before their lips met.
She never worried much about what she wore around him because Max was one of the guys her grandmother had always promised was out there; he was one of the guys who liked you for you, a rarity. Yet, she was already thinking about how many ways she could literally take his breath away on Saturday. She liked that he reacted to her so strongly.
“Liz, what I’m saying…” is what pulled Liz back out of her thoughts. She had his hand in hers and she vaguely realized that while he had been talking, she had been making small circles in his palm, probably making him even more nervous.
She smiled an alluring smile, one that was both gentle and flirtatious. “Yeah?”
Max knew that smile. He knew it all too well by now, and it wasn’t helping him at all this time. He nervously hedged, “If you’re not doing anything on Saturday, and I’m not, maybe we could go out…together.”
Liz knew there was no reason for either of them to be nervous, but she knew as much as he did that this time was different. “Max, are you asking me out on a date?”
He smiled. “I am,” he told her.
She fingered the button on his shirt before leaning in to kiss his neck. He had one hand around her waist and the other was sliding up her back.
“If it helps, I’m going to say yes.”
“W-w-would,” Max started, but he was finding it hard to speak much less breathe right now. Liz had found the lever with her one free hand and eased his seat back a few inches, making him fall back into his seat. Max jumped at the sudden motion, but he liked when she moved so she was sitting in his chair too. He wrapped his arms around her waist before making his voice more authoratitive. “Would you like to go out with me on Saturday night?”
“Mmm-hmm, I can’t.”
Max dodged when she brought her head away from his neck. “What? I thought you – ”
“I’m going out with this guy, but I’m not too sure if I like him yet.” She sat up on his lap upright now before smiling impishly at him, “but, I’ll let you know how it works out.”
On Saturday Liz blocked out an hour for going through her closet after her shower. She had barely begun when she found a sundress that had been long forgotten. The print wasn’t faded yet, but she could remember buying it when she was sixteen and that she had also never gotten around to wearing it. The fabric was light and colorful, and somehow she just knew it would be perfect for tonight. She paired it with red wedges and an open weave crocheted red sweater.
If only she could add coconut lotion, then she’d be all set for tonight. The doorbell rang as she moved to get her purse, and she could overhear her Dad answer it and welcome Max inside. As Liz was turning around to leave her room, she saw something else that had been forgotten over the years by the corner edge of her dresser. Without a moment’s hesitation, she pumped some of it into her hands, and dusted the lotion onto her legs, arms, and on one particular spot behind her ear.
*
“Hi, Mr. Parker,” Max said as soon as the door answered, barely allowing the door to swing open without the words tumbling out. Mr. Parker blinked twice at the young man, a little stunned by the rushed greeting. Max swallowed uncomfortably for when for a quiet five seconds he seemed to be appraising him warily.
“Come on in,” Mr. Parker finally said and he stepped aside so Max could come in.
Liz’s descriptions of Saturdays nights during the summer at her house fit what Max saw next perfectly. Her mother and her grandmother were seated at opposite ends of the table, and there was one empty chair back where Jeff had been sitting. Her mother laid her cards face down on the table and looked up at Max with a gentle smile. Liz’s grandmother’s smile was more genuine, but she never let her cards touch the table.
“Hey, Max. It’s so good to see you,” Claudia told him.
Max said, “It’s good to see you, too.”
“I think Liz is still in her room, I could go – ” Nancy, Liz’s mother, began to offer, just as Max was stepping forward.
Max produced a small cluster of sunflowers which he had been holding out of sight behind his back. “These are for you,” he said.
Her smile was admiring as she accepted them. “Thank you, Max.” She had a really good feeling about this boy also. She’d been unconvinced when Claudia told her about him, but she couldn’t also recall any conversation that hadn’t been pleasant with the Evans boy.
Jeff Parker, however, didn’t trust him. He was a teenage boy, and who knows where he’d be taking his daughter tonight.
It was on the tip of his tongue to ask where they were going when Claudia cleared her throat all the while glaring at him meaningfully. How did she do that? How did she always know what he was about to say? But Jeff followed her lead, biting his cheek, and asking nothing. Still…what exactly was a surprise?
That’s the only thing he had gotten out of his own daughter when she casually mentioned the date she had on ‘Saturday.’ Even the way she had said that made Jeff extremely wary. True she’d been growing up for years, but this summer, he was even more painfully aware of it. Every night that she went out with Max, he was concerned, especially once he found out that they were more than friends. He couldn’t honestly recall his daughter dating during high school, something he’d been more than thankful for at the time. Of course there had been Alex, but the expression in her eyes right before she went out with him didn’t hold a candle to what Jeff saw every night she had plans with Max. He almost regretted having to go through this now…This surprise though. It was really getting to Jeff. Once Liz mentioned she was going out on Saturday, he had instantly asked where they were going. His daughter had suddenly become evasive, a dreamy smile all of her own infecting not only her mouth but her eyes too as she said, “It’s a surprise.” Later that Saturday night when Liz doesn’t come home in time for her midnight curfew and Jeff is tipsy off of his Irish coffee, his wife will say that Liz can let herself in and that curfews don’t really count in the summer. When Nancy takes his cards out of his hands and gently guides him to their bedroom, that night Jeff will say, “What exactly is a surprise?”
He can’t ask her though. When his daughter told him that she was going out with Max Evans and that it was a surprise, Jeff had taken in that innocent and bright look on her face. He’d never seen it before. He didn’t know what to call it. Claudia was certain that it was love, and Nancy thought Liz was only falling, but what Jeff did know is that he was happy that she was happy. That was another reason that he didn’t nail Max to a two by four and demand where he was taking his daughter. He could let one night go.
As Liz stepped into the living room, a hush fell over the room. Nancy was smiling because Liz was wearing the sweater she knitted her five years ago. She always thought Liz didn’t like it because she’d never seen her wear it before. This was the same sweater Liz had just found in her closet, without remembering its story. So, first Liz smiled at her mother thinking her mom was possibly just as excited as she was.
Next Liz’s eyes fell on her grandmother’s smiling face. As she looked at her, she was remembering every conversation about love they’d ever had and how it always ended with, Follow your heart, wherever it may take you.
When she looked at her father, what she saw was a mix of pride and something Liz couldn’t name. She returned his smile easily though. He seemed happy, but of course, how can a daughter ever know the million of thoughts that are running through a father’s mind? There are ones that make him want to hug her and never let her leave the house, and there are others that make him want to question the guy who’s taking her out. But, what was going through Jeff’s mind at that instant were the rarest thoughts of all, that his daughter looked really happy. It’s the best present any parent can ever ask for.
When Liz’s eyes finally made their way to Max, who was a little obstructed by her father, her heart sped up as she watched his eyes travel from her eyes to her hips and back again. “You look beautiful, Liz,” he told her.
“Thank you,” she said shyly.
“Be safe,” Claudia said as the two made their way to the door, Liz’s hand entwined in his. Liz looked back at her family and smiled. It looked as if her father was about to say something else because he opened and closed his mouth twice before looking between Claudia and Liz. Finally, he settled on nodding his head jerkily. “Be safe,” he said too.
Max escorted Liz outside and into the hallway, and then down to the jeep. He helped her in first and then went around to the driver’s side. When he was sitting beside her, she smiled at him, ready for what the night would hold. She’d been expecting him to kiss her, but like almost every other time, this kiss was different. His breath lingered by her ear after he brushed his lips over hers and then over her cheek. She had her hands on his chest and she ran her hands down his chest slowly while he took in her nearness.
A few seconds later, he wasn’t moving away from her. Instead his breath was falling on the side of her face and on her neck. “What?” she asked when he started nuzzling her neck.
He brought his lips down on hers, the pressure light but demanding and she opened her mouth easily, their mouths speaking their own language, both of them knowing exactly what the other wanted. When they broke apart, panting, under the clear night sky, he told her, “You smell like strawberries.”
She smiled; she had put the strawberry scented lotion behind her ear as well, not knowing it would literally drive him wild. It was more out of habit, but from the ten watt smile that came onto her face at his words and from the way he leaned in to kiss her again, it seemed her mind was already made – this was definitely one habit she was going to keep.
*
Later that night, Liz didn’t let Max get away with just kissing her good night in the car. She held his hand and made him walk her all the way to her front door, a full hundred feet away.
“And that was so perfect,” she said, in between the quick kisses she delivered to his mouth.
“It seemed like a pretty cool convention,” he admitted. Max didn’t think that science would ever interest him again after the brief two weeks they had covered electricity in his physics class during high school. That had been interesting, but chemistry and biology, those had never been his subjects. But, he knew Liz liked it all, and when he read about an upcoming “Sciences of Tomorrow” convention that was being held in town all weekend, he also knew instinctively, that it was something that Liz would like. It turned out that she hadn’t heard about it yet, when he first passed her the newspaper with the article. She had gotten really excited about it and had started talking in depth about one of the visiting scientists. He had asked, subtly, if she was going to try and make the convention, but Liz had balked, saying the tickets were too expensive.
Opening night tickets were even more expensive, and Max had been worrying about the price while he was at work one afternoon just when Milton mentioned the Convention to him. Max had forgotten that ufology was a science too, and Milton had said something along the lines of how could he have forgotten that. Milton also mentioned that he had two extra tickets for opening night available for a really good employee. Max knew how much going to this would mean to Liz, and he accepted the tickets.
She loved it. All throughout the forum, to the presentations, she had been attentive and excited, grabbing his hand or leaning in conspiratorially to explain something to him. He’d barely been listening to her when she leaned in like that, but he listened to her voice. He liked how even though she was talking softly, her voice was so animated.
When the Science Convention ended, Max and Liz walked around the front yard, lingering by the fountain.
Liz looked into the fountain at the crowd of coins at the bottom. She turned to him impulsively. “Do you want to make a wish, Max?”
“I don’t have any coins,” he said, blushing slightly. Why didn’t he think to bring any coins?
Her smile dimmed momentarily, but then she held his hand in hers. “We can pretend, and make a wish anyway.”
She closed her eyes, and a few seconds later, she pretended to toss a coin over her shoulder. Then she turned to Max and smiled, “Your turn.”
“Aren’t you going to tell me what you wished for?”
“No, and you don’t have to tell me.”
Max nodded, this new information making him feel freer. He took a longer time than she did thinking about his wish, but once it was fully formed in his head, he pretended to throw a coin over his shoulder too.
They spent the rest of the evening spending time by the fountain talking, and when Max finally looked at his watch, he realized how late it was. It was already midnight, and he was supposed to have brought her back sooner.
When they were outside of her door, he held her waist as he gave her one more lingering kiss.
“You’re going to have to top this on the next date,” she teased.
“Oh, no. Really? I thought that was the third date.”
Liz scrunched her face in earnest concentration and then she smiled. “You’re probably right. Oh, well. I guess I can wait.”
They let each other go slowly piece by piece like they did every night. First they untangled their hands and then they put distance between each other. Max couldn’t resist touching her cheek once more before he left. “Good night,” he said finally, after a few seconds of just touching her. She felt the absence of his touch instantly, and though it ached she managed a smile as he left. Saying goodbye at the end of the night was getting harder and harder.
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Dreamerlaure
- Fan Fic Follower
- Posts: 51
- Joined: Sat Nov 11, 2006 5:12 pm
The Prettiest Thing
Chapter 21
When she was outside of the Evans’ home front door, Liz hesitated. She could ring the doorbell to let him know she was here, or she could simply knock. Over these past few weeks, she’d been here often enough to know the ring of their doorbell almost as intimately as her own. While her family’s doorbell was a straight ringer, giving one simple sound when you pressed it, Max’s had an accompanying song, an assortment of high tones and low tones of three different bells that when strung together sounded really beautiful. She settled on knocking instead of ringing though, figuring it’d be okay to do that.
She was outside waiting for the door to be open for all of three minutes. It was one of the hottest days of August, and she knew it was only going to get worst from here on in before it got any better.
Liz had discarded her uniform as soon as her shift was over. First she put her headband and her work sneakers in her locker. Then she went upstairs to change into something else for the afternoon. She settled on a jeans skirt and a tank top before grabbing her keys and driving over to Max’s.
Her Mom, who was at the sink when Liz breezed through the apartment, hadn’t even gotten a word in edgewise. She hadn’t seen her daughter come in because since she was at the sink and her back was to the front door, but she did look up when she heard the door slam. No less than six minutes later, Liz closed her bedroom door, thwapped into the hallway, and chorused out an “I’ll see you later, Mom.” By the time Nancy turned around, she only saw a whisper of her daughter - the long brown hair cascading over her bare shoulders, her flip-flops as they disappeared behind the front door, and a quick glimmer of the length of her skirt.
Max heard her soft knock on the door as clearly as he would have heard the doorbell ring, in fact he had been listening for it all day. He put the Ray Bradbury book he picked up a few days before face down to mark which page he was on, then stood and went to the door.
“Hey,” said Liz breathily, and he said hello too before stepping aside so she could come in more. Then they embraced, his arms going around her waist and hers around his neck.
They were so practiced at hugging like this that it was very easy to replicate, Max leaning in towards her at an angle and Liz rising up onto the balls of her feet. Then their lips met in a passionate kiss. After the kiss ended, Max watched with veiled amusement as her hand reached out to brush back his hair. His hair was getting a little bit long, which was something she didn’t want to change, but as her fingertips pushed the long strands back so she could see all of his forehead, she smiled.
“Don’t tell me you’re getting ideas,” he teased.
“Well, I am,” began Liz, “but I promise, I only have really good intentions.” Her hand traveled from his hair down to his jaw and she smiled, “I just want to see more of your face.”
Max inhaled sharply. She was a couple of inches shorter than he was, and whenever they were as close as they were now, he could lower his eyes and see every expression that graced her face perfectly. She didn’t seem to realize the simplicity of what she had just said, but it took him aback.
Liz bit her lip in earnest, studying his face. “At least I wouldn’t have to go through the chore of coming this close to you and brushing back your hair if you did,” she said. Her voice sounded so serious though that it brought Max right back to the topic at hand, but when he looked into her eyes, all he saw was a hint of a smile that promised to break free at any second.
“A chore, huh?”he asked. He had a determined look on his face when he leaned in again. Max unwound one hand from around her waist and threaded his fingers through her hair. The kiss was briefer than their first one but it left them both craving more. He mingled his breaths with hers as she pressed her forehead against his, and when he bent his head for more, she interrupted him by continuing, with the smile he’d been looking for, “It’s a really good chore, though,” and Max smiled against her lips.
He was the first to pull away a moment later, and then she took his hand as he led her to the couch. Their plan had been to watch a movie that afternoon at his house, and order a pizza a little later. His Dad was working on a case that required that he proceed with all of the hearings in Albuquerque, so he would be away from home for a couple of days. When Max first suggested the afternoon, Liz had asked about his Mom and he explained that she’d be home later, because she was doing some shopping errands that afternoon, which was fine. A mischievious thought that they could work around that floated through Liz’s mind, and that would most likely happen again tonight. Anytime that they were at either his or her house, one of their parents were there, so they always had to work around it.
It was probably just a coincidence that their parents happened to be around like that, but Liz wasn’t particularly unhappy with the situation. Of course, both she and Max would be frustrated if they were interrupted, but overall, she was happy with how everyone got along. Liz could only look back fondly though at the first time her parents had met Max’s. It had been very casual, and both sets of parents had met when the Evans came in for breakfast with Max one morning about two weeks after they started dating again. It happened to be one of the days that Liz’s mother had off from the bank, where she worked as a receptionist, and her Dad had been taking inventory.
Neither Max nor Liz had planned it, or even given much thought to when something like this would happen. In Liz’s mind, his parents accepting her and her parents accepting him seemed like something even more special, so then imagine her surprise when the Evans came in and her Mom motioned for her to come over.
Liz had been working for about an hour so far, but she had worked the night before and honestly, one of the things that was getting her through her shift at that moment was the thought that the weekend was just around the corner, and that later that night she’d be going out with Max.
She’d been glowing though ever since Max stepped into the restaurant. He had the day off from the Convention Center, and he hadn’t had breakfast there in more than three days. The jangle of the bells on the Crashdown door had pulled Liz’s attention away from the couple she was serving, and once she regained her awareness of everything outside of Max as he walked in with a sly smile, she gave her divided attention to the couple; every few seconds she’d look up and find Max with her eyes.
Then Liz saw his parents come in a couple of minutes later. It was the first time she was seeing them in the Crashdown since she had come back home, and surprisingly, as she made her way over to their table to take their orders, she realized that she wasn’t nervous at all. The realization came to her out of the blue, and it was something she had been slowly working towards, and now that she was heading over to them, her usual feelings of worry and anxiety, and thoughts that they wouldn’t like her weren’t present in her mind at all. Maybe all of that had gradually gone away, because now she was confident that they liked her as much as she liked them, and that was a really good feeling. Most of the times she had come over to the Evans’s home, Diane had been home, and had greeted Liz enthusiastically, and Philip was just as nice too. If Liz called to speak to Max, sometimes Diane kept her on the phone for ten to twenty minutes, talking about everything under the sun and it was only when she overheard a grumpy Max in the background that she knew for certain she’d finally get to talk to him. Sometimes Diane would even tell her that Max just stepped outside and would be right back, when he was in fact in the living room or in his room. Liz thought it was wonderful though; she wouldn’t wish it any other way.
On their way to Roswell at the beginning of the summer, she had worried that Max might have told them something about her that was really positive, only to have to call a few months later and explain something else entirely.
“I didn’t tell them,” Max had said after they had passed the New Mexico stateline.
She didn’t have to ask how he knew what she was thinking about since they had just discussed, briefly, the phone calls to home they placed at the gas station a quarter of a mile back.
“Oh,” was all she had said at the time, and for the next few minutes, she pondered why he hadn’t. It’s not that she thought she really merited telling his parents about, especially after what they had decided to do after she found out about who he was, but it still took her by surprise.
Max’s voice had been much softer later when he quietly admitted, “They don’t know what I am either.”
“Oh, Max,” she said quickly, and when Max glanced at her he saw how sympathetic she was.
Liz didn’t know what to say. Even though she had just what he needed in her heart – comfort – she couldn’t find words to give him right then.
“It’s okay,” Max said quietly. “I’m used to it…”
She looked up at him and said, “You shouldn’t have to hide who you are from everyone, Max.”
“I always have had to, Liz, it’s just a part of my life, and who I am. Isabel, Michael and I didn’t know what we were when we were younger, we just knew that we were different and that something was standing in the way of us being normal, like everyone else. And then when we started to realize what we were, there was something so personal about it, that we knew no one would understand. So, we couldn’t tell anyone for the longest time, and it was easier that way.”
He saw the skepticism painted clearly on her face as she said, “It’s never easy to have to lie about who you are or hide who you are.”
“It’s easier because it’s safer,” he said gently.
Both Max and Liz had fallen into their own thoughts after, the car ride strangely quiet on the next stretch on the highway road. She hadn’t known what to expect at the beginning of the summer, but Diane and Philip had been nothing short of welcoming, always treating her the same. They hadn’t been unfriendly the first time they met her nor when less than a few weeks later Philip came home to a darkened house one evening and when he flicked on the lights, startled Liz out of Max’s lap and onto the living room floor.
So, as Liz walked over to them with the menus, she was genuinely not just smiling at Max. She laughed when Philip set up an obvious layout for a joke at all the appropriate moments, and she received the compliments that Diane gave her about the Crashdown politely, even adding little anecdotes about the history of it. Max was the only one who was really quiet when she came over, but each time she looked at him, he was watching her intently.
While Liz was taking down their orders, her Mom had been watching them, and as soon as Liz came over to the counter, she asked, “Are those Max’s parents, the Evans?”
Liz looked up at her Mom and nodded, “Yeah, they came in for breakfast today, too.”
Nancy stole a glance at them again when she thought Liz wasn’t looking but when she turned her attention back to Liz, she saw her smile. “What?”
“Where’s Dad?” Liz asked. “Maybe you can meet them.”
Her Dad wasn’t too far from her Mother but he hadn’t been paying much attention until Liz’s suggestion. Yes, he had seen Max come into the Crashdown, and while he was crunching numbers and looking heavenwards, praying that he could get through this inventory list sooner, his gaze had fallen on the goofy grin Max sported as his eyes followed her. He had seen maybe once or twice how much Liz was smiling too, or just looking back at Max, and maybe he could no longer deny that Liz wasn’t just happier than she had been at Thanksgiving; she was happier in a way he had never seen before.
However, he wasn’t sure yet. This was happening a little too quickly for Jeff. At Liz’s suggestion, he quickly looked up and then back down. He overheard his wife agreeing to go over and without having to look up again, he knew his daughter was looking at him expectantly.
“Dad?” Liz came over to his side of the counter and placed her hands on the counter. “They’re really nice.”
Liz watched the gamut of emotions and thoughts that played out on her father’s face. Some were as familiar as old fishing trips from when she was younger, ones like pride, and others were as young as the start of this summer, ones like worry and the ones he seemed to reserve for every time that she mentioned Max. The strongest thing she recognized was that he was about to give in.
Jeff put his pen down on his cliffboard and Liz stood with him and tugged him over to the table.
Max had told her once that her Dad made him nervous, and she’d only smiled. How could that be possible? She knew her Dad as perfectly nice and a great guy to be around, so she didn’t know where this was coming from. Max claimed that Jeff hadn’t smiled at him once all summer, and although that thought made Liz observe her father and Max while they were in the same room a little more carefully, she was pleased that her Mom and her grandmother loved Max.
It was clear how much the Evans liked Liz and how much Nancy liked Max while they were all talking, but Liz couldn’t get a good feel of whether or not her Dad liked Max. It still remained a mystery to her, but still, it was more than enough that he was at least trying.
So, when Max and Liz found themelves at Max’s house all alone without any real interruptions, while the movie tape was in the rewinder, they found a way to make the time pass a little quicker. By placing one of her hands on his back just under his shoulder and another on the small of his back, she hugged him close, while deepenening one of the best kisses of her life. She nearly whimpered when he started to pull away to take out the tape, but before he stood, he kissed her softly and quickly on the lips.
As Max was moving away from her, Liz became aware of how disheveled she actually was, so she stood along with him but squeezed his hand so he wouldn’t move away so fast. He paused and once he looked at her again, he was gone, once again. She wound one hand around his neck, rose up on her toes, and kissed him deeply. “I’ll be right back,” she mumbled against his lips before moving away. She tucked several loose strands of her hair behind her ear before moving away, off in search of a mirror, or something. Her legs felt like jelly as she walked away, and once she was in the hallway, she breathed in shakily.
Once she rounded the corner, Max ran his fingers through his hair in exasperation, and his next breath was so shallow, like the air in the room was in very short supply and he needed it all. It was going to be a long night.
Chapter 21
When she was outside of the Evans’ home front door, Liz hesitated. She could ring the doorbell to let him know she was here, or she could simply knock. Over these past few weeks, she’d been here often enough to know the ring of their doorbell almost as intimately as her own. While her family’s doorbell was a straight ringer, giving one simple sound when you pressed it, Max’s had an accompanying song, an assortment of high tones and low tones of three different bells that when strung together sounded really beautiful. She settled on knocking instead of ringing though, figuring it’d be okay to do that.
She was outside waiting for the door to be open for all of three minutes. It was one of the hottest days of August, and she knew it was only going to get worst from here on in before it got any better.
Liz had discarded her uniform as soon as her shift was over. First she put her headband and her work sneakers in her locker. Then she went upstairs to change into something else for the afternoon. She settled on a jeans skirt and a tank top before grabbing her keys and driving over to Max’s.
Her Mom, who was at the sink when Liz breezed through the apartment, hadn’t even gotten a word in edgewise. She hadn’t seen her daughter come in because since she was at the sink and her back was to the front door, but she did look up when she heard the door slam. No less than six minutes later, Liz closed her bedroom door, thwapped into the hallway, and chorused out an “I’ll see you later, Mom.” By the time Nancy turned around, she only saw a whisper of her daughter - the long brown hair cascading over her bare shoulders, her flip-flops as they disappeared behind the front door, and a quick glimmer of the length of her skirt.
Max heard her soft knock on the door as clearly as he would have heard the doorbell ring, in fact he had been listening for it all day. He put the Ray Bradbury book he picked up a few days before face down to mark which page he was on, then stood and went to the door.
“Hey,” said Liz breathily, and he said hello too before stepping aside so she could come in more. Then they embraced, his arms going around her waist and hers around his neck.
They were so practiced at hugging like this that it was very easy to replicate, Max leaning in towards her at an angle and Liz rising up onto the balls of her feet. Then their lips met in a passionate kiss. After the kiss ended, Max watched with veiled amusement as her hand reached out to brush back his hair. His hair was getting a little bit long, which was something she didn’t want to change, but as her fingertips pushed the long strands back so she could see all of his forehead, she smiled.
“Don’t tell me you’re getting ideas,” he teased.
“Well, I am,” began Liz, “but I promise, I only have really good intentions.” Her hand traveled from his hair down to his jaw and she smiled, “I just want to see more of your face.”
Max inhaled sharply. She was a couple of inches shorter than he was, and whenever they were as close as they were now, he could lower his eyes and see every expression that graced her face perfectly. She didn’t seem to realize the simplicity of what she had just said, but it took him aback.
Liz bit her lip in earnest, studying his face. “At least I wouldn’t have to go through the chore of coming this close to you and brushing back your hair if you did,” she said. Her voice sounded so serious though that it brought Max right back to the topic at hand, but when he looked into her eyes, all he saw was a hint of a smile that promised to break free at any second.
“A chore, huh?”he asked. He had a determined look on his face when he leaned in again. Max unwound one hand from around her waist and threaded his fingers through her hair. The kiss was briefer than their first one but it left them both craving more. He mingled his breaths with hers as she pressed her forehead against his, and when he bent his head for more, she interrupted him by continuing, with the smile he’d been looking for, “It’s a really good chore, though,” and Max smiled against her lips.
He was the first to pull away a moment later, and then she took his hand as he led her to the couch. Their plan had been to watch a movie that afternoon at his house, and order a pizza a little later. His Dad was working on a case that required that he proceed with all of the hearings in Albuquerque, so he would be away from home for a couple of days. When Max first suggested the afternoon, Liz had asked about his Mom and he explained that she’d be home later, because she was doing some shopping errands that afternoon, which was fine. A mischievious thought that they could work around that floated through Liz’s mind, and that would most likely happen again tonight. Anytime that they were at either his or her house, one of their parents were there, so they always had to work around it.
It was probably just a coincidence that their parents happened to be around like that, but Liz wasn’t particularly unhappy with the situation. Of course, both she and Max would be frustrated if they were interrupted, but overall, she was happy with how everyone got along. Liz could only look back fondly though at the first time her parents had met Max’s. It had been very casual, and both sets of parents had met when the Evans came in for breakfast with Max one morning about two weeks after they started dating again. It happened to be one of the days that Liz’s mother had off from the bank, where she worked as a receptionist, and her Dad had been taking inventory.
Neither Max nor Liz had planned it, or even given much thought to when something like this would happen. In Liz’s mind, his parents accepting her and her parents accepting him seemed like something even more special, so then imagine her surprise when the Evans came in and her Mom motioned for her to come over.
Liz had been working for about an hour so far, but she had worked the night before and honestly, one of the things that was getting her through her shift at that moment was the thought that the weekend was just around the corner, and that later that night she’d be going out with Max.
She’d been glowing though ever since Max stepped into the restaurant. He had the day off from the Convention Center, and he hadn’t had breakfast there in more than three days. The jangle of the bells on the Crashdown door had pulled Liz’s attention away from the couple she was serving, and once she regained her awareness of everything outside of Max as he walked in with a sly smile, she gave her divided attention to the couple; every few seconds she’d look up and find Max with her eyes.
Then Liz saw his parents come in a couple of minutes later. It was the first time she was seeing them in the Crashdown since she had come back home, and surprisingly, as she made her way over to their table to take their orders, she realized that she wasn’t nervous at all. The realization came to her out of the blue, and it was something she had been slowly working towards, and now that she was heading over to them, her usual feelings of worry and anxiety, and thoughts that they wouldn’t like her weren’t present in her mind at all. Maybe all of that had gradually gone away, because now she was confident that they liked her as much as she liked them, and that was a really good feeling. Most of the times she had come over to the Evans’s home, Diane had been home, and had greeted Liz enthusiastically, and Philip was just as nice too. If Liz called to speak to Max, sometimes Diane kept her on the phone for ten to twenty minutes, talking about everything under the sun and it was only when she overheard a grumpy Max in the background that she knew for certain she’d finally get to talk to him. Sometimes Diane would even tell her that Max just stepped outside and would be right back, when he was in fact in the living room or in his room. Liz thought it was wonderful though; she wouldn’t wish it any other way.
On their way to Roswell at the beginning of the summer, she had worried that Max might have told them something about her that was really positive, only to have to call a few months later and explain something else entirely.
“I didn’t tell them,” Max had said after they had passed the New Mexico stateline.
She didn’t have to ask how he knew what she was thinking about since they had just discussed, briefly, the phone calls to home they placed at the gas station a quarter of a mile back.
“Oh,” was all she had said at the time, and for the next few minutes, she pondered why he hadn’t. It’s not that she thought she really merited telling his parents about, especially after what they had decided to do after she found out about who he was, but it still took her by surprise.
Max’s voice had been much softer later when he quietly admitted, “They don’t know what I am either.”
“Oh, Max,” she said quickly, and when Max glanced at her he saw how sympathetic she was.
Liz didn’t know what to say. Even though she had just what he needed in her heart – comfort – she couldn’t find words to give him right then.
“It’s okay,” Max said quietly. “I’m used to it…”
She looked up at him and said, “You shouldn’t have to hide who you are from everyone, Max.”
“I always have had to, Liz, it’s just a part of my life, and who I am. Isabel, Michael and I didn’t know what we were when we were younger, we just knew that we were different and that something was standing in the way of us being normal, like everyone else. And then when we started to realize what we were, there was something so personal about it, that we knew no one would understand. So, we couldn’t tell anyone for the longest time, and it was easier that way.”
He saw the skepticism painted clearly on her face as she said, “It’s never easy to have to lie about who you are or hide who you are.”
“It’s easier because it’s safer,” he said gently.
Both Max and Liz had fallen into their own thoughts after, the car ride strangely quiet on the next stretch on the highway road. She hadn’t known what to expect at the beginning of the summer, but Diane and Philip had been nothing short of welcoming, always treating her the same. They hadn’t been unfriendly the first time they met her nor when less than a few weeks later Philip came home to a darkened house one evening and when he flicked on the lights, startled Liz out of Max’s lap and onto the living room floor.
So, as Liz walked over to them with the menus, she was genuinely not just smiling at Max. She laughed when Philip set up an obvious layout for a joke at all the appropriate moments, and she received the compliments that Diane gave her about the Crashdown politely, even adding little anecdotes about the history of it. Max was the only one who was really quiet when she came over, but each time she looked at him, he was watching her intently.
While Liz was taking down their orders, her Mom had been watching them, and as soon as Liz came over to the counter, she asked, “Are those Max’s parents, the Evans?”
Liz looked up at her Mom and nodded, “Yeah, they came in for breakfast today, too.”
Nancy stole a glance at them again when she thought Liz wasn’t looking but when she turned her attention back to Liz, she saw her smile. “What?”
“Where’s Dad?” Liz asked. “Maybe you can meet them.”
Her Dad wasn’t too far from her Mother but he hadn’t been paying much attention until Liz’s suggestion. Yes, he had seen Max come into the Crashdown, and while he was crunching numbers and looking heavenwards, praying that he could get through this inventory list sooner, his gaze had fallen on the goofy grin Max sported as his eyes followed her. He had seen maybe once or twice how much Liz was smiling too, or just looking back at Max, and maybe he could no longer deny that Liz wasn’t just happier than she had been at Thanksgiving; she was happier in a way he had never seen before.
However, he wasn’t sure yet. This was happening a little too quickly for Jeff. At Liz’s suggestion, he quickly looked up and then back down. He overheard his wife agreeing to go over and without having to look up again, he knew his daughter was looking at him expectantly.
“Dad?” Liz came over to his side of the counter and placed her hands on the counter. “They’re really nice.”
Liz watched the gamut of emotions and thoughts that played out on her father’s face. Some were as familiar as old fishing trips from when she was younger, ones like pride, and others were as young as the start of this summer, ones like worry and the ones he seemed to reserve for every time that she mentioned Max. The strongest thing she recognized was that he was about to give in.
Jeff put his pen down on his cliffboard and Liz stood with him and tugged him over to the table.
Max had told her once that her Dad made him nervous, and she’d only smiled. How could that be possible? She knew her Dad as perfectly nice and a great guy to be around, so she didn’t know where this was coming from. Max claimed that Jeff hadn’t smiled at him once all summer, and although that thought made Liz observe her father and Max while they were in the same room a little more carefully, she was pleased that her Mom and her grandmother loved Max.
It was clear how much the Evans liked Liz and how much Nancy liked Max while they were all talking, but Liz couldn’t get a good feel of whether or not her Dad liked Max. It still remained a mystery to her, but still, it was more than enough that he was at least trying.
So, when Max and Liz found themelves at Max’s house all alone without any real interruptions, while the movie tape was in the rewinder, they found a way to make the time pass a little quicker. By placing one of her hands on his back just under his shoulder and another on the small of his back, she hugged him close, while deepenening one of the best kisses of her life. She nearly whimpered when he started to pull away to take out the tape, but before he stood, he kissed her softly and quickly on the lips.
As Max was moving away from her, Liz became aware of how disheveled she actually was, so she stood along with him but squeezed his hand so he wouldn’t move away so fast. He paused and once he looked at her again, he was gone, once again. She wound one hand around his neck, rose up on her toes, and kissed him deeply. “I’ll be right back,” she mumbled against his lips before moving away. She tucked several loose strands of her hair behind her ear before moving away, off in search of a mirror, or something. Her legs felt like jelly as she walked away, and once she was in the hallway, she breathed in shakily.
Once she rounded the corner, Max ran his fingers through his hair in exasperation, and his next breath was so shallow, like the air in the room was in very short supply and he needed it all. It was going to be a long night.
-
Dreamerlaure
- Fan Fic Follower
- Posts: 51
- Joined: Sat Nov 11, 2006 5:12 pm
Chapter 22
Chapter 22
When the ending credits of Jerry Maguire began to stream down the screen, Max found himself reluctant to end the night just yet. While she was in the bathroom, Max had put in the video only to let the previews play while he waited for her, and when she came back they started the movie together. Then she sat beside him on the couch, and halfway during the movie, she opted to settle between his legs, her back against his chest.
Max lazily drew circles on her wrist while they watched the credits, the circles becoming smaller and smaller and the touch of his finger lighter and lighter until she even thought he might not be touching her. When she was certain that he wasn’t, she tilted her head up to look at him, instantly getting lost in a heated staring match with him.
“So my parents drove my grandmother out to the reservation to meet an archaeologist she used to know,” Liz said. “He’s doing all of this interesting research with the rocks from the caves up there.”
She felt Max nod and she continued, “and they said they weren’t coming back until the morning.”
Liz swore she felt him breathing heavier now, but she wasn’t sure yet. She sat up and placing a hand on his chest, told him, “So, I don’t have to go home yet.”
Though her words sounded bold and were filled with meanings that made Max long to touch her, he noticed she seemed really alert now, when just two seconds ago she’d been as listless as he was.
Turning to him suddenly, “Max, do you remember back in June, when we were coming home and we were talking in the car?”
“What were we talking about?” he asked, wanting to grasp her frame of reference. “We talked a lot on our way down.”
As soon as he said the words, he did regret it, because looking back, he was a fool to have wasted all of the time he had with her in the car not talking. Their drive home had been tense then. The both of them had needed to talk about something and everything, but they hadn’t been able to get there. The both of them also wanted more, and in their own ways had come to the conclusion that they couldn’t have it all.
Liz wouldn’t meet his eyes. “We didn’t really,” she said gently.
“Do you remember when we were crossing the state border, how you told me that you were used to hiding who you were and telling no one about it?”
Max nodded. He was uncertain about why this meant so much to her, but also curious where she was headed with this.
“I’ve been wondering why you told me.”
Max was surprised that she asked him that. A part of him half expected that would be the one question of hers he wouldn’t really have to answer. Looking back to when they had been together the first time around, he had always felt as if he were holding a part of himself back when he was around her.
His sister had been surprised when he told her that Liz knew everything. It’d only been a week after he told Liz that Isabel had called and somehow wrangled the truth out of him.
“So you told her,” Isabel sighed, her words coming out more like a statement after his rambled retelling than as a question.
Max waited with baited breath, he was half expecting her to yell or just hang up on him. He caught himself, no that would be too dramatic – she wouldn’t, couldn’t be angry with him for exposing their identity to someone else, someone she could barely remember. Nearly everytime that he brought up Liz on the phone, Isabel had to try to picture the slight brunette in her mind. One day, she’d even asked Max to open up his yearbook simultaneously with her so he could point her to this girl’s picture. It took all of one second before it all clicked into place and for Isabel over the phone to emit an, “Oh.”
She remembered Liz Parker in high school – bright, intelligent, somewhat shy, but really wholesome; she fit the mold of the all american girl so naturally, while Isabel had to resort to climbing the ladder of popularity to even appear to have that same ease.
And Max had been talking about her a lot this semester. He must really love her, Isabel thought to herself.
She didn’t tell her brother this though. Instead, she said softly into the receiver,“What’d she say?”
Max hesitated, “She said she wanted to get to know the real me.”
“Oh,” Isabel said. She hadn’t been expecting more or less, and really, although her awareness that this girl meant so much to her brother had been growing stronger, she hadn’t anticipated thinking beyond what were to happen once he did tell her. She’d thought about what could compel him to tell her, but she hadn’t even given a second thought to how Liz would react.
Isabel then added, “Max that sounds okay.”
Liz interpreted his silence for deep pondering thoughts, so she began thinking too. She hoped he hadn’t told her because he felt like he should have. She knew he had been worried about that though, that the way they were then and how she felt about him would be altered once she knew everything about him and there were no bars between them.
Instead of answering her question though, he said, “I didn’t plan to,” and she looked at him, her eyes flashing with a dash of mischief. He really hadn’t been expecting not to tell her, right?
Max rushed to add, “or at least not like that.”
“Right,” Liz said. She chewed her lip thoughtfully.
“But you were the first person I wanted to tell,” Max said softly, his breath falling on her cheek.
She turned her face and smiled. His face was mere inches away from hers now. Even though she hadn’t noticed when he came so close, she was appreciative of lack of distance between them.
Max covered her lips with his in a soft kiss that was so light and feathery that she was the one seeking out his lips for more. And he gave her more until their mouths were attached the way she loved best. Liz reached her hand up to curl her fingers around his neck, pulling him down over her.
“Max,” she whispered into his mouth. He smiled down at her lazily. “I’m glad you told me like that,” and his smile widened considerably.
Liz fit her fingers over his chest as the kiss deepened and it was only the light of Diane Evans’s car that shone through the living room that broke their kiss.
However dazed Max might have been, he saw the light too. Liz blushed furiously, antsy at the prospect of meeting Diane Evans in her state of undress, and when Max nuzzled his face into her neck, she was the one pushing his chest. “Max,” she giggled, “no, we can’t…we have to s-s-stop.”
Her giggle became a solid laugh as he bit her playfully. She rolled her eyes. “You’re incorr – er, you’re…”
She was having a hard time remembering the word when Max suddenly offered, “Incorrigible?”
“Yeah, that’s it,” Liz sighed with a smile.
They heard the distinct sputter of the engine as Diane turned the car off and Liz began to pull away.
“No, wait.” Max stood quickly and grabbing her arm, he brought her right up to him, “C’me here,” he whispered.
The two clamored up the stairs together, Max’s hand on the small of her back, and her hand looped around his waist. Climbing the stairs at once instead of one after the other proved even more difficult as they were clinging to each other and trying to suppress their laughter as they made their way upstairs.
A few seconds later, Diane opened the front door with her key, somehow having managed to bring in four bags with her.
“Max!” she called out, but there was no reply.
The house seemed silent.
Oh, he must have gone out, she thought to herself, and taken Liz somewhere.
* * * * *
Weightless.
That was the only word Liz could think of to describe the way she was feeling right now as Max closed his mouth over hers again and again. He would only pull back to suck in a ragged breath every now and then, and the seconds that went by before he needed to breathe in again always coincided with her need to do so. His right hand cupped the side of her jaw, holding her face as his tongue brushed against hers fervently, and his left palm was sprawled out on the wall behind her.
If this wasn’t where she wanted to be, she’d be trapped between his bedroom wall and the solid body of Max Evans. And as it would turn out, this is exactly where she wanted to be.
He was just as dazed, driven, and caught up as she was, blinded by this need to feel her too. Max brought his right hand down over face and past her hair until it came to settle on her hips. His fingers went over the top of her skirt, right over the belt hoop, in a gesture that meant he wanted to feel her waist, but couldn’t because of the clothes between them. Though, as soon as he came around to her side, he rested his hand around her waist, and the amazing thing was that his palm fit around it perfectly.
The only reason she hadn’t been reduced to a spasm of giggles yet as she often was whenever he touched her where she was ticklish was because she was as into the moment as he was.
But when his hand began the familiar trek up her shirt, she shivered, and instantly Max stilled. He stopped his invasive exploration of her mouth for a more deeper and personal exploration as he peered down into her brown eyes.
He was bemused to see the smile that was slowly fading away from her lips, but he feigned ignorance and nuzzling his face by her ear, “What are you smiling at?” he asked.
“Nothing, nothing,” she laughed as he let out a puff of air on her neck while she replied. She gripped his shoulders as he found her ears and tickled them with his breath then his tongue.
“Ah, Max.”
He knew all about her ticklish nature already, but tonight, he was very curious about how far and where it extended to.
“Are you ticklish here?”
Liz was sure that something was wrong with her knees because when he tentatively licked the spot behind her earlobe, she sank even more into his arms. Max felt her slipping and he clutched her waist.
“N-n-n-no,” she managed.
Max darted his eyes to her flushed face at the angle afforded him as he caressed her neck with his nose. Though her eyes were closed, he saw a pleased and satisfied smile grace her lips.
“Then why are you still smiling?”
She wiped the smile off quickly as best she could and then scrunched up her face. “I’m not ticklish there,” she challenged, sounding like she was going to stick by that for all that she was worth.
Max smiled at the pout that rumpled her features. She was so beautiful without even realizing it or flaunting it. He moved in to kiss her cheek, but whispered first, his voice low and husky, “Are you sure?”
She nodded jerkily. When Liz lifted her arms to wrap them around his neck, Max brought his lips down on hers. She cradled his chin in both of her hands while they kissed. As their kiss became more heated, the hand Max had previously resting on the wall beside her he brought up behind her hair to gently coax her to lean away so he could have better access.
Once she did, Max began by pressing slow, gentle kisses up the length of her neck. The passion contained in each of these kisses made Liz catch her breath in between them and exhale sharply as he placed one after another. He meandered longer than was necessary as he made his way up, pausing as he pressed his lips against her skin and in response, Liz gripped his shoulder and waist even tighter.
When their lips met again, he pulled back a second later to mumble, “Are you ticklish here?”
His hands had slid up the back of her shirt again, his palms curving around her waist and her upper back. When before she had shivered, right now all she felt was satisfied by the way he was holding her. She rested her chin on his neck and let her breath graze his ear as she whispered, “Nope.”
Then Max slid his right hand up under the arm she had draped around his neck and at the slightest brush of his skin against hers, Liz squirmed in an effort to get away. She pried his hand off of her waist and spun around only to be faced with even more of Max Evans than she’d intended to. He held his arms around her in a loose hug while her giggles subsided. Max didn’t know what was prompting the slowing of her breath while he was holding her close, he thought it was just the effect of her calming down, but she was more than aware of how attracted he was to her in that moment.
She pressed back into him and feeling bold, she slipped her hand behind her and between them. His chin fell heavily on her shoulder and she carressed his cheek with hers. The sudden loud footfall as someone made their way down the stairs made her practically jump out of his arms. “Max,” she whispered, “I thought you said she left.”
“I thought she did, but I wasn’t 100% positive…”
“Max!” she cried, blushing crimson now.
He kissed her neck again, making her anger subside for a second and then he whispered by her ear, “Listen,” and she stilled in his arms again.
Sure enough they heard the car start up again and even pull out of the driveway, too. “See?” Max said gently, “She’s gone.”
Liz snorted, “You said she left like ten minutes ago. If I’d known your mother was still here, I’d never have let you kiss me like that,” she scolded.
Max grinned. He was still holding her but now she was facing him and she noticed right away. “Max!”
He didn’t hesitate from leaning forward and capturing her lips with his. “You know you would have.”
Though her lips were occupied, Liz nodded her head.
The house was empty, and it was just Max and Liz in it alone. His mother thought he had taken Liz out somewhere, his father thought this was just any other ordinary date, and her parents thought she would be ending the date in a matter of hours, and going home to sleep in her own bed.
So, it confused him when she broke their heated kissing a few seconds later by pressing a chaste kiss to his lips and untangling herself from his arms.
“Liz?” Max whispered as she slipped away.
She held his hand in hers and guided him towards the bed with her. Then she let go and moved her hands to the edge of her tank top and slowly lifted it up and over her head. When it was off, she shook her hair so that it freely spread out over her shoulders and she looked up at Max. His palm felt cool around her waist when she took his arm and put it there.
Max hesitated when she resumed kissing him as before. Something felt more charged about it now. He lifted his mouth from hers, “Liz, are you sure?”
She ducked her head for a moment before looking up at him again and smiling, “Max, this is exactly what I want.”
She took his hand and pulled him towards her gently. “I’m sure,” and their lips met in a hungry kiss, one that promised to last well into the morning.
TBC...
When the ending credits of Jerry Maguire began to stream down the screen, Max found himself reluctant to end the night just yet. While she was in the bathroom, Max had put in the video only to let the previews play while he waited for her, and when she came back they started the movie together. Then she sat beside him on the couch, and halfway during the movie, she opted to settle between his legs, her back against his chest.
Max lazily drew circles on her wrist while they watched the credits, the circles becoming smaller and smaller and the touch of his finger lighter and lighter until she even thought he might not be touching her. When she was certain that he wasn’t, she tilted her head up to look at him, instantly getting lost in a heated staring match with him.
“So my parents drove my grandmother out to the reservation to meet an archaeologist she used to know,” Liz said. “He’s doing all of this interesting research with the rocks from the caves up there.”
She felt Max nod and she continued, “and they said they weren’t coming back until the morning.”
Liz swore she felt him breathing heavier now, but she wasn’t sure yet. She sat up and placing a hand on his chest, told him, “So, I don’t have to go home yet.”
Though her words sounded bold and were filled with meanings that made Max long to touch her, he noticed she seemed really alert now, when just two seconds ago she’d been as listless as he was.
Turning to him suddenly, “Max, do you remember back in June, when we were coming home and we were talking in the car?”
“What were we talking about?” he asked, wanting to grasp her frame of reference. “We talked a lot on our way down.”
As soon as he said the words, he did regret it, because looking back, he was a fool to have wasted all of the time he had with her in the car not talking. Their drive home had been tense then. The both of them had needed to talk about something and everything, but they hadn’t been able to get there. The both of them also wanted more, and in their own ways had come to the conclusion that they couldn’t have it all.
Liz wouldn’t meet his eyes. “We didn’t really,” she said gently.
“Do you remember when we were crossing the state border, how you told me that you were used to hiding who you were and telling no one about it?”
Max nodded. He was uncertain about why this meant so much to her, but also curious where she was headed with this.
“I’ve been wondering why you told me.”
Max was surprised that she asked him that. A part of him half expected that would be the one question of hers he wouldn’t really have to answer. Looking back to when they had been together the first time around, he had always felt as if he were holding a part of himself back when he was around her.
His sister had been surprised when he told her that Liz knew everything. It’d only been a week after he told Liz that Isabel had called and somehow wrangled the truth out of him.
“So you told her,” Isabel sighed, her words coming out more like a statement after his rambled retelling than as a question.
Max waited with baited breath, he was half expecting her to yell or just hang up on him. He caught himself, no that would be too dramatic – she wouldn’t, couldn’t be angry with him for exposing their identity to someone else, someone she could barely remember. Nearly everytime that he brought up Liz on the phone, Isabel had to try to picture the slight brunette in her mind. One day, she’d even asked Max to open up his yearbook simultaneously with her so he could point her to this girl’s picture. It took all of one second before it all clicked into place and for Isabel over the phone to emit an, “Oh.”
She remembered Liz Parker in high school – bright, intelligent, somewhat shy, but really wholesome; she fit the mold of the all american girl so naturally, while Isabel had to resort to climbing the ladder of popularity to even appear to have that same ease.
And Max had been talking about her a lot this semester. He must really love her, Isabel thought to herself.
She didn’t tell her brother this though. Instead, she said softly into the receiver,“What’d she say?”
Max hesitated, “She said she wanted to get to know the real me.”
“Oh,” Isabel said. She hadn’t been expecting more or less, and really, although her awareness that this girl meant so much to her brother had been growing stronger, she hadn’t anticipated thinking beyond what were to happen once he did tell her. She’d thought about what could compel him to tell her, but she hadn’t even given a second thought to how Liz would react.
Isabel then added, “Max that sounds okay.”
Liz interpreted his silence for deep pondering thoughts, so she began thinking too. She hoped he hadn’t told her because he felt like he should have. She knew he had been worried about that though, that the way they were then and how she felt about him would be altered once she knew everything about him and there were no bars between them.
Instead of answering her question though, he said, “I didn’t plan to,” and she looked at him, her eyes flashing with a dash of mischief. He really hadn’t been expecting not to tell her, right?
Max rushed to add, “or at least not like that.”
“Right,” Liz said. She chewed her lip thoughtfully.
“But you were the first person I wanted to tell,” Max said softly, his breath falling on her cheek.
She turned her face and smiled. His face was mere inches away from hers now. Even though she hadn’t noticed when he came so close, she was appreciative of lack of distance between them.
Max covered her lips with his in a soft kiss that was so light and feathery that she was the one seeking out his lips for more. And he gave her more until their mouths were attached the way she loved best. Liz reached her hand up to curl her fingers around his neck, pulling him down over her.
“Max,” she whispered into his mouth. He smiled down at her lazily. “I’m glad you told me like that,” and his smile widened considerably.
Liz fit her fingers over his chest as the kiss deepened and it was only the light of Diane Evans’s car that shone through the living room that broke their kiss.
However dazed Max might have been, he saw the light too. Liz blushed furiously, antsy at the prospect of meeting Diane Evans in her state of undress, and when Max nuzzled his face into her neck, she was the one pushing his chest. “Max,” she giggled, “no, we can’t…we have to s-s-stop.”
Her giggle became a solid laugh as he bit her playfully. She rolled her eyes. “You’re incorr – er, you’re…”
She was having a hard time remembering the word when Max suddenly offered, “Incorrigible?”
“Yeah, that’s it,” Liz sighed with a smile.
They heard the distinct sputter of the engine as Diane turned the car off and Liz began to pull away.
“No, wait.” Max stood quickly and grabbing her arm, he brought her right up to him, “C’me here,” he whispered.
The two clamored up the stairs together, Max’s hand on the small of her back, and her hand looped around his waist. Climbing the stairs at once instead of one after the other proved even more difficult as they were clinging to each other and trying to suppress their laughter as they made their way upstairs.
A few seconds later, Diane opened the front door with her key, somehow having managed to bring in four bags with her.
“Max!” she called out, but there was no reply.
The house seemed silent.
Oh, he must have gone out, she thought to herself, and taken Liz somewhere.
* * * * *
Weightless.
That was the only word Liz could think of to describe the way she was feeling right now as Max closed his mouth over hers again and again. He would only pull back to suck in a ragged breath every now and then, and the seconds that went by before he needed to breathe in again always coincided with her need to do so. His right hand cupped the side of her jaw, holding her face as his tongue brushed against hers fervently, and his left palm was sprawled out on the wall behind her.
If this wasn’t where she wanted to be, she’d be trapped between his bedroom wall and the solid body of Max Evans. And as it would turn out, this is exactly where she wanted to be.
He was just as dazed, driven, and caught up as she was, blinded by this need to feel her too. Max brought his right hand down over face and past her hair until it came to settle on her hips. His fingers went over the top of her skirt, right over the belt hoop, in a gesture that meant he wanted to feel her waist, but couldn’t because of the clothes between them. Though, as soon as he came around to her side, he rested his hand around her waist, and the amazing thing was that his palm fit around it perfectly.
The only reason she hadn’t been reduced to a spasm of giggles yet as she often was whenever he touched her where she was ticklish was because she was as into the moment as he was.
But when his hand began the familiar trek up her shirt, she shivered, and instantly Max stilled. He stopped his invasive exploration of her mouth for a more deeper and personal exploration as he peered down into her brown eyes.
He was bemused to see the smile that was slowly fading away from her lips, but he feigned ignorance and nuzzling his face by her ear, “What are you smiling at?” he asked.
“Nothing, nothing,” she laughed as he let out a puff of air on her neck while she replied. She gripped his shoulders as he found her ears and tickled them with his breath then his tongue.
“Ah, Max.”
He knew all about her ticklish nature already, but tonight, he was very curious about how far and where it extended to.
“Are you ticklish here?”
Liz was sure that something was wrong with her knees because when he tentatively licked the spot behind her earlobe, she sank even more into his arms. Max felt her slipping and he clutched her waist.
“N-n-n-no,” she managed.
Max darted his eyes to her flushed face at the angle afforded him as he caressed her neck with his nose. Though her eyes were closed, he saw a pleased and satisfied smile grace her lips.
“Then why are you still smiling?”
She wiped the smile off quickly as best she could and then scrunched up her face. “I’m not ticklish there,” she challenged, sounding like she was going to stick by that for all that she was worth.
Max smiled at the pout that rumpled her features. She was so beautiful without even realizing it or flaunting it. He moved in to kiss her cheek, but whispered first, his voice low and husky, “Are you sure?”
She nodded jerkily. When Liz lifted her arms to wrap them around his neck, Max brought his lips down on hers. She cradled his chin in both of her hands while they kissed. As their kiss became more heated, the hand Max had previously resting on the wall beside her he brought up behind her hair to gently coax her to lean away so he could have better access.
Once she did, Max began by pressing slow, gentle kisses up the length of her neck. The passion contained in each of these kisses made Liz catch her breath in between them and exhale sharply as he placed one after another. He meandered longer than was necessary as he made his way up, pausing as he pressed his lips against her skin and in response, Liz gripped his shoulder and waist even tighter.
When their lips met again, he pulled back a second later to mumble, “Are you ticklish here?”
His hands had slid up the back of her shirt again, his palms curving around her waist and her upper back. When before she had shivered, right now all she felt was satisfied by the way he was holding her. She rested her chin on his neck and let her breath graze his ear as she whispered, “Nope.”
Then Max slid his right hand up under the arm she had draped around his neck and at the slightest brush of his skin against hers, Liz squirmed in an effort to get away. She pried his hand off of her waist and spun around only to be faced with even more of Max Evans than she’d intended to. He held his arms around her in a loose hug while her giggles subsided. Max didn’t know what was prompting the slowing of her breath while he was holding her close, he thought it was just the effect of her calming down, but she was more than aware of how attracted he was to her in that moment.
She pressed back into him and feeling bold, she slipped her hand behind her and between them. His chin fell heavily on her shoulder and she carressed his cheek with hers. The sudden loud footfall as someone made their way down the stairs made her practically jump out of his arms. “Max,” she whispered, “I thought you said she left.”
“I thought she did, but I wasn’t 100% positive…”
“Max!” she cried, blushing crimson now.
He kissed her neck again, making her anger subside for a second and then he whispered by her ear, “Listen,” and she stilled in his arms again.
Sure enough they heard the car start up again and even pull out of the driveway, too. “See?” Max said gently, “She’s gone.”
Liz snorted, “You said she left like ten minutes ago. If I’d known your mother was still here, I’d never have let you kiss me like that,” she scolded.
Max grinned. He was still holding her but now she was facing him and she noticed right away. “Max!”
He didn’t hesitate from leaning forward and capturing her lips with his. “You know you would have.”
Though her lips were occupied, Liz nodded her head.
The house was empty, and it was just Max and Liz in it alone. His mother thought he had taken Liz out somewhere, his father thought this was just any other ordinary date, and her parents thought she would be ending the date in a matter of hours, and going home to sleep in her own bed.
So, it confused him when she broke their heated kissing a few seconds later by pressing a chaste kiss to his lips and untangling herself from his arms.
“Liz?” Max whispered as she slipped away.
She held his hand in hers and guided him towards the bed with her. Then she let go and moved her hands to the edge of her tank top and slowly lifted it up and over her head. When it was off, she shook her hair so that it freely spread out over her shoulders and she looked up at Max. His palm felt cool around her waist when she took his arm and put it there.
Max hesitated when she resumed kissing him as before. Something felt more charged about it now. He lifted his mouth from hers, “Liz, are you sure?”
She ducked her head for a moment before looking up at him again and smiling, “Max, this is exactly what I want.”
She took his hand and pulled him towards her gently. “I’m sure,” and their lips met in a hungry kiss, one that promised to last well into the morning.
TBC...
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Dreamerlaure
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Chapter 23
The kiss became heated and each time Max wanted to break the kiss, something as simple as her tongue sliding over his or her fingers curling around the hair at the nape of his neck made him not want to stop. He was the first to pull away though.
She looked up at him uncertainly, confused by him stopping, but then he said, “I want this too; there’s nothing I want more,” admitting it easily. And this was true; he’d never wanted anything more before. He had never felt this way about anyone ever before and somehow he knew he never would again.
She finally chanced looking up at him then and satisfied with what she saw there, she continued touching him.
Liz started sliding her hands up the front of his chest heading towards his collar, but he held her hands away from him. It was much easier to think this way now, and even form a coherent thought if she wasn’t touching him. The cloud of doubt that had been only growing bigger in his mind ever since he’d started falling for Liz was back at the forefront now. He was finding it hard to tell her this, but he knew he had to say it. “Liz, I don’t know everything there is to know about me and if something were to happen – ”
“You’re worried about me,” she finished softly, stating it instead of asking for she understood. When she pulled back from him, Max could see the disappointment in her features. That smile of hers that he had made happen just a moment ago, the one that he had been so confident he would never forget was replaced so easily. But he also saw understanding in her eyes.
He found it difficult at that moment to say anything more about it because right then he would have given anything to be normaland be able to express how much he cared about her in every way that he wanted. And care for her he did. His heart went triple time just about every time he even saw her.
That hadn’t changed since the very first time he saw her playing in the Roswell Elementary playground just as he was coming off the bus to the first time he saw her at school in the café all the way up to a simple day at the Crashdown last week. And sometimes he’d be so at a loss for exactly what to say that he’d worry, for that’s how great his fear was that she wouldn’t feel the same about him or wouldn’t accept him. And still, she had been nothing but loving in return, and Max felt incredibly lucky to even be around her.
He nodded stiffly, but he also made an effort not to push her away at that moment. Max pulled her back into his arms and wrapped his arms around her, enveloping her small body into everything that was him, hoping she’d find comfort. Liz tucked her head under his chin, splayed her hands across his back, and pressed her chest into his. The nature of the hug and where it could lead was anything but chaste but what both Max and Liz needed they drew from that hug, from just being near each other: strength.
Liz suddenly lifted her head away and she looked up at him, her eyes filled with hope. “Max, I don’t care,” she said suddenly.
She stepped back just enough so he could look into her eyes and see everything she was feeling. “I want you, Max,”she said. “I want to be with you.”
Max’s voice felt caught in his throat; he knew he should say something, no anything. He didn’t want her to risk all of this for him.
But Liz rose up on her toes and kissed his earlobe softly. Max swallowed hard and holding the back of her head while she kissed her way down to his jaw, he tried to find his voice. He really shouldn’t let this go any further tonight; there were a million reasons not to, the first and most important of which was that he didn’t know what could happen, and there was only one reason to keep going, but… that felt so good.
“L-L-Liz,” he stuttered shakily; already his knees were already starting to give out, apparently she had found a really sensitive spot.
He couldn’t see it but Liz was smiling while she nibbled his ear, and she would gently bite and lick, the switching between the two making Max very weak in his knees. And her hands had even found their way to the top button of his shirt as she started to undo his shirt.
She turned her head away from him so she could look down at the last remaining buttons, and her fingers skimmed the top of his jeans when she neared the end. She hesitated for a second but then decided to first pull off his shirt.
“If something were to happen to you, I wouldn’t be able to forgive myself,” he said sadly but he was hoping this would dissuade her a little.
“And what about you?” she said back.
“Huh?” Max stuttered.
She had one hand resting over his heart. “What if something were to happen to you?”
Max blinked. He had never even thought about that, his first thought had always been on what would happen to Liz when they made love (and the question had always been when and not if), and what he would do to help her if that happened.
“There’s no way to know that either,” Max said slowly.
Liz nodded. “I know. I wouldn’t be able to forgive myself eitehr” She looked up at him gently, waiting for him.
She didn’t have to wait long though because his answer to her unvoiced question of in spite of knowing all of the risks whether or not he wanted this was yes. He put his hands around her waist and kissed her softly. The kiss gave way to their desires, and when he knew she needed air probably just as much as he did, he settled his mouth over her neck.
When his mouth covered hers again, she broke the kiss first and then hugged him to her body again. “You think I could – Max, could I get sick?” she asked.
He could tell she was scared. “No,” he said quickly. Liz nodded, but being realistic, he also added, “I don’t think you can, but Liz, I don’t know.”
His voice was muffled once she found her way back to his mouth, and he gave up on talking, losing himself completely in their kiss. Only when she broke the kiss could Max remember what he had been talking about, but she spoke first.
“Max, I know you’re worried and that you think it,” she hesitated and looking down at their entwined hands, “this, us isn’t safe, but there’s no way of us knowing anything for certain. This is all new for me too, and the only way we can know is if we find out together.”
Liz caressed the side of his face. “And, if you really want to stop, I’ll stop,” she added and Max’s eyes darkened. Liz noticed, but she continued anyway as if she had never stopped. “Actually, it’s even getting late, so maybe you could even take me home?” she asked innocently.
She was about to turn around and spin away from him when his arm came to rest around her waist. She heard the sharp intake of air just inches above her, and finally she looked up at him. He said earnestly, “Liz, I don’t want to stop,” and then he cupped her face and initiated their next kiss. Max held her in his arms and together they started to discard more clothing.
When he felt the feather light touch of her fingers as she trailed her hands down his chest, he helped her by shrugging out of his shirt. Then Max slid his hands up her back to undo the clasp to her bra. She even buried her head in his chest while he reached around her, making it possible for him to even look over her shoulder, which he did. Then together they took small steps back to his bed.
Liz slowly lowered down to sitting all the while never pulling away. She slid one arm up from around his waist to around his shoulders and neck as she sat, and Max leaned in towards her before placing one hand down on the bed beside her.
When they paused, Max looked into her eyes and he only saw love reflected back at him, a love so powerful that it stunned him. He never believed anyone could ever love him this way or even this much. Love from his family, the one he’d managed to make out of the Evans and Isabel and Michael, he had come to expect. This, however, what was happening beteween him and Liz, was something extraordinary. He had never felt more accepted and cherished in his life.
On her end, she felt it too, something strong and indescribable washing over her. She couldn’t place what it was yet. But once he said it she knew.
Max whispered her name twice, bringing her out of her daze, and she focused on his gentle eyes. He stroked her cheek and said reverently, “Liz, I love you.”
That’s when she knew, and she didn’t hesitate from responding with, “I love you, too.”
And in the morning she would remember how his nose brushed over her collarbone, how the pad of his thumb pressed into her hip, and how his palm encircled her waist. She’d remember how the strands of his hair, the ones she had always thought needed to be trimmed, tickled her stomach. She’d remember his lips languidly kissing the expanse of skin right under her navel, and his hands holding her instep before he edged back up and entered her. Her favorite memory of her first real time would be how his chest was pressed against hers…and the moment that followed. She would never forget how she saw a hundred and one bright colors, and the sky and stars hurtling fast all around her to a destination unknown.
The flashes that came as soon as they joined were quick and fleeting, yet somehow Max and Liz held onto a piece of each, a piece of the other.
What Liz would also never forget was how after she felt so complete, like nothing could ever come between them. He was just as much hers as she was his.
The kiss became heated and each time Max wanted to break the kiss, something as simple as her tongue sliding over his or her fingers curling around the hair at the nape of his neck made him not want to stop. He was the first to pull away though.
She looked up at him uncertainly, confused by him stopping, but then he said, “I want this too; there’s nothing I want more,” admitting it easily. And this was true; he’d never wanted anything more before. He had never felt this way about anyone ever before and somehow he knew he never would again.
She finally chanced looking up at him then and satisfied with what she saw there, she continued touching him.
Liz started sliding her hands up the front of his chest heading towards his collar, but he held her hands away from him. It was much easier to think this way now, and even form a coherent thought if she wasn’t touching him. The cloud of doubt that had been only growing bigger in his mind ever since he’d started falling for Liz was back at the forefront now. He was finding it hard to tell her this, but he knew he had to say it. “Liz, I don’t know everything there is to know about me and if something were to happen – ”
“You’re worried about me,” she finished softly, stating it instead of asking for she understood. When she pulled back from him, Max could see the disappointment in her features. That smile of hers that he had made happen just a moment ago, the one that he had been so confident he would never forget was replaced so easily. But he also saw understanding in her eyes.
He found it difficult at that moment to say anything more about it because right then he would have given anything to be normaland be able to express how much he cared about her in every way that he wanted. And care for her he did. His heart went triple time just about every time he even saw her.
That hadn’t changed since the very first time he saw her playing in the Roswell Elementary playground just as he was coming off the bus to the first time he saw her at school in the café all the way up to a simple day at the Crashdown last week. And sometimes he’d be so at a loss for exactly what to say that he’d worry, for that’s how great his fear was that she wouldn’t feel the same about him or wouldn’t accept him. And still, she had been nothing but loving in return, and Max felt incredibly lucky to even be around her.
He nodded stiffly, but he also made an effort not to push her away at that moment. Max pulled her back into his arms and wrapped his arms around her, enveloping her small body into everything that was him, hoping she’d find comfort. Liz tucked her head under his chin, splayed her hands across his back, and pressed her chest into his. The nature of the hug and where it could lead was anything but chaste but what both Max and Liz needed they drew from that hug, from just being near each other: strength.
Liz suddenly lifted her head away and she looked up at him, her eyes filled with hope. “Max, I don’t care,” she said suddenly.
She stepped back just enough so he could look into her eyes and see everything she was feeling. “I want you, Max,”she said. “I want to be with you.”
Max’s voice felt caught in his throat; he knew he should say something, no anything. He didn’t want her to risk all of this for him.
But Liz rose up on her toes and kissed his earlobe softly. Max swallowed hard and holding the back of her head while she kissed her way down to his jaw, he tried to find his voice. He really shouldn’t let this go any further tonight; there were a million reasons not to, the first and most important of which was that he didn’t know what could happen, and there was only one reason to keep going, but… that felt so good.
“L-L-Liz,” he stuttered shakily; already his knees were already starting to give out, apparently she had found a really sensitive spot.
He couldn’t see it but Liz was smiling while she nibbled his ear, and she would gently bite and lick, the switching between the two making Max very weak in his knees. And her hands had even found their way to the top button of his shirt as she started to undo his shirt.
She turned her head away from him so she could look down at the last remaining buttons, and her fingers skimmed the top of his jeans when she neared the end. She hesitated for a second but then decided to first pull off his shirt.
“If something were to happen to you, I wouldn’t be able to forgive myself,” he said sadly but he was hoping this would dissuade her a little.
“And what about you?” she said back.
“Huh?” Max stuttered.
She had one hand resting over his heart. “What if something were to happen to you?”
Max blinked. He had never even thought about that, his first thought had always been on what would happen to Liz when they made love (and the question had always been when and not if), and what he would do to help her if that happened.
“There’s no way to know that either,” Max said slowly.
Liz nodded. “I know. I wouldn’t be able to forgive myself eitehr” She looked up at him gently, waiting for him.
She didn’t have to wait long though because his answer to her unvoiced question of in spite of knowing all of the risks whether or not he wanted this was yes. He put his hands around her waist and kissed her softly. The kiss gave way to their desires, and when he knew she needed air probably just as much as he did, he settled his mouth over her neck.
When his mouth covered hers again, she broke the kiss first and then hugged him to her body again. “You think I could – Max, could I get sick?” she asked.
He could tell she was scared. “No,” he said quickly. Liz nodded, but being realistic, he also added, “I don’t think you can, but Liz, I don’t know.”
His voice was muffled once she found her way back to his mouth, and he gave up on talking, losing himself completely in their kiss. Only when she broke the kiss could Max remember what he had been talking about, but she spoke first.
“Max, I know you’re worried and that you think it,” she hesitated and looking down at their entwined hands, “this, us isn’t safe, but there’s no way of us knowing anything for certain. This is all new for me too, and the only way we can know is if we find out together.”
Liz caressed the side of his face. “And, if you really want to stop, I’ll stop,” she added and Max’s eyes darkened. Liz noticed, but she continued anyway as if she had never stopped. “Actually, it’s even getting late, so maybe you could even take me home?” she asked innocently.
She was about to turn around and spin away from him when his arm came to rest around her waist. She heard the sharp intake of air just inches above her, and finally she looked up at him. He said earnestly, “Liz, I don’t want to stop,” and then he cupped her face and initiated their next kiss. Max held her in his arms and together they started to discard more clothing.
When he felt the feather light touch of her fingers as she trailed her hands down his chest, he helped her by shrugging out of his shirt. Then Max slid his hands up her back to undo the clasp to her bra. She even buried her head in his chest while he reached around her, making it possible for him to even look over her shoulder, which he did. Then together they took small steps back to his bed.
Liz slowly lowered down to sitting all the while never pulling away. She slid one arm up from around his waist to around his shoulders and neck as she sat, and Max leaned in towards her before placing one hand down on the bed beside her.
When they paused, Max looked into her eyes and he only saw love reflected back at him, a love so powerful that it stunned him. He never believed anyone could ever love him this way or even this much. Love from his family, the one he’d managed to make out of the Evans and Isabel and Michael, he had come to expect. This, however, what was happening beteween him and Liz, was something extraordinary. He had never felt more accepted and cherished in his life.
On her end, she felt it too, something strong and indescribable washing over her. She couldn’t place what it was yet. But once he said it she knew.
Max whispered her name twice, bringing her out of her daze, and she focused on his gentle eyes. He stroked her cheek and said reverently, “Liz, I love you.”
That’s when she knew, and she didn’t hesitate from responding with, “I love you, too.”
And in the morning she would remember how his nose brushed over her collarbone, how the pad of his thumb pressed into her hip, and how his palm encircled her waist. She’d remember how the strands of his hair, the ones she had always thought needed to be trimmed, tickled her stomach. She’d remember his lips languidly kissing the expanse of skin right under her navel, and his hands holding her instep before he edged back up and entered her. Her favorite memory of her first real time would be how his chest was pressed against hers…and the moment that followed. She would never forget how she saw a hundred and one bright colors, and the sky and stars hurtling fast all around her to a destination unknown.
The flashes that came as soon as they joined were quick and fleeting, yet somehow Max and Liz held onto a piece of each, a piece of the other.
What Liz would also never forget was how after she felt so complete, like nothing could ever come between them. He was just as much hers as she was his.
-
Dreamerlaure
- Fan Fic Follower
- Posts: 51
- Joined: Sat Nov 11, 2006 5:12 pm
Chapter 24
Hand in hand, Max and Liz made their way up to the second floor of the Crashdown, slowly. Her front door represented an end to the night, and their last kiss for the night, too. When they reached it, Liz took out her key, unlocked it, and stepped inside. Holding her hand, still, Max followed her.
Liz let go of his hand for a second to find some sort of lighting. She felt a bit disoriented once she had come in because since her Grandmother had come to stay, little things were rearranged, and often. It seemed as if Nancy and Claudia were waging some private war of décor – Claudia wanted the framed picture of her and her second husband on the first table that faced people as they entered the apartment while Nancy wanted the picture with all of the other pictures…you know, on the mantlepiece, and if Claudia won that battle for that day, the mantlepiece would have one hole in its arrangement. Nancy wanted the rug in the living room to be horizontal to the couches, and Claudia thought it should be right underneath the coffee table in the center of the room. And, even the lamp they couldn’t decide on.
She knew it’d either be on the right side of the apartment, Claudia’s favorite side, or on the left, so when her hand grasped air she knew it was on the other, the right indeed. Maybe her Grandmother had won that round, or maybe her Mom just hadn’t seen it yet. The switch went on with a soft click, punctuating a silence she hadn’t realized had sprung up between her and Max.
“Hey,” she said quietly as she came over to where he was and stood in front of him. Max turned and looked down at her, and smiled a lopsided grin.
He suddenly wanted to tell her something and holding her in his arms gave him all the courage he’d ever need. “Liz, tonight was incredible,” he said, while his arms slid up her arms and came to rest around her frame, his hands finding the soft curve at the small of her back and fitting to her body like a missing puzzle piece.
She wouldn’t let her hands be idle, either, and she returned with just as much enthusiasm, “Yes it was, Max, and it meant so much to me!” He looked down into her shining eyes, and angled his head down towards hers before sealing their lips with what he intended to be just a quick kiss. On the other hand, the kiss was just what they needed to get started again.
There was never any more proof that either of them needed that one kiss was never enough than just experiencing the first contact on any given day. At the first brush of his lips against hers, Max framed her face in his hands and continued kissing her until she parted her lips so he could slip his tongue inside of her mouth. The kiss became more heated until the need to breathe in for real pried them apart.
He molded his hands around her waist; Liz anchored him, but once he’d breathed in, the fog hadn’t cleared yet. He still wanted her. The back of his hand felt soft and warm on her cheek and she believed that if her breathing slowed any more, her thoughts would fall back down the line like her senses had. Then she’d really be far gone. Even breathing in though wasn’t safe. One of his arms fell to her waist with both of her hands on his chest, there was very little space between them. So, each time she breathed in, she inhaled not only a mouthful of air, but also a mouthful of Max, and well, he smelled delicious.
“I should go,” Max breathed. An end to the night…he could pull himself together and end what had been one of the best nights of his life. Still, it felt like it was ending too soon.
She nodded slowly. “Yeah, you should go.” She rubbed his chest in an up and down motion, waiting for him to take the first step.
The way her lips were parted made him want to put his mouth against hers once more, and he knew without a doubt as he watched her chest rise and fall even less that she wanted one more kiss just as much as he did. “Good night, Liz,” he said, and he turned his hand over so he was cupping her face.
She swallowed, her heart slowing down. She was reacting like she always did. Liz turned her face even more into his hand, and she felt him breathe in sharply. As soon as she looked up and her eyes met his, without preamble he bent and captured her lips with his in a languid kiss. As the moments ticked by, Liz fell even more into his embrace. He was just ending the kiss when she slid one arm up his chest to come around his neck, and burrowing her fingers into the hair at the very back of his head, tugged him and their lips met once more.
Then Max stroked the side of her face, whispered, “Good night, love,” before stepping away and fumbling with the door, all the while, maintaining eye contact with her.
“Max,” she giggled, when he seemed reluctant to just turn around. “Max, you have to twist,” and she crossed the room until she was right in front of him, and reaching around his waist, twisted the doorknob for him and edged the door open.
Liz noticed how he was looking at her, and she wasn’t one to let a good moment go by. She reached up and briefly pressed her mouth against his. “Night.”
It was a heady and disheveled Max that stumbled out of her doorway and into the hallway. And it wasn’t even until he had reached his car and taken a couple of minutes, did the world stop spinning.
On his car ride home, the turn of events of the night began to hit him, and when he came into his house, and closed the door, his huge smile didn’t go unnoticed by his Mom. She however, went unnoticed by him, and it was only when she said, loudly, “Max!” that he realized she was home.
“Mom!”
She frowned. “Max, why are you shouting?”
He looked down, embarrassed, and mumbled, “I didn’t know you were here. You surprised me.”
“I just got home a couple of minutes ago. Good thing you missed me, you might have had to help me with the groceries,” she said lightheartedly, breaking the ice, and Max grinned. “How was your date, where did you two go?” she asked.
“Huh?” It wasn’t so much the first half of her question that’d surprised him, but the last part certainly had. Max frowned; they’d been home all night, what’d she mean?
“You and Liz,” Diane clarified. Now she was frowning too, but she persisted. “I forgot something at the grocery store, but I came home first around eight and it was only when I started unpacking everything that I realized that I’d left something there. Hmm, come to think of it, I wanted to grab a sweater from my room. I think I’m running low on laundry, which is surprising because I did a load a few days ago.”
Max was still frowning; he loved when his Mom went off on tangents, but he didn’t really see what this had to do with where he and Liz had been or more importantly what they’d been doing…wait, she couldn’t tell, right?!
Max’s eyes widened in alarm, was he glowing, was his shirt lopsided – he loved when Liz pulled at his shirt and as of tonight, he loved her even more because her unbuttoning or buttoning his shirt for him was so sensual. Max started yanking at his shirt collar, and tugging on his shirt, all at once, in a desperate effort to not look disheveled while Diane was busy contemplating what day she had actually done the laundry. When her gaze returned to Max, she frowned again.
“Max? What’s wrong?”
“I-I-I’m just tired,” he said. Max started to back up to the stairs. …if he could just get there, he could finally get up to the second floor, and reach his bedroom, home plate! He couldn’t take the scrutiny anymore!
“Oh,” Diane surveyed him under lowered eyes, but she continued, “Well, I had to go back, I really need some EVO…”
“EVO?” Max scratched his forehead. He just wanted to go and here she was confusing him.
“Extra Virgin Olive Oil,” she clarified, causing Max to become even more flustered. How could she possibly know! “Max, don’t you remember,” she paused. “I gave you a cooking lesson last week.”
He nodded, mistrustful of even being able to use his voice right now.
“Well, I need some for the pasta recipe I’m making for our dinner tomorrow.” Diane was aware that Max was backing up to the stairs, but instead of ending the conversation like he wanted her to, she stepped forward and rested her elbow on the banister. Smiling up at Max, “So, how was tonight?”
Honestly, she was so happy for her son. She’d never seen him happier, and she really couldn’t ask for a better girlfriend than Liz. The countless times she’d spoken to her this summer had assured her of what she was starting to believe in her heart too, that Liz was a terrific girl.
“It was … good,” Max colored a little. “Great, actually.”
Diane smiled and nodded. Max was about to take the first step up, when she jumped in, “When I left the house this afternoon, you were here waiting for her to come over. What’d you two end up doing?”
“Umm, we just watched a movie…we went to the movies.” Yeah, that sounded better to his ears.
“Oh, great. Good time to go. Well, how’d you like the new theater?”
“Huh?” Max did a double take. Why were there so many holes in his alibi!
“The new theater…the one on third, remember they were reconstructing.”
“Oh…umm, we went to the one in East Roswell.”
Diane frowned. “Hmm, I don’t think I know that one.” She smiled wistfully, “Well, I’ll bet that one is nicer too. There’s something wonderful about seeing an untouched side of things, something that you know that’s been around and seen all kinds of changes.”
She looked back at Max and noticed how pale he was. Studying Max carefully, she asked, “Max, is everything alright?”
“Uh, it’s great. I’m good.”
“Okay,” Diane said. As she was leaving the living room to go back into the kitchen, she glanced at him once more, saying, “Oh, I washed that shirt in the last load, where’d you find it?”
Max tried to wipe away the grin that was forming on his face because just thinking about this shirt that he was wearing was making him laugh. Liz had gotten up to find a shirt for him to wear and to put on her clothes, too. She wrapped his fitted sheet around her body like a toga as she scooped her clothes up into a bundle and went into his bathroom. She’d disappeared for all but a moment, and when she came back, she was wearing the blue striped shirt and nothing else. Max had been sitting on the edge of his bed, starting to pull on his shoes when her feet came into his line of sight. As his eyes climbed up her perfect legs to the slimmer of her hip he could spy to the shirt itself to the seductive smile on her face, he groaned playfully.
“Liz! You’re supposed to be getting dressed,” he said seriously.
She bit her lip, and pressing her hands on his knees, lowered herself to sitting. Max adjusted his legs so she’d have more of a lap to sit on, thinking she just wanted him to hold her, but he should have known from the way she smiled at him that her intentions were anything but.
Liz buried her face in his neck, then proceeded to kiss her way up the side of his neck and jaw. He groaned when she didn’t come to his mouth for the kiss he was waiting for. Instead she kissed his neck, which only made him weaker. And if there was any doubt as to what she wanted or if she could be dissuaded, it all went out of the window when he felt her small fingers sliding down on his bare chest.
“Liz,” he whispered as she rubbed against him and pressed him back so he was lying on the bed and she was on top of him. When he nudged her cheek with his nose, she smiled before finding his lips again at the precise moment that he found hers and she wriggled her hips so she could unsnap his jeans and pull down his boxers.
“We have time,” was the last thing he really heard her say before she covered his mouth with hers.
Diane continued talking about the laundry, and what day she could probably do it next, not noticing Max wasn’t really paying attention or that he was blushing bright red. That’s how fresh the memory of the second time he and Liz had made love tonight was in his mind, that even thinking about the shirt he was wearing now could conjure up a vivid flashback.
When Diane looked at Max, hoping to turn to him and ask his opinion about the fabric softener she’d added last week, she saw his back as he nearly ran up the stairs. Hmm, that was odd, she thought. She couldn’t help thinking though that something else was different. But what it was, she couldn’t place yet. He just seemed different.
Hand in hand, Max and Liz made their way up to the second floor of the Crashdown, slowly. Her front door represented an end to the night, and their last kiss for the night, too. When they reached it, Liz took out her key, unlocked it, and stepped inside. Holding her hand, still, Max followed her.
Liz let go of his hand for a second to find some sort of lighting. She felt a bit disoriented once she had come in because since her Grandmother had come to stay, little things were rearranged, and often. It seemed as if Nancy and Claudia were waging some private war of décor – Claudia wanted the framed picture of her and her second husband on the first table that faced people as they entered the apartment while Nancy wanted the picture with all of the other pictures…you know, on the mantlepiece, and if Claudia won that battle for that day, the mantlepiece would have one hole in its arrangement. Nancy wanted the rug in the living room to be horizontal to the couches, and Claudia thought it should be right underneath the coffee table in the center of the room. And, even the lamp they couldn’t decide on.
She knew it’d either be on the right side of the apartment, Claudia’s favorite side, or on the left, so when her hand grasped air she knew it was on the other, the right indeed. Maybe her Grandmother had won that round, or maybe her Mom just hadn’t seen it yet. The switch went on with a soft click, punctuating a silence she hadn’t realized had sprung up between her and Max.
“Hey,” she said quietly as she came over to where he was and stood in front of him. Max turned and looked down at her, and smiled a lopsided grin.
He suddenly wanted to tell her something and holding her in his arms gave him all the courage he’d ever need. “Liz, tonight was incredible,” he said, while his arms slid up her arms and came to rest around her frame, his hands finding the soft curve at the small of her back and fitting to her body like a missing puzzle piece.
She wouldn’t let her hands be idle, either, and she returned with just as much enthusiasm, “Yes it was, Max, and it meant so much to me!” He looked down into her shining eyes, and angled his head down towards hers before sealing their lips with what he intended to be just a quick kiss. On the other hand, the kiss was just what they needed to get started again.
There was never any more proof that either of them needed that one kiss was never enough than just experiencing the first contact on any given day. At the first brush of his lips against hers, Max framed her face in his hands and continued kissing her until she parted her lips so he could slip his tongue inside of her mouth. The kiss became more heated until the need to breathe in for real pried them apart.
He molded his hands around her waist; Liz anchored him, but once he’d breathed in, the fog hadn’t cleared yet. He still wanted her. The back of his hand felt soft and warm on her cheek and she believed that if her breathing slowed any more, her thoughts would fall back down the line like her senses had. Then she’d really be far gone. Even breathing in though wasn’t safe. One of his arms fell to her waist with both of her hands on his chest, there was very little space between them. So, each time she breathed in, she inhaled not only a mouthful of air, but also a mouthful of Max, and well, he smelled delicious.
“I should go,” Max breathed. An end to the night…he could pull himself together and end what had been one of the best nights of his life. Still, it felt like it was ending too soon.
She nodded slowly. “Yeah, you should go.” She rubbed his chest in an up and down motion, waiting for him to take the first step.
The way her lips were parted made him want to put his mouth against hers once more, and he knew without a doubt as he watched her chest rise and fall even less that she wanted one more kiss just as much as he did. “Good night, Liz,” he said, and he turned his hand over so he was cupping her face.
She swallowed, her heart slowing down. She was reacting like she always did. Liz turned her face even more into his hand, and she felt him breathe in sharply. As soon as she looked up and her eyes met his, without preamble he bent and captured her lips with his in a languid kiss. As the moments ticked by, Liz fell even more into his embrace. He was just ending the kiss when she slid one arm up his chest to come around his neck, and burrowing her fingers into the hair at the very back of his head, tugged him and their lips met once more.
Then Max stroked the side of her face, whispered, “Good night, love,” before stepping away and fumbling with the door, all the while, maintaining eye contact with her.
“Max,” she giggled, when he seemed reluctant to just turn around. “Max, you have to twist,” and she crossed the room until she was right in front of him, and reaching around his waist, twisted the doorknob for him and edged the door open.
Liz noticed how he was looking at her, and she wasn’t one to let a good moment go by. She reached up and briefly pressed her mouth against his. “Night.”
It was a heady and disheveled Max that stumbled out of her doorway and into the hallway. And it wasn’t even until he had reached his car and taken a couple of minutes, did the world stop spinning.
On his car ride home, the turn of events of the night began to hit him, and when he came into his house, and closed the door, his huge smile didn’t go unnoticed by his Mom. She however, went unnoticed by him, and it was only when she said, loudly, “Max!” that he realized she was home.
“Mom!”
She frowned. “Max, why are you shouting?”
He looked down, embarrassed, and mumbled, “I didn’t know you were here. You surprised me.”
“I just got home a couple of minutes ago. Good thing you missed me, you might have had to help me with the groceries,” she said lightheartedly, breaking the ice, and Max grinned. “How was your date, where did you two go?” she asked.
“Huh?” It wasn’t so much the first half of her question that’d surprised him, but the last part certainly had. Max frowned; they’d been home all night, what’d she mean?
“You and Liz,” Diane clarified. Now she was frowning too, but she persisted. “I forgot something at the grocery store, but I came home first around eight and it was only when I started unpacking everything that I realized that I’d left something there. Hmm, come to think of it, I wanted to grab a sweater from my room. I think I’m running low on laundry, which is surprising because I did a load a few days ago.”
Max was still frowning; he loved when his Mom went off on tangents, but he didn’t really see what this had to do with where he and Liz had been or more importantly what they’d been doing…wait, she couldn’t tell, right?!
Max’s eyes widened in alarm, was he glowing, was his shirt lopsided – he loved when Liz pulled at his shirt and as of tonight, he loved her even more because her unbuttoning or buttoning his shirt for him was so sensual. Max started yanking at his shirt collar, and tugging on his shirt, all at once, in a desperate effort to not look disheveled while Diane was busy contemplating what day she had actually done the laundry. When her gaze returned to Max, she frowned again.
“Max? What’s wrong?”
“I-I-I’m just tired,” he said. Max started to back up to the stairs. …if he could just get there, he could finally get up to the second floor, and reach his bedroom, home plate! He couldn’t take the scrutiny anymore!
“Oh,” Diane surveyed him under lowered eyes, but she continued, “Well, I had to go back, I really need some EVO…”
“EVO?” Max scratched his forehead. He just wanted to go and here she was confusing him.
“Extra Virgin Olive Oil,” she clarified, causing Max to become even more flustered. How could she possibly know! “Max, don’t you remember,” she paused. “I gave you a cooking lesson last week.”
He nodded, mistrustful of even being able to use his voice right now.
“Well, I need some for the pasta recipe I’m making for our dinner tomorrow.” Diane was aware that Max was backing up to the stairs, but instead of ending the conversation like he wanted her to, she stepped forward and rested her elbow on the banister. Smiling up at Max, “So, how was tonight?”
Honestly, she was so happy for her son. She’d never seen him happier, and she really couldn’t ask for a better girlfriend than Liz. The countless times she’d spoken to her this summer had assured her of what she was starting to believe in her heart too, that Liz was a terrific girl.
“It was … good,” Max colored a little. “Great, actually.”
Diane smiled and nodded. Max was about to take the first step up, when she jumped in, “When I left the house this afternoon, you were here waiting for her to come over. What’d you two end up doing?”
“Umm, we just watched a movie…we went to the movies.” Yeah, that sounded better to his ears.
“Oh, great. Good time to go. Well, how’d you like the new theater?”
“Huh?” Max did a double take. Why were there so many holes in his alibi!
“The new theater…the one on third, remember they were reconstructing.”
“Oh…umm, we went to the one in East Roswell.”
Diane frowned. “Hmm, I don’t think I know that one.” She smiled wistfully, “Well, I’ll bet that one is nicer too. There’s something wonderful about seeing an untouched side of things, something that you know that’s been around and seen all kinds of changes.”
She looked back at Max and noticed how pale he was. Studying Max carefully, she asked, “Max, is everything alright?”
“Uh, it’s great. I’m good.”
“Okay,” Diane said. As she was leaving the living room to go back into the kitchen, she glanced at him once more, saying, “Oh, I washed that shirt in the last load, where’d you find it?”
Max tried to wipe away the grin that was forming on his face because just thinking about this shirt that he was wearing was making him laugh. Liz had gotten up to find a shirt for him to wear and to put on her clothes, too. She wrapped his fitted sheet around her body like a toga as she scooped her clothes up into a bundle and went into his bathroom. She’d disappeared for all but a moment, and when she came back, she was wearing the blue striped shirt and nothing else. Max had been sitting on the edge of his bed, starting to pull on his shoes when her feet came into his line of sight. As his eyes climbed up her perfect legs to the slimmer of her hip he could spy to the shirt itself to the seductive smile on her face, he groaned playfully.
“Liz! You’re supposed to be getting dressed,” he said seriously.
She bit her lip, and pressing her hands on his knees, lowered herself to sitting. Max adjusted his legs so she’d have more of a lap to sit on, thinking she just wanted him to hold her, but he should have known from the way she smiled at him that her intentions were anything but.
Liz buried her face in his neck, then proceeded to kiss her way up the side of his neck and jaw. He groaned when she didn’t come to his mouth for the kiss he was waiting for. Instead she kissed his neck, which only made him weaker. And if there was any doubt as to what she wanted or if she could be dissuaded, it all went out of the window when he felt her small fingers sliding down on his bare chest.
“Liz,” he whispered as she rubbed against him and pressed him back so he was lying on the bed and she was on top of him. When he nudged her cheek with his nose, she smiled before finding his lips again at the precise moment that he found hers and she wriggled her hips so she could unsnap his jeans and pull down his boxers.
“We have time,” was the last thing he really heard her say before she covered his mouth with hers.
Diane continued talking about the laundry, and what day she could probably do it next, not noticing Max wasn’t really paying attention or that he was blushing bright red. That’s how fresh the memory of the second time he and Liz had made love tonight was in his mind, that even thinking about the shirt he was wearing now could conjure up a vivid flashback.
When Diane looked at Max, hoping to turn to him and ask his opinion about the fabric softener she’d added last week, she saw his back as he nearly ran up the stairs. Hmm, that was odd, she thought. She couldn’t help thinking though that something else was different. But what it was, she couldn’t place yet. He just seemed different.
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Dreamerlaure
- Fan Fic Follower
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Re: The Prettiest Thing (M/L, Teen/Mat.) CH 25-28 11/13
I totally forgot I was posting here 
and since I don't like to leave things unfinished...
Chapter 25
Max unexpectedly opening the door with such force was what surprised Liz when she reached to open the door.
“Liz,” he breathed out.
“Hi,” she said, quirking her eyebrows as she appraised his flushed face. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing,” Max said, but a frown still marred his features. Truth was he had been relieved when he opened the door to find Liz at that exact moment. Liz’s Mom had only asked Liz to get her recipe for raspberry cheesecake from the car five minutes ago, a simple chore, really. However, Liz leaving the house left Max alone with not only his parents but also hers.
The summer had progressed quickly, and for the last night Max and Liz would be spending in Roswell before they departed for school again, Diane had initiated a dinner between all of them, his parents as well as hers. Although the night was just starting, Max was already feeling the stress of it.
He framed his hands around her face and swept in for a quick kiss. Then Liz reached up to smooth back his hair and in doing so, she ran her thumb over the creases in his forehead, flattening them. “Nothing’s wrong now that you’re here.”
She smiled gently at him and their lips met again. There was no time to linger in the kiss though because no sooner had their lips met were they interrupted.
“Max! Is that Liz?” Diane shouted louder than necessary from the kitchen.
Liz bit back a laugh when she saw what she recognized now as complete frustration on Max’s face.
“Yes, Mom!” he called back, and for a moment it was quiet, so he turned back to face Liz head on.
Max’s whispered “sorry,” warmed her face and her smile faded when he gently caressed her cheek with the back of his hand before turning over his hand and leaned in, hoping to make this kiss last. He had even less luck this time because as he was angling in, Nancy called out, “Liz, did you find the card?”
She didn’t leave his arms yet, and instead she snuggled even closer. When met with silence, Nancy clarified, “the recipe card? Was it on the backseat?”
Liz rested her head on Max’s chest, and she called out, “No, Mom it wasn’t there. It was under your seat.”
Both Nancy and Diane seemed satisfied with that response. Max looked down at Liz to see her smiling at him. “What?”
At the door, he had seemed so relieved to see her. Liz slid her hands up his chest then pressed her hands against him. “Everything was okay while I was gone, right?”
Max frowned. “Yeah, it was fine.”
Liz grinned, and she lowered her hands. Max jumped not even a second later when he felt her hands on his butt and he looked down at her playful face. “Liz,” he groaned, and kissing her soundly, he murmured. “You’re driving me crazy.”
He paused for a second and added, “They’re driving me crazy,” while glancing at the kitchen.
“Hey,” Liz reached for his hand, and she squeezed it gently. “We’ll get through this, I promise.” Then she clasped his hand and gently guided him back to the kitchen. “Come on.”
Liz glanced at him once more with a look that made him certain that maybe he could get through this.
* * * * *
The table had every inch of it covered with plates for the main course, and at the center of it was the blueberry cheesecake, topped with three inches of cream and a strawberry.
Mrs. Parker reached forward, passed the bowl with the potatoes to Max, and gave him a smile. But other than that quick interaction, so far dinner had been just about enjoying good food and good company. So far, Max couldn’t help but be happy because his expectations were falling flat. Maybe this wouldn’t be so bad after all, he thought, as he reached for his glass of water and brought the rim to his mouth.
Max and Liz were on opposite sides of the round table, and both of their parents were on either side of them. Jeff Parker was just opposite of Max, but from where he was, he had a clear view of Max and he didn’t particularly like what he was seeing. He watched Max lower his eyes, and Jeff quickly glanced at Liz and saw that she was blushing and smiling shyly.
Jeff cleared his throat, getting the attention of everyone at the table inadvertently when he had only wanted Max’s attention. Max swallowed a gulp of his water and shakily put down his class. He couldn’t explain what it was but Jeff Parker made him extremely uneasy.
“So, what’s the plan for the drive up?”
“Well, we’re just going to take the Northeast route up. It should only be about four days,” Max said. He glanced at Liz and she shook her head as subtly as she could.
“I mean three days,” Max said, clearing his throat.
“I really wish you two would take a plane ride up,” Diane said, voicing a concern she had been mulling over the past few weeks. She stood and started to take up the plates and Nancy stood too to help her. “Anything could happen on a road trip.”
The two women walked over to the kitchen together. There was a cutaway in the wall, allowing the conversation carry on as Nancy pointed out, “They drove down here for the summer, and that went okay.” Turning to Liz and Max with a worried look on her face, she checked with them, “It was okay, right?” Both of them nodded quickly and simultaneously with choruses of “yeah,” “nice,” and “great.”
Diane had an amused expression on her face as she glanced at the overly bright faces of her son and his girlfriend. Philip wasn’t paying as much attention to the conversation as he could have been; he was already eyeing the pie, figuring the time to dig in was overdue. However her Dad persisted. Jeff saw this dinner as the perfect opportunity to get to know Max. He still didn’t trust him, and he was perhaps the most apprehensive about them making this trip back to school together, and more importantly, alone.
“I don’t know,” Jeff dragged. “It’s a long way to go; I think a plane ride would be much better.”
Jeff noticed Philip motioning to the knife he had in front of him, and Jeff handed it to him. Then without preamble, Philip sliced into the pie.
Max glanced at Liz and when he saw how much she didn’t want to go on her face, he winced; he could just tell that Jeff Parker had his mind set on them not driving across country together.
Diane and Nancy rejoined the table a minute later and Nancy covered Jeff’s hand with hers. “They’ll be fine,” she said, and she gave him a look.
All eyes were on Jeff for a moment before he cleared his throat. “Okay, just as long as you two check in when you get there on Wednesday.”
“Of course,” Max said, and Liz chimed in, “I’ll call you myself,” before smiling at her Dad gratefully.
* * * * *
He had only one box left to take down to the car, yet somehow Max found himself delaying bringing it down. He wasn’t taking as much stuff as he had taken his first year. Experience had taught him that he didn’t need half of the stuff he’d ended up bringing last year, and because of that packing for the upcoming year had been less stressful. He bounced the roll of tape on his knee, letting it slide from side to side. There was something harder about leaving this summer, something that made him all the more reluctant. On the other hand there was a part of him that was excited and eager for this coming year, and what it would mean for him and her.
Of all of his conflicting feelings though, one stood out, one that had been bothering him all summer. He had really wanted to tell Isabel and Michael. This was the first time any of them had even been in a relationship. Accepting that they were different was something they’d been struggling with from childhood, but both Isabel and Michael would think that trying to be normal too wasn’t an option. They’d probably think that he had to choose.
Max closed his eyes tiredly. The thing was he didn’t want to choose. Why did he have to choose, why couldn’t he have both? Max had discovered something about himself last year. He realized that what he wanted to be happy, and this summer he became happy. Liz made him happy. She made him happy just as much as he made her happy. He never thought he’d be one to fall in love, and when it’d happened, it blew him away. He loved and cared about her so much. There was something even greater though that he’d learned this year. The greatest thing to have happened to him was to be loved in return.
Max unrolled a long piece of tape and stretched it over the box from one end to the other, before bring it down to the car.
His parents were waiting for him by his car outside. His father helped him put in the last box. He asked, “Is there enough space in there for Liz’s boxes?”
Max glanced down at the arrangement, and he nodded. “Yeah, and if there isn’t, I’ve also cleared out the backseat of the Jeep. We should be okay.”
“Alright,” Diane said. She hugged him and kissed him quickly on his cheek. “I hope you have a good trip, and call us once you’re up there.”
“I will,” he promised for what felt like the tenth time that morning alone. She heard the frustration in his voice and she smiled at him for a moment. “I will,” Max repeated, this time more sincerely earning an even bigger smile from both his mother and father.
Ten minutes later Max pulled up to the Crashdown and honked once. He glanced at the side view mirror and saw Liz coming out of the Crashdown with her mother and grandmother in tow. Her long brown hair cascaded down over her shoulders, but the ends were swinging freely and he watched with a smile as she tried in vain to tuck the loose strands behind her ears. Her mother suddenly stepped back from the trio to open the door of the Crashdown for Jeff as he came out with what Max thought was the last of the boxes.
Max got out and headed for Liz. Her grandmother was hugging her tightly and telling her something quietly. But, over her shoulder, Liz had a clear view of Max and she let go as soon as she could, seeking out the warm embrace of Max’s arms.
“Hi,” he whispered into her hair.
“Hey, you,” she said, and once she’d hugged him as innocently as she could, she pulled back. Max gave her a quick peck on the lips, and she admired that he wasn’t embarrassed that her parents were watching. She was seeing firsthand how scary her father could be around any guy that she wanted to give her heart to. Max glanced at her boxes. “Is that everything?”
She nodded. Everyone loaded the boxes into the Jeep, and then Max opened up Liz’s door for her. For their second year of college, they were taking his Jeep; Liz had wanted to sell her old Toyota, and she took her father to the second hand dealer for negotiation. Jeff made a good offer to the dealer, and it was more than enough money for her to spend later on in the year.
Max pulled out of the parking lot with Liz sitting beside him. As they neared the first mile marker, they both eyed their first sign that said ‘You are now leaving “blank”’ and the words, ‘You are now leaving Roswell,’ made them both look at each other and smile. They were leaving Roswell together. Life could be anything and it was all theirs now.
Chapter 26
Max drove, one hand listlessly on the wheel, and once she reached over and clasped his hand over the gearshift while his other was much more secure, his fingers laced with hers. Liz looked out the window at the scenery, appreciating the landscape they drove by. Her attention to the landscape outside of the car made her unaware of Max’s open appreciation of what was inside of the car; she wasn’t conscious of how often Max would turn his attention away from the road ahead of them to look at her. The traffic was light—most of the people that were taking the interstate had started to diverge off the highway in search of arrangements for the night.
Nights during the summer seemed to latch on to the best daytime qualities until the last possible moment. The sun was starting its descent though, sinking low and disappearing behind the v the hills before them made. As the sun moved away, the hills became as dark as the night that was coming on, but still, Max kept driving. He wasn’t all too worried about night settling in just yet; the way the light fell over all of her features at this time of day captivated him. So his attention was split two ways now. It was a straight drive, and the speed he was driving at allowed him to look over at her. She bunched her hair up into her fists about an hour ago and made a quick ponytail. Now Max could see wisps of her hair escaping and dancing in the light breeze. Under the soft twilight, her dark brown hair took on a lighter, auburn tone.
The returning trip was going by quicker than either Max or Liz would have liked. From the route that they were taking, there were still two days left on their road trip. Their parents expected the trip to take three days, and if they had followed every direction the map gave and taken every appropriate detour, it would have. But they opted for something else instead, finding ways to stretch out the trip and letting their instincts guide where they went. They took many detours into small towns that were accessible from the highway exits mentioned only in passing on the map, ones they were meant to pass. Once there they would stop at little dives to eat, take plenty of pictures at the memorials and landmarks that were each town’s shining crown, and choose motels and inns deep inside of the towns to spend their nights. As a result, every moment on the way back was leisurely, instead of hurried, as they were spending the time together because they wanted to and neither wanted it to go by too quickly.
It was so different from where and how they had been at the beginning of the summer when neither Liz nor Max could count the other as any more than a friend. That trip had been more planned out; whenever they had stopped, it had only been to look at the map and decide where they were going next. But there had been something extraordinary about their friendship. Liz had known things that Max had kept secret from everyone else. True Michael and Isabel were in on the secret too, but that was purely from circumstance; they were a part of it. He had always been afraid to let people in ever since he was young, knowing instinctively that being different was something bad and that what he could do could be seen as scary, and when what he could do was misunderstood, it could be seen as dangerous.
And that’s why he had dreaded telling her, knowing that things between them would change once she knew. Sometimes when he got past imagining how he would tell her, he would dream about what it would be like being around her in the days after she knew the truth. But he was so uncertain that his dreams would waver between fantasy, nightmares, and something of course, in between.
Then once he had told her, their relationship was replaced by a friendship that was even more tentative than the beginning of their relationship for both Max and Liz had more reservations about trusting the other person with their heart. Liz had wondered if things would ever be the same between them again, and she’d long for things to go back to the way they once were. Then there were days when she was relieved that she did know, and that Max didn’t have to hide any part of himself from her.
It wasn’t everyday that Max used his powers. He had almost trained himself not to use them often as a measure of caution because you could never be sure just who was watching and if that person would feel threatened. And the first time he’d done something in front of her after she found out had been a day that they’d been studying together as usual, but outside on one of the lawns halfway between their dorms. It’d been an early afternoon, and while most of the other students had classes, he did express enough caution though to look up to see if anyone was around, and it had been all clear.
One glance at Liz confirmed that her nose was deeply buried in her textbook. Max wanted to rewrite a good portion of his paper that he’d used a ballpoint pen on, but he had a sudden thought: he could just take it away instead. So he put his outstretched palm over the paper and slowly moved it down the page. Liz glanced up in mid thought, and the light she saw under his hand held her attention. Then, as he slowly moved his hand down, the words began to disappear. She had stared for a second too long, enough for him to look up and see her staring at what he’d done.
Her eyes met his after a second, and there was a moment of complete silence. He looked away first, the mixture of embarrassment and uncertainty at being seen making his cheeks burn. Then she’d murmured, “Can you do that again?” and she inched closer to him, the foot of space they always left between them disappearing, too. And when he did it again for her, she breathed, “Amazing.” All of this and all of what Liz had said and done since she found out made him feel more okay with who he was. Her gentle acceptance taught Max that you didn’t have to hide everything from someone you cared about, that you could let them in.
And because of all of this, their returning trip to school had a much lighter feel. Max’s heart was lighter. The silences and tension from the beginning of the summer were far behind them.
This next part of their relationship was so natural then, and if the love he felt in his heart for her everyday weren’t enough of an indicator, he could be even surer of their love by the way she would look back at him. It was as if she was seeing all of him and loving everything she found.
Liz suddenly stilled and turned to meet Max’s heated stare, as if she had felt him. She grinned. “What?” She lowered her eyes. “Were you watching me?”
“No…of course not.” Max made it a sudden point of interest of his to look back out at the road very seriously.
“Well, I hope I’m not distracting or anything.” She cleared her throat softly, and raised her eyebrows playfully when Max glanced at her. He insisted that she wasn’t though, so Liz thought it was time for part two. She grasped her chair and moved so that she was sitting on her left ankle and her other foot was still on the floor of the jeep; this position was about to come in handy in a few minutes. Then she undid her jeans jacket, and peeled it off one arm at a time. This feeling of knowing when Max Evans was watching her had only been building since their first kiss, and now she could even be far from him and know he was thinking of and seeing her. And right now, this made her feel bolder. She knew that even though he was facing the open road that he was watching her out of the corner of his eye because she could feel it. It was unexplainable really, but she also thought it was incredible that she was so aware of him, and he, obviously of her.
She slid her hand out of his, and rested it on his thigh, and she watched as he darted his eyes quickly to her hands then back to the road again. Liz pushed her hair back behind her ears with her other hand, and then she placed her other hand on the edge of his chair, and slowly moved her hands up.
“Liz…” Max muttered. “You can’t…we can’t get started right now.”
“What?” she asked innocently just as the hand she’d had on his thigh brushed over his groin.
Max’s breathing sounded labored and though he was trying very hard to keep a straight face, when she unbuckled her seatbelt and shifted again so that she was sitting on her knees, he got a whiff of her hair and he closed his eyes for a second…a second too long. He snapped out of it quickly, and blinked to regain his focus. “Liz, we’re almost…”
“We’re not there yet,” she whispered in his ear. “How can we be when we don’t know where there is?” she added teasingly before she covered his ear with her mouth. When she let go her mouth made a satisfying pop from the suction, she kissed his jaw softly once, her lips lingering there too. She pulled back, to see if he was going to resist, but he seemed incapable of even forming the words right then. The sky had darkened quickly and the sun was sliding down behind the hills, but Max didn’t want to pull over when they could find somewhere to stay instead.
But it took all of his strength to unwrap her hands. She rolled her eyes good-naturedly and sat back in her seat again, but every once in a while, when she’d decide to steal a glance at him, he’d choose that moment too and he’d give her a knowing smile. Because he knew she wanted more. Because he couldn’t wait until they were alone. Because this was turning out to be the best four days his life. And he was also smiling because she was the best thing that had ever happened to him.
* * * * *
They passed by two motels before they finally stopped, deciding on a third because it looked the most friendly and didn’t have a huge neon sign on the outside, which Liz claimed was a sure sign that they “expected something to happen there.”
Max grinned. “It’s probably just to attract people’s attention when it’s dark,” he said, trying to give those places the benefit of the doubt. However as they drove by, they realized that the places looked dark and not very inviting for the night. At one motel, motorcycles were gathered in the lot in a tight ring, and well, neither Max nor Liz were in the mood for either going to sleep to or waking up to that.
But the third place was quieter, a small distance from the highway, but not too far—certainly enough for them to explore more of the town in the morning, but for tonight, they were eager to get inside.
He pulled the jeep into a spot near the entrance, and he took the key out while Liz flicked off the radio. Then Liz took off her seatbelt and sat up. She started to stand and Max, seeing her intention, stood so that he could go alongside the jeep and hold her hand to help her climb into the backseat.
She bent at her waist and half kneeled and stood so that she was hovering over the luggage in the back. First, she pulled out the canvas bag, and started to pull things from her boxes and bags to add to it. They’d gotten into the routine of whenever they stayed overnight somewhere, they would pack a bag together and in the morning they’d take out what they used the night before and just replace it with other clothes the following evening, that way the bag was never empty. Once she thought she was finished packing what she needed, she scooted over to the other side where Max was getting his things ready. Max was tall enough that he could stand outside of the jeep and grab what he needed, while she was petite and doing that would have put her in the awkward position of reaching for what was just out of her reach. As soon as she was by him, she widened the bag enough for him to put in his things too.
Then Max took the bag out, placed it on the floor and extended both of his hands to Liz. She grasped his hands so he could help her out, and once she was grounded again, she slipped one arm loosely around his waist and they headed inside of the inn together.
The bell rang once they opened the door and the receptionist was just replacing the phone and she looked up. Liz noticed how her pen was poised in the air carelessly, and Liz looked up at Max uncertainly. He spied a pay phone in the back, and he squeezed her hand. “I’m going to try Isabel again,” he said meaningfully, and Liz nodded.
Apparently the day after they left, Isabel had finally called home and left a number. His Mom passed the number on to them, and when Max replaced the receiver in the room they had for the night, he sat on the bed quietly, and Liz came over to him and sat with him for a while.
He asked her something she knew she could neither answer nor truly respond to, as it was up to him.
“I should call her right?” and she only held his hand tighter. But he didn’t work up the courage until an hour later, and by then, the phone had rung endlessly before Max hung up. And he called again, sometimes two or three times a day, hoping to get an answer, but instead the phone always rang and no one ever picked up. Still she realized that he needed to try.
Max went over to the pay phone then and Liz went over to the front desk. The receptionist was a lot younger than she expected any owner of the place to be, and Liz asked pointedly, “Are you the owner?” and the receptionist behind the desk, whose nameplate said Caroline, explained that she wasn’t; her uncle owned the place. And that was warning number one. Then she slipped in that she turned nineteen next month and was taking a year off to learn about business from home, something else Liz didn’t care to know, but yet the girl told her, and her voice carried until it even reached Max, from where he was a few feet away. Liz turned over her shoulder to see if he had noticed. But even though the receptionist didn’t know what he was doing, she knew from the way he was frowning that he wasn’t getting through.
Liz turned back to the receptionist and smiled tightly. “We need a room for two, please.” Her second warning was the way that she looked at them. It was Liz who was standing at the desk, waiting to make arrangements, yet the receptionist looked past her as if she was invisible. She was tactless enough to look pointedly at Max first. She took in Max, giving him a long once over, her eyes traveling down first then back up again. A once over would never do Max justice, Liz thought angrily.
“Name and proof of id, please,” she asked, not even bothering to look at Liz.
Liz slid her driver’s license across the table face down, making her turn it over. The tapping of the keyboard filled about less than a minute, and she kept her eyes locked on the screen. “And…your friend?” the receptionist said, curiously.
Liz was about to correct her when Max came over and pushed his license across the counter towards her, too, facing up. His face was creased with worry, and behind the counter, Liz held his hand.
The receptionist noticed that no one had corrected her. She bit her lip and placed the tip of her pen down on the register, and in her hasty scrawl began making the rest of the arrangements. “We’ve got two on the second floor; one, has even got a terrific view of the sunrise, in the morning,” she added flirtatiously, with a grin at Max.
“Sounds great,” Max said distractedly, and he was already reaching inside of his wallet for his credit card.
As if the sun could come up at any other time; Liz rolled her eyes not too discreetly. She bit her lip and glared at the other girl, willing her to make eye contact, but she was watching Max. Finally, after a second too long, she looked at Liz and her appraisal of the worn but comfortable t-shirt Liz was wearing was evident in her eyes. Then she noticed Liz’s disheveled ponytail and the shiny lip-gloss she was wearing, and made even more assumptions. “Oh no,” she said insincerely, mock horror filling her voice and she looked down at the register much too quickly to even read anything. “206 which is across from your room,” she explained, smiling at Max, “is taken, but 209, right down the hall from it is available.”
Liz glared at her angrily, now, but before she could say anything, Max slipped his hand around her waist, drawing her body closer to him. Then he kissed the side of her forehead, and murmured, “What do you think baby? Do we need two rooms? Are you tired of me yet?”
And Liz had never felt more grateful in her life. She smiled up at him. “No, and I could never be.” Liz pressed her lips against his.
Then Max turned towards the receptionist impatiently, eager to get out of there now. “That room you were telling us about with the sun would be really nice. We’ll take it,” Max said.
Liz bit her lip to keep from laughing when she saw the frozen expression on her face. “Okay…one room it is,” she said haltingly and she slid the room key to 205 across the counter towards them.
“She was flirting with you,” Liz murmured once they were inside of their room. She buried her face in his neck while Max hugged her close.
“Really?” Max was frowning when she looked up, and she rolled her eyes.
“She wanted to eat you for dinner,” earning her a laugh from Max from deep down where his chest hummed against her body.
Max slid his arms up from around her waist to the small of her back then to her shoulders before he cupped her face. Then he leaned down and covered her lips with his, and he began his assault by gently kissing and nipping her bottom lip. Liz reciprocated the kiss, and wrapped her arms around as much of him as she could reach. His kisses always left her weak and dizzy, and she was faintly aware that she was no longer on the ground when her flip-flops made a soft plop on the ground and he held her close to his body.
He moved them to the bed and sat down, with her still locked around him. Then his fingers crept up her back more deliberately, and each touch tickled her, but she settled on just smiling. He knew. Of course, he knew. Max sunk his fingers into her hair and when they were lost inside of the knot of her ponytail, she realized that he was starting to undo it.
She remembered the first time he tried to undo her ponytail, how it had befuddled him for so long that she’d spent the time wondering what he was trying to do. He always paused when he reached her hair, uncertain how to make what he wanted to happen real. And when she asked him, he admitted, shamefaced, that he couldn’t undo it. So she had taken his hands in hers and they undid it together. Obviously, he’d been practicing since then because her hair fell like a soft curtain quickly on her shoulders.
She pushed his chest, and made him lie down, so that she was straddling his hips.
“You’re so beautiful.” He reached and pulled her down so he could kiss her again.
“You better stop, Max, otherwise I’m going to start believing you,” she panted when he started to kiss under her chin.
His jaw moved against her face and she knew instantly that he was smiling. “You should because it’s true.”
Then he touched the bottom of her shirt. “Now, I’m going to undress you,” and he rolled her over so she could be pinned under him so suddenly she lost her breath for a second. And when he covered her mouth with his, she found it again. The thing is, she wouldn’t have it any other way. There was nowhere else she’d rather be.
and since I don't like to leave things unfinished...Chapter 25
Max unexpectedly opening the door with such force was what surprised Liz when she reached to open the door.
“Liz,” he breathed out.
“Hi,” she said, quirking her eyebrows as she appraised his flushed face. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing,” Max said, but a frown still marred his features. Truth was he had been relieved when he opened the door to find Liz at that exact moment. Liz’s Mom had only asked Liz to get her recipe for raspberry cheesecake from the car five minutes ago, a simple chore, really. However, Liz leaving the house left Max alone with not only his parents but also hers.
The summer had progressed quickly, and for the last night Max and Liz would be spending in Roswell before they departed for school again, Diane had initiated a dinner between all of them, his parents as well as hers. Although the night was just starting, Max was already feeling the stress of it.
He framed his hands around her face and swept in for a quick kiss. Then Liz reached up to smooth back his hair and in doing so, she ran her thumb over the creases in his forehead, flattening them. “Nothing’s wrong now that you’re here.”
She smiled gently at him and their lips met again. There was no time to linger in the kiss though because no sooner had their lips met were they interrupted.
“Max! Is that Liz?” Diane shouted louder than necessary from the kitchen.
Liz bit back a laugh when she saw what she recognized now as complete frustration on Max’s face.
“Yes, Mom!” he called back, and for a moment it was quiet, so he turned back to face Liz head on.
Max’s whispered “sorry,” warmed her face and her smile faded when he gently caressed her cheek with the back of his hand before turning over his hand and leaned in, hoping to make this kiss last. He had even less luck this time because as he was angling in, Nancy called out, “Liz, did you find the card?”
She didn’t leave his arms yet, and instead she snuggled even closer. When met with silence, Nancy clarified, “the recipe card? Was it on the backseat?”
Liz rested her head on Max’s chest, and she called out, “No, Mom it wasn’t there. It was under your seat.”
Both Nancy and Diane seemed satisfied with that response. Max looked down at Liz to see her smiling at him. “What?”
At the door, he had seemed so relieved to see her. Liz slid her hands up his chest then pressed her hands against him. “Everything was okay while I was gone, right?”
Max frowned. “Yeah, it was fine.”
Liz grinned, and she lowered her hands. Max jumped not even a second later when he felt her hands on his butt and he looked down at her playful face. “Liz,” he groaned, and kissing her soundly, he murmured. “You’re driving me crazy.”
He paused for a second and added, “They’re driving me crazy,” while glancing at the kitchen.
“Hey,” Liz reached for his hand, and she squeezed it gently. “We’ll get through this, I promise.” Then she clasped his hand and gently guided him back to the kitchen. “Come on.”
Liz glanced at him once more with a look that made him certain that maybe he could get through this.
* * * * *
The table had every inch of it covered with plates for the main course, and at the center of it was the blueberry cheesecake, topped with three inches of cream and a strawberry.
Mrs. Parker reached forward, passed the bowl with the potatoes to Max, and gave him a smile. But other than that quick interaction, so far dinner had been just about enjoying good food and good company. So far, Max couldn’t help but be happy because his expectations were falling flat. Maybe this wouldn’t be so bad after all, he thought, as he reached for his glass of water and brought the rim to his mouth.
Max and Liz were on opposite sides of the round table, and both of their parents were on either side of them. Jeff Parker was just opposite of Max, but from where he was, he had a clear view of Max and he didn’t particularly like what he was seeing. He watched Max lower his eyes, and Jeff quickly glanced at Liz and saw that she was blushing and smiling shyly.
Jeff cleared his throat, getting the attention of everyone at the table inadvertently when he had only wanted Max’s attention. Max swallowed a gulp of his water and shakily put down his class. He couldn’t explain what it was but Jeff Parker made him extremely uneasy.
“So, what’s the plan for the drive up?”
“Well, we’re just going to take the Northeast route up. It should only be about four days,” Max said. He glanced at Liz and she shook her head as subtly as she could.
“I mean three days,” Max said, clearing his throat.
“I really wish you two would take a plane ride up,” Diane said, voicing a concern she had been mulling over the past few weeks. She stood and started to take up the plates and Nancy stood too to help her. “Anything could happen on a road trip.”
The two women walked over to the kitchen together. There was a cutaway in the wall, allowing the conversation carry on as Nancy pointed out, “They drove down here for the summer, and that went okay.” Turning to Liz and Max with a worried look on her face, she checked with them, “It was okay, right?” Both of them nodded quickly and simultaneously with choruses of “yeah,” “nice,” and “great.”
Diane had an amused expression on her face as she glanced at the overly bright faces of her son and his girlfriend. Philip wasn’t paying as much attention to the conversation as he could have been; he was already eyeing the pie, figuring the time to dig in was overdue. However her Dad persisted. Jeff saw this dinner as the perfect opportunity to get to know Max. He still didn’t trust him, and he was perhaps the most apprehensive about them making this trip back to school together, and more importantly, alone.
“I don’t know,” Jeff dragged. “It’s a long way to go; I think a plane ride would be much better.”
Jeff noticed Philip motioning to the knife he had in front of him, and Jeff handed it to him. Then without preamble, Philip sliced into the pie.
Max glanced at Liz and when he saw how much she didn’t want to go on her face, he winced; he could just tell that Jeff Parker had his mind set on them not driving across country together.
Diane and Nancy rejoined the table a minute later and Nancy covered Jeff’s hand with hers. “They’ll be fine,” she said, and she gave him a look.
All eyes were on Jeff for a moment before he cleared his throat. “Okay, just as long as you two check in when you get there on Wednesday.”
“Of course,” Max said, and Liz chimed in, “I’ll call you myself,” before smiling at her Dad gratefully.
* * * * *
He had only one box left to take down to the car, yet somehow Max found himself delaying bringing it down. He wasn’t taking as much stuff as he had taken his first year. Experience had taught him that he didn’t need half of the stuff he’d ended up bringing last year, and because of that packing for the upcoming year had been less stressful. He bounced the roll of tape on his knee, letting it slide from side to side. There was something harder about leaving this summer, something that made him all the more reluctant. On the other hand there was a part of him that was excited and eager for this coming year, and what it would mean for him and her.
Of all of his conflicting feelings though, one stood out, one that had been bothering him all summer. He had really wanted to tell Isabel and Michael. This was the first time any of them had even been in a relationship. Accepting that they were different was something they’d been struggling with from childhood, but both Isabel and Michael would think that trying to be normal too wasn’t an option. They’d probably think that he had to choose.
Max closed his eyes tiredly. The thing was he didn’t want to choose. Why did he have to choose, why couldn’t he have both? Max had discovered something about himself last year. He realized that what he wanted to be happy, and this summer he became happy. Liz made him happy. She made him happy just as much as he made her happy. He never thought he’d be one to fall in love, and when it’d happened, it blew him away. He loved and cared about her so much. There was something even greater though that he’d learned this year. The greatest thing to have happened to him was to be loved in return.
Max unrolled a long piece of tape and stretched it over the box from one end to the other, before bring it down to the car.
His parents were waiting for him by his car outside. His father helped him put in the last box. He asked, “Is there enough space in there for Liz’s boxes?”
Max glanced down at the arrangement, and he nodded. “Yeah, and if there isn’t, I’ve also cleared out the backseat of the Jeep. We should be okay.”
“Alright,” Diane said. She hugged him and kissed him quickly on his cheek. “I hope you have a good trip, and call us once you’re up there.”
“I will,” he promised for what felt like the tenth time that morning alone. She heard the frustration in his voice and she smiled at him for a moment. “I will,” Max repeated, this time more sincerely earning an even bigger smile from both his mother and father.
Ten minutes later Max pulled up to the Crashdown and honked once. He glanced at the side view mirror and saw Liz coming out of the Crashdown with her mother and grandmother in tow. Her long brown hair cascaded down over her shoulders, but the ends were swinging freely and he watched with a smile as she tried in vain to tuck the loose strands behind her ears. Her mother suddenly stepped back from the trio to open the door of the Crashdown for Jeff as he came out with what Max thought was the last of the boxes.
Max got out and headed for Liz. Her grandmother was hugging her tightly and telling her something quietly. But, over her shoulder, Liz had a clear view of Max and she let go as soon as she could, seeking out the warm embrace of Max’s arms.
“Hi,” he whispered into her hair.
“Hey, you,” she said, and once she’d hugged him as innocently as she could, she pulled back. Max gave her a quick peck on the lips, and she admired that he wasn’t embarrassed that her parents were watching. She was seeing firsthand how scary her father could be around any guy that she wanted to give her heart to. Max glanced at her boxes. “Is that everything?”
She nodded. Everyone loaded the boxes into the Jeep, and then Max opened up Liz’s door for her. For their second year of college, they were taking his Jeep; Liz had wanted to sell her old Toyota, and she took her father to the second hand dealer for negotiation. Jeff made a good offer to the dealer, and it was more than enough money for her to spend later on in the year.
Max pulled out of the parking lot with Liz sitting beside him. As they neared the first mile marker, they both eyed their first sign that said ‘You are now leaving “blank”’ and the words, ‘You are now leaving Roswell,’ made them both look at each other and smile. They were leaving Roswell together. Life could be anything and it was all theirs now.
Chapter 26
Max drove, one hand listlessly on the wheel, and once she reached over and clasped his hand over the gearshift while his other was much more secure, his fingers laced with hers. Liz looked out the window at the scenery, appreciating the landscape they drove by. Her attention to the landscape outside of the car made her unaware of Max’s open appreciation of what was inside of the car; she wasn’t conscious of how often Max would turn his attention away from the road ahead of them to look at her. The traffic was light—most of the people that were taking the interstate had started to diverge off the highway in search of arrangements for the night.
Nights during the summer seemed to latch on to the best daytime qualities until the last possible moment. The sun was starting its descent though, sinking low and disappearing behind the v the hills before them made. As the sun moved away, the hills became as dark as the night that was coming on, but still, Max kept driving. He wasn’t all too worried about night settling in just yet; the way the light fell over all of her features at this time of day captivated him. So his attention was split two ways now. It was a straight drive, and the speed he was driving at allowed him to look over at her. She bunched her hair up into her fists about an hour ago and made a quick ponytail. Now Max could see wisps of her hair escaping and dancing in the light breeze. Under the soft twilight, her dark brown hair took on a lighter, auburn tone.
The returning trip was going by quicker than either Max or Liz would have liked. From the route that they were taking, there were still two days left on their road trip. Their parents expected the trip to take three days, and if they had followed every direction the map gave and taken every appropriate detour, it would have. But they opted for something else instead, finding ways to stretch out the trip and letting their instincts guide where they went. They took many detours into small towns that were accessible from the highway exits mentioned only in passing on the map, ones they were meant to pass. Once there they would stop at little dives to eat, take plenty of pictures at the memorials and landmarks that were each town’s shining crown, and choose motels and inns deep inside of the towns to spend their nights. As a result, every moment on the way back was leisurely, instead of hurried, as they were spending the time together because they wanted to and neither wanted it to go by too quickly.
It was so different from where and how they had been at the beginning of the summer when neither Liz nor Max could count the other as any more than a friend. That trip had been more planned out; whenever they had stopped, it had only been to look at the map and decide where they were going next. But there had been something extraordinary about their friendship. Liz had known things that Max had kept secret from everyone else. True Michael and Isabel were in on the secret too, but that was purely from circumstance; they were a part of it. He had always been afraid to let people in ever since he was young, knowing instinctively that being different was something bad and that what he could do could be seen as scary, and when what he could do was misunderstood, it could be seen as dangerous.
And that’s why he had dreaded telling her, knowing that things between them would change once she knew. Sometimes when he got past imagining how he would tell her, he would dream about what it would be like being around her in the days after she knew the truth. But he was so uncertain that his dreams would waver between fantasy, nightmares, and something of course, in between.
Then once he had told her, their relationship was replaced by a friendship that was even more tentative than the beginning of their relationship for both Max and Liz had more reservations about trusting the other person with their heart. Liz had wondered if things would ever be the same between them again, and she’d long for things to go back to the way they once were. Then there were days when she was relieved that she did know, and that Max didn’t have to hide any part of himself from her.
It wasn’t everyday that Max used his powers. He had almost trained himself not to use them often as a measure of caution because you could never be sure just who was watching and if that person would feel threatened. And the first time he’d done something in front of her after she found out had been a day that they’d been studying together as usual, but outside on one of the lawns halfway between their dorms. It’d been an early afternoon, and while most of the other students had classes, he did express enough caution though to look up to see if anyone was around, and it had been all clear.
One glance at Liz confirmed that her nose was deeply buried in her textbook. Max wanted to rewrite a good portion of his paper that he’d used a ballpoint pen on, but he had a sudden thought: he could just take it away instead. So he put his outstretched palm over the paper and slowly moved it down the page. Liz glanced up in mid thought, and the light she saw under his hand held her attention. Then, as he slowly moved his hand down, the words began to disappear. She had stared for a second too long, enough for him to look up and see her staring at what he’d done.
Her eyes met his after a second, and there was a moment of complete silence. He looked away first, the mixture of embarrassment and uncertainty at being seen making his cheeks burn. Then she’d murmured, “Can you do that again?” and she inched closer to him, the foot of space they always left between them disappearing, too. And when he did it again for her, she breathed, “Amazing.” All of this and all of what Liz had said and done since she found out made him feel more okay with who he was. Her gentle acceptance taught Max that you didn’t have to hide everything from someone you cared about, that you could let them in.
And because of all of this, their returning trip to school had a much lighter feel. Max’s heart was lighter. The silences and tension from the beginning of the summer were far behind them.
This next part of their relationship was so natural then, and if the love he felt in his heart for her everyday weren’t enough of an indicator, he could be even surer of their love by the way she would look back at him. It was as if she was seeing all of him and loving everything she found.
Liz suddenly stilled and turned to meet Max’s heated stare, as if she had felt him. She grinned. “What?” She lowered her eyes. “Were you watching me?”
“No…of course not.” Max made it a sudden point of interest of his to look back out at the road very seriously.
“Well, I hope I’m not distracting or anything.” She cleared her throat softly, and raised her eyebrows playfully when Max glanced at her. He insisted that she wasn’t though, so Liz thought it was time for part two. She grasped her chair and moved so that she was sitting on her left ankle and her other foot was still on the floor of the jeep; this position was about to come in handy in a few minutes. Then she undid her jeans jacket, and peeled it off one arm at a time. This feeling of knowing when Max Evans was watching her had only been building since their first kiss, and now she could even be far from him and know he was thinking of and seeing her. And right now, this made her feel bolder. She knew that even though he was facing the open road that he was watching her out of the corner of his eye because she could feel it. It was unexplainable really, but she also thought it was incredible that she was so aware of him, and he, obviously of her.
She slid her hand out of his, and rested it on his thigh, and she watched as he darted his eyes quickly to her hands then back to the road again. Liz pushed her hair back behind her ears with her other hand, and then she placed her other hand on the edge of his chair, and slowly moved her hands up.
“Liz…” Max muttered. “You can’t…we can’t get started right now.”
“What?” she asked innocently just as the hand she’d had on his thigh brushed over his groin.
Max’s breathing sounded labored and though he was trying very hard to keep a straight face, when she unbuckled her seatbelt and shifted again so that she was sitting on her knees, he got a whiff of her hair and he closed his eyes for a second…a second too long. He snapped out of it quickly, and blinked to regain his focus. “Liz, we’re almost…”
“We’re not there yet,” she whispered in his ear. “How can we be when we don’t know where there is?” she added teasingly before she covered his ear with her mouth. When she let go her mouth made a satisfying pop from the suction, she kissed his jaw softly once, her lips lingering there too. She pulled back, to see if he was going to resist, but he seemed incapable of even forming the words right then. The sky had darkened quickly and the sun was sliding down behind the hills, but Max didn’t want to pull over when they could find somewhere to stay instead.
But it took all of his strength to unwrap her hands. She rolled her eyes good-naturedly and sat back in her seat again, but every once in a while, when she’d decide to steal a glance at him, he’d choose that moment too and he’d give her a knowing smile. Because he knew she wanted more. Because he couldn’t wait until they were alone. Because this was turning out to be the best four days his life. And he was also smiling because she was the best thing that had ever happened to him.
* * * * *
They passed by two motels before they finally stopped, deciding on a third because it looked the most friendly and didn’t have a huge neon sign on the outside, which Liz claimed was a sure sign that they “expected something to happen there.”
Max grinned. “It’s probably just to attract people’s attention when it’s dark,” he said, trying to give those places the benefit of the doubt. However as they drove by, they realized that the places looked dark and not very inviting for the night. At one motel, motorcycles were gathered in the lot in a tight ring, and well, neither Max nor Liz were in the mood for either going to sleep to or waking up to that.
But the third place was quieter, a small distance from the highway, but not too far—certainly enough for them to explore more of the town in the morning, but for tonight, they were eager to get inside.
He pulled the jeep into a spot near the entrance, and he took the key out while Liz flicked off the radio. Then Liz took off her seatbelt and sat up. She started to stand and Max, seeing her intention, stood so that he could go alongside the jeep and hold her hand to help her climb into the backseat.
She bent at her waist and half kneeled and stood so that she was hovering over the luggage in the back. First, she pulled out the canvas bag, and started to pull things from her boxes and bags to add to it. They’d gotten into the routine of whenever they stayed overnight somewhere, they would pack a bag together and in the morning they’d take out what they used the night before and just replace it with other clothes the following evening, that way the bag was never empty. Once she thought she was finished packing what she needed, she scooted over to the other side where Max was getting his things ready. Max was tall enough that he could stand outside of the jeep and grab what he needed, while she was petite and doing that would have put her in the awkward position of reaching for what was just out of her reach. As soon as she was by him, she widened the bag enough for him to put in his things too.
Then Max took the bag out, placed it on the floor and extended both of his hands to Liz. She grasped his hands so he could help her out, and once she was grounded again, she slipped one arm loosely around his waist and they headed inside of the inn together.
The bell rang once they opened the door and the receptionist was just replacing the phone and she looked up. Liz noticed how her pen was poised in the air carelessly, and Liz looked up at Max uncertainly. He spied a pay phone in the back, and he squeezed her hand. “I’m going to try Isabel again,” he said meaningfully, and Liz nodded.
Apparently the day after they left, Isabel had finally called home and left a number. His Mom passed the number on to them, and when Max replaced the receiver in the room they had for the night, he sat on the bed quietly, and Liz came over to him and sat with him for a while.
He asked her something she knew she could neither answer nor truly respond to, as it was up to him.
“I should call her right?” and she only held his hand tighter. But he didn’t work up the courage until an hour later, and by then, the phone had rung endlessly before Max hung up. And he called again, sometimes two or three times a day, hoping to get an answer, but instead the phone always rang and no one ever picked up. Still she realized that he needed to try.
Max went over to the pay phone then and Liz went over to the front desk. The receptionist was a lot younger than she expected any owner of the place to be, and Liz asked pointedly, “Are you the owner?” and the receptionist behind the desk, whose nameplate said Caroline, explained that she wasn’t; her uncle owned the place. And that was warning number one. Then she slipped in that she turned nineteen next month and was taking a year off to learn about business from home, something else Liz didn’t care to know, but yet the girl told her, and her voice carried until it even reached Max, from where he was a few feet away. Liz turned over her shoulder to see if he had noticed. But even though the receptionist didn’t know what he was doing, she knew from the way he was frowning that he wasn’t getting through.
Liz turned back to the receptionist and smiled tightly. “We need a room for two, please.” Her second warning was the way that she looked at them. It was Liz who was standing at the desk, waiting to make arrangements, yet the receptionist looked past her as if she was invisible. She was tactless enough to look pointedly at Max first. She took in Max, giving him a long once over, her eyes traveling down first then back up again. A once over would never do Max justice, Liz thought angrily.
“Name and proof of id, please,” she asked, not even bothering to look at Liz.
Liz slid her driver’s license across the table face down, making her turn it over. The tapping of the keyboard filled about less than a minute, and she kept her eyes locked on the screen. “And…your friend?” the receptionist said, curiously.
Liz was about to correct her when Max came over and pushed his license across the counter towards her, too, facing up. His face was creased with worry, and behind the counter, Liz held his hand.
The receptionist noticed that no one had corrected her. She bit her lip and placed the tip of her pen down on the register, and in her hasty scrawl began making the rest of the arrangements. “We’ve got two on the second floor; one, has even got a terrific view of the sunrise, in the morning,” she added flirtatiously, with a grin at Max.
“Sounds great,” Max said distractedly, and he was already reaching inside of his wallet for his credit card.
As if the sun could come up at any other time; Liz rolled her eyes not too discreetly. She bit her lip and glared at the other girl, willing her to make eye contact, but she was watching Max. Finally, after a second too long, she looked at Liz and her appraisal of the worn but comfortable t-shirt Liz was wearing was evident in her eyes. Then she noticed Liz’s disheveled ponytail and the shiny lip-gloss she was wearing, and made even more assumptions. “Oh no,” she said insincerely, mock horror filling her voice and she looked down at the register much too quickly to even read anything. “206 which is across from your room,” she explained, smiling at Max, “is taken, but 209, right down the hall from it is available.”
Liz glared at her angrily, now, but before she could say anything, Max slipped his hand around her waist, drawing her body closer to him. Then he kissed the side of her forehead, and murmured, “What do you think baby? Do we need two rooms? Are you tired of me yet?”
And Liz had never felt more grateful in her life. She smiled up at him. “No, and I could never be.” Liz pressed her lips against his.
Then Max turned towards the receptionist impatiently, eager to get out of there now. “That room you were telling us about with the sun would be really nice. We’ll take it,” Max said.
Liz bit her lip to keep from laughing when she saw the frozen expression on her face. “Okay…one room it is,” she said haltingly and she slid the room key to 205 across the counter towards them.
“She was flirting with you,” Liz murmured once they were inside of their room. She buried her face in his neck while Max hugged her close.
“Really?” Max was frowning when she looked up, and she rolled her eyes.
“She wanted to eat you for dinner,” earning her a laugh from Max from deep down where his chest hummed against her body.
Max slid his arms up from around her waist to the small of her back then to her shoulders before he cupped her face. Then he leaned down and covered her lips with his, and he began his assault by gently kissing and nipping her bottom lip. Liz reciprocated the kiss, and wrapped her arms around as much of him as she could reach. His kisses always left her weak and dizzy, and she was faintly aware that she was no longer on the ground when her flip-flops made a soft plop on the ground and he held her close to his body.
He moved them to the bed and sat down, with her still locked around him. Then his fingers crept up her back more deliberately, and each touch tickled her, but she settled on just smiling. He knew. Of course, he knew. Max sunk his fingers into her hair and when they were lost inside of the knot of her ponytail, she realized that he was starting to undo it.
She remembered the first time he tried to undo her ponytail, how it had befuddled him for so long that she’d spent the time wondering what he was trying to do. He always paused when he reached her hair, uncertain how to make what he wanted to happen real. And when she asked him, he admitted, shamefaced, that he couldn’t undo it. So she had taken his hands in hers and they undid it together. Obviously, he’d been practicing since then because her hair fell like a soft curtain quickly on her shoulders.
She pushed his chest, and made him lie down, so that she was straddling his hips.
“You’re so beautiful.” He reached and pulled her down so he could kiss her again.
“You better stop, Max, otherwise I’m going to start believing you,” she panted when he started to kiss under her chin.
His jaw moved against her face and she knew instantly that he was smiling. “You should because it’s true.”
Then he touched the bottom of her shirt. “Now, I’m going to undress you,” and he rolled her over so she could be pinned under him so suddenly she lost her breath for a second. And when he covered her mouth with his, she found it again. The thing is, she wouldn’t have it any other way. There was nowhere else she’d rather be.
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Dreamerlaure
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Re: The Prettiest Thing (M/L, Teen/Mat.) CH 25-28 11/13
Chapter 27
The following morning, a thought came to Liz so forcefully she didn’t know how she hadn’t been aware of it before. It started long before she even opened her eyes. The very first thought that flitted through her mind was how happy she felt, and by the time she gazed at his sleeping face, awareness swelled in her chest to tenfold what it was before and she became incredibly, mind-numbingly happy.
The motel room’s curtains were pulled together in a way that allowed the sun to push light into their room through the gap. The curtains had probably been like that since Max and Liz stepped into the room, but accommodations had been further than sleep in their minds as they tumbled onto the bed in a tangle of legs and arms and anything else but each other had completely faded away. Liz slept closest to the window so the light danced across her body, starting by her crossed ankles and finally settling on her back and shoulders.
The soft warmth of the light was what woke her, but it wasn’t nearly as soft as the way he molded his palm around her waist. She recognized it was his right hand when unconsciously he shifted his thumb against her skin. The sensation made that small patch of skin tingle.
I’m definitely not dreaming, she thought wryly with a smile when she opened her eyes and her gaze locked on Max’s rising chest. It was the first time they’d ever spent the night together in its entirety. Waking up so near to him and in his arms was nothing short of wonderful. She may have been happy before but now she was so happy she thought she would burst.
They didn’t have the option of staying together like this at either of their childhood homes over the summer. She could only count a handful of times her parents had gone out of town during the summer. Most of their trips had only lasted from the morning of one day to that same night. Every year they spent two weekends in Albuquerque and she’d been eagerly anticipating it happening again this year. They went to attend a small-town business convention towards the beginning of the summer, and they went to consult the Crashdown’s finances with their lawyer towards the end of it.
This year though they combined the trips and only left town once. Liz would have been eager to tempt Max to come to her room, but her Grandma Claudia was staying with them and was her unofficial chaperone while her parents were away. While Claudia was liberal with Liz’s curfew, adhering to her own sleep schedule and going to bed hours before Liz was supposed to come home, Liz valued the trust her grandmother had in her. Max did too, but he kissed her goodnight so thoroughly that night that her knees were shaking when his arm slackened around her waist. Even under the dim porch light, as she struggled to piece together a sentence, she could see the amusement dancing in his eyes.
Max’s parents only went away once to celebrate their wedding anniversary. Both instances that the Parkers and Evans were out of town had not coincided. Liz hadn’t ruled out the possibility that the Evans’ anniversary had come up during a phone call and that her Mom had made sure they hadn’t left town while they were away also. Both Max and Liz had requested time off from work when his parents left so they could spend most of the night together, but her Mom had pushed her curfew up a little bit, limiting their night to a date that had to end all too quickly.
So waking up beside Max like this made Liz’s heart race. It was a new first for them, one that was easily becoming her favorite. Already the delicious way his calf was plastered against hers was seared into her memory. Liz studied him carefully, and as she did, she quickly fell in love with the way he slept on his side, his lips slightly parted, one hand tucked under her pillow, the other holding her close. It made something inside of her melt as she saw him like this; he was absolutely incredible, he loved her, and he was with her! Liz couldn’t help the way her smile exploded in that second for it was completely understandable. She’d honestly never been happier.
And suddenly, she couldn’t wait for him to wake up. She was only sliding her gaze down from his chin to his chest again when she was distracted by how most of her hair fanned out on the sheets between them. Liz came up with a fun, teasing way to wake up Max that was guaranteed to work.
Liz twirled a few locks of her hair around her fingers, and glanced up at him again. She smiled when she felt his soft breaths dancing across her face, knowing that it’d be her constant in what she was about to do next. Emboldened by her certainty that he was still sleeping, Liz inched her elbow closer and guided the ends of her hair towards his face. She swept her hair from one side of his nose to the other, and gently brushed the pad of her pinky on the same path. Max tensed his nose his sleep, but continued to sleep. It wasn’t enough to pull him out of his dreams and back to her, but she’d only been trying to elicit a reaction; it was time to be bolder.
She lifted her hair higher and swept it down the bridge of his nose, and no sooner had the final wispiest strands of her hair slid off the side of his nose did Max scrunch his entire nose. She didn’t think it was possible for noses to squirm but it seemed as if Max’s had, and she had to bite her lip to keep from laughing.
When she tickled his ears with her hair he shivered. When she swept her hair across his forehead, his entire face transformed and he snuggled his cheek deeper into his pillow. She was about to continue her torture when his grip on her waist tightened and before she knew it, he’d hauled her closer so there was barely a breath between their bodies. She brought her eyes back to his face, questioning if he was asleep or not, but his features were still relaxed and his eyes were closed.
Liz relaxed in his embrace for a second before she realized he was breathing differently. She looked down at his chest and watched it rise and fall unsteadily, and she mischievously looked back up at him, just in time to see his eyelashes fluttering closed. He was faking it, and not doing a great job at it either. Liz licked her lips as a wicked way to tease him came to mind. She brought the ends of her hair up to his mouth and painstakingly slowly, with the lightest touch she could control, tickled his lips with the ends of her hair. Then she let her hair tumble free from her fingertips in a whisper down the slope of his cheek. With her smallest finger, she followed the same path here too, and as she reached the stubble on his chin the corners of his mouth quirked.
She was so focused on watching his mouth that she gasped when the hand he held her waist with tensed. Without hesitation, she looked up to find his warm amber brown eyes studying her intently. “Good morning,” she said as she playfully tapped his chin with her pinky. Max’s eyes crinkled as he grinned. “Morning,” he said back. He slid his free hand out from under her pillow, cupped her chin, and angled down to meet her lips for the sweetest of kisses.
Max licked his lips when she moved against his mouth and pressed several soft lingering kisses that she ended just as they got heated. Whenever his mouth softened she halted that kiss and gave him another. “Come on,” Max mumbled good naturedly just as she pulled back for what felt like the hundredth time. Liz’s laugh started deep from inside of her chest and she did it one more time, and said, “What are you asking for?”
He stilled her face with both of his hands, instantly making the teasing glint in her eyes disappear. “I’m looking for something like this,” he said intensely as he crushed his mouth against hers. The kiss made her dizzy and only when he pulled back could she see the world wasn’t spinning after all. Max smiled down at her flushed face, and brought his lips back down to hers. His, “Or this,” was lost when Liz opened her mouth to inhale, and he slipped his tongue in and licked the inside of her mouth. Max had only just closed his eyes when he had several quick flashes of a few of the other times they’d kissed, and it only made him want to kiss her even more.
When he slid one of his thighs between hers and pulled her flush against him so they really were chest-to-chest, her answering moan was lost in his mouth. He slid his tongue over and around hers until her hands were limp around his shoulders. Then Max tantalizingly kissed the side of her mouth, and pulled back. He looked up at her gorgeous shining face and gave her a lopsided grin. His warm breath tickled her face when he said, “Promise you’ll wake me up like that every single day.”
She sighed as she pressed her lips to his chest and rested her face against his skin. “I’ll see what I can do,” she sad gamely and his answering chuckle made his chest buzz underneath her skin. As Max slid his gaze away from hers, he noticed a freckle on her shoulder he’d never really noticed before. Leaning in, on impulse, he pressed his lips to his latest discovery and if possible, she snuggled into his embrace even more.
“Time?” she mumbled against his skin.
Max turned and gave the clock on the nightstand a once-over before groaning, “Almost ten.” No sooner had Max kissed the top of her head that Liz started to shake her head from side to side and pout at him.
“Already?” Liz looked radiant and flushed as she turned her saddest eyes on him. He couldn’t decide what was cuter – the way her hair was tousled in every which direction or the way her eyebrows were creased together in denial.
Max put one of his hands in her hair and pushed some of it behind her ear. “I think I saw a diner on our way over here.”
He wrapped his arms around her tighter and leaned in for a kiss. “We could have pancakes,” he continued. He gave her more kisses in between each suggestion. “Or eggs, or waffles…”
“That sounds so good,” Liz murmured against his mouth when their lips met again. Her eyes lit up suddenly as she blurted, “And home fries.”
Max smiled and he nodded seriously. “That’s implied. We can’t go to a diner without having those.”
Liz laughed heartily. Home fries were a Max Evans’ Sunday morning staple. As far back as she could remember, he’d been ordering them. He used to come in with his sister and Michael on Sundays during high school, and they were always sitting in her section, and he was always ordering home fries.
“Sometimes,” she said quietly, “I feel like I’ve known you my entire life.” It may have scared her before, but it only humbled her now.
Liz fought her instinct to look away, because for the smallest second, she thought he’d be put off by what she said, but what thudded in her heart was so much louder than the doubts in her head. What lay in between her heartbeats was something she knew with every fiber of her being and every inch of her soul – Max loved her and nothing else mattered. So she found that looking him in the eye during this moment was easy because she trusted him with her entire heart.
Max looked into her shining brown eyes and felt warm all over. His heart was no longer thudding triple time. Instead it was at a steady pace that matched hers perfectly. “I feel like that, too. I love you so much,” he kissed the tip of her nose, and a fierce blush spread across her cheeks. “Sometimes, I feel like I’ve known you longer.” Max wiggled his eyebrows suggestively, and Liz bit her lip.
She frowned and gave him her most serious glare. “Max Evans, if you ever bring up your not-of-this-earth status to win something as serious as how much you love me ever again, I’ll….ahh!” she squealed as Max rolled her over and pinned her into the mattress.
“I’ll always get to play that card,” he scolded, a mischievous glint in his eyes challenging her. “It’s mine to play.”
Max sealed his laugh against her skin when he buried his face in her neck and made her laugh and shake uncontrollably. God, would Liz Parker ever stop surprising him?
* * * * *
Max heard his phone ring just as he was snapping the top button of his jeans in place and Liz turned off her blow dryer. He slung his damp towel over his shoulder and fished it out of his backpack. Glancing at the screen, he realized that the sooner he answered the less anxious his caller would be. He walked in front of the bathroom door, and Liz flashed him a wide generous smile. Max mouthed that it was his Mom, and she gently closed the door because she was heading into a second round with her dryer.
Max sat down on the edge of the bed and flipped his phone open. Cradling it between his ear and his neck, he gave an upbeat, “Hi, Mom.”
“Hi, honey,” Diane said cheerfully. “Your Dad had to go into the office today, but he said that he’ll call you later.”
Max could tell from his Mom’s hurried confession that she’d either agreed to wait until Philip came home so they could make the call together or agreed to wait to call after 12. Max suddenly glanced at the clock and saw that it was almost five past noon, later than he’d realized. He had to admit it was impressive that she’d been able to resist calling him right at 12.
“How was the drive up there? You didn’t have any trouble, right? Where are you now?” Diane expelled anxiously in one breath. Her tone was light, but Max could hear the concern laced all around her words.
“It was good. There wasn’t too much traffic, and we made good time last night.” Max scooted up the bed and stretched out. He glanced at the map on the nightstand beside him. “We’re still in Texas,” he said.
“Oh that’s not bad at all,” she said. “Did you find a motel easily?” Max crossed his ankles and put one of his hands behind his head. As he did so, he noticed with wide-eyes that his tee shirt was draped over the lampshade. Max couldn’t remember how it’d gotten there, but he sat up and yanked it off. He’d been just about to put on a fresh one.
“Max?” his Mom said suddenly, and he heard a loud scratching noise through the speakers. Diane was tapping the speaker on her phone with her fingernails, wondering anxiously if the call had been dropped.
“Hmmm. Yeah…we found a motel about a mile away from the freeway, so it’ll be an easy drive back later.”
“Later?” she asked questioningly. “Aren’t you on the road - Oh, don’t tell me you’ve just woken up…” Diane admonished. She didn’t like when Max and Isabel slept late into the morning and afternoon because then most of the day had been lost.
Max scratched his eyebrow, and grinned sheepishly. He was grateful his mom couldn’t see his every facial expression for she wouldn’t be able to keep up to where his thoughts were. He was thinking about exactly what had kept them from getting back on the road earlier. He was back in the thick of what’d happened as he fisted the bedspread and had a quick intense flash. He closed his eyes as he slipped back in the moment when Liz slid her hands down his neck, splayed them across his back, and held him to her chest while he tugged hard, pulling her cool skin into his mouth…
“No, no, we haven’t just woken up,” he said indignantly, the words tumbling out of his mouth.
Liz stepped into the room just then looking absolutely radiant. He didn’t know what she’d done with her hair but he wanted to bury his face in the soft curls she’d spun. The skirt she was wearing skimmed the middle of her thighs, inches above her knees, but Max had enough imagination that he didn’t need to see anymore. Her simple white tank top hugged her chest and the fabric flared out by her hips. She raised one eyebrow at him when his eyes finally rose to meet hers, and she flicked her gaze between his face and the phone in his hands. Max suddenly grimaced as he realized how that might have sounded.
“I-I-I mean, I’ve been up for a while, but Liz has been up longer. She’s probably wasted much less of the day than I have. She just came in to visit me actually. Do you want to say hello?” Liz shook her head as she watched Max’s cheeks color, but she didn’t hide the smile that was on her face.
“Oh, Max that’s fine. You can tell her hello for me,” Diane said.
Max nodded furiously, in spite of the fact that she was unable to see him. “Okay, I will…I’ll tell her you said hello.” Liz let out a sigh as she climbed between his crossed legs and rested her chin on his chest. Max re-crossed one of his legs around hers and threaded his free hand through the hair around her face.
“Have you eaten yet?” Diane clucked, slipping back into concerned parent mode.
“Nope, not yet. This is the first time I’m seeing Liz all morning,” Max said, going along with his cover.
Liz groaned. She mouthed, “Clothed,” and whispered, “This is the first time you’re seeing me cl—“ Max clapped his hand around her mouth before she could finish, but he couldn’t be upset with her if he tried. Instead he placed on of his hands on the back of her arm and skated his fingers back and forth across her skin.
“Hmmm,” Diane said in a detached tone. “It’s too bad these motels don’t offer food. Does yours?”
“They do,” Max said, deliberately brightening his voice. He waited a beat. “They’ve got two large shiny boxes that light up in the dark. You slide a dollar in and watch while your bag of chips gets stuck.”
Liz snorted softly from where she was, and placed her ear against Max’s chest. She closed her eyes when he placed his warm hand on her head.
“Max have you learned nothing from when you were eleven years old and ate that huge bag of salt and vineg—”
“I remember,” Max cut her off suddenly, with the hope Liz hadn’t heard but he felt her chest quaking against his as she giggled. She raked her fingers across his stomach. “So that’s why you don’t have a stomach of steel,” she murmured against his skin.
Max took his hand away from her head suddenly but then laced her fingers with his. “We’ve just got to find somewhere to eat because they don’t serve breakfast here,” he said noncommittally. “We did that on our first trip and we ended up finding some cool off-the-map places to eat.”
“Oh, I’m sure you will find something nearby,” she said off-handedly. She wasn’t too concerned about that for there was always something to eat when you were traveling, but sometimes it was harder finding somewhere to rest your head.
“How much did the room cost?” she asked innocently, but Max caught on.
“It was eighty for each,” he said slowly, and Liz poked his side with her free hand. Moments later, goodbyes were exchanged, along with the promise that his father would be calling later.
He was relieved when he heard silence on the other end. He leaned forward and kissed the top of her head, and as he nudged her chin up to angle in for a kiss, the insistent ring of Liz’s cell phone sounded from the other side of the room. Her phone was ringing from the backpack she’d put into one of the hotel provided chairs the night before. Max stopped sifting his fingers through her hair and chuckled when she groaned. Burying her face into his chest, she muttered, “Do you think they timed this?” and Max knew perfectly well who the only person the second caller could be.
“You give them too little credit. I bet they’re both in the same room.”
Liz clapped her hands over her mouth but her giggle slipped through her fingers anyway. “That’s a possibility,” she said.
Max squeezed her arm and nudged her elbow with his hips and she responded easily, rolling out of his arms and onto the bed. She groaned again when he said, “Let’s not keep her waiting,” as he stood and strode across the room. He sifted through her bag quickly finding her phone before it could ring three times and then he walked back to her and put it in her hands.
Liz opened it resentfully and chewed out, “Hello,” as cheerfully as she could. Max bent to kiss her forehead. “That’s my girl,” he whispered with a cheeky smile and Liz couldn’t resist playfully swatting him as he turned towards the bathroom.
“I didn’t realize a surly daughter was on the menu today?” Nancy said as soon as she heard Liz’s voice. “Why’d you take so long to answer?” She wondered aloud.
Liz bit her lip and apologized, explaining her phone had been on the other side of the room. By the time she was finished, her Mom had let it go and was ready to move on. “What time did you get off the road last night?”
“I think around nine,” Liz said easily. It hadn’t been too much longer after the sun had set and when they’d pulled over, they’d decided silently that it was time to find somewhere for the night. She knew how easily her Mom worried about trips like this. Her first time driving across country to school at the beginning of freshman year, her Mom had expressed concern about being on the road and driving through unfamiliar towns at night, calling her almost four or five times a day.
“That’s good time,” Nancy said, and Liz caught the relieved tone in her voice. “I hope finding somewhere to stay for the night wasn’t too hard.”
“Nope, not at all. We found a motel about half a mile off the highway route. It wasn’t crowded at all and it was really easy to book.”
Nancy carefully ventured, “Easy to book one room?”
Liz cringed and bleated her Mom’s name helplessly. “Mom…please don’t…”
Max was brushing his teeth in the bathroom and humming a song he played for her on the radio yesterday, so at least the upcoming embarrassment she was about to receive on the phone wouldn’t be shared just yet.
“Did you?” Nancy asked more tentatively as she picked up that Liz hadn’t truly answered her question.
“Yeah,” Liz admitted quietly.
She expected the third degree at some point before the road trip but maybe her parents had avoided mentioning it because it hadn’t even entered their minds. She was pretty much the perfect child in their eyes, she thought ruefully. But apparently it’d been on her Mom’s mind.
“Mom?” Liz said gently. She had a hundred questions she wanted to ask, that she was testing on the tip of her tongue. Are you disappointed in me? Are you upset?
“Liz, you know I trust you and that I love you. I just want you to be careful, hon,” Nancy said honestly. She paused and drew in a breath that Liz heard as she curled her fingers around the cell phone even tighter and sank back into the mattress. “I know you’re in love and I know he’s the love of your life, but…the last thing I’d ever want is to see you hurt. And that’s what can happen sometimes when you love someone as much as, well, you love him…”
Liz let out the breath she didn’t realize she’d been holding because she’d just heard just what she needed to hear. “Mom, thank you. You’re right, I love him a lot, and this has felt right like nothing in my life has before. And....we’re being careful,” Liz added because she knew her Mom had been asking more than if she was being careful with her heart.
“You’re still in Texas, right?” Nancy asked after a long pause.
“Yeah, we should be out of it in a few hours. I think it’s my turn to drive.”
“Okay,” Nancy said. She paused again and said, “Call me when you reach.”
“When I reach?” Liz asked wrinkling her eyebrows as she did.
“When you reach school. I trust you’re in good hands,” she said, and Liz bit back a smile. She knew this wasn’t easy for her Mom.
“I’ll call you tomorrow. I love you, Mom.”
“I love you, too… And I meant what I said about trusting you,” she added.
“I know you did. It was nice to hear it,” Liz couldn’t help but laugh a little bit and she heard her Mom on the other end doing the same thing, too.
Liz murmured goodbye a few seconds later and when she’d closed her phone into her fist, she felt Max’s phone vibrating under her back. She yanked it out with every intention of teasing Max that it was his Mom calling again. She had the perfect words on the tip of her tongue that would make him squirm, but what she didn’t count on was gasping as she read the name on the flashing screen.
“Max!” she croaked. He was washing his hands and the gushing faucet managed to cover her small voice. Realizing he couldn’t hear her, she bounced off the bed and stepped into the bathroom. He was rinsing with mouthwash when she was before him. “Max!” she said excitedly, and that made him spit it out and whisk his forearm across his mouth. She held out the phone to him screen up and his eyes lit up with happiness and a tiny bit of confusion. His palm closed over her other hand as he answered. “Is?”
A glimmer of Isabel’s confident personality shined through as she said, “Hi, Max! How’s it going?”
Max barely felt Liz’s gentle pull as she guided him to sit back on the bed. He answered easily, “I’m okay. You?”
“Good. I’m good,” Isabel said quickly. “Everything’s fine.”
“Are you still in Florida?” Max hedged uncertainly.
“Yeah. I’m actually flying back to California next week.”
“Oh, okay.” It was a few seconds before either of them could say anything; on one end, Isabel was biting her lip, and on the other end, Max was looking at Liz, shrugging his shoulders helplessly. Finally, Liz bounced her leg into his and Max sighed. “Isabel, what happened?”
“What happened this summer, Is?” he repeated seriously.
“Max…it’s complicated. It’s like really complicated.”
“Isabel, when has it ever been too complicated for me to understand? You can tell me anything.”
The bare honesty in her brother’s voice weakened her resolve, and Isabel realized how painful her lack of contact had been for him. The funny thing was all she’d been trying to do was protect her brother and keep her promise to Michael. The last thing she’d wanted was to hurt him. She’d only wanted to protect him.
“Michael wanted to look for some clues to our...past,” she sighed, “He found our writing – “
“Our writing?” Max parroted back.
“Our writing from home,” she offered. “He found it out in a cave on one of the Indian reservations.”
Max relaxed his fists. “It’s not like he can even read it though.”
Isabel was about to spill everything when the apartment door opened and two people stepped inside. She visibly bristled and her skin prickled like it was on fire. It turned out she hadn’t had as much time as she thought she would. She leveled her gaze with Michael and swallowed. “Nope, he couldn’t. It was just another dead end. He brought the book out here to Florida with us and he was trying to translate it, but it didn’t work.” She didn’t miss the way Michael’s eyes darkened with anger.
“Oh. Gosh, I’m sorry, Is. I know how great it would have been to finally have some answers.”
“Yeah, it would have been.” The tears in Isabel’s eyes were real. She wished she could tell him everything. She wished that she never made this promise, and that she’d never agreed to this at all. It was causing her more grief than anything else. “It would have been really nice,” she agreed gamely. “Hey, Max, I’ve got to go.”
“Okay, I’ll let you go, but can we talk about this some more later?”
Isabel hesitated. There were four eyes on her, and she had no doubt that they could hear everything. She shrugged her shoulders casually and looked the person beside Michael directly in his eyes. “There’s nothing else to discuss, Max. That’s pretty much everything that happened this summer,” and for extra measure, Isabel let out a nervous chuckle.
Max closed his eyes tiredly. “Okay, call me when you get back to school.”
“I will,” she promised, and before Max could even form any other words, she had lowered the phone back into its cradle.
“Did you tell him anything else?” Michael hissed as soon as she put down the phone.
“No,” Isabel shook her head emphatically. “I didn’t tell my brother, Max, anything,” she smarted, emphasizing his name strongly.
“God, why did you call him?”
“I had to! He was getting suspicious! Do you know how awful it would look if I spent the entire summer in Florida without ever calling my brother?”
“I didn’t call him,” Michael bit back angrily. “I follow orders.”
Isabel bit the inside of her lip. She knew what was coming.
Michael stepped closer and scoffed, “I keep promises.”
“That’s enough.”
Isabel struggled to look past Michael’s sad accusing brown eyes into the blue eyes of the man behind him. It didn’t take much for her to know exactly who he was. It didn’t matter who he’d shape-shifted into, and it didn’t matter whose identity he had stolen. He could have chosen the kindest and most gentle soul and taken their body, yet still his eyes would be hollow and dead. She met his gaze coolly. “He knows nothing.”
“That’s how it should be…for now,” he sneered.
Michael frowned at Isabel before he turned around, and asked, “What are we going to do?”
“Nothing…everything’s going to continue as planned. Isabel’s going back to California and you’re going to New York.”
Isabel swallowed hard as she forced the words out at the same time as Michael, “Yes, Nasedo.”
* * * * *
Max swallowed hard when he heard the firm click of Isabel’s hang-up. Liz glanced surreptitiously at Max to see him looking straight ahead dazed. Liz squeezed his hand, and that shook Max. “Sorry,” he blinked twice. “She said that Michael wanted to look for some clues to our…past, and who we really are, down in Florida.”
Liz nodded. “Oh, okay. That makes sense.” She stood and began folding up some of his shirts. “Why’d they have to keep it a secret from you?” she wondered aloud.
He smiled, “Michael’s always been headstrong, and one to keep secrets. If he found something, I’m only surprised he didn’t pursue it sooner.”
Once she’d folded away the last of their clothes, she walked back to the bed and stood between Max’s legs. She cupped his chin in her hands and forced his gaze up to hers. “So everything’s okay?”
Max smiled at her and this time the smile reached his eyes. “Yeah, of course.”
He folded his arms around her waist and pressed his face into her chest. Liz rested the top of her head on his and whispered, “Then everything’s going to be okay,” hoping that her words would soothe him. It did to some extent. For one thing he was finally able to close his eyes when he leaned into her embrace. But Max couldn’t let go of the niggling feeling that something was wrong.
The following morning, a thought came to Liz so forcefully she didn’t know how she hadn’t been aware of it before. It started long before she even opened her eyes. The very first thought that flitted through her mind was how happy she felt, and by the time she gazed at his sleeping face, awareness swelled in her chest to tenfold what it was before and she became incredibly, mind-numbingly happy.
The motel room’s curtains were pulled together in a way that allowed the sun to push light into their room through the gap. The curtains had probably been like that since Max and Liz stepped into the room, but accommodations had been further than sleep in their minds as they tumbled onto the bed in a tangle of legs and arms and anything else but each other had completely faded away. Liz slept closest to the window so the light danced across her body, starting by her crossed ankles and finally settling on her back and shoulders.
The soft warmth of the light was what woke her, but it wasn’t nearly as soft as the way he molded his palm around her waist. She recognized it was his right hand when unconsciously he shifted his thumb against her skin. The sensation made that small patch of skin tingle.
I’m definitely not dreaming, she thought wryly with a smile when she opened her eyes and her gaze locked on Max’s rising chest. It was the first time they’d ever spent the night together in its entirety. Waking up so near to him and in his arms was nothing short of wonderful. She may have been happy before but now she was so happy she thought she would burst.
They didn’t have the option of staying together like this at either of their childhood homes over the summer. She could only count a handful of times her parents had gone out of town during the summer. Most of their trips had only lasted from the morning of one day to that same night. Every year they spent two weekends in Albuquerque and she’d been eagerly anticipating it happening again this year. They went to attend a small-town business convention towards the beginning of the summer, and they went to consult the Crashdown’s finances with their lawyer towards the end of it.
This year though they combined the trips and only left town once. Liz would have been eager to tempt Max to come to her room, but her Grandma Claudia was staying with them and was her unofficial chaperone while her parents were away. While Claudia was liberal with Liz’s curfew, adhering to her own sleep schedule and going to bed hours before Liz was supposed to come home, Liz valued the trust her grandmother had in her. Max did too, but he kissed her goodnight so thoroughly that night that her knees were shaking when his arm slackened around her waist. Even under the dim porch light, as she struggled to piece together a sentence, she could see the amusement dancing in his eyes.
Max’s parents only went away once to celebrate their wedding anniversary. Both instances that the Parkers and Evans were out of town had not coincided. Liz hadn’t ruled out the possibility that the Evans’ anniversary had come up during a phone call and that her Mom had made sure they hadn’t left town while they were away also. Both Max and Liz had requested time off from work when his parents left so they could spend most of the night together, but her Mom had pushed her curfew up a little bit, limiting their night to a date that had to end all too quickly.
So waking up beside Max like this made Liz’s heart race. It was a new first for them, one that was easily becoming her favorite. Already the delicious way his calf was plastered against hers was seared into her memory. Liz studied him carefully, and as she did, she quickly fell in love with the way he slept on his side, his lips slightly parted, one hand tucked under her pillow, the other holding her close. It made something inside of her melt as she saw him like this; he was absolutely incredible, he loved her, and he was with her! Liz couldn’t help the way her smile exploded in that second for it was completely understandable. She’d honestly never been happier.
And suddenly, she couldn’t wait for him to wake up. She was only sliding her gaze down from his chin to his chest again when she was distracted by how most of her hair fanned out on the sheets between them. Liz came up with a fun, teasing way to wake up Max that was guaranteed to work.
Liz twirled a few locks of her hair around her fingers, and glanced up at him again. She smiled when she felt his soft breaths dancing across her face, knowing that it’d be her constant in what she was about to do next. Emboldened by her certainty that he was still sleeping, Liz inched her elbow closer and guided the ends of her hair towards his face. She swept her hair from one side of his nose to the other, and gently brushed the pad of her pinky on the same path. Max tensed his nose his sleep, but continued to sleep. It wasn’t enough to pull him out of his dreams and back to her, but she’d only been trying to elicit a reaction; it was time to be bolder.
She lifted her hair higher and swept it down the bridge of his nose, and no sooner had the final wispiest strands of her hair slid off the side of his nose did Max scrunch his entire nose. She didn’t think it was possible for noses to squirm but it seemed as if Max’s had, and she had to bite her lip to keep from laughing.
When she tickled his ears with her hair he shivered. When she swept her hair across his forehead, his entire face transformed and he snuggled his cheek deeper into his pillow. She was about to continue her torture when his grip on her waist tightened and before she knew it, he’d hauled her closer so there was barely a breath between their bodies. She brought her eyes back to his face, questioning if he was asleep or not, but his features were still relaxed and his eyes were closed.
Liz relaxed in his embrace for a second before she realized he was breathing differently. She looked down at his chest and watched it rise and fall unsteadily, and she mischievously looked back up at him, just in time to see his eyelashes fluttering closed. He was faking it, and not doing a great job at it either. Liz licked her lips as a wicked way to tease him came to mind. She brought the ends of her hair up to his mouth and painstakingly slowly, with the lightest touch she could control, tickled his lips with the ends of her hair. Then she let her hair tumble free from her fingertips in a whisper down the slope of his cheek. With her smallest finger, she followed the same path here too, and as she reached the stubble on his chin the corners of his mouth quirked.
She was so focused on watching his mouth that she gasped when the hand he held her waist with tensed. Without hesitation, she looked up to find his warm amber brown eyes studying her intently. “Good morning,” she said as she playfully tapped his chin with her pinky. Max’s eyes crinkled as he grinned. “Morning,” he said back. He slid his free hand out from under her pillow, cupped her chin, and angled down to meet her lips for the sweetest of kisses.
Max licked his lips when she moved against his mouth and pressed several soft lingering kisses that she ended just as they got heated. Whenever his mouth softened she halted that kiss and gave him another. “Come on,” Max mumbled good naturedly just as she pulled back for what felt like the hundredth time. Liz’s laugh started deep from inside of her chest and she did it one more time, and said, “What are you asking for?”
He stilled her face with both of his hands, instantly making the teasing glint in her eyes disappear. “I’m looking for something like this,” he said intensely as he crushed his mouth against hers. The kiss made her dizzy and only when he pulled back could she see the world wasn’t spinning after all. Max smiled down at her flushed face, and brought his lips back down to hers. His, “Or this,” was lost when Liz opened her mouth to inhale, and he slipped his tongue in and licked the inside of her mouth. Max had only just closed his eyes when he had several quick flashes of a few of the other times they’d kissed, and it only made him want to kiss her even more.
When he slid one of his thighs between hers and pulled her flush against him so they really were chest-to-chest, her answering moan was lost in his mouth. He slid his tongue over and around hers until her hands were limp around his shoulders. Then Max tantalizingly kissed the side of her mouth, and pulled back. He looked up at her gorgeous shining face and gave her a lopsided grin. His warm breath tickled her face when he said, “Promise you’ll wake me up like that every single day.”
She sighed as she pressed her lips to his chest and rested her face against his skin. “I’ll see what I can do,” she sad gamely and his answering chuckle made his chest buzz underneath her skin. As Max slid his gaze away from hers, he noticed a freckle on her shoulder he’d never really noticed before. Leaning in, on impulse, he pressed his lips to his latest discovery and if possible, she snuggled into his embrace even more.
“Time?” she mumbled against his skin.
Max turned and gave the clock on the nightstand a once-over before groaning, “Almost ten.” No sooner had Max kissed the top of her head that Liz started to shake her head from side to side and pout at him.
“Already?” Liz looked radiant and flushed as she turned her saddest eyes on him. He couldn’t decide what was cuter – the way her hair was tousled in every which direction or the way her eyebrows were creased together in denial.
Max put one of his hands in her hair and pushed some of it behind her ear. “I think I saw a diner on our way over here.”
He wrapped his arms around her tighter and leaned in for a kiss. “We could have pancakes,” he continued. He gave her more kisses in between each suggestion. “Or eggs, or waffles…”
“That sounds so good,” Liz murmured against his mouth when their lips met again. Her eyes lit up suddenly as she blurted, “And home fries.”
Max smiled and he nodded seriously. “That’s implied. We can’t go to a diner without having those.”
Liz laughed heartily. Home fries were a Max Evans’ Sunday morning staple. As far back as she could remember, he’d been ordering them. He used to come in with his sister and Michael on Sundays during high school, and they were always sitting in her section, and he was always ordering home fries.
“Sometimes,” she said quietly, “I feel like I’ve known you my entire life.” It may have scared her before, but it only humbled her now.
Liz fought her instinct to look away, because for the smallest second, she thought he’d be put off by what she said, but what thudded in her heart was so much louder than the doubts in her head. What lay in between her heartbeats was something she knew with every fiber of her being and every inch of her soul – Max loved her and nothing else mattered. So she found that looking him in the eye during this moment was easy because she trusted him with her entire heart.
Max looked into her shining brown eyes and felt warm all over. His heart was no longer thudding triple time. Instead it was at a steady pace that matched hers perfectly. “I feel like that, too. I love you so much,” he kissed the tip of her nose, and a fierce blush spread across her cheeks. “Sometimes, I feel like I’ve known you longer.” Max wiggled his eyebrows suggestively, and Liz bit her lip.
She frowned and gave him her most serious glare. “Max Evans, if you ever bring up your not-of-this-earth status to win something as serious as how much you love me ever again, I’ll….ahh!” she squealed as Max rolled her over and pinned her into the mattress.
“I’ll always get to play that card,” he scolded, a mischievous glint in his eyes challenging her. “It’s mine to play.”
Max sealed his laugh against her skin when he buried his face in her neck and made her laugh and shake uncontrollably. God, would Liz Parker ever stop surprising him?
* * * * *
Max heard his phone ring just as he was snapping the top button of his jeans in place and Liz turned off her blow dryer. He slung his damp towel over his shoulder and fished it out of his backpack. Glancing at the screen, he realized that the sooner he answered the less anxious his caller would be. He walked in front of the bathroom door, and Liz flashed him a wide generous smile. Max mouthed that it was his Mom, and she gently closed the door because she was heading into a second round with her dryer.
Max sat down on the edge of the bed and flipped his phone open. Cradling it between his ear and his neck, he gave an upbeat, “Hi, Mom.”
“Hi, honey,” Diane said cheerfully. “Your Dad had to go into the office today, but he said that he’ll call you later.”
Max could tell from his Mom’s hurried confession that she’d either agreed to wait until Philip came home so they could make the call together or agreed to wait to call after 12. Max suddenly glanced at the clock and saw that it was almost five past noon, later than he’d realized. He had to admit it was impressive that she’d been able to resist calling him right at 12.
“How was the drive up there? You didn’t have any trouble, right? Where are you now?” Diane expelled anxiously in one breath. Her tone was light, but Max could hear the concern laced all around her words.
“It was good. There wasn’t too much traffic, and we made good time last night.” Max scooted up the bed and stretched out. He glanced at the map on the nightstand beside him. “We’re still in Texas,” he said.
“Oh that’s not bad at all,” she said. “Did you find a motel easily?” Max crossed his ankles and put one of his hands behind his head. As he did so, he noticed with wide-eyes that his tee shirt was draped over the lampshade. Max couldn’t remember how it’d gotten there, but he sat up and yanked it off. He’d been just about to put on a fresh one.
“Max?” his Mom said suddenly, and he heard a loud scratching noise through the speakers. Diane was tapping the speaker on her phone with her fingernails, wondering anxiously if the call had been dropped.
“Hmmm. Yeah…we found a motel about a mile away from the freeway, so it’ll be an easy drive back later.”
“Later?” she asked questioningly. “Aren’t you on the road - Oh, don’t tell me you’ve just woken up…” Diane admonished. She didn’t like when Max and Isabel slept late into the morning and afternoon because then most of the day had been lost.
Max scratched his eyebrow, and grinned sheepishly. He was grateful his mom couldn’t see his every facial expression for she wouldn’t be able to keep up to where his thoughts were. He was thinking about exactly what had kept them from getting back on the road earlier. He was back in the thick of what’d happened as he fisted the bedspread and had a quick intense flash. He closed his eyes as he slipped back in the moment when Liz slid her hands down his neck, splayed them across his back, and held him to her chest while he tugged hard, pulling her cool skin into his mouth…
“No, no, we haven’t just woken up,” he said indignantly, the words tumbling out of his mouth.
Liz stepped into the room just then looking absolutely radiant. He didn’t know what she’d done with her hair but he wanted to bury his face in the soft curls she’d spun. The skirt she was wearing skimmed the middle of her thighs, inches above her knees, but Max had enough imagination that he didn’t need to see anymore. Her simple white tank top hugged her chest and the fabric flared out by her hips. She raised one eyebrow at him when his eyes finally rose to meet hers, and she flicked her gaze between his face and the phone in his hands. Max suddenly grimaced as he realized how that might have sounded.
“I-I-I mean, I’ve been up for a while, but Liz has been up longer. She’s probably wasted much less of the day than I have. She just came in to visit me actually. Do you want to say hello?” Liz shook her head as she watched Max’s cheeks color, but she didn’t hide the smile that was on her face.
“Oh, Max that’s fine. You can tell her hello for me,” Diane said.
Max nodded furiously, in spite of the fact that she was unable to see him. “Okay, I will…I’ll tell her you said hello.” Liz let out a sigh as she climbed between his crossed legs and rested her chin on his chest. Max re-crossed one of his legs around hers and threaded his free hand through the hair around her face.
“Have you eaten yet?” Diane clucked, slipping back into concerned parent mode.
“Nope, not yet. This is the first time I’m seeing Liz all morning,” Max said, going along with his cover.
Liz groaned. She mouthed, “Clothed,” and whispered, “This is the first time you’re seeing me cl—“ Max clapped his hand around her mouth before she could finish, but he couldn’t be upset with her if he tried. Instead he placed on of his hands on the back of her arm and skated his fingers back and forth across her skin.
“Hmmm,” Diane said in a detached tone. “It’s too bad these motels don’t offer food. Does yours?”
“They do,” Max said, deliberately brightening his voice. He waited a beat. “They’ve got two large shiny boxes that light up in the dark. You slide a dollar in and watch while your bag of chips gets stuck.”
Liz snorted softly from where she was, and placed her ear against Max’s chest. She closed her eyes when he placed his warm hand on her head.
“Max have you learned nothing from when you were eleven years old and ate that huge bag of salt and vineg—”
“I remember,” Max cut her off suddenly, with the hope Liz hadn’t heard but he felt her chest quaking against his as she giggled. She raked her fingers across his stomach. “So that’s why you don’t have a stomach of steel,” she murmured against his skin.
Max took his hand away from her head suddenly but then laced her fingers with his. “We’ve just got to find somewhere to eat because they don’t serve breakfast here,” he said noncommittally. “We did that on our first trip and we ended up finding some cool off-the-map places to eat.”
“Oh, I’m sure you will find something nearby,” she said off-handedly. She wasn’t too concerned about that for there was always something to eat when you were traveling, but sometimes it was harder finding somewhere to rest your head.
“How much did the room cost?” she asked innocently, but Max caught on.
“It was eighty for each,” he said slowly, and Liz poked his side with her free hand. Moments later, goodbyes were exchanged, along with the promise that his father would be calling later.
He was relieved when he heard silence on the other end. He leaned forward and kissed the top of her head, and as he nudged her chin up to angle in for a kiss, the insistent ring of Liz’s cell phone sounded from the other side of the room. Her phone was ringing from the backpack she’d put into one of the hotel provided chairs the night before. Max stopped sifting his fingers through her hair and chuckled when she groaned. Burying her face into his chest, she muttered, “Do you think they timed this?” and Max knew perfectly well who the only person the second caller could be.
“You give them too little credit. I bet they’re both in the same room.”
Liz clapped her hands over her mouth but her giggle slipped through her fingers anyway. “That’s a possibility,” she said.
Max squeezed her arm and nudged her elbow with his hips and she responded easily, rolling out of his arms and onto the bed. She groaned again when he said, “Let’s not keep her waiting,” as he stood and strode across the room. He sifted through her bag quickly finding her phone before it could ring three times and then he walked back to her and put it in her hands.
Liz opened it resentfully and chewed out, “Hello,” as cheerfully as she could. Max bent to kiss her forehead. “That’s my girl,” he whispered with a cheeky smile and Liz couldn’t resist playfully swatting him as he turned towards the bathroom.
“I didn’t realize a surly daughter was on the menu today?” Nancy said as soon as she heard Liz’s voice. “Why’d you take so long to answer?” She wondered aloud.
Liz bit her lip and apologized, explaining her phone had been on the other side of the room. By the time she was finished, her Mom had let it go and was ready to move on. “What time did you get off the road last night?”
“I think around nine,” Liz said easily. It hadn’t been too much longer after the sun had set and when they’d pulled over, they’d decided silently that it was time to find somewhere for the night. She knew how easily her Mom worried about trips like this. Her first time driving across country to school at the beginning of freshman year, her Mom had expressed concern about being on the road and driving through unfamiliar towns at night, calling her almost four or five times a day.
“That’s good time,” Nancy said, and Liz caught the relieved tone in her voice. “I hope finding somewhere to stay for the night wasn’t too hard.”
“Nope, not at all. We found a motel about half a mile off the highway route. It wasn’t crowded at all and it was really easy to book.”
Nancy carefully ventured, “Easy to book one room?”
Liz cringed and bleated her Mom’s name helplessly. “Mom…please don’t…”
Max was brushing his teeth in the bathroom and humming a song he played for her on the radio yesterday, so at least the upcoming embarrassment she was about to receive on the phone wouldn’t be shared just yet.
“Did you?” Nancy asked more tentatively as she picked up that Liz hadn’t truly answered her question.
“Yeah,” Liz admitted quietly.
She expected the third degree at some point before the road trip but maybe her parents had avoided mentioning it because it hadn’t even entered their minds. She was pretty much the perfect child in their eyes, she thought ruefully. But apparently it’d been on her Mom’s mind.
“Mom?” Liz said gently. She had a hundred questions she wanted to ask, that she was testing on the tip of her tongue. Are you disappointed in me? Are you upset?
“Liz, you know I trust you and that I love you. I just want you to be careful, hon,” Nancy said honestly. She paused and drew in a breath that Liz heard as she curled her fingers around the cell phone even tighter and sank back into the mattress. “I know you’re in love and I know he’s the love of your life, but…the last thing I’d ever want is to see you hurt. And that’s what can happen sometimes when you love someone as much as, well, you love him…”
Liz let out the breath she didn’t realize she’d been holding because she’d just heard just what she needed to hear. “Mom, thank you. You’re right, I love him a lot, and this has felt right like nothing in my life has before. And....we’re being careful,” Liz added because she knew her Mom had been asking more than if she was being careful with her heart.
“You’re still in Texas, right?” Nancy asked after a long pause.
“Yeah, we should be out of it in a few hours. I think it’s my turn to drive.”
“Okay,” Nancy said. She paused again and said, “Call me when you reach.”
“When I reach?” Liz asked wrinkling her eyebrows as she did.
“When you reach school. I trust you’re in good hands,” she said, and Liz bit back a smile. She knew this wasn’t easy for her Mom.
“I’ll call you tomorrow. I love you, Mom.”
“I love you, too… And I meant what I said about trusting you,” she added.
“I know you did. It was nice to hear it,” Liz couldn’t help but laugh a little bit and she heard her Mom on the other end doing the same thing, too.
Liz murmured goodbye a few seconds later and when she’d closed her phone into her fist, she felt Max’s phone vibrating under her back. She yanked it out with every intention of teasing Max that it was his Mom calling again. She had the perfect words on the tip of her tongue that would make him squirm, but what she didn’t count on was gasping as she read the name on the flashing screen.
“Max!” she croaked. He was washing his hands and the gushing faucet managed to cover her small voice. Realizing he couldn’t hear her, she bounced off the bed and stepped into the bathroom. He was rinsing with mouthwash when she was before him. “Max!” she said excitedly, and that made him spit it out and whisk his forearm across his mouth. She held out the phone to him screen up and his eyes lit up with happiness and a tiny bit of confusion. His palm closed over her other hand as he answered. “Is?”
A glimmer of Isabel’s confident personality shined through as she said, “Hi, Max! How’s it going?”
Max barely felt Liz’s gentle pull as she guided him to sit back on the bed. He answered easily, “I’m okay. You?”
“Good. I’m good,” Isabel said quickly. “Everything’s fine.”
“Are you still in Florida?” Max hedged uncertainly.
“Yeah. I’m actually flying back to California next week.”
“Oh, okay.” It was a few seconds before either of them could say anything; on one end, Isabel was biting her lip, and on the other end, Max was looking at Liz, shrugging his shoulders helplessly. Finally, Liz bounced her leg into his and Max sighed. “Isabel, what happened?”
“What happened this summer, Is?” he repeated seriously.
“Max…it’s complicated. It’s like really complicated.”
“Isabel, when has it ever been too complicated for me to understand? You can tell me anything.”
The bare honesty in her brother’s voice weakened her resolve, and Isabel realized how painful her lack of contact had been for him. The funny thing was all she’d been trying to do was protect her brother and keep her promise to Michael. The last thing she’d wanted was to hurt him. She’d only wanted to protect him.
“Michael wanted to look for some clues to our...past,” she sighed, “He found our writing – “
“Our writing?” Max parroted back.
“Our writing from home,” she offered. “He found it out in a cave on one of the Indian reservations.”
Max relaxed his fists. “It’s not like he can even read it though.”
Isabel was about to spill everything when the apartment door opened and two people stepped inside. She visibly bristled and her skin prickled like it was on fire. It turned out she hadn’t had as much time as she thought she would. She leveled her gaze with Michael and swallowed. “Nope, he couldn’t. It was just another dead end. He brought the book out here to Florida with us and he was trying to translate it, but it didn’t work.” She didn’t miss the way Michael’s eyes darkened with anger.
“Oh. Gosh, I’m sorry, Is. I know how great it would have been to finally have some answers.”
“Yeah, it would have been.” The tears in Isabel’s eyes were real. She wished she could tell him everything. She wished that she never made this promise, and that she’d never agreed to this at all. It was causing her more grief than anything else. “It would have been really nice,” she agreed gamely. “Hey, Max, I’ve got to go.”
“Okay, I’ll let you go, but can we talk about this some more later?”
Isabel hesitated. There were four eyes on her, and she had no doubt that they could hear everything. She shrugged her shoulders casually and looked the person beside Michael directly in his eyes. “There’s nothing else to discuss, Max. That’s pretty much everything that happened this summer,” and for extra measure, Isabel let out a nervous chuckle.
Max closed his eyes tiredly. “Okay, call me when you get back to school.”
“I will,” she promised, and before Max could even form any other words, she had lowered the phone back into its cradle.
“Did you tell him anything else?” Michael hissed as soon as she put down the phone.
“No,” Isabel shook her head emphatically. “I didn’t tell my brother, Max, anything,” she smarted, emphasizing his name strongly.
“God, why did you call him?”
“I had to! He was getting suspicious! Do you know how awful it would look if I spent the entire summer in Florida without ever calling my brother?”
“I didn’t call him,” Michael bit back angrily. “I follow orders.”
Isabel bit the inside of her lip. She knew what was coming.
Michael stepped closer and scoffed, “I keep promises.”
“That’s enough.”
Isabel struggled to look past Michael’s sad accusing brown eyes into the blue eyes of the man behind him. It didn’t take much for her to know exactly who he was. It didn’t matter who he’d shape-shifted into, and it didn’t matter whose identity he had stolen. He could have chosen the kindest and most gentle soul and taken their body, yet still his eyes would be hollow and dead. She met his gaze coolly. “He knows nothing.”
“That’s how it should be…for now,” he sneered.
Michael frowned at Isabel before he turned around, and asked, “What are we going to do?”
“Nothing…everything’s going to continue as planned. Isabel’s going back to California and you’re going to New York.”
Isabel swallowed hard as she forced the words out at the same time as Michael, “Yes, Nasedo.”
* * * * *
Max swallowed hard when he heard the firm click of Isabel’s hang-up. Liz glanced surreptitiously at Max to see him looking straight ahead dazed. Liz squeezed his hand, and that shook Max. “Sorry,” he blinked twice. “She said that Michael wanted to look for some clues to our…past, and who we really are, down in Florida.”
Liz nodded. “Oh, okay. That makes sense.” She stood and began folding up some of his shirts. “Why’d they have to keep it a secret from you?” she wondered aloud.
He smiled, “Michael’s always been headstrong, and one to keep secrets. If he found something, I’m only surprised he didn’t pursue it sooner.”
Once she’d folded away the last of their clothes, she walked back to the bed and stood between Max’s legs. She cupped his chin in her hands and forced his gaze up to hers. “So everything’s okay?”
Max smiled at her and this time the smile reached his eyes. “Yeah, of course.”
He folded his arms around her waist and pressed his face into her chest. Liz rested the top of her head on his and whispered, “Then everything’s going to be okay,” hoping that her words would soothe him. It did to some extent. For one thing he was finally able to close his eyes when he leaned into her embrace. But Max couldn’t let go of the niggling feeling that something was wrong.
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Dreamerlaure
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Re: The Prettiest Thing (M/L, Teen/Mat.) CH 25-28 11/13
Chapter 28
As soon as one of Liz’s favorite songs faded out on the radio, Max glanced over at his adorable girlfriend expecting to see her looking out the window with a smile on her face, her head tilted towards the radio. He liked to call that kind of pose her “listening to the radio and liking what I hear.” He’d seen it so much in the past few days that he would never forget it.
He wasn’t entirely surprised though to see that she wasn’t doing that at all. Two hours ago when they checked out of the motel and left the last town of their road trip, she pulled out this book and ever since Max hadn’t heard anything but a few appreciative hums and longing sighs from her lips. This burning desire to read this book started the day before when they stopped at a used bookstore and Liz found the biography of one of her favorite biologists, and ever since she placed her hands on the book, she couldn’t stop beaming.
“Oh my God,” Liz squealed as she tugged him down the aisle. On her way she glided past four other shoppers in the store while he, on the other hand, had to apologize when he brushed past them in his haste to keep up with her. She yanked him close to her side when she stopped in front of the table of biographies. When she finally let go of his hand and reached forward reverently for the book in front of her, she sucked in a huge audible gulp of air as she curled her fingertips around the book.
“Do you know what this is?” she implored as she suddenly turned around to face him. She seemed perfectly oblivious to the fact that Max was still trying to shake off the iron grip she had on his hand just a few seconds ago.
“This man,” she said as she tapped his photograph, “practically pioneered the way we look at cells on the microscopic level. He lectured at Harvard a few years ago, and he’s been one of my heroes ever since.”
She closed her eyes in silent remembrance as she hugged the book to her chest. Liz opened her eyes to find Max looking at her with a mix of amusement and teasing in his brown eyes.
“Okay…” she hesitantly admitted, “It wasn’t a few years ago. It was about twelve years ago when my Dad saved these backorders of National Geographic for when I got older and as it turned out, I used to spend hours reading them in my room after school.”
She blushed self-consciously and tucked her head as she read the inside cover. “Gosh, I must sound like a total nerd.”
Max kissed her cheek swiftly, “You don’t, and if anyone says otherwise, just tell them you’re my really hot nerd,” he joked, fully expecting to elicit a giggle from her. Instead Liz spun out of his grasp and purposefully strode toward the cashier. “I have to have this…”
The night before Max had a hard time convincing Liz to relax and watch a movie with him on the TV. When they entered the room, Liz flopped onto the bed with every intention of reading the biography from cover to cover, and her excitement for the book would have eclipsed her fatigue if Max hadn’t played his cards right. After their trip to the bookstore, they made a stop at an apple barn and spent the rest of the afternoon apple picking and had a light dinner afterwards, so it was the first time all day she’d really had to relax. Max gently closed his fingers around the arches of her feet and massaged her feet, and before long he had stretched out along the bed and molded her small frame to his body and they were watching the movie together.
That morning, however, she woke up and declared it a day for reading, and so far it looked as if she was going to stick to that plan no matter what. Max glanced over at Liz and saw that she was without a doubt nose deep in her book and he realized there was no chance he would see her listening to anything. He cleared his throat softly, and…nothing happened. When Liz didn’t even blink, he was convinced she wasn’t about to glance in his direction.
When one song on the radio ended, Max heard the DJ announce the time and he decided there was no time like the present. Besides it was almost her turn to drive, and since she didn’t want to drive, she wouldn’t have to. He slid his left hand under the steering wheel so his palm faced the engine and he concentrated hard. Less than a minute later, he heard the telltale clunking from the front of the Jeep he’d been hoping for.
It was time to up the ante. He shifted his hand so it was parallel to the engine again and concentrated even harder, and the rattling grew louder and the Jeep wobbled unsteadily. Without turning away from the road, Max saw her finally lower her book to her lap. As she turned her head, he faced her and met her concerned eyes with wide-eyed innocent confusion.
Liz squeaked, “Max, what’s going on?” when a spring creaked loudly for a few seconds and snapped.
“Max?” she asked as she pressed her palm on the seat, leaned forward, and peered at the hood of the Jeep.
“I have no clue,” Max hedged. He flicked on his turn signal and cringed as both lights switched on. Maybe he was going a little bit over the top, but as he glanced at Liz’s worried face and the tense way she was sitting forward, he dismissed that possibility. “We can’t have our only ride bailing on us now when we’ve come so far,” he muttered.
He gingerly switched lanes and brought the Jeep to a stop in front of a crowded row of cars that were parked at an acute angle to the curb.
“Hey, can you take a look under the hood and tell me what you see?”
Liz paused in her detached inspection of the front of the car through the windshield, and searched his face doubtfully. Max didn’t seem preoccupied with what she was thinking at all since she was really the last person he’d want to do that. She didn’t know enough about cars to save the day at any given time, and her old second hand car that she had last year was only so well taken care of because she always south out her Dad or a mechanic when something did go wrong. Liz was forgetting that Max knew only a little more than she did as she unbuckled her seatbelt and stepped outside.
Max asked a handful of semi-related questions that he crafted using words that he’d heard over the years whenever Michael or his Dad had discussed cars. Cars had never really been all that interesting to Max, but he had an impeccable memory that was serving him so well right now.
Liz took her time answering his questions, trying to remember which parts were where. Whenever she asked Max where something he just asked her about was, he’d answer her vaguely that it was under the large donut shaped wedge or under the pipe. She only lasted three minutes under his thorough questioning before she rolled her eyes and slammed the hood down. She came back over to the passenger side and teased, “Max, you’re not fooling me.”
He took a deep breath and thought, Stay cool. He quirked one eyebrow and waited to hear her grand conclusion.
“I think you know even less about where things are than I do.” She looked away from his face just as he realized she hadn’t figured out exactly what was going on yet. Her fingertips barely grazed the handle of the door when he exclaimed, “I saw an auto shop about two minutes back. I should bring it – I should bring the Jeep in right now.”
Liz looked at him uncertainly. “Are you sure you can make it back, Max? It might be too risky.”
“Nah, it should be fine. It’s just a few minutes away,” Max said reassuringly. She had a truly blank look on her face so he added, “You know, near the huge Home Depot, the gingerbread house, and the bakery back there.”
“Oh?” Liz said while she nodded convincingly. She had no idea what he was talking about, but he seemed convinced that the whole way here she’d been paying attention. Max had done all of the driving today so far, it was almost her turn, and she had no idea what their surroundings were. Whenever the other person was at the wheel, the person who was about to take the wheel was supposed to focus on where they were and where they were headed, and she felt that now she had let him down when Max had never ever let her down. She was so lost in her own flurry of self-pity that she only heard the tail end of what Max said, which was: “…and I’ll be back in a little while.”
Liz met his eyes and blinked several times. “You’ll be back in a little while,” she repeated slowly.
“I hope it’s just something small that needs to be straightened out and won’t take long. If it is, then I’ll come right back and we’ll try to rent a car before the car rental place down on Third closes for the night.” Max paused and glanced at Liz, and her entire face flushed as she started nodding quickly.
Max handed her pocketbook to her through the window, and gave her a brief smile as he put his hand on the gearshift. “In the meantime, why don’t you go inside?” Max suggested. “No need for the both of us to go. And I know how much you hate shoptalk,” he added before he pulled off, made a slightly jerky U-turn, and carefully sped off. He chuckled as he made a right at the end of the street and headed back to the highway. She has no idea what just hit her, he thought wryly.
Liz pushed a few stray strands of her hair behind her ear and watched semi-awestruck as Max drove the Jeep away. At the precise moment that the Jeep made a sharp right turn at the end of the road and disappeared, she finished processing what Max just said.
“Gingerbread house?” she groaned. “Who builds a gingerbread house in the middle of the summer?”
Liz grinded her teeth together when she saw the huge building behind her that shaded her from the sun. Max had conveniently deposited her in front of a mall…in the middle of nowhere. She had no clue where she was. “I’ve definitely just been had by Max Evans,” she muttered to herself, “but the question is why…”
She opened her handbag with every intention of pulling out her book and it was when she couldn’t find it that she remembered she left it on her seat.
* * * * *
Liz shifted the handles of her shopping bags to one hand and put everything onto the backseats. When she brought her eyes up, she was faced with Max studying her intently. He looked away as soon as he became aware that she saw he was watching her, and once she was in the passenger seat, he moved to kiss her cheek.
“Did they say what went wrong?” she asked while she was putting on her seatbelt.
Max cleared his throat and shrugged. “A couple of things were loose under the hood,” he said, “And they figured it was bound to happen since we’ve been driving the Jeep so hard this summer.”
Liz watched with lowered eyes as Max slipped the key into the engine and turned on the car. He was so nervous that his hands were shaking and he’d even been bouncing one of his knees since she sat down. The only thing that wasn’t betraying his nerves was his steady, practiced voice.
“Max,” she drawled. “You’re like the worst liar I’ve ever known.”
“What?” Max looked puzzled when he turned his eyes away from the road and met hers. “I’m n-n-not,” he spluttered. He swallowed and blurted, “Why would you say that? And how did you know?”
“Why would I say that,” she offered, and Max inclined his head in her direction. Liz couldn’t really resist smiling, “I think the fact that you haven’t been able to sit still since I got into the car means you’re incredibly nervous. So nervous in fact that you’re trying to remember every word you planned to say on the drive over here at the same time that you’re trying to remember what you’ve just told me,” she paused and winked at him. “And so far everything you’ve said is pretty consistent so you’re doing a really good job.”
“Actually,” Liz continued as a thought came to her. She smirked knowingly, “I don’t think I’ve seen you this nervous since the night we went to that restaurant, Catherine’s, and you told me everything.”
Max cringed and glanced back at the road. “And how I know you’re lying is a little bit harder to answer,” Liz said as she reached down for her book and fiddled with the edge of the cover.
“See it occurred to me as you left me curbside and I watched you drive off,” she murmured and rolled her eyes, “that the Jeep looked perfectly fine, and that you were driving it comfortably when less than five minutes before it could barely function five inches without everything under the hood quivering.”
She peered over at Max and studied his face. “Once I was inside the mall, I asked a around and I learned that not only is there not a car rental place within 20 miles south of here, the nearest car repair shop is over an hour away in an infamous cell phone dead zone. So there were only two possible conclusions I could accept,” she said. “Either your sense of direction in unfamiliar places is even more flawed than my own, or you were lying to me and engineered your absence for the past, oh,” she squinted at her watch and continued, “five hours.”
She stared at him for a few seconds before adding, “So tell me Max, which is it?”
“My sense of direction isn’t flawed at all,” Max began as he shook his head. “I’m curious though why you asked someone if there was a car rental place south from here…”
Liz rolled her eyes and muttered under her breath, “Because that’s the direction we came from.”
“…When we’re less than twenty minutes from Chicago and we came from the west when we passed over state lines yesterday.”
She gasped and pressed her hand over her mouth. “Really, no way!” she exclaimed. “We’re that close?”
“Yeah, we’re less than two hours from school and the end of our road trip,” Max said. He changed lanes just as Liz looked up at the sign by the exit ramp.
“Max?” she said uncertainly as he drove towards the exit.
“We probably should keep driving so we can reach school by the time it gets dark. Then we could spend all night unpacking and meet up tomorrow morning over coffee. But I kind of have something else in mind for our last night,” he said as he winked at her.
Liz gaped at him and opened and closed her mouth a few times with every intention of getting several answers from him; she finally settled on saying, “Okay.”
“Okay?” Max repeated uncertainly.
“Okay, show me what you’ve got, Evans,” she said flirtatiously as she winked at him.
He smiled back at her, relieved she wasn’t upset, and thrilled for the night that was ahead of them.
“Though, I have to know, Max. Was there actually something wrong with the car? And where exactly did you go?”
“That’s two questions,” he warned.
“I’m only allowed one? No fair,” she pouted.
“No, but with the second you’re asking for me to spoil what’s about to happen next.”
Liz tore her eyes away from his face and looked around where he was parking the Jeep. There was a huge ivory gate in front of them that was…locked.
She frowned at the imposing park entrance and turned back around half-expecting Max to have a witty retort for her doubts and skepticism. Instead he unbuckled his seatbelt and angled his body towards hers.
“Unless there’s an amazing view in there, I’d like for you to know I am so over sneaking into playgrounds.”
Max’s sweet eyes crinkled as he eyed her lips. The only thing that was preventing her from glancing down to see whether or not he was smiling was because she was not about to look at his scrumptious lips. She simply had to resist. This wasn’t the right time to swoon for his charms. He had some serious time to make up to her. So she decided to peer into his eyes, which was definitely a lot safer.
“That impulse died right after I outgrew my Velcro Polly Pocket sneakers, turned six, and realized leaving the playground wasn’t so terrible after all.”
“Oh? Did you trade up for sneakers with real shoelaces?”
She nodded, weakened for about a half a second, and looked down. Damn, his mouth looked too good. She was just going to have to kiss him. Liz scooted out of her seatbelt and subtly adjusted her body in her seat so she was two inches closer.
“I traded Superman in for Spiderman.”
Liz rolled her eyes. “I’m glad I had something in common with you even then.” She felt two of his fingers brush her temple and linger before he went on to tickle the back of her ear. Max finally looked back into her eyes and she was a little surprised by how much her heart sped up.
“We’re not going to sneak in,” he said quietly. “Or at least not technically.”
She bit back a laugh. “Which is it? It has to be one or the other.”
Max slipped his fingers into her hair and gently pulled her to him. The sweetest part of their kiss happened in the split-second before their lips met when he placed his forehead on hers and she breathed in his exhale.
She was kissing the corner of his mouth when he pulled back a little and whispered, “Just trust me, Liz.” She leaned in and fastened her mouth to his. “I already do with my whole heart, so trusting you tonight won’t be too hard,” she murmured.
As soon as one of Liz’s favorite songs faded out on the radio, Max glanced over at his adorable girlfriend expecting to see her looking out the window with a smile on her face, her head tilted towards the radio. He liked to call that kind of pose her “listening to the radio and liking what I hear.” He’d seen it so much in the past few days that he would never forget it.
He wasn’t entirely surprised though to see that she wasn’t doing that at all. Two hours ago when they checked out of the motel and left the last town of their road trip, she pulled out this book and ever since Max hadn’t heard anything but a few appreciative hums and longing sighs from her lips. This burning desire to read this book started the day before when they stopped at a used bookstore and Liz found the biography of one of her favorite biologists, and ever since she placed her hands on the book, she couldn’t stop beaming.
“Oh my God,” Liz squealed as she tugged him down the aisle. On her way she glided past four other shoppers in the store while he, on the other hand, had to apologize when he brushed past them in his haste to keep up with her. She yanked him close to her side when she stopped in front of the table of biographies. When she finally let go of his hand and reached forward reverently for the book in front of her, she sucked in a huge audible gulp of air as she curled her fingertips around the book.
“Do you know what this is?” she implored as she suddenly turned around to face him. She seemed perfectly oblivious to the fact that Max was still trying to shake off the iron grip she had on his hand just a few seconds ago.
“This man,” she said as she tapped his photograph, “practically pioneered the way we look at cells on the microscopic level. He lectured at Harvard a few years ago, and he’s been one of my heroes ever since.”
She closed her eyes in silent remembrance as she hugged the book to her chest. Liz opened her eyes to find Max looking at her with a mix of amusement and teasing in his brown eyes.
“Okay…” she hesitantly admitted, “It wasn’t a few years ago. It was about twelve years ago when my Dad saved these backorders of National Geographic for when I got older and as it turned out, I used to spend hours reading them in my room after school.”
She blushed self-consciously and tucked her head as she read the inside cover. “Gosh, I must sound like a total nerd.”
Max kissed her cheek swiftly, “You don’t, and if anyone says otherwise, just tell them you’re my really hot nerd,” he joked, fully expecting to elicit a giggle from her. Instead Liz spun out of his grasp and purposefully strode toward the cashier. “I have to have this…”
The night before Max had a hard time convincing Liz to relax and watch a movie with him on the TV. When they entered the room, Liz flopped onto the bed with every intention of reading the biography from cover to cover, and her excitement for the book would have eclipsed her fatigue if Max hadn’t played his cards right. After their trip to the bookstore, they made a stop at an apple barn and spent the rest of the afternoon apple picking and had a light dinner afterwards, so it was the first time all day she’d really had to relax. Max gently closed his fingers around the arches of her feet and massaged her feet, and before long he had stretched out along the bed and molded her small frame to his body and they were watching the movie together.
That morning, however, she woke up and declared it a day for reading, and so far it looked as if she was going to stick to that plan no matter what. Max glanced over at Liz and saw that she was without a doubt nose deep in her book and he realized there was no chance he would see her listening to anything. He cleared his throat softly, and…nothing happened. When Liz didn’t even blink, he was convinced she wasn’t about to glance in his direction.
When one song on the radio ended, Max heard the DJ announce the time and he decided there was no time like the present. Besides it was almost her turn to drive, and since she didn’t want to drive, she wouldn’t have to. He slid his left hand under the steering wheel so his palm faced the engine and he concentrated hard. Less than a minute later, he heard the telltale clunking from the front of the Jeep he’d been hoping for.
It was time to up the ante. He shifted his hand so it was parallel to the engine again and concentrated even harder, and the rattling grew louder and the Jeep wobbled unsteadily. Without turning away from the road, Max saw her finally lower her book to her lap. As she turned her head, he faced her and met her concerned eyes with wide-eyed innocent confusion.
Liz squeaked, “Max, what’s going on?” when a spring creaked loudly for a few seconds and snapped.
“Max?” she asked as she pressed her palm on the seat, leaned forward, and peered at the hood of the Jeep.
“I have no clue,” Max hedged. He flicked on his turn signal and cringed as both lights switched on. Maybe he was going a little bit over the top, but as he glanced at Liz’s worried face and the tense way she was sitting forward, he dismissed that possibility. “We can’t have our only ride bailing on us now when we’ve come so far,” he muttered.
He gingerly switched lanes and brought the Jeep to a stop in front of a crowded row of cars that were parked at an acute angle to the curb.
“Hey, can you take a look under the hood and tell me what you see?”
Liz paused in her detached inspection of the front of the car through the windshield, and searched his face doubtfully. Max didn’t seem preoccupied with what she was thinking at all since she was really the last person he’d want to do that. She didn’t know enough about cars to save the day at any given time, and her old second hand car that she had last year was only so well taken care of because she always south out her Dad or a mechanic when something did go wrong. Liz was forgetting that Max knew only a little more than she did as she unbuckled her seatbelt and stepped outside.
Max asked a handful of semi-related questions that he crafted using words that he’d heard over the years whenever Michael or his Dad had discussed cars. Cars had never really been all that interesting to Max, but he had an impeccable memory that was serving him so well right now.
Liz took her time answering his questions, trying to remember which parts were where. Whenever she asked Max where something he just asked her about was, he’d answer her vaguely that it was under the large donut shaped wedge or under the pipe. She only lasted three minutes under his thorough questioning before she rolled her eyes and slammed the hood down. She came back over to the passenger side and teased, “Max, you’re not fooling me.”
He took a deep breath and thought, Stay cool. He quirked one eyebrow and waited to hear her grand conclusion.
“I think you know even less about where things are than I do.” She looked away from his face just as he realized she hadn’t figured out exactly what was going on yet. Her fingertips barely grazed the handle of the door when he exclaimed, “I saw an auto shop about two minutes back. I should bring it – I should bring the Jeep in right now.”
Liz looked at him uncertainly. “Are you sure you can make it back, Max? It might be too risky.”
“Nah, it should be fine. It’s just a few minutes away,” Max said reassuringly. She had a truly blank look on her face so he added, “You know, near the huge Home Depot, the gingerbread house, and the bakery back there.”
“Oh?” Liz said while she nodded convincingly. She had no idea what he was talking about, but he seemed convinced that the whole way here she’d been paying attention. Max had done all of the driving today so far, it was almost her turn, and she had no idea what their surroundings were. Whenever the other person was at the wheel, the person who was about to take the wheel was supposed to focus on where they were and where they were headed, and she felt that now she had let him down when Max had never ever let her down. She was so lost in her own flurry of self-pity that she only heard the tail end of what Max said, which was: “…and I’ll be back in a little while.”
Liz met his eyes and blinked several times. “You’ll be back in a little while,” she repeated slowly.
“I hope it’s just something small that needs to be straightened out and won’t take long. If it is, then I’ll come right back and we’ll try to rent a car before the car rental place down on Third closes for the night.” Max paused and glanced at Liz, and her entire face flushed as she started nodding quickly.
Max handed her pocketbook to her through the window, and gave her a brief smile as he put his hand on the gearshift. “In the meantime, why don’t you go inside?” Max suggested. “No need for the both of us to go. And I know how much you hate shoptalk,” he added before he pulled off, made a slightly jerky U-turn, and carefully sped off. He chuckled as he made a right at the end of the street and headed back to the highway. She has no idea what just hit her, he thought wryly.
Liz pushed a few stray strands of her hair behind her ear and watched semi-awestruck as Max drove the Jeep away. At the precise moment that the Jeep made a sharp right turn at the end of the road and disappeared, she finished processing what Max just said.
“Gingerbread house?” she groaned. “Who builds a gingerbread house in the middle of the summer?”
Liz grinded her teeth together when she saw the huge building behind her that shaded her from the sun. Max had conveniently deposited her in front of a mall…in the middle of nowhere. She had no clue where she was. “I’ve definitely just been had by Max Evans,” she muttered to herself, “but the question is why…”
She opened her handbag with every intention of pulling out her book and it was when she couldn’t find it that she remembered she left it on her seat.
* * * * *
Liz shifted the handles of her shopping bags to one hand and put everything onto the backseats. When she brought her eyes up, she was faced with Max studying her intently. He looked away as soon as he became aware that she saw he was watching her, and once she was in the passenger seat, he moved to kiss her cheek.
“Did they say what went wrong?” she asked while she was putting on her seatbelt.
Max cleared his throat and shrugged. “A couple of things were loose under the hood,” he said, “And they figured it was bound to happen since we’ve been driving the Jeep so hard this summer.”
Liz watched with lowered eyes as Max slipped the key into the engine and turned on the car. He was so nervous that his hands were shaking and he’d even been bouncing one of his knees since she sat down. The only thing that wasn’t betraying his nerves was his steady, practiced voice.
“Max,” she drawled. “You’re like the worst liar I’ve ever known.”
“What?” Max looked puzzled when he turned his eyes away from the road and met hers. “I’m n-n-not,” he spluttered. He swallowed and blurted, “Why would you say that? And how did you know?”
“Why would I say that,” she offered, and Max inclined his head in her direction. Liz couldn’t really resist smiling, “I think the fact that you haven’t been able to sit still since I got into the car means you’re incredibly nervous. So nervous in fact that you’re trying to remember every word you planned to say on the drive over here at the same time that you’re trying to remember what you’ve just told me,” she paused and winked at him. “And so far everything you’ve said is pretty consistent so you’re doing a really good job.”
“Actually,” Liz continued as a thought came to her. She smirked knowingly, “I don’t think I’ve seen you this nervous since the night we went to that restaurant, Catherine’s, and you told me everything.”
Max cringed and glanced back at the road. “And how I know you’re lying is a little bit harder to answer,” Liz said as she reached down for her book and fiddled with the edge of the cover.
“See it occurred to me as you left me curbside and I watched you drive off,” she murmured and rolled her eyes, “that the Jeep looked perfectly fine, and that you were driving it comfortably when less than five minutes before it could barely function five inches without everything under the hood quivering.”
She peered over at Max and studied his face. “Once I was inside the mall, I asked a around and I learned that not only is there not a car rental place within 20 miles south of here, the nearest car repair shop is over an hour away in an infamous cell phone dead zone. So there were only two possible conclusions I could accept,” she said. “Either your sense of direction in unfamiliar places is even more flawed than my own, or you were lying to me and engineered your absence for the past, oh,” she squinted at her watch and continued, “five hours.”
She stared at him for a few seconds before adding, “So tell me Max, which is it?”
“My sense of direction isn’t flawed at all,” Max began as he shook his head. “I’m curious though why you asked someone if there was a car rental place south from here…”
Liz rolled her eyes and muttered under her breath, “Because that’s the direction we came from.”
“…When we’re less than twenty minutes from Chicago and we came from the west when we passed over state lines yesterday.”
She gasped and pressed her hand over her mouth. “Really, no way!” she exclaimed. “We’re that close?”
“Yeah, we’re less than two hours from school and the end of our road trip,” Max said. He changed lanes just as Liz looked up at the sign by the exit ramp.
“Max?” she said uncertainly as he drove towards the exit.
“We probably should keep driving so we can reach school by the time it gets dark. Then we could spend all night unpacking and meet up tomorrow morning over coffee. But I kind of have something else in mind for our last night,” he said as he winked at her.
Liz gaped at him and opened and closed her mouth a few times with every intention of getting several answers from him; she finally settled on saying, “Okay.”
“Okay?” Max repeated uncertainly.
“Okay, show me what you’ve got, Evans,” she said flirtatiously as she winked at him.
He smiled back at her, relieved she wasn’t upset, and thrilled for the night that was ahead of them.
“Though, I have to know, Max. Was there actually something wrong with the car? And where exactly did you go?”
“That’s two questions,” he warned.
“I’m only allowed one? No fair,” she pouted.
“No, but with the second you’re asking for me to spoil what’s about to happen next.”
Liz tore her eyes away from his face and looked around where he was parking the Jeep. There was a huge ivory gate in front of them that was…locked.
She frowned at the imposing park entrance and turned back around half-expecting Max to have a witty retort for her doubts and skepticism. Instead he unbuckled his seatbelt and angled his body towards hers.
“Unless there’s an amazing view in there, I’d like for you to know I am so over sneaking into playgrounds.”
Max’s sweet eyes crinkled as he eyed her lips. The only thing that was preventing her from glancing down to see whether or not he was smiling was because she was not about to look at his scrumptious lips. She simply had to resist. This wasn’t the right time to swoon for his charms. He had some serious time to make up to her. So she decided to peer into his eyes, which was definitely a lot safer.
“That impulse died right after I outgrew my Velcro Polly Pocket sneakers, turned six, and realized leaving the playground wasn’t so terrible after all.”
“Oh? Did you trade up for sneakers with real shoelaces?”
She nodded, weakened for about a half a second, and looked down. Damn, his mouth looked too good. She was just going to have to kiss him. Liz scooted out of her seatbelt and subtly adjusted her body in her seat so she was two inches closer.
“I traded Superman in for Spiderman.”
Liz rolled her eyes. “I’m glad I had something in common with you even then.” She felt two of his fingers brush her temple and linger before he went on to tickle the back of her ear. Max finally looked back into her eyes and she was a little surprised by how much her heart sped up.
“We’re not going to sneak in,” he said quietly. “Or at least not technically.”
She bit back a laugh. “Which is it? It has to be one or the other.”
Max slipped his fingers into her hair and gently pulled her to him. The sweetest part of their kiss happened in the split-second before their lips met when he placed his forehead on hers and she breathed in his exhale.
She was kissing the corner of his mouth when he pulled back a little and whispered, “Just trust me, Liz.” She leaned in and fastened her mouth to his. “I already do with my whole heart, so trusting you tonight won’t be too hard,” she murmured.