The wait is over!
ENJOY
Maximus Evanthus and Elizabeth Cylix Parker are each in their second year at Minnesota’s Concordia University.
He’s majoring in Commerce; she’s majoring in Molecular Biology.
Max caught his first glimpse of Liz while taking a walk through the college quad. Out of the blue he notices a strikingly beautiful petite brunette.
She discovers his muscular build and tantalizing hazel eyes.
From that very day, a forbidden fire has raged inside both of them.
Make no mistake; Max and Liz are very aware of the brutal and protracted history regarding their rival planets and clans.
It is for this reason they have restricted themselves to eye contact – until destiny intercedes.
While taking the same philosophy class, their professor assigns them as partners for an upcoming assignment.
The assignment:
Making the argument for or against the relevancy of character in society.
* * * * *
The chattering of students assembled in class reaches its zenith, as the usually punctual Professor Grossman hurries in. His tardiness puts him in such a state that he accidentally drops his half opened briefcase causing his papers to go flying everywhere. Noticing the professor’s state of disorientation, Liz comes to the rescue offering her assistance. He nods his approval as he picks up some of the scattered papers.
While Liz is bent over, Max is staring intently at her ass.
Amused by her image he slinks down in his seat with arms folded in front of him. He observes her every move in a state of obvious bliss. The more intently he ogles, the more his jeans seem to clamp down on his cock.
Although seeming unaware, Liz can feel Max’s eyes on her. After the last piece of paper is recovered, she straightens up turning in Max’s direction. She gives him an icy glance, and then once again takes her seat.
The professor collects himself and the class starts without further incident. He begins by scribbling a topic on the blackboard. Turning to the class he tells them, “This assignment will count for half of your grade.”
He goes on to say that the assignment will be carried out with an assigned partner. Max is staring intently at Liz when he hears something that makes his breath catch in his throat.
“The next pair will be Max Evans and Liz Parker.”
Liz can’t hide the shock and surprise of having Max as her partner. For a split second their eyes connect revealing one’s shocked expression to the other. Instantaneously they realize they have to talk the professor out of assigning them as partners. As soon as class is dismissed, both sprint over to the professor’s desk.
Liz is first to plead their case. “Professor Grossman, I’d rather have someone else as my partner.”
Max nods his head in complete agreement.
“Why?” the professor asks, appearing very intrigued by what he’s hearing.
“We’d just rather not work together if you don’t mind,” Max chimes in as he rests his hands in the back pockets of his jeans.
The professor looks at them before smiling.
His smile leads Max and Liz to believe that he will honor their request.
They find the actual outcome to be quite different.
“Ms. Parker, Mr. Evans, that so called ‘reason’ won’t cut it. This is my class and it is my prerogative to pair up whomever I choose,” Professor Grossman states as he gets up from his desk, picking up his briefcase.
“I suggest that you come up with a better reason or try getting along – if for nothing else but the sake of the assignment. Good day to you both.” With that Professor Grossman walks out of the door and into a hallway bustling with activity.
Max and Liz remain dumbstruck by what just happened.
“Well I guess we’re gonna be seeing more of each other,” A huge scowl appears on Max’s face. It clearly showed his disappointment with the situation he found himself in.
Liz lightly taps her forehead. “I don’t get it. In a lecture hall of over one hundred students, why in God’s name did he decide to throw us together?”
“Face it, fate kicked us both in the ass,” Max replies as he tries not to laugh while watching Liz pout.
Liz takes a pencil off the professor’s desk and scribbles her address and cell phone number on a scrap of paper. She hands it to Max before she starts to head towards the door.
“We’ll set up a study schedule later. Right now I have to go,” she says over her shoulder as she walks out the classroom, leaving Max alone with his thoughts.
* * * * *
Liz shares a spacious apartment with her best friend Maria Deluca. Maria was the first person Liz met when she arrived at Concordia from Roswell.
They met in a long, winding registration line two years ago. When the girls got into the line, it had grinded almost to a halt. They immediately found each other pleasant and spent time getting to know each other. They quickly discovered that they had a lot in common.
They both came from small towns, both were raised in one-parent households, and both were of the opinion that actors Jason Behr and Brendan Fehr were a lot hotter than Brad Pitt.
They found themselves to be so in sync, that by the time they got to the front of the line, Maria asked Liz to consider moving in with her instead of the dorm.
She was in desperate need to find someone she could room with. With the extra money she could pay for demos of the songs she wrote, she said while informing Liz of her dream of becoming a rock star.
Since Liz moved in, the girls had become inseparable.
* * * * *
As Liz and Max’s first study session arrives, Max is at the apartment promptly at six that evening as arranged. He anxiously rings the doorbell and Liz heads for the door from her bedroom.
She begins reading him the riot act as soon as he steps inside.
“Look Max, you’re Antarian and I’m Zyrinian. I peeked you out from the beginning. You Antarians have a scent unlike anyone else in the galaxy,” she states, alluding to the enhanced sense of smell Zyrinians posses. Of course, in all honesty, she mainly wanted to piss Max off.
“There’s no reason to give details on our predicament, my people hate your people. Why destroy a long-standing feud just because we met on Earth?” she concludes lightly.
Max gives her what looks like a sneer, “Works for me babe! The sooner we get this over with the better.”
“Can I get you a soda?” Liz asks, trying to be cordial under the circumstances.
“No, thank you,” Max grits out before taking a seat on the couch.
Liz lets out a snotty sigh while heading to the kitchen to get herself a soda.
Max can’t help but gaze lustfully at her as she sashays out of the room. His mind takes on a life of it’s own.
What a fucked up situation. Why did my sworn enemy have to be so gorgeous?
Although he wished there could be more between them, he realizes it’s in their best interest to finish the assignment and simply move on.
A key is heard connecting to the front door, and the sound brings Max’s mind back to the present. It’s Liz’s roommate Maria. She opens the door and enters the living room, noticing Max instantly. This is their first official meeting, although Max has seen Maria around campus with Liz on several occasions. As she walks in; he springs to his feet, holding out his hand.
“Hello, you must be Liz’s roommate, I’m Max. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”
“Maria Deluca, charmed,” she holds out her hand while giving him the once over.
Liz re-enters the room with her drink after the introductions are made.
“I see you’ve met my roommate and best friend, great. Now lets get down to business.”
As the study session drones on, each tries not to let the other spot the lusty stares being exchanged. So wrapped up in the other’s presence, they have no idea that Maria has been watching the study session and observing the desire-driven glances.
After a few hours, Max takes a glance at his watch. Peering through the apartment’s side window he notices that the once sunlit day as taken on a dusky shade. Sensing that now is the right time to excuse himself from Liz’s presence, he stands; easing himself away from the mahogany colored table they were studying on in the dinning room.
“It’s getting late, I should be going. Shall we attempt this again tomorrow?” He asks giving her a quizzical look.
Liz stands up and walks past Max into the living room. She prepares to lead him out of the apartment.
“If you can keep your resentment under control, so can I. My grade point average demands that I do,” Liz glances at Max nonchalantly.
Max nods, trying not to show any emotion as he heads for the door.
Liz scampers the rest of the way to the door to let him out. She watches his every move as he leaves her presence before closing the door and leaning against it for a minute.
Her thoughts linger over how gorgeous Max is and how beautiful his eyes are. She can think of nothing but how she would like nothing more than to march him into her bedroom and have sex with him until both were unable to move. She lets out a sigh knowing that’s not possible. After running her fingers through her hair in frustration she calls through the apartment looking for Maria.
* * * * *
Just as Liz thinks of Max, he continues to think of her.
He strides out of the apartment and heads for his metallic gray mustang convertible.
There’s no logical reason why I should want to know her – other then the fire raging inside me only she can ignite.
He shakes his head in an effort to throw those thoughts out of his mind as he jumps into the front seat of his convertible, driving off a little faster than he should.
* * * * *
Back at the apartment, Liz finds Maria in the kitchen making a ham and cheese sandwich.
Maria wastes no time bringing Max up.
“Chica, that guy is gorgeous! Did you see those eyes? And that ass!” Maria practically drools as she cuts her sandwich in half. “So when are you two going out?” she asks over her shoulder as she returns the sandwich components to the fridge.
“We’re not,” Liz answers shaking her head. She’s got a stubborn look on her face as she leans on the kitchen counter opposite Maria.
Maria turns to face her friend, the answer leaving her very confused. She walks up to Liz with hands on her hips.
“What, why not? I felt the fuck me vibes coming off you two!”
Knowing the explanation she gives will be a boldfaced lie; Liz takes care to explain the situation in hopes that Maria won’t bring up the subject again.
“Maria, something inside is telling me to keep him at arms length. What can I say; something just isn’t right. I wish I knew what it was, there’s nothing I can do.”
Maria’s mouth flies wide open upon hearing what Liz just said. She’s not buying it, but she knows that Liz won’t say anything until she’s ready to.
“Liz, I think you’re insane, but I’ll drop it. Just let me say that if I were you, I’d be on his ass in a major way!” She throws her hands up, says good night, and heads for her bedroom.
* * * * *
Liz goes to her own bedroom. Sitting at her vanity table totally frustrated, she starts reenacting the lie she told Maria while staring into her mirror.
Internally she wonders how things could have been if she wasn’t a Cylix and there weren’t several lifetimes’ worth of bad blood standing between her and Max.
It seems the more she tries to be strong and push carnal thoughts from her consciousness, the more thoughts of Max continue to assault her mind.
In time her mind grows tired of thinking and she begins her nightly bedtime ritual.
When her mind slows down enough to let her believe she can rest, she gets into bed hoping for a restful slumber. She falls to sleep easily and immediately begins dreaming.
The scenes that at first seemed light and whimsical turn terribly sinister quite suddenly. They feature the two most dangerous men in her life – Max and her father Kivar.
* * * * *
Dream Sequence:
*
Liz and Max are sitting on the grass by the manmade lake at Concordia college, partaking of the picnic lunch of ham and swiss sandwiches, cherry colas, and chocolate cake.*
*Before Max partakes of their quaint meal, he goes to his car.*
*He comes back with the bottle of Tabasco sauce he keeps in his glove compartment.*
*After he returns and sits down, he attempts to get Liz to try it.*
*She takes a whiff of it and scowls at how pungent the aroma is. Quickly she throws her hands out in refusal while she laughs.*
*As Max turns his nose up mocking Liz’s refusal, the once peaceful sky turns dark and ominous.*
*Liz swirls around her surroundings and finds Max gone.*
*Before she can fully get a grasp on Max’s sudden disappearance, she’s spirited off to Zyrinia.*
*Once there she is made to witness the demise of a fear-stricken man under the hands of her father.*
*Kivar laughs as he spews deadly incantations with the sole purpose of killing the petrified man.*
*The fear present on the man’s face brings Kivar great pleasure.*
*As the man meets his eminent demise, Kivar turns to face Liz.*
*He stretches his hands out to her saying, “Come to me. This is your legacy! There is no escape!”
*
*Before the dream ends, her nostrils are filled with the unmistakable aroma of Zyrinian incense. *
* * * * *
The dream overwhelms Liz so badly that she wakes screaming in a cold sweat. She sits up in bed trying to steady her shaking hands when another thought crosses her mind. She becomes more fearful at the realization that the incense she smelled in the dream can still be smelled even though she’s now awake.
Maria hears the screaming and dashes to her from the other bedroom.
“Liz, you alright babe?” Maria sits on the bed with concern written all over her face.
Liz tries catching her bearings as she grabs a few Kleenex from the night table by her bed. She starts to wipe the sweat off of her forehead and takes a deep breath before speaking.
“Yes, I was just having a bad dream,” she goes on to ask Maria a very cryptic question. “Maria do you smell anything out of the ordinary?”
Maria promptly sniffs the air then looks at Liz in concern. Placing both hands on Liz’s shoulders, she shakes her head no as she holds Liz’s hands in a heartfelt show of support.
Noticing the troubled look on her friend’s face, Maria tries her best to give her words of comfort.
“Hey chica, you had a bad dream, everything is just fine.”
Maria stays in Liz’s bedroom reassuring her until she sees Liz’s eyes getting heavy.
Liz lies down as Maria pulls the covers over her and turns off her light. Gently she whispers “sweet dreams” to Liz as she closes the bedroom door.
Liz allows sleep to reclaim her while mentally chanting to herself
It was just a dream! Just a dream! There’s nothing wrong, and it was all just a dream. It was just a dream!
However, subconsciously even she knows that’s just what she wishes it to be.
On the contrary, her dream was a premonition of things to come.
TBC
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