Hey everyone, sorry the update is late today – I’ve been out all day (shopping and then at work) and since the wireless network in my new apartment only got set up this afternoon, I couldn’t easily update this morning (I had to sit on the floor by the TV in the living room just to get online!).
Thanks for your feedback
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Queen Fee –
Come back! *waves frantically*
I’m back
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It's him!
Could be
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LilLoucfer – Thank you
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begonia9508 –
I should be mad at you bc you ended with an cliffhanger! but you have to write something in the next part, haven't you?
Yep, there’s more to come
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It was funny that both of them didn't recognize the other..... They must have changed a lot!
Yeah… they probably have changed a lot – and also, sometimes you don’t recognise someone simply because you don’t expect to see them there, so it doesn’t register at all…
Happy New Year
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Lairabehr4 –
You do like to leave us hanging, don't you?
Of course
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Dreamerlaure – Thanks
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Oh boy...why's Max going by Zan? I'm dying to know!
You’ll find out in just a sec…
And I was a little surprised that neither of them recognized each other right away, but then it's been almost 7 years, right?
It has been a long time… but then people do change, especially when they go from teenagers to adults. There are people I’m friends with on Facebook who I last saw when I was 18, and 7 years later, I barely recognise them! I’ve even been known to have conversations with customers at work, only to realise afterwards that I was in the same class at school with them for 5 years, but I didn’t even recognise them!!
Alysluv –
ha ha so funny...but why does he go by the name Zan did i get lost already...shucks lol...geuss ill have to wait to find out
Don’t worry, you’ll find out why in just a moment
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mary mary –
Very nice and Happy New Year
Thank you and Happy New Year to you too
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Natalie36 –
omg how dare you leave it there your evil
I’m sorry
… but here’s the next part for you to read right now
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Alien_Friend –
Awww so it's him?! I wonder why he goes by Zan now.
We’ll see in just a moment
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it's interesting how they both haven't recognized each other all this time. And what coincidence they have lived in the same state for awhile. It's sweet he has kept her photo all this time.
It’s amazing how much some people change over the space of just a few years… there are some people I went to school with for years, who I wouldn’t recognise now if I saw them on the street.
They have been living in the same state… the same city, even… for more than 3 years – maybe they bumped into each other on the street and didn’t even know it?
destinyc –
Yeah...what's up with the whole name thing???
You’ll find out in just a sec
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ladylou –
Nooo! Where's the next chapter? I'm going away for a week.... 7 long, (hopefully sunny) but internet-bereft days. That's right. No way to keep up with this. How am I going to wait that long to find out why Zan has changed his name? And how Liz is going to break the news to him about the girl in the photograph? (assuming of course that the girl in the photograph is Liz!)
I’m sorry – I was out all day today (2 hours of shopping in sub-zero temps and then 9 hours of work… all with a bad cough/cold!) and we’ve only just managed to get our wireless set up in our new flat, so I couldn’t easily update this morning
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Tamashii –
I can't believe you stop there...
Wow it seems like everything has been really hard for Liz the last years, hopefully things will be better now
Let’s hope so
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***
Part Two
“Oh my God!” exclaimed Elizabeth as she gazed at the photograph in disbelief.
“What?” asked Zan, looking puzzled.
But Elizabeth was in too much shock to respond. For standing in the picture was a tanned, almost-blond guy with shoulder-length hair with his arms around a laughing girl with long, dark, wavy hair… a very familiar girl; one that looked just like… her.
“That… that’s…” she was having trouble forming words. “But… Max?”
“What?” he said again, sharply this time. “What did you say?”
“Th-that’s you?” she stuttered. He nodded. “But, you look so different and… and you’re Max… you told me your name was Max.”
“Max?” his eyes widened in understanding as his mouth dropped open and it was his turn to say, “Oh my God… Lizzie? Is that you? No way!”
“Way,” she stated numbly, nodding as he stared at him in shock.
No wonder she’d thought he seemed familiar tonight… he was only the boy she’d fallen in love with as a carefree, surf-loving fifteen-year-old!
He’d really changed so much though… the boy she remembered was every bit the athletic surfer, complete with long, sun-streaked hair and killer tan; but this man standing in front of her, this dark-haired, glasses-wearing businessman was so completely different from the memory that she was having a hard time piecing it all together.
“I can’t believe this…” she muttered. “It’s really you?”
“It’s me, Lizzie. It’s Max,” he assured her.
“But I don’t understand… why did you say your name was Zan?” she was confused.
He shrugged, “Technically, my name
is Zan… well, you know, Alexander to be precise… but when I was a kid, my parents liked to call me by my middle name – Max. Which was fine by me at first, but by the time I finished high school, I thought that
Max sounded too young and I decided to use my first name again, so I reverted to Alexander… except that my college friends decided they liked the nickname Zan, and so that’s what I came to be known as.”
“Wow,” breathed Elizabeth. “This is… this is crazy!”
“Just a bit,” he agreed with an awed smile.
“God, you’ve changed so much,” she murmured, facing him fully now as she lifted a hand and ran it through his short locks.
“Yeah, well,” he shrugged self-consciously. “I didn’t think the surfer look would really go down all that well at NYU, so just before I started college, I cut my hair and let it grow back to its natural colour.”
“You look so…
professional,” she murmured in awe, still trying to reconcile the memory she had of the sixteen-year-old Max Evans with the man in front of her right now.
“It’s the suit,” he told her with a chuckle. “And anyway, you’re one to talk… you look so different that I didn’t even recognise you until about two minutes ago. What happened to all that lovely long hair and gorgeous, tanned skin of yours?”
“I fancied a change,” she murmured, reaching up to touch her short hair, before snorting in amusement, “And as for the tan, well, I’ve spent three and a half years living on the east coast, not being able to afford to fly home to Maui for even a visit… well, until now, that is, but look how that’s turned out!”
He looked at her with an intense gaze, “God, I can’t believe it’s been six years.”
Elizabeth sighed nostalgically, murmuring, “That summer was the best of my life.”
Max smiled softly, “Mine too.”
“I missed you so much, Max.” She sucked in a shaky breath, “After the letters stopped…”
“I’m sorry about that,” he cut in. “I didn’t intend for that letter to be the last; it’s just that everything got
really busy in my life then, with my parents’ divorce and having to deal with that… I just didn’t have the time. And then when I didn’t hear from you, I just figured that the relationship had run its course and that you’d decided to move on.”
“I assumed you were the one who’d moved on,” she admitted. “I didn’t see the point of continuing to write if you weren’t interested anymore.”
“Oh, geez, I’m sorry, Lizzie.”
Silence fell around them as her eyes locked with his and they gazed at each other sadly. Making a quick decision, Elizabeth she took a hesitant step closer, so that she was barely a foot away from him.
“Can I try something?” she asked, her voice barely above a whisper.
“Sure,” he replied in the same quiet tone, his eyes soft as he looked down at her.
“I just want to see… if it’s still the same.”
“If what’s still the same?”
She sucked in a quick breath, rising on her tiptoes as she lifted her head towards his, “Kissing you.”
And then their lips touched, her mouth moving hesitantly against his at first, as she reacquainted herself with his closeness. She smiled when he responded and she felt her head begin to spin… it still felt the same. Even after all these years. Max Evans still had the ability to make her go weak at the knees and her heart pound frantically in her chest. Wanting more, she deepened the kiss, bringing her arms up to wind around his neck, shivering when she felt his arms wrap around her waist, holding her tight against him.
“Wow,” she breathed, when they finally parted and she gazed up at him in awe.
“Yeah,” his intense gaze searched hers as he smiled down at her, his hands resting on her hips.
She shook her head with a soft smile, “God, I just can’t believe this… after all this time…” Her expression turned more serious, “I thought I’d never see you again.”
“Me too,” he added. “You know what I can’t believe? That we’ve been living here, in the same city, all this time and didn’t even know it.”
“Oh my God, you’re right,” her eyes widened slightly. “So close and yet so far, huh?”
“Yeah,” he nodded as he looked down at her, his expression appreciative. “God, you look
amazing all grown up.”
“Thanks… and I could say the same thing to you,” she grinned.
“This is so surreal,” he murmured a moment later, as he extracted his arms from her body. “Why don’t we sit down – we have
a lot of catching up to do.”
“We certainly do,” she agreed as he gestured towards the sofa and they took a seat. “So, tell me first, before we go any further, is there a girl in the picture for you right now?”
“Wouldn’t you like to know?” he grinned widely and for a moment she was reminded of the self-confident, almost cocky, teenager she’d known him to be six years ago.
“Be serious,” she admonished playfully, rolling her eyes at him.
His expression sobered and he gazed at her intently, “No, there’s no one right now. I just got out of a two-year relationship over the summer and to be honest, I haven’t really been looking since then.”
“Oh,” she nodded, taking that in.
If he wasn’t looking, then did that mean he wouldn’t be interested in
her right now?
“What about you?” he turned the question around. “Anyone special in your life at the moment?”
“No, I’m single,” she admitted. “I’m mostly just trying to concentrate on my studies at the moment.”
“Oh,” he nodded, mimicking her reaction from just a moment ago. “So, then… we’re both stuck here in New Jersey for the night; we both haven’t seen each other for over six years; we’re both single …”
“Yeah,” Elizabeth murmured, her gaze fixed on his handsome face. “We are.”
There was an awkward silence between them and she looked away, suddenly very interested in the decorations on the Christmas tree. Beside her, Max shifted uncomfortable on the couch before sitting perfectly still. Neither of them said or did anything for several moments, until Elizabeth made the mistake of glancing over at him one more time, to find him gazing at her with barely concealed lust in his eyes. He shifted again, this time to face her, and his suit-pant-covered thigh brushed against her jean-clad one.
That was all it took.
Before Elizabeth even had time to think, Max’s mouth was on hers again, his lips urgent and demanding as he seemed to be attempting to make up for not having kissed her for more than six years. She complied eagerly, almost unable to believe that Max,
her Max, from that amazing summer in Maui, was actually here, close enough to touch and kiss.
Wrapping her arms tightly around his neck, she lost herself in his warm embrace as his tongue begged entrance to her mouth. Her lips parted eagerly and they sank back against the couch cushions as he deepened the kiss. She felt a thrill race down her spine as his warm body settled over hers, his hands gliding up her sides, creating the most delicious sensations she’d ever experienced.
It was crazy, even her most vivid, most amazing memories from that one perfect summer they spent together, couldn’t even hold a candle to the way she felt in his arms right this moment.
Why, oh, why had she not made more effort to keep in touch with Max Evans all those years ago? She would have called him, emailed, done anything she could to keep in contact, if she’d realised that he hadn’t wanted their contact to cease either. If only she’d known that back then.
She forgot her musings for a moment, as Max sat up, bringing her with him and then peeled her cardigan from her body, discarding it on the floor. In return, she reached for his suit jacket, sliding it over his shoulders and down his arms, before letting it drop to the floor beside her cardigan. Next came his tie, which also ended up on the floor, and the Elizabeth boldly reached for the buttons on his shirt, undoing each one with slightly shaky hands. Max just sat there and let her rid him of his shirt, although his gaze never wandered from the thin, pale pink top she wore and as soon as his shirt was gone, he reached for it and tugged it over her head.
For a moment, neither of them moved; Elizabeth was too caught up in the sight of his familiar bare chest, which brought back vivid memories of when he used to parade around the sand in his surfing gear, but now, it looked even better – Max Evans really had grown up as well; his chest was well-muscled, his abdomen more defined that it had been before and his shoulders were broader. He had definitely filled out. Max, on the other hand, couldn’t seem to tear his eyes from her bra-clad chest and Elizabeth suddenly felt self-conscious in the lacy black bra she’d blindly grabbed out of her underwear drawer this morning.
Max suddenly exhaled heavily, startling her, and she worried for a moment that he was having second thoughts. However, barely a second later, his hand shot out to encase hers and he nodded towards one of the doors on the other side of the room.
“Shall we?”
“Y-you mean…?” she left the remainder of the sentence unspoken.
“Yeah… if you want to,” he nodded. “I don’t think the sofa is really the best place for this, do you?”
“No, I guess not,” she smiled softly, suddenly feeling more at ease again. She nodded, “Okay.”
He gave her a small, warm smile, before climbing off the couch, his hand still in hers and urging her to follow him. They reached his bedroom within seconds and the moment the door shut behind them, he turned to face her, pressing her up against the door as he captured her lips with his in a frantic embrace.
They took their time reacquainting themselves with each other and Elizabeth soaked up every single tiny detail of the experience, from the gentle, yet dizzying, way that Max’s lips caressed hers, to the absolute completeness she felt when they made love for the first, second, even third time that night. It was like she couldn’t get enough of him. Never mind that they’d only known each other for a matter of weeks six years ago, Max Evans was her first love and it seemed that not time, nor even maturity had changed that. Back then he had made her feel things she’d never felt before and despite growing up since then and now having a few more years of experience behind her, she was amazed that he could still make her feel those same things… only this time, everything was so much more intense.
As they lay together after three exhausting rounds of lovemaking, Elizabeth couldn’t keep the wide, blissful smile off her face. Suddenly she was very glad that New York had experienced a snowstorm tonight and that her plane to L.A. had been cancelled. Had everything gone smoothly at the airport, she may well have gotten on that plane completely unaware of Max being on the very same flights as her and they might never have met up again at all.
“Wow, that was amazing,” murmured Max in awe, as he tightened his arm around her shoulder.
“It was incredible,” she agreed, snuggling closer to him.
“I can’t believe we never did this all those years ago. Look what we were missing out on back then.”
Elizabeth shook her head in amusement, “Max, we were just teenagers then.”
“I know that,” he shrugged, a smile playing on his face. “But imagine if we hadn’t found each other again tonight? We might never have realised sex could be this good.”
“I know what you mean,” she nodded. “It’s never felt like this before.”
“For me, either.”
Elizabeth frowned thoughtfully for a moment, before smiling and lifting her head to look up at him, “You think maybe fate’s trying to tell us something here?”
“Perhaps,” chuckled Max. “But whatever it is, I’m just very, very glad that we ran into each other again.”
“Me too,” replied Elizabeth as she yawned tiredly and her eyes began to drift closed. “Me too.”
“Merry Christmas, Lizzie,” he murmured softly as they settled down to sleep.
“Merry Christmas, Max.”
Epilogue to follow…
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