You Can Always Count On Me(M/L MATURE) COMPLETE A/N 12/2

[Heavenli24]

Thank you for all your feedback :

harroc83 - Glad you enjoyed it, sorry about the hands thing - it just seemed to write itself .
Behrsgirl1230 - Thanks
jbangelo - Thanks. I try to have 4 or 5 parts written ahead of what I've posted so I can update every couple of days .
Erina258 - The 2 things you were wondering about - 1. you won't have to wait long now and 2. I'm not sure about more secrets - I haven't written it all yet .
maya - Thanks and it won't be long now !
dreamer destiny - I thought about writing something in Max's POV, but decided just to keep it in Liz's for the moment. I might write an interlude or something later in the fic though .
Mica - Thank you .
Alien614 - Of course she is !
txndreamer06 - Thanks
JNF247ATS - You know what? I thought about having him wake up as she was changing, but for now, he didn't .
POM - Thanks .
begonia9508 - I think you may be right there
roswell3053 - Thank you, hope you enjoy this next part .
anonymousarfan - Thank you. Go ahead and ramble if you like - all comments are welcome .
lazza - We didn't have time to get up to SF (we only had 30 days left on our visas), so thank you for the pics !
Kylie the control freak - Sorry about all the confusion !
Emz80m - Thank you .
OmegaRam1 - I'm glad you're liking it so far .
kismet - I'm glad you like it, and thanks for your comment on the WBA thread .

Wow, that's alot of smily faces!

Okay, here's the next part, hope you enjoy...

Part Eleven

It’s eleven-fifteen by the time Max and I find Isabel’s residence hall in the middle of the city. Although we’ve been joking around and making fun of each other all morning and not really thinking about much else, I know that Max is both excited and anxious to see his twin sister again. Before this summer, the longest they’d spent apart from each other was the odd girls- or guys-only camping weekend with their friends and we’ve been away for almost three weeks now. Honestly, I have no idea how they’re both gonna cope, living over a thousand miles from each other for the next four years.

As we leave the jeep and make our way towards the building, Max spots Isabel and another person standing in front of the lobby, waiting for us. He grabs my arm and urges me to keep up.

“C’mon, Liz, I can see her,” he says urgently and then frowns slightly. “I wonder who that guy is. The one standing next to her” he says, going into protective brother mode.

I glance over at them, a smile appearing on my face, “Oh, I wouldn’t worry about him, Max.”

“What?” he looks at me quizzically. Obviously, he hasn’t noticed yet.

I shake my head, “Never mind.”

As we get closer, he lets out a sound of understanding, “Oh.”

“See, I told you, nothing to worry about. Its just Alex.”

Wait, did I just say Alex? As in Alex Whitman? What’s he doing here?

We finally reach them and Max lets go of me, pulling his sister into a hug. I watch them for a moment before turning to greet our other friend.

“Hey, Alex,” I reach up and hug him. “What are you doing here? Not that I mind of course, but this is unexpected.”

When I release him, he shrugs awkwardly, glancing at Max and Isabel. “You know, I had a few days off and I was missing Izzy so I called her and she invited me up here to stay with her.”

I raise my eyebrows and glance at Isabel, “Stay with her? As in…?” I trail off, unable to voice my thoughts.

But he nods, “Yeah,” he says with a dreamy smile and I grin. The boy has it bad! “But don’t tell Max, okay? You know how overprotective he can get,” he asks, his expression worried.

I shake my head, “Of course. I won’t say anything. But if he finds out on his own, you can’t blame me, okay?”

“Okay. Deal?” he holds out his hand and I shake it.

“Deal.”

He leads me to a nearby bench and we sit.

“So, enough about me. How’s your trip going? Where have you been so far? What have you seen? You and Max get it on yet?” he fires the questions quickly and I have trouble keeping up.

“Well, it’s been great so far. We’ve visited – ” I stop. “Wait. What did you just say?”

He grins at me. “You and Max. Anything been happening there?”

My mouth drops open in shock and I shove his arm. “Alex! What is the matter with you? Max is my best friend! You know perfectly well that there’s nothing like that between us. How could you even suggest something like that?”

But that smirk is still on his face. “Are you sure about that, Liz?” he asks, his gaze fixed somewhere behind me. I turn to see what he’s looking at, and my eyes fall on Max and Isabel, now involved in an intense, hushed conversation. My gaze meets Max’s and he offers me a small smile before turning back to his sister again. She looks irritated and it looks like she’s nagging him about something; I’ll have to ask him about that later.

“Liz?” I turn back to Alex again to find him watching me intently. His gaze makes me slightly uncomfortable as I think about what he’s just been implying. I feel really self-conscious now, not least because Alex’s words have brought up thoughts and feelings that I’ve been trying to ignore for the past few days.

“Alex,” I say with a smile. “Just drop it, okay? Nothing’s going on,” I tell him, but I’m not sure whether I’m trying to convince him or myself.

I take a quick look in Max and Isabel’s direction again. It seems the conversation is over and now Isabel is making her way over to us, Max trailing behind her.

“Liz,” she exclaims brightly and pulls me into a hug. “It’s so good to see you!”

“You too, Iz.” I reply. “How’s summer school going?”

“Oh, it’s great! I love it here!” she tells me excitedly and loops her arm with mine. “Come on, I’ll show you my room.”

We head off into the building, leaving Alex and Max to greet each other and follow us when they’re ready.

“So, you and Alex, sharing a room; sharing a bed?” I ask with a grin as we step into the elevator.

She returns the grin and sighs. “Yeah…It’s great, isn’t it?” she says. “I’m so happy right now, Liz.”

“I can tell. You two make a great couple, Iz,” I tell her. She frowns slightly and opens her mouth to speak, but I beat her to it. “Don’t worry, I’m not gonna tell Max.”

She lets out a sigh of relief, “Whew, thank you, Liz. I don’t think I’m ready to deal with him knowing just yet.”

“Your secret’s safe with me,” I tell her sincerely as the elevator doors open and we walk down the corridor to her room.

“Well, here we are,” she says, opening the door. I step inside and look around. It’s really nice, considering it’s student accommodation. Isabel has made it feel really homey and it looks lived-in. I walk around, admiring the photos and pictures on her walls, but stop when I hear her gasp behind me.

“Oh, shit.”

“What?” I whip round to face her.

“Alex’s stuff!” she points to the floor and bed where his clothes and belongings are scattered around. “Max is going to be up here any minute! Liz, you have to help my hide this stuff,” she pleads.

“Okay, quick. Let’s put it, um…” I look around helplessly.

“The closet!” she exclaims and I nod. We hastily gather up Alex’s things and shove them in the cupboard, slamming it closed just as the door opens and the guys step through. Whew! That was close.

Isabel gives Max a quick tour of the room and we settle down on the bed, comfy chair and desk chair to discuss what we’re going to do while we’re here.

“Okay,” Isabel starts. “I thought we could do some sightseeing this afternoon – the Golden Gate Bridge, Fisherman’s Wharf, etc and then we can go out for dinner this evening. There’s this really great Mexican place down the road that we can go to. Their food is to die for!” she exclaims. “Oh, and we’ll have to go shopping for something to wear,” she muses and I smother a giggle at the mortified look that the guys exchange.

I straighten my face quickly and turn to Isabel, “That sounds like a great idea, Iz. I can’t wait!”

She grins proudly, “Okay, just let me grab my purse and we’ll get going,” she chirps and Max and Alex groan from their positions on the chairs.

***

We’ve had a brilliant day, doing the tourist thing around San Francisco, although the hills in this city are not pleasant to walk up! It’s fun being with Isabel and Alex again, laughing and joking, as if we’d never left Roswell; although, I think something must be up between Isabel and Max. They keep having these hushed conversations and lagging behind Alex and I. A couple of times, I notice Max getting annoyed with her, shrugging out of her grip and walking quickly to catch up with us. Another time, I look back to check they’re still behind us and I find them standing still, their eyes fixed on me…or maybe it was Alex, I’m not sure. Oh God, what if Max has somehow guessed the state of Alex and Isabel’s relationship and is pulling the big brother routine again (despite the fact that Isabel is four minutes older than him)? I’m going to have to have that talk with him soon.

However, right now I’m sitting on the bed in Isabel’s bedroom, wrapped in a bathrobe, while she does my hair and make-up for dinner. Max and Alex are getting ready back at our motel room and are coming to pick us up in half an hour While it’s been nice not having to worry about curling my hair or making sure my mascara isn’t smudged these past few weeks, I’ve missed getting dressed up to go out and I’m savouring every minute of Isabel’s pampering treatment.

“Okay, all done!” she exclaims, holding up a mirror for me to admire her handiwork. Wow, I look…great! She’s done a brilliant job. My hair is down and curled slightly; it’s flowing over my shoulders gracefully and my make-up is…perfect, I look all…sultry…is the only word I can come up with.

“Wow, thanks Isabel. This looks so great!”

“What did I tell you?” she grins. “Okay, now you get into your new dress and I’m gonna finish my hair and make-up.”

“You need any help?” I offer, wanting to thank her.

She smiles, “No offence, Liz, but I think I’d better do it myself. Go get changed,” she urges.

You’d think I would be offended by her comment, but she’s right. I don’t know the first thing about applying sexy make-up; I’m much more of a natural-look girl. I reach for my new outfit and release it from the hanger. It really is a gorgeous dress; it’s long and silky and a deep shade of dark-blue. I step into it and loop my arms through the thin straps. I can’t wear a bra with it because the back is barely there, but that’s okay since I don’t have much up top anyway. I reach for the strappy sandals that Isabel has lent me for the evening and fasten them around my ankles. Standing up, I walk across the room and stop in front of the full-length mirror fixed to the inside of her closet door.

I smile. I love the way the dress hangs on my body, hugging my torso and waist before flowing down to the floor. Realising I’m missing something, I reach over to the desk and pick up the dangly earrings and matching necklace that Isabel has also lent me. There, I’m ready. Now if only Isabel would hurry up.

Fifteen minutes and one near make-up disaster (involving clumpy mascara and out-of-control lip-liner) later, she’s finally ready and there is a knock at the door. Isabel gets up to open it, giving Alex a ‘good evening’ hug and kiss, before letting both he and Max in. I stand nervously next to the bed; I’ve never been that comfortable going out in public all dressed up like this, but the moment I set my eyes on Max, my body relaxes. He’s wearing a dark suit and tie, his hair neatly teased into place and a grin on his face as he jokes with Alex about how long it takes women to get ready.

But the laughter seems to die in his throat as his eyes lock with mine and the grin disappears briefly before it is replaced by a warm smile that, for some reason, turns my insides to jelly.

“Liz…” I hear him whisper and I wait for him to continue, but nothing else comes. He’s still staring at me and I can’t find the strength to look away. I don’t know what’s going on here, but, you know what? Right now, I don’t care.

TBC…

Thank you so much to lazza for letting me post some of her pics of San Francisco -

Cable Car
SF street and cable car
Wow, look at all those cars!
Golden Gate Bridge

[Heavenli24]

Thank you so much for the feedback :

Erina258 - Definitely not long to wait now...
youre my dreamgirl - I know, going through all the pics on my computer makes me want to go back .
dreamer destiny - Again, not long to wait for Max to make his move
Alien614 - You might just be right there.
harroc83 - It must be hard, but Max may just confess v. soon .
anonymousarfan - Again, you could be right.
Emz80m - Thank you
Mica - Thank you.
lazza - It's a little scary thinking that someone else (not a Roswell fan) has read this - I'm all self-concious now!
roswell3053 - Oh, it will be soon .
txndreamer06 - Thanks.
POM - Sorry, didn't mean to confuse you about the 'who knows Alex thing' .
begonia9508 - I think you're right there .
kismet - You'll just have to read and find out .
jbangelo - Or maybe it'll just happen on it's own!
L-J-L 76 - Everything will be explained soon .


Part Twelve

“Wow, Liz. You look great!” Alex’s voice snaps me out of my staring trance with Max and I tear my eyes away to look at him.

“Well, you don’t look so bad yourself, Alex,” I say.

“Okay, everyone. We’re all ready now, so let’s get going,” exclaims Isabel suddenly. “Alex, walk me out?” she asks, extending an arm to him.

“Sure,” he smiles and slides his arm under hers.

I turn to look at Max again, and almost jump when I realise that he’s moved a lot closer to me. “You ready?” he asks, holding his arm out as well.

“Sure,” I say, my voice unintentionally coming out soft and breathy. Our arms link together and he leads me out of the room behind Alex and Isabel.

Once downstairs, we pile into the jeep, Isabel and Alex in the back, Max and I in the front, and head to the restaurant. We pull into the parking lot and Isabel, with Alex on her arm, goes on ahead to check on the reservations, leaving Max and I to follow. As I adjust my handbag on my shoulder and start walking towards the restaurant entrance, I’m surprised when a warm hand comes to rest on the bare skin of my back. I shiver at the contact and turn my head slightly to find Max standing close to me, guiding me towards the door. Trying to ignore the tingles that the movement of his thumb against my back is sending up my spine, I turn my face forward again and concentrate on the building in front of me.

My efforts are dismissed, however, when Max leans down to me, his hot breath tickling my cheek, “Liz, you look…” he pauses briefly. “It’s like Alex said: Wow,” he breathes.

An embarrassed smile plays on my lips and I feel a blush rising up to my cheeks. I glance up at him out of the corner of my eye, but he has straightened up and is now staring directly ahead. I take a breath to say something, anything in reply, but the waiter at the door interrupts us and the moment passes.

Dinner is a pleasant affair; just as Isabel said, the food is delicious and conversation flows easily. Isabel and Alex quiz us on the places we’ve been to over the last few weeks and I pass around the photos that I had developed when we were in LA. They ooh and ahh over the pictures and tell us how jealous they are. I ask Isabel about college life and she gives me some tips for when I start at Harvard. The gorgeous dessert is almost ruined by the fact that Max and Alex decide to crack dirty jokes and introduce innuendo to every item on the menu, especially the colourfully named cocktails on the wine list.

All through the evening, I have this almost overwhelming feeling of warmth and happiness, like there’s nowhere else I’d rather be than right here, right now, laughing and having fun with three of my closest friends. The feeling is strengthened by the frequent glances and smiles that Max keeps sending in my direction. I look down at my mouth-watering slice of double chocolate gateau and feeling the warmth of Max’s latest look, I realise that I don’t want this night to end.

***

After dinner, we drop Isabel and Alex back at her dorm room. Max tries to persuade Alex to let him take him back to his own hotel, but Alex insists that it’s only a couple of blocks from Isabel’s place and he will be fine to walk it. Luckily, Max accepts his explanation and drives them both to the residence hall. I have to bite the inside of my mouth to keep from smiling at Alex’s story, knowing full well that there is no hotel round the corner and that the only bed Alex will be sleeping in tonight is Isabel’s.

Max and I drive the rest of the way back to our motel in silence. I’m too caught up in the feelings that Max seems to be inducing in me tonight, to even consider making small talk with him, while he looks deep in thought. I decide that he probably wouldn’t hear me even if I did try to start a conversation with him.

When we pull up outside our motel, Max turns off the engine and glances in my direction, giving me a small smile. He reaches out to open his door and then climbs out. I prepare to do the same, but his voice stops me.

“Wait, don’t,” he says.

“What?” I reply.

“Don’t open the door. Just…wait,” he tells me. I look at him in confusion, my hand still on the door handle, ready to open it, but the look in his eyes stops me from going any further.

“Okay…what’s going on, Max?”

“Shh,” he holds a finger to his lips, a grin spreading over his face. I roll my eyes at his silliness and sit back in my seat, my eyes travelling over the parking lot. I turn back to face him a second later, but he’s gone.

“Max?”

The sound of my door opening startles me and my head whips round at the noise. “Max! What are you – ”

“Milady?” he’s standing beside my door, his hand outstretched and his head bowed slightly.

A giggle escapes my lips as I take in the scene in front of me. I reach out my hand and place it in his, allowing him to help me out of the jeep.

“You’re so silly!” I exclaim, as he closes the door behind me and leads me towards the room.

He unlocks the door and we walk inside. He lets go of my hand and shrugs out of his jacket; turning to face me as he loosens his tie, rolls up the sleeves of his shirt and shoves his hands in his pockets. I can’t help letting my gaze run over his body, taking him in: the wonky tie, the top two unfastened buttons of his shirt and the tanned skin of his chest peeping through, the exposed muscles of his lower arms and the adorable expression on his face. He approaches me and my breath catches in my throat.

“Max?” I question in a half whisper, but his expression doesn’t change. He comes to a stop in front of me and reaches up to stroke my bare arm with his fingers. I tremble under his touch and I feel goose bumps rising on my skin.

“Lizzie,” he whispers, almost breathlessly. What is going on here?

“Max? What – ” He shakes his head slightly and his other hand drifts up to touch my hair.

“Your hair is so soft,” he murmurs. His fingers linger in my hair for a few moments before his hand slides down to cup my cheek. “And your skin is so smooth,” he continues, his thumb moving gently across my skin.

The fingers of his other hand are still making small movements on my arm and that, combined with the feel of his touch on my face, makes me sigh with pleasure. I don’t know what’s got into him; or why he’s doing what he’s doing, but I couldn’t care less. I just want him to continue to make me feel this way.

“You look gorgeous tonight, Lizzie. I don’t think I said that earlier,” he tells me, softly. “Not that you don’t look gorgeous all the time,” he corrects. “But tonight…” he trails off, letting out a breath.

I’m stunned. “Y – you think I look gorgeous?”

He nods, smiling at me tenderly, “Of course I do, Lizzie. I’d have to be blind not to see it. You’re stunning…dazzling…beautiful…”

“But…I…” I don’t know what to say. What can you say to something like that?

Our eyes lock and I can hear my heart thumping in my chest. I can’t think straight; my mind is filled with only him.

I raise my hands from their position at my sides, until they come into contact with his muscular arms. My fingers mimic the movements of his digits on my arm and I draw in a sharp breath as the heat from his skin seeps through the material, warming my hands.

“Max,” I whisper, not really sure what I mean to say.

A faint smile crosses his lips as he whispers back, “Liz.”

And then it happens.

His warm lips are on mine, caressing them, loving them, and the contact sends a fresh wave of tingles through my body.

One of his hands is buried in my hair, cupping my neck from underneath and the other has left my arm, snaking round to my waist, pulling my body closer to him. I let out another gasp, this one muffled by his mouth.

My hands slide up over his arms, feeling the rippling muscles beneath his shirt as they go and then come to rest on his shoulders. Using my arms as leverage, I kiss him back with everything I have and his grip tightens around my waist.

“Oh, God,” I whimper as he slides his hot tongue into my mouth. It tangles with mine and I feel a new warmth flood my belly.

My arms wind around his neck and my fingers become entwined in his hair. My knees go weak and I stumble slightly, which causes Max to walk me backwards so that I come into contact with the door.

I don’t know how long we remain like that, his body pressing mine against the door, his lips and tongue and hands working me up into a frenzy, but I don’t ever want it to stop.

Unfortunately, though, oxygen eventually becomes an issue and we are forced to break apart, my arms sliding back down his again.

I rest my head back against the door and stare at him in amazement. “Well, that was…” I can’t even put it into words.

“Yeah,” he agrees, breathlessly.

”Max, I – ”

“Don’t,” he places a finger on my swollen, ravaged lips, effectively silencing me. “Don’t say anything. Not tonight,” he tells me and I can do nothing but nod. “Let’s just go to bed and we can figure all this out in the morning.”

“Okay,” I breathe. I know I should be confused and full of questions, but my brain is still too fuzzy to think clearly.

Max leans forward one more and places a final soft, sweet kiss on my sensitive lips. My breath hitches as he pulls away and releases me from the confines of his arms. Not taking his eyes off me, he walks backwards towards his bed and fumbles for his night clothes. Finally finding them with his hand, he picks up his T-shirt and boxer shorts and slowly heads for the bathroom. His gaze doesn’t leave me until the door closes and he leaves me alone in the room.

I let out a deep breath and slump back against the door.

“Wow,” I breathe.

My hand comes up to graze my lips. I can still feel him there; I can still feel his warmth embracing me, the intoxicating scent of his aftershave mixed with something else, something purely masculine and well, Max, lingering on my body.

Somehow gaining enough strength to support myself on my weak, jelly-like legs, I stumble across the room and sink down onto my bed, my hands lazily grasping for the tank top and shorts that make up my night time attire.

When I find them, I stand up and peel off my dress, stepping out of it carefully and laying gently it on the chair by the bed. I pull the tank top over my head and don the shorts quickly. Max emerges from the bathroom as I am brushing my hair and I send him a small, slightly embarrassed smile as I slip past him and into the bathroom to wash up.

When I return to the room, Max is sitting on the edge of his bed, his foot tapping almost nervously on the carpeted floor. He looks up as I close the door behind me and we both smile tentatively at each other. I make my way over to my bed and get under the covers as Max does the same on his side of the room. Lying on my side, I watch as he reaches over to switch off the lamp on the bedside table.

“Night, Liz,” he says.

“Night, Max,” I whisper.

I lie awake for a while, confused as hell. I’m not exactly clear about what just happened between us, but I’m desperately hoping that it will happen again.

TBC…

[Heavenli24]

I have to apologise for not updating as quickly as usual this week. I originally intending on posting every other day and was able to get 2 or 3 parts written a week to keep up, but I got sick with a cough and a cold last Friday and have not had the energy to write since then .

Hopefully I'll be able to get more done this weekend so I can go back to the fast updates again .

Thank you for the wonderful feedback :

lazza
Erina258
POM
dreamer destiny
OmegaRam1
harroc83
Emz80m
begonia9508
Sweet Liz
anonymousarfan
behrluv32
txndreamer06
roswell3053
kismet
youre my dreamgirl
jbangelo
RoswellRulz
Roswell 10/2/00

I definitely was looking for a little nookie time to take place, but I'll try to be patient and wait. Please don't torcher me in that dept.

I did consider the nookie aspect , but I didn't want them to just rush into anything, so I'm afraid there might be a bit of a wait .


It seems that most people are worried about how they're going to react - ithat they might just brush the kiss off as a mistake. At first, I couldn't decide how I wanted Liz and Max to react in this next part, but when I started writing it this is what came out...

Part Thirteen

I wake up the next morning with the strangest sensation of being watched. I snuggle further under the covers, too sleepy and comfortable to get up, but when the sensation doesn’t disappear, I slowly open my eyes, blinking at the sliver of sunlight peeking through the curtains and my gaze falls on Max. He’s leaning against the frame of the bathroom door, still dressed in his T-shirt and boxer shorts and his arms are crossed over his chest. A toothbrush is held loosely in his left hand and he’s watching me. Well actually, judging by the intensity of his gaze, it’s more like staring. For a moment, I can’t think why he would be staring at me and I feel uncomfortable and wonder if I have something on my face.

But then it all comes flooding back. Dinner last night; dropping Isabel and Alex back home; driving back here and then…

A huge smile breaks out over my face as the memory of our breathtaking kiss comes back to me. I stretch under the covers and then pull myself up into a sitting position. I glance over at Max again. He hasn’t moved.

“Hi,” I murmur shyly, a little self-conscious in front of him this morning.

“Hi,” he flashes me a grin, but it disappears when he realises that I’ve caught him staring. “I’m…uh…just gonna go…” he raises the toothbrush in his hand and nods towards the bathroom.

It looks like I’m not the only self-conscious one here today. “Sure,” I nod, and he turns to leave the room, sending me another small smile as he does.

As the door closes behind him, I relax and let out a huge, contented sigh as I sink back down to the bed. I stare up at the ceiling in wonder, unable to prevent the soft, girlish giggle that bubbles up in my throat and then unintentionally escapes my lips.

I kissed Max!

And it wasn’t some drunken encounter like we shared the other week; this was real and he initiated it. I close my eyes and savour the light, happy feeling in my chest.

Realising that I can’t lie here like this all day and that Max will be out of the bathroom in a minute or two, I pull myself up again and run my hands over my face, rubbing the sleep from my eyes. One touch of my hair tells me that it looks a state this morning and I frantically tug my fingers through it in an attempt to smooth it down and make it presentable. I’ve just managed to salvage one side, when the door opens again and Max comes out, his hair slightly damp at the edge from where he has apparently splashed water on his face.

He looks up and our eyes lock. My heart begins a rapid thumping in my chest as I watch him move round the end of his bed and towards mine. He walks over to me and takes a seat on my bed beside my legs, which are still under the covers.

“Max?” I ask, half in curiosity, half in anticipation of what he might do, now that he’s sitting right in front of me.

“Liz…Lizzie,” he says softly. “I…I know I said we’d talk this morning, but I just have to do one thing first…” he trails off and I watch him in puzzlement. What is he talking about? But as soon as the question pops into my head, the answer becomes clear. He cups my cheek with his hand and lowers his lips to mine. His kiss is tentative at first, but the second I realise what his intention is, I sink my fingers into his hair, bringing him closer to me as I respond eagerly.

God, his lips are like heaven! Why have I spent so long settling for other guys, when just one of Max Evans’ kisses can make me feel like this? We break apart several moments later, both breathing heavily. I try to catch my breath to say something, but he beats me to it.

“Well, I guess that answers my question about whether or not you regret what happened last night,” he says and his tone is so relieved that it makes me giggle. Man, what has gotten into me lately? I’m not usually the giggling type!

“Nope,” I shake my head, grinning at him.

He reaches for my hand, “So, I guess we have to talk…”

“Yeah,” I agree. What is it with me and one-word sentences today?

“So…” he starts, but for some reason doesn’t continue.

“So...” I repeat curiously.

“Wow, this is tough,” he says. “When did you get so hard to talk to, Parker?” he wonders, his thumb absentmindedly caressing my knuckles. He takes a deep breath, “Okay, so I guess I should start by saying that I didn’t tell you the whole truth the other day,” he begins, and I wonder what he’s talking about. “When I told you my reasons for deciding not to um, sleep, with anybody, I left something out. The real reason is that, really, I was saving myself,” he pauses for a second and stares into my eyes. “For you.”

My reaction is a sharp intake of breath. “What?” I squeak. “F…for me? Max, what are you saying?”

“I’m saying, Lizzie, that I think I’ve fallen in love with you,” he admits, and my eyes well up at his words. He looks down at our entwined hands and murmurs, “I think I always have been, but I guess I just wasn’t aware of what I was feeling for you or what those feelings meant,” he says. “I’ve never been able to imagine my life without you in it in some form or another and I guess I just assumed that, eventually, somehow, we’d end up together. That you would be my first and….”

“And you would be mine,” I finish for him, realisation flooding over me. “Oh, Max, I’m so sorry. I didn’t…but there was Robert…and then Kyle…and…oh God, I’m sorry.”

“What? No, Liz,” he says quickly. “Don’t be sorry, okay? You didn’t know and I was too chicken to say anything before now. It was a stupid thing to assume,” he tells me, but I have to say more, I have to tell him how I really feel.

I reach out my free hand to caress his rough, unshaven cheek, “Max,” I murmur. “Lately, I’ve been having all these feeling for you too; but I just didn’t know how to tell you. And I am sorry; sorry that I didn’t wait, sorry that I must have hurt you the other night when I told you about Kyle, sorry that I didn’t tell you how I felt sooner…” I trail off uncertainly, before gathering my courage again. I look him straight in the eye and confess, “Max, I think I might just be in love with you too.”

Without giving him the chance to say anything, I lean forward and kiss him softly. He tightens his grip on my hand whilst his other hand creeps around my waist. A few seconds into our embrace I realise something and pull back abruptly. He’s already brushed his teeth this morning, but I haven’t.

“Hey,” he mumbles in protest and tries to pull me closer, his eyes still closed.

“Sorry,” I whisper. “Morning breath.”

His eyes open slightly. “I don’t care,” he murmurs.

“I do,” I tell him. “You’re all fresh and minty already, and I’m…not.”

His eyes open fully now and he pouts at me. I roll my eyes, playfully, “Sorry, but I hate not brushing my teeth first thing in the morning.” I give him a pleading look.

“Fine,” he relents. “Okay, you stay here and ‘brush your teeth’ and I’ll go get us some breakfast.” I smile gratefully as he gets up, planting a tiny kiss on my nose, before untangling our fingers and grabbing his wallet. “I’ll see you in a few,” he says and with a wink, he disappears outside.

I can’t help grinning to myself as I gather my wash bag and towel and head for the bathroom. One glance into the mirror above the sink tell me that my hair really is as bad as I thought and that I could definitely do with a shower.

I hop in and wash my hair and body quickly, my skin still tingling from where Max’s hands caressed me earlier and last night.

I step out of the shower, wrapping my towel around me as I study my reflection in the mirror. I press my fingers to my lips in wonder.

Max is in love with me.

He loves me!

My life is perfect.

***

Max returns to the room with two orange juices and a bag of doughnuts. It’s not exactly my idea of a nutritional breakfast, but today I just don’t care. We eat in comfortable silence, occasionally sneaking shy glances at each other and then grinning when we realise we’re both doing the same thing.

I realise, as we’re getting ready to meet Alex and Isabel again, that there is so much that still needs to be said, so many question that I want to ask him. But, it can wait for now; we have to leave in a few minutes and we’ll have plenty of time to talk later.

“Hey, you ready?” Max’s voice sounds from behind me as I’m searching for my camera. We’re going to visit Alcatraz and the seals at Pier 39 (I’ve had to assure Max that these are seals, not sea-lions) today, and I want to be able to take pictures.

“Yeah, almost,” I reply distractedly, digging through my bag in hopes of finding it. “You seen my camera?” I ask him, without turning round. When there’s no reply, I turn to face him, annoyed that he seems to be ignoring me all of a sudden.

“What? Oh you mean this camera?” he questions teasingly, the camera hanging from his fingers. I roll my eyes.

“Max!” I whine. “Why didn’t you tell me you had it? I’ve been looking for it for the last ten minutes!”

I go to grab it from him, but he’s too quick and it swings out of my grasp. He holds it high above his head, so I can’t reach it and says, “What, and miss the fun of watching you try to get it back?”

“Oh, come on! We’re going to be late for Isabel, and you know how she is about punctuality,” I taunt, hoping that he’ll relent and give it back so we can leave.

He looks like he’s about to give in, but then a mischievous spark appears in his eyes and I wonder suspiciously what he’s up to.

“Fine, I’ll give it back, but on one condition,” he tells me, a smug smirk gracing his lips.

“What?” I ask impatiently, my hands on my hips.

“Kiss me,” he states and I already can see the eager anticipation in his eyes.

Okay, fine. Two can play at this game.

I lean up and graze my lips against his briefly before pulling away quickly, only to be grabbed round the waist and pulled back to him.

“Hey, no fair,” he mumbles against my lips. He’s still holding the camera high in the air and there is no indication that he’s going to lower his arm anytime soon, so I go for broke.

I run my hands up over his back, caressing his muscles with my fingers. I inch them higher and higher until I’m almost at his shoulder. Then with one fell swoop, I go in for the kill and tickle his armpit; a place I know is ticklish. His reaction is immediate. He emits a snort of laughter, breaking our kiss and his arm comes down. Quickly, I reach round, grab the camera from his grasp and take several steps away from him.

“Ha. Not so clever now, are we, Evans?” I laugh. He’s standing there, holding his arm to his side as his other hand rubs his armpit. He has this fake-vulnerable expression on his face and it almost makes me melt. Almost.

“That was mean, Parker,” he grumbles.

I’m not falling for it. “Hey, if you had just given it back when I asked, I wouldn’t have had to do that,” I reason, sticking my tongue out at him.

“Ugh, I’m not even going to bother!” he says in mock annoyance. He takes a quick glance at his watch and realises the time. “Come on, we gotta go. You got everything?” he asks.

I roll my eyes, “Yeah, now!”

He walks over to me. “I’m sorry, okay,” he says, grudgingly. “But you have to admit, it was kind of funny.”

I smack his arm lightly. “Yeah, to you, maybe,” I say, but I’m smiling. I look at him standing in front of me, with the puppy-dog expression on his face, and I give in. “Fine, you’re forgiven.”

He smiles and takes my hand. “Thanks,” he grins and leans down to plant a quick kiss on my lips. “Okay, we have to go,” he tells me and then leads me out of the motel room.

I’m grinning all the way out to the car.

Sure, Max might be an immature jerk sometimes, but right now, he’s my immature jerk.

TBC…

Seals 1
Seals 2
Alcatraz

[Heavenli24]

Yay, it was snowing when I got up this morning ! Unfortunately it's all melted now, but it was good while it lasted (we don't usually get snow until Jan or Feb) . Although, they're saying it's going to be the coldest winter in 10 years so maybe we'll get more soon.

Anyway, thank you all for your comments regarding part 13 :

lazza - Don't worry, the talking will come, just not imediately and not all at once .
jbangelo - Yeah, they do need to talk, but first I think they're going to revel in their happy feelings !
Erina258 - They will talk soon .
anonymousarfan
kismet
Behrsgirl1230
roswell3053 - Thanks, I'm almost, but not quite better - the cough's still irritating the hell out of me !
Mica
begonia9508
youre my dreamgirl
dreamer destiny
Emz80m
POM
txndreamer06


Part Fourteen

We drive the whole way to Isabel’s place with our hands linked. We don’t really look at each other, or talk much, but it’s nice just to sit and enjoy the feel of Max’s large, warm hand in mine, as the movement of his thumb against the back of my hand sends small thrills up and down my arm. As we pull into the residence hall parking lot and Max puts the jeep in park, I turn to him quickly, needing to talk to him before we get out.

“Hey, um, do you think maybe we could just keep all this just between us for now?” I ask, gesturing to our linked hands as I speak. There’s no immediate reaction from Max, so I continue to explain. “I mean, it’s only been a few hours and – ”

“Sure, Liz, of course,” he nods with a smile. “I was actually going to ask you the same thing. I don’t think I’m quite ready for Isabel to find out yet. God, can you imagine her reaction?” he grins.

A bubbly laugh erupts from my throat, as an image of Isabel squealing in surprise and running around hugging everyone enthusiastically, flits through my mind. “Yeah, I don’t think I’m ready for that yet either,” I tell him, but then remember something from the day before. “Hey, Max? What was going on between you and Isabel yesterday? You looked like you were arguing.”

A puzzled frown mars his face, “Yesterday? What happened yest– ? Oh, that.”

“Yes, that,” I confirm.

“It was, um…you know what, can I tell you about it later? I don’t really wanna get into it now.”

“Yeah, sure,” I’m a little disappointed that he won’t tell me now, but there’s not much I can do about it. “So, we better go meet the others,” I say then. “They’ll be waiting for us.”

“Okay, let’s go then, shall we?” replies Max, letting my hand slip from his so we can get out of the car.

I reach Max’s side, as he is locking the door and I spot Isabel and Alex waiting for us in the same place as yesterday. Max obviously hasn’t seen them yet though, because when I turn back to him, I find myself caught up in his intense stare.

“I really wanna kiss you right now,” he murmurs seductively and at the tone of his voice, I almost give in right there and then. But Isabel and Alex are watching and I know I can’t.

“I really wouldn’t do that, Max.” I tell him and his face falls, his brow furrowed in confusion. It’s so adorable. “Your sister is standing right over there,” I indicate in her direction with my head and an expression of understanding replaces the confused look.

“Oh, right. Maybe not then.” He looks over to Isabel and gives her a small wave. “Come on, we better get over there,” he says and then turns, starting to walk over to them. I watch him for a second before I follow. Unable to stop myself, I find my eyes drawn to his backside. It’s very cute. How on Earth did I not notice how nice it was before? How nice his whole body was? I’ve always known that he works out, ‘to impress the ladies’ as he told me when I questioned him on it back in sophomore year. Well, let me tell you, know that I’m finally sitting up and paying attention, I’m definitely impressed.

Wow, how weird does that sound? I’m talking about my best friend here! Well, my best friend and more, it seems now.

“Liz, are you coming?” Max’s impatient voice breaks me out of my trance and I feel my cheeks grow hot. I raise my eyes up to his face; he’s standing several metres away.

“Y-yeah, I’m coming,” I call back to him and move to catch up.

“Hey,” he murmurs out of the side of his mouth as I reach his side and we begin walking together. “Were you just checking me out?” I can see the confident smirk tugging at his lips, but I can’t bring myself to look at him fully. So, I keep my eyes fixed on Isabel and Alex straight ahead of us. However, I can’t help the smile that plays on my lips and I know he sees it. At the edge of my vision, I can see the smirk growing into a full-fledged grin.

“I knew it,” he murmurs back, but I’m too embarrassed to look at him.

We reach Isabel and Alex and are met with suspicious grins. I realise that they probably saw our somewhat strange interaction by the car and are probably jumping to conclusions. The right conclusions, I might add; but we have agreed not to say anything to either of them before we’re ready and I’m not about to confess to anything. Luckily, all we get is a knowing look from Isabel and a smug grin from Alex when they greet us, and as Isabel links arms with me and drags me off to discuss last night’s dinner, I breathe a sigh of relief.

At least Max and I won’t have to worry about acting normal around each other for a while.

***

Day 21 – Sunday July 14th 2002

I’m not sure I can effectively describe how wonderful I’m feeling at the moment. I spent the entire day walking around with a huge, silly grin on my face and no amount of self-restraint could stop it.

It’s kind of strange really. Now that Max knows how I feel and he’s confessed his feelings to me, it’s almost like we’re just noticing each other for the first time. Even though we’ve already kissed and admitted feelings, it’s as if we’re going right back to the flirty stage, the part that usually happens before the first kiss and confessions of love. And for the most part, we’ve definitely passed the ‘getting to know you’ part of the relationship. It’s weird; our entire relationship is completely backwards!

All day long, Max and I have been exchanging these discrete glances and secret looks. I feel like I’m back in junior high again, getting goose bumps whenever my big crush so much as looks in my direction, but really, I love it. It feels good to be the centre of Max’s attention, and I don’t just mean in a best-friends, we’re-the-only-two-people-on-this-trip kind of way. I mean, he’s been looking at me the same way he used to look at Jenna, his first crush in high school, when he thought no one was looking; and it warms my heart…

“So, am I ever going to find out what you write about in there?”

I’m pulled out of my daydreaming by Max’s half-whiny, half-amused tone. I put my pen down, settling back into the comfy chair by the window and grin at him smugly, “Nope.”

He puts on a mock-offended look, “No? After everything that’s happened between us, you’re still saying no?”

“That’s right. I mean, maybe you don’t wanna know what I’m writing; after all, I could be critiquing your kissing technique.”

His face pales at my words and I cover a smirk. Ha. That’s got him worried; serves him right for being nosy.

He gives me a crestfallen look, “You think I’m a bad kisser?” he pouts and I roll my eyes.

But that wounded expression is all it takes and in an instant, I’ve sauntered across the room and have come to a stop at the edge of his bed, where he’s perched on the edge.

His legs part slightly and I step between them. Cupping his face in my hands, I lean down and just before our lips touch I whisper, “I definitely do not think you are a bad kisser, Max Evans. In fact, I think you’re probably the best kisser ever.”

I watch as his eyes light up and then quickly darken as his arms snake round my waist, pulling me closer. “Well then, I guess I’ll – ” but he doesn’t get any further as we both give into temptation and our lips meet in a passionate embrace. My head spins as I feel Max’s tongue part my lips and slip inside my mouth, whilst his hands caress my lower back.

Wow, I think I could get used to this feeling.

We’re both breathing heavily when we finally pull apart and Max lets his head drop against my chest, but I’m suddenly in a playful mood and urge him to scoot up onto the bed so his back rests against the headboard. With a mischievous smirk, I climb onto the bed after him and wrapping my arms around his neck, I lift myself onto his lap so that I’m straddling him. Unable to resist, I lean down to nibble on the side of his neck and his arms come around me once again.

“So, Evans,” I say lightly, between small kisses. “How far exactly have you gone with a girl before?”

I feel him stiffen slightly under me and immediately worry that I’ve offended him with my question, but one glance at his lowered head tells me that he’s embarrassed more than anything else.

“Hey,” I lift his chin so that his eyes meet mine. “You can tell me. I’m not gonna laugh, or make fun of you, or think differently about you. I’m just genuinely curious,” I tell him, with a small smile.

He holds my gaze for a second before his eyes shift. “I guess I’m just not used to talking with you about this stuff; it feels kind of weird,” he admits.

“I know it does, and I guess that’s to be expected, considering,” I say. “Okay, how about this – I’ll tell you something about me and then you can decide if you wanna tell me something about you?”

“Okay,” he agrees quietly, but he looks as if he’s not sure he wants to know what I’ve done. He needn’t worry, I’m not gonna make him feel bad about his own experience, or lack thereof.

“Okay,” I grin. “Here goes. You’re the only person who’s ever made me feel light-headed and dizzy just by kissing me,” I tell him, watching as a look of both wonder and disbelief crosses his face.

“S-same here,” he whispers.

An elated grins breaks out on my face. “Really? You feel like that too?” His smile is the only answer I need and we share a meaningful look before I continue.

“You’re also the only guy I ever wanted to spend all my time with. With Kyle, I could only take a few hours at a time, but you…well I’ve thoroughly enjoy the last three weeks sharing a room with you.”

His response is to capture my lips in a heated kiss. “Me too,” he murmurs when he pulls away and I can’t wipe the smile off my face as I prepare to tell him something else.

“Okay, time to dig a little deeper now,” I pause for a second to think. “I’ve never performed oral sex on a guy before.”

At first, he looks shocked by my bluntness, but then a sly grin spreads across his face. “Me neither.” I playfully punch his arm. “Okay, okay, I’ll be serious,” he says, but then he looks down. When he brings his head up again, I see the uncertainty in his features. “I, um…I have,” he states and for a second, I wonder what he means by that; but then it dawns on me.

“You have? But…I mean…”

“Hey, just because I haven’t gone all the way, doesn’t mean I’ll deny my girlfriend the pleasure she deserves,” he defends. “Besides, it was only once and I was a little drunk at the time.”

“Oh,” I can’t help feeling a little jealous and I can’t stop the next question from spilling out of my mouth. “Who was it? I – I mean…” I trail off embarrassed.

He shakes his head slightly, “It was Tess. She asked me to and I wasn’t sure at first, but you know, I wasn’t being fair on her by not wanting to sleep with her and, well, why should she have to go without because of that?” he reasons.

Although, to me it doesn’t sound like he did it for the right reasons, my heart gives a tug at his thoughtfulness and I lean forward to kiss his lips softly before moving along his jaw line and back down to his neck. I’m interrupted however, by his next question.

“Has anyone ever, you know, done that to you?” his voice is almost timid and I smile against his warm skin.

I straighten up again so that I’m looking at him, “Well, almost,” I smother a small giggle at the memory and Max looks puzzled. “It was after one of Kyle’s big games and we went back to his place; but he was so exhausted that he only got as far as my stomach before he completely passed out!” I roll my eyes and Max bursts out laughing, before quickly covering his mouth with his hand.

“Sorry, I just got a weird mental picture; I didn’t mean to offend you, or – ”

“Hey, no worries,” I cut him off. “It was pretty funny actually. And you know what? I’m glad he fell asleep, because I’m not sure I really wanted him to actually do it,” I send him another smile, which he returns and then studies me with a pleased expression

“So, I guess you’re still a virgin in that area, then?” he muses. “Hey, that’s one-up for me in that department!”

The pleased-little-boy look on his face both makes me laugh and sends a thrill through my body, simultaneously. “Yeah, I guess it is,” I grin, tightening my arms around his neck. “And, you know, now it’s up to you to remedy that,” I whisper just before our lips meet again.

“Oh, I intend to,” he mumbles between kisses. “I definitely intend to.”

TBC…

[Heavenli24]

Thank you once again for the feedback :

Erina258 - I'm glad it made you smile .
begonia9508 - I think they can be naughty every now and then - we don't want them to turn all serious now that stuff's happening!
Smac - Thanks . Although Liz has had more experience, she still hasn't done everything and especially not with someone she's in love with.
dreamer destiny - Thanks, and you might just be right there.
Sweet Liz - Thank you.
roswell3053 - Thanks.
lazza - Yeah, I think they deserve some fun .
POM - Thank you.
youre my dreamgirl - Thanks.
Emz80m - Playful is good, don't you think?
trulov - Thank you, I'm glad you like it and that it got you reading some AU Without Aliens .

Don't worry, the Max/Isabel conversation is revealed in this next part, but it's not really that bad; Max just didn't want to bring it up and discuss it just before they spent the day with her and Alex.

Part Fifteen

Day 22 – Monday July 14th 2002

We said goodbye to Isabel and Alex this morning and now we’ve decided to drive all the way across the country to the East coast. We drove for eight hours today and have stopped for the night at a motel on the side of the road somewhere near Barstow, CA. Just for fun, and because it’s not too far from here, we’re going to drive up to Las Vegas tomorrow. I know that we’re only eighteen and so can’t legally do any of the things that Vegas is famous for, but we don’t care – it’ll still be fun to take in the atmosphere.

Then on Wednesday, we’ll carry on Eastwards along the I 40, until we reach the coast. Our main destination is New York City, but we’re going to try to visit as much of the area as we can. Max has promised that we’ll make a stop at Harvard so he can see the campus and where I’ll be living in the Fall.

Just thinking about going off to college and leaving Max in New Mexico is making me all choked up. It was bad enough before when he was just my best friend, but now that we’re together, the prospect of living thousands of miles from him is almost unbearable…

I can’t help it, a small hiccupping sob escapes my mouth as I think about how miss I going to miss everyone when I leave, my parents, my friends and most importantly, Max.

At the unexpected noise in the relative silence of the room, Max’s head snaps up from the road map of the United States that he’s studying and looks in my direction, a concerned expression on his face.

“Hey, Lizzie, what’s wrong?” he asks.

I shake my head, covering my mouth with my hand. “It’s…It’s nothing,” I finally manage.

His face softens, “Something’s obviously up. Come here,” he puts down the map and stretches his arms out to me.

I sigh and try to wipe away the few lone tears that have fallen from my eyes. “Okay,” I sniff.

I close my journal and make my way over to him. I reach his bed and curl up at his side, feeling his arms come around me as I settle down against him.

“So, what’s up?” he asks as he rubs my arms comfortingly.

“It’s silly,” I dismiss. “I was just thinking about what happens when we get home. You’re still gonna be in New Mexico, studying at UNM and I’m gonna be on the other side of the country. It’s just so far away from everyone, from you…” I trail off sadly.

“I know,” he whispers consolingly. “I know. It’ll be hard, but we’ll get through it, okay. No matter what happens between us, I’m your friend first and I always will be.” His words make me smile. “I’ve been thinking about it too. About how I’m going to survive at UNM, knowing that you’re living it up at one of the best schools in the country, meeting all these charming, smart guys. I mean, how am I supposed to compete against Harvard men?”

I lift my head to look at him. He’s staring at the opposite wall, his jaw twitching with concealed emotion. “Max, there is no way any Harvard guy could ever live up to you in my eyes, so please don’t worry; I’ll be spending all my time missing you,” I tell him, placing a kiss to the underside of his jaw. “And what about all those girls at UNM? You’re not the only one who can get jealous, you know.”

His eyebrows rise as if this is the first time he’s even considered it and it reassures me. “No danger of anything happening there, Lizzie. You’ll always be on my mind too.”

His arms tighten around me and I relax back against him.

“Can…can I sleep here tonight, Max?” I ask timidly.

He looks down at me in surprise, “Here? As in…?”

“Yeah,” I confirm.

“Sure. No problem,” he smiles warmly, placing a kiss on my forehead. “How about we get changed and then we can watch a movie or something?”

“Okay,” I smile and leave his arms to get ready for bed.

Ten minutes later, we’re both dressed in grey T-shirts and black shorts (well, Max is in boxers) and we both laugh when we see each other’s attire.

“We look like twins!” I exclaim, between giggles.

“Yeah, well, you are wearing one of my shirts,” he retorts. I look down and realise that he’s right. He lent me his favourite T-shirt a couple of years back when I got caught in the rain walking over to his house and I kind of adopted it after that. “And it’s one of my favourites as well.”

“Well, it can’t have been that important to you, considering you went straight out and bought another one,” I say, indicating the shirt he’s currently wearing.

He looks down at his shirt too, and then concedes, rolling his eyes, “Oh, okay. Fair enough.”

I grin triumphantly as we get into his bed. Max begins flicking through the TV channels as he puts his arm around me and I relax against him. There are no good movies on, so we finally settle on watching reruns on Nick at Nite. We sit in silence for a while, absorbed in the show. My mind begins to wander however, when I feel Max’s fingers tracing small patterns on my arm and I think back to everything that has happened over the last couple of days. I sign in contentment and I’m just about to lower my head to rest on his shoulder, when a thought occurs to me.

“Max?” I straighten slightly.

“Hmm?” he replies absently, not taking his eyes off the screen.

“You never told me what you and Isabel were talking about the other day,” I say.

“Hmm,” he mumbles again. I roll my eyes. He’s not listening.

“Oi,” I shrug off his arm and give him a playful shove. “I’m talking to you.”

“Hey!” he cries, rubbing his sore shoulder and frowning at me. “What was that for?”

“I’m trying to talk to you, and you’re not even paying attention!” I exclaim, in mock annoyance.

“Well, I was trying to watch…” he glances at the TV. “…The Cosby Show.” I snort and his expression becomes apologetic. “Okay, I’m sorry. I wasn’t listening to you. What were you saying?”

“I was saying,” I start in exasperation, although I’m not really that annoyed with him. “That you never told me what was going on with you and Isabel on Saturday.”

“Oh,” he says, looking back at the TV again. “It’s actually a bit embarrassing…” he trails off.

“Come on, Evans,” I tease, trying to get him to lighten up. “Spit it out.”

He takes a breath, closing his eyes as he does so. “Isabel knows how I feel about you,” he blurts out and I feel my eyes widening at his statement; he was right, this is embarrassing. “She was nagging me about when I was going to tell you the truth.” He opens his eyes and looks at me, trying to gauge my reaction.

“She…she knows?” I stutter, shocked that both she and Alex already seemed to know what Max and I have only just admitted to each other. “H-How long for?”

“A while,” he admits.

“Wow, so everyone else seemed to see what we couldn’t,” I say in wonder.

Max looks up at me again. “Everyone else?”

I sigh. “When Isabel was talking to you on Saturday, Alex asked me almost exactly the same thing. He wanted to know if we’d gotten together yet.”

I glance back at Max to find him watching me with wide eyes. “A-and what did you say?”

I give a small snort, “I basically asked him what he was on and told him that it was never going to happen.” Max’s face falls slightly and I rush to reassure him. “No, Max, I just couldn’t believe that he’d just voiced the one thing that had been on my mind the last few days. It threw me,” I tell him and his expression relaxes again. “Besides, look what happened just a few hours later.”

He grins down at me and the next thing I know, our lips are meeting in a brief, but emotion-filled kiss. When we break apart, however, Max has a puzzled look on his face.

“Did you notice anything strange with Alex and Izzy this weekend?” he asks and my stomach drops.

“What are you talking about?” I feign innocence, hoping that he hasn’t guessed the seriousness of their relationship, since I promised Alex I wouldn’t tell him anything.

“Don’t you think they seemed more relaxed and at ease with each other?” I shrug and he continues. “And what was going on with Alex already being at her building when we arrived every day?” He fixes me with a penetrating stare and I force myself not to fidget under it.

“Maybe he just likes being early,” I suggest, but I don’t think Max buys it.

He shakes his head slightly, “No, it’s something else.” He’s watching me closely and I try to be inconspicuous by studying my nails, but out of the corner of my eye, I can see his eyes narrowing suspiciously. “You know, don’t you?”

“I don’t know anything,” I shake my head, but I can’t bring myself to look at him.

Max tears his gaze away from me, glancing round the room. “Oh, God. They’re sleeping together, aren’t they? That’s why he was always there,” he says in disbelief. “And that’s why he wouldn’t let me take him back to his hotel room. He didn’t have one!” he exclaims in realisation. “God, how could I have been so stupid!” He turns to me again, “And why are you not saying anything about this?”

I curse under my breath. “Max, I…” but I can’t think of a good excuse. I sigh, “I promised Alex that I wouldn’t tell you. But you seem to have figured it out for yourself, so I guess that’s not relevant anymore.”

He lets out a growl, “God, I’m gonna kill him!”

I put a hand on his arm. “Max, calm down. You can’t get all worked up about this. It’s Isabel’s life and she’s capable of making her own decisions,” I tell him. “Besides, she doesn’t seem to be against the idea of us being together. Can’t you just be happy for her and support her choices?”

He sighs and runs a hand over his face. “I guess I don’t have much choice, do I?” he says bitterly

“Hey, don’t be like that,” I plead softly. “Just because she’s your sister, it doesn’t mean that she needs you protecting her all the time. You like Alex; he’s your friend. Wouldn’t you rather Isabel ended up with him than with some random guy?”

He crosses his arms over his chest and slumps sulkily, “Yeah, I guess,” he admits grudgingly, but I can tell that he knows I’m right.

I can’t help the smile that spreads across my face at the sight of him. He looks like a sulking kid who didn’t get his way and usually I would just ignore his mood, but for some reason, right now I think he looks hot.

God! What is wrong with me? It’s like everything he does just turns me on.

I can’t stop myself and the next thing I know, my lips are on his, nibbling and teasing at his mouth. I can’t pull away immediately, I don’t want to and the kiss is only broken when we both run out of air. I stare at him for a moment, breathing heavily, our lips barely a centimetre apart, before relaxing back at his side. I concentrate my attention on the TV screen in an attempt to get myself under control.

“Wow,” breathes Max. “What was that for?”

I keep my eyes staring straight ahead as I answer him, “Not sure really, I just couldn’t help it,” I manage.

His arm comes around me once again. “Well, anytime you feeling like doing it again, feel free to go right ahead,” he tells me with a smirk.

I let out a deep, contented breath as I settle against his side.

“Oh, I will, don’t worry.”

TBC…

Sorry, no pictures today, but there will be more soon. I promise.

[Heavenli24]

Thank you for the feedback :

Erina258 - Yeah, they really are going to be apart at college .
roswell3053
youre my dreamgirl
dreamer destiny - I didn't think of including any Max pics, maybe I'll try to dig some out for a later part .
Gater101
lazza
maxnlizforever
anonymousarfan
begonia9508
POM
Emz80m

I just want to say that there will be no 'getting married' in Vegas. Since they've only been together a couple of days, I think that would be a little too hasty !

Part Sixteen

When I wake the next morning, I find myself surrounded by warmth. My eyes flicker open and my gaze falls on the empty bed just a couple of feet from where I’m lying; my empty bed. For a second, I’m confused. Why am I not in that bed? Then I remember; I was upset last night, and asked Max if I could sleep in his bed with him.

I almost groan with embarrassment at how bold I was, to assume that we could just share a bed. I mean, we’ve only been ‘a couple’ for like two-and-a-half days! But, as I become more fully awake, I realise our position in bed and suddenly the embarrassment is replaced by something else. It’s contentment, and a sense of belonging.

I can feel Max’s arm around me, holding me to him. His hand is resting against my bare stomach, having slipped under my T-shirt sometime during the night and he has pulled me flush against his chest. I am also aware of his legs, his thighs against mine. Our lower legs and feet are not entwined, but are just touching, and his face seems to be buried in my hair.

I relax and close my eyes, savouring the feeling of being wrapped in Max’s arms. For a moment, I wonder how it is that he can breathe while his nose and mouth are pressed against the top of my head, but then there is a slight movement from behind me and I realise that he is no longer asleep. His lips brush against my head and then lower, as he places small tender kisses to the side of my head and then down to my cheek, ear and finally my neck. His fingers move and stretch slightly over my stomach and it is then that I become conscious of the fact that he seems to be aroused.

I can feel his length pressing into my bottom and that, coupled with the movement of his fingers on my belly, sends curls of excitement, desire even, through my body. My first instinct is to let him know that I’m awake and to show him exactly what his ministrations are doing to me, but suddenly a thought occurs to me and I find myself frozen in place.

This is Max.

I mean, sure, I love him and he’s told me he loves me, but the whole situation suddenly seems a little scary.

Max Evans, my Max Evans has an erection and it’s pressing right into me. It’s there because of me. I can feel it’s length, it’s hardness, but still it seems strange and foreign to me.

Of course, he’s a guy and it’s normal. And it’s not like I’ve never seen one, or touched one, or even felt one inside of me before; it’s just that I’ve never really let myself think of Max getting them before. I mean, come on, it would be kind of gross if you thought about your best friend getting aroused, even more so if you considered that you might be the reason for it.

We might be more than best friends now; and are thinking of each other differently, but I just don’t think that I’m quite ready to make love to Max yet. And you know what, despite the situation he’s currently in, I don’t think that he’s completely ready yet either.

But, having said that, there’s no harm in a little making out, is there?

I let out a small moan as Max’s mouth hits a sensitive spot on my neck and as he lifts his head to see if I’m awake, I take the opportunity to turn over to face him. His hand slides over my skin when I move and it rests on my lower back as I come to a stop in front of him. Our noses are practically touching and our lips are so close that I can do nothing but close the distance between us and kiss him. I don’t even think about morning breath this time.

I also don’t get around to talking to him about my earlier concerns regarding us becoming more intimate with each other. Our make-out session gets pretty heated, with Max ending up on top of me and our legs intertwined; but apart from the odd wandering hand and tender caress, we don’t really explore any further than that. And, as Max points out breathlessly several minutes later, if we don’t get a move on, we’re not going to make it to Vegas with time to experience the city. We’re only staying a couple of nights and then we’ll be heading eastwards.

***

The drive up to Vegas is fun and the atmosphere between us starts off surprisingly light-hearted. While Max drives, for some reason I decide that it’s a good idea to twist round in my seat and bombard him with random questions, at the same time as tossing M&M’s into my mouth (or trying to, at least).

Honestly, I have no idea what I’m on today!

“So, Max. Have you decided what your major’s going to be yet?” I start, barely five minutes into the journey. My unexpected line of conversation must have startled him, because he sends a ‘what does that have to do with anything?’ look my way.

“Where did that come from, Lizzie?”

“What? I can’t ask you a simple question?” I wonder indignantly.

He looks at me fully this time and shakes his head before turning back to the road. “No, it’s not that. It’s just that, apart from last night, we haven’t really mentioned college over the last few weeks. I was just surprised you brought it up now.”

“Oh,” I reply, a little embarrassed at my outburst. “Sorry.”

He smiles, his eyes fixed on the road, “Hey, don’t worry about it. And to answer your question, I was thinking about doing English,” he tells me, but then frowns as if he’s just thought of something. He looks at me suspiciously, “But then, you already knew that, Lizzie. So, come on, ‘fess up. What’s this all about?”

I shrug, popping a green M&M into my mouth, “Just trying to start a conversation. You know, find some stuff out about you, that’s all.”

He looks at me like I’m crazy, “But you already know everything about me. We’ve been best friends for years.”

I look away. Oops, busted.

“Not everything,” I mumble under my breath, but he hears me anyway.

“What do you mean?”

I sigh, “We’ve both said it before, Max. There’s just some stuff that we don’t talk about. You know, personal stuff. Private stuff. But, now that we’re…you know…I’m curious. I want to know those things about you.” I need to know these kinds of things. I need to get over the ‘best-friend’ image that I still have of Max in my head so that I don’t feel strange around him like I did this morning.

He glances at me, his mouth agape. “You want to know intimate stuff about me, about my past? What kind of stuff?”

“Well, yeah. I mean, we’re getting closer and I think we should be more comfortable with each other, get to know each other’s likes and dislikes; our preferences and fantasies.”

“F-fantasies?” he practically squeaks. “Liz…I-I don’t think that now is really the time – ””

“Come on, Evans. I know you wanna know that stuff about me,” I tease, leaning closer to him. “I’ll tell you mine if you tell me yours.”

He looks shocked for a second and I wonder if maybe I’ve taken things too far, but then a mischievous smirk creeps across his face.

“Really?” he drawls. “Okay. Well, two can play at this game. So, how about this, Parker: What’s your favourite position?”

Now it’s my turn to be taken aback. I wasn’t expecting him to be this blunt. “P-position?” I stutter.

“You know what I mean, Lizzie,” he replies smugly. “You’re the one with the experience here.”

“I…um,” I gulp. “Okay, here’s the thing. I’ve only actually done it a handful of times. With Robert, it was just awkward and uncomfortable; and then Kyle…well, he wasn’t really that adventurous and we only ever did it the old fashioned way,” I admit, slightly embarrassed. “So, I don’t really have anything to compare between or choose from.”

I look up at Max to find him staring at the road, a frown marring his features.

“I’m sorry,” he says, when he realises that I’m watching him. “I just, I assumed that since you were more experienced than me, you’d have done stuff, you know? I didn’t mean to embarrass you.”

He glances at me, his apology evident in his eyes.

I shake my head. “Hey, it’s okay, I’m over it, no big deal,” I smile. “So, now I guess it’s my turn to ask you something,” I muse. “Since I pretty much know what you’ve already done, how about this one…if you could have sex anywhere, where would it be?”

His head turns to me once again, “Liz! I’m trying to drive here, I can’t think about that kind of stuff now!” he protests, but I can see through him.

“Oh, come on! Stop trying to avoid the question!” I exclaim good-naturedly.

He sighs in defeat and his shoulders slump, “Fine. But I’m warning you, this isn’t kinky or anything, so don’t laugh at me when I tell you.”

“I’m not going to laugh, Max,” I reassure him, but also wonder why he thinks that I would laugh.

“Okay. Well, I kind of have this image of the perfect bedroom location in my mind. In the middle of the room, there is a queen-size bed with expensive sheets and there are candles scattered all around the room. An open bottle of champagne and two empty glasses sit untouched on the bedside table, while we make passionate love amongst the soft, luxurious sheets…”

He trails of in embarrassment and he looks over at me, as if expecting me be laughing at him. But I can’t laugh, my eyes are welling up and my heart is filled with so much love for him.

“We?” I manage in a small voice. “As in, you and me?”

He gives a small nod and I feel a lone tear escape, making it’s way down my cheek. “Max, that’s beautiful,” I cry. “Where are we? In your fantasy, I mean.”

“We’re, um,” he gives a small, nervous chuckle. “We’re at home, in our house. Liz, in my fantasy, I’m making love to my wife.”

“Oh my God,” I whisper, completely overcome with emotion. “Max, you really imagine us that way? Married?”

“Yeah, I guess I do,” he whispers, nodding. Then he peeks at me again, “Liz, if this is too much, or whatever, you can just forget that I said anything. I don’t want to assume…or…”

“No, Max. You can’t take it back,” I beg. “I won’t let you. It sounds perfect. D-do you really think that maybe that could happen for us? I mean, it’s been a crazy few days, with everything that’s going on. Can we really think that far ahead?”

He shrugs, “Maybe it’s a silly thing to be thinking, but it’s just this picture I have in my mind of what the perfect setting would be. And now that we’re, you know, together, in my mind you’re the person that I imagine being with.”

“That is so sweet,” I exclaim and before I can stop myself, I lean over and plant a soft kiss against his cheek. A smile lights up his face as I link my fingers through his and relax next to him.

***

We arrive in Vegas just after three o’clock, but instead of pulling into the parking lot of the cheap motel chain that we usually stay in, Max drives straight past all the motels and carries on towards the Strip.

“Max?” I ask, confused. “Where are you going? We just passed the motels.”

His mouth turns up into a grin as he strokes the back of my hand with his thumb. “Shh,” he whispers conspiratorially. “It’s a surprise,” he wiggles his eyebrows at me. “Close your eyes.”

“What?”

“Close your eyes,” he smiles and rolls his eyes. “I’ll tell you when you can open them.”

I watch him suspiciously for a moment, before doing what he’s asked.

“And no peeking,” I hear him say.

We drive in silence for a few more minutes. I still have my eyes closed, but my body is humming with anticipation. What is Max up to?

I don’t have to worry for long though, because he takes a left turn and then tells me that I can look now.

“Ta da!” he exclaims, as I try to get used to the light again. But then I see what he’s showing me and I gasp in amazement.

“Wow! Max, I can’t believe you did this!”

TBC…

Again, no pictures for this part, but I thought I'd include a few more photos of San Francisco that were sent to me a couple of days ago by pookie76:

Alcatraz
Victorian houses at Alamo Square
Golden Gate Bridge (as seen from Marin county)

[Heavenli24]

Thank you for the feedback, and to all the lurkers, I hope you're enjoying the story .

roswell3053 - You'll find out where they are in just a sec .
Erina258 - Yeah, they'll be separated around the middle of August .
POM - You know, Full House has never been aired in the UK and I only ever saw about 2 episodes in the States, so I can't really remember what the house looks like !
harroc83 - Thank you.
anonymousarfan - Thanks.
begonia9508 - Thanks.
Roswell 10/2/00 - I know that some parts of Max's personality are less realistic than other, but I just couldn't help myself .
txndreamer06 - Thank you.
dreamer destiny - You'll just have to read the first part of chapter 17 to find out .
lazza - I know, i think I want him too ! Btw, I visited your space earlier and noticed that you went to the Gymastics Championships last week - I am so jealous! Did you see either Beth Tweddle (she had to pull out with an injury though) or Imogen Cairns perform? Imogen used to train at my brother's club when she was a kid. Did I mention that my brother is a national gymnast? He just competed at the British Championships last month. Here's a couple of pics if you're interested (just scroll down to Tim Sanders) - sorry I'm gonna stop rambling now!
kismet - Thanks.
Sweet Liz - Thank you.
rosbuffyangelfanatl - Do let me know if your theory was true .

Hope you enjoy...


Part Seventeen

I can’t believe it! Max has booked us into one of the themed Las Vegas hotels for the next two nights! We’re staying at the Excalibur hotel and casino. It’s supposed to be like this old, medieval castle and it even has turrets (although they’re red and blue and not very medieval) and a drawbridge!

“I hope you don’t mind,” Max murmurs to me as we make our way to the check-in desk. “But I could only afford a room with one bed. It’s the height of the season and the prices have gone crazy.”

“Why would I mind?” I say with a smile. Another night curled up with Max? I’m definitely not going to complain about that. “It sounds like the perfect solution. But you have to at least let me pay for half of it.”

Max shakes his head violently, as if I’ve said something totally outrageous, “No way, Lizzie. This is my treat. You’re my girlfriend now and I can spend my money on you if I wish.”

“Girlfriend, huh?” I raise an eyebrow and his expression turns anxious, as if he might have just said the wrong thing. “You know, I think I like the sound of that,” I reassure him.

I suppress a smile at the look of utter relief on Max’s face. Impulsively, I slide my arm round his waist and squeeze lightly as I stand on tiptoe to place a kiss on the underside of his jaw. With a look of contentment, his arm comes around my shoulder and he holds me to his side as we approach the desk.

As he’s talking to the receptionist and getting our keys sorted out, I start thumbing through the hotel entertainment brochure. Although we’re not allowed in the casino, the hotel has a large swimming pool and several evening shows. My eyes widen as I read about one particular event, although I don’t think Max would be too thrilled if I suggested going to it.

“Okay, we’re all sorted, here are the keys,” says Max, coming up behind me. “What’s that you’ve got there? Thunder From Down Under? Liz, these are Australian strippers!” he sounds scandalised.

I scoff, covering any interest I might have had in the show, “Honestly, Max! Like I really want to watch a load of disgustingly over-muscled, oil-covered jocks prancing around the stage in nothing but thongs!” I exclaim, and then nudge him playfully. “Besides, I like my guys real and more than a little capable of intelligent conversation.”

He wraps his arms round my waist from behind, resting his chin against my shoulder, “You do, huh?” I can hear the smug grin in his voice.

“Uh huh,” I manage as I turn in his arms, planting a quick kiss to his lips. “Come on, let’s go find our room. What floor are we on?” I ask as we pick up our bags and head over to the elevators.

“Uh, seventeenth floor,” he replies, looking at the keys. “West Tower.”

After finding the correct elevator for the West Tower, we eventually reach the seventeenth floor and find our room number.

“Wow,” I say, as we enter the room. It’s really spacious and looks so much more luxurious than the shitty little rooms we’ve been living out of the past few weeks. Dumping my suitcase and backpack on the edge of the bed, I walk over to the window and look out. “Look at that pool, Max! We have to go swimming later.”

“We will,” he assures me, laughing at my enthusiasm. “But first I think we should check out Vegas in the daytime. Since we’re not allowed in the casinos we might as well see what else this city has to offer us.”

We leave our belongings in the room and head out of the hotel. Our first stop is the Luxor, which is right next-door. It’s pretty cool inside and has this whole food court area as well as an IMAX theatre and several other attractions. We grab a McDonalds in the food court and then crack up at the absurdity of coming all the way to Las Vegas, only to eat at an international fast-food chain.

“We’ll eat at a proper restaurant for dinner,” Max promises later, as we walk arm-in-arm down the strip towards the other famous hotels.

We end up in the Forum shopping centre next to Caesar’s Palace. It’s really swanky, but I guess that’s to be expected considering that stars like Michael Jackson shop here. We pass Planet Hollywood and I suggest having dinner there tonight, since I’ve never eaten at a Planet Hollywood restaurant before, but Max says that he already has something planned for tonight and that we’ll have to do it tomorrow.

I wonder what he’s intending for us to do this evening? This feels weird – Max has been going around being all secretive today, but as much as it annoys me that he won’t let me in on his plans, I’m also finding it incredibly romantic and I can’t help but wonder if he’s always like this as a boyfriend; making secret plans and arranging surprises.

If so, I can’t believe what I’ve been missing out on all this time.

***

Day 24 – Wednesday July 16th 2002

Wow, I can’t stop smiling this morning!

Max and I are in Las Vegas, we’re currently sharing not just a room, but also a bed, in the Excalibur hotel and memories of last night are running through my mind at an amazing speed. Max said yesterday that he was going to surprise me, and well, surprise me he did!

First, he took me to dinner at the Caribbean themed restaurant, Kahunaville, in the Treasure Island hotel. He told me that it was ‘in honour of all the times we rode Pirates of the Caribbean at Disneyland’ and he insisted on paying, since it was our first official date. The food was gorgeous and although we couldn’t drink them, the cocktails sounded delicious – they even had this huge one that cost $18 and you could even keep the cocktail glass afterwards!

Anyway, after dinner, we decided to watch Sirens of Treasure Island, the pirate show that they put on every night just outside the hotel entrance. It looked like it was going to be pretty cool – there was a large area of water out at the front and a moving pirate ship, but within about five minutes of the show starting, we began to regret our decision to stay. Despite the fact that there were families and many young children watching, the ‘performance’ was pretty much a soft porn show. The women were dressed in tiny corsets, boobs practically spilling out and fishnet tights and the men weren’t much better. I managed to sit through about fifteen minutes of it, before I looked up at Max and found the same uncomfortable, unimpressed expression on his face as the one I’m sure was on mine. One glance and that was it; we were out of there!

But dinner wasn’t what made the evening special, it was what happened once we got back to our room that did…

I lift my gaze to watch Max; he’s sleeping peacefully beside me on the bed and I can’t help the bubble of joy that rises up in my chest at the sight of him. I carefully reach out and lightly brush his soft, slightly parted lips with my fingers, remembering exactly how they felt against mine last night.

Flashback…

The walk back to the hotel is spent expressing our disgust over the Treasure Island show, although Max does point out that this is Vegas and that this kind of thing is not all that uncommon here. But you’d think that they’d at least put a warning on the brochure that it might not be suitable for kids!

By the time we reach our room, we’ve almost gotten over the whole thing and it turns out that Max is in a really playful mood. The second the door closes behind us, he pushes me up against it and immediately begins an onslaught of kisses on my lips, my face, my neck and every other area of exposed skin that he can get his hands (or rather, lips) on. The sudden feel of his solid chest pressing me against the door makes my knees weak and I hold him to me tightly as he buries his face in my neck.

I am so caught up in the feel of his body pressed against me that I completely miss the fact that by the time he stops to take a breath, we are on the bed and he is pressing desperate, open-mouthed kisses to my face and neck. I can do nothing but cling to him; my hands and fingers buried in his short hair, my mind a blur.

“Liz…” he breathes as his lips brush my collarbone.

He continues to move lower and it’s only when I feel his warm hand cupping the underside of my breast that the hazy fog surrounding my brain clears somewhat and I realise that what is happening between us is something new and exciting.

“Max?” I slide my hands out of his hair and lift his chin to look at me. “What are we doing?” I whisper softly.

But he just grins and presses a finger to my lips. “Shh. No Questions. Just relax and enjoy it.”

So I do.

My fingers immediately fly back up to grasp his hair as I feel his ministrations resume. He slowly draws the straps of my top down over my shoulders and then my arms, exposing my bra-clad chest to his gaze. I gasp as he cups my breasts in his large hands. He runs his thumbs over the silky material and I shiver as they come into contact with my sensitive nipples. My head falls back against the pillows and my fingers go slack in his hair as I feel the sudden warmth of his mouth on my still covered breast.

He teases me for a couple of minutes before moving down over my stomach, reaching for the hem of my top and pushing it up to expose my bare skin. He rains small kisses on my stomach, around my belly button and I gasp with the pleasure, unconsciously tightening my grip on his head and holding him to me. As his mouth continues its assault on my skin, his hands travel down over my hips to the hem of my knee length skirt before slipping up and underneath it.

My breathing quickens as his fingers trace light circles up over my thighs and my skirt rides up towards my waist as his hand creeps higher and higher. A breathy moan escapes my lips and my hips jerk as his roaming fingers gently brush against my panties. He smiles against my stomach at my reaction and I can feel his eyes on me, watching me, but I don’t have the energy to lift my head and return his gaze.

“Max, please,” I whisper, my hands dropping to his broad shoulders.

He complies with my unspoken request and the next thing I know, he hooks his thumbs into the elastic of my panties, easing them over my hips and slides them off me. He doesn’t touch me for a moment, but even so, my heart begins thumping in anticipation of what’s coming next. But then his fingers come into contact with my most intimate area and I practically jump at the new and unfamiliar sensation. I clamp down on the sudden, self-conscious urge to close my legs and hide myself from his view and instead I force myself not to shy away from him.

I don’t have long to deliberate over my decision however, because suddenly his head is between my legs, his hot, warm tongue is darting out to taste me and I am completely, totally lost. He strokes my thighs as he devours me with his tongue and the combined pleasure is overwhelming. I can feel the pressure building within me, escalating exponentially with every stroke of his tongue. This is positively the most wonderful, fulfilling experience I’ve ever had and I don’t want it to end.

Then, just when I think it can’t get any better, Max’s fingers slide into me as he uses his teeth to gently tease me and suddenly, something inside me just explodes.

I hear myself moaning with pleasure and gasping for breath, but it doesn’t register that the sounds are really coming from me. I can’t think, my body is shaking and quivering; my senses have gone into overload and when the intense sensations finally begin to subside, I can do nothing but lay there, all limp and sweaty, yet fully sated. It doesn’t even register when Max rearranges my skirt to cover me before sliding back up my body and settling on his back beside me.

“Wow,” is all I can manage as I try to catch my breath. “I never knew it could be like that,” I whisper in awe as I turn my head to look at him. “Thank you.”

He smiles and he brushes a stray strand of hair off my face. “No need to thank me, Lizzie,” he whispers softly. “We came back here, and you just looked so… I couldn’t help myself,” he tells me. “And I love the fact that I can make you feel like that.”

An incredible feeling of happiness washes over me at his words and I move closer to him, settling myself against him. It’s on the tip of my tongue to offer to return the favour, but I think he senses that he’s worn me out and also that since I’ve never done it before, I’m not completely ready for it yet, because he just folds me into his arms, presses a light kiss to my forehead and encourages me to get some sleep.

We fall asleep in each other’s arms, still fully clothed, but extremely content.

Present…

I realise that a full-fledged, dopey grin has spread across my face as I’ve been remembering the events of last night, but looking at Max now, I really don’t care. I’m still wearing my skirt and top from last night and although he’s lost the shirt, Max is still in his jeans. The sight of his bare chest, only partially covered by the sheet has me practically drooling, but unfortunately, as much as I would currently like to spend every waking moment in his company, he’s still Max and that means he’ll be dead to the world for at least another hour and a half.

I playfully roll my eyes at his sleeping form and decide that now is as good a time as any to explore more of the hotel. One peak through the curtains tell me that it’s a gorgeous sunny day outside and not too hot yet, so I scribble Max a quick note to let him know that I’m going for a swim and casually suggest that maybe he’d like to join me when he wakes up. I can’t resist adding a quick ‘I love you’ on the bottom of the note, partly in hopes that he won’t think that I’ve just abandoned him, but more to the point, that I really want him to come find me down at the pool.

I’m suddenly in the mood for feasting my eyes on a dripping-wet, swim-shorts-clad Max Evans.

Okay, I desperately need to get my mind out of the gutter now.

I’m off to cool down in the pool (well, at least until Max shows up, anyway).

TBC…

Okay, we finally have more photos...

The Excalibur Hotel at night
The hotel pool
The Stratosphere hotel (in the daytime)
Vegas in the daytime - kinda boring isn't it?

[Heavenli24]

Thank you all for your comments :

roswell3053 - Don't worry, nothing bad will happen at the pool.
harroc83 - Thanks, glad you like the pics.
Roswell 10/2/00 - I was actually in Arkansas when you were in Vegas, but I was back in New Mexico on the 17th Jan. I went to Vegas in June 2004 when we were all 21 (it was 3 days after my birthday). It was pretty cool - we found an Irish bar in the New York New York hotel!
txndreamer06 - Thanks.
Angelic - Thanks.
dreamer destiny - Thank you .
Erina258 - Don't worry, the pool scene will be good, not bad .
POM - Sorry to disappoint, but they won't be going all the way just yet.
anonymousarfan - Thanks.
lazza - Glad you had a good time at the gymnastics ! I don't think my brother will make it to the next Commonwealth games, but he may be able to compete for Scotland in the one after that. Problem is, although he has a 10.0 start value on rings and vault, his pommels are only about a 7.0 and won't quite get him into the team.
P.S. I didn't even see the Krispy Cremes in the Excalibur when I stayed there!
begonia9508 - Thanks.
kismet - Yeah, I think he was .
jbangelo - Sorry you missed the updates .

Just wanted to mention here that although I've visited every place that Max and Liz have been to on their trip so far (except San Francisco), it wasn't actually all during one trip.

I was in New Mexico from August 2003 to May 2004. We visited Roswell at the end of August 2003, the Grand Canyon in October 2003 (Fall Break), Chaco Canyon at Thanksgiving and then LA and Disneyland during Spring Break (March 2004).

From mid-May to early June we travelled to Phoenix, San Diego, back to LA again, New York (for my 21st) and then Vegas (for my friend's 21st) all in the space of 3 1/2 weeks and I was back in the UK by June 10th!

Anyway, here's the next part - pool scene coming up...


Part Eighteen

Almost two hours have passed by the time Max makes it down to the pool. From my spot in the water, I can see the irritated expression on his face. I’m assuming it’s because I wasn’t there when he woke up and also because he hasn’t seen me yet, but the second his eyes come to rest on mine, the annoyed expression is replaced by a huge grin and I can’t help grinning back at him.

I’m sure he feels my gaze on him as he walks, because when he reaches the sun lounger next to mine, he takes his time removing his T-shirt, stretching as he does so, so that every muscle in his upper body flexes and is visible to me. He turns around, catches my eyes and smirks and I realise then that I’m staring, my mouth hanging open in awe.

He sends a mischievous wink my way, before smoothly diving into the pool. Whilst he’s still under the water and unable to see me, I raise my hand to my face, fanning it urgently. Is it just me, or has the temperature out here just risen by about ten degrees?

My mind is so caught up in fantasies of being alone with Max again, that I fail to notice him emerging from the water right in front of me.

My hand flies to my heart, “God, Max! Don’t do that! You scared the shit out of me!” I cry, but I can’t help laughing at his cute, innocent expression. I sigh and move closer to him, “Come here,” I breathe, leaning forward and planting a chaste kiss on his lips. “Good morning.”

“Morning,” he says softly, as his hands come round my waist and he pulls me onto his lap. “So, you just decided to leave me all on my own this morning, with no one to wake up to? That wasn’t very fair,” he complains, his tone light-hearted.

“Yeah, well, you sleep like the dead and I was bored,” I tell him playfully.

“You were bored?” he questions. “So, what? You finally got what you wanted and now I’m of no use to you anymore?” I know he’s teasing, but something in his eyes tells me that he needs reassurance here.

“Don’t be stupid,” I say as I grip his shoulders, pulling him closer. “You could never be ‘of no use’ to me. I just couldn’t stay in that room with you like that and keep my hands to myself.” I lean in to rest my forehead on his, “And don’t ever talk about what happened last night like that again. What you did for me was…wonderful, incredible…spectacular and I shall remember it for the rest of my life,” I whisper fiercely.

In a flash, he’s captured my lips once again and is kissing me passionately. For several moments, I revel in the feel of his lips, but the sound of children shouting nearby quickly infiltrates my mind and I remember where we are.

“Max,” I say, breaking the kiss. “We can’t. There are kids here.”

He takes a quick glance around, but luckily, no one has noticed us. “Okay,” he sighs. “We better keep this PG-rated. So how about a swim?” He slides me off his lap and we spend a few minutes swimming round the pool and enjoying the atmosphere. Max goes off to get a few lengths in, saying that he’s hardly gotten any exercise recently and is starting to feel like a slob. I let him go, but not before telling him that there’s no way he could ever be mistaken for a slob, not with a body like his.

I grin as he blushes and smiles self-consciously, quickly taking off for the other end of the pool. I watch him go and let out a satisfied sigh as I run my eyes over the smooth lines of his bare back.

I content myself with relaxing at the side of the pool, feeling the blazing sun on my face and observing Max as he completes length after length. After about thirty laps (well, actually it’s exactly thirty - I’ve been counting), he makes his way back over to me, a tired but pleased smile gracing his features.

“Have a good swim?” I ask as he rests his head back against the side of the pool.

“The best,” he responds, catching his breath and then turning his head to look at me. He watches me for a moment, before peaking again, “You know, you look so hot in that bikini,” he states, his gaze burning into me. “I don’t know how I didn’t notice how good you looked before this vacation, but you definitely do.”

I feel my cheeks begin to burn with embarrassment and my eyes immediately lower under his attention.

“Max,” I murmur, shaking my head in denial.

But then his fingers slid under my chin and he urges me to look at him. “I mean it, Lizzie. Just the thought of you in that thing makes me…”

I find myself eagerly anticipating the end of his sentence, but it doesn’t seem like he’s going to finish. Actually, he almost looks…ashamed. What on Earth, would he be ashamed of?

Oh.

My eyes widen in realisation as the meaning of his words sink in.

“Max?” I ask softly. “Is that why…at the pool in LA…when I got there and then you…?” I trail off, unable to say any more, but I think my meaning is clear.

His hand leaves my face and his eyes drop in shame. “Yes,” he manages quietly. He takes a breath and then raises his eyes to me again. “I’d spent the previous couple of weeks trying not to think about you that way, I mean we were sharing a room and all, and I’d just managed to get it under control; but then you arrived at the pool and took off your towel, and my body just…reacted to the sight of you. I couldn’t let you see the effect you had on me, so I made a run for the water,” he finishes with an embarrassed shrug.

“Wow,” I breathe as this new information sinks in. “I’m sorry, Max.”

“What? What are you sorry for?”

“I’m sorry that I was the cause of your, um…predicament. Especially in such a public place and all,” I explain.

“Don’t be sorry. It’s not your fault you’re gorgeous,” he tells me with a smile, lifting me onto his lap once more.

I grin and bite my lip, embarrassed and he kisses me lightly on the nose, before leaning in to plant one on my lips; but I stop him mid-way.

“Wait,” I say suspiciously. “That whole thing with Aiden; you were rude to him when you two met and then we got into that awful argument after I went out with him at Disneyland,” I state and a guilty expression settles across his features. “Max, were you jealous of him?”

“I, um…” he fumbles. “No! I wasn’t jealous,” he tells me. “Exactly.”

I just raise my eyebrow and look at him expectantly.

“Okay, fine,” he relents. “I was out-of-my-head, completely and utterly jealous of him,” he says in a rush. “There, I said it! Are you happy now?”

Now it’s my turn to lean in and kiss his nose, as my hands come up to rest on his chest. “Yes, I’m happy. Completely and utterly happy – ” I don’t get the chance to say anything more because his lips finally capture mine and he’s pulling me closer.

“Maybe we should get out of the pool now,” I suggest a few minutes and several heated kisses later. “We’ve still got a lot more to do today.”

When he doesn’t respond right away, I pull back to find his eyes still closed. “Max?”

His eyes open. “Um, you go on ahead, I’ll meet you back at the room in a couple of minutes,” he says quietly.

“Max, what – ?” I’m cut off as his arms tighten around my waist and my lower body comes into contact with…

“Oh!” I exclaim in surprise. “Oh, right. Okay then. I-I’ll just go now and I’ll see you in-in our room in a couple of minutes.”

He gives me a tense, but grateful smile and releases his grip, allowing me to slip off his lap. I quickly get out of the pool and walk over to where I left my towel. Picking it up, I reach up to wipe the water from my face and take a quick glance over at Max as I wrap it around me. He’s watching me. He catches my eye and then looks away quickly with a sigh, dropping his head back against the edge again.

I collect the rest of my things and shoot another glance in his direction; but this time it’s a sympathetic one.

***

Max returns to the room, fully dressed and a little more composed, a few minutes after I get back.

Once I’ve changed clothes and dried my hair, we leave the hotel, this time heading for the downtown area rather than the strip. It feels strange as we walk down Fremont Street, passing the famous casinos and hotels like the Golden Nugget and Lady Luck; places I’ve only ever seen on TV and in movies.

However, it is after we’ve checked out the buildings and shops that we realise that there isn’t really a whole lot for underage kids to do in Vegas during the day. So, when we spot the huge cinema across the road, it’s an unspoken agreement between us that we’ll spend the afternoon watching a movie.

We end up seeing Men in Black II, which to be honest, isn’t nearly as good as the first one; but I think Max enjoyed it anyway, even if I didn’t.

After the film, we hail a taxi back to our hotel and decide to have a late lunch at Planet Hollywood, instead to going for dinner. The reason being that we have tickets for ‘King Arthur’s Medieval Banquet and Jousting Tournament’ at the hotel tonight. It’s this show they have at the Excalibur where you watch all these performers dressed as Knights battle it out on horses to rescue King Arthur (think A Knight’s Tale), while eating dinner, medieval style (and that means no cutlery)!

As we walk down the Strip towards the Forum, Max spends his time pointing out and making fun of all the strange shops and buildings that we pass. His goofiness makes me laugh and I can’t help linking my arm with his and cuddling up to him as we go. About halfway there, I notice a certain building up ahead of us and decide that it would be fun to mess with Max’s head a little.

“Hey,” I nudge him. “Why don’t we go in there? You never know, we might find something we like,” I suggest, pointing in the direction of the neon flashing sign just outside it.

Max looks in the direction of my finger and does a double take.

“Liz!” he exclaims, shocked. “God! I mean, I know what I said the other day, but it’s only been, like, 4 days! I don’t think we’re quite ready for that yet, do you?”

His scandalised expression is all it takes and I burst into giggles.

“Oh, relax,” I tell him when I’ve managed to catch my breath again. I push against his shoulder playfully. “I was just messing with you; I’m not serious! And besides, when I do get married, it’s not going to be Las Vegas, in the Elvis Chapel!”

He raises his hand to his chest in mock relief. “Oh, thank God!” he breathes. “Shit! Don’t do that to me, Liz!”

I laugh again at his face, which still shows remnants of shock. I roll my eyes and he takes my hand, quickly leading us away from the offending building. As we walk on, he lets out a small huff of frustration, but I can tell that he’s trying to hide his own smile beneath his frown.

TBC…

The Mirage
The Riviera

[Heavenli24]

Thank you for your feeedback and comments :

begonia9508 - Thank you.
harroc83 - Thanks, I wanted to keep it light-hearted and the way Max and Liz interact with each other (as friends) is similar to how my friends are.
Roswell 10/2/00 - Thank you for your help regarding the photos and I enjoyed reading about your experiences in Vegas .
youre my dreamgirl - Thank you. I'm sure you'll make it to Vegas someday .
Erina258 - Thanks
lazza - I ended up seeing Harry Potter (Prisoner of Askaban) when I was there!
Emz80m - Thank you.
POM - I always thought it was a bit silly to take kids to Vegas. Although there is stuff for kids to do there, the city is famous for its gambling and drinking!
anonymousarfan - Thanks.
roswell3053 - Thank you.
dreamer destiny - I know, a swimming Max !
clueless - Thanks and here's a new part now!
Behrsgirl1230 - I don't actually need them on CD, just on the computer, but thanks anyway .
kismet - .



Part Nineteen

Day 26 – Friday July 18th 2002

We set off in the jeep yesterday morning, after a wonderful last night in Las Vegas. The Medieval Dinner and Jousting Tournament were really cool – the seating area was divided into different sections – one for each country ‘competing’ and Max and I were cheering for Norway! It was pretty late by the time we got back to the room and apart from a short, but fairly intense make-out session on the bed; we didn’t do anything else but sleep, curled up next to each other. I think we’re both agreed though, that from now on getting a motel room with two beds would be a bit pointless, especially considering that I think we both sleep better when we’re sharing a bed. And it’s also cheaper!

We drove right across Arizona yesterday, only stopping for lunch at the other Oregano’s restaurant in Flagstaff (oh, how I missed that cookie-dough dessert!) and we finally decided to stop for the night once we reached Albuquerque. We spent last night in a cheap motel on Central Avenue (that’s Route 66 to everyone else) and I promised Max that we’d go check out the UNM campus before we set off again today. That way I can see where he’ll be living and going to school too. The campus itself is also on Central Ave – a little less than a mile from here.

Uh oh, I’d better go now – Max is awake and complaining that I’m not in the bed with him. Honestly, I can’t help it if concentrate better when I’m sitting in a chair than in a bed; especially a bed that he’s lying in too!

Okay, I really have go now, he’s giving me the puppy-dog eyes again…

With a grin, I shut the book, stand up and saunter casually over to Max.

“Did you want something?” I smirk when I reach his side.

“Yeah. You,” he tells me, reaching out his arms to pull me closer and I can’t help blushing under his intense gaze.

I’m tempted to throw caution to the wind and simply give in to him, but our relationship is already moving pretty fast and despite what he did for me the other night, I still think we should wait a little while before becoming even more intimate. Although, that doesn’t stop me from wishing to return the favour some day soon, just not right now – we have to go see the campus.

I lean down and press a sweet kiss to his lips, before running my hand down his arm to his hand and detaching it from my back. I link my fingers with his and bring them up to plant a kiss on his knuckles.

I smile down at him, watching as he shivers slightly at my soft caress. “Come on, let’s go explore UNM. I want to see where you’ll be spending the next four years.” His face falls slightly at my words and I know he’s thinking about us being separated in the Fall. “Besides, I want to know where I’ll be staying when I come to visit you,” I add, trying to cheer him up a little. I have to admit that I am also feeling choked up at the thought of being so far away from him, but despite how inconvenient the situation will be for us, attending Harvard has been my dream for so long and there’s no way I’m giving it up now, not even for Max. If the two of us are really meant to be, then we’ll be able to get through the next four years. It won’t be easy and I’m sure we’ll miss each other like crazy, but I believe that we’ll survive it; if not as a couple, then I’m sure that we’ll always be friends.

I watch as his eyes light up at the thought of weekend visits and he grins.

“Well, if you put it that way, what are we waiting for?” he asks and then pushes me away a little. “Go, get dressed, woman. I wanna show you everything!”

I roll my eyes at his sudden change of tune and untangle my fingers from his. You know, I think it’s just dawned on him that this…us…is not gonna be just a summer ‘we’re-on-the-road’ thing, but that it’s going to last, at least for a while. I move away from him, grab some clothes from my suitcase and head for the bathroom to change.

“Hey, where are you going?” calls Max from behind me.

I turn to him, puzzled. “I’m going to change so we can get out of here,” I tell him.

“Yeah, I get that, but do you really have to go all the way in there to do it?”

I smile. “Well, I could stay in here, but then I don’t think much changing would get done. Or at least, I’m sure clothes would be taken off, but I don’t think that they’d be put on again,” I smirk and blow him a kiss as I enter the bathroom, closing the door behind me.

I hear a groan from the other side and a thump as he lets himself fall back to the mattress. I lean back against the door, letting out a sigh as I do so.

What has gotten into me this morning? I’m not usually this…forward.

***

It doesn’t take us long to get ready and to leave the motel. Since the campus is only just down the road, we decide against taking the jeep, electing to walk there instead; which, to be honest, was probably not the best idea in the world.

The stretch of road between our motel and the university is known as Nob Hill (I know, I cracked up when I first heard it), but it’s actually supposed to be a pretty cool area. There are all these arty shops and some nice looking restaurants, although not so much can be said about the people that we pass walking down the road. Roswell is a fairly quiet, pleasant town to live in, but it appears that UNM is located in a not-so-nice area of town. Some of the buildings are somewhat run down and the only pedestrians seem to be homeless and/or drug addicts, either begging for bus fare money or shouting lewd comments at us as we pass.

Luckily, the campus is a great deal nicer and feels a lot safer than the street. I guess that the students don’t usually venture that far off campus and neither do the people on Central come onto the campus.

I have to admit that I’m almost jealous of Max coming here in August. The university buildings and scenery are gorgeous. In the centre of the campus there is a large duck pond, complete with water fountains and surrounded by grassy areas and trees. I can just picture Max coming out here to study in the sunshine. Actually, the picture I have in my head is of the both of us relaxing together on the grass, quietly enjoying each other’s company.

“What are you smiling about?” Max’s voice brings me out of my daydream.

“Oh, nothing much,” I murmur, not taking my eyes off the sprays of water emerging from the pond. “It’s beautiful here isn’t it?”

“Yeah, it is,” he agrees. “I think I’m going to like it here.”

His arm comes around my shoulders and we take one last look at the pond before making our way over to the Student Union building (or the SUB as Max tells me it’s called by the students). It really is an impressive building: It has two stories, with a movie theatre, a large computer lab and a convenience store on the lower floor and an entire food court and conference rooms on the upper floor. The food court has about six establishments, including a coffee and sandwich bar, a Sonic fast food place and even a smoothie bar!

“Wow,” I manage as I look around. “This place looks so cool.”

“Yeah, it does,” he replies. “But let’s go see some more of campus. I want to show you my dorm.”

He takes my hand and leads me out of the building. We walk through the main courtyard and past the large gym and sports complex.

“I read that use of the gym and pool is free to all UNM students. You just have to swipe your Lobo card to get in,” Max tells me, but my brain is stuck on just one word.

“Lobo card?! Max, what the hell is that?”

“Oh, did I not tell you? It’s the official student card. It’s used to buy meals and get you into the buildings or borrow books from the library,” he informs me, but obviously doesn’t understand why I’m still confused.

“Oh, I kind of already got the part about it being the student ID card. I was actually wondering why it’s called a Lobo card.”

He gives me a ‘duh’ look, “Liz, surely you’ve heard of the New Mexico Lobos, the UNM football team? The Lobo is the university mascot.”

“Oh.” I feel kind of stupid now. “Of course I knew that,” I say defensively, but Max just smirks and nods.

“Uh huh, sure you did.”

I punch him playfully on the arm, but grin along with him too.

As we walk, I take in our surroundings. We are now in the middle of a large area of grass. The gym is behind us and there are several buildings in front of us. But what is spectacular about the view is that there are mountains in the background –the Sandia Mountains if I remember correctly from Geography class.

“This is Johnson Field,” Max informs me. “And those buildings up ahead are the dorms.”

“Which one is yours?” I ask curiously.

“That one on the left, with the wings on either side. Coronado Hall.”

“Wow, it looks nice,” I tell him. “Can we go inside?”

“I don’t know. It might be locked up for the summer,” he says. “Let’s go and see.”

It turns out that we can’t get past the front desk of the building as you need a key to get through the second doors that lead to the rooms, but the guy at the desk gives Max a residence hall brochure that has pictures and information about the hall inside. We take a quick look around La Posada, the dining hall and the SRC – Student Residence Centre (boy, do they like their abbreviations here!), which is where the students pick up their mail. It also has a convenience store with a small take-out Pizza Hut service.

We grab some lunch at Frontier Restaurant, a 24-hour popular student hangout where they serve everything from breakfast burritos to enchiladas and green-chilli cheeseburgers. It’s a pretty cool place.

After lunch, we spend some time checking out the large UNM bookstore – complete with yet another convenience store and a Starbucks. The textbooks are on the second floor, while the first floor is full of fiction books, stationary and UNM clothing and Lobo-wear. Apparently, you have to wear red whenever you attend a football game, so Max decides to buy me a red Lobo’s baseball cap so that I won’t be the odd one out when I come to visit.

He is so sweet!

We manage to spend the entire afternoon wandering around the campus and local area and then eat dinner at yet another student hangout, Saggio’s Italian restaurant and sports bar, before returning to the motel.

I actually like Saggio’s better than Frontier. You can buy a huge slice of pizza for just over a dollar and their desserts look gorgeous. But that’s not the best part; the whole place is done up in an Italian theme, complete with a small water feature and murals and paintings of famous people that cover the walls, although the ones with Einstein and the Beatles are kind of creepy. Even the bathrooms are decorated, with small water fountains instead of normal washbasins.

We arrive back at the hotel exhausted but happy. I know that Max is going to have a great time here in Albuquerque; I only wish that I could share the experience with him. But I know that I have my own adventure ahead of me and seeing Max here today has made me all the more excited to go to Massachusetts. I suddenly can’t wait until we make it out to the East coast in a few days.

We’re going to head off properly tomorrow and are just going to keep driving until we get there.

I can’t wait.

TBC…

Quick author's note - Technically the current student union at UNM was not opened until the summer of 2003, but for the purpose of this story, I've made it a year earlier.

Lots of pics today :

The UNM duck pond
The duck pond fountain
The pond again
UNM Student Union Building (SUB)
Coronado Hall
Frontier Restaurant
Frontier Restaurant and Saggio's
Einstein and the Beatles on the wall at Saggio's
Downtown Albuquerque (from the train)
The Sandia Mountains as seen from the campus

[Heavenli24]

Thank you to:

dreamer destiny - It would have made my year if Max had been at UNM when I was !
roswell3053 - Thank you. Glad you like the pics.
Roswell 10/2/00 - I went on the UNM website again after you posted those pics - They now have 360 degree virtual tours of the campus! Sounds like you had a good time in Rome. I've never been, but I'd like to someday .
Behrsgirl1230 - East coast coming up...
lazza - The campus was great; pity about the 'no alcohol on campus' rule though (my friend got caught with beer in his apartment and was then sent to Substance Abuse Counselling. He was 24 years old at the time - I couldn't believe it since my uni in the UK had bars in the residence halls!).
anonymousarfan - Thanks.
begonia9508 - Thanks. Unfortunately, I haven't been to Harvard, so I'll have to do some research when I write that part .
Alien614 - .
Gater101 - Thank you. I'm glad you like the diary entries, I thought it was fitting considering Liz wrote in her journal in the show.

for your comments .

I currently only have one more part of this story written, so the next update may be a couple of days later than normal, but I'm going to try to catch up with writing new parts on my day off tomorrow, so that I can update sooner .

Part Twenty

Day 29 – Monday July 21st 2002

Well, after almost three days of driving, we’ve finally made it to New York City! We’ve only been here a few hours but I love it already. We didn’t want to stay in a youth hostel or somewhere cheap but in a bad area, so before we got to the city, we stopped at an Internet café and booked into the cheapest hotel we could find, which ended up being the Quality Inn on Broadway and West 94th Street (and to be honest, wasn’t very cheap at all, especially compared to the dumps we’ve been staying in recently).

The cross-country journey from New Mexico was long and tiring, but we had fun and the majority of the time was spent laughing and joking together about the silliest little things, like reminiscing over our first crushes in Junior High and wondering exactly why, in Freshman year, Max decided that the leather look was in (even he had no idea about that one). Our nights were spent sharing a bed, sleeping in each other’s arms. We haven’t gotten much further in our physical relationship than we reaching in Vegas, although there has been the odd intense make-out session involving loss of tops and other upper body garments, but although I feel a little guilty about not doing more for Max, I decided to wait until I could make it special, namely until we arrive here in New York. At least now, I can plan something for him like he did for me at the Excalibur. I’m not sure what it will be just yet, but I’m definitely going to make it good!

But right now, we’re off to take in the sights of Times Square. I’ve heard that they do city bus tours from there and I think we’re planning to go on one of those around the city. I’d also like to take in a show while we’re here and even though Max claims that he’s not into Broadway musicals, I know, for a fact that he used to listen to the music from Singing in the Rain when he was a kid (but he’d never admit that to anyone – he doesn’t even think I know). I’m hoping we can go see The Lion King. I’ve heard it’s really good; so let’s just hope I can persuade Max to come along too…

“Right then, Lizzie. Let’s go explore this city!” exclaims Max excitedly, while stuffing his camera and several tour guides into his backpack.

I shake my head at his eagerness, but gather my things all the same and we head outside. It’s not worth trying to drive anywhere around New York, but luckily there’s a subway station right outside the hotel.

We take the subway down to Times Square and 42nd Street and I can’t help the awed gasp that escapes my lips when we emerge from the underground.

“Wow,” I grab Max’s arm. “Look at this place. I can’t believe I’m actually here!”

“I know,” I hear from beside me and I look up to find Max gazing around at all the people and the buildings, the same awed expression on his face.

“Come on, let’s find where they do the bus tours. I’m dying to see the sights,” I tug on his arm, feeling like an excited child at Christmas.

He grins down at me and then shrugs his bag off his shoulders. “Okay, okay, we’ll go in a sec. I just need to find the brochure, we don’t want to get lost trying to find the right place do we?”

I wait impatiently while he consults his map, biting back a smirk at the intense look of concentration on his face.

“Okay,” he says after a minute, raising his eyes to mine. “We just have to go this way, turn right at the junction and then it’s on the next corner.”

I roll my eyes and can’t contain my snort, “So basically, we didn’t need the map; it’s only a few hundred yards away, and we could have just as easily found it on our own,” I say.

He stares at me in confusion for a moment, before looking down at the map in his hands and realising what I’m referring to.

“I’m sorry, okay? I just like to be prepared,” he defends his actions.

“Silly man,” I smile good-naturedly and reach up to ruffle his hair. The confused expression returns and I fight the urge to roll my eyes again. “Never mind,” I tell him, taking his hand in mine and dragging him off in the direction of the tour buses.

***

We have a great time checking out the sights. We decide on the Downtown tour, which takes us past Macy’s, the Empire State Building, Fifth Avenue, Madison Square Gardens, Central Park, Rockefeller Centre and the Statue of Liberty ferry. The tour allows you to get off where ever you like and then get back onto another bus later, so we went to the top of the Empire State Building, had a look around Macy’s and took the ferry to the Statue of Liberty.

I had a brilliant, but exhausting day taking in the city and, from the look on Max’s face as he sits next to me on the subway back to 94th Street, I can tell that he’s pretty tired too. While we were on the tour bus, I managed to convince Max that we should go see The Lion King tomorrow and so before we left Times Square, we visited the theatre box office on 42nd Street and purchased tickets for the evening performance. We chose to eat dinner at the Appleby’s restaurant near the Lion King theatre where the food was great, but a lot more expensive than back home in New Mexico.

We finally arrive back at our tiny room in the hotel at just past 10pm; even though it costs over $100 a night (which is even more than the Excalibur), there is barely enough space to get in and out of the bed, let alone to walk around the room.

By mutual agreement, we decide to go straight to bed in order to conserve our energy for another fun-packed day tomorrow. I grab my nightclothes from my suitcase and just as I’m carrying out an internal debate between changing in front of Max, who’s standing on the other side of the bed, or taking the easier and less awkward option and using the bathroom, Max pretty much takes the decision out of my hands, grabbing his own shirt, pulling it over his head and giving me an eyeful of his bare, well-defined chest. I can’t help lowering my eyes to his belly button and the trail of dark hair down to the elastic of his Calvin Klein boxer shorts, which are just showing above the waist of his jeans.

I gulp helplessly as his hand goes to his zipper, his long fingers pulling it down before he shrugs off his jeans. They fall to the floor and I realise that my best friend, well, boyfriend now, is standing only a couple of feet from me, dressed only in dark-blue boxer shorts. He steps out of his jeans and kicks them over to the wall, where they land in a heap on top of his previously discarded shirt.

Running his hand through his hair, Max looks up at me expectantly and I will my body to move, but it’s like I’m frozen in place.

“So, are you going to get ready for bed now, or what?” he asks, adding a “Liz?” when I don’t respond immediately.

“Oh, um,” I shake my head. “Yeah, sure. Of course,” I glance round helplessly, realising that I don’t really have any other choice but to undress in front of him. Especially considering I’m the more experienced one here and since he doesn’t seem to have a problem with it, there’s really no reason why I should either.

I place my clothes down on the bed and tentatively reach for the hem of my top. I think that Max realises that that he’s watching me intently and that it’s making me a little uncomfortable, because he suddenly busies himself with pulling back the bedcovers and getting into the bed. I pull off my top and reach for my long nightshirt, quickly slipping it on. I solve the problem of taking off my bra in front of Max by unhooking it underneath my shirt and then pulling the straps off my arms whilst still wearing the shirt. Max just fixes me with a weird expression as he glances up in time to see my bra being pulled out of one of the sleeves.

“What?” I ask somewhat indignantly.

His expression turns innocent, “Nothing,” he says quickly. “Just, um,” he points to the bra in my hand. “I’ve never seen anyone do that with their underwear before.”

“Oh, it’s an old trick that us girls use when we’re in a public dressing room and want to change without embarrassing ourselves,” I shrug, a smile tugging at my lips. “No big deal.”

I pull off my skirt, safe in the knowledge that my shirt almost reaches my knees and that I won’t be flashing him or anything, and lay my clothes neatly on the floor by the bed. I take off my make-up and brush my hair quickly, before reaching for the covers and sliding into the bed next to Max. We turn onto our sides to face each other and I tuck one hand underneath my cheek, resting the other on the bed in front of me.

“So,” I start, trying to distract myself from the view of his naked chest, but the small amount of chest hair right in the middle of his upper torso is right in my line of sight and I just want to lean forward and…

“So?” he grins, watching as I involuntarily lick my lips.

I mentally shake my head and force myself to look up into his eyes. “Don’t you just love this city?” I finally blurt out.

“Yeah, I do,” he replies. “It’s so different from the Southwest. I just can’t believe you’re going to be living all the way out here soon.”

“I know,” I say and move closer to him to snuggle against his chest.

My body relaxes as his arms come around me and I find myself surrounded by his scent. I try not to think about all the naked flesh beneath me, but my hand drifts up of it’s own accord and my fingers begin tracing the fine hairs on his chest. I can feel his breath quicken and he shivers slightly below me. The thought that I can cause these reactions in him encourages me and I lift my head, replacing my fingers with a whisper of a kiss on his chest.

“Liz…” he sighs softly and the sound of his voice, makes me want to hear more, my plan of a special evening be damned. So, I begin to place tender kisses against his warm skin and at first, he sighs again and shifts a little, but after a few moments, I realise that no more movement or sound is coming from him. A quick glance up at his face confirms my suspicions.

Max is fast asleep.

I let out a quiet scoff and roll my eyes, shaking my head at him. Poor guy. He was so tired earlier; I practically had to shake him into staying awake on the subway. It’s probably all that travelling we’ve done over the last few days. Although we shared the driving pretty much equally, he did the last stretch yesterday and then we were up early this morning for sightseeing – not that he was complaining or anything, in fact he was the one who insisted we get a move on; so, to be honest, I can’t blame him.

A small smile plays on my lips as I pull the covers up around us and curl into his warm body. His arms are still pulled tightly around me and the feel of them makes me feel safe and loved.

As I relax, my head resting on his chest, I fall asleep with just one thought on my mind:

This is the life.

TBC…

Empire State Building
Empire State Building Lobby
Views from the Empire State Building - Pic 1 and Pic 2
The Plaza Hotel (Home Alone 2)
Horse and Cart rides outside Central Park
Times Square Billboards
Times Square
Manhattan from the ferry
The Statue of Liberty