A/N - Okay first of all I want to apologize for taking so long with this part. Oh and it would have been posted sooner if LOST didn't come on...couldn't miss it!!
This part has a lot of *stuff* in it...and I will say after this part hopefully things will begin to speed up a bit. At this point I see no end in sight for this fic, so I hope you all plan on sticking around for a bit
Lastly...just want to say THANK YOU to all of you reading...means so much to me and it seriously keeps me going!!
Itzstacie
lizard_queen
FSUMSW94
roswell3053
vampyrax
anonymousarfan
ILYMEFOREVER
Brighteyes
RoswellScripter
Dreamer06
VeronicB
Jason's Lover
begonia9508
frenchkiss70
Jason's Princess
Erina258
Emz80m
Rigel
Littlewind
BehrObsession
Bixie
Heavenli24
Earth2Mama
Ellie
Sweet Liz
Behrsgirl1230
Mareli
IzzyEvans2201_PuertoRico
Eccentric One
Hazz
g7silvers
Spicy trini1
Dreamer 4 Ever
Lazza
Roswell 10/2/00
Alien614 - You in Jersey too?! Cool!! Good to know I'm not stranded alone in this state *lol*
guelbebek
Cherie
Googi
Smac
Timelord31
roswellfreak07
jeja911
Clari
anonymousarfan
Lurkers
Chapter 18
“Do I smell that bad?” Kyle joked lightly as he stood out on Max’s front porch.
“What the hell was that?” Max asked his teammate with a confused expression.
“I don’t know. She answered the door and then she seemed shocked to see me.” He shrugged his shoulders wondering when he’d be invited in.
“Do you know her?” Max questioned, still trying to figure out why Liz would be so upset to see Kyle, someone she shouldn’t know.
“No man, first time I saw her was when she opened the door. She is a looker though,” Kyle commented as he walked passed Max. On any normal day, any guy saying anything like that about Liz, Max would have had a problem with. Right now though he was worried about Liz more than anything.
“Kyle, what are you doing here so early? I was expecting you later tonight.” Max questioned after closing the door.
“Hey, I decided that maybe we could grab something to eat, but I guess you are otherwise occupied.” Kyle didn’t understand what Max had against him, they were not only teammates but also friends; at least he’d like to think so.
“I’m sorry. Yeah we can, but would you mind if Liz came along?” He needed to see Liz. Waiting was no longer an option.
“You mean the cute brunette that went running the second she saw me?” Max nodded but couldn’t help but smile at Kyle’s bewildered look.
“Sure, so long as you promise she doesn’t runaway from me again. That could seriously put a damper on my sex life.” Kyle joked as he began searching the living room for the remote.
“I’ll be right back, try not to fuck up the remote while I’m gone,” Max called out as he headed up the stairs.
“You can’t let that go can you? Boy, you break a man’s remote one time and he never let’s you live it down.” Kyle shook his head as he began playing with the endless number of buttons on the remote, trying to simply turn on the television.
****
Liz wished she could get her body to stop shaking. The second she saw the guy at the door she couldn’t help her gut reaction. He reminded her of someone she never wanted to see again.
It wasn’t him though. And then she was quickly mortified that she’d reacted so strongly, that the only thing she could think to do was runaway. Max was probably so confused, as well as his guest. She groaned inwardly, how stupid could she be? Max must have thought she was crazy by now.
Still though, she couldn’t help but need to see her daughter. She quickly made her way towards Alexis’ room. Not finding her there, she began to panic. She searched the closet, under the bed and the bathroom, to no avail.
“Alexis!” Liz called out, her voice shaking with fear. She was tearing through each room on that floor of the house looking for her daughter, but she couldn’t find her.
“Liz!” Max said as he caught sight of her opening his bedroom door at the end of the hall.
“Where is she?!” Liz questioned and Max could see her worried eyes. He quickly made it to her side and held her shoulders steadily.
“Liz, Alexis is in her bedroom.” Max watched as she shook her head.
“No, she’s not there. I can’t find her, Max. I have to find her.” He was getting seriously worried. Sure Alexis wasn’t in her room but she wasn’t exactly missing either.
“Okay. I’m going to look for her on the monitor, she’s probably just playing somewhere in the house she isn’t supposed to.” Max reassured her and saw that she visibly relaxed at his calming words.
After a few buttons were clicked, they both spotted her sitting beside Kyle on the couch.
“See Liz, she’s okay.” Max turned and pulled her into his arms.
“Right,” she said distractedly.
“You want to tell me what that was downstairs?” Liz stiffened in his arms and pulled back slightly.
“Liz?”
“I’m sorry. I just…I don’t want to talk about it.”
“Liz, do you know Kyle?” She shook her head but wouldn’t look him in the eyes. The one thing that she knew drove Max crazy beyond belief.
She was avoiding his eyes; he hated that more than anything. Max knew her enough to know that when Liz didn’t look him in the eye, she was keeping something from him. He decided to wait to discuss it further. However, before the night was through, he would.
“Are you hungry?” he asked, as they made their way downstairs.
“Yes, starving.” She managed a small smile as she gripped Max’s hand harder.
“Do you mind if we go out with Kyle?”
“Alexis and I can have something here, you should spend some time with him.” Liz was too embarrassed. Kyle must have thought she was a lunatic.
“No, I’m not leaving you right now. I know you’re not telling me something Liz, and that’s fine. But I’m also not going to leave you alone.” Max looked her in the eyes, hoping that she saw the hidden meaning behind his words. He needed Liz to trust him, otherwise what were the doing?
“What about Alexis?” Liz questioned as they entered the living room.
“I’ll call Michael and see if he and Maria can watch her, we need to talk anyway.” Max didn’t allow Liz to comment any further; instead he placed a sound kiss on her lips before stepping away from her.
Liz was worried. Max was a determined man, she knew this, but had a feeling it would be working against her later this evening.
****
“What’s your name?” Alexis had asked as soon as she entered the living room a few minutes ago.
“Kyle, and you are?” He smiled down at the little girl that skipped into the living room to sit next to him.
“Alexis Rae Parker.”
“Well Alexis, it is very nice to meet you.” Alexis giggled and then proceeded to bombard Kyle with questions.
“Are you friends with Max?”
“Yes.”
“Do you play football too?”
“Yes.”
“But you’re short like my mommy. How come you can still play?”
“I’m not that short, and I play because I’m good.”
“Max is better.”
“Oh really?”
“Yup!” Alexis said as she stood in front of Kyle on the couch.
“Have you seen him play?”
“No…”
“See! Then how do you know he’s better than me?” Kyle crossed his arms triumphantly. Obviously he’d forgotten he’d been talking to a child.
“Because he’s bigger and stronger than you. And because he loves me and I’m his princess!” Alexis crossed her arms in challenge.
“Alright children, you want to move to your corners of the room?” Max clapped his hands together breaking the staring match going on between Alexis and Kyle. He couldn’t help but feel really proud that Alexis was defending him. It felt damn good.
“Max!” Alexis squealed as she ran over to Max’s waiting arms. Max quickly scooped her up in his arms.
“Hey you. You know you were supposed to be in your room,” Max reminded her softly.
“I know, but I was lonely and Riley needed to go outside. So I brought him outside and then the doorbell rang so I ran inside.” Alexis tried to explain as Max walked them further into the living room to sit next to Kyle.
“You know Max, if I didn’t know any better, she might actually be your youngest fan.” Kyle quipped lightly, watching out of the corner of his eye as Liz entered the room.
“I think you’re right.” Max beamed brightly.
“And you are the infamous, Liz?” Kyle stood and reached out his hand for her to take. Liz blushed but returned the gesture.
“Yes. Sorry about before.” Liz apologized.
“Oh that was nothing. You should have seen what my latest girlfriend did to me when I tried to hug her after a game.” Liz smiled. She knew Kyle was trying to make her feel comfortable, considering how their first meeting went.
Kyle realized quickly how important Liz and Alexis were to Max. He looked at his friend interact with the young girl, as well as the looks he threw Liz. He looked truly happy for the first time Kyle could even remember.
“I’ll be right back, I have to make a call.” Max extracted Alexis from his lap and she happily climbed back on the couch next to Kyle.
“Alexis, honey stop staring.” Liz chided her daughter softly.
“Mommy, I just wanted to see if his arms were big like Max’s” Alexis blinked up at Kyle who just laughed along with Liz.
“Still, baby it’s not nice to stare.”
“Okay.”
“Sorry,” Liz apologized, feeling a bit more comfortable with Kyle.
“It’s okay. So tell me Alexis, what’s the verdict?” Kyle watched as she bounced over to the other couch next to her mother.
“Verdict? What’s that?” She looked to her mother and before Liz had the chance to answer, Max walked back into the room.
“What’s what?”
“Oh your little fan here was trying to determine if your arms were bigger than mine.” Max shook his head and chuckled.
“So princess, what do you think?” Max stood behind the couch and crossed his arms over his chest awaiting the answer.
“Max’s arms are so much bigger!” Alexis beamed brightly and Max simply puffed out his chest, while Kyle grumbled in protest.
Liz however, was the only person in the room not paying attention to the little manly display of testosterone. Instead she focused her eyes on Max’s perfect physique. His arms were definitely bigger and more sculpted than Kyle’s. In fact the t-shirt he was wearing did him amazing justice. Liz wasn’t blind and she sure as hell wasn’t a nun, but the fact that she was more than inexperienced was an understatement.
She might have a daughter but it only took approximately five minutes to conceive her. Which is why deep down Liz was terrified of going any further than she and Max had already gone. Which wasn’t much at all.
Despite the fact that this was all new to the both of them, she knew that Max was very experienced with women. What would he think of her if they ever got to that point? A part of her hoped that they never did, that way there wouldn’t be any awkwardness. The other part couldn’t wait, she knew that Max had to be an amazing lover. Lord knew that being with him just once had to be better than the one sexual experience she ever had.
How could it not? His kisses drove her completely and utterly insane. They were electric and they coursed through her body bringing it to life.
Slowly dread crept its way to the forefront of her mind. Liz knew Max was known for his serious partying lifestyle. She’d found out going through some older magazines and articles, as well as the news reports that were plastered on ESPN every other day. Most of the reporters were very sensitive about Max and his accident, in fact it seemed that most of the people that knew and met Max, loved him. Not that she could deny why they felt that way. But others, they were down right nasty and mean. Liz had asked him about it on a few occasions, and every time he had only one comment.
“It’s their job to get the dirt on me, I can’t blame them. Yes, I can’t stand it and it pisses me off, but for the most part I just ignore it.” Liz slowly began to understand it the more time she spent with him, in his world.
They would go to the store and there would be people following with cameras. They would snap pictures every other second, and at first that unsettled Liz. Now though, she was slowly getting used to it. She was however very surprised that people would print stories about her and Max, they didn’t even know her. Max however was quick to rebuke any and all rumors between them. He especially made sure that Alexis stayed out of the papers. Something that would make Liz’s heart swell at the thought of the fight he had put up about it.
“It’s not right, Liz. I’m and adult, and so are you. We can speak for ourselves, but she can’t. And we have to protect her and I’ll be damned if they print so much as her name in ink.” Liz remembered his comment when she approached the subject a few weeks ago. She was broken from her thoughts at the sound of Max’s voice.
“Give it up Kyle! The truth has been told.”
“Oh please! She’s what? Six? How could she know? Everything is bigger to her.” Kyle defended.
“I’m not six. I’m five,” Alexis said as she jumped to her feet and stood between Kyle and Max.
“Max? How come all your friends aren’t smart like you?” Alexis questioned seriously and Max couldn’t hold back the laughter that erupted from his lips a moment later.
“Oh God! She’s another M.W.” Kyle groaned dramatically throwing himself back into the couch.
“What’s a M.W.?” Liz finally managed to tear her eyes away from Max long enough to join in the conversation.
“Those are what the guys call, Max Worshippers.” Max answered throwing Kyle and nasty glare. Liz wondered what that was all about, but didn’t comment.
“Liz didn’t you want to go and get ready? Michael and Maria are on their way over.” Max didn’t want the conversation turning into a, ‘question Max about his past’ fest. That was one topic of conversation he had avoided discussing with Liz, and if he had it his way, he would avoid it forever. He knew that eventually one day his past would come back and bite him in the ass, he just hoped it wasn’t anytime soon.
“Sounds good. And I’ll get this one ready for bed.”
“Bed? But I didn’t have dinner yet.” Alexis looked up at her mother pouting.
“I know that, but when Michael and Maria get here they are going to get dinner for you and then you can watch a movie before bed.”
“Oh! Yay! Okay mommy.” Alexis clapped her hands and then followed her mother up the stairs.
“Max?” Liz questioned called out when she was about halfway up the stairs.
“Yes?”
“What should I wear?” That was a loaded question for him. He didn’t care what she wore; he knew she’d look amazing no matter what.
“Anything that you’re comfortable in.” Liz nodded and proceeded up the stairs with Alexis.
****
“Where is my cutie pie?” Maria brushed passed everyone in the living room looking for Alexis.
“Here I am!” Alexis shouted as she ran straight for Maria.
“Oh my goodness, don’t you look adorable?” Maria lifted the little girl in her arms and placed a smacking kiss on her cheek.
“I do?” Alexis pulled at the hem of her nightshirt.
“Yes! And don’t let anyone tell you different.” Maria hugged her before passing her off to Michael.
“Hey squirt.” Michael kissed her temple softly.
“Did you bring it?” Alexis whispered out.
“Of course. Do I look like an amateur?” Michael questioned with a raised eyebrow and a smile playing on his lips.
“What’s that?” she asked.
“Forget it. Let’s just say I couldn’t forget.”
“Forget what?” Liz questioned coming up from behind them.
“Oh hey Liz.” Michael greeted her and then watched as she quirked her brow in question.
“It’s a secret mommy.”
“Well in this family we don’t keep secrets.”
“Okay. We are gonna watch Batman.”
“Batman? You like that?” Since when did her daughter like or rather watch Batman?
“Yes! I love it mommy! Just like Spiderman.”
“Spiderman? Who are you and what did you do with my daughter?” Liz tickled her daughter’s sides gently.
“Max watches it with me in the morning.”
“He does?” Liz turned and looked at Max for an explanation.
“Hey the girl needed a proper education on cartoons, and Michael and I felt we could be of great service to her.” Max gave her a big grin. He was simply adorable, she thought. Adorable and sexy. Mind out of the gutter, she reprimanded herself.
“Are we ready to go?” Kyle entered the conversation for the first time after greeting Michael and then Maria. He had actually met Maria on a few occasions.
Michael watched the small exchange between Max and Kyle. He just couldn’t figure Max out. He and Kyle got along great in the beginning, but now they were like oil and water.
Michael had asked Max several times what the problem was. They used to be friends and hung out when Kyle first joined the team, but now they barely spoke. Kyle was always the one to initiate a conversation with Max, but Max was always bitter and short with him. He wondered what went wrong.
“Yes. Liz is starving after all.” Max joked as he tried to slip by Liz. No such luck, she pinched his arm playfully.
“Max!” Liz blushed slightly before kneeling down in front of her daughter to kiss her goodbye.
“I love you.” Liz kissed her daughter and hugged her tightly before letting go.
“Love you too, mommy. I’ll see you soon.” Alexis smiled and then turned to Max. Who was already lowering himself to one knee.
“You be good for Michael and Maria.” Max winked and Alexis simply giggled. Liz watched them and realized that usually she was the one cautioning her daughter on her behavior. Funny how quickly the tables turned, she thought.
“I will,” she said as she threw her arms around him tightly.
“I love you.”
“I love you too, princess.” Max kissed her cheek before standing up and reaching for Liz’s hand.
“Let’s go beautiful.”
****
“Serena was killing me that day. Max, I think you and her would get along great, you both have the same sense of humor.” They had finished dinner and were having coffee a few hours later that night. Kyle had been telling Liz and Max about the girl he was currently dating.
“Yeah sounds like it.” Max was short with his answers, despite Kyle’s best efforts to strike up a conversation. Something that did not go unnoticed by Liz.
“So Kyle, where did you meet her?” Liz asked, figuring that Kyle was trying hard to get Max’s attention and failing.
“We were at a game a couple of weeks ago in Chicago and she was there cheering like she had a bullhorn attached to her mouth. It was crazy, we won and she had this sign with my name on it. I said to myself, I had to meet her. And I did. She’s great and just one of the most amazing people I’ve ever met.” Kyle beamed brightly over his girlfriend. He was glad that Liz was along, otherwise the conversation, or lack there of, between he and Max would have ended long ago.
“I think that’s great. Don’t you Max?” Liz elbowed him gently to join into the conversation. And based on the stern look on her face, Max settled up a little higher in his chair and joined in.
“Yes. So when do we meet this wonderful girl?” he asked with as much enthusiasm as someone sitting in a dentist’s chair awaiting a root canal.
“Actually, she’ll be here next month. She has some time off of work and I’m flying her up.”
“Great! We should all get together for dinner then, right Max?” Liz turned to him with a smile on her face. God, she was just beautiful. Everything single thing about her screamed out to him. Wait, what was she saying?
“Yes. We’ll set that up.” Max offered with slight more enthusiasm than before, but it was still seriously lacking any sincerity.
“Right.” Kyle finished with a disappointed frown. He thought Max would be happy that he settled on one girl and was being serious about a relationship.
Max did not join into the conversation between Kyle and Liz for the rest of the night. He listened as Kyle asked about Liz about herself and Alexis, as well as how she met Max, without going into complete detail about Alexis’ cancer.
Finally the end of the night approached and that found Max and Liz in uncomfortable silence on the drive back home.
“I don’t understand what the problem between you and Kyle is, Max. He seems like a really nice guy.”
“I don’t want to talk about Kyle right now.” Max reached to change the radio station and to his utter surprise, Liz leaned over and turned it off.
“Max, we’re talking. Now why don’t you just tell me what you have against him?” Liz spoke softly not wanting to upset Max more than she knew her questioning was.
“Liz,” he bit out angrily, “Just drop it.”
“Max…”
“Liz the guy idolizes me.” Max hissed out.
“And?”
“And don’t you see the problem with that?”
“No.”
“Well it is a big problem,” he tried to explain but saw the confusion on her face so he decided to elaborate further.
“Liz, you know that I didn’t live the most ideal lifestyle before the accident and I didn’t want Kyle falling into the same trap as me. I didn’t want him turning out like me. He’s a good guy,” Max trailed off staring out the windshield.
Liz didn’t know why Max always seemed to find someway to put himself down. Didn’t he see what a great guy he was? Didn’t he see that he had so much to offer so many people? Obviously not, she figured.
“And what makes you think that you’re not a good guy?” she countered.
“Liz.” He groaned out, already knowing where she was headed with the conversation.
“What? All I’m saying is that you have to be special to take in a girl and her daughter without even knowing them. And then helping them in any way you could and made them feel a part of something they’ve never felt before.” Liz ranted on while Max was stunned silent by her words.
“Felt what before?” he interrupted.
“What?” she questioned distractedly.
“You said that I made you feel a part of something you’ve never felt before, what is it?” This time he turned fully to her and watched as she swallowed nervously before answering him.
“A family. I know it’s pretty unconventional but being with you is as close to having a family as Alexis and I have had. I can’t express to you what you’ve done…are doing for us means.”
“Liz, that’s one part of me. It’s not all of me and…”
“I think that really defines who you are,” she interrupted.
“I’ve done things Liz, things I’m not proud of and…”
“And that was all in the past. Let it die there Max.” Liz found herself thinking that she should do the same thing, but she couldn’t.
“Liz, just because everything has been going great doesn’t mean that my past isn’t going to come up again. I was a rich football player who threw lots of parties and had lots of women,” he hissed out trying to get her to see that he wasn’t this amazing person. It was all just an illusion, and sooner or later she would see through it. Something that terrified Max more than anything, he didn’t want to lose her or Alexis for that matter.
Liz ended the conversation at that point, not wanting Max to elaborate further into his past. It was the past and she would prefer to just forget it…but no matter how hard she tried to push back her questions, she just couldn’t.
****
After tucking Alexis in bed, she managed to get Maria and Michael let her stay up way passed her bedtime, Max retired to his room. He still needed to talk to Liz, but he didn’t want his past or the conversation that they had in the car coming back up again.
He quickly showered, changed and made his way to Liz’s room. He knocked softly and heard her sweet voice call out to him to enter.
For a moment he stood froze watching her sitting atop her bed. She was wearing all white and if he didn’t know better, he would’ve thought she was his own personal angel. He didn’t know how he got so lucky as to find her, but he thanked God for her and Alexis every morning and every night before bed.
“Hey,” Liz whispered out softly as she patted the place beside her. She hated fighting with Max, but sometimes it was necessary.
“Hey. You tired?” he asked as he brushed a strand of hair away from her flawless face.
“A little, you?” Max simply nodded and watched as she scooted over making room for him to lay down. This was new territory for him with her. He laid beside her, rubbing her arm gently. Max was on overload, he never took the time to appreciate any girl he was with, but somehow he knew no one would ever compare to Liz. The moment was so perfect, so right and he didn’t want to spoil it.
“I thought it was Jimmy for a split second,” Liz confided gently. Max paused mid-stroke before continuing. She was letting her guard down and coming to him, that was a first and it made his heartbeat speed up.
“It wasn’t. It was just his eyes that reminded me of him. And then I just felt stupid and ran.”
“Liz, he wouldn’t even know where to find you.” Max tried to reassure her, pulling her into his arms and kissing the top of her head. Liz snuggled closer to Max enjoying the feel of her body pressed against his.
“I know that but what if he does? What if Jimmy comes back and takes her?” Liz shivered at the thought and Max quickly sat them up and pulled her into his lap.
“Liz that will never happen. He can’t. She’s yours and didn’t you tell me that he wasn’t even listed on her birth certificate?” Max questioned and Liz nodded her confirmation.
“But he can ask for a paternity test, if he ever finds us. I mean I’ve been in the papers pictured with you, he could find me, Max. If he wanted to he could.” Liz looked to him with wild eyes and Max framed her face in his hands.
“Liz that will not happen. I have the best lawyers and if that asshole comes he’s going to have to get through me first. I promise you, no one will ever take her from you.” Liz’s teary gaze met his golden eyes, and a moment later their lips connected.
Max ran his hands down her back pushing her closer, needing to feel every single part of her against him. Their tongues brushed against one another and they both groaned. Max took that opportunity to roll them over so that he lay on top of Liz. His heavy weight pressing her firmly into the mattress as their mouths continued to devour one another’s.
Liz didn’t know what was happening, one minute she was completely immersed into Max, her mind and body wanting one thing, him and only him. The next minute she had felt his arousal pressing hard against her thigh, and those thoughts she tried so hard to push away, surfaced.
“Max?” Liz panted and waited until he opened his eyes. Max couldn’t believe she broke the kiss to ask him a question; he didn’t want the moment to end. He struggled for a minute to get his breathing under control before he responded.
“Yeah?” He rested his forehead against hers. Watching her brown eyes blink with a look he couldn’t quite put his finger on.
“How many girls have you been with?” And with that Max rolled off of her and onto his back abruptly, knowing that his greatest fear had just come to light.
For it was at that moment, Max Evans knew that his past was coming back to haunt him.
TBC…
Just a little note...obviously you guys underestimate how evil I can be I do have a few things up my sleeve! See you next week!