Re: Shall We Never Get Older (AU,CC,Adult) A/N - 04/22/11
Posted: Tue May 03, 2011 9:30 pm
Author’s Note:
SURPRISE, SURPRISE! We're back. Thank you so much for the feedback and kind bumps, especially with our crazy, crazy month. It means so much!
So we have some good news and bad news. Good news is that we're going to try to post every week for a while, bad news is, we don't know when in the week we will be post since our schedules are even busier than before, and so instead of giving you set dates and in turn potentially letting you down, we're just going to be posting as we can.
Thanks so much for the feedback once again.
Earth2Mama
Alien_Friend
begonia9508
keepsmiling7
sarammlover
nibbles2
StarCharms
Roswell_Dreamer
angiebrenna
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Liz
The sun is shining, the birds are chirping and I think for the first time today, I’m genuinely feeling considerably much better than before. And as much as I hate to admit it, Michael’s talk really helped. I hate that he can see through me so clearly sometimes but a part of me feels like a weight has finally been lifted off my shoulders now that he knows about my Harvard acceptance and even more, my fears that Max is going to pull out on me. I don’t think I realized how much I actually needed to tell someone about it until Michael turned all my questions around on me.
I take a seat outside on one of the wooden benches while balancing two coffee cups in my hand. One, is a very hot, black coffee with some cream, two sugars and even a sprinkle of cinnamon that I know Max loves but always forgets to put on, and another is a very cold Frappachino that I refuse to take a sip of until Max gets here.
I spot his BMW as soon as he pulls into the parking lot and suddenly, I feel my heart take off in a flurry. This is it, the moment of truth. If he has two coffees in his hands like he normally does, then that means that he’s not as angry as I thought he would be and if doesn’t… well, I can only hope that my peace offering and an apology will make it up to him.
It only takes a minute before I see him heading my way and I try to put a smile on my face, but when I notice his empty hands, I know that I’ve failed. He walks right past me and heads towards the doors… but I’m not letting us start work like this, especially when we have a really big job ahead of us. “Max!”
He turns around slowly and I hurry to grab my things before meeting up with him. “What is it Liz?” His voice is cold and he sounds agitated.
“Uh… do you mind if we talk for a second? Before we start work?” I can hear my voice trembling and I hate it, but I wasn’t expecting Max to be so cold towards me. I know I acted out of line, but shouldn’t he at least meet me half way? I’m really trying here. He finally nods before walking towards one of the benches and sitting down.
I hand him the coffee and smile. “Here, I thought it might be nice if I supplied the caffeine for once.”
I see a small smile cross his face that he’s trying to hide and I can’t help but smile too because now I know that things are going to be okay. “Thanks.”
“No problem.” I turn towards him. “Listen Max, about this afternoon, I’m sorry. I was out of line. I had no right to go off you the way I did and I feel awful. I’ve been torturing myself this whole day over the look on your face and I’m really sorry Max. It’s just that Ava… she rubs me the wrong way and I didn’t mean to take my frustration of the night before out on you or her.”
He nods but doesn’t say a word and I’m starting to feel discouraged again.
“So... I just wanted to say that I’m sorry. I mean, you’re friends with her and it’s not fair to put you in a situation where you have to choose between me and her.”
He nods again and this time, I’m not sure if things are really going in the direction I want. “So… we’re cool right? Still friends?”
He looks up at me and smiles. “Yeah, Liz, still friends.” He then stands up and makes to walk past me, but this time he brushes against me slightly, causing me to smile because I know that that’s his way of letting me know that he’s forgiven me and everything is good between us again.
I follow him into the hotel, my mood much lighter and freer now that things between us are okay again. I’m feeling so happy right now that I think I’m ready to take on Kris Pyne and anyone else that Garrison could throw at me right now. The first thing we do is head up to the room Garrison let us use as our base for the night. We didn’t get a chance to look at it the night before, so this time, I’m practically bubbling with joy. What? You can’t honestly blame me can you? I mean, have you seen the hotel rooms here? It’s like heaven, the softest sheets and the fluffiest pillows and the softest bathrobes anywhere in this area. And did I mention that the shampoos and soaps come in Vanilla and Chocolate scented delights? Did you hear me? Chocolate! I roll my eyes and giggle at myself, not that we would really be using all of that while we’re working but still, I can’t help but be a little excited.
Max leads the way to the third floor and as soon as he opens the door, I practically blow past him and run into the room to check everything out. It’s the master suite and is one of the best rooms in the hotel and it doesn’t take me anymore than a few minutes to admire everything before I twirl around and flop onto the bed while hugging a pillow to me, wishing my own pillow was as soft as this. God, did I mention I love these rooms?
“Excited much?” Max smirks at me before dropping his keys on one of the tables and picking up the phone to call Garrison.
Right, work. I sigh and sit up, and then frown when I notice a long list sitting on one of the tables with our names on it. Grabbing it, my mouth drops open when I realize that it’s a list of things Kris wants us to pick up for him. Um… what the heck? Does he know what time it is?
“What’s up? I apparently must look as shocked as I feel because Max is gauging me as if something terrible just happened. I look back down at the list and shake my head, not only is it extremely long, but half of these things won’t be available to get until the morning… well, with the exceptions of a few groceries and some movie rentals. “I guess it’s going to be a long night.” I hand Max the list and sigh. “You wouldn’t happen to know anyone that owns a department store by chance, would you?”
I watch as Max reads through the list, his expression changing from slight agitation to annoyance, and then finally to resignation. “One of the members of my mom’s book club owns the local Macy’s right down the corner. “ Max shrugs, “I might be able to talk her into opening the store for us, especially if she finds outs why and who it’s for.” He sighs, “might…”
“Do you really think she will?” I ask. Max’s mom has always been pretty snooty and I’d imagine that most of her friends act the same way.
“She might, she’s pretty nice. It just depends on if she’s awake or not.” Max shrugs again. “It’s worth a shot since the only other alternative would be to go to Walmart and I doubt that Kris would appreciate that. The rest of the stuff is pretty easy.”
I nod, silently wishing Max is right and watch as he pulls out his cell phone and carrying out a conversation with his Mom’s friend. “Yeah, thanks Brenda. I really appreciate it… tutor your daughter… yeah… of course. Alright, I’ll be there as soon as I can. Thanks again.”
“She’ll do it?” I ask as soon as he pulls the phone away from his ear and ends it.
“Yeah, I guess her daughter is taking some computer drafting class and needs some help with an upcoming exam, so we’re trading favors.”
I giggle. “She bribed you?”
He shrugs. “Yeah, but I would have done it anyways.”
“Aw, you big softy.”
He rolls his eyes and smirks before grabbing his keys and making his way towards the door. “So… my car or yours?”
I start bouncing on my toes. Max’s BMW is my dream car and I’m constantly trying to get him to let me drive it - not that he ever does - but either way, I love riding in it, especially with the top down and at night. My truck really just doesn’t compare and it always makes me envious of Max’s wallet. “Yours! Can I drive the Beemer?”
“Not on your life.” He shakes his head at me and I stop my bouncing. What, it’s not like I’m a bad driver. I pout but Max just smirks as he opens the door for me. “C’mon, let’s go.”
Sighing in defeat, I grab my purse before heading out the door and following Max towards the parking lot. It only takes us a few minutes before we’re both buckled in and heading towards the Mall. Half way there, Max leans forward and turns on the radio before singing along to U2’s ‘I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For.” He’s got such a soothing voice and he doesn’t even know it. Leaning back against the seat, I close my eyes, fighting the urge not to fall asleep.
I fail miserably when Max’s phone suddenly pierces the air, jarring me out of my sleepy haze. Grumbling a little, I shift and watch out of the corner of my eyes as Max looks down at the Caller ID, a small smile coming over his face before he picks up. “Hello?”
“Hey.” I see his eyes light up a little, his face taking on a happy look that makes me wonder who he’s talking to.
“Uh-huh? Really? No, that’s great. I mean, I haven’t seen your parents in a while so a drive up to Santa Fe this weekend wouldn’t be a bad thing.” He laughs at something and I reach over and turn the radio down, I’m having—I mean, he’s probably having trouble hearing the other person on the line, what with the music so loud and all. I roll my eyes at myself, okay, it’s not really loud, I’m just being nosey.
“I know… yeah.” He nods his head and I can barely make out that it’s a female voice on the other line. Female? Who would that be? Isabel? “Well, you did look great in that skirt…” He trails off and I actually see a small blush form on his cheeks causing me to look away. Oh God, definitely not Isabel. And eww… is Max really talking up some girl while he’s in the car with me? I look over at him again, crossing my arms across my chest before I realize that I probably look like a possessive demon. Shit, letting my hands fall down to my lap again, I try to look out the window and tune out the conversation but it doesn’t work well when Max suddenly laughs like he’s having the time of his life. Suddenly, I don’t feel so good.
“Well, I don’t get off work till about seven, so say I drop by the café around seven-thirty… eight, and maybe we can grab some breakfast together before your first class? Sure… okay, yeah… alright, I’ll see you in the morning then, okay, yeah, bye.” He hangs up and makes a left turn before looking over at me. “Tired?”
I guess I must look sleepy, but no, I’m anything but. I want to know who he was talking to. “No… just quiet.” I give him a small smile, wondering if he’s going to mention the phone conversation. He nods his head and makes another left turn before we stop at a traffic light.. “So, who was that?”
He turns his head towards me slightly and clears his throat. Wow, Is it me, or does he look nervous all of a sudden? “Um… that was Ava.” He answers just as the traffic starts moving again.
“Oh,” I nod my head a little, feeling a bit confused. He’s taking Ava out to breakfast tomorrow?
“Yeah… um… well, uh.” He looks over at me and smiles. “We’re ah… sorta back together again.”
“Oh.” My heart stops in my chest before it starts to beat loudly again. He’s going out with Ava again? What? When did this happen?
“Yeah, you know after this morning, I actually ended up hanging out with her for a little while and I kinda realized that I really miss being in a relationship with someone, you know? And it’s like you said, Ava’s perfect for me. I care about her a lot and we both come from similar backgrounds, my parents love her and she’s really a great person.”
“A-huh.” Why is he explaining it? The last thing I want to hear about is how perfect Ava is for him.
“Yeah, so we just got to talking and one thing lead to another and I asked if she wanted to try again and she does, so… we’re dating again.”
“That’s great Max.” I say, trying to be supportive so that we don’t end up having another fight like we had had earlier. I clench my eyes shut not knowing how to grasp everything I’m feeling right now. I don’t really like Ava, but then, it doesn’t really matter what I want, it matters what Max wants and if he wants Ava then I guess I should be happy for him, but the truth is I’m not and the worst part is, I can already see Harvard kissing me goodbye. I turn around and face the window, trying desperately to control all the emotions that are currently running through me. God, I just want to go home right now, but I can’t. I need the money too bad and I can’t just leave Max to do everything while I call in sick.
Reaching out, I turn the radio back up to full volume – Max going back to singing and me sinking down into my seat. We drive the rest of the way in silence with me getting lost in my own thoughts.
Max
The whole shopping trip was a bust. Liz just walked around quietly as we got everything on Kris’ list which was pretty surprising in itself as Liz usually has an opinion on practically everything. She didn’t even crack a joke at the extra slim condoms we had to get and that was… pretty crack worthy.
I feel bad knowing I’m the reason for Liz’s silence. I hadn’t had any intention of telling her about Ava, in fact, I’m not even sure what happened with me and Ava. One second I’m seriously thinking over Michael’s advice and the next, I’m calling Ava.
Michael was right when he said I wasn’t being fair to Liz. She doesn’t know what’s going on in my life, she doesn’t know how I feel about her, but I’m pretty sure if she did, it wouldn’t make much of a difference. Liz sees me as her friend, that’s all, and I can’t spend the rest of my life waiting for her to suddenly see me as anything more, it’s not fair to expect her to or for me to. So I’m going to try to move on, for both of us.
We quickly drop our things off to Kris’ room, graciously accepting the generous tip he gives us and the compliments on getting everything to him so quickly. I think he was really impressed by us today, but I bet it probably had more to do with the fact that he had a “lady-friend” in there with him than anything else.
Liz surprisingly still hasn’t said much. I’m not really sure what’s going on with her, even Kris was surprised that she wasn’t as bubbly as she had been like the other two times he had met her.
We go back to our room and Liz immediately slumps down on the bed, her face in the pillow. I frown and throw the keys onto the counter before walking up to her. “You alright?”
“Uh-huh…” she nods her head but doesn’t pick up from the pillow.
“You sure? You’ve been pretty quite all night.” I sit down next to her wondering what’s really going on with her. I know Liz. Something must be up for her to be like this. Either she’s getting sick, which I don’t think is the case because otherwise she’d be whining right now, or it’s something else. It can’t be the Ava thing can it? No, ‘cause usually she just gets mad and isn’t afraid to tell me how she feels, so what’s up with her now?
“Yeah… just have a headache is all.”
I’m not quite sure I believe her, Liz is the biggest baby when it comes to pain and she acts like she’s dying when she gets a small cold. I walk over to her and put my hand on her back. “Here, sit up.”
She whines but then rolls onto her back with a small groan before sitting up cross-legged. I reach out my hands, grasping her around the waist and pulling her back to lean against me. “C’mere.”
“I don’t think sitting on you is going to help.”
“Shut up.” I roll my eyes even though she can’t see me. I bring my hands to up to her head, my fingers tangling in her soft brown locks while I slowly start to massage her scalp. “That helping?”
“Mhm.” She mumbles, titling her head back a little to give me better access.
“Good, glad I could be of service.”
Liz lets out a small chuckle, adjusting herself against me to get more comfortable and I can finally feel her body starting to relax more into mine. It’s quiet for a few minutes yet I can see that she’s really thinking about something. After a few more moments of waiting to see if she’ll say anything, I decide to break the silence. “So, are you going to tell me what’s bothering you or are you just going to use me for my magic fingers?”
It’s only when she laughs and turns her head towards me do I realize that that I left myself wide open for that one. “Well, they are all you’re good for Max.”
“Ha-ha! Very funny Liz”
“Hey Max?” She asks me quietly, adjusting her shoulders again to get more comfortable.
“Yeah?”
“Are you happy?” She asks even more quietly.
I look down at her curiously, wondering about the strangeness of the question. But at seeing her eyes starting to close and her breathing starting to get heavier, I decide not push it. Wrapping my arms tighter around her waist, I smile. “Yeah Liz… I'm happy.”
SURPRISE, SURPRISE! We're back. Thank you so much for the feedback and kind bumps, especially with our crazy, crazy month. It means so much!
So we have some good news and bad news. Good news is that we're going to try to post every week for a while, bad news is, we don't know when in the week we will be post since our schedules are even busier than before, and so instead of giving you set dates and in turn potentially letting you down, we're just going to be posting as we can.
Thanks so much for the feedback once again.
Earth2Mama
Alien_Friend
begonia9508
keepsmiling7
sarammlover
nibbles2
StarCharms
Roswell_Dreamer
angiebrenna
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Liz
The sun is shining, the birds are chirping and I think for the first time today, I’m genuinely feeling considerably much better than before. And as much as I hate to admit it, Michael’s talk really helped. I hate that he can see through me so clearly sometimes but a part of me feels like a weight has finally been lifted off my shoulders now that he knows about my Harvard acceptance and even more, my fears that Max is going to pull out on me. I don’t think I realized how much I actually needed to tell someone about it until Michael turned all my questions around on me.
I take a seat outside on one of the wooden benches while balancing two coffee cups in my hand. One, is a very hot, black coffee with some cream, two sugars and even a sprinkle of cinnamon that I know Max loves but always forgets to put on, and another is a very cold Frappachino that I refuse to take a sip of until Max gets here.
I spot his BMW as soon as he pulls into the parking lot and suddenly, I feel my heart take off in a flurry. This is it, the moment of truth. If he has two coffees in his hands like he normally does, then that means that he’s not as angry as I thought he would be and if doesn’t… well, I can only hope that my peace offering and an apology will make it up to him.
It only takes a minute before I see him heading my way and I try to put a smile on my face, but when I notice his empty hands, I know that I’ve failed. He walks right past me and heads towards the doors… but I’m not letting us start work like this, especially when we have a really big job ahead of us. “Max!”
He turns around slowly and I hurry to grab my things before meeting up with him. “What is it Liz?” His voice is cold and he sounds agitated.
“Uh… do you mind if we talk for a second? Before we start work?” I can hear my voice trembling and I hate it, but I wasn’t expecting Max to be so cold towards me. I know I acted out of line, but shouldn’t he at least meet me half way? I’m really trying here. He finally nods before walking towards one of the benches and sitting down.
I hand him the coffee and smile. “Here, I thought it might be nice if I supplied the caffeine for once.”
I see a small smile cross his face that he’s trying to hide and I can’t help but smile too because now I know that things are going to be okay. “Thanks.”
“No problem.” I turn towards him. “Listen Max, about this afternoon, I’m sorry. I was out of line. I had no right to go off you the way I did and I feel awful. I’ve been torturing myself this whole day over the look on your face and I’m really sorry Max. It’s just that Ava… she rubs me the wrong way and I didn’t mean to take my frustration of the night before out on you or her.”
He nods but doesn’t say a word and I’m starting to feel discouraged again.
“So... I just wanted to say that I’m sorry. I mean, you’re friends with her and it’s not fair to put you in a situation where you have to choose between me and her.”
He nods again and this time, I’m not sure if things are really going in the direction I want. “So… we’re cool right? Still friends?”
He looks up at me and smiles. “Yeah, Liz, still friends.” He then stands up and makes to walk past me, but this time he brushes against me slightly, causing me to smile because I know that that’s his way of letting me know that he’s forgiven me and everything is good between us again.
I follow him into the hotel, my mood much lighter and freer now that things between us are okay again. I’m feeling so happy right now that I think I’m ready to take on Kris Pyne and anyone else that Garrison could throw at me right now. The first thing we do is head up to the room Garrison let us use as our base for the night. We didn’t get a chance to look at it the night before, so this time, I’m practically bubbling with joy. What? You can’t honestly blame me can you? I mean, have you seen the hotel rooms here? It’s like heaven, the softest sheets and the fluffiest pillows and the softest bathrobes anywhere in this area. And did I mention that the shampoos and soaps come in Vanilla and Chocolate scented delights? Did you hear me? Chocolate! I roll my eyes and giggle at myself, not that we would really be using all of that while we’re working but still, I can’t help but be a little excited.
Max leads the way to the third floor and as soon as he opens the door, I practically blow past him and run into the room to check everything out. It’s the master suite and is one of the best rooms in the hotel and it doesn’t take me anymore than a few minutes to admire everything before I twirl around and flop onto the bed while hugging a pillow to me, wishing my own pillow was as soft as this. God, did I mention I love these rooms?
“Excited much?” Max smirks at me before dropping his keys on one of the tables and picking up the phone to call Garrison.
Right, work. I sigh and sit up, and then frown when I notice a long list sitting on one of the tables with our names on it. Grabbing it, my mouth drops open when I realize that it’s a list of things Kris wants us to pick up for him. Um… what the heck? Does he know what time it is?
“What’s up? I apparently must look as shocked as I feel because Max is gauging me as if something terrible just happened. I look back down at the list and shake my head, not only is it extremely long, but half of these things won’t be available to get until the morning… well, with the exceptions of a few groceries and some movie rentals. “I guess it’s going to be a long night.” I hand Max the list and sigh. “You wouldn’t happen to know anyone that owns a department store by chance, would you?”
I watch as Max reads through the list, his expression changing from slight agitation to annoyance, and then finally to resignation. “One of the members of my mom’s book club owns the local Macy’s right down the corner. “ Max shrugs, “I might be able to talk her into opening the store for us, especially if she finds outs why and who it’s for.” He sighs, “might…”
“Do you really think she will?” I ask. Max’s mom has always been pretty snooty and I’d imagine that most of her friends act the same way.
“She might, she’s pretty nice. It just depends on if she’s awake or not.” Max shrugs again. “It’s worth a shot since the only other alternative would be to go to Walmart and I doubt that Kris would appreciate that. The rest of the stuff is pretty easy.”
I nod, silently wishing Max is right and watch as he pulls out his cell phone and carrying out a conversation with his Mom’s friend. “Yeah, thanks Brenda. I really appreciate it… tutor your daughter… yeah… of course. Alright, I’ll be there as soon as I can. Thanks again.”
“She’ll do it?” I ask as soon as he pulls the phone away from his ear and ends it.
“Yeah, I guess her daughter is taking some computer drafting class and needs some help with an upcoming exam, so we’re trading favors.”
I giggle. “She bribed you?”
He shrugs. “Yeah, but I would have done it anyways.”
“Aw, you big softy.”
He rolls his eyes and smirks before grabbing his keys and making his way towards the door. “So… my car or yours?”
I start bouncing on my toes. Max’s BMW is my dream car and I’m constantly trying to get him to let me drive it - not that he ever does - but either way, I love riding in it, especially with the top down and at night. My truck really just doesn’t compare and it always makes me envious of Max’s wallet. “Yours! Can I drive the Beemer?”
“Not on your life.” He shakes his head at me and I stop my bouncing. What, it’s not like I’m a bad driver. I pout but Max just smirks as he opens the door for me. “C’mon, let’s go.”
Sighing in defeat, I grab my purse before heading out the door and following Max towards the parking lot. It only takes us a few minutes before we’re both buckled in and heading towards the Mall. Half way there, Max leans forward and turns on the radio before singing along to U2’s ‘I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For.” He’s got such a soothing voice and he doesn’t even know it. Leaning back against the seat, I close my eyes, fighting the urge not to fall asleep.
I fail miserably when Max’s phone suddenly pierces the air, jarring me out of my sleepy haze. Grumbling a little, I shift and watch out of the corner of my eyes as Max looks down at the Caller ID, a small smile coming over his face before he picks up. “Hello?”
“Hey.” I see his eyes light up a little, his face taking on a happy look that makes me wonder who he’s talking to.
“Uh-huh? Really? No, that’s great. I mean, I haven’t seen your parents in a while so a drive up to Santa Fe this weekend wouldn’t be a bad thing.” He laughs at something and I reach over and turn the radio down, I’m having—I mean, he’s probably having trouble hearing the other person on the line, what with the music so loud and all. I roll my eyes at myself, okay, it’s not really loud, I’m just being nosey.
“I know… yeah.” He nods his head and I can barely make out that it’s a female voice on the other line. Female? Who would that be? Isabel? “Well, you did look great in that skirt…” He trails off and I actually see a small blush form on his cheeks causing me to look away. Oh God, definitely not Isabel. And eww… is Max really talking up some girl while he’s in the car with me? I look over at him again, crossing my arms across my chest before I realize that I probably look like a possessive demon. Shit, letting my hands fall down to my lap again, I try to look out the window and tune out the conversation but it doesn’t work well when Max suddenly laughs like he’s having the time of his life. Suddenly, I don’t feel so good.
“Well, I don’t get off work till about seven, so say I drop by the café around seven-thirty… eight, and maybe we can grab some breakfast together before your first class? Sure… okay, yeah… alright, I’ll see you in the morning then, okay, yeah, bye.” He hangs up and makes a left turn before looking over at me. “Tired?”
I guess I must look sleepy, but no, I’m anything but. I want to know who he was talking to. “No… just quiet.” I give him a small smile, wondering if he’s going to mention the phone conversation. He nods his head and makes another left turn before we stop at a traffic light.. “So, who was that?”
He turns his head towards me slightly and clears his throat. Wow, Is it me, or does he look nervous all of a sudden? “Um… that was Ava.” He answers just as the traffic starts moving again.
“Oh,” I nod my head a little, feeling a bit confused. He’s taking Ava out to breakfast tomorrow?
“Yeah… um… well, uh.” He looks over at me and smiles. “We’re ah… sorta back together again.”
“Oh.” My heart stops in my chest before it starts to beat loudly again. He’s going out with Ava again? What? When did this happen?
“Yeah, you know after this morning, I actually ended up hanging out with her for a little while and I kinda realized that I really miss being in a relationship with someone, you know? And it’s like you said, Ava’s perfect for me. I care about her a lot and we both come from similar backgrounds, my parents love her and she’s really a great person.”
“A-huh.” Why is he explaining it? The last thing I want to hear about is how perfect Ava is for him.
“Yeah, so we just got to talking and one thing lead to another and I asked if she wanted to try again and she does, so… we’re dating again.”
“That’s great Max.” I say, trying to be supportive so that we don’t end up having another fight like we had had earlier. I clench my eyes shut not knowing how to grasp everything I’m feeling right now. I don’t really like Ava, but then, it doesn’t really matter what I want, it matters what Max wants and if he wants Ava then I guess I should be happy for him, but the truth is I’m not and the worst part is, I can already see Harvard kissing me goodbye. I turn around and face the window, trying desperately to control all the emotions that are currently running through me. God, I just want to go home right now, but I can’t. I need the money too bad and I can’t just leave Max to do everything while I call in sick.
Reaching out, I turn the radio back up to full volume – Max going back to singing and me sinking down into my seat. We drive the rest of the way in silence with me getting lost in my own thoughts.
Max
The whole shopping trip was a bust. Liz just walked around quietly as we got everything on Kris’ list which was pretty surprising in itself as Liz usually has an opinion on practically everything. She didn’t even crack a joke at the extra slim condoms we had to get and that was… pretty crack worthy.
I feel bad knowing I’m the reason for Liz’s silence. I hadn’t had any intention of telling her about Ava, in fact, I’m not even sure what happened with me and Ava. One second I’m seriously thinking over Michael’s advice and the next, I’m calling Ava.
Michael was right when he said I wasn’t being fair to Liz. She doesn’t know what’s going on in my life, she doesn’t know how I feel about her, but I’m pretty sure if she did, it wouldn’t make much of a difference. Liz sees me as her friend, that’s all, and I can’t spend the rest of my life waiting for her to suddenly see me as anything more, it’s not fair to expect her to or for me to. So I’m going to try to move on, for both of us.
We quickly drop our things off to Kris’ room, graciously accepting the generous tip he gives us and the compliments on getting everything to him so quickly. I think he was really impressed by us today, but I bet it probably had more to do with the fact that he had a “lady-friend” in there with him than anything else.
Liz surprisingly still hasn’t said much. I’m not really sure what’s going on with her, even Kris was surprised that she wasn’t as bubbly as she had been like the other two times he had met her.
We go back to our room and Liz immediately slumps down on the bed, her face in the pillow. I frown and throw the keys onto the counter before walking up to her. “You alright?”
“Uh-huh…” she nods her head but doesn’t pick up from the pillow.
“You sure? You’ve been pretty quite all night.” I sit down next to her wondering what’s really going on with her. I know Liz. Something must be up for her to be like this. Either she’s getting sick, which I don’t think is the case because otherwise she’d be whining right now, or it’s something else. It can’t be the Ava thing can it? No, ‘cause usually she just gets mad and isn’t afraid to tell me how she feels, so what’s up with her now?
“Yeah… just have a headache is all.”
I’m not quite sure I believe her, Liz is the biggest baby when it comes to pain and she acts like she’s dying when she gets a small cold. I walk over to her and put my hand on her back. “Here, sit up.”
She whines but then rolls onto her back with a small groan before sitting up cross-legged. I reach out my hands, grasping her around the waist and pulling her back to lean against me. “C’mere.”
“I don’t think sitting on you is going to help.”
“Shut up.” I roll my eyes even though she can’t see me. I bring my hands to up to her head, my fingers tangling in her soft brown locks while I slowly start to massage her scalp. “That helping?”
“Mhm.” She mumbles, titling her head back a little to give me better access.
“Good, glad I could be of service.”
Liz lets out a small chuckle, adjusting herself against me to get more comfortable and I can finally feel her body starting to relax more into mine. It’s quiet for a few minutes yet I can see that she’s really thinking about something. After a few more moments of waiting to see if she’ll say anything, I decide to break the silence. “So, are you going to tell me what’s bothering you or are you just going to use me for my magic fingers?”
It’s only when she laughs and turns her head towards me do I realize that that I left myself wide open for that one. “Well, they are all you’re good for Max.”
“Ha-ha! Very funny Liz”
“Hey Max?” She asks me quietly, adjusting her shoulders again to get more comfortable.
“Yeah?”
“Are you happy?” She asks even more quietly.
I look down at her curiously, wondering about the strangeness of the question. But at seeing her eyes starting to close and her breathing starting to get heavier, I decide not push it. Wrapping my arms tighter around her waist, I smile. “Yeah Liz… I'm happy.”
~~~