...Thanks for the feedback
:frenchkiss70 - Thanks
.belleoftheball - Thank you
.dreamsatnight - I'd actually planned for the date to be an interldue, but when I got to the end and realised there was no sex, I had to make it a regular part
and you never know, you might get to see Max stand up to his 'friends' . Earth2Mama -:lol: - Thanks
jbangelo - Thank you
jamy21 - Thanks
. They are pretty happy, but maybe something will happen to shake them up - we''l ahve to see.clueless - Thanks
Michelle in Yonkers - Ooh, I like that expression
! Ahh, wouldn't it be great if all parents went away so often - especially mid-week, which is what Roswell parents seem to do a lot of too . PS. Lairbehr4 is right, I love your FB too .RASaero611 - Yeah, the part before was totally lacking in sex
!anonymousarfan - Thanks
.sprayadhesive - Thanks - and you should like this next part
.sunrise102 - It is good to see them talking openly for once - no games involved
. Maybe his friends are jealous, but personally I'd say it was mainly because they are just not nice people.LairaBehr4 - Thanks
. I only caught the last few minutes of the game - the penalties and I have to admit I was hoping France would win (but only because I actually recognised some of of the players) 
.***
Part Eleven
Two months later…
“Congratulations, Class of 2006!” the voice of our principal booms out over the loudspeakers. It’s Graduation day and we’ve finally made it. No more high school. Ever!
I look over to the other side of the hall to find Maria. A few rows up and across, she turns her head just as I find her in the crowd and we share a congratulatory smile. Behind Maria, another head turns to see just what she’s grinning about and his gaze locks with mine. His eyes shine with a mixture of pride and happiness as he sends me a wink. I return his infectious grin, although I can’t help but lower my head and blush when he doesn’t look away immediately.
It’s amazing to think how much has happened in the last few months and how much I’ve learned about the inner workings of Max Evans’ mind. I’ll be the first to admit that eight months ago I had little intention of pursuing him (in real life, at least), yet only a couple of months later, I was spending most of my free time screwing him anywhere I could and as often as possible. It almost seems unbelievable that three months after that, we fell in love (well, that’s what I like to think, at least. Neither one of us has actually technically voiced those three little words yet).
There’s so much that I’ve learned about the real Max Evans in the last few weeks. The most significant thing being that despite the moody, uninterested attitude he displays towards most people, he is a very different person around those he loves and cares about, namely his family. Not long after we began dating properly, he invited me over for dinner with his parents and I have to say that that evening was a real eye-opener. Seemingly out of nowhere, he became this funny, yet considerate guy who obviously has a great deal of respect for both of his parents and who values his loved ones immensely.
After that night, I confided some of this new information to Maria, in the hopes that she would finally realise that Max wasn’t who she thought he was. While it did give him a small amount of merit in her eyes, Maria was very adamant in questioning his faithfulness towards me and even brought Max’s so-called relationship with Tess Harding into the conversation – something I didn’t need to be reminded of, considering Miss Harding’s reaction to Max and I on the Monday after our first date…
~~~
“Man, I still can’t believe you’re dating Max Evans,” states Maria, shaking her head as she leans against the locker next to mine. “Seriously, Liz; the guy is bad news.”
“Maria, stop being so overdramatic,” I sigh as I pull my books from my locker. “He was a perfect gentlemen on Friday night. We didn’t do anything more than kissing.” Well, almost nothing more, I add silently. And let’s not forget about Saturday night!
“I still think you’re making a big mistake,” she tells me.
I close my eyes briefly before shutting my locker and turning to face her. “Look, Maria, I know you don’t approve, but please can you leave it alone? It’s going to be hard enough with everyone staring at us everywhere we go, without you having a go at me too. Please can you accept that I’ve made my decision and I’m not changing my mind about this? You know what, maybe I have made a mistake, but that’s for me to find out by myself. And don’t worry, I can handle Max Evans,” I assure her.
She sighs in defeat, but then straightens suddenly, “Okay, so maybe you can, but I think your life’s about to get much harder.”
I frown in confusion, but Maria just nods her head at something behind me and as soon as I see what she’s talking about, my heart sinks.
Tess Harding is striding purposefully down the hallway, right towards me and she doesn’t look happy.
“What the hell do you think you’re doing with Max Evans, bitch?” she spits as she comes to a stop in front of me, her hands placed on her hips defiantly.
You know what? I’m not gonna just stand here and take this!
I straighten up and glare right back at her, “And what’s it to you, tramp?”
Her eyes narrow and she leans in close to me, “He’s mine, that’s what.”
I scoff and shake my head in disbelief. “As I recall, he hasn’t been yours for almost two weeks, Tess,” I smirk, suddenly wondering where I got all this confidence from. “Besides, from what I heard, you were screwing around behind his back for weeks before he finally broke it off.”
“Woo, you go, girl!” exclaims Maria from behind me, but it only seems to aggravate Tess’ anger.
“Why, you little…” she starts furiously.
“Little, what? Slut? Bitch? Come on, Tess; don’t be afraid to speak your mind. It’s nothing I can’t handle,” I goad her. Even though I know nothing good can possibly come out of this, I can’t seem to help myself. Let’s just say it’s been a long time coming.
She squares her jaw and I can see it twitching in anger, but while I’m prepared for her taunts and insults, I’m not prepared for what she does next. Almost in slow motion, I watch her lift her hand from her hip and raise it above her head before bringing it down towards my face. Instinctively, I close my eyes and brace myself for the sting of her palm hitting my cheek, but it never comes. Instead, I hear Max’s deathly calm voice.
“I wouldn’t do that if I were you, Tess,” he growls menacingly. I open my eyes to see him standing slightly behind Tess, his hand firmly grasping her wrist, effectively stopping the movement of her arm.
“But, Max,” whines Tess pitifully. “This little bitch seems to think she can steal you from me. Set her straight for me, would you?”
Max smirks at her request, turning to face her, still grasping her wrist. I hold my breath in preparation for what he’s about to say. “You know what? You’re right, Tess. Liz can’t steal me from you, because I’m not yours; I haven’t been yours for a long time and if I remember correctly, you stopped being mine right around the time that you decided to sleep with Matthews behind my back.”
As much as I’m enjoying Max laying into Tess like this, I can’t help but remember that he’d been cheating on her with me for several weeks before she was unfaithful. I guess maybe that should make me question his loyalties, but I have to admit that I was just as bad regarding Alex, so I guess that makes us even.
I watch as Max finally lets go of her and then moves to join me, threading an arm around my waist.
“I’m with Liz now, Tess. Accept that or get the hell away from us, okay?”
Tess doesn’t say anything, but fixes both of us with a withering glare, before turning on her heels and marching away. I let out a sigh of relief as she turns the corner and Max tightens his arm around my waist, pulling me closer to him.
“I’m sorry about that,” he murmurs into my hair as he places a kiss to the top of my head.
“It’s okay, Max. I can handle Tess Harding’s little tantrums.”
“Still, I’m going to make sure she doesn’t come near you or us ever again, okay?”
I smile, inwardly flattered that he’s being so protective of me.
“Thank you, Max,” I say as I lean up for a kiss, ignoring the stares and whispers from passing students.
“Well, I, uh…” behind me, Maria clears her throat uncomfortably. “I’m just gonna go…do something…else…”
I tear my lips from Max’s in time to see her making a hasty retreat down the corridor, although just before she ducks into the bathroom, she gives me a smile and a discrete thumbs-up.
Maybe she’s starting to come around to Max after all…
~~~
“Hey, Liz, get up…ceremony’s over!” Alex’s amused tone startles me from my daydream.
I shake my head to rid my mind of the memory of that encounter with the ‘bitch from hell’ and notice that I’m one of the few people still sitting down. Slightly embarrassed, I quickly stand up and take a look around the auditorium. I see Maria being congratulated by her mom and Alex’s parents standing at the end of the row waiting for him to join them once more. My eyes wander to the left, where I notice Max standing with his parents and his sister. I also notice that beside me, Alex can barely keep his eyes off Miss Isabel Evans – see I told you he liked someone else! Just as I’m about to turn away and greet my own parents, Max looks in my direction and sends me a grin and a wink, which I happily return before making my way across the room to where my parents are waiting anxiously.
The second I reach them, I find myself engulfed in a three-way hug as both my parents descend on me at once. They congratulate me on graduating in the top five of the class and can’t seem to stop gushing over how grown-up and academic I look. Then, both Maria and Alex come over with their parents and our little gathering becomes one big hug-fest. The moment is made complete when I feel a pair of strong, male arms wrap around me from behind and Max places a sweet kiss on my cheek, whispering ‘Congratulations, sweetheart’ in my ear. I shiver as he says the words – it’s almost strange to here the normally emotionally reserved captain of the football team call me ‘sweetheart’, but I love it all the same.
“Good afternoon, Mrs. Parker, Mr. Parker,” he greet my parents, offering his hand to each of them.
“Hello, Max,” my mom replies pleasantly, shaking his hand. Surprisingly, both Mom and Dad accepted my relationship with Max pretty well, although Dad still hasn’t decided if he’s totally trustworthy yet; but hey, that’s my father for you. “Congratulations on graduating today,” she adds.
“Thank you, Mrs. Parker,” he replies, shaking my dad’s hand as well before placing his hand back on my waist once more. “I hope you don’t mind if I steal Liz away for a few minutes; I’d like to talk to her.”
He wants to talk to me? I wonder what about?
“No, of course not, Max,” says Mom quickly, with a smile. “Go right ahead.”
Honestly, my boyfriend is such a suck-up sometimes – he has my mom wrapped right around his little finger. She thinks he’s the world’s perfect gentleman…if only she knew what we get up to behind closed doors!
Max looks down over my shoulder at me with a grin and then slides his hand into mine, “Come on then, Lizzie,” he stresses, knowing that I can’t stand being called that, but that my parents love it. “Let’s get out of here for a bit.”
“Okay,” I smile. “See you guys in a few,” I tell my parents as Max begins to drag me away.
As we leave the hall, I hear my mom comment, “Aww, don’t they make such a cute couple?”
I roll my eyes and fake-gag at her words, but Max sees me, and starts chuckling. I try to swat his shoulder but he dodges out of the way, grabs my arm so I can’t hit him and pulls me through the crowd of people milling around outside the auditorium. We end up in the courtyard, away from all the students and parents and Max leads me to a secluded spot beneath the huge oak tree in the corner of the quad.
The second we come to a stop, Max’s lips are on mine, gently probing my mouth. I open up to him eagerly, my hands coming up to cup his jaw as he removes the mortarboard from my head and then slips his hands inside my graduation robe to hold me tighter. We stay like that, locked in our embrace, for several moments until the need for air becomes evident and I have to pull away.
“Hey, I thought we came out here to talk?” I ask breathlessly. “Not that I don’t mind the kissing, it’s just –” He cuts me off with a finger to my lips.
“You’re right, we are here to talk; I just couldn’t resist,” he teases and I blush.
“So, um, what did you want to talk about?” I ask after I’ve recovered from my embarrassment.
He exhales, taking a step back and bringing my hands down from his neck to slip his fingers in mine, “Right, um…okay, here goes: Liz, I know our relationship didn’t exactly get off on the right foot and that I should have fixed that sooner, but these last couple of months with you have been…out of this world…and I’m so sorry for how my friends treated you; how I treated you during that time. I know the next few months are going to be difficult with you going off to Harvard and me studying at Northwestern, but I know we can make it.” I smile at the determination in his voice. “I guess what I’m trying to say is that I don’t ever want to lose you, Liz,” he tells me sincerely. “I love you.”
I open my mouth to respond to those three little words…and nothing comes out. I’m so overwhelmed by his sudden announcement that the reply gets stuck in my throat.
“Liz?” asks Max, concerned. “Are you okay?”
My eyes widen. Oh God, he thinks I’m rejecting him. I nod furiously in answer to his last question, as I swallow harshly to clear the lump in my throat.
“Y-yes,” I manage finally. “I’m fine, really.” He smiles in relief. “I-I love you too, Max.”
“Really?”
“Yes, really,” I nod, as I slip my arms around his neck and pull him down for a kiss, to which he complies eagerly.
After what seems like forever, we pull apart and just stare into each other’s eyes. His thumbs are gently caressing my cheeks whilst my fingers curl through the soft hair at the back of his neck.
“Max?” I begin hesitantly, a few seconds later.
“Yeah?” he asks distractedly, placing a soft kiss on the side of my mouth.
“I’ve been doing some thinking lately and…well, what would you say if I told you that I didn’t want to go to Harvard anymore?”
He pulls back quickly, “What?”
“What if I went to Northwestern as well? I mean, I did apply there too and they offered me a scholarship…”
“Liz,” he shakes his head. “Come on, you’re not serious! You’ve been dreaming about Harvard for years and now they’ve not only offered you a place, but you have a full scholarship. You’d be crazy to turn that down just to come to Northwestern with me.”
His words make me think. He’s right; I’ve wanted to go to a top school like Harvard for as long as I can remember and now that I have the chance to go – and have my fees paid by the university – it does seem pretty stupid to give that up. But the thing is; my reason for wanting to go to Northwestern isn’t entirely because of Max. I’ve been feeling for a while now that maybe Harvard isn’t the place for me. I always thought it would be, but the closer we get to freshman year in the fall, the more I’ve been dreading it.
However, right this moment, as I see how much Max wants this for me, I can’t bring myself to voice my concerns. Instead, I smile, wrap my arms even tighter around him and kiss him senseless in an attempt to forget about the impending future and live for the now.
And right now, I’m happy and in love with the most wonderful, sexy (not to mention, horny), guy in the world.
Who cares about all that other stuff in the future?
TBC...
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