It is late into the night, after two in the morning, and Max is in his bed. He should be sleeping, but he feels high, like an enamored teenager, and the only thing he can do is to stare at the ceiling and reflect on the day and evening he spent with Liz.The afternoon in the riding club was surprising. He saw Liz in a new light. She was something like a super-hero… valiantly riding on a horse to save him when he was in distress, bravely throwing away that snake, using her wits to send Claudia away, skillfully ensuring that he is fine…
Max frowned. Why does this sound like Liz is a knight who came to save a damsel in distress? Was he a damsel in distress?
Oh, well… He should focus on the positive side. After all, he got to hold her in that bush. Thinking of that bush, he can"t believe that she didn"t take advantage of the situation and claim his lips. He knows how inviting his lips are, and he was right there, available. He even did his sure-kill technique of locking his eyes with hers while talking in a seductive whisper. Is she... not interested? Not possible. She came with him to the hospital.
In the hospital she was swift, sharp, impressive… typical Liz. And she helped him out when his parents came. He thought that only his mother will come, but everything turned out better than expected. Max giggled in his bed while thinking that his mother was probably scolding Nate all the way until they reached home.
After the hospital, Max and Liz went to their own apartments.
Max dashed to the nearby store to get a box of macaroons and a bottle of fine wine. Dinner can"t last long, but with a dessert and wine… he can stay longer. He gave himself a thumbs up for that brilliant idea. After a shower he carefully picked clothes for the occasion. Nothing casual, but not formal either. And he went across the hall.
The evening pa.s.sed surprisingly… fast. Even with the dessert and wine included.
If someone told him that he can have so much fun on Sat.u.r.day evening watching Jeopardy re-runs over Asian food which arrived in boxes while playing a game with Liz that the one who gets the answer wrong needs to answer a question from the winner or drink wine (something like truth-or-dare, but options are truth or drink)… he would not believe it.
Instead of setting up the dinning table, they arranged the food on the coffee table in the living room and sat on the floor to eat in front of the television. It was very casual, relaxing.
He was surprised that nine out of ten times they both got the answers right. Liz suspected that he is copying her, so she got two notepads, and they would write down their answers and then show them to each other at the same time.
"No way!", she exclaimed after who knows how many times their answers matched.
"My thoughts exactly!", he admitted.
Liz got one answer to the question from the TV wrong and Max got his turn to ask her a question: "Why neurosurgery?" He was curious about this.
Liz told him that her mother pa.s.sed when she was young, so her father raised her. "Most of the girls listen to Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty or Snow White stories before bedtime, but my dad was not a fan of fairytales where a happy ending depends on a prince who will be charmed by the girl"s outer appearance… Can you believe that Cinderella"s future depended on a shoe fitting? What was that prince thinking? What if her shoe fit someone else? No one else wore that size in the whole kingdom?", she added angrily before continuing her story: "…So I ended up listening to stories about his day. I remember thinking that my father must be a super-hero because he can save lives and I wanted to be like him…"
The second time she missed the correct answer in Jeopardy, he decided to move toward the relationship questions, but nothing too touchy or sensitive… so he asked: "When did you have your first boyfriend?" To his surprise there was a trace of panic on her face and she decided to drink wine instead of answering. He laughed while thinking that he never saw a woman over twenty years old react so bashful. But he liked it. She was super-cute.
Few minutes later she fired back by asking him about his relationship. There is no way he will talk about Irene. Even after so many years all the scars she inflicted on him are scorching… and he went for the wine.
Her next question was about Quentin and how they started hanging out. Max answered this one truthfully. They met in college and since then they are close. Max skipped the parts about their numerous conquests, he does not want Liz to think of him like a shallow playboy, but other than that he responded truthfully. Max noticed Liz"s smile while he spoke. It seems that she enjoys friendship stories.
Before he realized, it was after midnight and Liz was yawning. It seems that she is not used to stay late.
He helped her clear out the table because he knew it will allow him few extra minutes with her.
As much as he regrets not going for that goodnight kiss, he is happy that she accepted to spend the Sunday with him. First thing in the morning, he will make reservations for lunch, and plan few activities for the afternoon, and then dinner… yes, dinner… something romantic… and he will get that kiss. Definitely.
…
About two hours earlier, in the apartment across the hallway…
Liz wished goodnight to Max and closed the door to her apartment. She was tired, but happy. Liz feels that she bonded with Max, and she found out few things about him. He is not a bad guy.
Liz noticed that they forgot wine gla.s.ses on the table and took them to the kitchen. She wanted to wash them, but she was tired, and decided to keep them in the sink. In the morning, Olivia will come, so she can take care of that.
Liz got ready for the night and before sleeping off remembered few things from the day…
She giggled at the image from the horse-riding club: Max in panic while looking around the bush for snakes.
He decided not to fool around with Claudia, and she approves of that. That poor girl should not be deceived.
Liz felt sorry for Max. He does not have it easy. From her encounter with Nate in the hospital, she can tell that his father is overbearing, no wonder Max does not dare reveal his relationship with Quentin. Liz does not like deceptions, but in this case, she is happy that she can help Max by pretending to be his fake-girlfriend. Liz hopes that in time, his father accepts Max and Quentin.
Thinking about the evening, she had fun. Liz confirmed that Max is smart. Really smart. How else could he match her in answering all those Jeopardy questions?
The only slightly unpleasant thing was when he asked her about her first boyfriend. Like… why would he ask that? It"s not that Liz is completely inexperienced. She attended more than one party in college, alright? And she saw couples kissing and she gave it a try… Few times, with few different guys over the years, and she didn"t like it. It was wet and uncomfortable… why do people kiss? Maybe it"s different if you really like that person. So technically, she never had a boyfriend. Liz hopes that she was not too obvious about that. Wine helped.
She was happy that few questions later, Max got it wrong, so she got her turn to ask: "Tell me about your first relationship. Anything that does not involve feelings does not count." She added this second part when she thought about her unpleasant-kissing experiences. Liz was surprised to see that Max vas visibly shaken and he swiftly reached for his wine gla.s.s. Is it possible that he never had a girlfriend? Not possible, right? But what could make him react in such an exaggerated way? Is it because his first relationship was with a guy and he is not comfortable talking about it? Now that is something that makes sense. If he discovered his attraction to the same gender early enough, he probably never had a girlfriend.
Her second question was more tactful: "Tell me about you and Quentin. How did you meet?"
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Max didn"t shy from answering this one. They met in college and soon they found out that they have more than one thing in common. "…My family does not approve of Quentin. They think that he is a bad influence. But with him I can be myself. He does not judge me even when I mess up…"
Liz thought that she never heard anything so romantic.
She was happy that he caught on that she is tired. Max is attentive and catches on quickly. He offered to help with cleanup, and she accepted. If he didn"t help, everything would stay on the table until morning probably.
Liz was surprised when he asked if she has plans for tomorrow and if she wants to spend the afternoon with him, starting with lunch.
"What about Quentin?", she asked without thinking.
"What about him?", he responded with a question.
She regretted her rash question. If he can see Quentin, he probably will. There is no need for her to be so nosy.
"I am free tomorrow.", she decided to respond his first question and she was happy to see that his face lit up.
"When should I pick you up?"
Liz shrugged. "Anytime. I will be home… But if you come after one o"clock, I will probably eat something by then.", she added cheekily.
He laughed. "OK. I will pick you up before noon. Good night, Liz."
She liked how he laughed. A carefree laugh. Happy. It seems it does not take much to make him happy.
"Good night, Max."
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