Monday morning dawned bright and early, too early for Liz. She hadn't been able to get to sleep for hours and as she had finally dosed off, the alarm rudely awakened her.
Her whole night had been filled with Max. He invaded her thoughts asleep or awake; his eyes, his voice, his kisses, and now his words. She had repeated his words over and over again in her mind, savoring them.
Liz please. We can take this as slowly as you want but don't push me away.
She wanted to believe him. Oh how she wanted to believe him!
As she showered and dressed she recalled how those same words had plagued her yesterday. They had been her constant companions through lunch, packing for the trip home, and helping with the last of the cleaning before they left. And they had continued to haunt her on the ride home.
As she and Max had driven back, she had been hyper-aware of him. How could she not be, sitting next to him in such a small space?
Liz could have easily reached out and touched him, and had been surprised that she’d actually considered it. But her emotions had been waging a war within. She was attracted to him, and wanted to be with him, but something in the back of her mind, the rational part she thought, screamed for her to stay away from him.
She had covertly studied him as he drove, noting the hard line of his jaw and the solidness of his body clearly discernable beneath his clothing. Max had power, purpose, and she could tell he was used to getting what he wanted. That was part of the reason she was hesitant about entering into a relationship with him. She knew all too well what a man like him was capable of doing.
But his soulful words kept returning to her.
Could a man who had uttered those words with such heartfelt emotion really be capable of the same kind of cruelty she had experienced before? She knew the answers wouldn't come easily and they wouldn't come overnight. The only thing she did know was that she felt compelled to give Max a chance while she searched for her answers.
Max had asked her for the chance and she had readily agreed, without hesitation. Now that she'd had time to reflect she wasn't sure why she had agreed, but she intended to stick by her answer.
As they had driven home, the events of the day replayed in her head, forcing her to search for the answers. But exhausted from the emotionally charged weekend, the low hum of the engine gradually lulled her to sleep.
She had awoken to a butterfly touch on her cheek and her name being softly whispered.
"Liz."
Her eyes fluttered open and she had been momentarily confused when she saw Max hovering over her.
"You're home," he said, providing the answer to the question she was sure she hadn't asked.
She came suddenly awake. "Oh Max, I'm sorry. I should have stayed awake. It's a long drive to make alone. You should've woken me."
He smiled. "Liz, don't worry about it. I can handle driving a couple of hours without company. Besides you were sleeping so peacefully, I didn't want to wake you."
Liz smiled remembering what had happened. Max had been the perfect gentleman. He'd carried her luggage into her house and thanked her for the lovely weekend. Then he'd leaned in, gently kissed her cheek and told her he would call to confirm plans for dinner on Friday. She had expected more but he’d simply turned, walked to his car and driven away.
Max had said they would take it slowly and at least for now he was sticking to it. Liz almost wished he wasn't, she thought to herself as she lifted a hand to her cheek where she could still feel the touch of his lips.
Liz had then called Maria and they talked while she unpacked; Liz relating the events of the weekend, punctuated often by Maria's comments and laughter.
When Liz finished, Maria jumped in immediately. "I can't believe I had to work this weekend and miss all of that."
"I'm sure Alex and Diane will be glad to give you the complete story from their perspective," Liz said wryly.
"Good idea,” Maria teased. “I'll have to call them when we get off.”
Liz groaned, knowing she was only half kidding.
"So Liz," Maria asked suddenly serious. "You really like Max, don't you?"
Liz hesitated looking for the right words. "Yeah, I guess but..."
"Well it's about time,” Maria said exasperatedly. “It has been soooo long since you have let a man into your life."
"Wait Maria,” Liz warned. “Don't get carried away. I do like him but I really want to take it slowly."
"Well of course you'll take it slowly,” Maria said exasperatedly. “Even he said that." She paused. "Liz did you tell Max about what happened with..."
“No,” Liz cut her off, not even wanting the name uttered. "No, I didn't. I'm not ready to tell him."
Maria sighed. "An explanation could help smooth over some of the rough spots,” she said. “And then Max wouldn't be wondering why you have episodes like the one yesterday."
"Maybe,” Liz agreed, “but I'm just not ready."
Maria considered for a moment. "Okay, but he seems like a nice guy and I think it would help if you opened up to him."
Liz spoke softly. "Noted, for future reference."
"Liz?" Maria asked.
"Yeah."
"What are you going to do about Kyle?"
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Last night Liz had told Maria she didn't know what to do about Kyle, and in the morning she was still no closer to the answer. She supposed she could fairly date both men, having given neither of them any reason to think she was seeing them exclusively. But somehow it just didn't seem right. It felt as if she would be leading Kyle on.
Kyle had never made her feel the way Max could and he never would, but she owed him some kind of explanation. Surely Kyle just thought of their relationship as a casual thing. He hadn't pressured her in any way and they had never talked of commitment, or the future, or love. They had just been good friends having fun together.
As Liz drove to work, she determined that she would just simply tell Kyle the truth.
Her brow wrinkled in confusion, now if she could just figure out what the truth was.
Arriving at her office, she glanced at the calendar. Kyle was out of town all week on business and she let out a tension-filled breath knowing she had a reprieve. She wasn’t looking forward to the conversation, and was glad she had the additional time to figure out how to break it off with him. Pushing the thoughts from her mind, she began to concentrate on the busy day ahead of her.
The day was like any other Monday and she was up to her neck in work. Over the last week she had been seriously considering bringing on some extra help, and suddenly she decided it was time.
She set up appointments with several art students from the local community college for the next few days. Immediately she felt lighter knowing soon some of the burden she had placed on her own shoulders would be lifted.
And of course, she thought of Max.
She had just seen him yesterday but already she was missing his easy smile and captivating eyes, not to mention his lips.
Shaking her head, Liz tried to dislodge the sudden pictures and sensations his lips had conjured. Over the weekend she had been with him almost constantly and had gotten used to his presence. Today was only Monday and she had to wait until Friday to see him, and already she was wondering how she was going to last that long.
When Liz returned from lunch there was a large arrangement of flowers waiting on her desk. It was composed mostly of Calla lilies but there were also several other exotic looking flowers she didn't recognize all arranged in a simple, elegant vase. She started digging for the card, knowing whom the flowers were from but eager to confirm it.
The message was simple but it sent shivers all the way through her.
Thinking of you
- Max
Liz immediately reached for the phone but put it down again realizing she didn't know Max's phone number. Of course he would be at work this time of day, she reasoned. It would be simple to call him there, but since he was the owner of the company she might not even be able to get through to him.
However she could leave him a message, at least she had to try. Quickly looking up the number, she started to dial.
"Datatronics, how may I help you?"
Liz was about to ask for Max when she had an idea. "Alex Whitman, please."
The phone rang one time only, answered by a female voice. "Alex Whitman's office, may I ask who's calling?"
"This is Liz, his cousin."
"One moment, please."
After only a second or two, she heard Alex's voice. "Liz, it's great to hear from you. It's been such a long time since we talked,” he teased.
"Alex, you're terrible," Liz groaned.
"So what can I do for you?" he asked.
"Can't I just call to say hello or thanks for the weekend?" Liz asked innocently.
"Sure you could but you didn't," he said with a chuckle. "So what do you want?"
"Actually,” she admitted, “Max sent me some flowers and I wanted to thank him, but I don't know his number and..."
Alex interrupted with a laugh. "Man, I should get a commission for this relationship. He comes to me for advice about you, you come to me for his phone number. I'm stuck being the middleman."
Liz could hear the teasing note in his voice. "And you love every minute of it."
"You know it." His grin was evident over the line. "So how are things going with Max?"
"Fine Alex," she said shortly, hoping to put a stop to the other questions she knew he was waiting to barrage her with.
But he didn’t take the hint. "So you two are getting along?"
Liz sighed. "Yes Alex, we get along just fine."
"And you like him?" he prompted.
"Yes I like him,” she said. “He's very nice."
Alex sighed. "Nice. Again with the nice. I feel for poor Max. If a woman described me as nice I think I would shoot myself."
"Alex," Liz warned. "How about the phone number?" she asked trying to change the subject.
"Okay, I get it,” Alex relented. “You're sensitive about him and don't want to talk about it. Maybe there is hope for poor Max yet."
Liz could hear him chuckling as he rustled through some papers and rolled her eyes.
"Let's see,” Alex hummed. “Evans, Max... home phone and work phone."
"Thanks Alex,” Liz said with a laugh. “I owe you one."
"No, you don't owe me,” Alex said with amusement. “I'll just make sure that Max knows he owes me."
Liz replaced the receiver and immediately picked it up again. She took a deep breath as she dialed, lecturing herself not to be ridiculous. Max's secretary would answer, or he would be out of the office, or in a meeting, and she would just leave a message. There was absolutely no reason to be nervous because she wouldn't even be talking to him.
The phone rang twice before a rumbling voice answered. "Evans."
Actually getting through to him surprised Liz, but she quickly recovered. "Max. It's Liz."
His voice softened to a low growl. "Liz."
Shivers ran through her at his tone. "Yeah, um... you k-know it's funny,” she stammered. “I um, didn't think you would be answering your own phone," she finished lamely.
"This is my private number," he said. "It rings directly to me."
"Oh, I'm sorry," Liz apologized.
"Don't be sorry,” he said. “It’s great to hear from you."
Liz blushed and was glad Max couldn't see her. "Oh. I... Um... I called Alex and he gave me this number."
"Well that explains it," Max said wryly.
"I just didn't mean to disturb you... at work... I mean," she said nervously. "I shouldn't have called."
"Wait," Max said, before she could hang up. "Please Liz. Why did you call?"
"Oh,” Liz said, suddenly remembering she’d had a reason for calling. “I just called to thank you, for the flowers. They're beautiful."
"Just like you are," he rumbled. "And Liz?"
"Yeah?" she asked breathlessly.
"You can call me on this number whenever you want and I promise you won't be disturbing me."
