Part One

Liz

Tuesday September 20th 2005

You know, I really hope that I'll be able to make it through this coming year. I've only been back at college for two days, and I'm already missing Max more than I'd care to admit. He's already been back at UNM for three weeks, because his semester began a few weeks earlier than mine did. At first, we'd decided that I would go and stay with him in his apartment in Albuquerque until I had to leave for Massachusetts. But so many things got in the way of our plans that I had to let him go up there alone. First off, my father decided to inform me that one of his full-time waitresses at the Crashdown had just given in her notice and that he was relying on me to help him and Mom out until I went back to school. As much as I wanted to refuse, in the end I just couldn't bring myself to let him down. Secondly, Max received a letter from his old soccer coach at UNM, letting him know that even though he hadn't been on the team last semester, he was perfectly happy to accept him back on the team. Enclosed in with the letter was a timetable for the team's training practices, which I have to say, looked very gruelling to me.

In the end, we had to resign ourselves to the fact that me spending two and a half weeks in Albuquerque with Max just wasn't going to happen. Therefore, three weeks ago, I saw him off with a tearful goodbye and a promise that next time we were able to see each other; I'd definitely make it worth the wait. So, here's where the good part comes in…I managed to arrange it so that I could surprise Max by coming up to Albuquerque a day before my flight out to Boston and spend some time with him before I left. I convinced my dad that I would be fine getting to the airport and leaving New Mexico without him, so he and my mom dropped me, along with my luggage outside Max's apartment and said their goodbyes in the car.

And let me just say that it was definitely a good thing they didn't insist on staying overnight nearby because every time I think about that last night with Max, I blush right down to my toes…

Saturday September 17th 2005

I suck in a breath and exhale it slowly as I try to contain my excitement. I stand on Max's doorstep, surrounded by bags with my hand poised to knock. Oh God, I hope he's in – maybe I should have called ahead to let him know that I was coming? No, that would have just spoiled the surprise.

I bite my lip in anticipation when I hear someone moving towards the door and a grin spreads across my face. The door swings open to reveal…Max's roommate John…My face falls in disappointment.

"Liz?" he questions in confusion. "What are you doing here?"

"Oh…um…hey, John," I mutter quickly. "Is Max in?"

"Um, yeah he is," he says slowly, looking bewildered. "Aren't you supposed to be in Boston?"

I glance down to my bags, "Oh, I don't leave until tomorrow, so I thought I'd come up and surprise Max before I left."

"Oh, okay," he says in understanding, his expression softening. "Well, come on in, then," he invites. "You can leave your stuff over here. Max is in his room."

"Thanks, John," I smile as I drop my bags in the corner of the living room and begin making my way down the hall towards Max.

"Oh, by the way," calls John as I leave the room. I turn back to face him. "I hear congratulations are in order."

"Thanks," I grin happily. He nods in return and I continue on down the hallway until I reach Max's room.

I knock on the door and open it when I hear his smooth voice telling me to come in. I step into the room and close the door behind me, to find that he is sitting at his desk, his nose in a textbook.

"Yeah?" he asks distractedly, not turning round.

"I thought you might like some company," I offer from the doorway and try not to giggle when he straightens in his chair and very slowly turns to face me.

"Liz?" he wonders incredulously.

"Hi," I grin and give him a little wave. "Surprise."

"What are you doing here?" he asks, as he stands up and walks towards me.

"Well, I couldn't go all the way back to school without seeing you one last time," I tell him softly, my gaze drifting to his lips as he comes to a stop in front of me. In a flash, his mouth is devouring mine, his hands placed either side of my head, effectively pinning my body against the door. I sink my fingers into his hair and rise up on tiptoes to deepen the kiss. God, I love him so much; this man is my soulmate.

"Liz," he murmurs against my lips, "Liz…Liz…I've missed you."

"Mmm, me too," I manage between kisses. I arch my back and let out a moan of approval as our lower bodies come into contact. Max's breath hitches in his throat and I feel him harden against me. Purely on instinct, I jump up and wrap my legs around his waist, eliciting another intake of breath from him.

When oxygen finally becomes an issue, we break apart and I cling to Max as he buries his head in my shoulder, his hands dropping to support my thighs. Closing my eyes briefly, I let out a giggle at our urgency. We haven't even said hello properly yet!

"What's so funny?" Max raises his head to look at me.

"Nothing," I smile. "Just…I mean, look at us – and I've only just got here!"

He drops his eyes to where he's holding my legs around him and lets out a chuckle, "See, that's the thing, Lizzie; I just can't control myself around you."

"So I see," I smirk playfully.

"So, why are you here?" he asks then.

"I wanted to spend some time with you before I left, so I persuaded my parents to drive up today and drop me off."

"So I've got you for the whole night?" he asks hopefully.

"Yep," I grin, "I'm all yours."

"Great," he says, leaning in for another kiss.

"Wait a sec," I stop him just as our lips touch. "Before we 'get down to business' –" he wiggles his eyebrows suggestively at my comment. " – I need food; I'm starving."

"Okay," he sighs, letting go of my legs so that I can stand. "Let's go get something to eat."

He sounds so dejected that I can't help teasing him.

"Don't worry, I intend to make it worth your while later," I tell him with a wink.

He straightens up, "Well, let's get going then; we don't want to waste any time."

I roll my eyes as he grabs his jacket from the bed and heads for the door, with me trailing behind him.

"Oh God…yes, right there," he groans, as I stroke him with my hand. I let my gaze run up his naked body to his face. His eyes are closed in pleasure and his brow is glistening with sweat. I feel a sense of accomplishment wash over me as I observe his reactions; some days I still can't quite believe that I'm the only one who can make him feel this way.

Still watching him intently, I lower my mouth to his tip, excitement curling in my own stomach when he hisses in response.

"God, Liz…" he exhales breathily, his fingers clutching at my shoulders as I pleasure him.

However, as much as I'd love to continue, his reactions are turning me on so much that if I don't feel him inside me soon, I'll explode. I place a tender kiss to his tip and quickly slide up his body.

"Liz?" he questions throatily, his eyes flying open to see what's going on.

"I need you now, Max," I tell him softly, as I position my body above him.

"Okay," he whispers, reaching for the box of condoms on the table.

"No, wait," I tell him. He stops his hand in mid-air. "Don't," I say, shaking my head. "I want to feel all of you tonight."

"Liz, I don't think –"

"It's supposed to be so much better without condoms," I cut in. "Please?"

"Liz, I'm not making love to you without protection, okay?" he says firmly.

"You won't be," I protest. "I'm on the pill, remember?"

He looks dubious, but I'm pretty good at reading him and I know part of him wants to do this too.

"Okay, fine," he says eventually. "But, just this once, okay? I don't want to risk it again."

"Thank you," I grin and lean down for a kiss. "But you know, the pill is effective – close to 100% – it's really not that much of a risk. And trust me, you'll enjoy it."

His eyes darken at that and his hands move to grip my waist as I lower myself onto him. We both gasp as he fills me up. The sensation of being skin-to-skin with him is like nothing I've ever felt before and my sudden orgasm takes us both by surprise. Max begins to move his hips beneath me as my inner muscles contract around him frantically. As the waves of pleasure subside somewhat, I use the opportunity to move above him, creating a delicious rhythm. At first we go slow in an attempt fully experience these new feelings, but after a while the anticipation becomes too great and Max pulls my upper body down towards him and then deftly flips me beneath him. Pinning my arms to the pillow above my head with his hands, he begins pounding into me mindlessly. I throw back my head in ecstasy as his mouth makes its way down to my breasts, licking and sucking, slowly driving me crazy.

Seconds later, a second, more intense wave of pleasure starts building in my belly. It flows through my entire body, like the sun's rays warm the earth as the clouds move away, and slip my hands from Max's slackened grip on them and cling to his shoulder as though he's my lifeline. At that very moment, he lets out a throaty cry and he lengthens inside me as he reaches his release. His climax, his seed, spills into my body and the feel of it triggers yet another release. I shudder and moan beneath him as he collapses above me in exhaustion.

I never knew it could feel that good.

I shake my head to bring myself back to the present – where am I again? Oh yeah, at Harvard. Without Max. You know, the memory of that incredible night is what's going to get me through the next few weeks until I can see him again. It's going to be more difficult being away from him this semester, compared to the last couple of years. See, Becca and Jack decided that they wanted to try living together as a couple, so they're renting a studio apartment just off Main Street this year. To make things worse, Tim and Kelly are living together as well now, which means I'm out of a house to live in senior year. Over the summer, I spent a lot of time trying to decide what to do about my living situation and in the end I chose to go with university accommodation, so now I'm living in a 4-bedroom apartment on campus with three other seniors.

It's actually quite fun to meet and live with new people, although I do miss the closeness that I had with Jack and Becca last year. Luckily though, they've decided that they're gonna make me go to clubs and parties with them and generally spend as much time with them as possible to make up for abandoning me. Personally, I think they want to make sure that I don't relapse and become depressed again, which actually I'm really grateful for because that's the last thing I want to happen again.

I'm really happy right now, and I'm determined to stay that way.

TBC…