Part Thirteen

The next few days pass in a blur as I attempt to juggle uni work and increasingly regular cheerleading practices with spending time with Jake. As a result, I've ended up missing the last two Thursday debates; the one last week because Jake and I were at the cinema and this week's because Sophie called a last-minute emergency cheerleading practice before the big game next Wednesday. But now it's Saturday morning and I have two whole days of relaxation ahead of me.

Lazily, I turn over in bed, stretching my arms above my head as I yawn. I force my eyes open and reach for my phone to check the time. I let out a sigh and let my head fall back against the pillow; it's only eight-fifteen. That's just great; it's Saturday morning, a lie-in day, and yet I'm awake at eight am. I sigh again, this time pulling myself up into a sitting position. There's no point in staying in bed any longer because now that I'm awake, there's little chance of getting back to sleep again.

I tiptoe across to the sink to grab my towel and shower things, before heading to the door as quietly as I can so I don't disturb Maria, who is sleeping soundly across the room. I roll my eyes when I step out into the corridor to hear the sound of the shower running. Who the hell showers at this time in the morning on the weekend… well, apart from me, that is? I shake my head and make my way to the loo. With any luck, whoever it is will be out of the shower by the time I get there.

Unfortunately my luck seems to be out this morning because the door is still closed when I leave the toilets. I debate going back to my room to wait until they're finished, but I don't want to disturb Maria by making any noise, so I decide just to lean against the wall opposite the shower and wait. As I stare at the grey bricks of the wall in front of me, I remember that Alex sometimes gets up early on the weekend to go running, so he's probably the one in there this morning.

Five minutes later, the water is still running and I'm beginning to get annoyed. God, how long does it take to have a shower, especially if you're a guy? Thankfully, the water stops a minute or so later and I let out a sigh of relief. There are a few moments of silence, but eventually I hear the click of the lock and the door handle turns.

"It's about time, Alex" I chastise, as he opens the door and walks out.

Except… it's not Alex.

My eyes widen in shock as I take in the half-naked body now standing before me. Tiny water droplets roll down the smooth expanse of a perfectly tanned, perfectly toned, male chest, only serving to accentuate his taught muscles. My gaze involuntarily follows the droplets as they roll down over rippling stomach muscles and disappear down beneath the white towel that encircles a trim waist.

I gulp.

"Liz? What a surprise."

My gaze snaps to his face, my heart skipping a beat as my eyes meet his.

"Max?" I breathe, inwardly cursing myself for losing my cool in front of him like this.

I try to avert my gaze, but I can't seem to look away from his attractive features. His dark eyes burn right into mine, his soft-looking lips curling up into that familiar smirk of his. His wet hair frames his face in an unruly manner and appears to be the main source of the rivulets of water currently traversing his chest. I watch with avid fascination as he brings up a hand to run it through his hair as if to release the water from it, causing his upper arm muscles to flex in response.

I bite my lip at the sight.

He raises an eyebrow, "Enjoying the view?"

My eyes fly to his again and I try to suppress the half-embarrassed, half-angry gasp that escapes my lips at his words.

"No," I state firmly, as I frantically try to regain my composure. "I'm just waiting for the shower."

"Really?" he drawls. "If you say so."

I roll my eyes, "Well, I do live here, you know. This is my shower; I use it all the time. I have a valid reason to be here. You, on the other hand, don't."

"Is that so?"

"Yes," I bite out, barely resisting the urge to throw something at him… the shampoo bottle in my hand is feeling very tempting right now. "So why don't you leave now, so I can get on with my shower?"

The smirk returns, "I didn't realise you were already in the middle of it."

I let out a frustrated groan and then shift uncomfortably as his gaze flits from my face, down my body and back up again. I suddenly feel very self-conscious in the tight, light green tank top and small shorts that I chose as my nightwear last night. Perhaps it's not the most appropriate thing to be wearing right now.

"Well, in that case," he grins, "I'd better leave you to it."

"Yeah, you do that," I retort, my eyes narrowing as he slips past me and begins walking down the corridor.

My gaze involuntarily peruses his naked back as he moves away. His dripping hair rests deliciously at the base of his neck and my stomach tightens slightly at the sight of his strong, broad shoulders and upper back. My gaze travels further down, to his slim waist and lower back and I bite my lip again, my eyes now lingering on his towel covered bum and well-muscled legs peeking out from underneath.

I quickly turn my head when he stops and turns back to face me.

"Have a lovely shower, Liz," he murmurs smoothly, his lips turned up in a 'I know just what you were doing' smirk, before he opens the door in front of him and disappears through it.

I close my eyes, letting out a shaky breath as I try to calm my body down. However, my flustered state is short lived when the reality of the situation sinks in. Firstly, I have a boyfriend, one I like very much in fact; secondly, Max Evans is an annoying, insufferable prick who doesn't deserve all the female attention he appears to get; and thirdly… was that Tess' room he just went into?

I shake my head as I walk into the shower and close the door behind me. That was just what I needed; another exasperating encounter with Cocky Guy himself. I step under the warm flow of water and close my eyes. Taking deep breaths, I try to relax and forget about the whole frustrating encounter.

The problem is, as hard as I try to remind myself that I have Jake, who is a wonderful, caring, fun guy and that I shouldn't be wasting any time or energy on that idiot, why is it that I can't get the thought that Max was standing right here under this very same stream of water, all wet and naked, just a few moments ago?

I shower as quickly as I can, go back to my room to get dressed and then head over to Jake's room over in block B so we can go to breakfast together – something we arranged yesterday. He opens the door with a grin and leans down to give me a good morning kiss before opening the door wider to invite me in.

"Sorry, I'm not quite ready yet," he apologises as I step inside. "Give me a couple more minutes."

"Sure," I smile, taking a seat on his desk chair. I would sit down on the bed, but it doesn't appear to have been made yet.

"Sleep well last night?" he asks as puts some gel in his hair and then runs a comb through it.

"Yep," I nod. "You?"

"Not bad," he flashes me a smile before turning back to what he's doing.

As he moves around the room, grabbing his jacket and a few other things, I take the opportunity to study him. He looks really good this morning, dressed in what look like high-street designer jeans and a white Jack Wills polo shirt, the collar turned up and the top two buttons undone. Maria would call him a bit of a 'rah' – you know, one of those rich, public school kids who wears designer clothes and plays polo – but despite his slightly 'rah' appearance, he's actually a really nice, down-to-Earth guy.

"So, you have football practice today?" I ask as he pulls his jacket on and we head out of the door a few moments later.

"No, it's not until tomorrow morning."

"Oh, okay," I nod, as we walk down the corridor toward the hall exit.

"Why?" he asks, holding the door open for me and then slipping his hand into mine. "Were you thinking of something?"

"Maybe," I nod. "You fancy doing something with me today?"

"Sure," he smiles softly, while we make our way across the road to the main building. "You have anything in particular in mind?"

"Dunno, really," I shrug. "What about you?"

"Well, I'd suggest maybe going down to the quay to explore the sights along the river, but it's getting a bit cold to do that now. It is November, after all."

"Yeah… but you know, it's not that cold today. Maybe we could do it anyway and see how it goes?"

He looks thoughtful for a moment, before he nods, "Yeah, why not. After all, if it gets too cold, we can just go for a pub lunch or something."

"Sure."

Sharing a quick smile, we reach the main building and head inside. Since it's Saturday and there are fewer staff on duty than normal, the breakfast choice is fairly limited and it only takes us a few minutes to finish. As we return our plates to the kitchen hatch and make our way back to our rooms, Jake mentions that he needs to call home in a few minutes so we arrange to meet up again in an hour so we can walk down to the docks on the other side of the city for our day out.

We stop on the grass just outside A block and Jake takes my hand, pressing a soft kiss to my lips. When we part, he tells me he'll see me soon and then heads over to B block. A smile graces my lips as I watch him go and then I turn and make my way over to the A block entrance.

"So, boyfriend, eh?"

I frown in confusion at the sudden intrusion, but then exhale in annoyance when I look up to find Max leaning lazily against the wall next to the A block door, casually smoking a cigarette. I eye him warily for a moment.

"Yeah. So?" I cross my arms, challenging him to say anything.

His eyes narrow for a second before his expression turns neutral and he shrugs, looking away.

"So, nothing."

"Okay," I roll my eyes and start to move past him.

"You know, it's not usually considered particularly faithful to be eyeing up other men when you have a boyfriend."

I stop at his words, slowly turning back to face him, "What?"

He smirks, taking a leisurely drag of his cigarette, "You know what."

"No, I really don't," I state sharply.

Oh, yes you do,retorts a tiny voice in the back of my mind.

I ignore it.

"I beg to differ."

I stiffen, my blood beginning to boil now, "Look, Max, I don't know where you get off acting like this, assuming things about people that you know nothing about, but it's really unbecoming."

He just raises an eyebrow and continues to watch me, the smirk still playing on his lips, "Is that so?"

"Yes!" I cry, throwing my hands in the air in exasperation. "And you know what; at least I'm not the kind of person who just goes around shagging every girl I meet–"

"Every girl, huh?" he interrupts my rant, causing me to glare at him. "Now, that would be interesting to see."

"Ugh!" I groan in irritation. "You know what I mean. I have standards, okay? I don't sleep around; I don't promise to call and then never do; I don't cheat on people–"

"Hey," he holds his hands up to stop me, "what makes you think I do any of those things?"

I stop and think for a moment, conceding, "Okay, so I don't know about the last two, but from what I've seen so far, it seems the first one could very well be true."

"Look," he stands up, his stance no longer relaxed, "you don't know me, okay? All you know is what you've seen of me during a few hours of my life, so you're not qualified to judge me or my actions."

I glare up at him for a moment as his dark eyes bore into mine, his jaw twitching angrily and I realise that I've hit a nerve.

"Okay, okay," I sigh. "I get it. No need to get all worked up there."

He takes a small step back, but continues to stare at me intently. Suddenly I can't take the weight of his gaze anymore and I realise I have to get out of here.

"Well, it was great, talking with you, Max, but I have things to do this morning," I announce airily, my tone betraying the slightly frayed emotions coursing through my body right at this moment. "And I don't have time to be standing around out here arguing with you."

Without further hesitation, I turn on my heels and stalk towards the building. I pull open the door and walk right through without looking back. What on Earth is it about that man that gets to me so much? I just don't understand it.

TBC…