Part Twenty

The bright California sunshine peeked through the master bedroom curtains and fell upon Liz's sleeping form as she shifted in her sleep, one hand reaching out for Max under the covers…but her fingers encountered only empty space. Prying first one eye open and then the other, she frowned in confusion when she realised she was alone in the large bed. Letting out a yawn and stretching her arms above her head, she sighed heavily before reluctantly sliding out of the bed. Slipping on one of Max's discarded shirts, she padded out of the room and went in search of her boyfriend.

As she made her way down the stairs, she heard the sound of female laughter coming from the kitchen. With a frown, she continued to the bottom of the stairs and along the hallway, stopping in the kitchen doorway when her eyes fell on the sight of Anna Davies sitting at the island. Max was standing beside her, his head close to hers as they laughed at something on the counter in front of them. Liz couldn't help feeling a slight twinge of jealousy in her stomach when Max slung a casual arm over Anna's shoulder as they shared an amusing joke. Taking a step forward into the kitchen, Liz cleared her throat to catch his attention.

"Liz," he smiled, his eyes softening as he looked up to see her standing there. "You're up."

"Yep," she gave him a small smile and a nod as she crossed the room and reached for the coffee pot, pouring herself a steaming mug of coffee.

"Morning, Liz," added Anna with a friendly smile. "Good to see you again."

"You too," replied Liz a little stiffly, lifting the mug to her lips as she raised an eyebrow at Max, giving him a questioning look.

He just smiled in response, "Anna just popped by to say hi."

"Oh," murmured Liz, still not quite sure what to make of Max's ginger-haired friend as she nodded in Anna's direction. "Well, hi."

"I thought maybe the two of you might like to spend some time together this morning," he added, and Liz's eyes snapped back to him. "I have some errands I need to run before we leave for New York later."

"Oh," repeated Liz, feeling a bit putout that her hoped-for relaxing morning with Max was apparently now off the cards. "Right. Okay."

"Yeah, it'll be fun," grinned Anna with a sly smile. "We can gossip about Max."

Despite feeling a little uncomfortable around Anna since the barbecue last weekend, Liz couldn't help but smile at the devious look on the other woman's face.

"Okay, okay, girls," Max held up his hands in protest. "Don't get too carried away now."

"Oh, don't worry, we won't," replied Anna sweetly, giving Liz a discreet wink.

"Of course not," replied Liz with a grin.

"Okay, well I've got to go now," murmured Max, giving the two of them a suspicious look as he walked over to Liz and placed a hand on her arm. "Our flight leaves at two-thirty this afternoon. I'll try to be back before we need to leave, but if not, I'll meet you at the airport at one-fifteen, okay?"

"Sure," nodded Liz. "Okay. I'll see you later."

"Bye," murmured Max with a soft smile that made Liz's stomach flip.

His hand slid up her arm to her neck and he lowered his head, his lips finding hers and caressing them gently. Liz couldn't help but sigh as she felt heat begin to swirl in her belly… and then quickly cursed her body for its sudden reaction to him. If only they were alone right now and he wasn't about to walk out of the door and leave her alone with his… well, with Anna.

All too soon, though, he had released her and was heading out of the door. Liz watched him go with a pout; how was she gonna survive without him for another four hours?

"Wow, you two are something else," whistled Anna, causing Liz to whip her head around in surprise.

"Hmm?"

"You and Max," Anna nodded towards the door Max had just disappeared through. "You've got something special there."

"You think?"

"Definitely," the other woman nodded again. "I've never seen him be like this with anybody else."

Liz raised an eyebrow, unable to resist asking, "Not even with you?"

"With me?" Anna looked surprised as she shook her head. "No, not with me… what exactly did he tell you about us?"

Liz shrugged awkwardly, inwardly wishing she'd never mentioned it at all, "He told me about your relationship before he came to London… you know, how you were sleeping together."

"Oh…" murmured Anna, glancing down at the kitchen counter for a moment, before looking up at Liz again and saying sincerely, "You know it was never serious between us, right? It was just two friends–"

"Hooking up occasionally," interrupted Liz quickly. "Yeah, I know."

"Seriously, Liz, that's all it was," insisted Anna. "Neither of us were seeing anyone seriously and you know, Max and I get on well together… and well, it was convenient, I guess…"

When she trailed off and didn't say anything more, Liz suddenly felt a flash of anger, or maybe it was frustration, she wasn't sure, but she couldn't stop the next words from tumbling out of her mouth.

"Convenient?" she exclaimed incredulously. "You were, like, fuck buddies or something… that's not exactly normal, you know. I mean, I have guy friends that I'm close to, but I wouldn't dream of sleeping with them just because I wasn't seeing anyone and they were there."

"I'm sorry, Liz," murmured Anna, obviously not expecting the sudden tirade. "We didn't mean for it to hurt anyone. And of course, nothing at all has happened since before he left for the UK at Christmas. It's over."

"Yeah, he told me," conceded Liz, a dozen emotions suddenly running through her, confusing her.

"I meant what I said earlier, Liz. You're the only girl I've seen him get this serious over in all the years I've known him. You're different for him."

Liz nodded as she moved to the island and took a seat on one of the stools, and resting her arms on the surface.

"I'm sorry for all of this." She shook her head. "I guess I just don't know where we stand right now. I mean, I'm going back to London in a few days… and then what? We're gonna be, like, six thousands miles apart again and the thought that he might find someone else just…" She looked up at Anna, "It scares the shit out of me."

Anna gave her a gentle smile and, making her way around the island, placed a hand on Liz's lower arm.

"Don't you think it scares him too?" she smiled sympathetically. "The thought that you might meet someone else back in London and leave him behind?"

Liz scoffed at that, "Why would he be worried about that? He's a fucking movie star! He could have anyone he wanted. I'm just a nobody."

"Not to him," countered Anna. "He hasn't admitted it yet, but you mean the world to him, Liz."

"You think so?"

Anna nodded, "Definitely. You know, before you got here, I caught him doing some research on the Internet. He was looking at property in London and a UK immigration website."

"He was what?" Liz's eyes widened in shock. "No, no, he can't live in England!"

"Why not?" Anna's expression turned confused. "You don't want him to?"

"No, I mean… that would be amazing," she admitted. "But, he just can't. His life is here, in L.A.. The movie studios and the jobs are here." She sighed. "He would miss out on so many career opportunities if he came to England. I can't let him do that."

"What if that doesn't matter to him?" countered the redhead.

"No…no, I just can't let him do that just for me." Liz shook her head. "That just seems so selfish and I have no intention of standing between him and his career."

"Yeah, maybe," murmured Anna, although Liz thought she didn't look entirely convinced. "But as you said, you're leaving soon, and then what? It can't be easy to maintain a relationship when you're six thousand miles apart."

"Tell me about it," muttered Liz under her breath, before sighing and telling Anna, "I don't know, Anna. I really don't."

"So," said Max, as he and Liz headed towards the airport a few hours later. "I was talking to my publicist earlier…"

"Yeah?" asked Liz, turning her head away from the window to face him in the back of the large car.

"… Well, she wanted to discuss the content of my interviews this week," he continued, his expression serious. "Specifically what I'm going to say about our relationship."

"The relationship you have with your publicist?" wondered Liz with a grin.

"No," Max shook his head and rolled his eyes at her teasing tone. "Our relationship. Yours and mine."

"Yeah, I got that," she smiled, reaching out to caress the back of his hand with her fingertips. "And what did she decide?"

"Well, ultimately it's our choice," he told her, trying very hard not to react to the feel of her fingers teasing his skin. "But she suggested it would be wise to keep the details of our private lives out of the press as much as possible."

"Makes sense," agreed Liz with a nod as she shifted closer to him and let her head rest against his shoulder.

Max glanced down at her with a soft smile, "We decided it would be best not to bring you into the spotlight unnecessarily; try to keep you under the radar for as long as we can. So, I thought I'd just say that we met in London while I was filming, that things are going well, and that I would rather keep my private life private at this time."

Liz nodded again, but Max could feel her tense slightly against him.

"What's wrong?"

She gave a sigh, before lifting her head and straightening up, "I get that you're trying to protect me from the press, Max, but don't I get a say in this too?"

"Of course you do, Liz," Max frowned. "I'm not trying to dictate things for you, but I've been in this business for a while and I've seen what a lack of privacy can do to people… it's not pretty and I don't want that for you."

"I know that, Max," Liz assured him, "and I understand where you're coming from. I just don't want you or your publicist to start trying to run my life for me, okay?"

She had a small smile on her face, which allowed Max to relax.

"Okay," he nodded in agreement. "I get it. I'll do my best not to run your life for you."

"Thanks," she smiled, leaning up to give him a quick kiss on the lips. "I appreciate it."

They sat in silence for a few moments, before Liz spoke up again, "So, what exactly is the plan for the next few days?"

"Well," said Max thoughtfully, running through the details of the trip in his mind. "I don't have anything scheduled for tonight, but tomorrow, I have magazine interviews in the morning and then I'm due to appear on Letterman late afternoon. It'll be similar on Tuesday and Wednesday too, I'm afraid."

"Okay, so I guess I'll have to find something to do by myself while you're busy."

"Yeah," he agreed. "Well, unless you feel like hanging around behind the scenes for several hours, but that can get really boring."

"Yeah, I think I'll give that a miss," replied Liz quickly. "After all, I'll be in Manhattan… I need to be out there, exploring… shopping… having fun."

"You do that," chuckled Max, tightening his arm around her. "But you have to promise to leave some time for me in there too… I won't be busy the whole time."

"I should hope not," she shot back quickly, with a grin. "Otherwise, what would have been the point of bringing me?"

"Very good point, Ms. Parker," he agreed as he relaxed back into his seat and savoured the quiet privacy they had for the moment.

Fifteen minutes later, the car pulled up outside the airport and his driver collected their luggage from the trunk. As discreetly as possible, Max and Liz climbed out of the car and headed inside the terminal. The check-in desks were fairly empty and there weren't many people around, so they managed to get checked in and through security without attracting too much attention. However, as Max slipped his hand into Liz's and they made their way towards the VIP boarding lounge, several people spotted Max and suddenly a commotion broke out around them, with young teenagers pointing their camera phones at him and calling his name. Max tightened his hand around Liz's and she leaned into him as they increased their speed through the terminal and he let out a sigh of relief when they finally entered the VIP area and could have some privacy.

"For fuck's sake," he muttered under his breath as he led Liz over to a group of comfortable chairs and they sat down. "Don't they ever give up?"

"They're just excited to see you," reasoned Liz. "They're just kids, most of them."

"I know," he admitted sheepishly. "It just gets a bit too much sometimes, you know?"

"Yeah," she gave him a smile. "I know."

The flight to New York was pretty uneventful. Max dosed off just after take-off and so Liz spent the majority of the five-hour trip trying to read a book. However, she found herself spending more time watching Max's face as he slept than she did concentrating on the printed words in front of her. Due to the three-hour time-difference, it was late when the plane finally landed in New York… almost eleven p.m., and by the time they arrived at their hotel on Columbus Circle, it was close to midnight.

"Wow…" murmured Liz in awe as she stepped into their hotel suite at the Mandarin Oriental in Manhattan late that night. "This place is amazing!"

"Pretty nice, huh?" agreed Max as he entered the large room behind her and then stepped aside to let the bellboy bring their bags inside.

"Nice?" Liz exclaimed incredulously as she moved further into the suite and turned in a circle, taking in her elaborate surroundings. "It's fucking incredible."

By the door, she saw the bellboy raise an eyebrow at her colourful language, but she couldn't bring herself to care right now. Barely able to contain her grin, Liz moved towards the living room area and her fingers across the silky couch cushions for a moment, before she turned back to Max who was giving the bellboy a tip.

"You realise that this suite is bigger than my whole flat back home, right?"

"Is it?" he shrugged sheepishly in reply, as the bellboy left the room and closed the door behind him. "I hadn't noticed."

At that, Liz scoffed and rolled her eyes, "Right, of course not, Mr. I-earn-millions-of-dollars-per-movie-and-can-afford-to-stay-in-the-most-expensive-hotels-in-the-world. You're probably so used to staying in places like this you don't even notice the size anymore."

"Well…" Max shrugged again.

"Very convincing." Liz couldn't help but laugh at his attempt at an innocent expression. "You know, you'll make a great actor someday."

"Oh, ha ha, very funny," Max rolled his eyes at her as he picked up their bags from their position next to the door and carried them over to the bedroom.

"Yeah, I thought so," she shot back, playfully sticking her tongue out at him as she followed him into the room.

She was about to make another retort when the wall-to-ceiling windows caught her eye and she moved get a better looked, letting out a gasp at the view before her. "Wow, you can see practically all of Manhattan from up here!"

"I know," replied Max, coming up behind her and slipping his arms around her waist. "It's a great view, isn't it?"

"Yeah," breathed Liz, letting her body relax back against Max's chest, a lazy smile sliding onto her face as she savoured the moment they were sharing. "It's gorgeous."

"You're gorgeous," he countered, his warm breath tickling her ear, sending shivers down her spine.

She grinned, turning in his arms and slipping her arms around his neck as she stared up into his eyes and whispered a soft, "Thank you."

Max smiled in response, tightening his arms around her.

"And of course, you are too," she was quick to add. "Although you already knew that."

"Well, yeah… but I just love to hear you say it," he grinned mischievously, before swooping down and capturing her lips with his in a heated kiss.

At the unexpected, but welcome contact, Liz sighed into his mouth, her eyes sliding shut as she focused on the feel of his lips against hers. She needed him. Right now. Right there in that large bed, amongst the silk sheets.

"Come on," murmured Max several moments later, pulling away briefly to look down at her. "Let's go to bed."

At his words, Liz nodded enthusiastically, running her hands down his chest suggestively. "I thought you'd never ask."

"What?" frowned Max, looking at her with confusion in his eyes. "Oh, no, I meant to sleep. It's after midnight and we've had a long day."

"But it's only nine in L.A.," protested Liz with a pout.

"Maybe so, but my interviews are on New York time… which means I have to be up and ready to go in about seven hours," countered Max with a wounded expression of his own. "And I need my beauty sleep."

Liz gave him a funny look, "Didn't you just sleep for, like, four hours on the plane?"

"Well, yeah…" he shrugged unapologetically, releasing his grip on her and moving to unzip his bag and pull out a T-shirt, a pair of sweats and a wash bag. "But that wasn't real sleep; I was just snoozing."

At that, he walked across the bedroom and disappeared inside the bathroom, leaving Liz staring after him in exasperation.

"Fine," she huffed, as she headed after him and leaned against the bathroom door, watching him get ready for bed. "You win. We'll go to bed."

"Great," Max flashed her a grin, before reaching for his toothbrush. "I'll be out in a minute."

With another pout, Liz went back into the bedroom and began searching through her bag for some nightwear. She could hear Max moving around in the bathroom and her eyes flitted between his direction and the large, inviting bed. She knew he needed to be refreshed and bright-eyed for his long day tomorrow, but at the same time, her body was craving his right now and this expensive, Asian-style hotel suite wasn't exactly doing much to calm her amorous mood. With a sigh, she changed into her nightclothes and sat down on the edge of the bed while she waited for Max to be done in the bathroom. She let her fingers run over the silk sheets covering the bed and she shivered in response to the feel of them against her skin.

This was going to be one long night.

TBC…