Part Twenty-Nine

The next morning, I find myself standing in front of 28 Barrow Road, one hand holding my bag and the other poised to ring the small, round doorbell located just beside the door. I'm not really sure what I'm doing here… well, not that's not quite true; I know why I'm here – to apologise to Max for last night… but what I'm not sure about is my decision to come here, to his house, to do it. I guess I could've waited until I bumped into him again, but since I have no way of knowing when that will happen, a home visit it is. Closing my eyes briefly and letting out a calming breath, I reach forward and press the bell.

There are a few moments of silence before I hear movement on the other side and the door opens to reveal a tall, well-built blond guy with shaggy hair, dressed in jeans and a polo shirt.

"Hi, can I help you?"

"Yeah, um, is Max here?" I ask uncertainly, hoping that I did in fact get the right house. "I need to talk to him."

"Max? Uh, sure, he's in the kitchen," he tells me. "You wanna come in?"

"Thanks," I smile, stepping into the hallway.

"Kitchen's right in front of you at the end of the hall," the guy tells me. "I'm headed out, but feel free to go on through."

"Thanks," I nod, as he shoots me a smile before slinging a rucksack over his shoulder and manoeuvring his way out of the door, closing it behind him.

My gaze remains on the closed door for a moment as I mentally go over what I want to say to him, before I turn in the direction of the kitchen and pull off my jacket, clasping it in my free hand, before making my way down the hallway. The kitchen door is ajar and as I reach it, I can see Max standing in front of the open fridge, dressed in jeans and a grey T-shirt. His feet are bare and his hair is slightly damp, presumably from the shower.

Coming to a stop in the doorway, I raise my hand and knock gently on the door. He pauses in reaching for something in the fridge and instead turns his head, looking over at me in shocked surprise.

"Liz?"

"Hi," I say, a little self-conscious now about suddenly arriving with no warning.

He pulls out a carton of milk and closes the fridge door, sending me a glance over his shoulder, an annoyed expression clouding his handsome features.

"What are you doing here?" his tone is demanding and I find myself shrinking backwards slightly.

"I, um…" I struggle to gather my thoughts under his intense, angry gaze. "Sorry, for dropping by unannounced, it's just that…"

"Just what?" he asks, placing the milk carton down on the kitchen counter beside the steaming mug of tea that rests there and turns to face me, crossing his arms and leaning against the counter, fixing me with a hard stare.

"Just…" I'm finding it difficult to concentrate on forming the right words with him glaring at me like that.

"Let me guess," he cuts in. "My sister has been feeding you sob stories about me again and, feeling sorry for her, you decided to visit my house and persuade me to talk it out with her?"

I take a step into the kitchen, feeling my hackles rise at his cold words.

"Max, no–" I shake my head.

"Well, I'm telling you right now, it's not gonna work," he continues as if I haven't spoken. "I know you probably think you can just swoop in and save the day, but nothing you, or anyone else, says is gonna make me do that."

"God, Max!" I exclaim in exasperation, his bad mood beginning to rub off on me. "Just shut up and listen for a minute, will you?"

He narrows his eyes at me, pushing his body away from the counter as he walks toward me, not stopping until he's only a few inches away.

"No, how about you listen, okay?" he hisses angrily. "I neither want nor need you to fight my battles for me. It's my life and my decisions, got that?"

I gulp, as I look up into his angry, flashing eyes, suddenly feeling rather small. Maybe this wasn't such a great idea after all.

"Max…"

He steps back a little and then brushes past me none too gently with an impatient sigh, "Just get out, Liz, all right? I'm not doing this with you today."

I turn and watch as he leaves the kitchen and stalks down the hallway, disappearing into what I remember to be the living room. Against my better judgement, I choose to follow him.

"Max, please," I continue as I enter the room behind him.

I find him now sitting on the sofa, his head in his hands. He doesn't acknowledge my presence.

"Look, I didn't come here to fight with you, okay?" I say tightly, clenching my fingers around my bag strap in an attempt to calm myself down.

"No?" he lifts his head, a sceptical look on his face.

"No, I didn't," I state firmly. "So stop jumping to conclusions, all right? … If you must know, I came here to apologise."

He gets up off the sofa, his eyebrows rising in a disbelieving expression, "You did? Somehow I'm finding that a little hard to believe."

I sigh in annoyance at his behaviour, "Yes, I did. I wanted to say I'm sorry for upsetting you last night – I shouldn't have pushed the issue – but it appears that would be a waste of time right now." I shake my head, taking in his defensive stance. "You know, I don't get you, Max. I don't get you at all."

"What's not to get?" he shrugs unceremoniously, as he turns his back to me, crosses the small room and begins rummaging through a pile of DVDs beside the large TV in the corner.

"What's not to get? … What's not to get?!" I burst out, unable to control my emotions any longer. "You are the most annoying, most confusing person I have ever met! One minute, you're the world's biggest flirt, and the next you turn Mr. Sensitive on me. Then when I try to talk to you about it, you get angry. I don't understand you at all. So what the hell you do want from me, Max?"

"What do I want?" he says incredulously, his eyes flashing as he turns and begins to advance toward me. "I want you to leave me the hell alone. I want you to butt out of my life and go on back to living yours."

When he doesn't stop moving, I take a couple of steps back in an attempt to put some distance between us, but then I feel my back pressing against the living room door as it closes fully behind me and I realise that I'm trapped. Max finally comes to a stop just a couple of feet away, his fists clenched and his wild eyes boring into mine. My heart begins to pound in my chest, a mixture of anger and response to his close proximity, as I open my mouth to retort.

"If you didn't want me around, then why the hell did you tell me all that stuff about your family in the first place?" I demand to know, scrunching my face up in confusion.

"Because I thought it would make you see!" he practically yells.

"See what?!" I exclaim impatiently, beginning to wish I had just stayed at home today.

"That I'm not the bastard you seem to think I am!" he finally bursts out. "That I am capable of feeling things, okay?!"

"Max," I murmur, gazing at him in shock. "Why?"

"You wouldn't even give me the time of day, Liz," he shakes his head. "I had to do something to show you…"

"Show me what?" I question when he trails off.

He doesn't answer immediately, but instead simply stares into my eyes, his chest rising and falling in heavy breaths. I just stand there, back against the door, fingers loosely grasping my bag as it hangs limply from them, my eyes drawn to his intense gaze. My jacket slips from my other hand and falls to the floor with a soft thump. I pay no attention, my stomach lurching and breath catching as he moves toward me, the murky, mysterious depths of his dark eyes capturing me and pulling me in, and then suddenly, he's right in front of me, barely two inches away. My heart beats faster as he leans in close, his breath hot on my cheek, the close proximity of his denim- and T-shirt-clad body overwhelming my senses.

"This–" he breathes seductively, bracing one hand on the wall behind my head, as the other cups the back of my head, his fingers tangling in my long hair.

I can't tear my gaze from his; it's like he's suddenly cast a spell on me. It draws me in, arouses me, seduces me, even though I'm still not entirely sure I want it to. But there's nothing I can do to stop it. He lowers his eyes slightly to my mouth and his tongue snakes out to lick his lips. I suck in an aroused breath, as a familiar tingling begins in my belly.

God, I want him, I realise suddenly.

"Max…" my voice is involuntarily needy.

Our gazes lock once more and my breathing becomes laboured as he watches me with hooded eyes, full of emotion, before his lips are on mine, soft and warm, yet passionate and fiery all at the same time. I close my eyes, finally giving in to the feelings I've been trying to hide from for so long, as his touch sends tingles shooting down my spine.

His tongue probes my lips, parting them, forcing itself inside my mouth. The contact sends shivers through my whole body. My fingers relax and the bag joins my jacket on the floor. Of their own accord my hands move up to his chest, my palms pressing flat against him as his tongue wreaks havoc on my senses.

"Max," I say again in a gasp when his mouth eventually leaves mine and he begins pressing urgent, open-mouth kisses along my jaw and down my neck. His hand slides out of my hair and down my back, my head falling back against the wall as he gently grips my hips and I'm suddenly acutely aware of how his muscles move beneath my palms, how his body heat seeps through the thin material of his T-shirt and warms my skin.

This feels so right, I realise with startling clarity as I feel his fingers slip beneath the hem of my top, gently caressing my heated skin as his mouth returns to mine once more and I let my arms drift up around his neck.

I need this; I need him. God knows why I refused to acknowledge it before.

"God, Liz," he groans a few moments later, abandoning my mouth again in favour of kissing a trail down to my collarbone.

My fingers tangle in his damp hair and I let out a shuddering sigh as his fingers trace patterns on my skin, burrowing further beneath my top and grabbing onto my waist as the atmosphere between us intensifies.

"Max," I grind out, my breath coming fast now as my whole body ignites with this new feeling of passion… and desire.

I've never felt anything like this before. And I never want it to stop.

I shiver with desire as his hands move round to my lower back, his palms briefly flattening against my heated, sensitive skin before sliding down to cup my bottom. He presses my lower body against his and I inhale sharply as I come into contact with his arousal. He lifts his head, attacking my mouth with his once more as his hands urge me closer. I gasp at the intimate contact, my arms firmly wrapping around his neck as I lose myself in the sensations.

Leaving one hand where it is, he moves the other round to my stomach and then slides his fingers up over my torso to my collarbone. He then brings his hand up to my loose hair, fingering it gently before sliding his fingers through it and cupping my cheek and lower neck as his delicious lips work their magic on mine.

"Liz," he mutters against my lips as he lets his hand slide down the side of my face, back down over my collarbone, to my chest. A small moan escapes my lips as he cups my covered breast in his palm, kneading it gently, causing my stomach to tighten in anticipation.

However, when his fingers move further down, walking over my stomach and then lower still, I suddenly find myself brought back to reality and I break the kiss.

"Wait," I mutter breathlessly. "Stop."

But he just buries his face in my neck again, his hand drifting lower, hovering over the zip of my jeans.

"Max," I try again. "Wait a sec."

He's still engrossed in what he's doing and so I have to slide my hands back down to his chest and press against him firmly to get him to stop. He lifts his head and then releases his grip on me, before taking a step back and running a hand through his hair, panting harshly as he tries to catch his breath.

"What?" he asks, his voice throaty and eyes unfocused. "What is it?"

God, he looks sexy all tousled like that, I find myself thinking absently as I watch him with hooded eyes. However, I quickly force the thoughts away.

"What are we doing here, Max?"

A small smirk graces his lips as he looks me directly in the eye, "Well, I'd have thought that would be obvious."

"Yeah," I concede with a smile and a roll of my eyes. "But less than five minutes ago we were screaming at each other and now… well, now, I'm a little confused."

"Hey," he murmurs, closing the distance between us again and threading his fingers through my hair. "Maybe you should just stop thinking so much for once, okay?"

"Max…" I shake my head, although I'm finding it hard to concentrate with his penetrating eyes looking at me like that.

"Don't tell me you're not feeling this too," he challenges, as he slips his free arm around my waist and tugs me closer.

"What about the others?" I avoid the question, unsure how to answer it.

"What others?" he's looking at my lips now.

"The other people who live here," I clarify. "What if someone comes in?"

"I'm the only one home," he counters, as he traces my bottom lip with his thumb before leaning in and capturing it between his lips for a moment. "They won't be back for hours."

"I still don't think that we should be–"

He sighs and pulls back, an amused smile playing on his lips, "Okay, fine, how 'bout we take this upstairs instead?"

"Max..." I say warningly as I shoot him a disapproving look, even as I feel my heart skip a beat at the implication of his words – upstairs… to his room… where there's a bed…

He rolls his eyes, but concedes and takes a step back, breaking our contact, as he smirks at me, "Just kidding."

I let my head drop back against the door again as I let out a sigh. As I try to regain my composure, Max moves away and takes a seat in the middle of the sofa, leaning forward and resting his arms on his thighs, pressing his palms together. On shaky legs, I push away from the door and move across the room too, so that I can sit next to him on the couch.

I place my hands in my lap, unsure of what to do with them now, as we sit together in silence for a few moments. I'm very aware of the fact that Max's body is just centimetres from mine and I can't help the feeling of arousal that swirls inside my belly when he shifts slightly and his right thigh presses against my left, the heat from his skin penetrating through the denim of his jeans.

"Max?" I murmur breathily, my mind still a little fuzzy from those amazing kisses just now.

He looks down at his hands, "I'm sorry."

"Huh?" I turn my head to look at him fully.

"I'm sorry," he repeats. "For yelling at you earlier… and last night." He sighs. "I didn't mean to take my frustrations out on you – it's been a tough few days and you were just there…"

"It's okay," I say, although I do feel just a tiny bit upset by how he spoke to me earlier. "I'm sorry too. I shouldn't have said anything."

He closes his eyes and I can't help but notice how beautiful his eyelashes are, all long and thick and luscious.

"Max," I murmur, reaching out to touch his arm.

His face snaps up and our eyes lock. I can feel the tension between us building once more, sizzling in the air as my heartbeat quickens and my fingers begin to tingle in response to his heated gaze. Before I have time to think, his mouth is on mine once again, hot and demanding. All rational thought flees my mind as he presses me against the sofa cushions, his hands sliding up my sides, leaving trails of fire in their wake. I don't care anymore, I decide, as his warm hands work their way beneath my flimsy top, sliding up over my heated skin and cupping my breasts as his tongue duels with mine, this feels too good to be worrying about whether or not it's the right thing to do.

My hands tangle in the hair at the base of his neck, gripping onto him tightly as his probing fingers slip beneath the thin material of my bra and gently brush my rapidly hardening nipples. He breaks the kiss and I gasp, my back arching as he kisses my neck. Of their own accord, my hands move over his shoulders and down to his lower back, reaching for the hem of his T-shirt, as he covers my neck with urgent, open-mouthed kisses. My fingers slip under the material, feeling the heat of his skin beneath as I tug, urging it upwards.

The muffled sound of a door opening and closing somewhere nearby dimly registers in my mind, but I pay no attention to it, instead choosing to concentrate on the delicious feelings that Max's mouth and hands are creating in me. I also don't acknowledge the fact that someone is calling Max's name from another room, or that a moment later, the living room door opens, pushing my jacket and bag out of the way as that someone enters the room, talking quickly.

"Max, why aren't you answering your phone? Ben's been calling me, wondering why you're not at your meeting– oh," the voice comes to a surprised halt and I stiffen as Max stops what he's doing and takes a quick glance up before lowering his head to my chest with a muttered 'fuck'. "Oh, sorry, I didn't realise…"

"Soph," starts Max, as he pulls his hands out from under my top and scrambles to climb off the sofa. "What are you doing here?"

I feel my cheeks burning red as I sit up, my back to the newcomer – Sophie, it seems – and quickly straighten my clothes.

"My morning lecture was cancelled," she says. "So, I decided to come home."

"Right," mutters Max from where he stands beside the sofa, running a hand through his hair.

"And then on my way back, I get a call from Ben who says you're supposed to be in a meeting this morning and do I know where you are?" she sighs. "So I came to find you… but I see you're… otherwise occupied. Hi, Liz."

My eyes widen in shock as I slowly turn to face her, my cheeks flushed with embarrassment. How did she know it was me?

"Hi, Sophie," I manage, my voice coming out in a squeak.

She's looking at me with an amused grin, her arms crossed and her eyebrow raised speculatively.

"What time is it?" asks Max, shooting a quick glance at me.

"Oh, only about nine-twenty," replies Sophie airily.

"Shit!" he exclaims. "The meeting started at nine."

"I know," she nods, as if it were obvious. "Guess you'd better get a move on, then, huh?"

"Yeah," he mutters distractedly, turning back to face me.

Sophie rolls her eyes.

"I'd hurry up if I were you. You don't want to keep them waiting any longer," she says, before turning and leaving the room.

"Liz…" our gazes lock and I gulp at the heated gaze I see in his eyes.

I shake my head to clear my thoughts.

"Go to your meeting, Max," I tell him gently. "They're waiting for you."

"Okay," he nods, his expression slightly dazed. "Um, I won't be long… you're welcome to stay until I get back if you want."

I nod and stand up, moving toward the door as he walks out of the living room and into the hallway, where he slips on some running shoes and reaches for a jacket.

"Bye," he says, looking at me hesitantly, as if he's not sure whether to leave or go back to where we left off.

"Bye, Max," I tell him. "Enjoy the meeting."

He just nods, before opening the front door and then disappearing through it. As it closes behind him, I give a heavy sigh, letting my head fall back against the living room doorframe, my mind racing as I try to decipher what just happened between us.

"How about a cup of tea?"

Sophie's voice startles me out of my thoughts and I look up to find her smiling at me from the kitchen doorway.

"Oh, um, sure," I agree absently, my thoughts still on Max as I grab my jacket and bag from the living room follow her into the kitchen.

She nods towards the table in the centre and I take a seat as she moves to the counter, flicking the switch on the kettle and then reaching into one of the cupboards for two large mugs. As she places them down and picks up the carton of milk that Max abandoned earlier, she turns to glance at me.

"So, you and Max finally got it on, huh?"

"Huh? What do you–?"

She just shoots me a mischievous grin, before turning back to making the tea, leaving me to watch her in shock. Everything suddenly seems so surreal that I have no idea what's even going on anymore.

TBC