Part Fifty-Four
Monday morning dawns bright and sunny and I wake up snuggled in Max's arms. I let out a soft sigh as he nuzzles my neck, tightening his arm around my waist.
"Morning," he whispers, sliding his hand up over my warm skin to cup my breast, his thumb gently brushing across my nipple.
"Mmm, morning," I reply with a smile, keeping my eyes closed as I concentrate on the feelings his ministrations are inducing in me.
"Sleep well?" he murmurs, his hand sliding down to my stomach now, his fingers tracing gentle circles across my skin.
"Very," I sigh, as his hand moves lower, the tips of his fingers brushing my hip.
I feel him press his lips against the curve of my neck, before he begins to kiss a trail down over my shoulder and a grin tugs at my mouth as I shift in his arms and turn to face him.
"Hi," I grin, lifting my mouth to his for a good-morning kiss.
His arms slide around my back, pulling me close as his mouth devours mine hungrily.
"Hi," he replies several moments later, leaving my head spinning and my toes tingling as he pulls back to gaze into my eyes.
"I'm so happy right now," I murmur softly, bringing my fingers up to trace the small growth of stubble just above his jaw before replacing them with my lips.
I feel him smile, as his hands brush up and down my bare back, "Me too."
My breath catches in my throat as a sudden wave of emotion threatens to overwhelm me and I lift my head to look at him, "I love you."
His smile becomes a grin, "I know."
"Hey," I cry in mock-offence, giving him a playful pout. "You're supposed to say 'I love you, too'!"
He chuckles throatily, rolling onto his back and pulling me with him so that I'm laying half on top of him, "I love you, too, Liz."
"That's better," I mumble, although I can't help hiding a smile as I do so.
His hand comes up to rest on my hip, his thumb gently stroking across my hipbone as I lift my lower leg over his, letting out a contented sigh at the feel of his warm skin against mine.
"Mmm, I don't ever want to move," I murmur, letting my fingers tangle in the small dusting of hair on his chest. "Do you think we could just stay like this all day?"
"It'd be nice," he says wistfully, "but you promised Maria you'd be back this morning so you guys could hang out, remember?"
"Yeah, I remember," I pout in disappointment, before a thought occurs to me. "Hey, do you think she would buy it if I told her you were keeping me hostage in here and were refusing to let me leave until you were completely sated?"
"Ooh, now there's a thought…" he murmurs contemplatively, tapping his chin with his fingers, before letting out a dejected sigh. "Oh, who am I kidding; there's no way she'd buy it."
"No, you're right," I concede. "Chances are she'd bust in here and drag me right out of the bed!"
"Bugger that!" he exclaims, giving a firm nod. "I am getting you back to your hall on time if it kills me."
"Oh, well," I give a sigh, snuggling closer against his side. "It was worth a try."
"You know, we still have more than an hour," his tone is suggestive as his hand slides down over my hip. "So I propose we make the most of it."
A grin spreads across my face as I look up into his eyes, "Oh, I'm definitely up for that."
He returns the grin briefly, lowering his head and capturing my mouth in a heated kiss as he grabs my waist and pulls me on top of him. I smile against his lips as I stretch out along the length of his body, revelling in the feel of his warm skin against mine. One of his hands moves up to cup the back of my neck, his fingers tangling in my hair, as his other hand slides down my back and over the curve of my bottom. A flicker of heat ignites in my belly when I feel his length pressing against me and I can't help but let out a low moan in response.
Of their own accord, my hips begin rocking against his and as Max slides his tongue into my mouth, I shift, letting my legs fall either side of his legs so that I'm straddling him. Without breaking the kiss, Max reaches out to grab a condom from the bedside table and I take it from him, as I sit up on his thighs and roll it on. Just then, I feel his hands on my waist and I look up to find him looking at me with that same intense expression he was wearing right before he kissed me in his living room the day we got together. I shiver under his passionate gaze and I find I cannot look away… it's a look that has me so mesmerised I couldn't avert my eyes even if I wanted to.
Without a word, he lifts my hips and I sink down onto him, a whoosh of air escaping my lips at the intimate contact. We make love slowly, deliberately, the whole time looking into each other's eyes and it's the most beautiful thing I've ever experienced. Nothing could compare to the way I feel right this very moment, the way Max is making me feel. We maintain eye-contact the entire time and it makes everything ten times… no, a hundred times… more intense, more passionate, more exciting than ever before and as I tumble over the edge, my heart pounding and my breath coming in short gasping pants, I wish I could freeze this moment and stay with him like this forever.
Afterwards, it takes several long minutes for the world to return to normal as I collapse on Max's chest in sated exhaustion, his arms holding me close. I feel so light-headed and dizzy that I can't even bring myself to move; I just savour the feel of being held in his tight embrace for as long as possible.
Eventually though, reality comes knocking and we have to leave the comfort of his bed for the real world… before Maria starts calling to find out where I am. With a sad sigh, I climb off him and slide out of the bed, pulling on one of his T-shirts while I search for my clothes – which are scattered across the floor. Partway through pulling on my underwear and the skirt I was wearing yesterday, I turn to find him propped up on one elbow and watching me, a small smirk playing on his lips.
"What?" I ask, suddenly feeling slightly self-conscious.
"Nothing," he smiles. "Just remembering…"
"Remembering what?" I enquire with a smile of my own.
"How we used to be before," he admits. "When I was doing my best not to let you affect me and when you were avoiding me like the plague."
"Oh, yeah," I let out a small chuckle. "How things have changed, huh?"
"Yeah," he nods, reaching out to grab my wrist and tug me closer, pulling me down for a sweet, but poignant kiss. "But they've definitely changed for the better."
"Can't argue with that."
We share a moment, just staring into each other's eyes, before we realise that we really have to get going and so I move to let Max get up. He gets dressed quickly and thirty minutes later, after a quick breakfast, we arrive back at my hall. As predicted, Maria pounces on me almost immediately and I barely have time to breathe before she's trying to get me ready for the day. It turns out that the gang have decided to head down to the beach for the day and I've arrived home just in time to leave with them to get the train.
Of course, Maria also insists that Max comes with us too, but as soon as she mentions it, I feel his hand tighten around mine and I look up to find his jaw clenched.
"What's wrong?" I frown.
"I can't go to the beach," he says stiffly. "Not after last time."
"Why not?"
"I told you, I only go there when I'm feeling depressed," he shakes his head. "The place has bad memories for me."
"So, we'll make new memories," I murmur softly, curling my fingers around his elbow. "Happy ones."
"Liz," he shakes his head. "I don't think–"
"Please?" I cut him off, giving him my best puppy-dog expression. "For me?"
"Aww, Liz, that's not fair," he moans, as I see his resolve waver. "Using your feminine charms against me."
"So you'll come?" I ask hopefully.
He sighs, "Yes, fine, I'll come. But just so you know, I'm only doing it for you."
"Thank you," I grin triumphantly, as the others suddenly emerge from the hall, ready to go. "You'll have fun, I promise."
"It's been such a lovely day," I sigh with a smile, as we walk along the beach-front together several hours later. Max's arm slung over my shoulder and my arm around his waist as we bask in the lovely summer's evening sunshine. I turn my head to glance up at him. "Aren't you glad I persuaded you to come?"
"Never thought I'd say this, but yeah, I am," he returns the smile, hugging me close and he drops a soft kiss to the top of my head as we continue to walk.
It's been a wonderful day, actually, what with that amazing start to the morning and then spending the day with my friends and Max. When we arrived at the coast this morning, Maria and Isabel decided to set up camp in the middle of the beach, spreading a collection of towels out on the sand for us to sit on and then pulling out a vast array of beach accessories from their bags to set the scene.
To start with everyone got settled on the towels, Maria pulling out her portable radio and Isabel reaching into her bag for a handful of magazines, while the guys reached for their sunglasses and tried to look cool, but not long after, James and Mike began to get restless and so we ended up engaging in a game of makeshift beach-volleyball. After a good hour on the beach, Alex and Max both declared that they were hungry and we gathered up our things and headed off in search of a café to get some lunch. By some strange coincidence, Maria and Isabel chose the very same café that Max and I came to that day back in February and so the meal was kind of surreal for the two of us.
After lunch, we decided to split up into groups and go and explore the town. Maria, Isabel and I went to browse the clothes shops, while I believe Alex, James, Mike and Max ended up playing video games in on of the beach-fronts arcades. We all met up again on the beach a couple of hours later, but then Maria wanted to show Michael something that she'd seen in a shop, so all we decided to go separate ways for the last part of the day and then meet up in time to go home. Which is how Max and I ended up walking along the beach together right now.
"I can't believe there's only a week and a half left of term," I say, as I think about the event of the last few weeks. "This year's gone by so fast."
"I know," murmurs Max softly.
"God, I'll be moving out of my room and going home next week."
"You will?" he sounds surprised.
"Well, yeah," I can't help but give him a 'duh' look. "They kick us out of halls at the end of the year, remember? My parents are coming down next Friday to pick me up."
"Right," he nods, his voice sounding far away as his gaze fixes on something down the beach.
I frown, "You okay?"
He sighs, looking down at me as his arm tightens around my shoulders, "Yeah, it's just… it didn't occur to me that you would be leaving so soon, you know?"
"I'm sorry. I would stay if I could, but you know, I have a job sorted out for the summer and everything already," I explain. "Plus, I'd have nowhere to live if I stayed here. Our housing contract for next year doesn't start until September."
"You could stay with me," he suggests casually. "I don't have to move out until the end of the summer."
I glance up at him in surprise, my heart skipping a beat at the implication of his words, but then reality sets in and I find myself shaking my head.
"Max…" I sigh. "I can't."
There's a pause, before he asks tentatively, "You can't as in 'you can't', or you can't as in 'you don't want to'?"
I roll my eyes, giving a small, incredulous smile, "Of course I want to, Max, but it's just not possible. I have responsibilities to get back to at home… not to mention the fact that I haven't seen my family since Easter – they kind of miss me, you know? And I miss them."
He lets out a slightly dejected sigh, although his tone is light, "Fine. In that case, I guess I'll just have to make the most of you while you're still here."
I grin, sliding my arm down so that I can slip my fingers into the back pocket of his jeans, "Sounds good to me."
He stops walking then and I follow suit, lifting my head to look up at his just as he lowers his head and captures my lips in a hungry kiss. My eyes slide closed as I concentrate on the delicious feelings snaking through my body in response to he ministrations of his mouth.
"You know what?" I mumble when we part several moments later. "Fuck the job, I wanna stay here with you."
He chuckles and presses a gentle kiss to the tip of my nose, "It'd be nice, wouldn't it?"
"Yeah," I sigh wistfully. "But I have to work over the summer – otherwise I won't have any money for next year."
"Yeah," he agrees, reaching down to tuck my hair behind my ear before we start walking again. "It was a nice thought though."
"So, tell me more about your new job," I request, realising that with everything else that's been going on, we haven't really spoken about what's next for him. "What exactly will you be doing?"
"Well," he starts, reaching up to scratch his ear, "It's not exactly what I thought I'd be doing after uni, but I'm going to be working for the Southampton Maritime Museum."
"Wow," I blink, a smile forming on my lips. "That sounds cool."
"Yeah, I think so," he nods. "It's nothing high-flying or anything, but it's a chance to get some experience and use my degree while I'm at it."
"Yeah," I nod in agreement. "And work experience can only be a good thing."
"Got that right," he agrees, slipping his arm around my waist. "So, do you have any idea what you want to do after uni?"
"Hmm, you know, I'm not really sure yet," I admit. "When I was at school and trying to figure out my future, I always wanted to become a molecular biologist, but now that I'm actually studying it at degree level, I'm not so sure anymore. It's so much more in depth than I imagined it would be, you know?"
"Yeah, I know," he nods. "It was like that for me too when I started my degree. After the first year is over, you get more settled though and the work becomes less daunting."
"That's good to know."
There are a few moments of comfortable silence between us then as we walk along the sand together, before I lift my head to look up at him.
"So, are you looking forward to graduation?"
"Yeah, I am," he nods. "Although it's hard to believe it's less than four weeks away now."
"Yeah, the year's gone by really fast," I agree. "Are you all prepared for the ceremony?"
"I hope so," he replies. "I've reserved my gown and hood and the ceremony tickets and information pack came through in the post the other day, so I've been reading up on what to do on the day."
"Cool," I smile.
"So, um, you'll come to the ceremony, right?" he asks then, his expression slightly nervous.
My eyes snap up to his in surprise, "You want me to come?"
"Of course I do," he smiles down at me. "I have four tickets for the ceremony and you're welcome to come if you like. In fact, I'd love it if you were there."
"And I'd love to come," I accept with a grin. "So, is your family coming too?"
"Yeah, they are," he nods. "When I applied for the tickets a couple of months ago, I didn't really want anyone except you to be there, but then Mum called and left a message on my phone about coming to the ceremony no matter what and so I went ahead and applied for four anyway."
"Well, I'll definitely be there," I confirm. "I'm looking forward to it."
"There's something else too," he adds. "I also have two tickets for the Graduation Ball at the end of Graduation Week, if you wouldn't mind accompanying me?"
"Wouldn't mind?" my eyes widen incredulously. "Max, I would love to go… thank you. Another ball at Hampton Castle? Yes, please."
He chuckles softly, before leaning down to brushing his lips across mine briefly, "Well, okay then.… Graduation Ball, here we come."
"I can't wait!" I exclaim excitedly. "My first ever graduation experience… it'll be so great seeing you walk across that stage all dressed up in your robes and everything. Oh, and I'm gonna have to bring my camera too… I wanna get lots of pictures."
"Oh, man," groans Max beside me as I start trying to think of a suitable outfit to wear. "Why did I think it was a good idea to invite you again?"
I stick my tongue out at him playfully, "Because you love me."
He shakes his head in defeat, "That I do, Liz. That I do."
I let out a soft laugh at his woeful expression as we head back along the beach to where we arranged to meet the others to get the train back to uni. But as we walk together, I can't help but feel a slight tug in my chest as I think of his graduation being just a couple of weeks away. Soon he'll have left uni for good and be starting out in the real world, while I'm stuck here for another two years. How am I gonna survive without seeing him every day? I'm not sure I even want to think about it.
TBC…
