Moments Later

"This means we can go apartment shopping," Zoey said excitedly.

"Yeah it does," Max whispered back.

"Great," Zoey grinned. "Cause I was thinking the Mongunmary building has some really beautiful balcony apartments."

"I have heard that as well," Max smiled at her. He couldn't help smiling. It was almost strange how much his life had changed in the last ten minutes and yet it was the same. He was still here beside his best friend like he always had been.

Max had kinda stopped listening as Zoey began listing all the good qualities of the apartment complex, comparing them to other rental listings she'd researched. He was happy to just look at her in such an animated fashion. He hadn't quite realized until now just how much she'd wanted to live with him.

"What's with that dopy look on your face?" Zoey asked, her eyes narrowing accusingly.

"I just can't help it," Max laughed. "I feel kinda high at the moment if I'm being honest. Like I'm dreaming."

Zoey's hand moved and suddenly there was a jolt of pain up Max's arm. She'd pinched him. "Ouch!" Max complained. "What was that for?"

"See you aren't dreaming," Zoey told him firmly.

"Thanks for the clarification," Max laughed.

"What are friends for?" Zoey mumbled.

"Physical violence it would seem," Max chuckled.

"Serves you right for thinking this was all a dream," Zoey said in a huff.

Max decided to keep his very sappy thoughts to himself. His mind however knew that if this was a dream, he would have happily dreamed his life away. All these romantic thoughts were making him want to kiss her again, but he decided to wait a little. After all, he'd had a lifetime of practice at not kissing her, surely he could wait till she wanted to kiss him too.

"Hey Max," Zoey began. "Can I ask you something?"

Max almost laughed at the absurdity of her question. "Of course you can," he said instead.

"What was the first moment you can remember thinking about me romantically?" she asked, so directly she quite caught him off guard. Max paused for a moment, trying to figure out the best way to answer her before speaking.

"It goes back so far it's hard to remember a start," Max began. He wanted a proper answer for her and thought hard about it until he realized. "Though maybe when we had champagne at your brother's wedding and you fell asleep in my lap. I do remember something new about how I felt then, but I'm also very sure I didn't become aware of anything for years after that."

"I see," Zoey said, as she buried her face in his chest. Max wrapped his arms around her gently, still marveling at how it felt to hold her.

She didn't speak for a while after that and the silence started to become too much so he broke it.

"I wish I knew what you were thinking right now," Max said, simply.

"Oh just the past," Zoey answered. "Seeing it from a new perspective." She paused for a moment then added. "So this is why you were so down back when I was with Simon, huh?" She hid her face even more from him as she added, "Urg and I used to go on and on about him too. I'm the worst!"

"Hey now," Max said, gently encouraging her to look at him with a hand under her chin. "You didn't know."

"I mean I could have guessed," Zoey grumbled. "If I'd been willing to really notice anything."

"All behind us now," Max told her kindly. "Let's not worry about the past."

"Yeah probably a good idea," Zoey answered with a sigh.

"After all it's the future that I'm excited about," Max smiled at her.

Zoey blushed, but mumbled her agreement. The colour in her cheeks only improved her beauty and he wanted to kiss her again.

Slowly, Max placed his hand on her cheek to encourage her to look up at him. She'd had her face hidden from him for much of their conversation. Now she was looking right at him, her eyes fixed on his.

"What are you thinking right now?" Zoey asked him.

"Nothing terribly original," Max smiled.

"Oh yeah like what?" Zoey prompted.

"Oh just something along the lines of Zoey looks very kissable right now," Max explained, and to his delight his words deepened her blush. Max stroked her cheek with the back of his hand, unable to keep from smiling.

"Well kiss me then," Zoey said, stubbornly.

"Oh is that how it is," Max laughed. She nodded. "I don't think so. If you're so eager why don't you kiss me?" He threw her own words back at her.

For a moment nothing happened. It seemed to Max that Zoey was gathering her determination. Still Max couldn't keep the grin off his face.

"How am I supposed to kiss you like that," Zoey grumbled. "Unless you want me to make out with your teeth?"

"It's your fault for making me smile so much," Max teased her.

"Oh shut up," Zoey replied, as she launched herself forward, throwing him flat on his back on her bed.

And then she was kissing him. Max's arms wrapped around her without a moment's hesitation. Despite having her entire weight on him unsupported, Max could breath easily. She was so light and warm; he felt like he could have stayed like this here forever.

"So what do we do now?" Zoey asked, when their kiss inevitably ended.

"Making plans to find an apartment I suppose," Max began. "At some point though I think we'll have to go downstairs, unless you wanna make out some more?" He added eagerly. It was impossible to resist smiling right now.

"Downstairs," Zoey said thoughtfully, then she stopped. "Oh shit this means I have to tell mom!"

"How is this only occurring to you now?" Max asked, quite surprised.

"Oh hush," Zoey replied. "It's been an information overload kinda day okay."

"Fair enough," Max smiled. "Still I wouldn't worry about Maggie. I'm pretty sure she's been expecting this for years."

"WHAT!?" Zoey almost yelled.

"Actually, it was your dad who first made me realize I loved you," Max told her. "He said the way I gazed at you when no one was looking reminded him of how he fell for your mom. I always figured he'd told Maggie about it, though come to think of it she never did confirm."

"Wait what?" Zoey said. "Dad knew?"

"Yeah," Max said, sitting up on the bed. "After his first heart attack, Mitch started bugging me about when I was gonna confess everything to you. He said he'd been really surprised we got through all of high school without dating. He kept encouraging me to tell you."

"Why have you never told me this before?" Zoey asked, looking at him very earnestly.

"Well you know I hadn't actually admitted to you how I felt yet so telling you that your father knew would have been a weird way of confessing to you," Max tried to laugh but he could sense how serious she was taking the topic and his laughter fell short.

"What about after you told me?" Zoey inquired.

"Well it was my word against his," Max mumbled, not looking at her. "And you and I didn't really talk about it again so why would I bring it up."

"No really Max," Zoey asked again firmly. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"I-" Max said. He took a deep breath before looking right in her eyes and saying aloud what he'd barely admitted to himself all these years. "I didn't want the only reason you were with me to be because you thought it was what your late father wanted." He couldn't help it. Max averted his eyes again, looking at the ground instead of her.

Silence followed his words, a silence filled only with Max's anxious about what she'd say next.

"I don't know what I would have done if you'd told me then," Zoey said eventually after a long pause. "When I started dating Simon I- I think I knew on some level that part of it was just me reaching desperately for someone who understood what I was going through. I didn't want to give his reason for dumping me credit and it took me a long time to admit this to myself, but looking back now I can see it." Again she paused, but Max didn't dare interrupt her. "If I'd found out then that this is what dad had wanted, I might have- I mean I might have dived in without thinking."

"And I'd have accepted," Max stated simply, knowing it to be true.

Zoey shuffled forward on the bed and wrapped her arms around him. "Then it's a good thing it worked out the way it did then," Zoey whispered against his shirt. Max squeezed her tighter.

"If my life has taught me anything it's that timing is important," Max said, leaning down to bury his face in her hair. "And you, my love, are worth the wait."

"You gotta stop saying all this embarrassing mushy stuff," Zoey mumbled against his chest.

"For you I'll try," Max chuckled. "But it will take effort."

"Sap," Zoey said in an accusing tone. Max couldn't suppress his chuckle.

"So does this mean you're ready to introduce this sap to your mother?" Max asked.

"She knows you already, idiot," Zoey replied, pulling out of their hug to swat at him playfully again.

"Yeah but this time as your boyfriend," Max replied.

"My boyfriend Max," Zoey repeated thoughtfully. "That is gonna take some getting used to. Maybe I'll start with a nickname... like Panda. Oh or Bean."

Max just chuckled before leaning in to hug her. "You can call me whatever you want just so long as I'm yours and you're mine. Exclusive and romantic are my only concerns."

"Against sharing huh?" Zoey teased him.

"Uh ha," Max confirmed. Slowly, lifting his face from her shoulder to look in her eyes before leaning in to kiss her, his hands roamed over her hips, finding the gap between her shirt and jeans and trailing along it until he heard her inhale sharply.

"Hmm," Zoey mumbled. Max loved how distracted she sounded. All he wanted was to distract her more but he knew baby steps were a good idea so he leaned out of the kiss.

"Maggie?" Max said instead, moving just a little ways away so as to let Zoey focus her thoughts.

"Right yeah," Zoey said with a shake of her head.

Despite how well he knew Maggie would take the news, Zoey still looked nervous. Max saw this as a good sign. To him it meant that Zoey was taking them seriously. After all, she wouldn't be nervous telling her mother about a new relationship she didn't value.

Smiling, Max squeezed her hand gently and whispered, "I'll be right beside you the whole time."

"You promise?" Zoey asked.

"For the rest of my life," Max answered, easily. He'd known for a long time now that at Zoey's side was where he would always be, albit until today he'd assumed his role beside her was that of the reliable friend. The events of today had shattered the glass ceiling by which he'd lived his life up until now.

"Alright then," Zoey said with more confidence than before. "Let's go downstairs."

"Ladies first," Max smiled, gesturing for her to walk ahead of him.

But rather than take his suggestion, Zoey reached out to grasp Max's hand. They walked like that to the stairs, and once at the bottom, Zoey took his hand again. Max let himself he led, all the while enjoying the new and wonderful sensation of Zoey holding his hand. She stopped when they were near Maggie's greenhouse room. At least that was what Max had always called it. Maggie herself was elbow deep in dirty replanting something; Max couldn't quite tell what.

"Hey mom," Zoey said, in that shy nervous voice Max was so unaccustomed to hearing from her.

Maggie talked a little about what she was making for dinner, unaware that Max was there until she turned around. Her eyes traveled slowly, taking in their joined hands and her daughtered nervous expression.

After a moment she smiled. "It's about time," she said.

Sorry this took so long to upload guys. The first draft was done ages ago but I just knew it wasn't any good. The problem was that I couldn't quite figure out why till I sent it to a friend of mine and everything was revealed!

So thanks to KemiRD for helping me with this chapter.

Sneak Peek Chapter 14

After graduation, Zoey threw herself into apartment hunting. Rather than make things more complicated Max had just agreed to everything Zoey wanted. In the end all he really cared about was who he lived with, not really where.

"By that logic maybe I should just rent us out a cardboard box?" Zoey had snapped back when Max explained why he wasn't really weighing in on the apartment hunting.

"Of course not," Max had replied easily. "You would never be happy in a cardboard box." Zoey had rolled her eyes and called him hopeless.

After a little more back and forth and a couple apartment tours, they managed to find a lovely little one bedroom apartment just a quarter hour drive from downtown.

Having lived up till now in the same house his whole life Max had found moving to a bit of a strange concept. Still, moving with Zoey made it all worth it.