Chapter 2 - hope you enjoy!
When Max woke up the next morning it took him a moment to register that Zoe was back in his bed. He could count on one hand, probably one finger the number of girls he'd slept with more than once, but none of them, not one, compared to Zo. She was beautiful, incredibly clever, caring, strong and weak in exactly the right way. If he was honest with himself, the notion that they were now in a 'relationship' scared him. He wasn't entirely sure what that meant. He could do the chasing bit, flirting; it came easier to him to do that than NOT do that, buying flowers, stealing her cigarettes… well, they weren't good for her anyway… but what do you do in a relationship? There was no way he could afford her, really. She earned a lot more than he did and also had much more expensive tastes than him… He soon realised his mind was wandering and took the opportunity to remind himself to concentrate on the present; on the beautiful lady sleeping like a baby in his arms. She looked so delicate, so unlike the controlled Zoe everyone else in Holby saw. He brushed a piece of satin black hair behind her ear, gently touching her cheek as he did so. He saw her eyelids flutter and a quiet whimper "Maaax" left her lips. Max found himself beaming, knowing that while his head was filled with only her, hers was filled with only him.
He pulled her closer to him and enjoyed the quietness. As much as he longed to wake her and enjoy the 'banter' they'd inevitably have, he knew she'd had a horrible few weeks and needed as much sleep as she could get.
Eventually, he felt her wriggle, a sure sign that she'd awoken. "Morning, babe" he spoke out. Through her closed eyes and with a groggy voice she replied with "Hmmm, good morning". She looked dangerously comfortable under the warm covers and worried that she'd go back to sleep and waste the day without him in dreamland, Max's hands slowly wondered beneath the covers and began tickling her sensitive middle. Zoe's protestations just increased the fun and soon they were both laughing and rolling around on the bed. "Hey, hey" argued Max as, in one swift movement, he grabbed her hands and held them above her head on the pillows and covered her with his body. As he looked down into her eyes, he felt overwhelmed with a need to protect her; a thought that he'd never had before. His instinct was normally a need to sleep with these women and then avoid them and their boyfriends. His mind briefly went back to the Spanish lady called… Petra? Pilla? Carmen. He was pretty sure that was it. How he'd been an idiot and pretended to be Cal. Showed how much hope he held out for HER! How could he have thought her hot compared to the woman gazing up at him with a look of admiration and desire?! "Oi, Max, you forgotten me down here?!" Her voice was joking but also slightly concerned as if worried that he'd remembered a wife and kid he needed to get back to or something. She quickly banished those memories from her mind – lies were a thing of the past.
"No, no, I could never forget you" He reassured her with a strong, passionate kiss. Still pinning her down, he continued with "What d'ya wanna do today? I was thinking… ice cream in the park? Take a trip to the beach? We could hang here, but Robyn's around, so…" A mischievous grin appeared on Zoe's face as she said "You're so innocent, you know that? Or have I just worn you out already? I mean, I know I'm a decade older than you, so I would'a thought you'd be able to keep up, but if you can't, just let me know…" Zoe felt a glorious laugh reverberate through Max's body and it filled her with happiness that she could make him laugh. She'd loved Nick, she really had, but her relationship had always felt so 'formal'; she rarely saw him without his suit and tie and… she didn't know, really. Max just had an overwhelmingly relaxing effect on her; when he was around, there were no problems, she wasn't an inefficient clinical lead, she was just Zo. With her Beau.
That evening, they did make it out to the sea front. It was just a short drive away and they decided to take full advantage of the cooling sun and the late evenings. As they sat on the sand, Max sitting straight up, Zoe sitting between his outstretched legs with her back resting against the solid wall of his chest and his arms wrapped tightly around her middle, there wasn't a lot of need for conversation. They'd had a typical day of laughter and 'arguing', and it was lovely to just sit with each other and watch the boats go past. "Max?" "Yeah?" Max answered, simultaneously kissing her neck. "I've never done this before. Thank you" "You're absolutely welcome" Max replied, both aware that he'd used the words he'd used that enjoyable day when she'd 'helped' him be a porter.
"So, come on", Max prodded, "Tell me about your boyfriends" "What? All of them?" Zoe questioned "I don't think there's enough time in the world, Max" Max chuckled, a beautiful sound. "Just tell me what you want to" he encouraged. Zoe picked up one of his hands from around her waist and began fiddling with his fingers "Well, I guess the only relationship I've had is Nick. I still miss him sometimes, but people move on" She moved further back into Max to show that Nick wasn't gradually retaking his place in her life "I'm glad he's not here anymore. I wasn't at first. Took me ages to get used to it. I think that's why I wanted to take on Clinical Lead. Wanted to show that I could survive without him, that I could make him proud" Max could hear her voice was breaking and kissed her temple to show he was still listening "Zo, just tell me what you want to, no pressure". She continued "He was my only true relationship, oh, I've had sex and lots of it" "I can tell" interjected Max and Zoe reprimanded him with a swift poke "But never really love. I did love Nick, I did, but I also loved his money and his power. See, it's different with you cos you have neither" She finished, sticking her tongue out at him. Max rolled his eyes in his own adorable way. "Come on, then, Casonova, what about you?" She asked. "Hmm, maybe tomorrow" he replied as he twisted her round and claimed her mouth with his. "By the way", Max continued, "You make me proud. Every second"
Thanks for reading :) Hope that was OK. Thank you so much for reviews - really appreciated! Still not sure where this is going, haha, but please keep reading!