Chapter Thirty Nine

Acting On My Words

Max Voiceover-

Original Cindy kept warning me that one day I'd have to act on my words. I'd have to move on…I'd have to let Logan move on. She sat in Crash pointing out guys she thought I would think were cute. She'd even dragged me to a new club last week to celebrate my first Saturday free. She refused to allow me to stay home curled up in my pajamas with Cale, she called me pathetic and then she called Logan to come get Cale.

I tried, I mean I honestly did…Okay that's a lie, I pretended. I danced, I talked, I gave them the wrong number. Still I was a hell of a lot nicer to them than I would have been in the past.

I always knew this day was coming, I just never thought it would be today…

Original Cindy and I decided to meet up for an early dinner right after work, there was a diner right by Alec's job that he kept going on and on about, which meant one of two things, someone really hot worked there or the food was bangin', either worked for OC so we decided to check it out…That's when all my words came back to bite me in the ass.

Max already looked the part for work, her hair was straightened, the blonde hair curled slightly at the bottom where it grazed her shoulders, soft eye shadow rested above her eyes. She was in jeans and a light blue tank though, her uniform still resting on her bed to just throw on when she got back. She was still the girly girl she hated being as she walked along the street pushing Cale's stroller, the little boy happily people watching as Cindy walked alongside them pushing her bike bitchin about her day.

"Ooh I think this is it" OC said as they approached the half-curtained window, she strained her eyes up to see the sign.

Max's eyes were drawn inside though, to the three blonde heads sitting at the counter, Alec, Zen and Logan. They were an interesting trio, all truly blondes now from the long summer, probably 3 inches of height difference between them, all light eyes, hazel, blue and green, yet they were as different as night and day. Once her brief second of thinking of them had passed, the smile still remaining on her lips, she noticed the waitress. A cute girl, 25 maybe, light brown hair, blue eyes unless the light was playing tricks on Max's own, around her height, fair skin, nothing amazing just an overall cute girl. She was leaning back against a counter as she talked to them, but her gaze and attention kept going back to Logan despite the fact that Zen and Alec were doing most of the talking.

"Oooh hot damn she's cute. Food's gonna suck." Original Cindy said referring back the one of two possible reasons Alec liked the joint. "Girl you okay?" She asked placing a hand on Max's shoulder.

"Yea I'm fine." she smiled brightly.

Original Cindy held open the door for Max, out of reflex the guys all turned on instinct for the opening door, smiles crossed all of their faces. Logan turned and stepped off the stool, "Hey" he smiled walking over to them, "Hey buddy" he said lifting Cale into his arms as everyone else said the required, hey's, hello's and hi's. "I didn't know you guys would be here."

"Yea well with how that one keeps going on and on about the food we figured we should check it out." Max said nodding over to Alec, who was dressed in jeans and tan work boots like Zen, both pretty grimy from working construction all day.

"You know the food's good if Logan came back" Was Alec's response as he lifted his soda and grabbed Logan's to move to a table.

"Do you mind if leave my bike in the corner?" Original Cindy called over to the waitress, not wanting to leave it out on the street.

"No," she shook her head, "go ahead" she nodded.

"What time do you have work Maxie?" Alec asked as they settled around the table. "Lanie, can we get two more cokes" He called over to the waitress.

"Fool how do you know I want a coke?" OC asked from her seat next to Max cutting off her response.

"Their water tastes funky and this is the only syrup they have. Coke seemed the way to go, unless you want straight seltzer."

"Hmm, guess Coke sounds good. So why are you boys here?"

"Vida's still working and Logan refuses to feed me anymore."

"Did you get broken up with for a second time in as many weeks?" Max smiled and looked across Alec to Logan, Alec had seated them apart out of habit seeing them both with arms showing and gloveless hands.

"Yea apparently 'Honey what's for dinner' wasn't as funny as I thought it was going to be."

"It felt like I was in a bad sitcom." Logan said shaking his head and taking a sip of his soda, he was back to thinking he would never take for granted being alone in the house.

They all laughed imagining the scene.

"Juice" Cale's voice called up to his father from his lap as he extended his hands for the glass.

Logan lowered the glass and steadied it as his son took a sip.

"Don't give him caffeine he'll be up all night." she sighed as she bent over to find the bottle she had thrown in her bag.

"At least Logan has him tonight boo" Original Cindy laughed

Max shook her head as she handed the bottle across, the bottle actually filled with juice.

Zen laughed to Logan, "Better not let her find out he's been having coffee with his oatmeal every morning."

Max just made a face, Logan was the one who had lectured her about the kid eating right months ago.

She was about to say something, when Lanie interrupted her walking over with the drinks, "There's a highchair in the back guys if you want me to bring it out."

"I'll grab it." Zen said before anyone else had a chance to offer.

She nodded, "The menu is on the board." she said gesturing over to the chalkboard, "Should I have Pete hold your food guys?"

"Yea that would be great thanks" Logan said not looking up as he tried to interest his son in the apple juice instead of the coke he kept grabbing at.

"I'll give you girls a few to decide." she said before she showed Zen to the chair.

Max's food was tasteless, but from how everyone else was responding to it, she was guessing it wasn't the food that was making this meal so un-enjoyable. It was the little brunette that Alec insisted pull up a chair when the other couple in the diner left, who hung on Logan's every word. It would have been better if it was completely one-sided, like Asha, but Logan had apparently been attentive to her in the past because he knew a hell of a lot more about her than he would have just waiting for his food.

Max could see that the other woman was confused as to their relationship, since it was repeatedly said that they lived in different homes and were separated at the table by Alec, but they got along and joked with each other. She could also see the woman was saddened by Logan's shift in attention, she had been smiling as Max had spied them through the window, so had he. He still was, but now his smile was for Cale first and everyone else second. Max was sure though that if she were talking, his attention would be on her second and everyone else third, that brought her only slight relief though.

"Oh crap" Max said looking over at the clock.

"What?" OC turned and asked.

"I've got work in 40 minutes." she said standing, she still had to walk back to her place, change, hop on her bike and get over to work…

"I'll drive you" Logan said standing

"I got her" Alec stood, "The girl needs speed." Alec said referring not only to the clunker Logan was stuck driving, but the fact they had Cale and they couldn't weave in and out of traffic in a car as they could on a bike.

"Thanks" Max said throwing money down on the table. She walked over to the high chair and ducked down pushing Alec's chair out of the way, she placed a kiss on Cale's cheek, "I'll see you tomorrow"

"Mama" Cale said holding out his arms as she started to walk away.

Max didn't know how easy she had it as she was frozen by her son's word and his outstretched arms, his eyes were focused on her, but no tears glistened, no desperate cries, this was something he was used to…Still that didn't make it any easier for Max to walk away and she was jerked by Alec pulling her backpack. "Come on, I wanna see that mini they put you into."

Max groaned as she smiled goodbye. "I just need you to drop me off." she said as they exited the restaurant, especially thankful that today wasn't the weekend and she got to wear a black pants instead.

"Seriously Alec, you didn't need to come up." Max said as she walked into the living room.

"Maxie, I wasn't kidding about that skirt. You in a skirt." He said shaking his head, he's only seen it two or three times in the entire time he'd known her.

She laughed as she walked into her room and shut her door, "The skirt's only for weekends and I change into it there."

Alec frowned as he dropped down to the couch and grimaced as his ass connected with one of Cale's hard plastic toys, he pulled it out and tossed it to the floor.

"So what's the deal with Logan and this Lanie?" Max said walking back into the room dressed in her uniform of black pants and a maroon three quarter button down, buttoned more than was allowed for work, but she wasn't giving Alec anything to look at.

"You've been waiting all evening to ask that haven't you?"

"Logan's my friend, I want him to be happy."

Alec narrowly avoided smirking at the cooker cutter response that Max gave that didn't at all answer the question he'd asked, "If you're asking if she likes him I think you already know the answer to that."

Max gave the required smile to Alec's permanent jealously of women falling for Logan for no reason, after all it wasn't as if they didn't do the same to Alec, poor boy just hated sharing the attention, "Alec" she said just looking at him, he knew that wasn't the answer she wanted.

"They seem to get along, she's got a great personality, he saw her at the bar last week and a few days before that when he met Zen for lunch."

"That's good." Max said nodding and started to slip the hoops into her ears that she had been clutching in her hand before she started to draw blood.

"Maxie remember who you're talking to."

"It's fine Alec, this is what I wanted." she said nodding her head to prove her point, "I should really get going." she started to push her bike out of the room.

"You sure you're okay?" he asked covering one of her hands with his own stopping her.

"Yea I'm fine" she said with a shake of her head and kept walking.

"Maxie…"

"Seriously Alec I'm fine."

"So Logan in there, with the cute waitress falling all over him…?"

"Like I said earlier, good for Logan, she seems nice."

"Max?"

She shook her head and stopped moving, "We were so close Alec."

"I know" he nodded.

"We were so close so many times…" She shook her head, "You know just one little thing different…If only one of us was just a little bit braver…Our lives would be totally different…."

He didn't know what to say to her as she stood before him with tears in her eyes.

"The first night I saw him Alec…." she shook her head, "There has never been anyone like Logan….There was something about him from the start…" She laughed rather pathetically and left Alec holding her bike as she walked over to the window rather than face him, she hated the pitying glances, "He made me forget everything, I was so turned around…Forgot I was wearing my jacket and looked like an idiot….So many times Alec….Some many times I put him down, tried to make it seem like I was just with him for what he could give me on Manticore..." She turned and looked at him, "We were so close…Why'd I always run? Why'd he always run? Why is it the moment we got our shit together they take it all away?" She hated being like this, but getting over Logan wasn't something that happened overnight.

Alec pulled her in close, "They didn't take it away Max, you still have him." He brushed the back of her head with his hand. "Hell Max, Logan'll never try anything with her. He's still yours. "

"I don't want him to be." she said with difficulty, "She seems nice. She could make him happy."

He didn't get the chance to say 'you make him happy,' she took her bike and took off.

"Hey Sug, how was work?" Original Cindy said as Max walked in the door.

"Why are you still up?" Max asked ignoring the question as she pushed her bike in, it was just past midnight.

"Thought you might need someone to talk to."

"Have you been talking to Alec?"

"Nope, Logan."

Max frowned as she got a glass of water, "What were you talking to Logan about?"

"I told that boy he needed to move on. That is what you wanted right?"

"Yea" she said as her lips hovered over the rim of the glass.

"I finally figured it out, you're not going to move on unless he does. You can't do that to him twice can you?"

"What do you mean?"

Original Cindy gave her a look, "Rafer, your anniversary, ring any bells?"

Max knew that was part of the reason she was holding back, she had hurt Logan twice, first with Rafer and then with Alec, but it was small part of the reason. She was content in her life, she had family, companionship, friendship, a guy just seemed unnecessary, not to mention they just didn't live up to Logan. "So what happened?"

"I had a little talk with him, explained you weren't going to move on with your life unless he did. Took some convincing, but I think he's going to ask her out or at least think about it." Original Cindy didn't ask her if she wanted to renege on her promise to move on and not wait for a cure. That year mark made it pretty obvious to everyone that they needed to get on with their lives. "Can't keep living in limbo Max."

"I know" she nodded and put her glass in the sink.

"I'm gonna go crash unless you wanna talk." OC said standing.

"Nah, I'm good." she shook her head.

"Kay I'll see you in the morning."

"Thanks" Max called out softly just as Cindy was about to enter her room.

"No prob boo." Original Cindy turned and nodded, sometimes your friends needed a little push, of course Max generally needed a giant shove.

You always know that day is coming…Why is it you're always surprised when it happens?

I've just got to remember we're not losing each other, we're still right here, we always will be.