Part 19
The four of them just stared at each other for a few minutes, like a showdown, Max and Liz against Adam and Leslie. The tension was thick in the room, as the two students’ minds were whirling with this newfound information, and beneath the table, Max clutched Liz’s hand tightly, desperately trying to keep her calm.
"What…I mean…You two…uhhh…jeez…" Adam fumbled over his words staring awkwardly at the couple.
Liz was the first one to speak rationally. "Why don’t you two join us?" Liz suggested, gesturing to the empty side of the booth across from her. "I’m sure you have questions, and we’ll do our best to answer them as best we can."
Nodding silently, Leslie and Adam slid into the booth. Before they could ask any questions, their server came to take their order, and they were interrupted from the moment at hand. When their order was placed, and their drinks sat before them, the silence became uncomfortable, as no one knew exactly where to start.
"Ms. Parker…" Leslie finally started, breaking the silence. Ever since recognizing their teacher, her mind had been running a mile a minute, trying to put all of the pieces together…and she had finally made a connection. "Is Max your guy from high school that you were telling me about?"
Max looked at Leslie in surprise, his gaze shifting from her and Liz, and back again, wondering when they talked about him. He hadn’t talked to Liz yet about Leslie asking him out…he wondered what more was going on that he didn’t know about…and how much Liz told her. Liz smiled softly at the question, and slid her hand to Max’s knee, squeezing it comfortingly…she always knew just what Max’s concerns and insecurities were…just like he knew when she needed comfort.
"Yeah…that would be Max." Liz replied, flashing a dreamy smile in Max’s direction, as she took his hand beneath the table and stroked it happily.
"Wait, you guys have been together since high school?" Adam exploded in shock, his eyes flying back and forth between Max and Liz. "What are you doing as her student then…isn’t that against the law or something?"
Max flushed nervously. He didn’t like thinking of his and Liz’s relationship as something to be ashamed of…he wasn’t ashamed of it.
"It’s…complicated." Max replied vaguely, meeting Liz’s eyes nervously.
"It’s definitely frowned upon." Liz admitted. "Normally, Max and I wouldn’t have allowed ourselves to be in a situation like this…but there’s more going on here." Liz sighed, trying to decide how to continue. "To start with…Max and I haven’t been together since high school."
"What happened?" Leslie asked with concern. She knew the whole background of their relationship…it had sounded perfect, like something out of a fairy tale. Liz never even hinted that anything had ever gone wrong.
"Umm…" Liz started uncertainly. She chuckled nervously. "I don’t know where to start. I guess at the end of high school… Max and I were supposed to go to college together, but at the last minute something went wrong. Max had…a family emergency. And he had to leave to go be with his family, instead of going to Stanford with me. Communication was impossible…we completely lost touch with one another."
"The next time we saw each other was last week." Max finished. "On the first day of our Biology class."
Tears filled Leslie’s eyes at their admission, and Adam stared at them in wonder.
"You two waited for each other all of this time?" He asked them.
"Yeah…" Max replied, meeting Liz’s eyes with certainty.
"That’s beautiful." Leslie sighed. "That you love each other that much. You’re both so lucky."
"And don’t I know it." Max replied, his eyes never leaving Liz’s.
For a moment the rest of the world faded away, and it was just the two of them, Max and Liz, alone, staring into each other’s eyes, as they clutched each other’s hands like they were each other’s lifeline.
Unable to resist, Max leaned over and pressed a gentle kiss onto her forehead, as he pulled her up against him, her head resting on his strong, hard chest, as he buried his face in her hair, breathing in the sweet scent of her strawberry shampoo, as he sighed in contentment. Completion. That was what he felt now that they were together. He couldn’t desire anything more. Him and Liz…complete…together forever. They were a part of each other.
Tears filled Leslie’s eyes as she watched them, and she knew what she had to do. Grabbing Adam’s hand, she pulled him out of the booth, a few steps away so that they could talk, and give Max and Liz some privacy. The couple was so wrapped up in each other, they hadn’t even noticed them get up.
"Adam…look at them. They’re so happy together…they’re so perfect for each other. We can’t get in the way of that. You have to help me keep their secret, Adam…you have to. Messing up something so beautiful as their love…it’s just not worth it."
"I know." Adam replied, smiling wistfully in Max and Liz’s direction. "I agree completely."
Max and Liz finally pulled themselves back to reality as Adam and Leslie returned to the table, smiling apologetically at them.
"Sorry…" Liz sighed. "We have this bad habit of getting wrapped up in each other."
"It’s okay." Leslie replied with a smile.
"A little repulsive, but okay!" Adam joked.
"Anyways…" Leslie continued, shooting Adam an irritated look. "We just wanted to let you know that we’re not going to tell anyone…about you. Your secret is safe with us."
Max breathed a deep sigh of relief. "Thank you…so much."
Liz smiled knowingly at Leslie. "I had a feeling you wouldn’t…thank you. Who knows? Maybe we all could be friends?"
"I’d like that." Leslie smiled back.
"…And I walked into my bedroom, shocked to see Max, drunk as hell, standing in my room with my other ex-boyfriend, Kyle, going through my underwear drawer!" Liz exploded with laughter, gesturing frantically as she told the story, while Max turned bright pink, blushing furiously.
"Is that why you don’t drink?" Leslie asked Max between giggles, amused not only by the story, but by Max’s adorably shy reaction to it.
"I have a low tolerance for alcohol." Max muttered, glaring at Liz.
"Well, Max…" Liz giggled. "That’s what you get for telling them about the Crashdown uniforms and the alien antennae. God, for the rest of the semester Adam’s going to be imagining me teaching class with those damn antennae on my head!"
Max couldn’t help letting a grin slide out at the memory of Liz in her waitress uniform. All through the rest of dinner, this was pretty much how things had gone…as they ate, Max and Liz traded off telling embarrassing stories about each other, which were amusing Adam and Leslie to an incredible degree.
Things were going fabulously, everyone getting along wonderfully. Max had never even envisioned himself ever making friends with anyone else here…his image of the future had always been him and Liz…just him and Liz. But it seemed that friendships were a distinct possibility…with his two lab partners…and maybe it wasn’t such a bad thing either.
He was almost sad to have to end the evening, but he knew it was time.
"Well…" Max started, setting his napkin on his plate. "It’s been a lot of fun…but Liz and I have to be off….we have a lot we have to do tonight…"
"Oh yeah, you’re moving, right, Max?" Leslie asked curiously.
"Umm…yeah, I am. We have to start packing my things and all of that."
"Well…good luck with that." Adam replied, standing and shaking Max’s hand firmly. "We’ll see you both in class on Wednesday."
"Yeah…see you then." Liz grinned. "Goodnight."
