Part 6

Liz woke early, before the sun was even peaking through her bedroom window, and immediately felt the lack of Max’s presence beside her. Her heart pounded in her chest, and she rolled over a bit to be sure he wasn’t there. Oh no! Liz knew had seen a weird look in his eyes last night! He panicked again! For a moment Liz was consumed with fear of Max leaving her alone again, before she heard the sound of someone rustling around in her bathroom.

Liz gave a sigh of relief before calling, "Max?" in a shaky voice.

"You’re up! Sorry, I was trying not to wake you." He called out.

She sat up slowly, letting the sleep drain from her eyes, and looked to see her boyfriend emerging from her bathroom. He was already dressed, she observed, as he took a seat on the bed beside her, and began to pull on his shoes.

"You leaving?" She asked him.

"Yeah, I’d better go before your parents wake up."

Liz nodded. "Good thinking."

Max got up and moved to her side, where he leaned over and lightly kissed her on the forehead.

"Thank you for last night. It was amazing. I’ll see you later."

"Yeah, I’ll see you at school."

Max paused to stare at her for a moment. "Right." He said shortly.

For the first time it hit him, hard, that Liz didn’t know who he was. She thought he was the other Max. He sighed softly, sadness rushing over him. This was something he had never expected… "Bye Liz."

"Bye Max."

Liz glowed as she made her way into the bathroom and flipped on the shower. Things with Max just seemed to be getting better and better! First the ring, and then last night! For a night that was intended to be her alone with her stereo and journal, things definitely took a more positive turn.

She thought back though to that flicker of uncertainty that she had seen in his eyes during dinner. What was that about? Liz desperately hoped that he wasn’t having second thoughts again. At this point in time, she wasn’t sure she could take another "step back". And then there was that "I’ve missed this so much" thing. That was just weird.

Liz sighed and pushed the negative thoughts to the back of her head. It was stupid to be worrying about it. It was nothing, really. There were so many depths to Max that she had yet to explore. It’s possible he could have been worrying about Michael or Isabel. And she knew he was still worried about putting her in danger, even if he didn’t let that hold back their relationship any more. She knew he wanted to protect her so badly.

Liz busied herself with finishing getting dressed and getting ready for school. She picked up her backpack, all ready to head out, when her mom knocked on her door.

"Liz, honey? Max is here to drive you to school!"

Liz stopped in her tracks, smiling to herself. He must have wanted to surprise her! When he left this morning he made it sound like she wasn’t going to see him until class!

Liz opened the door and stepped out to greet her boyfriend.

"Hey! I didn’t expect to see you this morning!"

"It’s Monday morning, right? I told you I’d pick you up today! Didn’t want to have to wait any longer to see you." Liz frowned slightly. Come to think of it, she did remember him saying that the day before. He just hadn’t mentioned it since then. That was unlike him.

"Here, I got this for you." Max grinned, producing a rose.

"Oh, thank you Max! You’re too good to me!" Liz smiled brightly as she fingered the silky, soft petals of the rose.

"Come on, let’s go." Max said, as he took her hand, slowly stroking the ring on her finger with love, and led her outside.

The moment the door closed behind them, Max pulled her tightly into his arms, capturing her lips with all the love inside him. They stood there for a few moments in each other’s embrace, marveling at the feeling of their bodies pressed up against one another.

Liz felt like exploding! The feel of Max all wrapped up around her, his strong body pressed up against her petite one, felt so perfect. Her blood was rushing at a million miles a second, and her heart thudded in her chest, as she lost herself in the moment.

"I had the best time last night." Liz whispered seductively in his ear. "It was perfect."

Max smiled down at her. "Wish I could have been there. What did you do?"

Liz stared up at Max in shock. This time she knew for certain that she didn’t misunderstand him, or misinterpret his words or anything. Max really didn’t remember the night before.

"Nothing. Just stayed at home alone." Liz lied quickly, as a cold chill rushed through her body. She knew that this was her Max. He recognized the ring a moment before…so it had to be him, right? But if this was Max, then who did she sleep with the night before. Fear swept over Liz, as Max helped her climb into the jeep.

What in the world was happening to her?