PLAY

Title: PLAY
Author: Tina Katselos
Disclaimer: Yes it is unfortunate that the characters aren’t mine isn’t it? Thankfully by baby (Max) now belongs to UPN!
Summary: AU fic, no aliens, both Max and Liz live in New York. There’s a new club that opens that’s called Play, needless to say, a lot happens in this particular club!
Rating: I'm not sure, so far PG 15, but there may be swearing so maybe R? As I said before I'm not sure.
Feedback: Yes please!!!

‘DJ Just Play that song ‘cause I wanna be dancing all night long’ - Jennifer Lopez

Part 1

There were loud noises coming from everywhere. Drivers beeping their car horns, people winding down their car windows and yelling at each other. If it wasn’t people in cars yelling at each other and making too much noise it was the people on the street. Everywhere one turned there was some sort of action happening. It wasn’t everyone’s piece of cake but to Liz Parker it was everything. This was not the only life she’s known, she’s lived in a small town before but it was too suffocating. THIS was the only life she could live. If it wasn’t happening than Liz wasn’t around. The only time she sat on her ass was when she was in a class, or studying. She was on her fourth year of University, currently completing her honours in Business Management. You couldn’t tell by looking at her that she was a brain. Yet she was, she was a brain that just loved to party! She loved to party, but most of all she loved to dance. She loved to get out there and know that every guy was looking her way. She’d give it everything. They way she’d move would have them all drooling. She knew how to play her cards, and when Liz played, she played to win.

“Man, I cant believe it, where is he”? Maria, Liz’s roommate asked. Maria was talent just waiting to be discovered. She’s worked at a t local bar where’d she sing twice a week. Her regular job was being a receptionist at an accounting firm. It wasn’t the best but Maria was waiting for her big break. The big break that would make her a star. They’d been living together since Liz came to New York right out of high school to attend college and they’d struck a tight bond. At the moment they were waiting outside their apartment for Alex, another good friend of theirs. Liz met Alex at College and later introduced him to Maria. The rest as they say is history.

“Who knows, I mean you know what Alex is like. He probably forgot. We need to replace Alex as a friend Maria” Liz said. It was a game they played with each other. They all knew how much they meant to each other and how close the three of them had become so they played on it.

“Your right Liz, I mean, maybe we should bring in a woman this time, you know get the girlie thing going, have a few sleepovers…”

“I think we’ve grown out of sleepovers don’t you think, and I mean really, Alex is pretty good at bonding, even though he is a man”, Liz said, even though they’d played this game many times before she’d never gotten sick o it.

“And” Maria responded, “Who else would laugh at your lame jokes”?

“Very funny Maria”

“ I know, I know, I amaze myself sometimes, by the way Liz, did you read this weeks people magazine”? Maria asked while raising her eyebrows.

“Yes I did Maria, and yes I saw the article on Michael Guerin, and no I don’t find him all that attractive”.

“Liz, are you blind? I mean he is all man, a total babe”.

“He’s just not my type”

“What do you mean he’s not your type? He’s a tall, sexy artist, I mean how much sexier can someone get”?

“Maria, we are so sad, were talking about this guy like we know him, I mean, it's not like were gonna meet him anytime soon. He’s a semi – celebrity and were, well…us”

“I never said we would meet him, I just think he is stunning to look at, those eyes, those lips, mama mia the man oozes sexuality”.

“Liz turned to Maria to say something but was distracted me a really loud horn. Both girls turned to where the noise was coming from and saw that it was Alex, twenty minutes late, finally arriving.

As Liz got into the car the first words that came out of her mouth were, “you jerk, we’ve been waiting for twenty minutes, where have you been? Do you know how cold it is”?

“Hey” Alex said in defence, “I didn’t tell you to wait outside”

“Where else would we wait Alex?” Maria asked, “Do you know how long it takes to lock and unlock that door? There’s like twenty separate locks there”.

“Ok, I'm sorry, but my third date with Isabelle went a bit overtime, but I'm here aren’t I?” Alex emphasized the word ‘third’ because after three years of lusting after Isabelle Evans he finally got her to agree to not only one, but three dates. “I’ll never do it again, am I forgiven”?

Alex knew that Liz and Maria could not resist he’s cheeky smile and Liz leaned over to the driver’s side and kissed him smack bang on the cheek! “Your forgiven Alex, you know we love you”.

“Yes, yes I know, so girls enough about that, who’s exited about tonight”.

“What’s there to be exited about, a new club, big deal?” Liz said in a very bland voice.

“Liz”! Both Maria and Alex said at the same time. As if surprised that she could even mutter such a thing, they were going to THE new club tonight, the club that had been the talk of the social chatter for months and thanks to Alex, the three of them had been invited to the opening.

“Guys relax, don’t get so worked up, I'm sure… that when I get there it will be great”!

“That’s the Liz we all love” Maria said smiling, “anyway” Maria continued, “tell us, how did you convince, who ever you had to convince to allow us to come on the opening night”?

“Do you guys know anything about Isabelle”? The girls shook their heads, waiting for Alex to go on. “Well her brother is like this business tycoon and he’s only our age, and he has like something to do with this place so were invited”.

“Wait, wait, wait” Maria said, “You’re telling us, that Isabelle Evans is related to Max Evans, head of Beaufort Enterprises”?

“Yea…I am” Alex responded.

“So…” Maria continued, “You’re dating like the richest girl on campus”?

“Were not dating exactly, I mean we’ve only been out on a few dates” Alex responded.

“So who pays”? Maria asked Alex

“Who pays for what”? Alex said while looking at Maria with a questing look.

“Your dates, I mean…usually the guy pays, but compared to her you have peanuts so…”

“Maria! “ Liz said loudly, “I can’t believe you’re asking that”?

“C’mon Liz, as if you don’t want to know”?

“Well know that you mention it I do, but I'm not rude enough to ask”.

“Thanks Liz, Alex said sarcastically, “you really make me feel all warm and fuzzy inside”.

“Anyway” Liz interrupted, “what sort of work does this Max Evans do? Does he own like a business or something”?

“He owns businesses Liz, like in plural” Maria answered, “the guy is filthy rich, he’s cute too”.

“Maria, you think everyone is cute” Alex joked.


…………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

“Well where is she”? Liz demanded, they had just arrived and Alex told them that Isabelle would be waiting at the door.

“She’ll be here don’t worry about it”.

As Alex was speaking to them, Liz saw that a big, heavy bouncer was walking towards them.

“Great” Maria said, “time to go I think”.

The heavy bouncer spoke, holding a clipboard with paper in there apparently holding peoples names in there.

“Do you have an invitation”? The big man spoke, “uh not exactly, were waiting for Isabelle” Alex manage to get through.

“Yes Isabelle said she would be running late, can I have your names”?

“Uh Alex, Maria and Liz” Alex said.

The bouncer looked at his list and hey presto a smile appeared on his face. “Yep, it says Alex plus two, which I assume means you two lovely ladies”. As he said this he opened the ropes and let them in.

Liz was leading them in, and the first thing she saw was the most attractive man she’d seen in her life talking to the blonde, curly haired, young woman. As Liz walked past he looked up and caught her eye. Liz gasped, he was gorgeous. He had dark hair and amber eyes. She felt herself being pulled towards him. He was staring straight back, he’s eyes glued on her and she stood there, not moving, just looking. She was in a trance until:

“Move it Liz, stop taking your time” Maria’s abrupt comment cut through her thoughts, geez, she was losing it.

“Sorry Maria, so guys what do you think? The bar”? Liz said this knowing that it was always their first stop at a club

“The bar it is princesses” Alex replied. The three walked to the bar, all the while Liz searching for the man who made her heart flip merely looking at him.


Part 2

Liz could feel his eyes on her everywhere, this dark mysterious man with those eyes that looked as though he wanted to devour her on first sight. But of course Liz at this time was quite tipsy so it could have all been in her imagination.

“C’mon Liz, just one more drink than that’s it’”, she could hear Maria complaining. They had sort of a deal happening, when ever Liz and Maria would go out Liz handled the money because when Maria had money in her hand there was no stopping her.

“Maria you’ve had enough”, Liz reasoned with her, “we said we weren’t going to have a late one anyway”

“Liz, stop being a party pooper, this is great, were both having a great time, why go home early, now come on stop pissing me off and lets go to the bar”.

Maria was right, they were having a great time, Liz was having a ball. This place really was a blast. So, with Maria in the lead and Alex in tow they headed to the bar.

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

Liz could feel her whole body relaxing, she was about to sit down when she heard a loud voice coming over the speaker.

“First of all I would like to introduce myself” Liz’s head turned to where the man was speaking and saw it was none other than the Greek God himself. ‘What’s he doing she thought’.

“I’m Max Evans the owner of PLAY. Welcome to our opening night. So… how’s everyone feeling”? Almost everyone in the club joined in a sequence of ‘great’, ‘fantastic’ and basically screaming. “That’s great to hear,” he continued. When Liz found out who he was her heart dropped. The owner? This was the young business tycoon? Isabelle’s brother? He was really out of her league. Liz gave herself a mental shake. Why should she care? She’d only seen him once.

Liz went back to giving him all of her attention.

“I'm just quickly going to give you a run down on the nights. Friday night will remain the same as tonight, commercial music, and house at the end of the night. Saturday nights will be mainly house and Sunday will be retro. Now Thursday night is still not finalized. We want our Thursday’s to be laid back so tomorrow were holding auditions for a singer who we hope to have performing on Thursday’s. They will be held in this room, beginning at four pm. So I’d like to leave you with a song that I think is fitting for PLAY’s opening night”.

As Max was walking of stage Maria rushed straight up to Liz. “Did you hear that? Auditions, tomorrow. Were going”.

“Ok’ Liz said dully.

“My God Liz your drunk”!

“No I'm not”

“Yes you are”

“Maybe I am, but only a little”

“You’re incorrigible”, Liz responded with a radiant smile, leaving Maria once again curious as to shy Liz was still single. Maria thought back to Liz’s last boyfriend. All of a sudden one of Liz’s favourite chart songs blasted out from the loud speakers. As she heard the music Liz immediately stated to move, her body taking over her mind.

“I can wait all night and day, to go to a party sit down and wait, give my request to the DJ, cause’ my song he’s gotta play. And when I hear that beat, I get my body up on my feet, I grab a guy and move my feet, he’s playing my song… Play, come on play that song, play it all night long, just turn it out turn it on”

Anyone who looked at Liz would have said she was a sight, the way she was moving, her eyes closed, mouthing the words, men were drooling, Liz knew it, and she thrived on it. Attention in New York was different to attention in the small country town she’d grown up in. She wasn’t judged here, she was admired, and she was sexy.

Max Evans was talking to the head bargirl Tess. They’d dated for a while but both decided that it wasn’t working out. It just didn’t feel right, there was no spark. Anyway, Tess was totally involved with her new boyfriend Kyle Valenti. Max had nothing against him, in fact when they did meet they got along pretty well. He was happy to see Tess move on, but Max on the other hand felt that he was never going to find ‘the one’. He thought back to the brunette that walked into the club as he and Tess were standing at the door. He remembered how he felt when he saw her. He felt a jolt to his system; he totally tuned out on Tess and remained riveted on the vision before him. For a moment they were in their own world until Tess poked him in the ribs, demanding his attention. When he turned around once more the vision was gone, making Max wonder if that’s all it really was, just a vision. Something that was conjured up out of his own mind. Still he could not help but scan the club looking for her.

“Tess, I'm going for a stroll see what’s happening Ok?

“Sure, anyway I have to get back to work or my boss is gonna fire me”

He gave her one last smile and took off.

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

As Max walked around the club, he could not help but be proud of himself. This was the first nightclub he’d ever participated in and it was damn great success! Max was only 26 yrs old but he was one to keep and eye on. Richer beyond he’d ever thought he could be Max was the future. He was young and extremely successful. Not only did he now run a nightclub but also owned property all over America, he owned restaurants, hotels you name it. But at the moment they were all in the hands of management. All his time was taken up by PLAY. This was where he belonged. He’d lost so much of his youth working hard, doing he’s best to make money. When he was sixteen he’s parents passed away, leaving him to look after he’s eleven-year-old sister Isabelle. They lived with relatives until Max got a job as an apprentice carpenter. When working on a particular house, Max summoned up the courage and spoke to the owner, Sam Beaufort. Needless to say Sam was saw something in Max. He saw Max’s willingness to work and achieve. Sam was a big business man who owned a lot of the restaurants and buildings in New York. So Sam took Max under his wing, and within three years the profits of Sam’s enterprise ‘Beaufort’ tripled. When Max was twenty-two years old Sam died leaving everything to Max as he had no children, and the rest as they say is history. Max continued to expand the empire and increase it's profits, but lately that wasn’t enough. He craved his youth; he wanted the adolescence that he missed out on.

Just then he spotted her. She was dancing to the song ‘Play’, moving in such a sensual way that Max could not help but be drawn towards her. When he reached her, her eyes snapped open as if she could sense him. Was he seeing things again? He had to know if this was real to he grabbed her face and brought his mouth down to hers.

“Just turn it out, turn it on” Jennifer Lopez

Part 3

“So where is Isabelle, I mean she did she was coming didn’t she”?

Alex was leaning against the bar, waiting for Isabelle, he and Maria were talking. Actually, Maria was making Alex feel worse then he already was. Why did she have to bring up Isabelle? Sure, he was looking for her. But with Maria talking about it, it made him fell that much more rejected. She said she would be here and she wasn’t. As he felt himself sink into a greater state of depression his ears shot up at Maria’s next words.

“Oh Alex” Maria said in a high-pitched teasing voice. “There’s a tall leggy blonde walking straight towards you, and with her she has a friend, and may I say that the friend is not bad, not bad at all…Oh my god!!! That’s Michael Guerin the painter, how does she know Michael, oh my God are they walking towards us, Alex they’re walking towards us. This has to be joke, it's a joke right I mean…”

“Maria!” Alex said loudly, “you’re giving me headache”, he then lowered his voice, “just act cool, act normal OK?”

“Fine, but I’ll act normal, when you stop looking at Isabelle with your mouth hanging open”.

Alex shut his mouth, giving Maria one last look before turning to Isabelle.

Maria couldn’t take her eyes off Isabelle’s ‘friend’. He was what you could safely call very handsome. He was tall with light coloured messy hair and lips to die for.

“Hey Alex”.

“Isabelle, your ah… pretty early”. Alex said while looking at he’s watch.

Isabelle laughed and said, “I know I'm late but blame Michael here, he was my ride and was only about two hours late”.

Michael defended himself by saying, “Hey I was sleeping, the game went overtime and I fell asleep on the couch”.

Isabelle just shook her head. “I forgot to introduce, Alex this is Michael”.

As Alex and Michael shook hands Alex did some introductions of he’s own. “Isabelle, Michael, this is one of my best friends Maria.

As Maria stretched her hand out to extend it to Michael she said, “I know who you are, I have been following your career for a while now ad I must say I am very impressed with your work”

Michael looked at the beauty in front of him. He was mesmerized. But he spoke soon enough so he would not look like a complete idiot.

“Thank you Maria, you can never hear enough honest praise” he responded while he took her hand and held on to it for longer than necessary. Alex looked at Maria, he was surprised that she played it so cool. Maria turned to Alex and gave him a small secret smile. She then turned to smile at Isabelle and said, “So this is the famous Isabelle I’ve been hearing so much about”.

Alex’s faced turned bright red until Michael replied my saying, “I know exactly what you mean, on the way here Isabelle was stressing that…” Isabelle hit him on the stomach but Michael kept on going “she was stressing that Alex would leave before she had a chance to see him”. Now it was Isabelle’s turn to go red, something that she rarely did.

*So, she likes me, I can handle that* Alex thought to himself. “So Isabelle, would you like a drink”?

“Sure, lets go”

So Isabelle and Alex left Maria with Michael, *great* she thought, *now what am I going to say*, before she said anything Michael, spoke up, “so Maria, can you dance”?

“That’s not all I can do” Maria said with a grin as she pulled Michael onto the dance floor, shocked as she saw Liz and Max on the way.
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

As Liz saw Max’s lips moving towards hers all she could think of was ‘I cant let this happen, I don’t even know the guy’, but still she did not move as his lips touched hers.

As soon as Max felt her lips underneath he’s own. Not only did he know she was real, but he knew she was special. She felt like magic. He’s head was spinning, and when she opened her mouth and let his tongue push past her lips he felt like he was in heaven. Just when he thought the moment was perfect, she pulled away from him, looking shocked and… and angry?

“What do you think you’re doing? Liz said sounding exasperated.

“I'm sorry, I didn’t know what came over me, I…I, hang on a second, I didn’t hear anyone telling me to stop, in fact from where I was sitting, I’d say you were enjoying it”!
“Well what do you expect, I was shocked, I mean it's not everyday that some stranger comes and just kisses you. Man, you have a nerve”. Liz didn’t even know why she was getting so worked up, she was attracted to him in a major way, she wasn’t used to it. Feeling something so strong for someone she’d just met.

“So are you saying you didn’t enjoy it” Max said with an adorable grin, so adorable that Liz felt herself weaken, before she totally let down her guard, she gave an exasperated sigh, about to turn and walk away.

Max saw that she was about to leave, and grabbed her by the arm. “I didn’t get your name”. “It's Jennifer” Liz lied.

“So Jennifer, when will I see you again”?

“Tomorrow probably, my friends auditioning and I'm going to give her some moral support, but…don’t come anywhere near me. I really don’t appreciate being mauled”.

With that, Liz turned on her heal and walked away, walking straight into Maria and … she did a double take, Michael Guerin? The look on their faces told her that they had witnessed everything.
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

Maria and Alex were giving Liz a hard time on the drive back from PLAY. So much that Liz felt like stopping the car and walking home. She would, but the thought of getting mugged and murdered did not appeal to her.

“Liz” Maria said, “I have to hand it to you, you are one fast worker, you have to teach me how you do it”.

Alex joined in, just fuelling Liz’s frustration more. “My God Liz, I didn’t know you had it in you, you go girl”. Both Alex and Maria found this highly amusing. So amusing they were still going by the time they got to the front of the girls apartment building.

When Liz and Maria walked out of the car, Maria opened her mouth as if to say something more but was out in her place by Liz. “One more word Maria and I swear, you will suffer”.

“Fine girl, no need to get violent on me, you seem really frustrated” Maria just couldn’t help herself she had to say it. “It wouldn’t be sexual frustration by any chance would it”?
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

As Liz and Maria and Alex accompanied by Alex’s guitar walked into PLAY they were surprised at how different it was with light on.

“WOW” Maria said, “This is weird”. As Liz was ready to make a smart comeback, she felt a hand on her back. She turned to see Max.

“Jennifer, how good to see you”, he said with a teasing grin.

“Who’s Jennifer”? Maria and Alex asked in unison.

‘Just turn it out, turn it on’ – Jennifer Lopez


Part 4

“Who’s Jennifer”?
……………………

Max looked at all three in confusion, “Jen”?

“I repeat,” Maria said loudly, “Who’s Jennifer?
“What’s going on”? Max asked, getting more confused by the second.

Alex just sat there watching, a smile forming his lips as he was beginning to understand the current situation.

“Liz babe, are you going to tell me what’s going on”? Liz shot Maria a warning glare but it was too late.

“Liz”? Is that your name…you lied? It's not Jennifer”? Max finally understood what happened. “Why did you lie”?

“Oh my God”? Maria laughed out loud, “this is beautiful, it really is”. Liz continued to glare at Maria, who was just making the situation worse. Slowly a smile formed Liz’s mouth too. In no time, Maria, Liz and Alex were in hysterics.

“Sorry Max, I know I shouldn’t have lied” Liz said in between giggles, she leaned up and pinched his cheeks, “but you looked so cute, that I just had too”!

Max was finding the situation quite funny himself, but he decided to make Liz feel a little guilty. “So you lied to me, do you know what an idiot I feel like? Thanks Liz, thanks a lot.” With that he turned away, hiding his smile. As he walked off he felt a small hand on his shoulder. He turned around to face Liz.

“Look Max I'm really sorry, I didn’t know that you couldn’t take a joke…YOU JERK”! She yelled when he suddenly grinned. “You don’t care, you just…you just”. As a laugh escaped from Max, Liz too could feel herself starting to giggle again. Soon they were doubled over with laughter. “So” Max said, “how about dinner”?

“You don’t give up do you”?

“Not when it's something I want”.

“We’ll see Max, we’ll see”.
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

“Max, why is Maria last to perform”? Liz asked him

“She was the last one to get here”

“No she wasn’t, actually we were one of the first one’s”

“Really, sorry Liz I must have made a mistake, you don’t mind do you”? Max did not want to tell Liz that the only reason Maria was last was just because he could spend more time with her. But he had been to forward already and did not want to push his luck.

Liz looked at Max’s face, instantly realizing what his intention was. “Your only keeping Maria here just so you could keep me here, my god you are unbelievable”! Liz did not know why she was so worked up. In any other situation she would have been flattered. Even now she was, but there was something about Max. Liz felt uncomfortable with the fact that she felt such an emotional pull towards him. She was afraid. Her last relationship was a tragedy. It was all one sided. Liz believed herself to be in love with Peter, but all he wanted was sex. And the weekend after he got it he left her. Peter took her virginity and all the trust Liz had.

As Liz walked off Max was instantly on her trail. She turned to him about to say something but Max started speaking first. “ Liz please don’t leave, let me apologize, I'm sorry about before, it's just that I want to be around you, I don’t want you to leave, but I didn’t know what to say”. Liz was shocked, not at the words but the look in his eyes. Words were words, anyone could utter them, but what she saw in his eyes told her that it was all truth. She couldn’t believe it. She felt herself breaking down, when she looked at him she knew that she could trust him. “ Fine, I’ll stay, and… choking back the last bit of her pride “I’ll have dinner with you, if you still want to”?

Max picked her up and hugged her tightly, “I promise you, you wont regret it”.
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

Finally it was Maria’s turn to perform and she choose to do Pat Benata’s ‘Hit Me With Your Best Shot”. Maria gave the sheet music to the drummer and bass man and guitar player, it seemed that Alex had brought his guitar for nothing.

Maria’s voice boomed over the speakers, her great voice being heard from all those in the room.

‘You’re a real tough cookie, with a long history and breaking little hearts while you wanted me. That’s ok, but see how if I care, put on the jukes, let’s see how you’re doing.
Hit me with your best shot! Why don’t you hit me with your best shot? C’mon hit me with your best shot, fire away”.

It was the perfect song, strong, direct and Maria’s voice was great. When Maria finished everyone was clapping, Liz had a huge smile on her face and Alex was grinning form ear to ear. Max stood up and approached Maria, “welcome aboard Maria, your hired”. Maria let out a squeal and hugged him, thanking him over and over again. She was so happy.

“So”, Max said, why don’t you stick around and we can work out all the details”? Liz stood up seeing it was her cue to leave. Max looked in her direction, Liz smiled and said, “7o’clock tonight, don’t be late”. With that she and Alex left the club, leaving Maria and Max to the details.

Part 5

As Max exited the club he could not help feeling more than a little pleased with himself. Firstly he had one very talented singer for PLAY’s Thursday nights, which looked like it was going to be a huge success, and secondly: tonight he had a date. Not just any date, but a date with what to him was the most beautiful woman in the world. He smiled to himself, if only Michael could see him now. Max, Isabelle and Michael had been friends for as long as Max could remember. They were like brothers. They all grew up together in New York, all doing it hard. Michael’s upbringing was not the most functional of all upbringings. He’s father passed away a year after he was born, due to a Heroin overdose. His mother in turn, became an alcoholic. The only people who Michael ever let close to him were Max and Isabelle. Max was glad because he could not imagine his life without Michael. All those years of feeling alone, feeling not wanted, Michael was there, he wasn’t one to say much but his presence only made Max feel more worthy. Now Michael, Max and Isabelle were all going great. Max was a wealthy businessman, Michael was an up and coming artist and Isabelle was studying to get her degree in law. It wasn’t easy but it was finally happening. For Max it already happened but his greatest pleasure was watching Isabelle and Michael finally fulfilling their dreams. In a way he was envious of them. Both Isabelle and Michael took things at their own pace. They were content in life, just working and praying it would all work out. Max on the other hand never had any time to just sit back and relax, since he was seventeen he was thrust into the world of competition, of winning. He never had any time to sit back and take things in stride. He never had a chance to enjoy his youth. But now he decided things would change. PLAY was the only thing he was working on at the moment and the rest of the time he planned on recapturing what he lost. He wanted to fall in love; he wanted to know what it was like to be loved. And for the first time in his life he felt that it could really happen.
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

Maria walked into the apartment she shared with Liz, the smile on her face so big it looked as if she had a coat hanger wedged in her mouth! “Elizabeth Parker, get your sorry ass down here this instant” Liz came running from her bedroom and quickly enveloped Maria in a big hug.

“Maria, I am so happy for you, I can’t believe it's finally happening, so tell me everything, is it a done deal”?

“Everything is finalized, but firstly tell me, are you really going to dinner with Max Evans, like the Max Evans”?

“Yes I am, but it's nothing really, were just going to eat, talk you know”.

“Don’t oh ‘nothing really’ me Liz, that guy is like obsessed with you, smitten, delirious, you name it he’s got it”.

“Maria please, Max Evans, this” Liz said while pointing to her face, “I don’t think so, you know I actually think he’s on medication or something because…c’mon, you’ve seen him”.

“Yea I’ve seen him Liz, and don’t you worry about it, you are a babe, and believe me he is smitten. You should have seen him today Liz, he drove me crazy! He kept asking me all these questions, like: What’s Liz’s favourite flower? What’s her start sign? Does she like Italian food? Does she like Chinese? I sweat chika he did not stop until I threatened to slap him and bring him back into the world of the sane”.

“You didn’t”?

“I did, anyway, you rushed out of there so fast you forgot to give him an address to pick you up”.

Liz realized that Maria was telling the truth. “Well did you tell him, you know, did you give him the address”?

“Liz babe, it's me you’re talking to here, the master of the dating game, of course it told him. He’ll be here in an hour”.

“An hour is more than enough, I’ll be ready in fifteen, as you can see, I’ve already showered and the make-up is in place I just have to see what I'm going to wear”.

“Ok let’s go and raid our closets”.
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
Fifty minutes later, Liz was ready. She was wearing a cream, clinging knee length skirt. A black turtleneck top that had high neck that flopped over, a thin cream belt tied around her waist, and chocolate brown knew high boots. Her hair was left down but Maria decided to work on and give it the ‘I just got out of a car going at full speed but my window was open’ look. With Maria in charge of her make up Liz looked nothing less than breathtaking. Maria gave her the final once over and grinned.

“What’s so funny Maria”?

“Nothing Liz, I was just thinking of Max’s reaction when he sees you, he is going to be blown away”.

“You really think so”? Liz asked shyly.

“Just look at yourself doll” Maria tuned Liz around so she could look at herself in the mirror, “you look hot”.

The look on Liz’s face just made Maria want to pinch her cheeks. ‘What the hell’ Maria thought. She once again turned Liz around and pinched both her cheeks. “Chika you look fantastic, and don’t you forget it”.

Liz was pleased with the way she looked. She’d been called sexy, exotic, everything apart from beautiful. She always thought she would never be beautiful but… Just then the doorbell rang. Liz looked at Maria, nervousness written all over her face. “Maria answer it”.

“What, no way you answer it, he’s your date”.

“C’mon Maria, don’t be like this, just give me time to regroup”. With that she went into her room and tired to calm herself down by taking deep breaths. She tried to remember Maria’s breathing techniques but after a while she stated to sound like an idiot. A loud knock interrupted her thoughts. It was Maria; she opened the door and looked at Liz like she was from another planet. “My goodness Liz, you sound like you’re giving birth, get out here and greet the fine man”.

Slowly Liz rose of her bed, trying to pull herself together. When she walked out of her room and into the lounge she saw Max. She felt her breath catch in her throat; she walked towards him as if she was in a daze. Time seemed to slow down. The man was truly beautiful.
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

Max looked at Liz and felt his gut tighten. She was walking towards him as if he was in a dream sequence. Even if he wanted to, he could not take his eyes off her. But luckily he did not want to. He was content to watch her all night if he could. He could just imagine it. Liz walking towards him and when she reached him turn back and walk towards him again, and again and again. He smiled at the idiocy of what he was thinking. He also smiled because finally he felt young again and he had Liz to thank for it.

Maria was watching from the doorway of Liz’s room all the while waiting for them to say something. When it looked as if they were going to spend the whole night just looking at each other Maria cleared her throat. “Eh em, so are you guys going to like exchange pleasantries of what”?

Max and Liz looked away embarrassingly. Max was the first to recover. Liz was so entranced by the man she failed to see what he held in his hands. He leaned over towards her and gave her two white roses. Liz looked up at him astonished, “how did you know”?

“Uh…I think I had something to do with that,” Maria said from the background, once again forgotten.

“That’s right” Max said, “I asked Maria what your favourite flowers were and…”

“Thank you Max”

Max gave Liz a deep stare and said, “You look beautiful Liz”.

“Thank you Max, you don’t look to bad either, in fact, you look great”. And he did. He was wearing grey slacks and a black turtleneck jumper. The clothes slung to his physic in the most perfect way.

“Actually” Maria said once again interrupting “you’re kinda dressed the same, both wearing turtle necks…”

Liz turned and gave Maria and venomous stare that could crack ice and Maria quickly zipped her mouth shut.

“Let’s go” Max said, “I have reservations and if we don’t leave now we’ll be late”. He held out his hand to Liz and she accepted it gratefully. Feeling more comfortable than ever before.
Part 6

Straight after Liz left the first thing Maria did was pick up the telephone and call Alex. It almost rang through by the time Alex picked it up. When he did he sounded as if he was out of breath. “Whitman Enterprises, Mr. Whitman speaking”.

“You wish babe”.

“Maria, how nice of you call, how are you on this lovely evening”?

“What’s wrong you Alex, did you swallow happy tablets or something”?

“No in fact I did not”.

“What then, you got laid”?

“Maria! You shock me”

“Give it up Alex, tell me what’s going on, and why did it take so long for you to answer the phone? I almost hang up”?

“Oh that, yea I was up stairs with Isabelle”.

“Upstairs, as in, in your room upstairs”?

“That my dear is none of your business”.

“Nothing is ever ‘none of my business’, you know that”.

“Right, right, I forgot who I was talking to, anyway, what’s up”?

“You’re avoiding the question”.
“Maria!”

“Fine, be like that, anyway I was just calling to say that Liz just left on her date”.

“Her date, hmm, interesting, she hasn’t been on a date since that jerk Peter, so who’s the lucky man”?

“You wouldn’t believe it but it's Max Evans”.

“Max Evans, the surprise kisser Max Evans, the owner of PLAY”.

Maria heard Isabelle in the background say “are you talking about my brother”?

“Yea” Alex replied, “I told you about Liz, anyway she’s on a date with your brother at this very moment”.

As Alex and Isabelle started their own conversation Maria hung up the phone went to the video player, threw in a tape that had past episodes of ‘Sex and the City’, sat back on the couch and watched. In an hour she would get up and start getting ready for tonight. It was Play’s second night and she was supposed to attend because she was the star attraction of Thursday nights. She gave a happy sigh, wondering if Michael was going to be there tonight. She hoped he was. Her mind wandered to Liz and what was happening with her and Max. She smiled, knowing that they were perfect for each other, but hoping that Liz would realize it.
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………….



As Liz and Max entered the restaurant, the aromas of authentic Greek cooking filled her senses. She looked at Max, smiling. She didn’t bother to ask how he knew her favourite cuisine; she knew Maria must have told him. Without even checking their reservation Max took Liz’s hand and led her to a table in the corner. It was perfect, the lighting was dim and it was very discreet. Just after they took their seats, a male waiter approached them.

“Mr. Evans, how lovely to have you join us this evening”.

“Thank you Carl, things running smooth tonight”.

“Very, were doing out best to make you proud” the waiter said with a smile.

As Liz listened to their conversation it dawned on her the reason why Max just walked to the best table in the house without waiting to be seated. He owned the restaurant. She pondered just how many he actually owned. If her favourite had been Italian would he have taken her to an Italian restaurant he owned? She frowned at the thought, all of a sudden feeling very uncomfortable. Here she was Liz Parker, college student, barely scraping by in the city of New York, having dinner with one of the wealthiest men in New York. Suddenly she felt Max’s intense gaze in her and she looked up. He was staring at her, she stared back and suddenly all her doubts disappeared. All she felt was the powerful pull that was between them. The energy that seemed to crackle around them at this very moment. He reached over and placed his hand on hers from across the table. “Thank you Liz”.

“For what”?

“For coming tonight, for making me feel the way I'm feeling”.

Liz almost teared up at his words. Was he for real? She gave him a bright smile. The waiter approached them again accompanied with what Liz saw to be a very expensive bottle of champagne. She looked to Max and he smiled saying: “this is to celebrate us, here together”.

“I’ll drink to that”, Liz said as she held up her glass in a toast. As she took a sip of her champagne she looked at Max, she really felt like this might work out. She hoped it was not wishful thinking because she could not bear to be put through any more heartache. And she knew that if anyone could hurt it would be Max, only because she knew without a doubt that she was falling for him.
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

Max looked at his watch and was shocked at what it read. It was much later then he expected. He should have been at PLAY at least thirty minutes ago. He’d been so caught up in Liz that he didn’t even realize time fly. Their food was now long gone and they were on their third cup of coffee each. They were speaking of their time in New York, her schooling, and his business. Nothing too deep though. This was their first date and Max did not want to talk about his past. He knew he would tell her, but now was not the time.

“Sorry Liz, I hate to do this, but we should have been at the club half an hour ago”.

“We”?

“Of course…unless you don’t want to then…”

“Max calm down, of course I want to, I was just surprised that’s all”.

“Great, let’s go”.
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

Surprised was indeed right! Liz was totally taken back from Max’s words. It was the ‘we’, which got her the most. It was so long since she heard those words from someone that she was interested in. But coming from Max’s mouth the words seemed so…right. She and Max were going to the club together. They were a ‘we’ going to the club. It sounded weird but great at the same time.

Max parked his Bentley outside the club and young man rushed over to them and took Max’s keys. Liz assumed that was the valet. Hey, it wasn’t her fault she was clueless about the workings of the rich. With Max’s arm around Liz’s waist they proceeded to the entrance of PLAY.
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

Walking in Liz was surprised at the thought that it was only last night that she had come to PLAY for the first time. It was hard to believe that it was only last night that she had met Max for the first time. Was it really only yesterday that she found him? She shook her head in wonder, just unable to believe that before yesterday she had no trust in men. That before yesterday, when she’d meet a man that she was interested in she would always have doubts. Peter had stuffed her up big time.

One year ago

Liz was walking out of one of her classes, a smile lighting up her face as she saw one of her best friends Alex Whitman walking towards her. As he approached her she felt and a hand on her back. Startled Liz turned around, when she did, she saw Peter Copereli. “Peter, hey… “ Liz was wondering why Peter Copereli, the man that every female at NYU was lusting after, was approaching her.

“Hey Liz”

Liz just continued to stare at him, waiting. “Um, I was just wondering” Peter said “if you’d like to join me for a coffee at about six, there’s some things I’d like to discuss with you about our last class, the lecturer was going so fast that I could hardly take any notes”.

“Well, sure Peter, where would you like to meet up”?

“Say Tony’s” Tony’s was a popular day time hangout for the students, it was a café slash Pizza restaurant.

“Sure Peter, Tony’s it is”. With that Liz flashed him a bright smile and continued to walk towards Alex.

As it happened Peter did not want to discuss their class together, rather he admitted that he only asked her there because he apparently had been interested in Liz for months. Peter was smooth, always saying the right things and just knowing what to do to make Liz feel special. They were together for two months and Liz believed that she was in love. She was totally smitten, never questioning Peter when he told her he loved her. Never questioning Peter when he would suddenly call off one of their dates because his ‘grandmother’ was sick. Their two-month anniversary fell on the same day as Liz’s 20th Birthday. As a surprise Peter got her one of the best rooms at a five star New York Hotel. When they arrived he opened a bottle of champagne, toasting to his eternal love to her. That night they made love and Liz believed that it would be forever; little did she know that this was all a game to Peter. He’d had his fun deflowering the young virgin and now wanted to check out other avenues.

Three days later Peter turned up at Liz’s door unexpectedly. “We have to talk Liz”. The way he said that made Liz feel afraid. He said it quietly and in a very serious tone. “Is Maria here”? Peter asked.

“She’s at work, what is it Peter? Are you OK”?

“I'm fine Liz, look, we should sit down”, she led Peter to the sofa taking his hand, her eyes telling him to go on.

“Liz, I'm sorry, I don’t know how to say this, so I’ll just say it, I’ve fallen in love Liz, I'm so sorry, I couldn’t control it, it just happened. I tried to stop it but I couldn’t, my feelings were too strong…”
As Peter continued Liz felt her whole world collapse. A sense of hopelessness descended on her heart. She tried to talk but no words were coming out of her mouth. Then suddenly the tears started falling and she found her voice. “How long”? Liz asked softly.

“About 2 weeks”. That was all it took and Liz was hitting out at Peter with a vengeance.

“TWO WEEKS? You were with her for two weeks but three days ago you slept with me? You took my virginity knowing that you would break up with me”? Liz started slapping him, punching, trying to harm his beautiful face. But it did not make her feel better.

“Liz please let me explain”. Liz suddenly stopped, she had no energy left. She felt weak and defeated. “Please Peter, just leave”.

“Liz, don’t let it end like this…”

“If you ever cared for me, even at all, you’ll just leave”. She felt Peter look down at her, taking one last look before turning and walking away.
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

Liz tried to get herself to forget those thoughts. It served no purpose to bring up the past. The only regret she had was not finding a way to blow up Peter’s car. ‘Till this day, she had no idea why he slept with her when he was apparently in love with someone else. Maria would always day it was because he was a ‘dickhead’. Liz would smile and agree with her. Trying to forget about all that, Liz whispered to Max that she was going to look for Maria. She let go of Max’s hand, knowing that this time it would turn out all right. She could see from the look in his eyes that he was genuine. She had no intention of letting something this good go.

Part 7

Maria spotter Michael out the moment she walked into the club. But of course, trying to be as cool as possible prohibited her from approaching him the first moment she saw him. So she spent the first half of the night anticipating his next move. Making sure that wherever he was, she would always be in view. She saw him enter the male restrooms and cursed herself because it wasn’t like she could wait outside the restrooms, tapping her foot until he finished, so she decided to walk around, familiarize herself with what was now he workplace. She grinned, that sounded great. The new cub PLAY was now her work place. It felt good that finally her dreams were now becoming a reality. She could see it now. She would be performing, singing her heart out, and someone from the record company would come in for a drink and bam! They would sign her up and within a year she would be the biggest star in the world. Madonna, look out, Maria Deluka is coming!

Suddenly she saw Liz coming towards her, the look on her face alone told Maria that the date was a success. “Liz babe, I knew it, I just knew it. It went great didn’t it? I'm telling you I can sense these things, I feel vibes you know”? Maria was happy that her friend was happy. Her friends were important to her and to see them happy was all that Maria wanted.

“Oh Maria, I cant explain it, Max is so…he’s so, he’s just like this…he’s fantastic Maria, he really is”. Liz’s eyes took on a wistful look and all Maria could do was laugh.

“Well Liz since we have you all done and happy I think it's time we concrete on me, we need a plan Liz. Michael Guerin is about to walk out of the male restrooms at any second and I need to get his attention. I’ve been walking around the club all night, you know socializing, just doing my job but he has yet to acknowledge me. I'm about ready to walk right up to him and say, ‘hey buddy, remember me? Maria Deluka from last night, we were dancing, and you couldn’t keep your hand off my but all night’? I don’t know what to do Liz, I am like majorly attracted to this guy and he’s been ignoring me”.

“Maria, I cant believe this is you speaking, what ever happened to women power? I mean come on, you’re stressing over a guy who has not even approached you? He sounds like a jackass to me”.

As if out of no-where Michael appeared behind Maria and said “who sounds like a jackass”?

Maria looked at Liz, her eyes begging her to save the situation. “Well, um…you know there’s this um…this guy, that lives above us and he um…he breeds um…snails and well yea, Maria and I just think that he’s a jackass, right Maria”?

“Yea Liz is right, the snails are really annoying, and you know what snails are like”? Maria gave a fake smile to Liz, and a look that said ‘great going’.

Michael was the next to speak up. “Ah so you’re Liz, the one Max has not stopped raving about. It is you right, he did say it was Maria’s friend”.

“Yea it's me, but I'm not sure that he was raving about me”.

“Oh he was raving about you all right, in fact the last two times I spoke to him you were all that he was talking about”. Maria lifted her eyebrows in Liz’s direction and turned back to Michael.

Before leaving the two of them alone Liz pulled Maria towards and whispered into her ear, “remember what we said Maria, women power”.

“Of course Liz, believe me I have it all under control, I'm am going to work my magic and by the end of tonight I’ll have him wrapped around my little finger”.

“You do that” and with that Liz left the two of them alone, ‘great’ she thought, ‘now what am I gonna do”?
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

Alex loved going to places with Isabelle. Everywhere she went they all knew her by name. There was no more waiting in line at a club. No wait to be seated at an exclusive restaurant. Hell today a valet walked up he and Isabelle as they were getting out of the car an offered to park his car. He felt like a king, he felt like someone important. Yet there was a down side. Tonight he made a folly. He did a Julia Roberts in ‘Pretty Woman’. When the valet offered to park his car the man just stared at him. Alex just stared back, just wondering what they guys problem was. Then Isabelle took a twenty-dollar note out of her purse and handed it to the man. Alex felt his cheeks flame, his embarrassment so deep, he felt like… and idiot.

“Alex relax” Isabelle said softly, “this” she said while lifting her hands, motioning her whole world, “takes a lot of getting used to, believe me, I know exactly how you feel”. She leaned down and gave him a peck on the lips. After that Alex felt much better. Together they approached the club and predictably when the bouncer saw Isabelle walking towards him, he lifted the rope, and greeted her as she walked straight in.

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

Liz had been walking around the club aimlessly for a good ten minutes. She’s spotted Max but he was having a heated discussion with one of the bar tenders. She wondered what it was about. Shaking her head she continued to walk around when she spotted Alex with Isabelle. Breathing a sigh of relief she approached them, she snuck up behind Alex and covered his eyes with her small hands. Isabelle watched her with narrowed eyes. Liz gave her a small smile. Alex could explain this later.

“Guess who”?

“Oh, let me guess, are you really short, have long brown hair and wearing a turtle neck”?

“Alex”! Liz said while taking her hands away from his eyes and standing in front of him with her hands on her hips. Looking younger than her twenty-one years. “Have you been talking to Maria”?

“Yea I have, she called me before she left, relax Liz you look great”.

Isabelle spoke next; she seemed to be relieved about something. “Oh you’re Liz, you scared me for a while, I was wondering who it was that was placing his hands on my man”.

“I'm so rude” Alex said, “I forgot to introduce you, Isabelle this is Liz, Liz, Isabelle”.

“It's great to finally meet you Isabelle, Alex has told me so much about you”.

“Well it's great to finally meet you Liz, not only because you’re Alex’s friend, but you also have a connection to my brother I hear”.

“Wow, word does go around quick doesn’t it”?

“Yea it does” Isabelle said, “Michael told me that you’re making him happy, so that’s all that matters”.

“Well he’s making me pretty happy too actually, in fact” she turned to Alex, “everything’s going great, I cant imagine anything going wrong”. She looked to Alex’s face and saw that his expression was one of shock.

“Liz, I, um, look”

Liz looked towards the direction of Alex’s finger and was stunned, she saw a man with dirty blond hair, tanned skin, a strong jaw line and although it was too far to tell she knew he had brown eyes. She knew because it was Peter.

Part 8

Liz just stood there, immobilized, powerless. Tonight, with Max and with everything going so well she had finally decided to leave the past behind her. She wanted, NO, she deserved to move on. But now…now Liz did not know what to do, or how to think. Correction, she knew how she should think. She knew she should ignore Peter, but still, after a year the pain was still seemed so raw. It wasn’t that she had any romantic feelings for him. The only feelings she had for him were anger, betrayal and hurt. It was just that seeing Peter again, after that day in her apartment brought everything back. The pain, the loneliness and the worthlessness. It all seemed so surreal. This whole thing, what was she thinking anyway? Did she really think she could move on and forget everything? God! She hated the way she was feeling.

Liz knew that although her world stopped, the rest of the environment was functioning on a normal basis. The music was still blasting in the background. She could hear Alex ask Isabelle to fetch Maria. She felt Alex’s hand on her back, rubbing it. She heard him mumble soothing words but she could not quite hear exactly what he was saying. Then she heard Maria run up to her and grab her in a hug. She clung on to Maria tightly, not crying but just holding her.
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

Maria remembered that day when Peter had come to the apartment one year ago. She remembered walking in and finding Liz on the sofa, crunched up and watching one of the dull soaps that was playing on the television. Maria thought she was sleeping until she heard a sob escaping from Liz’s lips. Immediately she rushed to Liz’s side and cradled her as you would a child.

“Shh, Liz, you don’t have to tell me it's ok, it's ok, you don’t have to tell me. It's ok baby, it's ok”.

Maria and Liz stayed that way in silence, with Maria hurting for her friend and with Liz just sitting there and softly crying.
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

It had taken Liz two days to open up to Maria and tell her the whole story and Maria was not going to let it happen again. She looked at Liz straight in the eye and said: “Liz, remember before with Michael how you told me to be strong”?

“Yea” Liz said weakly.

“Well now it's your time to be strong. Don’t let him hurt you again, Liz please, don’t let him win again. Your stronger now Liz, you can deal with it”.

“I can”? Liz asked in a voice that was barely above a whisper.

“You can Liz”. Maria said with a smile.

“Uh…Liz”? Both Maria and Liz turned around at Alex’s voice.

“Yea”? Maria answered.

“You’d never guess who’s coming this way”.

The girls turned around both not able to believe that Peter was heading towards them.

Meanwhile…

Max was so angry, he was furious, it was the second night of PLAY and already he had to fire a bar tender for serving free drinks to his buddies. Now he was on bar tender short. Luckily it was nearing the end of the night and he could afford to have one less bar tender, but was he going to do now? He had to find another bar tender by Thursday that’s what he had to do. All of a sudden he saw Isabelle walking towards him, a serious look on her perfect features.

“Iz what is it”?

“Look Max, I just wanted to warn you there’s an old flame of Liz’s here and she seems pretty upset. Maybe you should go to her, try to comfort her”.

Max felt his chest tighten, “an old flame”? He choked out. “What is she still interested”?

“I don’t know, all Alex said was that it was a bad break up, I…” Without another word Max took off, circling the club, looking for Liz.

On the other side of PLAY…

“Oh my God Maria, he can’t be coming this way”!

“He cant, but he is, the bastard”. Maria said venomly.

“What am I going to do”?

“Just be cool babe, make him see how great things are going for you”.

“Do you want me to beat him up for you Liz”? Alex asked.

“Actually Alex, I think I can take care of it myself”.

As Peter approached Liz, she felt her pride swell. In that moment the world as she knew it took on a different light. The look of him made her almost sick. How could she have ever believed herself in love with him, was a mystery. She saw him now for what he truly was. A fake was what he was. Peter was a snake. He was all looks and no heart.

“Hey Liz, long time no see, how are you”? Peter said as if they were nothing but casual friends.

“I'm fine Peter”, she refused to ask how he was. He didn’t deserve any sort of questioning from her.

“Look I just want to apologize for what happened I was a jerk…”

“Yea… you were, but look, I'm over it”. And Liz was surprised to feel that she was. All she needed was to let go. She’d been holding on to the past in a way to avoid future intimacies. But she did not want to do that anymore. She wanted to be free to experience things such as love. Peter already took away her virginity without a care, she would be damned if she would let him take away anything else.

Peter’s words broke into her thoughts. “So do you think we can be friends”? He said with a smile that a year ago would have melted her but now mad her realize how foolish she was.

“I don’t think so Peter”. With that she turned on her heal and walked straight into the site of Maria and Alex’s smiling and proud faces. But there was one face that she wanted to see and it was not there. Max was nowhere to be seen. As she approached her friends she gave them a smile, telling them that everything was fine and that she was feeling great. She turned to Isabelle and asked: “Isabelle, where’s Max”? Isabelle looked at Liz in an apologetic way.

“Isabelle, what is it? Where’s your brother”?

“God Liz, I'm sorry, I went up to Max after I got Maria, he rushed right over, and when he did he saw you and Peter. I know it was totally innocent but he saw the way Peter smiled at you and…you should have seen his face”.

“What…what do you mean”?

“Liz, you have to understand something about Max, he’s not like other guys…”

“I know that Isabelle” Liz interrupted.

“No, you don’t get it, I mean; he feels things, like really deeply. The look on his face when he saw you…he was just devastated. He just walked off, I tried to get him to stop but he kept on walking…he cares about you Liz, that’s why he was so irrational. I’ve never seen him act like this. His feelings are deep, that’s why he reacted the way he did…” Isabelle could tell my looking at Liz that she felt strongly for her brother too. “But” Isabelle added, “He probably went to his place, you could go there and explain…” She said in a suggestive tone and a smile on her face. “Here” Isabelle wrote the address on the back of a card that she extracted from her bag. Liz looked at it shocked. Max actually lived in one of his hotel suites, and in the penthouse no less. Isabelle also gave her one of those card keys. “Here take this, if he’s not home, he should be but if he’s not just surprise him”.

“You’re the best Isabelle, thank you,” She said excitedly and she gave Isabelle a big hug.

“Wish me luck,” she yelled as she left the club in a hurry.

“You wont need any Liz, believe me” Isabelle said and then turned to Alex and to Maria who was now standing next to Michael. Funny with all the drama she didn’t even see him approach the group. “Great, Max is gone, now I have to finish up here, you know that you’re all sticking around after closing don’t you”? Isabelle said in a commanding tone. “That’s when the real fun starts”.

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………
Part 9



Liz felt like she had waiting for ages outside the club, just waiting for a taxi to take her to Max. She was feeling restless and very impatient. She was tapping her foot on the pavement, cursing under her breath when finally she a taxi heading her way. She raised her arm and waved it around trying to get the attention of the taxi driver. Seeming to take no notice of her, the taxi driver just speed right past her.

“Ass hole”! She yelled as she saw the cab disappearing down the road.

“Now that isn’t very lady like is it Parker”? Liz got chills down her spine when she heard Peter’s voice.

“What do you want”?

“I just wanted to say hi”.

“Well, you said it so goodbye”.

“I also wanted to tell you that I wasn’t very happy with the way you blew me off back there”.

“Piss off Peter, you’re the last person I want to talk to”.

“What do you mean”? Peter asked, as if truly puzzled as to why she wanted nothing to do with him.

“Think about it, or are you really that dense that you don’t know”?

“Why are you acting like this Liz, it was almost a year ago, cant you just forget it? By the way, in case I don’t see you happy birthday for next week”.

Liz saw red. She felt her blood boil. How dare he bring up her birthday after what happened on her twentieth. Without thinking she slapped him, hard across the cheek.

“You bitch, you… stupid whore, that’s what you are, I knew you would be easy from the first moment I say you. Hell, you were even easier than I thought. Just a few good lines, some ‘I love you’s and that’s all it took”. Just then Liz looked up and saw a taxi coming down the street. She put her arm and signalled the cab driver. Thankfully this driver stopped. But before she hopped in she turned to Peter and said: “A year ago I was naïve and wanted to believe everything you said. It's funny how much one can change in year. But you? You will never change,” she said in a dangerously low voice. “You will always be a bastard, therefore alone. You’re a heartless pig and you’ll always be that way. I feel sorry for you”. With that, she took the back seat in the taxi, closed her door and gave the taxi driver the address to the exclusive hotel where Max was living. She gave peter one last look, feeding her pride, as she saw the look of absolute shock on his face.

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

After the D.J played his final song the lights in the club came on. There were choruses of ‘no’s’ and ‘one more song’ coming from the crowd. But no matter what the crowd said, closing time was closing time. By the way, what the other patrons did not know that the real party began after the club officially closed. When the last of the crowd left the lights were once again turned off and the DJ put on one record and left the equipment unattended. The record that he put it was ‘The Best of the Doors’. Maria was surprised and looked towards Isabelle questioningly. “This is cool isn’t it”? Isabelle said to Maria.

“Yea it is, do you always do this”?

“Well we just opened last night, but all the clubs do it I think. After it closed, only the workers and some friends stick around and have their own private little party”.

“So what do you do at these parties”? Maria asked. She liked this idea. Only she, and her friends in the club. ‘The Doors’ playing in the background. It was heaven. They were all sitting on the couches in the corner of the club, when Maria turned to her side noticed a petite blond girl with curly hair making her self a drink behind the bar. As Maria looked at her she heard the blonde yell out, “anyone want anything”?

“I’ll have a Vodka Sunrise” Isabelle yelled back.

“Same”, Alex yelled out.

“Maria, what are you having”? Isabelle asked.

“Malibu and pineapple juice”

“Scotch and coke” Michael yelled out.

“Who’s that”? Maria asked Isabelle.

“That’s Tess, she’s a bar tender here also comes to NYU with mwa! She also…” Isabelle leaned in to whisper into Maria’s ear “used to date my brother”. At Maria’s expression Isabelle quickly added, “but…their relationship fazed out quicker then you could snap your fingers, there was nothing, no chemistry, so spark, nothing. But she’s a great girl, one of my closest friends”.

“Sounds cool, but just for the sake of well, Liz’s jealousy… lets not tell her”. Maria said

“Great idea” Isabelle replied.
……………

Liz felt that the cab driver was just not driving fast enough. She was very anxious, becoming more so by the second. “Look, I'm sorry to ask this but do you think you could speed it up just a little”? Liz asked the driver.

“Look lady, I told you before, I can’t go over the speed limit, unless you wanna get out and walk”.

“No that’s fine, thank you”. Still she could not stop feeling like this. She wanted to get to Max and she wanted to get there now!

“Here we are Miss” As she gave the cab driver the money she owed him she could not help feel somewhat afraid. What if Max wasn’t there? What if she had to wait in his room all night? What if he was with another woman? The last thought creeped her out the most. Shaking her head as if get rid of those thoughts she headed into the hotel.

As she walked in Liz could not contain the gasp that left her lips. Never in her life had she been to a hotel that looked this classy and she was only in the lobby. She started to walk to the front desk but changed her mind. Instead she spotted the elevators pressed the button and walked in. As she walked in she saw a man in hotel uniform standing near level buttons. As he saw her he asked: “What floor Miss”? Liz really had no idea which floor to go on so she quickly went through her bag trying to find the piece of paper that Isabelle had given to her at the club. She gave the ‘elevator man’ a small smile and said: “I’ll just be a second let me just look for the room number…” Liz felt her cheeks flame, the word ‘embarrassment’ was an understatement. Suddenly she felt a piece of paper. Not wanting to get her hopes up she took the paper out of the bag and with that the key came out also.

“Here it is”! Liz said triumphantly with a huge smile on her face. She showed him the paper. He looked at it, shocked.

“The Evans floor”? The ‘elevator man’ sounded shocked.

“Yea, why”? Liz asked. This man was creepy.

“Nothing, it's just…well not many people come up here. There are only three expanded penthouses up here and they belong to Mr. Evans, Mrs. Evans and Mr. Guerin”.

“Yea well, I'm special” Liz said sarcastically, where did that come from? Liz wondered. Tonight she felt daring, she felt as thought she could do anything. She faced her demons and was ready for the next step. Suddenly the elevator opened and the ‘elevator man’ led her to Max’s front door. Liz laughed at the term ‘elevator man’. She had no idea what to call him so she called him ‘elevator man’. ‘What a girl Max found’, Liz thought, ‘I don’t even know what to call the guy who pushes the button in the elevator’.

Liz found herself in front of Max’s door, almost hyperventilating. After what seemed like hours she found the courage to knock. At first she knocked lightly but there was no answer, then she knocked harder and louder and still no answer. After minutes of knocking Liz decided to let herself in.
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

Max sunk on the couch with a heavy sigh. His head was spinning, probably because of all the whisky he consumed when he’d come home after seeing what could very well be the love of his life leaving his life when she’d only just entered it. He lay back on the couch. His eyes closed trying to block out his emotions. Yet he could not forget the look on Liz’s ex’s face. He’s expression was one of supreme confidence. He had the look of a man that had what he wanted. And when he smiled at Liz, a smile that said ‘I’ve got you where I want you’ Max felt his heart, break. He was glad that he could not see Liz’s face, he was hurting enough. He didn’t want to see Liz’s reaction to Peter. If she had feelings for Peter at all…he couldn’t even think about it so he poured more whisky into his glass and drank. All of a sudden he heard a knock on the door, he tried to get up but when he did his head started spinning and he felt extremely intoxicated. Instead of putting himself through any more torture by even contemplating getting of the couch he simply lay back and closed his eyes. He heard many more knocks follow the first but was doing his best to tune them out. Who ever was there would come back tomorrow he thought. It was probably Michael wanting to demand why Max left so early, in turn, giving Isabelle the task of closing up PLAY’s second night. All of a sudden the knocking stopped. Max let out a low breath, waiting for the sound of footsteps walking away from his door leaving him in peace. He listened as carefully as he could in his drunken state but could not hear anyone walking away.

Max took a sharp intake of breath as he heard his door slowly open. He knew it was not Michael, as the only person who had his key was Isabelle. Isabelle was still at the club so all he could think was that it was an intruder. He didn’t know what to do. If he got off the couch he would collapse anyway so he choose to stay on the couch and let the intruders take anything they wanted. Although both options were not very promising but the stay on the couch seemed so much more comfortable.

When the door opened fully max was shocked that in fact it was not an intruder breaking in at all. “Liz”? Max let out softly.

He didn’t know why she was here, and at the moment he didn’t care. “Liz” he said more hopefully. All he wanted to do was take her in his arms and kiss her senseless.

“Max” she whispered as she walked towards him. He gave her his hand and she took it, just loving the feel of him. He pulled hr down towards him and she sat.

“I just want to explain about Peter”.

Suddenly Max remembered everything, Why he left the club and why he was so unbelievably drunk.
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

When Liz walked in the welcome she got from Max was overwhelming. He seemed to please see her. She thought that it would not be as hard as she thought. Her hope was sky high. Once she mentioned Peter he closed off emotionally. She saw the change in his face, in his eyes. For a moment she felt deflated. Rather than backing off, Liz only decided to try harder.

“Max please look at me, she saw him try to look at her but he could not look her straight in the eye. His head was…swaying. Liz then realized that Max was well and truly tanked! The man was so drunk eh couldn’t even look at her properly. “Lie down Max and I’ll explain”. And as she expected the second he hit the pillow he fell asleep.
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

Max woke up the next morning with a stiff neck and still dressed in last nights clothing. He was still on the couch. He heard noises from the kitchen. He turned his head and say Liz wearing his shorts and one of t-shirts cooking breakfast. He tried to think back to last night and tried to remember what happened after he got home from the club. His mind drew a complete blank. He had no recollection of last night’s events at all.

Part 10

Max’s awakening process was speed up one hundred percent at the sight of Liz. He was suddenly fully aware of his surroundings. He looked around the apartment as if expecting it to have changed for some reason. He looked back at Liz and yes she was still there, it was not illusion. She was in his kitchen making what smelled to be eggs and bacon.

She turned to him as if feeling that he had awoken. “Max hey, it's about time you woke up. It's eleven thirty”. Max was speechless; Liz acted as if it was perfectly normal for her to stand around in his clothes, making breakfast in his apartment. Then it hit him, hard. Maybe the reason she was standing around in his clothes and in his kitchen was because…because they slept together. They slept together and he did not remember a thing.

“Max, are you OK”? Liz asked, "You look a little worried".

Max looked at Liz and asked in a worried voice, “Liz, what happened last night”.

“What do you mean what happened last night, don’t you remember”? Liz asked casually.

“Ah…that’s the thing, I don’t remember”.

Liz turned her face away from Max so he wouldn’t see the small smile that she had. She turned back to him and said in a serious voice as possible. “You really don’t remember” Liz pretended to act hurt and shocked. “You don’t remember anything at all”?

“Sorry Liz, it's just that…”

“You don’t remember what happened last night? My God, I'm so embarrassed.

“Liz I'm so sorry, did we…you know. Well did we?

Liz looked as his pained expression, her heart constricting at the way he was looking at her. She decided to put him out of his misery.

So…you don’t remember passing out when I tried to tell you Peter means nothing to me and that I’m happy where I am in life now, with you”?

Max was dumbfounded. Firstly she was telling him that nothing had occurred last night and then she blurted out extra casually that she had no feelings for her ex! Liz almost laughed out loud at the expressions that crossed Max’s face. Confusion, relief and pleasure. Max almost jumped out off the couch, but was then confronted with a stabbing feeling in his head.

“Max what’s wrong”? Liz asked anxiously.

“Nothing, I think it's just a bad case of a hangover. I'm just going to take a quick shower and some aspirin. After that you and I are going to talk”.

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

As Michael walked a kitchen that was not his own, to make a cup of coffee his mind went back to last night. He loved the time of the night where there were not many people there. They had their own little private party. Only his friends and the people who worked at the club stayed back. He thought back to Maria and how in one weekend he had become so close to her. Last night after they had settled with their drinks he and Maria and talked, really talked. He’d seen how caring she’d been with Liz and he knew that she was the type of person that he wanted to be with. It surprised him, the fact that he could trust Maria totally. When everyone finally decided to go home, he didn’t want to say goodbye to Maria so he offered to take her home. As he stopped the car in front of her apartment they began to talk again.

“Maria, I really want to thank you for listening to me tonight…I cant tell you how much I appreciated it. You’re the first person apart form Max and Isabelle who knows the full story of my childhood. I was scared that you would have turned away. I mean how many people would want to stick around anyway”. Michael turned his face towards the window to hide his pained expression. He felt his eyes water at the memories that he had tried so hard so forget. Finding his mother passed out on the floor on numerous occasions. Bringing friends home and having her yell about how much of a hassle he was. And then finally, him leaving home at the age of sixteen to pursue a career in the art world. It had taken a long time, many years of struggling, hardly eating and many times having no where to sleep.

“I could never turn my back on you Michael”.

When Michael heard those words he could not contain himself. He turned to her, his eyes asking her if what she said was true.

“You can trust me”, with that, she placed her hand on his face and moved her face towards his. When their lips met Michael felt that finally he was at peace. They kissed for a while then Maria said, “So, you wanna come up for some coffee”?

“Sure, coffee sounds great”, he said with a grin. Both Michael and Maria knew that there would be no coffee made that night.

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

Liz heard Max enter the kitchen. As he did so she had just finished cooking breakfast. She looked at him and saw that although he did look better the poor baby still looked like he was experiencing some pain. She flashed him a bright smile and motioned him to sit down. He did so. Liz pushed a plate towards him.

“You know Liz, you could have just ordered room service. We so have this on the menu”.

“I know that, but don’t you ever make you own food”?

“Actually no, I don’t think I’ve ever cooked”.

“I don’t cook much either, in fact I hardly ever cook at all, but since you showed no sign of waking up early I decided to amuse myself. I mean really, how hard can bacon and eggs be anyway”?

“Not hard” Max said as he took a bite and had to control himself to keep from spitting it out. He never knew that bacon and eggs could taste so bad. “Can you just pass me the orange juice Liz”?

“Sure here you go”. She took the glass from the breakfast bench and placed it in front of him.

“Actually, can I can get the whole bottle, I love the stuff”.

“Ahh….OK” Liz said in a questioning tone. She watched him take a huge gulp of the juice, emptying the glass in the one go.

“So Max, what do you think of my cooking”? Liz asked hopefully. She had never really cooked a breakfast before. Always settling on cereal of toast.

“It's great Liz, one of the best breakfasts I’ve ever had”. Max said while doing his best to swallow the eggs he had just forked into his mouth. He pushed the plate away when he was half finished.

“Aren’t you hungry”? Liz asked.

“Actually, I don’t usually have a big breakfast, sorry”. Yea right! Max Evans usually ate like a starved man in the mornings. His appetite was always at its strongest when first awakening.

“Don’t stress Max, it's fine”.

“Aren’t you eating”? Max asked Liz.

“I don’t usually have breakfast, anyway Max, we need to talk”.

“Yea we do Liz”

They both sat in silence, waiting for the other to start. After what felt like ages, Liz spoke.

“Why did you leave last night Max”?

Max took a deep breath. Wondering how much he should say. He heard Liz before when she said she had no interest in Peter and that she was happy being with him. But what he was afraid to tell her was how he had fallen so hard, so soon. The last thing he wanted to do was scare her away. “I left because I didn’t want to stop you from doing what you wanted to do. I didn’t want you to feel obligated to me. If you wanted Peter I was not in the position to stop you. Also I was…I was hurt Liz”.

Liz walked around the table to reach him. She bent down and cupped his face. “So many missed messages, so much confusion. I'm sorry fro hurting you Max”.

“Liz, don’t apologize. It wasn’t your fault. You’re right, it was only confusion. I'm just…it's just that…” Max was cut off by the feel of Liz’s lips on his own.

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

After Isabelle awoke in the morning she decided to call Alex. She couldn’t keep the smile off her face every time she thought of him. He was her…everything. Granted they’d only been together for a short while, but in that short while he was slowly becoming her world. It had been only six hours since she’d last seen him but already she was missing him. It didn’t help that he gave her cheeky adorable smiles whenever he did something funny. It also didn’t help that he made her feel fantastic. Just being around him, listening to his voice put her in a great mood. She dialled his number and to his surprise he answered in less than two rings.

“Whitman residence”.

“Hey Alex”.

“Isabelle, what a perfect way to wake up in the morning”.

“You were sleeping? Sorry Alex I’ll call back later”.

“If you think you’re getting off the phone then think again, I was dreaming of you anyway and I’d rather hear the real you than just the thought so…” Isabelle felt herself blush at Alex’s words. How did she become so lucky? They had a quick conversation, basically discussing the day that was to follow. Last night Maria had mentioned having Alex and Isabelle over for breakfast before Isabelle’s classes started. Alex and Isabelle ended their conversation with the agreement that Alex would be over to pick Isabelle up in an hour. Isabelle hung up the phone and began to think back to where she first really met Alex.

3 Weeks previously

Isabelle had been leaving the University and walking to her car when she spotted a tall lanky man staring at her. She’d felt this man’s eyes on her quite a bit in the past and decided to approach him, as it was obvious he never planned to do so. As she walked up to him she saw a look of confusion cross his face and then turned his head as if expecting her to be walking towards someone else. Isabelle smiled at this. It wasn’t the first time a guy was nervous around her.

As she approached him she noticed that the look of confusion was still on his face. Trying to get passed that she said the first thing that came to mind.

“We must have the same taste in clothes,” Isabelle stated bluntly”.

“Excuse me” Alex asked unbelievably.

“It's just that every time you’re around I can feel you staring at me as if I'm wearing something of yours”. Alex blushed furiously at Isabelle’s comment. His face turning so red that it looked like it was going to burst.

“Ah, I'm sorry that I offended you in any way, it's just that…”

“It's just that what”?

“Well…how do I say this? I think you’re really um, attractive and I guess that’s why I'm always staring”. Isabelle was shocked to say the least. Never had she uncounted such honesty from a man. She also felt very comfortable around him.

“So Alex, what do you think about meeting up for a coffee? Then we could get to know each other better”?

“Sure”! Alex said a bit to enthusiastically, suddenly his features changed. “Actually I have a class now, but what about drinks tonight”?

“Sure, let me just give you my number and you can call me later on”.

That night Isabelle saw what she had been missing out on all her life. Ever since Max had struck it Isabelle had been dating men and not finding what she wanted in any of them. It wasn’t until she met Alex that she realized that what she wanted was someone honest, funny and genuine. But what Alex didn’t know that she was in love with him. She was afraid to tell him because she’d never said that to anyone before. Not even Max. With her brother they more or less took each other for granted. But with Alex the relationship was too new for Isabelle to drop such a bombshell. She would have to wait, but she just didn’t want to wait fro too long.

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

Alex found a great parking outside of Maria and Liz’s apartment. He went around the passenger side of the car but Isabelle was already out. He didn’t open the door for her and he probably never would again after the first time. The first time he did that he received the biggest ear bashing from her, hearing about how she could open door her self and that she was fully independent. He agreed to her giving her a blank look telling her that it was going in one ear and out the other.

They walked together to the front of the door, not noticing Michael’s car parked across the street. What they didn’t know was they were both in for a big surprise.

Part 11

“God, how many locks do these girls have”? Isabelle asked Alex while inspecting the numerous locks that protected the girls from any outside intruders.

“It is New York Isabelle, not exactly the safest place in the world if you know what I mean”.

“I understand Alex but this many? Come on, it must take them at least ten minutes to lock up and get in”.

Alex smiled at Isabelle’s comment, remembering the opening night of PLAY when he picked up the girls. They were waiting outside, freezing, because they could not be bothered unlocking the doors to wait inside. Isabelle turned to Alex in time to see a smile play across his lips. Automatically she felt a stab of jealously, she tried to contain it. It wasn’t her, she never felt jealous or even remotely insecure in a relationship, but now, it was…different. She knew that what Alex had with Maria and Liz was totally platonic but still…

“You really love them don’t you Alex”?

“Who”? He asked as he turned to look at her.

“Maria and Liz”.

“Yea I do, I mean, they’re my best friends. Alex had no idea of Isabelle’s inner turmoil. “By the way Isabelle, did I tell you how stunning you look this morning? Red is really your colour”.

In that moment all of her doubts and insecurities were gone. She turned to Alex and gave him a brilliant smile. As if not being able to help himself Alex leaned in and gave her a quick kiss. They shared a smile and resumed knocking.

“I don’t think they’re here Alex, I mean really, how long have we been standing here for”?

“Knowing Maria she’s probably sleeping, we’ll just have to wake her up” Alex said and knocked harder on the door.

Just then they heard a mumbling sound from inside the apartment. Isabelle and Alex turned to each other and shared a surprised look.

“Was that a man’s voice”? Isabelle asked Alex.

“It sounded like it, maybe it's Kyle”.

“Who’s Kyle”?

“Maria’s step brother, she hasn’t seen him in like a month. He’s got a new girlfriend and he spends all of his time with her, she’s been on his back about it. She hasn’t even met her yet”.

“Yea, that’s like my friend Tess, you know the girl from school and she works at the club”?

“Max’s ex-girl friend right”?

“I’d hardly say girl friend, but yea. Anyway ever since she met Kyle…hang on a second, what does Maria’s step brother look like”?

Before Alex got a chance to answer, the door swung open to reveal Michael Guerin wearing nothing but a towel.
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

From sitting on a chair in the kitchen, Max found himself in the indeed very great position on the couch. Yet he was not alone on the couch. Liz was there with him, they were both sprawled on the couch kissing passionately. Max was aware that they were going too fast too soon. He was almost at the point of no return so he decided to put a halt to things before they did something that they may regret. It was too soon, Max wanted to make love to Liz, not just have a quick roll. He pulled his mouth away from hers, it was one of the hardest things he had ever had to do.

By this time Liz was ready to rock’n roll and was therefore taken aback by Max’s actions. When he stopped kissing her she lifted her head and looked at him.

“Max, what’s wrong”?

“Sorry Liz, I just think that were going too fast…you know, too soon”.

“That should be my line” Liz laughed and she placed he her hands and proceeded to unbutton his shirt.

“Liz please, I'm being serious. I don’t want our first time to be on the couch, I want it to be special. Anyway, does Maria know where you are”?

“Oh my God Max, you’re right”. Liz said quickly as she scrambled up and tried to make herself look presentable. “I’ve gotta go, Maria must be worried sick”.

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

“Michael! What are you doing here”! Isabelle asked, shocked at seeing Michael wearing nothing but a towel answering the door to Maria’s apartment. “And put on some clothes, do you want me to go blind”?

Michael scurried back to Maria’s room, quickly waking her up from a deep sleep. His eyes rested on her face for a moment. Although she had eyeliner smeared across her cheek, she still looked like an angel.

“Michael what is it”? Maria asked in her sleep-induced state.

“Isabelle and Alex are here”.

“What”?

“Isabelle and Alex are here”.

“I heard you the first time Michael, what are they doing here…oooohhh.”

“What”?

“I invited them for breakfast this morning I totally forgot, my God, I have to get dressed. Michael, go and entertain them”.

“What do you want me to do”?

“Just go out there and stall long enough ‘till I get there ok? Ok great, now go”.

As Michael left the room, Maria had time to reflect on the previous night. Michael was fantastic. He really knew how to please a woman. Maria was no virgin, but before last night she never knew how fantastic sex could really be. Michael did everything right, he knew exactly what to do and when to do it. The look of satisfaction did not leave Maria’s face for the next twenty minutes. From singing in the shower to dancing while blow waving her hair. The girl was on cloud nine and felt as thought she would never come down.

As Maria walked into the kitchen where she assumed that everyone would be she found herself singing to herself. "My eyes adored you, though I never laid a hand on you my eyes adored you..." She continued singing until she found herself in the kitchen confronted with Isabelle yelling at Michael.

"At least put on a shirt Michael, and some normal pants, so you really think we want to see you parade around in nothing but you boxers"? Isabelle said in a loud voice to Michael. He'd been walking around in his boxers for the last twenty minutes.

"I think she has a point man", Alex said, of course taking Isabelle's side.

"Actually, I think that Michael looks great in what he's wearing” Maria said as she entered the kitchen and came up behind Michael, placing her palms on his chest.

"Yea, you would” Isabelle said, her face had a look of worry on it, but deep down she had to admit that she was happy for Michael. This was out of character for him. The fact that he was still around and smiling proved that. Isabelle was surprised to say the least. The lone ranger finally found a place to call home. But of course, given the reputation she had she felt obliged to keep up appearances.

"So ah...you guys had fun last night"? Alex asked Michaela and Maria.

"Alex"! Maria exclaimed.

"That's really none of your business” Michael answered.

"I think it’s quite obvious what happened here, Alex". Isabelle frowned Michael.

"Guys, what's the big deal, were all adults here, how about acting like it hey"? Maria said, uncharacteristically being the voice of reason.

"Look", Michael responded, "maybe we should lay off this subject, what happened last night is our business, so let's do what we were planning on doing and have some breakfast".

..............................................................................................................................................

Max and Liz pulled up outside Liz's apartment building. Before Max had the chance to go to the other side of the car and open the door for Liz, she was out of there already heading to the front door. *Just like Isabelle* Max thought. He really did not understand why women found it offensive for men to open doors for them. Isabelle had said something like, a woman can open a door herself, and she was not an idiot. She knew how to push or turn a knob. Then she would go on and Max would do his best to listen but in the end he would end up blocking her out, giving her blank stares and nodding when she expected him to do so. Liz's voice interrupted his thoughts, as well as seeing Michael's car parked out front.

"Hey great, Alex is here. Maybe Isabelle is here too".

"Liz that's Michael's car". Max said surprised.

"Maybe he came with Alex and Isabelle".

"Yea, maybe". Max said, but he had a feeling that, that did not happen at all. He caught glimpses of Michael and Maria last night. They looked pretty chummy...no! There was no way that Michael would have spent the night. It wasn't in his character. Yet still Max had doubts. Well he would find out soon enough anyway.
...............................................................................................................................................

Kyle waited outside Tess's apartment, waiting for her to come out. He decided to finally have Tess meet Maria. He should have done it earlier, but all he wanted to do was keep Tess to himself. But after hearing all the messages Maria had left on his answering machine, he decided to grab the bull by the horn and get the introductions out of the way. He knew that once the two most important women in his life met, they would get along like a house on fire.

Tess came running out of her apartment, wearing fitted jeans and a bright red singlet top. Sure the outfit wasn't anything special...but there was a certain way that she wore her clothes that made her look like she was coming down the runway of the catwalk. She approached his car and opened the door. "Hey baby” Tess said as she gave Kyle a quick kiss.

“Hey beautiful”

“So… I'm finally going to meet Maria".

"You sure are. Look Tess, I just want to warn you..."

"About what"?

"Its nothing really, but sometimes Maria can be...I don't know how to say it...ah...she can be a bit high strung a times".

"Relax Kyle I can handle it".


Kyle made himself relax prepared fro the worst, yet having no idea what they were about to walk into.


Queen of Sheeba!!!