CHAPTER 2

      Maxima put the suitcases near the door and then looked around the house. It was way too quiet and way too big for her alone. The night was warm and pleasant, so Maxima decided to stay outside and enjoy the nightly breeze. What better way to say goodbye to the place that has been her home for the last seven years?

“Yeah… I’m going to stay here. I’ll doze off on the plane.” 

         She sat on the swinging chair, enjoying the quiet night. The street was empty, no one in sight. The lamplights offered the best light ever so that she could ‘spy’ on her neighbors without getting caught in the act.

         From her porch, Maxima could see Mrs. Right in the kitchen, cleaning and loading the dishwasher. Billie’s mother was the perfect housewife. The house was always spic and span, the kitchen was always ‘in full mode’.

         Spending time with Billie’s family has always been a blessing. And not only because of Billie, or her parents, who always made her feel so welcome in their house or at their table, but also because of Liam.

         Even if at that time, she was just fifteen, Maxima knew deep inside, without a shred of doubt, that what she was feeling for him was not just a teenage crush, but love.

         Love with capital L.

         It took just one look, and she knew Liam was the one for her…

         He was tall and gorgeous, with dark hair and dark eyes like the blackest night. He was cocky, funny, and, at the oddest times, as sweet as any nineteen-year-old could possibly be. And he was also very kind. She recalled that when she sprained her ankle, Liam was kind enough to drive her every single time, for an entire month, to the clinic for her rehabilitation.

         But for Liam, Maxima never meant much since she wasn’t blonde and voluptuous. Since she wasn’t a busty cheerleader, ready to say ‘Yes, Daddy!’ or ‘Whatever you say, baby!’ in a purring voice.

         Years passed, but her love for him grew stronger instead of fading. And now he was in town. Maybe she should follow Billie’s advice and talk to him… Open her heart to him...    

“Hi, Max.”

         Oh, God, that voice…  

         The sound of every letter that came out of his sweet mouth caressed her heart.

“Hello, Liam.”

“What are you doing here, in the dark?” he drawled, opening the waist-high picket fence that was protecting the yard from the street.

“Nothing much…” Maxima replied in a trembling voice.

“I see…”

         She swallowed hard before talking to him again.

“If you’re looking for Billie…”

“I’m not,” Liam said. “I drank more than my usual, so I took a shower and decided to take a walk and clear my head.”

“Oh… How was the party?” she asked.

“Ok, I guess… I swear, my mom thinks I’m still ten…”

“Nonetheless, it was nice of you to show up and celebrate your achievements with your family and friends,” Maxima said slowly, looking nervously around. “You made your mom so happy. You and Billie are her greatest pride and joy.”

“I know, but sometimes she is way too much…”

“All moms are.”

         Rising from the swinging chair, Maxima shrugged, shoved her hands deep in her pockets and took a half step towards the entrance. Liam got closer to the porch. His eyes were heavier lidded than normal, his dark hair still wet from his shower. He caught a glimpse of the suitcase and the other bags.

“Going back to college so soon?” he asked.

“Oh, no. No more college for me. I’m joining my mom and Vic in San Diego for a few days,” she replied nervously and shoved her hands deeper into her pockets. “From there, I’ll go to Florence, in Italy. My flight is booked for next Monday.”

         Maxima entered the kitchen hoping he would remain outside. But Liam followed her into the room.

“Really? What’s there? Some fancy college?”

“No. I joined one of the greatest cooking schools in the world. Mom and Vic have already paid for my tuition.”

“Why there? Why not New York?”

“Because I’m done with compromises, Liam,” Maxima replied calmly this time, meeting his gaze. “Compromising is what I’ve done for the past three years instead of following my dreams. I’ve watched Billie going to Harvard to study Law. I’ve seen my mom falling in love and getting married. Everybody around me got to fulfill their dreams but me… I never did what I wanted. And what I wanted was…”

         But she just stopped.

“What is it that you wanted, Max?”

         ‘I wanted a man who never saw me.’

         ‘I wanted something I couldn’t have.’

         Several moments passed with no answer from Maxima, so Liam repeated himself.

“What is it that you want?”

         After a moment of silence, a rare look entered her eyes and her mouth curved up in a sad, bittersweet grin.

“A fairytale life, Liam,” she finally replied softly, shaking her head. “I want the perfect job, the perfect man, a neverending love…”

“I never thought a knight on a white horse was your style, Max,” he responded.

“That’s because you don’t know me, Liam. You might know the dull high school girl, but not the young woman standing in front of you right now.”

         ‘Max, no… Shut up and leave him there. You have other things to do!’

         She shook her head slowly and headed down the hall, passing the recessed living room, her feet padding silently over the pristine white carpet. Pausing in the open doorway at the end of the hall, Maxima looked over her shoulder.

“I guess I don’t,” Liam said. “I’m sorry if I…”

“It’s ok, Liam. No one really knew my plans until a few months ago, so… I decided to build my fairytale, starting with this trip,” she told him, meeting his gaze. “Four years away are exactly what I need.”

“Four years?”

         Liam came towards Maxima and forced her to turn and face him.

“What about your life here? Your family, your friends? Billie? This house?”

“Billie understood and gave me her blessing. My family, too. As for this house… My uncle decided to sell it and asked Victor to take care of everything. He is going to be here in a few hours and then, we’ll go back to San Diego.”

“So, that’s it?!”

         ‘What’s with the third degree?’

         Maxima placed her hand square in the middle of his chest and gently shoved him back.

“Pretty much so, yeah,” she answered. “Now, if you don’t have anything else to say, I would like to take a shower and go to bed.”

“Ok… Then let me say goodbye to you properly.”

         He bent his head and his wet hair fell forward. Maxima could feel the wine in his breath. Was he still drunk?

“Liam, what…?”

“Shh…”

         Nervously, she wet her lips and his gaze fell on her mouth. Curving his hand around the back of her neck, Liam drew Maxima to him, leaned down, and pressed his mouth to the corner of hers, nibbling.

“Liam…” Maxima murmured, her voice shaky. “Liam, don’t…”

         Her mouth was saying ‘stop’, but her entire body was yearning for his touch, his kisses. Even if just for this time.

“Why?” he asked as he moved from the corner of her mouth to her stubborn chin, then down, to her slender neck. “I just want to give you a goodbye kiss.”

“You shouldn’t kiss girls you don’t like,” she muttered.

         His tongue painted circles on her skin. Liam pulled her even closer. Maxima fit against him perfectly. Curve to curve, she fit against his body as if she had been made specifically for him.

“Girls you… don’t… see…” she went on, shaking in his arms.

         Liam raised his head and looked her in the eyes.

“I never said I don’t like you… And just so you know… I see you, Maxima. I’ve always seen you,” he added. “Now, let me show you how much I like you…”

         ‘This will change everything…’

         A little warning light went off in some distant corner of her clouded mind, but Maxima easily ignored it.

         Just one kiss…  

         Maxima had been dreaming of this kiss for an eternity. And her dreams were nowhere near reality, she decided, as Liam crushed his mouth to hers as though he meant to devour her whole. She quivered under that clever mouth, quivered as he ran those long-fingered hands over her back.

         ‘This is wrong,’ she thought, ‘this has to stop. And I will end it… Here… Now.’

          As Maxima swore that, Liam pulled back just slightly to lower his mouth to her neck. The result was a shudder that wracked her from head to toe and back again as he left her neck to cruise back up to her mouth.

         Then, her arm snaked up and curled over his shoulders. This was every dream she had ever had, that Liam Right would one day turn to her. The feel of his skin, hot and smooth, under her hands, the press of that beautiful mouth against hers, the feel of his heart pounding against her own, that long lean body tight against hers, his arms holding her against him.

         ‘End it now!’

         She ignored it, the soft little voice that kept whispering her to stop.

         After so many years of loving him in silence, of desperately needing him, knowing she would never have him, didn’t she deserve something?

         Giving in now didn’t mean she was giving up on her plans…

         This would be the only chance she would ever have to be with him.

         With a murmur of assent, her eyes drifted closed, and her body went pliant.

“Oh, God… So sweet... Where have you been all my life? Forget Europe… Come to New York with me, Max,” he murmured between kisses.

         If she needed a louder voice to wake her up from foolishly dreaming, this was it. Maxima opened her eyes and pushed him aside. Then she took a few steps back and covered her mouth.

“Baby girl…” Liam whispered and tried to grab her by the hand. “Are you alright?”

“I’m not…” Maxima replied, shaking her head. “I’ve just lost my mind for a second.”

“Max…”

         She put a hand between them and stopped him from getting near her.

“No… Stay right there,” Maxima said, then took a deep breath. “You want me in New York with you? As your… what? Your weekly fling? Or are you ready to give me my fairytale?”

         His eyes locked on her.

“We’ll see…”

“Really? So, I should give up my dreams for an empty promise? A few kisses? A roll in the hay? How selfish are you?”

         Mustering all her strength, Maxima pushed him toward the door. His expression was stunned.

“I thought you were different! A MAN! But you are still just a drunken-ass, horny teenager! Coming to New York with you?! As if! I’m going to Europe to build a future for myself, and I’m going to forget all about you. Now, get the hell out of my house, Liam Right, and go back to your busty cheerleaders! Because I ain’t one of them! I'll never be!”

         Maxima slammed the door in his face, then crashed on a chair and cried silently, ignoring his voice and begging her to let him in.

         ‘I’m going to kill my love for you, Liam, or die trying!’