"Liz! Liz!"

She jerked her head up quickly, looking at Maria who was sitting on the floor next to the radio, practically bouncing up and down with excitement.

"It's the contest! You know, the blind date, man of your dreams, thing! We have got to call. The tenth caller wins and…"

Liz held up a silencing hand, closing her journal and lying it on the bed before going over to sit beside Maria.

"Why, Maria? I really have no interest in going on some blind date with some random guy that some radio station picked out. Just think about who you could end up with…"

She grimaced, and Maria rolled her eyes.

"This is about Max."

Liz sighed.

"No, I just told you…"

"Liz. Girl. I know you."

She glanced at the radio again, smiling mischievously.

"But if you want to spend your life mooning over our favorite resident Czechoslovakian, go right ahead. I'm going to try to get out, have a good time."

Standing, she ran over and grabbed Liz's cordless from the bed, returning to her spot on the carpet with a little hop. Turning up the volume a little, she waited expectantly for the prompt, fingers poised over the number pad. The DJ's voice flooded the room. Liz could see the twinkle in Maria's eyes as she listened.

"Okay, start calling in now for the chance to win an all-expenses paid date with the Man of Your Dreams! Just be the 10th caller…"

Maria clicked on the phone, and Liz watched as she closed her eyes and counted.

"1…2…3…4…5…6…7…8…9…10!"

Her eyes flew open, and her tiny fingers danced over the numbers, then raised the phone to her ear. She grinned widely when she heard the ring, and Liz smiled, happy for her. Maria's eyebrows raised when someone picked up, stating the name of the radio station, then falling silent.

"Well? Am I the 10th caller?"

There was another pause, and her face fell.

"Yes, you are the 10th caller! You've won the date with the man of your dreams! Congratulations!"

Maria let out a high-pitched squeal, doing a little victory dance in her place on the floor.

"Oh my God! Oh my God! I won! Liz, I won!"

Liz laughed, leaning over to quickly hug Maria.

"My name?"

She hesitated a moment, eyeing Liz who sat there, smiling at her expectantly.

"Liz Parker."

Liz's smile disappeared.

"My dream guy? Hmmm…tall, dark, drop-dead gorgeous. You know, out of this world. Shy, quiet. Sexy."

Liz's face was turning redder by the moment, but Maria just kept on. When she was finally done, and all of the arrangements had been made, she seemed a bit reluctant to hang up. She did so slowly, keeping her eyes on the phone the whole time.

"Maria!"

Liz's voice cut into her sharply, and she finally looked up to face her. She did not look happy.

"What was that?"

Maria shrugged and swallowed.

"I…thought it wouldn't..hurt..for you to get out of the house?"

She swept the fluffy brush across her cheek, lightly swirling it on her cheekbone, and then repeating the action on the other. Placing the brush down and inspecting herself in the mirror, she reached for her lipstick.

"I cannot believe I'm doing this," she muttered under her breath, quickly applying a coat of the frosty mauve shade.

Maria appeared behind her, holding a short black dress with a low back and square neckline.

"This is perfect."

Liz grimaced, turning around.

"Maria..it's..it's…"

"Perfect! Like I said…now put it on."

Liz just stared at her, a brush clutched in her hand. Maria laughed softly, holding the dress out to her.

"C'mon, Liz. I promise, you'll have fun. You've just got to loosen up, forget all your..problems."

Liz sighed, grabbing the dress and looking at it disdainfully.

"Alright. Fine. I'll go. But I cannot promise to have fun. Or even a slightly good time."

She shot Maria a warning look, who just held her hands up and shrugged again.

"Good. Good enough."

Liz turned away from Maria, dropping her robe and quickly pulling on the dress. When she was done, she spun around, studying her reflection.

"It's..okay, I guess."

Maria nodded approvingly.

"You look great, Liz. Gorgeous. You're going to knock him…whoever he is…off of his feet."

Liz sat down again and began pulling the brush through her hair. Maria came up behind her, grabbing the brush from her hand.

"Let me do this."

Liz nodded mutely, staring into the mirror and wondering once again what the night had in store.

She walked slowly through the doors of the restaurant, looking around her in wonder. This was Roswell's finest, their one claim to fine dining. "The Desert Sands" She'd never been here before, and it was definitely impressive…compared to the narrow variety of restaurants she'd eaten at in her lifetime. Large marble foyer, high ceilings, expensive looking art and vases scattered around. She'd been expecting much less. A woman in a cream-colored gown walked over to her, smiling warmly. Liz smiled back nervously, feeling a little out of place.

"Hi! Welcome to the Desert Sands. Will you be meeting someone, or do you have reservations?"

"Umm..yeah, actually, I'm the..winner of the radio contest."

"Oh, yes! Your dinner date hasn't arrived yet, but I'll show you to your table."

The woman took off and Liz followed, weaving her way through the spacious dining room to where she was standing and waiting. Their table was in the very back corner, two armchairs placed closely together. A candle was flickering in the middle of the table, the light bouncing off of the silver utensils and crystal goblets. Liz was left speechless, and the woman just laughed..

"I'll show him to the table when he arrives. Just go ahead, have a seat, have something to drink."

Liz only nodded, and then the hostess was gone again, leaving her alone. She stared at the table for another minute before moving to sit in one of the chairs, pulling it out carefully and sinking down into the plush cushion. She smiled a little. She could sort of get used to this. The chair moved beneath her, and she let out a little noise, whipping around. A pair of large hands rested on the back. Following them up, she finally came to her intruder's face. He was strikingly handsome-tall, dark hair, intense eyes. She found herself smiling up at him, her surprise from before disappeared. He smiled back at her, a warm and inviting smile that she felt drawn in by.

"Hi," she said shyly.

He moved to sit down in the other chair, extending his hand.

"Hi."

His voice was deep and gravelly.

"I'm Liz."

She placed her hand in his, smiling when he raised it to his lips and gently kissed it.

"I'm Nick…the man of your dreams."

She laughed, and he released her hand, gazing at her intently.

"They didn't tell me you would be beautiful."

She felt herself blushing, and suddenly realized what was so familiar about this stranger. He looked an awful lot like Max Evans. She felt instantly ashamed at the turn her thoughts had taken. Here she was, on a date with an incredibly handsome guy, and all she could think of was him.

"What's wrong?"

She hadn't noticed she was staring until he spoke, but she was…right into his deep brown eyes, which were filled with concern. She shook her head..

"Nothing…you just made me think of someone."

He smiled, understanding dawning on his chiseled features.

"Ohh. Let me guess..your boyfriend?"

She frowned.

"Well..not exactly."

"Well, someone you wish was your boyfriend."

"Sort of."

A silence passed between them, and she could tell that he knew what she meant.

"Let me just say that anyone that wouldn't want you has to be completely insane."

She smiled again, touched by his words.

"Thanks."

They chatted for awhile, about school and work and everything else. It turned out that he was a senior at her high school, and he worked at the movie theater. He'd been seriously dating a girl for 4 months, but she'd ended up cheating on him.

"So..how exactly did you end up here, man of my dreams?"

"I just sort of got bored of sitting around on weekends, and heard about this thing. You let them know if you're interested, they let you know if you fit the description. What about you?"

"Actually..my best friend, Maria, told me she was calling for herself. Then when she won, she gave my name instead, and described the guy for me. She said she was tired of seeing me mope."

He laughed.

"So you don't exactly want to be here, huh?"

She looked down at the white linen tablecloth and shrugged.

"Not at first. But now…"

She looked back up.

"I'm having a really nice time."

She noticed his blush in the dark room, and smiled.

"So thank you."

"Never a problem to have dinner with a beautiful lady."

When they had eaten their dinner and the dessert was on its way, Liz stood.

"I've gotta rind the restrooms."

He laughed.

"I think they're..right back through the dining room, and to the left."

"Thanks. I'll be right back."

Turning, she walked away from the table. But she almost tripped on her heels when she looked out through the huge, scenic windows that walled in the entire dining room. A small crowd of people, some armed with cameras. They all stared back at her, smiling and talking to each other. All thoughts of the bathroom fled her mind, and she turned again, practically running back to the table. Tapping Nick on the shoulder, he turned and looked at her, surprised.

"What happened?"

Wordlessly, she pointed back at the group of onlookers.

"That! What is that?"

He grinned sheepishly.

"You didn't know?"

"Know what?!"

"Well, they sort of announced this…said it was good for advertisement…"

She groaned, sinking down into the chair.

"Great. We had an audience the whole time, and I never knew?"

"I'm really sorry. I thought you did."

"It's..okay."

"Well, hopefully we've given our fan club a good show."

She couldn't help but smile. Turning her head, she snuck another glance at the people outside. She gasped when she saw who stood in the very back, trying to hide from her view. "Max," she whispered, feeling the familiar rush of anxiousness that came whenever he was near.

Nick touched her arm gently.

"Somebody you know?"

Looking at him, she nodded, and knew that he already knew who that somebody was. Another wave of guilt hit her. Peering through the glass once more, she was surprised when she saw who else was out there.

"Oh, God…" she groaned.

She looked back to Nick.

"My ex, Kyle, is out there. He's been stalking me ever since I broke up with him."

Nick laughed.

"Sorry about that. But I guess I can understand where the guy's coming from."

The waiter returned with their dessert, but Liz only picked at hers, thoughts of Max invading her mind. Nick was a good distraction, though, cracking jokes and trying to keep her thoughts away from her 'problems.' When they were done with everything, Nick looked a little wistful as he stared at her.

"I hate for tonight to end. I've had a really great time, Liz."

She smiled sincerely.

"Me, too. Maybe we could talk again sometime."

"I'd like that."

He stood up, pulling her chair out for her. She stood next to him, and he looked down at her.

"You know..they're expecting us to kiss goodnight."

She felt a slight flutter of guilt in her stomach.

"Nick, I…"

"I know. You don't have to say it. But how about…I help you make both of those guys nights a little harder, payback for hurting you?"

She smiled, truly believing that his intentions were sincere.

"Okay."

He leaned down slowly, and she closed her eyes as his lips brushed softly over hers. She saw the flash of cameras even through her closed lids, and then it was over. Opening her eyes, she saw Nick smiling down at her. They walked out of the restaurant together, going their separate ways when they got outside. She had never even seen Max run away.

He stared down at his feet as he walked, not bothering to pay attention to where he was headed. It wouldn't matter if he looked. He couldn't get the image out of his head, of Liz kissing that jerk. She'd barely known him for 3 hours, and she was already making out with him in front of everyone! And the worst thing about it was that the whole time, she'd known he was there. He'd seen her look at him. Then, as if to rub it all in his face, she'd kissed him. It had nearly broken his heart. He should've known it wasn't a good idea to go tonight. When he'd been listening to the radio that day last week, he'd been floored when he heard Maria's voice. And even more so when she'd said Liz's name. As soon as he'd heard that the listeners could come and 'view' the date, he'd made an instant decision to go. He had to make sure…whoever is was she would be with….didn't hurt Liz. Instead, he'd seen..that. Finally looking up, he spotted the glowing sign that seemed to blink just for him. 'Bar…hmm…' He'd never even been in a bar before, but he'd heard how alcohol helped you forget. And right now, he needed to forget. Without another thought, he headed straight for the entrance.

Liz swung her shoes lightly in her hand, walking slowly through the soft grass of the park. She'd gone home and tried to write in her journal, and even sleep, but her mind had been too crowded with thoughts. So she'd come here, her special place, where she could always think. Nick had been wonderful, and she had a good feeling that they would be good friends. But she still could not stop thinking about Max, and wondering why he'd been at the restaurant that night. Had he been jealous? Or was he jut passing by? She couldn't help but hope that it was the first. The only thing that had even convinced her, aside from Maria, to go on their date, had been the hope that her decision would perhaps knock some sense into Max. It was selfish and cruel, but she was nearing the end of her rope when it came to him. Sitting down on a swing, she let her heels tumble to the ground. Wrapping her fingers around the chains, she pushed herself a little, digging her toes in the dirt. She'd had a good time tonight, and thought that maybe if Max never did come around, she could learn to have a good time without him. As if to punctuate her final thought, a figure stumbled up into the park meadow, a small distance from her. She watched as they walked, crossing the field crookedly, stumbling every few feet. Her heart was pounding in her ears, becoming louder with each step the apparently drunk person took towards her. She knew that she needed to run, and soon. There was no telling what a drunk man would do to a young girl in a deserted park, late at night. But yet she found that she couldn't move, instead felt glued to the swing, only able to watch them nearing. And then they passed under the light of a streetlamp, and she saw their face.

"Max!" she exclaimed loudly. He grinned at her, stumbling again.

"Hey Lizsh."

She stared at him, unbelieving.

"Max, you're…drunk."

"Yep."

He walked over and sat slowly down on the swing beside her, promptly falling backwards and landing on the ground. Liz stifled a laugh as she watched him fall, struggle to sit back in the swing, and then fall all over again. Finally, he gave up and remained on the dirt, looking up at her.

"Why?"

"Why what, Max?"

"Why did you go on that…date. When you know I love you?"

Her gaze softened, and she sighed. At any other time, those words would mean everything to her, but…he'd probably forget about this tomorrow. And, knowing that, they just couldn't mean as much.

"I was tired of you pushing me away."

Even though he was drunk, Liz could see the pain in his eyes.

"Why did you kiss him?"

"I..wanted to make you jealous."

She could never be anything but completely honest with him.

"It worked."

They didn't speak again for another minute. Liz was thinking about what he had said, and Max was drawing little hearts in the sand. A car passed by, and Liz looked up, her eyes widening when she saw it was the radio station's van…and they were stopping! Springing up from the swing, she grabbed Max's hand. He looked up at her, grinning like an idiot.

"Yes, dear?"

Ignoring him, she strained to jerk him up and began pulling him away from the van.

"Run, Max!"

He seemed to be trying, but he just kept on tripping. Looking back, she saw that the van had started again, and was turning to follow them. Speeding up, she tried to help Max as well. She even considered leaving him, but she knew she could never do that to him. The road was just ahead, and Liz knew that if they could just get to her house, they would be fine. They could hide in the alley, and then she could carry Max upstairs and sober him up. But the van was close, and Liz was out of breath. They would never make it. She could make out the man in the passenger side, clicking pictures and talking.

'How great I'm gonna look…I just kissed a guy on this free date, and not an hour later I'm running around in the dark with some drunk guy.'

Random thoughts like those passed through her head as they rain.. What would her parents say? She'd forgotten her shoes. The Crashdown loomed ahead in the distance, but her lungs already felt like they would explode at any given moment, and her legs ached. She would have to stop.

And so she slowed to a halt, leaning against Max slightly as she caught her breath. His arms came around her, and she felt immediately safe. The van was beside them then, the man in the passenger side climbing out, camera gone but pen and notebook in hand. He approached them quickly. She sighed heavily as she felt Max's arms tighten around her. The man was just standing there, smiling at her with a crooked grin.

"Miss Parker?"

She nodded weakly.

"I'd just like to ask you…"

Liz cut him off.

"No, hold on! Don't say anything. This is not what it looks like."

She motioned to the arms around her, but made no move to remove them.

"He's my…friend, and he was…sick. When I saw you, I was afraid you were going to say some horrible things about me, you know-slander my good name! But please, I'm done running, and I'm just begging you to not say anything about this, please!"

The man laughed softly.

"I just wanted to ask you how the date went."

"She had a bad, bad time with that bad…person. Damn those humans. He was just lookin at my Liz like some piece of meat…I know! I was there!"

The man looked at Max strangely, who was now softly babbling to himself.

"Umm..excuse him..I had a great time, Nick was really sweet."

The man jotted down something on his book, still smiling.

"Okay, thank you. Have a good night."

He jumped back into the van, and it pulled away from the curb.

"I can't believe I did that! I am such an idiot..I just need to calm down and stop overreacting."

She found herself leaning back against Max again, loving the feel of his being wrapped up in his arms.

"Liz?"

"Yeah?"

"Do you like that guy? Really like him?"

"I liked him, Max. He was sweet, and he made me feel good. But..not like you, Max. I could only ever be friends with him. With anybody that wasn't you."

"Awww…that's shweet, Liz."

She laughed, reluctantly unwrapping herself from his arms.

"Let's go up to my room..I'll give you some coffee, and you'll feel much better, I promise."

"I feel fine now."

"Max! You're plastered! Do you know how sick you're going to be in the morning?"

"Huh?"

"Nevermind. You'll find out."

"Why don't we just…walk?"

He sounded so hopeful, and she couldn't turn him down.

"Okay."

He took her hand, and they walked slowly, not talking for awhile.

"Why did you get drunk tonight? Apparently it's not a habit with you."

He shrugged crookedly.

"I wanted it to go away."

"What?"

"The hurt."

Her heart contracted. She couldn't believe how selfish she'd been. Only thinking about herself, and Max had been hurting because of her stupidity.

"I'm sorry."

"It's okay, Liz."

"I love you, Max."

She held her breath. Maybe he wouldn't remember tomorrow. But maybe it would be easier that way. He smiled at her, that special smile that he saved only for her.

"I know."

He squeezed her hand.

"I just wish that we could go away…far, far away where nobody knows us. And just live happily…"

"Ever after," she finished softly.

"Yeah."

They had walked in a complete circle by then, and were back at her home again, standing at the bottom of the steps. Max grabbed onto the handrail with his free hand, and Liz helped him up with the hand she held. When they had reached her door, she began to dig for her keys, but stopped when Max reached out and opened the door with a simple flick of his hand. He laughed as they walked inside.

"Can't keep me out."

"Maybe that's not such a bad thing."

Flicking on the light, she motioned for him to sit on the bed.

"I'll bring back some coffee."

He didn't move, but nodded.

She willed her hands to stay still as she poured the steaming coffee into a cup, carefully placing the pot back onto the burner. She felt wound up, tense, like she had a lot of energy that needed to be worked off.

'I could think of a few ways…'

She shook her head, smiling impishly. It would be easy enough to seduce Max..in his condition..but she was going to have to hold back her 'urges'. Especially when her parents were just down the hall… Cradling the warm cup in her hands, she carried it up the stairs and into her room. Max was lying on the bed, already asleep. She smiled softly. He was incredibly beautiful. He'd taken his shirt and jeans off, leaving only his black boxers.

"Sweet Max," she whispered, placing the coffee down on her desk.

She quickly undressed, pulled on a T-shirt, and slipped into bed next to him. It had been a long day, and she had no problem falling asleep beside him…the real man of her dreams.