They were pulled out of their staring contest by loud throat clearing behind them. Liz realized they had been blocking the door for the past few minutes. Max looked embarrassed, but Liz just kept on smiling and brushed past him into the class. She heard his short, sharp intake of breath with satisfaction.

It had taken Max a moment to return to Mother Earth after he finally heard the throat clearing and realized they were creating a spectacle…again. All he could think about was how beautiful Liz was as she stood there looking at him. She was close enough that he could make out every shade of brown in her eyes. Those eyes mesmerized him, and right now they were dancing with merriment. He wondered what she was up to… but all thought flew out his head when she squeezed past him into the class, her body brushing against his lightly. It felt like small electrical charges were igniting everywhere she touched him during the fleeting contact. It was all he could do not to haul her back against him and… ‘NO!’ his mind cried, putting an end to where his thoughts were going. He swallowed, following her to their lab station.

Liz was chatting to Alex who had taken up his seat at the station behind them when he arrived. But she turned around and smiled at him while he took his seat. She pulled her books from her bag and moved to stand next to him. Not touching him, but close enough that he could feel her heat against his arm. If he moved his arm a few inches… ‘NO!’ he cautioned himself again. He stared resolutely at the table top, willing himself into rationality. Liz seemed perfectly oblivious to the havoc she was creating in his body.

He vaguely registered that the teacher had passed their station and moved onto the next one, but he had trouble holding onto any specific thought right now. So, he was very startled when Liz suddenly leaned over him to grab hold of some papers that the teacher had left at his edge of the table. She was pressed against him for just a few seconds, but he nearly fell off his chair. Her soft hair brushed the naked skin of his arm where his T-shirt’s sleeve ended and he jerked himself away from her defensively, causing her to look at him enquiringly. Her face was close to his and he felt himself shake with the effort of not leaning in to kiss her. He couldn’t catch his breath. Instead he took short gulps of air that didn’t help to alleviate the feeling of dizziness threatening to overcome him.

Max was relieved when Liz moved away and took her seat as the teacher began her lecture. She was still casting him questioning glances, but Max avoided her eyes. He needed as much space between them as he could muster without being too obvious. What was she doing to him? The teacher’s voice sounded very far off and try as he might, Max couldn’t get himself to concentrate on what she was saying. The only thing that penetrated his haze was every little move Liz made. His body noted every time she pushed her hair back behind her ear. Every time she crossed or uncrossed her legs under the table. Every breath she took. How close her hand was to his on the table… Max sighed. He was losing it big time!

Liz heard the sigh and wondered what was going on with Max. He seemed in his own little world. She was a bit disappointed at the lack of reaction she got from her attempts at flirting with him earlier. After flinching away from her like that, he had stayed on his side of the lab station and had barely looked at her again. She decided to try something else…

The teacher had left them to their lab work and was sitting at her desk, marking some test papers from another class. Liz leaned closer to Max under the guise of trying to get a closer look at what he was doing and rested her hand on his thigh. Max made a strangled sound and grabbed her hand. "Liz! Please…" his voice was low and gravelly. He was looking at her like he wanted to drag her out of class and back to the Eraser Room. Liz was elated! So he wasn’t unaware of her before… Max continued to hold her hand and slowly rubbed his thumb over her palm. The feeling was delicious and Liz sighed his name: "Max…"

"Hey, you two!" Alex whispered urgently from behind them. "Keep it down or Ms Hardy is going to hear you." Another stage whisper joined in: "Yeah! We were waiting for things to start exploding from the heat over there!"

Liz and Max looked at each other guiltily. They had completely forgotten that they were in a class full of people. Max smiled at Liz: "Just… you’re driving me insane, okay. Let’s just get through this class, then…" His eyes drifted down to her mouth and he promptly forgot what he was going to say.

"Then… what?" Liz asked, praying he would say something like: then I will take you outside and kiss you senseless!

But instead he said: "I’ll come by the Crashdown and we can talk." Liz sighed. Then she remembered. Brandon and the stupid tutoring! She involuntarily gripped Max’s hand tighter, causing him to look at her sharply. She gave him a weak smile and tried to concentrate on the lab they had to finish.

Max was watching her with a frown. He was getting that ‘something is wrong with Liz’ feeling again that he had just before the period started. He hated this feeling. More specifically, he hated that there was something bothering Liz. He hoped it was something he could fix. He would have to talk to her about it after class. In the meantime he held her hand under the table whenever their work allowed it and was rewarded with a small smile from Liz every time. He marveled at how important it had become to him to see her smile.

******

When the period was over, they walked over to Liz’s locker together, Max still holding her hand. It just seemed so natural that he didn’t even think about it. "Liz, what’s bothering you?" he asked when they stopped.

Liz didn’t really know what to say to him. Its not as if Brandon had done anything specific yet. He just gave her the creeps. "Max, I have to tutor this guy the afternoon. He’s meeting me at the Crashdown after school." Liz hoped her voice didn’t sound as pinched as she thought it did.

"And?" Max obviously knew there was more to this story. He gently lifted her chin with his hand, looking into her eyes.

"Its just… its Brandon Taylor and he…" she stopped when she Max’s jaw tighten.

"I’ll be there when you meet with him, Liz," Max’s voice was urgent and he unconsciously pulled her closer. "Please promise me that you won’t be alone with him!"

Liz didn’t stop to wonder why Max is doing this. She was just so relieved that she flung her arms around him, whispering her promise and her thanks in his ear.

Max was caught off guard by her spontaneous actions and his arms went around her instinctively. She was huddling close to him, her arms around his neck and her face pressed under his chin. He held her, thinking that it felt so familiar to have her in his arms like this. Like she was the missing part of him that finally returned to take her place next to his heart.

Liz basked in the safe haven of Max’s arms. He smelled wonderful and she snuggled closer, pressing her face into the hollow of his throat.

Max felt her lips against his throat and all the desire he had been suppressing since she nearly seduced him in Biology came flooding back. He started to pull away from her, but didn’t quite manage it. Instead he ended up resting his forehead against hers, breathing in her Liz scent with his eyes closed. He knew he had to let go of her, but he seemed rooted to the spot. His mind was spinning. He was dying to kiss her again. What harm could one small kiss do? So he gave in and gently, softly placed his lips against hers.

Liz was caught by surprise by the soft kiss. But she had been waiting so impatiently for him to kiss her again since this morning, her response was immediate and passionate. She tightened her arms around him and lifted herself on the tips of her toes to get closer to his mouth that was weaving such soft magic over hers. She didn’t even realize that Max was using one arm to help lift her up closer to his mouth. His other hand was tangled in the hair at the base of her neck, angling her head for his kiss. The kiss deepened, their mouths melded together hungrily, tongues mating urgently. ‘So this is what heaven feels like’, Liz thought. Being in Max Evans’ arms…

"OK, this is the LAST time I’m getting the two of you off each other in public!" Alex’s voice was a jarring note in their little world of passion. He watched as they pulled apart reluctantly. "Sheesh, you two are really making the rest of us look bad! We only get lucky about… oh, maybe three times in three years!" The bell rang, interrupting any further heckling from Alex.

Max looked at Liz. She was looking so sexy with her mouth red and moist from their kiss and her eyes still heavy with desire. "I’ll see you after school…" he practically whispered.

Liz shivered at the deep timbre in his voice. His voice did magic things to her body when it held that particular note. She didn’t trust herself to speak, so she just nodded and took off to her class. It felt like tearing off a part of her skin, to move out of his embrace…

Alex watched Max watch Liz leave. "Oh boy, you two have it BAD!" He grinned. "She’s got you tied in knots and I’ve never seen her so besotted with a guy before. I must say that I’m enjoying Liz being at the mercy of her hormones over some guy for a change!" He stopped when Max looked at him strangely. "Max, buddy, pal… you are making that girl spin cartwheels over you!!! How could you NOT notice that?"