Accident Prone

Elizabeth and Brianna watched Mia walk to her seat.

"Mia is leaving us…", Liz sighed.

"Actually…", Bri hesitated under Liz's questioning gaze. "Quentin asked me to go with him to the planetarium after lunch. And you know how I like those 3D effects…"

Liz could not believe her ears. "You are also leaving?"

"Max is here. I'm sure he will not leave without you."

"Yes, but I hoped to spend time with you.", Liz admitted while missing Bri's hint.

"Don't worry, we will meet for dinner and take it from there.", Bri comforted Liz.

Liz and Bri waved at Mia and Hunter on their way out.

Olivia was right behind them.

"Thanks for the lunch. I will see you tomorrow. They will drop me off to my next destination…", Olivia told Liz when she passed by them and waved at Bri.

Liz looked at Max and Chris and thought how if those two don't get along, she will also bail on whatever afternoon plans Chris made. It's a weekend, and she wants to enjoy and relax, and the current friction between Chris and Max is impossible to miss and not pleasant. She wondered, what is wrong with those two?

Bri went back to her seat and thought about last night and that morning and this lunch while looking at Quentin who was struggling with last few bites of his seafood salad.

Quentin was on the verge of giving up halfway, but when Bri told him that she will go with him to the planetarium IF he finishes the salad, his vitality returned.

Bri observed Quentin's pale complexion and wondered if he will be able to keep the food down. She placed her hand over his, preventing him to lift the fork to his mouth.

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"That's enough.", she said with a smile.

He dropped the fork instantly and took few large gulps of his beer.

"Why didn't you stop me a hundred bites ago?", he whined.

Bri stifled a laugh. "Then it was not enough."

Quentin sighed. "All this suffering would be unnecessary, if you could read my mind and see how sincere I am in treating you well."

"I am not a mind reader.", Bri said matter-of-factly.

"You can ask Max about my intentions. That is the next best thing."

Bri turned to Max and remembered how much effort he puts into getting Liz's attention. Will he be more successful if he knows Liz's thoughts? Bri said that she will not help him anymore, but…

She tugged Max's sleeve.

"Give me your phone number…", she said softly.

Max raised his eyebrows in surprise and then told her his number which she directly entered as a new contact.

A minute later, Max's phone buzzed with a notification. He checked and it's from an unknown number… an audio file with a note: "Listen in private."

It took him a second to glance at Bri.

"You are welcome.", she mouthed to Max and turned to Quentin. "Shall we?"

Quentin was queasy from the food he ate but delighted that Bri accepted to spend the afternoon with him. He will not allow this nausea to prevent him from going to the planetarium with his fiery Goddess!

Max watched Quentin and Bri leave and he was itchy to listen to the recording. It must be relevant if Bri send it now. He can see in the properties of the file that it was recorded that same morning, 10:13 AM. That is the time he and Liz were in her apartment with everyone else… before Hunter arrived. Why would Bri send this? He was there… except, when he went to talk to Quentin. Now his curiosity was eating him alive. What did Liz talk about with the girls in his absence, important enough for Brianna to send it to him?!!

He does not want to leave Liz alone with Chris, especially not after he pushed his buttons in Liz's absence. Max hoped that Chris will snap and attack him physically, in which case Liz would definitely come to Max's rescue and despise Chris. But Liz returned before Chris blew up and Max has to admire his tolerance.

Thinking about the audio file that Bri sent, it can't be more than a minute, and if the snobby doctor didn't make any progress in weeks he is having lunches with Elizabeth, he is probably harmless. Also, his sour mood might push Elizabeth away from him.

"Excuse me…", Max said while getting out of his chair.

He headed toward the restrooms, found a quiet corner in the hallway and played the audio…

Mia: "And? What did you say?"

Liz: "I said that I'm glad that he can be honest with me."

Bri: "And?"

Liz: "Nothing. That's it. Should there be something else?"

Mia: (laughed) "Liz, that is so… you."

Liz: "I don't get it."

Bri: "When a guy tells you that he is interested in you, you should tell him if it's mutual or not."

Liz: "But he didn't ask any questions."

Olivia: "If he asked, what would you say?"

Liz: "I didn't think about it. I… I'm having a good time with him. And he is nice to me. Does it need to be anything more than that?"

Mia: "You plan to keep him in the friendzone?"

Liz: "Friendzone? I didn't think about it one way or the other. As I said, I'm having a good time with him. If things progress further than that, it should be something that happens naturally. Not because you said 'yes' or 'no' like flipping a switch."

Bri: "So, you are not opposed to dating Max?"

Liz: "Uhm… … … You know that I am focused on my career and proving to my father and to everyone else that I'm capable, right? Honestly, I never thought about romance or dating or anything like that which is absolutely outside of my comfort zone. But, that is how I always was, horrible with hints and with anything that can't be measured and scientifically proved. Dating is all about two people going out and sharing the thrill of new experiences while discovering each other, connecting on an intimate level. If Max says into my face that he likes me and he wants to date me and for me to be his girlfriend, I will think that he is joking. Why would a great guy like him be interested in a no-fun girl like me?"

Mia: "Oh, Liz, sweetie…"

…the recording ended.

Max leaned on the wall and listened the last part one more time just to make sure he heard it right.

He knew that Liz is interested in her career, and that she wants to prove herself. The new thing is that she is not dismissing him as a potential partner, and that is a good thing but… how is it possible that a brilliant girl like Elizabeth thinks that she is not good enough for a man like him? She said that she is no-fun, and that he is a great guy.

In the whole conversation, she never mentioned his fickle playboy partying, or that their photo ended up on that website and strangers made lecherous comments at her because of him, or that he deceived her by letting her think he is gay.

Max was convinced that he is making close to zero progress because of his lifestyle, because she is so much above him and she does not want to get involved with a guy like him.

Max realized that under all that successful-career confidence is a woman who is insecure, and he failed to see how fragile she is.

She is an angel... so pure that she can't see his dirt. Her capability to see only good in people always amazes him.

Max sent a reply to Bri: "Thanks"

Max told himself that Elizabeth is a gem, and there is NO WAY he is letting that snobby doctor or anyone else have her.

It is not too late. It is never too late to reconsider your priorities. And Max's priorities are to fix himself so that he is a man worthy of standing by Liz's side.

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