Accident Prone

Earlier that evening…

On the powerboat in the Pacific Ocean, about 15 minutes away from the US coast…

After a long hug, Max opened a second bottle of wine.

Max spoke to Liz while filling up her glass: "You said that you want to stay here. That is not a problem. We can stay here, but… what do you want to do?"

"What are my options?"

"I have fishing poles, we can try fishing. Also, we can go down and watch something on the TV, I have cards and few board games…"

"Food?"

Max thought for some time. "I didn't anticipate that we will come here, so there is nothing fresh. In the freezer I got pizza, and maybe cheese pie. We can go somewhere for food, or order delivery…"

"Peperoni pizza?"

Max smiled. "Is there any other?"

Liz laughed.

Since they confirmed that they will stay on the boat for some time, Max told her how it's better to return to the marina. If they stay here after the nightfall and the boat is unattended, it might be carried by the currents on the path of another boat or toward underwater rocks.

Liz was happy that Max made it clear why they need to go to the marina. She likes that he has the patience to explain things.

Liz observed the city skyline while Max drove them back.

They descended to the main level and Max confirmed that there are three large peperoni pizzas in the freezer.

"There is a cheese pie as well! Are you sure this is good enough for dinner?", Max asked Liz who was looking at the choices of board games inside the storage ottoman.

"Yeah, yeah… pizza is good.", Liz said absentmindedly and added: "And the pie sounds good as well…"

Liz was going through the choices and noticed that many of the games are unpacked. Other than dominoes and monopoly, she didn't recognize most of them, so she was reading the descriptions that they have on the packaging.

"Pizza is in the oven, cheese pie will be next and Bri and Mia know that you are not coming for dinner.", Max said when he joined her in the living area. "Did you pick something?"

"I'm still looking. Why are so many unpacked?"

"Rina bought most of these."

Max told her that this is his thinking place, but that does not mean that others don't come here. Liz was curious to find out who else has access to Max's thinking boat.

"Does she come here often?", Liz asked.

"Not really. I got this boat as a graduation gift from my family. Rina and Hunter came few times, but last time was one, maybe two years ago."

"How about Quentin?"

Max frowned. "Few times. Last time he came without me. He had… company. And they left a mess."

"You don't like Quentin here?", Liz observed that Max's mood fell at the mention of Quentin on his boat.

"I don't like messes, people touching my things and leaving them in random places.", Max explained. He noticed that Liz stopped checking the contents of the storage ottoman and added: "You are different. I don't mind you touching my things."

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"How come?"

"I don't know.", Max admitted.

Liz smiled and returned to her task to find a game for them.

A minute later, she placed on the table one deck of cards, two whiteboards and erasable markers.

Max read the label on the cards. "Crazy questions?"

Liz confirmed. "Cards have questions, we write our answers on the whiteboards and then share with each other."

"Why did you pick that game?"

"It's a game to get to know each other. Since we are going to be a couple for a weekend, it will come in handy.", Liz explained.

Max agreed with Liz. It's a good idea to get to know her.

Max shuffled the cards before placing them on the table, face down.

Liz placed her hand over Max's, preventing him from flipping the top card. "One rule: no lying. If you don't want to answer, say so… but you are not allowed to lie. OK?"

Max nodded, but Liz was not so confident that he will be honest. Well, she can't force him.

Question number 1: "Would you like to be a millionaire?"

Both Liz and Max paused. Their families are loaded, does that count?

"Can we go to the next one?", Liz asked, and Max agreed.

Question number 2: "Did you ever have your boyfriend/girlfriend break up with you?"

Both Liz and Max frowned.

Max remembered Irene and wanted to say to get the next card, but… how many cards can they just skip? He wrote on his board 'no comment', but then he realized how that is a giveaway, however there is no way he will write 'yes'… so he left it like that.

Liz was embarrassed. She never had a boyfriend-boyfriend, alright? She wrote 'no comment'.

"Ready?", Max asked Liz.

They turned their whiteboards at the same time. They could not believe that they have identical responses. Neither of them wanted to answer if they were dumped!

"You can just admit and write 'yes'", Max told Liz.

Liz's embarrassment swelled and she ended up blushing.

Max kept his whiteboard down. "This is not working, is it? Maybe we should try something…"

"I… never had a boyfriend.", Liz said.

"Never?", Max scrutinized Liz.

Liz kept her whiteboard on the table and narrowed her eyes at Max. "You can't believe I had none, and I can't believe you had a thousand."

Max was not sure from where Liz got that number, but he will not start an argument when he knows that he can't win. He never counted them anyway, and even if it's not a thousand, it is a big number and he should keep quiet. Talking about it will backfire. Big time.

He inhaled deeply and took his whiteboard. He erased 'no comment' and wrote 'yes' before turning the whiteboard to Liz.

Liz saw that Max had to force himself to admit this. "Was it so difficult to disclose this information?"

Max frowned. "It was a breakup which scarred me. Please, don't ask more about it."

Liz assured him how that topic is done. "OK."

Liz wanted to know more, but she can see that he is not comfortable. She thought that if the breakup scarred him, he must have loved that woman. She wondered when that breakup happened. Is it something recent, or old?

Her thoughts were interrupted by Max's question…

"How come you never had a boyfriend?"

Liz shrugged. "I tried few times between studying and work, but it never worked out. Can we not talk about it? It is not pleasant to be reminded that I'm… not normal." She lowered her head.

Max touched her chin and lifted her head. "Don't say that like it's a bad thing. Normal people are boring."

"Thanks.", Liz smiled and reached for the next card.

Question number 3: "Have you ever been to Europe?"

Both Liz and Max exhaled. This was an easy one.

Their answers matched: YES!

Liz elaborated her answer while smiling: "I went many times, with my dad. We would go for a day or two. We never stayed longer because of his work, but we made sure that every minute counts by enjoying local food and visiting few places. He always did his best to make it tasty and educational."

It was Max's turn: "I went few times with my crew from high school about a week-long stay every time, and a month…" Max paused and saw that Liz is watching him, expecting him to finish. He sighed. "Remember that breakup from the previous question?"

Liz understood that Max went to Europe with that person who broke up with him.

'If they went to a month long trip to Europe, it was a long term relationship', Liz concluded. She circled back to her question: did Max have that relationship a long time ago or is it recent? Her reasoning: if it's recent, he would not have his current reputation of a playboy.

Logical deduction based on what she knows: (at least) few years ago, Max had a long term relationship and the woman broke up with him; it was a big love (at least from his side) because he is still finding it difficult to talk about it, and that also means that he still has feelings for that woman.

Is it possible that the mystery woman is the reason he became a playboy? He was trying to drown his grief, or maybe find a replacement for her in his heart after she left him?

Liz was not sure how she feels about this. As a friend, she should support him and not care if he has any lingering feelings toward another woman or not. But she can't deny that part of her is... uncomfortable.

She gestured for him to get the next card.

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