33 Elizabeth lef

11:44 AM

Max is in a good mood.

He planned the rest of the day for Elizabeth and him.

Lunch will be in one low key restaurant with a great view of the ocean. It's so low key that they don't accept reservations. It is a family owned restaurant with good food and affordable prices which is packed on weekdays during lunch hours. Max is confident that Liz will love it.

For the afternoon, there are few options. Since Elizabeth mentioned how she would like to be more active, he has options of paintball, skydiving or a hike. It all depends on her mood and how adventurous she feels. It's a sunny day, so the weather is cooperating. Perfect!

And of course, the day will not end well without a dinner. For that, he placed a reservation in a restaurant with a great view of the city skyline. It does not require formal attire, but it's almost there. The food is great, and so is the ambience with a live jazz music. Perfect for getting the ladies in a romantic mood… he knows that from experience because any lady he brought there previously, ended up in a romantic mood by the time entrée was served.

Max is all pumped up. Considering how Liz lowered her guard toward him already, today will bring them even closer together, and if his estimates are correct… tonight will not end up with ONLY a kiss on the cheek. Yup, he is confident that they will go further and who knows, maybe he proves her that he is not into guys.

He gave himself a final visual check which resulted in a wink and a double thumbs-up before heading out toward Liz's apartment.

Max spotted Olivia at the elevator and she glanced at him just before she entered it. Max thought how it's strange that she didn't get dazed while looking at him as usually, and she even looked… hostile. Did Liz tell her that they spent the night together and now Olivia is jealous? Maybe… quite possible. It would not be the first time that one lady gets in a foul mood because her companion got to him first. Yup. He is that awesome.

Max rang the doorbell of Liz's apartment once… twice… after the fifth time he was getting anxious. Why is she not answering? Now he was getting worried. They spoke less than three hours ago, she should be expecting him. What if something happened to her and she can't answer the door? He pulled his phone out and cursed when he remembered that he still does NOT have her phone number!

…

About 50 miles (80 kilometers) East from Seattle…

Hunter just ended a morning hike when his phone rang.

"Yes, Max?"

"Hey…", Max greeted Hunter. "Are you in the area?"

Hunter glanced at the forest around the parking lot. "Define area."

Max was not in the mood for Hunter's games. "Come on, Hunter. Are you in Seattle?"

"No. I just got off my hike and I'm about to head for a lunch with my crew. Why?"

"Can you call Elizabeth and check if she is OK?"

Hunter paused. "Why would she not be OK?"

"Because I'm at her door for few minutes now and she is not answering.", Max explained without too many details.

Hunter shrugged. "Maybe she is not home."

"I was there three hours ago and we agreed to have a lunch together. She should expect me."

Hunter frowned slightly while thinking about the current time. "What were you doing in her apartment so early in the morning?"

"Can you stop asking useless questions and call her?"

"Why should I call her? You call her."

"I don't have her number."

Hunter stifled a laugh.

Max sighed in frustration. "Please?"

"Since you asked nicely… I will call her.", Hunter ended the call and made a face. Since when is Max saying 'please?'. It must be important.

Hunter called Liz and she picked up after fourth of fifth ring.

"Hey Liz, sorry to disturb you…"

"Hey Hunter…", Liz cut him off. "I don't have much time to talk. Can you get to the point? The boarding started."

Hunter heard in the background a female voice: 'Flight number DL 182 to New York is now boarding at the gate…', and asked to confirm: "Boarding? Are you at the airport?"

"Yes.", Liz responded breathlessly while walking to the gate.

"Shouldn't you be having a lunch with Max?"

"That… Something came up. I got to go." Liz ended the call.

She turned off her phone and headed through the gate. Liz didn't want to explain to Hunter why she left and that right now she can't face Max. Her mind is a mess and she needs to clear it up, so she decided to go to the only place where she can find her peace and think: New York.

…

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Hunter looked at his phone for some time before calling Max.

"She is not at home.", Hunter said as soon as Max answered.

"Did she step out somewhere?" This was Max's best guess. She probably ran out of milk and decided to dash to the grocery store on the corner.

"Yeah. She stepped out of Seattle.", Hunter dryly said.

Max was not sure he heard him right. "What?"

Hunter took a deep breath. "What did you do?"

"Nothing. We are getting along fine."

"It didn't sound fine to me… Max, she is at the airport. And if the background announcement I heard is for her flight, she is heading to New York." Hunter saw that his five member hike crew is waiting for him to finish the call so that they can head to the restaurant for lunch. "I need to go. Bye…"

Hunter wanted to remind Max that Liz is an amazing young woman and that he should treat her well and not mess it up… but somehow, he has a hunch that Max knows all that already and it seems that he messed it up. Why else would she just ghost him like that? Well, it's none of his business. His brother is a grownup and he has the right to mess up his life if that is what he wants.

…

Max was standing in the hallway for a long time before heading back to his apartment.

No matter how he thought about it, Liz was fine when he left. So, something happened after that...

Is that why Olivia gave him a scornful look? Yes, Olivia! She must know what happened, but he has no way of contacting her.

Max didn't feel like lunch or doing anything. His mind was running in circles while unsuccessfully trying to figure out: what happened? Why would Liz just disappear without leaving him a note? No matter how rushed she was, how come she didn't find few seconds to ring on his door and to tell him 'hey, something came up…'? And if she was heading for the airport, how come she didn't ask him for a ride? He would gladly drop her off wherever she wants, and maybe even find an excuse to join her.

No matter what the reason is, everything points to one scenario: Liz doesn't want to see him.

Max's heart constricted at that thought.

Max got a bottle of whiskey from the minibar and didn't bother to get a glass. He drank straight from a bottle.

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