158 Guys are kicked ou

~ Seattle, Continental Views building ~

Saturday

9:57 PM

Isaac and Max are in Max's apartment. They are holding onto a glass of whiskey each and sipping occasionally in silence.

What are Isaac and Max doing here by themselves? To answer that question, we need to return to the Anderson family villa and the dinner which was progressing from bad to worse (how Liz saw it).

After Mia and Hunter left, and Liz returned to the dining room to find nearly non-responsive Isaac because he heard that she is pregnant, Liz wanted to leave that place. There was too much commotion and those people are too meddling and she needed a breather.

Liz grabbed the chair backrest and swayed a bit.

"Are you OK?", Max asked with concern apparent in his voice. He was right behind her.

"I am tired and want to go home. I hope that is OK."

"Sure. We can go right away.", Max agreed without any questions. He wanted to leave this dinner fiasco as well. If he knew that his parents would act like this, he would find a way to persuade Liz not to go at all.

"I will join you…", Isaac followed behind them happily.

When Isaac heard that Max and Liz didn't engage in coitus, Isaac's mood shoot up through the roof and his already stellar opinion of Max improved several folds.

Part of Isaac wanted to stay longer for that chess game with Nathan, but Isaac is sleeping at Liz's place and he thought that it would be awkward not to leave the Anderson family villa together with her.

Madeline and Nathan apologized for the commotion, and Liz smiled without paying attention what they are saying. Max was ignoring his parents while Isaac promised to come and visit again soon. Isaac also invited them to come to his place when they visit New York.

In the car, Liz didn't want to sit next to Max (who is driving). She was upset at him, how dares he publicize in front of everyone their intimacy level? Maybe that is not big of a deal for him, but for her it's… traumatizing.

Liz sat in the back seat with an excuse that there is more space for her to rest. Isaac used this opportunity to sit next to Max and through the ride he was swooning over Max, praising him for being a gentleman and a true gem of a guy.

With every Isaac's word, the storm cloud above Elizabeth's head grew larger.

'If you like him so much, maybe he should be your son! Go ahead and adopt him!', Liz raged internally at her father because she knew that all this is just because he found out that Max didn't touch her flower!

…

When they reached the 31st floor of their apartment building, Liz exited the elevator first, with Max and Isaac walking behind her.

Liz stepped through the door of her apartment, and she didn't let go of the door handle when she turned to face Max and Isaac obviously not letting them go inside.

"Max, I will appreciate if you go to your place. I want some time alone.", Liz said icily.

Max frowned while panic reflected in his eyes. He can see that Liz's smile is forced and that she is upset.

"What did I do?", Max asked and shoved his hand into his hair anxiously.

Liz inhaled and counted to five before responding: "You don't know? Don't come until you figure it out. Even better: don't come unless I give you a permission to do so. If you use the passcode I gave you, I will change it."

Liz was about to close the door when Isaac put his hand to block it. "What about me?"

Isaac saw himself as an innocent bystander who got caught in the lover's quarrel, even though he didn't understand what the quarrel is about (and he was there). Is he being kicked out as well? He could not believe this!

Liz forced a smile and spoke through her teeth: "What about you, dad? You are very chummy with Max. Since he is so perfect, I'm sure that you can sleep at his place."

Max and Isaac stared speechlessly at the door with '31A' on it, which Liz closed on them angrily.

Max was first to recover.

"Uhm… I guess we can stay at my place and figure out what happened…", Max said awkwardly.

"Sounds good.", Isaac responded and followed Max to his apartment.

Back to present…

Max and Isaac are sipping whiskey from their glasses in silence.

Max is replaying the events in his mind and he can't figure out what happened. Liz was fine before they got in the house after parting with Hunter and Mia, so whatever it is, happened after that.

Max can't think of anything he did to get Liz upset. Is it because his parents thought that she is pregnant? No. He clarified how that is not the case. Or is it because Isaac praised him so much? Is it possible that Liz is jealous how during the ride home Isaac complimented him? No, that does not sound like Liz. No matter how Max thought about this, he came out empty. Nothing makes sense.

Max felt like crying. Does this mean that they are back to 'no touching' status? How long will Liz be angry? Will he sleep without Liz?

Isaac is in a similar mindset like Max. Why is Liz upset at him? What did he do? He heard that she is pregnant, and fine… maybe his reaction was a bit exaggerated, but he recuperated as soon as Max clarified how he didn't touch her.

Isaac smiled and looked at Max. Yes. Max is a gem. A true gentleman. Liz is lucky to have a man like Max by her side and he (as a father) will sleep peacefully knowing that Max is taking care of Elizabeth.

Isaac was back to frown while wondering, why is Liz upset at him?

There was a shuffling at the front door and Max perked up while thinking that must be Liz. Who else could it be? Other than Max's siblings only Liz has the passcode.

Max's lips curved into a smile while thinking how Liz can't stay away from him and she forgave him for whatever he did, and they will sleep together, and the door opened, and he confirmed how… that is NOT Elizabeth.

"Hunter? Why are you here?", Max grumbled.

Hunter's steps halted at the sight of Max and Isaac. He pointed at the bottle of whiskey. "Can I get a drink?"

Max gestured toward the minibar. "Help yourself with a glass."

Hunter poured himself a drink, sat on the sofa chair, took a sip, and looked at Max and Isaac before responding to Max's question (from few minutes ago). "Mia wanted to talk to Liz… without me around so… here I am."

Max looked at Hunter who took a big gulp of whiskey. Hunter is not a drinker, so something is wrong.

"I thought that you and Mia are doing fine. Did something happen?", Max asked Hunter.

Hunter sighed. "I am not sure, but since we left the dinner event, Mia is… distant. And I have a bad feeling about this."

"Is this about her family?", Isaac asked Hunter.

"I really don't know. She is not saying anything." Hunter shook his head helplessly.

Isaac tried to find out more: "Is this your first challenge as a couple?"

"Yeah.", Hunter admitted. "So far we were happy, and everything was going smoothly. Maybe it was too smoothly. It makes me wonder if she was giving me hints earlier that something is off, but I was so smitten that I didn't see them. We don't know each other for a long time, but I can't imagine my life without her."

"Maybe it's not that bad.", Max offered words of comfort. He saw that Hunter is looking at him and expecting to hear more, so Max added: "You rushed with everything. Moving in, proposing to her. And tonight you spoke about marriage. I can see that Mia loves you, but maybe you are moving too fast and that is making her anxious. Women have more things going on than men."

Isaac nodded in agreement and added: "Men are much simpler creatures compared to women who tend to overthink things. From your point of view, the two of you are getting along well and you want to take it to the next level, while she sees obstacles in the future and until she finds solutions to those obstacles, she can't be at ease."

"I wish that she tells me what those imaginary obstacles are, so that we can overcome them together.", Hunter said.

"Mia is a strong woman who wants to handle her own problems.", Isaac offered his insights.

Hunter's expression could not conceal how troubled he is. Hunter hopes that he and Mia will share everything, and that includes problems as well. Mia is isolating him by keeping things for herself and he finds the current situation suffocating.

After some silence, Hunter lifted his gaze and observed Max and Isaac. "Why are the two of you here?"

Hunter expected that the apartment will be empty, and his plan was to sit here until Mia talks to Liz, so that as soon as they finish he can join Mia with hope that her mood will be better.

"Liz kicked us out.", Max responded to Hunter's question bluntly.

Isaac wanted to correct Max because his words are harsh, but they are true. He took another sip of his drink.

Hunter could not hide his surprise. "Kicked you out? Why?"

Max shrugged indicating that he is not sure. "After you left, we stayed for about ten more minutes… Mom told Isaac that Liz is pregnant...", Max started telling Hunter what happened, and Isaac added his perspective as well. Both were hoping that Hunter will be able to figure out what made Liz upset.

Women are troublesome…

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