Max and Megan Ch. 05

"Don't make me get down on the floor and beg. You know I will." He threatened.

"Max." She said simply, rolling her eyes at him.

"Alright," He groaned standing up. "You asked for it."

"No. Don't do it." She laughed at him. "Stop."

"A man's gotta do what a man's gotta do. Caveman stuff, you know? Good thing we're in a hospital, I might not be able to get back up." He grinned.

"If you get down on the floor I'll use your nickname." She threatened back.

"Ooo scary." Max quivered, feinting being afraid of her. "Anything but that. Meggie Poo."

She glared at him. "You're lucky I can't run, or I'd kick your ass. Maxi Pad."

"That does it. You're gonna get it." He got up from the bed he'd been sitting on and crossed the short distance between them.

She looked like a sick little kid, shrieking and cringing in anticipation from the dreaded "tickle torture". He knew he shouldn't get her all worked up since she was still recovering, but he thought if he stopped, she'd go back to having her guard up around him.

"What the fuck are you doing?" Jordan's voice interrupted Max right before he reached Megan.

Megan jumped to his defense. "Max was just trying to cheer me up."

"Sure looked like it to me." He grumbled and went to stand near her. Caveman for: 'Me Woman'

"Where is Christian?"

"He's with your dad." He shrugged.

"I'll go pick him up. I want to pick him up some things. I have no clue what kids are into these days. I think pogs and slammers are no longer the coolest thing." Max turned and went towards the door.

"Max..." Megan trailed off. "Thanks."

"No problem."

***

"I can get whatever I want?" Christian asked, astonished at the idea.

"Yep, anything your little heart desires. Just don't go over four hundred dollars, 'cause I'm not that rich. You can count now, can't you?" Max followed him as he stopped at the store entrance.

"Of course I can count." He announced in an indignant tone, as if Max should have known.

"Good, then you keep track of the prices, because I don't want to know how much I'm spending." Max grabbed his shoulders and steered him through the automatic doors.

Christian's green eyes were as wide as saucers when he realized there was a whole store of gadgets and toys, and he could get any of them.

"Just remember-"

"Four hundred dollars. Does that include a new bed for your place?" He asked looking up at him.

"No." Max groaned to himself. Who could say 'no' to those piercing green eyes.

"Awesome!" Christian squealed and took off down an aisle.

Max watched as he went from aisle to aisle picking out the newest video games and toys. He couldn't even say what half of them were for. But if it made the kid feel happy and made up for what he didn't give him in the first seven years, then so be it.

If only his mother could be sated in a similar way. An idea popped in his head. Maybe, just maybe, there was a way to do just that.

***

Max hung the only picture he had of his family together on the wall. He stood back to make sure it was straight. 'Good enough.' he thought to himself. He went back to unpacking the few boxes his life had been reduced to.

It had been a few weeks since he had seen Megan, she had been released from the hospital and was on the mend. He figured they both needed the space to think about things. He called her when he knew Jordan was working, though. He didn't want her assuming he was leaving again.

Their conversations were short and nonchalant. He kept hinting that he'd like to take Christian for the weekend, but she told him she was not ready for that yet. He'd reluctantly dropped the subject, wondering abjectly if it was a test.

Max had already purchased furniture for him to stay with him. It wasn't the racecar bed he had at Megan's, but it would do. She had insisted the things he had gotten the day Max took him shopping stayed there. All of his toys were laid out on the bed, waiting for him to be able to use them.

He sat on the bed, remembering something he'd forgotten to ask Christian the last time he saw him. He pulled his phone out of his pocket and dialed the number to his cell phone. Just this once he would have to be thankful he had a phone at his age.

"Hello?" He answered after a few rings.

"Hey kiddo, I need your help doing something top secret. You can keep a secret, can't you Agent?" He said mysteriously, as if he was giving him a real mission.

"Yeah. I mean yes, Sir."

"Good, here's what I need you to do." Max gave him very important instructions on his secret mission.

About an hour later, Max pulled up in front of Megan's blue rambler house. Christian appeared at the window, and ran out the door. He carried a bundle of a red blanket.

"You got the goods?" Max asked with a wink.

"Yup." Christian grinned and handed him the bundle through his window.

"Great, remember, don't say anything at all. I was never here. Right, Secret Agent?"

"Right. Bye, Dad." He waved and ran back into the house.

"Bye, Junior."

Max unlocked the door to his apartment and hung his keys on a tack sticking out of the wall by the door. He gently set the blanket bundle on the table. He sat down and carefully unwrapped the secret package. When he had finished, he held the item up. It was in rough shape, it'd take a lot to fix it. He would need to go online and see what he could do to set about doing just so on his new project.

***

A few rainy nights later, he pronounced to himself that the secret project he was working on was finished. He set it on the table and looked at his handiwork. It looked as near to new as it was going to get. He smiled. He hoped Megan would love it.

He walked it to his bedroom and sat it on his bedside table so that he wouldn't accidentally bump it. Who knew he could be so handy and creative?

Yawning, he flopped on the bed. He was extremely tired. As he lay there, all his thoughts subsided and he eventually drifted off to sleep listening to the rain falling outside on the roof.

A loud banging noise on the front door awoke him. He nearly hit the ceiling out of fright. Realizing he was in his room and it was just the door, he glanced at the clock on the table beside the bed. Two-thirty in the morning.

He got up and flipped the light on. It blinded him for a second or two before his eyes adjusted. He turned lights on as he made his way to the front door.

"Hold on just a minute." He grumbled at the knocking. Good thing he didn't have a doorbell, the person would wake the whole neighborhood.

He yanked the door open to see who it was.

"Megan?" Max opened the door to see her standing in the rain that was down pouring seemingly all over her. Christian was standing in front of her, soaking wet too. He nearly dragged them both out of the rain. He shut the door behind them.

"What's going on?"

"I caught him cheating on me." Megan cried, her short hair plastered to the side of her face.

Max was going to kill him, if only mentally. He swore. "Do you have any dry clothes?"

"No, he wouldn't give me the car keys. We walked here, I had nowhere else to go." She sobbed.

"Damn him. He should rot in hell." He growled. "You'll have to just wear something of mine. Christian has some clothes here." Max told him to go get his dry clothes and a towel and dry off.

He did as he was told and wandered off, leaving Max and Megan alone in his living room. Her face was beet red, her eyes showing brilliantly green against the redness. She was shivering. Max grabbed her and hugged her.

"They were doing it in my bed." She gushed, collapsing against him. The water from her wet clothing soaked into his where they touched. "She is supposed to be my friend. He is supposed to be my husband. But they were having sex in my house, in my bed, with my child in the house."

"It'll be alright." He said gently. "You need to get out of those wet clothes or you'll get sick."

She looked down at herself and began crying again.

Max scooped her up and walked down the hall to his room. Shutting the door behind them, he set her down on the bed. She seemed to be lost in her own world. She looked like a banished little girl, sobbing on the bed. He picked out an old t-shirt and went back over to her.

"Here, I'll go out of the room. You can sleep in here. I'll sleep on the couch." He tried to hand her the shirt. She didn't look at him or respond. She just sat there crying.

"Megan, you need to get out of those clothes. Your body is still healing." He sighed. He took the shirt and sat near her on the bed. He didn't know how she'd react if he tried undressing her. He tugged at her shirt.

"Lift your arms up." She did as he told her. He threw the wet shirt on the floor. She had on a pink lacy bra that under any normal circumstance would have turned him on, but now was not the time. He reached behind her and went to unsnap the hook.

"Max?" She whispered.

"It's ok, I'm just taking it off since it's wet." He assured her. She nodded feebly. He unhooked it and without looking quickly put the dry shirt on her before he could catch a glimpse.

He moved to her front and reached for her pants zipper. She looked at him, mildly concerned. "Relax, I'm just trying to get you out of your wet clothes. I promise. Besides, it's nothing I haven't seen before." He grinned.

Megan relaxed enough to let him yank her wet jeans off. He let her take off her own underwear. That would have been the end of him being a gentleman towards her.

"Better?" He asked after he had fetched a towel to dry her hair with.

She nodded, still shivering. Max stood up and pulled down the covers. "Climb in, you'll be warmer." She hesitated. "Meg, I'm sleeping on the couch, I'm not going to ravage you." Not that he wouldn't do that if she asked him to.

She crawled up the bed and got under the blankets. He tucked her in, and gave her a chaste kiss on the forehead. "Try to get some sleep. I'll get Junior to bed." He gathered the clothes off the floor, shut the light off and went out of the door.

Christian was already in his own bed, fast asleep. Max flipped off the light and went into the bathroom. He threw Megan's clothes in the sink, along with Christian's. He'd have to wash them down in the communal laundry room in the morning.

He walked back out into the living room and laid down on the couch. He closed his eyes and began to try to fall asleep. Of course, knowing that his ex-lover was lying in his bed wearing just his shirt was not helping him any. He suddenly was aware he was not alone. He opened his eyes to see a pair of long legs.

"I'm lonely in there."

Max sighed and sat up. Was she trying to drive him crazy? "Sit." She sat down on the cushions beside him. He hugged her, bringing her up against him.

"Thanks for letting us spend the night." She mumbled into his shirt.

"You and Christian are always welcome here."

"I'm sorry I'm a mess, and crying into your shirt." She sniffled. "It's just, he just..." She couldn't finish.

Max finished for her. "He's an asshole, that's what it is."

"She was my friend, how could he just do that with her?" She began sobbing again.

Max didn't have an exact answer. He stayed quiet, just sitting there holding her while she got it off her mind. He had hurt her too, however he never would have done that to her.

After she had settled down a little, Max stood up. He held his hand out to her. "Come on, let's go to bed."

"Max, I'm married." She looked up at him, her face slightly swollen from crying.

He knew even if Jordan cheated on her, she'd never do the same while being married. He supposed that was a good thing. "I didn't mean sex. I just meant to sleep in the same bed, as friends."

She took his hand and let him lead her into his room. She crawled in bed under the blankets. Just to prove to her that he had no intention of messing around, he laid on top of the covers. They soon fell asleep.

***

Max stirred when Megan rolled over. He watched her through slit eyes, knowing she would see his surprise sitting on the bedside table. He heard her gasp when she did.

"I fixed the broken chips and where you had it glued. I repainted it, too." Max rolled over towards her and propped himself up on his elbow. He watched her inspect the newly repaired horse figurine.

"Max it looks just like it did before you broke it." She said, speechless. "How did you do this?"

He reached over, gingerly grabbing her hand that had her wedding band on it. He slid it off her finger and threw it on the table. It clinked a few times around in a circle before it came to a rest. No words were said, but the meaning was not lost on her.

"It's time for us to be a real family, Meg." He said quietly, as she set the horse back on the table.

"Max, I'm still married."

"So get divorced." He shrugged. "Jordan is a loser. Take the house back and kick his ass out. If you want, I will." He wiggled his eyebrows.

She sighed and turned to look at him. "I don't think I'd want the house. Too many bad memories there. I wasn't comfortable being home as it was."

"And here, with me?"

"I'm not sure yet." She admitted.

Max saw the concern in her eyes. "Are you okay?"

"Max, really, I'm fine." She stood up. "Do you have eggs? Do you even like eggs, I forgot."

"I can cook."

"Like hell." She waved him off with her hand, placed her ring back on, and padded her way out to the kitchen.

***

"Mmm, something smells good." Max commented later that day when he came home from work.

Christian threw his backpack on the ground. He walked over and hugged his mom. "Hi, Mom."

"Hey, sweetie." She hugged him back, asking him how his day went at school.

Max hopped in the shower and washed away the grit from his work at the construction site. He had missed half the day, but Megan had needed him to drive her to her house. She refused to let him come in, he had to wait in the car. At least he'd noticed she'd left her wedding band behind. He dried his short brown hair off with a towel and threw it over the curtain rod.

He exited the bathroom and walked down the hall out into the kitchen. The apartment had a very open layout, allowing him to see Christian sitting on the living room floor working on his homework. He quietly walked up behind Megan who was stirring something on the stove and slid his arms around her midriff.

She inhaled sharply, clearly startled. "You scared me." She wiggled out of his grip. "Stew for dinner. It won't be much, I didn't have my car so I could only bring home what I could carry from the store." She shrugged.

"Smells good to me."

"Of course," She turned and grinned at him. "Anything would smell better than you are used to."

"Hey, I'm a great cook." He grabbed the large spoon from her. "Where's the microwave again?"

The sound of her laugh filled his apartment. Something so unimportant, but yet it filled him with hope for a second, or fourth, chance.

"You're a good cook alright." She rolled her eyes and went back to stirring the stew.

"I saw that."

"Good." She stuck her tongue out at him.

"Do that again and you won't like what happens." The look in Max's eyes went from playful to burning desire in a few seconds flat.

"I'm married." She walked past him and went to the living room.

Of course she was married. To a bastard. Even though she was not with him, and completely intended to file for a divorce, she still was going to carry herself as a married woman. Max supposed that it was a good show of how her characteristics were, but at the same time it was driving him nuts. The woman he wanted, needed, was in his home and life, but he couldn't have her.

Yet.

"When are you going to get that taken care of?" He asked.

"I have to find a lawyer. I want my car and belongings, of course. My dad will want the house back probably. That will be messy." She cringed. "I'm not looking forward to it at all."

***

"It's bedtime for you." Megan told Christian as she put away the dishes she had washed. "Go get ready for bed. I'll be in there in a minute to tuck you in."

"Can Dad do it?" He asked.

Megan froze for a second. "Yes, I suppose so. But I will still come in and say goodnight."

"Yay!" He ran off to get ready for bed. Megan smiled as she watched him go.

After Christian had been put to bed, Megan had wandered out into the living room where Max sat on the couch. She sat on the opposite end from him. "He likes you."

"I know. I like him, too." Max confirmed.

"He probably will be unhappy when he can't see Jordan anymore. He really liked him." She sighed.

"Meg." Max saw a tear threatening to fall. He reached over and pulled her to him. "It's not your fault."

At first she resisted, but after a minute or two of him holding her, she gave up and settled against him. "I know. It's just, how could I have been so blind and stupid? I knew he liked her, they always flirted but I trusted him."

"He's a fool." Max squeezed her. "But you have me, now."

"But for how long?" She quipped. "I didn't mean that."

"You did. You have every right to think that Megan. I've left you more than I ever should have." His hand rose up to touch the bandage that still covered her healing wound. "I blame this on myself."

"You didn't do it. If anything, you saved me." She looked up at him.

"It was my fault, not directly, but if I'd have never left in the first place it never would have happened." He sighed, the guilt from the shame washing over him.

"You're my hero Max. Without you, Christian wouldn't have me, he'd be alone." She soothed.

"I'm not a hero." He said with a little too much force. "I've done things that heroes don't do."

"It doesn't matter anymore. You can only be who you are, and let your past stay in the past." She placed her hand over his.

He looked down at her for what seemed like forever. Slowly, he leaned closer until his lips rested lightly against hers. He was afraid to move, to break the spell he had her under. She just as lightly kissed him back, and then snuggled closer to him.

Settling for all he could, Max simply hugged her tight, and drifted off to sleep.

***

"Mmm, something smells really good in here." Max walked through the apartment door. Christian followed Max inside, followed by Megan's father, Hal.

"Hey everybody. Dinner is warm and ready to eat." She tossed an oven mitt on the counter. She had impeccable timing it seemed.

Hal walked over and gave her a quick hug. "Hi Angel, how are you doing?" He asked.

"I'm good, Dad." She hugged him back briefly. She steered him towards the table. "Sit. I don't want the food getting cold."

After everyone had a plate full of scrumptious food, Hal broke the silence. "Ok, spill. You have a strange look on your face, like you did when you always were hiding something."

Megan stared at him for a second. A smile spread across her face. "Well, if you must know, I am no longer a married woman."

"Good. I never liked that boy." Hal smiled at her.

"Since when?"

"Since he waltzed into my house toting fifteen pounds of chains around his waist. I thought slavery was abolished, but maybe not." He shook his head.

"Max, you're being really quiet."

He looked at her. For a split second, their eyes met - his blazing with unmentionable flames, her's a brilliant green.

"I'm glad." He said simply.

A few moments of silence ensued as the group ate their meal. They soon were discussing all the latest news in each other's lives. Hal was still touring the country with his bodacious love, Max was busy all week with building a house, Christian had school, and Megan had been cleared to go back to her job.

"Maybe I should kidnap Christian and leave you guys alone." Hal wiggled his eyebrows at Max and Megan.

"Dad." She admonished him. "That's just wrong."