Chapter 12

Maxie is nuts.

I swear the thought rattled around like a billiard ball for about twenty seconds, while I stood there staring at him. He sat astride the motorbike like he belonged there and started at me with the stupid sexy lazy sort of smile. All I know about our day is that we are going to an art show later, that we now have a bike to ride around on and that I won't be home tonight.

Maxie said it was our anniversary, the day we'd sat on the hill and kissed and meant it. So much had changed. I was ... I had a boyfriend. I told people I had a boyfriend. No, I let Maxie tell people we were boyfriends. So I wasn't very brave. But I trusted Maxie. I had already told him every awful horrible little secret I had. I trusted him with everything, now I just had to trust him with my life. I pulled on the helmet and sat on the little seat behind Maxie. I found the foot pegs, but there was no bar behind the seat, so I wrapped my arms around his thick waist and hung on as the bike began to vibrate and hum beneath us.

"Where to pretty boy?" Maxie's voice was strangely loud in my ears until I realised that the helmets came equipped with a two way radio. Maxie kicked the stand, revved the engine and began to peel out of the parking lot.

"Somewhere different." I smiled and though of the poster on our wall, "Take me to Strange Land."

Maxie chuckled. I loved the sound so close in my head. I hung on. The train station was right next to the University, and we detoured through the campus, the green full of students who looked a bit like us, people who we might be. The bike attracted attention, rumbling with the low speed limit, a flash of brilliant green, and I grinned under my helmet at the stares we got. Proud, anonymous but proud, to be with Maxie on the back of a motorcycle.

The engine thrummed beneath us, between my legs, warm and hungry. Maxie's torso was hot beneath my hands, my fingers finding their way into his jacket to feel the hard lines of muscles and ribs. I felt my erection harden between us and clung on. I wanted Maxie, and wanting Maxie scared me. We hadn't moved past hot and heavy kissing and making out and the occasional moment when Maxie would wrap his hand around us both. I was desperate to touch him, to do more, but every time I steeled myself to try, visions of the Hyde Park bathroom flooded through me and forced me to back down. We drove through the city, the land sloping gently towards the sea, and my body thrummed with desire to the tune of the bike. Maxie's heart beat loud and strong against my hands, steady like he was, dependable, and I wanted nothing more to reach lower as we reached the sea and began to speed along the promenade.

It was a lovely day, early spring, chill but bright, the sea shone like a blanket of diamonds, the sky was clear and blue. I wanted to snuggle up to Maxie, but the helmet got in the way, and I didn't want to distract him. When his voice came through the speakers I was nearly surprised at how sweet it sounded. We'd quoted lyrics to each other all the time, but I'd never heard Maxie sing.

"I've spent so many mornings just trying to resist you/I'm trembling now, you can't know how I've missed you/Missed the fairy tale adventure/In this ever spinning playground/We were young together ... I don't want to be alone/That's all in the past/This world's waited long enough/I've come home at last..."

We left the city behind, travelling on the coast road that began to dip and curve, green to our left, white cliffs falling away into the sea to our right. And then we went over a particular ridge and everything was gold.

The light was amazing, the road curled and rose away at the other side of the valley. The sea is close, lapping at the stony beach. There was a beautiful white building, with flowing curves and railings, glass frontage and gorgeous art deco lines. I recognised the shapes, I knew it from the poster. We were really here.

"Strange Land."

"Yup," Maxie was slowing the bike, killing the engine, "You know they're from here? 'Sovereign Light Café' is all about it, they miss home." Maxie parked the bike and pulled off his helmet, kicking down the stand, "I really like it here."

I pulled off my helmet and stared at Maxie as he got off the bike. He was glorious, the sun striking gold from his cocoa skin, bright vibrant tones in his toffee eyes. He smiled, and it was perfect. I got off the bike and put my helmet down.

"How do you know so much?" I took his hand, wrapped myself around him, liking that I was taller and could place my head on his shoulder. Maxie squeezed my hand back.

"I'm secretly king," Maxie turned to kiss my hair, "I know everything."

"Really?"

"Sure," the embrace broke, "Come on, race you to the sea!"

We dashed across the road, across the wide stripe of green between us and the beach, I overtook him, stumbled on the round sea-washed stones as we got to the beach and Maxie half dragged me into the sea. We back out, chucked off our shoes and socks and Maxie waded back in. I rolled up my trousers and followed him into the bright sparkly mass that hurt my eyes to look at. Maxie's words rang in my ears, for all I wanted, he may as well have been king. We splashed in a sea cold as ice, but Maxie's laugh was big and warm, like a giant fluffy towel. When we were both nearly soaked we waded back to the beach, grabbed our stuff and collapsed on the green, or feet on the pebbles of the beach.

"I can't believe we're really here. For the last few months I have only pictured Strange Lands as a place in my head where you lived." The words were out of my mouth before I'd finished thinking them through and I looked up from my feet to find Maxie staring at me. His expression was one I had only ever imagined, one I had never seen in my dreams. Maxie looked like he loved me. It that moment he looked so different from Him that I couldn't understand my subconscious one bit. I wanted to kiss him, so I leant across the small space between us and did.

Maxie always tasted amazing, but now his lips were sweet, touched with sea salt, and he smelt like sun and sea and magic. I half pulled back, broke the kiss by a millimetre and Maxie followed. His lips were soft and warm on mine and I let myself get lost in the feeling as his tongue slipped between my teeth and pressed against my own. Hands in his hair, the thick silk locks between my fingers, the rough buzz at the back, and the cool breeze on my neck was replaced by Maxie's warm hands. We collapsed on the grass, still kissing, and I never wanted to let go.

A strong wolf whistle made us both snap apart and sit up. Maxie looked like a cat that got the cream. I looked guilty. The whistle hadn't been for us, and I blushed, hating that Maxie could see how easily I got embarrassed. He was staring at with me with a hungry expression. We were both obviously turned on.

"What is it about you Maxie?" I didn't really ask him, but turned towards the sea instead, the sun gold, "I never knew I needed you."

We walked into the little sea side town and got fish and chips, loaded with malt vinegar. Maxie tried to beg off the chips and I elbowed him for worrying so much about how he looked. We sat on a long low wall in front of the pavilion and ate our late lunch, watching the sun going lower, drying our clothes and turning the sky into shades of pink. Maxie smiles all the time and I felt my heart pounding it's way out of my body every time he looked at me. How in hell had I gotten this lucky? And what in hell was I going to do now?

We drove back to the city as the sun began to bleed into the sea. I hated to leave Strange Land, but Maxie's chest was warm and ridged under my hands and his voice was soft in my ears as he sung under his breath. I didn't recognise it, but the words warmed me from the inside out as the city spread out before us, covered in lights and the idea of o good night ahead.

"Hold on my heart/Just hold on to that feeling/We both know we've been here before/We both know what can happen...
"Hold on my heart/Cos I'm looking over your shoulder/Ooh please don't rush in this time/Don't show him how you feel...
"Hold on my heart/Throw me a lifeline/I'll keep a place for you/Somewhere deep inside"

The graduate show was in the biggest of the university buildings, and Maxie kept a hold of my hand as we wove between students, sculptures and paintings. We were handed champagne when we walked in, and the bubbles and lack of dinner made us giggly and silly. Undergraduates and their friends laughed and joked, and we waxed lyrical about paintings we knew nothing about, holding forth with our own less educated opinions.