They stare into each other's eyes for a few minutes.
Hearts racing and both feeling their worlds shifting.
Looking down at the gold band that lays in her palm, she smiles and then surprises him. Taking his left hand, she slides the ring back on his finger- confusing him- his face growing long and confused, slightly hurt by this.
As she looks back up at him, her small smile resting on her face and soft eyes looming up at him.
"Wow...I...um....I guess I misread..." He begins to say and she shakes her head.
"You didn't misread. I love that you're ready- or at least ready to try- but that ring is still precious and important. It always will be- no matter where you are in life. So don't lose it. Alright? I don't care if you wear it or not. It's Georgia...and even if that's just one of the things that keeps her alive in your heart and in Luna's...then you should wear it." A few tears sting his eyes and she wipes them away with the pads of the thumbs and brings his face down to kiss her. "I just wanted to know you were ready- that didn't mean you had to take off your wedding band."
He nods and slides the band off his finger. She looks at him as if he isn't understanding what she's saying, but he slides it onto his right hand.
"There..." He quietly says and she smiles softly at him.
"You're so sweet." Leaning down, he hesitantly pulls her closer and kisses her lips- a slight tremble flowing through both of them. She knows it's a lot for him. She knows that that was a very big step and deal. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah..."
"We don't have to move forward this fast. I don't want to rush you at all, Max. That's never been my intention."
"No, I know. I...can I be honest with you...I mean I'd never lie to you...I just..." Cupping his face, she smiles and leaves a small kiss on his lips.
"Of course... how about we sit down." He nods at her suggest and she leads him to his couch. Sitting down they face inward towards each other and she looks him over- wondering what's bothering him.
"Okay...so um...you remember that night in your office last year."
"Hmph...yes, I remember." She smirks and he nods a couple of times- feeling anxious and not sure how to say what he needs too.
"Right....yeah....um...see..." He doesn't know if he should tell her this or if he should keep it to himself. He just knows that he wants to always be honest with her.
"Max, just relax and take a deep breath." She instructs and nods before he tries again.
"Huh...you...um...do you remember that woman I told you about...the one with the baby..."
"Yes." Confusion washes over her as she listens to him.
"Okay, well...um. Her name is Alice and we were hanging out and she had lost her husband a year before this and we wanted to be just friends and we were...I would watch the kids while she did gigs or whatever..."
"Max...you don't need to..."
"No...Helen- I do... I want to be honest with you." He squeezes her hands slightly in his before releasing them to push his fingers through his hair. "Well, one night...for whatever reason...we um...we...shared a...a moment."
She really doesn't want to hear this, but she sits there patiently and listens.
"And the next morning we...um...we got...you know...um...physical." She bites her inner cheek, but tries to remain neutral. "Well that was the day that everything happened between you and Castro and...and that night...when I asked you why— I...I didn't expect you to say what you had and...and I wanted to...to tell you that I reciprocated your feelings and that I had always had a...a thing for you...but um...I...I felt guilty because of what I'd done and...and I...that's why I didn't say...say anything to you. I wanted to tell you now because...because I don't want to go forward in this with that guilt and I just want to be open with you always."
His stuttering and stammering calms her racing heart. Not every man would willingly tell the woman he intends on being with that the reason he didn't confess his feelings was because he shagged another woman that morning.
"Did you two ever...be intimate after that? Like during the time you ogled my dress?" He looks at her and shakes his head.
"No...it was only the one time. We would hang out, but nothing intimate."
"Do you two still talk?"
"No... we went our separate ways after I told her I wasn't ready to be in that kind of relationship." When he says it, she feels like she was a second choice.
"So...when you are ready..." He senses her jealousy and knowing that fact that Alice was the first person he was with after Georgia- kinda hurts Helen deeply. Like he almost didn't trust her enough to be with her.
"No...no Helen, I walked away from her because I wanted you. It's always been you...but I wasn't there yet...I just didn't want to lead her on- giving her hope that it would've turned into something more than what it was." She looks down and feels an odd tightening in her chest. "I didn't want to lie to you."
"Well...thank you for telling me. That was very brave and slightly unnecessary...but regardless- I appreciate you wanting me to know."
"Are you upset?"
"No, Max. I'm not upset. Haha- I just never expected any man to willingly tell me he shagged someone before us." Looking down, he feels the tension in her voice. He knows it bothers her and she's probably doubting everything right now.
"I'm sorry."
"You don't need to be sorry, Max. You don't have anything to be sorry for. It's not like it changes anything. It doesn't change the way I feel about you...and it's not like it's a horrible thing to begin with. People sleep with people all the time." Max looks her over and is curious- though he shouldn't be.
"Did you and Cassian ever..."
"Yes...We went to Thai food the week he started- it was one time..." He nods and then he thinks hard about it.
"Is that why you didn't do papers with me?"
"Yes- I won't lie to you. I was intrigued by Cassian and...and I needed a distraction and sitting and doing paperwork with you after everything happened didn't sound like a great way to de-stress and figure things out." If he's going to be honest with her, then at least she can be honest with him. "So yes, I slept with Cassian once."
His blood boils slightly and he can't hide that.
"Would you have slept with him tonight?"
"What? No! Max, I had lost interest in him a long time ago. He and I can only be friends. After the other night when you confessed how you feel about me- I wrote him off. I'm not interested in him. I don't think I ever really was." They gaze into each other's eyes and the magnitude between them becomes stronger.
"Sorry...I'm not Switzerland."
"Haha, well neither am I."
"Haha..."
"Anything else you want me to know?" She asks him teasingly and he becomes very serious. "Oh God, what?"
"Huh...I should tell you this now."
"Max?" He looks like he's about to cry and she begins to seriously worry.
"It's just so hard to say..."
"Max...what is it?"
"Helen....I'm the reason there will be crumbs in the bed." He feigns agony and then begins to laugh and her shocked worried lips begin to twitch. "Hahahaha..."
"Max Goodwin, I'm going to hurt you!" She gets up, stands over her and begins to gently slap a him as he laughs hysterically. "You arsehole! I thought there was something seriously wrong! You're trying to give me a heart attack! Aren't you?!"
"Haha! Stop hitting me...this is Doctor Patient Abuse...ow..." He tries to cover her blows with his arms and she just keeps going until he grabs her waist and brings her down to his lap and begins kissing her neck and jaw. She slows down her attack until her hands rest firmly on his shoulders- their lips meeting each other.
"You're bad..." She lowly whispers against his lips.
"You're just an angry elf." He says kissing her with a small grin on his lips.
"You're going to be trouble...I can tell."
"You only figured that out now?"
"Shut up and kiss me." He does. He leaves kisses all along her neck and jaw. His hands sliding smoothly up and down her gown. "Mhmm...Max..."
Her low moan excites him slightly, but he resists the temptation to rip her dress from her and have her right here on the office couch.
The turning of his knob and opening of his door causes them to separate and sit on opposite sides of the couch. Helen tries to fix her lipstick and as she glances at Max from the corner of her eye, she smirks slightly and looks off to the back of the room.
"Dr. Goodwin." Agnes begins and as she comes around to look at him, the poor girl realizes what she walked in on. Max quickly crosses his one leg over his other and he looks confidently at Agnes as if he doesn't have a hard on nor spots of deep red lipstick on the corners of his mouth. "I'm sorry for interrupting..."
"Oh, no- Agnes you're fine...Dr. Sharpe and I were just talking..." Helen inwardly giggles and covers her laugh with her hand- refusing to look in Max and Agnes' direction.
"I...I see that. Um...Dr. Kapoor is awake and wishing to speak with you."
"Thank you. I'll head up there right now." The girl awkwardly nods before an ever small grin rises to sheer face as she leaves and shuts the door. Silence fills the room for a brief moment or two and neither Max nor Helen look at each other. "I have lipstick on my face...don't I?"
"Yep..."
"That's...Uh...that's not ideal." They finally look at each other and Helen smirks slightly. "Don't..."
"Is that Uh... a roll of compression bandages in your pocket, Dr. Goodwin?" He closes his eyes and sighs before opening them and looking at her. She tries so hard not to smile and giggle, but him trying so hard to be serious is causing her to fail.
"Proud of that one?" He asks semi-seriously.
"Oh come on...if anyone should be embarrassed it's Agnes. Seeing her boss all hot and bothered. Ahahaha."
Shaking his head he breaks into his smile and just looks at her, glad to see she's not embarrassed.
"You're the one who's gonna be trouble."
"Haha, so um...how long before the whole hospital finds out?" Suddenly his phone starts pinging like crazy and he just closes his eyes again and shakes his head some more with a small smile on his lips.
"Not long at all apparently."
"Haha! Shouldn't you get that?" She giggles and he looks at her.
"Nope..." Getting up, she walks over to him, leans down with her hands resting on the back of the couch and presses a long kiss to his lips. Smirking, she looks down at him with longing eyes.
"I think red's your color...although we should probably try a lighter shade tomorrow." Pulling away, she starts towards the door. "Are you going to see Kapoor?"
He looks down at his still semi hard member poking up in his trousers.
"Or are you going to return the bandage roll?"
"The fact that you find this whole thing amusing hurts me." He says.
"Haha, come on- we'll stop by a supply closet on the way up." She jokes and he growls before getting up to follow her out.