Accident Prone 119 Max and Liz go to the boutique

She was surprised that as soon as she stepped out of the 'ladies only' area, she found herself in Max's embrace.

"I apologize.", Max murmured in her hair.

Liz understood that Max is apologizing for not being able to save her bikini top from drifting away into the depth of the ocean.

She can see that he already dressed up and was waiting for her.

She hugged him back. "It's OK. It's not your fault."

Liz doesn't want to talk about it, and she does not blame him either because it felt really good to press her girls onto him.

Ah, she can still feel his firm heat. She wished that he carries her longer. This must be one of those steps he mentioned that they should not skip before going all the way. Well, it was intense, and she wants more of it and to move on to the next step (whatever it is).

While changing her clothes, Liz was coming up with reasons she can use to get both of them to sleep topless so that she can feel his skin on hers again. She was so excited about that possibility that she couldn't stop thinking about it.

Liz was startled when she realized that Max is hugging her, and she is scheming about getting them topless… and maybe more than just topless.

She buried her face in his chest, hoping that her expression is not revealing her naughty thoughts.

Max is not sure what is on Liz's mind, but he can see that she is avoiding his gaze. Is she so upset about losing her top, or because he carried her? Uh, now he feels guilty. Max has no regrets about the mischief, but he does not want to make Liz uncomfortable.

"No. I feel responsible. Please, let me make it up to you.", Max insisted. Well, he is responsible for Liz losing her bikini top. "There are boutiques which sell swimsuits…"

They caught the next shuttle and headed to the boutiques. Max told Liz that after getting a new swimsuit, they can have lunch and then head back to the beach for surfing.

Liz was not sure about the surfing, but she accepted the shopping and lunch parts.

…

The boutique is full of souvenirs, right from the door. Actually, the whole store is packed with colorful merchandise, leaving very less space for people to move around without bumping into something. They could not see the end of the store because numerous tall, freestanding shelves are filling up the space.

The store clerk told them that the swimwear is in the back and gestured to his left.

As Liz made her way, she observed tiki statues of different sizes, large selection of leis, fridge magnets, orchid-hairpins, necklaces and bracelets made of seashells and wooden beads, keychains, bobbing heads, mugs, dashboard dancing hula girls… it took Liz and Max a while to reach to the apparel section in the back.

While moving through the store, Liz passed by two young women who were picking souvenirs. She had to apologize so that she can squeeze next to them. Liz noticed that girls smiled provocatively at Max when he was passing by them, and she was pleased to see that his gaze was locked on her. Little by little with these small gestures, Max is showing Liz that he is taking their relationship seriously and that his interest is focused only on her. She will not deny that it makes her happy.

The boutique has a good selection of swimwear, but most of it is with flower motifs which are OK for Hawaii, but Liz thought that going to a swimming pool in Seattle with large bright-blue orchids on each of her girls might be… attention grabbing.

Luckily, they were selling tops and bottoms separately, so she could focus only on tops. Liz started looking through them in an attempt to find a non-flowery one.

A minute later, she was distracted by a sound of a string instrument. Her eyebrows shoot up in surprise when she saw Max strumming a ukulele. He didn't fiddle with it for more than fifteen seconds before returning it back on the display stand, but Liz understood that he knows how to play it. She wondered if there is anything Max is NOT good at because everything he did so far is perfect.

Max noticed that Liz is looking at him with sparkles in her eyes and he can tell that she approves. He smiled. "Did you find a swimsuit?"

"Not yet.", Liz admitted.

"Do you need help?", Max offered.

"Awww… look how cute this is.", a familiar female voice came from further down.

"I thought that we agreed on gender neutral.", a male voice responded.

"What you are holding is obviously for boys.", female grumbled back.

The voices were familiar to Liz, but Max recognized them right away. Max gestured to Liz to move in that direction.

"Mom? Dad?"

Max's voice made both Madeline and Nathan freeze.

Madeline and Nathan exchanged nervous glances before looking at Liz and Max guiltily.

Madeline panicked internally. She got all the hints this morning and when she put them together, it all pointed at the fact that Elizabeth is pregnant. Madeline was so excited that she will be a grandmother that she could not focus on golf, and she told Nathan about it and here they are: buying baby clothes for their grandchild.

Madeline and Nathan know that Max and Liz didn't tell them the happy news because it's still early. After all, many couples wait until the first trimester is over before they tell the others.

Max observed that Madeline is holding a baby-size pink and white Hawaiian dress and Nathan is holding a baby-size black and blue sailor suit. Max knows that only a handful of people are close enough to his parents to earn souvenirs from Hawaii, and none of them has a baby (or is expecting one). Max heard that Nathan mentioned gender neutral, so they still don't know if it's a boy or a girl. Why not buy a rattle or some other toy? Who would understand his parents? But if they are so set on buying clothes even without knowing the gender, it must be someone close… a relative?

Max got it! He knows who could be! Sabrina! Madeline and Nathan are this sheepish because Sabrina told them not to spread the news. Knowing his sister, she wants to announce the big news personally. Ah, he is going to be an Uncle!

Max cleared his throat. "No need to say anything. I understand."

Madeline paused. "You do?"

"Yes. When the time is right, I'm sure that everyone will openly talk about it. Until then, let's pretend that this didn't happen, and we didn't see each other.", Max responded cryptically.

A big smile bloomed on Madeline's face, making her eyes crinkle at the edges. Max was always touchy when they spoke or did anything related to his private life, and that usually escalated in him arguing with Nathan. She was afraid that Max will scold them because they are buying baby-clothes and they didn't announce the pregnancy.

Madeline looked at Liz who is standing next to Max and Madeline's smile became gentle. This must be Liz's influence: calming down their unpredictable son, who will soon become a father. Liz is a gem.

Seeing that Max is not throwing a fit, Madeline turned to her husband and exclaimed victoriously: "Ha! I told you!"

Nathan looked at Madeline and rolled his eyes internally. Does she need to rub it in? And it's not like he wanted to stop her from buying baby clothes. When she told him that Liz is pregnant, he only urged her not to do anything until Max and Liz tell them officially about it. But when he saw that Madeline is determined, he decided to join her because golfing by himself is not much fun and he is also excited about the news that he will be a grandfather.

"Why are you here and not on the beach?", Nathan asked when he remembered plans that Max and Liz had (with everyone else). They all said that they are going cliff jumping, but Nathan knows that considering Liz's condition, she and Max are probably taking it easy.

"Wardrobe malfunction. I'm getting a replacement.", Liz responded.

"Don't worry about us. Carry on.", Max told Madeline and Nathan and added: "We might come to this section later to pick few things ourselves."

"Sure, sure…", Madeline grinned. "Have fun! And take care!"

"How about we take both?", Nathan asked Madeline when Max and Liz turned away.

Madeline responded with a big grin. A second later she reached for another outfit. "Look at this one…"

Liz returned to the swimsuits without thinking much about it. Madeline and Nathan obviously didn't buy baby clothes for themselves, so it must be for gifting. As for who will get those gifts, she does not care. It has nothing to do with her… or so she thought.

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