27 A devil fell for an angel

~ Seattle, Black Rose nightclub ~

Max found Quentin in their usual booth.

He was laughing loudly with one girl under each arm. Based on the number of empty glasses and bottles on the table, Max can see that Quentin is in here for a while. Well, it's late.

Max's anger flared at the thought how Quentin is enjoying in the company of those two women, while he ended up empty handed… because of Quentin!

"Q, we need to talk!", Max glared at Quentin while gesturing that two girls by Quentin's side need to leave.

Quentin didn't hear from Max's tone over the phone that he was upset, and even now he didn't see him being more than grumpy. Quentin rolled his eyes at the thought that lately Max is moody. In last two weeks, instead of enjoying his time with the ladies, Max is mostly looking at their flaws. Two nights ago, they were at a party, and Max chased a girl away while sulking because she didn't understand the point of some story he was telling. Like... really? Since when is the intelligence a criterion when looking for some casual good time? Quentin wishes that his party-ready, always-happy and not-so-picky friend comes back. This one requires too much maintenance.

"M, is it urgent?", Quentin asked meaningfully while gesturing to the two girls by his side.

Max narrowed his eyes at Quentin while thinking how he is outrageous. What kind of a friend is he? He is enjoying with two women, yet he set him up so that Liz does not even see him as a man.

"Yes, it's urgent!", Max growled at Quentin, and then looked at two girls who by now realized that something is off. "You two… scram if you know what is good for you!"

Girls exchanged confused glances before scooting out of the booth.

"M…", Quentin started while sorrowfully looking after two girls. "What happened? Did you have a bad date, and you had to ruin my night because of that?"

"A bad date? … A BAD DATE?!", Max raised his voice. "How can it be bad if she said that it was not a date at all?"

Quentin was confused. Why is Max acting like a woman on a period? And he does not make any sense. "M, how about you tell me what got into you? Slowly, from the beginning."

Five minutes later…

Quentin is holding onto his stomach and his eyes are full of tears how much he is laughing. He is unable to catch his breath.

Max's face is getting darker by the second.

"I need you to tell me, what is funny?", Max's voice was ominous.

"M, this is the best thing I've heard in years. Maybe the best thing I've heard in my lifetime. Please, tell me again…", Quentin said while panting.

"Which part?", Max asked sarcastically.

"From the beginning. You spent the weekend charming her, man… and she thinks you are gay? Either your technique is completely off, or she is desperately lacking in the brain department… but wait, if she is not smart, how come you didn't get lucky with her? Is it because she is from the East Coast? Are their brains wired differently?"

Max didn't find it funny. "I need to know what you told her when you met her."

"When I met her?" Quentin was thinking, when did he meet with Elizabeth? Ah, he remembered... "In the elevator?"

"Yes!"

"Hmm… I said that I'm your friend and that you told me that your neighbor is Elizabeth. That's it. Don't tell me that it's my fault she thinks you are gay. Why would you think that?"

"Because she is confident that the two of us are…", Max was unable to finish his sentence, so he gave eye signals to Quentin.

It took a second for Quentin to understand. "Wow… Wow! M! Wow! Don't drag me into your gay love story. OK? Keep me out of it."

Max was barely controlling himself from punching Quentin. What 'gay love story'? What is he babbling about? "You are the one who dragged me into yours!"

Quentin gave 'I don't know what you are talking about' look to Max.

"Shit!", Max exclaimed and slammed his fist in the table angrily.

Quentin looked at the bottles and glasses which bounced. Few of them fell down and the glass shattered.

Quentin observed Max for some time before speaking: "You are really upset about this. Do you care about her so much?"

"You don't understand, Q. She is special. For a brief moment, she made me think about dating. The real dating with flowers and everything."

"Is she more special than Irene?" Quentin immediately regretted his question when he saw Max's furious expression.

"Don't bring her up in front of me!", Max snapped.

"OK. OK. Calm down… If Elizabeth is so special and smart, why does she think you are gay?"

"I don't know. I was sure that you told her something, but now… I have nothing."

"Are you going to give up on her?"

Max shrugged. "What can I do? I kissed her and she is confident that I did it only because I'm hiding that I'm… you know."

"But she didn't push you away, did she?", Quentin asked with mirth in his voice. He found it very amusing to see Max twist like this.

"No. She even said that she knows that I'm a good guy no matter what the rumors say."

"She is a doctor, right? Every time you needed help, she was there, forgetting any grudges… and she believes that you are a good guy…", Quentin mused while rubbing his neatly trimmed balbo style beard. "M, I think you found yourself an unspoiled soul."

"What does that mean?"

"She is so pure that she can't see how dirty you are."

Max shrugged indicating that he still does not understand what Quentin is trying to say and repeated the question: "What does that mean?"

"You are a devil who fell for an angel."

Max frowned. "Don't say that I fell for her. I said that for a brief moment I thought how she is special. But now I am only interested in showing her that I'm not gay. How do I do that?"

Quentin wanted to ask that Max: 'If you didn't fall for her, why do you care how she sees you?', but he kept that question to himself. Max is too stubborn to see his own behavior and to admit that Elizabeth got under his skin. He will need to learn the hard way... and hopefully he realizes his own feelings before it's too late... otherwise there will be one more Irene-like disaster.

Quentin decided to offer his advice: "If she thinks that you are not interested in getting under her skirt, she will not see you as a danger and she will lower her guard toward you. Use it. Be vulnerable, ask for her help, be her best friend. Get close to her as much as you can until you find a chance to show her… your true self." Quentin finished with a satisfied grin.

Max leaned in the booth and pondered about Quentin's words. This idea… is not bad.

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