While You Were Waking Up

Their first kiss was as gentle as Lucy had always pictured it in her head. She knew his lips would be soft, and they were. Suddenly, something tugged at her heart, and she stopped the kiss with, "No—I shouldn't do this."

Max leaned his forehead against hers and asked, "Why not?"

Lucy shook her head, "Because I don't want us getting together to come at the heels of me just thinking about Kyle."

"Were you thinking about him while we were kissing?," Max asked reluctantly.

"It's not that," she responded. She put her hand around the wrist that was on her cheek and looked at him in the eyes, before she continued, "It's just…I don't know. I just had that nightmare and…I guess…I just don't want to make any mistakes this time."

Max gave her a lopsided grin and said, "There's no way we won't make any mistakes. That's just part of life. But, I promise I won't deliberately hurt you. Ever."

Lucy nodded, "I believe you. But then…I also believed Kyle." She pulled away. "I think I need more time."

"That's alright," he replied, "We can take it slow."

Lucy nodded again.

"Why don't we get ready for dinner and just take it one moment at a time?," Max suggested.

"Sounds like a plan," she agreed with a smile. "But first. What was the name of the restaurant we ate at for brunch again?"

Max looked at her quizzically, "Dove & Laurel was the English name. Why?"

"Oh, it's nothing. I'm just keeping a travel journal, so I wanted to write it down."

After they got ready, they took a car to a restaurant that Max had found on-line. They ate at casual dining restaurant called Athena's Table and didn't talk about what happened earlier. When they were done, they took a brief walk around the area, and then headed back to the hotel. Once there, they both got ready for bed but then hesitated when it actually came time for going to bed.

Max rubbed the back of his neck as he said, "I guess this is good night."

Lucy played with her fingers, "Umm. Are you sure you have everything you need for the couch?"

"I think so," he replied. "The extra sheets the hotel provided seem soft." Max groaned at himself internally and thought "Ugh, that was a stupid thing to say."

"Well, then, I guess you should be set," Lucy said with a confused look.

Max scratched his head, "Okay. Then. Good night."

"Good night," Lucy said back.

As he turned to leave, he didn't see Lucy hesitating. "Should I ask him to share the bed? What if he's uncomfortable on the couch?," she thought. She stood there for a few moments after he left before getting into bed.

Both lay in their respective places, not being able to go to sleep. Suddenly, Lucy thought, "Oh! I have to tell Peter and Selene that we kissed!" She really needed reassurance from them. Instead of texting or calling right then, however, she decided to wait until the next day since she was too tired to move.

Eventually, both Max and Lucy fell into an uncomfortable sleep.

The next day, Max woke up and felt some pain in his back and neck, so he tried to stretch it out. That's how Lucy found him that morning, stretching as if his life depended on it.

"Are you okay?," she asked with obvious concern showing on her face.

Max tried to smile it away with, "I'm fine. Just stretching out the ol' muscles."

It was clear by the look on Lucy's face, that she was not convinced. "It's the couch, isn't it?," she sighed.

"It's fine," Max reassured.

"No, it's not," Lucy sighed again. "Here we are. On vacation in this amazing hotel, and you have to sleep on the couch."

"I can see if they have a cot for tonight," Max offered.

Lucy shook her head, "No. It's okay. You can sleep in the bed with me."

He looked at her with surprise. "And by sleep, I mean sleep," she warned him with a smile to make the warning a little more gentle.

"Of course," he agreed, nodding quickly. He stretched some more and suggested that they call room service for breakfast since he had some work to do after getting ready for the day.

While Max was working, Lucy considered the time difference between Rome and Los Angeles and figured that if it was around 8am Sunday where they were, then it was 11pm Saturday for Peter and Selene. She wondered how the gala was going and hesitated whether she should text her friends. Deciding it was too late for them, she made a mental note to text them when it was their morning instead.

Little did Lucy know that right as she was thinking all this, Ben was proposing to Selene. She was also unaware of the fact that Peter and Johnny had just gotten into a car accident while driving home from their date.