Lucy woke up feeling disoriented. She couldn't remember her dream, but it had involved a lot of running. At one point she seemed to be falling and falling, nonstop, and then she forced herself to wake up. Feeling mentally tired, she couldn't remember where she was or what was happening for a few seconds. She rubbed her eyes then raised herself up on her elbows. Looking down at Max sleeping peacefully next to her, she suddenly remembered what had transpired the night before.
She fell backwards back onto the bed with a small groan and put her arm over her eyes. In the middle of mentally chastising herself and feeling completely embarrassed about falling asleep before she and Max had sex, she felt a hand caress the inside of the arm that was covering her eyes. Moving the arm down, Lucy gave her bed partner an apologetic look.
Max raised himself on one elbow, looking down at her. His smile was crooked as he enjoyed how cute she looked in her embarrassment. "It's okay," he reassured her. He took her hand and kissed it.
"Ugh, why are you so sweet? It's making this embarrassment a million times worse," Lucy grumbled.
That made Max chuckle before asserting, "You have nothing to feel embarrassed about. You were tired and you fell asleep. It happens."
Lucy raised one hand to caress his cheek, "I know, but I was really looking forward to it so I'm also disappointed."
"Well, we can't have that. No time like the present," he replied as his mood changed. He leaned down to kiss her, but Lucy scooted herself up, out of the way.
At Max's confusion, Lucy shyly said, "Sorry," and then looked away. She wanted to say, "Ugh, why couldn't life be like TV shows where no one had morning breath!," but instead said, "Umm, I think I should take a shower first."
Max smiled, "I understand." He laid back on the bed as she stood up and went to the bathroom.
When she returned 30 minutes later, she had full makeup on. It took so long because now that she had some time to prepare, she took advantage of that.
She was surprised to see Max at his laptop, typing rapidly. Hearing her come out of the bathroom and walk over to him, he moved his mouse around, clicking furiously as he said, "Now it's my turn to say sorry." He didn't look at her and continued typing. After a couple seconds he got to a good stopping point and took his hands off the keyboard. He looked up at her as he wrapped his arms around her waist to pull her in for a hug. "Sorry, there's an issue with the contracts we're working on with the people in Greece," he continued. "I wrote up the contracts last night while you were sleeping but I guess legal took a look and there were some things that needed immediate attention."
Lucy looked down at him with a smile. "Anything I can help with?," she offered.
Max rubbed her back, "That's very sweet of you but I don't think so. I'll try to type fast."
"Take your time," Lucy replied. "From what you told me, what you're doing is important to putting the final nail in Victor's coffin."
Max nodded and returned to his task.
Unfortunately, however, the mood was killed. "More like stabbed a thousand times and then kicked for good measure," Lucy thought to herself as she got dressed for the day.
After Max was done, they decided to leave for the drive to the small city of Epidaurus as scheduled. Lucy wanted to see one of the first open-air theaters dating to 4th century BC and that is what they did. Excavated in 1990, the theater was famous for its acoustics so Lucy stood at the bottom where the stage was, while Max was all the way at the top. She asked, "How's the view up there?," in a normal voice and Max gave a thumbs up. She was shocked that he could hear her and when he climbed down the stairs to meet her, and said, "Awesome view," she exclaimed, "That's crazy that you could hear me!"
"It *is* pretty amazing what the ancient Greek people were able to use the natural slope of the hill and design the theater like this," he remarked.
"I know right?!," Lucy beamed. "I can't believe I'm actually standing here. This is a dream come true! And look at the landscape behind the stage." They both looked at the lush greenery. "Can you imagine watching plays here back in ancient times? It must have been an awesome experience."
Max smiled, "It is pretty cool. Definitely." Then he looked at her with a questioning look before he said, "I didn't know you were into theater? We should see some shows when we go back home."
"That would be great!," Lucy replied. "Yah, I did theater back in high school and college. Not many people know this, but sometimes I secretly wish I could have been an actress."
He wasn't surprised to hear that given her bubbly personality and he told her as much. "If that's what you want to do, then you should do it," he encouraged her.
"Nah, I'm too old at this point to change careers," Lucy concluded.
"You're never too old for anything. I think anyway," Max advised.
Lucy looked up at him and smiled, "Thanks." Then she started taking pictures of the theater and its surroundings. "Come here, let's take a selfie," she lilted.
Max went over and they brought their faces together. Lucy counted them down and just as she tapped the button to take the picture, Max turned his head to kiss her cheek.
Lucy laughed as she looked at the picture. "It came out great! Look," she exclaimed.
"Beautiful as always," Max beamed.
"You and your sweet talk!," Lucy responded in a self-deprecating tone. "Come on, let's take some more pictures," she said, holding out her hand behind her for him to take, which, of course, he did.
After they looked around the sanctuary of Asclepius, which is where the theater was located, they went hiking. They were amazed to see small chapels and out-of-the-way hilltops that had incredible views of the sea. After lunch at a small restaurant, they explored one of the villages of the area and then decided to end the day at the beach. The beach was more rocky than sandy, which made it hard to walk on, but that didn't stop Lucy from enjoying it.
"I love how different the beach is here compared to home! And look at that color!," she exclaimed pointing at the sea's vibrant mixture of blues. "I guess this is Mediterranean blue!," she continued.
Lucy had the biggest smile on her face and it took all of Max's will power not to pounce on her and shower with kisses.
Instead, he asked if they should go in for a swim. In response, Lucy walked delicately over the rocks, heading further into the water before calling over her shoulder, "Come on then!"
Max took a picture of her without her knowing before taking off his t-shirt and following her.
They played in the water for a long time as Lucy couldn't get enough. When they were done, Lucy and Max returned to their hotel room to shower and change for dinner at a restaurant in town. Max took one look at Lucy stepping into the room in her bathrobe, and the plans for the restaurant went flying away, along with any thoughts Lucy had about changing into clothes.