Author's Note: Here it is, your big Christmas surprise! The first episode of the Desert Song sequel Riding the Wave! I wasn't sure if I was going to be able to make this as long as I was wanting it to be, but as usual, once I get into writing something, it ends up being longer than I expected. As such, here it is! Now, before you begin, please let it be known that this isn't like a typical story. While it IS a sequel to Making Waves and Desert Song, it is more or less a series of one shots revolving around Max and Aiden, and sometimes around the people involved in their lives. Since each "chapter," or episode as I'll be referring to them are basically self-contained stories, you can expect the average episode to be rather long in length, which means that it won't be updated nearly as frequently as most other stories of mine. I'll try to update at least once every week, if not every other week. In the event that there is a multi-parted episode, then I will update each week until that story arc is completed. I have a bunch of ideas for this sequel, and I'm sure you'll all enjoy them just as much as I do. I don't know how long this will go on for, but basically, it'll continue on for as long as I have ideas and remain interested in it, and as long as you all continue to read and enjoy them. If you have any ideas or suggestions for things you'd like to see here, don't hesitate to let me know and I'll see if I can work them into an episode or make one based solely on whatever idea you propose if I like it enough or if enough people suggest the same thing. So needless to say, you'll be seeing plenty of Aiden and Max for the months (years?) to come. Now, without further ado, the first episode of Riding the Wave! Enjoy!

Riding the Wave

Written By
Shadow Kitsune

Home is Where the Heart Is

Max awakened in the night, reaching over to feel the sleeping body beside him to find it cold and vacant. He sat up, still groggy from sleeping and looked around the bedroom. There was light shining in through the cracks in the doors, and he figured Aiden must be up looking through the housing catalogs and magazines again. Max threw the sheets off and pulled himself off of the bed as he yawned rubbing his finely toned stomach. He padded out of the room and crept outside to find his boyfriend face down on the kitchen counter, surrounded by newspapers, magazines, and catalogs. A small smile tugged at his lips as he slowly, quietly came up behind his slumbering prince, gently resting his hands on his shoulders, squeezing them lightly. Aiden stirred, and sat up at the counter with tufts of black hair sticking up all over.

“You just can’t stop, can you?” Max asked. He wrapped his arms around his boyfriend as he rested his chin upon his shoulders, smiling into his neck. Aiden smiled slightly, groggily, and leaned his head against Max’s as he put his hands on Max’s.

“You know me. Once I take up a task I can’t stop until it’s done,” he replied.

Max purred a chuckle, nuzzling Aiden’s neck before squeezing Aiden tightly and looked over his shoulder at the list of names and numbers before him.

“Find any promising properties yet?” he asked.

“Not yet. I mean, I’ve written a few down, but I think they’re all above and beyond our range,” Aiden responded.

Max smiled and kissed the side of Aiden’s head as he rubbed his hands reassuringly.

“Don’t worry, we’ll find something. But right now I don’t think staying up all night looking for new apartments is going to do either of us any good. So what do you say you come back to bed so we can get some snuggling in before we have to get up in…,” Max trailed off, glancing over his shoulder at the clock on the kitchen wall, “four hours. What do you say?”

Aiden smiled, thought about Max’s offer, and craned his head around to look at him.

“Deal,” he replied.

Stepping down from the stool he sat, Aiden headed back to bed with Max, switching the light off as they left the kitchen.

---

It was the same shit on a different day. Max hung clothes up on the racks at his job working at Abercrombie & Fitch, helping customers whenever he saw some that needed help. He’d been working there for several months now, always wondering to himself when they were going to get rid of him to find another fresh new face to work the job. That they had kept him as long as they had was surprising enough, but judging upon the frequency in which new personnel cycled through, he was beginning to wonder if the only reason they kept him was because he’d worked for them as a model before and wanted to have one of their former models working in their store to give patrons something to gawk at while they shopped. If it weren’t for the necessity of maintaining a steady job, Max figured he would have bailed out a long time ago.

There weren’t very many customers in the store at the moment, which wasn’t very surprising considering it was the middle of the day. Max hated working the slow hours as the shift passed by so incredibly slow. After hanging clothes on the racks and folding shirts and pants that had been picked over by other people, Max caught something in the corner of his eye. He glanced up to get a better look to find a short, thin, pretty young woman who looked to be in her mid to late twenties checking out a display on the other side of the store. It took a moment before it registered with him, but he seemed to remember seeing her a couple times before hanging around in or around the store. Over the past several days he’d noticed a woman very similar to her poking around and about, never buying anything or approaching anyone. Max hadn’t thought anything about it before, but today something about her stood out more than usual, and he had a gut feeling that she wasn’t just another shopper.

“Hello, ma’am, can I help you find anything in particular?” Max asked as he approached the woman from the other side of the store. The woman turned to face Max, and flashed a flawless white grin. She had an all natural tan and light brown hair with blond streaks running through it. Her hair went down just past her shoulders, a single butterfly hairclip holding it back neatly. She wore a white blouse with a light blue overcoat and a black skirt with knee high brown leather boots. Slung over her shoulder was a patchwork Gucci handbag, and that factored in with everything else, as well as the way she carried herself, gave her away to Max immediately.

“No, not really,” the woman replied genially. “But I do believe I can help you.”

Max did his best to look and act surprised. He raised an eyebrow and crossed his arms, nodding his head attentively.

“Oh? How do you mean?” he asked.

The woman extended a well manicured hand and smiled wide.

“The name’s Veronica Alexander,” she said as Max took her hand and shook it. “And I know. You’re Maxwell Somerhaulder. I’ve been watching you the past few days, wondering when you’d finally notice me and come speak to me.”

Max smirked slyly as he took the woman known as Veronica Alexander in slowly.

“Let me guess. You’re a talent recruiter of some sort, right?” he asked.

Veronica laughed as she dug a hand into her purse, pulling out her wallet.

“You saw right through me, didn’t you?” she asked as she presented a business card to Max. “I suppose you’ve learned to read people like me over the course of your experiences, huh?”

“Yeah, you could say that,” Max replied, glancing down at the card. There was an image of Veronica’s face beside her name and the company’s logo, along with her contact information and a catchy lingo that was anything but along the bottom. It all looked legitimate to him, so the only purpose she’d have talking with him would be recruitment. “So what can I do for you, Ms. Alexander?” he asked.

“Please, call me Veronica,” she said. “I’ve seen you around, recognized you from old magazines and commercials. I read up on you and found that you’ve been pretty much retired the past couple of years, both from modeling and surfing. When I found out you were working for minimum wage at an Abercrombie & Fitch, I couldn’t resist the urge to scope you out and make my proposal.”

“Proposal…?” Max asked, cocking his head to the side while raising a brow. “What kind of proposal are you suggesting here?”

Veronica grinned even wider, an enthusiastic energy radiating off of her.

“I’ve seen you work, Max, here at this store. You’re miserable. You hate it here. You want to find something bigger and better to move on to, but don’t know where to start. You wonder if working retail the rest of your life is all that life has to offer, and I’m here to assure you that that is most definitely not true,” Veronica said. “I’ve seen your work. You have a natural talent, Max. You have a presence that just lights up any picture, any screen that you’re in or on. You have a natural beauty that very few people have, and to keep that beauty hidden would be a tragedy.

“I want you to consider joining us, Max, to share your talent, your beauty with the world. You can talk it over with your loved ones if you wish. No need to give an answer right now. All that I ask is that you give it some thought and consider for just a moment if you really want to spend the rest of your life working at a dead end job and asking yourself if you could have done something more, something greater than what you’ve achieved. Give it some thought. Take your time. If you reach a decision, give me a call any time at that number. Okay?”

Staring down at the red on black text of the card, Max swallowed as he considered the offer before looking back up at Veronica, and smiled.

“Thanks,” he said. “I’ll think about it.”

“Excellent!” Veronica exclaimed, clapping her hands together. “Well then, go home tonight and talk it over with your boyfriend and let me know what you’ve made a decision, alright?”

Max nodded, smiling slightly.

“Sure thing,” he said.

“It was a pleasure meeting you, Max. I look forward to meeting you again,” she said. “Ciao!”

After Veronica had left, Max stared back down at the card in his hand. The path, the chance for a better future for him and Aiden rested in the palm of his hand. The only problem was, was this what was best for them?

---

Max sat on the couch staring down at Veronica’s business card in a daze all afternoon. Ever since she’d left the store earlier in the day, he hadn’t been able to stop thinking about her offer, and what she said. It was true that he had for the most part retired from the modeling business, but it wasn’t because he necessarily wanted to, more so the fact that at the time he was dating Cory, and because of his demanding nature, once his standing contract expired, he never renewed and eventually faded from the agency’s sights.

But now things were different. He was with the guy he’d always wanted to be with, and was free to do what he loved doing most. However, in the back of his mind he couldn’t stop asking himself if it was the right choice to make, if he was wanting to do it because it’s what he wanted to do, or because he felt and knew with all of his heart that it was the right thing to do not only for him, but for Aiden as well.

The door to their apartment opened, and Max quickly snapped out of his reverie when he realized Aiden had gotten home from work. A spicy scent wafted over to his nostrils, resulting in his stomach grumbling hungrily, and his mouth salivating voraciously.

“Hey, babe, hope you don’t mind but I stopped by that little Mexican joint in town and grabbed us some dinner. I missed my lunch break and was starving,” Aiden stated as he came in and sat the bag with their dinner in it down on the kitchen counter. Max slid the business card into his pocket as he got up and padded over to greet his boyfriend, smiling as he drew him in for a hug and kiss.

“How was your day?” Max asked before closing his mouth over Aiden’s.

“Not bad. I finished up a killer shoot today. I’m pretty happy with how it turned out, honestly,” Aiden replied.

“Great. That’s awesome,” Max replied, smiling as he went in for another kiss.

“How was your day?” Aiden asked before Max pressed his mouth over his again.

“Long and boring with absolutely no challenge or mental stimulation whatsoever,” Max replied. “But much better now that you’re home.”

Aiden chuckled, and turned to dig into his dinner.

“I hope you don’t mind, but I got you what you normally get. They were out of guacamole, so I just had them add extra sour cream instead,” he said as he sat Max’s food in front of him.

“Thanks baby,” Max said, running a hand down Aiden’s back gently.

As Aiden opened up his Styrofoam box of food and perched himself upon a stool at the counter, Max stared down blankly at his box of food, sliding his hand into his pocket slowly to feel the card, running his fingers over the engraved text on the front of it.

“So I was thinking about those apartments I was looking at last night, and started wondering if we might be able to afford that one close to downtown. We might have to pinch our pennies a little more than we already are, but when you think about the location, it shaves fifteen minutes off my commute to and from work, and you could probably get to work in less than ten minutes, so we wouldn’t have to deal with as much traffic and save on gas,” Aiden said as he poured a plastic cup full of salsa over his taco salad. He glanced up at Max, and did a double take when he found him staring out into space. “What do you think, Max?” he asked.

Max shook his head and looked up at Aiden, who narrowed his eyes and cocked his head ever so slightly to the side.

“Huh, what,” Max said absent mindedly.

Aiden blinked and licked his lips as he sat his fork down, sat back in his stool, and crossed his arms.

“What’s wrong, Max?” he asked bluntly.

Max hesitated a moment, shifting his eyes from side to side before swallowing and looking Aiden straight in the eyes.

“Uh… nothing’s wrong. I was just thinking, is all,” Max replied.

“About what,” Aiden said.

Max took a deep breath, taking a seat in a stool opposite Aiden and folding his hands atop the counter.

“I was approached by a woman from a talent agency today at work,” Max stated. “She told me she’s followed my work and thinks I’d be a great asset to their agency. She said I could think it over and talk to you about it before I made a decision.”

Aiden remained silent for a few moments before licking his lips, and smiling slightly.

“Wow, a talent agent who wasn’t a pushy bitch. Impressive,” Aiden remarked. “So what do you want to do?” he asked.

Max breathed a sigh, shrugging his shoulders.

“I don’t know,” he replied. “I’ve been out of the game for so long I don’t know if this is what I really want to get back into or not.”

“Weren’t you still modeling when you were with Cory?” Aiden asked.

“The first year we were together, yeah. But once my contract was up, I was so busy trying to stay caught up with him I never re-signed, and gradually lost interest,” Max explained.

Aiden groaned, biting his bottom lip.

“I see,” he replied, “so what’s the problem then? Do you want to get back into modeling or not? I would think it would be a simple choice to make. If you enjoyed it before, then why not?” he asked.

“It’s not that simple, Aiden. On one hand I’m bored as hell working at that store, and want to find a better, more interesting job, but on the other hand if I took this modeling gig I’d be making more money and we could finally move into a nicer, bigger apartment,” Max explained.

“Modeling wouldn’t be a better, more interesting job than working retail at a preppy stick up the ass clothing store?” Aiden asked.

Max smirked.

“Good point, but what I meant was I wanted to find another job that posed some sort of new and different challenges for me. You know, something to expand my horizons,” he said.

“Okay then. Pose nude. Do a porno. That should be enough to expand your horizons and pose more than enough of a challenge,” Aiden stated.

“How would having naked pictures taken of me or having sex with other people on film broaden my horizons or pose a challenge?” Max asked.

Aiden grinned, shrugging.

“I don’t know, I just thought it would be really freaking hot to see you take it up the bum from another guy,” he said.

Max narrowed his eyes, cocking his head slightly.

“Seriously?” he asked.

Aiden chuckled and grinned slyly.

“No. But I’m just saying I don’t care what you do. If you want to go find yourself a new job, one that you’ll be happy and make life more interesting, then go for it. But if you want to get back into modeling and pursue that as your career, then more power to you. I just don’t want you to worry too much about the financial aspect of your career. Even if we can’t move into a new apartment, there’s nothing wrong with the one we’re in now aside from the location and the lack of space,” he said.

Max sighed, and smiled weakly.

“I guess you’re right,” he said, “thanks babe.”

Aiden smiled and nodded.

“Anytime,” he replied.

As Aiden went back to eating his dinner, Max swallowed hard and glanced down as he stole another look at the business card. He breathed a sigh, and bit his lip.

‘What the hell…’ he thought to himself.

---

Max was beginning to think that he had made a mistake deciding to meet with Veronica Alexander again. It had only been a day since she’d made her offer, and already he had made an appointment to meet with her again to further discuss the details of their arrangement. The night before, after deciding upon calling her back and telling her he was all aboard, he now felt less than enthusiastic about that decision. As he sat in the lobby of Alexa Model and Talent Management Inc, he looked around at the pictures of some of the agency’s other models hanging on the walls. The inside of the lobby was sleek yet elegant, with black granite tiles lining the floor and gray textured walls. He’d been to dozens of different talent agency’s before in his lifetime, but yet still he found himself nervous, shaking in his seat as though he was about to go in for a root canal.

The phone at the front reception desk rang and a pretty young receptionist answered. She spoke softly into the receiver, and nodded with a smile. As she hung up, and craned her head back so she could see Max better, and waved her hand in the air to get his attention. He looked up and saw her waving at him.

“Mr. Somerhaulder, Ms. Alexander will see you now,” the receptionist said.

Taking a deep breath, Max rose to his feet and approached the desk. The receptionist came out and led Max down a hallway until they reached a heavy wooden door with an engraved nameplate outside with Veronica’s name on it. The receptionist knocked, and then opened the door.

“Good luck,” she said, wishing Max well.

As Max entered, the receptionist closed the door behind him, and Max stood in an office just as sleek, if not more so, as the rest of the building. Veronica sat behind a stainless steel desk with a glass surface and glass paneled drawers on the front. She stood up from her plush leather office chair and gestured to a chair in front of her desk for Max to have a seat in. Once Max had sat down, Veronica sat down again, smiling across at him.

“I wasn’t expecting to hear back from you so soon, Mr. Somerhaulder,” Veronica said softly.

“Please, just call me Max,” Max insisted as calmly as he could. Inside, he felt like he was about to piss himself.

“Of course, Max,” Veronica said. “So, I suppose you’ve made a decision on my offer?” she asked.

Max hesitated, then nodded. Veronica’s lips curved into a smile.

“Excellent,” she said as she presented a piece of paper and a pen to Max. “I’m sure you’ve been through all of this many times before, so I’ll spare you all the boring legal mumbo-jumbo. Just read through this contract carefully. If you have any questions or wish to negotiate any of the terms before you, please don’t hesitate. If everything there is to your expectations, then you can sign your name and we’ll be good to go.”

Taking the pen and the contract from Veronica, Max took a deep breath and began reading over it carefully. He read and reread the contract several times before he set it down on Veronica’s desk, licked his lips, and signed his name. Looking back up at Veronica, he flashed a smile, and handed it back to her. After making sure all was in order, Veronica rose to her feet once more, and extended her hand out to Max.

“Welcome to Alexa Model and Talent, Max. Glad to have you aboard,” Veronica said.

With the last shred of doubt fading away, Max shook Veronica’s hand, smiling ear to ear.

“Thank you,” he said. “It’s good to be aboard.”

---

When Aiden came home from work that evening, it didn’t take him long to realize that something was afoot. The lights were off, and candles were lit all over the apartment. Soft classical music was playing in the background, and as he went further inside, the door closed behind him and he jumped as a pair of arms reached around him and held him tight. He felt a set of lips graze his neck, smiling as they kissed him. He dropped his messenger bag and craned his head around to face Max, meeting his gaze.

“What is all this?” Aiden asked. “Did you take my advice on becoming a porn star?”

Max chuckled, and pressed his lips over Aiden’s. He then guided him into the living room where a makeshift dinner setting was made up on the coffee table, complete with wine and candles.

“No, lucky for you I didn’t,” Max replied.

Aiden raised an eyebrow and looked Max over head to toe trying to figure out what he was up to.

“What’s going on?” he asked. “The only time you wine and dine me like this is…” he trailed off, “actually, you’ve never wined and dined me like this, which makes me wonder even further if you’ve decided to pose nude for Play Girl magazine.”

Max grinned ear to ear as he sat Aiden down on the floor, and then sat down opposite him.

“Getting closer, but off by a long shot,” he replied.

Aiden blinked absently, and cocked his head to the side.

“Alright, if you aren’t becoming a porn star and you’re not showing off your goodies on camera, then I’m at a loss. What’s going on?” he asked.

Max chuckled, and suddenly presented a McDonalds back from underneath the coffee table.

“Tada,” Max said with a wave of his hand.

“Oh, gee, I am so excited. It’s not like I’ve never eaten anything from McDonalds in candlelight before,” Aiden said sarcastically. “Seriously, stop leading me on and spill it already!”

Max cackled diabolically as he sat two double cheeseburgers and a thing of French fries down on Aiden’s plate before sitting a Big Mac and a thing of French fries down on his own plate.

“You got me my usual order,” Aiden said in a sentimental tone. “You know me so well.”

“Only the best for my baby,” Max said as he began to remove the cork from the bottle of wine. Aiden glanced at the label of the bottle, and raised an eyebrow.

“Is that grape juice?” he asked.

“The best,” Max replied with a sly smirk.

Aiden held his glass while Max poured him a drink, and waited for him to pour his own before questioning him further.

“Alright, Maxwell Somerhaulder, enough with the wining and dining,” Aiden said sternly. “What the hell is all of this about?”

Holding his glass into the air, Max fixed his gaze on Aiden’s, and cleared his throat to propose a toast.

“To the end of one shitty life and the beginning of another, possibly less shitty life,” Max said. “You’re looking at the newest addition to Alexa Model and Talent Management Inc.”

Aiden gasped, unable to conceal his surprise as he held his glass into the air and clanged it against Max’s. As Max downed his grape juice in a single gulp, Aiden said with his mouth agape.

“You’re serious?” he asked. “You actually went through with that?”

“Of course I did,” Max said. “I got to thinking about that lady’s offer, and about what you said last night, and I decided that I’d give this modeling thing another whirl. I mean, I’m still young and moderately attractive, so I figured I should seize the opportunity while it’s there. You only live once, so you might as well make the most of it while you can, right?”

Aiden chuckled, and nodded as his down his grape juice.

“There, there!” he exclaimed, holding his glass into the air.

“Furthermore, as of today we are now also the official owners of a spacious two bedroom, two bath apartment in lovely downtown Tampa Bay,” Max announced triumphantly.

Aiden’s eyes grew to the size of golf balls as he jaw hit the ground. Max presented him with the papers for the apartment, which his snatched from him and scrutinized closely in disbelief.

“Oh my God,” Aiden said. “Oh my freaking God, you’re serious!”

“Of course I am,” Max said with a smirk. “Why would I joke about something like this?”

Aiden looked up from the papers at Max, back down at the papers, and then back up at Max, dumbfounded.

“Max, I… I don’t know what to say,” he said. “Are you sure we can afford this?”

Max smiled, reaching across the table as he grabbed Aiden’s hands, snatching the papers from him and setting them aside as he took his hands into his and held them to his lips, kissing them gently.

“Aiden, whenever the two of us got together, I knew that it was the start of a new beginning. From the moment that we got together, I knew that it was my duty to take care of you and make sure you never had to worry or care about anything ever again. I always hold up my promises, and this is me promising you that as long as the two of us are together, you’ll never have to worry about anything ever again, because as long as I’m around, I’m going to take care of you until the day I die. And that is a promise you can believe in.”

Aiden looked into Max’s deep, dark green eyes and choked back tears.

“I believe,” he replied, his voice cracking as they leaned closer to one another across the table.

“I believe,” Max repeated as he closed his mouth over Aiden’s, and ran his hand through his hair. They pressed their foreheads together, and Max gazes into Aiden’s icy blue eyes.

“I promise,” Max whispered, caressing Aiden’s face.

Author's Notes: Just thought you'd all like to know that the model I based the character Max off of actually is signed by the same company our Max is. Check out my profile see him. ;D