Mountains So High (CC, AU, Adult) - Pt 63 COMPLETE - 5/22/11

Finished stories that feature the characters from the show, but there are no aliens. All fics completed on the main AU without Aliens board will eventually be moved here.

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Double Trouble
Obsessed Roswellian
Posts: 925
Joined: Tue Dec 16, 2008 9:47 am

Part 31

Post by Double Trouble »

Alien_Friend: We are glad to be back as well. We missed ya all!

Who do ya think was more nervous? The pika or Max? LOL

They are probably not secret for very long, though. ;) Ya know them…

rosysory2882: Oh, we would give everything to watch this scene life, lol. Michael and happy face boxer, oh well…. Bring it on, lol.

Yeah, slow is better than nothing, right?

M&M will be together and ya don’t have to wait thaaaaat long.

Eva: Michael, Tony and Nick hang out a lot together, even in their free time. So yes, they annoy each other a lot, lol.

Hm, same question as for Novy: Who do ya think was more nervous? Max or the pika?

keepsmiling7: Definitely NEVER, lol.

mary mary: Nothing should be allowed to have 6 legs ore more, lol.

Thanks, now we know where Max’ fear is coming from.

Natalie36: YES, we are! ;)

Earth2Mama: Hopefully not to stressed, girl! Because it is already Sunday again, lol.

Michael, Tony and Nick hang out a lot together, so those little stunts are normal for them. We are sure Michael will get back at them.

begonia9508: Those little pika’s are cute as long as they are locked away save, right? Lol

sarammlover: We are glad ya like our Liz. We are both Candies as well, but it is cool when ya can write the other characters the way ya want, lol. Thanks to AU, we are enjoying to write everyone.

killjoy: Right? As long as they are locked … okay. But otherwise we can live without those furious little critters as well.

Hm…. Read on and decide on your own, lol.

kismet: YAY, lol!

Oh you know it, ya can’t hide this for very long. ;)



Part 31

“Hey, Kyle, can ya bring my camp stool with ya?” Tess called from where she was already out by the fire, preparing dinner.

Liz sat down on the opposite side to face her. “I still can’t believe you two are engaged. When did he ask you? Oh, or did you ask him?”

Tess just grinned. “We live in modern times, there’s nothing wrong with the woman asking.” She glanced at Kyle. “Especially when it’s taking him too long to get around to it.”

“So you asked him?”

“I did ask him.”

Kyle snorted. “She told me,” he corrected, shaking his head at her. “If you’re gonna tell the story, tell it right, babe.”

Liz laughed. “Come on. Share!”

“What’re we sharin’?” Max asked as he sat down beside her, several of the dehydrated meals in his hands. Damn, he couldn’t wait to sink his teeth into a nice juicy steak after they finished this climb!

“The engagement story.”

“Without me?” Maria complained when she joined them.
“Never without you,” Kyle assured her. “You know Tess is just waiting for her audience to give her their full attention.”

“We’re all here now, so spill it, Harding,” Maria told her with a wink.

“First off, I did not tell Kyle we were getting married.” She shoved him with her shoulder. “I merely told him that we had been together for several years and it just seemed like we should be making some sort of commitment.”

“Uh-huh, yeah, ‘cause that’s not the same,” Kyle said, “but it’s okay, you knew there was just one answer for me anyway.”

She stomped her right foot. “That is not the point, Kyle.” She huffed indignantly as she looked around at the others. “He just assumed that we would get married... without ever asking, just assumed that I wanted to marry him.”

“Well, ya kinda told him ya wanted a commitment… what would that be, if not marriage?”

“No, I’m not sayin’ I wanted somethin’ different... he didn’t ask because he just assumed we would get married.”

“Hey, at least I bought you a ring,” Kyle tried.

“I haven’t seen a ring,” Liz said.

“I didn’t put it on for the trip,” Tess declared. “I’ll show ya at home.”

“Have you set a date?” Maria asked.

“No, not yet, but sometime in the next year; I don’t wanna be one of those women who’re engaged for years without anything happening.”

Michael listened to them as they talked about ceremonies, dresses, locations for the ceremony, and a dozen other things, but his attention was focused on Maria as she laughed and talked with her friends. He was glad that she had found people that she was able to be close to, people who understood her and encouraged her to be herself.

“This’s so great, Tess,” Maria said, happy for her friend. “I’m so envious.”

“You’ll find someone, Maria,” she said with a smile. “But, it’s not Mark. And I say that with love.”

Maybe I already found him, she thought quietly. Again.

“I don’t know if I wanna even get married,” Liz confessed.

Max turned his head to the side to look at her. “No?”

She shrugged. “I just think it’s a little overrated.”

“Why’s that?”

“Well, why would I need a piece of paper that tells me I belong to someone?”

“It’s more than just a piece of paper, Liz. It’s a symbol of commitment and it lets the whole world know that two people belong to each other and that they’re committed to making their relationship work.”

“But you can commit to those things in other ways... and it would save money if ya break up.”

Maria could see the hurt in Max’s eyes and she shook her head. “I don’t wanna spend my whole life with someone who isn’t willing to marry me.”

“Well, yeah, I guess that’s true, and if you’re with someone and you don’t trust them to stick around then I guess you shouldn’t marry them,” Max said.

Maria nodded. “Marriage isn’t just a paper, Liz. It’s wearing his last name, feeling that you belong to someone. Hell, it’s even safer for your kids just in case something happens to you or your husband.”

Liz felt trapped all of the sudden. The conversation had suddenly thrown her changing relationship with Max into an entirely new light. He believed in marriage, he wanted the wife and kids, and all the entrapments that came with it. She didn’t know if she was ready to even think about that stuff.

Max didn’t know what to think about Liz’ opinion. Maybe it was just something that would pass after a while, or maybe she really didn’t believe in stuff like this.

“Well, it’s not like it’s somethin’ that has to be decided today,” Michael said, recognizing the look on the brunette’s face. “I don’t know about the rest of you, but I’m starvin’.”

Maria glanced up and suddenly realized that Michael had probably heard everything she had said. Oh, shit, she thought, I can count myself lucky if he doesn’t run from me after this trip.


“I’m never getting married,” Nick announced as he started mixing hot water into his dinner.

“Don’t say never,” Tony told him and tapped his shoulder while moving past him.

“Whatever. Seriously, people get married and more than half of them get divorced, and the ones who don’t get divorced, man, ya know they’re just cheatin’ on each other. What’s the point? Stay single an’ that way you’ve automatically got a get out of jail free card at any time.”

“You’re gonna be very lonely when you get old,” Maria said with a smirk.

“Nope,” Nick denied, “’cause I’m still gonna be hot and I’ll still have ‘em chasin’ me down.”

Michael snorted. “Shouldn’t be hard for ‘em to catch you since you’ll be usin’ a walker or sittin’ in a wheelchair... an’ they’ll be in the same condition.”

Liz stood up and walked away from the group silently. Max and Maria both saw it and frowned. Maria shook her head at him when he was about to get up and stood up by herself to see what was wrong with her friend.

She found her sitting on a rock around a little corner where no one from the fire could see her. “Hey, girlfriend. Why’re ya hidin’?”

“Kind of a heavy conversation, ya know?” Liz said quietly.

Maria took a seat next to her, carefully nudging her friend so she would made a little more room for her to sit. “Don’t really think that far ahead right now, huh?”

“It’s just... What was I thinking?” she muttered. “Max is like Mr. Reliable. I mean, he loves to go out and have a good time and he can be a jackass at times, but he believes in all of that forever crap.”

“And that scares you,” Maria stated.

Liz snorted. “Hell, yes, that scares me!” She bit her lip, worrying it for several seconds before she took a deep breath. “He isn’t just interested in me as a... a casual thing or a fling, Maria.”

Maria’s eyes lifted in surprise. “Did ya just figure this out by yourself or did he actually say something?”

“No,” Liz drew designs in the snow with her booted foot, “no, he said something... something that can’t be taken back no matter what happens.”

“And what exactly was it? How’d ya react?”

“He said he loves me, Maria. I mean, I think I played it pretty cool... I didn’t run away and I didn’t push him away.” She threw her hands up in the air as she got up and started pacing. “I told him that it scares me, that I’ve got concerns about what’ll happen to us if it doesn’t work out, and that we need to take it slow.”

“But you’re not totally freaking out at the thought of Max bein’ your boyfriend, right?”

“Well, not totally, no. I mean, you don’t tell someone you love them unless you have certain expectations, right?”

“Did you tell him you love him?”

“No.” She winced. “Was I supposed to? What, is that like standard protocol or somethin’?”

Maria shook her head. “It’s not standard protocol, Liz. You shouldn’t say it if you’re not sure yet.”

“See? I don’t know what the rules are.” She rolled her eyes. “And I’m the one who was giving you advice at the start of this trip? I hope you haven’t been taking it.”

“Um...” was all she said.

“You have, haven’t you? If there was a wall in front of me I’d be banging my head on it. What? Which bit of brilliant advice did you take?”

“The one where you said that I should take the risk since the worst that could happen would be that we go our separate ways after this trip again.”

“Wait.” Liz sat down next to Maria. “You’re really gonna go for it with Michael?”

The other girl shrugged. “Maybe, yeah. We talked about it last night and we.... we wanna be together.”

“Maria, that’s great!” Inside she was totally doing the happy dance and singing ‘No more Mark, No more Mark!’

"Don’t be too happy about it, okay? I need someone who sees things as they are. Realistic, ya know? So whenever I’m too blinded by love to see what’s in front of me, tell me.”

“Well, I don’t really know him, but I like him a lot more than I like Mark. But, I promise, if you do somethin’ stupid or you can’t see things clearly because you’re blinded by love, I’ll let you know.”

Maria nodded. “Thanks.”

“So... aren’t your parents gonna be down there when we get back?”

“Ungh, yeah.”

“Does he know that?”

“Yeah, I told him.”

“Is he ready to face them? I mean, I’m assuming he isn’t gonna run this time, that he’s gonna deal with them.”

“He told me we’re facing them together. I just hope he’ll still stick with it once we’re down.”

“Maria, this’s big! What’re you gonna do about Mark?”

“Well, he’s waiting for me down there, so the first thing I have to do is tell him the truth.”

“Uh-huh, and until then... are you and Michael...?”

“We’re tryin’ to behave.”

“So, you guys are really serious about this.” Liz thought about that for a few minutes. “What happens after this? You live in different states... have you guys talked about that?”

She nodded. “He’s trying to start his own outfit here, Liz, so the only possibility would be me moving down here. As much as I love him I know a long-distance relationship wouldn’t work.”

“Ungh, no, I wouldn’t even attempt a long-distance relationship.”

“I don’t know if this’s gonna work out, Liz. When my parents stop the financial support, then it’ll get really serious.”

“Have you talked to Michael about that?”

“We were pretty honest with everything yesterday.”

“So, what’s he think about your parents cutting you off? Is he worried that you won’t be able to make it financially?”

“Huh-uh, that’s the scary thing here, Liz. I’m not 100 % sure if he’ll stay this time, no matter what.”

“But, you’re willing to take the risk.”

Maria made a face. “Tell me it’s not as crazy as it sounds.”

“It is crazy, but you love him, right? You’re ready to take a huge leap of faith, so that implies that you trust him enough to take another shot at a relationship with him.” Liz hugged her friend. “If you’ve got enough faith to take this risk, then have faith in his ability to stick around this time. If you can’t, they why risk it?”

“I couldn’t forgive myself if I didn’t try, Liz.”

“Then believe that he’s gonna stick around.” She rolled her eyes. “Weren’t we talking about how great this trip was gonna be because we wouldn’t have anything heavy to deal with?”

Maria snorted. “Yeah. Great how that turned out, huh?”

“Oh, please, girl! Tell me you’d want a vacation without complications over one where you’re reunited with Michael.”

“I really want him back, badly,” she admitted.

“Sounds to me like you’ve got him.”

“He’s the one for me, Liz. I know it, I just do.”

“It’s gonna be important for him to know that you believe he can do this, Maria. I’ve met your parents, remember? They can be pretty intimidating.”

“I know. My father especially is gonna freak out, I know it.” Maria sighed. “It won’t be easy and I’m well aware of the fact that this might could be the end of my parents and my relationship.”

“Let him freak out. What’s the worst he can do? Stop payin’ for college and sendin’ your monthly check? So what? You work anyway, you’ve never just relied on your parents for money.” She shook her head. “They might be mad, they might cut off communications for a while, but they love you, Maria, they’re not gonna just never talk to you again.”

“I really hope you’re right.”

“I am right.” Liz tossed her hair over her shoulder. “Now,” she made a rolling motion with her right hand, “solve my problems.”

___________________________________________________________________________________________

A/N: We posted a profile of Michael Guerin in TIC TAC on our Author's Thread, ya might wanna look at it to get some information about his character in our new fic. ;)

Here is also a trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CvzvtWRx2Ak
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Fics: A Xmas Story - A Merry Mt. R. Xmas - Cupid's Revenge - Double Trouble - Double Date - Double Dare - Double Empire - Double Xmas Wish - In The Course Of A Lifetime - Mountains So High - Not A Question At All - Surrender - TIC TAC - Two Double Dates at Xmas
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Double Trouble
Obsessed Roswellian
Posts: 925
Joined: Tue Dec 16, 2008 9:47 am

Part 32

Post by Double Trouble »

kismet: Max is already used to the thought of a happy life together with Liz. She needs a little time to think about it. ;)

Oh yeah, our Michael here is pretty sure of what he wants (back).

K&T are just perfect, aren’t they?

begonia9508: Maria and Liz are best friends, it’s only natural that they can’t hold back with their love lives towards each other for very long, lol.

Max will learn to be more patient.

keepsmiling7: Thanks and here is more. ;)

Natalie36: Thanks! She will!

Earth2Mama: Liz never really thought about the possibility to get married and have her own family. Max and her still have to work a lot of things out and yeah, that’s probably not easy all the time.

Michael and the parents… ya still have to wait a while for this one, but it’s gonna be interesting and you know us… ;)

mary mary: Popcorn and tea? Lol… okaaaaaaaay!

Liz is still new to this love stuff and for once, she is the one who should follow her friends advices, lol.

Alien_Friend: We are sure M&L will make their way, they just need some time. Liz has to figure out what she really wants in her live first.

Michael is not freaking at the idea of having a family together with Maria. He knows, what he wants!

Yeah, no fun to hide stuff like this from your best friend! ;)

Eva: Well, we can’t promise a fic without drama, lol, but they will all make their way! Maria and Liz are best friends and will support each other no matter what.

rosyrosy2882: Liz needs time to get used to the thought of Max being her one and only, lol. She has Maria for support, though.

We are sure Maria will appreciate your strength when it will be time to face her parents. She can definitely use some support!

sarammlover: Liz will figure it out. And she has Maria to support her!

killjoy: Oh yeah, Tess is definitely like that, lol.

Have some trust in Liz, she never thought about a steady relationship and especially not about one that includes marriage. ;) She knows what Max wants in the end and is scares that she can’t give him this. But yeah, ya should really make sure, that ya want the same out of a relationship right form the start!

Maria probably already made up her mind, she loves Michael. Still, she fears the reaction of her parents, because well… they are still her parents and it is not like she hates them by all meanings.




Part 32


Maria chuckled and hugged her friend. “You can only solve this one on your own, Lizzie. Maybe you shouldn’t think about it so much and just do what ya feelings are telling you to do.”

“This’s such new territory for me, Maria. I don’t know how to be in a relationship for any serious length of time.” She snorted and shook her head. “I mean, how do you not get bored after so long together, ya know?”

“It’s just about being together with the right person, Liz. Ya know I dated a lot of hot boys before Mark in college, right? But I could have never ever imagined a relationship with them. With Michael, it’s all different. We were together and I never thought about anyone else while I was with him.”

“Then what in God’s name made you stay with Mark for so long?”

“I guess it was the fact that he was willing to stay with me and that he is the complete opposite of Michael.”

Liz laughed at that. “Yeah, he’s nothin’ like Michael, and not just because your ex gets along so well with everyone and Mark doesn’t.”

“Seems like there are just two people who love Mark... my parents. That’s gonna be a real problem.”

Maria shook her head. “But we were talking about you and Max. So tell me how it was to hear the truth from him? Did he try to kiss you?”

“Um, well... it was kind of a shock. I mean, I was still tryin’ to adjust to him liking me as more than my best friend, so... saying he loves me was... I’m not sure what it was. And no, he didn’t try to kiss me, he kissed me.”

Maria’s eyes widened in surprise. “And? This little detail you’re hiding from me?”

Liz looked at Maria. “Which one?”

“The kiss! Share!”

“It was hot,” she admitted. “If he had kept kissin’ me I don’t think we would’ve stopped there.”

“So he stopped?”

Liz smirked. “I was really getting into it and I think he knew where it was goin’.”

“But that’s good, right? Ya felt something…”

“Yeah, I definitely felt somethin’.” She rolled her eyes. “I just never thought it’d be with Max.”

Maria laughed. “You should be glad it’s him.”

“I would be if I was sure this thing could work out.” She grinned. “He’s confident, but Max is pretty much always confident, ya know?”

“I’m confident about it too, you two just belong together, girl.”

“He must be serious because he told me I’m not allowed to kiss anyone else.”

“Uh-huh, and how’re ya feelin’ about that?”

“Not as weird as I thought I would.” She bit her bottom lip. “I’ve seen Max with other girls and I don’t think I’ve ever known him to sound so... I don’t know if possessive is the right word.”

“He totally is when it comes to you girl.”

“Is it weird that I thought it was kinda hot?”

Maria chuckled. “No, it is, when you’re interested in the guy.”

“You’d know, I guess. I got the feelin’ that Michael’s a very possessive guy.”

“Yeah,” she grinned, “wanna bet he didn’t like the Maria-Max kiss?”

Liz rolled her eyes. “I didn’t like the Maria-Max kiss either.”

“But maybe it opened your eyes about that little fact.”

She shoved her friend with her shoulder. “I can’t believe you kissed him like that!”

“Like what?”

“You know very well how you kissed him, Maria!”

“You had your chance for revenge.”

“Uh-huh, and you and Michael have serious history... you know you would’ve come unglued if there had been an exchange of tongue in that kiss.”

Maria sighed. “Probably. And I’m sorry girl.”

“Just don’t do it again ‘cause he’s kinda mine now.” She sighed. “I have no clue what I’m gonna do with him, but, he is mine and I’ve never liked to share what belongs to me.”

“He’s totally yours, girl. Ya wanna tell the others or ya gonna keep it a secret for a while?”

“I don’t know. I kinda wanna keep it quiet for a while, ya know? I’m not sure I’m ready to deal with the questions yet.”

Maria nodded. “Ditto. I don’t wanna make anything official with Michael just yet.”

“So, we can just keep this between us for now?”

“Sure.”

“Cool. Think they’re wonderin’ where we are?”

“Yeah, they probably already miss us,” Maria joked. “Wanna head back?”

“Yeah, before they make it obvious by comin’ to look for us.”

The girls stood up and walked back to the others, taking their seats next to Michael and Max.

“What’s for dinner?” Liz asked, getting hungry.

“Hearty beef stew,” Max answered, holding the pouch up and showing off the appetizing picture on the front. “Although what’s inside does not look like this, it does smell edible.”

Liz wrinkled her nose. “It really doesn’t look anything like the pic.”

He laughed. “No, but it’s probably not that bad.”

“It’s tasty,” Kyle nodded and took a bite from his own meal. “Tastes much better than it looks at least.”

Tess shook her head at him. “Don’t listen to him, Liz. He eats everything.”

“The stew’s not that bad,” Michael agreed. “The lasagna’s better.”

Maria glanced up. “Lasagna? Didn’t know this was available.”

“Um-hmm, s’good, too.”

“I’ll have to try it then.”

“Nick’s got a stash of ‘em.”

She glanced at him and pouted sweetly.

Nick turned to look at Michael. “We agreed that you would never share that information. I am not the provider of Italian cuisine on these trips.”

Michael rolled his eyes. “No one said anything about the lasagna falling into the category of Italian cuisine; I just said it was better than the stew.”

“You implied that I was willin’ to share.”

Maria rolled her eyes at Nick. “Just keep it for yourself, ya skinflint. I’ll order a much better one down at the lodge when we get back.”

Michael laughed at her response. “And that’s what ya get for bein’ stingy, Nick.”

She searched around her own meals she had taken with her and decided to go with one she hadn’t had yet.

Liz leaned over to look at Maria’s selection. “Sante Fe chicken with rice... I haven’t tried that one yet, is it any good?”

“I don’t know; Mark picked that one out.”

“The one smart thing I’ve seen him do,” Max muttered. “Well, next to injuring himself and goin’ away.”

Maria leaned back in her chair to reach around Liz so she could pinch Max’ side painfully.

“Hey, hey, hey!” he yelped as he tried to get away without spilling the steaming pouch in his hands all over himself. “Don’t pinch the guy holdin’ a bag of scalding hot water!”

Liz shook her head at him. “It is not that hot, you big baby.”

“Don’t be an ass and I’ll let you eat in peace,” Maria said and stuck her tongue out at him.

“Better be careful where you stick that tongue,” Kyle warned with a laugh. “Evans might get ideas.”

Liz shot a warning glare at Kyle, but tried to hide it the next second.

Evans better not get any ideas, Michael thought as he stared at the dark-haired guy who was bantering back and forth with Maria.

“So, tomorrow we’ll finally reach our goal, huh?” Tess asked excitedly.

“Tomorrow’s the big day,” Tony said as he glanced toward the path they would take the next morning.

“I can’t wait,” Liz admitted, her eyes glistening.

“It’s gonna be cool, standin’ on top of this mountain.” Max smiled at her. “It’s been quite a week,” he said, his eyes telling her what he knew she wasn’t ready to acknowledge verbally.

A very crazy week, Maria thought.

Michael watched the group, envying them the ease they had with each other.

“Will we go down the same way we came up?” Kyle asked.

“Unless you opted for a chopper descent, the climb down is pretty much the same,” Tony answered.

Maria snorted. “Kyle has got aviophobia.”

“Dude, you’re scared of flyin’?” Nick asked.

“I hate it when ya have to put your life in a stranger’s hands, man.”

Michael snorted and shook his head. “Now see? This man has a brain.”

Tony kicked his friend with his right foot. “You’re just glad that you’ve finally found someone who agrees with you.” He looked around at their group. “Guerin chickened out on us when we went skydiving a while back.”

Maria glanced at her ex, maybe again-boyfriend. “Really?” She hadn’t known that he had anything against flying.

“Two days earlier some guy went skydiving and his landing was all wrong and he shattered one of his legs, so... no. I like both of my legs in workin’ order.”

“So you didn’t do it?” Liz asked in surprise.

“Do you see that both of my legs are in one piece? Hell no, I didn’t do it!”

“Oh, we got him as far as the airport,” Nick laughed. “But while we were waitin’ one of the planes had engine trouble and had to make an unscheduled landing... there was smoke and fire comin’ out of one of the engines... Michael refused to even walk out on the tarmac.”

Maria grinned at that. “Max, Liz and I went skydiving together right after we got to know each other in college. It was totally scary.”

“It’s an awesome feeling though!” Liz enthused.

“Do ya remember when Evans screamed like hell when he thought his parachute wasn’t opening?” Maria giggled.

“First off,” Max countered, looking offended, “I did not scream. And second? That ‘chute wasn’t opening at first and I could’ve ended up as nothin’ more than a big spot on the ground.”

“You were just panicked.” Maria denied. “The thing was opening just as it was supposed to be.”

“I was not panicked.” He glanced around at everyone. “I was NOT panicked.”

“Whatever,” Maria mumbled, finally ready with preparing her own dinner and her stomach grumbled loudly in response.

“Could be worse, man,” Kyle said. “They could’ve said you screamed like a big girl.”

Liz tapped Max’s thigh sympathetically. “We won’t tell anyone.”

“S’okay, tell anyone you want. I can deny it... you have no proof.”

“God, I’m so tired,” Tess yawned loudly.

Maria rolled her eyes at her friend. “What’s wrong with ya? The other day you two were snoring before we even had the camp set up fully.”

“We start our morning’s very early,” Kyle said with a grin. “Need I say more?”

“Ungh, no.”

“Well, if you’ve gotta be up before the crack of dawn, that’s sure as hell the best way to get it started,” Nick agreed.

“I think I’ll get another tea,” Maria said and stood up to go back to her tent.

“She okay?” Max asked Liz, keeping his voice low.

“Yeah, sure, why wouldn’t she be?”

“What about you?”

“I’m okay, too.”

“You’re sure? ‘Cause the two of you were gone for a while.”

“We just needed a little girl talk.”

“Okay,” he said slowly, his eyes taking in her expression and looking for any signs of discomfort. “Does she know about us?”

Liz nodded quietly.

“You’re still okay with it?”

“Yeah, don’t worry. I just needed my best girlfriend to know.”

He smiled and nodded. “Want some banana cream pie?” He waited expectantly for the negative response and when she shook her head he laughed. “Chocolate?”

She looked playfully surprised. “How’d ya know?”

“Because you, Liz Parker, are a woman who knows what she wants and you’re not afraid to admit it.”

Yeah, she thought, there’s just this one thing...

“You may have to think it through sometimes, weigh your options before you make a decision, but once your mind’s made up you put your whole heart into whatever you’re goin’ after.”

“You know me pretty good, huh?”

He leaned closer to whisper in her ear, “I’m bettin’ my heart on it.” He stood up. “I’ll grab dessert.”

Liz shivered when his breath touched her ear and she glanced around to see if everyone was looking at them but they all seemed occupied with their dinner. She turned her head slightly to watch him and she let herself wonder what a life with him would really be like.
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Fics: A Xmas Story - A Merry Mt. R. Xmas - Cupid's Revenge - Double Trouble - Double Date - Double Dare - Double Empire - Double Xmas Wish - In The Course Of A Lifetime - Mountains So High - Not A Question At All - Surrender - TIC TAC - Two Double Dates at Xmas
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Double Trouble
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Joined: Tue Dec 16, 2008 9:47 am

Re: Mountains So High (CC, AU, Adult) - Part 32 - 9/12/10

Post by Double Trouble »

Earth2Mother: Hm…. They probably also eat, LOL.

Oh yeah, when Liz gives in, she will get heaven. ;)

begonia9508: Thanks! No fan of sky-adventures, huh? ;)

mary mary: Yep, they are already sharing an apartment together with Maria right now.

Guess what? 7 days are already over again ;).

Alien_Friend: Thanks! The fic is much lighter than ITCOAL, so we can always balance the writing out between those two fics ;).

sarammlover: Think she’s heard you? ;)

Maiqu: Thanks!

Maria and Liz have a great strong friendship!

rosyrosy2882: Ya lucky when ya have a best friend like this! ;)

Lol, well. There has to be a weak thing in every hero. For Michael it is flying.

You don’t have to wait long for the summit moment.

killjoy: Hm… Tess being preggers? ;) It is a possibility.

Oh yeah, we know those moments. But ya know what is even worse? When something looks really tasty – even in reality – and then ya take a bite and… UNGH!

kismet: Tess? Hm, probably just really tired. ;)

Yeah, sadly the trip is coming to an end, we bet the group doesn’t like it as well.



Part 33

Michael stared into his coffee cup as he contemplated the sudden turn his life had taken in the past few days. He wouldn’t change it though. No, and he’d do anything he could to make this thing with Maria work this time. He had fucked it up once and he wasn’t going to do it again.

Maria came back to the group and took the opportunity to let her hand run through Michael’s hair for a brief moment while nobody was watching before she sat back in her seat again to prepare her tea.

He glanced up at Maria when she sat down and he wanted so badly to just walk over to her and take her in his arms and kiss her the way he wanted to. Doing the right thing sucked, he thought. He was just glad tomorrow was summit day.

Nick stood up and stretched. “Alright, guess I’m goin’ to bed. Have fun, guys, and make sure you’re ready for summit day.”

“Hey, Guerin, I can hang out and wait for everyone to call it a night if ya want,” Tony offered.

Michael inwardly rolled his eyes. “No thanks, you can hit the sheets. Just check the weather report first.”

“Sure.” Tony grinned and got up to go and grab the radio. “I’ll just check that report.” He knew why his good buddy was offering to sit up, but he also knew better than to call him on it.

“When will we leave camp tomorrow morning?” Tess asked and took the last bite of her dessert.

“Early,” Michael mumbled as he poked around his dessert pouch. The stupid thing said it had blueberries in it and he had yet to see a single berry, blue or otherwise.

Tony rolled his eyes. “After sunrise. We won’t have to break camp; we’ll stay here again tomorrow night. After we reach the summit we’ll descend back to this location.”

“So it’s gonna be an exhausting day again, huh?”

Michael looked up from his useless search for the blueberries. “You won’t feel it,” he said. “Standin’ on the summit – it’s called Columbia Crest – there’s nothin’ like it. You’re lookin’ down at the rest of the world. You’ll be on such a natural high that you’ll never even realize how exhausted you are by the time we get back to camp.”

“Alright, well, that sounds like a good note for my future husband and me to leave you guys alone now.”

“Hey, there aren’t any of those little furballs runnin’ around up here, right?” Max asked.

“Furballs?” Michael asked with a grin.

“You don’t like planes, I don’t like rodents... get over it.”

Michael got to his feet. “I’m gonna check the boundary markers once more. Be right back.”

“Don’t bring any rats back with ya,” Liz joked, earning a glare from Max.

“You’re a riot, Parker,” Max grumbled.

She grinned. “Thanks.”

“Remember that when you’re freezin’ your cute little ass off in your lonely little sleeping bag.”

“C’mon, you wouldn’t do that to me.”

Maria rolled her eyes. “You two are nerve-wracking.”

“People in glass houses,” Liz mumbled with a quick glance at Michael.

“Yeah, what’s goin’ on with you and the guide, Maria?” Max hissed so Michael wouldn’t hear.

“Why don’t the two of you go make out or somethin’?” Maria hissed right back.

“C’mon, I know something’s goin’ on...” Max teased.

Maria frowned and glanced at Liz. “Ya didn’t tell him?”

“No, not yet. I’ve kinda been busy.”

“Um, hello? Confused here,” Max complained. “Somebody wanna let me in on what you’re talkin’ about?”

Maria made a face at him. “No.”

“Liz, tell me or I’m gonna kiss you right here,” Max threatened.

Liz grinned. “No.”

He edged closer to her. “I’m not kiddin’, Liz... they’re all gonna know if I kiss you ‘cause it’s not gonna be the kinda kiss best friends share.”

“Everybody’s in their tents and Maria knows anyway.”

Max glanced around and sighed when he saw that everyone but the three of them and Michael were the only ones still up. “You might as well tell me... you know you’re gonna tell me eventually anyway.”

“But it’s so much more fun to leave ya clueless,” she teased

“You’re just wrong for that, girl.”

Maria rolled her eyes. Why didn’t he just kiss her?

Max shot a quick look at Michael before focusing on Liz again. “You care if he knows?” She wasn’t ready to tell anyone that they were together and he didn’t want to do anything to make her uncomfortable.

Liz bit her bottom lip and shook her head slightly.

He smiled at her as his hands came up to cradle her neck. He leaned in closer and his lips were just brushing hers when a handful of snow rained down over them.

Michael dusted his hands off when they jerked apart to look at him. “Heard a story once about a couple, their lips froze together when they were kissin’ on a climb... cold weather and all.”

Maria laughed when she saw Max and Liz’ baffled faces.

Michael just looked at them. “The cold... wind... ya probably don’t wanna risk it.” Go make out in your tent, people! He wasn’t interested in seeing the other couple making out.

“Come on over here, big boy, and leave them alone,” Maria said.

His eyebrows shot up. “Huh?” He nodded at her friends and held his hands up, trying to make sure he understood what she was saying.

She just gestured to his place where he had been sitting before he went to check the markers.

He got up and moved closer to her, sitting down and wondering what she had in mind.

Maria glanced at Max and Liz, who were both staring at them. “Didn’t you wanna kiss her, Max?”

Max motioned between her and Michael. “What’re you doin’?”

“We’re just sitting here and talking,” she replied.

“Uh-huh,” he said skeptically. “Liz, you wanna call it a night?”

“Just when it starts to get interesting,” she muttered.

Max lifted an eyebrow at her comment and when she stood up he grabbed her hand and pulled her back down in his lap. “You want interesting?” He pressed his lips to hers and took advantage of her surprised gasp to deepen the kiss.

Liz suddenly felt dizzy and held onto his shoulders. The worry about the fact the Maria and Michael were both watching them disappeared when she felt his arms tighten around her.

He wished like hell that there were a lot less layers between them because he wanted to feel her skin against his.

“So he finally got the guts to tell her, huh?” Michael asked with a smirk.

“Let’s just say this isn’t normal behavior for the two of them... not together anyway,” Maria answered.

“We can hear you, ya know?” Max mumbled.

Michael snorted. “Then you’re obviously doin’ somethin’ wrong.”

Maria glanced at the cup Michael was holding in his hands. “Hey, would ya mind makin’ us a cup of coffee?” She pulled the zipper of her jacket up until the collar was hiding half of her face.

“Sure.” He nodded at her tent. “You wanna get in out of the wind?”

“Nah, I’m good for now.”

He shot a glance at the other couple and rolled his eyes. “Just a cup for you?”

“Yeah.”

“Okay.” He crouched down next to the fire and made a couple cups of coffee. He wondered about them spending the night together, but knew that most likely it wouldn’t happen because he had his doubts that either of them had enough self-control to stop themselves from taking things further.

Maria’s eyes shifted back to Max and Liz. She smiled when she saw the other couple snuggled up against each other.

Max caught Liz’s hand when she tugged on the zipper tab under his chin. “Huh-uh,” he whispered, “it’s too damn cold out here to expose anymore skin than is currently exposed.”

“Maybe it’s time for us to go inside then.”

“And you’re not gonna get a single argument outta me over that suggestion.” He winked at her and helped her to her feet.

“Alright, you two, we’re callin’ it a night,” Liz said and glanced at Maria meaningfully.

Maria waved and gave the new couple a smile. “G’night.”

“Have a nice... night,” Liz said back and winked.

Michael rolled his eyes. “You wanna break out the pom-poms and do a little cheer before you go?”

“Good night to you too, Michael,” Liz said before Max and her left.

He snorted and carried the coffee cups over to Maria, handing her one and sitting down beside her with his own. “Max is gonna have his hands full with her.”

“Yeah, but he already knows that.”

“So, I’m guessing by her less than subtle nudges that Liz has no problem with the two of us bein’ together?”

She shook her head. “No, she’s cool with it.”

He reached for her hand, interlocking their fingers and looking at her. “The climb down takes less time... you gonna be ready to deal with this when we get back down?”

She nodded. “The sooner we get it over with the better.”

“So... your parents, they’ll be there before we get back down?”

“No. They’re gonna be staying at another cabin a little bit away from here.”

“But, they’ll be arriving before we get back?”

“I’m not so sure about that. They didn’t give me the exact day they’d be arriving.”

“You think they’re gonna give you shit over handin’ Mark his walkin’ papers?”

“Probably, yes.”

“You ready for that?”

She made a face. “I have to be.”

He nodded and took a sip of his coffee. “I guess you’re gonna talk to Mark first?”

“Yeah, he has a right to know first.”

He looked out at the distant mountain peaks visible in the moonlight. “You know, Tony’s right about that feelin’ you get when you stand on top of this mountain, but this’s the first time it’s really gonna mean somethin’ to me.”

“It’ll mean something to us,” she corrected him.

He smiled and nodded. “I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve stood up there, felt that rush of exhilaration for the first few minutes and then it just faded ‘cause I couldn’t... ya know, share it with you.”

“We talked about doin’ a trip like this when we were back in high school,” she remembered.

“Yeah.” He scratched his eyebrow with his thumb. “This’s gonna be the most memorable trip so far.”

Maria chuckled. “I probably should’ve known that I’d find ya here.”

“What’re the chances, ya know? Out of all the mountains you guys could’ve picked to climb, you chose mine.” He shook his head.

“Well, ya know, I never believed in fate... but now...” She smirked.

“Just don’t tempt her... she’s a finicky bitch.”

She knew he was probably speaking from his own experiences. “Tell me something about you, Michael. About your life has been the last couple of years.”

“Lonely,” he answered in one word.
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Fics: A Xmas Story - A Merry Mt. R. Xmas - Cupid's Revenge - Double Trouble - Double Date - Double Dare - Double Empire - Double Xmas Wish - In The Course Of A Lifetime - Mountains So High - Not A Question At All - Surrender - TIC TAC - Two Double Dates at Xmas
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Double Trouble
Obsessed Roswellian
Posts: 925
Joined: Tue Dec 16, 2008 9:47 am

Part 34

Post by Double Trouble »

Earth2Mama: No reason so be super pissed! At least not for now, lol.

Yeah, he’s been lonely. He’ll get some lovin’ today! ;)

mary mary: 7 days are not that long, see.. ;)

Natalie36: Thanks! She will eventually.

Eva: It’s not silly, we wanted to hug him as well!

Alien_Friend: Can’t wait to get rid of Mark, huh?

Max, Liz and all the others have a great dynamic together.

keepsmiling7: Thanks! More to come.

sarammlover: Michael’s loneliness is finally over. ;) As well as M&L’s.

begonia9508: That definitely should tell the parents who she really wants/needs. But well… we will see!

Lol, M&L will exchange some body heat eventually.

killjoy: We like to write Max and Maria as well, as long as it is platonic, lol.



Part 34

Her heart clenched when she heard him say that.

“I mean, I’ve had good moments, and I’ve made some good friends.” He rolled his eyes. “Even if Nick does drive me crazy he’s a good guy.”

“I’m sorry... that it all turned out like it did. Admittedly, I’m still mad that you took the decision from me two years ago but I know in some weird way, you just did it because you thought it was the right thing to do.”

Michael nodded but didn’t look at her. “Maybe I should’ve done things differently, Maria... I don’t know. What I do know is that I’m in a place now where I can deal with your decision and any consequences that we have to face as a result when we get down off of this mountain... I couldn’t do that a couple years ago.”

She leaned back in her seat and stared into the fire. “Can I ask you something? It might sound stupid, but in some way the answer is important to me.”

Oh, hell, questions like this had a tendency to put his ass in the fire, he thought even as he nodded.

“Alright,” she took a deep breath. “Where do ya see us in a few years?”

He cleared his throat. Ran his free hand through his hair. Reached up to scratch his eyebrow. Shifted in his seat. Cleared his throat again. “Why do I have the feelin’ so much hinges on this answer?”

She glanced at him nervously and tried to force a smile. “Ya know... what we plan to do.... it’s a huge step and I have to know what you want.”

“What I want... that’s easy, Maria, I want you. I’ve always wanted you. Yeah, I’d like to stay here. I’ve actually got somethin’ planned, a future that has the potential of allowing me the freedom to be who I am and also earning a paycheck that allows me to be a provider.” He shook his head at her. “Don’t get all pissy and tell me about how you’ll earn your own money ‘cause I already know all that. But, a guy’s gotta have the ability to take care of his family and I’m gonna be there... maybe not perfectly stable for the next couple of years ‘cause it’s gonna take time to get things up an’ runnin’, but I’m gonna reach that goal.”

Maria stared at him and smiled softly. He had absolutely no clue that the only word she had been waiting for was ‘family’.

He bit his bottom lip as he looked at her. “Okay, you’re smilin’... that was the right answer?”

Maria chuckled. “I think so, even if you don’t really know what ya said.” She took a sip of the coffee he had prepared for her.

“I know what I said,” he denied. “I just don’t know which part made you smile.”

She shook her head. “It doesn’t matter. Main point is that you said it.”

“I’ve gotten older and presumably smarter and women still make no sense to me,” he muttered.

“Someday you might be even smarter, baby,” she said with a wink.

“I’m feelin’ smarter right now... it’s getting colder out and I think the wind’s pickin’ up. Maybe we should get in one of these tents.”

“Uh-huh, just a petty excuse to get me into your tent,” she teased.

He grinned unrepentantly. “Is it workin’?”

She shrugged. “Maybe.” Hell, she knew she had said that she didn’t want to make anything official right now, but it was killing her to not be able to touch him.

“Ya know, we could just make out for a while,” he said with a teasing grin. “We’re both adults... we don’t have to go all the way...”

“Think you can stop yourself, huh?”

“I think we’re both old enough to know when to put the brakes on. Will we want to? Hell no! But, we’re capable of stoppin’ before things go too far.”

“My tent or yours?”

“I don’t care,” he growled.

She leaned forward to lay her hand in his – it looked so small in comparison.

Michael raised his head to meet her eyes. “How ‘bout my tent? You go on an’ get settled down and lemme put the fire out.”

“Sounds good,” Maria stood up to walk to her own tent to get some stuff.

He took his time as he put the fire out and put a few things away, giving himself a few minutes to remember all the reasons why they were taking this slow. They both had people they didn’t want to intentionally hurt, but he also didn’t want to spend another night without her in his arms. It wouldn’t be easy, but they could do both; they’d both be happy and no one would get hurt.

Maria searched around her tent until she had found her toothbrush and a hair tie. She considered if it was necessary to take her sleeping bag with her, but decided against it. When she closed her tent up from outside she glanced around to see where Michael was. She located him a little ways away from the camp and decided she should just quickly brush her teeth and go to his tent and wait for him.

Michael stood and stretched as he looked around at their camp, tipping his head to one side as he listened for anything that was out of place. After a few minutes he finished his nightly routine and paused to look up at the stars, inhaling the cold, crisp air, and wishing they were already back down at the base of the mountain.

Maria made herself as comfortable in his tent as possible. She shook her head slightly and chuckled. She felt like she had right before her first time... excited, nervous, a little scared about what would happen.

He drew in a deep, calming breath, and wished his nerves would settle down. They suddenly felt all jittery and hyper-aware and he knew it was because he was planning to spend the night with Maria. How was it possible to feel like this? It wasn’t exactly the first time they had ever been together and they weren’t gonna go all the way, they had both agreed to wait for that. He made one more mental note to put the brakes on before he walked across camp and ducked down to climb into his tent.

Maria smiled a little when he crawled into the tent and kicked his boots off. Before he had walked in she had taken a flashlight and tied it to the ceiling of the tents to give them some dim light.

Michael shrugged out of his outer gear, watching Maria the whole time. “This’s gonna sound really stupid, but... are you nervous about this at all?” he asked as he stretched out next to her.

She nodded. “Like hell.”

He huffed out a relieved laugh. “Good, it’s just not me then.”

“That’s really weird huh?”

“Little bit, yeah.” He reached up to run his fingers over her face. “I think it’s good though, right?”

“Yeah,” she leaned into his touch and closed her eyes.

Oh, this wasn’t gonna be easy, he thought as his eyes slid over her, taking in every nuance of her expression. “I’m sorry we lost the past couple of years, Maria,” he whispered as he leaned in to kiss her.

“Maybe we needed this,” she mumbled against his lips.

Maybe she was right, he didn’t know. All he knew was that she was here now and they both wanted to make a relationship work. That was all that was important. He shifted, easing her onto her back and leaning over her as he braced his weight on his forearms.

She stared up into his dark brown eyes, searching for anything that would tell her that he had doubts about what they were gonna do soon – but she couldn’t find any there. Her hands came up to wander over his sides, still hidden beneath lots of layers of clothes. “Maybe we weren’t ready for this step back when we were in high school. Who knows... we probably would’ve questioned ourselves if we were really doin’ the right thing... you hear about a lot of high school lovers who break up in college because they think they’re missin’ something in their lives.”

She sighed. “You wouldn’t have been happy in California with me, Michael.”

“Don’t think so?” he asked, although he suspected she was right.

“No... there’s nothing near the college where you could have done something like this here and...” she shrugged. “It wouldn’t have been right for you.”

“You ever wondered what would’ve happened if we had followed our plan?”

“Sure, I’ve wondered about that for the last two years, Michael.”

“Yeah, me too.” He caught her hand when she reached up to touch his face, playing with her fingers as he watched her in the dim light. “You think you could be happy here, Maria?”

She nodded. “I just have to find a way to keep up with my dreams, ya know? I don’t wanna just live here and do nothing.”

“We could set up some meetings with the local colleges; see what they’ve got to offer for your field of study. I’ve been thinkin’ about takin’ some business classes online an’ I know some of the colleges offer that kinda stuff; I wanna be able to pull my weight when me an’ the guys get our outfit goin’.”

“Think we can convince Max and Liz to come down here?” she joked. “I’ll really miss them. And Kyle and Tess as well...”

“Well, I don’t know what kinda law enforcement they’re lookin’ into... didn’t really pay much attention when they were talkin’ about it the other day... but, if they’re interested in the area I do know a few people I could put them in contact with.” He grinned and leaned down to brush his lips against hers again. “And if not, we’ll make sure to visit and stay in contact.”

Maria grabbed the collar of the soft fleece pullover he was wearing and stopped him from pulling away from her. She deepened the kiss, lifting her upper body a few inches towards him and using one arm to brace herself on the ground while the other hand held onto the soft material of his clothes.

Michael wanted to be able to touch her and feel her against him without a dozen layers of clothing between them, but it wasn’t that much warmer inside the tent. “You wanna shed some of these clothes and get in that sleepin’ bag?”

Instead of answering, she pulled the zipper of his high collar down slowly and stared into his eyes.

He growled low in his throat as their gazes locked and he waited to see how far she would go.

She used both hands to shove him backwards slightly until she was able to sit upright. Her fingers fumbled with the hem of his pullover and started to pull it upright.

As soon as he had confirmation of her intentions he brushed her hands aside and jerked the pullover up and off. “How many layers you want me to get rid of?” he rasped.

“All of ‘em,” she whispered.

Hell, what was a little cold flesh? he thought. He wouldn’t be cold for long anyway. He unzipped, unbuttoned, and pulled off the shirts until he was bare from the waist up. “Better?” He grinned when she just stared at him and he motioned at her upper body. “C’mon, your turn.”

Maria swallowed hard when she finally had the opportunity to enjoy the look of his bare upper body. God, he looked so sexy – even more than he had looked the last time she could remember. “Huh?” She glanced up when she heard him saying something, but had no clue what it had been.

Michael shook his head at her dazed response. He reached for her hands and tugged her up against his body, lowering his head and taking her mouth in a hard kiss. “We’ll come back to that,” he muttered.

She groaned into his mouth when he surprised her with the sudden kiss. Her stomach felt like she was sitting in a roller coaster and her heart pounded wildly against her chest.

Her hands on his skin made him crazy and he fumbled behind her to unzip the sleeping bag. He lifted her up and shoved the top flap over before bracing his right hand on the ground behind her and lowering her down to the sleeping bag.

“Michael,” she panted, holding onto him tightly as if he would just leave if she didn’t.

“Not goin’ anywhere,” he grunted as he fought with the zipper preventing him from reaching her skin.

She used her feet to prop herself up from the ground towards him, pressing her body against his as much as the position allowed her.

“Um-hmm, you’re not makin’ this hard on me at all,” he teased.

“Am I going too far?” she asked and bit her lip. She knew they wanted to take things slow but that wasn’t going to be easy at all.

“Huh-uh, but just to be safe, maybe I won’t take anything else off tonight.”

She nodded. “Okay.”

“Not that I don’t want to,” he hurried to assure her. “But, just to be safe maybe we should keep some of the temptation caged for tonight.” He grinned at her.

“I wish we had already told everyone the truth,” she admitted. Honestly, she was more scared about her parent’s and Mark’s reactions than she would tell him and the fear seemed to increase a little more every day.

“Wanna start tomorrow?” He winced. “Nah, I guess you wanted to tell Mark first though, huh?”

She sighed. “I don’t know. On the one hand I don’t wanna hide for the whole trip and on the other I wanna talk to him first before anything gets official between us.”

“Okay, and this’s completely selfish on my part because I wanna be able to kiss you an’ touch you without checkin’ to make sure no one’s lookin' first, but your friends want you to be happy and they know you’re not really happy with that guy.”

“You think we should tell them?”

He shrugged. “Like I said, it’s selfish. I’m not gonna attempt to change your mind about us not havin’ sex until after you’ve talked to Mark and I’ve talked to Courtney... not that I don’t want to,” he chuckled, “but I do agree that we need to take care of that first. But, I think your friends would be okay with this.”

She glanced away and thought about it. Was it okay to tell them now? How would they react? Tomorrow was summit day – it would be cool to just let him hold her when they reached their destination.

“It’s totally up to you and I’ll support whatever decision you make.”

The zipper finally gave in and got him one layer closer to her skin. “I’m gonna throw my vote for tellin’ ‘em though.”

She nodded. “Okay, we tell them.”

“Tomorrow,” he whispered as he finally got to the last shirt and he lifted her up just enough to get rid of the cumbersome material. His eyebrows quirked when he saw the lacy red bra. “Decided to forego the aqua bra for this trip?” he asked, laughing as he remembered one of her attempts to enhance her breasts because she thought they were too small.

“It would’ve frozen out here,” she told him with a wink.

“Be a damn shame to freeze these babies,” he said as he cupped her breasts in his big hands.

She shivered when his cold hands touched her, but made no effort to brush them off.

“Sorry,” he muttered as he slid down to press his lips against her flesh and run his tongue along the edge of her bra.

“I’ve missed you so much, Michael.” Now that he was touching her the way he used to when they had been together, she realized how much her yearning for feeling that way again had been.

He felt her shifting against him restlessly and as torturous as it was he loved every second of it. He had missed being with her and nothing had ever come close to this feeling.

She let her fingers wander over his bare upper body. “Are you cold?”

“It’s a little cool,” he admitted.

“C’mere then,” she said, spreading her arms and taking the end of the sleeping bag in her hand.

Michael crawled in beside her and let her wrap him in her embrace as she covered both of them with the sleeping bag. “We’ll be good an’ warm in here.”

“I know,” she rested her forehead against his and nudged him with her nose playfully.

Michael kissed the tip of her nose. “We’re really gonna do this,” he said, still shocked that he had been given a second chance with her.

“Unbelievable, huh?”

“Second chances aren’t somethin’ I see a lot of, Maria, and I’m gonna do my best to not give you any reasons to regret this.”

“I trust you with this, Michael.”

He nodded and shifted to the side so he could pull her closer. “We should probably get some sleep. Tomorrow’s the big day.”

“Yeah, I can’t wait for that. It’s gonna be great.”

He pressed a kiss to her temple and then settled down, wrapping his arms around her and holding her tightly.

Maria snuggled as close to him as possible and rested her head on his chest, listening to his heartbeat.
Image
Fics: A Xmas Story - A Merry Mt. R. Xmas - Cupid's Revenge - Double Trouble - Double Date - Double Dare - Double Empire - Double Xmas Wish - In The Course Of A Lifetime - Mountains So High - Not A Question At All - Surrender - TIC TAC - Two Double Dates at Xmas
User avatar
Double Trouble
Obsessed Roswellian
Posts: 925
Joined: Tue Dec 16, 2008 9:47 am

Part 35

Post by Double Trouble »

Eva: Yes? Lol.

You’re gonna be seeing more of them!

Earth2Mother: Well, at least there’ll be a LOT of something later in the fic, lol.

You can already consider Mark history! ;)

keepsmiling7: Yes, we are…

begonia9508: Well, they’re a little bit slower out of the gate, but they’re gonna get there.

Thanks!

Alien_Friend: Michael is in a place where he finally knows exactly what he wants and how to make that happen. It’s taken him some time to get here, but he can seriously talk things out with Maria.

We’re thinking everyone’s gonna be pretty happy.

Natalie36: Thanks for reading!

Lover of Metallica: Yup, we think they’ll all be happy for her.

Well, the parents aren’t going to be easy. You’re right, they’ve got a great support system and we think they’re gonna make it through that ordeal.

Thanks!

mary mary: Well, yeah, but… hey, we’re shedding more light with each new update. :)

We’re glad it was worth the wait.

Next week’s here… again.

Maiqu: Thanks for reading!

sarammlover: Yeah, we think so too. Her friends will be more than happy to see Mark’s departure… Mark, well, we’ll get his reaction too.

killjoy: Oh, they’re in for a few confrontations when they get back down. Let the fireworks begin!


Part 35

Max lay in the dark, silently staring at the ceiling of the tent as he listened to Liz shifting restlessly beside him. Their sleeping bags were zipped together, they were sharing the space, but she had quickly migrated to her own side as soon as he had killed the light. She hadn’t said anything, but her distance was speaking loud and clear.

“You gonna tell me why you’re suddenly as far away as you can get from me?”

Liz could hear the confused tone in his voice, but it was laced with irritation and she knew he wasn’t going to let it rest. Max had an annoying habit of hounding her when they were arguing about something and that apparently wasn’t going to change just because he was interested in changing their relationship.

Liz sighed. “I don’t know, Max.”

He sighed. “Is it because of all the marriage talk? Look, you’re not gonna hurt my feelings if you don’t wanna run out and get married right away and I’d like to think you know me well enough to know that I’m not gonna push you into somethin’ like that.”

“I know you wouldn’t do that, Max.” She had no reason to think that he would react like a jackass or anything.

“Then why’re you all the way over there?”

“It’s not that I have any doubts about YOU, Max.”

“Explain it to me then... I like to think I’m all evolved and shit, but if you know I’m not gonna pressure you into a commitment you’re not ready for and you’re not doubtin’ me... then... help me out here, Liz.”

“I’m not sure I can really do this, Max. A steady relationship... just one guy... and then with you. You know me better than anyone.”

Max fumbled in the dark for the lantern and flipped the little power button on the side, providing a little bit of illumination. “Liz, look at me here, darlin’.” He stared into her eyes for a few seconds. “You think this doesn’t terrify me? Because it does. Hell, I know what we’re riskin’ if it doesn’t work out. I’m willin’ to take that risk, but if you’re havin’ second thoughts just do me a favor and stop this before my heart tips over that last ledge because if you hang around and I fall completely in love with you... I’m not gonna be able to put my feelings on a shelf and go back.” Honestly, he didn’t know if he could go back now, but better now than later.

“I don’t know what to do right now, Max.” She glanced away from him. “I don’t know what I want.”

Max bit his lip and nodded. Liz had avoided serious relationships and he knew what he was asking of her, but he had to face the fact that she might not be able to settle into a relationship with him. “I know this isn’t easy for you, so, maybe you should just take some time and figure it out.”

She nodded slightly and turned her back to him. This was the first time she couldn’t talk about something with her best friend and it bothered her.

“C’mon, Liz, talk to me. Us bein’ able to talk shouldn’t change just because our relationship is changin’. The fact that we can talk just makes us stronger.”

“I don’t know what to say to you, Max.” And it was the truth. There was nothing she could say that would really help them in any way right now.

He knew she had a tendency to keep her thoughts and feelings close when she was trying to figure something out, but even then he was used to her talking to him about things.

Liz continued to stare in the opposite direction and hoped he would just switch off the light.

Max turned the light off again and lay down on his back, resuming his previous perusal of the ceiling of the tent. After a few moments he shifted restlessly and contemplated reaching over and pulling her into his arms. Would she be receptive to that? Or would it just piss her off? He knew her better than anyone else as a best friend, but, he had no knowledge of her in this capacity.

Liz tugged the sleeping bag closer around her body and up to her nose when she could feel the cold creeping in every little space.

“Ya know, even if you can’t talk to me you don’t have to sleep all the way over there,” he said, deciding that it would be better if he let her make her own mind up.

She rolled over a little bit to face him. “I just don’t want to hurt you... or disappoint you.”

“Don’t put that kinda pressure on yourself, Liz.” He shook his head at her. “Yeah, if you back outta this it’s gonna hurt and I’m gonna be disappointed, but I’ll deal with it.” He had no idea how, but he’d have to find a way. “But you can’t control stuff like that and I don’t want you to hold back because of it.” He reached for her hand and tugged her closer. “Now c’mere and get comfortable.”

She let him pull her in his arms. “Let’s just sleep, okay?” she begged and rested her head on his chest, enjoying the warmth that was coming for his body.

“That’s all I had in mind, you crazy, difficult woman.” He snorted softly.

*****

Kyle was warming his hands over the fire that Tony had built while Tess rummaged around in their packs for something to eat. He glanced over at Max when he joined them after taking off on his own for a few minutes. “Everything okay?” he asked when he noticed the other man’s expression. Max wasn’t a morning person, but it wasn’t his usual I-hate-mornings look.

“Huh? Yeah, yeah, everything’s fine.” Just hit a slight snag with Liz, he said silently.

“Where’s your shadow?”

“Draggin’ her ass this mornin’. She was up late... thinkin’.”

“Max, have you seen Maria this mornin’?” Tess asked as she finally settled on one of the meals.

“Huh-uh.”

“Go wake her up, would you? We need to get ready.”

Kyle rolled his eyes. “Max is not your messenger boy, babe.”

Tess threw the package at him. “Biscuits and gravy this mornin’, Kyle.” She smiled sweetly. “And don’t burn them this time.”

Max just rolled his eyes at them. “If you wanna see Maria go get ‘er up yourself.” He sat down and pulled a couple of packages out of his pack. “Get your shapely ass in gear, Parker!” he hollered. “Breakfast’ll be ready in 15 minutes.”

Kyle leaned back and waited for the predictable response. Liz wasn’t a morning person either, but she was normally a little more pleasant than Max was.

“Fuck off, Evans.”

Max grinned and started getting the meals ready. “It’s gonna be a good day, Valenti, I can feel it.”

Kyle shook his head. “Only you would think getting cussed at first thing in the mornin’ signals a good day ahead.”

“Hey, you guys? Maria’s not in her...” Tess trailed off when the entrance to last occupied tent was suddenly opened and Maria stepped out, yawning and stretching. “Maria DeLuca, what are you doin’ over there?”

“Um...”

Michael crawled out and got to his feet, giving Maria a shove as he hurried past her. “Back in a minute,” he mumbled. “Gotta piss.” Damn, they had stayed awake way too long the night before.

“So... Maria... shackin’ up with Michael,” Tess said, smiling. “What’s going on?”

“Well...” she tried, still too tired to think straight.

Max looked like he had just seen a ghost. “Um... Maria...” He had known that there was something going on between her and the guide, but to actually see it... was different.

Liz suddenly bounded out of the tent, nearly knocking Max over in her haste to get to Maria. She threw her arms around her friend and hugged her. “No more Mark?” she asked, sounding surprisingly awake.

Maria rolled her eyes at Liz. “Very subtle, girl.”

“I need normal, Maria,” she whispered.

“Somethin’ wrong with you and Max?” Maria asked when she sensed her friend’s weird mood.

“I’m not sure about what I’m doin’ with Max, Maria,” she whispered.

“Think we can talk about it a little later when everyone isn’t staring at us?”

Liz slowly turned around, smiling when she realized that Maria was right and everyone was staring at them. Oops. “Oh, um...” She pointed at Michael when he came back into camp. “Mark’s been replaced!”

Maria rolled her eyes. “Shut up, girl.”

Liz turned to look at her. “It’s true isn’t it?”

Maria glanced over her shoulder when Michael joined them again and she smiled slightly, totally forgetting to answer Liz.

Michael looked around camp, taking in the expressions of the others in the wake of Liz’s unsubtle announcement. Surprise, maybe a little shock, but nothing negative.

“We’ll talk later, okay?” Maria told Liz.

“You are sooo with him now!” Liz whispered. “You know you can tell everyone, right? No one’s gonna think any less of you if you...” she winced. “Okay, so I already busted you, but you know everyone likes him and they can see the difference in you. It’s a good difference, Maria.”

“Why don’t you just shut up and sit down, huh?” Maria asked sweetly.

Liz cleared her throat and nodded, backing away slowly. “Shutting up now.”

“What’s that all about?” Max hissed when she joined him, almost forgetting his own problems for now.

She opened and closed her mouth a couple of times as she tried to come up with an answer. Somehow, telling him she had blurted out Maria’s secret because she was panicking about being with him seemed all wrong. She decided to go with clueless instead. “What?”

“Maria, Michael... same tent...”

“Oh, that,” she said, relieved, “yeah, they’re totally together. You know what that means, right? Mark is getting dumped when we get off this mountain!”

“Are ya serious?” Tess hissed when she heard what Liz had said.

“No more Mark?” Max asked, thinking how much nicer it would be at home without that dickhead being in his space. “I like no more Mark.”

Kyle nodded. “Ya know, I try not to hate on anyone, but that guy... totally pushed the limits.”

“Seems like nobody’s interested in us, they’re all just glad Mark will be outta the picture,” Maria muttered to Michael.

Michael knew better than to add anymore fuel on the fire so he just reached out and took her hand. “Hey, they just know the guy wasn’t right for you. Besides,” he grinned, “that just makes it easier for us.”

She leaned against him. “Yeah, you’re probably right.”

Nick watched his partner with the blonde. He knew the guy had been into the girl from the first time he had seen her but he had never believed that Maria would just dump the boyfriend for him... or were they just flirting until this trip was over and then they’d go their separate ways again? Damn, Guerin didn’t even know her...

“I’m right,” he said confidently. “So, now that your good friend’s busted us how you wanna do this?”

She shrugged. “I guess we’ll just tell ‘em the truth. Well... we don’t have to tell them why we broke up and all...”

“Sooo... you just want me to make an announcement or what?”

“Let’s just get over there. I’m pretty sure they’ll hit us with questions before we can get anything out.”

Michael laughed and released her hand to grab his pack and dig a couple of packages out. “We can get breakfast knocked out at the same time,” he said when he saw the look on her face. “We’ll need to get started pretty soon so...”

“You gonna prepare mine too?” She wiggled her eyebrows.

He held up both packages and then motioned to the others. “Might as well get this over with.” He didn’t think it was gonna be that bad, but there was no need to drag it out.

“Alright.” They walked over to the fire where everyone was sitting and they took the two empty seats between Liz and Tony.

Nick watched Michael and Maria for several seconds before he glanced at Tony, wondering if he knew what was going on. He frowned when his friend motioned for him to stay quiet but he nodded in agreement.

Maria frowned when everyone got quiet. She had expected lots of questions.

“So, it’s true?” Max asked. “You’re gonna show Mark’s ass to the door?”

“Jeez, Max, obvious much?” Tess muttered, shoving him.

“What? You’re not bein’ all that decent either!” Max shot back.

Tess moved before he had time to anticipate it and she put him in a headlock as she looked at Maria. “Okay, girl, what’s the story here? Give it up.”

“Well... as you already said, Max,” she glared at him, “I’m gonna break up with Mark when we get down off of this mountain.”

Max was too busy trying to free himself from Tess’ clutches to answer. “Damn it, Harding, cut it out!” he yelled when she wouldn’t release him.

Tess ignored his shouting as she turned to smile at her fiancé. “I’m so glad you showed me these moves... he really can’t move.”

Kyle shook his head at them and glanced at Maria. “Sad as this attempt is, everyone’s just tryin’ to keep things normal so you can tell us what you’ve got to tell us without being put on the spot.”

“Yeah,” Tess added in, “and we’re guessin’ there must be somethin’ to tell since you didn’t stay over at your place last night.”

“So, what’s goin’ on?” Nick asked. “I mean, you guys don’t even know each other.”

“That’s not really true, Nick,” Maria told him.

Kyle frowned. “Well, climbing a few days together doesn’t really mean you knowing someone. Is it just about sex?”

Michael choked on the swallow of coffee he had just taken. “Well,” he rasped, “that was direct. Uh, no, it’s not a decision based on sex.”

“It’s not?” Maria teased, pretending to be shocked.

So, she wanted to play, huh? “Nope, definitely not.” He looked at the others and grinned as he pointed at Maria. “She won’t have sex with me until Mark’s outta the picture.”

“Uh-huh, Courtney too,” she said and stuck her tongue out at him.

“Tease,” he growled and leaned in to kiss her. He was enjoying the chance to just be playful but he kept the kiss brief.

“Okay, let’s get back to the point where you dump Mark and what’s the reason – not that I’m complaining,” Tess said.

Max had been straining to shift around so he could shove the handful of snow he had scooped up in Tess’ face and her momentary lack of concentration gave him the opportunity to get free. “Speakin’ of dumpin’ people...” He squirmed free and pushed her backwards off of her stool, dumping her in the snow. “Now, let’s get back to the important stuff,” he said as he ran his right hand over his hair.

Tess had made a mess of it and now it was sticking up all over the place. “So, you guys are together... you’re gonna dump Mark and he’s gonna dump Courtney... there’s gotta be more to the story than just you guys hookin’ up.”

He shrugged when they just looked at him.

“What? I don’t have a problem with you getting rid of that asshole, but I know you well enough to know this isn’t just somethin’ you’re doin’ in the moment... there’s gotta be more to it.”

“Actually, Michael and I have known each other for a very long time. Longer than I’ve known you or Liz or our other almost-married couple.”

“Wait, so you guys know each other,” Nick said. He glanced at Tony and his mouth dropped open when he realized that the guy didn’t seem shocked. “You knew? Why didn’t anyone tell me about this?”

“Because nobody was supposed to know, dumbass,” Michael said, shaking his head at his friend.

“Well... but... Tony knew!”

“Because he figured it out on his own,” Michael grinned. “He’s a little smarter than you.”

“It’s true,” Tony said, grinning at the younger man. “I am smarter than you.”

“Yeah? Well, I’m better lookin’.”

“So, if you guys already knew each other why act like you’d never seen each other before the other day?” Max asked, jumping up when the little blond demon behind him shoved a handful of snow down his back. “You’re gonna pay for that!” He pulled Liz to her feet and pushed her between him and Tess. “Would you deal with her, please? I’m tryin’ to conduct a serious conversation here.”

Maria glanced at Michael, searching for help. “Well, we hadn’t seen each other in a long time...”

“So, when you say you guys knew each other... I’m guessing you weren’t just friends?” Max asked.

Tess moved past Liz. “Excuse me, but I think I’m gonna have to explain the invention of the nutcracker to your bff.”

“No,” Michael said, “we were together in high school.”

Kyle grabbed Tess around the waist and pulled her down to sit in his lap before she could go after Max. “You were together in high school and when we all met up here you guys acted like you’d never seen each other before, so, I’m guessin’ that means you guys had a bad breakup?”

Liz kicked him. “You can’t just ask a question like that!” she hissed.

Max rolled his eyes at her. “That comin’ from the queen of stating the obvious?”

Liz slapped his thigh. “Shut up.”

“We couldn’t stay together at that time,” Maria told their friends.

Max just grinned when Liz reacted normally for the first time since the night before. “Looks like this trip worked out well then.” He smiled at Maria. “Congrats, girl, you look like you’re really happy.”

She smiled. “I am.”

“But why the hell did you break up then?” Nick asked.

Liz looked at Max, her eyes tracing over his features and taking in the genuine smile on his face. Things were a little rocky between them right now but he wasn’t letting it stop him from being happy for their friend.

Michael glanced at Maria and he relaxed when she gave just the slightest shake of her head. “We’re gonna keep some of the mystery for ourselves, kid.”

Tess snuggled closer against Kyle in his lap. “What’re you gonna do after the trip’s over?”

“Well, we’ve got some things to work out, but we’re confident we’re gonna make it work this time,” Maria answered as she took Michael’s hand and smiled. “Just to make sure though... I’m telling Mark, okay?”

“So, that means no parade past the cabin... no banners...” Max grinned and shook his head at Maria. “I’m kiddin’. It’s tempting, but I won’t do that.”

“Ha ha, funny Max!”

“But, if you change your mind... I’m totally ready to break out the band.”

“You won’t do that,” she warned.

“No,” he agreed, “I won’t do that.”

“Okay,” Tony clapped his hands together, “let’s get breakfast underway and get climbin’! It’s summit day, people!”


:!: :!:

A/N: The next character profile for TIC TAC is ready. Go to our profile page to find out more about Liz Parker and watch the trailer here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0fyrHPjlZmY
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Fics: A Xmas Story - A Merry Mt. R. Xmas - Cupid's Revenge - Double Trouble - Double Date - Double Dare - Double Empire - Double Xmas Wish - In The Course Of A Lifetime - Mountains So High - Not A Question At All - Surrender - TIC TAC - Two Double Dates at Xmas
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Double Trouble
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Mountains So High (CC, AU, Adult) - Part 36 - 10/10/10

Post by Double Trouble »

Earth2Mother: They were all very supportive, weren’t they? :D

We’ll definitely be getting a chance to look in on that scene. We’ll see how Mark reacts to the breakup.

kismet: They’re making progress! Their friends’ support is going to be very important later on.

Liz is having some trouble accepting a relationship with Max. She wants it, but she’s scared to take that risk. Max understands her and he won’t be giving up on her.

Yup, the only thing left is for Maria to officially give him his walking papers.

mary mary: Max and Tess have quite the antagonistic friendship.

Nah, don’t be too disappointed in Liz. There is a reason behind her hesitation and Max knows what it is.

It won’t be hitting the fan just yet. We’ve got a few more parts before our group gets back down from the mountain.

keepsmiling7: She is, lol, but she’s the only one for him.

Eva: They do have their moments. Max is head over heels in love with Liz and he knows it might take time for Liz to reach a place where she’s ready to really deal with a relationship with him.

Having their friends know is important and they’re going to need them and their support later on.

Alien_Friend: They definitely got good reactions from their friends.

The good thing is that Max knows why Liz is so hesitant and we’ll eventually learn the reason as well. He knows that pushing too hard would only succeed in pushing her away so he has to be patient with her.

killjoy: Glad that made ya laugh.

We enjoy writing the friendship between these characters. And somehow we can just imagine that they would have those antagonistic moments. :D

Lover of Metallica: Nah, the guys will be supportive, they want their buddy to be happy.

Well, Max and Liz being nice to Mark would definitely make him suspicious that something was up. But, we’ll see just who it is that spills the beans if Maria doesn’t get to Mark first.

Yeah, that’s a definite possibility.

There’s a good reason for Liz’s hesitation, but we haven’t gotten to it just yet.

Marsis: We’re honored to be your very first post. :D The situation is indeed a difficult one and Mark and Courtney’s reactions should be interesting. Oh, the road ahead of Michael and Maria will have some rocky moments for sure, lol. We’re glad to know you’re enjoying the ride ‘cause it’s got quite a few more parts to come.

You’re right on target about Liz. And Max knows that pushing her right now isn’t going to lead them anywhere. One of the good things about their lifelong friendship is he knows why she’s hesitant to move forward. There is a reason and Liz will eventually bring it up so the rest of us know as well. If Liz can open herself up and be honest with Max then chances are good things will work out. Max the healer… you know it! :D


Part 36

Michael was the first to reach the summit around 1pm that afternoon. He propped one arm on the snow covered ledge and pulled himself up until he was able to lift one leg up as well and heft his whole body up. He secured the rope and turned around to lean over the edge again. “Ready for the summit, baby?"

Maria looked up at him and reached for his extended hand, letting him help her up and over the ledge.

“C’mon, what’s takin’ so long,” Tony teased from behind.

“Want me to leave ‘em hangin’ there and we’ll enjoy the view on our own?” Michael asked, grinning.

“I heard that, Guerin,” Tony grumbled when he appeared at the edge.

Michael watched Maria as she turned in a circle, taking in the scenery as she looked over miles and miles of untouched landscape. There were other mountain peaks in the distance in several directions, but the one they stood on was the only one that mattered at that moment. When she turned to look at him he smiled so big it felt like his face was going to split in two. “It’s amazing, right?”

“Amazing? It’s... I don’t even have a word for it...”

Max and Kyle looked around and high-fived before suddenly shouting, “I’m the king of the world!” at the same time.

Liz rolled her eyes. “You two are King of Porn.”

Max just grinned and grabbed her from behind, swinging her around in a circle and laughing. “We made it, Parker! Can you believe this?!”

She laughed and screamed in surprise. “Max, let me down.”

Maria shook her head at her friends’ antics, smiling when Max set Liz down, but left his arms around her. Tess and Kyle were busy having their own moment of triumph and she turned to Michael.

“Whatcha doin’?” he asked when she shrugged out of her pack.

“Picture time,” she said as she dug her camera out.

“Seriously?” he complained.

“What, you don’t want your picture taken?”

“You know I look stupid in photos.”

She rolled her eyes at him. “You do not look stupid in photos.”

“Uh-huh,” he answered not really convinced.

“I’ll save yours for last then, but you’re not getting out of it.” She winked at him. “Besides, we’ve gotta have a picture of the two of us on the summit.”

He took the camera from her. “Alright, Sexy, pose!”

She grinned at him and played along, striking a sexy pose with the snow-capped peaks of other mountains providing a gorgeous backdrop.

“Oh, picture time,” Liz said excitedly and ran towards Maria to hug her.

Max shook his head and followed Liz, knowing there was no way to get out of taking pictures. He was quickly pulled into the shot by the girls and he draped his arms around their shoulders and hammed it up for the camera.

Michael shook his head when Kyle and Tess got into the picture as well. “You guys are too fat,” he joked.

“I’ll have you know that this body is in no way fat – “ Tess’ rant was cut off when Max stretched his arm out to cover her mouth with his hand and she glared at him before sinking her teeth into it.

“Owww!” he howled. “I thought your fangs only came out at night, you freaky little vampiress!” He glared at Kyle and pointed at her. “Muzzle her.”

Michael chuckled amused when he took several pictures where Max and Tess glared at each other.

“Muzzle her,” Tess mocked, throwing a snowball right in Max’s face.

“With this group up here there’s never gonna be a dull moment in these mountains,” Tony joked as he joined Michael.

“Yeah, crazy people.”

“I love crazy people!” Nick yelled and barreled into the group.

“Yeah, Tony, get over here too,” Liz told him.

“Don’t look at me,” Michael muttered. “He obviously takes after your side of the family.”

Tony snorted as he walked backwards to join the group. “Stop sayin’ things like that or people are gonna start thinkin’ he is related to us!”

Maria smiled into the camera, enjoying the moment with her friends up on the summit. She felt better than she had for a long time. The guys stated to bawl and scream into the cold air, enjoying their triumph of climbing the mountain.

Michael lowered the camera when the group broke up and started messing around and he found himself staring at Maria, mesmerized by her expression as she watched the chaotic scene. Her green eyes sparkled in the sunlight, her cheeks were flushed from the excitement and the cold, and she was happy. He shifted to a new position, lifting the camera up again so he could capture that moment on film.

“Are ya still takin’ pics of me?” She blinked against the sun. “Hand the camera to Liz and come over here.”

“Ungh, you don’t wanna picture of my mug, Maria,” he muttered, glaring at the brunette when she snatched the camera out of his hand and shoved him towards Maria. He rubbed his right hand over his stubbled jaw as he moved to stand next to her.

“Hug me,” she ordered him. “I wanna remember that moment forever.”

“Gonna start orderin’ me around already?” he growled at her even as he did as she had ordered.

“One of us has to take the upper hand,” she joked.

“Um-hmm, just remember that when I get you in bed,” he muttered, his voice low so no one else would hear the words.

She pressed her body against his. “I can’t wait for that.”

“Don’t tempt me to expedite the descent.” He chuckled and lowered his head to kiss her.

Liz smiled as she took a picture of the kissing couple.

“I can’t wait to take a hot shower with you.” Her fingertips ran over his jaw. “First you’re gonna need to shower though.”

“You tryin’ to say I smell bad?”

She winkled her nose. “Just a bit,” she teased.

He grinned and shook his head at her. “The downside to a week in the mountains.”

“Does that mean I smell bad too?”

He cleared his throat. “Like I said... downside to a week in the mountains. Deodorant and the basic wipe-down bath only goes so far.”

She laughed. “That wasn’t nice, Michael Guerin.”

“You want me to lie to you an’ say you smell like a bunch of roses?”

“No, I want you to be honest... always.”

“Alright then.” He winked at her. “I’m still gonna let you share my sleepin’ bag though.”

Maria leaned back in his arms and glanced around one more time. “I can’t believe we’re here. Both of us… here together.”

“Me either. I never expected this trip to turn out like this, but I wouldn’t trade it for anything.” He smiled at her, completely forgetting that Liz was snapping off pictures like crazy. His expression softened and he brushed his thumbs over her cheeks. “I love you,” he whispered. “Should’ve said it before, but...”

Maria blinked a few times when some happy tears tried to escape their eyes. “I love you too, Michael,” she said back hoarsely.

“Hey, no tears, baby,” he begged. He leaned forward and pressed his lips to her closed eyes. He knew she would tell him they were happy tears because she had told him the same thing back in high school, but it still made no sense. Why cry if you’re happy?

“Happy tears, Michael.”

He grunted and pulled her up against him, wrapping his arms around her and holding her tight. He didn’t understand it, but he was smart enough to not question it.

Maria smirked at Liz after a while. “You can stop taking pics of us now, girl. I think I’ve got enough now.”

“You can never have too many pics,” Liz denied, but turned to focus the lens on Max.

Maria looked at Michael. “I have to get my camera back from her.”

“Why? She’ll eventually kill the battery or fill up the memory.”

“Uh-huh, that’s why. Lemme go, Michael.”

He growled at her demand and rolled his eyes but he released her. “Don’t go far.”

“The summit isn’t so big that I could get lost, Michael.”

“Not worried about you getting lost... just don’t want you too far away.”

“Ya know there’ll be times when we won’t see each other, right?” she joked.

“But not today.”

She shook her head at him and turned around. “Alright, girlfriend. Gimme my camera back.”

“Yeah, Parker, unhand that camera,” Max said as he scooped her up in his arms and ran around the snowy ground.

“Max!” she shrieked.

Maria lifted the camera up to take some pics of her friends as they had fun in the snow together. They were such a cute couple.

Max stopped, facing the panoramic view of the mountains surrounding them on all sides. “Can you believe we did this?” he asked breathlessly.

“Uh-huh, we’re here, aren’t we?” she teased.

“You know what I mean.” He shook his head at her. “So, what’s next? White-water rafting on the Colorado River?”

“First we have to get back from the mountain and go back to doing our boring studies.” She glanced back over at Maria and Michael. “You think she’s gonna leave us?” she asked quietly.

Max followed her gaze. “If they’re as serious as they sound like they are, probably. So, maybe we’ll do some research on the colleges in Washington state?” he asked, knowing how much she would miss Maria if the other girl decided to move. It wouldn’t matter to him if they left California; he was pretty adaptable and there would be plenty to do up here.

Liz smiled. “We should definitely think about it. I don’t wanna lose Maria as a friend. I mean, I know we’d still be friends, but… she’d be so far away.”

“We’ll look into it then.” He set her down on her feet but left his arms around her. He studied her for a few minutes before he lifted his right hand to cup her cheek. He didn’t want to push her because he knew she needed to decide what she wanted on her own.

Liz studied his eyes. He seemed to be so sure of what he wanted and that it all could work out with them that she felt her own insecurities fading again. “You do believe in us, don’t you?” she whispered.

He smiled slowly. “More sure of us than anything else in my life,” he answered.

“I know I’m a disaster sometimes, Max, sorry.”

He shook his head. “Don’t apologize for not rushin’ into a decision, darlin’. I want you to want this as much as I do. I’ve had the time to weigh this thing out and decide how much I’m willin’ to risk... question is how much are you willin’ to risk to take a chance on us bein’ more than just friends?” He grinned confidently. “You’ll let me know when you’ve got an answer.”

“What about now?” she blurted out.

“You tell me.”

Instead of saying anything else, she crashed her lips onto his, making him stumble backwards a few steps, but he managed to keep them both upright.

Max finally caught his balance and his hands came up to settle on either side of her neck, exerting just enough pressure to keep her in place as he deepened the kiss.

“Woo hoo!” Maria whooped and took a pic of the kissing couple.

“I win!” Kyle shouted as he punched the air with his fist. “I told you they’d hook up before we got down off of this mountain, Tess!”

She rolled her eyes at him. “Could you be any more obvious if you tried?”

“They had a bet going,” Liz mumbled against Max’s lips. “Can you believe that?”

“Don’t care,” he rasped.

“Finally,” Maria said and took another pic.

Max tuned the others out, more interested in kissing Liz than in who had won the bets.

“Hey, you two, no more steps back or you’re gonna fall off the mountain,” Tony said, grinning when the couple seemed to move backwards slowly.

Max growled, making Liz laugh and he broke the kiss to look around. “Fallin’ off the mountain is not in my plans.”

“But kissing me is?” Liz asked with a smile.

“Um-hmm, kissing you is about to become one of my new favorite things to do.”

“Think it’ll be weird when we go farther?”

“Maybe at first... and if you could avoid laughing at me when things start movin’ forward sexually I’d really appreciate that.”

“Why would I laugh at you?”

“Just because we’ve been friends for so long and it probably will be weird at first.”

“I’m not gonna laugh,” she promised.

“We’re good then. I kinda wish now that we hadn’t decided we wanted to go back down on foot. That chopper idea’s lookin’ real good right about now.”

“Yeah... a hot shower... a warm bed. Tempting.”

“Throw in some nudity and a lot of sex and I’ll pony up the money to have them airlift us down the mountain today.”

“Forget it,” Maria said when she heard what the couple was saying.

“Did anyone ask for your input, DeLuca?” Max asked without breaking eye contact with Liz.

“Nope, but you talk without being asked all the time.”

“Important subject... not open for outside discussion, so zip it. Find somethin’ else to do with your lips.”

“Can I make a suggestion?” Michael asked from where he was standing with Tony and Nick.

“Can he make a suggestion?” Max asked Liz.

“I think he was talking to Maria, goofy.”

Maria smirked and propped her hands on her hips. “You can certainly try.”

“Nothin’ we should talk about here,” he said with a wink.

Max rolled his eyes. “It’s not too late to have them call for a chopper.”

“Come on, you two waited 20 years, what’s a few more days?” Kyle complained.

“Maybe everyone who has had sex in the past week can just shut the hell up and get outta the conversation,” Max suggested.

“Someone is very sexually frustrated,” Maria mumbled.

“Aww, cut the guy some slack, baby,” Michael muttered as he walked up behind her and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her back against his body.

She smiled and glanced around, enjoying the view one more time. “Part of me wants to get down really fast so we could be done with my parents and Mark sooner. The other part wants to stay here as long as possible.”

“Hey, once we deal with that he’ll be gone and it’ll be over.” He shrugged when she tipped her head back to look at him. “Well, your parents might take a little longer, but, we’re gonna get through it.”

“You’re probably right. I’m just not looking forward to that moment.”

“No, but it’ll be okay.”

“We have to exchange our phone numbers before we get down,” she reminded him.

“We will. You won’t lose me again, Maria, and I’m not gonna do what I did before.”

“Okay,” she whispered quietly.
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Fics: A Xmas Story - A Merry Mt. R. Xmas - Cupid's Revenge - Double Trouble - Double Date - Double Dare - Double Empire - Double Xmas Wish - In The Course Of A Lifetime - Mountains So High - Not A Question At All - Surrender - TIC TAC - Two Double Dates at Xmas
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Double Trouble
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Joined: Tue Dec 16, 2008 9:47 am

Part 37

Post by Double Trouble »

Cardinal: Liz definitely made that decision pretty quickly in that moment. Second thoughts? We’ll see.

Yup, for the moment they’re not the hot topic.

Eva: Yes, it’s got to be!

It’s a difficult position to be in and she’ll be glad when the Mark situation’s taken care of.

keepsmiling7: Well, lol, you just never know! But… maybe we’ll find out if the situation seems funny before too long.

Earth2Mama: Lol, for damn sure!!! ;)

Natalie36: Thanks for reading!

Jennifer24: Thanks! It won’t be too terribly much longer, but it’s still a few parts away.

We’re glad you’re enjoying Max and Liz here. Not a lot of angst for them in this fic, lol.

Facing the parents won’t be easy but it’s gotta be done. We’ll see what they think of Michael and whether or not they can accept him.

Hmm… that cold mountain might just be getting a little bit hotter here pretty soon…

mary mary: Lol… the characters seem to agree with you… especially Michael & Maria and Max & Liz.

Alien_Friend: Summit day was filled with feel-good moments.

It took a few days, lol, but she’s sure she’s ready.

Yeah, things are gonna be rough at the bottom of the mountain but we’ll see how they handle it.

Lover of Metallica: It’s always something, isn’t it? We’ll see how they handle things.

Worried about those pics, huh? Well, you just never know where Mark’s concerned… we’ll see.

Oh, we’re a few parts away from the group getting back to the bottom of that mountain. Our group still has some things to cover.

killjoy: Hmm… seems like those pics could be a problem. Well, you just never know.

That right there is probably a very good rule!

begonia9508: Hmm… maybe Liz will take your advice.

Marsis: Thanks! Reaching the summit would have to be an incredible feeling, wouldn’t it? It did seem to give Liz a helping hand.

Michael definitely “sees” Maria… and he loves what he sees.

Max and Tess can be very fun in this type of situation.

Getting back to the base of the mountain will certainly have its ups and downs. How the characters handle it… well, we think it’ll be interesting. ;)


Part 37


Michael crouched down in front of Maria’s tent and started to open up the zipper. They had been back at camp for about 20 minutes now. It was still early evening and they could take the rest of the day to rest. Maria had disappeared into her tent as soon as they had gotten back, telling him she wanted to change some of her clothes.

“Hey, M’ria,” he said as he pushed the loose fabric of the entrance aside to look inside. “What’s takin’...” He frowned when he saw her lying down, wrapped up in her sleeping bag. “Hey, what’s wrong?” he asked gently and crawled further into the tent.

“Headache,” she mumbled quietly, squinting when the light reflecting off of the snow-covered ground hurt her eyes.

He reached out and brushed a strand of hair out of her face. “Why didn’t you tell me, baby?” He remembered the times in the past when she had gotten a bad migraine all of a sudden. “Do you have any meds here?”

She nodded. “Already took them.”

“Anything I can get you?”

“No,” she forced her eyes open. “Just gimme some time. Normally these magic pills start workin’ really quickly. I just need to nap for a while.”

“You want me to stay with you?”

As much as she enjoyed his presence and wanted him there she shook her head. Right now, even the slightest sound – like his outer gear brushing against the sleeping bag – hurt her head. “I think I need complete and utter silence right now.”

He nodded and brushed a kiss against her forehead. “Okay.” He made his way out again and closed the tent up as quietly as possible.

“Where’s...”

He turned around quickly and pressed his index finger against his lips when Liz spoke up. “She’s got a bad headache.”

Liz made a face. “Did she take her magic pills?” she asked, her voice hushed.

“Yeah, c’mon,” he gestured to the fire where everyone else was already sitting.

Max glanced up when Liz sat down next to him again and he glanced back at Maria’s tent. “What’s goin’ on?” he asked, knowing she had gone to find out what was taking their friend so long to join them.

“Her migraine’s back.”

“Ungh, God, and today of all days. She take her meds?” He knew if she took them soon enough most of the time it would ease the migraine before it could get too bad.

“Yeah, she did,” Michael said as he walked past them to take a seat.

“She catch it in time?” Kyle asked.

“That has yet to be seen, I guess.”

“Damn, I know those things are painful.”

“Yeah,” Michael said, remembering times when she had been unable to even get up for hours. Hopefully the meds were better than the ones she’d in high school.

Tess shook her head. “Hey, so, what’s up with you two?” she asked, kicking Max with no subtlety whatsoever.

“What d’you mean?” Max asked deliberately not understanding.

Tess rolled her eyes at him. “Gee, I don’t know... what could I mean? Don’t be stupid, Evans, we both know better.”

“Ya already know anyway, don’t ya?” he teased.

She stomped her foot and glared at him. “If I knew everything I wouldn’t be asking, would I?”

“C’mon, Evans, it’s drivin’ her insane not knowin’ everything,” Kyle said, bumping Tess’ side playfully and grinning at her.

Liz groaned and leaned in closer to Max. “Why d’you have to be so damn nosy, Tess?”

“Uh-huh, right, act like you’re not just like me, Parker.”

“Well, not about stuff like this,” Liz complained.

“What’re we complainin’ about?” Tony asked as he joined the group after getting something to eat.

“Oh, Tess is just bein’ her usual nosy self,” Max said as he unwrapped a chocolate bar and held it out to Liz.

“I just wanna know how my friends went from best friends to lovers in a short amount of time without telling anyone.”

Liz elbowed Max, silently insisting he do something.

“Well, there’s not much to tell, Tess. We talked, we decided to give it a shot, and here we are.”

Liz waved one hand in Tess’ direction, nodding at Max’s explanation. “Satisfied?” she asked as she bit into the chocolate bar.

Tess made a face. “You two are no fun.”

She rolled her eyes and finally decided to play along. She had no reason to hide anything; this was just all really, really new to her. “What would you like to know, Tess? How the sex is?”

“You two already had sex?!”

Liz took another bite of the chocolate. “I’m surprised you didn’t already know. But then again, the two of you hit the sheets so early every night. Max and I are more... nocturnal.”

Kyle made a face. “Hey, personally speakin’, I don’t wanna hear anything about Evan’s sex life.”

“Hey, everyone hears about the two of you,” Max complained. Okay, he and Liz weren’t having sex... yet... but there was no reason for Kyle to cut things short.

Tess giggled. “I bet Maria will just love to hear you two goin’ at it when we get back to Cali."

Liz smiled sadly and glanced at Michael. “I doubt she’s gonna be livin’ with us much longer.”

“Hey, you two are more than welcome to move up here,” Michael said, refusing to apologize for Maria wanting to be with him. “Although you’re gonna have to get your own place ‘cause I’m not interested in hearin’ the two of you.”

“Wait... what?” Tess looked between the two of them. “Maria’s movin’ up here?!”

“Nothing’s for sure yet, but yeah... probably.”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa, now wait just a minute. No one said anything about Maria movin’ up here.” Tess looked at Kyle. “Do something!”

“What d’you expect me to do?” he asked, confused and glancing at their friends for help.

“Look, if the two of them want to be together then it can only work this way,” Liz said.

“But... but... Well, that’s just unacceptable. I have a wedding to plan... a bridal shower... we’re supposed to graduate together!”

Michael watched Tess’ sad face carefully and he had to admit that he felt a little guilty now. Was it wrong of him to want Maria to move up here? She had obviously found some really good friends in California.

“Max and I were thinkin’ that Washington State has a lot of potential,” Liz said quietly.

“Now you two are planning to move too?!”

“Well, we’re not exactly plannin’ anything yet,” Max corrected. “We were just talkin’ about it and thinkin’ that it might be an option.”

“They’re gonna leave us alone, Kyle!”

Kyle just grinned at her. “Whatcha think about Washington, babe?”

She made a face. “I don’t know. California vs. Washington.”

He chuckled. “Surfing vs. snowboarding and skiing. Bikinis vs. parkas.”

“Hey, we have summer here too, ya know,” Nick said, defending his home. “And even in winter there’re still hot tubs... it’s always bikini season!”

“Yeah, who needs the heat?” Tony said.

“Hey, the weather’s perfect in Cali,” Tess said. “Year-round perfect.”

“Bet ya don’t get a white Christmas there though,” Tony said.

Michael leaned back as he watched the others talking about the pros and cons about moving to Washington. He knew that he could live anywhere as long as Maria was with him. Though he would prefer to stay here.

“But you don’t have an ocean,” Tess complained. “And I was thinking about a wedding on the beach."

“We do too have an ocean,” Nick denied. “I mean, it’s a couple hours away, but we do have ocean here.”

“Couple of hours,” Tess muttered.

“There’s a gorgeous lake nearby... snow-capped mountains in the background...” He grinned. “C’mon, this place’s perfect!”

“It is beautiful,” Tess admitted, “but it’s not Cali.” She turned to Michael. “Why don’t ya just move to Cali?”

Michael shifted uncomfortably when the conversation suddenly turned to him. “I um...”

“Wait a minute,” Nick interrupted. “No, no, no, you can’t have him... we’re startin’ our own outfit.”

“You are?” she asked, surprised.

“Yeah, so see? You can’t have him.”

Tony nodded. “That’s true. We need Guerin up here.” He glanced at the guide, making sure he wasn’t showing any signs that he was considering leaving.

“Yeah, so if you guys think you’re stealin’ him away... we’ll just have to leave you up here on the mountain,” Nick threatened, his eyes twinkling merrily.

“Why don’t we ask Michael, huh?” Tess said.

“Sounds pretty cut an’ dried to me,” Michael said. “Don’t think they’re gonna let me go.”

Tess makes a face. “Looks like we’re really gonna have to move then.”

“If not, I promise you, Maria won’t miss your wedding. She wouldn’t miss that for anything,” he assured her.

“Yeah, but it won’t be the same if she isn’t around for the preparations before.”

“No, but if you’ve got your heart set on a wedding on the beach... although, like knucklehead said, we do have the ocean here in Washington, too.”

“I guess this isn’t somethin’ we’re gonna solve tonight, huh?” Liz said, wanting to change the topic because the thought of Maria moving was just sad.

“Well, no, I suppose not,” Tess agreed. “Wow, moving to Washington... there’s somethin’ to think about.” She glanced at Kyle. “The mountains would provide a gorgeous backdrop though, wouldn’t they?”

He chuckled. “Sure, they would. And Washington would be even closer to your family.”

She wrinkled her nose. “Ungh, I love them, but you know what’s gonna happen as soon as my mom hears the word ‘engaged’.”

He shrugged. “We’re gonna have to deal with them anyway.”

“Well, that’s true. I guess there’s just no way around that.”

Kyle chuckled. “No, but your mom might not spend as much time in your back pocket tryin’ to plan the weddin’ for you if we’re livin’ up here.”

“That’s probably true.” Tess chewed on her lip. “We’ll think about it. Let’s just plan the near future for now. What’re we doin’ when we get down?”

“First thing I’m doin’ is goin’ to the lodge and orderin’ the biggest steak on the menu,” Max said.

“Yeah, ditto,” Kyle said and high-fived the other man.

“I’m goin’ on a date with Vanessa,” Tony wiggled his eyebrows.

Nick laughed and shoved him. “You’d better take a long, hot shower first otherwise you’re not goin’ anywhere with Vanessa.”

He rolled his eyes at the guide. “Shut up.”

“How soon will you have to take the next group up?” Liz asked.

“We’ve got about a week off, not countin’ any emergencies that come up,” Tony answered.

“We should stay at the cabin for another few days,” Liz suggested. “Maria’s gonna face her parents and she might need our support for that.”

“Ungh, yeah, that’s for sure. I swear her parents are in love with Mark,” Max muttered.

“They’re the only ones as far as I know,” Kyle muttered.

Liz giggled. “Mark’s in love with himself.”

“Oh, I wish I could see his face when Maria tells him he’s been dismissed,” Tess said.

Max snickered. “Yeah, that prick’s gonna be in shock.”

Michael crouched down to the fire to prepare himself a cup of coffee. Yeah, he wanted to see the jerk’s face too, but more importantly was seeing the look on her parents’ faces... that one was going to be much more challenging.

“Remember that none of us are allowed to say anything to him,” Liz reminded her friends seriously. “Maria wants to talk to him alone.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Max muttered. “No one’s gonna jump the gun on that one.” No matter how much he might want to.

“No fun,” Tess muttered, but winked at Liz to let her know that she would never do anything about Mark on her own.

Kyle grinned. “That’s just gonna kill Parker an’ Evans.”

“Oh, I don’t know, they might be occupied,” Tony said watching the couple as they looked at each other dreamily.

Nick laughed. “Hell, I know I’d take sex over catchin’ the look on that moron’s face.”

Liz snorted when she heard Nick’s comment. “I’d take the flu over havin’ to spend another day with Mark.”

Max nudged her. “I’m pretty damn sure I’m gonna be a lot more fun than the flu.”

She grinned. “Think so?”

He glared at her and then ruined it with a grin. “Hell yeah.”

Kyle looked at Tess, complaining, “Are they gonna be like this all the time now?”

“Um, excuse me, but we’ve been subjected to the two of you and every manner of flirtation imaginable since high school so I think you can suck it up and deal with us for a while.”

“Yeah,” Tess nodded, “and this’s better than Evans drooling after Liz when she isn’t looking.”

Liz looked around at them. “God, did everyone know but me?”

“It was pretty obvious,” Tony said.

“Yeah, for someone so smart, you totally missed the bus on that one, Parker,” Kyle teased.

“Whatever,” she said, sticking her tongue out at him.

Michael grinned to himself and shook his head at their antics. This group was crazy but he could understand what Maria saw in them. He glanced up when he felt a hand settle on his shoulder and he smiled at Maria as he took her hand and pulled her down to his lap. “Hey, how’re you feelin’?”

“Okay,” she mumbled, taking his invitation and getting comfortable in his lap, snuggling close against him.

“You shake that migraine?” Max asked, concerned when he saw her pinched expression.

“It’s better,” she told him.

Tess leaned against Kyle’s shoulder as she looked over at Maria. “So, Maria, what d’you think would be more romantic... a wedding on the beach with the ocean as a backdrop or a wedding at a lake with snow-capped mountains as a backdrop?”

The other girl smiled softly. “For your wedding or mine?”

Michael lifted an eyebrow at her question. “You already makin’ plans to marry me?” he growled, his lips brushing her ear.

“Who said anything about you?” she teased, but wrapped her arms around his neck and rested her forehead against his temple.

He snorted. “You just try marryin’ some other bastard an’ I can guarantee he’ll never make it anywhere close to the altar.”

“I was talking about my wedding,” Tess interrupted.

Maria glanced at her friend. “I guess it depends on what ya want, girl.”

“I want to know which one you think is more romantic... for my wedding.”

Kyle rolled his eyes. “You might as well answer her question,” he muttered. “She’s gonna do what she wants in the end, but she’s not gonna leave it alone until she has your opinion.”
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Fics: A Xmas Story - A Merry Mt. R. Xmas - Cupid's Revenge - Double Trouble - Double Date - Double Dare - Double Empire - Double Xmas Wish - In The Course Of A Lifetime - Mountains So High - Not A Question At All - Surrender - TIC TAC - Two Double Dates at Xmas
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Double Trouble
Obsessed Roswellian
Posts: 925
Joined: Tue Dec 16, 2008 9:47 am

Re: Mountains So High (CC, AU, Adult) - Part 37 - 10/17/10

Post by Double Trouble »

kismet: Thanks!

It does seem appropriate somehow, doesn’t it?

This group is close so their definitely keeping their options open.

Oh, we’ll find out soon enough.

Natalie36: Yep, you called that one right!

Earth2Mother: We’re sorry ya gotta go through those migraines like Maria did. They’re really cruel from what we’ve heard.

The group is not hiding their disapproval of Mark, huh? ;) Neither are you, LOL.

mary mary: They do know how to keep things lively, don’t they?

Another countdown comes to an end…

begonia9508: We’re pretty sure if Tess forgets that, she’s got a handful of people who’ll be happy to remind her. ;)

Nothing beats spring and fall… both are absolutely beautiful seasons!

Alien_Friend: We totally agree. They’re a tight group and their reluctant for that much distance to separate them.

Something with mountains, huh? It would be fitting for these two.

She’s a lucky girl. She really brings out that softer side of our guide.

Another day closer… it won’t be much longer now.

Lover of Metallica: Our group is very, very special, lol. It’d be awfully hard to separate them.

Thanks!

Cardinal: Who knows? It’s just the way their relationship works most of the time. But while it’s antagonistic there’s nothing malicious about it.

Liz had never considered seeing Max in that light but, yeah, a part of her likely knew he was interested but ignoring it seemed the better option.

Michael will definitely fit in with this group.

Eva: This little group deserves a break.

Isn’t that the truth? We think we all wish for something like that at some point.

Looks like that storm front might just be building… we’ll see soon…

rosyrosy2882: Yes, the cat’s outta the hat, so to speak, lol.

Well, if you’re lovin’ Liz and Max together, you should love this next part. ;)

Oh, we’re getting much closer to the big meeting with Mark and the parents. Not too much longer now.

Sure, but it looks like she might not be moving alone, lol.


Part 38

“Hmm...” Maria thought about it, even if she didn’t feel like thinking about anything right at the moment. “I’d take the lake.”

“You’d take the lake,” Tess mused with a glance at Michael. “Um-hmm.” She turned her head to look at Kyle. “I knew she’d pick the lake.”

Nick laughed at the conversation as he stood and tossed the last of his coffee into the fire. “Well, I’m gonna call it a night. All this talk about weddings and marriage is makin’ me nervous.”

“It’s not even eight,” Tony said, shaking his head.

“Then find a new topic to talk about. All this marriage talk from a bunch of people around my age is too much for me.”

Tess ignored him happily as she turned to Maria again. “Why’d ya take the lake?”

Maria smiled and shrugged. “It just fits us better I think.” She looked up at Michael. “What d’you think?”

“Um...” he stumbled. “Definitely the lake over the beach.”

“See? Michael likes the lake too. I think it’s just more fitting for us.” She grinned teasingly and patted his cheek. “One day.”

Tess just rolled her eyes, giving up on talking about her own wedding.

“Just go with the beach,” Kyle murmured. “It’s what you’ve been talkin’ about since we got engaged.”

“Yeah, if ya want that, hell, then we’ll all be at the beach,” Liz nodded.

“I don’t know,” Max said doubtfully. “You gonna make us wear monkey suits on the beach?”

“That would be cruel,” Tony smirked.

“I saw one once where the dude getting married wore like the dress shirt and the tux jacket over a pair of shorts,” Nick offered helpfully.

“Ungh,” Tess made a face. “No way.”

“No, seriously, it was cool.” Nick shook his head at her. “C’mon, what’re you gonna do? Make the guys dress up in full-out tuxes on the beach?”

“I haven’t thought about it yet,” she admitted.

“Whatever she decides, it’ll be classy,” Kyle defended his fiancé. “Trust me, the wedding will look like somethin’ out of a fashion magazine.” Personally he didn’t really care what it looked like as long as Tess was happy with it. It was her day. It was just his job to show up, say his vows, and at the appropriate moment say ‘I do’.

“No doubt,” Maria admitted and straightened up a little bit to warm her hands over the fire. “I’m hungry.”

“"Yeah? Want some lasagna?” Michael asked. “Nick said he’d be happy to share tonight.” He shot a warning look at his friend, daring him to say anything different.

She smiled tiredly. “Yeah? Ya gonna cook it for me?”

He grinned and reached up to cradle her cheek in one cold hand. “Yeah, one lasagna dinner comin’ up.”

“Your hand’s cold,” she told him with a grimace and moved it away from her face, placing a light kiss on his knuckles.

“Must be ‘cause it’s cold out,” he said with a teasing smile.

“Yeah, one good thing about when we get back is that we can snuggle up in front of the fireplace inside.” Normally, she didn’t have anything against the cold, but when she felt cranky, her body longed for a hot bath.

It might have been a couple of years, but Michael was still aware of her moods and he knew how she felt when she was recovering from a migraine. “Can’t do anything ‘bout a hot bath up here,” he whispered in her ear, “but I can give you a massage after dinner.”

“With warm hands I hope,” she teased.

“Still got those hand warmers.”

“Sounds good,” she said and moved from his lap so he could prepare her dinner.

“Hand over one of those lasagna meals, Nick,” he said, snapping his fingers to get the other man’s attention.

“You suck,” the guide muttered as he fumbled with the zipper of his pack to get one out.

Michael just shrugged. “I’m tryin’ to keep my girl happy so quit givin’ me shit.”

Nick just grumbled something and threw one of the meals at his friend. He had never seen Michael care for anyone the way he did with this girl. It was weird and he still needed time to get used to the thought of Guerin as a whipped boyfriend.

Tony laughed at Nick’s disgruntled expression. “You’ll understand one of these days, my young friend,” he said as he reached over to slap Nick on the back.

“And that’s where I say goodnight.” Nick got up. “See ya in the mornin’!”

“Aw, c’mon, Nicky, don’t be like that,” Michael laughed.

“He’s not very happy with your new boyfriend status,” Maria smirked.

“I think Nick might be harboring some secret feelings for you,” Max said, snickering at the glare the other man shot at him. He held his hands up. “Hey, it’s cool, Nick.”

Tony roared with laughter at Nick’s offended look. “Nick, buddy, have you been keepin’ secrets?”

“Goodnight,” the other guide said, pretending to be offended. He walked in the direction of his tent, waiting until no one seemed to be paying attention to him anymore. Throwing his pack inside, he crouched down to make a big snowball, aiming it at Tony and hitting him directly in the head.

“Hey!” Tony sputtered. “You’d better watch your back, kid! Payback’s a bitch and you never know when she’s gonna strike.”

“I’m already trembling.”

Michael snorted as he prepared the meal for Maria. “I can’t believe you just insinuated that Nick’s gay.” He glanced at Max. “I’d watch my back if I were you ‘cause he’ll get you back for that.”

“Yeah, he might send a rodent after ya,” Tony guessed. “We are goin’ down again.”

Max tried to suppress a shudder and failed miserably.

“It’s okay, Max,” Liz assured him. “I’ve got your back.”

“See, my girlfriend’s gonna protect me,” Max said, grinning.

Michael rolled his eyes. “Ya think Nick won’t be expectin’ that?” He grinned. “Anyone who’s seen the two of you knows you take on one you take on the other one as well... he’ll be prepared for that.”

“Whatever,” Max said, not wanting to think about any possible rodents.

Tony turned around to dig a meal out of his own pack. “I’m ready to get back down the mountain and have a meal with real food.”

“I’ll second that,” Max agreed. “I can’t wait to sit down and have a thick, juicy steak.”

Maria made a face. “Don’t talk about meat that still looks like it was alive a second earlier.”

Max made a face. “What? I like mine well done.”

Kyle shook his head. “Huh-uh, medium rare.”

“Ungh,” Maria said.

“Not a meat eater?” Tony asked her.

“Not a rare meat eater,” she corrected. “And Max, the last steak ya ate was not well done.”

“I was tryin’ somethin’ different... and only because Kyle said I wouldn’t do it.”

She rolled her eyes. “If I say: You won’t jump off the mountain, would ya do it?”

“No, but that’s not exactly the same thing,” he defended himself.

She shook her head at him. “I want a big pizza with lots and lots of cheese when we get back,” Maria decided.

“No pepperoni or sausage?” Michael asked.

“No, just cheeeessse.”

He grinned and moved back to his stool as he handed her the meal. “Just cheese, huh? I know the best place in town to get a pizza.”

“Thanks,” she wrapped her hands around the warm dinner. “Ya know what ya gotta do then when we get down.”

“Order pizza?”

“Yep,” she took a bite of her lasagna. “We can order pizza and just hide from my parents.”

“Hey, I have no problem with that. Eatin’ pizza an’ havin’ hot sex in front of the fireplace,” he growled in her ear. “Can’t think of anything better at the moment.”

She groaned slightly at the thought. “Yeah.”

“Did I mention that my apartment has a fireplace?”

“I was hoping it would have one,” she said with a small smile.

“Um-hmm... apartment itself is not that impressive, but it’s got a great view.”

“I don’t care about the apartment as long as you’re in it,” she told him honestly.

He smiled and nodded, not really sure what to say in response to that.

*****

Max was already in the sleeping bag when Liz crawled into the tent and she watched him as she stripped off her outer gear. He was lying on his stomach, furiously scribbling in his journal and the look of concentration on his features mesmerized her.

“Hey, can I get in there?” she asked, nudging his shoulder.

“Hmm? Yeah,” he shifted over and lifted the flap for her. “C’mon in, just don’t let the heat out.”

She slipped in beside him and hurried to zip the sleeping bag up again, wiggling around to get comfortable. She had been thinking while brushing her teeth and staring up at the stars and she had decided that it was time to talk to Max. He wasn’t pushing and earlier on the summit she had basically told him she was willing to take the risk and attempt to have a relationship with him so it was time to be up front with him. “Max?”

“What’s up, darlin’?” he asked as he placed his pen in his journal and closed it, setting it aside to give her his full attention. He shifted around until he was propped up on his elbow, chin in hand as he watched her. “Are you havin’ second thoughts?” he asked quietly.

“No, I’m okay at the moment. I just… I’ve found it kinda difficult to come to you with my fears about us getting involved like this and that just makes it worse because I’ve always been able to come to you about everything.”

Max held his hand out to her, waiting to see if she would take it. He smiled when her hand slid into his and he held it snugly in his grasp. “I’m still me, Liz.”

“I’ve always avoided any kind of serious relationships…” she bit her bottom lip and stared at their hands.

“I know why,” he said quietly.

She nodded. “I need to get it out, Max.” She continued when he remained silent and smiled encouragingly. “My mom worshipped my dad and I swear she didn’t think he could do anything wrong. Until the day she found out about his affairs and he walked out. I watched my mom fall apart after that and she went through guys and alcohol like they were candy.”

“Your mom made it through all that though, Liz.” He pressed a kiss to her knuckles.

“Yeah, after five years of that bullshit, Max.” She had spent so much time at his house as a teenager so she didn’t have to deal with what was going on at home. “I know she finally got her act straight, she hasn’t had a drink in a few years, and she’s been married to Eric for almost two years now and she’s happy, but…”

He knew she didn’t trust that her mom’s relationship would last or that she would stay away from drinking. It had taken time for her to reach a place where she could actually have a civil conversation with her mom but she hadn’t yet been able to reestablish the trust she had lost at such an early age.

“I just don’t wanna ever repeat her mistakes. She…” she blinked away the tears that were trying to push to the surface. “She loved my dad and she couldn’t deal with it when he left. I don’t wanna be her.”

“Liz, darlin’, you’re not your mom,” he whispered as he reached up to cradle her cheek in his hand. “Fallin’ in love with someone doesn’t make you weak.”

“What if it isn’t enough? What if we can’t make it work?”

“What if we can?” he countered. “I can’t promise you that we’re gonna make it, Liz. It takes work on both sides and there’ll probably be days when both of us wanna just call it quits. But, we’re fighters and you know we both fight hard for the things we really want. All I can promise you is that I love you and I’ll do everything I can to make this work.”

Liz let her free hand rest against his cheek as she ran her thumb over his lips. “Falling in love with you and opening myself up that much… it terrifies me, Max. I want it and I want it with you but it honest to God terrifies me.”

“I’m not your dad anymore than you’re your mom. Any mistakes we make are ours and you need to realize somethin’ else.”

“What?”

“You’ve got an inner strength that your mom has never had. You’ve gotta let go of the fear that you’re gonna repeat her mistakes. Lovin’ someone doesn’t make you weak. It gives you an ally against this crazy world and everything it throws at you. It gives you someone to share things with… good stuff, bad stuff, and even the crazy stuff.” He laughed quietly. “I promise you it’s a good thing, darlin’.”

Her fingertips traced over his goatee as she stared at his lips. “I’m tired of bein’ scared of makin’ the same mistakes,” she admitted after a few minutes. She chewed on her bottom lip nervously and he lightened the mood when he nipped her fingers and made her laugh.

Max watched her, smiling in response to her open laughter. He had no doubt they’d have rough patches; her fear wasn’t something she was going to be free of overnight but he knew she could do it and he would be there to help her. “Let me help you, Liz.”

Her thumb traced over his lower lip as she took a deep breath. “Show me how to let it go, Max,” she whispered as she leaned in to kiss him.

His arms came around her and he shifted over onto his back, pulling her over to lie on top of him as his fingers tangled in her long hair. His tongue swept over her lips, asking for permission that was granted immediately. He groaned when he felt her fingers fumbling with the hem of his shirt and he wiggled around in an attempt to help her get under it.

Liz pulled back when one of his hands settled at her waist and she muttered a curse under her breath when the sleeping bag didn’t allow her enough room to sit up. “Okay, we need more room,” she said breathlessly.

“More room’s gonna let in cold air,” he warned when she reached for the zipper.

She rolled her eyes and gave the zipper a hard tug. “A few seconds of cold air will be worth it.”

He chuckled at her impatience and followed her when she sat up, jerking his shirts off as she did the same. “When you get to my zipper do me a favor and don’t be so rough.”

Liz tossed her mussed hair over her shoulder and grinned at him as she rubbed her lower body against him. “I can be gentle when the situation calls for it.”

He laughed and his hands skimmed over her ribs, pausing when he reached her black bra. He could feel the gooseflesh rising on her skin and he tugged her down against his bare chest. “It’s too cold for you to be exposed.”

“What’re you doin’?” she asked when he grabbed their undershirts and stuffed them in the sleeping bag before zipping it up again.

“I don’t know about you but getting up and puttin’ on an ice cold shirt isn’t gonna improve my mornin’ mood.”

She snorted. “Nothin’ improves your mornin’ mood.”

“Not true,” he denied. “There’re a couple things that help it out.”

“Um-hmm,” she hummed as she kissed him again. “You need a trim.” She brushed her fingers over his goatee. “Now, what could improve your mood first thing in the mornin’,” she mused, pretending to think. She slid off of him as her right hand eased down to tease the skin at his waistband before moving lower. “Maybe morning sex?”

Max bit down on his bottom lip, focusing on the pain instead of her touch or her low, husky voice. He wasn’t far from coming in his pants and damn he didn’t wanna do that up here!

“Tryin’ to hold off, Max?” She made a tsking sound as she unfastened his pants. She glanced up at him when he grabbed her wrist, stopping any further movement and shaking his head. “You don’t want me to – “

“No,” he whispered roughly, “I do… I really, really want you to, but you’ve gotta be sure, Liz.”

“I’m sure, Max,” she whispered as she kissed him. “Let me do this for you.”

He released her hand at her urging and he swallowed hard when she finished unfastening his pants to free him. He had dreamed and fantasized about this for so long that he was worried about completely embarrassing himself the moment she touched him. He didn’t realize he had squeezed his eyes shut until she rubbed at the frown lines furrowing his brow.

“Is this okay?” she asked uncertainly.

“Yeah, it’s just been a while and… and it’s you, Liz.”

“Oh, you’re worried about...” She nodded in understanding. “Right. We’ll take it slow next time, okay?” She grinned at the strangled sounds he made when she palmed his erection, rubbing him with just the right amount of pressure. Her thumb swept over the moist tip and down over the sensitive underside before speeding up the movements of her hand. She could feel the tension pulling his body tight and just as their tongues tangled together his hips jerked up and he came.

The kiss gentled as she stroked him slowly and he calmed down, his heartbeat easing back into a normal rhythm.

“Keep that up and I’m gonna get it up again,” he murmured against her lips as he cradled her face in his hands.

She laughed quietly. “I think we should save that for later when we can really enjoy it. We need to get you cleaned up ‘cause we’ve got a big day tomorrow and we should get some sleep… soon.”

“What about you?”

“Not just yet.” She smiled at his concerned tone. “I’ll survive a few more nights. The first night you really get your hands on me we’re gonna need more room to play. I think now that we’ve taken the edge off I’d like to just make out with you for a while.” She grinned at him. “And I think it’s gonna be fun tryin’ to figure out what all puts you in a good mood first thing in the mornin’.”

He grinned and reversed their positions. “Might take a while,” he said and placed teasing kisses on her face. “But we’ll have fun figurin’ it out.” His tone became serious. “At your pace, Liz.”

She nodded to let him know she understood what he was saying. “Don’t get too serious on me, Evans. I may not be ready for you to get in my pants just yet, but I’ve got other parts that’re interesting too.”

“Yes, you do,” he murmured agreeably and set out to investigate those ‘other parts’.
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Fics: A Xmas Story - A Merry Mt. R. Xmas - Cupid's Revenge - Double Trouble - Double Date - Double Dare - Double Empire - Double Xmas Wish - In The Course Of A Lifetime - Mountains So High - Not A Question At All - Surrender - TIC TAC - Two Double Dates at Xmas
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Double Trouble
Obsessed Roswellian
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Joined: Tue Dec 16, 2008 9:47 am

Re: Mountains So High (CC, AU, Adult) - Part 38 - 10/24/10

Post by Double Trouble »

kismet: Did they make ya wait long enough? ;)

Ah, Nick’s just your typical bachelor… certain that he’s just not prepared to settle down. It looks like he’s gonna have some good role models though.

keepsmiling7: Somehow we’ve got a feelin’ that figuring out what triggers a good mood for Max is gonna be somethin’ they both enjoy. ;) Too many parents make that mistake and their children pay for it far into the future.

We’re pretty sure Max will be happy to make sure there’s plenty of room next time.

begonia9508: Max and Liz are going in the right direction.

Earth2Mother: YES, they did! ;)

True, Liz’ past has a lot to do with her hesitation. But she is finally starting to see that she’s not her mother.

Michael is pretty sure what he wants. His girlfriend talking about some wedding plans won’t make him back off – not anymore, lol.

Natalie36: Thanks for reading!

mary mary: Did ya miss Mork? Perhaps we should check in on him…

How’d ya fare this week? You made it to Sunday again?

Alien_Friend: Max totally wants to be that person for Liz. Thanks! Oh, now that Liz is embracing a relationship with Max we’re not sure she’s gonna be willing to part with him. She definitely has a valid reason for her fears. Max is the one who’s always been there for her and the thought that things might not work out and she could lose him is just a possibility that is terrifying to contemplate. His understanding of her and his care with her are important and just a part of the reason why he’s her best friend.

More M&M cuteness to come.

Thanks! :)

Eva: Yup, it was just something she was keeping close to the vest. Too many people live in the shadow of their parents’ mistakes… it’s not easy to escape if one allows themselves to be incapacitated by that fear.

Thanks!

killjoy: Kyle knows to just nod his head at the appropriate moments and just let ‘er go when it comes to the planning.

Yup, ya had to know once they decided to go for it the sap would start flowing. :)



Part 39

Mark hopped into the lodge on his crutches. He had decided to have dinner at the lodge instead of the cabin today. Maybe there would be some other people around to occupy his time since hanging out alone in the cabin all day was pretty boring. He located a small table at the end of the room next to a window and started to hop over, sitting down and sighing in exhaustion from all the hopping on the damn crutches. He’d be glad when he could get rid of them again.

He smiled at a blonde girl at the table next to him who seemed to be alone as well. Wasn’t she one of the waitresses here? He could swear the girl had brought them their drink the other day when they had been down here. “Eating alone?” he asked.

Courtney glanced up from the book she was reading and smiled. “Yeah, my shift starts in about an hour and I wanted to eat something first.” She looked at him more fully. “Weren’t you with one of the groups taking a climbing trip last week? What happened?”

He gestured at his leg. “Accident up on the mountain; they brought me down again and now I’m trying to entertain myself until the others get back.”

He was in Michael’s group, she thought. “Well, that sucks, sorry.”

He shrugged and flashed his most charming smile. “It’s not that bad. Wanna join me?”

She thought about it for a moment. Hell, it couldn’t hurt, right? “Sure.” She stood up and took her glass of water with her to his table.

“Whatcha readin’?”

“Oh, it’s called Faithless; it’s a thriller about a serial killer.”

“Not exactly a light subject.” He paused a moment. “Is criminology somethin’ you’re interested in?”

She shrugged. “Just read this kinda stuff a lot.”

Thank God, he thought. He couldn’t handle one more person who had a serious interest in that field. “Are you from around here?”

“Well, I was born in Washington, DC and lived there until I was 18, but I’ve been here on the mountain for over two years now.”

“What brought you here? I can understand why someone would choose Seattle, but why Mt. Rainier?”

“I’m doing some distance learning that’s supported by the university in Seattle. I have to go there now and then for exams and I earn good money here.”

“Really? What’re you studyin’?”

“Marketing and design. Where’re you from?” she asked, turning the conversation back to him.

“Santa Fe originally. My father has business interests globally and I’m attending college out in California. I may go into business with my father after I graduate.”

Boring, she thought but smiled, pretending interest. “Cool, nothing’s as good as some security for the future.”

Mark just shrugged. He really wasn’t that interested in going into his father’s business but it was expected. He really wanted to do something that was all his but he didn’t know what that was. “You ever think about just riskin’ it all for somethin’ crazy?”

“Somethin’ crazy? What, for example?”

“I don’t know... workin’ the casinos in Vegas... bartending in Jamaica... just somethin’ that would free you from the confines of your life.”

“Well, I don’t have too many confinements in my life, but hell, if I had the money, sure!”

“I think about it sometimes... just cashin’ in and takin’ off.” He smiled and shrugged again. “Hell, it doesn’t hurt to dream, right?”

“Well, making this trip to the mountain is a good start, don’t ya think? It’s kind of a risk up there, even if the guides are all experienced.”

He snorted and glanced down at his leg. “I think I’ll leave that kinda adventure to the others. Damn, I nearly fell off that blasted mountain.”

“Who saved ya?”

“Guy’s name is Guerin, Michael Guerin.”

Courtney’s heartbeat sped up at the mention of his name. “Oh, yeah, he’s one of the best.”

“Oh, so... you know him then,” Mark said carefully.

“Yeah, I do.” Courtney felt uncomfortable. She knew something about his girlfriend and she wasn’t sure if he knew yet.

“Are you... friends?”

She snorted slightly. “Well, I thought we were more, but I guess we are just...” Yeah, what were they... “Hmm, guess you can just say we know each other.”

“Tell me about it... I know the feelin’. I went up on that mountain with a girlfriend and came back down with... honestly, I’m not sure what our relationship is right now.”

“So ya know?” she asked, relieved that she didn’t have to have this secret from him.

Mark looked up at her, hiding his surprise at the question. “Well, what can ya do, ya know?”

“Yeah, I know. At least I didn’t have to watch them together.”

He chuckled uncomfortably. He had a bad feeling she knew something he needed to know. “Think that’ll change when they get back down here?”

She shrugged. “I don’t know. Depends on what happens when they get back down I guess. Maybe she’ll just go home and he’ll stay and whatever’s going on will end, but who knows?”

“Huh. Yeah, I guess. You’re not worried that it’s anything serious?”

She sighed. “Can’t honestly say no to that. Michael was always... distant, ya know? And maybe it was because of her.”

“I know what ya mean about the distance,” he said, trying to figure out how to get her to tell him more. He had seen the way the guide acted around Maria and then of course there was the fact that she had been acting odd on the trip... he just knew she was talking about Maria.

“God, leave it to our luck that we’ve reconnected Michael and your girlfriend on this mountain, huh? I mean, ya picked this mountain out of all the mountains to climb and here she finds her ex-boyfriend from high school. Seriously, how unlikely is that?”

“Yeah,” he smiled uncomfortably. “That does seem like a bit too much coincidence, doesn’t it?”

“Did she tell you about Michael before the trip?”

Mark controlled his expression. Oh, he knew there was an ex in Maria’s past, but they had never talked about him. He never would have expected to run into the guy up here. Although it certainly explained some of her moodiness at the beginning of the climb. From what he had heard she had been very attached to the ex. The fact that she hadn’t felt like she could talk to him about it really made him realize just how little she trusted him. “We didn’t know he was workin’ up here,” he said, not answering her question.

“Well I guess if she’d known before then she wouldn’t have ya brought up here, huh? How uncomfortable would it be to climb with your boyfriend when your ex is the guide?”

“Yeah, that’d be weird, huh?” He turned his attention to the menu lying on the table between his clenched fists.

“I’d recommend the roast beef here, it’s really good.”

“Yeah?” His right eyebrow lifted as he glanced over that selection. “Is that what you’re havin’?”

“Yep, it’s really good, you can trust me on that. It’ll help a wounded heart, ya know?” she told him with a sad smile.

He nodded. “Whatever works, right?” He needed to figure out what he was going to do now.

“So, you an’ your girlfriend, what’ll happen after this trip? I mean, I know that Michael’s still interested in her, but what about her? Is she still into him? Sorry, yeah, I might be askin’ for myself.”

“That’s a very good question. Can’t really force someone to stay with you or be into you though I guess.” He shrugged and flagged one of the waitresses down. “I suppose the first thing will be to find out whether or not she’s interested in him or if it’s just a passin’ thing.”

She waited until he had placed his order and the waitress was gone again. “Yeah, true. I wish they weren’t so far away right now. The waiting makes me insane.”

“How long will it take them to make the trip back down?”

“Hmm, ya can’t tell for sure. It depends on the weather. But I’d guess at least three more days.”

“Yeah, insane’s a good word,” he agreed. “Maybe we can think of somethin’ to distract us.”

“Got something in mind?”

He just smiled and shrugged. “Maybe.”

She wasn’t sure if he meant what she thought he meant, but if he meant what she thought he did then she wasn’t sure about it.

Mark ran a hand through his hair as he leaned back in his chair. “So, how involved are you an’ Guerin?”

She shrugged. “We... saw each other occasionally the last few months. But as I said, he was always... distant, ya know? He never really made a real commitment.”

“Yeah, I know how that goes.”

“I’ll talk to him when he gets down and expect a straight answer from him.”

“You think he’ll be straight with you?”

“He isn’t someone who’ll lie to my face,” she said with certainty.

He nodded. “That’s good. At least you know where you stand with him.”

“You think your girlfriend won’t be honest with you?”

“If I thought she was bein’ honest with herself I’d have a better answer for you.”

“Michael will radio base camp the night before they get back, so we’ll know pretty soon when they’ll be down again.”

“Will you be workin’ the next few days?”

“Yeah, I’ve got the late shift for the next week.”

“My parents will be here day after tomorrow but maybe we could get together tomorrow? You could show me around the area?”

She thought about it for a while. “Yeah, why not.”

“Cool.”

*****

Michael followed Maria into his tent after the others had settled down for the night and he chuckled when she got out of her outer gear in record time and dived into his sleeping bag. “You’re not cold, are you?” he teased as he started shedding his own outer gear.

“What is up with that wind tonight?” she hissed, shivering in spite of having the sleeping bag wrapped tightly around her.

“It’s not that bad. Give it a couple hours and it’ll die down.”

“This’s a little bit colder than I like, Michael.”

“Strip from the waist up.”

She snorted. “Obviously you’ve mistaken what I’m sayin’ about bein’ cold.”

“Body heat’s the fastest way to warm up, Maria.” He grinned. “Hell, just thinkin’ about your naked skin against mine is makin’ me hot.”

“Yeah, well, no wonder,” she snorted. “I am pretty sexy.”

He jerked his tee shirt off, leaving him bare-chested. “Yeah, I know,” he growled as he tugged the sleeping bag back so he could crawl in next to her. “And you’re still wearin’ too many clothes.”

“I'm cold,” she whined, knowing he would see right through her cranky act and he would play along.

“Still cold, huh?” He bit back a grin and let his left hand rest on her waist for a moment before starting to work his way under her clothes. “I can’t have my girl bein’ cold all night,” he murmured against her lips.

“No, you can’t let that happen,” she mumbled.

His hand finally settled against her skin and he rubbed her back slowly. “Startin’ to warm up just a little bit?” He took one of her hands and held it against his chest. “I’m all kinds of warm,” he whispered in between the kisses he was pressing along her jaw.

“You are,” she whispered, letting her hands wander over his upper body. “Never leavin’ you alone again.” She snuggled up against him.

He smiled. And that was the sound of complete capitulation, he thought. He started to rid her of the layers she was wearing until she was left in only her bra. His fingers toyed with the clasp as he waited to see if she would give him permission to remove that barrier.

She looked up at him drowsily. “Think you’ll be able to stop yourself if I lose that?”

He bit his bottom lip. Could he stop if they went a step farther? He swallowed hard as his eyes lowered to her breasts. “Not easy, but I can stop when the time comes.”

She reached up to caress his cheek. “Your eyes tell a different story, baby.”

He lowered his gaze for a moment before he chuckled and looked at her again. “So, maybe not tonight?”

“I wish we could.”

He growled low in his throat and nodded in agreement. “Okay, we won’t get you that naked tonight.”

“Didn’t you say something about a massage earlier?”

“Yeah, I suppose if I can’t get my hands an’ mouth on your sweet breasts, I’ll settle for what I can get.” He kissed her again and shifted back. “Roll over an’ let’s get started.”

She sighed happily and turned over. “You’re the best.”

He grabbed one of the fleece pullovers he had taken off and pulled it back on as he shifted to straddle her hips. He retrieved a couple of the hand warmers and got them ready before placing them against her back in a couple of places. His hands settled against the middle of her back and he started to massage muscles that were too tight.

“How long ya think you’ll be able to get off after this?”

“How much time ya want me to take off?” he countered.

“Well, I think I’ll need some help with moving and all.”

His hands swept up to rub her shoulders, his thumbs working on a knot of tension. “I think I can handle that.”

“Yeah?” she asked, surprised. “That’d be cool.”

“Consider it done then. Like I said, the guys’ll understand that I need some time off.”

“What colleges aren’t too far away?”

“What... from where I live?"

“Yeah.”

“I think the biggest one is University of Washington... there’s a campus about 25 miles or so from where I live.”

“That’s cool, I could drive.”

He nodded. “There’re a couple smaller colleges closer to Mount Rainier, but the University’s probably your best bet.”

“25 miles isn’t too much and considering that you’re gonna be up on this mountain a lot anyway... I’ll have lots of time.”

“True, and they probably offer some of their courses online if ya wanted to do that.”

“We’ll see I guess. I don’t like to hang out alone, so I think real classes will be more fun. But well, I need a job too, so it depends.”

“I think you’d enjoy the classes.” He snorted. “Especially if your entourage follows you up here.”

“Yeah… I feel a little guilty about that. I mean, they love Cali and yet they’re thinkin’ about moving just because of me.”

“Don’t feel guilty,” he said as he leaned down to press a kiss to her right shoulder. “It means a lot that they’d even consider makin’ a move like that.”

“Yeah, I know. They’re great.”

“See? So, if they decide to move up here just enjoy it. I can see how much they love you, Maria, but even with that, they wouldn’t make a move like that if they didn’t want to.”

“Did I tell you that Alex and Izzy are living in Seattle? We could visit them eventually.”

Michael shook his head at the mention of a couple of their old friends from Roswell. More people he had left behind, that hadn’t known of his plans to leave. “No, I didn’t know they were in Seattle. I haven’t talked to them since before I left.”

“They moved there right after high school. I visited them last summer.”

“They’re still together, huh?”

“Yeah, together and married.”

He laughed. “Figures.”

“Yeah, you could already tell in high school that they were gonna stay together forever.”

He smiled sadly. The same thing was supposed to be true for them and he had screwed it up.

“I was betting she’d be pregnant by now though.”

“Not yet, huh? I think everybody kinda thought they’d be married and have a kid or two by now.”

“Who knows? I haven’t talked to her for a while now. Maybe she’s already on her way to be a mom.”

“They’ll be good parents,” he said decisively. His hands moved down to the small of her back and he worked his thumbs along her spine. “What d’you think about havin’ kids, Maria?”

“I want at least two,” she told him without hesitating.

He nodded. “Two’s good,” he agreed. “I’d like a couple of kids.”

“And I want a small house with a garden and a large dog.”

“How ‘bout a cabin near the mountains? Got a couple of acres with it and we can always get a dog.”

“The one you’ve been workin’ on? That belongs to the old couple?”

“Yeah.”

“Yeah, it sounds nice,” she admitted.

“I know I’m getting ahead of myself here. We’ve got plenty of time to figure it out an’ you’d probably like to take a look at the cabin before makin’ any major decisions.”

“No, it’s okay,” she assured him. “I like that you’re making plans for us, Michael.”

He smiled and let his hands rest against her sides. “How’s your back now?”

“Better,” she admitted.

“Good enough for me to snuggle up with ya now?”

“No, but it’s okay,” she teased. “I think a hot shower and more massages when we get down will help.”

“That’s not all you’re getting when we get down off this mountain,” he said with a teasing grin as he stripped his shirt off and slipped back in beside her.

“I really hope so. Ya know I want a dog,” she giggled.

He glared at her. “You want a dog,” he muttered. “Alright, I’ll get you a dog... what kind ya want?”

“Hmm... what about a Labrador?”

“What kind? Yellow or black?”

“Black.”

“So, when we get down... shower, massage... black Labrador, got it.” He shook his head. “I was sure sex was gonna come into play somewhere in there, but if it’s the dog ya want...”

She turned to wrap her arms around him. “Tell ya the order: first kissing goodbye, talking to Mark, talking to Courtney, and then hopefully getting the chance to spend a night together... including showering and sex...”

He grinned and wrapped his arms around her, holding her against his body. “That sounds a lot better... get all that unpleasant crap outta the way first.”

“Yeah, with the exception of the parents. We’ll put that off for a day or two after we get back down.”

“You’re not getting any arguments from me over that.” He shifted slightly to get more comfortable and he sighed contentedly when she settled against him so easily, fitting against him so perfectly. “We probably oughta think about getting some sleep,” he said quietly.

“Yeah,” she brushed a hand through her hair. “Love you.”

He smiled and pressed a kiss to her forehead. “Love you too.”

_____________________________________________________________________


The next character for TIC TAC is out. You can find ALEX's profil on our Author's page (link in our siggie).

Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YWih8lubF6g
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Fics: A Xmas Story - A Merry Mt. R. Xmas - Cupid's Revenge - Double Trouble - Double Date - Double Dare - Double Empire - Double Xmas Wish - In The Course Of A Lifetime - Mountains So High - Not A Question At All - Surrender - TIC TAC - Two Double Dates at Xmas
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Double Trouble
Obsessed Roswellian
Posts: 925
Joined: Tue Dec 16, 2008 9:47 am

Part 40

Post by Double Trouble »

Earth2Mother: They’re not wasting any time lining those plans up… now we just have to see what’s in store for them when they make it back down the mountain. We’ll see soon enough what Mark has planned.

mary mary: Wow, a Christmas gift just for us? Well, since you seemed to enjoy Mark’s reappearance we’ve brought him back just for you. :) It’s quite possible that he could cause all kinds of trouble… we’ll see. ;)

Yay! Survival for another week!

Alien_Friend: Michael’s serious about making things work with Maria this time around.

You’re exactly right about Mark’s motives where Courtney is concerned. But now at the very least he suspects what’s coming.

There’s a lot more to Mark than meets the eye – there has to be a reason Maria’s been with him for several months, right? ;)

sarammlover: That’s one option. Michael and Maria are determined to start things off on the right foot.

begonia9508: Thanks for reading!

killjoy: That has yet to be determined. :)

rosyrosy2882: M&L made some good progress during the fic, but this is not the end! ;)

Courtney and Mark, huh? Well, at least neither would come out alone after the trip, right? lol



Part 40

Mark walked into the lodge where he was supposed to meet Courtney. He had called her earlier and she had agreed to show him around and then they would stop somewhere for lunch. The blonde waitress was cute and now that he knew what Maria was up to on the mountain… He shook his head, still shocked about the fact that his girlfriend was up there with her ex and she hadn’t told him anything about it. No wonder she had preferred to stay up there, he thought bitterly. But he’d have fun as well, oh, yeah. He wouldn’t just sit down here and be good while she was…up there on the mountain fucking her ex.

He pushed the double door to the main room open and his expression changed from pissed to delighted when he saw Courtney waiting for him at the bar. “Hey,” he greeted coolly, his hands shoved into his pants pockets as he approached her.

Courtney smiled at her date for the evening. It wasn’t wrong, she assured herself. She and Michael weren’t a couple and now that Vanessa had told her about him and his ex… well, she didn’t owe him anything. She wished she felt better about going out with Mark but no matter how many times she reminded herself that she was well within her rights to see someone else it just didn’t help. She shrugged those thoughts off and mentally kicked herself. She was going to have a good time this afternoon. “Hi, Mark,” she greeted him with a smile that she wished didn’t feel so forced.

“So, are ya ready to show me around?”

No, not really, she thought. “Unless you had anything in mind I thought we could just start with a drive around town.” Yeah, not that exciting, but most tourists really got a kick out of it. Somehow he didn’t strike her as most tourists. “Or maybe you’d rather go out to lunch instead?”

He shrugged. “Why don’t ya show me around town and then we’ll have lunch?”

She nodded. “Alright, that sounds good.”

“Alright, my car is outside.”

Courtney nodded and stood, gathering her jacket off of the stool next to her and giving him a surprised smile when he took it and held it for her while she slipped into it. “Is there anything you’d really be interested in seeing?” she asked as they walked out to his car.

“I hate anything that’s... packed with tourists, so why don’t ya show me some nice places that aren’t normally visited by too many people.”

“Not really into that whole tourist scene, huh?” She thought for a few moments. At this time of year the little town was overrun with tourists. “Hmm… well, most of the places that’re all that nice are gonna be crawling with tourists. Unless…” she glanced at him and shook her head. “Nah, you probably wouldn’t be interested in a hike.”

“There’s a hiking trail outside of town and if you detour off of the main path after about a quarter of a mile and hike through the woods there’s this area that opens up and there’s a waterfall there. It’s not a huge one or anything but the only tourists who ever find it are the ones who get lost in the woods.”


“If the walk isn’t too exhausting, then it’ll be okay. My hurt foot isn’t totally recovered, but if the path’s okay, I think I can do it.”

“Well, maybe not that then. Once you get off the trail the terrain’s pretty unpredictable.” She smiled. “What if we just do a drive-thru tour? That’ll probably be easiest. Most everything that’s worth seeing around here’s gonna be fair game for the tourists right now.”

Mark nodded. “Lead the way, beautiful.”

For the next hour Mark navigated the streets as Courtney showed him around the town, pointing out things of interest and giving him the history behind the buildings and the town. He feigned interest, commenting and nodding at the appropriate times, asking questions and doing his best to keep his expression from slipping into boredom. It wasn’t all that different from Roswell in his opinion. Small towns relying on tourist season with little else to offer. He could tell that she loved the area though so he didn’t want to do anything to make her think he thought any less of it.

“So, that’s pretty much the last of it,” Courtney said with a sheepish smile. “Sorry, I tend to go on and on if the history comes up.”

He smirked. “Love it around here, don’t ya?”

Courtney smiled. “Yeah, growing up in DC I didn’t get much of a chance to see the quieter side of life. Don’t get me wrong or anything, I still love to go into Seattle and hit the clubs on the weekend every once in a while, but this is nice too. It’s kinda nice to live someplace where you pretty much know most everyone.”

“Can be a pain in the ass where gossip is concerned though.”

She shrugged. “True, there is that. It’s not really all that bad here though. Sure, it’s there, but it’s not as bad as it could be.”

“Bet Maria and Michael will make it into the top ten of the gossip list, huh?” he said, trying to stay cool.

“Maybe.” She snorted. “Okay, probably. At least it’ll die down after a while.” It would suck until then though, she thought but kept it to herself.

“Let’s get something to eat,” Mark suggested. He didn’t want to think about the things Maria was probably doing with her ex.

“What sounds good? We’ve got a little bit of everything. We’ve got Italian, Chinese, and even a Cajun restaurant. And then of course, there’re a couple steakhouses and seafood restaurants.”

“Anything you want works for me.”

She caught herself before she rolled her eyes at him. Whatever, she thought. She didn’t know who he was trying harder to impress… her or him. “How do you feel about Cajun?” she asked with a smile. “Ever had it?”

“Sure,” he nodded. “A big downside of having rich parents is you eat a lot of foreign stuff in ANY variation, even when you’re only six and would love to have fries and chicken wings all time.”

“Uh-huh, so how d’you feel about crawdads?”

“They’re not bad, I guess,” he said with a shrug. Seriously, he didn’t really care about what they ate.

Okay, if he didn’t think crawdads were bad he wouldn’t be any fun at the Cajun restaurant. Sooo gross, she thought. Some of the food was pretty good, but things like crawdads were just sooo wrong. “Okay, why don’t we have Italian then? There’s a great restaurant over on one of the side streets so it won’t be too packed. It’s mostly frequented by the locals.”

“Sure, let’s go then.”

The restaurant was small and tucked away in a quiet part of town. She smiled at one of the two waitresses as she and Mark stepped inside and she nodded when one of the women held two fingers up in question. “C’mon,” she said when the waitress motioned to one of the tables near the back by the kitchen. There were quite a few people there but most everyone was local. Very few outsiders found there way to the restaurant and that was the way the older couple who owned the place liked it. They enjoyed knowing who was frequenting their establishment and they knew all of their local customers by name.

Vanessa had introduced her to the couple when they had gone out for lunch one afternoon and she had just fallen in love with them and their little restaurant. They had immigrated from Italy years before and had eventually ended up in the small town where they had carved out a nice little niche for themselves. She had tried to get Michael to go out before, hoping to bring him to the little restaurant but for some reason he had claimed that he didn’t like Italian food. She knew he was friendly with the old couple who owned the place and that he had been working on some cabin that they owned but she had never seen him at the restaurant.

“I love this place,” she said as she shook her head at the menu the waitress held up in question. “You know me, Teresa. I’m just gonna have the daily special.” She smiled at Mark. “I’m not in any hurry, so take your time with the menu. There’s a lot to choose from.”

Mark closed the menu and handed it back to the waitress. “I’ll take the lasagna,” he told her. Lasagna was a safe thing to eat wherever you were, he thought. It always tasted good.

“Good choice,” Courtney commented after their orders had been taken and Teresa had left to take it back to the kitchen. “Well, anything would be a good choice here, but the lasagna really is so much better than any I’ve ever had anywhere else.”

“So,” he said to get away from all the food talk, “tell me more about you, Courtney.”

She shrugged. “There’s not really all that much to tell. I work, take some college classes, and hang out with my friends. Right now there’s just not a lot more than that going on.”

Mark nodded, not really sure why a young and pretty woman like her would choose to stay HERE, where nothing was going on, where it was cold, and where she obviously didn’t have a man in her life. “Honestly, I can’t wait to go back to California. The weather, the beach... that’s more to my taste.”

“Visiting California’s on my list of things to do. To be honest I’m not sure how long I’ll stay here. I’ve thought about maybe moving to Seattle, but I don't know.” She looked at him. “What about you? Do you plan to stay in California long term?”

“I’ll probably go back to Santa Fe after college to go into business with my father.”

She reached for her water and took a sip. “Is that what you really wanna do?” She shrugged when he glanced at her. “I don’t know, yesterday you just kinda seemed like you just wanted to get out and try some different things first, ya know?”

“Yeah, well, most of the time the things we want and the things we get aren’t the same, huh?”

She snorted softly. “Yeah, tell me about it.”

“You really like that guy, don’t ya?”

What was the point of denying it? “Yeah, but I suppose some things aren’t meant to work out.” She forced a smile. “He could always change his mind before they get back down,” she said hopefully even though she doubted it was likely.

He lifted his eyebrow. “You really think he won’t touch her?”

“I think I’d rather not think about that,” she stated decisively.

“I think sooner or later we have to think about it though,” he shrugged. “Let’s face the truth here: What’s the chance they’ll come down and nothing’s happened between them?”

She watched him for a moment. He was thinking about the physical aspect. “Would it matter if anything happened between them physically? If their hearts, their emotions are involved… then we’ve already lost them.”

“Probably a guy thing,” he told her. “Personally I hate the fact that he’s gonna be touchin’ her while she’s still with me.”

She laughed, the sound humorless. “No matter which one bothers you more, things aren’t gonna be the same.”

“I’ve pretty much already accepted that,” he said and meant it. There was no way he could go back to the way he and Maria had been before the trip, no matter if or what had happened between her and her ex.

“I wish I could just accept it so easily.” She smiled at Teresa when she returned with their meals and set the plates on the table. “It’s stupid really,” she said as she reached for her napkin and unfolded it. “We don’t have any kind of real relationship, there’s totally no commitment there, but… it’s hard to just act like I hadn’t hoped for more someday.”

Mark considered his next move. The girl next to him was obviously hurt. But maybe this could be an advantage? Ah, fuck that, he’d just go for it and see what she said. He reached over to lay his hand over hers. “Maybe we can... ya know, help each other with a little bit of distraction...”

Courtney froze for a moment before slowly raising her head to look at him. “Um, Mark… if you’re suggesting what I think you’re suggesting…” she shook her head. “I’m sorry, but um, I can’t.”

“They don’t have to know about it,” he said. “Ya know, if the unexpected happens and they don’t come down happy together.”

She shook her head. “I’m not happy about the way things are going but I’m not interested in doing something just to get back at them.”

He bit his lip to keep from making a smartass comment and nodded before directing his attention towards the lasagna.

Courtney started to say something else but then realized there really wasn’t anything to say. They would just finish lunch and go their separate ways.

*****

Mark parked the car in the huge driveway in front of the privately-owned cabin his parent’s were staying at. They had called him earlier that day to tell him that they and Maria’s parents had finally arrived and he had decided to spend the rest of the time before the group came back with them. Their cabin was much more comfortable, the TV’s bigger and the company definitely better than down at the lodge.

He had visited the doctor that morning and had finally gotten rid of the despised crutches since the swelling was gone completely and the man had assured him that he could walk without them as long as he didn’t overdo it at first.

The front door of the cabin was opened before he could reach it and his father stepped outside. “Hey, son,” he greeted him with a bear hug, “good to see you again.”

“Hey, Dad,” Mark greeted him. “Good to see you as well. Finally some normal people.”

Marcus Patterson stepped back and his sharp gaze moved over his boy, looking for any sign that his fall up on the mountain had been more damaging than he had said it was. “You look like you’re alright. You’ll go and see a real doctor when you get back home,” he said, not even bothering to make it a question. He snorted derisively. “The doctors out here probably treat both humans and animals.”

“Sure, Dad,” Mark said, not really planning to do it but knowing it would placate his father.

“Mark,” Janine called, delighted when she saw her son at the door. “How’s my boy?” She hugged him tightly.

“Hey, Mom.” He returned the hug and smiled at her when she released him. “I’m fine.” He shrugged. “It really wasn’t all that serious.”

“Dinner’s almost ready. You’ll be staying here with us, right?”

“Yeah… actually I kinda thought I might just hang out here if that’s cool.”

“Oh, this is fantastic,” she assured him. “Maria’s parents are out for a walk, but they’ll be back pretty soon.”

“Great. I was startin’ to get bored hangin’ out at the cabin or the lodge.” He hooked his thumb over his shoulder. “I’ll just grab my stuff.”

Janine nodded, glancing at her husband. “It’s good to see him again, don’t ya think?”

“Yeah.” Marcus sighed as he shook his head. “That boy’s got somethin’ on his mind.”

“He does look like he’s kinda lost in thought,” Janine admitted. “Maybe it’s just the frustration over his accident.”

“Hmph. I suppose I should go help him with his things.”

“Yes, you do that, while I finish getting dinner ready.”

Marcus walked down the driveway to his son’s car and grabbed a couple of the bags Mark had set on the ground. “Looks like just your things here. You leave Maria’s things at the cabin?”

“Yeah, well, I thought she’d probably wanna pack her stuff, ya know? She’s very strange when it comes to her stuff,” he lied. The truth was he didn’t even know if she would join them here after the trip.

“Why don’t we have a drink in the den and talk?”

“Yeah sure, let’s go.”

Marcus led the way into the luxurious cabin and after showing Mark to his room and dropping his things off they made their way to the den. He fixed a couple of drinks and they settled down on the comfortable furniture situated around the massive stone fireplace. He wasn’t a man who was overly affectionate and he rarely talked about his feelings or anyone else’s, but he could see that something was bothering his only son so he attempted to make the effort.

“You seem to be preoccupied with something…”

Damn, was he really that obvious? Mark wondered. “Oh, well, Dad, it’s just the fact that my girlfriend is up there alone ya know.”

“All alone… with a bunch of randy guides?” He frowned. He just didn’t understand young people.

“Yeah... kind of.”

“I see,” he said slowly. “And Maria preferred to stay up there instead of coming back down with you?”

“Well, she worked hard to afford this and her friends are with her. They planned this long before I was in the picture.” He had to give her that much credit, even if he doubted that was the reason she had stayed up there.

“Have her friends become tolerable?” Marcus asked, well aware that his son didn’t care for his girlfriend’s friends.

“We don’t get along, I don’t think that’ll ever change ever, Dad.”

He shifted closer to the edge of his chair and leaned forward, bracing his elbows on his knees. “Have you ever considered that maybe the two of you aren’t a good match?”

“I’ve wondered about that,” Mark admitted

“And?”

“And I’m pretty sure our relationship won’t last much longer after this trip,” Mark said, fed up with hiding the truth. “Turns out Maria’s ex-boyfriend was one of the guides.”

“Her ex-boyfriend…” How many times had Carson DeLuca talked about that boy? “What’d she tell you about him?”

“Well, that’s the problem, dad. She didn’t tell me anything.”

“You know I adore Maria, son, but… if she’s not gonna be the kind of woman who’s gonna stick with you then it’s better to let that go now.”

Mark nodded. “Can this stay between us for now, Dad?”

Marcus nodded. “Sure. No need to worry your mother about this. Women tend to get overly emotional about these things.”

“True. Maria doesn’t know that I know, so I’m curious about how she’ll act when they get back.”

“How exactly do you know?”

“I talked to one of the waitresses down at the lodge and she happens to be the current girlfriend or whatever of Michael’s.”

Marcus rolled his eyes. “Cut your losses now, boy,” he advised. He leaned over and patted his son's knee. “You’ll find the right woman.” He winked as he stood up. “Enjoy the search.”

That made Mark laugh. “No doubt.”

Janine bit back the frown when she overheard her husband’s comment. She’d talk to him about that later. “Why don’t you boys come on and get ready for dinner. Amy and Carson should be back any time now.”

“Good idea, Mom. I’m starving. The food down there was awful.”

She smiled. “Then I think you’ll be very happy with dinner.”

Amy DeLuca smiled at the young man and crossed the room to hug him. “How are you, Mark? I’m glad to see you’re moving around on your own.”

“I’m good, Amy, don’t worry about me. It seemed worse than it was in the end.”

“Is Maria enjoying herself?” Carson asked as he shook Mark’s hand.

He had to hold back the sarcastic laugh at the question. “Well, I’m sure she is.”

“Good, that’s good.” He motioned at the younger man’s leg. “So how’d you get hurt?”

“There was a bad storm up on the mountain; ya couldn’t even see your hand in front of your face. I took a wrong step, and well, almost fell.” No need to tell them the whole truth.

“That must’ve been so terrifying,” Amy said.

“It was in that first moment, but the guides reacted quickly.”

“It’s a good thing you picked an outfit with guides who know their stuff,” Carson said

“Oh, yeah, that’s true.” Mark wondered what Cason would say if he knew who the guide had been. From what he knew, the man hadn’t gotten along with Maria’s ex but maybe it hadn’t been that bad.

“Maybe you’ll tell us what the climb was like over dinner? I’ve never attempted such a thing, so it’ll be interesting to hear about it.”

“I bet your daughter can tell you much more than I can, Carson. I was out before the exciting stuff began.”

“Well, I can’t wait until she’s back down here,” the man said, smiling proudly. “She worked hard to make this trip happen and I know how much she was looking forward to it.”

Oh, yeah, and if somebody had told her that she would find her ex there she probably would’ve worked even harder, Mark thought bitterly.

“They’ll be down tomorrow or the day after.”

“And her friends are stayin’ around after they get down?”

“They hadn’t decided at the time I left.”

Carson nodded. “It’s still the same four friends?”

“Max, Liz, Tess and Kyle,” Mark said.

“Well, it looks like the four of them aren’t going anywhere,” he grumbled.

“They’re pretty much everywhere,” Mark admitted.

“Carson, I think you’re gonna have to get over it. Maria’s happy doing what she’s doing and hanging out with her friends from college.” Amy shook her head at her husband. He had always been overprotective of Maria and even now when their daughter had been out of the house and on her own for a couple of years he couldn’t completely let go.

“Those friends she has are just out for parties and fun, Amy. They don’t take college serious enough and might be a bad influence.”

Amy just shook her head at him. They had gone rounds about this before and chances were they would again, but she wouldn’t be carrying on like that in front of their friends. “Why don’t we go sit down and enjoy the dinner that Janine’s prepared and we’ll discuss this later.”

“There’s nothing to discuss, honey,” he told her.

“Very well then, we’ll discuss nothing later.”

They sat down around the dining room table together. “That looks tasty, mom,” Mark admitted when he saw the delicious food.

Janine smiled and motioned for him to hand her his plate. He was a grown man but she couldn’t help fussing over him whenever she had the chance.

“How will we know when Maria will be down again?” Amy wanted to know as she was fixing a plate for her husband.

“Oh, well, tomorrow most likely. If there’re any changes in the weather it could be the day after.”

“Will we pick her up?”

“I’m sure we can. They’ll arrive at the base camp and then drive to the lodge. There’s someone over at the lodge I can talk to, make sure we get a call when they have an ETA.”

“It’d be great if you could do that.”

“So... we’ll all go meet them?” Mark asked, thinking how much he’d enjoy the look on their faces when they saw her parents waiting for them.

“Uh-huh, yeah. That’d be nice, don’t you think, Carson?” his wife asked.

Carson nodded as he reached for his knife to cut into the meat. “She’ll be surprised to see us,” he said with a smile.

That’s for damn sure, Mark thought.

Amy chuckled. “I can’t wait to see the look on her face.”

“Me neither,” the younger man said.

Marcus glanced at his son and then at his friend, wondering if perhaps he should take the man aside and confide in him. Letting Carson walk into this blindly could be a big mistake.

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________


The next character for TIC TAC is ready, meet TESS GUERIN at our Author's page (link in the siggie).

Vid: TESS
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Fics: A Xmas Story - A Merry Mt. R. Xmas - Cupid's Revenge - Double Trouble - Double Date - Double Dare - Double Empire - Double Xmas Wish - In The Course Of A Lifetime - Mountains So High - Not A Question At All - Surrender - TIC TAC - Two Double Dates at Xmas
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