521 (M+M & CC/UC, AU, Adult) [Complete]

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April
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Part 41

Post by April »

Leila:
the talk between Tess and Kyle is hopefully coming soon.
It is. ;)

Christina:
Of course, I don't think running away is ever the answer to any problem, but I know that a lot of people end up doing that only to regret it in the long run.
Liz definitely thinks that leaving town is the best thing for her. Whether it really is or not remains to be seen.
Of course, if she thinks that'll be the best way for her to cope with the situation and heal from it, then good. But it just shows how much stronger Tess is than she is.
Plus, Tess has something that Liz doesn't: friends. She's got people there to support her and help her. Liz's only friend is Kyle, but they're not close friends like the Core 4 are.
Yeah, you're probably right. I don't know why I didn't think of that myself. Especially since Kyle was as drunk as he had been. If guys are THAT drunk then they usually have trouble getting it up, or... well, I'll just stop typing now. But yeah, it's entirely possible they just did some naked heavy making out before passing out.
Yeah, Kyle was extremely plastered, but having sex with Tess? Oh yeah, Kyle could get it up no problem. ;) For anyone else, it might not have . . . risen. But for her, it was not an issue. :lol:

tequathisy:
I think Liz leaving is the best possible thing she can do and the only shame is that she didn't do it sooner.
She thought about doing it sooner, but she didn't. Better late than never maybe.

Sara:
she needs a new start, Max-free. Unfortunately he knows where she lives, that can't be good.
Yep, he does know where she lives, but if he realizes how bad he's hurt her, he might just leave her alone. Which would be good for her.

Eva:
Tess has to take Liz's advice. It's a very good one.
Yeah, every once in awhile, Liz actually says something good and smart.

nibbles:
I think that Michael is having stage fright.
Well, Maria is a lot more . . . experienced than him. It's probably a little nerve-wracking for him knowing he has to keep up with her. But his main reason for saying no to sex right now is that he doesn't want to rush things. He's worried that rushing will get them in trouble.
But I don't know how Tess will feel if she finds out that the reason Kyle didn't call was because he was with Liz.
She won't find out, so no drama there. ;)
Leaving town might be the cowardly way out bit I also think its the most sensible option for Liz. She's a mess right now and the only way she's going to sort herself out is by getting away from Max.
That's what I tend to think. Even though she can't solve all her problems by leaving town, she can't solve any of her problems if she stays. She's just too messed up, and Max just how too strong of a pull on her.

Ginger:
Just how long is Maria willing to wait? Will she go out and have a one night stand because she has an itch that needs scratching?
That Maria at the beginning of this story might have done that, but nowadays, she wouldn't even consider it, especially knowing that Michael's been hurt/cheated on before.
She definitely has some serious issues she needs to take care of and I don't think Max is her biggest problem, she's her biggest problem.
Exactly. Obviously what Max did to Maria is pretty much the worst, but Maria doesn't allow that to dictate her entire life. She's moved on from it. But Liz can't move on from Max, so that's saying something about her, not him.
I really think that they passed out naked before doing anything and that's why they don't remember.
:lol: Nice try! But they totally did it. ;)

Nove:
I hope Michael's right that things will work out for the core four. He has a great way of being comforting.
:) He's like the backbone of their group.
I agree with you. I think Philip is worse than Max. Max has been so submersed in the poor sense of being a human being is like that it's going to take a lot of work getting out of it.
Exactly. It's true that Max is his own person, and he's made his own choices; but it's really hard to choose to be a good guy when the person you're closest to tells you that you shouldn't or can't be a good guy. Not that I'm trying to excuse any of his actions. What he's done to the people in this story is still very wrong. It's just sad that he was raised to think hurting people is okay.

Zoi:
I guess I'm like Maria sober and Kyle when I'm drunk.
You're quite an ineresting person then! No wonder you're the life of the party!

killjoy:
Ohhh man...to be able to sleep with Tess but than not be able to remember it the next day....that's got to be the worst kind of torture ever!!
:lol: I knew you'd say that.
I'm going to say this...I don't think Tess will be all that upset over her and Kyle sleeping with each other...BUT...what she will be upset over is if she finds out the reason Kyle didn't call her was because he was with Liz.......OR...it might be a jealous mad if she thinks Liz is now over Max and trying to move in on Kyle....now that might be fun to see.
Tess won't find out that Kyle was at Liz's. Oddly enough, Tess doesn't feel intimidated by Liz, at least not when it comes to Kyle. She knows that, as friends, she and Kyle are closer than he and Liz ever were. And now after the drunk sex, they're most definitely closer.

Krista:
And Liz? I don't think she wants to be a bad girl. Which is why she hates that she feels something for Max because he makes her feel like one, but she likes it at the same time.
She's so confusing, isn't she? She's definitely a mixture of a good girl who wants to be bad and a bad girl who wants to be good.
And you know what I hate? I hate when characters avoid each other after drunken sex so much that it becomes annoying and you want to just rip your hair out. Please don't make this one of those things. Pretty please.
Have no fear! The avoidance stops in this part. ;)
I'm not one of those dreamers wishing for Max and Liz to have their happy ending, but I do think that they are kind of perfect for each other. But I'm inclined to think that their ending would never be truly happy, it would be... content.
Absolutely. Couldn't have said it better myself. Max and Liz are never going to ride off into the sunset on a big white horse. It'd just be ridiculous and unrealistic within the context of this fic.

I hope your sick bunny feels better! :(

lilah:
That's hilarious!!! And probably true in Kyle's case.. I mean think about it...virgin, girl of his dreams (both equal stage fright) and then seeing if he could drink his weight in alcohol, doesn't exactly add up to mean sexual prowess. But April probably won't let us off that easy. They probably did have sex and now we have to have a weird awkward situation.
That's right, I'd never let you off that easy! In Kyle's case, the alcohol probably removed his inhibitions and his "stage fright." ;)

BLONDIE:
I'm really feeling sorry for Liz. Its sad that she's leaving but it won't be the last we see of her...right?
Maybe. Maybe not.
Maria's really starting to get antsy about the whole sex thing. She might just jump Michael's bones any second
Yeah, the waiting is driving her crazy!

spacegirl23:
It's so cute how Michael + Maria are as a couple, their shared smiles, inside jokes and all around cuteness. I totally love them. They deserve to be happy, and they deserve to be basking in the glow of newfound coupledom.
I have this very bad habit of not letting them be a couple until the very end of the story. I think I've done that about three times in recent history. So I figured I'd better try something different with this fic and--gasp!--actually let them be happy. :lol:

Monica:
I love it that you update frequently! You're one of the best updater I know off !
:lol: Thanks! I try to update on a regular basis, partly because I hate to keep readers waiting, but partly because I haven't the patience to wait myself! Sometimes there's a really big or surprising part that I just can't wait for you guys to read.
I am hoping Max has some some of inner talk with himself and realises that money doesn't really buy everything. Who wants to be alone huh?
Nobody wants to be alone. Not even Max.



Thanks so much for the feedback, everyone! I appreciate it as much as ever. The fact that you guys are willing to stick with such a long story means so much.


I'm dropping off more music, and I'm kind of embarrassed about this one. Because it's "Giving It All Away" by Ashlee Simpson. Yes, Ashlee Simpson. I can't stand the girl, and her music isn't my usual kind of music, except I really love this song! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2fl_relMpog So maybe try it when you see :) Ashlee Simpson. I can't believe myself. Okay, whatever. I'll come back with two kick-ass songs on Sunday. :lol:

Onward!










Part 41








Max walked into his office the next day, or at least what he thought was his office, only to find it wasn’t his office anymore. Tony was sitting behind the desk, smiling and looking perfectly at ease. At first, Max assumed the worst, thinking he’d been fired, but Tony quickly put the fears to rest. The best of the best employees were getting an ‘environmental upgrade.’ His father had awarded several men with bigger, better offices.

Max stood outside his new office looking inside. It was definitely fancy. He had a skylight, a great view overlooking the city, a mahogany desk, his own mini-bar, and a big-screen TV. Apparently his father wanted him to live at work and for work, because it looked more like a home than anything else.

“Oh, you ruined the surprise,” Phillip said, approaching him. “It’s a nice office, isn’t it? Biggest one in the building, besides mine, of course.”

Neither the quality nor the quantity of it could be denied, but Max couldn’t help but wonder why he was getting it. He’d been distracted lately. “I already made my decision. You don’t have to bribe me,” he grumbled, still upset that he’d had to make a decision to begin with.

“It’s not a bribe. Think of it as a reward, a commendation for clear, level-headed judgment in the arduous battle of head vs. heart.” Phillip smirked. “Now if you’d like, I could arrange to have some more ‘rewards’ come by your place tonight, say around 10:00. Maybe a blonde, a brunette, and a redhead.”

Max shook his head, not interested in hooking up with any more random whores. For the time being, at least. “Don’t bother.”

“Don’t bother?” His father sounded surprised. “Please, don’t tell me you fell in love with that annoying girl.”

“I did no such thing,” Max denied adamantly and immediately.

His father looked at him skeptically. “If you say so.” He gave his son a pat on the back and said, “Enjoy your office,” before heading away.

Max sighed and stepped into his ‘environmental upgrade.’ A month ago, this would have thrilled him to no end. But this wasn’t a month ago.

He sat down in his plush desk chair and imagined Liz walking in that door with a seductive smile on her face, maybe bringing him lunch or sex. Or even just a conversation. Something.

He felt horrible for ending things with her, and he hated feeling that way. He wished there were some way to have both of the things he wanted, corporate success and the girl. And he knew there was. That way involved the usual secrecy and lies, but keeping secrets and telling lies were two things he was very good at.

It was a despicable, jackass thought, but it enticed him. He and Liz had already had an affair once. Why couldn’t they just do that again?

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Since neither one of them had class on Friday, Maria took Tess shopping. Even though she was more inclined to go to the mall, she settled for Sears since the furniture department was geared towards Tess’s occupational ambition.

“I can’t believe you bought so much stuff,” Maria remarked, staring at Tess’s cart in astonishment. It was packed full of lamps, pillows, pictures, and plants.

“Oh, please, taking an interior designer to a furniture store? That’s like taking a crack-whore to a drug-dealer,” Tess responded, “especially considering the emotional state I’m in.”

It was true. Tess was pretty damn high-strung at the moment. She didn’t look to have slept at all the night before. “Well, do you feel any better?” Maria inquired.

“No.”

“Sorry.”

“Don’t worry about it. Nothing’s gonna make me feel better right now.”

Even though Maria wasn’t sure whether it would be best to talk about Kyle or not talk about him at all, there was just something she had to know. “Was it . . . bad sex?”

“I don’t know. I don’t think so,” Tess replied as they neared a bedroom display. She skimmed her hand across the bedspred adn asked, “Can we sit down? My feet are killing me.”

“Sure.” The two girls sat down on the bed, and Maria remarked, “I still can’t believe you had sex with Kyle.”

“I can’t believe Kyle was a virgin.”

Maria laughed. “Okay, how did you not know? That was so obvious.”

Tess shrugged helplessly. “So he really doesn’t remember anything whatsoever?”

“Whatsoever.”

“Wow.” Tess hung her head. “He really doesn’t drink, does he?”

“He didn’t. Michael and I probably shouldn’t have told him anything, huh? We should’ve just left him in the dark.”

“No, I’m glad you guys told him. It saves me from having to break the news,” Tess said, running her fingers through her hair. “I bet he’s mortified.”

“Or thrilled, whichever.” Maria smiled. “No, he’s shocked, just like you.”

“It’s crazy,” Tess said, staring blankly in front of her. “A few months ago, I didn’t even remember Kyle’s name. Now I’m laying out the sexual welcome mat.” She shook her head regretfully. “I’m such a slut.”

“No, you’re not a slut,” Maria assured her, scooting closer. “You are just . . . going through something huge right now.”

“I think it was huge,” Tess mumbled. “You know . . . it.

Maria made a face. “Oh, ew, too much information. This is Kyle we’re talking about here, the least sexual being on the planet . . . to me, at least.”

“Well, it’s not exactly easy for me to think of Kyle that way, either. Although it is easier now.”

“You never thought about hooking up with him?”

“Well, I was with Max until recently,” Tess replied, not really answering the question. “Let’s remember.”

“Yeah, I’m sure that was really satisfying,” Maria muttered sarcastically. “Look, it took this huge moment for me to realize how I felt about Michael. Maybe this is just what it took for you to realize how you feel about Kyle.”

“But he’s my friend,” Tess protested.

“And Michael was my friend. And he still is.” Maria felt weird. It wasn’t very often that she was the one dishing out relationship advice.

“Yeah. I can’t really think about the future right now, though,” Tess said. “I can’t even remember the past. Oh, well. I’ll roll with the punches. That’s what I’ve always done.”

Maria grinned and gave her friend a little punch in the arm.

“Ow.” Tess laughed.

“Okay, I realize the consummation’s, like, big news right now,” Maria acknowledged, “but can we talk about something else for just a minute?”

Tess looked relieved. “Please.”

“Okay. So Michael and I haven’t had sex yet,” Maria started in.

“Yeah.”

“But I wanna have sex. Like badly.”

“And he doesn’t want to?” Tess guessed.

“No, he wants to. He just, like, stuck on this whole ‘being a gentleman’ thing. He wants us to wait until the time’s right.”

“That’s a good idea, though,” Tess agreed.

“I know, but . . . I wanna rush. Rushing’s in my nature. And the making out is phenomenal in enough itself, but . . .” She sighed longingly. “Oh, I’m so horny for him.”

“Blunt.”

“Honest. And then I found out about you and Kyle. Kyle?” This was just one thing she couldn’t get past. “Kyle’s having sex and I’m not? Do you know what that means? It’s like the world’s rotating backwards or something. It’s like hell froze over. It’s like completely and totally wrong and unfair.”

“So why aren’t you telling Michael this?” Tess asked.

“Because he won’t give in.”

“Sure he will,” Tess assured her, grinning mischievously. “He may be a gentleman, but he’s still a man. If you wanna sleep with Michael, just make it so he can’t resist.”

Hmm, Maria thought, considering her own capabilities. I can do that.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Michael walked in the door after his class ended that afternoon, pissed that he wasn’t going to get to stay home all afternoon. “Hey, Maria?” he called. “Guess what? I got called into work today. I don’t suppose you did, too?” He really hoped she had. Work was so much more interesting if she was there.

“No, but I am working on something important today,” she called back from the bedroom.

He set his backpack down beside the couch and asked, “What’re you workin’ on?”

She came out of the bedroom with a neon green object in her hands. “Just a little thing I like to call personal satisfaction.”

Michael’s eyes zoomed in on the object. It was a . . . vibrator? “What is that?” he asked, even though he knew.

She grinned. “Exactly what you think it is.”

He tensed, unable to disguise his reaction. “Well, why do you have it?”

“Uh, because I’m a girl.”

“Yeah, but . . . I haven’t ever known you to use it.”

“I haven’t had to use it for awhile,” she said, “but unfortunately, I’m going through a sex drought the size of Texas.” She held up her vibrator and proudly proclaimed, “That’s why I’ve got Billy.”

His eyes bulged. “Billy?” Had he heard her right? “You-you named your vibrator . . . Billy?” Out of all the damn names in the world . . .

“Yep,” she said, running the head of the vibrator suggestively along her pelvis. “I like him; because even though he doesn’t always get the job done, he never passes up the chance to make me scream.”

Like I do, he thought, realizing what she was doing, what she was trying to persuade him to do.

“Now if you’ll excuse us, Billy and I are gonna go do our sweet funky,” she announced, slipping into the bathroom. With Billy. With a pathetic plastic replacement for the real thing.

He stood out in the living room, completely dumbfounded, and listened as the purring sounds of her vibrator began. “Mmm, yeah,” he heard her moan. He couldn’t help but picture the scene in his mind, and even though it was hot . . . it pissed him off. And Billy? Did she really have to name it Billy?

The front door swung open but did little to break him out of his stupor. “Dude,” Kyle said, running towards him. “Dude, look at this.” He held up a crumpled napkin in front of Michael’s face. “She was in my house. I was emptying the trash, and I found this in there. Look, it’s her handwriting. It’s Tess’s handwriting.”

“Oh, yes,” Maria moaned from the bathroom.

“What was that?” Kyle asked.

“Mmm . . .”

“Was that--”

“Oh, fuck yeah!” Maria suddenly screamed. “Billy . . .”

Kyle staggered backwards, flailing his arms to keep his balance, and spat, “What the . . . hell?”

“She’s using her vibrator,” Michael told him solemnly.

“And she named it Billy?”

He bit back his anger. “Yeah.”

Kyle shook his head in astonishment. “Oh, that’s just cruel.”

“Oh, god, yes!” Maria cried out. Michael had a hard time believing her vibrator was really doing that much good.

“Okay,” Kyle said awkwardly. “I’m just gonna go now. But I’ll leave this here as photographic evidence.” He pressed the napkin into Michael’s hand and started for the door. “Tell Maria—oh, and Billy—I said hi.” He laughed at Michael’s expense.

“Get outta here,” Michael told him.

Kyle kept laughing and slipped out the door.

Michael shook his head as Maria’s pleasure sounds continued. He knew what her plan was. She wanted him to get all worked up imagining what she would sound like in bed with him . . . and dammit, her plan was working like a charm.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Since Michael was working and Billy the vibrator had been completely unsatisfying, Maria decided to do something worthwhile and pay Liz a visit that evening. She felt weird about it, but it was something that needed to be done. Liz had looked really upset in statistics yesterday. She probably needed someone to talk to, and as much as Maria didn’t want to be that person, she didn’t have anything better to do.

The door to Liz’s dorm room was open. Maria peered inside and found it to be suspiciously empty; and lo and behold there was Liz, cleaning out her closet, stuffing all her clothing into a large black suitcase.

Maria crossed her arms over her chest and remarked, “Well, it’s too late for Christmas and too early for spring break. You must be leaving indefinitely.”

Liz barely even looked up from her task. “Or definitely, probably,” she mumbled quietly. “Did Kyle tell you?”

Kyle knew? Since when was that loser such a social butterfly? “No,” Maria answered. “He’s too busy obsessing over the drunk sex he had with Tess to think about much else.”

Liz grunted. “God, things can change.”

“Tell me about it.” She was still grappling with the fact that, a little over a week ago, she’d been more interested in hooking up with Tate and Luc and Brad and all those other losers than being with Michael. Crazy. “You know, I’d say I’m gonna miss you,” she said, “but . . . I’m only gonna miss the person you used to be. I was friends with that girl.”

“Yeah, well, that girl wasn’t me,” Liz said. “This girl, the one who’s not above being the other woman, the one who stays with the jerk even though she knows he can’t change . . . this is who I am. You don’t have to like me.”

Maria swallowed hard. “Good, ‘cause I don’t.” She wasn’t going to sugarcoat it. “Max Evans did things to me without my consent, and anyone who gives him a second chance after knowing that isn’t worth my respect. But . . .” She paused dramatically, thinking of the right way to say it. “I don’t hate you. I hate what you did, but it’s not like I haven’t done similar things in the past. But at the end of the day, if it comes down to me being friends with you or being friends with Tess, Tess is gonna win even on her worst day.”

Liz nodded understandingly. “I know. I’m glad you guys are friends again. And I’m glad you and Michael are being more than friends.”

Maria blushed.

“Yeah, I heard about that; and I’m happy for you. You deserve good things, Maria.” She sighed wistfully. “He’s like your Prince Charming, huh?”

Maria thought about it and agreed, “Yeah, he is.”

Liz smiled. “Do you think there’s someone like that out there for me?”

She sounded so desperate, so pleading. Maria couldn’t help but feel bad for her. “I hope so,” she said.

“Yeah,” Liz whispered. “Me, too.” She turned away and started pulling clothes out of her closet again. “Goodbye, Maria.”

So she was really leaving. Maria hoped it worked out for her, but she had her doubts. “Bye,” she returned, leaving the room.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Tess mustered up all the courage and positive thinking she could. She took several deep, hopefully calming breaths and stood before the closed door to Kyle’s apartment. You can do this, she told herself. You can do this. She grimaced and knocked on the door. She listened as Kyle came to answer the door. “Dude,” she heard him say, “are she and Billy still goin’ at it?” He opened the door and fell silent when he came face to face with her.

“Huh?” she asked. Billy? Who and Billy?

“Oh, I . . . never mind,” Kyle stammered.

“Can I come in?” she asked, unable to look him in the eye but unable to look at any other part of him, either. She ended up looking at her own two feet. “Kyle?”

“What? Oh, yeah. Sorry.” He held open the door and stepped far back to give her space as she came in. She glanced down the hallway into the bedroom and tried to appear unaffected. But she was affected. She wrapped her arms around herself and shivered.

“Cold?” he asked, shutting the door.

Was he offering to heat her up? “I’m fine,” she lied.

“Okay.” He shifted from side to side nervously and said, “Hey.”

“Hey.” She frowned. Usually a greeting like that came at the beginning of a normal conversation, but . . . well, she doubted anything about this conversation would be normal.

“Nice weather today, huh?” he asked.

“Uh, I guess.” She shook her head, unable to talk about the weather or any other trivial thing that wasn’t the thing. “Okay, Kyle, let’s just not do this whole awkward dance around the real reason why I’m here thing,” she said. “We both know small-talk isn’t gonna cut it, ‘cause we . . .” She drew it out, wishing this wasn’t so strange. “. . . had sex last night.”

He nodded slowly. “So I’m told.”

“Once. Or twice, maybe.”

His face lit up. “Ooh, you think?”

“I don’t know. I don’t remember. And I know you don’t, either.”

“I was so drunk.”

“So was I.”

He took a few steps towards her, then immediately took a few steps back. “Look, I just want you to know, it wasn’t like what Max did to Maria. I really had no clue . . . and I would never do anything like that to you. To anyone.”

“Oh, god, Kyle, I know.” She was touched that he felt the need to reassure her of that, though. “That wasn’t even a question in my mind.”

“Okay.”

“Okay, so . . . we were just both under a really, really heavy influence. That’s the only reason why it happened. I mean, it never would’ve happened otherwise.” She waited for him to agree with that, but he didn’t, so she prompted, “Right?”

“Right.”

“Right.” She stuffed her hands in her pockets and mumbled, “And I’m so sorry; I know it was your first time and--”

“Oh, that’s embarrassing.”

“No, I think it’s cute,” she said, although she imagined ‘cute’ wasn’t really a word any guy liked to hear. “I mean, it’s good that you waited. I’m just sorry I couldn’t make it more special for you.”

“No, it was special,” he assured her readily. “It was with you, so it was special.”

That took her aback. “Wow.” She wasn’t really sure what he meant by that, but it was sweet, something Max would have never said.

“I’m just sorry I couldn’t make it more fun for you,” he apologized in return.

“Now who said it wasn’t fun? Granted, my memory’s kinda foggy, but I remember . . . having fun.” She liked the euphemism, so she used it again. “In fact, I remember one specific moment where I had lots of fun.”

“Oh.” Kyle’s eyes grew wide with surprise. “You-you mean you . . .?”

She smiled. “Yeah.” That had to make him feel good about himself.

“Ooh, that’s . . . wow. Did I?”

“I think so.”

“Oh, that’s good—wait.” Suddenly he looked horrified. “Was I wearing a condom?”

She shrugged cluelessly. “I don’t know.”

“And did I . . .” He thrust his hips forward slightly in demonstration. “. . . inside?”

Again, she didn’t know. “Probably,” she figured. “Look, there’s nothing we can do about it now, so . . . let’s just not worry about it.” She was on the pill. She felt protected for the most part.

“Okay, yeah, you’re right,” he agreed. “Well . . .”

She hated this. She hated that they didn’t know what to say to each other. “It just happened,” she summed it up.

“It just happened,” he echoed, sounding a little sad. “But where does that leave us now?”

He kept asking her for all the answers, but she didn’t have hardly any. “I was kinda hoping you could tell me,” she admitted.

“I can’t,” he said. “I mean, I want whatever you want, so . . .”

Whatever I want?”

“Uh, well, you know . . .”

She didn’t know. She didn’t know what she wanted, and she didn’t know what he was hinting at. “Um . . . well, see the thing is, I just broke up with Max not long ago,” she reminded him. “I mean, he cheated on me; you know that. And everything’s a mess right now, and I’m a mess, too. And I just don’t think it would be very wise for me to jump head-first into something with someone else. And I don’t wanna risk what we already have, because I think we have something pretty great as it stands.”

He hung his head and nodded slowly. “As it stands.”

“Right.” She could tell he was disappointed, and that unhappy feeling in the pit of her stomach felt a lot like disappointment, too. “So . . . we’re good?”

“Absolutely.” He said that with conviction, but she wasn’t convinced.

“Okay,” she said. “I mean, did you want us to . . .?”

“I just don’t ever wanna lose you,” he blurted.

Her heart swelled with adoration. He was so sweet, so adorable, and he cared about her so much and never expected anything in return. “Oh, well, Kyle, that’ll . . . that’ll never happen,” she promised. She opened up her arms for a hug and walked towards him. “Come here.”

He wrapped his arms around her and hugged her at a distance, but she pulled him closer to let him know that they were still close. This didn’t have to change anything if they didn’t want it to. If they didn’t want it to.

She held onto him, and warmth flooded her. She felt safe standing there with him, like nothing could hurt her. She’d been hurt way too much. Kyle would never hurt her. He was good. He was a good person, and he was warm . . .

She began to pull away slowly as the confusion crept in, but neither one of them let go of each other. She tried to smile at him, but she couldn’t stop looking at his mouth. She couldn’t even remember what it felt like to kiss him.

Maybe it was time for a refresher.

:)

They kissed each other slowly, neither one quite sure if it was a good idea or not. And Tess couldn’t find it in herself to care. She felt a naturalness in that kiss that she couldn’t remember feeling. Ever. With anyone. It was a kiss of equal give-and-take. Kyle was neither too forceful nor too reluctant, and neither was she. It was oddly and awkwardly perfect.

The kiss ended slowly. She felt her lips holding onto his for dear life, but they had to let go. They stood in silence, mere inches away from each other. She slowly lifted her eyes to gaze into his. She saw that he was confused, too, but happy, and knowing that she was the reason for that happiness filled her with pride. They stared at each other questioningly, and the answer was to keep kissing.

Their mouths crashed together with a desire that was as unexpected as it was sudden. Kyle wrapped his arms around her and pressed his hands flat against her back, bringing her body in close to his. She likewise let her hands do the talking, smoothing her hands up his chest to claw at his shoulders uncontrollably before tangling in his hair. They stumbled down the hallway towards his bedroom, much as they must have done in their drunken state. She stepped on his feet. He ran into the wall. The bedroom got closer.

She tore her mouth away from his for only a moment to concentrate on ridding him of his clothes. She furiously unbuttoned every tedious button on his shirt and shoved it down his shoulders and onto the floor. She cascaded her hands down his bare chest to tug on the belt loops of his jeans, pulling his lower body close to hers, grinding him against her. Before she knew it, her arms were in the air, and he was pulling her shirt upward. She shook her hair free and looped her arms around his neck. He hoisted her up into his arms, and she instinctively wrapped her legs around his midsection. She took a moment to smile softly and let him know that she was happy, too, as he carried her backwards towards his bed. She tucked her hair behind her ear and sought out his lips again as they sank onto the mattress together.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Max stepped off the elevator on the fifth floor of Liz’s dormitory and made his way down the hallway, ignoring the looks from naïve freshman girls who smiled at him, blushed, and whispered giggles to their friends. He knew something wasn’t right when he saw the door to Liz’s room hanging open, but he ignored it and walked closer, not sure how he was going to ask her to give him another chance, another affair. It wasn’t honorable. It didn’t have to be.

He walked into the room, but it wasn’t the way it was supposed to be. It was empty. All of Liz’s things were gone, and so was she. The quilt from her great grandmother that lay at the bottom of her bed, the bridal Barbie she kept hidden on her top shelf and thought no one knew about . . . all gone. All that was left was a note on the bed.

Max picked up the note and read what it had to say. Tess, you deserve better. Simple enough. Liz knew Tess deserved better, and apparently she now knew she deserved the same thing.

Max crumpled up the note in his hand, silently cursing at himself for being such an idiot. Liz Parker was the one person in the world he gave a damn about . . . besides himself. And now she was gone. She was gone because of him.

He stood in the empty room, soaking in the role reversal of being the one abandoned, the one left behind. He knew she wasn’t coming back. He’d wasted all his chances, and he had no one to blame but himself.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

“So, question of the day,” Maria said to Michael, leading him towards the bedroom by the hand. “Who looks better in your boxers, me or you?” Her boyfriend’s boxers were so warm and comfortable, her new favorite clothing item.

“Definitely you,” he replied, slipping his arms around her waist to hold her against him. He pressed a kiss to her shoulder, eliciting a smile.

“Mmm, correct,” she commended. “Although you look pretty good in ‘em, too.”

“You think so?”

“Yeah.” She slipped into bed and crawled beneath the covers.

“Tired?” he asked.

“Yeah, Billy wore me out today.”

“Funny.” He got into bed beside her and held out his arm so she could snuggle close.

“Mmm,” she murmured, resting her head atop his chest. She thought she could hear his heart beating, but when she listened closer, she realized it was something else. “Wait a minute,” she said, lifting her head up. “Do you hear that?”

“What?”

“Shh.” It was coming from Kyle’s apartment. It sounded like something was thumping against the wall. Like a . . . a headboard. A headboard of a bed. “Oh my god.” She propped herself up on her elbows. “Do you hear that?”

“What?” he asked again.

Shh.” She climbed out of bed and scurried over to the wall. She pressed her ear against it and listened intently. Mixed in with the thumping headboard were moaning and groaning sounds that were gradually getting louder. “Oh my god, those are sex sounds!” she shrieked. “Kyle and Tess are boinking again! Ew!” She shuddered exaggeratedly and shook her arms and legs to rid herself of the yuckiness. “Oh, that’s so gross!

Michael grinned and got out of bed. “Are they really?”

“Ew, yes.” She gladly hopped back into bed, wishing she hadn’t overheard that.

Michael pressed his ear against the wall, too, looking surprised. “Huh, go for it, Kyle,” he said.

“I need to wash my ears.”

“Are we gonna have to listen to that all night?”

Maria grunted. “No way does he have that much stamina.” Former virgin Kyle doing the nasty with his one and only dream girl? She was surprised he could last thirty seconds.

Michael got back into bed and said, “I don’t think I can sleep with their sex sounds as a background track.”

“Yeah,” she agreed, cuddling up against him again. She drummed her fingers on his chest and pondered, “You know, if we were having sex, we could drown out their sounds with our sounds. Or we could make it a duel, you know. Who can have the loudest, craziest sex? We’d win for sure. I’m a screamer.”

He chuckled.

“Come on,” she urged, draping one leg over his. “Doesn’t hearing other people have sex make you wanna have sex?”

“Not when those people are Kyle and Tess.”

“Hmm, that’s true,” she agreed. “I have a hard time picturing Kyle fucking anything other than his own hand.” She cringed as mental images flooded her head. “And now I’m picturing that. Ew!”

“You still wanna have sex?” he asked.

“Yes, do you?”

“Yes,” he replied.

Her eyes lit up and she swore her ovaries tingled in anticipation. Was this it? Was it finally happening?

“But . . .”

She sighed in disappointment.

“Not yet,” he finished. “Billy’s just gonna have to keep you occupied for a little while longer. I can’t believe I just said that.”

She couldn’t, either. A vibrator named Billy? How had that not done the trick? “You so frustrate me,” she told him, settling down into his arms again. She rested her head atop his chest again, and this time, she did hear his heart beating. Fast. He was nervous. “It’s gonna be so worth it when it does happen, though,” she assured him. Of that she had no doubt.

“Yeah,” he agreed, stroking her hair.

Maria closed her eyes and breathed evenly as sleep drew nearer, but a euphoric female shout on the other side of the wall disrupted the calm. “And that would be the O,” Maria remarked, hoping her future held some shouting of its own.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Tess rolled over onto her back, breathing heavily. “Oh my god, Kyle,” she gasped, staring at the ceiling in amazement. “That was incredible.”

“Yeah?” he panted raggedly. “I thought so, too.”

“Much better than I remember it,” she joked, laughing a little.

“Much better,” he agreed. “So, where does this leave us now? We can’t blame this one on alcohol.”

“No, we can’t.” She looked over at him and smiled reassuringly. “Kyle, all I know is, wherever we are in our relationship right now . . . there’s nowhere else I’d rather be.” For the first time in a long time, she wasn’t sad or mad or worried about anything at all.

He smiled back at her, and she giggled, meeting him in the middle of the bed for an eager kiss.









TBC . . .

-April
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LOVE IS MICHAEL AND MARIA.
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April
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Part 42

Post by April »

And here I thought I was getting this update out earlier than would be expected! :lol: For the record, I was not "shaking my booty" today. I was studying. That's a valid excuse, right? lol, well, hopefully it's worth the wait.

Perverts of Roswell Fanfiction. Oh, lord. :lol:


Christina:
Alright, after seeing that Max would have gone to Liz's dorm and just asked her to partake in another affair, I can now say that I'm glad Liz left.
Yeah, asking her to have another affair is a pretty low-life thing to do (but then again, Max is a low-life!), so it was good that Liz left, because if she had stayed and if Max had suggested that, who knows what she would have said.

Leila:
As for Maria's and Liz' dialogue. I'm glad that Maria is alwaysthebluntone.
Yeah, Maria has no problem telling Liz what's what. Kyle may still consider himself Liz's friend, but Maria doesn't consider herself her friend anymore.

Sara:
OMG, I am so stinking happy for Kyle and Tess. They got exactly what they both deserve...HAPPINESS!!! And Max got what he deserved, a bigger office to put that huge ego and huge hole where his heart should be
I don't even think Max's new office is big enough for his ego. ;)

Ginger:
Thank you for your frequent updates. It's so nice to not have to go back and reread a couple of chapters to see exactly where the story is. Sometimes it's been so long that I have to reread the entire thing. I've about made up my mind that no matter how good they are they aren't worth the headache. So again, thank you!!!
Well thank you so much for reading! I know people have real lives and real things going on, but to sit down and read 15-20 pages three times a week and leave feedback on it takes some time, and I appreciate it more than you'll ever know.

nibbles:
I think it's so hilarious that Kyle is getting laid and Maria has to lie there listening to him. Funniest thing ever.
:lol: I know, Maria's just suffering, and Kyle's sex-capades are adding insult to injury!

Nove:
That was cruel April, Billy the vibrator. lol Poor Michael. He's good though. He has some serious will power. lol Put the poor boy out of his personal misery soon please. Good try though on Maria's part.
Billy the vibrator ( :lol: ) was most definitely cruel, but Maria's not giving up just because that didn't work. She's got some tricks up her sleeve, and you'll see them in this part!

Zoi:
Poor Maria she's so frustrated, but she has to stop pushing Michael.
Yeah, when they're both ready, it'll happen.

BLONDIE:
Michael has strong will-power not to give in to Maria especially after the 'Billy' thing. Gosh Maria has like zero patience!
:lol: Zero patience and getting lower. It's like negative patience now.

Alison:
Maria's hilarious though. What an impatient little nympho.
:lol: Oh goodness, you crack me up.

Eva:
Incredible great one-liner after a night of sex!! Way to go, Kyle!
It surprised me that such sentence could lead to another round of great sex! But it seems to be working out for them. So I'm really glad for Tess & Kyle.
Yeah, they pretty much became overnight sex bunnies, and they're loving it!

tequathisy:
I am slightly worried that this will fall apart. After all it's still little more than a week since MaxandLizgettingcaughtinthecarhavingsexonchristmasday-gate. They are rushing into things, the very thing that Michael cautioned against.
That's true, but hopefully in rushing things will work out for Tess and Kyle. Sometimes it does.

Monica:
Wow, Kyle is having sex, Maria and Micheal want Sex and Liz is gone and Maxiepoo is abandoned! Love the twist of things!
Many more twists to come, I promise!

killjoy:
Maybe...if I'm lucky he'll take a swan dive out of that new BIG top office window.......YES YES I know what you told me the last three times April no killing off the Bastard Scum Bucket.....but I can hope right?
You should always hope, buddy. But yeah, it ain't gonna happen!


Okay, this is one of those rare updates where I encourage you to listen to two songs. The first is "Suicide Blonde" by Jack's Mannequin, which you can find here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T65N8WY5p5Y&fmt=18 and listen to when you see ;) if you want. (Youtube will probably take this vid down within the hour--they're REALLY getting copyright-happy.) And the second is "Ungodly Hour" by The Fray, which is quite possibly my favorite Fray song ever. You can find it here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LxpwnWhxU4I&fmt=18 and listen to it when you see :) if you want. Two very different songs, but I love them both. "Ungodly Hour" is really the one I INISIST on, though. Everytime I hear it, I just, like, melt away.

Thanks for the feedback! There's a lot of fun stuff going on in this part, so enjoy it!









Part 42









“So it was best with you on top?” Maria asked Tess in the grocery store the next day. They were trailing behind Michael and Kyle, who were up front pushing the grocery carts.

“Always is.” Tess smirked proudly. “Kyle’s still a little inexperienced, you know, but what he lacks in learned skills, he makes up for in raw enthusiasm.”

“Yes, the audio sounded very enthusiastic last night,” Maria agreed. “In fact, it sounded enthusiastic until 4:00 a.m.”

Tess blushed. “Sorry about that. It’s the first fulfilling sex I’ve had in years and the first sex Kyle’s had in literally forever, so give us a break.”

“Which limb?”

Tess laughed. “Okay, you and Michael can get your revenge when you guys start doing it.”

“If we ever start doing it,” Maria mumbled, looking ahead at Michael. He was looking over all the cereal boxes.

“Did you do the vibrator thing?” Tess asked.

“Yes. I even named it Billy.”

“Oh! That’s so mean!”

“Well, you gotta be cruel to be kind, you know?” She shrugged.

“Hey, girls, you comin’?” Michael called.

“Hey, boys, only one of us is coming,” she said, pointing to Tess. Michael gave her a look.

“Do we really have to walk up and down every single aisle?” Tess complained. “My feet hurt.”

“I told you not to wear those platforms,” Maria said, glancing down at her friend’s uncomfortable footwear.

“They’re my favorite shoes,” Tess protested.

“Oh, coming,” Kyle blurted suddenly. “Got it.”

Maria laughed at his late comprehension. “Yeah, don’t expect brain trust here to master missionary anytime soon,” she advised Tess. “He’s a little slow on the uptake.”

“I’m not slow,” Kyle insisted.

“Yeah, you are.”

“I’m not!”

“Why do I feel like a parent sometimes?” Michael muttered under his breath.

“Oh, Michael, you’re not a parent,” Maria assured him. “But if you want, I can call you Daddy.” She grinned mischievously.

“Ladies, you’re not being very productive back there,” Kyle said, even though his own cart was nearly empty.

“Well, what is this anyway? This is stupid. A group outing to the grocery store?” Maria grunted. “It’s an entirely lame idea.”

“It was my idea,” Kyle reminded her.

“Precisely.”

“I bet if it’d been Michael’s idea, you’d think it was sexy.”

“You’re right. I probably would.” She made her way forward and peered down into her boyfriend’s cart. “Mmm, Frosted Flakes. You’re such a good boy.” She rose up on her tip-toes and kissed him. If only there was a way to get him to be a little bit bad . . .

“Huh, PDA,” Kyle remarked. “I can have PDA now, too. Tess?”

“Just a minute,” Tess said. “Maria, come here.”

Maria patted Michael on the chest and dropped back to follow along with her best friend again.

“Take this,” Tess said, handing her a jumbo-sized banana. “You know what to do.”

She sure did. As Tess strolled ahead to catch up with Kyle, Maria pulled the banana peel back. Only slightly embarrassed, she stuck the banana in her mouth and moaned, “Mmm, yummy.” She put it farther in her mouth and made a more sexual sound. “Mmm.

“Dude, hold up,” Kyle said, stopping Michael just as they were about to go to the next aisle.

Michael stopped and looked at her. “What’s she doin’?” he asked.

She almost laughed. Wasn’t it obvious? “Mmm, this banana’s so good,” she raved. “It’s so big. I can barely fit it in my mouth. Mmm.” She kept her lips wrapped around the banana much as she would keep them wrapped around a man’s penis. It wasn’t a subtle metaphor, and it obviously drove Michael crazy.

“She’s good,” Kyle commented before turning to Tess and asking, “Where’s your banana?”

“In your pants,” she replied with a smile.

“Oh, let’s get this shit checked out!” he exclaimed, forgoing the rest of grocery shopping as he pushed his cart towards one of the check-out counters. Tess giggled and scurried after him.

Maria bit off the tip of the banana and smiled seductively at her boyfriend. It took everything she had not to run up to him, slam him back on top one of those check-out counters, and just pounce on top of him to do him like a mad woman.

“You’re payin’ for that yourself,” he mumbled, pushing his cart towards the counters. “You’re payin’ for that.”

She laughed and followed him with banana in hand.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Maria and Tess went out to the car while Michael and Kyle paid for all the groceries. Michael glanced outside into the parking lot while the clerk at the counter scanned each food item. They were both sitting on the hood of the car laughing about something. Probably the banana.

Kyle looked at them, too, mostly at Tess. “Man, how does this work out?” he wondered aloud in amazement. “They are so hot, and we are so . . . not.”

Michael grunted. “Speak for yourself. I think I’m pretty hot.”

“Apparently so does Maria. Seriously, man, how are you not hittin’ that?”

“Hittin’ that?”

“Clearly she wants to. And if you’re any kind of man at all . . .”

“No, I want to,” he assured his friend, “and it’s killin’ me not to.”

“So why aren’t you?”

“Well, I do want the time to be right, and I do want us not to rush things, but . . .” He paused and watched as the clerk scanned Maria’s Frosted Flakes through. “This is really embarrassing. I’m kinda nervous,” he confessed quickly.

“Why?”

“Because . . . weren’t you nervous when you and Tess . . .”

“No, I was drunk,” Kyle reminded him.

“But like last night.”

“Um, I was more thankful than anything else. I’m still thankful,” Kyle said. “Grateful. Blessed. But then again, I’m not as intellectual as you.”

“It’s not about being intellectual; it’s about the fact that Maria’s been with a lot of people over the years. And I haven’t. She’s got all these great expectations for what it’s gonna be like, and I don’t know if I can live up to that.”

“Oh, come on, performance anxiety?”

“Well . . . if the sex is bad, it’ll ruin everything.” He doubted it would be bad, but what if it wasn’t everything she hoped it would be? What would that mean for them?

“Did Isabel ever complain?” Kyle inquired.

“No. But it’s been a long time since I’ve actually . . . you know. With anyone.”

“Don’t you think it’s like riding a bike, though? You can’t just forget how,” Kyle said. “You know what you gotta do? Just throw caution to the wind and do it. That’s what I did, and I didn’t have any prior experiences to compare to.”

“I can’t believe I’m getting sex advice from you,” Michael said, shaking his head in astonishment.

“Is that so weird?”

“Yeah, it’s unnatural. Stop. Let’s stop it.”

“Why stop? It’s good advice,” Kyle insisted.

“No, we’re-we’re stopping. It’s just—I-I can’t. It’s too weird.”

“Okay.”

The clerk, a boy who Michael suddenly noticed couldn’t have been a day past sixteen, looked at both of them with wide eyes, having just listened to their entire conversation, and asked, “Paper or plastic?”

“Um . . . paper, please,” Michael replied, hoping he hadn’t just corrupted an adolescent. “Thanks.”

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

“All I’m saying is, you need to cut him some slack.”

Maria groaned impatiently. “I’m trying. Really, I am. But I don’t get it. Why is he not penetrating me with his male part as we speak?”

“Look, we all tend to glamorize and humorize sex to some degree,” Tess acknowledged, “but Michael knows it’s a big deal. And if you think about it, he’s only had sex with one person before.”

Maria nodded in understanding. “Isabel.”

“Right, and that didn’t end so well. So sex is an especially big deal for him.”

“So what you’re saying is he doesn’t feel strongly enough for me to drop his drawers?” Maria concluded.

“No, it’s because he cares so strongly about you that he’s resisting,” Tess corrected. “But remember, he can’t resist forever.”

Maria sighed, still as impatient as ever. No, Michael couldn’t resist for all time, but he could sure as hell resist a long time if he wanted to.

“Oh, I’ll fall silent. Here they come,” Tess whispered as Michael and Kyle approached the vehicle with their grocery carts.

“How much do I owe you for the banana?” Maria asked her boyfriend.

“Uh, let’s see, shall we?” He took the receipt out of his pocket and pronounced, “Five bucks.”

“Five bucks? For a banana?” She huffed. “I don’t think so. Four quarters is all you’re gettin’.”

He folded up the receipt and put it back in his pocket. “You must’ve been really hungry,” he commented, “to eat that banana right then and there . . . the way you did.”

She shrugged innocently. “What can I say? I’m not getting fed at home.”

Kyle laughed at that and said to Michael, “You don’t stand a chance.”

Maria smirked. He sure as hell didn’t.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

“Remind me what we’re doing here again,” Michael muttered as he looked around the gym. He and Maria never went to the gym, but she’d been insistent that they go today. Now he was surrounded by wannabe bodybuilders who were bench-pressing over a hundred pounds and people twice his age who were in much better shape than him.

“Duh, we’re exercising,” Maria replied. She looked so cute in her spandex work-out shorts and tank top. Her hair was up in pigtails. She was raring to go.

“But we don’t need to exercise,” he pointed out.

“Everyone needs to exercise, Michael. And personally speaking, I think I’ve gotten a little out of shape.”

He looked her up and down and thought there was no way she could be serious. “Since when?”

“Since I last had sex.”

“Oh, of course.” So that was why she wanted to go to the gym. It was all part of her plan.

“I’m serious,” she said. “Sex is a great form of exercise. Did you know you can burn hundreds of calories in one sack-session alone?”

He nodded. “I’ve heard that.”

“And you know how everyone’s primary complaint about exercise is that it isn’t fun? Reason number one why sex rules.”

“You’re an enthusiast,” he remarked. That was probably an understatement.

“I sure am,” she agreed. “It’s too bad I haven’t been burning many calories lately, you know what I mean?”

“I think I do.” There was no way he was giving in, though. Not yet. As tempting as it was . . . as good as she looked in those short, tight shorts . . . He shook himself out of his stupor. “Alright, let’s go ride the bikes.”

“Wait a minute.” She placed her arm out in front of him to stop him. “It’s not safe to exercise without stretching first.”

“Stretching?” he echoed. “Okay then, there . . .” He reached his arms up high into the air, then bent down to touch his toes. “. . . we go. All stretched.”

“Not so fast. I require more stretching than that.” She surveyed the bodybuilders at the bench-press machine and decided, “I’m gonna go get one of those guys to help me. Wait here.”

He didn’t like the sound of that, yet he was powerless to protest it. He stood back on the stretching mat and watched as Maria approached the group. She smiled at them and talked to them flirtatiously, and it didn’t take much convincing for one guy, a shirtless, bulky, tan, blonde guy who looked more like a Ken doll than an actual person, to agree to help her.

“This is Austin,” Maria chirped, introducing him to Michael.

What a perfectly Texas-jock sounding kind of name, Michael thought bitterly.

“Austin, this is Michael.”

“Hey,” Austin greeted, extending his hand in greeting.

“Hey,” Michael returned, reluctantly shaking it.

“I live with him,” Maria told Austin.

“She dates me,” Michael corrected, just so the jock knew she was off-limits.

“Austin’s gonna help me stretch,” Maria informed Michael. “You can go ride the bike if you want.”

“No, I’ll stay here.”

She shrugged. “Okay.” She sat down on the mat, and Austin knelt down beside her. He instructed her to lie back, so she lay down on her back with her legs stretched out straight. She lifted her left leg up at about a ninety degree angle, and Austin pressed his hands against his calf, urging her leg backward.

“Oh, yeah, that’s good,” Maria told him encouragingly.

“Just tell me when it hurts,” he said, continuing to slowly push her leg backwards.

“That’s when it feels good.” She grinned. “You can keep going.”

Michael stood like a deer caught in the headlights, infuriated by what he was seeing. Maybe Austin’s intentions were harmless, or maybe they weren’t; but regardless, he was in quite a position, pressed up close against her, her legs open.

“Oh, yes. Right there,” Maria practically moaned.

“That’s enough, isn’t it?” Michael mumbled jealousy, refusing to show any greater reaction.

Maria ignored him and said to Austin, “A little harder. Harder.” Her leg was stretched back impossible far. Her knee was practically touching her face, and Austin was practically on top of her. Michael was just about to push him aside and finish the job himself when Maria said, “Okay, I think we got it.”

Austin slid backwards on the mat and released her leg. “Want me to help you with the other leg?” he volunteered.

“She doesn’t want that,” Michael snapped, glaring at him.

“Thanks, Austin, but I think that’ll do,” Maria said, letting Austin help her to her feet. “God, you really know how to stretch a girl out.”

He grinned. “I’ve been told that.”

Michael rolled his eyes. Oh, I’ve been told that. Ooh.

“Thanks for your help.” Maria smiled at him.

“No problem. It was nice to meet you.” Then, as an afterthought, he looked at Michael and added, “You, too, man.”

“Whatever.” Michael was happy when Austin walked away and went back to his bodybuilding male friends. Yeah, they were probably all secretly dating each other.

“Alright, let’s go burn calories, babe,” Maria said, heading towards the stationary bikes.

“One leg,” he said, following her. “You stretched one leg.” He flapped his arms against his sides helplessly. She was so good. She was too good. How was he supposed to resist?

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

“Maybe he’s just asexual,” Marty pondered, bringing Maria a can of beer and Tess a nice, safe can of soda pop from his refrigerator.

“What’s that?” Maria asked. She was lying flat on Marty’s couch, and Tess and Marty were both sitting in chairs, acting as duel therapists.

“It’s not what Michael is,” Tess assured her, popping the tab on her Dr. Pepper. “It’s like when a person has no desire whatsoever to have sex with anyone else. Of either gender. Michael has plenty of desire; he’s just not acting on it. He has enormous self-control.”

“And an enormous cock,” Maria added longingly. “I want it.”

“Oh, she’s suffering. The poor thing.” Marty reached over and stroked her hair sympathetically. “You know, I brought an asexual boy home one night. Needless to say, he was sexual by the time I got done with him.”

“That’s a love story, Marty, really,” Tess said.

“Thank you.”

“Guys, I’m serious,” Maria said, steering the conversation back on track. “I don’t wanna be stuck on second base forever.”

“What’s second base?” Marty whispered to Tess.

“I can never remember,” she replied.

“It’s not sex,” Maria informed them. “It’s not even oral sex.”

Suddenly, the front door to Marty’s apartment swung open and Francis came in. “Did somebody mention oral sex?” he asked in a sing-song voice.

“Hey, Francis,” Tess chirped.

“Hey, Francis,” Maria muttered, too distressed over the lack of sex in her life to sound happy.

“Hey, girls,” Francis returned. He placed his hand on the back of Tess’s chair and asked her, “Are you drunk again?”

“No,” she answered. “Funny how that ended up, though . . .”

“Come give me all the details while we let the DeLucas have their sibling time,” Francis said, gesturing for Tess’s to follow him into another room. She set her soda down on the end table and skipped after him, eager to tell him all about her and Kyle.

“You know, I think Francis might be ‘the one,’” Marty proclaimed when his boyfriend was out of earshot.

Maria sat up on the couch, surprised to hear that coming from her brother. “Since when do you believe in ‘the one?’”

“Since I met Francis.”

She smiled at him. That was so sweet. She hoped to be taking a trip to Massachusetts someday soon to see Marty and Francis wed forever.

“You think Michael’s ‘the one?’” he asked.

“I don’t know,” she admitted, not sure if she really believed in destiny or soul-mates or anything like that. “It’s hard to tell when we haven’t done the deed yet.”

Yet. Keep your spirits up,” Marty advised.

“What’s the next move I should make?” She had plenty of ideas, but she wanted to get a sex expert’s opinion. And Marty was definitely an expert.

“Well . . . you can never go wrong with a porn fantasy.”

She lit up enthusiastically. “That’s so true,” she agreed. “Okay, slutty schoolgirl or naughty nurse?”

“Hmm,” Marty contemplated for a moment. “I was thinking of something a little more . . . slippery.”

“Slippery?” She thought back to all the porn she had watched over the years. Mermaid? Lifeguard? What exactly was he hinting at?

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

;)

Michael got the mail on his way back from class the next day and sorted through it as he rode up the elevator to his apartment. One envelope was from the Office of Scholarships and Financial Aid. He opened it up, unfolded the letter inside, and was thrilled from the moment he read the first word. Congratulations. It went on to say that he had received a substantial upperclassman scholarship.

“Maria,” he called, kicking the door shut with his foot. “I got a scholarship.” He smiled when he read that he only had to keep a 2.5 GPA for it. Easy. “Maria?” He waited for her to come out and congratulate him, but she didn’t seem to be home. He frowned. “Maria?” She was usually out of class by now.

He went into the bedroom and set his backpack down beside the bed and the mail down on the bed itself. As he did that, he noticed a note lying on the pillows. He picked up and recognized it as Maria’s handwriting. Come out to the parking lot, it read. I have a surprise for you.

He wrinkled his forehead in confusion and set the note back down. It wasn’t his birthday, or even his half birthday. What had he done to deserve a surprise?

Maybe it was something he hadn’t done.

He rode the elevator back down to the first floor and walked outside. He couldn’t have missed the surprise even if he’d tried. His mouth slowly fell open, and his footsteps fell to a standstill as he stared in astonishment at the sight that awaited him.

On top of his white, perfectly clean car lay his girlfriend. She was sprawled out on her stomach wearing a miniscule pink bikini and high-heels, and she had a sponge in her hand. The car was covered in soap and suds, and she was washing it off diligently.

Good God, he thought, unable to look away. It was pure seduction. She was trying to seduce him.

She wiped the sponge against the rearview window and squeezed to release the soap. Water trickled down the glass and disappeared into her cleavage. She slowly slid down the back of the car and hopped off, standing on her own two feet. She walked around to the driver’s side, casting a sultry glance at him before working on washing the windows.

He shook his head, knowing quite well that this was just another increment of her plan to get him to give in and have sex. And it was a damn sexy increment, too. His car didn’t even need washing.

Unfortunately, he wasn’t the only spectator to her little show of sexuality. Two guys who were at least in their thirties stood at the edge of the parking lot, drinking beer and watching Maria unabashedly. “I don’t know,” the fatter, rounder one said. “I just looked out the window and there she was.”

“Damn,” the skinny one added. “If that’s not real-life porn then I don’t know what is.”

Michael tensed nervously. His girlfriend wasn’t porn. She definitely wasn’t their porn. But she definitely looked good cleaning that car. He couldn’t not be a horny man in the face of something so attractive.

She winked at him.

Michael moved to stand in front of the eager onlookers, blocking their view. But it didn’t work. They stepped up on either side of him, and the fat guy asked, “Hey, you know that chick? Does she live here?”

“Maybe,” Michael replied coldly.

“Damn,” the skinny guy said again. “I’d put it to her good. Bend her right over the hood of that car and just . . .” He trailed off, and Michael noticed him reach down to adjust his pants.

Okay, that does it! he thought, marching forward in outrage. He was going to put a stop to this.

She held the sponge up over her chest and squeezed with both hands. Water cascaded down her breasts and stomach, and he just about lost his will. He froze in place and watched as she shook her wet hair from side to side, smiling at him. She knew exactly what she was doing.

“Hey, baby,” she said.

“What’re you doin’?” he asked, even though it was a stupid question. Wasn’t it obvious?

“I’m just washing your automobile.” She grinned and swayed towards him. When she was close enough, she pretended to accidentally swipe the sponge against his pants, squeezing water right onto his crotch region. “Oops, sorry,” she apologized, trying to pat it dry with her hand.

He laughed and backed away, well aware of the fact that he now had an erection the size of Texas. “That’s okay,” he said, trying to conceal his elevated state with his hands. “So you just . . . decided to wash my car?”

“It was dirty,” she said. “So was I.”

He felt his cock twitch in anticipation. Dammit.

“How does it look?” she asked.

“Looks good,” he replied. “Everyone thinks so.”

“Yeah?” She glanced over his shoulder at the other two men watching her. “Good.” Then she looked back over at the car and gasped. “Oh, I missed a spot.” She leaned over the hood of the car and scrubbed. He doubted there was even a spot to scrub; she just wanted an excuse to put her body in a very suggestive position.

“I’m gonna go get a towel to dry it off,” she announced, standing upright again. “It’s so wet.” She grinned seductively and handed him the sponge as she traipsed past him, past the fat guy and the skinny guy whose days had just been made a hell of a lot better, and back into the building.

He closed his eyes, utterly turned on, and squeezed all the remaining water out of the sponge.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

“I’m dying,” Michael proclaimed dramatically.

Kyle stared out the window of his apartment in the direction of the parking lot. Maria was still drying off the car. “Yeah, you are,” he agreed.

“No, seriously, I am dying,” Michael emphasized.

“And I agreed with you. But if you ask me, watchin’ your girlfriend evoke a tried and true male fantasy just to get a rise out of you . . . that’s the best way to kick the bucket. I’ll take that over dying in my sleep any day.” Kyle chuckled, then turned serious and asked, “You think I can get Tess to wash my car?”

“Probably,” Michael replied.

Kyle grinned and stepped back from the window. “I’m puttin’ it on the to-do list.” He sat down on his couch next to Michael and said, “Look, I don’t get why you’re so upset.”

“No, I’m not upset. I’m dying, remember?”

“‘Cause you just wanna . . . screw her?”

Michael made a face. “Well, it’s gonna be more romantic than that.”

“Do her? Sleep with her? Procreate?”

Michael rolled his eyes at his friend’s crude euphemisms. “Make love to her.”

“Oh, of course. Well, if you want to, and she obviously wants to, what’s the problem? Is it the insecurity thing? You still doubting your bedroom prowess or what?”

“No, it’s not even that anymore. I’m past that. Now I just wanna win,” Michael explained.

“Win? Win what?”

“This—this whole thing. Maria’s trying like hell to get me to give in, but I’m-I’m steadfast,” he stammered determinedly.

Kyle chuckled and shook his head. “You’re not steadfast.”

“And people don’t know this about me, but I like to win, because I’m very competitive.” He heard the ridiculousness in his own statement—He wasn’t competitive. He let Maria win board games all the time—but when Kyle gave him a doubting look, he chose to insist. “I am.”

“Well, everyone likes to win,” Kyle acknowledged, “but here’s a thought: You can’t win.”

“Yes, I can,” Michael kept on.

“You can’t. Think about it. The only way you can win is to never have sex with Maria, and I don’t think that’s an option for you. So losing is the only option, and it’s a beautiful option. You should lose, and you should lose graciously and thankfully.”

Michael hated to admit it, but it was true. He was fighting a losing battle, and he was going to have to surrender eventually. “You’re right,” he said. “What am I thinking?” Clearly he wasn’t thinking. For once. “I’m not gonna win. And while I’m sittin’ here trying in vain to win, Maria’s gonna seek other options. She’s gonna . . . like the guy at the gym.” He clenched his hands into fists and shook his head angrily as the fears began to escalate. “Or those guys outside. Or Billy the vibrator. Or Billy the person! Why didn’t we have this conversation sooner?”

“‘Cause I was busy developing my sex repertoire,” Kyle proclaimed proudly, grinning from ear to ear. “Hey, better late than never, right? Just give in.”

“That’s exactly what I’m gonna do,” Michael decided. “But I still want the time to be right. And, you know, romantic.” He wasn’t going to sacrifice that much.

“I am the master of romance,” Kyle claimed, rubbing his hands together deviously.

“You were drunk your first time,” Michael reminded him, unwilling to take any advice from his friend in the romance department.

Kyle nodded slowly. “Except for that.”

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Maria jabbered with Tess while the statistics professor wasted class time taking attendance. “I mean, I don’t get it,” she said. “Why isn’t this working? I’ve pulled out all the stops. I have no more stops to pull out.”

“Really?” Tess sounded surprised.

“No, I’ve got lots of stops. But none of ‘em are gonna work. He’s so stubborn.”

“Don’t worry,” Tess assured her, busying herself filing her fingernails. “He can’t keep it up forever.”

“Oh, he can keep it up,” Maria said, thinking of his lower anatomy. “He just doesn’t stick it in when it is up.”

“I was talking about his stubbornness.”

“Oh. Well, I hope you’re right. You’re being so optimistic about this. It’s creeping me out.”

Tess smiled and stuck her nail filer back in her purse. “Call it the honeymoon effect.”

“The--” Maria’s eyes bulged. “You and Kyle got married?

Tess laughed. “No, it’s a metaphor honeymoon. You know when you’re with someone at the beginning and the sex is all new and exciting, and every day feels like some crazy erotic adventure?”

Maria sighed longingly. “I faintly remember.”

“It’s the honeymoon effect.”

“Interesting.”

The professor cleared his throat as he moved down the attendance sheet and called, “Maria DeLuca?”

Her hand shot up in the air. “Here,” she chirped before returning to her conversation with Tess. “You know, this could be serious, though. What if he’s not having sex with me because he’s doubting our relationship?”

“What does he have to doubt?”

“I don’t know, whether I’m girlfriend material or just good times material?”

“You’re over-reacting,” Tess said. “He’s so into you.”

“So says the honeymooner.”

“Tess Harding,” the professor called.

Tess raised her hand. “Here.”

“Just tell me,” Maria went on, “if you were to walk up on an attractive, willing, available girl washing your car in a sexual manner, would you go for it?”

“Would I, or would the male version of me?”

“Male version.”

Tess thought about it for a moment and replied, “Well, yeah, probably. But I’m not as cautious as Michael is.”

“Neither am I. Opposites really do attract, huh?”

“Yeah,” Tess agreed. “It’s like . . . Kyle? Kinda nerdy. Me? Not so much.”

“Don’t be too sure about that,” Maria muttered teasingly. “Kidding.”

“Yeah, you’d better be.” Tess’s cell phone beeped, so she pulled it out of her pocket, flipped it open, pushed a few buttons, and gasped. “Oh my god!”

“What?” Maria asked.

“Kyle just sexted me.”

“He sexted you? What?” Maria leaned to the right and peered over at Tess’s cell phone. There was a picture of . . . “Ew, oh my god!” she shrieked, immediately looking away, covering her eyes. “Is that what I think it is?”

“Yep.”

“Ew, I’m scarred for life.” She shook her head in disgust. “You’ve really had sex with that?”

“Every night this week.”

“Ew.” Maria slowly lowered her hand from her eyes, and even though she didn’t look over at the picture again, she couldn’t help but ask, “Is he really that . . . wide?”

Tess grinned and nodded emphatically. “Uh-huh.”

Maria shrugged. “Well, wonders never cease. He needs some serious man-scaping, though. And a lesson in romance.”

“Well, maybe a little,” Tess acknowledged.

“You know what you should do? Send that dick pic to, like, everyone you know. Someone will post it online eventually, and then Kyle will end up being internet porn.” Maria chuckled inwardly at the thought. “I’ll laugh my ass off.”

“That’s so mean!”

“That’s so Kyle’s luck.”

“Uh, he’s been very lucky lately,” Tess pointed out. “Which is something you haven’t been.”

“That was a low blow.”

“I wonder if you’ll ever give Michael a low blow,” Tess teased.

“Okay, I want my honeymooner back.” Maria laughed, taking the teasing in stride.

“Liz Parker?” the professor said. “Liz Parker?” No one answered, of course. The professor moved on to the next person. “Frank Parlett?”

“Where is Liz anyway?” Tess asked Maria. “Not that I care.”

“Oh, she’s . . . gone,” Maria replied.

“Gone?” Tess echoed. “Like dead?”

“God, no, nothing like that.”

“Good, ‘cause I was gonna say, even I wouldn’t wish that on her.”

“I think she feels dead, though,” Maria said. “She left town ‘cause things went to hell with Max. Who could’ve seen that coming, huh?”

Tess grunted. “Only everyone. Well, I don’t feel bad for her. But if she left, it must’ve been pretty bad.”

“Well, think of how you felt.”

“Yeah. I was totally on the path of ruin for awhile there. Much alcohol,” Tess acknowledged. “But having you and Kyle and Michael helps.”

“Yeah. And I’m guessing Kyle helps most of all.”

Tess blushed. “Yes, yes he does.”

“Rex Ralston?” the professor called. “Rex Ralston?” Again, nobody answered. The professor threw his attendance sheet down, apparently fed up. “Alright, screw it,” he muttered. “People choose not to show up? That’s too bad, ‘cause we’re having a pop quiz.”

Everyone groaned, and a few students froze in panic.

“I know, it’s not fair,” the professor said as he wrote several problems down on the whiteboard. “Blame your absentee classmates, not me.”

“I think I’ll blame him,” Maria said. “This professor’s a douche.”

“Totally,” Tess agreed. “God, this sucks. I’ve been too busy getting busy with Kyle to get busy with my books. I’m gonna fail.”

“You can cheat off me,” Maria told her.

“You actually know what you’re doing?”

“Yeah. I haven’t been getting busy, remember?”

“Take out a piece of paper, work the problems on the board,” the professor instructed grumpily.

Tess tore a piece of lined paper out of her notebook and tore it in half, giving Maria the bottom half. “Thank God one of us studied this stuff. Your celibacy’s a blessing in disguise,” she said. “Glass half full, you know?”

“No,” Maria said, looking over the pop quiz problems, “it’s still half empty.”

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Maria and Michael lay on the couch that evening watching TV, spooning. Maria wasn’t even sure what they were watching. Some movie. Her mind was on other things.

“Hey, so I saw that scholarship letter on the bed yesterday,” she said during the commercial break. “I’ve been meaning to congratulate you.”

“Thanks,” he said.

“You have so many scholarships. Do you, like, get paid to go to college?”

He laughed a little. “Pretty much.”

Maria rolled over onto her back so she could look at him and said, “I’m dating such a smarty-pants. Speaking of pants . . .” She trailed off, glancing downward.

“We should take ours off?” he filled in.

“God, my sexual innuendo’s gotten that predictable, huh?”

“Nothing about you is predictable,” he assured her, rubbing her back with his hands.

“That’s sweet.” She pressed a quick kiss to his lips and suggested, “Let’s go swimming.”

He frowned at the sudden idea. “What?”

“Sorry, I know that was random, but . . . we should go swimming.” It was a way to get him half naked, so it was a wonderful idea as far as she was concerned.

“Where?” he asked.

“In the pool. You know, on the first floor back towards where the tennis courts are, there’s a pool.”

“I know that. I didn’t think you knew that.”

“I have lived here for awhile now,” she reminded him. “Come on.”

“Well, is it open?”

“To residents,” she replied. “It’s not like a public pool.”

“It’s nighttime. And January,” he pointed out. “It’s kinda cold for a swim.”

“Indoor pool. Heated pool. Two hot swimmers.” She grinned mischievously. “Come on, why not? It’s not like we’re doing anything better.”

“We’re watching a movie,” he pointed out.

“I can already tell you how it’s gonna end. The babysitter’s gonna get killed and the wife’s gonna forgive her husband. But then you flash forward a couple of years and he somehow meets the babysitter again, and it’s this total cliffhanger ending. But there was no sequel ‘cause the original bombed.”

“It is kinda boring,” he admitted. “I’ve never actually swum in that pool before.”

“Swum,” she echoed. “So grammatically correct. Well, I’ve never swum there, either. It’ll be a first for both of us.”

He stared at her for a moment, then nodded and agreed to the idea. “Okay. I’ll go get changed.”

“Me, too.” She rolled off the couch and started towards the bedroom. “I’ll wear my car-washing bikini.”

Michael smiled. “Nice.”

Once they had changed into their swimming suits and sandals, they went down to the first floor with towels in their hands. Maria opened the door to the pool and was glad to see that no one else was swimming. “Just the two of us,” she remarked.

“Good.”

“Good? What do you mean by that?”

Michael laughed nervously. “What do I—well, are there a lot of meanings? Good, it’s—it’s a simple word. Four letters, one syllable. It’s just . . . it’s a good word, is what it is.”

She stood in front of him and ran her hands up his bare chest to wrap around his neck. “You’re so cute when you’re flustered,” she said, kissing him lightly.

He placed his hands in the curve of her waist and asked, “So are we gonna get in the water?”

She trailed her hands back down his chest. He looked so good in his swim trunks. “Sooner or later,” she said, stepping out of her sandals.

“How about sooner?”

“That sounds . . . good.”

He chuckled. “Good.”

She set her towel down by the edge of the pool and made her way over to the light-switch on the wall. She dimmed the lights until the pool was enveloped in a soft, romantic, candlelit glow. “Ambiance,” she explained.

“I like it,” he said, stepping out of his own sandals, setting his towel down beside hers. He sat down by the edge of the pool and was about to slide in when she stopped him.

“Wait,” she said, grabbing his shoulders. “Wait a minute.”

“What?”

“Stand up.”

Confusedly, he rose to his feet.

“Close your eyes,” she instructed, but he seemed reluctant. “Just do it.”

After staring at her suspiciously for a moment, he gave in and shut his lids.

She reached into the left breast portion of her bikini top and pulled out an item she had smuggled along: a red bandana. She unfolded it and went to stand behind him, rising up on her tiptoes so that she could place the cloth over his eyes.

“Hey, what’re you doin’?” he asked her.

“Blindfolding you,” she replied as she tied it into place.

“Why?”

“So we can play.” She rubbed his shoulders eagerly.

“Okay. Play what?” he inquired.

“Marco Polo,” she replied, walking around in front of him again. She waved her arms around and twirled around and asked, “Can you see anything?”

“No.”

Just to test that theory, she hooked her thumbs into the sides of her bikini bottom and pushed it down over her hips to the floor. “Anything at all?” she asked, stepping out of it.

“Nope.”

She reached behind her back and untied the bikini top. “Nothing?” she asked, removing that as well.

“I’ve been stricken blind, Maria.”

:)

She laughed a little, believing him. If Michael could see any part of her naked, he would have a reaction. He always did. “Okay,” she said, tossing both halves of her bikini into the water. They made a small, barely audible splash, but Michael heard it.

“What was that?” he asked.

“Nothing,” she said, taking both of his hands in hers. “Come on, let’s get in now.” It was time to go skinny-dipping.

She led him into the water. It wasn’t easy. He really couldn’t see anything at all, so he was very unsure of his steps. They walked down the steps at the shallow end of the pool.

“I should’ve gotten in the water before you blindfolded me,” he said. “This is dangerous. I could trip and fall and drown.”

“I won’t let you drown,” she promised, letting go of his hands once the water came up to her bellybutton. “I’m a good swimmer.” She slid back further in the water, trying her best to be quiet. She got to the deepest part of the pool. The water went up past her breasts but no higher than her shoulders. She dropped down beneath the water for a moment to wet her hair, then came back up and told him, “Start.”

He just stood there for a moment, smiling, having absolutely no idea where either one of them was in the pool. “Marco,” he finally said.

“Polo.”

“Marco.”

She swam to her left, trying not to disrupt the water too much. “Polo.”

He slowly walked towards her voice, reaching out with his right hand to hold onto the edge. “This is a big pool,” he commented. “We could be here forever.”

That’s okay, she thought, never taking her eyes off him. Her whole body was on fire for him, and even though she was in the water, that fire wasn’t going out. If anything, it was burning brighter and hotter than ever.

“Maria?” he asked, stopping. She didn’t say anything, so he laughed a little and tried again. “Marco?”

“Polo,” she whispered playfully, swimming over to her left now. “Come get me, Polo.”

“I want to,” he assured her, turning slowly and heading in her general direction. He moved his arms through the water in circles, reaching out for her. While making one of those circles, his hand came into contact with her bikini top. (The bottom had floated off to the corner of the pool.) He just stood there for a moment, making a face of confusion and holding the clothing item in his hands. Then, slowly, he pushed the bandana up over his forehead and slid it off the back of his head, dumping it in the water. He slowly held up the bikini top, staring at it with his mouth slightly open before turning to look at her. She smiled softly at him, her naked body hidden beneath the water.

He didn’t seem mad that she had tricked him a bit. Just a little bit. He gazed at her, and she saw that he was on fire, too. Her bottom lip quivered in anticipation, even though the water was warm.

He set the bikini top back down on top the water and gave her an almost challenging look. Then, much to her surprise, he reached beneath the water to push his swim trunks down. He stepped out of them and held them up for her to see. They dripped with water. He smirked and literally tossed them aside.

“Say Marco,” she instructed, swimming backwards. “Michael.”

He grinned and shot forward.

“Michael!” she exclaimed, swimming to her left to try to get away from him. “What happened to Marco Polo?” She laughed and swum as fast as she could, but she was at a disadvantage. He was taller than she was. He could run through the water, as well as anyone could run through water, that was. She splashed water at him, trying to keep him at a distance. Although she didn’t really want him at a distance.

He sank beneath the water and stretched forward to grab her by the legs. He pulled her under momentarily, his hands coming up to circle around her midsection. Then he lifted them both above the water, and she gasped for air. “Dammit,” she swore, angry with herself for not being quick and agile enough to escape his pursuit. But also thrilled.

Her breathing calmed and quieted as he held her back to his front. His one hand was sprawled out on her stomach, and he smoothed it lower, hovering just above her pleasure center. She spread her legs instinctively, but he didn’t touch her yet.

She whimpered and turned around in his arms to face him. He slowly let go of her, and they both stood in the water, wet from head to toe, gazing at each other. “Michael,” she said. “I’m ready.”

He didn’t break the eye contact for a long time. He didn’t say anything, either, not out loud. But she understood by that look in his eyes that he was saying something: He was ready, too. They each moved forward and kissed, their mouths mating perfectly and shakily.

Maria deepened the kiss, wrapping her arms around his neck, plastering her slick body against his. His arms encircled her waist once again, and she could feel his stiff member pressing against her abdomen. She smoothed one hand down his chest to his stomach, then moved it back up again to tangle in his wet hair with her other hand. His mouth worked wonders on her, kissing a path down her cheek and jaw to her neck. She arched her breasts up against him as he licked and sucked at her skin.

“Oh,” she moaned, as one of his hands dropped down to cup her bottom and lift her up. The water made the maneuver fluid and easy. She wrapped her legs around his waist, and he held her up with one hand underneath her and one around her back. She closed her eyes and took in a shaky breath when she felt the head of his cock pressing against her core, demanding entrance.

He pressed feather-light kisses to her shoulder as he walked awkwardly towards the side of the pool. Maria felt her back come into contact with the cement wall. She groaned slightly and extended her arms out to the sides to grip the edge of the pool, helping to hold herself upright. She kept her legs wrapped around Michael and pulled him in closer. The coldness of the cement contrasted with the heat emanating from their bodies.

She leaned backward, thrusting her heaving breast outward, her breaths coming in ragged, excited pants. He bent forward and pressed sloppy kisses to her breasts, cupping and kneading each of the mounds in his hands before lowering his hand beneath the water to stroke her stomach. With his thumb, he drew small circles around her bellybutton, causing her stomach muscles to quiver.

She smiled dazedly and lowered herself in the water so that her folds could brush against his penis again. He closed his eyes and froze in place for a moment, then opened them again and gazed right at her. There was no uncertainty in his eyes, no fear or doubt. She couldn’t look away. All she wanted was to be one person with him, because they always had been one person, to some extent. Two complete opposites who balanced each other out, took care of each other, needed each other. And they had this one very primal, beautiful desire in common.

He slid his hands down the outside her thighs to hook under her knees and pull her legs outward slightly. He moved in close to her and pressed his forehead against hers. She reached out and rested one hand directly over his heart. It was thudding in his chest as though it were going to explode.

He brought one hand beneath the water to take his own length in his hands and guide it towards her entrance. He rubbed it up and down the crease of her womanhood for a moment before suddenly pushing inward, penetrating her. She craned her neck backward and gasped nearly silently as her body made room for his.

They took a moment to adjust to the feel of it. Michael buried his face against her shoulder and breathed heavily on her skin while she gripped first at the edge of the pool, then at his slick shoulders, trying to keep herself upright. He enveloped her in his arms, and she fell forward, clinging to him desperately as he began to move within her. His pace was slow and steady at first. Their undulations created small, rhythmic ripples in the water around them.

Maria tightened her legs around him, and he tightened his arms around her. There was next to no space between their bodies. His thrusts became faster, and the ripples became tiny splashes. He sought out her lips with his and kissed her messily. Then he tore his mouth away and left his face close to hers. Whenever he thrust his hips upward, his whole body moved and his top lip touched her bottom lip.

“Uh!” she cried out, digging her hands into his back as his cock rubbed directly against her clitoris. Pleasure coursed through her every limb, her arms, her leg, her fingertips, her toes, the strands of her hair. She tossed her head back and let go as her orgasm swept through her, exploding in a crescendo that triggered Michael to have an orgasm of his own. He grunted and grimaced thankfully as he spent himself inside her. For a moment, both their bodies were tense, and then they both went limp, falling against each other in a heap. The water was still, and the only sounds were the sounds of their breathing.

He held them up for as long as he could until his legs started to wobble. She unhooked herself from him and slid down into the water to stand on her own two feet again, but she could barely manage that. She fell against him, utterly spent, and he stroked her wet hair.








TBC . . .

-April
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LOVE IS MICHAEL AND MARIA.
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April
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Part 43

Post by April »

Leila:
and the parking lot was so pornish. and I recognize anytime porn.
So do I. ;) Good old porn.

nibbles:
And we still have a missionary scene to look forward to.
:lol: I knew at least one person would say that.

Alison:
Oh man, Tess and Kyle are so awesome together. I can't believe he sent her a pic of his peen though. Seriously Kyle? Oh man, I loled.
:lol: I mainly put that part in there because I wanted an excuse to use the word “sexting.” :lol:

Nove:
It's not every day a sister can go to her brother for advice on how to get her bf to have sex with her. I enjoy the uniqueness of their relationship.
Yeah, Marty and Maria definitely have more of a straight-girl/gay-guy-best-friend relationship than a typical brother/sister relationship.
Great songs!! I've been meaning to listen to The Fray's new album for a while now. I downloaded it a while ago so now I have some incentive. I really liked that song.
I really like their new album. “Ungodly Hour” and “Say When” are my favourites.

Zoi:
As for Michael and Maria, THEY FINALLY DID IT! That was so hot. Pool sex is one of the tops sexes there is
Well, it originally supposed to be bathtub sex, but I decided to make it pool sex instead because I wanted them to play Marco Polo. ;)

Christina:
That was perfect. Hot and sweet and lovely. Kinda surprising that Michael's first time with Maria was in a public pool ... I guess he just couldn't contain himself.
The Michael at the beginning of this fic would’ve been too nervous to do it in the pool!
So, missionary soon?
You’re as bad as nibbles! But yes. ;)

spacegirl23:
I just get really blown away by this fic. It's sexy, hilarious and heartwarming all at the same time. When I think I know what the next part holds, I'm wrong. And I love that!
Oh, thank you so much! I really wanted this fic to have a romantic Dramedy feel, so I’m glad you find it to be sexy, hilarious, and heart-warming. It’s supposed to be. More to come!

tequathisy:
Edited because I realised it was January in 521-Land when Maria was outside washing the car in her teeny bikini. Now, that's dedication to your cause.
:lol: Cold weather be damned! Maria is a determined nympho.

Sara:
OMG April...you did it...THEY DID IT!!!! YAY!!!!!
Are you shocked that I let it happen so soon? :lol:

killjoy:
I guess I"m old and no longer cool and with the lingo because I have never heard of sexted
:lol: I first heard it on my local news a couple of months ago, as like a cautionary tale for young kids who text images of their private parts and send them to friends. Oh, sexting.
April my friend you made me have to go take a cold shower after all that Maria getting dirty stuff.....the car washing was my fav
Good, a guy’s opinion on that part! I’m glad you enjoyed it. I have a male friend who told me there was nothing sexier than a girl washing her boyfriend’s car, so that’s how that scene came about.
and Kyle giving Michael sex advice...isn't that like the blind leading the blind?
Yeah. Yeah, it is. ;)


Thanks so much for the feedback, everyone! I hope that last part didn’t disappoint. I always feel at least a little bit nervous about posting those scenes, if you know what I mean.

I should probably mention before I post this part that the gang discusses an issue of Cosmo magazine in this part, and it’s a real issue. (I think it was the April 2009 issue with Ashley Tisdale on the cover or something.) Anyway, the chunks of dialogue that they read from Cosmo in this part actually are from Cosmo. I had to include them because I’m a feminist and they’re hilarious. Anyway, I don’t wanna plagiarize. Cosmo. There we go.

Enjoy this part! Total honeymoon-stage!









Part 43








Maria woke up gradually to the feel of a large, warm hand roaming over her waist and hip, another hand stroking her shoulder, and familiar lips grazing kisses on her skin. It wasn’t until the roaming hand slipped down between her legs to touch her that her eyes shot open. “Jesus Christ, Michael,” she swore. “God. What a way to wake a girl up.”

He withdrew his hand and chuckled. “I thought so.”

She turned around so that she was facing him and squinted as her eyes adjusted to the morning brightness. “Hey,” she said, loving the fact that, for the first time, they were both naked in this bed.

“Hey,” he returned. He took her right hand in his left and interlaced their fingers. She squeezed his hand gently and asked, “What’re you thinking about right now?”

“Oh, god.”

“Sorry,” she apologized, “I’m a girl. I’m required to ask that question.”

“I’m thinking . . .” He stared at their entwined hands for a moment, then looked up and looked her in the eye. “. . . that last night was the best night of my life.”

She was so glad to hear that. “Mine, too,” she told him. She leaned inward and kissed him passionately, laughing as she did so. “Mmm, I probably have such bad morning breath.”

“That’s okay,” he assured her, probably realizing that his wasn’t exactly stellar, either. But neither of them cared. “So was it worth it to wait?” he asked.

“Yeah,” she admitted. They had managed to find the perfect place and time. And it had only taken them two weeks, which wasn’t too long. “Although don’t get me started on that. You so infuriated me.”

He smiled rather proudly. “I did, didn’t I?”

“Yeah, you pissed me off, mister.”

“Maybe that’s what I was tryin’ to do.”

She rolled her eyes and lay on her back again, gazing up into his gorgeous brown eyes. “What were you trying to do? Seriously.”

“Well . . . I did want us to wait for the right time and the romantic mood and all that.”

“Yeah?” There had to be more to it than that. He’d had Marty thinking he was asexual.

“And I didn’t want us to rush things,” he went on. “But to tell you the truth, I was kinda . . . worried it wouldn’t live up to your expectations, too. ‘Cause you’ve had a lot more . . . experience than I have.”

She finally dropped her hand away from his and tapped her fingertips against his chest. “Well, let’s put those fears to rest. Last night exceeded my sexpectations.” She grinned. “And I’m not just saying that. It was pretty much the best sex ever.”

He only seemed mildly surprised. “Wow, that strokes my ego a little bit.”

She understood why it did. “Well . . . I have been with a lot of guys. Losers, mostly. And each time, it was purely physical, all about the lust and the outrageous chemistry, you know? And even though I think we have those things in spades, we also have the other important side of a relationship, the emotional side. And that just amplifies everything by, like, a thousand.” She’d never experienced as powerful of an orgasm as she had last night with Michael. She was completely convinced the emotional connection was responsible for that.

“Yeah, it does,” Michael agreed. “But towards the end, you know . . . it wasn’t so much about me being insecure. I kinda felt like we were playing a game with each other, and I just wanted to win.”

She gasped at that admission. “What? You brat.” He’d kept her waiting that whole time because of a sudden competitive streak? She’d make him pay for that later.

“And then I realized I couldn’t win,” he said, “because I couldn’t resist. I had to have Kyle talk some sense into me.”

“Oh, if that kid’s the only one who’s got it figured out . . .” Maria laughed and shook her head. “God help us all.”

“Yeah, really,” Michael agreed.

She snuggled up against him and draped her leg over his legs and her arm over his waist. “So when did you know you couldn’t resist?” she asked. “Just out of my own curiosity.”

“Um . . . right away?” he ventured. “No, I think that the-the carwash . . .” He smiled fondly. “That was . . . and at the gym when you stretched with that guy . . .”

She giggled, feeling a little bad about that. “Oh, you were so jealous.”

“Yeah. And the banana blowjob . . . really, that was above and beyond the call of seduction there.”

She blushed in embarrassment. “I can’t believe I did that. Actually, I can.”

“But I think what really killed me . . .” He paused and drew it out. “. . . was the vibrator.”

She laughed.

“Named Billy.”

She laughed harder.

“I just kept comin’ back to that. Oh god, baby, that slayed me.”

“That slayed you?” she echoed playfully.

“Yeah, it was intense.”

“Oh, I’m so smart.” She had Tess and her brother to thank for a couple of those ideas, but she was going to take the majority of the credit.

“And talented,” he added. “My car’s never been so clean.”

“And you’ve never been so dirty.” She stroked his back lightly and said, “Do you realize, last night, we technically did it in a public place? Anyone could’ve walked in.”

He took a moment to contemplate that, looking a little surprised with himself. “You’re right,” he said finally. “I didn’t even think about that. I was in the moment.”

“And it was an amazing moment.” She pressed a kiss to his Adam’s Apple.

“More to come,” he promised.

“Many more.” She moved her mouth lower to kiss his chest and inhaled his scent. “Mmm,” she said. “You smell like chlorine.”

“So do you.”

“And my hair’s all chlorine-y.” She felt at the tangled mass on her head and made a face. Not her best morning after appearance.

“You look beautiful,” he assured her.

“Yeah, right.”

“You always do,” he insisted, gazing at her as though she were the prettiest person on earth. “One of many reasons why I couldn’t resist.”

“Aw . . .” He was so sweet. Not sickeningly sweet, either; just . . . just sweet.

“It was like I was Eve and you were the serpent,” he went on. “And I gave in right and proper.”

“Ooh, religious metaphor. Steppin’ it up,” she noted. “But it doesn’t really work. Eve was a girl.”

“Well, I’m a girl in my metaphor.”

She laughed at that. “Okay, but I can’t be the serpent. I’m too cute to be something so disgusting.”

“Fine, the apple then,” he amended. “You were the apple. And I had to taste the apple.”

She gasped. “Oh, that’s so perverted! I love it.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah.” She rubbed her leg against his beneath the sheets and played around with the metaphor some more. “So, tasting the apple made you a sinner and now humanity’s doomed?”

“No, it made me a sinner and I liked it.”

“Ooh. And I think instead of destroying the Garden of Eden, it kind of made the Garden of Eden.” She wasn’t even sure if she knew what she was talking about. She wasn’t religious. But it sounded neat. “‘Cause, lying here with you right now, all blissful and calm, basking in the afterglow of our extravagant lovemaking . . . feels pretty Eden-y to me.”

“Me, too,” he agreed. “I wonder how long it’ll last.”

“Forever,” she replied, pressing her weight against him so that he rolled over onto his back and she could rest on top of him.

“Forever?”

“Yeah.” She kissed him, surprising herself with the thought. Forever? She’d never really thought about forever before. “You already hold the boyfriend record.”

“The boyfriend record?” he murmured against her lips.

“Yeah. I’ve never dated a guy longer than two weeks.” She smiled at him. “Fifteen days and countin’, babe.”

“Oh, my ego just got stroked again.”

“That’s not the only thing.” She slithered one hand down beneath the covers to stroke his cock.

“Jesus,” he swore, bucking his hips a little.

“What goes around comes around.” She brought her hand back up again to rest on his chest. If he was going to wake her up that way, he had to know that turnabout was fair play.

They kissed again just as her phone rang. It wasn’t a ring so much as her alarm, an annoying half-music/half-beeping sound that woke her up for class in case she wasn’t awake already. “Oh,” she groaned. “I have class this morning.”

“I have class this afternoon,” he said.

She frowned, not liking the thought of being apart from him all day after the step they’d taken last night. “We could skip,” she pondered aloud. “I know it’s not in your nature, but I just passed a very difficult pop quiz yesterday, and you’re the smartest person I know. Besides . . .” She grinned as she felt him growing hard beneath her. “I think your serpent wants to get in my garden.”

That was all it took. “And we’re skippin’ class,” he decided, rolling on top of her to ravage her the way only he could.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Kyle wasn’t sure where Michael was that afternoon. He could count on one hand the number of times the guy had missed art class. It’d only happened once, and that had been due to the funeral of a relative. Either somebody else in the Guerin family had died, or Michael had just gotten laid and he and Maria were staying in bed all day. For his friend’s sake, Kyle hoped the latter was the explanation.

It turned out that not having Michael there wasn’t such a bad thing. Kyle was able to focus on his painting because he wasn’t distracted by a conversation about Tess and Maria. He started a new painting at the beginning of the hour and had the base layer completed fifty-five minutes later. He was just about to fix a mistake when Tess walked in. He noticed her right away and set his paintbrush down.

“Hey,” she chirped in greeting.

“Hey,” he said, giving her a kiss on the cheek. “This is a surprise.” He glanced down at his paint-covered hands. “I’d touch you, but . . .”

“That’s okay. You can touch me later.”

He liked the sound of that. “What’re you doin’ here?”

“I got out of class early, figured I’d come visit you. Raymond Hall isn’t that far from Richards Hall, so . . .”

He smiled and nodded. “They’re on the opposite sides of campus.”

She laughed and grew red in the face. “Okay, so I just wanted to see you.” Her eyes wandered over to the painting he was working on, and her whole face lit up. “And me!” she exclaimed. “Kyle, is that me?”

Well, he thought, there’s no reason to deny it now. “Yeah. You like it?” The image he’d captured was permanently imprinted on his brain now: her asleep in the bed, her hair sprawled out on the pillowcase, her unclothed body covered by blankets. He couldn’t have painted that a week ago. Now he could.

“I love it,” she said, staring at it in astonishment. “Wait . . . those paintings you did last semester, Christina Aguilera . . . that wasn’t Christina Aguilera, was it?”

How she had fallen for that flimsy lie, he still did not know. “When your hair’s curly, you look at lot like she did when she was younger.”

“Well, I’ll take that as a compliment.”

“Maybe I’m just not a good painter if you couldn’t tell the difference.”

“No, Kyle, you’re an excellent painter,” she assured him. “I just couldn’t see things clearly back then.”

And she could now. He liked that. “Well, I hope you don’t mind,” he said. It wasn’t a full-fledged nude painting or anything, with actual body parts showing, (although he hoped to be doing one of those soon), but he still hadn’t asked her permission. “I needed a muse.”

She smiled excitedly. “I’ve never been anyone’s muse before.”

She’d been his for a long time. “You mean the Evanses don’t need any inspiration to build all those fancy hotels?”

“No,” she replied, still gazing at the painting. “They just need lots and lots of greed.”

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Max sat in his office, pretending to stare at his computer and work. But underneath the desk, he was holding his cell phone. He had dialed Liz’s number and was debating whether or not to press SEND. She probably wouldn’t even answer. But what if she did?

He glanced outside his office. His father was firing two employees publicly. That had to be humiliating. And it wasn’t a nice, peaceful firing, either. Everyone was yelling.

When his father stormed into his office, Max flipped his phone closed and shoved it back into his pocket.

“This economy’s in the crapper, Max,” Phillip muttered, sitting down on the couch.

“I know.” Max studied him, not sure he’d ever seen him so stressed out and tense before. “Is that going to be a problem for us?”

“I don’t know,” his father replied honestly. “We’ll see.” He ran one hand over his grey, balding head, and sighed heavily in frustration. “Getting a lot of work done?”

“Yeah,” Max lied smoothly. He rolled his computer chair backward and kicked his feet up on his desk. “Can I ask you something?” he asked, folding his hands over his chest. Without waiting for an answer, he inquired, “Have you ever been happy?”

“What do you mean?” Phillip asked in response, sounding uninterested.

“Have you ever in your life been happy to be alive?” Max rephrased. He wanted to know, because as far back as he could remember, he’d never seen his father crack a genuine smile. He’d never heard him laugh, at least not light-heartedly.

“Every other day of the week,” Phillip answered with a shrug. “Existential thought. That’s a new one for you, son. But I’m not sure it has a place in the office.” He rose up from the couch and headed back outside, commanding, “Get back to work.”

Max leaned his head back and stared up at the ceiling. He was going to be seeing that ceiling for years and years to come. Years and years.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Michael lay with Maria in his arms that evening, her head and hands resting on his chest. They’d barely gotten out of that bed at all that day, except to go to the bathroom, brush their teeth, and shower. And they’d even showered together, so that didn’t really count. They hadn’t even gotten out of bed to eat. Pizza was a wonderful thing, and Michael was very good at ordering it.

“Mmm,” she moaned contentedly, her breath tickling his skin. “I can’t believe you made me . . . that many times.”

He felt proud about the multiple orgasms she’d had that day. Why had he ever doubted his skills? He was good, and she was good, and they were great together.

“You tired?” he asked.

“No.” Her sleepy tone obviously indicated otherwise. “I’m wide awake.”

He smiled. She would be falling asleep any minute now, and so would he. He was completely exhausted, in a good way.

“We should do this again tomorrow,” she said. “And the day after that, and the day after that.”

He wished they could. Even though he generally liked college, he had no desire to go to class or to work ever again. But he would. Sacrifices.

“Michael?”

“Hmm?”

She wet her lips with her tongue and asked, “Besides the sex and the first kiss and . . . all the other romantic stuff, what’s been your favorite part of us?”

“Of us?” he echoed.

“Yeah.”

He thought back, and a million answers came to mind. “I can only pick one?”

“No, you can pick more than one.”

“Okay.” He still had a hard time narrowing it down. “I really liked Christmas. 521 Christmas, remember?”

She smiled. “Yeah.”

“And . . .” He pushed her hair back from her forehead so he could look at her as he talked. “I liked our attempt at Thanksgiving, and the food fight that followed. I even liked salsa dancing.”

“I knew it,” she claimed. “What, um . . . what about on your birthday, when I gave you that strip-tease?”

“Oh, I loved that.” He kept stroking her hair, unable to stop touching her once he started. “What about you? What’s your favorite?”

“Um . . .” She yawned tiredly, and it took a moment for her sleepy self to answer. “I liked karaoke.”

He winced, even though he’d thoroughly enjoyed that, too. “Oh.”

“Yeah. We should do that again sometime.”

“How do you think you’re gonna convince me to sing again?”

She smiled. “I can do it.”

He had no doubt that she could.

“I-I like it when you paint me,” she went on. “You make me look so pretty.”

And that surprised her? “You are so pretty.”

“But . . . like really pretty.”

It wasn’t a difficult thing to do. At all. “That’s how I see you. That’s how you are.”

“Aw . . .” Her voice was getting quieter.

“You’re tired,” he said, stroking her hair less now so that she could go to sleep.

“No,” she insisted. “Michael?”

“Hmm?”

She didn’t say anything for a moment, and he thought she’d already drifted off. But at last she whispered, “I love being with you.”

He pressed a soft kiss to her forehead and murmured, “I love being with you, too.” He closed his eyes and let sleep overcome him as he held her. One of these days, when he was sure she was ready to hear it, he was going to say those words again, except he’d cut out ‘being’ and ‘with.’

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

“Okay, here we go,” Tess said as she looked over the Cosmopolitan magazine spread out on the table in front of her. She and Kyle and Michael and Maria had met at a restaurant near the Student Union for lunch. She read aloud from the magazine: “‘Diet all week, or don’t eat before you go to a party; fast all day except for raw hamburger for strength. You’ll feel thin and attractive.’”

Maria grunted and reached across Michael to pick up his hamburger. “Screw that.” She took a bite of it and smiled. “I always feel thin and attractive. And what the hell, raw hamburger? Enjoy the e-coli.”

Kyle leaned over towards Tess to peer at the magazine. “And that’s printed in Cosmo?

“A 1968 issue of Cosmo,” she explained. “April, 1968. ‘How to Turn a Man On.’”

“Don’t eat. Yeah, that turns a man off,” Michael said.

“Well, different decade. Very different.” Tess shook her head. “Whatever. Okay, here’s another one. Oh, this one’s hilarious. ‘Write his thank-you notes . . . . Do needlepoint while he watches . . . . Take his pulse (even if you don’t know how) . . . . Pumice his calluses . . . .’ I don’t even know what that means. ‘Frolic in his chest hairs.’” She made a face. “What?”

Frolic in his chest hairs?” Maria echoed in disbelief. “Ew!” She reached over and pretended to unbutton Michael’s shirt. “Oh, Michael, let me frolic.”

He chuckled. “I don’t have chest hair.”

“I know. That’s why I like you.”

“That’s from ‘Things to Do with Your Hands That Men Like,’ 1970,” Tess said. “Uh, I can think of some things to do with my hands that men like much more than writing their thank-you notes.”

Maria made a face. “Who does thank-you notes anymore?”

“And why doesn’t he just write his own?” Tess wanted to know.

“For real,” Maria agreed. “And what’s the next part? Do needlepoint? I don’t even know what that is.”

“Or-or ‘take his pulse.’ Ooh, sexy. Kyle, let me take your pulse.” She grabbed Kyle’s wrist and pressed two fingers against his pulse point.

“Oh, I like that,” he played along.

“Seriously!” Tess exclaimed. “Ridiculous.”

“That’s, like, the worst advice ever,” Maria proclaimed. Sadly, it was advice she could have imagined Tess following had she still been with Max. “Why is it in Cosmo?

“Well, they even say it’s the worst advice they’ve ever printed. They just put it in this last issue to show how the times have changed.” Tess looked down at the magazine again and said, “Oh, here’s one that really infuriates me, and I’m not even a feminist. Listen to this: ‘A woman dominates only be default.’”

Maria rolled her eyes. “I can already tell I don’t agree with it.”

“‘She makes decisions—little decisions, big decisions, medium-size decisions—only when her escort, her fiancé, or her husband leaves them up to her,’” Tess read. “Crap from 1960.”

“Total crap,” Maria agreed. “Whatever, I’m never reading Cosmo again.”

“Are you sure?” Tess held up the magazine, showing Maria the cover. “Because this issue has ‘Hot Moves That Will Start a Bonfire in His Pants.’” She grinned.

Maria hesitated only momentarily before seizing the magazine from her friend, immediately interested in what it had to say. “Let me see that.” She browsed the table of contents to try to find what page the article was on.

“You already know all the moves,” Michael said.

“Hmm, that’s true. Here you go, Tess.” She tossed the magazine back across the table at her friend.

“Hey, I know the moves, too,” Tess said. “We’ll give it to Marty.”

“Oh, he knows more moves than both of us,” Maria informed her.

A moment of silence descended upon their table again, and after a moment, Kyle slowly announced, “I think . . . that guys should have their own Cosmo. I’d read it.”

Michael made a face. “You would?”

“Yeah, wouldn’t you?”

“No.”

“Guys can’t have a Cosmo,” Tess cut in. “What would they put in it?”

“Uh, ‘Moves That Will Start a Bonfire in Her Pants,’” Kyle suggested. “I’m just saying, it would be great study material for someone who’s just—you know, someone like me who’s just starting out.”

“Like a newborn baby,” Maria teased. “No, you know, actually, it’s not a bad idea. Because, let’s face it, in most heterosexual relationships, it’s not the girl who needs coaching; it’s the guy.”

“That’s a good point,” Tess acknowledged.

“Wow, this is a real intellectual conversation we’re having here, guys,” Michael said.

Maria laughed and squeezed his arm affectionately. “Just ‘cause you’re a genius . . .”

“Genius?” Kyle spat, his eyes wide. “This ‘genius’ put off having sex with you just ‘cause he wanted to win. Any guy can tell you, that’s not genius. That’s stupid.”

“Stupid?” Michael echoed.

“It is what it is, yeah.”

“Ah, it was kinda stupid,” Michael muttered in agreement.

“It’s Liz Parker syndrome,” Tess piped up again. “An otherwise smart person just doesn’t use the good old brain.”

“The lower brain,” Kyle put in, “which is what you, Michael Guerin, should’ve been using the entire time.”

Maria smiled, for once agreeing with Kyle. Although it had all worked out in the end.

“Did you guys know there is actually a Cosmo for men?” Michael said, bringing the conversation back to the original topic at hand.

“What?” Tess barked. “No way.”

“Yeah,” he insisted.

“Does anyone buy it?” Maria inquired.

“No.”

“Do you buy it?” Tess asked.

“No.”

“Really?” Tess giggled. “I don’t know, Maria. You might wanna do a sweep of the apartment when you get home. I bet he’s got it hidden under the bed or something.”

Michael shook his head. “No.”

“I’ll check for it,” Maria decided. “And if I find it and see that it has really bad advice like ‘do needlepoint’ in it, I’ll let everyone here know.”

Tess clapped her hands excitedly. “Fabulous.”

Maria glanced up at the clock and was sad to see that the time had flown by. She had somewhere she needed to be. “Oh, guys, I wish I could stay and hang out longer, but I got a meeting with my academic advisor in fifteen minutes.”

“Really, your academic advisor?” Tess raised her eyebrows in surprise. “I don’t recall that ever happening before.”

“That’s ‘cause it’s never happened,” Maria confessed. “But I’m trying to figure out what to do with my life.”

Kyle gestured back and forth between Michael and Maria and said, “I think you’re already doin’ it.”

She rolled her eyes at him. “You know what I mean. But trust me, there’re a million other things I’d rather be doing right now than hashing out my future. A million other things.” She looked at Michael pointedly and suggestively. Each of those million things was something she wanted to do with him. Or to him, if he felt really daring.

Tess must have noticed the looks they were giving each other, because she slammed her hand down on the table and said, “Oh, for God’s sakes, just go have a quickie already.”

Maria wriggled her eyebrows at Michael and grabbed his hand. “Bye, guys,” she said to Kyle and Tess as she shot up from her seat, pulling Michael with her. He slapped a ten dollar bill down on the table and didn’t object.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Michael and Maria walked together towards the Academic Advising Center thirteen minutes later, both of them absolutely giddy and satisfied. His arm was around her shoulders. They liked to keep the contact after sex.

“Oh, that was exhilarating,” Maria raved, still a little out of breath.

“I will never look at the bookstore bathroom the same way again.”

She laughed. “I know! And the men’s bathroom—I can’t believe I let you take me in there.”

“Hey, I have my dignity, you know.”

“Whatever!”

He squeezed her shoulder gently as they headed up the stairs to the second floor where (she had heard) her advisor’s office was located. “I can’t believe I let you talk me into doin’ it in another public place,” he said. “I’d never do that with anyone else.”

“That’s good to know.” She located her advisor’s office and slipped out from under his arm. “Oh, wish me luck with this whole deciding my future thing,” she said, taking his hands in hers for a moment. “Although I know you’re a big part of my future, so maybe I don’t need luck after all.” She smiled happily.

“Want some anyway?” he offered.

“Yes, please.” She rose up on her tip-toes as he bent down, and their lips met in a kiss. It was cheesy. They didn’t care.

“Maria DeLuca?” a woman said, stepping out into the hallway and interrupting them.

“Present,” Maria answered distractedly. She took a look at the woman—grey hair, business-like clothing, glasses . . . she looked like an academic advisor—and said, “I mean hi. Hi.”

“Hello,” the woman said. “I had you down for 1:30.”

“Right.” Maria let go of Michael’s hands and said, “I’ll see you at home.”

“Good luck.”

She winked at him, having just gotten all the luck she needed, and followed her advisor into her office.

“Now forgive me,” her advisor said, sitting down, “I advise quite a few students, so I may not recognize you, but . . . I don’t think we’ve ever met.”

“Yeah, I’ve never been in here before,” Maria admitted embarrassedly, taking a seat across the desk.

“Well, I’m Joy.”

“It’s nice to meet you, Joy. It’s a joy to meet you, Joy.”

Her advisor laughed lightly. “You, too.” She opened a folder marked Maria DeLuca and pulled out some transcripts and records. “Now, you’re a junior, right?” she asked.

“Yeah. That’s bad, isn’t it? I know I should’ve met with you sooner.”

“Well, we’re meeting now.” Joy smiled pleasantly and reassuringly. “What can I help you with?”

“Well . . . a lot,” Maria answered vaguely at first. “See, right now my major’s journalism, but I’m gonna change it, I think.”

“To what?”

She shrugged helplessly. “I have no idea. That’s kinda why I’m here.”

“Career Services may be able to help you, too,” Joy informed her. “But okay, let’s start simple. What are you good at?”

Maria heard her perfectly, but she couldn’t think of an answer. “Excuse me?” she asked, stalling for time.

“What are you skills,” Joy elaborated, “your talents? If there was a list of the things you enjoy most about your life, what would be at the top of it?”

“Um . . .” The only thing that was coming to mind was sex. And that wasn’t a good answer. “Well, the thing at the top of my list isn’t something I could make a career out of,” she dismissed. “You know, legally.”

“Oh, no,” Joy said, shaking her head, “that’s not necessarily true.”

Maria frowned, confused. It wasn’t?

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Michael sat in his bedroom reading Cosmopolitan Man. It was an old issue, back from the 1960s or something. His grandfather had purchased it way back when. It was a family heirloom, nothing more than that. Although it did have some pretty good advice, even by today's standards.

“Michael!” he heard Maria exclaim as the front door opened.

He quickly stashed the magazine under the bed and met her out in the hallway.

“Guess what,” she chirped.

“What?”

“My advisor and I got it all figured out!” she squealed, jumping up and down excitedly.

“Really? That’s great.”

“Yeah, guess what I’m gonna be.”

He had no idea. She could be anything. “What?” he asked.

She smiled excitedly and drew it out for a moment before exclaiming, “A sex therapist!”

He opened his mouth, but barely any words came out. “Come again?”

“Yes, I will cum again. Just let me get out of these pants.” She began to undo her jeans.

“No, I mean, say that again.”

“Oh.” She zipped up her jeans again and repeated, “A sex therapist! Isn’t that great?”

He smiled unsurely. “Yea?”

“And remember awhile back when you told me I should do something where I can be creative and interact with people and stuff? This is it. And sex? Obviously my life’s passion.”

“Obviously.”

“And Joy—that’s my advisor; we’re on a first name basis now—she said sex therapists are actually in high demand right now. Wanna know why? ‘Cause the economy sucks and it’s really stressful, and that stress is taking its toll on people’s marriages. So they’re going to sex therapists, therefore not really helping their economic plights at all, but who cares? At least they helped their sex lives. That’s the most important thing.”

He laughed lightly and realized that this wasn’t a joke. “You’re serious.”

“Yeah. Don’t you think I’ll be good at it?”

“Yeah, you’ll be great.” If he ever needed a sex therapist (that would never happen, but hypothetically), he would seek out someone as . . . enthusiastic as she was. “But is sex therapy a degree? I don’t think it is.”

“Well, no, it’s . . . it’s psychology, you know?” she explained. “It’s like a branch of, like, counseling/clinical psychology. I think. I don't know, I'm not clear on all the details.”

He nodded. “Psychology’s a science, you know.”

“I know, and I’m not very scientific, but I am very, very sexual.” She growled seductively and ran her hands up and down his chest.

He wanted to be excited for her, but he could only be excited if she’d given this some thought. “How strongly do you feel about this?” he asked.

“Honestly?” She wrapped her arms around his neck and got serious. “Very strongly. I know it may seem like a joke, but . . . Michael, I would kick ass at this.”

“You would,” he agreed.

“And I know I’ll have to take all these classes, and I’ll graduate a year or two later than I intended, but . . . it’ll be worth it.”

He nodded in agreement. It was great to see Maria get so excited over her intended career, something that never would have happened a few months ago. “Well, if this is what you want, you’ve got my support.”

“I knew I would.”

“Yeah. You know, if you’re a therapist, you might be the breadwinner of our household. I’m an artist. That’s a limited, unreliable income.”

“But you’re an amazing artist,” she said. “Although, Cosmo would not approve of the gender role reversal.”

“Yeah, it’s not exactly a feminist magazine, is it?”

She shook her head. “Not really, but I love it. Speaking of Cosmo . . . were you reading the men’s Cosmo before I came in?”

He grunted and lied, “No,” unconvincingly before confessing, “A little bit, yeah.”

“Oh my god.”

“It’s-it’s not even in publication anymore, Maria. It’s an antique. I’m just holding onto it so we can sell it and be rich.”

“Really?” she teased. “That’s you excuse?”

He grew red with embarrassment. Luckily he had a girlfriend who didn’t mind his lameness. “Let’s have sex, future sex therapist,” he suggested, switching the topic back again.

Her face lit up. “Oh my god, let’s!”

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Tess couldn’t believe her ears. She and Kyle sat outside the Student Union by the fountain debating a very important issue, and she wasn’t about to let up. “You simply cannot compare ‘Oops, I Did It Again’ to ‘Circus,’” she said. “You can’t.”

“We’re talkin’ about the song, not the album, right?” Kyle asked for clarification.

“Right.”

“Then . . . yes, I can.”

She gasped. “No! ‘Circus’ has innovative lyrics and a thematic element.”

“‘Oops, I Did It Again’ solidified Britney’s status as a pop legend, Tess,” Kyle argued.

“But what is it even about?”

“It’s about . . . this thing that she accidentally did. Again.”

Tess laughed at that response. “See? It’s about nothing. Don’t get me wrong, I love the song, but--”

“It’s not just about the song, though,” he cut in. “It’s about the outfit she wore in the music video for the song. Remember that tight, red leather jumpsuit thing?” He nodded hungrily. “Oh, yeah. Arousal!”

“That’s such a guy thing to say.”

“And what about the dance? Didn’t you have that memorized?”

She shrugged, thinking back. “The chorus.” If someone gave her a beat, she could probably still enact the moves.

“Well, I knew the whole thing,” Kyle admitted unabashedly.

“Seriously?” She laughed at the thought of it.

“Yeah, my parents thought I was gay for awhile. Until they saw my reaction to the red jumpsuit.” He pointed down at his crotch.

“Oh my god, you were a kid.”

“Kids get erections all the time.”

She fell against him, giggling uncontrollably, but when someone approached them and cast a shadow over them, she looked up and quit laughing. Her ex-boyfriend was peering down at them. “Max.” She wasn’t sure what to do or say.

Kyle looked up as well and grumbled, “Oh, great.”

“Kyle,” Max greeted flatly. “Tess.”

“What do you want?” Kyle asked quickly.

“I was just wondering if either of you has heard from Liz.”

Tess looked away, hurt but not surprised that he would have the nerve to ask her such a thing. Some people never changed.

“Yeah, she called me the other day, said she was happy to be home and away from you,” Kyle said.

Max frowned and walked away, just like that, no insults, nothing.

“I made that up,” Kyle admitted. “Although it’s probably true.”

Tess stared after Max, barely able to fathom that that was the same guy she’d dated. He looked . . . defeated. “Gosh, he actually seems sad,” she remarked.

Kyle followed her gaze. “What, you don’t feel sorry for him, do you?”

“Oh, god no. It’s just . . . weird to think of him caring about someone besides himself. You know?”

He nodded. “Yeah. You think he knows that we . . .”

Tess shrugged. “Who cares? It won’t change a thing if he does. I like being with you. It’s really . . . easy.”

“Easy?” he echoed. “I’m easy?”

That hadn’t come off as complimentarily as she’d wanted it to. “No, I mean . . . being with Max was all complicated and dramatic, and I hated it most of the time. I don’t hate this.”

“I definitely don’t hate it, either,” he agreed.

“Kyle.” She took hold of his hand in hers and said, “I’m really . . . happy.” It’d been awhile since she’d been able to go to bed at night without thinking about Max and wake up without agonizing over him.

“Me, too.” He leaned in and gave her a kiss.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Max stopped at the newspaper kiosk outside the Union to see if Evans Hotels had made the paper this week. But he wasn’t really thinking about the company. God help him, he couldn’t think about anything but damn Liz Parker.

As he flipped through the paper to the business section, he glanced up and caught sight of Kyle and Tess again. It didn’t take a rocket scientist to see how close they had become. Intimate, even. They were hand-holding and laughing and completely focused on one another. Max chided himself for not noticing it sooner. His radar was off. He was off. And he hated it.

So Kyle had managed to snag the girl of his dreams, as had Michael. And for the first time in his life, Max had no one to crawl into bed with. How the hell had that happened?








TBC . . .

-April
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LOVE IS MICHAEL AND MARIA.
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April
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Part 44

Post by April »

Sara:
April, you could NEVER disappoint with your writing of THOSE scenes. They are always hot and intimate and perfect.....even when they aren't perfect moments, they are still perfect.
Well, I try very hard with those scenes. It actually take me an entire day to write one of those scenes, whereas I can knock out about ten pages of any other scene on a given day. :roll:

Leila:
First, great siggie..looks fabolous. You're really great in doing that (if you have done it yourself)
Oh, I wish I could take credit for this one, but I got it from somebody at www.lost-forum.com who is WAY better at Photoshop than I am!
I really can see Maria as sex therapist...make your hobby into a profession.
Exactly! :D

tequathisy:
Heehee, I though the metaphor was a eupheimism.
Yeah, it pretty much was. ;)
Did we miss the missionary scene? Or did Maria and Michael spend the day in bed and not get missionary?
:lol: You didn't miss it!

Eva:
I never thought you would let Michael give in so soon. But it was awsome!
I try to surprise some people once in awhile. Yes, Michael gave in. He's a man. :lol:

nibbles:
I love, love, love seeing Maria and Michael getting to be boyfriend and girlfriend and enjoying their honeymoon period. Of course, I will probably hate you when the inevitable bumps come along.
Okay, yeah, I'm . . . bracing myself for future parts. It's pretty obvious that there has to be some sort of trouble in paradise at some point. And there will be. :? There's no point in denying it.

Nove:
I wonder what Amy will say when she finds out what Maria plans to do.
Well, considering the fact that she thinks Maria is still a virgin . . . :lol:
That Cosmo article was funny. It was neat to see them discussing it. That's crazy the stuff they said in the past. Thank goodness times have changed.
I know, right? I didn't know whether to laugh or cry when I read some of that stuff!
I'm dreading the bumps that might be a head but they seem to have a good foundation. Hopefully that will make things not as complicated when the bumps do come.
The stronger the foundation, the less bumpy the bumps should be, right?

BLONDIE:
did they really have a cosmo for men? cuz they should've kept it out. I know there are a few guys out there who could use it
Yeah, I actually did research on this, and it turns out they did have a Cosmo for men. (Granted, m research came from Wikipedia, not the most reliable source, but I'm trusting that it's true.) I think they came out with one issue decades ago and haven't come out with any since.

Alison:
God, I love, love, lub them. I just want to marry all four of them.
:lol: An orgy of marriage, huh? Okay, let's do this: I now pronounce Alison and the Core Four of 521 man and . . . man and wife and wife and wife. You may now kiss the bride . . . s. :lol: I'm so lame, I apologize.

spacegirl23:
I don't even know why Michael has such performance anxiety. He was terrific! (Well, with Maria. If April plans to lend him, I'm standing in line.)
You'd better not cut in front of me! :lol:
P.S. Your signature is fantastic!
Thanks! I wish I could take credit for the banner, but I didn't make it. And I don't remember who did. Got it from somebody at Lost-forum. Lots of talented people there.

Ginger:
He deserves to be alone...he shouldn't be allowed to ruin anyone else...As you can see I am vindictive as hell!!!
That's okay! I know you're not the only one who feels this way.



Thank you for the feedback, everyone!

Now, I'll be the first to admit, this part you're reading today . . . it's pretty much about nothing. Nothing really significant happens. It's just kind of a fun part. Oh, but . . . it is the missionary scene. ;) I so spoil you guys. Actually, it's kind of the foreplay to the missionary that makes it hot. And this part is a little longer than normal. I just couldn't find a good place to end it.

Why am I still rambling? On with the fic!









Part 44








“I want Tess to move in with me.”

Michael stared at Kyle, mouth agape, and even though he knew what he was hearing, he pretended he didn’t. “What?”

“I want Tess to move in with me,” Kyle repeated.

That sounded like a bad idea. “Whoa, slow down.”

Kyle rolled his eyes. “I want. Tess . . .”

“No, I mean . . . slow down. You guys have only been together, what a week now?”

“Uh, a week and a half, thank you very much,” Kyle corrected.

“Well, that’s too soon.”

“Says who? Maria?” Kyle grunted. “I won’t believe it ‘til I hear it from her.”

As if on cue, Maria walked in the door. “Hey, guys,” she greeted. “What kind of bromantic discussion am I interrupting this time?”

Kyle glanced nervously at Michael, then back at Maria.

“Oh god,” she frowned. “You’re not sharing sex tips, are you? ‘Cause that would seriously creep me out.”

“Kyle wants Tess to move in with him,” Michael blurted out.

“What? You idiot,” Maria said.

“Why-why am I an idiot? Things are going great. She spends a lot of time at my place anyway, it’s more economically feasible . . .”

“Kyle, you guys are in the honeymoon phase right now. Why would you wanna ruin it?”

“Ruin it?”

“Yeah, once you move in together, it all goes downhill,” she informed him.

He wrinkled his forehead. “It does?”

“Yeah, it does?” Michael echoed. Nothing had gone downhill for him since his roommate acquisition.

“Oh, not for us,” Maria assured him, giving his arm an affectionate squeeze. “But trust me, Kyle, you’re making a mistake if you ask her to move in with you so soon. A potentially relationship-ending mistake. You don’t want that, do you?”

No,” he replied emphatically.

“Alright, then give it a few months. Wait ‘til you guys are an established couple instead of just an emerging couple. And for God’s sakes, do something about your hair. This 1950s slick-back ‘do does nothing for you.”

Kyle shook his head and grumbled to Michael, “She can never just be nice, can she?”

Michael shrugged. “Not to you.”

“Now go,” Maria said, giving him a little shove towards the door. “Fix your hair.”

“What’s wrong with my hair?” Kyle asked on his way out the door. “My hair’s fine.”

Maria rolled her eyes, but the moment he was gone, she squealed and jumped up and down excitedly. “Ooh, can you imagine how fun it’s gonna be when Tess does move in with him, though? ‘Cause I bet she will eventually.”

“The neighbors are gonna be so pissed at all of us,” Michael remarked, trying to give the elderly woman across the hall some consideration.

“Oh, for the sex sounds? Yeah.” She nodded. “Oh, well. They can deal. Or . . . we could try to be quiet.”

He looked at her like she was crazy and shook his head. “No.” She was a loud, loud person in bed, and he liked it that way. She was amazing.

“No, that’s not possible, is it?” she agreed.

“Not possible.” He bent down and wrapped his arms around her legs, hoisting her up in his arms.

“Michael!” she exclaimed, laughing as he slung her over his shoulder and carried her towards the bedroom. “Oh, you muscle man!” She definitely didn’t give a damn about being quiet anymore.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Michael was lying on his stomach, asleep, when he felt a light, tickling sensation on his back. It sort of felt like a feather at first, but then it started to feel sort of wet and gooey. Like paint. “What’re you doing?” he asked Maria, opening his eyes slowly.

“Painting,” she replied simply.

You’re painting?”

“Uh-huh.”

"And you're painting my back?"

"You betcha."

Wasn’t that what he did? Not paint backs, but paint in general. He smiled as she dragged the brush in lines across his shoulder blades. “Why?”

“What can I say? After living with you for all these months, I realized it’s my destiny to be a great artist.”

He chuckled. “Or . . . you feel like bein’ kinky.”

“That, too.”

He grinned and kept his head down on the pillow, cushioned further by his arms. “What’re you writing?” he asked. He kept trying to figure out the letters, but he couldn’t.

“Property of Maria,” she replied.

“Oh, you wish.”

“Oh, it’s true.” She drew the brush around in a circle, then dragged it downward slightly to form the last letter of her name. “There.” She leaned forward and whispered in his ear, “Masterpiece.” She nibbled on his ear playfully, sexily, careful not to let her naked body come into contact with the wet paint. He groaned and rolled over onto his back.

“No!” she gasped, sitting up. “Michael! You ruined it!”

He smiled and apologized. “Sorry.”

“You do realize you just got paint all over the pillow, don’t you?” She smirked. “And the sheets.”

“That’s fine.”

“That’s fine?” She laughed and swung one leg over his midsection, straddling his hips. She held the paintbrush up in her right hand, the palate with black paint up in her left. He lay back and let his eyes soak in the sight of her beautiful, naked body.

“Yeah, that’s perfectly fine.”

She grinned mischievously. “You really are less uptight these days.”

“Well, I’m up.” He placed his hands on either side of her hips and pressed his pelvis up against hers. “And you’re tight.”

Her eyes fluttered closed as she took in a sharp breath. The paintbrush fell from her hand and landed on his stomach, smearing black paint above his bellybutton. He picked up the paintbrush and lowered his hips, thrilled that he could have such an effect on her. “Give me that,” he said, referring to the palate.

“This?” She held the palate up out of his reach.

“Yeah.” He rubbed his cock in between her warm, wet folds, and her arm involuntarily lowered, bringing the palate closer towards him. As he reached for it, though, she snapped her arm back up, still keeping it from him.

“Uh-uh,” she teased. “Not for you.”

He liked this. He liked this a lot. Rolling around in bed like this combined two of his favorite things: art and sex with Maria, which was an art form in enough itself.

He circled the paintbrush around her belly button. Her stomach muscles flittered as he did so, and the circle ended up looking like more of a shaky hexagon instead. But it looked good on her.

“If you’re gonna use my body as a canvas, I should get to use yours,” he reasoned, lightly sliding the brush up between her breasts and back down again.

“Says who?”

“Everyone.”

She laughed a little and pressed all five of her fingertips on her right hand against the swirls of black paint on the palate. Then she dragged her fingers in a straight, horizontal line below his belly button, hovering dangerous close to his package. Five thin lines were left in their wake.

“I’m the artist,” he reminded her.

“I can paint, too,” she pointed out.

He supposed she could. And he wanted her to. But he wanted that palate even more, so that he could paint her.

He sat up quickly, starling her, and wrapped his arms around her, kissing her deeply. She moaned into his mouth and began to lower the palate distractedly. He seized the opportunity to grab it from her and lay back down.

“Dammit,” she swore, smiling.

“Let’s see here.” He swiped the paintbrush against the palate, collecting some fresh black paint. “What should I paint?” His eyes travelled downward to her entrance.

“Don’t you even think about it,” she warned.

“I’m a professional.” He urged her legs farther apart with his knees and contemplated how he was going to do this. His eyes locked wantonly on the inside of her right thigh, and he instructed, “Lie down.”

“Uh-uh,” she refused.

“Maria.” He gave her a look. Either she was going to lie down voluntarily or he was going to envelope her in his arms and maneuver them so that he was on top.

She swirled her hips around in a circle for a moment, driving him mad with desire, then climbed off him and lay down on the mattress. He sat up again, noticing the big black splotch on the bed where he had just laid, tucked his legs underneath him, and moved lower on the bed so that he was positioned in between her legs, right where he wanted to be.

“Oh god,” she said, spreading her legs out wide. “What did I get myself into?”

He grinned and pressed her right knee farther outward with his elbow. When her thigh was at a perfect angle, he used the paintbrush to draw out each letter painstakingly slowly.

“What’re you writing?” she asked, trying to peer forward.

He kept silent and focused as he drew out the next letters.

“That tickles,” she said.

Michael’s, it read. He finished it off by drawing a small arrow pointing to the juncture between her legs.

“What the hell?” She craned her neck forward and laughed. “You wish.”

“It’s true,” he returned, mimicking what she’d said about ‘property of Maria.’

“Well . . .” She blushed. “Maybe a little bit.”

He set the brush and palate aside and bent forward to taste her. She gasped suddenly and bucked her hips forward the minute his tongue slid against her crease. “God, Michael.” He spread her legs wider with his hands, careful not to mess up his artwork, and delved his tongue deeper. She tasted sweet. And spicy.

She bent her arms back and clung to the paint-covered pillow with both hands. She dug her head back into the pillow and groaned gutturally, and the sound almost made him lose his cool. Not that he had a whole lot of cool under normal circumstances, but he miraculously did in the bedroom. She slammed one hand down atop the palate as she bucked her hips wildly against his mouth, covering the palm of her hand in paint. She grabbed hold of his shoulder with that hand and smoothed it downward, smearing black paint down from his shoulder to his elbow.

He growled low in his throat and sat back up. He picked up the palate and brush once again and got back to work on his masterpiece. He covered the brush in paint, then held it up over her breasts and shook it, watching droplets of dark paint fall onto her smooth white skin. The colors stood in stark contrast to each other and fascinated him.

“Looks like chicken pox,” she remarked.

He moved forward and plastered his body against hers, kissing her. His chest pressed against hers and mixed the paint in between her skin and his.

“Mmm,” she moaned as their lips gently parted. “Now it looks like war paint.”

If this was indeed a battle, it was battle of the artists, and as good as she was, he was definitely winning. It wasn’t very often that he got to take control and be the dominant one in bed. He wasn’t going to waste the opportunity.

She rubbed her leg against his side, causing the Michael’s design that he had painted disappeared into a smear. He hooked one hand under her knee and hiked her leg up higher, positioning himself comfortably in between her legs, the head of his cock nestled inside her.

“Condom,” she whispered.

As much as he didn’t want to move away, he knew it was a good idea. They were pretty sporadic with their contraceptive use. Thank God for the pill.

He swung his legs over the side of the bed and sat on the edge, reaching for the drawer. He quickly took out a condom and rolled one on, and as he was doing that, he felt Maria’s hands on his shoulders, urging him to lie backward.

“Wait, wait,” he said, lying back despite his will to be on top. He had a personal mission this time: make Maria DeLuca finally have an orgasm in the missionary position. He wanted to be the one to shock her. He wanted to be one of her firsts.

She climbed all over him, finger-painting all over his body. She touched herself as well, rolling her breasts beneath her fingers. That sight alone made his cock stiffen to the level of pain. As much as he loved the foreplay, he couldn’t take it much longer.

She sank down on top him in one swift motion and took a moment to adjust to the feel of him. She started to move her hips almost immediately, and as much as he wanted to just lie back and watch her do her thing, he couldn’t let that happen.

“Shit,” he cursed, forcing his limbs to work. He sat up and gathered her in his arms, securing her against him as he reversed their positions in one swift flip. She gasped in surprise. “Michael,” she said. “You know I can’t have one this way.”

“Oh, you can,” he assured her, gazing into her eyes determinedly. “And you will.”

She smiled skeptically but excitedly and cried out as he began to thrust into her. He usually started out slower than this and built up to this frantic pace, but sometimes this was better. Rough sex didn’t mean they cared about each other any less.

“Oh!” she cried, her body moving back and forth underneath him. “Michael!”

He snaked one hand down in between them to massage her clit with his thumb. He moved his thumb in circles, causing her eyes to shoot open with pleasure. He gazed down at his girlfriend. In that moment, she was the most wildly beautiful painting he’d ever seen. He was a painting, too, but not like her.

She gripped his shoulder with one hand, gripping the paint-covered sheets with the other. She scrunched up her face in frustration as though she were purposely trying not to find her release.

“Ugh,” she groaned. “Why don’t you just cum already?”

“Why don’t you?” He changed the angle of his thrusts, and it must have been by chance that he found her g-spot, because her eyes shot wide open and she gasped.

“Oh, Michael!” She clamped her vaginal muscles around him, and he groaned. He could feel beads of sweat dripping down the side of his face. This was just too good.

“I can’t . . .” she mumbled almost incoherently. “Uh!”

He pressed his forehead against hers as he sped up the pace of his thrusts. He hoped he wasn’t hurting her. She didn’t seem to be feeling any pain.

“Oh, shit,” he cursed as he felt himself getting closer. He wanted to hold out. He’d never live it down if he didn’t.

“Just cum,” she told him, panting for air.

He grinned. “You first.”

She climaxed almost instantly after he said that. Her entire body clenched around him, triggering his own release a moment later. He buried his face in her neck so that she couldn’t witness his embarrassing orgasm face and spent himself gratefully. He took a moment to collect himself, then pulled out of her and lay down beside her, breathing heavily.

“Fuck,” she swore. “Not having a missionary orgasm was the one thing I always used in ‘I Never.’”

He chuckled, grinning. “I’m sure we can think of something else you’ve never done. And then we can do it.”

She laughed, too, and turned her head to look at him. “You look so ridiculous,” she remarked.

“Yeah,” he agreed. They were both covered in sweat and black paint. “But you’re a pretty good artist.”

She smiled. “You’re the best artist I know.”

“Yeah? Pay up.”

She frowned. “For what?”

“For the sex.”

She propped herself up on her elbows, her chest heaving with every breath she took. “Are you a hooker now?”

He laughed. “You owe me five bucks, remember? For cumming in the missionary position. We had a bet. Pay up.”

She huffed. “Seriously?”

He nodded.

“Oh my god.” She rolled her eyes and hopped out of bed. How she could still walk after the sex they’d just had was a mystery to him. He lay in bed and waited as she headed out of the bedroom. He heard her rummaging around in the living room in her purse, and she came skipping back in a moment later. She pounced on top of him, straddling him, and flicked the payment down atop his chest.

He picked up what was supposed to be a five dollar bill and was surprised to see George Washington’s face instead. “This is a dollar,” he pointed out.

“I know.” She bent forward and pressed her lips against his ear, whispering sexily, “I’m gonna pay you in other ways.”

He groaned as she rubbed her lower body against his. He was going to be hard again in no time.

God, he loved this girl.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Maria went over to Tess’s and made a girl’s afternoon of it since Michael had to work the next day. They tried studying statistics for a little while but quickly decided toenail painting would be more fun.

“I’m telling you, Tess, he’s amazing.” Maria couldn’t stop raving about her boyfriend’s sex abilities as she brushed pink polish onto her left big toe. Seeing the color appear instantly reminded her of the paint all over Michael’s and her skin. “Like amazing. I always knew he was great in bed . . . or in the pool, as the case may be. Or in the shower.” She smiled fondly as memories of her back against the slick shower wall invaded her. “Really great in the shower.” Her legs ached merely at the thought of being wrapped around him while he pounded inside her, and she had to shiver in arousal. “God, but the whole painting adventure yesterday took it to this whole new level of pleasure. I mean, who would’ve thought Michael had it in him to let loose and get kinky and wild and animalistic?”

“He was an animal, huh?” Tess grinned, not glancing up from her toes as she painted them.

“Yeah, I almost came twice in a row. In freakin’ missionary of all positions.” That still astounded her.

“Wow,” Tess remarked, grasping the significance of that. “And this is the same guy who used to freak out if you didn’t use a coaster?”

“Well, he still kinda gets pissed about that,” Maria mumbled, “but yes, it’s the same guy.”

Tess set her nail polish down and blew air onto her toes, fanning them so that the polish would dry more quickly. “It’s kinda hard to fathom, you know,” she said. “He’s so nice and wholesome.”

Maria grunted. “A nice and wholesome sex god. I’m telling you, he gets in the bedroom and he just, like, turns it on.”

“And by ‘it’ do you mean ‘you?’”

“Yes!” She accidentally brushed the nail polish brush against the side of her second toe and grabbed a tissue and some nail polish remover to rub it off. “And you know how he’s usually got such a clean-cut mouth, doesn’t hardly ever say a bad word?” she went on.

“Yeah, that’s so cute.”

“It’s adorable,” she agreed, “but when we get it on, that boy has a potty-mouth like you wouldn’t believe.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. And it’s so hot ‘cause I don’t even think he realizes what he’s saying half the time. You should’ve heard the flurry of expletives that left his mouth when we were doing it in the shower this morning. God.” Fuck had definitely been his word of choice. Which was appropriate.

“It’s nice being in the honeymoon stage, isn’t it?” Tess teased.

“Totally. I don’t ever wanna leave.”

“So don’t. Kyle and I are still honeymoonin’.” Tess smirked. “You know, Max and I never had that stage. We went straight from meeting to being miserable.”

“I know, I witnessed it.”

Tess shook her head and emphasized, “Really miserable.”

“I can’t believe you stayed with him so long,” Maria said, finally moving onto her next toe. She’d only gotten a few done since she’d been rambling so insistently. Tess was already done.

“I wish I hadn’t,” Tess admitted. “You know, if I’d known what he did to you, I never would’ve . . . I never would’ve stayed, Maria. You know that, right?”

She nodded, not a doubt in her mind nowadays. “I know.” There was no way Max would’ve won out against her on such a serious issue. No way.

“It’s just, we never really talked about it,” Tess went on. “I just want you to know--”

“Tess,” she cut in. “I know. And I wish it hadn’t happened, but it did. Nothing I can do about it now. All that matters is that you’re with someone better now. Nerdier and poorer, but way better.”

“Way better,” Tess agreed. “God, who would’ve thought we’d actually be with guys who respect us and care for us and don’t just use us for sex? And make us laugh.”

“And make us scream,” Maria added, grinning.

Tess rolled her eyes good-naturedly. “Yes, mind-in-the-gutter-girl, and make us scream.”

“I sure didn’t. At times like these, I’m glad to be me.”

“Me, too. And glad not to be Liz,” Tess added.

“Why’s that?”

“Well, besides the fact that I’d hate to be a boyfriend-stealing bitch, I’d hate to be a brunette, and I’d hate to never get out.”

“Get out of what?” Maria inquired.

“Oh, Max’s twisted web of affection. He’s in love with her, you know.”

Maria found that hard to believe. “What? Is that even possible?”

Tess shrugged. “Apparently.”

“Well, time for him to get a taste of his own medicine, don’t you think? ‘Cause it’s over. She’s gone now.”

“She may be gone,” Tess acknowledged, “but trust me, if he fell in love with her . . . it’s not over.”

Maria shuddered, so unbelievably happy not to be the one in Liz’s position. Having Max take advantage of you physically? Horrible. Having Max take advantage of you emotionally? Wretched. Having Max fall in love with you? Worst thing ever as far as she was concerned. “Again, glad to be me.”

Tess nodded emphatically in agreement. “Mmm-hmm.”

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

It had been a long time since Max had slummed it at a college party. He’d actually forgotten how fun they were. Plenty of drunk, stupid girls willing to take their clothes off. The white-collar parties his father threw didn’t come with women like that. They came with women with husbands.

He walked inside a fraternity house and scanned the room. Lots of blondes. Or bleach blondes, more precisely. If he’d wanted a blonde, he would have just knocked on Tess’s door again. He was fairly certain Kyle Valenti didn’t have as much of a claim on her as he thought he did, and all he’d have to do was look at her and apologize for everything he’d done wrong for her to get down on her knees.

There was a redhead, too, who had an incredible body. Perfectly shaped breasts and hips and ass . . . sculpted by the hands of God Himself that body was. But if he’d wanted a redhead, he could have just banged his secretary. She had a thing for him. She was an idiot.

He knew exactly what he wanted—or rather who—from the moment he walked in. But since she wasn’t there, he’d have to make do with the next best thing. He scoped out a girl with long brown hair, wavy, free-flowing. She was short, petite, but perfectly proportioned. She was wearing a grey halter top and black pants. Her jewelry wasn’t too over the top. Neither was her make-up. She looked like Liz. Sort of. She was standing with a female friend.

He approached her boldly and asked, “What’s your name?”

She turned around, surveying him up and down before replying, “Melrose.”

He cringed inwardly. Melrose? Liz’s name was better. It was easy to say when you were cumming. One syllable. Liz.

“And you’re Max Evans,” the girl went on. “I’ve seen you around.”

Of that he had no doubt. Hell, he was practically in the newspaper once a week. “Are you with anyone tonight?” he asked. Even if she was, it didn’t matter.

“No,” she replied, her gaze indicating that she was fully absorbed in him already.

Good, he thought. This was a good thing. He put his arm around her shoulder, underneath her long mane of hair, and told her, “Now you’re with me.”

She smiled, apparently excited by the thought.

A half an hour later, Max found himself back in his suite on top of Melrose in bed, pounding into her cavern, trying desperately to find release. She wasn’t much better than the call girl he’d had around New Year’s. At least she wasn’t making fake sounds of pleasure. She wasn’t making any sounds, actually. She was silent and obviously bored to tears. So was he.

Had she not bore some resemblance to Liz, he wouldn’t have even cum. He felt his orgasm hit him like a wave, but just a small one. Not anything that he had to resurface from. Melrose didn’t cum at all, and he didn’t care. He was pursuing his own sexual needs; he hadn’t the slightest regard for hers.

He slid out of her and lay down beside her, flat on his back, staring up at the ceiling. “Get out,” he ordered, leaving no room for debate.

She looked over at him, clearly disgusted, and grumbled, “Jerk,” as she climbed out of bed, readjusted the clothing he’d been too impatient to remove, and stormed out. He flinched as the door slammed shut. Oh, well, he thought. She shouldn’t be insulted. Liz was the only person he would have asked to stay.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

“There you go,” Maria said, handing Michael a stack of photographs she had just finished printing out. “A collection of all the hottest pictures of me.” She hopped up on the desk and watched as he fanned them out and looked at them. He held up one picture of her as a ten-year old showing off her first ever bikini at the beach and gave her a quizzical look. “I was a hot kid,” was her response.

He chuckled and handed that picture back to her. He probably would have found it weird to paint the girl he was currently banging at age ten. He probably would have felt like he was painting his daughter or something, or the daughter they might have someday.

Now there was a head-spinning thought.

“Hey . . .” He held up a picture of her lying in bed, the scandalous parts of her body covered only by a thin white sheet.

“I thought you’d like that one.”

He pretended to slip the picture into his back pocket, then chuckled and said, “No, just kidding. Alright, well, thanks for these. This is great. I’d have you pose for me like we did that one time, but something tells me I wouldn’t get any painting done.”

“Well . . .” She hopped up on the desk, urging the moving the printer aside with her butt. “You wouldn’t paint the canvas. You might get distracted.” She grinned and extended her leg so her foot could rub against his package. “You might paint me instead.”

“That was so fun.”

“Mmm-hmm.” She lowered her foot back down and got back on track. “So is Mr. Buckley, like, totally harping on you to get your collection finished?”

He shrugged. “A little. I’ve been busy.”

“Distracted.” She smiled, loving that sex was the distraction. Best. Distraction. Ever. “You’re exhibit’s gonna be during March, right?”

“No, it’s in April so I have more time to get it ready,” he explained. “I told Mr. Buckley there’s an artist by the name of Kyle Valenti who’d love to put together a collection for the March student exhibit.”

“Oh, that was nice of you.” Kyle probably already had an expansive collection back from his sort-of stalker days. “Tess paintings one month, Maria paintings the next, huh?”

“Well, we kinda like you girls, so . . .”

“Just kinda.” God, she thought, he’s so adorable. And she was completely smitten with him. Smitten. She’d never been smitten before. “Alright, well, have fun painting today,” she said, hopping down off the desk. “Tess and I are mall-bound.” She grabbed her purse and rummaged around inside for her credit card, just double checking that she had it.

“There’s a Victoria’s Secret store in the mall, right?” Michael asked quietly.

“Right.”

“And are you—I don’t know—maybe gonna stop in there and maybe—I don’t know—buy something?”

If it was possible, the way he’d stammered over that question just made him even more adorable. “I’ve turned you into such a pervert,” she realized. “And yes.” She kissed him quickly on the lips before heading out.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

After ransacking at least a dozen of their favorite stores and sliding their credit cards over and over again, Maria and Tess sat in the food court of the mall, each eating pizza and breadsticks while they discussed their purchases for the day. Maria held up a lacy, lavender bra she’d bought from Victoria’s Secret, and Tess laughed.

“Okay, I love skimpy lingerie as much as the next girl,” she said, “but how can they even call that a bra? It’s two cups and a string.”

Maria dropped her new bra back into the sack. “What about that thong you got? It’s, like, vapor.”

“I know.” Tess smiled. “That’s why I love it.”

“Oh, we’re two of a kind.”

“Yeah,” Tess agreed. “It’s kinda weird, isn’t it?”

“What?”

“How much we’re alike. We’re both hot enough to pull off barely-there lingerie. We both like Britney Spears.”

“But you’re obsessed.”

“We’ve both had some loser guys in the past but have nice, artistic boys now. Kinda nerdy, but sexy.”

“Yours is nerdier.”

Tess ignored that and concluded, “It’s no wonder we’re besties. We have so much in common.”

“But you like pink more than I do,” Maria pointed out. “And you like Kyle way more than I do.”

“Stop it,” Tess said, “you like Kyle, too.”

“Yeah, in the way you like a little, annoying brat of a brother, not the way you like him.”

Tess laughed a little. “Well, I don’t like Michael quite as much as you do, either.”

“Uh, good, we’d have a catfight if you did.” Maria laughed, too, took one more bite of her last remaining breadstick, and set it down atop her half-eaten pizza. “Okay, we have to get out of here before I spend more money. I spent, like, my entire paycheck today.”

“Me, too. Damn clothes,” Tess swore. She took one last bite of her pizza and remarked, “Ew, mall food,” before standing up and collecting all her bags.

They walked towards the west entrance of the store, towards the parking lot where they had parked, and Tess said, “I’d suggest we make it a slumber party, except . . . I have a new vapor thong that needs to be worn by me and removed by Kyle’s hands tonight. Or his mouth. Definitely his mouth.”

Maria shook her head, amazed that anyone could find Kyle to be a sexual being. “Scary visual place.”

“Oh, please, like you’re not gonna have Michael do the exact same thing. Two of a kind, remember?”

“Oh, I do constantly long to crawl in bed with Michael,” she confessed, “just get on top of him and—or underneath him, because that works, too, these days—and just . . .” She trailed off, and her eyes caught sight of something around the corner. Something black and shiny. Four wheels. “Oh my god!”

“What, is that your orgasm sound?”

“No. Well, yes. I was talking about that.” Maria grabbed Tess’s hand and pulled her around the corner. “Oh my god to that.” In what used to be the Steve and Barry’s store was now a car sitting up on top a large rotating platform. Above the platform was a gigantic arched banner that said ‘Drive-Away-a-Winner.’ There was a large crowd gathered around a nearby booth that had KSFR plastered all over it, as in the radio station. Video and sound equipment was everywhere, and there were a couple of radio DJs and other workers handing out forms to anyone who wanted one.

“It’s a car,” Tess said. “On a stage. Fascinating.”

“It’s a car competition. Weren’t you listening to the radio on the way up here?”

“No, I was driving and, like, almost rear-ending the truck in front of me on the way up here.” Tess cringed.

Maria rolled her eyes. “KSFR puts on this car competition every year. Remember we were gonna participate last year but we both got food poisoning?”

“Oh, that’s right!” Tess exclaimed. “We should do it this year.”

“We should,” Maria agreed, quickly scurrying towards the crowd. She made her way to the front of the pack and listened as one of the DJs told everyone the rules.

“The guidelines are simple,” he said. “You put one hand on the car, and you don’t take it off until you’re the last one standing up on that platform. If any other part of your body touches the car, you’re out.”

Tess cupped her breasts in her hands and muttered, “That puts females at a disadvantage.”

“If you lift up your hand, you’re out,” the DJ continued. “Now if you’re interested in taking part, I need you to fill out this participation agreement form. It shouldn’t take too long, but do keep in mind that we’re not going to have enough space for everyone. First come, first served.” He handed out a few more forms, and Maria seized four of them.

“Oh my god, we have to call Kyle and Michael,” she said. “Strength in numbers.”

“That’s right, we could better our odds.” Tess whipped out her cell phone and dialed away. Maria called Michael and waited impatiently for him to answer. This competition would be so much more fun if he were there.

“Done shopping already?” was how he answered.

“Kind of. Look, I know you’re painting and all that, but you need to get to the mall ASAP,” she told him urgently.

He immediately sounded concerned. “Why? Is everything okay?”

“Everything’s fine,” she said, looking over at the car longingly, the beautiful, sleek, brand new car. “But you need to touch something.”

After only a moment of silence, Michael said, “I’m on my way,” and ended the call. Maria smirked. Perversion was a weakness for all men, even the most gentlemanly of them.

“Michael’s coming,” she told Tess.

“So is Kyle.”

Maria nodded, suspecting her friend had employed the same tactics. “Did you make him think he’d get hot sex when he got here?”

“Yeah,” Tess replied unabashedly, “did you?”

“Yeah.” She laughed and took a pen out of her purse to begin filling out her participation form. “We’re so mean.” But if she for some reason couldn’t win that car and Michael somehow did . . . he’d have a hell of a lot of stuff to touch.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Michael rushed to the mall after Maria’s phone call. All he could think about was the time they’d been in the dressing room together and she’d made the fake sex sounds. Now she was going to make real ones. Awesome. She was teaching him to love sex in public places.

Just as he was racing towards the west entrance, he saw Kyle running towards the same destination. They both stopped outside the doors and stared at each other confusedly. “What’re you doing here?” Michael asked him.

“I’m here to touch Tess,” Kyle replied simply.

“Well, I’m here to touch Maria.”

They stared at each other some more, each one puzzled, and Kyle finally declared, “Weird,” and rushed inside the mall. Michael followed him, and they found Maria and Tess almost instantly, standing with a crowd of people next to . . . Michael squinted just to make sure he was seeing things straight. Was that a car?

“Kyle!” Tess exclaimed, bounding towards her man. Maria skipped towards Michael, smiling excitedly.

“Whoa, is that where we’re doin’ it?” Kyle asked Tess, gesturing towards the car.

“Hopefully,” she replied. “We have to win it first.”

“And to do that, you have to beat me,” Maria said. “And Michael. Hey, Michael.”

“Hey.” He bent forward and gave her a distracted kiss on the cheek as he looked over the car. “I’m confused,” he said, wondering when the dressing room scenario would come into play. “What is this?”

“KSFR’s third annual Drive-Away-a-Winner contest,” she replied, pointing out the banner above the car. “See? A brand new Lincoln MKZ. Yea radio.”

“Huh.” It didn’t sound like a bad deal, take part in a little contest, win a car. “You’re gonna do it?”

“Yep,” Maria chirped. “And so is Tess and so is Kyle and so are you.” She handed him a form to fill out, and Tess handed Kyle one as well.

“What am I fillin’ out here?” Michael asked as he wrote in his name.

“Standard participation agreement. So you can participate.”

“What’re the rules?” Kyle asked, sloppily filling out his. “I wanna get my game face on.”

Maria raised a skeptical eyebrow. “You have a game-face?”

“Oh, yeah,” he said, “and it’s sexy.”

Tess giggled, squeezing his arm gently, and explained, “You have to touch any part of the car with one hand, and you can’t lift that hand up or you’re out. And if any other part of your body touches the car, you’re out. You have to be the last one left standing to win. It’s like Survivor without the island.”

“Apparently last year it lasted twenty-four hours,” Maria said.

Upon hearing that, Michael stopped filling out the form and gave her a look. He wouldn’t mind a new car, but he didn’t want to stand there for twenty-four hours or more.

“Oh, come on,” she urged, “it’ll be fun. We can all do it together.”

“Oh, no,” Kyle said. “No. I know orgies among friends were all the rage in the seventies, but this is the new millennium now. Times have changed.”

Maria rolled her eyes exaggeratedly. “We can all do the competition together, Kyle.”

“Oh.” He returned to filling out his form and said, “That makes much more sense that way.”

“What happens if one of us wins it?” Michael asked. “We take turns with it Monday through Thursday, group joyrides on the weekends?”

“No, whoever wins it gets it and that’s that,” Maria decided. “If one of you wins it, you can haul me around.”

“Same goes for you, Maria,” Tess said. “Oh, I think they’re getting ready to start. Come on, guys.”

Michael was just finishing filling out his participation form as they neared the platform. Maria and Tess brought him and Kyle up to the DJs and Tess laid on the charm. “Um, excuse me, Mr. DJ, sir,” she said, “can these guys participate? I know there aren’t a lot of spots left, but they won’t take up too much room.”

The main DJ smiled at her and said, “Sure thing, sweetheart,” accepting both of their forms.

“What, sweetheart?” Kyle spat as Tess pulled him up onto the platform. “Nice try, buddy. She’s sweet on my heart. And my body.”

“Kyle, focus,” Tess said.

“Right.”

The four of them stepped up onto the rotating platform—luckily it wasn’t rotating too fast—and took their places on the left-hand side of the car. Michael placed his left hand on the driver’s side window. Maria faced him and placed her hand next to his. Kyle stood with his back to Maria, his hand on the backseat window, and Tess stood in front of him, her back to him as well.

“This is DJ Reiko broadcasting live from KSFR’s third annual Drive-Away-a-Winner competition. We’ve got thirty-two contestants here, all vying for this brand new Lincoln MKZ. I’m tellin’ you people, I’m psyched about this. We’ve had some real great competitions in the past. Personally, though, my favorite part’s always seein’ who drops out first. Talk about humiliation.”

Maria grunted and said, “That’ll be you, Kyle.”

“No way,” he said. “I’m in it for the long haul.”

“Looks like everyone’s got a hand on the car,” DJ Reiko said, “so that means the competition is officially on.”

Three seconds hadn’t ticked by before Kyle lifted up his hand to scratch his eyebrow.

“Oh, and you’re out!” the DJ exclaimed. “Wow, we’ve got our first casualty already, folks. That might be a new record low for this competition.”

Michael couldn’t help but laugh a little.

“Kyle?” Tess said, glancing back over her shoulder.

“I knew it,” Maria said, snickering.

Kyle threw his hands up in the air, clearly not in it for the long haul anymore, and muttered, “Son of a bitch.”

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Maria lost track of time. She wasn’t sure how long she’d been standing on that rotating platform with her hand on the car. All she was sure of was that people kept dropping out gradually, either due to lack of will to proceed or an involuntary mistake. She could barely contain her excitement every time the competition dwindled. All they had to do was keep dwindling.

Kyle sat on the floor near the platform, offering words of encouragement to his friends—mostly Tess—every time they came by on the platform. “Hang in there, Tess,” he said.

Tess groaned, and Maria looked back over her shoulder at her. She was holding one leg up the way a flamingo did when it slept. Not good, Maria thought. She wanted Tess to drop out eventually, but not yet.

“Oh, my feet are killing me,” Tess mumbled in discomfort. “These shoes . . .”

“Want me to take them off for you?” Kyle asked, approaching the platform. The DJ got in his way, though, putting an arm out to stop him. Kyle backed away and said, “Or not.”

“Sorry, we can’t have anyone interfering,” the DJ said.

The skinny, pimply guy named Bobby standing on the other side of the car with his hand on the hood grunted and said, “Looks like that little girl needs assistance just to stay in the game.”

Maria rolled her eyes at him. They had all gone around and introduced themselves towards the beginning of the competition, just because they’d been bored. Bobby had seemed cool at first. Flamboyantly gay and effeminate . . . like Marty. At first. But then he started getting mean. It quickly became apparent that he wasn’t adorably, loveably gay. He was bitchily, annoyingly gay.

“Shut up, Barney,” Tess snapped.

“It’s Bobby, bitch.”

“Whatever.”

Maria took a look at Michael. He looked strong, ready to hang in there with her. He smiled at her, one of those adorable smiles that always made her melt, and she looked away so she wouldn’t get distracted.

“Two hours, guys,” DJ Reiko announced. “You’ve been hanging in there for two hours. Eighteen of you left.”

“Droppin’ like flies, baby,” Bobby remarked smugly.

“This guy is so annoying,” Maria said quietly to Michael. He nodded in agreement.

A few moments later, Maria heard a sort of trickling sound, almost sounded like running water. When she heard Bobby start to say things like “Oh, yeah,” and “That feels better,” she figured out it wasn’t water so much as urine.

“Ew,” the girl standing next to him said. “Did you just piss yourself?”

He shrugged uncaringly. “Desperate times.”

The girl made a face of disgust, shook her head, and lifted up her hand from the car, practically running out of there.

“Seventeen left,” the DJ said. “Urination could be a good strategy.”

“Ew,” Maria said, “that’s gonna start to stink.” She wasn’t going to go that far. Probably. Maybe she would if Michael or Tess did. Although Tess probably wasn’t going to last that long. “How you doing, Tess?”

“Not good,” Tess admitted. “Why on earth did I wear three-inch heels to the mall? My feet hurt before we started this thing.”

“What about you?” Maria asked Michael.

He nodded confidently. “I’m solid.”

“But not solid enough,” Bobby was quick to add. “No way does he have the stamina to outlast me.”

“Hey, Mr. Soils Himself, I’ll have you know, he has tons of stamina,” Maria growled competitively. “And if I don’t win this car, he’s going to. The only thing you’re gonna win is least popular.”

Michael stared at her for a moment without saying anything, then smiled and said, “You are so hot right now.”

“Hey, keep your focus, man,” Kyle said as the platform rotated around to where he was sitting again. “Don’t get distracted like I did.”

“Right, I’m focused,” Michael said.

“Me, too.” Maria smiled at her boyfriend. If they won this car, they would have to christen the backseat immediately.

“Oh, you two,” Bobby said. “Your hormones will be your undoing. You see, I don’t have to worry about that. There aren’t any other gay men here.”

And that was when a very good idea occurred to Maria. If Bobby was anything like her—or even Michael—sex could do him in. She motioned with her free hand for Kyle to approach the platform and said quietly, “Kyle, come here.”

He walked up to the platform, staying far enough away so that the DJ wouldn’t stop him this time.

“Call Marty,” she told him.

He nodded in understanding and took out his phone and dialed.

Maria shrugged and said to Michael, “If you can’t play nice, you gotta fight dirty.”

“You can definitely be dirty,” Michael said, grinning.

“Damn straight.”

“Alright,” DJ Reiko said, speaking into his microphone again. “Here’s a little incentive to drop out. And I’m not gonna lie, I’m jealous. The next person to go is gonna win these two tickets to see Britney Spears live in concert in Houston.”

“Oh my god,” Tess gasped immediately.

“Mommy,” Kyle whimpered, closing his phone just as Marty picked up.

“Tess, don’t give in,” Maria said. “You don’t need those concert tickets. Michael gave us some for Christmas, remember?”

“I know, but I could use these tickets with Kyle.”

“Yes, please,” Kyle squeaked.

“And if that wasn’t enough,” the DJ continued, “you’ll also have backstage passes to meet the pop princess herself.”

“I’m so there!” Tess shouted victoriously, throwing both hands straight up in the air.

“Yes!” Kyle exclaimed, leaping up onto the platform even though he wasn’t supposed to so that he could hug her.

Maria sighed disappointedly. But she should’ve known nothing could get between Tess and Britney.

“Well, well, well,” Bobby said, smirking, “another bitch bites the dust.”

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Maria had to go to the bathroom so bad, but she refused to stoop to the low that Bobby had. No, she would just hold it. As long as she had to. Hopefully not much longer. She and Michael now made up fifty percent of the competition. Bobby unfortunately was still holding his own twenty-five percent.

“We shouldn’t have faced each other,” Maria said to Michael.

“Why not?”

“Because.” She looked him up and down, and her body ached for him, to be lying in bed with him instead of standing on that endlessly rotating platform. “I so wanna get on you right now.”

Temptation flared up in his eyes. “Don’t say that.”

“Why not?”

“‘Cause, we gotta stay focused. We’re down to the final four. We gotta beat that kid.”

“Seriously,” she agreed. She looked down at Kyle as they rotated past him and asked, “Where’s Marty?”

“He said he’d be on his way,” Kyle replied. He and Tess were sitting together, practically falling asleep. “Although that was five hours ago.”

Maria sighed impatiently. The competition was wearing on her. She needed help.

“Dammit,” a girl named Valerie cursed suddenly. She’d been the last one standing down by the trunk of the car. Maria didn’t see the mistake she made, but it didn’t matter. She was out now.

“Oh, and just like that, we’re down to three,” DJ Reiko said, yawning. Clearly he wanted somebody to just win the damn car already.

“Oh, good try, Valerie,” Maria said as the girl hopped down off the platform. She looked at Michael and squealed excitedly. “Sweetness. We’ve totally got this. You and me against this guy? He doesn’t stand a chance.”

“I heard that, you bitch,” Bobby snapped.

“We have amazing teamwork,” Maria bragged. “We should go on The Amazing Race.”

“That’s an exhausting show,” Tess informed her. “You guys wouldn’t even have time to have sex.”

“Oh, we’d make time.”

“It’s high-stress,” Kyle added. “You wouldn’t even wanna do it.”

Maria rolled her eyes. “Fine, Survivor then. I heard they supply the castaways with tampons and condoms.” She smiled. “That’s all you really need.”

“Yeah, who needs food when you got those bare essentials?” Michael joked.

She laughed.

“Hey, hoes!” Marty exclaimed suddenly, making his entrance known. Maria felt relief surge through her when she saw him. “Sorry I’m late,” he apologized. “I was in the middle of a sack session. You know how long Francis and I spend on foreplay.”

Bobby’s mouth gaped. “Martin?”

“Bobby?” Marty made a face. “Oh, fantastic.”

“They know each other?” Michael whispered.

Maria nodded. “Marty knows every gay guy in the state.”

“My god, how long has it been?” Bobby said, clearly distracted but not distracted enough to take his hand off the car. “Three years? Four years?”

“Two years,” Marty corrected. “Not long enough.”

“It feels like a lifetime,” Bobby went on. “I never forgot your face.”

“Funny, I forgot yours.” Marty waved him off and skipped around the platform to the other side of the car where Michael and Maria were standing. “Hey, lovebirds,” he said, walking along with them as they rotated. “Whatcha doin’? Fondling a car?”

“We’re actually trying to win the car,” Maria explained, giving him a pleading look. “Help.”

Marty nodded in understanding. “Oh. Gotcha.” He strolled back around to Bobby’s side of the car again and said, “You know, Hot Stuff, to be honest, I never really forgot your . . . nose.”

Maria had to stifle her laughter.

“And you have perfect lower ears,” Bobby raved.

Marty nodded with a serious expression on his face when he agreed, “I’ve often thought so.”

Michael looked away, starting to laugh as well.

“Now what do you say you forfeit this little car thing to my sister and her Big Boy, and we go have some nice, long, sexy reconciliation sex?” Marty proposed. “Hmm?”

“Well . . .” Bobby smiled anticipatorily, blushed, and hopped down off the platform.

“Oh, yea!” Maria exclaimed, jumping up and down, still leaving her hand on the car. “Yea, Michael, we did it! Woo-hoo-hoo!” She couldn’t stop smiling. “Thank you, Marty.”

“Glad I could be of assistance.”

Bobby gave him a questioning look. “Martin?”

“You know I was just kidding, about the sex, right?” Marty shrugged and skipped off. “Toodles.”

“And after ten hard-fought hours, we’re down to the final two,” DJ Reiko said. “Thank God. It’s going faster than last year.”

As Bobby sulked away from the platform, Maria couldn’t contain her glee. “Oh, this is so great,” she said. “Okay, so . . . give up, Michael.”

“What, give up?” he echoed questioningly. “Why should I be the one to give up?”

“So I can win.”

“But what if I wanna win?”

She laughed a little, confused. Michael always let her get her way. It was how their relationship worked, and it worked very well. “Well, I was here first,” she reasoned. “You wouldn’t even be here if I hadn’t called you. Besides, you won the missionary bet.”

“Hey, guys, relax,” Kyle said as he and Tess rose to their feet. “It doesn’t really matter, does it? One of these days you’ll be married, and then you’ll each get half.”

“Let’s go, Kyle,” Tess said. “The mall’s gonna close soon, and I wanna get home so we can have kinky, funky fun.”

“Ooh.” Kyle grinned goofily and waved at Michael and Maria as he and Tess headed out.

Maria groaned impatiently and said, “You don’t even need a new car.”

“Neither do you,” Michael pointed out.

“I just wanna win.”

“Well, then, you’re gonna have to beat me.”

“Dammit, Michael . . .” She shook her head, hating (and sort of loving) that he picked the most inconvenient times to be competitive. First prolonging sex, now prolonging the car competition . . . she needed to find a way to win. Again.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

“Michael.” Eleven hours. Eleven hours had passed. The mall was technically closed now, but the competition continued. “Michael.”

He wouldn’t even look at her. He had turned to face the car now and wasn’t even glancing in her direction.

“Come on, Michael, please,” she begged. Her bladder was about to burst. She was going to do something very Bobby-ish and therefore unattractive if he didn’t give in soon. “If you let me win, I’ll reward you.”

“You’ll reward me no matter what,” he mumbled, still not looking at her.

“Are you saying I’m easy?”

“I’m saying you like me, Maria.”

“Not right now.” She sighed impatiently and glanced back over her shoulder at the DJ and everyone else running the competition. They all looked bored to tears, like they couldn’t wait for the damn thing to be over with.

“That’s it,” she decided. “You’ve made me do it.”

Finally, he looked up at her again. “Do what?”

She smirked and reached down with her free hand to unbutton her jeans. His eyes immediately followed her hand, and he stared as she unzipped her jeans and began to shove them down her hips. It was hard to do with one hand, took her awhile. It wasn’t graceful, but she had no doubt it was arousing. Michael’s eyes grew wide and the DJ Reiko and his friends all seemed to perk up a bit.

“Well, now,” one of them said, “this just got interesting.”

With a sort of awkward determination, Maria urged her jeans down her legs to pool at her feet. She kicked off her sandals then stepped out of her jeans, kicking them off the platform. She was wearing a thong and was well aware that she was mooning DJ Reiko and everyone behind her. Didn’t matter. This would work. It had to work. It was kind of like the carwash fantasy. Michael loved the carwash fantasy.

Still making sure to keep one hand on the car, she bent her left arm inward and tucked her hand into her sleeve. She brought her left arm down and out the side, then pulled the shirt over her head. She pushed it over to her dangle on her right arm and stood before Michael in nothing but her bra and underwear. He stared in astonishment, then turned to face the car again. She didn’t say anything. She figured it was sexier if she didn’t.

He kept his eyes glued on the car for a minute or so. He moved in close to the vehicle as if to dissuade himself from moving any closer to her, and she just waited. Only a matter of time, only a matter of time . . .

She paid special attention to his groin area. He got hard pretty fast, and since he was wearing sweatpants, it was pretty damn noticeable. The minute his manhood was erect enough to brush against the car, she shouted, “His penis touched the car!” knowing that she had won.

“What? No. No,” he said, looking down at his erection. “Damn.”

“I win,” she sang. “I win. I win, I win, I win.” She still wasn’t going to lift her hand up until he did, though. Just in case.

“Eleven hours and we’ve got a winner,” DJ Reiko said. “Innovative strategy, definitely one of the best I’ve seen. Kudos to you, thong lady.”

Maria smiled proudly, and Michael reluctantly lifted up his hand.

“Yea!” she exclaimed, jumping up and down, throwing her arms all about. “I won a new car! I won a new car!”

“Congratulations,” Michael said. “I gotta pee.”

“Me, too.” She grabbed all her clothes and they rushed off to the bathrooms. A few minutes later, they returned. She had put her clothes back on, but now that the competition was over, she felt like taking them off.

DJ Reiko came up to her and said, “We’re here with our winner . . .”

“Maria DeLuca,” she filled in as he thrust the microphone under her mouth.

“Maria DeLuca, tell me, how’s it feel to drive-away-a-winner in a brand new Lincoln MKZ?”

“It feels amazing,” she said, locking eyes with Michael. She knew of something else that would feel amazing, too.

“Did you think you could really pull this off? You ever have any doubts?”

She kept gazing at Michael, her body aching for his. There would be paperwork to fill out, sure, and she probably wouldn’t actually get to drive that car for a couple of weeks at least, but it was hers now. And she wanted to make it theirs.

The DJ looked at her expectantly, waiting for her to answer. “Maria?”

She grabbed Michael by the shirt collar and yanked him back up onto the platform with her. She opened the door to the backseat of the car, and climbed in, pulling him in with her. He slammed the door shut and immediately got to work pulling her shirt upward.

“Mmm, I like you again,” she told him in between wild kisses.

DJ Reiko tapped on the window and said, “Maria?”

She leaned forward into the front seat and pushed down on the horn, honking it loudly. That was a good enough response.

“Wait, we’re not actually gonna do it here, are we?” Michael asked as she reached down to undo his jeans. “They’re all watching us.”

“It’s okay,” she assured him. “The windows are already getting foggy.”

"I can't believe I'm doing this." He grinned and kissed her. She had to admit, she felt pretty wonderful. A new car and great sex? Not bad for a day’s work.








TBC . . .

-April
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LOVE IS MICHAEL AND MARIA.
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April
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Part 45

Post by April »

I know I'm running even later than normal today--I'm blaming my uncle. He called and we got into a college talk. Apparently I'm the family expert since I've been in college forever. Anyway, I'll get right to it this time!

Thank you so much for the feedback:

Sara
Leila
Alison (I'm still getting used to seeing your name in orange, you mod you!)
nibbles
Christina (I actually didn't come up with the car comp. idea from That 70s Show. What episode of That 70s Show do they have a car competition? I'm drawing a total blank.)
BLONDIE
Nove
Eva
tequathisy
Zoi
spacegirl23
killjoy (Another name joke, huh? :lol: )

Sorry for the delay. But I appreciate the stalking. You guys keep me from slacking off.
;)








Part 45









Maria and Michael lay in bed that night eating Chinese take-out food. They’d ordered in, of course. Sex had made them both hungry and lazy.

“Oh, I’ve got one,” Maria said excitedly. “I’ve got a good one. In the library, where all the books live.”

Michael laughed a little, finding it hard to concentrate on much of anything besides the way she looked in his shirt. She looked so good. How was it possible for one person to look so good? “You’re supposed to be quiet in the library,” he pointed out. “Library voices. Shh.”

“And wouldn’t that be hot, us getting it on, fighting the urge to scream?” She smiled mischievously. “Okay, your turn.”

“Uh . . .” He set his now empty take-out box aside and said, “Well, I always wanted to go back to that dressing room we were in that one time. Remember when you and Marty took me shopping and you made the fake sex sounds in there?”

“Oh my god, I totally forgot about that!” she exclaimed. “You were so uptight back then.”

“I thought we were gonna . . . you know, maybe make some real sounds in there when you called me today. Because you told me to touch something.”

“I know. A little word-play never hurt anyone.” She smirked and used her chopsticks to shovel another spoonful of food into her mouth. “Mmm, but you did get to touch something today. Several somethings.”

He definitely preferred touching her to touching the car. “I even got some painting done today,” he added.

“But why won’t you let me see them?”

He shook his head, determined to keep his paintings out of her sight until the big reveal in April. He was storing them at Kyle’s place temporarily. He wanted to store them at the museum, but since Maria worked there and would inevitably snoop around . . . Kyle’s place it was. “You can see ‘em when everyone else sees ‘em,” he said, “be surprised.”

“God, you’re so stubborn today,” she said. “Oh my god. Art museum.”

He wrinkled his forehead in confusion. “What?”

“We have to do it there in front of the Mona Lisa, remember?”

“Oh, yeah. When are we gonna do that?”

She shrugged. “When do we work together next?”

He grinned, thinking there was no way that could go smoothly. Mr. Buckley would probably catch them or something. Or somebody would come into the museum and see more than they ever wanted to. “Saturday,” he replied.

“Okay then.” She leaned in and kissed him laughingly. “You think we’ll ever get tired of doing this?” she asked, her breath mingling with his.

“Never.” He tangled one hand in her hair and pulled her closer against him. He took the take-out box from her and set it on the end table next to his and kept on kissing her. He didn’t intend to stop until the bedroom door swung open and Kyle and Tess entered.

“Hey, lovers,” Tess chirped. “Who got the car?”

“What’re you guys doin’, just walking in here like this?” Michael spat. “We could’ve been naked.” He peered under the covers and added, “I am naked!”

“We were curious,” Tess said. “Not about your nakedness; about who won.”

“Hmm.” Maria smirked and sat back against the headboard. “Who do you think?”

Tess grinned at her and guessed, “Sexual bribery?”

“One-armed strip-tease,” Maria told her.

“Nice.”

“So where is the new car?” Kyle asked, rubbing his hands together. “We didn’t see it parked outside.”

“Duh, they can’t just give me the car,” Maria said. “There’s tons of, like, paperwork and bureaucracy stuff involved.”

“With a radio station?”

“Apparently. But it’s mine, no doubt about that. I got lucky today . . . in various ways.” She grinned at Michael.

“So did we,” Tess said. “Britney Spears tickets and a vapor thong that kept us both entertained for hours.”

Kyle sighed contentedly. “Ah, life is good.”

“Life is good,” Maria agreed. “Now get out.” She wanted to be alone with Michael some more. Now that they had both eaten, they were energized again.

“Wait, wait, wait,” Tess said, sitting down on the bottom of the bed. “We wanted to talk spring break. It’s coming up, you know.”

“Disney World,” Maria blurted.

“We don’t have enough money for Disney World,” Michael said, ever the rational one in their group. “I’m still naked, by the way.”

Tess scooted a little farther towards Maria’s side of the bed and away from Michael’s side.

“Vegas, then,” Maria decided.

“Ooh!” Tess clapped her hands excitedly, then held up her left hand and quoted Beyonce's 'Single Ladies.' “If you like it then you should’ve put a ring on it!”

“Maybe I will,” Kyle said, standing behind her, rubbing her shoulders.

She tilted her head back to look up at him and said, “I was kidding, Kyle.”

He nodded unconvincingly. “Me, too.”

Michael pushed himself farther up into a sitting position, tightening the blankets around his waist. “We definitely don’t have enough money for Vegas.”

Maria wracked her brain, trying to come up with more possibilities. “Well, I’d suggest camping, but none of us are really outdoorsy.”

“I don’t know about that,” Michael said. “I can pitch a tent.”

She smiled at him playfully. “I know you can, honey.”

Michael shook his head. “Teed myself up for that one, didn’t I?”

“We could take a road trip,” Kyle suggested. “In Maria’s new car.”

She grunted. “I don’t think so. My new car’s gonna be drive to the mall material, not road trip material.”

“No, that’s actually a good idea,” Tess said. “Ooh, Kyle, we could christen the backseat.”

“Oh, it’s already been christened,” Maria informed her. “Twice.”

Michael nodded proudly, then turned serious again and asked the group, “Where would we road trip to?”

“I don’t know,” Maria said. “Texas. There’s lots to do in Texas.”

“But that’s not road-tripping. That’s hopping the border,” Tess said. “We should go somewhere farther away.”

“Well, I don’t wanna be in the car the whole time,” Maria said.

“How about California?” Tess suggested.

Maria shook her head. “We can’t go there. Kyle would stick out like a sore thumb.”

Kyle threw his hands up in the air and said, “What?” taking the teasing stride.

“Hawaii,” Michael blurted suddenly.

Kyle chuckled. “Dude, how sex-clouded is your brain right now? You can’t road trip to Hawaii. There aren’t any roads that go over the Pacific Ocean. Are there? Or is there a very long bridge I don’t know about?”

Michael rolled his eyes. “We could fly. My parents vacation there a lot. They could probably get us some airfare and hotel discounts.”

“Ooh, sex in the airplane bathroom!” Maria’s eyes lit up.

“Yeah,” he agreed. “And sex in the ocean.”

“Yes.” She was liking this spring break idea immensely. “Hawaii’s got my vote.”

“Mine, too,” Michael proclaimed.

“Gee,” Tess said, “I wonder why that is.”

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Amy pulled her car to a stop in the visitor’s section of the parking lot and climbed out. It was a beautiful day. Everything was sun-soaked and warm, and she had the day off. She figured it would be the perfect day to spend some time with her daughter, maybe take her out to lunch. She hadn’t seen her since Thanksgiving.

When she stepped off the elevator onto the fifth floor, the first thing she saw was that weird boy Kyle standing at the end of the hallway, kicking at the vending machine. She remembered meeting him only briefly; he was Michael’s friend. He wasn’t dressed very appropriately, though. In fact, he wasn’t dressed at all. He had a sheet wrapped around his waist, but that was all. Didn’t he know he was out in public?

He got down on his knees, reached up under the flap of the vending machine, and somehow managed to get his hand up in the machine. He tore down one package of Reese’s peanut butter cups, then climbed back up onto his feet and headed back towards his apartment. When he looked up and saw her standing there, watching him, he froze. “Ms. DeLuca.” He looked momentarily panicked but recovered. “Hi. Hi, I’m Kyle. Kyle Valenti. I’m Michael’s friend. Well, and Maria’s, too, sometimes. I don’t know if you remember me.”

“Of course I remember you, Kyle.” He was hard to forget. He talked a mile a minute and had a very recognizable anxiousness about him. “You were wearing more clothing the last time we met.”

He glanced down at his attire, or rather lack thereof, and pulled the sheet tighter around his waist. “Right. Right, it’s uh . . . laundry day. And I don’t have anything to wear, so I’m just . . . wearin’ my bedding.”

The door to his apartment swung open, and Amy stood back as Tess came out into the hallway. She was also wearing a sheet. She had it wrapped around her like a dress. “Kyle, what’s taking you so long . . .” She trailed off when she saw Amy and immediately grew red with embarrassment. “Oh. Hi, Ms. DeLuca.”

“And so is she,” Kyle added.

“Hi, Tess,” Amy greeted. It had been awhile since she’d seen her daughter’s best friend, at least a year. “Long time no see.”

“I know, it’s been awhile,” Tess agreed.

“Is it laundry day for you, too?” Amy asked, finding it odd that Tess and Kyle would both willingly walk out into the hallway without being dressed. What was wrong with the young people of the world?

“Um, what?” Tess asked confusedly. Kyle sent her a look, and she amended, “Yes, obviously. That’s why I’m . . . undressed.”

Amy nodded, surveying the obvious couple skeptically. “Do you two live together?” The last she’d known, Tess was still dating that Max Evans.

“No,” Tess replied.

“Practically,” Kyle answered at the same time.

Amy frowned. This cohabitation among youth was something she would never understand. She still wished her own daughter wasn’t living with Michael.

“Uh, are you here to see Maria?”Tess asked, clutching the sheet tightly to her chest.

“Yes, do you know if she’s home?”

“Um . . . I think so,” Tess said, looking at the closed door of Maria and Michael’s apartment. “Does she know you’re coming?”

“No, I thought I’d drop by and surprise her. I have the day off.”

“Oh, well, that’s . . . very nice,” Tess said, exchanging what appeared to be a worried glance with Kyle. “You know, she and Michael are probably fast, fast asleep right now, so . . . you might wanna knock. Loudly. For a long time.”

Amy made a face of slight confusion, unsure what Tess meant to imply by that. “Okay.”

“Okay.” Tess slowly backed up into the apartment she had just come out of and said, “Well, it was nice to see you again.”

“Bye, Ms. DeLuca.” Kyle gave her a small wave, and he and his girlfriend slipped back inside, shutting the door firmly.

“Nice to . . . see you.” Amy shook her head in disapproval. Unwed sex was how babies were born. Maria was proof of that.

Amy straightened out her hair and clothing and knocked on the door. She waited as Tess had told her to do, but no one came to answer the door. “Maria?” she called, knocking again. “Maria, it’s me.” She waited some more, but still, there was nothing. “Maria.” She knocked louder and more fervently. “Michael?” She tried turning the doorknob, and the door opened. She hesitantly slipped inside and looked around. It didn’t look like anyone was home.

“Hello?” she said, softly shutting the door. She had just taken a few steps into the living room when she heard a thud come from the bedroom. She glanced down the hallway, but the door was closed. Another thud quickly followed, followed by a wailing sound. “Oh!” it resounded, causing panic to flood Amy’s bloodstream. “Ah!”

“Oh my god,” Amy whispered in horror. Someone was getting hurt, and it sounded like that someone was Maria! “Maria!” She ran into the kitchen, opened up the first drawer she saw, and pulled out a cutting knife that was fit to be a dagger. “Don’t worry, honey!” she called, rushing towards the bedroom. “Mommy’s here!” She threw open the door and charged forward, holding the knife up in the air, ready to strike. She stopped quickly, though, when she saw just what was happening. That dreadful Guerin boy was on top of her daughter. He was violating her!

“Ahhh!” he screamed, immediately getting off Maria, scrambling to the empty side of the bed.

“What?” Maria said. When she looked up and saw Amy, she shrieked, “Oh my god, Mom!” She covered herself up with blankets, as did her boyfriend.

“Ahhh!” he cried again, curling up into a ball. “Oh—oh god!”

“Maria!” Amy shouted, unable to tear her eyes away from the horrific sight in front of her.

“Mom!”

“Oh god, please . . .” Michael mumbled, folding his hands and closing his eyes in prayer.

“What’re you doing?” Amy demanded.

Maria didn’t give her a real answer. “Well, put the knife down!”

“Oh.” Amy dazedly dropped the knife to the floor but didn’t lower her hand. She was too shocked to move a muscle in that instant. “I thought you were hurt.”

Maria cast a glance at Michael, then back at Amy. “I was happy,” she admitted quietly.

Amy wasn’t sure which was worse, thinking that Maria had been unwilling in the act or knowing that she hadn’t been. “Oh, I need to sit down,” she said dramatically, fleeing out into the living room again. “I need to sit down!”

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Maria and Michael sat on the couch five minutes later, both of them feeling like school children who had done something wrong. They were both dressed now, and Amy was just as distressed as ever. She kept pacing back and forth in front of them, biting her nails, not really saying anything.

Hating the uncomfortable silence, Maria tried to explain. “Look, Mom . . .”

“I don’t wanna hear it!” Amy snapped.

Maria cowered back down, both humiliated and terrified. She could only imagine how Michael felt.

“Ms. DeLuca . . .” he bravely began.

“Oh, not one word from you, Michael Guerin!” Amy roared. “Unless you wanna move into an apartment six feet under!”

“No,” he whimpered, curling his feet up onto the couch, making himself as small as possible.

They sat back in silence as Amy continued to pace. Eventually she stopped and looked at them with wild fury and confusion in her eyes. “Well, somebody say something!”

“Uh, okay,” Maria said, trying to think of what on earth she could say. “Mom. Um . . .” No words were coming. She shot Michael a panicked look.

“Ms. DeLuca, I really care about your daughter,” he said quickly.

“Shut up!”

“Okay.”

Maria rolled her eyes. “Mom.” She was being impossible, asking them to speak one minute, silencing them the next.

Amy returned to pacing and asked, “How long has this been going on?”

“We’ve been dating for a month now. You know that.”

“No, I’m talking about what I walked in on, that . . .” Amy shuttered exaggeratedly. “. . . pornography.”

“But we weren’t filming it this time,” Michael said.

Amy’s eyes bulged.

“Oh god, I’m sorry,” he apologized immediately. “That was—that was an inappropriate joke. I’m so sorry.” He leaned over and whispered to Maria, “Why did I have to pick now of all times to develop Turret’s?”

“Okay, Mom, Michael and I have been having sex for a couple of weeks now,” Maria said as calmly as she could, “not that it’s any of your business. But don’t worry, I’m on the pill.”

“Was he the first?” Amy asked. “Just tell me, was he the first?”

Oh god, Maria thought, she’s gonna lose her marbles if she knows the truth. “Of course,” she lied easily.

Michael’s snorting laughter was a clear indicator of the lie. He shut himself up quickly, though, and tried to lie right along with her. “Yes,” he said, nodding.

“Oh god, who else was there?” Amy wailed.

“You want a list?” Maria asked innocently.

“A—a list?” Amy echoed in horror. “You can make a list?

“I’ll take that as a no.”

“Good God, Maria, when did you start?”

Maria sighed heavily, thinking back. “Do you remember when I was a freshman in high school and I had to take that biology class?”

“Well, sure, but what does biology have to do with any of this?”

“Remember my lab partner, Randy?”

Amy frowned. “I-I guess. Why?”

Maria took a deep breath and prepared herself for the onslaught of disapproval. “I haven’t been a virgin for a long time.”

Amy stopped dead in her tracks and clasped one hand to her mouth. “Oh . . . no. No!” she cried. “Maria, why? I can’t even fathom this.”

“Well, fathom it, ‘cause it’s true.” Maria shrugged, unable to be any more honest than that.

“Ms. DeLuca, I just wanna set the record straight,” Michael piped up again. “I only slept with one person before Maria.”

“You be quiet!”

“I just want you to know I’m not a sex addict.”

“Yes, you are,” Maria said. After the car competition, they’d barely come up for air.

“Well, I wasn’t until I met you.”

“I don’t wanna hear it!” Amy screamed, covering her ears with her hands.

“Yes, ma’am,” Michael said, obediently shutting his mouth once again.

“Look, Mom, it’s really not that big of a deal,” Maria said, hoping that, after her mother had a moment to cool down, she’d see things her way.

“Of course it’s a big deal!” Amy insisted. “All these years I thought you were saving yourself until marriage.”

“Well, Randy and I were lab partners. That’s close enough.”

“Don’t try to be funny, or cute,” her mother said. “I’m very unhappy about this.”

Maria was honestly at the point where she was beyond caring. “Fine, then be unhappy, but I’m not. I don’t really care if you don’t approve. After twenty-one years, you’re finally getting to know your daughter. Well, here I am, Mom. Meet Maria. It’s about time if you ask me.”

“Excuse me?”

“You heard me. This is actually a relief. Now I don’t have to pretend to be someone I’m not around you. Everyone else already accepts me as I am.”

“What?” Amy looked completely and utterly flabbergasted. “Oh, that’s it,” she said. “We need to go out to eat.”

“Sex always makes you hungry,” Michael remarked towards Maria. He immediately cringed and asked Amy, “I can stay home, right?”

“Please.”

He breathed a sigh of relief. “Thank you.”

Dammit, Maria thought. She knew it was probably a good idea to have Michael far away from her mother right now, but selfishly, she didn’t want to be left alone with her.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Maria and her mother went out for brunch that day at the same French restaurant where she had gone with Michael and his parents when they had first visited. She wished his parents were there right now instead of her own mother. They were much more pleasant.

“Sex and drinking and parties,” Amy said, taking a sip of her drink. (She was actually so stressed that she had ordered alcohol.) “Oh my. It’s no wonder you struggle in college.”

“Hey, I’ve been doing really well lately,” Maria pointed out, proud of her recent accomplishments. “I passed all my classes last semester—I even got an A in macroeconimcs. I got a job, I got a new car.”

“What? When did you get a new car?”

“Yesterday. Well, I won a new car, technically,” she amended. “But I worked hard for it. I had to strategize and stand around and . . .” She trailed off and shook her head. “Whatever. I mended my friendship with Tess. I decided what I wanna do with my life.”

“What do you mean?” Amy interrupted again.

“I changed my major.”

“From journalism? Why? I thought you were set on journalism.”

Maria shrugged. “Not really. I decided I wanna . . . be something else.”

Amy waited for a moment before urging, “And that would be . . .?”

Maria really didn’t want to tell her, because she knew she wouldn’t want to hear it. But she was being honest from now on. Totally and completely honest. “A sex therapist.”

Amy gave her an impatient look. “Are you joking me?”

“No.”

“You can’t be serious.”

“I am.” Why did everyone think it was such an odd career choice? She had a very deep, very profound interest in sex. It was a natural fit!

“This is . . . this is too much right now,” Amy stammered angrily. “I feel like I don’t even know you.”

“Because you don’t. Which is too bad, because, believe it or not, you might actually like me. I like me, most of the time. I have fun. I have great friends and an amazing boyfriend and a loveable brother who you don’t even talk to just because he’s gay.”

Amy sighed heavily. “Marty doesn’t seem to mind, you know.”

“Sometimes he does. You’re just so set in your ways. You can’t stand it if someone has a different opinion or a different lifestyle.”

“That’s not true,” Amy denied.

“Yes, it is, and you know it.”

Amy shrugged helplessly and took another drink. “Well, I’m sorry I’m such a horrible person, Maria.”

“No, that’s . . .” Maria took a deep breath and tried to be less combative. Arguing wasn’t going to solve anything. “That’s not what I meant. It’s just . . . you make me so angry sometimes.”

“I could say the same to you.”

“I know, but . . . I met Michael’s parent’s a couple of months ago before we were going out, and they completely accepted me for who I am. Not at first, but eventually, you know? There was some Woodstock involved.”

“Woodstock?” Amy echoed.

“Why can’t you just do the same?” She sat back in her seat and pouted. She and her mother had always just been mother and daughter; they’d never been friends, and they probably never would be. She wished it weren’t that way.

“Well, I’d like to,” Amy said. “I’d like to try. But maybe you need to try, too. Did you ever think of that?”

“I already know who you are. You’re my mom.”

“I’m a person, too. I have feelings, emotions, desires.”

“Desires?” Maria raised an inquisitive eyebrow.

“It doesn’t matter,” Amy dismissed.

All of a sudden, Maria looked up and saw Ed Harding approaching the table, Tess beside him. She wrinkled her forehead in confusion. Tess’s dad had decided to visit, too? How weird was that?

“Amy DeLuca?” Ed said questioningly.

Amy looked around and immediately smiled. “Oh, Ed, hi! Nice to see you.”

“You, too. You, too,” Ed returned. “Out to eat with your daughter, I see. Hello, Maria.”

“Hi, Mr. Harding.” She was happy to see him again. He was a nice guy.

“Looks like you’re doing the same thing,” Amy remarked. “I actually ran into Tess earlier.”

“Hmm,” Tess said, averting her eyes.

“So, Amy, how’ve you been?” Ed inquired. “I feel like I never get to see you anymore.”

“Oh, busy,” Amy replied, tucking her hair behind her ear, still smiling. “With work. No man in my life or anything like that.” She sighed longingly. “What about you?”

“Same. No man in my life.”

She giggled. Giggled.

“No, I’ve been busy with work, too,” Ed said. “I’ve been meaning to stop by sometime and just see how you’re doing.”

Amy blushed. “Oh, I’d like that.”

“Okay, then . . . I’ll do that.”

“That’d be neat.”

Ed smiled at her, then, as if an afterthought, smiled at Maria, too. “You two have a nice lunch,” he said.

“Bye.” Amy kept gazing at Ed as he and Tess walked over to their booth and sat down. “Boy, he sure is a swell guy,” she said, sounding like a crushed out fifties school-girl.

Maria just sat there and glanced back and forth between her mother and Tess’s father. They both kept sneaking glances at each other, smiling. Good God, she thought in amazement. They were as obvious as Kyle Valenti.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

“My mom wants to bone Ed Harding.”

Even though he was normally a good listener, the words went right in one ear and out the other. “That’s great,” he said. “Did she say anything about me? Does she hate me, dislike me, wanna kill me?”

“Hello, are you not listening? She likes Tess’s dad,” Maria repeated dramatically.

“That’s pretty weird,” he agreed, still more concerned about Amy DeLuca’s future plans for him. He was too young to die. Way too young.

“Pretty weird?” Maria echoed. She was roaming all around the house, clearly worked up. “I’ve known the woman for twenty-one years, Michael, and in all that time, I’ve barely seen her speak to a man, let alone flirt and giggle and blush. It was so creepy.”

“Adults have sex, too, Maria.”

She made a face. “Ew.”

He chuckled lightly and said, “Maybe you’re just reading too much into it.”

“No, it was obvious,” Maria insisted. She went into the kitchen, pulled a peach Snapple out of the refrigerator, tried and failed to unscrew the top, and frustratedly put the drink back into the refrigerator again. “And the thing is,” she went on, “they’ve known each other forever. Like forever, like before Tess and I were even born. So has she had a crush on him this whole time, or was it like a recent development or . . . sickening, do I even wanna know?”

“I don’t know. Just tell me one thing: Does she want to kill me?”

“Yeah, probably.”

His eyes bulged at her nonchalance. Didn’t she think that was a big deal? Did she want a corpse as a boyfriend and a roommate?

“What I can’t figure out is, why Ed Harding?” she went on. “He’s like the adult version of Kyle. There’s nothing remotely sexual or DILF-ish about him. To me at least. Because he’s so geeky. He just . . . so geeky.”

Michael made his way over to the refrigerator and took out the Snapple bottle, opening it for her. “Is he a nice guy?”

She took a drink and nodded. “Yeah.”

“Well, some girls go for that sort of thing.” He motioned to himself.

“Yeah, but he’s really shy and nervous and unsure. Like more than you are or ever were. But what’s really weird is I think he has a thing for her, too. Why on earth . . .”

Michael leaned back against the counter and crossed his arms over his chest. “Well, this is a good thing, though, right? Maybe this is a situation we could exploit to our advantage.” He was still trying to save his ass. He needed to.

“You’re right,” she said, her eyes lighting up. “She was talking about desires and emotions and . . . maybe she’s just lonely. Maybe that’s why she’s such a bitch.” She thrust her Snapple bottle at him and skipped into the bedroom exclaiming, “I gotta call Tess!”

Michael smiled and took a drink. Even though he and Maria had been caught in the act by the very woman who’d given birth to her, there was still hope that he would get out alive.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Ed was flipping through channels on the television in his hotel room that evening when the door opened and in stepped none other than Amy DeLuca. His palms at once began to sweat, he felt his throat go dry with nervousness. “Amy,” he choked out.

“Ed.” She looked around, confused. “I must have the wrong room.” She glanced down at the key in her hand and the numbers on the door and looked even more confused. “No . . . what are you doing here?” she asked.

“Tess arranged for me to have this hotel rom. Apparently there was a mistake.”

Amy stepped into the room but didn’t shut the door. “Maybe not,” she said. “Maria took care of my hotel arrangements, too.”

“Oh.” He nodded, beginning to understand. “Do you think our daughters are trying to pull something?”

“Well, they are best friends again,” Amy said. “Anything’s possible.”

“I suppose,” Ed said, wiping his hands against his pants. It’d been a long time since he’d been in such close quarters with such a feisty woman. “Well, this is clearly wildly inappropriate. I’ll go see if I can get another room.” He rose to his feet.

“No, you don’t have to,” Amy said. “You were here first. I can--”

“No, I insist.”

“No, I . . . Ed.” She smiled a friendly smile. It couldn’t have been anything more than friendly. “Why don’t we just share? We could split the cost. With the economy the way it is, every penny counts, right? Besides, we have two beds, and we’re both mature, responsible adults.”

Ed rubbed his head, wishing he still had hair there. “Okay, then,” he agreed nervously. “If you’re sure it’s not too weird.”

Amy shut the door and surprised him when she said, “It feels just fine to me.”

It felt just fine to him, too.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Maria and Tess sat outside in the parking lot in Maria’s new car. (Actually getting it had involved a lot less monotonous bureaucracy than she’d thought.) They each had a pair of binoculars and were peering inside the room. The blinds were open, so they could see everything that was happening. “Holy shit, I think they’re both gonna stay,” Maria said in astonishment as she held her binoculars up to her face. For someone who preached purity and sainthood, her mom sure was a hypocrite. “That’s a good sign, right?”

“Is it?” Tess lowered her binoculars worriedly. “I mean, did we even think about what we were doing when we put them in that room together?”

Maria lowered her binoculars as well and admitted, “I was mostly thinking I wanted her to forget walking in on me and Michael having sex by . . .”

“Having a little sex of her own?” Tess filled in.

“If that’s what it takes. But ew.” Maria cringed. She really didn’t want to imagine her mom in that capacity.

“I know, I don’t exactly wanna picture my dad doing that, either,” Tess said. “He’s so . . . old.”

“But you want him to fall in love again, right?”

“Well, yeah, but . . . with your mom? I don’t know. She’s such a bitch.”

“Maybe a little romance would make her nicer.” Maria was certainly hoping it would.

“Well, we can hope,” Tess said, raising her binoculars again. “Oh, did you see that hair-flip? Very Charlie’s Angels.”

“God, she’s so into him,” Maria said, watching as her mother sat down on one bed and crossed her legs towards each other. Her body language was clear: the sexual welcome mat was laid out. “Who knew your dad was such a stud, huh?”

Tess grunted. “Not me.” She set her binoculars down on the dashboard and said, “Do you realize if they get together and stay together and, like, get married or something, we’ll be step-sisters?”

“Wow.” Maria let that register for a moment. Luckily, Tess was already like a sister to her. “And then if Michael and I get married and you and Kyle get married, we’ll all be related.”

“Aw, you’re already thinking about marriage with Michael, huh?”

“Well, not tomorrow or anything. Come on, we’ve only been dating a month.” Maria pictured herself in a white dress (sexy as hell, of course), and Michael in a tuxedo, surrounded by all their family and friends . . . and it felt right. “Maybe eventually, you know.”

“You always said you’d never get married,” Tess pointed out.

“Well, that was before Michael.” He’d really opened up her eyes, made her see that there was more to life than just ‘having fun,’ that being committed to someone and completely immersed in someone could be a lot of fun in enough itself.

“Oh my god, I have to be your maid of honor,” Tess decided.

“Hey, that goes both ways.” If Tess and Kyle got married, Maria already had dibs on that special bridesmaid position. And she wanted a gorgeous dress.

Tess reached into the glove compartment, pulled out a stick of chewing gum, and unwrapped it. “You love Michael,” she said before popping the gum into her mouth.

“What?” She’d never loved anyone before. “No, I-I . . . totally do, don’t I?” It wasn’t some shocking revelation. Deep down inside, she suspected she’d always loved him. But now she was really in love with him. And it felt incredible. “My god, how did that happen?”

“That’s another thing you said you’d never do, fall in love.”

“Thanks for pointing that out. I can’t help myself.”

“Good,” Tess said. “You deserve to be in love, and you deserve to be in love with a guy like Michael. Have you told him yet?”

“No. Sorta just found out myself.” She laughed a little. “God, I kinda hope he says it first, though.”

“He will,” Tess assured her. “He’s such a romantic.”

“Maybe Valentine’s Day,” Maria considered. “Maybe I should tell him on Valentine’s Day, even if he doesn’t tell me?”

“Yeah,” Tess agreed, nodding. “That’d be sweet.”

She smiled, only slightly nervous about the prospect. The L-word was a big step, but one she felt confident about with Michael. “What about you and Kyle?” she asked her friend.

“Oh, look, your mom took off her jacket,” Tess remarked, picking up her binoculars again. “Hey, looks like they’re getting pretty cozy.”

“Yeah. If they start getting too cozy, though, I’m gonna have to look away.”

“Mmm-hmm,” Tess agreed emphatically.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Kyle and Michael walked into a jewelry store the next day, each one browsing for a gift for his significant other. The store was offering some pretty decent bargains since the most romantic holiday of all time was fast approaching.

“Valentine’s Day,” Kyle muttered as he browsed through a collection of pearl earrings. “What a messed up holiday.”

Michael decoded that to mean, “You’re loving it, aren’t you?”

Kyle smiled proudly. “Now that I have a real girlfriend, yes.” He picked up a pearl bracelet, looked it over for a moment, then put it back down. “What’re you gonna get Maria?”

“I got a whole romantic evening planned,” Michael bragged.

“How romantic we talkin’ here?”

“A trail of rose petals leading to the bed. That kind of thing.”

“Nice.”

“Yeah. And I’m gonna have her pose for me again so I can paint her picture like I did that one time.”

“Hey, that’s a good idea,” Kyle said. “Could I steal that idea and use it with Tess?”

“Be my guest.”

“Awesome.” Kyle looked giddy at the mere thought of it. “You know, I’ve never had her pose for me before.”

“Well, keep it professional, Kyle.”

He shook his head. “Not a chance. Ooh, hey, you think she’d like this?” He held up a pink birthstone ring. Opal. That was for October birthdays.

“Sure,” he said, “if you get her the right birthstone.”

“Which is . . .?”

“Peridot.”

“Right, I knew that.” Kyle set the opal ring back down and picked up a green one. “How’d you know that?”

“She and Maria share the same birthday, remember? Born two hours apart.”

“Right. I knew that, too.” Kyle came up next to him and said, “Hey, look at this.” He took a small brass key out of his pocket and grinned. “It’s a key.”

“I see that.”

“To my place. I’m gonna give it to Tess on Valentine’s Day.” As if he were looking for reassurance, he said, “That’s good, don’t you think? It’s romantic and meaningful. Do you think that’s good?”

“Yeah, that’s good,” Michael assured him. “I’m surprised you thought of it.”

“Hey!” Kyle yelped. “Uncalled for.”

Michael chuckled. “Just don’t ask her to move in with you.”

“Yet,” Kyle added. “No, I think that’s something we’ll discuss at the end of the semester. I’m not gonna lie, man, things are goin’ good. Things are goin’ real good.”

“Yeah,” Michael agreed, staring distractedly at the rings on display within the glass countertop. There was a small diamond ring that would look perfect on Maria’s left ring finger . . .

“Whoa, but not that good,” Kyle said, following his gaze. “Dude, what’re you doin’?”

“Nothing. Just looking.” And that really was all he was doing. For now.

“Just-just looking? At engagement rings?” Kyle grunted. “Yeah, right. Are you serious? You’re gonna ask Maria to marry you?”

“No, not for awhile, obviously. But somewhere down the road, yeah. A year from now, if things are still going as well as they are now . . .” He shrugged. Why not? He had no doubt they would make a great married couple.

“Wowza, this just blows my mind,” Kyle said.

“Is it really that surprising?”

“Well, no, I guess not. You guys are practically already married as it is. It’s just . . . picturing Maria as a married woman, that’s . . . but I can picture her being married to you.”

“You think she’ll say yes?”

“A year from now? Oh, yeah. As long as you don’t screw it up.”

Michael made a face. “I won’t.” Screwing up was something Kyle would be way more likely to do.

“You guys will get married,” Kyle said, surveying all the diamond rings himself, “and then you’ll get parental.”

“Well, that’s a little ways off still, but . . .” He smiled as he thought of little girls with blonde hair and little boys with artistic inclinations padding around their home. “Yeah, someday. I don’t know, maybe I’m thinking too far ahead, but I already know I wanna spend the rest of my life with her.”

“You told her that?”

“No. I don’t wanna freak her out. I haven’t even told her I love her.”

“But you do.”

“Obviously. I’ll tell her soon.”

“On Valentine’s Day?” Kyle guessed.

“Yeah, probably.”

“Hey, that’s a good idea. Can I steal that idea, too?”

Michael frowned. “So, you’re gonna give Tess a key to your place, a necklace, an opportunity to pose for a painting, and an ‘I love you’ on Valentine’s Day?”

“And the best sex of her life,” Kyle proclaimed proudly. “Yeah!”

“You got over that former virgin anxiety fast, huh?”

“Easy thing to do when you got skills like I do.”

“Okay, that’s disgusting. It’s kinda overkill, don’t you think, all those gifts?”

“What? No,” Kyle spat before reconsidering. “Ah, maybe. You know we’re gonna hit our one-month anniversary this week. What if I gave her the key then?”

Michael nodded. He was no expert on Valentine’s Day gift-giving, but that sounded like a much better idea. “There you go.”

“Okay.” Kyle drummed his fingers against the counter, looking down at the rings on display again. “Dude, could we be any sappier?”

“No, I don’t think so,” Michael replied. “No.”









TBC . . .

-April
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LOVE IS MICHAEL AND MARIA.
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April
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Part 46

Post by April »

Alison:
It's a veritable love fest up in here.
Yeah, it is. For now at least.

nibbles:
I don't know why but I have an uneasy feeling about Tess and Kyle.
Hmm.

Leila:
Michael's reactio to Amy, the butcher was hilarious. Him being afraid of her is just funny.
:lol: I really thought the situation he was in would be one of the scariest situations a 21 year old guy could ever be in. Not only was he caught having sex with his girlfriend by his girlfriend's mother, but she had a big old scary knife in her hand! :shock: Amy the butcher, hahaha

Nove:
I love it when Tess and Maria work together. They are an excellent pair. Tess is great at getting Maria to have all these self-revelations.
:lol: I know, right? Tess prompts Maria to discover so much about herself, but a lot of times, Tess is oblivious to her own life circumstances.

spacegirl23:
Amy and Ed!! Didn't see that coming, coz he's too sweet and she's too sassy. But look at Michael and Maria. Maybe the opposites thing really does work.
Yeah, and that's why I decided to pair them up in this fic. There is kind of this ongoing theme of "nice guy vs. bad guy" in this fic, so why shouldn't the adults get it on the action? :D

killjoy:
Geez April thanks a lot for that mental pic of Tess only wearing a bed sheat around her....no I'm serious THANK YOU! That was a lovely image that will stick with me for some time to come!
:lol: Such a man thing to say.

Christina:
Ed thinks Amy is feisty ? LOL. How cute. I didn't really notice it until this last part, but Ed is the adult version of Kyle. Except less (to my knowledge) horny.
Yeah, he is! Super nice guy, kind of nerdy, cares about Tess . . . he's the adult version of Kyle. But yeah, he is less horny. Kyle's a 20 year old guy. The peak of his sex drive is, like, right now.
And... of course, I absolutely love that Michael and Maria are together and happy. It's so nice being able to read a fic where the main couple is together and going strong instead of constantly getting in overly dramatic fights. It's definitely a lot more realistic this way.
Yeah, that's what I thought, too. And Michael and Maria are the Roswellian couple that is especially stereotyped in fics as being unstable and often times unhealthy, actually. (I'll be the first to admit, Passion M+M were unhealthily unstable.) I wanted to try something different.

Ginger: Thanks for reading! Don't worry if you miss a chapter here and there! You're still amazingly consistent with your feedback, and I appreciate it!

BLONDIE:
Awww! how cute Michael and Maria are both planning on saying they love each other on Valentine's day! That would be super Adorable!!!!
I know, they're so in love with each other! What better day than Valentine's Day to tell each other that? ;)

Eva:
It was a good thing that Amy found out what kind of girl Maria really is. But the discovery was hilarious! I couldn't stop smiling from the first moment she saw Kyle untill the sex therapist part!
:lol: You know, it was actually probably a good thing that Amy walked in on what she did. Because if she hadn't seen it with her own two eyes, she might not have believed it.

tequathisy:
You know I was sure that she and Jim were going to end up together which would have made Maria and Kyle step sibs.
I had played around with that idea for awhile, but in the interest of being a bit unpredictable, I decided on Amy and Ed.
Love how they're all thinking marriage already.
Yeah, and none of them are even 22 years old yet. :lol: Oh, well. They're consumed by the love!

Sara:
And now maybe Amy and Ed can get it on and leave Maria and Tess in peace.
You see, this is what Amy needs to stop being bitchy towards Maria. She just needs to get laid. :lol: And she's got a total crush on Ed, so getting laid by him would be the best thing for her.

Zoi:
Oh god the boys are so cute, I WANT ONE! or at least to borrow them for a day we can make some sandwiches and hang out and pitch some tents and....Okay back to the review
:lol: You pitch those tents. ;)

Krista: Oh, life gets busy from time to time, doesn't it? I hope everything calms down for you, and thanks for checking back in! I was getting worried about you, my California girl!



Thanks for the feedback, everyone!

Also, some of you have probably noticed that I've got a poll running in my new author's thread (link in my signature.) Go vote if you haven't already. I'm just curious . . . who here voted for Max and Liz? :lol: Because that's fine. It just means that we have some people here who are addicted to the drama!










Part 46








The limo ran over something on the road, waking Max up from his slumber. He sat up and looked around. His father was sitting on the other side of the limo, talking on his phone while the driver drove them . . . well, he was supposed to be driving them to the office, but when Max looked out the window, he saw only residential streets. High-class residential streets, of course. He knew immediately that they were headed towards home. Even in this neighborhood, their limo must have stuck out like a sore thumb. New Mexico had few limos and even fewer people who could afford to ride in them.

When his father put away his phone, he asked, “What’re we stopping at home for?”

“Your mother said she fell, thinks she broke her ankle,” Phillip replied, rolling his eyes. “She probably just sprained it.”

“Way to give her the benefit of the doubt.”

“You know how dramatic women can be. I promised her we’d stop in and check in on her just so she’d stop screeching at me.”

He doesn’t even like her, Max thought. His parents were married, but they didn’t even like each other. “We’ll be late for the meeting,” he pointed out.

“It’s my meeting. It doesn’t start until I get there,” Phillip said as their driver pulled the limo into their driveway. He climbed out, and Max followed him into the house. “Diane, sweetheart?” Phillip called. When she didn’t answer him, he rolled his eyes again.

“You treat her like she’s a nuisance,” Max remarked.

“She is,” Phillip said as he and Max walked up the stairs. “But you know what they say: Behind every great man is a surgery-enhanced woman willing to sleep with him.” He grinned.

“How poetic,” Max grunted. He’d said the same thing many times. He remembered his father saying that to him even back when he was still in kindergarten.

“Diane?” Phillip called again as they walked past the ballroom towards their home gym. He pushed open the door to the gym and said, “There you are.”

“Phillip.” Diane was sitting on the bench press machine, her leg outstretched in front of her resting on a giant yoga ball. Her personal trainer, Carlos, was sitting next to her, close to her. He didn’t have his shoes on, or his shirt.

“Hi, Mom,” Max greeted.

“Hi, honey,” she said, scooting away from Carlos. She stood up, careful not to put weight onto her sore ankle, and hobbled towards him to hug him. “I missed you.”

He hugged her back and cast a glance at Carlos over her shoulder. He was just sitting there with his head down, probably to avoid the daggers Phillip Evans was staring at him.

“How’s your ankle?” Phillip asked his wife, but his tone indicated no sympathy.

“It’s better,” she replied. “Carlos and I were exercising when I fell.”

“Oh, really, is that what you were doing?”

“Yes.” Max’s mother looked uncomfortable. Extremely uncomfortable and nervous. “Max, you remember Carlos, don’t you?” she said.

Max nodded mutely. Sure, he remembered Carlos. He also remembered that Carlos was only a year older than him.

“You can go now,” Phillip bit out at Carlos. Carlos obediently left with his shoes, socks, and shirt in hand. Then Phillip turned to Max and said, “Son, give us a moment, would you?”

“Sure.” Max met his mother’s eyes for a moment, and he saw how worried she was. Because she’d just been caught. It didn’t matter that she and Carlos hadn’t been doing anything. It was obvious. He knew the expression of a cheater. He’d worn it while with Liz.

He slowly made his way down the hallway and stopped at the top of the stairs. He stood and listened to his father’s angry bellows.

“I give you everything you want, and how do you repay me? By sleeping around with that Mexican?”

Diane whimpered and tried to explain. “Phil, I--” A shrill slap cut her short, though. Max flinched as he heard the contact of his father’s hand on his mother’s cheek. The only sound that followed was silence. Terrified, unhappy silence.

His father stalked out of the gymnasium a moment later. “Let’s go, Max,” he said, leading the way down the stairs.

Max didn’t move. He’d known his dad to hit his mom before, never too often, but once in awhile, whenever she did something that especially upset him. It was nothing new. But he felt differently about it now.

His mother slipped out of the gym, crying. When she saw him looking at her, she tried to act as though everything were fine and push back her tears. “Max, sweetie, do you want me to get the cook to make you a sandwich?” she asked. “Or I could make you one myself.”

“That’s okay,” he said. “You don’t need to.”

“Oh, but honey, I can--”

“It’s okay, Mom,” he assured her, not just talking about the sandwich anymore. He wanted to assure her that it—everything—was really okay. But it wasn’t. Nothing about that slap was okay, and somewhere inside, he knew that.

He wanted to stay and talk to her, try to listen, because he wasn’t a very good son, but he knew he could try to be better. He also knew that he had a meeting to get to, though, and if he didn’t make it out to that car in a minute, his father would leave without him. “Goodbye, Mom,” he said, heading downstairs to rejoin his dad.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Amy and Ed sat at Galeotti’s Sandwich Shop, having a very enjoyable lunch and conversation. As far as Amy was concerned, at least.

“I have a confession to make,” she said. “I don’t know how to be a good parent.”

“That’s not true,” Ed assured her immediately.

“I think it is. All I ever wanted was for my daughter to live a safe, sheltered life, and she’s lived just the opposite. She lived the life I lived in college, and look how I wound up. A single mother.”

“And a good one.”

Amy smiled at the compliment. He was just such a nice man, always had been, and he’d been a perfect gentleman in the hotel room the other night. She’d been thinking about him since. She’d even called in sick to work because she didn’t want to go back home just yet. Maybe if they stayed in Santa Fe and were away from their jobs and the household chores and the bills in the mailbox that needed to paid, they would stand a fighting chance.

“All a parent can really do is love their child to the fullest,” Ed went on, “and I know you love Maria, even if you don’t approve of some of the things she’s done.”

“Oh, I do love her,” Amy said. “I just think she hates me.”

“I’m sure she doesn’t. When Tess’s mother . . . passed . . .” Ed swallowed hard. “Tess was very mad at me. She was so young; she didn’t understand. And she wanted me to bring her back. When I couldn’t do that, she locked herself in her room and cried for a week. But things got better over time, and now we’re very, very close.”

Amy smiled at him again, reassured by that. “It’s strange,” she said, “I always thought Tess was a bad influence on Maria. Little did I know . . .” She laughed lightly and shook her head. “Oh, it was just horrible, Ed. Just horrible. I walked in on her and that boy in bed. In bed. And they were . . .” She shuddered. “I literally walked in on them.”

Ed nodded in understanding. “I did that once. When Tess was eighteen.”

“Oh my goodness.” Amy couldn’t even imagine having to deal with that situation. Although, now she did know that Maria had been sexually active since the ripe old age of fourteen. “How did you handle it?” she asked.

“I talked to her, made sure she was being safe. And I reminded myself that she’s perfectly capable of making her own decisions and learning from her own mistakes. I had to get into the mindset of viewing her as an adult and not a kid.”

It sounded easy, but Amy was struggling with it. “I just don’t want Maria to get hurt.”

“None of us want our kids to get hurt, Amy. But sometimes they do. For what it’s worth, though . . . I’ve never met Michael, but Tess has told me all about him. I don’t think you have anything to worry about.”

“Oh, I hope you’re right.” Amy took a sip of her water and asked, “So how do you feel about Tess’s boyfriend? Do you like him?”

“Yes, very much,” Ed answered. “He reminds me a lot of myself at that age.”

She laughed. “Then he must be wonderful, because you . . . you were a really great guy, Ed. You always have been.”

He shrugged. “Well, I try.”

He succeeded.

“You know, she was with a guy named Max for a long time,” Ed went on.

“Oh, that’s right. The hotel boy.”

“Yeah, him.” Ed shook his head sadly. “I don’t think he ever treated her right.”

“That’s too bad. He wasn’t ever abusive, was he?”

“No, I don’t think so. At least not physically. But emotionally . . .” He sighed. “I don’t know. All I know is that now she’s with Kyle, and I can tell she really wants to be with him. And I swear, when he looks at her, it’s clear how much he loves her.”

“Hmm.” Must be nice, Amy thought longingly. “You know, I’ve never had anyone look at me that way before,” she admitted. “Not even Maria’s father.”

Ed frowned, seemingly surprised to hear that.

“I kind of wish that weren’t the case,” she said in a moment of honesty. “I don’t know, maybe I’m jealous. I’m jealous that my daughter fell in love and I can’t manage to. How’s that sound?”

“Defeated,” Ed replied.

“Maybe I’m just a bad parent and an even worse date.” She grunted.

“I don’t think you’re a bad date at all,” he told her.

Her heart skipped a beat at that. She needed clarification at once. “Did you just . . . is that what we’re on, a date?”

“Well . . .” He looked around the sandwich shop, at the people all around them, then looked right back at her. “I was kind of hoping we were.”

Oh my goodness! Inside, she was freaking out. Outside, she tried her best not to show it. “I was kind of hoping we were, too,” she confessed.

He reached across the table and placed his hand atop hers. It felt good to have someone touch her. It felt really good.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Maria climbed out of the shower, dripping wet, and wrapped a towel around herself, tucking it in beneath her arms. Her cell phone was ringing wildly, so she rushed into the kitchen, picked it up from the counter, and answered, “Hello?”

“Girl, you’re never gonna believe what happened to me today,” Marty started in.

“What?” she asked. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine. Actually, I’m fantastic.”

“Oh my god, did you and Francis run into Josh Holloway and convince him to have a threesome?”

He laughed. “Better. Mom came by.”

Maria made a face. “How is that better?” Josh Holloway or Amy DeLuca . . . no contest. Ever!

“We talked, Maria.”

Suddenly, the significance started to dawn on her. Amy hadn’t acknowledged Marty’s presence for years. “Wait a minute, you talked?” she said. “As in face to face? As in peacefully? With Mom?

“I know, it’s shocking.”

Michael padded out of the bathroom with a towel wrapped around his waist, and she told him, “My mom talked to Marty! Like, with words.”

“Really?”

She nodded excitedly.

“Hey, little sista, you still there?” Marty said. “So anyway, do you know what she said? She said she’s sorry for hanging me out to dry all these years, and she’s decided to accept my lifestyle from here on out no matter what. Because—get this—she loves me. Can you believe it?”

“No,” Maria said. “That’s good, though.”

“I’m a gay man. I’m a gay, gay man . . . and Mom’s okay with that.”

“Crazy.” Maria shook her head in disbelief, and suddenly the door swung open and Amy bounded inside.

“Maria!”

“Oh god, not again!” Michael wailed, almost losing his towel.

“Gotta go, bye.” Maria hung up the phone and tightened her towel around her otherwise naked body. “Mom, what’re you doing here?”

“I’m sorry,” Amy apologized, smiling. Actually smiling. “I really should learn to knock. Or you two could learn to lock your door. How about we all make an effort, meet in the middle, huh? How’s that sound?”

She was so . . . chipper. Maria wasn’t even sure how to react. “Okay, so far so creepy.”

“Maria, I need to tell you something.” Her mother stepped right up in front of her and placed her hands on her shoulders. The fact that she was still wet and only wearing a towel and had clearly just finished showering with her boyfriend didn’t seem to be a concern, oddly enough.

“I love you,” Amy said.

“You do? Still?”

“Yes, of course. I have always loved you. And I know I don’t know you very well, but that’s going to change. From now on, you can tell me anything, and I’ll never hold it against you. I won’t judge you. I promise.”

It was a nice thought, a very nice thought, but Maria wasn’t sure whether she could believe it or not. As she stood there, narrowing her eyes at her mother and studying her skeptically, it dawned on her why she was in such an unusually kind and forgiving mood. “Oh my god,” she said, her mouth gaping. “You just had sex.”

Amy blushed and didn’t deny it. “And Michael,” she said, side-stepping to the left to stand in front of Michael. “Dear, sweet, Michael.”

He shot Maria a wide-eyed, confused look.

“I was wrong about you,” Amy said. “You care about my daughter. You care about her more than anything in the world, and I can see that. You’ve been very good to her, Michael. I also love you.”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa,” he said, taking a few steps back. “I’m confused.”

“Oh, someday a few years from now, you two will give me grandchildren,” Amy imagined. “Beautiful, wonderful grandchildren with curly hair and big, bright eyes.” She sighed wistfully. “And I will spoil them rotten.”

“Mom, this is . . . a very different you,” Maria cut in, losing some of her skepticism. Sex could work wonders—of that much she was certain. Was that really all Amy had needed to be less of an uptight bitch?

“See, I can be cool.” Her mother smiled.

“Well, I wouldn’t go that far, but . . .” She shook her head in astonishment. “Man, Ed Harding must have some ticks up his sleeve. Or in his pants.” An unwanted mental image of her mother in bed with Tess’s father popped into her head and made her want to heave. “Ew, parent sex.” She cringed. “Trying not to visualize.”

“Sweetie, I’m so sorry I made you feel like you had to lie to me and pretend,” Amy apologized. She sounded absolutely sincere. “From now on, I just want you to be who you are, okay?”

Maria nodded slowly, liking this. Liking this a lot. “Okay,” she agreed. “Thanks, Mom.”

Amy smiled a big smile and opened up her arms to hug her. “I love you, sweetie.”

“I love you, too.” It felt strange to say, but Maria didn’t mind saying it.

“I just don’t want to see any intercourse.”

“Oh, ditto.” The mental representation was bad enough.

“Well, come here, Michael,” Amy said, motioning for Michael to come join them in the hug.

“Um . . . okay.” He neared them, still holding his towel up around his waist, and Amy wrapped one arm around him, practically forcing him to join the group hug. “Okay,” he said again. “This is awkward.”

Maria laughed a little. It was awkward, but that was fine. She’d rather have things be awkward than dishonest.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Kyle rolled over onto his side, and even though he was still asleep, he could sense that there was a light on in the room. He slowly opened his eyes and found Tess sitting up beside him. Her knees were curled up. She had a pencil in her hand and a notebook pressed up against her legs, and she was drawing something.

“Couldn’t sleep?” he asked.

“No, not really.” Her eyes never left her paper. “I thought I might as well sketch something.”

“See, you’re artistic,” he said, nudging her leg with his hand.

“Not like you. See this?” She showed him a sketch of what appeared to be a living room. “Not exactly DaVinci.”

He propped himself up on his forearm and surveyed the drawing. “Who’s apartment is that?” he asked, secretly hoping that it was her plans for this apartment when she moved in someday.

She shrugged. “I don’t know. Anyone’s, I guess.” She flipped back a few pages in her notebook and said, “And here’s the bathroom. See the little flames I put on the tiles?”

He frowned. “Is this a rocker’s apartment or--”

She laughed. “No, I just put them there to represent heated tiles. There aren’t actually gonna be flames there. God no, how nineties.”

“Oh, I see.”

“And this . . .” She flipped to another page. “This is the bedroom.”

He nodded his head in approval. It looked like a hotel, only comfier. If that was what she had in mind for their bedroom, that was fine by him.

“They’re not very good,” she said. “They’d look better if I was using colored pencil.”

“No, they’re amazing, Tess,” he told her in all sincerity. “You’re amazing.”

She smiled, set her notebook down and leaned towards him to kiss him. But of course they couldn’t stop there. She leaned in closer and kept kissing him, and he brought his free hand up to tangle in her hair. He lay back and she crawled on top of him, straddling his midsection. She sat straight up, already naked from having done this once earlier. Sometimes he had to just take a moment to lay there and gaze at her and remind himself how amazing this was. (Not that he ever forgot.) Things like this didn’t happen to guys like him. Not usually.

She tucked her hair behind her ear and gave him a soft, small smile with a glint of mischief to it, and all coherent thought vanished from his mind. He reached over into the drawer of his bedside table to pull out the box of condoms they had exhausted that week, happy to see that there were still a few left.

Ten minutes later, Tess lay underneath him, her right leg hiked up so far that it was nearly resting up on his shoulder as he moved within her. She kept grazing her left leg along his side, a small but electrifying maneuver that almost made him lose his cool. Not that he had much cool to lose.

“Kyle,” she moaned, digging her head back into the pillow. “Oh . . .”

He had his face buried in the side of her neck, loving the feel of being so close to her. Knowing that she loved this just as much as he did was the greatest thrill, though. Nearly a month of exploration had let him know exactly how she liked to be touched, kissed, looked at; and nowadays, he felt as though he knew her body better than his own. He felt more confident than he ever had in his life before. He could make someone feel good. He could make someone feel really good.

“Kyle,” she said again, snaking one of her arms underneath his to wrap around his back. She stroked his sweat-soaked skin and continued to reassure him of his ministrations with verbal praise. “Oh god. Yes. Yes.”

She’s going to have a religious orgasm, he thought, and a positive one. He remembered all the orgasm classifications Maria had given him once. He’d proudly and happily given Tess all of them. Except the fake one. If she didn’t . . . get there, then she didn’t bother to fake it. But she rarely didn’t get there.

Feeling that he himself was on the brink, he lowered one hand between them to massage her clit with his thumb. (Yeah, he’d learned how to do that really well, too.) Before he even touched her, though, he felt something bad happen. Very bad. Bad because it was . . . something good followed by something bad.

He stilled his entire body and lifted his head up.

“What?” she asked, looking up at him disappointedly.

He didn’t say anything for a moment. He was afraid to move a muscle, even a muscle in his mouth. Finally, he managed to choke out, “Um . . . Tess?”

“What?” she asked again, concern sweeping her face now. “Kyle, what’s wrong?”

“I think I might’ve . . . it might’ve . . .”

“What?”

“It . . . I think it broke,” he stammered nervously.

“Oh.” She suddenly looked as worried as he felt, but she was much better at trying to keep it together. “Well, did you . . .?”

He nodded. “Yeah. Yeah, yeah.”

“Just now?”

“Uh-huh.” He was panicked as hell.

“Oh,” she said again. “You should probably . . .” She motioned with her head for him to . . . get out of there.

“Right.” He slid out of her and shook his head at the broken condom, grabbing a tissue of the nightstand to remove it. “This is bad, isn’t it?”

“It’s okay,” she assured him. “I think it’s okay. Michael and Maria do it like that all the time.”

“And the mood is killed.” He dropped the faulty condom into the trash can and sat on his knees beside her.

She laughed a little. “Sorry.”

“No, I’m sorry.”

“Not your fault. Cheap rubbers.” She stroked his hair with her hand and reiterated, “It’s okay, Kyle.”

“No, it’s not.” He sighed. “You didn’t even . . . you didn’t get to . . .”

“Well, like you said, the mood’s kinda ruined now,” she said. “I should probably go jump in the shower.”

“Yeah,” he agreed. He would have joined her, but after what had just happened . . . it was probably best for him to give her a little space. That was probably what she wanted. He lay down and she crawled out of bed and slipped into the bathroom, smiling at him sweetly. He placed his hands beneath his head and sighed heavily. His first broken condom. Luckily she was on the pill, because knowing his luck . . .

“Hey, Kyle?” Tess called from the bathroom. “Come join me.”

He smiled and shot up from the bed to do just that when he heard the water start to run. He didn’t have much luck, but he was a lucky guy. Because he had her. And that was all that mattered.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Michael stood knee-deep in the water of the fountain outside the Student Union, squinting as the sunlight reflected off the water. Maria had convinced him to ‘go swimming,’ even though it wasn’t technically a swimming pool, and even though it was February. There was even a sign in front of the fountain that specifically stated that wading was prohibited. But whatever. What Maria wanted Maria got.

“We’re gonna get in trouble,” he said, shifting from side to side.

“So?” There were several large rocks in the middle of the fountain. They jutted upward and outward. She was climbing on top of one of them as the water sprayed her.

“Be careful up there,” he cautioned, worried she would fall.

“I got good balance,” she proclaimed, standing up straight and peering down at him. “Okay, I’m gonna jump.”

Michael looked around. “Where?” It wasn’t as though there were a deep end of this fountain.

“Into your arms, lover boy,” she replied excitedly. “You ready?”

“No. Maria!”

It was too late. She squealed and jumped down off the rock. He caught her, of course, and fell backward in the water, landing in a sitting position with her in his lap. The water went up to his shoulders. She just laughed, and he couldn’t help but laugh at her laughing. She looked like she’d gone halfway swimming. She looked ridiculous. And beautiful. “That hurt my ass,” he told her.

“Sorry.”

He shook his head and looked around. Everyone who was hanging around outside the Union was giving them a strange look. “What’re we doin’?” he asked her.

She shrugged, hooked her arms around his neck, and gave him a big kiss on the lips. Everyone watched that, too.

They walked hand-in-hand towards the parking lot five minutes later after a campus grounds man shooed them away from the fountain. It was so sunny outside that their clothes dried quickly. Michael still felt a little embarrassed at looking such a mess, but since he was with Maria, he didn’t mind.

“Oh, that was fun,” she said.

“Complete waste of time,” he corrected. “But fun.” He squeezed her hand and noted, “You’re in a really good mood.”

“Aren’t I always?”

“Yeah.”

“I’m happy. I’m a happy person.” She swung their arms back and forth animatedly and smiled at him.

“Well, if it’s possible,” he said, slowing to a halt, “I’m gonna make you even happier.”

She stood before him and grinned mischievously. “Really?”

“Yeah.” He reached into his back pocket and pulled out two airline tickets. “They got soaked,” he said. “I’ll have to print off some new ones.” He handed them to her and pointed out the destination. It was all smudged now. The ink had run and it was hard to read. “See that H?” he said.

“Uh-huh.”

“You know what that stands for?”

Her face lit up once again. “Hawaii?”

“Yeah.”

“Shut up!” she exclaimed. “Are you serious?”

“Yeah, what’re you tellin’ me to shut up for?”

“Oh my god, Michael.” She stared at the tickets in amazement. “We’re really going. We’re really, really going. It’s, like, official now. Oh my god, you’re right; this does make me happier.”

“Thank my mom and dad,” he told her. “They got us half price on a beachfront hotel. Otherwise we wouldn’t be able to afford it.”

“Beachfront?” she echoed enthusiastically.

“Yeah. And I’m paying for you and Kyle’s paying for Tess.”

“Oh, you’re a god!” she raved. “You’re a god among men. I’m so excited! I have to call Tess.” She reached into her purse to dig around for her phone.

“No, no, don’t call her,” he said, stopping her. “Kyle wants to surprise her.”

“Oh, okay.” She quit rummaging and exclaimed, “Hawaii!”

“Hawaii.” He grinned.

She threw her arms around him and hugged him tightly. He hoisted her up off her feet and swung her around in a circle. She was most definitely a happy person, and when he was around her, he was a happy person, too.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Max sat down behind his desk. Always behind his desk. He was starting to hate it there. Stacks of papers littered every surface. He didn’t even know what any of them said. He didn’t even care. He had never in his entire life felt so detached.

He had the second nicest office in the building. He had his hands firmly on the grasp of that company. He had money and the power and prestige that accompanied money. He had all the things he’d always wanted, but he knew something was missing. He knew it.

He flinched as he remembered the sound of his father’s hand against his mother’s face. He turned on his computer and tried to concentrate, but the sound kept ringing out again and again. It was too much.

He pushed his chair back and stood up. He should have stayed there. He should have stayed there and worked. But he didn’t feel like it.

He stormed out of the office, knowing exactly where he was going.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Tess came out of the bathroom when she heard a knocking on her door. “Kyle,” she said as she snapped an earring into place. As she was pulling open the door, she asked, “What took you so . . .” She trailed off abruptly when she came face to face with the person on the other side. Not Kyle. “Long,” she finished finally, tensing at her ex’s presence. “Max.” She waited for him to say something, but he was silent. “What’re you doing here?” she asked, afraid of his motives. He’d barely ever shown up at her place even when they had been dating.

“Can I come inside?” he asked.

“No.” She wasn’t exactly sure what he meant by that. Coming inside could easily be skewed to mean cumming inside, and that was the last thing she wanted from him.

“I just need somebody to talk to,” he said.

“Then talk to Liz. Oh, wait, she wised up. Talk to your dad. He is, like, your only friend.”

“I can’t talk to him,” Max mumbled. “Not about this.”

“Well, you can’t talk to me.” She tried to push the door shut, but he pressed one hand against it, keeping it open.

“Tess, please,” he begged. “Just give me a chance to . . .” He sighed heavily and licked his lips. “Just give me a chance.”

She stared at him in astonishment. Could this really be the arrogant, over-confident, in-control Max Evans she’d always known? Because he seemed more like a lost kid in that moment. She didn’t feel bad for him.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

“So he hit her?”

Max nodded. Why Tess had agreed to let him in after all the crap he’d pulled on her, he would never know. But he was glad she had. He sat on her bed as she walked back and forth in front of him, taking in everything he’d just told her.

“It’s probably not the first time,” she said.

“But it was the first time I noticed. Or cared,” he explained.

She grunted. “God, you really are a chip off your father’s block, Max.”

“That’s what I’m afraid of. Don’t you see?”

“No, I don’t see, Max. I don’t even believe you,” she informed him.

“Why not?”

She practically laughed. “Why should I? After everything you’ve done to me . . .”

And they were back to that again. Always were. “Good point.”

“I can’t stand you, Max, but I do know you,” she said, stopping right in front in front of him. “As much as you mention Donald Trump, I know who your real role model is.”

“My dad?” he guessed.

“Exactly.”

He shook his head, hating that man quite a lot in that moment. “Doesn’t mean he’s a good one.”

Tess rolled her eyes. “You can’t seriously expect me to feel sorry for you.”

“No, I don’t.” He was feeling sorry for himself enough for the both of them.

Tess frowned and stared at him skeptically. “You don’t . . . sound like yourself.”

“Maybe I don’t like myself.”

“Oh, please,” she scoffed. “You love yourself. And Liz Parker, of course.” She only sounded a little bitter.

“I don’t know if it’s love,” he admitted. It wasn’t as though he had anything to compare to. “But the fact that I feel anything at all scares the living hell out of me.”

Tess shook her head. “It’s not that bad.”

“It is to me.” She didn’t understand. How could she? She’d hadn’t grown up the way he had. “I wasn’t raised to have these doubts. I was raised to be ruthless and never question it. And for a long time, I didn’t.”

“And you are now?” She crossed her arms over her chest and said, “Look, Max, there are people who’ve had way worse childhoods than you had, and they’ve turned out just fine. I mean, look at me. I grew up without a mom. Maria grew up without a dad.”

“And she’s the model of psychological health,” he bit out sarcastically.

“Don’t even start in on her,” Tess cautioned, glaring at him. “You have no right.”

He cowered under her angry gaze and let up on it. Insulting Tess’s best friend, the girl he’d forcibly had sex with while she was under the influence . . . probably not a good idea. He was usually smarter than this. “Who knows what I would’ve been like I had grown up in Kyle’s shoes, or Michael’s,” he pondered. “Maybe I’d be one of the good guys. Maybe a geek or an artist or a chump.”

“Oh, you should be so lucky.”

“I didn’t ask for this, you know,” he persisted, growing agitated, “this whole mindset, this whole lifestyle. I inherited it; and I never had the chance to be anyone else. My father gave me this one option and expected me to adhere to it.”

“Right, and not only did you adhere to it, but you mastered it.”

“I did,” he agreed, “and now I’m almost as bad as he is.”

“You are as bad as he is, Max.”

“I never hit you,” he protested.

“But you hurt me,” she pointed out. “And you hurt Liz. And sadly, that’s just about the nicest thing you’ve ever done.” She shook her head furiously. “You hurt the people I care about, Max, and you had fun. Kyle and Maria . . .” She kept shaking her head, blinking back tears now. “I’ll never forgive you for that.”

He swallowed hard, never one to admit that he had regrets. But he did regret some of the things he had done. “I’ve made mistakes,” he acknowledged. “Somewhere along the way, I got caught up with manipulating people, playing people against each other, having all the control.”

“You’ve made choices, Max,” she corrected, “none of them good.”

“Well, what if I chose to start over?” he asked. “Huh? What would happen then?”

She frowned in confusion. “What do you mean?”

“I never made Liz happy,” he admitted. “I definitely never made you happy. And I’ve never actually been happy myself. I’ve been rich and powerful and in control, but I’ve never been . . .” He trailed off and shook his head. The closest he had come to happiness was when he’d been with Liz, not the affair, but the real, true, out-in-the-open relationship. She’d given him a chance. And he’d blown it. “Maybe if I gave up some things, I’d get something a whole lot better.”

“Like what?” she asked.

“Like . . .” He refused to say it out loud. Love? Way too pathetic. “I don’t know,” he mumbled. “Just something.”

“So . . . what, you’re just gonna . . . quit?” she asked.

“Maybe.” The thought had definitely crossed his mind on numerous occasions, especially since Liz had left.

She sighed and sat down beside him, surprising him with her willingness to be in his proximity. “No, you won’t,” she said.

“I will,” he insisted. “Or at least I’ll try. Maybe if I got away from that damn company and that damn lifestyle, I’d be better off.”

She looked as though she wanted to believe him, but she couldn’t hide her skepticism. “Oh, I hear you say that, but I know you don’t mean it.”

“You’re not being very supportive,” he told her.

“I’m just trying to help you. God knows why.” She rolled her eyes. “Look, your dream is to run that company someday and make millions. And there’s nothing wrong with that. If that’s what you want, have at it. But if you want something else, too, like a relationship . . . like a relationship with Liz . . . you gotta stop being such a jerk, Max. And I know that’s way easier said than done, and jerk doesn’t even begin to describe you; it’s way too nice. But you’re not gonna quit that job, so don’t delude yourself. Be realistic.”

He stared at her, somewhat awed by her in that moment. The Tess Harding he’d known, dated, and fucked would have never had this conversation with him. She hadn’t been capable of it. “You think for yourself nowadays, don’t you?” he remarked. “Instead of letting your man think for you.”

She nodded. “Yeah.”

He kept staring at her, impressed. Liz always thought for herself. Even when she had dirty thoughts or sinful thoughts or contradictory thoughts . . . they all belonged to her. “I like it,” he said. Tess wasn’t Liz by any means . . . but maybe she would do.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Kyle tapped his knuckles against his girlfriend’s door, knocking even though he didn’t have to. “Tess?” He pushed open the door and strolled inside, knowing for a fact that she wouldn’t mind him just walking in like that. She never did. “Happy one-month anniversary.” It was a big day for him, for both of them, hopefully, but definitely for him. The only other person he’d had an anniversary with was Liz, and that hadn’t really been a serious thing. This was serious.

He heard voices coming from her bedroom, and he frowned. At first he thought that Maria was over, but as he made his way down the hallway, he slowed his pace. The sounds were just mumbles, but they were mumbles belonging to a male. Maria was definitely not a male. He hoped it was Michael, but it didn’t take him long to recognize the voice. And hate it. Max.

He stood outside her bedroom door and peered inside. The door was only open a crack, but it was a large enough crack for him to see that they were sitting on her bed, and even though they weren’t sitting close to each other, they weren’t sitting far away, either. Kyle’s muscles immediately tightened. What was that asshole doing there? He shouldn’t have been there.

“You’ve really moved on,” Max remarked.

“Yeah, I guess,” Tess replied, still completely oblivious to the presence outside the bedroom door.

“Good for you.” Max grinned slightly and asked, “Would Kyle be pissed if he knew we were having this conversation?”

Yes, Kyle thought. He would.

“Well . . . he doesn’t know,” Tess replied slowly.

“Are you gonna tell him?”

“Probably not.”

Max chuckled lightly, and Kyle frowned again. Why wouldn’t she tell him? Why would she keep a secret from him? They were close.

“It’s not like we’ve done anything wrong,” Max pointed out. “Unless talking’s wrong.”

Kyle breathed a silent sigh of relief. So nothing had happened. Good. Not that he’d been concerned. He knew Tess wouldn’t do anything like that. She wouldn’t.

“Yeah, but . . . it’s weird,” Tess went on. “And we’re not friends, Max. I just wanna clarify that.”

He nodded once. “It’s clarified. I got it. We’re not friends. Neither were Liz and I.”

Kyle bristled, laying one hand against the door, ready to push it open if he had to. Max and Liz definitely hadn’t been friends, but . . . they hadn’t needed to be.

“Oh, yeah, you really wanna change,” Tess remarked sarcastically.

“I do,” he insisted. “Somewhat.”

Kyle lowered his hand again, content to just let the conversation play out. He knew he was eavesdropping, but . . . he didn’t really care. His girlfriend was sitting in her bedroom with her ex-boyfriend. Her ex-boyfriend the rapist and womanizer. Why would she even talk to him? He didn’t understand.

“So how serious are you and Valenti?” Max asked, causing Kyle to relax a little. This would be good. This would be nice to hear. And Max would hate it. Bonus.

“I don’t know,” Tess muttered in response.

Kyle stared at her in disbelief. What?

“You don’t know?” Max echoed questioningly. “How do you not know?”

“I just don’t.”

Kyle made a face. Since when? Since when did she not know? It was their one-month anniversary. Of course it was serious.

“Haven’t you been together for awhile now?” Max went on to ask.

“Well . . . yeah. I don’t know, not really.” She sighed in frustration as she tried to explain. “I mean, we’re not really . . . together. It’s not like that.”

It wasn’t?

“We’re not dating,” she explained. “We’re just . . . having fun. And I’m sure Kyle knows that.”

Kyle didn’t. Until that very moment. He stood on the other side of that door in astonishment, thinking he couldn’t possibly have heard her right. Because there was no way . . .

“So this isn’t some epic romance,” Max concluded. “It’s friends with benefits.”

She made a face. “I hate calling it that.”

“But that’s what it is. He’s not your boyfriend.”

Kyle stood still as a statue, all his nerves on end as he waited for her answer. He was her boyfriend. He had to be.

“No,” she answered softly, looking right at Max as she said it. “He’s not my boyfriend.”

Kyle couldn’t believe it. He just . . . couldn’t believe it. It had to be some horrible nightmare. It couldn’t really be happening. She couldn’t really have just said that. Because she was Tess Harding. He loved her.

He thought about barging in and saying something, but he stopped himself when he saw Max start to lean inwards, closer to Tess. Tess didn’t move away or even turn her head. She just sat there as he pressed his lips against hers and kissed her. That did it for Kyle. He spun around and practically ran out of her apartment. He shut the door quietly and stood out in the hallway, trying to make sense of what he’d just seen, trying to breathe. But he couldn’t do either of those things.

What the hell?

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

It took Tess a moment to realize exactly what was happening, took her a moment longer to react to it. “What’re you doing?” she said, pushing Max away from her. So he thought he could just plant one on her after everything he’d done to her over the years? Fat chance.

“I’m kissing you,” he replied simply.

“I don’t want you to.” She was going to have to brush her teeth at least a thousand times now.

“Yes, you do,” he said, leaning in again.

She pressed one hand against his shoulder, making him keep his distance. “I’m not Liz,” she said, suspecting that girl was still the only thing on his mind. He didn’t want to be kissing her; he wanted to be kissing Liz. And nobody wanted to be kissing him.

Tess stood up and walked towards her bedroom door, pushing it wide open. “You should go,” she said, regretting ever letting him in there in the first place. She should have known their entire conversation had been a decoy, a way to hide his ulterior motives. “Don’t come back.”

He grunted, seemingly shocked by her unwillingness to submit, and shuffled past her out into the hallway. “I wouldn’t dream of it,” he growled angrily.

She stood in the bedroom and watched him leave. Once he had shut the front door, she went up to it and locked it into place. There had been a time not long ago when she gladly would have kissed Max Evans, not so much out of desire, but rather out of obligation. But nowadays, that was the last thing she wanted.

She sighed. Where was Kyle? He should have been there by now.








TBC . . .

-April (braces herself :? )
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April
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Part 47

Post by April »

Leila:
and finally we got the angst after all that happiness that went on for quite sometime. It wouldn't be an April fic without you making it angsty.
Yeah, you know me. I like to make things difficult on my characters.
I think Kyle and Tess didn't clarify what status they had. None of them said they are exclusive so Kyle assumed they had the relationship.
Exactly. :(
Woohoo for Hawaii!
Yeah! Unfortunately . . . what's happening between Tess and Kyle right now could majorly screw up the group's spring break plans.

spacegirl23:
Is it possible for Michael and Maria to take paradise to PARADISE?!!
Things just keep getting better and better for them! Of course, this Kyle/Tess drama is going to make them feel a little sad, though. :(

Sara:
WHAT THE FUCK!!!!
:lol: I love that reaction. It means the last part came as a bit of a surprise, right?

Alison:
Oh wow... Tess should have known that Kyle thought they were in a relationship. He's too eager not to be.
For sure. And it seems a lot more logical to assume that, if you're spending all this time with someone and sleeping with them and going out on dates with them, you're in a relationship and not just "having fun."

nibbles:
Poor Kyle. That is going to crush him so bad. I get where Tess is coming from. She is just after breaking up with Max, getting into another serious relationship now when she's still dealing with her breakup is bound to leave her confused and uncertain.
That's right. I know a lot of readers were worried that Tess and Kyle got involved so soon after she broke up with Max, and obviously that worry was warranted.
My heart breaks for Kyle but maybe this can be good for him too.
The way I see it, this can only be a good thing. Because as much as it breaks his heart and hurts him, it's better than being lied to. It's better than having the wool pulled over his eyes.

Ginger:
If Tess has her own apartment and she has a living room and a kitchen with a table and chairs...Why then would it be necessary to go to her bedroom to have a conversation? Especially with someone she really doesn't like!
:lol: I guess it wouldn't be! Plot contrivance on my part. Having them in the bedroom amped up the drama and gave Kyle the chance to eaves-drop on them. Or maybe Max the ass just has his ways.

Nove:
The least she could have done is have a conversation in that whole month’s time.
Yeah, it seems kind of strange, but neither one of them ever bothered to initiate that kind of conversation. And I'll admit, I did some not-so-subtle foreshadowing of all this. Back when Maria was trying to get Michael to have sex with her, remember how he was saying that he didn't want to rush things, that he wanted to slow down because couples who rushed might end up regretting it? Well . . . Tess and Kyle rushed. They didn't have the talks that Michael and Maria did.
I guess he might not be capable of being a better version of who he is after all. But the whole thing was well done April. I really love how you illustrate all these heavy emotions and peel off new layers.
Thanks! I'm glad to know that Max is as confusing as ever! :lol: That's how he's supposed to be. He really does want to try to be better, but when he does something like kiss Tess . . . that just shows that he doesn't know how to be better. And without Liz there, he's really lacking his motivation.

Zoi: I know I must fix this . . . but will I? :twisted: I'm evil, you know.

killjoy:
I knew it I knew it I knew it!!!! What I told you that it was going oh so well oh so early for the two couples.....ohh wait...I'm not talking to you anymore...so
:lol: I think lots of people had a feeling that something bad was going to happen. Wouldn't be an April-fic if it didn't! I'll take my spankings for upsetting you. ;)

tequathisy:
Speed bumps were inevitable. But I was like Kyle, loving the honeymoon period and fooling myself into thinking that everything was rosy in the garden.
As much as I love writing drama, I was enjoying the honeymoon phase, too! But there wouldn't be a story if the honeymoon phase didn't get disrupted.
This makes me worry even more for what you have planned for Michael and Maria. I love seeing them so happy and blissed out.
Well, stay tuned. It's possible that I might just let them be.

BLONDIE:
Poor Kyle, he always gets screwed over.
It's his bad luck. It continues. Although, this is more than just bad luck. This is . . . way more hurtful than that.
I'm kinda mad at Tess! lol I can't believe she let Max in and actually talked to him!
I don't think you're the only one who's mad at Tess. Unfortunately, she's has a definite weakness when it comes to Max. She always has.



Thanks for the feedback, everyone! I hope I was able to catch some people off-guard with that part. Some of you said you were feeling nervous about Kyle and Tess. Well . . . now you know why you were feeling that way. If you weren't feeling nervous at all . . . surprise!

Anyway, it's been awhile since I dropped by with any tunes. Try "I'll Catch You" by The Get Up Kids when you see :( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2UmYgOiKgh8 I really love this song, and the lyrics to it seemed really appropriate. It's a great one. Give it a listen.









Part 47







“I gotta admit, your new car drives pretty well,” Michael said as he and Maria walked down the hallway and stopped in front of their door.

“It’s a nice ride, isn’t it?” she agreed, grinning proudly.

He rummaged around in his back pocket for his keys and shrugged. “Well, you’re a better ride, but . . .”

She gasped. “That . . . was dirty. And oh-so-true.” She giggled and squeezed his arm as he unlocked and opened the door. Before either of them could step inside, though, the doors to the elevator flew open and Kyle stomped out into the hallway. He walked right by them, his eyes focused on his feet, barely even acknowledging their presence.

“Hey, Kyle,” Maria said. “What’re you doing here? I thought you and Tess were celebrating your anniversary today.” Then it dawned on her that the celebrating could be (and most likely was) sexual in nature. Therefore, Kyle’s apartment was the perfect venue. “Oh, I get it. It’s that kind of celebrating,” she said. “Right?”

He said nothing in response, just shoved open the door to his apartment and disappeared inside. He slammed it shut, and Maria flinched.

“What the hell?” she said. “He’s so bad moody. What’s wrong with him?”

“I don’t know,” Michael replied. “Maybe he and Tess had a fight.”

“But they don’t have fights. They’re like us. They have fun and sex and an underlying emotional connection. And they have an unhealthy obsession with Britney Spears, but no fights.” She frowned, not liking this, not liking this one bit.

“We’ve fought before,” he pointed out.

“Uh-uh.”

“Yeah, we have.”

“Just, like, spats.” There was a definite difference in magnitude when it came to a fight and a spat. Spats were much easier to overcome. Much easier.

“Maybe that’s all they’re having,” Michael said, leaning back against the doorframe, jingling his keys in his hand.

“On their one-month anniversary?” She doubted it.

“Should we go talk to him?”

She glanced back over her shoulder at Kyle’s closed door. “No,” she decided, walking inside their apartment. “He looked like he wanted to be alone.”

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Having waited for Kyle for what seemed like more than enough time, Tess finally decided to take matters into her own hands and go over to his place. She would have just called him to see where he was at, but he wasn’t answering his phone. She hoped nothing was wrong.

“Kyle?” she called, letting herself into his place. “You home?”

He sauntered out of the bedroom, not smiling at her. Which was weird. He was wearing paint-covered sweatpants and a t-shirt, and that was also weird. They had planned on going out to see a movie, something he generally would have looked a little nicer for. Maybe he wasn’t feeling well?

“Hey,” she said. “What’re you still doing here? I thought we were meeting up an hour ago.”

“Yeah,” he muttered, scuffing his foot against the kitchen floor.

“And I tried calling you, but you didn’t answer,” she went on. “Are you running behind schedule?”

“Ahead of schedule.”

“Oh. Okay.” He sure didn’t look to be running ahead of schedule. If he’d been ahead of schedule, he would have shown up earlier. Judging by his appearance and demeanor, he hadn’t left the house yet. He might have even just woken up. Everyone could be a little grumpy when they first got out of bed. “Is everything okay?” she asked, just to make sure.

“Why wouldn’t it be?” he asked in return.

“I don’t know. You just seem kind of . . .” She paused for a moment, trying to come up with the right word. The only word she could think of was “Mad. Are you mad at me? Did I do something?”

“What could you have possibly done?”

She didn’t understand why he kept answering questions with questions of his own. He wasn’t giving her any solid, reliable answers, and that wasn’t like him. “Okay, well, if nothing’s wrong, we should skip lunch and go to the movie, ‘cause it’s gonna start in, like, twenty minutes, and we’ll have to buy food first.” She was really eager to just get to the movie and have things feel normal. Because this, whatever they were doing . . . it didn’t feel normal.

He stood with one hand on the kitchen counter, staring at the floor. He looked completely out of it.

“Kyle?”

“I’ve just got one question for you,” he said, lifting his head to look her in the eyes for the first time since she’d walked through that door. “How can we have an anniversary if we’re not even dating?”

The question took her aback. She wasn’t even sure how to process it. “What?”

“You heard me.”

She’d most definitely heard him. He was confusing her. “Kyle, what’s going on?” she asked, slightly panicked now. She could feel her heart beating just a little bit quicker, like it knew something bad was going to happen. “What’s wrong with you?”

“I don’t know, why don’t you tell me?” he said, once again giving a question as an answer. “What’s wrong with me, Tess? I’m a good guy. I care about you; I respect you. Why isn’t that enough?”

“It is,” Tess insisted, wondering where all this was coming from. Kyle had never been mad at her before. Why would he be mad at her now? She hadn’t done anything.

“No, it’s not,” he said, laughing angrily. “I, uh . . .” He raked one hand through his hair and plodded into the living room, once again averting his eyes from her. “I stopped by your place earlier . . . awhile ago. I was ahead of schedule.”

Awhile ago, Tess thought, immediately beginning to connect the dots. Oh, no.

“I just couldn’t wait to give you this.” Kyle picked up a small object from his kitchen table and held it up in front of her. It was a key, probably to his apartment. “I thought it was romantic,” he said, “‘cause . . . ‘cause it showed I trusted you. And I wanted you around.”

“What’s with the past tense?” she cut in quickly. “Kyle . . . you’re scaring me.”

He made a face of derision. “Oh, don’t act like you don’t know what I’m talking about.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” And that was true. She didn’t know . . . for certain.

“Yes, you do. You were there. And so was I. And so was he. I saw you with him.”

And now she knew. Kyle had probably heard Max talking or seen him there . . . he’d probably gotten the total wrong idea. “He kind of . . . invited himself in,” she explained.

“Oh, really?”

“Of course.” That wasn’t necessarily true, though. She had been ready to slam that door in his face. No one had held a gun to her head and forced her to open it again. “Look, he was just feeling confused and . . . I-I don’t know missing Liz. He just needed somebody to listen to him.”

“And you wanted to be that person.”

“No, I didn’t want to be that person; I just was. We talked. It didn’t mean anything.” She couldn’t even believe they were having this conversation. They were supposed to be on their way to the movie.

“Then how come you weren’t gonna tell me?” he asked.

“Because I . . .” She quickly realized she didn’t have a good answer for that. She wished she would have told him right away, because not telling him made it look like she had something to hide. “I didn’t think it was a big deal, alright? And I told you, it didn’t mean anything.”

“It didn’t?”

“Of course not.” The fact that he was doubting her just killed her. Kyle was the one person who never doubted her. “The guy’s a monster, Kyle ,and I hate him. I hate him more than anyone in the world.”

“Is that why you kissed him?”

:(

Her rapidly beating heart came to a screeching stop. Her facial expression betrayed her. The guilt was there, as was the feel of Max’s lips on hers. Neither one was a particularly good feeling.

“Yeah,” Kyle said, “I saw that, too.”

“Kyle . . .” She lowered her eyes, ashamed to look at him now. She hadn’t known. She hadn’t known he’d been there. “I’m sorry.” Apologizing was all she could do. She couldn’t turn back time and erase it, but if she could have, she would have.

“You should be,” he muttered, curling his hand into a fist, the key inside.

“But he kissed me,” she made sure to remind him. If he’d seen it, he knew. “I didn’t kiss him.”

“You didn’t exactly push him away, either.”

“Yes, I did! Kyle!” She took a few steps toward him, grabbing onto his shoulders and pleading him to believe her. “I promise, Kyle, I promise. Didn’t you see?”

“I saw more than I wanted to, trust me. I got the hell out of there.”

“And I pushed him away,” she persisted. “Because I didn’t want him to kiss me, Kyle. I wanted you to kiss me.”

“Hmm.” He nodded, but the tightness in his mouth was evidence of his still-prevailing anger. “But you don’t want me to date you, right? ‘Cause we’re not really together. I’m not your boyfriend. We’re just having fun.”

Oh god. The guilt overtook her again as her facial expression turned to one of sadness and regret. He’d heard all that? “Kyle--”

He shrugged her hands off him and backed away from her. “Would you quit saying my name like that?”

“Like what?”

“Like you care about me.”

Now that was just ridiculous. That insinuation was something that had no basis in fact, and she wasn’t going to stand for it. “I do care about you. Kyle!” She felt tears stinging her eyes, so unaccustomed to this. Kyle was a happy guy, always smiling and laughing and making jokes. He didn’t get mad. He especially didn’t get mad at her.

“Clearly you don’t, ‘cause you lied to me,” he roared. “You led me on. I thought—God, I thought we had something great. I thought it meant just as much to you as it did to me; ‘cause there was no way . . . there was no way you’d be playing me.”

“Playing you?” She couldn’t believe he was saying this.

“I thought we were gonna be together for years to come. I thought we had a future together.”

“I . . .” Honestly, the future wasn’t something she’d given much thought to. Ever since she and Max and split up, she’d tried very hard to live in the now and not get her hopes up on anything. “I don’t even know what to say right now.”

“How about the truth, for once?” he suggested harshly. “What was I to you, huh? Just a substitute for Max?”

“Oh, come on, you’re nothing like Max.”

“That’s right, I actually don’t wanna hurt you. I actually don’t wanna see you cry. But apparently that’s not enough for you.”

“No, it’s . . . Kyle . . .” She couldn’t even get a sentence out. She felt like a blubbering idiot. She’d been completely unprepared for this. He didn’t want to see her cry, but she felt very close to crying in that moment. “Look, I didn’t know--”

“That was I out there?”

“What? No. I mean, yes, that, too. I just . . . I didn’t know . . . I thought we were on the same . . . wavelength or whatever.” She cringed at her own stammering.

“Obviously we weren’t!” he yelled. He actually yelled. At her. “What the hell are you talking about? Of course you knew. You had to know this wasn’t just a good time for me. ‘Cause—look around—I don’t have girls lining up outside my door wanting to date me. And you’re the only person I’ve ever . . .” He trailed off and shook his head in contempt. “It doesn’t make any sense. You had to know.”

She was in too much of an emotional frenzy to consider the possibility, but it wasn’t a totally unfounded assumption. Kyle wasn’t the type of guy to have a physically intimate relationship or any kind of relationship at all if he wasn’t serious about it. And there had never been a doubt in her mind about that. “I just . . .” She blinked back tears, trying to keep it together long enough to explain her position. “We never said we were dating, Kyle.”

“And we never said we weren’t, either!”

“Okay, so we just . . . assumed different things, and now we need to calm down and talk and--”

“Well, what’s there to talk about, huh?” he interrupted loudly. “Really. It’s simple: My feelings for you are stronger than your feelings for me. And I should’ve known that all along.” He said that last part as though he were angry with himself.

“No, Kyle . . .”

“I’m a good friend, but I don’t make you miserable; therefore, how could you possibly like me?”

So he thought she wanted to be with someone who made her miserable? If that were the case, she never would’ve hooked up with him in the first place. “No. No, don’t do this. Don’t make me out to be the bad guy here.”

“But that’s what you are, Tess. That’s your role in this whole scenario. What you did to me is hardly different than what Max did to you. The only difference is, I never saw it coming.”

“No, it’s completely different,” she insisted. She wasn’t like Max.

“He used you and you used me. What’s so different about that?”

“I didn’t use you, Kyle!”

“Sure you did. To make yourself feel better about your crappy life. You hopped into bed with me just to feel something good . . . oh, and I was all too happy to oblige. Little virgin boy and the girl of his dreams.”

A few tears spilled over onto her cheeks as the gravity of the situation began to settle in. This wasn’t a small fight they were having. This was the kind of fight that threatened to destroy everything. And it often succeeded. “Look, Kyle, I . . . I didn’t mean to . . .” She started to cry harder, and all she wanted was for him to put his arms around her and tell her everything was going to be okay. “God, I just . . . after what happened with Max, I . . . I just felt like I was on this downward spiral—all this drinking and crying. And I just . . . God, and you caught me. I was falling, Kyle, and you caught me. You always catch me.”

“Because I’m in love with you, Tess!” he shouted suddenly, alarmingly. “Don’t you get it? I’m in love with you!”

Her mouth parted slightly, but no words came out. Plenty of men had said that to her before, but Kyle was the only who had meant it. There was no mistaking his seriousness.

“From the moment I first laid eyes on you, I knew you were the girl for me,” he went on adamantly. “I knew it. And no one else mattered. I fell in love with you the moment I saw you . . . and you couldn’t even remember my name.” He shook his head and laughed bitterly. “And what, I thought a couple games of Whack-a-Mole and some sex would change that? I’m so stupid.”

“Kyle--”

“You don’t love me. You never will.”

She was still at a loss for words. Love was such a huge thing. She knew that she did love Kyle. She did. But to say that she was in love with him . . . she didn’t even know if she was capable of that kind of love anymore, or if she ever had been. “It’s just . . . I’ve been going through something. And you made me feel better. And I do care about you so much. So much, Kyle.”

He grunted. “I find that hard to believe.”

“No, it’s true. Come on, Kyle, we’re friends.”

“With benefits.”

“Oh, god.” She grimaced as the knowledge that she had in fact been using him sank in. “Kyle . . .”

“You know what? Why don’t you just . . . here, take these.” He stepped up in front of her and shoved two small papers at her. They looked like airline tickets. “‘Cause we were gonna . . . I don’t know, just give one to Max.”

She stomped her foot in frustration and sorrow. “Kyle!”

“It doesn’t matter. What I feel for you, what you don’t feel for me . . . none of it matters. It’s all over.”

“No . . .”

“It’s all over Tess,” he repeated, trudging over to his sliding glass door that led out to the balcony. He slid it open and stepped outside into the sunlight. “We’re done.”

“Kyle!”

He uncurled his fist and hurled the key out into the atmosphere.

“Kyle, stop!”

He came back inside and slid the door shut again. “I loved you, Tess,” he said, nearing her. As he walked past her, he glared and said, “Get out of my house.”

She stood completely still, feeling as though someone had just swung a sledgehammer at her ribs. Or her head. Or her heart. All of her limbs felt weak and useless, and she couldn’t even say anything to change his mind. Nothing could change it. “Kyle . . .”

“I said get out!”

She choked back sobs and laid the plane tickets down on the arm of the couch. With tears cascading down her cheeks, she headed for the door. She reached for the doorknob and started to turn it, glancing back at him one more time. He had tears in his eyes, too, mixed in with determination. For a split second, he looked as though he, too, felt bad about all this, and she thought that maybe he would ask her to stay. But deep down inside, she knew he wouldn’t. So she turned the doorknob to the right and left the apartment the way she had come in: alone. She shut the door behind her and stifled the sounds of her own crying as sobs overtook her and shook her. It took everything she had to stagger down to the end of the hallway, and once she was down there, all she could do was sink down in the stairwell and cry.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Kyle stood still from the moment the door shut, trying to convince himself that he would wake up any minute now. He had to.

But he didn’t.

When he regained mobility, he ran his hands through his hair and tried to take a few deep breaths to steady himself. But nothing helped. Everything in his life had just come crashing down, his perfect Tess Harding ideology, ideas of spending the rest of his life with her, loving her and having her love him back . . . he’d never stood a chance. He’d never ever stood a chance.

He circled around his dining room table a couple of times before stopping in front of the wall, curling his hand into a fist, and swinging at nothing in particular. His hand slammed right through the wall, furious, and he sort of felt bad. It wasn’t that particular wall he hated; it was the one between him and Tess, the one that had always been there and always would be there now. That damn wall . . .

He stood there with his hand encased in plaster. He just stood there.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Maria and Michael sat at the computer that afternoon looking up their hotel in Hawaii online. It looked pretty extravagant, and there was a lot to do there and in the surrounding area. They had agreed that scuba diving was a must. Neither one of them had ever been scuba diving before.

“Hey, look, this place opens at 9:00, and it’s closer to the hotel,” Maria said. “That other place doesn’t open ‘til 10:00. Doesn’t 9:00 come before 10:00?”

“Where I grew up, yeah,” Michael answered.

Maria laughed a little. “Okay, then we should just scuba dive here. That way we’ll for sure have time to make our lunch reservations.”

“Sounds good,” Michael said, jotting down the phone number on a Post-It note. “I’ll call and arrange it.”

Just as he said that, Maria’s cell phone rang out. “Ooh, speaking of calling, who’s calling me?” she said, going over to the couch to pick up her phone and answer it. She saw Tess’s name on the Caller ID. “Oh, of course.” She flipped open her phone and said, “Hey, best friend. Guess what? We’re going scuba diving in Hawaii. Michael’s gonna make the reservations. Isn’t that great?”

Tess sniffled and said, “Maria?”

Maria frowned. Tess didn’t sound very happy, not even about the scuba diving.

“Could you come over here for awhile?”

Oh no, Maria thought, thinking of Kyle’s sullen mood. This couldn’t be good. “Sure,” she replied without even hesitating. “Is everything okay?”

“No,” Tess whimpered, her voice coming out high-pitched and squeaky.

“I’ll be right there,” Maria promised, closing her phone. She stuck it in her pocket and said to Michael, “That was Tess. She was crying. I’m gonna head over there for awhile.”

“Do you want me to go with you?” Michael offered.

“No. Maybe you should go talk to Kyle, though.”

“Alright.” He got up and headed for the door. “Good luck,” he said, giving her a quick kiss on the cheek before he left.

She sighed heavily, worried that she was going to need it.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Maria sat on the bathroom floor with Tess, completely shell-shocked. “Oh my god,” was all she could say after Tess told her everything that had happened. Her poor friend could barely get any words out. She was crying so hard and kept having to stop, grab a Kleenex, and let it all out. There were a pile of tissues on the floor beside her, most of them speckled with mascara and eyeliner.

“It’s bad, isn’t it?” Tess choked out.

“It doesn’t sound good,” Maria admitted. She was just as baffled about all of this as Tess was. She hadn’t seen it coming.

“I don’t understand,” Tess cried. “We were fine. I woke up this morning, and we were fine. And now . . . I just don’t know how things can change so fast.”

“So . . . you guys really broke up?” There had been a time when Maria had thought that Tess and Kyle would never even get together, but now she couldn’t picture them apart. “Or . . . wait, you didn’t break up, because you were never really together. Right? I’m confused.”

“We had some miscommunication,” Tess confessed. “Or no communication, actually. He thought . . . he assumed we were dating, and I didn’t.”

“Yeah, but . . . you guys went out on dates and stuff, and slept together and spent all this time together. I thought you were dating, too.”

Tess shrugged helplessly. “I don’t know; it’s complicated. But he was so mad, Maria. He was so mad. I’ve never seen him that mad before.”

“I’ve never seen him mad at all.”

“I know. And so to see him like this today . . .” Tess grabbed another Kleenex out of the nearly empty box and blew her nose. “Oh god, Maria. He said I used him.”

Maria was sort of afraid to ask the obvious question, but she had to. “Did you?”

Tess didn’t say anything at first, and that said a lot. “I didn’t meant to,” she practically whispered finally. “I just felt so bad for awhile there, and he made me feel better. A lot better. And I didn’t stop to think, and we didn’t stop to talk. And now he hates me.”

“He doesn’t hate you, Tess,” Maria assured her readily. She knew Kyle Valenti pretty well, and she knew that wasn’t an option for him. “He . . .”

“Loves me?” Tess filled in. “I know. He told me. And I wish he didn’t, ‘cause right now, I don’t deserve it.”

“He told you?” And the shock just kept on coming. For Kyle to work up the nerve to say that . . . although he’d probably said it in anger . . . whatever. It was still a big deal. Michael had never even said that to her before.

“You knew?” Tess asked.

Maria grunted. “You didn’t? It was so obvious.”

“Yeah, well, I haven’t been seeing things too clearly lately.” Tess dabbed at the corners of her eyes with the tissue and admitted, “But I knew. Deep down, I knew Kyle would never enter into a relationship without being fully committed. So I guess I did use him. God, what kind of person does that make me? He was right. I am like Max.”

“You’re nothing like Max,” Maria assured her. For her to even think that was crazy. “Max hurts people on purpose, for fun. You never meant to hurt Kyle. You’re going through something, and he got caught in the crossfire. It’s not your fault.” She wasn’t sure if she totally believed what she was saying, but she was obligated to say it. She was the best friend.

“It is totally my fault,” Tess said.

“Okay, it’s partially your fault. But it takes two people to be in a relationship, any relationship. And sure, you may not have communicated just the greatest with Kyle, but he didn’t communicate with you, either.”

“Yeah.” Tess hugged her knees against her chest and rested her chin atop them, looking completely and utterly blue. “But friends with benefits seems so low. I didn’t think I could sink that low.”

“Hey. I’ve sunk that low before,” Maria reminded her. In all actuality, she’d never seen anything wrong with it, and she still didn’t . . . as long as both parties involved knew it wasn’t anything more than that.

“No, you haven’t,” Tess said. “You’ve had casual relationships, but you’ve never let them go on this long, and you’ve never put a friendship on the line.”

That much was true. She never would have entered into a casual relationship with Michael, someone she’d had such a good, solid friendship with for over two years now. Sometimes it was just all or nothing, and with her and Michael, it was all. Apparently for Tess and Kyle it was . . . nothing.

“Just tell me one thing,” Maria said, needing some clarification on some of the details. “Do you still have feelings for Max? Because it’s okay if you do. That doesn’t make you a bad person.”

No,” Tess replied emphatically. “Seriously, no. I could never have feelings for him after what he did to you. Not positive feelings, anyway.”

“But you guys kissed,” Maria reminded her.

“But it didn’t mean anything.”

Maria gave her a look. “A kiss always means something.” Even if it wasn’t something profound, there was always a reason.

“Yeah, and this one meant that it’s never gonna happen again.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes! And . . . okay, I know I kind of let it happen . . .” Tess rolled her eyes, seemingly annoyed with herself for that. “But I was just . . . I was surprised, and I didn’t know how to react. But I did react eventually. It was just a delayed reaction. God, I just screwed things up, Maria. Big-time. But I could tell Max didn’t want me; he wanted Liz. And I didn’t want him, either. I want . . .”

“Kyle?” Maria filled in. “Or just the way Kyle makes you feel?” There was a big difference between just wanting the feeling and/or wanting the person that evoked that feeling.

“I don’t know,” Tess mumbled. “Honestly, I didn’t plan on getting involved with another guy so soon after Max. And Kyle wanted to take things so fast. Maybe I wasn’t ready.”

“So . . . so this means you guys are really over now?” Maria asked. “Like really?” It was kind of sad. More than kind of, really. Kyle treated Tess really well, the way she deserved.

“I screwed things up,” Tess repeated.

“But is there hope for . . . reconciliation?”

Tess shook her head sadly. “I don’t think so. We can’t just go back to being friends, but . . . I mean, we can’t be anything more . . . anymore.” She sighed loudly, unhappily. “He got so mad. He was yelling.”

“But he still loves you.”

“Loved,” Tess corrected. “The exact word he used was loved. Past tense.”

“Oh.” Maria wanted to sound more encouraging, but the whole situation was just bad. Just awful. “Well, he was just angry. I’m sure he didn’t mean it.”

“Maybe. It doesn’t matter, though. I ruined everything. Nothing’s gonna be the way it was ever again.”

“Ever?” Maria didn’t even want to think about that. She liked the way things were. They were all friends and the romance was evenly distributed and . . . she didn’t want things to change.

“It doesn’t matter how many times I apologize or try to make it right,” Tess went on. “He’s never gonna forget this, and he’s never gonna forgive me. And he shouldn’t.”

Oh god, Maria thought, feeling bad for both her friends. And herself and Michael, because it affected them, too. “Come here,” she said, scooting closer to her best friend to give her a much-needed, supportive hug. Tess cried heavily, not holding anything back.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Michael took Kyle to the emergency room that day to get his hand stitched up. He spent the majority of his day in the waiting room, trying to picture Kyle punching his hand through a wall. He wasn’t the type. But from what he had shared about his and Tess’s sudden break-up, he had plenty of wall-punching motivation.

“How’s your hand?” Michael asked as they walked through the door to Kyle’s apartment.

“It’s been better,” Kyle mumbled, already scratching at the stitches on his knuckles. “Thanks for helpin’ me out today.”

“Yeah, no problem.” Michael wasn’t sure how much help he had been, or how much help he could be in a situation like this. He felt weird about leaving Kyle alone, though. “You gonna be okay?”

“I’m just gonna go to bed,” Kyle replied, sulking towards his bedroom.

“Alright.” Michael stood with his hand on the door, still reluctant to leave. Maybe punching a hole through the wall was just the first step. He didn’t want Kyle to do anything stupid.

Maria walked in the open door just as Michael was about to walk out and ran into him. “Oh, hey, you guys are . . .” She trailed off as she caught sight of Kyle’s unsightly hand. “Oh my god, what happened to your hand?” she asked.

“Kyle decided he hates the wall,” Michael explained, gesturing to the gigantic hole Kyle had made.

Maria gasped in astonishment and said, “Well, the wall hates you back.”

Kyle came back out into the living room with complete and utter defeat in his eyes. He and Maria weren’t even making fun of each other. That was telling. “Let me guess,” he said. “You were with Tess all afternoon.”

“Yeah,” Maria said. “She said she’s really sorry . . .”

Kyle just shook his head and walked off into his bedroom, shutting the door. Apparently he didn’t want an apology.

“Well, that attempt was futile,” Maria realized.

“I don’t think anything’s gonna make him feel better right now,” Michael said, reaching out to squeeze her hand. “How’s Tess?”

“Not good,” Maria answered sadly. “She sat on her bathroom floor crying all afternoon.”

“Hmm. It’s pretty bad when you’re the sane one.”

“Shut up,” she said, rolling her eyes. “Oh my god, you’re totally right, though. This is bad.”

He nodded in agreement.

She groaned and stared helplessly at the closed door to Kyle’s bedroom. “I don’t understand. How does this happen? How do two people who are perfectly happy together get torn apart?”

Michael shrugged, remembering it well. “It’s easy. A little lying, a little secrecy, an Evans in the mix . . .” It actually wasn’t that hard.

“But I want them to be together,” she said, letting go of his hand.

He leaned back against the couch and crossed his arms over his chest. “Well, if they’re meant to be, then they will be.”

She stepped up to his side and leaned back against the couch with him. “And if they’re not?” she asked, peering up at him with questioning eyes.

Before he could formulate an answer, Kyle strode back out of his bedroom, this time with two plane tickets in his uninjured hand. “Here,” he said, handing them to Maria. “Give these to Marty and Francis. I don’t need them anymore.” He turned around again and sulked back into his bedroom, and Maria looked at Michael pleadingly. He wished he could magically make the situation all better for everyone involved. But there was nothing either of them could do.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Another day at work, Max thought as he stepped off the elevator and headed towards his office. He had the newspaper in his hand and was reading through the business pages. The Evans company wasn’t even mentioned. It was a boring newspaper.

He had just walked into his office and set the paper down on his desk when he heard someone coming up behind him. He spun around just in time to see Kyle Valenti charging towards him. Kyle grabbed him by his shoulders and swung him around with surprising strength, pushing him back against the wall, growling low in his throat, angry. He pinned him up against the wall, his forearm against Max’s throat.

“Well, well, well,” Max choked out, quickly realizing that Tess and Kyle were kaput. Why else would he be there with such a vengeance? Why else would he be there at all? “Look who’s a big boy now.”

“Shut the hell up,” Kyle snapped, slamming his fist against the wall right next to Max’s head.

“What’re you gonna do, huh, kill me?” Max chuckled. “Go ahead.” He waited for Kyle to take a swing and hit him as hard as he could, but he just stood there looking pissed. “See? You don’t have what it takes,” he taunted. “You’re weak. That’s why Tess didn’t keep you. That bitch wants to be hurt.”

“Don’t you ever call her that!” Kyle roared.

“Ooh, I’m so scared. Save me, Grandma, it’s the big, bad wolf.” Max laughed some more, well aware that he was egging Kyle on. It had been awhile since he’d just plain made someone miserable. It was like riding a bike, though. You never forgot how.

Kyle let go of Max and took a step back. Max hunched forward to catch his breath, but before he could do that, Kyle curled his hand into a fist and hit him hard, knocking him backward. “You don’t deserve Tess, or Liz, or any of these girls who fall for your lies,” he said, punching him repeatedly. Max fell backward due to the impacts and landed in a heap in the corner of his office. Damn, this hurt.

“You deserve to be alone.” Kyle was starting to let loose on his face. He could taste blood in his mouth. “You’re gonna be alone.” That much was probably true.

Better late than never, the security staff on duty rushed into the room yelling, “Freeze! Security!”

Kyle hit him one last time, then stepped back with his hands in the air. The guards grabbed him pushed him towards the door.

“No, let him stay,” Max said, struggling to his feet. “It’s not so bad. He needs to blame me. Let him.” He wiped a streak of blood off his lower lip and urged his adversary to continue. “Go on, Kyle. Beat me up. But know this: You’re only hitting yourself. Because I may have brought your issues with your lover girl to the surface, but I couldn’t have done that if you hadn’t kept ‘em buried so long.” He grinned, and that priceless look on Kyle’s face was evidence enough that he believed him.

“Come on,” one of the guards grumbled gruffly, shoving Kyle towards the door again.

“Just let him go,” Max said, staggering over towards his desk. “He’s no threat.”

The guards looked at each other skeptically, then again at Max. “Sir?”

“Just let him go,” Max repeated, more forcefully this time. He’d already made Kyle miserable enough for one day. Anything else was just overkill.

The guards let go of Kyle, and with one last glare, Kyle headed out. Everyone sitting out in their cubicles cowered and watched him go. Max sat down behind his desk and saw his father out there, too, looking unhappy.

“Are you okay, sir?” one of the guards asked.

“I’m fine,” Max replied, locking eyes with his dad. Phillip shook his head, clearly disappointed in what had just happened. Fighting over a girl? It was very collegiate, not professional, and Max was well aware of that. But it had already happened. There was nothing he could do about it now. “I’m just fine,” he repeated, hoping Kyle’s little stunt hadn’t just cost him his inheritance of the company. Because if it had . . . Kyle could definitely be more miserable than he was now.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Tess lay on the couch watching television, but not really watching. When she heard a knock on the door, she sat up and turned the TV off. “Kyle?” She so wanted to talk to him, apologize, make things right . . . if that was possible. She shot up from the couch and ran to the door, tearing it open without even looking out the peephole. Unfortunately, it wasn’t Kyle standing on the other side. Rather, a horrid sense of déjà vu overtook her when she saw Max standing there. “Oh, no, not again,” she said, trying to shut the door in his face.

“Wait, Tess,” he said, pushing back on the door so she couldn’t close it.

She frowned when she got a closer look at him. He had a black eye, a swollen lip, and a bruise on the left side of his jaw. “What happened to your face?” she asked. She’d never seen Max look like that before.

“Your friend,” Max replied. “You know, the one with benefits.”

Kyle did this?” She’d never ever known Kyle to even throw a punch.

“Yeah,” Max said. “I didn’t know he had it in him, either. So I assume he overhead us talking yesterday.”

Tess shifted uncomfortably, still ready to close the door in his face if he tried to invite himself in again. “And he saw us kiss,” she added abashedly.

“Nice.”

She made a face of contempt.

“Well, not nice for him, I suppose.” Max cleared his throat and asked, “So are you two really over now?”

“I’m not running back to you, if that’s what you’re thinking.”

“I know you’re not.” Max stared at her and nodded. “Good for you. I was just curious.”

“It’s none of your business.”

“It is.” He pointed at his battered face. “See?”

She shook her head. “No, Max. That’s just karma.”

“Well, as hard as this may be to believe, I actually am sorry you couldn’t make things work with the little boy,” Max said, much to her surprise. “And I hope you get a second chance.” The most surprising thing of all was that he sounded genuine. “However . . .” he made sure to add. “I refuse to accept any blame for what happened, because just this once, it wasn’t my fault.”

As much as she hated to admit it . . . he was right. It wasn’t. It was hers.

“Have a nice life, Tess,” her ex-boyfriend said, sauntering down the hallway. Some of that confidence from his swagger was gone, but not all of it.

“Have a sucky life, Max,” she muttered as she shut the door, seriously doubting at this point whether either of them had anything to look forward to.







TBC . . .

-April
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April
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Part 48

Post by April »

Okay, yeah, I'll just be honest, I have NO good excuse for not getting this update out quickly today. I have a sort of semi-excuse, though. Post-4th of July exhaustion? :lol:

Alison:
But in a way I suppose it's a good thing that Kyle and Tess both opened their eyes before Kyle proposed to her or something equally heartbreaking for him.
Yeah, as bad as it is, it would have been a hell of a lot worse a few more months down the road. Kyle was moving really fast in their relationship. He probably would have popped the question at the end of the school year if this whole situation hadn't happened.

Leila:
Moreover, the way they started everything (the sexual level) was maybe the killer for them. Tess wasn't sure about her feelings while Kyle was sure about them. Tess came out of a terrible relationship while Kyle never had a real relationship. It was all a misunderstanding.
Exactly. Like you said, neither one of them is the bad guy, although I think you can argue that Tess is more in the wrong here than Kyle is. But still . . . huge misunderstanding.

My god, I love that pic of Colin in your icon! I don't think I've ever seen that before!

Nove:
I am totally on Kyle's side on this. I don't want to paint Tess as the evil monster in this scenario because she's nothing like Max or anything but she should have known way better.
I agree completely. Like you said, she's not like Max. She's not some horrible person who has set out to intentionally hurt people. She genuinely does care about Kyle, but she did sort of unconsciously use him.
I was shocked to see how strong and grown up Kyle was.
I know, right? I really enjoyed writing him in that scene, because up until now, he's pretty much been the comic relief, the guy you can always count on to say something funny. But there's a lot more to him than that.
What makes him great is him being who is. I feel like it might be hard to see him ever be the same lovable geeky Kyle again.
Well, you can rest assured that Kyle's not going to self-destruct over this. He's actually a pretty tough guy. He can handle it. But it is devastating for him. He's not going to be cracking so many jokes for awhile. This is going to move him into a darker place.
Fantastic part!! I love beautifully broken things.
Me, too. ;) Thanks.

Zoi:
It makes me feel bad to say that I really enjoyed Kyle and Tess's fight.
:lol: Fight scenes are, like, my favorite scenes to write.
Reading Max's parts makes me feel dirty, I'm going to take a shower to wash his Ickyness off of my *Shudders*
When I write scenes involving him, especially scenes from his POV, it gets a little disturbing sometimes. It's hard to try to be in that person's head.

nibbles:
Well, stay tuned. It's possible that I might just let them be.
Yeah, and I'm a polarist.
:lol: :lol: :lol: Oh, goodness. Okay, there's, like, no point in denying it at this point. Obviously Michael and Maria are going to have some drama of their own at some point.

spacegirl23:
How about Hawaii?!!!!
Oh, poor Hawaii. The liklihood that the Core Four is going to Hawaii now is very slim. If M+M go, it would be with Marty and Francis, probably.

BLONDIE:
Hmm...I wonder how Kyle and Tess can possibly come back from this...
Well . . . they might or might not be able to. If they are able to work things out, it will take some time. This isn't the kind of thing that can be fixed in a couple of days.

cjensen2:
What I really don't get is if he is really in love with Liz, why he doesn't go after her? She only lives like 20 minutes away and he already went to her house on New Year's? Is it because he is scared of giving in completely to his feelings? Or does he think that she will reject him again and he doesn't stand a chance? Or is he trying to reform himself and then go back to her?
Well, like you said, Max could easily go after Liz. She doesn't live that far away; it's not like it would be some huge inconvenience. I'm really leaving a lot of stuff open to interpretation with Max, so any of the ideas you suggested may be true. Personally, I think that Max is terrified of admitting his feelings for Liz, so that's part of the reason why he's not going after her. Also, he realizes that he hurt her pretty badly. He is, after all, the one and only reason why she left. He knows she doesn't want him around, so maybe he's leaving her alone because he loves her. Or maybe he's just feeling so guilty about dumping her after she gave him a chance to be her boyfriend that he can't face her again. I don't know. There are tons of possibilities. All in all, his reasons for leaving her alone outweigh his reasons for trying to rekindle things with her right now.

tequathisy:
Poor Kyle, suffering his first heartbreak. Not fun. I just hope that this doesn't turn Kyle into a bitter, angry person. Because he rocks as happy, optimistic Kyle.
Well, Kyle is going to be pissed for awhile here. It hurt to write, because I love him as happy, optimistic Kyle, too. But somebody's who is happy and optimistic all the time just isn't realistic.

Ginger:
I do hope he get his comeuppance before this fic is ended, along with his father who is the BIG A$$...
Well, I can't guarantee anything, but . . . this part might offer some comeuppance for somebody.

Eva:
I hope Tess can somehow mend it. But for the right reasons. 'Cause Kyle deserves a girl who loves him back. He really does.
This whole situation is really going to prompt Tess to take a step back and examine her life. She's not a dumb girl, but she's done some dumb things. She needs to figure out what she wants.

killjoy:
I mean didn't Tess herself mention that she and Kyle were in a 'honeymoon phase'? That too me would be a red flag that shouts "hey I'm in a relationship!!"
Exactly. Tess can tell herself that they were just hooking up and having fun, but that's not true. With the things they were doing together, it's natural to assume that they were in a relationship.
I like the fact Kyle stood up for himself and let Tess have it.
I thought you would like that. ;) No way was I going to let Kyle just forgive her.

Carrie: Hi! Are you a new reader or a new feedbacker?
and April you forced me to say it ...Max is a giant ass!
I know! That's why I'm shocked that any Dreamers are even reading this!

Nat:
I'm finally up to date here. Dude, I've been reading this since page 4
Damn, girl!
I felt that for most of S2 and S3, Michael and Maria was the more solid and stable relationship in comparison to the others
Me, too! I know that, overall, they were kind of on-again/off-again, but on the show, they were never truly with anyone else.
You never seem to write a dull Candy moment, even if it's a simple foray into the school fountain
Aw, thanks! I'll admit, it is a MUCH bigger challenge for me (and for a lot of writers, I think) to write the happy moments than to write the unhappy/dramatic moments.
Personally, I think she loves him but is afraid to commit again, even knowing how great a guy Kyle truly is.
I think you could be right. Even though Max is a bad guy, Tess was with him for two years, and she got hurt badly when he cheated on her. Comitting yourself to one person after all that has got to be difficult. But still, if you can't commit, the right thing to do is to be honest about that inability to commit.
I love Max. I say this and fully mean it because the guy is so multifaceted and so bad that it's hard to even fathom that there's a good guy inside but there is. I love how you write him.
Oh, thank you so much! It's a huge challenge to write Max sometimes, because I have to write these things that I would NEVER condone, and I have to try to get myself into a really dark, disturbed mental state to write his thoughts on things. (And I'm not a dark and disturbed person.) But at the same time, I really love writing for him, because there's absolutely nothing he won't do or think or say.
I'm actually surprised at Amy's behaviour. I thought for sure she was going to be extreme about dealing with Maria's honesty. Who knew sex was really all she needed?
:lol: It can work wonders.
Will Alex and Isabel make an appearance?
Oh, the question that everyone has been asking me. Maybe, maybe not. That's what I always say.


Thanks for the feedback, everyone!

Big sarcastic surprise here, I'm bringing more music with me today. And this is an AWESOME song, onf of my favorites these days. "Kids" by MGMT. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aBd46BbdTfs&fmt=18 Try it when you see 8) Every once in awhile, I hear a song like this and get this idea for, like, a montage of scenes.










Part 48








Michael sat on the couch that evening after a day full of classes and work, studying for a history quiz coming up in a few days. He was starting to feel all studied out, though, and judging by the frustrated groans that Maria kept making over at the computer, so was she.

“God, I write like a spaz,” she said. She’d been working on typing a paper for her literature class for over an hour now, and as far as Michael could tell, she only had a half a page done.

“Since when?” he asked.

“Since . . . I can’t concentrate.” She leaned back in the computer chair and raked her hands through her hair. “I can’t focus on this stupid paper when there’s so much else going on.”

He nodded in agreement, closing his history book. Neither one of them was being particularly productive. “Come here,” he said.

She pushed the chair back from the desk and stood up, slowly making her way towards him. He reached up and took her hands in his, and she swung her legs up onto the couch and sat down on his lap, smiling a small, appreciative smile.

“It’s almost Valentine’s Day,” he remarked.

“Yeah, and we’re gonna be the only ones celebrating.”

“Better us than no one.”

“Yeah, I guess,” she agreed, sitting up straighter. He let go of her hands and smoothed them back behind and underneath her to cup her backside and pull her closer to him.

“Michael?” she said quietly, her eyes cast downward.

“Hmm?”

She slowly lifted her gaze and asked a strange question. “Am I totally selfish?”

He frowned. “What? Where’d that come from?”

“It’s just . . .” She shifted into a more comfortable position and lay down on the couch, her legs lying across his lap. “Tess and Kyle broke up, and I can’t help thinking how that sucks for us, too.”

He nodded in agreement and rubbed her legs reassuringly.

“I mean, we’re all friends,” she went on. “We hang out together a lot. We have fun. And now that Tess and Kyle aren’t . . .” She sighed heavily. “We’re not gonna be having so much fun anymore, you know? You and I are constantly gonna be feeling like we have to take sides, and the Core Four’s gonna be, like, nonexistent.”

“We’re still together,” he pointed out. As long as that never changed, he could deal with anything bad or unexpected.

“I know,” she said. “And we’d better stay that way. I don’t know, I just . . . I feel bad for them, and I feel bad for us for having to go through this with them, and I just . . . I don’t know why this had to happen.”

It most definitely sucked. Michael hated that it had to happen, too. He hated seeing his friends so angry and unhappy, and he hated that it was stressing Maria out like this. “They say everything happens for a reason,” he said.

“Who are ‘they?’”

“I don’t know,” he admitted. “But I think they’re right.” Hell, at one point, the idea of Maria being his roommate had been his idea of a nightmare. But obviously that had happened for a reason. He bent down and kissed her. That seemed to make her feel a bit better.

“Hmm.” She smiled and decided, “We should go out.”

If it would make her feel better, he was up for it.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Maria called her brother that evening, and he and Francis accompanied her and Michael to the Cowboy Club. Having a couple of gay guys around definitely lightened the mood a little bit. Michael could see the change in Maria’s demeanor, and he was glad about it.

“I can’t believe the Cowboy Club’s become so heterosexual in such a short amount of time,” Marty remarked, looking around. It was true. From what Michael could tell since the last time he’d been in there around Thanksgiving, there were a lot fewer gay guys dancing around and a lot more straight guys sitting at the bar watching girls dance.

“It’s so tragic,” Francis agreed.

“I’m blaming you two,” Marty said, pointing at Michael and Maria.

“Us? We haven’t been here since we sang karaoke that one time,” Maria said, glancing up at Michael. “Remember?”

He grinned. “Yeah, I got you, babe.” How could he forget such an utterly enjoyable embarrassment?

“They did away with that, too,” Marty said.

“What? No more karaoke?” Maria now, too, sounded outrage. “That sucks. Everything sucks.”

“I’ll tell you what sucks,” Francis jumped in. “Having all these straight boys stare at you like you’re some kind of gay freak. That’s what sucks.”

“Oh, honey.” Marty stroked his boyfriend’s cheek. “They’re just jealous ‘cause you’re cuter than they are.”

Francis groaned dramatically. “Story of my life.”

“Well . . .” Marty took a sip of his drink and said, “It’s a shame Tess and Kylie aren’t here.”

“It is a shame,” Maria agreed.

“Hey, we’re having fun tonight, remember?” Michael said, nudging her arm. “Let’s not think about it.”

“It’s just hard not to.”

“I know.”

Marty cleared his throat and said, “You know what? I remember when I first found out Kylie was crushin’ on Tess. I didn’t think he could make it happen. But he did; he made it happen.”

“Well, alcohol also made it happen,” Maria mumbled.

8)

“My point is, it happened once . . . it could happen again,” Marty finished optimistically. A new song, one with a techno beat, began to play, and he immediately exclaimed, “Oh my god, I love this song.” He grabbed Francis’s hand and pulled him out of his seat. “Let’s dance.”

Maria gave Michael a look as Marty and Francis started out for the dance floor and said, “I love this song, too. Come on.” She hopped down off her seat.

“Oh . . .” Michael groaned, reluctant to get up.

“Come on . . .” She gave him a pleading look, grabbed his hand, and pulled him up from his chair. He didn’t really want to dance—he didn’t have any rhythm, but that didn’t matter. He’d dance with Maria. He’d do anything for her.

She led him out onto the dance floor, walking sassily to the beat of the music. She was nice enough not to pull him out into the middle of the dance floor, where Marty and Francis were dancing crazily and would without a doubt show him up, but she didn’t let him dance in the dark corners, either. She was always urging him to be more adventurous.

She swayed her hips to the right, then to the left, then snaked her hands up his chest to grab hold of his shirt collar and pull him closer to her. He shuffled awkwardly from side to side for a moment before standing still and letting her work her magic. She swayed low to the ground, smoothing her hands all the way to his belt loops before standing back up again. His girl knew how to move.

Maria raised her arms in the air, alternating left and right, and danced around him in a circle. She looked like she was having a genuine good time for the first time since the Kyle and Tess drama had reared its ugly head.

She stopped in front of him and swirled her hips around in a circle, swinging her arms above her head. He placed his hands on her hips, needing to touch her. She backed up against him, plastering her back against his front, and brought her hands down to rest atop his. He knew they were surrounded by dozens and dozens of other people, but in that moment, he felt like she was the only one in the room.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Tess tried to keep herself busy that evening by cleaning her apartment. She found her sketchbook lying on the floor in the living room, so she bent down to pick it up. She flipped it open to the first page and looked over a sketch of a living room. She’d put that together a few nights ago when she’d been at Kyle’s, lying next to him in bed. She hadn’t been able to sleep . . .

She sighed heavily and held the book close to her chest. She’d sketched an entire apartment that night, but it didn’t matter. None of it mattered without Kyle.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Kyle sat alone in his living room on the couch. It was just like old times, back when Tess hadn’t even known his name. Maybe it should have stayed that way.

He looked all around his living room at the various paintings of Tess, the ones he’d been planning on using when his collection was on display at the art museum in March. They formed a semi-circle around him, and there were about a dozen altogether. In some of them, she was smiling. In others, she was laughing. She probably didn’t realize he’d painted her while she was asleep, too, but . . . he had. She looked beautiful. But as Kyle sat there surveying the girl he had painted and running his hands through his hair, he realized she wasn’t as perfect and flawless as the paint made her look.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Maria tossed her head to the side, then back to the other side, flipping her hair all about. The music coursed through her, so she grabbed Michael’s hands, hoping it might course through to him, too. He was trying, bless his heart, but when it came to dancing, he just didn’t have a clue.

She told him to spin her around, so he lifted their arms above her head and twirled her out to the right, then back in to the left. She twirled so fast and hard that she collided with him, and they stumbled backwards. She laughed and rested her hands on his shoulders, still dancing. He placed his hands in the dip of her hips and pulled her in close to him. She pelvis brushed against his groin, and she took in a sharp breath. Her dancing was . . . affecting him.

She wrapped her arms around his neck and moved in closer, making her movements less emphatic now. But somehow in that moment, less was more. She felt so close to him, and not just physically. She threw her head back to gaze at him, not sure if it was the music or the dancing or the fact that she was having some much-needed fun in the midst of her friend-drama that was heightening all her senses. All she knew was that she wanted Michael. She wanted him so much.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Max walked into the club as the strobe light came on. The violent flashing hurt his eyes, but that didn’t stop him from catching sight of a girl at the bar. Long, dark hair. Slender waist. Sexual body language and a sort of confidence about her that made it clear that she owned the place, even if she didn’t brag about it. He couldn’t see her face, and deep down inside, he knew he was just getting his hopes up, but he let himself believe it was Liz, and he started towards her.

He pushed past all the people in his way and kept his eyes focused on the girl at the bar. He felt like he was going in slow motion, and he worried she was going to get up and leave. Liz deserved better than him. It would make sense for her to leave. She’d already left once, left town after he’d chosen that damn company over her. He hated to think he might have made a mistake, but Liz had been gone for almost a month now, and it felt more and more like a mistake with each passing day.

He picked up his pace and headed for her with more urgency, literally shoving anyone who got in his way aside. The closer he got, the more glaringly apparent it became that the girl at the bar was not Liz, but he let the fantasy play out anyway. He walked up to her and grabbed her by the shoulder. The girl whirled around on her stool suddenly. Not Liz. There was no fire or passion in her eyes. Her lips weren’t begging to be kissed. She was just a girl, just a random girl, and he didn’t give a damn about her.

“Sorry,” he said. “I thought you were . . .” He trailed off, momentarily considering taking her back to his place for some much-needed look-alike sex. But that never left him satisfied. It was a waste of time. It was all a waste of time.

He backed away from the girl, leaving her completely confused, and headed back through the club the way he had come. He spied Michael and Maria out on the dance floor out of the corner of his eye, obviously minutes away from getting a room. Nice guys didn’t finish last anymore. What was up with that?

He stormed out of the club and marched through the parking lot towards his Benz. Instead of getting in the car, he peered into the backseat, remembering how he and Liz had fucked there before. That was where they’d gotten caught having an affair.

He slammed his fist against the window in anger and fixated on the beer bottles in the backseat. He had some hard liquor back there, too.

Good. He needed it.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Michael pushed open the door, and he and Maria staggered inside, kissing each other wildly. She dragged his shirt over his shoulders and he shrugged it to the floor, reaching down between them to grab her shirt by the hem and lift it over her head. He threw it to the floor and she shook her hair loose before hooking her arms around his neck and plastering her mouth to his again. He hoisted her up in his arms, and she instinctively wrapped her legs around his waist, moaning as his jean-clad erection pressed against her entrance. The panties she was wearing beneath her short, tight skirt were soaking wet, so he pushed them aside as he carried her towards the bedroom. God, he loved her.

She reached down in between their bodies to push his zipper down. The sound of it sliding made him groan with a primal need, and he captured the nape of her neck in his mouth as he kicked open the door to the bedroom and crashed onto the bed with her.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Tess sat on her bed, tearing up all her designs. Bathroom designs and kitchen designs and living room designs . . . she didn’t even know for sure whose apartment she’d been designing, but she had a feeling it had been for her and Kyle. Because it was pink, but kind of nerdy.

She crumpled up all the torn-up sheets of paper and tossed them into her metal trash can in the corner of the room. She kept missing, and they kept landing on the carpet near the trash can. She never bothered to go pick them up. She had more design destruction to do.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Kyle swiped his paintbrush over the previously painted canvas, smearing black paint right across Tess’s eyes. And then her smile. And then every other part of her. He smeared black stripes in every direction. It didn’t need to look pretty.

It didn’t take long for all twelve of his paintings to turn into plain black slabs. The blonde of Tess’s hair, the pink shine of her lips, the blue glimmer in her eyes . . . it was all gone.

He stood back with his paintbrush and palate in hand. He’d done good work. But he didn’t feel very good about it.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Max tossed back one drink after another. One. Two. Three. And then more. He stood out in that parking lot for a long time literally drowning his sorrows, and when he was done, he threw all the empty bottles into the middle of the parking lot, smiling as they shattered into pieces on the pavement.

He felt better. He really did.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Tess stopped shredding her designs when she got to the very last one. The bedroom. That was a bedroom for her and Kyle someday. She was sure of it.

She tried to crumple it up, but something in her just couldn’t do it. She held the paper tightly in her hands and stared down at it longingly. She would probably never have that now. And it was all her fault.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Maria moaned into Michael’s mouth as he moved within her. He was hitting all the right spots. Having him on top her, encompassing her with his large frame, his sweat-soaked skin pressed against hers . . . she felt like she was dying in the best way possible.

She dug her head back into the pillow raised her arms up by her head, completely surrendering herself to him. He smoothed his hand up from her elbow to her hand, interlacing their fingers, and thrust into her more adamantly, a guttural groan escaping his lips as a bead of sweat trickled down the side of his face. She tightened her legs around his waist and pulled him in deeper before he rolled over onto his back and set her down on top of them in one swift motion, keeping them connected the entire time.

She felt so connected.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Tess stuck the design for her and Kyle’s bedroom into the upper left-hand side of her dresser mirror. She taped it just to make sure it would stay, then stepped back and smiled. She could tell herself and everyone around her that she and Kyle hadn’t really been together as much as she wanted to, but maybe that was a lie. Maybe she’d drawn that bedroom because she had envisioned a future with Kyle; and if that was the case . . . she wasn’t going to give up hope just yet.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Kyle dumped his dozen black canvases into the dumpster out back behind the apartment complex. He expected to feel free or enlightened or . . . something when he got rid of them. But he didn’t. He just felt worse.

Didn’t matter. There was no hope to hold onto. He was giving up.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Max climbed into the driver’s seat and shut the door. His shaky, uncoordinated hands could barely get the key into the ignition, but eventually, he started up the car and laughed excitedly in his drunken state. He slammed his foot down on the gas pedal and floored it out of the parking lot.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Maria arched her back and cried out as the feelings inside her began to intensify. Michael lay beneath her, pushing his hips up into her and touching her exactly where she needed to be touched. She bent forward, pressing her hands against his chest, her hair falling forward to curtain her face.

He sat up a moment later, and she suddenly found herself in his lap, so close to him. She’d never felt closer. She clung to his shoulders for dear life as he fucked her. She dug her fingernails into his skin and practically screamed as she came, throwing her head back, letting the feelings course through her. He shot into her a moment later, almost silently but just as powerfully, and they collapsed against each other in a heap of desire once they were done. They were both panting for air.

As she sat there with Michael, still holding him inside her and being held by him, she felt safe, and she felt happy. She felt like, no matter what happened, everything was going to be alright.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Max sat in the emergency room, wincing as an intern stitched up the cut on his head. It wasn’t a big cut, but it hurt enough to feel like one. He’d driven his car into a tree. Somebody had driven by and called 911. They’d made him ride in the ambulance and everything. Humiliating.

“There,” the intern said as she tied off the stitch. “That wasn’t too much pain and suffering, was it?”

Pain and suffering were two concepts he’d come to redefine since he’d fallen for Liz Parker.

“Is there someone you can call?” the intern asked. She was a bubbly blonde, not unlike Tess or Maria.

“Someone’s here,” Max told her, glancing outside. His father was in the hallway yelling at the doctors. Why he was yelling at them, Max didn’t know. They hadn’t done anything wrong. Finally, Phillip got fed up and stormed into the room. “Max,” he roared. “What were you thinking?”

“I was drinking,” Max informed him, “not thinking.” His alcoholic buzz had all but worn off now. He wanted it back.

“Don’t tell me this is about that girl again.” His father shook his head in disapproval. “Oh, how pathetic. Do you know how much work your car’s going to need? I suppose you don’t even care. But I care. I care that your reckless, immature behavior has disgraced me and my company yet again.”

Max found it interesting that he didn’t seem to care that he was alive. A worse crash could have killed him.

“Congratulations, son,” Phillip growled angrily. “You’ve really outdone yourself.”

Max knew drinking and driving had been a stupid thing to do. But he’d done it. He’d been so much smarter and more focused before Liz.

“Sir, you shouldn’t be in here,” the intern said quietly, grabbing his arm to lead him towards the door.

He jerked his arm away and glared at her. “I give thousands of dollars to this hospital every year. I helped found the cancer ward. Don’t you dare tell me to leave.”

Just then, a police officer poked his head into the room and said, “Mr. Evans? I’d like to have a word with you.”

Max knew he was the Mr. Evans being addressed in this case, but his father stepped in and made it all about himself as usual. “I’ll take care of this,” he told Max, still looking furious with him for his actions. He walked towards he door and said, “Officer, let’s step outside.”

Max sat on the table and watched his father go out into the hallway with the officer. He body language indicated that he was speaking in a much more calm and respectful manner now. He was undoubtedly going to get the DUI charges to go away with some monetary bribery. Money worked wonders in the world. All Evanses knew that.

“I’m sure he didn’t mean to be so rude,” the intern said, picking up a gauze patch off her tray of supplies.

“No,” Max said, still staring out into the hallway, “he did.” Contrary to popular belief, he had feelings, too, and right now none of them felt good.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Tess plopped down on her bed and asked, “So? What do you think?”

Maria surveyed the sketch Tess had placed up on her bedroom mirror. “It’s nice,” she remarked. “It looks . . . like a bedroom.”

“Not just any bedroom. It belongs to Kyle and me.”

“Kyle and you?” Premature excitement coursed through Maria as she went to sit down beside her friend on what used to be her own bed. “There’s a Kyle and you? You guys are back together?”

“Not yet.”

“Oh.” Maria frowned. That sucked.

“But hopefully we will be soon.” Tess sounded uncharacteristically optimistic when she said that. “I miss him.”

Maria nodded in understanding. Even though Kyle was an over-the-top spaz, he did have a very distinct presence. Tess had gone from being around him all the time to not even speaking to him anymore. It had to be hard. “When are you gonna talk to him?” she asked.

“I don’t know,” Tess replied. “I’m too ashamed.”

“Well, you’re gonna have to eventually.”

“I know. But I don’t think he wants to talk to me right now.”

“He’s being so un-Kyle-like, it’s creeping me out,” Maria said.

“He went and beat up Max yesterday.”

Her eyes bulged.

“I know, it’s crazy,” Tess agreed.

“It’s payback. It’s long overdue.” Maria couldn’t help but be very happy that Max had finally gotten a taste of his own medicine, from one of the people he had hurt the most, no less.

“And Max is just the weirdest guy ever,” Tess went on. “It turns out he actually wants me to be with Kyle.”

“God, that jerk’s confusing.”

“Tell me about it. I can’t figure him out. I can’t figure myself out half the time.” Tess sighed.

Maria rose to her feet again and walked back over to the mirror. “So, what’s that about?” she asked in reference to the bedroom sketch.

“That . . . is something I think I did figure out,” Tess said, standing up as well.

“Really?” Maria teased. “Let’s throw a damn parade.”

“Hey . . .”

Maria laughed a little. “So you wanna be with Kyle again.”

Tess came to join Maria at the mirror and lightly touched the sketch. “That’s right,” she said. “I wanna be with Kyle again. Because I was with him before. I know that.”

“I thought you thought you guys were just . . . having fun.”

“Well, we were having fun,” Tess acknowledged, “but we were also having a relationship. Oh, and it was a great relationship, Maria. We made each other laugh. He held me when I slept. I’ve never felt anything like it. And I kept telling myself it wasn’t serious, because I was scared of getting serious again. I tried to convince myself that Kyle wasn’t my boyfriend, because a boyfriend’s someone who can hurt you as much as he makes you feel good. And I didn’t wanna be hurt again, but I should’ve known Kyle would never hurt me . . . until I gave him reason to.”

“It was kind of inevitable he found out you were lying to him,” Maria said.

“But that’s just it. I wasn’t lying to him; I was lying to myself.” Tess shrugged helplessly. “I guess it doesn’t matter anymore. The damage is done. It’s gonna take a lot for Kyle to forgive me. I don’t wanna get my hopes up. But I kind of do wanna get my hopes up, you know? I mean, look at this.” She pulled the bedroom sketch out of the side of the mirror and held it up in front of herself proudly. “This is a nice bedroom.”

Maria smiled. “Your bedroom.”

“Yeah. And Kyle’s.”

“Hmm. Well, I’m glad to see you’re fighting for him. He’s gotta be unaccustomed to that.” For the longest time, Kyle had been fighting for Tess. It was kind of refreshing to see the shoe on the other foot.

“Yeah. I’m gonna give him some space, though, first,” Tess said. “Then I’ll fight. And then I’ll have this bedroom and I’ll have . . . everything. Everything I’ve ever wanted.”

It sounded great in theory, but Maria couldn’t help but have her doubts. “Do you love him?” she asked outright. “I’m sorry, I realize that’s totally blunt, but . . . do you?”

Tess thought about it for a moment, then said, “I think I could. I think I’m starting to. I mean, it wouldn’t hurt this much to be away from him if I didn’t.”

“How bad does it hurt?” Maria asked. She’d never been in Tess’s situation before. Tess had been there twice, first with Max and now with Kyle.

“Think of you and Michael,” Tess said. “Think of all the laughter and the smiles and the touches and the conversations . . . think of all that, and imagine being torn apart from those things. And it’s like your heart got torn from your chest along with it.”

“Ow.” Maria held her hand over her heart, imagining the pain. “Thanks for the imagery,” she said, “but no thanks.” Her heart was perfectly content staying inside her chest.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Maria and Michael convinced Kyle to go outside and play beach volleyball that night. Their apartment complex had a court out back behind the indoor pool. Kyle needed some fun. All he’d been doing was sitting around his apartment and moping for the last few days. They took a volleyball out of the activity room and went outside. The weather was nice. It was the perfect night for volleyball, even though none of them were particularly athletic or even knew the rules of the game.

“So is Tess devastated about our break-up?” Kyle asked as he swung his left arm out to the side and hit the ball back over the net.

Maria lunged for the ball but missed it. It landed in the sand at her feet. “Yes,” she replied.

Kyle grunted. “Good.”

Good? she thought, narrowing her eyes at him. She threw the ball in the air and spiked it over the net. It hit Kyle in the head.

“Hey!” he yelped.

“Poop-head,” she insulted him. “You want your girlfriend to be miserable?”

“She’s not my girlfriend anymore,” he pointed out. “Never was, really.”

“Just serve the ball,” Michael told him. He was all bent over in the perfect position to hit the ball if it came his way. He was the only one keeping score, too. Maria had no idea what the score was, but she was glad Michael was on her team.

“Check you out, Mr. Competitive,” she said, taking a moment to appreciate the way his butt looked in the shorts he was wearing. He had a wonderful, masculine body, one that she constantly yearned to have all over her . . .

The ball came flying over the net as she was staring at him and hit her in the head in the same manner it had just hit Kyle. “Hey, no fair, I wasn’t ready!” she yelled.

“So does she feel guilty?” Kyle asked. “I mean, really guilty.”

Maria rolled her eyes and handed Michael the ball. He was better at serving than she was. “Yes, Kyle, she feels guilty. She’s not giving up hope, though.”

“Funny, I did,” Kyle mumbled bitterly.

“Why would you throw away all your paintings? You had an exhibit coming up.” Michael hit the ball over the net.

“So did you,” Kyle remarked, bumping it back over, “back in August.”

Michael missed the ball this time when it came to him. “I kept my paintings of Isabel,” he said.

“Up in the closet,” Kyle reminded him.

“The point is, I kept ‘em. I didn’t give up . . . even when I should’ve.”

“Do you still have those?” Maria asked, picking the ball up off the sand.

“Got rid of ‘em,” he replied, smiling at her.

“Well, apparently I’m just a quick study, ‘cause my Tess paintings are gone,” Kyle said as Maria served the ball over the net at him. He flung himself to the left and crashed on the sand, missing the ball entirely. “Why is it two against one here?” he spat.

“It’s not two against one,” Maria pointed out. “You’ve got Marty on your team.” She glanced over at her brother. He was sitting on the side of the court polishing his fingernails. He smiled at them and waved. “Hey, bitches,” he said before going back to his task at hand.

Kyle shook his head and practically threw the ball overhand across the net.

Oh!” Michael cried out, dropping to his knees when the ball hit him in his groin.

“Michael!” Maria cried, rushing to his side. “Oh my god, Michael, are you okay?” Better question, were his nuts okay? He needed those, and she loved them.

“What’d you do that for?” Michael asked Kyle.

“Sorry, didn’t mean to,” he apologized. “I’ve got some quality rage goin’ on.”

“I feel like . . . I’m not a man anymore,” Michael whimpered, holding his crotch in his hands.

“Now you know how I feel,” Kyle muttered dejectedly.

Maria looked up at him, fed up with his self-pitying antics now. “Okay, that’s it,” she said, stomping under the net. “Kyle . . . I’ve had it. This is how the world works. People get dumped; get over it. Get over it and go talk to her. You’re not gonna feel any better until you do. And for God’s sake, stop being all bitter and depressed, because it’s really starting to piss me off.” She sort of growled the last part, and he recoiled in fear.

“I’ll go talk to her,” he promised. “Someday.”

She rolled her eyes.

“Just serve the ball,” he said as Michael struggle back up onto his feet.

“Fine, you want the ball?” She slipped back under the net to her side of the court. “Here’s the ball.” She swung and underhand serve, but instead of clearing the net, it went into the net, and the resistant force sent it flying backwards, once again colliding with Michael’s family jewels.

Oh!” he wailed, dropping to his knees again.

Maria winced. “Sorry, honey!”

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Kyle worked up the courage to go see Tess the next day. He didn’t call her first to let her know he was coming. He didn’t want to talk to her over the phone. Actually, he didn’t really want to talk to her at all yet, because he was worried he might say something he’d regret. But Maria seemed to think this was a good idea.

He very quickly wished he had called. He walked up the steps to the third floor of her apartment complex and was just about to round the corner to her hallway when he heard her voice. And it was saying things he didn’t want to hear.

“Hey, Max, it’s me.”

Max was there? Again?

“I read about your accident in the newspaper . . .”

Newspaper. He breathed a sigh of relief and peeked around the corner. She was indeed standing in her doorway talking on her cell phone. She was facing away from him, so she didn’t know he was there and that he could hear her.

“I just thought I should call,” she went on. “I hope you’re alright. It says you’re not getting charged with anything. I just wanted to make sure you’re not hurt.”

Kyle frowned. Why would she care? Why would she care whether Max was hurt or not unless she . . .

He shook his head sadly, not sure what to believe anymore. Tess was supposed to be fighting for him, yet there she was giving Max a call. She just kept lying.

“I’m just gonna go,” she said. “You don’t have to call me back. Actually, I’d prefer if you didn’t. Bye, Max.” She closed her phone and slipped back inside her apartment, shutting the door. Kyle sulked back down the stairs. He knew for a fact that now was not the right time for him to talk to her about anything. He was too angry, and he was probably going to be too angry for a long time to come.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

“She was talking to him on the phone.”

Michael sat on the couch sketching a rough drawing of Maria on a napkin. Sometimes he just had inspiration. “I thought you said she was leaving him a voicemail.”

“Well, regardless!” Kyle yelped, pacing around his own apartment in a state of panic. “She’s still got this big yen for him. Why? I don’t know. You can be a nice guy; you can have feelings and have a soul, but apparently that doesn’t matter. All that matters is having some arm muscles and a hefty checkbook.”

Michael set his pencil down at that. “You really think Tess is that shallow?”

“Yes!” Kyle exclaimed. “I don’t know.”

“Well, she’s not. And I’ve known her longer than you have, so . . . I’m right.”

“You sure?” Kyle plopped down on the couch and stared up at the ceiling contemplatively as he spoke. “Max had two girlfriends. It probably inspired Tess to have two boyfriends. Oh, she’s got it all worked out: The nice guy and the bad guy. The best of both worlds. It’s like freakin’ Hannah Montana.”

The fact that Kyle even knew enough about that kid’s show to reference it was alarming. “Uh, I’m gonna ignore that reference and tell you you’re talking like a crazy person,” Michael said. “This is Tess. This is the girl of your dreams.”

“Exactly. You can love a girl, wanna spend your life with the girl, but it doesn’t mean it’s gonna happen. You of all people should know that.”

Michael pressed his lips together for a moment to keep from saying anything. Kyle was definitely frustrating him, but he wanted to be as understanding as possible. “You think this is like what happened with me and Isabel?”

“Well, yeah.”

Michael shook his head and set his napkin-drawing of Maria down on the coffee table, along with his pencil. “It’s not. Tess didn’t cheat on you.”

“She kissed that jerk,” Kyle pointed out. “Wait a minute.” He sat up and looked at Michael confusedly. “Isabel cheated on you?”

“You didn’t know?”

“No, you never told me. Who else knows?”

“Maria, Tess . . . Billy.” He rolled his eyes.

Billy knows?” Kyle shrieked.

“It’s not like I wanted him to. Anyway, she cheated on me with a rich guy.”

“Oh, so it’s an even better analogy than I thought!” Kyle lay back down.

“No, it’s different,” Michael insisted. “Tess never lied to you.”

Kyle folded his arms across his chest stubbornly. “Tess never lied to me but Tess did lead me on for a month. Or you could say it was lying by omission.”

“Isabel led me on for two years. When she left, it practically killed me. But I got over it, and then I got something a whole lot better.” He cast a glance down at the napkin-drawing and smiled.

“Maria,” Kyle concluded simply.

“Yeah. See, with Isabel . . . I did love her, as much as I could without knowing her. ‘Cause I had this idea of her in my head where she could do no wrong, and obviously that wasn’t the case. But with Maria, it’s . . . I know she’s not perfect and I know she makes mistakes, but . . . I love that girl more than anything. And all her little flaws and quirks make me love her even more.” He couldn’t imagine a Maria who didn’t like to steal the covers from him at night or shed her hair all over the bathroom sink or leave her dirty dishes on the counter. That was just Maria.

“So you’re saying I should go out and . . . find my Maria?” Kyle made a face.

“No, you might’ve already found her,” Michael clarified. “The sooner you realize Tess isn’t this perfect person, the better. Because she makes mistakes, and so do you. And to expect her to reach this unachievable standard and never do anything to upset you . . . that’s not realistic, and that’s not fair to her. And if that’s who you want her to be, then maybe you don’t love her as much as you think you do, because that perfect person doesn’t exist. But if you accept the fact that she’s gonna do things to piss you off and confuse you and you love that fact . . . well, then, you really love her.” He reached forward and picked up his pencil and drawing again.

“You’re an intellectual person,” Kyle remarked, sitting up again. “But what if I was wrong this whole time? What if Tess isn’t my Maria? What if I don’t even have a Maria?”

“Everyone has a Maria,” Michael mumbled confidently, sliding his pencil against the napkin to draw his girlfriend’s hair.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Max sat in his father’s long-winded meeting, trying like hell to stay awake. He had to go get his stitches out that afternoon. He hated that he was going to have a scar above his left eyebrow. But everyone had scars.

The meeting was actually shorter than normal. Max noted that his father seemed sort of out of it, probably wasn’t feeling well. He looked pale as a ghost, and he was sweating.

“Well, uh . . . that’s about all I’ve got for today,” Phillip said. “If there are no questions . . . everybody get back to work.”

Everyone pushed their chairs back from the table and left the office. Max stayed behind and waited for his father to notice him.

“So,” he said, laying a copy of the prior day’s newspaper down on the boardroom table. “You could keep it out of the court but not out of the paper, huh?” He didn’t really mind that much. Bad publicity was still good publicity.

“I’m not God,” his father reminded him. “Almost, but not quite.” He grinned and laughed a little, but it seemed forced. He grabbed his left shoulder and grimaced.

“Are you okay?” Max asked.

“I thought I told you to get back to work.” The older man’s breath was coming in ragged pants.

“Fine.” Max picked up the newspaper and turned and left the room. He was on his way back to his office when Tony came up to him. Tony was really a nice guy and therefore had no place in the Evans organization. How he had kept his job so long was still a mystery to Max. Probably had something to do with the fact that he was a hard-worker. It never hurt to keep a couple of those guys on the team.

“Max,” Tony said.

“Hey, Tony. Was it just me or was today’s meeting more boring than usual?”

“No, it wasn’t just you,” Tony admitted. “You and your father aren’t on the best of terms these days, are you?”

“No, we’re not.” Max pushed open the door to his office and went inside. Tony just stood in the doorway and stared at him. “What?” he finally asked.

Tony shook his head unsurely. “It’s probably not my place to say anything, but if I were you . . .”

“You’re not me,” Max reminded him.

“But if I were . . . I’d be careful how estranged he and I became. Because it’s business, Max, all of it. These lives we lead . . . it’s very easy to rearrange things, and it’s very easy to change the outcome, especially for a guy like Phillip.”

Max made a face. “What the hell are you talking about?”

Tony sighed heavily and stepped into the office, shutting the door. “Don’t tell him I said anything. I don’t care to lose my job. But I overheard him talking on the phone this morning, Max.”

“He doesn’t that sometimes,” Max interjected just to be a smart-ass.

“Talking to a lawyer.”

“Okay.” That was nothing new, either. His dad had dozens of lawyers.

“Talking about changing his will, Max.”

That made him pay attention. His will? Phillip Evans was going to alter his will? For a moment, Max had to laugh. But then the seriousness hit him. “Unbelievable,” he muttered. He pushed past Tony, threw open the door, and stormed back to the boardroom to see if his dad was still there.

“Max!” Tony called after him, but he didn’t stop. There was no way he was going to be cut out of that will like some kind of . . . Isabel. No, he’d made a few mistakes as of late, drunk driving being the most recent, but that company was his. Or at least it was going to be.

“Dad!” he yelled, throwing open the door to the boardroom. He was so furious; he was going to . . .

He stopped dead in his tracks when he found his father lying on the floor, one hand over his heart, his nearly vacant eyes staring at the ceiling. “Dad?”

A strained groan escaped the older man, but that was all.

“Dad!” Max rand to his father and crashed to the floor beside him. His entire body was covered in a sheen of sweat now. He looked wet. He was paler than any living person Max had ever seen, and he looked as though he were suffering an incredible amount of pain.

“Dad, hold on,” he said, whipping his cell phone out of his pocket to dial 911. “Hold on!”








TBC . . .

-April
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April
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Part 49

Post by April »

nibbles:
Tess is not a doll, she is a person with confusing, contradictory and changing feelings. Until Kyle realises that Tess is human and fallible, there is no hope for the two of them.
Exactly. It's definitely not fair to Tess to be put up on this pedestal where she can do no wrong. Nobody's perfect, but Kyle has always thought of her as perfect. To think of her any other way is an unfortunate challenge for him.

Leila:
Great update. Drinking too much isn't healthy April Anyway I hope you had a great 4th July
You know what? I actually don't drink. I did have a decent 4th of July, though.
I once mentioned 3 theories about Isabel. I remembered that at the beginning of the fic you mentioned that Isabel and Michael lived together. So i go with her being 'banned' from the family wealth but sometime she met Alex and left Michael for him. Alex has the money she was used to.
Oh, if I said that Michael and Isabel lived together, I made a mistake. They never lived together. Although she stayed with him in his apartment a lot. So she practically lived there with him, but she wasn't technically his roommate like Maria is.

Alison:
Hoo boy... I hope Mr Evans dies. He was a crotch and a half.
A crotch? :lol: Well . . . yeah, that's true. lol

Krista:
Hi hun! Just stopping by from my MIA-ness to say I'm loving where everything's headed. After all, it has to get worse before it gets better, right?
Right. You know me, that's how I like to write things.
Also, sort of almost done with the next part of my fic. Maybe up by Monday or Tuesday.
I'm happy to hear it!

Nove:
Tess just keeps screwing herself and Kyle consistently. Calling Max? Why?
That's a question that Max himself takes a stab at in this part.
I definitely don't see Michael falling for Isabel again. And I see Maria being too strong to not be able to defend herself from whatever Isabel may want to through at them.
Michael and Maria are definitely really solid, like you said. I'm not sure if anyone could break them up at this point.
Don't you love how much spark your story brings out of people? I think it's great. It's a testimony to what you can do.
Aw, thank you! :D I'll admit, I'm a junkie for feedback that really delves into the fic. When things start to get dramatic and controversial, I love reading all the different reactions to it, getting all the different perspectives. It helps me understand my own fic a lot more when I know what other people think of it.

tequathisy:
Max seemed to have lost his mind a little over Liz, but he was still working and willing to bend to Philip's will. Isabel appears to have openly defied him so I can't imagine that daddy dearest would have put her backin the will just like that.
If Phillip did change his will, he wouldn't change it to put Isabel back in. He'd probably change it to give his company to someone else who works for him, someone not Max.

spacegirl23:
Okay, so many possible implications when the older Evans does pass away. Max becomes a CEO, Isabel reappears, chaos ensues.
Yeah, Phillip Evans's death is a big deal and has consequences for everyone in the fic.

Christina:
Michael was right, sometimes sex leads to all kinds of problems, and I think that since the two of them jumped into sex and the "honeymoon phase" so quickly, that left them little time to actually talk about things.
Mmm-hmm. Part of the problem is that neither Tess nor Kyle has ever had a true, functional relationship. Tess was in a very destructive, dysfunctional relationship with Max for two years, and the only girl Kyle ever dated was Liz. And that barely even qualified as dating. So neither one of them had enough common sense to slow down and talk things out the way Michael did with Maria.
While Michael and Maria were together it was clear they were an exclusive couple, we didn't just get moments of them together having fun and being happy, but we also got time where they were talking about their feelings for each other and all that good stuff that a relationship needs.
Yes, exactly.
The question now is, when Phillip dies, will his willl have changed, or will it still include Max?
That's the big question. It's very unlikely that male-chauvenist (I think I spelled that wrong) Phillip Evans is going to leave anything for his wife and his daughter. His son is pretty much the only immediate family member who stands a chance of inheriting anything from him.

Sara:
I truly hope this isn't the end for Kyle and TEss. But I have to say, right now, it doesn't look good.
I know, it's sad, isn't it? It seems like, with every single part, they just dig themselves deeper and deeper into a hole.
I am sad that Kyle blacked out all his paintings of tess although maybe now, he can paint her as he really sees her and they won't look so much like Christina Aguilera but more like Tess Harding.
He's definitely got a clean slate, or rather a blank canvas, in front of him right now. He can start over with Tess if he wants to.

killjoy:
But unlike many here I don't think Kyle is acting childish....he just had his heart ripped out and stomped on.Everyone would be mad and not in the best mood over that.
I think you're right. Kyle's bad mood may be kind of annoying right now, just because it's so unlike him to be in a really bad mood. But like you said, he just had his heart broken. If the situation were reversed and he had been the one to use Tess as a rebound, I think a lot of people would be GLAD to see Tess getting so pissed off.
Michael and Maria are going strong and when it comes to April that means trouble is just around the bend....look at Kyle/Tess.....like many here I also think Phillip's heart attack will bring Isabel onto the scene,which will cause trouble.
Hmm. Well, you're all going to have to stay tuned on this.



Thanks so much for the feedback, everyone! I'm getting this update out ON TIME today! Yes!

Well, once in awhile I bring music by for three updates in a row. Today I'm bringing by "Wrong Choice" by The Lovely Feathers, which I actually recommended for Passion, too. It's, like, a top 5 song for me. I heard it on OTH once, and now I listen to it about every day. You can listen to it here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qvIE2vzvptg when you see :wink: if you want. Great song.

Author's Note: I'll be updating again on Thursday, like usual, but after that, things are going to get a bit weird. My summer classes will be over (thank God), and I'll be going home for 6 weeks. And of course, you all know that I'm one of those rare people who doesn't have any internet access at home. HOWEVER, I'm not going to be leaving you guys without an update for 6 weeks. I just don't have it in me to do that. AFTER THURSDAY, UPDATES WILL BE SWITCHING TO ONCE A WEEK FOR 6 WEEKS. They'll probably happen on MONDAYS. Once a week should be okay, I think. Anyone who's fallen behind with this fic will have a chance to catch up. ONCE MY FALL SEMESTER STARTS UP, I'LL BE UPDATING 3 TIMES A WEEK AGAIN. I'll actually be updating from my local library for these 6 weeks coming up. (Side note: I haven't set foot in this library for, like, a decade, so . . . :lol: Yeah, I'm dedicated to this fic.) One of these days, I'm just going to have to break down and start paying for Internet access from my home.

The super bright side of this is that I'm going to have a TREMENDOUS amount of time on my hands to actually finish writing this fic. Right now, I've written to page 1,104. You guys have read to page 834. So you're catching up with me! This break will assure that, when I do come back, I'll have enough written (hopefully the entire thing) so that I can continue frequent updates.

Anyway, I hate to do that to you guys, but I think it's workable.



Okay, got that out of the way! On with today's new part!









Part 49








Max sat in the waiting room of the emergency room for over an hour. No one was telling him anything, but in all fairness, he wasn’t asking, either. He had ridden on the ambulance with his father, seen the paramedics trying their best. Maybe it was stupid, but he’d tried to tell his dad he was there. Maybe that wasn’t even a comfort.

He sat in the waiting room with only two other people, a young couple who had rushed in with a baby in their arms. A baby with the flu. Max actually hoped their kid was okay, not because he cared about the kid, but because he had a bad feeling about the person he was waiting on.

“Mr. Evans?”

He stood up when a doctor stepped into the room and motioned him out into the hallway.

“How’s my father?” he asked.

“He suffered a very serious heart attack,” the doctor informed him.

Max nodded. The paramedics had already told him that, and that’s what he’d assumed from the moment he’d found him on the floor. Heart disease ran in his family. “But he’s gonna be okay,” he said. “Isn’t he?”

The doctor didn’t even have to say anything. His elongated pause said it all. “I’m sorry to have to tell you this,” he said finally, “but he flat-lined on the table. We weren’t able to revive him.”

Max’s reaction surprised even himself. He thought maybe he should feel a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach or stumble backwards as though the wind had just been knocked out of him. But all he did was look down at his feet and say, “Oh.”

“We tried everything we could,” the doctor assured him.

He was sure they had. They were doctors. That was their job. “He’s dead?” he said, not sure why he said it in such a questioning way. There wasn’t any doubt.

“Yes, he’s dead,” the doctor said sadly.

How ironic, Max thought. The man who had no heart had died of a heart attack.

“The damage was just too much. It’s doubtful anything could have prevented it at this point.”

Max started to wonder if that was true. Maybe nothing could have prevented the heart attack, but he could have called 911 earlier, right when he’d noticed his father’s condition during that meeting. They could have rushed him into the hospital sooner, and maybe if he’d had the heart attack there instead of at the office, there would have been less damage. Phillip would’ve been pissed that the meeting got interrupted, but that was a small thing in the scheme of things.

“Was it . . . did it hurt him?” he asked calmly.

“It probably did,” the doctor acknowledged, “but he’s in a better place now.”

Max grunted. If that better place was heaven . . . Phillip Evans might’ve headed farther south.

“Whatever pain he felt, he doesn’t feel it anymore,” the doctor continued on. “I’m very sorry for your loss.”

Max lifted his head to look him right in the eye. “Thank you,” he said. “I need to go make a phone call.”

“Of course.” The doctor nodded and turned to walk away.

Max took his cell phone out of his pocket and walked out to the parking lot as he dialed his home phone number. He’d have to call everybody, his mother first, and then all the people at the company. And he’d have to write up something to put in the newspaper. Or he could assign somebody to do that. There was a lot to do now. There was a lot to do.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Tess yawned as she climbed on the elevator with her morning cup of coffee in hand. She rode it down to the first floor, trying to remember what classes she had that day. During the middle of the semester, it all got so jumbled and boring. Statistics this morning, design in the afternoon, work after that . . . She yawned again and stepped off the elevator when the doors opened. She went to her mailbox in the lobby and opened it with her key. She pulled out the morning paper—she’d gotten very into reading that lately now that she had nothing better to do in the morning. Not long ago, she would’ve done Kyle in the morning. Good times.

She rode back up the elevator, still yawning, sipping on her coffee to wake herself up, and glancing down at the newspaper in her hand. When she read the story on the front page, her eyes bulged, and for a second, she couldn’t believe she was seeing things straight.

Phillip Evans was dead?

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Max stood in the kitchen, staring at the water pouring out of his sink. He was supposed to be washing his hands, but he was just standing there.

A knock at the door disrupted him. He turned off the water and dazedly made his way over to the door to answer it. Much to his surprise, it was Tess who stood on the other side. He had expected someone from work, or maybe his mother.

“Hey,” Tess said. “I realize we’ve kind of déjà-ed this vu. Except you were on this side of the door and I was on that side. And it was a different door, the door to my place. And there was a kiss involved and that’s never gonna happen again. I guess it’s not really déjà vu after all; I just . . .” She put an end to her frantic ramble and got down to it. “I heard about your dad. I’m so sorry.”

“Thank you,” Max said politely, one of the few times in his life when he’d ever been polite to her. “But it’s not that big of a deal.” He left the door open as he sauntered back into his kitchen. He’d never gotten to wash his hands.

“Of course it is,” Tess said, following him inside. “He was your father.”

He shrugged. “I guess.”

“You must be in shock or something, right?” she concluded. “Because this was really sudden.”

“Was it?” He lifted the handle of the sink and the water poured out. He ran his hands under it and muttered, “A fifty-three year old man with a stressful lifestyle, a family history of heart disease, and some notably unhealthy eating habits.” He shut the water off and grabbed a paper towel to dry his hands. “It’s not surprising.”

“But still . . .” Tess stood in the living room and flapped her hands against her sides, hopelessly trying to get him to respond the way she expected him to. “I’m sorry. I can only imagine how I would feel if my dad . . .”

“Yeah, well, you and your dad are a lot closer than me and my dad ever were,” he reminded her.

“Okay, but, no offense, Max, the guy was, like, your only friend.”

“He wasn’t my friend,” Max denied. “I didn’t even like him. Maybe I’m glad he’s gone.”

Tess narrowed her eyes in anger. “And maybe that’s a lie. You may be an uncaring, unfeeling jerk, Max, and your dad may have been one of the most despicable people to ever walk the planet. But he was still your dad. This still matters to you.”

“And why does it matter to you, Tess?” he asked outright, eager to shift the focus of the conversation from him to her. He was so much better at figuring other people out. “You didn’t like the guy any more than I did. And you hate me.”

“You always think you have it all figured out, don’t you?”

“I always do.” He grinned. “The reason why you called to check in on me after my car accident, the reason why you’re here right now offering your condolences . . . this isn’t sympathy. This is punishment.”

“Punishment?” she echoed quizzically. “You think I’m punishing you?”

“No, I think you’re punishing you, Tess,” he shot back. “This has little to do with making me feel better and everything to do with making yourself feel worse. Now, I didn’t sleep at all last night, so forgive me if my analysis is a little off.” He cleared his throat and let it all out, all the things she didn’t want to hear but had to know, subconsciously, were true. “You wanna get back together with Valenti and make babies someday. Congrats. But in the meantime, you’re worried, scared of what he’ll think of you now that he knows you’re not perfect. You’re not even sure if he’ll take you back, but if he does . . . you’re asking yourself if you even deserve that. That’s why you’re here, making yourself miserable just by being in my presence. You’re practically flaying yourself alive over first love.” He shrugged. “It’s almost romantic.”

“Yeah, well, I could say the same to you,” she returned. “Are you even gonna call Liz and let her know about this?”

“Why would I?” he asked in response. “She completely removed me from her life, cut me out like the cancer I am. You’d be wise to do the same.” He didn’t want to have these little conversations with his ex anymore. He wasn’t getting anything out of them, and he was sure she wasn’t, either. “I actually am trying to help,” he informed her.

She waited a moment, then said, “I believe you.”

Well. That was a start.

“Fine, I’m outta here,” she said, spinning around, heading back towards the door. On her way out, she mumbled, “I really am sorry about your dad, Max.” And then she shut the door.

He leaned back against the sink and crossed his arms over his chest. At least one of them was sorry.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

:wink:

There was nothing to do at the art museum that evening. No one had come in all day. Michael was so bored he was actually sweeping the floor for fun. Luckily, Maria was working with him. She couldn’t stop talking about what she had just read in the paper. Max’s dad had died.

“I mean, this is just crazy,” she said. “Phillip Evans is like Star Wars or 90210 or Ronald Regan. He just doesn’t die.”

“No, Ronald Regan is dead,” Michael informed her, setting the broom back down inside the supply closet. He went to join her at the front desk.

“Really?” She tilted her head to the side and asked, “When did he die?”

“2004.” His head was full of random, useless knowledge.

“Oh.” She shrugged. “He was our president, right?”

He shot her an incredulous look.

“Kidding,” she said with a smile. “I know he was our Vice President.”

He laughed a little and let that one slide on account of both himself and Maria being too young to remember Regan’s presidency.

“But do you get what I’m saying?” she went on. “This is just too surreal. I bet good money that that man was gonna outlive the cockroaches.”

“Well, I guess it was just his time.”

“I guess.” Maria set the paper down on the counter and turned to face him. “Did you ever meet him?” she asked.

“Once,” he replied. “He didn’t like me very much.”

“Why the hell not?”

“Because, by his standards, I was a poor guy.”

“Oh. Not good enough for his bitch of a daughter?”

“Well, he didn’t really give a damn about her, either.”

“So I’m guessing he’s not up by the pearly gates right now,” Maria concluded. “Huh. Death just kinda happens, you know? You blink and you’re gone.” She moved in closer to him and brushed her knee against his flirtatiously. “Kinda makes you feel like you should . . . you know, live life to the fullest.”

He knew exactly what she was getting at. The mischievous grin that slowly settled on her face made it obvious. They were the only two in the building . . . and if he was going to live life to the fullest, he was going to live it with her.

A minute later, Michael pressed Maria back against the wall, capturing her lips in a searing kiss. She arched her entire body up against his and slipped her tongue into his mouth. She was an out of control woman, and he loved that about her.

She balled his shirt up in her fists, then settled down enough to undo the tedious buttons and pull it open. He tore his mouth away from hers for a moment to watch her hands on his chest, smoothing over his skin before sliding the shirt down over his shoulders. He shrugged it to the floor and moved in closer to her, literally pinning her between the wall and . . . a hard place.

She turned her head to the side and gasped sharply as he reached down and urged her dress upward. (She always complained about having to wear that dress when she worked, but it was a good thing tonight. A very good thing.) He shoved her dress up to her stomach, and she instinctively brought one leg up to hook around his waist. He pushed her miniscule thong aside and hoisted her up into his arms. They were most definitely living.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Max sat in his family’s living room with his entire family. They’d all flown in from various parts of the country to mourn Phillip’s death. It was almost comical: Even as a corpse, that man still had control over all the people around him. It was as though he had summoned all his family members to be there. Nobody could really be that sad.

He sat next to his mother, listening to her cry. Once in awhile, when he sneaked a glance at her out of the corner of his eye, though, he noted that she wasn’t crying, that she didn’t even look sad. But when she saw him looking at her, she started crying again, almost as if she were just going through the motions, doing what was expected of her.

Max looked around the expansive room at everyone standing there. Aunts and uncles he hadn’t seen in his entire lifetime were there to express their bleeding sympathies and wipe tears from the corners of their eyes. Younger cousins whined that they weren’t going to have anyone to pay for their college expenses anymore. No one had been able to get a hold of Isabel. No one seemed to care. All anyone cared about was having the appropriate reactions to Phillip’s death. And everything was indeed very appropriate.

When he could no longer take all the sounds—the whimpering, the sniffling, the choking sobs—Max got up and left the room. He made his way down the hallway to his father’s library. It had always been just his. Max opened the door to the library and peered inside. It’d been years since he’d stepped foot in there. He’d stolen a book from the top shelf when he’d been twelve, and he’d accidentally spilled water on it. It was still readable, but his father had forbade him to go in there ever since.

There was a fireplace, and a picture of Phillip himself above the fireplace. Why any man needed a self-portrait in his own library was a mystery. The desk was cluttered with books, some opened, some unopened. The guy must’ve been in the process of reading them all. Apparently he hadn’t finished any of them. Now he never would.

Max shut the door to the library and slowly walked over to the desk. Even now, he was still worried about getting caught in there. How stupid was that?

He sat down in his father’s chair, and a slightly morbid feeling settled over him. But chairs were meant to be sat in; someone had to sit there. And if he didn’t, who would?

Max picked up one of the books and immediately set it back down again. His father had boring taste in literature. There was no need to be like him to such an extent. He could sit in his chair and sit in his library, but he didn’t have to be like him. Not exactly.

Max sighed heavily and closed his eyes. He wanted this whole thing to be over with. He was the one who got stuck doing everything, planning the entire funeral, making all the arrangements. He just wanted it to be over, put his father in ground, cover him up with dirt. It was so simple, but it felt like it took such a damn long time.

He opened his eyes again and felt a tear slip out the side of one eye, steadily rolling down his cheek. It was an annoying feeling, but he chose not to acknowledge it.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Kyle went out alone to a club he and Michael had gone to with Maria and Billy once. It was really a hole in the wall, but the bartender there didn’t check IDs, so that was a plus. He sat at the bar, sipping his way through a beer. It was his first one, and it was going to be his only. He’d learned his lesson with alcohol. Too much of it made you do stupid things, things you thought you wanted to do until you found out you were being used as a rebound.

He was about to get up and leave when a tall, shapely brunette sat down beside him. “Hey,” she said, “you’re Kyle Valenti, right?”

Fame, he thought. That’s interesting. “Do I know you?” he asked her, wrapping his hands around his glass.

“No,” she said, “but I know you.” She laughed at herself and said, “Okay, this is way less stalker-y than it sounds. Do you wanna . . . do you wanna go someplace?”

His eyes grew wide. Was this . . . was she . . .? “Uh, what?”

“Someplace quieter,” she elaborated, grabbing his beer from him, taking a drink.

He was taken aback, didn’t know what to say. He didn’t even know her name, but she had a definite predator manner about her, like she wanted something from him, like she wanted something he’d only ever given to Tess and never thought he’d give to anyone else.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Maria cried out in pleasure as Michael rammed her back against the wall, right next to the Mona Lisa painting. She smiled and tightened her legs around his waist as he moved within her. She ran one hand through her hair, grinning dazedly as a flurry of expletives left his mouth. His hips kept slamming hers back against the wall, making a rhythmic thudding sound as they became one person. They were always one person.

A short while later, she found herself tossed over the counter, Michael’s hands on her hips as he fucked her senseless. And it really was just fucking. They didn’t often throw down like this, but when they did, they really did.

He tangled his hand in her hair and massaged her scalp as he came. She smiled and lifted her torso up so that she could kiss him. His exhausted mouth could barely function, and she laughed. Nobody else knew him like this. Nobody.

They closed the museum half an hour later than they were supposed to, once they were done having their fun. After cleaning the counters and spraying a tremendous amount of air freshener to rid the place of its sex smell, they turned off all the lights and walked out of the museum. Michael locked the door with a sort of goofy/happy expression on his face. Later, he would probably be mortified when she told him that Mr. Buckley had walked in on them and quickly fled, shielding his eyes. It was a lie, of course, but it would be fun to see him freak out a little bit.

As they were walking to the parking lot, Maria tossed her newspaper into the trashcan. A picture of Phillip Evans stared up at the night sky as she and Michael headed towards their car.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

“You had sex in the museum?” Tess remarked as she loaded dozens of dirty dishes into the dishwasher. “Hot.”

“Against the wall and over the counter.” Maria smirked as she leaned against Tess’s kitchen counter.

“Rough and tumble,” her friend said.

“Michael never ceases to amaze me.”

“He’s a stallion.”

“Sure is,” Maria agreed. “So what’ve you been up to lately? Any progress on the Kyle front?”

Tess shut the dishwasher and turned it on. “Not really,” she admitted. “I haven’t really spoken to him yet.”

“What? Tess!”

“Well, he hasn’t made an effort, either. That makes me really nervous. I keep expecting him to call or come by and see me, but he never does.”

“He was supposed to. I told him to,” Maria grumbled, upset that Kyle had backed down on his word. There was only so much urging she could do. If Kyle and Tess didn’t follow through with the promises they made to her, nothing was going to get accomplished.

“And lately . . .” Tess trailed off, sighed, shook her head, and walked off into her bedroom.

“Lately what, Tess?” Maria asked, following her.

“Nothing.”

“No, something.”

Tess sat down on her bed and looked at Maria pleadingly. “Okay, don’t get mad at me,” she started off, “because it’s not like I want to get back together with Max . . .”

“Oh, no.” Maria hated the sound of this. Absolutely hated it.

“But lately I’ve been seeing him.”

Maria held in her rage and sat down beside her friend. “How much of him?” she asked, cringing.

“No, it’s not like that.” Tess rolled her eyes. “It’s . . . I went over to his place yesterday to see how he was doing . . . you know, with the death of his dad and all.”

Maria frowned disappointedly. “Why would you do that?”

“Because . . . I don’t know,” Tess confessed. “Max has this whole theory that I’m punishing myself, that I’m not fighting my hardest for Kyle because I feel like I don’t deserve to have him back.”

Maria looked down at her lap. As much as she hated to admit it, it didn’t sound wrong.

“Do you think he’s right?” Tess asked fearfully.

Simply because she refused to agree with that bastard on anything, Maria replied, “I think he’s very good at getting inside people’s heads, especially yours.”

“Yeah,” Tess agreed quietly. “You know, sometimes I wonder what my life would be like if I’d never met him. Max, I mean. What do you think it would be like?”

“Well, he never would’ve driven a wedge between us,” Maria mused, “and I never would’ve moved out and moved in with Michael. He and I might never have fallen in love, and you and Kyle might never have even known each other. And I never would’ve had hot museum sex.”

“Oh, can’t have that.”

Maria laughed a little before getting serious again. “Okay, you wanna know what I think, for real? I think you should march on over to Kyle’s place right now and tell him you love him. Because you do.” She smirked before adding, “And for God’s sakes, stop ‘seeing’ Max, because no good can come of that.”

“I wish it were that simple,” Tess mumbled.

“It is. You’re just making it harder than it has to be,” Maria told her. “Look, it’s Valentine’s Day tomorrow. Wouldn’t it be nice to have someone to celebrate with?” She knew Tess hated spending the holidays alone, any holiday. But Valentine’s Day was the worst. “Whenever you’re alone on Valentine’s Day, you lock herself in her room and listen to Weezer’s ‘Hold Me’ for hours on end.”

“Okay, that hint was not subtle,” Tess remarked.

Maria shrugged. “Wasn’t meant to be.”

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Tess took a deep breath and knocked on the door to Kyle’s apartment. There’d been a time not long ago when she would have just let herself in. She couldn’t do that anymore.

When a tall, curvaceous brunette opened the door, she thought for a moment that she had the wrong apartment. “Um, hi . . .” She even glanced up at the number printed next to the door. No, it was 522. “Is Kyle around?”

“He’s in the shower,” the girl replied. No, she wasn’t a girl. She was a woman. Tess suddenly felt very inadequate.

“Oh. Okay, well . . .” She took a few steps back, horrified by the entire situation. The girl—woman—was wearing a thin white slip. Inside, there were pillows strewn about on the floor. “Clearly I interrupted something,” Tess realized, “so I’m just gonna--”

“No, you didn’t--”

“I’m just gonna go.” She turned and fled down the hallway, running down the stairs because she didn’t have the patience to stand and wait for the elevator. She supposed she’d always just taken it for granted that she was the only girl in Kyle’s life. Apparently that wasn’t the case anymore.

It hurt.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Kyle came out of the bathroom fully clothed and found his houseguest Morgan standing at the door. “Who was that?” he asked her.

“I don’t know,” she replied, shutting the door. “Some blonde girl. She was looking for you. She was pretty.”

Kyle immediately began to draw conclusions. Blonde, pretty, looking for me . . . There were plenty of beautiful blondes out there, but most of them weren’t looking for him. He wanted to get his hopes up and think it was Tess, but he doubted that. She was probably at home calling Max, checking in on him because she cared so much. “Probably just Maria,” he muttered.

“She was wearing pink,” Morgan added.

Oh, no. Maria wore pink sometimes, too, but chances were . . .

Oh, shit.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Max sat in his father’s old office yesterday—it was an office that was bigger than most houses—growing increasingly impatient as a team of half a dozen lawyers buzzed about him, trying to figure out what the hell was going on with Phillip Evans’s damn will.

“This is ridiculous,” Max bit out angrily. “The man’s been dead for two days. We should’ve read the will within the first two hours.”

“It’s not that simple, Max,” his father’s personal attorney said. He was the one overseeing the reading of the will. There was only one issue: it wasn’t being read.

“It should be,” Max growled. “Get the will, read it. Assuming you’re capable.”

“We’ve been over this,” the lawyer went on as calmly as he could. “We can’t read the will until we’re sure nothing was changed. I need to hear back from my colleagues before we can proceed with anything.”

“And how long will that take?”

“Four days at the most.”

“Four days?” Max shrieked. Absolutely ridiculous. “That sounds like a whole lot of bureaucratic nonsense to me. You’re incompetent. All of you.” He got up out of his father’s office chair and stormed towards the door. He stopped on his way out, though, and asked, “What was he trying to have changed?”

“I’m not at liberty to discuss that.”

“Who inherits his company?” he guessed.

“I’m not at liberty to--”

“Son of a bitch,” Max muttered furiously. If his dad didn’t leave him that company . . . it was the one good thing he stood to inherit from him. The one good thing. “You boys had best get this figured out soon,” he advised on his way out the door. “I’ve got a funeral to get to.”

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Phillip Evans’s funeral service and burial went off without a hitch. Everything went exactly as Max had planned for it to go. His family members wept, though he himself had no tears to cry. One of his uncles got up and spoke about him. One of his aunts led everyone in prayer. People who worked for Phillip stood in the back of the church saying and doing nothing, as though they were still afraid he would fire them.

The drive to the cemetery was quick and easy. Max drove, his mother in the passenger seat. She didn’t speak at all, except to tell him that he’d done an excellent job planning the funeral. He agreed with her on that, and the rest was silence.

They buried Phillip right and proper, dropped roses on the casket before they lowered it into the ground, dropped dirt on the roses. It was so easy. Max kept thinking it should be harder.

Once the man was literally six feet under, the crowd began to clear out. People Max didn’t even know patted him on the shoulder and expressed their sympathy and reiterated what a nice job he had done with the funeral. They said Phillip would be proud. His mother left before he did. She had to get back to the house for the wake. In typical Evans fashion, it wasn’t going to be a small event. It was practically going to be a party. Max knew he should get going, but he didn’t want to be there.

He stayed standing above his father’s open grave for a longer time, probably longer than he should have. The entire cemetery began to clear out, yet he didn’t move a muscle. He stared down at the casket that housed his father’s body and had a completely impulsive thought to climb down there, open it, and punch his dead dad’s face. But he refrained, of course, and just kept standing there as the sun started to go down. It was just hovering about the horizon when he heard the crackle of leaves as someone stepped up beside him. He heard her shoes on the grass, and he smelled her perfume in the air. And then he heard her voice.

“Hey.”

For a minute, he didn’t want to get his hopes up and believe it was really her. So he didn’t look. He just stood there and listened to his heart pounding rapidly in his chest. He had a heart.

“I heard about this on the news yesterday.” She took one more step forward, and out of the corner of his eye, he saw her dark hair blowing in the wind. He smiled a little. Liz.

“I’m really sorry, Max,” she said quickly, quietly.

He kept staring down at the casket, still fighting the urge to jump down there and open it.

“I hope you don’t mind me coming,” she went on.

“Why did you come?” he asked, still not risking a glance at her. He was afraid if he looked into her eyes, she’d disappear.

“Just thought I’d pay my respects,” she replied lamely. It was a total lie and Max knew it. Liz hated his dad just about as much as his dad had hated her.

“You respect him?”

“No, not really.”

He smiled again, a small, close-mouthed smile.

“I just . . . wanted to see how you’re doing,” she admitted, her voice becoming even more of a whisper. He could barely hear her, so he was forced to look at her. He turned his head mere centimeters at a time, and finally, he was face to face with her for the first time in what felt like a long time. She looked like less of train wreck than she had when she’d left town a month ago. That liveliness in her eyes, the thing he’d almost destroyed with his own selfish desire to control her . . . that was back. She looked into his eyes and frowned, apparently noting that his liveliness was gone. It was dead, just like his dad.

“I’m fine,” he told her, managing to sound assuring. He looked back down at the casket as the sun continued to set, and she just stood there with him, not saying anything.








TBC . . .

-April
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LOVE IS MICHAEL AND MARIA.
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April
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Part 50

Post by April »

spacegirl23:
Anywho, hope that Tess does fight for their couplehood. I loved them together.
Tess definitely wants to fight for Kyle, but that's easier said than done right now. They're both making this incredibly difficult on themselves.

Leila:
Michael and Maria are dirty people.I love it.
:lol: You would.
Liz is back. She should have stayed away. That would have been better for her.
Leaving town was definitely good for Liz, so coming back might be tricky. We'll have to see if she decides to stay.

Sara:
LOVED the hot museum sex. I love that you made Michael a complete nerd (at least that was how I envisioned him) and now he is this studly sexy animal....I love it.
He's definitely come out of his shell, hasn't he? ;)
Excellent update April......and ps, I don't have internet at home either. I get enough of it at work, I don't need it at home too!!!
:lol: Awesome! I thought I was the only one!

nibbles:
April, I'm annoyed at you. You're making me feel sorry for Max the rapist and I don't want to feel sorry for him. I am very content hating him and hoping bad things happen. Then Liz showed up and I was happy for him.
Really, I'm making you feel sorry for him? That's good, I guess. That means that Max isn't a two-dimensional villain.

Nove:
Liz is seemingly better from her absence from Max, I'm glad. I hope she is able to maintain that. I'm looking forward to getting to know what she is like now.
Liz is still Liz, but she's not so much Max's Liz anymore. She left town and got stronger.
Clearly she needs to sort through her issues completely before she does anything else or before she tries to build back anything with Kyle.
Yeah, for sure. I know there has been a lot of talk about how screwed up Max is and how screwed up Liz is, but in all actuality, Tess has just about as many issues to work through as they do.

Alison:
Maria and Michael... gosh I just love them. Still wanna marry them.
:lol: I think I married you to the entire Core Four once, didn't I? Well, in that case, you can renew your vows to 521-Michael and Maria. ;)

I'm still reading Hiding Beneath, by the way. So good.

BLONDIE:
Now I feel sorry for both Kyle and Tess. Kyle for hearing Tess leaving Max a message and Tess for seeing that woman in Kyle's appt.
Lately it's just been a series of misunderstandings and miscommunication with them, hasn't it?

Eva:
I wasn't that surprised to see Liz at the funeral. That's just the way Liz is. She cares.
Yep, she cares. She always care about Max, even if it's not in her best interest.

Ginger: Thanks for reading!

Christina:
It'll be very interesting to see where Max goes from here. I think this is the first real crossroads he's been at in his whole life and if he's going to make changes, he has to make them now.
Yeah, Max is at the point right now where the choices he makes are going to have a direct impact on the rest of his life. Major crossroads.
But right now I'm mixed about him. I like the idea of him and Liz together, especially if she brings out the best in him, but I hate that he still doesn't feel bad about what he did to Maria. And I want him to feel bad and genuinely apologize for what he did to her.
Honestly, you'd better not hold your breath on an apology from Max. I thought about writing a scene where Max would apologize to Maria for what he did to her, but I felt like, if I wrote it, it would probably come off as contrived and cheesy. Plus, even though Max feels kind of guilty about what he did, I think it might be slightly out of character for him to ever admit that guilt to anyone besides Liz. So he'll never offer a verbal apology to Maria, although they are going to have some scenes together in the future that are kind of interesting.
As far as Tess and Kyle are concerned, I'm so annoyed with how little they are communicating right now. I know, I know, they keep catching each other at the wrong time, but one of them has to grow some balls and talk to the other one before the Hawaii trip rolls around.
Unless Kyle and Tess can fix things fast, the Hawaii trip may not happen. :(

killjoy:
Actually I liked the new update.I don't think Kyle slept with the woman like Tess thinks but nice for once to see her kind of get hit with the pain instead of Kyle.Due to the fact most writers on this board are female we mostly see the guys get jealous....nice for once to see Tess getting a bit of the green eyed monster.
Seems like you're embracing boy-power. ;) I like it.


Thanks for the feedback, everyone!

REMEMBER, this is the LAST UPDATE BEFORE I SWITCH TO ONCE-A-WEEK (MONDAY) UPDATES for awhile. Luckily, you won't have to wait long for the next one. Monday the 13th is when I'll post again.

Kyle quotes Forrest Gump in this part, just for reference.
;)









Part 50








“So she was pretty?”

Tess forced her expression to remain calm. “Gorgeous,” she corrected as she and Maria crossed the street at the crosswalk that evening. “Looked like a supermodel.” They were on their way to the movie theater.

“Damn, I didn’t know Kyle could score like that,” Maria said. “No offense.”

“It’s okay. I’m too short to be a supermodel.”

Maria smiled sympathetically as they walked up onto the store-lined sidewalk. “Do you really think they were . . . doing that, though?” she asked skeptically.

“I don’t know,” Tess replied with a shrug. “It looked like they had.” It made her sick to her stomach just to think about it.

“I can’t believe it,” Maria said as they came up to the movie theater. “Kyle’s a slut. Oh, speak of the slutty . . .” She slowed her pace, and Tess froze in place when she saw Michael and Kyle approaching the theater from the opposite direction. They stopped in front of her.

“Kyle?” Tess said.

“Tess?”

“Michael,” Maria mimicked.

He smiled at her. “Maria.”

Tess glanced around in confusion. “What’s going on here?”

Maria laughed nervously. “Well, this is sure a coincidence, you two running into each other like this.”

“Sure is,” Michael agreed.

“You guys are horrible liars,” Tess informed them. She turned to Maria accusingly. “You said this was a girls’ night.”

“You said this was a guys’ night,” Kyle snapped at Michael.

“We were gonna see Bride Wars,” Tess reminded her friend.

“We were gonna see Bride . . . Racecars,” Kyle said to Michael.

Maria shrugged exaggeratedly. “Well, now that you’re both here, you might as well have a little chit-chat. Right?” She smiled encouragingly, then grabbed Michael’s hand and pulled him away. “Come on,” she said as they headed for the entrance of the theater. “Let’s go do it in the theater.”

Tess sighed and watched Michael and Maria walk away. What a set-up. She should have expected it. “So . . .” She flapped her arms against her sides and came right out and asked Kyle, “Where’s your girlfriend?”

Kyle wrinkled his forehead in confusion. “Who?”

“Your girlfriend.” She hated sounding like such a bitter shrew, but she wanted to know. “I went over to your place earlier and saw her there. Gee, you didn’t waste any time, did you?” That was what really bothered her. Kyle said he loved her, but how could he move on so quickly?

“You mean Morgan?” Kyle asked.

“She looked more like a Veronica to me. Or Stipperella.”

“No, that’s Morgan. She’s--”

“Relax, Kyle, it’s okay,” she cut in. “You can date who you wanna date. I just didn’t think you’d move on so quickly. That’s all.”

“I didn’t,” he told her. “Morgan was a customer.”

Her eyes bulged. “What?” Kyle was a male prostitute now?

“Yeah, she . . . no, not like that.” He made a face. “She’s an art enthusiast. She heard about me through the grapevine, asked me to paint her picture. So I did. I met her at a bar, brought her back to my apartment, painted her picture, got paid for it. If it’s any consolation, it sucked. I had to give her half her money back.”

Tess shifted from side to side, considering the validity of his story. “You painted her.”

“Yes.”

Something still didn’t seem right to her. She couldn’t help being suspicious. “Then why were you in the shower?”

“I'm clumsy. I got paint in my eye and my hair, had to get it out.”

“Oh.” Now the story seemed valid. “Okay.”

“Okay?” he echoed. “You do realize, if some hot chick did wanna hook up with me, I wouldn’t need your permission.”

“I know,” she said. “Kyle, I didn’t say that.”

“You didn’t have to.”

“Quit putting words in my mouth,” she bit out angrily. He was just so determined to be mad at her.

“I will, once you quit obsessing over Max.”

“Obsessing?” she shrieked.

“Yeah, I overheard you calling him the other day, checking in on him after his car accident.”

“Oh, so you were eavesdropping again.”

“Well . . . yes, technically yes,” he admitted. “I heard you calling him.”

“Fine, put in me in jail, but I don’t see why I should be forbidden to make a phone call.”

“It’s just not a good idea to call a monster, Tess. Or invite him into your house. Or kiss him.”

She rolled her eyes. “Fine, if it makes you feel better to think of me as the bad guy, think of me as the bad guy; but it’s only because you can’t accept your own inadequacies.” She grunted, quite pissed off herself now. “You know, it’s no wonder that Morgan girl didn’t wanna hook up with the drama queen that is you. She must be a lot smarter than me.” The last part just kind of came out. It was a mean thing to say. It was an insult. But what Kyle said next was far worse.

“That’s not a difficult thing to be, Tess.”

Outraged that the one person who had promised to always care about her would say such a thing, Tess slapped him hard across the face. She was so shocked to have done that; she held her left hand over her mouth to keep from crying. How had it come to this? This was Kyle. This was her and Kyle. This was so wrong.

She blinked back tears, whirled around, and ran away from him before things got even worse. That was, if things could possibly get any worse than they already were. She’d never felt so horrible in her entire life.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Max and Liz strolled through campus that evening. Liz was parked in the commuter parked lot. He figured the least he could do was walk her to her car.

“So my mom managed to pull a few strings and get me a job at the vet’s office,” Liz said as they walked past the tutoring center. “I’ve been cleaning up dog puke for the last few weeks.”

Max nodded. “Glamorous.”

“Not really, but I like it,” she said. “It feels weird not to be in class, though. I haven’t quite gotten used to it.”

Max looked down at his feet as he walked, trying his hardest not to look at her. “I don’t even bother with class anymore,” he mumbled. “Waste of time.” He’d barely attended class all semester. He was going to have to offer up some money in exchange for passing grades. Or he could just drop out. “Does it feel strange to be back?” he asked Liz, chancing a look at her. She really looked beautiful. She was dressed all in black, but she looked a lot less dark than she had when she’d left a month ago.

“Oh, yeah,” she replied. “I was such a train wreck when I left.”

“And now?”

“Now . . . I’m doing better,” she said convincingly. “I have a job. I’m taking a couple online classes.” She lowered her voice before adding, “I even met someone.”

Max bristled but kept walking. He didn’t want to show a reaction.

“His name’s Matt,” she went on, sounding as though she’d rehearsed telling him this part. “He works with me. He’s a really nice guy.”

Which is something I’m not, he thought, and never will be. “Good,” he said. “I’m glad for you.” And he was. As much as he was jealous, he really was glad.

“What about you?” she asked. “What’s going on in your life?”

“Dad dying, remember?”

“Besides that.”

He sighed heavily, not even sure where to start. “I may or may not be inheriting his company.”

She looked at him questioningly.

“Don’t ask,” he said. “I drove drunk. I kissed Tess. I got beat up by Kyle. No, you didn’t miss much.”

“Sounds like I did,” she remarked. “That’s probably a good thing, though. I just had to get away.”

“But you’re back now,” he pointed out as they walked by the campus rec center, nearing the commuter parking lot.

“Well, not for all time,” she made sure to clarify.

“Right.” He knew that.

“Just for tonight,” she reiterated. “I just wanted to see how you were doing.” She made a face. “Is that stupid?”

“A little,” he answered honestly. He’d never done anything good to her. In the end, he’d chosen his career over her, and now even that was in jeopardy. She didn’t owe him anything. He hadn’t expected her to show up at the funeral at all. “So are you leaving tonight?” he asked.

“I hate night-driving,” she said. “I thought I’d just get a hotel room.”

“I can get you one,” he told her. “Free of charge.”

“Max--”

“No, I insist.” What was the point of all those hotels if he couldn’t pull a few favors for a . . . a friend.

“I think that may be a little inappropriate,” she said, stopping, turning to look at him. “But I’m willing to take the room if you let me pay for it myself.”

He’d never been a gentleman before. There was no reason to start now. “Okay,” he agreed. Maybe he could at least finagle her a discount.

“Okay,” she echoed. They walked onward towards the parking lot, in silence most of the way. Neither of them had ever been one for talking.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Maria woke up early to get all beautified the next day. It was a big, important day. She wasn’t going to waste a second of it. Once she was done getting ready, she slipped back into the bedroom. Michael was still asleep. He slept in a lot later these days than he used to, probably because she wore him out almost every night.

“Michael, wake up!” she exclaimed, running forward, jumping on the bed. “It’s Valentine’s Day!”

“Is it?” he mumbled, rubbing his eyes but not opening them. “I forgot.” He tried to roll over onto his side, but she grabbed his shoulder and pushed it down to the mattress.

“No, you didn’t,” she said, seeing right through him. “Nice try.” She bent forward and pressed a kiss to his bare chest. “Mmm,” she murmured, resting her head on his skin. “I love . . .” She wanted to say it. She wanted to say that thing that couples said when they felt so strongly about each other. But she was still a little nervous. “Valentine’s Day,” she filled in. And that was true. She did love Valentine’s Day.

“Me, too,” he said.

“Do you now?”

“Yeah, actually.” He smoothed his sleepy hands against her sides. “I’m gonna make it a great day for you.”

She lifted her head up off his chest and smiled at him. “Starting now?”

He grinned. “If you want.”

Her hormones immediately kicked in. She forced herself back up into a sitting position and swung one leg over his midsection so that she was straddling him. He propped himself up on his elbows, and she leaned down to kiss him. “You know,” she said in between kisses as her hair fell forward to curtain their faces. “I’ve never had a boyfriend on V-day before.”

“Never?” he asked.

“No. I’ve had boys.” She tickled her hands across his chest and smiled happily. “Now I have you. So much better.” She kissed him again, and he laughed.

“Oh, this is the way to wake a man up.”

“Yeah, you’re definitely up.” She was about to slide lower, maybe give him a little something, but she was stopped by the very distinct sound of Kyle clearing his throat. She made a face and turned around to find their friend standing in the doorway to the bedroom. “Kyle?” What the hell was he doing there?

“Tess slapped me last night,” he said. “She slapped me, guys.”

Michael lay back down and draped one arm over his eyes. “We heard you the first time.”

“You deserved it,” Maria told him, settling in beside Michael. “You called her dumb.”

“Foot in my mouth. I didn’t mean to,” he insisted. “And the whole time, I was just standing there thinking, ‘Please God, make me a bird, so I can fly far, far far away.’”

Maria rolled her eyes. “Kyle, I am more than willing to help you and Tess with your relationship drama . . . but not today.” She placed her hand on Michael’s chest, right over his heart. “It’s Valentine’s Day.”

“I know, I’ve been listening to ‘Hold Me’ by Weezer all morning,” Kyle said.

Maria raised her eyebrows at that. That was the same thing Tess did. How kindred.

“I’m gonna go,” Kyle decided. “Sorry to . . . interrupt.” He gave them a backwards wave as he headed out into the hallway. He stopped on his way to the door, though, and turned around. “You think I’m the only one alone today?” he asked.

“No, it just feels like it,” Michael assured him.

“Take comfort in the fact that at least Max is alone today, too,” Maria said. Finally, thankfully, the female population of Santa Fe seemed to have figured out that Max was an extreme asshole who deserved to be alone on the most romantic day of the year.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Liz opened the door to her hotel room when Max knocked. She held a bag of Lays potato chips and a Snickers bar from the vending machine down the hallway in her hand.

“Hey,” he greeted.

“Hey,” she returned, smiling nervously, holding up the junk food. “Breakfast of champions.”

“Let me feed you,” he said.

Her eyes grew wide. “What?”

He realized how sexual that sounded and rephrased. “I can call downstairs and order you breakfast. They’ll bring it to your room. It’s quite a meal.”

“No, this is fine,” she said. “Thanks.” She set her food down on the table in her room and slipped outside the room, shutting the door. Apparently she was none too eager to be in close quarters with him. She was smart again.

“So are you leaving?” he asked her.

“Yeah, I guess,” she replied. “I don’t have to work until Wednesday, but . . .” She shook her head. “I shouldn’t stay.”

“Why not?” he asked. Selfishly, that was exactly what he wanted her to do. “Because of Matt? How serious are you two?”

She rolled her eyes. “That’s really none of your business.”

“Ooh, very serious.”

She said nothing to either deny or confirm that.

“I’m kidding,” he told her. He really didn’t care what she and Mr. Nice Guy were doing together. He really didn’t.

“I’m not staying, Max,” she told him decidedly. “This whole thing, me being back here . . . it was for one night only. You know that, right?”

He swallowed hard. “Of course.” She’d made that very clear last night, that she wasn’t staying, and she was making it very clear now. He was . . . he was clear.

“I’m gonna leave,” she told him, “soon.”

“I know.”

“I just wanted to make sure you were doing okay. That’s the only reason why I came back.”

He nodded, happy that at least she didn’t hate him. “You realize I don’t deserve that, don’t you?”

“I know.” She reached back behind her, turned the doorknob, and slipped inside the room again. And Max supposed that was goodbye. He wasn’t going to try to convince her to stay just so he could ruin her life some more. She was on a good path now, and as much as he still wanted her, he wanted to make sure she stayed on that path even more.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Michael took Maria to the park that morning for a picnic brunch. No, it wasn’t a terribly original Valentine’s date, and it was more than a little cheesy, but Maria seemed to like it. They were surrounded by other couples who had the same idea for the holiday, but it seemed like it was just the two of them there.

“Okay, seriously, when you first saw me, what did you think?” she asked as she bit into a chocolate chip cookie.

“In algebra class?”

“Mmm-hmm.”

He sat back and smiled at her. “I thought . . . that you were completely crazy.”

She laughed. “Nice. I thought you were completely adorable. And sweet. And kinda cute.”

He frowned, feigning offense. “Just kinda?”

“Well, you weren’t really my type.”

“Oh, I see.” He chuckled lightly. He was so glad he wasn’t her type, and he was even more glad she didn’t go for that type anymore.

She took another bite of her cookie and said, “Now tell me the truth: How freaked out were you when I first moved in with you? Like that first night.”

“Hey, I was just trying to stay sane.”

“God, I was such a freeloader,” she acknowledged. “Oh, do you remember when I crawled into bed with you that first night?” She laughed. “I swear, you almost had a stroke.”

“I just wanted to be alone.”

“You were depressed.”

“Very depressed,” he agreed.

“Yeah, for the longest time, you acted like you didn’t want me there.”

“Well, I didn’t, at first. But then I kinda got used to having you around, and then I liked having you around.”

“Aw.” She beamed at him. The way the sunlight reflected off her hair . . . she looked like angel. He wanted to paint her.

“Ew, remember when I was gonna move in with Billy?” she said suddenly.

“See, I told you you were crazy.”

“That time I was. And that’s when you realized you liked me, right?”

He felt himself growing slightly red with embarrassment. “Yes . . .”

“And you continued to live with me and sleep in the same bed as me without making a move. How on earth did you do it?”

He shrugged in response. “I have a lot of self-control.”

“Really?” She raised her eyebrows skeptically, fake-coughed, and blurted, “Museum sex.”

“Alright, what can I say? You bring out my wild side.”

“Oh, I like your wild side,” she said, brushing her cookie-covered hands off against her jeans. “I like all your sides.”

He loved all her sides, and more than anything, he wanted to tell her that. “Well, guess what?” he said, trying to work up the courage to say those three words. “I love . . .” He felt it, and he was pretty sure he felt it, too. But it was nerve-wracking to say it, so he chickened out. “Valentine’s Day,” he filled in.

She laughed. “Me, too.” She reached for a chocolate-covered strawberry and asked, “Really, where did you get all this food?”

“I told you, I cooked,” he lied.

“Yeah, right!”

“No, the grocery store helped a little,” he confessed.

She gave him a knowing look.

“Okay, the grocery store helped a lot.”

“Hmm.” She bit off the bottom half of the strawberry and chewed it seductively, seeming to sense that he loved watching her mouth move. “Tasty,” she remarked, glancing down suggestively at his . . . pants. As tempting as it was, they’d have time for that later, when they got home. They were going to have all night to do that.

“So what else are we gonna do today?” she asked, grinning.

“Stuff,” he answered ambiguously.

“Like what kind of stuff?”

“Just wait and see,” he told her. “This is gonna be a day to remember.”

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

A half an hour later, Michael and Maria stood outside the window to the pet shop, peering in at all the little puppies scampering around inside. “A puppy?” she squealed in delight. “Michael, are you serious?”

“I sound serious, don’t I?”

“Oh my god!” She threw her arms around him and hugged him tight, jumping up and down excitedly. “Thank you, thank you, thank you!”

“I figured you’d like it.”

“But wait, are we even allowed to have a puppy? The Links didn’t allow puppies.”

“Fairview does.”

She squealed again.

“Yeah, and it’s only a two-hundred dollar pet deposit,” he added. “You pay it one time, you get half of it back when you move out. And I already paid it.”

“Oh, you scoundrel! I never even saw this coming.”

“Surprised you, huh?”

“Uh, I’d say so.” She peered in the window again. There were lots of cute puppies, but the little Pug running all about wagging his tail and panting was most definitely the cutest of all. “I want that one,” she said, pointing him out. “Can we get that one?”

“The Pug?”

“Yeah, when I was little I always wanted to get a Pug and name him Frank.” She giggled.

“Frank?” he echoed, laughing a little. “Okay, let’s go get Frank.”

“Let’s go!” She grabbed his hand and pulled him into the pet store. Frank was a lucky little dog. He was going to love living with them.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Liz was behind the wheel of her car, determinedly driving home, when she drove past the movie theater. Kyle was standing outside, just standing there, looking depressed. She quickly pulled off to the side of the street, parallel parking her car at a parking meter to the best of her ability. She plugged a dime into the meter and made her way down the sidewalk to go say hi to Kyle. She had missed him.

“Kyle!” she called, waving at him.

He looked up and smiled a little when he saw her. “Liz. What’re you doing here?”

“Hey, Kyle.” She gave him a quick hug and said, “I was, uh . . . I was just visiting, actually.”

“Can’t cut the ties, huh?”

“Well . . . no, it’s not really that. I was just . . .” She trailed off, wishing she had come back to town for a different reason. She figured she could tell Kyle, though. He wouldn’t hold it against her. “I saw Max.”

“Oh, of course,” Kyle muttered bitterly. “That guy . . .”

“It wasn’t like that,” she quickly assured him. “We’re not . . . I heard about his dad. I showed up at the funeral to make sure he was doing okay.”

“He’s doing okay,” Kyle said. “He’s always doing okay. He’s always one step ahead of everyone else.”

“I know it was kind of stupid,” she acknowledged, “and I know he didn’t deserve it . . .”

“No, he deserves boils and eternal torment and . . . he doesn’t deserve you, Liz. He’ll never deserve you.”

“We’re not getting back together,” she promised again. “I’m leaving town again. I just came and now I’m leaving, and . . . you know, I don’t know what happened while I was gone, but--”

“He kissed Tess,” Kyle blurted. “She and I were happy; we were together. And he kissed her. And she kissed him back. Oh, and I saw them. Can’t leave out that part. The story just doesn’t have the same punch.”

“Oh, Kyle.” That sounded horrible. “I’m so sorry.”

He shrugged. “Doesn’t matter, right? We would’ve broken up eventually anyway. But he was the catalyst.”

“So you guys aren’t . . . you guys aren’t together anymore?” she guessed.

“Nope.” He kicked at the ground with the toe of his shoe. “I did get to beat Max up, though. That was a highlight.”

She smiled a little. “Payback.”

“It’s never enough, though.”

She sighed heavily, wishing she could do or say something to make him feel better. “Well, I’m sure you and Tess will find your way back to each other soon. People who’re meant to be together . . . they can’t stay apart for long.”

“Maybe,” Kyle said. “I don’t know. I don’t know if we’re ever gonna get back together. I don’t know if it’s possible. All I know is it’s Valentine’s Day, and I’m right back where I started, right back at square one. Tess and Max are gonna hook up again. It’s inevitable; she’s addicted to the misery. And I’m gonna end up all by myself, the geek who can’t get a girlfriend to save his life.”

Liz looked around, contemplating something. Maybe she didn’t have to leave. Maybe she could do some good if she stayed. “Kyle . . .”

“No, you don’t have to say anything. You don’t have to lie to me,” he cut in. “Nothing’s gonna be alright, and I know that. Now there’s a dismal thought.”

She cast a glance back over her shoulder at her car. Home wasn’t that far away. She could be there in under half an hour if she went five miles over the speed limit. But if she left, where would that leave Kyle? Maybe Max and Tess would get back together and start up their whole doomed non-romance all over again.

No. Tess and Kyle needed to be together, and someone had to keep Max away from them.

“Sorry I’m in such a bad mood,” Kyle apologized. “I can’t seem to get out of it lately.”

“That’s okay,” she whispered, still thinking about things.

“But it was good to see you again, Liz.” He gave her another hug and spoke quietly into her ear, “You should get out of here.”

She hugged him back until he let her go and walked away. She watched him leave and thought about what he’d said. “Yeah,” she agreed, feeling a heavy, aching feeling settle into all her limbs. “I probably should.”

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Maria and Michael lay out back on the sand volleyball courts that night, simply enjoying each other’s company. And Frank’s. The puppy was lying atop Maria’s stomach, making a little snoring sound as he slept.

“Aw, look at him,” Maria cooed, stroking Frank’s back affectionately. “He’s so cute. He’s, like, the cutest dog ever.” He had this black little face and a scrunched up nose, and big round eyes and a tiny curly-cue tail that curled up over his back.

Michael smiled and joked, “He’s got my good looks.”

“What?”

“Yeah, Frank’s a stud.”

“Yeah, he is,” she agreed, scratching him behind the ears. “He’s like our baby, you know,” she informed her boyfriend. “And we’re like his parents.”

“Are we?”

“Yeah. Raising a puppy is hardly different from raising a kid,” she claimed.

He shook his head doubtfully. “No, I think it’s different.”

“Fine, it’s different, but it’s not that different,” she clarified. “We have to potty-train him and make sure he doesn’t eat anything he’s not supposed to, and love him. Oh, I already love him. Frankie.” She was going to take good care of him.

“I’m so happy right now,” Michael told her suddenly.

“Me, too,” she agreed, turning her head to the side to look at him. She was so content just lying out there with Michael. The sand was comfy and the moon was shining down on them. And they had Frank. It was a perfectly adorable ambiance. “I never thought I’d be this happy Michael,” she admitted quietly.

He looked up at the sky and spoke contemplatively when he said, “You know, there’s still a lot of Valentine’s Day left.”

“Valentine’s night,” she corrected, liking nighttime. “Gosh, whatever could we do to pass the time? You, a man with your . . .” She glanced downward. “Man parts. And me, a lady with my lady parts. I wonder . . .” She trailed off, leaving little doubt as to what her perverted mind was considering.

He grinned and moved in closer to kiss her. His mouth always felt so good on hers. She never got tired of kissing him. She never would.

“Mmm,” she moaned, laughing when she felt someone else kissing her cheek. Or rather licking. Puppy wanted in on the action!

“Frank!” Michael yelled, pulling away. “God!” He wiped his cheek off, and Maria kept laughing. “Alright, we’re puttin’ him in the bathroom when we do it,” he decided.

“What if we do it in the bathroom?”

“Then we’ll put him in the bedroom. See, I got it all worked out.” He tapped the side of his head. “It’s all up here.”

Maria rolled her eyes playfully and returned her attention to her new dog. Frank had settled down atop her stomach again and looked to be falling back asleep. “Aw, he’s sweet,” she said. “Do you think he loves me already?”

“How could he not?” was Michael’s response.

She looked him in the eye, and she wanted to say the words so much. I love you, Michael, she thought. So much. She was going to tell him. Maybe after sex. Maybe during.

“Okay,” she said.

He frowned in confusion. “Okay what?”

“Okay, let’s go inside so you can . . . go inside,” she said, breaking out the innuendo.

“Oh, you have a way with words.” He sat up, got to his feet, and helped her up. She carried Frank inside.

When they stepped off the elevator onto the fifth floor, Michael asked, “Bathroom or bedroom?”

“Both.” She smirked.

“Oh, Frank, you’re gonna be a nomad tonight,” Michael said, giving the pug a little pat on the head as they stopped in front of the door to their apartment.

“Nomadic Frank,” Maria said, raising him up to eye level with her. He gave her a little kiss on the nose. No human child was that adorable.

Michael pushed open the door to their apartment and went inside. She stepped in behind him, and for some reason, she had the urge to say it. The words rose up within her, and she smiled as they started to come out. “Michael, I love . . .” She trailed off both abruptly and gradually when she bumped into him. He had stopped mere feet within the apartment. It didn’t take her long to understand why he wasn’t moving, because she froze in place, too. Standing in the middle of their living room with her back to them was a very familiar figure. Too familiar. She was staring down the hallway at a trail of rose petals leading towards the bedroom. She had long blonde hair, long legs, and an air of superiority about her.

Isabel.

She turned her head to look over her shoulder, and she smiled at Michael, didn’t say anything at first. Slowly, though, with her hands pressed against her back, Isabel turned around to face them. Maria’s eyes grew wide in horror.

“Hey, baby,” Isabel said to Michael at last. Her stomach was big and round.








TBC . . .

-April
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LOVE IS MICHAEL AND MARIA.
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