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Re: Someone, Anyone (M&M, CC/UC, AU, Adult) Part 73, 08/22/1

Posted: Mon Aug 24, 2015 11:48 am
by sarammlover
UGHHHHHHHH!!!!! APRIL!!!!!! Every week I shake my head and can't stop. I feel like everyone in this story needs a damn reality check. Isabel is a nightmare. I want to slap her so hard. Max...needs to get slapped next. Go back to where you came from buddy! And Michael and Maria are so damn naive. DO they really think they have this all covered. They live in this fantasy land that they can't seem to get out of. I don't understand....but I have to imagine something good will happen....soon...right? yeah, probably not. HA!

Re: Someone, Anyone (M&M, CC/UC, AU, Adult) Part 73, 08/22/1

Posted: Mon Aug 24, 2015 12:53 pm
by keepsmiling7
This is indeed a tangled web........
And I can't imagine how this mess is going to turn out.
Max doesn't really care about Dylan, he just wants to cause trouble for Maria.
Thanks,
Carolyn

Part 74

Posted: Sat Aug 29, 2015 11:08 am
by April
Sara:
UGHHHHHHHH!!!!! APRIL!!!!!! Every week I shake my head and can't stop. I feel like everyone in this story needs a damn reality check.
This seems to be a recurring feature in my stories. :lol:
Isabel is a nightmare. I want to slap her so hard. Max...needs to get slapped next. Go back to where you came from buddy!
Those Evans siblings! The urge to slap them is strong!
And Michael and Maria are so damn naive. DO they really think they have this all covered. They live in this fantasy land that they can't seem to get out of.
As much as Maria tries to be rational and responsible about things . . . she's so in love with Michael that she often gets pulled into this fantasy land with him. :?


Carolyn:
This is indeed a tangled web........
And I can't imagine how this mess is going to turn out.
Well . . . I had the ending of this story in mind when I started the beginning of it. So however it turns out will be . . . deliberate, I guess you could say.
Max doesn't really care about Dylan, he just wants to cause trouble for Maria.
Max has a huge ego, so it bothers him that Michael has become Dylan's dad, and because of that, yes, he'd very much like to cause problems for M&M.


Thanks for reading and leaving feedback!








Part 74








Kyle frowned as he read a text message from Michael. It was short and to the point, and it was kind of a bummer. Parties were always more fun when Michael was there.

“What’s wrong?” Tess asked. She’d been at his side all night, drinking a little more than she usually did, because she felt bad for him feeling like he couldn’t. With everyone having a camera on their phones these days, he just couldn’t risk being photographed doing something illegal.

“I just got a text from Michael,” he explained. “I guess he and Maria aren’t coming.”

“Why not?” she asked.

He shrugged and put his phone away. “I don’t know. He just says they’re staying in tonight.”

Tess snorted and laughed a little. “Oh, then you know what that means. They’re cumming,” she said emphatically. “Just not to the party.”

“You think so, huh?”

“Oh, yeah. Trust me, they’re totally doing it.”

“Hmm.” Well, in that case, he was envious. Having to cut back on his sex life with Tess as he’d amped up all his workouts had been torture. Michael didn’t have the same problem because he didn’t have the same discipline.

She brought her red cup up to her mouth, took a drink, and then tossed it aside when it was empty. “God, I still can’t believe they’re engaged,” she said. “And I’m gonna be Maria’s bridesmaid. I, like, hated her not all that long ago.”

“Just for Isabel,” he reminded her.

“Who I don’t even talk to anymore because she’s . . .” Tess lowered her head and mumbled sadly, “. . . not Isabel.”

Kyle wrapped his arm around her shoulders, pulling her against him. He didn’t want her to dwell on all of that, though, not on a night that was supposed to be fun for both of them. “So why can’t you believe they’re engaged?” he asked, trying to keep her mind on something other than her ruined friendship.

“Well . . . ‘cause he’s Michael,” she said simply. “He’s not the marrying type. Except . . . he is now, I guess.”

“He used to give me so much crap about wanting to marry you,” Kyle told her. “Said I wasn’t supposed to be thinking about that ‘cause I’m a guy and I’m young.”

“Well, so is he,” she stated the obvious. “Kinda makes me wonder if it’s gonna work out.”

“What, you don’t think it will?” Even though Michael wasn’t the marrying type, Kyle did have faith in his friend. He wasn’t the best decision-maker, but he seemed to feel strongly about this decision.

“I’m hoping for the best,” Tess said, “but . . . no offense to them or anything, but everyone’s saying they’re like us. But they’re not like us, Kyle. They haven’t been dating as long as we have; they don’t have solid plans for their life like we do. I’m not trying to sound like I’m bragging or anything, but . . . you know what I’m talking about.”

He nodded. Yeah, he knew. He and Tess were the golden couple, and he enjoyed that. Michael and Maria didn’t have that same reputation, but that didn’t mean their relationship was weaker or doomed to fail. “I think they’ll make it, though,” he said. “Two of them, two of us . . . livin’ the good life out in Alabama.”

“After I graduate,” she muttered.

“After that.” He smiled at her and moved in front of her so he could kiss her. “It’ll be great.”

“I hope so,” she said, slinking her arms around his waist.

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

Isabel always started going to the pool a few weeks before the end of school. It was a nice way to remind herself that summer was right around the corner. And this would be her last true summer. Every summer after this would be filled with college courses, because she wanted to graduate in four years instead of five, and these days, the only assured way of doing that was by loading up on summer classes.

She went with Max, trying not to think back to last summer, when she and Tess had gone to the pool or the lake at least three times a week. It had been so fun just to have all that girl time together, but now, Tess had new friends, and she had . . . well, Jesse couldn’t come with them today, but she had him. And Courtney and Eric, to an extent. And her brother, of course. If he stayed in town all summer, he would probably end up being her best friend. He didn’t have much competition these days.

“Ah, the pool,” he said as they strolled along the side. “Place to be when it’s this hot outside.”

“It’s sweltering,” she agreed. But that was New Mexico. It was rarely cold where they lived.

The lifeguard smiled and waved at her as she walked by, and just for the sake of being flirtatious, she waved back. Why not? She looked good. She had on a yellow bikini, which was somehow even sexier because she was wearing a sheer beige cover up that went down just below her butt. Being at the pool wasn’t so much about swimming as it was showing off all your assets. Tess had been the one to tell her that.

“Where do you wanna sit?” she asked, surveying their options. It was sunny out, so she definitely wanted a chair shaded by an umbrella, but they were tall taken. The only ones left were way too close to the pool itself, where she would get splashed.

“Doesn’t matter to me,” Max replied. He had both their towels under one arm and a large purple inner tube under the other.

“I kinda wanna sit over there,” she said, pointing to a long pool resting chair under the shade of an umbrella. But there was a tall, skinny guy occupying it, and he was reading a book.

“Done,” Max declared, walking up to the guy. He towered over him and demanded, “Hey. Move.”

The guy looked startled for a moment, then gathered up his things and, with his face buried in the pages, cleared out.

“There you go,” Max said, gesturing toward the chair. He laid his towel out on the ground next to it and took his shirt off.

Isabel laughed a little, mimicking him as she sat down. “Hey. Move,” she said in a deep, gruff voice. “That’s very authoritarian of you.”

“Just gotta know how to get what you want.”

“I would’ve taken a different approach,” Isabel said, “but I would’ve gotten my way, too.” She would have flirted with him, laid on the charm in order to convince him to give up his spot. It wouldn’t been difficult, and it wouldn’t have taken long. She and Max both had effective methods.

“Will Jesse be joining us today?” Max asked.

“No,” Isabel replied, taking her seat. “He was busy today.” He hadn’t said much; just something about a problem with his website. “Work-related.”

“Oh, that’s too bad,” Max said, looking out at the pool. “I kinda liked the guy.”

“Really?” He definitely had a different opinion than her mother did then.

“Yeah. He’s got some edge to him, but he keeps it beneath the surface. I can relate to that.”

“Hmm.” She reached into her beach bag and handed him the sun block. If he was anything like her, he would burn easily.

He squirted some sun block into his hand, then handed the small bottle back to her as he spread it across his chest. “Well, listen,” he said, “I invited someone to join us today.”

“Who?” she asked. “A girl?”

“Maybe.”

She sat up straighter. “Max. Set the record straight: Do you have a girlfriend or not?”

He rolled his eyes as if the question annoyed him, but he answered it anyway. “There is a girl,” he admitted, “who’s a friend . . . who I might have slept with a time or two.”

“I knew it.” Of course there was a girl. If there hadn’t been one, he would have surely made an effort to re-seduce Maria by now.

“I met her in college this year,” he said, “but she grew up here in Roswell. Her parents live here, own a restaurant. It’s one of the reasons why I came here after my semester ended, to be close to her.”

“Really? And here I thought you came to be with Mom and me,” she teased.

“Well, I did,” he said. “This was just another reason.”

“So it’s serious then,” she concluded.

Max shrugged. “I don’t know. We’ll see. I like her. She’s pretty. And she’s smart and interesting, which is a rare combination these days.”

“I’m smart and interesting,” Isabel pointed out.

“Of course you are. You’re an Evans.”

“Are you gonna make this girl an Evans someday?” she prodded.

“I’m not really thinking that far ahead,” he said. “But it’s fun for now. I think you’ll really like her.”

“Hopefully.” She was, after all, in the market for a new friend.

“She’s actually probably way too nice for me,” Max admitted. “Doesn’t really get into trouble, do anything wrong.”

“So you’re dating a saint?” she summarized.

“She’s not a saint; she’s just a really good girl.”

Isabel leaned back again and murmured, “Hmm, so was I, once upon a time.”

“She really is, though,” he insisted. “I mean, don’t get me wrong, she can act like a bad girl if I want her to . . .”

“Okay, I don’t wanna hear details,” she cut in. “I am still your sister, you know.”

“Sorry,” he apologized, and when he looked around again, his eyes settled on something. “Here she comes now.”

Isabel tried to pick her out of the crowd, tried to figure out who he was focusing on, but no one was standing out to her. Until she got closer. Not just any she, but a she Isabel recognized. A face she’d seen before, when it had been contorted in ecstasy as she lay beneath Michael.

Liz. Fucking Liz Parker or Porter or whatever the hell her last name was. Michael’s first affair, and Alex’s ex-girlfriend. This was the smart and interesting girl Max was having a fun time with? This was his ‘really good girl?’

“Oh, you’ve gotta be kidding me,” Isabel groaned, putting on her sunglasses just to conceal how pissed off she must have looked.

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

Michael told Maria he was working out with Kyle, which wasn’t a total lie. He did get up early to hit the gym with him, but he didn’t end up staying long. Instead, after little more than a half-hour workout, he ventured through side-streets to a financial consulting firm he hadn’t even known existed in their town until he’d Googled it the other night. He would have told her he was going there, except then she would have insisted on coming along. And Maria worried enough about money and how they were going to afford everything when they were out on their own. He wanted her to take a break from it. He could figure it all out. With a little help, of course, which was why he was there.

He waited longer than he’d expected to have to, starting to feel nervous. What if they refused service because they thought he was such an irresponsible, in-over-his-head kid? Could they do that? Could they take one look at him and decide he wasn’t worth their time?

The sound of high heels clicking snapped him out of his worries, and a woman in business attire came out of the hallway. “Michael Guerin?” she said, giving him a questioning look.

“Yeah, that’s me.” He got up, grabbed the folder he had brought along with him, and made his way towards her.

“Hello,” she said, extending her hand. “I’m Trisha Gordon. It’s nice to meet you.”

“Yeah.” He shook her hand, having to remind himself to sound more mature. “Nice to meet you, too.”

“Come on back to my office,” she said. “Let’s talk.”

Her office ended up being . . . not much bigger than Topolsky’s, but far less chaotic. Everything seemed to be organized and in its place. Probably like her finances.

“So,” Trisha began, “what can I help you with today?”

“Uh . . . money.” Wasn’t that why everyone went to a financial consultant, to get money help?

“What specifically?” she asked. “Can you give me some insight into your situation?”

“Yeah, uh . . .” He opened the folder, realizing he should have taken the time to organize the bills and receipts in there rather than just tossing them in the night before. “Here.” He slid it across the desk, assuming she could figure it out for herself.

She started to look through some of the documents inside, but still she urged him to sum it up. “Tell me what kind of things you’re spending money on right now, Michael.”

“Well, Trish . . . you mind if I call you Trish?”

She gave him a look like she did mind.

“—a,” he added. “Trisha. Gordon. Ms. Gordon.”

“Mrs.,” she corrected.

“Mrs. Gordon.” Great, she was married. That meant flirting wouldn’t get him on her good side. Although . . . it wasn’t like he had to be on her good side, was it? This wasn’t like school where adults could boss you around and try to make you feel inferior just because you were making the same mistakes they themselves had made back in high school. This was the real world, where he was basically an adult. And this was a business.

“I’m eighteen,” he told her, “and I’m goin’ to college in the fall.”

“Where?” she asked.

“Alabama. The University of Alabama.”

“Wow.” She nodded as though that were impressive. “Good school.”

“Good football team.”

She smiled pleasantly, and he started to feel at ease, less like a book being judged by its cover. “Are you gonna play?”

“That’s kinda the plan, but . . .” He shrugged. “I don’t know, I don’t have any athletic scholarships or anything.”

“What about grades?” she asked.

He laughed at that. “In the shitter.”

“Didn’t try so hard in school, huh?” she summarized.

“Didn’t try at all. I’m just lucky to be graduating,” he confessed. “Anyway, I know it’s gonna be really expensive to go there. I mean, really expensive.”

“You’ll have to take out a lot of student loans,” she acknowledged. “Are you parents helping?’

Again, he laughed. “No. I think my mom would like to, but . . . she can’t. We don’t have money saved up, my dad’s outta work . . .” He trailed off, rolling his eyes. “My dad’s just a loser all-around, so . . .”

“Okay, I understand,” she said. “So you feel like you need a plan for how you’re going to manage to afford a college education.”

“Um . . .” He made a face, wishing it were just that simple. “Actually, there’s a lot of stuff I gotta afford.”

“Like what?” she asked, picking up the receipt for Maria’s engagement ring. “Oh, I see.”

“Yeah, that’s . . .” He had until the end of the calendar year to pay that off, which didn’t seem like a very long time, even if it was.

“Congratulations,” she said, sounding genuine. “You must really love this girl to marry her so young.”

“Yeah, I do.” It was nice that she didn’t automatically assume Maria was pregnant and that was the only reason he was marrying her. “So I gotta pay that ring off, and we gotta afford a wedding, ‘cause we wanna get married this summer before we move.”

“Okay.”

“And . . .” He rubbed his forehead, wondering if this was how Maria felt when she thought about money crap. “I bought a car I gotta finish paying off.”

“And you have absolutely no help from your parents,” she reiterated.

“Yeah. And I mean, Maria—that’s my girlfriend . . .” He stopped and corrected himself. “My fiancée. She works two part-time jobs, and she’s gonna work when we move, but . . . I mean . . .” He trailed off and shrugged. He didn’t want Maria to have to work any more than she did right now, but she insisted that she would work as much as she had to.

“You’d like to be able to contribute,” Trisha deduced.

“Yeah. I just . . . I don’t want her out there killin’ herself day in and day out just to keep my ass off the streets.”

“Well . . . going to college and playing football and working might be . . . difficult,” Trisha told him. “What kind of job are you looking into?”

He shrugged helplessly. “I don’t know. I’ve never worked before.”

“Well, what do you think you might be good at?”

Again, he didn’t have much of an answer. “I don’t know. I’m really only good at football and . . . well, sex,” he admitted shamelessly.

She raised an eyebrow.

“I could be a male prostitute,” he joked.

“Well, why don’t we shoot for something a little more legal, alright?”

“Yeah, I know, I just . . .” If he didn’t lighten the mood, he was going to go crazy. Thinking about all this stuff . . . it wasn’t him. It didn’t come naturally. Just being here at all made him feel like he was an idiot. He had no clue what he was doing. Any minute now, she would probably start to throw out some big words he didn’t even know the definition to.

“When you move, where do you plan on living?” Trisha asked him.

Oh, thank God, a question he actually had an answer for. “Well, we found this apartment. Two-bedroom, pretty nice.”

“Two-bedroom?” she echoed. “You might be able to save a little if you get a one-bedroom or a studio.”

“No, we can’t . . .” He sighed, resigned to explaining it to her. “Dylan needs a bedroom, too.”

“Dylan?”

“Maria’s . . .” He stopped himself and corrected, “Our son.”

“You have a son?”

“Yeah.” Now she probably thought he was MTV reality show material. Oh, well. It didn’t matter. “He’s three.”

“Three?” She was obviously doing the very simple math in her head. Dylan was three and he was eighteen, so she was assuming that he’d knocked Maria up when he was a freshman, but . . . whatever. She could think what she wanted. “So is he going to preschool next year?” she asked.

“I don’t know. Probably.” At the end of the day, that would be Maria’s decision, but he definitely thought Dylan seemed ready.

“So you’re . . . very young,” she recapped. “You and Maria both?”

“Yeah, she’s nineteen.”

“And you have a three year-old son. And you’re engaged and planning on getting married . . . soon?”

“Yeah.”

“So you have to pay for the ring and the wedding, and you still have a car to pay off. And then there’s college. And no help from your family.”

He let out a heavy exhale, feeling like a black cloud was settling over him. “Any advice on how I might make it work?” As much as he’d grown to appreciate Topolsky, she didn’t give financial consulting as a job. He wanted—and at this point probably needed—the opinion of a professional.

“Well, Michael . . . I think you need to be realistic with yourself,” she urged. “You have a lot going on in your life. So out of all these things, which are the most important? And which . . . might be worth sacrificing?”

Sacrifice? Had he ever actually made a sacrifice before? Had he ever cared enough to do that?

When she put it like that, though, asked him what he was willing to give up . . . it made it simpler, boiled it down so that the answer was pretty clear. For now, he knew what he needed to do, because he knew without a doubt what was most important to him.

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

It was amazing how a relaxing day at the pool could transform so dramatically into . . . something else. Finding out that Liz was Max’s girlfriend had definitely thrown Isabel for a loop. Just when she thought she had things figured out and life wouldn’t get even more twisted and tangled, in popped the girl who, by all accounts, had been nothing more than Michael Guerin’s infidelity warm-up act, a warning sign for all the heartbreak that was to come.

It was strange, because at one point, Isabel had been sure that she hated Liz, that she would never hate anyone more. But now . . . now that Michael and Maria had their whole true love thing going on, she realized she didn’t hate Liz. Not really. She was just another girl who had been swept under Michael’s spell. No, hate, on the other hand . . . hate was something that was exclusively reserved for Maria. And for Michael, but to an annoyingly lesser extent.

Liz was sort of obnoxiously polite at dinner that night, and she smiled too much for her own good; but she didn’t seem phony. When she told the story about how she and Max had first met, she seemed to recall it with genuine fondness. Apparently she’d had her eye on him for a few weeks prior, and as bad luck would have it one day at the start of the spring semester, she’d gotten a flat tire. Max had stopped on his way to class and changed it for her, and when all was said and done, he’d asked her out on a date. One date had become more than one date, and now there they were, officially dating for nearly four months now. Isabel couldn’t help but wonder if Max had been faithful for each of those four months, because it was pretty obvious Liz had been. She just seemed like the kind of person who would put all her trust in someone if she liked them enough.

Like the kind of person I used to be, Isabel thought. She had put way too much trust in Michael one too many times.

“Oh, everything was delicious, Mrs. Evans,” Liz raved as Diane got up to clear the table. “Thank you so much. Do you want some help?”

“Oh, no, that’s fine. Izzy will help me. Won’t you, sweetheart?”

Isabel sighed. “In a minute.” She wasn’t about to be relegated down to servant status just because they had a guest.

“Is there dessert?” Max asked. He was always hungry.

“Brownies, the homemade kind,” their mother replied.

“Oh, gosh, I’m gonna have to find room,” Liz said, holding one hand to her stomach.

“I’ll send some home with you,” Diane said, taking all the plates into the kitchen.

Liz waited a few seconds after she was gone to lean towards Isabel and say quietly, “Listen, Isabel, if this is too weird having me here, I can just go,” she offered. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know she was gonna ask me to stay for dinner.”

“It’s weird,” Isabel admitted, “but I don’t care. Michael and I aren’t even together anymore.”

“I can’t believe you had sex with him, too, Liz,” Max grumbled. “What’s with this guy? Does his dick have superpowers or something?”

“No,” Liz replied at the same time Isabel answered, “Yes.”

Max gave her a look.

She shrugged. “He’s good in bed.” She could sling out insult after insult in Michael’s direction, but there was no denying how capable he was in that way.

“We only . . . it was one time,” Liz insisted.

“Last year?” he questioned.

“Yeah, my senior year.”

“She lost her virginity to him,” Isabel added. “Am I right?”

Liz groaned frustratedly. “Right, but . . . it was a mistake.”

“Because you knew he had a girlfriend at the time.” Isabel used both thumbs to point at herself.

And I wasn’t in love with him,” Liz added. “I wish for so many reasons I could take it back.”

“So that Max could be your first,” Isabel chirped. “Or . . . would it have been Alex? I can’t keep up.”

Liz looked uncomfortable, but she didn’t deny sleeping with Alex, too. “I think Alex always had . . . someone else in mind.” She gave her a pointed look, and Isabel shuddered inwardly.

Oh, Alex . . .

It hurt too much to think about him. She missed him, missed his friendship.

“I’m really sorry for everything that happened a year ago,” Liz apologized. “And I want you to know, if I’d known you and Max were related, I wouldn’t have just shown up at the pool like I did today. I thought I was just meeting him. He didn’t even tell me he had a sister.”

“Well . . .” He shrugged. “Long-lost.”

“I wonder what else he hasn’t told you,” Isabel teased. All afternoon, she’d been wondering just how much Liz knew. Did she know about Dylan? Max and Maria?

“What does she mean by that?” Liz asked Max.

He sighed, looking at Isabel like he wanted to kill her for the moment. “Thanks, sis,” he said sarcastically.

“Someone had to get her curiosity piqued.” Girls like Liz were simpletons. They didn’t question things when they should. Isabel knew all about that, from experience. Better this girl found out Max’s past now rather than later. Isabel was just doing her a favor.

Leaving the two little lovebirds to what would inevitably be a very awkward conversation, one that would either barely start before dessert or have to be put on hold until after, Isabel headed into the kitchen to assist her mother with the brownies.

“Oh, honey, can you help me?” Diane asked as she struggled to scrape some off the bottom of the pan. “They’re sticking.”

“Why don’t we just do ice cream?” Isabel suggested. That was what they’d done at the last family dinner, the one Jesse had been invited to. Nothing fancy, nothing home-baked. Just good old ice cream right out of the carton.

“Well, I made these brownies.” Her mother’s face contorted as she tried in vain to get the brownies unstuck.

“So what do you think of Liz?” Isabel asked, heading towards the fridge to get the ice cream out.

All it took was that one name for her mother to forget the brownie fiasco entirely. “Oh, isn’t she lovely?” was her beaming response. “So sweet, so nice.”

“Hmm.” Isabel shrugged.

Her mother frowned. “What, you don’t think so?”

“Well, it’s just been my experience that, when someone seems so sweet and nice, usually they’re not that innocent.”

Her mother waved that off. “She seems like a very genuine girl.”

“Genuine, sure,” Isabel agreed. “I’m not saying she’s not nice. I just don’t think she’s innocent.”

“Well . . .” Her mother gave her a cold, hard look and mumbled, “Who is anymore?”

Isabel accepted that jab and kept on rolling with it. “Face it, Mom: You’re about to walk back in there and crown this girl the Mother Teresa of all girlfriends because you’re just relieved at least one of your children has a suitable significant other.”

“Well, maybe I am,” her mother admitted readily.

“Jesse was just as polite to you as Liz has been. He was just as grateful and easygoing.”

“He acted that way,” her mother argued. “But any twenty-six year-old man who dates my eighteen year-old daughter and films himself having sex with her is not suitable.” She shook her head in disgust and went back to attempting to slice her brownies. “I’m just glad you’ll be leaving him for college soon.”

Isabel glanced back in the dining room at Max and Liz. Liz had tears in her eyes now, and Max was out of his chair and kneeling beside her. Had to be telling her all about Dylan. Had to. Why else would she look like her whole world had just changed?

“Yeah, college,” Isabel said, watching them, two college students who were probably just as messed up as she was, yet her mom was oblivious to it. “I’m sure everything will be less dramatic by then.”

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

As much as Maria wanted to stay awake, it was so tempting to just fall asleep on the couch, nestled comfortably in Michael’s arms. They had been watching one of his favorite shows, American Ninja Warrior, for over an hour. He said watching those contestants motivated him to work out, and two years ago, he and Kyle had gotten so competitive about it that they’d tried to build their own ninja course in his backyard. They’d shelved that idea after Michael had fallen and gotten a concussion.

“Watch this,” Michael said, squeezing Maria gently.

She opened her heavy eyes in time to see a short, stocky guy fly up the final obstacle on the qualifying course, the warped wall. It was pretty impressive for someone of his height. “Wow,” she said. “How do they do that?”

“Years of training,” Michael replied. “Natural athleticism probably doesn’t hurt.”

“It’s pretty cool.” She snuggled in closer against his side.

“I should do this,” he said. “This show.”

“You think you could?”

“Yeah. Hell yeah,” he answered confidently. “I’m naturally athletic.”

“What about the years of training?”

“I’d just go for it. Screw training.”

She laughed a little. That philosophy was . . . so Michael. “You might make it past the first couple obstacles,” she said, “but I don’t think you’d make it through the whole thing.”

He snorted, feigning offense. “Come on, babe, don’t you have any faith in your man?”

She sat up a little and explained herself. “Look, I know you’re athletic, but you’re the one who’s always telling me how hard this show is.”

“It is hard,” he agreed. “But I’m hard. I mean, I go hard. You know what I mean.”

She rolled her eyes, laughing a little. “Oh my god.”

“Come on, I’ll prove it.” He slithered down off the couch and lay on the floor, holding both his hands up at a ninety-degree angle, palms facing up. “Come on.”

“What’re you doing?”

“Lay on my hands. I’m gonna bench-press you.”

“What?”

“Just do it.”

She sighed, dragging herself down on to the floor with him. She lay down flat like a board and folded her arms over her chest. “You’re being, like, so macho right now.” She supposed it was the least she could do, though. Guys liked to feel all tough and masculine. They liked to show off.

“Yeah, check this out,” he said, lifting her up into the air slowly, then bringing her back down before doing it again. “See? I could do it.”

“If you say so.” She still thought Ninja Warrior might be a stretch. But maybe someday he’d live out his dream of winning Wipeout. Crazier things had happened.

After lifting her about three times total, he set her back down and slinked out from beneath her. “Okay, I’m tired now.”

“You’re very strong,” she told him, rubbing his arms.

“Well, you’re very lightweight.”

“Hmm.” She kissed him, crawling into his lap so she could do it better, and suddenly, she wasn’t feeling so tired anymore. “You ready for bed?” she asked. “Or do you wanna shower?”

“Oh, I’m definitely down for a shower,” he answered.

“Good.” She loved getting with him in water.

“But . . .” He kissed her once more, then pulled back a bit and brushed her hair back over her shoulders. “I need to tell you something first.”

“Oh.” Well, that sounded ominous. “Okay. What is it?”

“Just something I did today.”

She tensed a bit, sliding out of his lap. This sounded like an impulse buy, like a purchase he’d made like when he’d bought the car. “What did you do?” she asked, trying not to sound judgmental right from the start.

“Well, after I got done working out with Kyle, I went and met with a financial advisor,” he explained.

“Oh.” Well, that wasn’t so bad. In fact, that was good. She’d been wanting him to start taking money matters seriously for a while now. “Well, why didn’t you tell me you were going? I would’ve gone with you.”

“No, I didn’t want you to have to keep thinking about it,” he said. “You’ve thought about it enough.”

“I would’ve gone,” she insisted. They were a team. Being a team wasn’t only about doing the fun stuff together; it was about doing the not-so-fun stuff together, too.

“It’s fine,” he said. “I got some stuff figured out.”

“Some stuff?” she echoed.

“Yeah, like . . . a lot of stuff.”

She curled her legs up underneath her, her curiosity piqued. “Alright, so tell me.”

He stared at her reluctantly, not saying anything for a moment before groaning, “You’re not gonna like it.”

She frowned. “What?” Oh god, what had they suckered him into? Some huge loan with exorbitant rates? Some payment plan they’d never be able to adhere to?

He sighed, looking down at his lap as he revealed, “Maria, I decided I’m not gonna go to college this year.”

She stared at him in shock and disbelief, trying to find her words so she could say something. But nothing came out. And all she could do was look down at the shirt she had on: a Crimson Tide shirt.

“I’ll go, someday,” he promised. “Just not right now. I’ll just delay it a year.”

“Why?” she managed to get out. “Why would you do that?”

“ ‘cause we can’t afford it.”

“Michael . . .” It was college. Nobody could afford it. Everyone was paying off student loans into their forties these days. It was normal.

“I told you you weren’t gonna like it,” he mumbled.

“No, I don’t like it.” She felt close to tears at just the thought of it. “Michael, you have to go to college. You got accepted. You’re gonna play football.”

“There’s no guarantee I’ll play.”

She whimpered, disheartened by all of this. It was totally throwing her for a loop. The same Michael who had boasted about how well he could do on American Ninja Warrior and showed off by bench-pressing her just minutes before now sounded doubtful that he could actually make a college football team. He was so confident when he wasn’t really talking about his future, but when he got serious, he wasn’t so confident anymore.

“Don’t be upset,” he said, reaching out to stroke her cheek.

“How can I not be upset?” she shot back. “You’re telling me you’re not going to college.”

“Maria, I was never planning on going to college until this year. And I’m still gonna go eventually. I just wanna hold off one year.”

“Why?”

“So we can save up, get to Alabama and keep our heads above water. We’ll still move, okay? I just won’t go to school. I’ll work.”

“You’ll work,” she echoed. She’d never seen him work before. Not that she didn’t believe he would, but . . . for some reason, when he said that, all she could picture was him on a construction site, working a job he hated just like his dad had done.

“This is what we have to do,” he said. “We can’t have it all right away. We gotta be smart about it.”

But wasn’t going to college the smartest thing to do? “Michael, I understand what you’re saying, but you don’t have to do this. I can work as many jobs as I have to.”

“No.” He took her hands in his and repeated himself. “No, Maria, that’s not--”

“We don’t have to have a wedding. We can just go to the courthouse. You can take this ring back and get a cheaper one. None of that matters to me. I don’t even need a ring, Michael. I don’t even need a ring.”

“Forget it,” he dismissed quickly. “I’m not taking your ring back. And you’re gonna have a wedding. And you’re not gonna kill yourself workin’ three jobs just so I can aimlessly take classes and play football.”

She shook her head, clenching her jaw tightly shut, feeling like she was going to break down right in front of him. This was killing her to sit here and listen to him willingly sacrifice his opportunities. For her. For Dylan. If it wasn’t for them . . .

“It’ll all still be there next year,” he assured her. “And we’ll have a better handle on stuff. We’ll be . . . you know, more comfortable with money.”

“What about football?” she asked. “You’re not gonna be in the same shape a year from now.”

“I’ll be fine,” he insisted.

“Not if you go a whole year without it.”

“Maria . . . it’s football.” He didn’t sound overly concerned. “It’s a game, and I love it—don’t get me wrong. But other stuff matters more.”

She knew what he was saying. She and Dylan mattered more to him. And even though it was incredibly thoughtful and even romantic in a weird way . . . she didn’t want this for him. She didn’t want him to have to give up something so good just because she was in his life.

“This is the right thing to do,” he persisted. “I know it.”

She felt differently, though, entirely differently. “I don’t think so.”

“Trust me. We’re better off doing this than getting there and realizing we can’t make it work. I mean, do you want that, Maria? Do you wanna get there and get evicted? Do you wanna sleep in our car ‘cause we can’t pay our bills?”

She started crying, remembering what it felt like to be without a home, to have to sleep in the library because she’d had nowhere else to go. But as worried as she was that she and Michael would end up in that same situation, she still didn’t want him to put college on hold. She felt like, in the long run, taking this year off to get a job would do him more harm than good. But how was she supposed to explain that to him? How was she supposed to tell him that she was worried because he was taking the same path his father had?

“Trust me,” he said again. “I know what I’m doing.”

Did he, though? Out of the two of them, wasn’t she the one who was more money-conscious? Wasn’t she the one who saw the value of a college education, especially since she didn’t even have a high school one?

“I’m sorry,” she said, crying as she got up. “I can’t . . .” She ran out of the living room and up the stairs, trying to keep her tears in check as much as possible until she shut the bedroom door. She leaned back against it and held her hands over her face to muffle the sounds of her sadness. It wasn’t sadness for herself; it was sadness for him.

She sat there, replaying what he’d said over and over again in her mind. But eventually, his words started to blend together with what everyone else had been saying lately. His father, her mother, Isabel, Max . . . all of them. All those people who were more than willing and all too eager to tell her how she and Michael weren’t going to make it, all the things that they had said . . . she couldn’t distinguish one person’s warning from the next, because she heard them all at once.

And any second now, she was sure there would be a knock on the door, and Michael would be up there, asking her if she was okay. Because he would be worried about her. But she was only crying because she was worried about him.

At what point did one person care for another more than he cared for himself? And when did that stop being a good thing?








TBC . . .

-April

Re: Someone, Anyone (M&M, CC/UC, AU, Adult) Part 74, 08/29/1

Posted: Sat Aug 29, 2015 7:10 pm
by keepsmiling7
Well, Isabel certainly has it in for Liz. She won't have a chance there.....
And Michael, he really has his plate full......and with no help from parents, etc. I think he is beginning to realize how hard things will be for them.
Hurry back,
Carolyn

Re: Someone, Anyone (M&M, CC/UC, AU, Adult) Part 74, 08/29/1

Posted: Sun Aug 30, 2015 3:59 pm
by Eva
If I would've been Maria, I would've freaked out too by Michael's announcement. I understand her fears. It's good that he went to see the counselor, to think his future through but he did anything but that one. He thinks that he will postpone it but in the end he will never go to college. Just like his folks.

But on the other hand, I understand him too. He was never planning on going. He just subscribed because it pleased Maria. Is that a good start for college? Would that serve him in the end? Would he graduate at all? And loose everything, her and Dylan included?

It's a difficult question and nobody knows the right answer. Michael sure as hell isn't his father. But who is he? What kind of man does he want to be? If he finds that answer, he will find the right way or key to build up his life.

Re: Someone, Anyone (M&M, CC/UC, AU, Adult) Part 74, 08/29/1

Posted: Mon Aug 31, 2015 6:54 am
by keepsmiling7
Please hurry back.......I'm anxious to know just how much Liz found out regarding Max, Maria and Dylan.
Thanks,
Carolyn

Re: Someone, Anyone (M&M, CC/UC, AU, Adult) Part 74, 08/29/1

Posted: Wed Sep 02, 2015 11:10 am
by sarammlover
Always something else....incestuous little group we have going on here.....

I am glad Michael went to the counselor though I doubt he has a grasp on anything yet. Maybe Krista and Tina should move with Michael and Maria. Get a fresh start. Help each other out? I definitely think Michael should go to school and Maria should work to get her GED. THey have student loans, grants, money is out there, they just need to go get it!

Isabel....evil evil little wench.

I have to wonder if Max will side with Liz or Is on this one....

Part 75

Posted: Sat Sep 05, 2015 10:29 am
by April
Carolyn:
And Michael, he really has his plate full......and with no help from parents, etc. I think he is beginning to realize how hard things will be for them.
Yes, things are going to be very hard for him, and he hasn't wanted to face up to that fact until now.

Eva:
If I would've been Maria, I would've freaked out too by Michael's announcement. I understand her fears. It's good that he went to see the counselor, to think his future through but he did anything but that one. He thinks that he will postpone it but in the end he will never go to college. Just like his folks.
Yes, give the kind of guy Michael is, it seems unlikely that he would find the motivation or the discipline to ever go to college after taking a whole year off.
But on the other hand, I understand him too. He was never planning on going. He just subscribed because it pleased Maria. Is that a good start for college? Would that serve him in the end? Would he graduate at all? And loose everything, her and Dylan included?
That's a good point. It's not like college was ever a dream of his or anything.
It's a difficult question and nobody knows the right answer. Michael sure as hell isn't his father. But who is he? What kind of man does he want to be?
Those are 2 of the overarching questions of this fic, and neither one has a simple answer!

Sara:
Always something else....incestuous little group we have going on here.....
:lol:
Maybe Krista and Tina should move with Michael and Maria. Get a fresh start. Help each other out?
That would be great, if Krista was willing to finally make that clean break from her husband and take her daughter with her.
I definitely think Michael should go to school and Maria should work to get her GED. THey have student loans, grants, money is out there, they just need to go get it!
The money is definitely out of there. But those loans that Michael would have would take years and years to pay off.


Thanks for reading and leaving feedback! I appreciate it!








Part 75








Kyle seemed . . . a little speechless when Michael told him the news. The not-going-to-college news. He made a few sounds here and there, gave him a few questioning looks as if he weren’t sure whether to believe it or believe that Michael was pulling his leg. But when Michael insisted that it wasn’t some joke, Kyle reluctantly accepted it. “Wow,” he said quietly.

“Yeah.” The bad part was, Michael knew this was going to be the easiest conversation. Kyle pretty much always had his back, no matter what. He didn’t judge, and he rarely lectured. Telling his parents was going to be a lot harder than telling his best friend.

“Gotta admit, I didn’t see this coming,” Kyle mumbled.

“No, I just decided yesterday,” Michael revealed.

“Did you think it through?”

“Yeah.” Michael waved Antonio away as he started to come up to their table. He didn’t want to have to deal with everyone knowing he’d changed his mind on college right now. “I know people aren’t gonna understand, but it’s what I gotta do.”

Kyle nodded as if he did understand, but then he asked, “Is it what you wanna do?”

Michael wasn’t sure how to respond to that. Truthfully, college was and probably always would be a huge question mark for him. It was an expectation for his generation, sure, though it had never been an aspiration for him. But he had to admit, going to the spring game had definitely gotten him excited about the thought of being a student there someday.

“Michael,” Kyle said insistently. “Is it what you wanna do?”

He shrugged honestly. “I don’t know, man, it’s hard to say. I mean, I wanna try to go someday, but just not now. It’s not the right time. I got too much other stuff goin’ on.”

“So what’s the plan?” Kyle asked. “You and Maria still moving?”

“Yeah, don’t worry, you’re not goin’ to Bama by yourself.”

Kyle smiled, looking relieved. “Good,” he said. “That’s good. It’ll be good for you to be away from your dad.”

“Yeah, I’m just gonna take a year off school. I’ll work instead. Maria and I really need the extra money.”

“It sounds . . . like the responsible thing to do,” Kyle admitted. “But you gotta promise me you’ll go, man. Don’t back out for good.”

“I won’t.” He knew that was what everyone would think, though. They would assume that he would find some dead-end job and work it until they wised up and fired him. Just like his dad. “Are you pissed?” he warily asked his friend.

“No, not pissed. Kinda bummed out, though,” Kyle confessed. “I liked the thought of us goin’ to college together, especially freshman year. And I thought it was pretty cool we’d still be on the same football team.”

“Maybe,” Michael reminded him. “We don’t even know if I would’ve made it.”

Kyle narrowed his eyes skeptically and asked, “Are you sure it’s not just cold feet? You know, college cold feet?”

Michael laughed lightly. “What?” Was there such a thing?

“Yeah, you know, you’re not sure what the future holds. Don’t know what you’re gonna study, if you’re gonna make the team . . . so you just drop out before it even starts?”

“No, that’s . . .” Maybe if he’d been more certain, it would have been a harder decision. But even if he’d known for sure what he wanted to study and been absolutely positive that he had a spot on the team, his decision still would have been the same. Maria and Dylan were worth it. “I’m just trying to do what’s best for my family. They are my family, you know.”

“No, I know,” Kyle assured him. “I get it. I’m on board. Don’t worry about it. If this is what you gotta do, I’ll back you on it.”

“Thanks.” Once his dad found out, he was going to need all the support he could get.

“But you promise you’ll go?” Kyle asked again.

“Yes.” He was going to have to make the same promise to his mom and to Maria over and over again. Kyle would only need to hear it once. “It’s one year off. That’s it.”

“Okay,” Kyle said. “Sounds like a plan.”

Yeah, Michael thought in agreement, a good one.

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

Maria pushed open the door and nearly tripped over Dylan as he scrambled inside ahead of her. “Okay, go play,” she said, but he was already rushing into the living room to turn on the TV. “I’ll make you a snack.” She kicked off her shoes, dropped her purse by the door, and craned her neck to peek into the kitchen when she heard a noise. “Hello?”

With an afghan wrapped around her shoulders and a full coffee mug in her hand, Krista came to the door.

“Oh, hey,” Maria greeted. “I didn’t know anyone was home.”

“Well, I gave myself the afternoon off after Michael came and visited me during my lunch break.” Krista took a sip of her coffee and grimaced, muttering, “Horrible.”

Maria couldn’t help but wonder if it was just the coffee that was horrible, or if Krista and Michael’s conversation had been as well. “What did he wanna talk to you about?” she asked.

“Oh, you know . . . his plan for next year.” Krista wrapped her blanket tighter around her shoulders and headed back into the kitchen. “You do know, don’t you?”

Maria glanced back at Dylan, happy to see that he was sucked into another Jeopardy game. “Yeah,” she said, following her future mother-in-law into the kitchen. “He just told me last night.”

Krista grunted. “Did it surprise you as much as it surprised me?”

“Um . . . yeah, actually.” She was still trying to adjust to it, still feeling a little sad about it and a lot guilty.

“Come to think of it, I don’t even know why I’m surprised,” Krista admitted, sitting down at the counter. “He never even thought about college until this year. I just got my hopes up when he said he was gonna go.”

“He’s gonna go,” Maria reminded her. “Just not this year.”

Krista sniffed back tears. “Yeah,” she said, sounding rather unconvinced. “That’s what he says. I don’t know.”

“He will,” Maria insisted. She wasn’t about to let Michael permanently give up on an opportunity to have a more successful future.

“It just worries me, you know?” Krista said tearfully. “It feels like déjà vu.”

Maria tensed, slowly sitting down beside her. “It does?” That was what she’d been most scared of.

“Oh, yeah. His father . . . it was his plan to just take a year off after high school, work, save up some money, get used to being a husband and a dad. But he always said he’d go to college. He really wanted to, actually. He was a pretty good football player, too, and he had an offer to play at Texas Tech.” She smiled fondly, as if recalling a distant, happier time in their relationship. “But he never went. He got that construction job, and he never stopped. Until they fired him.”

Maria shivered nervously. She didn’t want that for Michael. Last night, before they’d gone to bed, he’d started talking about jobs he might be able to get and work for a year, and construction had been one of them.

Maybe it didn’t mean anything. Maybe it wasn’t a big deal.

But what if it was?

“Did you two talk about this?” Krista asked her. “Is it something you discussed, or did he just make the decision on his own?”

“We didn’t discuss it,” Maria admitted. “I mean, we . . . we talked about it last night, after he told me. But not beforehand.”

“Do you think he might change his mind?” Krista asked hopefully. “I know it’s expensive, and I know he’s worried about money, but I’m worried about him if he doesn’t go.”

“I don’t . . .” Maria took a breath to steady her nerves. “I don’t think he’ll change his mind,” she said, trying to ignore the obvious insinuation: The thought of her son being a husband and a father scared Krista. She wanted him to be something else, if not in place of that, then at least in addition to it.

“He’s so stubborn,” Krista bemoaned. “Can you talk to him, though?”

“I did. Trust me, I tried to get him to change his mind. He didn’t wanna hear it.” Last night was the closest they had come to going to bed mad at each other since they had started dating. In fact, their conversation had been on the verge of becoming an argument before he suggested that they just go to sleep.

“He doesn’t wanna hear it from me,” Krista said, “or his dad, obviously. But Maria, if there’s anyone he’ll listen to . . .”

It’ll be me, Maria thought, feeling the pressure. “I really tried,” she insisted. “I want him to go to college just as much as you do; I want him to get an education. I mean . . .” She shrugged disappointedly. “One of us has to. But I can’t force him. If he doesn’t wanna go, he doesn’t have to go. If he thinks this is what’s best . . .” She shrugged helplessly, trying to have his back on this decision as much as she could. “I don’t know, maybe it is. Maybe he does know what he’s doing.”

“Maria, he doesn’t know.”

“But he’s right. The money situation . . . it’s gonna be pretty impossible if he’s not working full-time, too.”

Krista frowned. “So—so you agree with him? You think he’s doing the right thing?”

“I—I don’t know if he’s doing the right thing or the wrong thing,” Maria sputtered, “but it’s his thing to do. And if nothing else, at least he’s actually trying to be responsible and think ahead. I mean, that’s progress, right?”

“Responsible,” Krista echoed, shaking her head. “Oh, Maria . . .”

Maria looked down at her lap, feeling like she herself was the responsible one. The one responsible for making Michael feel like he had to step up and sacrifice something in order to take care of her and Dylan. But they weren’t his responsibility. Not really. Dylan was the result of her careless actions, hers and Max’s. Michael never asked for any of this. He just got thrust into the situation.

But then again . . . they were going to be married, and adoption was a serious consideration for the near future. So maybe it was good that he was feeling responsible? Because maybe he needed to feel that way.

“I’m sorry,” she apologized to Krista, feeling the need to get it off her chest. “I know this isn’t what you want for him, and I know it’s my fault.”

“No, I didn’t . . .” Krista reached over and put her hand on her leg. “I didn’t mean for anything to come off like that. Maria, you’re a great girl, and you’re great for him.”

“In some ways,” she acknowledged. “But in a lot of other ways, it’s complicated. I make Michael’s life complicated.” It wasn’t pleasant knowledge, but she had to be honest with herself about it.

“You’ve made his life . . . different,” Krista rephrased. “Better.”

“In some ways,” she repeated quietly. In other ways, there was no denying he would have been better off without her.

Krista angled her body towards hers and said apologetically, “I don’t mean to sound paranoid, or like I’m blaming you in any way.”

“No, you don’t,” Maria assured her. She knew what blame sounded like, mostly on account of hearing it from her own mother incessantly ever since she got pregnant. “But Krista . . . Michael’s not gonna change his mind. It doesn’t matter what you say, or what Andy’s gonna say, or even what I say. You know how Michael can get sometimes. He’s made his mind up. He thinks he’s doing the right thing. And maybe he is. We just have to . . . believe in him.”

A solitary tear rolled down Krista’s cheek, and she made no effort to wipe it away. “You’re right,” she said. “But still . . . I don’t think it would hurt for you to talk to him about it some more, just try to change his mind.”

Maria sighed heavily, really not looking forward to another conversation about a topic they would never see eye-to-eye on. Their life experiences had colored their perspectives so that she had a hard time seeing where he was coming from on the issue, and he had an equally as hard time seeing where she was coming from.

“Please,” Krista practically begged. “Please, Maria. You know him just as well as I do.”

Probably even better, Maria wagered internally.

“We both know, if he doesn’t go to college his first year out of high school, he’ll probably never go.”

Maria shifted, unnerved by the thought. That was the biggest fear, wasn’t it? For both of them. It wasn’t his decision to take a year off of school that was such a worrisome thing; it was the uncertainty of whether or not he would find it in himself to ever go back after he got started on a different path in life. Whether or not he would be motivated enough, disciplined enough. Michael wasn’t a motivated, disciplined guy.

Her heart nearly stopped when she heard him clear his throat. When she looked up, he was standing in the doorframe to the kitchen, and she wasn’t sure how much he had just overheard. He didn’t say anything to either one of them, though; he didn’t even go into the living room to say hi to Dylan. He just trudged upstairs.

“Oh, crap,” Maria swore. Hopefully he hadn’t been standing there too long. He couldn’t have been, right? She would have noticed him.

“I’m sorry,” Krista said. “Is he upset or--”

“Yeah, probably. I’m gonna . . .” Maria stood and gestured upstairs. Krista nodded in agreement.

When Maria slipped into the bedroom, she found him sitting on his bed, shirt off, unfastening his jeans.

“I’m just gonna take a nap,” he mumbled. “You know, since I’m never gonna go to college or do anything with my life, I might as well be fuckin’ lazy.”

“I didn’t say you’re never gonna do anything with your life,” she said, kneeling down in front of him, grabbing his hands in hers, stopping him right as he was pulling his zipper down. “How much did you hear?”

“Enough,” he grunted in response.

“Your mom’s just . . . not sure how to react,” she said delicately.

“Yeah, and neither are you.”

She exhaled steadily, trying to think of the best way to handle this. She didn’t want to upset him more, but at the same time, she didn’t want to put on a happy face and pretend like she had no feelings about the situation whatsoever. “I understand why you think it’s a good idea,” she said slowly. “And in some ways, I actually think it’s a good idea, too.”

His eyebrows arched in surprise. “You do?”

“Yes. But you need to understand why she and I might wonder about it, too. We just want what’s best for you.”

“And college is automatically what’s best for me?” He snorted. “You know how many people don’t go to college and end up doin’ just fine?”

“But you’re gonna go,” she reminded him. “Right?”

“Yeah, I’ll go next year. I’m not an idiot. I know I’ll make more money in the long run with a college degree. I get it, Maria,” he assured her. “But what I don’t get is why people think it’s such a big deal for me to go one year—just one year—without school. It’s not like I’m gonna forget everything. It’s not like I knew what I wanted to study anyway. And the football thing . . . that’ll still be there next year. I’ll stay in shape. I’ll work out; I’ll keep bench-pressing you.”

She smiled and managed to laugh a little. Just a little. He really did sound determined. It made her feel a little better to know that he had every intention of not throwing this opportunity away for good. Maybe between the two of them, they could make sure he enrolled next year. And maybe by then, he would have a better idea of what he wanted to study, have some options for what he wanted to do for a career. Maybe waiting a year wouldn’t be such a bad thing. It wasn’t ideal, but it wasn’t the end of the world.

“I just . . .” He leaned back on the mattress, and she couldn’t help but be a little distracted by the way his abdominal muscles moved with everything breath he took. “I hate that people think I’m gonna end up like my dad. It feels like everyone thinks that.”

“Even me?” she squeaked out, horrified if she had ever made him feel that way.

“Sometimes,” he admitted. “I mean, you tell me I’m not him, you say I’m nothin’ like him; but then I hear you talkin’ to my mom, and I wonder if you’re just sayin’ that, or if you actually believe it.”

“No, I believe it,” she reassured him. “Michael, I believe in you. I do. I promise.” She wanted to be the kind of girlfriend—soon-to-be wife—who made him feel supported and encouraged, not doubted. It was just hard sometimes, because life had made a realist out of her. Life had made her expect the worst even when she was hoping for the best, and life hadn’t done that to Michael. Not yet, and hopefully not ever.

“Maria, I know I may not be the greatest guy to ever live,” he acknowledged, “but I’m gonna be a good husband, and I’m gonna be a good dad. I’m ready for it. You gotta believe me.”

“I do,” she reiterated, looking forward to a day in the not so distant future when her last name would change, and a day when Dylan’s last name would, too. There was nothing she wanted more than for them to be the happy family her mother told her she would never have. “I love you.”

“I love you, too.” The faint traces of a smile appeared on his face, and he said, “Come here,” lifting her up onto his lap.

She kissed him, hugged him, and then just sat there on the bed with him, holding onto him, breathing in his scent, using his shoulder as a pillow. She didn’t want to move, and he seemed in no big hurry to do so, either.

Krista would be disappointed that she hadn’t been able to get him to change his mind. His father, when he found out about this whole thing, would be irate. Tina would be confused, and whole lot of other people who didn’t matter would be skeptical. But Maria didn’t care what anyone else thought. If Michael was so sure that everything would work out, she was just going to follow his lead and hope for the best. So far, doing that had worked out just fine.

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

It was strange to see Liz in the Crashdown uniform. Max stood outside the café after closing time that evening, watching as she stacked chairs on the tables, taking it all in. The Liz that he knew was a confident collegiate, not a small-town waitress. She looked cute, though, especially with the alien headband.

He tapped his knuckles against the door three times, slowly. She stopped what she was doing and looked up at him. Judging by her facial expression, she wasn’t overly pleased to see him, but she came and unlocked the door anyway. “Can’t you read?” she snapped. “The sign says closed.”

“Come on, Liz.” He put one of his flirty smiles, since that never failed to get her weak in the knees. “You’ve been open to me for a few months now.”

She rolled her eyes at that.

“What?” It was true. Their sex life so far had been quite lively and very satisfying for both of them.

“It’s just not funny,” she said.

Hell, he thought it was, but he was smart enough to know that, when a woman was angry, it was best to just agree with her. “You’re right,” he said. “Sorry.”

“What do you want?”

“I just wanna talk. You’ve been ignoring me all day.” He’d sent countless texts, made dozens of phone calls that had all ended in unreturned voicemails.

“Make it quick,” she said, stepping aside. “I still have to finish cleaning up.”

He stepped inside and shut the door, helping her lift the remainder of the chairs off the floor before she could even tell him to let her do it himself. “So you’re gonna work here this summer?” he asked, looking around. It really wasn’t so bad when no customers were around. It was more spacious than it seemed to be when it was jam-packed with people, and it was actually sort of quiet.

“Might as well,” she said with a shrug.

“Good.” He smirked. “You know, I have a thing for waitresses.”

She glared at him and growled, “Again, not funny.”

“I’m just trying to lighten the mood.” Usually, Liz thought he was funny. She laughed at his jokes, even if they were vulgar or inappropriate. She was just being stubborn right now, determined to be mad at him for withholding information about his life. It was kind of a turn-on.

“You can’t lighten the mood, Max,” she said. “Not after everything you told me about . . . your past. Yourself.”

“I’ve always been straightforward with you about the drug stuff,” he pointed out. “And you know that’s over.”

She nodded. “I know. But you didn’t even tell me about you and Maria.”

“I didn’t even know you knew her.”

“I barely know her,” she admitted, “but I met her over Christmas break when I was working here, and . . . well, obviously you know I know Michael.”

“Intimately,” he grumbled. “You know, we might as well just have an orgy at this point, because we’ve pretty much all had sex with each other.”

“I’ve slept with three people in my whole life,” she said. “Michael and Alex and you. And you’re the only one that really matters.”

He smiled, glad that he had Liz’s favor. It made it easier to accept that Michael had Maria’s.

“I always knew you were . . . experienced,” she said, “but I never knew you had a son out there. Not out there, actually; here. Right here in Roswell. You never told me.”

“What was I supposed to say?” He shuffled towards her, appreciating that she didn’t back up a bit.

“You were just supposed to tell me,” she said. “I’m your girlfriend, Max. I need to know these things.”

“Yeah, well, admitting I’ve been a deadbeat dad for the past three years isn’t exactly a sexy turn-on.”

“Max . . .” She flapped her arms against her sides. “I get it. Maybe it wasn’t the right thing to do or the best thing you could’ve done, but . . . you were sixteen when you found out you were gonna be a dad. You were a sophomore in high school. And you were screwed up with all the drug stuff. You weren’t ready to be a dad. So when Maria didn’t agree to have an abortion, you freaked out, and you abandoned her. No, it’s not your most bright and shining moment, but it’s not exactly incomprehensible, either.”

He breathed a sigh of relief, wishing more people would see it that way. “Thank you.”

“I’m not excusing what you did,” she said. “Leaving her to fend for herself? That’s a pretty crappy thing to do. But you were young. And you’re not the same person anymore.”

That’s right. I’m not, he thought. He was going to be smarter now, more in control of his life. He was going to make better decisions. He had to at this point.

“It doesn’t upset me that you have a son,” she told him, “or that you and Maria used to . . .” She trailed off, shuddering a bit. “What upsets me, Max, is that you didn’t even tell me about it. You kept this huge secret for months, and I don’t understand why.”

“Liz . . .” He reached out for her hand, brushing his thumbs against her knuckles, trying to tap into his long-forgotten sensitive side. “I was worried what you would think of me. Things were just going so well, and we were having such a good time together. I didn’t wanna mess it up.” And now, by withholding this, perhaps he had. It bothered him more than he liked to admit. His relationship with Liz . . . it intrigued him. He wanted to hold onto it for a while, maybe see where it could go, even though, if his romantic history was any indicator, it wouldn’t end up going anywhere.

Liz sighed, squeezing his hands in hers. “What happens now?” she asked. “Are you gonna try to be a part of his life?”

“Dylan’s?” He shrugged unsurely. “I don’t know. Maria doesn’t want that. She wants Michael to be his dad.”

Liz shook her head. “I know Michael. He’s not ready to be a dad.”

“Well, maybe I’m not, either,” he admitted. “I don’t know, Liz. I don’t know what’s best for him, or what’s best for me. I don’t know if I have any purpose for being here or if I’m just passing time.”

“You’re here to be with your mom and sister,” she reminded him. “And . . . hopefully with me.”

He reached up and touched her cheek. “Of course with you.” After the end of the semester, when things had gone the farthest south they’d ever gone with his dad, he’d been desperate for some sort of direction, somewhere he could go. And when Liz had mentioned that she would be going home to Roswell for the summer, it had just seemed like the perfect fit. He hadn’t known at the time that Maria and Dylan would be here. But now that they were . . . it was like a perfect confluence of events. Maybe everything that had happened to get him there had happened for a reason. Maybe he was meant to get to know Dylan, be a part of his life. Even if it was just a small part.

“I feel powerless,” he admitted. “Michael and Maria are moving to another state, and they’re taking Dylan with them.”

“Why are they moving?” she asked.

He shrugged. “Apparently Michael’s going to college.”

“What?” Liz’s expression was one of utter dismay.

“And they’re getting married.”

What?” The dismay intensified. “Are you kidding me?”

“I wish I was.” He resented the thought of them living out some great life together while he struggled to keep his own from crumbling around him.

“Unbelievable,” Liz said. “That’s not the Michael I know.”

“Then you must not know him anymore.” People did change, and it really could be for the better. He wanted so badly to be proof of that.

“Must not,” Liz agreed. “Wow, Max. This is . . .”

“Too much to handle?” he guessed. This was how it usually happened. He maintained a girl’s interest for half a year at the most, and then other stuff just got in the way. They realized that he wasn’t worth the effort, worth the trouble, and they got out just in time.

“I’m not breaking up with you, Max,” she assured him. “I wanna be with you, no matter how weird or wild it gets.”

He grinned a little. When things got wild . . . that tended to be when they had the most fun. In the bedroom, at least. Liz had never truly seen how wild he could be outside his dorm room walls.

“But no more secrets, okay?” she said. “If this is gonna work, we have to be honest with each other.”

He swallowed hard, nodding in agreement. “Yep.”

“We can have a great summer here, and when we go back to school next year . . . we’ll be an even stronger couple.”

Back to school, he thought. Yeah, that was going to be a problem.

“No more secrets?” she asked.

“No more secrets,” he agreed.

Looking more like the Liz he knew, she smiled, rose up on her tiptoes, and kissed him. “I gotta finish cleaning up,” she said, grabbing a broom.

“I’ll help,” he offered, even though he hated cleaning and suspected he wasn’t very good at it.

“Thanks,” she said, handing him the broom while she scampered off behind the counter to count the register.

He started sweeping, averting her eyes at all costs, wondering if she would still be thanking him if she knew there was still one secret he was keeping.

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

Michael was still waking up when he trundled downstairs Sunday morning, yawning and stretching his limbs. His mom was already up, of course, and in the kitchen making breakfast. “Morning,” he greeted huskily.

“Oh, good morning, honey,” she said, turning down the heat on the front right burner so she scrambled eggs she’d made could sit on low heat for a while. “Have you seen your father?”

“No.” Did that mean he was missing or something? “Didn’t he come home last night?”

“No, which isn’t unusual, but usually he at least calls to let me know where he is.”

“Probably out on an all-night binge,” Michael guessed. “Just a theory.”

“Did you talk to him at all yesterday?”

“No. Sent him a few texts about the college stuff.”

His mother gave him an incredulous look. “You told him you decided not to go to college in a text message?”

Michael shrugged. “Figured it was better than tellin’ him face to face. Did you really wanna bail us outta jail again?”

His mother sighed. “Then that’s probably why he didn’t come home. He’s too upset.” She blinked back tears and whimpered, “He couldn’t even be here this morning of all mornings.”

Michael was really glad he had remembered what this morning was then. Well, technically, Tina had remembered, but she’d reminded him. “Happy Mother’s Day,” he told her, walking around the counter to hug her.

“Oh, thanks, honey,” she said.

Tina came zipping downstairs a moment later with a hand-made card in her hand. “Happy Mother’s Day, Mom!” she exclaimed, holding it up for her.

“Oh, look at this!” Their mother’s eyes lit up as she took the card. “You made this?”

Tina nodded proudly.

Damn, Michael thought, that’s pretty good. Tina had always been pretty artistic, and she was well-known in their family for her great hand-made cards. But she had taken this one to a whole new level, bedazzling it with jewels and gems and a whole bunch of glittery crap. It looked better than most of the stuff in the stores.

“Aw, thank you, sweetheart,” Krista said as she read through the card. She bent down and gave her daughter a kiss and told her, “I love it.”

“I got you a card, too,” Michael said, taking two envelopes out of what was basically their ‘junk drawer,’ where they kept scissors, tape, paperclips, and a whole host of other odds and ends. The card wasn’t junk, though. It was just that that drawer was a good hiding place.

“I don’t think you’ve ever gotten me a card before,” his mother said, taking the envelope with her name on it.

“I reminded him,” Tina proclaimed. “And I told him to get one for Maria, too, ‘cause Dylan’s too young to get her one.”

Michael held up the second envelope with Maria’s name on it. “Not to brag or anything,” he said, “but it’s kinda the perfect card.”

“Not to brag or anything,” Tina mimicked, “but you only got it ‘cause I told you to.”

“You’re very wise,” he told her as Maria came downstairs. “Hey, baby,” he greeted. “Happy Mother’s Day.” He handed her card to her before she could even say hi to him.

“Really?” She smiled much in the same way his mom had. “I don’t think I’ve ever really gotten a Mother’s Day gift before.”

“First time for everything.” He leaned over and gave her a kiss on the cheek. Nothing too sensual since his family was standing in the same room, but just enough to let her know she was appreciated.

“Michael,” his mom said, reading the front of her card with a confused look on her face. “What is this?”

“What?” Was she surprised he’d gone the sappy route? The sappy, mushy cards were just about the only ones the grocery store had had left last night. Otherwise, he would have given her something funny.

“Happy Mother’s Day,” she read bewilderedly, “to my favorite MILF?

“Oh, shit,” he swore, seizing that card back from her. He switched it with Maria’s just as Maria was about to open hers. “Mixed up the envelopes. That’s hers. This is yours. Sorry.”

Maria gave him a look. “They actually sell this in public?”

He chuckled. “I know, it was like finding a unicorn or a pot of gold or something.”

“I don’t get it,” his mother jumped back in. “What’s a MILF?”

“You know.” Michael wasn’t about to say it with Tina standing there, but . . . she did know, didn’t she? Or . . . maybe she didn’t. “Wait, are you serious?”

“What’s it mean? What is it?” she asked. “One of your football friends called me that one time. I just smiled and said thank you.”

“Uh . . .” He had to hold in his laughter. “It’s a . . . well, it is a compliment.”

“Mom, come on,” Tina said. “Even I know what it stands for, and I’m eleven.”

“What’s it stand for?” she asked.

Tina started to reply, “Mom I’d like to--”

“Fascinate!” Michael interjected with the first non-sexual f-word that came to mind. “Mom I’d like to fascinate.”

Krista thought about it for a moment, then shook her head and flippantly declared, “I don’t get it.”

“That’s okay,” he said. “You don’t have to get it. It’s Maria’s card. She gets it.”

“Oh, yes, I do,” Maria agreed, flipping her card open, her eyes widening when she saw the doodle he’d done on the inside. “Oh my.”

He grinned. Heck yeah. All sorts of inappropriate. Thank God his mom hadn’t gotten past the cover.

“Mom I’d like to fascinate,” Tina mumbled as she headed out of the kitchen and back upstairs. “Whatever.”

“By the way,” Michael said to Maria quietly, “did I fascinate you last night? I couldn’t tell.”

She put her card back in the envelope and replied, “Once.”

“Damn.” He usually aimed for more than that. “I’ll fascinate you more tonight, I promise.”

“Hey, I’m not complaining.”

No, she wasn’t. But a guy like him had standards. Once was just not enough. They’d stayed up pretty late last night. Should’ve been twice.

“Well, thank you very much, again,” his mother said, clutching both her children’s cards to her chest. “It’s very thoughtful.”

“Oh, it’s not over yet,” he promised. “Tina and I are gonna do all the cleaning today, and we’re cooking for you tonight and everything.”

“Oh, I’m getting spoiled, huh? I could get used to that.” She held out her card to Maria and said, “Do you wanna take a look?”

“Sure,” Maria said.

“Can I see yours again?”

“Um . . .” Maria slid her card closer to her body. “You probably don’t want to.”

“Why not?”

Maria didn’t answer, so Michael did it for her. “It’s kinda graphic,” he admitted. There wasn’t just the doodle inside. There were also several lines he’d written that bordered on literary porn.

His mother dismissed it with, “Oh, I don’t even wanna know,” and returned her attention to the scrambled eggs she’d made before he had even woken up.

Michael kissed Maria’s cheek again, then told her, “I’ll go get Dylan up.”

“Thanks,” she said. “And thank you for the card. It’s . . . totally you.”

He grinned shamelessly and headed out of the kitchen. On his way to Dylan’s room, though, Tina came scampering back downstairs, whispering, “Psst!” to get his attention.

He whirled around, pretending to be mad at her. “You know, you didn’t have to make your card so damn good. Mine can’t even compete.”

“I can’t help it,” she said with a shrug. She looked back to make sure no one was listening, then spoke in a hushed voice when she said, “Okay, please tell me you got Maria something more than the MILF card.”

“Teenie, I’m not completely romantically retarded, you know,” he informed her. “I got her something good, but I gotta give it to her later.”

She made a face of disgust. “Are you talking about the F part of MILF?”

“What? No.” When did she get so freakin’ savvy about sex slang? “Maybe. Forget I said that. Listen, I got her a real gift. I’m gonna take her out tonight, give it to her then.”

“What is it?” she asked.

“I can’t tell you.”

She pouted. “Why not?”

“Because, I’m not even kidding, it’s so awesome, you won’t be able to resist telling her.”

She crossed her arms over her chest and argued, “No, I won’t. I can keep a secret.”

“Not this one.”

“Yes, I can,” she insisted. “I kept the ring thing a secret. Tell me.”

He sighed, knowing she really could keep a secret, as long as it was one of his. His little sister always had his back, and he always had hers. “Okay,” he said, stringing out the suspense as long as he could. “But you gotta promise me you won’t say anything.”

She nodded affirmatively and made a cross sign over her chest.

He spoke in low tones as he revealed his plan to her. “Okay, here’s what I’m gonna do . . .”








TBC . . .

-April

Re: Someone, Anyone (M&M, CC/UC, AU, Adult) Part 75, 09/05/1

Posted: Sat Sep 05, 2015 12:41 pm
by keepsmiling7
Great part!
Finally Liz got the truth about Maria.......and Max's son. I don't blame her for being upset about that news.
It's a big deal that Max has a son, and is he going to take some responsibility?
Liz was surprised that Michael had changed.......and it appears that he will be a better father than Max.
One more secret........cliff hanger here.
Loved the Texas Tech mention......almost time for me to leave and go watch the first game. Hope Kliff and the boys have a better year.
Thanks,
Carolyn

Re: Someone, Anyone (M&M, CC/UC, AU, Adult) Part 75, 09/05/1

Posted: Tue Sep 08, 2015 1:19 pm
by sarammlover
Awww, I am glad Max came clean about Dylan to Liz. And I think AND HOPE Liz and Max can be a good couple together. I want to believe that people can change because we have already seen it in Michael.....

Can't wait to see what the surprise is!!