Chapter 20
On the last night of finals, the Winter Carnival opened, giving all the students a place to have fun and blow off steam from the week of cramming and test taking. Food carts were scattered all over the grounds, serving anything from popcorn and big pretzels to hot dogs and pizza slices. There were sports and arcade games, a Ferris Wheel and a dozen or so more booths set up by various sororities, frats and school clubs.
Amongst all the activities stood a tall, white booth that had lines longer than any other. So far the Deltas and Sigmas had been a hit and as the hour neared its end, Tess and Kyle sat on two stools, joking around as they waited for their shift to begin.
After discussing it, Kyle agreed it was only fair that Tess sign up to work in the booth too. Thanks to Serena, the two were scheduled to work the same shift which, ironically, made each of them feel better about the whole thing. “So what do you feel like doing afterwards?” Kyle queried after nodding to some guys on the team.
“We could take a ride on the Ferris Wheel and hope it gets stuck” Tess suggested with an impish grin. While she wished they could leave and go back to her room, she had to stop by the Science Club booth and help out there for a while before she was allowed to leave.
“I wish Liz could have switched shifts with you” Kyle murmured and pulled her close.
“She would’ve but she had already been assigned here” Tess shrugged and leaned in even closer. Just as their lips were about to meet, they heard yelling coming from a voice that sounded suspiciously like Maria.
“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” she demanded just as Kyle and Tess made it around to the front of the booth. The sight that met them was an angry Maria, an indifferent Michael and an entirely too smug Courtney. “I can’t believe that after everything she tried to do to me that you’re gonna kiss her” she yelled, causing Tess to react fast, hoping to prevent a full blown fight, complete with a cheering crowd.
“What does it matter to you” Michael asked back. “You’re the one that kissed more than a dozen guys earlier, including that asshole who’s always trying to get your attention” he reminded, referring to Billy Darden, the music guy who had an obvious crush on Maria.
“Urg! I don’t even know why I thought you…” she trailed off as Serena arrived and tried to usher them away from the customers.
“I don’t know what the hell just happened and I don’t want to know either” Serena stated harshly. “Now you two either work this out quietly or go your separate ways but keep your arguments away from the booth, got it” she added, then quickly walked off.
“Don’t you think you were a bit hard on them?” Tess wondered once they were all out of hearing distance.
“Probably” Serena replied, suddenly cheerful again. “But maybe now they’ll finally go somewhere and admit they’re in love before they drive all of us as crazy as they are.”
~&~&~&~&~&
“I just… I can’t believe that after she’s tried everything under the sun to get you, after she nearly had me arrested, that you would buy a ticket to get kissed by her” Maria fumed the moment the door closed behind them. The storage shed they stood in was dark and cold but neither paid any attention to that, choosing to focus solely on the argument at hand, each thinking that they were right while the other was at fault.
“Tough” Michael stated and watched as Maria’s eyes flashed dangerously. “If you want someone to blame, look in the mirror doll because this one’s all on you.”
“Me… how the hell are you gonna pin all of this on me?” she questioned, outraged by his affirmation.
“When you told me that Courtney had a thing for me, what did I do? I told you that she didn’t matter to me and I turned her down every time she asked or tried something” Michael answered. “What did you do when I got upset over this kissing booth thing? You did it anyway, that’s why I can pin this all on you” he declared angrily.
Maria opened her mouth to retort but found that she had nothing to say. Michael was right, she knew he was but what she didn’t know was how to explain it all to him without still sounding like a jerk in the end.
“Okay” Maria said quietly and it was enough to stun Michael silent. He looked down at her and the expression she wore nearly broke his heart. He hadn’t meant to hurt her, he just needed her too see how much she had hurt him.
Putting everything aside for a moment, Michael tugged at her hand and pulled her to his body. “Can you at least tell me why?” he asked and she didn’t have to ask what he meant.
“I guess that… well I guess that I wanted you to be upset” Maria confessed and felt Michael’s heartbeat speed up below her ear. “It wasn’t like a test or anything, I just wanted to know that I was important to you… that you would feel something if we ever… never mind” she said, shaking head and pulled away from his warm embrace. “The whole thing was stupid, I’m sorry” she apologized and turned her back to him, unable to look him in the eye and see disappointment directed at her.
“What is the matter with you?” he questioned, startling her. She had expected a wide range of scenarios, even a raised voice, but that particular question hadn’t been on her list.
“What are you talking about?” Maria asked back, surprised.
“I’m talking about this lack of self confidence you have” Michael replied, frustrated but also curious. “You’re beautiful and talented and… and you have absolutely no reason to be this unsure about yourself” he stated, further shocking Maria. “Especially with me” he added, almost to himself.
“Why with you?” she wondered.
“Because I’m in…” he trailed off, suddenly not so sure of himself.
“In what?” Maria encouraged though she didn’t allow her hopes to rise… not yet at least.
With confident, purposeful steps, Michael strode forward until he was only inches from Maria. In a gesture straight out of any romantic novel, he cupped her face, gently pushing her hair aside and leaned forward until their lips were a breath away. “In love you” he whispered and captured her lips before she could respond.
Maria wound her arms tightly around Michael, holding him close and returned the kiss wholeheartedly. She had never noticed before how incredibly soft his lips were or how gentle his hands felt against her skin as he slowly trailed them beneath her sweater.
His kisses swallowed her moans of pleasure and slowly walked her backgrounds until she pressed up against the wall.
“I love you too” Maria murmured as he dragged his lips down the smooth column of her throat. Chills danced up and down her spine as his tongue laved at her pulse point and nipped at her ear. “God Michael” she moaned and her breath hitched as he flicked the button of her jeans open and slid his hand beneath the coarse material to her very wet center.
Teasingly, he dipped his fingers in and out, all the while kissing every inch of exposed skin he could reach. Maria felt on fire despite the frigid chill outside and hastily began fumbling with his belt.
Her slick heat coated his fingers, holding him within her tight depths as she came, shaking like a leaf in his strong embrace. “Please” she whimpered and gasped inaudibly when he pushed her clothes the rest of the way down her legs and lifted her up, pressing her firmly between his muscular body and the old shed wall. “Yes” she moaned when he thrust up and filled her with his thick length.
The sound of laughter, bells ringing, rides moving and people walking, flooded the air around them, though neither cared. They were too caught up in one another and the pleasure they were receiving to notice anything outside the small, dark shed.
“Maria…” Michael moaned and continued pressing sensual kisses across her collarbone. She was so wet, so responsive and Michael was rapidly getting lost in her as moans and harsh pants filled his ear.
“So close…” he heard her murmur softly. Helpfully, Michael cupped her ass and continued his motions, pulling her close with every thrust. “Oh god” she moaned and let her head rest heavily against his shoulder, holding on tight as she rode his cock to fulfillment. “Yes… yes...Michael!” she called out blissfully.
Her pussy tightened around him, causing Michael to groan into her neck as she continued to slide up and down on his length. “Fuck me till you let go” she whispered in his ear began gasping with each stroke as her orgasm drifted into the next, making the pleasure so incredible that Maria was left tired and sated when he finally spilled his seed in her welcoming pussy.
“God Michael” Maria groaned quietly as she slid down his body. She was grateful for his strong arms holding her close, afraid she’d fall to the ground without his support. “That was amazing” she stated bluntly and looked up into his eyes when he still didn’t speak. “What?” she queried.
“I’m still mad at you” he said softly. “But I’ll get over it” he added, smirking only when Maria expelled a sigh of relief. “I really do love you, you know. No more tests” he sated, not in the least bit fooled by her earlier declaration that it hadn’t been one.
“Promise” Maria vowed and pressed a soft kiss to his lips. “I love you.”
Michael smiled and enjoyed the way the words sounded as they fell from her lips.
~&~&~&~&~&
“Where do you wanna go now?” Max wondered and took Liz by the hand. After her science club duty, he knew they only had a half hour at most before she was due to relieve Tess at the kissing booth. Because of their girlfriend’s conflicting schedules, Kyle and Max agreed to check out some of the sports booths while they waited it out, figuring they’d probably meet up with either Michael or Alex with Isabel somewhere along the way.
“Hmm… how about the House of Mirrors” Liz suggested since it was just around the corner.
“I’d rather not” Max replied and the tone of his voice was enough to draw Liz’s attention to the nervous expression he wore.
“Okay…” she said slowly. “Care to tell me why?” she asked and while he didn’t answer right away, he did lead her to the fringe of all the noise and pulled her down beside him on the solid dirt surface.
“I got lost in one when I was a kid and it was just this really bad experience” Max answered quietly and while Liz hated to see him bothered about anything, she couldn’t help but feel a little glad that there was finally something that she could help him with. On most occasions he was comforting, reassuring or listening to her and Liz relished the idea of being on the giving end this time around.
“Tell me about it” she requested gently and was awarded a small smile from her incredible boyfriend.
“Well… it was right around the time when my parents were divorcing. Isabel and I kept getting shuttled between Seattle and Roswell. I think we spent more time on planes and in airports than we actually did with our parents” Max explained, surprising Liz. She had just assumed that Philip and Diane had always been so together based on what she had seen only weeks before. She never would guessed Max and Isabel had had to suffer through the feeling of loneliness and uncertainty but listening to him now, she was able to read between the lines and guess that that was exactly how they had felt.
“I think my dad was starting to figure it out so on one of our visits, he took Isabel and I to a carnival” Max continued thoughtfully. “I guess he wanted to somehow make up for everything in that one night so he we played all the games and rode all the rides. It was… a lot of fun” he admitted. “Isabel was up on the Ferris Wheel and I was waiting on the ground with dad since he’s terrified of open heights. We were gonna get some pizza afterwards and watch movies but then my mom called and… all hell broke loose.”
Impulsively, Liz took his hand in hers and squeezed it gently, silently offering her support.
“Even now, I have no clue why they fought that night but I just couldn’t stand to hear it again so I ran off and ended up lost in the House of Mirrors” Max stated with an indifferent shrug that was bellied by the tone in his voice. “I kept walking into mirrors and I couldn’t… couldn’t find the exit. Finally, this guy, Deputy Fisher, found me wandering around and pulled me out.”
Liz could vaguely imagine a scared, elementary aged Max. She was so used to his strength and courage that it was hard to believe there had ever been a time when he wasn’t fearless. She could imagine shy, but never afraid.
“One good thing came out of it though” Max added, bringing Liz back to the present. “Afterwards, they finally sat down and came up with the holiday and visitation agreement they still use.”
Liz’s smile quickly turned into a confused frown when Max pulled her back up to her feet. “Come on” he suggested and began leading her towards the house they had just been talking about.
“We don’t have to go in there” Liz stated firmly and dug her heals in the ground.
“I know” Max said, turning to face and pull her close. “But I can’t be afraid forever, what would our kids think” he stated and continued to lead Liz forward, unaware of what he’d just let slip, though the words echoed in Liz’s head.
Kids.
Oddly enough, that idea didn’t scare her, it filled her with anticipation for a future she wanted to have with Max.
. Songs used are 'Pieces of Me' by Ashlee Simpson and 'Colorblind' by Counting Crows. Thanks again, enjoy!!