Earth2Mama: Lol, it’s frustrating the hell outta them too.
We’re still waiting to discover the person’s identity.
keepsmiling7: You could be right about that.
Eva: He is that. He’s keeping his reasons close.
Lol, that was pretty much everything the had in store for our foursome.
begonia9508: Max is definitely used to girls falling at his feet so Liz could be good for him.
Michael’s definitely hiding something but he hasn’t said we can reveal it yet. He feels his reasons are valid so we’ll see.
mary mary: Lol, well, that’s what she thinks right now anyway.
There’s always a chance this kinda thing could backfire.
Michael’s not ready to show his hand just yet so we’ll have to wait and see.
secretk: Well, she’s definitely got him intrigued.
Michael does have some mystery surrounding him. Those are all good guesses... we’ll see if one of them is right in time.
sptfire86: Lol, glad you’re enjoying our summer fic!
Natalie36: That’s definitely one possibility.
We’re pretty sure the longer Liz spends with Max the less she’s thinking about David.
nitpick23: No doubt about that!
Things may be just about to take a turn...
sarammlover: Yeah, we can’t really deny that one. Michael’s deal... well, he’s keeping that one close to the vest for now. Expect things to get hotter.
kismet: Do you have any doubts that she won’t? lol
We love to keep the mysteries up for w while…
Part 6
Maria was leaning on the counter in Max’s kitchen the next morning, filling a mug with the fresh coffee she had made. The house was quiet, a stark contrast to the party from the night before, and with the windows open she could hear the sounds of the waves breaking against the beach. She rested the edge of the mug against her lips as she stared out at the ocean thoughtfully, letting the sight and sounds calm her.
She lowered the mug and turned her head to the side when she heard someone coming into the room and she smiled at her best friend. “How’d you sleep?”
Liz shrugged. “It wasn’t my bed but I still slept pretty well. Hey, can I get one of those?”
Maria nodded to the cabinet over the coffee pot. “Mugs are up there.”
“Thanks,” Liz grabbed one and poured coffee in it. “God, I’m still tired.”
“Long night?” Maria teased.
“No,” her friend said with a grin. “Not what you think anyway.”
She chuckled. “Tempted?”
“Well, I’ve gotta admit he has his qualities,” Liz admitted.
Max stopped on his way into the kitchen when he heard what Liz had said and he grinned.
Oh, yeah, she was damn right about that.
Maria sipped her coffee and pulled her gaze away from the windows to look at Liz. “Qualities, huh?”
“Nothing compared to David of course,” the other girl added quickly, “but his kiss felt good.”
On the other side of the doorway Max was frowning.
Nothing compared to David? he mouthed silently.
Who the hell was this David guy?
“No, of course,” Maria agreed with a roll of her eyes. “Whoa, wait, you kissed him?” She shook her head at Liz. “You’re holdin’ out on me, girl. Spill.”
“He kissed me first,” she corrected. “It was just a short one though.”
Yeah, because you wanted it that way, Max thought with an eye roll.
“Uh-huh, and whose decision was that?”
Liz sighed. “Mine. I just… couldn’t so quickly.” She looked at her friend. “Don’t say anything.”
“Hey, you’re making a lot of progress on your dare.” She rolled her eyes. “I swear, Guerin’s not gonna be anywhere near as easy. The guy was so close last night and he might as well have been in a different state. I just can’t seem to get through to him.”
Dare, Max frowned.
What the hell were they talking about?
“But you... you’ve got your dare almost done. Evans is so interested in you,” Maria continued.
“He is interested,” Liz agreed.
Something she hadn’t anticipated, she thought.
“Yeah,” Maria sighed. “I’ll never get that tongue kiss from Guerin that you requested.”
Oh, these girls were worse than he had expected, Max thought.
“Ah, c’mon, Maria, it’ll happen. What guy can resist you for long?” She winked. “Besides, I don’t think you’ve ever not gone through with a dare.”
“Obviously Guerin can resist me.”
“You’re not gonna let him win.” She took a drink of her coffee and made a face before adding more sugar.
“And you’re gonna get David back. Evans is the right guy to get more adventurous with. Remember how your ex acted in the restaurant? He already regrets breaking up with you.”
“That’s true. And it’s pretty obvious that Max is... adventurous.”
Oh, you can count on that, Max thought and backed up to find his friend. He walked up the stairs and jerked the door to the room where Michael was sleeping open.
Michael groaned when noise interrupted his sleep and he was ready to yell at the woman who had shared a room with him when he noticed his friend. “Evans, what the hell, man?”
“You do anything with Maria last night?” he demanded.
“What?” he asked, confused. He rubbed his face with both hands to wake up.
“Did you do anything with her last night?” he asked, deliberately speaking slowly.
“Fuck no! What were you thinkin’ locking me up with her anyway?”
“Hey, I didn’t lock you up anywhere with her,” Max snapped. “And let’s stick to the point.”
“What’s your problem anyway?” Michael got up to look around for his clothes.
Max kicked the pile of clothes Michael had left on the floor over to him. “I just overheard Maria and Liz talkin’ in the kitchen... them bein’ all into us? Man, that shit’s nothin’ but some fucked up dare they’ve got goin’ on.”
The other man froze in place. “What?”
“I’m not kiddin’, man. I just heard ‘em in the kitchen talkin’ about it.”
“Gimme the details.” He grabbed his shirt and pulled it over his head while he waited for Max to share the rest of the story.
“There’s some guy Liz was talkin’ about... I don’t know if he’s an ex or what, but apparently I’m an experiment in her learnin’ to be more adventurous. As for you... all I got was that some part of Maria’s dare includes tonguin’ you... how much more there is, I don’t know.”
Michael felt his anger rise hard and fast.
And he had felt bad for hurting her feelings last night, he thought bitterly.
She was playing it good, he had to give her that much. “Bitch.”
“Yeah, fuckin’ sucks. I think I really could’ve gotten into Liz.” He grinned at the unintentional double meaning. “What I mean is I think I really could’ve liked her.”
“Like really liking her?” his friend asked doubtfully.
“Yeah, guess that’s not goin’ anywhere though.”
“Yeah, because now we’re gonna have payback without them even realizin’ it.”
His eyebrows lifted in interest. “Got somethin’ in mind?”
“They made a dare about us so we’re gonna turn the tables on them. Make it to our advantage.”
“So... like a reverse dare?”
“Exactly,” Michael snapped his fingers. “So if DeLuca dared her friend to use you as a test for bein’ more adventurous, I dare you to get Parker to fall for you. The girl’s easy. Take her out, compliment her, move slow, and she’ll be all yours in no time.” He grinned evilly. “Then ya drag her to bed and after that you drop the bomb.”
Max leaned back against the door, stroking his thumb over his bottom lip.
It was a cold plan. Calculating and merciless. But was what the girls had done any better? “So your dare would be what? Doin’ everything with Maria BUT tonguin’ her?” He frowned. “How’s that gonna get ‘er back for this?”
“You got a better idea? Feel free to share ‘cause I’m open at this point,” Michael said. Right now he was so mad at that woman he’d do anything.
“No, I don’t have anything better. So what’s the plan? Fuck her an’ drop her? Or play it out longer?”
“Well, she’s gonna be after me as long as she’s not getting my tongue, right? Guess I’ll take my time then.” He already knew he would regret it though.
He smirked and shook his head. “Guess I’m gonna have to drag my heels on this one and hope like hell she knows what she’s doin’ between the sheets.” He slapped Guerin’s shoulder. “You’re a lucky son of a bitch, ya know that?”
“Me?”
“Man, you’ll be fuckin’ like bunnies... I’m only gonna get one shot.” He rolled his eyes. “So, when’re you gonna know when to drop her ass?”
“I’m gonna be generous and wait for you. We can bust them together.”
Max laughed and high-fived his friend. “Enjoy yourself then, buddy, ‘cause I’ve got a feelin’ I’m gonna have fun with this game.”
“You can count on that,” Michael agreed.
“Guess there’s no reason to wait to get started.”
“No, I guess not,” his friend agreed and zipped his jeans up. “So where are they?”
“In the kitchen.”
“They’d better lock their panties up then,” Michael grinned.
Max just laughed and pulled the door open. “Have fun.”
“You too. Well, as much fun as you can get outta this that is,” he snorted. “That might ruin your rep for a while.”
“Damn, that’s a good point. Wonder how long it’s gonna take for me to get in her panties.”
Shit, he could be looking at a long dry spell.
They both laughed and had to catch themselves before they got downstairs and into the kitchen where the girls were.
“What’s so funny?” Liz asked as she cleaned her mug in the sink while Maria was sitting outside on the steps of the deck facing the ocean.
“Joke,” Max answered. “Dirty joke and not one that should be told in mixed company. Michael has a filthy mind so I’ll spare you.”
Michael shoved Max as he passed him and walked over to the open doors, his eyes moving over the girl sitting on the steps.
Could he go through with this? Yeah, he decided determinedly,
he could.
“So, how’d you sleep?” Max asked and stopped directly before Liz. She was still wearing his shirt and damn, it turned him on.
Liz smiled up at him. “Really well for being in a strange bed. What about you?” she teased.
“The thought of you in the other room kept me up for a while,” he winked at her.
Okay, that was a lie. He had been asleep in no time after going to bed.
“Sorry to hear that.”
“So,” he leaned over to get a mug for his coffee. “I was thinking we could go out for dinner tonight?”
Her breath caught in her throat when his body came so close to hers. “Um... go out?” She mentally kicked herself.
Way to go, Parker, you idiot! “Dinner would be nice.”
“Yeah?” He smiled at her warmly. “You want me to pick you up?”
“Would it be out of your way? I can meet you somewhere if you’d rather.”
“That’s no problem. I know you girls like high heels and I wouldn’t make you walk all the way,” he took a sip of his coffee.
“Oh, well...” David wasn’t as tall as Max and he preferred it if she didn’t wear high heels because it put them at nearly the same height. “Then yes, I’d like it if you’d pick me up.”
“Okay, you can write your address on the corkboard,” he pointed at the wall behind her. “Would seven be okay?”
“Seven would be heaven.” She wanted to slap her hand over her mouth in mortification.
God, she had NOT just said that!
Seven would be heaven? He had to laugh at that. “Okay.”
“Wanna tell me where we’re going?” Probably someplace nice if he assumed she would be wearing heels.
“I haven’t decided yet,” he said and it was sincere. He had to make a few calls first. “Just dress sexy like you usually do,” he told her with a wink and used two fingers to play with a strand of her hair. “I like it when you wear your hair like last night.”
Like she usually did? She was definitely going to have to consult with Maria because she was pretty sure that if he was talking about the way she usually dressed he was either blind or being kind.
Maria glanced up when someone walked out on the porch, expecting Liz but finding Michael instead. She turned to the ocean again without greeting him. His rejection from last night still hurt a bit.
“Hey,” he muttered gruffly as he came to stand behind her, his knees grazing her back lightly.
She moved slightly forward to escape his touch and kept ignoring him.
Damn, now that he had succeeded in pushing her away he had to reverse gears. “So... um... want me to get you a cup of coffee?” He winced at that pathetic attempt.
She lifted the mug that sat next to her on the step to show him that she already had one.
“Oh, right.” He sat down on the step behind her, careful not to touch her as he planted his feet on either side of her.
What was he doing now? she wondered.
Was he playing his favorite I’m gonna make you hot and then leave you cold game again?
“Got classes today?” he asked after a moment.
She rolled her eyes and turned to look at him. “Why? Do you care?”
Play it cool, Guerin. Shift gears too quick and she’s gonna be suspicious. He shrugged. “I don’t know. Maybe.”
“No classes today,” she finally said and glanced at her cell. She had tried to call a friend to pick them up, but she hadn’t called back.
“Expectin’ a call?” he asked, wondering if she was just using it as an excuse to get rid of him. “Boyfriend maybe?”
“Yeah, maybe,” she snorted. As if he didn’t know that she had no one.
He scratched his chin and wondered how to go on. “So um... how you getting home?”
“I don’t know. Calling a cab maybe.”
“Oh. Well, I can give you a ride home. If you want.”
“Why? So you can play your hot an’ cold game again?” she snapped.
Damn, she hadn’t meant to bring it up, but apparently last night bothered her more than she wanted to admit.
“Look, that whole thing last night...” Yeah, he could use the ‘I was drunk’ line but they both knew that was bullshit. He swallowed hard and allowed honesty to creep into his words.
Well, it wasn’t like she would ever know it was real and it was the only chance he would ever get to tell her. “I was a dick, okay? Most girls just want a piece of me and then they move on... and you’re not like that, so... I don’t know what you want.”
Okay, it wasn’t the whole truth, but most of it was.
“How do you know I’m not like that?”
He shrugged uncomfortably. “You’re different from the others, okay?”
She didn’t know what to say to that, so she stayed quiet and wrapped her arms around her knees. The mornings on the beach were a bit cold and she shivered slightly.
Michael stared at the goosebumps raised on her chilled flesh and hesitated only a moment before he rubbed his hands over her arms and pulled her resisting body back against his chest.
Damn it, she cursed silently when her body immediately reacted to his touch. She was afraid he would just play another game with her, but even though she had her doubts she let him touch her. This was closer than she had ever gotten to him.
“Ya know if you sit out here long enough you’ll see Uno.”
“Huh?”
“Seagull that comes around every mornin’.”
“You give names to seagulls?”
“He’s got one leg... he deserved a name.”
She grabbed her mug and warmed her fingers on the still hot exterior. “Uh-huh.”
“You don’t believe Uno’s out there?”
“I’ll believe it,” she told him, “when I see him. Is it a him?”
“Hell, I don’t know how you tell a male from a female bird. I just kinda figured it’s a male.”
“You figured. If it’s a she she’ll be pretty upset with you,” she laughed. It was weird to have a normal conversation with him and she couldn’t lose the unsure feeling about it.
“Yeah, well... Uno, male or female, is a fighter and every mornin’ he shows up to pick out his breakfast.” He left out the part where he tossed food out for the bird if he was there at the same time
“So you’re here a lot.”
“Evans likes the company... guy’s lost without me.”
“Poor man,” she said without much sympathy.
“Max?”
“Yeah.”
He stiffened automatically. “If my company sucks that bad why do you keep tryin’ to talk to me?” he snapped.
“What?” She frowned. “I just said that because he’s really hopeless if he needs someone to not be lost.”
Gosh, she hadn’t even really thought about what she said.
“Oh, I thought you meant... nevermind.”
“And just for the record: I didn’t try to talk to you this morning. YOU came out here.”
“I didn’t mean this mornin’, I just meant in general.”
She looked down at her hands on her mug, lost in thoughts. True, she had kept trying. Was it paying off now or was he gonna be dumping her in the next few seconds?
“Why d’you do that anyway?”
“Because I think you’re different,” she shrugged.
He snorted. “Yeah, I’m different alright.”
She just shrugged.
As long as you don’t know what he’s up too, don’t share too much, she reminded herself.
He stared out at the ocean, squinting when the early morning sunlight bounced off of the waves. “Doin’ anything tonight?” he asked finally.
“Not really.”
“So... maybe you wanna go out.”
“Go out,” she repeated stupidly.
“Yeah. You ever had dinner on the pier?” He just knew she was gonna tell him where to stick his invitation. “If you like Italian there’s a great little place down there. Or there’s other stuff too.”
She didn’t know what to do.
Was this real? What if she agreed and he didn’t show up? Or even worse, what if he just laughed outright?
Hesitation couldn’t be a good sign, he decided. “Me, I love Italian. They make a five cheese tortellini that’s outta this world and their manicotti’s pretty damn good too. If you like cannelloni you’re guaranteed to love theirs.”
Hell, now he sounded like a damn advertisement. He shrugged. “Just if ya wanna go. Nobody’s puttin’ a gun to your head.”
“I know the restaurant. We could meet there... That way she could get there early and watch to see if he showed up.
“Okay, cool.”
Yeah, she’s not gonna want you to pick her up with the history the two of you have. She probably thought he was gonna ditch her there or something lame like that. “Around 7:30pm? Or do you prefer an earlier dinner?”
“7:30pm is fine,” she said.
Was she really making a date with Guerin?
“The restaurant’s casual, which I guess you already know if you’re familiar with the place.”
“Yeah, I won’t wear anything fancy.”
He nodded. “Cool.” Honestly, he avoided dressing up whenever he could.
This’s just... weird, she thought again.
What if she was just agreeing to a date to get back at him? Nope, he could turn on the charm when he wanted to, just with most girls it wasn’t worth it. He had thought she was worth it and he had fought that nicer side of himself from surfacing around her – the charm wouldn’t have been an effort. Now though... knowing what he knew it wasn’t coming as easily as before.
“Look, your friend arrived.” Maria pointed at Uno.
He lifted his head and stared at the large bird as it swooped down and made a landing that was slightly stilted. It hopped along as it searched for something to eat and Michael smiled slightly when Uno turned its head to look up at the beach house.
“He’s calling for you: Michael come and feed me,” she mimicked the bird with a croaking voice.
He snorted and got to his feet. “Be right back.”
“You’re not really gonna...” she trailed off, “...you are.”
He disappeared into the house and a few minutes later returned with a couple slices of toast that he broke up into smaller bits as he sat back down behind her. “Watch him... he knows it’s comin’.”
Maria shook her head in amusement and watched the scenery before her, a bit disappointed that he wasn’t as close as before, but not moving closer herself.
“Here,” he handed her a few of the pieces of bread he had torn apart. “He’ll come up here and take them.”
“Ya got him taught, huh?”
“He just knows where to get a free meal,” he said with a quiet snort. He pulled his hand back and tossed a piece of the bread out and watched as Uno flew across the beach to land within a few feet of the deck.
“I think he looks more like a
her.”
“What? Why would you say that?” He watched the seagull snatch up the bread and devour it hungrily.
She shrugged with a slight grin. “Just to disagree with you.”
“Yeah, well, you’re wrong then,” he said and pinched her side lightly.
“Hey,” she giggled, “don’t do that.”
“You’re ticklish,” he said, amused in spite of himself.
“Oh, yeah, and I can get really mad about it.”
“Mad... why?” he asked, repeating the move.
“Michael!” she laughed.
“So, if I keep doin’ it an’ you get mad... what’re you gonna do?”
“I’m gonna kick your ass,” she said, knowing she wouldn’t have a chance against him.
“Hmm...” He tossed the rest of the bread out to Uno and then used both hands to pinch her sides. “So go ahead... kick my ass,” he growled in her ear.
She leaned forward and pressed her arms to her sides to limit his access while she tried to get away from him, laughing.
“Oh, yeah, ‘cause that’s gonna work,” he laughed, wrapping his arms around her and pulling her closer. He pinned her against his body and then reached down to pinch her right thigh just to see if she was ticklish there too.
“That’s unfair,” she complained breathlessly, ignoring the weird feeling she was getting from his touches.
“Yeah?” He smirked when he wrapped his hand under her thigh and squeezed it and she started to squirm around.
“Yeah,” she nodded. That touch hadn’t been a tickling one though.
“So do somethin’ about it,” he challenged.
“I can’t even move an inch,” she tried to move forward, but failed.
“So how’re you gonna kick my ass?”
“"Later... when you least expect it.”
He snorted. “Yeah, I’ll be waitin’ for that.” His hand relaxed on her thigh and he rested his chin on her shoulder, the light stubble on his cheek rasping against the skin of her neck.
“You need a shave.”
“You offerin’?”
“Nooo, thanks.”
“Then you’re gonna have to suffer with my scruff.”
“Why do I have to suffer with it?” she teased, knowing it was a risky question.
“’Cause I’m not plannin’ to shave right away.”
“Ya know, I just going out with shaved boys,” she told him.
Could it be called going out between them?
He snorted. “What, you don’t like whisker burn?” he growled and rubbed his cheek against her skin again.
She ducked away from him as well as she could. “Noooo.”
“So you don’t like it if a guy marks you?”
“Not if he’s just doing it to burst his male ego”, she told him.
“And if it’s not about braggin’ it up in the locker room?”
“Then it would be about what exactly?”
He shrugged. “Hell, it is an ego thing but that doesn’t mean a guy’s gotta run his mouth about it.”
She just shrugged and continued to watch Uno. The bird seemed to be unsure if he or she could trust them.
“You could be right about Uno ‘cause a guy would snatch the bread up and run. Only a female would stand there weighin’ the pros and cons.”
“Sometimes it’s better to think twice,” she told him, reminding herself.
What was going on with Guerin?
“Yeah, I guess. Especially when you’re plannin’ somethin’.”
Like taking a dare to screw someone over.
They both glanced up when Liz and Max joined them outside. The brunette’s eyes widened when she saw Maria in the arms of the other man.
“Michael offered to drive us home.” Actually he had just offered her, but who cared.
Michael stared at Uno, watching the wariness in the bird’s movements. “Guess we should get a move on,” he muttered.
“Yeah, I think I need to crash on my bed for a while,” she agreed.
He rubbed his cheek against her neck just enough for the stubble to rasp against her soft skin. “Think of me while you’re tangled up in your sheets,” he growled and got to his feet.
A shiver ran through her whole body, but tried to hide it and grinned at him coolly. “Why? To get disappointed like last night?”
Her teasing tone caught his attention and he had to remind himself that she didn’t really mean it. She was just screwing with him because she was bored. “What if it had gone differently last night?”
“Then you’d look a lot more satisfied right now,” she told him with a wink.
“Could be true.”
“So, you gonna let me drive your Dodge Ram?” she teased, knowing he would say no.
“Hell no!”
Max smirked at that. Michael would never let a chick get behind the wheel of his precious truck.
“Yeah, thought so, killjoy!”
He shrugged carelessly. He had never let anyone else drive the Ram and sure as hell not a chick! They were called woman drivers for a reason... and that reason was their complete lack of driving skills.