Roswell Fanatics

Hey everyone! Yay RF is back!!!!

So we won't wait any longer We are posting new parts for all three fics.


Earth2Mama: Lol, think so? Admittedly, it’s a possibility.

But, yes, men really do suck sometimes.

begonia9508: Lol, they do... but they also have their moments. Few and far between at times, but they do have them.

Natalie36: Oh, they’re definitely having fun, but at some point they’re gonna hit the wall and have to deal with these dares they’ve come up with.

Eva: You’re so right! Eventually they’re gonna have to pay the price.

keepsmiling7: Absolutely!

Even if she does think that... the key word there is ‘think‘

Oh, Max could achieve that yet...

Smac: They are playing games. As for how long this goes on... well, the girls haven’t figured it out yet, lol. We’re pretty sure Liz is just in denial right now. Max does bring out the best in Liz.

And we’re pretty sure Maria will find the best in Michael. It’s just a matter of time.

Thanks!

sarammlover: Yeah... we would do that, huh?  Well, that dare’s gonna come out at some point. It’s just a question of time. Hmm... renewed Candy lovin‘, huh? We’ll see what we can do about that.

Alien_Friend: We missed you guys too! And vacation was great, thanks!

Lol, kryptonite, that’s good. And so true.

That power struggle will definitely continue.


Part 11

Should she? Or should she not? she wondered. It was hard to tell if he was really going to kiss her if she did. But maybe he wouldn’t do anything if she didn’t say it. Damn. “Okay,” she breathed, “I want you, Michael Guerin.”

I’m yours, his heart shouted in elation. He silenced it, forcing himself to remember that this was just a game to her. He let his lips gently brush against hers for a moment before adding more pressure.

He was doing it! She almost couldn’t believe it and she wondered if she was just dreaming. His lips were even softer than they looked when they touched hers. She hadn’t expected him to be so gentle. Well, she hadn’t expected him to really kiss her.

Michael pulled away to look into her eyes. He could easily get lost in her and he wondered if putting his heart on the line was really worth getting back at her. “You wanna swim to shore or hang out on the boat a while?” He hooked his thumb over his shoulder. “They’ll probably hang out on the beach.”

She had to catch her breath before she could form a sentence. “Guess we could stay in the water for a bit longer.”

He let his right hand trail down her side, teasing the edge of her low-hanging bikini bottom. “Yeah, we could do that.”

Maria closed her eyes just for a moment to enjoy his touch. How often had she wished for him to do that? How often had she dreamed about it? In reality it felt much better.

He watched her intently. Was she faking her response to his touch? No, he decided. She was good, but she wasn’t that good. His hand curved around to cup her ass, giving it a teasing squeeze. “Race ya ‘round the boat,” he said as he reluctantly released her.

“Race ya…” she mumbled. “What?”

He rolled his eyes at her. “Ya know, swim around the boat... First one back on this side wins.”

“Wins and gets what exactly?”

“I don’t know. What sounds good?”

“Well, if I win, you stop running away from me all the time,” she decided.

“And when I win?”

She shrugged. “Your choice.”

He smirked. “You sure about that?” he asked, his dark gaze mapping her features.

“I am, but just so you know, Guerin, sex and blow jobs are not included.”

“Well, hell, just take all the fun out of it.” He scratched his chin thoughtfully. “Okay, I win and you make dinner.” Food ran a pretty close second after sex.

“Easy to do,” she shrugged. “Ready?” She splashed water into his face to distract him. “Go!”

Michael smirked and let her take the lead. He was a strong swimmer and he would pace himself, waiting until the last minute and then he’d leave her in the dust.

Maria knew she had no chance against him if she played fair, so she just swam around the corner and waited for him near one end of the boat. She waited until he was close and attacked him, shoving him under water, before she swam back the way she had come and waited at the ‘finish line’ for him.

Michael spit out a mouthful of water and looked around, not seeing her. “Little cheater,” he muttered. A slow smirk settled over his features as he swam back a few feet and glanced around the boat to get a look at her. She was treading water and keeping an eye out for him. He sank underwater and swam towards her, grabbing her around the waist and pulling her under.

She had expected him to do something like that, but still she was surprised when he reached her. She laughed when she came up again. “I won.”

“You cheated.”

“You knew I didn’t have a chance against you if I played fair, so I had to cheat.”

He shook his head at her and leaned in for a quick kiss. “Guess that means I’m gonna stick around. So what’re you gonna do with me?”

“Hmm... Let me think,” she said playfully and wrapped her arms around his neck and her legs around his waist.

He tossed his head back to keep the water from dripping down into his eyes. It was taking all of his concentration to stay afloat with her wrapped around him. He brought his right hand up to run his thumb over her tempting lips. “How long ya gonna have to think about it?”

“Kiss me again,” she whispered against his thumb.

He complied with her request and pressed his lips to hers once more.

She shivered from the feeling of it. God, if it already felt this amazing how would it feel when he really touched her?

Michael released her mouth and trailed his lips along her jaw with tiny nibbling kisses.

One of her hands moved into his wet hair and threaded her fingers into it. She didn’t want him to ever stop, but somehow he always seemed to be so careful to not give too much at once.

He let his fingers toy with the fastening for her top, teasing for a moment and then backing off again. It would be so easy to forget and let himself go with her. He kissed her sun-warmed skin once more before lifting his head to look at her.

She looked back at him, trying to figure out what he was thinking, but his eyes weren’t giving anything away. She wanted to say something... something about how she had always wanted this, but what if this was still just a game for him and she made a fool of herself?

Michael wondered again if she was that good of an actress. The way she was looking at him, the way she responded to him... it all felt genuine. But no, Max had been sure about what he overheard that morning.

“Penny for your thoughts.”

“Probably not worth that much.”

She kissed the tip of his nose and leaned her forehead against his. “Don’t say that.” His face was handsome, though he looked incredibly tired and she wondered once more what was going on in his life.

He shrugged, feeling his heart thumping like crazy at her gentle touch.

“Do you wanna get back on the boat? You look tired, Michael,” she said quietly.

“Long night,” he said just as quietly. He shook himself and nodded. “Yeah, let’s get back onboard.”

“Okay,” she agreed, not asking about what he had been doing the night before because she was pretty sure he wouldn’t tell her.

They were about to climb back up when Max let down a small raft packed with the supplies for later. “We’re headin’ to the beach, what about you two?”

Maria looked at Michael questioningly.

“We’ll stay here for a bit longer and then swim in.”

“Alright.”

*****

“Wow, I didn’t know there was such a beautiful beach here,” Liz said as Max helped her out of the raft.

“Yeah, it’s a pretty unknown place, that’s why my father bought this little place a while back.”

“I wouldn’t call it little,” she told him with a smirk while he tied to boat up on the small pier they stood on that led to a beach with golden sand. The cabin she was looking at had two floors and it looked like it was built out of bamboo. The first floor didn’t have really have walls around it; it was more a large open room with furniture to chill out.

She could also see a grill built out of stones next to the cabin and yes, the hammocks between the trees really looked comfortable and huge. “Don’t you want to take this stuff with us?” She pointed at the raft where their clothes and supplies were.

He held up the cooler. “Just this for now. I’ll get the rest later with Michael.” He glanced back over his shoulder. Or maybe he’d just come back and get it himself in a little while.

“Oh, okay.” They started to walk along the pier and she tried to take in all the beauty of the place. The cabin was the only one she could see near them. “How much property does your parents own?”

“You see the white fences?” He pointed at a point in the distance.

“Yeah.”

“That’s the border to the neighbors’ place.”

“Wow, that’s pretty huge. You have it really quiet without other people so close by.”

“Yeah, my parents come out her pretty often to get away from the big city craziness. On the second floor we’ve got two bedrooms with really comfortable handmade beds.”

“I’m envious now,” she admitted. She already loved it. Would they spend the night here? she wondered. The guys hadn’t really said anything about it.

“You got any plans for later today?”

“Nope, I’m all free,” she told him.

“Then maybe we could stay here overnight. It’s really cool to sleep near to the ocean and I’m sure we’ll find some toothbrushes and all the other necessary stuff in the cabin. Gonna have to check with Michael first though.”

“Okay cool,” she said excitedly. It was really a nice thought to spend the night. And if Maria was staying here too, it was safe, she thought.

“How hungry are you? I’m not sure how soon the others will join us.”

“I think I’m good for now. We can eat later.” They walked up the beach to the cabin. “Wow, this’s really nice.” Liz looked around when they reached the cabin and Max put the cooler aside to join her.

“It’s definitely nice here.” He came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist. “You wanna go swim before it gets dark? The temperature will drop a bit more out here once the sun goes down.”

She leaned against his chest. It wouldn’t be long before it would cool down and she didn’t have any clothes with her to change into. “Maybe we can just go down by the water for a while?”

“Sure,” he nuzzled her neck and let his lips wander over the flesh of her bare shoulders before letting go of her again to grab a couple of drinks. “You want beer or something else? We’ve got water and some of those colorful pop up drinks.” He made a face when he saw the pink one. Ungh, Guerin.

“I’ll just go with water for now.” If she had too much alcohol before dinner she was going to be goofy.

“Alright,” he grabbed their drinks and handed them over to her before he walked to the back of the house where he opened a small door with a key. A moment later he was back, holding a huge sand-colored beanbag chair in his arms.

“What’re you doing?”

“You have no idea how comfortable these things are.”

She let her gaze wander over the taut muscles of his arms while he carried it. You have no clue how sexy you are, she thought but corrected herself again. He probably knew very well how sexy he actually was.

“Let’s go,” he led them down to the beach and placed the beanbag chair in the sand, bending it and shoving it until it was in the right position to lay down on it and have a nice backrest.

“It does look comfy,” she agreed and handed him his beer back when he had sat down.

“It is.” He helped her to get comfortable next to him before they tapped their bottles together to take a sip. “This’s how life should be,” he sighed.

“Yeah, I agree.” She let her gaze wander over the ocean to the boat where Maria and Michael were still hanging out. She had seen them kissing earlier and felt happy for her friend. The man meant a lot to her and finally he seemed to be interested in her as well.

“What’s that from?” Max asked and let his thumb brush over a scar above her knee.

“Oh that,” Liz laughed. “It’s from a very long time ago.”

“Uh-huh, so there’s a good story behind it. Wanna share?”

“Well, it started with a stupid dare between me an’ Maria.”

A dare? Damn these girls liked to do that, didn’t they?

“We were 13 or whatever and alone at home. Maria’s parents have a huge place with a big garden. We were riding around on our bikes, trying to drive faster than the other. There was a small wooden bridge over the pond in the garden and if you could get up enough speed you could jump it with the bike. I was a totally pussy back then, scared of almost everything, and she dared me to jump it.” She laughed at the memory. “I did it, but freaked out at the last second and lost balance. Me and my bike landed in the pond. I don’t know where I hurt my leg, but when I got out it was all bloody.”

“Ouch,” he gently touched the scar again.

“It didn’t hurt at that moment, but I was so shocked and I started screaming for Maria. She was the cooler one of the two of us, but when she saw my leg she passed out right in front of me.”

“She passed out?” Max asked, amused.

“Uh-huh. I had to drag myself into the house, leaving blood all over the expensive carpet so I could call the ambulances for both of us.”

He laughed. “You girls had it bad right from the start, huh?”

“We were always best friends and there are tons of stories like that. Maria has a scar like this on her back, but I’m not sharing that story.”

“No?” he teased.

“Nope. Not yet anyway.”

Maria and Liz were both full of shit and fun, he mused. He’d be amused if they hadn’t made a stupid dare about him and his best friend.

“Were you and Michael already friends when you were little?” she asked after a while of comfortable silence.

“We couldn’t stand each other when we were younger,” Max told her. “We used every opportunity to fight with each other, verbally and physically. He pointed at a small mark on his temple. “That was Michael.”

“Ouch,” she brushed over it with her hand. “Was there a reason why you couldn’t stand each other?”

“It was pretty much because of our families. Our dads were antagonists in their jobs so they hated each other and it kinda transferred to us.”

“And how did it change?”

“We accidentally went to the same summer camp when we were 14 and figured out that we were much more alike than we thought we were.” He shrugged. “When we came back we didn’t care about what our families said anymore and we started to hang out.”

“And do your families get along now?” She couldn’t imagine it. Maria’s and her parents had always gotten along; they even went on vacations together.

“They don’t really have anything to do with each other anymore,” he just said, not wanting to reveal all the personal stuff. She wasn’t gonna be around for long anyway.

Her stomach suddenly growled loudly. “Oops,” she giggled.

“Not hungry, huh?” he teased.

“Well, maybe a bit.”

He nodded. “I’m starving,” he admitted and put two fingers into his mouth to whistle loudly to get his best friend’s attention. “Yo, Guerin! Get your up ass here, time for dinner.”

Michael rolled his eyes and raised his right hand to flip Evans off before glancing at Maria. “You hungry yet?”

“A bit, yeah.” To be honest she wanted to get to the others because Michael had been awkward again when they had returned to the boat. They had talked a bit and enjoyed the nice weather, but she had hoped for a bit making out or at least kissing… Nothing like that had happened though.

He nodded and got to his feet, holding his hand out to her. “Bet I can get to shore first.”

“Why don’t you just swim alone and get the raft so you can come back and pick me up?” she teased and took his offered hand. “I don’t have clothes to change into and it’s getting colder.”

“Evans’ parents keep those big fluffy robes for guests.” He tugged her up against his body. “Or I could warm ya up.”

“Hmm, big fluffy robes you say?” she said, ignoring the other offer since she hated to get her hopes up only to be left alone again.

“Um-hmm.” Would she really choose a robe over him? Guess I'll just wait and see, he thought.

“Let’s go.” Maria didn’t wait for him and jumped into the water to take advantage of the lead.

Michael glanced at the sky overhead and sighed. Just once, why couldn’t things be simple? He shrugged that thought off and dove into the water.

It didn’t take long until he had reached her. Ridiculously short to be honest. “Owww,” she suddenly said when he was next to her.

“Owww?” he asked, glancing over her body.

“Damn,” she turned to swim on her back. “Something brushed against my thigh.”

“Did it sting you?”

“I don’t know. Maybe it was one off those hair jellies?” She made a face when her the upper part of her right leg hurt like she had burned herself on something very hot.

He frowned at the expression on her face. “You aren’t allergic to anything, are you?” he asked.

“Not that I know of.” She tried to relax, knowing what to do if it was what she thought it was.

A jellyfish sting burned like hell. He knew that from experience. “You ever been stung by a jellyfish before?”

“Yeah, it was a long time ago though. Stupid fuckin’ jellies,” she railed.

He chuckled. “Want me to kiss and make it all better?”

She snorted. “Shut up, Guerin.”

“You could regret that. I could go the rest of the night without saying a word.”

“Oh no, that’s not gonna happen,” she shook her head slightly and turned to the beach. Damn, still not there.

He shrugged. “You sure about that?”

She was relieved when the water levelled out and she was able to stand on her feet. “I’m sure,” she gritted out, feeling the pain even more when they got out of the water.

He winced at the reddened skin of her leg. “Yeah, you definitely got stung.”

“You think so?” she asked and then felt sorry for snapping. It just hurt like hell. She hopped on one leg further up the beach and let herself fall in the sand, putting a load of sand on the hurt parts of her leg.

“What’re you doing?”

“Putting sand on it to avoid anymore tentacles from bursting on my leg and doing more damage,” she said and then rested herself on her hands behind her. She took a couple of deep breaths. “Can you get me something like a credit card or whatever to abrade it?”

“Yeah, lemme grab my wallet.” He jogged over to the small boat Max had brought to shore. Okay, technically it wasn’t his wallet or card because his was locked up in his cabin but Evans wouldn’t care. He retrieved the card and carried it to Maria. “Here.”

“Thanks,” she took another few breaths, knowing it would hurt to touch the leg. “Fuck,” she muttered when she started to pull the sand off.

Michael winced, knowing how much that hurt. He crouched down in front of her and placed his hand over hers. “Here, let me do it.”

She thought about it for a second and then nodded slightly, leaning back with her hands on the sand behind her. “Just do it quickly,” she begged.

“Oh, my God, what’s wrong, Maria?” Liz rushed to her friend’s side.

He took the card from her and used his other hand to hold her leg still. He pressed the edge of the card against her skin and applied pressure as he scraped the tentacles away.

“Jellyfish,” Maria gritted out.

Michael leaned in closer to make sure he had gotten everything. “I think that did it.”

She let go of the breath she had been holding. “Okay.” God, it burned like hell.

“Evans, we got anything we can put on this to ease the pain?”

“Let’s get her to the hammocks and we’ll cool it with ice from the cooler.”

He nodded and helped her to her feet then scooped her up in his arms. He crossed to the hammocks and settled her in one, crouching down beside her with his hand resting on her leg. “Can I get ya anything?”

She laid one arm over her forehead and sighed. “Just some ice I guess.”

“Nothing to drink or you’re gonna chew on the ice?”

“I am taking a beer. Maybe it’ll drown the pain.”

“That’s my girl,” he said without thinking. “I’ll get ya one.”

Yeah, I wish, she thought and looked at her leg. “Fuck, this’ll look just great over the next few weeks.”

“Are you sure you’re okay, Maria?” Liz asked.

“Yeah, it just feels like someone smacked my leg with a hot frying pan. I’ll live though.”

She made a face. “Ouch.” She looked up at Max when he straightened up from where he had been crouched over the cooler, putting ice in a small bag. He was zipping it closed when he said something to Michael, making the other guy stop and look at him. “So how’re things going with Michael?”

“Slow,” Maria said. She knew Liz was just trying to distract her but right now it wasn’t working and she wasn’t in the mood for that kind of talk.

“Anything I can do to take your mind off of this?”

Maria tried to straighten up a bit. “No, it’s all good, Liz. Don’t worry.”

Michael narrowed his eyes at Max. “I never said anything about hanging out here overnight. I’ve got a kid waiting for me at home or did you forget that? Some of us have actual responsibilities.” He shook his head as he glanced at Maria. The girls were far enough away that they wouldn’t overhear the conversation.

“I didn’t forget that.” Max tolled his eyes. “And all I said was we COULD. So if ya have to look after Ben, then okay, we’ll just tell them we can’t stay tonight.”

“Yeah, and what’s your reason gonna be? I don’t want her knowing about Ben because she’s not gonna be around long enough for her to meet him. It’d just confuse him not to mention how pissed Iz would be if she ever found out that I had him around this situation.”

“Fine, then we won’t stay. We’ll have dinner and then after a while we’ll just go back home.”

Michael paused a moment before he spoke again. “I don’t wanna screw up your night. I can always come back out and pick you two up tomorrow afternoon.”

“And what’re you gonna tell Maria?”

He shrugged. “Why do I have to tell her anything?” He sighed and shook his head. That just didn’t feel right. “She’s not gonna wanna hang overnight with that sting on her leg anyway.”

“That thing’s gonna sting whether she’s here or if she’s home,” Max shrugged. “Ask her if she wants to stay and if she does, I’ll come up with a reason why we have to leave early. When do you have to be home?”

“10am. Much later than that and I’ll be in for an argument and I’m not in the mood.”

“That’s not too early. We can do that. Just check with Maria about it and then tell me how you wanna handle it.”

“What about your plans?”

“I’m good with whatever we do,” Max told him. He knew Michael couldn’t just do what he wanted like he could do so he was willing to make some sacrifices.

Michael nodded and slapped Max on the back as he passed him, grabbing the icepack on his way. He offered one of the bottles to Maria and then pressed the icepack to the irritated skin. “How’s that?”

It took her a moment to get used to the cold bag on her skin. She bit her lip and waited a moment before she spoke. “Feels better for now.”

“I can get you some Tylenol. It might help.”

“I’m good for now,” she said. “I just hate the thought of what my leg’s gonna look like the next weeks.” She made a face.

“It won’t be that bad.”

“It’ll look horrible,” she whined.

He shrugged. “I can live with it. So unless you’re hanging out with other guys it shouldn’t really matter.”

Did that mean he wanted something real with her, she wondered and her heart started to beat faster at the thought. “I don’t want another guy,” she blurted out.

His traitorous heart started to beat erratically. “Then it doesn’t matter.” He rubbed her leg below the icepack and wished she really meant what she was saying. “I should’ve asked earlier, but do you need to be home at any certain time?”

“No, there’s just my crazy messy roommate waiting for me to make my life hell.”

“Sorry to hear that. Max suggested we spend the night here. You wanna do that?”


****

WE MISSED YOU!

Alien_Friend: We were excited too!

These four should keep it interesting and the lengths they’ll go to... well...

Michael is trying hard to protect himself because he’s got a feeling that if he lets her get too close he’ll end up paying for it.

Not gonna share those theories? We’ve still got a ways to go before that relationship is unveiled.

That break really lasted a lot longer than either of us ever intended!

Eva: Michael is right to be cautious, knowing what he knows about the dare. He’s suspicious by nature, so that knowledge really has him on edge and he’s fighting his attraction to her... or at least he’s trying to. We’ll be seeing more of that internal war in this part! He knows if he opens himself up to her he’s risking being hurt when the truth comes out.

secretk: Double yay for RF being back.

Oh yeah, M&M have definitely a lot of chemistry here. Ben… hm he stays a mystery today.

Interesting thought about M&L, we will see how much out of character they really acting here, huh?



Part 12

“Spend the night here?” Maria repeated.

“Yeah, his parents keep the place ready for company.”

“You gonna stay with me?” she asked. What was the point in sleeping here if he wouldn’t keep her company?

God, he was just getting deeper in this mess. “If that’s what you want.”

She looked at him. Was that really even a question?

“The room I always get has plenty of space, so...”

Plenty of space, yeah that was what she wanted… NOT. “Well, how nice for the room.” She had to control the urge to not roll her eyes.

“Room's great. Private patio, close to the hot tub if you feel up to it.”

Hot tub? Wow. “Well, normally yes.” She made a face. “With this leg, probably not.”

“Right, well... great view of the ocean.”

Hell, she really didn’t care about the view or the size of the room. All that matter was that he stayed with her. Jerk.

Okay, she wasn’t impressed with any of that. “That room has somethin’ none of the others has.”

“And what’s that?”

“Me.”

“Yeah, well… That’s definitely a plus.”

He grinned. “So... you get the room and me. It’ll be like a package deal.”

But for how long, she wondered. “I don’t care about the room.”

He swallowed hard, trying his best to keep her words from sinking in and meaning too much to him. It was a game to her and if he let himself fall for her he was gonna pay the price when this was all over. “That imply you care about somethin’ else?” he asked quietly.

She just looked at him. He had to know the answer, right?

He watched her and waited for her to answer. He knew what she was implying but if she was gonna lie about it he wanted to hear the words... see how sincere she looked when she said them.

“You really want me to say it huh?”

“Yeah.”

She rolled her eyes at him and sighed. “Fine, Michael. I don’t care what kinda room we sleep in, if it’s big or small, with a window or not… I’m good with anything. I just don’t want you to run away from me again.”

His eyes bored into hers. “Why?”

“Why?” she asked, surprised.

“Yeah, why? I mean, okay, you’re attracted to me and...” he bit the inside of his cheek, “I’m obviously attracted to you but why’s it matter to you whether or not I stick around? Sayin’ that kinda implies you want somethin’ serious.”

“What if I do?” Hell, she hadn’t meant to have a conversation like this so soon and certainly not here.

He shrugged. Where was Evans and one of his damn interruptions when he needed him? “You sayin’ you do?”

“I don’t know you well enough to give you an honest answer to that, Michael.”

Uh-huh, avoiding the question. She was totally jerking him around. “Yeah, well... I’m kinda hungry. I’m gonna go see what we’ve got to eat.”

“Yeah do that,” she answered frustrated when he obviously intended to leave her again.

He didn’t know what she wanted from him and it pissed him off. “My other option is to stand around here and get nowhere with this conversation,” he snapped. He didn’t know why he was pushing it. Maybe he just wanted her to put the words out there so when this was all over he could throw them in her face and call her a liar.

“Get nowhere?” she echoed. “I think I’ve revealed plenty by now, Guerin,” she yelled at him. “You’re the one who keeps leaving me with nothing but questions.”

“What’s the fuckin’ question?” he yelled back, frustrated with the entire situation.

“Well, for example: What are you hiding? Or better yet, who are you hiding?”

“I’m not hiding any-damn-thing.”


“If you say so.”

“I just said so.” Like she was one to talk about hiding anything!

She looked away and sighed. “Wow, and this was going so well.”

“Look, let’s just change the subject. I don’t wanna talk about what’s goin’ on in my personal life.”

“See, that’s why you can’t get an answer from me about the serious thing. How am I supposed to know when I know nothing about you?”

He threw his hands up in the air and cursed out loud. “Fuck this! I’m not an open book, I don’t go around tellin’ people my business, and I’m not gonna start doin’ it for you.”

She just nodded in frustration and got out of the hammock, wincing when her leg hurt, but ignoring it and walking past him to go to her friend.

Michael shook his head as he stalked up to the house, stomping inside and going to the kitchen to scrounge through the refrigerator. “Whose idea was it to do this dare?” he barked at Max, who was minding his own business and mixing the marinade for the steaks they had brought with them for dinner.

“Huh?” He looked at his friend, puzzled.

“This’s bullshit.” He jerked a beer out and popped the top off. “She accused me of hidin’ shit.”

“Well, you are, aren’t you?”

“Not spillin’ my guts early on is not the same thing as hidin’ shit. I don’t see her runnin’ to the front of the line to put her life out there.” He slammed his beer on the counter, shaking his hand when the beer foamed up and spilled over the top to run over his fingers. “Do you know how many people know about my situation?”

It wasn’t more than a handful. “Hell, Michael, if you don’t wanna share, why don’t you just shut her up? The girl’s hot for you.”

“I don’t know. I can’t fuckin’ think straight when I’m around her.” He ran a hand through his hair and stared out at the tranquil scenery. His nerves were on edge and the serene setting wasn’t doing anything to calm them.

“Then why are you even doin’ it?”

“Because I’m obviously a glutton for punishment.” He took a long drink of his beer and shook his head. “Looks like things are heatin’ up between you an’ Parker though. You change your mind about nailin’ her tonight?”

Max shrugged. “Whatever happens, happens.”

“What the hell do I do with this situation? She’s totally pissed at me now. Gimme some advice, Evans.”

“It’s either you tell her the truth or you suck it up and do some of the kinky stuff she wants you to do so she can’t ask questions.”

Michael nearly choked on his beer at that comment. “Kinky stuff? You know somethin’ about her that I don't know?”

“Ah, c’mon, Guerin. DeLuca’s the kinda girl that’s a player. If ya get her wet an’ naked, she won’t even try to ask questions.”

Good point... he mused thoughtfully. Get her naked and wet, hell he could do that. Just have to work around her temper now that he’d managed to piss her off.

“See, I’m full of good advice,” Max grinned.

“Yeah, some days you are.”

“So? Are you finally ready to get those girls out there naked? Because I am.”

He smirked. “Yeah. Yeah, I’m ready. You need any help with the grill?”

“I’ll man the grill and you try to get back on DeLuca’s good side.”

“I think I’d rather burn my hands on the damn grill.” He sighed deeply. “Alright, enough of the pity party... I’m gonna go get the girl.”

“Get the girl,” Max cheered.

“I’m gonna send your girl up here. I don’t need the two of ‘em gangin’ up on me out there.”

“Better watch out,” Max teased, “they might be up for another dare.”

Michael snorted. “Yeah, that’s all I need.” He made his way back outside and down to the girls, ignoring the little voice telling him they were probably plotting his demise. “Hey, Evans wants to see you up at the house,” he said, looking at Liz.

Liz frowned. “Why?”

“Hell, girl, I don’t know why. Maybe he wants a blowjob... maybe he wants you to give him a hand with dinner... do I look like an information booth to you?”

“Could you be much more of a jerk?” Maria asked and nodded at her friend to tell her it was okay to go.

“Why don’t you quit givin’ me shit and just calm down?”

“Why don’t you quit giving me reasons?” she countered.

He took several steps to bring him closer, crowding her. “Don’t expect me to be an open book after a couple of days. That’s not the way I work.”

She stood there, weight resting on her good leg as she stared up at him. “No one expects you to be an open book. I just wanna clarify.”

“You wanna clarify what?" “

“Where we stand. Are you just playing games or not? Do you want just sex or more?”

Say yes and he was setting himself up to get hurt in the end. Say no and he was a liar. “You’re not exactly clarifying what you want either.”

“Why do I have to be first?”

“Ladies first?” he asked with a grin.

She snorted. “Yeah, now ya pretend to have manners.”

“I have manners... just don’t always show ‘em.”

“Like when you’re around me?” She almost lost her balance on the sandy ground and hopped a few times, making a face when bending her leg stretched the hurt skin.

“Why d’you have to be so damn difficult?” he muttered as he scooped her up in his arms and carried her down closer to the water. He set her down in the sand and sat down behind her. “It’s not just you.”

“No?”

“No. I’m an equal opportunity offender.”

“You’re a riddle, that’s what you are,” she said, trying to control the urge to lean in.

“The novelty of that’ll wear off soon enough and once that happens... you’ll be gone too.”

She frowned. “Why’re you sayin’ that?”

He shook his head. He had kind of dated one girl a while back but once she had gotten a glimpse of how complicated his life could get she had taken off. “People don’t like complicated,” was all he said.

More riddles, she thought, exhausted.

****

“What’s up Max?” Liz asked as she joined him in the kitchen area of the house.

“Huh?” He glanced up from the counter where he was still busy with the marinade.

“Michael said you wanted me to come up here.”

Max frowned and then grinned. “Oh, right! He just said that so he could talk to Maria alone.”

Liz snorted. “Yeah, that’s what I thought. She was pretty upset about something…”

He wiped his hands on a towel and nodded. “Michael’s not so good with words, ya know? He pissed her off by saying something and now he’s trying to get back on her good side.”

“Not good with words, huh?”

Max shrugged. “He’s just rough sometimes. It’s in his nature I guess.” Michael wasn’t a man for long honest conversations about feelings. He just hoped his friend would finally pull himself together again. “So since you’re here,” he smirked at her, “wanna help me with the marinade? I think something’s missing, but I can’t pinpoint what it is.”

“Sure,” she pitter-pattered through the room with her bare feet and came up next to him. She considered taking the little spoon on the counter first, but then decided against it and dipped her little finger into the marinade before bringing it to her mouth and licking it.

Max’ eyes followed her movement closely. He bit the inside of his cheek to keep himself from groaning when she licked her finger.

She gave him a sexy smile. “Hmm… It could be a bit… spicier.”

In more ways than one, he thought and let his eyes drop lower to her breasts, which showed off pretty nicely the way they were wrapped up in her swimsuit. “So what would you suggest?” he mumbled.

It felt a bit uncomfortable to be watched by him like this. His eyes were hungry and she somehow expected him to attack her at any second. Although it was also exciting, and she felt her body, especially her lower body parts, responding to that look.

He saw her shifting slightly and moved his gaze upwards again, trying to hide his surprise when his eyes met hers directly and he could easily see the heat in them. She wanted it as well, didn’t she? Without taking his eyes from her, he used one hand to push all the items he had just used for the marinade aside and then took her hand to tug her closer, turning her back to the edge of the counter.

Liz felt her first fear suddenly changing into excitement and anticipation of what he would do next. Her breath got heavier when she felt his hands moving down on her hips to the backs of her thighs. With a quick move he lifted her up on the counter.

She bit her bottom lip, still wondering what he was up to. The gesture made Max harden even more. “You’re playin’ with fire, Parker.”

“I am?” she asked innocently.

“You know that perfectly well, I think,” he told her with a wink, resting his hands on either side of her on the counter so she couldn’t go anywhere.

“What makes you think that?” She tried to not sound worried. Had he found out about the dare somehow?

“The way you licked your finger,” he groaned slightly at the mental image, “nothing an innocent girl would do.”

Whew, so he didn’t know, she thought in relief and smiled flirtatiously. “Oh, that…”

“I think you’re pretty aware of the affect that would have on me,” he rasped against her ear and slid the tip of his nose alone her neck to her shoulder.

“You wanted me to taste the marinade and I did,” she said, not denying the fact that he was right. Of course she had secretly hoped it would make him crazy.

He chuckled. “Yes, you did.” His hands lifted from the counter and grabbed the backs of her knees, pulling her towards him and grinding himself against her once to make sure she felt how much that affected him.

His move came so unexpectedly for her that she couldn’t suppress the groan developing in her throat. The jeans he wore prevented her from really feeling him, but it was enough to surmise what was hidden under the fabric of his pants.

Even if she tried to stifle the need for more and her reaction to him, her body didn’t obey. She could feel the wetness between her legs increasing and hoped that her swimsuit wouldn’t give it away. That would be kind of embarrassing.

Max smirked in satisfaction when she couldn’t hide her reaction to him. He knew she wanted him and hell, he wanted her too. There was something about her that spoke to him, that had caught his interest beyond what most girls ever did. It’s only temporary, Evans, he reminded himself. This’s a game to her and once you nail her it’s all over. His mind rebelled at the crass terminology in relation to her, but all it took was a single thought about the dare he had overheard and it silenced that little voice.

He watched her for a moment as he brought himself under control. He had to be careful to not let things go too far too quickly. His hands rubbed along her bare thighs slowly as he rested his forehead against hers. “This’s all kinda new to me and I don’t wanna rush it.” Hell, he wasn’t a saint and he enjoyed sex. If it weren’t for that stupid dare he’d already have her naked and under him.

New to him, she wondered. How could this be new to him?

“Not sex,” he clarified when he caught the confusion in her gaze. “I’m not used to bein’ with a girl and wantin’ to take my time getting to know her.”

He wanted to get to know her? Was that just something he told every girl to get her in his bed or was it true? She hadn’t expected him to say that. Damn, what a mess.

“I have a certain reputation and for the most part it’s true.” He shrugged unapologetically. “Not much I can do about that now.”

“I’m not worried about your reputation,” she denied. She was more worried about the fact that she had just started this to get another man back and now he was… interested? Really?

“Oh, then you’re not really interested in me beyond...” he trailed off and shook his head before he forced a smile. “Nevermind, I've got it.” The thing that pissed him off was somehow she had already gotten under his skin and his dumb ass would be interested in more if things were different.

“What?” Was she really not interested, she wondered. She couldn't deny a certain attraction. “No, Max, no, I just meant to say that I don’t care about what you did in the past, that’s all.”

He stared into her eyes and wondered when he had gotten so bad at reading people. She really came across as sincere. But what girl’s gonna take a guy like you seriously? No girl would say she didn’t care about a past like his. He lowered his gaze and nodded. “You’re not like other girls,” he mused aloud.

She smiled. “I’d hope so.”

“I don’t normally get this involved,” he admitted. Just tell me the truth, he begged silently. Be honest with me and maybe we can figure this thing out.

Gosh, she really had to figure out what she wanted and soon.

He sighed when she didn’t offer so much as a word to explain herself. Did you really expect her to? “Maybe we should get the grill ready.”

“Okay,” she agreed, trying to figure out what was suddenly wrong with him. Yeah, her motives for going out with him in the first place were bad, but it wasn’t like he knew that.

He forced a smile when he caught her expression. “Like I said, this’s new to me... I don’t wanna rush it. I know myself and if we stay in here,” he shook his head as his gaze swept over her heatedly, “we can forget about dinner.”

She slipped from the counter, but accidentally brushed against him a little too much when she did so. Now he would take that as an offer now, she thought.

His eyes darkened as he looked down at her. “We can always skip dinner,” he said huskily. “Let the others fend for themselves.”

She smiled and let her hands run over his bare chest. “Did you talk to Michael about staying the night?”

His heart started to pound at her touch. “Yeah, he was gonna talk to Maria.”

“I’m gonna help convince her to stay,” she winked at him. Way to play with fire, Parker.

“Yeah, you should do that.” He trailed one finger from her throat down to the valley between her breasts. “Bet you’re gorgeous in the moonlight.”

“Just in the moonlight?” she teased.

“No,” he admitted with a smile. “There’s just something about the moonlight.” He leaned in to kiss her. “I’d love to see you in my bed wearin’ nothin’ but that.”

Her cheeks flushed just a bit. “Your wish might come true soon.”

“Yeah?” He flashed his perfect smile at her and took a step back, giving her the option to stay or go. “S’posed to be a full moon tonight.”

She grinned and closed the distance between them again, leaning in until her lips almost brushed his ear. “Add more Tabasco to the marinade and it’ll be good to go.”

“Like it hot?” he rasped.

“You know it.”

“What I know is you’re dangerous. Why don’t you grab the potatoes while I spice up the marinade and then we’ll get dinner goin’.”

Dangerous? If someone had said that to her a week ago she would’ve laughed her ass off. “Sure.”

Eva: Always believe... it may be a rocky road, but we both love happy endings!

Michael and Maria have a rough road ahead of them too. Michael is far from an open book and even though Maria doesn’t know he knows about the dare she’ll have to understand that it’ll take time for him to open up to her the way she wants him to.

secretk: A lot of us are probably like that. We all have our secrets and Maria will have to respect that about Michael. He’ll open up to her if and when he’s ready, and not a second sooner. Believing that she’s only interested in him because of the dare really doesn’t encourage him to open up to her.

Michael is having a hard time keeping his signals from crossing. He really likes Maria but those feelings are at war with his belief that she’s just using him. Lol, definitely some parallels between the song and the fic.

Ah, the sexual tension is there for the Dreamers as well, lol. It just took a little bit longer for it to surface. Liz is learning to be more open with Max. Around him she feels adventurous. He brings that out in her, unlike David.
.
Alien_Friend: Liz is really opening up with Max. She experimenting and learning, and she’s loving it. So is Max consequently, lol. He’s captivated by her, which is something completely new for him.

Michael and Maria still have a ways to go before the truth comes out. They’re still learning how to read each other and trying to balance what they feel with the little bits and pieces they know about the other.

Lol, well... share when you’re ready.

We’re glad to know it feels like Sunday again!

mary mary: These four could use a shot of honesty, but it’ll be a bit before it comes their way.

keepsmiling7: True, but we’ve still got some time before that happens. Until then they’ll just have to learn what they can about each other.

kismet: Lol, you’re so right! Michael and Maria could keep the drama going for all of them, but Max and Liz have their share to add.




Part 13

Michael wasn’t ready to explain himself so he pressed his lips against Maria’s neck to distract her. He nibbled along the top of her shoulder and back up her neck until he reached the sensitive spot just below her ear.

He was trying to shut her up, she realized. But, damn, it was working.

He was relieved when the questions stopped and to keep her from picking up where she left off he continued with his actions. He shifted slightly and tipped her head back so he could kiss her.

She was so easy to convince, she thought, but instead of talking to him like she knew she should, she let him kiss her.

Michael let his right hand skim along her side until he reached the edge of her top, rubbing his thumb against the material. “Think we can forget that earlier argument and go back to the part where we were talkin’ about sharin’ a room?”

Instead of answering she leaned into his touch.

He wondered if they could share a bed platonically. On the one hand he didn’t want to rush things. The part of him that liked her wanted him to take his time. But on the other hand he knew they only had a short amount of time together before the truth came out and he didn’t want to waste what little time they did have. And the part of him that was pissed about the girls’ dare wanted him to nail her at the first chance he had. He had no idea which way to go.

His touches were so gentle they almost felt unreal. Almost, she thought and pressed her legs together in anticipation of release.

His hand trailed down her side and over her hip to settle on her upper thigh. He smiled against her lips when he felt her muscles tensing under his touch. He rubbed his palm over her skin, making ever-widening circles and adding pressure.

Maria groaned against his lips when his touches came closer to her center. God, he was such a tease.

Michael nudged her thighs apart so his hand could rest against her inner thigh and his thumb stretched out to press against her center before easing back again.

Good thing about swimming was their clothes were still damp, she thought. Otherwise he would have felt how wet she was because of him.

“Want more?” he growled, his thumb brushing against her again.

She probably shouldn’t, but she desperately wanted more. “Yeah,” she breathed.

His thumb shifted to tease along the edge of her bikini bottoms, easing it aside to rub over her heated, bare skin.

He was trying to kill her, definitely. Her hips started to move, trying to find some release on her own.

Oh, hell, she wasn’t just playing with him about this. He pulled his hand back and quieted her whimper of protest as he fumbled with the low waistband and slid his hand beneath to cup her. “Shh,” he whispered, “give it a second and it’ll be worth the wait.” She was so wet and he eased two fingers between her slick folds, quickly setting up a fast rhythm.

Maria gasped. She hadn’t expected him to do that. Her heart was pounding madly in her chest while her nails dug in the flesh of his legs. “Michael.”

“Worth it?” He smiled at the catch in her breath and nipped at her bottom lip.

“Shut up,” she breathed.

Michael chuckled and started to rub her clit. “Not interested in talkin’?” He just grinned when she grunted and her nails dug deeper into his thighs. He waited a few more seconds before he pressed the tip of one finger past her entrance.

Her hips jerked in agreement, trying to push him further in.

He gave in to her demands and slid his finger all the way inside. He felt himself harden in response and bit his bottom lip as he added another finger, thrusting faster.

Marias’s breath came heavily. Sweat was running down her cleavage and she ignored the pain in her leg.

Michael undid her top and his free hand came up to cup her left breast, rasping the pad of his thumb over her distended nipple.

She was totally exposed to him right now. For the most part it turned her on, but there was also a slight fear she would regret this soon. She let go of his leg and squeezed her free hand in between them, stroking his length through his trunks.

He growled and increased the speed of his fingers in response to her touch. “Touch me,” he whispered, hating the hint of begging in his tone but needing to feel her skin against his so badly it was a physical ache.

She shivered at his request, but nodded and shifted slightly. Her nails rasped over his length again before she pulled the fabric away to feel him in her hand.

His breath came in labored pants and it didn’t take long before he was on the edge. There was no way it was gonna take long before they were naked and horizontal. Even with what he knew about her he wanted her so bad it was absurd.

“Michael,” she breathed his name again, adding pressure to his hand with her free hand.

He nodded and bit his lip to keep from suggesting they finish this right. It would be so easy to pull her over on top of him and finish each other off in the most satisfactory way possible.

She was looking at him, knowing exactly what he was thinking in that moment and she thought about suggesting it.

Michael released her breast and fumbled with the waistband of his trunks, looking for the little pocket inside and jerking the contents out. He was breathing hard as he leaned back and held the small packet up, one eyebrow quirked in question.

She took it from his hand and held it between her teeth to rip it open with a quick move. She got the condom out and rolled it over him. “Be gentle with my leg,” she whispered into his ear.

He nodded and pulled her over him, groaning when he was surrounded by her wet heat. “God, you feel good,” he grunted.

Maria groaned and wrapped her arm around him while she tried to get used to the feeling of him inside her.

He smiled at her and held her close, watching the expressions chase across her face as her body adjusted to him.

“Wow,” she mumbled and started to move against him, slowly at first to drag it out.

“You okay in this position?” he asked as his hands settled on her hips.

“Yeah,” she answered breathlessly. “What about you?”

“’m good.” His eyes lowered to her breasts and he looked back at her, giving her a wink. “Couldn’t be better.” He let her control the pace and reached for her breasts, palming them and leaning down to run his tongue over her nipples.

She groaned when they increased the speed a bit and she ran her hands through his hair. “Hold on,” she suddenly said, moaning.

“Hold on?” he asked, certain he had heard wrong.

“Liz and Max are getting the grill ready,” she groaned when he moved his hips. “Don’t move.”

“Fuck,” he muttered and dropped his head forward to rest on her shoulder. “I’m tellin’ you that bastard has the worst timing of anyone I know.”

“Yeah.” She watched the others and when they seemed wrapped up in a conversation she started to move again.

He groaned and started placing soft kisses along her collarbone. She was moving against him, her hips making a constant rolling motion that felt so damn good he could hardly breathe.

When the other couple had their backs to them, she got more comfortable and added more pressure to her movements. Her hands grabbed his and forced them to her hips. “Help me with it,” she begged.

His hands latched onto her hips and he steadied her as he guided her movements.

“Keep goin’,” she whispered and seconds later her walls started to tremble and she came.

One of his hands slipped down to hold her thigh, mindful of her injured leg. He held her tight against him as he fell back on the sand. His hand cupped her cheek and he stared into her eyes as he rolled over and thrust into her hard and fast.

She smiled up at him, still dazed from her orgasm.

He felt that familiar pressure building and his toes dug into the sand as his muscles locked up and he came hard. “Hell,” he huffed raggedly as he collapsed on his back beside her.

As soon as he broke body contact with her, she felt the doubts pulling at her dazed mind. Had this been a good idea?

Michael turned his head to look at her, dragging in another deep breath for his oxygen-starved lungs before he rolled up onto his elbow to look down at her. “You okay?” he asked, unsure of her silence. “I didn’t hurt your leg or anything, did I?”

“No, I’m good,” she told him and looked back at him, trying to find something in his face that would calm her. That told her she meant something to him.

He reached out to trace his forefinger over her right breast, his touch gentle. “You like it here?”

“Yeah, it’s away from all the noise in town.”

He stared at her and without intending to he found himself admitting something else to her. “I’ve never brought anyone out here before.”

She smiled slightly, hoping it would mean something. Her gaze swept over to the other couple when she heard Liz laughing. “Can you hand me my bikini top before they come down here?”

“I don’t know... I kinda like this look.”

“I’m coming closer then.” She rolled to her side and leaned against him, removing the condom from him and hiding it in the sand before pulling his trunks back up.

He gave her a genuine smile as he wrapped his arm around her and pulled her over on top of him. “I could use a nap now.”

She made a face when the sand stuck to her back. “I could use a shower.”

He laughed deeply. “Yeah, I’ve got sand in places that I’d rather not think about.”

“Do you know where my clothes are? Did we leave them on the boat or are they here?”

“Max and Liz brought everything when they headed in. Probably still in the boat at the pier but I can go grab your things.”

“Okay,” she rested her head against his chest, trying to let what had just happened between them really sink in. “If you do, take the condom with you,” she giggled. “Be really priceless to see if someone finds it though.”

“Could put a quarter in the sand with it... maybe Evans will get the metal detector out and start searchin’ the beach.”

Maria looked up again at the other two. “I smell food.”

“Hope you like steak on the grill. Evans grills everything ‘cause he’s a fire hazard in a kitchen.”

“Right now I’d eat just about anything.”

“Well, at least he knows how to cook on a grill. Don’t ever let him near your kitchen.”

“Don’t have a kitchen anyway,” she said. “And that’s good because otherwise my roommate would make a mess in there too.”

He chuckled. “His mom banned him from the kitchen after his dumb ass blew up the microwave.”

“Dinner’s almost ready,” Liz called from the cabin.

“Kinda hate to leave our little spot.” He stretched his hand out, fumbling around for her top. He shook the sand out of it and handed it to her.

She put it back on and held it to her chest. “Can you help me?” she asked and turned her back to him.

His big hands fumbled with the fastening and he pressed a kiss to her shoulder.

“Thanks,” she whispered and leaned into him. God, she hoped he wouldn’t turn his back on her again. Now it would be even harder to handle.

“C’mon, I’ll show ya where my room is... it has it’s own bathroom so you’ll have privacy.”

Her legs were wobbly when they got up and she tried to brush more sand off of them, wincing when she accidentally touched the injured skin on her thigh. “Oww, damn it.”

“After your shower we’ll rub some cream on that. Should make it feel better.”

Liz watched her friend when they came up to join them. Hmm, somehow she looked a little… flushed. She made a mental note to talk to her later in private.

Maria shot a quick smile at her friend before following Michael inside.

Michael led the way down the hall and turned into a large bedroom. The wall facing the ocean was made completely of glass, complete with a pair of sliding doors that opened up onto the deck.

“Wow, that’s… Impressive,” she said, glancing around.

He nodded. “Yeah, it’s nice.”

“Oh, we forgot about my clothes,” she remembered.

“Wait…” He crossed the room and pulled the double doors on the closet open, motioning to the bags placed on the floor at one end. “Evans is the perfect gentleman if nothin’ else.”

She chuckled and walked over to get her shorts and tank top. “Guess I have to go without any underwear,” she said.

His eyes darkened as they traced over her. “That’s a damn shame.”

She grinned and grabbed the few clothes she had, pretty sure she would be freezing her ass off soon. Should she ask him to shower with her? she wondered when she turned away from him.

Michael grabbed his bag and pulled a pair of jeans out along with a tee shirt that he tossed on the bed. He threw his bag on the floor and turned to look at her. “Need some help washin’ your back?” He grinned. “Or your front... or anything else.”

“Maybe just a little bit,” she said, happy he had suggested it first.

He kicked the door shut and shoved his trunks down his legs. He motioned for her to strip as he walked into the large bathroom to get the shower started.

Maria walked into the bathroom, getting rid of her bikini top slowly. She felt him staring at her through the mirror over the sink and she stopped in her tracks to look at him.

He adjusted the temperature of the water and then turned to look at her fully.

Sometimes she felt so unsure around him and that wasn’t her normally. But with him it was different. She never knew what he was thinking and if what she did would make him stay or leave.

“You’re still a bit overdressed,” he said with a smirk.

“Yeah,” she said quietly and pushed her bikini bottom down slowly, trying to avoid contact with the tender skin on her right thigh.

His eyes followed her movements and when he saw her wince he moved to kneel before her. “Here, let me do it.”

“Okay,” she agreed, letting go with her hands.

He skimmed the bit of material over her hips, careful to avoid contact with the irritated skin on her thigh. Once past that he let his palms slide over her legs as he took his time removing the bikini bottom.

His hands were gentle and she reached out to steady herself on the wall when she felt herself trembling under his touch and looks. God, could she really trust him this far?

He tossed the scrap of material away to land next to his trunks and her top and he leaned back to look up at her. His heart and mind were at war, what he needed and wanted fighting what he knew. Their time was limited at best and he was gonna get hurt no matter what so maybe in this at least he could let her in. He would protect his family from the situation, keep her from any involvement there, but as far as he was concerned it had already gone too far.

She looked right back at him. Maybe he was finally giving in? Maybe he wouldn’t turn her down again, she thought and wanted to believe it.

“We should get cleaned up,” he said as his fingers gently grazed the area around the sting. “That looks like it hurts.”

“I’ll live,” she told him. She wasn’t the type to whine about something, even if it really hurt.

“Right, but why suffer when I’ve got somethin’ that’ll make it feel better?” He grinned wickedly. “Not that I’m necessarily suggesting we rush through the shower.” His stomach rumbled in protest and he shrugged.

“Maybe we should get IN the shower first, huh?”

He snorted. “Ya think?”

She smiled and ran her hands through his hair. “Get up.”

He got to his feet and held his hand out to her as he pushed the curtain back out of the way.

With a slight hesitation she stepped into the shower, enjoying the water on her skin that was covered with sand, though the hot water didn’t feel so nice on her thigh.

“Here,” he tugged her back and put himself under the spray so that the water wasn’t hitting her thigh directly.

“Thanks,” she leaned her head against his chest and enjoyed the water running down her body.

“Ya know, I could get to really enjoy this,” he said, knowing how true it was.

She smiled and closed her eyes. “Yeah.”

He smiled and part of him hated just how true it was. He tugged her closer and wrapped his arms around her as he walked her back a couple of steps so he could reach for the shampoo.

Maria just let him guide her. He was gentle and it felt so right that she didn’t want to do anything to ruin it.

He glanced at the label on the bottle, having no idea what it was since Max’s mom had something new in here every time they came out here. Thankfully the woman kept the shampoo and soaps in his bathroom less fruity and flowery than in the others.

While he fumbled with the shampoo, she turned around to face him and started to place light kisses on his wet chest.

Her lips on his skin was all it took to ignite the need inside of him again and he nearly dropped the bottle in his hand as he fumbled to put it back on the shelf. He couldn’t explain his attraction to her in light of what he knew, but the part of him that craved love and wanted to belong to someone overrode his better judgment.

Under her fingertips, she could feel his heart beating faster than normal and it satisfied her that she was doing this to him.

“You do that,” he muttered gruffly.

She took his free hand and leaned back just enough to place it over her chest where her own heart was to show him hers was beating just as fast.

He could feel her heart hammering under her skin and after a moment his hand slid down to cup the soft weight of her breast in his palm. He used his thumb to brush away the water beaded on her flushed skin and lowered his head to run his tongue over her flesh.

She took in a ragged breath and leaned into his touch.

“You have any idea how sexy you are?” he asked raggedly.

His words sank in and made her stomach twist. It sounded sincere and she believed him. “Probably not as sexy as you are,” she said, letting her gaze sweep over him.

“If you say so.”

She stood on her tiptoes and kissed the corner of his lips gently. “I do.”

He was grateful when his stomach rumbled again. “C’mon, if we don’t get outta here soon my stomach’s gonna start growling like crazy... not a great soundtrack. Doesn’t really set the mood,” he laughed.

“Okay,” she didn’t really want to rush, but maybe they should take their time.

He lifted an eyebrow at the... was it disappointment in her tone? “Unless you don’t care about the noise ‘cause believe me, I can ignore it when I want to.”

She smiled. “No, it’s okay. We still have the night, right?”

“Got all night long.”

That thought made her all wobbly and excited. “That’s good.”

He nodded and reached for the shampoo again. “I don’t know about you, but I feel like I’ve got a pound of sand in my hair.”

Earth2Mama: Lol, don’t you just love it when they surprise you?

Hmm, we’ll have to wait and see if any of them let’s the truth out.

It could get ugly if the truth doesn’t come out soon.

Natalie36: Lol, then we met our goal with that scene.

Eva: Thanks!

What Michael and Maria will admit to themselves and what they’ll admit to each other may be two totally different things.

secretk: Well, lol, they are Michael and Maria! True, they’re not at a place right now where they can talk openly because they both have secrets. Max and Liz... we’ll see.

keepsmiling7: Yes, they are. They’re not wasting any time.

Max and Liz... there’s so much for them to learn about each other.

mary mary: Lol, no, they’re definitely not overthinking anything. Well, if life weren’t so crazy busy we’d be of a mind to post more often.

Alien_Friend: Michael’s very protective of his family and considering his situation where Maria’s concerned, keeping the two separate is a smart move on his part. We’ll learn if one of your theories about Ben is true eventually.

Lol, looks like no one was expecting that one. Oh, with that dare dangling between them you know they’re gonna keep fighting it.

begonia9508: Things could definitely go south since all of them are still hiding the truth.



Part 14

Maria watched Michael as he leaned back, shoving his plate towards the middle of the table they were sitting around out on the deck. He had cleared his plate; the bone from his steak had been stripped of every bit of meat and his baked potato had been reduced to a limp skin. If she hadn’t known it had been a baked potato before she would have never guessed it. He had surprised her when he had also had a salad and she had just rolled her eyes when he had piled a small mountain of shredded cheese and Italian dressing on it.

She smiled at him when he leaned back in his seat, stretching his arms high over his head before settling into a comfortable slouch. He reached over and one hand came to rest on her thigh, giving it a squeeze before leaving it there. He was talking to Max about their earlier game, his posture and demeanor relaxed. She glanced at her best friend and chuckled under her breath at the way Liz was watching Max, following their conversation like it was actually interesting. It really wasn’t. Max’s right arm was draped over the back of her chair, his hand on her shoulder and his thumb keeping up a repetitive stroking motion.

Her attention was pulled back to Michael when he sat up just far enough to reach for his beer. He frowned when he realized it was empty and he huffed under his breath before shoving himself to his feet. She looked up at him, shading her eyes against the sun and admiring the way his jeans hugged his strong body.

“Wanna drink?” he asked, his voice low and gravelly as he waved their empty bottles in front of her face.

“Sure, I’m good for one more.”

He leaned over her shoulder, his hand settling on her thigh and turning it slightly to take a look at the irritated skin there. “Maybe we should put more of that aloe gel on this.”

She tipped her head back to smile up at him. “That would be nice, thanks.”

“I’m gonna grab another drink too,” Max said as he gathered up his and Liz’s empties. He dropped a kiss on her lips as he stood. “You interested, darlin’?”

She smiled widely at the endearment and nodded. “I did like that mint mojito,” she said with a nod.

“One mint mojito comin’ up.” He winked at her. “We’ll be right back.”

The guys walked back into the kitchen and Max turned to see if they were out earshot before talking to his friend. “So, seems like ya got back on Deluca’s good side.”

Michael dropped the empties in the trash, trying to control the smile that was trying to break free. “Yeah, you could say that.”

“Uh-huh, I know that look.”

“What? I don’t have a look,” he denied.

“Everything okay with stayin’ the night?”

“Yeah, we’re good to go. We just can’t oversleep in the mornin’.”

“Better make it a quickie tonight then,” Max winked.

Michael snorted. “YOU might need to make it a quickie.”

“Me? I don’t need to watch a kid in the morning.”

“Doesn’t mean I’ve gotta rush the night. What about you?”

“She’s definitely not as shy as she looks.” Max grinned.

His eyebrows lifted in surprise. “Really?”

“Bet she wouldn’t say no.” Max nodded, feeling bad for talking about her behind her back. He shook the feeling off. She was probably doing the same.

“Doesn’t sound like you’re planning to nail her tonight. Hey, don’t rush on my account though.”

Max laughed. “Why? Enjoyin’ DeLuca?”

“Maybe.”

“You want her for real?”

Michael shrugged and started digging around in the refrigerator for a beer so he didn’t have to look at Evans. “Doesn’t really matter does it?”

“Probably not,” Max said, lost in thought. Too bad this was all fucked up. Otherwise it could’ve been nice. Michael was his best friend and if they were really dating the girls they could at least hang out a lot.

“Right. Hell, it’ll be good while it lasts anyway.”

Max looked up from where he was mixing Liz’ drink. “Maybe we could come back out here next weekend. Or we could hang on the boat somewhere else?”

“Let’s just take a trip up the coast. We can stay on the boat or dock at one of the marinas. Take the girls out to some fancy restaurant or somethin’.”

“Yeah.” He was getting himself in serious trouble, he knew it. Would he be able to just turn her down after having sex? Would he be able to look in her face when he told her the truth? It’s either you break her heart, or she wins and turns you down, his mind taunted.

Michael leaned over and punched his arm. “Hey, are you gonna be able to walk away if we keep this up?”

Max nodded. “If we don’t, they will, right? Just keep that in mind.”

“Gonna pay for it either way.” It was one of the reasons why he had stayed away from Maria. There was something different about her and he knew when things ended she’d take a big piece of his heart with her.

Max pushed the thoughts aside. He just wanted to enjoy the night… with a beautiful girl. “We’ll pay, but first we’re gonna enjoy,” he insisted as he took the drinks.

“Guess that means when it’s all said and done I’ll be stuck with your ugly mug.”

The other man shoved his friend. “I doubt that’ll be as bad as it will be for me dryin’ your tears.”

“Oh yeah, like that’s gonna be a problem,” he snorted. “Please, you’re the one who’s gonna be crying in his beer.”

“Who’s crying?” Liz asked when she approached them on her way back from the bathroom.

“Your boy was playing around and got lime juice in his eye.” He grinned and snatched up one of the sliced limes and squirted it in Max’s direction. “Bet that stings like a bitch.”

“Ungh, I can imagine. Maria did that on a tequila night with me,” Liz said, grinning.

Michael laughed out loud and headed for the door. “Good luck, Evans.”

Liz walked up to the man in front of her when the other guy left. “Need some help?”

Max flipped Michael off even though he knew he wouldn’t see it. “Asshole,” he muttered. “Drinks should be ready. If you’d hand me a damp washcloth I’d appreciate it.”

“Sure.” She got it like requested and gently put it up to his eye. “Just blink a few times and it’ll be better soon.”

“Yeah, remind me that I owe Guerin one.”

She used the opportunity of his closed eyes and distraction to steal a kiss from his lips. “Will do.”

Max smiled at her and reached for her drink to hand it to her. “Thanks.”

“So. What’re we gonna do now?”

“Play a game, watch a movie...” he winked. “Take a walk on the beach.”

“Make a fire on the beach,” Michael added as he walked back into the kitchen carrying some empty plates.

“Yeah, we could do that too,” Max agreed.

“Sounds like fun,” Liz agreed. “Maybe we can sit around it on those beanbags we had earlier.”

“Sounds like we’ve got a plan.” He gave her a quick kiss. “You go relax and we’ll be out there in a minute.”

“Okay,” she smiled and took their drinks outside with her.

“We could build a fire,” Max muttered with a roll of his eyes.

Michael shrugged. “Women are cold. So we need a fire.”

“Sounds like an excuse to get close...” he nodded. “Right, nevermind. One fire comin’ up.”

The other man just shook his head and went to the little storeroom next to the kitchen to get some blankets out.

Max leaned forward to make sure the girls were occupied before he moved to the room Michael had disappeared into. “Hey, you and Maria sharing a room tonight?”

“What kinda question is that? Of course.”

He shrugged. “I don’t know. Under normal circumstances I’d assume tonight was a sure thing with Liz, but since I’m takin’ it slow... I figured I’d wait until time for bed and see what she wants to do.”

“How gentlemanlike,” Michael smirked teasingly.

Max just grinned. “Gives you more chances to get laid.”

“Oh, I won’t mind if you take it reaaaaaalllly slloooooow.”

“Hell, things aren’t grinding to a halt...” he held his hands up. “I’m good with taking things slow.” Okay, it actually wasn’t that bad and he had a feeling they wouldn’t be slow for long.

Maria looked up when Liz joined her again. She looked like she was having a lot of fun here and it made her smile. Somehow since the dare Liz had really changed into a more sexy and conscious woman.

“How’s your leg feeling?” Liz asked as she sat down next to Maria.

“Better as long as I don’t touch it and nothing comes in contact with it.”

“The guys are gonna build a fire down on the beach.” She glanced back at the door when they came outside, shoving each other.

“That’s good, it is getting kinda cold,” she rubbed her bare arms and shivered slightly.

Michael shook out one of the blankets he had just pulled out and draped it over her shoulders. “Here, that’ll keep ya warm until we get that fire going.”

“Thanks.”

Max looked at Liz. “Are you cold too?”

“Maybe a little bit.”

He stood behind her and rubbed her arms slightly to warm them up. “It’ll be better soon,” he rasped into her ear.

Liz shivered slightly when his breath ghosted across her skin. “Can’t wait.”

“Go get the wood,” Michael shoved his friend lightly when he started flirting again.

“Why don’t you go collect the firewood,” he said.

“Is this my place?”

Max rolled his eyes. “Might as well be. You spend as much time here as I do.” He shook his head when Michael just looked at him. “Fine, I’m goin’.”

Michael nodded in satisfaction and held the aloe gel out to Maria. “Want more?”

She nodded. “Please.”

“Alright. Want me to put it on?”

She shot a flirtatious look at him, earning a smile from him.

Liz glanced at Max. She didn’t really want to sit here and watch the two of them flirt. “Want some help?”
“Aren’t the two of them are just sick?” Max grinned and placed a few pieces of wood in her arms. “Here, that’s enough for now.”

“Where will you build the fire?”

He pointed to a place further down on the beach where a few rocks there were set in a circle. “We’ve got the fire pit down there.”

She nodded. “Cool. It’s so peaceful here. Do you come here a lot?”

“Normally we come out here for family birthdays and stuff. Or when we just wanna kick back and have some peace before exams.”

“Do you have a big family?”

“Well, depends on what ya consider big?”

Liz shrugged. “Is it more than you and your parents?”

“Got an older brother too. And a lot of aunts and uncles with their kids.”

“You guys must have a lot of fun together. Does Michael spend a lot of time with your family? I mean, he just seems like such a loner.”

“Well, he hangs around a lot at my place. Not so much with my family.”

She nodded. “Guess he has his own family stuff.” He was always visible on campus but the guy was a big question mark. She had been hoping Max might shed some light on Michael so she could pass it on to Maria.

“Yeah, everyone does,” Max shrugged, not revealing anything.

Well, that wasn’t exactly informative. “Yeah, I guess so.”

“Here,” he took the wood out of her hands again when they reached the pit. “Maybe you can bring our drinks down here and I’ll get a bit more wood and get the fire goin’.”

“Okay, I’ll be right back.”

Michael hauled the beanbag chair towards the fire pit and sighed. “Stupid thing. Where’s the other one?”

“In the storage room outside.”

The other man nodded. “I’ll get it.”

Max rolled his eyes at Michael’s grumbling. “You can always sit in the sand.”

“We could just use another blanket,” Maria said when she approached them.

“I thought you were gonna wait until we had everything ready?” Michael said.

“Well, it’s not like it’s a difference if I’m here or up there, is it?” she asked and laid the bottles of beer she had brought on the sand.

He rolled his eyes and went back to collect the other beanbag chair. When he returned he tossed it into place and then straightened up to stretch.

Liz joined them, carrying drinks and some snacks the guys had carried out right after dinner. Men were always hungry.

Michael reached over and snagged a package of cupcakes before making himself comfortable in one of the chairs.

“Ha!” Max shouted triumphantly when the fire started to burn slowly.

Maria snorted and turned to look at Liz. “Looks like your man’s achieved the wonder of fire,” she teased.

“At least he’s making something hot,” Liz teased.

Maria’s gaze travelled over Michael and she flushed hotly. “Hell, all Michael has to do is breathe and he's hot.”

“Don’t tell him that or you’re gonna boost his ego,” Liz hissed.

She shook her head when the man they were talking about shoved half a cupcake in his mouth. She made a face when he washed it down with a long drink of beer. “There’s no way that tasted good.”

Michael grinned at her. “You’d be surprised.”

“I’m sure as hell not trying it. Ungh.”

“Guerin’s always eating like a pregnant woman,” Max shook his head.

Michael just shrugged.

Liz chuckled and sat down on the edge of the chair holding her hands out to the warm fire.

“Still cold?” Max asked as he stood up.

“Getting better now.”

Michael reached for Maria, tugging her down to sit on his lap. Evans talked too damn much, he thought.

“Hey! Careful big boy, I’m wounded,” she laughed.

“I can be gentle,” he whispered, nipping her ear playfully.

“I know you can,” she smiled, remembering their earlier encounter.

“Wanna bite of my cupcake?” he asked.

“Now there’s an offer too good to resist,” Max said with a laugh. “It’s gotta be love if he’s sharing his food.”

Michael shot a hard look at Max over Maria’s shoulder, glad she couldn’t see his expression.

Uh-oh, not funny, May thought and just shrugged.

“Well, thanks but I really can’t eat anything else,” Maria groaned and rubbed her belly.

Michael breathed easy when Maria didn’t comment on his good buddy’s slip. “More for me then.”

“Yeah, lucky you. You got the food all for yourself,” she patted his thigh.

“Need to store up my energy for later.”

“Later?” she asked with an innocent face.

“Um-hmm,” he chewed thoughtfully for a moment. “You’ve gotta wait a while to swim after ya eat so I figure if I store up now I won’t be starving when I’m ready to go for a swim.”

“You wanna go for a swim?”

He snorted. “Nah, you can’t really go out so that’d take the fun out of it.”

“Did you see the jellyfish?” Liz asked, pointing at Maria’s leg.

Maria shook her head. “No, just felt it.”

“Stupid things,” her friend muttered. “I hate them.”

Michael frowned at the turn the conversation had taken. Jellyfish... really?

“Oh yeah, me too,” Maria nodded. “Totally ruined my summer look now.” She made a face at her leg. Damn it, it was ugly and it would stay that way for a week at least.

“It’s fine,” Michael said as he rubbed her leg.

“It’s not. It looks ugly and disgusting.”

He rolled his eyes. “Didn’t we cover this earlier?”

She rolled her eyes. “You wouldn’t know what I’m talking about.”

“Whatever.” He took a drink of his beer while the fingertips of his free hand drew circles on her leg.

Gosh, there wasn’t anything better than being touched by him. She would snuggle up with that stupid jellyfish if it meant he would put the gel on her body.

Michael handed her his beer as he leaned forward to take a look at her leg in the fading light. He really didn’t think it was as bad as she obviously thought it was. Girls, he muttered silently. Yeah, it wasn’t like beautiful or anything, but give it a few days and it’d heal up good as new.

“Tomorrow morning I’m taking the boat. No swimming,” she decided.

“Works for me.”

“I think I’m taking the boat as well,” Liz nodded.

Max frowned. “It’s weird. I’ve been comin’ here all my life and I’ve never seen a jellyfish around here.”

“Maybe the little bastards just know better than to fuck with you,” Michael said as he leaned back and reached for his beer.

“They’d better get lost,” Max said and ginned, getting up and taking his shirt off.

“Goin’ for a swim or just showin’ off?”

“The first,” he said and started to unbutton his jeans.

Liz couldn’t help but stare at him as he stripped down to his trunks. He was perfect. Her eyes were drawn upward and she smiled when she realized she had been caught staring.

“Wanna join me?”

She shot a quick glance at Maria. Her friend was completely lost in Michael and she knew neither of them was likely to notice if she and Max disappeared off of the planet at that moment. “Sure, but only if you promise to warm me up afterwards.”

“Safe to say I’d love to,” he winked at her.

She stood and started to remove her clothes, conscious of his eyes tracking her every move.

Damn, what she had herself gotten into? The water was probably cold and she hadn’t brought extra clothes with her.

Max took her hand and started to walk backwards to the water. “It won’t be cold for long,” he promised.

“Uh-huh, you don’t know what kinda pussy I am when it comes to cold water.”

He grinned and shook his head. “Give it a couple minutes and you won’t even be able to tell it’s cold.”

She let him lead the way and hissed when her feet touched the water.

“Best thing to do is just get it over with. It’s kinda like pulling a bandaid off... More ya drag it out the worse it is.”

“Alright.” She gripped his hand tighter and nodded at him before they stormed off.

Michael snorted at the other couple. “I don’t remember Evans ever acting like this.”

“Oh, believe me, Liz isn’t normally like this either,” Maria agreed.

“So what do you think that means?” He had a feeling he knew what it meant. Evans wasn’t as unaffected as he was trying to act.

“It means they’re getting along pretty well, I guess.”

“Yeah, I guess so. Never would’ve imagined the two of them together.”

“Agreed.” She bit her lips. “Or us.”

“Why is she suddenly interested in him anyway?”

“Does it matter?”

“What about you?” he asked instead of answering her question.

She turned in her seat to look at him. “What about me?”

“You’ve been interested before now but you’ve never really kept after me before.” He shrugged. “What’s different this time?” Tell me the truth, he thought.

“I was always after you, you just never really paid much attention and you brushed me off very rudely a few times, Guerin.”

“Right, I know that... You didn’t let me chase you off this time though.”

“Yeah, thought it’d be worth one more try.”

He was disappointed but he tried to hide it. He had hoped there was more to it than just a dare. “Guess your persistence paid off.”

“The way you say it, it sounds like a game,” she noticed.

“Is it?”

She frowned. Was it? Well, it wasn’t for her, but what about him? Go with honesty, she told herself. “It’s not for me.”

If it was a dare how could she define it as anything but a game? “So, if this turned into somethin’ serious...”

“Depends on you, Michael.” She dared to lift her gaze up to him.

“On me? How do you figure that?”

“Well, you’re Mister Mysterious here. You tell me you have private stuff you can’t talk about. You haven’t said anything about what I am for you.”

Shit, how had this turned around on him? “I don’t know,” he answered honestly. “I guess we’ll see what happens.”

Great, he wasn’t giving her anything. Not a single bit that at least said he was interested in trying. “Okay,” she said quietly and turned to look at the ocean again.

“Can I ask you a question?” He waited for her to nod in agreement. “Why’re you interested in me?”

Eva: Michael and Maria are giving everything and nothing away at the same time. They’re both so busy trying to decipher what the other one’s motives are that they’re missing what is right in front of them.

begonia9508: Dangerous for sure and especially so when hearts and emotions are involved.

keepsmiling7: Very true. They’re only digging themselves in deeper the longer they go on playing these games.

Liz is opening up and responding to Max.

mary mary: Oh, you know they are!

Alien_Friend: The guys are something else, aren’t they?

Thanks! Avoiding the issue certainly takes some work, lol.

secretk: We’re pretty sure they’re both just putting up fronts… because they know the truth whether they admit to it or not.

True, but chances are good they’re not just gonna be up-front about it and put those questions out there. Hearts and emotions are getting involved so it’s only a matter of time before people get hurt.

Nope, the guilt rests on all of them. They’ve all played into this game but none of them seems to be willing to be the first to admit what’s really going on.

Good question… we’ll have to wait and see.



Part 15

Maria sighed silently. He had asked that before and she had no clue how to respond to it. The truth would make her vulnerable if he was just playing with her. A lie would be bad if he had serious intentions.

This wasn’t fair. He had told her nothing but expected her to tell him everything. “Just because you’re you,” she finally said and shrugged. And it was true. There wasn’t any special reason for her interest, it had just been there from the first time she had seen him.

He dropped the line of questioning as he looked up at the sky. The last of the daylight was slowly disappearing, following the sun’s path to hide beyond the horizon. She liked him just for himself, he mused silently. She sounded so sincere it was hard not to believe her. Hell, he had liked her from the first time he had seen her but he had pushed her away because his life was complicated right now and no girl would want to stick around once she got a taste of it. He made it a point to ignore the couple in the water as he fixed his gaze on a streak of waning orange light in the distance.

Why would anyone make a dare like she and her friend had? Maybe it was harmless, his heart rationalized. You don’t really know her side of the story. His mind smacked that thought down. What good reason could there be for making a dare that would hurt someone else if they ever found out about it? He shook the thoughts off, tired of trying to determine her reasoning. Just don’t let your heart get involved, Guerin. She gets her claws in you like that and when this’s all over you’re gonna get hurt. Hell, it was already too late for that. Might as well let it play out now. He silenced his mind and focused on the woman in his arms.

He tugged the edges of the blanket around her when she shivered slightly. “We can go inside if you’re cold,” he offered.

“No,” she shook her head. “I love to be close to the ocean.”

Seemed like he had dropped the subject again. Of course without saying what he thought about them, she thought a bit frustrated.

Michael wondered what she was thinking but decided it was probably safer to not ask. “You grow up in California?”

“Yeah, home sweet home. What about you?”

“Born and raised. Well, there was a year we lived out of the country when I was 12. My dad’s company needed some hands-on stuff from the boss so instead of him being gone for a year he moved the family,” he said with a shrug.

“That’s nice.” She made a face. “Well, maybe not to live in some other country, but that he kept the family together.”

“Italy wasn’t bad, just took some getting used to.”

“I’ve been to Paris a few times with my mom and her former boyfriend.” She rolled her eyes. “Thank God I’m old enough now to not be forced to go on those stupid trips anymore.”

“Paris, huh? Never been to France. Been to Switzerland, Italy of course, London,” he paused a moment to think. “Oh, and Ireland and Spain. So was Paris for business or were you guys there on vacation?”

“It was supposed to be a romantic trip for my mom and… I think his name was Jack. They broke up in the city of love though.” She laughed at the vague memory.

He made a face at that. “Doesn’t sound like a lot of fun for you.”

“No, it really wasn’t.”

“So what about your dad?”

“I consider Kyle’s Dad as mine too. Never met my biological.”

“He just not around or...”

“Yeah, left before I was born.”

“What a dick. Any guy who ditches his own kid can’t call himself a man.” He tightened his arms around her. “But Kyle an’ his dad, they’ve been part of your family for a while now right? I remember you said something before.”

His sentence had her thinking again. The hints were getting more and more serious. Was he a dad already? “Um-hmm, my mom’s been with Jim for about 13 years now.”

“That’s a pretty long time. What’d your parents say about your brother having a kid?”

“At first they were pretty shocked and it took some time to get used to it, but now they’re okay with it.”

“That’s cool. I think a lot of parents don’t realize how important their support is with something like that. I mean, most people our age or younger don’t intentionally get pregnant.”

“Sounds like you’re kinda talking from your own experience.” She bit her lip.

He shrugged. “You like kids?”

She swallowed. What should she say now? She liked them, but she didn’t really want that responsibility yet. “Yeah… I think.”

Not exactly a yes, he thought. “I like kids. They see things in a way that we don’t. It’s like you look for the bad stuff as you get older, ya know? Like you just expect it. But little kids, they see the good in everything and everyone. They’re not jaded and cynical... Spend time with them and you can’t help but be amazed at their innocence.” He cleared his throat and looked away. Shut up, Guerin!

She had turned her head to look at him, her gaze wandering over his face and checking the emotions there. He was being honest in what he was saying and her eyes softened at the realization that he was probably a better father than she could imagine. Come on, Michael, she begged slightly. Don’t wait any longer to tell me.

The temptation to spill his guts was strong and he had to remind himself again that she wasn’t planning to stick around. He shifted and reached for his beer. “I’ve got a ton of homework waiting for me when we get back.”

And there we go, she thought, disappointed. This had been THE opportunity to tell her. Why the hell was he holding back? “Yeah? Thank God, not me.”

“Lucky you.”

“Not so much. My grandma’s visiting tomorrow and I can tell you she’s not an easy person.”

“Just set in her ways?”

“Yeah, she’s just like that.”

“So’s my grandma. Of course mine’s spoiled me for as long as I can remember.”

“Yeah, you come across a bit spoiled,” she teased with a slight smirk and prepared herself for some nips or pinches in response.

He grinned and leaned over to put his beer down. “Grandma says her grandkids deserve to be spoiled.” He let his fingers trail along her side, waiting for her to relax because he could tell she was expecting him to do something.

His touch made it hard to concentrate on the conversation. “Well… I guess that’s the way grandmas should think. Unfortunately mine thinks her grandkids have to learn life the hard way.”

“That’s what Grandpa thinks but Grandma gets her way most of the time.”

“It was totally the other way around with my Grandpa. But he died when I was 10.”

“Were you close?”

“Yeah, I liked to hang out with him.” Maria smiled sadly as she remembered her grandpa. He had been a good man.

“At least you’ve got some good memories of him. Grandparents are pretty cool.” He chuckled. “I guess after having kids, raising them, and spending all that time taking care of everything you deserve to kick back and spoil your grandkids.”

She nodded. “Yeah, probably.” Her head rested against his chest while she tried to make connections between him and what he was saying. Unconsciously she let her nails run up and down his bare arm that was wrapped around her.

“You ever think that far down the road?”

“What? About being a grandma?”

He shrugged. “Just that far ahead, I guess. Having a family and watching your kids grow up.”

“I want kids someday,” she told him, “if that’s what you mean.”

He fell silent as he watched the waves rolling up on the beach. If it weren’t for that damn dare she’d be perfect.

“Do you get along well with the rest of your family?” she asked after a while in silence. Maybe this way she would get something out of him.

She was digging for information. “For the most part.”

Another long and revealing answer, she thought. “Well, that’s great!” She sat up and checked on Max and Liz, who were swimming not too far out.

Oh, she didn’t really like his evasive answers. He let his gaze rove over her back and he couldn’t stop himself from tracing along her spine with his fingertip.

Oh no, I am not giving in to that, she told herself. If he wanted to be a dick, then she could as well.

Michael grinned when she shifted slightly, trying to avoid his touch. “Somethin’ wrong?” he asked, adding just a hint of confusion in his voice.

“No,” she told him shortly.

“Uh-huh, wanna try the truth this time?”

“Nope.”

“Oh, c’mon,” he said as he pulled her back against his chest.

“Huh-uh,” she crossed her arms over her chest. “Still nope.”

He lowered his head and brushed his lips against her bare shoulder. “Nope?” he murmured softly.

“Nope,” she agreed, feeling her resolve already fading.

He nipped her neck with his teeth and then soothed the small mark with his tongue. “Still?”

“Still,” she said, but tipped her head to the side to give him better access.

He smiled and nibbled along the line of her shoulder. His thumb grazed the side of her breast and he chuckled quietly when she moaned. “Now?”

“Bastard,” she muttered.

“I could stop,” he whispered.

“You could...”

He smirked when she shifted closer. “Want me to?”

Instead of answering she lifted her arm to run her hand over the back of his neck, playing with the soft hair there.

“So no stopping then?” he teased.

Groaning in frustration at his talkativeness, she turned her head to look at him. “Do you wanna stop?”

“Uh... no, but you’re the one who’s tryin’ to decide if you’re gonna be mad at me or not.”

“I’m gonna be really mad if you don’t stop teasing soon.”

“So, just to clarify, you’re not mad now?”

She turned slightly in her seat and took a handful of his shirt to bring him closer. “I’m not mad. I’m gonna be mad if you don’t tell me soon what you’re hiding.”

He felt his good mood slip a notch. “Am I the only one hidin’ somethin’?” he asked, meeting her gaze head on.

“If you’re just talking about us, then that’s a yes.”

“Who else would I be askin’ about?” His eyes narrowed. “So there’s nothin’ you’re hidin’?”

“Nope.”

He should’ve known she wasn’t gonna tell him the truth. Just another nail in the coffin of what was destined to be a short-lived relationship. “Yeah, well, I don’t put everything out there after just a couple dates.”

Was she too impatient? she wondered.

“What is it you wanna know about me?” And why? he wondered.

She shrugged. How could she say it without revealing what she really thought could be? “I don’t know. It’s just the way you act and the way you talk...” she looked away. “It’s like you’re hiding something really important.”

He shrugged. “Maybe you’re just lookin’ too deep.”

“Yeah,” she agreed quietly. Maybe she was overreacting but just because she wanted things to work out with him and there was as least something there...

“And maybe I’m entitled to have a few secrets. Things aren’t always what they appear to be.” His gaze traveled over her. “Or maybe they are, I don’t know.”

Maria sighed. “Yeah.” Didn’t make any freaking sense but she knew she wasn’t going to get him to talk.

He was having a hard time keeping this conversation going in circles. “I think I’m gonna go grab a slice of that chocolate cake.”

“Okay,” she sat up so he could slip out from behind her.

“Want a slice?” he asked as he stood up.

“No thanks.”

“Thick chocolate frosting...” he tried to tempt her.

“No, I’m still full from dinner.”

“Okay. Maybe later.” His eyes darkened as they slid over her.

She wasn’t aware of his gaze because she wasn’t looking at him. “Yeah, maybe.”

“Maybe... bet you’d be hot wearin’ chocolate.”

With a quick move she stood up to warm herself by the fire while he was gone. “I’m always hot, Guerin.”

“Yeah, well... you’re not gonna get an argument outta me on that one.” He turned to jog up to the house, going inside and rummaging around for a plate.

****

Liz shivered slightly while she swam a few feet to warm up in the cold water. She had never been swimming at night and now she knew why. “Not so cold you said, huh?” she asked, her lips slightly trembling.

“You’re thinkin’ about it too much,” Max said as he swam over to her.

“Yeah, it makes it kinda hard to think about anything else,” she chattered.

He chuckled and came up behind her, wrapping his arms around her. “So maybe you should think about somethin’ hard instead,” he growled.

“Hmm, something hard?”

“Um-hmm.”

“What could that be?”

“I don’t know.” He grinned as he pulled her closer. “Whatcha think it could be?”

Liz had to suppress a groan when he pressed against her from behind. He obviously had no problem with the cold water.

“Water’s not as cold as you think it is.”

“Seems like you’re right.”

His fingers skimmed over her sides and he pressed a kiss against her neck before backing off again and waiting to see if she’d come after him. He was enjoying this little game they were playing.

A frustrated sigh escaped her lips when he let go of her again and she turned around to look at him, smirking when she saw the playful smile on his lips. “Tease.”

“Sometimes.” He grinned. “It’s always worth it in the end though.”

“Promise?” She brushed her wet her out of her face, using both hands.

He nodded. “Always keep my promises too.”

“Don’t doubt that.” She swam towards him slowly, turning at the last second and circling him.

“Then you won’t be disappointed.”

“Uh-huh,” she whispered in his ear from behind without touching him. “Pretty sure of yourself.”

He shivered when her breath brushed against his skin. “I have good reason to be.”

Oh yeah, she was sure of it. He probably had lots and lots of practice. Reminds you that this won’t last, Parker. It’s just a game.

He turned around to look at her, his eyes tracking over her features. “Still cold?”

“Getting better,” she answered, her gaze focused on his lips and the drops of water on them.

“Yeah?” He reached for her and chuckled when she swam out of reach.

She was satisfied when his eyes darkened. Oh, he wanted her for sure. Maria was right, men were so easy when it came to sex.

Max swam a bit closer, treading water and biding his time.

“When do we leave in the morning?” she asked and kept drawing a circles around him.

“Probably oughta get outta here around 8am. Michael’s got some things he’s gotta do... huge homework assignment or somethin’.”

“Okay. Guess I can crash in my bed when I get home again.”

“Unless you wanna hang here tomorrow. He can come back later in the day to pick us up.”

“I’d love to, but I promised I’d keep Maria company tomorrow in the early afternoon. Her grandma’s coming for a visit and the woman is a piece of work.”

“Too bad. Bet I’m a lot more entertaining than her grandma.”

She laughed and splashed some water at him. “Yeah, probably.”

“Probably?” he snorted. “Girl, the day anybody’s grandma’s more fun than me it’s gonna be a sad day.”

“A sad day for you,” she teased and got just a bit closer to him.

He laughed. “Hey, I’m not denying that.”

“Sure it won’t happen anytime soon though,” she said and stopped right in front of him.

“So for today at least I’m more fun to hang out with?”

“I’d say yes.”

“That’s big of you.” He smiled and wrapped his arms around her again.

“I’m generous like that,” she chuckled and placed her hands on his broad shoulders while her legs wrapped around his hips.

“Things warm enough now?” They sure as hell were for him.

“You could say that.”

“We should probably head back soon. It’s getting dark and we don’t wanna get too far from shore. We’d never hear the end of it if Guerin had to come rescue us.”

Liz giggled. “Baywatch Michael.”

He laughed at the slow motion image that immediately came to mind. “Whatever you do, don’t call him that to his face.”

“Is there a story there?”

“Well, we worked as lifeguards a couple of summers. He dated a girl one summer who was obsessed with the show... it drove him crazy.”

“I’m afraid I’m gonna have to tell Maria about this,” Liz laughed at the image. “Although I’d pick you for the rescue.”

“You might have to rescue me if he finds out I told you about that.”

She used one hand to brush his wet hair back. “I’ll try.”

“Let’s head back. How much you wanna bet Michael’s already gotten into dessert without waiting for anyone else?”

Her legs tightened around him. “Who needs dessert?”

“Probably no one,” he said with a shrug. “But it’s chocolate and I have a particular sweet tooth when it comes to that stuff.”

“Well, guess if ya need chocolate, then we should go...”

“What I need is to not have Guerin havin’ to come out and get us,” he said with a wink. “He’d be pissed if somethin’ had to pry him away from Maria.”

She nodded. “Alright, let’s go then.”

They turned and swam back to the beach and he reached for her hand. She took it and shivered when the wind picked up just for a second and blew over bare wet skin.

“Wanna go take a hot shower to warm up? Or I can grab a blanket.”

“Some dry clothes would be good,” she said, trembling.

“How about one of my sweatshirts?”

“Sounds good.”

He grabbed a towel and dried her off before wrapping it around her. “Hold on, I’ll run grab it. Or you can go with”

“Coming with you,” she said and followed him.

They ran in the house and she followed Max as he walked down a long hallway. She hopped in place when he finally stopped and reached out to open one of the doors.

He turned his head to glance at her as he crossed the room. “You wanna warm up in the shower first?” he asked as he pulled the closet doors open.

“Yeah, maybe I should take a quick one.”

He hooked his thumb over his shoulder. “Bathroom’s over there. Towels in the linen closet behind the door.” He waggled his eyebrows at her. “Or I can bring you one when you’re ready.”

She considered that for a few seconds and grinned. “Yeah, why don’t you do that?”

“I’ll just grab a sweatshirt for you and you holler when you’re ready.”

“I’m really fast, so just come in,” she winked over her shoulder and left.

Max groaned and dropped his forehead to rest against one of the doors. “She’s gonna kill me,” he mumbled under his breath. He pulled out one of a sweatshirt with their college logo emblazoned on the front and shook it out. He glanced back at the open bathroom door and wondered what kind of reaction he’d get if he joined her. Nah, not yet, he decided.

Liz brushed off her wet bathing suit and turned the shower on. Surprisingly the water was hot after just a few moments. After stepping under the water she turned to look at the half open door. Would he join her?

He carried the shirt into the bathroom and hung it on the back of the door, his gaze tracing over the outline of her body on the other side of the curtain. His body reacted instantly and he bit the inside of his cheek to keep himself in check. Don’t give in yet, Evans. You’re taking it slow, remember? He busied himself with pulling a towel out and unfolding it to keep his mind occupied.

She didn’t know if she should feel disappointed or relieved that he didn’t make an attempt to join her in the shower. Was he just taking things slow or was it something else? With a slight shrug she turned the shower off and smiled when she heard him couch slightly from outside.

He grabbed the ends of the towel, his gaze riveted on her shape as she reached for the edge of the curtain. How shy was she? he wondered.

Liz took a few deep breaths. You need to do this now, she told herself and pushed the curtain aside, lifting her gaze to him slowly.

He grinned when he saw the resolve in her expression. He could tell this wasn’t something she would normally do and he liked that she was doing it for him. Would she do all of this just because of a dare?

She got a bit more confident when she saw his gaze. It was definitely heated and aroused so he had to like what he saw. “Hand it over, towel boy,” she teased.

“You’re beautiful,” he said, his hands clenching in the towel.

“Thanks.” She blushed a little and let him wrap her in the fabric.

He was trying to keep his thoughts away from the nearly naked woman in his arms but his body had its own opinion on the matter. He rubbed his hands over her towel-covered body, drying her off and keeping her warm at the same time.

Liz closed her eyes at his big hands roamed over her body. She was surprised by herself and where her thoughts were in that moment.

Max pulled her close and lowered his mouth to hers, kissing her slowly as his hands tightened in the towel.

She had already missed his lips on hers. It felt so different from the kisses she had gotten from David – a lot better.

There was something different about her and he didn’t know what it was. He had kissed plenty of girls and he’d been with his fair share of them too, but none that he could remember making him feel like this.

“You should probably take a shower to warm up too,” she breathed against his lips, letting her hands trail over the cold skin of his chest.

“Yeah, probably should.” He reached back to grab the sweatshirt and hand it to her. “Back in a flash,” he said as he leaned in to turn the water on before pushing his trunks down and off.

She watched his backside, amused by his hurry. Maybe he should take a cold shower.

Max was busy thinking the same thing and he hissed as he stepped under the cold spray. “Holy shit,” he chattered.

“Too hot?” Liz teased from outside and dried off the last parts of her body before slipping into the sweatshirt.

“Yeah, might need to make an adjustment,” he hissed.

She waited until he had turned the shower off and was a bit disappointed when he reached for the towel before he stepped out, the best body parts already covered. “Ya know, if we go outside again I think I need something for the lower half of my body as well and my pants are still on the beach.

“I’ve got a pair of sweatpants you could wear. They’ll be big on you, but you can roll the cuffs up and they’ve got drawstrings in the waistband.”

“Okay. Bet it’ll look totally sexy.”

“Maybe the packaging won’t be that attractive, but what’s underneath is sexy as hell.”

Her eyes roamed over his muscled body. “I can give that compliment back.”

He grinned and looked down at himself and plucked at the colorful fish pattern that decorated it. His mom had a weird sense of humor. “Don’t like my towel?”

“No, it’s sweet,” she giggled.

“Sweet,” he snorted. He motioned to the doorway. “C’mon, let’s get you into a pair of pants before I change my mind and decide to get you back outta that shirt instead”

She shivered at the thought but agreed for now.

Janetfl: Lol, there are definitely a few possibilities out there as far as what Michael’s hiding.

Max and Liz are in serious danger of falling for each other. It won’t take much more for that to happen.

Michael and Maria have really gotten themselves into a fix with this dare.

Angst... yes, that’s coming for sure, lol.

keepsmiling7: Lol, well... let’s just say it won’t be too much longer.

The game, over? You’d think so, wouldn’t you? We’ll see.

Alien_Friend: The four of them really have their moments, together and on their own. Now if they can just figure out what’s really going on.

Natalie36: Awesome! We’ve still got some time before the truth comes out.

mary mary: Us? Make you guys wait that long? We can honestly say no with this fic... mainly because there won’t be 96 chapters, lol!

secretk: Lol, they are that for sure!

Oh, Michael has his reasons for that conversation. Was he really asking if Maria’s ready for kids? We’ll have to wait and find out. He’s out of his depth with Maria and he’s just trying to make sense of things.

Max is conflicted when it comes to Liz. He is doing it for the dare, but in the process he’s discovering that he actually likes her.

Eva: The dare is holding them back, but at the same time they can’t deny the attraction that’s pulling them closer together.




Part 16

Michael washed his second slice of cake down with a glass of milk before using his fork to scrape up the last of the icing and licking it off. “You don’t know what you’re missin’, M’ria.”

“I couldn’t eat right now if my life depended on it,” she said and made a face.

He shook his head and smiled at her. “S’okay, more for me.”

“Ungh, by the amount you eat, you should be really fat.”

“I know, right?” He shrugged. “Must be all the practice on the field and hittin’ the gym four times a week.”

“Four times?” she asked in surprise.

“Uh-huh.” He rolled his shoulders back. “I go when I can’t sleep.”

Practice, gym four times a week, and other private stuff he wasn’t talking about, Maria mused. Would he even have time for a girlfriend?

He froze for a moment when he realized what he had just admitted but after a moment it became apparent that she hadn’t caught it and he relaxed. “So, what about you? Whaddaya do when you’re not in classes?”

She shrugged. “This and that. I hang out with Liz a lot and like...” she rolled her eyes, “... yeah, the typical girl stuff.”

“Sounds fun,” he said, thinking it sounded anything but fun.

“Yeah, sure.” She knew he wasn’t thinking that at all. Her head snapped around when she heard the other couple coming back to join them. Um-hmm, interesting, now her friend wearing Evans’ clothes.

Michael cut off another piece of cake and slapped it on his plate. “Nice wardrobe choice,” he mumbled around a mouthful of chocolate cake.

“Shut up, Baywatch Michael,” Liz said.

He scowled at her and then flipped Max off. “Why don’t you shut the fuck up, Evans.”

“Baywatch?” Maria asked, confused as she glanced at the others. “What’s the story there?”

Michael shook his head and got up. “Gonna go grab another glass of milk.”

“What? Now I’m the only one who doesn’t know?”

“No story there,” he yelled over his shoulder. Ungh, God, how could Evans bring that up?! He should’ve known there was something wrong with that girl when her obsession with lifeguards and Baywatch had become apparent. He had gotten rid of her when she had called him Mitch in bed. He grimaced. Weird-ass chick!

She stuck her tongue out at him. “My best friend will tell me anyway.”

He held his hands up in defeat. “Worked summers as a lifeguard... dated a chick with a Baywatch addiction. That’s it, okay?”

“Don’t forget to mention she called you Mitch,” Max added, knowing there would be payback for that one.

Maria laughed and almost spilled her beer. “Mitch?”

Michael’s expression was irritated as his gaze zeroed in on Max. “Think that’s funny, Evans?”

The other man just grinned and shrugged.

Liz chuckled. “It kinda is funny. A lot.”

“Was it as funny as the time you went skinny dipping with Marlene Sandusky in high school?” He nodded when he saw his buddy’s expression sober. “Because if I remember correctly you had a close encounter with a jellyfish... little bit closer than you cared for.”

Liz’s eyes widened and she started to laugh when she saw Max’s expression. “Ouch.”

“It’s not what he’s makin’ it sound like,” Max defended himself.

“So, you didn’t end up with a jellyfish stuck to your ass? ‘Cause I was there to help drag your naked, screaming ass out of the water. Damn thing liked your ass too ‘cause it didn’t wanna let go. It was one of those pretty pink ones too, wasn’t it?”

The girls were lying in their chairs now, laughing and holding their bellies. “Stop it,” Maria begged. “I can’t breathe.”

“Could be worse,” Michael muttered as he passed Max. “Could've told ‘em that you had that bad reaction to it that made your nuts swell up like a couple of baseballs.” He smirked. “Share another embarrassing story and I’ll finish this one.”

“Shut up,” his friend growled and flipped him off.

He grinned. “Wanna piece of cake?”

“No.”

“Good.” He shrugged. “More for me.”

“One day he will get fat.” Maria was sure of it. This couldn’t work for long.

Liz shook her head. “He must have one seriously fast metabolism.”

“How unfair is that?”

“I know.” Liz made a face. “Maybe it’s because of all the exercise he gets playing baseball.”

Max slipped in behind her, wrapping his arms around her possessively. “Who cares about Guerin?”

She smiled and settled back against him. “Who?”

“Good girl,” he growled into her ear.

“Do I get some sort of reward now?”

“I don’t know... depends on what ya have in mind.”

“Isn’t that usually up to the person giving the reward?”

He leaned forward to grab the blanket, pulling it over them up to her waist. “Hmm, let’s see...” His hand slipped over her thigh a few times.

She squirmed around despite her best intentions to be still.

Maria grinned and slipped away, knowing she wouldn’t be missed by the couple.

Michael drew designs in the icing as he listened to the rant coming from the other end of the phone, speaking only when the caller stopped to take a breath. “Look, Iz, he’s just havin’ a bad night.” He shook his head. “No, I know it’s frustrating. I’ll talk to him tomorrow after I drop Ben off with you. We agreed we wouldn’t expose him to that situation so I’ll wait until after dinner.”

She stopped in the doorway when she heard Michael talking on the phone and tried to occupy herself. As much as she wanted to know the truth about him, eavesdropping on his conversation would probably only cause more confusion instead of doing any good.

“No, don’t worry about it.” He shook his head at the apology in her tone. “Our boy doin’ alright tonight?” He smiled and took a bite of his cake. “No, you said he’s finally asleep so don’t wake him up. Just give him a hug for me and tell him I’ll see him in the mornin’.” He disconnected the call and tossed his phone on the counter again.

Okay, she really had tried to not hear it, but she had still overheard a few words. Our boy... the words were stuck in her mind now. What could they mean other than the obvious?

Michael glanced over his shoulder and noticed Maria standing there. “Hey.”

“Hey,” she said back. “I left when Max pulled the blanket above them.”

He made a face. “Don’t wanna know what’s goin’ on under there.”

“Yeah, me neither.” She stayed where she was, leaning in the doorframe of the kitchen. God, what should she do? She wanted him but this was getting really confusing.

“How’s your leg feel?” he asked when the silence became too heavy.

“Not that bad anymore with all the gel we’ve put on it.”

“Good.” He grinned. “Least that jellyfish didn’t attach itself to your ass.”

“Owww,” she made a face, “that would be really nasty.”

“Evans couldn’t sit for at least a week.”

“Bet that wasn’t really any fun.”

“He didn’t really seem to enjoy it.”

“I bet,” she finally moved further into the room.

He watched her, wondering what was on her mind as she stared at his phone.

What to talk about now? she wondered, knowing that asking him about the call wasn’t a good idea and would lead to nothing.

Michael shifted and reached for the cover for the cake, placing it over what was left of it and pushing it down until he heard it pop into place.

“You ate that all alone, huh?” she asked, amused.

“Well, you wouldn’t have any of it.”

She shrugged, wandering around the kitchen and stopping at the window that faced the ocean.

“What’s on your mind?” he asked finally.

She turned to look at him, her hands resting on either side of her on the counter. “Do we really wanna get into that again tonight?”

“Guess that depends on what’s on your mind.”

“Just don’t ask because ya won’t like the answer.”

He nodded. “Fair enough.”

Yeah, not really, she thought. But he wasn’t giving her much of a choice.

“You think it’s safe to go back out there? Or should we just hang out in here?” He glanced at her leg. “We could take a walk on the beach if you want. There’s a rise out back and sometimes you’ll see dolphins playing out in the ocean at night.”

“We can do that,” she nodded. It would be warmer by the fire, but maybe Max and Liz needed some privacy right now.

“Cool. You wanna sweatshirt or anything?”

“Yeah, that’d be nice.”

“I’ll grab one for ya.”

She hopped up on the counter while he went into a different room to get something for her. Her gaze went back to the phone on the counter. She shook her head to get rid of the thoughts.

Michael returned a few minutes later carrying a dark blue sweatshirt with their team logo stitched across the chest.

She just lifted her arms when he approached her.

Michael bundled the shirt up and pulled it over her head, tugging it down over her. “Guess it’s kinda big.”

“I like big.”

He smirked. “I think I can accommodate your preferences.”

She glanced down at him as if she had to check. “Yeah, I guess...”

“You’ve gotta guess?” he growled.

“No, I guess I don’t have to, huh?”

“I’d hope not.”

“Let’s go,” she hopped down from the counter.

He nodded and pointed at another doorway. “Let’s go through the back door. I don’t mind avoiding the view out the front.”

“Okay, lead the way then.”

Michael led her through the back door and along a footpath that cut through the grassy area. They walked in silence for close to 20 minutes, heading uphill for most of it. When they reached the top the ground leveled out and he led her over to an area with a stone ring and a small shed built in the middle of a bunch of young trees.

“Wait here,” he said while he started collecting wood and before long he had a fire going. He reached over the door and found the key to unlock the shed, stepping inside and pulling out one of the beanbag chairs and a blanket. “One thing you can say about Evans’ family... they prepare for everything.”

“I have to say I didn’t expect this,” Maria said, surprised.

“Think I was gonna bring you up here to stand around and be cold?” He smirked and shook his head.

“I don’t really know what to expect from you at any time,” she admitted and took a seat.

“It’s no fun if you know what to expect all the time.”

“I agree with that most of the time.” Not all the time though, she added in her thoughts.

“Sometimes it’s good to know what’s comin’ though.” He glanced at her. “Got room for me?”

“Sure, where ya wanna sit?”

“On my ass would be good.” He nudged her with his knee. “Sit up.”

“Funny,” she grumbled, but did what he asked.

He paused. “Got somethin’ else in mind?”

She shrugged. “Just wondering if ya wanna be the one hugging or the one being hugged.”

“You wanna hug me?”

“Well, if you want to…”

“Okay,” he said slowly. Oh, he was getting in deeper with every second he spent with her. He settled into the chair in front of her and stared out at the strip of moonlight that seemed to divide the ocean.

She got comfortable with her back against the rest before slipping her arms around him. “Move back a bit more,” she ordered gently.

He swallowed hard and did as she had asked. He was allowing himself to be in the more vulnerable position by doing this.

With some slight movements of her body she helped them to get both comfortable. Once they had settled her hand came up to drive through his hair, repeating the move a few times.

He settled more fully against her and sighed. “It’s nice up here, huh?” he asked lazily.

“Yeah,” she agreed quietly. Her free hand wandered further down his arm until she had reached his hand. Automatically their fingers intertwined.

His eyes moved over the water, searching the waves that sparkled with moonlight for the nocturnal swimmers. “I went out on a deep sea fishing trip last year with Evans and a couple other guys.”

“And were you lucky?”

He smiled at the memory. “Yeah.”

“What’d you catch?” she asked, burying her nose in his soft hair. Smelled a bit like the ocean right now, she thought with a smile.

“A blue shark... it was pretty awesome.” Okay, it’d been a little bit scary too, but hauling that thing in had been a battle.

“A shark? Uh... freaky.”

He grinned. “He wasn’t easy to haul in. Bastard fought like hell.”

“How big was it?”

“It was about six feet long, so not full grown.”

“Still big,” she admitted and dropped her head, kissing his shirt covered shoulder.

“Are you kiddin’? That thing was huge!”

“Okay. Huuuuuge.”

“Maria, that thing was almost as long as I am tall!”

“Michael, I know! Whatcha want me to say?”

“That it was freaking awesome!” He rolled his eyes. “Obviously I’m gonna have to take you shark fishin’ so you’ll understand just how impressive it is to land a shark that weighs nearly 200 pounds.”

“Uh-huh. As long as you don’t expect me to throw myself at that thing to pin it to the ground.”

He snorted and his hand tightened around hers. “Nah, wouldn’t let you get that close.”

Her stomach made a weird flip flop at his protectiveness. It had to mean something, right? “The biggest thing I ever caught was a fish as big as my foot,” she chuckled.

He shifted to the side so he could glance back at her. “You’ve been fishin’?”

“Yeah, Jim, you know Kyle’s dad, is a fishing fan. I went out with him a few times.”

He nodded. Her dad didn’t really count as another guy. “One of the guys tried to land a Mako shark. Those things will ram the boat or jump up and actually land in the boat.”

“Scary thought,” she admitted. “I don’t know... I think I’ll just leave the fish in the water.”

“Yeah, I would’ve just let that one go.”

She buried her face against his neck and inhaled his scent, enjoying the way it made her feel. “What happened? Did he actually catch it?”

“Yeah, he finally landed it but damn that thing was pissed off!” He used their linked hands to pull her arm around him.

“Yeah,” she laughed slightly against his neck, “I bet.”

He couldn’t stop the light shiver that raced along his spine. She affected him on a level that he hadn’t anticipated when he had come up with the idea of the counter-dare.

She didn’t know what to say anymore, so she just stayed quiet and tightened her grip around him, enjoying the fact that he was allowing her to take care of him a bit. She suspected he didn’t do that very often.

“Hey, look,” he said, his voice hushed. He pointed out at the ocean. “See the moonlight on the ocean? Watch that area ‘cause they’re comin’ out to play.” They were too far away to hear the playful conversation between the dolphins, but as they watched several of them shot up out of the water.

“Wow,” she said, amazed. “Never saw anything like that before.”

“They’re playful,” he said with a smile.

“Yeah... seems like it,” she watched them in the glistening water and smiled.

“Sometimes they’ll be out there for hours. They’re fun to watch out on the boat. You can get a lot closer and they’re entertaining as hell.”

“You spend a lot of time on the ocean, huh?”

“It’s relaxing. Out there it’s just you and your thoughts, you know? Nothin’ to distract you and crowd out your thoughts.”

Wonder what kinda thoughts, her mind screamed. “Yeah, makes sense.”

“You ever spent a night on a boat? Just surrounded by miles and miles of water?”

“I guess a cruise doesn’t count, does it?”

He smiled. “No, too many people.”

“Well, yeah, thought so. Gotta say no then.”

“Maybe we can do that one night, just the two of us. You’ll love it.”

“I hope we do,” she whispered.

He fell silent, his gaze riveted on the dolphins as they flipped around and chased each other.

She ran her free hand through his hair again and along his cheek. His face was handsome in the moonlight and she was desperate to know what burden he had to carry that made him so closed off. Pushing him wouldn’t help though, she needed to be patient and show him that she wasn’t going anywhere no matter how hard he tried to get away from her.

Michael ran his thumb over her hand and he sighed in contentment. It wouldn’t last for long before she was out of his life again. He knew it couldn’t last, but it couldn’t hurt to enjoy it for a little while. He had money, popularity, and just about anything else he wanted, but his life wasn’t his own. Ben was always going to be there and he hadn’t yet met a girl he was willing to get that involved in his life. Until Maria. He shook that thought off. She was just a temporary thing, he reminded himself.

He wouldn’t put Ben through that. Letting him get attached to someone who wasn’t going to stick around would only hurt the little guy in the end. He wouldn’t understand why she wasn’t there after it was all said and done.

From the changing expressions in his face, she could see he was thinking about something and she’d bet it was about whatever she couldn’t know for some reason. Instead of asking him about it, she just repeated the move with her hand and hoped he would somehow feel she was worth trusting.

Michael shoved down the part of him that was just begging to open up and spill his guts to her. She wasn’t gonna stick around, he reminded himself. Again. Why would she even participate in a dare like this? He knew he had blown her off a few times, but how did that end up in a dare?

“Why don’t you just lock up whatever’s bothering you up for a while?” she whispered in his ear.

“Easier said than done,” he said with a tight smile. “Maybe you should distract me.”

“Any suggestions?” she asked gently.

He chuckled gruffly and shrugged.

“Hmm...” she said playfully and let her free hand wander over his shirt-covered stomach.

His chin dropped to brush against his chest when her hand traveled south and he grunted. “Definite distraction,” he muttered.

“Thought so,” she said in amusement and stopped her hand right over his belt before she went up again, under his shirt this time.

He growled when she reversed directions.

“Got something to complain about?” she asked, rasping her nails against his muscled belly. God, she loved his body.

“No, not so much a complaint,” he said, his muscles tightening at her touch.

Her hand wandered back in the opposite direction and this time, she didn’t stop at the same point. She went further down over his pants, adding just a tiny bit of pressure.

“Need some navigational help?” he rasped when she got closer to where he needed her touch the most and then backed off just enough to frustrate.

“Nah, I’m a big girl.”

“I could probably help improve your sense of direction. This is one area where guys don’t need help with the map.”

“Yeah, I bet, but you’re not allowed to help.”

“Not allowed?” he asked, lifting his right eyebrow.

“Nope,” she squeezed his hand.

“Well, don’t take any detours.”

She stopped her hand right above the opening of his belt. “Making threats?”

“More like a promise... I know the directions for your terrain too.”

“Yeah, but this isn’t about me right now,” she nibbled his earlobe and rested her hand against the belt, knowing it was making him insane.

“No, but it will be later,” he warned.

“Tsk tsk,” she teased. “Make more threats and you’re gonna have to do this all on your own.”

Well, it would certainly get done faster, he thought. Wouldn’t be as satisfying as having her hand on him though.

She smiled when he stayed quiet this time and started to kiss his neck, biting the flesh a few times playfully while her hand finally started to unbuckle the belt.

His breath sawed in and out raggedly when she released his belt from the buckle and he wondered how long she was gonna tease him.

Her hands started to work on the buttons of his jeans. She could feel him moving under her slightly and it made her hot as well.

Even her lightest touches were enough to set him on fire. He moved his hand closer to hurry... er, help, her along, but she brushed his offer off.

“Uh-uh, remember what I said,” she told him and shook her head.

He made a sound of impatience low in his throat and fisted his hand on his thigh.

“We’re gonna get there,” she told him and once his jeans was open she slid her hand inside, staying over his boxers. He was hard as a rock and it turned her on, making it hard not to groan in his ear.

“Keep this up and I’m gonna get there sooner than expected.”

“Don’t hold back on my account,” she breathed.

“I’d kinda like to have you actually touchin’ me before I come,” he mumbled.

“Like this?” she asked and eased her hand into his boxers, letting just her fingertips run over him.

“Uh-huh,” he grated out. Did she have any idea how much her touch turned him on?

She looked at his face. His eyes were closed, his breath heavy, and he probably didn’t know how hot he looked right now. Her eyes stayed on his expression when her hand gripped him more fully.

His hand shifted restlessly, clenching and unclenching when she made a sound of warning. He finally let it stray to her leg, latching onto it as he tried to hold it together.

It was fascinating how the features in his face changed with every new stroke. And she did that to him. Her grip around him tightened while she added more pressure and a faster rhythm.

He nodded when her pressure and strokes increased. Hell, she already had him so worked up he wasn’t gonna last much longer.

His hips bucked up with every move she made. He was close, she could feel it and decided it was okay to let go of his other hand that she had been holding in hers.

Michael felt his eyes roll back under his closed eyelids when her touch sent him flying over the edge and he bit his lip to keep from shouting his release out.

She waited until he had caught his breath again before turning his head towards her and kissing him softly.

“You know... you’re damn good at that,” he whispered breathlessly.

“Yeah?” She leaned her forehead against him and kissed the tip of his nose before brushing the blanket which covered their bodies aside. “How much do Max’s parents love this blanket?”

He snorted and shook his head. “Not that much.”

“Okay.” She used the very edge of it to clean him up and kissed his cheek when it was all done. “As good as new.”

He chuckled. “Think so?”

“Yeah. Just with a more satisfied expression,” she grinned.

“Can’t argue with that,” he said as he leaned into her.

Maria wrapped her arms around him again and looked at the ocean. The dolphins were gone now, slipping away unnoticed.

Michael’s fingers stroked over her arms as he stared out at the ocean once more. She had succeeded in distracting him and he was feeling mellow.

Lost in thoughts she rested her head against the side of his and closed her eyes to enjoy his light touches on her arm.

He reached up to rest his hand along the side of her neck. He found himself wondering once again where her thoughts were but he knew better than to ask.

She sighed when he touched her and pressed her head closer against his. Tonight could last forever if she had anything to say about it.

Michael glanced up when the wind shifted and his eyes tracked a few clouds rolling across the sky. He hoped it wouldn’t start raining because he was enjoying this time with Maria and he didn’t want anything to disturb it.

begonia9508: True, and there’s still quite a ways to go. We’ll have to wait and see if any of them own up to the dare.

mary mary: Michael isn’t giving anything up about Ben just yet... just a little bit longer.

Alien_Friend: Lol, always a possibility... we’ll have to wait and see.

Like those embarrassing stories, huh? They’re always so much better when they’re about someone else, lol.

keepsmiling7: Isn’t that the truth? Sometimes there are things that you’d really be happier not knowing.

secretk: The guys definitely have the dirt on each other.

Lol, Michael and Maria do have a way of getting their signals crossed.

We will... in time.


Part 17

“You and Evans are getting along pretty well, huh?” Maria asked her friend when they were both locked up in the little bathroom to get ready for bed.

Liz had changed into a tee shirt belonging to the man in question and she looked at her while brushing her teeth. “Huh?”

Maria spit out some of the toothpaste. “It seems like the two of you are getting along pretty good.”

The other girl shrugged. “We are,” she mumbled around her toothbrush.

“You like him?” the blonde asked, watching her friend’s face closely. “Oh, yeah, you like him.”

“What if I do? I mean, what’s not to like about him?”

“I couldn’t say. Evans isn’t my type.” But he so was Liz’s type. “I just want you to be careful, girlfriend. I don’t know him that well either, but he’s not someone who does the steady relationship thing – at least he never did it before.”

“I’m just here because of our dare,” Liz defended herself, but it didn’t sound very convincing.

“You sure?”

The other girl made a face. “Would you believe me if I said yes?”

Maria smiled. “Probably not.” She reached out to touch her arm. “And it’s okay, Liz. I’m just saying if you decide you like Max more than you first thought you would then you should make sure he likes you too. I’m the last one who would tell you to go after David.”

“Okay,” Liz said quietly. She knew Maria was probably right and she couldn’t deny that her thoughts had been more around Max than around David the last few days. “Max said something weird earlier.”

“Something weird?”

“Well, not weird, but it sounded like maybe he’s interested in me, ya know? He said he’d like to know me better an’ stuff.”

“When did he mention that? When you made dinner?”

“Um-hmm, we were in the kitchen and,” Liz bit her bottom lip, “it kinda got a bit… hot between us an’ then he stopped and said he wanted to know me better before we do… stuff.”

“Wow,” Maria was seriously speechless.

“Do you think I can trust what he says?”

“Oh, hell, Liz, with these boys, I don’t have a clue.”

“No?” The brunette was surprised. Normally Maria could estimate people well.

“No, somehow they’re so unpredictable.”

“But that makes them interesting, right?” Liz asked with a slight smirk.

“Yeah,” Maria chuckled.

“You know… I’m not so sure anymore that I really want David back,” she suddenly admitted.

“Uh-huh,” Maria looked at her, surprised. “Because of Max?”

Liz bent over the sink and took some water in her mouth to get rid of the last bit of toothpaste. “Not only him. I mean it more generally. Sure, Max is part of the reason.” She looked at herself in the mirror. “The last few days without David made me think, ya know? Though it’s new, I like hanging out with you a lot. We have fun, we can do whatever we want and stuff...”

“Well, sweetie, you didn’t really go out while you were with David, but that’s not really something you can blame on him.”

“I know, I know, and I don’t blame him for that. It’s just, I never really cared about other possibilities in my life and now that I HAD to face them, it’s like I really like them, ya know?”

Maria nodded. “You should really go after what you want, Liz. You know I always thought you could do so much better than David...”

“Yeah... and you were probably right. He was my first real boyfriend and I kinda got stuck with him... I don’t even really know how it happened and I don’t regret the time, it’s just...” Liz shrugged, she couldn’t really explain it.

“I think I know what you wanna say, girl, and I can totally understand.”

“Okay,” her friend said with a smile. “Thanks, Maria.”

“I didn’t do anything.”

“No, you did. You made me finally see other possibilities in my life.”

“Wrong. You did that all on your own.”

“Well, whatever... How’re things with you and Michael going?” She knew they had kissed a few times, but then again he was more distant than Max was with her.

“If only I knew,” Maria sighed. “I’m not able to make heads or tails of this. One minute he’s kissing me and being sweet and sexy and the next it’s like he’s not interested. The man doesn’t make any sense to me.”

“He’s a little bit weird,” Liz admitted.

“Yeah. Right now we’re getting along pretty good and he’s sweet.” Maria looked at her friend and blushed a little. “We had sex.”

Liz’ eyes widened. “YOU HAD SEX? When?”

“Earlier, when you were making dinner with Max.”

“On the beach?”

“Yeah…”

“Uh… Wow. I did not expect that.”

“Yeah,” Maria sighed. “Me neither.”

Liz heard the change in her friend’s tone and frowned. “Do you regret it?”

“No… well, maybe a bit. I just don’t know if it was too soon. I don’t wanna be just a girl for him to have sex with and he might think now that I just want that.”

“Tell him you don’t.”

“I’m trying. It’s just all so difficult. Right now he’s great and he’s been really cool since we had sex. Ya know, he didn’t just play the cool unreachable guy again, but I don’t know how long it’ll last… He’s hiding something.”

“You think so?”

“No, I know so,” Maria said with certainty and wiped her face with a towel after washing it.

“And do you have any idea what it is?” Liz asked curiously, binding her hair into a ponytail.

The other girl thought about it for a moment. Should she tell her friend about her theory? But what if it was wrong? Well, Liz wouldn’t tell anyone anyway.

“I think he’s a daddy,” she whispered.

“What?” Liz mouthed, shocked.

“There were some things I overheard and some other things he said that made me wonder. I don’t know for sure, but the signs don’t look too good.”

“Uh... what if you’re right?”

“I don’t know. On the one hand I really wanna have a chance with him since I like him, but on the other hand... a kid would mean another woman in his life.”

“True, but they don’t have to be together anymore.”

“Yeah... but she’ll always be part of his life and the mother of his kid and I don’t know... in the end it’d always be a reason for fights and trouble.”

“Maybe you’re wrong,” Liz tried to help, “and you misinterpreted everything.”

“Yeah, I hope so.” Maria sighed. “Alright, ya ready to spend the night with Max Evans?” she teased her friend.

“Are you ready to spend the night with Michael Guerin?” she tossed back, amused.

*****

Max knocked on the doorframe of his room and smiled at Liz when she looked up at him. “You need me to get something to drink for you? Maybe water in case you get thirsty?”

“No thanks, I’m good,” she said as she finished making the bed.

He nodded as he stepped into the room and walked over to the open balcony doors, stepping outside and looking out at the ocean. He glanced down to the right, smirking to himself when he saw the lights shining on the ground below Michael’s window. He turned to lean against the railing when he heard Liz step out behind him, his gaze slipping over her. “Guess you’re ready to turn in, huh?”

“Yeah.” She laughed quietly. “It has been a long day.”

“Right, well, I should probably let you get some sleep then.”

Liz frowned when he went back into the room, his stride determined as he crossed to the door that led out into the hall. “What um… aren’t you gonna sleep in here? I mean, I just thought…”

He controlled his smile as he turned to face her. It was the reaction he had been hoping for. “I don’t expect anything from you, Liz.” He shrugged at the look of disbelief on her face. “Not sayin’ I don’t want anything, just sayin’ I’m not expecting anything.”

She looked up at him as she moved to stand in front of him. “I’ll admit I’m not ready for sex yet. At least, not all the way.”

“Not all the way?” he echoed.

“You know,” she hedged.

He closed the door and leaned back against it. “So, how does one have sex without going all the way?” He reached for her hand and pulled her to stand between his knees when he saw the blush on her cheeks. “Somethin’ more than just makin’ out?” He grinned when she nodded without looking at him. “Um-hmm.” She was so hot! “Maybe somethin’ that requires touching? Under each other’s clothes?” He let his hand trail up her arm as he reached up to cup her chin and lifted her gaze to his.

Liz bit her lip as she wondered what she was doing. She had only ever been with David and they had been together for quite a while before they had ever made out heavily. And even that had been tame compared to what she wanted to do with Max Evans after just a couple of days. There was no way she could ever go back to her ex after this. She had no idea if there was even a chance of keeping a guy like Max, but she wanted to enjoy whatever time they did have together.

The look on her face said more than words, Max thought. She wanted him, there was no doubt about that. There was just a small hint of insecurity, but it made her even hotter.

Liz wondered what she was getting herself into as she waited for him to make a move.

“What’d you have in mind?” he asked, turning the tables on her.

“What’d I…” she repeated. Talking during making out was not something she was good at. Actually she’d never really done it before. “Um…”

Max couldn’t help but smile at her expression. Instead of teasing her about it though, he pushed away from the door and maneuvered her back towards the bed.

Liz held her breath in anticipation of what he was going to do with her. His eyes roamed over her body, making her shiver. Suddenly she felt awfully naked with just his tee shirt on, but on the other hand, it was also exciting.

Max bit the inside of his bottom lip as he watched her. He didn’t want to take things too far too fast. If she had been any other chick he’d have already nailed her. It didn’t mean anything. It was just because of the dare, he assured himself. He ran his hands over her arms, keeping his touch light and watching her for his cues.

Pull yourself together Parker, she told herself. Be conscious, be sexy. He wants you! “How about you get rid of your shirt,” she breathed suddenly.

He cursed silently when her suggestion made his heart beat faster. He cleared his throat and nodded. “Wanna give me a hand?”

She smiled slightly and lifted her hands to open the first few buttons. Hopefully he won’t notice my nervousness, she prayed when it took some time to get it open.

Max was so busy trying to remember he wanted to take things slow that he never noticed her fumbling. His hands gathered up the hem of the shirt she was wearing and gave it an experimental tug.

Her eyes met his when she felt the touch on her clothes. She gave him just the slightest nod and let go of him again slowly, to lift her arms up.

He slipped the oversized shirt off of her, swallowing hard when he realized she was naked beneath it. His right hand trembled slightly as he reached out to trace his fingertips over her small breasts. “Perfect,” he whispered as he dropped the shirt to the floor.

No one had ever called her perfect, she thought and felt her throat tighten at his words. Her breath got heavier at his slight, simple touch.

Max shook his head to clear it and nudged her back until the backs of her knees hit the side of the bed.

She smiled and tugged on his sleeve. “You’re overdressed.”

“I can fix that,” he said as he quickly shrugged out of it.

Gosh, he looked so damn sexy in the moonlight! It was scary how turned on she got just from looking at him. “I like your body,” she whispered before she realized she had said it out loud.

Max grinned at her, not commenting on the light blush staining her cheeks red. He moved closer, knowing she would have no choice but to fall back on the bed. He followed her down and chuckled when she gasped in surprise.

“What’re you planning to do?” she whispered and stared up at him.

His gaze traveled over her moonlit features. “Make you come,” he rasped.

She bit her lip, when she felt the heat in her cheeks rising quickly. God, he would so notice her blush, she thought, but the anticipation of what he promised was still bigger than that.

He could see the heat in her eyes and watching them darken turned him on like crazy. “No sex, huh?” he teased.

Right now, she wasn’t sure if they would really get past tonight without it. She could already feel the wetness between her legs and with every look from him it only intensified. “Think that’ll work?” she asked thickly.

She wasn’t ready for that yet, he realized. Maybe he had misunderstood what he heard that morning in his kitchen. Because if she was just using him, wouldn’t she just have sex with him? “Whatever you’re comfortable with works,” he said with a reassuring smile. “We can satisfy each other without going all the way.”

He was sure he could. But could she? Things between her and David had been pretty simple. Yeah, that’s why he broke up with you, she reminded herself.

He kept his touches undemanding and his voice dropped as he continued. “There’re options... Hand jobs... Oral sex... Okay, technically, it’s still sex, but we’ll enjoy it either way.”

Oral? she thought, a bit shocked. She had never done that to a man yet. Okay the technique was pretty clear, but what if she did it wrong? Like too little pressure… or too much. How deep did she have to… Her gaze lifted when she heard him chuckle as if he had read her mind.

“I’m a guy, Liz, I’m not gonna lie... I love getting a blowjob, but I don’t want you to do anything you don’t feel you’re ready for. A lot of girls don’t care to do that, and it’s not gonna be the end of my world if you’d rather not.” He nudged her with his hips. “He’s pretty easy to get along with and ridiculously easy to please.”

“Okay,” she tried not to sound too relieved, but she was.

Max stared down at her, suddenly wondering if she was a virgin. No, she couldn’t be, right? It would explain her hesitation. “Uh, Liz,” he scratched his neck as he met her gaze. “You’ve um... You’re not a virgin, are you?”

She shook her head. “No… No, Max, I’m not.”

He nodded. “Not that there’s anything wrong with that.”

“You don’t need to worry about it.”

“Not worried about it,” he denied with a smile. He’d just handle things a little differently if she was. “How do you feel about being on the receiving end of oral sex?”

She squirmed slightly at the thought and pressed her legs together for some friction. “Good, I guess,” she breathed.

“Then we’re gonna have a real good time,” he whispered as he looked at her.

“Uh-huh,” she felt her heart hammering against her chest.

He settled over her with one leg between her thighs as he lowered his head to kiss her.

She couldn’t remember ever being so excited and so nervous at the same time ever before. Though she liked the feeling.

Max mapped her body with his hands while he kissed her, taking his time as he explored every inch of her thoroughly before moving on.

Her eyes rolled back in her head from the feeling of his body against hers. “Max,” she breathed, totally unaware of it.

Her breathy moan went straight to his dick and he hardened even more. He shifted against her as he moved further down, bringing him closer to where she needed his touch the most.

He’s so hard, she thought as he brushed against her legs several times. And I’m doing this to him. The thought turned her on even more.

She was so responsive to his every touch and she was so open about it that it blew him away. He brushed light kisses along the line of her hip as her scent teased him.

Liz bit her lip. The temptation to touch herself for some relief was driving her crazy, but she dug her hands into the sheets below them. He was driving her insane with the barely-there touches and the light kisses, but it also felt so good.

Max glanced up when he heard the sheets rustling and the sight of her hands clenched around handfuls of the material made him smile. Time to move things along, he decided. He shifted to settle between her legs and he made a sound of approval when she spread them wider to accommodate him. He let his tongue play along the crease of her thigh for a few moments before turning his head. She was already so wet and restless. She shuddered when he dipped his tongue into her wet heat and he quickly set up a rhythm that had her panting hard.

“Max,” Liz’ hips bucked up against him. She couldn’t control the moans escaping her lips and she was almost worried the other couple could hear them.

His right hand rested over hers, fumbling with her fingers for a moment before she turned her hand over and linked them together. His tongue danced over her heated flesh, feeling satisfaction thrum through his veins with every sound and move she made.

She was surprised when her orgasm was already so close. No man before had managed to bring her to the edge so quickly. Her hand squeezed his tightly when she could feel the muscles in her lower body tighten.

Max shifted his weight just enough to keep her movements a little more controlled as he slid his tongue over her clit before nipping it gently. He eased two fingers inside her tight entrance and moved them in and out as he stretched up to kiss her. Her body was drawn tight and he knew she was close. “Come for me,” he whispered as his thumb added pressure to her clit.

Liz groaned and let go immediately. For a moment she thought she would black out from the sensation, but then she just smiled and breathed heavily as her body sank back into the mattress.

“You’re beautiful when you let go,” he murmured against her lips.

“Thanks.” She blushed when she realized what had just happened.

Max’s gaze was riveted to her flushed features, male pride surging through his veins at the knowledge that he had put that look there.

Liz eyes focused on him, her lids suddenly feeling heavy while her mind was still clouded from the sensations rolling through her body.

He held his weight on his elbows and rested his chin in his left hand. “I could get used to this,” he mused, unintentionally verbalizing his thoughts.

She chuckled deeply and it sounded weird to her own ears. “Me too, Max.” And it wasn’t a lie. She could already feel herself falling for Max Evans.

He shifted his lower body. Damn he was hard as a rock, but somehow he knew the problem wouldn’t be fixed just yet. From the way she looked, she was about to pass out soon and as much as he wanted to feel her hands on him, he would just let her.

“Max…” she whispered exhausted.

He crawled up over her and kisser the tip of her nose. “It’s okay, Liz. Just sleep,” he said gently.

She looked into his eyes. “You sure?”

He nodded slightly and shifted to lie next to her, pulling her slim body into his arms while he tried to avoid contact with his lower body. God, how would he survive the night like this?

“Thanks,” she mumbled, unaware.

Maybe he would take a shower when she was asleep and give himself a hand, he mused.

Eva: Lol, Liz was being honest. David just isn’t the man who was gonna awaken her sensual side.

keepsmiling7: Good question, lol.

It probably wouldn’t take much for Liz to forget about David and she seems to be well on her way.

Max, well, he’ll get around to letting us know when he’s ready.

Michael and Maria do appear to be moving forward.

Earth2Mama: Things do seem to be moving right along, don’t they?

Oh, they should come clean, but we’re gonna have to wait until they’re ready. The fallout will be worse if they don’t just tell each other the truth.

Natalie36: Lol, David obviously doesn’t have what it takes to bring Liz’s passionate side to life.

mary mary: Looks like Liz just clued in, lol. Max will eventually get some help.

Alien_Friend: They are getting to that point and admitting it to each other is a big step. Now we have to wait and see if they can take that next step and admit it to their guys.

Max is getting involved in spite of the dare and his assurances to his buddy to the contrary. He and Liz are getting much more comfortable with each other.

begonia9508: Liz loves David, but in love with him? We have our doubts. She and Max are definitely falling for each other.

angiebrenna: We’re glad you’re enjoying!

secretk: Lol, there’s still a bit of denial mixed in among the acceptance.

Liz is realizing that her relationship with David was pretty one-sided and. David obviously just wasn’t the right guy to bring out her passionate side. Chemistry is important to any relationship and it just wasn’t there with Liz and David. Now Max and Liz? Different story, lol. As for Max, Liz isn’t the only one learning some new things.

Maria is just trying to put these little pieces of the puzzle together and trying to come up with a theory. So far, that’s where all of the clues are pointing for her.

Helen of Roswell: Hey Helen, we are glad you decided to come out of lurking, .

Wow, thanks for taking so much time to reply to this story. We know leaving a feedback like this takes some time, so we are really happy about it!

You are the second Candy in a short amount of time, who told us she is more curious about the Dreamer story line right now, lol. (well the other was for TIC TAC but still…. Wow be did not expect that, thanks.)

Oh this so mysterious “Ben situation”, huh? We really enjoy to keep this mystery up and it will last just a while longer, lol. Let’s see what ya think after today’s part.

Lol, our banner is flirting with you? Cool!

Hm, should you be worried? Nah, not really. We know there will be some drama when truth finally finds a way to get out, but we are happy end girls, so in the end we will be all happy hopefully, lol.

A&I and K&T don’t have much airtime here, to be exact, we have a bit of K&T later, but only Isabel on the other hand. We wanted to keep this story “short” so concentrated on just two couples here. We already have two other fics running which cover all CC couples and hell they are already long and still far from finished, lol.

Liz’ ex is definitely a piece of work and we will see a lot more later. We bet it won’t make you like him a bit more, lol.

Yep, without the dare the story would be… well none existing, lol.

Maria probably just came up with this dare to show Liz that David is not good enough. She is probably hoping that her friend will learn that there are other men in the word (better men) by setting her up on Max The Womanizer Evans.

Most if the times people are involved in a situation can’t see the truth. That’s why Maria probably thinks Michael is a jerk and Liz sees there is more. The other way around Liz always thought her relationship with David was perfect, while Maria could never stand him.

Liz is very good at flirting, she probably only never tried it out before. It’s not something what you learn in a few minutes and from tips of your friends, lol. You can say it needed a Max Evans to bring this side out on her, lol.

Don’t worry, we won’t see Blake again, he was just there to get M&M together and now we kicked him out again, lol.

Nothing is better than see your ex in shock when he sees you and actually thinks you are sexy, right? David just got what he deserved. Yes, David was her first and only real relationship.

Well for Maria it is hard to take her own advice, because she already tried to get Michael with the old fashioned flirting way. The advices she gave Liz don’t see to work with a Michael Guerin, he pushed her away more than once, so of course it makes her doubt – though to Liz’ words – if he could like her.

Yes, no worries about Courtney here. She just stays on a side note.

If you like her as a normal and actually nice girl, then TIC TAC is your fic lol. We won’t make her evil in this one.

Michael is covered in a lot of mystery here, huh? It something Maria has a hard time to deal with and so much he hasn’t given in an inch (btw it will still take a while but we can learn a but more in today’s part).

Wow, so the reply to the feedback took a while, too lol. Thanks again for taking all the time and now on to the new chapter,

P.S. of course it is totally okay for us, if you post on both boards, girl!





Part 18

Maria glanced at herself in the mirror when Liz had gone and she sighed. Was she good enough for him? Well, she knew she was, but did HE know it? On the one hand he was giving her the feeling that he cared about her. But then he turned around and locked himself up again, making mysterious phone calls and stuff… What was that all about?

She sighed. “Nothing I’m gonna figure out tonight,” she told her reflection and ran her hands through her hair. Her bikini had dried off again, so she wore the bottom of it and her tank top for the night since he hadn’t offered her anything to sleep in.

“Alright,” she nodded to herself before slipping out of the bathroom. She walked along the small corridor to his room. The door was halfway open and she could see him standing on the patio before she entered the room.

His stance was wide as he looked out over the ocean. She bit her lip when his body showed off nicely in the moonlight. Jeans hanging low on his hips, bare upper body with just a chain resting against his strong chest. He seemed to be lost in his thoughts again and she wondered if she should disturb him or just lay down in the bed.

Michael turned his head just enough to make sure that the person intruding on his solitary musings was Maria. His hand clenched tightly around the cell phone in his pocket and he mentally slammed the door on the thoughts of his earlier call. He could deal with it tomorrow. He had an attractive woman in his bedroom and she was a hell of a lot more interesting than what was waiting for him at home.

She sighed and sat down on the bed, not knowing what to do about this situation. Was it a good idea to stay with him overnight when nothing was clear between them?

He turned and walked into the room, sliding the doors closed behind him. “Looks like that rain might come in,” he said as he turned to look at her. He felt a little nervous, which was just stupid.

“Let’s hope it’ll be gone by morning.”

“It won’t hang around that long,” he assured her. “Probably won’t even amount to much.”

“Says weatherman Guerin,” she teased.

He grinned and shrugged. It was so easy to let himself relax around her, to let the things that weighed so heavily on his mind go for a while. “Would you rather a big storm roll through and bring a ton of rain with it?” he asked as he crossed the room to stand in front of her.

“Well, if it meant we’d be stuck here for a while longer I wouldn’t mind.”

If only, he thought, but instead of responding verbally he caught the edge of her top and pulled her closer. “We have tonight,” he murmured.

She nodded but didn’t look at him. “And after?” she whispered.

“We see what happens.” He took in her downcast expression and wished he knew what was really going on in her mind.

Her heart sank at his words. She had hoped for more than that. Just a sign that tonight wouldn’t be their only night together.

“I mean, I don’t know what’s gonna happen tomorrow, Maria. I’ve got things goin’ on at home, there’s school, the team... I stay busy, but if you don’t mind workin’ around that... we can maybe hang out or somethin’.”

She leaned against him. “I don’t mind working around things.” At least from what she knew so far.

He nodded as his hands slipped below her tank top to settle on her thighs.

“Okay,” she whispered in response, hoping he really meant it.

His hands slid up over her hips to her waist, catching the edge of her shirt and lifting it up.

She held her arms up to help him, looking up to meet his gaze when he tossed the cloth aside. Her hair fell back over her shoulders, almost reaching her breast when it was flat like right now after the swim earlier.

“You um...” His fingertips traced over her breasts, mesmerized by her perfect skin. “You’re so sexy,” he rasped.

His words sounded sincere and made her legs weak and wobbly. “Thanks,” she leaned forward to kiss his chest right where his heart was beneath his skin. “So are you.”

The simple touch of her lips on his skin was enough to set his heart to thumping madly in his chest. “Got any requests?”

“Just touch me,” she whispered and placed her hands over his where they rested high on her hips.

“Oh, girl,” he growled as he lifted her up so she could wrap her legs around him, “I have every intention of touchin’ you.”

Her arms came around his neck to hold onto him. “That’s good.”

“The rain hasn’t started yet. Wanna go out on the patio?”

She nodded. “Okay.”

He carried her outside, leaving the door open and settling down in one of the loungers with her straddling him. They could hear the waves crashing against the shore and smell the scent of impending rain mixed in with the salty scent of the ocean.

“Uh-oh,” she said when a raindrop fell on her bare thigh.

He brushed it away and leaned in to lick another away that landed on her shoulder.

“Guess we’re getting wet,” she smiled and moved her hips against him once.

He nodded, pleased that she didn’t seem to be bothered by the rain. “Each time with you seems to get hotter,” he mused, watching the raindrops dot her skin.

She smiled. “And we’re just getting started.” The meaning of her words weren’t realized before they were out and she hoped it was true. She leaned back to sit on his thighs and played with the chain around his neck.

He dropped his gaze to her hand and watched her as her fingers ran over the chain he wore.

A small silver pendant hung from it, very simple, flat like a board. There was something engraved but she couldn’t see much. Her heart stopped beating for a second when she turned it around and was able to read something. Isabel.

Michael swallowed hard when he saw the look on her face as the inscription became clear to her. “My mom,” he said, his voice gruff.

She frowned. “Your mom?” Why would a guy his age wear his mother’s name on a chain unless she was…

“Yeah, she...” he swallowed hard and cleared his throat. “Yeah.”

She nodded, her own throat tight. “I’m sorry.”

He nodded silently. He didn’t talk about his mom very often. It had been a little more than a year, but it still felt so close. “It’s been almost 15 months.”

Her heart clenched when she realized that it was too short a time to make the pain much better. Was it part of the reason why he was the way he was? She let go of the chain gently. “That’s not long ago.”

“No.” He looked down at the medallion and picked it up, his expression one of pain. “It was all over the papers... that accident involving a bus, an 18-wheeler, and a couple cars. Shut the freeway down for a few weeks for repairs.”

Her eyes widened as she recalled exactly what accident he was talking about. “I remember it. I was with my family and we were waiting for Tess and Nayla to arrive. They were over an hour late, Kyle was freaking out by the time he heard about the accident on the news.” It was the day that had destroyed his life, she realized and couldn’t help but reach up to caress his cheek.

“She wasn’t supposed to even be on that freeway. She rarely ever took the fuckin’ freeway ‘cause she hated it.” He swallowed hard. “She was trying to get home because I had an early game that night.”

Did he blame himself? “Don’t Michael...”

He shook his head. “I know it wasn’t my fault. I thought it was at first, even stopped playin’ ball until this season, but I know she didn’t die because of me.”

“Yeah...” She didn’t know what else to say.

He couldn’t believe he had said all of that. “So anyway, that’s what this’s for,” he said, lifting the pendant up once more.

He wouldn’t share any more, she realized when he closed up again. But at least it had been something.

He dropped the pendant to land against his chest and he looked up at her. Her expression was so open and accepting, her eyes seeming to say that she would take his pain away if she could. His arms came around her and he pulled her closer as his gaze dropped to her lips.

The rain was falling a little faster now, but still not enough to soak them though. “Real life isn’t always like that,” she told him.

“No, shit like that can just... it leaves a big gaping hole that sometimes people just can’t come back from.”

“Yeah,” she agreed.

His dark eyes moved over her features, memorizing every inch of her as his hands came up to frame her face. He held her still as he leaned in, lowering his mouth to hers and without a second thought slowly swept his tongue across her bottom lip.

Her eyes closed at his tenderness when her lips parted slightly to give him access.

He groaned quietly when she opened to him and his arms wrapped around her, his hands moving over her back as he leaned back with her pressed against him. He deepened the kiss, his tongue sweeping over her teeth and enticing her tongue into a playful duel.

She had waited for this for so long now, and she didn’t even think about the stupid dare. This was what she wanted. A groan escaped her throat when his hands wandered further down, squeezing her ass slightly.

Her response encouraged him and one of his hands slipped up to tease the last bit of material clinging damply to her. He wanted it gone, wanted her naked and wet in his arms. His mind was locked on this moment and nothing outside of it existed.

“We need to get rid of your clothes,” she told him breathlessly and tugged on the waistband of his jeans.

He chuckled and let go of her long enough to fumble his belt and jeans open. “Gonna be tough to do unless you’re gonna gimme some room to maneuver ‘em off.”

“Ya want room, huh? Alright,” she got up, standing up in front of him while the rain began to fall faster. Her hair was soaked before long and clinging to her body.

“Didn’t need that much,” he grumbled as he stood and wrestled with the damp material. He finally kicked them off and held his hand out to her. “So... ever made love in the rain?”

“That’s definitely a no.”

“Want to?”

“That’s a real question?”

He snorted. “I thought it was.” His eyes slid over her and he felt himself react to her. No hiding that, he thought.

He looked so hot in the rain it should be forbidden, she thought with a shake of her head.

His hands followed his eyes, mapping her skin and loving the feel of her soft skin. The rain had become constant, not too heavy, but the clouds had moved in enough to hide the moon. His eyes were accustomed to the dark though and he could still see well enough. His hands paused at her thighs as he debated between going back to the lounger and staying where they were.

“Can’t decide what ya want, huh?” she teased, standing on her tiptoes to kiss him briefly.

“So many tempting options,” he breathed.

“What comes to your mind first?”

“The lounger’s probably the better choice,” he said with a quiet laugh.

“The better choice for what?” she challenged.

“The better choice for position,” he said with a roll of his eyes. “I mean, standin’ up you’re gonna be uncomfortable ‘cause the wall’s gonna be abrasive and the glass doors are gonna be cold on your back...” He grinned wickedly. “Not to mention we could knock those doors down.”

Her gaze wandered to the railing of the patio and she looked back at him cheekily.

His eyebrow lifted as he turned his head to follow her gaze. “Yeah?”

“Think it’s stable enough?”

“Yeah.”

She nodded and stretched again to kiss him. “Then let’s do that.”

He grabbed his jeans up off of the floor and pulled his wallet out to retrieve a condom that he handed to her. He draped his jeans over the railing before laying her tank top over them. He turned to take her hand and pull her up against him, kissing her deeply as he lifted her up.

She groaned at his way of touching her in all the right places to make her hot.

He carried her across the patio and sat her on the clothing-covered section of the railing. He released her mouth so he could kiss a path down over her rain spattered skin.

“Michael,” she breathed out, her voice husky. Never had anything felt so good as being with him.

His hands rubbed over her thighs, groaning when they parted further to give him better access. His thumbs moved in, drawing small circles on her flesh as his mouth settled on her breast.

She let one hand slip in between them to use her palm to stroke him, while the back if her hand rubbed against herself.

He moved further south, his lips blazing a path to her heat. “How’s your balance?” he asked, his voice muffled against her skin.

“Well, normally good,” she said.

“Probably send you right off that rail if I went down on you, huh?” His dark eyes sparkled with humor as he teased her.

“Could happen,” she laughed slightly.

“We don’t want that,” he said as he straightened up to kiss her again. His right hand slipped between her thighs, nudging her hand out of his way so he could touch her.

“Better not,” she agreed and hissed when his knuckles pressed against her still-covered center.

“Totally kill the mood,” he smiled.

Her legs gripped his hips tightly when she pressed herself against him, searching for more friction. “Maybe killed me as well,” she mumbled.

“Don’t wanna do that.” He wrapped his left arm around her, holding her tightly to him. “Gotta get rid of this,” he said, tugging at her bikini bottom.

“Okay,” she slipped from the railing and hissed when her insured leg brushed against him. “Forgot about it. Damn.”

He rubbed his hands over her arms. “You okay?” He let it go when she nodded and as soon as she’d freed herself of the bikini he helped her back onto her perch. “Much better.”

“Touch me,” she begged when he took his time coming closer again.

He obeyed without question or thought, his fingers sliding between her slick folds to pleasure her.

She moaned and gripped his shoulders tightly. Her mouth crashed onto his to muffle the sounds she made.

Michael felt like he was on the verge of exploding. The sounds she made, the way she moved against him... the way she touched him. It all came together to make him unbelievably hot.

When his fingers weren’t enough anymore, she brushed his hand away and pressed against him, just remembering the condom in her hand.

He smirked at her impatience and took the condom from her, ripping it open with his teeth and ridding himself of his boxers so he could roll it on. He moved closer, pressing his tip to her entrance as he met her gaze.

She looked back at him and felt her impatience slowing when she saw the intensity in his eyes. One of her hands rose to his hair, intertwining her fingers in it.

He couldn’t explain the connection he felt to her but it felt like he needed it the way he needed to breathe. How could she feel that necessary to his existence so quickly?

She nipped at his lips gently, biting them a few times with light pressure before running her tongue over them slowly.

Michael pushed his hips forward, entering her slowly as he caught her tongue with his and took control of the kiss.

Her grip on his hair tightened when he started to move inside of her slowly. “That feels good,” she admitted when the kiss got lighter

He eased his head back slightly as his hands tightened on her hips and he licked his lips as he watched her. His lips were gentle, his movements easy as he controlled the pace of his thrusting, allowing the pressure and pleasure to build.

She closed her eyes and bit her lip, feeling her orgasm build slowly. He just knew what to do and how to touch, like he was made for her, she thought.

He eased one hand between them, knowing she was getting close. His body was telling him to get ready and he didn’t want to blow without making sure she got off too.

His fingers just brushed against her a few times before she gasped loudly, tightening her grip on him once more as she came.

That was all it took for him to let go and he held her tightly, conscious of the fact that there was nothing but air behind her. His hips slammed into her and he threw his head back as he came.

The rain was still falling down on them as they both calmed down. Maria was resting her head against his shoulder while one hand lay on his chest, right above his heart.

Michael turned his head to press a kiss to her temple, inhaling her scent mixed in with the rain. “Think we should head inside?” He knew she’d probably start to get chilled once her body began to calm and relax.

“Yeah,” she said, exhausted. “Just gimme another few seconds.” Her legs didn’t feel like they would work right again.

He nodded wordlessly. After a few minutes he chuckled, the sound vibrating deep in his chest. “Next time I vote for us taking this to bed.”

“No complaints from me,” she shivered slightly.

“Okay, I think it’s time for us to take this inside, gorgeous.” He lifted her up in his arms and turned so she could grab their clothes before going inside and pushing the door shut on the rain.

“Ya know, we got wet more than once today,” she chuckled.

He grinned. “Kinda fun though.”

“Yeah,” she agreed when he let her down. “Wow, I didn’t even realize it rained that much,” she said when she glanced out through the glass door, seeing the rain splashing on the patio in small puddles.

He snorted at that. “I think my ego might take a nosedive if you’d been paying attention to the rain.”

“No reason to doubt your abilities,” she grinned. “I think I need to dry my hair.”

“Think I’m gonna grab a quick shower and warm up before crawling in bed.”

“Let’s go to the bathroom then,” she took his hand, pressing a kiss on the back of it.

Michael followed her willingly, wondering how long he was gonna pay for letting her get this close. Showering with someone else was an intimate thing and not something he’d ever done with any other girl.

She turned the shower on to warm the water and turned to the mirror. “Guess you don’t have a hair brush here, huh?” she teased, using her hands to bring her hair into order.

“Got a comb.”

“That’d probably take forever,” she chuckled and walked towards him, shoving him under the shower gently.

He made a face at her. “Yeah, ‘cause using your fingers is so much faster,” he mumbled as he ducked under the spray.

“You obviously have no clue,” she winked at him and went back to the mirror.

He shrugged and grabbed the shower gel, squeezing some in his hand and starting to lather up.

After getting her hair in an order again, she grabbed a towel and dried off. As much as she would enjoy a warm shower now as well, it would probably end in more sex and she was already really exhausted.

Michael smirked because he knew what she was thinking. “You want the shower? I’m just about done.” He hadn’t put the shampoo on the shelf so instead of bothering with it he just used body wash on his hair.

“I’ve already dried myself off,” she called so he could hear her under the running water. She pulled the curtain away a bit and looked at him. “Thought you could warm me up in bed.”

“I might be persuaded to do that.”

“Persuaded how?”

He chuckled and shook his head at her. “Get in bed, girl. I prefer the right side and I like the sheets cool when I get under the covers so don’t get in there and heat my side up.”

“I like the right side… don’t warm up the bed,” she mocked slightly while she went back into the bedroom. It was still pretty warm from the day, so she just crashed on her stomach on top of the sheets… on the right side, of course.

“Just had to do it, didn’t you?” he said as he walked out of the bathroom and switched the light off. “If my ass wasn’t so tired I’d make you move.”

“Scared now,” she teased.

He stretched out beside her and smiled tiredly. “You should be. Just wait, ‘cause I’ll get ya back for that when ya least expect it.” And he already knew what he was gonna do.

She looked at him and smiled at the calm and exhausted look on his face. “Can’t wait.”

He yawned widely. “Yeah, probably won't be too much like punishment for ya.”

“You’ll probably have forgotten all about it in the morning,” she mused and leaned forward to press her lips against his tenderly. “Good night, Michael.”

That was entirely possible. But only until he rolled over and saw her sleeping in his spot. “Keep tellin’ yourself that,” he murmured against her lips. “G’night, M’ria.”

She didn’t want this night to end. God only knew what would happen tomorrow and she already feared it. But she was tired as well and yeah, she knew she had to let it go for now.

Michael stared up at the ceiling, listening as she settled in for the night. He bent his left arm behind his head and closed his eyes only to have them snap wide open a moment later. He reached up to rub his thumb over his lips as he swore under his breath. He had given her exactly what she wanted.

Maria sighed when he stayed where he was. “Should’ve taken the warm shower.”

“Huh?” He turned his head to look at her and realized she was waiting for him to do something. His mind was so busy going over that slip that he had nearly forgotten she was still awake. He reached for her hand and tugged her up against his side. How long would she keep this charade up, he wondered. And how long should he let it go on?

She snuggled close to him, searching blindly for his hand and intertwining their fingers when she found it. His body was warm, his skin soft, and it felt so right.

Michael looked down at their intertwined hands and he swallowed hard. If it weren’t for that stupid dare he could easily let this thing become so much more. Maybe. His life wasn’t simple. He had Isabel and Ben in his life and he spent so much of his time with them. What girl was gonna wanna put up with that?

Eva: Even though it was something small, it took a lot for Michael to tell Maria about his mother.

Thanks!

begonia9508: That was difficult for Michael to do. He’s not used to opening up and confiding.

Lol, this is true!

keepsmiling7: We’ll second that!

Yep, we’ll see how Maria handles that.

Earth2Mama: Michael finally revealed something, even if it was only a tiny bit.

Yep, we think M&M agree about the rain.

mary mary: Definitely a possibility. Where’s the dad... that would be a good quesiton... if that theory pans out.

Thanks!

Alien_Friend: Michael and Maria do have that connection, don’t they?

The two of them know how to heat a screen up.

Got more comin‘ right up!

sarammlover: Oh, the truth is getting closer to coming out. They are beginning to open up to each other, which could make it hard when the truth does come out.

secretk: No, there’s no denying that... ever! When they’ll admit that to themselves as well as each other... we’ll see.

Michael is opening up a bit, but no, still nothing about Ben. He’s slowly revealing little bits and pieces about himself.




Part 19

“So, how long’s grandma gonna stay?” Max nodded in Maria’s direction and glanced at Liz, who was stretched out next to him on the deck. They were on their way back home the next morning. He was hungry, but they hadn’t had the time to eat breakfast because they had all slept in and now they had to hurry so Michael wouldn’t be late to pick Ben up.

“I don’t know. Until after dinner I guess.” Liz answered. “She’s not staying overnight.

“When do classes start for you on Monday?” He nipped her ear, remembering the night they had shared. God, he couldn’t wait to do that again.

“Not before 11am.” She giggled when his breath tickled her ear.

“Wanna meet me for breakfast before?”

“Sure,” she turned to look at him. “That’d be nice. Breakfast on campus sucks.”

“Tell me about it”, he laughed and lowered his gaze, letting his fingertips trail over the edge of her bathing suit at her breasts. “Mine’s much better.”

“Yours?”

“Uh-huh. Believe it or not I can do pancakes an’ stuff.”

“So, does that mean breakfast at your place?” she asked, shifting under his touch.

He smirked at her and leaned in for a kiss. “Take that skirt off again?” He tugged on the edge of the short jean skirt she was wearing over the bathing suit.

“Uh-huh,” she mumbled against his lips.

“I wouldn’t mind if you forget to wear anything underneath.” Hell, the thought made him harder than hell. He shouldn’t talk dirty so soon before reaching the marina. Last night had been pretty unsatisfying. At 3am he had found himself in the shower, finishing himself off with his own hand instead of hers.

A soft groan escaped her lips. “We’ll see.”

Michael rolled his eyes at the lovebirds. Max was relaxing with his chick while he had to do all the work. Not that he really minded. Things had gotten intense with Maria last night and he wasn’t sure what to do about it. It was hard to ignore the strong pull towards her, it was almost impossible.

His gaze swept over to her again. She sat at the railing alone, staring out over the ocean while her long hair blew in the wind. Her arms were crossed over her bent legs and rested on her knees. What was she thinking? If only he knew.

Maria sighed slightly when the marina came into sight. A few more seconds and they would have to say goodbye. And what then? She wasn’t sure. As she had feared, he had been more distant this morning. Not like totally ignoring her, but it still didn’t feel right after what they had shared last night.

“Hey Max,” Liz leaned her head against his.

“Huh?”

“Sorry… Ya know, about last night. I know I left you pretty… unsatisfied, while you did such amazing things to me.”

He shook his head. “It’s okay.”

“Really?” she asked, surprised.

“Well, it was kinda unsatisfying,” he admitted. “But I survived it.” He smirked and nipped her ear. “And it was sexy to watch you come.”

She shivered slightly, feeling her body react to his words. “But you wanted me to touch you, right?”

He chuckled. “Hell, yeah.”

Her eyes dropped down and she bit her lip when she saw the bulge in his trunks. “Do you want me to touch you now?” she blurted out.

Max’ eyes widened while his dick twitched in response to her suggestion. “Now?”

She had thought about it from the moment they had woken up this morning. What would it be like to touch him and make him come? She could do that right? Her gaze moved to the others. They were both at the other end of the boat and they couldn’t see much more than their heads from where they were. “Yeah…”

He had never expected her to make that suggestion. Just the thought of her getting him off while the others were so close made him crazy. He leaned forward a bit to check the ocean before turning back to meet her heated gaze. “Gotta make it quick though. The marina’s only about five minutes away.”

She nodded. “Help me with it?”

“Sure,” he agreed and shifted a little deeper in his seat to give her more room to work when her tiny hand slipped carefully into his trunks.

He’s huge, she thought when her fingertips came into contact with his hard length. She could feel him shifting under her touch and she smiled slightly. Her fingernails rasped against him a few times to tease.

“Feels good, but this way won’t be quick,” he groaned in her ear before wrapping one hand around the side of her neck and pulling her closer for a deep kiss.

She nodded in agreement. Her heart was pounding probably just as hard as his when she grabbed him fully and started to stroke him with a firmer grip and long strokes.

His hips bucked up in response to her touch. He bit his lips tightly to keep from moaning loud enough to draw any attention to them. “Keep going,” he begged slightly.

The sound of his voice, the heat and passion in it, encouraged her and her gip around him tightened again.

This feels so damn good, Max thought, shooting a quick look at the others and the marina. They were close and so was he. “God, Liz, I wish we could drag this out more, but…” he rasped against her lips when he pulled her close.

“I know…”

He slipped his hand down into his trunks to wrap around hers, guiding her strokes the way he needed them.

Liz checked his face, thinking how hot he looked when he was aroused like this. It was a look she would like to see a lot more of.

Max could feel his orgasm rolling through him and he glanced around suddenly, letting her finish him while he grabbed the tee shirt lying next to him to cover him when he came. His hips shifted uncontrollably for a few seconds before he was able to hold them still again. He laid his head against her shoulder and took in some deep breath while he cleaned himself up with the tee shirt.

“Good you thought about that,” Liz chuckled and made a face when it landed on the deck next to them. “You won’t wanna wear that now though.”

He laughed and tucked her against him. “No, better not.” Hell, that had been good.

*****

Time had passed too quickly, Maria thought in frustration when Michael announced the end of the trip and jumped out to rope up the boat. She got up slowly and stretched, unwilling to leave. Her gaze landed on her best friend and she had to smirk at the knot she and Max were in. “C’mon, you two,” she called.

“Guess we’re here,” Max said in amusement when he ended one of long kissed and leaned his head against hers. “So, breakfast tomorrow?”

She nodded with a smile. “Deal.”

“Alright,” he got up and held a hand out to her. “You can leave the stuff here, I’ll take care of it,” he told her when she was about to start collecting things.

“Okay, cool.”

Michael glanced at his watch. Damn it, almost 10am, he really needed to hurry.

Maria noticed the impatience in him and couldn’t help but feel by it. She knew he had an… appointment, whatever it was, but still it felt like he couldn’t wait to get away from her in that moment.

“So, I kinda need to go,” he said when he helped off the boat.

“Yeah,” she just nodded, unsure what to say. She had basically told him that she wanted things to continue between them, right?

He could hear the hurt in her voice and wanted to kick himself. On the one hand for hurting her, on the other for letting things get that close when he still wasn’t sure if it just was a dare for her or not. Rolling his eyes at himself he shrugged the thought off and turned to say goodbye to the other couple before looking at Maria one more time. “I’m gonna call you, okay?” He didn’t wait for a reply, needing to hurry.

Maria glanced after him and really wanted to cry in that moment, but she took a few breaths until she felt better again.

“Hey, girlfriend.” Liz appeared next to her. “How about breakfast?”

“Okay,” Maria answered with little enthusiasm as they started to walk along the marina to search for a nice café.

“What’d he say?” Liz asked as she waved at Max again. She could feel something was wrong with her friend. They had talked earlier and Maria had told her that she wasn’t sure how things were going with Michael.

“That he’ll call me.”

“Well, that’s not too bad, is it?”

Maria looked at her friend morosely. “It wouldn’t be… if he had asked for my cell number.”

****

Two weeks later…

Michael

These stupid dares suck! They’re eating me alive. It’s been three weeks now that we’ve been playing these stupid games and I can’t get rid of the feeling that it’s gonna backfire. Hell, of course it will, because neither of us is being honest.

DeLuca keeps playing her part pretty well, too well sometimes. She was pretty happy when I called her after our beach trip. I hope it slipped her notice that I didn’t ask her for her number. Damn, I totally forgot because it was already saved up in my cell since the first time she gave it to me a year ago. DO NOT EVER TELL HER THAT.

Anyway, her happiness makes me wonder if there might be real feelings behind it. Damn, I hate to think about it. I’m sick of thinking about it.

Could it be true? I mean I fuckin’ kissed her the way she dared that night out on the beach and she’s still hanging around. Maybe she was just too distracted to notice it? Anyway, I went back to kissing her simply.

I don’t know how much longer I can avoid using my tongue though. I have a feeling she’s gonna ask me about it and hell, what answer should I give her then?

Maybe I should just DO IT again and then wait and see what happens. Either she stays or she doesn’t… If not I’m just gonna tell her I knew about her dare and I got bored with her and having sex with her, so I just kissed her the way she wanted to get it over with…

And if she stays I’ll just tell Evans I’m done with this shit….

Yeah, *snorts* and then I’m gonna tell her about my family situation. She’ll just love that.
If the dare doesn’t make her run, then THAT will.

This is all so fucked up. Damn it!

I need to figure out if she has honest intentions and for that, I have to REALLY kiss her and wait. We haven’t really showed off as a couple in public so if she quits on me after… no one would know besides the people who knew about it anyway. Her best friend and Max.

What role would it play if I quit on her instead of her on me? The pain would be just the same, right?

And then… then I need to think about the rest.

I hate my life.


Maria

Wow, this dare has really paid off for me. *smiles dreamily*

Not that I really care about the stupid dare Liz and I made, but it was the only reason I tried to get Guerin again and this time IT WORKED.

I still can’t believe it, wow. We’ve been dating for three weeks now and yes, our start was weird, but it has gotten better. He’s really sweet when we’re together. I was so worried after our trip to the beach, that he’d never come back. But surprisingly he called me the next day. No clue where he got my phone number from though…

There are just two things…

First, somehow, and I really have no clue why, he isn’t kissing me. I mean he kisses me, but not the intense kissing. Okay, except that one night on the patio. But other than that he never uses tongue and I’m really starting to wonder why. Is it possible that he just doesn’t like to kiss with tongue? But that would be weird. I need to ask him about it.

Second, I still know nothing about him. Just the superficial stuff, but nothing that goes deeper. He isn’t backing out on our dates anymore, but I still have the feeling there’s something huge, although I think he would’ve told me by now if my first suspicion about him being a dad was right. I still have hope since he told me about his mother at least.

Hmm…

Okay, yeah, there’re a few things to be resolved yet, but other than that…

I love my life.


Max

It’s becoming almost impossible to NOT have sex with Liz Parker. I doubt we’ve let any possible chance of heavy making out get away from us.

I think I’ll just give in. Otherwise she’ll think…

a) I’m totally crazy or
b) My reputation is a lie and I’m a virgin.

Maybe the dare between the girls doesn’t even exist anymore. I mean, what girl would sleep with a guy like several times like Maria has just to get a tongue kiss? And what girl would do all kind of making out with a guy to practice for another guy?

Makes no sense, so I hope I’m right. Why would she sleep with me if she still wanted another guy, right?

I should just have sex with her and see what happens. Hell, I’ve never gone out with a girl for three fuckin’ weeks without having sex.

If she goes back to that guy then I could still tell her I knew about the dare and was just enjoying the sex, right? I don’t have to necessarily tell her about the dare at all if she changed her mind.

Since when do I think so much about a woman? *shakes his head*

I’m the man, I take what I want.

But what if she doesn’t want me at all?

Damn, this is so messed up.

My life sucks.


Liz

Okay, I am officially over David! *fists the air*

You wanna know why? Okay, so today I was out with Maria. We went into town and ate some ice cream. She loaned me a pair of her sexy hot pants again and while we were walking along the street we ran into David and a few of his friends.

Damn, he was looking at me *laughs* like an idiot and acted totally weird until he asked me if I wanted to go out tonight.

Guess what I said?

NOOOO. I said: NOOOOO, I’m not interested anymore.

The look on his face was priceless. And when I told him that I had found out that I had only been satisfied with him because I didn’t know better… his mouth fell open.

Well, sorry, David, but it’s true.

I’ve been dating Max Evans for three weeks now and I think it’s getting serious. Maria says he’s never done that before and it’s a good sign that he seems to be sticking with me.

I think she’s right. No guy would invest so much time just to have sex, right?

Oh, I’m so excited to meet him tonight.

Can my life get any better?

*****

Maria sat down on the couch in her dorm room, taking her dinner plate with. Thank God, Courtney wasn’t there tonight to bother Liz’ and her on their girls’ night.

Michael had told her earlier that he and Max wanted to hang out tonight and they would see each other tomorrow evening again, so she had just called Liz to come over. “You know, I hate my roommate, but she can cook.”

Liz laughed, chewing on some pasta. “Yeah. How did you get her to cook though?” The dorm had a very small and very simple kitchen with not much more than a small oven and refrigerator, but yet the girl had managed to cook something decent.

“I told her either to clean up the damn mess in here or cook something.”

“Well, at least I guess…”

“Yeah,” Maria sighed. Still, she wanted out of here soon. Hopefully they would find a new room for her in the next few months. “So, since you’ve abandoned me the last two weeks A LOT, how are things going with Maxwell?”

“Hey, you did the same thing.”

“I know,” the blonde shoved her friend slightly with a smirk. “I was kidding. So… What about Max?”

“Things are going good. Better than good, they’re great.” She twirled the pasta around her fork thoughtfully. “I didn’t intend for things to get so serious, ya know? I mean, when this whole thing started out it was just a dare and now...”

Maria nodded. “Did you talk to him? Ya know… about whether this between you two is serious?”

“No,” she shook her head. “I started this thing under false pretences. Stuff like that has a tendency of coming out.” She bit her bottom lip and shrugged. “I think that would really hurt him.” She rolled her eyes. “Yeah, he can be full of himself sometimes, but a lot of that’s just for show, and I just think it would hurt him.” She sighed. “I really like him, Maria.”

“And you are sure that’s what he wants as well? A relationship I mean?” She was happy for Liz and thank God, David was history, but she wasn’t 100% sure that the man Liz was in love with could actually handle a steady thing.

“Well, he’s said things that make me think he’s open to that possibility, but no, he hasn’t just come out and said it.”

“But you still haven’t had sex, right?” Well, Maria thought, that had to mean something.

“No. Well,” she smiled, “not all the way. Yet.”

She nodded. “That’s good. If he’s willing to wait for it, then there’s hope that he’s really serious about it.”

Liz gnawed on her lip thoughtfully. “He wouldn’t, right? I mean, everything I’ve ever heard says that he doesn’t invest more than a couple of dates on a girl,” she made a face. “If even that, so it’s gotta mean something if he’s still hanging around after a few weeks, right?”

“There’s no guarantee I guess, but it’s a good sign,” Maria agreed.

“What about you and Michael? Any progress there?”

“Depends on what you consider as progress…”

Liz made a rolling motion with her fork.

Her friend rolled her eyes. “If you mean on the getting to know him front… I’m still kinda stuck.”

“He still hasn’t opened up at all? Well, what do you guys talk about?”

“If I get him to actual talk it’s mostly about me or college stuff or sports. As soon as it turns towards him, he changes the subject,” Maria sighed.

“Wonder what his issue is with opening up?” She was glad Max wasn’t like that. “Maybe you’re right about him having a kid and he doesn’t wanna tell you about it ‘cause he thinks you won’t stick around if you know.”

“I don’t know. Somehow I believe he would’ve told me by now if there was a kid in his life. I mean, this’s important and he would know he can’t hide it forever.”

“True.” Liz chewed on a mouthful of pasta for a moment. “But if he has a kid maybe he’s had a bad experience with another girl.” She held her hand up in a bid for silence. “Wait, hear me out. What if he got involved with some girl and it didn’t work out? I mean, that could have a negative effect if the kid got attached and things didn’t work out. That kinda thing could make him keep a kid secret.”

“Yeah,” Maria mumbled around her fork and leaned back on the couch. “I’m really gonna kick his ass though if that’s true. It’s one thing to not introduce me to the kid, but hiding the fact that he’s a daddy just isn’t acceptable. I mean, it’s an important part of his life and I wanna know the circumstances I’m getting myself into.”

“Do you think you’d still wanna get involved with him if there is a kid in the picture? You said a while back that was a lot to deal with since a kid would mean an ex that’s probably always gonna be part of his life.”

“I don’t know,” Maria admitted. And she really wasn’t sure what she would do. “I think I’m too involved with him already to just walk away, but it makes me worried… a lot.”

Liz knew without asking that her best friend was too invested to just walk away. She would be devastated if things didn’t work out with Michael. “Has he shared anything personal?”

“Once, he had told me about his mother…” Maria remembered. “I had really hoped it was a
start for more, but that was pretty much it. I just can’t seem to reach him.”

“Maybe he just has trust issues,” Liz offered.

“Or maybe he’s just being a dick,” Maria grumbled.

“Could be.” Liz grinned at Maria. “Maybe you should just confront him.”

“I’ve tried, believe me,” Maria rolled her eyes. “Let’s just not talk about him, okay? We have a girls’ night and I was pretty happy with me and my life before I thought about it too much.”

“Okay,” Liz said agreeably. “Whatcha wanna do?”

“Hmm, I think we should go out. The weather’s pretty nice and there’re a lot of parties we could hit.”

“Got one in mind?”

“Maybe the one on campus? Not far from the library.”

“Sounds good.” Liz finished her pasta and reached for her drink. “A girl’s night out sounds really good.”

“Yeah. We can survive a night without men.”

“We’ll just go out and not even think about them.”

Maria snorted and tapped her bottle against Liz’. “Cheers.”

Liz giggled and slouched down in her seat. “What time ya wanna leave?”

“About an hour, maybe. We need to put some makeup on first.” She wiggled her eyebrows. “Just because we’re taken doesn’t mean we can’t dress up.”

“Hoping to run into a certain moody baseball player?” she teased.

“Huh? No, Michael said they’ll most likely stay at Max’ apartment.”

“To drink, eat pizza, and play video games?” Liz rolled her eyes. She didn’t get why that was so fun. Max had talked her into playing some video game a few nights before and she’d given up on fair play after he’d beaten her three times in a row. She still hadn’t won a single game but he hadn’t won anymore either and it had ended up being a very satisfying night for both of them.

“Yeah probably. He wasn’t really sure what they would do, but anyway. Girl’s night. Remember?”

“Girl’s night, got it.”

Eva: There is no denying that pull and that confrontation is coming. It’s got to come out if they’re going to get anywhere with these relationships.

Earth2Mama: Lol, it’s coming.

Natalie36: They are getting closer… now if only the truth was out…

begonia9508: Oh, someone’s going to eventually be the first to break… it’s just a matter time.

mary mary: Yeah, they’ve certainly backed themselves into a corner, haven’t they?

Lol, well, maybe it’s just a matter of finding the right game… maybe?

Alien_Friend: Lol, there’s no telling what’s brewing.

Think either Max or Liz might be the first to reveal the truth, huh? We’ll see.

Max has definitely fallen for Liz… and vice versa, lol. David had to go, he just wasn’t right for Liz for so many reasons.

keepsmiling7: Yup, we’re inclined to agree with you… David’s out the door for good.

The truth… it’s coming. And soon.

secretk: Our foursome do things the easy way? Hmm… maybe some of them… maybe.




A/N: Hey everyone! So Christmas and New Years is coming up and as every year, we are taking a break from posting over the holidays.

We will be back at January, 8th.

Therefore we have extra long updates for TIC TAC and Double Dare this week. Enjoy the holidays! MERRY CHRISTMAS and a HAPPY NEW YEAR to all of you!

Angel & Steffi




Part 20

Liz laughed when Maria made a joke about her dorky roommate again. “She’s a piece of work.”

Maria grinned and glanced at her friend as they walked through the campus, both wearing jean shorts and strapless tops. Okay, they looked a bit like twins when it came to clothes lately, but the other girl was her best friend and she would always share everything with her. Well, everything but men of course.

“Hey, ladies,” one man out a group of five said when he saw them and pulled his sunglasses down slightly to wink at them.

Maria and Liz both mimicked his move and pulled their glasses down as well before looking at each other laughing and continuing their way.

A band was playing on a little stage not far away and people seemed to flow to that area from all over campus. Oh, yeah, this party would be nice, Maria thought and grabbed Liz’ hand when the place became even more crowded where they sold the drinks.

Liz was enjoying the energy pulsing around them, loving the way everything felt so alive. “It could be a while before we get a drink,” she said, her voice raised to be heard over the music and conversations going on all around them.

“Yeah, if we even get anything anyway,” Maria said, glancing at the amount of people at the bar.

“Hey, are you two old enough to be drinkin’?” a male voice enquired seconds before an arm landed on each of their shoulders.

“Kyle,” Maria smiled. “I didn’t know you were here.” She hugged her brother tightly.

“Yeah, finally had some time off, thought I’d come check out what people without kids do,” he answered with a grin.

“Pretty much still the same as when you were young,” she teased, even though he wasn’t much older than her.

“Not sure I can remember that far back,” he said and pinched her side.

She jumped out of his reach, bumping into someone next to her and earning a glare. “Don’t, Kyle!”

He laughed and reached out to pull her back over to him. “You haven’t seen my old lady around anywhere, have you? We were supposed to meet somewhere... and I thought she said by the stage, but either I wasn’t listening – and do not ever tell her I admitted that, or she did say that and she’s runnin’ late.”

“Where’s Nayla tonight?”

“With the grandparents of course. Being spoiled rotten and getting into everything, I’m sure.” He shook his head. “Do you have any idea how insanely active a two-year-old is?”

“Just from your experience,” she teased.

He ran a hand through his hair. “Girl, she’s into everything. I can’t even begin to tell you how many times I say the word no in a single day.”

“Sounds like a lot of fun,” Maria mused.

“Yeah, if you like to have nightmares about a single word. So... Maria... whatcha been up to lately?”

She shrugged. “Oh, just the usual, I guess.” Should she tell him about Michael? Probably not until she knew if it was going to last.

“Uh-huh, so... you two haven’t been out sailin’ with the top two horndogs of the university? ‘Cause a buddy of mine thought he saw you out with ‘em a week or so back.”

Liz bit her lip and looked at her friend. What should they say now?

Maria played it cool. “So?”

He shrugged. “Nothin’, just askin’. Usually somethin’ that big would have you sharin’ and I hadn’t heard a word about it from you.” He was well aware that his sister had a monster crush on Guerin.

“You think it’s big?” Liz asked.

He snorted. “Please! Maria’s wanted that guy since she first laid eyes on him. I may be sleep-deprived between my little girl, work and school, but I’m not stupid.”

“You sure about that?” a curly blonde asked from behind and slapped the back of his head. “Didn’t I tell you to meet me behind the stage?”

“Ow, babe! Damn,” he muttered, rubbing the back of his head as he turned to look at his girlfriend. “I was at the... wait, BEHIND the stage?”

Tess rolled her eyes and looked at Maria with a smile. “Tell me all about Guerin,” she laughed and hugged her sister-in-law. Well, not really in-law, but maybe one day Kyle would be brave enough to ask.

Liz could see that Maria wasn’t ready to tell her family about Michael so she spoke up. “I love your earrings, Tess,” she said, knowing how much the girl loved to talk about anything relating to fashion.

The other girl nodded gratefully when Liz distracted Tess and it worked out just fine. She turned to the bartender and ordered some drinks now that she finally had his attention.

Kyle suddenly felt out of place. Where was a guy when you needed someone to talk to? Tess and Liz were busy talking about... well, who knew? Accessorizing for him meant making sure he had the right team displayed on his shirt and ball cap at the same time. Beyond that it was basically a word that meant nothing. “So, Maria, you comin’ by Mom an’ Dad’s for breakfast in the mornin’?”

“Depends on when I get home tonight,” she grinned and handed him a beer.

“Plannin’ on a late night?”

She shrugged. “We’ll see, I guess.”

“Uh-huh.” He took a drink of his beer and leaned back against the bar. “Things been goin’ okay?”

“Things?”

“Life... school... ya know, things.”

“It’s pretty okay,” Maria nodded.

He nodded, wondering just how invested she was getting with Guerin. Granted, the only thing he knew about the guy was what he’d heard around campus. He knew rumor was rarely enough to base an opinion on, but she was his sister so the guy’s character mattered. Of course, she’d remind him that she was a grown woman who could handle things herself if he mentioned anything like that.

“C’mon, Daddy,” Tess called, “we’re supposed to meet Theresa and Andy.”

Kyle just grinned when Maria shot a teasing look at him. “What can I say?”

“Whipped,” she whispered.

“And lovin’ every minute of it,” he whispered back.

She smirked at her brother. He’d had a hard time two years back when Tess had gotten pregnant. They had only been dating for a few months at that point and their relationship had almost broken during the pregnancy, but now they were one of the most stable and happy couples she knew.

Kyle took his girlfriend’s hand and followed her, sticking his tongue out at Maria when she made the sound of a whip cracking as they walked away.

Liz laughed. “They seem happy.”

“Yeah, makes me a little envious sometimes. I mean, it wasn’t what they expected, but they know what they want and where they’re going now.”

Something she didn’t get from Michael, Liz realized. But, oh well, they weren't together for long yet and maybe they just needed more time. She took the drink from her friend and sipped on it. “So, where’re we goin’?”

“Wanna check the band out?”

“Sure. Let’s do that.”

They walked over to the area set up for the band, wandering around the outskirts of the people standing around in little groups.

“...this band was supposed to be good.”

Her ears pricked up when she heard the words and she could’ve sworn it was Michael’s voice, but she didn’t see him anywhere. Besides, they were hanging out at Max’s apartment. He had told her that earlier.

“Watch out,” Liz pulled her friend by the arm and laughed when the girl almost stumbled over a person sitting on the ground. The guy had obviously already had too much to drink.

“Thanks.” Maria shook her head. She was hearing things, she was sure of it.

“Someone should send this guy home.”

“Wanna take me home?” the guy asked and grinned stupidly.

“Ungh,” Liz made a face and shook his hand away when he grabbed her leg. “You wish.”

Maria froze when she side-stepped the octopus on the ground and her gaze landed on the two men standing a few feet away. “Liz...”

“Huh?” Liz’ head snapped up again, some strands of hair blocking her view until she shook her head to get them out of her face. “Oh.”

“Not exactly hanging out at Max’ place are they?”

“Yeah, seems like they’re not.” They hadn’t seen them yet and Liz tried to decide what to do.

Maria bit her lip. Why hadn’t he just told her they were going out? Maybe they decided at the last minute, she reasoned. She and Liz hadn’t been planning to go out either.

Liz almost yelped when her friend pulled her to the side. “Hey... What’re you....?”

“Well... if they’re here, let’s see what they’re gonna do, huh?”

“You mean... like spy?”

Maria shrugged. “We didn’t know they were here, so it’s not actually really spying.”

“I don’t know.”

“Oh, c’mon, Liz, don’t be a killjoy.”

“Fine, but we’re not like lurking all night, right? Because that really isn’t any fun.”

Maria made a face at her. “No, we’re not gonna lurk, just... observe... covertly.”

Liz leaned back to glance through the people. “Well, right now, they’re standing there with some teammates and talking, boohoo.”

She rolled her eyes. “It’s just odd that we never go out in public, don’t you think? I mean, you and Max have gone out.”

“Uh-huh, we were at that party last weekend. Pretty public.”

“See? I don’t know what Michael’s deal is. It’s not like he’s shy.”

“Did you actually ask him to go out somewhere in public?”

“Well, not directly, I guess. I mean, I’ve suggested us going out and he always has some reason to stay in.” And okay, those reasons were usually pretty flimsy, but before long they were making out so she usually just let it pass. It was only later when she thought about it that it started to bother her.

“Maybe instead of... observing... we should just go and talk to them?”

“Yeah, put him on the offense... or is it defense? It doesn’t matter. Do you have any idea how fun he is when he’s like that?”

“Then maybe we should just go to a different party before they see us? What do you expect to see if we stay here?” Her eyes widened when she figured it out. “You think they would meet other women?”

“What do you think?”

“I don’t know...” Liz bit her lip when she glanced at the guys again. There were woman around them, but no one was too close yet.

“Okay, it’s a trust issue, but see, you and Max have been public... with Michael it’s like he’s fine as long as everything’s behind closed doors.”

“Alright,” Liz nodded. She knew her friend wanted answers. “We’ll stay, but we have to get further away, this’s way too obvious, girl.”

“Right, that makes sense.” She felt like a babbling idiot but it hurt that he seemed to have a problem being seen in public with her. Hell, he didn’t even want to tell her anything about himself! He hadn’t shared anything personal since that night on the island.

“Let’s go then,” Liz gestured in a different direction where they could probably see the guys without being so obvious. Hopefully her friend wouldn’t recognize the blonde girl who was just making her way to Michael. Ungh. How would this evening turn out now?

Maria was doing her best not to turn and look as they walked to the place Liz had pointed out. What if he was here to meet some other girl? What if she didn’t mean that much to him? Maybe she was just someone to pass the time with until someone more interesting came along.

“You should relax a bit,” Liz told her when she noticed how concerned Maria was. “He’s probably just here for the same reason we are.”

“Yeah, it means nothing that he’s here.” It didn’t, she assured herself. She and Liz hadn’t intended to go out tonight either. That’s all it is, Deluca, pull yourself together!

“Right.” They stopped further away and Liz sighed when the blonde was still hanging around.

Maria was calming down when she moved to the side so she could check on things. “Okay, Liz... she is definitely NOT one of their teammates.”

“They’re just talking.”

Again, Liz was right. Michael didn’t even look interested in whatever the girl was babbling about.

The brunette froze when Max suddenly appeared next to a redhead. He had laid his arm around her shoulder and he was grinning at her after saying something. Hell, this spying idea was nuts.

Maria glanced at Liz and smirked softly. Yeah, not so easy, is it? she thought

“Gosh,” she turned away. “You know, I don’t wanna see this, girl.”

“Okay, so maybe we should just go over there and get it over with, see what happens. Maybe?” she asked uncertainly.

Liz nodded. “Yeah, that or we leave. Your choice.”

“No, no, we should definitely go over there. I’m not gonna hide from Michael, no way.”

“Okay,” the other girl nodded. She felt unsure after seeing the redhead in her boy’s arms.

“Well, we’re not gonna know anything until we go over there, right?”

“Yeah,” she tapped her bottle against Maria’s. “Let’s go. We should probably look surprised.”

Maria smirked. “I can pull that off.”

“Okay,” Liz said, relieved.

*****

Max leaned back, his body easily settling into the lazy slouch that he normally assumed. He reached over to punch Michael’s shoulder when he snorted a derogatory remark under his breath about the blonde enthusiastically rattling off... well, whatever she was going on about. None of them were really paying any attention to her. He glanced at the girl leaning comfortably against him and shook his head when she asked what was wrong with Michael.

“Guy needs an attitude adjustment,” he whispered.

Sara grinned and rolled her eyes. “He’s needed an attitude adjustment for years.”

“Why don’t the two of you go bother someone else?” Michael growled. “And take the harpy with you.”

“C’mon, Guerin. If you need an escape, why don’t you get a new round of drinks?”

Michael looked down at the bottle in his hand and shrugged. “Nah, I’m fine.” He didn’t even know why he was here. Why hadn’t he just suggested Maria and he spend the evening together? Because you’re getting too involved, dumbass!

Max suddenly straightened up and pushed Sara away from him slightly. “Uh, Michael...”

“Damn, Cuz, where’s the fire?” Sara complained.

“Didn’t you say they were doin’ some girl’s night or somethin’?” Michael hissed.

Sara’s expression changed to one of glee when she saw the way Michael was fidgeting. “Why, Michael Guerin, you look positively uncomfortable,” she said, careful to keep her voice from carrying to the others around them.

Michael took a sip of his beer. “Shut up.”

She wasn’t so easily put off, but her gaze shifted to Max when he moved, his gaze locked on a petite brunette. “You boys have been keepin’ secrets,” she chastised when she noticed the blonde watching Michael. “Big secrets. Introductions, boys. Now. Otherwise, I’ll introduce myself and embarrass the hell out of you.”

Maria put on a surprised face when they approached the guys. “Play along,” she hissed to Liz. “Oh, hey, what’re you guys doing here? We thought you were hanging at Max’ place.”

Michael felt like the air around him had suddenly been sucked away. What the hell was he gonna do now? He was saved from coming up with a lie when Sara stepped in and saved the day. He growled under his breath when she pinched his side to let him know he was going to owe her and that she was going to expect an explanation. Damn girl was so damn nosy!

“I’m afraid I dragged the boys out,” she said after introducing herself. “I’ve been out of the country for the past couple of months and just got back and I wanted to get out for a bit.”

“Oh, so are you a friend? Relative?” Liz asked curiously since the girl had been leaning against HER man.

“Cousins,” she said, smiling at the hint of possessiveness she could hear in the girl’s voice. Good, it was about time some decent girl got hold of him and set him straight about a few things.

If he stayed away any longer she was sure as hell gonna get mad, Max thought and took a few steps forward to slip his arm around Liz’ waist. “Thought you were doin’ a girl’s night,” he teased.

“We were... just decided to take it outdoors.” She played with his collar as she lifted her eyes to his.

He grinned and leaned in for a short kiss. “Well, since you’re here already...” It wasn’t a problem at all for him to be in public with Liz. Okay, there was still that little cloud hovering over them, but if things went downhill with them he could come up with a story for the guys that wouldn’t be embarrassing.

Michael hung back, unsure of what to do. He knew what he wanted to do, but he also knew if things didn’t work out, like he expected they wouldn’t, he was just gonna end up looking like a big fool in front of everyone.

Sara’s gaze was bouncing back and forth between the four of them. Looked like her cousin was being handled just fine. Michael, on the other hand, was being difficult. How predictable of him, she thought with a mental eye roll.

“You must be the girl that’s got him tied up in knots,” she said with a teasing jab at him. She couldn’t recall the last time she’d been out with these two when they hadn’t been hitting on every female in sight.

Maria looked at Michael for a second and forced a smile for the girl in front of her when he didn’t move so much as an inch. “Hey, I’m Maria.”

“Michael and Maria, that’s cute.” Her eyes widened as a thought hit her and she snickered. “M&M, like the candy. That’s cute.”

He sighed and rolled his eyes. Her sense of humor was enough to make him wanna puke. “Don’t you have somethin’ you need to be doin’? Like leave before you get ticketed for double parking your broom?”

“Isn’t he just so nice?” Sara stuck her tongue out at her cousin’s best friend. “I’m gonna get a fresh drink,” she said, deciding to give them a bit of room to talk.

Michael should’ve felt relieved, but in all honesty Sara gave him an excuse to ignore Maria. Now he didn’t have anyone to insult and Evans sure as shit wasn’t gonna be any help. He took a drink of his beer as he looked at Maria. “Hey.”

“Well... hey...”

“So... nothin’ to do at home?”

“No, guess not.” What kind of stupid question was that?

He shrugged and looked away. What the hell was he supposed to do now?

Just great, she thought. We should’ve just left without telling them we were here too.

Liz, on the other hand, was happy they had decided to approach the guys. Max didn’t seem to have any reservations about being seen with her.

Michael straightened up and nodded at the bar. “Gonna go get a drink.” He looked at Maria. “Let’s walk.”

“Okay,” she agreed, hoping he would do anything to show she was his girlfriend, but he didn’t.

He stared at the line of people waiting for drinks and he detoured, leading her in the opposite direction away from the crowd.

“What... I thought you wanted a drink?”

“Does it matter where I get it?” He felt cornered and he didn’t like it.

“Guess not,” she muttered.

“Look, I don’t do the public thing, so if you’re gonna be pissed about that...”

“I didn’t say anything about it,” she stopped and looked at him. “Is it too much to ask to actually be nice to me though?”

“Was I not bein’ nice?” He hadn’t said anything mean to her.

She wrapped her arms around herself and looked away. “Look, it just feels... weird when you don’t do anything, okay?”

“What the hell do you want me to do?” he snapped.

“I don’t know,” she snapped back. “Something that wouldn’t feel like you’re ashamed of me.”

“I never said anything about bein’ ashamed of you!” He wondered how the night had turned out like this. All he had wanted to do was hang out, enjoy a night out, but no... no, that was being denied him.

“But you act like you are.”

“Look, Maria...” he trailed off, not knowing what to say without throwing that damn dare in her face.

She looked at him hopefully and was disappointed when nothing was really said at all. “I just wanna know what I am for you, Michael.”

His throat closed up. He wanted her to be more than she could be. She already was as far as his heart was concerned, but that dare was still sitting between them. “I don’t know,” he finally muttered.

He didn’t know... It felt like a slap across her face and she didn’t know what to say about it to make her hurt go away. “I... I’ve gotta go,” she mumbled. I need to get away before I start to cry like a baby in front of him and everyone else, was all she could think.

Michael watched her hurry away, wanting to stop her but not knowing what to say or do. There were so many times over the past few weeks when he’d been so certain that this wasn’t about a dare, but how could he know that? All he had to go on was what Max had overheard. But what if it wasn’t true? Again, he wondered if she was that good an actress because he didn’t think she was.

“Asshole,” she muttered to distract herself from crying. “Stupid, terrible, fuckin’ asshat.” Anger was washing over her in waves and she needed to let her emotions out.

*****

Sara was wandering back to where she’d left the guys when she saw Michael standing by himself, a look on his face that she couldn’t quite define. “What’s got your panties in a twist, big guy?”

“Why don’t you just leave me alone?”

“You know, your moods often leave something to be desired, but I know you’ve got a lot on your plate and you don’t usually take it out on me. You should remember you don’t scare me and I can give as good as I get.”

“And you should remember when I ask you to leave me alone, I mean it.”

She snorted and shook her head at him. “Fine, be like that. I don’t know what your problem is, but I suspect it has somethin’ to do with Maria. Yeah, yeah, I know,” she muttered when he glared at her, “leave you alone. You’re not gonna solve anything by ignoring her.”

Liz heard the last of Sara’s words and she looked irritated. “Where’s Maria?”

“Hell if I know,” Michael bit out.

“What’d you say to her?”

“Why don’t you go ask her? I’m sure she’ll be happy to list off everything I’ve done wrong.”

She glanced at Max. “I should go after her.”

“Alright, meet me back here when you’re finished. If everything’s okay,” he said shooting an annoyed look at Michael.

“Okay,” she looked around the campus. “Which direction did she take?” She glared at Michael.

He glared back at her but lifted his right hand to point in the direction Maria had taken.

Where are you Maria? Liz wondered as she looked around for her friend. She couldn’t have gone too far yet, not with the shoes she was wearing.

Maria had found a secluded spot on the side of the Science building and she was leaning against the wall, trying to control herself. Why did he have to be so cold?

“Fuck,” Liz muttered and took out her cell to call her friend when she couldn’t find her. She dialed the number and frowned when she could hear the ringtone close by. After turning around she suddenly found Maria and hurried towards her. “Maria...”

“I hate him, Liz,” she choked out, trying to hold onto her composure.

Her heart sank when she heard the hurt in her friend’s voice. “What happened?”

“I put myself out there and I got smacked down.”

Liz took her in her arms. “What happened?”

“I made the mistake of asking what I am to him. I knew better, but I still did it.”

“What’d he say?”

“That he doesn’t know. I mean, what kind of answer is that? I can’t mean much to him if he doesn’t know.”

“Maybe he just has trust issues. Remember our talk earlier?” She tried to calm her friend even though she knew she would have reacted the same way.

“I think I’m gonna just tell him to shove those issues up his ass.”

“If that’s what you want...” Liz started.

“How can he not trust me?” she railed. “I’ve been just about as intimate with that man as you can be and when we’re together it’s great... he’s great, but take us outside where we’re around other people and he’s this whole other person and it’s like he doesn’t even know me.”

Liz bit her lip. She didn’t have an answer to that either. It didn’t make any sense. “You wanna go home?”

“I’m gonna go home, but there’s no reason for you to go home too. Your guy actually wants to be around you, so take advantage of it.”

“No, it’s okay, I can see him tomorrow,” Liz said. As much as she wanted to be with him, Maria came first.

Maria shook her head. “I appreciate it, but since I’m just gonna go home and wallow in self pity for a while, I promise you I don’t need help with that.”

Liz took her friend’s face in her hands. “You call me if you need me, okay?”

“I will.” She wouldn’t though.

*****

Michael stared at the phone in his hand and wondered if he should give Maria a call. She had been pissed and he was okay with that, but the hurt in her eyes when he had told her he didn’t know what she was to him had been pricking at his conscience since she had run off and he couldn’t shake that memory.

He had been left on his own for the past half hour when Max and Liz had gone back to his place and he had nothing to distract him from the guilt he felt. He ran his thumb over the phone once more before he searched for her number and hit the call button.

Maria woke from her slight slumber. After hitting some things in her room, yelling at her roommate again when she returned from her night out, and finally crying under the shower, she had gone to bed in her favorite boxers and tee shirt to snuggle with nothing more than her pillow.

She groaned slightly when the phone buzzed on her nightstand. Probably Liz, she thought and fumbled around for it. She was suddenly more awake though when she saw Michael’s name on the caller ID and after considering if she should answer it, she just hit the disconnect button. “Asshole.”

Michael sighed when the call went straight to voicemail after only a couple of rings. Oh, yeah, she was pissed. He called two more times before settling for sending a text. He kept it short, just asking where she was, and hoping she’d at least respond.

Maria read the text quickly and was about to delete it when a thought entered her mind: It was her chance to make him feel really miserable, right? After thinking about her reply for about five minutes she punched a message.

Who cares? You don’t, that’s for damn sure.

He cleared his throat and hit the button to open up the message when it came through. Eight words and he felt like she’d just punched him in the gut. His thumb grazed over the keys slowly as he thought about his response. Or should he respond? He had to respond, he decided. He didn’t want her thinking he didn’t care in spite of his actions. He finally settled on his message.

It’s not like that. Are you okay?

Maria read the words again and again. Was he just being nice to get laid now?

No, I’m not okay, she replied back, deciding on honesty.

He swallowed hard. What could he say? If he talked to her tonight he’d spill his guts, he’d give the whole thing up, and he knew it. He needed to talk to Evans and they needed to just end this thing. But he couldn’t call him or go by and see him tonight... Evans would kick his ass if he interrupted him tonight. He stared at the small screen and came to a decision.

Have dinner with me tomorrow night. In public. I’ll explain everything.

What would everything be? she wondered. Why did he hate public displays? Or the other things he never could tell her.

Okay, she replied simply.

He swallowed hard. He could do this, even though he knew it would be the end of things. The end of what though? It wasn’t like he’d allowed a real relationship to build between them. He punched in his next message.

Meet me at the diner by the pier? 7pm?

I’ll be there, she replied. And I hope this works out.

He bit his bottom lip. This was his chance to take a real shot with her. Maybe it’d work out, who knew? He had plans with Isabel tomorrow, had agreed to take Ben for the afternoon, but he’d be dropping the boy off early enough. He could just grab a shower at her place. It wouldn’t be the first time and she wouldn’t mind. He thumbed out a message and sent it. Me too.