Without a doubt! Michael and Maria are really good at the having fun part of life, not so good at the being responsible part of life. They're probably always going to be at least a little bit immature, but I think you'll see them making some progress throughout the fic.It irritates me how they do what they want and just wanna have fun. Life isn't all about fun and games. It seems to me they both need to grow up.
Alien_Friend:
Yeah, Max is definitely on Cloud Nine right now, and he won't be leaving any time soon, I'm afraid.Perhaps he's just on a high off of the fact that he finally gets to be with her now, that his judgment is impaired.
stinebiene:
lol, yes, poor blind as a bat Max. Thanks for reading!And to Max: he should get himself some good glasses!!!
nibbles2:
That's kind of up for you to decide. The way I always thought about it . . . Michael only decided to start something up with Liz after Maria started something up with Max. So it's probably just one of his unconscious attempts to handle the fact that Maria now has a boyfriend. Get a girlfriend, get even. (Oh, and about Kyle . . . yes, he is a very generous guy, lol. I wish I really had a friend like that. Think of him like a superhero: he's rock solid, he's cool, always there for his friends, and he always has money.His thoughts about the way he has to treat Liz are interesting...he's thinking the right things and doing the right thing. But what's his motivation? He doesn't seem to have any emotional justification for his reasons. Why is he investing so much in Liz?
pookie76:
Michael's feelings are sometimes very hard to figure out, I'll admit. He has what I like to describe as "typical guy feelings." Meaning his main focus in life is sex, and he just doesn't make an attempt to think about anything else. Even though he has feelings, he doesn't acknowledge them at all. But once in awhile, you'll find that he says things to Maria, just little comments, little remarks, and it's clear that he does have feelings he's completely oblivious of.I don't really know what to think about Michael. He seems so....detached to everything..well except sex. I still don't see that he has stronger feelings for Maria.
tequathisy:
I couldn't have said it any better myself! And you're right that Max and Liz both need reality checks. And as for Kyle . . . well, it's like I said to nibbles2, he's pretty much just an awesome guy. And you're right, he's definitely the sanest one!Michael and Maria are so funny - despicable but very funny. They are perfect for each other but I think that before they can have a normal functioning mature relationship they each have a lot of growing up to do. And cruel as it may be but their relationships with Max and Liz are necessary parts in their development and maturity.
guel: Glad you liked the last part! You won't find out who loses the bet in this part, but you'll find out after I come back from spring break.
Alright, there is one little brief Michael and Liz interlude in this part, but it's not that descriptive, so I don't think we need our smilies. Just read that part fast, lol.
Part 31
When Maria arrived home that evening, she tried to project an air of confidence, tried to act like she wasn’t worried about losing the bet.
Michael, of course, was waiting for her. “And how was your day?”
“Fine, thank you very much,” she bit out.
“Is that fine as in you got a job?”
“It’s fine as in kiss my ass.”
He held up his hands in exasperation. “I just asked a question.”
She sighed, hating to admit this to him. “No,” she said. “No job yet.”
“Hmm. So in other words, I should tell Liz to pucker up?” He grinned.
“Oh, you should tell Liz not to hold her breath. The bet was that I’d have a job within a week,” she reminded him. “I’ve still got four whole days.” She smiled. “That’s plenty of time for someone as smart and beautiful as me.”
He grunted. “And you call me egotistic.”
“I’m just saying, you and Liz better get jiggy with it while you still can. Clock’s ticking.”
“That’s right, clock’s ticking,” he called after her as she headed down the hallway to her room. “You can’t beat me, Maria. It’s not possible.”
She smiled. That’s what he thinks. This job bet was definitely a good idea. It kept her mind off of . . . other things.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Michael groaned as he pushed into Liz one last time, releasing himself into . . . well, the condom, not her. Good enough.
“Oh,” Liz gasped, holding on to his shoulders as she, too, fell off the sexual cliff. “Michael!”
He forced his heavy eyelids open and watched her as she came, the look of pure pleasure on her face. It never ceased to amaze him just how many girls he got off. They always came. Always. How many guys could say that?
It took all his strength to hold himself up and not crush her with his bodyweight as he sifted through his post-sex stupor and began to recover from his latest orgasm. It was already his second one that night, third for Liz. They were going to be so spent tomorrow.
Liz smiled happily and tangled her fingers in his sweaty hair. “Wow,” she said.
“Is that your favorite word?” He’d noticed she said it a lot.
“With you, yeah.” She giggled, massaging his scalp with her fingers. A few days ago, she had been very hesitant about touching. Not now. Now, she was getting very comfortable with it.
“Michael?”
“Yeah?”
“Not that I’m complaining, but what’s with all the mind-blowing sex?”
He chuckled. “You’re a girl. I’m a guy. It seems only natural.”
“And?”
He sighed. “Well, you know, I made that stupid bet with Maria. I mean, she’s not gonna get a job. I don’t think so. But you never know. Anything can happen. Hell could freeze over.”
“Oh,” she said. “That’s not nice.”
“Well, Maria’s not nice.”
“She’s always been nice to me.”
“And she’s always been a bitch to me.” He shrugged. “Whatever.”
She smiled and said, “Well . . . I don’t think she’s gonna get a job, either. No offense to her or anything, but . . . it’s just not her style. But you’re right. You never know, I guess.”
“Exactly.” He sighed and felt his hips starting to press into her against instinctively. He couldn’t help it. He was too horny. He had too many hormones.
“Sorry,” he apologized, hoping she didn’t feel like he was just using her for her body. “I’m gettin’ hard again.”
She gave him a suspicious, slightly angry look, and said, “Talking about Maria got you hard?”
Where had that come from? “No, but knowing I was still inside you did.”
“Oh.” She looked away, seeming embarrassed.
Weird, he thought, deciding to ignore it. “Come here,” he said, wrapping his arms around her and rolling so that she was on top of him and he was under her. He lifted her off of his body for a moment, reached down between them, and removed the used condom. He tossed it into the trashcan beside his bed and didn’t make any effort to put on a new one.
“Michael?” she asked.
“It’s okay,” he assured her.
“Well, uh, don’t you wanna be on top?”
Usually he did. Usually he loved the dominance. But not always. “I thought we’d switch it up,” he said. “You on top.”
“Are you sure?”
“Oh, yeah, you’ll love it,” he promised her. “And I’ll love watching you.”
Even though she looked a little nervous, he knew she was excited, too.
“Oh, yeah,” he said, placing his hands on her hips, helping her to begin moving on him. “It’s mountain time.”
She gasped as she slid down his ‘mountain’ and began to move.
Gettin’ jiggy with it, Michael thought with a smirk as he pressed his hips up to meet hers. If Maria won that bet . . . he was going to be in big trouble.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Maria sat out in the living room on the couch and was flipping through the latest Victoria’s Secret catalog when she heard unmistakable sounds coming from Michael’s room.
“Oh! Michael! Yes!”
She grunted. Didn’t he ever get tired of hearing that? Did anyone ever say no, make it at least a little difficult on him? Everything he wanted just fell into his lap.
Except a good film internship.
“Oh, yes! Yes!” Liz kept on.
Vocal little thing, Maria thought, not at all surprised that her friend was becoming so experienced so quickly. She was, after all, dating the campus man-whore.
“Yes!”
“No,” Maria said. She didn’t want to hear all that, so she grabbed the remote control from the coffee table and turned the volume of the television way up. She set the remote back down, then, happily having drowned out the sex sounds, and was about to return to her magazine, when she actually noticed what was on TV.
“There are ten beautiful girls standing before me, but I have only nine photographs in my hand.”
Ooh, America’s Next Top Model, she thought, leaning forward, her interest piqued. She loved that overly dramatized show.
“You girls have got to understand,” host Tyra Banks said to her contestants, “modeling is more than just being a pretty face. I guarantee, it’ll be one of the hardest things you’ll ever do.”
How hard can it be? Maria scoffed internally. Hell, I could do that. Get half-naked and smile for the camera? Hell, I already do that.
And then it dawned on her. Modeling. That was what she could do for a job. There was an agency in town. She passed it every day on her way to class. She wouldn’t be America’s Next Top Model by any means, but then again, she didn’t want to be. She just wanted to win the bet.
“Yes,” she said, liking the idea. “Yes, yes, yes, yes!”
“Oh, yes!” Liz practically screamed.
Maria made a face. That was just weird.
Max poked his head out of his bedroom and gave her a confused look. “Are you . . .”
“Oh, no, Max, I’m not cumming,” she told him. “I’m just thinking.”
He nodded, but if it were possible, he looked even more confused.
“Just keep studying,” she told him.
He shrugged. “Okay.” He closed the door to his room again.
“Congratulations,” Tyra Banks said to one of her contestants. “You’re still in the running to be America’s Next Top Model.”
Maria smiled, thinking, Sometimes I’m so brilliant, I amaze myself.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Michael was just about to fall asleep when the door to his bedroom swung open. “Fuck,” he cursed, shielding his eyes from the light of the hallway as Liz curled up into him, moaning with discontent.
“Michael,” Maria whispered loudly. “Michael!”
“What do you want?” he grumbled.
“Come here.”
“Screw that,” was his response.
“Michael! You know me. I’ll stand here in the doorway and bug you until you do it. So just . . . come here!”
He groaned and untangled himself from Liz. He sat up and looked at the clock on his nightstand. It was only midnight, but he was totally wiped out from the marathon sex and was in desperate need of restorative sleep. “Goddamn fuck, Maria,” he swore, forcing himself out of his bed. “What the hell’s your problem?”
“Put some pants on!” she hissed.
“Too sexy,” he said, locating some sweat pants on the floor. “I knew it. I’m just too sexy.” He yanked his pants on and walked out into the hallway with her, shutting the door to his room so that Liz could get back to sleep. He crossed his arms over his chest, still a little perturbed about being woken up. But if Maria was the one doing the waking, he could handle it. “What’s up?”
“Oh, you know, I just had this epiphany,” she replied nonchalantly. “I’m gonna get a job as a model. And you’re gonna help me.”
“What the fuck?”
“Yep. Come.”
He smirked. “What I do best.”
“Not cum, you perv. Come.” She went into her bedroom, motioning for him to follow her.
“So a model,” he contemplated. “That’s . . . sort of a dumb blonde thing.” He shrugged. “Well, if the boot fits.”
“Hey, it’s a job,” she reasoned.
“But I seem to recall you telling me you’d get a respectable job.”
“It’s respectable enough.”
He chuckled and shook his head. He should have known it was only a matter of time before Maria came up with this idea.
“Okay, here you go,” she said, picking up a digital camera from her bed and handing it to him.
He stared down at the camera and said, “I don’t get it, babe.”
She rolled her eyes. “I need to put together a portfolio of pictures. You need to be my photographer.”
This sounded as though it could take awhile, probably all night if she was as critical as he knew her to be about her photos. “What? Why me?”
“Because,” she whined, “Max is either asleep or studying, and Kyle’s . . . you know, being Kyle with Isabel and Tess. Trust me, I wouldn’t be asking you if you weren’t my last resort.”
“Maria, I’m fuckin’ tired.”
“Then you shouldn’t have had so much sex.” She shrugged unsympathetically.
“You’re a walking contradiction, you know that? Earlier tonight you basically told me to fuck like a bunny.”
“Which you did. Shouldn’t have trusted me.”
He shook his head and turned on the camera. “Alright, let’s get this shit over with.”
“It’s not shit, Michael. It’s a potential career.”
“For dumb blondes,” he smirked and aimed the camera at her, snapping a picture when she wasn’t even ready.
“Michael, don’t.”
He smiled. He was sure Maria would make a very pretty model, but it was capturing her at her candid moments that really thrilled him. “What pictures am I supposed to be taking?” he asked her.
“I don’t know. Figure it out. Taking pictures and making movies can’t be that different.”
“Yeah, right,” he said sarcastically. In a sense, they were similar, but in another sense, they were like night and day. Back in high school, he had taken a photography course as an elective only to find that his passion for filmmaking was much greater.
“I do know I need a head shot,” she said. “And a bikini shot.”
He raised an eyebrow, slightly interested in that idea. Maria DeLuca rocked a bikini.
“Nude shot?” he volunteered.
“Oh my god, you’re like one big hormone!” she remarked.
Again he shrugged and said, “If the boot fits . . .”
“Stop with the boot thing,” she snapped. “Oh! That reminds me . . .” She ran to her closet, opened it, and took out a pair of white fuzzy boots that looked like they belonged to a polar bear. “I have to demonstrate a knowledge of high fashion,” she explained as she stepped into them.
“And those are supposed to be fashionable?” he teased.
She gave him an annoyed look and said, “Would you just shut up and take the pictures?”
He stared at her for a moment as she turned to examine herself in her full-length mirror. “Why am I helping you?” he wondered aloud. She didn’t seem to hear him, and he was sort of glad about that, because he wasn’t sure he wanted to hear the answer.
As he had expected, the ‘photo shoot’ dragged on well into the night. Even by 3:00 a.m., they only had the first four shots she wanted: a head shot, a sexy dance pose, one of her lying on the bed, and, his particular favorite, one of her laughing. That one had actually been a mistake. He had caught her in mid-laugh and thought she was the most beautiful thing he’d ever seen.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Isabel crept up the stairs when she heard yelling that night, eager to see what Michael and Maria were fighting about now. There was never a dull moment with those two.
She cautiously poked her head into the kitchen in case they were throwing objects at each other and saw Maria stomping around in nothing more than a string bikini, thong style. Michael had a camera in his hands and was trying to take pictures of her, but he was preoccupied with the yelling.
Oh my, Isabel thought. This looks sort of . . . kinky.
“Why won’t you do it?” Michael yelled.
“Because! I don’t want to! Not in front of you!”
“Maria, I’ve seen you naked. Taking your top off . . . not such a big deal.”
“Michael, men may like it, but there could be women looking at my portfolio. They’d think it’s slutty.”
“As opposed to the thong bikini, which is just full of class,” he said sarcastically.
“Oh my god, give me that camera! I wanna throw it at your head!”
Isabel laughed, causing both Michael and Maria to turn and look at her.
“What’s up, Iz?” Michael said with a nod of his head.
“I don’t know. You tell me. This looks . . . interesting.”
“Oh, no, it’s just . . . I’m trying to put together a portfolio to bring to a modeling agency,” Maria explained. “Yeah, I’d go get a professional to do it, but it’s way too expensive. So I have to make do with this.” She pointed at Michael, obviously irritated with him. What else was new?
“I should be sleeping right now,” he said. “Do you know how tired I am? Do you wanna take over, Isabel?”
“Uh, no, not really,” she answered honestly. “I should be sleeping, too.”
“Kyle and Tess keeping you awake?” Maria guessed.
“No, actually . . . you guys are.”
“Oh, we’re sorry,” Maria apologized at once. “Well, I am, anyway. I’m sorry.”
“I’m not,” Michael admitted.
Isabel laughed a little. “Well, I guess I’m up now. Anything I can do to help?”
Maria looked at her, seeming surprised by her offer. “Are you kidding me? You’d actually just help for helping’s sake? I wouldn’t have to force you like Michael?”
She shrugged. “Sure. Why not?”
Maria smiled. “Fabulous. Okay, I need you to get on the phone.”
“With who?” Isabel asked.
“With Alex.”
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
“I’m goin’ to bed!” Michael announced at 5:00 a.m. once he and Maria had finally worked out the bikini picture.
“Stay there forever! We don’t care!” Maria called after him, waving him off. She shook her head and turned to Isabel. “Okay, you ready?”
“Sure,” Isabel said. “I don’t get it, though. Why do I have to be the one to get Alex over here in the middle of the night? I doubt he’ll find me that convincing.”
“Oh, I wouldn’t say that,” Maria mumbled under her breath. If only Isabel knew . . . how did she not know? Alex was so not the mysterious type. How could anyone be so oblivious?
Isabel picked up the phone and dialed the number Maria had written down for her. She leaned against the counter and examined her fingernails absentmindedly as the phone rang, and Maria watched in anticipation. She needed Alex to get his ass over there and edit those photos on the computer, make them look professional. She was turning in that portfolio tomorrow no matter what, but she couldn't turn it in unedited. No way.
“Alex,” Isabel finally said. “Hi. Sorry, I don’t mean to wake you up. It’s Isabel.”
Maria could practically hear Alex shoot up in his bed, his breathing quickening. She rolled her eyes.
“I was wondering if you might come over to Michael and Maria’s house. I really need your help with something important.”
Maria leaned in and listened closely as Alex blabbered, “Yeah. Oh, yeah. No problem. Sure, Isabel. Anything for you, Isabel. Yeah, you don’t have to ask me twice. Yeah, yeah. Oh, yeah.”
“Great,” Isabel said, laughing a little. “So I’ll see you soon?” She smiled. “Okay. Bye, Alex.” She hung up the phone a moment later and said to Maria, “He’s on his way.”
“Thanks, Isabel.”
“Hey, glad to help. Although I’m not sure why you couldn’t just ask him yourself.”
“Oh, it wouldn’t have had the same effect.”
Isabel shrugged, and just as she did, Kyle called to her from downstairs.
“Isabel? Where’s my second girl? Isabel?”
“Oh! Kyle! I’m here!” she exclaimed, scurrying back downstairs to be with him and Tess.
Maria shook her head, wondering how long that relationship would last. It seemed to be on solid ground so far, but Maria knew quite well that feelings sometimes changed.
Deciding to focus on her portfolio, she pushed the thoughts aside and waited for Alex to arrive.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Michael felt Liz move out of bed that morning, and it woke him up. Three hours of sleep, he thought as he glanced at the clock. Fucking wonderful.
He thought about joining his girlfriend in the shower that morning, but honestly, he felt too exhausted to do anything. He headed out into the kitchen while she was in the shower, seeking coffee of the most energizing variety.
He wasn’t surprised to find Alex sitting at the kitchen table on Maria’s laptop computer, messing around with some of the portfolio pictures. Maria sat beside him, her face and arms pressed against the table, her lips gently parted as she slept.
“What time did she conk out?” Michael asked his friend.
“About an hour ago,” Alex replied. “Hey, I’m almost done with the pictures, man.”
Michael grunted. “That’s great. I . . . don’t care.”
“Well, I heard you took ‘em,” Alex said. “I guess I don’t really care, either, though. I woke up this morning, got a sultry phone call from Miss Isabel Evans, and I came here only to find out . . . I was duped. Big-time. Isabel didn’t need my help. Maria did. Not to say that Maria isn’t hot. She’s just yours.”
“Wait, what’d you say?” Michael wasn’t sure if he’d heard him right.
“Nothin’,” Alex said quickly. “You know, I have no one to blame but myself. I fell for it hook, line, and sinker. Got my hopes up. What else is new?”
Michael shrugged, moving forward with the conversation. “I don’t know. I got roped into helping out, too. Maria . . . she’s a manipulative little bitch.”
“I heard that you jerk,” she muttered, not moving.
Michael grinned as an idea occurred to him. “Dude, hand me my camera,” he said quietly.
Alex handed Michael his video camera from where it was sitting on the table, and Michael quickly turned it on and began to record. He sat down in the empty chair on the other side of Maria and zoomed in on her face. Her make-up was sort of smeared. She was snoring just a little. Oh, she’d hate him for this, but it was just too perfect of an opportunity to pass up.
“Maria?” he said quietly. “Can you hear me?”
She shifted slightly and said, “Mmm . . . hmm, yeah.”
He smiled. She was definitely talking in her sleep. He could tell. “Can I ask you something, Maria?”
“Oh, I dunno,” she replied sleepily. “Just not math.”
“Okay, no math,” he agreed. “Maria. Maria?”
“Hmm?”
He zoomed in on her sleeping face again and asked, “Who’s the hottest guy you know?”
“Umm . . .” She wrinkled her forehead as if in thought and answered, “Michael.”
He grinned, nodding his head at Alex, who had to hold his fist to his mouth to keep from laughing. “That’s true,” he said. “You’re right, Maria. Good job.”
“Do I get a gold star?”
“Yep.” He zoomed back out and thought of something else to ask. “So are you dreamin’?”
“Uh-huh.”
“And what’re you dreamin’ about?”
She smiled and started laughing in her sleep. Her answer didn’t surprise him. “Sex.”
“Really?” He gave Alex a sarcastic look. “I never would’ve guessed.”
She kept laughing, sounding drunk in her sleep.
“What kind of sex?” he asked her.
“The good kind.”
“Now is this like sex with a girl or a guy?”
“Guy, dummie,” she said. “You’re a dummie.”
“I’m a-I’m a dummie,” he acknowledged. “So, uh . . . this guy . . . anyone I know?”
“Uh . . . yeah.”
“Yeah? Max?”
She tried to shake her head but just ended up hitting it on the table a couple of times. “Ow,” she said, still not waking up. “No, not Max.”
Interesting, Michael thought. “So who is it, Maria?”
“I can’t tell you.”
He looked up at Alex and mouthed Kyle to him since he knew that Maria used to have a crush on him way back when. Alex just rolled his eyes.
“It’s really good,” she said. “We’re in . . . it’s . . . doggie style.”
“Whoa,” Michael said. “Doggie style. Nice, Maria.”
She giggled. “I know.”
He zoomed alternated zooming in and out in rapid succession before going back to the standard zoom window and asking one last question. “So, you gonna wake up with cum between your legs?”
She grinned and said, “Maybe.” Then her grin lessened and she said, “No. No, what . . . what?” She snapped away, jolting up from the table, opening her eyes, and looking around in confusion and squinting against the light. “What’re you-what’re you asking—oh my god, are you filming me?”
“Yeah.”
“Oh my god.” She made a face and stretched her body upward, making a sound of tiredness. “Mmph. Was I talking?”
“Oh yeah.”
“What’d I say?”
“Oh, you know,” he said, setting the camera directly in front of her face, “just random words. Michael. Sex. Doggie style.”
“What? Ew.”
“No, you didn’t exactly say that,” he assured her. “But you did say I was the hottest guy you know. And now it's on film, so you can never take it back.”
“Oh, great,” she mumbled, pressing her head into her hands. “Just what you need, another ego boost.”
“Thanks, baby,” he said.
She groaned and swatted at his video camera. “Would you get that thing out of my face?”
He laughed, still recording. No, he couldn't get it out of her face. If there was ever a day when he stopped filming Maria, he was going to have to start filming something else. And that didn’t sound very fun.
TBC . . .
-April (I actually used to have a friend who would talk in her sleep like that! Just full-on, dazed conversations! lol)
(Damn, I wanted to leave you with a cliffhanger ending, but it didn't really work out. Oh, well. That's all until the afternoon of March 23rd, guys! I'm happy to be going on spring break, but life without the internet sucks! See you when I get back! Well, not SEE, but . . . you get the point.)