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!
