It's been quite a new experience writing them this way, but I've enjoyed it.You said that the A&I relationship woiuld be pretty dark but I have to say I enjoy them so much. They have that dysfunctional relationship that's build on hatred and disdain after so many years but somehow they still care. Their unusual ways of communicating is interesting and fucked up at the same time.
Ellie:
I thought about doing some kind of storyline like this but I decided against it.Oh yeah, Liz is feeling the weight of her decisions now, isn't she? Marrying Max, alienating family, forsaking her morals ... the list just goes on and on. Add to the list she can't have a child naturally now ... what a minute!?! Is that the reason why she'll step out on Max? To have a child naturally, but with someone else?
Novy:
I figured that, since there were all these comparisons between Carla and Isabel and since they had both won the Best Villain category of the fanfic awards, I should throw in a reference. They probably would get along very well.I could so see Carla and Isabel getting a long.
By the way, I should probably correct something I said to you. I told you that Tess never finds out about the Augustus con situation, but it turns out, she does. She just briefly mentions it, which is why I forgot that she found out.
BB:
Well, let me put it this way: It's not unreasonable for you to think he's going to be a little nicer to her.I'm so glad that Maria and Michael are back on track after that little bump in the road and you didn't drag it out which is what I was afraid you were going to do. But I'm afraid that it's really just the beginning. Michael is too nice a guy to think that he and Isabel are even now which means that he's going to talk to her and be nice to her.
Christina:
Liz is definitely keeping a lot of stuff bottled up inside right now, so it's quite possible that it might all become too much for her at some point.And, I'm glad Liz is putting money aside so she and Max can get an apartment. Although, since Liz is being the overly supportive girlfriend while Max tells her all his secrets, leads me to believe that she is going to blow up at him at some point.
dreambeliever:
Wow, and here I thought Leila was the only one enjoying the darkness and twistedness of them. I'm glad you're liking that dynamic. It's a very interesting one to write.Love Alex and Isabel....thye have this whole weird relatonship, but it's working for them.
Neve:
Oh yes, definitely. I'll be taking some of my biggest writing risks ever with this fic.I love this fic so much. It feels like you're still setting things up though, so I'm sure that there's lots of hair tearing moments to come.
Krista: You know, just yesterday I was thinking to myself, I wonder what Krista's up to. You graduated now, right?
Now wait a minute, it hasn't even taken some of its biggest turns yet!Maybe I'll just email you my feedback in the form of threatening notes for the turn this fic is taking.
Thanks so much for the feedback. I love you all.
Part 41
After her methods class the next day, Maria went to get breakfast at the Student Union. In between getting both Miley and Macy ready for the day and driving them to Happy Hearts, she hadn’t had time to grab any food for herself. She got a croissan’wich from Burger King and went outside to eat it. Alex was sitting at a table studying and drinking coffee, so she went to sit beside him. He wasn’t quite at friend status yet, but with a little more interaction, he’d get there.
“Hey, Alex,” she chirped, sitting down across from him.
“Oh, hey.” He closed his book as though he knew he wasn’t going to get anymore studying done. The guy was in dire need of socializing, though. In the grand scheme of things, it was way more important for is overall well-being.
“How was your weekend?” she asked.
“Oh, you know . . . kind of boring,” he answered flatly. “How about you?”
“Well, Michael and I went to Vegas, so . . . not so boring.”
“Really? Did you guys get married?” He sounded hopeful, as though he really wanted them to get married. Maybe he thought that would make Isabel give up on her obsession.
“No,” she replied. “It’s kind of a long story, but we had to get out of town for a few days, and my mom lives there, so we got to visit her. It was nice.” She decided to leave out the cancer details. Alex probably had enough dark and dreary stuff to think about.
“I’ll bet,” he said. “I know I miss my dad sometimes.”
“Where does he live?” Right after she asked the question, she realized how stupid it was. Alex’s dad lived in the state penitentiary in Florida because of some fraudulent business practices. “I’m sorry,” she apologized. “I . . . forgot.”
“It’s okay,” he said. “He might actually be released next year on good behavior, so . . .”
Maria felt so embarrassed. Here she was trying to be this guy’s friend, and he was probably starting to hate her very much now.
“I’ve never been to Vegas,” he said, switching the topic abruptly. “Is it nice?”
“Yeah, it is. But when you walk down the Strip, you see all these naked lady cards scattered on the sidewalk.”
He grinned. “That does sound nice.”
She laughed a little, happy to hear some actual humor coming from Alex. Maybe there was hope for him yet. “I didn’t do any gambling, though. But my mom bought me a wedding dress, and it’s really pretty.”
“Oh, yeah? When are you gettin’ married?”
“After I graduate this spring,” she replied. “Actually, let me extend a formal invitation to you right here and right now. You’re invited to my wedding. As long as you don’t bring Isabel.”
Alex chuckled. “Thanks, but I think she’d wring my neck.”
“Yeah.” Poor Alex, she thought. Isabel held him back so much. Maybe if it wasn’t for her, he’d be a senator or something by now. “So do you know anything about how she dealt with Augustus?” Michael wasn’t telling her much, if there was even much to tell.
Alex gave her a confused look. “Who?”
“Augustus,” she repeated. “I’m just curious what she did.”
“I don’t . . .” Alex blinked and sat up straighter. “I don’t know who that is. What’re you talking about?”
She should have assumed they’d have plenty of secrets. “Oh, um . . .” God, did she have foot-in-mouth disease or something? She kept saying all the wrong things. Knowing that Isabel had done something for Michael sure wasn’t going to make Alex feel any better.
“Alex?” A leggy brunette approached the table, looking right at him.
“Caroline.” Alex started to stand up, then sat back down as though he were unsure what to do. “Caroline, this is my friend Maria. Maria, this is my friend Caroline.”
“Hi,” Maria said, waving. If Michael had a ‘friend’ that gorgeous, she’d have something to say about it.
“We, uh . . . we have a class together,” Alex explained, motioning between him and Caroline.
She smiled nervously. “Alex, can I talk to you?”
“Uh . . . yeah,” he said, trying to load his books into his backpack. “Just let me--”
“No, it’s okay, I’ll go.” Maria stood up, smiled pleasantly at the both of them, and told Alex she’d see him later. As she was walking away, she glanced back to see Caroline taking her seat, looking . . . terrified. And the vibe between them was a little more than friendly. That made her heart sink. She wanted to believe that Alex was a genuinely good guy who had to suffer the wrath of Isabel on a daily basis; but if he was having an affair, then he wasn’t as good as she’d thought.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Alex drummed his fingers atop the table, waiting for Caroline to say something. She was, after all, the one who’d sought him out, twice now. She probably wanted to have sex again, and if that was the case . . . well, he wasn’t about to say no. He had no obligations to be faithful to Isabel anymore.
“Are you hooking up with her, too?” Caroline asked.
“Who, Maria? Oh, no.” The idea was so ridiculous that he nearly laughed. “No, she’s the fiancée of the man my wife is in love with. And the mother of his kids.”
“And yet she’s your friend. That’s twisted,” Caroline remarked.
“Well, I don’t really know her that well, but she’s been really nice to me. Unlike Isabel.”
“I met Isabel yesterday,” Caroline said. “She’s very . . . intimidating.”
“Tell me about it.” From the moment he’d met her, she’d intimidated him with how beautiful, sexual, and confident she was. But he’d been drawn to those same attributes, and he shouldn’t have been. “So what did you need to talk to me about?” he asked, hoping to cut straight to the chase. If they were going to hook up, they had to do it fast because he had class in ten minutes.
“Oh, just . . .” She trailed off and shrugged. “How have you been?”
“Good.” That was a lie. “You?”
“I got a job,” she said, before quietly adding, “and then I got fired.”
“I got fired, too,” he told her. “By my brother-in-law. But Isabel finally got a job, so I decided to go back to school, try to get my degree.”
“And how’s that going for you?”
“Good. I love it.” It was great to have something else to focus on other than his screwed up family life.
She exhaled shakily. “God, that just makes this even harder to say.”
“What?” He knew she hadn’t sought him out just to engage in awkward small-talk. “Caroline.”
She lowered her head, looking ashamed, and when she lifted it again, there were tears in her eyes. After a moment’s pause, she dropped the same bombshell on him that Isabel had years ago.
“I’m pregnant.”
Alex just stared at her, feeling his life slipping farther and farther into hell.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
“Hey, best friend,” Maria chirped as she entered Tess’s studio that day. “And Liz.”
Liz gave a half-assed wave, not even glancing away from her computer screen.
“Hey, best friend who forgot to call while she was in Vegas so she might not be my best friend anymore.” Tess smiled.
“Sorry. We were busy.”
“Screwing?”
“No, that’s actually something I try not to do under my mother’s roof.”
Tess laughed.
“Alright, I’m gonna go get some brunch,” Liz announced, standing up and putting on her coat.
“I thought you said you didn’t have any money,” Tess pointed out.
“Oh, right.” Liz whimpered helplessly and stomped her foot.
Tess rolled her eyes, dug around in her purse for a minute, pulled out a ten dollar bill, and handed it to Liz.
“Thanks,” Liz said, taking it and skipping out the door.
“Wow,” Maria said, astonished by the transaction. “She’s, like, poor.”
“And I’m charitable.”
“No, I mean, she’s like deeply, deeply poor.”
“Yeah, and she’s not coping well with it. She’s not a coper.”
“Hmm.” Maria pulled Liz’s desk chair over to Tess’s desk and sat down, pulling her croissan’wich out of her backpack. She unwrapped it and made a face. It was cold now, but she’d still eat it.
“So how is Sin City’s most notorious sinner?” Tess asked, doodling the words Las Vegas on her electronic sketchpad.
“Notorious?” Maria echoed, pretending to be offended. “I haven’t been notorious for a long time.”
“Right.”
“It was fun, though. Your dad says hi.”
Tess set her pen down. “Yeah, how is he? Last time I talked to him, he sounded really stressed.”
“He is,” Maria said, deciding not to sugarcoat it. “He’s taking care of my mom. She had to quit her job, and she’s bald now.”
“What?”
“Yeah, it’s not looking good, but I’m trying to think positive.” And part of thinking positive entailed not thinking about it at all.
“Oh my god, Maria.”
“Yeah, so he’s really stressed taking care of her, but he’s doing a good job of it.” If she ever got sick like that, there was no doubt in her mind Michael would take care of her.
“He loves her,” Tess said. “I worry about his heart, though. I always have.”
“I thought he had a really good cardiologist.” Maria bit into her croissan’wich and cringed. Horrible.
“He does, but that’s not why I’m worried about him. Amy means so much to him, you know? If something happens to her, just like it happened to my mom . . .” Tess shivered. “It’ll break his heart.”
Maria nodded slowly. She was starting to think negatively again, and that was no good. She wanted to put positive cancer thoughts out there into the universe, if there was such a thing. “I got a wedding dress,” she blurted, eager to talk about something else.
“What? Really?” At first Tess sounded excited, and then she sounded disappointed. “You picked it out without me?”
“I was with my mom.”
“Oh. Well, in that case, I can let it slide. Is it pretty?”
“Very. You can help me pick out bridesmaids’ dresses.”
“Good, since I’ll be the maid of honor and all.” Tess picked up her pen again and pressed a few buttons to erase Las Vegas before she started sketching out a dress. “Who else is gonna be in the wedding party?”
“Well, Kyle will be the best man, of course. And I’m sure Marty will be a groomsmen, too. And I’ve got a cousin who wants to be a bridesmaid. And of course Miley will be the flower girl. That’s enough.”
“What about the ring-bearer?” Tess asked. “Garret Whitman, perhaps?”
“Ha, funny.” That was so not happening. “Although I did just invite Alex to the wedding, so you never know.”
“Alex?” Tess echoed. “Bitchabel’s Alex?”
“We don’t have to call him that. He’s his own person, and I like him,” Maria said, really hoping he wasn’t low enough to have an affair, even though his wife was having one. “He’s a little depressing sometimes, but he just needs something good to happen to him. Like a divorce.” Maybe if they got to the point where they were better friends, she’d make that suggestion. “Hey, speaking of something good, though . . . please tell me you and Kyle made up at the auction.”
Tess face lit up. “Oh, we totally did. He renewed his vows to me in the bathroom, which is actually a lot more romantic than it sounds.”
“Good, I hate it when you guys fight.” Tess and Kyle fighting was just about as weird as Liz and Max being poor.
“Oh, we’re putting an end to that,” Tess assured her. “No more fighting, only loving. He said he’s gonna devote less time to work and more time to me, which means he’s finally taking this baby thing seriously.”
“Thank God. You two so needed to get on the same page about that. And he so needs to let up on work. Did he tell you about . . . things?”
“If by ‘things’ you mean that con artist, yeah. He told me everything. Scary, huh?”
Maria nodded. “Mmm-hmm. I’m glad that’s over. I just want our lives to be suburban and easy again.”
“They will be. They are,” Tess assured her. She held up her sketch pad and showed Maria a yellow bridesmaid’s dress. Maria wrinkled her nose and shook her head. Her best friend had a lot of talent and a lot of style, but her sketching abilities were limited to furniture.
“Okay, so, I . . . I had an idea,” Tess announced, erasing the dress from her pad. “But if it’s too suburban, let me know.”
“Okay.”
“What if, when I have a baby, I take an extended maternity leave?”
Maria sensed where this was going. “How extended?”
“Like permanent?” Tess smiled unsurely. “My studio’s not doing so well, and Kyle makes enough money to support us. I could totally be a stay-at-home mom.”
“You could.” As far as Maria was concerned, though, that was one of the hardest, most exhausting jobs in the world.
“I mean, didn’t you think about that when you had Miley, and then again when you had Macy?”
“Yeah, but I got restless both times.” She shrugged. It was hard to explain.
“I know it’s really gender stereotypical of me, but . . .” Tess trailed off.
“No, if that’s what you wanna do, by all means, do it. I just don’t think you should be so quick to define yourself by one thing.”
“Yeah, I’m thinking way too far ahead anyway,” Tess said. “I still need to get pregnant first.”
Maria smiled. “Well, getting pregnant is easy. It’s being a parent that’s hard.”
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Alex didn’t even know if he was alive when he got home that night. He’d spent all day with Caroline, talking about their . . . situation. Every time she said the word pregnant, another part of him died.
Isabel was in the kitchen doing dishes. At one time, they’d had a working dishwasher, but it was broken now. Everything in his life was broken.
“Finally,” she said. “Where have you been? You were supposed to take Garret to the park this afternoon.”
He’d forgotten all about that. “I got held up.”
She glanced over her shoulder, surveyed him for a moment, then returned her focus to the dishes in the sink. “You look awful.”
How am I gonna tell her about this? he wondered. He’d been agonizing over it ever since he’d found out himself. She was probably going to kill him, and at that point, he welcomed it. “I talked to Caroline today,” he said.
“Sleep with her?” she asked.
“No, just talked.” He wasn’t going to sleep with anyone ever again. Obviously it never ended well. “She told me . . .” He swallowed the lump in his throat, fighting to get the words out. “She told me something.”
“What?”
He let out a heavy, defeated breath. “You’re not gonna like it.”
She put the dish she was drying back down in the wet side of the sink and turned around. “Oh my god,” she said, instantly getting it. “I knew it. I knew it. I fucking knew it the second she asked for you.”
“Keep your voice down,” Alex said. Garret was probably asleep, and there was no need to wake him. He saw them fight enough as it was.
“Go on, say it,” she urged. “Say it, Alex. Just man up and say it.”
“She’s pregnant, alright?” he blurted. The admission felt like thunder on his throat. “She’s pregnant, and she said it was mine.”
Isabel threw her dishtowel down on the floor. “Yeah, well, I also said Garret was yours, and then I said he was Michael’s, so we really can’t take her word for it.” She ran one hand through her hair, moaning, “Oh, god, I wish he was Michael’s.”
“I heard that.”
“I know, why do you think I said it?” She slammed her fist down on the counter, causing the salt and pepper shakers to topple over. “Dammit, Alex. How could you be so stupid?”
“Stupid? I didn’t plan for this to happen,” he pointed out.
“No, you just let it happen. You went out and had sex with that slut.”
“She’s not a slut. And we were safe,” he insisted. “I wore a condom every time.”
“Then it’s not yours,” she decided.
“Except . . . there was one time when it broke and--”
“Oh god, this is so trashy.”
“As opposed to your relationship with Billy, which is an epic romance,” he bit out sarcastically.
She marched towards him, glaring threateningly. “Don’t bring him into this.”
“Why not? I only slept with Caroline because I found out about you and him. So in a way, it’s all your fault.”
“I didn’t do anything!” she yelled.
“You made my life a living hell!” he yelled right back. “You belittled me, insulted me, cheated on me, bullied me.”
“Grow up!”
“You tried to keep me from ever knowing my son. And you’ve spent the vast majority of our marriage telling me how inept I am.”
“Well, I didn’t make you slip and fall inside her,” she argued back. “You did that all on your own. God, that’s just . . . that’s what you do, Alex. You screw everything up. You drink and you ruin everything. I was never supposed to be with you; I was supposed to be with Michael.”
“See? There you go again.” A guy could only take so much of that before he went off the deep end.
“I knew something like this would happen,” she said, stomping back into the kitchen. “That’s why I told you to get a vasectomy when I got my hysterectomy. But did you listen? No. You never listen. And look where it’s gotten you.” She picked up a sharp knife, and the sight of her holding it almost sent him running out the door, but she put it back down quickly. Her words were just as sharp, though. “Do you realize how bad this is if it’s your kid? We can’t afford that. We can’t deal with that. You’ve already got one son you can’t take care of, and now we’re gonna add another to the mix?”
Everything she was saying was everything he’d thought about. He knew he wasn’t a good dad, and he knew another kid would make it even tougher.
“Do you know what people are gonna think of you, of us?” she roared. “Do you know what Garret’s gonna think of you? This affects him, too, for the rest of his life. How could you do that to him?”
He turned his back to her so that she couldn’t see the tears slipping from his eyes. He’d never meant to hurt his son. He loved him.
“Do you wanna tell him he’s gonna be a big brother or should I?”
“I’m sorry,” he apologized. “I really am. I’m just as devastated by this as you are.”
“How’re you gonna raise another kid?” she yelled. “You don’t even have a job!”
“I know. Trust me, I’ve thought about all of this. I know how bad it is.” He wiped his eyes and turned back around, hoping she would calm down enough so that they could discuss this rationally. “But if it is my kid, I need to be there for Caroline.”
“Actually, she’s probably better off without you,” Isabel snapped. “I know I was. So why don’t you just do her a favor and stay away from her. She’ll thank you someday.”
He didn’t even know what to say. Somewhere deep down inside, he had to have something worthwhile to offer. Even if he wasn’t the best dad, he could still be a dad. Hell, he’d been a really good guy once upon a time. He just wanted to get back to that.
“Get out,” Isabel snarled.
“What?”
“Get out,” she repeated. “Get out of this house right now, Alex.” When he didn’t move, she lifted a plate out of the sink and threw it at him. “Get out!” she screamed as it shattered against the wall next to his head.
He stumbled backward and hurried out the door. As much as he felt dead, he was still alive, but if he stayed there with Isabel much longer, he wouldn’t be.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Isabel ran upstairs, past Garret’s bedroom to hers. He’d probably heard that whole thing, and he wouldn’t know what half of it meant. She was going to have to explain it to him, because Alex wouldn’t be brave enough to do it. Everything difficult always fell on her.
She slammed the door to her bedroom and collapsed on her bed, wailing. The tears felt like acid on her cheeks, eating away at her, decomposing her. She curled up on her side and gripped at her pillow as the sobs ricocheted through her. This wasn’t fair. She could have been a good person if good things had happened to her. She could’ve had a good life. This wasn’t what she wanted. This wasn’t what anyone wanted.
She buried her face in her pillow to muffle the sounds of her crying. It would have been nice to own a gun, because in that moment, she wanted to kill herself.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Michael sped up his pace when Maria started to moan. Everything about her was setting him on fire that night: her hands gripping his shoulders, his name on her lips, her legs wrapped around his waist. She felt so small beneath him, small and perfect, and he loved being inside her.
“Oh, Michael . . .” She dug her fingernails into his skin, causing him to groan. When he was with her, his entire body was an erogenous zone, and every little touch excited him.
“Oh god,” she gasped, digging her head back into the pillow. She closed her eyes, opened her mouth, and let out a silent scream as she came. It didn’t take him long to follow her over the edge. There was something so rewarding about being able to satisfy his girl in a position that wasn’t generally known for female orgasms. As cheesy at it sounded, he felt like Superman.
Once the orgasm passed, the exhaustion settled in. He struggled to hold himself up for a minute before lying down on top of her, using her breasts as a pillow for his head. They wouldn’t be able to stay like this for long. He’d crush her.
“That was good,” she panted, threading her fingers through his sweat-dampened hair.
“Yeah,” he agreed, barely able to keep his eyes open. “I’m worn out.”
“You wanna go to bed now?” she asked. “Or go again?”
He lifted his head and smiled at her. “Oh, we can go again.” It didn’t matter how tired he was. They had a sex drought to make up for. He propped himself back up on his forearms, kissed her once, and then moved off her. The minute he pulled out of her, he wanted to be back in. She was like a drug.
“Hey, Michael?” she said as he removed and discarded his condom in the wastebasket.
“Huh?”
“You know how on The Bachelor and The Bachelorette they have those fantasy suites?”
He was ashamed to know exactly what she was talking about. He watched bad reality TV with her.
“How often do you think those fantasy suites actually get used? I mean like really used.”
He chuckled and pulled open his nightstand drawer, looking for a new condom. “I really haven’t thought about it.” Damn, they were halfway through the new supply already. They were going to have to start buying those things in bulk if they kept up this pace.
“‘Cause I was thinking,” she went on, “if I was the bachelorette and you were one of my many male suitors, we’d be in that fantasy suite on the first night. And every night after that.”
“Right, except it took us two and a half years to ever get together.”
“But everything’s sped up on reality TV.”
“Everything’s fake on reality TV,” he informed her, setting a condom down in the palm of her hand.
“Uh-uh. Jersey Shore? That shit is real,” she said emphatically. “Those people are really that trashy. I love that show.”
“I love this show,” he said, smoothing one hand down between her breasts and across her stomach to settle in between her legs.
She squirmed at the touch and said, “That really doesn’t make any sense, but I like it.”
He climbed back on top of her, massaging her clit with his thumb, and pressed a hungry kiss to the side of her neck.
“See, the bad thing about The Bachelor is that they always cut away during the good parts,” she said, tearing open the condom package. “The really good parts.”
He kissed his way up to her cheek and then to her mouth. It was crazy, because all of a sudden he wasn’t tired anymore.
“Oh my god, Michael,” she murmured against his lips. There was something so spectacular about the way she said his name when she was turned on. He pressed his forehead against hers and almost died when she said, “You’re so hot.” His girl knew how to boost his ego, and his cock boosted right along with it.
When her hands dived down beneath the covers to grip his ass, and pull him in closer, he thought about forgoing the condom and just seeing what would happen. But that was stupid, and he knew it was stupid, so he took the latex from her and had just sheathed himself in it when the doorbell chimed.
“Was that the doorbell?” she asked.
Lie time. “No.” It rang again. “Crap,” he muttered, sitting up. Who was stopping over at 11:00 at night? Whoever it was, they were pissing him off.
“Just go get it and then come take me,” she said, smiling seductively.
He put on his loosest pair of sweatpants to conceal his erection and headed out of the bedroom, muttering, “Some watchdog Frank is.” He wasn’t even barking like most dogs did when they heard the doorbell.
“If that’s Kyle wanting to play Whack-a-Mole, I’m gonna whack him!” Maria called after him.
When Michael opened the door, he was taken aback. “Alex.” The last time he’d opened a door to find Alex standing there, his life had changed drastically. “Alex. At my house. Why?” He realized he was being rude and changed his accusatory tone. “I mean . . . I’m sorry. Hi.”
“Hi,” Alex said. “I know how weird this is that I know where you live, but . . .” He laughed angrily. “I actually know a lot about you. Like I know steak is your favorite food because Isabel gets mad at me whenever I order chicken. That’s creepy, isn’t it?”
“Yep.” Michael wasn’t sure what his ex-girlfriend’s husband was doing there, but it had to be pretty clear to him that he was interrupting. When I guy came downstairs half-dressed and sounding impatient, wasn’t that a blatant indicator? “Do you need something?”
Before Alex could answer, Maria came downstairs. “Michael? What’s going on?” When she saw Alex, she tugged down on the large t-shirt she had thrown on. “Oh, hi, Alex. What-what’re you doing here?”
“Hey, Maria,” he said. “Um . . . wow, this is really awkward, but Isabel kicked me out and I have nowhere else to go.”
“Nowhere else?” Michael echoed. They barely even knew him.
“Yeah, Max and I aren’t exactly on best terms anymore, so . . . can I come in?”
Maria and Michael exchanged glances, and she said, “Yeah, sure, come on in. She really kicked you out?”
“Yep.” Alex took off his shoes at the door. Great, Michael thought sarcastically, looks like he plans on staying.
“Why?” Maria asked.
Alex stuffed his hands in his pockets, lowered his head, and didn’t say answer that. “I know this is a lot to ask,” he said, “but could I crash on your couch tonight?”
“The couch?” Maria echoed.
“Tonight?” Michael really had to bite his tongue. He could literally feel his erection deconstructing itself.
Maria seemed just as reluctant to agree to it. “Well, what about that girl, that friend of yours? Caroline or whatever,” she suggested. “Does she have an extra bed?”
Alex just sighed as though that were some kind of response. Michael stared at him confusedly. Had Isabel managed to take away his ability to speak or something?
“Okay, we’re just gonna go upstairs for a minute,” Maria said, motioning for Michael to follow her. He trudged back up to their bedroom, thoroughly disappointed that he’d gone to answer the door.
“What the hell?” he said. “Why would he come here?”
“He’s . . . sort of my friend,” Maria explained.
“He can’t sleep on our couch, though.”
“Michael . . .”
“No. No, you’re not actually considering it, are you?”
She shrugged helplessly. “Tess let Liz stay with her. This is basically the same thing.”
“What about the fantasy suite?” He sat down on the side of the bed, pulling her down on top of him.
“He must really have nowhere else to go,” she said, straddling his lap and hooking her arms around his neck. “Why do you think Isabel kicked him out?”
“I don’t know.” He raised the t-shirt she was wearing and cupped her bare ass in his hands. Normally, he was nice enough to actually care about what was going on in other people’s lives, but he was a guy. Sex topped everything else for him.
“My money’s on an affair,” she hypothesized. “Great marriage, huh?”
He kissed her. Maybe if they were quiet, they could salvage this evening even with Alex Whitman downstairs. “Isn’t that a little hypocritical of her?”
“Of course.” She slipped one hand in between them and inside his pants to grip his length. He groaned when she did so. It was going to be hard to be quiet. Oh, but they could do it. They could never be too loud anyway on account of Miley sleeping in the next room.
“Alright, one night only on our couch,” he decided, pushing his pelvis upward. “But that’s all. I have no sympathy for cheaters.”
She nodded in agreement, snapped the waistband of his pants, and went downstairs to tell Alex he could stay for the night.
TBC . . .
-April
Seriously? He gave her money? That just screams - "Thanks for services rendered". *shakeshead*
Kind of a sad song, but pretty. Any Buffy fan has probably heard it before.