Earth2Mama: Ms. Judy is a wonderful woman and Michael has always known what he had in her. We bet it was a great surprise for him to learn that she always goes to his games.
Michael can’t forgive his mother for the mistakes she’s made. Too much has happened right now and he’s still trying to deal with all the new stuff.
Yep, Adam is an architect!
We doubt that there’s anyone who loves Nancy Parker right now. To be honest, there isn’t much to love, huh? But Liz can count on her father now, at least she has him.
mary mary: Lol, true… and somehow we just don’t see Michael spending his Saturday afternoon’s washin’ windows!
Jeff has taken a big step and now the ball is in Liz’s court… we’ll see what she decides to do about that. Max… well, what can we say? He’s Max!
Cardinal: Jeff’s decision to go and see his daughter was definitely the right one and once Liz has had some time to think we’re pretty sure she’ll be making a call to Dad. Her relationship with her mom on the other hand… well, only time will tell.
Well, perhaps we’ll have some of that serenity before the big day gets here!
Brooke is adjusting, slowly but surely.
rosyrosy2882: Yup, Nancy does leave quite a lot to be desired. She’s being very selfish and self-pitying… completely overlooking the fact that she’s destroying what little remains of her relationship with her daughter.
Jeff has taken a big step. We’re pretty sure things with Nancy are over – it’s just a matter of saying the words. He may not know Max very well, but he’s seen Max do the one thing he’s always been reluctant to do… stand up to Nancy for Liz. He knew right away that his daughter was in love with Max and seeing her happy meant everything to him.
Not so easy to love way back in the beginning, was he? Lol, he’s made a lot of progress since his first introduction. Yup, he’s definitely gone on his girl and he’s past being embarrassed to admit it.
Yup, kinda like the dream houses we’ve imagined, too! Michael will definitely be an amazing dad one day.
guelbebek: Us too! Wow, not ever, huh? Don’t tempt us… it’d be too easy to keep Double Trouble going and going and going…
Looking for some Kyle and Tess, huh? We’ll see what we can do… we’ve just gotta find ‘em first. They’ve been suspiciously absent, but we think we know what they’ve been up to!
We’re very happy that DT Max has become so popular – he is about as perfect as a guy can get, lol.
Thanks, we’re glad to be back to posting twice a week again!
keepsmiling7: We’re glad too! That was quite a shock for Liz. Max knows his girl and he knows she just needs time to figure things out.
Eva: Thanks!
Ms. Judy is pretty awesome and she’s been there for Michael, giving him friendship and watching over him even though he was unaware of it.
It’s true, Jeff isn’t a bad guy at all, he’s just allowed himself to fall into a pattern and even though he’s taken the first step, now he has to wait and see if Liz is going to give him a chance.
Alien_Friend: Darn, almost had ya! Lol, glad to know you couldn’t wait to find out. Ah, ya know we’re always happy to wait for your feedback.
Yeah, our Candy couple just have a way of bending and twisting the rules to suit their needs.
Brooke will probably be a little more at ease with things once she meets the rest of the family and sees Michael and Brendan interacting with them. It’ll help her to see that the boys aren’t any less her brothers just because they no longer share the same father.
Michael and Amy make quite the team, don’t they?
How cool would it be to be able to just build the house of your dreams right where you wanted to build it?
We’ll find out about that when Brendan lets us in on his thought processes… that guy can be surprisingly tight-lipped about things sometimes.
Jeff will have to be patient and let Liz decide whether or not she’s ready to deal with his arrival. No matter what she decides, Max will be right there with her.
kay_b: Lol, well, missing a part can actually work in your favor sometimes.
The birthday party is comin’ soon… stay tuned!
Part 125 – Back to Basics
“You okay?” Brendan asked his fiancé after she had been awful silent during the last few minutes as they drove to the airport to get her Mom.
“Huh?” She shook her thoughts off. “Oh, yeah, I’m fine, Brendan.”
He rubbed her thigh before pulling his hand back to put it on the steering wheel again. “This was just the first house we looked at, Karen. We’ll find one we like.”
He knew her so well. She had tried to hide her disappointment, but who was she kidding? The house they had just looked at had been nothing like they had imagined for their house. She was blaming herself now for letting her hopes and expectations get so high. “It would’ve just been kinda cool to live only a few houses away from your brother.”
He nodded. “Right, but maybe we’ll find another one in that area.”
She shook her head. “We both know that the houses on the ocean aren’t that easy to get, Bren.”
“We could rebuild the other house then,” he offered, already knowing that she wouldn’t agree to that.
“That won’t work. The entire property wasn’t right for us.”
“Hey,” he glanced at her when he stopped at a traffic light and took her hand. “We’ll find somethin’ else, okay?”
She smiled softly. “Okay.”
He nodded. “And now, be happy again! We’re getting your Mom from the airport so you should be happy.”
“I am,” she assured him. “I really am, Bren. I mean, I’m with you now, we’re getting married, we have a wonderful daughter and my Mom is coming.”
Brendan chuckled. “See.” He pulled the car into the large parking garage at the airport and stopped it as close to the entrance as possible. He glanced at his watch. “We’d better hurry, her flight should’ve already landed.”
Karen waved him off as they both climbed out. “You know Mom; she’ll wait until every other person had left the plane before she even starts to move.”
“You know me so well, huh?” someone said right next to them.
Karen whirled around. “Mom?”
The older woman chuckled. “My flight landed almost 20 minutes earlier than scheduled, so here I am.”
Karen took a few large steps to reach her mother and hug her. “I’ve missed you.”
Brendan walked up to the two women and kissed his mother-in-law on the cheek. “Welcome to Long Beach, Rosie.” He took her luggage from her. “How’d ya know you’d find us here?”
Rosie chuckled, “I know ya well enough to know that you always find the parking spot closest to the entrance.”
“How was your flight, Mom?” Karen interrupted.
“Long and exhausting, but otherwise okay.”
“Let’s get in the car then,” Brendan said as he placed the bags in the trunk and opened the door for Rosie. “It’s good to see ya here,” Brendan said and hugged her quickly before helping her inside the car.
Karen took her place in the passenger’s seat again while Brendan climbed behind the steering wheel and started to engine. “Are you hungry? We could stop somewhere and eat something?”
His mother-in-law shook her head. “I just had lunch on the plane. Where’s Caela?”
“Brooke offered to watch her since we were busy after breakfast. We were looking at a house.”
“Did you like it?”
Karen turned in her seat to look at her mother. “It wasn’t the right house for us.”
Rosie’s gaze wandered down to Karen’s hand, the one rested on the backrest of the seat and she couldn’t hide her surprise.
Karen noticed her mother’s gaze and smiled. “He asked me to marry him.”
Brendan glanced in the rearview mirror nervously to check on the woman’s reaction.
Rosie placed one hand on Karen’s and the other on Brendan’s shoulder. “Congratulations to you two, I’m glad you’ve finally worked things out between you.”
Karen smiled and wiped a single happy tear away.
“So, what’re your plans for tonight?”
“Brendan’s gonna hang out with his brothers and some other boys. We can just stay in the hotel a bit,” Karen offered.
The older woman lifted one eyebrow. “While Brendan’s out having his boy’s night, what’re the girls up to?”
“They’re gonna have a girls night over at Alex’s house. But don’t worry about that, Mom. I don’t want you to be alone your first night in Long Beach.”
Rosie chuckled. “Why don’t we stop at Alex’s house to get Caela and she can come to the hotel with me, while you go and have a girl’s night with your new friends?”
“Are you sure? I really don’t mind staying…” Karen started.
“You’ll go. I’m tired anyway. I doubt that I’ll keep my eyes open any longer than Caela tonight.”
*****
Liz sat on the stairs that connected the back of Alex’s yard with the beach. She watched the other girls playing volleyball in their bikinis and laughing at Karen, who had never ever before played it. She sighed and glanced at the cell in her hand, wondering one more time if she should just call her Dad or not. Max had offered to stay with her tonight instead of them going out for the girls and boys night, but she had told him to go and have some fun.
“Hey, girlfriend, why don’t ya join us?” Maria sat down next to the brunette and took a large sip of her water.
Liz glanced up surprised. “Oh, I don’t know. I’m not really in the mood for volleyball.”
Maria snorted. “Not really in the mood? Ya love the game, girl. Come on!”
Liz shook her head. “Maybe later.”
“DeLuca, get your blonde ass back in the game,” Tess hollered.
Maria made a sign to her friend to go on without her for a while. There was definitely something wrong with Liz and she had to get it out of her younger friend. “Tell me what’s wrong.”
“Nothing.”
“Uh-huh, don’t play the nothing game with me, ya know it won’t work anyway.” She bumped her friend with her shoulder. “Come on, Liz.”
The other girl glanced up to meet Maria’s gaze. “My Dad showed up today.”
“Here? In Long Beach?”
Liz nodded dumbly.
“But you’re not happy about it,” Maria stated, wondering why.
“I don’t know how to feel about it,” Liz suddenly burst out. “I mean, on the one hand I am happy and on the other hand I’m tryin’ to come up with a reason why he never stood up for me earlier, ya know?”
“Your Mom isn’t here?” Maria asked carefully.
“No,” Liz whispered. “She’s just ignoring me.”
It hurt to see her friend like this, but Maria had no clue what to tell her that would make her feel any better. “Hey, maybe you shouldn’t ask yourself over and over again why it all happened the way it did, because ya can’t change it anyway, right? Your dad’s here now. Admittedly, it took him a while to stand up for you, but he did. He wouldn’t be here if you weren’t important to him.”
“You think I should call him?” Liz asked, glancing at her cell one more time.
“How long is he gonna be here?”
“As long as I want him to, at least that’s what he said to Max.”
“And you won’t let him leave without talking to him anyway, right?” Maria knew her friend would never do that.
“No…”
Maria stood and walked over to stand in front of Liz, taking her hands and pulling her up as well. “Then go and call him. Tell him you’ll meet him tomorrow! And after that you put your cell phone away as well as your bad thoughts and join us. Tonight is just about us girls and tomorrow we’ll worry about the rest, okay?”
Liz couldn’t help but smile at her friend’s way of making her feel better. “Okay.”
*****
Michael grabbed several six-packs out of the refrigerator and carried them outside to hand them over to Kyle so he could pack them in the cooler of ice sitting on the deck. Max was busy with the grill and Alex was slouched down in one of the deck chairs, bare feet propped up on the railing as he stared out over the ocean.
“Hey, how’s Brooke doin’?” he asked as he opened a beer and leaned back against the railing to look at his brother.
“She’s fine, Michael. Yeah, her insecurities are still there, but like you told her earlier today, that’s only gonna ease up once she can see for herself that you guys aren’t goin’ anywhere.” He shook his head. “Don’t worry about tryin’ to convince her that this won’t come between us, okay? She’ll realize it for herself.”
“Yeah, that’s true.” He nodded and straightened up when he heard the doorbell. He shot a look at Max as he headed for the door. “Did you lock the damn door? I told Brendan it’d be unlocked.”
Max just shrugged. “It’s a habit!”
He rolled his eyes and walked through the apartment to open the front door. “Hey, Bren, sorry ‘bout the door; Captain Cautious locked the damn thing.”
“No problem, I’m sure it was just outta habit.”
“Thank you!” Max shouted when he heard Brendan’s response.
“Beer’s out back if you guys wanna drink.” He made a face. “Or there’s chocolate milk in the fridge if you’d prefer that, Bren.” He glanced at Brendan’s friend. “Sean, didn’t really know what you drink, but if you’re not a beer drinker there’s soda and some other stuff in the fridge too.”
“I’m gay,” Sean choked out nervously.
Michael just stared at him for several seconds before he shrugged. “Well, unless drinks are bein’ distributed as straight- or gay-only now I’m pretty sure you can help yourself to whatever’s in there.”
“Um, right. You’re okay with me… ya know, bein’ gay then?”
“Are you plannin’ to ask me out on a date?”
Sean shook his head negatively.
“Then we’re good.” He glanced over his shoulder at his roommates. “Any chance I could talk you into hittin’ on Max or Kyle?”
Brendan grinned and high-fived his brother as he walked past him to get to the refrigerator. “I asked him the same thing… don’t think it’s gonna work.”
“Too bad ‘cause it’d be damn funny.”
“What’d be funny?” Max asked as he walked in and nearly bumped into Brendan as they both entered the kitchen at the same time. “Hey, Sean, what’s up?”
“Uh, not much… they’re tryin’ to get me to make a pass at your or Kyle.”
“Do what the rest of us do and ignore them. Beer’s out back and if you could take this,” he pulled a platter of marinating steaks out of the refrigerator and removed the plastic covering from it, “and put it next to the grill I’d appreciate it.” Max shook his head at them when Sean moved to do as he had asked. “Ya know, this’s tough enough on the guy without you two tryin’ to put him in awkward situations.”
Michael rolled his eyes. “Ah, c’mon, this’s better than an uncomfortable silence about the subject.”
“There’s no need for it to be uncomfortable,” Max denied.
Michael waved him off. “Let’s go back outside. And it probably would be more uncomfortable for him if we just avoided the topic.”
“Well, alright, I can see what you’re sayin’,” Max said, nodding agreeably.
Alex glanced up when his brother walked on the deck. “Hey, Bren, did ya get Karen’s mom from the airport in time?”
“Um-hmm, she’s at the hotel.” He pulled the little plastic tab off of the bottle of milk and shook it before popping the top off. “She offered to keep Caela tonight so me an’ Karen could both take the night off.”
“I hope my house will survive the girl’s night without serious damage.”
“You’ll probably be okay with the rest of ‘em, but Maria an’ Tess?” Kyle shook his head. “You’ve got insurance, right?” he teased.
Alex just made a face. “I don’t even wanna think about it.”
Michael snorted. “Jeez, how much damage could they really do?”
“Depends on what they’re doin’,” Kyle mused.
“Good point.”
“Wanna sit here all night and wonder what the girls are doin’?” Brendan asked, surprised.
Michael shook his head. “Huh-uh, you think they’re sittin’ around talkin’ about us? Hell, no.”
“Huh-uh,” Brendan said. “Hey, did ya already tell Alex about your plan for Maria tomorrow?” Brendan saw the slight irritation on Alex’s face. “Obviously not. Her Mom’s flyin’ out and he wants to surprise her. Think Isabel can get Maria to help her with lunch or somethin’ while we go to the airport to get the whole family?”
“Yeah, sure, that’ll be easy enough to do.”
Michael nodded. “Cool, we can all meet at the beach house then.”
“Hey, my dad said you can pick up the keys early and that way the girls could just go on over and get everything started at the beach house.”
Michael snapped his fingers at Kyle. “Cool, that’ll save us a lot of time.” He scratched his eyebrow. “Damn, we’re gonna have a busy day tomorrow.”
“Tomorrow’s gonna be very busy,” Alex agreed. “It’s a good thing you guys aren’t playin’ until evening.”
“True,” Michael agreed and glanced at the grill. “Yo, Evans, I’m hungry.”
Max was watching the steaks but his mind was elsewhere and he jerked slightly when Michael’s voice startled him. “Well, unless you want it halfway done you’re gonna have to wait.”
Sean watched him for a moment before he moved to sit in one of the chairs not far from the grill. “Everything okay with Liz?” he asked, recognizing the look on the other guy’s face. He had seen it more than once when they had been in Roswell at her parents’ house.
Max shook his head. “Her dad showed up earlier today and she doesn’t know how to feel about that. I had to convince her to go out with the girls tonight ‘cause she was so down about the thing with her parents.”
“They suck,” Sean admitted. “It’s funny how I never realized that until Christmas, you know?”
“You heard from your parents?” Max asked as he flipped the steaks over.
“Barely.”
“Sorry, man, that sucks.”
“Are we talkin’ about parents that suck over here?” Michael asked as he leaned over Max’s shoulder to check on dinner.
“Have somethin’ to add in?” Max asked, knowing that Michael could add things the entire night.
“I could bitch about parental figures all night long,” he muttered. “What’s up, Harrison? Your parents have a fit over you bein’ gay?”
“Bein’ gay, breaking up with Liz, being their biggest disappointment. Yep.”
“Oh, well, I’m familiar with at least one of those.”
“Well, I know we’re not talkin’ about breakin’ up with Liz, and I can’t imagine you’ve ever disappointed your parents, so... are you tellin’ us you’re in the closet, Guerin?” Max teased and then ducked when Michael tried to shove him.
Sean laughed. “Does Maria know?” It felt good to actually joke around about being gay, the boys had taken it pretty easy and cool even though he had imagined the worst possible scenarios about how they would laugh at him or act totally weird around him.
Brendan snorted. “Maybe Michael could help you find a guy then, Sean.”
Michael’s cell started to buzz in his pants and he got it out to find a message from Maria that included a picture of her in her bikini. He grinned. “Highly doubtful.”
“Message from Maria?” Brendan asked.
“Yeah. Hey, if you’re needin’ help findin’ a guy, why don’t you just ask the girls?” Michael asked. “I mean, they know what to look for in a guy... it’s probably not all that different if it’s, ya know, for a guy.” He looked at Brendan. “Right?”
Brendan shook his head. “Man, I suggested the same thing and Karen got on my ass about it. She seemed to be under the impression that I thought it was the same as goin’ grocery shoppin’.”
“Ya know, I really appreciate that you guys wanna help out, but right now I don’t even wanna look for a guy. I’m kinda trying to get used to the thought and all first,” Sean said.
Michael shrugged. “Oh, so... you’re not like lookin’ right now?”
“No, not really.”
“So, I know it’s like personal, but how do you know ya like guys?”
Kyle snorted as he took a drink of his beer. “Way to pick a question, Guerin.”
Michael glanced at Kyle. “What? I was just wondering!”
“Probably the same way you knew you liked girls, dumbass,” Alex said, shaking his head and trying not to laugh. It was such a Michael thing to ask.
“I’m just askin’,” Michael muttered. “I mean, there’s gotta be somethin’ that attracts you to guys. What?” he asked when the others just looked at him. “I’m tryin’ to make conversation... is it my fault that I don’t know anything about bein’ gay?”
Brendan stood up and pulled Michael with him. “Why don’t you and I discuss the details about tomorrow?” He glanced at Sean. “Sorry, my brother’s a little... direct.”
Sean snorted. “Um, you do realize that the two of you are the exact same way about bumbling your way into these situations, right? You did the exact same thing yesterday,” Sean reminded him.
Brendan frowned. “Well...” he glanced at Michael, “... I’m not like you.”
“Uh, you two are a LOT alike,” Sean said, rolling his eyes. “The questions may have been slightly different, but it’s quite obvious that the two of you are related.”
Alex laughed. It felt good to see his brothers together like this.
“Steak’s are ready, guys, let’s eat,” Max finally called.
“You didn’t burn mine, did you?” Kyle asked as he scrambled to his feet. If he didn’t get there first, he’d end up getting the smallest one left.
“Shut up, Valenti,” Max grumbled, but grinned. It was good to hang out together like they had in the good old days. Well, usually it had been just Kyle, Michael and him, but he was cool with Sean, Brendan and Alex.
Kyle glanced around when he realized that while he had been fishing for one of the larger steaks, which he had missed out on, Brendan and Michael had also taken the largest baked potatoes. “Aww, c’mon, you guys!”
Michael shrugged. “You can have more of the salad the girls made before they left.”
“I don’t want any damn salad,” Kyle grumbled. “I’m not a fuckin’ rabbit.”
“Well, you can have my steak,” Sean offered. “I’m not very hungry anyway.”
“Not hungry?” Michael and Brendan asked at the same time.
Alex shook his head. “You two are old enough to know better than to talk with your mouths full.”
Kyle snatched Sean’s steak before the twins got the chance. “Forget it, Guerin.”
Brendan motioned to the last – and smallest – steak left on the grill. “You need to eat somethin’ and if you don’t I’m gonna call Karen and you can explain to her why you’re not eatin’.”
Sean rolled his eyes. “I can watch myself, Bren. I’m a big boy.”
“Fine, don’t eat. She’ll ask, she always does, and she’ll know if you’re lyin’.”
Michael snorted. “She knows if YOU’RE lyin’ ‘cause your ears turn red.”
Sean laughed. “He’s right about that.”
“So? Every time you lie you stare at the floor and mumble.”
“Karen’s gonna be with the girls, so she won’t be there first thing in the mornin’ anyway,” Sean said, shaking his head.
Max settled into his chair and set his beer on the small table beside him. “Michael said you and Karen were gonna go look at a house, Brendan... how was it?”
The guy made a face. “Not as good as expected.”
“Not what you guys were lookin’ for or was it in bad shape?”
“The first. Just, a small back deck, small part of the beach, small rooms. We would’ve had to rebuild a lot and the property itself wasn’t what we’re lookin’ for either.”
Michael chewed on a bite of steak thoughtfully. “You ever considered just buildin’ a place?”
“Well, sure, but it’s really hard to find anything that’s not too far from campus and Karen wants to be on the water.”
“How far’s too far?” Alex asked because Michael was busy eating again.
“Well, I don’t wanna drive like an hour or anything every mornin’ to get here.”
“What about half an hour?” Michael mumbled as he packed the toppings on his baked potato.
Brendan glanced at his brother. “Well, that would be okay I guess.”
“Karen dedicated to an ocean view?”
Brendan shrugged. “Well, she just said on the water would be cool.”
“So, she might be happy with a lake view?”
“What’re ya up to?”
“Just thinkin’,” Michael said as he took a drink of his beer. “I own property outside the city limits... sits on a lake.”
“The one where you’re gonna build a house with Maria?”
“Yeah... it’s about half an hour out. 45 minutes if you hit traffic. I know it’s not as convenient as just runnin’ over to campus from your apartment, but... the property I picked up is pretty big and there’s more than enough room for more than one house on it.” He shrugged. “Ya know, if you guys wanted to go that route.”
Brendan swallowed. He was touched by his brother’s offer but he tried to hide it as well as possible. “Uh, yeah, I could imagine that.”
Michael nodded, noticing the emotions on Brendan’s face and deciding that they could talk about it later.
“Oh, hey,” Brendan said, “about that thing ya asked me this mornin’... I got it arranged.”
He grinned and raised his bottle in his brother’s direction. “Thanks.”
Brendan shoved the last bite of his steak into his mouth and got up. “Excuse me,” he mumbled as walked into the house. He pulled out his cell, punching in a message for Karen.
Hey, Mrs. Guerin, what would ya think about a house on the lake?
*****
Karen glanced down when her phone started to buzz next to her where she was sitting on the deck taking a breather. She flipped it open and smiled when she read the message.
“What’re you grinnin’ about?” Maria asked.
Karen shook her head. “Got a text from Brendan.”
“Figured that much from that goofy grin, girl.”
Karen punched in a reply to Brendan, ignoring Maria. What’re you thinking of?
Maria stretched her leg out to poke her with her toe. “Are you sexting?”
Karen rolled her eyes. “Ya know, we’re not as horny as you and Michael are.”
“You may not be as obvious about it, but I think we all know if you’ve got your hands on one of these Guerin boys and the relationship is sexual... there’s gonna be a lot of horniness involved.”
Isabel snorted and then grinned widely. “That’s for damn sure.”
Karen glanced at her cell when it buzzed again.
Michael kinda offered to let us have a look at his property. It’s on a lake, about 30 minutes from campus.
“You might as well share,” Liz said, grinning when Tess came out to join them, carrying a fresh pitcher of margaritas. “They’ll get it out of you one way or the other.” She rolled her eyes. “Believe me, I know what I’m talkin’ about.”
“You girls are annoying sometimes,” Karen complained and grinned. “Okay, fine, I told ya earlier that we looked at a house today but it sucked, right? Well, Brendan just told me that Michael offered to let us have a look at his property on a lake.”
“It’s a gorgeous piece of property,” Maria enthused. “We’re gonna build by the lake... we’ve already picked the spot.”
“So, you wouldn’t mind? I mean, it’s not like we’ve already decided to do it, but...”
“Why would I mind?” Maria rolled her eyes as she leaned back, stretching her arms out behind her. “There’s so much room out there and it’d be cool to live close together.”
“Alright, ladies,” Tess said and handed every girl her margarita – and a glass of water for Isabel. “Cheers. To us and a New Year that’s gonna be great.”
Isabel made a face at her sparkling water. “I’ll be so glad when I can have a drink with you guys again.”
Maria patted her shoulder in sympathy.
“And I’ll be glad when I turn 18,” Brooke said.
“To a new year with at least one new Guerin’” Karen said and glanced at Isabel.
“Well,” Brooke came up behind Maria and leaned over to look at her teasingly. “Maybe there’ll be two, huh?”
“Not unless you know somethin’ I don’t,” Maria said as she reached back to pinch the younger girl.
“I would pay to see the look on my brother’s face, though,” the younger girl said and took a seat on the railing to look at the others.
“I’m sure you would,” Maria said with a grin.
“So, when’re you getting your driver’s license?” Tess asked curiously.
Brooke groaned. “Alex said we’d talk about that next year.”
Tess glanced at Isabel. “I hope you’re gonna talk to him about that.”
“He’ll be fine with a driver’s license for you, Brooke, don’t worry. Just give him some time for all this new family stuff to kinda settle down.”
The teenager shrugged. “I’m more worried about him letting me actually drive. I’m a good driver, the teacher said so. And more importantly, Michael’s let me drive his car... and you all know how he is about his freakin’ car.”
Maria snorted. “Yeah, but he loves you.”
“Girl, if he didn’t think I could drive well enough to satisfy his picky taste he wouldn’t let me get behind the wheel of that car no matter how much he loved me.”
“Hey, what about you and Michael’s sex bet?” Tess interrupted. “Is there a winner yet?”
Liz glanced up from the margarita she was sipping on. “You made a sex bet?”
Maria groaned. “Thanks, Tess.”
Tess grinned. “Oh, they sooo made a sex bet... a no-sex bet!”
Liz rolled her eyes. “Well, that’s just stupid. Why would either of you agree to that?” She giggled into her margarita. “I can just imagine Max’s face at the very suggestion.”
“Look at Parker. Suddenly it’s all about sex, huh?” Maria teased. “Well, I don’t know how the hell we came up with it, but so far nobody’s won and ya know, in some weird way it’s like a new kick to our relationship.”
“I’m just sayin’,” Liz said as she reached up to pinch her tongue to make sure it was still there. “Sex isn’t like the most important thing or anything, but I’m not about to make a bet where we’re not havin’ it.” She nodded to herself and took another drink.
Maria took a drink as well. “Doesn’t matter anyway. I’m gonna lose since his part was to wear a shirt at the game that tells the entire world how much he loves me, but we won’t see each other tonight and tomorrow is so damn busy that he’s practically already won.”
“Well, that’s no fun.” Isabel reached out to steady Liz when she leaned forward to pour herself another drink. “So, it’s added a new kick, huh?”
“Well, it’s not like we don’t do anything. Just no real sex, ya know?”
Tess rolled her eyes. “So you’re still getting each other off... I should’ve known the two of you would find the loophole.”
Maria giggled. “It’s a little bit like in the beginning. Just makin’ out and no sex. Just now we both know what we feel for each other.”
Brooke shook her head. “You guys are crazy.”
“Well, he’s a Guerin,” she stuck out her tongue at Brooke.
The teenager glanced at Karen. “So, do you an’ Bren do stupid shit like that?”
“Seriously? I’ve missed your brother since I ended things! Girl, we’re happy if Caela allows us to have sex, so no! Definitely no such thing as the two of us making such a silly bet.”
*****
Michael was lying in bed, left arm bent behind his head as he stared out through his open window. He’d had a good time with his brothers and his friends after a very busy, very long day and he was tired but he couldn’t sleep. The fingers of his right hand played with the dog tags resting on his chest and he looked down when his thumb rubbed over the small stone inlaid into the silver on Maria’s tag. He smiled as he held it up in the moonlight and looked at the two tags as they rested against each other.
He glanced at the alarm clock next to his bed and wondered if she was asleep yet. Nah, she was probably lying awake like him, wishing they were together. He dropped his tags and reached for the cell phone lying on the nightstand, flipping it open and bringing up the texting option. His thumb moved over the keys without even really thinking about which keys he was hitting and his gaze moved over the message before hitting the button to send the message.
Hey, Sexy, are ya missin’ me like I’m missin’ you?
Maria was sitting on a deckchair on the small pier that belonged to Alex’s house, dreaming of how she would one day have her own pier on the lake. Her body was wrapped into a comfy blanket Isabel had given her before the other girls had gone to bed.
She smiled slightly when her cell phone, which was lying on the wooden planks next to her, started to buzz as it moved along the wood. She knew it would be Michael, no doubt.
A shiver ran down her spine as she read his text, telling her that he missed her. Damn, she wished he was here with her now too, but she couldn’t drive anymore and she was pretty sure that he’d probably had more than his fair share of beers with the guys as well.
Her fingers punched in a reply, needing only seconds.
I think I miss ya even more.
Michael smiled at the message on his display and his thumb quickly punched in another message and hit the send button. He wondered what her answer would be and he shifted around, trying to get comfortable.
Wanna get outta there and go have a little coed fun?
She giggled at his response, already feeling her heartbeat increasing.
Are ya still able to drive? He would know that she had to make sure.
He smirked at the question. At one time he would’ve sent back a smartass response, but he knew why she was asking so he typed in something else.
Safe to drive. Was kinda hoping to see ya tonight.
She slouched down in the comfortable deck chair, which was built for two people while she read his next text. She smiled and thumbed out another message.
Bring a sleeping bag.
Michael chuckled and sat up to look outside, checking the weather. The days were nice and warm, but it was December and it could get cool at night down by the water. Not that it mattered... if his girl wanted to spend the night outside in a sleeping bag, who was he to argue with her? He figured she must be wanting to go down to the beach because why else would she want him to bring a sleeping bag? He hit the reply button and typed out another message.
Want me to call ya when I get there or just come inside?
I’m down on the pier, just come here.
“Down on the pier,” he muttered aloud. He ignored the texting option and hit the call button instead. What the hell was she doing out on the pier by herself at this time of night? Damn, anything could happen to her! He listened to the phone ringing and waited impatiently for her to answer as he hurried to get dressed.
“Hello?”
“What’re you doin’ out there?” he asked without bothering with a greeting.
She rolled her eyes. “It’s nice to hear from ya, Michael. I’m just sittin’ here.”
“Ya know, that probably isn’t the safest thing you could do.” God, this is what he got for calling Max names... now he was turning into Captain Cautious!
“Uh-huh, what ya think could happen to me out here?”
“Nothin’ that I wanna think about much less say aloud,” he muttered as he opened the door on the hall closet to check for his sleeping bag. He ducked out of the way and just barely caught a group of fishing poles that were leaning in the corner and tipped towards him when he pulled on the bag. “Are the pier lights on?”
“What’re ya doin’?” she asked when she heard a bunch of noise in the background.
“You said to bring a sleepin’ bag,” he growled, glancing over his shoulder to make sure he hadn’t woke any of the guys who were crashed out around the living room.
“I’ll see you soon. And yes, the lights are on.” They weren’t, but she would turn them on before he got there.
Michael shook his head. She was lying, he was sure of it. She was probably sitting out there in the dark, legs dangling over the side of the pier as she looked out over the ocean. “Alright, gimme about 15 minutes.”
“Drive safe!”
“Always,” he promised.
She hung up and dropped her cell to the ground again. She had to get up for the light. Ah, damn the lights. Leave them turned off. The moon was bright enough, she decided as she snuggled into the blanket.
On the other hand, we do want an end to that ridiculous bet between them. They both give in, no one wins.
