Malinali came running down the path to greet them and then she walked back arm in arm with Liz and Max, passing by the courtyard set with colourfully decorated tables and brightly lit lanterns for the evening festivities. She entered the foyer and there stood her father and mother. waiting to greet their guests.

Ahmok intoduced his beautiful wife Itzel to their new friends. She shook hands with all of the men and kissed the girls on the cheek, which was the custom.

"Hello, how are you?" she smiled, as she spoke in her soft deep voice. "I am so happy to finally meet you. Malinali has talked non stop about her new friends from America. Please come in and join us in the living room. May we offer you some refreshments?"

They all entered the comfortable living room and sat down as they waited to be served. Ahmok offered Brody and Carmen some wine, while the teens accepted some delicious fruit punch.

"I am afraid our other guests will not be arriving for awhile. We are not so punctual in our country when it comes to party invitations. Why do we not go outside while we are waiting for their arrival?"

She led them into the beautiful courtyard and they sat down on comfortable chairs to sip their drinks. A young boy came running in and he was intoduced as Malinali's younger brother Mam. He peppered the teens with questions ranging from baseball to movies and music.

"Mam," Malinali spoke up. "Please do not torment our guests with all your silly questions!"

Mam typically lost interest as he went in search of food.

Itzel continued the conversation. "Ahmok tells me that he took you to the waterfall today. I remember when he first brought me there," she sighed. "It is so beautiful, is it not?"

"Yes ma'm," Alex replied, "but I'm sure glad we didn't run into that nawiaka snake," he shuddered.

"Ah yes, nawiaka. Well, even Paradise has its little problems. But you must not let that spoil your pleasure. Nawiaka rarely rears its ugly head."

"Ahmok," Brody interjected, trying to change the subject, " we haven't heard much news on the volcano. What has been happening lately?"

"Well, it is still oozing lava and ash, and they have had to evacuate a number of villages in the immediate area. This means finding homes for over 40,000 people. It is very sad," he added. "and to think that it has remained dormant for so long. It is as if some evil has been awakened."

"Ahmok, such talk in front of our guests!" Itzel replied scandalized. "We must talk of more pleasant things," and she changed the conversation to talk of the festival tomorrow. Malinali told them that after the meal, they would be able to work on the kite in the backyard.

Soon, the other guests began to arrive, and the teens were happy to see Pakal and to meet the rest of his family. Ted Ingram and Eduardo de la Cruz also showed up and they chatted amiably amongst each other until it was time to eat.

A village priest led the prayers before the meal, blessing the coming festival. They found it odd that a Roman Catholic Priest would preside over such a pagan event, but as Eduardo had so clearly pointed out, the Maya had successfully blended their two religious backgrounds.

The food was delicious and there was plenty of it. Ahmok had hired a local band and they played quiet background music as their guests ate. Everyone was having a good time and there was much talk about tomorrow's festival. It was a national Maya holiday, so they were expecting quite a lot of visitors, including many tourists.

Once they had finished dining, Malinali whisked her friends away to begin working on the kite.They went through a gate that led to the backyard, passed glorious tropical flowers whose fragrance was intoxicating. Mam was sitting in the middle of a mass of triangular strips of brightly coloured silk, as he concentrated hard on applying glue to the edges. The glue was extracted from a local tree and worked very well in securing the bits of fabric to one another.

Soon, they were all participating in assembling the huge kite, getting pieces of fabric stuck to them occasionally as they struggled with the long strips. Their laughter could be heard from the front courtyard as they worked hard to complete their task.

Once they had joined all the strips, they secured the long strands of fine cord to equidistant points along the edge, and knotted them as they met in the centre of the kite, after which, they secured the edge with a stiff binding. Finally, they attached streamers of silk, dangling from the rim. The kite was finished. It was nearly twelve feet in diameter and weighed close to 75 pounds.

Mercedes ran out to the courtyard to call in all the guests to see the finished product. They followed her excitedly as she led them into the yard. The teens beamed with pride as the guests clapped and sang their praises. Brody looked on in astonishment at their efforts. The kite was beautiful and they had done a remarkable job. He couldn't have been prouder of them , if he had been their own father.

After making sure the kite was securely attached to the ground, they all went back to join the party. They were served more refreshments after their hard work, and laughed and joked with the other guests as the evening wore on. Pakal's young daughters kept giggling and pointing to Max and the other boys, as they revelled in their schoolgirl crushes.

Max would wink at them once in a while, which would send them into gales of laughter as they tried to hide behind their hands. Liz laughed, too, at their youthful antics, remembering what it was like to be their age, which was not so long ago. They glanced over at Brody and Carmen, who were sitting down chatting with their hosts.

Every now and then, Carmen would throw her head back as she laughed at something one of them said. She held Brody's hand and occasionally they would look at each other and smile. Max was starting to rethink his original impression of her. She seemed very friendly and appeared to be quite smitten with Brody. Time would tell, he thought.

Too soon, it was time to leave. They thanked their hosts for a wonderful evening and Malinali grinned widely saying she would see them in the morning. They waved goodbye, and made their way back to the hotel.

--------------------------------------------

They were all in a very happy mood, as they entered the lobby. Brody left them to join Carmen in the lounge for a nightcap, so the kids went upstairs to chat for awhile. They decided to sit out on the balcony since it was such a beautiful evening. The hotel staff had been right about the volcanic ash. It had disappeared quite quickly, in fact, and the night air was filled with the sounds of crickets and the smell of the tropics.

"That was fun tonight, wasn't it,?" said Tess."I can't get over how friendly everyone is here."

"I know," Isabel agreed. "People seem to really go out of their way to make you feel welcome. This has turned out better than I expected. I mean, I know why we're really here," she lowered her voice, "but this has just made it more fun, you know."

"Yeah, it has been great," Kyle mused. "Of course, we have had a couple of little snags....I mean, you know, a little run in with a croc or two," he added drily." But I guess that's all just part of the fun," he grinned, waggling his eyebrows.

"Oh, shush you," Tess swatted him. "We're dealing with that, I think. I mean we're not exactly helpless, you know!" she added.

"Not helpless, but not invincible, either," Alex reminded her. "We still have to be careful." By the way, you guys, did you ever figure out what happened to you two last night?" he said, motioning to Liz and Max.

"No," they answered simultaneously.

"We had a shared dream last night......Grandma visited us and told us to be aware of a dark stranger. She didn't say any more than that, and then when we woke up this morning we looked like we'd just fought a battle!" Liz revealed.

"A dark stranger!" Kyle said shocked. "You do realize guys that we have just landed in a country full of dark strangers, right? I think you better have another talk with Grandma.......she needs to be a little more specific!" he rolled his eyes.

"Kyle, we can't control what she tells us, man," Max spoke up. "Hell, half the time I don't know how to react to what she tells us!" he said in frustration. "I guess that guy who tried to make pate out of us today, may be the stranger she's referring to."

"Did anyone else see him?" Michael asked.

"No," they all denied.

"Okay, so someone's out to get us or stop us, anyway. What can we do about it?" Maria queried.

"Not much really," Max admitted. "We just have to be on our guard, I guess. We should probably stick together as much as possible.......you know, safety in numbers," he shrugged.

The girls started giggling as they remembered their conversation in the bathroom yesterday.

"What's so funny?" he asked in amazement.

"Nothing," Liz looked at him, trying to stifle a laugh.

"Hey guys, what's goin' on?" asked Alex. "C'mon Muffin, what have you girls been up to?" he grinned, as he tickled her in the ribs.

Isabel bent over with laughter as she tried to control herself. She looked up at her brother, and turned beet red.

"It's nothing really," Maria deadpanned. "We just had a similar conversation about sticking together, yesterday, as a matter of fact."

"So, what's so funny about that?" Michael asked, stupefied.

"Well, if you must know," she sighed, " it got turned into this perverted conversation about group s....." before she could finish, the girls cut her off.

"MARIA!" they shouted, horrified.

"Group what?" Alex asked, still not getting it.

"Group sex, dummy," Kyle grinned, as he wacked him on the arm.

"Group s..s..sex?!" he mimed, shocked. "My God, is that what you girls talk about all the time?"

"No it's not, sweetie," Isabel assured him, trying to act serious, but having a difficult time keeping her emotions under control.

Max eyed Liz carefully, his mind flashing back to their fantasy weekend at the Whitman's cabin. He had picked up a similar fantasy request in Liz's mind, but of course they had never acted on it. She had assured him that it was just some silly thing she had read about and would never actually consider doing something like that. Now he wondered............. and who else would she like in that threesome? He couldn't imagine sharing her with anyone else.

Liz stood there uncomfortably, wishing this had never come up. She knew what Max was thinking because she, too, remembered that conversation they'd had at the cabin. She couldn't look him straight in the eye as she fidgeted.

"Okay guys, let's break it up, shall we?" Maria spoke up. "I'm off to bed. You know, kite festival tomorrow," she said, mimicking sailing a kite.

They all thought it was a good idea, as they turned to leave for their rooms. Liz and Max said goodnight as they headed for their room. Liz went into the bathroom, not sure what Max was feeling. He seemed awfully quiet and didn't join her, as he usually did. She brushed her teeth and then pulled her hair up as she proceeded to wash her make-up off. She went back into the bedroom, and he continued to ignore her as he brushed passed her for the bathroom.

This was not a good sign. She undressed and decided to wear a nightie for a change. She figured this might be a foreshadowing of their first fight and she didn't feel like lying in bed naked for it. She could hear Max in the bathroom as he readied himself for bed.She didn't know if she should sit up or if she should lie down with her back to him. She didn't want to fight but she didn't know how to handle the situation. So she just sat their with her back against the headboard, waiting for him to come out of the bathroom.

Eventually, he made an appearance and avoided her eyes. He sat down on the edge of the bed, ignoring her as he pulled off his shirt and his pants. He left his boxers on, and slid under the covers, switching off the light quickly and turning away from her onto his side. He didn't kiss her goodnight or tell her he loved her or anything.

Liz sat there in shock. She was afraid to say anything, she was afraid to move, she was afraid to breathe. So, she did the only thing left to her.....she started to cry. She cried softly at first, not wanting him to hear her, as the hot tears leaked from her eyes. Then, as she lost more of her control she began to sob openly, biting her hand to try to stop the sound. Her body began to shake as she cried harder.

She slid down in the bed, pulling the pillow over her head, and crying into it. He could hear her sniffling as she vainly tried to hide the sound and he couldn't take it any longer. He swiftly rolled over and scooped her into his arms kissing the top of her head, which was the only thing exposed.

"I'm sorry, Babe," he crooned, as she sobbed in his arms. "I just couldn't stand the thought of you being with anyone else and it just made me sick and angry."

She brought her hands away from her face and wrapped her arms tightly around his neck, hugging him and kissing him with so much relief. She was still too upset to talk, as her salty tears clung to his skin. Her breaths shuddered as she tried to stop crying, and her tiny body trembled in his arms. He felt so guilty for causing her this much upset. What an idiot he was! How could he even think that Liz would want to be with anyone else!

He did the only thing he knew how. He kissed her lovingly and reverently on the mouth and thankfully she returned the kiss with as much feeling. He brought her body in closely to his and started to rub his hands up and down her back. She responded as she always did, and began to rub her abdomen into his, causing an immediate erection.

She sighed as she felt him harden for her and increased her rubbing which only made him want her more. He stopped kissing her long enough to slip her nightie over her head and to strip off his boxers. Then he returned to her lips immediately, kissing her more deeply and passionately, as he massaged her breasts and played with her nipples. He moved his head down to take her perky buds into his mouth, sucking on them until she cried for more.

He moved down her body, kissing and licking the skin on her abdomen and sucking on her navel, before he descended to her mound and shoved his tongue unceremoniously between her folds. He wasted no time in attacking her swollen sex, teasing it with his tongue and lips, sucking and licking it until she came violently, bucking hard into his face.

He moved over her quickly, entering her passage and pumping hard as he lost control, pushing urgently as he fought to feel unity again, kissing her lips and mumbling how sorry he was and how much he loved her. She sobbed as he loved her so fervently, and her hips rocked hard to keep up with him. He came savagely as he held onto her for support, calling out her name as he shook with relief, feeling her presence deep inside him again as the rift was healed.

He lay on top of her, kissing her neck and whispering his love into her ear. She did the same, telling him she never wanted anyone but him. They both cried as they professed their love for one another, and they stayed clung together for quite awhile, until Max realized he might be crushing her. He rolled off her gently and pulled her towards him, not wanting her to be too far away.

"I love you so much, Max," she whispered. "Please don't ever be angry with me again. You know I couldn't even think about being with anyone but you."

"Sssh, I know," he admitted. "I'm sorry I even thought that you could. I don't know what's wrong with me.....I guess I'm feeling the pressure of finding something down here. But that's no excuse for me behaving like an idiot. Please forgive me, Liz. I promise that from now on, if anything like this comes up, we'll talk about it, okay? No more silent treatment."

"Me too," she said. "I need you so much, Max. I would die if you ever left me."

"I'll never leave you," he kissed her lovingly. "Never."