The world went slow motion for Max as he focused on Liz. He sucked in a deep breath and choked on his popcorn. He had to cough a few times to dislodge it from his esophagus. Liz was dressed in yellow, a color that looked wonderful with her dark hair and copper skin tone. Her hair, which had grown some since the beginning of summer, was loose and curly. She looked more gorgeous than he remembered. His mouth went dry and he was pretty confident that his heart skipped a few beats.

"Oh my God," Alex whispered, his eyes glued to Isabel. "They're coming this way."

"Act normal," Max said, looking back at Alex. *I'm glad I have this towel!* he thought to himself as he took it off his shoulder and placed it in front of his waist. Aloud he said, "I think I need to sit down."

Alex gulped and muttered under his breath "I think I need a cold shower."

*****

Isabel had seen Max and Alex first. She walked a little in front of the others so she decided to lead the girls in that direction.

She got a kick out of how all the guys were looking at them but the way Alex was looking at her made her insides heat up. She decided to add a little more shake in her walk.

*****

Maria was loving all the attention. *And I thought I got a lot of looks when I wore my aqua-bra!* she thought to herself. She winked and smiled at the cute guys who made eye-contact but kept on walking if they would call her over.

She figured she'd flirt with them all for a while before she made her choice.

*****

Liz felt like a slab of meat, but she kept walking and smiling anyways. For Maria's sake. She could feel all of the guys eyes staring at her backside and cursed Maria for making her wear the damn thing.

Isabel was in the lead, so Maria and Liz followed. She had no idea where they going until she looked around and saw Max and Alex near the food table. Her step faltered slightly but she quickly recovered.

Max looked great. Well, he always did but she had never seen this much of him. His hair was a little shorter, like he had just gotten it cut, and he was wearing only a pair of green and maroon swim trunks, leaving his bronze, muscular chest exposed. Unconsciously, she licked her lips.

He was looking at her with his mouth open, his eyes bulging out of their sockets. That's when the idea came to her. Instead of cursing Maria, she began to praise her highly as she realized that this get-up could end up being advantageous. *I'm not going to just forgive him anymore. I think I'm going to make him beg! Or feel at least as bad and I did when he was with Tess,* she thought. She tossed her head and smiled brighter.

"Hi guys!" Isabel said as they reached Max and Alex. She then walked over next to Alex and whispered something in his ear. Alex smiled, a slight blush creeping up his cheeks and then whispered something back to her. She nodded her head and they excused themselves from the group.

"Hi Max," both Liz and Maria said together.

Max forced himself to smile and nodded quickly to Maria, then he looked at Liz. "Hi Liz."

Liz felt warmth tingle from her head to her painted toes at the way he said her name. His voice had sounded husky and filled with want and the way he looked at her made her feel like a goddess. Her insides may have melted but she was determined to make him beg so she acted cool and detached. She saw Kyle gaping at her from across the pool and she smiled warmly and waved.

Max noticed and she saw his smile harden just a little bit. She heard him sigh.

"Well, I'm going to go mingle," Maria said, breaking the silence.

"Wait, I'll join you," Liz called as she began to walk away. She looked to Max and said "I'll see ya around, Max," and then followed Maria, taking very little satisfaction in seeing him frown.

*****

Maria could tell what game Liz was playing with Max. She thought he deserved it after what he had did to Liz, messing with that Tess girl. "So," she whispered in Liz's ear, "Are you going to make him suffer for a while before you give in?"

Liz looked over at her and laughed. "I was hoping for some begging but suffering will be just as good."

Maria, who was smiling at Liz, ran into someone. "Hey, watch where you're going!" she yelled as she began to regain her balance. She looked down and began to dust the footprint off of her shoe.

"Don't you ever get sick of yelling at me?" She heard a voice ask and she froze. It was a voice she knew better than her own. She slowly looked up and came face to face with its owner.