*It's your own fault, you jerk!* he scolded himself. He was about to go after her when he saw Michael approach, and Maria was about to walk right into him.

*****

Michael began to walk towards Maria, as if to take her in his arms or something but she pushed him away. "If you know what's best for you Michael Guerin, you will stay far away from me," she growled, and then stalked away.

Liz looked at him helplessly, rolled her eyes, and then ran after Maria. Liz found her standing in a hidden corner by a large bush, crying into her palms. *Poor girl,* she thought. *She finally has gotten over him and he just shows up like this.*

"Maria?" she said aloud, approaching her slowly.

Maria looked up, her eyes red and watery, and she threw her arms around Liz's neck and sobbed. "Why? Why did he have to show up today? Of all days, why today?"

"I don't know, sweetie. It's ironic how things work that way, isn't it?" Liz said, stroking Maria's hair.

"Yeah," she said pulling back and rubbing her eyes. She took a deep breath.

"So, are you going to forgive him?" Liz wondered. She had seen the millisecond of joy in Maria's face when she had looked up to see Michael standing there. Granted it had vanished quickly, but it had been there.

"Eventually, maybe," she said laughing slightly, nodding her head. Then she smiled, it came across as smug, and set her shoulders. "But first, I'm going to make him squirm."

*****

"That went well," Michael said as he approached Max and gave him a quick embrace. He could totally understand why she was upset but he had hoped it wouldn't be that bad.

"How was your trip?" Max asked him.

Michael sighed, "I come back empty handed. So, how have you been?"

Max shrugged, "Okay." He paused for a moment and added, "But she hasn't." He could tell that Michael was still thinking about Maria's reaction to him being there. "She's been outright miserable. If it hadn't been for Isabel, she would have spent the entire time either working or sulking in her room. I don't know the details, and I don't think I want to, but you hurt her badly. You might want to give her space."

Michael didn't like the truth of what Max was saying. He got defensive. "Oh, just like you did with Liz? I know you didn't leave her alone. You were begging for forgiveness up till the day she left. You probably tried to call her at Harvard all the time. Has she forgiven you yet?"

"Yes, but she's acting like I'm just any guy. Like I'm no one important."

"That may be, but you didn't give up even though you screwed up, badly, I might mention. I don't intend to either. "

"Whatever," Max said, sipping on his drink. He realized that he truly had no right to be giving Michael advice.

Just then, Maria and Liz appeared from behind the house.

"What's with those outfits?" Michael asked Max, as he looked as the vibrant bikinis that Maria and Liz were sporting.

"I'm not sure. All I know is that they've been the center of attention since they got here. Isabel has one too. Every guy has been gawking at them non-stop for the last ten minutes."

"Center of attention, huh?" Michael asked, not liking the idea of other guys checking out Maria's more than half-naked body. "I'll bet. They do look good, though. Really good."

"Yes, they do," Max agreed.

*****

Maria and Liz walked out from behind the house with one thing on their minds. Making their respective alien loves suffer. They approached the closest group of good-looking jocks and started to flirt.

Kyle was amongst them and he walked up to Liz. "Wow, Liz, you look really good," he said. She smiled even though she wanted to step back from the heavy smell of alcohol on his breath.

She looked over to see Max staring her way, his jaw clenched and a mix of hurt and anger gleaming in his eyes. To make it even worse, she raised her hand and caressed Kyle on his bare arm. Smiling brightly, she said "Thank you, Kyle. Maria picked the out the bathing suits. You don't think they're too much, do you?" She came across as sounding overeager, even to her own ears.

Kyle licked his lips and said "Oh, no. Not at all. Can I ask you a question Liz?"

"Sure."

"Are you using me to make Evans jealous," he smiled knowingly.

"Uh, I..." Liz began lamely.

"It's okay, I don't mind. It's worth it to see that pathetic look on his face." He laughed wholeheartedly, and then said "Besides, I kind of like being the envy of all the guys with you at my side."

Liz laughed with him and they continued to talk casually about their summer. Liz noticed that Maria was talking to and batting her eyes at Bruno Sykes, one of the largest guys on the football team. She looked over to see Michael glaring at Bruno and laughed. Their plan was working!

*****

After a while, they excused themselves and walked over to the make-shift dance floor on one side of the pool. They saw Isabel and Alex dancing and decided to walk up to them.

"Having a good time?" Isabel called to them.

The girls shook their heads and then began to dance together to the loud throbbing techno song. They let loose, Liz's hair flying all over the place, running their hands up and down their sides seductively. They knew they looked good so it didn't matter how crazy they went.

Two of the jocks from the group earlier, came up and began to dance with them. Maria backed into one, her ass grinding against his front. The guy, she couldn't remember his name, put his hands on her hips and they danced like that for a while. Then she turned around and grinded into him face to face, her arms running all over his bare chest. Occasionally, she would look up to see Michael staring at her, his face red with anger, and she would step into the jock even closer. *Let him chew on that for a while,* she thought.

*****

Liz didn't particularly like the way that Tommy, one of Kyle's friends, was being overly familiar with his hands, but she didn't stop him. She was having fun for the most part. The music was loud and fast and it made her want to move and sway and jump. She put her hands around Tommy's neck and rubbed her body against his. She could still feel Max's eyes boring into her so she figured she should make it look good. She only backed away when Tommy tried to put his hands on her bare ass. "Thanks for the dance," she called behind her as she walked away. She didn't bother Maria, she looked like she was having a good time, so she left by herself.

She walked over to the deep end of the pool and dipped her toe in. The water felt nice and cool, so she decided to sit down and dip her legs in. She reclined on her arms and tossed her head back, closing her eyes as her upper body soaked in rays from the sun. It was very relaxing.

She sat like that for no longer than a minute before she could tell someone was standing above her, taking away the sunlight. She looked up to see nothing but a tall, silhouette standing in between her and the sun. She shielded her eyes and after they focused correctly, she saw it was Max. She knew it would be.

"Hello," she said, and then looked down at the blue water.

"Liz, can I talk to you?" Max said, his voice unsure.

"Go ahead, Max," she shrugged as if she didn't care one way or the other.

"It's...I just...I was wondering why you're still mad at me? You said you forgive me, but you've been treating me as though I was just another insignificant guy you casually know. Why?"

Liz stood up and faced him. "I do forgive you, Max. I just don't think I can allow things to go back to the way they were. You've lost my trust, Max. I can't allow myself to trust you with my heart again. You walked all over it before, how do I know you won't do it again? All you can have from me now is friendship. I hope you can accept that." She gave him a light smile and then began to walk away. She didn't really mean it, but she was determined to make him suffer a little more before she gave in. She usually wasn't one for games, but she felt like he deserved this treatment, just for a little while longer. His soft yet determined voice stopped her.

"No, I don't accept that, Liz," he said. Then he grabbed her arm and swung her around fast to face him, their faces just mere inches from each other. "I love you and I refuse to let you go!" he said and took her face in his hands and pressed his lips to hers.

For a fraction of a second, she thought about pulling away, but the warmth of his mouth caused her to lose all coherent thought. She threw her arms around his neck and bridged the small gap between their bodies. Max's hands weaved into her hair, and he parted his lips, pushing his tongue past her lips, searching out her velvety soft tongue.