I rolled over and ended up facing him, tracing his lips with my tongue seductively. One eye briefly popped open, and then shut again as if I hadn’t noticed. He moaned lightly, pretending to be asleep, but knowing I wasn’t falling for it. I grinned into the taut skin of his forearm, and placed small, wet kisses all the way up to his chest. I could hear chuckles in the back of his throat, a low steady hum that made me tingle, and so I attacked his neck with my tongue, producing a great loud belly laugh from him.

“Awake, I see,” I teased. Max pulled me closer onto his body to bestow me a rich, deep kiss. I stopped, and looked directly into his eyes. The morbid, masochistic part of my brain wonders if he’s ever woken up with Liz this way…naked, and giggling. Has he ever felt so happy to be alive that he just felt it bursting from his heart?

“I love you,” I said, hoping and praying he hadn’t forgotten all the whispered exchanges we’d made last night. Is that what Liz would say? What *would* Liz do to make Max happy?

“I love you too,” he murmured, stroking my hair away from my face. It occurred to me that I probably looked a fright, and so I made a ham face, and slid out of the bed, flipping on the news as I headed for the bathroom. I brushed my teeth and brushed my hair out straight, making it shine.

I picked out navy linen slacks with a pretty pink floral print, and my favorite shell-pink shirt, and picked a pink ribbon for my hair. I felt so out of place. I picked the perfume I knew Max would like most, and my navy Keds. Hello, ladies and gentlemen, I’m turning into Liz Parker. I was almost angry with myself—at what I was trying to do.

Sighing, I moved back into the bedroom. Max was sitting up, leaning against the headboard with his arms crossed across his chest. “Well, as much as I like to keep naked men in my bed all day—I have work, and so do you. And after that debacle last night, I’d stop in and check on your wife if I were you,” I mentioned with a scowl as I moved towards the kitchen. Minutes later, he was dressed and facing me over a cup of coffee.

“Did you mean something by that?” he asked quietly.

“By what?” I asked innocently, stretching on my toes to reach for the sugar. Max reached above me and handed it to me.

“By saying you wanted me to stop by and see Tess,” Max muttered.

“Nothing,” I replied.

“I want you to know, Maria—it’s just a matter of getting papers signed. I see my future now, and I want it to be with you,” Max whispered to me. I felt tears welling up behind my eyes, and so I pushed him away. “Maria!”

I heard him behind me, but I put my hands up. “I need some time to think, Max,” I said quietly. Liz Parker, where are you when I need you?

“Maria,” Max said again, more quietly. When I didn’t answer, he found his coat and I heard the door quietly shut behind me. Since when was I so coveted? One minute, I’m nothing more than a one-night stand, and the next I’m also his heart’s desire? Oh, Max…will you ever love me for me? I sigh longingly. I have only one place left to go.

* * *

Liz Parker is going to rue the day she met me, I think idly as I step off the train. Of all the times she’s probably regretted me before, this is going to be the worse. I mean, that whole blind date fiasco isn’t going to hold a candle to this. I’ve been throwing up the entire way, and now that the train has stopped, I feel even more uncomfortable. In my headphones, Chantal Kreviazuk is singing to me about leaving on a jet plane.

When I come back, I’ll wear your wedding ring

Did I really want to marry Max? Did I really want a normal life, with a normal house and normal kids, and a normal, okay, alien, but everyone has issues. I knew I’d never just be able to hop into bed for some casual sex, but I don’t know if I could just destroy a marriage, either. And here Max was, making the same promises I’ve longed to hear all my life. Why did this have to happen to me now? Why with him?

So kiss me and smile for me, tell me that you’ll wait for me

I didn’t even tell Max I was leaving, or where I was going, but I left word with my secretary, so I didn’t make it really hard for him, if he decided to try and find me. I’m not stupid, after all. I stepped out of the cab I’d taken to Liz’s townhouse. It was now or never, and I wishing wholeheartedly that it be never. This was agony—not knowing what Liz was going to say or do, and not being sure how to tell her, either. I wondered if the tables were turned, how I would react. What would I do if she’d come to me and told me she and Michael were ready to sacrifice their families to be married? I didn’t dwell on that as I stepped out of the cab.

Hold me like you’ll never let me go

I heard merry laughter, but I couldn’t tell if it was from her back yard, or one of the surrounding yards. I watch my step on the icy concrete stairs, and I ring the old fashioned bell, waiting for the maid to come to the door. Instead, Liz opens the door, and quickly masks her surprise with graciousness.

“Maria!” she threw her arms around me, and we clung together in her foyer, with her in her perfect cardigan and pearls, and me, dripping all over the rug. “I’m so glad to see you!”

“Elizabeth?” Liz’s husband loped down the stairs when he heard the commotion, and like Liz, he was completely polite as he shook my hand. He looked completely boring, and I wondered how on Earth Liz ever found him interesting, or amusing. His red cardigan sweater and loafers were laughable, and reminded me of Long Duck Dong from Sixteen Candles. I did my very best not to laugh, and hurried after Liz.

Liz bussed around the downstairs, trying to keep me in tow, but failing. Her entire house smelled of leather—polished leather, at that. Every last detail was in place, down to the polished wood floors, the giant antique globe in the corner, the musty professor look the whole place impressed. She has two boys, but I think they must keep them locked away in the basement, or at least in the backyard a good deal of the time.

I wandered into the homey kitchen, seating myself on a high, cushioned barstool across the counter from where she was making perfect mimosas. She sipped hers, and satisfied, handed one to me. I collected myself on top of the stool, and leaned forward.

“Is there a place in this house that isn’t completely spotless?”

“Oh, David likes for the house to be clean. The playroom, though, is a disaster—that’s where the boys and I spend most of the day. I never let David go up there,” Liz smiled conspiratorially.

“Are you happy, Lizzie?” I asked softly, abruptly changing the conversation.

“Of course,” she answered politely.

“Do you like it here?”

“Well, yes,” Liz cocked her head, trying to figure out what I was getting at, I guess.

“Do you like being married?”

“What kind of questions are these?” Liz asked, amused.

“Stop treating me like a guest, Liz. Treat me like your best friend. Don’t you just want to put on our pajamas and eat ice cream on the living room floor and you can really talk to me?” I begged.

Liz looked unsure, but finally said, “I’ll settle for taking a walk to the end of the block to the park. David doesn’t like to alter his routine.” As if by magic, or eavesdropping, the maid appeared in the doorway. She followed us to the foyer, and she helped us on with our coats.

“Tell Mr. Johnson I’ve gone for a brisk walk before dinner,” Liz instructed, easing out onto the stairway, carefully descending. As soon as we were on the sidewalk headed for the park, I sighed heavily.

“What’s wrong, Maria?” Liz cut to the chase. I, however, was not quite ready to do that.

“I miss you so much, Liz…I wish you would move back to New Mexico,” I admitted, kicking a rock as we walked along.

“I don’t have any family there, Maria. Since Dad passed away last spring, I don’t have a reason to come back. I mean, we visit all the time, and you like to come up fairly often, and it’s not like we never see each other…” Liz trailed off.

“I know, but it’s different when you are there every day,” I tried not to cry as Liz mulled this over. Tears welled up in my eyes, but I quickly brushed them away.

“What’s really bothering you? Tell me the reason you’re here,” Liz instructed me as she took my gloved hand.

“Oh, Liz…I’m in love with a man I shouldn't be in love with,” I said with a heavy sigh.

“Who is he?” Liz looked stricken at this news. “But you’re not…sleeping with him, are you?

“Liz,” I stalled, pulling her into the gates of the park, finding the nearest bench. “I uh…don’t know if I can tell you that. What I mean is…do you remember how we used to talk about how we’d be friends forever?”

Liz nodded.

“No matter what we did, or how mad we made each other, we’d always have to make up by the end of the week—that was the rule,” I smiled lightly, almost to myself.

“Right,” she nodded vigorously.

“Well, Liz…I am about to tell you something that is going to want to make you break that rule forever.”

“Maria, nothing could make me…” Liz stopped when she saw me shaking my head mournfully. “What have you done?”

“Liz,” I faced the sky, tears rolling steadily down my face, “I’ve been having an affair with Max, Liz. And I know, you’re…”

Liz stood up, shocked. Soon enough, anger colored her pretty face. She was at a loss for words, for a moment, I thought. I wondered what upset her the most—mentioning Max in conversation, or sleeping with him. Sarcasm is a bitch sometimes.

“Liz, please, please don’t leave me now. I need you now more than ever, Liz, please,” I was groveling, but I didn’t have another soul in the world to turn to.

I was grateful that the playground was deserted as Liz shot me the glare from hell. “Please don’t give up on me, Liz. Because I’ve never given up on you,” I reminded her. Snot was probably rolling down my face, but I didn’t care. All I could think about was her, and Max. Why did I come here? I knew she still loved him—still pined for him like she has since the day he saved her life. I shouldn’t have come, not now, not ever.

Liz was barreling across the park towards the sidewalk, away from me, and I chased after her, in desperation. I didn’t catch up with her, but instead, managed to collapse in a large pile of leaves that had been raked and were now sailing busily across the park on the wind. She didn’t even look back.

* * *

I’m so tired I don’t know what to do.
I’m so tired my mind is set on you.
I wonder should I call you but I know what you’d do.
You’d say I’m putting you on.
But it’s no joke, it’s doing me harm.
You know I can’t sleep, I can’t stop my brain
You know it’s three weeks, I’m going insane.
You know I’d give you everything I’ve got
For a little peace of mind.

I sighed as I dug through my papers, looking for our marriage license. It wasn’t like we’d had it framed, or put in a special book—it wasn’t even that important. But it was important now, and I’d be damned if I didn’t find it.

Liz’s words echoed in my head until they made me crazy. “You’re not an…an ale…alien. Are you?” Are you? Are you? Are you an alien, Max? I’ve thought about telling you a thousand times. Really, me? Well, it’s not like I’m going to fall in love with her, tell her our secret and compromise our very existence. Is that your big plan, Max? To fall in love with someone you can’t be with? Again? Maria, Maria, crazy Maria who’s not so crazy anymore. Crazy Maria who is now beautiful, and desirable, and okay, not exactly calm, but a *little* more subdued. Max, let’s get out of here! Our cover is blown, and I’m not going to wait around for them to catch us.

When I finally found what I was searching for, I allowed myself a deep, cleansing breath. Getting up, I found my jacket and was on my way to the attorney’s office before I allowed myself to even think about it. I called Maria’s office, but all her secretary would say was that she had some business in Philadelphia. I prayed Maria wasn’t reckless enough to go to Liz--half crazed and upset about the recent turn of events, but in my heart, my darkest alien heart, I knew that was exactly what she had done.

Something was happening in Maria’s heart that I didn’t understand. She’s scared, and skittish, and I don’t know how to help her, other than to promise her what I mean to do. I only wish she’d gone to Isabel, or Alex, or a hundred other people that aren’t my ex-girlfriend.

Liz yearns for peace, and closure, more than anyone else does that I’ve ever met—and she can’t get the peace she needs with us popping in and out of her life. Us, who she’s done everything she can to forget and forgive. I pray that Maria hasn’t thrown her entire world out of orbit. But as with everything else, I already know I’m not that lucky…