Roswell only had one community pool, and the heat had driven a large part of the population indoors. The rest of them were at the pool. Liz, Maria and Alex took the last available lawn chairs and collapsed in the heat. Maria argued with Liz that if she was going to wear the dang thing, the least she could do is take off her cover-up. But the sight of one fourth of the male population of W. Roswell High had stricken Liz with a strange sort of stage fright and she refused to part with the loose black dress. Alex listened to them for a few minutes, looking from one to the other and not offering a bit of advice. Then he stopped them by standing. "I realize that some people just come here for the riveting discussion, but I, for one, am here for the pool. Anyone? Anyone?"

"Oh, here, I'll go with you," Maria said in exasperation. She stood up and jerked off her t-shirt, checking her tube top discreetly. Perfect, of course. Liz sighed and watched her saunter languidly to the pool. Maria got her wolf whistles and catcalls and did a perfect dive into the deep end. Alex watched her with a droll grin and then leaped after her. Liz turned back around and rested her head on her forearms, closing her eyes and relaxing in the heat. She could feel the sun baking the back of her legs and arms. It was actually humid in Roswell today, very strange for July. The heat rose from the wet pavement in steamy waves, and Liz began to feel like she was in a sauna. The black cover-up was unmercifully hot. She opened her eyes and looked around. No one seemed to be watching and she finally lifted her body off the chair enough to ease the cover-up over her hips and shoulders and throw it in a heap on the cment. And... she felt incredibly bare. The plastic of the lawn chair met the skin on her stomach in small strips of slippery sweat. But the slight wind was heavenly on the damp skin of her back. Of course, it was hot...

She might have to get up and get in the pool eventually. And from where she was positioned, she would have to walk across almost twenty feet of asphault and staring eyes before she reached the pool. She would kill Maria for this. Liz idly watched an ant struggling to pull a potato chip along a crack in the sidewalk. Pull, pull, lift and walk. The white of the cement was really blinding...

She closed her eyes again and felt the tightness of her skin in the bright sunshine. One rivulet of sweat ran down her back... and there goes another one. Then a shower of cold water made her jump. "Oh man, that feels good," Alex's said as he flung himself back on the chair. "You should get in, Liz. Even the- oh my god. Great, just great. Do not, I repeat, do not turn around, Liz. We manage to get two months with no contact and now it's 'Hello, Dolly'. Can't we get them to wear cowbells or something..."

And with that, Liz turned with her heart in her throat.

Walking in the gate were the four aliens. Tess was clinging to Max's arm, which made him look surprisingly uncomfortable. Michael and Isabel were arguing about where to sit, and they all looked miserably hot and sweaty. "Been working hard on staying away, looks like," Alex muttered. "But at least Isabel is wearing a decent- OH MY GOD!" Isabel was taking off her decent cover-up to reveal a sexy halter one-piece, the perfect shade of pink for her. Liz had to hand it to her, she knew what looked good. Every guy in the area had his eyes on her as she walked slowly toward the pool. Poor Alex. Liz glanced over to see his eyes glazed over. She reached out and touched his arm and he snapped out of it.

"Out of all the pools in all the cities in all the world, why'd she have to come swim in mine," he muttered darkly.

"It's not yours, Whitman," Maria reminded him lightly as she sat down beside them. "And uh, Liz, have you been holding out on me or what? I mean, why didn't you tell me Max looked like THAT with his shirt off?"

His shirt off? Liz's snapped her gaze over to where Max and Tess had been minutes ago. Tess was lying down on a chair, sunning in a bikini and holding suntan lotion out to Max. Max... who was indeed shirtless, stared down at Tesswith an unreadable look on his face. But Liz's gaze slid down his chest, remembering the feel of those muscles under her fingers. And those abs, she never had been able to touch them the way she wanted to. Now they were tan and beaded with sweat. Okay, maybe she couldn't see the sweat from here, but she imagined it as he turned away from Tess and headed for the pool. He hadn't seen her yet and Liz quickly turned her head back around. But the image of him striding purposefully toward the pool burned in her mind. She blushed and tried to ignore the feelings that accompanied that image.

"I did tell you he looked that good," Liz looked over at Maria pointedly.

"Okay, maybe you did, but you didn't stress the abs quite enough," she shot back. "Although it looks like the Michelin Man has been working out a bit, too." Alex looked over at them, "Could you two please stop drooling so loud? I'm starting to feel like I'm at the dentist."

"Hey, shouldn't you wipe the drool off your own chin before you start pointing it out on others?" Liz closed her eyes again. Talking about the other three always made them fight. Maria quickly changed gears.

"So, what is our plan, amigos? Do we just sit here and drool, or do we move things back in the right direction?" Liz looked over at Maria. She was serious.

"Maria, this is the right direction," Liz whispered. "They ignore us; we ignore them. They follow their destinies, save their planet and all the little pod people rejoice."

"Liz, that's not going to happen. I'm not letting it happen."

"Oh, god, Maria, just give it a rest, would you," Alex rolled his eyes and flopped over on his stomach. "It's over. They made their choice and we have to live with the consequences. It sucks. We hate it, but that's the way it is."

"Okay, you two just sit there and feel sorry for yourselves. I guess I just don't have the self-pity gene, because I'm not going to give up." Liz half-laughed. This was not self-pity. This was love. He needed to be free to make his choice. And he had made it. "Liz," Maria pulled her chair closer. "The last time Max stepped back, what was it that brought you two back together?"

Liz thought back and immediately flushed. The strawberries, the flirting and the explosive kiss that Max laid on her when he just completely lost control. "Um... yeah, it was chemistry. Maybe from the orb."

"Bull. It was lust. Max had it for you so bad that he couldn't stop himself. And that's your key, babe. You can do it to him again. He wants you and no reincarnated past love can change that."

"So, what are you thinking, Maria," Alex asked slowly.

"It's simple," Maria said, grabbing Liz's sunglasses off her face and throwing them fifteen feet toward the pool. "Go get your sunglasses that I so carelessly dropped. The bikini will do the rest."

"No way, Maria. You think I can do that in front of all these people," Liz fought to keep her voice down.

"No way! Just go get my sunglasses, Alex, please?" Alex started up, but Maria grabbed his arm.

"SIT!" Alex sat.

"Maria!"

"Liz, once you guys make eye contact, you'll completely forget about everyone else. I know that from experience. So all you have to do is stand up and start walking." Maria looked confident, but Liz just couldn't imagine herself doing it.

"Maria, I can't."

"Oh, that's right," Maria finally nodded. "You're right. I forgot you're a frigid goody-two shoes who couldn't be sexy if her life depended on it. I mean, Kyle Valenti would never go out with anyone who wasn't completely innocent and virginal." By the end of her diatribe, Liz understood the sarcasm behind her words, but it still stung a little.

"Okay... I could do it if I really wanted to," she said firmly.

"I dare you," Maria leaned in and said. "I double dog dare you, Liz Parker." Liz was speechless. Blood was flooding to her face and she narrowed her gaze at Maria.

"Fine." Alex cracked up.

"I can't believe it still works." Liz slowly stood to her feet. She turned around and fixed her heated gaze on the pool. No Max. Where was he? Then his dark hair parted the waters as stood to his feet. The water ran down his face and chest in rivulets, finally meeting the water that swirled around his abdomen. He ducked back down to his shoulders and bobbed in the cooling water for a moment, his gaze running back over to Tess. Tess, Liz fumed to herself. Fine! I'll just go get the damn sunglasses and get Maria off my back. She strode toward the water with purpose, ignoring the stares and whistles from the peanut gallery. Her eyes were glued to Max's back as he watched Michael and Isabel still arguing about something. He seemed to sigh and then turned away.

Toward Liz.

She took a quick breath and finally reached the sunglasses, a mere five feet from the pool. He hadn't seen her yet and she bent quickly to retrieve them. As she stood back up, she looked over and saw his eyes on her. Stunned. He looked stunned... and gorgeous. His hair was mussed from the water, his eyes dark and liquid with emotion as he took in her face. And then his eyes travelled downward.

Liz inhaled sharply. She could feel his eyes burning into her, taking in every inch of uncovered skin, more than he had ever seen of her before. She looked down at him with amazement, watching his eyes grow hungry for her. And she did the unthinkable, something that made her blush forever after when she thought about it. She turned around and walked away.

The sharp intake of breath she heard made her smile. So that's why Maria insisted she wear a thong...