Alex looked up and smiled at her before returning his attention to the still sketchy graphic on the screen. "We are looking at your piece-of-crap monitor and the work of your even crappier modem. Seriously Maria, when are you going to listen to me about getting rid of this archaic machine and replacing it with something a little more tolerable?"
Maria released him and groaned loudly. "Excuse me but my computer is not in any way 'archaic'. It just needs a little lovin' and patience; the kind that a big grump like you wouldn't be capable of understanding. And as for getting a new one, you show me the cash and I'll get right to it, babe."
"You don't have to save every single penny. You can splurge once in a while."
"Alex, the more money I save, the more closer I am to getting out of Roswell for good," Maria lectured as she picked up some scattered clothing off the floor.
"There's an easier way you could do that y'know," Alex suggested quietly, averting his eyes.
Maria stopped suddenly and stood up. "I'm not selling the house, Alex."
"Maria-"
"It's the one place where I can be truly close to my mother anymore. And I grew up here! All of my memories are here and even if I never return to Roswell again I could not live with myself knowing that my house… the DeLuca household, was being cheapened by a bunch of strangers living in it!"
Alex tried not to roll his eyes as he waited for her to finish the speech he'd suffered through way too many a time before. Oh, why did I even bring it up? "Are you done yet?"
Maria sucked in small breath. "Yeah."
"Then can I say something?"
Maria shrugged carelessly. "It's not going to change anything."
"Well on that note of encouragement I think I'll continue. Maria, do you remember the last thing your mother said to me?"
"It doesn't make a difference," she muttered.
"Maria!"
"All right! All right!" Maria crossed her arms. "Continue."
"Okay then. The last thing she said to me was that she wanted you to sell the house."
"There's a shocker," she sniped sarcastically. "What? No quote this time?"
"Well since you asked for it…" Alex cleared his throat dramatically. "Alex, you are Maria's best friend," reaching out Alex grabbed Maria's hand and brought it to his cheek. "And I trust you so much with her happiness. That's why you have to--no wait, you must convince her to sell the house. I can't talk to her myself because she'll just end up arguing with me. You know how she is… stubborn, pig-headed, willful, bitchy-"
"'Bitchy'!" Maria squealed before smacking the back of Alex's head.
"OWW!"
"Sorry," she flashed him a small smile of apology and patted his head.
"But seriously Maria-"
"That's it. I take it back. I'm not sorry."
"I know you're attached to this place and all but if you're not going to use it then why keep it?"
Maria let out an exasperated sigh and took a seat on Alex's lap. "Hey, why are you so anxious to get rid of free boarding anyway?"
"Well, it's nice not having to pay rent and all but you should be happy, Maria," he said while stroking her hair affectionately.
"And you won't miss me when I'm gone?" she teased softly, closing her eyes as she laid her head against his shoulder.
"Of course I will but I'd be happier knowing that you were happy. And look at you! You've been here so many years when you could've been out there defining your career!"
"True, true. But may I remind you that money wasn't the only reason I stuck around so long."
Alex's stroking hand stilled at the thought of Michael. "That's right."
"Not that he was worth it," she mumbled sleepily. "Ah, to be young and in love."
"I saw Isabel today."
Those four words were more than enough to break Maria's drowsy spell. Her head shot up and she gawked at him frantically. "You what?!"
"I saw Isabel today," he repeated uneasily.
"Where? When?"
"When I went to pick up the donuts this morning. We umm… met along the parking lot and she approached me."
"So what did she say to you?"
"Well she wanted to apologize for what she said to you the other day and then there was some… umm, personal stuff."
"Personal stuff? Like what?"
"There's a reason why it's called personal stuff." Alex was going for teasing but ended up with nervous.
Maria got off of his lap and stood before him. "Alex, I tell you every single detail about my life!"
"Maria, you tell everybody every single detail of your life. You couldn't keep something to yourself if your lips were sewn shut."
Maria blinked as she tried to let the remark slide. Boy if you only knew the secrets I'm capable of keeping, she thought. "Nevertheless I want to know."
"Fine. I'll just give you the gist of it though." He awaited her response and with her quick nod he proceeded. "Well we had a nice little angsty discussion on whether or not she ever loved me and then of course there was the cheap assurance that she did. Also we chatted about Michael and fought about his character for a while. And then… I asked her never to speak to me again."
"You did?" Maria couldn't hide her disbelief.
"Yup!" he grinned proudly.
"Congratulations, Alex. You've just completed the last of our 12-step recovery program!" She high-fived him. "Took you long enough!"
"I'm lucky I had you with me." He reached out and pulled her onto his lap once again. Maria giggled and went willingly. Her laughter faded, however, when she noticed the look on his face. She knew that look. It meant Alex was going to kiss her again. She closed her eyes and just let it happen. Upon opening them she noticed Alex studying her. "Well?" he asked.
"What?"
"How was it?"
Maria started to laugh again. "What do you want? A scale from 1 to 10?"
Alex shrugged. "An adjective would be cool."
"It was… nice."
"Just nice?" he mimicked, mock offense in his voice.
"Very nice," Maria restated, pressing the front of her body a little closer against his-- a daring move considering their romantic history.
Alex felt his breath grow short and decided to change the subject. "You know Isabel did ask about us too."
"Did she?" Maria smirked. "Still reeling over the tell-tale kiss?"
"Guess so."
"What is with those two? I was talking with Michael and-" Alex's eyebrows rose, "-well… fighting, with Michael yesterday and he brought it up again. Honestly, the way he talked about it he made it sound like they caught us in bed or something!"
Alex chuckled and then frowned suddenly. "Do you think they think we're sleeping together?"
"Maybe. I mean we do live together," Maria speculated. Suddenly she let out a sharp laugh that sounded a little too bitter for Alex's taste. "I remember when we were sixteen I promised Michael I'd never let another man touch me, ever."
Alex reached out and brushed a lock of hair from her eyes. "Well, my dear, promises are meant to be broken." Both laughed at the cheesy line and the mood lightened somewhat. In fact, he was just about ready to kiss her again when the doorbell rang. Both drew back and Alex let out a frustrated groan. "If that's Kyle again I swear I'll kill him."
"Believe me, you won't have to," Maria replied, disappointed as well. She left the bedroom and hurried down the stairs. Upon opening she began talking. "Kyle for the ten-thousandth time she wants nothing to do with you!"
"But you have to help me!" he pleaded, inviting himself in and reaching for her arm. "I don't know what to do anymore! I keep calling her but she won't talk to me! I've sent her letters but they came back 'return to sender' not to mention the fact that she's changed her email address! I got her some flowers the other day but the delivery company told me she refused to accept them! Seriously, Maria, I'm at my wit's end! I'm going crazy and I don't have a fucking clue as to what I should do anymore!"
"Okay Kyle, calm down. And look at me. No, look at me!" she placed her hands on the sides of his face to still him. "Are you calm?"
"Yeah."
She slapped him.
Kyle leapt back and cupped his cheek. "What the hell was that for?"
"Listen to me, Kyle. It's over. And yes I mean over over. Liz never wants to see you again and quite frankly, I don't blame her. So why don't you just pick up your sorry ass and move on with your pathetic life?"
Kyle rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "I'm thinking about taking a trip down to Albuquerque next weekend."
"Oh my god! Get out will ya?" Maria shoved him out the door.
"No! Not until you promise to give her just one message for me."
"Kyle, if you don't leave I'll call Alex down to give you a second helping!"
"Tell her that I'm willing to do whatever it takes to make it up to her. Please, will you just tell her that?" he asked hurriedly.
"I don't owe you anything! And there's no way you could ever make it up to her!" Maria spat out before slamming the door in his face. After dusting her hands symbolically as if she had washed clean of him Maria was all set to head upstairs but stopped midway when she realized she felt neither calm nor romantic enough to pick up where she and Alex left off. "Dammit!" she grumbled and went to seek her Cyprus oil.
"Let the energy flow. There's no need to concentrate on anything else. Now take long soothing breaths. Very deep. Just breathe… that's right, Michael. And breathe--keep going--breathe… breathe… breathe…"
Tess's placid little voice was interrupted by Isabel's abrupt complaints. "Okay, that's it! I mean what is this, Tess--Lamaze class? I can't do this anymore! It's been nearly a whole hour and I haven't seen anything!"
"It takes patience, Isabel," Tess reassured her. "You have to keep trying. I mean Michael and I have had twenty years practice but you've been deprived all your life. Granted, you're much more advanced than even we'd hoped but you still can't expect it all to fall into place immediately. It takes time."
"But how much more time! I don't want to be in my mid-forties before I finally get to this stage," Isabel stammered shakily, trying to fight back tears. "Am I always going to be behind you two no matter what I do? I just… I just want this so much!"
"And you shall have it," Nasedo spoke up from behind them. He was currently sitting on the living room couch fast-forwarding through a couple of security tapes he'd recently swiped from the police department under shape shifted form. There was no doubt in his mind that this Sheriff Valenti fellow was beginning to become a real problem. Some people just couldn't keep their noses out of other people's business. Now that was shame considering the sheriff had gone through so much lately with the death of his second wife not to mention his love interest a few years back, Amy DeLuca. But he had to go. Plain as that.
Before Isabel could draw out some more encouragement Michael sensed the malicious extent of Nasedo's thoughts. "You're thinking about getting rid of Sheriff Valenti," he said.
"That I am."
"Well, considering the circumstances, wouldn't that only raise suspicions? We went over this already, remember?"
"Rath, use common sense! Haven't we got our very own little secret weapon who is right now, most likely at this very moment, carrying out the first job?"
Michael could barely comprehend what Nasedo was saying. He was still stuck on the first word. "Don't call me Rath."
Nasedo sighed dismissively. "It's high time you get used to your real name. Ava isn't putting up any problems."
At that moment "Ava" chose to speak up. "Wait a minute! What do you mean 'our very own little secret weapon' it going to whack off the sheriff? I thought that secret weapon was crucial to our entire race not to mention the fact that he's my husband!"
"No, no! Of course we're not going to risk Zan in Roswell. What I was suggesting is that he must know a couple of thugs that would be willing considering the sort of business he's in," Nasedo assured her and Tess calmed.
"Of course he does. But has everyone forgotten about me!" Isabel whined, quite miffed that she'd been ignored for so long.
"Maybe we've had enough tonight," Tess rose from her seat and stretched her arms above her head. "We should all get some sleep and then we can decide on everything tomorrow?" Walking over to them she gave Michael a quick peck on the cheek and Isabel a small hug. "Does ten sound good? I'd actually like to sleep in tomorrow." They nodded and Nasedo followed her out the door, without a word of goodbye.
"Sometimes I wonder if he ever loved anybody," Michael whispered, his words barely audible.
Isabel's eyebrows rose and she asked sharply, "What are you talking about?"
Michael blushed, realizing he'd spoken aloud. "Nothing. Just forget it."
Isabel let her suspicious gaze linger a little while longer before she turned away. "This is all just so hard," she murmured wistfully.
"I wouldn't worry. You'll get the hang of it."
"No, it's not just that, Michael. It's--it's my life. It's just very… unfulfilling."
"Tell me about it." Michael went into the kitchen to get a drink. "Want some juice?"
"No, thanks." Isabel yawned and looked at the clock. She paused for a moment, preparing herself for the uncomfortable moment that was to come. "Want to go to bed?"
Michael nearly choked on his grapefruit juice. Wiping his mouth with the back of his hand he nodded, being as he was incapable of speech at the moment. She smiled coyly and stepped into the bedroom, motioning for him to follow.
To be perfectly honest Michael was dreading having an intimate relationship with Isabel. It's not that she wasn't attractive. Hell, when she'd first stepped into Roswell and he'd felt that strange connection with her it had taken every last shred of willpower inside of him not to go to her. But now that he had her, or more importantly--she had him--it was getting to be pretty scary. It didn't feel right. That was the best way Michael could describe their relationship. It was happy, exciting, equal, reasonable, and by all means, perfect.
Except that he didn't love her.
When he found out that he'd finally met the one he was meant to be with he'd wasted no time in getting rid of his insignificant other, as did she. And it was really great for a little while, despite the anguish and heartbreak it took to break it off with Maria. Yet soon after he began to realize the things that Isabel lacked. Those little, tiny, indescribable quirks Maria possessed that drove him crazy and made him love her just as passionately. He could never love Isabel. And he just couldn't believe that she could love him… despite the fact that she seemed to want him anyway.
Isabel had said in the very beginning that she wanted to wait for their wedding night. Michael had understood and kissed her forehead and worked out a little map in his head of the places he could touch her without offending her in some way. But lately she'd been getting more and more daring with him. They'd begun sleeping in the same bed about three months ago, (her suggestion,) and though they'd slept with their backs turned to one another before the past few weeks Isabel had been initiating some heavy make-out action.
Even though Michael was engaged to her and by all means free of Maria he couldn't help the pang of guilt that swept through him every time Isabel and he did anything… physical. And then of course there was the awkwardness. Isabel didn't seem to mind though. Soon Michael would find out why…
…"There. Mmm-hmm. Right there," she was whispering into his ear as she directed his hand to breast. He fought hard to resist the ridiculous urge to blush as she moved her hands up and down his back. She ran her tongue along the edge of his ear and Michael realized just how lucky he must be to be fooling around with a creature so gorgeous she looked as if she'd just stepped off the cover of Playboy. He tried to remember that and the picture of Maria in his head faded somewhat as he was kissing her neck. His tongue swept out and the sensual movement elicited a cry of pleasure from her mouth. "Oh, that feels good. Mmm… Alex!"
Isabel nearly bit her tongue and Michael shut his eyes instantly. After a few moments of staying frozen in place he opened them and raised his head. She was staring up at him looking absolutely petrified, her eyes wide and daunting with little tears gathered at the corners. She looked nothing like the composed and fearless woman she usually was. For some reason this only made Michael angrier.
"Alex!" he roared and she jerked, sitting up instantly and running her hands through her hair in swift, hectic motions. "So this… all this time… every--goddamit every fucking time we ever do anything the only reason you enjoy it is because you're picturing him!" Now truly Michael had no reason to be angry… in the judicious sense anyway. She told him so.
"Don't you dare try and tell me that you haven't pictured Maria in my place, Michael! I go into your dreams! I see what you're really thinking about! I know why you eat lunch at the Crashdown everyday! It's the same reason you drive by her house every afternoon like some crazy stalker! Or how you flirt with her constantly even though you're engaged to me!"
"So excuse me for sometimes thinking back to a relationship which I had the undivided attention and was loved unconditionally! I gave that up for YOU, Michael! You'll never know what a sacrifice that was!"
She was sobbing then. Her shoulders were shaking and her eyes were red and wet. It reminded him of Maria and how sometimes, not often, but sometimes they fought so furiously they were reduced to tears. The attraction Michael felt then was the most disgusting, repulsive reaction he'd ever had. It scared the shit out of him. So he left the room before he felt tempted to do any more damage.