The guys were unpacking food and alcohol when the girls walked in. "Need some help?" Isabel asked innocently.
"No, we're good," Alex turned around to look at her and stop dead in his tracks, his mouth gaping. She was wearing a form fitting blue top, reveling her ample cleavage, and tight black leather pants cut low on her hips. "Uh…um…"
"Damn, you look good," Kyle said chuckling, the guys smirking at Alex's lack of speech. But as the other girls entered the kitchen, jaws dropped, brains ceased functioning, tension increased, and six men were left breathless yet panting. The girls grabbed the food and beverages and whisked them into the living room where the rest of the party was set up.
"Wow, did you see their faces?" Tess giggled. "That was hysterical!"
"I think Michael actually drooled on himself," Maria grinned at Liz.
"We definitely accomplished our mission," Isabel added, wiggling her eyebrows suggestively. The girls dissolved into laughter as the boys walked into the room.
"You guys…wow…you look…amazing," Max Evans managed to stammer out staring at Liz.
"We know," Max replied, sliding up to Logan. "Unbelievable. Logan Cale, educated man, cyber journalist, speechless. Who'd a thunk, it?" Logan gave her a weak grin.
Isabel, the self-appointed DJ of the evening, kicked up some music as the men regained their senses. They dug into the food and some of the girls started dancing. Tess even managed to get Kyle to dance with her for a song. Logan and Michael quickly got into a political debate over societal dysfunctions while sipping red wine and Coke, Michael's Cherry Coke sporting a healthy shot of Tabasco sauce. Maria, Isabel, and Max kept dancing, while Max Evans and Liz sat staring into each other's eyes. Zack joined in on some of the conversations, arguing with Kyle about the finer points of Buddhism and joking with Alex about music but for most of the evening he kept to himself. Liz noticed him slip into the kitchen and followed him.
"Um… are you leaving already?" she asked.
He shook his head, showing her his mobile phone. "Just needed some fresh air. You know when Niyah's getting here?"
"No, and I hope she doesn't," she responded.
"What? Why?"
"Well, um, they needed some time alone, to catch up. I mean…god, she thought he was dead." Loud laughter drew them back to the living room. Alex was jumping around, telling a story about some crazy antic he, Maria, and Liz had done in their youth. Everyone listened and laughed.
"Like my friend Herbal Thought says, its all good all the time," Max said once Alex finished.
"It is NOT good all the time," Zack snorted in amused disagreement.
"That's what I said but Herbal'ld disagree. He says that the 'plan of the Almighty' is all good all the time."
"Interesting friend," Zack replied as the doorbell rang. Maria got up to get the door.
Max smiled at Zack. "My friends…they're the best."
"Hey, Maxie, I just checked in with our siblings. Seems everyone is fine."
"Good to know. Told you you'd stop spacing on their where-abouts. Just a matter of time until your brain remembered," Max said still smiling at her brother. He nodded back with a small smile of his own.
Maria opened the door, surprised to find this unusual visitor on her doorstep. "Brody? Come on in."
"Oh no, I've interrupted a party," Brody replied, looking particularly distressed. He had prepared himself, knowing that he would probably see Maria here with Michael but, wow, she looked amazing! 'Come on, Brody, breathe!' he thought.
"No worries. Whatcha need?"
"I wanted to talk to Max if he's around," Brody answered as Max Evans came to the door. "Can we talk?" he asked Max, indicating that he should come outside.
"Sure, Brody," came the puzzled reply as Max followed him outside. Maria closed the door, shaking her head. What was she going to do with that boy?
"What is it?" Max Evans asked hesitantly.
"Well, Max, it seems that there is a link between my abductions and that hypnosis your sister attempted on me. I was hoping to ask you a few questions…I mean if I'm not interrupting anything." Max nodded but his insides twisted. What if Brody asked questions he couldn't answer? "I was wondering if it's possible that your sister has also been abducted. I mean maybe her 'powers' come as an after effect or something. It's not unheard of and…and that missing hour of mine, it's directly linked to the moment when she tried to put me under." Brody looked intently at Max, desperately hoping that he'd have a good explanation, something to make this all simple and straightforward.
Max knew he had to tread carefully. He couldn't put his sister into Brody's direct line of questioning even though using Brody's theory would make for an easy excuse and let him off the hook. "She's had those abilities all her life."
"Oh," Brody's face fell. "This is so frustrating! I keep running into walls every time I think I've found an answer." He looked up at the two people approaching the house.
"Yo, Max, the party still kickin'?" Zan asked as he and Niyah came into full view.
Brody stared in pure amazement. This man looked exactly like Max, well, except for the crazy hair, tattoos and piercings. His thoughts raced! Michael had that double too! He'd said it was a twin brother from New York. Something wasn't right here. "What's going on, Max?"
"Brody, its nothing. This is…"
"Your twin brother? From New York?! Sorry, mate, I've already heard that one. What's bloody going on?!" Brody was shouting by now. Everything always pointed to Max. Every clue he'd ever had pointed towards Max and here was yet another unexplained and suspicious clue. "What are you not telling me?!"
Zan looked between the two men, wary, ready for action. He slowly raised his hand. Max shook his head. "Don't! Leave him alone. Brody, I can explain."
"You better."
"What was that all about?" Alex asked, taking a bite of food and nodding in the direction of the front door.
"Just Brody. Wanted to talk to Max," Maria said as she rejoined the group. "Alright, already. Enough with the politics! Let's talk about something more interesting," she continued as she sat on Michael's lap and kissed him, interrupting his discussion with Logan.
"Amen, sister," Max agreed as she curled up on Logan's lap. Zack winced and took a breath. Logan and Michael were thoroughly willing to have their discussion stopped by such beautiful distractions.
"I wonder what Brody wants to talk to Max about at this hour," Liz commented out loud, looking out the window.
"I think he wanted an excuse to talk to 'Maria'," Kyle quipped, sighing dramatically when he said her name, eliciting a few giggles from the group.
"Stop it. Be nice, Kyle! Its not my fault that he has a crush on me," Maria said, tossing an empty cup at Kyle's head and snuggling closer to Michael. Suddenly they heard Brody shouting.
"Oh my god, Zan's out there! What's going on?" Liz said as she ran to the door. They quickly followed her outside.