ddMaria stood in the middle of the dining room at the Crashdown Café surveying her handiwork. A beautiful, and aromatic display of food lay out before her on one of the tables. It was a small gathering fo her special friends – one that they needed and deserved.br
dd"Is that everything?"br
ddThe voice behind her belonged to her best friend, Liz Parker. Her parents owned the Café and were nice enough to let them have free run of it, provided they cleaned up afterwards. It was Sunday, which meant it was closed anyways.br
dd"Yup. Food, plates, silverware and napkins. Oops, I forgot the cups!" Maria scurried to the supply room as fast as her platform sandals would allow. She dug through the crates in search of the cups, giving a startled scream when she felt a hand clamp down on her shoulder.br
dd"Jumpy tonight, DeLuca?"br
ddMaria turned to glare up at Michael, getting ready to yell at him for scaring her. She stopped short when she saw how he was dressed. Instead of t-shirts and tight jeans that he normally wore, he had on a buttoned down, black and blue striped shirt and black corduroy pants.br
ddMichael arched a brow down at her, waiting for her to finish her perusal of his attire. She raised her baby blue eyes to meet his in surprise.br
dd"What? Something wrong?" His tone came out a little harsher than he intended, as he fought the urge to fidget. Maybe it was a bad idea to have borrowed the clothes from Max, but he wanted to dress up – for Maria. Tonight he was finally going to talk to her; to tell her about his feelings.br
ddMaria snapped her mouth shut, which had been hanging open during her initial look at him. She narrowed her eyes, deciding to let him have it.br
dd"I have had it with your sarcastic attitude. You are a jerk! Just when I get used to thinking that you are just a cold, unfeeling Czechoslovakian, you do something human to throw me off. You treat everyone around you like they don't matter. Why I put up with it in the past, I have no idea…"br
ddMichael listened to her rant and clammed up. That is how she felt about him? There was no way he was going to tell her how he felt. She'd probably tell him it was too late or to take a hike. He turned from her and was heading out the door when her broken whisper made him stop in mid-step.br
dd"But I can't stop loving you…"br
ddHe looked over his shoulder to see her standing there with the cups clutched to her chest and her head bent. She made no sound, yet he knew that she was crying. He felt like the jerk that she claimed he was because he made her cry.br
dd"Maria…"br
ddIn two short strieds, he was in front of her enveloping her in his strong arms. "Don't cry…"br
ddShe resisted his embrace for a fraction of a moment before giving in and moving closer into his arms. She couldn't believe that he was there –comforting her!br
dd"Why are you doing this?" Maria mumbled into Michael's chest, not daring to look up. She was afraid she'd see disgust at her waterwork display, pity at her emotional breakdown, or worse indifference. She couldn't handle that right now.br
dd"Why? I know we haven't had the greatest times… And I know I can be a jerk. I couldn't let anyone close. Not only because I don't want any hindrance to go home… But because I'm also afraid that I can't return the feelings."br
ddMaria held her breathe at Michael's words, daring to hope that something has changed. Why would he reveal this unless it could mean…br
dd"What I'm trying to say is… Dammit, Maria, I love you alright?" He sounded almost angry about it, but Maria couldn't care. He just admitted that he loved her. Nothing else mattered but that.br
ddShe looked up, opening her mouth to speak, but was cut short when his lips fastened on hers. She kissed him back, not wanting to let him go.br
dd"Are you two lovebirds coming? We're not going to save you any of the grum."br
ddAlex's face peered around the corner of the doorway, grinning broadly at their happiness and their apparent "on" again relationship.br
ddMichael and Maria exchanged glances then grinned at each other. Arm in arm, they went out to join the others.br