Maria sat on the curb outside of the Crashdown. He was late again. Trust him to leave her sitting out there freezing her ass off.

Finally after ten minutes of watching her own breath rise in the cold night air, Maria stood up and began her journey home on foot.

Normally she would have Liz drive her home but she was off on vacation with her family. One last trip before she split for Harvard. Even Michael was off in Texas on another one of his alien goose chases. That meant that once again, she was on her own.

"Damn Kyle." She grumbled as she kicked a rock down the sidewalk. Her mother had promised that Kyle would come and get her since she was letting her and the Sheriff take the Jetta for a little road trip. But of course...her step brother was more than likely asleep already. Oblivious to the fact that she was freezing and being forced to walk four and a half miles after a killer shift.

Headlights aluminated her shadow, drawing it out in front of her and making it's outline more prominent on the ground.

She turned to see Max's jeep pulling over beside her.

"Hi." Max smiled shyly. He leaned forward and rested his arms on top of the steering wheel.

"Hi." Maria looked at him, trying her best to keep a blank expression.

"So...what are you doing out walking at this time of night?"

"Max...go away." She turned and started to walk away.

"Maria..." He called out. His voice sounded sad and distant to Maria. She wanted so badly to turn around and run to him. Get her friend back. Things might actually go back to normal.

She had gotten half a block when she heard the squealing of breaks. The jeep was once again beside her. She sighed and rolled her eyes. He wouldn't stop until she relented. It was either continue walking on tired feet, while being followed by a guy in a jeep or actually give in and talk to him.

She stopped so abruptly that Max became flustered, stepping on the gas instead of the breaks. The jeep accelerated ten feet before jerking to a halt. Maria giggled quietly.

"Nice." She said, approaching him.

Max smiled and his ears and face turned pink with his embarrassment.

Maria thought he was adorable when he was embarrassed. It didn't happen often but when it did, he turned about seven different shades of red.

"C'mon. Hop in. I'll give you a lift home, okay." He looked at her expectantly and smiled when she finally nodded.

She walked calmly around to the other side and hopped in beside him. He made a sharp u-turn and sped off towards the direction of Sheriff Valenti's house.

The drive was excruciatingly quiet and tense. Maria shifted uncomfortably in her seat. Max's hand drifted and Maria switched position so that her legs were out of his reach. She closed her eyes and cursed her own silliness as he began to play with the radio dial.

This was what she was afraid of. There was too much awkwardness between them now. Ever since their graduation party when they had come too close to going too far.

As they pulled into the driveway, Max chewed on his bottom lip. For some reason Maria could do nothing but stare at the site of his teeth clawing at the flesh.

"Max..." "Maria..." They both spoke at the same time. She erupted into nervous giggles and he chuckled quietly.

"Maria...I miss you." He said turning in his seat to face her. His hands rested in his lap.

"Don't. Don't do this Evans!" She shook her head and moved to get out.

"Do what?"

"Don't try to be nice. We can't be friends Max. It just won't work any more." Although her words where gentle enough, her jaw was set in a firm line and she closed her eyes against his pained look.

"Why?" His voice sounded hollow even to his own ears. They both knew why.

Maria pinned him with an incredulous stare. "Why, Max? Why?" She pulled his hands away from his lap, revealing his erection straining against the placket of his tight jeans. "That is why Max!"

She jumped from the jeep and ran to the front door of her house. As she fumbled with her key but her fingers felt numb and clumsy.

Maria never even heard him move but suddenly she jumped as she felt warm breath on the back of her neck. Her hand stilled and she closed her eyes, anticipating what might come next.

He pressed a soft, hesitant kiss to her neck and then her right shoulder. Maria bit back a groan. This couldn't actually be happening. Because if it were really happening...then she would really be liking it. And she couldn't like it. There was Michael and Liz to think of. They couldn't hurt them.

She loved Michael. And she knew that Max loved Lizzie. It would be such a mistake to do something with Max now. So why did she have to fight so hard to keep from turning around and kissing her "friend"?

"Maria." He whispered on an exhale. Her teeth bit into her tongue as she tried to stop herself but it was to no avail. Her name on his lips was like a siren's call and she was powerless against it. She would answer and face reality tomorrow.

***

Maria turned around and Max saw the hesitation in her eyes but now there was also a light that wasn't there before. She wanted him almost as much as he wanted her, if that was possible.

Maria leaned forward letting her lips brush his briefly. As she pulled back Max sighed happily. He looked down at her and grinned. Maria smiled back at him as she always did. Max's beautiful smile was so infectious.

As he leaned in, a clap of thunder sounded and they jumped apart laughing. Max looked up at the sky and motioned for her to wait there as he went to put the top up on the jeep. She laughed as he was suddenly caught in the downpour. He ran back toward the house but slipped on the wet grass and fell. She watched, waiting for him to get back up but he didn't move.

"Max!" Maria cried. She ran to where he lay on the ground and knelt next to him. "Max?" She whimpered, her worry evident in her wavering voice. She rolled him onto his back and began scanning his body for bumps, breaks and bruises. When her eyes rested on his face, she noticed that a small smile had begun to play on his features. "Max! You jerk!" She pounded his chest with her hand.

He laughed, catching her arms and pulled her down on top of him. His hands made small patterns along her back as held her against him, enjoying the feel of her small, firm frame against his.

She looked down at him, the rain dripping down her face, gathering on her chin and dripping onto his lips. She stared at the area where the raindrops were collecting and bent her head to lick the liquid from his mouth. Max groaned in response but the sound was drowned out by the another thunderclap. As she drew away he followed her, and captured her lips with his in a hungry kiss. His tongue slipped into her mouth and a warm feeling spread through her even as her body began to shake with chills.

Max felt her begin to shiver and he rolled her off of him. He stood, pulling her up with him, and steered her towards the front porch.

***

Kyle heard keys rattle in the front door and groaned. He had forgotten to pick up Maria again. She would be furious and with the headache he was nursing he definitely didn't want to be on the receiving end of a DeLuca tongue lashing.

He slipped quietly into the coat closet and prayed that she would think he had simply gone out for the night and leave him to his throbbing migraine.

That was not to be, he realized, as Maria walked in dragging a very a very soaked Max in behind her. He inched the door open and watched the as they walked further into the room.

Maria looked around and he could see her straining her ears for sounds. "Kyle?" She called out loudly, causing Kyle's head to pound furiously. "You home?" Kyle just sat on the floor of the closet, silently praying that they would go upstairs or to Max's. Anywhere but there. He couldn't take the noise of the girlfriends as they gossiped.

He started to close the door completely to block the sounds of them but before he could, something caught his eye and he couldn't stop watching them.

Maria looked at Max and smiled a secret smile. She looked nervous though. "Let me just run and get you a towel." She bounded up the stairs, causing Kyle to flinch as the closet was directly under the staircase and each step resounded through his brain.

Max sighed and ran his fingers through his hair. He shrugged off his jacket and walked to the door to hang it up on the coat rack. Kyle could not see him from where he was unless he opened the door even further and he didn't want to do that for fear of Max hearing him. He had lived with Tess before and knew that even a feather dropping on a shag carpet would be heard by the advanced hearing.

"Maria?" Max called out.

"Coming." She replied, flouncing down the stairs.

"Okay." Max smiled. "I thought maybe you had gotten los..." Max trailed of. The smile drained from his face as he looked at Maria. She was still out of Kyle's field of vision as the crack in the door didn't allow him to see very much. "Maria." Max breathed.

At the sound of Max's husky whisper, Kyle begin to flash back on a night only two months past. He grimaced as the memories came flooding back to him.

***Flashback***

"Maria." A very sober Max whispered into Kyle's sister's hair.

She stood there, her arms around his neck and her face buried in the front of his graduation robe.

Kyle had been in her bathroom since the others had been occupied. He had started out the door that lead from the bathroom into Maria's room but stopped short as he came across the scene in front of him. He shrank back into the darkness of the bathroom and watched silently as Maria and Max stood in a very comfortable embrace.

He didn't want to spy on them. He started to turn away but knew that if he moved even an inch, the door would move and even a centimeter would cause the hinges of the door to creak.

Maria pulled back and looked up at her friend, her cheeks glistened with fresh tears and the front of Max's robe was soaked as well. "Max...I don't want you to leave."

"Maria, the party hasn't even started yet. I promised that I would stay and help you clean up. I'm not going anywhere yet."

Kyle got the feeling that Max knew Maria hadn't meant that night. Kyle even knew it and for him that was pretty good. He wasn't as much in tuned with the female brain as he was with the small statue of Buddha that sat perched at the foot of his bed.

Maria, who had been staring into Max's eyes, suddenly shifted her stance and looked away. She stood rigid in his arms as if she was trying to keep herself separated.

Kyle looked at Max, as Maria stepped away from him. He rolled his eyes at the discovery that the great king had a boner.

Who would have thought? Kyle pondered the question as he watched Max reach for Maria's hand.

"Maria..." he whispered again.

"Max...you've been such a great friend to me." Maria whispered back, her voice raspy with unshed tears. Her fingers slowly and gently brushed against his cheek and Kyle saw a shutter pass through Max's body.

He grabbed her hand and held it to his cheek as he moved closer to her. Max bent down and wrapped his arms around her slender waist and pulled her roughly against him. Kyle fought the urge to stick something in his ears as he heard Maria's soft moans.

He watched as Maria turned out of Max's arms. Kyle sent a silent cheer out to his new sister. At least one of the girls in Roswell could resist Max Evans. His smile quickly disappeared as he saw her sit down on the edge of her bed and draw Max down on top of her. His mouth slanted down onto her's and their breathing became audible.

From his position, Kyle could see their feet hanging off of the bed and occasionally a stray hand came into view. Other than that, he could hear the small mewling sounds coming from Maria.

Kyle looked at the two of them intertwined on the bed and big brother mode kicked in. He looked around the bathroom and located his scapegoat. He flushed the toilet and let out a loud cough. He heard a soft gasp from Maria and several curses from Max. He proceeded to run the tap at the sink, feigning washing his hands, giving the two in the room enough time to leave without feeling embarrassed at being caught.

By the time he had opened the door of the bathroom, Maria and Max where gone. The rest of the night he watched their eyes meet across the crowded Valenti living room and look away quickly.

The graduation party was still kicking at 3am, since Jim and Amy had decided to spend the evening at a local hotel. Kyle noticed Michael leading Maria toward the stairs. He glanced at Max and saw that he had noticed the couple as well. The scowl on Max's face was telling and Kyle knew that it would only be a matter of time before the shit would hit the fan and Max and Maria's feelings for one another would become all too clear to all of them. Maybe even to Maria and Max.

***End Flashback***

Kyle shook his head to rid himself of the memories and watched his sister approach Max. Her small frame was covered with only her underwear and a small towel. No wonder Max had looked as though he were about to keel over.

Kyle bit his lip to hold back a chuckle as he noticed Max looking around nervously.

"Are you sure that Jim and Amy aren't coming in tonight?" He asked quietly, as if they might suddenly hear them and rush back over the state lines to get him.

"They won't be back for another two days. And Kyle seems to be out for the night as well. His keys are here so he probably took off with some of his friends. He won't be back until early if he's out with those freaks." She spoke loudly, trying to put on a front, but he could see the worried look on her face.

Kyle frowned at Maria's description of his friends. They might be a little overzealous but in no way were they freaks. Okay there was that one guy but... Kyle, lost in his own thoughts was jerked quickly from them as he heard the sound of Max being unzipped.

Not again. Kyle groaned inwardly and fought the urge to punch the wall. How did he always end up in this position?

When he finally got up the courage to look again, he saw that Max was still clad in boxers while Maria, or maybe Max, had discarded her towel and she sat in only her bra and a matching black thong.

Max was standing over Maria, who sat slowly on the edge of the sofa. He pushed her chin up with his index finger and smiled down at her gently. The look of worry on her face was replaced with a soft look that matched Max's own.

She took his hand and pulled him down until he was forced to kneel else his arm be ripped out of its socket. "Max I...I want you." Her voice quivered with the pent up desire she held for her friend.

Max's smile disappeared as he pushed a damp lock of her hair behind her ear. Finally, his eyes found her's and he ran his thumb along her bottom lip. "I want you Maria. More that you will ever know." His words came out slowly and as sincere as anything she had ever heard.

Maria took his face between her hands and touched his lips with her own. She squealed as Max deepened the kiss and pulled her down to the floor with him. Kyle stiffened at the sound and dropped his head into his hands.

He was going to have to start putting a cow bell on Maria so whenever he heard her coming he could just run. He slid down the wall beside the door and covered his ears in hopes that he would be able to close out the sounds of heavy breathing.

***

Max broke away from Maria and she sighed. They shared a smile and Maria frowned as an odd look crossed Max's face. She knew all of his faces and most of his noises as all close friends tend to do. He definitely looked ready to pounce.

"No...Max...no...I know what you are thinking and no!" Maria held up her hands in a vein attempt to hold him off.

Max simply smiled and nodded as his hands crept down to her stomach. His fingers wiggled back and forth over her ribs and Maria squirmed and squealed, all the time yelling at him to stop. Max, however was relentless and found a spot behind her knee that drove her over the edge. She was turning purple with lack of oxygen as she struggled to breath and giggle at the same time. He noticed this and let up just long enough for her to regroup.

He sat back on his heels and watched as Maria collapsed onto her back and let out a breathless laugh. Her chest was heaving as she inhaled and exhaled and the sight was too much for Max.

His hand drifted out and caught the clasp in the front of the bra, pulling it forward and unfastening it with what seemed to be a practiced ease. Maria stopped breathing completely as his hands went underneath her bra and slid it down her arms as she sat up to help.

He brushed his thumbs across her nipples, making them stiffen. Maria sucked in a breath as he moved down to flick his tongue across the distended flesh. Maria trembled as she felt Max's warm hands cup her breasts gently. The heat settling into her skin from his rough hands caused the rest of her body to feel cold in comparison. He must have felt it as he removed his hands and lowered her to the carpet, his body covering hers like a rock hard Max blanket.

His mouth made small trails up and down the valley of her chest, moving toward her stomach. Before he could make it any further than her navel, he pushed himself up over her and smiled down at the look of confusion on her face.

"There will be time for that later. I promise. Now..." He kissed her shoulder and her neck. Then he moved up to place a gentle kiss on the side of her mouth. "Now...I have to be inside of you. I want you to be mine tonight. All mine." His fierce proclamation stunned Maria if only but a moment.

She knew that everything they were doing, and might do, was wrong. But she wanted him just as badly. So badly that she was willing to be blind to the truth. It was only one night. She wanted this. She wanted and needed to be his just as greatly as he needed to possess her.

Maria nodded and reached up so that her arms encircled his neck. She pulled him forward and kissed him deeply. A surge of excitement ran through her as she felt Max's knee nudge her legs apart. Somehow during the earlier scuffle, Max had rid them both of their remaining clothing and now Maria gasped at the feel of Max's hard shaft resting against the folds of her sex.

He ran his fingers through the golden curls that covered her opening and smiled. "It's like the color of the sun." He whispered to himself, reminding him of the one thing he and Isabel had somehow come up with to remind them of home. Max shook his head and lowered himself down again. His mouth covered Maria's in a tender kiss that for all intents and purposes could have been a simple kiss from one friend to another. Their eyes were open and they stared at one another as Max moved his hips and thrust into her.

He paused after the first penetration, scanning her face to check for any doubt. He smiled as he watched her lick her lips and close her eyes. There was no doubt in her expression. Only pleasure and frustration because he had stopped.

He entered her again and she let out a breath that she hadn't even realized that she had been holding. One hand propped him up as the other held her hip firmly, pulling her up against him.

She bucked up as he began to thrust harder. She felt an urge within her that screamed for him to go deeper, harder. Maria voiced the urges and Max complied, picking up the cadence until beads of sweat appeared on his forehead. He grimaced at the exertion and crushed Maria's mouth with his own, as if the simple action could drive him even further.

At the sound of her hungry moan, Max felt himself stiffen and he continued pumping into her until she screamed his name in release. He slowed for a moment to collect the energy to keep going and was rewarded as Maria came a second time.

A few more quick thrusts and Max pulled out, his cum covering the inside of her thighs. He collapsed and sighed, rolling onto his back and pulling a very limp Maria into his arms.

After several minutes, when Max had regained the ability to move, he sat up and retrieved the towel that Maria had gotten earlier. He cleaned the remnants of their indiscretion off of her legs. When he finished he stood up and dried his clothing with his powers. He pulled them on slowly, all the time watching Maria as she slept. She seemed so peaceful and sated.

Maria laughed in her sleep and Max grinned at the sound. He scooping his sleeping friend up in his arms and carried her up to her room. He wasn't sure when Kyle might come in and didn't want to take any chances.

After he placed her in her bed, Max turned to leave. Maria's hand shot out and caught his hand, shocking him so much that he let out a small yelp of panic. When he looked at the expression on her face he rolled his eyes playfully. He shifted his weight back and forth between his feet and scratched his chin, as if pondering what he would do. Finally he pulled his shirt over his head, rid himself of his jeans once again and slid under the covers beside her.

He would leave soon enough and after that neither of them could look back. Until then he would hold her and be satisfied with that contact. Placing a small kiss on the rim of her ear, Max pulled Maria into his arms and smiled as they both drifted off to sleep.

***

They were both snoring contentedly as Kyle peered into Maria's room. He shook his head, wondering why they simply didn't just come out and admit their feelings to everyone.

Kyle had a strong suspicion that it was because Max and Maria both denied that those feelings ran any deeper than a great friendship and a physical chemistry that would have blown up the high school chem lab.

No matter what, Kyle knew that it wasn't his place to judge the situation. He just hoped that when it did come out, he would be able to be there for his sister. There was no way that she could escape this without getting hurt.

As he turned towards his own room, he heard Max stir and he stopped dead in his tracks praying that he hadn't given himself away.

"I love you." He heard Max whisper into the darkness.

Kyle smirked and tiptoed into his room across the hall. Maybe Maria was in better hands than he had thought.