| PART 14 The next day I feel like I can walk on water. Isabel laughs at me everytime our paths cross. I know she�s happy for me. She keeps trying to obtain information from me about last night. I try hard to dodge her questions, but she can be persistent. I don�t want to share my experiencewith her yet because I�m afraid it might all be a dream. I go in the kitchen in search of something to eat. I notice Max and myparents watching me. I don�t think they�ve ever seen me smile this much because they keep giving me strange looks. My old man narrow his eyes at me and asks, �Are you on something?� I laugh harshly and say, �Whatever.� Figures he would think the worst of me. Why can�t he ever be happy for me? I set out to leave, but he grabs me by the shoulders and slams me against the wall, knocking the breath out of me. �Look at me when I�m talking to you. I want to see for myself you�re not on drugs. I�ve told you before I don�t want any of that stuff in my house,� he says violently. I open my eyes wide so he can see if my pupils are dilated or not. When he seems satisfied, I roughly shove his hand away and say, �Are you satisfied?� I turn my face away from him. I barely hear the doorbell ring when he seizes my face to twist it around so I can meet his intent look. �Fine, but if I find out that you have a stash somewhere in this house, you�ll be out on your ass. Do you understand me?� With a great amount of force he releases my face. I rub my face and mockingly say, �Yes, sir. Whatever you say, sir.� Isabel enters the room. She looks between us and from the expression on her face, I know she senses the tension between us. Quietly she says, �Liz is here.� Max immediately leaves the room. I bet he�s on his way to aggravate her. Then it just hits me, he could tell her about what just happened here and my past. I�m panicking. I have to get in there. I don�t want him to ruin any chances I might have with her. Isabel gives me a small smile and leaves in the direction Max did. I turn to my father and sardonically say, �Are we done?� �For now we are,� he says fiercely. I take a deep breath and walk into the living room. I notice Max is all over Liz, and that pisses me off. When the door swings closed behind me, Liz looks up and bestows me a brilliant smile. I can�t help but return it. *********************************************************************** I�m standing outside of Michael�s house debating if I should ring the bell or not. I think I�ve been out here for five minutes already. Michael has been on my mind all day and I just want to see him. I�m afraid I�m being too presumptuous thinking I can pop up anytime I want. What if he thinks I�m checking on him? Even worse, what if he thinks I�m stalking him? I take a deep breath and ring the bell. Here goes nothing. Isabel answers the door and says, �Hey Liz. I didn�t expect to see you.� My smile wavers and I say, �I�m sorry. Do you think it was a mistake for me coming here? I mean Michael didn�t invite me.� Isabel smiles and says, �Come in. You don�t need an invitation to visit me or my brother.� I exhale in relief and enter the house. I�m feeling nervous. I start pulling at my shirt and smoothing my jeans. I feel like I have to do something with my hands. This is crazy. Why am I so nervous? Isabel giggles and says, �I�ll be right back. I�ll go tell Michael you�re here.� I nod in response. I�m waiting for Isabel to come back with Michael in the living room. I start to pace trying to ease my nervous energy. I hear the doors swing close and my heart starts to flutter. I turn around expecting to see Michael, but Max is standing before me with a ridiculous grin. I try hard not to roll my eyes. �Hi,� he says trying to sound sexy I�m guessing. �Hi. Is Isabel coming back out soon?� I say politely. For some reason this guy rubs me the wrong way. He saunters towards me to put his arm around my shoulders and says, �You look sexy in that outfit.� His eyes travel up and down my body. His eyes are nothing like Michael�s. When Michael looks at me the sensation my body has is incredible. I feel violated when Max looks at me. Feeling uncomfortable, I pull away from him. What�s taking them so long? He follows me and surrounds my waist with his hands. He draws me flat against his chest and whispers in my ear, �Come with me up to my room where we can converse privately.� Who the hell does he think he is? Some kind of playboy. What makes him think I want to go up to his room? I venture to pull away, but his grip around my waist tightens. I open my mouth to tell him the get the hell away from me, but Isabel comes into the room. She looks between us and asks, �What the hell is going on?� I give her a tight smile still attempting to pull away from Max. I wish he would just let go. I hear the door swing open. �She�s joining me up to my room. Right, Liz?� Max says removing his hand from my waist and places it on my shoulder. I barely hear him because the reason why I�m here is standing in front of the doorway. I smile at him with relief because he looks as if he�s happy to see me. Then his gaze turns towards Max and the smile that lit up his face seconds ago turns to anger. I realize that Max�s grip on me has loosened so I push him away and go to Michael. I support my hands against his face trying desperately to get him to look at me. When he finally does, his anger dissolves and a small smile plays on his lips. �Hey,� I say. When he looks at me that way he makes my heart flutter. �No kiss?� I say boldly. I want to feel his lips against mine. I�ve been wanting that ever since our first kiss. I also want to show Max that I�m not his and never will be his. Michael hesitates for a moment, but I reach up on my toes and he slowly meets me for a soft brief kiss. I take his hand and lead him upstairs. �I say we go to your room and talk privately,� I say quietly, but loud enough for Max to hear. Before we can reach the stairs Max abruptly says, �What the hell is going on here? You can�t want him. He�s a nobody, a screw up. The ��� I feel Michael�s body become rigid. I turn to look at him and he looks as if he�s ready to kill. Before he can lunge for Max, I stand between them. I whisper to him, �Don�t.� I see that he�s debating whether to beat the crap out of Max or go upstairs. I lean up to his ear and seductively whisper, �Wouldn�t you rather take me upstairs and seduce me?� His mouth gapes open and then it turns to a smile. He leans towards my ear and whispers, �I�d much rather be with you anytime.� He takes my hand and we head for his room. |