When she came out of the washroom later, Michael was nowhere to be found. She didn�t
know why she was feeling sad over it. He had gone back to his own room to get his stuff,
and besides they were all leaving soon. Maria fingered the necklace around her neck he
had given her last night. All the things he had said, were they real. They didn�t seem
like Michael. Maybe that part of last night had been the real dream.
Maria sighed and tossed her stuff in her duffel bag. She zipped it up and checked to
make sure she hadn�t forgotten anything. She grabbed the bag, put on her jacket and
mitts and grabbed her room key.
Walking down the hallway, she saw that the door to Liz�s and Isabel�s room was open.
She stuck her head in to see Liz helping Isabel stuff mountains of stuff back into one of
her suitcases. �You guys almost ready to go?� Maria asked the two of them.
�We�ll be ready in a minute Maria,� Liz assured her as she sat on the suitcase for Isabel
to close it. Maria just shook her head and left, closing the door behind her.
Max and Michael were standing in the middle of the hallway when Maria came out,
locking the door to their room. Max looked up, �Have you checked out yet Maria?� Max
asked as he pocketed his key.
Maria shook her head, �I was just going down to do that.�
Max held out his hand, �Here, let me. I might as well, I�m going anyway.� Maria
handed him her room key and the cash she was going to use for the payment and he took
of down the hall.
Michael motioned towards Maria�s huge duffel bag. �Need any help with that?� he
asked.
Maria shook her head, �No Michael, I�m fine.�
He just nodded and followed her down the hall. When they exited the hotel, it was
snowing again. Small white flakes floated down from the sky above. Maria stuck out
her tongue, letting them melt on her tongue. She then hoisted her duffel bag into the
trunk of her car, and tossed Michael�s bag in as well. She slammed the trunk
shut.
�You know,� Michael said looking up at the sky, �I�ve never actually seen real snow
before.�
�You�re kidding,� Maria said, �Granted, I�ve only seen it when my mom and I went on a
trip north once, but still.�
Michael shook his head, �Nope. The closest thing to it was the stuff in the
freezer.�
�Well then,� Maria said, calmly scooping up some of the snow that had fallen on the car,
�We�ll have to make sure you get well acquainted with it.�
With that she flung the snowball at him. It hit Michael on the face before he could react.
Maria laughed at his astonished, and bedraggled, expression. �If you could just see the
look on your face,� she giggled.
Michael shook the snow from his head, �Oh, you�re going to pay.�
For the next few minutes, they flung hunks of snow at each other. Michael finally caught
her and pressed a handful of snow into her hair. �Eek!� Maria shrieked as the snow slid
down her neck, �That�s cold!�
Michael laughed, �Now if you could see your expression..�
Maria shoved him backwards and he fell over onto the ground. Unfortunately, he didn�t
release her, and they fell together. Michael ended up on his back on the ground, Maria
face down on top of him.
Maria�s faces was inches from his when she said, quite nervously, �Michael, all the stuff
I said last night. I meant every word of it.�
�I did too,� Michael said simply. He reached up to pull her face down for a kiss, but
Maria began to scramble to her feet. �Hello Liz, Isabel,� she said brightly as Michael got
to his feet behind her.
Liz simply gave Maria a knowing smile, but Isabel glared at Maria, then at Michael. �I
need to put my stuff in your car,� she said.
Maria nodded and unlocked the trunk, Isabel squeezed her stuff in and Maria shut it. �Is
everyone ready to go?� Maria asked nervously.
�We are now,� Max said, coming up. �I figure we�ll get there about, oh I don�t know 6
o�clock. So, since we are following you guys Maria, pull in somewhere and we�ll all
decide what to do next.�
Maria nodded and Max and Liz went of to get in his car. Maria slid into the drivers seat
of her car. Michael took the front again, and Isabel the back.
They pulled out of the parking lot and were on their way for another long day of
driving.
**********************************
It was 3 gas stops later when Isabel said, �You know, you two could at least pretend
you�re not infatuated with each other.�
�What are you talking about Isabel,� Michael said, leaning his head against the
window.
�What I mean,� Isabel said icily, �Is that the two of you spent all of last night, together,
alone. You�re constantly flirting, and now you can�t seem to keep your eyes of each
other. You�re becoming worse then my brother and Liz. Now, if you don�t mind some of
us would like to keep down our lunches.�
�Isabel,� Maria said sweetly, �Shut up. Maybe because you�re not in a relationship you
may be jealous, but try to control it.�
If looks could kill Maria would have dropped then and there, �Jealous? Of you and
Michael? Ha! Don�t make me laugh. I will admit though, you two are perfect for each
other.�
�Well thank you,� Maria said calmly, turning around to smile at her, �It�s nice to know
you think we make such a good match.�
Isabel just shook her head and leaned back into the seat. Michael turned his head to look
at Maria, �You do know she wasn�t paying a compliment.�
�Do I look that stupid?� Maria scoffed.
�Well, actually....� Isabel began from the back seat.
Maria shook her head in disgust and went back to concentrating on the road, and
Michael.
******************************
The lights of the city of Regina came into view. �Wake up,� Maria said, shaking the
sleeping Michael�s leg, �We�re here.�
He sat up and looked at the approaching city. Isabel did the same in the backseat.
When they entered the city, Maria pulled into the parking lot of the McDonalds. Liz and
Max followed them in.
While the rest of them found a booth, Max went to order hot chocolate for everyone.
Michael slid in on one side and Maria followed him. Liz slid in the other side, but Isabel
squished herself in beside Maria. Max came up carrying the tray of hot chocolates, and
slid in beside Liz.
�So, what are we going to do now?� Isabel asked, taking a sip of her drink.
Max pulled out a piece of paper he had written on and tossed it on the table, �I copied his
address from the telephone book. So, we know where to find him.�
�I say we go to his house and talk to him,� Michael said, �Let�s find out what he knows
and get this over with.�
Nobody said anything, there was no better plan suggested. �Well then,� Michael said to
break the silence, �Let�s go.�
Everyone nodded and walked out into the cold night. The drive to Adam Granger�s
house was silent. Maria�s future wasn�t even depending on what this guys had to say,
like their�s, but she was still nervous. They found the house within an hour and pulled up
in front of the house.
It was a standard middle-class house in a normal neighborhood. There was no
picket-fence, but it seemed like a house that might have one. They could see the
Christmas tree in the window, nicely decorated.
�Ready to go up?� Maria asked Michael and Isabel who sat staring at the
house.
Michael nodded, and the 3 of them got out of the car. Max and Liz were walking up to
them. �We still sure we want to do this?� Max asked, glancing at the house
nervously.
They all nodded in agreement. �Well then,� Max said resignedly, �Let�s go
up.�
They walked of to the front of the house, Michael leading the way. Max and Isabel were
right behind them. Michael walked up the steps to the front door. He braced himself,
and muttered, �There�s no time like the present,� and knocked on the door.
A man about 35 years old opened the door. �Can I help you?� he said to the 3
teenagers.
�Adam Granger?� Michael asked the man standing at the front door.
The man turned a deathly pale. �You 3,� he whispered in wonder, ��How did you find
me?�
�We found the book you wrote,� Isabel said, �But exactly who are you and how do you
know us.�
The man took off his glasses and wiped them in his T-shirt, �Now�s not a good time. My
family and I are celebrating Christmas.�
With his words, a little boy ran up and grabbed onto his fathers pant leg, �Who are these
people Daddy?� he asked, sucking on his thumb.
�They are old friends of daddy�s,� his father said evasively.
�Whose at the door, honey?� a female voice called from inside the house.
�Nobody dear,� Adam Granger called back. He leaned towards the five of them. �Meet
me tomorrow at noon at the library on main street. I�ll talk to you then, but right now,
it�s just impossible.�
He shut the door in their faces before they could say a word. The 5 of them just stood
there in shock, �Well, at least he seems to know what�s going on,� Michael said mildly.
He turned around and began to walk back to the cars.
The others followed. �So now what?� Max asked, leaning against the car, �It�s a long
time until we have to meet him.�
Isabel sighed, �We find a hotel to crash in for the night, then go to meet him at noon.
What else can we do?�
Liz shrugged, �Sounds good to me. There was a nice motel on our way into the city.
Why don�t we go back there?�
******************************************
Maria tossed her bags on the bed in her hotel room. Again, she got a room to herself.
She flopped herself down on the bed beside her bags and stared up at the ceiling. A
knock sounded on the door. �Come in,� Maria yelled, �It�s not locked.�
The door opened and Liz walked in. �I was afraid I might be interrupting you and
Michael,� she kidded as she flopped on the bed beside Maria.
Liz held up a hand, �Hey, I�m not judging or anything. What you and Michael do is your
business. I do just hope you know what you�re doing.�
Maria sighed, �Liz, we are not sleeping together. Last night we just fell asleep together
on the couch. That�s not to say there isn�t something going on between us, it�s just not
sex right now.�
Liz looked relieved, �Sorry Maria. From what Isabel told me, I assumed that, well, you
know.�
�So,� Maria said sitting up, �Michael came here because you were with Max last night
giving him a Christmas present. How did that go? What did you give him?�
Liz started to blush, �Well, I gave him two presents. The first was a new CD. The
second was a kiss.�
�What about your agreement �not to feel a certain way about each other�?� Maria asked
Liz.
Liz shrugged, �Basically, I said to hell with our agreement. Max really didn�t seem to
mind too much.�
�I bet he didn�t,� Maria replied laughing.
Liz laughed too and shook her head. Maria stood up. �Well, make yourself at home here
Liz. I noticed these hotel bathrooms have a bathtub, so since we have the whole evening,
I�m taking a nice long bath to relax.�
�Sound good,� Liz said, flipping on the TV, �I might do that myself later.�
Maria ran the hot water and slipped into the tub. The warm water felt heavenly,
especially after hours upon hours of driving. She leaned her head back on the back of the
tub and shut her eyes.
It was half an hour later when she stepped out of the tub. She noticed she had forgotten
to bring a change of clothes in with her. �Damn,� she muttered. Maria wrapped one of
the big towels around herself and stepped out of the bathroom.
�Liz, would you pass me......� her voice trailed off as she saw that Liz wasn�t there
anymore. Michael was however. He was standing in the middle of the hotel
room.
�Liz had to go,� he said, unable to tear his eyes away from her. The towel covered
everything necessary, but not by much.
Maria turned a bright red. Although she was not one to get embarrassed easily, she found
herself blushing. �Uh, I just need to get some clothes,� she said softly. She grabbed the
first things she reached out of her duffel bag on the bed and ran back into the
bathroom.
When she came out again, fully dressed, Michael had sat down on the bed. �Sorry,� he
said, �I didn�t know you would be coming out... like that.�
Maria nodded and ducked her head, �No biggie, but why are you here?�
Michael shrugged, �We have the whole night free? Why don�t we go out on the town
and actually do something.�
Maria nodded, �Okay. What though?�
Again Michael shrugged, �Oh heck, I don�t know. Why don�t we just go for a walk and
see what is open on Christmas day.�
�I�ll get my jacket,� Maria said.
**************************************
They walked the streets downtown. Not much was open for the holidays. Maria was
about to suggest giving up and going back when Michael pointed up ahead, �Look,� he
said, �There�s a movie theater open up there?�
They walked to it and stared at the movie choices. �Are we sure we want to do this?�
Maria asked, staring dubiously at the choices. They were all b-level horror
flicks.
Michael shrugged, �I guess not. We could just rent one in to the hotel room.�
Maria nodded, �It�s better than this crap. Come on, let�s go back.�
Back in Maria�s hotel room, they flicked on the television and ordered a movie into the
room. It was some movie Maria had never even heard of, but it looked like the best
choice.
As the movie started, they both were lying back on the bed against the headrest, Michael
with his arm around Maria, her head on his shoulder. Maria stared at the television
screen and yawned.
Michael was looking at the TV, but he wasn�t really seeing much. This had been a bad
idea. They should have gone to some crappy movie at that theater instead of coming
back to be here, in her room, alone. Maria was nestled against him, and he was
concentrating more on the feel of her than any images and sound on the screen.
Michael sighed, though not audibly. He knew he would never do anything to make her
uncomfortable with him, but if they kept it up it would be hard to resist kissing her, and
then he didn�t know how far that might lead. God, he wanted to see into her mind, know
what she was thinking.
�Michael,� Maria said softly, turning around and sitting up to face him, �Kiss me,
now.�
Before Michael had a chance to say anything, Maria leaned over and pressed her lips
onto his. She put pressure, and he slid down so he was basically lying on the bed, with
her on top of him.
Michael kissed her neck, and was shocked to feel Maria�s hands sliding under his T-shirt
and lifting it. �Are you sure we want to do this?� Michael asked her, framing her face
with his hands so she�s look at him.
Maria nodded, �Michael, I won�t pretend I�m not scared to death. But, especially if this
guys can give you good information you won�t be here on earth for long or anything, and
we won�t have much time together. Michael, I want to be with you, so it�s up to
you.�
Michael nodded, �Maria, I want to be with you too, I just don�t want you to do something
you�ll regret afterwards.�
�How could I regret this?� Maria said, and kissed him, trying to send him the message
that it was allright.
Michael kissed her back deeply. He trailed kisses down her neck to the top of her
T-shirt. He slid his hand underneath her shirt, and lifted it over her head.
Still kissing him, Maria sat him up. She slid his shirt over his head. Maria ran her hands
over his bared chest.
As Michael reached around her to unhook her bra, he whispered, �You
allright?�
Maria nodded, glad that he did care, knowing that she would trust him with all of herself,
�Michael, I�m more than allright.�
**************************************
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