In Her Bed

Title: In Her Bed
Author: Ras or SirenPrincess
Spoilers: none
Rating: NC 17, do not read if you are under 18
Warnings: Teenagers having sex, suggestions of previous child abuse
Summary: Maria plans to surprise Michael with a little present
Pairings: Michael/Maria, Max/Liz
Disclaimer: Characters in this story are based on the television series and books entitled "Roswell." They are copyrighted by the WB Television Network and Melinda Metz. The characters are being used in a nonprofit way of showing appreciation of the show and books. No infringement is intended in any part by the author. The author does not condone sexual activity between real teenagers.

Author’s Note: This was written before Independence Day, so things don’t exactly match up. It’s not that far off, though.

********

Liz and Maria had just finished cleaning up the Crashdown after closing. Now, in the back room, they changed out of their uniforms and discussed their plans for the evening.

"So . . . are you and Michael doing anything tonight?" Liz inquired.

"Well, actually . . . um . . ." Maria stammered. Instead of answering, she focused on pulling her jeans over her hips.

"Yes? Actually what?"

Maria threw her sweater over her head. She knew she wasn’t going to get out of telling. "I was going to surprise him and sneak into his room tonight."

"Oh, uh, Maria, that’s not such a good idea." The smile fell from Liz's face, reflecting a more somber mood.

"Don't worry, Liz," Maria rolled her eyes, "I'm not being stupid." She pulled a brightly colored condom package out of her jeans pocket.

"Maria!"

"Please don’t go parental on me. Besides, it’s not like your Virgin girl yourself. I seem to recall something about you and Kyle in the . . ."

"Maria, I forbid you to EVER mention Kyle and me in that context ever again!"

"Don't worry, I'll make sure Max doesn't find out," the blonde grinned, "but, I need you to cover for me, okay. My mom thinks I’m staying at your house tonight."

"No, Maria, seriously, it’s not a very good idea." Seeing the look on her friends face, she knew she was going to have to explain herself. "Look, Michael doesn’t exactly have the greatest home life. I don’t think he’d want you just showing up like that."

"I know . . . he’s poor. I’m not exactly the richest girl in town either, unless Bill Gates owes my mom like a billion dollars in child support. It doesn’t bother me, Liz."

"There’s more to it than that, Maria."

"Like?"

Liz sighed as she realized she was going to have to tell all. "Look, Michael's foster father is an alcoholic . . . I think he may even be abusive . . . and it's a really unsafe environment. It's not so much what you'd think; I think Michael would be embarrassed for you to be there."

"Wow," Maria said flabbergasted, "I had no idea."

"I don't know for sure. I'm just going on what I've seen and things Max has said, but . . ."

"If you add in that I have terrible problems with insomnia and never sleep there anyway, you've got it pretty much right, Liz."

"Michael!" Maria exclaimed in surprise.

An awkward silence followed.

"Michael, I . . . um . . . I'm sorry . . ." Liz fumbled for words as she quickly buttoned her blouse.

"Nah, it's all right, Liz. It's the truth. You know, it's the way things are."

Liz nodded, pursing her lips anxiously. "Why don't you two get out of here; I gotta lock up."

"You wanna . . . go for a walk or something?" Michael asked nervously.

Maria nodded. They left the Crashdown and stepped into the cool night air. She felt guilty for making him feel uncomfortable, for talking about him like that; it had to have hurt his feelings to hear it. Maria instinctively reached for Michael's arms and snuggled into him. Why had he walked in at that exact time? She wondered how much he had heard. "Why did you come by?" she broke the silence.

"I was just um . . . I wanted to uh . . ."

"Oh my God!" Maria's jaw dropped as she realized what they had been doing when he walked in. "You snuck in to watch us change!" Maria smacked his arm playfully. "Pervert!"

"Pervert? Excuse me? You were going to sneak into my bedroom, and I'm the pervert?"

Maria shot him an evil glance. She loved teasing him. "Pervert," she repeated. "Wait until I tell Max you were watching Liz. He'll kill you!"

"Yeah, yeah," Michael put his arm around her as they walked further. Somehow the joking atmosphere just couldn’t last.

"Look, I REALLY am sorry . . ."

Michael shook his head. "It doesn’t matter. It's just . . . if you wanna know about that stuff, just ask me about it, okay?"

Maria nodded. Liz was right; he was embarrassed for her to know about it, but she was concerned for him. He was her boyfriend; she had a right to be concerned. "Does he . . . hurt you?" she whispered.

"Nah . . . you know, when I was a kid . . . but, I got old enough to hit back and he stopped."

Maria nodded again. This was awkward, but she wanted to know. "That why you can't sleep, or is it some weird aliens don't need to sleep thing?"

That got a smile out of Michael. "No, trust me, Max sleeps sound enough for both of us. I . . . usually end up sleeping on his floor when I get really tired."

"Oh," Maria responded. At least he had a safe place to go. She hung on Michael’s arm some more. She grabbed his hand and played with his fingers. "You know . . . I had planned to sneak into your room . . ."

"Yeah, that . . . won’t work. And I doubt that Max is gonna let us do it on his floor."

"No?" Maria mocked.

"No."

"Well, what I was going to say is that I can't sneak into your room, but I don’t see any reason why you couldn’t sneak into mine. That is unless you would really rather sleep on Max’s floor than in my bed."

"Uh," Michael pretended to contemplate the choices, "No, I think your bed would be okay . . . you know, just for tonight."

"Oh, okay, just tonight then."

"Yeah."

********

"Come on," Maria whined out the window.

Michael grumbled. "You’d have to live on the second floor." He struggled to make it from the tree to the window. "This isn't exactly easy, Maria."

"Well, you have to work for it if you want to get any."

Michael gave her a quick look and then jumped for the window. Pulling himself up he taunted, "Oh, don’t worry, I'm getting in."

Maria helped pull him in. "Great, now wait here while I go change."

"Change for what?"

"For bed, silly. Now no peaking or we aren't doing anything tonight," she jabbed.

Michael immediately sat in her chair. "Seated, not peaking, waiting."

Maria had to laugh at his eagerness.

She returned shortly wearing a lacy cami and matching panties.

"Uhh . . . yeah," Michael’s eyes widened, "this is definitely better than Max's."

The temptress smiled at her new power over him. She tugged at his arms, pulling him out of the chair. “Come on,” she whispered indicating the bed. Michael blushed. "Why Michael Guerrin, are you nervous?"

"It's just that I . . . uh . . . I've never . . ."

"Shh," she put her finger to his lips. She held him fixed in her eyes, a deep stare. She put her forehead up against his, holding the stare. She was in charge now; he couldn’t break the stare until she permitted it. Maria guided his hands around her hips and then seductively moved in for a kiss. She didn’t close her eyes this time. She tauntingly pulled back and then entered again, this time slipping in a little tongue, just enough to make him want more. Quickly, her hands went up his back and removed his black t-shirt and unbuttoned his jeans.

Michael was fixed in her gaze. Finally, he knew he was allowed to touch her, to kiss her body. His hands went up the cami as he kissed her neck, slowly moving down . . .

"Knock, knock," the sound froze him.

"Shit," Maria whispered. "Under the bed!"

Michael dove and rolled underneath just before the door opened. Somehow, Maria made it under the covers.

"Hey, sweetie, you are up."

"Yeah, Mom, what's up?"

"I just wondered if you wanted to go to that new psychic with me in the morning. I heard that they have a really good aromatherapy section in the store."

"No, um, actually, I think I’m going to just sleep in in the morning, if that's okay."

"Sure, get some good rest. Goodnight, honey." Maria's mother flipped off the light and shut the door.

Michael slowly rolled out from under the bed. He stood up and attempted to remove the dust bunnies from his body.

"Guess I should clean under there more often, huh?" she asked helping to dust him off.

"I hate your mother."

Maria laughed. "That was punishment for your peeping Tom escapades today."

"Uhhh," Michael whimpered, "Punishment over?"

"Yeah," she smiled, "punishment over."

"Good," he whispered as he pulled her into his arms again. "Because I don't think I could keep my hands off of you for another minute."

He found himself caught in her eyes again, making sure this was what she wanted. The cami came off, and Michael kissed her all over, from her lips to her neck to her chest. He lowered her to the bed as his hands fondled her perky breasts. Every kiss radiated through his body; the essence of Maria rushed through him. She sent tingles up his spine until his body shook; he hadn’t imagined it was even possible to feel like this. He slowly slipped down her panties before slipping inside her.

********

Michael kissed the back of the beautiful creature in his arms. Side by side they laid; his arms wrapped around her. She shifted herself ever so slightly.

"Michael?"

The sound of her voice startled him; he hadn’t realized she was still awake. "Hmm?"

"I’m glad you came tonight."

"Me too, that was . . . amazing . . ."

Maria rolled over to face him. "I don't mean just for the sex, because that was . . . wonderful, REALLY wonderful, but . . . I'm glad we can just lay here in each others arms now. I like having you to hold me while we fall asleep."

Michael nodded that he understood. "I feel safe here," he confided, "I don’t feel like I’m just . . . intruding in your life."

"Is that how you feel at Max’s?"

"Sometimes."

Maria smiled sympathetically and curled up into Michael’s chest. "I want you to know that you’re welcome to sleep here anytime. I’ll try to leave the window cracked so you can get in . . . anytime." She snuggled in closer, "You could never be an intruder in my life."

********

"Ring, ring . . . ring, ring!" The phone slowly pulled Maria back into the conscious world.

She rolled out of Michael’s arms to reach for the receiver, "Uhhh . . . hello?" She rubbed the sleepy out of her eyes.

"Hey, Maria. It's Liz. I just wanted to know how things went with Michael last night. You know, was he upset?"

"I'll uh, let you know when he's gone," Maria smiled as she stared at the slowly waking alien next to her.

"Maria! You didn’t!"

"Yep, look I'll call you back later, okay?"

"Okay, but I want DETAILS then!"

"Goodbye, Liz," Maria hung up the phone. "Morning sleepy head," she whispered as she rolled over onto Michael.

Michael's eyes tripled in size, "Oh my GOD!"

"What? . . . What?"

Michael touched her chest lightly.

"What? Is it a hickey?"

Michael pulled her up out of the bed. Maria grabbed the sheet to slightly cover herself before Michael pushed her in front of her dresser mirror. "Oh my GOD!" she screamed.

********

Max opened his window. He was surprised to see two individuals there. "You two are up bright and early."

The couple climbed through the window. "We have a problem," Michael informed. "Show him."

"No!" Maria squealed. "I’m not showing him!"

"Maria, . . ." Michael reached for her shirt.

"DON’T touch me ET!"

"Maria, you have to show him."

"No!"

Embarrassed, Michael lowered his head, as if muttering the words to the floor made them less real. "Maria, I don’t know how to fix it, okay? I’m not that good at . . . the alien stuff. It’s bad, but maybe Max can fix it. You have to show him."

"Show me what?" Max finally insisted.

A tear came to Maria’s eyes, "I want to see Isabel!" she wailed before she stormed out of the room.

"What did you do to her, Michael?"

********

The abrupt opening of the door startled Isabel. "Some people knock, you know."

"I need your help."

"With what?" Isabel rolled her eyes.

“Michael made me glow.”

"Eww, I did not need to know that, Maria."

"No, literally, Isabel. I glow!" Maria pulled her turtleneck over her head to reveal a series of glowing silver circles from her chin to her waist.

Isabel covered her mouth, trying to cover the hysteric laughing. "What were you guys doing? No! No, don’t answer that. I don't want to know." She couldn't stop laughing.

"It’s not funny, Isabel. I look like some freaky thing from Star Trek, now FIX ME!"

"I don't think I can, Maria."

"What you mean you don’t think you can?"

There was a knock at the bedroom door. Max and Michael entered uninvited. Without even turning to face them, Maria yelled, "You are NEVER touching me again."

"Maria, this was your idea," Michael pleaded.

"No, no THIS," she turned around and pointed to her neon circles, "was NOT my idea. As a matter of fact, it was nowhere near my idea. I never wanted to glow in the dark from my throat to my thighs! Now, there are three aliens in this room, and one of you is going to fix me!"

"What were you two doing?" Max finally asked.

Michael blushed. "I guess I kinda lost control last night," he whispered.

"Well it's NEVER happening again!" Maria yelled.

"Maria! Come on . . ."

"All right, you two, that's enough. It looks a lot like the hand print that appeared on Liz. That eventually went away on its own; this probably will, too."

"You mean I have to wait DAYS until this thing goes away?"

Max had to laugh now, too. "Sorry, Maria. And, Michael, maybe you two should slow it down a little now, huh?"

"Oh you have no room to laugh, Max Evans. Wait until I tell Liz what you could do to her," Maria threatened.

"No, this doesn’t make any sense," Isabel commented. "I've made-out with plenty of guys before and nothing like that ever happened to them."

"Isabel, things I did not need to know about my sister . . . but, I think Michael's comment about losing control was dead on. Probably with a little more uhhh practice, it won't happen again," Max guessed.

"Don’t even think about it, Michael," Maria exclaimed. "Now if you two guys don’t mind, Isabel and I are going to try and cover this up so I can at least go to work tonight. . . OUT!"

********Part 2********

Michael flopped down on Max's bed and hid his face in his hands; he tried to massage out the problem. It didn't go anywhere. "She hates me," he groaned.

"She doesn't hate you, Michael. She’s upset, understandably upset," Max commented as he picked up the phone.

"What are you doing?"

"Calling Liz. Maybe she can calm her down. I don't want Maria running around showing everyone what you did to her."

"Oh God," Michael whispered one more time.

********

"Knock, knock!"

"I am NOT speaking to you, in case you’ve forgotten," Maria yelled.

Liz peeked her head around the door. "Are you still speaking to me?"

"Liz!" Maria exclaimed. "LOOK at what Michael did to me!"

"Hold still," Isabel insisted while she readjusted Maria’s face to cover the circles on her neck.

"Max told me what happened."

"NEVER let Max touch you, Liz, NEVER. Trust me on this one."

All Liz did was smile.

"I HATE him."

"No you don't."

"Liz, look at me! I'm covered in . . . this is worse than a STD."

"It's not his fault, Maria."

"Oh please, please tell me how this is not his fault."

"He didn't know this was going to happen anymore than you did. Try to think about it from his point of view, Maria. You’re the first girl he's ever been with. He loves you . . ."

Maria attempted to interrupt that comment, but Liz wouldn't allow it.

"You KNOW he does."

"As a matter of fact, Maria, you’re the first human Michael has really connected with at all," Isabel added.

"And what happens the first time he's with you? He hurts you. Now he's in there dying in Max's room, because he's completely alienated from everyone and the girl he loves hates him. He thinks he can't even make love to you without screwing it up. Just think about how he feels."

"Awww," Maria sighed. "Wait a minute, Liz. How did I become the bad guy in this? I am sure that I'm the victim here . . . I just can’t remember how now."

There was another knock at the door. The door opened a crack.

"Is it safe for me to come in?" Max asked.

"Yeah, come on in," Maria permitted.

"Michael just left."

"What? Why? Where did he go?" Maria questioned.

"I don't know; he just said something about not intruding . . ."

*********

"This is SO unreal," Liz told Max, now alone in his room. "You know, Michael and Maria."

"Yeah," he starred deeply into her eyes before returning his gaze to the floor.

'Why does he have to that? With those gorgeous eyes? Why do I have to lose all coherent thoughts when I'm with him?' "Who would have ever thought that THAT would happen?"

Max shot her a longing glance. "I really don’t think it's always going to happen. Maria just . . . made Michael lose control."

"Yeah," Liz ran her lip nervously through her teeth. "I wonder what would happen if . . . we did that?"

Max responded with an intense stare. She wished she could withdraw the question, but it was out there. Max gave her a slight smile. "If I kissed you . . ."

Liz nodded eagerly.

"I think you'd be fluorescent for the next week."

Liz smiled now too, "So make me glow."

*********

Michael paced around the tree. This was stupid. He shouldn't be there. He knew that. But, he was SO tired; it had been 3 days without sleep. 'Go to Max's like you always do, Michael,' he told himself. He glanced at his watch: 2 AM. Max hated it when he woke him at that time. Michael paced some more. He WANTED to sleep in her bed, but he hadn't even spoken to her since she kicked him out of Isabel's room. But, he was so tired; he just wanted to sleep, and he couldn’t imagine sleeping anywhere but near her ever again.

Michael's brain flashed to that night. 'I'm glad we can just lay here in each others arms now. I like having you to hold me while we fall asleep.' That's what he wanted, no what he NEEDED right now. Michael walked the well-worn path some more. "I want you to know that you’re welcome to sleep here anytime. I'll try to leave the window cracked so you can get in . . . anytime.' He sighed heavily. 'You could never be an intruder in my life.'

She had said it, but had she meant it? Did she still feel that way after he had . . . done that to her? 'All right, Guerin. Get it together.' He told himself. 'She said she’d leave the window open. So if it’s open, you’re welcome; and if it’s closed . . . well, at least you know.' But, he didn’t want to know . . . if it were closed, it would break his heart for good.

Michael scaled the tree, precariously balancing himself to reach the window . . . open. He exhaled in relief before he jumped through.

There she was, asleep in her bed. She looked so peaceful, happy . . . he couldn’t wake her. If he weren't so tired, he could have sat and watched her sleep all night. Michael gave the room a quick glance; no extra blankets or sleeping bags. He sighed before he took of his jacket and bunched it up on the floor next to her.

********

Maria swung her legs over the side of the bed. Her feet touched something, no someone. Fear extracted all of the air from her lungs. She finally got her vision in focus . . . "Michael! What ARE you doing?"

"I . . . uh . . . I was tired, and . . . the window was open, and you said . . . but, you were probably just warm or something . . ." he stuttered, reaching for his jacket to make a quick exit.

"No," she sighed. "I meant why are you sleeping on the floor? Are you trying to scare me to death?"

"I . . . didn’t want to wake you . . . and I wasn’t exactly sure I was still welcome," he whispered.

"Oh . . . the invite’s still open."

"So you’re . . . not mad anymore?"

"No, I’m furious. I mean the level of apologizing you have to do . . . we’re talking flowers, candy, expensive presents for the next 5 Christmases, I doubt Hallmark makes an 'I'm sorry I turned you silver' card, but you’re getting me one . . . are you grasping the magnitude of sucking up you need to do here?"

Michael smiled in relief. "Yeah . . . I think I can handle that, balloons and stuff."

"Good." Maria glanced at the floor. "Sit down," she pushed him to the bed. "Seriously, though . . . no matter how bad we're fighting, you’re always welcome to sleep here, okay?"

Maria could tell his eyes were getting cloudy; he'd die if he knew that she realized how vulnerable he felt at the moment. "Thanks," he whispered.

She straddled his legs and pulled his face into her stomach, wrapping her arms around him. She kissed the top of his head lightly. "Just no more turning me colors, okay?"

They climbed into bed together. Michael put his arms around her. This was right, so right. He gently lent in to give her a thank you kiss.

"DON’T even think about it!"

Michael fell back in the bed.

"Go practice that on your inflatable girlfriend."

"I do NOT have an inflatable girlfriend."

"Pity, she was the only one that was giving you any tonight."

He grinned, mentally thanking her for dismissing the serious atmosphere before he fell asleep.

********Part 3********

The knock on her door sent terrified chill's up Maria's spine. Her Mom was supposed to work all day Saturday; she COULDN'T be home yet.

"Maria?" a head swung into the room.

"Liz," Maria exhaled in relief. "Jesus Christ, I thought you were my mother."

"Oh?" Liz walked into the room. "Ohhh," she smiled when she noticed the lump in the bed next to Maria.

"We were just sleeping," Maria explained while crawling out of the bed.

"JUST sleeping?" Liz teased.

Maria blushed a little. "He has . . . trouble sleeping," she hesitated. She knew it wasn't her place to tell Liz much . . . "I told him he could sleep here anytime. I never hear him come in at night, but I wake up in his arms in the morning."

"That's so romantic," Liz said.

Maria didn't comment. "So, what did you want to talk to me about?"

A different type of smile filled Liz's face. She blushed a little too now, but her eyes sparkled with happiness. She slowly lifted the bottom of her sweater up enough for Maria to see the small silver circles covering her stomach.

"Liz Parker!" Maria's jaw dropped. "You mean Max finally . . ."

Liz smiled bigger. She glanced over at the bed to make sure they weren't waking Michael. "Can we uh, go . . ."

"Kitchen," Maria commanded.

"Sooo . . . details? What made Max finally go for it?" Maria questioned.

"You know how last weekend, after you and Michael . . . I kinda propositioned him, and he lent over like he was going to kiss me, but then he just whispered 'patience' and I was ready to kill him . . ."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah I know this part, Liz. Fast forward to the good stuff."

"Well, it's really so sweet. This whole time he's been secretly planning an evening for us, so that it would be special. Last night after you left the Crashdown . . ."

~~~~~~~Flashback~~~~~~~~~

Liz's heart was ready to leap outside of her chest. Maria had just left her alone in the Crashdown, and there was Max, knocking on the door. She used the key to let him in.

"Hey," her voice revealed her nervousness.

"Hey, you busy?"

"Not really." God, why didn't he just kiss her. The anxiousness was building inside her. She was SO tired of waiting.

"Good. Let's go for a drive, okay?"

"Okay."

They never really used words. Being together was conversation enough. In the jeep they seemed to drive forever in silence.

"So . . . where are we going?"

"It's, uh . . . a surprise."

"A surprise?" Liz smiled. It was going to be an exciting evening.

~~~~~~~~

"Liz, fast forward, remember? The good stuff," Maria interrupted.

"Right, I'm getting there. See, this whole time he's been saving up to take me to a hotel room. You know, so like Isabel or his parents or someone didn't walk in on us. But not a nookie motel. He took me to the Ritz Carleton«."

"The RITZ CARLETON! That had to cost a fortune!"

"I know. I know! It's just so sweet, though. He wanted to make everything so special for me. He didn't want me to feel cheap, and he just . . . he wanted everything to be perfect for the first time."

"Wait a minute, you mean he still thinks that you're a . . . I mean that you were before last night."

"You promised you wouldn't tell him."

"Yeah, I just . . . well, I thought you'd have told him, that's all."

"Have you learned nothing about men, Maria? No guy wants to hear that you've been with someone else. Actually, I think he probably KNOWS, but . . . it's like it was the first REAL time, because it was the first time I made LOVE. Does that make any sense?"

"Yeah, yeah, actually it does. Okay, get on with the story . . ."

"Well, we got there and . . ."

~~~~~~~~

"Max, how in the world can you afford this?" Liz questioned as she marveled at the expensive nuisances of the room.

"I've been saving up for something . . . special," he whispered.

"This is just . . . amazing! I can't believe you did this!"

"There's more," he said as he pressed play on a CD player. The sounds of Savage Garden's "I knew I loved you before I met you," filled the room. "May I have this dance, Liz Parker?"

Liz smiled as she swayed in his arms. This was PERFECT. "Max, I didn't know you could dance."

"Another tightly kept secret," he whispered in her ear. He was entranced in her eyes, in being in her arms. He brushed his lips across her neck and breathed in her ear, "I picked this song because it completely describes how I feel about you."

Liz was flattered, mostly because she knew he really meant that and wasn't just trying to get her into bed. "I love you, too," she whispered in his ear. Finally, the two fused together for their first passionate kiss. The moment seemed to freeze time. There had never been a moment before or a moment after, all that existed was that kiss.

~~~~~~~~~

"AND!" Maria demanded to know more.

"And then we . . . ya know."

"No way are you getting off with that! Details girl. How was he?"

Liz simply smiled.

"Come on, Liz!"

Liz didn't respond.

"Comparatively?" Maria added.

"You have GOT to be kidding!" Liz finally addressed the question. "Sex with Kyle was like having a broomstick jammed up me compared to this. Not something I would exactly describe as pleasurable. But that's the difference. Max really cared about pleasuring ME. " She paused. "It was like . . . somehow he could sense what I was feeling, what I really liked, and then did it more. . . . This is going to sound crazy, Maria . . . but, it was as though I could feel what he was feeling, too. Like we mentally converged into one."

"Ummhmm," Maria nodded with a grin.

"MARIA! Why didn't you tell me that sex with an alien was so . . ."

"Sex with an alien? Who's having sex with an alien?"

"Well, that's what you are isn't it, Michael? So I guess that would mean me, nosy." Maria turned around to taunt her boyfriend.

'Oh my God. Maria is telling Liz what sex with me was like. What if she's saying . . . bad things. I mean, I thought it was good, but . . . I knew Liz came over to calm Maria down the other day, but I didn't think that girls compared . . . oh, God . . .' "Well since I haven't gotten any in a week that would be NOT you."

"You are so crude," Maria jabbed.

'What the hell did she tell Liz? Maybe she said good things . . . or not, it WAS my first time . . . she DIDN'T tell Liz that . . . oh God . . .' "You got anything to eat; I'm starving."

"Must those always be the first words out of your mouth?" Maria griped as she poured him a bowl of Fruit Loops«. "Sometimes I think the only thing you eat is my food."

"That's not true, I eat at Max's, too."

"Mooch," she accused while pouring tobassco sauce in his bowl. She shoved in a spoon and handed it to him. "Here."

"Ummmm," Michael vocalized after biting into the concoction. "You are an amazing cook."

"Save it. Now, back to my room with you."

"Excuse me?"

"You heard me. Liz and I are girl-talking, so back you go."

"No. I want to hear what you're saying. You've already admitted to talking about me, so I think its my business . . ."

Maria sighed and rolled her eyes at Liz. She went seductively close to Michael and whispered in his ear, "Go to my room and let Liz and me talk and when I'm done . . ." she ran her hand down his stomach, below his waist, trying to excite him, " I'll make sure I can still say I'm having sex with an alien."

Michael raised an eyebrow. "Gone," he whispered. "But I'm holding you to that."

Liz tried to cover her laughter until Michael was out of earshot. "You have that boy whipped."

Maria pretended to snap an invisible whip in the air. "I'm glad it was as good for you and Max as it was for us. I figured it was probably some sort of alien thing, more than Michael's just that . . . amazing. I guess it's worth the price."

"The price?"

"Silver glow in the dark thingies covering your body."

"Oh, that," Liz grinned again. "Max, uh, thought of everything. He bought this edible body paint."

"EDIBLE BODY PAINT!"

"I know, not exactly Max is it? But, he had measured my Crashdown uniform and drew lines around where he wasn't allowed to touch."

"Oh my gosh, THAT IS so Max."

"It was cute . . . and then, he got to lick it off when we were done."

The girls laughed some more.

"So . . . he's spent every night with you since . . ." Liz questioned.

"Every night since Monday night. I have to admit, as annoying as Michael is, it's nice waking up being held, warm in your lover's arms. And it’s kind of . . . I don't know, adventurous, hiding it from my mom."

"It sounds . . . wonderful. I'll have to keep that in mind."

********

"I'm glad you came up with this idea," Max whispered in her ear as he snuggled in closer.

"Me, too," she whispered and pulled his arm around her.

"I like being in your bed."

THE END