Chapter 12

‘Why am I running from him?’ Maria thought as she stopped beside her bunk. Or was it her feelings that she was running from? ‘It was just sex.’ Or was it?

"Are you okay?" Maria jumped. Trevor immediately apologized, "I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you." Maria smiled.

"I’m fine, Trevor," she said. Trevor nodded, but wasn’t convinced.

"He didn’t pressure you to…"

"No! Absolutely not. I was wondering if all of you knew. I should’ve known that you’d find out, after all of the betting that was going on. Did you win?" Maria asked. Trevor shook his head vigorously.

"No way. I didn’t even join in the betting," he said, putting his head down.

"Thanks," she said. "Trevor, I’m not like that. I mean I didn’t, I, well, I don’t usually do that with just anyone." Trevor looked at her. She was so beautiful. His jealousy returned. Jacob was a fool to let her go, if that’s what he intended to do. Trevor frowned.

"I know, Maria. I never thought that. What’s gonna happen now? I mean are you two, you know, together or what?" Maria sighed.

"I don’t know. I know that neither one of us wants a relationship right now, but last night felt so damn right. Our schedules make it impossible for us to see each other, though. I just don’t see it happening right now," she told him. Trevor pulled her into a hug. Maria was grateful for his friendship, but she knew that he wanted more. He’d just have to settle for friendship. Someone else occupied her thoughts lately.

"Moving on to the next conquest?" Jacob asked Maria when he saw Trevor hugging her. Trevor let Maria go and turned around.

"Excuse me?" he said.

"She’s very prepared, if you know what I mean," Jacob said with a wink. Trevor got in his face.

"Shut up, Jake! How can you be with her and then act like this?" he asked.

"Like what? She’s the one acting like it was a one-night fling. That’s what you wanted all along wasn’t it?" he asked, looking over Trevor’s shoulder at Maria. "That’s what the invitation was for. You invited me to your room and you’re the one who made the first move, so don’t go getting all ‘he used me, he had his fun and it’s over’ on everyone looking for goddamn sympathy. If anything, you’re the one who used me!" Jacob shouted. Maria pushed Trevor aside and faced Jacob.

"Bullshit! You wanted me just as much as I wanted you and don’t you even try to deny it! If you’re gonna mope around like you are, seemingly sad to see me go, then why didn’t you do something sooner, huh? There was a whole month there where you’d barely look at me. What happened to ‘Mr. Professional?’ You wanted me to finish what I started, remember? So I did and now you’re whining about it and practically calling me a whore. What the hell is wrong with you?" Maria yelled. By this time, they had everyone’s attention in the bus. Dan and Dianna had heard the shouting and had come out of the back of the bus where they’d been watching TV. Erik, Alex and Ashley were watching from the kitchen area, their job of packing the food forgotten at the moment. The Mikes were trying to ignore what was going on, but they couldn’t help but overhear.

"I didn’t call you anything," Jacob said calmly. "And you’re right. I did want you and I don’t regret it. Just stop acting like nothing happened." Jacob brushed past Maria, Trevor, Dan and Dianna and disappeared into the back of the bus, slamming the door behind him. Maria sighed and leaned against the bunks. She smiled and gave a small laugh.

"What’s funny?" Trevor asked.

"Life is funny, Trevor. The guy tells me that he likes me. We make out, and then he tells me that he wants to just be friends. We do that for a month. He then tells me that he wants me and dares me to do something about our attraction to each other, so I invite him to my room, not really expecting anything to happen, but it does and now he’s pissed because I’m pretending that it didn’t happen. But that’s not what I’m doing. I’m facing reality here. We are not going to see each other for who knows how long. He told me that he doesn’t want a relationship and I don’t either. I’m not saying that what we did didn’t mean anything, but I don’t know what he wants from me," she said. Maria shook her head. It was spinning right now. She crawled into her bunk and closed the curtain. She just needed to be alone…and that was as ‘alone’ as she was going to get.

Trevor felt badly for Maria. He understood where Jacob was coming from, too, though. It was a difficult situation. He wondered how they’d work it out.

Dan and Dianna did not want to face Jacob at the moment. So, since he took their former hangout, they went to the front of the bus and sat down.

"Do you think Jake will be okay?" Dan asked Dianna, who gave him a confused look.

"Physically or mentally? I can only guarantee the ‘physical’ part. ‘Mental’ I know nothing about," she answered. Dan smiled. "Physically, he’ll be okay, but he has to be careful. Once you have a bad back, you always have a bad back," she added.

"You don’t talk about yourself much. Why is that?" Dan suddenly asked her. Dianna shrugged.

"I’m not an interesting person," she said, her blue eyes looking out the window.

"I’m sure that’s not true. You’ve been with us for a while now and I know nothing about you other than you’re from Ohio, like me, and you’re working as a physical therapist in Boston."

"What do you want to know?" Dianna asked, looking at him.

"I don’t know, um, your age, your likes and dislikes, your theory on life," Dan said with a smile. Dianna laughed.

"I’m twenty-three years old, I like a lot of things, as well as, dislike a lot of things and my theory on life is, well, you have to learn from your mistakes because you’re going to make a lot of them, but life goes on and you just have to deal with it," she said. Dan nodded.

"I hear you. The only theory I know is, ‘Life sucks and then you die,’" he said. Dianna shook her head.

"Isn’t that everyone’s theory when they’re in high school or something?" she asked.

"Maybe. It’s not mine, though. I’m, like, living a dream right now. I got nothing to complain about, except our schedule, but that’s the Mikes’ fault," he said.

"You’re too funny, Dan. You know, it’s going to be strange going home. I’m used to this. I never thought that I’d get used to the traveling and going to a new city or state every day. It’s more fun than I thought it would be," Dianna told him.

"Yeah, I love traveling and seeing new places and new people everyday. Now, you’re what? Going back to Boston and doing what you usually do."

"That’s right. Fixing more backs, legs, arms, and whatever other ailments my patients have," she said, sounding dispirited.

"You don’t sound very excited," Dan remarked. Dianna shrugged.

"It’s a job. I shouldn’t complain," she said.

"It sucks doing something that you don’t enjoy, though," Dan told her.

"I don’t have a lot of options right now," Dianna said. She stood up. "I’m going to make sure I’m all packed." Dan watched her go. Dianna wasn’t happy. Dan felt for her. He knew that he would be miserable if he had to just ‘settle’ for doing something that he didn’t enjoy. It was too bad if that were the case with Dianna.

"You’re gonna hang around the house a while when we get back, right?" Erik asked Alex as he watched her pack. She shrugged.

"It depends. If Maria wants to, I guess we can. I know that I don’t want to leave you yet," she said. Erik smiled.

"I don’t want you to leave me yet, either," he said and kissed her cheek.

"You’re so sa-weet, Erik," she said He laughed and kissed her again on the cheek.

"Are you still nervous about your family?" Erik then asked her. Alex nodded.

"Yes. Carlos scares me. Pathetic, huh? I’m scared of my own brother, but hopefully, we’ll work things out. If he’ll hear me out, that is," she said. Erik didn’t want her to be upset, so he pulled her to him and smiled.

"I can’t wait to show you my room," he told her. Alex smirked.

"Oh, really? And what is it about your room that you want me to see, exactly?" she asked. Erik furrowed his brow, pretending to think.

"Um…the bed?" he said. Alex hit him playfully and he laughed. He then leaned in to kiss her tenderly. Alex wrapped her arms around his neck and deepened the kiss.

Kevin leaned against the wall, waiting for Kathleen to come out of her acting class. Finally, the door opened and students started streaming out. Kevin straightened up and smiled when he saw Kathleen. Because of the Maria/Geoff mess, they’d been hanging out more and going out more frequently together, which was fine with Kevin. He really liked her.

"Hi," Kathleen said when she saw him. Kevin smiled at her.

"Hey. Dinner?" he asked. Kathleen shook her head.

"Maria’s returning tonight so I want to go see her, but I know that you know that," she told him as they started walking to her car.

"Yeah, I know. Geoff bought the whole damn flower shop. It’s in our living room and our kitchen right now. I don’t know how the hell he’s gonna deliver all of those arrangements. Like that will sway Maria to take him back," Kevin said, shaking his head. "Have you heard from her?"

"Not really. Just a ‘hi’ here and there, but she’s been busy, I’m sure."

"Yeah, ‘busy,’" he said with a smirk. Kathleen frowned.

"I’m sure that you’re not implying…"

"I’m not implying anything," he said.

"I’m sure there is a logical explanation as to why she kissed whoever she kissed. I can’t believe she hasn’t talked to me about any of that yet. I’m her best friend. What the hell is she waiting for?" Kevin laughed.

"I have a feeling that you’ll be up all night gossiping," he said. They had reached Kathleen’s car. "I’ll call you." She smiled.

"Okay. Bye, Kev," she said as she got into her car. Kevin headed back to his truck. He had to find Geoff to make sure that he wasn’t thinking of doing anything stupid.

The bus pulled into the Trans Con lot. Sarah jumped out of Susan’s car, Susan right behind her. Kyle was also there to greet Maria and Alex. The bus stopped and the doors opened. Two limos waited to take the group to the house. Mike M. was the first off the bus. He shook hands with Kyle and spoke with Susan for a minute. Sarah ran to the bus. Maria got off and hugged her.

"Hi! How was the rest of the tour?" Sarah asked, looking over Maria’s shoulder.

"Um…hello? I’m over here," Maria said. Sarah laughed. "It was…interesting," Maria then answered. Alex and Dianna were next to step off of the bus.

"We’re home," Alex said. "Well, not you, Dianna." Diana smiled.

"I’ll be leaving tomorrow morning. The Mikes were kind enough to pay for a hotel room for me for tonight," she said. Alex hugged her lightly.

"I’ll miss you," she said, smiling. Dianna nodded sadly.

"Welcome back to O-Town!" Erik yelled as he got off the bus. Trevor and Dan were right behind him. Jacob and Mike C. followed them.

"Get your things to the limo," Mike M. told them. The guys walked to one of the limos. They waved to Susan. Sarah wandered over to Jacob.

"Hi, Jacob," she said. He smiled.

"Hey, Sarah. How’s it going?" he asked. She pushed her hair behind her ear.

"Okay. The tour was more fun. It’s been boring around here," she said. Jacob nodded and went over to the limo. Sarah, of course, followed.

"Is the article done?" Kyle asked after hugging Maria. She laughed.

"Yes. I just have to type it up and submit it. Do you think that my boss will like it?" she asked with a smirk.

"I don’t know. I think he’ll probably hate it. Your work ethic is horrible." Maria laughed and hugged Susan. "Hello, Susie."

"Did you keep out of trouble after that whole Geoff incident?" she asked.

"Of course I did," Maria said, a look of total innocence on her face. Susan shook her head.

"It looks like Jacob’s got more than one Carpenter fan," she said, looking over at Sarah, who was still hanging around Jacob. Maria just nodded. The Mikes approached them.

"The boys have invited you over to hang out for a little while if you want," Mike C. said to Maria.

"Well, since my Jeep is there, I have to go to the house anyway," she said. She wasn’t ready to leave them yet. She wasn’t ready to say ‘goodbye’ to Jacob yet, either. "I’ll see you guys at the studio tomorrow," Maria told Susan and Kyle. They nodded and Maria headed for the limo.

"What about Sarah?" Susan called after her.

"I’ll keep her with me," Maria yelled back. Jacob watched Maria approach. She stood next to him as she put her bags in the limo’s trunk. He turned to her and she looked back. Jacob turned away quickly and walked around to get in the limo. Maria put her arm around Sarah’s shoulders and followed him. "How’s Emily?"

"She’s kinda weird. I mean I like her, but she’s quiet, except when she’s playing the guitar," Sarah answered. Maria was looking forward to seeing her cousin again. It had been a long time and if Emily was interested in music, Maria was all the more anxious to get to know her better. She followed Sarah into the limo and they were soon on their way to O-Town’s estate.

The guys were in good spirits as the limos pulled into the driveway of the house.

"This is the best part of being away…coming home," Ashley said as he got out of the limo and stretched. As soon as all of the luggage was unloaded from the limos’ trunks, the limos left. Maria and Alex loaded all of their stuff into Maria’s Jeep. Mike C. then led Maria, Alex, Dianna and Sarah inside where the guys had all disappeared.

"This is awesome," Sarah exclaimed, looking around.

"You can wait here for the guys. We’re gonna take off," Mike M. said as he came from another room.

"If I need to see the group about anything regarding the article, do I call you first?" Maria asked. Mike nodded.

"Sure. Whatever you need," he said. "It was a pleasure." He shook Maria’s hand, and then Alex’s.

"Thank you for everything," Maria said as she shook Mike C.’s hand. He smiled.

"No problem. My brother has actually been asking about you. I think he liked that dance that you shared at the awards party," he told her. Maria laughed.

"Yeah, well…" she said. Mike laughed.

"You’re right. I don’t really want him fighting with…"

"Oh, Mike," Maria quickly interrupted, glancing over at Sarah. "I have pictures that I’ll want the guys to see. Will you be around next week?" Mike nodded.

"Yeah. Just call us. We’ll arrange a meeting," he said. He turned to Dianna. "A cab will be arriving shortly to take you to your hotel. Everything has been arranged." She smiled.

"Thank you so much," she said. Mike nodded and the two of them left.

Dan and Trevor came down the stairs.

"Would you ladies like a tour?" Dan asked. They nodded and the guys proceeded to show them around. Erik and Ashley eventually joined them. Maria wondered where the hell Jacob had disappeared to. She pulled Ashley aside.

"Where’s Jacob?" she asked softly. He smiled.

"In his room. It’s across the pool area. In the guesthouse," he answered. Maria frowned.

"The guesthouse? Did he think that this O-Town gig wouldn’t last long, so he only wanted to be a guest and not a permanent resident?" she asked. Ashley laughed as he led her out of the house, past the pool and up the stairs of the guesthouse. Sure enough, Jacob was in his room unpacking.

"Jake, you have a visitor," Ashley said. Jacob turned around, saw Maria, and went right back to unpacking. Ashley shrugged at Maria, who motioned that he could go. After he’d left, Maria looked around.

"This is incredible," she remarked, looking at the ocean mural that was on the wall. "I always wanted to paint a wall mural, but my mom didn’t think that walls were meant to be painted like that. She got quite upset when I was, like, ten and decided to paint pictures all over my bedroom walls." Jacob smiled slightly. "I could always add to this," Maria said as she went over to examine the wall. "A shark or fish or something. Or, I could do something on the other wall." She was now looking at the wall where his guitars were hanging. "A staff with musical notes or something of that nature. It’s gotta be something musical, though."

"That’s actually a cool idea," Jacob said, looking at the wall himself now. He then looked at Maria. "It’ll be a reason for you to stick around." Maria smiled.

"So, you really want me around?" she asked. He nodded.

"I think I got too used to having you around. You don’t look too upset about leaving." The sad look on Jacob’s face made Maria’s heart hurt. She walked over to him.

"Jacob, I didn’t use you. Please don’t think that. I’m just as confused as you are where we’re concerned. It’s going to be so hard, though. We have different lives. I stay here, while you’re always away. But last night meant something. Right?" Jacob nodded.

"Yeah. I’ve never felt that way before," he admitted. Maria reached up and put her arms around his neck. Jacob looked into her beautiful eyes and smiled. He put his arms around her waist.

"I’m not going yet," she said, smiling. Jacob leaned in and lightly touched his lips to hers. Maria immediately deepened the kiss and Jacob turned her, walking her towards the bed, where he lay her down as he continued to kiss her. They were so into each other, they didn’t hear anyone coming up the stairs.

"Jake should be…oh, shit," Trevor said.

"Maria!" Maria and Jacob quickly released each other and sat up. Maria saw the look on Sarah’s face and silently cursed herself. "What’s going on?" Sarah asked, looking hurt. She looked from Maria to Jacob and back. Jacob cleared his throat and refused to look at anyone.

"Sarah, I didn’t want you to find out this way," Maria said. Sarah then understood.

"You…and Jacob?" she asked, tears coming to her eyes. Before Maria could say anything else, Sarah bolted out of the room and down the stairs.

"Son of a bitch," Maria muttered as she quickly followed her sister. Trevor stood looking at Jacob.

"Well, this is a nice situation," Trevor said, crossing his arms over his chest. Jacob stood up.

"It’s not my fault," he said.

"Dude, why can’t you take responsibility for your own actions? Sarah’s hurt. She likes you and all you can say is, ‘It’s not my fault?’" Trevor asked, angrily.

"What do you want me to say? I can’t help it if the kid has a crush on me," Jacob told him. Trevor laughed.

"What is it with you, anyway? First Maria and now her little sister…who isn’t a ‘kid,’ by the way. She’s eighteen."