Chapter 5

"I can’t," Sarah cried. Maria stood up and opened the French doors leading out onto a deck off of the bedroom. The wind blew her hair. She walked to the railing. The guys were setting up a volleyball net below. ‘Where did they get that?’ she thought.

"Sarah, I wish that you could be with me, but I don’t see how that’s possible right now. Listen, if you can stick with it until graduation, I’ll fly to Connecticut and pick you up myself," Maria said.

"You would let me live with you?" Sarah asked, incredulously. Maria closed her eyes.

"Yes," she said. She could feel the difference in Sarah’s demeanor over the phone…and the relief.

"I never thought that you would say that. Maria, I promise I’ll do my best to get through the next month. You won’t change your mind, right?" she asked.

"Do you want me to write up a contract?" Maria asked with a laugh. Sarah laughed, too, which was the best sound that Maria could’ve heard at that point.

"Thank you, Maria. You’re coming for graduation, right?" she asked.

"I wouldn’t miss it. But I want you to graduate, so study hard and do well on your finals. You can come live with me after that," Maria said.

"You’re the best," Sarah exclaimed.

"Yeah, just remember you said that," Maria told her. "And if you have any trouble with mom, call me before getting all upset, okay?"

"I will. Thanks again," Sarah said.

"You’re welcome. I love you. Bye."

"Bye!" Maria hung up. Trevor then appeared at the doors to the deck.

"We’re gonna play volleyball. Why don’t you change and come play with us?" he asked. Maria smiled. That sounded like fun.

"Okay. I’ll be right down," she said. Trevor smiled and left.

"This isn’t gonna work. It’s three against two," Jacob said. Trevor came running out of the cottage.

"Nope. It’s three against three. Maria said that she’d play," he told them.

"Well then, one team will have a girl. That’s still not fair," Erik said.

"Isn’t Ashley a girl? It’ll be even." Jacob smirked.

"Very funny," Ashley said. They turned when Maria came running out of the cottage. She had on a black, one-piece bathing suit with a see-through mesh triangle cut in the middle that reached down to her belly button. She also had on black, terry cloth shorts and nothing on her feet. Her hair was pulled into a tight bun at the back of her head. It was unusually warm for a May day, despite the windy conditions.

"Okay. Who’s playing?" she asked as she ran over to them. The yard was split. Up close to the cottage was a mixture of grass and sand. A stone wall ran across the lower part of the yard and two stone steps led down to the beach and the water. The volleyball net had been set up on the upper yard area. Alex came out onto the porch to watch. Mike C. was also sitting on the porch, his cell phone attached to his ear.

Dan took charge. "Why don’t we have Jacob, Trevor and me against Erik, Maria and Ashley? How’s that?" No one argued and they took their positions. Maria held her own against the guys, even scoring a few points. She served well and the score stayed close, but her team was still losing.

Ashley was serving and Maria found herself face-to-face with Jacob, who was on the opposite side of the net from her. "We’re gonna win," she told him. He smirked at her.

"It doesn’t look too good right now," he said. "We’ve been easy on you, though." That was not a good thing to say to Maria.

"Don’t do us any favors," she said.

Ashley served the ball and Jacob hit it right over the net to Maria, who hit it back over to Jacob. Then, she got an idea. As Jacob positioned himself underneath the ball, Maria ran under the net and tackled him, so that the ball bounced to the ground next to them.

"Hey! I don’t think that’s legal!" Trevor yelled. Ashley, Erik and Dan were looking at each other, surprised, and trying not to laugh.

Jacob looked up at Maria, who was still on top of him. "I didn’t think that volleyball was a full-body-contact kinda game," he said. Maria looked at him, a smile on her face. His blue eyes gazed intensely into her greenish/blue ones and she felt her heart start to beat a little faster…and it wasn’t from the exertion of playing volleyball.

"I’m competitive," she said, ignoring the way that his amazing eyes seemed to look right into her soul.

"You’re also on top of me," he told her. Maria, suddenly realizing how closely their bodies were pressed together, quickly got off of him and pulled him up, as the others came over to them.

"I don’t like to lose," she said as Jacob brushed sand off of his back the best that he could. The guys stood there staring at the pair.

"Nice try, but I don’t think that that move is in the rules book," Trevor stated, breaking the odd silence that had come over all of them.

"Why not? Since you all seem to think that my team is at a disadvantage because I’m a girl, then I think a few ‘new’ rules can be added," Maria said.

Alex had watched with amusement when Maria had tackled Jacob and she now ran down the stairs of the cottage and joined them. "I’ll play, so it’ll be even," she said.

"That’s a good idea, but I want Maria on my team. I’m not getting tackled again," Jacob said with a grimace. She really was stronger than she looked. He also wasn’t happy with the way that he had felt when she had been lying on him. He had liked it. Hey, he was a guy and she was a beautiful woman that he had already admitted he was attracted to. Who, in that situation, wouldn’t have wanted her lying full-body on top of them?

"Fine. I’ll go with Jacob and, who wants to sit out?" Maria asked Dan and Trevor. Dan volunteered to sit out, so Alex joined Erik and Ashley while Maria took her position on the opposite side of the net from where she had been before. "Sorry," she whispered to Jacob as she passed him. He turned to look at her, but she was watching Trevor getting ready to serve the ball.

Since Alex was not really an athlete in any way whatsoever, Jacob, Maria and Trevor won easily. On Maria’s advice, Jacob and Trevor just kept hitting the ball to Alex, who always seemed to hit it behind her or at the cottage or at a bird…anywhere, but at the other side of the net.

"Darling, you should stick to clothing because you suck at sports," Erik said with a smile. Alex pouted.

"What do we win?" Maria asked. Ashley, Alex and Erik looked at each other.

"Uh…the game?" Ashley said. Maria crossed her arms over her chest and looked at him seriously.

"Come on. There’s got to be a prize or something. How about if you three serve us three, and Dan since he was cool enough to sit out, how about if you serve us dinner after the show tomorrow night?" she suggested.

"Man, we’ll be too tired," Ashley whined.

"Oh, you’re only performing three songs, Ashley," Maria said, rolling her eyes.

"I can’t cook," Erik told them.

"Alex can," Maria said with a smile. Alex glared at her.

"So, I’ll end up doing everything? Go to hell, Maria," she said. Maria laughed.

"I’m sure that Ashley and Erik will help you. Right, guys?" she asked. Ashley and Erik didn’t look too happy, but they nodded.

"Yes, ma’am," Erik said and hung his head. "I’m a loser and I’ll do your bidding."

"Good. Now, us winners will be expecting something good, so no cheating and getting take-out and trying to pass it off as your cooking," Maria said as she turned and walked back to the cottage. Jacob, Dan and Trevor stood there, watching her go.

"Damn! She just got us a home-cooked meal for tomorrow night!" Dan exclaimed happily.

"Why don’t you know how to play volleyball?" Erik yelled at Alex with mock anger in his voice. Alex laughed.

"It’s not funny. We have to cook," Ashley said, looking more than a little nervous.

"Just don’t burn down the cottage, guys," Jacob said as he walked away, followed by Dan and Trevor.

"Stop looking at me like that. I know how to cook. It’s no big deal," Alex said to Ashley and Erik as they continued to stare at her. "You’re such babies," she told them as she went to go inside. Ashley and Erik retrieved the ball and played some one-on-one volleyball---with no girls.

"Jake, can I come in, man?" Dan asked as he stood at the door to Jacob’s room. Jacob nodded. He was lying on the bed, reading some of the lyrics that he had written earlier in the day.

Dan came in and sat on the bed, his body turned so that he could look at Jacob. "That was a fun game, huh?" Dan asked, a smile on his face. Jacob shrugged.

"I guess," he said.

"I saw the way that you were looking at Maria when she tackled you. What’s going on?" Jacob looked at Dan and frowned.

"Nothing, Dan. What do you think is ‘going on?’" he asked.

"I don’t know. You tell me. You’re attracted to her, aren’t you?" Jacob sat up and put his writing book down.

"I don’t know what you think you saw, but I’m not interested in her…like that," he said. "I just broke up with my girlfriend. Why would I be looking at someone else so soon after that?"

"Because Maria is beautiful. You can’t deny that, Jake," Dan told him.

"Alex is good-looking too. How am I looking at her? You know, since you’re the expert," Jacob said, getting annoyed with Dan’s nosy questions. Jacob knew that he was developing some feelings for Maria that he didn’t welcome and he didn’t really want to discuss it right now. He wanted to pretend that those feelings didn’t exist.

"I’ll let it go. I don’t want to upset you," Dan said as he stood up. "It’s good that you’re at least starting to get along with her, though." Jacob watched Dan leave and he lay back down on the bed, closing his eyes.

Susan located Maria sitting on a long wicker love seat on the front porch of the cottage. Her legs were tucked under her and she had her notebook in her hands. She had also put on a light sweatshirt because the wind had picked up again.

"Alex told me about the volleyball game. Are you trying to kill Jacob now?" Susan asked with a smile. Maria laughed.

"I didn’t take him down that hard. But I did take him down…and it felt good." ‘In more ways than one,’ she thought.

"Good for you," Susan said as she sat down beside Maria.

"I talked to Sarah. She’s not getting along with mom. I told her that after she graduates, she could come live with me. Now that I’m thinking about it, did I just sign my own pass into the insane asylum?" Maria asked, knowing that sooner or later, Sarah would drive her crazy. Susan smiled.

"I think that it’ll work out. You love Sarah and I think that you’ll do more for her than your mother can at this point. No offense to Caroline, but she’s got no clue when it comes to Sarah. What about Geoff, though?" Maria shrugged.

"I don’t know. I’ve been trying to convince myself that I love him and in a way, I do, but I’m not in love with him, you know?" Susan nodded.

"I understand. It’s not a very healthy relationship, though."

"I know. I’m just scared of being alone, I guess. It’s comforting having someone there all the time. I cringe when I think about going home to an empty loft. After my father left, my mom was lost. She didn’t know what to do with herself. All she did was cry and carry on about how she was alone and would always be alone. I guess she forgot about the three kids that she had living with her. I don’t know. It sounds stupid when I say it, but I just have this fear of ending up alone. I have Heathcliff, but it’s not the same," Maria said as she doodled in her notebook.

"Maria, I’ve been alone for a long time. But, I have friends and my home is my solitude, which is comforting for me. It’s not that I want to be alone, but even at my ‘advanced age’ I still have the hope that I’ll meet my special someone. It just hasn’t happened yet. And you know what? You’ll eventually meet someone that’s just right for you. It’s not Geoff, that’s obvious, but you’re beautiful, successful, talented and a good person. And, you’re young. So, stop this ‘I’m gonna be an old maid’ talk and enjoy life," Susan told her. Maria smiled and nodded. Susan leaned over and hugged her. ‘She’s right,’ Maria thought. ‘I’m young. I’ve got time. Right now, I just have to have fun.’ That, she could do.

The next morning, Maria woke up to the sun shining brightly into the bedroom. She sat up, noticing that Alex was still sleeping and that Susan was already gone. Maria got out of bed and stretched. She had worn a tee shirt and shorts to bed. She hated nightgowns and preferred more informal sleepwear. ‘Who do I have to look good for in bed anyway?’ she asked herself.

She walked out into the hallway and heard the shower running. Damn. She wanted to take a shower. The salty air had her feeling…sticky. Jacob had a shower in his room. Was he awake? Should she check? Maria cautiously walked to the door of his room. She knocked lightly. The door opened and Jacob stood there in just a towel, his dreads wet and water dripping down his torso. ‘Hel-lo!’ Maria thought, her eyes wandering over him. He was somewhat skinny and had a rather small physique, but he was muscular and well toned. Maria just stood there for a moment, looking at him.

"What?" Jacob finally asked, not particularly embarrassed by his state of undress. Maria’s eyes returned to his face and she found her voice.

"I was wondering if I could use your shower. If it’s okay, I mean. There’s someone in the other one," she said, trying not to stare and also trying desperately to keep her gaze on his face.

"Yeah, sure," he said. Maria smiled and quickly went back to her room to get some things that she needed. When she returned to Jacob’s room, he had on black warm-ups and a red tee shirt.

"Thanks," she said as she went into the bathroom. He nodded and watched as the door closed. Had she been checking him out? He had seen her face turn a light shade of red when she had seen him, but she had done a good job of covering up any discomfort that she may have had. Jacob shook his head. What was going on? Maria had a boyfriend. He knew that she was unhappy with that Geoff jerk, but he was still her boyfriend. It had to have been his imagination; after all, she didn’t like him like that…hell, she didn’t even like him. And he didn’t like her either, right? It was because of Janie. Jacob was missing her and he now had himself thinking that he was interested in Maria. It was a rebound kinda thing…he was sure of it. But, how would that explain Maria looking at him the way that she had? He had no idea. Tying a bandanna over his head, he quickly escaped his room before Maria finished her shower.

The guys pushed all of the furniture in the living room aside so that they could practice. There was more than enough room to dance. For the performance that night, they would be performing ‘Take Me Under,’ ‘Liquid Dreams,’ and ‘All Or Nothing.’ They ran through the choreography for ‘Liquid Dreams’ and it appeared as if Jacob was having some trouble. He seemed stiff.

"What’s wrong?" Trevor asked. Jacob was usually the one who made the least choreography mistakes. Plus, they’d performed ‘Liquid Dreams’ so many times that they could all do it in their sleep.

"Nothing," Jacob said. Maria, who was sitting off to the side watching, noticed that Jacob kept reaching behind him and rubbing his lower back. She frowned. If he was hurting in any way, he was hiding it well.

"Let’s do it again," Dan said, sweat running down his forehead. It was warmer today and there was only an occasional breeze. They tried it again and it went better, but Maria definitely noticed that Jacob was wincing while he danced.

The group took a break to get something to drink. Jacob stayed in the living room. He was bending down, touching his toes, trying to stretch out his back.

"I didn’t hurt you did I?" Maria asked. Jacob turned to her. He had forgotten that she was sitting there.

"What do you mean?" he asked, straightening up.

"The volleyball game yesterday. I hope that I didn’t hurt you when I tackled you," she said.

"No. I’m fine," he said and walked out of the room. ‘Okay,’ Maria thought. He didn’t look fine. Should she tell someone? Jacob would probably get mad at her if she did. Oh well, it wasn’t her problem.

Orlando

Kathleen let herself into the loft and sighed when she saw Geoff sitting on the couch watching TV.

"Ever hear of knocking?" he asked, crossly. Kathleen ignored him. "Have you heard from Maria?" he then asked as she went into the kitchen. When she didn’t answer him, he went into the kitchen to face her. "I asked you a question."

"What’s wrong?" Kathleen asked icily as she turned to look at him. "Afraid that Maria knows what a cheating shithead you are? If she really loved you, don’t you think that she would’ve called by now?"

"She’s probably busy with that loser band. She’ll call," Geoff said. Kathleen put some kitten food in a dish for Heathcliff and placed it on his placemat next to the refrigerator.

"I don’t think that she will," Kathleen said as she turned to look at him again. "Why did you do it? Don’t you care for Maria at all? You know how she is. She’s stubborn and focused when it comes to her work. You knew that when you first got involved with her. Why all of a sudden are you acting all pissed off? Don’t you trust her?"

"I don’t know. She seemed real eager to go on her trip with those guys, didn’t she?"

"Don’t you know how many hours she spent trying to decide if she wanted to go? You don’t, do you? Well, you can trust her. She’s not interested in any of those guys. But what do you do? You go and sleep with the first slut that comes along because Maria isn’t spending enough time with you. Poor baby. You’re just a bastard," Kathleen said, turning away. She turned back to him as she stalked to the door. "Oh, and I am going to tell her. You can tell her that you slept with me or with the Queen of England for all I care. The fact is that you still cheated on her and that’s what she’ll care about. Who you did it with won’t matter. And she’d never believe that it was me anyway, so go to hell!" Kathleen left, slamming the door behind her.

Geoff closed his eyes tightly. Kathleen was right. He was going to lose Maria. And he actually cared. He didn’t know what his problem was. Maria was an amazing woman. What had happened to their relationship? He had a feeling that it had started going sour after they had moved in together. Strangely enough, they had possibly been seeing too much of each other and then when Kyle Walsh had started to rely more and more on Maria and Geoff had been seeing less and less of her, well, he had become upset. He wanted someone who would be there for him. A woman who was at home waiting for him so that he could tell her how his day had gone. Geoff knew that with Maria, that would never happen, but it was okay to dream, right?

Part 3