Chapter 9

"I don’t think so, but I will anyway," he said, not one to sit around and do nothing. Maria waited while he went and changed. She put her Creed CD in the stereo and cranked up the volume so they’d be able to hear it out by the pool. She walked out to the pool. It would feel good to get some of her nervous energy out. Jacob came out behind her. He had on board shorts. Maria gazed at his bare chest for a minute before she dove into the pool. Jacob watched as she came up and began swimming laps. He slowly climbed in and sat on the steps watching her as she swam.

The stars were just beginning to come out and the air was still warm. When Maria became tired and felt like she couldn’t swim anymore, she stopped and hung out underneath the diving board. She could feel Jacob’s eyes on her, so she waded slowly to the shallow end and sat beside him. She leaned back and he couldn’t help but look at her body.

"My face is up here," Maria said. He smiled and looked into her eyes. "So, you got dizzy at practice or something? Did you pass out?" she asked with a smirk. She pulled her ponytail holder out and leaned her head back to smooth out her hair.

"Let’s just say that I wasn’t feeling very well," he said.

"It must kill you to be missing the show right now," Maria said. He shrugged.

"I don’t have the energy to perform at my best, so I’d rather not perform," he said. "I don’t like letting the fans down, but it can’t be helped. I’ve performed sick before and it sucked. It just made me worse." Maria nodded.

"If you can’t be perfect…" she said. "I know the feeling. I once took a whole roll of pictures that I wasn’t happy with. Kyle insisted that they were fine and great and wonderful, but I didn’t think so, so it took a whole week for me to re-take the pictures. Kyle was pissed. I guess perfection is kinda hard to live up to."

"Yeah, it is," Jacob said. Maria looked at him.

"Have you ever read ‘The Birthmark’ by Nathaniel Hawthorne?" she asked. He looked at her.

"No," he said.

"Oh, yeah. You never went to college, did you? That’s okay. Anyway, this story is about a doctor who is very much in love with his wife. She’s exquisite. She’s got almost flawless beauty only she’s got a hand-shaped birthmark on her face. It’s her only flaw, but it still bugs the hell out of the doctor. He tries everything to have this flaw removed so that she could be perfect. It’s all he wants: a perfect wife. And she’s more than willing to let him use her for his experiments, if it will make him happy. As time goes on and the more ‘treatments’ he tries, she gets weaker and weaker because this birthmark, this hand, is squeezing the life out of her. It’s unnatural for someone to be totally perfect, so the doctor can’t possibly succeed. But he doesn’t give up. This birthmark is a part of her, but this selfish, bastard doctor doesn’t accept that. He wants her perfect. Ultimately, his attempts to have the birthmark removed kill her because a perfect person can’t exist. The ‘hand’ squeezes her heart until it stops. And you know what? The doctor isn’t all that upset about it. His love for his science was much greater than his love for his wife. Isn’t that sad?" Maria looked at Jacob, who was just staring at her, transfixed by her.

"The moral being that ‘nobody’s perfect?’" he asked. She nodded.

"Yeah."

"You can still strive for perfection, though, without really reaching it. It’s the goal that keeps you working to achieve perfection, even knowing that you will never actually reach it," Jacob told her. Maria nodded.

"That’s true," she said. She suddenly took Jacob’s hand and swam away, pulling him with her. "Hey, you know what? I found something that I can’t do. Or that I’m not very good at anyway."

"What’s that?" he asked.

"Relationships. It’s over with Geoff. He’s gone."

"Was it hard to let him go?" Jacob asked her. Maria leaned against the side of the pool.

"Not really. I mean after everything he’s done, it didn’t make it too hard. His face, though…Jacob, you really beat the crap out of him," she said, smiling.

"That’s funny to you?" he asked, moving closer to her. He waded up beside her and copied her position of leaning against the side of the pool.

"Yeah," she said. "Not to be mean, but he deserved it. Thanks."

"You’re welcome. But, I’m not doing that every time someone pisses you off." Maria laughed.

"Damn," she said. She turned her head to look at him. He looked into her eyes. Then his eyes dropped to her lips. They were moist from the water, but she licked them anyway when she saw where he was looking. Slowly, Maria slid in front of him and she reached up to touch the bandage over his eye, her eyes never leaving his. Jacob then reached up and touched her bruised cheek lightly. Maria took his hand and kissed his bruised knuckles lightly. Jacob looked into her beautiful eyes. It was his turn. He leaned forward and gently pressed his lips to hers. Maria’s eyes closed the moment his lips touched hers. When she didn’t back away from him, Jacob deepened the kiss. His hands slid over her back and her wet hair. Maria’s hands were now at Jacob’s waist. She was getting impatient as he continued to kiss her slowly, so she opened her mouth and smiled when she felt his tongue sliding over her lips, and then entering her mouth.

Jacob wanted this kiss to be different from the first one. He drew it out, his mouth tasting hers fully, as he kissed her slowly. He heard Maria moan as he continued to kiss her. Jacob pulled her against him and she moaned again as his mouth left hers and he trailed kisses down to her neck, where he kissed and sucked her sensitive skin. Maria’s head was back and all she could feel was Jacob’s hot mouth on her neck. It had never been like this with Geoff. He’d kiss her a couple of times, take her to bed and that was it. When he was done, their encounter was done. Jacob was sure as hell not Geoff.

Maria smiled as Jacob continued his assault on her neck. His goatee tickled her neck and she tightened her arms around him. She wanted to feel his lips on hers again, though, so she brought her head down and captured his lips, kissing him passionately. Now that Maria had control, things started to heat up pretty quickly. Jacob pulled her to him and she gasped when she felt his arousal. ‘Stop,’ she thought. ‘We can’t do this.’ Maria pulled away, breathing heavily, her heart beating rapidly in her chest. Jacob looked at her with half-closed, desire-filled eyes. Maria took a deep breath.

"They’re gonna be home soon," she said, as she quickly swam to the stairs and climbed out. She smiled over her shoulder at him. "Take your time getting out," she smirked, knowing what kind of ‘state’ he was currently in. Jacob watched her walk away and cursed under his breath. He sank down and laid his head against the edge of the pool. ‘I gotta be crazy to be doing this,’ he thought. ‘Absolutely crazy.’

An hour later, Joseph and Marilyn returned home. They found Maria and Jacob, now in dry clothes, sitting together on the couch in the recreation room. Jacob was playing his guitar and Maria was writing up his profile. They sat on opposite ends of the couch facing each other, their backs against the arms of the couch.

"How do you feel?" Joseph asked Jacob as they entered the room.

"Oh, hey. I’m okay, thanks," Jacob said. Joseph smiled at Maria, who was concentrating on what she was writing.

"How about you?" he asked. Maria finally looked up.

"I’m better, thanks, dad. How was dinner?" she asked.

"Very good. I hear that you’re going to Sarah’s graduation," Joseph said. Maria nodded.

"I assume you’re not going because of the baby. I mean mom might find out and heaven forbid if that happens," she said, rolling her eyes.

"It’s not that. And it’s not that I don’t want to go, either. I have to work. Sarah understands that," Joseph told her.

"Yeah. Just send her a check. She’ll be fine," Maria said, somewhat angrily. Joseph nodded and taking Marilyn’s hand, they left the room. "It’s pathetic how he’s scared of my mom, isn’t it?" she asked Jacob. He didn’t think she’d want an answer, so he kept quiet. More noise was heard and Maria sighed. "They’re home."

"Hey guys! What did you do here…all by yourselves?" Alex asked with a smile when everyone, except the Mikes, had come into the room.

"We had wild sex on the pool table," Maria said with a straight face. Jacob almost choked. Erik cracked up.

"Yeah, and we thought that you were sick Jake," he said, still laughing. Alex smiled at Maria knowingly.

"Well something happened. Ms. Carpenter has a hickey," she said. Maria immediately touched her neck. She kicked Jacob, who was trying, unsuccessfully, to hide a smile.

"That’s great, Maria. Now you’re gonna get sick, too," Alex said. Jacob got up.

"So, Dianna, is it too late for a treatment?" he asked, stretching. She smiled. He wanted to get out of there and fast.

"No, come on," she said. Jacob followed her out of the room.

"So, fess up. What happened?" Alex asked.

"You need to mind your own business," Maria said. "I’m working here. Go away."

"I’m tired. Goodnight," Trevor said as he turned and left the room. Ashley watched him go.

"He’s bummed and probably doesn’t want to hear what happened. So, what, like, did happen?" he asked, sitting on the couch where Jacob had been.

"Oh my God! You guys are impossible," Maria told them.

"I didn’t say anything," Dan said in his own defense.

"Look, we didn’t have sex on the pool table. I was just joking about that. We went swimming and, well, things happened, but it wasn’t serious," Maria said.

"What kind of ‘things?’" Alex asked.

"You don’t need to know all of the details, Alex," Maria said.

"I know that I don’t need to know, but I want to know," she said. Maria shook her head.

"You guys made out again, didn’t you?" Erik asked.

"Yes! Are you happy? I sure as hell didn’t give myself a hickey," Maria said. She then got up and left the room. Alex smiled.

"It’s cool that they’re hooking up, huh?" she asked as she put her arms around Erik.

"I guess, but Trevor’s pretty upset. I didn’t even realize he liked her that much until everyone started talking about Maria and Jacob and he got all sad," Erik said.

"Trevor will be fine. Hey, guys, wanna play some pool?" Dan asked, tired of discussing Maria and Jacob.

"Sure," Ashley said, as he ran over and pulled a stick from the wall. "Rack’em up," he said.

Dianna expertly massaged Jacob’s sore back. It was feeling a lot better, but he liked the treatments anyway.

"Jacob, can I ask you something?" she asked. He nodded. "Well, Trevor wanted me to ask you. How do you feel about Maria?" She felt him sigh heavily.

"Good question," he mumbled.

"I know it’s none of my business. You don’t have to answer," Dianna said.

"Trevor likes her, doesn’t he?" Jacob asked.

"I think so. But she likes you. It’s obvious," Dianna told him. That much Jacob knew. Especially after what had happened in the pool earlier. He wasn’t exactly sure how serious she was, though. After all, she had just broken up with her boyfriend. Jacob had a feeling, though, that he wasn’t just a rebound. At least, he hoped that he wasn’t.

Jacob didn’t say anything else, so Dianna left him alone. What went on between Maria and Jacob was their business

Later that night when almost everyone had gone to bed, Maria was in the bathroom brushing her teeth when there was a light knock on the door. Maria turned and saw Jacob standing at the door that wasn’t closed all the way. She motioned for him to come in. He closed the door lightly behind him.

"What’s wrong?" Maria asked softly. Alex had gone to bed, but Maria suspected that she hadn’t fallen asleep yet.

"Mike told me that I have to stay away from you. He said that it wouldn’t be good for us to, you know, be involved if we’re working together," he said. Maria frowned.

"Mike M. right? Well, tell him to go to hell. It’s none of his business and if we want to be ‘involved’ as he put it, then we can be," she said. Jacob smiled. "What?" she asked. "Why is it so funny?"

"I’m just kidding. He didn’t say anything like that," Jacob told her.

"Do you want another black eye?" she asked. Jacob laughed. Something hit the door. Maria put her finger to her lips to tell Jacob not to say anything else. She mouthed ‘Alex’ to him and smiled.

"Jacob, what are you doing? Alex is asleep. We can’t do this now," Maria said loudly.

"But I want you," Jacob said, playing along.

"Oh, Jacob, that feels so good. Keep going," Maria moaned, trying hard not to laugh. "You are the best. Oooooh." Maria motioned for Jacob to open the door. He did so and Alex fell into the bathroom. Jacob caught her. She looked at them guiltily.

"Oh, hey guys. I was just…" she mumbled as she stood up straight.

"We know what you were doing," Maria said. "Go to bed."

"So, that moaning was fake then?" Alex asked, smiling. Maria threw a towel at her and Alex ran back to her bed.

"Why did you come in here anyway?" Maria then asked Jacob.

"Just to say ‘goodnight,’" he replied. Maria smiled.

"Goodnight," she said. He kissed her bruised cheek lightly.

"’Night," he said and turned around, leaving Maria alone. She sighed. What was going on? She had just ended a two-year relationship with Geoff. How could she possibly be having feelings for someone else so soon? And on top of that, those feelings were for Jacob Underwood. A guy that Maria thought was a jerk not so long ago. She shook her head and went to bed.

The next morning, everyone hurried to pack their things and get their stuff loaded into the limos. Their next stop was Carson City, Nevada.

"It’s too damn early," Erik moaned. He was still half asleep as he carried his bag out to the limo. Alex was dragging as well, as she walked right beside him.

"It’s a beautiful morning!" Ashley said happily, pushing Erik ahead of him.

"Shut up," Erik mumbled. The Mikes came out of the house. They shook hands with Joseph, who was standing on the porch. Marilyn was not yet up and he didn’t want to wake her because she needed her rest. Dan and Dianna then came out, followed by a yawning Jacob and Maria, who stopped in front of Joseph.

"Take care. It was nice to meet you, Jacob," Joseph said, shaking his hand. Joseph didn’t know what exactly was going on between Jacob and his daughter, but he didn’t want to pry into Maria’s life and get her angry with him. Jacob nodded at Joseph.

"Thanks for letting us stay here. Sorry about what happened," he said.

"No, I’m sorry for inviting Geoff in. Had I known…" Joseph told him.

"Don’t worry about it, dad. It’s over and done with," Maria interrupted. She hugged her father. "I’m gonna miss you."

"I’ll miss you too, sweetheart. I love you," he said as he released her.

"I love you too," Maria said.

"I can’t wait to read your article," Joseph said right before he kissed Maria’s un-bruised cheek.

"I better. I have a deadline, you know," Maria said. She grabbed Jacob’s hand. "Come on." She laughed as she pulled Jacob to the limo. Joseph waved as the limos backed out of the long driveway and left.

"Man, I want to go to Las Vegas," Trevor said, grinning.

"Are you a gambler?" Maria asked him. He shrugged.

"Sure. It’s fun to win," he said, rubbing his hands together.

"And what if you lose, Einstein?" Dan asked.

"I won’t lose. I’m feeling lucky," he said. Maria smiled at him and he smiled back. She closed her eyes and put her head back against the seat. It had been an interesting visit with her father. She still had mixed feelings where Jacob was concerned, but she had her work to concentrate on. She had to do her job and all other extracurricular activities would have to wait. ‘Now, on with the tour,’ she thought.

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