Isabel took a deep breath as she woke up. Blinking slowly, she yawned and stretched in her bed before she turned her eyes towards the sunlight peeking in through the blinds over the window. After a few minutes she finally sat up and her feet found the fuzzy leopard print slippers she’d left on the floor the night before. Even though it was warm in the room, she still shivered a little at the loss of heat from the blankets piled on her bed. She left her room and glanced across the hallway to where Liz and Maria were sleeping. The door had been left wide open, just as hers had been, and she noticed that they were still sleeping. Narrowing her eyes, she realized that she only saw the outline of one person in the bed and that person had blond hair. Isabel was confused. It was seven in the morning, where would Liz be?
She took a quick look around their room and then she walked over to the guy’s side, trying to make as little noise as possible. She passed Michael snoring on the couch and continued down to the bedrooms. She figured that if anyone knew where Liz was, it would be Max. She was about to enter his room and wake him up when she stopped suddenly in the hallway. She tried to suppress the smile on her face, but found she couldn’t. Max and Liz were curled up together in his bed looking dead to the world. She shook her head. This could become a real problem once they got back to Roswell, she thought. She was about to return to the girl’s side of the rooms when a rustling from Alex’s room caught her attention. She glanced into his room and saw him sit up, leaning over to turn on the lamp next to the bed.
“Isabel?” Alex asked, his voice sounding a little rusty from sleep.
“Yeah, it’s me. Sorry I woke you,” she replied, turning to leave.
“No! Isabel, I was already awake. Come here,” Alex said. Isabel smiled and entered Alex’s room, pulling a leg underneath her as she sat on the edge of his bed. She grinned at the sight of Alex all rumpled and mussed from a night’s sleep. His eyes still looked a little fuzzy and his hair pointed in every possible direction. She couldn’t believe how adorable and sexy he looked at the same time. The thought crossed her mind before Isabel could even acknowledge it and she found herself wondering where it had come from. Separately adorable and sexy meant two very different things. Puppies were adorable and Ricky Martin was sexy. In her mind, together they had suddenly come to mean Alex. Alex wasn’t a puppy and he was quite Ricky Martin, but she did see much more in his wiry build and gentle hands than she had before. Earlier she might have described him as scrawny, but she was just starting to realize what strength he possessed in his trim frame.
“Did you sleep okay?” Isabel asked, trying to divert her own attention.
“Yeah, pretty much. I thought I heard some noises around one, but then I fell back asleep pretty quickly,” Alex replied. Isabel nodded her head towards Max’s room.
“Probably Max and Liz retreating for the night,” she said. Alex stared at her for a moment.
“You mean--“
“Yeah, she’s in there sleeping with him right now. But not SLEEPING with him, you know?” Isabel said, putting emphasis on the word so that Alex grasped what connotation she meant. He nodded and seemed to study her for a minute. She started to grow subconscious, something she rarely did, as she wondered how tangled her hair looked or how wrinkled her pajamas had gotten overnight.
“What?” she finally asked. Alex shook his head and smiled.
“I was just thinking about how beautiful you look early in the morning,” he said, giving her a sweet smile. She blushed a little and didn’t say anything. It was rare that a guy could make her speechless with a compliment, but then, all the guys she’d known were not nearly as sincere as Alex. Besides, most guys didn’t use words like “beautiful” to describe her. They used words like “hot” which had a very different meaning than “beautiful”. Isabel finally looked at Alex’s face and brightened.
“Since nobody’s up yet, we do have some time to ourselves,” Isabel hinted. Alex’s eyes widened in surprise and she laughed to herself, pleased she could still fluster him a little.
“Um, what did you have in mind?” he asked. She grabbed his hand and pulled him out of bed towards the other room. They passed Michael and entered the living room on the girl’s side. Isabel found a large blanket and fell back onto the sofa, grabbing the remote control. She patted the space next to her and Alex obediently sat down and shared the blanket with her.
“I think Scooby Doo is on in a few minutes,” Isabel said, waiting for his response. Alex smiled and nodded as she flipped on the TV.
“Sounds good to me. Daphne was always my favorite,” he commented. Isabel turned to him and raised her eyebrow.
“Let me guess why: the long red hair, Barbie implanted chest or the short purple skirt? ” she said dryly. He grinned at her, flashing his perfectly straight teeth.
“Okay, those were some of the reasons, but not all of them. Daphne had some serious guts and she was really spry, especially when she ran from vampires or mummies. And you have to admire a woman who would be willing to ride around in that van that Fred owned. There was a lot more to her than what was on the surface,” Alex said. He turned to look at her carefully.
“She reminds me of someone else I know.”
Isabel went still at his words and she stared at the remote in her hands. She almost couldn’t bear to look at him because she wondered what she might find in his eyes. It had been a dream to gain Alex’s friendship despite how she’d abused him before. She’d thought it would be too much to hope that maybe there could be more. When she finally did look up she found Alex studying her, his face so close to hers. She realized how close he was sitting and how his arm had snaked along the back of the couch and how she was leaning against his chest. She put a hand on his chest, just over his heart and found that it was beating faster than normal despite his calm appearance. The feeling soothed her and the warmth radiating off of him was so comforting. She felt safer than she ever had as Alex tentatively reached up with a hand and cupped her face in his hand. He leaned closer and she felt her own heart begin to accelerate. He paused a breath away from her face as she slowly began to close her eyes. Through the slits she stared at his lips as he smiled at her.
“This has to be a dream or something,” he whispered, unable to keep the sound of awe from his voice. She smiled and leaned ever closer.
“No more dreams Alex,” she replied and then she leaned close enough to touch her lips to his. It was such a gentle touch and so light. She felt his lips move under hers and she leaned in to return the pressure. She felt his hands move over her face and shoulders gently and she couldn’t help the need she felt to move as close to Alex as possible.
“Ah-hem,” the voice discreetly coughing in the doorway broke Alex and Isabel’s kiss and she glared at her brother and Liz standing there, holding hands and Max looking bemused while Liz looked a little surprised. Isabel looked at them archly.
“Oh, please, Max. Like you’re one to talk,” Isabel replied not moving away from Alex, but actually settling against him on the couch. She contained the way her face was flushed by putting up her cool as ice exterior. She was more than a little embarrassed to have been caught by her brother and Liz, but there was no way she was going to let them see that. Michael appeared behind them in the doorway and rubbed his eyes as he yawned.
“Man, can’t you guys keep it quiet around here? First these two at one in the morning,” Michael said, gesturing to Liz and Max. “And then you two just after dawn. Some of us are trying to sleep, you know.”
“Dawn? Michael, it’s almost eight, that hardly qualifies as ‘just after dawn’.” Alex commented. Liz grinned at him.
“Uh-oh Michael, it looks like you might have competition for the smart ass award this month,” Isabel said dryly. Michael actually cracked a smile at Isabel’s response and after a minute Alex cleared his throat.
“So, what’s on the agenda today,” he asked. Max nodded towards the outside window.
“I say we tackle that mountain,” he replied.
“Yeah, you, Isabel and Alex do that. You’ll find the rest of us on the smallest hill possible,” Liz said. Then she brightened.
“But first, we need to wake up Maria. Alex?” she asked. Alex’s face broke out into an evil grin as he followed Liz down the hallway. Max followed close behind as they snuck up to Maria’s bed quietly before jumping on top of Maria and the covers, pouncing on her still form. She shrieked loudly in surprise before the sound of laughter took over. There was a jumble of blankets and pillows until Maria’s head finally poked out, her face bright red as she laughed.
“Okay!!! You guys, stop! No fair, you know I’m ticklish! “ Maria gasped until Alex and Liz finally relented.
“We haven’t done that for years! “Alex exclaimed, giving Liz a high five. Both looked slightly rumpled from diving after Maria.
“The last time was probably in eighth grade at our last sleepover,” Liz replied, grinning madly. Max watched from the doorway and couldn’t help the twinge of envy he felt when he looked at the three friends. They’d been friends for years because they wanted to be, because they had things in common and liked each other. Max was just starting to realize what that was like as he got to know Liz, Maria and Alex better. And he was just starting to realize what he'd been missing out on and what he had to catch up on.
“So, anyone up for hitting the slopes?” Max asked.
“Okay, when Max said ‘hitting the slopes’ I had no idea he meant literally,” Maria commented as she gingerly stood up from the snow she’d recently plowed into. Liz managed to slow down enough next to her as she stopped herself with the poles in her hands. Maria dusted the snow off her ski suit and winced as she found another place on her hip she was bound to have a bright purple bruise on by morning.
“Maria, oh my God, are you okay?” Liz cried, trying to make her way over but only managing to topple over herself.
“Liz, I’m fine, don’t kill yourself trying to get to me. I’ll come to you,” Maria replied and prayed she could actually do what she said. It was just before noon and the sun was out in full force over the ski slopes. After breakfast with the parents they’d separated and headed for the ski shop to rent gear. The adults were going on a day trip into Aspen and wouldn’t be back until late evening, but the kids had decided to spend most of the day skiing. Liz and Maria had gotten outfitted with skies and poles while Michael had decided to give snow boarding a try, so he was on another slope. Max, Isabel and Alex had already skied down the mountain and used the chair lift to go back to the top four or five times and each time Max came over to the bunny slope to see how they were doing before he headed back up the mountain. Each time the girls had to chase him away, insisting they were fine and that he should join the others.
It was true that they were fine, but they certainly would never be Olympic skiers. Liz couldn’t control herself once she did actually get going, although she did have some notion of how to direct herself, she just couldn’t stop. Maria had no control over her direction, which was why she’d just run into a snow bank. They were both tired and exhausted from the little skiing they had done as they sat back in the snow. Liz unclipped her boots from her skies and let the poles fall to the ground with a clatter. Maria did the same and they leaned against each other, taking deep breaths.
“Yep, I think that’s enough skiing for me,” Maria commented. Liz nodded to herself.
“Maybe it’s one of those things you have to learn young,” she suggested.
“No, I’m pretty sure that you and I just lack the ability to go flying down the mountain on two thin strips of wood,” Maria replied.
“Maria, I don’t think they make skies out of wood anymore,” she pointed out.
“Whatever. Ah, Prince Charming at three o’clock,” Maria said, nodding as Max skied over and came to a stop next to them. Liz shook her head in amazement. The only way she’d been able to stop was to hit something. No trees or buildings, but softer mounds of snow had done the job nicely. She and Maria had found a nice quiet section off to the side of the chair lifts so that fewer people could witness their clumsiness. Nearby was a meadow with banks of snow waist height that looked soft as a down comforter. Max lifted his sunglasses to look at them, his eyes concerned.
“Are you two okay?” he asked.
“Oh, sure, we’re fine. You will, by the way, be bringing us ice packs for the next week,” Maria replied, succeeding in standing with her snow boots still on. Liz stood up and walked over to Max, rubbing her side as she went.
“How’s the skiing for you guys?” she asked. Max studied her carefully to make sure she was fine.
“It’s pretty good, but I’m guessing you won’t be joining us anytime soon,” he replied.
“I think the kind of winter sport I’m going to be good at is the sit-by-the-fireplace-and-drink-cocoa type,” Liz admitted. She knew as the words came out of her mouth that Max would insist on joining her.
“But I want you to have fun with Isabel and Alex. I know you like to ski and you only get to do this once a year,” she said.
“I’ll have just as much fun sitting by the fireplace with you as I will on the slopes,” he replied. Liz smiled.
“I know, but we can spend time together later. Trust me, there’s lots of time,” Liz said as she leaned up and kissed him quickly. Isabel and Alex skied up with Michael trudging along behind him, holding his snow board.
“How’s the snow boarding going?” Max asked him. He shrugged.
“Not too bad, I think I might actually be getting it,” he replied. Isabel’s eyes lit up as she caught sight of the snow banks nearby. She unclipped her boots and left her poles standing as she grabbed Liz and Maria, pulling them behind her.
“Where are we going?” Liz asked curiously.
“Snow angels. We have to make snow angels,” she insisted. They carefully waded into the light snow as it came to their knees. They sunk down a little more with each step, but the snow was just dense enough that they didn’t hit the ground. Isabel stopped them when they were far enough away from the packed snow and they turned to face the guys, who were watching from the side with great interest. Isabel looked at Maria and Liz on either side, her face serious. Liz raised an eyebrow and waited for instructions. The snow was so white that it hurt to look at it. The sun reflected off the snow like a mirror, so Liz looked up at the blue sky instead. Clouds overhead were white and puffy, but Liz saw some darker, more threatening clouds off in the distance. The landscape was mostly covered in snow, but Liz caught sight of some green from the trees and the graceful slope of the Aspen tree trunks all around. She realized Isabel was giving instructions and she tuned back in.
“Okay, the important thing to remember is that you just fall backwards like the ground is going to catch you. Then, you move your arms and legs around enough so that you have a full skirt and wide wings,” Isabel said seriously. Liz could tell by the look on Maria’s face that she wasn’t entirely sure if Isabel was kidding or not.
“Isabel, I had no idea snow angel making was so intricate,” Maria said. Isabel caught the sarcasm in her tone and glared.
“Watch it, DeLuca. Ok, ready?” Isabel called and they fell back into the snow. Liz stared up at the sky for a minute, she had a full view of the clouds and all was quiet. Her head was surrounded by a wall of snow and sounds seemed so far off and muted. Finally she realized Isabel was calling her name and she began to wave her arms up and down and her legs side to side to create the snow angel. When they were done Isabel and Maria managed to stand up, but Liz found it a lot more difficult than it looked. After a few seconds of floundering like a turtle on its back, Max loomed over her as he looked down, a grin on his face.
“Need some help?” he asked, clearly amused. She smiled sweetly at him and he leaned down to help her, extending his hand. She gripped it tightly and yanked him down on top of her. She heard Michael and Alex cheering in the background as Max fell down. She barely noticed his weight through all the bulky ski clothing they wore, but she heard the breath get knocked out of him a little when he fell. When he finally lifted his head it was poised just above hers and he braced himself on his elbows next to her head. She could have sworn that the ice began to melt as Liz felt her face heat up as he looked at her.
“You know, if you wanted me down here, you only had to ask,” he said softly.
“But it was much more fun to pull you down,” she explained, which gained her a grin from Max. She could tell her hair was getting wet from the snow and she felt some of it creeping into her collar, but she didn’t care. When Max lowered his head to kiss her the rest of the world disappeared. He deepened the kiss, tracing the inside of her mouth with his tongue as she responded by running her tongue along the edges of his teeth. She couldn’t feel him through her bulky gloves, but she did feel him move his body so that he laid fully over her. She finally felt the solid weight of him over her and it felt wonderful, not to heavy or suffocating. Just as Max seemed to be getting comfortable over her, they were suddenly pelted with snowballs. Sheepishly they looked up to see Maria, Michael, Alex and Isabel throwing snow at them, which they had an overabundance of.
“Cool it, you two! “ Maria yelled. Max leaned back and stood up, helping Liz to her feet. The snowballs continued to come, so Liz and Max finally gave in and an all out snowball war began. Alex tackled Liz and held a snowball mercilessly above her head.
“Okay, okay! I give in! “Liz cried as she saw Max go down when Maria and Isabel pulled him down. Everyone finally stood up, covered in snow, and Max glared at his sister.
“Don’t you think that was a little unfair, four against two?” he asked. Isabel merely shrugged as the group stumbled out of the snow bank back to their ski equipment. After discussing what everyone wanted to do, the group split up again. Max and Alex were going to try their hand at some cross-country skiing while Michael wanted to master the snow board.
“So, Maria and I are going to find a nice sofa in front of a fireplace to sit by and drink hot chocolate. Isabel, do you want to join us?” Liz asked, expecting her to say no. Isabel smiled at the offer.
“Sure, that would be fun,” Isabel said. Liz nodded with surprise and they split up again. The girls headed back to the resort, carrying their skies and poles. Liz and Maria had an entire afternoon of girl talk planned and she wondered how Isabel would fit into that. Liz considered what kind of information she could find out about Max and she was very curious to see how forthcoming Isabel would be.
