Maria was packing it in for the day. Another year almost gone, another shift worked, and another year of still uncertainty as to where she stood with alien boy. Sighing deeply looking at a number on a piece of paper.

“Maria? Are you through for the evening?” Maria turned to look at Liz.

“Yeah, I was just on my way out. Are you through too?” Liz nodded. “You have plans tonight Liz?”

“No, not really. I thought I would get some things done since tomorrow’s the New Year's Party.” Liz looked down at her shoes trying to phrase the question she wanted to ask, but was reluctant to do so. “Maria, are you, umm, I mean do you think that…”

“Liz, just spit it out. What do you want to know?”

“Are you coming to the party with Michael?”

“I don’t know. He hasn’t asked me, but Ken Peterson has. He gave me his number to call him and let him know if I wanted to go.”

“So what are you going to do?” Liz watched emotions chase across Maria’s face. At least it wasn’t Brody. He was a nice man, but the word was man. He’s too old to be dating a seventeen-year-old girl.

“I guess I’ll have to have a talk with Michael.” Maria rubbed a hand across her forehead like it was paining her. “I hate this. I feel like I’m walking in quicksand with this man. We’re together, then maybe we aren’t, but we are. It’s so unsettling at times, because I just never really know where we are, or even if he knows.” Maria paused and looked at Liz directly. “Do you ever get tired of being the one that has to do all the fighting, all the sacrificing, and all the asking?”

“Yeah. Sometimes I forget that I’m young, some of these battles feel like I’ve been fighting them for so long.”

“When did we get so old, Liz?” Liz just sadly shook her head no. She had no answer to that.

“Well, it’s time for some New Year resolutions here and now. Mine is to either be with Michael at the stroke of midnight and suck his tonsils out of his throat, or to start dating other boys because we’re finally once and for all over.”

“Can you live with that Maria? What if he doesn’t give you an answer? Will you really shut that door?”

“Yes. I need more than hugs and this on again off again relationship that doesn’t even have a name. It’s a New Year, time to make some changes. I’m tired of waiting.” Maria picked up the last of her stuff on her way out the door.

“Oh my God, Liz?” Liz turned around to look at Maria. “Do Czechoslovakians even have tonsils?” Liz looked at the perplexed look on Maria’s face. “Oh never mind, I’ll let you know later. This curiosity demands investigation.”

“Maria? Wait. How are you going to get him to make a decision?”

“Easy. I’m going to lay my cards on the table, let him see them, and then it’ll be his decision to up the ante or fold. One way or another, this ends tonight.”

“How will I know? Will you call me?”

“If I’m kissing Ken Peterson Happy New Years tomorrow at the stoke of midnight at the party, then you’ll know. Otherwise I’ll be kissing Michael Guerin either here or somewhere.” Maria quickly left to find one errant Spaceboy.

~~~

Michael was wrestling with the pipe fitting under the sink. He tightened it too much last time he cleaned out the drain trap. Last time he learned his lesson about using his powers to open the drain, he had all the stuff in the pipe drain on his face and shirt. This time a little caution was needed. This was no doubt Maria’s fault. The sink started draining slow almost immediately following a night when she cooked in his kitchen. This was the third time. He heard the door open and the sound of those footsteps could belong to only one kitchen disaster, Maria DeLuca.

"Michael?"

"What?" Maria came to stand by where his hips and legs were extending out from under the sink. Slowly crouching down she tried to find the rest of him.

“We need to talk.”

“I’m kind of busy here, Maria. Can this wait until I unplug the drain?”

“No, this is real important here. I wanted to know if you were taking me to the CrashDown New Year’s Party.”

“And this can’t wait? Could you hand me the crescent wrench?”

“The what? No it can’t wait. Is this what you want?” Maria handed him a tool from a pile.

“No, those are pliers. The opening looks like a crescent.” Michael took the wrench and started loosening more retaining bolts. “Why can’t it wait?”

“I just need some definitive answers here, Michael.”

“Like what?” Maria looked closer when Michael started swearing.

“Umm, do you need some help down there?” Michael just kept on swearing, but shook his head no. So Maria continued.“ I need to know if we’re dating exclusively, yes or no.”

Michael stopped swearing and put down the wrench. Reaching his hand out he tried to find the sledgehammer he left lying next to him on the floor. “Maria, what’s this about?”

“Ken Peterson asked me to go to the New Year’s party with him. I don’t want to spend the night alone, and I was hoping to be kissing you at the stroke of midnight. But what can I say when I don’t even know if we are or are not exclusively dating each other.” Maria paused when the banging stopped.

“Maria, what are you saying? That if I don’t make a commitment that you’re going to start dating other people?”

“What I’m saying is that if this is just us sort of seeing each other, but not really seriously seeing each other, then I need to know, because I need you to start asking to see me instead of assuming that I’ll just be sitting at home waiting for you. If this is casual, then I need to know because there’s no reason for me to assume that we’re always going to be together, and I can consider dating other people.”

“Is that what you want to do? Start dating other people?” Michael asked quietly, trying to keep any emotion out of his voice.

“No, no it’s not, but I don’t want to keep depending on you to be there when and if you’ve no intention of being there.” Maria stared into the dark cabinet at Michael. “I know what I want, but I’m asking you what you want.”

Michael paused and took a deep breath. This was actually easier than he thought it would be. If she was asking about dating other people, then he wasn’t confused about that in the least, and actually as he was once again unplugging a drain that she no doubt stopped up, he found that there was little else that confusing him about their relationship. He already had all the answers.

“The answer is no.”

“No. No what? No you aren’t with me or no you don’t want us to date other people.”

“No. No, I don’t want you dating someone else. Yes, I consider us exclusive. Now hand me those pliers, or did you have anymore questions?” Maria smiled and handed him the pliers that she tried to give him earlier.

“Just like that? No explanation, no argument, and no more stonewall?” Michael started cussing under the cabinet again and the sound of a sledgehammer started banging. “Can I help you?”

“No, no, I almost got it.” Maria listened to the increasing in banging and cussing. She promised herself that she wasn’t going to do this halfway this time. This time, all cards on the table so there was no more confusion.

“Michael, I’ve something to say to you.” This wouldn’t be so hard if she wasn’t addressing only his body from the waist down, not that it was a hardship looking at that part of him or anything.

“What? I thought you already asked me what you wanted to know. There’s more?” His hand came out to deposit an unneeded tool and grab another one.

"I think I love you." Maria said in a rushing voice holding her breath at the end.

"I love you too, Maria. Can you hand me the wrench again."

"No, no, Michael?" Maria passed the wrench back under the sink standing to shift on her feet uncertain.

"What?" He applied pressure on the bolt trying to pry it lose. Maybe using his alien powers last time was a mistake. It appeared that he had melted the bolts in place.

"Drop the wrench, and listen to me. No, I'm serious. I think… could you just stop with the wrenching already?" Maria stopped her foot as exasperation was on the rise.

"Maria, I got to finish this." He closed his eyes and added pressure to the wrench trying to get enough torque to move it.

"You're not hearing me here."

"I hear you fine." He took the sledgehammer and banged on it some more before putting the hammer down.

"What'd I say then?" Michael paused and tried to concentrate on whatever Maria was yammering about now.

"I'm not listening. Hand me those pliers, will you?"

"Michael, I said 'I love you." He held out his hand for the tool.

"And I love you, too. Now give me the frickin pliers." His hand remained empty and he felt a few drops of moisture falling on him.

"Will you just stop and listen to me for a moment?" Maria could feel herself getting more and more agitated. This wasn’t choosing a dessert or a new color for the sofa. This was important stuff.

"When you give me the pliers." Maria felt like kicking him in his exposed spots.

"Oh dammit, here. Here, okay?" Maria flopped her arms about.

"No, not those, the other ones, the big--right. Yeah. Those. Great, that should do it..."

"Fine, will you just listen now?"

"I'm listening." Maria rolled her eyes; sure, sure he was listening.

"You're working."

"I'm listening while I work. I can do both." The sound of more profanity and banging continued from below.

"I hate you." Maria glared at him and contemplated putting her foot somewhere indiscrete.

"Thought you loved me." Michael said as he added more pressure behind the pliers.

"Hah--so you're listening!"

"I said I was listening, you little--" He grunted as the bolt loosened, finally, one down another pipe to go.

"Yeah, but I mean, you're not really getting it, here. I mean it, I love you."

"And I love you too--grab that rag, would you?" Michael took up the sledgehammer again, this baby was his, he paused, both of them, the wretched pipe and Maria, giving himself a small smile he attacked the pipe.

"Here! Here! Aw Jesus!, stop with the banging!! For a minute, okay?"

"Okay! Okay! What??" Michael paused his hammering for a moment.

"I LOVE YOU, YOU STUPID JERK!!"

"YES? AND?"

"And? There's no "and"! I LOVE you. Listen, Michael, I LUUUUUUVE you, Like LOVE you." He obviously didn’t get it. She wasn’t casually talking about puppies or rainbows, but the big L word, and he was still banging away like an idiot.

"I feel like I'm in an echo chamber. I hear you! You love me."

"I love you."

"You luuuuuuve me." Michael almost rubbed his hand over his face, but stopped when he noticed the stuff on his hands.

"Right. Exactly." Maria finally smiled. He was paying attention, finally.

"And so why isn't "I love you too" a reasonable frickin answer here?"

"Because I don't think you're getting the nuances. I mean… you’ve been known to miss a nuance or two. It's not just that I love you, it's like I luuuuuv you--"

"Christ, will you stop with the 'uuuuuuuh' already! It's giving me a headache!"

"All right, I'm sorry." Maria stood over him wringing the rag in her hand. Maybe trying to finally get all this stuff on the table was a bad idea.

"Listen, why is it that you say "I love you" and I say "I love you too" and somehow I'm not getting the nuances?"

"Because they're not the same. You love me, but I luuu--ok, sorry. Let me put this another way."

"Knock yourself out." Michael rolled his eyes under the sink. Oh yeah, this should just be real fun, another way for him not to understand. What’s not to understand?

"My loving you has a sexual component, here."

"A what?" Michael almost tried to sit up at that, but the pipes kept him flat on his back. That got his attention.

"A sexual component. Ah, see, you missed the nuance, didn't you?”

Michael started laughing. He couldn’t help it. Nuances his ass, of course it had a sexual component. What the heck did she think he was doing all these weeks trying to get her shirt off? She couldn’t really think he was only interested in holding her hands.

Maria listened to his laughter for a moment in confusion. What the hell was so funny? “Hey, cut it out, there's nothing funny about this--"

"You bet your ass it's funny!"

"Leave my ass out of it! Listen, sexual attraction is a really strange thing, okay? And I'm a sexually aware person--human desire can fixate on a variety of objects--"

Michael couldn’t stop laughing. Fixate? She said fixate, like this endless fixation he had on whether her bra would fasten from the front or back? That just made him laugh harder.

"Objects? What, like the toaster?" Michael just barely stopped himself from snorting aloud. Get it under control Guerin… this is serious stuff here.

"Can you just shut up and take this seriously for a minute? I'm trying to--"

"What about the wall, Maria? Can you 'fixate' on that wall?" Michael could feel the next bolt now loosen and open while trying to contain his mirth. Fixate, sweet Jesus, she was so funny at times.

"Shut up! No, not like the wall--"

"Table legs?" He really asked since he seemed fascinated about table legs sometimes, a person just didn’t know how ubiquitous this fixation might be. God, he cracked himself up sometimes.

"Michael, those are inanimate objects. Whereas you--you're definitely an animate object. I'm not really saying that you're much smarter than the wall or a table leg--"

"Low blow, even for you--." Michael smiled to himself at her comment. Aw, there was the feisty girl he knew and loved coming back with a one two combination, besmirching his intelligence, and sooner or later his manhood.

"But you’re definitely much more animate, Michael. You run, jump, and blow up rocks and--um--fix sinks."

"Or try to." Michael picked up the hammer again and resumed banging.

"Or try to, yes."

"When your cooking clogs them up." It was time to put this discussion to sleep, though it was entertaining to see how Maria’s mind worked at time, but this sink wasn’t getting repaired here. She should remember why he was on his back, covered in gunk, and struggling.

"Well, yes."

"And then the water doesn't drain out. And the sink overflows." Yeah, mopping up that mess and baling out the sink was the highlight of his day.

"Look, I said I was sorry about that--" Maria shifted on her feet rubbing the back of her neck rather shamefaced.

"And then I’ve got to take the sink apart. And reach into the trap. And pull out clumps of soggy, rotten, disintegrating--"

"All right, all right, I get the picture--"

"-DeLuca cooking because you can’t seem to remember that there is no garbage disposal. And so let me ask you, Einstein, why exactly do you think I do this every time you cook instead of throwing your scrawny ass out onto the street or at least forbid you from cooking in my kitchen?"

"My ass is not scrawny--" Maria looked down at his form feeling indignant.

"Your big, fat ass then. Huh?” Michael actually held his breath for a millisecond. “Any answers, do you have any clue or even a bright light?” He paused again to let it soak in. “Hey, I'm waiting, here..."

“Hey, my ass is not fat!” That wasn’t what he wanted her to get, the connection she was suppose to make.

“Maria!”

"All right, all right, I get it. You love me." Maria stomped her foot hard.

"No, I luuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu--"

"Okay, stop it, I feel dumb enough already, okay?" Maria looked down at him and gave his some credit that maybe he did or wasn’t missing all the nuances. He was right though; his actions of always clearing the drain and yet letting her continue to stop up his drains could be significant.

"Okay. I'm ready for that rag now."

"Here. So--I mean--were you ever going say something?" Maria squatted down next to him and passed him the rag. How was she supposed to know how he felt when he was so damn closed mouthed all the time? Bastard.

"Say what?" Michael’s head was starting to hurt again. Where the hell was that hammer?

"That...you know. That you...you know--"

"I know.” Michael took pity on her and didn’t even try to pretend that he didn’t understand. “I don't know." He wasn’t real good or even big on words, so who knew when he would of ever got around to confessing that he loved her. He was kind of hoping that she would just figure it out on her own and save him the trouble, the awkwardness of a real confession. This was Maria, what could he had been thinking?

"I mean, you could have said something."

"Yeah, I know." Michael gave the pipe joint one last real twist.

"So why---hey, watch it." Maria pointed to the water leaking from the pipe. She dived under that cabinet to help him wrap the rag around the pipe practically lying on him.

"Jesus!" Michael tried to wrap the rag around the pipe as water started leaking out.

"I got it!" Maria’s hand replaced his holding the rag tight around the leak.

"Okay, wait just hold it right there, just hold it, okay?" Michael looked around for that bucket he had placed under the cabinet for the very purpose of catching the water.

"Gotcha! Holding!"

"Wait, here's the bucket." Michael pulled the bucket that he had placed earlier next to his head on his chest under the pipe.

"Okay, god, this stinks, I mean this really, really stinks." Maria used her other hand to pinch her nose.

"Tell me. I've got it. You can let go now."

"You sure?" Maria eyed the size of the bucket Michael placed under the now open pipe.

"I'm sure. Let go."

Maria released the rag she was holding. "Okay, that was hard."

"Well, hey, I got it off, right?" Maria rolled her eyes. She wasn’t talking about the bloody pipe.

"Yeah, you got it off, all right, Michael. Glad to know that banging was for something." Nuances, yet again and he was missing them, left and right.

"Banging is always for something." Maria caught the darker sound to his voice and made contact with his eyes from where she was lying on top of him. Okay, correction, he does get the nuances.

"Remind me never to let you work on my car." Maria smiled at him remembering her Christmas present of the new bumper and all the banging and sledge hammering.

"You should be so lucky."

God he was adorable when he worked with his hands, such a hands on sort of guy. Maria’s eyes searched his face, and then fixated on his mouth.

"Face it, Michael, you're not the most subtle of mechanics. It's that throwback thing: Me bang on pipe with hammer. Noise good." Michael actually smiled into Maria’s eyes.

"I didn’t realize that you wanted me to be subtle.”

"Well, I've always been ahead of the --ugh, this is so disgusting. What’s that?"

“It looks like small shrimps. You didn’t let shrimp just drop down the drain the other night did you?”

"God, I'm sorry, Michael. I thought I was being careful."

"Give me the trash bag." Maria quickly found her feet and grabbed a trash bag off the countertop.

"Here, oh, yuck, I'm so sorry!"

"You should be. Ok, do me a favor, tie this up, take it out, throw in the outside trash dumpster, okay?"

"Yeah. Yeah. Leaving it in here would be a big mistake."

"Here." Maria took the bag from him and quickly tied a knot trying to combat the smell of rotting shrimp and other stuff that it was perhaps better not to examine too closely. Who would have thought that letting just a little food slide down a drain could cause so much trouble. She decided not mention the grease.

"Okay, I'll be right back." Maria quickly left the apartment to dump the garbage.

She went back into the apartment and washed her hands twice in the bathroom sink before going back into the kitchen. And somehow, the sight of Michael on the floor, struggling to fit the U-pipe back into place, with smears of awful looking black dirt on his thigh, across the back of his neck, across his cheek, stopped her dead in her tracks. It was like a blow to the solar plexus, that long deep drop to the pit of your stomach. It was desire.

“Umm, Michael?”

"What? Not more talking?" Okay this damn pipe had to go back on; after all he just took it apart, so he knew it fit.

“No. I don’t want you to take this the wrong way or anything, but I really, really want you right now.” Michael paused, now that didn’t even brook misunderstand, that he understood.

“Maria! I’m covered in disgusting garbage, and now you’re interested in me, that way?”

"I know. I know, I can’t explain it, but you just look so sexy in your Michael, the tool man role."

"If I knew that it would turn you on I would have got you a subscription to Plumber's Weekly."

"It's not the plumbing--I mean, it is--but it's--you know, you doing the plumbing. Like before, you know--I mean, it just hit me, and it's hitting me again, like right now--" He was just irresistible when he got all hands on things and started fixing stuff.

"Well, uh, thanks. I guess. That's very flattering." Great, just great, she gets all hot and bothered over, frickin Bob Vila. Michael resigned himself to having one incredibly whacked girlfriend. She was a loon.

"No, I'm serious, Michael, I just--"

"Not now, Maria, okay?" She needed to stop this discussion. His body was just getting a little too interested and here he was lying under a sink covered in putrid disgusting matter, and she was suggesting that they get down to it immediately. One has to wonder if other couples get this tangled up in things as they did?

"Yeah, but--"

"Let me just finish this and clean up, okay? I'm filthy, here." Maybe just a quick shower to clean up before they continued this subject, Michael started trying to put the pipe back together faster.

"I kind of don't care."

Michael was having a hard time concentrating thanks to her. Maybe a quick shower together? Michael’s mind was racing at the possibility of getting Maria DeLuca naked and wet in his shower.

"Yeah, but I do, okay?"

If he didn’t back down on this he might actually see one of his favorite fantasies fulfilled...Maria all wet. He sped up his work trying to get this done so he could attend to more important matters, if only this pipe would cooperate, and that went for Maria, too.

"Okay, okay--but I mean, you will, right? I mean, we're on, right? I mean you said--before--I mean, you implied, damn, did you even hear a word I said?" Maria said standing over him tapping her foot.

"Maria,” Michael voice came from under the sink in a tone of exasperation. “I can only screw one thing at a time. At the moment, I'm working on this pipe."

"I promise you’ll find my plumbing's a lot more interesting." Maria said softly in a breathy voice.

Michael dropped his wrench and slowly moved out from under the sink and slowly looks up Maria's long legs until he could make eye contact.

"Whoa.” Michael could feel sweat breaking out on his forehead and he quickly swallowed the lump in his throat. “Oh, boy, like right now, immediately, now?"

"Michael." Maria crouched down next to him. She grabbed his shirtfront and pulled him up keeping her face real close to his.

"Yeah?" Michael licked his lips never once taking his eyes off hers.

"Yes, immediately. Now. I'd make it worth your while. I will."

"Yeah?" Maria watched as the fire sparked in Michael's eyes; felt more than heard the sudden shift in heartbeat and breathing. Michael’s vocabulary was suddenly monosyllabic and contained only the word ‘yeah’.

"Yeah." Maria's voice was husky with need. "Come here, spaceboy. You feel good." Maria whispered, licking his bottom lip before sucking it into her mouth. Michael actually shivered in her arms.

"You do too," Michael whispered back. Maria smiled against his mouth.

They held that position for a while, bodies touching, pressing, and swaying gently to the pulsating beat of their hearts neither wanting to rush the moment Michael felt the subtle shift in Maria's body as she straddled him and began pushing against him, rocking herself closer in his arms. He groaned as the blood throbbing through his body spiked in temperature. His hands shifted of their own accord, rising, moving up Maria's body; fingers stroking and teasing, feeling the heated flesh beneath the cloth, searching all points, finding buttons, zippers, and a bra with a front clasp.

Michael lost himself in the pleasures of the sensation; the pleasures of touching Maria like this. The physical ache, the hunger that had threatened for so long, was looming large now, obscuring everything. It increased ten-fold when a slender hand--smaller than his, far more sensual--grasped one of his hands and drew it down to her breast left exposed when he unfastened her blouse and bra.

"Do you know what you're doing?" Maria whispered hoarsely in his mouth.

"I hope so," Michael whispered back.

He took one look at the pouting lips just touching his, the sight of his hands on her breast and felt the hunger consume him. There were no more doubts, no insecurities, no world outside of the here and now and the desires in him that had to be appeased. He lowered his head and the world, as he knew it exploded.

The mouth under his was hot and demanding, yet acquiescing. Michael moaned into that mouth, stroked his tongue across the hot wet velvet that was Maria's tongue. Tastes exploded in his mouth, coming and going, overwhelming but not enough. He staggered slightly under the magnitude of what he was feeling. Hot. Wet. Dark. Light. She tasted of all those things. Heat stroked across his lips and he realized that Maria had run her tongue across them. He opened his mouth further at her request and deepened the kiss, forcing Maria to reciprocate, sucking on her tongue before breaking away.

"Are you sure?" he managed, nuzzling along the soft neck.

"Are you?" Maria shot back, voice husky and body trembling.

"Never been so sure of anything in my life," Michael responded, running his hands down Maria's sides. He reached the curve of her hips and ran his hands over it, caressing through the clothes. Maria moaned when Michael quickly stood and lifted her into his arms cupping her ass with her legs going around his waist. He quickly moved them from the kitchen to his bedroom.

"I want to touch you..."

Michael fell back on the bed and removing one of his hands from her and grasped Maria's hand in his. He dragged it down to his chest, guiding, holding it firm over his sweaty skin. "Then touch me. Touch all you want." Flipping them so Maria was under him, he leaned down to claim her mouth again, fire leaping within him when Maria's fingers found his nipples. He moaned against the mouth that he'd captured--that held him captive, and arched into the touch, hand once against seeking out the firmness of her hips he'd been cradling and pulled her harder against his body.

Maria’s mouth moved down his throat, across his chest until she found his nipple, taking it into her mouth she nipped him. Michael’s body arched away from her moaning. That maneuver just jump-started his heart from a dead stillness to a fast pace. He grabbed two handfuls of hair, yanking Maria's head back, tilting it up. He took her mouth in a voracious, sucking kiss, drawing Maria's tongue as far into his own mouth as he could. He felt her long leg come up around his waist, bringing them closer still, hungry hands scrabbling at his waist to release the top button of his jeans. He shifted so he could rub against her smaller body, moving against the hand that was reaching into his jeans to pet him.

Michael tore his mouth away, gasping. "Maria! Oh, god, honey..."

"What?" she panted, trying to draw air into lungs that seemed to have forgotten how to work, trying to sound innocent, like she didn’t know the effect her hands were having on him.

"It's so good,...so good..."

"It can get better," she moaned before delving back into another dark deep kiss, making love to his mouth, her hands wandering at will removing his opened shirt. Michael had removed all her clothes except a small scrap of silk and lace. Until she got his jeans off and had him in a similar state of undress, he didn’t want to go any farther. Somehow removing all her clothes while he still had his jeans left her too exposed and vulnerable. This time he wanted them to be equals, on an even ground. He owed her that much, but she was taking her sweet time getting his jeans off. He was ready to take her right here, right now, or maybe almost ready...protection, he forgotten about condoms. Flipping their position, he took bottom and let Maria rest on him while his hand reached into his bedside drawer. Maria removed her mouth from his body to watch what he was doing. Following his hand, she reached in and plucked the package from his hand.

“Can I do it?” Michael almost swallowed his own tongue.

A raspy voice moaned, "God, yes."

His whole body literally jumped as she moved her hand down to his open jeans. She paused noting his reaction. Handing him the condom, “You open it.”

He gave a hesitant nod. "Are you sure? Maria, this is--"

"If you stop now I’ll kill you, I swear. I need you, now.” Maria bit his shoulder. “I’m tired of waiting.”

"Yes...." Michael breathed he knew exactly what she meant. They just spent a year practicing sexual foreplay. Their lips met and fused, tongues tangling in hunger, desperate for the taste of each other. Her hands mapped out his body, testing his muscles for firmness and give, petting him as her hands started pushing his jeans away.

"Yeah, touch me like that, just like that, Maria..."

"Like me touching you?" Maria whispered against Michael's lips, nuzzling them apart with her own lips.

"God, yes...oh..." The fingers stroked, caressed, cajoled, drawing breathy gasps and moans from Michael. He felt Maria smile against his mouth. "Keep touching...don't stop...don't stop...oh, damn..."

They both stopped dead in their tracks at the sound of the knock on the outside door. Oh no, this can’t be happening. Michael pulled Maria harder into his body as if he expected it to be Amy DeLuca outside his apartment with a rolled up newspaper. He put his head back against the bed and shut his eyes moaning. This was the worse time for company.

"Oh my god, Michael, just ignore it. They’ll go away." Hands clutched at his head, fingers scrambling for purchase. She took his mouth in another deep long kiss, her hand moving back down his body, back to removing his jeans, when the knock came again.

Michael gave up with a groan, pushing a protesting Maria off his body. He rolled out of the bed and tried to stuff himself back into his pants. Giving up, he looked for a long loose shirt. He looked at her lying on his bed with a pout working its way on her face. Reaching down he planted a large sucking kiss on her flat stomach, then moving up to kiss her deeply.

“Two minutes, I promise. I’ll kill who ever it is and stuff them into our non-existing garbage disposal.” Michael kissed her again feeling her arm coming up around his neck; he let himself rest against her enjoying the feel of her, when the knock came again.

“Dammit!” Michael quickly left the bed and on his way out of the room looked back at her resting seductively in his bed. Giving her a quick gesture of staying there, don’t move, he went to answer the door.

“Max?” Michael looked at his friend in confusion. “What are you doing here?”

“What took you so long? Can I come in?”

“No.”

“No? What’s going on, Michael.”

“Look Max, I’m sort of busy here doing… plumbing, you know. So unless this is really, really important, and I mean death or the end of the world, then you’ll have to catch up with me later.”

“Look all I wanted to know is if you were…”

“The answer is yes, whatever the question, the answer is yes. Goodbye.”

Michael slammed the door in an astonished Max’s face hoping he didn’t just promise him his next three paychecks. He was heading back to Maria when suddenly he stopped looked around the room and found what he needed. Making a quick sign and searching for tape, he went back to the door, opened it cautiously, afraid that Max might still be standing there. He taped a Do Not Disturb sign on his door, shutting it and locking it. Stopping in the kitchen he turned on the water to fill a glass of water forgetting about the unfixed pipe until the water came splashing on his feet.

“Dammit, give me a break, here.” He quickly turned off the water and was looking at the mess when Maria’s singsong voice came from his bedroom.

“Spaceboy, don’t forget your wrench.” Michael smiled and decided to ignore the mess until later. Taking a drink from his glass of water he headed back to her.

“Don’t worry, I’ve all the right tools.” Michael entered the room and quickly removed his clothes and jumped on the bed grabbing a laughing Maria and flipping over to let her have the top. His mouth found hers easily as her hands moved over familiar territory.

“Happy New Years, Michael.” Michael stopped kissing her and looked into her beautiful clear eyes.

“Happy New Years.” Kissing her again. “Maria, did I remember to ask you to the CrashDown New Year’s party?”

“No.”

“Want to go?”

“Maybe.”

“Maybe?” Michael sat up with Maria straddling his lap and putting his hands in her hair he looked her in the face in confusion. “Why maybe?” He held his breath in case she told him that she was going with dead man, Ken Peterson.

“Well, I didn’t know if you could go, seeing how you have so much… plumbing to do.” Michael gave a loud laugh and grabbed her to wrestle her to the bed, tickling her. It was a good thing to be in love with a woman that had proper respect for a man that just wanted to do a good thorough job.

The End