The trailer park was ominously quiet as they pulled in, the wheels crunching over the haphazard piles of stone. Michael got out of the car and waited for Maria – if Hank was home, then he was probably passed out by now – but he didn’t want to take any chances. She walked around the car to meet him, and they silently walked up to the front door. There were no lights on inside, but Michael couldn’t relax quite yet. He stepped up on the small stair, holding his hand out behind him for her to hold. Opening the door, he paused, taking it all in.

“He’s not here.”

Michael led her through the trailer, towards his room in the back. Maria kept her eyes hard on his back. When they got to his room, he turned on the light and let her go in first. Dropping her hand, he whispered, “I’ll be right back.”

The blonde nodded, then took a long look around his room, surveying the situation. She knew that it was a rare opportunity to be able to take a small peek into the world of Michael Guerin. Something on the opposite wall immediately demanded her attention. She walked towards it, completely mesmerized. The confident strokes of colour, careful detail and poetic symmetry told of a hidden side of the person who lived in this room. Her fingers caressed the textured layers of paint, drawing her in deeper. Maria never heard the door click or his soft footsteps across the carpet. So, when Michael’s hands slid down her arms, pulling her into his chest, she nearly jumped out of her skin.

“Michael…” she said, her voice trembling. “This is… incredible. I never ~”

“Thought that I could do something like that?” He interrupted.

“No,” she shook her head. “I’ve never really had such a reaction to a piece of art before.” Maria leaned back into him. “You *are* incredibly talented. Thank you.”

“For what?”

“For letting me see this. For sharing it. Thank you.”

Michael smiled into her hair. He brought his arms around her, hugging her to him tightly. Maria brought her hands up to his, holding on to his forearms. She was getting better at taking the moments as they came, and Michael was getting better at letting them come. He squeezed her, then let his hands fall to her sides again.

Sliding his hand underneath her shirt, Michael flattened it against her stomach. Her body stiffened for a second, then melted into him. Dipping his pinky finger behind the button of her jeans, he bent down and kissed the sensitive spot where her neck glided into her shoulder. That same spot where her fingers had danced earlier. Maria mewed softly, reaching back to grab his other hand. Michael took her hand in his protectively, firmly lacing his fingers with hers.

While his thumb lightly stroked the satiny skin under her breast, Maria craned her neck further, giving Michael more area to cover with his lips. He kissed the spot behind her left earlobe, taking his time as he moved down to the base of her neck and over to her shoulder, nudging the strap off. She reached her hand behind her, grabbing a handful of his hair gently. Michael groaned into her ear, then slid his hand to her other breast, cupping it firmly. Feeling her knees go weak, Maria fell back into him for support.

Before letting go of her hand, Michael placed it towards the back of his thigh. She clenched his jeans tightly, unsure of her capability to stay standing much longer. His fingertips glided over the length of her arm, then down the front of her top, ending their sensual journey at her hips. Abandoning her breast momentarily, her other hand found her opposite hip. Michael brought his hands up to her ribs, the thin cotton folding over his hands.

“Just tell me if you want me to stop.”

Maria shook her head, unable to speak. Michael let his hands continue their upward climb, waiting for some kind of reaction from her. There was none. “Are you sure you’re okay?” He asked, worried that he had gotten her into something that she didn’t want.

Maria barely nodded, whispering, “Don’t stop.”

Michael kissed her cheek and brushed his lips against her ear once again. “I need you to let go for a second.” As if on cue, her fingers immediately released their grasp. He gently tugged the tank over her head. She gasped as the final bits of fabric passed over her fingers. Tossing the top to the floor, Michael quickly returned to her. Sliding his hands over her breasts, he held her to him. Unable to wait any longer, Maria spun around and jerked his head down to kiss her.

Their bodies, tired of the stop-and-go sexual torment, ignored any semblance of rational thought and sought out what they needed. Maria swung her arms around his neck, bearing down with her forearms. His fingers freely roamed her now-naked back, faster and faster, leaving no part of her untouched. Through his t-shirt, Michael could feel her hardened nipples against his chest, which only hungered him more. He kissed her voraciously, his mouth covering hers in a fight for dominance. She let her arms drop, then raked her nails down his back suddenly, causing him to moan in unexpected pleasure.

Maria stepped back to catch her breath, but her foot slipped out from under her, causing her to land on the bed with a resounding ‘oomph.’ Michael looked at her, confused and a bit stunned, then immediately dropped down between her knees. Without missing a beat, she ripped his shirt over his head, then… stopped.

Taking his face in her hands, Maria stared at him solemnly, gently tracing over his cheekbones with her thumbs. Michael didn’t dare move – not one single muscle as her eyes studied his entire being. Then, she smiled – like a ray of sunshine finally breaking free of the clouds. “Whatever will I do with you, Michael Guerin?”

Bringing his lips to hers again, Maria kissed him more delicately than ever before. He returned the gesture, quickly breaking apart and pressing his forehead against hers. His hands slid up her thighs as he lowered his head to her collarbone. Kissing an imaginary path down her chest, Michael heard the girl whimper when he took the small reddened bud of her nipple into his mouth. She squeezed her legs together, locking him between them, close to her.

“Michael,” she murmured, “Oh, Michael.”

Raising one hand to her breast, Michael cupped it gently. His thumb traced small circles over the hardened nipple as his lips moved down towards the other. Maria dug her nails into his shoulders. His tongue teased her, first licking, then sucking harder. A small cry escaped from Maria’s lips, but this time Michael didn’t stop anything. He circled one nipple with his tongue, and rolled the other between his thumb and forefinger.

He gently guided her back onto the blankets, kissing and nibbling his way down towards her jeans. Unbuttoning the top, Michael paused for a moment to see if she would protest. When he felt her fingers running through his hair encouragingly, he smiled against her stomach and pulled the zipper down. The jeans that had once seemed too tight now slipped easily off her body.

Once again, he positioned himself between her knees, enraptured by the sight of Maria lying there so surprisingly unselfconscious. Raising himself, he pressed tentative kisses across her inner thigh. Maria gasped at the sensation of his cool lips against her burning skin. Gently making his way up towards her hip, he let his tongue trail against the edge of her panties. Maria whimpered at the agonizing pleasure, her lower body beginning to thrash lightly against the bed.

Grasping her hips to keep her steady, Michael kissed a steady line across her stomach, every so often slipping his finger underneath the blue satin. As long as he stayed in the moment, his mind wouldn’t wander and obsess about the inevitable end to their epic. Michael didn’t quite know what to do next, his intuition was beginning to fail him. He feared going too fast too soon, and at the same time he didn’t want to waste the rest of the night pondering the ramifications of every single touch.

Finally, he slithered up her body slowly, without removing another stitch of her clothing. Truthfully, it really didn’t matter how much she was wearing – Maria would have been able to feel his hot breath against her skin even if she was ten blankets under. As he crawled between her legs, Michael ventured one quick brush of his lips against her. Maria cried out, locking her legs around him, almost begging him to recreate that intense, albeit brief, explosion. But he ignored her signals – he missed her too much.

Her hands reached down for him as he returned to her embrace. His body had cooled down considerably, so she held him tighter, trying to warm his with her own. Prolonging his torture, Michael didn’t meet her lips right away. Instead he buried his face into her neck, where the sweet scent of jasmine still lingered. She caressed his face, then let her fingertips trail down his arm, meeting his hand that was covering her breast. Humming in contentment, Maria edged herself down and found the button of his jeans with her right hand. With little problem she unsnapped it, and slipped her hand down against the skin of his hip. Michael bit her neck softly as he felt her thumb run against the bone, reaching lower.

Kissing his shoulder, Maria let her other hand fall down his back so that it could loosen his jeans. Her feet curled around his calves in an attempt to assist her hands in pushing the denim off his body. Michael reached down for her hands and brought them up over her head, holding them in place. He pulled himself up, finally allowing himself the delicious pleasure of tasting her lips.

Finding her arms temporarily restrained, Maria wrapped her legs around his hips, arching up to him. Their kisses mimicked the rhythm of their lower bodies, which by instinct had begun to fluidly grind together. Maria’s knees were clenched tightly against his hips, and with every thrust they pulled the boxers lower. The flannel gave even less resistance than her satin panties. As Michael’s lips headed back to her neck, Maria became acutely aware of the sensation of skin touching skin.

“Michael,” she said, slightly alarmed.

“Mmmmm…” he murmured against her ear.

“No, Michael, wait.”

Michael froze, then lurched up and held her face, looking to see what he did wrong. “What happened? Are you okay?”

“More than okay,” Maria smiled. “I was, I was just thinking…” she blushed. “Well, I just wanted to be sure that you had something… in case, uh, this goes any further.”

Relief washed over Michael’s face and he nodded. He moved over to open the drawer of his night table, but it was just beyond his reach. His jeans were twisted around his ankles, doing nothing to stabilize his balance. Michael rolled off the bed and landed on the floor with a loud thump. Maria sat up immediately and began to giggle uncontrollably at the sight of him, half-naked, angry and embarrassed on the floor.

“I’m so glad this amuses you.”

Maria clamped her jaw shut in order to stop the laughter but it only resulted in a snort. “I’m sorry,” she squeaked, turning red. “You just, I mean, oh I don’t know what I mean.” She giggled. “It was… perfect.”

“Perfect?” He asked, annoyed.

Lying back down, she spoke to the ceiling. “Yeah, I needed that. Things were getting a little…” Maria rolled on her side and smiled at him. “…intense.”

“Oh.”

“Come here.”

“I don’t know if I want to,” he huffed, his pride still wounded.

“Don’t be silly, come up here.” Maria slid her hand up and down the bed next to her. “I’m lonely,” she pouted.

Michael ran his eyes up her body, over her hip, down her arms to her fingers, back around her breasts, pausing at her lips before settling on her eyes. Her sparkling green eyes. Eyes that he could get lost in for days. Ignoring his pride, he kicked off his jeans and scrambled into bed next to her.

“Intense, you said?” Michael teased, his hand retracing the route in reverse. “I thought you *liked* intense.” He rested his hand on her stomach, then moved down to meet her eyes directly. Maria bit her lip, nervously anticipating his next move. He watched her expression intently as he slid his hand beneath the flimsy satin guarding her. Her eyes widened and he heard her catch her breath. A small smile crawled across his lips.

His fingertips buried themselves beneath her silky blond curls. Maria inhaled sharply, but never left Michael’s eyes. Her chest rose and fell rapidly, in time with his gentle motions. It was as if every blood cell was rushing around her body at breakneck speed. Michael could feel the emotion, the physical pleasure building in her – with no knowledge of what it was heading towards. She subconsciously moved herself closer to his hand, lifting up off the bed. Each little whimper encouraged him – his fingers worked faster, bringing her to the edge. He searched her eyes, waiting to see where she was going, if he could take her there, but Maria only stared back, her lips slightly parted.

Michael leaned in and laid his lips on hers. That was all she needed. Maria cried out against his mouth, her whole body shuddering in sweet release as she rolled into him. Michael held her close, kissing her temple as she had done earlier. She threw a leg over his hip and pulled back, taking his face in her hands.

“That was…” Maria stopped to catch her breath.

“Intense?”

She smiled at his hopeful tone. “Intense,” she nodded.

Kissing her fiercely, Michael grasped her thigh, sliding his hand down toward her knee. Her fingers roamed through his hair, quickly moving to his middle. Maria fingered the elastic waistband of his boxers, then pushed it past his hips. Michael groaned into her ear, rolling her over onto her back. He maneuvered himself between her legs, and bit down lightly on her bottom lip.

Maria placed her hands inside his boxers, her fingers gently tickling his highly-charged skin. As he nibbled down her neck, she slid the flannel down lower until she could feel him kicking it off his feet. Michael moved over, his hand returning to the dampened silk. Concentrating on the feel of her skin, he pulled her panties over her knees, smiling as she brought her feet up to aid him.

“Michael?” She asked the darkness.

“Yes?” He came up and propped himself on one elbow.

“Don’t fall off the bed this time.”

“What?” He snapped back, then realized what she was saying. “Oh. That shouldn’t be a problem.”

He reached behind him to open the drawer which was much closer than before. She held his waist firmly, not even letting go when he rolled back and smiled at her.

Maria suddenly scrunched her eyebrows and ran her finger down his chest. “Um, question. Is there something I should know?”

Michael looked at her strangely. “Know?”

“Well,” she paused, “I guess I’m a little curious as to why *you* have condoms so readily available. I just… well, um…”

“About month ago.”

“What?”

“I bought them about a month ago. Just in case.” He glanced away from her.

“Just in case?” Maria snorted. “Just in case you enticed some willing young girl into your bed?”

“No,” he whispered. “You.”

Maria blushed, smiling in spite of herself. She caressed his face with her fingertips, her grin growing wider when he looked back at her. Rubbing her nose gently against his, she leaned in and kissed him - his lips, his cheek, the spot between his eyebrows. Michael opened the package, and slipped the condom on, jumping when he felt her hand stroke him.

“Oh God, oh God, Maria.”

Maria leaned in and licked his lips, slipping her tongue past his teeth. Her fingers ran the length of him, her thumb caressing over the top. He inched over between her legs again, and she could feel him brushing against her. She wrapped her legs around his, her hands coaxing his hips towards her. Michael pushed himself up, and looked down at her intently.

“Are you sure?” He asked her very seriously.

“Completely sure.”

“We don’t have to do this, I don’t want you to feel like we have to.”

“I don’t feel like I have to do anything. I’m here because I want to. We’re at this point because I want to. Do you want to?”

He smiled sheepishly. “Oh, I want to. Trust me.”

She chuckled softly. “Are you sure you’re not confused? I would hate to think that I was taking advantage of you.”

Without a snappy comeback, Michael pressed his lips to hers to quiet her. Maria pulled him back down, feeling him start to enter her. She squeezed her eyes shut, her entire body clenching up. Michael watched her face contort and he winced at her pain.

“I can stop…”

“No,” Maria cut him off. “Just take it… slowly.”

“Maria.”

“Michael,” she opened her eyes and tried to smile. “I’m okay. Really.”

Michael still didn’t move. Everything about her begged him to stop, although her words and her eyes told her to keep going. “Do you trust me?”

Maria smiled and cocked her head. “Implicitly.”

Michael kept his eyes fixed on Maria’s as he slowly slid in, her body relaxing as she grew accustomed to him. His arms gave out, but he caught himself before he collapsed on top of her. At first, he didn’t do anything, but buried his face in her shoulder. He was too afraid to move, waiting for the moment where she started to yell at him, or for the alarm to go off and drag him from this precious dream. But neither of those happened, Maria just traced lines up his back, one hand nestling in his hair.

“I’m fine, Michael. Really.” She whispered to him.

With her sweet comforting tone, he calmed down. His body once again took over where his mind failed, rocking their hips together in tandem. Once he settled into an easy rhythm, Michael finally met her eyes again. She kissed him hard, not thinking of the pain, not thinking of where she was, just reveling in the way that her whole body tingled at the realization that she was in Michael Guerin’s bed, in his arms, making love to him.

“Maria,” he moaned, temporarily breaking lip contact. Michael now understood where she was before, speeding towards that cliff that fell off into Nevernever land. His hands clamped down on her hips as he thrusted faster and faster into her. Colours – amazing, vibrant colours swirled in his head, mixing in with the strong scent of Maria. Michael had always thought that she smelled good, he had no idea that she could smell this incredible. “Oh, Maria.”

He said her name like it was holy and sinful at the same time. Any question of confusion or doubt went out the window – Maria could feel it calling out to her from every pore of his body: she was the only person that he wanted, she was the only one that he needed. Helping him attain the same intense explosion that she had felt earlier, Maria raked her nails down his back to his bottom, and grasped it tightly.

Michael squeezed Maria to him, his body trembling and falling upon her. Breathing heavily, he kissed her collarbone, then laid his cheek against her breast.

“Intense?” she asked.

“Intense,” he laughed into her chest, his hand gently stroking her side.

Tracing circles on his back with her fingers, Maria inhaled the musky scent of Michael’s sweat mixed in with the overpowering smell of their lovemaking. She kissed his forehead, relaxing as she listened to their synchronous breathing – all the surrounding noises from the trailer park seemed to disappear.

“Sometimes I wish we could just lay here for days…” Maria thought aloud, not really meaning the words to come out.

“Maria.”

Looking towards the window, she tensed at his tone. “Please don’t say it, not now. I know, I know it’s never going to happen.” She started to play with his hair again. “Just promise me something?”

“I’ll see what I can do.”

“Don’t make me wake up alone. Just… just don’t up and leave me.” Her voice wavered, and Michael understood that she was talking about more than just tonight.

“I won’t. I couldn’t even if I wanted to.” His breathing grew deeper, and she could tell that he was falling asleep.

Maria closed her eyes and wrapped herself around Michael protectively. He sighed, then pulled the blanket over both of them. Just as she was drifting off to sleep, Michael hugged her to him and kissed her neck. He thought about the things she said to him in the wood shop, and when she told him that she kept the napkin holder. He thought about how scared she looked in the cave that night, and how she kissed him at the convention – right there, in front of everyone, not concerned about what anyone would think. Then, he thought about how she had just given herself to him without expectation, without trying to make him into something he wasn’t.

Michael looked up and saw the drunken look of contentment on her sleeping face. A car door slammed in the distance, immediately sobering him up. It wasn’t Hank, but there was a good chance that he’d be home soon. Without waking her, Michael slid out of bed and double bolted the locks on his door. At this late hour, Hank would barely be conscious enough to make it to the couch, much less to Michael’s room.

Taking a moment to watch the moonlight illuminate Maria deep in slumber, Michael placed another blanket on top of her. He crawled in, this time holding her head against his chest, his arms cradling her warm body to him. Maria mumbled something incoherent and snuggled up closer to him. Stroking her hair, Michael kissed her head and willed himself to stay awake. It was going to be a long night, but it would be the first sleepless night that he wouldn’t mind.

***

From the Edge of the Deep Green Sea -The Cure

Every time we do this
I fall for her
Wave after wave after wave
It's all for her
"I know this can't be wrong" I say
(And I'll lie to keep her happy)
"As long as I know that you know
That today I belong right here with you"
Right here with you...

And so we watch the sun come up
From the edge of the deep green sea
And she listens like her head's on fire
Like she wants to believe in me
So I try
"Put your hands in the sky
Surrender
Remember
We'll be here forever
And we'll never say goodbye... "

I've never been so
Colourfully-see-through-head before
I've never been so
Wonderfully-me-you-want-some-more
And all I want is to keep it like this
You and me alone
A secret kiss
And don't go home
Don't go away
Don't let this end
Please stay...
Not just for today...

"Never never never never never let me go" she says
"Hold me like this for a hundred thousand million days"
But suddenly she slows
And looks down at my breaking face
"Why do you cry?
What did I say?"
"But it's just rain" I smile
Brushing my tears away...

I wish I could just stop
I know another moment will break my heart
Too many tears
Too many times
Too many years I've cried over you

How much more can we use it up?
Drink it dry?
Take this drug?
Looking for something forever gone
But something we will always want...

"Why why why are you letting me go" she says
"I feel you pulling back
I feel you changing shape"
And just as I'm breaking free
She hangs herself in front of me
Slips her dress like a flag to the floor
And hands in the sky
Surrenders it all...

I wish I could just stop
I know another moment will break my heart
Too many tears
Too many times
Too many years I've cried for you