Oh I feel so light
This is all I wanna feel tonight
Oh I feel so light
Tonight and the rest of my life

Gleaming in the dark sea, I'm as light as air
Floating there breathlessly
When the dream dissolves I open up my eyes
I realize that everything is shoreless sea
Weightlessness is passing over me

Oh I feel so light
This is all I wanna feel tonight
Oh I feel so light
Tonight and the rest of my life
Tonight and the rest of my life

Everything is waves and stars
The universe is resting in my arms
I feel so light
This is all I wanna feel tonight
I feel so light
Tonight and the rest of my life

Oh I feel so light
This is all I wanna feel tonight
Oh I feel so light
Tonight and the rest of my life
Tonight and the rest of my life

"Really," Liz protested halfheartedly. "I don't want to go."

Her best friend and roommate raised an eyebrow. "Elizabeth Parker, you are celebrating your twenty-first birthday with me at someplace that actually requires ID. So don't give me any of your crap. I know you really want to."

Liz groaned a little. "Finals start tomorrow, Maria. I don't know."

She shrugged airily, pondering the tops in Liz's closet before finally selecting one that pleased her. "Are you ever going to turn twenty-one again?"

"No," Liz admitted.

Maria whirled around, pulling a red sweater over her head. "Then it's settled. Let's go."

****

Max cursed as he entered the smoky bar, the lights inside flashing in his eyes. "Shit, Michael. I really don't want to do this."

His coworker smirked. "You take a cab back to the motel. Really, I'll drive myself. I've got the keys."

The thought of leaving Michael, likely drunk as a fish, to drive their rented car home didn't appeal to Max at all. "I'll stay. But don't drink too much. You know perfectly well what happens when we drink too much."

"See, that's the benefit of these trips," Michael said, as though explaining to a child. "No one knows us here. They'll just think we're stinking ass drunk."

Max squinted, looking around. There seemed to be a definite lack of seating and a lot of people were standing around, talking and dancing a little to the loud music that pumped from the speakers. The strobes flashed, reminding him more of a college club than a regular bar. And from the age range of most of the people here, that's just what this was.

"ID?" a gruff voice near his ear said.

"Oh, right," Max said, pulling out his wallet. Michael already had his ready and flashed it at the bouncer. He nodded them both through.

Max and Michael were both twenty-five, and they had grown up together, sharing a common secret. They had stayed together at college, and gone to work at the same up-and-coming Silicon Valley company. This, however, was their first business trip together. Almost half the company had flown to Raleigh for the conference by the "teamwork guru," Samuel Somers. After a full day of excruciatingly boring "teamwork exercises" Michael had declared himself ready to party and headed to the nearest club. Max didn't want to go, but Michael had managed to drag him along.

Max scanned the whole badly lit area for an empty table or barstool. He could find none. He stood for a few minutes, waiting for someone to get up and leave. No one moved.

"Shit," Max mumbled to himself. "I hate these clubs."

He rested a hand on the speaker nearest his head, looking as innocent as possible. He looked away as the volume coming from that particular speaker soared almost to an unbearable level. The people at the table closest to the speaker looked back in irritation before getting up and moving. Max mentally clapped himself on the back and let the volume fade as he settled into the cushiony seats...

Just as a petite brunette collapsed into the seat across from him. At first she didn't even seem to notice him, and then she looked up and said, "Oh, shit, I'm sorry. Do you want me to move?"

Max gaped. Move? Did he want her to move? Sitting before him was the most beautiful creature he had ever seen. Her skin was like porcelain and her hair hung over her face like a mahogany curtain. He was even taken with the old scar across her brow, making her perfect features a little more unique.

She reached forward and for a second Max thought she was going to touch his hand, which was lying on the sticky table. Instead, she brushed her shimmering dark hair out of her eyes. "Uh, uh, no," he stammered, feeling tongue-tied around a girl for the first time in his life. This particular girl looked to be a few years younger than he--probably a college student, he told himself, and too young for him. "You're fine."

She smiled. "Thanks. I thought I would never find a seat in this place."

Max's brain finally started to kick in. "Yeah, it's a little crowded, isn't it?"

She put her hand up in the air with her thumb and forefinger spread just a fraction of an inch apart. "Just a little."

"So, uh, what's your name?"

She smiled, flashing beautiful white teeth for the second time. Internally Max thanked whatever dentist had been responsible for those teeth. "Liz. What's yours?"

"Max. You aren't from around here."

"And you're a little nosy," she pointed out. "But you're right, I'm not. I just go to school here. And neither are you, from the sound of your accent. Out west, maybe?"

He nodded his assent. "So do you want something to drink?"

She laughed a little. "Sure. Why not?"

Max motioned to a waiter. "She'll have a..."

"Tequila, straight up," Liz supplied.

"And for you?"

"I'll just have water, thanks," Max said. Liz frowned at him, and he realized what it looked like. But he couldn't drink anything. His inhibitions would all go straight down the drain after just a few sips. He looked at Michael, flirting with several girls at the bar, including a striking little blond with pixie-cut hair and a red sweater. He hoped to God that Michael wouldn't drink anything.

****

Two hours later, Max was drunker than he'd ever been in his life. He'd only had one beer, but it had served to make the whole world spin around behind Liz. He had long ago lost track of Michael and the little blond, and he didn't care. He had to resist the urge to giggle.

He also had to resist some other urges. Liz had loosened up considerably with a few shots of straight tequila in her and had been confiding in him about some of her first sexual experiences. He was becoming highly uncomfortable.

She was giggling as she told one story. "So we went back to his house-"

"His parents weren't there?"

"No, they were," Liz said, dissolving in helpless giggles. She gasped for a moment, and then said, "We tried to sneak up the stairs, real quiet, but we must've woke up his dad. We were just starting to-you know-when his dad burst in on us. I've never seen a guy look so scared," she said, nearly howling at the memory. "Then he...then he..." she put her face in her arms, laughing so hard she could barely breathe.

"What?" Max asked. "What happened?"

Liz looked up, no longer laughing. Her eyes were dark. "Listen, do you want to get out of here?"

Max was thunderstruck. "What do you mean?"

She smiled, her eyes glinting in the dim lights. "You know what I mean. So do you want to?"

****

Liz slid the electronic keycard smoothly into its slot, her movements not betraying at all how drunk she was. She was even nervous, but she wanted this. She wanted it worse than she had wanted anything in her life. She just wanted to forget about her stressful life for right now and spend one night with this unbelievably sweet and adorable guy, who most likely she would never see again. She didn't know why...it was so unlike her. Undoubtedly everyone she knew would be shocked and upset. But right now she didn't care.

She turned around, wrapping her arms around Max and pulling him through the door to his hotel room. She stood on her tiptoes and kissed him, tasting the alcohol on his lips. He stumbled a little, using her for balance. He seemed even drunker than she was, though she hadn't seen him drink any more than one or two beers. He kissed her harshly, his lips scraping against hers. They finally made it through the doorway, and Max kicked the door shut behind them.

He reached for the bottom of her shirt. She lifted her arms and he pulled it over her head. His hands moved next to the snap at the back of her bra, and, to her amazement, he didn't seem to have any trouble with it. Her bra came open and he lifted it gently off her breasts. She could hear him suck in his breath in awe, as though he'd never seen any before.

Max lowered his head and sucked gently on her nipple, and she moaned at the sensations that coursed through her. She pushed down on the back of his head, urging him to suck harder. He obeyed, his tongue swirling over the soft flesh. Gradually he moved lower, kissing his way down to the top of her skirt. He looked up at her and grinned, then pushed up her skirt and ducked beneath it.

Liz groaned as he yanked her panties and nylons down. She lifted up her feet to help him complete the process. Then she felt the soft warmth as he began to taste her. She moaned, barely able to catch her breath. He slid one finger inside of her, and then another, and began to pump vigorously. She tried not to pump her hips but was unable as she fell into rhythm.

"Please...Max...please," she whispered, shivering at the sensations coursing through her.

He appeared again from under her skirt, standing up next to her. Liz slowly realized that he was still fully clothed. She reached for the button of his slacks just as he reached for his sweater, and together they undressed him.

Liz looked down and sucked in a breath. Was this really what she wanted? Did she...and then all thought

faded again as he kissed her. She could taste herself on his lips.

Max lifted her easily and set her against the door, obviously not willing to wait long enough to make it to the bed. Without any pretense he slid inside her as her legs wrapped around him. Liz hoped there was no one outside. Every time Max thrust into her, there was a loud BANG. Her fingernails dug into his back as he moved faster and faster, his breath coming harder and harder. Her muscles tensed and she could feel herself about to come. Max looked up and saw it, and reached down. He flicked her clit lightly

with his thumb and it was all it took for Liz to simply fly away. She vaguely felt him explode inside of her, and then ease her to the ground.

They managed to make it to the bed before falling asleep in each other's arms.

****

Liz awakened the next morning, shivering in the winter chill. She realized the window was open, and faintly remembered Max opening it in the middle of the night. Then she looked around.

Max was gone. Liz moaned, her head falling into her hands. How could he have just left? How could this have happened? What had she been thinking? He must not have been the kind of man she thought he was.