The man behind him leaned over his seat, a smirk marring his handsome face. "So where's Guerin? Held up at the latest whorehouse?"

Max spun around, grasping his coworker by the throat, his bloodshot eyes showing his rage. "None of your goddamn business, *Valenti*," he growled.

Valenti sank back into his seat, rubbing his neck. "Jesus, Evans, calm down. It isn't my fault he's held up with some girl everywhere we go."

Max tried to settle back, but his clenched hands revealed his tension. He had no idea where Michael was. And to add to that, he hadn't exactly had the best morning. He had awakened next to a beautiful woman he only vaguely remembered meeting. Not wanting to wake her, and having no desire to be embarassed by his lack of memories, he left her a note, ordered some flowers for her and crept out the door.

Now he felt like a coward. What would she think of him after awaking to find him gone?

He burst out of his bubble of thought as Michael sat heavily next to him, huffing and puffing from exertion. Sunglasses covered what Max assumed were eyes as red as his own.

To his great surprise, Michael flipped the glasses back onto his head and grinned. "Raleigh, North Carolina. I love this town."

His eyes weren't bloodshot at all.

****

Slowly but steadily, she rose from the bed and began gathering up her clothes. They had been neatly gathered into a pile and placed on the stiff-looking chair in the corner of the bedroom. She smiled faintly, recalling that they had been scattered across the floor only hours before. When had Max left? And how had he managed to do it without waking her? And he'd been even drunker than she was... she moaned and rubbed her head. She had a terrible hangover already.

In addition to that, she was sore and sticky from last night. Suddenly it didn't seem like such a good idea to just put her clothes back on.

She walked into the bathroom. It smelled like him. So he had taken a shower...she laughed at herself suddenly, realizing that she was acting like last night had been something it hadn't. It had been a one-night stand, and that was all. She just had to remember that, and forget about how amazing it had been, and how safe she had felt, lying in his arms.

****

Liz walked into her dorm room, vaguely expecting a chewing-out from Maria. But Maria wasn't there either, and Liz thanked whatever gods were watching over her. With the headache she had, the last thing she needed was a high-pitched lecture.

She looked at her single bed, then at the clock. Her eyes widened as she realized that her first exam was going to start in less than a minute.

She bolted back out the door, running faster than she'd ever run in her life.

****

"So, Liz..."

Liz groaned to herself, knowing she'd had it now. Maria was home. The girl sat in the blinding sunlight coming in through the windows, seemingly immune to the brightness. Her shiny blond hair shone in the light. She didn't seem particularly stressed out, at odds with just about every other person Liz had seen in the last hour.

"Where were you last night? I mean, I know where I was..."

"Let me guess," Liz said, putting a hand over her eyes to block the sun through the window. "With that guy, the one I saw you with at the bar."

Maria grinned. "Damned straight, Lizzie, but at least I came home in time to make it to exams. Now where were you?"

Liz mumbled the truth under her breath. No human could possibly have understood it, but Maria stood up and shrieked. "You were with that hottie! Sweet, innocent Liz Parker got it on with some stranger from a bar!"

"It wasn't like that, Maria."

"Oh, I know what it was like," Maria drawled, in the Southern accent she could adapt whenever it suited her. "It was like, 'Oh, you're so hot! I'm so drunk! Let's fuck like bunnies!'"

"Not funny, Maria," Liz said softly, walking over to sit at her desk.

Maria softened instantly. "I'm sorry, babe. I got a little carried away. So was he any good?"

Liz grinned while looking at the floor, feeling sheepish.

"I'll take that as a yes!"

"What about your guy? The blond?"

Maria whistled. "Damn. I have never been kissed like that in my life. That man could do things with his tongue - "

Liz groaned. "Too much information, Maria!"

****

The maid padded gently into the empty motel room. She wrinkled her nose at the smell of sex and alcohol that permeated the air. She had thought that after six months at this job, she be used to it, but she could never adjust.

She wanted to vacuum first, so she lifted the bedspread off the carpet. As she did she revealed a plain white napkin. Cursing at having to bend over again, she leaned down to pick it up. She was about to toss it when she realized the back side was covered in writing. Unable to resist, she began to read it.

Dear Liz,
I know that you may think last night was a mistake, a one-time event between strangers. But I want you to know that I don't, and I will never think of it that way. Even if our memories are fuzzy, we know we had something, because this morning, while I watched you sleep, I felt more complete than I have in years. I felt whole again. Now I have to leave in order to make my flight, but I don't want to. More than anything I want to stay here with you when you wake up, but I can't wake you. You're much too beautiful as you sleep.

Max Evans

4569 Parkway Dr. San Jose, Ca 94578 (787)555-4829