"So, beautiful. What time do you get off work here? My car's out back, we can get a few drinks later, if you want," he told her in a low, supposedly debonair fashion. Maria smirked back at him, assuming her 'I'm-the-sexiest-girl-you've-ever-met' persona. Cocking an eyebrow, she decided to have a little fun with this one.

"I'll go with you if you can guess my name, handsome," she breathed in a low, husky voice of her own, sounding like a girl on a sex tape. Then she leaned over, giving him a full view of her cleavage, and started to play with his hair. 'Thank God we don't wear ID tags here…'

Jack was having trouble concentrating. Maria decided to hinder him further, and straddled his lap. She wrapped her arms around his neck and began to play with the hair on the nape of his neck, and pushed her chest into his. Jack started to breathe erratically and turn a funny red. Maria grinned, flashing him a beatific smile.

"Maria!" it came out in a shout. Maria sat there, floored. There was no way he had been able to guess that. But then she realized that Jack hadn't moved his lips, and that it hadn't been his voice.

"Maria, what the hell are you doing!?" Michael used his large, large hands to yank her off of Jack. Maria remembered those hands, the way they used to travel her body, make her scream at the top of her lungs-

"What the hell are you doing, Michael Guerin!?" Maria wheeled on him, fuming like Mt. St. Helen. "*I* was doing my job, but you have no excuse for doing that!"

"You're a waitress, not a slut, Maria." It was spoken in a low tone, often reserved for stating facts.

Maria stopped dead and stared at Michael in the eyes. Her jaw hung open, and swung a little. Michael gently took her arm, pulled her to him, and kissed her softly. Maria began to melt into the kiss, but seemed to remember something. She pulled back, swung back her fist, and nailed him in the stomach. She turned on her heel, winked at Jack, and strode off to the kitchens. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------

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Liz woke up in the bed that she had in her dressing room, surrounded by Max's strong arms. She sighed appreciatively into his muscular chest, and felt the rumble of his chuckle beneath her cheek.

"That tickles," he informed her in playful kind of voice. Liz broke into a wide smile, and blew on his chest again, giggling when Max began to laugh heartily.

"So you wanna play, huh?" a mischievous glint in his eyes. Liz knew she should be fearing what Max had in mind, but she was having way too much fun. Before she could make a witty comeback, Max's arms rearranged themselves and tightened their grip on her. Both hands were positioned right on her ribcage, their warmth seeping into her skin.

Liz shrieked as Max began to tickle her mercilessly. She could barely squirm; much less fend off the attacking fingers. Liz was starting to run out of breath, and decided to act soon. Her own left hand was by Max's right hip, so she began to wiggle her fingers as hard as she could. Max was caught by surprise, and loosened his hold on her. Liz sprang out of his arms and began tickling him full force.

Max was not giving up without a fight. He gathered his scattered wits about him and utilized his strength. He shot out his arms and grabbed Liz's wrists, locking them with one powerful hand. When he had regained enough breath to breathe sufficiently, he sat up and took up the sweet warmth of her petal soft lips. Liz melted into the kiss and into him, unconsciously molding her every curve to his every plane. They couldn't get enough of this. Why *had* they ever resisted?

Max released Liz's hands, and they buried themselves in his hair. He had one of his in her soft tresses and the other between her shoulder blades, softly caressing her silky skin. Liz moaned lightly into his mouth, enjoying the moment. Max finally broke the kiss, and grinned against her mouth. Then moved his hand on her body, lower. To her right ribcage.

Liz shrieked again, only this one was an octave higher than the last one. 'Interesting,' Max observed. She was pinned against his body, thrashing about, gasping between her shouts of laughter. Max moved his head so that his mouth was next to her ear.

"Had enough yet?" he asked teasingly.

"Yes, yes, God, yes," Liz barely gasped out. Max freed her, grinning like an impish child. She pouted back at him, and pushed him back down on the bed. Max caught Liz up in his arms as he went down, and she laid her head to rest on his massive chest. They both heaved a contented sigh at the same time, and chuckled.

"Hey Liz?" Max asked, remembering a question he had before they had reacquainted themselves in the bedroom.

"Mmm?" came the sleepy reply.

"Why *do* you have a bed in here?" Max inquired, the grin still plastered to his face. Liz laughed lightly, and craned her neck to look at him. Max looked back down at her, all of his features creased in a smile.

"For when I have late shifts, which is basically all the time. Sometimes I'm not even able to get back to the campus on weeknights, so Maria and I'll crash here."

"Ah." Max nodded sagely. "So it's not for…'other' purposes?" he added, lifting an eyebrow. Liz glared at him, and pinched his side. Max burst out laughing.

"Okay! Okay! I'm sorry, okay?" He leaned down and kissed the crown of her head. They both fell into a comfortable silence while thinking about random or not so random things.

"Hey," Liz piped up, "What do you think Maria and Michael are doing right now?" Max barked a laugh, and thought it over.