He came to her in the rain. He stood outside her window and watched her brush her hair. She didn’t notice him until she walked over to shut the curtains. She rolled her eyes and cracked the window when she saw him standing there.

“What do you want?” Maria DeLuca spat.

He didn’t say anything. Instead, he looked at her. He knew he shouldn’t be there but he couldn’t help himself. He just needed to see her face again.

“What? You can’t speak? Why are you here, Michael?” He still hadn’t said anything and she sucked her teeth in irritation. “You know, you’ve done this already. You show up at my window in the middle of the night in the rain with that stupid puppy-dog look on your face and you expect me to let you in. You think I’m stupid? You think I’ll fall for that one again? I don’t think so, buddy.” She started to slam the window when he put his hand on the glass.

“Maria,” Michael whispered.

She watched him reach down and open the window a little more. He was staring at her when she looked back up. His eyes were darker than she’d ever seen them.

[Oh no.] She thought. [Be strong girl. Don’t let him get to you. Teflon. I am Teflon.]

“Maria,” He whispered again. “I just want to talk.” He lifted the window a little higher.

[No. No. No.] She thought as she shook her head. [Remember… I’m angry with him. He left me. No. No. No.] She looked away.

“Please?” He whispered.

She looked up into his eyes for a moment. [Great.] She thought. [So much for being smart about this.]