"Hey, Maria. I was wondering if you could do me a favor?"

Chills raced down her spine as she heard Michael's voice on the line.

"What's the favor?" Maria tried to keep the excitement out of her voice, succeeding only a little.

//Good job, DeLuca! Now he'll think you are happy he called.//

"I need you to show me how to make potatoes. Would it be OK for me to come over?"

Would it be OK for him to come over? Hell yes!

She agreed to help him, leaving out the small detail that she couldn't boil a pot of water, without screwing something up. But, hey, it's potatoes. How hard could they be?

(He he he, you have NO idea, little Maria.)

Michael knocked on her door about 10 minutes later. //He actually used the door?!?!// He looked so damn good in that black shirt, she almost smiled at him. She stopped herself in time, and gave him her usual glare.

Michael followed Maria into the kitchen, and waited while she took out a glass bowl, a peeling knife, a big pot, and a scrubbing sponge. Michael handed her the sack of potatoes he had brought.

She explained to him what she was doing, scrubbing and washing the potatoes, peeling them, and then she placed the glass bowl next to the pot on the stove. Once she had transferred all the potatoes to the pot, she turned on the burner, and led Michael into her bedroom so she could show him her latest in aromatherapy.

They had been in her bedroom for about 10 minutes, when a loud BANG! was heard from the direction of the kitchen. Maria and Michael sprang up off her bed, and ran straight to the other room.

The sight that greeted them was of total chaos. The big glass bowl that Maria had used to peel the potatoes in was in pieces. Glass was all over the place. Michael pushed Maria away from the mess, and stepped gingerly over the glass, to the stove.

He inspected the area, and started to laugh. He pointedly turned off the burner that the bowl had been sitting on. The potatoes still lay in cold water in the pot.