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"Guess whose got a date tomorrow night?" Maria asked as she walked into their apartment. "With who?" Liz replied back. "Michael..." she said with a dreamy sigh. "Michael!? I thought you hated him?" "I did." "But now you don't?" "No." "Ok. You're way too confusing." "What should I wear?" "Where are you going? Like casual or club?" "Crap. I don't know." "Hmm..." Liz got up and went into her bedroom. She came back out with three outfits in her hand. "Here. These are all casual but sexy at the same time." Maria looked at them and mentally pictured herself wearing them. "I like this one." She picked out the red tube top with the black skirt a little above her knees. "Yeah. That one's my favorite too." "Do you think this will fit me? You're smaller than I am." "It will. Don't worry about it." "Am I making a mistake?" "No. It's a cute outfit Maria." "Not about the outfit. About him." "Well do you honestly like him? Like enough to date him?" "It's only dinner." "Which leads to more dinners, and more dates. By the time you know it, you're a 45 year old married couple living somewhere on the East Coast with four kids and three dogs." Maria just looked at her friend. "So... I am making a mistake?" "Only if you're not sure about it." "I do like him though." "Then it's not a mistake." Maria just smiled. She did like him, maybe not enough to marry him or anything but marriage wasn't even an option. She'd only known the guy for two months.

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7 o'clock was there before Maria knew it. Once again, she was running late and rushing through the apartment. "Liz! Where are my black strappy sandals?" "In my room." Maria sighed; Liz always took her things without asking. It was like having an annoying little sister, without the annoying part. He rang the doorbell. "Shit! I'm so not ready!" she called. Liz was always the back up and staller when Maria wasn't ready for a date. "I'll get it," she said and went to the door. As soon as she saw him she thought he was a hottie. 'No Brad Pitt? He's hotter than Brad Pitt is,' Liz thought to herself. "Hi," she said. "I'm Liz. Maria's best friend." "Hey. Michael. Maria's boss." They exchanged smiles and she let him in. He sat on the couch waiting for Maria. "Do you want anything? Like water or soda or something?" "No thanks. I'm good." Liz sat on the couch next to him. "So... where ya taking' her?" Liz was always so nosey. "Chantilly's," he said in response. She may have been new to the city but she knew that place. It was exactly what Maria was dressed for, incredibly fancy sit down dinner topped off with totally amazing dancing. Plus, it was expensive. "Sounds fun," she said with another smile. Maria finally came out of her room. She was definitely dressed to kill and he was being murdered. He just looked at her. "Ready to go?" she said, looking back at him. He nodded slowly and stood up. "Yeah." Liz giggled. "Have fun you guys," she said with a wave. "Bye," Maria said and walked out, Michael following behind her. "You know, the whole late thing has really got to stop." She could tell he was kidding by the tone of his voice. "But I like being late." "Why would you like being late?" "To make you mad of course." "I don't get mad though. Just pissed." "Same thing." "Not really." He got outside her apartment building and walked up to his 2002 black Mercedes Kompressor. Maria gawked at the hot car. She loved Kompressors. 'Nothing like a hot guy driving a hot car,' she thought to herself. He opened the door for her and let her in. She sat down and looked around. 'No naked chicks hanging from the mirror. Good sign,' she thought. He got in and started the car. He let her put on the music she wanted to listen to and drove to the restaurant.

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After they got to the restaurant and had eaten their meals they began to talk. They wound up talking for hours about everything. Maria felt like she'd known him her whole life. She found out that he was married but got divorced because his wife cheated on him. She found out that he's originally from Boston but had to come here on business a while back and fell in love with the place. She found out that he had two brothers and a sister and that his sister actually lived in LA too and was younger than he was. She also found out that his birthday was four days after hers and that they both were Capricorn's. Eventually they got up and started to dance. She was amazed at how good of a dancer he was. "Did you like take classes or something?' she asked. "No. Why?" "You're really good." "I'm good at a lot of things." "Is that supposed to do something to me?" "Maybe." "Well it doesn't." "I'm sure it doesn't," he said, and put his hands around her waist. "You're really slick with the sexual notations." "They work, don't they?" "Not all the time." "Most of the time is good enough for me." "They only work sometimes." "Still good enough for me." "Right. I'm sure it is." "Did it work this time?" he asked. She looked at him, mentally telling herself to tell him yes but shook her head anyway. "Sorry." "It's ok. Gotta work on it."

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By the end of their date they were both really tired and Maria's feet were killing her. He walked her to her door. "I'd ask you to come up but I'm too tired," she said with a half laugh. "I'd accept but I'm too tired too," he said back. She smiled. "So I'll see you on Monday?" she asked. "Yeah. Monday." He was looking at her weird again. She wondered what that look meant. He did it to her a lot and she couldn't figure out what he was trying to say with it. She just looked back at him. "Too bad we're tired," he said, still looking at her with the weird look. "Too bad I have a roommate," she said back, it was her turn for a sexual notation. She gave him a cute little smirk. He smiled and leaned in to kiss her. She let him and actually kissed him back. He didn't want it to be too much so he pulled away. "Bye," he said with another smile. "Bye," she said, smiling back. With that, he walked back to his car and got in. She waved to him and he waved back as he drove away. She sighed a sigh of contentment and went into her apartment.

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Maria walked into her apartment and plopped down on the couch. She was surprised it wasn't already occupied by Liz. She saw that the bathroom door was closed and figured Liz was in the shower. She got up and walked toward the bathroom and knocked on the door. "Yeah?" said Liz. "Can I come in?" "Yeah." Maria walked in and sat on the toilet. "So, how was your date?" Liz asked. "Amazing." "Amazing?" "Yeah. Michael's so amazing." "First you think he's an asshole, then you think he's mean, and now he's amazing?" "You just have to get to know him." "Exactly how well did you get to know him?" "Really well. I learned so many things about him. He's so… amazing." Amazing was all she could say. She thought he was the sweetest guy ever now that she knew him. "Did he kiss you yet?" "Yeah, but it was only for like two seconds." "Oh, that sucks." "Not really. It was sweet." "I'd be making out hardcore if that were me." Maria laughed. "You would," she said. "Can you pass me a towel?" Liz asked. "Yeah, sure." Maria got up and grabbed a towel. She handed it to Liz who took it and wrapped it around herself. "So when are you going to see him again? Besides work of course." "I don't know."

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Michael and Maria had been dating for eleven months now, almost a year. Even Liz had a new boyfriend. Maria was in her room getting ready for another date they were to go on when Liz walked in. "Oh my God! Major dilemma!" Liz said. "What?" said Maria and turned around to look at her frantic friend. "Look!" Liz held up her new white dress she had just bought and showed it to Maria. "Oh God," Maria said as she looked at the huge, brown iron stain on the front. "What am I going to do? I'm leaving for my date in an hour!" "Wear something else." "I can't! This is my really fancy dress that I bought especially for tonight's premiere." "You're going to a premiere in that?" "Yeah… why? What's wrong with it?" "Nothing, but don't you think that's a little too fancy for a movie premiere? I mean most people go in jeans and a T-shirt." "Hello? It's the premiere of the new James Bond movie. Everyone's wearing suits and gowns. I can't go and be standing next to some of Hollywood's top actresses wearing jeans and a T-shirt." "You can wear something of mine." "You don't have anything this fancy." "I have fancy clothes though." "Like what?" "Oh! I know something that you would love!" Maria walked to her closet and started looking through the clothes. She took out a cute red dress with little gems all over it. "Oh my God! I love it!" said Liz. "I knew you would." Maria smiled. "This is perfect. Thanks." "No problem," said Maria and continued to put on her make-up. "So… you and Michael are pretty hot and heavy now, huh?" Liz said as she sat down on Maria's bed. "I wouldn't say hot but yeah, we're pretty heavy." "What do you mean?" "Well, we haven't slept together or anything like that." "You haven't?" asked Liz in disbelief. "No." "I thought you did." "Why would you think that?" "I don't know… I just did." "Well if we did I would tell you. You know that." "True. So where are you guys going tonight?" "To his parents house." "Oh my God, you're meeting his parents?" "Yeah. Why?" "Maria, that's… big." "No it's not." "You don't meet a guys parents unless it's serious." "It is serious though… kinda." "It can't be serious if you haven't slept with the guy yet." "Yes it can, Liz. Not everything is based on sex." "It is for me." Liz laid back on Maria's bed. "I can't believe you haven't had sex with him yet." "Will you shut up?" "Fine, whatever. I'm going to get changed." Liz got up and left the room. Maria finished doing her make-up right as the doorbell rang. She went to the door and answered it. "Hi," he said and smiled. "Hey," she said back and gave him a kiss. "Ready?" "Yeah. I just have to get my purse." She walked over to the couch where she had laid her purse down earlier and picked it up. She walked back over to him. "Now I'm ready," she said and took his hand. They walked out to his car and got in. "Ok, whatever my parents say about me that's good just agree with. If it's bad, just disagree with them, ok?" he said, looking at her quickly. "Ok." "And if they mention anything about marriage, just ignore them, especially my mom, ok?" "Ok." "My dad also likes to talk about weird things. So if something offends you in any way, he's not doing it on purpose, ok?" "Ok." "And if they want you to do-" She stopped him. "Michael, I'll be fine. I'm sure they're great." He nodded. "Ok…" She could tell he was nervous. She loved how he got when he was nervous. After about an hour of driving they got to his parent's house. He took her hand again, once out of the car, and walked to the door. He rang the doorbell. "Michael! My baby!" his mom said with two oven mittens on her hands, giving him kisses on his cheeks. "We've missed you so much!" "Hi Mom," was all he said. "Hi son," his dad said as he walked out, shaking Michael's hand. "Mom, Dad, this is Maria." "Nice to meet you," Maria said, extending her hand to shake theirs. "Nice to meet you too," said his mom. "Pleasure's all mine," said his dad. They went inside and talked about everything over dinner. Maria wound up telling them her life story and they would up telling her Michael's. Everything from his first kiss at the age of three in the sandbox at day care to how his suit looked at prom. They showed her baby pictures and pictures of his first girlfriend when he was twelve. She laughed the whole time. When the night was over they said their good-byes and Maria promised to come back and visit them sometime. She and Michael walked to the car and got back in. "I love your parents," she said, looking at him. "They're ok." "Your mom is the cutest thing. And your dad is so nice." "When do I get to meet your parents?" "Whenever you want." He nodded. He wanted to meet her parents for the longest time. He wanted to know whom she got her looks from. "I still have to meet your brothers and your sister," she said, looking at him again. "I know. They're around. You can meet them whenever they're free." She nodded. "Sounds good." "So… you wanna go home now or what?" "I don't care. Whatever you want." "Wanna go to my house?" "Sure." She'd been there before so it was nothing new for her.

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When they got to his house he let his Rottweiler outside. Her name was Star, since he lived in Hollywood. Maria always thought it was corny but never said anything to him. She loved Star. She sometimes would just sit outside and play with her for hours. They walked in and sat on the couch. He got up and got himself a soda. "Want anything?" he asked her. "Nah," she said. He came back and sat back down next to her. "So…," he said, looking at her. "So…," she said back. "Wanna watch TV?" She smiled a little. "Sure." He turned on ESPN and watched a little hockey. She hated hockey but knew he loved it so never said anything. After about twenty minutes he realized and changed it to Buffy. "There, is that better?" She giggled. She didn't like Buffy much either but she nodded. "Thanks." "No problem," he said. There it was again. That weird look he always got when he looked at her. She still didn't know what it meant, even after eleven months. She always just kind of looked back at him, trying to figure it out. He leaned in and kissed her and she kissed him back. This was usual for them. They'd go to his house, do something, and wind up making out for a few hours until either she had to leave or they got too tired. Tonight was different. He was kissing her differently and his hands were going all over. Not that she disapproved, she just thought that it was just different for them. Their little make-out tryst actually wound up being a lot more intense than she had imagined. Somehow they wound up in his bedroom getting more and more intense. He took off her shirt, all the while kissing her. She thought that he was being so sweet and caring and gentle. He didn't take his eyes off of her the entire time and after a few hours, they fell asleep.

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She woke up to the smell of eggs and bacon. She looked around and realized she was still at Michael's house. A small smile spread across her face as she sat up. She looked around the room and gathered all of her clothes. She put them on and went downstairs. "Morning beautiful," he said to her as he saw her come down. "Morning," she said back, still smiling. He gave her a small kiss and continued to make their food. "Eggs and bacon…" She looked down at the food. "You don't like eggs and bacon?" he asked, looking at her. "I do. I love eggs and bacon," she said with another smile. "Good," he said and smiled back. She sat down at the table and eventually he came over with the food. He set her plate down in front of her and spelled out the words "I love you" with small pieces of bacon. A smile spread across her face that she couldn't stop. It just kept getting bigger. She looked at him, still smiling. "I love you, too," she said. He smiled back, she could tell he was a little shy. She got up and walked over to his side of the table. She gave him a warm kiss and looked at him. "That was the sweetest thing anyone's ever done for me." "Really?" he said, smiling again. She nodded. "Yeah. Really." She was smiling again. "Thank you." He kissed her again. "No need to thank me." She kissed him again and went back to her side of the table. She sat down and began to eat her food.

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By noon it was time for Maria to go. She knew Liz would be worried about her and probably was already calling all different places looking for her. He drove her home and walked her to the door as usual. "I'll see you tonight," he said. "Tonight? What's tonight?" She couldn't remember if they had made plans or not. Last night made her mind go blank of everything else. "Nothing. I just want to see you." She smiled again and nodded. "Ok. I'll see you tonight then." He gave her a kiss and walked back to his car. "Bye," he said and got in. "Bye," she said back, smiling still. When he drove away she practically ran upstairs to her apartment. She walked inside and went into her room. She plopped on the bed and let out a soft sigh. Liz walked in. "Oh my God! Where were you?!," she said frantically. Maria didn't move. She just raised her eyes to meet Liz's. "With Michael." "All night?" Maria nodded. "I was freaking out, Maria! I called all these places and- wait… all night?" Maria nodded again. Liz immediately got excited. "Did you…?" Liz looked at her, waiting for an answer. Maria nodded again. "Oh my God! Finally!" Liz sat down on Maria's bed next to her. "So…? How was it?" "I'm not discussing this with you," Maria said, looking back at Liz. "What? Why? We always discuss this stuff." "Ok, fine." Maria sat up. "It was… amazing." "Amazing seems to be the word of the day with this one, huh?" "Well that's what describes him. I'm in love with him." "What? You're in love with him? When did this happen?" "Oh my God, Liz. He's the sweetest man. This morning he made me eggs and bacon and he spelled out I love you with the bacon. I wanted to cry." Liz was silent. She loved it when guys did sweet things because no one ever did them to her. "Aww! That's so… sweet!" "I know!" "So… you guys are in love?" Maria nodded. "Yeah. I think so." "That's really sweet. I'm happy for you." "Thanks." Maria smiled again. "So how was he?" "In bed?," Maria asked with a slight giggle. "Yeah…" 'Liz is such a ho,' Maria thought, she laughed. "Why are you laughing?" Liz asked. "Nevermind." "You still didn't answer my question." "I answered you before. He was amazing." "God, I need a man." "You have a man." "I need like a GOOD man." "Don't worry. You'll find one." "So… amazing? Last time I had sex you practically made me make you a diagram." "There's not much to say. It was at his house, on his bed, and it was just so… passionate and amazing. He looked at me the entire time and God, he's so… amazing." "You're obsessed with that damn word." Liz was beginning to get a little jealous of her friend. "Sorry." "So… what are you doing tonight? I thought maybe we could do something together," said Liz. "I'm going out with Michael again." "Are you serious? We never spend time together anymore." "We live together, Liz." "Yeah, but we only see eachother at times like this. I work during the day and at nights you're either working or with Michael." "How about this Friday? Just me and you?" Liz sighed but nodded. "Ok, Friday. Don't make any other plans." "I won't," said Maria. "I wanna fall in love," said Liz. 'Wow, that was random,' thought Maria. "You will." "Probably never like that though. Never sweet love and all that." "All love is sweet." "You know what I mean." "Yes you will, Liz. You're beautiful and you have a great personality. It's just a matter of finding the right guy." "Yeah, I guess." "It is. You will, don't worry about it."

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