She didn't know why she bothered any more. After all, he had made it more than clear on several occasions it wasn't going to happen. Why didn't it just sink in?

I don't want another heartbreak
I don't need another turn to cry
I don't want to learn the hard way
Baby Hello, oh no, goodbye
But you got me like a rocket
Shooting straight across the sky...

She always told herself no. Absolutely not. He'd only break her heart. It was when her mind said these things, her heart told her to shut the hell up. Maria DeLuca was in love with Michael Guerin whether she liked it or not.

No matter that she wanted to deny it. No matter that the last kiss they had had, he had been thinking about mud. He had, after all, kissed her back. So, the mud thing was another Michael-esque thing to say. Then again, he always kissed her back.

It's the way you love me
It's a feeling like this--
It's centrifugal motion
It's perpetual bliss.
It's that pivotal moment
It's Impossible
This Kiss, This Kiss
(Unstoppable)
This Kiss, This Kiss

What she had said to Liz about being with them had spoiled themselves for any other guy was true. She had never been kissed like he kissed her. Whenever they made physical contact, every cell in her body was on fire. She could never get enough of him, and that could be a dangerous thing...

Cinderella said to Snow White
How does love get so off course?
All I wanted was a white knight
With a good heart, soft touch, fast horse.
Ride me off into the sunset
Baby, I'm forever yours

Why couldn't she just have fallen for a nice normal guy? A guy with a less than abrasive personality, a guy with tamable hair, a guy who hadn't been hatched.

But it was Michael's rarely seen vulnerable side. She had seen it a few times. Once in that motel on the way to Texas; in the soap factory when he was trying not to tell how he felt; after he made her napkin holder, and admitted that she made him feel human; when he came to her, and allowed her to comfort him while he cried. That was when she knew she was hooked for good.

It's the way you love me
It's a feeling like this--
It's centrifugal motion
It's perpetual bliss.
It's that pivotal moment
It's Unthinkable
This Kiss, This Kiss
(Unsinkable)
This Kiss This Kiss

Maria mixed the scents of eucalyptus and roses together for the hell of it. She dabbed some on her wrist, and took a whiff. The scents went well together, and complemented each other. If only she and Michael went together that easily and that perfectly...

Her thoughts were interrupted by the tapping at her window. She held her breath, not sure of the late night visitor, but ultimately opened her window and let Michael in.

You can kiss me in the moonlight
On the rooftop under the sky
You can kiss me with the windows open
While the rain comes pouring inside
Kiss me in sweet slow motion
Let's let every thing slide
You got me floating, You got me flying

"Thanks." That was all he said.

"You're welcome," was her reply.

And the next thing she knew, she swept up into another out of this world embrace. The kiss wasn't urgent and rough like previous ones. It was slow, sweet and tender.

It's the way you love me
It's a feeling like this--
It's centrifugal motion
It's perpetual bliss.

"What happened to the stone wall?" she asked, breathlessly.

"You found a sledgehammer."

"Good," she murmured, pulling him into another kiss.