RhondaAnn - Billy will certainly be making an appearance in the future, there's more to him than meets the eye.

augustdestiny - thanks so much, glad you're enjoying it. There's definitely some twists and turns in this story, a lot more backgrounds and characters to introduce just to mix things up for our candy couple **hiding behind the couch now**. I'm really enjoying writing it, I didnt just want it to be about student/professor relationship where they have sex then that's it because I wanted to give the characters more depth and make it into a bigger story. Hope you continue liking it!

blxgyrl18 - They're both starting to take the risks but how much more are they willing to sacrifice? I love Kyle in this story and the friendship that he's building with Maria though he may start to get torn between his own beliefs/morals and supporting Maria - we'll have to see which way he goes. As for Tess, she may be hinting but I don't think she knows how seriously Maria is taking the possibility of starting something with Michael. With Tess its just words, she's treating Michael as just some hot guy and not realising or thinking too much about the fact that he's her professor at the moment.

Luluzita - Michael definitely has the hots for Maria!

emza - thanks, I love angst and the drama that surrounds such things like forbidden relationships, but whilst I thing the thrill of getting caught and of doing something wrog adds to the excitement, I'm personally one of those people that will over analyse everything and so it would be wrong if I didnt put that in the story. Billy will definitely be a problem!

jana1977 - Michael's getting weak at the knees, lol! Billy should most definitely be locked up and his part in the story will become clear shortly but will mean Maria must revisit her past which is something she isn't keen on doing. This story will not condone domestic violence whatsoever but I'll apolgise now for being so stereotypical about making the perpetrator a man - we shouldn't forget that domestic violence can and does happen both ways and doesn't just exist in heterosexual relationships. Thankfully though, it's starting to be addressed more and more and victims are putting away their abusers but its awful that it still exists.

emadaps - There's going to be trouble! Kyle's being a really good friend to Maria at the moment and is trying his hardest to be the voice of reason but he'll fight a battle between whether to continue forcing his beliefs and morals upon her or to support her if being with Michael is the path she wants to follow. I subconsciously seem to put Max as a shady character and I have no idea why, its not like he was particularly shady in Roswell. Hmm, dont think I'm supposed to write him as a bad guy in this story but now you've put the idea in my head....we'll see.

valentinebaby - crisps all the way! Chips are chunky potato chips and fries are them that you get from McDonald's they're the thin ones. Hmmm, apple crisps - are they like vegetable crisps, like dried carrots/beetroot/parsnips etc but dried apples? We have vegetable crisps but not apple crisps. We do have these things where you bake really thin slices of apple for hours in the oven and you put them with puddings like ice cream. The word pudding is another one, meaning a dessert or a sweet after tea (dinner) but up north it's also a steak pudding like a meat and tatty (potato) pie - but then do you use the word pie for cakes? Ooh its so confusing and I could be here for hours lol! Its wierd because we'll go down south to visit family and you'll start talking about teacakes for example and they wont have a clue because there's about five different words for teacakes and it also depends on the size of the teacake as to what you call it! I dunno - we're all crazy in the UK, lol.
Anyways - back to the story . Michael's got a lot of thinking to do and I think he doesnt feel that its wrong because in the grand scheme of things he's only 25ish and she's 20ish so age wise there's nothing wrong in that but obviously on the other side of that he's in a professional position which frowns upon any kind of personal relationships with students. I love Kyle too! Yay!

============================================

CHAPTER FIVE

'Miss DeLuca - always a pleasure,' he greeted her as she walked over to his desk and placed her paper on his desk and he feigned shock, 'wow, is this really it?' he asked her sarcastically and she stuck out her tongue in a childish response. He laughed and shook his head motioning for her to sit down, as he was about to start class.

He started his class off the same way he had done every day this week, with a recap of the last one and an introduction into the new class. Maria had taken to sitting in the middle but at the back making sure she took her avoidance procedure serious, she'd chuckled when she'd watched Kyle try to find her and he'd hit her jokingly on the arm when he'd reached her.

She listened as Michael's voice echoed through the large hall and heard the scrapes of Kyle's pen on his notebook, it wasn't too long before she could feel the heaviness in her eyes and sleep took over.

She knocked on the door both excited and scared about what she might find in there. She wasn't surprised when he opened the door with the trademark smirk on his face and his arm reaching high, hanging over the door. She smiled seductively at him and started to enter the office.

He stopped her, his free hand on her arm and she looked up at him daring him to say something. She smiled sweetly when he didn't utter a word and with her hands still firmly stuck in the pockets of her winter coat she walked over to his desk in the corner.

The room was dimly lit by a small table lamp and she kicked the chair out of its place and stood leaning against the desk waiting for him.

He took no time closing the door and locking it shut making sure there were no interruptions, he smiled suggestively at her and he walked towards her slowly, his heart beating as he neared her.

She could feel her senses go into overload as he closed the gap and came to rest between her legs, which he'd gently pushed apart with his knee. He grabbed the ties of her coat and pulled at them gently at first but then more roughly as he started to get impatient.

With the ties undone he slid his rough hand in between the coat and her bare skin and grabbed a hold of her waist pulling her to him forcefully causing her to gasp sharply. He brought his lips down to meet hers and kissed her passionately. This was like nothing she had experienced before, he was rough and quick and she liked it. She didn't want the slow romantic version she needed the fast and hard.

He smoothed his hands down her upper thighs and pushed her back towards the desk, her lower back hitting it hard but she welcomed the dull pain. He lifted her up and placed her on top of the desk, he ran his hands back up to her waist and pulled at the string of her panties pulling them off roughly only moving away slightly to free them from her legs.

She pulled him back to her and captured his mouth with hers, wrapping her hand around the back of his neck and using her other hand to reach to his zipper. He moaned against her lips as she slid the zipper down against his hardness. She carefully slid down his pants and boxers and shuffled herself closer to the edge of the table opening her legs wider allowing him to press right up against her.

He cleared his throat softly and opened his eyes to look at her, he stared intently pure lust taking over. He grabbed her thighs and positioned himself close to her entrance, his eyes begging for her to let him in, she smiled seductively and captured his lips with hers again…

'Hey, DeLuca!' she stirred opening her eyes slightly then suddenly straightening herself up realising where she was, she looked to her side and saw Kyle staring and a few others close by. In panic she looked to the front and saw that Michael had continued teaching, sighing in relief she looked confusingly at Kyle.

'Oh my God,' she whispered, 'how long was I out?'

'Long enough, but it looks like you were having the time of your life!' he told her pointing at her blushing cheeks.

'It was amazing!' she whispered and giggled childishly.

~*~*~~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

'Maria - can I have a word with you please?' Michael asked as Maria gathered her book bag after class and started to leave the room.

'Sure,' she sighed and mouthed to Kyle to wait for her, she had long since removed the blush from her cheeks and taken deep breaths in order to get through the next five minutes without heating up again.

'Great, it was just about tomorrow?' he told her in a questioning tone, 'you still ok to come?'

'Um, yeah sure. I mean - it'll help with my course right?!' she told him nervously.

She had been arguing with herself all last night, tossing and turning in bed unable to fall asleep just thinking about why the hell she would choose to put herself through this. It would help with her course and would be an excellent opportunity but it would also be an opportunity to start something else and she wasn't too sure whether she wanted that. Granted he was hot and available but he was also her teacher and therefore strictly off limits. It wouldn't just be her that would be kicked out of Brown but his entire career would be ruined.

He nodded in response and they remained silent for a few moments before Maria shifted her bag on her shoulder.

'Ok so, shall I just meet you there?' she asked breaking the silence.

'Why don't you meet me at the College Hill Cafe in the bookstore, we can grab a coffee and walk round from there!' Michael suggested and Maria bit her lip slightly and nodded in return.

What was she doing? The little voice inside her head was screaming at her, why meet for a coffee? Why not just meet at the station? Coffee in the morning could be construed as a date after the night before and although she would love to see how great he was in bed, there was the fact she couldn't and shouldn't ever get to know exactly how great he was in bed or be suspected of doing such.

She smiled sweetly at him and spun on her heel and walked out of the hall into the waiting death glare of Kyle Valenti.

'What?!' she shouted defensively.

'What were you two talking about?' Kyle asked suspiciously.

'Just about going to the station tomorrow to have a look at the lab, he volunteers there on weekends and he's asked me to tag along - thinks it'll help me on the course,' she told him innocently.

'Does he extend this invitation to people he's not trying to bed - or is this just you and him?' Kyle asked narrowing his eyes.

'Not that he wants to get me into his bed, but no...The invitation only seems to be for me,' she told him and ushered him along as they heard Michael approach the door and exit into the corridor.

They turned around and smiled at him as he followed them, he smiled nervously and turned around heading back for the room they'd just some from. Maria shrugged her shoulders.

'You are seriouslygoing to tell me that there's nothing going on between you!' Kyle warned.

'There is absolutely nothing going on between us, he's just helping me out,' she informed him matter of factly.

'Out of your panties!' Kyle mumbled and Maria slapped him hard on the arm and he winced. They both walked out of the building and into the chilly air making there way towards the bistro to join their friends.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

'Hey you eaten?' Max asked his cousin as he wandered into his office. Michael had his back to him and was moving some papers about on his desk paying no attention to Max until he came up to him and placed his hand on his shoulder.

'Geez Max, don't do that!' Michael yelled.

'Sorry man, I thought you'd heard me come in!' he replied

'Did you knock?' Michael asked knowing that he hadn't bothered and Max shook his head.

'Just wanted to know if you wanted to grab a bite?' Michael sighed and took a look around his office. He'd lost a couple of his student's papers within the mess and he desperately needed to find them before the weekend drew in so that he could mark them for Monday. He'd been searching for about an hour and couldn't find them; maybe it was time for him to give up.

'Sure, why not,' he replied.

They walked out of the building and over to Benders cafe and took a seat at the window watching the world go by.

'So, what are the plans for this weekend?' Max asked as he took the menu from the holder and started to browse.

'Well, I've gotta go to the lab tomorrow help out there. Um, your friend Maria's coming with and I'm hoping she'll find it useful - she um seems to be struggling a little,' Michael advised nervously and Max picked up on this.

'Y'know you should have told me when I tried to introduce you to her that she was a student of yours - I wouldn't have done it otherwise man!' Max told him, his attempt of an apology.

'Yeah well, it doesn't matter now,' Michael answered a little too disappointed than he expected but it didn't seem that Max had caught on, 'So yeah, after that maybe I'll just get some cans from the store and watch a couple of movies, do some marking then absolutely nothing on Sunday!'

'Well I have a game Sunday - well its not a huge game just a friendly with the guys, why don't you come watch?' Max asked a little worried about his cousin. He'd been here three weeks and except for going to school or the station Michael hadn't left the house.

'Yeah, maybe. I mean I'm not doing anything else right!' Michael smirked and called the waiter over to take their order.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

'So are we going to Hazel's party tomorrow?' Isabel asked the table.

'Yeah,' came a chorus of replies from Alex, Liz, Tess and Kyle. Maria hadn't looked up from her sandwich so Isabel kicked her gently under the table.

'Are you being unsociable on purpose or have you become deaf all of a sudden?' she asked pointedly.

'What?' she asked looking up and noticing that everyone was staring at her, 'Sorry - were you talking about something?' she asked innocently and Liz stifled a laugh.

'Yeah, I was asking if you were coming to the party tomorrow night? It's Hazel's and she's having successive panic attacks thinking no one's gonna show!'

'Sorry - um, yeah I should be able to make it. What time?' Maria asked quietly.

'It starts at 8,' Tess told her pinching a handful of chips from Kyle's plate.

'Right, well yeah I should be finished by then, are we meeting back at the house before we go over?'

'If you want, me and Alex will wait for you, not sure about the others,' Isabel suggested and smiled sweetly at Alex.

'Yeah, that'd be fine. We'll wait for you at the house - just don't take five hours getting ready!' Alex joked.

'I wont,' Maria replied sadly.

'Hey so what exactly will you be finished with tomorrow?' Liz asked and Kyle shot a warning glance at Maria.

'Um, I have to go to the station. I'm helping out at the lab there - supposed to be good for the course,' Maria explained and bit on her sandwich hoping the conversation would turn in another direction.

'So why aren't you going Kyle?' Tess asked inquisitively and this time it was Maria's turn to shoot the warning glance. Isabel noticed this but let it blow over as part of her imagination.

'Um - well I'm not exactly struggling and...Maria is...' he gave Maria an apologetic look, 'so the professor thought it would be good experience for her, he um just figured she'd benefit from it more,' he explained and smiled confidently satisfied that he had provided a valid response.

'Oh,' was all Tess said and they all got back onto eating their lunch.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

'I've been thinking...' Max told her as they walked through the streets towards his apartment, '...that maybe if its ok with you that I get to call you my girlfriend, y'know become exclusive' he told her nervously and looked at her in shock as she burst into laughter.

'How long has it taken you to build up the courage to ask me this?' she asked between laughs, taking deep breaths in an attempt to calm down.

'Well, I've been thinking it for quite a while but I just didn't know whether you felt the same way,' she took his hand in hers and carried on walking alongside him.

'I do and I think it would be a great idea to go exclusive. Geez, why do I feel like I'm still in high school all of a sudden?' she laughed.

'Well, that solves it then - you and me and exclusivity! You wanna come up for a nightcap?' he asked her and winked at her suggestively.

'I thought that's what I was doing,' she replied smiling seductively.

==========================================================

flora x

Christina - I wanted to portray Liz as a busybody who loves sticking her nose in, not because I dislike her but because I thought the story needed someone to be sat at the complete opposite scale of say Tess and Isabel because the latter two are intent on bringing fun into their college experience as is Maria but Liz is very studious and although may go out and drink occasionally she would rather have her nose stuck in a book because she believes that that is the be all and end all of college life. She's definitely a friend that would get on my nerves if I'm honest but as you say she is worried and as any good friend she wants to voalise her concerns and make sure Maria knows what she would be getting into. There is definitely a reason why Maria chose criminology and that will come out later. I love Kyle in this story and I'm a fan of making Maria and Tess best friends.

emadaps - you're way too good at guessing! Yep, Billy has something to do with her studying criminology definitely. Liz is overdoing it but she's a natural worrier which I relate to cos I'm a worrier but I'm not necessarily one that's as intrusive with my friends as Liz is in the story. Yes there's nothing going on with M&M...yet

Luluzita - glad you're still enjoying it.

augustdestiny - welcome back! No intention of making Max bad but you never know! I've made them aware of the risks and the consequences because obviously in that situation you definitely need to but I'm a sucker for forbidden relationships, they are always full of angst which I love writing. We'll have to wait and see what decisions they make and how they both come out of it in the end!

Sara - welcome back too! No Maria wont be his student forever but will they both wait for each other? Who knows. I hope they dont get into trouble

valentinebaby - Liz is the extreme and she's going to get a little bit more nosey and intrusive as the story goes on.

A/N - As the story has progressed there's been a couple of new characters so unfortunately its not all conventional couples as originally planned, there are going to be some uncoventional pairings sneaking in now and again **hiding behind the settee avoiding death glares from Candies** Enjoy!

============================================

CHAPTER SEVEN

'So today was fun right?!' Michael asked excitedly as they walked down the steps from the station.

'Yep, it was…educational!' she sighed and shrugged her shoulders.

'You hated it?' Michael complained and stopped on one of the steps.

'No…its just that I didn't exactly get a chance to inspect anything with CSI Michael Guerin on the case,' she laughed slightly and continued walking down the steps to the sidewalk.

'Ok so I got a little overprotected with my samples - sue me!' he yelled after her jokingly.

'I will sue you if I fail this class because of your inability to show and tell!' she yelled back at him turning around and flashing a smile. She reached the sidewalk and he quickly caught up with her after taking two steps at a time.

'So, you um…wanna grab something to eat?' he asked nervously, she didn't look at him just continued walking by his side.

'Um…I cant - I have like this party to go to tonight and I need to go home and get ready!' she told him rubbing her palms together anxiously.

'Maria it's six o'clock, surely you have time to eat!' Michael told her disbelievingly.

'You would think so but seriously I don't!' she'd turned to him and pointed at him smiling. He grabbed her pointed finger and held it in his closed palm for a few moments. They stared facing each other in the middle of the sidewalk, hoards of people passing them.

'Come with me,' he told her hoarsely.

'No,' she whispered determinedly, shaking her head but never taking her eyes off him.

'It's just food,' Michael told her.

'It's dinner in a restaurant and it's a table for two,' she replied and he couldn't help but chuckle slightly.

'I can ask them to hold off the candles,' he smirked.

'Mi…' she shook her head.

'Just come with me,' he persuaded, she rolled her eyes and sighed averting his eyes in order to make a coherent decision.

'Ok,' she whispered her face still turned away from him, her conscience kicking itself for her illogical answer. He let go of her hand and he turned to walk down the street side by side with her.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

'Hey - you ready yet?' Max called up the stairs for Liz.

'Yeah I'll be down in a sec!' she called down.

'Why is it that women insist on taking four hours to get ready?' Max asked the room which consisted of Kyle and Alex. Kyle shrugged his shoulders and Alex simply chuckled.

'So, you and Liz huh?' Alex mentioned as he lifted his head from the paper he was reading.

'Yep, me and Liz - still cant believe it man!' Max replied taking a seat next to Kyle on the couch.

'Well, you've been chasing her for a while - it kinda needed to go somewhere,' Kyle told him smiling.

'Are you guys ready?' Tess interrupted, entering the living room with Isabel following. The lads all looked puzzle at each other and then down at their attire.

'Isn't that obvious?' Kyle replied sarcastically and Tess scowled.

'Alex, you want a drink? Maria's due back any moment but then we'll have to wait until she's ready,' Isabel suggested and Alex nodded his head, clearly more interested in the news story in the paper.

'Hey, I'm ready!' Liz called as she descended the stairs and into the living room.

'About time!' Max complained but smiled sweetly at her.

'Isn't Maria back yet?' Liz asked the group concerned.

'Nope, must still be at the station with my cuz,' Max told her as Isabel walked through from the kitchen.

'What?!' Isabel asked Liz who was staring worriedly at her.

'Maria's still not back from the station,' she replied.

'She's probably on her way back right now, Liz,' Isabel told her but Liz wasn't convinced.

'Tess?' Liz motioned for Tess to explain Maria's whereabouts or at least tell Liz she wasn't worrying about nothing.

'Isabel's right - she'll be back in a few minutes, they probably got stuck in traffic or something,' Tess replied shrugging her shoulders as she sat reading the paper over Alex's shoulder.

Liz looked around the room, Tess and Alex clearly intrigued in the paper, Isabel running back and forth to the kitchen, the hall mirror and the living room and Max enthralled in some documentary on the TV. Only Kyle was looking back at her and he smiled politely.

She turned and went into the kitchen with a sigh, she was over by the kitchen counter pouring herself a drink when Kyle came in.

'Don't worry - there's nothing to worry about ok?!' Kyle told her reassuringly.

'Kyle, I know Maria. Granted I don't know her as well as Tess does but I know enough about her to know when she's interested in a guy and she is interested in this one!' Liz told him disappointingly.

'She knows the risks Liz, she knows what she would stand to lose and what he would stand to lose if anything happened between them. She's not that stupid, yeah ok she likes him but that doesn't mean she'll act on it,' Kyle leaned on the breakfast bar watching Liz knock back half a glass of her wine.

'She's out with him right now! On a Saturday! She's spending time with him when she doesn't need to Kyle, that's not staying away from him, is it?' she told him.

'Maria's struggling Liz, that's why she needs his help,' Kyle informed her.

'And that' all he's giving her?' Liz asked.

'Yep, he's just making sure she doesn't fail - which was the way she was heading before he came here,' Kyle told her and Liz nodded in response.

Kyle wasn't too sure whether he believed what he was saying himself but it had seemed to calm Liz down enough. Kyle knew that Liz had a problem with over worrying, Tess had told him of the numerous panic attacks that would threaten Liz when she took on too many other people's problems and they all wanted to avoid that at any cost.

He was right about one thing though, Maria knew the risks and she knew what they both stood to lose, he knew she wasn't necessarily stupid, but she was falling for this guy and if he reciprocated that then they were both in for it - he wasn't sure which one would be able to fight it or whether either of them even would.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

'So you were five when you realised you wanted to be a forensic scientist?' Maria asked him still reeling over his revelation that he had been beaten up by his sister when they were kids.

'Yep, I was five and my sister, who was seven at the time had found my bunny rabbit dead in the back yard,' he told her as she covered her mouth stifling a fit of giggles, 'Maddie said she'd just come home from school and there Fluffy was, on the grass - dead! I deduced that it was the next door neighbours dog because I found bits of rabbit hair leading all the way from our back yard to the neighbours back yard, but then my Mom said she'd just died of old age,' he told her shrugging his shoulders and taking a sip of his coffee.

'So you were wrong?' Maria asked incredulously, she smiled wholeheartedly at him. They were sat in the far corner of a very dimly lit little bistro that played jazz music and had pictures of the great jazz musicians lining the walls.

She had never been to this little place but Michael raved about it - apparently he'd been eating here nearly every night since he got here. It was very different to the bars and café's Maria and her friends went to, it was cosy, warm and homely and she loved the way he looked in mood lighting, very sultry, very manly very gorgeous.

'Yep I was wrong, but it got me into the whole detective thing y'know and then when I started getting older and figured I didn't want to eat doughnuts for the rest of my life and ride round in cop cars I figured I'd turn my attention to being the background person, the one who looked at the evidence under a microscope, the man who gave the cops the answers and then they'd concentrate on interrogating the suspect. I was um, never any good at conflict!' he admitted.

'I can see why - though I'm not entirely convinced that a little girl at seven was the raging monster you're making her out to be!' Maria laughed.

'Ooh she still is - she's a divorce lawyer so she's a mean fighting machine everyday of the week!' he told her chuckling to himself.

'You seem to have had a really lovely family life,' she told him.

'Yeah getting beat up by your sister is a trademark of the perfect family,' he smirked, 'what about you? You have any family?' he asked her nervously, unsure whether she would answer.

'My mom, my um…cousin and my aunt and uncle - that's pretty much about it,' she told him sadly.

'No dad?' he asked cautiously.

'Nope, he left when I was nine and my Mom's raised me on her own ever since. My aunt and uncle live in Phoenix and my cousin stays with me and my Mom,' she informed him and took a fork full of her chocolate cake.

'How's it that you can afford the big house? I mean - usually students live in the dorms right?' he asked and waited as she swallowed the last of the fork full of cake. She looked down at her plate and placed her fingertips on her temples releasing the demons that plagued her mind.

'I'm sorry - I didn't mean to pry,' he told her sincerely.

'It's ok, um - my Dad left when I was nine because we weren't exactly his only family. He um, had an affair with my Mom and for years he was living this double life. He's kinda wealthy and has a lot of status and his wife threatened to out him if he didn't leave us. My Dad left without saying a word, the only thing I ever get from him now is money and I'm not supposed to say a word about that. His wife doesn't know that he's still keeping a roof over mine and my mom's head, if she did then she'd take him for every penny he has and we'd end up in the gutter where she thinks we belong anyways,' she confessed.

'Kinda rough then huh?' he told her.

'Yeah well, we can't always have the perfect family and the perfect life,' she sighed and smiled slightly at him.

He reached across the table to her hand that was resting on the tabletop, he brushed his fingers over her hand but stopped when he was interrupted.

'Guerin - fancy seeing you here!' a tall thin brown haired man came up to the table and Michael stood up nervously, taking the napkin from his lap and placing it on the table shaking the man's hand with his.

'Paul, um nice to see you - you here with the wife?' Michael looked over Paul's shoulder.

'Yep, she's just gone to the bathroom to pee again!' he laughed and noticed Maria still sitting at the table her elbows pressed onto it her hands interlocked in mid air, 'hey who's the pretty gal - your new date?' Paul asked and left Michael for favour of introducing himself to the blonde sat at his table.

'Um, this is Maria - old friend from college she's um - up here doing some research!' Michael explained and looked at Maria pleading with her to follow suit.

'Hi, yeah old friend!,' she pointed at herself and smiled at Paul who'd offered his hand and motioned for her to lift herself from the seat. When she did so he kissed her politely on the cheek.

'Nice to meet you Maria - keeping our lonesome professor company on a cold winter's evening, good on you!' he smiled at her. 'My um, wife she's expecting our second. This is like the only place she feels comfortable coming out and eating - she feels the rest of the population of Providence see her as a fat old beast,' he explained his earlier comment to Maria.

'Did you just call me fat? And a beast!' came a shrill and a hand that hit Paul upside the head, he ducked after the hit and feigned hurt.

'Of course not dear, I was just explaining to Michael's friend here that you don't feel comfortable coming out looking like that!' he told her as he spun around and earned himself a forceful slap on the shoulder.

'Michael, so lovely to see you again…' she greeted Michael, kissing him softly on the cheek.

'Hannah, you too of course,' he smiled and turned to introduce Maria.

'Hello, I'm Hannah - the fat beast!' she said with a giggle and brought Maria in for a hug, 'it's lovely to meet you!'

'And you - and you look beautiful!' Maria complimented the older woman and Hannah smiled appreciatively and turning to scowl at her husband.

'Are you two just leaving Michael?' Paul asked as the foursome stood standing near Michael's table.

'Um…Nn…'

'Yes, yes we were um…I have to get going I have this thing to get to, I'm sorry I couldn't stay longer,' Maria interrupted and she could feel Michael's confused gaze burn holes through her.

'Ok well, maybe we'll see you soon, Maria,' Hannah offered and smiled politely to which Maria nodded slightly, she smiled at Paul and turned to walk out of the bistro.

'Yeah, um she has this thing and I obviously didn't realise the time so um - I'll see you Monday Paul?' Michael offered his hand out to shake.

'Yep, see you on campus Monday man, have a good one!' he patted Michael on the back as he passed him and Hannah watched as Michael paid the bill and ran outside to find Maria, she smiled at her husband and shook her head brushing away the sense of uneasiness she felt as she's watched Michael react to Maria.

'Stop it!' Paul warned as they took Michael and Maria's old table and sat down.

'Stop what?!' she asked innocently.

'Stop thinking that there was something more than just old friends and keep your nose out!' he told her sternly.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

'Maria!' Michael called after her as she walked down the street purposefully not turning around to face him, 'Maria would you stop!' he yelled and picked up his pace into a run. He finally reached her and he grabbed her shoulder pulling her around to face him, 'I'll take you home!' he told her, watching as she looked in every direction other than his face.

'Not a good idea!' she told him and shifted so his hand dropped from his hold on her shoulder.

'Its just a ride Maria,' he told her and lifted her chin to turn her face so that she looked at him. He saw fear in her eyes mixed with lust and he had to tear his eyes away from her for a moment to regain his composure.

'No it's not…this was just a…a mistake!' she told him and he stopped looking elsewhere and turned his face to hers.

'We were having a good time right? I mean what's the problem?' he asked her, his voice rising slightly and he shifted from one foot to the other anticipating her response.

'Problem?! Are you kidding me?' she screamed, 'you lied Michael - you told your friends that I was someone I'm not!' she told him and turned dramatically to storm off if only to make a point.

'I - I…' Michael realised she was right, he had lied if only to keep them from finding out he was having dinner with his student. She turned around waiting for him to complete his sentence and she saw the look of realisation in his features. She walked back a couple of steps towards him.

'You know its wrong Michael otherwise you wouldn't have lied. What we're doing is wrong!' she told him. He looked at her face, what she was telling him was deadly serious but the way she looked at him, seductively as if she wanted him right then and there and he couldn't help but mirror that.

'Is it?' he asked her.

'If you weren't you and I wasn't me, then maybe it wouldn't be,' she whispered, her brain wanting to tell her legs to move, to turn and run away but her heart and other parts of her wanted to stay right here to see what would come about from their close proximity.

He moved closer to her and mated their foreheads his hot breath tickling her lips and he closed his eyes as if he was concentrating on the mental battle going on inside his head. She wondered whether he was winning against his fight to kiss her or if he was even bothering to fight.

'We don't have to be who we are…' he whispered and brushed her lips slightly with his. She was thankful that it was dark and the traffic wasn't so heavy that the headlights of passing cars would illuminate them on the sidewalk. They were far enough away from the campus that they were less likely to bump into wandering students however this quarter of town was known for homing many of Brown's lecturers. It was the fear that multiplied their passion and she felt the heat between them increase tenfold but the touch of his lips upon hers didn't increase, it remained as it started - just a simple touch but it was electrifying.

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flora x