His head pounding from the salty smell of the dry cleaner's, Dennis pushed the receipt over the counter to the pretty Chinese girl standing there. "I'm here to pick up a blue dress." He glared as the girl raised her eyebrows in amusement. "Not for me, for my friend!"
"Okay, okay." The girl chuckled slightly to herself and moved to the back of the store, returning in a minute with a silky blue dress hanging over her arm. "Is this the dress?"
Finch glanced at the dress that she was holding. It was short and creamy blue, and for a minute his mind went blank. He nodded, trying to catch his breath. "Yeah. Yeah, I guess that must be it."
The girl smiled knowingly at him, packaging the dress and putting the receipt into the cracked cash register. "Well, I'm sure your girlfriend will look very pretty in this."
My girlfriend? Finch shook his head. "No, no, she's not my girlfriend. I'm just doing her a favor."
The girl laughed, tossing her black hair as it caught the light. "Yeah, sure you are. And maybe she'll do you a 'favor' later."
Finch grinned despite himself, picturing Maya's face if she ever heard the remark. The image of her smile flitted briefly in his mind, and he felt a tingle run through him. "I should go," he said quickly, grabbing the dress and trying desperately to clear his thoughts.
"Maya?" Finch stood in front of her apartment door, a frustrated expression growing on his face. "Maya, it's Finch! Open the door!"
The door opened a crack, and Maya's head poked through the gap, her hair wavy and wet around her face. She rolled her eyes and him. "Did your hand get sore from knocking, Finch?"
Immediately she regretted what she'd said. She hadn't meant to make fun of him, not when he'd gone out of his way to do her a favor. He got enough of that at work.
"Sorry. Did you get the dress?" She smiled in relief as he handed it to her, noticing the slightly downcast look in his eyes. "Thanks, Finch. Do you want to come in?"
He stepped warily into her apartment, stretching and grinning as he noticed the strains of music wafting in from the bedroom. "What is this, Madonna?"
"Yeah." She shrugged, smiling. "I like her music, so what?"
"Nothing." A devilish glint crept into his eye, and he grinned. "For mood music, I guess I'd recommend 'Justify My Love'." He giggled as he noticed a warm blush creeping up her face. Putting on a soft, seductive voice, he whispered, "I wanna kiss you in Paris—"
"Finch!" Maya could feel her face getting warmer, and she bit her lip in embarrassment. It was just a song; why was she letting it get her so worked up? "If you think I would—"
Finch held up his hands defensively, watching her closely. "Hey, no names, right? I just want to know who gets to see you in that little blue dress—heh heh—"
Maya blushed again and sat down on the couch, wishing he would go away. "I have a date tomorrow, okay? So, what, you think I never date?"
"Yeah, and if you wear that, that's not all you're gonna be doing." Finch immediately gritted his teeth, knowing she wouldn't appreciate that. "Sorry, Maya, I just—"
Knowing that she was probably bright red, Maya looked at him angrily and gestured to the door. "Okay, Finch, you've overstayed your welcome. Please leave."
For a minute, she thought she saw something like tears in Dennis' eyes, but she immediately shrugged it off. Finch was too insensitive to cry about hurting her feelings, even though he had apologized. God, just when she had been grateful for the favor, he had to go and revert to being twelve again. "Please, Dennis."
"Fine. I wouldn't want to—" He cut himself off. He didn't want to hurt Maya's feelings; hell, the opposite, and now she was angry with him. "I really am sorry, though."
He stared at her for a moment, wishing that her big, brown eyes were as soft as usual. "I hope you have fun," he muttered, and opened the door, his heart somewhere in his stomach.
Maya looked after him with mixed emotions. Sure, he could be a jerk, but sometimes? "Finch, wait!"
Her voice carried down the hallway, but he was gone.