xxx

There's no way that I can resist

Your precious kiss

Girl, you've got me so hypnotized

Just say that you'll stay with me

xxx

Sunlight streamed in from the cracks in the blinds casting patterns onto Danny's sleeping form. He slowly stirred from sleep, vivid flashes of the previous night's lovemaking fresh on his mind. Instinctively Danny reached for Mary's warm body on the other side of the bed, only to come up empty handed. He lifted his face from the pillow, sat up in bed and rubbed at his eyes.

"Hey, sleepyhead," Mary greeted from the doorway with a small smile. The sight of her immediately perked Danny up, he grinned lazily in return. She was wearing one of his old Marine t-shirts; his last name "McCoy" printed in the upper left corner of her chest in white stenciled letters. The shirt hit her mid-thigh, and inched up her legs teasingly as she crossed the room to where he was on the bed. The aroma of fresh brewed coffee wafted out of the mug she was carrying. Black, the way he liked it.

Danny accepted the mug greedily, taking a long slow gulp. The warm liquid slid down his throat comfortingly and a few droplets escaped from his mouth and slid down his chin. It caused Mary to giggle, and she brought her hand to his chin to wipe it away before it dripped onto his chest.

Satisfied with his caffeine intake, Danny set his empty coffee cup on the nightstand, and then tangled one hand into the waves of Mary's red hair, pulling her into him to kiss her deeply. "Good morning," he whispered against her lips and she smiled against his mouth.

"It's not morning," she informed him, glancing at the alarm on his nightstand. He followed her eyes, and the time 12:45pm displayed itself in red boldly at him.

"It is past noon, why didn't you get me up?" he asked her curiously. "I could have taken you out to breakfast before you go in to work,"

"Well, we had a long, eventful night last night, and I wanted to make sure you got a full night's rest…" Mary teased as she ran a finger down his chest.

"You forget that I was a Marine. We're all about stamina," he said, flexing biceps.

Mary leaned in close, brushing her nose against Danny's. "You forget…" she replied, kissing him briefly, and then playfully patting his belly. "You've been out of the Marines for a while,"

Danny looked down at his stomach with a slight frown, patting it as Mary had done. While he was inspecting his physique, Mary suppressed a laugh and got off the mattress. "When your done I'll be in the shower," Mary informed him, peeling Danny's t-shirt off and tossing it on the floor. At mention of the "shower," Danny looked up quickly and scrambled out of bed, racing towards the master bathroom after her.

xxx

Mary slipped her tank top on over her head, and walked around the bedroom in search of her shoes. She pulled her still partially wet hair up into a pile on the top of her head, and feeling chilly, rummaged in one of Danny's drawers for a hooded sweatshirt.

"Danny," Mary called, slipping her foot into her last sandal. "I've got to go or else I'll be late for work," she informed.

Danny's head popped out of the bathroom doorway, a towel still low on his waist, and remnants of shaving cream still on his cheek and jaw. "Hold on, just a second," he said, wiping his face with another towel before coming out to her. He checked the clock, "You don't have to be at work for another hour and your hair is still wet," he observed.

"I know," she replied, hugging her arms around his lower back. "I can't exactly show up to work like this…I have to head back and get some clothes and finish getting ready," Danny wrapped his arms around her shoulders, and then kissed her temple, understanding but not ready for her to leave just yet.

"Are you coming back tonight?" Danny asked, hopeful.

"I can't. I'm helping Sam with some whales, I probably won't get off until sometime tomorrow morning," Mary replied with a sigh into his chest. Danny rested his chin on her head, his lips in a tight frown. They stayed in that embrace for a few moments, and then Mary tilted her face up towards his for a sweet kiss.

"Have a good day at work," Danny called from his driveway after pulling on a pair of workout shorts, as he bid Mary off and she backed out in her black convertible. "I'll call you, later," he added after, as she peeled off, waving behind her.

He did his best to hide a mischievous grin, as he headed back inside his house. An idea had planted itself in his head, and with Mary's newfound spontaneity there was no way his brilliant plan wasn't going to work.

Just before he was about to reach his door, he heard his name being called in a sing-song fashion. Danny turned in time to see Claire Hodges sauntering up his drive in a flirty tennis skirt, racquet in hand. She lived across the street, one house over. "Hello, Claire," Danny greeted. "How are you doing?"

"Oh, fine," the green-eyed blond replied coyly, eyeing his bare upper body. "I just got back from a round of tennis with some friends. It's nearly three, Danny…" she looked at his attire. "Did you get a late start today?"

Danny crossed his arms across his chest, unknowingly tampering Claire's view. She pouted slightly, in an attempt to be cute that went right past Danny's head. "It's one of my rare days off. On one of these days, I like to do two things sleep and basically lay around until I fall asleep again," he joked with a boyish grin.

Claire smiled a little too eagerly wishing she was the one lying around with Danny. She had been trying to start something up with him since last year when she moved into the neighborhood, but to no avail. "Well, if you're not doing anything later on, do you want to come over for a movie? A few friends are coming over…popcorn, pizza, and beer," she asked. Danny could see the glint in her eye.

"Today, I actually have some stuff I got to do. But thanks for the offer," Danny replied courteously and he did, he had to put his plan into action. Claire was a nice girl, but she was no Mary.

"Oh sure," Claire said, trying to hide her disappointment. "Well, it'll probably be going on until late, you know a movie marathon. So if you have some free time, feel free to stop on by," she added, she let her hand linger on Danny's forearm, before turning away and heading towards her home.

Danny watched her walk away for a few moments, and then shook his head slightly. Claire just didn't give up. Sure, the other girls in the neighborhood had also vied for his attention in the beginning, but with the irregular hours he worked, they quickly lost interest. It was too late his heart already belonged to someone else. Thinking of Mary brought the plan back into his head, and he hurried inside to get it started.

xxx

AN: I'm working on the new chapter of "If You're Gone" having some troubles with where to take it though. But hopefully, it won't be much longer before it's up. Again thanks to all those who reviewed! Don't forget to leave one for this one!