A.N.: Sweet! Many reviews today! I am very, very happy! Thank you all for your compliments! This chapter is very much lighter than the last—which I wrote at about midnight and was probably listening to something depressing on my iTunes!

"Towel-up, dude!" Tyler cringed, tossing a white towel towards Reid as he pranced around the locker-room in the buff, showing off. Reid smirked, grabbed the towel, and wrapped it around his waist as several guys wolf-whistled. That's new, he quirked an eyebrow, but a second later he realised they weren't making noise for him: Lilah strode through the many guys dressing in front of their lockers. She wasn't even blushing. She was wearing her street-clothes; she finished after homeroom on Thursdays, same as him, but she had ditched swim-practice, and Reid knew the reason why, so he wasn't anxious about her having been abducted or anything.

She was in her skirt mood today. She always wore a skirt when she wanted to look nice when she felt like shit; brown corduroy mini, translucent chocolate stockings (always stockings or hold-ups, never pantyhose), leg-warmers and mid-calf brown-leather boots, a striped sweater and a long scarf, her makeup warm and golden, autumn tones, a mulled-wine lipstick, her hair styled prettily with wispy curls framing her face and the nape of her neck, an intricate bun of braids and coils gathered at the back of her head with decorative clips. All of the guys stared at her bravado as she walked through the aisle and turned, smiling softly at him as she went, to the coach's office.

Reid exhaled slowly, eyebrows raised, and glanced at Tyler. He mimicked his expression and they both ran to the end of the lockers, where Caleb and Pogue were changing, to watch the internal window into the coach's office.

"Where's she been the last few days?" Tyler asked in a low voice, frowning concernedly.

"Her mom died seventeen years ago yesterday," Reid said quietly, watching Lilah apologise—he could hear her thoughts because she was letting him—to Coach for her behaviour on Monday afternoon, and for not being there for practice on Tuesday—or Wednesday or today, and why. Caleb watched them intently; he had yet to find another unfortunate student of Spenser who had lost one of their parents to death and not divorce.

"Oh," Tyler said softly, with a quick glance at the office before returning to his locker and dressing. He kept glancing at Reid carefully.

"So is that why you were listening to voicemail?" he asked quietly, so the others couldn't hear him. Reid chucked his combination-lock onto the top shelf of his locker and nodded. Tyler didn't say anything more on the subject, and for that Reid was glad. Lilah exited the office after only a few minutes, and she smiled again and ran her hand across his stomach as she passed him to the door.

"She still hasn't paid up, huh," Pogue smirked. Reid rolled his eyes, disgruntled, and slung his towel to the bench as he tugged his boxers on. Lilah was sitting outside on one of the stone benches, knees and toes together, fiddling with something in her lap as the gentle breeze played with the tassels of her scarf and her little curls around her temples. Reid grinned and walked over, squatting down in front of her, taking her knees for stability.

"Hi," he grinned.

"I have Swedish Fish for you," Lilah smiled bashfully, the dimples winking in the corners of her tinted lips, handing him a little packet of candies to him.

"What are these for?" he asked, smiling, opening the little bag and offering her some Fish.

"I wanted to say thank you, for yesterday," Lilah said softly, playing with the Fish in her lap. Reid smiled. He loved it when she was bashful. Assertive was fun, too, and flirty made him really hot, but he could see the real Lilah when she was shy, bashful, vulnerable, like yesterday in her car. He reached up and brushed a wayward curl behind her ear, earning a little smile, and smiled back at her.

"It's okay," he smiled. He had gotten into shit for ditching his lessons yesterday afternoon, but he didn't care, if he had perhaps prevented Lilah from getting into an accident she wouldn't Use to save herself from. It was only a History quiz, which he'd aced easily, and which he knew Lilah had as well. She'd had to stay in during lunch-hour to make up her quiz.

"We're heading over to Nicky's," he said, gesturing over his shoulder towards the guys, who were walking already up the steps to the dorms. Caleb was walking over to his Mustang. "Are you gonna come?" He wished he hadn't asked in those specific words. She licked her tinted lips and tweaked the corner in a smile, dimple winking.

Do it, Reid told himself, glancing from her sparkling eyes to her lips. Do it now. Kiss her. So he did. He craned his neck and pressed his lips against hers. So soft, and they tasted so good, like a cinnamon-roll, as he laced his tongue across her bottom-lip. She gave him access with a soft, breathless moan, he felt her cool hands against his skin, burning from the locker-rooms, against his cheek and against his throat, as he rubbed his tongue against hers, tingles going down his spine to his groin as the tongue-piercing tickled him. He had to grab her thighs to keep from falling backwards as she leaned forwards, and she giggled softly as he tipped over backwards.

"Very graceful," she chuckled playfully. He gripped her knee where he knew she was extremely ticklish, making her thrash around on the bench, shrieking with laughter, and stood up, leaning over her, to cup her head and kiss her again. She giggled softly and sighed as she let him explore her mouth again. Definitely cinnamon-rolls, he thought.

"Did you have Cinnabon?" he asked, cocking his head to one side. She flushed and nodded. "I love Cinnabon." He pouted and she smiled, standing up and adjusting the strap of her bag. He smiled at her; she was only a few inches shorter, perfect height so he could wrap his arm around her waist if he wanted. But he didn't. He took her hand, lacing his fingers through hers, and tugged her gently across the lawn. She laughed and followed him, catching up with her long stride, and she looped his arm around her shoulders, clapping a hand low on his hips.

They didn't even get all the way to his dorm before they were locked at the lips again, backing up against the panelling. He couldn't get enough of the taste of her lips, how warm she was under the thin sweater, how her hand kept straying to the very top of his pants, trailing a finger along the tender skin below his belly-button. He unlocked his dorm and they stumbled inside, laughing breathlessly. He closed the door and pressed her against it, arms wrapped around her, laughing into her kiss.

"I've wanted to do this since I first saw you," Lilah gasped, kissing him again with eyes closed and moaning softly as he held her close, teasing her tongue.

"Mm…me too," he sighed, kissing her lingeringly. Something nagged at his brain—Tyler, the guys, Nicky's.

"We're gonna—we're gonna be late," he gasped, "—the guys are—Tyler will be—" coming, Reid thought, moaning softly as he slid his tongue against hers, that damn piercing sending tingles down to his penis again and made him hiss softly and suppress a moan of longing. No wonder she gets compliments on it. Imagine if she sucked... Don't, he thought, scolding himself. Don't get too ahead of yourself. She's not like the others. He kept his hands on her hips as they kissed, alternately sighing softly and moaning breathlessly, until her hands found his and guided them up her body. Her waist was tiny, her skin hot and smooth, her breasts large and burning in his hands, more than a handful, less than a waste, probably a D-cup. She rarely wore a bra after lunchtime; she always whipped it off through her sleeve during homeroom. It was the highlight of the Sons' day. They were interrupted by someone trying to open the door, hitting Lilah in the ass.

"Ow! Tyler!" she complained, and Reid quickly retrieved his hands and backed away, letting her open the door when she had adjusted her top. Down boy.

"Hey guys," Tyler greeted them with a grin, glancing between them. "What's up?" Lilah choked on a tiny laugh and smirked.

"I'm going to go and get ready," she smiled sanguinely, giving him a coquettish look over her shoulder. "Why don't you go and take a cold-shower and change." The door snapped shut behind her and Tyler turned immediately to Reid, eyebrows raised in demand.

"Are you gonna do your little happy dance?" Tyler asked, and Reid whee-ed and pranced around the room, collapsing on his bed with a laugh. Tyler laughed as he picked out new clothes and started changing out of his uniform, rolling his eyes at Reid's light-hearted behaviour.

She met him down in the foyer. She wore all black, classy; low-cut V-neck long-sleeved top, a neat black leather skirt, opaque black silk stockings, and a pair of high black suede heels, her hair wet but coiled into the same look as before, a pair of blood-red rubies dangling from her lowest piercings. She smiled languidly as she strode over and linked her arms around his neck, gently pressing her lips to his, keeping her eyes open, sighing contentedly.

"Hey, I haven't eaten, okay," Tyler warned.

Nicky's was already packed on a Thursday evening, just after seven o'clock, and when they walked into the bar and found Pogue and the others sitting at a table and eating chilli-cheese nachos, Pogue gaped.

"You two totally hooked up," he said. Reid and Lilah both stopped short, arms draped around each other, staring at Pogue as the others glanced at them. Sarah blushed; Tyler smirked. Caleb swiped Pogue round the back of the head. Reid smirked and threw himself down in a chair; there were no more, so Lilah sat in his lap, reaching over to steal Pogue's drink and took a great gulp of soda before handing it back.

"Hey, Caleb, will you give me a quarter?" Sarah asked, holding her hand out. "I'm gonna put a new song on." Caleb handed over the coin but followed her to the jukebox, complaining:

"You're not gonna put G-4 on, are you?"

"What's wrong with G-4?"

"You always play G-4," Caleb said. She put on 'I Love Rock and Roll' and forced Caleb to dance with her; Reid knew he enjoyed it. He watched Lilah eat a tray of chilli-cheese fries and finish a coke.

"Are you always hungry when you're horny?" he whispered in her ear. She shivered and hummed softly, wiggling her hips in his lap, letting him hold her breasts casually in view of everyone. He groaned and smacked what was revealed of her ass as she shifted to reach for the basket of Tyler's cold nachos. "Tease," he pouted, and heard her chuckle. He loved English chicks. They were so…relaxed. He could joke with Lilah about sex as he would with Tyler, and she was often dirtier. American girls were so uptight about sex and nudity—they had a problem with Halle Berry's nipples in Die Another Day, for god's sake! Pogue kept smirking as he drank his way through sodas and danced with Sarah—she would never let anyone sit alone and grumpy. He sat hugging Lilah's waist, resting his head against her back, eyes closed contentedly.

"I can make better stuff than this," Lilah sighed, pushing away the tray of fries with a wrinkle of her delicate nose. She glanced over her shoulder, slinging an arm around his neck so her chest pressed up against his. "You want me to cook you something?" Her eyes were glittering, and those dimples at the corners of her mouth were winking again.

"Yeah, sure," he laughed, and she giggled as she tugged him out of Nicky's, barely giving him enough time to grab his jacket. Stopping at Safeway, Lilah jumped back into the car and they drove back to the dorms, to the deserted kitchen that was as meticulously clean as the first day they'd all moved into the dorms.

"Alright, grate half of this block of cheese," Lilah said, slapping his arm and handing him the cheese grater. Reid pouted, but did as he was told—until he almost grated his fingernail off and cussed with language that could make a sailor blush. Lilah sighed and took his hand, running it under the cold water, and stuck the tip of his finger into her mouth. Reid raise his eyebrows and she gently kissed the tip of his finger, nudging his nose affectionately. Reid grinned and gave her a sweet kiss before they went back to cooking: he grated the rest of the cheese and she added it to a steaming white sauce made with flour, milk, a teaspoon of English mustard, butter, and salt and pepper while the pasta boiled on the stove.

"I've been wondering why these dorms have kitchens if nobody uses them," Lilah said thoughtfully, straining the pasta in a colander and tipping the steaming twists into the white sauce.

"Nobody here knows how to take care of themselves," Reid chuckled, stealing a spoonful of pasta. He sighed, Yum, chewing on the cheesy pasta. She gently flicked the tip of his nose with her finger.

"Bad boy. It's not finished yet," she said. He pouted in that adorable way he knew could get him anything, out of any trouble. Providing it was a woman who was accusing her of anything. Lilah poured the pasta and sauce into a big glass dish and slid it into the oven, setting the timer for ten minutes, and turned to the sink of hot water.

"You know, when my mom was alive, the cook never did the cleaning," Reid said, picking up a dishtowel. Lilah hummed softly as he took the utensils from her. When his mom had been alive, she used to cook a hot meal every day. She was the only woman in the coven who didn't come from Old Money families, and before she met Reid's father, she had earned her own living illustrating children's books. It was their tradition for Reid to wash the dishes—even though they had a dishwasher and he was six—and his mom would sing Eva Cassidy songs as she dried them.

"What was your favourite thing she used to cook you?" Lilah asked.

"Thanksgiving dinner," Reid sighed. "After thanksgiving, we'd keep the turkey, and she'd make cold turkey wraps with stuffing and cranberry sauce."

"We have turkey at Christmas," Lilah said. "That's tradition for English families. And a great alcohol-soaked Christmas pudding. And Christmas cake. And mince-pies…" she pouted softly. When she got like this, glazed-eyed and pouting, he knew she was thinking about home, about her dad, her old friends he heard her talking to on her cellphone when he went to her dorm at lunch. So he decided to remind her what she had here. He nudged her cheek with his nose and when she turned her head inquisitively he brushed his lips against hers. She sighed softly and the water sloshed as she reached her hand up. He jumped as she slipped her wet fingers through his hair. Smiling, she went back to the dishes.

"Wash my car for me when you're done," someone said, laughing unkindly. Reid glanced over his shoulder and took defensive stance, glowering at Aaron as he unfolded a packet of popcorn and shoved it into the microwave.

"Excuse me?" Lilah said indignantly.

"Not you, Lilah," Aaron smirked gently, "I'm talking to the punk. Wear your favourite dress too, Garwin, 'cause when you're done I'm tossin' you out on the street where you belong." Reid started forward, but Lilah's slick wet hands fisted his t-shirt, shooting him a warning look. He took a deep breath and suppressed his anger as Aaron slammed the door of the microwave, getting aggravated with it. Reid turned his back and focused; his eyes flashed and the microwave short-circuited.

"Aaron," Lilah said pleasantly, turning away from the dishes. "Aaron, what was the name of that Italian restaurant you wanted to take me to, Mac—something?"

"The one by Regal?" Aaron asked, his voice rising hopefully.

"Yes, what was it?" Lilah asked, a very pretty smile lacing her lips. Reid sloshed the water around in the sink, clenching his jaw. How come Aaron gets the girl to go on a date? he asked himself aggressively.

"Romano's Macaroni Grill," Aaron breathed.

"Yes, that was it," Lilah beamed. She turned to Reid, placing her hand on his chest. "Well you can take me there. Next Friday night at eight o'clock. Is that okay?" Reid grinned at her, completely ignoring Aaron as he slammed the microwave door shut and stalked out of the kitchen. She smiled at him, taking the dishcloth; he wiped his hands and glanced at her from the corner of his eye. She knows how to play, he thought, smiling. She finished the last dish and dried her hands off.

"Hey," he said softly, bending his head to capture Lilah's lips in a searing kiss. She melted into him immediately, pressing her body against him as she slipped her arms around his neck, a hand cradling his cheek, and they tumbled into the corner of the cabinets, kissing fiercely. Lilah laughed breathlessly as he hoisted her up to his hips, hugging her around the middle, feeling her hands creep around his waist.

"That's disgusting," a snooty voice said distastefully, and Reid let his head fall on Lilah's shoulder.

"Go away, Kira," he sighed heavily.

"Aaron sent me to get popcorn," Kira said lightly. Lilah made a tiny noise in her throat that sounded condescending, and Reid smirked up at her.

"Hey, did you know that Aaron asked me out, to Macaroni Grill" Lilah asked lightly, resting her chin on his shoulder as she looked over at Kira. He couldn't see Kira's face, but he was sure it fell animatedly.

"Why would he do that?" Kira asked weakly.

"Are you blind?" Reid gaped, gesturing frantically at Lilah—well, her breasts, and her face. Kira was watching Lilah with something like scepticism, or fear, in her eyes. Kira's heels clicked away softly and Reid smirked.

"Two in one night; you are sizz-a-ling," he said, butting hips with her as he released her from the countertop. Lilah laughed and brought the browned dish of macaroni-cheese out of the oven, letting it sit for a few minutes while they kissed, finally doling out the dinner with a tin of baked beans she'd cooked on the stove. Everything tasted so good to Reid, as if he'd never had macaroni-and-cheese or baked-beans before. No, it was just how Lilah made them. He didn't need to take her on a date, he could do her right here just for her cooking.

A.N.: Please review. I'll keep asking until the number of reviews equals the number of hits to the story! :) Or surpasses it!