"I’m really flattered that you find me attractive, Max, but a one night stand doesn’t fit into my general notions of a romantic event."

As if he didn't hear a word she said, Max reached for the pin that held her locks. He removed it and her hair tumbled down without assistance. It was as though the plait had been struggling to be free on its own and it unwound into a mass of blonde waves that fell to her mid waist.

"It's a start," Max smiled as if he'd accomplished some great feat. "Ms. Mackenzie, would you do me the honor of dining with me this evening? After that we could enjoy a movie together, perhaps something romantic. I'm sure the American video stores are chock full of DVD's starring that little blonde woman. What's her name again? It escapes me as a million other things do right now but my notions of romance aren't much different than yours."

"So it seems. You'd like to wine me, dine me, show me a film and then reap the benefits of such an indulgence. I’ll have you know, mate, that I’m on shift at seven in the morning and I don’t get off until seven the next morning. I’ll need my sleep tonight and that’s all there is to it.

"You’re going to leave me here alone, eh, love?"

"I have no choice. I have to work, Max. I have to pay the rent and stuff."

His expression softened. "I’m not being a very good guest, am I? Forgive me. I was swept up in my thoughts. I feel a little overwhelmed by all of this."

"I understand. C’mon. Let’s go downstairs and order the pizza. We can get on the PC and check to see if there is anything on the web about you." She had to get the idea of jumping his bones out of her mind right now. This man she’d known less than twenty four hours had her slightly discombobulated. Did he kiss her out of pure lust or was there affection behind it? She’d like to think the latter, but how? How could he feel anything like that for her? If it was out of gratitude then she wanted no part of it, or so she convinced herself.

"Will you put a dress on for me?"

Mara gave him a withering look. "You don’t give up, mate."

"It seems to be ingrained in me. Perhaps it’s a prominent part of my personality?"

"I’d much rather slip into some sweats, and speaking of clothes, we’re going to have to get some for you. "

"Put the dress on."

He’d won the battle with his eyes. Wide set, expressive weapons of mass seduction they were and Mara Mackenzie was rendered defenseless.

"I’ll meet you downstairs in five. " She nudged her head toward the hall.

"...And leave your hair down," Max added, shooting for the mile now that he’d gained the inch.

She waited until he was all the way to the bottom of the steps before she slipped into her room and closed the door. Mara had three dresses and to her reckoning none of them were what you’d call stupendous. They were off the rack department store wear that she’d bought for one occasion or another and she’d only worn each once. There was a simple black one made of a clingy batik material, another more conservative in chocolate cotton and a third which she purchased specifically for a date she had three, or was it six months ago?

"Bloody hell," she mumbled to herself as she grabbed the black one from its hanger. Stripping to her panties, she slipped into the dress and pulled it down. You know, she didn’t look half bad as she fluffed her hair in front of the full length mirror. She was fit and strong with a significant flair to her hip. Maybe this would be okay? Jamming her feet into a pair of Jimmy Choo knock-offs from the Save A Lot shoe store, she twisted her ankle once but managed to march out into the hall. Mara drew a breath and made her way down the stairs as gracefully as she knew how. He turned, hearing the creak of the banister as she rounded it.

"Miss Mackenzie, you are a vision." Max poured it on pretty thick.

"I feel like I’m going to the bleeding prom." Her lack of makeup didn’t matter because the blush that rose on her cheeks gave her a wholesome natural look. Max reached for her hand and brought it to his lips to apply a kiss to the back of her knuckles and her cheeks got redder.

"If we find I have a room at the Four Seasons then I’d be honored to take you there for dinner."

"Please, Max, this dress isn’t up to Four Seasons standard by any means." She rolled her eyes. "I’ll order the pizza. You get the wine from the fridge and a couple of glasses. We’ll just imagine we’re someplace fancy, eh?"

"As posh as it gets," he replied as he lifted her hand to spin her around. "Any man would be proud to be with you, Mara."

"Gerout, mate!"

Her odd response made him laugh. "Place the order, love." He let her go and went to find the wine. In thirty minutes or less they were sitting at her kitchen table ready to dig in to a double pepperoni pizza with extra cheese. The conversation was casual until Max brought up the bad juju situation.

"Mara, you told me in so many words that you’d had a relationship with someone who broke your heart. Is he here in Philadelphia?"

"You mean the one whose portfolio you threatened? Yes, he’s here but that was a long time ago. I’ve moved on." She shrugged. "He just moved on a little quicker than I did." Hoping to change the subject, she got up and fetched the yellow pages and the handset from the phone. Max had poured the lambrusco in the meantime and she watched him swirl it around in the glass before he sniffed it. Mara cringed as he tasted the cheap sweet beverage but to her surprise he didn’t pull a face.

"It’s not too bad, is it?"

"No, no, not bad at all," he replied politely.

"Would you rather a beer?"

"Please."

"Grab one for me while you’re at it. " She crossed her legs as she began to look through the phone book. "I reckoned the wine sucked." It was hard to contain the laughter.

Max grabbed both glasses and promptly poured the contents down the drain.

"I’ll admit it."

"Let’s make a pact. Complete and total honesty from here on out, okay?" She began to giggle. "To be truthful, I don’t know much about wine and I just buy what’s on sale."

"To be truthful, neither do I." He sat down just as she dialed the main desk at the Four Seasons hotel. After a brief conversation she found he was not registered there. An hour and a half passed and they’d checked every three, four and five star facility in and about Philly with no results.

"So much for my wish to dine at the Four Seasons, or the Ramada for that matter." She let out an exasperated sigh. "Can you remember if you know how to use the computer?"

"I believe so."

They moved into the living room where her computer desk was. Mara had pulled a chair up for Max and they sat side by side researching his name and all they could come up with was a reference to a book and a recent film. Neither one of them believed he could be that Max Skinner; it would be absurd.

"I really need to call it a night, mate. I’ve got to be up for work. Don’t worry. Something will turn up."

"Mara, do you mind if I continue to search?" He stood out of respect for her. Must have learned that somewhere.

"No, not at all." She stood from the desk "You know where everything is, Max. Just make yourself at home. Mate, this is your home right now."

"Thank you, Mara, and thank you for dressing for dinner."

An awkward moment passed as they bade each other goodnight. One long look and the question of if they should kiss or not was not so graciously averted. It turned out to be a gentle peck on the cheek from her to him. Any more than that and she’d have probably dragged him upstairs with her. She went to bed thinking of how pathetically lonely she must be to feel the need to seduce this man. Of course he was no scrub. He was educated, kind and bloody well gorgeous. If only the circumstances were different …

Max rubbed his eyes and went back to work at the PC. Something kept drawing him to a specific icon, one marked 401K. He didn’t know why this particular little symbol was so magnetic but he clicked on it anyway.

"Hmm, you sly vixen, you’ve got yourself a little nest egg." He was thinking out loud as he examined the documents contained in the folder. He made some adjustments to the investments she’d set up. Natural resources were sold. High risk stocks were purchased. Penny stocks eliminated and municipal bonds trashed in lieu of something a little more unstable. He really didn’t know what drove him to do this. Perhaps it was the ticker of the Nikie market he was watching. Her solid little secure investments were history and to Max this just seemed right. He’d spend the next several hours working on her portfolio. The nerve of this bloke!

There was another message on her home phone from the brokerage that handled the Philadelphia city employees' accounts. A slightly excited junior executive ended the news he'd left with, "You're in the wrong profession, Miss Mackenzie."

The night had passed for her in the usual way with a car accident, a kid who fell off his bike, a man who had a stroke and the usual smattering of false alarms. She was bone tired when she walked through the door of her flat. The next seventy-two hours were hers to spend as she wished and sleeping would be a priority but there was something waiting for her that she didn't expect. The man she'd adopted as a house guest was nowhere to be found. He'd left nothing, not a note or a sign that he was ever there. Her first instinct was to go back onto the front stoop to look. Maybe he'd just gone out for air? She looked up and down the street but saw no trace. It was then she returned inside to check the answering machine. Maybe he'd left a message there. She raced through the one she'd left and stopped to listen to the one from the broker.

"What the fuck?" she chirped out loud but the flicker of the PC that was left on caught her eye, diverted her attention and she reached to touch a key. When the screen saver vanished she saw that it was still open to a site. Pictures of the man who'd come to stay with her rolled before her. She blinked in disbelief. If he saw this, no wonder he left. If anyone could be more astounded it had to be him.  All thoughts of the broker's call left her mind as she grabbed her jacket with intent on searching for him. Heading out the front door she stopped at the head of the walk. Which way to go first? she thought. Philly was a big city with lots of unsavory areas and a few of them were not far from her flat.

"Are you lookin' for you man there, missy." The woman's voice turned Mara around.

"Yeah. Have you seen him, Mrs. Hayes?" Sometimes living next to  a nosey neighbor had its benefits.

"He headed out toward South Street. He was lookin' mighty upset if you ask me."

"How long ago?"

"An hour, maybe two."

"Thanks!" Mara replied. She clutched her jacket around herself and started walking that way. Traffic was starting to pick up now with rush hour approaching and the streets were full of people. She kept her eyes peeled for the beige wool sweater he wore when she'd found him but South Street was abuzz with shoppers and shopkeepers alike. The air was filled with the smell of coffee brewing and pretzels baking filled the crisp morning air but the enticement of it was ignored. She bumped shoulders within the throng and uttered a few pardons, but the only thing on her mind was finding Max. Jesus Christ, why did she give a shit about this guy?

It was when she was about to go back home, call the police, alert some friends, when she saw him. He was standing beneath the marquee of the Pig Iron Theater staring at the announcement boards. Mara walked up slowly and put a hand on his shoulder.

"Max ..."

The look on his face was a combination of fear and hurt.

"Are you alright, Max?" she asked.

He shook his head. "I've lost myself, my life. How did this happen?"

"I can't explain it, Max, but you're here and you're very real ...come home with me."

"Home?" he asked with a cock of his head. "My home isn’t here. My home is ...is ... in celluloid."

"I saw." she sighed. "We'll work this out, mate. We'll figure it out. Just come back to my flat."

He shrugged her off. "I remember everything. I was in love. Did you take it away from me? Is that why you let me kiss you? You're not the one I was in love with, Mara. Her name was, is, Fuck! ...Her name is Fanny."

"Please, Max, please come back with me." She touched his shoulder again and this time he melted into it. She could see the glaze in his eyes and she hugged him close.

"I have no where else to go."

She backed up to look into his eyes. "So call me your last resort."

"You're my last resort." The corner of his lip flickered and though he looked beaten down he began to reason with himself. If he were truly the Max Skinner who was portrayed in the glimpse of the film he saw, would he let this get the best of him? No fucking way! He lowered his hand to grasp hers and they turned to walk back toward her place. Mara groped for things to say to him but nothing felt right. They were half a block away from her flat before she finally said something.