Eli Navarro felt decidedly uncomfortable in the upper class clothing store with Veronica shoving shirts at him and Logan standing off to the side just asking to be hit every time he opened his mouth.

"V, I told you already. I can't do this tonight. You'll have to find someone else."

Veronica made a face, "Like who. Dick? I need some muscle in there. I don't even get why you're fighting this. We're talking about ten percent."

"Fifteen," Mac called from inside the dressing room.

Veronica glared at the closed door, but then acquiesced, "Okay, fifteen percent of my very substantial fee. All you have to do it go to the party as Mac's date, sneak off to the office and keep watch while she hacks into the computer and gets the paper. It will take all of fifteen minutes and then we are out of there. What's the problem?"

"Besides that fact that you're trying to get me into this monkey suit," he glared at the jacket she was trying hold up to him for measurement, "I don't want to be stared at by a bunch of rich white boy idiots just to help another rich white boy idiot."

"But this rich white boy idiot is paying big bucks. Seriously, Weevil, its easy money. What's the problem?"

Eli didn't answer because there should be a problem. He should do the job. It's easy, fast and we'll seriously pad his pocket and with his grandmother still sick and Anita and him the only ones with full time jobs he and his family could use the money.

So what was the problem? Well, it currently stood behind a dressing room door trying on clothes. Mac was the problem. Ever since he'd begun helping V on a more regular basis he'd found himself stuck with the little hacker more and more often. And despite the ridiculousness of it he was drawn to her. And the best way of solving that was distance.

At that moment a ball of red came flying out toward them. Eli picked up the tiny scrap of fabric as Mac's head appeared, glaring at Logan for all she was worth, "I told you to pick up something that would pass. In what galaxy did you think I would ever wear that?"

Eli tossed the dress at Logan and leered at Mac, "Oh come on Cindy, it will distract the boys at the party. They won't even notice you hacking into their computers."

Mac's glare now turned toward him, "Shut up….and don't call me Cindy."

Mac disappeared into the room again and Veronica was busy trying to control Logan, "Come on Weevil, are you going to do this or not?"

"Sorry, chica, not going to happen this time."

Veronica sighed, "Fine. Logan call Dick and….'

Eli didn't hear a word Veronica said after that because Mac stepped out of the dressing room. She was dressed in a gold dress with black circles on the skirt. The top of the dress came lower than anything he'd ever seen on her, showing off just the right amount of cleavage that made you want to see more. Her skirt was loose, but it clung to her legs as she moved, ending a few inches below her knees leaving bare skin down to her black heels.

"I'll do it," Eli said, just as Veronica was dialing Dick. He forced himself to look away from Mac, "I mean it's good money right."

"Right," Veronica agreed although her expression was confused. She quickly moved on though, now that she'd gotten her way, to dressing him for the party.

&&&&&&

As Mac quickly tapped away on the computer's keyboard she tried to ignore Eli's pacing behind her. He was moving back and forth from the door to over her shoulder and every time he got closer. And every time it made her shiver.

It was insane, this ridiculous crush on an ex-biker. As if he was going to have any interest in her. She had to get over it.

If only Veronica would stop constantly throwing them together at every opportunity.

She forced herself to focus, located the file and copied it onto the flash drive she'd hidden in her purse. Just as she stood up, Eli opened the door to see if anyone was coming. She heard Veronica speaking loudly to someone.

"Shit, someone's coming," Eli told her, before quickly closing the door.

"What do we do?" she asked quietly, looking around the room, "Can we hide?"

Eli's expression told her what he thought of that idea, "Where? Under the desk."

Just then the sound of footsteps could be heard coming toward them.

One moment Eli was three feet in front of her, and a second later he was wrapping his arms around her and pulling her into his embrace.

"What?" she began, but he cut her off.

"Just don't fight me on this and we'll be fine," he said and then he brought his lips down on hers. For a moment she did not move, her lips were stiff, her eyes were wide open and her arms were useless at her sides.

Then Eli's teeth nipped her bottom lip and she felt them relax and open for him. He thrust his tongue in her mouth, angling his head to deepen the kiss as his hands moved up her back, tangling in her hair... Her own arms came up, her nails running along the back of his head causing him to moan.

Somehow they'd gone from standing up to her practically horizontal on the desk and him lying on top of her. Who knows what would have happened if not for the shrill whistle in that came from right next to them.

They sprung apart. Eli glaring and Mac trying to fix herself as Veronica and Logan smiled at them, "So, did you get it? Or just get it on?" Veronica asked.

Mac glared at her, "I got it. Can we go now?"

"Sure, let's just get you to bathroom first. Guys, meet us by the front door in ten."

Mac and Veronica left leaving Eli and Logan to head to wait for them.

"Not a single word," Eli warned as he walked out past Logan.

&&&&&&

When they reached campus only Mac and Eli got out. Veronica leaned out of the car window and asked, with a sickly sweet smile, "Weevil, do you think you can walk Mac back to her room?"

Mac began to argue, but Eli cut her off, "Sure. I expect that fifteen percent as soon as you get paid V."

Veronica nodded as Logan said, "I'm sure you earned every penny." The car squealed off before Eli could reply.

He turned to look at Mac who began to stalk towards the dorm. He followed next to her, but she kept inching further away, keeping five feet between them at all times.

By the time they reached the door to her dorm room, he was fed up, "What the hell? Do you think I'm going to attack you or something?"

Mac jerked to look at him, her face screwed up in confusion, "What? Of course not! Why would you even think that?"

"Oh come one, you've been trying to get away from me since the moment we got out of that office. I had no choice back there. I was just trying to keep us from getting caught."

"Believe me," she said her eyes downcast, "I know that. Let's just drop it, please Eli." She opened her door and moved to close it, but his foot stopped her. He quickly forced his way into the room, "No way. No way am I getting blamed for trying to keep V and her little band of miscreants out of trouble……"

"VERONICA SET IT UP."

His pacing jerked to a stop as he looked at her, "What?"

"Veronica. No one was really coming down the hall. It was her and Logan," at his blank stare she rolled her eyes and continued, "They planned it. The whole thing. She thinks I have a…." she blushed, "a crush on you. Which of course is ridiculous?"

Now Eli glared, "Why not? Too good for a Mexican ex-con."

Mac rolled her eyes, "You know you always say stuff like that and it's stupid. My ex-boyfriend killed people, he killed them, innocent people and you think that I am going to not like you because of where you come from, or where you live, or what you did. I don't care. My crush is stupid because you wouldn't date someone like me."

"What the hell does that mean?"

"It means that I'm not exactly your type. Computer geek, virgin, serious psychological problems from my murderous dead ex-boyfriend."

"You think that I'm not interested in you because of all that."

She made a face and turned away. Moving quickly he crossed the small space between them and captured her mouth for the second time that night.

The kiss was slow like the one in the office started, but then moved quickly to hot and deep as they somehow ended up on her bed.

When he finally pulled back, his fingers were twirling her hair. She was staring at him with eyes so side he let out a low chuckle, "Did I tell you that you that you in this dress have been driving me crazy all night?"

She blushed, "No."

"Well, I almost didn't come tonight because I wasn't sure I could keep my hands off of you, but when I saw you in this dress, I knew I wasn't letting Surfer Dick or any other idiot get near you."

Mac smiled widely, "Veronica actually asked Wallace to come at first. She figured you'd hate going to one of those parties, but I told her I'd only feel comfortable if you came with me."

Eli grinned, trailing his hand up and down her arm and planting kisses along her collarbone, before moving down to nuzzle the top of the dress. Mac gasped and Eli moved up to kiss her again.

Mac arched under him, amazed at every movement of his hands and lips on her body, when suddenly a horrible thought struck her, "Oh crap!"

"What?" Eli asked.

"Veronica is never going to shut up about this."