Spot returned the kiss, then all of a sudden threw his arms around Maggie and rolled over so he was on top of her. He lifted his head up and gazed down into her sparkling green eyes, and they both started laughing.

Spot leaned down and kissed Maggie quickly, then rolled off of her and stood up, stretching. Maggie stared up at his shirtless body and a grin crossed her face.

"Enjoyin’ da view," Spot asked, smirking.

"Very much so, thank you." She stood up and looked down at the shirt she was still wearing. "Do you have some other clothes I can put on?" Maggie asked. She looked back up at him and was surprised to see him wearing only shorts.

"Yeah, over in da top drawer," Spot answered. He looked up and, seeing Maggie watching him, winked at her.

Maggie blushed and bit her lip. "Thanks," she said, walking over and pulling a clean shirt out of the drawer. She walked back to where she’d dropped the pants the night before, and pulled the pants on. Still a little self-conscious, Maggie turned around so her back was facing Spot before she undid the buttons and took the shirt off.

Spot whistled behind her, and Maggie turned her head around to look at him. "Is someone blushing," Spot teased. He walked up behind her and slid his hands along the bare skin of her stomach.

Against her better judgment, Maggie turned around to face him, and found herself pressed up against his almost naked body. She brought her hand up toward his face, brushing a strand of hair out of his eyes, and reached up to kiss him.

They eventually drew apart, and Maggie, cold where Spot’s body had been, pulled the shirt on. "Don’t you think you should go to work," Maggie suggested.

"Yeah, I guess I prolly should… hey Maggie, we have to sell the extra Sunday edition today, so I can’t come get you for lunch, but I’ll be back tonight…" They both smiled at the thought. "… Okay, well I’ll see ya latah, all right."

Maggie nodded, and Spot kissed her once more before putting his own shirt on and walking out the door.

Spot could barely concentrate on his selling that day. The memory of Maggie’s body pressed up against his kept straying into his thoughts, and he finally gave up on making any money that day. He gave his remaining papers to one of his newsies and took off toward the Brooklyn Bridge.

Reaching the bridge, Spot leaned over the edge and inhaled a breath of the crisp air. He watched the waves in the water and wondered what he was going to do. ‘Man, I finally find one who’s practically perfect. Pale skin, dark hair, and just a little curvy. Plus, the innocent ones always get me. I really want to keep her around a couple days after tonight, but I’m not sure that’s the best idea…’ The memory of that morning flashed again though his mind and he smiled, deciding what to do. ‘Tonight, then two more nights, and that’ll be it. I mean, they don’t came any better than that girl.’

Spot pushed himself off the railing and headed back into Brooklyn, and, excited about that night, sold his new stack of papers faster than he ever had so he could get back to the Lodging House, and to Maggie.

Maggie, however, spent the day reading more of Robinson Crusoe, but every once in awhile she stopped and checked her surroundings to make sure she hadn’t dreamt the past few days. ‘How did something so wonderful happen to me? I mean, I’ve never felt so good in my whole life.’ She thought for a minute. ‘I never thought I’d go as far as I did yesterday and this morning, let alone what’s gonna happen tonight… what I want to happen.’ Maggie lay back down on the bed and let her imagination carry her away.

Spot was back in the lodging house by three that afternoon. He walked up the stairs and opened to door to his bedroom.

"Hey Ma – oh." He looked down at Maggie’s sleeping figure and the open book lying next to her. Long black hair framed her face, save one wisp that lay across her cheek. Spot sat down and moved the hair out of his way, leaning down and kissing her.

Maggie’s eyes fluttered open, and she looked up at Spot and smiled. She brought her hand up on top of his, still resting on her cheek. "What time is it," she asked him sleepily.

"About three," he answered, "so we still have awhile till dinner."

"Was that a hint," Maggie asked grinning.

Spot smiled back at her. "I dunno, maybe…"

"Good." Maggie brought her hands up around Spot’s neck and slowly pulled him down on top of her. While they were still kissing, she started to unbutton Spot’s shirt, then slid her hands inside and along his chest.

Spot drew in a ragged breath. "Don’t you think we should wait till tonight for that," he said between their kisses. He looked down into her eyes. "It’ll be much more romantic then."

"Well, okay," she said. "…but I don‘t want to just stop this." She pulled him back down, but this time it went to further than kissing.

All of a sudden they heard the door open and they both looked over at the doorway to see one of Spot’s newsies standing there. "Geez Dice, ya evah heard of knockin’," Spot yelled, sitting up. With Spot no longer on top of her, and in want of protection, Maggie pulled the blanket over her and up to her chin, blushing the whole time.

"Sorry Spot, I didn’t know you had… company," Dice said, smiling at Maggie. She blushed deeper and looked away so she couldn’t see him.

"Okay Dice, can we talk after dinner or something’?" Spot asked angrily.

"Um, yeah, dat’s okay. Bye, doll," he said nodding in Maggie’s direction, but with her eyes focused elsewhere, she didn’t see it.

Spot closed the door behind Dice and went back to the bed, sitting down in front of Maggie. She looked up at him, her cheeks still slightly red, and Spot cracked a smile.

"You’re cute when you blush," he said grinning.

Maggie started giggling. "That was so embarrassing," she laughed. Maggie snuggled into Spot’s arms and sat there for a few minutes before getting up. "Do you have a bath or something I can use," she asked.

Spot pointed to the other side of the room. "Through that door," he said. "An’ there’s towels in there. Just don’t use all the water, I need some, too."

"Well you could just come in with me," Maggie suggested jokingly. Spot looked up at her, not sure if she was serious or not. "I’m kidding," she said, laughing at the surprised look on his face. "I’ll be quick." And she disappeared through the door.

She was surprised to see that there was no lock on the door, but when she thought about it, it didn’t make sense to have one, since the only door was into Spot’s room.

Thinking about that, Maggie took her clothes off more slowly and carefully than was really necessary, fearing that Spot might walk in and see her. She started to fill the tub and pulled a towel around herself while she waited for enough water, mentally kicking herself for her silliness.

When the water was finally high enough, Maggie dropped her towel and stepped into the tub. The water, though not as warm as she could have liked, felt wonderful. She hadn’t felt totally clean in a long time, and lay there soaking for awhile. Eventually, she started to run the soap slowly along her arms, but when she remembered that Spot also wanted to use the washroom, Maggie quickly washed the soap off herself and stepped out. She picked up two towels; one she wrapped her hair up with, the other she used to dry herself off. She then wrapped that towel around herself and walked back into Spot’s room.

Spot looked up as the door opened and Maggie came back in. His eyes widened, seeing the towel that almost didn’t cover her.

"Enjoyin’ da view," Maggie flirted.

Spot stood up and swaggered over to her. "I’d enjoy it better without the towel on, but we’ll save that for later," he answered, the widely known smirk crossing his face. He slid his arms around Maggie’s waist and leaned down to kiss her, but soon after, he pulled away, leaving her wanting more. "I’ll be back, doll," he said walking into the bathroom

Maggie slowly changed her clothes, then let her long hair down to comb, but before she’d gotten very far, Spot came back in. She sighed from the frustration of trying to get the snarls out of her hair. Spot walked up to her, taking the comb out of her hand and carefully pulled it through her hair. He finished, and Maggie turned around, surprised but happy at the sight of him standing shirtless in front of her.

"Thank you," she whispered, smiling up at him.

"So what are we gonna do till dinner," Spot asked grinning.

Maggie giggled. "You just spent all that time on my hair and now you want to mess it up again?"

"Well, I guess I’ll have to wait until t’night." Spot sighed and walked over to the bed, sitting back on the pillow. He looked up at Maggie with sad eyes and a pouted lip. "Aren’t you at least gonna come cuddle with me," he asked.

Maggie smiled. "Well, if you insist." She sat down in front of Spot, leaning back on his bare chest, and his arms moved around her body pulling her closer to him. Maggie picked up the book, still lying open on the bed. She snuggled up to Spot and started reading again.

A few hours later, Spot moved his hands down Maggie’s arms, taking the book and placing it on the floor beside the bed. "Ya ready for dinner," he whispered in her ear.

She turned her head sideways so she could see him. "One more kiss before we go?"

Spot happily obliged, wrapping his arms around her and kissing her. They drew apart and Spot reached down, grabbing a shirt and pulling it on. "I like it much better the other way," Maggie grinned.

"Well so do I, but I ain’t goin’ down ta dinner like that," Spot replied. He got off the bed and pulled Maggie up with him. They turned around and walked out of his room and down to dinner.

Maggie could barely concentrate on the food in front of her, she was so excited. ‘This is the best day of my life,’ she thought. ‘It would never have been like this with Eric. I didn’t love him… and I love Spot.’ She looked up at him and smiled. He winked in response, and Maggie felt her heart flutter. ‘And he loves me too.’

"Hey, I’ll be up in a few minutes," Spot said to Maggie after dinner was over. "I have ta talk ta Dice for a bit, but I’ll make it as quick as possible."

"Okay," Maggie responded. "I’ll see you up there."

Maggie went up to Spot’s room and closed the door behind her. She went to sit on the bed, but as soon as she sat down, she shot back up. It suddenly dawned on Maggie what she was going to do, and she was overcome with fear and nerves. ‘What if I do something wrong? Or what if he doesn’t think I’m good? What if it hurts?’ Maggie started pacing around the and fiddling with the buttons on her shirt, unable to calm down.

"So what’s up Dice," Spot asked.

"Well, ya remember that blonde girl from the other day? Alex?" Spot nodded and Dice continued. "Well she keeps coming down here askin’ ta talk ta you, and threatenin’ da guys. What d’ya want us ta do?"

"Tell her to give me three days, an’ then I’ll talk with ‘er. But if she comes b’fore that, I ain’t gonna see ‘er at all. Got it?"

"Yeah Spot, shoa, I’ll tell ‘er… now you go have some fun," he said nodding in the direction of Spot’s room.

"Oh, don’t worry, I plan to," Spot said. He turned around and walked up the stairs and down the hallway to his room.

Spot opened the door to his room and walked inside, closing the door behind him. Maggie stopped pacing, but she was still fiddling with the shirt. Spot moved over to her, and looking down, saw the fear in her eyes.

"Scared," Spot whispered.

"A little," Maggie answered.

Spot took Maggie’s hands in his and rubbed them, trying to comfort her. "It’s gonna be fine," he promised. He slowly walked over to the bed and lay down, holding Maggie in his arms, and kissed her softly.

Maggie felt herself calm down as soon as Spot’s lips touched hers, so she rolled over on top of him.

Spot’s blue eyes looked up into hers. "Better now," he asked. Maggie nodded, biting her lip. "Good," he whispered, moving his hands up under her shirt.

Maggie drew in her breath sharply. "Is it gonna hurt," she asked quietly.

"I dunno. Maybe," Spot answered. "We can stop if it does." She still didn’t look convinced, so he added, "you trust me, right?"

Maggie nodded. "Yeah."

"Okay?"

"Okay."

Spot woke up suddenly at the crack of dawn. Looking down and seeing Maggie, he fell back into the pillow and sighed. "Oh lord, that was good," he said with a grin on his face. ‘It’s too bad I can’t keep ‘er around for awhile, but the last time I did that…’ He shook his head trying to rid himself of the memory. ‘She got so attached, and wouldn’t leave me alone for da longest time.’ He looked back down at Maggie. ‘Still… it’d be fun.’

A knock on the door made Spot look up. "Yeah, come in," he said, loudly enough for the person to hear, but not loud enough to wake Maggie. Kit, one of Spot’s newsies walked into the room.

"Nice goin’ Spot," Kit said. He stared at Maggie’s bare back for a few seconds, then shook his head and looked back at Spot. "It’s about time ta leave," he said. "Ya sellin’ today?"

"Yeah," Spot said, but he didn’t move from the bed. Kit sat there waiting. "Ya mind leavin’ so I can get some pants on," Spot finally said, exasperated.

"Oh yeah, sorry," Kit said backing out of the room and closing the door. Spot got up and pulled clean clothes on, combed his hair.

Alex crawled in the window of Spot’s room, fuming. "Speak to me in three days," she muttered. "Don’t come back before that. Sheesh, they should show a little courtesy to ladies. Now where is that guy? I want to talk to him now."

Her eyes searched the room and stopped on the figure in the bed. Maggie’s long hair covered most of her back, but it was obvious that she wasn’t wearing anything. "Oh, shit," Alex said. "I wish she’d listened to me about Spot." She walked across the room a few times, trying to decide what to do. "Well, she’s gonna need somewhere to stay when he finished with her."

Alex opened the dresser drawers, looking for a scrap of paper and something to write with. When she finally found them, she quickly scribbled a note and put it on top of the dresser, then quietly exited through the window.

Maggie woke up two hours later, cold from the lack of Spot’s body warmth. She pulled the blanket around her and curled up, smiling. ‘Wow. Just… wow.’ She put her face in the pillow and smiled, replaying the previous night in her head. When it finally occurred to her that Spot wasn’t there. She looked out the window at the sun. ‘Oh, he must have left for work already.’

Maggie got up and walked over to the dresser, intending to get more clothes, but she stopped, finding a note on to of the dresser with her name on it. She picked the note up and opened it, reading out loud.

"Maggie. I’m staying at the Manhattan Lodging House. You’re welcome here when you leave Brooklyn. Alex." Maggie looked at the note in confusion. "Why would I leave? She was wrong about Spot."

Maggie crumpled the note, planning to throw it out, but changed her mind. She smoothed the crumpled up paper and put it in her pocket. "Maybe I’ll visit Alex sometime. Then I can tell her how wrong she is about Spot." Thinking about Spot again, Maggie promptly forgot the note.

‘Man, I can’t wait till he comes back tonight,’ she thought in anticipation. ‘Wait, what am I going to do all day?’ she said to herself. ‘I guess I can read more of that book, Robinson Crusoe.’ So Maggie picked up the book from the floor beside the bed and started reading again.

"So how’d it go," Spot heard behind him. He turned around and saw Dice standing there with a stack of papers in his hands.

Spot smiled. "Amazing," he answered. "It’s too bad you can’t have a try with ‘er, she was…" Spot couldn’t think of a word good enough to put there. "Dat good, huh?" Dice said. "Man, how come you get all da good ones Spot," he added, disappointment echoing in his voice.

"It’s da Conlon luck," Spot said matter-of-factly. "And boy do I have a lot of it." Spot smiled again and continued selling papers, but the two picked up their conversation between sales.

"So how long ya gonna keep dis one," Dice asked one time.

"Only two more days. Othahwise she’s gonna get attached like that othah one. Ya remember her? Julie or somethin’."

Dice laughed. "Yeah. Dat one fell hard."

After a bit, Dice finished selling all his papers. "Hey Spot, dere’s a game in Harlem tonight, so I won’t be back till tomorra. But you better tell me how t’night goes."

"Okay, shoa." Spot thought for a moment. "You prolly shouldn’t go gamble all the time, Dice. Ya never win. An’ then ya hafta borrow money from da guys… maybe you should try another hobby, huh?" Spot said grinning.

"Oh, I’ll win eventually," Dice replied.

"Well, okay, but don’t blame it on me when ya come back broke, ya heah?" Spot laughed as Dice nodded in agreement, then turned and walked toward Harlem, also laughing.

Maggie heard the door open, and her eyes shot up from the book to see who it was. Spot walked into the room. Not knowing what to do or say, Maggie looked back down at the book and bit her lip.

Spot sat down next to Maggie and wrapped his arms around her. "So, d’ja have fun last night," he whispered in her ear.

Maggie looked up at him and smiled, not trusting her voice.

Spot waited a few seconds, but started to get impatient and spoke. "So do I get a ‘welcome back from work’ kiss or somethin’?"

Maggie shyly leaned up and kissed him quickly on the cheek. "Dat’s it," Spot said, disbelievingly. "Aftah all we did last night, all I get is a peck on da cheek? You ain’t gonna get away with jus' that," he said, pulling her down on top of himself, wrapping his arms around her, and kissing her.