The Way You Said Hello ~ Chapter Twenty

Warm, slow. Slow warmth…it flooded through me as we sat comfortably at the kitchen table. The words flowed smoothly from AJ's mouth, taking shape: he was planning how we were going to help out our friends' relationships on this particular December night.

The overhead light spread a pleasant glow on us, seated here, and cast deep shadows into corners and hallways. All around us the house was silent, but right here there was nothing but our own private party: our own slow warmth, warm and slow.

The wooden chair dug into my back, and I shifted in my seat as I observed AJ. He sat, elbows on the table, leaning forward excitedly. His eyes were lit up, gleaming - a sight I was quite used to, as it meant he was up to something. His once-pink hair, now back to its normal dark brown color, was growing out some and no longer stood on end. I admired the way his muscles seemed so defined, sleek in this light - and then of course there were the tattoos. Gotta love 'em. In the aftermath of our recent misunderstanding, AJ looked better to me than ever. I broke free of my daydreaming to return to the present conversation.

"So, why don't we call them all up and do a little matchmaking?" he was saying eagerly. "We can find out how one feels about the other. And if they both like each other, well we can drop a few hints, can't we?" He broke out into a silly grin, as if congratulating himself on a particularly bright idea.

"I don't see why not," I agreed amiably, stretching my long arms out across the table, working out knots from muscle.

AJ pushed his chair back and stood, going to the wall to get the cordless phone. I followed his movement with my eyes, watching hungrily as he took long strides, his body graceful. What's getting into you tonight, Becky? I asked myself playfully. I'm usually not this way…

He returned to the table and sat across from me. Once again his feet tangled with mine, out of our sight under the table. "First up: Kevin and Anne," he announced.

"I'll try Anne first," I offered, taking the phone from his outstretched hand. I dialed her number and waited patiently as it rang on the other end. After five rings, the answering machine picked up. "Must be at a party," I said, hanging up the phone. "Damn."

AJ's brow wrinkled, a sign that he would refuse to give up. "I can still talk to Kevin, at least." He took the phone back from me and punched in the numbers. He rested it against his ear and waited. Suddenly I heard someone pick up on the other end. A look of shock passed across AJ's face, and he thrust the phone at me.

"It's Anne!" he whispered excitedly. "I think I woke her up!"

I grabbed the phone from him and pressed it to my ear. "Hello?" I said, biting my lip.

"Yeah, who is this?" I heard Anne say, her voice deep and rasping with slumber. In the background I could vaguely make out the sound of sheets ruffling and the thump of a pillow.

"Anne, are you sleeping with Kevin?" I asked, astounded.

Her voice turned cranky. "What does it sound like we're doing? Of course we were sleeping. Can't you tell you woke us up…"

She would have gone on for hours had I not interrupted. "Sorry, I meant…are you SLEEPING, sleeping with him? You know…" I paused, not knowing how to say it. I ran my fingers through my hair, waiting for a response. AJ had his neck craned toward me, anxious to hear what Anne had to say.

"Well, yeah, if you must know," she grumbled after a moment of contemplation. "And it's damn good too!"

AJ somehow managed to hear that comment of Anne's and started laughing his ass off across the table. I offhandedly slapped him on the arm to keep him quiet.

I decided to try a different tactic. "Well, Anne, how do you feel about Kevin, exactly?" I said slowly.

Anne seemed to think this one over for a while. "He's great, Becky. So nice…and understanding…and, god, I don't know. Why?"

Suddenly, in the background, I heard none other than Kevin say in a sleepy voice, "Anne, honey, come back to bed," and this time it was I who could not keep my laughter in check. I hurriedly gave Anne my apologies for waking her up and hit the hang up button before dissolving in a fit of giggles.

"Well, there's no question about THEIR relationship," AJ remarked sarcastically. "'Anne, honey, come back to bed,'" he mocked in a high pitched voice, sending me into further fits of laughter. I leaned over, slapping the table, nearly choking. "I'm sure he's gonna hear about that one very soon - from yours truly."

I brought myself back under control (with great difficulty) and thought for a moment. "I don't know if they love each other, though. But then, they did just meet yesterday. They're moving so fast…"

"Yeah, well, everybody's different." AJ got up, pretending he desperately needed to do something at the sink, and not fooling me for an instant. I knew he was thinking about me, and I irrationally felt ashamed, though I had no reason to. He was making it quite clear to me that he itched for more in our relationship, but I still wasn't ready. The thought that I was hurting him felt like cold water in my stomach.

What would it feel like to sleep with him? I asked myself. A tangled mess of skin and sheets and sweat… I couldn't even begin to imagine. Or maybe I could, and was simply too afraid to allow myself. Once I started thinking about it, I knew it would be too late to go back. Why was I thinking like that, anyway? AJ was so good to me, and he really wasn't trying to rush me into anything. I didn't want to mess things up any more than I already had.

He sat himself down across from me yet again, avoiding my eyes. His voice was absent as he said, "Well then. Let's move on."

Two can play at this game. "Yes. Let's." I smiled, just as cold and detached as he, masking the heat that had crept upon me so unexpectedly.

AJ got comfortable, placing his elbows back on the table and stretching out his legs. He appeared to be getting back in the mood to have some fun, as he rolled up his sleeves and flashed a pearly-white grin in my direction. "Let's get back to work!" he exclaimed determinedly. "We have some g's and honeys to hook up!"

"True dat, homey, let's get this phat shit back on the street," I said dryly, my voice dripping sarcasm. I picked up the phone and played with the buttons absently, the hypothetical gears in my mind clicking and whirring. "Brian and Eilene are going to take a bit more effort than those last two, I'm afraid. We have Jenna to deal with." I set the phone back down and looked up at AJ, my eyes penetrating. "I've never even met this girl. Are you sure we're doing the right thing here? Maybe Brian and Jenna don't need us to interfere…" I gestured with my arms, trying to make a point.

"Trust me." He leaned back in his chair, tipping it up onto its back two legs. "All that bitch has ever wanted is B-rok's money. She's beautiful, and he fell for her, but he's starting to see the light."

"You're going to break your head open like that," I pointed out.

He glared at me, not changing his position. "Watch me."

I sighed, crossing my arms. "Anyway. If you're sure this is a good idea…"

"I'm sure." He brought his chair back to rest on all four legs again, and I breathed easier. "Brian's only known Eilene a day, but there was something there in his eyes. This could be the best thing I've ever done for him."

"That's good," I said, "because you're going to do it. Not me." I handed the phone over to him, my eyes hard.

He looked surprised, his eyebrows rising. "Why?"

"I know what it's like for somebody to come between you and the person you love - or that you think you love, in this case. I don't want to be the one doing it this time. I'll talk to Eilene, but you can deal with Brian and Jenna."

Silence fell for a moment as AJ pondered the proposal I'd laid on the table. His eyes clouded and I knew he would do the right thing. He only wanted to help. I could hear his breathing and my own in the quiet, as well as the creaks of the house settling and the tick-tock of the old grandfather clock. Finally, he looked up at me and said, "Well then. What are we waiting for?"

~

After some moments of careful deliberation, I was ready to get on the phone and do my thing. AJ simply sat at the table and waited for his turn while I worked my magic.

"Yeah, hey Brentan. This is Becky. Uh huh. Is Eilene there?" I rolled my eyes as I was put on hold. Things were in full swing at the Jones household tonight, I noted. I could hear the screaming of four adolescent girls as well as a television and perhaps a radio at the same time.

"Hello?" Eilene said, out of breath. To someone else at her house: "Alisan! Get off the computer NOW! I wanna use it!" And back to me: "Sorry. So what's up?"

I smiled in understanding. With three younger sisters and parents that were rarely home, Eilene was in charge of the family. There was never a dull moment when the Jones sisters were around.

"Not too much," I said noncommittally. Maybe she would bring up the topic herself, if I was lucky. Fat chance.

"What are you up to at one o'clock in the morning?" she asked amusedly.

"Actually," I said smoothly, "I'm at AJ's house." I cast a glance over at the man himself, who was playing with his fingernails intently. What a nut.

"You're at AJ's house?!" Eilene shouted. "Did you guys do it?!"

I broke out laughing. "Thanks for being subtle, honey. No, we did NOT do it." At that comment, AJ snapped his head up and his eyebrows shot to the ceiling. "You're gonna cause me trouble if you keep asking me questions like that," I joked. "You might give him ideas."

"You guys need to do it. Soon," Eilene commented thoughtfully.

"Thank you for your input, Eilene," I sighed, asking myself how we got into this conversation. "What I was actually wondering was…"

"Derren, I swear to god, if you don't stop trying to put Fluffy in the washing machine I am going to kill you!" I could hear things banging and more people yelling. "I'm sorry. What were you wondering?"

"It's about last night," I started. "Did you have fun?"

"Of course I had fun! What do you think I am, a nun?" she squealed. I knitted my eyebrows together in confusion. Another fun piece of Eilene logic for me to ponder.

"Um, no," I muttered. "This is about-"

"Oh my god!" she shouted. "Look at that! Ricky Martin is so hot!"

I slammed my hand down on the table. "Eilene!" I yelled into the phone. "Will you listen to me for ONE SECOND?" I earned another strange look from AJ, but ignored it and kept on trying to get Eilene's attention. "This is really important, and I'd appreciate it if you would concentrate on what I'm saying. I agree that Ricky Martin is hot-"

"What?!" AJ yelled.

"-But this is about Brian."

Eilene fell silent at the mention of his name. "Oh," was all she meekly said.

"Now what I want to know," I finished exasperatedly, "is you how feel about him. Can you give me five minutes of your time and answer me honestly?" I took a deep breath and tried to calm myself down.

"Well…" she hesitated, but the need to talk to someone won over reluctance. "I like him a lot. I only met him last night, and I know he's famous and all, so that could be a part of it, but I've never felt like that about anybody before. It's like, we just…clicked." She paused. "Why exactly are you asking, anyway?"

It was time to get down to it, as much as I didn't want to. I closed my eyes and asked, "Eilene. You know he has a girlfriend, right?"

Silence. "Excuse me?"

"You mean he didn't tell you?" I asked, shocked. I hadn't seen this one coming, for the last thing I would have expected would have been for Brian to hide something like this. He was so honest, so open.

"He's been seeing a girl named Jenna for some time," I said, upset.

"Oh my god," Eilene whispered, her voice rough. "He didn't tell me, he didn't say anything about it to me. He seemed so nice-"

"He is nice, Eilene. And I know he likes you." I wanted to reach out, to comfort her, but the wonders of modern technology would not allow it.

Her voice was hard as steel. "If he liked me, he would have told me about his girlfriend." She breathed out air through pursed lips, and her voice rose. "Shit! It's irrelevant whether he likes me or not. He's with somebody right now. I don't matter…" Her voice cracked.

"No, honey," I murmured in my own attempt to soothe her wounded pride. "You do matter. Don't talk like that. Brian and Jenna's relationship is deteriorating… AJ sees it with his own eyes, and I trust him. All I ask is that you don't give up, Eilene. As soon as Brian finishes it with Jenna, you'll be the first person he thinks of. I promise. Okay?"

She was regaining some of her strength and trying desperately not to cry. "Okay. But if for some reason things work out between them, I do NOT want to come between that. Do you understand me?"

"I understand you perfectly," I said quietly. "I'll talk to you later."

I hung up the phone and looked at AJ. We sat for a few minutes in stillness, just looking at each other. Even he was shaken by the power of what Eilene felt.

"Now that," he said evenly, "is a woman I respect."

"Me too," I said, subdued. "I always have."

AJ sat up further in his chair, looking straight at me. "But to think," he said, gesturing freely with his right hand, "to think that she would rather be alone than to interfere in Brian and Jenna's relationship, affair - whatever - is amazing to me. She obviously feels really strongly for him, yes?"

I was tired, drained. "Yes. That's what I believe. Not that it makes any sense, but then what does when you're in love?" More silence.

Eilene's situation touched me deeply. What would it be like to be in her shoes? She finds a guy who's sweet and charming and like her in just about every way. Then…she finds out that he has a girlfriend. A girlfriend he's been with for a long time. On top of that, he leads her to believe that he likes her…Well, now she cares for him too much to even act on her feelings. Not wanting to hurt Brian in any way, and she fears that if she tries to interfere with his girlfriend, he will be hurt. She was trapped in a corner, and my heart went out to her.

Finally, after the silence became too heavy to bear: "Damn it, AJ, call Brian and get his side of the story." I slid him the phone across the table and waited for him to dial Brian's apartment.

~

How long had I been sitting at this kitchen table? I asked myself wearily. It seemed like ages, but there was still work to do. Lots of it. The entire Brian and Eilene situation was complicated to the extreme, but now AJ and I felt an obligation to do our part. We couldn't just let it go…we were too involved now.

I watched through tired eyes as AJ held the cordless phone with his right hand, punching in the numbers to Brian's apartment with his thumb. I rested my head in my hands and let my eyes drift shut as I listened to Brian and AJ's one-sided conversation.

From what I deducted from the first few broken sentences, Jenna was over at Brian's house at that very moment. What luck, I thought dryly. Now how are we supposed to grill him for information?

I picked up from AJ's tone that Brian was miserable. Now, ordinarily I wouldn't wish misery upon anyone, least of all Bri. But this was a good sign in a way: it meant that he was tiring of his relationship with Jenna. She was smothering him and starting to invade his space, and I knew that every time he wished he was away from Jenna, he also wished he could be with Eilene. Brian was a guy who needed to laugh and have a good time. Eilene could give him that, while Jenna could not. From what I'd heard.

Since Jenna was at the apartment, AJ tactfully decided to ask Brian only yes or no questions as to avoid any kind of suspicion.

"Hey, remember my girl Becky's friend Eilene from the other night?" Pause. "Of course you do, man, sorry but I had to ask. Hey, you thought she was nice, right?" Pause. "Ooh, that nice, huh?" He grinned evilly. "So you thought she was MORE than nice?" A long pause. "Did it ever occur to you to tell her that you have a girlfriend?!" A touch of anger crept into his voice as he thought of the indignity forced on Eilene. "Well, buddy, you need to make up your mind."

After a few more minutes of question-and-answer, AJ hung up the phone and sighed exhaustedly.

"What a mess," he groaned, running his hands through his hair. "I swear, Brian doesn't know which way is up right now."

"That bad, huh?" I scrunched up my nose in confusion.

AJ crossed his legs loosely beneath the table. "You bet. Brian seems to like Eilene, a lot, but he's stuck with Jenna. He can't find it within himself to break up with her. I just don't understand it."

"Why would he want to stay with Jenna if she treats him as badly as you say?" I asked exasperatedly.

"He doesn't want to hurt her?…I have no idea," AJ admitted. "He told me that Eilene was one crazy woman, and he liked being around her. But then he said, 'I'm with Jenna now, AJ! I care about her! There's nothing I can do about Eilene right now!'" AJ imitated Brian's soft country accent. "So I told him, and these were my exact words, 'B-Rok, I thought I knew you pretty well, but I guess I was wrong. The Brian I know would never let something this good slip through his fingers.'"

I nodded. "Good advice."

"Yeah, well, not good enough if Brian doesn't follow it." AJ coughed a few times and got up to get himself a glass of water. I pushed my chair back and stood up as well, for I had been sitting an excruciatingly long time and my legs were quickly becoming stiff. I followed him to the refrigerator and got myself a drink, gulping down the cool liquid thirstily.

"Let's forget about them for now," I said suddenly, setting my empty glass in the sink. "There's nothing more we can do about that tonight."

"You're absolutely right, babe," AJ said, coming up behind me and wrapping his arms around my waist. He set his chin on my shoulder and gave my neck a feather-light kiss. "Who's next on our list?"

I smirked as his moustache tickled my skin. "Gillie and Howie. Remember when Gillie fainted when she saw you guys backstage at the concert?"

"How could I forget?" AJ grimaced.

I turned around so I was facing AJ, setting my hands on his chest and letting them wander freely as I talked. "Well, ever since then, she's been super shy around him, but I know she secretly has a thing for him. Maybe if we call them up separately, like we've been doing, she'll 'fess up to liking him. What do you think the odds are on Howie's side?"

"He likes her, there's no doubt about that," AJ murmured thoughtfully. "I don't think we have a problem here."

"Thank god," I sighed in relief. "We've had enough problems for one night."

We both smiled, and AJ gave me a quick kiss on the lips before we got ready to make our last phone calls. It was decided that AJ would call Howie while I went to find the restroom.

Trying not to get lost, I wandered down a few carpeted hallways before finding the nearest bathroom. I took my time coming back, savoring the cool, silent darkness enveloping me. So much was going on…I needed to clear my head for a moment. I eventually returned to the kitchen and returned to my usual spot at the table, where AJ was just finishing up his conversation with Howie.

"How did it go with our pal Howie D?" I asked, sitting myself down.

"Not bad," AJ said. "Not bad at all."

"So tell me what happened." I put my feet up on another chair and crossed my arms across my chest.

"Well, I woke him up," AJ began, "but he was pretty eager to talk. He's one of my best friends and all, so I just went ahead and straight out asked him if he likes Gillian. To make a long story short, yeah, he likes her, even though she seemed really quiet last night. He wanted me to give him her phone number, but I didn't have it on me so I just told him that you'd have Gillie call him tomorrow."

"Good work," I smiled approvingly. At least these two weren't going to cause a problem like those last two we had been negotiating with.

"Your turn," AJ said, getting up to use the bathroom and leaving me with the phone. I was glad that we were almost done calling people; I was tired of worrying about other people's problems. I had enough of my own.

Sighing heavily, I called Gillie's house where she picked up the phone, breathless.

"Hello?" she said.

"Hey Gil," I said curiously. "What are you up to?"

"I'm actually about to go out clubbing," she said. "I was on my way out the door when the phone rang."

"You're leaving at one o'clock in the morning?!" I asked incredulously.

"Well, yeah. It's kind of a spur of the moment thing," Gillie said.

I shrugged to myself. "Okay. Well, I was just wondering something…Do you like Howie?" I decided to take AJ's approach and just be blunt with it. Hopefully I could get some quick results.

I caught her off guard, but she said, "Sure. He seems nice enough. But, I just totally made a fool out of myself in front of him last night and I'm not sure he would want to see me after that."

"Aw, honey, I'm sure he forgot all about that by now," I reassured her. "Why don't you call him up?"

"Me!? Call up Howie Dorough?" Gillie exclaimed. "He's a Backstreet Boy! He's famous! Why in the world would he want me to call him up? That is crazy, Becks… What are you smoking?"

I laughed casually. "Gillie, what am I gonna do with you? Call him. Just go with the flow and see what happens. You have nothing to lose and everything to gain."

We wrapped up our conversation after I gave Gil his number and made her promise to call him. The fact that the Backstreet Boys were actually real people and actually went out with normal girls seemed to shock her. It was very cute in a naïve way, I thought. She and Howie would make a great match.

Just as I was pondering these new developments, AJ strolled back into the room with his hands in his pockets. He sat back down and I gave him a brief synopsis of what happened with Gillian.

"Hey AJ," I said and grinned, my eyes twinkling mischievously. "Remember the last time YOU went clubbing?"

"Hmm…" AJ stroked his chin, pretending to be lost deep in thought. "As a matter of fact I do. I believe I met a very beautiful woman that night."

"What a coincidence!" I exclaimed jokingly. "I happened to meet a very charming, sexy man."

"Sexy?" AJ looked baffled. "Oh, yes. I forgot the sexy part. I met a beautiful, SEXY woman."

"That's better."

"I wonder what ever happened to that beautiful, sexy woman," AJ murmured teasingly, and I slapped him upside the head as he broke down in laughter.

"You just watch it, Alexander James," I growled. "You know I can beat you down."

AJ briefly stopped laughing. "You know what? We're forgetting all about Nick and Ryan."

"Nick and Ryan?" My eyebrows shot up. "AJ, you know as well as I do that nothing we do or say could possibly be of any help. They're head over heels in love with each other…thanks to me of course."

AJ nodded and crossed his arms, lean and strong as ever and every inch covered with the tattoos I had learned to love. "True, true. They flirt like mad and hang out with each other day and night. They can't get enough of each other! Poor Nick…he's been dominated! Put into submission! Turned into a…"

"Okay, I get the picture," I interrupted impatiently, amusement creeping into my voice. We both laughed softly because, after all, what AJ said was so very true. Ryan and Nick acted like schoolchildren when they were around each other. Pulling pranks on each other…teasing each other about every little thing…and then making out whenever they thought no one was looking.

I sat drowsily, thinking, as our evening began to wind down. Ryan and Nick's love was so different from what AJ and I felt for each other, which was, and would always be, completely ambiguous. Never mind that they were younger than we were. They were so full of energy and life… but AJ and I had a deeper, stronger passion, it seemed. Whenever we touched, the air around us crackled with some kind of tension, watching…waiting… It was as if AJ and I were in an intermediate stage when we both knew that something was bound to happen sooner or later to advance our relationship, but we were still content to sit back and take things one day at a time.

After all, that was just the way we were. For the rest of the night, we would take things on our own. AJ's and my eyes met over the table, and I felt that tension again. I decided that I liked it.

~

Continue to chapter twenty-one

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