Aj slowly woke, sensing a warm body next to his. His first thought was Amanda, but quickly remembered Theresa’s frightened face the night before. He languidly opened one eyes, glancing at the clock on his dresser. ‘11:34, damn, over slept.’ He thought, rolling onto his side and gazing at the blond laying on her stomach next to him. Her hair was strewn about her face, resting on her cheek and forehead. Aj carefully brushed the tangled strands off her face, caressing her jaw involuntary.
Theresa sighed in her sleep and rolled onto her back to get more comfortable. Aj glanced down at her tee-shirt and noticed its air-brushed picture. It was him, with blue highlighted hair, just his face, a sexy smirk on his lips and his sunglasses sliding down his nose. Below his picture was: Ya gotta love da Bone! His gaze drifted down to where the tee shirt was shift up her tummy and noticed a small tattoo half hidden by her panty-line. Intrigued to no end, he cautiously lifted the panties slightly to reveal a baby devil in a diaper, holding a small pitchfork. He smirked at her body-art and returned his gaze to the air-brushed picture of himself. Realizing he was staring at her rising and dropping breasts, turned away and climb out of the bed slowly, trying to keep the mattress from shifting too much. Theresa just sighed and continued to sleep.
**********
I watched in fascination as Nick practically inhaled a bowl of Captain Crunch cereal. I was interrupted by the toaster. I stood from the table and retrieved my warm bagel and grabbed the cream cheese off the counter. Nick and I continued our breakfast in silence, I didn’t know what to say and Nick was still half asleep.
Suddenly Nick’s childish laughter erupted.
"What?" I cocked my eyebrow at him.
"Come here…" He motioned for me to walk over. Remaining in my seat I threw him a confused look. "Just come here for a sec…"
I sighed and climbed out of my seat and walked over to him. "What?" I got out before being jerked down onto his lap. His thumb traced my lips and wiped the corner of my mouth gently. He stuck his thumb into his mouth and smiled.
"Yum, cream cheese. You had some on your mouth, so I thought I’d be a gentleman and get it off for you." He smiled up at me, giving me that lopsided grin, that no matter what makes me laugh. I giggled softly and noticed the look in his baby blue eyes, the same look he had when we were on the couch. I don’t know why it scared me but it did. I quickly climbed from his lap and pretended to stretch my leg.
"Sorry, muscle cramp. You done with the cereal?" I asked, as casually as possible. He nodded, giving me a curious look, as if he knew exactly what I was thinking. I sighed in slight relief as Aj walked down the steps and into the kitchen.
"Hey J, where’s Theresa?" I smiled, suddenly happy there was someone else around.
"Still chained to the bed, I’m deciding if I really wanna let her go…" He jokingly smirked, "Did you know she has a tattoo?"
"Yeah, how did you know?" I waited for his answer, but he couldn’t get it out before Theresa trudged down the stairs.
"Morning people…" She muttered, obviously half asleep.
"Hey Trease, can I see your tattoo?" Nick asked eagerly.
"Stephanie! You told them!" She fussed at me loudly.
"No, Aj found it!" I stated back, watching her face change from golden tan to fire-engine red.
She turned slowly towards Aj and waited for an explanation. He was silent for a minute until he could figure out what to say.
"I just noticed it when I woke up this morning, your shirt was up on your waist and I just noticed it." He stumbled through the sentence, actually embarrassed.
"Well, what is her tattoo?" Nick asked, wondering where it was located.
We all just glared over at Nick and he ducked his head slightly, "Sorry."
**********
We all finished our breakfast, joking around as usual, Theresa flirting with Aj, Aj eager to flirt back. After getting dressed and meeting in the living room, we all sat down and watched a few morning cartoons. I used too love to do that with Aj.
"Well, guys, I hate to leave but, I’m sure my dogs are mad at me for not coming home and letting them out. So I’m gonna go." Nick stated, standing up and stretching. "And we really must get together and play Truth or Dare again…"
"Are you going clubbing with us tonight Nick?" Aj asked, flipping through a few channels.
"Yeah, I had planned to. Gimme a call for the when and where, okay Bone?" He smiled, suddenly grabbing my hands and making me stand up from the couch in front of him. He pulled me into a tight bear hug and lifted me off the ground. I kissed his cheek softly and pulled back a little. Before I could even get out good-bye, Nick’s mouth covered mine.
When he pulled away we were both breathing harder and Theresa and Aj were just staring at us. "Bye, Steph. Theresa it was nice to meet you, and you really must show me your tattoo someday. Bye Bone. See ya tonight." With that Nick walked out of the living room, and drove home.
"What, exactly, was that all about?" Aj asked, but I couldn’t get enough air in my lungs to speak. I just shrugged my shoulders and headed up to my room. I didn’t notice Theresa until she stopped me.
"I thought you and Nick were, ‘just friends’. What the hell happened last night?" She asked, tugging on my long pink sleeve shirt.
"It’s not what happened last night, it’s what happened this morning…"
"You two screwed this morning?" She asked.
"No, first when I woke up he was right on top of me, and his manhood, was pressing right against me and I shoved him off the bed. Well then we were eating breakfast and he started laughing at me. And he pulled me into his lap and wiped the cream cheese off my face and it made me feel so weird. I’ve heard of best friends casually flirting but the couch thing, then the bed thing, then the breakfast thing, I think it’s going a little over board." I explained, making up my bed, rearranging the pillows and smoothing the sheets.
"Well, he’s not that bad, I wouldn’t mind having him as a ‘buddy’. You didn’t seem to mind what happened on the couch or that kiss a few minutes ago. What if Kevin doesn’t like you like that, and Nick does?" Theresa asked, making me jerk my head up.
"I don’t know, I just feel a little nervous around Nick now, I mean, I kissed him back and I liked it but I can’t risk messing up our friendship, you know what I mean…" She nodded, and patted my shoulder. "Well, I’m gonna go see if I can’t find out how Aj saw my tattoo."
She walked out of the room and down the stairs to living room, finding Aj reclining in the chair. He said something into the phone and turned it off.
"Hey Aj, what’s up?" She asked, sitting down on the on the couch and tucking her knees up to her chest.
"Oh, just making some plans for later. Where’d Steph go?" He asked, flipping through a few more channels before finally turning off the television.
"Oh, making her bed and trying to figure out what’s up with Nicky-Boy. If you ask me I think he has the hots for her." Theresa chuckled quietly.
"From what I saw on the couch, she seems to reciprocate his feelings." Aj smiled at the thought of his baby cousin and best friend getting together.
"So how’d you find my tattoo again? I mean, it’s usually hidden by my undies. Please don’t tell me I slept without my underwear." Theresa blushed, playing with the silver chain around her neck.
"No, you were wear underwear. I just saw the top of it. It’s pretty cute, but why’d you choose that?" Alex asked.
"Because according to Steph and all my friends, I’m a little devil, looks innocent but a real devil on the inside." She smirked, running her fingers through her silky hair.
"Well, I think I’m starting to see that too."
