The sun filtered in the room and AJ snuggled up closer to Samantha, appreciating her warmth. He closed his eyes again but opened them quickly when he realized it wasn’t Sammy next to him. Jess lay next to him and he inwardly groaned as he remembered the previous night. Great....Not that he didn’t like her, he just didn’t want to be in this position right now. He didn’t need another relationship, he needed Samantha. He carefully disentangled his arms from around Jessica and got out of the bed, surveying the bedroom floor for his clothing. After he slid his clothes on, he scrawled a quick note and left it on top of her purse before exiting the house. He had left the party with her at two and had come back to her place, knowing damn well what it would lead to but gave in to her offer. Glancing at his watch, he judged that everyone would be asleep; it was still early and they had taken the day off because of Ken’s family. He climbed in his car and started the engine, stifling a yawn. He reached the house ten minutes later and got inside, the house quiet as he expected. His throat parched with thirst, he headed to the kitchen and let out a sigh when he found Lori sitting at the table, eating breakfast. “ Do you always get up this early?” He asked, opening the refridgerator. “ Yes...And besides, it’s 7:15,” She responded, taking in his wrinkled clothes. “...My mom didn’t realize I was gone last night, did she?” He asked hesitantly, hoping she wasn’t worried. “ They went to sleep early,” Lori replied disgustedly. “ Good...” He gulped down the glass of juice he had poured himself, watching as she snuck another disdainful look at him before continuing with her breakfast. “ Where are all the little kids? I thought they got up early?” Of course they’d sleep in when he wasn’t home for them to wake up. “ They’re downstairs, watching cartoons,” “ You’re not much of a conversationalist, are you?” “ Not when I can’t tell if the person I’m supposed to be conversing with wants to talk or not,” He backed off, getting bored with the discussion. Picking up his refilled glass, he headed downstairs to look for Alyssa’s number. The kids in the room barely glanced in his direction, annoyed that he was interrupting their T.V time. He finally found the scrap she had written on. Reciting it to himself as he entered it on his phone, he hit dial and sat down on a couch, his gaze on the television screen where Spongebob Squarepants was on. “ Hello?” Came Alyssa’s groggy voice. “ Lyss? Hey, you weren’t sleeping were you?” “...Who is this?” He chuckled before answering. “ Alex?” He said, hoping to spark any kind of recognition. “ Oh!...Hey, how’s it going?” “ Ok, yourself?” “ Yeah, I’m alive...Why are you calling this early? I’d expect you to be asleep,” “ Yeah, well, I got up earlier. You wanna get some breakfast?” He inquired, half-expecting her to say no but wishing she’d agree. There was a pause and he could feel her hesitate. “ You’re not working or anything, right?” “ No...Yeah, I’ll come,” “ Great, so I’ll meet you at your place in...say an hour?” “ Um...An hours fine but how about I meet you at wherever you wanna eat?” Puzzled but amused, AJ agreed and they decided on a location before he hung up and got in the shower...
*****“ You slept with her?” Alyssa asked incredulously, letting her fork drop with a clatter. “ Thanks, the whole place is staring at us, Alyssa,” AJ stated, looking around at the curious faces awaiting a jealous girlfriend scene erupt. “ I don’t care, you slept with her?” Her voice dropped to a loud whisper as she stared at him in disbelief. “ Calm down, why does it matter that I did?” He probed, taking a sip of coffee. “ Because! Alex, do you know how much of a whore she is? I didn’t think you’d fall for her shit,” “ What ‘shit’?” “ Her little...innocent act...” AJ raised an eyebrow, thinking back to the look the girls had exchanged the previous night at the party. “ Could it be you guys don’t like each other?” “ I despise her, and she thinks she’s the greatest thing in the world so she always strikes up a conversation when I’m with Brook, never alone,” Alyssa tossed her hair over her shoulder, rolling her eyes. AJ studied her and let a smirk fall upon his face. “ Ok, well, whatever, it was a mistake, I don’t even know how it happened,” He shrugged, notioning that it was time to change the subject. She picked her fork back up and said nothing. “ Are you mad that I spent the night with her?” He asked after a few seconds of silence. “ Why would I be angry?” She scoffed in a challenging tone. “ I don’t know,”...
