Amber's View

I had just changed into pajama shorts and a tank top and pulled what I could of my hair back in a ponytail when I heard my cell phone ringing. I raced towards the sound and finally found it lying on the kitchen table.

"Hello."
"You changed your number," Rhonda said on the other end.
"Oh yeah, I forgot to tell you."
"You changed it because of AJ 's call?" it was more of a statement than a question.
"It just really freaked me out," I said in a soft voice.
"How are you doing?"
"I'm o.k. now, Brian was really sweet in the car. He just dropped me of a couple of minutes ago. Did you make up an excuse for me to AJ?" I asked still feeling bad that I had left him there.
"Ummm… yeah…we uh…we told him you were sick," Rhonda stuttered.
"Did he believe you?"
"Well he didn't believe me but he seemed to believed Howie. That is umm…until he tried to call you."
"Shit!" I said. "Well I'm gonna give you my new number to give to him so he can call and find out that I'm fine and here at home resting." I gave her my new number and told her I would call her later. She said o.k. and went to give it to AJ.

Rhonda's View

I left the office and went in search of AJ. Howie was standing at the bottom of the stairs waiting for me. "Where's AJ?"
"Is Amber okay?"
"Yeah she'll be fine. Where's AJ?"
"He went over by Nick a few minutes ago and I lost him after that."
"Okay – where's Nick then?" Howie pointed over to Nick at the pool table with Kevin. I headed over to the pool tables with Howie following behind me. "Have you guys seen AJ?"
"Yeah he wanted to use my truck so I gave him the keys," Nick said.
"You did WHAT?!? How could you give him the keys to your truck??"
"Ah come on, he's not that bad of a driver," Nick answered.

Amber's View

I had just curled up on the couch to watch some t.v. and take my mind off of things when there was a knock on my door. Maybe it was Brian coming back to talk some more. I opened the door and saw AJ standing there with a get well balloon and a can of Campbell's soup. He was trying to peel off the price tags.

"Oh hi," he said glancing casually around my apartment.
"AJ, what are you doing here?"
"I heard you weren't feeling good so…these are for you." He handed me the balloon and the soup. "So how are you feeling?"
"Better now that you're here," I said letting him in. "I felt so bad about leaving you at the club that way."
"So… uh… where's Brian?" he asked once again glancing around my apartment.
"If you just came to check and see if I was sleeping with your friend you can leave right now! I don't need another…"
"Another what? Did Brian do something?"
"No – it's nothing," I said sitting down on the couch all of a sudden tired again. AJ came and sat down next to me.
"If he did something to you I'll…"
"It has nothing to do with Brian. Something just happened tonight that brought back some painful memories of the past. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to cause you any worry – It was just something I couldn't control. I'm surprised you even came over here after all I've done tonight."

"Well, I did have somewhat of an ulterior motive," he said as a mischievous look appeared on his face.
"What's that?"
"I never got a good-bye kiss."
"Well," I said smiling back "I guess I'll have to give you one then." We leaned into each other as our lips touched. The kiss started out slow but it wasn't long before it began to really heat up. "This was well worth the wait," I thought as his hands began to roam my body. Suddenly I felt him pull back.

"Are you sure you're o.k.?" AJ said with a concerned look on his face. "We don't have to do this if you're not up to it."
"Oh yes we do!" I said as I pulled him back to me for more. We decided the couch was a little too small for what we had in mind and headed towards the bedroom. We fell back onto the bed.

"What the hell is this?" AJ asked pulling a sweatshirt out from under him. "Isn't this Brian's?"
The mood was killed. "Yeah, he let me wear it on the way home from the club. It was kinda cold out."
Knock, knock, knock. AJ and I just looked at each other. Knock, knock, knock.
"Well aren't you going to get that?" he asked. I got up from the bed and went to the living room with AJ following me. He was putting his jacket on.
"You're not leaving are you?" I asked.
"It depends whose at the door." I opened the door to see Brian standing there. "Fuck," I thought, "he's leaving."
"Brian," AJ said a little too politely.
"Hey Brian, what's going on?" I asked.
"Um," Brian said not sure where to take this conversation. "I forgot my sweatshirt and I didn't want to make you wash it. So I thought I would come back and pick it up."
AJ had the look of "yeah right - my ass" on his face. AJ walked back into the bedroom. "Here you go – it was in the bedroom."
"Um, thanks J. How did you get here?" Brian asked.
"I took Nick's car, why do you care?"
"Cause I have my car. How is everyone else going to get home from the club?"
"You left them all at the club?" I asked. AJ just shrugged.
"Don't worry," Brian said. "I'll go back and get them."
"No I'LL go back and get them. They're MY friends," AJ said as he pushed past Brian and went to the elevators.
"Are you okay?" Brian whispered to me.
"No – AJ just left after he found your sweatshirt in my bedroom. Maybe you should go with him and see if you can explain that you just let me wear it."
"Okay – I'll do that. Call me if you want to talk some more."

Rhonda's View

"I can't believe you gave AJ your fuckin' keys!" I yelled at Nick.
"How was I suppose to know where he was going?"
"Didn't you notice that Brian was gone?"
"Well – yeah."
"And you and Brian were the ones who drove, correct?"
"Well – yeah."
"Then how are the rest of us suppose to fuckin' get home?!?"

"Honey, calm down," Howie said trying to break up our little fight. As soon as he said that, Brian and AJ walked into the club. They both tried getting in the door at the same time. It didn't work. Brian stepped back and let AJ go through the doors first.

"Hey guys – where've ya been?" Nick asked. Howie and I cringed not wanting to know the answer. Nick had a tendency of asking the wrong questions at the wrong time. AJ stared a hole through Brian.
"I realized that you guys might need a ride home. Come on, get in the car," AJ said.

We all headed out to the parking lot. I pulled Brian aside. "What happened at Amber's?"
"Nothing! I took her home, realized I forgot my sweatshirt and went back to get it. AJ was there and got all ticked off."
AJ came running over to where Brian and I were standing. "You stay away from her!! She's with Howie!" AJ pulled me away from Brian and insisted that I ride with him and Howie in Nick's truck.

"Hey guys," Howie said trying to break the tension. "Why don't we go get a bite to eat? Food always makes people happy." Everyone looked at Howie knowing that he was trying to resolve something and agreed to go along with it, for now. All of us walked across the street to the IHOP.