Keely stayed late at the office and watched the rain fall wondering how often Xanda had done the same during her relationship with John. She was about to leave when the phone rang. "I'm off!" She told the phone without answering it while she searched for her jacket. Her machine answered the phone and Keely froze in her steps as she waited for the message. "Hey Keely, it's me again. I just wanted to see how you were doing. Well, I gotta run. I'm heading over to Brian's. It's our first night back in town and I don't feel like flying back to LA yet. Call me sometime! Later." Keely smiled to herself at how childish he was but at the same time she wanted to be near the man she once loathed. "Nick, you've got a lot to learn about women." Keely laughed as she left her office.

***

For the first week back in town Brian had run into Xanda almost daily causing an outburst between them. Nick stopped interfering with those two. He was tired of listening to them bicker but he was even more tired of getting hit by either one when he tried to split them apart. It was obvious that Xanda seemed out of her mind whenever Brian was within a mile of her and Brian saw red when she glanced in his direction. They never seemed to hate each other as much as they did lately.

"Is it just me or has Xanda been acting a little crazy lately?" Brian laughed as he walked into his house, bouncing around his car keys in his hand. Nick glanced up from the phone with a slightly annoyed look as he watched Brian toss his keys on the kitchen table. "Man, she's been through a lot. I think it'd be kinda nice of you to just leave her alone. Stop trying to pick fights with her." Nick defended. "When did you go all soft on me, Frack? Must be Keely on the phone." Brian sighed as he walked into the kitchen to grab something to drink.

Brian was about to put the orange juice back in the refrigerator when he noticed something outside. He stopped moving and stood at his kitchen window and realized that it was Xanda he saw, slightly swinging from a tire swing that was hanging from a large oak tree in her backyard. The sun was barely starting to set and the cool breeze was blowing her hair back. Brian was about to glance away with an annoyed expression but quickly stopped when he thought he saw something reflecting off her face. Watching more closely he noticed that she had tears streaming down her cheeks. The look of pain that splashed across her face when she tried to wipe them away sent a feeling of guilt throughout Brian's body. He quickly pushed the feelings away and grumbled to himself. "That's what she gets. If she didn't fuck up the way she did AJ would have never dumped her. Now she's all alone and crying." He muttered as he closed the fridge.

****

Kevin padded around his house, cleaning things here and there, fixing cabinets and just tinkering around the place. He didn't know what to do with himself. He had already been to the gym for two hours, done an interview even though he was on vacation, and stopped by Brian's to make sure Xanda hadn't killed him yet. He had a feeling that Kristen wouldn't be back for the second leg of the tour and was kind of relieved. He was not the type of man to get into a relationship with a woman just for the physical aspect, especially a married woman. He knew going to church every day for the rest of his life could not make him forgive himself for what he had done. Kevin shook off the thoughts and hesitated before he grabbed the phone. After what felt like a few minutes of ringing someone picked up the other line. "Talk to me." The man stated. "Yo, AJ! What are you doing tonight?" Kevin chimed. "Not a damn thing other than driving myself insane in my house. Why, what'd you have in mind?" AJ asked. "Wanna go drown our sorrows and be typical men together?" Kevin laughed. "Whoa! Kev? What's gotten into you? You know you don't have to ask." AJ replied with a subtle laugh. "I was thinking of that strip club downtown. You, me, some beautiful women and more alcohol than we'll remember tomorrow morning." Kevin stated. "You're on, buddy. Who's driving?" AJ laughed back. "We'll go in style. I'll call a cab and set things up." Kevin laughed back. "Besides, it costs more if we puke in the backseat of a limo. Cabby's are used to it." Kevin added. "Cabby's around here are on a first name basis with me, my man! I'll call my usual, don't worry about it." AJ replied. "Sounds good to me. See ya around 9!"

****

Nick watched as Brian went upstairs and waited until he heard the door close. "Okay, what's this about AJ and Xanda?" Nick asked into the phone. "You mean AJ never told any of you?" Keely asked back. "We just heard they broke up but we don't know why. Brian thinks Xanda screwed up. He keeps throwing it in her face but she's never defended herself." Nick replied. "She hasn't? Oh my god, I'm surprised! You'd figure she would set things straight with Brian of all people. I haven't really talked to her. When I do she's not in the mood to talk." Keely said quietly in deep thought. "Okay, so are you going to tell me or not?" Nick demanded. "Keep demanding things from me Carter and I'll hang up." Keely stated in a firm voice but Nick could hear the smile in her voice. "Oh shut up and tell me. I know you love it when a man begs but you ain't gonna hear it from me." Nick laughed. "Alright, just listen. AJ had a one night stand with some chick one night when he got really drunk. I saw the whole thing and so did Howie according to Susan. I had to tell Xanda, unfortunately, and she broke things off with him. The only reason she's probably not setting Brian straight about why they broke up is because she doesn't want Brian to think badly about his friend." Keely explained. "Holy shit, I didn't know! Wow!" Nick managed to say. "Anyway, why would Brian thinking badly about AJ? His cousin was having an affair with a married woman during the tour and didn't even care!" Nick added. Keely laughed for a second before it occurred to her that Nick was talking about Kevin. "Whoa, wait a minute! You're talking about Kevin, right?" Keely sputtered. "No shit, Shirlock. Who else would I be talking about?" Nick laughed. "Well, Brian could have more than one cousin..." Keely started to say. "Oh, duh! My bad, I didn't think about that." Nick laughed again. "You never think about much." Keely shot back. "Oh shut up, Keely!" Nick smiled.