Fifty-one

"Where to?" AJ asked as they walked toward his car. Xanda pondered the question as AJ held open the door for her.

"My house." She smiled at him before he shut the door.

"Your house?" AJ asked, obviously confused.

"Yes. I'll make us some sandwiches and we can talk in a more private setting. Less of a chance of running into your "car insurance providers'". Xanda explained while using her term describing his fans. AJ laughed for a moment then nodded his head.

"Alright, to your house it is!"

***

Susan sat at her desk ignoring her work which was not unusual for her. She was about to push her wondering thoughts into the back of her mind when her phone caught her off guard. "Smith Barney, finance department. Susan speaking." Susan said quickly into the phone.

"Susan? It's Keely." The sweet familiar voice said from the other end of the phone.

"OHMIGOD! KEELY! Where the hell have you been?" Susan squealed.

"Where have I been? London. Berlin. Paris. And then London again. I think I'm in Milan right now." Keely explained with a laugh.

"Globe trotting trollop!" Susan joked.

"You're just jealous." Keely spat.

"No shit. So, what's up? What do you want?" Susan grinned.

"I just want the gossip. It takes me a year and then some to ever get ahold of Xanda so I thought I'd call you."

"Well, wait til you hear the gossip I have got for you!" Susan replied.

****

"P & J or Tuna?" AJ asked as he rummaged through Xanda's cubboards.

"Ewww...that's not much of a choice, is it? Can't you cook?" Xanda complained.

"Not a lick. So? Which is it?" AJ asked again.

"Peanut butter and jelly. Geez, with all the talent god has given you, you'd figure he'd at LEAST give you the ability to put a few things into a bowl and consider it edible." Xanda complained as she sat on a kitchen table chair with her feet resting on an opposite chair.

"Stop your bitching, woman." AJ groaned as he placed the sandwiches on paper plates. "Diet Coke or Dr. Pepper?" He asked as he opened the fridge.

"Dr. Pecker, um, Pepper." Xanda corrected herself.

"Funny." AJ mumbled as he handed Xanda her plate of food and soda. Xanda took a bite of her sandwich and grinned to herself. The typical "AJ Meal" other than McDonald's.

"You know what would make this meal complete?" Xanda asked with a twinkle in her eyes.

"I'm afraid to ask." AJ replied as he glanced up at Xanda in between bites.

"McDonald's french fries." Xanda laughed.

"With peanut butter and jelly? I never thought I'd say this but this is just one thing I could never combine with my beloved french fries." AJ smirked.

"Okay, this has been fun but let's cut the crap. What's going on with you? Who is she? How long have you known her? And what does the shrink say?" Xanda demanded as she looked across at her feet trying to avoid eye contact with him. Even though they were no longer dating it was an awkward situation for Xanda. She didn't know how she was supposed to act around her former lover as they discussed his new love interest. Was she supposed to be happy for him? Jealous? Was she suposed to be supportive and forget all that had gone on between them? Xanda swallowed her pride and decided to be happy for him.

****

"Oh, you got some good gossip! What is it? Has Brian and Xanda called a truce?" Keely asked with pretend interest. She honestly did not care what was going on with all "those other guys". She missed Nick but she would never allow herself to admit it. He was far too young for her in her opinion and she was determined to ignore her heart and go along with her pride.

"No, Xanda and Brian aren't friends. Maybe when hell freezes over, but you're close. It involves Xanda and I'm starting to think hell HAS frozen over." Susan muttered.

"What? Xanda and AJ the best of friends?" Keely interrupted with a sarcastic laugh.

"Actually..." Susan replied.

"SHUT UP! You're lying..." Keely couldn't believe what she was hearing.

"I wish I was but I heard her talking to him on the phone today and then I *saw* him take her to lunch." Susan explained.

"That pig! He's gonna hurt her again and when he does I'll be there to rip his dick off and pin it on my wall along with all those other spineless men that have come into my life. AJ's one of the worst! He uses women for sex and he enjoys the power he has over their emotions. I swear sometimes that he worships the devil..." Keely rattled on and one about AJ as Susan laughed slightly in awkward agreement.

"Keely, AJ doesn't worship the devil..."

"Whatever." Keely replied with annoyance.

"The devil worships him." Susan finished causing Keely to errupt into giggles. "Anyway, do you have that pigs number? I want to give him a piece of my mind."

"I believe it is still 6-6-6." Susan laughed.

***

"So? You plan to answer me?" Xanda demanded in between bites with a slight smirk as she eyed AJ up and down.

"Just a friend." He replied, peering over his glasses. Xanda could see that he was teasing her and laughed. She kicked him under the table softly.

"C'mon, tell me." She began to beg.

"Xanda Soldatova beg? I never thought I'd see the day." AJ laughed.

"AJ! Dammit, I'm eating this sucky sandwich you created just so I can help you with your problems and you only got an hour so spill it!" Xanda replied.

"It's kind of a long story. She and I go way back. I mean WAY back. We grew up together and we were best friends but once my career started to form we grew up and apart. She went to California to study at USC and that was the last I heard of her until the day we broke up. Remember that interview we had on TV the following morning? Well, she was watching. That was her way of keeping up on me and my career and she knew something was wrong. She had a bad gut reaction and decided to track me down. She got lucky and got ahold of my grandparents. They never chanced their number. My grandma gave her my mom's cell phone number and not long after that I was talking to her again. She made me feel better. It was like I was a kid again and nothing else mattered other than spending time with my best friend. A few weeks ago she went out on a date with a guy she had been secretly in love with for a while and he ended up being a jerk. She came to me crying for comfort and that was all I wanted to do. I didn't want to go out with the guys or go to some strip club, hell, I didn't even want to perform. I just wanted to stay with her to make sure she would be alright. Now I'm confused. I don't know what to do, or how to act, or what to say. Um, this is kinda where you come in. Think you could help me?"

"Oh man, this is going to take way more than an entire lunch break, but, you're in luck. I just happen to be the boss." Xanda said with a wink as she leaned across the kitchen table to grab her cordless phone. She had a call to make to her office.