| Her face was lit entirely by the lights of L.A., making her eyes seem to twinkle all the more as they misted over slightly. She was absolutely overcome with awe at the spectacle. He scooted over and looked closely at her face, studying her eyes. �I take it you�re impressed?� he whispered, settling back into the seat. He took a drink of his Coke and moved the McDonald�s bag out from between them and into the backseat. �I�m�stunned,� she answered, not able to say anything more. �Good,� he replied, then slid his hand onto her thigh. She liked that feeling, and gave him a quick glance of approval. They sat in silence for a few minutes, just taking in the view. It was a rare night in Los Angeles. A full moon. A few dark clouds coming in, but no haze, no smog. The scene looked just like a postcard. He shifted in his seat and gently squeezed her leg, sending chills up her spine. She was sure he would try to kiss her soon. The thought made her smile. Try to kiss her. Ha! Like she wasn�t going to let him. Hell, she was so ready, she briefly thought about making the first move herself. He didn�t kiss her. Instead, he broke the silence with words she never expected to hear. �I think you should know�I�m�still kind of with Sarah,� he said slowly and awaited her response. �Hmmm,� she said. She couldn�t look at him. �What does �kind of with Sarah� mean?� she asked, her face growing hot with a mixture of embarrassment and frustration. �I mean�we haven�t been together for weeks. We�re not even talking right now. We haven�t officially broken up�but�I�m not sure where we are headed, now�� �OK�� Kat nodded slowly. ��and?� AJ slowly withdrew his hand from her lap. �This is hard to explain. See�,� he sighed, �in AA, they tell you not to make any big, life changing decisions in your first year of sobriety. Well..guess what?! I didn�t really listen. Surprise!� She turned to him, but he fingered the steering wheel nervously and continued to stare out the window at the city lights. �Go on,� she prodded. |
| AJ took another deep breath and blew it out forcefully while running his fingers through his hair. �I think I made a really big mistake, but I�m not quite sure I�m ready to call it all off. See�,� he said, finally turning to face her, �we�ve been having problems for a while now.� He continued. �At first I was just living with it, thinking I had to. That it was what I chose for myself, right? Then one day, I threw up my hands and went, �Dude, you are NOT ready to settle down with this woman!� But how do you stop something this big once its been set in motion? For crying out loud,� he said, laughing uneasily, �we�re supposed to be on VH1�s Weddings�� She certainly didn�t have an answer for him. The poor, mixed up kid. He was clearly in agony, and she knew she was not the right person to be counseling him, especially since he�d been thinking of him�that way. He seemed to be so vulnerable. So why the hell was that fact making her want him even more? To show her understanding, she placed her hand gently on his leg and patted him lightly. He put his hand over hers and squeezed, then moved their hands back to her thigh. Did he know what he was doing to her? Her throat was dry. So dry. She cleared it before speaking again. �AJ, uh, Alex�have you talked to anyone about this?� He leaned his head back on the driver�s seat headrest and closed his eyes. The fellas�a little. Howie knows. He says we should try to work it out,� he snickered. �And Kev. I�m staying with him�in his poolhouse! He told me to just tell her how I feel and get it out in the open.� |
| �Are you going to? � she asked. She couldn�t help but notice his incredibly alluring adam�s apple bobbing up and down as he spoke. He shrugged. �I guess I have to. I just hate conflict. I know she�ll freak.� They sat there for a while, neither one of them saying a word. Kat grabbed her Coke and drank deeply, all the while not able to tear her eyes away from his neck. She was fascinated. She wanted to kiss that neck, kiss his lips and tell him she was there for him. She wanted to tell him to dump his fiancee, that he didn�t need that kind of frustration. But she knew that was ridiculous. She barely knew the man. And yet�they were alone, at night, under a full moon� He was practically asking for it. He broke the silence. �And then�you came along and complicated things.� Kat choked on her Coke. �What?� �Dammit, Katrina. Why did this happen tonight? Why did you have to be so sweet to me? And�look at you�� he became more animated. �You�re so�� he bit his lower lip and grunted, jutting his chin. ��so damn beautiful�� The Coke nearly slipped from her hand as he reached over and gently brushed her bangs from her eyes. They locked gazes. She could hear him breathing quietly as he ran a finger down her cheek to her lips. He followed his finger with his eyes, staring intently at her mouth; he licked his lips slightly. He passed his thumb across her bottom lip, making her shudder in anticipation. She closed her eyes slightly and waited as patiently as possible. He drew nearer. |
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