“I don’t know why you were so nervous. You really are gifted. I wasn’t just saying that,“ he stated reassuringly. I believed him, but I was still glad to be out of the studio and feeling a little less exposed.
AJ smiled at me and laid back on the bed like he was before we’d left the room. I watched him and wanted to be close to him again, so I rested my head back on his chest. Again, he stroked my hair, soothing me to the point that I almost dozed off. That prompted me to set my alarm clock just in case we lost track of the time. I leaned over him to grab the alarm from my nightstand and rested my body on his as I set it for 11:45. He stopped breathing and looked down his nose at me cautiously.
“Now look who’s nervous,” I said while smiling. “That’s a new one for you.”
“I’m not nervous, but you should be,” he replied.
I continued to smile at him, fully understanding what he meant. When I finished with the alarm, I placed it back on the nightstand and stared into his eyes, tempting fate in a way. Realizing the predicament I could get myself into, I decided that it would be best to back away from him until we both cooled down a bit. Before I could move back to my original position at AJ’s side, he had his hands on my face, holding me in place as he moved his lips from my mouth to my neck slowly, but with an urgency that made my eyes roll back in my head. He released me after a few minutes of intense passion and there was an untamed look in his eyes that hadn’t been there before. I’d gotten to him. He lifted my entire body and nearly tossed me to the other side of the bed and then he quickly sat up on the edge with his back to me.
“What’s the matter?” I asked.
“Nothing,” he said edgily. He sat there with his head in his hands as he tried to regain his composure. This was the first time I’d seen him even remotely close to losing control in a situation. He was always so cool, calm, and collected. Is it possible that I’m his weakness? I smiled at the thought and then laid back, waiting for him to return. About five minutes later he finally eased back toward me.
“You ok now?” I asked, trying not to sound like I was teasing him.
“Yeah, I’m good.”
“Wanna watch a movie or something?” I asked.
“Sounds like a good idea,” he smiled.
I got up and selected one of my favorite love stories from my movie collection. I made my way back to the bed and lay back down. I rested my head on his stomach and relaxed as the rhythm of his steady breathing calmed me. My mind drifted back to thoughts of the red-head girl, Leila. I don’t know why I hadn’t made the connection before. I should’ve known. I’d be lying if I said that the thought of her being ‘the one’ didn’t intimidate me a little. She’s beautiful! And she’d shared something with AJ that gave her the upper hand in my opinion. There were a million things running through my head. Did he love her once upon a time? How long were they together?
I dwelled on similar thoughts throughout most of the movie. Near the end, I lifted my head and sat up next to him, still mulling over the situation. Glancing at me curiously, AJ asked, “Why’d you move?”
I wasn’t sure if I should tell him the truth. What would he think of me dwelling on such trivial details? But I hadn’t lied to AJ once and I wanted to keep it that way, so I went for it.
“I’m just thinking about you….and Leila.” I admitted.
“Why would you be thinking about her? I don’t,” he replied. I tried to hide that I was pleased by his response.
“But you two must spend a lot of time together. I mean, she’s dating one of your friends. Isn’t that ever uncomfortable? You have to know that she’s still into you. Even I know that and I only saw how she was with you at the dance.”