Chapter 9
Nicole breathed out a content sigh as she wrote out the check for their rent, going to her checkbook to balance it. For the first time in several months, she was ahead of things, having a few hundred dollars extra in her account rather than the number being merely a few away from the negatives.
Closing the checkbook, she put the check in a pre-addressed envelope to the rental office, sticking a stamp on it to send it out on its way. Her mind slowly wandered to AJ though, and she rose an eyebrow before she could really control it. How strange was it, that merely a week and a half ago, AJ had still been jobless, then out of the blue, he’d landed a really good paying job. One, she assumed, that made more than her and Gia’s…combined. After all, the man seemed to bring home a pretty hefty amount of money. How, though, was the main question.
As if reading in to her questioning thoughts, AJ sauntered in to the room with a smile on his face as he walked over to the fridge. Opening the door, a soft blast of cool air hit him as he pulled out the jug of skim milk, twisting the cap off and bringing it to his lips as he chugged down huge gulps of the white liquid for at least ten seconds before bringing it down again and recapping it. He was completely oblivious to the complete look of disgust that Nicole was giving him.
“Ewww…” she chided, “Get a glass next time.”
“No thank you.” AJ replied, “You have a problem…label your shit with post-its.”
“And that would make a difference?”
“Probably not.” AJ shrugged.
Nicole rolled her brown eyes at him as she shoved her checkbook back in to her purse, making sure it was secure in case AJ tried to snoop through her things and take her money. She hated that she doubted his antics, but with the way he was, Nicole figured that she couldn’t ever be too safe. When she looked up at AJ again, he was smiling at her, making her feel extremely uncomfortable and anxious.
“What?”
“I’m in a pretty good mood is all…lets just try to get along for once.”
“Suddenly the ass wipe of the century wants to get along?”
AJ glanced at her scornfully before saying, “I got a great job, woman. I’m helping out now…just like you asked. What more do you want from me? Good God!”
“Absolutely nothing.” Nicole replied with a drip of sarcasm in her voice which AJ failed to pick up on, “By the way…what exactly does this…XTC company stand for?”
“Erm…I don’t know?”
“Of course!” Nicole threw her arms in the air for emphasis, “Why does that not surprise me.”
AJ scowled at her, “I go in every day, bring home money…isn’t that enough?”
“It’s how you’re bringing home the money that worries me…” Nicole muttered under her breath, wondering if he was doing door-to-door type sales for carpet cleaner or something of the sorts, pocketing the money made along the way.
“Get the burr our of your ass.” AJ shook his head in disgust before walking away, leaving Nicole sitting looking baffled.
As she watched him walk out of the kitchen, Nicole just stared, waiting before he was out of sight before saying, “What a joke.”
The truth was, over the past few days, her mood hadn’t exactly been her usual happy, upbeat, carefree self. Her relationship with Derrick had been suffering due to his true personality coming out for several weeks now. She’d tried to look past it, but Nicole was getting sick and tired of the constantly being ignored and him not calling for days upon days on end. Even though she’d like to see things work out, she also didn’t want to wait around, giving her a major ultimatum to deal with. Talk to him and open up, or just tell him that them dating wasn’t such a good idea after all. The thing was, she didn’t know which one she preferred, being caught up in the middle of her mixed feelings of emotion. Deep down though, Nicole already knew which she would be doing, causing a brief moment of sadness to wash over her.
‘Damn fucking male…” Nicole grumbled out loud, wondering if she would ever find her Prince Charming or if her life was doomed to be full of men who did nothing but take advantage of her.
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Gia smiled coyly to herself as she peered out of the window of her bedroom, catching a glimpse of a rather attractive man standing in the next building over. It was a good thirty feet away, but just close enough for her to see his rippling six pack of abs as he lifted his tee shirt off of him. As he stretched, flexing his arms above his head, Gia could swear that she was about to start drooling at any given second.
“Come on…of come the pants next…” she mumbled, “Start to stripping.” She added with an urging tone, even though he couldn’t hear her.
She continued to watch with her mouth hanging ajar, just waiting for what was next to come. His brownish-blonde hair was spiked, and from what she could tell…he was of very reasonable height. Observing more, she noticed boxes piled and lining the walls as well as some thrown carelessly in to the middle of the room. Raising an eyebrow, she wondered if he’d just moved in or just plain had horrible organizational skills. Either way, she found the man gorgeously sexy, licking her lips as he bent down to reveal a strong back side. He rummaged around some in the boxes which he’d been digging through, finally retrieving a royal blue towel. Slinging it over his shoulder, he started to peel off the jeans he’d been wearing, sending shivers of excitement down Gia’s spine. Her pulse started to quicken as he left them in a heap on the floor, leaving him in just boxers of a maroon color.
“Damn boy…” Gia murmured, “Show me more…”
Letting out a small breath, she waited as he grabbed at the boxers, ready to reveal what was packaged underneath. Her eyes widened and started to bug out of her head as she wondered if he were excited or not, knowing that in mere moments, she would know for sure by what was being taken out from hiding.
“Hey, G…”
“Ahhhh!” Gia yelped, jerking back from her position by the blinds in startlement, letting the two she’d been holding open with her fingers fall back in to place a she fell to the floor, caught in her guilty action, “Damn, Nic…don’t sneak up on a person like that!.” She scoffed as she picked herself up from the floor, angry that she’d missed this mystery man stripping finale.
“What were you looking at?” Nicole laughed, making her way over to the window
“Nothing.” Gia replied too quickly due to nervousness, wincing at how anxious and defensive she sounded.
Nicole gave her a strange look in which she returned with what she hoped was a convincing smile. When Nicole went to open the blinds again though, Gia knew that she was about to be found out. When her friend looked back over to her in confusion though, Gia looked to see what was out there, relieved to find that the man was now nowhere to be seen, but slightly disappointed to, for she’d liked to have seen more.
“All that’s out there is some lady walking her dog…” Nicole commented, raising an eyebrow.
“Right!” Gia jumped at the opportunity, “I was amazed at the striking resemblance the mutt had to your stepmother.”
Nicole burst out laughing at this, unable to help herself. It was no secret that they all thought that Dianne, the woman her father had for some god unknown reason chosen to marry, was a complete and evil witch. But that was besides the point.
“Scary, isn’t it?” she finally agreed aloud, “Anyways, AJ for some strange reason, wants to take us to dinner….want to give it a try?”
“Why, so he can make us pay for it?” Gia asked with sarcasm dripping from her tone.
“Even if he does, which he very well may, we can at least afford it now…” her voice trailed off, nervous about his sudden change in attitude. True, he hadn’t exactly been kind with the offer, but he ‘d said that he felt he ‘was obligated to it’
There was a slight hesitation, Gia wondered if she really wanted to spend a couple of hours out with the man who’d been nothing but rude to her. Even earlier that day, he’d been testy and short. Lord only knew what would come of dinner if they actually accepted the invitation. On second hand, it would be a free meal.
“We don’t have to if you don’t want.” Nicole quickly reminded her, “As I said, he didn’t exactly seem thrilled with the idea either, so why he asked, I don’t even know…”
“No, its fine…” Gia grinned, “We’ll make sure he pays…and we will choose an expensive restaurant…the finest in town, and order anything we desire…make him pay out the ass. Payback will be a bitch tonight.”
Grabbing her purse, Gia slung it over her shoulder, ready to use AJ for all he was so recently worth, leaving Nicole following in her footsteps. Her new male interest was gone for the night, but Gia made a mental note to discretely spy to find out more about him. After all, they were practically neighbors. Therefore, he would be easily accessible. That night, however, she had other plans in store for a certain male who deserved every single rotten thing that came his way. She was talking about ordering the most expensive wines, several appetizers, meals she didn’t even like that she would ‘box up for later’ only to order something else, on top of desserts, sides and whatever else her heart pleased. She would feel no remorse when the bill came, hopefully topping somewhere around one-thousand dollars for the three of them. No remorse at all.
Author's Chapter Notes:
Chapter 9 done and ready for reading! It will probably be December again before an update, because Ayleen is back in school and will be VERRRRRRRRYYYYYYYY busy with full time classes and clinicals on top of finding time for homework...but we will have another chapter out. Just be patient and enjoy!
