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AJ

AJ knew he should be supportive; Howie had called him and asked if they could get together.  He’d seen Anna again that morning and things had not gone well.   Now he was going on and on how he regretted his decision to get a timer, how he should have listened to her the first time she objected and just let it be. 

Howie was his friend but he couldn’t help but look around the room, looking for something, anything more interesting than the conversation at this table.

“Howie, listen,” AJ said, unable to take the conversation any longer.  “She left, you both have timers, and you both know when you will meet your one. Don’t you only have a little over a month left?  I say you live up being single as long as you can.” 

He watched his friend shake his head. “Maybe this wasn’t a good idea to go out with you.  You are still mooning over Karin being out with another guy, which, by the way, wasn’t even a date.  Grow some balls and call the girl.”

AJ sighed as Howie stood and left the bar.  His friend was right; he’d been completely off his game since his last encounter with Karin.   He’d try to just forget about her, there were plenty of other willing girls out there that would spend their final night of freedom with him.  He didn’t need someone who would get hot and heavy one minute, then push him away the next.   

Something had changed though; he seemed to be pickier about the girls he brought home.  The few that he had gone back to their place or brought back to his always reminded him of Karin. 

He took out his phone and looked at his list of numbers, scrolling through the names. He could call Brian; he might give the same advice as Howie though.  Plus, something in him had changed and he and that girl Stephanie seemed to be getting closer.   AJ hated to interrupt their evening, if they were together, and he bet they would be, Brian needed to be with someone now.

He scrolled past Karin’s number and settled on Nick’s.   “Hey Nick,” He shouted into the phone when he answered.  It seemed to be really loud in this bar now.

“AJ, man, it’s late. Why are you calling?”  Nick responded.

 “What?  I can’t hear you.”  Was Nick whispering? 

“I’m trying to be polite and let my friend sleep.”   Nick sounded irritated as he spoke to AJ.

“You have a girl over?”  AJ chuckled; perhaps the boy was finally taking his advice.  “Did she time out?”

“Jay, listen.  We didn’t sleep together, she’s in the spare room sleeping.  She had a run in with her ex-boyfriend tonight and needed a place to crash that didn’t remind her of him.  I let her stay here, that’s it.  She’s a friend.”  Nick asserted.

AJ heard the words but didn’t believe them.  This was Nick Carter he was talking to.  Before timers were even being issued he had women lining up to be with him and no woman would sleep under his room that wasn’t sharing a bed with him.    “Okay, man, if you say so,”  AJ laughed.

“I’m gonna go, I want to get to sleep too,” Nick said.

“Yes, sleep, got it.” AJ continued to laugh.  It wasn’t until he heard utter silence on the other end that he realized Nick had hung up on him.  “Shit!”

He started flipping his phone through his hands, finally taking out a cigarette and sticking it in his mouth. Due to anti-smoking laws he would have to wait to get a dose of nicotine but he felt a little relief just having the cigarette hanging off his lip. 

He watched as a young girl got her drinks from the bar, her eyes catching his.  She smiled at him, and was he imagining it, or did she lick her lips? She had several drinks that she was probably taking back to friends, he decided he would be a gentleman now,  it would surely pay off in the end.  He needed a good screw to forget about the evening and Karin.

“Hello,” He said after sauntering over to her.  “Can I help you carry those?” 

The red-headed girl nodded, her cheeks bright red.  She continued to smile at him as she led him back to the table she was sharing with several other friends.  

“You having a party?” He asked the girl.  

He could see her cheeks turn a brighter shade of red, if that was possible. She nodded again.  Would she ever speak to him, if not she would turn out to be one quiet fuck. 

“My friend is leaving the country for work.”  The girl answered when as they were a few feet away. 

So she could speak.  AJ smiled at her, he didn’t really want to hang out with a large group of people he didn’t know, but he was sure it wouldn’t be hard to convince this girl to go to a quiet table somewhere after a short while.

When they reached the table, AJ stopped a few feet away, hesitating to move forward.  He could see her, Karin sitting between a bunch of friends a few multi-colored bags being shoved in front of her.  She was the friend going away?

“Lori, about time you brought those drinks back,” Karin’s voice carried over everything else in the room.  AJ only heard her. 

He had to strain to hear what Lori was saying back to her friend but it sounded like, “I found someone you should have invited.  You can hate me all you want,” 

Karin looked up and around after her friend spoke, her eyes settling on AJ.   Instead of the look of disgust he thought he might get, she hopped from her stool and walked over to him, taking the drinks from his hands.  “Thanks for helping.  Lori said she brought you over here.”

So the red-head had an ulterior motive when she caught his eye.  He chuckled, it wasn’t like he didn’t have one when he went over to her.  

“C’mon over,” Karin said walking back to the table.  Once all the drinks were down, she enveloped AJ in hug.  The tension and annoyance he’d felt earlier in the evening melted away.

He found an empty spot and took a seat.  He watched as Karin and her friends continued their going away party for her.  He stayed fairly quiet, only speaking to Lori when she appeared to get enough guts to speak to him.   After awhile everyone but Lori, Karin and himself cleared out.  

Lori looked between AJ and Karin.  “I am going to take these bags to the car.  Don’t take too long, I hate to sound selfish but I work tomorrow and I have to get my kid up early to get him to school first. “

AJ watched as Lori exited the bar, then turned to face Karin, her eyes on him.   “So when do you leave? And where are you going?”

She smiled, “That’s right you didn’t get to hear the news.  I got that job I wanted with the magazine.  It will have me in London for two years at least.”

“Wow, congrats!” He was genuinely happy for Karin, even if his heart had just dropped into his feet.  “Listen, Karin, I’m sorry about that day.  I shouldn’t have flown off the handle.  I was completely in the wrong and I know that now.” 

He could feel her hand on his arm.  “I could have put aside my pride and called you too.   I’ve never handled jealously well, whether it was coming from me or directed at me.  I had prepared myself when I agreed to start hanging out with you.  I knew you were, are, a player.   I honestly thought I was a friend with occasional, minor benefits.”  She laughed and he lightened up, laughing along with her.

“You are one of my best friends, Karin.” He stepped closer to her, wrapping his arms around her waist.  He leaned in and placed his lips on hers, he could feel her lean into him returning his kiss. 

Karin eventually pulled away, “AJ, I can’t just be friends with you anymore.  I realized it that day when that girl came in behind you.  I couldn’t stand that you were jealous and that I felt the same way.   But I also can’t stand that after I was gone, you went back to picking up girls.  I can’t give my heart to someone who could get bored and find someone new, someone who wants a last minute fling before they meet their one.” 

“Karin, I was never bored with you,”

She shook her head, “But when I wasn’t around you got bored.  I can’t be around you all the time to keep you interested in me.”  She leaned in and kissed him on the cheek.   “I wish you the best and hope you are happy when you finally find your one.”  She hugged him one last time and turned, leaving the bar, leaving him standing there watching her go.

It was at that exact moment, AJ realized, he didn’t want to be with anyone else but her, ever again and she was leaving him.