Amanda opened the door to her apartment and slammed it shut when she got in. She went to her room, collapsed on her bed and sobbed.
"That jerk!"
Amanda cried into her pillow for a moment. She sat up and saw the bear he had given her sitting beside her on the other pillow. Amanda angrily picked it up and threw it across the room.
"How could I have been so stupid and fallen for such an asshole!"
She continue to cry until she fell asleep. She was awoken by the sound of the doorbell. Amanda sat up and rubbed the sleep from her eyes. She slowly got up and looked through the peep hole and saw Nikki and Howie waiting for her to answer. Amanda opened the door to a small crack.
"Amanda, can we come in?" Nikki asked.
"Is A.J. with you?"
"No," said Howie.
"Okay, then you can come in." Amanda opened the door for them.
After she shut the door, she sat on the couch and the tears began to flow again. Nikki sat next to her and hugged her tight.
"Aw, hon, please don't cry. You're making me sad," Nikki said.
"I can't believe he lied to me," Amanda said in between sniffles.
Howie went to the bathroom and came back with some tissues. He handed them to Amanda and sat on the other side of her.
"A.J. didn't lie to you," he said.
"What are you talking about?"
"He was telling you the truth, Amanda. We were only at the studio for about an hour. So we all decided to go see a movie."
"But, why didn't he call me?"
"He did call. You weren't home. Check your answering machine."
Amanda slowly got up and walked over to her answering machine. The little red light was blinking. She hesitated for a moment then finally pushed the play button. It rewound and then played the single message.
"Hey, baby, said A.J.'s voice. "Well, I'm at the studio. We finished early and the guys wanted to go see a movie. I just called to see if you wanted to come with us, but you're not home. The movie will be over at around ten or so. I'll be home around eleven so give me a call. Love ya!"
Amanda stared down at the answering machine and started crying. Nikki came up to her and hugged her.
"Oh, my god I am such a jerk!"
"No, it was all just one big misunderstanding. Just call him up and apologize. A.J. loves you, he'll understand."
Amanda picked up the phone and dialed A.J.'s number. She waited a few minutes and got his answering machine. "A.J., it's me," Amanda said with her voice quivering. "If you're there pick up the phone. I wanna talk to you. Well, I'll be home all night so call me when you want to talk." Amanda hung up the phone and helplessly looked at Nikki. "What am I going to do?"
Nikki hugged her again. "Don't worry everything will be just fine." Nikki turned to Howie. "Do you think you go talk to A.J.?"
"Yeah, I'll head over to his place right now."
Amanda gave Howie a hug. "Thank you so much."
"No problem. I'd hate to see you two be apart when it can be fixed." He kissed Amanda on the cheek. "I'll be back later."
"Bye," said Amanda.
Amanda sat down on the couch next to Nikki. Nikki smiled and patted Amanda on the leg.
"One of these days you're going to learn how to not jump to conclusions."
"Shut up," she muttered.
"Come on, let’s eat some ice cream. I know you got some in your freezer," Nikki said, tugging on Amanda's arm.
Amanda laughed and stood up. "Okay, we'll eat some ice cream. There's five different flavors."
"Good, god, girl!"
"Hey, a woman needs her sweets."
"Indeed, she does," Nikki agreed.
Amanda pulled out two bowls and spoons while Nikki got out her choice of ice cream. The two of them sat at the kitchen table. They were silent for a moment then Amanda spoke.
"Ever wonder what our lives would be like without the boys?"
Nikki gulped down her ice cream. "No, not really," she laughed. "I've known Howie too long."
"True, but you ever think about how things would be different? Even if they were just regular guys."
"They are regular guys," Nikki joked as she took another bite. "Ow! Brain freeze!"
Amanda laughed and shook her head. "I give up. We can't have serious conversations. You're too big of a kid."
"Life is too short to be a grump."
"Shut up and eat your ice cream," Amanda said with a snort.
Nikki grinned and winked at Amanda. The two of them laughed and went back to the freezer for seconds.
