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Just a quick thanks to Anastacia and Anita for reviewing chapter 9!

Chapter Ten

Alaura’s rolled over on to her side, still half-way asleep, snuggling in closer to A.J’s side. She wrapped one arm over his body, around him, sighing in content. She was so comfortable and happy. Slowly, her eyes fluttered open, her eyes focusing on the back of somebody she definitely didn’t recognize. Alaura jumped, shrieking out, startled and quickly sitting up and scooting over a little. Her head whipped around the room, taking in the unfamiliar surroundings. She glanced down, noticing that her bare chest was exposed. With eyes widening, Alaura quickly realized that she was completely nude, and so was A.J.

“Oh god,” she cried out in a shrill whisper. A.J. didn’t even flinch in his sleep at the sound of her high pitched voice.

She jumped out of bed, grabbing her clothes off of the floor and fleeing into the bathroom to redress. What had gone on the night before? She tried to recall anything that could have happened, but nothing came to her. As she pulled her jeans over her hips and slipped her shirt over her head, a slight memory came back to her, but none of it really made sense. Alaura sat down on the edge of the bathtub, putting her head in her hands. This was not what she needed to happen. She had to get out of there, and quickly. Taking in a few deep breaths to compose herself she stood up again. Opening the door to the bathroom, Alaura exited, quietly tip-toeing over to her bags. She decided that she was going to try to sneak out before A.J. woke up. Bending down, she picked up her two suitcases, and stood back up, spinning around. She started to make her way around the bed again, but stopped short when she saw two chocolate eyes staring at her. There was question in his eyes letting her know that he too was confused as to the events that had happened the night before.

“Hi,” she said quietly.

“Hi,” A.J. said back

The tension in the room was uncomfortable and unbearable. Alaura’s eyes were moving back and forth, up and down, in every direction but right at A.J. She didn’t want to feel weird around him. They were good friends. She hoped that whatever went on the night before didn’t ruin that.

“What happened last night?” A.J. asked, speaking aloud the question that was pounding at her brain.

Alaura shrugged, biting her lip. She still was unable to make eye contact with him. It didn’t feel right.

“Did we do…” his voice trailed off for a moment, he looked down, hesitating, then looked back up again, “Um, did we do…what I’m thinking we did?”

Alaura did nothing for a long moment. She knew what the answer was, even if she didn’t want to believe it. Slowly, Alaura nodded, shame crossing her face. She had cheated on Devin, her boyfriend, because of one silly argument between them. She had lost her virginity to something she knew would only be a one-night fling with a close friend. She loved Devin and refused to give up on what they had. She just hoped that she didn’t hurt A.J. in the process.

“Wow,” A.J. replied, scratching his head. He looked at her, apology in his brown eyes, “I’m so sorry.” He said aloud, “I’m sorry for violating you…for anything.”

“I’m the one who should be sorry,” Alaura said softly, “I started it…I…it was all me. I knew it was wrong, yet I didn’t stop.”

A.J. tried to argue by saying that he should have tried harder to prevent it, because he had known that she was in a relationship. Alaura refused to allow him to take the blame though.

“How about we call it even and say that we both could have tried harder to stop it,” she finally stated.

A.J. nodded in agreement. It sounded fair enough. He still felt guilty for letting things go as far as they had. They’d gone just about as far as things could go. Sure, he’d enjoyed it, but he had known the girl for almost five years now. They were like best friends, sister and brother. Nothing about falling for or having any sort of romantic type relationships like this had ever been written anywhere in the agenda. It had never crossed his mind and he knew he could never think of any of the girls as anything but friends. In a way, A.J. felt like he’d used her. At the same time, Alaura was thinking in guilt that she had used him.

“So, what are we going to do now?” A.J. asked her

“Act like it never happened,” Alaura said immediately, without the slightest hesitation. Her eyes were wide, and she met his gaze for the first time. They were pleading with him to go along with it, “And not ever let Devin know. He can’t.”

“Yeah, I suppose that would be best,” A.J. agreed.

Alaura smiled in appriciation that he’d agreed without an argument. Now came the hard part, which was getting Devin to talk to her and trying to convince him that nothing went on between her and A.J., even though that was a lie.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Adonica smiled at Rich as the white stretch limo pulled up to the exquisite restaurant that he’d insisted on taking her to. For some reason, Adonica was feeling nervous. It had been so long since they’d actually been out on a real date. There never seemed to be time enough for it. She looked down at what she was wearing. She’d chosen long, navy spaghetti strap dress, which hugged her figure just right. There was a slit going up the side which ended just inches below her hip to show of a little leg. She found it to be sexy yet sophisticated. Adonica wondered if she was over-dressed though, but figured that she was fine since Rich was wearing a full suit.

“Ready to go in?” he asked her.

“Yep,” Adonica answered softly.

The limo driver got out to open the door for the couple. Rich crawled out first, then took Adonica’s hand, pulling her gently out of the vehicle. With his arm wrapped around her waist, Rich led her gently into the restaurant, which was called Brio . Adonica stared in awe, taken aback by the beauty of the place. It was dimly lit by the soft glow of an occasional chandelier. There were flower arrangements placed neatly around the lobby to décor. The sounds of a light, classical music was playing in the background. Other than that, there wasn’t much other noise. Temperature wise, it was perfect. It was warm and cozy. It felt welcoming, like they were welcoming them to stay for hours.

“Wow,” she breathed, eyes wide. She decided that she definitely was dressed perfectly for the place.

Rich chuckled, “You act like you’ve never been in a place like this before.”

“It’s been awhile,” she said, “And has never been anything quite like…like this. This is…”

Adonica was at loss for words, not knowing how to describe the place. It was unique, gorgeous, nice. None of those words even did it justice though and Adonica didn’t want to offend Rich by his good judgement by using mediocre descriptions.

Rich smiled, knowing that he had done well. His pride was growing. He couldn’t wait for the end of the evening though. He anticipated it, but that was still a good two hours away.

A hostess, who had chin length black hair and weaing hardly any makeup, walked up to Rich and Adonica, letting them know that she had acknowledged their precense.

“We have reservations for Cronin,” Rich told her, amazing Adonica at how professional he seemed with his politeness.

The hostess looked down at what Adonica was guessing was a list of names. She highlighted something and grabbed two menus.

“Follow me,” she said in a slightly snobby tone, sticking her nose in the air as she led them to their table.

Rich and Adonica looked at one another before following the woman. Rich was trying not to snort in disgust over her superior attitude. The dining portion of the restaurant was just as exquisite as the lobby. It too, was dimly lit, only this time, by the shimmer of a single white candle on each table, centered to perfection. She placed the menu’s down onto a small table for two along a far wall and left without a word, leaving the two by themselves.

“Think she’s having a bad day?” Rich asked.

Adonica giggled softly. She didn’t think…she knew. Nobody could act that sour unless they were. The only other alternative was that it came with the job, which had gone to the woman’s head by working in such a place. Rich pulled Adonica’s chair out for her, making sure that he did everything just right, acting like a gentleman instead of a jerk. He wanted to impress her, even though he knew that he already did. Adonica sat down and Rich took a seat across from her. He looked into her eyes, smiling. The light from the candle was illuminating her face, causing shadows to cast across it.

“You look gorgeous tonight,” he told her quietly

“I was just thinking the same thing about you,” Adonica nearly whispered, as if she were afraid that if she raised her voice, the wine classes on the table would shatter before her, “So, why did you decide to bring me here tonight?” Adonica asked, wondering if he had specific motives for treating her out.

Rich shrugged, “Well, I just wanted to do this,” he told her simply, “We haven’t really done anything romantic lately. I felt we were due to do something like this.” Worry flashed across his face then, “Is it too much?”

Adonica laughed, “No, no, I love it,” she assured him, “Just wondering what I did to deserve this.”

“Just being my girlfriend,” he told her.

Adonica smiled, eating up the compliments. She knew that if Dulcia were there, she would have rolled her eyes and called them lines cheesy. Adonica loved it though. They made her feel special. Minutes later, a waiter came up to them, taking their drink orders. Rich was happy that the evening was finally beginning. It would bring them that much closer to the ending. Feeling slightly nervous, he hoped that things went as well as he was planning.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Alaura slid the room key into the door with hands shaking in fury. She had tried all day to get into the room, even going out for walks and window shopping for a couple of hours at a time, but Devin will wouldn’t allow her back in. She’d finally gone down to the front desk explaining that she’d lost her key and needed a new one. After about an hour of arguing with them, calling up to the room and getting no answer and finally convincing them that it really was her room, and she wasn’t some sort of stalker fan, they gave her a spare. Alaura couldn’t believe that she was going through all of this trouble for Devin. Dulcia had told Alaura that she should ignore him and make him crawl back to her begging for forgiveness on his knees. Alaura wasn’t like Dulcia though. She was more the type to demand an explanation and scream to get her point across.

Throwing the door open, she went in, letting it slam behind her. She walked in to the room and saw Devin lying on his stomach watching TV. He glanced over at her, then sat up, anger in his eyes.

“What are you doing here?” he asked coldly, “How the hell did you get in?”
“I love you too, sweetie,” Alaura sarcastically remarked.

“Answer my question,” Devin demanded, “How did you get in?”

Alaura rolled her eyes. Yes, she still couldn’t believe that she’d gone through all of the trouble to see Devin just to get yelled at. Her determination and persistence surprised her sometimes.

“I got an extra key from the front desk,” she told him, “And went through hell to do so. Why didn’t you answer the phone.”

“Because I knew that it would be you.” He answered, looking ahead of him now instead of at her, “But appearantly, you haven’t gotten the hint.”

Alaura growled in disgust. Suddenly, what had happened the night before, she wasn’t regretting anymore. If anything, she was glad that she’d done it.

“That’s really mature,” she said, walking over to the second bed in the room and sitting down, making herself comfortable.

Devin grunted, getting up. If she was going to stay, then he decided that he was going to leave. Alaura rolled her eyes. Were guys always this immature?

“Devin,” Alaura called after him, “What did I do to you? Please, explain this to me, because as far as I know, I did nothing.”

Devin stopped, and she could see that he had stiffened. He took in a few deep, ragged breaths to control his rage before turning around.

“You want to know what you did?” he asked, laughing bitterly, “I’ll tell you what you did. You were flirting your ass of with A.J. at the park yesterday.”

Alaura shook her head, forcing out a laugh. This was unbelievable. How did he get that she was flirting? Was he really that insecure and jealous?

“Where on earth did you get that idea?” she asked him.

Devin walked back to the bed, sitting down, glaring at the girl who was supposedly his girlfriend.

“Let’s see here,” he began, “The way you hugged him. It was…” he couldn’t finish because Alaura cut him off.

“Devin,” she said, “You are acting like a complete and total immature ass hole. One of my best friends almost died yesterday. Of course I am going to hug him when I find out he is all right.”

Devin snorted again. Alaura couldn’t believe that he was acting like this. Then again, he wouldn’t understand. He didn’t know the Boys like she did.

“It didn’t help when you went to A.J’s room though to spend the night.” He told her, “You couldn’t have gone anywhere else, could you?”

“A.J. is the only one who offered to help,” she told him, “If anyone else had, then yes, I would have gone with them…even if it were a complete stranger. Hell, I pounded on our door long enough. You wouldn’t come.”

Devin looked skeptical. She could tell that he didn’t believe her, and that was fine. She didn’t really care at the moment. She was thinking a few select words that she wouldn’t mind spouting off at him, but held her tongue. That would only make matters worse, if that were even possible.

“What happened between you last night,” he ordered of her, “Tell me, what did you do with him?”

Alaura sucked in her breath. She knew that this would come. She knew that he would ask, and she would have to come up with an excuse to tell him.

“Nothing,” she told Devin with a straight face, looking him in the eye. She figured that if she made eye contact, he would be more likely to believe her, “Absolutely nothing. He let me in, we talked, we went to sleep…in different beds.”

Devin eyed her up and down as if she were an insect under his microscopic vision. She could tell that his eyes were softening, but his tone wasn’t.

“Nothing?” he asked, “You aren’t lying, are you?”

“No,” Alaura shook her head, “Dev, I love you. I want to be with you.”

She held her arms out to him, asking for a hug. Devin hesitated, before walking over to her and hugging her. She breathed a sigh of relief.

“I love you too,” Devin said, “I’m sorry for doubting you and acting like a jealous freak.”

“Just don’t do it again,” Alaura said, and she could tell that he was laughing slightly.

“So everything is okay now?” she asked for reassurance that she had won her boyfriend back onto her good side.

“Yes, everything is okay,” he informed her.

She smiled. She’d convinced him that nothing had gone on. Phase one of hiding her secret was done. Now, she hoped that she could carry though with it as well as A.J. If not, she didn’t even want to think of what would happen.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Rich smiled at Adonica from across the table as he took a sip of his red wine. The end of the night was getting closer. Their waiter walked by, picking up their plates and glasses, clearing the table.

“Could I interest you in dessert this evening?” he asked.

Rich looked at Adonica, leaving the decision up to her. She hated being the decision maker, but, she was stuffed.

She turned to the waiter and said, “None for me, thanks,”

“Nah, we’re good,” Rich told him, and he walked away, leaving them in their own little paradise once more.

“Thanks for bringing me here,” Adonica told Rich softly, looking around once more at the elaborate surroundings, then looked at him, “I can’t believe it’s time to leave for Europe in two days.”

Rich shook his head, as if he couldn’t believe it either, “I know. We got a three day break before it’s time to take off.”

She could see Rich chuckle a little, and she tilted her head to the right slightly, looking at him in curiosity. He must have caught her look, because he went into an explanation.

“Just thinking about how well Kevin is doing on stage with a broken arm,” he told her, which was partly true. “I wonder how long before the cast comes off though.”

“Yeah, and it shouldn’t be too much longer. Three or four weeks, tops, I’m guessing.” Adonica agreed, then said without thinking, “He’s amazing.”

“Excuse me?” Rich asked.

Adonica smiled, “I said he is amazing,” A flash of jealousy crossed her boyfriends face, “Not as amazing as you though.” The look turned to one of pure content.

The two sat in silence for a couple of minutes. Adonica blushed self consciously because Rich kept looking at her. She wondered what it was all about. He seemed almost like he was nervous to be in her presence by the way he kept fidgeting too.

“Is everything okay?” Adonica asked him, “You’re not going to break up with me tonight, are you? Is this like, a pity date?”

Suddenly, she was extremely nervous and paranoid. Negative thoughts were running rampant through her head. Rich’s laughter wasn’t helping much.

“No,” he said in between laughs, “It’s nothing like that. Nothing at all. I’m fine. I promise.”

Adonica didn’t look too sure, so Rich decided that it was time to do what his intentions of the night were. He couldn’t stand the tortured look on her face and knowing that she was now thinking the worst, despite his comforts. He knew his girlfriend all too well. Taking a deep breath, Rich stood up, knowing that he was ready.

“Ladies and gentlemen,” he announced, having the other couples and families in the room turning their heads to look at him, “I have an announcement to make.”

He looked at Adonica and winked. She looked at him, her eyes as wide as saucers, and he could tell that she was trembling slightly.

“My name is Rich. This lovely woman I am here with tonight is my girlfriend, Adonica. We’ve been together for shortly under five months. I love her more than anything. She is my everything.”

There were a few “aww’s” and whispers about it being the sweetest thing any of them had ever heard. He looked down at Adonica, and her mouth had dropped. He couldn’t tell if she knew what was about to happen or not. Either way, he wasn’t done yet with his speech. Taking a deep breath, Rich continued.

“I don’t know what I would do if anything happened to her, or if she wasn’t in my life anymore.”

Rich took Adonica’s hand in his, and bent down onto one knee, taking a small box out of his pants pocket, and opening it, holding it out to Adonica with the other hand. Her eyes widened as she drew back in astonishment.

“Adonica, Baby. I love you more than words can say. Having you in my life makes me the happiest and luckiest man alive. Will you marry me?”