“Shit.” AJ bit out as he stepped out from the warm, steamy bathroom into the coldness that coursed through the hallway.

Quickly he trotted into his room, hoping his room would be at least a little bit warmer, but it was just as cold. “This is bullshit.” he gritted out as he grabbed the sweatshirt he had borrowed from Nick earlier and slipped it over his slender frame.

Content at the slight warmth he was now encased in, he sat down on the edge of his bed and leaned back to grab his cell phone from off the bedside table. Sitting back up, he glanced down at the phone and saw that he had one missed call. He sighed and smiled upon seeing the name. Rochelle. Just as he was about to call her back, he heard a soft knock at his door.

“Come in.” he called out to the person that was on the other side of his door.

He glanced up from his phone when he heard his door finally open, finding Adrianna on the other side, peering in through the cracked door.

“Come on in.” AJ invited with a smile.

Adrianna smiled as she opened the door further and walked into the room. “Thank you.” she said as she closed the door behind her. “You look fresh and clean.” she commented as she leaned back against the closed door.

“The hot shower was nice let me tell you, it’s honestly the best thing to do in such cold weather. But anyway, how was your nap?”

Adrianna shrugged, “I couldn’t really sleep to tell you the truth… I just keep thinking back to…” she took a long pause, “what would’ve happened if you never found me.”

“Hey, don’t think about that.” AJ said in an sympathetic tone. “Do you wanna sit down and talk about it?”

Without saying another word, Adrianna pushed herself away from the door and made her way over towards AJ’s bed. AJ was taken aback when Adrianna sat down beside him on the foot of his bed and had situated herself a little too close. When he had offered her a seat, he honestly thought she would have sat in the chair across from his bed, but he shrugged it off.

“What would you do if you were in my shoes?” Adrianna asked as she picked at her fingers, not bothering to look up at him as she asked the question.

AJ shrugged, “Um… for one, I would tell him how I feel and how he makes me feel. Communication plays a huge role in relationships. I mean, when you’re in love with somebody, it’s seriously a two-way street. You shouldn’t ever be afraid to tell him how you feel or how he makes you feel at times. And of course, leaving right after an argument is never good, especially if you leave an argument on a sour note.”

“Yeah,” Adrianna scoffed, “my mother always told me that you should never leave or go to bed mad at a person… what if you never see that person ever again? And that asshole was close to losing me… if only he knew that.”

“Negative thoughts aside, I’m sure he knows what he did wrong and is sorry for it… I mean, you did say that he tried to tell you not to drive off to work in that car, knowing it gives problems, and offered to drive you to work. I think if he didn’t care, he wouldn’t have said anything.”

“Do you know how thankful I am that you found me?” Adrianna suddenly asked.

AJ was visibly taken aback by the sudden question, “Um… well, I would assume real thankful because you keep thanking me.” he replied with a uneasy chuckle.

“Let me show you how thankful I am.” and with that, Adrianna turned and threw her legs over AJ, straddling his lap. She quickly moved in for the kill, capturing his bottom lip.

AJ sat there in shock, frozen by what had just occurred. One minute, she was sitting next to him, seeking his advice, the next minute she was on top of him, claiming to show him how thankful she was of him finding her and saving her life. He remained rooted to where he sat for a good minute or so, feeling her begin to tug on his bottom lip with her teeth. But before he could say anything, she roughly forced him down on his bed, and her hands began to roam wildly across his chest.

“I am sooo thankful you found me Alex.” she said in a whisper, her lips hovering so close above his own. “I think, in a way, you were meant to find me… this was meant to be.”

Lost in the sudden sensation, AJ could vaguely feel her grasp his sweatshirt ever so tightly, as if determined to remove the offending material. Her lips now moved down to his neck, where she began to bathe the tender flesh with her tongue.

“Adrianna,” AJ tried to get out, still rendered speechless, “you have… a boyfriend.”

“And my boyfriend… obviously… doesn’t want me…” Adrianna responded between kisses. “But I know you know how I feel… and perhaps know what I need and how to give it to me… it’s no coincidence you found me. I strongly believe in fate. Just… let it go.” and with that, she worked on getting the sweatshirt off, leaving him only in his black wife beater and gray sweatpants.

AJ couldn’t deny it, he was lost in the sensation he was feeling at the moment. I mean, here he was, laying under a female, who straddled his waist and worked him up a frenzy. Her lips, her kiss, her touch… although he didn’t want it to happen, he was already too lost in the feeling and he wasn’t sure if he could stop it, he had to find a will, and a way.

A gasp tumbled from his lips; she now suckled on the prominent vein that ran across his neck and stood out painfully whenever he sung or screamed, one of his erogenous zones. The immediate heat that coursed through him caused his arms to flail out, and his eyes snapped open upon feeling his hand contact something hard. His cell phone. One missed call. Rochelle.

“Stop!” AJ exclaimed, flying up from the bed and gently urging Adrianna off of him.

Adrianna remained situated on his lap, “What’s wrong?” she asked breathlessly, leaning in to try and kiss him again.

AJ turned his head, “No, we… we can’t do this Adrianna.” he bucked up lightly to get Adrianna to remove herself from his lap.

Adrianna complied and got off of AJ, only to sit down next to him on the foot of the bed again. “Why can’t we? You seemed fine with what was going on a minute ago.”

“Because…” AJ took a deep breath in and sighed, hoping to ease his racing heart and heated arousal. “because you have a boyfriend, and I have a girlfriend. I mean, sure, I was enjoying what was going on a minute ago, what man wouldn’t, but the thing is what was happening is not right and I really don’t feel that way… towards you. I love my girlfriend and I’m sure you love your boyfriend.”

Adrianna reached out and lightly grasped AJ’s chin, turning his head so that he was now looking at her. “I do love my boyfriend… but what my boyfriend doesn’t know and what your girlfriend doesn’t know won’t hurt. C’mon, I know you want this, maybe more than I want it… just let it go baby… if only this one time.” she ended her sentence in a whisper, her lips dangerously close to his.

AJ immediately flew up from the bed, “No, and if you want to stay here and want us to help you, you better stop with this shit and start respecting my decisions. I was empathetic before, but with the way you’re acting, I will not hesitate to kick your ass back out there.”

Adrianna’s eyes widened in shock, “Why… why are you talking to me like that? You wouldn’t do that to me.”

“Then I suggest you stop with this bullshit and go back to your ro-” AJ was cut off at the sound of commotion going on downstairs. “What the hell?” his focus immediately drawn to something else, he made his way towards his closed door, intent on leaving his room and going downstairs to see what was going on.

He grasped the doorknob, but just as he turned it to open the door, he was thrown off guard at the feeling of something being smashed into the back of his head, instant pain gripping him. He staggered for a bit, trying to catch his bearings and register what had just happened. He turned around and found Adrianna standing behind him, with shards of glass littered around them.

“WHAT THE FUCK?!?” he screamed out, his hand reaching to the back of his head. When he brought his hand back in front of him, his palm was drenched with his own blood. “WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT FOR?!?”

Adrianna stood there, eyes wide. She had grabbed a decorative vase from off the dresser and smashed it across AJ’s head, her intentions were to knock him out.

AJ ripped his bedroom door open, “Stupid fucking bitch, get your shit and get the fuck outta here!” he bellowed as he quickly made his way downstairs.

He made his way into the living room, where he found his four brothers just sitting there; Kevin and Howie seated on the chairs while Nick and Brian sat on the couch. “Dude, Adrianna is fucking outta here. That fucking bitch just broke a goddamn vase over my fucking head!”

The four of them just stared at AJ, not saying a word. “Um, hello? Are you guys listening to me?” AJ asked in a louder voice, now getting angry at the fact that his friends were acting weird. “That bitch just knocked me in the fucking head and I’m fucking bleeding.”

Still, no words came from them. AJ finally took notice to the streak of blood that ran across Nick’s forehead though, as if he had wiped away the blood that seeped from an unseen wound. “What the fuck is going on?”

It was then that he also noticed that his friends were now looking at something behind him, and before he could turn around to see what they were looking at, he felt something cold and hard at the back of his head.

“Don’t move.”