Annalise awoke six hours later...alone, still naked and tangled in the sheets. She stretched and sat up slowly, feeling the long forgotten ache in her thigh muscles. In fact, evey muscle in her body was sore, but she didn't mind...it would serve as a pleasant reminder. She stood up stiffly, holding the sheet around her as she walked across the bedroom. There was no sign of AJ, save a note carelessly tossed onto the counter top in the bathroom. "Hey girl," it read, "check out time is at six. Leave the key at the front desk...AJ."
Insensitive, yes...but what did she expect? Nothing...she expected nothing. And that was the glorious part. There were no limitations, no expectations. She felt no regret, just a sense of tremendous satisfaction. She had certainly gotten what she came for, and then some. She giggled to herself as she pulled her clothes on, wondering what her co-workers would think if they knew what their "Ice Princess" had spent most of the morning doing. She brushed her hair, wishing that she had time for a shower. It was 5:40. She wouldn't tell them...it would be her secret. But what a secret! She had never felt so carefree...so irresponsible. She was still giggling when she left the room...AJ probably didn't even remember her name.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Annalise, Annalise, Annalise. It rattled around in his head like an oath. AJ didn't know why he had agreed to her "terms". Casual sex had definitely not been on his agenda. He liked her eyes, her smile...flirting a little had only seemed natural. She intrigued him. Inviting her up to his room had simply been his way of spending more time with her...time to talk to her, to get to know her better. He realized that it would be easy for her to misinterpret his intentions...and she had. He had been more than ready to tell her that he didn't want to sleep with her, well...at least not right away, but then she had blurted out lines that sounded like they had come straight out of a movie, leaving him confused and dumbfounded.
He just went with it, ignoring the empty feeling in his gut the whole time. She hadn't even let him kiss her...not once. Oh sure, it was pleasurable enough...incredible in fact...but he couldn't help feeling that something was missing. He felt used in some way, but he wasn't sure if he had the right to feel that way. If he was honest with himself, he felt like a whore. He had never done anything like that in his life, and now he remembered why he had never wanted to. The hollow feeling just wouldn't leave him. He felt bad for just leaving her there, but she wanted it that way. She looked too peaceful laying there, asleep. He had called the front desk and gotten the time extended on the room. He didn't have the heart to wake her...either that or he was afraid to face her. As for the note...he hadn't known what to say. The demons of regret had followed him out of the hotel and onto the tour bus to where he now sat, staring out the window at the passing trees. He didn't realize that he had been sitting that way for three hours. He didn't notice when Howie sat down across from him, nor did he notice him snapping his fingers in front of his face.
"AJ!"
The agitated shout brought him out of his morose thoughts. He glanced up at his best friend. "You okay man?," Howie asked.
"Fine," AJ replied, his gaze turning back to the window.
"It's that girl isn't it?," Howie asked, "The one from the party?" AJ neither confirmed nor denied it.
"What happened?"
AJ looked at Howie again, met his eyes evenly and replied, "Nothing...nothing happened...forget it."
Howie wasn't buying it, "You were sitting in that exact same spot two hours ago when I went to take a nap. Something happened."
AJ didn't say anything. Howie sighed in frustration, his fingers tapped restlessly against his arm. It was obvious that AJ wasn't going to say anything, so instead of trying to pry it out of him, he settled back into the seat.
"You know the other one at the bar? I got her work number. And you know...they work together."
AJ looked interested for the first time since the conversation began. Howie grinned and handed him a business card,
then wordlessly, he stood up and retreated to the back of the bus. AJ stared thoughtfully at the card in his hand,
lowering his dark shades to get a better look. "Annalise Reso," he whispered, tracing his thumb over her name. Even her
name held an aura of mystery. She was a mystery he wondered if he would ever get to solve. He only knew that he
wanted to try.
Links to other sites on the Web
© 1997 crunkgrl62382@yahoo.com
Get your own Free Home Page