"So what's up?" A.J. asked as he and Kevin walked out of the restaurant.

"It's Katie," Kevin said.

"What about her?" A.J. wondered casually.

"It's...I don't know, exactly. She just...well, is it me, or does she act differently now?" Kevin asked.

"Now compared to when?"

"I don't know. Two years ago?" Kevin offered.

A.J. smirked. "Of course she acts differently now compared to two years ago. All of us do. People grow and change over time, Kev," A.J. reminded him.

Kevin shook his head. "But she acts really differently."

"How? Give me an example."

"What are you, an English teacher? Okay, she used to always return my calls. Now she hardly ever returns them. And when she does return them, she'll only talk with me for a minute or two. She never asks me for advice or tells me anything any more, or..." He trailed off, pain evident in his green eyes.

"Look, Kev, maybe she's just independent enough now to figure things out on her own," A.J. suggested as they reached his car.

"Maybe. But I have another example."

"And what's that?"

"The way she acts around you," Kevin said.

A.J. immediately stiffened. "What?" he asked calmly, danger in his voice.

"A.J., the two of you could never keep your hands off each other up until about six months ago," Kevin pointed. "Now you look like you're afraid to even touch each other."

"Maybe we've just moved to a higher level, Kev! Did you ever think of that?!" A.J. yelled, suddenly furious. "Maybe have more than just some hot sex to our relationship! Maybe we don't need to always be all over each other to be happy!"

"Whoa, whoa! Cool it, man," Kevin said loudly. "I didn't mean anything! It was just something I noticed."

"Well, you're wrong about Katie, Kev. There's nothing the matter with her in the least. She's fine. In fact, she's better than fine. She's wonderful! Okay?" he snapped.

"Okay..."

"Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to go and pick her up from her audition," he said coolly, yanking out his keys and unlocking the car door.

"All right. See you later man," Kevin said as he turned and walked back towards the restaurant.

A.J. climbed into the car, slammed the door shut, and pulled on his seat belt. "Buh bye now," he muttered under his breath as he started the car and backed out of the parking space.


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