Chapter Five

It was after two in the afternoon by the time Megan stumbled downstairs. Her mouth felt dry and cottony and her head was spinning. After the spork incident, the group had moved back out to the pool, minus Dana and Kevin. No naked swimming took place, just plenty of teasing and talking. They eventually went to bed around 5am.

“I need coffee,” she muttered, making her way very carefully towards the kitchen. When she reached the doorway, she groaned.

Kevin was sitting at the table, reading a newspaper and drinking from a mug. He looked up, saw her, and went back to his paper.

“Well good morning to you too, Mister Grumpy Pants,” she said, as she groped for the coffee pot. She found a mug and then poured herself some coffee in silence, ignoring the man at the table.

The rustle of the paper as Kevin turned pages was the only sound in the room. Megan seated herself at the little kitchen island and took a sip. The liquid was scorching hot and burned her tongue.

“Owww! Damn!” she cried, fanning her mouth.

“It’s hot,” Kevin said from his chair.

“Well, no shit, Sherlock!” Megan replied. “God, you are such a genious!”

Kevin closed the paper and faced her. “So did you have fun last night?”

“What the hell do you care?” she asked, dumping the coffee in the sink and opting for nice cold milk instead.

“Dana and I could hear AJ’s bed banging against the wall.”

“So you’re basically asking me if if we had fun doing the horizontal mambo?”

Kevin said nothing.

Megan rolled her eyes. “For your information, AJ and I had tons of fun...jumping on the bed.”

“Jumping on the bed?”

“Yes. We were trying to catch Skittles in our mouths while jumping on the bed. And I slept on the floor last night. Not that it’s really any of your business.” She began to rummage through the fridge for something to eat.

Just as Megan opened a moldy carton of yogurt and nearly tossed what little there was in her stomach, Kevin sighed.

“You’re right. What you do is none of my business and I’m sorry.” He rose from the table and came to stand next to her.

Megan threw the yogurt in the trash and washed her hands. Kevin handed her a towel.

“Thanks,” she said, surprised.

“Sure. Look, we obviously started off on the wrong foot, so can we try again? I mean, since I’m seeing Dana, I’ll probably be seeing you around as well.”

“And I’m going to be seeing AJ too.”

“You are?”

“Yeah. Is that okay with you?”

“Well, yeah. I guess. He just doesn’t really seem your type.”

“What would you know about my type? And AJ is exactly the sort of man I go for. He’s funny, daring, he likes to have a good time.” She lowered her voice and continued with, “Unlike a certain stick in the mud I know.”

“Are you referring to me?”

“I didn’t say a name.”

“But you meant me.”

Megan shrugged. “Obviously you think so.”

Kevin threw his arms in the air, thoroughly exasperated. “I don’t know why I bother! It’s crystal clear that you think I’m a jerk-”

“You said it, I didn’t.”

“-so I should just give up!” Kevin finished. He took a deep breath. “I’ll just do my best to stay out of your way, if you do the same for me.”

Megan couldn’t help but grin. “That’s the smartest thing I’ve heard you say!” she told him happily. Then she grabbed her glass of milk and ran for the stairs.

AJ was asleep, sprawled out on his bed, face down with his head buried under the pillows when Megan burst in, spewing words like a volcano just erupting.

“God, I can’t stand that man! He’s so arrogant and full of himself! Why is he such an ass?!”

“Hmm? Ass? Who? Where?” AJ exclaimed, instantly awake.

Megan laughed and flopped down on the bed beside him. “Milk?” she offered.

AJ wrinkled his nose and moved away. “Yech! I didn’t even know I had milk!”

Megan glanced at it, remembering the long gulp she’d had only seconds ago. “Maybe I’ll just set this aside for now.”

“So whose ass are we talking about?” AJ asked, wrapping his arms around her waist.

“That big dumb farm boy’s downstairs.”

“You fought with him again?”

“It’s not my fault! He’s got a serious attitude problem.”

“You know, Kevin’s usually the one that everyone loves. I’m the one they run away from.”

“Why? I like you way better than him. He actually asked me if the sex was good.”

AJ frowned. “That doesn’t sound like something he’d say.”

“Well he did.”

“I’ll talk to him about it.”

“No! Don’t do that, then he’ll just think I’m a whining brat.”

“Oh, okay. Enough about Kevin! What do you want to do today?”