Moment of Weakness



Michelle woke up to an empty bed. Nick’s side was fairly made, considering that she was still under the sheets. She sat up in the bed and looked around the room. There was no sign of him. His things were gone, and the room was warm with steam and the air smelled of his cologne. He had already packed up, showered, and gone.

She climbed out of the bed and saw a note on the desk. She picked it up and began to read on her way to the bathroom.

“Dear Shell,

Sorry I had to go, but things got awkward last night, and I don’t want to ruin things. I want us to stay friends, and I want AJ and I to stay brothers. So, I figured if I stayed, things might get complicated. I hope you aren’t mad at me for leaving without saying goodbye. But hey, we’ll talk later.

Love, Nick

P.S. – The room is paid for.”

Michelle put the note down and felt awful for what had gone on the night before. She also had to acknowledge the fact that there was an inkling of chemistry between Nick and herself. She then stared at herself in the bathroom mirror and rubbed her face with her hands, helping herself to wake up a little more.

“Ah, what is it about you Carter?” She whispered. And at that very moment Nick was at the airport sitting and waiting, sipping a cup of coffee that he got from the hotel before he left.

He reached into his duffel bag and took out his CD player and headphones. It wasn’t too long before he finished sifting through his many CD’s and decided on System Of A Down.

He had been listening to that CD, repeating several songs, for all of 45 minutes… that is when Michelle arrived. And just in time to board the plane. She had dropped off her luggage, except for her carry-on bag, and proceeded to board the plane. Nick, on the other hand, was so into his music that he didn’t notice the time until 5 minutes after Michelle got on. He got up went through the necessary steps to boarding the plane, just as Michelle had moments before him.

Though both were flying coach (Nick was, ironically, one to spend the least of his millions as he possibly could on things like plane trips), however, neither noticed the other onboard. And the flight continued this way the entire trip.

~*~*~*~*~*~


Michelle went through her bag looking for her cutest bikini. Her friends were all waiting for her out on the beach, which was just a few steps away from their ground-floor hotel room. She slipped it on and brought her bag along with her, knowing she could lotion up when she joined her friends.

Nick sat on the porch of his beach house, not too far away, and looked over the tourists and swimmers, sunbathers and sandcastle builders… but only one girl stood out. He couldn’t make out her face, but her shape and form seemed so very familiar. He could have sworn he knew her from somewhere. Unfortunately, his eyes were strong enough to put her into clear focus.

Hours had passed, and the girls were tired of sitting in the sun. They went back to the room and changed into their oversized sleeping shirts and jerseys. Michelle just happened to be wearing AJ’s, and even though it had been washed, she could still smell the slight scent of his CK One.

Larissa, one of Michelle’s friends, had rented movies for the night and they figured they could settle in and watch them, and goof around as always.

The credits were just rolling when the phone rang. Dianna, another friend, answered and almost immediately passed the phone to her Michelle. Michelle reached up from the floor and took it, bringing it to her ear.

“Hello?” She asked.

“Hey baby.” AJ responded. Michelle smiled and a cute little grin grew on her face.

“Hey, what are you up to?” She asked. AJ just sighed.

“I’m actually at McDonald’s. I’m hungry as all hell. You?”

“Watching movies with the girls. Thinking of you. The usual.” As soon as Michelle had answered his question, he noticed someone he hadn’t seen in quite a long time.

“Oh, well I gotta get going. So I’ll let you finish watching your movie, ok? I love you, I’ll call you tomorrow.” He finished.

“Alright sweetie, come down here to me soon. Bye.” She hung up the phone and the girls in the room started to “oooooooooohhhh” and “awwwwwww” just to irk Michelle.

AJ, on the other hand, kept looking at the young woman who had entered the fast food restaurant.

“Delia?” He asked. She turned to him and smiled once their eyes met. Her hair had been cut short and was bleached blonde. Other than that, he could never mistake her face.

Delia was a girl he had dated for at least a year, off and on, and they finally split because she was moving to New York and it was already hard enough maintaining a relationship with the touring. Her moving would create more problems. So they opted to split.

He opened his arms and they embraced. He was so happy to see her. Ecstatic. And he didn’t know quite why. Maybe he had just missed her that much. He was so lost in the sight of her that he had to be called several times before he snapped out of his trance and picked up his food.

“So Delia, how have you been? I mean, you look… gorgeous.” He stated. She only smiled more and giggled a little.

“Well thank you. I’ve been great. I did end up quitting that job though.” AJ was shocked to hear that. That fashion design job was the main reason why she moved.

“You quit? Why?” He asked, not able to believe she let it go.

“Well, I wasn’t getting the credit I deserved. I did more work than anyone there, yet I was always fed the least amount of pay. And I got sick of it, so I flushed the whole thing. Washed my hands free of it last May. I’m still in fashion design, just with a different company. A better one at that.” She explained. Her Irish accent was heaven to him. One of the things he missed.

“Well it’s good to hear that, Del. Really good. Hey listen, you have plans tonight? If not we can hang out and talk about old times.” She thought about it for a moment and then nodded with a smile.

“Sure, it’d be great to sit and chat with you again. My apartment looks like shite cause of all the fecking work I’ve been doing---- haven’t had the time to tidy up. But hey, you’re used to my neatness. No surprise. Come on home with me.” She offered.

AJ grinned, enjoying the way she spoke, the way she cursed with her Irish lingo. They both got their food and headed for the door. As they hailed a taxi, AJ looked at her and thought back to their relationship and all of the fun they had together.

And as they settled into the back seat, AJ could not help but comment on their oh-so perfect past. He waited until Delia had given the driver quick yet specific directions… then he proceeded to speak:

“You know, back then, I never thought we’d come to an end. Did you?” He asked. She looked down at his hand and held it.

“Nope. I never really thought about it then. When we were together, the thought of us being apart---separated--- it never even crossed my mind. And when I got that job offer, God, that’s when it hit me. The reality of it all.” She looked up into his eyes and smiled sweetly.

In a successful attempt to break the awkward pause, she opened her bag off food and pulled out a few fries.

“So… who’s you’re current lady friend? I know that you’ve got one.” She insisted. Michelle… AJ hadn’t even thought about her after seeing Delia. Why was he going back to her place? Nothing good could come of that! Well, a lot of good things would come of it… but they’d be morally bad. He had to tell Delia that he was NOT a single man. She’d respect that. And she’d lower her charm, he just knew she would.

“Remember Michelle? She hung out with us a few times.” Delia thought for a moment, then it came to her in a sudden flash of memory.

“Oh yes, the sweet young girl whom Nicky used to court. Aww, are they still together? They were such a darling little couple, I swear.” She commented. AJ felt a little foolish then. Everyone seemed to think that Michelle and Nick were so perfect. He knew he’d get a bad reaction from Delia when he told her Michelle was his now.

“Well, no, they’re not together anymore. She’s with me now.” He explained. Delia’s eyes widened twice their regular size.

“I know, I know. It just sort of happened. I always thought she was attractive. A sexy little thing in her own way. You know, she never has to wear short skirts or revealing tops to get a guy’s attention. It’s just her eyes, her smile, her laugh, and her voice. Her hugs, her touch. All those little things just drew me in. The very first night she joined us on the road, I was just taken. She had me by the horns and I couldn’t contain myself. I’m sure Nick still hates me for it, but how was I supposed to know he still had a thing for her? What was I supposed to do… break things off with her just so he could have another chance???” AJ went on… and on. Venting without even asking if Delia really wanted to know. But she did, she was always a good listener and understood everything. Even if AJ had killed someone, she’d always find a way to understand his motive. This was probably why he continued to talk and talk without wondering if Delia cared to hear it.

“So… let me get this straight… Michelle came to join you guys on tour, and the first day she arrived, you fell for her. Not knowing, of course, that Nick still had feelings for her. And when she manifested her feelings for you, Nick hated you for it. And now you can’t just break up with her for his sake?” She recapitulated to the best of her ability.

“Well… sort of. See, I don’t want to give her up for Nick. He wants me to. And it’s not gonna happen.” AJ corrected her, a little heated thinking of how pissed Nick was over something AJ could not control.

“Do you love her?” Delia asked, out of nowhere, catching AJ off guard. He could not answer right away. Did he love her? God, such strong words to speak out loud. He had to ask himself if he did. Did he love her?

“Well? Do you? It’s a simple enough question, I think.” Delia added. AJ finally spoke up.

“I love being with her, yes.” He answered, trying his best to be smooth about it.

“I didn’t think you did.” She responded quickly. This was one of the times AJ did not find her accent so cute. The car stopped and Delia paid the driver, letting him keep the 5 dollars worth of change. She got out of the back seat and shut the door, leaving AJ sitting there baffled.

He finally got out and followed her to the door of her apartment building.

“What do you mean ‘I didn’t think you did’??? What are you implying?” He asked, a little anger in his voice. She opened the door and started toward the stairs. AJ followed closely, waiting for an explanation.

“I mean that if you have to hesitate to say that you love her, then you don’t. I know you, Alex, and I know that you have no problem saying that you love a woman when you love her.” She said, turning with a smile. He had to smile back. He did go around boasting his love for her when they were together.

She opened her apartment door and they both went in. When she flipped on the lights, he could see that Delia hadn’t changed a bit. She wasn’t a terribly junky person. She was merely disorganized. She did have plenty of paper work and art paraphernalia around. Especially because she had to try to design clothes too. So there were rolls of fabric lying on the sofa, mannequins standing still in various corners of her living room, her drawing table was a tad bit cluttered, but other than that the place was neat. She quickly put her food on the table and cleared the fabric from the sofa. She picked up the scissors and sketches from the coffee table and motioned for AJ to sit. Then she went into the kitchen for some salt and pepper (what she knew AJ added to his fries) and an extra soda (because she knew the soda they put in the cups was never enough for him). She came back to the living room and gave him the little things he so desperately wanted but didn’t bother to ask.

“Can’t believe you remembered.” He said as he shook pepper over his still steaming fries.

“Of course I did. There are a lot of things I still do out of habit from all that time I was with you.”

“Like?” He asked, quite curious.

“Basically all of the weird things that you do. But the absolute worst is this, when I’m in the grocery store picking things up, I still throw things in the cart that only you use. It’s awful. Like you’re soap, you’re deodorant, your favorite cookies, and the most dreadful thing…. your brand of condoms, same size and all!” AJ nearly choked on his sandwich from laughing. He had to drink his soda in huge gulps to get the food down.

“Oh God, are you serious?” She nodded, half ashamed and half amused with herself.

“I don’t buy them though. I always catch myself right before I walk away from the condom display. And I think to myself ‘Delia, what the feck are you doing? You don’t sleep with him anymore! Get you head our of your arse and let him go!’ It’s awful, I swear.” This only added to AJ’s laughter. After they both calmed down from their laughing fits, they looked at each other.

“Don’t you have anyone else to buy things for?” AJ asked. Looking around, he didn’t see any signs of a live-in boyfriend. And he didn’t see any pictures of a love interest either. And Delia loved to have pictures of friends and family around. Hell, she still had pictures of them together. She would definitely had pictures of a boyfriend, if there was one.

“No, there’s no one. I don’t have the time of the patience to go out dating again. It’s too difficult of a game for me to play. I figure this, if there’s someone out there for me, he’ll come to me. I’m sick of looking.” AJ scooted a little closer and twirled his finger around in her now short hair.

“You know that they say…” He started.

“What?”

“If you love someone, let them go. And if they come back… well…” He stopped in the middle of his sentence to kiss her lips softly. Just a light peck, a graze of the skin. Then he pulled away. What the hell was he thinking just then?

“Shit! I knew this would happen!” He got up and started to pace. His mind kept telling him to leave, but his heart beckoned him to stay. Why not the other way around? He didn’t understand it…

“You’re thinking of her, aren’t you?” Delia asked, raking her hair back and shifting in her seat.

“Yeah. I’m sorry Del, I’m so sorry. I never meant to…”

“It’s alright. Don’t worry about it. We all have moments of weakness.” She got quiet for a moment. Then she spoke again. “I’ll be right back, I need to go change.” She got up and went in the back to her bedroom, leaving AJ alone in the living room.

That kiss that he had just shared with Delia, it felt right. He didn’t know of anything that felt more perfect. Sure, he had an attraction for Michelle. And sure, he card for her. He’d never want to hurt her. He wanted what was best for her. But the bitter truth was, Delia had a hold on him that no other woman had. They never had problems when they were together. He wanted that again. He needed to at least try to reconcile their relationship. Maybe, just maybe he was feeling for Delia what Nick felt for Michelle. And God, if Nick started to date Delia, he’d have a heart attack. Worse than that… he’d attack Nick.

His mind was made up. As soon as he got to the Bahamas, he and Michelle were going to have to talk. He just prayed that she could handle it.

Delia returned and sat leaned against the wall.

“Alex… you can stay here tonight if you want. I’ve got a spare room and it’s made up. And I won’t sneak in the bed with you while you’re asleep, I promise.” She said in the most angelic voice.

“Thanks, Del. You’re an angel.” AJ said.

“I’m gonna finish my food in my room. Give you time to think. G’night.” She said before turning to go back down the hall to her room.

“Night.” He said, calling after her. Just before she disappeared into the darkness of the hall, he called her back.

“Wait… Delia…”

She turned toward him again and stepped forward a little.

“Yes?”

“If I were single, could things ever work out between us?” She smiled sheepishly and then lowered her shorts on her left hip. Her tattoo, one of Japanese characters, was revealed. AJ knew what it meant, because he was there when she got it. It meant “A.J.’s Always.”

“Some things never ever change, Alex.” She replied, then she waved goodnight and turned yet again, heading back toward her bedroom.


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