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“Hey
Paige.”

The
sound of my name caused me to jump five feet into the air and I had to grab
onto the shower head to keep from falling.  My eyes had involuntarily
opened while I was keeping myself upright and the soap burned like acid in my
eyes.

“Sonofabitch!” 
I turned my face into the spray and rubbed at my face to get the soap
off.  “What the hell David?!  I’m naked in here!  What are you
doing in my bathroom and how did you unlock my door?!”

“Take a
valium Paige.  You have nothing I haven’t seen before.  And those
locks on your doors are worthless, they can be opened with a wire hanger in no
time.”

Mental
note:  buy key locks for my bedroom door
.

I
pulled the curtain aside and glared at the sneaky intruder.  “What do you
mean you’ve seen a naked woman before?  You’re gay.”

David
chuckled.  “Well, yeah, I’m gay.  But I had a ‘straight-curious’
moment in high school that didn’t work out.  The boobs on that girl kept
getting in my way. Although with you, I guess that wouldn’t be too much of a
problem, Ms. 34-B.  I could always consider giving it another shot.” 
He wriggled his eyebrows and smiled.

David
shrieked when I grabbed the removable shower head and aimed it over the curtain
at him.  “Seriously David, what is so important, it couldn’t wait until
after I was done in the shower.  I could have been masturbating!  You
really need to look up the meaning of the word ‘privacy’ in the dictionary,
Mister.”

“Oh
please, you? Masturbating? Hardly.  I believe Alex has you well taken care
of in that area.  I know that if I had man candy like that to play with, I
definitely wouldn’t be wasting my time wrestling the Cyclops, if you know what
I mean.”  He pulled the shower curtain back this time to drive his point
home with a pointed glare, then released the curtain to sit back down on the
counter.   “Anyways, my reason for
gracing
you with my
presence is that I’m curious as to where you are going this evening.”

I
turned off the water.  “You know what they say about curiosity.” I shoved
my hand out from behind the curtain.  “Towel please.”  I waved my
hand around thinking that it would make him move faster.  

“First,
tell me where you are going.” 

Damn. 
No such luck. I sighed. “I’m going to Tomb tonight.  There’s a new band
playing and I could really use some music induced nirvana. 

David’s
eyes brightened as he handed me my towel.  I pulled it behind the curtain,
proceeded to make myself decent and stepped out. 

“Tomb,
you say.”  He put his finger to his mouth as if thinking.  “You know,
it’s been a while since I’ve accompanied you there.  Maybe tonight I could
be a good friend and act as your fabulous male escort.”  He winked.

I
looked over at David who was a force all on his own.  David was just shy
of six feet tall and his lean, athletic build could make any man, or woman,
jealous.  He kept his dark brown hair long and it fell right to his
jawline.  But it was David’s magnetic personality that attracted a person
the most.  He never was affected by tension and would be the first to
lighten anybody’s mood.

“Oh
no.  Not again.”  I put my hand up as if to stop his thought process.
“There’s no way I’m taking you back there.  You remember what happened
last time.”

He
crossed his arms in protest.  Turning his nose up at me he muttered, “It
wasn’t that bad.”

My eyebrows
shot up to my hairline as I performed my best parrot impression.  “Wasn’t
that bad?!   Wasn’t that bad?!  You’re kidding me, right?” 
I let out a humorless laugh and pointed at him.  “You decided it would be
a good idea to pirouette in the middle of the pit while calling out ‘gay man
moshing’.  You were elbowed in the eye, fell back and hit your head, and
then I had to drag you out of there and take you to the hospital.  Don’t
you remember the broken left orbital, or did the concussion cause you to lose
your memory?”

David
blanched.  “Well, pfft, if you put it
that
way, it sounds all
bad.  I just remember that I had a wonderful evening spending quality time
with my best lady friend.”  David put his hands in front of him in a
prayer pose and gave me his best puppy dog look with his gorgeous honey brown
eyes.

“No! 
I’m not taking you with me.  If you want to go in there separately, I
can’t stop you, but I’m not going with you again so that I can babysit
you.  And if you do go, do us all a favor and stay out of the pit!”

David
poked out his bottom lip but then quickly smiled.  “Sigh.  I guess
you are right.  I’d say I would stay out of there, but I can’t be trusted
around sweaty men running themselves into each other.   It’s probably
for the best.  I still get headaches and I don’t think my face is
symmetrical anymore because of that last time.”

I
laughed and pointed to the door.  “Out.” David turned and retreated back
to the living room and I proceeded to get dressed. 

I had
chosen a plain black tank top and my favorite pair of distressed dark blue
jeans.  At 5’10” and with a skinny frame, finding a pair of jeans that
accented my butt and were long enough was a difficult task.  When I found
these, I bought two other pairs just like them because they fit so well. 
I pulled on my black knee high, lace-up riding boots and walked back into my
bathroom to dry my hair.  I left my long blond locks hanging loose down my
back and applied some light mascara and lip gloss.  After spritzing on
some of my favorite perfume, I felt ready to go. 

I
walked out into the living room to a low whistle coming from Alex.  I
ignored him and continued my quest into the kitchen to make a quick cup of
coffee before heading out.  As I stood there staring menacingly at the
slow brewing coffee machine, I felt a pair of muscular, tattooed arms wrap
around me.  Alex swept my hair aside and began kissing a line up the side
of my neck.

“Where
to tonight, Paige?”  The low timbre of his voice caused goose bumps to
race up my arms and I reached behind me to pull him in closer. 

“Tomb.
There’s a new band playing tonight and I’ve heard good things about them so I
thought I’d go check them out.”

Alex
turned me around to face him.  He started planting feather light kisses
along my jaw line before looking into my eyes.  Alex’s silver eyes were
amazing.  When angered, his eyes almost appeared black, but when Alex was
in his normal good mood, his eyes sparkled and resembled a cloudy day with bits
of light peeking out from behind the waterlogged clouds.  I’ve spent
countless hours staring into those eyes, and although Alex and my libido were
on the friendliest of terms, I could never fall for him because my heart was
broken when I was way too young.  I never recovered.  I was not anxious
for the day when some lucky girl stole Alex’s heart and our arrangement would
have to be surrendered, but I wanted that for him more than anything. 

Alex
had been working towards a business degree when we met.  After graduation,
he bought a failing tattoo parlor and turned it around within months.  He
works at the shop as both the owner and one of the artists, which was his
preference.  At first, he was aggravated that the paperwork and accounting
kept him busy and away from the artistic aspects of the job; but I eventually
convinced him to hire an accountant to free up his time.  Once Alex could
afford it, he hired a kick ass manager to run the shop and he only works part
time now when he feels like being creative.  Alex was the one who gave me
the dragonfly necklace tattoo on the back of my left shoulder.  I
described the necklace my parents had given to me on my sixth birthday and I
was shocked at how well he was able to replicate the delicate design.  If
I didn’t know it was ink that he used to create the artwork, I would have sworn
he implanted actual jewels into my skin and sewn spun silver over my shoulder
for the chain. The man had a gift and I was glad that he was able to turn that
into a means of support.    

Alex
rested his chin on top of my head and hugged me closer.  His 6’3” stance
always made me feel small, which was nice.  I was always taller than my
friends and sometimes it just felt good to be tiny.  I felt Alex’s jaw
move as he spoke over my head.

“Are
you looking for company or is this a solo mission tonight?”

I
pulled away from him when I heard the coffee machine beep, indicating it was
finally ready.  Turning to reach for a cup, I spoke to Alex over my
shoulder. “David already asked to go with me tonight and I turned him
down.  He’d most likely be upset if I agreed to take you with me. 
Plus, I’m taking the bike and if I decide to have a drink, I would feel nervous
having you on the back of it when I come home.  It’s probably best you
hang here or whatever.”

“Turned
him down, huh.”  His face broke into a smile. “Let me guess, ‘gay man
moshing’ flashbacks?”

I
chuckled. “Yeah, something like that.”

Alex
stepped away from me as I prepared my cup of caffeinated bliss.  He mocked
me with a shocked expression as he watched me fill half the cup with sugar and powdered
creamer.

“What?” 
I smiled and I’m pretty sure my face reddened. “I like a little coffee with my
sugar and creamer.”

Alex
closed his mouth and then laughed.  “You know, you are going to develop
diabetes one of these days drinking your coffee like that.  For a person
who has a deathly fear of needles, that’s probably not the most intelligent
beverage choice.”  I smacked him playfully on the arm and made my way into
the living room.

Annie
and David were sitting in their original positions completely absorbed as they
watched whatever reality show it was that they apparently agreed upon. 
Annie looked over at me as I lowered myself into the chair Alex had earlier
occupied.

“So
David tells me you are heading out to Tomb tonight all by your lonesome. 
By any chance are you trolling for guys, looking to get lucky?” She wriggled
her brows.

I shook
my head slightly. “No Annie, I’m not.  Alex has my ‘getting lucky’
department well managed, therefore I have no need.  I’m just going for the
music tonight.”  I looked over at Alex and he flashed me his brilliant
smile and winked.

Annie
sighed. “Maybe I should find my very own Alex to take care of my ‘getting
lucky’ department.  It would certainly make my dating life easier.” 
She looked over at Alex and then back at me.  She angled her head in
Alex’s direction and said, “Or maybe I could just borrow your Alex in the
meantime.  We could work out a custody schedule or something like that.”

Alex
laughed as he walked up behind me. He began massaging my shoulders and I let
out a soft moan. 

Oh
please, please, please, keep touching me with those magic hands. Another couple
of minutes of this and I might not be leaving tonight.

“Sorry
Annie girl, but I only have one benefits package and it’s currently reserved
for Paige.”

Annie
smiled and then returned her attention to the anxious designers on the
television screen.

David
looked up.  “Wow Alex. In a really bizarre way, that was such a romantic
statement.  I apparently need to find more friends like you.  Either
that, or just let me know when you are hiring.  I could definitely use the
expanded benefits package.  The only benefits I get at the office are
boring crap, like health and dental.”  Annie high fived David in
agreement.

Annie
and I also met in college.  She was pursuing a degree in paralegal studies
and before she had even graduated, she landed a good paying job at the same law
firm where David worked. For as book smart as she was, the poor thing had no
common sense when it came to men.  With her wavy auburn hair and emerald
green eyes, she could have any guy she wanted.  Her milky complexion,
hourglass figure, and short stature only added to her appeal.  She was
like an adorable little Irish doll.  Unfortunately, Annie tended to be
most attracted to jocks and muscle heads.  Even more unfortunately, the
men she dated always seemed to lack respect for women.  I’ve spent
countless hours watching Annie’s heart get torn apart by her boyfriends, and
countless more acting as a shoulder for her to cry on.  There were times
when Annie reminded me of the women at my parents’ shelter.  She had never
come home as bruised and battered as those women, but the mindset was the
same.  She always wanted to believe that a guy would change, even after he
repeatedly cheated on her or disrespected her in some way or another.

“Well,
you know how I like my men.  If you happen to stumble upon one who fits my
criteria, be sure to get his number for me.”

I
grudgingly removed Alex’s hands from my shoulders and stood up.  “So,
basically, if I see a guy with no neck and small testicles from steroid abuse,
and who treats women like objects, and who is also an all-around arrogant
asshole, I should send him your way?  Sure Annie, I’ll jump right on that
for you.”

Annie
raised her middle finger at me and I laughed.

I
walked into the kitchen, washed out my coffee cup and placed it in the
dishwasher.  I walked to the front door and turned back to my friends.
“I’m out of here you three.  I’ll catch you guys later.  Try to be
good while I’m gone.”