"AJ, you'll never guess what I just heard on the radio!"
She emerged from the bathroom, hair wrapped in a towel on the top of her head like a turban. "Zac, relax. It's just a test."
"Ha, ha. Very funny. No, there's a snowstorm headed this way. Suppossed to hit tonight. I'd feel much better if you stayed an extra night and didn't leave."
"Mmm-hmm..."
"No, really. Besides, if the weather is really bad, your flight will most likely be cancelled."
AJ removed the towel from her head, her damp, brown hair falling to her shoulders. She ran a comb through her locks. "How do I know you're not lying about the storm?"
"What an awful thing to say! Would I lie about something like that knowing your fear of flying?"
"More like hatred. And yes, to get me to stay longer you would."
"See? You're just gonna have to stay longer and get to know me better. I wouldn't LIE to keep you here. I have other ways, other methods..." I smiled.
AJ returned the smile. "My, that was beautiful. So romantic, so... Has anyone ever told you you're the next Cyrano?" She batted her sooty lashes dramatically.
"Aren't we the coy one?" I teased her.
"Yeah, well, the biggest flirt to ever grace the earth just happens to be my older sister."
"Nikki? Really? I never would've pictured her as the..."
"Oh, please. She makes Cher look like a prude."
I laughed. "You're funny. Ever thought of going into comedy instead of writing?"
"Nah... Besides, I have a tendency to combine the two. I'm gonna go blow-dry my hair." AJ retreated back to the bathroom.
Later that night, AJ and I were sitting on the couch watching TV. As predicted, the storm hit and her flight was cancelled. She called into work and told them she'd be on the first flight to New York.
"Oh! Go back to that channel!"
"This?" I flipped back one channel. "What do you want to watch this for? This station only plays re-runs of TV shows that have long since been cancelled."
"Please, next you're gonna tell me that you've never seen 'The Golden Girls'! That's the BEST show! Growing up I've always watched its re-runs. I always said that when I was eighty, I was going to be just like Sophia. Thank you for bein' a friend..." AJ began to sing the theme song along with the TV. She stopped singing when the TV went off, along with the lights and the rest of the power.
"The storm must've knocked some power lines down." I went into the kitchen and returned with a flashlight. I lit a candle, as well.
"Great. Now what?"
"Now, we get to know each other better."
"Oh? And how exactly do you propose we go about that?"
"First, you're gonna answer my question."
"Which is..."
"At Laura and Tay's wedding, what did you mean when you said YOU were responsible for the union?"
"You heard that?" Even through the darkness, I could see AJ was blushing.
"Yup. So spill. How are you responsible?"
"Well, how responsible depends on your point-of-view. PERSONALLY, I don't think I'm DIRECTLY responsible..."
"You're stalling, Amanda Jean."
"Um, yeah... Oh, boy..." AJ let out a deep breath. "You know how Laura was at Paramus way back when you guys performed there?"
"Laura was there? I never knew that. I knew she was from Jersey, but..."
"Taylor never told you? Well, Laura told him all, well almost all, about it. Yup. She was there. In fact, she's the one who ripped Taylor's shirt."
"You're kidding!"
AJ shook her head. "No. She was always so shy, afraid to make any sort of move. But she had the BIGGEST crush on him. It was pathetic. She needed encouragement. A push in the right direction if you will. How was I suppossed to know she'd lose her balance and break her fall by ripping Taylor's shirt?"
"YOU pushed her?"
AJ nodded her head.
"You were THERE?"
"Zac, I was always there. I was at Paramus. That summer, I was in the City every time you were. I was even in the Beacon. Granted it was up in the balcony, but I was there nevertheless. The funny thing is, in the beginning, I was dragged to those performances and such by Nikki and Laura. But eventually, I came to like your music, too." Her voice was soft.
"And now?" I asked.
"And now, what? We're practically related."
"But we're not, you know."
AJ smiled. "Yeah, I know."
"And you know something else? I'm mad at you. That was my favorite shirt of Tay's. I borrowed it all the time. But I certainly wasn't going to wear it with a hole in it!" I said, jerking her chain.
"Oh, please. With the stylist and a shitload of clothes and all, I'm sure one shirt didn't really make a difference."
"Get real! With that stylist, one shirt made ALL the difference in the world!"
We burst out laughing.
"Well, if memory serves me correctly, which it usually does, the hole didn't keep Taylor from wearing it."
"Yeah, but I'm not Taylor."
"No, you're not," AJ softly agreed. "And you know how I know?"
I shook my head.
"Because you call me by my full name sometimes."
"So?"
"So, no one else does that. Not even my parents. You're the only one I allow to use my full name."
"I'm honored. But why?" Needless to say, I was curious.
AJ shrugged. "I don't know, not for sure anyway. It's just... well... there's something..." She left out a deep breath. "I like the way it sounds when you say it."
I was rendered speechless. Even through the candlelight I could tell she was blushing colors not even Taylor's babyface had appeared in. And it meant so much that she had said it. Not just because of the electricity it ignited, but because she had opened up to me. I know it took a lot for her to say it. One thing was very apparent about AJ right from the very beginning when I first met her: she doesn't like to be vunerable.
"Amanda Jean..."
"Yeah?"
Our eyes locked, and she took my breath away. How could I go on like this? Her dropping in and out of my life? But I didn't want to think about that. I only wanted there to be this moment. Just her and me. So, I leaned in and said every thought racing through my mind with one single, gentle kiss. It wasn't the punctuation of a statement, it WAS the statement. So I made another one.
I ran my fingers through her chocolate-brown locks and looked deep into her eyes. They said everything. AJ was finally letting her guard down completely. No more hiding behind an image of the tomboy that once was, and the real Amanda Jean began to surface. It all happened in a matter of seconds through the eyes of the Grecian beauty sitting before me. "You really are a Grecian beauty. You know that?"
She thanked me by kissing me, lips parted and all. Had it not been for the need for oxygen, I'm sure the kiss would've lasted forever. But seeing as how we aren't blessed with gills, we did pull apart. AJ held my gaze. Then she crossed her arms in front of her, pulled her shirt up over her head, and discarded it to the floor. She took my hands in hers and kissed me gently.
Still kissing, she placed her left hand at the base of my neck and began to lean back. I followed her. Up until now, I never REALLY knew how she felt. It had all been, well, innocent flirting. But now... there was just her, me, and the candlelight.