21 Days (Time for Love 2)

“It’s not a big deal. Besides, how weird would it be if I brought some guy home and you were in the other room.” I shuddered just thinking about it. “Totally inappropriate.”

I fluffed out my hair and gave TJ a kiss on the cheek. “See you later!”

“Have a good night, Red.”

“You too, TJ,” I said, turning to give him a smile before I left. “I’m happy you’re here.”

“Me too,” he replied with a wink, then gave me a small wave with his fingers as I walked out the door.

Chapter 5 – TJ

Once Sasha left, I put the contents of my bag into the dresser and the bathroom in the hall. Two minutes later, I was walking around checking out her digs. I’d been to Sasha’s place a few times since she moved in, although it wasn’t normally the place we all chose to hang out. More often than not, we started at our local bar, then ended up at Scott’s or Cal’s. Sasha had always been pretty private about her space. I knew she enjoyed having the finer things in life, but she’d always shied away from flaunting it, even in high school. We may have gone to her house once back in those days, and it was so awkward, we never went back. Most of our time was spent at Cal’s parent’s place, until we’d ventured out on our own.

I looked at the pictures on the mantel. There were various shots of the six of us, in different places, and in different combinations. Some of just the girls, some just the guys, and a few of all of us together. The memories that surfaced as I perused them brought a smile to my face, but my smile dropped when I realized there were none of Sasha’s parents.

I guess in that way, we were a lot alike. Although our upbringings couldn’t have been more different, neither of us had family that we claimed, at least none that meant as much to us as our friends did.

I made my way to the kitchen and opened the fridge. There was soy milk, yogurt, fresh fruits and vegetables, and a lot of other healthy shit. I was definitely going to have to hit up the store sooner rather than later.

I grabbed my keys and headed out.

Twenty minutes later I was back with a package of hot dogs, some buns, a bag of pretzels, and a six pack of beer. After I ate my dinner and cleaned up, I picked a movie out of Sasha’s collection and settled down with my beer to relax. I tried not to think about everything I had to do the next day: a painting job in the morning with Brock, followed by searching for a place to live and a new job. When the opening song began to play, I let the stress melt away and let myself get caught up in the story.

I was chuckling over an exchange between Judd Nelson and Molly Ringwald when Sasha walked in the door. I looked up at the clock and back at her in surprise.

“You home already?”

Sasha closed the door behind her and shrugged. “Yeah, it was more of a business thing than an actual date. Besides, Clark’s a total douche … It’s one of those keep your enemies closer things.” She walked over, then squealed when she looked at the TV. “Breakfast Club? Pause it, I’m gonna go get changed."

I laughed quietly as she barreled toward her bedroom, pulling her shoes off as she swung the door closed behind her. I pressed pause and got up to get another beer. Since I was there, I pulled the chilled bottle of white wine out of the fridge and poured a glass for Sasha.

I was placing our drinks on coasters when she came rushing back out. I laughed when she jumped onto the couch and tucked her legs behind her with a big smile on her face. Her hair was pulled back into a messy bun and she was wearing pink plaid pajama pants with a pink tank top. She looked adorable.

“Ready?” I asked, holding up the remote and aiming it at the TV.

“Yes,” Sasha said enthusiastically. “I can’t believe you’re watching this!”

“Why not? We used to get together and have John Hughes viewing parties all the time.”

“I know, but I always figured you guys just came to those because you were trying to impress the girls and get laid,” she said with a grin.

“Well … We were. Of course we were, we were teenage guys, but I also love John Hughes,” I replied. “It was a win win.”

Sasha laughed, delighted, then gestured toward the TV. “Start it already.”

I started the movie back up, and when Sasha stretched out, I picked up her foot and started massaging it without ev

en thinking. I rubbed her foot absently as I watched, laughing when Ally Sheedy poured the Pixie Sticks on her sandwich.

This movie was a classic.

Sasha pulled her feet back and sat up, reaching for her wine. “Thanks,” she said with a smile before she took a sip.

I tipped my head and leaned over to grab my beer.

We sat back and, when Sasha sat closer to me, I moved my arm to the back of the couch so she could lean against me, then I dropped my hand to her arm. After a few minutes, I heard Sasha’s breathing even out, and knew she had dozed off. She always seemed to move at warp speed, and when she crashed, she crashed hard. As her breathing got deeper, she started to slip, and before I knew it, her head was in my lap. My body responded before my head even registered what had happened.

“Shit,” I hissed as I tried to slip a pillow in between Sasha’s head and my now hard dick.