Lost Power
The next morning Punk and Connor were getting set to leave the apartment. Although having only spent the weekend there, AJ was surprisingly going to miss them. It was always just her and Kady in the apartment and it had been nice to have them around. She was also glad Punk was there to pick up the pieces of her break up with her ex. He was so sweet and she wouldn't forget him being there to talk. A part of her wanted to see him again, but the other part was just gonna let it go and forget about it.
"Back to normality." Connor said, walking through the door to his and Punk's apartment, "At least there's not the threat of a snake killing me in the middle of the night." He dumped his travel bag on the couch.
"You think Kady would ever come up here? It's only a two hour drive." He said.
"She might, if she had a car." Connor grinned, "Plus, you know how busy she is."
"I know." Punk said, "I can't stop thinking about AJ." He admitted, slouching on the couch as Connor turned to him and laughed a little.
"What is so different about her?" Connor said. He found it strange and funny that Punk had taken such a quick liking to his sister's friend. He thought AJ was stunning also, but not stunning enough to be thinking about her 24/7.
"You never got a chance to talk to her much. She's so real, man. And she isn't all… you know, make-up and hair. She's actually a bit of a nerd." He admitted, "And she's funny. I've never met a girl that's made me laugh before. And I know I never have to keep on making the effort. Our conversation was flowing really well." He said, "I don't know, I've just never connected with a girl like that." He shrugged.
"It was only a weekend." Connor said, "Tomorrow you'll have forgotten about her, trust me." He grinned.
"Nah, I don't think so." Punk admitted, "Didn't you think she was hot?" Punk asked him truthfully.
"She had a good set of legs. Yeah, I mean she wasn't too bad." He said as Punk just grunted, "Look, if you're so wound up about it, text Kady and ask for her number."
"What's the point? She's always working, and we live far away." He said.
"Well I don't know. I just don't want a stroppy teenager sulking around all the time." He said, "Maybe you could befriend her in time for taking her to thanksgiving at your parents' house." He winked as Punk rolled his eyes.
"No thanks. I'm not even going, never mind bringing someone with me." He said.
"Why not? You should go. Fuck your brother and your mom, your dad wants you there. He isn't all bad."
"What am I gonna do? Sit beside my dad all night holding his hand?" Punk scoffed, "I'm not going."
"Well, it's your decision." Connor shrugged, "Are you coming to the gym?" He asked as Punk just nodded and stood up, heading on out to the gym.
Meanwhile, AJ was in the middle of putting fresh sheets on her bed that Connor had been sleeping in. She loved fresh bedding anyway and couldn't wait to have her room back. Whilst she was tidying around, she noticed a sweatshirt lying on the floor, hiding a little under the bed. She only assumed it was Connor's.
"Hey, Kady." AJ walked out of her room with the shirt in her hand, looking over at her friend lying on the couch, "I think your brother left this." She said.
"Oh, he's such an idiot." Kady rolled her eyes, "I'll text him, but he'll probably tell me to throw it in the trash. He isn't gonna drive all the way back up here." She said.
"I could drive down and give it to him."
"What? Just so you can see Punk?" Kady smirked.
"No." AJ gasped, "So I can be a nice person and give your brother his sweatshirt back." AJ said, "I don't mind. I never use my car anyway."
"All the more reason for me to worry about you. You're a terrible drive, AJ." Kady said.
"Am not." AJ defended, "Text him and tell him I'll drive up tonight. I'll hand it to him and be on my way. It's no problem." AJ shrugged as Kady just grinned and reached for her phone, "Stop it, I have no intentions of seeing Punk." She said.
"Connor left this." AJ smiled, passing the sweatshirt to Punk, standing at the apartment door, dripping wet from the rain that she had drove up in, watching him wave her in quickly and shut the door behind her.
"You want a towel?" Punk asked with laughter. He was shocked at how excited he was to see her standing there at the door, "Connor is working a night shift tonight." He said.
"Kady never said." AJ said with a grunt, knowing that Kady was planning this all along, "I shouldn't stay long. If I want to be back home at a reasonable time." She said, "I just wanted him to get that."
"At least wait until the rain goes off." Punk said as AJ just nodded and smiled.
"This is a nice place you have." She said, "You decorated it yourself?" She asked as she hadn't even noticed him taking her jacket off and hanging it over by the radiator, as well as fetching a towel from the bathroom for her to dry herself off in.
"Most of it we done ourselves." Punk nodded, "I forgot to tell you I was a secret home decorator." He said as she grinned, following him into the living room.
"It must have slipped your mind when you were telling me how manly engineering is." She said, sitting down on the couch, drying her wet hair with the towel as he watched, almost drooling, mentally kicking himself for being so caught up in her.
"It is manly." He defended as she just laughed.
"C'mon, I can fix a few pipes and radiators." She said, "Where is the challenge?"
"Where is the challenge in breathing fire?" He asked as she just tilted her head, "Fine, you win." He put his hands up as she smiled, sitting the towel over and sitting back on the couch, "No show tonight?"
"No." AJ shook her head, "Me and Kade do every second night, it works out good like that for us, having a break every second night, means we can catch up on sleep and rest. Believe it or not, all that stripping takes it out on you."
"I bet." Punk nodded. The words were on the tip of his tongue… Stay. The rain is really heavy. I'm going to order chinese food. I want to talk some more with you, "Just before you came I was about to order some Chinese food." He said, not believing he had actually went with his intentioned conscious, "Have you ate?"
"No." AJ said, "But I probably shouldn't stay here..." She turned her head to the window where the rain still battered down, "I'm a horrible driver in normal conditions, maybe it's best I wait until it goes off." She admitted, turning to him with a smile as he returned the smile.
A bunch of chinese food, blankets and candles were set up around an hour later, and not because Punk wanted to impress her, but because the power had suddenly gone out and he had to make some sort of light and heat for them. Luckily enough they ordered their food just before the power had gone out.
"So did you have these candles for your normal night time bath's or do you like a little atmosphere during sex?" She asked, sitting crossed legged on the couch across from him with a blanket over her, tucking into her Chinese food. She hadn't intended to stay long like this, but mother nature thought otherwise.
"Do I look like the type to take a bath?" He asked her, "No, they're actually here for power reasons. We had some problems last year with our building with power, so we got a shit load of candles just to be on the safe side." He said as AJ nodded.
"You like living here?" She asked as he nodded.
"It's alright." He said, "Nothing too exciting, I suppose. The only disadvantage is my parents live just a few blocks down." He groaned.
"You really don't get on with them, huh?" She asked as he shook his head.
"My dad isn't bad. He just gets a little mouthy when he's had a drink. But who doesn't? My mom and brother are just assholes." He shrugged, "He got everything. The car when he was sixteen, the opportunity for college, the attention, the better presents… they just favoured him over me." He shrugged.
"I know how it feels. My parents done the same with my brother." She said, "And my mom always asks me when I question it… is that why you became a stripper, April? Do you want to hurt us?" She mimicked, "She won't give my job a chance."
"I don't imagine many people do." Punk said.
"What did you think about Kady when she told you she was doing burlesque and stripping?" She asked curiously, "She was only eighteen when she started." AJ said.
"I was a little taken back. I'd watched her since she was just a little girl playing with coloring in books. It was weird, but my opinions of her as a person never changed." He shrugged, "She explained it really well to us and her mom, said that it wasn't stripping for men in a club, looking for pennies and dollars. It was a show and production for people's entertainment." He said, "The only thing I had a problem with was guys thinking they could get with her just because she took her clothes off." He said.
"Normally they don't get a chance. That's why it's so different from actual stripping. We have our own dressing rooms, we have breaks, there is security, and when we leave no one is around to try and jump for us." She said, "Well not usually."
"I can imagine a lot of guys thinking they can just pick you up."
"Yeah. I've raised my hand a few times to a lot of guys who think they can just… put their hands on you." She said, "I'm so not that type of person. I don't enjoy being groped or leered on. When I've finished my show my mission is to just get home and go to bed." She said, "Pretty boring, I know." She shrugged nervously.
"Nah, you respect yourself." Punk said, "That's a good thing." He smiled to her, "You know I'm not judging you for what you do." He told her as she nodded. She knew very well that he wasn't judging her, "Like I said, it's your job, it's the person you are that should matter to those you get close to." He said as she smiled.
"Where did you learn your manners from if you weren't raised right by your parents?" She asked curiously. He was so sweet and she hated how he was making her feel, only because she knew it would get her in an awkward situation.
"Kady and Connor's mom." Punk admitted, "I was a mouthy little brat before she put me in line. Had me trained to take my elbows off the table and everything." He said as AJ laughed. Her laugh was precious and he just loved seeing her smile. She was drop dead gorgeous, in all aspects.
"Do you ever see yourself getting with someone, getting married or having a family?" She asked curiously as he shrugged.
"I don't ever give it much thought. Maybe if I find the right person I might start thinking about it, but right now…. I couldn't care less." He told her, "What about you?" He asked her.
"Yeah, I'd like to be a mom one day, and have a nice man to take care of me." She nodded, "Once I've put aside my show girl career." She said as he smiled.
"Then maybe your parents will start talking to you more?" He smirked as she laughed.
"Yeah, maybe." AJ giggled, sitting over her box of Chinese noddles on the coffee table whilst shuffling closer to him, "So what's with all these tattoo's?" She asked, "I like the thirteen and the spider web." She smiled, examining them all.
"I got a full chest piece too." He told her as she groaned to herself without him hearing, "I just like the art, and they all have stories." He said, "You have any?"
"No." AJ said, "But I really want one. Something meaningful, but hidden."
"Why hidden?" Punk shook his head, "Defeats the purpose a little, does it not?"
"Well… just so the only people seeing it are people I trust. People I trust enough to be open with." She looked in his eyes as he gulped and nodded. He didn't understand what she meant at first but now he did and he was finding it hard for her to be so close and not do anything about it.
"What kind would you get?" He asked curiously.
"I don't know. I don't really like the idea of a quote or anything like that. More like an image. Maybe an animal."
"You could get a snake." Punk smiled as she laughed.
"And what would that represent? Evil and wickedness?" She laughed a little.
"Snakes are smart." Punk shrugged, "And clearly a dear best friend to you."
"Are you mocking me?" She questioned curiously.
"Not at all." He smiled as she laughed. He was very cute sometimes, like a little puppy dog, but then other times she just wanted to climb on top of him and sink her nails into him to tame him. She'd never felt so close to someone in such a short amount of time.
She was so close to him now after examining his tattoos that it was almost impossible not to seal their night, leaning into him as he leaned in too, both of them getting distracted when the lights came back on and lit up the dim apartment, not to mention it had stopped raining.
"And God said let there be light." He smirked as she laughed and shuffled away, standing up and stretching, trying to pretend that she wasn't extremely mad she never got to kiss him.
"So you're a holy man?" She asked curiously.
"Absolutely not." He sniggered, "My parents are. Go to church every Sunday, but I don't have time for any of it." He said truthfully.
"Me neither." AJ agreed, "Man, I can't believe it's 12am, I really should go." She told him as he nodded, standing up and walking her out to the door, "Thanks for letting me in and saving me from the rain." She smiled, "I would have most definitely crashed my car no doubt if I drove in it." She said as he laughed.
"I do try my best." He nodded, handing her her now dry jacket that she put on, "Listen, if you ever want to meet up again-"
"I'll call you." AJ said quickly, "Kade has your number so I'll get it from her." She told him casually as he just nodded, not sure if she was being sincere but just going along with it anyway.
"Ok." He said, "Drive safe, yeah?" He said.
"Can't promise anything." She laughed, heading out of the apartment as Punk watched her disappear down the stairs. As if he didn't already like the girl enough, she had to come and spend a few hours intriguing and capturing him in even more. He really was finding himself in a confusing situation. She was going in for the kiss, but then seemed a little disheartened when he asked to see her again, in his own words. He was confused, but not confused over how much he was beginning to like her.
A/N: What's gonna happen? What do you guys think? Review and let me know.
