The next morning I roll over in the tiny bed and am not surprised to find myself alone in the small, messy room. I sigh and pick the clothes I was wearing last night off the floor and put them back on. I look in the slightly cracked and dusty mirror once and fix my hair, making sure I look at least halfway decent, and then quietly open the door to his room and walk out into the crowded living room again.

            Only, this morning it isn't nearly as crowded as it was the night before. The woman who was on the couch last night isn't there anymore, and the door to the room next to Roger's is open and empty. The man who was sleeping on the cot isn't there either. The only one who remains is the man on the mattress, who's still sleeping soundly, despite the fact that it is almost 12:00.

            I'm about to head out the door to the apartment when I hear some noises coming from the bathroom. The unmistakable sound of someone throwing up. I pause and take my hand off of the doorknob, turning instead and knocking on the bathroom door, calling out softly to the person inside.

            "Um…are you okay?"

            More gagging noises. After a few minutes, I hear the toilet flush and Roger comes out, looking sick and disheveled.

            I'm a little surprised to find him still here, I thought for sure he'd be long gone by now and I'd never see him again in my life.

            "Roger?" I ask hesitantly.

            He lets out a deep breath and looks at me for a second before responding. "April, right?"

I nod. "Are you okay?"

            He nods slowly, as if even the slightest movement hurts him. "Yeah. I guess I had a bit too much to drink last night."

At that moment a short blonde man with dark glasses walks in the front door, his arm around the woman I saw last night.

            "Or every night," he says sarcastically in response to Roger.

            "Um…" I just stand there, not knowing what to do or say. Do I just leave? Do I stay and make sure Roger's okay? I've never found myself in this position before, which is sad, really, when you think about it.

            Roger turns to face me again, ignoring his friend. "Do you want something to eat? Drink? I could really go for some coffee right now…"

"Oh, uh…sure." I say and smile, still not sure what all this means. Could this man possibly be more than what I had thought? Is there any chance at all that he could be different than the rest, more than just a one-night stand?

            The man and woman are still in the doorway, looking at me.

            "Hi," I say and walk over to them. "I'm April."

            The blonde smiles. "I'm Mark, and this is Maureen," he says, motioning to the brunette attached to his side.

            Maureen gives me a bright smile and a "Hello" while Mark goes over to Roger and pulls him to the side, whispering something that I can't quite hear.

            Maureen leads me over to the kitchen and sits down next to me, while fixing herself a cup of coffee and a bagel.

            "So, did he bother telling you his name?" she asks in between bites of her bagel, and motions to Roger.

"Oh, um, yeah. Roger, right?"

"Yeah." She smiles. "Sorry. He can be a little…um…rude sometimes."

            "Or totally wasted," Mark chimes in as he leans on the counter, fixing his own breakfast. "I'm surprised he even remembers his own name sometimes," he says, shooting a look at the closed bathroom door, where gagging noises can again be heard from inside.

            Maureen glares at Mark and smacks him. "Shut up, Mark."

            He's about to respond when the front door suddenly opens and the man that I saw sleeping on the cot last night walks in with tears in his eyes that he's obviously trying to hide.

            "Oh God," Maureen whispers and walks over to him. "Is it…?" Her voice trails off.

            He just nods and Mark hurries over to him too, both of them embracing him in a hug. I get the feeling that I'm not exactly wanted right now so I slip out the front door, none of them noticing me as they hug their friend and try to sooth his tears.

            I walk down the street at a quick place, back to my own apartment on the East Side. The whole way there I can't stop thinking about Roger and his friends. That was…different. I've never had an experience like that before. Usually I'm with some rich, stuck up snob for one night and then the next morning I wake up in his fancy apartment, all alone, and I never hear from the guy again.

            Roger's apartment was tiny, messy, and crowded. And although it lacked in the beauty and luxury of most of the guys' I sleep with, this was so much better. I wouldn't mind going back there again, seeing Roger again, but I know I can't. Well, at least not now anyway. There's obviously something going on with their friend, and I know I wouldn't exactly be appreciated over there right now.

But…maybe I'll just go back to that bar tonight and see if Roger comes back. I actually know that he will. He's been there every night that I've been so far. I don't know if he's scouting out girls, meeting friends, or just getting drunk off his ass. But every night, without fail, he shows up and always stands in that same corner. Sometimes I see him talking to some man who's always wearing this huge overcoat, despite the weather or temperature. But most of the time he's alone.

            I finally make it back to my own apartment and once I'm there I lie down in my bed, deciding to take a quick nap to make up for some of the sleep I lost last night while I was with Roger.

            After about five hours of sleeping I wake up to the blaring of the alarm clock next to me. That's weird…why would I set the alarm clock? I reach over to shut it off and that's when I notice the time. 6:00. That's when it clicks. I'm going to go back to that bar tonight and see if Roger shows up.

            I get out of bed sleepily, and begin to look through my closet for something to wear, berating myself at the same time for caring so much about a guy and what he thinks of me. I try to convince myself that the only reason I care in the least is because the sex was good. Admitting that I actually like a guy for more than the sex would be allowing myself to get hurt. To get my heart broken again. And that simply isn't an option.

            I finally settle on a pair of black vinyl pants and red halter top. I get dressed, curl my hair, and take a cab to the bar where I sit for a while, order a few drinks, and wait for Roger to show up.

            I finally see him walk through the door and I quickly turn around, trying to make it look like I wasn't waiting for him. I pretend not to notice him, and he does the same to me. Or he really doesn't notice me.

            He walks over to his usual corner and anxiously checks his watch every few minutes, like he's waiting for someone. My heart sinks. What if he already has a girlfriend? What if it really was just a one-night stand?

            I sigh and take another swig from my beer and when I look back to him I see him chatting with that guy in the overcoat. My hopes lift just a little when I see this. Maybe he was just meeting a friend? Maybe it wasn't a girlfriend at all, just a friend that was running a bit late.

            I'm about to approach him but just as I do, I see him slip into the bathroom, only to appear a few minutes later looking a bit dazed.

            He looks over in my direction with a blank look on his face but after a few seconds, something resembling recognition takes over the blank look and he walks over to me.

            "April, right?"

            I nod and smile.

            "Hey, look, I'm sorry about the other night. I, uh… my friend was just diagnosed with HIV so things were kind of crazy."

            "Oh… That's okay. I'm sorry to hear that. How's he doing?"

He shrugs. "Not great. But, you know, he just found out he has AIDS so what can you expect?"

            I nod understandingly.

            He rubs the back of his next and looks down. When he looks back up at me I take note that his eyes are dull and lifeless…emotionless in contrast to the rest of his face.

            "So…" He looks around at the bar in front of me. "I see you don't already have a drink tonight."

            I smile. "No, I don't."

            "Mind if I buy you one?"

"Go ahead."

I smile again, a real smile, as opposed to the seductive one I usually flash to guys like him. I glance at him as he orders two beers, flashing me that wonderful smile again, before handing one of them to me. On second thought, maybe they're not so much like him after all.

            After we finish our drinks we walk out of the bar and out onto the street.

            "Hey, do you want to come back to my place?" he asks, grabbing hold of my hand.

            "Oh…I don't know…what about your friend?"

            He looks down for a second. "Oh. Yeah, maybe you're right. A club then? The Life Café? C'mon, we can't go home…it's not even tomorrow yet!" He grins and I smile back.

            "A club sounds good."

            He grins again and we start walking down the street towards a local club.

            Once inside we're instantly greeted by the manager, who seems to recognize Roger the second he's through the door.

            "Davis! Hey, how ya been?"

"Pretty good." He smiles that wonderful smile I'm growing more and more fond of each time he flashes it.

            "I haven't seen you around lately. You're still playing, right?"

Roger nods. "Yeah. Got nothing to play though." He smiles sadly.

            "Oh, that's too bad. You guys have real talent though, if you're ever looking for a gig, you know where to come."

            "Yeah, thanks."

            "No problem." He slaps Roger on the back once and then runs off to chat with some other people.

            "What was that about?" I ask when we're alone.

            "My band used to play a lot of gigs here."

            "Oh, you're in a band?"

He nods. "Yeah. The Well Hungarians."

            I pause for a second, trying to recall the name. "I don't think I've ever heard of you…"

            He shakes his head. "No, I doubt you would have. We weren't very good." He laughs a little.

            "Maybe you can play for me sometime? I'd love to hear you…"

            He smiles again. "Yeah, okay." He takes my hand and pulls me out onto the dance floor where we dance until I don't think I can stand up anymore.

            I haven't been on a real date in years, I had forgotten how fun they could be. I definitely had a great time tonight.

            Roger and I walk out onto the street and once again, he invites me over to his place. Only this time, I have to admit that I have a hard time refusing the offer. So I accept and we start walking back to his apartment.

            When we get there Mark is waiting for Roger on the couch and when we walk in Mark jumps up and starts yelling at Roger.

"Roger, where the hell were you?"

"Out," he simply replies and tries to pull me into his bedroom. But I resist, not wanting to get on Mark's bad side.

"It's okay," I whisper to him. "I'll wait while you guys talk, okay?"

He sighs and then finally nods his head and I walk into his room, shutting the door behind me.

From behind the closed door I can hear part of the heated conversation.

            "…Roger, it's almost dawn, where the fuck were you?"

            "I told you, I was at a ba – uh, restaurant and then we went to a club."

            "A restaurant? A restaurant that serves only alcohol, where you got totally wasted, right?"

            "Shut up, Mark. Do I look totally wasted to you?"

            A pause in the conversation.

            "No. Just high."

            I hear Roger sigh. "I smoked one joint, okay? It's not a big deal."

            "Rog, you know I'm just worried about you…"

            "Why? What is there to be worried about? I stayed out late with a girl I really like, I went to a bar and a club… Jeez, I'm not 16! I'm 22, it's not a big deal!"

            Another pause. "I know. I'm just…" He sighs. "I just don't want you to end up like…my father," he says quietly.

            When Roger speaks I can tell that his voice and demeanor have softened considerably. He's no longer talking in loud, angry whispers, but now in a soft, soothing tone. "I'm not going to be like him, Mark. I promise. I've never hurt you before, and I never will. I just like to have a good time."

            "I know. Just…just don't overdo it okay?"

            "I won't. Don't worry about me."

            And then before I know what's happening, the door is opening again and Roger has his arms around me.

            I pull away slightly, my curiosity getting the best of me. "What was that about?"

            "Nothing. Mark's just paranoid about anything and everything in the world." He smiles slightly. "He's a good guy though. Really sweet. I'm known him since high school."

            I'm about to respond but he interrupts me with a kiss and I can tell that this conversation is over. One thing that I overheard them saying out there keeps playing back in my mind.

             I stayed out late with a girl I really like… A girl I really like… Really like…

            I smile to myself when we both come up for air. Maybe he's more than just a one night stand after all.