DISCLAIMER: It owns me, but I don't own it

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Chapter 3: Told Us

"Pookie, it's wonderful!" she exclaimed when we walked back in the apartment. She dropped her stuff, and looked around. Roger was sitting on the couch, drumming away at his guitar, and he looked up at Maureen.

"You've seen it before," he said. Maureen looked at him.

"But, it's a whole new perspective!" she exclaimed, twirling around in the air. She then pranced over towards me, and grabbed my shirt. "Come on, dance with me," she said seductively. I found myself smiling, and I took her hand, and starting tangoing with her. The tango was Maureen's favorite dance; she says it was the way she views life. She dangles and hangs and twists till she gets her way, just like the tango, so we always danced it.

"What's this new perspective?" Roger asked.

"Oh, Roger, Maureen got evicted, so she's going to move in with us," I said. Roger looked at me, almost as if he could kill me.

"Mark, you've only been going out for three months," he said. "Are you sure?"

"Mark is sure, he always knows what he's doing," Maureen said. She ran her finger down my chest, and I wanted so badly just to resume our make-out session.

"Where were you last night Mark?" Roger asked.

"With me," Maureen said. Roger looked at Maureen, and then back at me. He was searching for the words to say. He knew that we had sex.

"You…two…had…sex?" Roger asked.

"Yep," Maureen said. Roger looked at us, gawking.

Collins barged in, and looked at Maureen. "Where were you last night Mark?"

"With Maureen."

"Oh…" Collins said. "So, why are you here?" Collins asked Maureen.

"I'm moving in!" Maureen exclaimed. Collins' jaw dropped, and he looked at her.

"Maureen is gonna…live with us?" he asked.

"Yeah," I said. Collins smiled.

"Well, I'll be damned! Hell yes!" he said. He grabbed Maureen from my grasp, and he started dancing around the room with her. She was laughing hard, and Collins seemed so excited that Maureen was moving in with us. But I could barely contain myself I was so excited.

"Where is she going to sleep?" Roger asked. We all looked at him, and he smiled. "What?"

"Oh, I forgot about that," I said. I looked at Maureen. "Where do you want to sleep Maureen?"

"Duh pookie. With you," she said. She kissed my neck, and I felt my face redden. I wanted so badly just to melt away. Maybe Maureen moving in wasn't that great of an idea.

But Collins and Roger didn't seem to mind it. They were cracking up slightly, and I wanted so badly to get out of that room. But Maureen made sure I wasn't going anywhere. She smiled at me.

"What's wrong pookie?" she asked. I hated it so much when she called me that, but something told me it was just her little "pet name". I remember reading in some magazine that it helps keep a healthy relationship…wait….I didn't say that…

"Well, looks like Mark ain't gonna be a virgin anymore," Collins said.

"What? Mark was a virgin before last night?" Maureen asked. She looked at me, and my face reddened even more. Ok, so maybe Maureen moving in wasn't a good idea at all…

"Yeah…I was," I managed. They all looked at me, and Maureen smiled at me.

"Mark, that's so sweet. Now, I'll always be remembered," she said. I wanted so badly just to plant a big sloppy kiss on her lips. It always seems like no matter how much she screwed up, she always came back and made things better.

Collins decided he was going out for the night and Roger said he had a date with April. It was just Maureen and me, alone. I couldn't imagine what tonight had in store for me.

After putting her stuff away, we evicted Roger from his double bed, and we moved it towards my corner of the room. We fixed the sheets, and then we just relaxed and watched the city life, and talked. She was holding my hand the whole time we were talking, and I was just nodding as she blabbed on and on about her dreams of becoming a superstar actress. She was stunning even more now. She got her hair cut around her shoulders. The wavy locks seemed even darker, and more beautiful. Her bright red lipstick was even brighter, when we turned out the lights and watched the city life underneath us. She kept playing with my fingers, and I knew that no matter what, I could never let her go.

Around midnight, I was starting to get tired. I had stayed up all night last night inside Maureen, so I was really exhausted. She noticed it, and was smiling. She stroked my back, and my hair.

"Alrighty, let's head to bed," she said. I looked at her.

"No, I'm fine," I said, ending with a big yawn. She giggled a bit, and then stood up.

"Come on, to bed," she said. I pulled on her.

"No don't leave me," I said pathetically. I was afraid of her leaving me alone. Afraid of losing the one thing I love.

"Don't worry, I'm gonna be beside you the whole night," she said. I smiled at her, and she wriggled away from my grasp. She went towards our bed, and then she started undressing. She stood in front of me, wearing only her black bra and panties, and I never realized till then, but, they were silk. I stood up and walked towards her. I wrapped my arms around her body, and touched her ass. She giggled, and put her arms around my neck, staring at me. She laughed, and then she leaned forward, ready for me to kiss her. So I did, and we kissed and kissed standing up. We were standing up, and my shirt was already off, and my pants about to come off.

When the lights come on. I broke our kiss almost instantly, and looked towards the door.

There was Roger, standing there with April. Roger was looking at me, appalled, and April seemed slightly disturbed. Maureen realized that they were there, and she smiled at them.

"Hi," she said. I looked down, and realized she was . I then turned her so that Roger or April could see her. I was protecting my Maureen, and no one could touch her. She pulled herself closer to my bare chest, and I pressed her against it, hiding her. No one could come near Maureen, she was mine and one day I was going to make sure was always mine.

"Well, I think we'll just head over to your place April," Roger said. April dashed for the door, and Roger was quick to follow. They turned out the lights, and shut the door. I looked back at Maureen, who seemed distracted. I knew that we could never get back on track. So I climbed into bed, and Maureen was quick to follow. Damn Roger, he ruined it for me.

Maureen got in bed with me and she lay beside me. I put my arm over her waist, and pulled her closer. Her hair in my face, tickling my nose. I kissed her head, and she turned over, kissing my lips instead.

"Where were we?" she asked. I smiled at her, and we resumed.

"What the hell where you and Maureen doing last night?" Benny asked me. Benny walked in later that night, during the sex, and he seemed somewhat shocked. He hasn't met Maureen yet, and when he did, he seemed appalled that she was in our apartment without Roger there. That she was actually in a bed, and that the other person in the bed was me.

"What do you think?" I asked.

"Dude, I just walked in, and there you are, naked and sleeping with some chick. That can be really disturbing," he said to me.

"For you, but we just happen to enjoy it," I said. He looked at me, and rolled his eyes at me.

Maureen was asleep still, and I was up, fixing coffee. Benny thought Maureen was probably mental for sleeping with me or even liking me. He couldn't comprehend someone falling in love with a nerd like me. And besides, I really don't like him, and neither does Collins. Benny is just one of Roger's friend, who is obsessed with his new girlfriend, so rich chick from the East Side. We didn't know her, but we know that Benny has residence at her house and our apartment. Roger claims that she's a heiress to some fancy business, but Collins and I don't give a damn. We really don't like Benny, just to restate it all.

Benny left to go to work, and I remained sitting on the couch, with the coffee. I drank it happily, and I knew that these were the best of my life. I heard a low groan from the bed, and I turned towards her. She was rolling around in the covers, and then she looked up at me, and smiled. She stood up, realizing she was naked, she grabbed the sheets and wrapped them around her. She walked over to me, smiling, and I couldn't help but watch her. She came around me, I was still shirtless, and she started massaging my shoulders.

"Someone seems tensed up," she said to me. I didn't realize that I was so tense, but she could tell. She lowered herself, to where her face was rubbing against my cheek. She dropped the sheet just a bit, to where I could feel her breasts against my back, and it sent chills down my back. I turned around to her, and smiled.

"Nope, not at all," I said, and then I stood up, and grabbed some food.

Ring.

I sat next to Maureen on the couch, her legs spread out, and over my legs, which were on the floor. We both held a glass of wine in our hands, toasting to nothing. Collins was in the armchair next to me, joining our toast with wine too. We all clanked our glasses, and drank to sweetness.

Ring.

"Why don't you answer that?" Maureen asked me.

Ring.

"If you don't make it shut up, I'll unplug it," Collins said.

"Just wait-"

"SPEAK!" we all heard.

"Hey Mark, um…it's mom, and well, I just called to ask you if you were going to come down for Chanukah. Let me know whenever you get the chance."

Beep.

Maureen looked at me and I could feel myself redden. "You going down?" she asked me.

"I don't know, I was thinking about it, but I think I'd rather stay here with you guys, you know?" I said.

It was early December, and snow was already outside our window. Maureen and I had been going out for over half a year, and we were going good, and I knew we were going to last, it was in my blood, I just knew it.

"Pookie, they want you to come down for Chanukah!" Maureen said to me. She ran her finger down my chest, and I stiffened, and she looked at me.

"I don't want to go though, I want to stay with you guys," I said. Maureen looked at me.

"No, baby, I'm making you go," she said. I looked at her, like she was insane. She was actually going to make me go to Scarsdale and make me see my family again."

"Maureen, no," I said. She looked at me.

"And I know! I'll go with you!"

I froze. Maureen + Family Disaster. She couldn't come with me, everything is going great, and it would destroy everything. She would met the family, and met the weak side of me. Wait…hasn't she already seen the side? The side that is at her feet, kissing them. She was the greatest thing in the world. She's seen that side, quivering when she spoke it me. Shaking in bed, and freaking out when she kissed me. She saw that side of me every single day.

"Maureen…I don't think that'd be a good idea," I said. Maureen looked at me.

"No, it would be a great idea Markie. And you know it," she said loudly. Collins was zoned out of our conversation, and was now swirling the bottle of wine around, trying to make champagne I guess. It was unsuccessful, considering it to be red wine. "And, I'll give ya a little treat too," she said. My eyes widened a bit at this. We haven't had sex in over two months, since she was worried it wouldn't be "Magical" anymore. Like I gave a damn, it was sex, there was no magic.

"Ok, I'll call her back," I said. Maureen smiled at me, and then I put my arm around her waist. She looked at me.

"What are you doing?" she asked, confused.

"Touching you," I said. Collins' head shot up at this, and when he saw my hand was there, he relaxed and returned to the red champagne.

"No," she said. She pulled my arm away, and threw it down. "You are calling your mommy," she said. I sighed.

"Now?"

"Now," she said. She pulled me up, and walked me towards the phone, I picked it up, and started dialing the phone number.

Ring.

Damn, what the hell was I doing? Calling my mom, telling her I was going to come to Scarsdale? Eck, I hated that place. It smelled…old.

"Cohen residence," a feminine voice said.

"Hey mom."

"MARK!" I heard a squeal. I jumped back from the phone and looked at it. I then returned to it.

"Hey, sorry, I just walked in and got your message," I said.

"That's fine Markie. So, are you coming?" she asked.

"Yes, actually I am coming down. So…would the 13th be good?" I asked.

"Well of course!" she said.

"And mom, I was also wondering, could I bring…a f-friend?" I asked. There was silence at the other end of the phone, and I felt my heart skip a beat.

"Depends honey," she said. "Who is it?"

Suddenly, the door opened up. I jumped about ten feet in the air, and we all turned to see Roger, alone, for once. He was slumping, and his hair was in his eyes. His eyes were downcast, and I saw a tear drop to the floor.

"Roger?"

"Roger? Who's Roger?" mom asked.

Roger looked at me. And for the first time in my life, those green eyes, those bright, vibrate green eyes, looked sad and frightened.

"Mom, I'm gonna have to call you back," I said. I hung the phone up before she could protest. I looked at Roger, whose gaze was now on the floor. "Roger, what happened?"

"Everything happened," he said.

"Did you get her pregnant?" Collins asked. Roger managed a weak smile, that quickly dissolved back into a frown.

"No, I didn't get her pregnant. I…got…."

"Roger, what happened?" I asked.

"We went to the doctor. She wasn't feeling well lately, and well, I decided to take her to the doctor, and I was feeling too great either…and then…they told us."

"Told you what? Roger, what happened?" I asked.

"Told us our deaths. Told us our destiny. Told us that we are HIV positive."