CHAPTER EIGHT

Pain surged through her head as she awakened. The bright sun shined down onto her face, making the pain that much worse as she opened her eyes. She turned her head in the other direction, cursing to herself as she fought to get up.

"Lie still." said a voice from the end of the bed. "That jerk-off drugged you pretty bad..."

She gasped upon hearing AJ's voice, unsure of why he was in her apartment. "W-What are you doing here?"

He chuckled, "Relax Gabby, you're in my apartment."

"What!" she shouted as she sat up too quickly. "Ow..."

AJ sighed and walked to her side of the bed. He gently placed his hand on her shoulder and pressed her back to the bed, "Damn it don't you listen...lay back down you're suffering from the effects of those drugs."

Gabby sighed, "What drugs? I don't remember taking any drugs."

"That's because they were in your drink." he said. "My goodness you know nothing about men do you?"

She rubbed her forehead trying to remember what happened after she left the club. Then it hit her, she was attacked... "What happened to Leo? I remember him attacking me..."

AJ gritted his teeth behind his lips, "He's gone...and I'm sure he won't be following you home anymore."

Gabby glanced at him, "What do you mean?"

He looked at her torn coat that was on the chair beside the nightstand and then tossed his head back to move his hair from his face. "Let's just say he got a taste of my bad side."

She glanced at him as he turned and left the room. Inwardly, she feared what his bad side was like, but another part of her wanted to thank him somehow for saving her life. She rolled onto her side and closed her eyes, wanting nothing more than for her headache to subside.

AJ headed to his bathroom and opened the mirror to get some headache pills. He shut the mirror and then looked at his reflection, wondering if he could truly keep up this "all for one" role...For whatever reason fate wouldn't seem to let this woman out of his life and he was just gonna have to accept it...for now... He grabbed her a glass of water and then went back to the bedroom.

"Here, take these." he said.

Gabby sat up and gladly took the pills. As she drank her water down, he found himself studying her...he lips although dried from the drugs she was given, were in fact full and gentle the way he liked. Her hair wasn't too thick, but it's warm auburn color helped bring out those timid brown eyes of hers. Her skin was slightly pale, but it was clear...and maybe glowing? His eyes traveled down her small form, taking in her full breasts, tiny waist, and long legs.

"U-Um...will you be ok?" he asked.

She nodded and handed him the glass. "Could you possibly close the blinds?"

He nodded and went to close the blinds, "If you need anything else I'll be in the next room."

Gabby smiled, "Thanks...oh and AJ?"

"What is it?" he asked.

She dropped her gaze to her lap for a moment, "Thank you...for helping me."

He hadn't expected an apology, but he was glad to have it. "Don't mention it,"

She watched him leave quietly before laying down to rest. It didn't take her long to fall asleep once the meds kicked in, however she didn't sleep all that long either. Upon waking up, she found her headache completely gone and her body well rested. She sat up to stretch her arms out and gasped when she realized what time it was...

"Simon!" she almost shouted before throwing herself out of bed and running out of the room.

AJ was on his way out of the bathroom when she opened the bedroom door. The sight stopped her in her tracks. There he stood completely bare with a towel loosely wrapped around his waist. Her mouth fell open for a moment before her cheeks burned with embarrassment and appreciation.

He cursed under his breath and held his towel before it could fall. "I'm sorry, I didn't realize you were awake,"

"It's ok," she said, "I was just about to go check on my cat,"

"He's fine...I fed him this morning for you." he said as he raked his hand through his wet hair. Water dripped down his chest, catching Gabby's eye...he had strong arms, broad shoulders and the sexiest eight pack just above his navel...he was gorgeous...probably the most gorgeous man she had ever seen, "Wait, you went into my apartment?"

"Yeeaaaah," he mocked her. "I'm sorry if that bothers you but how else was I supposed to get to him?"

She opened her mouth to scowl him, but remembered that he had just saved her life. "U-uh...thanks...I'm sorry I reacted like that. It's just that normally I don't have strangers in my apartment."

He shrugged, "Well with all do respect, you and I have insulted each other, been out at the same bars, and you've just seen me in my rare form...I'd say we're more than strangers at this point..."

Gabby blushed, "Oh my..."

"Look, why don't you head back over to your place...I think you're well enough to be alone now."

She tried to contain her surprising disappointment, but she knew she couldn't stay there forever. AJ even noticed the look of concern on her face and almost rolled his eyes.

"I'll stop over later if you want me to." he said. "You'll be home right?"

She nodded, "Yeah, I'm always home on Saturdays,"

He nodded and headed into his bedroom feeling somewhat surprised at her new attachment to him. There was a piece of him that thought it was cute, but that other side of him fought against that. "Poor girl, she's never been through something like this before..." he thought. "I wonder what else she's never experienced before...wait...why do I even care! She's just my neighbor who was in trouble and I helped her...that's all..."

As he wrestled with his inner demons Gabby headed over to her apartment, where she was greeted by her little companion. As she locked her door, she couldn't get the thought of AJ's perfect body out of her mind. But why? He was a jerk most of the time...and as most men in her life, totally out of her league.

Later that night, AJ found himself knocking at her door. He was hoping she was sleeping, but of course, she was awake, waiting for him like a scared school girl. He was surprised to find her back to her normal self, wearing those thick glasses and fluffy pink robe he had met her in. However, this time she seemed different to him...

"Hey," she said when she opened her door.

"Hey," he said. "How you holding up?"

She shrugged, "I'm ok I suppose."

He nodded and then heard a familiar TV show coming on from her living room.

"You watching Inuyasha?" he asked.

She nodded, "Yea...how did you-"

"-I love that show," he said as he invited himself into her place. She wasn't sure if she should be offended or flattered by it...instead of questioning it she simply went with the flow.

He looked around her living room for a moment before taking a seat at the end of her futon, directly in front of her TV.

"Did you want something to drink?" she asked timidly.

He glanced at her for a moment as Simon circled around her ankles. "You got beer?"

"No but I do have milk," she said with a smile.

He chuckled, "No thank you,"

She nodded and took a seat beside him. "How long have you liked this show?"

"Since I was a teen," he said. "Me and my friends use to run home like lightening to catch this after school. My mom hated it because I never kept my grades up but I had time to run home and watch TV."

She giggled catching him slightly off guard. He had never heard something so innocent before in his entire life. It was calming almost...maybe too calming...

"Are you into other anime shows?" she asked.

"Damn straight," he said. "Dragonball Z, Yu Yu Hakashu-"

"-Sailor Moon, Yu-Gi-Oh," she finished.

He smiled at her, "Wow, you like all of that stuff?"

"Sure do..." she said as she got up and walked to one of her bookshelves. "See, I have all of the comic books."

AJ looked at the library of books with his mouth open, "Goodness gracious...I've never met a woman who liked the same stuff as me. You're one interesting mystery Gabby,"

She shrugged, "I don't think it's mysterious at all. I'm a nerdy girl therefore I like nerdy things."

He nodded, "I guess you're right. Do you have any family around here?"

"No. I moved here to get away from my family...my mother in particular."

"How come?" he asked.

She was about to answer him but she couldn't get the words out. Instead she glanced out of her window to the city.

"Private matters?" he asked. "Don't worry I understand,"

"You do?" she asked.

"Yeah, I'm out here for reasons I'm choosing to keep hidden so I completely understand how you feel."

Gabby couldn't believe it, her once hard headed egotistical neighbor, actually had somewhat of a heart...she wished to know more about him, but she knew she'd never get that far with him...not in one million years. The two watched TV for what seemed like hours before Gabby noticed he had fallen asleep on her futon. She wanted to wake him up but watching him sleep so peacefully made her change her mind. She turned down the TV and set her alarm for church in the morning before sliding into bed with him. She turned away from him and eventually fell asleep with a smile on her face.