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"What are you doing here?" Punk asked, immediately panicking.

"You not going to invite me in?" Sophie laughed a little, brushing past him anyway into his apartment.

"Now isn't a great time." Punk shook his head.

"You don't look particularly busy." Sophie said, "I'm off the weekend. Thought I'd come by and check on you."

"Check on me?" Punk asked, "I don't need checked on." He scoffed.

"Really?" She smiled seductively with a little shrug, unbuttoning her black coat as Punk began to notice she was only wearing a bra underneath.

"No no no…" Punk shook his head frantically, trying to button her coat back up.

"God, what is the matter with you?" Sophie shook her head, "I thought you were happy to oblige to my needs." She smiled.

"Hi." AJ said, appearing at the doorway to the bedroom, still only wearing Punk's t-shirt, folding her arms. Of course, she'd heard everything, the apartment wasn't that big.

"Oh… hi." Sophie turned, making sure her coat was buttoned back up as she looked on at AJ, staring her up and down a little, remembering her being in Punk's shop the last time she came to visit.

"I can go." AJ turned to Punk specifically.

"No, no it's ok." Punk shook his head.

"So I've to go?" Sophie clarified, looking up at him.

"Well… you never told me you were coming." Punk said as AJ watched him closely.

"I didn't think I had to." Sophie scoffed.

"It's ok." AJ nodded, "You stay. I'll leave." She said, walking away back into the bedroom to get the rest of her clothes whilst Punk turned to Sophie.

"Girlfriend?" Sophie asked, "Cause… you know… a heads up would have been useful here."

"Who the hell drives for two hours, in their underwear, just to hook up with someone?" Punk asked her with frustration.

"Oh, you're an asshole." Sophie shook her head, "A big asshole."

"How am I an asshole?" Punk shook his head.

"Maybe don't give the impression that you're open for service the next time then." Sophie nodded, "I came here for some fun. Didn't know you were getting it from someone else now. My mistake." Sophie shook her head, reaching for the door and storming out of it as Punk rolled his eyes, running his hand through his messy hair and turning around to see AJ storming out of his bedroom with her own clothes fully on.

"You don't have to go. Why are you going?" Punk asked her.

"How often does she come here?" AJ shook her head, feeling a little stupid.

"What?" Punk said.

"I mean… have you been hooking up with her the whole time you've been here?" AJ shook her head.

"What? No. No, she was here once. A few weeks ago. Before we were even having civil conversations." Punk assured her.

"Yet she's here again. In her underwear?" AJ raised a brow.

"Ok… yeah, it looks weird, but I think maybe gave the impression to her last time that if she was ever feeling lonely back in the city she could always stop by and see me." Punk shrugged, "Not a relationship just… sex." He shrugged.

"And that's what we're doing, right?" AJ nodded.

"No. Well… what are we doing, April? You're the one who doesn't want to rush into anything." He pointed out, feeling the need to defend himself on some level.

"Yeah, I think I have good reason." AJ shook her head, "I just thought maybe you would have mentioned it to me. She clearly thinks you're available."

"I'm not really in contact with her. She didn't tell me she was coming." Punk said.

"Well you should have told her. I bet she feels like an idiot now." AJ shook her head.

"I should have told her that I'm sleeping with you?" Punk asked her as AJ looked at him.

"I'm not arguing with you." AJ said tiredly.

"You are arguing with me, actually." Punk pointed out, "I didn't ask her to come here."

"No, but you told her your door was always open for her the last time she was here." AJ nodded.

"Before I was with you!" Punk yelled a little as AJ looked at him angrily, "This is silly. It's you I'm spending all my time with, isn't it? I'd ask you on a date, but you have so many damn rules and restrictions." He shook his head with frustration as AJ looked at him with even more anger.

"She's right. You are a big asshole." AJ nodded, storming past him as he reached out to pull her back with her hand, "Don't grab me!" AJ yelled loudly, ripping her hand away in a panic as she took a few steps back.

"I'm sorry." Punk put his hands up in defence. He'd merely only took her hand to keep her from reaching the door, but to her it seemed like a massive deal, and he knew why. Of course, he knew why. "I'm sorry, I just… I don't want you to go. Not like this."

"Well, I'm going." AJ shook her head, walking out of the apartment and slamming the door shut behind her as Punk placed his hands over his face with frustration.

"She was there in her underwear?!" Lyla gasped, sitting on her sofa in her apartment with AJ who had just arrived after leaving Punk's place.

"Yes." AJ shook her head.

"Do you think he asked her to come? Without you knowing?" Lyla asked.

"I don't know. I don't think so." AJ said, "Did I overreact?" She asked.

"No. I don't think so." Lyla said, "He's clearly still got connections to her. If he was serious about you then he would have given her the heads up, right?"

"Or maybe he thinks that he's just sleeping with me and that's it." AJ said, "Which I guess that is what's happening. He said he would want to go on a date, but I have so many rules and restrictions." She shook her head.

"Well, that's rude." Lyla said.

"It's true. How can I be fine sleeping with him and be scared about taking it further? Like dating?" AJ asked.

"Because you really like him, and you're scared it won't work out?" Lyla wondered.

"I do really like him." AJ nodded, "But tonight was weird. I feel like I got caught with someone else's guy." She shook her head.

"Well, you didn't." Lyla made clear.

"But he clearly still has ties to her." AJ said, "What if he's still in love with her?" She asked. Her mind was racing with all kinds of thoughts.

"Do you think he is?" Lyla asked.

"No." AJ said, "But… who the hell arranges to hook up with their ex? Exes are something you move on from. No?" AJ asked Lyla.

"Normally." Lyla nodded, "You should talk to him tomorrow. Clearly things got a little tense. I mean… he did say he wanted to take you on a date, right?"

"Yeah, but maybe he just sees me as an obstacle." AJ shrugged.

"April. Come on. I don't think that is the case. I do think he really likes you." Lyla nodded, "Tonight was just a little hiccup. A misunderstanding."

"Now I just want to avoid him." AJ sighed tiredly, "I didn't like being mad at him. Properly mad."

"You're never gonna have a relationship where you don't get mad. Hate to break it to you." Lyla nodded, "You should talk to him tomorrow. Once you've cooled off."

"Do you think I have a right to be mad?" AJ asked, "I mean… we are just sleeping together. Maybe I had no right to feel so territorial."

"You're spending every night with him. Your feelings are completely valid. I do think it might be easier if you guys maybe addressed some things. Like… go on a date. I think you'd like it. And I'm sure then he'd be contacting Sophie to tell her he has a girlfriend. Maybe he just didn't really know what you guys were doing." Lyla said.

"So… it's my fault?" AJ wondered.

"Did I say that?" Lyla shoved her as AJ groaned, "No. It's not your fault. Most men don't have women in their underwear show up at their place unannounced." She rolled her eyes, "But… I don't think he's done anything wrong, particularly."

"So… let me get this straight… his ex shows up in her underwear looking for sex whilst I'm there, and tomorrow I should ask him on a date?" AJ asked with confusion.

"Well, you're making it sound weird." Lyla scoffed, "I didn't say ask him on a date. Just talk things over with him. Start from there. And maybe start considering dating." She shrugged.

The next morning after a sleepless night, AJ headed to work to open up her coffee shop. When she got there, she noticed Punk's display board was sitting outside her shop with something written on it.

'I'm really sorry,' was all that was written on the board, with a sad face next to it. She looked over to his coffee shop which was opened, no doubt with him inside getting ready to open to the public. She wanted to go over there and talk to him, but another part of her just wanted to avoid it. She wasn't used to this kind of drama in her life. To feeling so consumed by another individual that it brought out these emotions. She'd gone without it for so long that she almost didn't know how to act or what to say.

She opened up her shutters and the door to The Brewberry and walked inside to get ready for opening.

"Did he leave that out there?" Lyla asked, arriving half an hour later to help AJ get ready to open. She was in the kitchen doing the baking for the day.

"Yes." AJ said.

"That's disgustingly nice." Lyla nodded, "Did you go talk to him?"

"No. Not yet." AJ said.

"Are you gonna?" Lyla asked.

"I'm working right now." AJ said, "I have a lot to do."

"So… after work? Oh, maybe you should leave him a message on the board." Lyla suggested.

"I don't know what I'm supposed to say." AJ sighed, taking a break from mixing some cake mix in a large bowl, "I feel so… detached from what it's like to be in a relationship. Like I have no clue what to do. I feel like an alien. And I can't stop thinking about him saying that I have rules and restrictions. Why would he say that when he knows what I've been through?"

"I'm sure he didn't mean it. It was a dumb thing to say but… I don't think he would have meant it to hurt you." Lyla said, "I've seen you these past couple weeks. You've been so happy. It's really noticeable… the effect he has on you."

"Maybe I'm just not cut out for relationships." AJ shrugged.

"Why would you think that?" Lyla shook her head, "You had a little hiccup with him and now you're gonna go running for the hills?"

"I didn't say that. I'm just saying I don't know what to do." AJ said, "I still feel like…" She shook her head, stopping herself from speaking more.

"Like what?" Lyla asked.

"Like I can't properly commit myself to anything. In fear of something bad happening." AJ shook her head.

"That's understandable." Lyla nodded, "But clearly this guy is different. I don't know what it is about him that you've been drawn to but clearly, it's for a good reason. You're past is just… it's still messing with you. Making you think you're not ready or deserving of something serious with a guy."

"My past is always messing with me." AJ shook her head, going back to mixing. But she trusted her best friend. She knew for Lyla to encourage her to talk to Punk meant that she clearly saw there was something more between them. She knew that herself but this little blip had just scared her a little.

"Ok, what do you need me to do here?" Lyla asked, figuring she'd give the conversation a rest for now.

"Do we have chalk?" AJ asked.

"Uh… yeah, I think so. Out the front." Lyla nodded.

"Can you get this mix into the trays?" AJ asked her.

"Sure can." Lyla said whilst AJ headed out the front of the coffee shop, looking around and finding some chalk next to some pens.

She headed outside where the display board still sat, rubbing out his message and writing her own on it.

She carried it across the road and sat it back outside his shop where it usually sat, having only written, 'we can talk later,' on it. It was all she could think of right now.