Joe

Waking Up

     I woke up in the pit of Joe's living room. Joe was resting next to me, Katie and Rex snuggled on the other side. The morning sun was shinning into the entire room, highlighting the left over party favors and empty bottles spread around the room. I could smell bacon cooking and sat up, turning to see Josh standing in front of the stove in the kitchen. "Hey." he nodded at me and I nodded back, laying back down. "Morning." Joe said without opening his eyes. Even his groggy morning voice was sexy. "Good morning." I whispered back, rolling onto my side to stare at him. "Don't stare." he said, again not opening his eyes. "Would you two be quiet?" Rex snapped at us now. Joe and I laughed quietly, both of us sitting up now. "How's everyone feeling??" Joe asked, looking around the room. "I was great till you two woke me up." Katie stirred next to me and I threw a pillow at her. 

     "Whose hungry?" Josh smiled at all of us, a pile of pancakes resting on the island. "Bacon?" Rex asked as he sat up now too. "Yes, come on. Let's eat." Josh motioned for all of us to join him, Mike already sitting at the counter. "Last night though." Rex smiled and rubbed the back of his neck as he grabbed a plate of pancakes. "You guys seriously know how to party." I smiled and sat down on the floor after taking a plate of pancakes. "Us, did you see yourself last night?" Mike glared at me and we all busted up laughing. "It was one of the best nights we've had." Josh agreed as everyone started eating, Joe sitting down next to me. "Do you want to come with me somewhere before you go home?" he asked me, taking a bite of his pancake. I'd follow him anywhere. "Yeah, where we going?" I smiled at him, my curiosity spiking. "I have to run to the office and grab something is all, I just wanted some company." he lightly bumped his arm into me and I smiled, staring down at my food. For the next few hours I could forget the trouble I had facing me when I got home.

     "Mia." Katie pulled me into a bathroom before Joe and I left. She shut the door behind us and stood in front of me, waiting for me to say something. "What?" I laughed at her, not understanding what this was about. "Mia! Did you and Joe...." she made a rolling motion with one of her hands, a huge smile on her face. I sighed. "No, but I don't want to talk about it. Not now." I shook my head and turned to exit. "What? Mia what's wrong?" she grabbed my arm, stopping me. "I just, I have to tell Jason. I have to end it with him before I can start anything with anyone else. It's not fair to Joe, or to me." I said to her and her eyes got big. "What are you going to tell him?" "The truth Katie, that I fell for someone else. That I've been unhappy for awhile." I shrugged and left the bathroom but she raced after me, forcing me into a hug. "Okay, well I'm here for you if everything comes crashing down." she said and finally let me go. She really was a good friend. "You ready?" Joe was standing by the hallway. "Yes. Bye guys!" I waved at everyone who hollered after us as Joe and I headed out.

     "I really had a good time last night, even after...." I said to Joe as we turned down street after street. He had the windows down on the Cadillac, the warm air feeling nice against my skin. "I did too." Joe smiled keeping his eyes on the road. "I hope we do something like that again, soon. It was nice to step out of myself for a second." I looked out the window. "Yeah." was all he said and I looked at him. I couldn't tell what he was feeling, his aviators covering his eyes. "How long have you been the Marketing Analyst?" I asked after awhile of silence. "Uhm, three years." he said just as we pulled in front of a tall and modern looking grey building. He parked in a spot with his name on it, silently getting out of the car and heading over to my side to let me out. He didn't wait for me to get all the way out before he started towards the building.

     "Hey!" I jogged after him to catch up and grabbed his wrist, pulling him to a stop. "Are you sure you wanted me to tag along? I don't mean to be in your way, I mean is everything okay?" I looked at his eyes, past his aviators and his expression softened. "Yes, I'm sorry." he pulled me into a hug, holding me tight. "I'm just distracted. I'm sorry." he said and let me go, taking my hand and continuing inside the building. He pulled us towards the elevators, nodding to the large blonde woman behind the front desk who nodded back. "You've been at this building in LA awhile haven't you?" I asked as we got into the elevator and Joe pressed four. "Yeah, since Nick and I moved out here about a year and a half ago. It's pretty permanent...." he looked at his feet now. Something was still off but I didn't want to press it. The doors opened to a small lobby with a young brunette standing behind the front desk. "Mr. Manganiello, how are you sir?" she asked as we hurried past her and through two large wooden doors. 

     Joe let go of my hand and sat down at his desk, opening drawers and shuffling through them. I watched him frantically searching for something. "Can I help you?" I asked quietly. "No!" he practically screamed at me and I flinched a little. He'd never gotten even a little testy with me. Even when he yelled at me for the taco truck thing there was a lightness to his voice. "Sorry, I just mean I don't need your help. I found it. Let's go." He grabbed the manila folder, slamming a drawer shut and hurrying past me to the door. He let me out first, waving to the secretary before we entered the elevator. Silence consumed us.