Okay, this is my first AH Chapter and I'm a little nervous about what you all might think, and I may not do this right, but this story was so great to me and I found the perfect people to use in it. I'm using Joe Wordsworth, Trombonus and Rachlou, but I'm just calling them by shorter versions for sake of reality. I hope you enjoy it.
P.S- I rushed the last half due to CPU crappage and a school schedule that told me to go kill myself again and again, but I got it finished finally, even though it definitely isn't as good as the first.
**
The kind of relationship Rach and Joe had was beyond happiness and comfort, they could do anything together, talk about anything, or be anything with each other. In fact, they were the kind of people more likely to act like two childhood friends than a married couple, but that was the greatest thing about them. They had met in highschool, and lead a very energetic and promiscuous lifestyle. Since the two were so keen on eachother, even the sexual fantasies they talked about were made true, sometimes even within their group of friends.
The group included Joe's best friend Trom, he was kind, funny, smart, and the cutest cat-lover anyone could ever meet. During grad year Joe had become aware of Rach's attraction to Trom, even though he and Joe were in many ways alike, and were quite the riot together during social events with the group of friends. Further into grade twelve, after Trom had broken off with his long-time girlfriend, Joe proposed the idea that the three should, 'spend a night together.' He agreed, and since then Rach had always been attracted to Trom, despite the fact that he was happily married as well, though she couldn't help but wonder why he hardly brought her around with him the numerous times he came to visit Joe in their apartment.
***
As Rach cleared the final lap of her kitchen and living room, she set down her silky burmese cat-pal on the sofa, hearing the ding of the oven go off. She hummed to herself a little bit as she slid across the tile floor in her socks, opening up the oven and bending down to check on the lasagna. She poked a fork into it before shutting the oven door -- another hour would do. She stood up and let out a long sigh, crossing her arms and tilting her head back, her ponytail sliding between her shoulder blades slightly. It was unusual having nothing to do, on a day like this she would most likely be up in the office waist deep in paperwork, bouncing off one thing or another. Time off is what she always wanted, but now that she had it, with Joe's absence it was less than exciting.
Rach turned and scratched her forehead with the heel of her hand hidden beneath the loose sleeve of her light blue dress shirt that she wore that day mindless of the yellow pajama pants she wore beneath it. It was five pm, and she still wore her nocturnal dress, just as unusual as having time off. Rolling up her sleeves she made her way to the pile of dishes on the counter. She ran the tap and gazed out the window in front of her. It was still light out with children playing in the quiet street in front of the suburban apartment building. She noticed cars driving by a block away, her neighbor spraying down his SUV, and momentarily afterward, she heard the loud sound of the front door opening and closing in quick succession. Rach payed no attention, it wasn't Joe, he wasn't due home until about 9pm.
"Rach!" She heard a voice call, the visitor sounding like a child demanding attention.
"Trom!" Rach replied in the same enthusiasm while maintaining her focus and facial expression, wiping down the dish in her hands. Sliding across the floor sideways, a tall man with a five o'clock shadow, and scruffy chestnut brown hair entered the room, flipping a random picture upside down on the fridge and sliding it next to the icemaker, introducing his presence in the familiar way, energetic and entertaining.
"Hey, where's Joe?" He asked breathing short and rapidly.
"It's monday evening Trom." Rach said with a discrete smile on her face, imagining the perplexed look on Trom's face when he replied;
"Oh...well then, I ran for nothing."
"Why did you run here? It's a five minute drive, don't you have a car?" Rach teased.
"Well," Trom started as he took a seat on the counter and Rach continued to pile the dishes on the rack to her right. "The Mrs. has it tonight, she's over on the east side visiting one of her woman friends."
"You mean Trina, the one with the fetus." Rach said back matter-of-factly.
Trom paused for a moment and then continued to look confused at Rach's back.
"She's pregnant?"
Snickering Rach turned to look Trom in the eye as if to say, "Woah, what?" before shaking her head and laughing as Trom donned an embellished expression of mock bewilderment.
"What... Did you think she was on bedrest because it's her hobby to carry a large number of basketballs under her huge dress? Wait... that would make her tummy rather lumpy looking."
Trom nodded sarcastically. "Actually I thought she was smuggling narcotics... Hence is why my wife's always at her place."
"Oh snap!"
Entertaining Rach was a pass-time of Trom's and the two had become companions ever since Joe had landed a promotion and reaped extra hours in the office. Since Rach was on vacation Trom always swung by to keep her company. Though most conversations where punctuated with sarcasm and teasing, they were a sidesplitting duo. Every time Rach heard Trom enter the house, no matter how convincing her apparent indifference seemed, she recognized his footsteps and felt butterflies upon his every arrival. However, she reminded herself that Trom was friends with everyone, especially Joe, and Trom had no interest in her whatsoever anyhow. She figured he had always thought, since she was fifteen that she was too young for him, and his present monogamy seemed firmly established to her.
Trom's marriage seemed to sacrifice excitement for security. Though it was a happy arrangement, it certainly wasn't perfect. It wasn't necessarily that he intended to pursue a relationship with Rach, just that he regretted his failure to seize the opportunity before he was married. He was aware that Joe would willingly facilitate that liaison as long as he was in the room, but Trom stubbornly rejected that opportunity as well out of his desire to stay loyal so that despite his impatience, he could continue to sleep at night.
"You're a gem, you know that?" Rach teased again as she attended to the dishes once more. Trom hopped down from the counter moving mischieviously. He rolled up his sleeves and shrugged his shoulders moving his head from side to side as if cracking his neck before entering a boxing ring. Suddenly his hands dove into the sink, splashing water all over the place. Rach squealed, scrunching up her face as she recoiled to the left, raising her right shoulder as a shield.
"Oh... my, god!... Trom!" she laughingly protested, the water spraying her on the face and the chest of her shirt.
"Don't be screaming my name just yet. We haven't even gotten past first base." He finished his sentence off with a strange look that involved his tongue sticking out slightly, Rach just glared at him and laughed, feeling those insistent butterflies again. It seemed as though she was being teased, as if this was Trom's attempt at egging her on. Knowing, however, that these were just his 'amusing' ways, she attempted to subdue the feeling of excitement and fight back.
"Ever since highschool Trom. You're a real player aren't you?" She attempted sarcasm, trying to mimic the way Trom did it first. However, now he had the same tickling sensation happening in the pit of his stomach.
"Oh, so you aren't interested?"
"Ew! You've got wife cooties!" She replied, wearing the same look that conveyed that she was jesting. Just then Trom ran his soapy hands through his hair, arching his back, closing his eyes and sticking his tongue out till it touched his chin. He continued to satirically reenact a shampoo commercial as Rach began to laugh.
"What the hell are you doing!" She said mid-laughter
"You mean..." He started as his hands circled around his chest before scratching at his stomach. "You don't wanna get...with...this?" He stopped and then looked over to Rach with his tongue hanging out of his mouth, and a 'seductive' look about his eyes.
"You are so bloody odd!" Rach sputtered between laughter.
"You're my inspiration." He said as his hands dipped once more into the water retrieving a fistful of cutlery before throwing it unceremoniously into the rack, in a sudden surprisingly awkward motion that was humorous in itself. "In fact, it's the same inspiration that pushes me...ahem." He paused to put on a 'serious' face that seemed to gaze through a hole in the wall and with an artificially nervous sounding voice he began again. "Over the edge... when... well you see... when a man and his hand love each other very very much", he finished with his eyes shifting side to side.