"I'll... I'll leave you two alone. I'll be in Anne's room, in case you need me," the blond said and walked away down the hall.

Anne's room, Justin thought and frowned. What could his friend do there? Well, it was logical. The apartment area wasn't very big. There weren't many places he could go to give them privacy.

"Do you...do you want to sit down? You must be tired from the trip," the girl offered heading for the kitchen. The brunette followed her.
"A little, but I'm fine like this. Thanks."
"Water or coffee?"
"Coffee. With..."
"Two teaspoons of sugar. I know," she interrupted mindlessly while turning on the coffee pot.
"Do you still remember?" the boy asked with a half smile and the yearning of his heart reflected in his eyes.
"You brought it back to me every time I got the bright idea of asking you," she rolled her eyes. Justin laughed.
"And I see you still like to add milk to it," he noted watching Anne pull the milk carton out of the fridge.
"Any problem?" the girl turned to look at him and put a hand on her waist. The brunette smiled. It was like going back to the old days.
"None."
"Yeah, sure," Anne said turning her back to him as she quietly articulated.
"Excuse me, are you saying something?" he teased her playfully. He loved teasing her like that. And she hated with every fiber of her being when he did.
"Not at all, love," she said turning to confront him. She mentally smacked herself after saying that. Oh, Anne, you're a genius, she scolded herself. They both stared at each other dumbfounded. An awkward silence filled the air.

Oh, how she cursed Ryan at that moment for having Justin come to her apartment. Sometimes the blond had the stupidest ideas in the world. Sure Ry, bring my ex over after a year of not seeing him, no problem at all. Oh, need I remind you that he told me I was a game the last time I saw him and that we have a kid he doesn't know anything about?

She shook her head before continuing her ramblings. She could go on for hours like this if she didn't stop herself and this was no time for that. "The... coffee's ready," she changed the subject trying to salvage the situation, and began placing the cups on the table.
"Do you need help?", the brunette got up and approached the girl.
"It's not nece...," she turned abruptly and accidentally spilled the boiling liquid all over Justin.
"Shit!" the boy cursed as he felt it burning on his torso.
"I'm so sorry. I didn't notice. I'm so sorry," the girl was saying in a nervous wreck. Oh, God. Oh, God. Oh, God.

Justin immediately took off his shirt in a reflex to get rid of the stinging. Anne, who was wetting a rag to help him clean himself, froze when she saw him like that. It had been a little over a year since she had last seen him like that. His body responded exactly as it used to. Her cheeks tingled, her belly contracted, her body temperature rose and, between her legs, liquid threatened to soil her panties.

"I..."

The brunette was lost in the girl's eyes. So strong and, at the same time, so fragile. And of course, so beautiful. More beautiful than he remembered. He really missed her with all his being. Could she forgive him after what had happened? Could they start over?

The door rang abruptly, pulling them both out of that time bubble that had begun trapping them. Justin cursed under his breath. Anne left the wet rag on the counter and walked toward the entrance not saying a word.

"Anne, I've come for my money," Richard, the landlord, said as the girl opened the door.
"I... I don't have it yet. Give me a little more time, Richard, I've had a lot of expenses lately," she said quietly. She didn't want Justin to overhear their conversation. The situation was too embarrassing at the moment, she didn't want it to be any more so.
"I've been waiting a long time," the big man looked increasingly annoyed.
"I know, and I appreciate it, but I really need more time..."
"I can't give you more time, I have expenses too!"
"Calm down, please. I know we can work something out if we talk..."
"Agreement, my ass, I want my $500 right now, or I'll throw you and your son out on the street!"

The girl opened her mouth to reply, but she felt a hand on her shoulder pulling her into the house, and the next thing she saw was Justin's back in front of her.

"I think you should learn how to treat a lady, dude," the brunette said pulling out his wallet and trying to calm down. His veins were boiling at the sight of that guy mistreating his angel so badly. The girl was shocked by the situation. That couldn't be happening, it was too much.
"Who are you?"
"I'm the one who's going to pay you your money to get your ass out of my sight and leave Anne alone," he put $2,000 dollars in his hand and slammed the door in his face.

The girl stared dumbfounded at the scene. She didn't know what to do. This was more than she could bear. Besides, Richard had mentioned Jason. Oh, no.

She saw the brunette sigh deeply, a common expression of his when he was really angry. From that point on, the conversation would turn very serious and, if there was one thing she couldn't avoid so easily, it was the serious Justin. He was very demanding and did not give in easily.

"You have a son..." he said facing her after taking a few seconds to breathe.
"I..."

A cry coming from the girl's room confirmed everything.
Anne walked towards the room leaving the brunette in the living room. She needed to see her son. Ryan always ended up making the little boy cry with his bad imitation of a lion. Justin followed her unnoticed by her.

"No, don't cry, Jason. Daddy doesn't know you exist yet. Be quiet before he comes. Remember that mommy doesn't want to tell him about you," Ryan nervously requested. He knew An would kick his ass for that. What a great idea of his to act like a lion at that moment.

Justin was petrified when he heard his friend's words.

"My... my son?" he managed to articulate before losing his voice, making the girl aware of his presence.