Alex awoke the next morning with a dull headache and a dry mouth. He blinked his eyes a few times to adjust to the morning light peeking through the living room curtains. Why was he in the living room? He sat up and clung to his head, eyes flickering around the room. Rian and Jack were curled up together on the floor and Zack was sound asleep in the loveseat. Shit, he shouldn't have drank so much last night, then he wouldn't be wondering why his friends were crowded around his living room.


Shaking his head at the thought, Alex pulled himself off the couch and stretched as far as his arms would go. With his head a little more clear, he inhaled a deep breath in hopes to make swallowing easier, but that's when he smelled the familiar scent of fresh-brewed coffee. Like a puppy, his nose led him to the kitchen, only to find a girl with her back turned to him as she poured a hot cup for herself. He was confused, admittedly, simply because he had drank so much. Alex clutched his head once more and cleared his throat, forcing the beauty to turn around and reveal herself.


"Oh, it's you," Alex forced an embarrassed smile to his lips. How could he have forgotten about Brooklyn? She would only haunt his dreams for the rest of his life. "You didn't have to make coffee, ya know.."


"Or clean up?" Brooklyn raised an eyebrow, a gentle smirk on her lips. Even after killing almost a case last night, she still looked dazzling today. "It's no problem, honestly. I've always been a morning person. Cup?"


Alex nodded softly, so as not to hurt his head anymore. He was in such a trance watching her pour the cup and add the mixings that he didn't even bother to tell her that wasn't at all what he liked in his coffee. At least she was making him a cup. Not even Lisa used to do that for him, it was a nice change of pace.


Brooklyn flashed him a toothy grin and slid the cup across the small island. Alex thanked her with his own grin and took a slow slip of the brew. He let out a deep breath when the liquid ran down his throat. Somehow, this was the perfect cure for his hangover.. Or maybe that was just Brooklyn. Regardless, he took a seat on the barstool closest to him and patted the empty chair for Brooklyn. She batted her eyelashes at him and plopped down beside him, still clinging to her warm cup of coffee.


"Once you get past all the beer cans, I think this is just the cutest apartment I've ever seen."


"This dump?" Alex snorted, setting his cup down on the bar. Well, there was one flaw. She lied to make people feel better. "I hate it here. I honestly need to get off of my lazy ass and find a new house."


"You're crazy, Alexander. I think it's cozy. It has just enough room for all your random junk, but it's small enough to be inviting. I feel at home here for some reason. If you give it up, let me know. I'll gladly take it off your hands."


Okay, so maybe she wasn't as much of a liar as he thought she was. Brooklyn actually liked this dump? Alex shrugged, letting his eyes scan over the kitchen. It wasn't too shabby, he supposed. Cherry wood, real granite counter tops and a sink deep enough to go swimming in. He smiled to himself. Maybe he did pick the right place to live.


"It's good enough for now, I guess. I just needed to find something quick after Lisa and I broke up."


"Zack told me about that. It's a bummer, you guys were together for so long."


"Too long, actually. We knew everything about each other. It wasn't fun anymore."


"Well relationships aren't fun, silly," Brooklyn giggled, running her thumbs along the edge of her cup. God, Alex wanted to be that fucking cup. "They're hard work. I think the secret is to keep spicing it up. I think if you feel like you know someone too well, you should go to a club and pretend to be completely different people. Probably makes for good sex, too."


Alex sat there for a moment with his mouth hanging up. Did she really just make a comment about sex? Fuck, this girl was his soul mate, he just knew it. Now if he could only get her away from Zack without hurting his feelings. That would be impossible, though. Brooklyn was one of those girls you couldn't possibly forget, no matter how hard you tried. Either way, Alex had to do something about this. At least strike her interest enough to befriend him.


"I guess you're right. Just wasn't right for me and Lisa to be together, though. Our time was up," Alex sighed, taking another long swig of his coffee, choking down the taste that wasn't at all his style. "So, hey. Do you maybe want to go grab some breakfast? My treat. To say thank you for cleaning up the house and making me coffee."


"That sounds-" Brooklyn stopped speaking to smile brightly. She tilted her head so she could see clearly past Alex and waved. "Good morning, sunshine!"


Alex furrowed his brows and turned around slowly. In the doorway was a smiling Zack Merrick in all of his messy bed-head glory. He raised his hand to wave back at the girl before he glanced to the clock. Brooklyn followed his eyes and gasped loudly. What was so bad about ten thirty? His question was answered when Brookly stuck her cup in the sink and ran to Zack's side, an apologetic look on her face.


"I'll take a rain check on that breakfast, okay? It's just that, Zack and I have such a busy day planned and-" She stopped herself, a smile lingering on her lips. "Well, you know how that is. Anyway, it was lovely to meet you, Alex. I'm sure I'll be seeing you soon. Tell the guys I said thanks for a wonderful night."


He nodded slowly, watching as she yanked on Zack's arms to pull him away from the small kitchen. Alex could only hope that man understood how lucky he was to have a girl like that, because he knew exactly how lucky he was just to hear her say she'd see him soon. It was the only thing he had to look forward to.

Notes

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