I perch awkwardly between Steven and Joe.  Steven again rests his hand on my leg, Joe again looks disgusted.   When we finally rip the key out of the sticky lock and make our way inside, we're hit by a wall of smoke.  Tom is laying shirtless on the couch, looking both smug and totally high.  I don't know where Joey is.

     "Hey guys," Tom says, looking about two feet to my right.  I know he means to look at me.

     I collapse tiredly on the couch next to Tom.  He passes me a joint: this is what I've been missing.  I reach for it, but get distracted.  "Tom, what the hell is that?"  I point to what looks like a hummingbird on the left side of his chest.

     "He got bored one night," Joey says, joining us, "and decided to get a tattoo."

     "Where'd you get the money for that?" Steven demanded, sitting down closely to me.

     Joey scowls.  "Gave the guy half a gram... Of mine."

   Speaking of which... Now I know what 'errands' Steven had to run today.  He grins, pulling out a small baggie of the good white stuff.  Joe's mood instantly improves and he pulls out a playing card from a stack on the table.  Everything on the small table is shoved off to one side so that Steven can dump the contents and use the card to devide the pile into five neat lines.  This, also, is what I've been missing.

     One other thing I've been missing for the past three days: Steven.  When Joey's snoring in the chair, Joe kicks us off the couch.  Tom lays down on the floor.  My dress was off almost the instant the door was locked.

      Later that same week, Steven said he needed to go back to Hopedale.  He made Joey go with him.  Joe, Tom and I went out to a bar for live music and such.  Tom hooked up with a chick and they ended up leaving to her place.  Joe and I stayed and got more drunk...and high.  Somebody brought LSD and the lights got a thousand times brighter.  Somebody laid out some coke and the party got wilder.  Too bad Steven's not here...he says sex is a million times better after a few lines.

     Joe and I catch a taxi home.  I admit that throughout the time at the bar we shared a few kisses.

    Although we were both extremely drunk and even more extremely high, when we returned to the apartment, we both did three more long lines of coke.  Combined with all the others we did, that's a lot of coke, ladies and gentlemen.

     Joe and I were both in hyper speed.  Jittery.  "Annie," he said, relatively calm.

    "What?" I asked, sitting down next to him on the couch.

     "I love you."  He's stoned out of his fucking mind.

     As soon as he said it (I was already thinking it), I kissed him.  Yeah, I'm stoned out of mine too.  Joe deepens the kiss and I'm thrown over the edge.  This is my one chance right here right now.

     Joe takes off his shirt and...wow does coke really make everything that much better?  Joe Pereira is fucking sexy.  He moans when I sit on top of him and tangle my fingers in his hair.  His hand slide up my legs, under my dress, until they're on my hips.  I undo the button to his pants and he simply pulls the dress over my head.  I don't know how much he meant it when he said I love you, but in the moment I took it to heart.  I told myself I loved him too.  We moved as one.  One living, breathing being.  Eventually we slowed to kisses, breathing heavily.  I drew little circles on his chest with my finger.  I was currently laying beside him, squashed to him.  His arms were around me so that I didn't fall off the couch.  And that's where we slept for the remainder of the night.

--

I woke up rather early, looking at the smiling face beside me.  At first I smiled back, but then mentally cursed myself.  What have I done?  I have the biggest headache and my nose is numb.  The room is too bright... I wonder what time it is.

     Shit!  Time!  When were they supposed to be home?  Oh, God.  Steven.  I'm obviously not going to tell him.  I can't.  Why would I?

    "Hey!" Steven shouted, walking through the door.  I had just finished buttoning my jeans.  Good thing I got up when I did.  "Joe!  Get out here!"

     What's he gonna say to him?  He can't know already.  It's made clear that he doesn't know when Steven joins me in my room.  "I missed you," he says before kissing me passionately.  I try not to show that anything's wrong.  It's doesn't work too well.  "Are you okay?"  He holds me at an arm's length with his hands laced together behind my neck, studying my face worriedly.

     I smile and nod. "Yeah.  I'm fine," I lie.

   Steven tilts his head to one side as if thinking, but then shakes it and smiles, taking my hand.  "I wanna show you something."  He seemed pretty excited about whatever it was.

     Joe didn't.  He was staring at Brad from the record store, who was standing timidly next to Joey in the doorway.  He smiled when he saw me, apparently relieved to see a familiar face.  Joe was not happy.  He had his arms crossed and was scowling at him.  Why?  I don't know.

     I put a tentative hand on Joe's shoulder, Steven's arm now slung around my waist.  Joe seems to relax a bit at my touch.  He turns to Steven.  "Are you firing me?" he demands.

     Steven blinks in confusion.  Tom just looks plain confused.  "I dunno where you got that idea; hell no I'm not firing you," Steven laughed.  "Guys, this is Brad Whitford.  I feel like we need a new addition.  As a rhythm guitarist."  Steven looks pointedly at Joe.

     "Is he even good?" Tom asked.

     "Well, yeah," Steven said.  "I just wanted him to play one show with us... To see what'd it be like."

     "Oh," Joe says, "well I guess that'd be okay."

     "Great."  Steven claps his hands together.  "Let's rehearse."

     "Rehearse?" Joe said loudly, upset again.  "Why?"

     Why's he so edgy?  "Because we have a gig on Saturday, cap-e-tain douche," Steven said.  Joey and I snorted.  Brad looked uncomfortable.

--

Rehearsal went rather well, considering the new addition and the constant bickering between Steven and Joe (though that was expected).

     After rehearsal, Steven drove Brad home.  Joe told him to pick up some more drugs down in Hopedale.  Joe and I are back on the couch when Steven leaves.  I shouldn't be doing this.  Even though we're just watching the TV, he's got his arm around me, and his other hand rests on mine.  My head leans on his shoulder, and his head lays on mine.  His feet are crossed on the coffee table and my legs are crossed over his.

     "Wait, but Annie I thought you were with–" Joey started but stopped at Joe's look.

     "Speak of this and I'll kill you," he said so seriously that I was scared for Joey's life.

     So I guess that's it then.  I'm cheating on Steven with Joe and Joe is perfectly okay with it.