"call him," sam told me, waving the remote at me like a warning as we sat on the couch watching the fox news channel.

i nodded, took the phone and exited to the empty bedroom.

i dialed.

i waited for four rings and as i went to hang up i heard something pick up.

it was a machine.

do i leave a message? i panicked. what if he had caller id? i gulped and listened to his voice blare out that 'he wasn't home' and that 'i should leave a message'.

"hey, greg this is yana. i was just calling to say-" as soon as i had started the message someone picked up.

"hi," a gruff, sleepy voice mumbled into the phone.

"hi," i choked out.

"what time is it?" he asked as i heard him fumbling in the background.

i glanced down at my watch, even though i knew how many minutes had passed since i had last looked.

"10:27."

"oh. ok. i thought it was like 8 or something," he yawned into the phone and i couldn't help myself from picturing him naked or in his boxer shorts or whatever he was wearing.

"i could call back if you want," i had that sudden feeling that i wasn't wanted at the moment and was looking for a way out of that feeling.

"no, i'm glad you called. just let me wake up."

it took him way too long to wake up and i played with the leg of my pajama pants as i waited for him to finish yawning and coughing into the phone.

"are you ok?" i wondered as he coughed loudly into the phone.

"yeah, the cold last night kinda killed my lungs."

"oh, i was wondering if you wanted to do something today but if you don't feel good..." my voice trailed off and i let out a long sigh.

"if doing something could include doing nothing i'm up for it."

i tried not to let a smile spread across my face. i tried not to tell him that he had made me swoon the night before. i tried not to say anything that made me sound pathetic.

"do you want to come over here or do you want me to come over there?" i asked, trying to sound mega casual.

"i have loud roommates," he hinted and i glanced into the living room at sam and oliver staring blankly at the television screen.

"i have oliver," i laughed.

"you still win. give me your address and i'll be over later."

i scrambled to find a letter of some kind that had brandon's address on it. i found an unopened visa card bill and read out the address to greg over the phone.

"i'll be over later. i'll bring a movie and i promise not to cough all over you," he laughed into the phone after i had read him the address twice, just to make sure.

i resisted the urge to say "you can cough all over me if you want." and ended the conversation with a quick good-bye. i then sat there on the bed staring at the phone and then glanced down at my outfit.

i was wearing plaid pajama pants and a transformers t-shirt. i looked 12. but what exactly did someone wear to sit around all day? at the moment i didn't care and i dragged myself to the bathroom and threw myself under the hot water. i stayed there for a good 35 minutes, washing away all the dirt from last night.

i stepped out of the shower and wiped away the fog from the mirror and stared at my naked body, dripping with water. i had lost five pounds since leaving santa monica but i still felt strange. my breasts weren't perky enough and my skin seemed so loose. i turned to glance at the tattoo in the middle of my back. it was dark against my pale skin.. it looked almost fake and it made me feel childish.

i glanced away from the foggy mirror and quickly dried off, hurrying back to brandon's bedroom without a glance from oliver or sam who were entranced in something on the television screen.

i threw on something 'cool and casual' but i didn't really know if it was cool or casual and i waited.

while i waited i pulled all the thoughts i had about him onto my site [if you didn't catch it it's here] and waited more.

soon oliver and sam were dressed and borrowing my car to go meet brandon at work. they were having a guys day/night out. i glanced at my watch and it read 1:30 pm. at around 2, after oliver and sam had been gone for at least 20 minutes there was a knock on the door.

i jumped at the knob and pulled the door open to reveal a not so good-looking greg. his nose was red and his eyes looked tired. he looked like crap.

i wanted to make him soup or put him to sleep or something.

"hey," he sniffled with a smile and handed me a movie. he also held a bag in his hand and he walked into brandon's apartment slowly, looking around.

"you ok?" i asked, glancing at the back of his head that looked uncombed.

he nodded and pulled orange juice from the bag under his arm and shuffled quietly to the couch. i followed him and pressed my hand against his forehead. he wasn't hot. it relieved me to know he know he didn't have malaria or something.

it was then that i glanced at the movies that i was holding in my hand. the top movie was das boot and i smiled and touched the top of his head.

"it's some german u-boat flick that-"

"i've seen it. i love it."

he smiled a weak smile and i quickly placed the movie into the vcr.

but it came to be that we would only be watching little bits of the movie.

and no we weren't making out or doing anything nasty like some of you sicko's are thinking so :P

we talked. for hours we talked. he drank oj and we talked. for a little while he napped i played on the computer and i watched him sleep on the couch. when he came to i abandoned the computer and fled back to the couch. there were occasions where we would glance at the screen and watch it, silently, only to start speaking again when key moments of the movie were over.

it was around 5 pm when we both fell asleep against each other. one of us was snoring and one of us was drooling but it was sweet. we woke up, ate, watched bat mtv and talked more. then at 12 am he escaped from my weak grasp, planting little kisses on my cheeks and my hands.

"i've only known you for 24 hours and i adore you," he told me as we stood in brandon's doorway, our eyes locked.

"yeah it's that 'honeymoon period' thing," i laughed, biting my lip.

"well..." his voice trailed off and he ran his fingers down the inside of my left arm, "i want you to know every bad and good thing about me before you go on your trip."

"umm why?"

"i hope it will give you a reason to come back and have more nights on the couch with me."

he talked like i did. he thought like i did. it as then that i had my first real hard urge to kiss him. so i did..

i pulled his head down to mine and i kissed his sick lips. they were still soft and i lingered there for what seemed like forever and then he kissed me back, dropping the movies in his hand to the ground to wrap his arms around me as if this were a bad romantic movie of some sort.

i can still taste him on my lips.. orange juice and cough drops.

mmhm.. orange juice and cough drops..

it tasted good and most importantly..it felt good.