Grooving to Life's Beat

Morning Meetup: Yet Another Hangover

Seated at Angela's kitchen table, I cradled a warm mug of coffee in my hands, the steam curling lazily up into the air. She sat across from me, chatting casually about nothing, but my mind was adrift, tangled in thoughts of Marshall and Alexander.

After the conversation with Alexander last night, I'd fallen asleep with a whirlwind of thoughts spinning in my mind. The fact that Alexander backed off and decided to support me made me realize that maybe he deserved a second chance. He had shown a side of himself that I hadn't seen in a long time—caring, patient, willing to let me take the lead. But then, there was Marshall, with all the deep emotions he stirred within me. Feelings I had never experienced before, a mix of excitement and confusion that left me breathless.

Angela let out a long, exaggerated yawn, stretching her arms above her head before slumping back into her chair. "I can't do this anymore," she groaned, rubbing her eyes. "Staying up late, waking up even later... I'm always tired. It's like I'm stuck in this never-ending cycle of exhaustion."

I gave her a curious look, trying to shift my focus from my own turmoil. "Why? What did you do last night?" I asked, genuinely interested.

"We were in the studio until late last night," she replied, running a hand through her messy hair. "It was a long night, you know how it gets. People coming and going—Denaun, Curtis, Rufus, and even Jannine dropped by for a bit."

At the mention of Jannine, my heart clenched, and a rush of doubts flooded my mind. Why was Marshall still spending time with her? I thought about all the moments we'd shared, the way he looked at me like I was the only one who mattered. But now, I couldn't help but question everything. Was I just another girl in his life, someone to fill the gaps between the chaos he seemed to thrive on?

Our situation felt so confusing, so different from anything I'd ever experienced. Marshall seemed interested—more than interested, even. There were moments when he let his guard down, like that night he was drunk and told me things I wasn't sure he meant to say. And then there was the night he chose to stay in and watch movies with us instead of hitting the clubs. It felt like he was choosing me over the noise and chaos that usually defined his life. But despite all that, I still didn't know where we stood.

What bothered me most was how disconnected everything felt. Marshall didn't even have my phone number. The fact that he could only reach me by showing up at my doorstep—it was so strange, so unlike anything I'd experienced before. Most people, when they're interested in someone, make an effort to stay connected. But with Marshall, everything was different. He didn't call or text; he just appeared, as if by magic, whenever he felt like it. It was like living in some sort of limbo, never knowing when I'd see him next, or what he was really thinking.

Angela didn't seem to notice the turmoil brewing inside me as she continued talking, her voice light and casual. "Oh, and Justin was there too. He asked about you, you know," she added with a cheeky grin, her eyes sparkling with mischief.

I blinked, trying to process her words through the haze of anxiety clouding my mind. "Justin?" I echoed, trying to push thoughts of Jannine and Marshall aside, though they lingered like a shadow over everything. "What did he say?"

Angela shrugged, but her smile didn't fade. "He was just asking how you've been, what you've been up to. You know, the usual stuff guys ask when they're interested in someone." She winked playfully, clearly enjoying the idea.

I tried to smile, but my thoughts were still stuck on Marshall, on Jannine, on the uncertainty of everything. "That's nice," I murmured, my voice sounding far away, even to my own ears.

But deep down, all I could think about was Marshall. How could I focus on anyone else when he had this hold on me, this power to make me feel both incredibly alive and utterly vulnerable? And if he was still spending time with Jannine, what did that mean for me?