Approximately fifteen minutes after starting the coffee Jacen was able to pour himself his first large mug of the steaming liquid. Breathing in an aroma Jacen lifted the mug to his lips and took a long sip before turning to glance back over at the couch and see whether Lori was stirring. It was only the matter of a moment to determine that the answer to that question was a big negative.

Walking back into his room, Jacen returned moments later with his coffee mug in one hand, a set of keys in the other, and a pair of sneakers on his feet with the laces just tucked into the shoe instead of tied. Opening the door he stepped out into the hall and then began to walk down toward the mail boxes and paper bins.

"There ain't nothing can compare to the aroma in the air, that comes from those Columbian coffee beans!" Jacen sang softly and slightly off key. It was kind of a strange song but "The Coffee Song" was one of his favorite ways to start off a day, especially when it was a day off. "You've got your Starbucks, Foldgers too! So many flavors, from which to choose! You've got drive through espresso if you're, running late! You can buy it by the pound and it still tastes great."

Jacen's singing trailed off to a simple humming of the tune as he took yet another sip of coffee and then grabbed his morning paper out of its slot. Turning around he unlocked his box and pulled out the previous days mail. After re-locking the box he made his way back down the hallway, continuing to hum to himself as he did.

Slipping back into the apartment as quietly as possible Jacen walked over and set the newspaper on the dining room table. Wandering back into the bedroom Jacen took a seat on the edge of the bed and flipped on the bedside lamp as he began to sort through his mail. "Electric bill... water bill... junk... you may have won... hospital bill." Jacen muttered as he took yet another sip of coffee and then place his mug down on the table. Opening the bills one at a time he scanned over the information, checking that everything seemed in order before laying the envelopes back down on the table.

Opening the hospital bill, Jacen gave it a cursory inspection before pulling out the second page for his inspection. Apparently this was information about his physical and blood work. Blood pressure and heart rate had been good for someone that had been injured. Blood work showed that his alcohol content had been almost to the legal limit but not quite over. His electrolytes were down a tad but that could have been explained by the alcohol. X-Gene was negative. Blood sugar was good. Suddenly he froze and ever so slowly Jacen's eyes moved back to that one line he had gone over so quickly. "X-Gene: Negative"

"What the hell?" Jacen murmured softly before suddenly tossing the papers and envelope into the drawer on his night stand and quickly rising back to his feet. Grabbing his mug Jacen walked quickly back into the main room and took a seat at the table. Busying himself so that it looked like he was reading the sports section Jacen's mind was actually a million miles away as he tried to understand what he had just read.

"But if I'm not a mutant... then what am I?"

How long Jacen sat and pretended to read the same exact spot on the sports page, Lori did not know. She did not even notice when she finally woke up that something was strange because the whole things was strange for her. People were either mad for each other's bodies or they had a platonic relationship. This in between business was ridiculousness.

Lori's eyes just opened. No tired blink into consciousness, no slow pondering of what time it was or what day... she was just awake. The effect was much like that of popping toast from a toaster. One minute not done, the next: pop! Time to be awake. It took a little wriggling to get out of her blanket and sheet cocoon. It was kind of like a Chinese finger trap in that it pulled at her the more she tried to get her arms free. She must have rolled around on the couch quite a bit to get herself in such a predicament.

Free from the blanket trap, Lori stretched and peeked around for the source of the coffee sound and smell. She was a little surprised to see Jacen there, reading the paper; but maybe that was how all people acted in the morning when it was something less than lust and more than friends. "Morning." She actually cringed a bit as she said it. Her voice was a big froggy and that was the second time she'd been here to greet him after the night had passed... more times than that, she had already slept over. It was... mind boggling. She got up for some coffee.

Coffee cup in one hand, she gathered up the blankets and went wordlessly to return them to the bed. No need to offer an explanation unless prompted for one. She set the cup on the bed stand that housed Jacen's hospital letter and made the bed before reclaiming her cup and heading to the guest closet to see if there were any clothes to scavenge. If she was going to stay over so often, she was going to have to actually bring some clothes over... or.. something. Ah but there was one pair of under garments left for her in the shopping bag from last time. Combined with her jeans from last night, she almost had clothes to wear.

In the meantime she wandered in her black bra and jeans as if it were natural. "What's up?" She tried to sound cheerful because Jacen looked as if his favorite team's mascot had just been hit with a bus. Lori yawned into her hand and considered taking a seat at the table, but that too seemed to intimate. She ended up leaning against the counter near the microwave and arching a questioning brow to the man.

Out of the corner of his eye Jacen watched as Lori suddenly began to wiggle until she was free of her blankets and then popped to her feet. There was the slightest twitch of a smile on his lips but he didn't bother to say anything, instead letting Lori make her choices about how the morning should go. "Morning." Jacen replied with a smile, his voice relatively clear due to the coffee he had already drunk. With no more words to exchange Lori made her way over to grab some coffee before heading off to the bedroom. Soon he could hear the rustling of sheets followed by the rustling of plastic bags and clothes.

"Sounds like she's getting dressed." Jacen thought as he picked up his coffee cup and took another sip while turning the sports page. He hadn't read a single word on the first page so he didn't expect to be actually reading words on the second page until his searching eyes found one particular headline.

"Ah, hell!" Jacen cursed to himself, "The Knicks lost again!" Momentarily distracted he delved into the article a little more completely, reading how a team that from the beginning of the season had been expected to lose was now play-off bound after their 111 to 104 win over the New York Knicks. Where were the Knicks bound? They would be staying at home, licking their wounds, and trying to plan for the following season while the play-offs took place.

"What's up?" Lori's voice broke in out of nowhere. Jacen had been so engrossed in the article about his favorite basketball team that he had missed hearing his... friend come back into the room.

"The Knicks lost 111 to 104 and now they're out of the play-offs." Jacen said in slight annoyance before lifting his gaze up to where Lori was standing, "Did you sleep we..." His voice died in his throat as he took in the woman standing there.

Jacen didn't know exactly what it was but there was just... something that was so amazing about a woman louncing around in jeans and a bra. Maybe it as the amount of skin being shown while still being relatively covered. Maybe it was the swells of a womanly figure that in one area were mostly revealed while in another were mostly hidden. He really didn't know and to be quite honest he really didn't care.

Letting out a low whistle the man's eyes lit up slightly in admiration. "Lady... you're looking really good this morning." Leaning back in his chair Jacen lifted his mug and took another sip of coffee, his eyes never leaving the beautiful blond. "So... you still interested in trying sky diving? I can promise you it's an experience you won't soon forget."

"The Knicks lost 111 to 104 and now they're out of the play-offs."[/color]

"Are you kidding me? I'm surprised they made it that far, Jace, they haven't won jack since the 90's. They haven't won a championship since the 70's." She sipped her coffee self-righteously. She couldn't believe the Knicks still had fans. They were infamous for sucking in her book. Bust Jacen still looked a bit perturbed as he ruffled out his paper and set his laser beam eyes to... oogle? He even lost his train of thought. Lori hid her face in the large coffee cup. What? She wasn't expecting that kind of response. She was hoping he'd have gotten the hint and found her a shirt.

She actually felt a little embarrassed as he whistled. Excepting that almost healed greenish bruise across her ribs, the marks that were still healing weren't from Brickson as she'd told the police. They were from the man across the table and a ridiculously good time. It was so not the response she was expecting while they were in that awkward in-between place. Unfortunately she could only chug coffee for so long.

"Yeah, I think showers look good on me." She fluffed her hair as if obviously that was what he was admiring. Yes. Nice cover. And honestly, would she still be here if she hadn't been promised sky diving as an experience she wouldn't soon forget? "That is a steep promise, sir. I'll hold you to that." Lori set her mug down and went over to Jacen.

She'd only seen this done on TV, but it seemed a proper good morning and if they were crossing over from weird in-between she knew which way she wanted this pendulum to swing. Her arms slid over his shoulders and across his chest to meet in the middle as she leaned all her assets against his upper back. Lori planted a kiss just behind his ear, refraining from a nibble. "Do you have a shirt I could borrow? I don't know about sky diving, but... something tells me this is inappropriate." Okay so she couldn't refrain from the nibble forever.

(OOC: Continued In Falling Free or Falling For...)