Aaron had a slouch...

...like from scoliosis or something when he was young. He looked around my apartment with a bit of worry in his eye, he hadn't been in it since I moved in three years ago. He eventually plopped down in the red puffy chair next to the side table, which was littered with cigarette ashes, coffee stains, and the ads that fall out of the New York Times.

Aaron and I weren't great friends, we knew each other for years, but went to school on separate sides of the state. We never really made a point to keep in touch.

We had just gotten back from a concert, a small blues show in a venue that used to be an old church. Aaron and I ran into each other at the show and decided to catch up. "The place looks nice," Aaron was affixed on the ceiling, even though there was nothing up there, "It's so much bigger than I remember."

"Thanks," I sat down on the brown sofa, nothing in my apartment matched. I flipped on the T.V., "I think the Sox game is still on."

"Sweet." Aaron fumbled through his pockets and pulled out a pack of Pall Malls, "Is it cool if I smoke in here?" As if the stink of stale smoke and the obvious ash trays weren't enough.

"Yeah, it's cool. Go for it." I pulled out my own pack of Camels, and grabbed a match off of the coffee table to light a cigarette. "So How's Rae?"

Rae, or Reagan, was Aaron's girlfriend. I'd been sleeping with her, way longer than I should have been, but Aaron had no idea. Rae got kicked out of her house a while back, and she moved in with me, and I guess out of boredom we started fucking. It wasn't anything emotional, we just enjoyed each other's company. She knew what I liked, and I knew what she liked.

"She's good, she flew up to New York last week to visit her sister." I already knew that.

"Oh that's nice." I felt bad, about Aaron. Looking him in the face gave me the biggest wave of guilt I've ever experienced. "You care for a drink?"

"Sure, why not." Aaron rarely drank, he had a drunk dad who was extremely quick tempered. Aaron just kind of had an aversion to alcohol.

"I'm not sure if I have anything," I told him as I was getting off of the sofa. On top of the fridge was an old bottle of scotch that Rae's dad had given me for my birthday, "Scotch?"

"Yeah, sure" he told me, as I grabbed two glasses out of the cabinet. I walked back to the dark living room, lit only by the flicker of the baseball game and sat back on the sofa, and poured Aaron and myself drinks. "Thanks."

"No problem." We both turned our attention to the game, Sox were ahead and when Victor Martinez hit a homer. We both cheered.

"We need to go to a game," Aaron suggested, "It'd be cool. I haven't been in so long."

"Yeah, they're pretty fun." The firm I work for gets tickets all the time, pretty descent seats, I could let you know-"

"Yeah man, let's do it." I don't think Aaron ever really got out much. I don't even really think he had many friends except for Reagan. So I felt good knowing I was giving him a good time.

We drank for a few hours, the baseball game was long over, and we were just talking and relaxing, finishing the rest of the scotch.

"Where'd you get this stuff anyways?" Aaron was really drunk.

"Huh?" I didn't want to have this conversation.

"These bottles, this scotch, it's just like Rae's dad's stuff. Did you get it from him?"

"I don't think-"

"Wait a second," Aaron interrupted me and picked up the bottle of scotch and looked at the etch marks on the bottom. I didn't know it said anything. "Yeah dude, JFC- Jeff Fucking McCandless," His middle name was actually Frank, "That's Reagan's dad!"

"Oh," I had no idea what to say, I got a feeling that my stomach dropped to my feet.

"Dude, what the hell? I've tried to get one of these bottles for so long! How the hell did you get one?"

"Well, when she stayed with me for a while, I guess her dad wanted to thank me." Seemed like a good excuse.

"No way dude, these are his most valued possession," Still holding the bottle upside down, he saw more etchings, "This is one of Reagan's bottles! She gave this to you! What the fuck, she knows that I wanted this! What's going on, dude?"

"We're fucking." I couldn't believe the words coming out of my mouth, I didn't think Aaron could believe them either.

"What?" His mood completely did a one-eighty.

"I'm sorry Aaron- I wanted to tell you," I didn't want to tell him.

"Dude, why? I've never done anything to you, I thought she-" His voice was starting to crack.

"I'm sorry man, I really am. It just sort of happened." We were both still pretty drunk at this point. Aaron was starting to realize that Reagan was cheating on him, and that she wasn't worth anything to him anymore. "Can I make it up to you?"

"How?"

"Hit me."

"What?"

"Yeah, common, hit me anywhere above the belt as hard as you can." Aaron was much weaker than me, if it weren't the case, I'm sure he would have kicked my ass by now, but that would never happen. "Just do it," I took off my glasses and put my arms out, waiting to be punched.

"I don't see why-"

"Come on man, I know you want to, you're not going to hit Reagan, so maybe this will make you feel a little better."

"I guess-"

After a little hesitation, Aaron wound back and hit me right on the side of my face, giving me an impressive bruise the size of a baseball right under my eye.

That's how I got this black eye, and why I'm really good friends with Aaron now.