The alarm clock went off at 5pm. The dreadful noise seemed to get louder as time went by. Leeroy first tried to ignore it, pulling his blanket over his head, wishing the noise away. When that did not work, he emerged and swung angrily at the device, sending it clear across the room. Unfortunately, the clock was battery powered and it simply continued to scream at him to get up.

"Nessa!" Leeroy yelled over the noise of the clock as he went back underneath the covers. "Turn it off turn it off turn it off!"

When the sound came to an abrupt stop, he peeked out from his hiding place. Vanessa hovered over him with one hand on her hip and the other holding the alarm clock. The look on her face was less than understanding.

"It's 5 o'clock!" she snapped, throwing the clock at Lee. "Get up!"

"But Nessa!" he whined. "I'm still tired! Can't I take the night off?"

The woman grabbed Lee's covers and yanked them off of him. "You've slept for nearly 12 hours, and no, you can't take the night off. Now get in the shower."

"But--"

"Get!"

Leeroy put on his best sad eyes and reached out to her. "But baby," he said softly, touching her thigh, "don't you want to spend one night in? Just us, all alone for once?" He drew her close and placed a light kiss on her hip.

"We haven't . . . well, you know . . . in a long time . . ."

"I knew you'd see it my--"

"But," she interrupted, pulling away from him, "the rent is due next week and we still haven't payed the electric bill."

"Nessa!" Leeroy cried, pounding his fists against the mattress.

"Oh grow up, Lee. Maybe we can sneak some time tonight if things aren't busy."

Leeroy frowned, pulling himself out of the bed. "It's Saturday, you know I'll be busy all night."

She stood on tip toe to kiss his cheek and said, "Oh well."

"Bitch," he murmured.

"Whore. I'll see you at Zero."