CH 1 - KATHERINE

Beep! Beep! Beep!

I groan into my pillow, blindly grabbing beneath it in search of my phone to quiet the blaring alarm waking me from my peaceful dreams. I grasp the smooth metal in my fingers, flicking the offending sound off, and let my arm flop back down to the bed. It's only six, I could do with ten more minutes of sleep. With that in mind, I burrow back into my covers ready to return to the comfort of sleep when, the creaking of my door fills my quiet space. I crack an eye open, and the next thing I know, Audrey has thrown herself down on my bed, pinning me in a tight hug and disrupting any more rest I was hoping to get.

"Happy birthday, bitch!" She squeals after finally releasing me. Audrey Lucille Prince: curvy hips, voluptuous chest and tumbling red hair, she was always the center of attention. Best friends since we wore the same blue dress to first grade; inseparable growing up. That is, until college. She went down to Tennessee while I went over to Boston. But the distance only made us closer and, somehow, we both ended up back in Ohio in the city of Columbus, only two hours away from our small hometown called Cambridge. Total opposites, her the cheerleader while I ran track. She is, and always has been, the center of attention; and she basks in it. Me, well, I run because I run. I have no desire to win the races, I just simply love the rush of the run.

Another major difference between us is that Audrey is definitely not a morning person, so seeing her so awake, and in my room, this early is a rare occurrence.

"Audrey, I love you but what are you doing in here so early?"

"Babe," she whines while drawing out the 'a' and simultaneously rolling her eyes, "it's your birthday! We couldn't let you start your day waking up at the crack of dawn for oatmeal. So, we made you breakfast."

"Wait, 'we'?" I reply rubbing the sleep out of my eyes. As though brought in by my question, another face peaks in my dark room.

"Yes we," She replied rolling her eyes – again – and motioning to the door, "Daniel hurry up, and get in here she's not going to bite you." Daniel slowly walks into my room with a tray full of food. After handing it to Audrey, he settles on the bed next to me.

"I don't know, Audrey, she can be pretty cranky before her coffee," he replies with a smirk. I punch him in the arm and, being the nice guy that he is, pretends that I actually hurt him.

Daniel Jay McCowan's lean body stand about five foot ten; his tendons frequently stretching over his muscles. He was our high school's running back, probably would have gone to college on scholarship had he not injured his shoulder senior year. His dusty brown hair always tends to flop in front of his face when he moves, and his green eyes have always had a glint of mischief in them. All that, combined with Audrey's fiery personality and my willingness to go along with all their schemes, and we were always getting ourselves into trouble.

He has been in school with us since elementary age, but it wasn't until sixth grade when Gabe Lowell made fun of Audrey's red hair at recess. He yelled that her hair was on fire then threw a bucket of water at her, soaking her clothes. Daniel saw this and came over, looked right at Audrey and told her, "He's only mean to you because he likes you," and then turned, giving Gabe the best smirk an eleven-year-old can. Needless to say, the three of us bonded over the young Gabe's embarrassment. We've been best friends ever since; always just our little trio.

Daniel stayed in Ohio for college so he could be close to home. He told us someone had to hold down the fort while we went frolicking through the big city. When we told him we were both coming back to Ohio, he applied to jobs near us, and managed to get one here with us.

Fate must be blind, because bringing the three of us back together is asking for trouble.

To this day, the morning of my twenty-fourth birthday, we are still inseparable. Audrey and I share this tiny apartment here in downtown while Daniel lives in another complex five minutes down the road. Now, we are all sitting on my bed scarfing down a delicious meal of waffles and bacon.

"Hey guys, speaking of coffee, I could really use some," I remind them after swallowing my last bite of syrupy goodness.

"Nope! Not this morning, I brought something better." Audrey replied smiling at me.

"Better than caffeine?" I scoff, quirking an eyebrow.

With a grin, she reaches under the bed and comes up with a big bottle of cheap champagne in one hand and a bottle of orange juice in the other. "Quick Dan, pop it!" She squeals, handing it to him. With nimble fingers, he quickly maneuvers the cork around until it finally pops off bubbling up to the brim. He pours three glasses for Audrey to top off with juice, and hands us each one.

"To Katherine Elizabeth Douglas! And surviving another year!" She announces to the whole room.

"You say that like it's a surprise Drey." Dan tells her smirking again.

"Well, I do live with her so it's always questionable," I chuckle. She puts her hand to her chest, and the three of us burst out laughing. We all drain our glasses. "Okay guys, but I really do need to get ready." I shoo them both from my bed, and shimmy out after them finally getting to stand up and stretch my legs. A sharp inhale of breath reminds me I am wearing nothing but a pair of panties and a t-shirt. I glance at Daniel, his green eyes staring at my bare legs for a moment before he quickly turns around.

"A little warning next time Kat," he says with mock seriousness.

"Oh, shut it Dan, you're always sneaking peaks at Kat's legs," Audrey jokes and we both giggle. He turns around, smirking at us, then winks and walks off.

"I'm going to start the coffee."

"But its Saturday!"

"I know. Stop pouting, it'll only take a little while hopefully. I have the interview on Monday and I have to be prepared for it, and unfortunately that means going in on a Saturday morning, and finishing the research portion so I can be prepared." My boss would kill me if I went into an interview this big without being completely prepared. He gave me this piece because he knew I could handle it, but the extra work he piled on top of it has kept me working twelve-hour days this week.

Its exhausting.

"Boo," she stuck her bottom lip out like a child, "me and Dan are staying here and preparing for your party while you work at least."

"Drey, I'm twenty-four. I told you I don't need a party."

"Oh shush. It's just going to be the three of us here, and then we are going to Oceanna's once we have a nice buzz and meeting just a few other people." She shrugs nonchalantly, but the glimmer in her eyes tell a different story.

"Oceanna's? The club at the end of the strip downtown?"

"The one and only," She smiles triumphantly.

"Fine, but nothing crazy!" She gives me a two-finger salute, and I roll my eyes walking across the hall to the bathroom. I turn on the water and pull my clothes off stepping into the warm jet falling in a small, round spray. I comb my fingers through my long, black hair, letting the water run down my face and shoulders. I wash off quick, anxious to get to work and be finished for the weekend. I step out onto our squishy bath mat, and dry off, wrapping a towel around my body. I decide not to put any makeup on since no one will be in the office. Audrey will just redo it when I get back home anyways. I braid my hair back loosely, sulking into the kitchen to retrieve my coffee. Thankfully, Daniel already has a steaming mug ready for me.

"My lady," he says bowing, and extending one arm to me with the mug.

"You're such a goof Dan, stand up."

"Yeah, Dan if you want to look under Kat's towel don't be so obvious next time, jeesh." Audrey teases as she scampers into the room.

"Shut up, Audrey," Dan puts his hand in front of his mouth and pretends to whisper, "you can't reveal all my secrets!"

Audrey mimics Dan's gesture, "maybe if you play your cards right, she'll finally let you see what's under that towel." She says, wiggling her eyebrows at Dan then at me. I roll my eyes at them both.

They have been making these types of jokes since senior year, always trying to get a rise out of me. I am now twenty-four years old and am still a virgin. In high school, I always wanted to wait. I didn't have my first kiss until junior year. Then I went off to college, and the new surroundings made me a little stir crazy for city boys. I hooked up a few times but it never felt right to go all the way. Since graduating, and moving back here I've been too busy with my new job as a freelance journalist at the Columbus bureau to even go on a date.

Dan and Audrey, on the other hand, had no qualms about sex. They both lost their virginity in high school. They're both single now but I know they've both had a few dates in the last two years. Flirty jokes are a shockingly integral aspect of our friendship.

"I hate you both." I turn on my heel and start walking back to the room and behind me I hear them trying to hold in their laughter. The jokes don't bother me, they never have, they usually just make me laugh and roll my eyes. Plus, my best friend, with his dark hair and green eyes, is definitely not hard to look at.

I come back to the kitchen five minutes later to find them sitting at the counter whispering conspiratorially. They hear me come in the room, and abruptly stop talking. Dan looks a little tense, but Audrey has her hands folded with a grin on her face that I know means she is up to no good.

"No big party Audrey! I'll be back in a few hours. Be good kids!" I yell at them while I grab my keys and walk out the door.