Chapter 1 Wake up Call

I loved sleeping, and just as passionately, I loved my bed. Whenever I woke up in the morning, I had to spend at least ten minutes wrapped up in my duvet, enjoying the warmth and comfort as l teased myself with the idea of a nap.

This morning was no different. The sun was shining outside, making my dark purple curtains look lighter in colour than they actually were. If I opened my eyes, I knew I'd be able to see dust particles flying around.

I took a deep breath through my nose and ended up wishing I'd opened my windows so l could get a taste of fresh air but I never did, despite thinking the same thing every morning. It was too dangerous. Opened windows were an invitation for my worst fear - spiders.

Just the thought of their tiny, hairy bodies and long, wiggly legs made me shiver and pull the duvet tighter around my shoulders. I could practically feel them on me.

So it had to be the worst time for my housemate, Zach, to tickle my ear with one of his long, pink, kinky feathers used for god-knows- what. I screamed, jumped, and scrambled off the bed like it'd been set on fire. My eyes - no doubt bloodshot with bags underneath -narrowed at the evil bastard who was having a laughing fit on the right side of my king-sized bed.

"What the fuck," I huffed at him, too tired to see the humour in this. I'd been so warm and cosy and now I'd have to wait a whole twenty-four hours to get that feeling again. "You're a real dick, you know that?" "Y-your face!" he giggled, looking far too fresh- faced for someone who had more than likely just woken up. He was still in his pyjamas and his hair was messy. He had a style which was short on the sides with a good few inches of hair on the top. The wave of hair on the top of his head fell to the side, looking as if it needed a brush.

  "Zach, it's not funny!" I argued over the sound of his laughter. I was this close to stomping my foot at him. "I thought you were a spider!" Standing there in just a pair of pink knickers and a black strap top was causing my skin to prick with goosebumps. Yet again I damned him for ruining my warm burrito. 

That only made him laugh louder. It was hard to believe he was a twenty-five-year-old man. He acted less than half his age most of the time.

At the sound of his snort, I couldn't stop the twitch of my lips as I tried not to smile. I was pissed at him, no way was he going to make me laugh but very quickly, I was losing my battle. Have you ever tried not laughing with someone when they had an incredibly contagious laugh? It was damn near impossible.

  "Whatever!" I said, rolling my eyes before a smile finally broke out on my lips. I crossed my arms over my chest in an attempt to look serious but Zach knew that he'd gotten away with his prank.

"It's getting late," he told me with laughter in his voice. His green eyes had watered, making them sparkle as he grinned at me. Rolling onto his left side, he propped his head up with one hand - the one with the feather - while the other runs through his sandy-brown hair, giving him a slicked-back look. "And you slept through your alarms, again, so thought I'd wake you.

 " Damn, had I really? It wouldn't be the first time. Waking me was like trying to wake the dead. "Oh," I said sheepishly in response. Okay, fair enough he had to wake me, but - "Did you have to use your kinky, sex feather...thing?" I shivered in disgust. "Who knows where that's been."

 He shrugged innocently, twirling the offending object in his fingers. "Nowhere gross..." His eyes flickered up to mine and he was smiling once more. "Only up Danny's arse."

 My eyes widened and I spluttered. "What? Oh, my god-Jesus, that's just-," I gagged in the back of my throat. "You said it hadn't been anywhere gross!"

  He laughed once more and sat up. "I was telling the truth. Danny's arse was far from gross." He had a faraway look on his face. "It was heaven," he mused wistfully before frowning. "God, I miss him."

"Oh, honey," I immediately softened, making my way over to my bed and crawling to Zach so I could offer him some comfort.

I knew Danny and Zach's break-up had been hard on him. He'd been completely in love with that man and was about to ask him to move in with him - with us - when Danny decided to end the year-and-a-half relationship. It just wasn't working, was his excuse but Zach found out that he'd left him for someone else after Danny had updated his F******k page.

"He didn't deserve you," I tried to make him feel better, my arm going around his broad shoulders as I sat on the heels of my feet. "He was a dick for what he did. You shouldn't be sad. He's the one who lost someone who loved him. The only thing you lost was-," he cut me off.

 "A twat-waffle who didn't deserve me, I know," he recited, knowing what I was going to say because I'd said it many times in the past three months, since the breakup. "Thanks for trying to make me feel better but...doesn't mean it doesn't hurt."

 "I know," I responded quietly, thinking back to my breakup. It was over a year ago now but the pain was still there. My ex had been my first boyfriend- hell, he'd been my first everything. We'd met when we were seventeen and I'd moved in with him before my next birthday. Everything moved so fast between us and I didn't see the cracks before it was too late. "But we have each other, right?" I gave him a little shake.

He glanced over at me, his expression vulnerable. His nose was larger than most people's but it didn't affect his looks. Big eyes, plucked thin eyebrows, a slight bump on his nose from a bully who broke it when he was a teen, full lips and high cheekbones. His skin had a natural tan I'd die for and when he smiled, dimples formed on his cheeks.

"Yeah?" he replied, hopeful. "Even if I wake you up with a feather which has been up my ex's bum?"

 I rolled my eyes, pulled away, and thumped him on his arm. "Fucker," I mumbled as he started giggling all over again. "Remind me why I love you?"

Grinning, he reached into the pocket of his pyjama shorts and pulled out his phone. "Because I'm adorable," he answered distractedly as he stared at the screen. "Oh, my first caller of the day! And it's Simon," he whispered the last part to me as if Simon could hear. "He sounds like a whale when he cums but boy, does he have a gorgeous sex voice," he informed me. I snorted as he accepted the call.