CHASE WALKED ME to my door and when I opened it there was pandemonium inside. Queen’s ‘I want to break free’ blasted from our stereo, and Grady was belting out the lyrics while making what looked like a dangerous mixture of alcohol.

“You’re back!” Jade ran over, nearly knocking me off my feet, and pulled both Chase and I inside.

“You’re just in time,” said Ashley. She danced her way to the kitchen, and took two glasses of whatever Grady had made before thrusting them our way.

“In time for what?” I asked, wondering what the hell was going on. My two roommates were in their pajama’s – shorts that could be classified as underwear, and tank tops that showed off their generous boobage – while Grady pranced around in jeans, a grey V-neck shirt, and a Sombrero? Oh Lordy. Clearly we’d interrupted a three-person party.

“We were about to play Never Have I Ever,” chimed Jade. She fell onto the sofa, and Grady followed, but not before giving me a bear hug. Ashley came to my side, and smiled at Chase. “Well, hello there. Who’s this hunky chunk of man hotness?”

Clearly she’d had far too much to drink.

“That,” said Grady, “is my little brother.”

“And where have you been hiding him?” Ashley twirled a strand of her hair around her finger, and stared at Chase through her eyelashes. Okaaaay. That’s my cue…

“Hands off, Ash. He just went out on a date with Kennedy.” Jade glared daggers at Ashley’s head, and I bit my lip to hide my smile. Ever the protective best friend. Little did she know that Chase and I were nothing more than friends.

“That’s okay,” I said. “He’s all yours.” I winked at Chase, and his smile told me he didn’t mind that I’d practically pawned him off on my inebriated roommate. I took a sip from the glass in my hand, and nearly choked. God only knew what Grady had put in there, but it was strong enough to knock an elephant on its’ ass. I relaxed, and looked around as we all filled up our small living room.

My non-date date with Chase was actually pretty pleasant, and I could see him becoming part of our little group. Sitting back, and watching the mayhem continue, I couldn’t fight the smile on my face or the warmth in my chest.

Because for the first time in forever, I knew what it felt like to belong.

CHAPT ER TWELVE

Kennedy

IT WAS WELL past lunchtime by the time I arrived back from my trip into Brighton. The only class I had on Tuesday was cancelled, and after my date with Chase last night, I decided to take the morning for myself, and drive into town. I woke up feeling happier than I had in months, and the end result was a new haircut, some new clothes, and a new outlook on life. I came to the realization that I’d already lost so much, but that wasn’t an excuse to lose myself too.

I’d left a note with Jade, letting her know where I’d be, and switched my phone off before I even left the apartment earlier this morning.

I opened the door and found Jade pacing the living room with her phone pressed to her ear, while Grady sat on the sofa nursing what had to be a killer hangover. The drinking games continued, even after I’d gone to bed and Chase had left, and I wasn’t surprised to see that my friends looked like shit. Jade’s black hair was tied up into a knot on top of her head, and she wore nothing but an oversized Brighton U T-shirt. Grady’s hair was sticking up every which way, and he looked like a complete zombie.

“Reid, I’m not being silly. It’s been over four hours, and I still can’t reach Kennedy!”

She sounded frantic, and close to losing it. With a frown, I cleared my throat. “Jade?”

Her head whipped around, and her expression morphed into one of relief.

“Oh thank God! Reid, she’s here!” She ended her call, and crossed the floor to engulf me in a hug.

“Where the hell have you been?” She asked, her voice cracking. She pulled back, and looked at me with watery eyes. “I’ve been trying to call you for hours, and your phone was off, and I was worried sick, and why – what did you do to your hair??”

Jade switched gears from worried to shocked faster than I could blink, and I fought the laugh bubbling up in my throat. She was obviously worried, but I couldn’t understand why.

“I went into town. Didn’t you get my note?”

“No,” she sniffled, letting go of her vice grip on my arms. “I thought you went to class, and then when I couldn’t get ahold of you I panicked. Anyway,” she shook her head, “We have something more pressing to deal with right now. What’s up with your hair?”

My mouth tipped into a face-splitting grin. “Do you like it?”

Grady hadn’t spoken yet, but he rose from the sofa, and joined us where we’d congregated at the front door. “Honey bee, whatever the date with my brother did to you, it looks fabulous!”

“Good,” I replied confidently. “It was time for a change.”

And what a change it had turned out to be, for my hair at least. I’d gone to a salon, and after going through hair magazine after hair magazine, the hairstylist, Ziggy, had convinced me to be a little more daring than I’d originally planned. He dyed my hair what he called Marilyn blonde, making it look lighter than my natural hair color, and tinted the ends a light purple. I’d never been adventurous, but when I saw my reflection, I fell in love with the new look.

“Don’t you like it?” I asked Jade. Not that it really mattered. It was the first time I’d ever done something for myself, and while it might have seemed insignificant to other people, it wasn’t to me.

With pursed lips, Jade folded her arms across her chest, and replied, “I don’t know. I’m trying to decide.”

Grady rolled his eyes. “Ignore her. She’s grumpier than usual this morning. I’m still trying to figure out what crawled up her ass and died.” He sauntered to the kitchen, and started making a fresh pot of coffee.

I smiled, undeterred by Jade’s less than enthusiastic response, and placed my shopping bags next to the kitchen counter. “Does your mood have anything to do with why you drank so much tequila last night?”

Jade plopped down on the barstool next to me. “No. I just wanted to have a good time, why’s that such a bad thing?” She snapped.

“Whoa,” I put my hands up, “no need to bite my head off. I was just asking.”

“I’m sorry,” she sighed. “I don’t know what’s wrong with me.”

“I do,” replied Grady. He leaned against the counter, his jeans hanging low. He was still wearing his clothes from last night, but didn’t look nearly as bad as I’d expected after spending the night on our sofa. “You need to get laid, sweet pea, and we all know whose bed you want to be in.”

Jade glared at him, and I swear if she could, she’d make Grady blow up with that look. He smiled around the rim of his coffee cup, his eyes bright with mischief. They were having a silent conversation, but I could easily read between the lines. Something was bugging Jade. Or better yet, someone.

“You’re so lucky I like you, Ambrose, or I’d hang you over the balcony by your pubes.”

Laughter burst from my mouth, and I tucked my head into the crook of my arm to silence it. I didn’t want to get on Jade’s bad side when she was in this mood.

“Sorry toots, I don’t have pubes.”

Jade stared at Grady, taken back by his retort, and then burst into hysterics. His unexpected admission had broken Jade’s sour mood, and despite it being way too much information, I was glad something had made her smile.

“Where’s Ash?” I asked, once Jade had calmed down.

“She had labs,” she replied. “I’d hate to be her after the amount of alcohol she had last night.”

“Damn straight,” muttered Grady. “Girl sure knows how to put it away.”

Jade snickered, and then turned her body to face me. “So, you going to tell us what happened with you and Chase last night?”