The First Five Times
Chapter One

I put my car, an older-but-not-quite-old Jetta, into park on the street in front of an apartment building. It was a normal apartment, brownish brick, lots of windows, looked out over a park. Not in an upper-class area of town, but far from being in a lower-class area. It was decidedly middle-class, and there was nothing wrong with that. Locking my car, I jogged up to the door, my ponytail brushing my shoulders with each step.

"Hey, Cade," Jarmaine Bertram greeted me as I walked into my brother's apartment only minutes after parking. Jarmaine was sitting on the couch, looking right at home with a beer in hand, which he raised to me. "Let yourself in, I see.

I nodded. My older brother, Vaughn, and I were close, despite our three-year age gap. I had my own set of keys for the apartment he shared with his childhood best friend, and any of their other friends who deemed it fit to hang out all day. Jarmaine being one of them.

"I was bored, Bert," I whined as I plopped down next to him, and taking the beer out of his hand, taking a swig.

Jarmaine grinned. "Aw, poor Cady. Elijah not home today?"

Elijah Hart, better known as Lijah to me at least, was my best friend and roommate. We usually had the same days on and off, but today was an exception. And I was suffering for it, suffering enough to head over to my brother's at five, which was crazily early. However, apparently not early enough for Jarmaine to not get his own little party started in the living room.

"No," I answered Jarmaine. "He got called in. It sucks."

"Looks like you went swimming," he observed, taking in my still-damp hair, pulled back into a ponytail. "I'd like to say that the wet 'n sexy look doesn't suit you . . . but it does."

I punched Jarmaine's arm, and grinned. "I know," I said cockily, getting a laugh from him.

"You should know, girl. You're hot," he drawled.

"Hitting on my sister again, Bertram?" my brother's voice asked from the doorway that connected to his kitchen.

I glanced at him, all five feet and nine inches of him, leaning against the door frame, smiling the bright smile that made girls think him hotter than he was. I guess it's a good thing that I'm not vouching for my brother's hotness, being that he is my brother.

Vaughn was pretty short, a bit stocky, but even if I wouldn't say he was hot, I could say that he was good-looking. He has dark, almost black hair, and brown eyes, with his famous wide smile. He looked like a good guy with earnest grin and twinkling eyes. He was a good guy, so it wasn't a case of appearances being misleading. He currently winked at me.

"She's hot, Holly, I can't help it," Jarmaine defended himself. Both guys laughed.

"I'm making spaghetti, Cade. Want some?" Vaughn asked me.

I shook my head, auburn-ish bangs falling in my eyes. "No, I'm good. I had a pizza pop before coming over."

"Ah, eating healthy as always, I see. Elijah must not be home."

I grinned winningly at my brother. "See, I can provide for myself."

Vaughn laughed. "Yeah, right. I'm making enough spaghetti for you to have a little, and I'll be very hurt if you don't." He turned back into the kitchen, and Jarmaine turned to me.

"I think you just got threatened, Cady. Vaughn's so responsible. I'm almost jealous."

I laughed. Jarmaine was care-free to the point of no return. "Right. I don't believe you."

He grinned easily. "Okay, so maybe not. But you love me for it, right?"

I nodded. "Of course. Like I'm responsible."

He nodded in agreement. "Let me guess. You're going out tonight?"

"Yep. Lijah mentioned a party at someone's house, someone James knows."

"James, Elijah's brother? The younger one?" Jarmaine clarified.

"You mean Henry? Hell, no!" I replied, laughing. "Henry's fifteen, Jarmaine. Yeah, like we'd be at that kind of party."

"Hey, don't knock your roots. You were fifteen once."

I fixed Jarmaine with a disbelieving look, and he grinned.

"Okay, okay, so you never would've been to a high school party like that. You wild child, you. And I thought Vaughnie was responsible. But taking an innocent child out partying? Not so responsible."

"Vaughn is responsible, it's Jason that isn't," I pointed out, naming Vaughn's roommate.

Jason Venne, Vaughn's childhood and still-best friend. Jason Venne, now tool cool to go by Jason, and instead going simply by Jase. Which, okay, I'll admit it, I liked the sound better of, too. I'd known him way back in the day when he was still nerdy little Jason. Now, of course, he was far from nerdy, and even farther from being little. Not to say that he was huge, but our Jase had definitely done some growing up in his days.

"Oh, Jase," Jarmaine sighed. "What ever will we do with him?"

I shrugged. "What do we need to do with him? It's not like his playboy lifestyle affects any of us, except Vaughn, who doesn't seem to mind. Wow, that speaks highly of my brother, doesn't it?" I laughed.

"Yeah, like hell that it's true that it doesn't affect us. What about the time you're afraid to come over here because you don't want to run into the latest of his conquests?"

"I think you're confusing that with your apartment, Bert," I replied, using the nickname commonly used for Jarmaine, being that men use last names, and dang-nabbit, men had came up with this nickname. My God. Men.

"Honey, Christian has no conquest, and you're hardly afraid of seeing mine. So that leaves . . . ah, Tobe," Jarmaine declared, sighing. "That Toby."

"It's Tobias, Jarmaine," a voice said, once again coming from the doorway to the kitchen.

Both Jarmaine and I turned to see none other than the subject of our conversation, Tobias Bryant, standing there, leaning against the frame that led into the kitchen. Unlike Vaughn, even a thing as simple as leaning against a door frame looked like an art when Tobias did it. A sexy art.

"Oh, right, he's too grown up to go by Toby anymore. How could I forget?" Jarmaine commented sarcastically. He stood up from his spot. "Hey, want a beer, Cady? You're still cool with being called that, right?"

"Yes, and yes," I answered, grinning as I waved him away.

Jarmaine disappeared into the kitchen, and Tobias took his place on the couch next to me. I took the opportunity to get a good look at Jarmaine's more elusive roommate. Tobias wasn't as tall as Jarmaine's six feet, three inch frame, but who was? He was definitely more built than beanpole Bertram. Tobias had messy blond hair that was the perfect length for it to be forever flopping slightly, sexily, into his teal-blue eyes, and his jaw was strong, complimented by full, red lips. Definitely able to get girls. Definitely one for conquests.

He regarded me, his head cocked slightly. "What you looking at?"

"You. Haven't seen you in a while," I answered. It was true, too.

"I've been busy. But I haven't changed. Not physically, and I don't think mentally. I'm the same old me. How about you?" he asked easily. Another reason Tobias was able to get girls, no problem: He had charm. Lots of it.

I shrugged. "Yep. Nothing new here."

"Still living in your brother's shadow? Same old Cadence?"

"Shut up, Tobias," I said.

Cadence. Cadence Holly, that's me. Younger sister of Vaughn Holly, the only reason I keep company with these people. When I was little, I used to follow Vaughn and his friends around. Hence I became a tomboy. Vaughn never minded, which probably encouraged me. The tomboy thing was probably why I had never thought I was good-looking until I met Lijah Hart, who, after talking to me for ten minutes at a college party three years ago, had asked me why I deemed to talk to him as opposed to all the football studs and actual college boys who had been staring death threats right into Lijah. It was after that conversation that I started to realize that I was not, in fact, a male. I was actually female, and a good-looking one at that. Yet I still hang out with my brother's friends. So, Tobias was actually a bit right.

I glanced at him, and his arrogant smirks morphed into a grin, which caused me to laugh.

He waved a hand at me. "You know I'm joking, hey, Cadence?"

"I figured for the most part, yeah. You're pretty much the only person that always calls me Cadence, you know," I told him.

"Well, it's your name."

"That doesn't stop nicknames, obviously." I smirked at him, and he smirked back.

"Some of us grow out of cutesy nicknames."

"Like Cady and Toby?"

"Like Cady and Toby," he agreed, nodding.

"I don't think I'll ever grow out of that," I declared. "As long as I'm around my brother, Lijah, and Jarmaine, anyway. Oh, and Jase, of course. He's known me as Cady his whole life, pretty much."

Tobias shrugged. "Suit yourself. So what's the not-so-grown up Cadence up to tonight?"

"Party."

"But of course. Where?"

"Why, so you can invite yourself along to pick up girls who don't actually know of your rep?"

"What rep. that's I'm good in bed?" he shot back. His eyes twinkled good-naturedly as he then chuckled. "You know me too well. I need something to do tonight."

"Someone, you mean," I corrected him.

"Naturally. So where's this party?"

I sighed. "Some friend of James's. Lijah's older brother. Lijah's taking me, I don't know where it is." Which, not so subtlety, meant that Tobias couldn't come along to seduce his way into the pants of many unsuspecting girls.

"But I do!" Vaughn yelled as he stepped into the room. "Want a ride, Bryant?"

"Hell yeah, Holly."

My brother nodded at me. "Emily and James are friends. She told me about it."

"What's up with you and Em, anyway, dude?" Jarmaine asked, walking back into the rooms. "This is for you, Cady," he added, tossing me a can of beer.

"Thanks," I said, cracking it open, and taking a sip. Make that a gulp.

Vaughn shrugged in answer to Jarmaine's question. "We're friends. I'm not interested in more, even if she is."

"My big brother, the heart-breaker," I cracked.

"Enough, Cade," he said, waving a hand at me. He picked up his phone, and began browsing through the numbers programmed into it. "I'm phoning Elijah for you," he said absently. "He can pick you up from here; I don't want you to drive anywhere with any alcohol in your system."

"I think I can handle it with one beer. My place isn't far, nor is my alcohol tolerance low," I protested.

My brother shot me a withering look, as I knew he would. He didn't say anything, but instead put the phone to his ear.

"Hey, Elijah? It's Vaughn. If you're going to that party, you want to pick Cade up from my place? Yeah, she and Jarmaine got an early start on the festivities. Okay, thanks. See you in a bit."

Vaughn hung up the phone, looking self-satisfied. "Easy enough," he said. "Just leave your car here. I work tomorrow, but Jase can pick you up, and bring you here to get it."

"Thanks for volunteering me for that dubious honor," a new voice piped up disdainfully.

I shot a mocking grin at the newcomer. "Nice to see you too, Jase."

He made a face at me. "We should charge you rent."

"Mm-hmm, and how about all the girls you bring home? Should they be charged rent too?" I asked innocently.

"Only for his bed," Jarmaine answered for Jase, squeezing in next to me on the couch. "That is where they spend all their time, no?"

"Enough of you two," Jase stated loudly. "I don't need to defend myself in front of an alcoholic and my best friend's little sister."

"Ouch, Jase. You were only factual for one of those things, and your oversight hurt," Jarmaine whined, placing his hand over his heart. Over-dramatic injury.

"You say that as you nurse your beer," Jase pointed out.

"So?"

"Never mind," Jase said, sighing, and turning away from Jarmaine. "Any plans for tonight, Vaughn? Or are we just hanging out with your sister all night?"

"Love you too, Jason," I put in from my place on the couch. Jase grinned at me, and turned back to Vaughn.

"Going to a party at a friend of a friend's," Vaughn replied immediately. "You in?"

Jase shrugged. "I've got nothing better to do right now, so why not? Just let me get ready. Five minutes, and I'll be good to go."

"Jase has to go make himself look pretty," I said in a confidential tone to Jarmaine.

"Jase is always pretty," Jarmaine said in a voice louder than mine.

Jase gave the two of us the finger over his shoulder as he walked down the hall to one of the two bedrooms within the apartment.

It was true, though. Jase was pretty. He was tall, just over six feet, I'd suspect, and rockstar-thin. He had long, slim fingers that wouldn't look out of place on a guitar, although I knew for a fact he had never touched a guitar in his life. He used to spike his jet-black hair, but recently it had gotten too long, and he just let it lie so that it curled over the top of his black-framed glasses. I had been amused to see a trace of natural curl in his hair, but by now accepted that it looked good. He had light, icy blue eyes, and similar features to Vaughn, in the sense that everything was in the right place, and of the right size. Everything attractive. Or in Jase's case, since he's not my brother, everything sexy. Or it would've been, if he wasn't almost like my brother.

Jase reappeared about five minutes later, now wearing pin-striped suit pants, and a light blue button-down shirt. He was looking down as he zipped up his usual grey-with-black hoodie, and then nodded when he looked up.

"Okay, I'm ready. Let's head'er," he declared.

"Not so fast, buddy," Vaughn spoke up. "Elijah is already on his way to pick up Cadence right now. We'll wait."

"And here I was, getting all dressed up for a car ride next to her," Jase remarked dryly, his slow grin appearing on his face when he glanced at me. "Looking good, by the way, Cady. I especially like the shirt."

I made a face at him as he walked over, and picked at the sleeve of the ringer t-shirt I wore. It was brown and tight, emblazoned with the logo of an old local garage. I had paired it with jeans, simple enough. My hair was in the same messy ponytail it had been in all day, the brownish-auburn side-swept bangs falling over my right eyebrow. I had only put on some dark, smudged liner around my hazel eyes. Anything else would look too out of place with my super-casual clothing right now. The fact that I had wide eyes, full lips and high cheekbones only made my lack of make-up less of a problem.

"In fact," Jase continued as I kicked him with my bare foot. "I thought it looked pretty good in my drawer last week. Which was the last time I saw it there," he said pointedly.

I shrugged, and looked up at him, a sly smile coming across my face. "Maybe I liked it too."

He surveyed me again, and shrugged. "I guess it does look better with breasts to fill it out."

"Hey!" Vaughn yelped. "My sister!"

The buzzer beside the door of the apartment rang. I stood up, all too happy to let this testosterone fest continue without me.

"Hello?" I said, pressing the talk button.

"Hey, it's-"

Without waiting for Lijah to finish, I buzzed him up. Within about two minutes, he was knocking on the door. I threw it open, and stepped aside for him to come in. I kissed his cheek, throwing my arms around his neck.

"Hey, Lij," I greeted him.

His hands rubbed my back. "Hey, Cady. Looking good, girl."

"You too," I told him honestly.

Lijah's light brown hair was spiked as if he'd stuck his entire hand in an electrical socket, and his wide blue eyes were also electric, matching his hair style perfectly. Twin dimples framed his rose-petal mouth, and one hand scratched at the tiny lettering that I knew was tattooed behind his left ear, the date of his father's death. Lijah was wearing black skater pants, with the Converse shoes he'd owned since he was seventeen, and a light yellow polo shirt, which would've looked ridiculous on anyone that wasn't Lijah.

He grinned as he stepped back from my embrace. "Yeah? You don't think it's too bumblebee-like?"

I shook my head. "No way. It looks good."

"She'd let you pollinate her flower," Jarmaine cracked.

I glared at him. "That's disgusting. And aren't you supposed to be my ally?" Jarmaine only shrugged.

"Gee, thanks, Cady," Liijah said sarcastically. "Good to know you think so highly of me."

"Oh, shut up. You know what I mean."

Lijah grinned, a boyish grin that I adored. "Yeah, you know I do. I was just hoping you'd go into peace-keeping mode, and say that you'd love to sleep with me, just so I could bring that up whenever I feel like. You know."

"That's enough of you," I decided, tugging on his sleeve. "Let's go."

Lijah obligingly followed me to the door, Vaughn trailing behind him. "Drive safely, Elijah. Don't drink if you're driving home."

"Vaughn, neither of us need reminders of that. Besides, you'll be there, and I'm sure you'll remind both of us of this often," I commented, glaring at my brother who only shrugged.

"Can never be too careful," he defended himself, undaunted.

"Hey, no worries, Vaughn. I'll be good, promise." Lijah grinned. "We'll see you there, dude."

Vaughn, who had turned to head back to the living room, held a hand up in a wave without looking back. Lijah pulled the door open for me.

"After you, miss," he said, bowing with a flourish.

"Thanks, Lij," I said, smiling lightly as I walked out the door in front of him.

He quickly caught up, falling in step beside me. "New shirt? It fits nice."

"It's Jase's," I told him.

He nodded wisely. "Ah. That would have been my second guess. Do you actually own anything that is in your closet now? I mean, does Jase have any clothes left?"

"Being that, yes, I do own a few feminine items such as bras and dresses, I'm going to go out on a limb and say that some things in my closet are not Jase's. As for him, obviously he has clothes left, as I keep finding things to borrow."

"You mean lynch."

I shrugged. "If he asked for them back, I would give them to him."

"Probably," Lijah added.

I grinned. "Probably," I agreed. "Some."

Lijah swung his arm around me as I pushed open the door of the building's lobby. "That's my girl," he said, squeezing my shoulder into his armpit. "Now, is my girl ready to par-tay?"

"Only if you don't ever say 'par-tay' again."

Lijah laughed as he ushered me to his car. "I think I can promise that. Now c'mon, get in the car, and let's get this show on the road."

--

The scene at the house was nothing special. Cars lined the street on both sides, careful not to block any driveways. The house itself was a big brown one, with lights on in every window I could see, and silhouettes of people taking up window space.

Lijah had briefed me on the way over: The house belonged to a guy named Mark, who was a friend of James's from way back in high school, one of the few friends he'd stayed in touch with. Mark had red hair, and even if I saw him, I didn't have to acknowledge him in any special way, even though he was our host. Besides, Lijah had added, Mark would probably be a bit boozed up by this point already.

"Okay, Cady, all set?" Liijah asked me, pressing the lock button on the driver's side door before shutting it.

I nodded, looking at the house. "Yep. How'd you get such a good parking spot anyway?"

Lijah shrugged, grinning as he looked at the spot no more than thirty feet from Mark's driveway. "Someone must've ran out to make a beer run or something. Suckers." He grinned, and I laughed.

"C'mon," I said, linking my arm through his. "Do we have to knock?"

Lijah shrugged again. "Nah. Let's just go in."

I followed him in, noting that indeed, nobody cared that there were new arrivals or that we had just let ourselves in. Whoo, par-tay.

A tall gorgeous blond girl stood up from the couch, making a whooping noise. "Cade!" she called, making a beeline to me, and wrapping lithe arms around my neck.

"Hey, Stella. Didn't know you'd be here," I greeted her, smiling. Despite my height of 5'7", Stella still stood at least a couple inches taller than me.

"Me neither," she laughed. "But it turned out that this guy I went on a date with last week was all psyched to bring me. So I came. But not with him," she finished, blue eyes overflowing with laughter.

Stella McIntyre is gorgeous in that model way. She's tall and slender, with long dirty blond hair, blue eyes, and smooth, tanned skin. Guys absolutely love her. They always want to show her off, the classic beauty that she is. If there's a party, of course they ask her, hoping that their friends will see her. Tonight, it seems, the friends will definitely see her. But not with the guy who wants to be seen.

She turns to Lijah. "Hey. Who's this?" she questions, her voice a light rasp.

"This is Liijah Hart. Lij, Stella McIntyre. Stella, Elijah."

Stella formally held out her hand, which Lijah took. "Good to meet you. I've heard about you!" she exclaimed. "And I'm not just saying that to be polite, either. Cade's roommate, right?"

Lijah nodded. "Yep, that's me. And you must be her model-gorgeous friend she knows from the café."

Stella laughed, and looked at me. "I guess that'd be me, sure. Britt's here too," she told me, naming another one of our co-workers. The only one other than Stella that I voluntarily hang out with outside of work. I'm a CD salesperson by day, waitress by night. It's quite the life.

I nodded. "Figured. I mean, I figured Christian would be coming, so that meant Britt."

"Oh, oh, Jarmaine's Christian," Lijah put in. "And his girlfriend. Right. See, I listen to you, and follow your social circle," he said to me.

I grinned at him. "That you do."

"But I have my own social circle, which, if you two lovely ladies will excuse me, I'll go find. I'm pretty sure my social standing will go down once I'm seen downgrading to those apes as opposed to you two beauties, but alas!" Lijah said dramatically, his blue eyes glimmering with mirth. That's Lijah for you.

"Okay. Bye," I said, hugging him lightly, which he returned.

"Can I trust you to either find your own ride home or find me? Despite how I'm supposed to look out for you, I mean." The good humor didn't leave his eyes.

I laughed at this dig towards Vaughn's more protective tendencies. "Yeah, I think I can handle that. I'll see you around, Lij."

"Bye, babe. Nice to meet you, Stella!" he called over his shoulder as he went off to find his skater buddies.

Stella smiled. "You too." She turned to me, her smile turning more mischievous as she regarded me. "Now, let me grab you a drink. Or better yet, send Christian in search of a drink, chivalrous male that he is. C'mon."

Stella grabbed my hand, and pulled me into the living room, back to the couch where she had been sitting with Britt Way and Christian Sinclair, the third roommate of the Jarmaine-Tobias-Christian trio. Another guy was sitting on Christian's other side, chatting to him, a guy I didn't recognize.

Britt smiled as she saw me. "Hey, Cadence!" she squealed. She pushed Christian lightly. "You've got to move over. Stella's back, and she brought Cade."

Christian glanced at me, and nodded. "Hey," he grunted. "How's it going?"

"Good. Your roommates are on their way. I'm surprised you didn't tell them about this party."

Christian shrugged. "I was invited by Britt, who was invited by Stella, who was invited by some guy. I figured if I invited anyone, that'd be too many degrees of separation for the host to handle. Besides, it's gonna be a big one. The odds that Tobias and Jarmaine wouldn't find out? Pretty slim."

I nodded, sliding down next to Stella, and leaning across her and Britt to talk to Christian. "Yeah, being that they found out. Vaughn's bringing the crew over soon."

"Awesome. Hey, have you met Derrick? He's just about to go grab us some drinks, aren't you, buddy?" Christian said, switching topics and grinning at his friend beside him, who shrugged.

"Sure. But you're coming with."

Christian stood obligingly. "Be right back."

I was all too happy to wait patiently for Christian to return when I felt a drink being pressed into my hand. I looked up into Jase's icy eyes, then to the cup in my hand, and back to Jase.

"Here," he said. "It's my own secret mix. Jag and what have you. Enjoy." Like that, he was gone.

Stella was watching him go with interest. "Who was that? Was that your brother's roommate?"

I nodded. "Yep. Jase Venne."

"And he gave you a drink."

"He makes his own mix, or so Jarmaine has been telling me. I guess Jase got wind, and decided it was time for me to try it myself," I explained. I took a sip, and made a slight face.

"Not too great?" Stella asked, laughing. Britt laughed too, wrinkling her tiny nose.

"What is it?" she asked.

I peered into the cup. "I don't know. Jag, he said, and some other stuff. It's strong, whatever it is. Kinda good."

"That's our girl," Stella said, turning to Britt with a laugh. "She'll polish off whatever the boys bring back too, I'd bet."

I shrugged. "Probably."

Stella regarded me coolly. "Well then. I'll see you at work tomorrow, because good luck remembering tonight."

--

"Cady, come on," a voice was saying to me. My arms were being pulled. "Come on. Don't make me lift you."

I looked up, and saw blue. Really, really light blue. Jason. "Oh. Hi. It's you."

"Yes, it's me. Now come on. Vaughn's somewhere, I don't know where, and Elijah is smashed in the basement, so I called a cab. We're going home, and so is Jarmaine. He's already out there, so it's your turn. Stand with me. I know you can walk. You were dancing, like, ten minutes ago. Cady, let's go."

He lifted at my arms again, and I stood, wobbling a bit as I tried to focus in on his face. He put his arm around my waist, and led me to the door, not even a grim look on his face. At the bottom of the driveway, just as he had said, was a bright yellow taxi. Jase opened the door, and eased me in, next to Jarmaine who was leaning against the opposite window, eyes glassy.

His head slowly moved to look at me. "Hey. Cady. Cool."

Jase rolled his eyes as he got in beside me, and closed the door, nodding to the cabbie, who began driving. "Jarmaine is absolutely gone. He's sleeping on the couch tonight with a garbage can beside him."

"Yeah?" I said.

"Yeah," Jase answered, nodding vigorously. "I'm putting the damn garbage can beside him."

"Where am I sleeping?"

Jase sighed. "In my bed, I suppose. I'll take the chair. God knows you need a bed more than me tonight. Liked my mix drink, did you?"

I nodded. "It was just the start!"

"I bet," he said dryly. "Maybe I'll teach you the secret recipe someday."

"Doesn't that contradict it being secret?"

Jase shrugged. "Yeah. Whatever."

He was silent, looking out his window, until we pulled up next to the apartment building. He sighed again, and looked at me. "Cady? Are you okay enough to help me with Jarmaine?"

I looked at my hands and nodded. "Yeah. I think so."

"Good." Jase paid the cabbie, and we began the daunting task of getting Jarmaine out of the car, and up the stairs to the apartment.

Draping his arms around our shoulders, we could almost get Jarmaine moving. His groans let us know that he wasn't totally passed out, and his feet would shuffle, but that was about all the help we could get from Jarmaine.

After about a ten minute struggle, we finally deposited Jarmaine on the the couch, and Jase grabbed an old blanket, throwing it over Jarmaine. We stood and surveyed our accomplishment. Jarmaine's mouth hung open, letting out a raspy snore.

Jase grimaced. "Lovely. You go find an old shirt of Vaughn's or mine, I don't care, and climb into bed. I'm getting this jerk a garbage can. I'll be right in."

"'Kay," I said, nodding. I padded down the hallway, into Jase's room. I'd kicked off my shoes at the door, and was now barefoot. Crashing in Jason's bed sounded just about perfect right about now.

Jase's room was the mess it always was. He may have been quite meticulously groomed himself, but his room was another story. Both his and Vaughn's bedrooms had light blue, off-white walls, and Jase had a light blue bedspread, with oak furniture. That wasn't saying much, as the only furniture in there was the bed, a desk, and a set of drawers. Well, and a beat-up black chair in the corner. I'd sprawled out in the big chair many times, and it was every bit as comfortable as it was beat-up. Lucky for Jase, as after he volunteered to sleep in the chair, I was not giving up the bed.

I opened Jase's closet, and found an old button-down shirt, white with fine, light blue lines crossing it. The cuffs were frayed, and that was all I needed to see to decide that Jase would not mind me sleeping in this one.

I stripped off my jeans and Jase's t-shirt, throwing them into a pile on the floor beside the chair. My bra soon followed, and I began to button up my chosen pajama shirt. A light knock on the door interrupted me.

"Cady? You decent?"

"One second!" I called, rushing to button up the rest of the shirt. I would steal Jase's clothes, and sleep in his bed, but it was the same rule as with Vaughn: I got my privacy, and then invaded theirs. It worked.

I pulled open the door, and Jase stepped in, looking at me with a smile on his face.

"What?" I demanded.

"You look good," he said simply. He moved to the bed, and pulled back the sheets. "Okay. Hop in, and I'll grab the light."

I obliged, and Jase moved to the light switch. A second later the room was plunged into darkness. I could hear Jase rustling around on the right of the bed, around the area of the chair. A second later I heard a muffled thump, obviously Jase plopping down on the chair.

We were silent for a few minutes, but I found my eyes staying open, wide and focused on nothing but dark.

"Jase?" I asked.

"Yeah, Cady?" he replied tiredly.

"You want to sleep in the bed?"

"No, it's yours tonight. Don't worry about it."

"Can you sleep in the bed?"

"Uh . . ."

"With me?" I pressed. I snuggled deeper under the sheets. "I can't sleep."

I heard Jase's sigh. "Vaughn's told me stories about your cuddly drunkenness, but it's never made an appearance for me. Uh, sure, I guess."

I heard more rustling, and then felt the sheets move, and another body lie down no more than five inches from my own.

"Better?"

I rolled onto my side, my back facing him. "Mm-hmm. Thanks, Jason."

"No problem. It's not like this isn't weird."

"It isn't though. You're just Jase."

He chuckled. "Okay. Go to sleep. You can tell me why it's not weird in the morning?"

I nodded. "Okay," I said contently. "G'night."

"Night."

--

This is, quite obviously, my new story. It’ll be different than The Eiffel Tower, also quite obviously. I’ve decided that one is close enough to being finished to post another. Anyway, this chapter is very introductory, and I absolutely hate writing fist chapters. So, hopefully you enjoy it nonetheless, or it at least piques your interest enough to be around for the next one. And reviews, be it comments, compliments, or criticism, are very, very much appreciated. Thank you in advance, and thanks for reading!