Paige sighs and swirls the clear liquid in her glass. It looks like vodka, and since we’re in a club, I should probably assume it is. But this is Paige; I know Paige. Beneath the giggly persona, there is a student studying to be a doctor. It’s water that’s in the glass. Vodka is alcohol and alcohol equals intoxication. Equals slurred speech, clumsiness, delayed reactions. Equals hangovers. Equals cirrhosis, weight gain, damaged dendrites. Big no no for a girl who wants to be a doctor.

Paige leans against the table, smiles vacantly, and then knocks back the last of the water in the glass. It’s a good thing I know Paige, or else I’d have reason to worry. It’s another thing that worries me; it’s the bright grin she has slapped on her face.

“I should have figured.” Frowns a little, points one finger at me. “No. I did figure.” She squints one eye and makes an attempt to get the last few drops of water out of the glass by holding it upside down over her open mouth. One drop dangles on the edge of the glass. It finally commits suicide and splatters on Paige’s cheek. She brushes it away and frowns some more. “That bastard.”

“That bastard” is not the suicidal water droplet. “That bastard” is Kevin. Kevin is my best friend. Kevin was Paige’s boyfriend of six months. And, yes, Kevin is a bastard. An extremely stupid bastard. And for all I know at the moment, he’s a dead stupid bastard.

…Paige caught him sleeping with Tiffany. Tiffany, a too peppy, too happy, cheerleader from high school. Tiffany, all dyed blonde hair, all fake blue contacts. Tiffany…Kevin’s high school sweetheart. See, Paige caught them having sex. It actually happened in her bed. (“I’m gonna burn it,” she had muttered.) She doesn’t know about Kevin’s house party or the “football practice” on her birthday. Despite that, Paige is a feisty bitch when she wants to be. So, I’m betting Kevin is dead. Or missing his balls. I’m not quite sure which yet.

Paige sways in an almost drunken manner and leans forward. I get a glimpse of the shadow between her breasts before I force my eyes back up to her face. She’s grinning now, all happy. She stands, walks to the edge of the table, and cocks one curvy hip against it. That’s Paige. All dangerous curves in all the right places. I let myself appreciate those curves.

See, Paige met Kevin because of me. And that only happened by accident. Paige and I had been friends for a while. Then we had started talking. And one day she met Kevin and they hit it off. I went back to friend status as she became the clichéd spot of “best friend’s girl”. C’est la vie or something.

I have to be careful though because that was only six months ago and Paige has a mind like a steel trap and a heart like a block of ice. …And she’s looking for revenge, most likely. Looking for some way to completely undermine Kevin’s masculinity. She won’t think twice about using me as a pawn. I probably think this a tad too loudly because her smile pulls up a notch and goes into a smirk.

She sidles over, swings one leg up, and straddles me. Oh. Um. Wow. She leans forward and I can feel all of her against me. Her auburn hair creates a curtain around us. I catch a whiff of something light and flowery and totally female. “Let’s have sex.”

Oh, God, yes… Wait. “What?”

She laughs, tosses her hair back. “Let’s sleep together.” Her arms come up around my neck; I have to look away to resist looking down her shirt. I look at her face instead.

Her eyes have that glint now, the one she usually gets when she’s figured out the solution to a complicated problem. My stomach sinks a little as if I’ve just looked over the edge of a rollercoaster car atop an extremely high drop. The reason: what’s the problem she’s just figured out?

I swallow. “You’ve just broken up with my best friend.” Which, you know, he actually deserved.

She gives a little sigh and I can’t resist it this time. I glance down to watch her breasts go with the movement. Then I frown. When did my hands get on her waist? And why are they so comfortable there?

“You’re just giving me excuses now,” she says. My gaze snaps back to her face. She’s smirking still. One hand comes up to card through my hair; it feels, well, nice. “You know you want to.”

Of course I do. Who doesn’t? That doesn’t mean I should though. …Even if it is really tempting. “No,” I say. I really try to fake some ferocity into my voice as if I’m angry with her for suggesting it. I’m thinking it’s a big failure though.

Her pretty mouth

(hey, can i kiss her?)

twists into a pout. She flounces off me in a cheerleader-like fashion and swings her purse off the table. “Well, help me home then. No reason to stick around here.”

Ouch. Pulling the heartless bitch act? She doesn’t even glance at me as she heads towards the exit of the club.

…I follow her anyway. Jeez, I’m whipped.

--

She leans against the doorframe and smiles sweetly at me. After the silent act she pulled on the ride to her apartment, I’m shocked…and wary. That flinty spark is still in her eyes, just waiting to set something aflame.

“Thanks for listening to me rant. I needed that.” She stretches as if the ranting had been a physical exercise. It drags her top up so I can see a slice of skin on her stomach. I try to get my eyes to her face, but I’m too slow. Her eyebrow raises as her smile pulls into a smirk.

She says nothing as she reaches forward and grabs my shirt. The movement is slow, so I have enough time to stop her, but, well, I just can’t think of any reason to do so anymore.

Paige Hardy, my best friend’s ex, kisses me. She is soft and pleasantly warm. Her hands move from my shirt to my shoulders. And when she starts to move into her apartment, I decide, what the hell? I follow.

--

I wake up. Paige is curled against me, head pillowed on my shoulder. Her hair is in tangles, spilling over my chest and shoulders. Her face is softened by sleep, unguarded for once. I smile.

Then my cell phone, placed on the nightstand next to me last night by Paige, starts to ring, the sound high and tinny. I flail for it and can only hope that my frantic movements don’t wake up the seductress sleeping next to me. I flip the cell open.

“What?” I hiss.

“Shane…,” comes the slurred mumble. It’s Kevin. And it sounds like he’s drunk. I pull the cell phone away from my ear and look at it, squinting a little at the painful neon brightness. It’s five in the morning. What the hell is he doing up this early? I glance at Paige. Does he know? Already? Well, shit, what a good friend I am. Sleeping with his ex…

“Shane…I love her. I love her so much. Wi’ all my life an’ heart.”

The small puddle I thought I was jumping into when I slept with Paige suddenly turns into a pile of quicksand that has come up to my chin.

“I want to marry her.”

Shit. Scratch that. That quicksand? Over my head.

“Where are you?” I whisper. I edge out of the bed and watch as Paige sleepily shifts over to the warmth I left behind. Then I start the search for my clothes.

“I’m…” A slightly hysterical giggle. “I’m locked out of my house.” Another giggle. “I need my key. You have one, right?”

I grit my teeth and look longingly back at Paige’s bed. Instead of climbing back in like I want to, I pull on the pair of jeans I find and button them. “I’ll be there in a minute.”

“’Kay.” He hangs up as I sigh. I give Paige another glance and then leave.

--

Kevin is sitting against his door, singing something loudly. Thank somebody that it’s a somewhat decent time where people are already getting up. Any earlier and people would be throwing shit at him.

“Shane, my buddy!” he calls when he sees me. Then he stands wobbly and throws an arm around me. Whoa. His breath reeks. I try to push him away as I find his key. “I don’ know what I’d do if you weren’t my frien’. You’re my best best buddy. In the whole worl’.”

I unlock the door to his apartment and kick said door open. With a giddy laugh, Kevin stumbles into his apartment. My best friend the freak. I roll my eyes and follow him in, shutting the door behind me.

Kevin falls ungracefully to the dilapidated couch. Then, moods switching abruptly, he gives me a solemn look. “I love her,” he says.

My stomach sinks unpleasantly. Come on, time to confess. I open my mouth, the secret clattering against my teeth and—

“I loved her, for, like, ever. It was meant to be. Isn’t that how it’s ‘posed to go? High school swee’hearts an’ all?”

Wait…high school sweethearts? “You love Tiffany?” He gives me a funny look as if I were supposed to already know that. “What about Paige?”

He shrugs. “Wha’ abou’ her? She was pretty and Tiff was datin’ that one guy.”

Wait a sec, wait a sec… “So you don’t even like her?”

He frowns. “No, I do. She’s cool. But I love Tiff.” His eyes go all far away and dreamy. “I’ll only love Tiff.”

“So…” Go ahead, ask permission. Do it. You want to. “What if I date Paige?”

He gives me a long stare. Then he smiles, all slow and wide. “Go ‘head. ‘Snot like you need my permission. Not like I’m gonna get jealous or anything.”

Well. That wasn’t too hard. I start to head towards the door. “You go ahead and propose to Tiffany or something, dude. And get some sleep.”

I catch a bright grin before I shut the door.

--

I try the door to Paige’s apartment. The door swings up creakily and I wince. I try to sneak to her bedroom, hoping beyond everything that she’s still asleep and has not noticed that I left. Instead, as I pass the tiny kitchen, I spot her. She’s in a ratty bathrobe and her hair is clipped up, wet strands all over the place. She’s cradling a mug and her glare freezes me.

“What the hell are you doing back here?”

Ah, shit. “Kevin locked himself out of his place.” I try to ignore her glare as I root through her cabinets for a mug. I pour myself some coffee from the pot. Then I sit across from her and take a sip. Say it. Do it. “He wants to marry Tiffany.” Shit. Not the way I planned it.

She actually smiles. “He’s actually going to go through with it? And he wasted six months with me? The moron.” She rolls her eyes.

What? The confusion must show on my face because she treats me with a long, flat stare.

“What? Did you think I didn’t know? It was so obvious.”

Pretty light treatment for the girl that just got dumped. And she had been angry last night.

Paige must secretly be a psychic because she goes, “I was so pissed last night because he didn’t have the balls to break up with me before he started sleeping with her.” She snorts in an unladylike fashion. “The only reason I went out with him in the first place was because I was just rebound.”

Women are scary creatures. They strategize and predict and win battles that guys don’t even realize are going on. I blink. And, “What about me then? Am I just rebound?”

She gives me another long stare. “You’re joking right?” A smile comes slowly onto her face. She leans across the table and kisses me. Softly, sweetly, tasting of fresh mint and bitter coffee. Oh.

She sits back down and sips at her coffee. Her eyebrows are raised as if she’s waiting for me to respond.

I take a stab. “I’m not just rebound.” She nods slowly. Another stab. “You like me.” I get a smile for this one.

She reaches up and runs a hand through my hair. Her face is as soft as it was in sleep. “Of course I do.” Her voice is barely a whisper and almost a reprimand. “I thought you would say something while I was dating Kevin.” She was waiting that long? Then she scowls, an expression I’m more familiar with. “But of course, you’re male so you have to be extremely dense.”

I’m laughing as I lean over to place a kiss on her cheek. “I’m sorry.” She just waves a hand at me. “I’ll jump in the shower and then we can go get breakfast?” It ends up being a question.

She gives me a playful smile. “Fine. I’ll go get dressed. Hurry up.” Her eyes get that glint again. “If you take long, I…” Her eyes lower and then come back up. “I just might have to join you.”

I place another small kiss on her cheek and head to the bathroom to take the longest shower I have ever had.