Chapter One

I was tired after a long day of classes and work. I enjoyed my geology classes but the hours spent in labs looking down microscopes and stereoscopes left me with headaches that lasted throughout the day and into my work shifts. Shrugging out of the black button up shirt I wore at the bar, I trudged up the stairs to my third floor apartment in my Sex Pistols t-shirt. I was very happy that it was Friday, I still had a lingering headache from the labs today and work had been a night of drunken idiots doing pub crawls leaving me wanting nothing more than to crawl into my bed and not get up again. At least I didn’t have classes tomorrow morning and wasn’t scheduled to work for the weekend.

I dreaded stepping into my apartment because I never knew who would be there or what would be going on. I loved my roommates and all our friends but there were some days I just couldn’t handle having people around all the time. I never knew if there would be no one home, just be my roommates or a large gathering of our friends and acquaintances. There had been times I’ve gotten home to complete strangers in my apartment who were “friends of friends” and no one who actually belonged there. I just wasn’t in the mood tonight to deal with anyone.

I opened the apartment door and gave a sigh of relief when the sitting area was empty. After closing the door behind me and kicking off my shoes, I headed into the kitchen for a beer. I opened the beer on my way up the stairs to my room and automatically stuck the beer cap to the ceiling. I can’t remember who started it, but it was now an almost unconscious action to stick the beer cap to the ceiling. We were college students and had lived in the same apartment for the last three years so there were probably hundreds off them on the ceiling of the sitting area and heading up the stairs.

I grabbed the stack of mail left for me on the half wall at the top of the stairs and kicked open the door to my room. I took one step in and let out a stream of curses. I was very unhappy to find a couple entwined on my bed. The couple jumped at the sound of my voice and one grabbed my blanket trying to cover himself.

“Damn it Jam, this is my room and that’s my bed.” I growled to my friend who was looking at me sheepishly even though he made no move to cover himself, “How many times do I have to tell you to take your tricks back to your place. I hate it when you bring them here. Why the hell do you have to always bring them to my room?”

“Come on Sam, you know I can’t take them back to my room, Carl’s always there.” James whined at me, “It’s not like I leave a mess or anything.”

I sighed. James was giving me his puppy-dog face with the shy, bashful smile that he knew always worked on me. I politely ignored the other man in my room who was gathering up his clothes and getting dressed.

“Jam, why can’t you take it into your brother’s room? Why is it always my room?” I asked him for what was mostly likely the millionth time.

“Ew, yuck. I am so not getting laid in Jas’ room. He’s straight. There’s girl coodies in there.” James said making a face.

“Whatever,” I grumbled, “I’m gonna go down and enjoy my beer in peace. Change the sheets for me when you’re done and wash those ones or else.”

James grinned at me, “Thanks Sam. You’re the best.”

I only rolled my eyes as James tugged his now dressed partner back onto my bed and kissed him. I walked out of my room making sure to slam the door behind me and stomped back down the stairs.

I opened the sliding door and walked out onto the small balcony that looked over the courtyard of the apartment complex. We had a small couch onto the balcony and I often spent long evenings out there enjoying the stars or the antics of the other people in the complex without actually having to join in.

An hour or so later, I had finished my beer and was enjoying a nap when I was awoken abruptly when someone sat on me. Still mostly asleep, I opened one eye and glared at James. James was grinning from ear to ear and bouncing on my legs.

“Come on Sam. Get up, I’m hungry.” James said still grinning at me.

“G’way. I’m sleeping.” I muttered with a couple kicks trying to get him off of me.

“But I’m hungry and I hate eating alone. C’mon, I’ll even pay.” James said poking me in the arm, “We can go the Arms…”

I opened my eyes and looked at James, “You hate the Arms. You always bitch about all the straight couples making out there.”

“I promise to keep my bitching to a minimum. You know you wanna come with. Just think: beer, trivia and the best burgers in town.” James said before turning his puppy-dog face on, “Please?”

“Fine. Get off me Jam.” I grumbled sitting up.

James jumped off me and pulled me off the couch and into a hug. “Thanks Sam, you’re the best.”

I hid my smile and replied sarcastically, “You’re only saying that because I let you use my bed for sex again.”

James slung an arm around my shoulders, guiding me back into the apartment. “Nah. If I wanted to thank you for letting me use your bed, I would’ve asked you to join us.”

“God Jam, I don’t even want to think about that. I so do not need the mental picture of you naked.”

James grinned and gave me a big sloppy kiss on the mouth before bouncing away from me. “You so want me Sam. Don’t deny it.”

I threw my shoe at him and glared when he ducked out of the way. He grabbed my shoe, walked over to me and pushed me onto the couch. Kneeling in front of me, he slid the shoe onto my foot and did up the laces.

“There you go princess, all ready for the ball. Let’s go.” James said pulling on my hand to get me up off the couch again and out the door.

We trekked down the stairs and out the door in silence. Heading towards the Arms, James pranced around and jumped up and down off the curb. I couldn’t help but laugh at his childish antics. He kept bugging me until I finally gave up and joined in. The two of us chased and pushed each other, bouncing around the road like a couple kids high on sugar, the rest of the way to the restaurant.

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Authors Note: Hope you enjoyed the first chapter. If you are going to review, which I hope you do, please keep in mind that I am Canadian so the "u"s in certain words are correct! *grin*