Abby rolled out of bed when her alarm clock started buzzing at 8 a.m. She quickly brushed her teeth and washed her face before walking out into the kitchen. She found Sasha still in her evening dress sitting at the table reading the paper and sipping her coffee. “Stupid alarm clock. I don't know why I set the dumb thing to go off at 8 a.m. on a Sunday. You haven't changed yet...”

Sasha didn’t look up, “Cause I just got home. Girl, I swear Kevin is an angel sent from heaven.”

“You spent the night with him?”

“You can say that but I didn't sleep with him, if that's what you mean. He took me back to his place and we spent the whole time sitting in his living room just talking. And guess what?”

“Hmm?”

“I gave him my number. He said that he'll call, but I have a feeling that he might not. Doesn't really bug me that much, but it would suck if he didn't. You know? Want any coffee?” Sasha got up and made her way to the coffeepot, refilling her cup along with one for Abby. “How did your night go by the way?”

“It was uneventful. Nothing really happened besides me getting spit on. Oh, and I met Brian while I was waiting on my car.”

Sasha gave her friend an odd look, “Brian, huh? Did you hear what happened to him? I never knew but Kevin told me. All the guys have been so worried about him.” She was talking really fast, making it evident that she was only running on caffeine.

They both sat down at the table, and Abby looked up from her cup. “No, we only exchanged a few words. What happened?”

“Well, like he had a girlfriend that really, really meant a lot to him. She died in a car accident and Brian was driving the car, and to this day he still blames himself for her death. He doesn't talk much and when he does, it’s just small talk. He barely even talks to Kevin or Nick, let alone his mother.”

Abby sat in silence for a moment. “Wow. I can't imagine how he must feel after something like that. How do you get over that anyway? He was so distant last night, I could see that he wasn't really there at all. I guess it being Valentine’s Day didn’t help any either.”

“I don't know what I would do. I know that I wouldn't be able to get out of my house let alone go to a charity ball. I give that man a lot of credit for doing something like that.”

“Yeah...” Abby suddenly got lost in thought, thinking about Brian, and Sasha sat quietly so she wouldn’t disturb her friend, until her cell phone started to ring.

She excused herself and answered her phone while walking into the living room. Abby watched her friend walk out while she stared at the contents of her cup. She thought about Brian and what he must have been going through, not able to compare it to any real situation that has ever happened in her life. And why would he end up blaming himself for her death? She figured that was a question that will probably be left flying in the wind like a lost bird's feather. Finishing off her cup, she stood up to refill it when Sasha came running back into the kitchen all giddy and squealing.

“Girl! Get in that shower and wash up! Or maybe I should go first? Oh well but we have to quickly clean this place up!” she ran around her friend until Abby took control of her shoulders.

“What is going on?”

Sasha took in a deep breath through her nose and exhaled from her mouth. Trying to calm herself down, “That was Kevin on the phone. He said that he would like to take us out to lunch today.” She squealed on the last word.

Abby hushed her friend by handing her a sponge and leading her to the sink to start on the dishes. Trying to get her to start washing, she jumped up on the counter, “Us? As in me and you?”

Already starting on the next dish, “Yeah. He said that he would be delighted if he could treat us to some lunch. He told me to tell you that if you're not busy, you can come along. Also, hottie little Brian will be there too and Nick.” Sasha started to rinse off the soap from the dishes and placed them on the drying rack, “So are you coming with me? He said that he's gonna call back in like a few minutes.”

“Yeah, I’ll go…” Abby grinned to herself, “but if Nick spits on me again, I’m leaving.”