"yeah, okay, mother theresa," k.c. muttered dismissively as she began flipping through some photos i'd taken during my year away. "so can you speak french fluently now?"

"i know some useful words for you." i deadpanned. she grabbed a pillow from my bed and flung it at me without looking away from the pictures in her hand. after three years of devoted friendship, we could exchange harmless insults as easily as clothes.

walking into my private bathroom, i called out, "so, can you stay for dinner? we can do pizza."

"tonight i have to be home, actually," she shouted back. "liam is coming over for dinner. my mom is getting a little anxious about our relationship and wants to see him more." she enunciated "relationship" as if there was a double meaning.

liam and k.c. had been dating for two years, and they'd been ha**ng s*x for a while. her mom no doubt suspected that their "relationship" had progressed.

"uh oh, is sergeant carter on to you two?" i grunted while shoving my now empty suitcase under my bed. i called k.c.'s mom 'sergeant carter' due to her authoritarian mothering. k.c. had little privacy and was expected to report on everything. however, it only made her want to keep her secrets more.

"i'm sure. she found my nightie and went ballistic." k.c. stood up and grabbed her purse off the bed.

"i would've loved to see you talk your way out of that one." i shut off my bedroom light and followed her down the stairs.

"if my parents were like your dad, then maybe i wouldn't be so nervous about telling them things," k.c. mumbled.

i was pretty sure i would never tell my dad about my first time, whenever it happened.

"well, we can hook up tomorrow or whenever. as long as it's before school starts."

"absolutely, tomorrow." she gave me a tight hug. "i need to go get myself cleaned up before dinner. i'll see you later," and she rushed out the door.

"later."

chapter 4

"goddammit!" i bellowed up to my bedroom ceiling, now illuminated by the arrival of another partygoer.

d