Chapter 2 Lyons | Bad Hair Day.

It was a fucking bad hair day. Not only had I lost my job and my account was frozen, my date blew me off the last minute with a lame excuse. Add to that the pain Sasha was going through in the hands of her sugar daddy and I'd curse this fucking Monday all the ways to Sunday.

So, instead of being out drinking and maybe getting laid to wear off my sour mood, I was curled up alone on the sofa with a big bowl of chocolate ice cream for comfort. I wasn't expecting anyone so when my doorbell rang, I ignored it at first, and struggled to focus on Slow Dancing - which was a therapy whenever I was feeling down - and didn't want to move.

When the bell rang a second, third and fourth time, I grudgingly lifted myself off the sofa. Dressed only in tight boxer briefs, I didn't bother to put on more clothes, hoping to dismiss whoever was disturbing my peace quickly. If it was my naughty neighbour's kid, I sure won't like it if he had to deal with my semi from watching Cardi B's huge tits and tight arse. Perhaps it would get me on some prank backlist and maybe he'd leave me alone in the future.

Kids these days were so out of control.

I padded across the communal hall, past the hangers filled with baby clothes of the couple that lived upstairs and put on my least friendly face as I pulled the door open. Sasha was the last person I was expecting. We talked at length in the morning about her relationship problems and I'd suggested she made the first move to rekindle the dying fire between her and Alex. She'd gotten off the phone more optimistic than when she'd gotten on and I was positive whatever she'd planned must've been a success, but here she was out of the blue, shivering from the rain like a whippet which only meant one thing.

It hadn't gone well.

"Oh, hey babe. What happened?" I pulled her in for a hug and she clung onto me like a lifeline, breaking into great sobs that made my heart ache. I released her and carefully wiped off her tears. "It's okay. He doesn't deserve your tears."

She nodded, staring at me with dark, haunty eyes. "I...uh. I need somewhere to stay till I get back on my feet. Can you put me up for a while?"

It was only then that I looked down and realized she had a bag in hand. "Fuck. He threw you out too?"

She nodded.

Shit.

"Yes of course. Come in." I took the bag and pulled her in, shutting the door carefully and turned to drape an arm over her shoulders as I led her down the corridor to my flat. I dumped her bag in my closet, watching her walk straight into the living room and throw herself down of the sofa. When she saw the ice cream, she managed a small smile. "I suppose that's appropriate. Are you having a shitty day too? Do you have enough ice cream for me to drown myself in as well?"

I plopped down on the sofa next to her. "Well if you count the job loss and frozen account, I guess it's just as bad a day as yours."

"Fuck, you lost your job?" her eyes widened. "Why, what did you do?"

I shrugged. "Something about my boss being a bitch cause I won't fuck her." She laughed and it was genuine.

"Wow. Guess she was really into your dick to fire you."

"It comes with a crown, princess."

"Like all dicks do. Give it up, there's nothing special about yours." She rolled her eyes.

"Alex included?" I cocked my head, smirking.

"Well of course." She flipped me off. "I don't know...I never thought I'd live to see the day Alex and I...would break up. We were so close to getting married." Tension and anger coated her features, but I could see the fragility under the surface, as if she was ready to crack. I scooted close so she could rest her head on my shoulder. She was still shivering, prompting me to put the blanket around her shoulder. "Sasha. What the hell happened?"

She sniffled and looked down at her hands as she replied. "Alex found another girl. She's his new intern whom he fucks after office hours. I can't believe it's all over. He threw away all these years and everything we've built together for some whore."

Fuck. I mean, it was obvious it was a relationship crisis with the bag and all...but I still hadn't been expecting Alex to treat her that way. And the awful part about hearing those words was that a tiny, selfish part of me was glad they'd broken up because let's be honest...I never liked Alex.

He seemed like the perfect guy from afar and Sasha had talked about him nonstop after they went on their first date - perhaps that's why I hated him, having to hear my best friend sing his praises like he was some god. Before she met Alex, I'd been hoping that maybe one day I'd have a chance with Sasha because I'd always had a crush on her. But no. Alex had walked into the picture and put a painful stop to those dreams.

Right now, Sasha was hurting, and I needed to put my own feelings aside and be the best friend she needed. "Are you sure?" I asked. Maybe Alex was under the influence of something to say those words. "I don't believe he'd cheat on you, I mean he adored you."

But not as much as I do.

"Yes of course. You needed to be there to see the way he told me it's over. Like he was getting rid of a trash he no longer needed. I wouldn't want him back even though he came after me crawling through mud in the rain or buried himself in snow."

"Shit. I'm so sorry."

She scoffed. "Aren't you going to start jumping and thumping? You never liked him."

I didn't bother denying it. That was why we always kept our friendship a secret from Alex. Alex and I had no common interests apart from Sasha. The few times Alex and I shared each other's company, it had been weird and stilted - I tried to avoid such occasions as much as possible in a bid not to upset Sasha by getting into a row with her lover. Alex liked to talk about finance, politics, blockbuster movies and war books that sounded boring. I liked to talk about fitness, sports and romance novels. Sasha knew just about everything, but being with Alex made her dull. I missed the Sasha who'd always be thrilled by the prospect of going to the park and staying up all night gaming, or binge watching Slow Dancing - a personal favourite of ours.

"No," I said firmly. "I'd never jump and thump because I don't like him and you finally realized what an idiot he is. He doesn't deserve you, that's all. I won't mind going over there and beat him up for you." I was mostly joking. Much as I'd love to punch him in the face for being a dick, I wasn't really a supporter of violence unless you counted my boxing routine where I kicked the hell out of a punching bag.

"Thanks, Lyons," She said with a feeble attempt at a smile. "I know you're right, but it...it hurts." She bent over, burying her face between her palms.

I tightened my arm around her, rubbing softly and she sat up, melting into my embrace. A faint sob escaped her, and the dam burst. I held her close while she cried and my heart twisted as protective anger blazed through me.

Fucking Alex.

She cried for hours, and by the time the tears had dried up, she was a sullen, snotty mess. She finally disentangled herself. "Ugh, I look gross. Sorry I got snot all over you." She sniffled, wiping the nose with the bag of her hand. "Got any tissues?"

"They're in my bedroom. Be back in a minute." I went to the bedroom and got my wanking tissues from the cabinet beside my bed. Then I made a beeline for the kitchen to get some wine. We could drink all night and forget about everything Alex, even if it was for a little while. Her distress tore me. I hated seeing her that way.

When I got back, she was stirring the ice-cream sulkily. "I can't even have this anymore. It's melted and doesn't look appetizing now. Have you got any more?"

"Nope." I smiled then held up the bottle in my hand. "But I've got chardonnay. Brighten up."

She gave me a small smile, much better than the last. "Thanks. That'll do."

I handed the tissues over and popped the bottle open while she blew her nose. I forgot to get some wineglasses, but remembered that we'd always drank wine out of a bottle together. The first night I met her, we'd stayed up till five sloshing back wine and flirting like crazy, and I'd been hoping on having great sex with her but we'd ended up passing out on the sofa. That cemented our friendship and we've been best friends ever since.

After I'd taken the first swing, I passed her the bottle, grimacing as the burning liquid coursed down to my stomach.

She took a glug and I chuckled at her gagging expression. "Yikes. This shit burns."

I laughed as she took another sip before handing it back. "Want something to mix it up with? I've got some Sprite."

"Nah, I'll manage." She affirmed. We sat in silence for a few minutes, passing the bottle back and forth until I became fuzzy from all the alcohol in my system. When she handed the bottle back my way, I held up a hand. "I'm okay."

"If you say so." She placed the bottle down with a clunk and leaned back with a sigh, staring into space forlornly. I hated seeing her like this, sad and downcast. She' always been a buzzy girl, full of life and fun when we were college students. She'd been a perfect wingman, always up for a challenge, or party.

"You know what really sucks?" Sasha asked, wringing her fingers quietly. Assuming the question was rhetorical, I waited for her to say more and she continued, her tone soft and edgy. "He was the one who wanted us to get married, to spend the rest of our lives together. I wasn't really a big fan of putting a ring on it and all that jazz but it seemed important to him. I thought that he just wanted it to keep me with him, to show how much he truly loves and wouldn't want to lose me. Thank goodness I found out about his cheating arse before we got married otherwise I wouldn't have known my way around getting a divorce." Then she groaned, recollecting something. "Fuck. I better get to the sexual health clinic ASAP. Not that we've had sex in a while but I haven't seen my monthly period. It was supposed to come last week but so far nothing. I don't want to find out I'm pregnant with that bastard's baby."

"Yeah, that'd be bad." I'd never had a relationship that serious with anyone. I'd never known how it feels to have trusted someone so much and then have your trust abused? Without thinking I reached for her hand and squeezed. "I'm sorry he wasn't what you expected."

She squeezed back. "There's no reason for you to be sorry."

"Yeah, I know." I held her hand for a while longer and she let me. I wished I could absorb all her pain through some sort of osmosis. "But I hate seeing you this way. I wish there was something I could do to make you feel better."

"Well, chardonnay and company. I'm okay with that."

"Want to watch TV too? It's a good distraction to keep you from thinking too much."

"Sure. Slow Dancing will do. Suites my mood." She grinned.

"Alright. Coming right up."