Kassy groaned and rolled over, covering her head with her pillow. For the third time, the phone rang. Frustrated enough to rip out her hair, Kassy threw the pillow off her head and grabbed the receiver.

“Hello?” It was her day off. How dare anyone call her before 9 AM.

She didn’t have the happiest tone, but it didn’t bother him in the least. “Hey, Kas.” Kassy groaned and flopped back on the bed.

“Brian, of all people, you should be the one to know that if you call me before nine, you’ve signed your own death certificate,” Kassy said, trying to stifle a yawn. Brian only laughed. He was used to her attitudes in the morning.

“You up for dinner tonight?” he asked, his excitement taking over. Kassy raised an eyebrow and propped herself up on her elbow.

“You called me at nine o’clock in the morning to ask me if I was up for dinner?” she asked, rolling her eyes.

“Well, it’s a fancy dinner,” Brian explained. “We’re going to Il Primavera. You up for it?”

P<>“I don’t have a dress,” Kassy said. “And I don’t have the money to buy a dress that I’m only gonna wear once. Why waste the money on something that’s gonna sit in the back of my closet for the rest of my life?”

“You’re not buying it,” Brian stated. “I am.” Kassy almost began choking at his words.

“Oh no, you’re not,” she said. “You’re not buying me anything. I’m not a charity case.”

“Think of it as an early birthday present. Only, you’ll still be getting something on your birthday.”

“If you still remember me by then,” Kassy muttered under her breath. Her birthday was only a few weeks away, on Valentine’s Day, which was only six days before his, but she couldn’t expect him to remember it once he went back to Orlando. He hadn’t remembered her before, so why should he remember her birthday now.

“Don’t go muttering under your breath,” Brian scolded. “It’s real annoying trying to translate it.” Kassy laughed sarcastically. “Okay, get dressed. AJ and Howie will be over in fifteen minutes to take you shopping.” Kassy squinted her eyes in confused.

“What about you?”

“I’m spending the day with Leighanne,” he said. Kassy took a deep breath to control the anger boiling up inside her. “She told me about your ‘confrontation’ so I didn’t think it would be a good idea for her to join us at dinner. I’m gonna try and convince her to stay home, which might take all day.”

“Wow, that’s a first, Brian.” Kassy’s voice was sarcastic and full of spite. “You ditching me for a girlfriend. You sure have changed.”

“What do you mean?” Brian asked, confused.

“You told me you wanted to become friends again, maybe even best friends if possible, but at the first chance you get, you go flocking off with your little girlfriend. Yeah, Brian, real great start.” With that, Kassy hung up the phone. She wasn’t in the mood for an explanation.

All of the sudden, there was a knock at her door. Sighing, Kassy got out of bed and grabbed her Japanese print robe. Trying the robe around her waist, she walked sleepily down the steps. When she checked through the peephole, she raised her eyebrow.

“Brian said fifteen minutes,” she said as she swung the door open to face Howie and AJ. “That was more like three.”

“Howie rushed me out of the hotel,” AJ whined. He brushed by Kassy, stopped in front of the mirror in the hall, and began preening himself. Laughing, Howie waited for an invitation to come in.

“Come on in,” Kassy said. Smiling, Howie stepped over the threshold. “You guys are gonna have to give me a minute to get ready. Sorry, but Brian woke me up when he called. You can make yourself at home.” Walking up the stairs, Kassy threw on a black tank-top with a wildly-patterned, shear, long-sleeve, green shirt over it along with her black flare pants.

“C’mon, girl, hurry up!” AJ yelled, pounding on the door. “You take too long!!’ Laughing, Kassy opened the door to face a grinning AJ, who was scratching the back of his head innocently. “Okay, good, you’re ready.” Grabbing her hand, he began dragging her down the hall.

“Wait! I need my shoes!” Kassy protested, trying to stop him by digging her heels into the beige carpet.

“AJ! Let the lady get dressed!” Howie yelled from the bottom of the steps. Defeated, AJ let go of her. Running back to her room, she slipped on her boots and brushed her hair. She looked in the mirror and, satisfied with what she saw, walked out of the room, shutting the door behind her. As she walked down the steps, she spotted Howie in the living room.

“You have a gorgeous house,” he commented, turning to face her. His eyes widened when he saw that they were eye level. “Okay, you grew.” Smiling, she lifted up her pant leg to reveal three-inch heels on the bottom of her boots.

“Okay, less talk, more shopping.” AJ came up behind them, grabbed both their arms, and dragged them out the door. Managing to grab her purse on the way, Kassy locked the door behind them and the two of them followed AJ down the walkway to her car.

“How’d you guys get here?” Kassy asked, confused.

“Limo,” they answered in unison. Nodding, she unlocked the doors to her royal blue BMW convertible.

“No offense, but how’d you afford a car like this?” Howie asked, as AJ called shotgun and jumped into the front seat. Sighing, Howie opened the back door and climbed in. Kassy smiled.

“Combined graduation present from Kevin, Tim, and Jerald,” she explained. "When I graduated college, I found this in the driveway of my new house, a huge purple ribbon on the top.” She shrugged.

“Sounds like Kevin,” Howie commented, laughing.

"Also, Rolling Stones pays pretty well."

“Ssh! Good song!” AJ hissed. He tried to turn up the volume, but Kassy slapped his hand away. Pouting, he crossed his arms over his chest and sunk back into his seat.