"Why's that?" Toni said, opening another box.

"We went to get you a simple mobile and came home with half the store."

"Well, you said it works better if you use a computer with it."

"I also said you could use my laptop anytime you wanted."

"True, but I haven't used a computer for years, and I'm sure they've changed a bit," Toni said, pulling a sleek laptop from a carton. "So, this way I can take my time learning the new stuff without interfering with what you need to do, and it'll give me a chance to read up on some things without having to open a newspaper to see all the rubbish."

"And you needed a printer why?"

"In case I want to print something, of course," Toni said with an exaggerated eye roll. Glancing at the instruction sheet in her hand, she asked, "So, you going to give me hand with this?"

"Sorry, but you're on your own tonight. I've got a date."

Although the words on the paper no longer held her interest, Toni refused to look up. "Anyone I know?"

"Phillip. He called yesterday, and I suggested we meet for drinks." Looking at all the boxes scattered in the room, Laura asked, "You going to be okay with all of this?"

"Sure. Piece of cake."

"Okay, well I'd better get ready. Don't want to be late," Laura said, leaving the room.

Waiting until she heard Laura run up the stairs, Toni tossed the instruction sheet aside and sitting on the bed, she grumbled, "Well, she didn't waste any time, now did she?"

"So, things are back to normal between you and Toni then?" Abby asked, eyeing her friend at the other end of the sofa.

"If by normal you mean that we're friends again, yeah."

"You don't seem too happy about that."

"I guess it's better than nothing," Laura said with a sigh. "I was hoping that when I went out with Phillip last Saturday, she wouldn't like it, but it didn't seem to faze her."

"I thought you weren't interested in him."

"I'm not. That's why I agreed to meet him for drinks. He's been calling, and I didn't want to break it off over the phone. Afterward, I just went to the cinema and stayed out long enough to make it look like I was on an actual date."

"Why the hell did you do that?"

"Grasping at straws, I guess."

"Oh, right. Playing the jealousy angle, were you?"

"Yeah, but like I said, it didn't work. And now she's so wrapped up in her computer I hardly see her."

"I wish there was something I could say to make you feel better."

"Me, too," Laura said, leaning back on the sofa. "I know I just need to get over it and move on, but I don't know how to do that."

"Well, I do."

"Yeah?"

"Let's go out...like old times."

"What? Go to a pub, get pissed and dance the night away?"

"Sure, why not? It's been ages since we've done that. What have you got to lose?"

Thinking for a moment, Laura said, "I'll need to go home and change."

"I'll pick you up at nine, and don't forget to put on your dancing shoes."

Laura stood in front of the mirror and forced herself to look happy. Wearing her favorite little black dress, she had no doubt that she'd dance the night away in the arms of strangers, but the idea had somehow lost its appeal between Abby's house and her own. Laura didn't want to be embraced by thick masculine arms or engulfed in colognes smelling of clove and oak moss. She wanted the arms of a woman around her. A woman who was tall and slender with eyes the color of cinnamon, and who needed no other scent than her own.

Realizing that she was again allowing herself to get lost amidst hopes and dreams, Laura's temper flared. "Fuck it," she said, stepping into a pair of three-inch, pointy-toed dress pumps. "It's time to go out and forget your troubles, MacLeod. One way or another."

With a bowl of crisps and a bottle of beer, Toni was heading to her room when Laura came down the steps, and although Toni tried to act disinterested, she failed miserably. Starting at the top of Laura's head, Toni's eyes slowly traveled down to her toes, but on the return voyage, she saw Laura's smirk, and knew she'd been caught. "I...I thought you were in for the night."

"Well, you thought wrong," Laura said. Seeing the glare of headlights sweep across the front of the house, she said, "And that's my taxi, so you have a nice night and don't wait up."

Without waiting for an answer, Laura swept past Toni, grabbed her coat and was out the door.

Glancing at the clock for the umpteenth time, Toni closed her laptop and pushed it aside. Having spent the first few hours of the night playing mindless games on the Internet, she had spent the next two surfing websites she deemed safe, reading recipes and gardening tips while trying to keep her mind off of a woman in a little black dress. It didn't work. Even though Toni had never personally met Duane York or Phillip Hoult, tonight Laura wasn't out on a date with a name Toni knew. Tonight, Laura was out on the town alone. Tonight, she was on the pull, and Toni didn't like it. She didn't like it one goddamned bit.

Deciding it was time to get some sleep, she jumped off the bed and yanked open her dresser. Snatching out a pair of pajamas, she tossed them on the bed, but then she froze when she heard a loud crash coming from the front of the house. Slipping her feet into her trainers, Toni silently crept to the bedroom door, her heart thundering in her chest as she pressed her ear against the wood. Hearing the sound of feminine giggles, she let out the breath she'd been holding, cautiously opened the door and stepped into the lounge.

"Sshhh...sshhh, Abby. You're gonna wake up Toni."

"I didn't knock over the bloody vase. You did!"

"I know, but we gotta be quiet. Don't wanna wake me lodger."

"Too late," Toni said dryly as she came into the entryway.

It was obvious by their silly grins, and the fact that both were having issues getting themselves out of their own coats, the two women staring back at Toni were pissed...to their earlobes. At first, she considered returning to her room to let them fend for themselves, but when Toni saw the shards of ceramic covering the floor, she changed her mind. "I'll get a broom."

"Whatever," Laura said, waving her hand through the air as she wobbled past. "You do the wife thing. I'm gonna turn on some music."

Paying no mind to the broken pottery crunching under her feet, Laura stomped through the foyer, leaving Toni and Abby standing in the hall staring at each other. As Abby started to take a step, Toni held up her hand. "No. Stay there until I get this cleaned up. Can you do that?"

"Yep!" Abby said proudly, giving Toni a thumbs-up. "Won't move 'til you tell me. Promise."

A few minutes later, with a dustpan overflowing with the bits and pieces of a broken vase, Toni turned toward the kitchen, but before she could take a step, the house was suddenly filled with music. Very, very loud music.

Startled by the thunderous hard rock blaring from the lounge, the dustpan slipped from Toni's hand, and as Abby watched in drunken delight, the pieces of shattered ceramic returned to cover the floor again.

"Jesus Christ!" Toni bellowed, storming into the lounge. "You're going to wake the entire bloody neighborhood!"

Unable to hear anything over the deafening sound of electric guitars, Laura stood in front of the stereo, fumbling with buttons and dials as she tried unsuccessfully to turn the volume down.

Pushing her way around the inebriated woman, Toni reached over and hit the power switch, sending the house back into silence. "What the hell are you doing? People are trying to sleep for Christ's sake!"

"I just wanna dance some more. I like dancing," Laura said, and feeling the need to demonstrate, she twirled around and immediately corkscrewed herself to the floor.

"Shit," Toni said, kneeling by her side. "Are you okay?"

Lying behind the couch, Laura said, "Yep. I'm goooood, but it's really dusty under the sofa. You should see."

"I believe you," Toni said as she helped Laura sit up. "Can you stay here a minute while I get the entry cleaned?"

"You're not done wiff that yet! Whaz taken you so long? It was just an itty-bitty vase."

"Right," Toni said, getting to her feet. Seeing that Laura was once again lying on the floor, absorbed in her study of sofa dust bunnies, Toni returned to the front hall to find Abby tiptoeing toward the lounge.

"What the hell are you doing? I told you to stay put."

"I really gotta pee," Abby said, snickering as she grabbed hold of a nearby chair to steady herself. "Didn't think you'd wanna clean that up too."

Rolling her eyes, Toni said, "You're right. Can you manage on your own?"

"Yep, but best use the one in yours if you don't mind. Stairs probably wouldn't be a good idea right now."

"I couldn't agree more," Toni said, stepping back to allow her to pass.

Watching the woman carefully stagger toward her room, Toni waited until she disappeared behind the bedroom door before she returned to the task at hand. Glancing into the lounge to see Laura still sitting on the floor, now shoeless and fumbling with the buttons of her coat, Toni cleaned up the foyer, put some water on for tea and returned to the lounge.

Squatting beside Laura, she asked, "How you doing?"

Raising her eyes to meet Toni's, Laura's smile sloped to the left. "Just peachy...but me buttons are stuck."

Biting her lip to stifle a laugh, Toni's eyes sparkled with amusement. "Yeah, I hate when that happens. Why don't we get you off the floor, and I'll see about getting them unstuck?"

Taking Toni's hand, Laura got to her feet, and then looking up, her eyes grew large. "Blimey! You're a tall one, aren't cha."

"So I've been told," Toni said as she began to unbutton the misaligned coat.

"Whatcha doing?" Laura asked, looking down.

"Taking off your coat."

"You wanna see what's underneath, don't cha?"

"No, I want to get you out of it so..."

The word died in Toni's throat the second the hickey came into view. Running from the base of Laura's neck to her shoulder, it was a mottled mess of colors having not yet reached their prime. Setting her jaw, Toni tossed Laura's coat on the sofa. "Let's get you upstairs," she said flatly, her eyes avoiding the juvenile love bite in all its glory.

"Okay," Laura said, tottering to the stairs. "I'll race ya."

Taking two quick steps, Toni was at Laura's side before her foot hit the first step, and standing close enough to prevent her from falling, Toni followed her slowly up the stairs and into the bedroom. As Laura wobbled around the room, seemingly intent on examining each item on her bureau, Toni flicked on the bedside lamp, pulled down the duvet and then returned to Laura's side.

"Come on, let's get you to bed."

"Yougonnajoinme?"

"No, I'm going to tuck you in and go back down to see how Abby's doing."

"Abby? Is Abby here? Oh, I should go down...say hello," Laura said, staggering toward the door.

"You can say hello in the morning," Toni said, redirecting Laura back to the bed. "Right now, sleep is in order."

"You tired?" Laura asked as Toni guided her to the bed. "Me, too."

"Good, so we'll both get some sleep. Okay?"

"Okay!" Laura said as she sat on the edge of the bed and patted the mattress. "You first."

"My bed's downstairs."

"It doesn't have to be," Laura purred.

"You need to lie down and get some sleep."

"But I'm lonely," Laura said, adding a pout for good measure. "Stay with me. Please?"

Running her fingers through her hair, Toni sighed. "Sure. I'll stay until you fall asleep. How's that?"

"Good!" Laura said, falling into her pillow. Looking up at Toni, a lopsided smile appeared on Laura's face. "Toni?"

"Yeah?"

"Take off my clothes."

Laura's words acted like a sucker punch and Toni's lungs emptied in a whoosh. The little black dress was tight, hugging every inch of Laura's torso. It was definitely not designed as sleepwear, but the thought of assisting Laura in its removal made Toni's heart pound in her chest.

"It's already wrinkled. Just go so sleep."

"Fine, I'll do it myself," Laura said as she sat up and struggled to find the zip.

With a shrug, Toni walked to the door, but when she heard a resounding thud, she turned around to see Laura sitting on the floor in a heap.

"Christ, are you all right?" she asked, rushing over.