Who could it be at this hour?


    Noreen hesitated for a moment before walking to the door. When she looked through the peephole, her eyes lit up with joy, and she quickly unlocked it. "ire! What are you doing here?"


    ire swept into the room, bringing a gust of damp air with her. Ignoring her suitcase by the door, she threw her arms around Noreen. "I''m here to recharge my batteries!"


    She hugged her tightly, burying her face in Noreen''s neck as if she never wanted to let go. Noreen immediately sensed something was wrong. She hugged her back, gently swaying from side to side. "Have you eaten?"


    "Nope. I''m starving!"


    "How about we hit up our old kebab ce?"


    "Perfect."


    "And maybe grab a drink?" ire added.


    "You got it." Noreen used her foot to nudge the suitcase inside. "The usual spot." "You know it."


    "Okay, so... can I go get changed now?"


    ire didn''t release her grip. "What part of you haven''t I seen before? Don''t be a stranger."


    Half an hourter, the two of them were sitting at a kebab shop less than a block from Rivercrest University, their old haunt. The owner was the same, and the food tasted just as they remembered. The only thing that had changed was them; the youthful innocence of their college days had faded.


    Neither was a lightweight when it came to drinking. Beer felt too weak for the asion, so ire ordered them both brandies.


    "Brandy for me too," Noreen told the owner.


    Seeing ire''s questioning look, Noreen exined, "It''s the weekend tomorrow. I don''t have to get up early."


    ire knew, of course, that the concept of a ''weekend'' didn''t exist for a workaholic like Noreen. She was just saying it as an excuse to keep herpany.


    They ate and chatted, reminiscing about their college adventures.


    "I still remember how insanely busy you were back then," ire said with augh. "If you had ss, you were in ss. If you didn''t, you were over at Seth''s, helping him out. You were like a perpetual motion machine that never got tired, we tied in the same dorm room for two months that first semester, and I swear we barely exchanged ten sentences."


    ire teased, "Then one night sophomore year, you didn''te back, and I just *knew* you''d finally ended up in his bed. You have no idea, I felt like my home had been invaded!"


    "The next day, you stumbled back looking pale as a ghost and


    copsed into bed, trembling in pain. I knew something was seriously wrong so rushed you to the hospital. When the doctor said you


    had a ruptured ovarian cyst,


    wanted to go find that bastard Seth and neuter him myself."


    "Okay, okay, that''s enough. Let''s not talk about that anymore," Noreen said, a little ufortable dredging up the past.


    But that''s how best friends are. Even when you don''t want to face something, they''ll be there to lovingly mock you for it.


    "What did I tell you back then?" ire continued, undeterred. "I said go ahead, get your heart broken. Maybe you''ll finally learn your lesson."


    She had a point. It was a hard lesson learned.


    "And even though you''re finally over Seth, it still pisses me off," ire said, her tone serious now. "I saw what you went through for him. I can never forgive him for what he did to you."


    "Alright, enough about me," Noreen said, pouring ire another drink. "What''s going on with you? Did something happen?"


    The smile on ire''s face faltered, and she sighed. "My acting skills must be getting rusty if you saw through me that easily." She''d thought she was putting on


    a convincing performance. Clearly, she still had a long way to go before winning any awards.


    "It''s not a huge deal," ire said with a world-weary sigh. "You know how our industry is. It''s a mess."


    Noreen frowned. "Did you run into some casting couch bullshit?"


    "Yup." ire sounded utterly dejected. "You know, if the guy was handsome, I might have just rolled my eyes and walked away But he was so ugly! How does someone that hideous have the nerve to proposition people? And he acted like being rich gave him the right. I threw my drink in that fat pig''s face, and I still feel sick just thinking about it." <fncfee> Fresh chapters posted on find?novel</fncfee>


    Just as she finished her rant, her phone rang. It was her agent. ire knew exactly what the call was about and was tempted to ignore it.