Chapter One
Charmaine started at the sound of the alarm across the room. She raised her head a little way and winced at the shooting pain from several spots on her body. Something clung to her cheek, and she brushed at it. Was that cereal? Gross. She took in the room around her and frowned. Empty cans, used paper plates with crusts of pizza on one of them, and an empty bottle of wine littered the room. One would have thought she had thrown a party last night.
Rising a little more, she groaned at another pain, this one in her hip. When she rolled over, she found she had been lying on one of her study guides. No wonder. The thing was two inches thick and not meant to double as a mattress. She needed to learn if she was going to stay up all night trying to figure out a part of her program that had her frustrated for weeks, she should actually stay awake. The energy drinks had been countered by the wine or vise versa. Either way, she’d gotten nowhere.
“Choices, Charmaine,” she muttered as she sat up. The blaring continued, and she made her way staggering to the alarm clock to shut it off. Afterward, she considered the room and came to the conclusion that cleaning could wait until evening when she got off work.
In the shower, just as she had added shampoo to her hair, she thought she heard the phone ring. Leaning out and dripping water on the floor, she listened. Whoever it was would need to wait. Besides, she wasn’t expecting anyone to call. She would see her mother on Friday, like usual.
After she was finished washing off, Charmaine stood before the bathroom mirror and wrestled with her hair. She needed to stop being lazy and do something with it. That wasn’t on the schedule either—neither the funds nor the time. If she slapped a little gel in her crazy mane, especially around the edges and wore a bun all week, she would be fine. Who was she impressing anyway?
Her cell phone rang again. She glared at it and caught her sister’s name on the screen. “What the heck could she possibly want?”
Charmaine stabbed the connect button with the very tip of her baby finger so she wouldn’t get gel on the phone. “Stacia,” she said without affection.
“Baby sister,” Stacia chirped, annoying the hell out of her. “I finally caught you. I’ve been calling for days. Girl, where have you been?”
“I’ve been busy, Stacia. You know I’m trying to finish my program.”
“You’ve been doing that thing for a year or ten. Aren’t you bored yet?”
Charmaine sighed. “You wouldn’t get it. I’m trying to change my life, and my program is the way to go. What’s up? I’m going to be late for work.”
“If I know you, you’ve still got an hour before you’re due in.”
“Did you forget the commute?”
“Charming, why are you always so mean to me?”
Charmaine stilled her hands in her hair and shut her eyes to count to ten. She drew in a breath and blew it out. “Call me Charming again and see if I don’t hang up on you.”
“Damn, you’re grumpy early in the morning. Okay, I’ll get right to it. I’m having a party next Saturday, and you’re invited. There’s going to be a ton of single guys here, and I know you can make a hookup with at least one of them. It’s at eight, but you can come earlier, and we can shoot the breeze while I make snacks.”
Charmaine shook her head staring at the phone. Her sister must be insane. When would she get it through her head that they weren’t close like that, that they never would be? “I’m not coming to your party.”
“Charmin—uh—Charmaine, come on. You’ve got to have fun sometimes.” The whine that had entered her sister’s voice grated. One would think Stacia was the younger sister. Not that Charmaine was young enough or would ever stoop to whining being twenty-nine.
“You have enough for the both of us on a weekly if not daily basis. I’ve never come to one of your parties, and I’m not going to start now. Plus, I’m not
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