Sunlight streamed and bright light entered her bedroom as Tony, her neighbor walked into the room and whipped the curtains open. Suzy moaned in protest and burrowed deeper into the blankets to escape her overenthusiastic neighbor.
"Wake up sleepy, wake up," Tony chirped in a voice that made her groan all the more and bury her head under a pillow.
He flopped down on the bed beside her, narrowly avoiding jabbing her in the ribs with his elbow, as the cat jumped out of her bed and ran out of the room hissing and spitting his displeasure. She sighed in resignation when he laid his head on her shoulder and began playfully tugging at the ends of her hair, all the while singing her name over and over again in sickly sweet tones.
"Give me a break, it's weekend."
Emerging from the soothing darkness beneath her pillow she frowned at his wide smile and rolled her eyes while trying to smooth down her sleep tangled hair.
"I decided to come home and spend some time with my bestie!" he added with a brilliant smile that, despite her best efforts, brought a slightly dimmer, but no less genuine smile to her lips.
Spying her less than enthusiastic response, his eyes narrowed in suspicion.
Redoubling her efforts to appear calm and collected she turned up the wattage of her smile another couple of notches, though his deepening frown told her that she had achieved a maniacal grimace rather than a convincing smile.
"What happened?" he asked his voice full of concern.
"Huh?" She parroted back at him. "Nothing, I am fine."
Rather than responding to her obvious lie, he continued to look at her with his liquid chocolate eyes. She felt her resolve wilting under his gaze.
"Paul and I broke up," She said in a fair facsimile of nonchalance.
"Oh sweety, I am so sorry. You should have called me, I would have come straight home!" he said as he threw his arms around her in a commiserating hug.
"It's not a big deal," She shrugged, hoping her apparent indifference would bring an end to the subject, though she felt the familiar sting of tears in her eyes.
"This calls for coffee!" he announced with a broad smile.
"Good coffee," he amended himself when he saw her face twist in displeasure.
She did not drink coffee often, always finding it to be too bitter and acidic. But early on in their friendship Tony had introduced her to the deliciously sinful and decadent coffee and she had been hooked ever since. Coincidentally there just happened to be one not too far from campus.
Rolling her eyes at his pleading expression, she shooed him off of her bed before throwing back the covers.
"Why don't you go feed Ansel and try to make up with him," She suggested as she got out of bed and stretched with a groan.
Mumbling something uncharitable about her cat under his breath, he shuffled out of the room leaving her alone to get dressed.
Walking over to the window she looked out at the bright sunny day and felt the warmth of the sun shining through. Deciding to take advantage of the warm day, she fished a pair of denim shorts and a light cotton peasant blouse out of her closet along with some clean underwear and walked into the bathroom to brush her hair and teeth.
Spying her reflection in the mirror above the sink she frowned at the sleep-tangled mess of her dark red hair, deciding to braid it in pigtails rather than wrestling it into some state of obedience. Her eyes still looked a little puffy and shell-shocked from the night before, but a light dusting of shimmery eye shadow and some mascara helped hide any lingering swelling.
Finally donning a pair of grey gladiator sandals with a ruffled rosette on the top she met Tony in the living room, feeling her heart lighten just a little at his warm and friendly expression. Looping his arm in hers he gently bumped her shoulder and pulled her towards the door.
"Come on, let's get you some coffee!"