When her alarm trilled in the morning, she rolled over on autopilot and knocked it off before she covered her eyes and forehead with her forearm. The sun was blaring in through the crack in the curtains and it made her wish she had thought ahead and finally fitted the blackout blind that she had waiting in the closet. It was another job she had put off, with the excuse that if she worked nights she was always way too tired to be bothered with that kind of thing during the day. But now she was starting to see the error of her ways.

“It’s not going to do itself,” she whispered. “Much like yourself.”

And then she laughed.

Her brain was working overtime in naughtiness after her dream, and she couldn’t seem to shake her desire.

She sat up and rubbed her bleary eyes. Somewhere from downstairs, she could hear Britney singing and clattering around. No doubt, she would be in the kitchen attempting to rustle up a stack of pancakes to save them from having to trek all the way over to the diner. But Jenny knew all too well what it meant when Britney tried to cook. And it never ended well.

She climbed out of bed slowly and looked at herself in the mirror. Her long blonde hair was stuck up at the back and she ran her fingers through it to flatten it down and then she reached for her silk robe and pulled it around her shoulders before tying it at her waist.

“Let’s go and see what kind of carnage she’s caused,” she whispered to herself with a little laugh.

As she opened her bedroom door and stepped out onto the landing, she could already smell the burning drifting up the stairs.

“Oh no…” she laughed as she shook her head and raced toward them and down two at a time.  

“Britney?” she called as she ran down the hallway and made her way toward the kitchen. The fire alarm hadn’t started sounding, so at least they weren’t at critical levels just yet. And Jenny could barely see any smoke.

“I know! I know!” Britney called back as she sloshed something hot into the sink. Jenny heard the following sizzle and cringed.

She pushed open the door to the kitchen slowly and stepped inside with caution. It wasn’t as bad as she had feared, but it was still a pretty unpleasant sight to wake up to.

The counter was covered in batter and flour, and what could have easily been a million bowls and dishes were dirty and covering every inch of the counter tops elsewhere.

“Wow,” Jenny exhaled. “Looks great.”

Britney scowled at her and then they both burst out laughing as Britney turned so that Jenny could see what exactly was there in the pan.

“Yikes,” Jenny added.

“I know,” Britney winced. “And also, I officially give up any kind of cooking duty. You’re on your own from now on.”

As Jenny looked at the sticky black mess in the bottom of the frying pan, she couldn’t help but nod and agree.

“I think I’ll be okay with that,” she laughed as she wrapped an arm around Britney’s shoulder. “But thanks for trying. It’s sweet.”

“It’s pathetic,” Britney said. “But come on, let’s get dressed and go to the diner. I’m starving and I can’t look at this mess for a minute longer.”

“Okay, but that doesn’t mean you get out of cleaning up!”

Britney nodded sheepishly and then pulled Jenny back toward the hallway and to the stairs.

“You’ve got ten minutes, max!” she demanded. “I need fuel and I need it now! So come on girl, get your ass in gear!”

Jenny held up her hands in defeat and walked back into her room.

Britney may have been a terrible chef, but she was certainly a good drill sergeant. And sometimes that was all Jenny needed. Someone to organize her and tell where she needed to be and when. And she knew that after such a restless night, hanging out in the diner wouldn’t be such a bad idea after all. She needed to get out of the house and distract herself from her mounting lust for a man.

The girls walked together out of their neighborhood and toward the highway that led out of Slate Springs. Their little town had served them well over the years and they had loved to call it home. As Jenny looked around, she couldn’t help but feel a sense of pride, she had always been a small town girl, and she had loved growing up there with all of her heart.

Britney had burst into town a couple of years earlier, her parents had grown up in Slate Springs and had yearned to be back in the desert after years in the city. And so they had finally uprooted their lives and brought them back to the only place that they could ever really call home. Britney had struggled at first and she had debated leaving. But once she and Jenny had made friends and they decided to rent a place together, things had just taken off from there and now Britney was set and loving town life. Jenny had been able to help her settle in and the girls had become fast friends. They were like sisters rather than just two random girls who just so happened to meet each other, and now when Jenny looked back, she could barely remember a time when Britney hadn’t been in her life. She loved her dearly, and would do anything for her. Their friendship was of such importance that she sometimes considered her to be more family than her own mom and dad.

They kept walking and as the sun beat down on them from overhead, Jenny couldn’t help but remember her lust-filled dream and of the man who had inhabited it. She felt her spine tingle a little, her body replaying the sensation of the touch of his hands.

“What’s wrong?” Britney asked as she cast her eyes down to her. “You’ve got that look on your face again…”

Jenny shot a glance back at her and burst out laughing.

“Sometimes I think you know me too well,” she said as she shook her head. “But yes, you’re right… I had another dream last night.”

“Ooooh!” Britney slapped her playfully on the arm and got the look of an excited schoolgirl all over her face. “Come on then, spill the details!”

Jenny rolled her eyes and shrugged.

“Unfortunately, there isn’t many…” she began. “I woke myself up before we got down to any real action.” She used quote marks to emphasize her point.

“Lame,” Britney said with a huff. “But what was the guy like this time?”

“Interesting…” Jenny raised her eyebrows. “Totally not my type but he still woke something, that’s for sure.”

“Let me guess, was he a straight-A student turned doctor? Or a chess player?”

“What the hell?” Jenny almost choked on her surprise.

“You know what I mean,” Britney eyeballed her seriously. “You’re never going to lust after a good guy, are you?”

Jenny pretended not to hear her for a moment but then she shrugged and pouted.

“Well, I mean, could you find yourself crushing on a chess player?”

“There are hot chess players I’ll have you know,” Britney said matter-of-factly as she crossed her arms over her chest. “But the point is, he could be the hottest guy in the world, but unless he had a bad boy edge to him, you wouldn’t look twice.”

Jenny considered what she had said for a moment and had to admit that Britney did have a point. Even though when it came to men, she was rather inexperienced, she had always tended to lean toward the men with the dangerous edges. Hell, she even worked in one of the dodgy joints in town so she was immersed in that kind of world. 

“Well, everyone has a type, right?” she asked with a grin.

“Sure,” Britney laughed. “And I’m not criticizing that, but surely those guys come with a whole load of baggage…”

“Maybe,” Jenny shrugged. “But then again, maybe not. You can’t stereotype everyone.”

It was Britney’s turn to consider what had been said and she shrugged and went quiet. Jenny felt like punching the air, as if she had finally won one of their arguments that only ever seemed to go in Britney’s favor.

So far, the day had been an interesting one, to say the least. A sexy dream, another burned breakfast, and now an epiphany and a win over her friend who was always right.

Maybe I was right, Jenny thought as she smiled to herself. This really will be my year…

She couldn’t help but smile to herself secretly as they continued walking and began to approach the diner.

Jenny went first and pushed open the door. As soon as they stepped inside, the scent of coffee and bacon drifted over to meet them and Britney rubbed her hands together in delight.

“Can we take a booth, Arlene?” she called to the miserable looking waitress behind the counter who just nodded and looked away.

“As cheerful as ever,” Jenny joked as they slid into one of the booths by the window and both grabbed a menu.

“I swear she should just quit,” Britney whispered. “She clearly hates it here.”

“Agreed,” Jenny said with a nod of her head. “I wait on people at Tanner’s, but I’d never dream of treating people the way she does over here.”

“Yup,” Britney said as she closed the menu and looked up and around. “She better not take ages, I swear if I don’t get some pancakes my head will spin off in fury.”

“God, you’re a drama queen,” Jenny said as she closed her own menu and tried to catch the waitress’s eye.

After a few moments, Arlene walked slowly toward them, looking as if she would rather be anywhere else in the world.

“Morning girls,” she drawled. “What can I get you?”

“A big jug of coffee and pancakes for two,” Britney responded before Jenny had chance to protest.

Arlene scribbled down the order and then turned her back on them and stalked back to the kitchen without saying a word.

“One day karma will get her,” Britney said. “Mark my words.”

“Karma?” Jenny laughed. “I don’t think she really deserves a big old dose of karma for being rude and having no manners. But I guess maybe someone will treat her just as harshly at some point.”

“They better,” Britney said with a wicked laugh.

Arlene returned with the coffee and set it down on the table between them. Jenny poured for them both and stirred in a tiny bit of cream before she raised the cup to her lips to blow on the steam. Even just the smell of it was bringing her back to life. She honestly didn’t know what she would do without caffeine.

“So,” Britney began as she raised her own steaming mug to her lips. “Plans for the week? When are you working and when are you at home?”

“I have no clue,” Jenny said genuinely. “I work tonight, but I haven’t seen a schedule for this week, so as far as I know, I could be down every day or I could only be down for the back end of the week. I guess I’ll have to enjoy the suspense.” She wiggled her eyebrows.

“The exciting life you live…” Britney joked.

“Ha…Ha,” Jenny scowled. “What about you? What’s on your agenda?”

Britney shrugged.

“The usual, work, gym, repeat…” she said with yawn. “Jeez, do we need something big to happen.”

“Be careful what you wish for,” Jenny said ominously. “Something big could always turn out to be something bad…”

“I guess,” Britney agreed.

Jenny let her eyes wander to the back wall where the kitchen was bustling and plates of food were being laid out one after the other. When she saw two stacks of pancakes make their way out and under the heat light she smiled and topped up their coffees.

“Here we go,” she grinned. And she delighted in how happy it made Britney.

“It’s about time,” Britney said breathlessly, clutching her palm across her chest. “I was about to faint.”

“Drama, drama…” Jenny rolled her eyes.

Arlene clomped over to them and let the plates fall ungracefully onto the table with a crack and before she asked if there was anything else she could do for them, she was already back in the kitchen and the girls were looking at each other half with amusement and half with disbelief.

“I wonder if it would be worth complaining,” Britney said.

“I doubt it,” Jenny picked up her cutlery. “What would it achieve?”

The girls looked at each other for a moment and then shrugged and went back to their food. Now that it was in front of her, Jenny wasn’t even hungry. It seemed as if the only hunger she had was the one brewing in her dreams. The one that made her hot and bothered and full of desire.

She pushed her plate away and picked up her coffee.

“Are you not going to eat that?” Britney asked with wide eyes.

Jenny shook her head and Britney whipped out her hand and pulled the plate across the table to her.

“You’re insane,” she said. “These are seriously the best pancakes in the entire world.”

“Well, they’re certainly better than yours, that’s for sure.” Jenny smirked.

“Screw you,” Britney grinned as she shoveled another large forkful into her mouth and chewed obnoxiously. 

Jenny laughed and shook her head and looked around the diner. It was pretty quiet considering it was on the main road in and out of town, and she was much used to seeing it busier, even at crazy times of the day or night. But it felt good to have some peace and quiet, sometimes she just liked to sit there in the window and watch the world go by. She enjoyed seeing all of the cars and trucks fly past, and sometimes she would imagine where they were going.

You’ve gone and got wanderlust, she thought. One dream about a hot guy and stunning beach and suddenly, all you can think about is escape…

She sipped her coffee and reminded herself how lucky she was. She was young, free and single, she had a roof over her head, great friends, and a job she enjoyed. Why should she want to escape that? 

“There’s that look again…” Britney said ominously as she took her fork and maneuvered another huge part of the pancake stack into her open mouth.

“I’m fine,” Jenny said with a half-smile. “Honestly, I’m just tired after my night of broken sleep.”

She looked down at her feet and played with the edge of the table as she tried to avoid Britney’s gaze. They knew each other better than they even knew themselves sometimes, and Jenny knew that Britney would be trying to figure her out. She would know that something was on her mind.

“Anyway,” Jenny said as she drained the rest of her coffee and raised her hand to Arlene to request the check. “We better get home. You’ve got a ton of cleaning to do and I would quite like to lay out in the garden in the sun for a few hours seeing as summer is well on the way. I could do with a tan, don’t you think?”

“You’ve got great skin,” Britney rolled her eyes. “Olive and soft and gorgeous, don’t make me show you all of my white bits.”

The girls both burst out laughing just as Arlene slapped the check down on the table and scowled at them both one last time.

As they left the diner and began their walk home, it felt weird for Jenny to acknowledge how different one little dream could make her feel. She had been so happy being single, but now, she really was beginning to crave intimacy more than she had ever experienced before. She didn’t know where this new road would lead her, but she knew she had to be open to possibilities and adventure. Life was for living, and she was finally ready to step up and see what it was all about…