Begin Again novel Chapter 6

Eden circled back to her apartment and unlocked the fourth-floor unit she shared with her friends. She took off her shoes and snuck inside quietly, careful not to bang the door in case she woke everyone up.

But when she turned around and found three pairs of eyes, shining with anticipation, her plan of making a quiet entrance went up in smoke.

"Hi guys," Eden grimaced, her face as red as the angry birds T-shirt Sienna wore over her grey pyjama pants.

"It smells like a walk of shame in here," Lydia sniffed the air dramatically, and the other two broke into peals of laughter.

"Tsk tsk," Sienna clucked her tongue disapprovingly. "So much for saving yourself for marriage!"

"We've revoked your Sainthood," Cassandra chimed in as she took the muffin box from her, scowling when she peeked inside. She hated any store-bought goodies because she knew she could do a way better job. But today her disappointment, as she loudly made it known, was not with the

muffins.

"Really, with all the bazillions in his bank account, he sent you off with only ten muffins? What happened to diamonds being a girl's best friend? Who is this guy?" She threw her hands up dramatically, shoved the box in Sienna's hands and vanished beyond the entryway.

"You, missy, have some explaining to do!" Lydia grabbed Eden's hand and dragged her to the living room where Cassandra sat on the grey L- shaped couch poring over a newly published cookbook by a has-been reality TV star, her knees tucked to her chin.

Sienna remained in the kitchen and made everyone coffee to have with the muffins. She was the mom of the group and indulged everyone. Cassandra took on the Dad role and kept everyone in line. Lydia, the rebellious child through and through, kept them all on their toes with all her mischief. And Eden's Sainthood, which she had now lost overnight, had made her the wise sage. Everyone came to her with all their problems, never mind that she was the least experienced and the most naive of the four.

"You are not allowed to start without me!" Sienna screamed from the kitchen, her voice competing with the kettle whistling on the gas cooker.

"Tell us already," Lydia was practically jumping from her position on the paint-splash patterned rug.

"There's nothing to tell," Eden shrugged as she crashed in the teal wingback chair they affectionately called the throne. They picked it up for a steal at the flea market when they first moved in, and they've fought over it since. Not because it was so comfortable, but because of the sun sneaking through the lace-curtained windows behind it. Their flat was morbidly cold, so any bit of warmth was a luxury around here. After the night she had, Eden thought she deserved to sit on the throne the whole day.

"I'm here, the tale of the virgin saint ravished by a roguish prince can begin!" Sienna squealed as she rushed in with a tray of steaming yellow mugs and a matching plate, overflowing with muffins and two-day-old hot cross buns.

"There was no ravishing!" Eden said crossly and took her mug.

"Sure, says the stench of sex clinging all over you," Lydia nodded innocently.

Eden quickly sniffed herself, sending her friends into another round of giggles.

"Stop it, you guys!" She pouted and drank her coffee. Even with all the milk, it was still bitter. Sienna didn't make good coffee, and they all knew this, but they continually trusted her with this very sacred job.

"Just one question," Cassandra gasped for air, struggling to breathe and laugh all at once. "Are his pubes just as red?"

"Oh my god, you went there!" Sienna rolled on the couch, tears streaming down her face.

"No comment!" Eden clenched her teeth, her arms crossed over her chest and glared straight ahead. She would never tell her friends this, and she figured they knew the answer anyway, but yes, his hairs were fiery down there too, but a much darker shade and oh how she had loved touching him.

A familiar ache tingled between her thighs as she remembered how full she'd felt when he was buried deep inside her. She bit her lower lip, stifling a whimper.

"Eden! Snap out of it, OMG, you are practically drooling." Lydia screamed, "what were you thinking about?"

"Nothing." She lied quickly, her cheeks as hot as the moistness at her centre. She didn't understand how she could be so wet just thinking about Liam.

"So? How was your first time?" Sienna asked, all the amusement gone from her eyes. "Was he as good as his past lays claim he is?"

Eden thought for a moment; she had no previous experience to compare against. But for her first time, other than the soreness and tenderness she felt every time she moved, she had no complaints. She wouldn't mind seconds and thirds and maybe tenths and hundreds. Liam knew how to please her, how to touch her and how to make her scream. Just her rotten luck he's taken.

"So, how was it?" Cassandra asked, and Eden blinked, stunned by the expectation in the six eyes glued on her.

"Well," she pushed up her glasses and bit her lower lip shyly. "It was supernatural."