Chapter Two

Zach opened his eyes and quickly shut them against the bright sunlight streaming straight into them, his head was pounding painfully, and he groaned, he tried again to open his eyes, keeping his focus low he realized his head was on legs not the bed, legs that were still wearing boots. He moved his arm off them and gingerly pushed himself upright; Ness was asleep, sat upright, her head lolling to the side, one arm wrapped around herself whilst the other hand rested close to where his head had been just a moment ago. He tried to remember anything after the bar last night but apart from calling her for a ride, he was coming up blank.

Shuffling off the bed as quietly as he could, so he didn't disturb her or his aching head, Zach headed for the kitchen, a couple of Advil, and a gallon of black coffee; damn his stupid brain, why was Ness still here? Had he said something stupid last night? Had he drunkenly told her how he really felt? He dropped his head into his hands and desperately tried to recall anything, pummeling his brain, with his eyes closed he didn't hear her step into the kitchen behind him,

"Any coffee left?" She asked, making him jump, he punched himself in the head and heard her light chuckle "Dude, how much did you drink last night? I haven't seen you that bad since 11th grade at Scott's party."

"I was trying to make the girl's laugh, less grating, but it actually got worse, the more I drank." Zach winced at the memory

"Well, maybe date someone a little older, you know, had she even finished high school?"

"Hey! I'm not that bad Ness, she was at UCLA"

"Freshman?"

"Shut up." Zach grinned despite himself, "thanks for getting me home Ness,"

"If you tell me again that I'm the best, I will punch you in your bloodshot face..." She cut him off with a warning look "now, have you got any breakfast food here or am I dragging your pathetic ass out to get something more solid than coffee?" Ness asked

"Dragging my pathetic ass out" he responded without a hint of contrition.

"Fine, you gonna take a shower first or stink at the café?" she reached for the coffee pot as she asked, raising her wonky eyebrow at him in a direct challenge that said take the damn shower.

"I'll take a shower first."

"good choice."

Zach pushed himself to his feet and headed out towards the bathroom, he turned back at the doorway,

"You're the best, Ness!" he said and ducked quickly out of range of whatever missile she could find.

He let the hot water run over him as he tried to gather all his scattered thoughts, Ness was in his kitchen, drinking his coffee, it had been a few years since they'd spent much time together and he wanted to savor every moment, sober and clean; so, he scrubbed and rinsed his body and hair then shaved the stubble off his chin before throwing clean clothes on and heading back into the kitchen.

"Ready?" he asked

"For pancakes? Born ready, dude!" she replied, laughing.

Zach watched Ness tuck into a stack of pancakes as if she hadn't eaten in months and smiled to himself, she wasn't afraid to look like a total pig, never had been; she looked up and raised her eyebrow questioningly at him, he grinned and started on his own stack with the same appetite. A little later he sat back and patted his stomach,

"That's better," he said reaching for his coffee

"You saving that choc sauce for later?" Ness asked, pointing to her own cheek to indicate where the sauce was

"I thought I might"

"Well eat it before you put the crash helmet on again, that will smear" she smiled

"Oh, are we leaving? I was enjoying hanging out with you again, it's been a while" Zach responded, wiping the sauce away, a sad smile on his face

"I got stuff to do but it's not urgent; just hanging out with an old friend sounds kinda great actually" Ness replied "You're right, it has been a while, but I reckon we could find somewhere better than a café to catch up"

"The Pier?" Zach suggested and Ness grinned

"The Pier" she agreed, "do you want to pick up your car first or you happy on the bike?"

"Car's good where it is, for now, let's hit the road." Zach loved riding pillion with Ness, she was a crazy rider, but he'd always felt safe, she knew her capabilities and she was always watching for stupid drivers, so she almost never had a crash, well, not anymore. Ness stood and slung her jacket on as Zach downed the last of his coffee; they were on the road minutes later, weaving through the Saturday morning traffic, Zach's arms wrapped around Ness's waist, not strictly necessary but he figured it was a reasonable excuse to hold her tight and he wasn't one to miss an opportunity. All too soon, they were pulling up at Santa Monica Pier and Zach reluctantly let go and hopped off the bike. They strolled along the pier for a while in companionable silence but eventually, they found a bench where they could watch folks and chat.

"So, where've you been the last few months Ness? Last night was the first time you've been in Jon's for a while" Zach asked

"Wow starting with an easy question huh!" She laughed "I had a boyfriend, it didn't work out" she added simply

"You never took him to Jon's?"

"No. That's my place, I don't want to share it with new guys, maybe I will do eventually and then I'll know that I've found the right guy, but I'm not holding my breath"

"So, whenever you disappear from there, you have a new guy? I never realized that! It never crossed my mind to find somewhere else, guess I'm just a creature of habit"

"Yeah, a habit of leggy blonde schoolgirls!"

"Ness! I do have standards you know," Zach said with mock outrage

"Oh yeah? What would those be then? Legs, check; long blonde hair, check; empty head, check; did I miss any?" Ness nudged him as she counted through the standards. Zach let his mouth drop open in apparent shock but then spoilt the effect by starting to laugh.