It had been exactly two months since Astrid had curled her pinky around Heather's and sworn, in time with her, that neither of them would have another shitty one-night stand, in favour of finding a proper, long-term relationship, and it had been exactly six hours since Astrid had broken that promise.

Post guilty vow-breaking sex, she'd woken up to her phone buzzing, and all at once realised that a) she wasn't where she should be, b) she didn't even remember the name of the man she was sleeping next to, and c) Heather was going to be furious.

Her voice crackled alarmingly loud on the other side of the phone, and Astrid found herself crouched in the man's bathroom, still partially naked, holding it at arms' length away from her ear.

"Heather," she moaned, her voice just above a whisper, "keep the volume down."

"Why?" Heather began, and then her voice darkened. Astrid remembered, with a grimace, that Heather was far too perceptive for her own good, and far too invested in the sanctity of pinky promises. "Are you somewhere you shouldn't be?"

Astrid frowned, opening the door just a crack and peeking outside. The mystery man was dead to the world, arms splayed across the bed like a starfish.

"No," Astrid lied. "I just drank a lot last night."

"Well, you better not flake on me for brunch."

"Brunch," Astrid said, her lips curling into a grin despite herself. "I haven't forgotten about brunch."

"Don't knock it 'til you've tried it," Heather said. "Anyway, I think I've found a solution to your drinking alone problem."

"Oh, did you grow me a boyfriend?"

"...Kind of."

"Heather."

"He's really nice, Astrid!"

"I don't need to be set up right now!" Astrid hissed, her hushed voice now much louder than a whisper. She poked her head around the door in panic, but whoever-he-was was still fast asleep. He was starting to snore now. Gross.

"I think you'll really like him," Heather was saying as Astrid shut the door and put her back against it. "Just think – if it goes well, you won't have to worry about breaking your vow anymore."

Astrid bit her lip, thinking about the night before. Did it count as vow-breaking if it hadn't been a shitty one-night stand? If anything, it had been the complete opposite, but Astrid doubted that Heather would see that side of things.

"Fine," Astrid said, through gritted teeth. "One o'clock, was it?"

"One o'clock," Heather confirmed, and then squealed. "Can't wait!"

The line fizzled away and Astrid sighed, bending her head back against the bathroom door and sinking down to sit on the floor.

She didn't like lying to Heather, and she really hadn't meant to break the solemn promise they'd made weeks earlier. It had been about solidarity, about both of them going through the struggle of finding an actual relationship together.

Astrid just hadn't expected Heather to be in the arms of her cousin by the end of the week. She'd never thought Cami Hofferson was the relationship type, but it turns out she was very wrong about that. They were an utterly disgusting couple too, the kind that never seemed to keep their hands off of each other.

If there was anything driving her to drink alone in a bar and screw a stranger, it was that.

The worst part was that it had been really, really good. This random guy – God, had they even exchanged names? – knew exactly what he was doing. She'd never had an orgasm that good, not even in her last long-term relationship.

Four for you, random stranger.

Pity she'd never see him again.

She edged the door open just a crack and slunk through, creeping across the floorboards and gathering her clothes up into her arms, pulling them on as quietly as possible. Then, she made her way downstairs and high-tailed it towards the door, almost tripping over a cat.

The cat looked up with reproachful green eyes and mewed at her.

Astrid put her finger to her lips. "Don't tell on me."

Then she fled.

She was almost late for brunch.

Home was in the opposite direction, and trying to make herself look less like last night's leftovers and more presentable took her upwards of an hour, and walking back into town had only delayed her further.

She burst into the café gasping, "I'm here!" in between heavy breaths, dropping down in the seat opposite Heather's.

"Relax," Heather said, raising an eyebrow. "He's not here yet."

Astrid groaned and bent her head onto the table. "Why did I run here, then? Let me know when he gets here so I can pretend I'm not gasping for breath."

About thirty seconds later, Heather nudged her. "He's here."

Astrid sat up and turned towards the door, trying to get a good look at the guy before he got to their table. It took a few moments before she saw his face properly. She couldn't quite make it out from where he was standing so far away from their table, but as he scanned the room, looking for Heather, she got a good look at him.

Oh, dear God, no.

"There he is!" Heather said brightly, waving him over.

How is that even possible?

Astrid sunk down in her seat, turning back towards the table.

Shit, shit, shit-

"Hiccup!" Heather said, pulling him into a hug. "It's so good to see you."

The first thought that ran through Astrid's head was: I had sex with a man named Hiccup?!

"Let me introduce you," Heather was saying, while Astrid was cursing her luck. "This is my friend Astrid."

Maybe he won't recognise me. She forced herself to look at his face, and watched as he froze, a flicker of recognition running through his eyes. Damn it.

For a moment, he paused, and then he held out his hand, a smile spreading across his face. God damn it, did he have to have such a nice smile? It somehow reached his eyes; they seemed to sparkle under the café lights.

"Nice to meet you, Astrid."

She shook his hand. "Nice to meet you too." Was her voice a higher pitch than usual? She couldn't tell.

He shifted down into the seat next to Heather, and if he had felt at all awkward about this, it didn't show on his face.

"I'm just going to use the loo," Heather said before Astrid could give her the signal to do anything but say that. "You two get acquainted while I'm gone."

She smiled sweetly, and then disappeared.

Astrid watched her go in horror, before turning to look at the man she'd slept with the night before.

"So," she said, propping her arms on the table.

The corner of his eyes crinkled. "So?" he said.

"Do you always sleep with someone the night before you're set up on a date?" she blurted.

His mouth twitched. "No," he said. "Do you?"

She narrowed her eyes. "No. Is your name really Hiccup?"

He scowled, and part of her felt triumphant at making that smile falter. "Unfortunately, yes."

"Damn," Astrid said. "Your parents must have hated you."

He tipped his head back and laughed, and goddamn it, why did he have such a nice laugh? It made something flutter in Astrid's stomach, and she hated him for it.

"You're meaner that I thought you'd be," he said, his eyes sparkling.

"You're more annoying than I thought you'd be."

"Is that why you left so early this morning?" Hiccup said. "Am I that repulsive?"

His tone was light, but Astrid ducked her head anyway, two red spots spreading across her cheeks. "That wasn't – I'm sorry – you know you're anything but repulsive—" she realised what she just said and groaned, letting her head hit the table again.

She was saved from having to hear Hiccup's response to that, though, by Heather's return. She hurried over towards the table, an apologetic look on her face.

"I'm really sorry you guys," she said. "Cami's just called. She really needs help with something, and she just sounded so worried, I think I really need to go."

Astrid opened her mouth to tell her what a terrible liar she was, but Heather interrupted her again. "Hey, this is a chance for both of you to get to know each other!" she said, the smile on her face letting Astrid know that she'd planned this all along. "Bye!"

She sped off out the café door. In that moment, Astrid thought about how she really needed to find some new friends.

"So," Hiccup said. "You were telling me how not-repulsive I was."

This boy was going to be the death of her. Fine. Two could play at this game.

"Yes," she said, her eyes shining. "And pretty good in bed too."

His face turned tomato red, and he spluttered, ducking his head and refusing to look at her. She got the distinct feeling that he'd been putting on an act this whole time, and she was just breaking through to his real personality. Jackpot.

"Look," Astrid said, "I have a code. And that is not to get into weird romantic entanglements with one-night stands."

Hiccup nodded. If there was disappointment in his eyes, it was only there for a fraction of a second. "I understand."

"And I really hate brunch? Like, I really hate the concept of it. It's neither breakfast, nor lunch, and I don't understand it."

"Right," Hiccup said, the corners of his mouth twitching.

"Which is to say that I really only came here for Heather, who now is not here."

"Okay."

"But..."

Hiccup's eyes flickered upward. "But?"

She produced a pen from her handbag, and pulled Hiccup's wrist towards her. "But, if you wanted to see me again," she said, scrawling something on his skin. "I won't run away this time."

A dopey grin spread across his face and something lifted in Astrid's heart. She winked, and slung her handbag across her shoulder, sauntering towards the exit.

Behind her, Hiccup looked down at her number and fist pumped.