The drive back home was not an easy one. My mind kept drifting back to Bucky and his final words to me. Those two words were making it very hard to concentrate on driving.

Three days

Remembering the look in his eyes was enough to cause my heart to beat a little faster. I had only gotten about a mile before I had serious thoughts of turning around and driving back. I had it all planned out. I would call Jill and let her know I had some work to finish so I would be there three hours later than I originally said. I figured I could get a lot done in three hours with Bucky.

I didn't turn around though, because I knew if I did, I might never make it to Jill's.

Once I got into town, the familiar landmarks kept my thoughts of Bucky at bay. I passed the movie theater where I went on my first date with Adam Woodman…the park swings where Jimmy Perkins had pulled Jill's hair, forcing Brooke and I to chase him down….the tattoo parlor where Jill, Brooke, and I had gotten our first tattoos. It was our last night together before we headed off to college; Brooke was heading to the West Coast bright and early the next day. We sat around my bedroom that night talking about all the exciting things that lay ahead and how much we would miss each other. It had been Brooke who had come up with the idea of getting tattoos together. I had said yes immediately, Jill had taken some convincing.

We had held each other's hands, laughing the entire time. When we were done, the tattoo artist had snapped a photo of us with my camera. I still had it tucked away in my photo album, pulling it out from time to time to bring a smile to my face. It was the three of us with our backs to the camera, looking over our shoulders…each one of us with a small tattoo on our shoulder blade. Jill had picked out a colorful hummingbird….Brooke had an elaborate red and yellow butterfly…and I had chosen a dandelion blowing in the wind, its seeds drifting away.

I made one last detour before I headed to Jill's house. I pulled up next to the home I had grown up in. It looked almost exactly the same. Mom and Dad had sold it a year after I had gone to college. Dad had gotten a job in Nevada and they were living happily at Lake Tahoe. I had spent a week there with them last year and was amazed at the beauty. I had a picture of the three of us on my last day there visiting stuck to my fridge.

Sitting there staring at the house where I had lived most of my life made me smile. I could envision the three of us as kids, running around my yard, riding our bikes on the street. Those were the good old days. I pulled away and drove the last five minutes to Jill's house.

When Jill had graduated from college with her teaching degree, she had immediately headed home to get a job at the elementary school we had attended as children. She bought a small house only a few blocks away and I had visited her there a few times. It was a cozy home, just two bedrooms and two bathrooms. The plan was to sell it after the wedding to move into a bigger home, but I knew she would miss this place.

When I pulled into her driveway, I recognized her little black car immediately but not the red mustang that was parked beside it.

Hmm, Dave must have went out and bought himself a new car.

I got out of my car and stretched my legs, grateful to be finished with my drive. I grabbed my suitcase out of the car and made my way to the front door. Before I even had a chance to ring the bell, the door was opened and there stood Jill, a large grin on her pretty face. Jill could only be described as cute. She was tiny, even shorter than me…her light brown hair was cut short, barely touching her shoulders. She threw her arms around me and squealed my name. She took my purse and dragged me inside.

"I like Dave's new car!" I told her as she pulled me into her living room.

She turned around confused, "Dave's not here and he is still driving the same truck as the last time you saw him."

"Then whose red mustang is out there?" I asked.

Her eyes brightened and I saw her grin take on a mischievous look. She pointed behind me and there stood Brooke. I could feel my mouth drop open in shock. Brooke had spent four years on the West Coast but we had spoken quite a bit during college. Once we had graduated, our lives just got crazy and we had grown apart. I had been busy getting my business started and she had accepted a job at a large museum in New York. Her new job had brought her back to the East Coast but it kept her very busy and there just hadn't been any time for planning trips to see each other.

She looked just as amazing as ever. Her dark red hair had grown nearly as long as mine and was curled slightly on the ends. She wore a black spaghetti strap top and I could see her fascination with tattoos had not waned. The Betty Boop tattoo on her right arm brought a smile to my lips. The black capris she wore allowed me to see the small music symbols decorating her left ankle and the words "Feisty" tattooed in red cursive on the other. Her eye makeup was expertly done; she always was the most artistic of us. Black rimmed glasses sat upon her face, making her look like the typical sexy librarian in every guy's fantasy.

She ran at me and we fell onto the couch, laughing and hugging all at the same time. The three of us together again…it was the only thing that made be away from Bucky bearable. The day was spent lounging around the house, catching up on lost times.

Jill immediately asked about our previous conversation the night before and I was forced to go into great detail about the man I had met. I told them what I could; leaving out the whole assassin/Winter Soldier thing….that could stay private for now. I didn't tell them about the situation with Michael; it was just something I wasn't ready to discuss yet. I told about the first night we met – how he swept me off my feet. I knew they had been worried about me after the breakup with Michael…thinking back, that was one of the last times I had actually spoken to Brooke. She had called me that night after Jill had tipped her off. She had sat on the phone with me while I cried, telling me that he was an asshole and I deserved better.

I went on and on about Bucky, telling them about the almost kisses and the constant interruptions….Jill had blushed at that last one, realizing that she was the cause of one of those.

At 4:00, Brooke announced it was time to get ready.

"Ready for what?" I asked cautiously.

"To go out my dear, tonight we celebrate!" I looked over at Jill who had another wide grin on her face.

"I got a new job….at the Smithsonian! I'm moving to Washington D.C. in 2 weeks" she shrieked, dancing around Jill's living room.

I squealed in excitement with her. Brooke was going to be in the same town as me, only three blocks away actually. She had found an apartment in the same neighborhood I lived in.

"What are you going to be doing at the Smithsonian?"

"You're looking at the newest curator of the Captain America exhibit." She said with a confident look on her face.

I smiled to myself.

If she only knew that I had actually met Captain America…and that Bucky was the infamous James Buchanan Barnes.

I was happy for her and for me….we would be able to reconnect and I was excited to have my best friend living so close to me again. It would be just like old times.

She gushed on and on about how excited she was and how it was such a great opportunity. She was particularly excited about meeting Captain America. The museum was trying to arrange for Steve Rogers to make an appearance but had not had any luck yet. She was determined to get him there.

"The guy is so hot" she cooed, staring off into space.

She finally shook herself out of her daze and repeated her earlier words, "It's time to get ready"

She wanted to get dolled up and go drinking at the bar tonight.

"I didn't bring anything to dress up in, just a bunch of jeans and shirts" I said, pouting.

"Come on, you can look through my closet." Jill said turning towards her bedroom.

We crammed ourselves in Jill's room digging through her closet, searching for a sexy get up for me. I lay on the bed while they threw clothes at me to try on…remembering back in high school when we would do the same thing on Saturday nights before heading to a party.

Brooke had come prepared of course. She had packed a emerald sequined top and a black mini skirt, pairing the outfit with 4 inch stiletto heels. Her red hair and perfect complexion went well with the emerald top.

Jill had opted for a hot pink mini dress with matching heels. Brooke did her makeup, adding black eyeliner to her pretty brown eyes and hot pink lipstick.

I put on the outfit they picked out for me and looked at myself in the mirror. They kept yelling at me to get out there but I stood there, mortified at the thought of going out in public in the get up they had chosen. Jill and I wore the same pant size but I was much more bustier than her. The black leather skirt fit fine, although it was much shorter than I would have liked. The royal blue corset top was absolutely sinful. I had to admit it, I looked pretty hot. I had washed my hair and let it dry into its natural curly state. Brooke had pinned it up for me and pulled little tendrils down to frame my face. The eye make she added made me look even more seductive and instead of my normal lip gloss, I had added dark red lipstick.

After I slipped on the black heels Jill had let me borrowed I walked out of the bathroom to join them in the bedroom. They both wolf whistled at me when I turned around to model the outfit. I could feel the pink creeping into my cheeks.

"We should take a picture of you and send it to Bucky….it would drive him wild Eden" Brooke said, a devilish smile on her face.

I thought about it.

Do you want Bucky to see you like this? What will he think? Come on Eden, it will make him regret stopping you last night, do it!

I felt the sly grin on my face, "Okay, let's do it"

Jill grabbed my phone from the bed while Brooke positioned me into what she called her "fuck me" pose. After snapping a few pictures with my phone I walked over to examine them before she sent them. My mouth dropped open when I saw them.

Damn Eden, if this doesn't get Bucky's attention, I don't know what will.

"You look like a sexy vixen Eden, I've always told you that" Jill commented.

What the hell Eden, just go for it.

I added the photo to the text along with the message Going out tonight, I'll call you later.

My finger hovered above the send button, contemplating on if I wanted to do it. Before I knew what was happening, Brooke snatched the phone out of my hand and pressed the button, a sly grin on her face.

"You were thinking too hard about it….come on, let's go" she said, turning around to head out the door.

I bit my lip nervously and looked at the phone one last time before stuffing it my black hand bag.