Chapter 2

The Three Musketeers

"FOR THE LAST TIME SHUUUUT UP!" screamed a voice from outside the apartment door.

All three girls just looked at each other with blank expressions for a few seconds. Then they all laughed wholeheartedly in unison. It was 4 am and no one had slept a wink. The apartment was surrounded with empty boxes. No one could take more than two steps without having to hop skip or jump over clothes, hangers, books, shoes or empty alcohol bottles. The girls had quite a reunion. Although she spoke with her friends frequently on the phone, it was not the same. There was nothing in this world like a night at home with your girlfriends talking shit, sharing gossip and best of all bashing men. Worn out from their recent outbursts of laughter, all three girls lay on the living room floor, some in pyjamas and some in underwear.

Rachel Westerly was a freshman at Hartford University. She was little miss perfect. In the eyes of her parents she could do no wrong. She had never gotten a grade less than an A in her life. Looking at her no one would even think she even had a brain. At parties she was the girl everyone looked at and scoffed. She was the girl dancing on the tabletops in a short skirt with a thong underneath. She was the kind of girl who made a mental list of all the guys she wanted to fuck, while she was at a party. She was daring, she was down for anything. Even though she was eighteen, she was a seductress. She knew how to drive men wild and get them into bed. She also knew how to make them wake up alone in bed after a night of wild animal sex. Rachel didn't care how other girls looked at her with scorn and disgust. As far as she was concerned she could afford to be a slut. She was smart, beautiful, loyal and caring. She had so many things going for her. So why not sleep around? Nobody's perfect.

Bianca Sinclair was the trophy wife in training. She knew how to be a pretty face on a man's arm. She had graduated from Maxwell Community College. While Bianca always did well enough to pass in school she never worked hard. She was content with her mediocre academic performance because subconsciously or consciously she knew that she would marry rich. Bianca was destined to be the trophy wife stay at home mom with one child and a rich handsome husband with one hell of a monthly plastic surgery bill.

Brooke was now in the kitchen pouring cold milk over her large bowl of Cheerios. Bianca was fumbling with the radio and Rachel was engrossed in her Cosmo Girl magazine.

"Guys listen to this…signs that your boyfriend wants to marry you. Number one he tells you things like you'll make a great mom someday. Number two.."

Before Rachel could continue Brooke interrupted.

"Why are you reading this crap. No one in this room has a boyfriend and no one in this room is getting married"

"Speak for yourself. I can't wait for married life!"

"No you can't wait to be little miss trophy wife. You'll go to the spa everyday and make sure you look gorgeous for your husband. You'll dress up in your sexiest lingerie and wait for him like a pathetic little desperate housewife and at two in the morning when he's finished fucking his secretary he'll come fuck you, slap you around and through cash at you afterwards so you won't complain about it."

"Dammit Brooke why do you always have to be such a bitter bitch"

"I'm not being bitter I'm stating facts here. Bianca wants to marry rich so she won't have to work and so she can be gorgeous forever. It's stupid. I mean sure you won't have to work but at what cost. You two are always beating me down because I hate love but Bianca by going to country clubs trying to reel in a rich man with your sexiest classy dress is running from love. He wants a sexy trophy wife and you want his money. He knows it, you know it. So then what's the point. If someday I'm stupid enough to get married, I'm going to become a private investigator or hire one to follow husband morning, noon and night. I am never trusting ANY man."

"Brooke the way you're acting you would swear you ever went through the pain of a real heartbreak. Remember I am the one who got all dressed up for my senior prom waiting for my boyfriend who claimed he loved me to show up and he never did because he was out clubbing and lost track of time. I am the one who had sex with him and then he went telling all his friends about it and that I needed some spring feminine cleanser. He was just a jackass. So I don't get why you're so bitter. You never even experienced anything. Hell..you're still a fuckin virgin. Trust me you don't know heartache until you sleep with someone and then they hurt you. It hurts worse to have that physical and emotional connection with someone and then they hurt you"

Anyone listening in on the conversation would be sure that the girls were arguing. However, this was the norm for them. Shouting at each other and telling each other what they needed to hear was a daily routine. Rachel just laughed at the two of them. They both loved to battle it out in the self pity contest. Finally she interjected.

"Well if you two idiots would be a little more like me there would be nothing to complain about."

"No thanks. We're good. You can play who wants to die from AIDS all by yourself"

"Whatever I use protection. I don't see what the big deal is. I'm young I'm horny and I can have sex like a guy. It's easy show a little skin, go back to his apartment fuck him, wait till he falls asleep because you know he will, then leave him there, come home. finish up an English assignment and go to sleep. The next time you see him pretend you never saw him before in your life"

"Girl you are craaaaaaaazy"

"I'm crazy! Well if I'm playing Who wants to die from AIDS, then your playing …Who wants to have cobwebs all over they're pussy. I mean seriously you're 21 that poor thing is probably bawling for some piggy by now"

All three girls started laughing hysterically. Rachel always said the most raw dirty things.

"Look its not like I'm saving myself for marriage I just haven't found a young man who is worthy of taking my virginity. That's all"

"You mean you won't let yourself find him. What's all this worthy nonsense. Any guy will do. You want to know why…because you first time is going to suck anyway."

As tough as Brooke always tried to act she had certain vulnerabilities. Vulnerabilities she would never tell any man about because it would give him the power to truly hurt her. Would superman tell Lex Luthor about kryptonite. Nope he wouldn't, so why should she reveal to anyone the idea of having sex scared the hell out of her. I mean the idea of merging the most private and sacred part of her body with someone elses. She didn't understand how anyone could have sex and then look that person in the eye afterwards. Brooke always thought that if she ever had sex, she would head for the hills right after. She was so scared. What if the guy didn't hold her in his arms after or what if he never spoke to her after. Even worse than her fears for the aftermath of sex were her fears for during. Bianca had told her once that it felt like someone shoving a big block of wood into her vagina. What if the guy didn't move slowly? What if he wasn't patient? What if she didn't satisfy him? Where should her hands go? One thing she did know was that she didn't want to die a virgin and whoever she decided to have sex with would have to be someone she really really trusted.

"I don't want to talk about this anymore I'm going to bed"

As Brooke walked down the hallway to her bedroom, Bianca and Rachel chuckled quietly. They knew why Brooke had cut the conversation short. She had confessed her fears to them years ago when they were teenagers. Bianca went into the kitchen and emptied the remnants from Brooke's bowl of Cheerios into the sink. Bianca was the neat freak and Brooke was anything but. She once left a piece of toast under her bed for a week. Bianca didn't mind cleaning up after Brooke or doing stupid quizzes with Rachel. Brooke and Rachel were like the sisters she never had. The friendship they shared was the one constant in their tumultuous lives.

Bianca had gone to bed and only Rachel remained on the living room couch finishing up her magazine. It was almost six am and sleep had finally won the sleep versus read one more page battle. As she groggily walked towards the living room she knocked one of Brooke's boxes over and out came a framed picture of the three of them at Brooke sixteenth birthday party. She smiled to herself. They had such a strong friendship. It often astonished her to think of how far they had come as friends. They weren't even the same age. So what really brought them together and what is the glue that kept them together after all these years. Who knew. Rachel shook her head as she remembered when she first moved next door to Brooke and Bianca. They hated her for no reason at all. They teased her, made her feel insecure. She was insecure, she was 12 years old and she just moved into a new neighbourhood. She was at that awkward adolescent age and Bianca and Brooke didn't make it easier. They had taunted her, taunted her to the point that one night she had to grab a knife from the kitchen and chase them with it just to get them to leave her alone. Now 6 years later they can laugh about that episode. Its so weird Rachel thought, from three strangers to three enemies to three kindred spirits.