It felt like old times again and for the first time since my father disowned me I was relaxed without a shred of worry. There was no fear that he would burst through that café door and drag me out into the street to take me home. The three of us were laughing, catching up, and getting hyper on our forms of caffeine. Our gang was not complete, we were missing one.

Every once in a while we took turns looking over our shoulders for that missing individual. "Where is Jasmine anyway?"

"I don't know, she was picking up Elizabeth from her mother last I texted her," Keiko told us.

Jasmine Estrada, we met in high school through her brother who was a good friend to me. He joined the military soon after but unfortunately never made it back home to hug his family. Jasmine and I became close during that tragic and connected in strange ways. She was completely the polar opposite of myself. Jasmine was strong, independent, and a complete live wire. The girl threw the best parties, was popular, and succeeded in everything she faced.

A different breed of human.

Even when her cheating boyfriend, a total dirtbag, knocked her up and left her on her own, Jasmine is proving to be the best single mother a child can have. Still, it wasn't like her to be late to our little gatherings. She was usually the one to pressure us into being on time. With Beckett off for the day, we figured he'd be the first one here, but he too was a no show as well.

"Oh! I just got a text!" Keiko's frog notification chimed. "It's Becky, he says his truck is getting an oil change and for us to just meet up at Jasmine's place today."

"Okay," I said, standing up and pulling my jacket on. "Where she live?"

"I got the address right here."

I've never been to Jasmine's place, neither of us has. She was a very private person and a bit of a neat freak who never let anyone come over. Which was understandable. She lived in the Marina district which was a good ten-minute drive if traffic was decent. Keiko, being her highly spunky self, decided we should walk and get the fresh air.

Fresh air on a windy September afternoon in a city famous for its unique collection of lifestyles and hills...lots of hills.

"Come on!" Keiko said breathlessly, "Jasmine will be proud of us for going green."

Says an individual wearing a beautiful white fold top and a long elegant high waist sage green skirt...in heels! "How are you eight feet ahead of me in those shoes!"

"Honestly, your short legs are to blame."

"Oh, I see how it is. Target the short one for her height."

"You're wearing converse for crying out loud," Keiko laughed, "You should be running ahead of me."

Luckily we made it to the right place in a decent amount of time. Keiko followed the directions texted to her phone and took us down North point street to a beautiful yet crowded neighborhood. The houses and apartments, like most in San Francisco, were glued together without a single break space between buildings. They were a very colorful set of places unlike the historical elegance of Russian Hill. I liked that I could smell the sea salt in the air. Being so close to the beach and various parks brought a more natural non-chemical atmosphere.

Makes me want to buy a funnel cake and check out the local art venues. Seeing that as a wonderful idea I pulled the notebook out of my pocket and added small touches to my "New Me" bucket list.

Inside the apartment building, we were created with a split decision, straight up the stairs to our left or down the hallway to our right. Before I could make a suggestion Keiko went down the hall with her phone in her face, I kept quiet and decided to follow her judgment. We stopped in front of a red door reading a goofy displayed number 904.

"Is this it?" I asked.

"That's the number of her apartment she gave me," Keiko said sliding her phone back into her purse and pressing the doorbell. Clicking it quite a few times but received no reaction or noise.

"I don't think it works."

"Figures," She groaned as she took out a baby wipe to clean her hands.

I couldn't help but snicker, Keiko was a sweet girl but a very clean one who didn't like touching anything that represented "public property". Not that I could blame her, in high school a boy took time out of his day to stick is chewed gum on her combination lock every week. People are disgusting. Slipping around her I took the honors of knocking to spare her of more unnecessary contact.

Firmly beating the surface of the door I realized it was metal and quite painful on the knuckles. When no one answered and I tried again but this time using the side of my fist, therefore, making a louder noise and not risking sore knuckles.

No Answer.

"Jazz!" I hollered from the other side, "You home?"

"She's not answering my text." Keiko's brow furrowed as she sent messages at lightning speed.

"Jasmine did mention that she would have to make a small errand for some baby things and snacks from the local market in one of her texts." I said, "Maybe she's not back yet?"

"Possibly." Keiko sighed, "Well I'm starving. I saw a vending machine by the front door...you want anything?"

"Sun chips."

"And if they don't have those?"

I just shrugged, "Surprise me."

Keiko pulled out her crafty change purse and vanished around the corner. I took the notion to stand by the door in case jasmine came around the corner. Moments passed and my bored got the better of me...maybe she was sleeping. Either way, I was tired from walking God only knows how many blocks, my legs were killing me, and I was growing impatient.

Looking above the door I noticed a small window, probably meant for ventilation. Getting curious I reached for it, giving a good jump the tips of my fingers were able to smack the glass. The window flew open a few inches before coming back down.

Yahtzee!

I started trying to climb the door frame like some kind of ninja but my converse soles failed me and slid off every time. Tapping into my more creative side I spotted the tiny end table holding mindless decor and pulled it to the side of the door. Climbing on top of it my head could reach the window but still wasn't enough to look through let alone climb through. Still, my stubborn ass tried.

The sweet and salty aroma of noodles hit my nose like a dream and made my mouth water, geez, I was hungry. Last time I skip breakfast expecting to meet friends for brunch. Someone cleared their throat by means to get my attention. Turning around I nearly jumped out of my skin from getting caught trying to break into my friend's apartment.

He was tall, wearing old cut up jeans and a black T-shirt. The guy was an oddly attractive individual with dark hair down to his neck and intense brown eyes. Looking further down he held his keys and a bag of Chinese food in his hands. Well, that explained the wonderful aroma.

 Bearing no shame that I was currently doing something extremely stupid and probably illegal. "Hello, salty goodness." I smiled. "You wanna make twenty bucks?"

"Excuse me?" He chuckled.

"I'm meeting my friend for brunch. She's not answering, I'm starving and you standing there holding my favorite choice of food isn't helping any." I began my rant. "You're an extremely tall one who I will pay to get me into this window, so I can raid her fridge until she shows up."

"Twenty bucks?" He confirmed.

I pulled the twenty out of my back pocket as proof. He shrugged, took the money, and caved to my offer like it was no big deal by turning around and sitting on the end table. Now on a mission, I unabashedly straddled his stranger's shoulders, and he stood up to face the door.

"Oh my God, you are tall," I repeated as I looked down.

"It comes with the personality."

An older man turned the corner and came down the hall, stopping abruptly when he saw us. "Having another eventful day Mr. Howell," he said as he passed by curiously.

"Well, you know me." My tall stranger smiled.

Howell, most likely his surname. I took the mental note and stored it in the back of my brain for later. He didn't move until the neighbor vanished, and we were completely alone to continue our small break-in.

"Okay," I said as I pushed the window open and placing the stick found in the seal to hold it up. "I'll try to make this quick and painless and hope I'm not too heavy on you."

I got another laugh out of him. "You don't weigh anything. I'm sure my bag of food is heavier."

I got my elbows through and hoisted myself into the window. Honestly, I surprised myself that I actually fit. Half-way in I suddenly realized the drop distance and regretted my reckless choice making skills. Now I just lay there cramped in a window against a seal that was slowly but surely cutting into my gut.

"Well shit...Howell?"

"What's wrong?"

"This isn't going to work I don't have a tall person on this side to catch me."

"Give me a minute."

 I didn't understand what he was getting at but that statement and hung there in the window unable to see what he was doing. If he was getting a picture of my ass then I was going to kill him. The doorknob wiggled below me and eventually turned. I felt the support of his shoulders leave my legs as the door opened and walked right into the apartment. I remained there completely stunned as I saw the keys in the door.

Another Chapter up! 

Thank all of you so much for reading and I hope you are enjoying it. Feel free to comment feedback and tell me your thoughts. I'm always so curious about what my readers think and it helps me get to know you wonderful people better.  Have a good weekend!