"I still can't believe you pretended to be a sleep when he tried to get your number in the morning." Bella gasped as she sipped her fruity tea.

"That was two weeks ago, how are you not over this yet?" I demanded with a laugh.

We were sitting in the same café that we had the previous conversation in. In fact, it was the café we had almost all of our conversations and late study nights in the morning after I had taken Miles home. It was close enough to both of our places and within walking distance from campus. The cute succulents everywhere and the sweet baristas made it our perfect destination for a hot or cold drink.

"It's not what I expected of you at all."

"What was I supposed to do? I feel like it even more rude to take his number or give him mine and never text him. when he woke up he was worried that he was going to be late so I figured I just had to keep my eyes shut for a little longer. He wasn't gruff enough to shake me awake and he was on a tight schedule so I knew he would leave eventually. About three minutes of fake snoring was enough to get him out of my hair."

"But he was hot and you two were having such a good conversation, why would you want him gone?"

"I involved with a scandal."

"Nike, Declan's actions are not your burden to carry." Bella chided.

"No, but we do carry the same last name. We are family, there is going to be a little judgment no matter what because people are going to assume that family stays with family. Besides, my last relationship was with Matt and being cheated on left a bit of a sour taste in my mouth. I need to focus on my career now."

Bella rolled her eyes, "A week ago you said you needed to focus on your education."

"And now I've finished all of my exams so it's time to worry about other things. I had my fun and he was the first guy I've even touched since Matt. And even if I wanted Miles it's too late. It's been two weeks since I've seen him and in a city this size I doubt I'll see him again."

"Either way, cheers to one night stands and passing our exams." Bella laughed, touching her coffee cup to mine.

We sat with our drinks and chatted idly about nothing and everything. She had brilliant plans for her summer away from the campus. She had hundreds of road trips planned all over California and beyond. Her brown eyes lit up when she talked about it and I would smile and nod along though I was a little jealous.

While she was traveling across the country for pleasure I would only be commuting about twenty minutes away from my apartment. It suddenly felt like all of my fun, carefree summers were far behind me and never coming back. But, as sad as I wanted to be, I needed to recognize the fact that my adult life was starting. After my brother had foolishly plunged his family in scandal I had followed the actions of my spineless parents and hidden, ashamed and distraught. I was older and wiser now. Now it was time for me to move on and start living outside of the shadow my brother had stretched over my family.

We said or goodbyes after an hour and thanked our baristas for their amazing concoctions. After a brief hug and a reminder to stay safe and stay in touch we departed.

As I walked along the sidewalk towards my apartment I couldn't help but wonder what my summer would actually entail. Though summers didn't truly matter now that I was a full time employee. I would take vacation when I needed instead of having an allotted amount of time set aside. Would I be praying for the clock to strike five every day? Would I bond with my co-workers and spend my evenings eating wings and talking about the bosses behind their backs? It was hard to consider the fact that I would be cooped up in an office wearing pencil skirts and answering phone calls instead of lying on a beach or joining Bella on her many trips. I used to be able to spend all day in the national parks with nothing but a granola bar and my camera. Nothing had made me happier.

But it was time for a change I decided as I came to my apartment complex. And when I opened the door to my apartment I could hear the soft splashing of water.

"Mickey." I cooed, dawdling into the bathroom.

And there was my beloved companion, holding green grapes in his little black hands as he masked eyes peered up at me. Then, after a few nose twitches my raccoon went back to washing his grapes in the sink water I had left for him. and seeing him like this I was incredibly thankful that Miles hadn't needed to use the washroom while he had been here. Not only was it illegal to keep a raccoon as a pet it was also terrifying to new comers. Raccoons were seen as rabid and dangerous. I would've surely woken up to the sound of a grown man screaming and Mickey screeching back at him in response if Miles's bladder had won. That would've been one hell of a conversation.

Mickey's mother had been struck by a car when he was just a kit, barely old enough to move and certainly not old enough to fend for himself. I never saw any of his siblings or knew if he had any. I just saw him, all alone by a busy roadway. When I had called the local rescues all of them had been at capacity. They could only offer to send out an officer to destroy the baby. So I had kept him as my own and it had been almost as challenging as being a new parent. Not only was he nocturnal, he was moody, liked to wash all of his food and made annoying noises when he wanted something.

By some miracle we had made it work and now I wouldn't give him up for anything. He was my partner in crime and he had become one of the best protectors of my apartment. No one dared to challenge what they thought was a disease riddled raccoon.

"Come on, let's go pick out my clothes for tomorrow." I said, patting my shoulder.

The little raccoon willingly ambled up my arm and settled upon my shoulder, almost like a parrot. Though he wasn't much of a fashion expert he had become a big comfort in my life. So I would lean my head against him as I flicked through my closet and when I found pieces I liked he would gaze at them with me when I laid them on my bed together, trying to match up the pieces.

"What do you think? Feminine and flirty or childish and cheap?" I asked, looking at the soft pink skirt and the white, lacey top.

Mickey just chittered in my ear.

"You're right, it's perfect."