When I Find Love Again

Chapter Two

The fact that I get to hook up with my lovely friends is the icing on the cake for me. Again, I'm not sure that Harry feels the same way. My husband isn't overly fond of my friends. He says that I change when I'm with them. I think, half of the time, he doesn't like it when he's not centre of attention and you know what it's like when old friends get together.

Ella, Flick and I all went to University together in Liverpool over ten years ago, and as such, go way back.

We're more like sisters than friends and we are inseparable. I feel as if we grew up together. Those formative years shaped us into the women we are today.

Ella Hawley, Felicity Edwards and Grace Taylor.

I smile to myself. We were quite the girls back then. A force to be reckoned with. Mainly due to Flick, I have to say. She was the one who dragged us kicking and screaming into the thick of student life. I'm sure Ella and I would have stayed at home in our skanky rooms studying every night, if it hadn't been for Flick.

Ella's the arty, thoughtful one. Flick is the fabulously pretty, fickle one. I, for my sins, am the ready and sensible one. Though we're ten years older an, now, supposedly wiser, our roles haven't changed that much.

We all took different courses at University, but found ourselves in the same halls. We hooked up at one of the events in Fresher's Week – I can't even remember that now – and have been together through thick and thin ever since.

After that first rollercoaster year when we struggled to get our studying to keep pace with our partying, we escaped halls and moved as a team to a totally hideous flat at the top of a draughty Victorian house in one of Liverpool's less salubrious areas. I only have to think for a minute how awful it was and it makes me shudder. The carpet had that terrible stickiness of a back-street pub and, as we were on the top floor, the windows had never been cleaned. They still hadn't when we left two years later. Learning how to exterminate cockroaches, mice and silverfish together is always going to be a life-long bonding experience.

Though, it always seemed to be me, with the rubber gloves and dustpan, who had the job of cleaning up the resulting corpses.

Not only did we share the same hideous flat, but we also worked in the same hideous bar. Honkers. I don't have to say anymore, do I?

There's a fantastic, sophisticated nightclub scene in Liverpool. Honkers wasn't ever part of it. We used to run a sweepstake between the three of us – five pounds at the end of the night to the person who got the most gropes. One point for a bottom grope, two points for a boob grope. Flick had the dubious honour of winning most nights.

We put up with the groping, largely without complaint, simply to earn some extra cash to supplement our drinking – sorry, our studies. If someone got a feel of your tits they tended to give bigger tips. Oh, happy days. Our shared horror only helped to make our little team only stronger than ever. Even though we had no money, and lived in a flea-pit, they were good times. We had fun together. Mostly. But there were heartaches too and we vowed then that nothing would ever come between us. Not men, not fame, not fortune. It's fair to say that it's just the men that have troubled us thus far.

Harry doesn't like it when we spend hours reminiscing about a life and a time that he wasn't involved with. I'll admit that when we get started on the 'good old days' we do get a bit carried away with ourselves. Once we get going, we can talk for hours-

(So sorry, will update again soon! Tea Hoskin :) xx)