Stand By!

by Jake Dunne

Copyright 2012 Smashwords Edition

Part One

Sweet is Revenge-

Especially to Women

George Gordon Noel Byron

Chapter 1

The attractive young woman partially naked and tangled up in sage colored sheets barely stirred when the abnormally loud whine from her alarm clock began. Through the fog and in a faint whisper, her brain reminded her that Monday morning was the enemy, especially after a weekend of extracurricular activities. And technically it wasn’t even Monday morning as the sun would still be asleep for another four hours, give or take. Her head still pounding from a few too many cocktails the afternoon and evening before, Julie Anderson hit the snooze button deciding to sacrifice ten minutes of prep time for ten more minutes of slumber.

After the alarm sounded a second time, Julie shut it off in a manner that suggested the two were not friends. In addition to despising her alarm clock, Julie did not get along with this time of the morning and her eyelids were heavy; more so than normal, but less than adequate sleep mixed with a hangover has a tendency to do that. And when they finally lifted, Julie’s pupils slowly adjusted to the dark bedroom surrounding her; the only light coming from the illuminated 2:11 on the alarm clock and a tiny nightlight plugged into an outlet across the room. Julie raised her hands toward the ceiling stretching muscles from her fingertips down her tender arms to her stiff, lower back. After an elongated, but much needed yawn, she collected her cell phone off the nightstand and made her way to the adjoining bathroom.