~Nicole's POV~
The city lights flickered through the blinds of my bedroom window, casting a soft, neon glow over the rumpled sheets and scattered pillows. It was one of those humid summer nights in the heart of downtown, where the air conditioner hummed lazily, barely keeping up with the sticky heat. My parents had jetted off to some conference in Vegas, leaving the apartment all to myself, and tonight, to Aubrey and me.
Best friends since freshman year of college, we'd planned this sleepover like it was our last hurrah before senior year swallowed us whole. Pizza boxes lay open on the floor, half-eaten slices congealing under the lamp's warm light, and our laughter still echoed from the dumb rom-com we'd started but never finished.
Aubrey sprawled across my bed in her tiny tank top an
