# Read the first page of Audre & Bash Are Just Friends by Tia Williams Read the opening of Audre & Bash Are Just Friends by Tia Williams free, no signup. A studious girl and a charming new senior spend a Brooklyn summer as friends. - Page: https://uncovered.ink/read/audre-and-bash-are-just-friends-tia-williams - Genre: Romance - Year: 2025 - ISBN: 9780316480697 - Read it blind (cover and title hidden): https://uncovered.ink/?b=9780316480697&s=read-page - Buy: https://bookshop.org/a/125786/9780316480697 - Borrow: https://search.worldcat.org/search?q=9780316480697 ## The opening "Let's get back to your issue, Sparrow." Audre sat perched atop a toilet, resting her chin on her hand. "Wait, which one?" asked Sparrow. She was splayed out in an empty bathtub, gulping vodka from a motivational water bottle. (STAY HYDRATED! NO EXCUSES! KEEP DRINKING!) | "Well.. your love life," she reminded her gently. "Oh. Right." It was the last day of school, which always felt like a holiday. A day when all previous beefs and dramas were put to bed. No matter who they were—emo boys, anime girls, theater heads, full-glam baddies, fake thugs, K-pop queens, rich kids, scholarship kids, and people of all sexual preferences, genders, and astrological affiliations—everyone got along. It was only 4 PM, but almost every Cheshire Prep junior she knew was wasted, and hanging out at Reshma Wells’s multimillion-dollar house. It was one of the bougiest brownstones in one of Brooklyn’s bougiest neighborhoods, Park Slope. As usual, Audre Mercy-Moore was at the party, but she wasn't partying. In fact, she only heard the muffled party sounds (Ice Spice and screechy laughter) through the walls. But she could imagine the rest. No doubt the air was thick with the scent of fruity vape smoke, Sol de Janeiro perfume, and pizza. Assorted sixteen- and seventeen-year-olds were hooking up all over Reshma’s parents’ furniture. Her classmates were wearing a copy-paste blur of Brandy Melville and white Air Force Ones. This party was identical to every other party. Honestly, all Audre Mercy-Moore wanted to do was go home and pack for “Dadifornia”—that is, her annual summerlong stay with her dad and stepmom in Malibu Beach, California. The trip was her heaven, her summertime reward for busting her ass all year to be a model student. Her dad’s cottage was so cozy, with its sun-faded teal exterior and seaside deck. Audre’s bedroom window faced the beach, where the roar of the ocean lulled her to sleep every night. Yes, she was a born-and-bred city girl. But Dadifornia was her happy place. For many reasons, she couldn’t get there fast enough. But right now, she had a job to do. Focus, thought Audre. This is about Sparrow. Are you doing your “active listening” face? She snuck a quick glance in the floor-length wall mirror—doe eyes, dimples, a tousled tumble of gold-streaked goddess braids. Thrifted slip dress and Adidas. She was cute, and honestly? She’d earned it after years of acne treatments, braces, and a brutal keratin “treatment” that destroyed her natural curls in tenth grade. (On the bright side, without that keratin trauma, she wouldn’t have started the Protective Styles Club, which was a hit among all five of the Black girls at Cheshire Prep.) Her only pieces of jewelry were gold hoops and a cameo ring—the good luck charm that had belonged to her great-great-grandma. On a good day, she felt above average. But she would’ve killed to be dangerously sexy. Hot. Unfortunately, she landed just on the outskirts of hot. The suburbs of hot. It’s fine, she thought. College is when my life will start. When my sexy chapter begins. Now focus on Sparrow! On any other day, Audre would’ve loved helping Sparrow through her latest mental health crisis. She was one of her favorite lifers. At Cheshire Prep, “lifers” were the kids who’d started Lower School in kindergarten. They’d witnessed every stage of each other’s lives. Identities were established early, and they stuck like glue. Audre’s identity? The person you hoped to run into in the school bathroom if you needed to cry, vomit, reapply lip gloss, anything. ## Books with a similar feel - [The Last Song by Nicholas Sparks](https://uncovered.ink/read/the-last-song-nicholas-sparks.md) - [Royal Holiday by Jasmine Guillory](https://uncovered.ink/read/royal-holiday-jasmine-guillory.md) - [Cold-Hearted Rake by Lisa Kleypas](https://uncovered.ink/read/cold-hearted-rake-lisa-kleypas.md) - [99 Percent Mine by Sally Thorne](https://uncovered.ink/read/99-percent-mine-sally-thorne.md) - [Negotiating Health Care by Sally E. Thorne](https://uncovered.ink/read/negotiating-health-care-sally-e-thorne.md) - [The Edge of Falling by Rebecca Serle](https://uncovered.ink/read/the-edge-of-falling-rebecca-serle.md) --- Source: Uncovered (https://uncovered.ink). A short sample shown for reading and discovery. Rights holders can request removal at https://uncovered.ink/takedown.