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Rix is wearing the skirt that would have been more like a headband on me and a red tank. Hemi is wearing a royal blue dress that conforms entirely to her amazing curves.
“So, I look okay and not like I’m trying to be something I’m not?”
I nod. “You look amazing.”
“Phew.” Her shoulders relax. “I wasn’t one hundred percent sold. Are we heading out right away?”
“I vote for a round of margaritas first,” Hemi announces. “It’s already been a night, and if you’re okay with it, I might leave my car here and get my drink on.” She pulls a mostly full bottle of tequila out of her oversized purse.
“Oh, shit. What happened?” Rix takes the bottle from her. “And you can always take my room, and I can sleep at Tristan’s.”
“I went on the worst first date in the history of first dates.”
“Why didn’t we know about this date?”
She waves a dismissive hand. “I’m still in the vetting process for my high school reunion in the summer. There is no way I’m going dateless. Hopefully, I’ll find a viable candidate soon.”
“What happened on this date to make it so bad?” Rix asks.
“You know when you talk to someone online and they seem normal, but when you meet them in person, you realize they are the furthest thing from it?”
“Oh yeah. That’s happened to me so many times,” Dred says.
“This guy’s profile says he’s in the entertainment industry, which is pretty vague, right?”
“I feel like there’s a but coming.” Rix dumps half the bottle of tequila in the shaker.
We’re in for a night.
“He’s a clown for children’s birthday parties. Like, that’s his actual job. Which is…whatever. Fine. Being a birthday clown is a legitimate job. But he drives around in a white van. Just a plain white van with no windows. He gave me serious serial-killer vibes. I deleted my profile off the site. I’m so glad we never exchanged phone numbers.” Hemi grabs the tequila and takes a swig straight from the bottle.
Rix hands her a lime wedge.
“Yikes. How about next time you go on a date, you let us know?” I suggest. “And we should all do that app tracking thing on our phones so we can friend-stalk each other in situations like these.”
Dred nods. “Flip put that on my phone recently, after he found out I had a weird encounter at work. It’s also great when I need him to check on Dewey when I work late.” Dred has a pet hedgehog, and he is the cutest, stinkiest little guy with a robust social media following.
“Flip monitors your whereabouts?” Rix asks. “He doesn’t even do that with me.”
“But Tristan does, right?” Dred asks.
“Yeah.”
“So Flip doesn’t have to. He only started doing it recently. Sometimes I’m at the library until midnight, and it can get dicey when I check the bathrooms.”
“Why the bathrooms?” Hemi asks.
“It’s a free public space. Sometimes people suffering from addiction use the bathrooms, especially in the winter. Mostly they’re harmless and want to be left alone, but I’ve had a couple of scary interactions. When a security guard isn’t available, I’ll call a friend or Flip and they stay on the line with me until I’m sure it’s all clear.”
“Wow. That’s—I had no idea. You can call us too.” I touch her arm.
“Same,” Hemi replies.
“I’m glad Flip does that for you. That’s the kind of brother I know he can be,” Rix says with a wide smile.
It’s kind of him, but it hurts my heart a little that he was such a thoughtless dick when Rix was living with him.
Rix pours us very strong margaritas, and we briefly video-call Tally. She’s in a hotel room with three of her classmates, two of whom are attempting to sneak out and meet up with guys. Tally has no interest in joining, since one of the trip chaperones is her mom’s best friend. Last year the kids who tried the same thing were sent home by bus at their parents’ expense. We promise her we’ll get together as soon as she’s home so she can fill us in on everything.
