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3
Jessica
I rush along the crowded sidewalk, sliding my way through the sea of people heading to my destination. I’m more than twenty minutes late and do not look forward to hearing the girls’ mouths. When I step into the restaurant, I scan the crowd looking for my friends, spotting them in the middle of the room at a table for four. Ariel waves me over with a smile, and I dash toward them.
“Sorry I’m late.” I drop my purse to the floor and take my seat.
“You made it,” Ariel proclaims.
“Finally, bitch, we’re starving,” Chante adds.
“Exactly,” Lee chimes in.
“I know, I know. I had to send off an email to my boss before I left out. That, and I overslept.”
“Email? It’s Saturday.” Chante frowns.
“Now you know damn well she works around the clock,” Lee teases.
“Oh hush. Have you ordered mimosas yet?” I reply while peeling my jacket off.
“We haven’t ordered anything. Was waiting on you.”
I flag down a waiter. “Excuse me, can we get a pitcher of mimosas, please.”
He nods and sprints toward the kitchen. After several minutes, he returns with two full pitchers for the table and proceeds to take our orders. We’ve had a standing reservation here every Saturday since I moved to town. It’s a surprise to me they don’t know what our order is, considering we get the same thing every time.
“How did the presentation go yesterday?” Lee asks, pouring the sweet elixir into each of our glasses.
“Amazing! We got the contract, and I will be running point.”
They cheer me on, each with their own expression of congratulations.
“Thank you. The client loved it and has hired us for the next six trainings.”
“Amazing! But why do you sound so surprised? You know you’re good as shit, J,” Chante adds.
“I know, but this was my first solo demo, so I was on edge.”
The server approaches, carrying trays filled with all our favorites. Each week, we order separate items but request four extra plates to share from every dish. Ariel digs in, passing the plates around the table while we continue to talk. The topic has since shifted from my work, to the latest news on Lee’s dating life. Of the four of us, Lee and I are the single ones, except Lee enjoys exploring the dating scene, while I…well, I use my vibrator.
“Are you going to see him again?” I ask, taking a bite of eggs.
“I think so. I mean, he was a little too touchy-feely for me, but other than that he was a total gentleman. And you know how hard it is to find those.”
We laugh at the honesty in her statement. My ex was not a gentleman in any form, but he wasn’t a bad guy either—chivalry just wasn’t his strong suit. Ariel’s husband and Chante’s fiancé are really great guys, and before them, they, too, suffered their fair share of tactless men.
“What about you, Jess? Been on any dates?” Chante taps me from under the table.
My mind instantly trails to my calls with—shit, I don’t even know his name. “No, I haven’t had the time.”
“Ugh,” they say in unison.
“You need to make time, bitch,” Chante demands in an agitated tone. “You can’t keep spending all your time working on these projects. You came to Arlington—”
“To work! That’s what I’m doing,” I answer defensively.
“You came to live your life. To start over. Work is only a piece of the puzzle. You know what, we’re going out tonight.”
