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ONE WEEK LATER
Raya
“Thank you, looks great, thanks.”
Both women thanked the waiter as he set their food in front of them, then assured him it looked and tasted great.
When he was gone, Raya turned to her friend.
“Finally, time for us to sit down and actually get to talk!” I said. “I can’t believe how fast time goes.”
“Girl, same,” Wrenley shook her head. “Last week’s quick bite after work wasn’t nearly enough time to talk about all the shit that’s been going on.”
“Amen to that. If I’d known I was going to get called back to the facility like five minutes after getting to the bar with you, I wouldn’t have agreed to go out in the first place. I mean, don’t get me wrong, I’m glad I’m the one who handles as much as I do there, but there’s times when it’s like, why can’t they figure it out on their own? Why do I have to be the one to always make sure it’s being done properly?”
“I guess that’s what you get for going back to a management kind of position,” Wrenley said, and I shook my head.
“I don’t know if that really is what I am,” I said with a sigh. “It’s what Meg made it sound like I would be if I came back, but I can’t really say we do have an official manager of the place. I feel like things would go a lot better if we did, you know?”
“I guess that makes sense,” Wrenley said. “But still. I feel like they do leave a lot for you to handle, considering the fact you weren’t supposed to take your job back, then run the place, you know?”
“I guess it’s the risk I took when I decided to take the job back in the first place. You know as well as I do the reason I left before was because of the fact I was working all the time and didn’t have a life besides.”
“Are you sure you’re not going to get driven to that point again?” Wrenley asked. “And what about Harper? I thought you were going to try to stay working in the City so you could be closer to her?”
I nodded. Harper and I were definitely the closest of our friend group, but that didn’t change the fact that I was also incredibly close to Wrenley, and I wasn’t going to keep clinging onto Harper as close as I was with her taking the next step in her life.
“You know she’s got herself all wrapped up in her own business these days,” I said. “I figured I would let her enjoy that while I got out here and lived up more of the single life, if you know what I mean.”
I winked and Wrenley laughed.
“You’re going to continue your trend as the slutty virgin?” she asked.
“I wouldn’t call myself slutty,” I defended my honor, though I knew she had a point. I was definitely the wildest in the friend group, even with the pact we’d made. I didn’t mind the teasing from the other girls, as long as they knew I was serious about keeping my part of the pact.
“You still proudly carrying your V card?” Wrenley asked.
“Of course I am, and you?” I asked.
“Of course,” she said. “But it’s wild to think that Harper like actually made it, you know? She really waited to have sex until she found the right person.”
“Right. I wasn’t sure if I was going to make it myself, but after seeing her do it, I know that’s what I want to do, too,” I said.
“Same. I mean, I don’t have the same thing with Harper because we weren’t that close, but still. Same, if you know what I mean. I really want to save sex until I find the right person. And I’m prepared for that to take a while,” Wrenley said.
“It seemed like it all came down at once with Harper,” I said. “She met that guy and if you could find two people who were more compatible, I’d sure as hell like to see them.”
“I’m happy for her,” she said, and I agreed.
We were both proud of our friend for saving sex for the right person. We had all made a pact when we were younger – twelve of us in all – and we had agreed we weren’t going to have sex with just anyone. In fact, none of us wanted to have sex with anyone we didn’t feel was the right person for us to spend the rest of our lives with.
At the time, it seemed like a sweet thing we girls did with each other. As we grew, it became harder, but it was still something we were all committed to doing. And Harper made it. For as many times as we had talked with each other about whether we were going to keep the pact or give in, we had all managed to keep it until now.
And the only person in the group who had had sex was Harper – who was now with the one person in the group who was in a committed relationship.
The rest of us were still waiting for our Mr. Rights to come along – and there were times I wondered if there even was a Mr. Right out there for me. Still, I was happy for Harper, and I was glad to have Wrenley in my life, too. I was feeling some of the sting of Harper having a man in her life now, and Wrenley helped take some of that sting away.
“And how’s your mom?” I asked,
