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1
Claire
I look up at the neon sign flashing above the bar with my arms crossed, fully aware I probably look more like a petulant five-year-old than a disgruntled twenty-five-year-old.
"Can we go somewhere else, please?"
"Come on, Claire," my best friend Kara says, pulling on my sleeve. "I promised you a night out, and this place has the hottest bartenders in all of Melbourne."
"Yes, and Dylan James is one of them," I point out. "I can't face him. Not tonight."
"I've never seen him here on a Thursday before. I'm pretty sure it's his night off."
"Unless you know that for a fact..."
"On the off chance he is in there, we'll tell him you're drinking away your sorrows. I'm sure you two can play nice for an evening."
"Yeah, right," I mutter.
"For goodness' sake, Claire," Kara says, sounding exasperated. "I'm freezing my arse off out here when I could be enjoying the man candy inside. I don't mind suffering for a good cause, but your preoccupation with avoiding Dylan is ridiculous. He's a stirrer and a tease, but he's hardly the devil."
Whether or not Dylan James qualifies as the devil-in-disguise is purely a matter of opinion, and had I known ahead of time that Kara was planning to bring me here of all places, I would have called off the evening, but she refused point-blank to spill the beans. Now I know why. Kara often comes here after work, so I know she likes the place. But she's also well aware that I don't, and for good reason. Now our friends are waiting for usinside, and I'll put a downer on everyone's night if I walk away. Talk about bulldozed!
"Fine," I say with a heavy sigh.
"Thank you," Kara says, rubbing her bare arms. "If Dylan's around, I'll personally tell him to lay off you tonight, okay?"
Before I can beg her not to say anything at all about me to Dylan, Kara is walking into the bar. After sucking in a breath, I follow. With the lights dimmed, it takes a while for my eyes to adjust. Once I have my bearings, I look over at the bar and the people working behind it. My shoulders drop in relief when I don't see Dylan anywhere.
"See?" Kara says, gesturing around the place. "No Dylan tonight. We're in the clear. Oh look, I see Danni and Tori over there."
"What took you guys so long?" Tori asks as we approach the four-seater table the girls have snagged.
"I had to drag her in here," Kara says, jerking her head in my direction.
Tori grins. "Don't worry. I haven't seen Dylan around. It must be his night off."
I try not to look as miserable as I feel as I sit down. "Good."
"Cheer up, Claire Bear," Danni says affectionately. "It's been too long since it's just been the four of us."
"Three months to be exact," Tori agrees, picking up her pocket mirror to check her makeup. "I'm sure the last time we went out drinking was to commiserate Claire's last break-up."
I carefully place my handbag at my feet. "Thanks for that reminder."
Danni shrugs. "Hey, any excuse for a party."
I'm about to point out that being dumped is no reason to party, but I stop myself when Kara shoots me a warning look.
"Don't pretend you're heartbroken over the guy, Claire. A man who insists on having a manicure every week is more high maintenance than Tori is."
"Hey! I'msonot high maintenance," Tori instantly objects, snapping her pocket mirror shut.
"My point is," Kara continues, unabated, "you weren't even together for two months before you asked him whether he wanted to meet your mother."
"Two months is not an unreasonable amount of time."
"Maybe not, but not only did he baulk at the suggestion, he flat out dumped you. If that doesn't tell you that he wasn't Mr Right, nothing will. In my opinion, him dumping you is definitely cause for celebration."
