Better Together

I snuck out of work early on Friday afternoon, eager to meet Ash at happy hour. I waited until my boss was in a meeting to slink out, seeing as her and I have very different opinions on what constitutes a “good excuse” for leaving early. 

It was pretty clear that Ashley hadn’t broken up with Steve, seeing as she had spent the past two weeks avoiding me like the plague. I missed my friend and I was impatient to find out the whole story. But that didn't mean she wasn't going to get a small dose of the cold shoulder, because it is extremely impolite to ignore your best friend when they just want to help.

I got to Reunion (how appropriate, right?) at 6:00 on the dot and immediately spotted Ashley seated at the bar with a half-empty gin and tonic in front of her. I walked over and pulled out the stool next to her.

“Oh my gosh don’t I know you from somewhere?” I joked. 

“Hey,” she smiled back stiffly. 

I tilted my head to the side. “Come on, Ash, don’t be weird! You’re the one who has been MIA for weeks now.” 

“I know, I’m sorry,” she said taking another sip of her drink. 

Before I could say anything, a Chris Hemsworth look-a-like came over to take my order. I tried to play it cool and act like his dimples weren’t giving me tingly feelings. “I’ll have a whiskey coke,” I smiled. 

I settled in next to Ash, giving her a look. “So?” 

“Look, I’m sorry that I froze you out. When Spence was here that weekend, I was so sure I could break it off with him. When I left your place, I felt really confident in my decision…” her voice trailed off as the bartender placed my drink in front of me. Once he walked away, she continued. 

“But then I got home that night and Steve looked so happy to see me, and I just couldn’t do it to him.”

I absorbed this for a minute. “So.. he knows nothing?” 

She shook her head. “I just couldn’t. And that’s why I have been hiding from you,” she gave me a half smile. “I know..it’s bad.” 

“What about James?” I asked, bracing myself for the response.

“He’s called a few times but I swear I haven’t seen him since I told you guys about him.”

I looked at her skeptically. “So what’s the game plan? You just hope Steve never finds out?” 

She looked hurt at the question but I was still pissed at her for disappearing on me, so I didn’t offer an apology. 

“I want to be with him, James was a stupid mistake,” she said.

“Okay...” I replied. I really couldn’t think of anything else to say. 

“Are we good?” she asked tentatively. 

I let out a sigh of relief, “Of course we’re good. Just don’t go MIA on me anymore. I only want to help, you know.” 

“I know,” she smiled at me. “So, tell your terrible friend everything she’s missed lately!” 

“How much time do you have?” I joked. I filled Ash in on my last date with Bray and the drama-filled Penn State weekend. I was halfway through my recap of Thursday’s interview when the beautiful bartender returned with our check. He had definitely caught me undressing him with my eyes twice since Ash and I had been there, so in an effort to keep a few shreds of dignity I kept my eyes focused firmly on the black check presenter.

“Have a great evening ladies,” he said, sporting an entirely too charming smile. 

Once he was gone, Ash mumbled so only I could hear, “My god he is good looking.” 

I nodded my head, “I bet he’s an actor.” After I signed the check and started to gather my things, Ashley grabbed the pen and receipt. “What are you doing, checking my tip?” I laughed at her.

She scrawled something on the receipt and quickly folded it back up. I narrowed my eyes at her. “What did you just do!?” I grabbed the piece of paper to see that she had written my phone number and name underneath the tip. “Ashley!” 

I could see she was about two seconds from a full-fledged laughing fit. “What’s the worst that could happen?”

I shook my head, trying to hold in my own laughter. “Well then we better get out of here before he reads that and thinks I'm a psycho.” We hustled out of the restaurant, managing hold in our laughter until we were safely on the sidewalk. I was shocked at the relief I felt at having my best friend back. Even though I could see this whole Steve/James/Ashley triangle blowing up at some point, I wasn’t going to butt in and tell her what to do when it came to her love life. I had even convinced her to join me and Bray on Saturday at Nick’s so that it would look less like I was rubbing Bray in his face. Even though that was pretty much exactly what I was doing.

** Keep an eye out for a bonus post tomorrow! Have a great Friday xoxo