F is for friends

When I shut off my computer Wednesday around 9 p.m., I was so exhausted that all I could think about was my bed and a massive slice of pizza. The first day running the blog had gone relatively smoothly, but I wasn't anticipating the amount of work it was on top of all of my regular work. Unfortunately, my bed and pizza would have to wait since I promised Elena I would meet her for drinks, and I was already late. 

As I walked to the bar, I checked my phone for the 100th time that day. Still no text from Dylan. When we had left the shore on Sunday, he kissed me goodbye and promised he'd call. But so far - radio silence. I'd managed to find his Facebook but all of his settings were private and I was not going to be the one to send a friend request. I know that we live in different places, but if he wanted to squash his rep as a player the least he could do was send one measly little text. 

I slid my phone back into my bag with a sigh as I pulled open the heavy door to the bar. Scanning the room, I spotted Elena sitting at a corner high top with two beers in front of her. 

"Hey," I said, sitting down across from her. I was praying that this would go smoothly and things could go back to the way they were. I was sick of the heavy awkwardness between us, not to mention eating lunch alone every day. I missed my friend and when I looked back on it, I had no idea how we had gotten this deep in the misunderstanding.

"Hey," she replied. "I got you a Stella."

"Thanks," I smiled back stiffly, taking a sip of the beer.  

"So..." Elena started, shredding her cocktail napkin into long pieces. I took a deep breath, waiting for her to continue.

"Look, I'm really sorry about how I reacted to the whole Jeff thing," she shook her head before looking up at me. "Really." 

"You just completely shut me out, and all I did was tell you what I had walked in on," I replied, still not ready to let her off the hook. 

"I know, I know. I guess I was just sick of everyone telling me bad things about him. I mean, I know he screwed up at the wedding, but after that I realized I just wanted to have fun with him. I knew he wasn't boyfriend material, so I didn't really care."

"Are you two still hooking up?" I asked.

She shook her head. "No, as much as I wanted to keep it light and easy, that's just not me. I ended it about a week ago."

I was so relieved to hear her say that. She definitely deserved way better than Jeff. "I see," I said. Not wanting to give away how happy I was.

"Look," I continued. "I just don't want something like that to happen again. I really was just telling you what I had seen, and you completely pushed me away. It was so out of the blue." 

"I'm sorry, Dani. I really am. You can't imagine how bad I feel." 

I gave her a small smile. "You're forgiven. Just don't freeze me out again!" 

I could see her visibly relax as I said the words. "I promise I won't! Oh god I'm so glad we're fine again. I feel like I know nothing about your life."

"Agreed," I replied as I felt my stomach turning over itself. I hadn't eaten a bite since 11 a.m. "But can we catch up over a platter of fried things? I'm starving."

"Absolutely," Elena said, flagging down the waitress. 

We ordered the appetizer sampler and indulged in mozzarella sticks, onion rings, wings and spinach dip while catching up. I filled her in on Nick, Keith and Dylan which made me feel a little bit slutty. 

"So, he sounds like the dream man," Elena said after I had recounted my weekend with Dylan (leaving out a few of the more private parts). 

"I know," I said, covering a chip in the warm spinach dip. "But he hasn't so much as texted me since Sunday."

"Why don't you text him?" 

"No way, what would I even say?" I said.

Elena shrugged. "Send him a dirty picture?"

I tossed a chip at her while laughing, "No way!" 

She threw the chip back and I dodged it, watching it land on the floor of the table next to us. 

"So, is Ash still living with you?" 

"Yeah," I replied. "Which is so fun, but it's a studio.. so getting kind of cramped. She's been looking but it's tough out there."

"Why don't you two just find a bigger place together?" Elena asked.

"I thought about it, but my lease isn't up for another three months."

"I'm sure you could try to break it, if you two found the right place."

"Yeah, maybe I'll look into it," I replied, debating it. I did enjoy having my own space, but it was way more fun having your best friend around. I made a mental note to talk to bring it up to Ash.

By the time we parted ways, two hours had passed. I finally didn't feel the familiar dread when I thought about heading to work tomorrow, knowing that Elena and I were finally back to normal. 

As I started home I was debating where Ash and I could find a roomy 2 bedroom between our two workplaces. The more I thought about it, the more it seemed like a good idea. It would be fun, plus it would cut my costs down. She was away this week on a business trip in Salt Lake City so I decided to send her an email with links to a few places online tomorrow. 

As I pulled out my phone to start browsing on CraigsList, I noticed a text that had come in an hour ago..from Dylan. My heartbeat raced and I quickly slid the icon to the right, my vision almost blurring with the excitement. 

God, I can't stop thinking about you. 

**I'm heading out of town tomorrow for the holiday weekend, and won't have any internet access until Sunday. So my deepest apologies but there will be no post this Friday. (Plus it's July 4, so I expect all of you to be out having fun!) I'll send a bonus your way next Saturday (7/12) to make up for it! Have an amazing weekend!!**