Insta-what

"Fifteen beauty hacks with a bobby pin?" Elena asked, staring at the copy I was about to push through onto the blog. 

"It's the best journalistic piece of my career," I deadpanned as I searched through stock images that could fit the article.

"Sometimes I worry that we're not really contributing to society," Elena replied, chewing absentmindedly on the straw in her empty Starbucks cup. It was 7:30 p.m. and the office was almost empty. 

"But did you see the one I did yesterday about Selena Gomez's Instagram filters? It was shared more than 2,000 times..." I said with a smile. Sure, a large amount of the content on our blog were puff pieces related to celebrities, beauty, fashion and more. But Platform did publish quality stuff, especially in the print issues. But we had a quota when it came to the blog, which I was desperately trying to keep up with. So if I had to post inane stories for the sake of engagement, so be it. 

"Okay, there," I said, hitting publish and watching as the copy and images melded together and emerged into the blogosphere. "Done." 

I spent another ten minutes checking the scheduled tweets in Hootsuite, replied to and retweeted a few mentions and then shut off my computer. "I have to head down to the West Village to see an apartment with Ash, want to come?" I offered, throwing miscellaneous items into my purse. 

"Sure," Elena shrugged, trailing behind me to the elevators. I was so relieved that her and I were back to normal. It had been a lonely few weeks during the Jeff debacle. As we waited for the doors to close, I pulled out my phone which had been neglected since my late lunch at 3. I had two texts from Dylan, both of which made my heart leap straight up into the air.

4:45pm: Hey babe, how is your day going?

5:58pm: I'm heading over to my big brothers meeting, but I'll call you after.

He was already treating me like his girlfriend, and I wasn't the least bit freaked out by it. Which, ultimately, freaked me out. If a guy had ever come on this strong in the past, I would have hightailed it out of there faster than you could say stage five clinger. But with Dylan, it felt normal, right even.

Hey, heading to see an apartment now. Can I just call you tonight?

I typed back. Elena and I hailed a cab and I gave the driver the cross streets. The West Village apartment was the one I had seen over the weekend online, shockingly in our price range on top of being in an amazing location. I was half expecting it to be riddled with cockroaches or carbon monoxide leaks. 

"So how's Dylan," Elena asked as the cab headed downtown. I had filled her in over lunch on Monday, and she had voiced a similar opinion as Ashley. They both told me to guard my heart and not move too fast. I really did believe I knew what I was doing and had it under control, so I was defensive to their opinions. 

"He's good," I replied. It was only Wednesday and I already missed him terribly. "But did I tell you? I'm going to this work event thing with Nick tomorrow." 

"Does Dylan care?" Elena asked.

I shrugged. "I told him on Sunday, and he didn't really say anything in response. So I guess not." 

Just then, we pulled up to 12th street and I paid the cabbie. Stepping out onto the street, I saw Ash waiting in front of a narrow red door. The street was wide, lined with trees and each house looked adorably the same. This already seemed too good to be true. 

"Hey!" I greeted Ash.

"Hey," she replied, typing furiously into her phone. "The guy should be here any minute, he just texted me." 

"Great," I replied, surveying the street some more as Ashley and Elena said their hellos. A few minutes later, the landlord appeared to let us in. 

I let out a gasp as I stepped inside. The door opened up to a tiny platform, with two stairs to the right leading down to an airy living room, and two stairs up to the left leading to a kitchen and dining area. There were two massive windows in the living room that filled the entire room with light. The kitchen was small but had the essentials, and a full bathroom lead off of the side. One bedroom was off of the kitchen and the other off of the living room. Both were a little small, but could easily fit a queen bed and small furniture. 

I gave Ash a look and she nodded furiously. After asking the landlord a few basic questions, we immediately filled out an application. 

"I can't believe that place is only $2,200," Ashley said as we stepped out onto the street. 

"It's perfect," I replied, already daydreaming about how we could decorate the living room. "Ugh I pray we get it." 

"And you'd live so close to me!" Elena chimed in, as the three of us walked slowly around the 'hood. We were just steps from the Hudson river, lined by a perfect trail for running. Although it would mean I would no longer have the luxury of walking to work, I was desperate for this apartment to work out. 

A few hours later after the three of us had grabbed dinner and Ash was in the shower, I called Dylan.

"Hey you," he answered after a few short rings. I could hear noise in the background.

"Hey, where are you?" I asked.

"At a bar for SIPs," he replied, referring to the Philly Happy Hour that occurs city-wide every Wednesday in the summer. 

"Oh," I replied, "With who?"

"Some shore house people," he said and I heard laughter in the background, while someone yelled "shots!". My mind immediately pictured Kara sitting across from him.

"I'll let you go then, have fun," I said in my most upbeat voice. I didn't want him thinking I was pissed at him. 

"I'll call you later tonight, okay?" he said. 

I nodded before realizing he couldn't see me. "Great!" I replied, a little too enthusiastically. Then I heard the line go dead. 

I stared at the phone in my hand, upset but knowing I had no right to be. I opened Instagram to pass the time until the shower was free, and my heart sunk seeing the very first photo on my feed. It was posted by Laura just 10 minutes ago, of them at SIPs in Philly. Dylan looked impossibly handsome in a button down shirt from work, his arm casually slung around the girl next to him. A simple tap on the photo showed the girl was tagged, and he name was Kara29xo. She had long blonde hair, striking blue eyes and the type of genetically superior bone structure that predisposes you to hating her. I tossed the phone onto the bed feeling sick. How was it possible to be this invested in a guy after just two weeks? 

By the time I got into bed at midnight, Dylan still hadn't called. I debated texting him but Ash convinced me otherwise. 

"If he's not thinking of you, don't let him know you're thinking about him," she said pointedly. Although her advice seemed a bit harsh, I took it anyway. After all, I was going to spend tomorrow night on Nick's arm all evening. I really had no right to feel angry. I rolled over and closed my eyes, trying my best not to strain my ears to listen for a ringing phone that would never come.