All The Single Ladies

Jeff conveniently came down with the flu for the rest of the week, so after Monday there were no more uncomfortable encounters between him and Elena. I wasn't sure if he really was sick or not, but I wasn't about to show up with soup to find out. 

"So, I blocked his number," Elena stated as we were getting ready at my apartment on Friday night.

"That seems...bold," I answered. "How do you even do that? Is it like that app that Charlie invents when he doesn't want to hear from Marnie?"

"What?" she asked, confused.

I stared at her blankly. "You don't watch Girls?" That is like saying you didn't drink wine! 

"No," she replied shrugging. "I just went to Verizon's website, put in his phone number and voila! His calls and texts now go to a lovely virtual box that I cannot view." 

"Interesting," I replied, while applying bronzer to my cheekbones. "But back to you not watching Girls, that needs to be remedied immediately."

"Whatever you say," she said, heading into my kitchen. She came back with two glasses of wine and handed me one before plopping onto my bed. "So when is Ash coming over?" 

I glanced at my phone, "Should be here any minute, she said 8:00." 

"Does she know that I know about her and Steve?" she asked, raising her eyebrows. 

"Probably not, so don't bring it up. I definitely broke the girl code sharing that with you," I sighed.

"Well lucky for you, I don't typically point out people's infidelities in everyday conversation. So we're good," she smiled. 

"Speak of the devil!" I said, as I heard the buzzer blare from my living room. I walked over and pressed the button to let her into the building. 

"Helloooo," I heard Ashley's greeting as she walked into my apartment. 

"Back here!" I hollered, as if it would be hard for her to find us in my tiny studio. 

"Hey!" she came sweeping in, carrying a bottle of vodka and wearing a very tight black dress. "Elena! It's been forever," she said giving her a hug. 

"I know," Elena responded giddily, "God you look great." 

"Thanks," Ash said, coming over and giving me a hug. 

I grabbed her wrists and held her at arm's length in front of me. "In the flesh, I can't believe it.." I joked.

"I know, I know," she said waving me off. "I've come out from hiding now so you can cool it with your incessant calls and texts to me."

I laughed, "I'm needy out of sheer love for you, that's all!" 

Ash sat down next to Elena and sunk into the pillows. "Tell me things! I'm so disconnected."

"Yes, you get very bad service in yours and Steve's love nest," I joked. 

Elena filled her in on the terrible wedding with Jeff, to which Ashley was appropriately appalled. After she had called him half a dozen bad names, Ashley turned to me. "Where are you with Nick? The last you told me was him showing up at the train station last weekend."

I sighed. "Just a few texts this week, but I haven't seen him. We're getting dinner next week though."

"So you're giving him a chance?" Ash asked.

"I don't know if it's a chance, but I want to try being friends first. Then, we'll see." 

Ash smirked. "You two have hung out maybe twice without hooking up. In what world do you see friendship as a plausible outcome?" 

I tossed the shirt that I was holding at her. "Have faith in me!" 

"Alright, alright," she replied, laughing. "What about Bray?" 

"Ugh I've been so consumed in my Jeff drama I haven't even asked you about Bray," Elena interrupted. 

"Jeff drama was very warranted," I answered. "And I don't know. I feel so..used or something. I just keep blowing him off. And by keep, I mean I've turned him down twice to hangout, so it's not like he's really trying that hard anyway."

"You should at least ask him about that girl," Elena said. "Won't it be weird if you two just never hang out again? I feel like that's taking the easy way out."

"That's me giving him the easy way out," I said. "Shouldn't he prefer that?"

"I think you should see him and ask," Elena replied, shrugging. I looked over to Ash.

"I only met the guy once, but I think that he's hot enough to get a second chance," she grinned. 

I rolled my eyes, "Let's just go out, have fun, and keep Bray, Jeff and Nick out of the conversation for the rest of the night." 

"Hear hear!" Ash said. We gathered our things and headed out the door. 

We headed downtown to Stoudts where we were meeting up with Haley. Even though we were running late, she was no where to be found in the dimly-lit bar. We managed to snag a table near the back and dragged over a fourth barstool for whenever Haley arrived. 

"Liquor or beer?" I asked Ash and Elena before heading to the bar.

"Girls night out equals liquor," Ash quipped.

I sidled up to the bar, squeezing in between two girls. "Three vodka tonics, splash of pineapple," I said, reciting Ashley's favorite drink. 

I juggled the three glasses and navigated the crowd back to our table, where Haley was standing along with two guys I didn't recognize.

"Hi!" I greeted Haley, eyeing up the two dudes next to her. They both looked like frat bros, but the one to her right was definitely hot. 

"Hey babe!" she squealed loudly in typical Haley fashion. "I hope you don't mind, but I brought some men along. She grabbed one by the arm and presented him to me like a prize. "This is my boyfriend, Joshua. And this is Joshua's friend, Keith," she said gesturing to the one I thought was hot. I did a mental fist pump that Keith was not her boyfriend.

"Dani," I said extending my hand to each of them. "Should we grab a bigger table?" I asked, scanning the room. 

"I think everything is taken," Keith replied. "I'll rustle up some extra stools," he smiled - good god, he's hot - and disappeared into the crowd. 

"So," I said turning my attention to Haley and Joshua, "How did you two meet?" When Haley and I were up at Penn State just a few weeks ago, she had made no mention of a boyfriend. 

Haley grinned hugely, "On the subway, can you believe it! We just made eye contact, started talking and bam! Love at first sight." 

"Yeah, she was the prettiest person on the 1," he smiled back at her. I saw Ash make a gagging motion out of the corner of my eye, and I bit back a laugh. 

"That's great! So what do you do, Josh?" I asked. 

"Keith and I actually are in business together, we work for a tech start up," he answered. Just then, Keith appeared carrying two bar stools. 

"Here we go," he said, setting them down. "Just don't tell on me, I snuck them away from a table when two guys got up for drinks," he smiled and I felt my stomach do the tell-tale warning sign. 

We spent the next hour drinking, laughing and talking. I kept forcing myself to not stare at Keith like a drooling dog. During our first girl pilgrimage to the bathroom, I approached Elena to see if there was any competition in the Keith department. 

"So, Keith is pretty goodlooking," I said while reapplying lip stain.

"I'll say!" Ash replied. I looked over at Elena to judge her reaction.

"Not really my type," she answered casually. 

"He's single!" Haley chimed in. This was working out entirely too well. 

"Ohmygosh, you should totally date him. Then we could hang out all of the time," Haley added.

"Woah there," I said with a laugh. "I just want to get his number! I don't think I'm mentally stable enough to date anyone right now." 

When we headed back to the table, I saw Haley whisper something to Joshua. I kicked her lightly under the table, hoping she wasn't trying to get Joshua in on the plan. She smiled guiltily at me. 

After a few more drinks, we all decided to head downstairs to dance. The alcohol was making me courageous and I managed to coax Keith out on the dance floor. We started off fooling around, doing terrible salsa moves and twirling each other to the point where I was laughing so hard that I was almost crying. After two songs, he pulled me closer to him and turned me around so that I was facing away from him. His hands were on my waist and his face close to my neck. It was the worst kind of teasing, feeling his whole body against mine. It took everything in me to keep some shreds of dignity and not start making out with him on the dance floor.

After two more songs, we all gathered and decided it was time to head out. We spilled out into the warm night, still laughing at some of Joshua's dance moves. I was suddenly so glad that Haley had ruined girl's night by bringing along these guys. 

"Anyone want to come back to our place for some drinks?" Joshua asked, placing his arm around Haley.

"I should get back.." Ashley said, "Steve will probably be waiting." 

"I'm in," I said, trying not to look at Keith. 

"Me too," Elena agreed. I hugged Ashley goodbye, making her promise to text me when she got back. 

It turned out that Joshua and Keith's place was just a few blocks from the bar. We walked into their building and up to the second floor. Their place was surprisingly clean and well decorated for a boy's apartment.

"Isn't is nice?" Haley whispered to me as we set our bags down. 

I nodded my head. She grabbed my hand and dragged me into the kitchen. 

"So, you and Keith.." she said, wiggling her eyebrows as she reached for a bottle of whiskey from on top of the fridge.

"Stop," I said giving her a small shove. She twisted off the cap and handed me the bottle.

I took a swig and then followed her into the living room, where the boys were playing music. I extended my hands to Elena and pulled her off of the couch to dance with me. We took turns passing around the whiskey while belting out Journey songs. I felt like I was in college again, but I didn't hate it. 

Eventually I ended up sitting on Keith's lap in an armchair. We were laughing about Haley's need to spend two full hours on her hair before she goes out. 

"She's a nut, but she's the nicest nut I know," I said. 

"That's a tongue twister," he laughed. 

Every nerve in my body was telling me to kiss him, but I held firm wanting him to make the first move. 

"Dani, we should go," Elena interrupted. "It's 3:30." 

"Okay," I said reluctantly, lifting myself off of Keith's lap. He grabbed my wrist and pulled me back down.

"Stay," he asked. 

I shook my head, "No thanks," I smiled. "I should head back with Elena." 

He frowned but stood up with me. "At least let me walk you girls out," he offered.

The three of us headed towards the door, and Elena quickly sped up and slipped out before us. I stifled a laugh at her obvious-ness. 

"Well it was great meeting you," I said, turning around to give him a hug goodbye. 

He leaned down and gave me a muscle-melting kiss, reaching his arms around my back and pulling me close. His hands moved down to my ass and pulled me firmly into him. After a minute the door swung open and an impatient Elena interuppted. 

"Hey slutty mc slut, let's go!" she laughed. I extracted myself from Keith, looking sheepish.

"Bye," I said before slipping out the door. Once we were in the hallway, I gave Elena a little shove. "I didn't even get his number!" 

"Sorry! But I was getting bored alone out here," she laughed. I hooked my arm through hers and headed towards the stairs. 

"Well, I would call girl's night a success!" I said triumphantly. 

"Well.." Elena started, handing me her phone. It was an outgoing text to an unsaved number. 

I think we need to talk

"Who is thi-- NO," I said, my eyes widening. Even in my drunken haze, I could put two and two together. "I thought you blocked his number?" 

"Yeah, that only prevents him from contacting me," she replied. "But I logged in and undid it anyway. Apparently, whiskey washes away my self control." She dropped her face into her hands and groaned.

I took a deep breath, "Well I think that we need pizza, we need sleep and then we can re-evaluate. Wanna sleep over?" I offered.

She nodded her head as we stepped out onto the street. I started to hail a cab uptown. Although I knew that Elena texting Jeff was not a good move, all I wanted at that moment was my bed. And it was too bad that Keith wouldn't be waiting in it when I got home. 

S.O.S.

On Monday morning I woke up before my alarm, which is a rarity. I stared at the ceiling for a few minutes before realizing there was no way I was going to fall back asleep, so instead I padded into the kitchen for breakfast. During the short walk to my kitchen I had decided that I would make a delicious power smoothie to help me get through what was already promising to be a dramatic day. I opened my fridge, already proud of how domestic it would be to make my own power-packed green drink. 

By the time I was ready for work, I had finished the unappetizing but I'm sure extremely healthy mixture of apples, spinach, carrots and possibly expired yogurt. And I was still hungry. How do people successfully do these juice cleanses without killing off other humans out of starvation? I'd gladly trade the hope of a thigh gap in for a bagel any day.

As I headed out the door to work, (twenty minutes early, #BestEmployeeEver) I texted Elena. 

Heading to work now, offer still stands if you wanna meet! 

Before she had left last night I offered about five times to meet at her place and walk over so that she wouldn't have to get to work by herself, risking the horrifying chance of being alone with Jeff. But she turned me, down saying that she would relish in being alone with him. Presumably so no one could pin her to the crime when they found his body.

Thanks but I'm already here, picked up coffee for you

I looked at my screen, 7:15? She must have been up at 5 a.m. 

YOU'RE BEING SO CASUAL. Is he there?!?

I quickened my pace to the office, scenarios of Elena using Jeff as a punching bag dancing in my head. As I crossed over 56th, my phone vibrated again. 

Nope. 

I breathed a sigh of relief, but continued at a break-neck speed. 

When I was finally at work, I practically sprinted to Elena's desk. A quick scan of the room assured me that Jeff was not there yet. 

"Hey," I greeted Elena, who was rocking an inappropriately short dress paired with inappropriately high heels. "You look like it's 9 p.m., but in a good way." 

"Is it too obvious?" she asked, crinkling her nose. 

"Yes, but only to those privy to the ordeal," I said, accepting the coffee she handed me. "Thanks."

"I'm going to be fine Dani," she said laughing. "A good nights sleep has completely changed my perspective. Really, it's better that this happened now. Otherwise I would have been picking out our wedding colors before I found him screwing the florist."

"I am glad you feel that way," I said. "Because he just stepped out of the elevator." Jeff kept his eyes on us while walking across the office to his desk. I quickly stood up and skirted over to my own desk, careful not to spill the steaming coffee. "Goodluck," I hissed at her. 

I pretended to be immersed in starting up my computer and checking emails, all the while sitting on the edge of my seat watching Elena and Jeff's every move. Elena had her eyes glued to her computer, while Jeff was squirming in his seat and stealing glances at her roughly every three minutes. 

Two full hours went by with zero interactions between the two, so I finally gave up and focused on my work. I was busy pulling social media stats for the week when I saw Jeff get up and walk over to Elena's desk. Sitting up a little straighter, I craned my neck to get a better view. 

Jeff stood next to her desk for a solid ten seconds without her looking up or acknowledging him in any way. Finally, I saw her slowly tilt her head in his direction, but I couldn't hear what she said. They spoke in hushed voices for a minute before Jeff retreated to his desk looking defeated. It took everything in me not to rush over to Elena to get the details. 

My phone vibrated on my desk and I snatched it up instantly assuming it was her. 

Sooo how much time is enough time to allow you to think before asking you to dinner? 

I rolled my eyes, this was classic Nick. Trying to lighten the situation and charm me back into his bed. 

I don't think that there's a set time frame for this type of thing, but i'm going to bet it's probably not less than 24 hours..  

I pulled up a text to Elena next. 

Early lunch? 

It was only 11, but I couldn't imagine waiting until 1 o'clock to find out what happened. 

Give me an hour, got to finish this copy. 

I sighed impatiently and then threw myself into my work to pass the time. An hour and a half later, Elena casually sauntered over to my desk. "Want to grab lunch?" she asked, as if we hadn't already planned it.

"Um.. yes," I replied gathering my things. We walked in silence over to the elevators together. Much to my dismay two others got in with us. By the time we were finally in the lobby I felt like I was about to burst. 

"What did he say?!" I asked impatiently.

She sighed before replying. "Honestly, nothing, at all." 

"What did he use sign language or something? I saw you two talk."

"Ha, no smart mouth. I mean he just mumbled and tried to apologize again. And said that he hopes this doesn't 'affect our friendship', or some cliche bullshit." 

"What did you say back?" I asked. 

"Nothing, I just told him to leave me alone," she said softly. 

"He is the worst. Like, 'here I murdered your feelings with a crossbow and probably scarred you from weddings for life, but let's be friends'? Bullshit," I said.

Thankfully, she laughed. "I'm over it, I just want to put it out of my head. Or else I'm going to need years of therapy from violently reacting anytime I see a couple getting married." 

I linked my arm through hers, "Well, you just need to make it through this week without killing him. Ash and I are going out Friday for a little girls night situation, and you're coming." 

"That sounds perfect," she answered. "How is Ash? I haven't seen her in awhile."

"Honestly, me neither. She's been spending every waking moment with her man. They don't even leave the house, it's like a second honeymoon period or something," I answered. It was true, I hadn't seen her in forever. It was like she was trying to compensate for the cheating fiasco by staying in with him every. single. night. 

"Well then we will go wild on Friday," Elena said, smiling. 

"Amen!" 

Mayhem

I stood frozen for a few seconds, unsure if this was real or if I was still on the train, asleep and dreaming in rom-com. Nick looked uncomfortable, clearly he had assumed I would come rushing into his arms like in the opening scene to Love Actually. Think again I thought smugly. 

I walked over to him slowly, re-positioning the weight of my weekend bag on my arm. I smiled awkwardly as I approached “What is this?” I asked, gesturing to his sign.

He gave me a weak smile, clearly disappointed in my reaction. “I just wanted to greet you.” 

I looked skeptically at him. “You didn’t even do that when we were dating."

“I just needed to see you,” he shrugged. I cast my gaze down to the floor, completely unsure of what to say. Over the past few weeks, Nick had been nothing but confusing. He said he wanted to hangout, but not be back together. Then he would go a whole week without texting me, but show up at the train station? This was starting to become the most annoying game of cat and mouse ever. 

“Can I walk you home?” he looked at me hopefully.

“I guess,” I said. He reached over and gently took the heavy bag from my shoulder, hoisting it onto his own. “Thanks,” I replied. 

We started toward the escalator and I snuck a sideways glance in his direction. His blonde hair was messy and the stubble on his face indicated that he hadn’t shaved since before work on Friday. My heart ached at how sexy he looked, but I was so sure that I needed to break ties with him. The past few weeks of being messed with by both him and Bray now made me realize I wanted something real, with someone who I knew where I stood. I was tired of second guessing everything. 

“Did you have a good weekend at home?” he asked, after a solid five blocks of silence. 

“Yeah, it was really nice,” I replied. “Steve came home too.” 

“How is he?” he asked. 

“Good, the same. He has a new girlfriend,” I offered. 

Nick’s eyebrows shot up, Steve was not one for girlfriends. “That’s exciting, do you like her?” 

“Haven’t met her, but I think they’re going to come visit in a few weeks,” I replied.

“That should be fun,” he said.

We finally arrived at my apartment and I turned my back to the door, facing him. Yet again, he insisted on seeing me but said absolutely nothing. I was pissed off and that was bubbling up inside, threatening to spew out.

“Okayy.. well thanks for walking me home,” I mumbled, reaching for my bag which was still balancing on his shoulder. His hand stopped me. 

“Can I come up?” 

I sighed, frustrated. “Why! Seriously, why? You’ve been randomly appearing for weeks now and every single time you do, we share polite small talk before you balk at any hint of a real conversation concerning us.” 

“I know, and that is why I wanted to see you. Danielle…” his voice trailed off as he stared past my shoulder. “I want you back.” 

My mouth fell open, shocked. “You..want me back? Why?” 

He let out a snort, “What do you mean, Why? I miss you, I hated seeing you with another guy and..” 

“Oh this is about Bray?” I interrupted. “You always want what you can’t have Nick,” I turned my back to him and started to unlock the door. 

“That is not true,” he retorted. “I’ve been feeling this way for weeks now, why do you think I showed up at Penn Station holding a sign like an idiot today!” 

I swung around to face him, “Do you expect that being awkward as hell for weeks, traipsing around Penn State in front of our friends with a random girl and occasionally sending me drunk texts, to be a successful way of getting me back?”

He shrugged, “You know I’m bad at showing emotion.” 

“Ha! Okay, whatever,” I turned on my heel and stalked inside. I heard him follow behind me. On top of the first flight of steps I stopped to face him. 

“Okay fine, maybe I’ve been a dick lately,” he started. I gave him a look of complete agreeance. “But I’m willing to try, I want to try."

I regarded him for a minute, standing in front of me. He looked so serious and so hopeful.

"I need to think about it," as soon as the words left my mouth, I saw him visibly relax. As if he had been holding his breath this whole time. Shaking my head I added, "But don't get your hopes up."

He reached over and squeezed my hand. "I guess that's all I can ask for," he said. He turned and headed back down the steps.

I trudged the rest of the way up the steps lugging my heavy bag, vowing to never pack four pairs of shoes for two days ever again. When I was finally in my apartment, I flopped onto the couch and whipped out my phone to call Ash to discuss what the hell had just happened. But before I could, I noticed a text from Elena that must have come while I was on the train.

Are you home? Worst. Night. Ever.

"Shit," I said aloud.

Oh no. Yeah, just got home. Come over.

I sat up to put away a few of the dishes that I had left drying in the rack on Friday and throw my bag on top of my bed. Within ten minutes I heard the buzzer sound. Letting her in, I went to unlock the door.

"Hey, that was fast," I said as I saw Elena rounding the last flight of stairs.

"I was nearby shopping," she said, tossing a TJ Maxx bag on the floor.

"Oooh, what'd ya get Maxxinista!" I said, reaching for the bag. When she didn't react at all, I realized how upset she was.

"So the wedding was a bust?" I asked.

"Bust would be a nice way of putting it," she said, collapsing on my couch.

"Do I need to hire large men to scare Jeff as he sleeps tonight?" I offered, jokingly.

She cracked a small smile, "Yes please."

"Okay, really, what happened?"

She sunk into the couch, picking at the hem of her shirt. "Well it was going really well, all through the ceremony and cocktail hour. He kept introducing me as his friend which bugged me, but I'm not his girlfriend so I guess I couldn't care. But then we're like, an hour into the reception and he's totally ignoring me. I mean fully engrossed in conversation with this girl to his right."

"Who was she?" I asked.

"I don't know, I think a college friend of the bride's. Her and Jeff knew each other somehow. But I started drinking more and talking to a few other girls at the table. We all got up to dance, and he said he didn't want to. So I just left him at the table."

"Yikes," I said.

"No, that's not even the worst part," she said. She put her face in her hands and started crying.

"Oh my gosh, Elena, tell me!" I said, moving closer and giving her a hug.

She extracted her face and wiped away the few tears that had rolled down her cheeks. "I was only dancing for twenty or so minutes, and I went to the bathroom. They were single-room bathrooms, so I walk in and he is fucking her."

My hand flew to my mouth. "No."

"Yes," she spat. "Her dress up, bent over the sink, fucking this random girl. He didn't even lock the fucking door, it's like he wanted to get caught."

I couldn't believe this. I had no clue what to say to Elena, it must have been the most awful thing to have witnessed.

"What did you do?" I asked.

"I said something awful to him, I honestly can't even remember what. Then I left. I just walked out and took a cab home. Thank god it was in the city and not in New Jersey or something or I have no idea where I would have gone."

"Jesus. I can't see Jeff doing that," I said. "Has he called you?"

"Yeah, about nine times, I haven't answered him. Work is going to be fucking awful tomorrow. He keeps texting me, saying that he and that girl have a past or some shit and that he was really drunk."

"Was he? Really drunk?" I asked. "Not that that is an excuse, but still."

"I don't know, I wasn't counting."

"I'm so sorry Elena." I shook my head, "I really, really can't believe he would do that."

"Just help me get through tomorrow at work," she said letting out a little laugh.

"I mean, once I kick him in the balls he'll at least be immobilized for a while," I joked.

I spent the rest of the night with Elena, feeding her greasy food and watching a marathon of Sex and the City. The Jeff thing had completely thrown Nick to the back of my mind. I had always considered Jeff a good friend and it was crazy to imagine him doing something so cruel. Tomorrow at work was going to get interesting..

Homeward Bound

I took the 6:00 p.m. train on Friday down to Philly. It's borderline insane how much a one-way Amtrak to Philadelphia is (think the cost of a full outfit at Forever 21, including shoes and accessories). When I got to the train station, I saw my Mom's car idling in the lot and jogged towards it. Our family dog, a Cocker Spaniel named Clarence, was in the front seat. His whole body wiggled with joy at the sight of me.

"Hi boy!" I exclaimed, lifting him up in order to sit down in the passenger seat. 

"Someone is happy to see you," my mom said, leaning over and giving me a kiss on the cheek. 

"I'm happy to see him too," I said as we started to pull out of the parking lot. 

"It has been forever, Dani," she replied. "I made your favorite for dinner!" 

I smiled at her predictability, "Lasagna?" 

"Yep!" 

We spent the ride catching up and discussing my Dad's recent biking trip. Apparently my brother had arrived home earlier than me and was already out at one of the local bars with friends. 

When we walked into the house, I took a deep inhale of the familiar scent. My Dad built it in 1985 and it was still to this day my favorite place on earth. It was a ranch-style house on an acre of land, with a log cabin facade. It was the most homey, warm, comfortable place I had ever known. When I was growing up, our house was always the place that everyone gathered. 

After a delicious carb-heavy dinner and catching up with my Dad, I dusted off my old Hyundai Elantra that lives in their spare garage to go meet my brother at PJ Whelihans. The feel of the familiar car, the house and heading to the local bar transported me five years back to high school and I relished in the feeling.

When I walked into PJs, I spotted my brother, Steve, immediately. He was at the bar with his roommate and two high school friends.

"Hey bro!" I said, enveloping him in a hug. He only had about four inches on me, but other than our lack of height and brunette locks we didn't have many physical similarities. His eyes were a striking blue to my green, his hair borderline black to my brown, and his strong features were a direct contrast to my soft ones. 

"Dani you made it!" he shouted, hugging me tightly. 

I greeted everyone else before ordering a beer. Pulling out a stool next to Steve, I settled in and took a long sip of the brew. "See anyone interesting?" I asked him.

"Well, that girl who was Class President of your class, Rachel? She's bartending here now, and appears to be pregnant." 

My eyes widened, "No!" I quickly scanned the bar and saw the back of her, but from my angle I couldn't tell if she was knocked up or not. "Wow. So what else?" 

He laughed, "Nothing, I've only been here thirty minutes. So how's the city?" 

"It's good, but nice to get out. I swear every time I come home I'm shocked at the sheer amount of grass and trees," I said, laughing. 

"Well, they don't call it the concrete jungle for nothing," he smiled. "Have you seen Nick at all?" 

I hadn't told Steve about rekindling things with Nick, however brief it was. Before I could come up with a vague way of telling Steve about seeing Nick, two strong arms embraced me from behind. I craned my neck around to see who it was. 

"Will!" I exclaimed, turning around and giving my brother's roommate a proper hug. "Oh my gosh it's been forever how are you?!" Will and Steve lived together in Baltimore, and I rarely got down to see Steve let alone his roommate.

"I'm good, glad to be mooching off of your family this weekend," he said, smiling. "It's always nice to get a break from the same old scene."

"I feel you," I said. "And trust me, the number of mouths my mom has around to feed is in direct correlation with her level of happiness." 

We spent a few more hours catching up and gossiping about people from high school. By the time we all piled into our cars to head home, it was almost 1:00. 

We tiptoed into the dark house, careful not to wake Clarence which would result in a full-on barking fit. I brushed my teeth and washed my face, and padded into my unchanged bedroom. Right as I turned on the lights, Will walked down the hallway towards the bathroom.

"Night," I whispered. "Are you sleeping on the couch?" 

"Yeah," he said. "I'll be up for a little if you wanna hang out." 

I shook my head, exhausted from the long day. I had also always been attracted to Will, and I was in no state of mind to be tempted. "I'm beat, but I'll see you in the morning." 

I closed my door and sunk into the queen bed. I was asleep within minutes.

The next morning, the smell of bacon pulled me out of bed before 9:00. I walked sleepily into the kitchen, with Clarence tangling up in my feet. 

"Morning," I said to my Dad who was standing over the stove.

"Hey there," he replied without turning around. "Your mother just ran out to get coffee." 

"Mmm," I said taking a seat at the kitchen table.

"You kids have a fun time last night?" he asked. 

"Yeah it was nice, it shocks me though how many people I graduated with who still live here," I took a large gulp of orange juice.

"You could be one of them if you want," he said with a smirk, placing a large plate of bacon on the table. I grabbed a piece from the top and started to chew.

"Ha ha," I said between bites. 

The day was filled with family bonding and helping my mom run errands. They were in the process of re-doing the basement, which apparently involves my mother buying loads of things to help decorate, and then changing her mind on the "vision" every two weeks. My dad somehow didn't get frustrated with her when she did this, but appeared to instead find it endearing. When we arrived home late for dinner with a different paint color, he simply smiled and kissed her cheek. I knew I was lucky to have parents still so blatantly in love after all of these years, but sometimes it felt like so much pressure to try and find a relationship that could mirror theirs. 

When we got home, I reached for my phone that had been sitting on my bed all day. My heart quickened at Nick's name on my screen.

What are you doing tonight? 

I looked at the time stamp, over two hours ago. I quickly typed back.

I'm in Philly this weekend. Why?

I stared at the phone waiting for his response. 

Just wanted to grab dinner or something. Will you be home tomorrow?

I debated lying to him, because I had no clue why he wanted to have dinner. This Nick and Danielle saga was getting kind of ridiculous, but I just couldn't bring myself to walk away.

Yeah. Train gets in at 5. 

I waited a few minutes and when his reply didn't come, I tossed the phone back on the bed and went to join my family for dinner. 


The rest of the weekend passed quickly and before I knew it I was waving goodbye to my mom and navigating 30th Street Station towards my track. I grabbed an Auntie Anne's pretzel for the trip back, and snagged an empty seat on the train. Tilting my head back, I watched out the window as Philly faded away. 

When the train pulled in a little after five, I grabbed my bag and trudged up the steps into Penn Station. I was debating whether or not to get a cab or just walk home, when a guy waving caught my eye. Looking up I saw Nick, standing in the middle of a group of people, holding a white piece of paper with "D" written in black marker. 

Cyber Stalk

Hey, funny running into you last night. What are you up to this week? 

I was tempted to take Elena’s advice on ignoring Bray when he texted me Tuesday night. I guess we were sweeping the most awkward situation known to man under the rug by saying “funny running into you”. Not going to lie, his nonchalance wasn’t sitting well with me. But I was in that dangerous territory between casual hookup and potential girlfriend, so I needed to tread carefully. I sat on it for 12 hours to allow him at least a little bit of time to sweat - assuming that he was even sweating over me. Which by the looks of his other woman, I doubt he even needs a little bit of deodorant. 

As I sat in a cab on the way to work Wednesday morning (don’t judge me - it was pouring!) I finally got up the courage to reply.

Funny.. is that what the kids are calling “severely awkward” these days? Lol. Pretty busy this week, though.

Now I’m no expert when it comes to sending the perfectly-worded text but I figured I had done an okay job. I didn’t let him totally get away with his casual attitude at me witnessing him humping another woman on 8th ave, but I didn’t pull a Fatal Attraction. His reply came a minute later.

Bummer. This weekend?

Luckily I didn’t have to come up with a lie about my weekend plans. I had promised my Mom I would come to Philly, and I had already purchased my train for Friday night. 

Actually I’m out of town this weekend, won’t be back until Sunday night. 

I watched the phone screen as those irritating bubbles that indicated he was typing appeared, and then went away, and then appeared. I took silent satisfaction in the fact that he was struggling with a response. I can’t be the only weirdo who watches the bubble-struggle when waiting for replies, can I? 

Really making me jump through hoops here, D ;) 

Now, as I stated before, I am no expert on the perfectly-worded text. But typically I find that one winky face is always one winky face too many. I tucked my phone away as the cab lurched to a halt in front of my building, narrowly missing a trio of men in suits who had just stepped off the curb. I paid the driver and began the precarious ten-foot journey from the safety of the warm cab to the lobby. 

The work day was slow since most of the senior staff left on Tuesday for a conference in Boston. I spent most of the morning perusing Twitter and creepily watching any interactions between Elena and Jeff. I think I am more invested in their quasi-relationship than they are.

By the time lunch rolled around, I had already fielded half a dozen "stop it you creep" glares from Elena.

"I feel like I'm on my first one-on-one Bachelor date with you watching every conversation between Jeff and me," Elena accused as we walked to our favorite deli for lunch. The rain had decided to relent for a little bit, and the sidewalk smelled like wet trash and worms. Sometimes New York, you're so glamorous it hurts.

"If it makes you feel any better, I totally think you're going to get the rose," I joked back.

"Oh I know, we have such a connection, none of the other girls could possibly feel what I feel," she quipped. "Pause, I totally forgot to tell you!"

"What?" I asked.

"Chelsea Gregory!" she nearly shouted.

"Am I supposed to know who that is? Are we still on The Bachelor bit?"

"No," she laughed. "Remember when you and Bray became Facebook friends, and we saw that rando writing mildly dirty things all over his wall?"

"Oh my gosh you're right, that was totally the girl from the street!" I said, yanking out my phone and furiously typing his name into my Facebook app.

It only took a few scrolls before I found her name, posting more flirtatious comments. Luckily she had never heard of privacy settings, because clicking on her page turned up a whole slew of photos.

"Definitely her," I nodded, handing the phone to Elena.

"Okay, who uses a bikini photo as their profile picture?" she said, furiously clicking through.

"Someone who has a body like that," I frowned.

"I know you're just fishing for compliments, so I will not justify that with a response," Elena said back.

I laughed, "I was not! She looks like Nina Agdal!"

Elena handed my phone back, gesturing for me to look at the screen. The photo showed her sitting on Bray's lap in a ballroom, wearing what was clearly a bridesmaid dress.

"They went to a wedding together?" I said, shocked. I searched for the date on the photo and was hurt when I read April 19. Two weeks ago. "What the hell. A wedding? That's serious."

"Okay, I am case in point that it is not serious," Elena said sternly.

"You and Jeff may have just started hooking up, but you were friends for months first. So you're situation is not applicable."

"I won't even argue that because I know I will lose," she said. 

"What do I do now?" I asked. We had arrived at the deli, and Elena paused to order our usual - two tuna sandwiches - before responding.

"Honestly, I would just ask him. It's not unimaginable that you came across her Facebook, and if you two get any more serious he should be sharing when he is someone's wedding date."

I sighed. "I already gave him the cold shoulder this morning, I'll just ask him the next time I see him. But who knows when that will be."

We took a seat, placing the number they had given us into the wire holder.

"Anyway, onto more uplifting topics. I wish I could be there to help you get ready for the wedding on Saturday!" I enthused.

"I'm so nervous," she admitted. "I have to meet his whole family, and we've only slept together a few times. It seems so fast."

I smiled at her anxiousness. "You'll do great, you make an awesome first impression."

"Thanks," she said. "But you'll have fun in Philly. Are you going to see anyone besides your family?"

"Yeah," I said taking a bite of the sandwich that was just placed in front of me. "A few high school friends, and my brother is bringing his roommate." My brother moved to Baltimore right out of college, and hadn't looked back since. He was two years older, and a total computer-geek genius.

"It'll be nice to relax," Elena offered between bites.

"Definitely," I agreed. I hadn't realized it until my mom called, but I was in desperate need of the kind of R&R only your parent's home can provide.

**Keep an eye out for a bonus post (on Sunday this time!) Have an amazing weekend. xoxo**