Untitled #2
"Oh, nice to meet you, Osprey. I'm…" I pause and freeze as he gives me a very thorough once-over. "Sorry. I literally just blanked on my name," I say, staring into his dark eyes. I feel absolutely ridiculous.
"That's okay. Names are hard things to remember, even when they're your own."
"You're really nice. I would say I had a blonde moment, but I'm not even blonde. I'm Skye with an e."
"Nice to meet you, Skye with an e. So, yeah, about that stylist?"
"Yeah. I can get his information for you if you want."
"Actually, I was hoping that—"
"Hey, Skye, I found a table." Marie tugs on my arm. "Come, let's sit."
"You guys go," I say. "I am just waiting on the last rum and Coke, and I have to give this guy my credit card."
"I got it," Elisabetta says, pushing her way next to me and holding out her credit card.
"No," I say. "I am—"
"No, Skye," she insists, glaring at me. "I'll just use Daddy's card. This is nothing. And if you just lost your job, which you have to tell us all about, by the way, I don't think you should be springing for drinks for everyone."
"Oh, Elisabetta, you really don't have to do that. It makes me feel bad."
"Don't feel bad," she says. "Just help me find a hottie tonight."
"I will. At least I'll try."
I look at Osprey and find him staring at his phone. I hope he's not upset by the fact that my friends completely interrupted him.
"So, I think I'm going to go and sit with my friends," I say to him. "But maybe if you want to join us, you can."
"Thanks," he says, nodding. "Appreciate it."
"You're welcome."
I wait to see if he's going to join us or not, but he looks back down at his phone. Maybe I turned him off by having too many friends here. I've always heard that men were intimidated by groups of women together.
The bartender returns with the fourth rum and Coke.
"Let me know if you want a fifth one," he says sarcastically, and I give him my best, “I’m sorry and think you’re being a good sport smile,” even though I don't think he's being the best sport ever. Though, I’m not sure that I’d behave any differently if I were in his shoes.
Elisabetta hands him the card. "You keep the tab open," she says. "Any of my friends are welcome to order drinks on it."
"Okay," he says, nodding.
"Come on, let's go sit." Elisabetta turns to me, a happy smile on her face. "I'm so glad that we're getting to go out."
"Yeah. I am glad we're getting to hang out, but I'm not glad that I'm not getting tipped out tonight."
"What happened?"
"What didn't happen?" I say, rolling my eyes as we make our way to the booth.
I slide in next to Marie, and Elisabetta sits next to me. Lila is on the other side with Juniper beside her.
“Marie, this is Elisabetta, my best friend. Elisabetta, this is Marie, Lila, and Juniper.” I beam at them all. “I’m so happy we are all here.”
"So, what happened?"
They all lean forward, gawking at me.
"Let's just say that my boss is a jackass."
"Fabricio?" Elisabetta asks.
"Well, him as well, but I'm talking about Kingston Chase."
"Oh, shit, what happened?" Lila asks.
"I hate him. He is literally a jackass. You will not believe what he said to me."
"What did he say?" Marie says, sipping on her water bottle.
"He called me and said that he just wanted to let me know that I shouldn't get any ideas about he and I getting together."
"What?" Lila gasps in surprise. "Where did that come from?"
"I suppose you and Max. Supposedly, Kingston thinks that all the other assistants at the firm now have designs on their bosses because you and Max got together."
Lila rolls her eyes. "Oh my gosh. He is horrible."
"He really is," Juniper says, nodding. "He and Remington are total fuck boys."
"So is Gabe," Marie says.
We all turn to her.
"Oh?" I ask. "I've never met him."
"I'm sure you'll meet him soon. Max said that he's back in town. They're actually all meeting tonight," Marie says, rolling her eyes.
"I used to think Gabe was really attractive, but he's just a jackass."
"Why is he a jackass?"
"He's just really full of himself. But I suppose all of them at that firm are."
I look over at Lila, who looks at me with wide eyes. It sounds like there’s history there, but I don't want to be nosy.
"Remington's a jackass too," Juniper says. "They're all fuck boys. They basically have women throwing themselves at them so they never have to settle down." She looks over at Lila. "To be quite honest, all of us are shocked that you and Max got together."
Lila blushes. "I'm pretty shocked myself. I didn't think that he and I would fall for each other like that."
"And so quickly as well," I say, shaking my head. "That must be like a Guinness Book of World Records for the fastest falling in love."
"Not really," Lila says, blushing. "I think it was just a love at first sight thing. It happens."
"I can tell you that I have never fallen in love at first sight," I say. "I mean, I’ve never thought that I have since college anyway. I realize now that I was never in love.”
"Really?" Elisabetta asks.
"Yeah. Why?"
"What about that dude that you met at the animal shelter?"
"What are you talking about?" I ask her.
"What was his name? Andrew?"
"Oh, the guy from Iowa?"
"Yeah. Remember how you went to the animal shelter and you came home, and you were like, ‘I met the man I'm going to marry’?"
"That's because I was young and dumb."
"Girl, that was last year."
"That's because I was young, dumb, and drunk," I say. "I had a hangover from partying with you the night before."
"Okay, that part may have been true." She turns to the other girls. "It was hilarious. She came home and said she met the man she's going to marry, and then they actually went on a date."
"Ooh, what happened?" Juniper asks.
"You don't want to know," I say, frowning at the memory.
"You have to tell us."
"Let's just say we went on a date to the grocery store." I shudder in remembrance.
"A date at the grocery store?"
Everyone looks at me in confusion. Except for Elisabetta, who already knows the story.
"Yeah. He was like, 'Oh, isn't this fun?' And I was like, 'Not really, but it's different.' And he was like, 'Well, you want to have a nice lunch, right?' So my dumb ass thought we were shopping for ingredients from him to cook me lunch."
"Oh my gosh, that sounds so romantic," Marie says.
"That's not what happened," I say, interrupting her.
"So, anyway, we buy all this stuff. It was like three hundred and fifty dollars’ worth of stuff.
And he's like, 'Okay, we just have one more stop.
' And I was thinking to myself, wow, he's really going all out for this date.
Plus, he's spending a lot of money, which kind of made me feel bad because he didn't really dress like he had much money.
But I was like, maybe he's trying to impress me.
So, then we go to this delicatessen. Mind you, we're carrying all these grocery bags down the street, and I was super tired. "
Elisabetta starts laughing.
"It's not funny, Elisabetta."
"It really isn't," she says. "I just can't believe it."
"Oh my gosh. Tell us," Lila says. "So what happened next?"
"So, then we go to this delicatessen and he buys this Spanish chorizo and Manchego cheese, and then we get this French bread from this bakery and a couple of bottles of red wine.
And then he's like, 'Oh shit, I forgot the caviar.
' And I was like, 'Oh my gosh, you really don't have to get the caviar.
' And he was like, 'No, I really do have to get the caviar.
' And I was like, 'Okay.' I mean, I do like caviar.
And then he gave me this weird look, which, at the time, I thought he was giving me the look because he thought I had never had caviar before.
So, I literally spend the next ten minutes telling him about all the different times that I had caviar. "
At this point, Elisabetta is laughing so loudly that I feel like she's going to pass out.
"It's not funny," I say, shaking my head.
"Oh my God, it was totally not funny, but I can't stop laughing."
"I mean, it's sounding great so far," Juniper says. "What happened? Did he ask you to pay or something?"
"No." I shake my head. "Anyway, he finally stops me and says that he actually doesn't agree with the consumption of caviar, which I thought was really weird because I'm like, 'Why are you buying caviar for our date if you don't agree with it?
' But I’m thinking, maybe he's doing it because even though he doesn't like it, he still wants to impress me. "
I glare at Elisabetta as she starts hiccuping.