My Favorite Stranger

2

Jeanie shook her head in defeat. "I care about you, okay? I do."

"I know," Mya responded. In reality, she felt that no one cared about her anymore. She barely cared about herself so she didn't blame them. She can only imagine how sick her friends are of hearing the same thing over and over.

"Have you tried ... getting back out there again?" Jeanie asked very carefully.

Mya shook her head. She didn't find the question offensive. It wasn't the first time she was asked this. There were reasons as to why she didn't throw herself out into the dating world. One of them being she concluded she was too damaged to have a normal conversation with someone.

She realized her life was far from interesting. She spent too much time at work and too much time working. She rarely had time for herself unless it was to drink and pass out afterward. No one would find her interesting and she had nothing interesting to talk about.

She had an extraneous amount of emotional baggage due to the breakup. She was traumatized and unaware of how to navigate the dating world anymore. She was afraid that someone else would say the same things to her Tristan said before he left. And she was sure she wouldn't be able to handle that again.

So Mya became complacent and accepted the fact that maybe being alone was the best option. She didn't have to answer to anyone and she was free to do whatever she wanted whenever she pleased — not that answering to someone and being considerate and respectful was ever a problem — and all she had to worry about was herself and that was more than enough.

"No," Mya finally answered. "I haven't. I don't think I will."

"Not forever I hope. You deserve some love too," Jeanie said. "No one night stands either?"

Mya rolled her eyes. Jeanie intercepted the silent response. "Hey, there's nothing wrong with it. Just saying."

"You know I'm picky," Mya mentioned, taking a larger sip of her coffee. It was a true statement. Mya was picky with her men and she had every right to be. Finding a man she thought was attractive both inside and out was felt like a conquest.

"Maybe try being less picky," Jeanie suggested, nothing the other would never. "It's just sex."

"Well I'm not currently picky because I'm not looking," Mya countered. "Anyway, how are you?"

Jeanie smiled, playing with her coffee cup. Mya knew that silly little look anywhere. "I've been dating this guy for a few weeks and he's honestly so sweet. His name is Jericho."

"That's great," Mya said with a timid smile. "Hopefully he doesn't turn out to be a psychopath like the last."

Jeanie rolled her eyes. "Gosh, tell me about it. My fingers are crossed. They always start off sweet and charming."

"And your job?" Mya quickly asked, not wanting to talk about love and men anymore.

"Oh, it's good. Still working on the promotion, but I know I'm getting there."

Mya frowned, her friend has been working hard for a promotion at her warehouse job and Mya knew if you didn't get something within a certain time frame, you probably wouldn't get it at all. "You can always work for me, Jean. Better pay and better benefits. You know that."