You wake up to bright sunlight streaming through the gaps in your bedroom curtains. You give yourself a luxurious full body stretch and slowly open your eyes to stare at the ceiling. You let out a long sigh and say, "My summer went by entirely too fast." With only a couple of weeks left to your summer, before having to return to work in September, you feel a hint of regret. Even though you've never been the one to plan grand vacations during your time off, you were hoping from some new adventure this summer.
It didn't have to be an adventure that took you far away from home. It could have been anything, really. You would have taken any new experience. But to your discontent, no such thing took place for you this summer. You taught three consecutive SAT courses and taught English to business men in China for eight weeks. And as you started out the summer, you will end it with two weeks off to do as you wish.
Every summer since you started teaching, the two weeks before returning to school were spent preparing for the upcoming academic year. But this year, you've promised yourself you'd relegate only the last three days of the summer to prepping for school, and not a day more. This summer, you plan to spend the last two weeks, minus the three prep days, frivolously.
Keeping with the spirit of spending your time without care, this morning, you find yourself still lying in bed. You give your body a luxurious stretch and review the summer you've had thus far. For you, not much has happened in the past two months.
You never did hear from Flynn again after that night at the Hibernian Hall. But even after all this time, you thought about him and that night, every so often. Whenever a thought or a memory of Flynn came up to the surface of your mind, you'd think, "As often as I think about this man, who, for all intents and purposes, is a stranger, after knowing him only for a couple of hours, what would have happened to me, if I had given into my baser self's urgings and actually slept with him? I would have been heart broken. Good Lord... I really should not be allowed near men."
Even though your life has been quite uneventful and perhaps even boring, that has not been the case for all of your friends. Amanda and Charlie started dating immediately after their first meeting. Charlie had jumped into the relationship with both feet. When you saw the two together, it was Charlie that was the more affectionate and demonstrative one in the relationship. To your surprise, Amanda, who is normally reserved in her dealings with men and have always been cautious, when it came to matters of the heart, had welcomed his enthusiasm with open arms.
It didn't matter how reserved Amanda acted. You knew that she was crazy about him. One night, while out at dinner with the girls, Amanda confessed to you, "I think Charlie may be the one. I'm so afraid of saying it out loud. I barely allow myself to think about it, lest I jinx it, but I am falling for him pretty hard."
After three weeks of seeing each other almost constantly, Amanda finally gave in and slept with Charlie. The way she described their first-time having sex, the entire thing sounded like something close to a religious experience. Amanda said, "He worshipped my body. It was like he was a starving man, and I was a feast spread out just for him. The very first night, he went at me all night. He'd cum and we'd be cuddling, talking about whatever, and something would trigger him. He'd get so hard that his erection felt like an iron rod wrapped in a thin layer of skin. Charlie was so tender and generous. He made me climax so many times that I had to literally push him away from me."
The last time you saw the two interact, they were toothachingly sweet to each other. So much so that you couldn't help but smile at them. You couldn't be happier for them. But often, that happiness was slightly soured by the overheard exchange between Charlie and his best friend, Tae, all those weeks ago. You have no clue whether Tae has continued to advise Charlie of what he thinks should happen between him and Amanda, but from the looks of the happy couple, Charlie has been ignoring Tae's advice.
The other couple that were born that fateful night in June is Judy and George. You've come to call the two, the Jetsons. The Jetsons was a Saturday morning cartoon, featuring a family from the future, and the parents of the family were called George and Judy Jetson. But unlike their G rated children's cartoon namesakes, your Judy and George have been shagging like two rabbits with an incurable case of sex addiction. Every time you'd talk to or see Judy, you were regaled with another story of their sexcapades.
As far as you can tell, the two made a habit of doing it, wherever and whenever the mood would strike. Their local grocery store, at a movie theater, in a boat, cars, planes, and under water. It was as if they were trying to christen every place they've ever set foot in. After listening to another one of Judy's incredibly graphic retelling of their most recent sexual encounter, you said to her, "Jesus Christ on a wooden bike... How are you keeping this up? Just listening to it exhausts me."
She gave you a devilish grin and replied, "If you had a boyfriend with a giant penis who loves to fuck you more than life itself, you'd fine the energy."
What can you say to that? Nothing. That's what.
George often accompanied Judy to many of the get-togethers that you and your friends had, and because he was always around, you couldn't help but get to know George better. And to your delight, the man seemed to be genuinely kind, generous, funny, protective, and best of all, absolutely crazy about your best friend. You were truly glad to see your dear friend so happy. However, you'd be lying if you said you didn't feel a tinge of bittersweetness, whenever you saw the two interact with each other so lovingly. In your mind, it amplified the fact that you were alone.
Judy encouraged you to date, frequently making suggestions or offering up one of her unattached brothers. More than once, George had offer to set you up with one of his friends or someone from his security team, but thus far, you haven't taken him up on his offers.
The members of his security team that George referred to are the ones that he employed in his security company. You've never had the chance to meet any of them, but you've imagined them in a certain way. In your mind, these were men that worked as private military contractors or mercenaries. Essentially, soldiers of fortune. The back story that you've given to these men are of one that paints them as ex-special forces operatives that left the military for one reason or another, and now, couldn't matriculate back into non-military society. Because, you know... you can take the man out of the military, but can't take the military out of the man, and all that. You picture them as the lone wolf type of men, the ones that are quiet and unassuming on the outside, who hates bringing attention to themselves, but know how to kill a person, eighteen different ways with a ballpoint pen.
When you told Judy about what you pictured in your mind, she laughed and said, "You're not entirely wrong. All of them are ex-military or law enforcement, but they're all well-adjusted men who contribute to society in positive ways. Jesus Christ, they are not Rambo. They're regular people. Most of them are either retired or discharged from the military, or police forces. A lot of them appreciated the structured life that came with being a soldier or a police officer but didn't like the lack of freedom or limited earning potential and decided to work in the private sector instead. I've met most of them and they are the nicest people. Loyal, dedicated, protective, and some of the biggest teddy bears I've ever met."
Sure, who wouldn't like the idea of some tall, dark, and dangerous man, who cared nothing about the world, except for you. Who was completely devoted and dedicated to you, and you, only. Someone that would burn down the entire world if it meant that they could be with you. But you've also known some of those military/law enforcement guys that were in it for the wrong reasons; in it for the power it brought with it and used that power without care or discretion.
Besides, the last thing you needed was a six and a half feet tall, muscle-bound man, who happened to be a highly trained weapons specialist, that tended to hedge towards the possessive end of the spectrum in a relationship, seeing you as someone that he needed to "protect," and making your life complicated. So, you politely decline George's offer of fixing you up with one of his "boys" and remained single.
Lillian, to everyone's surprise, started seeing her old student, J.T., that she ran into at dinner the same night you met Flynn. It turned out that the age difference between the two wasn't as astronomical as Lillian had initially thought. J.T. and Lillian are only three and a half years apart. Apparently, J.T. was quite relentless in his pursuit of your dear sweet friend. She said, "I agreed to go to dinner with him just so that he'd stop texting and calling me."
The two had met when Lillian started teaching at Roosevelt High School. She was a brand-new teacher, right out of college at the young age of twenty-one, about to turn twenty-two when J.T. had walked into her music appreciation class. He was a senior, needing to fulfill his music and arts elective requirement for graduation. At the time, J.T. was already two months past his eighteenth birthday.
J.T. and Lillian have been seeing each other for about six weeks or so, and from what you can tell, Lillian seems to like him very much. When the two made things official and started to see each other, the hardest thing that Lillian had to get used to was to keep herself from unknowingly stepping into the teacher-mode when she was with him. She had told you recently, "It's not because he gets uncomfortable when I do. He has no idea. The entire experience is completely internal, and it makes me feel like a super creep. I'm not sure if I told you this, but he kissed me after our second date, and I felt like a devious pervert. As if I was taking advantage of an innocent student. J.T. clearly didn't see it that way, but I don't know. It was definitely weird for me there, for a while."
You asked, "Was the kiss good, at least?"
"I was completely caught off guard by it, but the way he held me.... It made me feel... I don't know, taken care of? He held me and it felt all consuming. The boy – no – the man," she corrected herself. "Towered over me and as soon as our lips met, I could feel his body relaxing, like he was finally able to let go of the tension that he was holding onto, all his life. It sure made my toes curl."
You couldn't be any happier for J.T. and your dear friend. Lillian deserves to have her toes curled on the regular, and from what you can tell, J.T. adores the ground she walks on. You have a really good feeling about these two.
After Judy had texted Skylar's phone number to his brothers, Ted, the youngest of her older brothers, had reached out to her for a date, a couple of days later. Since then, Skylar and Ted have been seeing each other exclusively. They've only been on one "official date" but have been spending a lot of time in each other's company. They have dinner together two to three times a week and have spent every weekend, from Friday night to Monday morning, since they started seeing each other.
Because Judy and Skylar have been friends since middle school, Skylar has known Ted for over a decade. So, the day-to-day interaction felt natural and easy. Skylar said, "I've known Ted since I was a pre-teen. Whenever I would go over to Judy's house, he'd be around. He was barely a year older than us, and we'd all hang out together. Goof off and play video games. So, hanging out with him doesn't feel awkward to me. It just feels like I'm over at their house, hanging out.
"What was truly awkward to me was the first time we had sex. Now, that was what the kids would call 'awkward AF.' Don't get me wrong, the entire experience was so amazing. But it was also weird in equal measure. It felt like someone else had their finger up my nose, or something... You get what I'm trying to say. Right?"
The few times that you had the opportunity to observe Skylar and Ted together, you could feel the ease and comfort between the two. It was clear that they'd known each other for years, but that they were trying to get used to being something brand new to each other. The best thing about the two is that Ted is a giant flirt and Skylar is easily embarrassed. So, Ted has made his life's mission to make his girl blush as often and as hard as possible, at the most inopportune times. Once, while everyone was out to dinner with their beau, you saw Ted whispering something to Skylar and her turning a color of cooked beets. Catching the blush, you asked, "Hey there, Sky... whatcha two talkin' bout over there?"
Ted replied, "I was just telling her that when we get home after this, I would lick...."
Ted was promptly cut off by Skylar's tiny hand covering his mouth. She was the one to finished that sentence instead. She said, "An ice cream cone. That he and I would have ice cream for dessert after dinner, when we got home. Just ice cream. That's it. Nothing else."
Chuckling, Ted wrapped her in his arms, pulled her into him, and proceeded to lick her jawline and her ear. Then he whispered something else in her ear that made the girl shiver in pleasure. You can see a real future for these two. Especially because Skylar's parents already knew Ted very well, and they are quite supportive of the fact that they are seeing each other. You had asked about her parents' reaction, to her and Ted getting together, and she said, "In my parents' eyes, I'm finally doing something right in my life. I think my parents like Ted more than they like me. I've got to say that that's a huge relief for me."
Since Skylar and Ted have been together, Judy has been referring to Skylar as her sister-in-law. When you told her that she may be jumping the gun, just a little, she said, "Oh no. This is happening. If I can get everyone of you bitches to be my sisters-in-law, that would be ideal. But it seems as though the rest of you have your own plans. Definitely vexing, if you ask me."
The five of you have another night out and a sleepover planned for this evening and a part of you is dreading it. Not the part where you'll be spending time with your besties, but of the inevitable conversation about the men that they are dating, and in turn, shining a limelight on the fact that you're not. Your friends are not the type of people that would send pitying looks your way. Besides, they've only been seeing their respective men for a few weeks at most and it's not as if they are all married off, leaving you as the lone spinster. What you will notice is that you won't have much to contribute to that topic of conversation. You think, "I'll ask questions and listen. Be supportive and interested in their stories. I'm not lonely. I'm not. I'm not!"
After spending another hour and a half, scrolling through your various social media, you decide that it's time for you to get up and get the day started. Tonight, you're the one that's hosting the sleepover and you need to get your place ready. Because your bed isn't king-sized, you can't accommodate all of your friends in one bed. So, you plan to go and buy yourself a couple of air mattresses that you can fenagle into your bedroom for everyone to sleep in.
You also know that you and your friends will stay up into the wee hours of the night, talking, which means you'll need to stock up on beverages, some alcoholic and some not. Okay, mostly alcoholic, as well as snacks of all kinds. You plan to make a trip to your local big-box stores to get all the things you'll need to host a ladies' sleepover night.
Making a mental list of things you need to purchase; you get in the shower and get ready for the day. By the time you make it to the store, it is a little after 2:00 PM. You pick up two queen sized air mattresses and silently pray that the two will fit inside your bedroom. Your shopping cart is mostly filled with candy, chocolate, and salty snacks, as well as non-alcoholic drinks. After you're done at the store, you head to the liquor store to buy the most important supply for the night, alcohol.
With all the things on your shopping list purchased, you head back home. You spend the next hour setting up the air mattresses and outfitting them with bed linens. The plan is for everyone to meet at your place at 6:00 to go out for dinner and return here to spend the rest of the night in ugly baggy clothes and no makeup, with the sole purpose of getting drunk, pigging out, and talking. You set out with all the candy and snacks, in a bowl, but still in their packaging. Next to it, you set out the alcohol that doesn't need to be refrigerated and cups. You even stopped over at a local bakery and got pastries.
Feeling quite satisfied with the preparation for tonight, you survey your home to see if you can do anything else to make the sleepover better. When you can't think of anything else, you look at the clock on the wall. It reads 4:45 PM. You think, "Crap! I need to get ready for dinner."
You run into the bathroom for another quick shower and get ready for the outing. As you are picking out what you're going to wear for dinner, you hear your phone ringing in the bedroom. Walking out of your closet, you find your phone on your bed. When you pick it up, you see a picture of Amanda's beautiful face on the caller ID.
Surprised that she is calling instead of texting, you shrug your shoulders and pick up the phone. "Hey, what's with the phone call? Is this what we're doing now instead of texting?" You say as soon as the call connects. But to your utter dismay, all you hear is a sound of a woman crying on the other side of the call. Alarmed, you shout, "Amanda, what's wrong? Did something happen? Why are you crying? Oh my God! What's wrong, Sweetie?"
Amanda takes in a shuddering breath and says, "Charlie..." and breaks into another sob.
Still confused, you ask, "What about Charlie? Is he hurt? Was he in an accident? Sweetie, what's going on?"
At this point, you are shouting into the phone. When Amanda is finally able to get her sob under some control, she says, "Charlie broke up with me. He texted me and said he was sorry, but that he didn't think this – he and I – would work out. What the fuck did I do wrong?"
Amanda's words turn your blood into ice water in your veins. Then, your mind conjures up the memory of the conversation between Tae and Charlie that night at the Hibernian, and the icy water in your vein promptly boils over with anger. You say, "Amanda, where are you right now?"
Between sobs, she replies, "I'm home. I got the text like twenty minutes ago. We had a date planned for tomorrow night. Why is this happening? I don't understand what I did wrong."
You say with venom in your tone, "You didn't do anything wrong. I'm sure this isn't about you. It says nothing about you, as a woman, as a person, or as a partner. You stay right where you are. I'm going to come and get you. I'll be there in fifteen minutes. Listen, do you need me to stay on the phone with you while I'm on my way?"
Amanda lets out a deep and shaky sigh and replies, "No, I'll be okay. I just didn't know what else to do."
"Alright. I'm leaving right now. Get your things. We're going to stay in tonight."
In a small and defeated voice, Amanda says, "Okay. I'm sorry."
"Stop right there. You've got nothing to apologize for. I'm coming. You just hold on. I love you."
"I love you too."
You hang up the phone and send out a text to your other friends.
You:
Charlie broke up with Amanda over text.
Apparently, no explanation.
As you can imagine, Amanda is a mess.
I'm going to go and pick her up now and will bring her back to my place.
We are going to have to forego the dinner plans and order in.
Feel free to come whenever you want.
Judy:
Jesus Christ!
Okay, I'm on my way.
Do you need me to bring anything?
You:
Nothing I can think of.
You can let yourself in through the garage.
You still have the code to the garage doors, right?
Judy:
I do.
I'll see you soon.
Lillian:
WTF?!?!
Are you kidding me?
I don't understand.
You:
Neither do I.
Neither does Amanda.
We can figure out what's going on, once we all get together.
Skylar:
That can't be.
That man was crazy about her.
What the hell happened?
Did something happen?
You:
I don't have any more info.
I'm on my way to get her and we'll bring her back to my house.
We'll order dinner in.
I'll see you guys in a few.
Make yourselves at home.
You put your phone in the car's console and focus on getting to Amanda. It takes a little over ten minutes to get to her house. When you pull up into her driveway, you see the saddest thing you've ever seen in a long time. Amanda is sitting on the steps leading to her kitchen door at the back of the house. She has a haphazardly packed duffle bag at her side and her gorgeous face is swollen, red, and blotchy from excessive crying. You can see her shoulders shudder as she takes in a breath. She isn't actively crying anymore, but it's obvious that she had been, only moments ago.
You park your car and jump out of it without turning off the engine. When she notices you jogging towards her, Amanda stands up abruptly and her face falls into a tortured grimace and she starts to sob again. You enfold her small body, that's shaking from her crying, and hold her tight to you. You say, "Shh... shh... shh.... I'm here now. You're okay. Shh.... I know you're upset. I'm so sorry this is happening to you."
Amanda wraps her arms around you and cries into the crook of your neck. Feeling a sense of helplessness, you stand there, gently stroking your friend's hair and rocking her slowly, side to side, trying to soothe her. When the heavy sobbing dies down, she says in between hiccups, "I know my reaction is fucking stupid. I've only known the guy a handful of weeks. But I really liked him. I thought he could have been the one. I'm a fucking idiot. I should have managed my expectations better."
Frustrated at the circumstances, you say, "Stop this. None of this is your fault. This had nothing to do with you and everything to do with him. C'mon. Let's get you in the car. The girls will meet us at my place."
Amanda releases you from her embrace and links her arms with yours. Walking side by side, she rests her head on your shoulder. When you turn to look, you can see silent tears falling down her blotchy skin. Once the two of you are in your car, you say, "Buckle up. The girls should be there by the time we get home. Do you need anything else?"
Resting her head on the passenger side window, she says nothing and just shakes her head, no.
About twenty minutes later, you are back at your place. You see two cars parked in the driveway and another parked on the street, in front of your house. You pull into the garage and kill the engine. When you get out of the car, you open the backseat door to grab Amanda's duffle bag and trot to walk next to Amanda. When she sees you carrying her bag, she says, "Oh, damnit. I forgot. I can carry that," and reaches for her bag.
You grab the hand that reaches out for the strap of the bag and lace your fingers with hers. You say, "I've got it. Don't worry." Finally feeling the weight of the bag, you turn to your friend and say, "What the hell did you pack in here? The first seven volumes of the encyclopedia? Christ, almighty."
Despite herself, Amanda chuckles. You look over at her pretty face and say, "It'll be okay. Everything will be okay. C'mon. Go on in. Everyone is waiting for us."
The minute Amanda opens the door to your kitchen, Lillian, Judy, and Skylar are standing around the kitchen island, with drinks in hand. When they hear the door open, all three look up simultaneously and they all put down their cups and come to embrace Amanda in their arms.
Stepping aside and allowing the other three to embrace and comfort Amanda, you put her bag down in the corner and grab two bottles of beer from the fridge: one for you and one for Amanda. As Skylar, Lillian, and Judy say soothing things to Amanda, you walk over and say, "Here, take this. Have a drink. We'll order dinner in. What would you guys like to order?
Everyone replies simultaneously, "Pizza."
You get on your laptop and place the order for a couple of pies and some appetizers. When the ordering of dinner is done, you say, "Come, let's move this operation over to the living room."
The five of you walk over and pick a spot to sit. You choose the armchair, Skylar chooses the loveseat opposite your seat and Judy, Amanda, and Lillian take up the couch that's facing the TV on the wall. As soon as everyone sits down, Lillian says, "Okay, Amanda. Tell us what happened from the beginning."
Amanda looks down into her beer bottle, as if the answers are lying at the bottom of it, and sighs aloud. Taking a long pull from the said bottle, she leans back on the couch and closes her eyes. She says, "Charlie and I normally talk to each other all day long through text. That started from the night that we met. He always sends me a good morning text and a good night one. But I didn't get a good morning text this morning. I didn't think much of it at the time. He has been doing this religiously daily, but you know how things go, you forget things sometimes. So, I just chalked it up to forgetfulness and didn't think anything of it.
"Then I thought, 'why couldn't I be the one to send him a good morning message for a change,' and sent him one. Something similar to what he normally sends me. I put the phone down at that point to do some stuff around the house. When I didn't hear the phone chirping with Charlie's reply, I thought maybe there was something wrong with my phone. Maybe there was an operating system update that I didn't get to. When I checked, there was nothing like that waiting to be updated. So, I thought, maybe it was the phone itself. I turned everything off and back on. And still nothing. The text message said that it was delivered but hadn't been read yet."
Judy asks, "How long does Charlie usually take to get back to you?"
"Normally, almost immediately. Unless something is going on at work that he can't get away from. And even then, never more than an hour at most. But two hours passed and still nothing. So, of course, I started to imagine the worst. What if he got into a car accident on his way into work, or what if he lost his phone, or was mugged and someone absconded with it. Then I told myself to get it together, that he most likely forgot his phone in his car or at home and I decided to let it go.
"I went about my day, getting things done, and tried my best not to think about the radio silence coming from Charlie. And around 4:00 PM, I got in the shower to get ready to meet you guys. Now, I've been fighting this feeling of impending doom all day long. I told myself, 'Calm down, it's been less than twenty-four hours since the last time you talked to him. You're not going to die. Just chill.'"
You can see Amanda's eyes getting glassy once again. Seeing the same thing, Judy reaches out and grabs a hold of Amanda's hand that's currently balled up in a fist, clutching a used tissue. Amanda turns to Judy and gives her a brave little smile. Taking another long drink of beer, she continues. "So, when I was done showering, I walked into the bedroom, and saw that I had a notification for a text message. At this point, the relief I felt was complete. I practically ran over to the bed to pick up the phone. The text message was definitely from Charlie. But when I first read the message, I couldn't make heads or tails of it."
She lets out a laugh that is devoid of humor and says, "My retarded head just couldn't believe what my eyes were reading. I swear, I read that fucking text message like forty times before I finally got it through my head that he was breaking up with me. Over fucking text.
"Then I thought he was playing some kind of a joke. A motherfucking joke! It ended up being that I was the joke."
Amanda's shoulder slumps and she rests her head on the back of the couch. When she closes her eyes, a tear rolls down the side of her face. Lillian asks, "So, what happened after? Did you text him back? Or try calling him?"
Opening her eyes but not lifting her head from the back of the couch, Amanda replies, "I did both. I texted him and when I didn't get a reply back, I tried calling him. I must have called him twenty times in a span of ten minutes. Like some crazy woman scorned."
A look of disgust skitters across Amanda's face. Then she says, "I hate myself for doing that. I've never chased after a man before and I can't believe I acted like a crazy ex."
Skylar remarks, "Hey... don't do that. None of this says anything about you. None of this is about you. It's about Charlie, that twat!"
Letting out another heavy sigh, Amanda replies, "I'm trying to believe that Sky... I'm trying."
You finally break your silence and ask, "Did you ever get in touch with him?"
With another shuddering deep breath, Amanda replies, "No. After acting like a proverbial jilted woman and calling him repeatedly without avail, I called you. I'm almost positive that he blocked me from everything. I can't understand what had changed from two days ago until now. I didn't do anything different; I didn't say anything different; I just don't get it."
Lillian turns to address Judy and asks, "Do you think George would know anything about this?"
Judy replies, "No, I know they all know each other, but George and Adrian aren't really a part of Charlie's group of friends. Since the Hibernian Hall, neither one of them mentioned Charlie nor any of his friends. I think they are just acquaintances and nothing more." Then, Judy turns to Amanda and says, "But if you want me to ask George about it, I will. I can do it right now."
Amanda says, "No! Please. Don't do anything like that. I can't take any more humiliation than what I've experienced already. If George doesn't know what happened, I don't want him to know. Please, I just need to lick my wounds and move the fuck on. This is what I get for letting myself be so vulnerable with someone I barely knew. I'm going to consider this as a very costly life lesson. One that I will not be making again."
The five of you sit in silence for a few minutes, until your doorbell rings. You get up out of your seat and say, "That's probably dinner," and walk towards your front door.
Skylar gets up and says, "Let me help," and walks up beside you. When you get to your front door, you open it and take the food from the delivery man. You thank him and close the door behind you. You carry the pizza and Skylar carries everything else to the living room. You and Skylar put everything down on the coffee table. Then you say, "Let me go grab some paper plates and napkins. Feel free to dig into whatever you want."
There is a small lull in the conversation as everyone busies themselves with filling their dinner plates. You watch Amanda grabbing cups and utensils, trying to act as if she's fine, but you know that this has hurt her tremendously. Amanda is the most beautiful of the five of you, but also the most reserved. She has always been cool towards men that show her interest, opting to protect herself, from experiences just like this. But this time around, you and your other friends noticed that something was different for Amanda.
Amanda had actually reciprocated Charlie's interest. She'd communicate with him daily, even if it was just over text. She had made and spent time with him, noticeably more than she usually did with other men in her orbit from the past. She seemed to smile more often, and actually talked about Charlie to you and the rest of your friends. That's one of the biggest reasons you knew that Charlie was different for Amanda. She allowed her emotions and feelings for him to show externally. So much so that everyone in the friend group was surprised by it.
Once everyone is done loading up their plates and sits back down with their food, the conversation resumes. Judy asks, "Sweetie, what will you do at this point?"
"What can I do? I was clearly dumped in every sense of the word. I'm going to have to figure out a way to move on. Move past it. I've gotta say though, it's going to fucking suck. I really liked him. I really, really did."
In an attempt to hide her trembling lips, Amanda takes a small bite of the pizza on her plate and chews slowly. You think, "I'm better off the way I am. Look at what my poor Amanda is going through."
Skylar asks, "Do you want to stay with me at my place for a bit? I don't really like the idea of you, bumping around in that townhouse all by yourself."
Amanda gives Skylar a heartbreakingly brave smile and says, "Thank you, Sky. But I'm okay. Well, I'll be okay. If you think about it, my reaction to all of this is kind of ludicrous. I've known him for less than two months. Six weeks at most. I'm pretty embarrassed about how I handled all of this today. I can't let a man that doesn't want me, taking up any more space or time in my head space. I need to think logically. Be practical. I need to move the fuck on. Maybe this was a blessing in disguise. Imagine what it would have been like, if I had pumped in more than six weeks of my life into this relationship and had him do this to me, with no explanation or a face-to-face conversation. I'm going to consider this as a dodged bullet with my name on it. I have to learn this lesson. The lesson that I cannot give away my heart so easily like I did with him."
She sighs and says, "But to my credit, he treated me like I was the most precious and the best thing he had ever seen or been with. I'm upset that I couldn't see past all that to the kind of person he really was. Charlie really had me fooled. I really thought his feelings for me were genuine. I guess I don't know how to read men as well as I thought I did."
This entire evening, you've been debating in your head the merits of telling Amanda about what you had overheard that night, at the Hibernian Hall. You weigh the pros and cons of telling her about it. On the one hand, if you told Amanda, she might come to the conclusion that the breakup had little to nothing to do with her and everything to do with him and his reaction to peer pressure from his cronies. On the other hand, she might interpret the information as a confirmation that she had completely misread the entire situation with Charlie and start to question her gut instincts about men, which has always been accurate.
Also, there is a chance that Amanda might internalize his friends' disapproval of her as evidence that there was something inadequate about her and blame herself for all of this even more. You don't want Amanda thinking that she is somehow defective. The other item on the cons list is the fact that you had kept this information from her all this time. Sure, she'd understand why you didn't say anything. Charlie seemed to be completely head over heels for Amanda and showed no sign of letting on, when it came to his affection, attention, and interest for her. You were convinced that Charlie had decided to ignore his friend's forewarnings and had thought at the time that telling her about it was unnecessary, that it might even affect the relationship negatively.
You tell yourself, "Besides, telling Amanda about the overheard conversation between Charlie and Tae, won't benefit her in her attempts at moving forward from this anyway." So, for the last time, you decide to keep all of that to yourself.
After dinner is over, Amanda announces, "Okay, I can't think or talk about this anymore. Please, let's talk about anything or anyone else." Suddenly, she turns to Judy and asks, "Babe, please. Tell me how you and George are doing."
Judy smiles ruefully and replies, "We are doing alright. So far, I have no complaints. He works a lot, so we try to see each other as often as we can."
Trying to help Judy and Amanda, you ask, "Doesn't George own a mercenary for hire kind of company?"
Judy rolls her eyes playfully and says, "No... he runs a personal security company catering to the private sector. Bodyguards for individuals mostly. Or sometimes, his team gets hired to work at certain venues, when someone wants to have their own security detail, instead of relying on the ones that are being provided. He travels quite a bit."
Lillian asks, "Did he tell you about any famous people that he had worked for in the past?"
Judy answers, "He actually is quite tight lipped about the whole thing. So, I've learned to just not ask about it."
You think you pick up a tinge of concern or apprehension, flash across Judy's eyes. You wonder what that's about but say nothing about it.
Skylar asks, "Still happy with the man's crazy big penis?"
Soft laughter rolls over the group and Judy replies, "You know it. He is so commanding, demanding, dominant, and rough in bed and by the end of it, I'm like a fucking wet noodle."
Curious, you ask, "What does he do? In bed, I mean."
"He'll order me around, restrain me, throw me around like a ragdoll. He really lets his possessive flag fly during sex."
Lillian asks, "What do you mean? And be specific."
Amanda lets out a genuine chuckle at Lillian's insistence on specificity. Judy says, "You know, 'You're mine, this pussy is mine, no one else can have you. Tell me you belong to me. Are you my pretty little slut? Good girl, you're my good girl.' Things like that. He is pretty chatty during sex. Some of the things he says, I really don't think I can even repeat without having my head explode from embarrassment."
You say with a dreamy look in your eyes, "Yea... there really isn't anything better than a man who has a knack for dirty talk in the sack. I like it filthier the better."
Skylar asks, "What do you consider dirty talk?"
You reply, "I'm not sure how to answer that question. When I say dirty talk, I guess I mean explicit talk. Praises, telling you what he is going to do, or giving you instructions as to what he wants you to do. I dated this man for a while, and he had this buttery rumbling baritone and everything he said sounded decadent, especially during sex. The man talked me through a blowjob. I think he is the one that really got me into the whole dirty talk business. He'd get this look in his eyes as I was coming. Like he was so proud of me for climaxing."
Lillian, says once again, "Darling, I need you to be specific."
You clear your throat and think, "Let's see... Okay. I have one. This was said to me as I was climaxing, 'That's my good girl, good girl. Fuck... love, your greedy little cunt is milking my cock. You want my cum, don't you? You want me to fill up this tight little pussy with my cum. Don't you?' When I didn't answer, he grabbed me by my face, squished my cheeks in his hand and said, 'Answer me, love. Use your fucking words or I won't let you cum again.'"
Everyone's gaze is riveted on you. Remembering another instance, you say, "Oh, and this other time, he told me to get down on my knees and beg him to let me suck his dick. He said, 'Get on your knees like a good girl. Now, open up that pretty little mouth of yours. You see that precum? Lick it off.' Etcetera, etcetera, etcetera. He was intense. Only in bed though. You'd never know by just looking at him."
Turning to Skylar, you ask, "And what about your man? Is Ted a dirty talker in bed?"
As soon as the question spills out of your mouth, Amanda, Lillian and Skylar all look over to Judy. You laugh softly at their reaction. Skylar, whose eyes are still darting back and forth between you and Judy, says, "Um... you know that his sister is sitting in the room with us. Right? Talk about hella awkward."
You turn to Judy and see the horrified look on her face and burst into laughter. Finally, Judy says, "Skylar, you know I love you to bits, but please, for my sanity and our friendship, do not answer that harlot's question. I already have to cauterize a part of my brain for hearing that question come out of her mouth," Judy points and accusatory finger your way and continues. "I do not want to know anything that's said between you and my brother when you two are getting it on."
You say in a mocking tone, "You two are a bunch of prudes. Judith, all of your brothers are grown men. Here you are telling us how much you want all of us to become your sisters-in-law and you're all, 'don't talk about my brother and his sexual proclivities.'"
Judy shoots her foot out to kick your shin and says, "I know that they are grown men, but that doesn't mean that I want to know anything, any Goddamn thing about their sex life. GROSS!!!" She literally shrieks in horror.
Turning to Skylar, you say, "You can tell me all about it later. I bet Ted is a fucking freak in bed."
"NOOOOOO!!!" Judy cries out as she dramatically pulls at her hair.
Amanda pats Judy's shoulder and says, "Okay, alright. Calm yourself."
Lillian addresses the group and asks, "Are you guys ready to go back to school?"
Everyone answers her in unison, "No!"
You remark, "I wonder if they hired someone to replace Janet. I'm kind of scared to get the class assignment email. They're going to be sending them out any minute now. I'm not sure what I'll do if they make the rest of the English department carry the load, instead of hiring a replacement. God! I wish I was independently wealthy. Then I wouldn't have to put up with this kind of bullshit. Maybe what I need is a sugar daddy. Someone to pay my mortgage and expenses."
Judy asks, "Are you willing to pay the price for that though?"
"What could possibly be involved other than sex? I like older men. I think I'd be okay with all that."
Skylar adds, "Remember, those scorching hot silver foxes that you're thinking of, don't need sugar babies. I mean, I could be wrong. You know what? I should shut up. I'm just talking out of my ass at this point."
Lillian says, "Or... find yourself a rich man and marry him."
Amanda replies, "That comes with its' own set of problems. There's no such thing as a free lunch.
You say, "Ain't that the truth." You continue, "To answer your question, Sky, no. I am not at all ready to return to work."
Everyone lets out a long sigh and it stretches into a comfortable silence. Then Amanda announces, "I want to thank you ladies for tonight. I'm sorry I ruined the evening's plans."
Lillian says, "Sweetie, you would have done the same thing for any one of us. That's why we have friends."
You add, "Besides, I've been completely happy with what we ended up doing tonight. I think staying in and just hanging out was exactly what I needed. How are you feeling right now, Hon?"
"Better. Now, I feel a little stupid for having reacted like that."
Sucking her teeth, Judy says, "Stop it! I have no idea why Charlie did you like this. Not for nothing, but from what I saw, you two did have a deep connection, almost right away and I can completely understand why you were so upset at what he did. I would have been too. I'm just sorry that you had to go through it."
Amanda places her hand over Judy's knee, sending her, her gratitude for her friendship. You add, "I say, you don't let this stop you. Just get yourself back out there and keep meeting people. You're gorgeous, smart, kind, and funny. You're the whole package. It's really Charlie's loss."
There are nods of agreement all around. Amanda asks, "What about you? You were the only one that didn't get to have a summer fling."
You reply, "Well, that's just my luck, isn't it? I met a guy by chance and out of the group of his friends, I met the one that was leaving the country before the end of the month. But I'm not fretting. Maybe I'm one of those women that weren't meant to have a life partner. That happens."
Skylar interjects, "Okay... let's just reel it in there, missy. You've dated before. Had long term relationships before. You'll meet someone. Don't throw in the towel yet. You make it sound like you're some crotchety old spinster. Listen, if you want, I can introduce you to my brother, Colton. Neurosurgeon, doing very well for himself financially, full head of hair, straight, and single. He is a little bit of an asshole though. Not a complete one, but a little one. Although, he may be an asshole just to his two sisters. So, take that with a grain of salt."
You chuckle as you shake your head and say, "That is a ringing endorsement if I ever heard one. Thank you, my lovely. But I'll be okay." You look to Amanda and Lillian and say, "Either one of you have a brother that you want to proffer up at this point? Since this seems to be happening right now, I will give them equal consideration."
Lillian says, "My one and only brother, well half-brother is eleven. I'm sure, not your type."
You grimace exaggeratedly and confirm, "Yea, no. That's frightening."
Amanda says, "My two brothers are both off the meat market. Someone snatched them up already."
You snap your fingers cartoonishly and say, "Darn."
Judy jumps in and says, "I really think Chris has a thing for you. I'm pretty sure I can fenagle something."
Amanda, in an admonishing tone, says, "Jesus Christ on a stick! The man has a girlfriend. Leave the poor dude alone."
You take a bite of your room temperature pizza and say, "Yea... I think that ship had sailed off without me a long time ago. I think it's time for you to let that go."
"But, but, but... you saw his texts when I sent those pictures of you a couple of months ago. He was totally taken with your visage."
You ask, "Is he still with Larissa?"
"Yes. What of it?"
"C'mon, they've been together for almost a year now."
Judy cuts you off and says, "Seven months. Not almost a year. And I think he's just circling the airport with her. I don't think that plane will ever land."
Lillian says, "You have zero evidence of that. Just accept that the only friend that you'll be able to call your sister-in-law will be Skylar and move on."
Amanda asks you, "I thought he said he'd reach out to you for coffee. Has he?"
"Nope and I didn't expect that he would. Because he has a girlfriend." You emphasize your words as you lean towards Judy.
Judy meets you halfway and flicks your forehead with her finger. You complain, "Ow..." as you rub at the spot on your forehead.
Judy replies, "Fine, fine. I'll stop. But George tried to fix you up with his friends too and you declined. How come?"
You lean your head back to the back of your armchair and say, "I don't know. Maybe I just don't have the bandwidth to go through all the rigamarole of getting to know someone. The thought of having to go on a first date literally gives me hives."
Skylar asks, "What about dick? Don't you miss that?"
"Yes. I do miss that. But there is so much that has to happen before I can get access to the said dick, and I don't have the patience or the stomach for it right now." You can see Judy in your peripheral vision about to say something. Without turning to look at her, you say, "And no, I will not call an escort service, or whatever else your thinking of, you little gremlin."
Judy crosses her arms in front of her chest and pouts comically.
You continue, "If and when it's my time, it'll happen. But until then, I have my trusty Magic Wand."
Lillian chuckles and says, "Holy shit, you must be wearing that thing down. What does the head of that thing look like now? Worn down to about the size of an olive?"
You throw a small throw cushion at her direction and declare, "No! more like a large walnut."
Everyone has a hearty laugh at your expense. Then Amanda asks, "Wait, didn't that other guy text you a couple of days after the night at the Hibernian?"
Unable to recall what she is talking about, you ask, "What guy?"
"Tae."
The memory of his out of place and out of context texts come to the surface of your mind. You say, "Oh yea.... I remember now. That was beyond weird, and no, he did not reach out to me again after that. Even if he did, he isn't my type."
Lillian and Judy shout at the same time, "WHAT?"
Amanda laughs and says, "I think what these two are trying to say is that you are a dirty lying gnome."
You narrow your eyes at your friends and say, "I'll remember this." Then you turn to Skylar and say, "You'll avenge me, won't you?"
Skylar replies, "I was just about to point out why that man was exactly your type, but I'm not going to say anything now. Not after your talk of vengeance."
You say, "Okay, I can admit that if our first meeting didn't go down the way it did, perhaps I would have found him esthetically pleasing, but once I found out what kind of person he was, that would have changed eventually."
Amanda comments, "If I remember the text conversation correctly, it sounded like he was interested in you."
Lillian adds, "Yes. He was definitely trying to flirt with you. Unfortunately, it was like he was trying to flirt with a wall."
"I'm going to start a list and you bitches are all going on it. Even if I found a sliver of him attractive in any way, which I do not, our paths will never cross. And you can bet your ass that I will not be reaching out to him."
Amanda, suddenly looking a little gloomier, says, "If I was still with Charlie, you would have."
Everyone turns to Amanda and gives her an encouraging smile. You say, "Oh Sweetie, I'm sorry. Let's drop this subject and move onto another. For mine and Amanda's sake." As you get up from your seat, you ask the room, "Does anyone want anything while I'm up?"
All of your friends stand up with you one by one. Some of them reach up and give themselves a big and long stretch of their body, others follow behind you to grab more food and drinks.
Fetching yourself a glass of ice and pouring a ready-made margarita into it, you say, "I plan to make an absolute pig of myself and drink until I'm good and sloshed tonight. Then, we'll lie around in bed and play truth or dare. No more talk of fixing me up with men."
You nod your head definitively as you take abite of another slice of pizza and chase it with a big gulp of margarita.