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I needed to savor it quietly for a while. It changed everything about me and I needed some time to adjust.
“Getting away from home gave me some perspective,” I begin. “I realized that if there’s stuff I want, I have to go after it.”
“That’s not a new realization for you, Dust. You’ve always been that way. But I’ll admit that flying to New York to hunt for jobs when you already have a good job feels like a big move. The right one, I’m sure. Just big.”
“I guess it is. I might look at a few apartments when I’m there too. I’ve already started doing some research online.”
“Never agree to anything until you’ve seen it, though. That’s how you end up with a shower in your kitchen and a bed that doubles as a dining table.”
“Okay. Good advice.”
“You will absolutely stay with me when you’re here,” Emma insists.
“Are you sure, Em? I know you don’t have a lot of room.”
“I have my own room with a double bed and one third of it has your name on it.”
I laugh. “Only if you absolutely don’t mind. I can get one of those pod hotel rooms.”
“You absolutely will not. I insist. Both my roommates got new jobs recently so they’re hardly ever here. Plus, I’m a real New Yorker so I can show you all the best places to go. I also have contacts, which I’m going to start reaching out to.”
“Thank you, bestie.” To be honest, I haven’t completely thought this whole thing through. If I do find a job, I’ll need to give my two weeks’ notice soon. My apartment is on a six-month lease, which is coming up next month. Even though the job I’ve applied for has a much bigger salary than my current one, apartments in New York are more expensive and I’ve still got my mom and Sky to think about. Anyway, I’ve applied and now I’ve told Emma. The idea is gaining its own momentum.
“I can’t wait!” Emma gushes. “I’ve got so much to show you. And we’ve got so much to catch up on.”
Usually when Emma says that she means she’s got a backlist of dating stories to tell me. She’s really into her career, almost as much as she’s into furiously swiping through dating apps. My friend likes to play the field. To “see what’s out there,” as she puts it, before she settles down. She doesn’t have sex with all the men she goes out with, but she’s much more worldly and experienced than I am.
We’re so alike in so many ways but when it comes to our ideas about dating, we couldn’t be more different.
“I’ve got a lot to tell you too,” I say, knowing this will get a reaction.
“Like what?” I can already hear the curiosity in her voice. “Don’t tell me there’s a boy,” she whispers, like she doesn’t want anyone overhearing her.
“No.” I draw another little heart on the hotel stationery I’m doodling on, pausing for effect. “Definitely not a boy.” I wasn’t really thinking when I grabbed the small notepad from the penthouse when I scribbled the quick note for Ace, but now I’m glad I did. There were two of them there, side by side. I left the note on one and I took the other. And now it’s the one real thing I can look at and know that everything with Ace actually happened. Because without his real name or number or any other evidence that he actually existed, it sometimes feels like the whole thing was just a beautiful dream.
“What? Dusty, you cannot leave me hanging like this! Who is he?”
“Well, I met someone. And…we had fun.”
“Does that mean you had sex? Oh my god, I can’t believe it! Hallelujah, she finally got laid!”
“Would you stop.”
“Who is he? Tell me everything.”
“He’s…older.”
She whispers a scream. “How much older?”
“I don’t know. Late twenties. Maybe thirty.”
“Ahh! How did you meet him? Is he from Austin? He’s not a work colleague, is he? Oh my god, don’t tell me it’s your boss. This isn’t why you’re moving, is it? It’s not like…awkward at the office?”
I laugh. “No, it’s nothing like that. I met him in Hawaii.”
Another excited squeal. “When are you going to see him again?”
“I don’t think I will. It was…you know, just a one-time thing.”
