“Oh, you know, just wrapping up the Friday night usual—a date from hell.” I tried to keep my tone light and free of guilt, but I saw the way Charlie’s eyebrows pulled together.
“Why didn’t you tell me?” she asked.
“It was super last minute,” I lied, sitting up and reaching for the popcorn bowl that sat on the coffee table between us. “Anyway, there won’t be a second date. He spent twenty minutes showing me pictures of used vans for sale,” I said dryly.
Oliver snorted. “You’re kidding.”
“Nope.” I popped a piece of popcorn into my mouth.
I had actually set the date up last week. I couldn’t pinpoint exactly why I hadn’t wanted to tell Charlie, but feeling pathetic certainly had something to do with it. Ever since the engagementparty and our constant chatter about weddings, shame brewed in my gut at the thought of mentioning to her that I was headed out onanotherfirst date. I had begun to fantasize about meeting someone and keeping it quiet until we hit it off and started officially going out. Then I could mention it to my friends when it had become something stable. I’d come to Charlie and tell her I had a boyfriend, and she’d look at me with shock at first, but then we would excitedly jump around and celebrate. Then I could invite everyone to a happy hour where I’d introduce him, and he could be my date to the wedding, and?—
“Why do you keep doing this to yourself? I think you need a dating break.” Oliver interrupted my thoughts, and my daydream came crashing down around me. That fantasy felt delusional even to me at this point. Especially after how tonight had gone.
“What, so I can be alone forever?” I narrowed my eyes and dug my hand into the bowl of popcorn. “No, thank you.”
“You’re exhausting yourself,” Charlie pointed out. The worry etched on her forehead made me want to dive under the covers of my bed and never resurface. How hopeless was I if even my friends didn’t think I could find someone?
“The right guy will come along eventually. Maybe you’re searching in the wrong places. You should just take a break,” she added.
“I already took a break and look where that’s left me. If I’d known it’d take this long to meet someone, maybe I would have started sooner,” I said, thinking about the few years I’d spent single and avoiding men like the plague. My ex had done a number on me, and I’d needed to just be on my own for a while.
“You needed a break after the last jerk.” Concern shone in Charlie’s eyes, and I resisted the urge to chuck a plush pillow at her.
“Let’s not talk about him.” My tone was harsher than intended, but the last thing I wanted to do was recount tales of my nightmare ex in front of Oliver. I had mentioned to him I had a shitty ex-boyfriend, but I hadn’t gone into detail. I knew I shouldn’t be embarrassed about the situation, but it was hard not to feel a little ashamed about wasting so many of my good years on a narcissistic asshole.
“You’re trying to force it,” Oliver said, moving the subject back to the present and kicking his feet up to rest them on the edge of the coffee table. “I bet if you just chilled out on the dating apps, you’d meet someone organically.”
I laughed bitterly. “Where? At work, like Charlie and Nathan? We run a woman-centered networking company. We have thirty employees—all of whom are women ornotinterested in women.”
Oliver shrugged. “You could meet someone outside of work.”
“Outside of work I’m just hanging out with the two of you. And sorry, but I can’t believe you, Mr. Perpetually Single, are trying to give me dating advice right now.”
“Perpetually singleby choice,” he added, like it made all the difference.
“So, you could just meet the perfect girl tomorrow if you wanted to?” I challenged.
“I mean—” He flashed me a huge grin. “Probably.”
This time I didn’t resist the urge to throw a pillow. It landed square in his face and his shoulders shook with laughter. The annoying part was, he was probably right. Oliver was gifted with more natural charm than one human should possess, and the face of a nineties boyband heartthrob.
“You’re so annoying,” I said through my laughter.
“Maybe I could set you up again.” Oliver stuffed the pillow behind his back and tapped his chin.
“With who, Harrison?” I mimed gagging. Oliver constantly made jokes about the two of us being perfect for each other, despite Harrison’s open hostility toward me. I knew he was just messing around, but I hated the little flutter in my stomach at even the thought of going out with Harrison. “Speaking of him, I’ve actually been meaning to kill you,” I continued. “Why the hell are you talking to him about my dating life?”
“I’m not,” Oliver insisted.
Charlie and I exchanged a look of disbelief before training our attention back on Oliver.
“Really? That’s funny. Because he seemed to know enough to throw a few jabs at me last weekend.” His comments from the engagement party still tortured the back of my mind.
“I just mentioned you were doing a lot of online dating.” Oliver threw his hands up as if caught. He did that a lot—played innocent so you couldn’t really be mad at him, because of course, at least according to him, he always had the purest of intentions. “I didn’t know it was a secret.”
“You’re just giving him ammunition,” I groaned, covering my face with my hands.
“Harrison is all talk. He’s completely harmless.” Oliver stuck up for Harrison with the same gumption as an up-and-coming criminal defense attorney eager to prove their worth.
