Ansley: All he did was compliment me. A lot.
Daisy: And that’s a bad thing?
Ansley: No, but I didn’t really feel a connection with him. I’m definitely not calling the second guy. I don’t know enough about football to have a conversation with him.
Daisy: I bet he’d love to teach you how to score a touchdown.
She follows her message with a string of emojis involving fruits and vegetables and various sports stuff that make me roll my eyes.
Ansley: No thank you!
Daisy: That just leaves the finance bro.
Ansley: He was nice. If I call anyone, it’ll be him.
Daisy: Boring, but it’s your life. What are you waiting for?
Ansley: I don’t know. I might call him this week.
Daisy: If you don’t go on a date with one of them this week, I expect you back at the bar on Friday for another round of speed dating.
Ansley: Maybe.
Daisy: At least stop by tomorrow after work. It’s so boring on the weeknights. As my best friend, it’s your obligation to come and entertain me!
Ansley: When did I sign up for that?
Daisy: Middle school! Besides, it’s been years since we’ve hung out like we used to. Now that you’re living in the city again, there’s no excuse!
Ansley: Fine, I’ll stop by and see you.
I didn’t realize returning to Chicago meant I was obligated to become a barfly. But I do miss hanging out with Daisy. I figured she would have a million new friends by now, considering how outgoing she is, but I guess she’s still got a soft spot for me, her OG BFF.
Monday morning comes at me in a rush. I barely get signed into my computer before my boss is at my desk, asking for an update on the reports I’m responsible for. I can’t do the Blithe Holdings report until the market opens, so I work on the after-market data for the other reports.
It’s a long day, and by the time it’s over, I’m more than ready to go home. My pajamas are calling my name, just like they were last week. But I honor my promise to Daisy. I take an Uber to Fletcher’s Bar and walk inside. Daisy wasn’t kidding about it being boring. There isn’t a single customer here.
“Ansley!” Daisy says, running around the bar and nearly tackling me with a hug again.
“Hey girl,” I say, doing my best not to lose my balance. “You just saw me a couple of days ago. You don’t have to hug me like we haven’t hung out in years.”
“We’ve got a lot of time to make up for,” Daisy says. “Long Island Iced Tea tonight, or just a glass of wine?”
“I think I’ll just have water tonight,” I say, walking up to the bar as she goes back behind the counter. “Long day, and I need to go in early tomorrow to catch up on a few reports.”
“Water it is,” Daisy chimes, fixing a glass and putting it in front of me.
Daisy and I catch up. She tells me how amazing the atmosphere was on Saturday night and all about the hot guys I could have met if I was here. I talk about work, and she listens, offering an empathetic smile and words of encouragement. Despite being rather disinterested in finance, she does understand what I do. Same thing she would be doing if she hadn’t dropped out to become a bartender.
“Hey, so, this is kind of random,” I say apprehensively, pointing at the chair in the corner the mysterious guy was watching me from. “But do you remember the guy who was sitting over there when I was here Friday? Big guy, flannel shirt and jeans? He looked kind of rugged.”
“Hmm, I don’t think so, but this place was pretty busy.” She shrugs. “Why? Was he bothering you? You should have said something.”
I wave off her concern and reach for my water. “No, nothing like that. He was just… I don’t know. I thought he was staring at me. I considered going over to talk to him, but he was gone when I came back from the bathroom.”
“Wait, you were going to talk to him!?” Daisy grins. “Do you have a crush on him or something? I could have arranged for him to be one of your speed dates!”
“He was a little older than the guys you were setting me up with,” I say, sipping my water. “I just wanted to ask him why he was staring at me.”
