She tucks dark brown waves behind her ears and rolls her eyes again. “He’s very secure and trusting, thank you very much.”
“Oh, well, lucky you. So when do I get to meet the love of your life, finally?”
She shrugs. “He’s out of town. Maybe when he gets back.”
“Let’s do a dinner party. You look fantastic, by the way.”
Rose has always been gorgeous and fashionable. Currently, she’s wearing a silvery top that falls gently off the shoulders, paired with skinny jeans and red strappy heels.
She does a cute little pose, thrusts her hip to the side, and blows me a kiss. “Thank you.”
I turn to Justin. This is the first time we’ve seen each other in months. We shake hands. “What’s up, bro? How’s teaching?”
Justin Briggs is a friend of mine from undergrad, too. Now, he’s teaching statistics at the university.
Justin’s wearing a button-up tucked into pressed slacks and polished dress shoes, all in black, a color he always wears. His black hair is fingered back like mine, and he finishes off the look with his trademark thick-framed black glasses.
“Some of the girls won’t leave me alone. Hell, some of the guys, too. I… didn’t expect that.”
“Well, think about how tenured professors look. Now, here comes this young, dapper, suave man to teach them stats. I bet they’ll actually love stats by the end of the term. They’ll get all A’sjust to get your attention. At least, they’ll listen to what you have to say, amirite?”
Justin huffs at me. “Unlike you, I’m not meat.”
“You love this meat.”
“That’s what she said.” Rose clamps a hand over her mouth and laughs.
Justin winces. “God, you didnotjust say that. Wes here is rubbing off on you.”
I chuckle. “Who knew Rose would be into ‘she said’ jokes?”
“I don’t,” she quips, looking at both of us like ‘meat’ as she sips her cocktail. “Seriously, you two have no right to be so hot. It should be a crime.”
“And it’s a crime to drink something fruity and pink when we’re at a beer joint,” I retort.
“Psh…” She waves me off. “I’mnota beer girly, which you know very well.”
I slap the table with both hands. “We need shots!”
Rose raises her hands and shakes her head. “No shots!”
“We definitely need shots,” Justin says.
“That’s my guy! I knew we were friends for a reason.”
Rose groans. “Fine, but if I get drunk, you’d better make sure I don’t throw up all over my clothes.”
I kiss her cheek. She smells just like her namesake. “I love how you give in so easily.”
“It’s hard to say no to Wes Ellison.”
“That’s a much easier way to live!” I yell over the music as I run off to order us some drinks.
When I reach the bar, there’s a group of college girls ordering drinks in front of me. I don’t engage with them beyond giving them a polite smile. College girls were for college, not for a grown-ass man who’s attempting at adulting.
In fact, most of the women here are pretty young. Bummer. Maybe I need to drag my friends to a place that serves an older crowd.
“What can I getcha?” the bartender asks.
