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“A beer would be great,” Damien echoes.
“Be right back then,” Erin says and then Dave ushers us over to the couches.
“Come on you two. It’s time to sit in the hot seat,” Dave teases as we sit on the dark gray couch. “I need to know how the hell Damien landed a woman like you, Charlotte.” Dave’s eyes bounce up and down my body, and I can’t help but feel uneasy while I sit there. But I try to brush it off.
“Oh, it was pure luck,” I joke.
“On the contrary, Dave. I’ve been laying the groundwork for years with this one,” he says, leaning back and putting his arm on the back of the couch, resting his hand on my shoulder. And somehow, his arm around me makes me feel safe. “Charlotte and I grew up together in South Carolina, but both moved out here for college. We hadn’t seen each other in over twelve years, and then happened to run into each other out of the blue at a restaurant.” He turns to me and smiles. “Thank goodness I happened to choose that place that day, huh, sweet pea?” He winks, and I’m instantly ready for battle.
“Oh, I love this,” Erin says, walking over and handing us our drinks. “So is this a second chance kind of romance?” she asks as she takes a seat in the chair beside us.
“Ha, not exactly.” I take a sip of my wine. “Believe it or not, Damien and I weren’t exactly friends before.”
“Oh?”
“Yeah, Charlotte and I were kind of enemies. But now we’re lovers, huh, babe?”
I don’t think I can clench my jaw any tighter. “Guess it turns out I’m attracted to that asshole vibe.”
Dave throws his head back in laughter. “She’s got your number, doesn’t she, Damien?”
“Yeah. It’s crazy what a little maturity and time away from each other can help you realize.” His eyes lock on mine and the energy between us shifts. “I wasn’t looking for a relationship, but seeing Charlotte again made me realize that perhaps the reason I hadn’t found someone yet is because I kept comparing them to her.”
My face falls from his words. But then I remember, this is all fake. He’s playing a role, so there’s no way his words could be true…right?
“Sometimes the right person is right under your nose,” Erin says through a smile. “Isn’t that right, babe?” she asks, turning to her husband.
“Erin was the teacher’s assistant for one of my classes while I was working on my master’s degree. Apparently, I wasn’t very good at picking up on her hints that she was into me.”
Erin rolls her eyes. “The man was practically blind. But eventually, he opened his eyes.” She winks at him.
“Like all good men do.” Dave takes a sip from his tumbler and then clears his throat. “Well, gentlemen—what do you say we move onto the patio to talk shop while the ladies gossip and get to know each other a little more before dinner?”
“I like your way of thinking, Dave,” one of the older gentlemen announces and then Damien is suddenly springing from the couch.
“Are you gonna be okay?” he whispers as he leans down toward me.
“I guess.”
“Behave yourself, alright?” he smirks playfully.
“I can’t make any promises. Mischief is just too much fun.”
Damien’s eyes light up. “I think we’re causing enough mischief by just being here, so let’s not add to it, shall we?”
I roll my eyes dramatically. “Fine.”
“Thanks.” He plants a chaste kiss on my cheek, leaving his warmth against my skin and a flurry of electricity from his beard, and then he stands and follows his boss and co-workers out of the room while the spot on my cheeks where his lips just were tingles as he walks away.
“Charlotte!” Erin calls to me with a wave. “Come over here in the kitchen.”
Smoothing down my dress, I stand from the couch and with my wine in hand, join the other women standing around the island. “Thank you again for having us.”
“Nonsense. It’s nice to see some new blood at these things,” she says nonchalantly, but I feel all of the other women’s eyes on me.
A platter of crackers and cheese sits right before me, so to keep my hands busy and my mouth from running, I reach for a slice of cheddar and a cracker, form a sandwich, and take a small bite.
“So what is it that you do?” One of the women asks me.
I finish chewing and then answer them. “I’m the Senior Advertising Editor for Revision Magazine.”
Their eyes go wide and a few mouths drop open. “You’re kidding?”
“Nope,” I state proudly. “I’ve been there since I graduated from college and worked my way up. I got lucky too that the old editor chose to retire, and I was ready for the position. Most women have to wait until they’re almost forty to secure a job like that.”
Erin sighs wistfully, clutching her glass as my eyes drift down to her bracelet that is covered in tiny pineapple charms. Guess the woman really likes pineapples. “I remember those days, when I lived for my job.”
“I do love it, but I want more too.”
“Oh, I’m sure. I just mean, I used to work at the firm with Dave, actually. But then once we had kids, I chose to quit to stay home and raise them.”
“That’s a hard choice to make. My goal is to continue working once I have kids. I know it won’t be easy, but I love my job. I don’t think I could walk away.”
Erin nods. “It was hard. My life changed completely overnight, and suddenly I was in charge of raising tiny humans and keeping them alive. They’re sixteen and eighteen now, so it’s different. But by the time I thought about going back to work, I had been out of the industry for so long, I wasn’t fresh anymore. I felt like I didn’t have anything to offer.”
“I can imagine.”
“But you found other ways to keep yourself entertained, didn’t you?” One of the other women snickers with a teasing grin on her face.
“Well, I mean…there’s only so many bake sales and PTA meetings a wife and mother can attend before she feels like she’s going to scream,” Erin replies with a smile on her face. “Plus, it gives me an excuse to throw these little parties for everyone.”
I feel like there’s a conversation going on between the girls that I’m not entirely privy to. But I take a sip of my wine as I simply observe.
“So, Charlotte, are you and Damien headed down the aisle soon?” Erin asks, shifting the attention back to me.
I almost spit out the gulp of wine I just took down. Swiping a few drops from my mouth, I swallow roughly and then clear my throat. “Oh, uh, I don’t know. We’ve just started dating. I mean, he was the boy who dared me to ride the Tilt A Whirl in a park back home and bet that he wouldn’t puke before I did. And I lost, big time.” The girls laugh. “We were so young the last time we were in contact. And even though we know each other from before, there’s still a lot we don’t know about one another now. I mean, I feel like I learn something new about him whenever we spend time together.” Not a lie, Charlotte. Good job!
Another woman chimes in who I believe is Deidra, Hank Thompson’s wife. “Oh, that doesn’t stop, honey. Even after twenty years, I still learn things about Hank. And just when you think you have the man dialed in, he’ll ask you to check his balls for him because he thinks he has an ingrown hair and he can’t reach it.”
Yup, I’m going to die from choking on my saliva tonight. Coughing roughly, I stare down at the island as I compose myself. Once I do, I struggle to find something to say.
“Why on earth would he ask you that?” Erin asks her friend.
