AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“I hope that was okay,” he asks. “It just felt right in the moment.”
“That was nice. This is all really, really, nice. I’m glad I came.”
“I’m glad you came,” he says.
We throw our skewers down and Ethan pulls me in for a deep kiss. I throw my arms around his neck and hold him tight. His hands are wrapped around my waist. As our bodies press together, I’m reminded that Ethan feels safe and familiar. His slightly chapped lips run along my mouth, settling back to where they’ve explored so many times before. Before things can get too heavy, we are interrupted as bright lights shine in our faces. There’s a car pulling in Ethan’s driveway.
“Oh no,” Ethan says. He looks over his fence. “Gary’s here.”
“Gary?” I wipe my lips and pat my hair down in place.
“He’s on the Board at the lake. I forgot he told me he was stopping by one night this week to drop off some papers I have to sign to move forward with the charity event. He has awful timing.” Ethan sits up and straightens his wrinkled shirt.
I’m disappointed, but understand. While making out with Ethan was fun, I didn’t feel the pow-pow-pow of sparks I was hoping for. Maybe it was just my nerves. Or, we needed more time. Either way, Ethan kissed me with more passion than Collin showed the last year of our marriage. I have confirmation that I deserve to be treated like I’m desired.
“No worries. I should get going anyway. It’s getting late and you have work tomorrow.”
By this point, Gary has stepped out of his truck and sees me next to Ethan. He’s an older man with gray hair and is oblivious to the fact that he crashed our date. Ethan introduces us and we exchange pleasantries. I collect my belongings, thank Ethan for a lovely evening, and tell him we’ll talk soon.
Ethan is trying to be polite with Gary, but I can tell he feels seriously cock-blocked right now and I kinda do too. Maybe my first post-divorce escapade isn’t supposed to be with Ethan and the universe is sending me signs. I turn on my car and the DJ on the radio introduces a throwback song from 5 Leo Hearts about all our tomorrows. I raise the volume and drive home wondering what the new day will bring.
* * *
I was almost late for a video conference call with Imani’s boss and I have no one to blame but myself. Sure, I’m unemployed, but I shouldn’t be acting jobless. I should still wake up early and check my email and text messages, like I’ve done every day for years. But last night I turned off my alarm clock.
Luckily, I awoke with enough time to spare to get ready for this last-minute video call request. Imani’s boss emailed me over a non-disclosure agreement to sign before we speak. This must be a really famous client.
What does one wear for a video chat to discuss working for a major celebrity? I go with a black shirt, statement necklace, and cotton shorts that I slept in, since this video will only show my face. Since I didn’t have time to blow out my hair, I simply curl the front two pieces. I’m sure there’s a beauty influencer somewhere who has posted a video about that hack, so I try not to let myself feel too bad for not washing it. Along with natural looking makeup and some light pink gloss, I look confident, but not overdone.
The anticipation for the other participants to join the video chat slowly makes me crazy. Finally, a woman who appears to be in her mid-fifties appears on camera. She pushes her bold red eyeglasses to her nose and greets me with enthusiasm.
“Cailin! So nice to meet you. I’m Marisol. My colleague, Carlos, will be joining us as well in just a moment.”
“Hi Marisol, nice to meet you. Thanks for taking the time to speak with me.”
“Imani has told me a lot of great things about your work. While we wait for Carlos, I’ll tell you a little about myself. I started my career as a publicist and led the Latina music division of the company where I began. I eventually transitioned to a pop music account team, which was our biggest division. The thrill and pressure of those accounts exhilarated me, but I always wanted more for myself. That’s how this company was formed. Today, I oversee all the clients and employees and am available to strategize or handle crises, but for the most part, our account leads handle the day-to-day and direct contact with clients.”
I nod and smile, as Carlos appears on the chat. He’s wearing a bright yellow hoodie. I immediately love him. “That’s very impressive. Thanks for sharing.”
“Here’s Carlos now,” Marisol says.
“Sorry, I’m late. Putting out a fire with a client who missed an interview this morning.”
“Hi Carlos, nice to meet you,” I say.
Marisol leads the conversation, “Cailin, I believe Imani told you that one of our senior publicists recently left and we are in urgent need for a team member to come on and manage a new account that’s beginning soon. Did you sign the NDA that we sent over this morning? We don’t usually have candidates sign them for interviews, but our firm is under agreement not to share the information of an upcoming tour that’s going to be announced.”
“I received and submitted it. No worries, I totally understand.”
Marisol smiles and continues, “Great. Carlos has worked with this client in a previous capacity for many years and was originally slated to manage the details of this tour, but dates got pushed back and now Carlos and his partner will be honeymooning in Hawaii.”
“Sorry, not sorry,” Carlos says.
I can tell they have a laid-back banter between them and this is a comfortable and inclusive work environment. We talk a little longer about my experience and the details of the job. I thank them for considering me and they tell me they will be in touch later today. That sounds promising, but I don’t want to totally get my hopes up.
I need a distraction. I decide to do something on my post-divorce bucket list that I’ve been thinking about for a while. I literally have nothing to do and no one to stop me.
Trash the Dress Online Chat
