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CHAPTER 5
Laura
Lunch with Alice is a sacred ritual.
Or, at least, that’s what Alice always says.
My best friend and I have been meeting for lunch on Thursdays every week for almost ten years. It started in high school, and the notion just really stuck. Usually, it’s a welcome reprieve from work. Between classes and night shifts and law school, having ninety minutes carved out once a week for my best friend has been a lifesaver more than once.
This week, though…
This week, I consider canceling.
Alice knows about my drunken hook-up. She knows about my one-night stand with an older, sexy man—she was at the club with me the night we met, after all.
What Alice doesn’t know is that my drunk one-night celebratory new job sex partner is also my boss. And Alice certainly doesn’t know that I slept with himagain.
She slips into the booth bench across from me, her spiky hair neatly combed today with a sparkly headband holding it all in place. She’s smiling and likely about to start talking a mile a minute, but then her eyes flicker across the diner table between us and she freezes.
“Laura Penelope James,” Alice says slowly, her smile dropping into a scowl as her eyes narrow. “Why are there two bloody marys and a cinnamon roll on this table?”
I look between the food and Alice. “Because… you love bloody marys and cinnamon rolls?”
“These are my bribery foods,” Alice insists. She points to the cinnamon roll as if accusing it of something. “This is what I get when you break my favorite perfume bottle or when you return my car with a dent or when you are bailing on a shopping trip?—”
“Wow, am I a really bad friend?”
“This is bribery food,” Alice repeats. Her eyes widen and she lets out a loud, pitiable sound. “Don’t tell me your dreamy brother is getting married to thathag?—”
“His girlfriend sounds very nice,” I remind her, laughing.
“He’s too dreamy for marriage.”
“Just because we’ve never met his girlfriend, doesn’t mean she’s a hag.”
“Could be!”
“You are in a committed relationship.”
“I don’t care! Peter would understand!”
“It’s not anything like that.” I try for my nicest smile. “I withheld gossip.”
She gasps. “Okay! I see. A true betrayal.”
“I’m sorry!” My eyes fill up with tears, and she immediately deflates. Her mock outrage turns to concern when she sees that I’m genuinely upset.
Alice grabs the pickle sticking out of her brunch cocktail, waving it at me. “Girl, what did youdo?”
She crunches loudly. Because I’m a good friend, I wait until she’s swallowed to tell her:
“I slept with my boss and it was so good I did it twice, and now I’m going to get fired and everyone’s going to call me a slut andnotin a fun rom-com way!” I blurt out.
As expected, Alice inhales so sharply she chokes on air. I’m glad I waited until there was no food in her mouth.
“Laura… why don’t you start from the beginning?”
While walking Alice through the last few weeks, we drink our cocktails and demolish the cinnamon roll. Alice orders for us halfway through my first day at work and then promptly knocks over her water glass as she gestures too widely in surprise at David being the big boss.
