“All right, Bridget, what do we think of this one?” I asked.
I turned around and revealed the outfit to my best friend on FaceTime, holding out my arms before I gave her a little twirl. The dress was black and flowing, and I had bright yellow heels and jewelry to accent the outfit and bring out the soft undertones of my skin.
But Bridget wrinkled her nose. “You look like one of those robot women in that one movie or some shit.”
I blinked. “The Stepford Wives?”
She snapped and pointed at me. “That’s the one.”
I tossed my black clutch onto my bed. “They weren’t robots, were they?”
She shrugged. “The point is, it’s not you. It’s like you’re trying to be someone else.”
I rolled my eyes and got undressed. “Fine. I’ve got a few more outfits I can try on, but that’s it. We’ve practically gone through my entire closet already.”
“You know what that means, then.”
I sighed. “No, Bridget, you’re not taking me shopping.”
“Oh, come on! When was the last time you treated yourself to anything new? I swear, it took me months just to get you off the tirade of buying all of your outfits in thrift stores.”
I shook my head and giggled. “All right, let’s narrow this down by color, then. Red, white, yellow, brown, or blue?”
She didn’t hesitate. “Red. But not a bright, fire engine red. Do you have something that’s, like, a crimson red? Or a clay sort of red?”
I rifled through my closet before I pulled out a romper I owned. “Something like this?”
She squealed. “It’s perfect! Put it on. I want to see it on you.”
I furrowed my brow. “You’ve seen this on me a million times.”
She pursed her lips. “Molly, I know you. And I know how big of a deal this is. This is your second date ever that you’re going on, here, so we’re going to make sure we get it right. It’s shocking enough to me that you’re even considering a date with this guy since you only met him yesterday. So, we aren’t gonna fuck this up. Got it?”
I nodded. “Got it.”
“Good. Now, put that on with that pearl set of jewelry you’ve got and then we’ll pick out some shoes. You still have those black heels, right?”
I wrinkled my nose. “Pearl with crimson red and black heels? Sounds like I got to the bottom of my closet and had to pray for an outfit.”
She groaned. “Just put on the damn outfit, would you? We’ve only got an hour and we still have to do your makeup!”
I wasn’t sure about the choice of outfit, but I put it on anyway. I wiggled my ass into my romper and quickly put on my pearl dangling earrings and my pearl necklace. Then, I slid myself into my four-inch black heels and turned to face Bridget. But not before catching myself in my full-length mirror behind my closet door.
And damn it, this outfit looked amazing.
“Please tell me this is the one. I love it,” I said.
Bridget clapped with joy. “Yes! Yes, yes, yes. You look hot as hell, but casual enough for this to be a day-date. Perfect. Now, since you have dangling earrings on.”
I piled my hair on top of my head with my hand. “Yes, I know. Get my hair off my neck so the earrings can do their work.”
She giggled. “I’ve taught you well, grasshopper.”
I rolled my eyes. “So, what are we going to do about makeup? You know I’ve never been big on it.”
“Give me time to think about it. Go do your hair and get it out of your face, just don’t do a French twist. Do something a bit… messier.”
I wrinkled my nose. “Messier?”
She nodded. “Yeah. Trust me, just do a rough pin-up so that it feels secure but shows off the beachy waves your hair has. It’ll look amazing.”
I sighed. “All right, I’ll take your word for it. Give me about fifteen minutes.”
Fifteen minutes turned into almost thirty, and by the time Bridget was done coaching me through how to fix the mess I had created with my hair and my bobby pins, I only had time to slap on some mascara and lip gloss. But it still worked.
“You look hot as hell,” Bridget said.
I sighed. “You really think so?”
She nodded as she laid back onto her bed. “And you know I’m going to be checking up on you a lot. So, make sure you answer your phone at least a couple of times when I bug you, okay?”
I smiled softly. “I appreciate that, thank you.”
“Hey, that’s what best friends are here for, you know? But you better pick up. If I go more than a couple of hours without hearing from you, I’m sending in the dogs.”
I barked with laughter. “Don’t worry, I’ll make sure I answer.”
“Good. And don’t let him take you anywhere without service. That’s a recipe for disaster.”
I nodded. “Trust me, that’s common sense in my life.”
“Unless it’s to the beach. I’ll accept it if he’s taking you to a beach with a nice, secluded view.”
I furrowed my brow. “Right. Okay.”
“How hot did you say this guy was?”
I snorted. “Hotter than any man whose head I’ve ever turned.”
“Then, send pictures. Don’t go anywhere without service, even to the beach, so you can send me pictures.”
“What? So you can flick the bean to them later? I don’t think so.”
She scoffed. “What!? I am appalled that you’d think so little of me.”
I grinned. “And yet, you know damn good and well you would.”
She shrugged. “It’s not like I’m dating or getting laid. Let me liiiiiiive through you!”
I cackled with laughter. “You’re so stupid, you know that?”
“And I’m proud of you, you know that?”
I nodded slowly. “I’m proud of me, too.”
“As you should be. This is a major milestone for you. I want you to enjoy it, too. Then, I want you to come home, tell me all the sordid details, and then plop your ass on the couch so we can have our movie night like you promised.”
“But if I have to cancel movie night…?”
She pointed at me through the phone screen. “Then, I get every single sordid detail. Even the ones I know you’ll be too afraid to offer up.”
I nodded. “Deal.”
She sighed. “I’ve never wanted you to get laid so badly in all my life.”
“Bridget!”
“Well, it’s true!”
I laughed so hard my stomach started to hurt. “Girl, you’re gonna make my mascara run before he gets here. Cut that shit out.”
“Okay, okay, okay. I’ll get out of your hair. But remember to check in with me.”
“I will, I swear.”
“And remember to enjoy yourself, Molly. This is what being an independent woman is all about. Working the hours you want, spending money the way you want, and fucking whoever you have a fancy for.”
“Don’t forget eating ass naked on the couch while watching Tom Hiddleston movies.”
She blinked. “No, that’s just you.”
I snickered. “You’d be doing it if it were a Chris Hemsworth marathon.”
She licked her lips. “Mmmmm, now you’re talking.”
I snorted. “Okay, I’m going to go wait for him. He should be here any minute. Love you!”
“Love you, too! Have the best time.”
I nodded. “I will. I promise.”
“Good. Talk soon.”
“Talk soon, lovely.”
I drew in a deep breath as I searched around for that black clutch. It would work with this outfit since my heels were black, so I shifted around what I could. I packed my mascara, lip gloss, phone, and my identification. I also ended up packing my debit card just in case something happened.
Then, my phone vibrated with a text message.
Bridget: Don’t think I didn’t see how tired you were when we were dressing you. Are you still having regular nightmares?
The terrible thing about best friends was that you could never pull the wool over their eyes. So, I knew there wasn’t much sense in lying.
Me: They aren’t as bad as they used to be, but yes. They’re still coming around.
Bridget: We’ll talk about that tomorrow. Talking always helps, you know that.
“Yeah, maybe for you,” I murmured.
Me: Yes, we can talk tomorrow after I give you all the sexy details of my date.
Bridget: Not even sex can distract me from the well-being of my best friend, Molly.
Me: I love you, too. I promise I’ll talk about it soon. I’m not intentionally hiding it. Just kind of been a whirlwind the past day or so.
Bridget: All right, love you.
Me: Love you, too.
I sighed as I slid my phone back into my purse, then I rushed out of my bedroom. I walked over to the window that faced the parking lot of my apartment building and peeked down to see if Cole was already here. I didn’t see him, though, so I decided to go out onto my small-ass balcony and perch.
Allowing the cool summer breeze to tickle the nape of my neck as I waited for my chariot to arrive.
I knew there wouldn’t be any sordid details from my date with Cole, but I didn’t need to tell Bridget that. She was right, though, this was a major step for me. The last—and only other time—I’d ever been on a date, I made the guy jump through hoops for almost eight months before I let him take me out to dinner.
And when he realized he wasn’t getting laid that night, I got cussed out on my porch.
“Please be better than that,” I whispered to myself.
Maybe since Cole and I had only met yesterday, he wouldn’t be expecting anything from me. At least, that was my hope. My hope was that he’d pick me up, we’d enjoy our coffee, then we’d go on that nice bike ride and get to know one another before he dropped me off at home. Would I entertain the idea of a goodbye kiss? Possibly. It all depended on how well he treated me and how comfortable he made me feel around him.
But if I felt safe with him, why not a little kiss goodnight?
I smiled to myself. “Progress.”
The sun shined bright and it warmed my exposed legs as they glistened with the shimmering lotion I had rubbed on them after taking my shower this morning. I bounced my foot slowly up and down, watching my heel wiggle around while I waited. I held my clutch a bit too tightly and chewed on my lip so badly I had to apply two more coats of lip gloss just to hide the damage my teeth had done.
But when I heard that revving engine off in the distance, I decided to meet him downstairs. It made me feel more comfortable, knowing he wouldn’t quite make it to my door. Not just yet, anyway. Plus, if he remembered to bring coffee, there was a small bench down by the flower garden of the complex where we could sit and enjoy our warmed caffeine.
So, I stood to my feet, made my way out of my apartment, and headed downstairs to meet Cole.
Hopefully, so that we could go on a date that stole my breath away and lived up to every expectation I had dreamed about last night.
