"Oh, you even have a hot nickname for him? Yeah, you want to bang him if you haven't already," she laughed.
"Why did I invite you again?" I groaned, dropping my head back in effect.
"Oh, so you have." She grinned. "So, how was it?"
"Oh my God," I laughed. "You're impossible. Fine, I will give you all the details, and then you drop it. I don't want to focus on him anymore than I have to," I started. Sliding down onto the cushion, getting comfortable to have ‘girl' talk.
"He's my kickboxing instructor, and last week, there was a heated moment between us if you will, and I, um, kissed him." My face flushed as I recalled it. "It started to go further, but then something shifted," I swallowed, "I think in me, and well, he stopped. Surly left me panting up against a wall as he stalked off and then avoided me at the beginning of the week, so yeah, complicated is the best word for us!" I finished with emphasis, throwing up my hands.
"Okay, okay." Nat put her hands up in front of her in a pleading gesture. "You win. It's definitely complicated. But damn, how hot would that be? You just know he fucks good with all that angst." Now, she was fanning herself, and I couldn't help but laugh at her shenanigans.
I couldn't disagree with her. It had been some of the hottest foreplay of my life. While I didn't have a lot to compare it to, it still seemed hotter than any story I'd even heard from girls, and blew anything I'd experienced with Brian out of the water.
"Do you want coffee or anything? I was making some before Wells knocked on the door."
I made my way into the kitchen and grabbed a mug to pour the hot liquid into. Nat jumped up on the counter, and I realized it was the first time I'd seen her out of a car. She leaned back on her arms, kicking her legs under the open space of the bar. She was shorter than I expected, probably a few inches shorter than me. Her brown hair was long and ran down her back in waves. Nat's style was both comfortable and fashionable in a very hipster sort of way. It was then I realized how much younger she was than me.
"Are you done checking me out?" she teased, pulling my attention back to her.
"Ah, sorry. It's just that I've never seen you outside your car before now, and I was just taking you in and filing away the info, I suppose." I shrugged as I tried to throw off some of my embarrassment.
"Girl, you can check me out any time. I know you don't swing that way, but it's a huge compliment and makes a girl feel good."
"Well, okay, I'll make sure to check you out longer from now on."
Nat had a way of making me feel not embarrassed about things. She didn't judge, and I realized how different she was from the ladies I used to be friends with, and how loose of a term that really had been. A knock sounded at the door, and Nat hopped down as she headed over to it.
"Hope you don't mind, but I invited a reinforcement," she said over her shoulder, a smile on her face that told me she was up to no good. "I'm not great at style, as you might've noticed by my own outfit. I'm better at hair and makeup."
"Uh, sure. Who did you invite, though?"
My social anxiety started to flare as I took in the state of myself. I was practically naked and about to meet a stranger. I was hitting it out of the park today with first impressions, I supposed. I stayed in the kitchen, hoping it would provide me some level of security. I could hear them talking as they neared, and I was about to run into my room, lock the door, and cancel everything when they turned the corner. Instantly, I deflated as I took in the familiar redhead.
"Cami," I greeted the newcomer. At my voice, she bounced over to me and wrapped me in an exuberant hug taking me by surprise as we rocked back and forth.
"Loren! Oh, it's so good to see you, and without a mask on. Girl, you're stunning! This is going to be so fun. It's like having a human Barbie doll." She beamed back at Nat, talking a mile a minute.
Nat was leaning back against the counter now with a smug look on her face. I shook my head at her knowing she'd probably sensed my fear at her words. Nodding to her, I acknowledged her brilliance at inviting Cami over as well.
"Sorry, I'm not used to having guests here. Do you want any coffee?"
"Girl, we need something stronger than coffee," Cami chirped as she made herself at home and started opening my cabinets as she looked for glasses and God knows what else.
"Oh man, Loren. We need to stock your liquor supply better. Please, tell me you at least have some wine," she pouted.
"Um, maybe in the fridge?" I hedged.
Rolling her eyes, she opened the fridge to find an old bottle of Pinot Grigio I'd probably had for a few years hidden in the back. I was almost positive that it had been a gift from my colleagues after my divorce. At the time, I hadn't seen the need to celebrate the demise of my picture-perfect life. Now, I was starting to understand how fake that picture had been. Tonight was the perfect night to open that wine and toast to a new chapter.
Finding the corkscrew, I handed it to the experienced bartender and allowed her to do her thing. I would muck it up and leave bits of the cork in it. Brian had constantly ridiculed me for it. I probably had PTSD over all the things he criticized me on and why I hadn't opened the bottle in over a year. Though a dark part of me admitted that if I'd started drinking at home, I might not have stopped. There were some dark days I had there, still had, if I was honest.
"To new friends and makeovers!" cheered Nat as she passed out glasses and raised hers.
"To new friends and makeovers!" Cami and I joined.
"Wait, makeovers? I don't know about all that, you guys."
Unfortunately, they only laughed at me as we drank our wine. Nat pulled me by my hand and out of the kitchen but stopped when she realized she didn't know where she was going.