They both said the same thing at the same time.
“Career breakdown!”
“No,” I said. “It’s not that at all.”
“Yes, it is,” Zoe said. “Let me get a drink and we’ll tackle this one together.”
“I’ll make sure she doesn’t smell,” Eva said.
“Smell? Why would I smell?” I asked.
Eva approached me as though I were a lion on the loose. “Madison, the last time you did this, you went three days without showering or putting on deodorant. We didn’t say anything. But it got a little rough at the end.”
“Oh, shut up,” I said. “This is not like that at all. I’m just having a weird day.”
“A reflective day?” Eva asked.
I finally sighed. I succumbed. “Fine. Yes.”
“We’ll get through it,” Eva said. “Tell me everything that happened.”
“Nothing to tell,” I said. I sat back down on the couch. “Just looking at my life. You know? I’m taking pictures of hockey players.”
“Hot ones at least,” Eva said.
“Is this because of the goalie you banged?” Zoe asked as she walked to the living room.
“It’s everything,” I admitted.
“You don’t like the guy, do you?” Zoe asked.
“Maverick?” I shouted. “No! It’s just weird. I have no problem sleeping with someone I work with. I just didn’t know I was going to work with him. And he’s so butt hurt over me using my middle name. I’m usually good at ignoring this kind of thing, but this guy is just…”
“Too hot, right?” Eva asked.
“Yes. He’s too hot.”
“You want a second round,” Zoe said.
“Who wouldn’t?” I asked. “But, no, seriously, I just keep thinking about pictures like these… look at these…”
Zoe and Eva looked and nodded.
“You have talent,” Zoe said.
“Yet I always find myself stuck,” I said.
“Because you can’t commit to anything,” Eva said.
“Really?” I asked.
“What? Are we going to tiptoe around this for days? You want to do your own thing with photography and you should. But that would require you to commit to it. You can’t commit to anything. You can’t decide what you want to hang on your apartment walls, and you’ve lived here for how many years? Even when we go out to dinner, you always order two meals. You can’t even commit to food!”
“I order two meals because we like to talk and eat slow,” I said. “We all pick at it.”
“Maybe you should do both,” Zoe said.
“Both?” I asked. “You mean…” I leaned forward. The wine danced and tingled in my head. “You mean take picturesandsleep with Maverick on the side?”