Page 39 of Not My Finest Hour

“Tell us again what was so important that you had to miss out on our event?” Lorelei’s mouth twitches, holding back a grin. She already knows why I wasn’t there. She just wants to hear it again so she and Chelsea can share another laugh at my expense. It’s fine. I deserve it.

“I was on a date and that date got so drunk, I had to call Justin to rescue me.” I wait for the laughs from the two of them to die down. “It’s not that funny,” I say with a glare.

“But it is. Will you show us the picture you took?” Chelsea asks.

I shake my head. Even though Wesley pissed me off today, I still don’t feel right showing everyone his passed-out-drunk picture. “You’re just going to have to believe me that it happened,” I say, then take a bite of my gyro.

Lorelei takes a sip of her soda, then polishes off the rest of her gyro. “So, are you and Justin back together then?”

Finally. Something I’m more than happy to talk about. “We are,” I say with a smile that could light up this whole restaurant. “We’re going out this weekend.”

“What are you going to do?” Lorelei asks.

“We’re just going to cook together at his house. Maybe we’ll go somewhere before the meal, but I’m not sure about the details yet,” I say.

Lorelei smiles, sensing my happiness. “That sounds sweet. And I think I speak for Chelsea too when I say that we’re both really happy for you. You waited a long time to put yourself back out there, and I’m glad you found someone who’s good enough for you. Because not just any guy will do. Tell us again what Justin does?”

“You mean you’ve never asked his friend?” I say, pretending to be shocked. “You’re usually nosier than that.”

Lorelei responds with a grin. “I can’t say that Justin has ever come up in conversation. We’re usually too busy talking about each other.”

“He’s going to be a doctor. He’s currently in his fourth year of residency,” I say.

Chelsea tilts her head. “What kind of doctor?”

What do I even say here? I don’t want to tell them the truth because I know they’ll find it weird that Justin would prefer to specialize in something that’s usually done by a woman. Not only that, but I don’t want comments about me being jealous that he’s going to be seeing women all day long. I really want them to meet Justin and get to know him before they find out. I feel like once they talk to him and figure out how nice he is, they won’t care what he does.

But on the other hand, maybe I should tell them the truth because it’s something to be proud, not ashamed of. And I’m proud of Justin and his accomplishments. I think he’ll make a fabulous doctor. “He’s going to be a general practitioner,” I say, chickening out. I can’t tell them yet—I just can’t.

“Sounds like you found a winner,” Chelsea says, rubbing her fingers together in a pay me gesture.

I roll my eyes. “You know I don’t care about how much he makes. That’s not what’s important to me. I care more about what kind of person he is.”

Chelsea holds back a smirk. “I was just messing with you. I know you don’t care about money. I mean, look at the car you drive.”

I throw her a look. “Well, maybe I do care about money after all. I care enough about it to not spend it on something I don’t need. My car works just fine, and I plan on keeping it until it dies. So, unless you’re paying for my next one, then hush.”

“Yeah, Chelsea. We can’t all have our dads buy us cars,” Lorelei chimes in.

Chelsea holds up her hands in a mock surrender. “Okay, okay. I get it.”

It’s time for me to grill them on their relationships. Lorelei has been really silent about her budding relationship, and I haven’t heard anything out of Chelsea since we went out on that disastrous double date at the bowling alley. I decide to start with Chelsea. “Chelsea, have you had any new dates that I should know about?”

“Honestly, no. Things with Ryder fizzled out. I was never going to be number one in his book. I guess bowling is always going to take that spot,” Chelsea says with a laugh. “No one wants all their dates to take place in a bowling alley, and that’s exactly what was happening.”“It’s a good thing you figured it out before you had your wedding in a bowling alley,” I say with a grin. “What about you, Lorelei? How are things going with your man? Can we call him your boyfriend now? Or do we still have to refer to him as Justin’s friend from the bar?”

Lorelei’s smile eats up her entire face. I haven’t seen her like this in a long time, so things must be going really well with this guy. “First of all, his name is Sam, and things are…well, they’re perfect actually.”

I wait for her to elaborate, but she stays silent. “That’s it? That’s all you’re going to say?”

Chelsea narrows her eyes. “Why are you being so mysterious? We want to know the details!”

“I don’t want to jinx it,” Lorelei explains. “I’ve stayed over at his place a few times, and we just get along so well. I’m not one to rush into anything, but I think he might be The One.”

“Really? How can you tell that so soon? It’s been what, like a month since you two started dating?” There’s no way perpetually indecisive Lorelei is ready to settle down.

“I’m serious. You two know me, and for me to say this so soon in a relationship is a big deal. I’ve never felt this way about any of my boyfriends before, so this is new territory for me. I’ve talked to my mom about it, and she said that sometimes you just know.” Lorelei’s eyes take on a glassy look like she’s about to tear up. She’s clearly smitten with this guy and feels passionately about him.

“That’s amazing. Dahlia and I are really happy for you.” Chelsea raises her glass and motions for us to do the same. “To Lorelei and her success on finding The One.” We clink glasses together.

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