Page 21 of Friendshipped
“Yep,” my sister says, leaning back onto her stool and taking a sip of ice water like one of those people finishing up a convincing timeshare pitch.
“No,” I say.
I don’t even know what she has in mind, but I know I’m not even close to agreeing to it.
“Why not, Lexi?” she pleads. “You’re almost twenty-three. You haven’t been on a date in ages. Your ovaries are shriveling by the minute.”
“Well, that’s a lovely picture,” I say, shaking my head as Jayme giggles from across the island.
“All we have to do is make each of you an online profile.”
“OH, NO! No, no, no,” I say. “No one is making an online profile.”
I look to Jayme for support. She’s sitting quietly as if she’s actually considering my sister’s suggestion.
“Aren’t those for people who want to hook up overnight or have one-night stands?” Jayme asks sincerely.
“Oh, those apps exist, for sure. That’s not what we’re talking about. I mean, if that’s your thing, we can consider it, but I think both of you are marriage material. You want long-term relationships with someone stable and everything that comes along with a solid commitment.”
Jayme nods. My mouth gapes open. How is Jayme even still sitting in my kitchen and not calling an Uber?
She’s under the Felicia spell. I’ve seen it before.
“Gregg and I met through one of these sites. Well, sort of, kind of, in a roundabout way. Anyway, the app made it happen,” Felicia says, shocking me for the second time this morning.
“You did?” I ask. “I thought you met through mutual friends.”
I never really dug into the story behind how Felicia and Gregg met. She’s in another city and when she said they met through mutual friends I took her words at face value.
“That’s what I told Mom and Dad. It was easier than telling them I was dating strangers I met online. They would have freaked.”
“That’s not a clue to you?” I say. “I mean, you and Gregg are great together. But I don’t think yours is the usual experience of most people who go online to find true love.”
“It’s actually way more common than you’d think,” Felicia says. “Memaw knows.”
“Memaw knows what?” I ask.
“That I went online to meet men. She’s got her own profile too.”
Oh, sweet mother goose. You have to be kidding me. My eighty-year-old grandmother has an online dating profile.
“Anyway,” Felicia says, turning back to Jayme. “I think it would be good for you. I mean, the worst thing that could happen could be you go on some bad dates. Not much lost there. And what if you end up meeting the one man who is your happily ever after? Wouldn’t that be worth a few bad dates along the way?”
Jayme has the most pensive look on her face. She’s not showing any emotion, but she isn’t flinching either. I know her and happily ever after. She’s a romance author. Those words are like crack to her. And my sister’s the dealer.
Finally, Jayme says, “Yeah. It’s worth the risk. I don’t need to sit around crying over Shane. I’m in if Lexi’s in.”
Wait. Whoa. Whoa. If Lexi’s in?
Felicia turns to look at me. Jayme’s eyes meet mine. If I don’t do this, Jayme won’t. And she needs to move forward. She wants to try.
I stare back at them.
Felicia has this half-pleading, half-prodding look on her face. Jayme’s eyebrows are up, her eyes wide.
I contemplate the option.
Am I seriously considering this?
