Page 12 of Once Bitten, Twice Fried
“Sure, I’ll see you there.”
* * *
Claire was already sitting at a table outside the bar, enjoying the nice weather.
“You’re only 5 minutes late today. That’s pretty good.” Claire paused. “Considering that you live 10 minutes away from this bar.”
Julie sat down.“I think a 50% rate of lateness is pretty OK.”
“You are scandalous.”
Lena, the owner, stepped out of the bar and greeted them. They chatted for a few minutes, ordered, then turned back to each other as Lena disappeared.
“So what’s up?” Julie hadn’t seen Claire in months.
“Oh you know. Work.” Claire stretched and tied her long blonde hair up. “And also, I’ve been dating a hot lawyer.”
“Really?” That’s it, this time Julie was definitely the only one of her friends who would die alone.
“Yes! We met online and she’s not a weirdo. She’s also working in a non-profit. We went on a lot of dates.” Claire was beaming. “She’s also very into art, it’s so nice to go museums with someone else!”
“Hey! We used to go to museums.” Julie said, offended.
“Sorry, I meant, it’s nice to go to the museums with someone you can kiss.”
“Fair enough.”
Lena reappeared and set two pints of Belgian beer on the rough-hewn table. Julie settled into her stool and wrapped her hands around the cold glass.
“What about you?”
Julie shrugged. “You know, the usual. Work. I’m helping Yasmine with her wedding.” She nervously ran a hand in her curly hair. She knew which question Claire was going to ask next.
“What about dating, Julie? Last time I saw you, you’d given up on the apps.”
“I still have.”
“You don’t even have a teeny tiny crush to tell me about so I can be entertained?”
Julie sighed. She did have something to tell Claire. She just couldn’t keep it to herself any more. “I need your advice on something.”
“Is it about a straight girl again?” Claire was unimpressed.
“Yes it is. Wait, don’t make that face. It’s a bit more complicated.”
“I’m all ears.”
“There was this girl I was best friends with back in college.” Julie exhaled, knowing that the beginning of the story already sounded silly. “I had a huge crush on her and a bit before she left - she was here for a year abroad - we got drunk and kissed. I haven’t spoken to her since and we never talked about this incident either.”
“Aw. You must’ve been so cute in college. Not that you’re not cute now.”
“I don’t think I’ve changed a lot since college? Anyway, Yasmine hired her catering service for her wedding and she’s going to be there. I have no idea what I should make of it or what I should do about it.”
“Oh god.” Claire put her face in her hands. “The most important rule is to never go after straight women, Julie. I know you guys kissed, but that was college. Everyone kissed everyone! I think I even kissed a lamppost once.”
Julie made a disgusted face. “Gross, Claire. But you’re right. I just feel so stupid about this. It’s just that… it wasn’t just a kiss. It was several kisses. I don’t want to go into details, but we were sharing a bed.”
“Yeah, but it was over ten years ago. Even if it turned out she was bi or gay or whatever else now, there’s a very small chance she even remembers it or thinks about it. If it had changed her life, she would have talked to you, right? And you say you never talked to her again after that?”
