Page 26 of Electric Blue Love
Tasha crossed her arms over her chest and glared, not moving even to take the water I offered.
“It could be good to get a master’s – more opportunities, higher pay. My mom is doing well, and I could still visit and eventually return there,” I finished and set the water on the coffee table in front of her.
“This doesn’t have anything to do with Todd staying here for med school, does it?”
“What? No, of course not.” It was a perk, I admitted, but not the reason.
“Just… please make sure you’re keeping Todd completely out of this decision,” she said as she uncrossed her arms. The look of annoyance had left her face and was replaced with something that looked like sadness or pity. “Do what’s best foryou. And perhaps consider what’s best for me – having you with me in New York.” She looked up at me with a hopeful smile.
My phone beeped with an incoming text, saving me from hashing out future plans. I needed time on my own to think, weigh the pros and cons, analyze.
“It’s Todd. They’re going out. He wants me to come meet up with them,” I said happily.
Tasha waved at the computer in her lap. “I thought we were prepping for your interviews.”
“We did. I’ll be fine. Seriously. I do some of my best work under pressure.”
It was a lie and she knew it – or at least an unproven theory. I was never unprepared, but I was less concerned with my interviews than I was with the idea of trying out my potential girlfriend moves on Todd.
“Come on. Come with us. I miss hanging out. We have less than a month until graduation and I feel like I’ve barely seen you this semester.”
I’d played to her guilt and I could tell it was working by the way she bit back a smile.
“You’re not wearing that, are you?”
I rolled my eyes and went in for the kill. “Come on, I’ll even let you dress me.”
As I’d expected, her eyes lit up. “Where are they going?”
Thirty minutes later Tasha and I were on York Street just after ten o’clock. It was early by college standards, but the bar was already packed. I pulled at the hem of the too short dress while trying to keep myself upright on heels that were five inches higher than anything I usually wore. Maybe letting Tasha dress me had been going too far. She could pull this off with a confidence and general bad-assery that I didn’t possess.
“How are we supposed to find him in here?” I shouted above the noise. We pushed through the crowd and stood sandwiched in at the edge of the bar.
“Hey,” Tasha grabbed my elbow and gave it a little squeeze. “Chill out. We’ll find him. Let’s grab a drink and try and find a table.”
I nodded as the bartender hustled in front of us asking our order while walking away. I was only half-listening as Tasha gave her our order. I scanned the crowd looking for Todd or his friends. They were a large – as in muscular – and loud group so I didn’t think they’d be too hard to find. A peek at my cell revealed no new text messages and I refrained from sending one that made me look overly eager. I was, but I could almost hear Court’s voice telling me to put away my phone and have fun.
Tasha handed me a glass and I took a sip of the rum and diet concoction as we squeezed away from the bar looking for a table. I continued my perusal of the place, spotting a few alumni in the crowd, in town for the career fair, no doubt.
We found a table near the front of the bar next to the karaoke table with an ear-piercing closeness to the speakers. Currently there was a trio of girls belting out Taylor Swift’sWe Are Never Ever Getting Back Together. I had twenty bucks that at least one of them ended the night tangled up with the very man she was singing about. No one sang that song with that much passion unless they were still hung up on someone.
“Stop it,” Tasha said, snapping my attention back to her. “He’ll show. Until then…” She raised her glass and a smile pulled at her lips.
“Cheers,” I said, clinking my glass against hers.
I gave up the look out and focused on Tasha. We drank. We caught up. We laughed. God, how we laughed.
“I miss this,” I said after our second drink.
“Well if you take a job in New York, we could keep rooming together and we’d be able to spend a lot more time together once our evenings aren’t filled with homework and cramming for tests.”
“What about Lance? I thought you two would be shacking up together?”
“He hasn’t asked yet, but even if he does, New York is expensive. The three of us could get a place.”
Almost before I could give her my best no way in hell face, she continued. “I promise it wouldn’t be weird.”
“Says the girl who wouldn’t have to listen to her best friend getting it on.”
