I lift a brow. "Isn't guacamole going to make you hurl?"
She waves. "No. I don't eat it, anyway. It's for my vegan friend."
"Remind me to steer clear of her."
"It's a he." Her eyes flash.
Another brow lift. "Really?"
"He also likes nail polish, Elton John, and tonight we're watching Cher's concert on Netflix."
"So, he's gay."
She gives me a look that says, 'Bingo', and clucks her tongue. "And I'm bringing him with me to this Copper Cove Hoedown, because he died when he found out that I was going and know someone else that was going, too."
My voice is flat, unimpressed. "Why."
"Because he's dying to have a fling with a small-town cowboy, and he swears that there's no decent ones right here in Dallas." We hear the door knock. Her eyes light up. "Oh, that's them now!"
Shelly
Finally! God, I mean, Levi is sweet and all, but I just couldn’t take another minute of that. Things got all kinds of serious there. What I need is to kick back and relax, but I don’t want to put it out there that Levi isn’t welcome to meet my friends, either. These girls have gotten me through thick and thin over the years, and I haven’t seen them since I met Levi. Not that that’s his fault or anything.
As soon as I open up the front door, Darla, my tall, knockout friend opens her arms wide and squeals at my presence. “Girl, I feel like it’s been years!" She hugs me tight, and then she thumbs behind her. “Did you see that kick ass truck out there? Who belongs to that?"
Laz, my gay friend, interjects, sizing up Levi, who is standing there, seemingly numb. “That can only be driven by some hot cowboy and just look who’s right in front of us. Shells, are you going to introduce us to this tall drink of water here?"
“Laz, Darla, this is Levi, my boyfriend."
Like the gallant, dude that he is, Levi sticks his hand out for them both to shake. “Nice to meet you." Levi says politely with a nod.
“Oh, girl. This is going to shape up to be an interesting evening." Laz gushes.
“Oh, I can’t stay. I’ve got studying to do.” Levi cowers.
Now it’s a Darla's turn to size him up. She gives him a sideways glance, with a smirk. “That’s a shame, doll.” I pick up on the facetious tone in her voice.
As the girls come away from the door, Levi squeezes his way through. “It was so nice meeting y’all. Have a nice evening."
“Oh, we sure will." Laz comments flirtatiously.
I give Levi a quick wave goodbye and close the door.
“I swear to God you should check for skid marks after he leaves.” Darla comments.
“That there is the poster boy for homophobia if I’ve ever seen one before.” Laz volunteers.
“He’s just from a small town."
“Well, honey, I hope for both of our sakes, that they’re not all like that."
Darla sniffs the air. “Have you been cooking all day?”
“I was doing it to impress my man, but I can see that turned to hell.”
“More for us.” Laz says.
The girls come into the living room and spread out all the snacks that they both brought in bags. I bring out the food in the casserole dish and some plates and cutlery. None of us drink. We’re more into the food. We did all the drinking that we neededto do years ago. The music gets turned up, and we do the usual dancing in the living room, turning my house into a nightclub. As we eat and catch up, Darla turns to me and asks. “So, I saw Gary last week."
