Hm. What does the birthday girl want?
Dex. I want hot, screaming, sweaty sex with Dex.
“M-Merlot is fine. Thank you,” I stutter.
The server smiles and hesitates a moment before leaving. “I’ll get that for you and bring you a bread basket. How does that sound?”
“Sounds great. My friends should be here any minute.”
I wait for my drink, thinking about Dex’s face between my legs.
By the time the server comes back with a basket of bread and a glass of wine, my panties are soaked through. There is something seriously wrong with me.
Fifteen minutes pass.
The server refills my wine glass, still smiling.
I butter a piece of bread and take a bite. It’s delicious, and for a few brief moments I stop thinking of all the dirty things I envision Dex doing to me.
I accidently eat all the contents of the basket.
The server comes back with another basket and refills my glass again. This time her smile is weaker and she lightly touches my shoulder with a soft pat. “I’m sure your friends are just running late.” She says the words in a soothing tone.
I sip at my freshly poured wine and blink up at her. She needs to leave me to my wine and bread basket before I lose all the fucks I have left to give.
When she does, I grab my phone and look at the time. It’s five minutes to eight o’clock.
How is it almost eight o’clock?
I check the text message icon and notice a little number five at the top left-hand corner. How is it almost eight and I missed five text messages? I shake the phone and squeeze it. Why do phones do that? I check the mute button. It’s not muted. My phone just spontaneously decided to not alert me to any of my messages.
Nate:Hey. Happy Birthday. Not going to be able to make it to dinner. I don’t want to be anywhere SHE is. You understand. Hope you feel better too. Missed you at work yesterday and today.
Gail the Tyrant Talbert:Darling. Happy fortieth. Remember age is just a number, however, now when you have kinky sex it might sound a lot like a bowl of Rice Crispies. Won’t be at your dinner tonight. I already texted your better half but he hasn’t returned the message. Just making sure you know. Raincheck? We’ll do Botox together next week. Your treat.
Birth Giver:Happy Birthday to you. Happy Birthday to you. Happy Birthday, dear Jane. Happy Birthday to you! XOXO I love you!
Birth Giver 2:Happy Birthday Mouse. Do you know where your mother hid my nine iron?
Simon:My agent found me a place. Thanks for everything. Good luck on the book. Talk soon.
I down therest of my wine. I haven’t spoken to anyone since the Monday nightsexident. Mostly because I spent that night and the entire next day with my head stuck in my toilet and a box of saltines attached to my hip. Julia and Nate’s shouts echoed through the walls into my apartment. I was confused and feverish for a bit, but from what I could gather, Julia blames the Kiss Cam for her cock star exploits because Nate was never her Mr. Perfect if he was originally mine. It makes no sense, but that’s how she’s justifying her choices. Eventually, sometime on Tuesday, Nate packed his things and went to stay with a friend from work, Gavin, who had also at one time slept with Julia.Moral of the story: Julia sleeps with everyone.
Through all their fighting and my puking, Simon stayed across the hall with Mrs. Kinsey. I don’t even want to attempt to visualize any of that after what I witnessed on my poor couch.Moral of that story: Simon with sleep with anything.
I haven’t heard from Dex since he told me he needed to see his mother in Area Code 203. He hasn’t even been active on any of his social media accounts. Complete radio silence. And honestly, I’ve been too sick to think about how unsettling it makes me feel, not hearing from him. I hope everything is okay with his mother and anyone else inArea Code 203.
Suddenly, my dress is too tight, the material too slippery, and it’s suffocating me.
The server appears at my table again. Her expression is now just a heaping bowl of pity. “Would you like to order anything? Or…”
Or?Or what? Leave embarrassed that not one person showed up for a dinner my missing boyfriend planned for me? I look down at my phone again and try to keep my voice steady, “Just a grilled chicken salad, thank you.” I’m full from all the bread, but I’m too humiliated to just ask for the check and leave. I clear my throat and smile. I drink another glass of wine.
When my salad is set on the table in front of me, the lettuce is crisp and the chicken is warm. I shovel a few bites into my mouth and try not to cry into the dressing.
Something must have happened for him to miss this dinner. Maybe he got into an accident. Maybe his mother is sick, or one of his sisters. But…Julia isn’t here either. And Gavin, and Silvia and Heath.They wouldn’t just skip over my birthday dinner.
Nate’s message might have been real, but Gail’s message might have been a ruse. And Simon is texting me he miraculously has a place to stay? Oh my God! They must be giving me a surprise party at my apartment! Dex and Julia would have known I’d wait for them at the restaurant for at least an hour before leaving. That would give them enough time to decorate and set out food and drinks. My heart is pounding in my throat right now.
