“No problem. The girls helped me. They deserve some of the credit.” I smiled slyly. “Nikki’s about to have a stroke, Ange has drooled all over my arm, and even Lily’s melting.”
Sue laughed. “Ange sells women’s clothing, so buff, naked men are a novelty.”
“True. She’s doing better than Nikki. That girl probably wants to dissect him and study his anatomy.”
We burst out laughing.
“So, how do you feel knowing that you’ll soon be leaving Singleville?” I used the nickname we’d affectionately given our Greenwich Village neighborhood.
It was an inside joke, since all of us, except Sue now, were single—off and on.
She sighed, a dreamy look in her eyes and a soft smile curving her lips.
“Happy, but also sad knowing that I’ll be away from you and the other girls. I mean, we’ll still see each other, but things will never be the same, will they?”
I reached across the table to take her hand. “The same, no, but different doesn’t have to mean bad, babe.”
“I know. I do love Cam. Oh, boy, do I love him. I never imagined this could ever happen to me.”
She gazed at her gorgeous engagement ring. The delicate sapphire had cost a fortune, but her fiancé happily paid for it, even when their engagement had been faked to shut Sue’s parents up and keep Cam’s evil ex at bay.
“Why shouldn’t it happen to you?” I cocked my head. “You’re beautiful, smart, kind, decent... Any man would be lucky to have you.”
“Aww... Thanks, Jess. I can say those exact things about you.”
I scoffed. “Ha! I’d be every boy’s mama’s nightmare. Imagine a guy bringing me home as his future bride.” I gestured to encompass myself, starting with my short, spiky auburn hair, dropping down to myBe the Best and Screw the RestT-shirt, and ending with my ripped jeans. “I’m one of the guys, sure, but bride material? Nah.”
Sue chuckled. “So you have a unique sense of style, what’s wrong with that? You need to find a man like yourself. Don’t tell me you want to land some stuck up snob named Ken Borington the Fifteenth. Not to mention, you’re twenty-seven but look eighteen. I hate you for that by the way. Remember this.” She lifted her index finger to illustrate her point. “Throughout history, most artists have been considered eccentric. It didn’t stop them from becoming great.”
My smile relaxed as her words pinched at my heart. “That may be true, but I’m not exactly an artist anymore.”
“Yes, you are. You’re just taking a break. You can’t turn off being an artist, Jess; it’s who you are. Your time will come. You need to help it along.”
“Yeah, but at the moment, I’d rather manage a reasonably successful hardware store than starve as a painter.”
I looked out the window at the red brick building across the street. Lily had once told me that I was afraid of failure, and that was the reason why I didn’t invest more time in my art. I preferred to think I was being sensible. Art didn’t pay many bills, the hardware store did. Between my monthly bills and student loans, I didn’t have any significant savings.
I shrugged, not wanting this subject to kill my buzz.
I grabbed the six-pack. “Come on, let’s get Dan or Don a drink and save him from those greedy hands.”
When we returned to the living room, I didn’t miss the desperate look in the stripper’s eyes. Although he was well-versed at handling women, his leopard-print thong was overflowing with bills, and his body boasted an interesting array of fingerprints. I hoped those on his ass weren’t permanent. I would bet they were Nikki’s.
“Drinks are here.” I hefted the six-pack in the air.
While my drunken friends whooped, the stripper gave a relieved smile.
I passed around the beer and then took Sue’s place in the armchair. She slid onto the couch between Ange and Lily. I enjoyed having a bit of space. The AC was on, but I suspected it was on the verge of a breakdown, because the air wasn’t as cool as it should’ve been. Mr. Gore, the spooky, hairy-toed building superintendent hadn’t cleaned the thing in years. I made a mental note to contact him about the issue, although the thought of going down to his basement apartment gave me the creeps. It was bad enough when I went down there to do laundry. Notthat the man was threatening in any way. He was just... well, eccentric.
Remembering the way Sue had described me, I stifled a laugh. Was Mr. Gore my soulmate? Was I meant to become the bride of Gorenstein?
The thought was so absurd that I laughed out loud. Maybe it was time to ease off on the beer. Dan or Don had finished his drink and had started dancing again, this time keeping a more careful distance from the couch and the girls’ groping hands. He noticed me, wiggled his eyebrows, and slithered toward me to the beat of Rod Stewart’sDa Ya Think I’m Sexy.
“You look a bit lonely, baby. Want me to cheer you up?”
I sat back, eying him up and down. I’d never been a fan of this kind of entertainment, but I wasn’t dead. As I’d pointed out to Sue, he was paid handsomely to do whatever he did. Did he enjoy it?
He moved closer to me, nearly straddling the arm chair, and rolling his hips. From the look on his face, he was definitely having a good time.
