CHAPTER ONE
Zoe
“That’s it. I’ve had enough. Pour me a drink and kiss me good night. I’m done,” I state with a definitive tone, tossing my purse down on the chair next to me and sitting at the high-top table where all my friends are already two drinks deep.
“Hey, look who decided to show up,” Macy, my best friend since I was in seventh grade, teases as she slides her newly poured drink in front of me.
I don’t even bother asking what it is when I pick it up and down it, letting drips of it slide off my lips and onto my shirt, not caring one bit since my shirt is black and I know it won’t show.
“Damn,” Macy squeals out. “It’s been that kind of day, huh?”
I slam the glass on the table, wipe my mouth—very unladylike, I might add—and turn to her. “Jack and Seven?” I ask, finally tasting the liquid therapy I just drank. “Did you have a shitty day too?”
She sighs. “Welcome to the table of misery. I’m Macy”—she places her hand on her chest—“your co-host for the night.” She points to our other friends, sitting across the table from us.“Candace and Chasity are our ears to listen to our bitching and our judges to tell us how fucked up the world is around us.”
I lean my head on her shoulder, and with a pleading tone, I say, “Then I’m sorry I drank your therapy.”
She laughs as she raises her hand, holding up two fingers, then makes a circle motion to the bartender, meaning to bring two of the same drink he just made. Most people probably wouldn’t know what she meant, but the bartender is her little brother, Joey, so he knows us well enough to not even question what’s going on.
I glance over at him and give a little wave. He nods his acceptance of the drink order, so I sit up straight, take a deep breath, and move my hands starting at my face then pushing outward, like I’m trying to get rid of the bad vibes I walked in with.
“Do you want to talk about it?” Candace asks.
Before I can answer, Joey walks over and places two drinks in front of us. I give him puppy-dog eyes and pout my lip at him.
“Thank you,” I sigh.
“Maybe don’t down this one in two-point-three seconds. It is only Monday,” he says playfully with a shrug, bringing his hands up to the sides before turning to Candace and Chasity. “You guys still good?”
Candace nods, but I don’t miss the way he and Chasity stare at each other for a second too long before she replies, “I’m good.”
He winks at her, and I instantly raise my eyebrows in question, only for her to turn quickly, pretending a noise caught her attention. I tuck that little bit of info in the back of my mind to ask her about it later, then go back to trying to ease my pain from another awful day.
“So, was it David again who has driven you to drink?” Macy asks.
“You know it!” I pick up my glass to cheers the air and take another sip, then set it down in front of me so I don’t continue to drink it as fast as the last one.
“Why is that guy such an ass?” Candace asks.
“I truly think he is the son of Satan and takes full pleasure in making my life a living hell,” I reply before crossing my arms on the table and dropping my head down on them.
I feel my hair fall forward, slightly releasing from the pin holding it up. I love when Macy reaches over to fix it for me.
“Thank you,” I say, keeping my head down. Then I remember she had a shitty day, too, so I let out a breath and lift my head to ask her, “What about you? King George being a ruthless tyrant again?”
She picks up her drink, holding it up to clink mine, so I match her gesture, and we take another gulp together before setting the glasses back down.
Macy and I are both in our dream jobs with nightmare situations. With me, David is a coworker, but George is her boss. In my head, that doesn’t seem as bad of a situation, though in some aspects, it’s probably worse.
The four of us grew up together, went to college together, and are now living our quarter-life crisis together.
When we first entered college, we had so many hopeful thoughts of what life would be like by the time we were thirty. Now, all of us are staring down the big three-oh birthday, and none of us are where we thought we would be in our personal lives.
“So, what did the asshat do today?” Macy asks me.
I lift my head, close my eyes, and let out a huff. “You mean besides just existing?”
This gets me a chuckle from my girls as they wait for me to spill the details about my horrible day.
