We grab lunch from my favorite deli that boasts the best Montréal smoked meats sandwiches, but instead of sitting at my desk, I am sitting with my friend. I was scrolling through social media and pulling up my newly downloaded dating app.
Eric takes a huge bite of his sandwich. “What are you doing?” he asks through a mouthful of food.
“Here goes nothing.” I upload a picture that Eric took of me at the beach on spring break last year.
I take a bite of my sandwich and watch as the picture uploads to my profile. I toss my phone toward him and he takes a look.
He whistles. “Nice, man. It’s about time.”
I nod in agreement. “It is.” I retrieve my phone, hitting the silence button, pocketing it before we head back to the office.
The day has finally come to an end, time to clock out for the day. As I shut my computer down for the night. I am looking around for my phone, remembering that I had silenced it and threw it in the drawer so I wouldn’t get distracted. Reaching into the drawer to grab it so I can head out for the night, I see I have a message from the guys in our group text, so I click on it as I head for the elevators.
Eric and Theo
Hey! Meet us at the usual spot. Happy hour.
“Perfect,” I say aloud. I quickly type out a response.
Jameson
Sure. I’ll be there soon.
I pack up my shit and head out with a purpose. I’m not going to fixate on something I can’t have. I will have some drinks with my friends and get out of this funk I’ve been in. I repeat this mantra all the way to our favorite sports bar, which is already packed.
I look around for where Theo and Eric usually sit and immediately spot them. Theo is waving his hand for me to come over, and I sidestep several people to get there. I immediately spot Simone, the waitress infatuated with Dax, and duck out of her line of sight.
The guys stand from their seats and give me a clasp-side hug as we sit, and I flag down the waitress for a beer, pointing at what they are having. She nods and goes back to the bar.
“Where’s Dax?” I ask the guys, looking around as if he will magically appear. They laugh, and Theo rolls his eyes.
“Pfft. We texted him, too, but he’s not coming out.”
I look at him, confused. “Late night at work in the OR?” I glance around, seeing the waitress taking another order.
“Nope,” Theo replies coolly. “He has plans with Liv.”
Eric laughs into his beer. “I can’t say I blame him. If I had a woman that hot, I’d stay home, too.”
I nod in agreement. “And then there were three, huh.”
“Yep,” Eric says. “Just wait. I’m going to find myself one of those book girls.” He says this as if he knows something we don’t.
“Huh?” Theo looks at him quizzically. “Book girls?”
“You know, one of those women who reads smutty books,” Eric attempts to clarify. “I’ve always been drawn to the sexy librarian vibe.”
Before I can comment, the waitress approaches our table with my beer, ending any further questioning about book girls. As I take a long swig, something catches my eye, and I cough on my beer.
“Hey, woah,” Eric states. “Are you alright there, Jameson?”
I shake my head and hit my chest, trying to say I am okay, but I aspirated a bunch of hazy IPA, so it’s a garbled mess. Finally, I sputter, “Yep, just went down the wrong pipe, that's all.”
Theo smacks me on the back.
I look around to find her, but she isn’t there. Great, now I am seeing Eve when she is, in fact, not here. I only saw her with a mask on, but those eyes were so vibrant, I’d know her anywhere if I looked into them.Wouldn’t I?I have got to get it together. I rub a hand down my face and stand.
The guys look up at me.
