Derrick turns to me. "Why's that?"
"Friday is a real date night. Thursday isn't."
"Flawed logic," Alex points out.
"It's not," I disagree.
"You've never gone on a date on a Thursday?" Derrick asks.
"Sure, I have. But those dates never turned into over-nighters. It's all about perception," I inform him.
"And we all know how you need to keep things straight," Derrick replies, drolly.
"I don't want anyone getting any ideas about what's going on here," I tell him, when it's really me I don't want getting any ideas.
Mark scoffs. "Thursday, Friday—what does it matter? If people see you out together, they're going to think you're banging."
"Hmm. Maybe this Dating 101 thing was a bad idea," I surmise.
"No, no," Alex interjects. "It's a good idea. Derrick needs some help. He was just telling us that one of the women he spent time with, Kristi, was someone he could see actually dating."
My stomach drops and my appetite is gone. I set my bacon on my plate.
"Is that so?" I ask.
Derrick looks at Alex, then Mark. He merely shrugs.
"Then this is a good idea after all. You might actually find someone you could fall in love with," I state, looking to Jamie for help.
"Yeah, maybe even get married and have children," she adds, saving me when my brain is having trouble forming coherent thoughts.
Derrick with Kristi. It makes me jealous, and it hurts a bit. It shouldn't. I have no claim over him. I've never even spent any time with him outside of the office. I can feel myself frowning, but I can't stop it. I'm confused by this, by how I feel.
"What's wrong, Audra?" Mark asks.
"Hmm?" I ask, looking up. "Nothing's wrong. The bacon just isn't sitting well." Lie. Another lie to cover up my vulnerability. I'm getting pretty good at it.
Derrick turns to me. "I knew you should have taken another day. Maybe you should go home and rest some more?"
I turn to him, those oceanic eyes are so sincere and caring, it sets butterflies into flight in my stomach. Oh my. I haven't felt butterflies that strong in such a long time. This is bad. Trouble. It's just a game to him. Can I remember that?
"I'm okay, Derrick. I promise. I think I ate it too quickly, that's all," I reassure.
"You sure?" he asks, resting a hand on my back.
My heart kicks up, beating wildly in my chest. "I am. I promise."
He rubs that hand in circles on my back. "Okay. Just take it easy. If you need more time, you know you can take as much as you need."
"I appreciate that. Thank you, Derrick. I should let you know I heard from the police yesterday and they will be pressing charges against the jerk who drugged me. It seems it's not the first time he's done this and got caught," I tell them.
"What a loser," Jamie declares. "Any guy who has to drug a woman to have sex with them, is disgusting, desperate, and pathetic."
"Wow," Alex begins. "Tell us how you really feel."
Jamie snickers. "It's true though."
"It is," Mark agrees. "So, Friday. Date night. We have poker night on Thursday."
