“It looks good on you.”
“Girl, whateveryou’redoing looks good on you,” Brinley said, setting her glass down and giving Tessa a once over.
“Thanks,” she said with a giggle. “Turns out actually eating food does wonders for a woman’s body.”
Brinley nodded and gave Tessa a wink.
“You look fucking amazing, Tessa. And I’m so glad that you’re here, and you have no idea how much I talk about you to people. My college bestie.”
Tessa smiled at her and gave another hug, feeling the warmth and familiarity of Brinley’s presence was like a rainbow after a thunderstorm.
They sat at the table together and ate their food, neither taking a single second to breathe as they talked, filling each other in on what had unfolded in their lives over the years, and before they knew it they were both tipsy from their wine and laughing hysterically at old shenanigans they got into at the college bars.
“So, what’s it like being a WAG,” Tessa asked with a mischievous lift of her eyebrows, taking another sip of her wine, not that she needed it. She was all kinds of warm and tingly at this point.
“It’s so fun Tess, I’m not even going to lie,” Brinley said with a laugh. “Phillip is doing fucking amazing, obviously, I mean, heisthe best.”
Tessa laughs at her friend’s cocky attitude about her husband but also loves it. Brinley was always so proud of Phillip, and it made Tessa yearn for the days when she had her own football player to be proud of.
“And I like all the other wives here. Which reminds me, I may have ulterior motives…”
“Oh God,” Tessa said as she got up on wobbly feet and put their plates in the sink.
“We’re all going to our favorite bar tonight, pleeeaassee come,” Brinley said, dragging the word please out and clasping her hands in front of her in a prayer.
“Fuck no,” Tessa said with a hearty laugh.
“Oh, come on!” Brinley said with a huff, “I thought if I got you drunk enough you’d at least consider it.”
“You got me drunk on purpose?”
Brinley shrugged and winked at Tessa before continuing her plea.
“Tessa, listen to me” Brinley said, getting up and walking towards her in the kitchen, “I want you to meet my friends. I want you to have fun. You’re only here for a few months and then who knows if I’ll ever see you again. You’ll go back to your big fancy job in NYC and forget all about us Kansas City folk. Come out with me, plleeasseee,” she slurred the word please again, but this time clung onto Tessa’s arm and gave her a shake.
“What kind of place is it?” Tessa asked, and Brinley’s eyes sparkled with anticipation at Tessa considering it.
“It’s super chill, not a club at all. They usually reserve the top floor for us, so it doesn’t get too crowded. And we get free drinks, come on, you can’t pass that up.”
“Who will be there?”
“Are you asking if the players will be there?”
“Uh yeah,” Tessa said with a sarcastic laugh. “I need to know if any players will be there.”
“Why? Is it like a conflict of interest? I can make sure they don’t go.”
“No, that’s not it,” Tessa said with a sigh.
“Then what is it?”
“I would just feel more comfortable if it was just your girlfriends.”
“Well, I know Phillip and a few of the other guys are at some nighttime golfing place or whatever the fuck it is they do together,” she said with a snort. “So I think most of them are pretty tied up. Plus, the season’s about to start, they do most of their partying in the off season. Most of them are lying low now.”
Tessa swallowed and considered her options. Stay here and sulk about Tristan and be drunk while doing it, which is never a good combination. Or, push herself out of her comfort zone and distract herself from her own spiraling thoughts. Maybe make a few new girlfriends, get even drunker, maybe meet a guy.
Yeah, that would help.
