Chapter 1
Charlotte
“I am never,and I meannever,getting involved with a younger man again,” I say with a grimace.
The tequila shot burns a hole in my mouth.
I bite into the lime, and while it adds some relief from the wrath of Jose Cuervo, nothing could take the sting out of my heart.
“Cheers to that,” my best friend, Josie, says. She pounds her own tequila shot. Afterwards, she does a full body shake. “God, that’s truly awful. I want a fruity drink…something with an umbrella in it. Barkeep!” she snaps her fingers, and the whole room ignores her. She half shrugs. “Oh well. Works in the movies.”
“I don’t want my alcohol watered down tonight,” I go on. “I need something that will help me forget all about Ben.”
“Good luck with that,” she says with an airy chuckle. “I don’t know if I could ever forget someone like Ben. Curly, tousle-able hair, brooding silver eyes, that Timothée Chalamet jawline, and that Flynn Ryder smolder. Whew!” Josie wiggles in a shiver, but then she forces the smile away. “But no. You’re right. He’s scum and we need to forget him. Every inch of him.”
“You’re not helping,” I tell her as the bartender nods up at us.
“Mai Thai, please,” Josie says, and his eyes dart over to me.
We are at a swanky little cantina bar in the heart of Denver. And being Friday night, they are slammed. I’m surprised we even found seats tonight, let alone bar seats.
“I’ll take another shot of Cuervo,” I tell him. “And this time, no training wheels.”
“Look out, Denver, Charlotte’s getting wild!” Josie says.
The bartender doesn’t smile. He just walks away to make our drinks. The frown lines in the corners of his lips make me wonder if he’s ever smiled.
“He’s cute. Don’t you think he’s cute? Hey! Maybe that’s the ticket!”
“The ticket to what?” I ask, dunking a tortilla chip into green chili salsa.
“The ticket to getting over Ben!” she says.
“It’s only been a week,” I say, crunching on the chip. “I’m pretty sure a month is the standard mourning time after a relationship crashes and burns.”
Especially when you find out that he is already in love with someone else.
“Listen, we don’t have that kind of time!” she says. “Did you know that men in Colorado between the ages of twenty and thirty-five are considered some of the most attractive in the country? The swipe right ratio is much higher here. You have to jump on these things. You’re not getting any younger, you know.”
I frown at my supposed best friend, and the bartender sets our drinks down. Josie pulls hers towards her and winks at him. His face doesn’t change.
“God, I love a man who plays hard to get,” she swoons before taking a sip of her fruity cocktail.
I roll my eyes.
I love this girl. We’ve been best friends forever. We even work in the same industry.
But when it comes to dating advice, she’s not really my go-to.
She’s too opinionated and quirky, two traits most men can’t handle.
Josie is attractive, though. Her fair skin and heart-shaped face framed by her thick, raven hair and perfect bangs. Her bangs are so good they are part of her personality.
“Listen,” she says, chewing on a pineapple triangle garnish. “I know you’re still grieving. Break-ups are the worst, but you’ve got to get over what’s-his-name.”
“Ben,” I say as I engage in a staring contest with my plain shot of tequila. My stomach sours at the idea of it, and I’m starting to regret going without the training wheels.
“I know his name. I was just trying to prove a point,” she says.
