Page 6 of The Longest Wait

Sofia threw her phone back in her purse, along with the receiptfor over one hundred dollars of purchases. Target was sneaky likethat. It was notorious for most people to go their store for onepurchase, and end up leaving with at least five extra things.

By the time she got back to her apartment, she had exactlythree hours to get ready for the party, which was more than enoughtime. If this was a low-key night, she wasn’t going through thehassle of getting all jazzed up. She jumped on her computer to getsome work done.

Being a technology consultant was a great career. For as long asshe could remember, she always had an interest in technology andthe ever-evolving environment it was in. Once she graduated fromcollege, she worked as a consultant and hasn’t stopped. She lovedthe flexibility to work from home and everything about the techworld intrigued her. There was something new every day, so shenever got bored. Currently, she was helping a local financial firmbuild controls around their mobile applications. While her friendspoked fun at her “snooze fest” profession, to her, she was like a kidin a candy store when she got her hands on code.

Luckily, she put an alarm on her phone to notify her it wasseven and had an hour to shower, get ready, and be at Lucy’s house.Lucy, Tess, and Sofia have always spent New Year’s Eve togetherever since they met. It was one of their many traditions.

Having been friends for so long, they knew all of each other’squirks, habits, and secrets. Well, all except for one. Sofia had kepther lips sealed for ten years about a major one, and she had no planto tell anyone now.

It was better that way.

ALEX MET CONNOR and Dominic at the bar to have a drinkbefore his kid sister’s party. Once he walked in, it was evident theirplan for a quick drink wasn’t going to be quick. At seven thirty, thebar was filled and there was already a line outside for people waitingto get in. Even for New Year’s Eve, the crowd seemed excessive.

Connor squeezed back to join them on the side of the roomwhere they stood, carefully holding three beers. “I’m officially old.When I was waiting in line, I was annoyed there were so manypeople ahead of me. I have no desire to be at a bar.”

“Same, man,” Alex agreed.

“Fucking lame.” Dominic shook his head in disgust. His partyanimal ways were never sick of the bar scene. “I’m not old. I’mthirty-five and there are so many hot women here. Going to a houseparty, where I have no chance to fuck anyone in attendance, doesn’tsound like fun. I may leave early so I can come back.”

Surveying the large crowd, there were a lot of women at thebar, but there was no way Alex would be able to swing comingback. Lucy would lose her shit if he left her party early all for apotential piece of ass. She was still on her high from her weddingsix months ago, so she was all about monogamy, true love, andfairytales. That was a far cry from a random New Year’s Eve hookupand what he considered an ideal evening

Connor and Dominic talked about soccer, which was the norm.

“We signed the young guy from Germany, who will start aswing. He isn’t quick enough to be successful in Europe, but wecan build our team around him,” Dominic said. “His ability toscore is sick.”

Connor nodded. “That has good potential for us, but if wemove him as starting striker, Mason will flip.”

“Mason is our starting striker , but that doesn’t mean we can’tchange up the lineup elsewhere.”

“This is why I’m glad I’m not the coach.” Connor finished hisbeer and checked his watch. “It’s after eight, you guys ready?”

Alex finished his beer while they talked shop. He enjoyedsoccer almost as much as they did, but they had the benefit ofknowing the talent of the new guys on the team, where he didn’t.

“Let’s walk. Their place is only a couple blocks,” Alex toldthem, heading to the door. He heard Connor and Dominic bitchbehind him, but seriously, it’s two blocks. The weather wasn’t evenobnoxiously cold yet.

“You two would never survive on a shoot with me,” he joked.

Dominic jabbed him in the back in jest. “Because you eithertravel to the middle of nowhere or a war zone. I don’t know howyou survive on a shoot.”

He wasn’t far from the truth. Alex questioned how he survived multiple experiences through his work as a photographer for NationalGeographic. The latest incident was still fresh in his memory.

“If you were taking pictures of Victoria Secret models, I couldhappily survive that,” Dominic, a resident playboy, said wistfully.“Odds you would leave your boring gig and move on to swimwear?”“Nope,” Alex was quick to reply.

He was used to people’s opinion that taking a picture was just that,taking a picture. Many thought being a photographer was as easy astaking a picture themselves, like someone would do on their phone.

It was so much more than a quick click.

In his career, he endured long hours, weeks at a time awayfrom home, not mention the culture and language changes, and thetraining he went through before an assignment started. His ability to see action and figure out what shot would have the biggestimpact was so much more than someone taking a selfie.

The exhilaration of being onsite, even it was a murderous warzone, was the path he chose. He was in between assignments afterhis last project turned into a bit of a predicament. His managerdemanded he take some time off to figure out if this was still thelife he wanted.

Problem was, it was all that he knew.

How does someone change their career focus when their jobdefined them? Alex was always on the go, traveling to obscureplaces, and adapting to new scenarios constantly. He enjoyed flyingby the seat of his pants and learning about new cultures, but hislifestyle left little room for a relationship.

“Do you think Lucy invited any eligible women? This is mydeciding factor if I stay,” Dominic informed them, breaking Alex’strain of thought.

They crossed the street when Connor answered, “Lucy saidthis was small, which probably means the same people we alwayssee. I have my doubts there will be someone for you to hook upwith there.”