want to know which guys she’d been with so I could weed them out. Also, as much as I hated to admit it, Beth’s attention was like sunlight. She gave off immense energy that I wanted to soak up, even though I knew that energy could switch from positive to negative in a heartbeat and I’d be stuck sucking sludge deep into my pores and then feeling like shit.
The first guy I pulled up was Dean, who I’d had the first conversation with.
“Oh, no, not him,” she said. “What a bore.”
“Really?” I asked, surprised. “He’s funny.”
“Yeah, no. We met up at a bar and he brought up something political. This was a few months ago during whatever election that was.”
“Uh, the presidential one?” I asked. I knew she was playing stupid. Beth graduated from college at the same time as me and chose to abandon her marketing degree.
She waved a hand. “Yeah. And when I told him I didn’t give a fuck about politics and couldn’t give two shits about voting, he got all weird and called me Aaron Burr. Total snoozefest.”
“Oh, my gosh, he referenced Hamilton?” I was beaming. “That’s freaking awesome.”
Beth pulled a face. “It was lame.”
I pressed my lips together to keep from smiling at her annoyance. Okay, so Dean wanted someone he could converse with about issues. I respected that.
I swiped to show her the next guy and she clicked her tongue. “We matched but I don’t remember what happened. The conversation just fizzled out, I think.”
“So, you never met?” I asked.
“No.” We looked down at his picture.
Rick gave off the air of a bad boy. Not really my type, but there was something about his hazel eyes and mischievous smile that had made me pause on his profile. His arms were tatted into sleeves of beautiful designs that spanned across his chest and back, too. But his pictures had a nice quality about them, and the background appeared clean, so he didn’t feel scary.
“He’s hot,” Beth said, reaching down to scroll. “Oh, my God, look. He’s in Hoboken!”
Our eyebrows both went up. Hoboken was a town down on the Hudson river a few miles away with lots of fun bars.
“Message him!” she said.
Her excitement was catchy, but when I got to the message screen I felt self-conscious. Mostly because Beth was watching.
I typed: Hey! I see you’re in Hoboken. I love it there.
Beth snorted, and I glanced over. “What?”
“You sound like such a dork. Ask him what he’s packing in those sweatpants.”
“Negative, sis. He’ll think I want to hook up.”
Her forehead scrunched and she laughed. “Don’t you, though? This boy will throw your ass around the bed, and you will like it.”
Okay, that made me laugh too, but I shook my head.
“Look, I know you haven’t been with anyone since your fiancé, and he was, like, the only guy you were ever with, but it’s time to change that.” A tendril of nervousness tightened through me and she asked, “Don’t you want to have sex?”
“Yes,” I admitted. In fact, I thought about it far too often these days.
“So, what’s stopping you?”
I wished I could be like Beth sometimes. I really did. It would do me some good to let off steam and have fun with a man, but the thought of one-night stands or sleeping with someone who wouldn’t return my calls afterwards just made me feel empty.
“You’re one of those romantics, aren’t you?” she muttered.
“I guess,” I muttered back. We all had our comfort zones.
My app dinged and we both looked down. Rick responded!
Wuts up babe. Bring that sweet ass over. We’re at Frank’s Pub.
“Fuck yes!” Beth jumped up.
“Now?” I said. “I’m in my pajamas!”
“Yes. Right now. Let’s get dressed. Come on.” There was no hesitation in her voice—no room for argument. I stood and waved my arms.
“Beth, seriously, I only have about fifteen dollars in my account.”
“Pssh. He’ll be buying you drinks. And if not, I have some money. You can get me next time.”
I was about to start groaning but she grasped my wrist and tugged me back down the hall. For a sprite she was strong. I opened the bedroom at the end of the hall and peeked in at Holly and Cheryl. They were chatting on their opposite beds and smiled at me.
“Beth is making me go to Hoboken. Will you guys come?”
“I’m not making her!” Beth yelled from within the closet area. “She’s got her first Sparks date!”
Both of them gasped and I made a face. They sat up