FaceTime, we were going to talk face-to-face via video chat. He was twenty-four, I was a thirty-two-year-old widow, for Christ’s sake. I had been through a lot and it showed. How was I going to cover these eternal bags under my eyes that were so deep and dark, no amount of makeup would hide them?
“She’s just going to ignore us.”
“Nah, she’s just in heavy thought.”
“Nope, she is trying to avoid us and the world around her.”
“Vivian would never ignore us.”
“Bullshit, something is on her mind. We need to beat it out of her.”
I burst out laughing and set the rag and cleaner down on the table, but then had to blink my eyes a few times to clear the grittiness of exhaustion. God, I hadn’t had a deep sleep in just over four years. I pasted on a smile and turned, mustering up my best Robert De Niro impersonation. “You talking to me?”
It wasn’t all that great.
“As a matter of fact, they were,” Leo said as she pointed over to Sophie and Stella. “Now spill, what’s going on? The two of them have been trying to get your attention, and you didn’t even notice.”
I glanced over at my manager, Mikki, who seemed to have everything under control and then took a seat at the table.
“It’s Aaron,” I explained.
“Drunk dial dude?” Leo asked, and I nodded. “You two are still talking?” I nodded again. “What’s going on? It’s been almost a month, right?”
“Three weeks.” I slid my hand across my forehead. “We text every day, talk every night. God, I really like talking to him, and he makes me laugh.”
“Then what’s the problem?” Leo asked.
“I still feel like there’s too much I don’t know.”
“Um, that’s what dating is for. It’s the test drive to make sure you want to actually buy it,” Stella added in.
“But there are things that he is so vague about.”
“Like?” Stella waited for my answer.
“I don’t know, I can’t think right now. All we’re doing right now is taking our time and building a friendship,” I explained but left out the fact that anymore, my night felt incomplete if I didn’t hear his voice. “Oh, by the way, he’s twenty-four.”
“So?” Bridget asked. “I’m twenty-four.”
“Bridge, I’m thirty-two.”
“Ah, cougar.” Bridget laughed.
“Who cares?” Leo shrugged and a few others agreed.
“Dude, there is actually a formula to figure out if you are a cougar or not,” Stella announced.
“What? Where did you hear this?” Bridget asked.
“I don’t remember, but you half the woman’s age and then add seven. That’s the max age the guy can be to make the woman a cougar.”
“I have no clue where you come up with this shit,” Leo added.
“She’s right, I’ve read that too somewhere. In all truthfulness, my age has never bothered me before, but then again I wasn’t comparing myself to a twenty-four-year-old.” Truthfully, thirty-two wasn’t old. My biggest fear was that Aaron and I would have nothing in common. He was probably still into partying and hooking up with random women; I was into a glass of wine and Netflix for an episode of Breaking Bad.
“Look, we’ve lost her,” Leo whispered.
“She’s a goner. He must have some magical phone powers,” Stella added.
“Really? I can totally hear you all. No, I just have a lot on my mind. The whole thing is stupid. I drunk dial someone, and a little over three weeks later we are still talking. I have no clue why.” I stood up and began pacing around the table. “He’s twenty-four, holy shit, twenty-four. I mean, what kind of person does that make me?” I shoved my hands through my hair as if I could push the answers in there, but no dice. True, I was twenty-three when Eric and I finally got married, but we had been high school sweethearts. “Now he wants to see me, like see my face, and I agreed. Do you know how long it’s been since I’ve had a good night’s sleep? These dark circles have turned into stains they have been under my eyes that long.”
“Are you finished yet?” Leo asked. “This pity party has run its course.”
“Yes, I’m finished.” I let out a huff.
“What does he do?” Leo asked, trying to soothe the situation.
“Oh, that’s it.” I snapped my fingers. “He says that he works for Romero Holdings, but I have no idea what he actually does there.”
“Never heard of it.” Stella grabbed her drink.
“Me neither, he said they owned lots of franchises. So really, he could do anything. I don’t even know what kind of franchises they own.”
Sophie had her phone out while Stella leaned over and read over her shoulder. “Well, fuck a duck, they own the Orlando Lightning.”
I stared at her for clarity, because I had no idea that a freaking basketball team was a franchise. I thought only fast food places and hotels were franchised out.
“The Lightning, as in, our NBA team,” Leo clarified, but I was still giving her a blank look. “Woman, I have no clue how you function sometimes.” Leo smiled letting me know that she was totally teasing.
“I knew that,” I huffed.
“Exactly.” Stella jumped out of her seat, her hands waving in the air is if she were flicking water off them. “Ding, ding, ding, we have a winner. That is why you need to talk with him. Twenty-four matters only if that is his IQ.” Stella grinned.
“Really? You want me to keep talking to him because of a basketball team?”
She nodded.
“Fine, I’ll talk with him, but he might not work for them. He said Romero owns several franchises.”
“What if he’s a basketball player? Twenty-four is the right age for a player, right? Quick, is there an Aaron on the team?” Stella asked.
“Yeah, only the best shooting guard in the NBA, Aaron Skkye,” Mikki said from behind me.
I turned and stared at her.
“What?” Stella
