Bringing herself back to the present, Elsie squares her shoulders, grits her teeth, and walks into the elevator. She stops directly in front of Barbie, looking her directly in the eyes, offering her a silent dare to say something. The girl backs up as shock slowly spreads across her face. Elsie turns her back on her, slips on her sneakers, and shrugs into her jacket.
This is exactly the kind of girl that John and Brian should be with, little Miss Fucking Perfect! she fumes inwardly. Friday night was just a fluke, John is not interested in me. He was there, I was there, he probably thought he could get a random quick piece of ass.
As soon as the thought crosses her mind, it felt wrong.
But he didn’t even try to push me. He was the one that left before anything went too far, Elsie thinks, worrying her lip between her teeth, analyzing that night again for the hundredth time.
Just forget it, stop thinking about it. That was then, it’s over, move on, it was nothing!
The elevator groans slowly on its descent to the first floor, creaking and clanging as it goes.
Is it always this slow or does it seem like it today because I’m stuck in here with her? Elsie can hear the girl fidgeting behind her, her sweet floral perfume filling the cramped space, and every nerve ending is on full alert.
If she says anything to me, I’m going to rip every piece of blonde hair out of that perfect head of hers.
The doors begin to open, Elsie stands in front of them getting ready to escape as soon as there’s enough room for her to squeeze through. She practically runs out the front doors of the building, rushing to where Janie is waiting in her navy blue Honda CRV.
“Jesus, girl, you look like you’re running away from something, are you ok?” Janie asks her, surprised at the look on Elsie’s face.
“Yeah, I’m fine, just someone in the elevator who I can’t stand. She always gives me dirty looks. You know those types, the perfect ones?” Elsie asks Janie, turning to face her and plastering a fake smile on her face.
“You sure that’s it, kid?” Janie asks, examining her through slightly squinted eyes.
Why does everybody treat me like a kid? Grrrr.
Sensing Elsie’s frustration Janie continues, “I only ask ‘cause I care about you, Babe, what’s wrong?”
Elsie lets out a big sigh and asks, “You know the Halloween party Elizabeth and I went to the other night, for UE Studios?”
“Yeah…”
“Well, Marco was there networking, Elizabeth didn’t know he was going to be there. John and Brian were there too working security.”
Janie’s brows come together as she waits for Elsie to continue, “Ok…”
Elsie draws in a deep breath and goes on, “John drove me home.”
Janie’s eyes fly open, “Tell me you fucked that gorgeous hunk of a man and please tell me it was the best you’ve ever had!”
“No! I didn’t have sex with him but we did make out and I guess you could say...,” Elsie hesitates, feeling shocked that she was actually going to tell her.
“Say what, Elsie, you’re killing me?!” Janie blurts out, exasperated.
“I guess you could say we dry-humped….in my apartment….against the wall,” Elsie says timidly, trying to fight a giggle from bubbling up.
Janie blinks at her once. Twice.
“Are you serious?!”
“Totally,” Elsie answers her, staring, waiting for the reaction she knows is definitely coming.
“…and…,” Elsie continues.
“Will you just spit it all out already? Jesus, I miss everything!”
“At the party, he told me, he’s made me his mission.” There, it’s out, whatever ‘it’ is.
Janie’s bug eyed again, “Are you serious?!”
“Yep.”
“Wow, girl, sounds like the guy’s totally into you,” Janie says letting out a whistle as she shakes her head from side to side, a smile spreading across her face.
“I doubt it,” Elsie grimaces, “but it doesn’t matter, there won’t be an opportunity for anything to happen again. Guys like that are with ‘perfect’ girls.”
Janie turns to look at Elsie, not believing what she’s hearing.
“You are kidding me, right? First off, look at yourself! You’re gorgeous, stunning, and absolutely perfect. John would be lucky to have you. And unless you’ve got some mysterious guy, like Jared Leto, hiding in the back ground, there is no reason for you not to see what happens.” Janie watches Elsie’s face to gauge her reaction. She sees confusion, doubt, and finally hope.
“Elsie, look at me, Girl.”
Elsie shifts her gaze to look into her friend’s eyes, vulnerability very clear in her own.
“Just see what happens, ok? No commitment, no jumping into anything. You be in control. Ok? You deserve it…just see.” Janie softly smiles at her
After a moment, Janie watches Elsie’s guard slip a little before she responds, “Ok, we’ll see.”
“Well, I’ll take that.” Janie turns to face the road and starts her car. “Now plug in your kick-ass iPhone and cue up that playlist. Let’s get this started.”
Taylor Swift’s voice fills the car with her upbeat vocals singing Shake It Off. The two women sing along, dancing in their seats.
“We should totally
