“Stop being such a hermit!” Chelsea reprimanded me. “It’s been weeks since you’ve gone out!” she exclaimed in horror. “Now tonight, we are going out! Chris goes out every Friday and you can go out too. Live a little, Lee,” she went on. I guess one night out couldn’t hurt.
“Fine but I want to be home by twelve,” I warned her.
“One a.m. latest,” she promised.
“Fine,” I agreed. “But not Duke’s, it wasn’t fun,” I lied, trying to avoid any possibility of seeing Axel again.
“Fine,” she said disappointed but agreed. We got ready at my place as usual. Chelsea wore a black, skin tight mini-dress and I wore a dark green long sleeve shirt that showed off just the right amount of cleavage and a pair of dark blue jeans. I felt comfortable yet sexy at the same time. I put on my signature mascara and lip gloss combo and I was ready to go.
“Looking good, Mamacita,” Chels complimented, looking beautiful as ever.
“Back at you.” I winked. Chelsea drove us down the winding streets of downtown. There were lots of people out everywhere, now that mid-term exams were over and everyone was taking advantage to celebrate. We drove by a few bars that already had long lines out the doors.
“This sucks,” Chelsea groaned in frustration. “Can we just go by Duke’s and see how it is?” she asked warily. No, I did not want to go back there! But before I knew it, she was driving by the front door. I nearly ducked down to hide, until I noticed it was a tall lanky brunet at the door and not Axel. Maybe he wouldn’t be there, I thought positively. It was a risk but with Chelsea’s constant groaning it looked like I didn’t have many options.
“Fine,” I sighed in defeat. She let out a little shout of excitement, clearly happy to have won this one. We got out of her sleek Audi and made our way to the entrance. The bouncer took one look at us and barely even checked our fake IDs. So far, I was feeling lucky tonight. With a drink in my hand and a plate of chicken wings out in front of me, I was feeling good and actually having a good time.
“What have you been up to lately?” Chelsea asked, as she dug into her salad and we caught up. “Not much, mostly just school and Chris.” I shrugged.
“You seem different lately,” she stated, getting my attention. “Distracted,” she concluded, putting her finger on it. I felt my body warm with nerves.
“Yeah, it’s just been a lot with exams and all,” I lied. “You know how I get,” I said with a small laugh at myself. It was no secret that I was a closet nerd and really cared about getting my work done and getting good grades.
“If you say so,” she said unconvinced.
“So, what about you?” I asked, changing topics and getting myself out of the hot seat. “How’s it going with Mack?” I asked, curious.
“Who?” she asked confused, not an ounce of memory in her eyes.
“The guy from your Buddhism class.” I laughed at her. She had no idea who I was talking about and she had left me for him, typical Chelsea.
“Oh yeah,” she giggled. “He was okay but only for the night.” She roared in laughter. “That ended a while ago,” she informed me. Chelsea moved on fast; she got bored easily and so far her longest relationship had lasted a month and that was over a year ago.
“So, who’s been your newest edition?” I asked. Chelsea had slept with over fifty guys that I knew of, she was always joking about aiming for the big one hundred. I on the other hand, was hoping to keep my number as low as possible. It freaked me out to think of all the guys Chelsea had been with, she had gotten chlamydia once but still she hadn’t changed her ways. The idea of getting an STI mortified me. I was much more of a spaz than she was. Chelsea hesitated, something she didn’t do often and made me all the more curious.
“There hasn’t really been anyone,” she said after a noticeably long pause, which made me know she was lying. I wouldn’t press her though; she would tell me when she was ready. It made me wonder if it was more than just a fling, because normally she had no trouble sharing news about her latest conquest. “But hopefully tonight there will be.” She winked, breaking the awkward tension. Chelsea scanned the bar for her next flavor of the hour and I looked around too, scanning to see if Axel was here by any chance. Nope, I was still in the clear. We ordered a pitcher of sex on the beach and finished it off, both of us now very tipsy. I enjoyed the buzz in my head and the warmth coursing through my chest.
“Ohhhh!” Chelsea squealed in delight, her eyes widening. “Him!” she stated, nodding at me to look. I looked over my shoulder to find the man in question, an average height guy with curly brown hair. He wasn’t anything I’d ever be attracted to. Chelsea definitely had her drunk goggles on. I was about to tell her as much but she was already walking over to Curly. “I’ll be back,” she said leaving me. And just like that I knew my fun night out was over.
I always hated this part of the night. Getting dressed together, grabbing a bite to eat, and a drink and catching up with her was great. Getting ditched for a meaningless lay every time, well that really sucked. I debated heading home now and calling it quits. Chelsea was going to be with some random for the rest of the night anyways and I didn’t feel like sitting around bored all
