July 23rd

Dex,

I’m so glad you’re having fun! Do me a favor though and don’t turn into one of those douchey surfer guys haha xD. Eloise and I moved into our apartment this week. Mom convinced us that it would be better this way because we’re family and it’s a good way to save money. She’s being her usual quirky self and we seem to be getting along well, even dividing up the chores to make things easier. It’s nice to have a room I haven’t lived in since I was little. I miss you every day. This long-distance friendship thing is really hard.

Xo Ames

“You can’t keep moping over Dex, Ames,” Eloise said as she added one last swipe of mascara to her lashes that same night. “And you can’t sit around waiting for him to return so you can have a chance at something more. That’s all it is, really. Just a chance. What if he finds a girlfriend before you see each other again?”

I swallowed the lump that formed in my throat. Dex had always been popular with the girls while we were growing up. It made sense I wanted to hold onto the chance of something more; our relationship beyond friends was over before it could begin.

But I knew Dex, and I knew he wouldn’t hold off just for me. That was the stuff of fairytales.

“Look, all I’m saying is there’s other guys out there besides Dex.” Eloise stood up from her vanity. “You know my saying, the best way to get over one guy—”

“I’m not sleeping with someone else to get over my feelings for Dex.” I rolled my eyes. “That may be your philosophy but it’s not mine. Anyway, I don’t need to get over him. Dex and I were always better off as friends anyway.” My fingers instinctively went to my lips, something I’d been doing a lot as if trying to get the memory of his kiss to remain for a little longer.

Eloise raised an eyebrow but didn’t say anything more. “C’mon, we’re already late as it is.” She gave my outfit a onceover. “Are you sure that’s what you want to wear tonight?”

I tugged at my top. “Yes?”

She pursed her lips. “Huh. Okay, let’s go.” Eloise tugged at my arm and I followed her out to the car.

We pulled up to the club a little while later, the beat of the music inside pulsing through the car windows. Eloise parked then handed me the keys which was our signal that I was now considered designated driver for the night. My sister and her friends gravitated toward the bar to get drinks—judging by the sounds of their giggling. I found a seat at the end of the bar and ordered a virgin cosmopolitan.

But I wasn’t alone for long.

“I’ll have what she’s having.” The deep voice startled me as a man took a seat at one of the bar stools a few down from me.

I snorted into my glass. “Does that line actually work? You know, considering A, I’ve ordered the girliest drink on the planet and B, it’s non-alcoholic?”

The man laughed and signaled the bartender—who’d been watching us over the last minute—to keep making his drink.

“It usually works,” he replied, “but I’m not going to hold my breath just in case it doesn’t.”

Smart move.

I took a sip of my drink and gestured to the stool next to me. “Most guys would just be cocky about it. Points for you, um…”

The guy scooched over, grinning. “Braden.”

“Amelia.” I smiled. “So, Braden. What brings you out tonight?”

“Just needed a place to clear my head.” He raised his drink and glanced in my direction. “But I’m a little too sober to go into the whole story tonight.”

I lifted my hands. “Hey, I’m not here to pry.”

“What about you?” he asked.

“My sister. She wanted us to have one last night of freedom before I start my new job tomorrow and yet she stuck me with designated driver duty.” The liquid from my drink slipped down my throat and I pretended that it contained vodka in addition to the fruity elements.

“Sounds like she wanted it for herself,” he commented. Braden nodded in the direction of my sister who now danced, swinging her hips wildly up against a stranger.

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“Yeah. Something like that.”

Braden reached out his hand. “Why don’t we join them?”

“Oh no no no, I can’t. I don’t normally dance until I’m at least three drinks in and I’m clearly staying sober tonight, so…” I gulped down more of my drink to prevent my mouth from saying anything else.

My companion laughed. “Oh come on, you can’t be too bad.”

“Oh, I never said I was bad at it,” I clarified. “That said, everyone’s better at dancing when they’re drunk.”

“True, but that doesn’t mean they should have more fun.” His blue eyes lit up when he smiled. “One dance?”

I raised an eyebrow. “One dance.”

I let Braden lead me out to the dance floor. We let loose, joining in with several of the other club patrons who smelled of sweat, perfume, and alcohol. Despite staying sober, what Braden said rang true. I danced with him, let him put his hands on my hips as they rocked side to side. He twirled me so that my back was to him. In the heat of the moment, amongst the pheromones in the club’s atmosphere, there was no place I would rather be.

Braden dipped his lips down to my ear. Given where we were, I was expecting a nip at the skin and the feel of his hands sliding up my body.

Instead, his hands stayed planted on my hips and he said loudly above the music, “Are you having fun?”

In reply, I turned around again and wrapped my hands around his neck, pulling our torsos closer together.

“I didn’t think dancing sober could be this fun.”

Braden laughed, the noise rumbling deep in his chest. “Good to know.” He twirled me again then tugged me back to the bar.

We ordered two waters. The cold liquid felt refreshing against my now-sweating skin. I smiled at Braden as he leaned against the bar. When I was done, I grabbed his hand. He looked at me, surprised.

“You wanted to dance, didn’t you?” I said. “Let’s get back out there!” I didn’t know what had gotten into me. I never had this level of confidence unless I was at least tipsy, but just being around someone else who didn’t have a care in the world was refreshing.

Braden and I returned to the center of the dance floor. Hot breaths mixed with wandering hands and shimmying hips while the loud music continued to pump over our heads.

This is what Eloise was talking about. Find a guy and…no. I shook the thought out of my head. I’d just met him. Who was I, Eloise?

At that moment, Braden spun me out then pulled me back in. I gasped, his lips mere inches away from mine. My heart thumped loudly in my chest and I hoped he couldn’t hear it over the sound of the music.

By 2am, Eloise whined that she was ready to go home. Braden and I walked toward the exit in a fit of giggles over something that he’d said.

“Oh wow. You know I haven’t laughed like that in a while.” Braden sighed, leaning with one hand against the wall. “It was really great meeting you tonight, Amelia.” He scratched the back of his head. “I was sort of hoping maybe I could kiss you?”

I blushed. “I don’t normally kiss guys I’ve just met. Not that I don’t want to kiss you, because I do and I think maybe we should but also that it would be a really really bad…idea. Why are you staring at me like that?”

Braden let out a chuckle. “Are you sure the bartender didn’t slip any alcohol into those drinks of yours?”

I swatted at him. “I ramble when I’m nervous!”

“It’s ok, I think it’s cute.” He tucked my hair behind my ears, letting his fingers linger on my skin. “Truth is, I recently got out of a rather complicated long-term relationship. I guess…I needed tonight to let loose a little.”

“I needed that too.” I tilted my head up as his mouth dipped down toward mine.

Eloise squealed from behind me, making us jump apart. Before I could say anything, she slung an arm around my shoulders.

“See? What did I tell you, Ames. The best way to get over a guy is to get under a new one and damn, do you have taste!” She gave Braden a once over.

“El, that’s enough!” Heat flushed my cheeks. I turned to Braden. “I promise it’s not like that.”

He inhaled sharply. “Maybe it’s best that this, um, didn’t happen. I’ll, um, see you, Amelia.” He walked away, shoving the sleeves of his shirt up his arms.

I flared my nostrils as I whirled on my sister. “Are you seriously kidding me right now, El?”

Eloise bit her lip and shrugged. “Oops?”

I groaned and stomped toward the car with my twin in tow. Just my luck that the first sweet guy I meet turns out to be a flop because of a minor slip up of words. But the truth of the matter was, I didn’t get why he was so upset.

He told me he needed tonight to let loose. Maybe sex wasn’t on his mind, but it wasn’t on mine either.

Damn that stupid motto.

“Seriously, Ames.” My sister stumbled after me as we got back to the apartment. “I’m just a little drunk. I can’t control my mouth, you know that.”

“Yeah, I do.” I sighed. “Anyway, thanks for telling me to come out tonight. It was fun, even though…”

“Even though your drunk sister couldn’t keep her mouth shut?” Eloise finished with a tease in her voice. “I really am sorry, Ames. If he’s going to let some tiny mistake keep him from you, that's his loss.”

I nodded. “Thanks. I know you didn’t mean anything by it. Whatever, he was just a guy in a bar, right? There’s hundreds of others in Portland.”

Eloise placed a hand on my shoulder, although I wasn’t sure if it was to comfort me or because she needed to steady herself. “Dex was just one guy. Bar-man is just one guy. You’ll find someone, I promise.”

I walked past her through the kitchen to my room. I hoped she was right. As I fell asleep, Braden’s blue eyes haunted my brain. But I didn’t have to worry about him any longer.

After all, he was just a guy in a bar.

And I was just a girl needing to get over my best friend.