“Liar,” Mom sings.
“Hmm? What was that? Hanging up now, okay bye.”
I press the end button and bang my head on the desk one, two, three times.
Kris laughs. “That bad, huh?”
My head dips to the side. I peer up at her with one eye. “Is Daniel a unicorn?” Her brows pull together. “Leprechaun?”
“I can’t say for sure.” She says it slowly like she doesn’t quite know what puzzle she’s solving. “You know I haven’t actually met him, right? Only seen a picture of his face? He works with John and that’s all I know. But I’d like to think my husband wouldn’t set you up with someone short.” A pause. “And I’d hope if he was Irish, John wouldn’t leave out that detail.” Another pause. “Is that what you’re asking?”
A tired chuckle that sounds more like a cry tumbles out of me. “It’s not, but thanks anyway.”
“Okay,” she announces, pulling me out of my seat. “Time for a block walk.”
I find a fresh pep in my step. “Yes! Please!”
Kris retrieves two strawberry suckers from the stash I keep in my bottom drawer while I slide my feet back in the stilettos I’d tucked underneath my desk.
Our midday pick-me-up routine couldn’t come at a better time. Fresh air, girl talk, and a sweet treat to distract me from messages about lip gloss and my lackluster love life.
Kristen and I became fast friends six years ago when I got hired on at Hawkley House Public Relations out of college. She’s a couple years older than me, but we quickly bonded over our shared affinity for sugar and designer heels. We’ve been besties ever since.
The welcome warmth of the July sun hits my face when we spill out onto the sidewalk. A major perk of the firm’s offices being plopped in the middle of downtown Boulder is the extra wide strolling pathsflanking either side of the street. Scattered trees planted in breaks in the concrete add to the small-town charm and provide much needed shade in the heat of summer. Blocks of artsy shops and eateries around every corner, it’s a people watcher’s dream.
Kristen pulls the sucker through her lips with a pop. “So, howisLydia?” She smirks over her Dum-Dum.
“Mom is being Mom. She gets a boyfriend and suddenly it’s blind date guy for me or bust.” I slide my sucker to the opposite cheek. “All I wanna do is go home and crash in my sweats over a pint of ice cream.”
“But you can’t do that,” she retorts matter-of-factly.
“I can’t do that because of the aforementioned blind date.”
“With Daniel.”
“With Daniel,” I parrot.
She studies the traffic before launching into the crosswalk, me in step beside her. “Well, if he isn’t won over by your personality, I think your enthusiasm should do the trick.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about. I’m a catch.” My phone pings with an email and I type out a quick reply.
“What are you gonna wear?”
I sigh, dropping the phone to my side. “Mom wants me to wear my pink sundress.”
My friend hums in consideration. “Sounds like Lydia. I don’t know though, I think you should show up all corporate badass in what you’re wearing now.”
I look down at my cap-sleeved black pencil dress with the hem grazing my lower thigh. A long line of buttons runs the length of my neck to the top of the center slit on the back of my legs, though they’re only for show atop a functional zipper—never making that mistake again. Paired with my Jimmy Choo pumps, it definitely doesn’t meet the typical first date vibes most women go for. It’s lessdelicate spring flowerand morethorny privacy hedge.
We sidestep a mom with a stroller as I slurp my mouth around my sucker again. “See, this is why we’re friends, Kris.”
“I got you, babe. Go in there screamingI’m your worst boardroom nightmare, bitchand freaking own it. Daniel should know exactly who you are from the get.”
I chuckle. “What do you even know about this guy, anyway?”
She pops one shoulder. “Honestly, not much. He started working at the firm a couple months ago. John says he seems cool. And I know you don’t wanna see his picture, but I promise he’s good looking.”
I know it’s a weird rule, but if I see a guy’s picture, I’ll get in my head and look for a flaw. It helps me keep an open mind.