“I’ll call you later,” he said and walked away, leaving me wondering if I’d seen fireworks…and nope. But it was a nice soft kiss. Since I hadn’t kissed many guys, I didn’t have much to compare it to. If I had to describe it in two words, it was wet and sloppy.

Opening the door with my keys in my hand, I was almost positive Becky would be waiting up for me since it wasn’t too late, but she wasn’t. Either she was out or she was already sleeping. Not wanting to wake her, I went straight to my room. After I showered and got ready for bed, I snuggled inside my blanket and cuddled up with a book I had started reading.

Young adult romance novels was the genre I loved to read, ever since I’d picked up a book from Target…recommended by Becky, of course. The author was one of her clients. Though I loved books about vampires, angel stories were my favorite. Just as I reached the part where the heroine described how she was feeling about the male she had encountered, my heart did a funny flip. Then a vivid image of Max’s face pooled to the forefront of my mind.

Not liking how he was invading my mind, I closed my book and turned off the lamp next to my bed. Why was I thinking of him? I didn’t even know him. Sure, we flirted, but it meant nothing. Obviously he got a thrill out of doing it, even though he was with a date. Guys like him were trouble. Luke was safe, and he was nice, the kind of guy that would only date one woman at a time, the kind of guy that would never cheat on his girlfriend. Yes…Max made me open my eyes, but regardless, Luke was safe, and I liked it that way.

I grabbed my cell phone to see if I had any messages. Our group had been texting away while I was on my date. Reading the texts, I chuckled out loud. Apparently, they were betting on whether Luke would kiss me and if I would see fireworks. They all agreed Luke would kiss me, but they disagreed on me seeing fireworks. Kate said I would, but Becky and Nicole disagreed. Then they ended with see you tomorrow and can’t wait. Just like them, I couldn’t wait to see my friends.

**

Oh, how I loved the weekend. Still in my pajamas, I was all smiles to see Becky, but she wasn’t around. When I went to the kitchen, a note was on the refrigerator. The note read: Going to the gym, then lunch date. See you when the posse comes around at four. I’ll pick up salad and dessert. It’s potluck, just in case you missed the text. No need to make anything. See you later. Hugs!

How I loved Becky. She was always looking after me and making my life easier. She was the sister I wished I had. Just because we weren’t related by blood didn’t mean we couldn’t be sisters. Nicole and Kate were like that for me too, but Becky and I were closer, mainly because we had lived together and had been through some hard times together. Through thick and thin, we were always there for each other, and I was blessed to have them all in my life.

Before I forgot again, I placed a phone call to my parents, since I hadn’t spoken to them in a couple of days. I tried to call as often as I could since my mom was a worrier. My parents lived in San Francisco. My dad was a dentist and mom was a stay at home mom. Being an only child was lonely at times, so my closest friends had become my family. Of course, people changed and friends changed too, but I was grateful for everyone in my life.

Since I didn’t have much to do, I cleaned our apartment, did the laundry, went to the grocery store to stock up the refrigerator, and watched some television. The day had gone by fast, though I felt like I hadn’t done much. Lastly, I turned on my laptop to check my email, but instead of doing that, I became so engrossed on Facebook that I didn’t notice when Becky walked in.

“Hey, Jenna. Where are you?” Becky shouted from the kitchen.

Happy to see her, I followed the sound of the shuffling noises.

“Hi, Becky.” I peered into the kitchen. She had placed the salad and the dessert on the counter.

“Looks good,” I said, admiring them both. “So…who did you go out to lunch with?”

After folding the recyclable plastic bags, she shoved them under the sink cabinet. “It really wasn’t a date. He was an old friend I knew a long time ago. No biggy.”

Just when I was about to ask when Nicole and Kate would get here, the doorbell chimed. That answered my question. Opening the door to let them in, Becky and I took turns giving them hugs. Nicole brought pasta salad, and Kate brought some wine.

After we piled food on our plates, we settled around our square wooden dining table for four. Kate took care of the wine for everyone, and even remembered to pour me only a little. Since she was still breastfeeding, she had none.

“How are you, Nicole?” I asked, thinking about her break up, then wondered if I should have brought up the sore topic. When everyone completely froze so that I could hear the sound of my own breathing, I figured I should not have spoken.

Shockingly, Nicole put down her glass of wine, then looked up at us. “After a year, I realized I didn’t love him after all, not in the way I wanted to. I think I loved the idea of being with someone, to be loved by someone, but I wasn’t in love. You know, that kind of love where you can’t be without him? And to be honest, the sex wasn’t that great.”

Becky had just gulped some wine, but regurgitated it, and it came shooting out of her mouth. She did that once in awhile. “Sorry.” She shrugged her shoulders, wiping up the crimson liquid around her plate. Thank goodness she’d spat it out in front of her and not at us.

“I’m not sitting next to you next time,” Kate giggled, stabbing her fork into the salad.