I push the talk button on my steering wheel. “Call Brea.” After a few rings, she picks up.

“Hey, girl. What’s up?”

“Hey, Brea, are you free tonight?” I ask.

“Sure am. Wanna meet up for dinner and drinks at Mary Jane’s?” She sounds excited to hear from me. Brea and I have been best friends since the day we met in first grade. We used to climb up to the top of the climbing dome on the playground and scope out all the cute boys together. Although we didn’t realize it until years later, she always seemed to go for the well-behaved, smart, preppy guys, while I had a thing for the bad boys.

“Yes, please. That would be perfect.”

“You okay, chick?” Brea asks, her voice laced with concern.

“Um…yeah. I’ll be better than ever soon. My best gal pal, a juicy burger from Mary Jane’s, and a few whiskey sours should do the trick.”

I make one last left turn onto Brea’s street.

“Sounds good. Shall I call us a cab? You know, just in case you need a few more whiskey sours than you think,” she giggles.

“You know me so well. What would I do without you, Brea?”

“Let’s hope we never have to worry about that.” I’m pretty sure I can hear her smile through the phone.

“See you in just a second.”

“Calling the cab now—I’ll have them pick us up in thirty minutes.”

I push ‘end call’ as I pull into her driveway and park.

Brea opens the door just as I’m walking up to her front steps. Her gorgeous, sandy brown curls are pulled up into a perfect ponytail, and her hazel eyes are highlighted by just a touch of makeup. “All right. Spill it, Lex. What’s going on?”

I walk inside and Brea shuts the door behind me. I toss my purse onto her dark cherry wood kitchen table and walk into the living room. She can always tell I’m upset, even if I think I’ve hidden it. I sink down onto the couch and run my hands over my face. “I’m going to break up with Patrick.”

“What? Why? What happened? What did he do? Did he hurt you? I thought he was head over heels for you?” She’s shooting questions at me rapid fire.

“He is. I’m just tired of his crazy mood swings. I can’t handle it any more. He’s like a ticking time bomb.”

Brea walks over and sits down on the dark blue suede chair that’s off to the left of her couch. She looks at me with concern in her eyes. “You’re right, sweetie. You don’t need that shit,” she says.

“Plus, I don’t feel that spark that everyone always says you’re supposed to feel when you’re with ‘the one’. He needs to find someone that is willing to put up with his bullshit attitude,” I say, combing my hands through my hair.

Brea nods in agreement while chewing on the inside of her cheek. Suddenly, she jumps up. “I have an idea. Tomorrow, let’s go for those BFF tattoos we’ve been talking about. I’ll call Josh when I get home and set up an appointment for us. But for now, let’s go have those juicy burgers and drinks. I’m starving.” I let out a deep sigh. “Come on,” she says with a frustrated groan. “Whiskey Sours always cheer you up. Plus, that AMAZING smokey-flavor homemade ketchup that Mary Jane’s is famous for.” She wiggles her eyebrows at me.

“Okay, fine. Let’s go. Tonight, we’re going to drink until we’re silly, and tomorrow—” I trail off and let out another sigh. “Tomorrow, I will call Patrick and try to let him down as gently as possible. God, I hope he doesn’t freak the hell out.”

“Get your ass out the door, woman, or I’m leaving without you,” she says on her way out. “The cab just pulled up.”

“Alright. I’m coming.” I say, pushing myself up off the couch. I grab my purse and follow Brea out, locking the door behind us.

WE ARRIVE AT Mary Jane’s and get seated at a table in the center of the main dining area. After a few moments, a waiter approaches our table. Nice looking guy. Tall, fit, short blonde hair, and blue eyes. I’m such a sucker for gorgeous eyes.

“Good evening, my name is Jared. What can I get you lovely ladies to drink?” he asks, never seeming to break eye contact with Brea. I loudly clear my throat and smile in amusement. Brea is gorgeous, and all the men notice.

“I’ll have a Whiskey Sour, please, and a bottle of beer.”

“And for you, darlin’?” he asks Brea. She blushes.

“Ummm, I’ll have a Strawberry Margarita, please.”

“Sure thing. I’ll be back with those for you both shortly,” he says, winking at Brea as he turns and strides away from our table. Brea is watching him the entire time. Once he’s out of sight, she glances at me out of the corner of her eye and starts to smirk.

“Oh my God, Brea.” We both burst out laughing like we’re back in first grade. She doesn’t even have to say anything. She just gives me that certain look and I know exactly what she’s thinking: he’s hot. Just as the laughter subsides, she glances behind me toward the door, and her eyes become the size of sand dollars. “Bre…what’s—” A hand touches my shoulder, and I know immediately that it’s Patrick. Shit! Shit shit shit!

“Babe, what are you doing here?” he asks. His brow is furrowed, and he looks confused. “I thought you said you had to work tonight.”

“Uh, hi, Patrick, about that…”

Brea abruptly chimes in, “Oh they called her when she was on her way saying they didn’t need her anymore. I happened to be close by, so I snatched her up for a little girl time.”

Thank you! I mouth. I don’t want Patrick to see.

“Well, you girls don’t mind if I join you for a drink, do you? I was just going to grab some take-out, but since you’re here I think I’ll stay.” He slides in next to me and places his arm around my neck.

“Of course we don’t mind,” Brea says. Just then, Jared comes back with our drinks. His mood seems to have changed. My guess is he’s a little perturbed by Patrick’s sudden appearance. Right there with ya, buddy. Right there with ya.

“Uh, hey man, what can I get you to drink?” Jared asks.

“I’ll just have a Pepsi,” Patrick says dryly.

“I’ll be right back with that,” Jared says, giving Brea another sweet look as he rushes off.

“So, Patrick, what’s your band working on right now?” Brea asks. I know she only asked to keep him distracted from wanting to bother me. Patrick and his band mostly play on weekends at local bars and small charity events. He places his hand on my leg. It rests there while he proceeds to ramble on and on to Brea about the next set list they’re working on. He’ll jump at any chance to talk about himself.

“Our new set list is so flawless, Brea. We’re going to be booked every weekend for the next three months at least. Our next show is at the tavern on Highway 68 next Saturday night.”

Jared comes back right away with Patrick’s drink and takes the rest of our order. Thank God it doesn’t take long to get our food. I’m anxious to eat and get out of here. Fast. As I throw back my third drink, I realize I have a pretty good buzz going on. I’m a lightweight, what can I say.

Maybe now would be a great time to end it with Patrick, while I have the courage. It’s almost like it was meant to be that he showed up and ruined our girl’s night. Like some greater power is trying to tell me to just hurry up and get it over with. I’ve made my decision. After we drop Brea off, I will tell Patrick it’s over. I can’t do this anymore.

He pays for our dinner, and the three of us walk out to his car. “Are you sure you don’t mind taking me home, Patrick?” Brea asks. “I can call another cab, really. Then you and Lex can have more time to talk. I kept you pretty busy chatting during dinner about the new set list and all.”

“No, Brea, it’s fine. We can take you home.” I hurry to answer before Patrick has a chance.

“Babe, are you okay? You’ve been acting strange all day. Are you coming down with something? Maybe I should stay the night so I can take care of you.” He looks concerned.