Chapter1
Laura sat cross-legged on her sofa and stared blankly at the pages of her magazine. It was a hot, dry afternoon, a few weeks before the start of summer and the heat was making her restless. That morning she’d d roamed from room to room, fanning herself with her magazine until she'd finally let herself fall down onto the sofa and mindlessly open the pages. Usually she loved turning the glossy pages and reading all about the latest fashion trends and celebrity gossip, but this afternoon her mind was elsewhere. She used to get excited looking at the pictures of beautiful dresses and shoes, back when she'd had a reason to get dressed up, but it had been so long since she'd had anywhere to go, or, more to the point, anyone to go with, that looking at all the sexy clothes just made her feel depressed.
When the phone began to ring, Laura smiled. Her best friend Sophie always seemed to have a way of reading her mind. Best friends since their school years, Sophie seemed to have an instinct for girl talk, which was like some sort of radar that could sense when a friend needed to lament over being single or complain about another guy who was being a jerk. Sophie's radar never failed and it was spot-on again tonight. When Laura picked up the phone, she was ready for a good, long moan about being single and Sophie was ready to listen.
“I know six months isn’t that long to be on your own,” Laura told her with a heavy sigh, as she stared at the image of a stunning woman advertising lipstick, who undoubtedly had a string of men lining up for her. “But I just get sick of it. It's insane. Every time I'm with a guy, I get fed up with him after five minutes, but whenever I'm on my own, I get lonely.”
“You only get fed up with the men you date because you exclusively date losers,” Sophie told her in that tone of voice she had whenever she was giving wise advice to her wayward friends. “Do you remember Connor? Absolute moron.”
“Connor wasn't that bad,” Laura replied defensively. “He was just finding himself.”
“Pfft,” Sophie scoffed. “He found himself in Rachel Holloway's bed, didn't he?”
“Don't remind me,” Laura moaned. “But that was a long time ago. At least we were together for more than a week. Now I'm stuck in this endless cycle of awful first dates where I either hate them or they hate me and I just end up feeling awful about myself. Is it me, Soph?”
“Hmm, well, let's see,” Sophie analyzed matter-of-factly. “There was that mechanic who showed up to the date still in his overalls and covered in grease. Where did he take you again?”
“The Vermont Arms,” Laura recalled and pulled a face at the memory. The Vermont Arms was the dingiest, most run-down and disgusting bar in the worst part of town. When James had suggested meeting there, Laura had assumed it was just a local spot that was easy to find and that they'd move on for a nice meal or movie somewhere else. She couldn't have been more wrong.
“The Vermont Arms,” Sophie repeated meaningfully. “And when you wouldn't drink a fifth vodka and coke because you wanted to keep control of your senses, he called you frigid and left you there, and then you walked home alone through that sketchy area because the taxi driver looked sleazy. I think we'll call that one a lucky escape.”
“I thought David was pretty nice,” Laura said. “You know, the dentist.”
Laura could hear Sophie shudder over the phone.
“He'd had so much work done on his teeth that he looked like a walking set of dentures,” she stated. “You told me that it felt like kissing a horse.”
“At least he wanted to kiss me,” Laura said dejectedly.
“What, are you thinking about Ray now?” Sophie guessed.
“He was so good looking,” Laura said with a dreamy tone coming into her voice. “His shoulders were so wide and his abs—just wow. You could see them through his shirt. You know how I just die for a six-pack on a man.”
“Great! Except you said he spoke on his phone the whole time, and then said that you weren't his type after you sat there for an hour waiting for him to pay attention to you,” Sophie reasoned. “Seriously Laura, you need to raise your standards a bit and stop mooning over guys who just aren't worth your time. Everyone you've been on a date with in the last six months has been a loser. They've either been unemployed, already in a relationship or they are arrogant, rude, or boring. You are a sexy, fun, and interesting woman, Laura. Why should you waste your time on that type of guy?”
“I know, I know,” Laura sighed, flopping back onto the couch and staring at the ceiling. “I just miss having someone there, you know? Ever since Connor moved out, that bed has just been this huge empty space that mocks me and I hate it. What I wouldn't give to have some nice, handsome guy to curl up with at the end of the day, rather than just sitting here on my own, staring out the window.”