Page 3 of Tiger Queen

“But it’s fine for me to be the guinea pig?”

“Exactly!” Ashley laughed. “I’ve already got a job waiting for me, and I didn’t want them thinking I was applying elsewhere—even as a joke. Come on, it’ll be harmless. Let’s order take-out.”

We opened another bottle of wine and got Chinese food. I wasn’t in the mood to send out more applications so instead we reminisced about our time together at Florida State. It felt like we had been here forever, and it felt like it had flown by.

“Do you regret anything?” Ashley asked.

“Like what?”

“Stuff you wish you had done. Like, dated more guys. I wish I had more fun.”

I laughed. “I had two serious boyfriends while I was here. That feels like plenty.”

“So there’s nothing you regret?”

I hesitated. Being my best friend, Ashley recognized it immediately.

“You’re holding out on me! What is it?”

I smirked and took a long pull from the wine bottle. It was almost empty. “There was one time, two years ago…”

“Yeah?”

“I almost had a threesome.”

Ashley gasped. “What! With whom?”

“It was before Alex and I started dating,” I explained. “Me, Alex, and his friend Jon were all studying at his place. We had had a few beers, and were comfy on the couch, and Jon suggested it as a joke. We all sort of laughed… But there was a moment where we were all considering it. And I realized I really wanted to.”

Ashley playfully slapped me on the knee. “You dirty skank!”

I laughed. “I chickened out and didn’t go through with it. And then Alex and I started dating for real, and things were too serious to try that. But I’ve always kind of wondered what it would have been like.”

Ashley made a giddy noise. “I can’t believe you waited until our last night here to tell me that!”

I started to shrug, but then my laptop made a noise. An email popped into my inbox.

“It’s Crazy Carl’s…” I said, surprised. “That was a fast reply.”

“Well?” Ashley slid over to me. “What’s it say? Did they tell you to screw off?”

“Worse.” I showed her my laptop:

To: [email protected]

From: [email protected]

Subject: RE: JOB APPLICATION

Hi there Rachel, thank you for applying. Your resume looks good. When can you start? We need someone ASAP.

“Are you kidding me?” Ashley said. “You got an interview? Just like that?”

“I don’t think they want to interview me. I think they’re offering me the job.”

Ashley let out a cackle of a laugh. “Oh my God. This is perfect!”

“Yeah yeah, very funny. The crazy place actually wants me to work for them. What should I send back? Should I tell him off?”

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