Page 2 of Pregnant By the Mafia Boss

Rachael gasps, clapping a hand over her mouth. “No! Shut up right now. Is that the lifestyle influencer with her new perfume brand?You’reediting that article?”

Nodding my head proudly, I sip my white wine when it lands on our table. “Yep, that’s the one. It’s not too bad either, but it needed a little bit of work, and Alex didn’t like the way I shaped it.”

“So, you rewrote it, right?” Sophia chimes in.

“I did, and I liked what I did to it, but I was on my laptop, instead of my computer, and I thought I would just finish it quickly, but my computer crashed, and I’m going to have to pull an all-nighter to get it back to Alex before the deadline in the morning. It’s crazy.”

“Oh shit, that sucks, babe, but there’s a reason for everything. Maybe you’re going to do an even better article rewrite,” Rachael offers prompting Sophia to roll her eyes.

“Okay, Mrs. Brightside. You know what? I’ll tell you what she really needs to do,” Sophia says, waggling her eyebrows as I purse my lips together. I know exactly what the ladies are hinting at as well.

Ignoring them for a second, I feel my stomach rumble when our burgers arrive. “Hey, both of you, can you just feel sorry for me for a minute?” I tell them, the aroma already making me feel better.

“I do feel sorry for you, but I know you’re going to get it done. So, your computer’s on the fritz. Was it a glitch or you need a new laptop?” Sophia asks.

“No, I don’t need a new laptop. The IT department is going to give me a new one, but I’ve got a special meeting marked in my calendar with Alex before our usual morning meeting. She’s for sure going to fire me.” I groan, taking a sip of my wine and feeling pity for myself.

“No, she’s not going to fire you. Calm down. Nail the article, and you’ll be fine.” Sophia smiles. We’ve been friends for over two years now, and it just kind of happened. I kept bumping into her at The Urban Grind, small talking for a while, and then one day I noticed she had our magazine rolled up in her handbag. We became fast friends after that. Rachael was a little different. We met through work, when I attended one of her amazing art shows and we’ve been friends ever since.

“Speaking of nailed. I think we should head to Destiny Bar on Friday night. We can shake off all our worries, and just have fun,” Rachael suggests, Sophia nodding in agreement.

“That’s a great plan, but we have to find some great outfits. Any excuse to go shopping will work for me,” Sophia pipes up.

Suddenly, misery begins to make way for excitement. Destiny Bar is one of our other favorite places to go to dance, flirt, and drink too much, and the DJs are always playing amazing beats.

Rachael shimmies in her seat with a glimmer in her eyes. “Oh yes! Shopping, shopping, shopping. Next time, Sophia, let’s not pick a skirt that splits all the way up to your ass cheeks.”

We all burst out laughing, remembering Sophia’s infamous split debacle. It was the funniest thing ever. She fit intothe skirt perfectly until it decided to rip when she performed an ambitious dance move. We all heard the rip, but she was already so drunk, she didn’t realize how bad it was.

“Hey, that was my finest moment. I ended up getting laid that night. Speaking of which,” Sophia says, turning her attention to me, “maybe you can find yourself a nice man for once, and then you can finally lose your V card.” Sophia winks.

Biting into my burger, I contemplate it. I don’t know what to make of losing my virginity at this point, but both my friends are looking at me for an answer. The problem is, I don’t have one for them.

Shrugging, I roll my eyes. “I mean, I would have liked to have lost my virginity to someone Iactuallycare about. Not some random sweaty dude on a dancefloor, but it’s not happening for me, is it?”

“It will, but yeah, maybe you’re being a little fussy on this one. It’sjustvirginity. That’s a fairy tale—finding some perfect man for it. Hell, mine was in the back of a Mercedes with a third-year law graduate. It gets better after the first time, though,” Sophia points out casually and Rachael nods along with her.

“Mine was with an art director.” Rachael claps a hand over her mouth. “Oops!”

“Oopsie,” Sophia parrots as we all fall into laughter. “See? Do it if you want to!”

Maybe I should just lose it to a stranger at this point. What’s it matter to hold out for it? Better I get it over with, right?

It’s not as if I have some father figure in my life to tell me what’s right from wrong with men. I’ve never even known the guy, and if I were to speak to my mother back in Ohio about losing my virginity, she would tell me to keep it.

We chat some more and as the conversation wears on, the stress and frustration of the day wears away, and I feel like myself again. When we shop after work the next day and I still have my job, I feel as if I’ve won at life.

I pull out a fuchsia-colored dress that’s likely to hug tight to my curves, admiring it. “What about this one?”

“Ooo, that’s going to drive the boys wild, especially with all your curves. I wish I had them,” Racheal says, sighing and selecting a short cream skirt. Sophia snatches it, sliding it back on the rack.

“Ah no. You’re going to spill stuff on that, not a chance,” Sophia says.

“You’re right. You can’t go wrong with a little black dress. Maybe I should go for that?” Racheal laments as we giggle, getting excited about the boys at the club.

“Too boring. Live a little,” I tell her. “I think I’m going to wear red. This red bandage dress is the winner.” I pull out the racy red number as the girls give me the thumbs-up.

“Yep. Now that is hot, hot. You’re going to have them all over you,” Sophia praises.

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