Page 15 of Two Guys, a Girl, and a Tripod

Penny leads the way to the hostess stand and I see just howpackedthis place is. Wondering if they might be violating a fire code, I follow my newfound friends to the table the hostess is gesturing at. She hands us menus, quickly spouts off the margarita specials, and then disappears.

“I didn’t catch any of that,” I say to Penny and Vera when she’s gone.

“Dollar margs,” Penny says with a wink. “That’s all you need to know.”

“Works for me.”

Less than ten minutes later, we alternate between stuffing our faces with chips and queso or salsa and drinking our fruity margaritas. Penny chose a watermelon margarita, but claims there’s no real flavor. Vera and I are perfectly happy with our choice of strawberry.

“So,” I say through a mouthful of chip and salsa, “forgive me if this is asking too much, but are you two… like…?” I raise my eyebrows and leave the question hanging, unfinished.

It’s been nagging at me since yesterday and they seem nice enough that I doubt the question will offend. The tequila helps by providing a sense of bravery. Penny giggles. Vera just smiles.

“No, we’re just good friends,” says Vera before taking a sip of her margarita, which I notice is almost empty.

“Good friends who fuck,” Penny adds as the waitress comes up to ask for our order.

When she disappears again, having written nothing down–a feat I remember doing in my waitressing days, but still marvel at–I turn back to the women across the table.

“Single?” asks Penny.

Whatever question I was about to ask disappears entirely from my brain. There’s no way they miss the color draining from my face. It’s been six goddamn monthsandNatalie just made me join a kinky dating appandI just started chatting with someone who already asked me out. I’d say that’s progress. I quickly reach for my frozen drink and suck it down until my head hurts. Squeezing my eyes at the pain, I set the huge glass down.

“Yeah,” I finally respond, grunting with the effort to open my eyes again. “Single.”

“Touchy subject?” Penny studies my face with concern.

“Just a little.”

That’s an understatement.

“Moving on,” says Vera. “Why LA?” she asks. “Why not up here or down to Florida or, hell, Texas or Chicago?”

“Emerald was already out in LA and I didn’t really have time to think.” Because I was running from an abusive boyfriend and LA is a big ass city where I could lose myself. They don’t need to know that.

“Oh yeah, why didn’t she join you this week?” asks Vera.

“She was just here a couple weeks ago for a pro shoot,” I explain, only mildly jealous of that success. I still haven’t gotten to work with a serious production company.

“Damn, we missed her?” Penny is visibly disappointed, but Vera chuckles. “Well, tell her to get in touch with us before she comes again.”

“I think you guys might make it to LA before that happens.” It’s my turn to laugh. “She kind of hates it here.”

“Why?” Poor Penny looks offended. Vera places a hand on hers.

“You’ll have to ask her,” I reply. “I’m just relaying her opinion.”

Originally from Albany, I still wonder why Natalie claims to hate the city. Sure, the humidity sucks, but that’s only during the summer. She hates crowds, but she handles it in LA, so that can’t be it. One of these days, she’ll tell me.

The next morning, I wake up with a headache of my own making. Why did I drink that last margarita? Did I have three? Or was it four?

I slowly sit up in bed and follow the sliver of light from the curtains so I can open one side and let some light in.

“Oh, noooo,” I grumble, turning away from the bright light pouring into the room and hissing like a vampire burned by the sun.

Muttering about Jose being a dick, I go to rustle through the contents of my laptop bag for some pain meds. I toss two into my mouth and then add a third one for good measure. Just one more scene today and then I’m done here. I can make it through. Ihaveto make it through.

I move back to find my phone on the bedside table. My stomach drops when I see the most recent text. My collab for the day is canceled. I can’t focus too much on the words, but there’s something about a family emergency. I know it happens, but I’m still a little annoyed.

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