Page 1 of Texting My Valentine

CHAPTER 1

TORI

“I’m deciding for you. You need to get laid.”

I roll my eyes at Cleo’s latest outrageous statement. You’d think I would’ve built a tolerance to her don’t-give-a-single-fuck attitude by now, but her brashness still shocks me sometimes.

She tosses her fiery red hair, puckering her lips. “Or shall we start slow?”

“That is so gross,” I mutter. “I’m going to pretend I don’t know what you mean by that.”

“You can pretend all you want.” Cleo grins, in her element. “But the fact is, you’re stressed. And there’s only one surefire way I know to deal with the ups and downs of life… you go down on a?—”

“Oh, please.”

I’m relieved when Lily cuts in. She’s the yin to Cleo’s yang. She met her man in high school, and they’ve been sweethearts eversince. They’re engaged to be married this summer. She’s sitting at my vanity unit, brushing her long blonde hair.

She’s like a princess, whereas Cleo has more of a sensual ‘party girl’ vibe going on. Me? I’m the in-between chick. I’d call myself artistic, but even my friends don’t know about my secret hobby.

“No,” Lily continues, “She doesn’t need a string of one-night stands. She needs love.”

Cleo mimes puking. “Just because you found your Romeo doesn’t mean the same tactic will work for the rest of us. Some of us lowly women…”

Cleo pauses, wincing when there’s a crash in the next room: Mom’s bedroom. She raises her voice, yelling down the phone.“What do you mean we can’t move in?”

Cleo raises an eyebrow at me.

“Ignore it,” I say, my cheeks burning. “Go on with whatever you were going to say.”

“We have to content ourselves with… how shall I put it? Therapeutic bouncing on pogo sticks.”

I laugh. Now it’s Lily’s turn to mime a healthy dose of disgust.

“Don’t listen to her.” Lily spins in the chair, facing me. “You don’t need that. You need love.”

From the next room, Mom yells,“Maybe I will find somebody else! Somebody who appreciates me! Somebody who doesn’t have a secret wife!”

Lily lowers her voice. “Do you want to go and talk to her?”

“So we can discuss her latest disaster?”

I feel like a bitch when I say this. But jeez, what else am I supposed to say? We’re in here discussing my love life—or lack thereof—while Mom goes through another dynamite breakup. It’s the same routine, always has been, always will be, it seems.

She finds an inappropriate man, moves too fast, and then acts shocked when it ends in disaster.

My guilt twinges when I hear her crying loudly from the next room.

“I really think you should talk to her,” Lily says softly.

“It’s fine.”

“Either way,” Cleo goes on. “Your boss is pretty cool, Tori, but this Valentine’s texting night is the best thing she’s ever come up with.”

She’s talking about the Valentine's event at the bar where I work. The concept is simple. Men and women who are intent on a meeting with Cupid put their cellphone numbers into bowls, then text until love, apparently, blossoms.

“Did it ever occur to you that I got the night off so I didn’t have to go to work?”

Cleo shrugs. “It’s not our fault it’s turned out to be the hottest event in the city. Anyway, we have to gosomewhere.”

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