Page 54 of March

“How nervous are you?”

“Kels, stop it.” Megan chuckled.

“Very nervous. I’m more nervous about this than anything else I’ve ever been nervous about in my life.”

“Did you shower? Tell me you showered. It’s, like, crazy hot there. You don’t want to show up smelly.”

“Kelsey!” Megan laughed louder.

“What? It’s a valid question. No one likes a smelly date. Are you into that, Megs?”

“No. Gross. Well, unless she just got back from the gym or something, and there’s some muscle definition that’s glowing, andthenthere’s a shower and–”

“Megan!” Bryce laughed this time.

“What? It’s been a long time,” Megan said.

“Ithas?” Kelsey asked and cleared her throat. “You’re dating what’s her name…”

“You know her name. And no, we haven’t done that yet,” Megan replied.

“Does she go to the gym?” Kelsey asked.

“I don’t know. It hasn’t come up.”

“Kels, you go to the gym, don’t you?” Bryce said with a smirk on her face that her friends couldn’t see as she exited the hotel and joined the crowd on the street.

She hadn’t missed this part. A crowd like this had gotten between her and Sophie before, and it made her feel even more anxious now than she had only a moment ago.

“Yeah, a few times a week,” Kelsey said.

“I know that already,” Megan replied. “How did we get on this topic?”

“I’m outside. Can I text you later? I need to focus now. It’s about to happen.”

“Good luck, Bry. Just be yourself,” Megan said.

“I will. Thanks, Megs.”

She hung up and tucked her phone away as she turned the corner and headed toward Bourbon Street. It was strange, being back here, and even stranger being here alone. The last time, her friends had been with her, and she found that she missed them, even Sean, as she walked toward where she remembered the bar being. It was dark now, and she hadn’t eaten all day, aside from the few snacks on the plane, so she was starting to regret not ordering any food prior to leaving the hotel or even grabbing something at the airport because she was starving, and they’d agreed to meet at the bar, which would mean she’d get them both a drink. She would have to suggest that they get food after so that she was okay.

As she walked down the street, she was back to feeling how she felt last year. Most of these places looked the same on the outside, and some of the signs were hanging on corners or up near their balconies, making it hard to even know which bar she was walking in. She knew she needed to try every single bar if that was the case and regretted not asking Sophie the name of the place. She pulled out her phone and typed.

Bryce Wilburn: I’m running late. I can’t find it. What’s the name of the bar? Is there a cross street I can reference? Can you maybe just come outside if you’re already there?

She knew she sounded a little desperate, but she looked up and down the very crowded street and couldn’t see a familiar sight. It was just people holding up their alcohol. Some of them were singing and dancing in the street. Others were yelling andpartying because this was one of the few cities in the country where they could party outside all night long and well into the morning. Bryce moved to the side, trying to stay out of the way of people passing, and she just stared down at her phone, imploring Sophie to message her back.

After ten minutes and still no response, she decided to walk farther down the street and went inside one of the bars. That one definitely wasn’t it, though, because they had a DJ playing hip-hop music, andtheirbar had had a stage for karaoke and entertainment and had played more classic rock and pop. She walked farther, periodically glancing at her phone as she went, but even after checking three more bars, she still hadn’t found the place.

She was thirty minutes late for their meeting now. She should have been early, but she’d wanted to shower and get ready. She worried now that she’d be the smelly date when she finally got there. At forty minutes, she also worried that Sophie had changed her mind. Had she been too nervous? Had she decided that it was a bad idea for them to meet and had been too scared to tell Bryce?

At fifty minutes, she oddly felt a bit more rational as she hit at least the tenth bar that wasn’t their bar. Sophie just probably got caught up in that meeting from hell. That was the most likely scenario. She’d had meetings go long before, and this was that. Bryce checked at least five more bars before it hit an hour since she’d messaged Sophie. She was starving even more now and didn’t know how much longer she could go without eating and without seeing Sophie.

Bryce Wilburn: Soph? I can’t find you. Are you here? If you’re still at work, can you let me know? I’ll kill time somewhere, but I can’t find the bar. There are too many people here. I can hardly get inside some of them, and it’s getting worse. Just message me back when you can, please.

She stared down at her phone again as she stood next to a bouncer for the bar she’d already checked.

“Hey, do you know a bar here that has a sofa upstairs and a stage?”

---