Page 49 of Elevator Pitch

Girl.

He looks up at me with a glimmer in his eye.

Am I always like this?

Get it together, Sis.

As if he senses my embarrassment, he averts his eyes. They dance around my apartment and halt. I’m not sure what he’s looking at until he gets up and moves towards my fridge.

The list. Shit!

He’s reading it.

WWAD?

She’d own it.

I’ll own it now and throw up later.

He raises an eyebrow and continues reading.

“So, this is the infamousFuck It List. I’m impressed.”

I breathe deeply to myself, waiting for this moment to end.

“I’m so embarrassed.”

“Don’t be. I know you didn’t mean for me to see it, but I don’t mind. You don’t take yourself too seriously and you’re having fun. You may need to give me the backstory behind these, though.”

He smiles and I chuckle, covering my mouth.

“Look at all you’ve accomplished so far! These are difficult feats. I’m proud of you. My family always had high expectations of me as the oldest. My parents planned out my entire life before it began. While I was the first to go to college and use my degree, a dating app didn’t exactly fit in with their plan, but I launched it anyway. I guess you could say that was a ‘fuck it’ moment. It was a stressful time, and I had panic attacks often, but I’m glad I stayed the course,” he says, returning to his seat.

“I can relate. I had a few starting out and I still do from time to time.”

“How do you manage?”

“Honestly? My friend Audrey, she’s absolutely fearless and I think of her every time I’m afraid of something. I picture how she would handle the exact scenario, and I go with that. It works.”

“Whenever that doesn’t work, a joint does. Though I sometimes forget what I was afraid of.”

I shrug my shoulders, and he sniggers to himself.

“I like that. I need to find more fearless friends and a dispensary,” he chuckles.

“Well, if you ever meet her and she decides she likes you, she won’t let you leave until you are friends. I love that about her.”

I smile to myself.

“What about if she doesn’t like me?”

“You’ll leave in a stretcher. There’s no in-between with her.”

I break out in a fit of laughter, and he joins me.

“I can’t wait to meet her. She sounds like a good time.”

I lean over the counter, facing him as I sip my tea.

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