Page 113 of Catch Me
Everyone around the table bursts out into a round of guffaws. Everyone except for me. Instead, I throw my cloth napkin at her.
Ari, Mya, me, and Stacey are having dinner at a new Mexican restaurant Ari found in her neighborhood.
“Don’t be shy, Vee,” Ari adds. “We’re happy for you.”
I roll my eyes and look over at Stacey across the table. “You’ll have to excuse my friends. They don’t have a filter once they’ve gotten a little alcohol into them.”
Since that day at the vintage clothing store, Stacey and I have kept in touch. This is her first time hanging out with the three of us.
I nod at the salt-rimmed margarita sitting in front of Ari and Mya.
Stacey laughs. “Don’t worry about it. This is the type of carrying on that I love.”
“Right?” Ari says, holding up a hand.
Stacey gives her a high-five, and they burst out into a new round of giggles.
Though I frown, I don’t mind their laughter. And within seconds I join in.
“I’ve missed hanging out with other women and just laughing like this, to be honest,” Stacey says once she sobers up. “I moved out here three years ago, and it’s been difficult making long-term friendships,” she continues. “Everyone here has an agenda.”
“Don’t I know it,” Mya confirms. “As a lawyer in the entertainment industry I can’t tell you the number of ‘friendship’ contracts I’ve drafted.”
She uses air quotes around the word friendship. “Half of the relationships you see are fake as hell, and the other thirty percent are a mix of toxicity and trauma bonding.”
“And that’s different from us how?” Ari quips.
“The difference is, I haven’t sued you for pain and suffering yet,” Mya shoots back, making us laugh. “Especially after the number of times I’ve watched you cry over that sorry ass man.”
Ari groans, then looks at me, pointing. “Don’t you dare laugh!”
I hold up my hands in mock defense.
“Come on, Ari, you know that was funny. We all know you’re better off without him.”
“Here, here!” Mya holds up her glass, and we all toast.
Ari spends the next few minutes filling Stacey in on her ex and how she made the decision to move out here to Los Angeles.
“These two are the closest thing to sisters I’ve had, so I wanted to be closer to them.”
I smile, my heart swelling. “Similar for me,” I add. “Once I made the decision to finally leave my parents’ home for good and stand up on my own, there wasn’t even a question of where I wanted to be.
“Fashion has called me for years, and I made the choice to heed the call all of the way out here to L.A.”
I look over at Mya. “Knowing Mya was here made the decision that much easier.”
“It takes bravery to pursue your dreams, especially if you don’t have a supportive family behind you,” Stacey says.
“I’m lucky in that regard. My parents have always had my back while also giving me the freedom to spread my wings. Their marriage to each other might’ve been terrible, but they’re great parents.”
“That’s sweet,” I say before glancing between Mya and Ari.
Their eyes tell me they already can tell what I’m thinking. I don’t need to say it for them to understand that I can’t say I know what Stacey’s experience is like.
“Now, back to the topic at hand,” Mya says while taking a nacho from the basket at the center of the table. “Tell us about this weekend,” she insists before biting into her chip.
Our waitress gives me time to think about my response as she arrives at our table with our order.
