Page 51 of Who's Playing You
That I was going to just go with the flow and see where it led. I was going to gauge how I also felt - how he continued to make me feel - and try to decide if it was all something that I was actually interested in or not. Whether this “thing” turned into a simple kiss, a one-night stand, or something more - at the end of the day, I needed to make sure it worked for me and my happiness.
I was going to go with the flow.
As I let that thought wander into the world, my phone went off like a shot startling me half to death.
The screen lit up with a grinning face, and the name on the screen?
Prof. Praveen.
“Well, well, well, look who the cat dragged in,” I answered the call on a drawl.
“Yessss, it’s none other thanme!!!” she sing-songed back to me. “But enough nonsense.”
“Umm, I literally just picked up the phone,” I began but she cut me off.
“Come downstairs. We’re at the Cock,” she said and then hung up.
What the hell?
But that was one of my best friends from school. Professor Praveen as she preferred to be called, or just Praveen as I calledher, was the head of the entire dance department at Stetson U. She was the big kahuna, and her program was the absolute best in the tri-state area attracting dancers from all over the world to learn from her.
I grabbed my phone and keys while I hastily pushed my feet through my Birkenstocks, then ran out the door and down to the Caffeinated Cock.
As soon as I walked in the door, hoots and hollers greeted me making all of the staff and customers look at the crazy group who were being nothing but an annoying nuisance. I swung my gaze to the window booth where all of my best girlfriends from Stetson U were congregating like a pack of hyenas who were now cat-calling me.
“There’s my sister-wife!” Mindy yelled her greeting at me, an inside joke obviously, while Brit rolled her eyes.
Steph and Sherrece were synchronized in their, “Hey girl,heyyyyy!”
“Took you long enough! Get over here, we have so much catching up to do,” Praveen admonished me.
“Geesh, calm your tits woman! You literally just hung up on me and I ran down here,” I said as I gave Mindy a hug, then Brit followed by Steph and Sherrece.
I hugged Praveen last and she said, “I missed you girl! I haven’t seen you all summer, it sucked!”
“Tell me about it! How was India?”
Praveen’s beautiful face lit up, “It was amazing! I was sorry to leave, but I missed you all so much.”
Brit smiled over our group, “I agree. I love summer break and getting to travel and unwind, but I miss hanging out with you all. What did y’all get up to?”
We spent the next half hour catching up on everyone’s summer. All the girls had taken off after the spring semester ended. Praveen had gone to spend time with her family in Indiaand teach at her old dance studio. Mindy had been quick to jump in her car and drive to Arkansas with her husband and three sons to where her childhood house sat on the most beautiful lake. Brit had been doing research at a couple rehab centers a few states over, while Sherrece had gone on a research trip to Australia and New Zealand. And Steph? She’d spent the entire summer kicking ass in Phoenix because the City of Phoenix had hired her to revamp the entire education system in their public schools there.
It didn’t even need mentioning that my friends were kick-ass rockstars who were making a difference around the entire globe. And hearing all about their adventures had me feeling so grateful to have them all back home in New Hope, while also feeling like I was suffering from a case of jealousy and FOMO… if FOMO was even a thing anymore.
Maybe I needed to subscribe to the YOLO philosophy or something, so I’d live a little. #bringYOLOback and all that gibberish.
“What about you? What’d you end up doing all summer?” Steph asked me.
“You taught that Summer I course, didn’t you?” Praveen asked me. “How was it?”
“Ehh, you know…” I began.
“Itsucked, didn’t it?” Praveen said right away. “I told you! I told you when we were on winter break not to do it, that you should have come to India with me instead. Summer courses suck, no one wants to be here.”
“Well, consider my lesson learned,” I agreed with her.
Steph then continued, “But what else? What have you been doing with yourself for the last few weeks since the class ended?”
