Page 16 of Once Bitten, Twice Fried
“Oh god no. I’m very hungover but I’m fine. Go home, Nicki.”
“Good to hear that.” Nicki bit the inside of her cheek. “Do you remember what we talked about last night?”
Another wave of embarrassment flooded Zoe. She hid her face with her covers. “Yes, I remember. I’m so sorry, this is so awkward.”
“Don’t worry, you’re not the first straight woman to tell me she’s questioning herself.”
“Yes, but I’m your boss!”
Nicki laughed. “At this point, I think it’s safe to assume we have more than just an employee-boss relationship. Anyway, I just wanted to check-in on that as well.”
“I think you’re right. I’m just very stressed about my wedding.”
“Once you get to Belgium and see your friend, it will make everything clearer.”
“I hope so.”
Chapter 8
The last rays of the sun lit up the sky in hues of pink and purple as Julie hurried out of the metro station. She had arranged to meet Margot ten minutes ago, but was running late yet again. She spotted the bar they’d agreed on for their rendez-vous, and a tall blonde waiting outside. Julie recognised Margot from her dating app profile pictures.
“Hi! Sorry, I’m running a bit late.” Julie made a point to show that she was almost out of breath, so Margot knew that at least she’d tried to be there on time.
“It’s OK, I only just got there.” Margot smiled as she pressed her cheek to Julie’s in greeting, though Julie could tell that she was only being nice.
The two women headed inside the bar and sat around a small table in the corner. A few patrons were scattered around. Julie could tell that the place would fill up as the night went on. It was a quite fancy cocktail bar with a slick and swanky interior, not really Julie’s usual scene.
“Do you come here often?” Julie asked, picking up the menu.
“Yes, it’s my go-to for after-works and I live around here. It’s really cool! What cocktails are you into?”
Julie stared at the cocktail names. None of them rang a bell.Paris Sunrise? Texas Tequila? Mint Old Fashioned?“I’m not really sure. What do you recommend?”
Margot’s eyes widened with joy. “I really love thePineapple Surprise! It’s gin, vodka, pineapple juice, a dash of champagne and two slices of pineapple.”
Julie nodded. She wasn’t sure about that flavour combination, but she was determined to be agreeable. She was here to have a nice time and stop being so hung up on Zoe. And maybe have a plus one to bring to the wedding. “That sounds great, I’m in,” she smiled.
Julie headed towards the bar and ordered twoPineapple Surprises.The end product seemed even worse than she had imagined. Two slices of pineapple were miserably floating in a highball glass that was half filled with ice. The cocktail had a weird yellow colour, hopefully from the pineapple juice, Julie thought. She walked back towards Margot.
“Cheers!” Julie held her glass up while handing Margot hers.
“Thank you, that’s very kind of you. Next round’s on me.” Margot batted her eyelashes.
Julie took a sip and knew immediately that there was no way she could take another round of this. The cocktail tasted like bitter sugar. She would maybe order a glass of wine or something next, but she had to resist the urge of bailing out of this date.
“So, what do you do for a living? You mentioned in your profile that it was something to do with events?” Margot leaned forward on her elbows. Her cute green eyes were sparkling.
“Yes, I’m an event planner, although I do some event design as well. I’m like a Swiss Army knife for events.”
Margot laughed. “That’s so cool. So you would say you’re an artsy type?”
“Depends what you call an artsy type? I know some Pantone colours.”
“That’s exciting.”
Julie shrugged. “It’s not anything amazing, really. My work pays for it so I don’t even have to afford it.” She made a face. “The Pantone colour box costs 900€.”
Margot laughed again. She put her hand on Julie’s arm. “You’re so funny. I love it!”
