“I must commend you, though. Your baking skills are getting better. Enzo is really doing a great job with the classes.” I winked at her.
“I don't know what you are talking about,” she denied, looking away.
“Don't be shy about it. I know there is something going on between you two.”
“There is nothing going on.”
“Liar. Your brows are twitching.”
“I'm not lying,” she vehemently denied.
But I wasn’t backing down. “Yes, you are.”
“Licia, I'm not.”
“Let’s agree to disagree then,” I proposed.
Joey changed the subject. “So, here’s the plan. I already created an account for you on a dating app…”
I was mortified. “You did what?”
“Many of them love your profile, already,” she continued, ignoring my rant.
“I never consented to that.”
“You don’t have to. I have saved you all the trouble. Just go on a date with one of them and thank me later.”
“You are not kidding?”
“You don't believe me? Wait.” She brought out her phone from the back pocket of her ripped jeans. I watched her scroll through different apps. “Here, check this out.” She handed me the phone as she opened the dating app.
“What in God's name is this?... I said I wanted to get my mind off Kevin, not that I plan on embarking on a dating spree.”
“This is the best way to do that. Letting someone else in, to fill the space he currently occupies in your heart.”
“I don't need a dating app to find a man if I wanted to.”
Joey climbed the stool next to me. “Let's face it, Licia… you are beautiful, rich, and also one of the sweetest people I know, but your social skills are quite tacky. You literally stay cooped up in your house, when you aren't at work.
That pretty much is very boring. So, see this as an adventure. Explore, meet new people and you know, have some fun.”
A brilliant idea came to my mind as Joey finished up.
“Let's strike a deal then.”
“What deal?” Joey cocked her head and raised her eyebrows.
I could tell she knew I was up to some mischief. If she was going to coax me into going on a date, I might as well return the favor.
“I will go on the date, if you admit to the truth behind your relationship with Lorenzo.”
“There's nothing to admit to, and you know it.”
“Then, I won’t go on the date.”
“Licia, stop being stubborn.”
“My terms still stand. I want the truth and nothing, but the truth,” I insisted, munching away on the cookies without looking at her.
