“I know it’s hard. I hate that you’re upset, and we can’t lay in bed and watchSex and the Cityreruns all day and get fat from Levain cookies together. But if there’s one thing this loser did, he brought you back to life. He made you realize you don’t want to be alone. You need more than me and WBS in your life, Kenny,” Colby lectured.
“It never would’ve worked anyway,” she sighed as she watched the red Jeep pull away. “Maybe that’s why he pursued me in the first place. He was lonely and needed a quick fix of something. What better way to temporarily satisfy yourself than prey on a girl you know is going back up the coast in a few weeks.” Her tears slowly dissipated. “He also alluded to commitment issues, althoughthatdidn’t sound like a guy with hesitation. He probably feeds that line to all the girls to preemptively justify his future actions,” she rambled.
“We are getting you back on the dating circuit when you come home. You’re going to make dates and keep them. If you like a guy, you’re going to answer his calls when he tries to make plans to see you again,” Colby instructed.
“It just doesn’t make sense. If J.P.isaverse to relationships or commitment, why would he chase a standing summer fling with someone he works with? Someone he won’t be able to avoid?”
“I don’t know, Kenny. I’ll never understand what makes a straight man’s brain tick.Thank God. But don’t allow this guy to let you fall back into a slump,” Colby warned. “What are you going to do about Wednesday’s date? Will you still go if he doesn’t cancel? I think you should go and screw with the bastard’s head.”
“I don’t know, yet. I’m meeting a new friend for drinks tonight. She’s young, still in school, but seems like a cool girl. I’ll get her take on the situation. These Gen Z’ers can be brutal. I’m curious what her recourse would be.”
“Yas, Queen! I love it! Now go cut up a cucumber and de-puff your eyes from the tears. We don’t want you going out with ugly mourner face.”
Kenny flipped the camera on her phone, so she was again looking at Colby.
“Thanks. I’ll talk to you later.” She sighed, knowing the exact look he was referring to.
She wore everything on her face—fear, sadness, excitement, stress, anxiety, anger—and no makeup could cover it up. To look fresh for her night out with Hailey, she would need to start with a clean slate.
“Love you, mean it, bi-yee!” Colby chimed.
Thirty-Nine
Kenny fell asleep on the uncomfortable yellow couch with slices of vegetables on her face, and woke up from the unplanned, lengthy nap when her phone vibrated from under the pillow her head rested on.
Text from Hailey: SP (Emoji: sand with umbrella) Club bar @ 5? Will b in red (Emoji: pink bikini)
It was already 3:00 p.m. and Kenny couldn’t believe she slept most of the afternoon. She was also surprised that Hailey wanted to meet so early in the evening. She assumed her age would make her a night-owl. But Kenny didn’t mind. She was grateful that Hailey proposed meeting at the Sea Pines Beach Club and not one of the establishments at Harbour Town or the Salty Dog. The risk of running into J.P. significantly increased if she had to wander around one of those waterfront villages.
Text to Hailey: Perfect! See you soon (Emoji: smiley face with sunglasses)
Meeting at the beach bar also took away some of the pressure of deciding what to wear. In theory, Kenny liked the idea of “No Shower Happy Hour,” but she couldn’t justify putting on a bathing suit to meet a stranger for drinks if she wasn’t technically coming from a day at the pool or the beach. Though coming from a lazy Sunday afternoon spent in pajama pants and her new white tank top, with her hair tied up in a new scrunchie, wasn’t an option either.
She woke herself up with a hot shower and put on a short, strapless floral tunic that could pass as a sundress or a bathing suit cover-up. It seemed like the perfect solution to the late afternoon, early evening engagement. She laced up her white canvas platform sneakers and decided to walk to the Beach Club, rather than wait for the plantation trolley.
She took a leisurely stroll down Lighthouse Road to North Sea Pines Drive and admired how quickly the landscape bounced back from mother nature’s brutal assault the previous night. The trees and shrubs that had been weighed down from the wind and water bounced back to life; the walkways and roads that pooled with water had receded; locals and vacationers who holed up in their homes and rental units, found their way back to the golf courses and bike paths. She found parallels to her own day in all of it. Instead of sulking in despair and darkness about the conversation she overheard between J.P. and his assumed lingerie model girlfriend, she pulled herself together, went on with the day and didn’t cancel her plans.
Kenny walked up the brick steps to the entrance of the beach club and reached for her phone.
Text from Hailey: Got 2 stools! In red(Emoji: baseball hat)
Kenny was nervous and excited. She imagined this is what blind dating felt like before the time of the internet. Just as Kenny didn’t Google J.P. while she was getting to know him—although she now regretted that decision—she hadn’t Googled Hailey either.
Text to Hailey: Just got here! In a floral dress.
Kenny walked down the extra-wide pathway that dead-ended into the dunes. She passed the entrances to eateries and a gift shop before reaching an open deck that was set with several square seating tables and was situated adjacent to an elevated covered deck with a large square bar in the middle of it.
Oh my God.
Kenny’s heart sank. She turned the corner and immediately saw the back of a tall, skinny woman with blonde curls piled high on top of her head.
Text to Colby: OMG. She’s here.
Text from Colby: What?
Text to Colby: J.P.’s girl from this morning. She’s at the bar where I’m meeting my friend for drinks. What do I do?
Text from Colby: Dear God. Stay calm. Find a seat away from her and keep your back turned. Your new friend will have to keep tabs on her.
