“Can you guys stop that? I’m going to throw up if you keep acting like that,” Lisa cries out in fake exasperation, throwing her arms up in the air as Cody grabs a thin slice of salmon with his chopsticks and gives it to me. No, we’re not that kind of couple; we’re just doing it to annoy the hell out of Lisa. And it’s working.

“They’re in that phase, Lisa, I guess there’s nothing we can do but put up with it,” Ashley shrugs, but from where I’m sitting I can see that she’s holding Derek’s hand under the table.

Lisa doesn’t really seem to care, though; she doesn’t mind being single, or at least that’s what she says. Despite being between two couples, she acts naturally...and we do the same.

It’s funny how things change; a few weeks ago I was the one sitting by myself right among couples. My friends were all finding their way to the billionaires and princes of the world, and all I had at home waiting for me was a giant pile of unfinished legal memos to go through. Where was my billionaire slash prince slash vampire slash dragon?

I never realized that what I was looking for the whole time was closer than I could've ever imagined. It’s always like that, isn’t it? We go on this quest for something elusive—love, money, happiness—and then we realize that what we really needed was right on our doorstep.

“Ah, love, so fucking annoying,” Lisa sighs loudly, and goes for the sashimi once more, maneuvering her chopsticks more expertly than I’ll ever be able to do. That’s the reason behind my hatred for sushi; I actually like the food, but I just end up stabbing the raw slices of fish with the pointy end of my stick.

“You know… You girls are ruining the New York market. All the good men are gone,” she sighs, cleaning out the sashimi plate so fast I don’t even have the chance to try it. “Besides, everyone here is too crazy for me.”

“So what are you going to do? Don’t tell me you’re going to Europe looking for a Prince?” Ashley teases her, and Lisa frowns and purses her lips, pretending she’s annoyed.

“Nothing so drastic,” she finally responds, an easy smile blossoming in her face. “I’m going back to the Hamptons.”

“The Hamptons?” Cody cuts in, leaning against his seat and grinning. “You know I’m not there anymore, right, Lisa? Ouch!” I punch his arm fast, and he just leans into me and kisses me.

He’s teasing Lisa and I about what happened in Alicia’s engagement party; they were flirting before I jumped in and got Cody out of there. No hard feelings, of course. Lisa and I have been friends for years, and she had no idea about what was happening between Cody and I at the time. And, to be honest, the fact that they were flirting was one of the things pushing me toward Cody. So, in the end, I just have to thank her.

“Very funny, Cody,” Lisa shoots back at him, but her cheeks flush as she says it. Then, without even a breath to recompose herself, she continues: “Yeah, New York guys are too crazy for me. Maybe I’ll find an Island man. Someone to sing me ballads and cook dinner for me. Maybe take me to the fair and win one of those giant stuffed bears for me. That’d be nice.”

“Yeah, like that’s what you’re looking for,” I tell her, rolling my eyes in their orbits. I doubt Lisa cares about a man who knows how to sing his way through Rod Stewart's best hits and can cook pasta; she’s more of the bad boy type, if you know what I mean.

Of course, there’s a reason bad boys are called… well, bad boys. They’re bad. But, oh, they’re so much fun! I guess that she’ll eventually find her bad boy, but she’ll also have to take her rosy sunglasses and face reality.

I was in that same position not to long ago. You see all your friends getting these amazing rich boyfriends, and you think their story is like something out a storybook fairy tale. Only when you go down that path do you realize that the road to love and happiness is one full of bends and turns, twists and precipices. But if you remain calm and keep a steady hand, taking one step at a time, you might just reach the end of the road.

That’s what I did and, in the end, it worked out.

I reach for Cody’s hand and, under the table, I grab it. He squeezes it gently, wrapping his finger around mine, and turns to look at me. He’s smiling softly, and I can almost see my reflection in his eyes. He doesn’t even need to say it; he loves me.

I mouth the words to him, moving my lips so slightly no one else can see it, and he just leans into me and kisses the corner of my mouth.

“Love you too, babe,” he whispers, and I feel that gentle feeling of happiness opening its wings inside of me. Who knew that our story would end like this? A happy ending to call my own.

“Let’s get out of here?” I whisper back at him, and his face lights up with a grin.

“I thought you’d never ask.”

Happiness and love—I got it all.

And now it’s time we fade to black so I can go enjoy my HEA, know what I mean?

;)