“Are you serious right now?” Amelia says to me as I hustle toward the train stop, talking on my phone with her.

“Yes, I let Nick into my house, fed him and let him sleep. Is that so wrong?”

Amelia emits a long, slow breath. “Yes, yes it is. You’re enabling him! Every time you’re a pushover, he’s just going to keep coming back.”

I shake my head, then swipe my card on the turnstyle.

“I know. But sometimes Nick can be really sweet, you know?”

“Do you hear that?”

I stop and furrow my brow. A few odd people are waiting for the Brown Line to head toward the center of Chicago.

“I don’t hear anything. Why?”

“That’s the sound of you being a pushover!” she scolds.

I sigh, but I know she’s right.

Nick’s been out of my life for some time now, and there’s a reason we broke up. Somehow, he always finds a way back in, and knows just which buttons to push to make me sympathetic. I’ve been too nice to the men in my life over the years. My mom used to tell me my sympathy was a strength. And it is when it comes to dogs and children. But with men? Not so much.

“I think you’re being slightly overcritical,” I huff. “But I’ll allow it since I know it comes from a place of love. I do need you to be a little more understanding of my sympathetic side.”

“Oh please. You know I love you. So why can’t you come out tonight again?”

“I have to work,” I remind her, looking up at the countdown until the next train will come. Still ten minutes out.

“Oh, for some reason I thought you were off tonight.”

“No, that was last night.”

“Oh, duh. You had your date with...what’s his name again?”

I sigh. “I don’t know. It doesn’t really matter, does it?”

“Whoa!” she barks back. “Getting a little cynical about the dating scene, aren’t we!?”

“Well, can’t you call off work? I have just the thing in mind to spice up your dating life—a really special night at a special place. I don’t want to go alone though.”

I shrug. “I wish. I’m working.”

“Yeah, but you haven’t been laid since...well, it’s been a long time, hasn’t it?”

I’m silent. I haven’t told a soul about Damien and I yet. Nick is the only one who knows he was even at my house.

“Krista?” Amelia asks when I don’t respond.

“Yes?” I choke out and clear my throat.

“Why did you just get all silent?”

“Oh, I don’t know,” I say, rubbing my neck with my hand. “No reason.”

“Oh my gosh!” she gasps. “You’re lying.”

I take a deep breath. “No I’m not.”

“What are you thinking about, right this instant? Tell me.”

“Okay, fine,” I huff. “I kinda, sorta hooked up with my landlord last night.”

Dead silence.

“Hello? Amelia? You there?”

“Yes. Hang on. I’m giving you a virtual high five.”

I laugh. “It’s not like a big deal, really. He saved me from this attacker so I invited him in...it all happened so fast I couldn’t believe it.”

“Not a big deal? Krista, you hooked up with Landlord McHottie.”

“Yeah? So?”

“So?” she coughs. “I don’t understand how you can downplay this so much.”

I glance down the tracks. Still no sight of the train.

“I’m not downplaying it…”

“I’m going to need the details.”

“It really wasn’t a big deal. I swear.”

“So it wasn’t good?”

“Oh, it was incredible.”

Silence. My phone buzzes, and I have another call coming in. “Hold that thought,” I say.

I recognize the area code as the city of Chicago so I answer it.

“Hello, this is Krista.”

“Hey Krista, it’s Alex, your boss.”

“I know,” I laugh. “What’s up? I was just about to come in.”

“Well that’s what I wanted to talk to you about. There was a mix-up with the schedules and you don’t need to come in today. I hope you didn’t already leave. Are you on the train? The scheduling software has been malfunctioning and I didn’t realize it until Betsy got here.”

“Oh, I see. I guess I don’t need to come in. That’s fine.”

“Great. Your next shift is Friday, don’t forget. Enjoy the night off!”

“Uh, wow, okay. Thanks.”

I hang up, and I’m about to switch back to the call with Amelia when I see a text come through from Damien.

Damien: Hi there. Just wanted to make sure you were okay. What are you up to tonight?

I ignore the text for the moment and switch back to my call with Amelia.

“Hey, back, sorry about that.”

“That’s okay. I was just processing this new information. Was that your boyfriend?”

I roll my eyes. “No, that was not my boyfriend, it was my boss.”

“Oh wow. I didn’t know you had a boss with benefits.”

“Actually, he was letting me know that I don’t have to work tonight.”

“What!? You’re off?”

“Yes,” I say as I pass the turnstyle and head down the stairs of the train station. “Free night, I guess.”

“Oh my God. You have to come with me. I have a great night planned for us.”

“You just planned a night for us, right now?”

“I had the night planned in my head already but I wasn’t going to do it without my P-I-C.”

“Your partner in crime, I get it. And exactly what crimes are we going to be committing tonight?”

My phone buzzes again, and I pull away from my phone for a moment.

It’s another text from Damien.

Damien: Let me know. Might go out with a friend but I’d love to see you

“What’s that noise? Is someone calling you?”

“No, just a text. Damien wants to hang out. I should text him back.”

“No!”

“Excuse me!”

“Do NOT text him back.”

“Why wouldn’t I text him back? I want to hang out with him.”

“Krista, Damien’s like...a lady killer.”

“You don’t know that. And wouldn’t I have seen him bring back a shit ton of girls if he’s a true man whore? He lives above me.”

“Just don’t text him back. Please? You need to let him sweat it out.”

I stop at the bottom of the staircase that feeds out onto the city sidewalk. “Sweat it out? But why? I like him. I want to hang out with him.”

“Just trust me on this one,” she says. “You need to make guys like him sweat it out a little bit.”

I shake my head. “I’m not sure I like this strategy.”

“Just come to my place and we’ll sort everything out.”

I breathe in the fresh night air as I walk back to my apartment.

“Alright,” I finally say.

“Perfect! Oh, and one more thing.”

“What?”

“Wear something extra sexy tonight.”

“Why?”

“Well, I have a place in mind for us to go. And you should definitely bring the twins out to play tonight.”

“What’s the place called?”

“Midnight Ride.”

* * *

Two hours later, I’ve got full makeup on and we’re standing on a block in River North of Chicago.

"This is the place?” I chirp as I readjust my dress. The outside of Midnight Ride is nondescript. It looks like it could be any old storefront or even an apartment building. “This is the big nightclub you were talking about? The way you talked about it, I thought it was a big deal. It’s small, though. Easy to miss."

She giggles. “That what she said.”

I crack up.

"Yes, this is Midnight Ride," she says, pausing in the fresh night air.

"It doesn't look like much of a bar. Or a club."

She tongues her cheek. "Well it's not exactly a bar."

"You said it was, though."

Her grin turns cheeky. "I never said that exactly."

"Oh God. What kind of place are you taking me?" I round my mouth into an “o” as she opens the door for me. “Is this going to be like that place in New Orleans?”

Without answering, she waves me inside. We're greeted by a tall, skinny man with a leather jacket. He's wearing a lot of guyliner, and he has a spiked collar around his neck.

He looks us up and down and smiles. I have on a black strappy dress, and Amelia wears a blue romper.

"Good evening, ladies. Are you members?"

"Prospective members," Amelia says without missing a beat.

"Oh? who invited you?"

"Axel," she answers.

"Oh. Of course. Ax is already here with his friend. Right this way."

I shake my head in disbelief as we follow Mister Makeup and Spiked Neck Collar farther inside, heading down the hallway. "You brought me to a sex club," I whisper.

"It's not exactly a sex club."

The bouncer opens the door at the end of the hall, and we're hit with a burst of music when he does.

Club music fills our ears.

"Welcome to Midnight rRde," he yells over the chaos of the club, and Amelia and I step inside.

It’s dark, with low tables and a navy blue and purple light motif. A host greets us and leads us to a table right in front of a stage. We sit down, and the music lowers to a rumble for a moment. A waitress comes by and we order a couple of cocktails.

"Who are we meeting here? Some guy named Ax?"

Amelia nods, pulling out her phone. "Yeah he was supposed to be here. Let me see.”

I squint at the stage as the music starts to get louder. “Seriously, what kind of place is this? A sex club? A strip club? A speakeasy?”

She shrugs. “I think it’s kind of like...all three. Ax had a hard time explaining it to me. I’m still trying to figure it out myself.”

I squint. “I’m not sure I trust a guy named Ax.”

“Me neither. He’s hot though.” She wiggles her eyebrows.

The waitress arrives with our drinks, and my curiosity is piqued as the music continues to pick up. A few odd tables of couples sit in our vicinity and the room buzzes with a certain type of energy.

Sexual energy?

We clink our glasses together. “Here’s to leaving old ex boyfriends in the past,” Amelia says, deliberately looking right at me. Her amber eyes don’t leave mine as we sip our vodka tonics.

“I’m leaving him. We’re done.”

She raises an eyebrow. “Good. For real, right?””

“Yes, for real. Next time he comes to my house I’m telling him to fuck off,” I yell, raising my voice at the last two words.

It feels exhilarating to let go.

“Thatagirl! Wow, he was just the one night stand that stuck around, wasn’t he?”

“Was he?” I think back, trying to remember the first night with Nick.

She sips patiently on her drink, waiting for my moment of realization.

“Oh my Gosh,” I exclaim. “He was! He started out as a one night stand, the night of—”

“Maria’s bachelorette party,” she finishes my sentence together with me. “You know why that is, don’t you?” she adds.

“Why’s that?”

“It’s the curse of a one night stand,” she sighs. “A one night stand can never turn into something serious.” She frowns. “It’s just one of the unfortunate facts of the universe.”

“Um,” I swallow. “What about Damien?”

“Oh,” she waves her hand back and forth. “I mean he’s just a hot hookup, right?”

“I mean...yeah, for now. But who knows, there could be more.”

“Do you want more?”

“I’m not trying to force anything, but if it happens, it happens.”

She giggles. “I’m glad you’re laid back about the whole thing. Because it’s not going to get past the friends-with-benefits stage.”

I take a long suck on my straw and shoot Amelia a dirty look. She’s my bestie, but she can be a little over-opinionated at times.

“Liar.”

“Do you want me to cycle through all of our friends and how long they waited to have sex?”

She pulls out her hand and starts counting on her fingers. “Let’s see. Maria knew her husband for three years before they hooked up. Samantha and John were coworkers for a year before they got married. Elaine and Bryan served on student council together in college before they ended up together—”

“Okay, okay, I get it. I mean, it’s not like he was some rando though, he’s my landlord.”

“Have you texted him tonight?”

I sigh. “I told him I was busy.”

“Well good. Because you are busy.”

“Busy being the best wing girl ever,” I wink.

“I’m just saying—you can have a friend with benefits. But you’ll never get past that stage with him, might as well accept it.”

I take a deep breath and stare into my drink. It’s not like I know Damien and I are destined for true love, but it hurts to rule out the possibility of a relationship with him before it even starts.

As I file through the rolodex of our friends, though, I know she’s right. Not one of us has a one night stand that’s turned into a long term relationship. Maybe I should just enjoy the ride.

Just then, a tall, gangly, very tattooed man walks our way, towering over us.

“Hey babe, glad you could make it,” he says in a deep, gravelly voice. “Hi. I’m Axel.”

“Nice to meet you,” I say, shaking his hand.

He smiles, then takes a seat at our table next to Amelia. The music picks up. “The show is starting,” he says with a smile.

“Hey, didn’t you say you brought a friend?” Amelia asks.

“Yeah, I did,” Axel says. “Just watch.”

The music gets louder, and the show starts.