Fifty eight, fifty nine, sixty, I laugh to myself when Don’s eyes avert to the waitresses ass, again.

Fifty eight, fifty nine, sixty, his eyes switch back to me. Don continues to boast about his mad lifting skills, while his eyes, like clock work, move back to the waitress’ ass every sixty seconds. If anything, he’s consistent.

“Even with a torn rotator cuff I can still lift more than anyone at my gym.” Don gave me a broad smile, showing off his blinding white teeth offset against his fake tanned skin.

I don’t bother trying to hide my phone as I check it. A shocked gasp comes out before I can stop it. My phone enlightens me that this date only started ten minutes ago and I’m stunned.

“I know, babe. It’s impressive,” Don says, confusing my gasp at the crawling time as being in awe by his shear strength.

How could it have been only ten minutes? This was the blind date from hell and even his spot-on ass checking timing wasn’t going to amuse me enough to get me through appetizers.

My phone rings and I clutch at it like a life preserver.

“I’m sorry I have to get this.” I explain to Don who was on the ass watching count.

“Hey, Nicole how’s the gym rat?” my best friend Maria and current inflatable life saving device asks.

“Are you okay?” I ask into the phone not having to feign surprise, because at that moment Don’s callused palm slides up my leg with no intention of stopping until he reaches his maximum heart rate.

My hand slams onto his roaming palm stopping him from going any further.

“I’m sorry, I have to go. My best friends dog just got hit by a car.” I tell gym rat.

“That bad, huh? I’m out of ice cream so pick some up on the way over.” Maria sounds amused over the phone.

“I’ll be right there.” I throw my purse over my shoulder and hastily stand, knocking Don’s hand off my thigh in the process.

“Wait doll. Do you want me go with you?” Don asks.

I turn around thinking maybe I misjudged him, but his eyes are locked on another waitress’ ass. Huffing out my annoyance of wasting a fraction of my day on this douche canoe I storm out of the restaurant.

“Where to sweetheart?” the cabbie asks when I jump in.

“Grocery store first. I need ice cream.”

The cabbie laughs as he speeds off into the night, swerving in and out of cars recognizing my dire need for an ice sugar band aide. Thank god for New York taxi drivers.

The door opens before I can even knock. Maria, my best friend and confidant holds out a spoon and I yank it out of her hand.

We crash onto the couch each of us clutching our pints and digging in.

“He couldn’t have been that consistent,” Maria says flicking her dark brown hair out of her eyes after I tell her about the disastrous ten minute date.

“Believe me he was. I wouldn’t be surprised if he wasn’t counting in his head with me.”

Maria laughed and a pang of envy hit me.

Maria and I met at the dentist office we both work at and we’re complete opposites. She runs the front office and is always dressed professionally and gorgeous. I’m a dental hygienist dressed in spit covered scrubs all day long. Not attractive.

Besides our differing work attire, Maria has short black hair and beautiful mocha colored skin which is in complete contrast to my long blonde locks and New York pallor. Maria has curves for days fitting her short frame perfectly, while I’m average height and shaped like a board. If we weren’t friends I would hate her.

“Maybe I should just take Chris back,” I say putting my empty ice cream on the table.

“Stop that stupid thinking right now.” Maria scowls as she sets her ice down next to mine.

“Why? It would make everyone happy.”

“It wouldn’t make me happy. It wouldn’t make you happy.”

“But it would get my parents off my back and I wouldn’t have to go through another date from hell like I just did.” I whine.

“Chris is a rat bastard and if I ever come across him I will rip his dick off and shove it down his throat.”

“Maybe he just needed to get it out of his system.”

Maria’s hands latch onto my shoulders as she looks directly at me. “Chris Bennett was doing your neighbor, in your house, the day before your wedding. He is an asshole. Do you remember how heartbroken you were?”

Maria keeps talking, not letting me answer her.

“Because I do. It may have been almost a year ago, but I remember you wallowing on this very same couch for over a month trying to get over his cheating ass. You deserve better and I refuse to let you go back to him. I’m too good of a friend to let that happen. Once a cheater always a cheater.”

“But my dad,” I say and Maria holds up her hand stopping my flimsy excuse.

Richard Stewart, my father cheated on my mom when I was only thirteen. Fifteen years later my parents are still together. It was one of the excuses my parents used to try and mend my broken engagement, and the reason I licked my wounds at Maria’s house instead of theirs.

“You’re not your parents. I’m not saying your mom was wrong by forgiving your dad and taking him back, but it’s not the same. If you took Chris back it would break you inside and your beautiful soul would wither away and die. I promise you your man is out there. You just haven’t kissed the right frog yet.”

At her words an image of Archer Frost, my first love, my first everything enters my head. It wasn’t the first time my brain has conjured up an image of Archer. Ever since I received an invitation to my ten-year high school reunion his face has been popping up randomly.

“Have you tried Matters of the Heart?” Maria asks nudging my phone toward me.

“No, I don’t need a romance blog to help me.”

I thrust my phone in my purse so she can’t try to get on the site without my permission.

“It’s not just a blog. It’s a forum where everyone is supportive and gives you advice based on their personal journey. They have experts who are there to get you through what ever you are going through. It helped my cousin Susan get through her break up and now she is engaged to love of her life.”

“Susan as in your crazy cousin who tried to light her ex on fire?”

Maria winces and I know my answer.

“Here I’ll email you the link just in case.”

I roll my eyes but it doesn’t stop Maria from grabbing her phone and typing away Maria has been pressing this website since I walked in on Chris mid thrust almost a year ago. She was like a dog with a bone, and I wasn’t in the mood to hear about how a website was going to magically fix my problems.

“I’m going to get out of here,” I tell Maria getting up and hugging her.

“Think about what I said.”

I nod knowing there’s no way I will air my dirty laundry on a website for the world to judge me. I love Maria, but not that much.