***
"So I think if I just quit this spring at the elementary school that I'll go to the high school." Lanie leaned back from her plate and took a sip of her wine. We'd decided to go out to dinner instead of cooking, seeing that both of us were bone tired.
"And you really think high school is somewhere you want to be? I heard the kids get mean at that age."
"They're mean at every age." She downed the rest of her wine. "Call me an Uber if I get too drunk."
"Will do." I picked up my fork and pushed my pasta around the plate. I needed to tell Lanie about Mitch, but I couldn't force myself to do it. Where I knew she wouldn't judge me, she sure as hell would try and fix it.
"Hey. What's going on with you? Leon and your mom giving you hell again?" She reached across the table and brushed her fingers over my hand.
"No." I let out a soft sigh and shrugged. "Matt wants me to move in with him soon."
"Oh. Wow." She smiled. "Wait. Why do you look so sad about this? This is great news, right?"
"Yeah, but it's a lot of pressure. It's the next step, and we just got back together after falling apart."
"That's part of being in a long-term relationship. You know that."
"No, I don't." I picked up a piece of bread and dragged it through the Alfredo sauce on my plate. "My only long-term relationship didn't work out, remember? He just up and decided to leave. As if I wasn't worth anything."
"Because he was a jack wagon. You know this."
I smiled at her silly word. "He was that."
"Matt's a great guy." She took the last piece of bread from the basket and gave me a look. "I've known you for most of my life. Something else is going on. Spill."
"No." I reached for my wine glass, but she got to it first and downed the red wine in it.
"Yes. Let me help you. I'm worried about finding someone worth taking my panties off for. It's not that big of a deal. You, on the other hand, are drowning in something. Spill. Now."
"More wine?" I asked the waiter as he stopped by.
"And more bread?" Lanie gave him a sweet smile.
"Who could refuse the two of you?" He winked at us before walking off.
"Lots of people." Lanie snorted. "Come on. I want to help you. I love you, and you're hurting."
"Mitch was trying to overbid Matt at his art opening at De Luca. He was doing it to be a dick."
"Wait... overbid Matt? Was Matt bidding on his own art?" Her lip lifted up in a cocky smile. "That's such a Bryant thing to do."
"Yeah, it is, but it's because it was the naked picture of me. Matt doesn't like Mitch, so he was willing to do just about anything to not let Mitch have the painting."
"So what happened? Did Matt get the painting?"
"No. Some young billionaire guy did."
"Can I get his digits? I'm your best friend. That should get me some points somewhere."
I chuckled. "Stop it. You're going to find Mr. Right. I promise."
"Let's not go back to me. It's obvious that my future husband got lost, and refuses to stop and ask for direction." We shared a chuckle. It was Lanie's go-to joke about being single. "So what happened?"
"Mitch wasn't going to let up, and it was so tense in the room. I walked outside and texted Mitch, telling him to stop that shit. He said he would on one condition."
"Oh no. This does not sound like it's going to end well."
"That I go to dinner and have drinks with him."
Her eyes brightened. "Oh, nice! That's easy."
"And fuck him."
"What?" Her voice rose as she leaned toward me, whispering so loud it could have been a yell. "Has he lost his fucking mind? You can't do that. It would ruin everything. It would-" Realization rolled over her face. "Oh, shit. You said you would do it."
Tears filled my eyes. I wasn't a crier, and yet the situation with Mitch and Matt had me crying all the damn time.
"I didn't know what else to do. I just wanted the bidding war to end and for Matt to feel like he'd won. I didn't want him to lose his pride or his shining moment that night."
"What are you going to do?" She was ignoring me for the most part, or maybe she was lost in the brevity of the situation.
"I'm going to tell him no." I shrugged. "But you wanted to know what was wrong and-"
"No. That's not going to work. Go to Damon."
"What? Why not Matt?"
She gave me a sassy look. "Be for real here. Matt will get a gun and end up in jail for Manslaughter. Get Damon involved."
"And look like an idiot or worst yet, a slut?"
"Seriously? He thinks the world of you."
"I don't know." I glanced up and offered our waiter a smile as he delivered us each another glass of wine. "I'm going to go to an event on Saturday with Mitch and try and talk some sense into him. If that doesn't work, I'll go to Damon."
"Take your own car and meet him at the event. Make sure you have people around you when you walk out. Fuck. Take me with you."
"That's a thought." I leaned back in my chair and nursed my wine. "You think there is a better way out of this?"
"I don't know. I want to, but damn... this is like TV drama bullshit."
"Right?" I let out a long sigh. "I'll do this and see what works. I'm not willing to mess up things with Matt, but I'm not sure which would do more damage; telling him what I did, or just doing it and hoping he never finds out."
"You could sleep with Mitch? I mean, you could actually go through with it?"
"No. Not in a million years."
"Then it seems like you have your backup plan."
"And what if it doesn't' work and he leaves me, Lanie?"
"Then you move on." She narrowed her eyes. "You're a beautiful woman, and you'll find someone else. You deserve the best. If Matthew can't see that's what you are and that you were trying to sacrifice for his pride and wellbeing, then fuck him."
She made it sound so easy, but it wasn't.
Not in the slightest.