"Here's your iced vanilla latte!" I called out, setting the drink on the counter.
"Thanks, Marci. See you tomorrow!"
I waved at one of our regulars walking out the door and finally let the fake smile fall from my face. I was so done with work, I just wanted to go home.
"Hey girl, are you ok?" Lady asked, walking up from the back.
Lady was by far my favorite coworker. She and I had both started at The Bean around the same time 5 years ago and we instantly clicked. We worked here as teenagers and now we managed the shop in our 20's. Lady was gorgeous, tall and thin with big blue eyes and a face like a little cherub. She was probably my closest friend. Well, my only friend really since I'd started dating Ash.
"Oh, yeah, I'm fine…just tired." I sighed.
Lady gave me a knowing look and raised an eyebrow. "Ash is being a dick again, isn't he?"
She knew me so well. "Uh…kinda. But nothing out of the ordinary ya know?"
She sighed. "What happened this time?"
"He pawned my records for money."
"Are you kidding me? I hate that guy. You need to dump him!" she cried.
"It's not that simple, Lady. I love him."
Lady snorted as she wiped down the counter. "That's not what love is Marceline."
She was probably right. Ash was my on again, off again boyfriend for the past 3 years. We'd met at our mutual friends show and started dating almost immediately. Ash was exactly my type; a musician, tall and very confident. Soon I'd find out that confidence was a little too much and was actually arrogance. When it was good it was amazing but when it was bad…I could barely stand it. I couldn't even count how many times I'd called Lady sobbing in the middle of the night after Ash and I had gotten in a fight. She'd always come pick me up, without fail, and take me to her house and comfort me all night. Then as per usual Ash would call me crying saying he overreacted, he was sorry and he loved me and he would never do anything to hurt me ever again. And like an idiot, I'd go back. Eventually he isolated me from all my other friends and Lady was all I had left. But I couldn't leave him…I loved him….right?
"Which records? I'll replace them." She said, pulling out her phone to look at amazon.
"No, it's ok. He said he needed the extra money for rent this month and we can't be late again. That'll be the 4th time this year if we don't pay it on time." I replied.
Lady shook her head and put her phone back in her pocket.
"You wanna come out with me and my friends tonight? One of my friends is doing an art exhibit, we're gonna get dinner and then head over. It'll be fun."
I chewed on the inside of my cheek and debated her offer. Ash was supposed to go record tonight with the band but he didn't like it when I went out without him. But I hadn't been out in forever and between work and Ash I needed a night out.
"Sure, what time?" I asked.
"We're meeting at the restaurant at 7, do I need to pick you up or is Ash not using the car tonight?"
As if on que, Ash walked in. Every time I saw him I saw all the reasons I fell in love with him; long blonde hair going just past his broad shoulders, high cheekbones and full lips, dark green eyes that always seemed like they were looking through you. Then he would open his mouth.
"Marceline, can we get out of here? I'm hungover as fuck." He snapped.
Lady stood by my side, glaring at him. He didn't even acknowledge her anymore. She had yelled at him too many times for him to even pretend he wasn't an asshole anymore.
"Uh, yeah just let me clock out."
I hurried to the back, gathered my things and clocked out quickly. If he was already in a bad mood telling him I was going out later was only going to make it worse. I walked out to the front and met him in front of the counter. He immediately snaked an arm around my shoulders and squeezed tightly. Ash was so much taller than me, I only came up to about his chest.
"Bye Marci, I'll see you tonight!" Lady said as we walked out the door.
"What is she talking about? You're going out with her tonight?" he asked, opening my car door.
I slid into the passenger seat and tried to focus on anything else in the car other than him. He got in the driver's seat and pulled out of the parking lot.
"Well?" he asked again.
"Yeah, she invited me to an art exhibit and I wanna go. I'm sure I'll be back before you're done recording." I said.
He frowned. "Baby, you know I don't like you not being there when I'm out. I like to come home to you."
"I know but I'm sure I'll be back long before you're done. It'll just be for a couple hours."
Ash's frown deepened and he got silent. I pulled out my phone and sent a quick text to Lady.
Me: You're gonna have to pick me up tonight.
Lady: Ok, I'll see you then!
I put my phone back in my pocket and studied his face. He looked more sad than mad. I reached out and put my hand on his arm and he jerked it away.
"What's wrong?" I asked.
"Lady doesn't like me and I don't want her convincing you to leave me. I love you Marci, you're my whole world. She doesn't understand our relationship. She only hears about the fucked up shit you tell her." He grumbled.
"Ash, she knows how I feel about you. She would never come between us, I promise." I whispered.
"You promise?"
"Yes of course."
He sighed. "Alright, I'll just see you after I'm done recording I guess."
"Of course baby, only a few hours I promise."
We pulled into the driveway of our house and he stopped the car then looked over at me. We started at each other for a couple of seconds before he pulled me in and kissed me roughly. He pulled away and pressed his forehead against mine.
"I love you, Marceline."
"I love you too, Ash."
Ash slept for the rest of the day before getting up to go to the studio around 6. He kissed me before he left and reminded me to be home before he was. I agreed. Now, what does one wear to an art exhibit? I settled on my favorite band t-shirt, some black ripped skinny jeans and my leather jacket. I ran a brush through my long black hair, threw on my combat boots and I was ready to go. Lady arrived just on time and I ran out to her car.
"Hey! I'm glad you could come!" she said as I got into the passenger seat.
"Yeah me too, it's been too long since we've hung out."
"Yeah…too long."
Her voice sounded sad. I hated hearing her like this.
"So, who's coming tonight?" I asked.
"Jake obviously, Finn and his girlfriend, B.J. and Simon."
Jake was Lady's fiancée. They'd been together since we were like 18 and they were so in love it was almost sickening to look at. Finn was Jakes younger brother; he and I had tried to date once but decided we were better off as friends. I hadn't really spoken to him much since I started dating Ash. He didn't like that Finn and I were so close and we'd dated before.
"Oh, I haven't seen Finn in so long. How long have him and his girlfriend been dating?" I asked.
"He misses you. He asks about you all the time. Her name is Fiona, they've been dating for the past few months and I really like her."
"I can't wait to meet her."
We pulled up to the restaurant and walked inside, everyone was already seated. Finn jumped up when he saw me and a big grin broke out on his face.
"Marci! I've missed you, bud!" He shouted.
I ran across the restaurant and wrapped him up in a big bear hug.
"I've missed you too!"
We pulled away and he gestured to a pretty red head sitting next to him. "This is my girlfriend, Fiona. Fiona, this is Marci."
Fiona smiled at me. "Hi, I've heard so much about you. It's nice to finally meet you!"
"It's nice to meet you too!"
I was grabbed by Jake next. "You little punk, you gotta come out more!" He bellowed.
Finn and Jake looked so different it was hard to believe they were brothers. If it weren't for their light blonde hair and big brown eyes you might assume they were just friends. Jake was shorter and very muscular whereas Finn was taller and skinny. Lady was about a foot taller than Jake but she didn't care, she loved him so much. Lady introduced me to B.J. and Simon and we all settled in. Dinner was amazing, I missed my friends so much. But there was a nagging voice in the back of my head making me feel guilty for having fun without Ash, especially since Finn was here. He would kill me if he found out.
After we wrapped up dinner we all piled into a car and headed over to the exhibit. It was in a small studio with a few people milling around already. We grabbed drinks and went to go look at the paintings.
"So, who's exhibit is this, Lady?" I asked.
"My friend Bonnie. She's one of my best friends, it's her first exhibit!"
"Hmmm, she's talented." I mused.
"Oh yeah, Bonnie is good at everything she does. It's annoying sometimes." Lady gushed.
"There she is. Bonnie, come here!" Finn called.
A short girl with bright pink hair turned around and grinned when she saw us standing there. She bounded over and gave Lady a big hug.
"I'm so glad you could make it! Thank you for coming!" she squealed.
"Of course. Bonnie, this is Marceline. Marceline, Bonnie." Lady said, gesturing to me.
When I got a good look at her, it felt like my heart stopped. Bonnie was the most beautiful girl I'd ever seen. She smiled at me and flicked a piece of pink hair out of her face.
"Hi! It's nice to meet you."
"I-it's nice to meet you too." I stuttered.
Lady's eyes shot back and forth between us and she smirked.
"Hey Bon, will you show her around? We're gonna go look at some of your paintings over here."
"Oh yeah of course! Come on I'll give you the whole tour!" she said, grabbing my hand.
When she touched me, my skin felt like it was on fire. I let her lead me to the corner of the room in front of an abstract painting.
"So, how do you know Lady?" she asked.
"We work together." I replied.
Her face lit up. "Oh, you're Marci! She's told me so much about you."
I blushed. "All good things I hope."
"Of course," she winked.
My face got redder and she laughed. Even her laugh was beautiful. I was completely and utterly hypnotized by this girl and I'd only met her a few minutes ago. How was that even possible? Bonnie led me around her exhibit and explained each piece in detail and what it meant to her. I could have watched her talk for the rest of my life.
"You wanna get out of here? I'm dying for a shake." She groaned.
"Right now? This is your exhibit, can you leave?" I asked.
Bonnie shrugged. "I'm sure they won't miss me."
"Then yeah, let's go get a shake."
"Great."
We walked down the street to this little diner and slid in a booth in the back. We got two large chocolate shakes and talked about anything and everything. I told her everything about me. That I was 23, an Aries, an amateur guitar player and singer and that I wrote my own songs, my favorite bands and anything and everything in between. She's 25, a science major, an Aquarius, she works at a small boutique part time, she got into college on a full ride scholarship, has a Siamese cat name Cinnamon Bun and had just moved to a small studio apartment down the street. We stayed for hours, just talking and ordering more shakes. By the time I checked the time it was 2 AM. I knew Ash was gonna be mad at me but suddenly I didn't care. I just wanted to spend as much time with Bonnie as I could. I was completely hypnotized.
