On a Friday night two months later, Madelyn found herself in one of her least favorite places: Bea's so-called "glam chair." While Madelyn appreciated a cute outfit and light makeup, Bea believed her hair, makeup, and fashion choices had to be Instagram-able all the time. Those who didn't know Bea closely probably thought she put in so much effort because of her job as a magazine editor; Madelyn knew better. Bea had been like this since they were 14 and discovered the makeup section at Target.
"Grit your teeth any harder and you'll be wearing dentures by the end of the year," Bea pointed out as she added another curl to Madelyn's hair.
"You know I hate being your glam doll," Madelyn muttered in response. She had to admit though, she looked damn good in the outfit Bea had chosen: leather high-wasted pants and a white cropped top.
"You complain every time and then revel in how hot you look. So do us both a favor and enjoy your margarita as I beautify you."
Madelyn closed her eyes as Bea started to apply eye-shadow. "Remind me what's going on tonight?"
"This new bar in the West Village is starting a trivia night, so I figured we could go and try it out," Bea responded, casually.
"HA! Try again. You're acting like this is the first time you've dragged me out under the guise of us 'trying something new.'"
There was a silent pause, and then…"Ugh okay fine! So this guy, Justin, I've been working with is going and mentioned it to me. He said we could join his team if we showed up. He's a good guy, Maddie…and super hot and owns a penthouse."
Madelyn rolled her eyes with a smile. The penthouse, of course. "Well how could we not go for a hot guy with a penthouse?" Madelyn replied with thinly veiled sarcasm.
"I know you're being sarcastic, but I'm ignoring it," Bea shot back, adding a touch of hair spray to her friend. "We're going to look hot and have fun, and hopefully not go home alone. And…..done! Look at you, sexy as ever if I do say so myself."
"I'd offer to return the favor but –"
"But you'd curl my hair into a rats' nest? No thanks," Bea interrupted.
"Geez, you get a brush stuck in a girl's hair and she still can't let it go 10 years later…" Madelyn muttered, eyes glimmering as she hid a laugh.
"I don't think a bald spot will motivate Justin to bring me back to penthouse later tonight," Bea replied, sipping her drink.
"I'm going to start taking shots every time you mention the penthouse. Does this poor guy know you're only in it for amenities?"
At that, Bea's eyes softened a bit as she paused. Madelyn expected the banter to continue, but when she saw the depth and sincerity in her best friend's eyes, she knew the conversation was changing directions.
"It's so hard to meet someone when I work in this industry, so I figure why not just have fun? Either the guys are hot models that are complete assholes, execs who are out of my league, or guys who don't like someone like me…strong, outspoken, constantly busy. I'm just tired of wanting something it seems like I can't have, at least not right now," Bea said, softly.
Madelyn grabbed her best friend's hand and squeezed gently. "B, you're the best person I know. If some guy can't see that having a strong, badass girlfriend is a good thing, then screw him. The right person is worth it; it definitely sucks to wait, I understand."
At that, Bea gave Madelyn a look that the latter couldn't interpret – exasperation? Annoyance?
"What? What I did say?"
Bea stared at her for a few seconds, and seemingly relaxed. "Nothing, you're right. It's just hard to be patient, you know?"
Deciding to not focus on it, Madelyn stood up, grabbed her drink and lifted it in the air. "Ok I'm making a toast: to you and me, the best relationship I've ever had!"
The girls clinked their glasses, and continued getting ready. They did have a penthouse to get Bea into, after all.
By the time they made it to the bar, Madelyn was well and truly tipsy. With a perpetual smile on her face, she enjoyed the feeling of her limbs being a bit jelly-like.
Is this what it's like to be an octopus?...Oh wow, maybe I'm more than just tipsy.
Madelyn watched as Bea hugged a strikingly handsome man with sandy blonde hair, sitting at a table with a few friends. Okay, after seeing him, I totally get it. Props to you, B.
"Hi I'm Justin, nice to meet you."
Madelyn shook his outstretched hand, "I'm Madelyn, thanks for inviting us. I can't promise to be any help with trivia, though."
Justin chuckled as he pulled out Bea's chair. Brownie points.
"No worries, we're just doing this for fun; if we win the free round of beers, we'll take it. By the way, these are my friends – Jeff, Sadie, and Delia."
"Nice to meet you guys," Madelyn said, giving them a small smile.
"You too!" An enthusiastic Sadie replied. "I'm glad you two could make it; it's good to spice up our trivia team. We usually go to a bar down the street but wanted to try this place since it's new. As long as you don't get the Jets and the Giants confused, you'll be better than Jeff."
Jeff, who had barely been paying attention, glared at Sadie. "It was one time and I was four beers deep. Let it go!"
The group laughed, and Madelyn snuck a glance at Bea and Justin who were already wrapped up in each other. If she was going to have to chat with this group for a few hours to let Bea have her fun, at least they seemed cool and easy to talk to.
_.
After two rounds of trivia, two plates of nachos, and a lot of laughter, the group was enjoying themselves. Madelyn ended up talking to Sadie mostly. Despite the fact that the girl was a pixie stick personified, Madelyn enjoyed her positive attitude, and the constant chatter made her feel welcome as Bea's focus centered on Justin.
"Okay if we're playing another round, I can't get through it without another drink. Especially if there are more science questions," Madelyn said, standing with her purse.
"Can you grab me another beer?" Bea requested, leaning further into Justin, his arm wrapped around her.
Madelyn smiled at her friend, giving her a knowing wink. "Absolutely. Be right back."
With a few "excuse me's," some good-natured flirting (thank you Bea for the hot outfit), and one decent shove, Madelyn made it to the bar.
That was a legit obstacle course. I love New York but damn, sometimes I hate New York.
After giving the bar tender her order ("Two Blue Moons, please. Can't be mediocre at trivia without them!"), Madelyn recalled another reason she simultaneously loved and hated New York City. For such a large place with millions of people, New York City was remarkably small. Madelyn constantly saw friends and acquaintances everywhere: the grocery store, Central Park, coffee shops, and she even ran into one of Jamie's exes at the dentist once. This was all good and well when you wantedto see the people you coincidentally ran into.
Tonight, it caught Madelyn off guard; the kind of off guard where her heart started pounding, and her flight or fight response kicked in.
The stereotypical 'spotting the ex across the room, the lights dim, and you lock eyes' scenario is far from what Madelyn experienced in that moment.
Rather, she spotted Ashton before he looked her way, and dove behind a tall, burly man to escape a potentially awkward moment. This dude is definitely a MMA fighter; good thing too. I want to see Ash, but I don't want him to see me. How fucked up is that? Too fucked up for me to analyze in a bar when I'm drunk.
As her heart beat wildly and her chest tightened, Madelyn methodically clenched and unclenched her hands in an effort to keep her turmoil contained. It was a mix of hurt, surprise, confusion, and at the base of it all? Guilt. Guilt that slammed into her with such force, she felt that she could've been knocked over. I deserve to fall over and make a fool of myself; I deserve all the guilt and tears. I haven't let myself feel it because, well, this happens in the middle of bar.
"Blue moons?" The bartender brought her back to the present. She swiftly grabbed the beers, and maneuvered back to the table, promising God she'd go to extra church services if Ashton didn't see her.
Hands shaking, Madelyn did her best to appear normal. Tonight, she'd be the best wing-woman. Tomorrow, she'd go on living the life she created for herself. Sometime down the road, well, sometime down the road she could approach the Pandora's box that had nearly been opened at the bar.