"Today is the oldest you've ever been and the youngest you'll ever be again."

It is a single and unifying fact among that masses that I am almost 30 with no sense of hope for romance ever.

"Are you fucking serious!" I yelled at the top of my lungs. I threw on my robe and stared at the small gold circle that I stepped on as I went to the bathroom.

Married?!

Jet was fast asleep until I screamed at the top of my lungs. I had invited him into my bed. This married man was butt ass naked in my bed. I definitely needed to burn those sheets.

He cringed when he saw the tiny piece of metal in my hand, "Look Katara, I can explain! We're separated! Babe don't be like this!"

I scoffed and mocked him,"Ughhhh, go call your wife Babe."

Another guy down the drain. How was this still happening to me?

Jet was completely naked, as one typically was after a night of sex. I can't believe this ass hole. He screwed me then probably went home and screwed his wife afterwards.

Jet spoke flustered and fast, "Kat, listen. I don't want her. I-"

I was infuriated. I was so pissed I threw my bedside lamp at his head. He ducked and was quick to grab a pillow to protect his bare manhood.

"Get out Jet!" I toss another object at him and it the wall behind him.

He was I was serious and said, "Okay, okay! Let me just get my clothes."

Ha, he thought I'd give him that decency? I chased him out of my house and locked the door. He was now standing on my front lawn with his bare ass exposed to the world and a pillow covering his crotch. He banged on the door thinking I would budge, watching his obvious humiliation.

In fact, his banging was really annoying. I opened my window next to the front door.

"Can you leave Jet? I'm trying to enjoy my morning coffee here."

"I would if you'd stop holding my clothes hostage."

"Hmmmmm…. Maybe have your wife bring your clothes." I turned on the sprinklers in my yard immediately. He was either going to leave or have soaked balls. "Better sprint to the car now." I slammed the window as he let out an annoyed howl.

Well time for a bedsheet bonfire and ice cream.

~/~

I lived for Fridays. Nights out with my girls and cutting loose. My work week was always stressful and getting drinks with my girls always helped me unwinded and process my week.

My girls were Toph and Suki. Toph was 5'4" with long, straight black hair that fell to her bra strap. She usually wore thick, straight bangs that covered her eyes. She was never the girly type. She dressed in jeans and t-shirts, even now at a bar where most women were wear skin tight dresses. Toph and I met in college. She was my roommate freshman year and ever since then we were inseparable.

Toph came from a rich, diplomatic family that paid her way through college to become a doctor. Little to their knowledge, nothing about Toph screamed precision or even hospitality. You know, the traits most doctors have. In fact, she didn't even want to be a doctor. She had been lying for the past couple years saying she'd been going to medical school in hope that they would continue paying her rent here. I wasn't sure how long she could keep the serade up and how long she could survive with no job skills when they did find out but Toph was a free-spirit. She'd land on her feet.

Suki was my brother's girlfriend of 8 years. Though I was skeptical of her at first we quickly became close and I realized she was kind-hearted and caring. She stood at 5'10" which was actually one inch shorter than my own brother. Her soft, brunette hair was cut into a bob cropped at the bottom of her ears which accentuated her features. Suki was gorgeous. My brother had a catch for once. Her smile, violet eyes, and athletic build made her nearly irresistible to most men in the room. She was pushing for my brother to marry her and didn't hide it well. Every other conversation with her was about "Say Yes to the Dress" or "Cake Boss" or that god awful show, "Married at First Sight". She was obsessed. God hope Sokka proposes because Toph and I weren't sure how much we could take.

We met at our favorite bar, The Jasmine Dragon, every Friday night. We crowded around a small round table with a booth attached to it. The dance floor was packed tonight and drinks were flying from the bar. I ordered my usually, a rum and coke. After a drink all three of us usually headed to the dancefloor, but tonight I wasn't in the mood to dance. I really needed to talk to them.

"No way Kat!" Toph's mouth dropped open and her green eye shimmered with disgust after I recall the entire story of Jet.

Toph was usually the one with the erratic reactions and Suki was more level headed but tonight they both seemed to shocked to even respond like their normal selves.

Suki took a hard gulp of her drink and exclaimed,"Jet? The guy you've been hooking up with the the past few months? I thought you said he was perfect?"

I was embarrassed even telling them that the man I considered myself to be in a relationship with for the past 6 months was married and I was inadvertantly his side chick. If it was one rule I had, it was to never mess with married men but he never gave me a choice.

"Yea well now I know why he never wanted to go out to a restaurant with me, because he has a fucking wife." I rubbed my temples, feeling a migraine coming at just the thought of him. "I was trying to convince him to take me out to dinner for my birthday next week. HE convinced me to stay in with him and he'd cook for me at my place. I thought he was trying to be special and personal but now I know, he was only trying to cover his own ass."

"What an asshole!" Toph burped from finishing off her second beer of the night.

I stared into the brown liquid in my glass and just wanted to cry. "I can't believe him. I shouldn't have fallen from his bullshit and his smile. God, how could I have not known he was married? Manless when my birthday is in a week."

Toph screamed and started to work on her other beer on the table,"Don't be bitter. Screw him!"

Suki agreed, "Yea Toph is right! Screw him. Let's find you someone else to screw!"

"No. Screwing is what got me in this mess! Face it, I'm hopeless every guy I meet ends up being a disaster."

"You can have a booty call if you want. What about Aang?" Toph just had to bring up baby Aang.

I roll my eyes, "Childish and obsessed with his mother."

Suki questioned, "Haru?"

"Didn't want anything 'serious'." I rolled my eyes in annoyance. "He's engaged now."

"Ouch." Toph gasped, gulping down her drink fast shortly after.

Suki fired another guy, "Okay, Okay ummm what about that one guy? He was your mailman or something? What happened to him? You said he was good right?"

"Suki, he was my MAILMAN." I averted her gaze nervously. "He got switched to a new route. That was the end of that."

Toph was getting increasingly frustrated with my poor track record. "For God's sake which guy did things not end terrible who you can call?"

Suki ignored Toph and seemed determined to find guy in my past I could warm up to. "What about that wrestler you dated?"

"The Boulder? He was a complete narcissist."

"Okay, Teo?"

"Gay."

"Mike?"

"No job."

"Leo?"

"Short."

Toph finally cut the exchange between Suki and I short. "Oh come on Katara! Seriously! Do you find something wrong with every guy you date?"

"Lee?"

"Um, dead."

"Yikes, sorry I forgot about that gang turf war thing. My bad."

"Right."

Toph got up abruptly and declared, "New plan! We find you a new guy here tonight!"

"I'm sorry what?" I felt increasingly self-conscious by the second. "I just kind of want to drink my drink and head home."

"Stop being a bitch, Katara. Find yourself a sexy man out there on the dance floor and bam. Your Jet problems will be gone." She called over to the waitress. "Can we get a few rounds of shots over here?"

It's not like I couldn't take shots. I just hadn't since college. In fact, I hadn't been really drunk since college either. I wasn't sure what straight vodka tasted like anymore but I was pretty sure I didn't like it. Who actually takes shots for the taste? I was apprehensive about this plan to get me a little liquid courage. Hell, I didn't even know who drunk Katara was anymore.

The waitress came back with shots within a few moments, an entire tray of shots. We were either going to die or have a really good time with no in between moments.

"This is gonna be so much fuuuuun!" Suki nearly squealed as our table was filled shots of the clear liquor. "Oh, I better call Sokka, so he can get us home."

"Alright Katara. Time for the first round."

I was only going to have two shots. That's it.

~/~

All of Friday night into Saturday was a complete blur. I do remember waking up to two other women. With the appearance of my brother there, I knew I didn't get lucky at all last night. The only lucky thing I had was a pounding headaches and the ability for liquor to leak through my pores that morning.

Sokka was busy making pancakes to probably feed his obnoxiously large appetite.

"Morning Sokka." I whispered to not wake the sleeping women in the next room.

He slid a bottle of water and two aspirin across the counter instantly. He looked like he had a rough night too. For one his normal man bun was disheveled and down over his shoulders. His white shirt was wrinkled and had a large brown stain on it and his blue eyes looked heavy from being up all night.

Signs of a man who had to babysit three drunk women all night.

Sokka's jaw was clenched, "Listen next time you decide to get my girlfriend drunk again she can throw up all over you next time. I love a good night but you guys were out of control when I came to pick up last night."

My worst fear was coming true. Sokka had seen me at my possible thirstiest and most desperate.

"I'm sorry Sokka." I was disappointed because he seemed disappointed.

"It's fine. Are you guys doing a repeat for your birthday next week? Almost the dirty 30. Big deal."

"Uggggggh don't remind me."

"You should be humbled. 30 means you've been eating food for 3 decades now Sis."

"Of course, it also mean I don't have my shit together. Other woman at 30 are living beautiful lives with a great career, husband, kids. Hell, by the time you were 30 you and Suki had been together a while. I have noone."

"You know you're a fucking lawyer Katara and a damn good one. Not many people can say that. You don't need a man to tell you how amazing you are or make you feel like you're good enough. Anytime you feel bad, you call me. No girl will ever be more important to me than my baby sister."

"I appreciate it Sokka but you don't get it. You can break up with Suki today and be single for the next ten years and be considered an eligible bachelor but women, we're expected to settle down and have the whole package."

"Well who says we have to live up to expectations."

"I just, I want it ALL. I want the great job, the nice house, the husband, and the kid. I want the whole package. I deserve that. I fucking deserve it."

"Listen, you can't focus on what you don't have. You happen to have three of those things right now."

"What?"

"Your house is massive. You're a top notch lawyer. And you do have a kid. Her name is Toph… after she asks you to move in with her that is."

"What are you-"

"Soooo drunk Toph told me last night that her parents found out she's not really in med school so they cut her off big time. She's going to ask to live with you. Just a heads up."

"Of course. Ughhh." I pick up one of the ready pancakes from Sokka's plate and start to eat it. "I'm going back to bed. My head is killing me."

~/~

People always say to do something you love. I loved being a lawyer. I loved giving voices to my clients and fighting battles for those who could otherwise not afford a decent attorney. Everyone deserves the right a good legal council that was on their side. I did mostly small claims cases but on the off chance I did get a divorce case, I was usually equipped to do that too.

Being a lawyer was all about making your argument better than your opponents and having more evidence on your side. I loved piecing together the evidence in my client's favor and knowing my argument was air tight with no holes.

Today, I had a lot of paperwork to go through. I had gotten three cases come in today and two more clients seeking consultation. At this rate, I wouldn't be out of here until 9 tonight, which wasn't unusual for me to be leaving work honestly.

I was busy sorting through some evidence files when the secretary knocked on the door.

"Sorry Katara, someone is here to see you. He wants to see you out in the lobby."

A lot of prospective clients come into the office and want to meet with me. I usually tell them to come and sign up for an appointment with the secretary.

"Can he make an appointment?"

"Um, no he says its urgent."

I sigh and follow the secretary down the lobby. To my surprise, I see a very handsome man waiting for me.

"Hi Katara. Um, we met Friday night actually."

Was he a fucking stalker?

I immediately tense up, "How'd you find me?"

"Um last night at the bar when I asked for your number you gave me your business card?"

That explained nothing!

"Yea and?"

"Yea so it has the address… of your business on the...card. You know?"

That explained everything!

"Well if we met at the bar why don't you call my number? It's inappropriate for you to show up asking for a date."

"Ha, I don't want a date. I want your help."

Author's Note: Who do you think the guy is? I'm trying something new. This story will be about dating and trying navigate adulthood. ~Brie