WINGMEN Table of Contents

“Hae!” Daphne cried. Vanessa had begun turn around as soon as she saw the look on Daph’s face. Her two friends collided in a hug and she joined them a second later. They did the usual “I haven’t seen you in forevers” and “how are yous” while they made their way to their room.

“So,” Daphne said, drawing out the word. “Let’s see it.” She gestured at Hae’s left hand. Hae obliged.

“And how is Double-O?” Vanessa asked. Double-O was actually a Triple O: Omar Oscar Oakes. He insisted that he was Double-O against all other arguments. If Omar wasn’t too beautiful to be denied, and he certainly was beautiful, his easy-going kindness made you feel bad if you didn’t do as he asked.

“He’s great, said to tell you both ‘hi,’” Hae replied. She had started dating him right as she and Vanessa were finishing up law school. All the girls in their clique loved Double-O immediately. He was quiet and gentle and actually listened when you spoke to him. He had an athletic physique because hip-hop dance was a hobby of his. He was a graphic designer by day, but had moonlighted in a few dance productions here and there.

Hae-Lee held up her phone. “Look at the tattoo he got.” The photo showed Omar’s back, and there in black on his chocolate-colored skin, was Hae-Lee’s name written, she explained, in her native Korean.

Daphne shook her head and uttered a phrase she often used when they discussed Hae’s now-husband. “He’s truly a unicorn.” Then, as she usually did, she added, “you bitch.”

Hae shrugged but not without making a bratty self-satisfied face. You loved to see your friends be adored, but still. Why’d it have to be so hard?

Vanessa redirected her envy, “The wedding photos were so gorgeous.” Double-O’s mom was Puerto Rican and insisted her son would get married at the church she attended in San Juan. The ceremony had been a very small affair.

Hae thanked her. “I’m sorry you guys couldn’t come,” she said. Her wedding party had been limited to just her sisters. “But yes, I absolutely loved the beaches there.” Hae usually got uncomfortable when she had too much of the spotlight and she’d reached her limit. “Speaking of,” she pivoted to face Daphne. “Costa Rica?”

While Daphne recounted her adventures at the turtle sanctuary, the server brought them their margaritas and Vanessa looked through her song options.

“To Hae-Lee Kang and her unicorn,” Daphne toasted.

“Kang-Oakes,” Ness corrected.

“You bitch!” The three of them chorused as their glasses clinked.

“I’ve been so busy,” Hae began. “Are you guys seeing anyone?”

Vanessa affected a teasing voice. “Daph is!”

Daphne rolled her eyes. “I went on one date with Ness’s friend.”

“And! She has another lined up,” Vanessa added.

Hae batted her lashes. “Ooh la la. Promising then?”

Daphne glanced at Vanessa and smiled. “I like what I see so far. He’s nice and not an idiot. Well, as far as men go, you know.” The women laughed.

“Tell me more,” Hae prompted after taking a sip. To Vanessa she said, “Hurry up, I wanna sing.”

“Well his name’s Darren and—“ Daphne began.

Hae cut her off. “Wait, your Darren?” She pointed at Ness. “Are you in an open relationship or something?”

Vanessa blinked. “What? No. We’re just friends.” She took a drink herself. “He’s perfect for Daph. He sat thru the Dante lecture.”

Hae spread her hands. “That’s actually super interesting.” Daph started to get smug but mischief danced at the edges of Hae’s expression. “That he listened to it, that is.”

Daphne’s expression fell. “You know what? You’re both Philistines.”

Hae raised a hand in apology. “You’re right. I’m teasing. Of course he listened, he hasn’t slept with you yet.” Her smile curved a little wickedly. “Or has he?”

“A,” Daph said haughtily, “screw you. And B, no he hasn’t.”

Hae turned back to Ness. “I’m surprised you haven’t. You hang out with him all the time right?”

Vanessa snorted. “We don’t have that kind of relationship. We’re buds!”

Hae blew out a breath. “Oh please. He’s a guy! All you have to do is—“

“Will you stop!” Ness interrupted. “He’s seeing Daphne!”

Hae surrendered. “Okay, okay, sorry. Will you pick a song?”

Vanessa stared at the list. “I’m getting there.”

“Do…Walkin’ on Sunshine,” Hae suggested. “Everyone loves that one.”

“I’m not drunk enough for that,” Vanessa said.

“I’ll do it, you coward,” Daphne teased. Vanessa relaxed. She hated breaking the ice at karaoke, but Daphne was burdened by neither fear nor shame.

As Daphne got set up Hae-Lee leaned over and murmured, “Sorry, I saw your post the other day on Instagram and thought you and Darren were like….” She gestured to finish her sentence.

Vanessa shook her head. “It’s fine. He’s just my best friend.” She smiled, hoping to have to stop explaining this tonight and possibly forever. “It’s why I set him up with my other best friend.”

Hae returned the smile. “That’s lovely, Ness.” Hae had the tact to not add, “I married my best friend.” She and Ness settled in and cheered along with Daphne’s passable rendition of Katrina and the Waves.

Hae went next and insisted on starting with Jewel despite hearty protest from the other two that Jewel was too melancholy. She sang the hell out of it, as expected. The thing about Hae-Lee is she was imminently underestimatable. She was only slightly bigger than a Barbie doll and generally meek…until she got into a courtroom. Or on a stage. Vanessa thought Hae had the chops to make a serious music career, but Hae always shrugged off such praise.

After much hemming and hawing over her choice, Vanessa finally chose the Ramones as her opener.

A few hours later, the women started to run out of steam as they suffered the effects of several margaritas. Most of the songs were interrupted by raucous giggles as the edges of the lyrics were slurred and the singers’ swaying had little to do with the music.

Daph and Vanessa had both tapped out and when Hae slumped into her seat after a great Adele cover, it was clear she was done too. “You wanna know how to keep a man?” She asked, her cheeks tinged with pink and her gaze a little glassy.

“Blowjobs?” Daphne blurted and giggled in shock at herself.

Hae had been holding up a finger to make a pronouncement, and instead of being astonished herself, she pursed her lips thoughtfully. “Not a bad idea,” she conceded. Vanessa found this funnier than it was and realized it was time to go home. “But no,” Hae continued. “Ya just gotta encourage ‘em a little bit, ya know? Just a tiny bit of praise and they eat out of your hand.”

Daphne nodded like this was a major revelation. “Is that how you bagged Double-O Seven?”

Hae-lee grinned impishly. “I think he bagged me.”

“Yeah he did!” Daphne added a lewd growl to her cheer. Hae didn’t even pretend to be coy this time.

Vanessa could see the wheels turning behind Hae’s eyes. “We need to get Nessie laid,” she said, forgetting that Vanessa hated sharing a nickname with the Loch Ness monster.

Daphne used the same tone she had just used. “Yeah we do!”

“Nessie needs to go home,” Vanessa said, forgetting that she hated sharing a nickname with the Loch Ness monster. “I have a date later this week, actually.”

“Whattda hell?” Daphne said.

“Yeah way to bury the lede,” Hae agreed. “With who?”

Vanessa shrugged. “Darren set me up with one of his friends.”

Hae chuckled. “The plot thickens. You guys set each other up. How cute. Is he hot?”

“Yeah, he’s pretty good looking. A doctor or something. We haven’t spoken much, but I’m…intrigued.”

“Ooh, intrigued,” Hae said, giggling at herself.

“All right,” Vanessa said, partly and irrationally annoyed at having to be an adult. “I think we should all go home.”

The other two booed, but it was half-hearted. They, too, were old enough to know better.

“What if we got pancakes?” Daphne suggested suddenly.

“Ooh, I’m in. Let me just tell Oh-Oh.” Hae-Lee pulled out her phone and began texting.

Vanessa held up a hand and shook her head. “I’m good. You two have fun, though.”

“When did you get old?” Hae griped without looking up from her phone.

Vanessa snorted. “In about twelve hours I want you to text me that you don’t have a headache and that you feel great and it can’t be a lie.”

Hae stuck out her tongue. Ness blew her a kiss.

Daph didn’t push, which Vanessa took as a sign that her friend didn’t have the energy to argue. Or maybe, she had bitten off more than she could chew and didn’t want to admit it. “There’s that all night diner a couple blocks away.”

Vanessa was going to offer to order them a ride but Hae had already set one up at Omar’s insistence. Good man. Instead she ordered one for herself.

The three of then ambled outside, bickering at each other about their song choices and comparing it to other karaoke outings. Daph and Hae’s ride got there first.

Vanessa waved as the got in. “I’ll text when I get home,” she promised.

“Sure you don’t want to come?” Hae asked. For a second Ness considered capitulating and going, but a part of her needed to decompress.

“Next time,” she said, and she wondered if she would hold herself to her word if there was a next time. The haggard driver ignored his passengers as they blew melodramatic kisses out of the windows.

WINGMEN Table Of Contents

Darren pulled open the door to the diner. He often met Ness here for lunch but he knew why she was particularly insistent to meet today. The grin on her face as she looked up from here phone said it all.

She wanted…no, needed…to gloat.

He sighed as he slid into the booth across from her. “Get it out of your system.”

“So,” Vanessa failed miserably at being innocent. “How was your date?”

“Are you really going to act like she didn’t tell you everything?”

Vanessa shook her head. “Completely in the dark.”

Darren rolled his eyes. “I have a sister, Ness. I know how it works. She texted you a full report before her ride left the curb.” He craned his neck. “Where’s the server? I skipped breakfast.”

Ness waved. “I ordered for you.” Darren blinked, nonplussed. “When you’re in a bad mood, you always get the tuna melt. And when you’re in a good mood, you get the turkey club.” He started to open his mouth but she spoke over him. “With! The extra pickle.”

The server delivered his Arnold Palmer. “Should only be a couple more minutes,” she said brightly before hustling off to another table.

Vanessa beamed. Her smugness annoyed him, but Darren couldn’t help smiling back. “Who says I’m in a good mood?”

“Please.” Vanessa dialed back her braggadocio and sipped her ice water. “She’s great right?”

“We had a very nice time,” Darren conceded, too politely.

Vanessa faffed out a breath. “I’m serious. What did you really think?”

Darren stared at her for a minute with a strange little smile. “She’s very pretty. Taller than I expected. Brilliant. Did not expect her to be into baseball. I think you coached her on that.” A corner of his mouth crooked with the accusation.

Vanessa gave him a flat look. “First of all, how the hell would I coach her on baseball. Second…what are you talking about?”

Darren cocked his head the way men do when you ask them simple questions. Kinda like a puppy. It was usually charming when it wasn’t annoying. “She’s a Yankees fan. Supposedly. Even keeps a scorebook…supposedly. Only real nerds do that.”

Ahh, so he loved it. What serendipity. She forgot how much he loved America’s most boring pastime, but she played it off. “Oh, right yeah. I knew about that.”

Darren totally bought it. “Sure you did.”

Vanessa soldiered on. “You can take her to a game.” There would be plenty of time to talk, that’s for sure. Their disagreement about baseball was well-trod and she let her opinions lie. “Did you tell her the twang story? She likes cowboy drawls you know.”

Darren glared. “I didn’t have to,” he said a little sulkily. Vanessa snickered. “I told her about going to UT. She knew Hook ‘Em.” He made the gesture. “From a movie, but still. Brownie points.”

Vanessa watched the corners of his eyes squinch with genuine delight. She’d done good. She remembered how he’d been when he was smitten with Miranda and this was a lot like that. Just before he started spending all his time with her. The left side of her mouth twitched up, “I’m going to miss you, D.”

He tossed his head back. “It was one date, Ness. Don’t count your baguettes before they’re baked.”

“You’re awful, never make that joke again,” Vanessa replied and allowed him to believe she was cocky about going to Paris. “What’d you like most about her?”

He scratched at his chin the way he did when he was really thinking about something. “So we started talking about books--”

Vanessa interrupted him with a snicker. “Oh my god she told you the Dante thing.”

“Yes!” Darren said. “With chakras and Jung and I think she brought up the Tarot at one point. Don’t ask me to repeat any of it.”

“She’s insane,” Vanessa agreed. The waitress brought them their plates. Vanessa, as she always did, immediately stole one of Darren’s fries. Darren, as he always did, pretended to be massively offended by it.

“I liked seeing her be passionate about it,” he countered. “Stop taking my fries!”

Vanessa ignored him. “What’s your next move Dare-bear?”

It was his turn to ignore her jab. “I’m not sure yet.”

She looked up at him. “Liar.” She really needed to get him to play poker sometime. He was so easy to read.

“Well, we were talking about this movie I’d never seen—“

Vanessa made a buzzing noise. “Nope.” She’d baffled him with the interruption. “You know how she has a hundred interjections any time you start talking about something? Well, it sucks watching a movie you’ve never seen with her.”

Darren snorted. “That sounds fun, actually.”

Vanessa shook her head emphatically. “Nope. She won’t do it, unless you both have already seen the movie or if neither of you have.” Vanessa took a bite of her sandwich and said around a mouthful. “She’s insane but she’s self aware.”

Darren accepted her advice without further argument. “Well, I’ll come up with something.” He swatted at her hand when she groped for another fry. Vanessa threw a salt packet at him and it landed limply in the middle of his plate. He gave her a flat look. “Seriously?”

Vanessa rolled her eyes. “You’re no fun.” While he shook his head with fatherly disapproval she asked, “She tell you about the turtles?”

Darren wiped his face with a napkin. “Turtles didn’t come up.” His eyes asked the question.

“I’ll let her tell you.” Vanessa gestured with her knife. “But sea turtles are her favorite.”

“Oh,” Darren scoffed, “now you feed me tips?”

Vanessa put her knife down deliberately. “Fine. I won’t help anymore.”

“I’ll ask about the turtles,” Darren said. It was so easy to exasperate him.

Vanessa tripled down. “Don’t you Texas people eat turtles? Keep that to yourself. I assume you know she’s vegetarian.”

He glared over a wedge of sandwich. “You’re thinking of Louisiana, and that’s highly offensive,” he said, jabbing a frilly toothpick at her. “When have I ever eaten a turtle?” She gave him a doubtful shrug but he didn’t take that bait. “The vegetarian thing threw me off, though.” He looked a little guilty. “Not judging. But I felt bad eating meat in front of her.”

Vanessa blew out a breath. “Forget it. She doesn’t care.” She waved a fry she stole from his plate. “Don’t make it a thing.”

He surrendered to her insistence. After taking a bite, he changed the subject. “Luke call ya?”

Took him long enough to ask. “He did, actually. He seems cool. Funny guy.” Darren opened his palm as if to say ‘that it?’ so Vanessa went on. “We’re going to the Art Institute.”

Darren furrowed his brow. “You hate art.”

“So does he!” Vanessa said cheerfully.

“No he…” Darren’s argument died as he stared off into space for a moment. “Oh. Luke’s a really good friend,” he said instead. Vanessa didn’t follow. “He went to an exhibition with me a couple weeks after Miranda and I split. I thought he was into it, but now that I think back, he just kept saying ‘I like the colors here.’” Darren screwed his face up with bemusement then shook his head.

He knew Luke’s dating philosophy. Go somewhere that you can walk and get to know each other. If things were going well, extend the outing with a dinner invitation. Still. “Why are you going to an art museum then?”

Vanessa steepled her fingers. “So we can make fun of modern art of course.” She crinkled her nose at his reaction. “Oh, don’t judge, it’s going to be fun!” She tossed a ketchup packet at him.

It richocheted off Darren’s chest with a humorous splick noise. He stiffened with overdone offense. “What are you, five? What if that had been opened?”

Vanessa blew out a breath. “Relax, it wasn’t. I would have replaced your treasured shirt if it was.” She deflected with a final tease. “Plus, The Ramones?” She gestured ‘c’mon.’

Darren looked down at his shirt. “Everyone loves the Ramones!”

Vanessa sneered. “All the songs sound the exact same.” She raised a hand to forestall whatever was going to come out of his mouth. Something about how she wasn’t technically right or how it was part of their charm. Whatever. She reset the conversation. “No, Luke called and was like ‘Hey, Darren told me a little about you. Seems like we’d have a lot of fun, how would you like to hang out soon?’”

“That’s a great Luke impression.”

“Shut up. Anyway, I said what do you have in mind and he was like, ‘how do you feel about art museums?’ So I said, ‘hate em!’ And he said ‘oh thank God.’ He said something about them being a good place to chat but that it was hard for him to get it. I told him about the time you made me go to that one exhibition and I suffered through it by pretending to be a bitchy art snob.”

Darren took a deep breath but kept his mouth closed. She was never going to change her mind on the infamous Landfill Gala (her words). No matter how much he insisted it was a statement on overconsumption, the exhibits were literally trash. They’d argued about it several times but she actually kind of bruised his ego when she pointed out his career contributed to the alleged critique. They both carefully avoided discussing it since.

“Anyway, he said that actually sounded like fun so I said let’s go do it!” Vanessa beamed. “He called me a genius.” She took a sip. “We’re going Thursday. Both of us happen to be free then. He’s got a nice voice and he’s very charming.” She smiled. “I’m actually looking forward to it. Good work, Tipton.”

Boom. Just like that, all her gentle bullying of him this afternoon was forgotten thanks to a tiny bit of praise. Boys were so easy to work with. He slid the remnants of his fries over to her side of the table. Triumph. “You need to learn about salt,” she said.

“You need to learn about hypertension,” he shot back. He stole a fry from her like it was a gotcha but she paid him no mind.

“I’m hanging with Daphne and a few other friends tonight.” Vanessa emphasized her taunt by waving a fry. “It’s girls night, so don’t try to crash.”

He narrowed his eyes. “I wasn’t going to, but this makes me suspicious. What are you up to?”

She reached across the table and patted his hand. “We’re going to talk about you of course,” she said sweetly. Naturally this didn’t assuage his suspicions, so she finished the last couple fries and stood. “Quit worrying. She likes you. I’m going to the restroom real quick.”

Darren sat back and stopped the waitress a moment after Ness had walked away. “Can I get another one of these to go?” He waved his cup. “And the check please?”

The cheerful woman smiled. “Your girlfriend told me you’d try to pay and to not let you.”

“She’s not my….” Darren muttered while he fiddled with his wallet and the waitress put a hand on his shoulder.

“I see couples do this all the time. I always side with the woman unless I think the guy’s a jerk.” She patted the same shoulder. “I’m not taking your money. She already took care of it anyway.” Before Darren could ask when, the server scuttled away to get his drink.

He shrugged and grabbed his phone from where he and Ness had stacked them at the edge of the table. To Daphne he sent, “Heard you’re seeing Ness tonight.”

She answered a second later. “Yep, karaoke! I’m so excited.”

Really, Darren thought with mischievous glee. “I’ll give you $20 for the video.”

Daphne responded with, “sorry I meant we were going to the wine bar.”

He smiled at how quickly she tried to correct her overshare. “It’s too late. What’s your Venmo? I’ll make it $40.”

Daphne sent: “do you really think I’d betray my best friend?”

Darren smirked at his screen. “Judas did.”

He could sense her sarcasm. “Are you really comparing me to Judas?!”

“It was a Dante reference?” Darren tried.

“And here I thought you were texting me to ask me out next weekend,” Daphne replied.

He didn’t think she was all that annoyed. “Oh that’s coming. $60 and I’ll throw in a date?”

Daphne sent a smiley emoji. “I know you know better. So I’ll let you take me on a date still, but give it up Tipton.”

“Who are you texting?” Vanessa said as she returned to her side of the booth.

Darren went for nonchalant. “No one.”

Vanessa studied him for a second and then her eyes widened. “She told you!”

Darren played dumb but he knew his face leaked some of his amusement. “Told me what?” While Vanessa scoffed and grabbed her phone. He got an idea and pulled up the White Sox schedule. “She said you were going to the wine bar.”

Vanessa held up her phone. “She already sent me an apology text. I can’t believe her.”

Darren had heard Vanessa sing a few times when she’d had a few too many. Having video evidence to hang over her head would be delicious. Alas. “You know, I Wanna Be Sedated is a good karaoke song.”

She squinted at him. “Who sings…oh. Right. You’re funny.”

“Thank you,” he said amiably. What luck, the Yankees were in town next weekend. Serendipitous even, they played Sunday. He sent Daph a text, “well I have a charity golf thing Saturday but how do you feel about Yankees-White Sox Sunday?” To Ness he said, “How’s the rest of your afternoon?”

She frowned as she reviewed her itinerary in her head. “Errands. I really need to do groceries and laundry. I can’t avoid it anymore.” Darren commiserated by grunting.

Daphne answered him. “I think that’ll work. Hope you’re prepared for pinstripes.” He imagined her in a baseball jersey and found the mental picture enormously cute.

“I can tolerate it I think,” he wrote instead. “I’ll figure out a time and get back to you shortly.” She reacted with a heart emoji. To Ness he said, “Alright, second date locked in. Baseball game.”

“Ooh!” Vanessa batted her lashes. ”Look at you! Make sure you give me credit for the idea. We’re definitely going to talk about you now.”

She thought maybe he flushed a little bit. It was endearing. He hooked a thumb over his shoulder. “You ready to head out?” She nodded and stood and he joined her. As he opened the door for her he said, “Neat trick paying the waitress off. Thanks for lunch, by the way.”

Vanessa winked at him. “I love one-upping you. Don’t pout.” She bumped him with her hip. “It’s cuz I like ya.”

“Whatever you say,” he grumbled as he hugged her good bye. “Have fun tonight, and—“

“Yes,” she interrupted. “I’ll text when I get home tonight.” Even odds she’d forget, but she’d try to humor him.

“Don’t forget!” he called after her. “I’m worried someone might mistake you for a dying cat and put you out of your misery!”

She made a rude gesture with her hand without turning around. Friggen Daphne, giving him ammo. Even though she was out of earshot, she could hear him chuckling.

WINGMEN Table of Contents

Darren recognized Daphne as soon as she got out of her rideshare. She was taller than he expected, but she was striking in motion. Her grace coupled with the elegant bun in her hair made Darren think ballerina. She smiled brightly as he stepped forward for a greeting hug, one of those tentative embraces that were a little awkward but also a little exciting.

“Darren, it’s nice to meet you,” she said and seemed like she meant it. “Vanessa has said a lot of nice things about you.”

He pulled open and held the door for her. “Well she’s told me absolutely nothing about you,” he said wryly. “I don’t even know your last name.”

“Jansen,” she replied.

“Well it’s nice to meet you Daphne Jansen,” Darren said with what he hoped was charm. She humored him with a laugh at least. The hostess led them to their table and when they sat down he said, “Do you want to tell me a little about you, or do you want me to correct all the stuff Ness got wrong?”

Daphne laughed. “What do you think she said?”

This was easy. “Let’s see. She probably told you I work too many hours. I’m in marketing, so unfortunately true sometimes. She definitely told you about how media school got rid of my twang. Apparently I tell that story too much. I bet she said Hemingway is my favorite author, which, no, by the way.” She probably mentioned Miranda, tactfully, of course, but he wasn’t going to dive into that from the jump.

Daphne pursed her lips. “That’s pretty good, actually, three for three.”

Darren kept his satisfaction to himself. “You know, I gotta admit, I don’t know much about wine, so I’m just going to copy you.”

Daphne snickered. “Gee, no pressure. But I appreciate the honesty.” She studied the wine list. “I’ve been wanting to come here for a while. I hear it’s good.”

Darren nodded. “Likewise, but I have another confession. I don’t really know much about French food.”

Daphne’s eyes shone with amusement as she looked across the table at him. “Vanessa really set you up for success here huh?”

The server interrupted them and Daphne made an expensive sounding selection. “I’ll have the same,” Darren said like he knew what he was doing and he liked the way Daphne grinned, like she was in on a benign little conspiracy. “But yes,” he continued when the server bustled away. “She evidently thinks I’m more endearing when I’m in unknown territory. Getting the jackass out of the way.”

Daphne nodded in assent. “She either really likes you or despises you.”

Darren gestured. “Yep, exactly, you get it.” Their server appeared and poured their glasses and gave them time to ponder the menu. While Darren scanned for something he might like, he asked, “How do you know her?”

“I’d just started working in the law library at Northwestern when she started her Master’s program. She was in there all the time. A regular, you know? She invited me out with her and her little clique one night and we’ve been friends ever since.” Daphne held up her glass. “To Vanessa,” she toasted. Darren grinned and clinked his glass with hers.

“That’s good,” Darren remarked. Daphne gave a little bow that said “of course it is” and he found her confidence alluring. “So you’re a librarian, then?” And when she nodded he asked, “Is that something you always wanted to do?”

“I have no idea what I wanna be when I grow up,” Daphne said, flicking her wrist. “I went to Wellesley for Biology and thought about going into neuroscience. How the brain works has always fascinated me.” She took a sip of her wine. “But your plan when you’re nineteen kinda falls apart sometimes you know? I decided it wasn’t for me. An advisor put the idea of library science in my head.” She shrugged ruefully. “I pivoted. Ended up down in Champaign, thanks to her contacts there.” She gestured with her hand like was connecting dots. “After I graduated from U of I, Northwestern was my first real job.”

Daphne nudged her plate forward. “Try one of these. They’re so good.” Darren gave her a questioning look. The name of her canapés was something he’d never hope to pronounce. “It’s squash and cheese. Trust me.” She was right, they were good. He offered her some of the French Onion soup he’d ordered as an appretizer and found out she was a vegetarian. Beef stock was a no go.

He felt doubly bad he’d ordered the steak frites. She waved away his apology. “I personally don’t eat meat, but I do appreciate from afar.” Her smile was a little guilty when she added, “sometimes I will eat shrimp, though.”

So. He was with a vegetarian librarian who looked like a ballerina that had wanted to be a neuroscientist and gone to an almost-Ivy out east. There were about ten years in the interim, and he found himself interested in learning more. Good job, Ness, he conceded.

Before he could decide where to start solving her mystery next, she fluttered a hand at him. “What about you? I know you grew up in Texas and went to media school. How’d you end up in Illinois?” She leaned forward and cocked her head in a way he’d associate with thoughtfulness. He imagined that’s how she looked when she was engrossed in a book.

“Well, I grew up in west Texas. Midland, if you know the geography?” She shook her head. “It’s about five hours from anywhere. Lotta nothin’ and oil fields.”

Daphne grinned at him. “There’s the accent!” It sounded like she was making fun but he liked the way she smiled.

He found himself grinning back. “I was about, I dunno, ten when we went on a school field trip to a local TV station. I was hooked.” He held his hands up to his ears like they were headphones. “They let me wear the headset, and I wanted to be the guy who was like ‘okay, go for camera two.’ You know?” She snickered at his silly voice. He put the imaginary headphones away. “Went to UT-Austin for broadcasting.”

“Hook ‘em!” Daphne said, making the signature hand gesture that was also well known among metal fans. “I love that movie with Tommy Lee Jones. Where he’s a Ranger who goes undercover as a cheerleading coach.” She waved her hand. “That’s the extent of my knowledge of Texas.” She gestured for Darren to continue.

“Well, you’ve got the gist,” he said with a half grin, suspecting she actually knew lots about the Lone Star State. “For a while, I wanted to do sports. I thought live TV would be exciting to produce. Like Rangers games.”

Daphne put her hands on the table and leaned forward. “I love baseball.”

Darren didn’t actually believe it. “You do not.”

Daphne leaned back and folded her arms. “Yes huh! My grandpa was a huge Yankees fan. He taught me how to keep a scorebook. I still do it sometimes,” she added triumphantly.

He thought he hid surprise well enough with mock derision. “Yankees?”

She rolled her eyes. Her grandfather had been a Long Islander. Growing up in Connecticut, her choices had been them or the Red Sox. “I rest my case,” she finished as their food arrived. “Sorry for interrupting again.”

Darren waved it off. “The story isn’t exciting anyway. My first job out of college was helping with radio spots. I liked doing it well enough. Ended up meeting some guys from Macpherson at a conference and applied for a junior copywriter job. They took a chance on me, I moved here.” He did his own version of connect the dots.

“You like it then?”

Darren bounced his head. “Keeps me busy. I get to travel some and work with exciting clients.” He gestured. “We just pitched something to Pringles. They seemed excited.” He smiled ruefully. “They tend to be up until they see the budget.” He nodded at her plate. “How’s your selection?”

She nodded approvingly. “I’m a fan.” She stabbed at the food for a second. “So Hemingway…?” she prompted.

Darren shook his head as he remembered. “So Ness had been talking about how she hated ta and it was so boring and all that. I said it was a good story and that Hemingway is good at what he does. That, somehow, has made him my favorite author in her mind.”

“I really liked To Have and Have Not…as a movie. Did you know Lauren Baccall was only ninteen in it?”

Darren braced himself. “I’ve never seen it.”

She looked at him dumbfounded. “What? Okay. Homework. You have to see it and get back to me.” Darren gave her an “are you serious” face and she nodded assertively before continuing her original train of thought. “So your favorite book is….”

Darren sighed. This was always a tough question to answer honestly. “Besides One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish? Probably Catch-22.”

Daphne sat back and folded her arms with something like a smirk on her face. “I’m not sure even Joseph Heller likes that book.”

Darren’s ego oscillated between wounded and bolstered, as it does when gently mocked. He met her gaze and it told him how to take it. “Hey, there are a few dozen fans!” He joked and it felt very good to amuse her. “I actually hated it the first time I read it. Then, I saw the crazy spreadsheet he made to engineer the whole thing and gave it another read. It hit way differently as an adult. Reminded me not to engage in some systems so seriously because almost everything is absurd.” He could see her reading the subtext of that as her expression softened. It was exciting and uncomfortable so he shifted. “And you?”

She leaned forward again and balanced her chin on her knuckles. “Let’s see if you can guess.” She was alluring as she challenged.

He took a breath. “There are an awful lot of books to choose from. Any hints?”

She made a face that was almost wink. “It’s pretty well known.”

That didn’t really help, he thought, but he didn’t want to keep dragging feet. “So the cliche answer is Jane Austen.” She raised her brows and pursed her lips. “But, you have an affinity for sciency stuff. You’re eccentric.” Her eyes widened slightly so he explained that it was a good thing, not a slight. She accepted the explanation by relaxing her shoulders and letting some of the tightness out of her smile. She was quite pretty.

“Dracula…no that’s not it. Just thinking out loud,” he held up a finger when she opened her mouth and she enjoyed watching him mull. Or squirm, rather. It came to him. “Frankenstein.”

“Final answer?” she challenged, with the smug expression you use when you want to throw someone off. Darren nodded and she shook her head with exaggerated disappointment. “Good guesses. I do love all those, especially Dracula.” She straightened up. “It’s the Divine Comedy.”

“Dante?”

Daphne nodded vigorously. “The Inferno gets all the press, but Paradise is where it’s at. It’s so subtle and cerebral.”

A slow smile spread across Darren’s face. “I’m not even sure Dante likes Paradise.”

Daphne narrowed her eyes and shook her head. “Oh shut up.” She leaned forward again. “So listen, how do you feel about Carl Jung?”

Darren blinked at the non sequitur. “The Swiss psycho analyst?” Daphne nodded again. “Uh, he’s cool I guess? Something about archetypes right?”

“Right, yeah,” she said, “and you know about his theory of the shadow self?”

“Vaguely,” Darren said tentatively. It’d been a long time sincre Psych 101. But, his ignorance didn’t seem to bother her. Rather the opposite.

“Okay, well, I’m fascinated by Jung and he thought the Divine Comedy was an excellent metaphor for psychological transformation.” Her enthusiasm lit her up and it was beautiful. Her eyes fell on his smile. “I’m losing you aren’t I?”

“No ma’am, I’m excited to see where this goes next,” he said and meant it.

She studied him for a second and decided he wasn’t making fun of her. “Okay so I have this other book about Jungian archetypes and the chakra.” She paused with an unasked question.

“There are seven right? One for each color?” Where was she going with this?

“The color thing is a Westernization, but yeah there are seven, starting with the hips and working your way to the crown of your head.” She kept going as Darren accepted her explanation with a gesture. “I’m reading both books now and you can map Dante’s journey using the chakra system.”

Brilliant or insane, Darren wanted to see her in action. “Give me the outline.” Then he added a challenge he knew she wouldn’t be able to resist. “If you can.”

She launched into her explanation. The waiter came and cleared their plates. Darren ordered an ice cream he didn’t really want just so he could listen to Daphne’s mini lecture. She took a few bites, but the scoop became a puddle. Darren added a hefty tip because he knew the waiter was annoyed by their lingering, then he suggested they go for a little stroll, because it was a nice night.

Daphne was almost done but agreed to go anyway. She finished up with the enlightenment chakra being represented by the final cantos of Paradise. Darren would never be able to repeat half of it, but then again that wasn’t the point. Just seeing her mind in motion was.

“So, that’s the Jansen Unified Jungian Theory on Dante?” he said almost like he was ribbing her. She shrugged and seemed a little shy about spending the last half hour or so divulging her ideas. “You know you’re basically writing a dissertation for fun, right?” Darren placed a hand on his chest and the other on the small of her back. “I think it’s impressive, but other people might think you’re crazy.” She gave him a mock glare but didn’t shy away from his touch. “You should write it down. I’ll read it.”

She snorted. “I’m sure.”

“I will!” he insisted and found he meant it. She smiled and he thought maybe she blushed slightly. It was hard to tell under the street lamps. Either way, he wanted to kiss her. The moment stretched a little too long though and he felt the urge to make her laugh again. “So, how often do you get Scooby-Doo jokes about your name? You must hate it.”

“Ahh, you get used to it. Even as a kid, I always identified more with Velma. So I usually say I’m ‘actually a Daphne who’s a Velma.’” She struck a little pose with one hand on her hip and laughed at herself. “Anyway, it’s better than describing the myth.”

“Oh yeah, with Apollo and the laurel tree?”

Daphne shot him a look. “You checked Wikipedia didn’t you?”

Darren grinned guiltily. “At least I knew it was a myth! I thought Daphne was the footrace one.”

She shook her head. “You don’t know anything do you, Tipton? That’s Atalanta.” Playful derision and his last name. He loved when Ness did stuff like that too.

“Which chakra is that one related too?”

Daphne stuck out her tongue. “Don’t make me regret telling you all that.” She pulled put her phone.

“You’re right. I’m sorry. It was very cool, by the way. Also,” he rattled off his number and she tilted her head at him. “Weren’t you getting out your phone to text me so I’d have your number?” The smile that bloomed on her face was intoxicating. Kissable. “You know, so I can text you my review of the movie.”

“Right,” she agreed. “What were the last four digits.” He repeated them and a second later his phone buzzed.

He read the text. “What is this?” he asked as he saved her contact.

She shrugged nonchalantly. “The chakras most closely related to the Atalanta myth.” Her expression softened a bit. “So I really am having a nice time but I have to leave. My sister and nephews are in town and they fly out tomorrow. I stupidly agreed to breakfast with them.”

Darren shook his head. “Family’s important,” he said, trusting this wasn’t a dodge. “I’ll call you so we can do this again.”

She finished up tapping some things on her phone then met his eyes. “I’d really like that.”

“For sure,” he agreed. “I’ll hang out with you until the ride gets here.”

She tilted her head up the street. “She’s up at the light.” Her eyes lit up like she just thought of something. “Yoss-darien!”

“What?” It dawned on him. A pun on Catch-22’s protagonist. “That’s awful. You just ruined the whole night.”

She gasped. “Take it back, it wasn’t that bad.”

He grimaced and looked away.

“Wow,” Daphne said, drawing the word out. “Vanessa said you were cool.”

He whipped his head around to feign his own injury. “I’m very cool.” Daphne made the so-so gesture. He leaned in a little closer. “I am!”

She didn’t back away but she did shrug. He leaned a little closer.

He pitched his voice a little lower, almost a whisper. “I think you’re cool. You don’t think I am?”

“Eh,” she said, rolling her eyes a bit. She didn’t stop the kiss though. In fact, she leaned into it. A tentative collision, followed by something a little more insistent. Warmth ran from his mouth down to his belly. She was a very good kisser.

She broke away a momenT later, pausing with her forehead against his. “Woulda been cooler if you did that when you wanted to ten minutes ago.”

He chuckled as she stepped up to the curb. “Good night, Darren Tipton.”

“Goodnight, Daphne Jansen.” It was impossible to completely conceal the giddiness of a good first kiss. “Text me when you get home please.”

She wiggled her fingers with a tiny wave through the window of her rideshare.

His phone buzzed as it pulled away into traffic. He figured it was Daphne, but no. It was several question marks from Ness. “Shut up,” he texted her. She called him immediately.

“Paris, bitch!” She said when he answered and hung up immediately. He rolled his eyes. He was in too good of a mood to let her annoy him.

He ordered a copy of To Have and to Have Not while he waited for his own ride home.

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Darren felt the vibration in his desk before he noticed his phone was ringing. He tapped to answer.

“Tipton!” Luke said before Darren could speak. “I’m getting on the treadmill and don’t feel like texting. What’s up buddy?”

Darren smiled into the receiver. “You can just call me later. It’s not that important you know.”

“All good man, I was thinking of calling you anyway.”

Darren pursed his lips thoughtfully. “Oh yeah?”

“Yessir,” Luke replied. “Buddy of mine invited me to a golf outing next weekend and we need a fourth.”

Darren grimaced. “You know I’m not any good.”

Luke didn’t pull a punch. “Yeah I know, but you’re a good hang. It’s for charity. My buddy’s semi-pro or some shit and is gonna carry us anyway.”

“You know what, put me down for it. Or whatever.” Darren considered a moment. “I probably gotta Venmo you something huh?”

He could hear the smile in Luke’s voice. “I’ll send you a request.”

“Great,” Darren said. “I better get out to the driving range.” For all the good it would do. He found when he was trying to set people that the best thing to do was to just cut to the chase. “So listen, I have a friend I think you should meet.” Trying to dance around and feel it out didn’t make it any less awkward to be like “hey date my friend.”

“Oh shit!” Luke said with half mocking amusement. “Am I getting Darren match made right now?”

“Screw you,” Darren said, grinning into the receiver. “But yes. One of my best friends, she’s great.”

Lucas Palazzo was a bit like Darren. He worked a little too much to sustain a serious relationship. He also liked to travel and enjoyed the single life. But about a year ago, they’d been hanging out together and as Miranda has wandered off to the bathroom, Luke had said, “Someone a little more constant would be nice.” He’d smiled a little wistfully and nodded after Miranda. “Like her.”

She and Darren split up something like two weeks later. Seventeen days if anyone was keeping track. But Darren and Luke had grown closer in the following months. A lot of baseball games and sports bars. Darren was always on the lookout for a good woman for Lukey, but it was a challenge. Luke was picky.

Like Ness. Or, as they both would say, they had “high standards.” They were either going to love each other forever or absolutely hate each other.

“Vanessa Shen. She’s a lawyer.” Luke winced audibly, mostly a teasing noise but Darren explained, “It’s intellectual property. Patents and copyright stuff.”

Luke doubled down. “Ah so she works for like the RIAA right? One of those people bleeding starving artists?”

Darren scoffed. “You should lead with that, she’ll love it. Anyway stop shooting this down.”

Luke laughed. “Sorry, I’ll stop. She from Chicago?”

Darren shook his head even though his buddy couldn’t see him. “Nah, she was raised in Fresno, but went to Northwestern for law school. D.C. for a bit but she’s back here. Met her through work.” He saved Luke from asking the question he was tactfully avoiding. “She’s pretty. Loves to run and secretly likes tennis.”

Luke chuckled. “Secretly?”

Maybe Darren shouldn’t have given this away but he had to explain now. “Oh, like sets an alarm to watch the Australian Open kind of thing. I guess she had a thing for Nadal.”

“He is pretty dreamy,” Luke agreed. He also caught on quick. “I’ll let her reveal it in time.” Luke took a beat before asking. “Alright nobody’s perfect. What’s her deal? She gotta weird laugh?” He pitched his voice with condescension. “Is she a Cubs fan? I mean I guess it’s okay if she’s a real fan,” Darren could practically hear Luke make the air quotes, “but if she’s one of those fans who likes them for the vibe or whatever….”

Darren cut off the rant. “She’s not a Cubs fan. She doesn’t even really like baseball that much. But I got her tickets to a Blackhawks game and she had a good time.”

“Alright I can work with that,” Luke said like he was chewing on a thought. “So we have this hot, smart lawyer who’s down for hockey and you’re not dating her because…?”

“Ah man,” Darren sighed. It was a common question when setting people up, especially when you were single yourself. “She was one of my first friends when I moved up here. She was engaged to some other guy. Then Miranda….” He trailed off because he didn’t want to go down that road. Luke grunted in a way that said he understood, so Darren went on. “We just have always been comfortably platonic. She’s a great friend. Brutally honest and tenacious.”

Luke chuckled. “Marketing guys. They know how to make a tough woman sound appealing.”

Darren laughed with his friend. “Hey, for the record I never said tough.” He softened. “But you know…the tough ones are the good ones.”

While Luke muttered something along the lines of “that’s true,” April, Darren’s project manager appeared in his office doorway. She knocked on the frame while she cradled a laptop in her other arm. She smiled and mouthed, “You coming?”

Darren held up a finger, nodded, and gestured for her to go on. He’d be along. “Hey bud, I gotta head into a meeting. I’ll check with her for a good time and-“

“No, no, don’t play middleman on me,” Luke interrupted. “Tell her you’re going to give her my number and I’ll set it up.” Damn. Ness was gonna like that. Luke’s tone was wry when he added, “And if she somehow declines a chance to meet me, no harm no foul.”

Darren gathered his stuff for his pitch planning meeting. “On that note, you don’t have a clown fetish do you?”

“Listen, I’m not one to kink shame but, if she’s into that I’m not sure I could-“

Darren laughed. “No, Jesus, sorry. It’s not her thing either, but the last guy I tried to set her up with? Yeah she found out the hard way that he was.”

Luke laughed too. “No! So, I have a red nose around here somewhere….”

Darren winced. “C’mon man, I could use the W here.” He reached for the meeting room’s handle. “Alright, I really have to go.”

“Sure thing, man. Talk soon!”

The connection died and Darren took a seat at the table. Most of his creative team was there.

“Who was that? Your girlfriend?” April drew the word out like a schoolyard taunt. Several of the people in the room chorused “ooooh!” in a similarly teasing way.

Darren rolled his eyes and played his part as the offended party. “Wildly inappropriate.” Someone booed. Someone else threw a wad of paper at him. “I was setting up my buddy on a date.” The coworkers who had “ooooh’ed” repeated the noise. Darren joined them this time and slapped his hands to his face.

“Okay, enough of that. Let’s talk potato chips.” He paused. “Actually you guys want some lunch? I’m in the mood for Korean barbecue.”

“He wants to ask me out himself?” Ness said. Her tone was outraged but Darren knew that for the defense mechanism it was.

“Uh huh,” Darren said cutely. He had her on speaker phone while he chopped some chicken. “Do you consent to me giving him your number?”

“How often do you write that on your marketing forms?” Vanessa teased.

Darren rolled his eyes. “Stop deflecting, Ness.”

He heard her scoff. “Tell me more about him first.”

“I met him through work too. He used to date one of our photographers. He’s a physical therapist. Likes to run 5ks and half marathons.” Darren emphasized this last bit because it was one of Ness’s favorite things to torture herself with. “He’s also in an indoor soccer league. I think he’s pretty good.”

“Soccer? Really?”

Darren rinsed his hands. “What’s wrong with that?”

Vanessa chuckled. “Nothing really, just making you sweat. You’re gonna have to give me more than this, though.”

Darren rolled his eyes at his phone. “Yeah I’m sending you some photos shortly. He’s a good dude. He took me to a bunch of White Sox games after Miranda.”

“Oh, Baseball Bro!” Ness said, realizing.

“Yes, my friend Luke,” Darren replied with growing exasperation. “I have brought him up often.”

“You know I can’t keep them all straight,” Vanessa said.

Darren found a couple photos and texted them to her. “I keep all your people straight,” he muttered. “I sent you some pics. Let’s see…he likes Dave Matthews, but also likes jazz. I think he can play guitar but only in the woo girls in college kind of way.”

Ness snorted. “Is that a selling point?”

Darren considered. “Yeah it’s the cute but not douchey kind.” He decided to move on. “I think his favorite show is The Wire but he also has weirdly deep knowledge about One Tree Hill.”

“I love that show!” Ness said. Before Darren could remind her that, yes, he knew, she got the photos. “Whoa this is him? He’s actually pretty hot. You’ve been holding out on me?”

Darren smiled at his phone triumphantly and was slightly annoyed she couldn’t see him gloat. He played casually for now. “He’s been somewhat unavailable lately. Plus I wasn’t sure you were worthy of him.”

Vanessa gasped. “What’s that supposed to mean!”

Darren crossed his arms. “Just that. He’s one of my best buds and he deserves the best.”

Vanessa played along. “Okay, how dare you. I’m awesome.”

Darren considered doubling down, but he knew a little too much ribbing could cause her real annoyance and he backed off. “Yes,” he agreed, “you are. He just lives way on the south side and he was kinda seeing this girl for a bit. Timing’s right now though.” He got serious. “He’s charming, and smart and funny. I love you both and I think you’ll enjoy each other. Really.”

His sincerity usually wore her down and this was no exception. “Oh, alright, you can give him my number. I’ve been kind of wanting Indian food if you want to nudge him—“

Darren interrupted her with a loud sigh. “Indian? That’s not good first date food, cmon Ness.”

She parroted his sigh. “You literally said you loved me like two sentences ago and now you’re denying me my naan. Mixed signals Dare-bear.”

He smiled but kept his tone annoyed. “I’m sure you’ll live.” He glanced at his skillet. “Hey so speaking of food, I’m making stir fry now. You wanna come for dinner?”

“That sounds good,” Vanessa said. “But I’m going for dinner with my work fam imminently.”

“Imminently?” Darren mocked.

“Oh shut up. Yes, imminently. As in, I’m in the elevator now.” Her voice was tinged with wickedness when she said, “We’re getting Indian.” He heard a soft ding. Then a muffled “just a sec!” before Ness’s voice returned. “Gotta go. Daph! 730 Friday!”

Darren snickered to himself. “I’ll miss my own funeral before I miss it.”

“Mwah!” Vanessa said before hanging up.

Darren texted her immediately. “So I gave you all kinds of great dirt on Luke. You could send me a few notes on Daphne.”

She replied less than a minute later. “I could!” Followed by several thumbs down emojis. So much for that.

He opened a conversation with Luke. “Yo here is Ness’s contact. She’s game.” He zipped her details over and got started on his dinner.

He was almost finished cooking before Luke replied. “Thanks man. Looking forward to it.” He’d also sent a Venmo request for the golf outing. Darren muttered that it had better be a good charity before paying it.

He sat down to dinner and pulled up the photo of the mysterious Daphne. He thought about looking her up but decided to resist. She did have pretty eyes. They looked brutally honest and tenacious.

Read Chapter 1

“Ness!” Daphne cried as she entered the coffee shop. Vanessa waved at her and the two shared a greeting hug. “How are you!”

“Life is good!” Vanessa stepped away from the embrace but her smile remained. “I’m so glad to see you. How’s Northwestern treating you?”

“It’s great, I’m realizing how much I missed being in a library.”

While Vanessa was on a mission, she’d also been dying to ask Daphne about the little sabbatical she’d taken eight or so months ago. “You have to tell me about Costa Rica and the turtles.”

“It was ah-mazing. Let me grab a coffee real quick and I’ll tell you everything.” They entered the line together and Daphne explained the camp she had volunteered at to protect vulnerable sea turtles. It sounded a little too rough for Vanessa but she admired her friend’s passion for the work.

“Twelve weeks?” Vanessa repeated.

Daphne sipped her drink. “It was so good for my soul to take a break from work and the city and the stress. Taking care of those beautiful animals and soak up the sun and see the jungles.” Daphne smiled. “We had internet too, make no mistake.”

Vanessa chuckled. “Thank God for that.” She swigged her coffee before asking, “did people hook up in the camp ever?”

Daphne snorted. “I don’t think so. It’s a long hot day and by the end you’re pretty exhausted.” She drank. “Plus it’s pretty isolated. Imagine if it was bad and you’re just stuck?” Daph made a face and Vanessa chuckled. “How’s work?” Ness made a face of her own. “C’mon, what you do is interesting!”

Vanessa rolled her eyes. “I think you like my job more than I do.” She told Daphne a little about the clients she’d been servicing. A few patent submissions. Some licensing deals. “We might go to trial over a pop song copyright dispute.”

“Ooh. Anything I would know?”

Vanessa smiled mischievously. “Can’t say. But yes. Oh, stop getting excited. These things usually get solved with a check.” She gestured with her cup. “Your turn.”

Daphne swallowed a sip. “Not much different from when you were there.” Daphne had just begun working in the law library when Vanessa was halfway through law school. Their constant run-ins had turned into a close friendship, and they’d stayed in touch despite the both of them bouncing around the country for the last decade or so. “Kinda weird calling it Pritzker now,” Daphne continued. “But it was like picking up where I left off.”

Vanessa dredged her memory. “Is…what was her name…the grouchy one? Is she still there?”

Daphne brightened as she remembered. “Grouchy Gretchen! No, she retired a few years ago I guess. She actually made the best carrot cake if you can believe it. So good.”

“At least she could do something nice,” Vanessa muttered.

Daphne chuckled. “Those were the days.” She became a little more wistful and met Vanessa’s gaze. “You and Stuart. I’m sorry that didn’t pan out.”

Vanessa stiffened, mostly by reflex. The pain had long since subsided into an almost-fond emotional scar. Stuart was her longtime boyfriend and she’d planned on marrying him after they’d graduated. Almost did. But one day it had hit her that she was really just going through the motions. Stuart was great and she would always love him. But she found she didn’t need him. So she’d let him go.

“He’s happy, I think. Silicon Valley still.” She shrugged. He’d been married and divorced in the interim. He emailed every eighteen months or so swearing to catch up. They’d exchange a few messages before becoming strangers again.

Vanessa deflected her memories. “Who was your last serious relationship? Imon?”

Daphne fluttered her fingers. “That wasn’t very serious. He was sweet, though.” The edges of her eyes crinkled. “Jason was.”

Oh shit, right. Jason. The one who’d nearly ruined men for Daphne. He’d broken up with her after meeting someone else.

Vanessa cleared her throat and went for a less-than-graceful segue. “You’re not seeing anyone now?” She knew the answer was no, according to her instagram research. Well, so she hoped. Daph shook her head, and her sardonic smile told Vanessa she knew what was coming next. Daphne was sharp. That’s why she was perfect. “I have a friend you should meet.”

Vanessa could sense her friend’s protest and quickly pulled up the photo of Darren she’d carefully chosen. Him in a suitcoat, smiling at some charity gala. “Darren Tipton.” She said, handing her phone to Daphne. Vanessa was pleased to see Daphne’s eyebrows rise slightly. “He’s a copywriter at Macpherson & Slade. Well, creative director now,” she corrected. “Texas boy.”

Daph’s amused expression became a little mischievous. “Cowboy? Does he have the cute accent?”

Vanessa smiled. She had her. “No, he took a radio class in college and they ‘trained it out of him.’ I’m sure he’ll tell you the story.”

Daphne snorted. “Who says I’m meeting him?”

Vanessa’s posture said “oh come on.” She gestured at the photo. “He’s one of my best friends. He’s great, and a perfect match for you.”

Daph handed the phone back. “Okay. So what’s actually wrong with him?” Meaning: if he’s so great why’s he single?

Vanessa wracked her brain. “He’s pretty emotionally stable. Well, for a guy. He reads books! I think Hemingway’s his favorite?” That always seemed like a ding to Ness but Daphne didn’t seem bothered. She needed real dirt. “He was practically engaged for like five years. She was a doctor. Something medical, anyway. They both worked too much and things sort of fell apart. I think that’s Darren’s problem. He puts too much into his job.” Vanessa held up a finger. “But! But! He’s been going to therapy and is seriously working on his work life balance. I can attest to that.”

Daphne sat back and folded her arms. “Did you date him?”

Vanessa shook her head. “Nope. We met through work. One of his clients needed a bunch of consultation on IP and we became buds. A few late nights going over contracts and patent filing is a great way to bond.” Vanessa smiled. “As you know.” She spread her hands. “We’ve never been mutually single, so….” She trailed off as if that explained it.

Daphne laughed, but Vanessa could see the challenge in her expression before she asked the question. “So if he asked you out right now, you’d say no?” Her eyes glittered with amusement. “You are single now too, aren’t you?”

Vanessa considered a moment. “There was a time maybe. Now?” She shook her head. “We’ve been friends so long he feels like a….” Brother wasn’t quite right. “Like a step-brother. Technically in bounds but still wrong.” She laughed at her own analogy. “You know?”

Daphne seemed to accept it. “Alright, fair. Well, I have an idea.” She rummaged in her bag and produced a deck of Tarot cards. “The cards will decide.”

Vanessa shook her head, bemused. “Since when do you do Tarot?”

Daphne shuffled the deck. “It’s a new thing I’m trying. I saw these at the bookstore and thought ‘aw what the hey.’” She held the cards out. “Pick one.”

Vanessa hesitated. “Don’t I get to cut it first?”

Daphne nodded. “Sure, whatever.” Vanessa split the deck and pulled a card. “Two of cups.”

“What’s it mean?” Vanessa asked.

Daphne was sheepish. “I have no idea. Pick another one.” Vanessa laughed but grabbed a second card. “Okay the Page of Wands. Wands are like discovery and creation so….”

“Well that seems positive?” Vanessa hazarded.

Daphne laughed and shrugged. “This was a bad idea. Try one more. Oh! Death! Great!”

All of Vanessa’s plans ruined by an unlucky card draw. Well, she’d been thinking of backups in case Daph didn’t want to give Darren a shot. Mayra or maybe Anjali.

“Death means transformation. Starting new cycles.” Daphne explained as she put her cards away. “They say to do it.” Vanessa understood the wisdom of letting Tarot decide. You had someone to blame if it turned out miserably. Or you could pretend it was fated after all.

“You’re gonna like him.” Vanessa said. “I told him it’s a blind date. How do you feel about French food?”

Daphne swooned. “Oooh fancy.”

“Perfect! I’ll coordinate with him. And get back to you.” Ness smirked. “Free food at least.”

Daphne slapped the air in front of her. “He better not be super lame.”

Vanessa gasped melodramatically. “That would be so tragic.”

“Okay,” Daphne said,, “now that you’ve tricked me into this setup….” She ignored Vanessa’s innocent face. “Let’s have a real hang.”

Vanessa considered. “There’s that new wine bar…?”

Daphne bobbed her head. “Don’t hate it. I also kind of want to just order a pizza and make margs. Bring Elena and Trish like the old days.”

Vanessa shook her head. “Elena’s in Europe. Some guy she met over there in Portugal. Don’t ask. But Hae-Lee’s still around.”

Daphne smiled as she remembered. “Oh little Hae! She was so quiet, and then we got her to do-“ Daphne’s eyes widened as she came to the conclusion. “Karaoke!”

Vanessa laughed. She’d always hated the idea of karaoke until that night. She’d only been once or twice since. It would be good to get the girls back together again. She and Daphne had been particularly close before life separated them. Whatever happened with Darrenl she promised herself she’d keep the vivacious librarian in her life.

The two women hung out in the coffee shop reminiscing while the dregs of their coffees cooled to unlikability. They sketched out a haphazard plan together, one of those plans that starts with “we should” and sounds fun on paper but never happens because adulthood gets in the way. Vanessa had more confidence in this one because Daphne was organizing it, and she got shit done. But still.

After maybe an hour, Daphne excused herself. “Tina-“ her sister “-is flying in with her wife and boys tomorrow. I need to clean my apartment.” She made an unenthusiastic fist pump. “They’re staying with Kaia’s parents, thank God. I love my nephews, but I also really love silence.” She smiled, but it was guilty.

Vanessa hugged her. “Well say hi to everyone for me. I’ll text you about Darren.”

Daphne saluted. “Should be fun. Chat soon. Great seeing you!”

They parted ways, heading in opposite directions. Vanessa fished her phone out of her purse. “What are you doing Friday night?” she texted Darren.

The bubble with three dots showed up right away. “Have a pitch in the afternoon then will probably need a drink and to kick your ass in pool.”

As if, she snorted. “How about a date with a hottie?”

“Well someone has a high opinion of herself,” he replied.

She sent three eye-rolling emojis. “It’s my friend Daphne. You’re taking her to Le Bouchon.” A second later she sent. “But yes, I am also a hottie.”

“I didn’t think you actually had anyone in mind. I’m impressed.” Before she could reply he said, ”can I at least see a photo of this person?”

“Wow shallow much? You’ll like her.” But she decided she’d send one. “You have to promise not to do background research!”

“Scouts’ honor.”

Vanessa found a flattering selfie on Instagram and zipped it over. She wished she had shown him in person so she could gauge his reaction, but she so knew his taste. Daphne’s keen eyes alone would get him even if her annoyingly tight yoga body didn’t.

“She’s lovely,” he replied simply and she assumed be was playing coy. “What time?”

“I’ll make you a reservation and she’ll meet you there. I’ll send the invite.” She had a connection over there and was confident she could get a slot. A short phone call later she had it arranged. “7:30, under Tipton. There’s a reason I chose Le Bouchon.”

She knew that made him laugh. “Yes, Ness, Paris. I got it.” A second later he sent, “I won’t make you get Korean BBQ. You don’t deserve it anyway.”

Oh please. “You’ve got nothing don’t you!”

“Hush. I just need to cross some eyes and dot some tees. My guy has a complicated schedule.”

“Sure,” Vanessa texted back with several U’s to underscore just how convinced she wasn’t. She thought maybe that would be the end of the conversation but as she climbed on the L Train, she sent another message. “You actually have to try to like her. You can’t just pass on her to win the bet!”

“HA!” he answered a few minutes later. “Losing confidence already. My mind is open, Ness. I promise to play within the spirit of the game.” Boys and their sports metaphors.

“You better!” she demanded and he responded with a heart. She grinned. This was so in the bag. She swiped over to her conversation with Daphne, and continued orchestrating her masterpiece.

Continue reading:

Darren smiled. “If it’s any consolation, I don’t like it much.” He studied the label. “I think you’ll actually like it, Ness.”

The bartender popped the cap and set the bottle on a coaster in front of her. “Tab?”

Vanessa inclined her chin at him. She and Darren clinked their bottles together, a casual toast. “Happy Friday,” Darren said.

Vanessa took a sip and felt a twinge of annoyance. “This is really an IPA?” It was as close as she’d come to admitting he was right.

He had the decency to not wink, even though his smile was a little smug. “How was work?”

She let out a frustrated breath that wasn’t quite a raspberry. “Work.” She wasn’t in the mood to discuss it. She had better news. “Guess what?”

Darren raised his eyebrows as he took another sip. “Let’s see. You...got a new washing machine?”

Vanessa rolled her eyes. “No. This is actually exciting.” He surrendered by spreading his hands. “Melissa and Pete just got engaged!”

Darren leaned back on his stool and appraised her with a knowing smile. “You’re kidding.” He wasn’t as disappointed as he was supposed to be.

“Oh my god.” Vanessa blinked. “You already know.”

His smile became a little more real. “I’m friends with Pete too. Saw it on Instagram.”

“I can’t believe you’re stealing my thunder right now,” Vanessa said as she took another sip of the IPA. It was actually pretty decent. She brightened a bit and went in for the kill. “Pretty sure this puts me ahead.”

Darren’s smile was coy but she knew how competitive he was. He was trying to be a good sport but she could see how incredibly annoyed he was. “Are you?” It came out casually enough but she was beyond pleased to have gotten his goat.

“This make three proposals, one of which has led to marriage. Seventeen long-term relationships and...who knows how many third dates. At least a hundred.” Her grin glinted ferally. “Maybe two.”

Darren sighed. “I thought we weren’t keeping track of third dates anymore.”

Vanessa chuckled. “Maybe we should so you’d still have a chance. Besides, I seem to remember you wanting to,” she cleared her throat and threw her voice deeper, imitating him, “stop tracking ‘em because it was ‘too hard’.” She poked him on the shoulder, teasingly. “Admit it. I’m the better wingwoman.”

He wouldn’t. “We went over that as well. Too many syllables. And no! Wingperson makes it sound like you’re chicken wing fan.” He took a sip. “Wingman is ungendered. It’s fine.”

“Nice deflection.” She turned to face him a little more directly. “Admit it.”

He’d never cede that she was a better matchmaker than he was. They’d had this little competition between them for a few years now, seeing who was better at setting up their friends, coworkers, and odd random strangers. At some point along the way they started keeping score. And now Vanessa was winning.

“You know,” Darren said, and she preemptively rolled her eyes. “You’ve got more cheaters in your history than I do.”

“First of all, men suck, so that’s not my fault.” She took another sip. “Second of all, that’s not a rule. Nice try.”

He spread his hands, probably the best concession she’d get out of him for now. But he surprised her. “Put her on my tab,” Darren said to the bartender.

She hid her astonishment with a boast. “I’m gonna make you regret that.”

Darren shrugged. “Whatever you say, lightweight.”

Vanessa pretended to be offended, but her days of heavy drinking were mostly behind her.

Darren nodded at the bartender. “Get her another one.”

The bartender raised his eyebrows a fraction. Vanessa shrugged. He and Darren traded some kind of look. Men.

“Alright,” Vanessa said. “How about I kick your ass in pool?”

“Sure, I’ll let you think you can win at that too.” Darren gestured for her to lead the way.

She scooped her new bottle and they went over to their usual table. Vanessa broke. Darren always insisted she go first on the first game. Then loser broke. “The brunette over there keeps looking at you,” she said as he lined up a shot.

“I know.” He was unfazed by the minor distraction. “Solids.” He moved to line up another shot.

“C’mon. She’s your type: woman!” Vanessa snickered at her own joke. Darren missed sinking the orange ball and gave her a look somewhere between amused and annoyed. Vanessa lightened a little. “Cute brunette with glasses? That’s three of the five boxes.”

“She’s still in college. Pass.” He gestured at the table. She wondered if maybe she was pushing a little too hard. It’d been over a year since Miranda and he finally seemed to be interested in dating again. Maybe not.

Vanessa lined up. “You gave me such a shitty shot.” The cue ball clacked off her target and she almost sank it anyway. “You don’t know that she is.”

Darren shot her a look. “Kappa Kappa Gamma hoodie? C’mon.” He winced as he missed a shot.

Vanessa shrugged, sipped. Sank her shot. She looked at him closely and he wasn’t terribly readable. Time for a little push. “Dare ya.”

He grinned. “Trying to juice your numbers?”

She sank another shot. “Kicking your ass all over the place tonight, Tipton.”

He snorted. “Bet I can find you a better match.” It was good to see the fire in his eyes.

She missed on her third. “In this dive? Please.”

He shrugged. “I can do better than ‘frat boy’. Though if you’re interested, little Timmy over there keeps checking out your ass.” He sank a ball and nearly scratched.

“Who isn’t?” Vanessa said, looking around for the boy he’d mentioned. It felt a little good to know a twenty-two year-old was drooling over her even if it was also gross.

“Actually,” Darren said more thoughtfully. He stopped lining up his shot. “I know the perfect guy for you.”

Vanessa glared. “Like the last one?”

Darren spread his hands. “Look, I didn’t know about the clown fetish, okay? I said I was sorry.” He smiled but managed not to laugh. “This one’s good.”

She scoffed. “Yeah, okay. Will you go already?” Did he really think he could set her up with someone? She’d been kind of thinking the same thing about him. Her friend Daphne...Darren would love Daphne. She was practically certain.

Darren missed his shot badly. “Too scared I might be right?” He teased.

She narrowed her eyes at him. “Absolutely not. In fact, I have someone in mind for you, too. My best match yet.” He laughed but she could see he was a little intrigued. He often said she had good taste. “Guess we’ll see who the best wingman really is, huh?” She shot him a sly smile.

He held out his hand. She loved when he got serious. She shook it. “Now go get me one more drink. This time--”

“Yeah a vodka-diet.” He stuck his tongue out at her. “Lime?”

She was half annoyed he could kind of read her mind. “You tell me.”

He shrugged. “Last time you didn’t want the lime because you said it got the lime in the coconut song stuck in your head. I wasn’t sure if that was a one-time thing, or..?”

“Get me the damn lime, Darren.” She said and shooed him away. She took her shot and missed. He would accuse her of cheating when he got back. He always did. She leaned on her stick and watched him. He said something to the brunette with glasses. She laughed. He laughed. He ordered the drinks. The college girl laughed again, and put her hand on his forearm. Satisfaction bloomed in Vanessa’s chest as she realized her intuition was right.

She didn’t even try to hide her smugness when he returned. “Let’s see…sociology?”

Darren shook his head as he handed her the drink. “Molecular biology. Grad school.”

Vanessa clinked her glass against his plastic cup of water. “So? Grad school means she’s not THAT much younger.”

Darren rolled his eyes. “I have a 401(k). She has a thesis. Different worlds.” He studied the table. “You cheated didn’t you, Ness?”

“As if I needed to. Hurry up,” she teased.

She ended up winning this game too. Darren lost gracefully, seeming to have accepted that tonight wasn’t going to go his way. “Alright, tell me about this girl you have for me.”

She took his water and sipped. He didn’t protest. “Nope. I’ll set it up but you’re going in blind.” He grimaced. Darren hated blind dates. “Trust me. I wanna be best man at the wedding, by the way.”

He took the water back from her. “Fine. But if it goes poorly you’re buying me a nice steak dinner.”

Vanessa snorted. “Yeah, okay.” She stole the cup and finished the water. She chewed one of the ice cubes. “When your shitty match doesn’t work for me, you’re flying me to Paris.”

She was pleased to see his eyebrows shoot up in surprise. “Shitty match?” She loved that’s what he objected to. “You’ll love him so much, you’ll ask me to officiate.”

Vanessa handed Darren the empty cup. “My brother would kill me if he didn’t get to do it.” Vanessa made a thoughtful face. “You can be flower girl though?”

Derren grinned and held out a hand to seal their second wager.

Vanessa quirked a brow and felt a stab of guilt. “You’ll really fly me to Paris?”

Darren’s eyes glittered. “I’m certain it won’t come to that.” His grin shifted a little more wickedly. “Plus the steak you’re gonna buy me is in Korea.”

Vanessa refused to let him see her cringe. She shook his hand. “You’ll have to get it on your honeymoon, Dare-bear.” He hated that nickname. Well, he pretended to at least.

He checked his phone. “I better settle up and head home. You good?”

Vanessa nodded. “Yeah, I’m set.” She unlocked her phone. “I’m going to head out too.” It was still before midnight but it had been a long week and she wasn’t in her twenties anymore.

Darren went to the bar while Vanessa lingered near the door. She watched the college girl steal glances at Darren. Vanessa would have insisted he pursue that if she hadn’t committed to the wager. The girl made eye contact with Vanessa and she gave the student a knowing look. As Darren approached, Vanessa said, “Ready, sweetie?” Vanessa winked at her.

Darren chuckled when they were outside. “Protecting me?”

Vanessa poked him in the ribs. “Protecting my trip to Paris.” It was really more about putting a younger, prettier girl in her place, but he didn’t need to know that. “My Uber’s almost here. You don’t have to wait.”

He shrugged. He always waited. “I’ll talk to your guy and set something up for next week?”

“My guy?” She snorted but her interest was piqued. “I’ll find time for you to go to dinner next week. Don’t make that face. I am so right about this.” Her ride approached.

“Text me when you get home, alright?”

Vanessa scoffed. “Okay, Dad.” She was touched that he frowned. “I will,” she promised.

He closed the door behind her and waved. As the Uber pulled into traffic, she scrolled through her contacts. Daphne Jansen. Vanessa opened a new text message. “Daph! It’s been a bit. How are you? Free to grab coffee this weekend? I’d love to catch up.”

She sent it and wondered about what Darren had up his sleeve.