EleDATE

2| The Name of the Game

"Oh my god he said that!?" Lydia exclaimed, brushing her long blonde hair away from her face.

I nodded my head, resting it in my hands. "It was so humiliating guys. And if I don't come up with something incredible by Monday I'm screwed!"

Cole reached a large hand out, rubbing it across my back in a comforting motion. "You're a great writer Ky... we'll think of something. He's not gonna fire you."

I smiled at my friend. Cole was sweet, and truthfully he was the total package. He was tall and fit, although not as muscular as Dakota. He had a dimpled grin and baby blue eyes with dirty blonde hair and tanned skin.

Cole had always been there for me. I'll be the first to admit I've thought about taking things further with him, but I could never bring myself to breach the subject.

Now, I appreciate our friendship so much I would really hate to jeopardize that. Besides, Cole hadn't ever made a move, so I was fairly certain he wasn't into me anyway.

"You know what? Let's get some shots," Hayden suggested from across the table. Hayden was gay, and he often had great articles written from his perspective. He was also a crazy amazing hype-man.

I loved his look and admired the tattoos that coated his slender arms. He always had different earrings and rings on to match whatever button-up shirt he was wearing, and his dark brown hair was always styled without a hair out of place. "Some of my best brainstorms happen when I'm drunk," he continued.

"Hayden's right, Ky," Ellie chimed in, "it's your birthday! Let's get drunk and come up with something amazing! You need to loosen up." She flashed a white smile my way, pulling her sleek black hair to one side so that it hung freely over her shoulder.

"You're right..." I said, "maybe that's what Dakota meant... I'm boring even on my birthday," I groaned. I was being dramatic I knew, but I also couldn't believe that I was on the brink of losing my job... my dream job.

"No, babe, you're not," Hayden said, "don't think about Dakota- he's an asshole. Think about yourself and how you deserve a fun night out!"

I took a moment to survey my surroundings. We were at one of my favorite restaurants at a booth in the bar. It wasn't super fancy, but it was cute and had great cocktails and fun music.

"I used to be fun," I sighed, taking a large swig of my gin and tonic, "I don't know when I stopped being fun. Do you guys know when I stopped being fun?"

"You didn't stop being fun," Lydia started.

"Well," Ellie cut her off, "Yeah. I mean you're still fun, but I think you just put the job first. Like always. It's kind of gotten in the way of some things, like partying and dating."

"Dakota thinks I don't date too... is that what you all think? That I don't date?" I asked, starting to feel panicked now. It was like all the hard work I put into research for my job was completely backfiring.

"Let's get another round and some shots," Rory suggested, polishing off his rum and Coke and putting a large, muscled arm around Ellie.

"Rory, don't change the subject," I warned, "that being said, I think that's a great suggestion."

A few of my friends chuckled. "Why do you care so much what Dakota said?" Cole asked. "It's nobodies business who you date. I think if you wanted to date, you would be."

I smiled, "Thanks Cole."

"So," Hayden started, finishing off his drink. "How 'bout those shots?"

Everyone nodded in agreement, and honestly, I had nothing to lose. If Dakota wanted me to loosen up, that's exactly what I was going to do. I'd show him that I could have a good time, and I'd come up with a kick-ass idea for my next article.