meet me at midnight.

21.

"To the best shopping trip ever." Desiree said, raising her iced mocha.

"We haven't even started yet." Aubrey said.

"I'm a seer of all things," Desiree said. "This trip is gonna be bomb as fuck."

We were all sitting around a table at Starbucks. It was the beginning of May and the slight chill of Spring was giving way to warmth. I'd taken some vacation time and found myself on a shopping trip with Desiree, Zara, Aubrey and Sadie. It was rare to have a Saturday with all of us off, but we had taken advantage of it by deciding to go shopping.

The conversation shifted from work, which Desiree demanded we not discuss as she dubbed IHOP a shithole. The subject naturally turned to hobbies then to relationships.

"I dunno why I want a proposal so bad," Sadie laughed. "Johnny can't find the fuckin' laundry basket and thinks tickling me to wake me is the height of romance."

"Oh my God," Desiree laughed. "Theo is in his old man era and has taken up gardening. Had to tell him I don't care about the rose bushes or any of that. I just want somewhere I can sit in the Summer and look gorgeous, ya know be the envy of that hag next door."

"Can't complain," Aubrey laughed. "Although Kenny's cooking could be improved, but hey, he's trying and he buys me flowers, which is the cutest thing."

"Pete and I are thinking of moving in together," Zara said, sipping her pink drink. "Question is, do we buy a place or move into his?"

Desiree looked at me and I shifted nervously.

"C'mon, Daisy," She laughed. "No complaints, no issues, no bedroom problems."

"N-no," I said, blushing. "It always feels nice. He bites me a lot."

"Yeah, we know," Zara giggled. "You have a massive love bite on your neck."

"I-i...what?" I said.

Aubrey opened her phone and brought up the camera app. I looked at myself and tilted my head slightly. There was a very purple bruise on the side of my neck. I hadn't noticed it at all and felt my face burn.

"Fuckin' marking that territory." Desiree laughed again.

"I am so jealous of all of you." Sadie said.

"Girl why?" Aubrey said.

"Because after three 12 hour shifts each, all Johnny and I wanna do is sleep." Sadie replied.

"Yeah, but sometimes the best time you spend together is doing really cute stuff," Aubrey said. "Like, the other weekend Kenny and I made pot brownies, got high and watched stoner comedies."

"That's cute," Zara said. "I like persuading Pete to watch romcoms with me. He hates them, you can tell by the glazed over look in his eyes, but he watches them with me. We watched Ghost last weekend."

"Josh has been teaching me to play the piano." I said, smiling.

I recalled the first lesson the other week. He'd been incredibly patient as I'd sat there, trying to work out which notes were which. I'd spent some of the lesson, peeking at him from under my bangs. He'd tied his hair back and had set an ashtray on the windowsill, cigarette between his lips as he showed me the scales and arpeggios. I'd started singing The Aristocats song at him and he'd smirked.

"You are so in love with him, it's almost sickening." Aubrey giggled.

"He's her first in every way," Desiree said. "And what a fuckin' first? Patient, kind and calm. I wish my first had been like that. My ex was a total fuckboy."