Drunk In Love (Crushing Hard Series Book 3)

Dear Diary:30/07/2019

Wednesday, very late at night

When I got home from work, I received a surprising call from Caitlin, our old high school head girl. In high school, she was always so serious, looking down on anyone who partied or drank. After school, she went into teaching, married someone from her church, and from the outside, it seemed like she had the perfect life. So, I was stunned when she called today asking for a girls' night out.

I assumed a "girls' night" with Caitlin would mean a quiet movie and maybe some bowling, but when she suggested a night out at a club, I was caught off guard.

"Umm, okay!" I responded, trying (and failing) to hide my surprise over the phone.

I decided to dress casually in skinny jeans, a cute blue off-the-shoulder top, and some sneakers, assuming it wouldn’t get too wild. An hour later, I found myself at a bar/club/barbecue spot that Caitlin insisted on, and the place was packed with people really going hard—even though it was a Wednesday night. I was already missing my bed.

When Caitlin arrived, I was in for another shock. She was wearing a tight, short, backless dress that looked like it was a bit more daring than her usual style. I couldn't help but smile in surprise, but I greeted her warmly.

"Thandi, it’s so great to see you! I can’t believe the last time we saw each other was right after high school," she started.

I laughed and quickly changed the topic. "Girl, we are not going to sit here and reminisce about high school when you’re rocking that dress! You look amazing."

She smiled brightly and asked, "Have you ordered drinks yet?"

That’s when I knew the night was going to take an unexpected turn.

After a few drinks, Caitlin started opening up. She talked about how she had always done things by the book—school, marriage, house, job—but lately, she felt suffocated. She told me how she'd been waking up with panic attacks, feeling like she was drowning in her life. The routine, the predictability of it all, was getting to her.

"The other day," she confessed, "I realized that I’ve never really lived. I’ve never had one of those wild, passionate moments I hear about. I tried spicing things up with my husband, but he was totally uninterested. That’s when I realized that this—this routine, this predictability—is as good as it's ever going to get."

I couldn't imagine being stuck in that kind of rut. Even though my relationship with Kevin was complicated, we’d had plenty of passion in our time together.

Caitlin continued, "Then last night, during dinner, he casually brought up the idea of having kids, and I just... I lost it. I told him I couldn't live another day like this, and I left. I packed my stuff and moved out today. I'm getting divorced."

I was speechless. This was definitely not what I expected from our little get-together.

"Are you sure this is what you want?" I asked, finally finding my voice.

"I’m sure of what I don’t want," she said. "And that’s enough for now. I just want to live my life for me. I want to be free, to have new experiences."

Looking at her, she really did seem different. There was a lightness about her that I hadn’t seen before. She looked free, happy even.

"You do look different," I admitted. "Maybe this is what you need. But, just to let you know, not all new experiences are as glamorous as they seem."

She looked at me, intrigued. "What do you mean?"

I laughed. "Well, let’s just say I’ve had my fair share of complicated experiences this year."

"Wait, what? Aren’t you engaged to Kevin?" she asked, surprised.

"Not anymore," I said, catching her up on everything that had happened recently.

As the night wore on, the drinks kept coming, and we ended up dancing until we were one of the last groups on the dance floor. There were a few blurry moments after that but I definitely remea bottle of wine and a minor argument I had with someone giving us side-eye that followed after, and some playful flirting. But all in all, it was a wild and unexpected night.

By the end of it, I couldn’t help but think about how much we had both changed since high school. Caitlin was on the verge of a new chapter, and maybe, in some way, so was I.