Year of the Chick (book 1 in the "Year of the Chick" series)

Chapter One

[AUTHOR'S NOTE: Hey guys, this is the first novel I published, and as of 2021 it's ELEVEN years old (!!); in other words a few things might seem outdated (i.e. references to the Internet at the time, weight-loss obsessions, and politically incorrect lines that I would not write today). Since then I've written a few other books, two of which are published as books 2 and 3 in this series, AND a couple of other stories available on Wattpad (with 24 HOURS PARIS set to release May 10, 2022 from Wattpad Books in a bookstore new you!) . Anyway...11 years of writing later my style has changed a little, but if you want to see where I started, read on and enjoy! :)]

"Seven eighty-six please."

When I handed the latte boy his money my hand grazed his palm. I cringed and quickly wiped the clammy residue on my pant leg. Peter's hands weren't slimy. HIS hands didn't need a dehumidifier.

My eyes bore deep into his.

His eyes stared blankly back. "Your latte's waiting at the bar."

Right.

Peter had left Canada two years ago, but here I was in the place where it all began. The place where you flirt with English baristas on temporary work visas, then whisk them away on ice skating dates to Nathan Phillips Square, then snuggly dates, then "leave the rest to your imagination dates," then ...then...

Tearful goodbyes.

Promises to reunite.

Frequent phone calls.

Less frequent phone calls.

E-mails instead of phone calls.

The final e-mail that says "I'm sorry Romi, but yes I've found a 'ho."

I mean a nice respectable girlfriend.

Sure.

With my latte in one hand and a sack full of snowman cookies in the other, I headed to the corner table for a seat. In seconds I was chomping on the cookies in a sucrose bliss, as the multi-coloured icing dirty-danced its way along my tongue.

Two women at a nearby table were deep in conversation, heads lowered and intense. I noticed them whenever my eyes unrolled from the back of my head, the pit-stops in-between my cookie-induced ecstasy. They suddenly burst into laughter, and buoyed by the "ha ha ha's" their strands of blond hair began to bounce.

Oh sure, it's all fun and games when your world is one big hook-up.

My hook-up opportunities required a Batman costume for anonymity, just like they did for every Canadian girl with Indian parents. In front of our parents we were robots with the "horny" button disabled, but when the moon shone bright our howls of desire could be heard across a hundred miles.

Provided we were well-adjusted girls who'd been dating like the pros since age sixteen.

Umm...

I shook the memories of dateless years and "dry spells so long I could practically be a monk" from my mind with a swig of latte, but arranged marriage thoughts took their place. No matter how many times I searched for the logic it escaped me, and why not? In what world was it normal to never look at guys before marriage, then have sex with an almost-stranger when arranged-marriage day arrived?

"Pfft." The sound emanating from my mouth would've seemed a lot more normal if I wasn't alone at this table. In reality the blondes seemed disturbed by the escaped mental patient to their left. I shrugged my shoulders and twirled a long strand of hair between my fingers. Thoughtfully. Worriedly.