Be Good To Me - N.H.

1

"One more hour, Julie, that's all." My best friend begged, staring at me with her bright green eyes.

I sighed. "You know I can't. I promised Chad I would be at his place by seven for dinner."

"You see him all the time! I'm your best friend and I barely see you any more." She huffed, crossing her arms over her chest and popping her hip out to the side with attitude.

"We've been out shopping for hours!" I giggled, mimicking her disposition jokingly.

"Let's just get a coffee. That's all. Then you can go, I swear."

I looked down at her as she waited for my reply. She was petite at only 5'1, probably barely 100 pounds soaking wet, but she definitely had the temper to match her red hair. On one hand, she was right, we haven't spent much time together in quite a few months. On the other, I really hated being late, much less breaking a promise to my boyfriend.

Liz and I have been best friends since I moved out to California two years ago. She was standing behind me in line at a Starbucks one afternoon and casually complimented my shoes, striking up an instant conversation that resulted in us sitting together for an hour, sipping on our drinks as we got to know each other. Being a native to the city, when she realized I was new to the area she instantly took my number and insisted on showing me around until I was comfortable. She kept her promise, resulting in us becoming so close that we had outings together regularly. Until Chad came into the picture, that is.

"Only an hour, Liz, then I have to be at Chad's. I promised I'd be there in time for us to go out."

I couldn't help but break out into a smile as she beamed like a child on Christmas, squealing at me as she bounced on the balls of her feet.

"Come on!" She said, pulling me along.

I laughed lightly, following after her into the crowded coffee shop, each of us holding a hand full of shopping bags. Once we were handed our drinks, we sat down at a table in the corner of the room, placing everything on the ground beside us.

"So what's the rush anyway? Why do you have to be at Chad's so quickly?" Liz asked curiously.

"He just doesn't like me to be late or change our plans last minute." I shrugged, wrapping my hands around my cup.

She rolled her eyes in response. "Why is he so anal about everything?"

I chuckled lightly. Liz never really cared for Chad when we started dating just over a year ago. She doesn't hold back much of what she says, letting me know that something seemed off about him after we all went out clubbing one night. I brushed it off at first, figuring she was just upset about the fact that I had been spending more time with him and less with her. As time went on, I eventually started splitting my time between them, instead of all us hanging out together.

"He's not anal, he's just..." I trailed off, contemplating the right word to use.

"Controlling?" She finished for me, a small smirk on her face.

I rolled my eyes playfully, holding back a grin."You didn't disagree." Liz added.

"He just likes things to be a certain way." I explained.

"If you say so." She replied. "Listen, I know I've had you most of the day, but there's this party tomorrow night that a friend is throwing and I REALLY want you to come with me."

"A party?" I questioned hesitantly. "You know I don't really do parties."

"Oh, come on, Julie! It'll be fun." Liz pleaded, clasping her hands together.