Soulmates

4

"Hey, do you want to talk about what happened the other night?" Ethan said as he approached Hallie at the bar, two nights after the snuggle incident.

She shook her head no.

"That's what I thought." He wanted to say that it was proof he was listening, but he didn't want to stop talking to her in case she reacted poorly. "Anyways, I know that you were super secretive about it, but I know your name now. But, if you want, I can just never say it so that way you don't know if I truly know it or not."

That made her smile. "You've got yourself a deal. Now, buy me a drink and plot who we should take home tonight."

"That almost sounds like a pick-up line, but I know better than that. Why not?" He sat down next to her and ordered two shots. They drank them and turned around, planning who would be next. "Alright, so over there we have cute glasses girl, I mean I've only seen you with men, but I can fantasize." He expected her to say no immediately. Sure, she acknowledged that Emma Watson was a babe, but she never genuinely showed interest in girls.

"Alright, I don't think I'm her type, but I'll keep her in mind." She smiled and then squinted as she looked at all the possibilities. "How about her?" she pointed to a girl that looked like she ran her own hipster coffee shop. Flower crown, off the shoulder blouse, and a cup of coffee in hand.

"So how's this going to work? If we both strike out, we get another shot and then try again?"

"What makes you think we'll both strike out?" She had a look of determination and left the bar, approaching her right away. She gave off that mysterious vibe that drew in the shy girl and soon they were kissing. Ethan sighed and assumed she wasn't coming back, deciding to approach hipster girl.

"Hey, I'm Ethan," he said unconfidently. It felt weird talking to her.

"Hey, Olivia." She was kind of swaying to the music and when the song changed, Ethan asked her to dance.

They had a little bit of small talk intertwined and then it got personal.

"So how does a good-looking guy like you not have a soulmate?" she was obviously trying to flirt but it was a little much.

"I guess I'm just like you... trying to find the one out there for me."

"Oh no, I have one, but he's a total moron. That's not going to be a problem, is it?"

He glanced over at Hallie and realized that she was already gone. "No, it won't be."

"Good." And then she kissed him.

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He felt gross. He wanted to kick her out of his apartment, but he didn't want to give off the scumbag persona.

"Hey, I made you eggs and coffee." He handed her a plate and a mug when she woke up in his bed.

"Thank you," she took both like she was entitled to them and then sipped her coffee before looking at it. "Oh! Can I have some creamer? I never take my coffee black."

He took the mug back and dumped a little out into the sink before adding creamer and mixing it together.

They tried to hold a conversation, but his eyes strayed to her arms, where ink marks kept appearing, obviously frantic.

"I have to go to work so I'll drop you back off at the bar, okay?" He wanted to be polite but get rid of her as quickly as possible.

"What's the rush?" she put down the plate and crawled over to him, trying to be seductive.

He stood up and excused himself to the shower. She tried to follow but he locked the door behind him. If she confronted him, he'd just explain how he always locked the door and had no idea that she was following him.

He made a point to not leave the bathroom without clothes on, grabbing his keys and ready to get rid of the girl.

There was writing on her face that said 'filthy cheater' but he wasn't going to tell her that. He brought her to her car and didn't even wait for her to start it up before he left.

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"Wow, so you went for a girl this time?" Naomi asked, not knowing that her best friend would.

"Yeah, I mean she was hot after all. Plus, if fate says I'm supposed to end up with a girl, who am I to say no?" She joked. The two of them got along really well, neither took things very seriously, which made Hallie actually give her number to her.

"I don't have to pick," Naomi joked.

"How are Justice and Dianna?"

"They're both perfect. We made a schedule where we all spend time together and then like individual date nights as well as needed alone time. It's working out well. I think we're going to move in together soon. My lease is up in a month so might as well leave the one-bedroom place and share a condo with them." She looked like she wanted to go on and on about them, but then remembered Hallie's predicament.

"I'm really happy for you." And she was. She wanted to be bitter, but her best friend deserved the best.

"So how are things for you?" She wanted her to say that Ethan had written an open-ended love note and it just happened to appear on her skin, but she knew that these things would take time.

"Well, quiet girl was a hit. But other than that, not really anything new."

Naomi was disappointed, but not surprised.

"I feel like your time is about to come," she reassured her best friend. She was always the optimistic one, which balanced out how cynical Hallie was.

"I hope so, but I'm not holding my breath." They finished up their food before Naomi had to leave to go back to work.

"Love you best friend, good luck on your romantic endeavors."

"Enjoy yourcouple time." She lingered at the table for a while, about to hit on thewaiter when she realized that he had writing on his arm. She knew herboundaries.