Moments: A BWWM Short Story Collection

XIII. Blind Date (Pt. 1 of 3)

As requested by Kuraeh

"I still think this is a bad idea, Rochelle." I said, looking at my reflection in the side mirror as we got off the freeway. Rochelle sighed loudly.

"Bad idea or not, you still need to get out of your apartment."

I adjusted my braids for the umpteenth time, running a nail down the blue yarn woven into them to avoid looking into my own eyes. My best friend was right; I had been putting this off for forever, and with the holidays coming up I would have free time.

But I still didn't want to do it.

"Me and my apartment are fine." I said as I adjusted my red, high-necked minidress. "I've got enough margarita mix to outlast the end of the world, and Boo Boo the kitty is always there to keep me company. I have plenty to do."

Rochelle gave me a look as we slowed to a stop at the next red light.

"If you got plenty to do, why do you keep calling me up at night to talk? Jerome is getting a little tired of being interrupted by "hey girl!" every time things are getting good between me and him. You need a man, Carli; that's why I set you up with one."

The light turned green, and I huffed as I collapsed back in my seat.

"Then did you have to set me up with a white man?" I stressed.

"Strange thing about that." Rochelle said, giving a look of mock thought. "I keep trying to set you up with men of other ethnicities, and you keep rejecting them out of hand. It's almost as if you've got this hole in your heart, and the only thing that'll fill it-"

"Chelle..." I started with a warning look.

"Is another white guy like your ex-fiancé. We've had this conversation!"

I rubbed my forehead, careful to keep my fingers clear of my foundation as I did. Unfortunately, that just reminded me that I'd gone all out for the blind date I kept telling Rochelle I didn't want to do, which just made me feel even worse.

"I just think I should stay the course and keep men out of my life, okay?" I said as we pulled into the restaurant parking lot. "I've been doing fine on my own, so..."

I looked down at my cork wedges, watching my toes curl as Rochelle spoke.

"It's been two years, Carli; you have to get back in the game at some point. You are the senior analyst for your firm, I think you can handle dinner and a movie with a single man for a couple of hours. But if not, I promise I'll set aside some time this weekend so you can call me up and complain about what a disaster it was. Okay?"

I looked back up at Rochelle, and she cocked an eyebrow at me. I fought down the smile straining against my lips, busying myself with my purse to hide it. As scatterbrained as Rochelle was, she'd always been there for me, and she always would.

"Yeah, okay." I said as I stepped out of the car onto the sidewalk. "But if anything goes wrong, I'm calling you to come pick me up."

I shut the car door, only for the window to roll down. My blood froze as Rochelle gave me a devious smile and showed her phone.

"I don't think so. See this?" she said as she turned it off. "I'm cutting off your escape route. I know you, Carli; I'm going to get ten minutes away from here before you text me to come pick you up because you didn't like his hair or something."