needy bees

Liz went silent after Dana’s question, she had a good point – seriously, why was she still sleeping with him? “I don’t know.” She finally muttered, shrugging her shoulders. “I am sure he’s not – he thinks I am a serial killer though.” The blonde chuckled, brushing her hair behind her ears. “I mean.. I know basic stuff, such as his name, his house, his age and stuff like that. To be perfectly honest I am as surprised as you are.” With a sigh, she admitted. “We have fun together, I guess that’s why. And he’s not intimidated by me, that’s also new and.. strange.”

Dana studied her friend’s face as she went silent. Judging from her expression, it seemed like the question was too much to handle. Leaving it unanswered, she shrugged and changed the topic. “You know, I just hope Salem likes him,” She wondered out loud. “I can’t blame him, honestly. If I hadn’t met you, I would have thought the same.” Her face lit up at her friend’s last words, the corners of her mouth stretched. “What kind of fun are we talking about here? I told you to spill all the details.”

“I’m thinking hair down would be good,” Daya said as she moved her hair to the side. “Thank you,”

“I have to admit, I’m kinda jealous of you right now. Free clothes and all,” She said with a smile. “Anyway, when will the promo air? I’d hate to miss it.”

“See? That’s why there’s nothing romantic about it. He’s mean.” Okay, he wasn’t any meaner than Liz, but that wasn’t the point now. “That works. We are not even friends, I know nothing about him.” She shrugged, her cheeks were getting red as she spoke. This was very new to her, and let’s be real, it wasn’t something she was proud of. “I agree. Hickeys are embarrassing. No, never. Either he comes over or I go to his place. Few weeks ago we bumped into each other in a restaurant, that’s all.”

“Then, why are you still sleeping together?” Dana questioned, her voice quiet and stern. She was determined to know every little detail. “You sure he’s not some kind of... serial killer or something?” She shrugged. It was a possibility, she thought, taking a sip from her cup. “You know nothing about him but you let him in your house... that’s new, coming from you.”

“Of course he did.” Liz rolled her eyes, shaking her head slowly. She wasn’t surprised at all. After the other blonde’s words, Liz gasped sharply and widened her eyes. “We are not lovers. It’s not romantic. Stop saying those things, jeez!” Instinctively she covered her neck, a long sigh left her chest. “It’s not serious! You have met him, right? Like, I am sure he doesn’t even know the meaning of the word serious. And no, I got that two days ago.” Her voice trailed off. “God this is embarrassing.”

“Of course he did?” She mimicked her tone with both her brows raised, “You’re attracted to people like that?” After letting out a chuckle, she took another sip from her coffee. “I apologize. I don’t know what I’m supposed to say. Should I refer you two as buddies instead?” She asked, shaking her head moments later. “The only thing embarrassing here is your hickey, it’s no biggie, I can assure you. Have you... ever been on an actual date with him?”

“God damn it.” Liz sighed, covering her face with her hands. This was supposed to stay as a secret. Once again the blonde let out a long sigh. “We are not dating.” She finally admitted in shame. Liz quickly grabbed her Iphone from her tote bag and showed a photo of him to Dana, “This is the guy I am talking about.” The blonde pressed her lips together – this was embarrassing for her. Truth be told, Liz wasn’t much of a sharer but Dana was her best friend, she kinda deserved to know the whole story. “Sorry to disappoint you but it’s not something romantic Dana, he parked his car in the middle of the street, then I kicked his tires and we fought. Few weeks after that, I was in a bar with the girls and they dared me to kiss a stranger. I was drunk – like really drunk and I kissed the random guy. Turns out that random guy was Isaac. One thing led to another… and you know.. we ended up in his house.”

With her eyes squinted, she brought her hands to her friend’s phone, focusing on the picture closer. “Oh my god. That’s him. He stood up his date, Liz,” She pointed at the picture, face slightly grimaced. She carefully placed the phone to her side of the table, listening to every detail of the story. “From kicking tires to his bed. Enemies to lovers, you two. Pretty romantic, if you ask me. ” She nodded with a cheeky smile. “Seeing your love bites here and there, I’m guessing things are getting pretty serious. Did you get that before we came here?”

Liz raised her brow at Dana, then faked a smile. “Have you?” She was curious now. “Wow that sounds like him.” The blonde bit her bottom lip in embarrassment. “We are probably talking about the same guy. Tall, blonde, blue eyes..” A sigh left her lips before continuing. “What details? What do you want to know?”

“We’re talking about you now, not me. Don’t try to change the topic,” She scoffed, raising her hand. “He was a tall blonde with blue eyes... but he had a blind date. Surely he won’t be doing that if he’s dating you, right? That couldn’t have been him,” She assured her with a shake of her head. “Okay, for starters. How’d you guys meet?”

“I thought this only happened in movies,” Declan replied with a laugh as he looked at the coffee cup and showed it to the other person. “The barista actually wrote her number on it. Has this ever happened to you? I’m not really sure what to do here. Do I…call her?”

“Wow, that’s really brave of her. You should text her first, though. Calling her is a bit too... forward, don’t you think?” Tipping her head to the side, she continued, “I’ve experienced a similar circumstance. I didn’t get a number. I got a link to their YouTube channel.”

“Yeah, alright.” Rohan agreed before the woman could finish her sentence. “Nah, I’ve actually had some other… Unorthodox cases. Well, my plan B is becoming an Olympic curling player.”

“...Yep,” Dana replied, emphasizing the last letter of the word. “I’d love to listen to all of those unorthodox cases. I have all day,” she shrugged. “Curling? You’re joking, right?”

“I am gonna take that as a compliment.” Liz chuckled a little. “Ew, no! I would never do that thing with my professor. That’s against the school rules, I don’t want to get kicked out. Nooooo! I was studying in the library. I would never have sex in a public place, jeez.” She grimaced. Obviously, Dana wasn’t going to let this go until Liz gave her a name. “It’s a guy named Isaac. You probably don’t even know him. I met him two months ago in a bar, whatever, it’s not important.”

“Well... who knows, right? I was just guessing. Calm down,” Dana replied with a shake of her head, mentally reminding herself of Liz’s goody-goody attitude. Of course she would never do such a thing. “Funny that you’ve mentioned that. I’ve met an Isaac a few weeks ago. He was this jerk who stood up his date so he’s obviously not the dude you’re talking about,” she added with a wave of her hand. “No, no. It’s important to me. I need all the details.”

“It’s basic psychology. They are usually looking for an older figure to take care of them, or they are simply seeking the affection from an older guy that they have been yearning for years. Google it, there are tons of articles about it.” Liz shrugged it off, she took few psychology classes back in college. “No, I wasn’t planning to tell you. It’s my shameful secret, I’d rather keep it to myself.” Liz sighed deeply, pressing her lips together again. “What details? We have sex here and there, that’s all.”

“Man, that’s deep. I have never thought about it that way. No, I trust you. You’re basically a human Google,” Dana raised her brow, chuckling. “Shameful secret?” She repeated, breathing the words dramatically. “Who was it with? Your professor? Oh my god. That’s why you’ve been spending that much time in the library, huh?

“Bowling should not be counted as a sport. Bowling or billiards.” With a chuckle, Isaac shook his head, reaching out to snag a few fries when the basket was offered in his direction. “I agree. Going to a movie for a date is fun, but I’ve always been told it’s a terrible first date, since technically you’re not meant to talk. If you don’t go to a new release, though, then the theaters usually pretty empty and I don’t feel so guilty whispering, y’know?” He shrugged. Isaac’s gaze lifted from the fries when Dana gasped. He was quick to smile, snorting a soft breath in return. “Trust me, I haven’t thrown a tantrum since I was twelve… or was it twenty-one?” Isaac looked thoughtful for a moment as he teased himself, but he rolled his eyes a moment later.

“Bowling, billiards, golf... they all have the same objective, right? Putting balls into tiny holes? They’re all sports to me. The worst kind,” She admitted honestly as she dipped her fry a tray of ketchup. “That’s the point. No chit-chats or whispering when the lights are off. Leave that for after the movie.” Even the sound of people breathing in the midst of a screening ticked her off. She has very strict rules when it comes to watching movies. “And how old are you now? Forty...” As she trailed off, her arm accidentally dodged her glass of water to her plate, the sound of the two objects clinking drawing attention to his blind date. “Oh... no.”

“Sleep is for the weak.” With an eye roll, the blonde shook her head. “That’s what I thought. He’s twice as my age. I am not one of those people who love dating old men. I don’t have daddy issues.” Wrinkling her nose in distaste, she sighed and brushed her hair behind her ears. “I am paler than you, maybe that’s why.” There was no use though, Dana could tell that Liz was lying. It was always hard for Liz to lie to her loved ones. “ — Love bite? Really Dana?” She grimaced. “It’s just a god damn hickey.” Liz groaned, avoiding the eye contact as much as possible.

“People who date old men have daddy issues? I did not know that,” Dana gently tapped her chin, looking up for a moment. “Try again,” She smiled, sensing her friend’s dishonesty. “Calling it love bites is much more fun. Plus, it’s always nice to see you blush,” she admitted. “Is that why you’ve been trying to call me these past few weeks? You’re gonna tell me that you’ve been banging someone? God, please tell me the details.”

“Law students don’t sleep. We don’t have that luxury, we have limited access to coffee instead.” And Adderall but Dana didn’t need to know that of course. “He hit on me and asked me out lowkey but I said no.” Liz rolled her eyes, then chuckled. “No!” The blonde quickly protested, wrapping the scarf even tighter. “Dana, it’s nothing. I was doing my hair few days ago, I must have touched it with my hair curler.”

“I can’t wait to see you graduate. You will love sleeping. It’s rejuvenating,” She gently waved her hand in front of her face. “He’s like... fifty. That’s like dating his own daughter. Gross,” she replied with a scowl. “Liz, honey, I know a curling iron bruise when I see one. Yours have a different... tone to it.” She tilted her head, before her lips slowly turned into a mischievous smile. “Don’t tell me... is that a love bite?”

“You can always look at your phone after work. That’s not an excuse Dana!” Liz said with a shrug, she was being her usual self – the annoying know-it-all. “I can see him doing that, I have visited you at work twice and he got too friendly – a waaay too friendly.” Her expression suddenly faded after Dana’s inquiry, her eyes widened. “What?” As if she didn’t know what was it. “Nothing. Are you talking about my scarf?” Liz faked a smile, trying to hide the purple spot on her neck.

“I’d love to do that, but I also do this thing called... sleeping. I don’t know if you’ve ever heard of it,” Dana let out a small laugh before continuing with an angrier tone, “What the hell did he do to you?” Her brows furrowed, leaning closer towards the blonde. “No, right below your jaw. That purple... red... You know what? Take it off. Let me take a good look at it.”

Ramona smiled as she realized it looked better, standing up straight and shaking her head at the other woman’s words. “You don’t have to repay me at all, babe! We gotta have each other’s backs, you know? Plus, I got to talk to a beautiful woman, so I’m happy.”

At her compliment, her cheeks turned red. “You’re, by far, the nicest stranger I’ve ever met. There should be more of you,” Dana said, coyly looking down. “I’m Dana, by the way. Hey, how about a free coffee on me? I won’t take no for an answer.”