"You Can't Stay a Saint in This City"

“My god Amber, this is the company you let your boyfriend keep?” Greg says as we meet at my house for some post work Thai food. “Girl is stunning”

Mike, being a fairly smart guy, keeps his comments to himself.

“Gee thanks Greg.” I say as I stab a stainless steel chopstick into some sort of deep fried tofu dish. It was my mistake that I decided to search up Milan’s pictures from the Bruins’ Halloween party there were no shortages of Brittany looking amazing in a nurse costume and Milan looking pretty damn good in his scrubs. “The two of them look so perfect together.” Like a couple. I’m not sure Milan and I could ever do a couple costume. I mean I’m the Eiffel tower and he’s going to be the Statue of Liberty, I don’t think so.

“Which picture should I sent him?” I ask as I hand over my phone. I took pictures of both costumes, one of them happened to be sluttier looking that the other.

“Well gee Amber do you want to turn him on and remember why the two of you are together or have him see you in the same dress my grandmother wore to her wedding fifty years ago?” Greg asks as he flips between the pictures.

I look like I’m try too hard to look sexy in the peacock costume and I kind of don’t want the picture in circulation, I want it to be just between the two of us. “My boyfriend tends to overshare with his teammates so I’m thinking the Eiffel tower would be the tamer choice.”

“But it makes you look boring.“ Greg argues.

Mike picks up some pad thai using his chopsticks “I don’t see how it’s any different than your Maxim spread, I’m pretty sure you showed more skin in that thing. At least with the peacock costume your ass is semi-covered in feathers.”

“But in Maxim they had airbrushing and Photoshop.” Although the lighting is great in my bathroom, I don’t think it really compares. “Besides I’m pretty sure I need to like wax my stomach or something.”

Mike steals a piece of tofu out of my bowl “Considering I see you go for a swim almost every morning, I’d say the Maxim pictures aren’t that far off from the real thing. And your stomach looks fine, although I can kind of count your ribs.”

“That hair is so translucent barely even classifies as peach fuzz. Amber he’s your boyfriend; he already knows what you look like naked.” Greg takes a sip of coconut water; I think he’s using it to lose weight or something.

“The thing is…”

“He’s never seen you naked” Mike laughs like it’s the funniest thing ever.

“Of course he’s seen me naked. I just don’t think spends too much time looking and I prefer it that way.” Plus I think everything is prettier when it’s bathed in moonlight.

“Are you kidding me? You, Ambrosia Li have a problem with being naked? I thought you used to go to Venice Beach and sunbathe topless all the time, you know… before the show.”

“I just feel so awkward and unattractive around him.” I still feel the way I did in high school when I was absolutely in awe of him and the fact that he wanted me. Plus I can’t help but imagine him sizing me up against his other much prettier conquests. Speaking of awkward and unattractive “I’m full.” I say pushing away my barely touched dish.

“Are you sure? You’ll had like two pieced of tofu.” Mike asks

“I’ll eat more tomorrow or something, I just want don’t want to be bloated at because seven o’clock Pilates.”

“Suit yourself Amber.” Greg says as he takes the rest of my tofu, so much for his diet.
______

“Amber did you spend 300 thousand dollars on a Maserati?” I ask her as I watch her stare at me curiously.

“Actually it was 250 thousand.” She explains filing her nails in ‘squovals’.

“Either way it’s a lot of money.”

“It’s the same price as some of Victoria Beckham’s birkin bags.” As if that makes it justifiable.

“Well I’m not exactly making David Beckham money.” Amber bits her lip which is a dead giveaway that she wants to reveal something juicy like maybe she’s slept with him or something “What is it Amber?”

“I make 12 million dollars last year, Milan” Yeah I get it that’s almost triple what I made.

Yeah I heard, thanks again Nikola “So?”

“That’s how much David Beckham made from playing soccer.” Amber says as she admires her newly shaped nails.

I’m not sure what my next point should be. Amber clearly has too much money for her own good but I can’t really just tell her to stop spending it. I actually think I like it better when Brittany would let me buy her stuff like those shoes but I find of feel useless considering Amber can buy whatever her heart desires like she doesn’t need me at all. But she can’t possibly need all the stuff she buys either.

“You know Amber, I was looking at townhouses with a relator the other day for when you finally move to Boston” I lie.

Amber frowns “Oh.”

“Anyway a lot of the nicer places need you to pay the entire sum up front. I was thinking that maybe we should start saving up like cutting out all the unnecessary stuff.” Another lie, unless we were planning to live in some sort of 30 million dollar townhouse that took up an entire city block.

“I’m not even done paying my own mortgage off yet. I’ve got like two more years.” Amber explains

“Well if you cut back on your purchases you could pay it off earlier, sell your house, and move to Boston.”

“Milan, the real estate market in LA is a complete shit storm, I can’t sell my house at a loss. Besides what’s the rush?”

“I miss you okay Amber and this long distance thing sucks.” The only true statement I’ve spoken since I started this conversation.

“Okay… well I’ll see what I can do.” Amber says as she picks up one of her dogs.

“Bye Amber.”

“Bye Milan.” She says looking slightly more agitated.