Beautiful Mess

"Lindsey, please hurry!" Lacey whined as I searched through my closet for my favorite pair of heels. "Johnny and Jimmy are waiting for us in the car."

"Just give me a second, okay?" I saw a shiny black object in the corner and grabbed it. "Got it," I said as I held my right shoe in victory.

"Good," Lacey said, grabbing my wrist. "You can put your shoes on in the car." I groaned as she pulled me out the door of my apartment and pretty much shoved me into the backseat of the car.

Jimmy turned and looked at me from the passenger seat. "Hey, Lindsey! Long time no see, huh?"

"I know," I said, smiling. "You could come visit us at work, you know?"

"Yeah, but my busy schedule of laying around gets in the way." He pulled a pair of sunglasses down over his eyes and faced the front again when Johnny started driving. "I'll see if I can squeeze it in sometime this week."

I had met Jimmy on several occasions, and Johnny too. Sometimes they came in the shop with Matt. Johnny, of course, visited frequently to see Lacey. The only person that I wasn't going to know at dinner was Matt's girl, Valary.

I was a little bit surprised when I first saw her. I guess I never pictured Matt going for a blonde. She gave me a polite smile and said hello, then turned her attention to her boyfriend. Matt waved at all of us, then leaned over to whisper in Valary's ear.

I gave Lacey a look to tell her I knew what she'd meant about them being one of those couples. They were so cute that it was disgusting.

"Can I get you guys something to drink?" our waitress said, pulling a pen from the pocket of her apron.

Everyone told her what they wanted, and when it was my turn, I simply replied, "Yeah, I'll just have water."

"You'll have to ignore her," Jimmy said to the waitress. "She's new. Bring her some wine, whatever kind Lacey ordered."

The waitress smiled and nodded, then rushed off to the kitchen. "So you guys come here a lot, apparently?" I said.

"I wouldn't say a lot," Johnny answered, "just every week or so." He gave me a goofy grin.

Valary leaned forward and rested her elbows on the edge of the table. "You're Lindsey, right? Tell me, what's a girl like you doing without a boyfriend?"

I looked down, slightly humiliated, and picked at the edge of the tablecloth. How did she even know that, anyway? "Um...I guess I just haven't found the right guy yet."

"Damn, Val," Matt grinned, slipping his arm around her. "Way to embarrass her."

"Well, look at her, Matt!" she said, motioning to me. "She's absolutely gorgeous. It's a crime for her to be single." She gave me another polite smile. "I'm sorry, Lindsey. It was really supposed to be a compliment. Hopefully your right guy is just around the corner, because it's amazing when you find him." She gave Matt a peck on the lips, and just like that, they returned to their own little world.

I leaned over to Lacey. "Why are they so damn cute?"

She laughed. "I know, right? It's rough stuff."

The waitress came back and set our drinks down on the table. We went around the circle again giving her our food orders, and this time I turned to Jimmy when it was my turn. "You wanna just order for me so I don't mess it up?"

"She'll have chicken alfredo, no onions, with extra parmesan on top," Jimmy said to the waitress. He patted my shoulder. "Trust me."

I reached for the glass of wine in front of me and brought it to my lips. I took a big drink, and had to force the dark red liquid down my throat. "Man, that's freakin' strong," I said after I finally swallowed.

"Yeah, but it's about to make you feel so good," Lacey said, taking a drink from her own glass.

A giggle came from across the table. I turned my eyes toward Matt and Val, and saw that he once again had his lips to her ear, whispering with a huge smile on his face.
I sighed. I wish I had something like that, I thought to myself. Actually, it doesn't have to be like that. I just want something.