October is the most beautiful time of year in Dallas. The temperature has started to drop to somewhere between needing a jacket and not, just depending on your preference. About a week before Halloween, there is a scent in the air in the evening that only lingers for about two days, and then it's gone for another year.
Two young women stepped out of their apartment.
Amalea took a deep breath, filling her lungs with her favorite smell. It smelled like the earth, leaves, must, happiness, and the official end of summer. The only way she could describe it was "harvest."
"Do you smell that?" Amalea asked her roommate.
Serena withdrew her key from the lock, and then inhaled deeply. "Oh yes," she replied with a smile.
"I love that smell," Amalea said. "I wish it would smell like this every day."
The ladies shared a warm smile.
The pair headed to Serena's beat up, white automobile. She started it up, and then they drove to a bar on the outskirts of downtown. Serena sped down the highway, weaving in and out of lanes for no apparent reason.
Amalea ran her fingers through her shoulder length curly brown locks, tussling them around.
Her roommate smiled over at her.
Amalea saw her out of the corner of her eye. "What is it?"
"Nothing, I just love your hair. You make me so jealous," Serena said.
"Why?" Amalea asked with a chuckle.
"It's just pretty," her roommate shrugged. "It's brown, but you have that slight tint of red. It's shiny and it's just pretty."
Amalea blushed softly. "Well, thanks. Yours is pretty too."
Serena laughed and shook her purple tipped black mane, "This rat's nest?"
Amalea reached over and stroked her hair. "It's not a rat's nest. Though, it may be softer if you weren't always dyeing it all the time." She pulled her hand away, and then settled it on her thigh over her dark blue jeans.
"I like variety," Serena said with a grin. "Not as much as you, though."
"Hey!" Amalea shouted. "What is that supposed to mean?"
"I think you know what I mean," her roommate winked with her sea foam green eyes.
"Maybe I do." Amalea smirked. She settled back in her seat and closed her hazel eyes for a few moments.
They arrived at their destination several minutes later. Amalea smoothed out her bunched up soft pink t-shirt and pulled it down over her hips while she waited for her friend to meet her on the sidewalk. She fully checked out her roommate's new slinky black dress for the first time.
"Damn girl, you look hot," Amalea commented, still watching her friend's modest breasts bounce.
Serena winked, and then pulled her long dark hair over one shoulder, showing off the dragon back piece tattoo she recently had finished. "Thanks girl, you look good too. Though, a bit too innocent for my taste. You should show off your breasts more."
Amalea looked down at herself, checking out the hint of cleavage the low neckline of her shirt provided. She called her breasts a perfect handful. "I like to leave things to the imagination," she said with a smile.
The women chuckled as they took a few strides to the bar.
Their IDs were checked at the door, and then they headed inside. The music was unpleasantly loud. The friends looked at each other and shared a knowing nod before heading for the patio and escaping the concussive blasts into their ear drums.
The waitress arrived several long minutes later to take their drink orders. They understood she was busy, but they knew they could run circles around her. Eventually, she returned with a greyhound for Amalea and a coconut rum and Coke for Serena.
The friends chatted. The first part of the conversation consisted of their days at work and the rude customers they had. They worked at a very family friendly themed restaurant. They made damn good money on most days, but the assholes they waited on made it almost not worth it.
Amalea was squirted with ketchup by a bratty child. Serena got stiffed on a tab of over one-hundred dollars, an all too common occurrence amongst the wait staff.
The chat moved on to their adventures from the previous weekend. Both women met men at a bar and took them home. That was standard fare for the two.
Amalea took her time drinking, pacing herself because she had to work early. The restaurant was hell with a hangover. Serena didn't have to work tomorrow. She was quickly ahead of her friend in alcohol intake.
Amalea mentally grimaced, knowing that she may not be able to take them home. Serena's car was a standard and Amalea did not want to make tonight her first attempt at driving one.
Serena disappeared for a few minutes to the restroom. When she returned, she had a man with her.
Amalea quickly looked him over as they approached. He was just a few inches taller than her shorter roommate with tanned skin, dark hair and eyes. She assumed he was of Latin descent.
Serena smiled brightly as she introduced her friend. "This is Victor. We dated a couple of years back. Victor, this is my roommate and best friend, Amalea."
Amalea rose from her seat to shake his hand. She held his grip firmly. "Nice to meet you."
He leaned into her. "I'm sorry, what was your name again? I didn't quite catch it."
"Amalea," she replied with a smile as she withdrew her hand from his.
"That's beautiful," he said as he joined the ladies at the table. "I've never heard it before."
"Thank you, it's Italian. School wasn't easy sometimes. You know, usually teachers had problems pronouncing some kid's last names at the beginning of the year. It was both for me," she finished with a gentle sigh, and then sipped her drink.
Victor smiled. "As I said, it's beautiful. Fuck teachers and kids who can't pronounce names." He turned to the woman he used to date. "And of course, I love the name Serena as well."
Serena smiled with a cocktail straw between her lips.
The threesome shared lively conversation for a few hours. Victor bought the women drinks for the rest of the evening. Serena was quickly becoming inebriated. Amalea didn't try to stop her. They could take a cab if they needed to.
Victor and Serena flirted, lightly touching each other on their arms and legs. She pecked his lips a handful of times.
Serena rose from her seat. "I'm gonna use the ladies room before we go," she said with slurred speech, and then disappeared from the table.
"She's way too drunk. There's no way she's driving home," Amalea muttered to herself. "Guess it's a cab night."
Victor overheard her almost silent thoughts. "No, she's definitely not driving. You can come to my place if you like. I'll take you back to her car in the morning so you can get home."
Amalea raised her eyes to his. "Are you sure? I don't want to be a bother. I have to open tomorrow morning, so it might be a little early for you."
"I don't mind. And I doubt Serena will either," he said with a devilish grin.
She lightly shook her head with a chuckle. "I'm sure she won't mind one bit."
Serena went back to the table and nearly tripped over a chair on the patio. She paused for a moment of laughter before continuing her strides.
Victor easily talked her into coming back to his apartment. Then, he paid the tab and escorted the ladies to his Mercedes.
Amalea slid into the backseat and Serena in front of her. Victor drove them to his high-rise apartment in the ritzy Turtle Creek neighborhood.
