"Please," Audrey said, the slight exhaustion in her voice registering with Eric, "do this for me. She's one of my best friends, and she really is sorry."
Eric leaned back in his chair, letting out a sigh. "Yeah, okay."
"That sounded non-committal."
"It was," Eric sad, hand over his face. "But I'll give her a chance to apologize."
"Great!" Audrey said, pep back in her voice now. "There's a place just a few doors down from her studio where the three of us can eat and talk. Just like old times."
"The times when she secretly hated me?"
"I'll meet you there at six, love you!" Audrey continued, gliding right over Eric's snide comment The line went dead, so Eric leaned forward and hung his work phone up. He glanced at the clock on his desktop, which read 3:47. Still another hour to go, but he knew he was useless for the rest of the day now that he had a dinner with Vicki to look forward to.
It frustrated Eric, being mad at Vicki, because up until a week okay, he'd have loved grabbing dinner as a group. He'd known Vicki almost as long as Audrey had, the three of them all meeting freshman year of college. They never really hung out alone, but she and Audrey lived in the same dorm, so she was never too far away once Eric and Audrey had started dating. Hell, Vicki had even been at the birthday party where Eric had proposed to Audrey the previous summer, and she was supposed to be one of Audrey's bridesmaids.
It was something Eric had been fine with until Audrey, a little more drunk than she realized, had let slip a secret: all through their sophomore and junior years of college, Vicki was constantly trying to get Audrey to dump him. It had been a gut-punch for Eric to hear, and upon pressing his inebriated fiancée a little further, she told him that Vicki thought he was boring, that he was holding Audrey back, that she could do better. And that the few weeks they actually had separated during junior year, Vicki had been the one to suggest it. The same Vicki that had apparently been bullshitting him when she came by to comfort him after the break-up.
At that point, the thought of Vicki being in their wedding infuriated Eric, and Audrey had to talk him off the ledge from cursing her out in person. Instead, he'd just steered clear of her, but he remained insistent she not be in the wedding. Audrey, however, was determined to make sure Vicki was by her side that day, and so she'd set-up this dinner.
Eric leaned forward, fuming. "It was a long time ago," Audrey said, though five years certainly didn't feel like it. "She legitimately thinks the world of you now." Sure, two years of badmouthing him forgotten about, just like that. He would go to this dinner, try his best to behave himself, but the last thing he saw happening was believing a word that came out of Vicki's mouth.
----------------------------
Eric pulled into the parking lot a few minutes before six, a ball of dread sitting in the pit of his stomach. He stayed behind the wheel once he'd parked, just staring at the strip of buildings in front of him. Directly ahead was Alexander's, the Italian place the three of them were going to be meeting. On the far-right side of the strip was Vicki's studio: Goddess Pole Fitness.
Yes, Vicki was a pole dancer. Not just a dancer, a teacher, an expert. So good at it in college that she'd decided to take her business degree and turn it into a career. The studio hadn't been open long, but she'd managed to grow it into a fairly successful venture so far. "All the fun, none of the stripping," Vicki would say, before adding with a smirk, "well, some stripping, when I feel a guy has earned it."
Pole dancing: just another way Vicki was more adventurous and exciting than Eric, no doubt.
Fuck, Eric didn't want to do this. He looked around the parking lot, hoping to see Audrey's car, but it seemed she hadn't arrived yet. That's when he felt his phone buzz in his pocket. Pulling it out, he saw Audrey was calling.
"Hello?"
"Don't hate me," Audrey said, and Eric's heart sank instantly.
"Don't do this."
"I'm just going to be a little late."
"How late?"
"About an hour-and-a-half."
"I'm going home," Eric said, already grabbing the key in the ignition.
"Babe, no!" Audrey called, causing him to hesitate. "Listen, I know, okay, really? I used to get so mad at Vicki for badmouthing you. But it really is all in the past. Just give her a chance to say that."
"Without you here?" Eric said, still gripping the key.
"If she's rude or unapologetic in any way, you can leave. Just please, meet up with her and go ahead and head over to the restaurant. Maybe you'll even have it all worked out by the time I get there."
"Doubtful," Eric said, then sighed. "I'll try."
"Love you so much!" Audrey said. "I promise, I'll be there ASAP."
"You'd better. Love you, too," Eric said, hanging up.
----------------------------
"Er, excuse me," Eric mumbled, pressing into the doorframe as a pair of near-nude women in high heels and short-shorts squeezed past him. He took a deep breath, never quite used to how much exposed flesh he saw when he came in here. Never mind how much he enjoyed it.
Once the last women exited, Eric moved further into the studio. Past the lobby, there was little more than a wide-open room filled with poles, and mirrors along the far wall. At the moment, the room was empty, leaving him to assume Vicki was in the back somewhere.
Not quite sure what to do, Eric stepped up to one of the poles, eyeing it. He reached out, giving it a tug, leaning his weight against it. With a little push, he spun slightly, going a bit more off-balance than intended, but managing to stay up. He stumbled forward, however, at the sound of a voice.
"Were you hoping for a lesson?"
"Oh!" Eric said, catching himself. Straightening, he looked to see Vicki standing in the doorway at the back of the studio. The sight of her outfit caused him to let out another small gasp. "Oh... hey, Vicki."
