I giggled as I received new beads. The collection I received so far was starting to get heavy, but it was fun to check another thing off my bucket list: visit New Orleans during Mardi Gras. My friend Joylienne and I were thoroughly embracing the French Quarter on this warm Friday evening. The parades in the French Q were smaller than the ones that were geared more towards family in other parts of the city, but the French Quarter is what you think about when you think of Mardi Gras. Flashing your boobs and naughty behavior is encouraged here.
"Katie, come on! It's time for a drink in the next bar," Joylienne shouted over the loud music and cheers. I looked around me one more time to see if I could find HIM. He's been teasing me all evening by texting me pictures of my friend and I having fun. However, he had yet to come over and say hi. It was just as frustrating as it was a fun game to play. I whipped out my phone and texted him the name of the next bar on our list. My phone vibrated with a new text that read, "I'm already here."
I scanned the crowd looking for the familiar face. The problem is that many people had on masks, and the crowd was thick. Joylienne interrupted my thoughts by placing a shot glass in my hand. "Here's to Friends, Fun...and beads." We laughed and tilted the shots glasses back and drank the fiery liquid. We did a tequila tittie shimmy after we slammed our glasses down on the bar. My phone buzzed again and a picture of Joylienne and I toasting popped up on my screen. I looked in the direction the picture was taken, but still didn't see him. I smiled and typed in, "You're good! But I WILL find you before the night is over." Shortly after, a reply came back, "I'm counting on it."
I couldn't decide what part of the evening excited me more: having strangers oogling over my boobs in public - a long time fantasy, seeing my friend, Joylienne, have fun again after a rough divorce & finally feeling confident in her body after a mastectomy, or the secret mind fuck games I was playing with HIM. Not even Joylienne knew what was going on. Keeping that secret from her best friend gave her a thrill too.