"Oh no, don't tell that story!"
Freddy winked and smiled at me from across the table. "Well now you know I have to." He looked at the other two people and began without pause, "We went to pick up some of Cass's crap from Jeremy's place." Everyone, including myself, made a face at the sound of my ex-boyfriend's name. "Yeah, I know. Of course he was sitting in front of his computer, hand down his pants and screaming racial slurs at the poor people on the other end of his headset when we walked in. He hadn't even gotten up to let us in. Told us is was open. So, we walked into the bedroom and started grabbing everything of Cass's. I looked at the nightstand and saw this thing sitting there and asked her what it was. She looked up and, without missing a beat, informed me that it was the penis cozy she'd knit him." By this point in the retelling, Freddy was almost doubled over laughing and clutching his stomach. Across from me, Tammy was wiping tears from her eyes and shaking her head.
"Oh God, Cass," Andrew said to me. "Why?"
I shrugged and sipped my margarita before saying, "It was all I could make. It started as a potholder and..." It hit me: the absurdity of it, penis cozy and all, and I began laughing hysterically. My one and only knitting project had been a cozy for my ex-boyfriend's penis.
"Do you guys still need a minute?" our waitress asked, looking at us suspiciously. We must have appeared crazy, the four of us mid-hysterics, if you did not know the cozy story. She looked to be in her mid-twenties, had long blonde hair and the greenest eyes I'd ever seen. They have to be contacts, I thought.
"No," Andrew said. "We're ready."
We gave our orders and she took the menus. When she grabbed mine, our fingertips touched and a shiver ran up my spine. Stupid, I thought, but when I glanced up, she was staring at me. I'd never been with a woman, even in college, but there was something there.
A second after she left, Freddy whistled. "Girl."
"What?" Andrew asked. Tammy smiled and kissed him on the cheek.
"It's always the straight mend who have the worst gaydar," Freddy said.
I hit him. "No, it wasn't anything like that." But my protest sounded weak, even to me.
Tammy shook her head. "I don't know, Cass. She's cute."
Freddy nodded. "Go for it. You deserve a little fun after all the crap you dealt with with Jeremy." Easy for you to say, I thought. You've been out since you were fifteen. I'd always found some girls attractive, but I'd never thought of myself as a lesbian.
When the check came, Anni had written, "Thank you!" with her phone number underneath. Freddy shoved it in my purse.
We parted with Andrew and Tammy in front of the restaurant and walked to Freddy's car. He and I had been roommates for two years and it was great. We were both neat freaks with a touch of OCD, never fought over the same guy and loved eating Ben and Jerry's Phish Food while watching Disney movies on Netflix.
"You'll thank me later," he said without preamble when we got in the car.
"What?"
"Anni's number." He turned to face me. "Call her. She was into you. I know these things. And you do deserve it."
I nodded. He was right. Freddy often was. I'd been with Jeremy for eight months before things went south. Then, I'd stayed with him for another miserable three before finally calling it quits. Honestly, he was so addicted to video games that I don't know if he registered my absence. Well, probably only when he got hungry and had to leave the virtual world to fix himself a sandwich.
When we got home, we said goodnight and went to our rooms. I washed my face and changed into sweats and a tank top. Sitting on my bed, I held my phone in one hand and the receipt in the other. I debated with myself for ten minutes before I dialed.
She picked up on the third ring. "Hello?"
"Hi, it's Cassie, from tonight."
"Table seven, pasta primavera." She laughed, a deep, smokey and seductive sound. "How are you?"
"I'm good, thanks. Is this an okay time for you?"
"Yeah, I just got home."
"How are you?" I settled back against my pillows and stretched my legs out.
"Better now that you called."
I smiled and felt a pull low in my stomach. We stayed up past midnight taking and made plans to get coffee the next morning.