“Heyyy-llo?” She grinned, flopping onto the bed and staring up at the ceiling.

“Hey I’m running a little late so just order without me!”

Puzzled, Angela wracked her brain. “Uhh… Sure, but I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“Are you serious? I thought you were already there! See, this is why you need to write stuff down, Ange.” A car horn whizzed by as Charlotte spoke.

“Yeah, I know. I’ll do it next time!” Angela sighed. “So where am I meeting you?”

“Brantley’s, remember? Anyway, I guess this works out better since we’re both running late. I gotta dash, so I’ll see you there!”

Angela shook off her guilt and instead focused on getting dressed. Brantley’s was their usual lunch spot when they were felt like having sandwiches or salads, although recently a new Mexican café had been winning them over for a whole week. Even though they knew the staff at Brantley’s almost as well as they knew their own mothers, Angela felt she owed it to Charlotte to put a little effort into her appearance. A few coats of mascara and a fresh layer of lip balm would have to suffice. She was already extremely late.

Pulling the familiar glass door open, Angela’s eyes swept the tables for Charlotte’s light orange hair. She wondered if she was still on her way as she approached the hostess.

The young girl straightened up, “Welcome to Brantley’s. Table for one?” It was clear that she was new.

Angela smiled and shook her head, “No, I’m waiting for a friend.” She could tell the hostess was a little unsure of how to proceed, “Maybe you could help me? Her name is Charlotte Klein. Orange-y hair. Lots of freckles. About my height?”

The hostess’s eyes darted around nervously, and then she looked relieved as someone entered into the restaurant, “Oh, I think she’s behind you.”

“Huh? Oh, hey! There you are!” Angela threw her arms around Charlotte while the hostess led the pair to a booth towards the back. They scooted over the worn pleather seats as the hostess handed each of them a menu and took their drink order: grapefruit juice for Charlotte and a latté for Angela.

“Man last night was pretty crazy, huh?” Charlotte chuckled, shaking her head.

Shrugging, Angela couldn’t quite remember.

Charlotte looked surprised, “What? You don’t remember Tom’s crazy ex crashing the party and punching him in the face? He’s got a huge black eye!”

“Huh, I guess I missed that part…” She shrugged again, “So how was the rest of your night? You left pretty early, right?”

“Well,” Charlotte sighed and rested her chin in the palm of her hand. “I wanted to stay a little longer but Ben and I got in a fight again. He thinks I’m cheating on him.”

“Yeah,” Angela snorted. “And you are.”

She rolled her eyes, “But he doesn’t know that. Or, well, he’s not supposed to.” Charlotte sighed again just as a waitress appeared with their drinks. Angela emptied two packets of sugar into her latté while Charlotte sipped on her grapefruit juice.

“So basically he’s just suspicious?”

Charlotte nodded.

“And you didn’t tell him?”

She shook her head, “No, it’s just a phase. It’s not like I’m in love with this other dude the way that I love Ben… There’s history there, you know?”

“Yeah, I understand.”

Angela decided to bite her tongue and let the conversation die out.

[Click Here to Read Part 1]