The Neighborhood (Twin Estates #2)(4)
“It's not about them,” she responded, her voice calm. “This is about me. Proving something to myself.”
“What? That you can be just as big a skank as the rest of the girls out there?”
“Maybe. Or maybe that I can go out and find a man without it being some elaborate hoax. That I can be sexy and appealing without some great charade. That I can … I can control who I see, and what I do with them,” she finished.
Tori grumbled, but it was hard to argue with someone trying to find their independence. After a minute, though, she found a way.
“See,” she sighed. “I would agree with you, normally. I'm all for you being in charge and whatever. You literally could sleep with half of San Francisco, and I wouldn't judge you. Hell, I'd throw you a party. IF that's what you really wanted for yourself. But I don't think that's what you want. I don't think you even want to do this speed-dating thing, and that I won't throw a party for. That I will totally judge you for.”
Katya paused for a long moment, staring at her friend. The other girl was still looking at her hands, picking the black polish apart.
“It's sort of for me,” Katya whispered, then cleared her throat. “And yeah, sort of because of them. They … they stole something from me. I'm just trying to get it back.”
“Oh, honey,” Tori hurried into the room. “You won't find it out there, with some random dude. You've still got it. You just need to give yourself a chance to get over those guys. Heal a little bit. Realize it was never about them. You went on that first date. You made that first move. Nothing that happened after can ever take that away from you.”
Katya took a deep breath and stepped sideways. She could feel the impending hug, and if they hugged, she'd start crying, and she wouldn't ever stop. She laughed and patted at her hair, making sure it was all in place.
“I know, I know. Just let me wallow for a little while longer. The male attention is good for my ego.”
“Kat-”
“Seriously. I'd already planned on deactivating that stupid account after tonight. I committed to being at this event, I don't want them to be short a girl just because I make shitty choices. I'm gonna go and have fun and score some free drinks. Then tomorrow it's back to life as normal,” she assured her friend.
“Well, hopefully not too normal. New-Katya was fun. You don't need to serial date everyone on a dating app to find a man. Going clubbing with your bestie works pretty good, too,” Tori laughed.
“Sounds like a solid plan.”
She almost got out the door unscathed, but Tori surprised her by following her into the hallway and jumping on her. They crashed into a wall and Katya couldn't help but laugh. Probably her first real laugh in weeks.
I don't deserve such a good friend.
She actually felt good as she took a taxi across town. Tori had made sense – Katya wasn't really proving anything to anyone. She was just forcing herself to be something she wasn't. She didn't have to go back to being old-Katya, but she didn't have to always be new-Katya, either.
And the best part, she finally felt like neither of those personalities needed Liam or Wulf. Sure, she missed them and hated that she missed them and kind of wished dysentery on both of them. But she wouldn't let them control her anymore, not even in absentia.
When she got to the event, Katya was actually impressed. It was held on a rooftop terrace. It was cold out, but there were lots of outdoor heaters and cute little gas fireplaces. Singles mingled all over the place, enjoying cocktails at the open bar. She realized she was one of the last to arrive, almost half an hour late, and she'd barely grabbed a Cosmo before someone started tapping on a microphone. She turned towards the stage and watched as a blonde woman cleared her throat.
“Welcome, Lovers!” she shouted, and a lot of people cheered.
Introductions were made and the website was explained – despite the fact that everyone there already had a profile. Then speed dating was explained, which Katya actually did find interesting. She'd never done it before, so she listened closely.
There were an even number of men and women, which she'd already known. The entire back half of the terrace was covered in two-top tables, and the women would all go take a seat at each one. Then the men would all sit down. After five minutes, a bell would ring, and the men would shift to the table on their right. If either of them enjoyed the other person, they would go on the app and get into the event's page, then click a “yes” button on the attendee's profile. At the end of the night, anyone who matched yeses would get an e-mail with all their match details and contact info.
Katya was already pretty sure she wouldn't make any matches, but she did like meeting new people, and the five minute rule kind of made it exciting. So she chose a table in the last row and waited for the first man to take his seat.
It was an interesting process. With some of the men, five minutes felt like an eternity. They laughed at her career choice or stared at her breasts or talked about their exes. With others, though, five minutes wasn't nearly long enough. She met a guy who was three days out of the army, just trying to get back into the habit of talking to “normal” people again. Another was a father of two, who admitted to usually keeping that fact a secret till the second or third date, but he shared some photos with her when she said she liked kids. Still, no spark. Lots of potential new friends, but she wasn't naive enough to think any of these men were looking for friends. She would take the night with a grain of salt and just enjoy herself.