Between Us

"Swipe."

"Still swipe. Swipity swipe." The voice of my best friend, called out from above me. I was sprawled on the floor while Amari, my best friend, lay on the bed.

Amari had been hell bent on me getting into a new relationship or having sex which she called 'getting it.'

"Do I really have to do this? I can do something else." I said in a pleading voice.

"Hahaha. No." Amari said. "Lisa. Since you broke up with Great Duke Prat—"

"His name is Duke Patrick." I interrupt her mid sentence.

"Hmmm, same thing. So as I was saying about Duke Prat, broke your heart, and the sex was bad. Ugggh. Tut, tut, tut —she raised a hand and stopped me from interrupting her again— what I'm trying to say is, you need to go out again. Get laid, very essential. So continue swiping." She said as she nudged me on.

I swiped on and on. None of the guys I had seen so far were appealing. Amari said right now I needed to start with something simple. I decided that I'd start with a one night stand, something gnarly and off the hook. When I told Amari this, she laughed and said go girl.

Picking who to swipe right for was hard.

"What about him?" I asked her as I stopped at a profile of a handsome man.

"Him, him, him, himmmmm." Squealed Amari.

"He looks okay right?"

"Okay?? Girl are you blind of all the profiles you had swiped right at, he's the sexist of them all and his profile? So exquisite. He's giving some sweet high class vibe. Look at his eyes?"

The more she spoke, the more attractive he looked to me. I sighed.

"What?" Amari asked me.

"What if he doesn't swipe back?"

"As long as I created your profile, he'd swipe back." She said as she moved to the bathroom.

So confidence Amari had. A billionaire princess who ran away from home. She'd been my backbone and helped me out financially. We went to the same business school.

Very well whatever she says.

It's been three days since I opened the datemo app and since received over 50 swipes. Swiped back at 26 of them. 11 turned out to be pure perverts. 4 were interesting but married. I did not need any drama in my life. 5 singles but definitely not my type.

"Sorry." Someone called out from inside the building next to where my store was located. It was the painter. Someone had bought the property and was redesigning it.

The painter was a young man with so much energy. He had been saying sorry to passersby all day since he started.

I stopped in front of my office building. A&L florist. How far we'd come. I walked into the building. It was just as I loved it.

Flower beds laid in orderly fashion, the floor well polished wood and low lights to give a warm feel.

I walked into the office at the back hearing Amari's voice talking to someone over the phone.

I nodded at her and took my desk.

Removing my things from my bag and placing them on the desk.

"The delivery guy sent the flowers to the wrong address. Sent the white roses to the funeral and the red roses to the 'all white wedding'." She said after finishing her call and plopped into her bean bag.

"Now that's messy."

"Very. We've got to refund the whole lot." Amari said tiredly.

"Oh, shit." I cried. "Yeah, oh shit." She smiled at me.

"How's your datemo pick going?" Amari asked, taking off her sweater.

"Okay, uhmmm. I've picked Jullian. Frederick. Noah. Bill. Kenneth. Percy. They've all replied back, so I've got a date slated for this week." I said all giddy. Amari had a funny approving look on her face.

"What about beauty boy?"

"Will you stop calling him that? It sounds creepy."

"Do you have any other name for such a beautiful good looking man like him?" She asked me while typing off quickly on her phone.

"He has a name, it's Olivier and no, he hasn't replied to me yet. I haven't checked the app all day either." I replied.

"Hahaha, check now girlll." She said, all giddy, dragging her beanbag behind her to sit next to me.

"I got a match swipe on 6 other guys. Tho." I said the guys I had just called out to her were also good looking with nice profiles but you don't believe everything you see on the internet do you?

"They don't matter. A good looking man matters more chica."

I type in my password that opens up my phone and navigate straight to the datemo app.

No message from him. Not even one.

Amari looks downcast when she sees it.

"So we're going to roll the dice to know which out of the six you should pick. Tho, seven is a lucky number." She said eyes back to her phone smiling sheepishly.

It must be Jordan, her new crush making her happy.

"Jordan's got you smiling like a roasted goat.' I teased she was now lying on her stomach, over the bean bag.

"Lmao, if I were smiling like a roasted goat, I'd look something like this." She retorted, making a weird face which sent me into a fit of laughter.

Ding, ding.

The notification bell of my phone went off. I picked it up and looked at who replied to me.

"Holy shit, he replied." I said out loud.

Amari turned to sit on her rump, real fast peering into my phone eagerly.

"Hello, darling. Is this his response? It's giving posh and cash." Amari said. "Well reply you darling." She finished.

"Won't it seem desperate if I replied too fast?" I queried.

"Uhmmm, let me check my books."

"Checking, checking, checking." Amari muttered, flipping through an invisible book.

"Uhmmm, here it is. No, it wouldn't. Just answer him before I die of suspense. My life hasn't had much drama in a while."

"My life isn't a drama." I replied, rolling my eyes at her.

"I get the feeling that if you and this guy click, I'll be getting lots of it. Well, do go on darling."

"You won't stop calling me darling will you?" I asked her.

"For the life of me? No." I shook my head. "Darling." she added.

I type my reply at that same moment, a knock sounds on our door.

We both look at each other. If we had any appointments, our secretary/receptionist would've told us.

I get up and open up the door to reveal the basketball champion. Jordan Brook. Member of 24s basketball team and Amari's heart-throb.

I say my hi to him as he passes me to hug his girlfriend.

"Hey Lisa. How's it going?'' he ask me

"Fine, I guess how's training?" I ask back.

"Going fine, fine. Just had to drop by to pick up my lil mama so we could go grab some steak." He replied. "You could join us sugar." He added.

"No, I'm good." I reject the offer. I see Amari whisper something into his ear. He looks at me then chuckles. I've seen them do this countless times over when they were hatching a plan against me.

"Whatever you two are doing, I'm saying no. Right now. No, no, no." I stood up and paced about.

"Well mamas, you've got like zero choice right now." Jordan said then he and Amari fist bumped each other.

Yeah any argument raised now is going to be totally futile.

Angélique was screaming at the top of her lungs again and trashing my room in unison.

"Yiorgos, you can not keep ignoring me for heaven's sake." She screamed.

I do not reply to her. I lie still on my bed, hands behind my head, supporting it. I watch her pace back and forth being dramatic as usual.

"Yiorgos, you can't keep quiet all day. You are moving cities and you didn't feel it was necessary for me to know?" She asked now, looking straight at me, hands akimbo.

"You didn't tell me you were fucking Timothée?" I casually say to her, watching her face change expression from mad to surprised to scared and to surprise again.

"W-what?"

"I didn't stutter Angélique." I replied to her question.

"Olivier how could you? Accuse me of something as vile and disgusting as that. Timothée is your friend." She said.

She had stopped pacing but I could see all the whee