It is the opposite of what I want and deserve

"I had no idea Olivia was coming today. She just showed up."

"Yeah, okay."

You don't believe me.

"Sandra broke up with David last night."

Wow, apparently that's information everyone should know. I shoot Olivia an angry look and she shrugs it off. Olivia has a habit of talking to people I don't want to know my problems. Jason is a good boss, but he's also persistent. I've lost count of the times he's invited me to dinner.

"It's about time."

Jason sighs.

"That guy was a jerk. How are you holding up?"

I shrug.

"Surprisingly well, actually. I got out of bed, so that's a start."

"Good."

He pulls his cell phone out of his back pocket and dials a number.

"Hi, it's Jason. Yeah. Can you come in today? Sandra's not feeling well. Okay great. See you soon."

I look at him with wide eyes.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm giving you time to relax. You can come back in two days."

Olivia bounces excitedly, but I cross my arms over my chest. I don't like people doing me favors, especially people who expect things in return.

"That's unnecessary."

"It is, now get out of here before you cost me more customers."

I reach under my chair, grab my purse and walk away from the desk. I'm not going to complain about a day off. God knows I need one. Olivia grabs her coat, hooks her arm around my elbow and pushes me toward the door. I glance back at Jason, who stands behind the desk. He turns on the monitor and John Miller's personnel file opens right where I left it. Jason shoots me an annoyed look. I shrug and push the door open before he changes his mind about letting me go.

Olivia and I walk into a small restaurant specializing in steaks. She fought tooth and nail for Mexican, but I think I made it pretty clear that I never want to eat Mexican again. Ever.

We sat by a window showing the not-so-beautiful scenery of the parking lot and the entire freeway.

"I'm so sick of living in this place."

Olivia groans, contemplating the parking lot.

"You can say that again."

She pulls a small wine from her purse and hands it to me. To avoid the inevitable lecture that comes with denying her alcohol, I take it.

"Sorry girls."

A middle-aged waitress says as she approaches us, pulling a pencil from behind her ear.

"You can't bring your own. You have to buy alcohol here."

Olivia takes my wine and puts it in her purse, all while smiling sweetly at the woman.

"Okay, more for me later."

I laugh at her as she orders a pitcher of beer and cheese fries. I, on the other hand, order a chicken burger and some beer battered fries. My stomach growls as we wait for our food. I didn't eat before I left the house this morning, not the smartest thing to do considering I was going to work out. My mouth is watering as I watch waiters and waitresses bring food to other customers. Just to get something in my stomach, I drink my beer. I cringe and make a strange sound at the base of my throat as I swallow the foul liquid. I hate beer and, as a result, I suddenly feel nauseous.

"So."

Olivia begins, ignoring my reaction to the beer.

"What made you decide you've finally had enough of David's crap?"

Honestly, I have no idea where to start.

"Well, he stood me up at Salsa's again to go hang out with 'his friends' and when I called him a girl answered his phone."

Olivia rolls her eyes, not surprised.

"I realized it's probably going to be like that for the rest of my life and that's the complete opposite of what I want and deserve."

"There you hit it-if I were a nice guy, I'd treat you right!"

I smile.

"Thanks, Olly."

Seconds later, the waitress brings our food and Olly greedily dives into his cheese fries. For such a slim and fit girl, she sure eats and drinks a lot. I'm pretty fit and most days I eat well, but that didn't reduce the curves on my body. No matter how hard I tried, the hips wanted to stay. Unfortunately, there is no exercise to slim the bones.

Olivia perks up, as if she just had an amazing idea.

"Do you want to go out tonight?"

"No."

I answer instantly.

I hate clubs. I hate clubs more than I hate cheaters. Clubs make me anxious. Being hassled by a bunch of random, sleazy guys and having them breathe their alcohol/cigarette breath all over me is disgusting.

"Oh, come on, you never go out with me. You don't have David anymore, live a little."

I pop some potato chips in my mouth and talk to him through the mashed potatoes.

"That's not what this is about. I hate clubs and you know it."

He pouts his lips at me and I notice a sprinkling of salt on them.

"Don't make me go alone."

"Olivia, you've already started drinking and it's barely eleven o'clock. You and I both know you'll be unconscious by four this afternoon."

"Okay, I'll make a deal with you."

She pauses, takes his beer and tosses back the rest before setting the empty glass on the table.

"If I stop drinking now, you'll go out with me tonight. Think of my liver. If you say no, I'm going to have to hit it with the rest of that pitcher of beer, but if you say yes, I won't touch another drop all night."

Sighing, I pop a piece of lettuce in my mouth.

"Fine, I'll go out with you, but I don't want to go to Heaven's. David always goes there."

Heaven's is the biggest nightclub in our town and I hate it.

The jingle of the bell attached to the front door rings, pulling me out of my train of thought and I look up as a group of rowdy boys enter. Olivia straightens her back and turns in her seat so she can see the group. Olivia loves boys almost as much as she loves alcohol, although they usually went hand in hand.

"Mmmm, look how tall they all are."

I can practically hear her mouth filling with drool.

As she watches them, I grab a cheese fry off her plate and pop it in my mouth.

"Yes."

I agree, without looking in her direction. I'm disappointed. Actually, it's not a cheese fry.... It's just a thick-cut chip with some weird cheese salt.