roina_arwen

“This week has been craaaaazy,” Ginny said, swirling her rum & coke before taking a sip. The gentle clinking of the ice reminded her of the wind chimes that used to hang in the tree outside her childhood bedroom window. “I’m so glad you were available - it’s been far too long since we last got together.”

“Right? I’ve hated having to go back to the office these last few weeks. I really enjoyed working from home with nobody but Tasha Yarn to keep me company,” Sarah replied with a grin.

Ginny smiled back, thinking about Sarah’s aging tabby. Tasha Yarn was a sweet and friendly cat, but much to their surprise, she was also an excellent judge of character.

It had been almost two years ago when Ginny brought her then-boyfriend Mason to Sarah’s apartment for dinner for the first time. She had been dating him for a little over a month. Shortly after they arrived at the apartment, Tasha Yarn stubbornly inserted herself on the couch between Ginny and Mason. The cat’s fur bristled and she kept hissing at Mason whenever he tried to touch either her or the cat. Ginny had been amused by the cat’s protectiveness, but after the fourth or fifth hiss, Mason got mad about it and brusquely shoved the cat off the couch.

Ginny knew right then that Mason was not the one for her, and immediately showed him the door.

Ever since then, all prospective suitors were eventually introduced to Tasha Yarn. Several had passed “The Tasha Test”, but they were few and far between, and none of them had yet proven to be that mythical “One”.

After a very long dry spell and zero luck from dating apps, Ginny decided it was time to get out into the so-called “real world” and start dating again. She downed the remainder of her drink, pushed a wayward strand of dark blonde hair behind her ear, and quickly glanced around the hotel bar at the other patrons.

Most of the guys were paying more attention to the playoff game airing on the TVs scattered throughout the establishment than to anything - or anyone - else.

“My prospects are not looking good,” she muttered.

Sarah ran the fingers of her right hand slowly up and down the stem of her wine glass and sighed. “Yeah, I know what you mean,” she said, and paused to sip her Cabernet as she slowly and purposefully scanned the room from end to end. “But the real question is, what do we do about it?”

“That, my dear friend, is a very good question.”

Ginny was getting ready to motion to the waiter for a refill when he arrived at her elbow with a tray of drinks - one for each of them - and a basket of mozzarella sticks.

“Um… we didn’t order these.”

The waiter nodded, and proceeded to put everything onto the little table. “Courtesy of the two gentlemen at the end of the bar,” he replied, bobbing his head over his left shoulder as he cleared away the empty glasses and left.

Ginny glanced where he indicated, and saw two nicely dressed men who appeared close to their age smiling at them. Ginny smiled back.

The redhead on the left raised his glass and mouthed “Cheers” at them.

Sarah and Ginny locked eyes over their drinks. Sarah raised one eyebrow in a quizzical look that clearly stated, what now?

Ginny raised both brows in return and shrugged one shoulder. Your call.

Sarah sipped her wine and waggled both brows quickly, a la Groucho Marx. She selected a golden cheese stick from the basket, dipped it into the marinara sauce, extracted it, and bit part way through.

Pulling on the remainder of the cheese stick, an impressive string of melted mozzarella hung in the air. Sarah tilted her head back just a little, guided the cheese in, slowly chewed and swallowed, then glanced through her hair - a veritable cascade of long dark ringlets - at their appetizer benefactors.

Ginny followed suit. “No mozzarella stick left behind,” she said with a laugh, and winked at Sarah.

Sarah winked back as she licked marinara sauce off her fingers.

The two men were smiling at them. The one on the right, in the light blue shirt, had his dark tie loosened and slightly askew, his chin pillowed on his upturned hand, a dreamy look in his eyes. The redhead leaned over to make a comment, and both of them laughed, then glanced up at the nearest TV.

Ginny and Sarah finished their food and drinks with flair, then Ginny stood, straightened the hem of her red cocktail dress, slung her purse over her shoulder, and took another glance at the guy in blue. He had wavy dark hair and a smile that stole her breath.

Sarah smoothed her hand down the bodice of her silver dress and picked up her clutch. She had the redhead in her sites - there was definitely an indication of nice musculature under his slim-fitting dress shirt.

“Are you ready?”

Ginny took a deep breath and let it out in a whoosh. “Lord, I hope so.”

The two friends made their way over to the far end of the bar. Ginny noticed that the men sat up straighter as they made their approach. Sarah stood next to the redhead and casually lay her hand on his forearm. “Hi. I’m Sarah.”

Ginny stepped up next to the brunette. “Hey there. I’m Ginny. Thanks for the drinks and stuff.”

The brunette held out his hand to shake hers. “I’m Paul. My shy friend there is James. We couldn’t help but notice the two of you lovely ladies sitting by yourselves, and thought it would be a nice gesture.”

Paul turned his breathtaking smile on Sarah. “I admit, it was well worth the price to watch you eat those cheese sticks!”

Sarah laughed, but kept her eyes on her prize - the red headed James. “I figured you fellows deserved a bit of a show.”

James’s bright green eyes were laser-focused on Ginny. “Would you like to go out and get dinner some place quieter, where we can talk?”

Ginny sidled closer to Sarah, widened her eyes, and wordlessly raised both brows. Well? What do we do about this mix up?

She watched as Sarah’s gaze ping-ponged from one to the other, then finally back to her. She pursed her lips into a little moue, and tilted her head just a bit towards her left shoulder. Might as well give it a go.

Ginny smiled warmly at James. “Sure, we would love to. How does Italian sound? I know a great restaurant about three blocks from here.”

One month and six double dates later, Tasha Yarn gave both couples her official approval.