The first week of classes flies by in a blur and I am thankful. Thankful for the distraction, thankful for my friends who spend time with me, and thankful for Tess who has been nothing short of the biggest support ever.

Of course, on the first day of classes, I had to listen to a phone call from my mother rambling on about how important it is to get my grades up this semester and how disappointed she and dad would be if I would be to waste their money on my studies. I just nodded and mumbled a plethora of yeses. For a very brief moment during the call, I had the yearning to tell her about my heartache, my first love. I imagined how she would tell me that everything will be okay and that he didn't deserve me anyway. I got rid of that idea real fast because knowing my mom, she would just scold me for being so stupid to fall in love in the first place.

It is now Friday and Simon will arrive tonight or tomorrow morning. I am happy for Tess and I made some plans with some friends from my marketing class to give the two lovebirds some space - and maybe to save me from having to painfully watch them be all cute and in love. Tess being Tess however, has already made sure to include me in some of their plans, so Saturday evening, we are getting dinner and going to the movies. I tried to tell her that she didn't have to feel obligated to include me and that I would hate to crash their date and be a third wheel but, obviously, she insisted. Apparently, Simon insists, too - according to my best friend at least but I am not sure he actually does. Anyhow, whatever Tess says goes.

Speaking of, she comes running into the kitchen in her gray and stained sweats and a white tank top and jumps into one of our kitchen chairs. I swear I heard it crack a little.

"Hey there, babes," she greets with a grin.

"Would you mind not breaking our mobiliary?" I ask with a sigh and a smile.

"Mobiliary?" she questions. "What type of fancy-schmancy talk is that? The fuck?"

"It's a normal word," I argue.

Tess snorts. "No, it's not. Just say chair or furniture or whatever. You're weirding me out, dude."

"Okay, then. Can you please not break our chairs?" I rephrase.

"I'll try," she shrugs nonchalantly and starts piling food onto her plate.

"How gracious of you," I say with a smirk to annoy her a little more.

"Again with the fancy talk! Romy, stop it, for fuck's sake. You're killing my mood."

I narrow my eyes at her and look her up and down. Something is off.

"Are you okay?"

"Sure, I'm dandy," Tess nods five times. That's at least three times too many.

"Okay, what's wrong?"

"Nothing, I'm fine."

"Are you getting your period?" I inquire, finding it to be plausible with the cranky behavior she is exhibiting.

"Yes," she grumbles in a sad voice.

"And why does that make you so sad? You're literally the woman dancing through a flower field in a white dress from the pads advertisement when you're on your period," I point out and start eating.

"Because Simon is coming, you dummy. And I was planning on a lot of humping if you know what I mean. Which can still be done, now that I think about it." Tess tilts her head and taps her chin in thought.

"You're afraid he's not into period sex?" I ask timidly.

"Well, if he isn't then he can go find another girlfriend."

I choke on my bite of food. "Tess! You're cruel. Poor Simon."

"Poor me!!" she exclaims loudly. "I was just joking, calm your tits. No, the bad thing is that he can't go down on me. And, did I tell you how good he is with his tongue? I don't think I did, let me explain to y-"

"No!" I clear my throat. "You have indeed mentioned that before so please refrain from elaborating any further, thank you."

Tess just smugly smiles at me before continuing to slurp down an impressive amount of food. That woman can eat when she's on her period, let me tell you.

Simon arrived last night and I'm not sure what they did but it got Tess screaming. So, she did break her promise to keep it down for my sake but at least she saved herself the trouble to introduce Simon to the neighbors one by one - if you know what I mean. Now, she is happily sprawled on his lap at the breakfast table, letting him feed her with the chocolate-dipped strawberries I made last night when I couldn't sleep.

I observe the two and feel an uncomfortable twinge in my heart. I meant it when I told Tess I am happy for her but it is hard seeing them so in love. It makes me miss what Eli and I had. It makes me miss him. Last night, I almost called him. I wanted to complain to him about how loud Tess was being and he would tell me that he would kill her. Just like he did when we went camping. But I didn't do it. Instead, I made the strawberries and cried myself to sleep afterward. Pathetic, I know.

"This is delicious, Romy. Thank you for making breakfast. Tess and I will make it tomorrow, right bunny?" Simon says with a smile and then looks at Tess adoringly.

"Yes, of course," she agrees. "Whatever you say, babe."

"Thank you, Simon. It was no trouble at all," I tell him and he nods at me.

"Are you excited for the movie tonight?" Tess beams at me.

"Yeah," I force a smile and she rolls her eyes.

"I can smell your fakeness from here, babes. Be happy or I'll make you be happy, you hear me?" she points a finger at me.

"It's early in the morning and I didn't sleep well because a certain someone was being very loud despite her promise," I narrow my eyes at Tess before continuing, "so, forgive me for not being the happiest camper right now. I will be in a good mood tonight, don't worry."

"Good!" Tess and Simon exclaim at the same time and then grin at each other.

The movie and dinner were, to my surprise, really fun. Tess and Simon made sure to not be too couply and cringy the whole time and we talked and laughed a lot. As we walk to the car after the movie, Tess pulls me to a stop, letting Simon walk on without us.

"Hey, so um, I wanted to ask you something," she begins. I nod at her to go on. "Do you think you will be fine being alone for a weekend?"

"Um, yes sure. You plan to go somewhere?" I ask.

"Simon asked me to visit him next weekend at the lake again. I thought I'd take the chance while the weather is still nice."

"Of course, Tess. Don't worry about me, I'm fine, honestly. Go have fun, I'll manage. I'm barely even thinking about him." Liar.

Tess looks through my lie right away and pins me with a glare. "Come on, Romy. I hear you crying yourself to sleep and you still wear his shirt every now and then. You are definitely still thinking about him."

"Okay okay, fine! Maybe I am still thinking about him." I throw my hands in the air in exasperation. "But I can't help it, I fucking miss him. So so much. I want to call him and ask him how he's doing. If he figured his things out. How long do you think that will still take? He didn't specify a time but it's been weeks now, it really shouldn't take that long, right? Or maybe he was only making empty promises and I am the stupid, naive girl still pining after him. God, I just don't know what to think or do." I grip my hair with both hands but Tess gently pulls them down.

"Oh, babes. It'll be fine, I promise but I would wait for him to keep his promise. I'm certain you will regret it if you contact him now with the possibility that he might shoot you down." She gently rubs a hand up and down my back.

"Hey!" someone shouts in the distance. We both look up and see Simon running toward us. "What the hell, girls? Why did you abandon me like that? I turn around when I reach the car and both of you are gone. I thought someone kidnapped you or something!" he pants.

"Sorry, babe. We just needed to talk about something. It won't happen again. Also, you could've just called my phone and I would've answered," Tess says.

"Or, you could've said: Hey Simon, we are gonna catch up with you, no need to wait for us," he deadpans.

"Yeah yeah, next time." Tess waves him off but I feel sorry for him.

"Sorry, Simon," I tell him earnestly and he bobs his head.

"It's okay. I just got spooked."

"Can you bring the car 'round? We'll wait here for you," Tess asks, batting her lashes at him.

"Right away," he replies sarcastically and walks away, grumbling under his breath.

"Okay, so I'll stay then. I have Simon for a week now so I really don't need to see him again next week."

I quickly shake my head no. "That's bullshit, Tess. You'll go, and that's final. I honestly don't need you to take care of me 24/7. I am an adult and I can handle myself, I promise."

"Are you sure?" she asks.

"Yes, one hundred percent."

"Okay, but whenever you want to call him, call me instead."

A very loud laugh spills out of me at her words.

"What's so funny?" she questions.

I calm down and tell her, "Tess, if I would call you every time I want to call him, you won't have a minute to yourself."

"That bad, huh?"

"Yup. But you see, I am strong, I am not gonna call him and you can go and enjoy your weekend away."

"Aaahh I'm so excited!" she squeals and crushes me in a hug.

That excitement stayed with her all week and when she and Simon got in the car on Friday to drive to the lake, she pushed her upper body out the car window and waved goodbye to me with both hands. A smile creeped onto my face at seeing her so happy and I shook my head at her antics but waved back anyway before I made my way inside our apartment. I grabbed the book I was currently reading and snuggled up on the couch, ready to escape reality one page at a time.

And this is pretty much how my whole weekend went. I read a book a day, eat only once and sometimes a snack because I am too engrossed in my book to think about food and then I do some homework for class. Tess calls me every day to check in and before I know it, it's Sunday and the two of us are eating dinner together. Tess just came home about an hour ago and I made us a big portion of chili sin carne.

"I missed your cooking!" she exclaims. "On the boat, we barely had any cooked food and it was getting boring."

"So you only came back for the food, huh?" I jest.

"Of course. What else would make me want to come here?"

I feign hurt and Tess pokes her tongue out.

"What time do your classes end on Tuesday?" she asks.

"Five thirty," I grumble.

"Really? That sucks."

"Tell me about it," I groan and she winces.

"Well, some of us are planning to go to tequila Tuesday at the bar, you want to come?"

"Tequila? On a Tuesday?"

"Come on, you like tequila! And it's student night, we get the drinks for cheaper. It's gonna be fun!"

"Okay, I'll join. But I might meet you guys there. After class, I first want to go home, eat, get ready and all that."

"Yeah, no problem. I'll text you where to go," Tess says with a mouth full of chili.

It's nearly nine o'clock when I reach the bar - Monkeyz. A large glass front showcases the modern and sleek interior and at first glance, it doesn't strike me as a bar that would offer student discounts but hey, don't judge a book by its cover, right? A poster by the entrance advertises the tequila Tuesday event and after showing the bouncer my ID it doesn't take me long to find the table with Tess and our friends from college. They all greet me with a universal 'hey' when I slide into the booth and Tess immediately shoves a shot of tequila in front of me.

"Drink! You have a lot of catching up to do, babes," she shouts in my ear and clumsily winks at me, proving her point.

I throw back the shot and another one appears next to the now empty glass. I quickly down that one, too. Tonight, I just want to forget.

By 11pm, I am drunk but thirsty for more so I offer to buy the next round for our table and make my way over to the bar. I flag down the bartender and order five tequila shots. He sets the glasses on a tray so I can carry them back to the table. I'm rummaging in my purse for my wallet when someone clears their throat next to me. I look up and straight into two pairs of eyes.

"Ambitious, aren't we?" guy number one asks and points to the tray of shots.

I laugh at his joke but shake my head. "Nooo, they aren't for me alone. I bought a round for our table," I slur my words a little but manage a head tilt into the direction of our booth. Guy number two looks at my friends and then nods absentmindedly. The bartender extends the payment terminal to me.

"Let me pay for your drinks," guy number one offers with a slightly sleazy smile and pulls his wallet from his back pocket. Guy number two has found another woman to flirt with who also wanted to order something from the bar.

"Oh no, no that's fine. Look," I proudly show him my student ID, "I get the student discount." I grin at him.

He laughs - with me or at me, I'm not sure. "If you'd let me pay, it would be free. Isn't that even better?"

"I mean, I guess," I shrug and before I can object any further, he swipes his card. "Thank you, but you really didn't have to do that," I tell him sheepishly, a blush staining my cheeks.

"It's no problem, love. Would you like to dance after you're done taking the shots?" he asks, pushing a strand of my hair behind my ear.

I frown and take a step back. As if on instinct, my mouth opens and I start saying, "Uh, no, I have a boyfr-" but I stop mid-word because I realize that I do in fact not have a boyfriend. "Um, well, it's complicated," I finish weakly.

"I'm not complicated at all if you're ready for a change," he counters and steps closer to me again. I mirror his movements, walking backward but hitting the bar behind me. I shake my head no, starting to feel more and more uncomfortable.

"Are you sure?" he questions.

"Yes." I then point at the tray of shots and nod toward my friends. "I need to take these to my people, uh, I mean friends. Thanks for paying, have a nice night." I quickly grab the tray and speedwalk over to our booth. Miraculously, I didn't spill anything and the table erupts in cheers when I pass around the tequila. I smile at my friends but my mind is elsewhere after what just happened. Tess looks at me quizzically but gets distracted by our friend who shows her something on her phone.

The urge to call Eli is stronger than it has ever been and before I know it, I am locked inside a fancy bathroom stall, my phone pressed to my ear, my heart hammering in my throat, waiting for him to pick up the phone.