"Drop the goddamn chip and make a move, Joey," I snapped holding my cards lazily in my hand and eyeing the blonde seated across from me.

"Don't rush me," Joey muttered, his eyes trained on his cards, hoping something would magically pop out by the looks of it.

"You always say that when you bleed throughout the entire fuckin' game," Matt huffed in frustration, brushing back his black hair off his forehead.

He wasn't wrong. Joey, Matt, and I met up for poker once a week and and without fail, Joey always got his ass handed to him.

Sucks too since he begged us to play something different every week.

"Maybe it's just a bluff?" Joey snapped, holding his cards to his chest.

"That'd be the surprise of the century," I muttered under my breath.

"Just fold," Matt encouraged, leaning forward. "You know you want to."

"Fuck you," Joey grumbled.

Matt rolled his eyes and turned to me, an analyzing look in his eyes, "How you doing, man?"

"Currently beating your ass, Matty boy," I replied snarkily. I knew it wasn't what he meant. He knew that I knew it wasn't what he meant.

"Debatable," Matt argued. It wasn't. "You meeting anyone new these days?"

"Lots of people," I winked at him.

"Not what he means," Joey piped in.

I shot him a glare, "Focus on your cards there, Joe."

He lifted his hands in defeat and went back to staring at his cards without actually knowing what the hell he was doing.

"I know things with Vanessa have been beyond hard on you-"

"-Don't finish that thought, Matt," I warned, my gaze steadily on his face.

"All I'm saying is, I know it's easy to fuck around and pretend you don't care, and by all means, do that if that's what you need. I just don't want you to throw your future away by this becoming it for you. It's been two years, man."

Matt always gave good advice. Need a new car? Matt's your guy. Computer advice? Matt's there. Finance management? Matt knew it all.

What Matt knew nothing about was heartbreak in relationships.

Matt married his high school sweetheart at eighteen and they've been sickeningly in love ever since. Lovey-dovey, call every hour, update about everything kind of love.

A phone rang at that moment and I'd bet all my chips it was Miranda.

Matt lifted his phone to his ear and shot me a look as if to say we're not done discussing this.

"Hi sweetheart," he answered with a grin. "I'm just with the guys." He pulled the phone away from his ear and whispered "Miranda says hi."

"Hi Miranda," Joey and I piped.

"Marcus said he hasn't met anyone new," Matt responded, gaze set on me.

I rolled my eyes at my overly involved friend and his nosy wife. Miranda was a tough woman and I'd never say that to her face. I think she scared all three of us equally.

"Miranda agrees with me that you should open up again," Matt chastised as though that would convince me.

I turned my glare to Joey because in all honesty, I was scared to snap at Miranda, "You playing a fuckin' hand anytime soon?"

"Don't rush me!" Joey whined.

"Miranda says you should make a move," Matt advised Joey.

"She want to take this guy's place next week?" I jerked a hand towards Joey.

"She says she'll do it when you get a girlfriend," Matt responded.

I was getting very tired of this conversation.

"I don't see what's wrong with playing the field a little. Seriously, going out with an actual firefighter is really picking up my game," Joey guffawed.

"Thank you, Joey. Take your time, please," I gestured to his cards that he seemingly forgot, face up on the table. He was hopeless.

He picked them back up again sheepishly and stared blankly at his hand.

A knock sounded on the door and I thanked my lucky stars at the timing of it.

I jumped up and reached for the handle, opening it up to Mabel. I smiled at her perpetually seemingly lost expression. She stared back at me, green eyes wide and doe eyed. Bambi, the thought flirted through my head.

"What's up, Maybie?" I asked as I leaned against the door with an arm.

"Hey!" She chirped happily. How this girl managed to be so chipper all the time was beyond me. She was like a ray of sunshine. I felt a weight lifted off of me when I saw her face. "I've come to deliver laundry as per my training, Yoda." She held onto a large bag of my clothes.

She was such a dork. Her ginger hair was tugged into braided pigtails and she wore a May the Fourth be with you t-shirt (she really was obsessed), with perfectly fitted jeans. I knew I'd enjoy the view as she walked away from me and I wasn't going to object to waiting around just for that moment.

"Thanks, Padawan." I grabbed onto the bag and threw it next to my door.

"Now, I may have failed to mention that I'm not great at laundry. And when I say 'not great,' I actually mean complete shit, so some of your previously white shirts may be pink now. Sorry about that," she rambled, something I was quickly realizing she did a lot of.

"No, it's some girl dropping laundry off... I don't know why she has his laundry, Miranda," I could hear Matt mutter behind me. "She's wearing a Star Wars shirt."

"Should I be at all concerned that someone's narrating our encounter?" Mabel asked me as she looked past me and noticed my poker game going on in the background.

"Nah," I responded. "Back to my pink shirt?"

She scratched the back of her head and a light flush coated her cheeks. I loved that blush. I got a strange satisfaction whenever I could draw it out from her. "Er. See, I didn't tell you I suck at laundry since you know, I kind of need your help here. But I barely do my own laundry. I don't even own anything white. I once bought two entire new packs of socks because I didn't want to wash a load. Don't worry though, I'm currently googling how to get the stain out and the next round should go without a hitch."

"She turned his shirt pink... You should try bleach and hydrogen peroxide!" Matt shouted.

"Would you keep it down in there, Matt?" I shouted back at my obnoxious friend.

"Thanks!" Mabel responded before tucking her fiery hair behind her ears and ducking her head, "Right, well, I'll let you get back to your game. Friends. Friendly game."

I grinned at her, her quirky side growing on me lately. "See ya, Maybie."

She turned and walked to her apartment and her plush backside did not disappoint. I watched the gentle sway of her hips until she closed her door and I could no longer see the view, walking back to my table.

"Who was that?" Joey asked, his eyes lighting up in a way I wasn't sure I quite liked.

"My neighbour," I grunted, picking my cards back up.

"It's his neighbour," Matt explained on the phone.

"Is she single?" Joey asked, leaning on his elbows as he edged closer to me.

"No," I snapped. "You make a fuckin' decision yet?" I gestured to Joey's cards.

"She's not single," Matt whispered.

"She's pretty cute is all I'm saying," Joey grinned.

"Joey's into her," Matt told Miranda.

I needed new friends.